Long time no see. These last few months really got away from me. Between writer's block, work being extremely busy, and some health issues (migraines suck) I haven't had as much time to write as I hoped. Plus this story is turning out much more complicated than I originally thought (good for you because that means it will be longer).
Hope you all enjoy this chapter despite the long wait. And happy Memorial Day!
Shawn spent the first two days after he was attacked in a feverish haze. His temperature spiked the first night and he woke up in sheets drenched with sweat with his whole body aching. Juliet wanted to take him back to the hospital but Shawn was lucid enough to argue against it. He had the antibiotics the doctor had prescribed and his temperature wasn't that high. His arm was a little swollen but the wound wasn't puffy or inflamed, just a little red. He hated hospitals, with their weird smell of sick people and antiseptic and people constantly threatening him with pointy things. He finally threatened to handcuff himself to the bed and swallow the key before Juliet gave in. Which was good, because in hindsight it would have been tricky to get the key back once he got better.
Juliet finally went to work and Shawn burrowed under the covers, only coming out when Gus or Juliet forced him to eat or drink something or he got too hot. Gus thought he should go back to the hospital too but Shawn had much more practice convincing his friend to go along with his plans. He could practically do it in his sleep, which was good because he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes opened. If he had the energy he might have wondered if maybe the two of them had a point but instead he burrowed deeper under the covers and shut out the world.
On the morning of day three, Shawn woke up alone in bed. He stretched his sore muscles and made a face at the clammy sheets wrapped around him. He hated being really sick. A little sick was fine; he could get people to do things for him and laze around and enjoy it. But being actually sick sucked.
He peeled the sheets off him and climbed out of bed. He should probably change them but first he wanted a shower. His skin felt sticky from dried sweat and he didn't want to imagine what his hair looked like.
As he headed for the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye. Damn, he had forgotten about the bandage on his arm. It was funny, really, since it was the stupid bite that had caused all this to begin with. He didn't want to fuss with changing the bandages, so he made a quick detour to the kitchen. He wrapped his arm with plastic wrap, hoping it would be enough to keep off the water. He rolled the tube around his arm several more times just to be safe before resuming his trek to the bathroom.
The hot shower felt great against his sore muscles and he wallowed in it much longer than he had planned. When he finally left the bathroom, he was squeaky clean and feeling better than he had in days. The plastic wrap was a little tricky to get off but had managed to keep most of the water out so he left the slightly damp bandage for now. As he was getting dressed, his stomach started to growl loudly. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten any solid food so he grabbed his phone and headed for the kitchen.
Being sick had apparently made him ravenous and he was on his third bowl of Lucky Charms when Gus called. "'allo?" he mumbled around a mouthful of cereal.
"It's impolite to answer the phone with your mouth full, Shawn."
Shawn shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth, making sure to crunch loudly. "It's also impolite to yell at someone getting over a major illness."
Gus sighed. "I guess if you're eating that means you're feeling better."
"Loads better," Shawn mumbled, scooping more cereal into his mouth. "I'm thinking of running a marathon."
He could practically hear Gus rolling his eyes. "Then you're good enough to go down to the station. The Chief wants to see us about something."
Shawn slurped up the rest of his cereal and put the bowl in the sink. "You think this is about Baker?" Juliet hadn't said anything to him but she also hadn't mentioned anything work related while he was sick.
"She didn't say. I just know she called me this morning after Juliet said you were feeling better."
"And how do you know what Juliet told her?" Shawn asked, getting annoyed. He hated when people talked about him behind his back.
"We've both been worried about you and she wanted me to know you seemed to be doing better."
"Well, you can both stop worrying now. I feel fine," Shawn said irritably.
"Good. I'll see you in ten minutes."
Shawn hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket. Gus must have been pretty sure he was well enough to head down to the station if he was already that close. That, or Gus thought what the Chief had for them was important enough to drag him still somewhat sick from the house. He stared out the window as he recalled every conversation he had had with Juliet the last couple of days, trying to figure out what was going on.
Juliet's cat Snowball walked into the room and over to his food bowl. He sniffed at the dry food before looking up at Shawn and crying piteously.
Shawn rolled his eyes and pulled a small dish out of the cabinet. "Do not tell Jules I'm doing this for you. She hates when I feed you guys extra." He grabbed a can of cat food and dumped it on the plate.
