Surprise! Happy early Holidays! Guess who brings tidings of an early chapter?

That's right! And I know what you're thinking: she's just doing this to make up for late chapters in the future to come! And, you're right!

It's a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy :)


Aloe sat up, dazed and confused as always. She had been awake in what seemed like a few seconds ago, but in reality it had been hours. Shawn collapsed in a heap on the psych couch, and she only had enough awareness to slightly tidy the place before joining her brother in unconsciousness.

She swung her legs over the side of the couch and rubbed the sleep in her eyes. I am never staying up that late, ever again. She knew it was a promise she would very unlikely keep, but nonetheless it made her feel momentarily better.

Aloe's head pounded painfully for a brief second or so, and she mentally counted the seconds it lasted. She held in her breath as her brief headache thundered silently. 1..2..3..4..5..6... She rubbed her temple, and as quickly as her headache had come, it left. She had always bragged about never having headaches. It was an utter lie. Shawn did the opposite: telling everyone of his immense pain when none existed.

She tried for a moment to tame her unmanageable bed-head, but ended up hunting down a hairbrush and yanking it through her fiery hair. Aloe then proceeded to pull her hair into a messy, half-awake ponytail. Then she felt a thumping.

Thumping.

Thumping?

That can't be thumping. Where would that come from? She wondered just for a second, before the door opened and inside ran Lassie, gun at the ready, pointing directly at Aloe. His lips moved quickly, his eyes trained on her and what she assumed was her t.v.

"C-Car-Carlton?" She choked, her eyes huge with terror.

He mouthed something again, then pulled the trigger on the gun; and Aloe screamed. She closed her eyes, immensely scared in the moment whether she had died or lived. She waited a few seconds. No pain.. Her amber eyes peeked open, and Lassiter had rushed to her side. No, wait, directly behind her. His lips moved, and she just frowned. "I can't read lips, you have to say something Carlton." Why isn't he talking?

Aloe turned her head, and behind her, where Carlton Lassiter was running towards, was a tall man with dark brown hair and clouded black eyes. His teeth were mostly silver capped, and bullet wound lay on the temple of his forehead.

Aloe screamed at the sight of the dead man, and screamed once more as she realized that he held the letter opener that she had tidied up just hours previously. Realization struck in her mind that this man had snuck into the office and had almost killed Aloe and- SHAWN!

"SHAWN!" Aloe screamed, her eyes growing large like those of a deer, caught in the headlights of a car. "SHAWN!" She scrambled off the ground where she had ducked from the bullet Lassie shot at the dead man. "SHAWN!" She cried, running out of the office where she was toward the other side.

She caught sight of Shawn, who was running towards her too. Juliet O'Hara stood behind him, her gun trained toward the doorway. Lassiter came out, looking proud and bold. His lips moved quickly, directed toward Shawn. Shawn and Aloe collided in a caring hug, and Aloe whispered, "Shawn.."

Shawn pulled away and held Aloe's face in his hands. His mouth moved, but no sound left. Aloe scowled. "Shawn, just talk, will you?" He frowned too, and his lips moved again. "Shawn, this isn't funny." He shook his head, and mouthed a word she could understand: "Allie". She stared, and tried to determine what he was saying... "Can" she determined was his first poorly enunciated word. "You" This was definite. "Hear" That word was difficult. "Me" He had said that word so many times, Aloe could have recognized it anywhere.

She put together, "Can you hear me", and responded: "No. I can't hear you." She noticed, for the first time, she couldn't hear herself either.

Shawn and Lassie began speaking to one another, Aloe assumed. She caught the following words from Shawn: can't hear, Aloe, what, I, no. Or maybe did he mean know? She couldn't be sure. Lassie responded, and she collected the words: oh-no, Aloe, you and me, and... hospital?! She stared in fear as Shawn and Carlton continued the conversation, but she just sat there, her mind wandering from syllable to syllable.

She sighed. I really, and I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y don't wanna go to a hospital. Aloe looked to Jules, and scurried towards her. Juliet met her in a soft, comforting hug. Aloe guessed that what Juliet was trying to mouth was "It'll be alright," but it came across looking like "Let's get a kite." But since Aloe seriously doubted the chances of Juliet wanting a kite in that moment, she assumed it was the first thing.

Aloe lunged for a notepad, and pushed it towards Juliet. Jules stared at it, and nodded. "What are they talking about?" Aloe tried to whisper, and Juliet frowned, and held her hand to her ear. Aloe repeated it slightly louder, and Jules nodded. She began scribbling in the prettiest handwriting Aloe had ever seen onto the notepad. After a while, she gave Aloe a long paragraph:

Shawn and Lassiter are trying to determine whether or not to take you to the hospital over your sudden hearing loss. Shawn says that you had it just a few hours ago, hen you got up, had a drink of water, then went back to bed. Carlton was here too, and I was getting his and my coffee. Lassie thinks you were drugged so you didn't hear the robber/murderer when he came in.

"Robber-slash-murderer?" Aloe questioned, handing back the notepad.

We don't know his intention yet, and we doubt we ever will. Juliet wrote quickly.

Aloe's eyes lost their brightness slightly. Who would want to kill me, or Shawn?


AWW! Feel bad for poor little Aloe. Will she regain her hearing? Will she be killed? Will Shawn's chronic love for churros leave him? Well, the last question is an obvious no, but please please PLEASE review! More reviews might mean an extra surprise chapter! ;D

Thanks! REVIEW, AND I MEAN IT! :)