The fic otherwise known as, "Mountain Man."

It's finally done, after three years. I can hardly believe it. This wouldn't have been finished without the help of many of you, and you know who you are. Special thanks to Drag for her intense and awesome notes, and to Lu for the constant beta on this thing for three years running.

I hope you all enjoy this. It's completely finished and I'll be posting every few days. It's six chapters in length, so you won't have to wait too long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Psych.


Pain erupted in his side when he slipped, feet giving out beneath his body as he crashed hard into a broken, fallen down tree. The rough bark rubbed against his already torn and bloody skin and he squeezed his eyes shut, biting his bottom lip to stifle a harsh curse. Darkness loomed overhead with small beams of moonlight drifting through the tree branches, littering the damp ground and making the soft earth look so inviting, he thought. If only he could lie down for a few minutes, God, just a few minutes.

"Shawn!"

He looked up when he heard his name and was met with a pair of concerned blue eyes that matched the frantic sound of Juliet's voice. She looked just as tired, dirty and broken as he did, but he pushed those memories away for now, storing them, praying for once he could forget.

Right now he had to get back up.

-ooo-

"I don't have time for this, Shawn!"

Shawn paced back and forth along the hallway of the Santa Barbara Police Department, arguing with Gus, his best friend and business partner.

"They caught the guy, the evidence was right on his hand!" Gus said in a low but fierce tone.

"The guy's innocent, Gus!" Shawn cried. "Sure, he may look like a lunatic serial killer with the dirty, smelly clothes, scraggly long beard and rotten teeth that look like they haven't seen a toothbrush since Jodie Foster won best actress for her role in The Accused." He looked up, thoughtful. "Though I stand by my conspiracy theory and still think Melanie Griffith was robbed that year-"

"Shawn!"

"The point is," he continued, finally turning to look his friend in the eye, "this guy isn't smart enough to pull off these murders. Did you see the look on his face? Genuine surprise, Gus. He was telling the truth."

Gus rolled his eyes. "You're not a real psychic!" he hissed, to which Shawn placed a hand over his heart, feigning outrage.

"I'm offended, Gus! My own best friend." Gus rolled his eyes again and Shawn added hotly, "Dude, is something wrong with your eyes? They look like they're about to fall off your face."

"What is going on with you two?"

Shawn turned around and plastered his most sincere smile when Juliet came up behind them.

"Jules! We were just talking about you!" he lied, rocking back and forth on his feet. Juliet raised an eyebrow.

"You were?"

Before Shawn could continue, Gus interrupted. "Shawn thinks Grizzly Adams is innocent."

"Gus!"

A soft chuckle escaped Juliet's lips as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh yeah? The man was wearing evidence, Shawn. A case doesn't get more open and shut than that."

Shawn sighed. "There's more to it, Jules." He placed his fingers to his temples. "I can't...quite make it out yet, but there's something you've overlooked."

"We searched every inch of that crime scene and all the evidence leads to Dorland. The hikers were found on the path next to his property with a trail of blood leading to his house and he was wearing evidence."

Everything Juliet explained was information Shawn already knew. He had been put on the missing hikers' cases when the first body had been found. He had been the one to lead the police to Dorland's house after finding a blood trail that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. He was also the one to spot Dorland wearing the latest victim's class ring, complete with a few drops of the victim's blood dried onto the stone, which was another piece of evidence that would have gone unnoticed if Shawn hadn't remembered the victim's tan line on his right ring finger. But he hadn't expected an over-sized, rough-looking Dorland to practically go into shock when the police arrested him.

And he hadn't been able to take a look at the rest of the crime scene, where the bodies had been found. The thought nagged at him.

"Yes, there's evidence, but something isn't adding up. I'm going back."

Gus had apparently heard enough. "I'm done with this, Shawn." He straightened out his tie and nodded to Juliet, then turned his attention back to his best friend. "I'm already late for a meeting. I'll see you back at the office."

"But Gus-" Shawn began, shortly cut off by Gus' forefinger in his face.

"No. I'm late. And don't follow me." He started towards the open front doors of the station and paused, turning. "And I'm shutting off my phone." Another pause. "And don't try calling the office either, I had all your numbers blocked."

And he walked out.

Shawn stood there until Gus was out of sight, then looked at Juliet. "Jules, I need to borrow your phone."

Juliet laughed and rolled her eyes. "Shawn," she warned.

"Juliet, I'm serious!" Shawn whined, bouncing back in front of her. "I'm going back to the crime scene. I can feel the spirits practically pulling me there!" He made a jerking movement with his shoulder, inching closer towards the entrance to the station.