Snowball jumped on the counter, too eager to get the food to wait on the floor. When he was a couple feet from Shawn, he stopped, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What? Don't like this flavor?' He pushed the plate closer to the cat.
Snowball hissed and scrambled back from the plate. He fell off the counter with an inelegant thud and ran from the room as if hell-hounds were chasing him.
"Weird," Shawn muttered. He put the plate on the floor next to the dry food, figuring the cat might want it later after it got over his strange panic attack.
A horn honked outside. Putting aside the cat's weird behavior for now, he headed out to meet Gus.
Shawn bounded into the station, Gus struggling to keep up with him. "Slow down," his friend complained.
Shawn turned to face him, walking backwards into the heart of the station. "Can't. I've been stuck in bed for too long and now I got to move." He did a little improvised dance step and crashed into someone.
Hands caught his shoulders and steadied him until he caught his balance. "Are you okay?"
Shawn turned and a strange smell immediately assaulted. He inhaled deeply trying to figure out what it was. It reminded Shawn of when he and Gus had tried to start a dog walking business, though none of those dogs had ever rampaged through a spice shop. It was overwhelming and he quickly turned his head to sneeze.
"Cover your nose when you sneeze, Shawn," Gus said, narrowly avoiding the spray.
"Sorry," Shawn said, rubbing his nose.
"Shawn Spencer?" He turned back to the woman who he had run in to, who was looking at him speculatively. She glanced at his arm, then back up at her face. "You're looking much better than the last time I saw you."
It took a moment for Shawn to place her but he eventually recalled the two officers who had dragged Baker off. "It was merely a flesh wound," he proclaimed in a fake British accent.
The woman, Officer Monroe according to her name tag, smiled. "Well, I'm glad. Too bad about Baker though. He would have been a lot of help on the case." Another officer called her name and she waved at him. "I have to go. It was a nice seeing you again."
"Did you hear that?" Shawn asked quietly as she walked away. "Something happened to Baker."
"Yeah," Gus said, equally as quiet. "That would explain why Vick wanted you down here so soon."
"Let's find Jules and Lassie." Glancing around the station, he soon zeroed in on his two favorite detectives. Gus again struggled to keep up as he quickly crossed the floor to them. "Jules!" he cried, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend.
"Great, the puffing chew toy is back," Lassiter grumbled. "Looking for someone else to gnaw on your other arm to match?"
"Carlton, be nice," Juliet admonished. "Though you can let me go now Shawn."
"Not yet," Shawn said, inhaling deeply. Juliet smelled so good, like pineapple and sunshine. "Did you steal my shampoo this morning?" he asked, taking another hearty whiff.
"Um, no." Juliet tried to push him away. "Shawn, not here," she hissed.
Blinking at her, he noticed how red her face was getting. "Sorry," he said, quickly taking a step back. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, not sure what had come over him. Gus was the one who creepily sniffed the ladies.
"Are you alright?" Juliet asked quietly. "You look better but if you're not feeling up for this. . ."
"I'm fine," Shawn said quickly. "Definitely up for whatever you need me for."
"We stopped for donuts on the way here," Gus explained. "He may be experiencing a sugar rush."
Juliet raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't get me one?"
Shawn ducked his head. "I may have eaten it."
"If you're done molesting my partner, the Chief want to see us," Lassiter said. He brushed past Shawn to get to the office and Shawn picked up the scent of gunpowder. The detective must be tense if he's hitting the gun range this early in the morning.
Vick was waiting for them behind her desk, a serious expression on her face. "Please sit. Detectives, I know you're aware of the situation but I need to get Mr. Spencer and Mr. Guster up to speed."
Shawn sat down next to Gus and immediately hissed, curling in on himself with a hand to his head. "I'm getting something. I'm seeing a dog, a scruffy, mangy looking dog that not even the kindest hearted animal lover would adopt. But wait!" He stood up and waved an arm. "Not a dog, a man. But a man who acts like a dog. I'm getting sharp teeth and a thirst for blood." He got down on all fours and started growling. Gus jumped. He guessed he had gotten pretty good at his dog growls.
"Spencer! Stop messing around. This is serious!" Lassiter snapped.
Shawn stopped growling. "Something's wrong. I'm not sensing the man nearby anymore." He looked up at Gus and whimpered. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." Gus gently pat the top of his head. It felt kind of good. He leaned into Gus's leg until Vick cleared her throat.
