Hello lovelys!

I keep alternating between really liking this story and feeling like it's too boring… thing is I know at the very least, last couple chapters are going to be high paced… I don't know. (these are all notes as I'm writing this, so who know, maybe once I've finished I'll be in love with it!) Anyways, let me know what you think! Please review!

When Shawn woke up the next morning, his thoughts immediately went back to the young boy he saw the day before. He hoped that he had gotten the hint and had taken shelter in to Psych office. He hoped he had gotten a good meal, which he probably needed. Shawn found he genuinely hoped the best for the young kid's well being. Why? He wasn't entirely sure. He could say that he was just being a good person, caring about a stranger in a storm, but he knew deep down that wasn't it. Shawn was changing, in small ways, but it was true.

Back when Shawn first started up Psych, he didn't think he'd ever become so invested in the lives of those around him. If he was being entirely honest, he didn't even think he'd still be interested in the detective business so long after it had opened, and yet here he was. By no means would Shawn say he was now a fully qualified mature adult, far from it actually, but he was certainly changing. It was most obvious when it came to kids, though, and he blamed that on his mother's recent visit. It made Shawn think back to his own childhood, about how he grew up with a detective and a psychologist. His childhood was every bit as messed up as it was expected to be with that equation, and that made him sympathetic to kids. He could understand, to some degree, what they were going through and all he wanted to do was tell those kids they were going to be alright, like he wished someone did with him.

Shawn got out of bed, deciding he didn't want to linger on his childhood for even a second longer. Instead he focused back to the kid who was sneaking into his office. He decided that he needed to intervene. Sure, Shawn didn't mind the kid using their office as a shelter, but Gus did. Plus, surely there was someone looking for the kid. So, in that moment, Shawn decided to go to the office and find him.

In record time, Shawn was on his bike and ready to go. It had only taken him ten minutes to get dressed, gather his things, and brush his teeth. He drove quickly but carefully to the office, only to feel his heart drop at the sight of the blueberry already parked outside. Shawn swore to himself, but parked his bike and made his way to the door. He walked inside and immediately noticed all the cupboards in the kitchen were opened, as were all the drawers to their desks. Gus was frantically opening everything, muttering to himself as he did.

"Gus, what are you doing?" Shawn asked.

"Shawn, I'm sorry I doubted you for locking the door yesterday," was the only explanation Gus gave.

"Gus?"

"Someone is breaking into our office!" Gus exclaimed. "Who knows how long they've been doing it for!"

"Relax, nothing's missing – "

"You keep saying that! As if it helps!"

"Hey, listen, there was a storm yesterday, alright? It was probably just somebody looking for shelter and warmth. Nothing looks out of place."

"Last I checked, Shawn, storms don't excuse breaking and entering!" Gus snapped, ending any retort Shawn could have come up with. He opened the fridge, and Shawn could have sworn he saw his eyes pop out of their sockets. "It certainly doesn't excuse burglary!" Gus slammed the fridge closed and moved towards Shawn's desk.

"Gus, can you just relax?"

"No, for some reason I'm struggling to relax knowing that someone broke into my office!" Gus moved for the closet behind Shawn's desk. The pseudo psychic noticed too late that he was going for the handle.

"Gus, wait!" Shawn tried, but his friend already threw open the door. It was empty. Shawn cocked his head to the side. The kid left already, who knows why.

"This is driving me insane," Gus grumbled, ignoring Shawn's outcry. "What did they take?!"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Shawn and Gus looked towards the door, where a young boy stood. He had brown hair that looked like it hadn't been washed for a while, or brushed for that matter. He was wearing a green shirt and an old pair of jeans. His shoes, which once were white, looked grey along with some mud stains. His arms were wrapped around himself, his hands playing with his shirt.

"Excuse me," the young boy's voice somehow seemed even smaller than him. "Are you detectives?" Shawn and Gus exchanged a glance

"Sort of," Shawn answered. "We're the best kind of detectives."

"Shawn," Gus tried, but no point.

"Why?" Shawn asked.

"I need help finding my daddy," the boy said.

"Well, uh… listen, any other day, I'd be up for helping you," Shawn says. "But we're kind of in the middle of something right now. Maybe the police can – "

"No!" Shawn and Gus almost recoiled at the shriek. They certainly didn't expect that from the little boy.

"Okay, no police. What's your name?" Shawn tried again. The boy hesitated.

"Thomas," he answered.

"Okay, Thomas, I'm sure your daddy will turn up. I wish I could help, but I'm a bit busy now. Why don't you go to your mommy?"

"I don't have a mommy."

"Wow, okay, um…." Shawn turns to Gus for help, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Gus was more lost for words that Shawn was. "Look, kid, I want to help, but – "

"You have to help! Or… or… or I'll tell on you."

Shawn raised his eyebrows in shock. That was so perfectly… childish of him. "What? You'll… tell on me? For what?"

"For lying."

"And what exactly am I lying about?"

"You're not psychic."

Shawn chuckled. "What makes you think that?"

"I heard you two talking about it. You're not psychic, he said so," Thomas pointed his finger at Gus.

"Look, kid, I'm not saying you're right but at the end of the day it's your word against mine," Shawn said. "Also, for future reference, blackmail is not exactly the best way to get people to do you favours."