Juliet sighed. "Fine. If that's what it'll take to convince you then I'm coming with you."

-ooo-

Juliet tried to glance over Shawn's shoulder at the map he was holding. "How much further?" she asked, tired. They passed Dorland's property minutes before when Juliet realized she couldn't remember the exact location the bodies had been found in, since the trail forked right past Dorland's house. Luckily, she had a map of the area in her bag, and Shawn took it upon himself to navigate their way through the woods.

"Oh, I think we have another couple months of dancing around the issue, a few months of casual dating, a few more months of serious dating-"

"Shawn!"

Shawn grinned. "Come on Jules, lighten up! You're starting to sound like Lassie-face."

Juliet grimaced as she stumbled for the tenth time that afternoon. "You try hiking through the woods in two inch heels and let me tell you to lighten up. Now how much further?"

"Fine, fine. The bodies were found about a quarter mile from Dorland's property. We're almost-"

Shawn stopped walking and looked to his right. He noticed a few drops of blood splattered on a large rock and placed his fingers to his temple.

"Shawn? Are you getting something?" Juliet asked in quiet wonder.

Shawn didn't answer, his eyes following a trail of disturbed earth just beyond the blood drops.

"Shawn?"

Walking past the bloody rock, he knelt down and waved his hand lightly over the dirt. "These look like drag marks to you?" he asked in a low voice, glancing to the side when Juliet knelt beside him with a frown.

"Yeah, they do," she said slowly.

Shawn rose, hand held out to help Juliet to her feet. "After you, Detective," he said with a playful grin, stepping aside to let her pass. Juliet shook her head, but smiled as she headed down the dirt trail.

They walked a couple of minutes deeper into the woods before stopping near a large oak tree where the marks ended.

"Why do they stop here?" Juliet wondered aloud, taking in her surroundings. Shawn did the same, the bright sunlight making him squint. He walked around the base of the tree, stopping suddenly to stare at something.

"Jules, over here."

Juliet rounded the tree and stopped to look around. "Did you find something?"

"I think so, yeah," Shawn said, crouched next to the tree. "The dirt here." His hand hovered over the ground. "There was a struggle."

Juliet frowned. "I think you're right. Look at these, two sets of tracks. Someone was digging their heels in the mud."

Shawn's eye caught the smallest glimmer of something a few feet away, and his hand began to shake.

"The spirits, Jules!" he cried, extending his arm all the way out and lurching his body in the direction of whatever lay hidden in the dirt. "There's something here!" He let out a couple of tired breaths and turned to Juliet with raised eyebrows.

Juliet rushed over, eyes fixed on the patch of dirt Shawn was leaning over. She brushed aside some leaves and covered her mouth. "Oh God," she gasped, a metal blade stained with blood staring back at her.

"Look." Shawn pointed behind them. "Looks like when the trail forks, one of them leads this way." Juliet turned to see the trail, barely visible under all the dirt, sticks and leaves, and nodded.

"I wonder if that's the only weapon," she said, focus returning to the bloody pocket knife. "I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for this drought or this evidence would have been long gone by now." She took out her cell phone and held it in the air for a signal.

Shawn kept looking around their new crime scene, going back around the tree to check out the drag marks again. His mind raced back through the corner's report and his memory showed him the body, and he was certain there weren't any other weapons. "The spirits don't think there are any other weapons, Jules."

"Well I'm going to try and find a signal so we can get Carlton and CSU up here. No offense to the spirits, but I'm not taking any chances," Juliet said, wandering off in search of service.

Mind racing, Shawn began to draw the facts out inside his head; a trail that split in different directions, drag marks, a knife and a dead body. He crouched down and brushed aside some leaves to get a better look at the drag marks. The man they found had on tennis shoes, but the marks look as if they were made by a shoe with a thicker heel.

"Hey Jules, there might be more than one body somewhere," Shawn said loudly when he heard Juliet's footsteps coming back towards him, but she didn't say anything. "Did you hear me?" he tried again, this time receiving only a soft moan in reply.

"Jules?" he called in confusion, making his way back to the other side of the tree. Juliet was sprawled out in the dirt, a small amount of blood trailing down the side of her head.

"Juliet!" He crashed to his knees beside Juliet's unconscious body and, with shaking hands, lightly wiped the blood away from her eye with his thumb. "What the hell-"

The rest of his sentence was lost in the loud echo of cold metal smashing into the side of his head.


Any thoughts you have are welcome. Thanks for reading.