Shawn shook himself and slowly stood up. He scratched the side of his head. "I think I have fleas."
"How could you get fleas from pretending to be a dog?" Lassiter asked.
Shawn rolled his eyes. "I was channeling a dog like spirit, so obviously they are spirit fleas." He frowned. "I wonder if a regular flea bath would work. Maybe I'll need a spirit flea bath."
"Was there a point to that, Mr. Spencer?" Vick asked cut in before the argument escalated further. She sounded annoyed but there was a speculative glint in her eyes.
Watching Juliet out of the corner of her eye, he said, "The spirits are saying something happened to Baker." When his girlfriend exchanged a look with Lassiter and didn't look his way, he confirmed his suspicion.
Vick sighed. "Take a seat." Once he had, she handed him a file. "We found Baker strangled in his cell a few hours after his arrest."
"He was attacked here?" Shawn asked in surprise. He had suspected Baker had escaped or been forced to be released over a technicality. Flipping through the file, he paused on a picture of Baker lying on the floor of the cell, staring vacantly at the ceiling. "His door was still locked," he murmured.
Vick nodded. "Someone strangled him through the bars of his cell."
Shawn glanced over at Gus. This was getting strange. "What about the security tapes?"
Vick waved at Lassiter. "Detective?"
"A figure approximately 5'5" entered the station at 3:14 pm in jeans and a dark blue sweater with the hood up to obscure their face. A few minutes later, he entered the jail cell and strangled Baker. A couple minutes after that we caught him on the camera over the back entrance near the morgue." Lassiter shook his head. "Not once did he let his face get caught on camera."
"Sounds like someone didn't want Baker to talk," Gus said.
Lassiter nodded. "The timing is too coincidental. The first time we leave Baker alone someone kills him? He definitely knew something about those murders."
"I'd like to see those tapes for myself," Shawn said.
Lassiter grumbled but Vick cut him off with a look. "I'll have the tech people set it up for you." She stood up and everyone quickly copied her.
"Right now?" Shawn asked in surprise. Usually he wasn't shown evidence so easily.
"Yes, now," Vick said irritably. "I want this killer caught, Mr. Spencer. Unless you have something better to do?"
"No ma'am," he said quickly. Vick really wanted to get this guy but he could understand why. Someone had come onto her turf and committed a crime and she couldn't let that stand. He didn't feel much differently. He wasn't a cop but he was still part of the department and didn't like the idea of someone being killed where they should have been safe.
Shawn ended up walking next to Juliet on the way to the AV room. "You knew," he said softly.
Juliet sighed. "You were sick. We didn't want you to know about the case until you were better. We both know you would have tried to get involved no matter how badly you were feeling." She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I wanted you to be safe."
"I still should have known," Shawn muttered but squeezed her hand back. He probably would have done the same in her position and he really couldn't complain about her keeping things from him. She had mostly forgiven him for keeping his real abilities secret from her but he wasn't about to say something that might change her mind.
The audio-visual room was a bit tight with everyone in there but he made sure to get a spot upfront by the screen. "All we need now is some popcorn and red vines."
"And Raisinets," Gus added.
"The last thing you two need is sugar," Lassiter muttered.
"Quiet down everyone." Vick nodded at the tech standing next to her. "Play the footage, Randall."
All joking aside, Shawn studied the screen carefully. They had a shot of their suspect entering the station and a few glimpses of him as he snuck down the hallways. Next time he was clearly visible was by the holding cells.
Johnson walked out and less than a minute later their suspect entered. Baker got up from where he had been lounging on his cot. Reacting to a stranger or did Baker know the suspect? It would be something to look into. The suspect stood in front of the cell and said something. Baker snarled back an answer and started to turn away. Almost too quick for Shawn to see, the suspect had Baker up against the bars and was tugging on something around his neck.
Shawn tapped Randall's shoulder. "Can you play that again? But slower this time?"
Randall fiddled with his keyboard for a moment then restarted the scene. This time, Shawn could see how the bars shook as Baker was slammed against them and how the suspect, despite being shorter, was pulling up hard enough on his neck that Baker's feet barely touched the floor.
Even in slow motion, the whole thing was over very quickly. The suspect exited the room, leaving Baker lying dead on the floor. The next, and last, glimpse they had of him was when he exited the back door near the morgue.
"Can I see that again?" Shawn asked. There was something about their suspect that he couldn't quite put a finger on. He was hoping a second viewing would help him figure it out.
