Chapter 2: The revelations

Jules paced in the police department waiting for Chief Karen Vick to come in. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell the chief, but she knew it would be easier than telling Shawn's father, Henry, that his son might possibly be dead. Lassiter had told her, and the paramedics on the scene had confirmed, that with the amount of blood loss Shawn had experienced, if he hadn't gotten medical attention shortly after, he would be dead. She couldn't bear to think of that scenario. Shawn had to be alive.

The chief walked in, closely followed by Lassiter. "Good morning, detective. Let's talk in my office and you both can tell me exactly what happened." She shut the door and closed the blinds, then sat in her chair. "I understand Shawn Spencer is missing?" Jules nodded and proceeded to tell Chief Vick what Gus had told her, with Lassiter interjecting here and there. When they were done, the chief just sat there, stunned.

"And no one has informed his father, I assume?" Lassiter and O'Hara traded looks. "I'll take that as a no. I expect you both to go right away to let him know. Despite it being…" She looked at the clock and groaned. "…3 am. He would like to know." The detectives nodded and left.

A doorbell ringing at 3:30 in the morning sent a chill up Henry Spencer's spine. He hoped it was a wrong number or someone looking for their cat, but he knew in his gut something was wrong. He threw a robe on and ran downstairs. Seeing the detectives standing there with grim expressions told him what he needed to know, and all he could ask was, "…How?"

Jules quickly piped up, "We don't know that he's really dead, Mr. Spencer. At this point it's all speculation." Henry didn't look relieved. He motioned for the detectives to come in and they sat around the living room as Jules once again told the story.

Shawn wasn't sure how much time had passed from the time he'd been shot to his current waking state. They had him so doped up on pain killers and tranquilizers he spent most of his time in a blurred dream. This time was the most lucid he had felt in a while and took advantage of it to take in his surroundings. His room was bare, rectangular, with brick walls and a tiny window placed just under the ceiling opposite the door. Other than his bed and IV stand, there was nothing in the room. He looked down at his body. They had straps holding him down at the wrists, chest, and legs. He had no idea how they thought someone in his state could be a potential escapee. As he tested the straps, he felt the pain in his shoulder and abdomen. It was dulled heavily by the pain killers but it was still there.

The door quickly opened and there was a woman dressed in blue scrubs, her dirty blond hair tied up in a bun. "Good afternoon, Mr. Spencer." Her voice was chipper and bright and Shawn wasn't sure if he found it a nice touch after so much darkness, or just really annoying. He tried to think of something witty to say, but nothing came to mind.

"Hi." He managed to say. "So you know my name, but what's yours?" She flashed him a smile, showing almost too perfect white teeth.

"You can call me Meredith. I'm just here to check on how you're doing." She walked over to his IV and noted he still had plenty left before the bag change. "How are you feeling?"

"Still groggy but better."

"Yes, sorry about that. You'll gradually get less groggy. We're starting to cut back on your meds since it's been… oh, about 2 weeks now? You did have us worried there for a while!" Shawn stared at her in shock.

"2 weeks? I've been out for 2 weeks?" Meredith nodded. It looked like a lightbulb went off in Shawn's head and he blurted, "Gus! How is Gus? I saw him get shot!"

Meredith's smile dimmed. "Um, I think he's doing good. They don't really let us have contact with the outside. You're lucky you're psychic or they wouldn't have put so much effort into saving you. They must have some plan for you!" Shawn looked confused. "Oh, right, you don't have any idea still where you are or anything. Tell me what you do know."

Shawn closed his eyes and thought back. "Ok, Gus and I were following this smuggling ring for weeks, and we finally caught up with them. They were stealing crates of different electronic materials, as well as chemicals. I assumed bombs." Meredith giggled.

"Bombs? That is a good guess, but incorrect. I can't really tell you what's going on, but it's much more complex than that. If they do decide to use you, you will be told what you need to know, nothing more." She turned as if to leave, then paused. "Before I go, there is one thing I must check. Are you really psychic?" She reached out and put a hand to his head before he could think, and he was suddenly flung into darkness again. He heard a cold laugh.

