Disclaimer: I own nothing

Me: *comes from under the bed* Uhm... Heheh... Hi guys! Long time no see huh?

Shawn & Gus: *hidding behind me* Gus: Do you think she's going to be ok out there alone?

Shawn: Do you want to go out ther with her?

Mob: *trows pitch fork at me* Me: *ducks* Eeep!

Gus: Good point...

Me: Uhm!!! Would you believe I was attacked by a pack of rabid racoons?!

Mob: *glare*

Me: Guess not... Enjoy?! *runs away*

"Shawn?!" said the man while rushing to Shawn's side. He stopped mere inches from Shawn, as if he were afraid that it was his mind playing tricks on him. The last time he'd seen Shawn was little over 5 years ago and he had missed his friend terribly.

"Is that really you sir?" He asked as he placed his hand on Shawn's shoulder. Shawn turned to face him and he couldn't believe his eyes. The man who had been his mentor, his former boss and his greatest friend was here, right in front of him after all these years.

"Yeah Pauli, it's me." Shawn said with a bashful smile. Paul beam at seeing that it really was Shawn. Meanwhile, the two were unaware of the curious glances the rest of them were giving them. Shawn's smile finally reached his face and then turned into a full blown grin at seeing his friend. He took in his appearance and immediately saw the subtle differences the years had made. Paul's hair was neatly combed with a few of his signature burgundy curls forming at the end. When he saw that his hands were bandaged he felt himself worry for a second. His pose showed a mix of authority and power while his blue eyes reflected the kindness and compassion that Shawn remembered him having. Shawn experienced a sense of pride that his old partner had grown up so much from the kid he took under his wing. He was wearing a stylish navy blue sport coat that brought out his eyes. But his tie was the thing that caught Shawn's attention the most. On the tie, he noticed the golden pineapple pin he had given him the day he passed his detective exam and became his partner. Shawn's smile became even wider at the conclusion that Paul hadn't forgotten about him.

"Long time no see, huh." Shawn said happily as Paul responded with a smile that rivaled his. Suddenly, Paul embraced Shawn in a manly hug. After a few seconds, the two men broke it off and Paul placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder.

"Yeah! But at least you've kept in touch sir!" He said cheerfully. Shawn had a criticizing look at the word sir but he still kept smiling. He didn't think he was ever going to missed being called that again.

"And again. Could you please, stop calling me sir?! You know I hate that! Makes me feel old." Shawn said while giving him the evil eye. Paul just kept smiling and trying to look as bashful as he could.

"Sorry Shawn but old habits die hard." Shawn saw that Paul's eyes had a manic glint as he said this and he knew that Paul remembered exactly how much he hated that. Paul turned towards Gus looking innocent while Shawn was glaring at him.

"Hey Gus! How's it going?" He said happily. He was glad to see Gus after all these years as well. He always heard his old boss talk about him all the time and he heard in his tone the fondness and the depth of his friendship. While they only met a couple of times, he'd come to think of him as a friend as well.

"It's good to see you Paul." Gus said as he smiled fondly at his old friend but he was well aware of the people surrounding them with perplex expressions on their faces. Gus saw Lassiter coming right up to them with a mix of a scowl and confusion written in his face.

"Excuse me but who the hell are you suppose to be?" Lassiter asked perplexed. Paul seemed to realize that he forgot to introduce himself and looked abashed.

"Oh right!" He said as he went to stand in front of the Chief while holding out his hand. As the Chief shook his hand he said "I'm detective Donner here to aid in the capture of The Hangman. It's a pleasure to meet you Chief."

"Oh, we've been expecting you detec--" The Chief started saying but was cut off by Paul.

"Wait a minute!" Paul said bewildered. He turned towards Shawn.

"I'm sorry but, Shawn, why are you here?" He asked baffled. The last time he'd see his old boss, he told him that he wouldn't be able to work as a detective anymore but that he hoped that he would take his place at the station. Paul was so lost in his memories that he didn't noticed the subtle shakes of Shawn and Gus's heads to stop him from blurting out Shawn's secret.

"You retired from the force years ago." Paul announced. At hearing this, the two detectives, the Chief and Henry's body went rigid. Shawn's head hung low, mentally cursing at his luck. He avoided the wide stares of incredulity, doubt and hurt that flashed over their faces. Finally, Henry was the first one to snap out of it.

"What did you say?" Henry asked Paul while he stared directly at his son who was trying his best to avoid his stare. Suddenly Shawn glared at Paul who had an innocent and confused face.

"Jeeze Pauli! You've made Head Detective but you still can't take a hint!" Shawn said agitated. At his tone, Paul became even more confused.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" He asked innocently. Shawn huffed exasperated at his former partner. "Apparently his attention span hasn't changed that much" Shawn thought to himself while allowing a small smirk on his face. He would be lying to himself if he didn't enjoy that trait of him. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Juliet's voice.

"Did you just say that Shawn was a police officer?" Juliet asked Paul. Paul turned towards the blond detective oblivious to Shawn shaking his head again.

"Head Detective actually!" Paul replied proudly of his former mentor. But when he saw their eyes widen even more, he became even more confused. Right then Shawn nudged him on his ribs with his elbow.

"Dude! Shut it!" Shawn whispered harshly. Understanding came to Paul as he realized what was happening.

"You never told them?" As soon as he said this, Shawn avoided his gaze.

"They didn't need to know." Shawn whispered to him.

"Oh come on! Do you really expect us to believe that Sp-Shawn was a detective?!" Lassiter said doubtfully. At this, Paul turned to face the Head Detective looking affronted.

