This seems procedural, but it isn't. Just a heads up.

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When Shawn Spencer returned to the station for the umpteenth- and as per his decision, last- time in the two previous weeks, he had essentially given up all hope. He trekked into the chief's office without a glance at the seat he hoped would've been filled. "Any cases?" He asked dejectedly, not really expecting much of an answer.

He watched Karen watch him, noted the pity in her eyes- but ignored it for the most part. He knew that she knew that this whole situation was taking a toll on him and it he knew that she knew that he wasn't actually asking for a case.

However, he also knew that she knew that he wouldn't turn one down and would likely solve it quickly with nothing better to do. She handed him a file. "Bank heist. Classy work. Took all the trackers out of fake stacks-"

"Well, duh." He said, as if it were totally obvious. "That's what I would do." She gave him a look.

"In and out in the middle of the day."

"Hm." He sounded impressed. "Different. Do we have a description?"

"No. No one has any idea how he got in."

"Surveillance cameras?"

"No one out of the ordinary. Several employees but we checked them all out. All people buzzed in at the door were on payroll. They were all buzzed in and out at the door."

"Well, that doesn't mean much." Shawn said with a scoff.

"What do you mean?"

"Chief, this is ABC bank, their security is child's play. Pun intended." He scrutinized the file. "I could walk in there, say, 'I'm robbing you now,' and rob them without so much as an innocent bystander calling it in. Can I see the tape?"

"I don't see why not." She picked up her remote and pressed play towards the TV in the corner of her office. As black and white filled the screen, Shawn rolled his eyes.

"It's a freaking VCR. No ibank/i should still be using VCR's as their primary security detail. There's one guard there." He pointed to the screen, and Karen nodded. She could definitely understand the severity of the need for an update.

He motioned to Karen for the remote and he fast forwarded until someone stopped at the gate. They were buzzed through. Shawn fast forwarded. "Not her. Not him. Not him. Not her. Not him. Not her. Not her. Wait!" he reeled the tape back, vaulting to his feet. He watched the video from a kneeled position in front of the tv. Pausing once that particular man had been buzzed through, he stood, smiling, before waltzing back to the chief and the file in her hands. He noticed her notice his change in demeanor, but decided to ignore it. "The desk attendant. What was her name?"

"Alicia Rivers. Why?"

"Because, at… 11:32, Alicia Rivers used her card to get him through that gate. Tell me, Chief, what time did John Deere here get admitted?"

"…11:32…"

"Here's my guess. You see how he stops and talks to her for a while? He's not exchanging pleasantries with a friend at all, no, he's introducing himself as a new hire. He swipes his card, it doesn't work. So he passes it off as first day glitches. She swipes her ID and in he goes."

"But the vault is locked electronically, he'd need an ID to get in there, too."

Shawn waved her off. "The employees there keep their ID's clipped to their waist, it's really easy to snatch it, even if you aren't a conman- which I suspect this guy is. Now I don't know John Joseph's name but I know that he is the one that stole the money."

"Impressive, Spencer. Now for why you're really here." She noticed his shift immediately, with him slouching in his chair and giving her a look.

"Why, I'm here to solve your case." Shawn replied halfheartedly, knowing that forgoing the theatrics of a psychic vision gave him away, but deciding not to care for the time being. She stared at him, and he stared right back, begging her to say what was on your mind. "I have all day, Chief."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I don't do much." Karen pulled her lips to the side in thought before turning to the files with a pen in hand. iPulling names./i Shawn thought. "So what happened with her?" She said lightly.

"Who do you speak of?" Shawn said tiredly, growing agitated, rubbing his hands roughly over his face.

"Shawn…"

He held up a hand. "Please don't concern yourself, Chief."

"I don't know what happened, but I know something happened, and if you aren't going to tell me, that's fine, but I won't have it affecting your work."

"I just gave you a definite lead on a case."

"Yes, minus the theatrics, which are really the only reason I can legally keep you around, so long as you keep up this shtick. So get out of my station, and don't come back until you're psychic again." She gazed up at him from behind her reading glasses and smirked at his dropped jaw.