"No problem." Randal queued up the video again and let it play. This time Shawn caught what he missed the first time and stared contemplatively at the screen when the footage was finished.
"Well Mr. Spencer? Did you discover anything," Vick asked at last.
Shawn turned to face the group. "I'm sensing that the killer was a woman."
"Are you crazy?" Lassiter snapped. "This person managed to subdue and strangle a 180 pound man who was locked in a cell. No woman is strong enough to do that."
"So woman are weak, is that it?" Juliet asked icily.
Lassiter grimaced, realizing his mistake. "Not all woman. But all the signs point to this being a professional. Women tend to prefer poisons for assassinations."
Juliet crossed her arms. "Oh, so now you're being sexist."
"I'm not," Lassiter protested. He turned to Vick. "Chief, what is your opinion?"
"I think you could have phrased things better," Vick said, giving Lassiter a look, "but I agree that our killer was probably a man."
Shawn hated the smug look of confidence on Lassiter's face. "Come on, do you know any guys that short and slim? And you can see her long hair poking out from under the hood."
"Men can have long hair too," Lassiter said, sounding as if the words sickened him.
"Jules agrees with me. Right, sweetie?" Shawn asked, turning to his girlfriend.
Juliet glanced at Lassiter. "Despite how insensitive my partner is, I have to agree with him. Most women do not have the upper body strength to strangle a man that size, especially under those circumstances."
"Gus?"
His friend shrugged. "Sorry dude."
"Was there anything else, Mr. Spencer?" Vick asked.
Shawn hesitated. If his suspicions were right, this could be big. Because of that, he needed to make sure before he said anything. "No, but I might be able to sense more if I could see the crime scene."
"People have been in and out of the holding cells for the last three days," Lassiter said. "Chief, this is a waste of time. I have some real leads I should be following up on."
"I can show Shawn," Juliet volunteered. "I'll help Lassiter when I'm done."
Vick nodded. "If you determine anything, let me know right away," she said, giving Shawn a look.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Shawn snapped, throwing a sloppy salute.
Lassiter rolled his eyes and pushed his way out of the room. Vick followed with more politeness.
"You don't need to baby sit us, Jules," Shawn said once they left. "Gus and I know where the holding cells are."
"You are not supposed to be wandering around the station." She held up a hand. "And don't tell me that you do. I don't want to know."
The holding cells were around the corner from the AV room. Juliet led the way there then stepped back to let the two men examine the room.
Shawn walked up to the cell Baker had been in. Up close, he realized how short the person on the video had to be. She (he was convinced it was a she) was almost as short as Juliet. A quick glance around and he had seen all he needed to. "Let's go."
"That's it?" Gus asked in surprise. "We just got here."
Shawn pointed to his head. "Everything's already up here. Not that there is much left to see." He walked over to the Juliet. "She exited the door Woody usually brings the bodies in, right?"
Juliet at least didn't correct him. "That's right."
"Then follow me."
Exiting the holding cells, he turned toward the morgue. He started down a hallway, then stopped and backtracked. "Nope, this way." At the next turn, he glanced down both ways before taking the one on the left. After a long, convoluted path, they reached the back door.
"Was there any reason we had to take the longest way here?" Gus asked in annoyance.
Shawn pointed to a camera at the end of the hallway. "Whoever this person is, they managed to avoid almost all the security cameras to get here. She must have been moving quickly to get out before the alarm was sounded."
"He," Gus insisted.
Shawn ignored him. Pushing open the door, he stepped outside. He glanced up at the camera pointed at the door then around at the parking lot. "Is that the only camera out here?"
Juliet nodded. "Lassiter is fighting to get a few more to provide coverage of the parking lot."
"Is that like closing the doors after the dog escapes?" Shawn asked.
"The phrase is closing the barn door after the horse escapes," Gus corrected.
"Not if you're at Eric Gladstone's birthday party."
Gus glared at him. "I knew that was you! I had to spend four hours helping him find Buddy!"
"The important thing is that I provided you a great bonding experience that left you friends."
"He stole my first girlfriend."
"Guys, can we focus," Juliet cut in. "Shawn, did you figure out anything new?"
"Nothing substantial." Juliet looked skeptical, so he added, "As soon as I have something concrete I'll bring it to you and Lassie."
"You'd better Shawn. IA is already making noise about taking over this investigation. This is the second time in the past few years a prisoner has been killed in those holding cells."