"Of course. He was the Head Detective and not to mention my partner in the Hangman case. He was the sole reason we were able to get The Hangman in the first place!" He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lassiter crossed his arms in defiance.

"Ha! I find that hard to believe!" He said laughing slightly. Lassiter may have been starting to accept Shawn's role with the department as a consultant and even began thinking of him as a friend. But he found the very thought of Shawn following orders completely absurd.

When Henry heard the gruff detective he felt anger boiled to the surface. If what the young man said was true, and by the reaction he'd see in his son face it was most likely true, then his son had actually followed in his footsteps and became a cop. When he heard that, Henry felt joy and pride for his son but also felt anger and disappointment for not being able of being there for his son when he graduated from the academy, or be there for him when he had to shoot somebody for the first time. But he could and would find out what had happened to his son later. Right now he felt like he had to defend his son from the detective accusations.

"Hold on there! Are you saying my son is incapable of being a cop?!" He said as he turned too glared at the detective ignoring the surprised look on Shawn's and everyone else's face. Lassiter turned towards the elder Spencer with a mixture of defiance and consideration.

"Well, is fairly obvious that he doesn't respect higher authority! He wouldn't last 3 weeks in the academy!" He said gruffly. But hearing this only made Henry angrier towards the detective.

"I'll have you know that Shawn could very well listen to authority! The problem is who that authority is!" Henry said smugly. Lassiter's became affronted by his and started arguing with the elder Spencer ignoring the rest.

Shawn raised his hand to his head in hopes of avoiding the migraine he already felt creeping behind his eyes. Paul saw the discomfort Shawn seemed to be in and realized that if these people didn't know about his time in the force, then he probably hasn't told them about Penny. He nudged Shawn.

"Sir? I know how hard this must be for you, but maybe you should consider… You know… Helping us? You were the only reason we caught him the first time and I know you'll to want to see this through the end." Paul said gently. Shawn sighed in defeat as he saw the logic in those words. Too many things were happening too fast. Now his friends knew about him and his time in the force, not to mention that he was the head detective that closed the Hangman case all those years ago. He swore to himself that day that he would never solve another case as a detective. But the fact that Hangman was out there, killing again, made his decision for him. Shawn lowered his head and sighed heavily.

"Yeah. I guess I have no choice." He said softly. Ignoring Paul and Gus's look of worry, he went over to the Chief.

"Chief?" Shawn asked freighting his normal cheerful tone. The Chief turned from the two screaming men towards her psychic with an exasperated look.

"Mr. Spencer, would you mind explaining what is going on here?" She asked Shawn and the two men seemed to forget all about their bickering wanting to know the answer. Shawn saw that everyone was looking at him with curiosity shining in their eyes and he smirked. "Boy were they in for a surprise! I wonder if I can get a camera when Lassie finds out the whole truth." Shawn thought.

"Sure thing Chief! I promise to clear up any questions you may have but I need to get something from my apartment. I swear I'll be quick." He asked her innocently. The Chief raised one eyebrow at his request.

"Scouts honor!" Shawn added placing a hand over his heart. The Chief seemed to notice something in the young psychic. She saw a need for him to go get whatever it was that he needed it to get. Shawn hadn't given her any reason to doubt him yet so she trusted his decision. And whatever was going on, she respected Shawn's decision of keeping this from her and the rest. Whatever it was that he need it to get, it seemed he wouldn't explain this whole situation without it, so she nodded in acceptance. She saw Shawn's shoulders relax and he gave her one of his megawatt smiles. Shawn then turned to Paul.

"Great! Then in the mean time, Pauli?" Shawn asked. Paul, quickly falling into old habits, came to attention at the familiar tone.

"Yes sir?" He asked.

"Can you please debrief them on our previous case? Just the general idea. I'll tell them the rest when I get back." Shawn said smiling. Paul understood the hidden meaning beneath his request.

"Sure thing." He answered. Shawn smiled wavered for a moment but quickly placed it back into place. He started running towards the door dragging Gus along with him.

"Gus come on, we need to hurry! My honor's on the line!" Shawn said as the main doors of the station closed behind them. He let go of Gus as his mask started to fall and they went towards the blued echo. As the two got inside, Gus saw Shawn's mask fall completely apart, his face showing how truly weary and hurt he felt. Now that everyone knew Shawn was the one to capture that thing, he knew that Shawn had come to the same conclusion. They were going to find out about Penny sooner or latter and that would mean that Shawn would have to remember all the nightmares again.

"Shawn…" Gus started saying in a soothing tone but got cut off by Shawn's words.

"Gus, just drive please." Shawn whispered. Gus understood and gave Shawn a slight nod before turning on his car.

TBC...

I am SOOOO sorry I took so long!!! Hopefuly hypercell and EriKaBalDel are still alive... . But Scholarship deadlines are coming up so they come first.

Now I need you guys to choose a couple of things.

1) Would you like to have a Shassie friendship scene?

2) A Shules moment?

3) Father and son bonding?

4) Would you like Shawn to somehow keep his psychic secret?

5) All four?

or 6) Review whatever you want me to consider

And on a side note... DID YOU SEE THE FINALE!!! IT WAS PURE AWESOMENESS!!!

And I really am thankful for you guys! You are giving me a kick in the pants so that I can update faster which I deserved. Before I started writing I swore to myself I would let my readers wait for such a long time for my nets chapter and that's exactly what I'm doing! So please, if I'm taking to long to update, scream at me so that I can remember! I get quite lazy sometimes :D!!!