A/N: Remind me to never ever start a multi-chapter fanfiction in the busiest month of the year school-wise ever again. Yes, this is my excuse for not updating sooner and I am sticking to it.

So, anyway, it's time to finally set sail to the sea of plot & angst...better hold on tight, it could get stormy out there!

Chapter 3:

"So here's the deal..."

Juliet knew she couldn't postpone saying it any longer. And maybe, just maybe she was making this whole thing a lot bigger than it was. She glanced at Shawn who smiled encouragingly at her when he saw her looking at him, making her smile faintly in return.

She cleared her throat: "Okay, so today I've officially been asked to take part in an undercover operation, which-" She couldn't continue however, because Shawn interrupted her: "Wow Jules, you should never scare me like that ever again, saying you need to talk and all, when it isn't a big deal. Really Jules, undercover missions are fun! I go on undercover missions almost every week. Hey, remember that time when we went undercover as a married couple? That was fun right? Though, I do remember you talking an awful lot..."

Juliet looked helplessly at Shawn while he enthusiastically went on and on about their fake marriage. Dammit, why did he have to make this so hard for her?

"Shawn!" She tried interrupting him, but he just kept going.

"...But then again the way you distracted them with your talk was one of the reasons-" Shawn meanwhile continued.

Juliet couldn't bear it any longer, the memories of their fake marriage only making the thing she was about to say even more painful.

"Shawn, I won't be able to see you for a month!" She frantically shouted out the words, anything to make him stop talking. This finally seemed to shut up Shawn because he fell silent mid-sentence. Juliet observed him closely, the enthusiastic expression on his face vanished completely, leaving him looking astonished and...hurt. She had no other way to describe it.

However, the hurt look was there for merely a second, two seconds maybe, before he was looking like his usual self again. "A month! Wow...that's lengthy. That's...a real amount of undercover time. So it must be something really cool if you're willing to leave your fun and loving boyfriend for so long. What are you gonna do? Oh wait, don't tell me, I already know. The circus! Tell me you're joining the circus Jules, that would be so awesome!"

He was rambling and he knew it, because somewhere deep inside he already knew it wouldn't be something as gleeful as joining a circus if Juliet's behavior this evening was any indication.

He expectedly looked at Juliet, half-hoping to hear her say that she was indeed joining the circus, but judging from the sad smile appearing on her face as she listened to him, he knew the feeling deep inside of him would be right.

"No Shawn, I'm afraid there'll be no circus involved. In fact, I've been asked to go undercover to help prove that Brandon Turner is using his nightclub as a cover for illegal drug transactions. Do you know who I am talking about?" she asked, feeling slightly relieved that at least now they were talking about it.

Shawn simply nodded. Of course he knew who she was talking about. Brandon Turner was a young, rich guy who owned one of the biggest and most popular nightclubs in the whole of Santa Barbera. The club had a... questionably reputation to say the least and he himself wasn't any better, being mostly known because of a video that circulated on the internet which showed him having a 'good time' with two famous models.

He noticed that Juliet was trying to gauge his reaction, fighting the urge to show her exactly what he was feeling, he swallowed. "Sounds like a pretty big deal, Jules. How exactly are you planning on accomplishing that?"

"Well, for one, I am not the only one who is going undercover. The guy you met at the station today, my former partner Peter, is a DEA agent now and we're going undercover together. He's actually the one who suggested me to his bosses to be part of the operation." Juliet said and Shawn didn't fail to notice the hint of pride in her voice.

Yet Shawn found himself not wanting to notice it. In fact, this was one of the rare moments on which he hated he noticed everything. Most of all, he hated how his eidetic memory registered every single word Juliet spoke. It registered Juliet saying that she and Peter would try to talk one of the biggest pieces of scum that Santa Barbera has to offer into agreeing on making a drug trade with them. It definitely registered Juliet explaining they would be undercover so deep that she wouldn't be able to see him and how she was telling him she could call him maybe once a day.

While Juliet was talking, a small voice in the back of Shawn's mind already relentlessly began listing things they wouldn't be able to do the coming month. No solving cases together, no surprise visits to the station to bring her lunch, no movie dates that somehow always ended up with Shawn spending the night at her place. Hell, he wouldn't even be able to spend time with her. He wouldn't be able to talk to her, joke with her, kiss her, touch her...

He realized Juliet had noticed how the forced smile on his face had begun to fade because half-way through her telling him how positively the Chief had reacted to Peter's request, she not-so-subtly switched to telling him it wasn't that big of deal. She told him the risks weren't that great, the operation was thoroughly prepared and a month wasn't that long. Plus Peter would be there all the time to make sure everything went according to plan.

"If Peter has everything so splendidly under control, what does he need you for?" He couldn't help asking upon which Juliet shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

Again Shawn cursed the fact that he noticed how she flinched ever so slightly, indicating she had been dreading hearing him ask that very question.