"At least this time they can't blame Lassiter," Shawn pointed out. Lassiter had been in the middle of the station in clear view of a dozen officers when Baker was killed.
"No, but they can blame him if he doesn't find the killer soon," she said worriedly.
Shawn put a comforting hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "We'll get him Jules. Don't worry."
Juliet reached up and grabbed his hand. "I hope you're right." She gave him a quick kiss then stepped back. "I need to go help Carlton. If we come up with anything, we'll call you."
"Likewise." Juliet headed back inside and Shawn and Gus walked around the station back to the Blueberry.
"So what did you really figure out?" Gus asked.
"Later," Shawn said. "I'm still mulling things over. First we need to replenish ourselves." He looked over at his friend as they reached the car. "Chocolate banana pancakes at Benny's?"
Gus grinned. "You know that's right."
Minx peered over the top of her book. From her position, she could see the front of the Psych office and just make out the two men currently inside. She turned a page and sighed. Surveillance was such boring work.
Someone thumped down heavily on the bench behind her. "You're going to give us away," she said, not glancing up from her book.
"Relax. There is no way his puny human vision could make out this bench from there, let alone who is sitting on it." Admiral nudged her arm. "Pass me the chips."
Minx passed him the bag and closed her book. "That's assuming he is still human."
"Have you seen anything that would suggest otherwise?" Admiral asked. He grabbed the bag of M&M's next to her and poured out a handful.
She snatched her candy back. "Well, he's putting food away like he's one of us," she said, eyeing Admiral distastefully. They may turn into beasts but that was no excuse to eat like an animal. It was hard to believe Admiral had the best table manners in the pack, besides herself of course. "Though his friend was eating almost as much as he was."
"Anything else?"
Minx shrugged. "He's very observant of his surroundings but according to his file he was like that already."
A man pushing a churro cart passed the Psych office. A few seconds later, Spencer exited and headed after him.
"He has good taste," Admiral commented. "That food smells heavenly."
Minx privately agreed but there were more important things in life than food. "Is that all you think about?" she teased.
Admiral huffed. "I've seen you put away just as much as the rest of us." He reached over and grabbed her book. "What are you reading?" Minx snatched it back but it was too late. "Werewolves again? You know they get everything wrong."
"They sometimes get things right," Minx said defensively. "They almost always have the silver weakness."
Admiral waved at the book in her hands. "Well, I don't care if we are supernatural beings. Guys can't get pregnant. Why do you even read that stuff?"
Minx shoved the book into her bag, trying not to blush. "None of your business," she snapped. She turned away to look at Spencer, ignoring Admiral.
Admiral pushed her shoulder gently. "I'm just teasing, Minx. Stop taking things so personal."
Spencer was thanking the churro man for his food. The vender seemed to enjoy talking to him. By all accounts, Spencer was a very friendly man and made allies easily. A useful type of person to have. Spencer waved at the churro man as he walked of and glanced along the boardwalk. His gaze paused at their bench.
"Do you think he sees us?" Minx asked quietly.
"Not from this distance," Admiral said, though there was doubt in his voice.
Spencer watched them a few seconds longer than turned to walk back to his office.
"Keep a close eye on this one," Admiral said. "If he has indeed changed, we need to get to him first."
Minx snorted. "That will be tough with that bitch at the police station."
"I have faith in you." Admiral patted her shoulder as he stood up. "Good luck."
Minx watched him go before grabbing the book back out of her bag and a bag of pretzels. She owed the pack a lot, Admiral in particular. She wouldn't let them down.
Shawn took a big bite of his churro as he walked back to his desk. "These are really good today," he mumbled.
"Stop talking with your mouth full," Gus said, sounding like a tiresome parent. "And how can you possibly still be hungry?"
"I'm a growing boy, Gus. I need nourishment." He took another bite of his churro and hummed happily.
"You're going to end up with a stomachache," Gus said. "Don't think I'll baby you like Juliet does."
"Wouldn't dream of it." He shoved the rest of the pastry in his mouth and balled up the wrapper. Taking careful aim, he tossed it through the hoop over the garbage can. "Score!" he garbled out, giving Gus a thumbs up.
Gus rolled his eyes. "If you're finally done eating, we should talk about the case."
Shawn grabbed a water bottle off his desk and took a swig to clear his mouth. "Yeah, about that," he said, not looking at Gus. "Ithinkitwasaninsidejob."