"Aye aye, Captain." He stated blandly, looking at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Out." She pointed at the door and he obliged, backing out, still keeping his eyes on her, honest to goodness flabbergasted. He was so distracted, he didn't notice someone coming at him at a ninety degree angle with their head buried in a pile of files, not paying attention.

They slammed into each other, Shawn landing right on his ass, staring at the ceiling, the other party's face/body covered in paper. "Shit!" he heard a female voice say. His immediate instinct was to get up and help her, but as soon as he made a move to stand, his back and butt screamed in protest.

"Yeah, that's not happening." He mumbled. His eyes closed almost all the way, so all he could see were blurry figures milling around and the one standing directly over him, ruffling her papers.

"What the hell were you think-" she stopped in her tracks. "Shawn?" He opened his eyes to see a very perturbed, very itan/i, Juliet O'Hara.

He closed his eyes, sarcastically thanking the irony gods. "Falling for me, are we, O'Hara?" He coughed and sputtered, only just noticing that the wind had been knocked out of him. He got his eyes open long enough to access the detective's mortification, as exemplified by the pink tint to her cheeks.

"You could say that." She stepped over to him and offered him her hand with a Mona Lisa-esque smile on her face. He briefly considered kissing it, but ruled it out as her blush persisted. Juliet wasn't one to blush. It threw him a bit. He took her hand, and together, they got him up. He wordlessly helped her pick up the remaining papers on the floor, before handing them to her. She walked to her desk, which- Shawn noticed- was surprisingly… messy, for presumably only returning to the states a day or two ago. He followed her over, but stayed a good distance away from her personal bubble, for good measure. She didn't look up at him, even when he cleared his throat, in case she hadn't noticed him. He pulled a chair over from a neighboring desk and sat down, backwards on it.

"So, uh, how was the trip?" That caught her attention. She looked up at him, an expression of innocent blankness cloaking her face.

She swallowed and her eye brows crinkled as she lowered herself into her chair, coming down to match Shawn's eye level as she searched for the right word. "Short." She looked down and cleared her throat, reverting her attention to her computer. Shawn leaned forward, catching her guilty eye momentarily.

"What? And? Did you party hardy? Like it was 1999? Until you dropped?" She laughed lightly and looked down momentarily before looking up into his silently pleading eyes.

"My vacation with Declan was short." And it clicked. His face relaxed a bit into uncertainty.

"Um." He swallowed. "Why?"

She opened her mouth to speak a few times, rather unsuccessfully. "Shawn, I…" She looked down, her feelings obvious.

"Yeah, okay, sorry, I'm just gonna… gonna go. I'll uh, I'll see you around." He stood and turned to go, waiting for the sound of the scrape of chair legs to indicate her movement, but it didn't come. He turned around and saw her looking at him, mouth agape.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you. And he could tell. So I told him... I told him what happened with, with us. And I broke up with him. And I came home. And I still couldn't get you out of my head." Shawn smiled coyly and took slow steps to her desk. But she backed up at an equal pace. "But I want to." He stopped cold. "I'm sorry, Shawn. I just can't." She turned and pretended to be busy with a file on another detective's desk.

"Can't what?" He snapped, quietly.

"Do this." She turned around to face him, all bad cop, not a glimmer in her eye.

"Do what, Jules, do what?" He stepped around her desk and she turned, file in hand, and walked away from him. He followed.

"Us. It would never work." He scoffed.

"How can you know if you never try?"

"I mean it Shawn. It can't happen. It will never, ever, happen." Her voice broke towards the end of the statement, and that is the only thing that stopped Shawn from following her down the stairs. She jogged down the stairs two at a time, and he noticed her wipe at her eyes as she turned, en route to the file room.

He leaned against the nearest wall, and closed his eyes for a moment before bouncing off of it, and out of the police station.

That was the last time anyone in Santa Barbara saw Shawn Spencer for a very long time.

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Author Note:

When I started this little drabble several months ago, I had planned to have Juliet and Shawn get together, ya know. But I don't remember ever seeing a shules story that doesn't end happily, so I just thought I would do it. My instincts are fighting me 456789% though, if it makes you feel better. Sorry 3