They drove to Henry's house so Susie could get her things. While she was inside, Shawn and Gus contemplated the things that they had witnessed while they were hanging out with Susie. They were really going to miss her.
When Susie came back out of the house, bag over shoulder and camera in hand, she found Shawn sitting on the hood of the little blue car. Gus was standing beside him. She snapped a picture and made her way over to the car.
"Hey," Shawn said.
"Hey," she said. The atmosphere between the three was somewhat heavy.
"You sure you don't need a ride somewhere?" asked Gus.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Susie said, hitching her bag higher up on her shoulder. "I'm just going to wander around for a while."
"You'll think about our offer?" asked Shawn getting off the car.
"Yeah, defiantly."
Shawn pulled Susie into a hug which she returned. These past few days had been strange, but enjoyable. Susie said goodbye to her new friends, and then she took off. She didn't look back.
"Do you really think she'll think about your offer?" asked Gus.
"Maybe," said Shawn. "I hope so."
"And what exactly was this offer, Shawn?" asked Henry, who had come out onto the porch.
Shawn and Gus turned. Shawn shrugged. "I offered to be her guardian. Chief said it was up to Suze."
"Did you call Children's Services?" asked Henry.
"No, both her parents were arrested and charged for murder and assault. And she's going into the foster care system in three days if she doesn't get another guardian."
"So you offered yourself? Oh my God."
"I was kind of already her guardian these past few days. So what the hell?"
Henry looked out to the beach, a slight smile crossing his face.
"Quick, Gus, call 911! My father's smiling!"
Henry looked down at his son. "Maybe I was happy, Shawn. Did you ever think of that?"
"I was going to guess it was gas, but whatever." Shawn looked up at his father. "What caused that smile, anyway? We were talking about me being Susie's guardian--"
"I kind of liked her. She reminded me of you, when you were younger. Not nearly as troublesome, but still."
Shawn looked from his father to Gus. "You two were made for each other," he said. "C'mon, Gus. Let's go get food."
Shawn and Gus parked the car outside the office. They each carried white boxes of take-out.
"Look, all I'm saying is that you should know that it's your job to remind me to TiVo 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'. You know I forget easily." Shawn said as he opened the door.
"I wouldn't tell too many people that, Shawn," said a voice from inside the office. "You two already spend all your time together. And now it turns out that you watch 'Queer Eye'? Things are looking pretty gay." Startled, Shawn and Gus subconsciously moved closer together. That's when Susie turned around in the computer chair at Shawn's desk. She looked up at the two of them cowering in the doorway.
"Suze! So good to see you!" said Shawn.
"Susie, how'd you get in here?" asked Gus.
Susie held up a bobby pin. "It really wasn't that hard." she said. "So, I was wondering. If your offer's still up…"
"Still up? Of course it is!" said Shawn. "My dad will be delighted to hear that he has a new house-mate."
"That's the thing, Shawn. I don't want to be a burden to your father anymore."
"Are you kidding? He loves you. You're going to be like his adopted grand kid or something."
"Shawn, seriously."
"I suppose you could room with Gus…."
Susie stood up and tried not to laugh at how Gus's face looked when he was angry. "I looked around the office. If you don't mind, I could just stay here."
Shawn and Gus stared at her. "Shawn, look. I was actually going to ask you if I could somehow work with you guys before your offer came up. I mean, obviously my hours would have to change a little once school started up in August, but I could still come in pretty much whenever. And I looked around the office; it looks good enough for me to stay here. It has a full bathroom with a shower, and I could use one or two of the lockers to keep my stuff in, and I could sleep on the floor or the couch or something. If you don't mind…."
"Suze, you are a very strange person." Shawn said. "Which is just what this team needs. Welcome aboard." He held out his hand.
Susie smiled and shook his hand.
"So, how about a little interior decorating?" Shawn asked. "If you're going to be living here and--"
"Yes, I was thinking pink. All over. And puffy things."
Shawn and Gus stared at her.
"What? Okay, no pink. How about black, all over, 'heavy-screamy-death music' playing 24/7. Fake blood on the furniture…"
Shawn and Gus's faces dropped. Susie laughed. "I'm kidding. Its fine the way it is. But I was wondering if we could hang some of these up?" She held out an envelope. Shawn took it. Inside were dozens of photos, some of landscapes, some of the three of them. "Oh, yeah. These are defiantly going up." said Shawn. He pulled out the one of the gull attacking the girl at the beach. "Especially this one."
END