Gus raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"
Shawn put the water bottle down and leaned against his desk facing Gus. "Whoever this person is made sure never to let their face appear on camera and knew which hallways had cameras on them by the back entrance." Shawn shrugged. "Either a cop was helping them or they are a cop."
Gus frowned. "That's pretty serious. Are you sure?"
Shawn nodded. "Pretty sure. It wouldn't be the first dirty cop we've come across."
Gus sighed. "That's messed up."
"You're telling me," Shawn muttered, picking at his bandage. It was why he hadn't said anything at the station. Despite what people thought, he had learned over the years not to blurt out every suspicion he had. Who knows who could have been listening?
Gus made a face. "You really should change that."
Shawn looked at his arm. Sure, the bandage was more gray than white and there was a syrup stain in one corner but it didn't look too bad. "It can wait."
"It's going to end up infected again if you don't keep the bandage clean." Gus went over to the closet and pulled out their monstrous first aid kit. Shawn thought it was overkill but Gus insisted they would one day need everything in it.
Gus grabbed a handful of bandages, medical tape, creams, and other things Shawn didn't recognize and shoved it into his arms. "Go change it."
"But Gus – "
Gus raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to call Juliet?"
Shawn glared at him. "No," he said sullenly. Clutching the medical supplies to his chest, he went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. He hated being blackmailed. Threatening to call Juliet was almost as bad as threatening to call his dad.
Dumping everything in the sink, he studied the bandage on his arm. Pulling the tape off was going to sting. "Might as well get it over with," he said, carefully peeling up one side of the bandage and bracing himself. He yanked it off, letting out a yelp of pain before he could stop himself.
"Everything okay?" Gus called through the door.
"Fine," Shawn ground out. He held his arm to his chest, waiting for the stinging pain to pass. This was why he had avoided changing the bandage this morning. Once his arm felt less like he had removed the top layer of skin, he stretched it out in front of him so he could look at the wound.
He felt his jaw drop. "No way."
The stitches were still in his arm but all that was left of the bite wound was angry red jagged line. It looked a couple weeks old but the bite had happened only three days ago. He carefully poked the wound just in case this was some kind of hallucination. It still hurt but more at the bruise pain level instead of the 'someone recently took a chunk out of my arm' pain level.
Digging around in the cabinet behind the mirror, he found a small pair of scissors. He carefully cut and removed the stitches (something he had learned how to do during a three week stint as an assistant in a vet's office). He flexed his arm, feeling only a small amount of pain as the wound stretched.
He jumped when Gus' voice sounded through the door. "Are you done yet, Shawn?"
"Just a sec." He looked down at his arm and frowned. He didn't know why the bite had healed so quickly but whatever the reason he didn't think people should know. He could too vividly recall dozens of science fiction movies where someone exhibited strange healing powers and they always ended up on the run from the government or being experimented on. He ripped open a couple of large bandages and awkwardly taped them to his arm, being carefully to keep the entire cut covered. He made sure the stitches were hidden in the discarded packaging and purposefully left a mess on the counter to distract Gus.
He opened the door and strolled out past a worried looking Gus. "All done," he said, holding up his arm as he walked back to his desk.
Gus looked into the bathroom and sighed in disgust. "You could have cleaned up after yourself," he grumbled, going in to gather up the leftover medical supplies.
"But I'm injured, Gus. Are you saying you won't help out a cripple?" Shawn said with a pout as he sat down at his desk.
"Your other arm works fine." Gus dumped the extra supplies into the first aid kit and glared at him. "Don't think I don't know you are going to milk this for all it's worth."
"Me? Never," Shawn said innocently.
Gus snorted as he sat at his desk. "Whatever, Shawn." He opened his laptop, signaling the end of the conversation.
Shawn hid a satisfied grin as he turned to his own laptop. Gus was too easy to distract. The real challenge would be to keep Juliet from wanting to help change his bandages for the next few weeks until his arm had 'healed.'
He frowned down thoughtfully at his arm. Healing was great but he hoped there weren't going to be any surprise side effects along with it. Glancing at Gus to make sure he wasn't watching, he opened a second browser window. He had some research to do.
The next chapter is in the editing stages, so I hope to have it up soon. Just as long as life doesn't interfere again (sigh). If you like the way things are going to far or have any suggestions, please leave a review. I may take a while to answer but I do read every one and they mean a lot to me.