"Fine, I'll go to the police," Thomas said. "They'll help me find my daddy, and while I'm there, I'll find Lassie and tell him that Shawn Spencer isn't psychic. That I heard him admit it."

"Woah, what? How do you know about Lassie?"

"He's the bug!" Gus suddenly hissed at Shawn.

"He's not a bug," Shawn rolled his eyes at his friend.

"I'm going," Thomas said and turned for the exit.

"Woah, woah, woah, hey, wait a second," Shawn chased after him and grabbed his arm. "Kid, I really just don't have the time to help you find your daddy, I'm sorry. I would if I could."

"Then make time. Daddy always said that there's always enough time for everything, it's about what you prioritise."

Shawn turned towards Gus.

"Two cases at once?" Gus asked.

"Looks like it," Shawn agreed. Shawn stood up and gestured towards his desk. "Come on in, you little munchkin, tell us everything."

Thomas's face lit up and he walked further inside, past Shawn and Gus. He laid eyes on the couch by the window and jumped up on it. Shawn grabbed the chair by his desk and place it in front of the couch. Gus followed suit, grabbing his own chair. They both took a seat. Thomas looked far too big for the couch, but he looked so happy and comfortable sitting in it that they didn't dare comment. They instead tried to keep the conversation relevant.

"So, Thomas, how old are you?" Shawn asked.

"Sev – no, eight," Thomas said with a smile.

"Can you remember where you and your daddy live?" Gus asked.

"California," Thomas said, looking proud.

"Okay, where in California?"

"Santa Barbara."

"Can you remember a street name?"

Thomas thought about for a moment before shaking his head.

"Well why don't you tell us the last time you saw your daddy?" Shawn tried.

"A long time ago," Thomas answered, not really helping.

"Can you remember when?" Shawn tried again.

"Well, I went to Ria's house on Monday, so then."

"Monday, as in two days ago?" Gus tried to clarify.

"No. The Monday before that."

"Okay, that's a good start," Shawn said.

"Who's Ria?" Gus asked. "Is that your neighbour? Your daddy's… friend?"

"She's mommy and daddy's friend."

"Your mommy's friend?" Gus clarified.

Thomas nodded. "I did have a mommy. But she's gone now. But that's okay, because even when she was here, she wasn't really here. She'd spend a lot of days in her room, or at work, she wouldn't really talk to me a lot, and she didn't buy me many toys, not like the others in my class, their mommies are always at school helping and they buy them cool things, like this one kid, Adam, his mommy got him the new Hot Wheels! It's so cool! They go so fast and – "

"Okay, hey, Thomas? Let's focus back to your mommy and daddy, okay?" Shawn interrupted. Thomas blushed but nodded his head.

"Can you tell us anything else about Ria?" Gus asked. "Like… do you spend a lot of time with her?"

"Yeah, Ria is like my other mommy. She always spends time with me, and buys me toys, and cooks really nice food for me! Not like the stuff mommy would always put in the microwave, that tastes funny!"

Shawn and Gus exchanged a glance. They knew they shouldn't think badly of people who had recently died, but from the sounds of it, this woman certainly wasn't going to win any 'Mother of the Year' awards.

"When did you leave Ria?" Shawn asked.

"Sunday," Thomas's face dropped. "We got into a fight. Ria never yells at me, but she did. So I left to go find daddy."

"You just left? Wandering around in the streets?" Gus asked.

Thomas nodded. "And then I found – "

The story was interrupted by Shawn's phone ringing. Shawn looked at the caller ID; Jules.

"Ah, sorry kid, this is our other case," Shawn quickly explained. He stood up and answered the phone. "Psychic extraordinaire, how may I help you?"

'Hey Shawn, Edward Lynne just arrived at the department. Carlton is taking him to an interrogation room. He's refused to let you to talk to him, but the observation room is all yours. If you can get any sort of… reading on him, that would be great.'

"Sounds like a plan, Jules. We'll see you soon," Shawn said, and with that they hung up the phone. "That was Jules," Shawn explained. "Lassie's being a real stick in the mud, so if we want in on the interview, we gotta go now."

"Shawn, we can't just… leave…" Gus nodded his head towards Thomas.

"Okay, we'll bring him with us," Shawn said matter of factly.

"We can't bring a kid to the station!" Gus hissed.

"Then you stay and watch him."

"Shawn, I'm not going to play babysitter!"

"Then come with me."

"Shawn!"

"Gus, I've literally gone through every possible option here! What do you want me to do?"

"You stay and watch the kid!"

"What, and you go to the station and get a psychic reading off the suspect?"

"Tsk!" Gus glared at Shawn, and Shawn glared back.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time, Lassie is going to start the interview, we're gonna miss it if we don't get in the car right now."

Gus debated this for a moment before giving in. "I'll start the car, you talk to Thomas."

Shawn nodded and turned to Thomas. "Hey, listen, I've got a big favour to ask of you. We've gotta do something, we'll be an hour tops. We're going to lock the door behind us and you're going to stay here, okay? Don't open the door for anyone."

Thomas stared at Shawn for a moment before hesitantly nodding his head.

"Great," Shawn said with a smile. "Help yourself to anything in the fridge, and there are some toys in that locker there," Shawn pointed to a locked closet behind Gus's desk. "The key is in the second drawer," Shawn said with a wink. He walked out of the office, locked the door, and joined Gus in his car.