She nervously began fumbling with the top button of her blouse, not sure how to continue. She had to be very careful how she was about to say this, otherwise Shawn would get the wrong idea for sure. "The thing is", she hesitantly began, "that Peter has done a lot of research on Brandon and the kind of persons he deals with and that research shows that he's quicker to agree on making a deal when his thoughts aren't solely occupied with making that exact transaction"

Shawn almost wanted to give Juliet a nice cynic round of applause for trying to hide the true meaning behind her words so well. But of course he noticed the real meaning behind, he always noticed what people tried to hide, it's what he did best.

"Not solely occupied huh Jules, now what or who should distract him from that exactly?" He already knew the answer but he had to hear her say it.

"I am the distraction." She admitted, but upon seeing Shawn's look she added: "but it's not what you think Shawn, nothing will happen, I'll just give Brandon some attention, you know, so he is sidetracked, making it easier for Peter to get him to agree on a deal."

She looked at Shawn, waiting for him to say something but he just blankly stared at her. "Shawn...please say something."

"Sure I'll say something Jules, though it's more of a question really. What are you thinking?" He said, mentally giving himself a compliment for keeping his voice soft, steady and calm.

Juliet however, didn't seem to appreciate it since she did raise her voice, saying: "What I am thinking? I am thinking this would be a great career opportunity for me, I am thinking I can make Santa Barbara a safer place, I am thinking I can do this!"

And then all of the sudden he just...snapped: "Yeah, because we all know what a nice, clean track-record you have when it comes to undercover missions. Especially the way you always manage to never get too involved. You should definitely take this opportunity Jules, you are perfect for it."

The words were out before he knew it and Shawn regretted saying them instantly. Apart from Gus and his dad almost no one knew this side of him, his angry side. When he got angry, really angry, he didn't act childish or immature as most people would expect. No, he was cold, collected and...mean, particularly mean. He had worked really hard to keep that side from Juliet but the entire evening had made that nearly impossible for him and when she was talking about how this all was supposed to be a good thing, he just couldn't take it anymore and he simply snapped.

He didn't bear to look at her but he could tell she was upset from the way her breathing had become irregular. They both remained silent, all of the while Shawn didn't dare to look at anything but the ground. Juliet finally spoke: "Wow Shawn...I might have expected something like this from Lassiter, but from you?", her voice now surprisingly calm and soft.

Shawn finally dared to look at her, making him feel even worse than he did a few seconds ago. Juliet's eyes showed no emotion but the way her lip quivered slightly, gave away just how upset she was.

Shawn tried to think of anything, anything that would fix this, but for once no snarky, quick-witted remark came to mind. "Look Jules," he began anyway, "just forget about it okay? I have no business telling you what to do because, let's face it, half of the time I have no idea what I am doing myself."

Juliet looked at him, not sure how to react exactly. Part of her, the hurt part, wanted to show and tell Shawn exactly how much he had hurt her with that comment, but the rest of her just couldn't seem to bring up the energy. She told herself that Shawn was just worried about her and that he didn't mean it like that. Pushing away all the other thoughts that said otherwise, she smiled faintly at him. "It's okay Shawn, really, it's no big deal." She said, trying to make her voice sound confident.

Shawn sighed relieved, glad the worst part was over. Now all he had to do was guiding them to a safer topic, and everything would be well again. "All this difficult talk makes me crave some delicious flavor. How about we eat the pineapple toast I made you right about now?"

"Actually, I am not that hungry anymore and it's already getting late. I think I should get going." Juliet said apologetic, thinking about how she just wanted to go home and be alone for a while. "Getting late, it's not even 10 pm yet." Shawn said uneasily, beginning to feel like he might have underestimated the damage he had caused with his words.

"Yeah I know, but I am really tired plus I have to pack for the mission." She said while picking up her bag from the table. "Wait, what? Going to pack? When will the operation begin exactly?" He asked, shocked at her sudden announcement.

"Well, I have a meeting tomorrow morning to talk through the final details, but Peter will fully brief me in the afternoon, when we're getting settled into our cover-apartment."

Shawn was now literally too astounded to say anything, too many thoughts occupying his mind at the same time.

Juliet in the meantime had already opened the door, placed a small kiss on his cheek and said: "Don't worry about me Shawn, Peter will be there all the time to make sure nothing bad happens to me." And with that she walked through the door, Shawn coming back to reality just in time to see the last lock of her blond hair disappearing around the corner.

He absent-mindedly closed the door, Juliet's final words playing over and over again in his head. "Peter will be there all the time."

And that was exactly what Shawn didn't like.

At all.

A/N: Uh-oh, trouble in Shules' paradise. Let's just hope the writer knows what she is doing...

Maybe you could send her a review telling her that you trust she is going to give them a happy ending, or maybe tell her she didn't do that bad of a job on writing her first-ever angsty chapter? Or maybe you could tell her she should let school go to hell and update sooner? Or tell her that you enjoyed this chapter? Or maybe tell her that writing this author's note in the third person is a little bit creepy? Anything goes really, as long as you review!