"Oh, Shawn. You have the capability, always have, but you've never had it opened. Let me help you." He suddenly felt something *snap* in his head. "There you go. If you need any help, let me know." By the time he could see again, she was gone and he was so exhausted sleep overtook him again.

A little over two weeks had gone by and Jules hadn't given up hope. They had been searching every unmarked white van, every warehouse, but the smuggling ring and Shawn had completely vanished. She was sitting at her desk at home and remembered what the chief had mentioned that day.

"You know we can't continue to keep looking as hard as we are, we're getting behind in paperwork and the case loads are starting to get a little out of hand. We've had no leads, not even a sign, of these smugglers or Shawn. Until we do, I'm afraid I'm going to have to have you start on another case, detectives." Lassiter was silent but O'Hara protested.

"Chief, we can't just give up! This is Shawn!" Karen looked like she'd been losing sleep over the matter and replied tiredly.

"I know, O'Hara. We aren't giving up, it's just getting moved back a bit. If he's still alive I'm sure he'll let us know when he can." Jules was not satisfied with that. If he's still alive… Those words echoed in her mind. What if he wasn't? The panic and depression she'd been pushing back welled up in her and consumed her as she sobbed into her arms on the desk.

Shawn woke up in a rush. He'd just dreamt about Jules and she was sobbing about him… being dead? He shook his head. They can't believe that already, can they…? The thought that his friends might think him dead brought a new fear into his mind. No chance for rescue. He had to somehow get them to keep looking. But how? He knew his dad wouldn't give him, even if he thought Shawn was dead. He'd want at least the body. That brought little comfort to Shawn. What about Gus? Shawn knew his best friend wouldn't give up either.

The door opened and Meredith came in, fear on her face. "I'm sorry, Shawn…" She whispered hoarsely. Following her were many men in black body armor carrying large guns. Shawn suddenly got his first real vision, as he saw them chaining him in a small dark cell.

"Hey guys," Shawn tried sounding cheerful, but the men didn't react at all. Shawn continued to ramble silly banter as they wheeled his bed out the door and down the hall. Halfway down the hall he started faltering as fear started gripping him more. He blurted, "So where are we going? Some dark, dank cell where you guys are going to chain me up and torture me?" A few of the men exchanged glances, which told Shawn he was right. Shawn groaned inwardly. There had to be a reason for it. Maybe if he cooperated fully, they wouldn't be so hard on him.

They stopped at a door and unstrapped Shawn, taking out his IV. After having not really moved for so long, Shawn collapsed as soon as his feet hit the floor. "Whoa, sorry there, looks like I need to get back in shape!" He smiled at his captors despite the pins and needles he was suddenly feeling. His captors pretended he was just a rag doll and half carried, half dragged Shawn into the room and through another door. This time he was in the cell he had seen. They brought him to a bench at the edge of the room and left him. Despite it having been over two weeks, Shawn was still feeling pain in his abdomen, more than he thought he should be. He laid down to relieve the pain and contemplated what was going to happen next.

A sudden thought made him sit up, then groan. If he had been able to actually see the future, he wondered if he could somehow psychically tell Jules he was ok. He laid back down and thought about her. He thought about the way her lips were, her gentle happy eyes… Suddenly he saw her. She was just getting out of bed, her hair a mess. Seeing her brought such a longing to him, he just wanted to hug her and hold her, and be held by her. He tried speaking, but no sound came out. He seemed unable to move as well. So he pushed his thoughts and feelings toward her as best as he could figure out how, all his love, the pain of not being able to comfort her. At first nothing happened and Shawn's face fell, but then Jules turned sharply towards him.

"Shawn? Is that you?" She ran through the dark room, through Shawn, and stopped. "Oh Juliet…" She whispered. "What are you doing to yourself?" She sobbed and Shawn suddenly lost his grip and found himself back in the cell. He brought his knees carefully to his chest and cried.