Hi guys! I'm really sorry I haven't been updating, but my teachers have decided that I shouldn't have any free-time at all, so I've been having a lot of homework. Fan-freaking-tastic... Anyway, I know that's not a great excuse, but I've never been good with those. I hope you like this chapter and I hope y'all won't be coming to my house with flaming torches and pitchforks :-)

In her bed, Juliet was struggling to breathe. The nightmare was the last thing she needed. Her sheets were wrapped around her body and was suffocating her even more. She violently kicked around in her bed while gasping for her breath. The room was spinning and she felt like she was going to throw up. When she finally got free from the covers she sat up, her face flushed and warm. Taking deep breathes, she finally calmed down enough to reach up to her face and feel the tears. Suddenly her own bedroom repulsed her, so she grabbed her phone by her bedside table and ran out to the living room. She collapsed onto the couch and cradled her head in her hands. She was dead-tired but there was no way she was going back to sleep again. Not after that nightmare.

When the sun finally came up the next morning, Juliet was still sitting on the couch staring at the wall in front of her. Her mind was in such a fog, that she didn't realize that she had been sitting on the couch without doing anything else for at least three hours. At 6.30 am, she heard her alarm clock beeping so she figured she'd start getting ready for work. After a shower, and a look into the fridge deciding she wasn't hungry, she dressed in one of her usual suits and grabbed her gun and bag before going out to her car.

When she reached the station, she parked the car and rested her head on the steering wheel for a few seconds. Taking deep breathes, she mentally reprimanded herself for being so nervous. It was a regular day. She was going to go inside, say hello to Carlton as he handed her a cup of coffee, and then sit down to finish up some paperwork until they got a new case. It was just going to be a normal day, so why wasn't she up for it? She looked out the window and saw a few officers looking at her car curiously wondering why she didn't come out. She grabbed her bag and stepped out in the sun. Blinking a few times to clear her eyes, she hurried inside the station. Nodding hello to a couple of detectives standing at the front desk, she walked to her desk and sat down. She saw Carlton in one of the conference rooms but he hadn't noticed her yet so she hurried to get out most of the papers out of her drawers to make it look like she had a lot of work to do . She had learned that this trick usually worked and that she wasn't disturbed when she looked busy. It was perfect. Nobody bothered her, not even Lassiter. Of course he didn't fall for the trick but he knew that she needed space so he left her the cup of coffee, that he usually gave her in the morning, on her desk in silence and then sat down to do his own work. The only one who wasn't going to be fooled by Juliet was Chief Vick. Karen didn't want to disturb her but she had something she had to do. That night Juliet had been saved, Lassiter had been very determined to take her home without giving a statement to anyone. Unfortunately Juliet had to give a statement and Karen wanted to get that cleared as soon as possible.

"O'Hara." She called from her office.

Juliet looked up and the look in her eyes made Karen cringe. She looked exhausted.

"A moment please."

Juliet slowly stood up and straightened up in an attempt to look professional, and walked into Chief Vick's office.

"Close the door after you, and please sit down."

A bit anxious about what Chief Vick was going to say, Juliet closed the door and turned around to face the Chief. Karen was writing something on her computer, so Juliet sat down quietly in the chair in front of her and waited for the Chief to be done. After a few seconds Chief Vick looked up. Gently placing her hands in front of her, Karen threw a quick professional look on Juliet and confirmed that she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, if any sleep at all.

"Are you okay?"That wasn't the way she had wanted to start their conversation, but she was worried about her friend.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired." They both knew that was stretching the truth more than a little, but Karen didn't say anything. She had something she had to do and she wanted it done as soon as possible.

"O'Hara, at the night of your abduction." At these words, Juliet looked down at her knees. Chief Vick cleared her throat and continued,

"You never gave a statement. I already know what happened, but you do know it's protocol."

Juliet nodded and felt her stomach turn. Swallowing the urge to throw up, Juliet opened her mouth to speak a few times but every time she tried that, her mouth felt too dry to talk.

Chief Vick noticed the anxiety and reached for a glass of water for her. She handed it over and politely looked away, becoming very interested in the fish on her desk to let Juliet compose herself. Juliet gulped down the water appreciatively and started playing with her hands. Staying quiet for a few more seconds, she finally opened her mouth and began telling what had happened that night. She told it without any emotion at all and when she was done, she sat quietly and stared out the window until Chief Vick was done typing. When she was done, Chief Vick looked at her with a pained look in her eye. Even though Juliet's statement had been purely objective, she understood why Juliet had been so affected by the whole ordeal.

"You sure you're okay? You look more than 'a bit tired'." Chief Vick gave her a look that clearly said: "Lying is not going to work in this case."

Juliet clearly got what the Chief was saying. She cleared her throat.

"I had some trouble sleeping last night. Nightmare." The last word came out like a whisper and Chief Vick didn't know what to say. It was hard to be her friend when you first and foremost was her boss.

"Look O'Hara, Are you sure you don't want to talk to some..."

Juliet didn't hear the rest. Her head was screaming no, and her stubborn self didn't even let herself think about it. She quickly stood up.

"I'm fine, really. I-I just need some time." She felt like her airways were closing up again and all that was on her mind was to get out. She rushed out of the office without saying anything, ignoring Chief Vick calling her name after her.

Juliet hurried to the bathroom and after checking that nobody was in one of the stalls, began pacing back and forth with her arms around herself. Her hand started to go numb and her legs felt like she wouldn't be able to keep herself standing for much longer. She tried desperately to get her breathing under control but the more she tried the worse it got. She was scared. She didn't know why but she couldn't be alone. She had to find someone.

While Juliet was hyperventilating in the bathroom, Shawn and Gus had just entered the station. The Chief had called them that morning to discuss a case involving an armed robbery. "Where's Jules?" Shawn was looking for her but she wasn't at her desk or at the Chief's office. Lassiter was however sitting at his desk working on his computer.

Gus shrugged and said, "Maybe she didn't come in today."

Shawn glanced at her desk in his psychic-way and confirmed that Juliet had been there. Actually, he didn't have to be super observant to see that, because her desk was covered in papers.

"No, she's here. Look, she tried her 'I'm busy with paperwork' trick. Lassie!" He shouted the last thing at Lassiter who turned around looking annoyed.

"What is it, Spencer?"

"I see you're busy writing a complaint to Snow Globes Digest. And if you need help with the list of signatures, I'm sure at least two people in the world are interested. You'll find them at Wispy Sunny Pines and...

"Spencer, today, like almost any day, I have less patience than usual for you two. Now what is it?"

Shawn smiled at Lassiter for a moment then said, "Where's Jules?"

Lassiter lost the annoyed expression and quickly looked around.

"She was in the Chief's office a few minutes ago."

The door was still closed so he figured she was still in there. Shawn gave him another smile and dragged Gus with him to the snack table where McNab was putting out donuts.

"Hey Buzz-man! You got more chocolate covered?"

Was it good? Thoughts? Now, what I tried to write with Jules, was that she was having a panic-attack. I've been having them for about a year now and though I know they're different for everyone, this was they way they were with me. I'm sorry if I might have offended anyone or something, that really wasn't my intentions. Please leave a review if you liked it, and please leave a review if you didn't and if so, tell me why. Also if you guys have any ideas what so ever I'll be thrilled to hear them. See you (hopefully) soon!

/The late updater