So do I start the groveling now or later? I'm really sorry about taking so long to update. Finals, life, writer's block, work... I've got excuses but still I feel bad.
Hope you guys enjoy this. And I might have to recall my calling it call.
Last March- Sydney Australia
Shawn walked hand in hand with Jules down the dock to the waiting yacht. Even though he'd been carrying it in his pocket the whole trip, tonight the ring box in his pocket felt heavier.
"Shawn, where are we going?"
He kept walking not keeping the grin off of his face. "I am a man of mysteries. Lucky for you, this one is about to be solved."
"I thought this was a work free trip."
"First off, you know I can't turn it off like that. Second, who said anything about work."
"First off, there isn't anything to turn off." She playfully pushed him. "Secondly, aren't mysteries kinda your thing?"
First off, there's this." He brought his finger to his head. "Secondly, this isn't a nasty crime mystery."
"Are we going to do this the whole night or is this just the opening act?"
He turned to her and put on his innocent face. "Do what?"
Shawn couldn't keep the smile off his face as she rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what I mean."
"Oh get a room!" Shawn looked up and saw Sydney on deck.
"Sydney, what are you doing up there?" Jules turned to Shawn. "Are we?"
"Just a little night out at sea." Shawn led her onto the gangplank and onto the yacht. He let go of Jules for a second and walked over to Sydney. "Everything in place?"
"Just like we planned." She took the ring box he slid her. "Sunset is in an hour and a half."
"Copy that." Shawn circled around Jules and took her hand again. "Let's get this party started."
He led her to the front of the boat where Lassie, Marlowe, Gus, and his Dad were already sipping on drinks and Shawn saw Sydney taking a drink from the bartender.
Shawn felt his eyebrow rise and saw Lassie had a similar look. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm legal here and plan on enjoying that before we go back stateside."
She walked past him and took a seat on one the benches that ran along the sides of the boat. As she passed him, Shawn could have sworn he heard her murmur something about this not being her first drink.
He'd investigate that another day.
The next hour passed quickly as they left the port and headed out to sea. Dinner was served and the mood was light as they all enjoyed this much-needed vacation.
"Where's Sydney?" Shawn turned to see Jules looking around.
"Oh, she'll turn up eventually, not like she could have gotten far." Shawn kept the knowing grin off of his face.
The sun was starting to set and the twinkling lights around the boat added to the atmosphere. Music played and Shawn just barely heard the splash coming from the other side of the yacht.
Hopefully Jules didn't.
It seemed like luck was with him because it didn't faze her from where she'd moved to stand by Lassie and Marlowe. Shawn moved over to where Gus and his dad were sipping on drink. "Almost time."
"You know kid, I never thought I'd see the day." His dad didn't bother to hide his smile.
"Did you have to do it on a boat though?" Even with the seasickness patch, Gus was looking a little green.
"This is the mother of romantic scenarios!" Shawn nodded to the setting sun. "Showtime."
He went over and took Jules by the hand and led her away from the group. "Having fun?"
"This is amazing, Shawn." She was glowing and Shawn couldn't keep the smile off of his face.
"It is." Shawn took a deep breath. "You know, I once had some tell me something."
"What's that?"
"They said maybe the best things, the richest things aren't supposed to come easily, and that sometimes the moments that make the most sense happen when everything else doesn't."
"Nine years ago, I wandered back to Santa Barbara not sure what to do. To say life didn't make sense, well that's an understatement. Even after we started Psych, I figured I'd stick around for a bit and then move on. But something stopped me."
"And what was that?"
"This beautiful blonde detective who came in and managed to work with one of the most irritable people I've ever met."
"Hey!"
Shawn shrugged, not taking his eyes off of Juliet. "Lassie, it took you like six years to get the stick out of your butt."
He took Jules hands into his and led her to the railing to watch the sunset. "And as time passed, I realized something about that blonde detective."
"What did you realize?"
"That maybe I could fall in love. Maybe I could find a girl who would make me want to settle down, get a real car, consider having my 2.5 kids which I've never understood that by the way."
"It's the average." Gus took a swig of his drink.
"What he said."
A splash sounded from right below them and Shawn turned to see a plastic clamshell floating by the yacht. He grabbed the nearby pole and fished it out dropping to one knee when he had it in his hand.
"So nine years passed, and I was thinking, maybe it's time I marry that blonde detective. So, Juliet Ohara, will you marry me?"
Jules nodded through the tears and Shawn opened the clamshell revealing the ring. Taking the ring out, he placed it on Jules' finger. "Better than a pearl huh?"
"Much better. You love your theatrics don't you."
"Do you expect any less?"
"From you? Never." She barely got that out before Shawn pulled her in for a kiss.
"Get a room!" Shawn broke away and saw Sydney treading water by the yacht in full SCUBA gear.
"You going to come up here and rejoin the party?"
"You guys should come out here. The view underwater is amazing!
"Yeah, but."
"Chill Dad, I'm coming, ladder's on the other side though." She put her mouthpiece back in and disappeared under the yacht.
"When did she learn to SCUBA dive?"
"Over the summer apparently. One of her friends talked her into it and she loved it." Shawn led Jules back to the group, even though the group had migrated to them.
The next few minutes passed quickly as Marlowe gushed over the ring and Lassiter reminded him not to hurt Jules. Sydney even rejoined the group, her wet hair in a braid.
Shawn turned to head to the bar to grab another drink when he noticed the boat from earlier, the figure still facing their direction.
If the case with Nadia wasn't enough to make him feel like a spy, the stunt Shawn had just pulled sure did. He'd managed to sneak out, the same way Alex just snuck in, of the station, past both parties outside, and was making his way to the Psych office.
After a stop at a Jamba Juice for a much needed, well Jamba Juice, he headed to the office and slipped inside hoping his hunch was right. And he hoped Gus hadn't eaten the last of the Red Vines before they'd headed to the station.
"It was you wasn't it? That night in March." Shawn kept his back to the door of the office as he heard someone enter. Once again, he hoped his hunch was right.
"You didn't think I wouldn't keep an eye on you? I'm hurt." Just as Shawn suspected, Francesca's voice was the one the came from the figure behind him. "No need to act like that, it's just you and me like old times."
"Why don't I believe you?" Shawn turned to face her and found that maybe what he'd been hearing was true. She looked like the Francesca he'd known but at the same time she didn't.
"I'd say it has something to do with your trust issues." She sat down on the couch and Shawn was reminded of how she always seemed so elegant.
"You know I'm taken right?" Shawn waved his left hand.
"Do you really not know what this is about? Or is your supposed third eye blocking you."
"Don't judge my gift." Shawn brought his finger to his head.
"Speaking of your gift how did you manage to escape lockdown."
"That's for me to know, and you never to find out."
And then there was getting back into the station before Sydney realized it. One thing he'd learned…
Don't piss Sydney off.
"Cut the crap, Shawn. Where is it?" Shawn watched as the coy look on her face iced over to something almost sinister.
"Where's what?" For once, Shawn honestly didn't have a clue.
"The legend."
"The legend of what?" Seriously, what was she talking about?
Before he could think about it much more, he felt something connect to the back of his head and he fell to the floor. The last thing he heard before everything went black was, "Toss the place, and his place, and wherever you have to until you find it."
"I'm going to kill him." Lassiter watched Sydney walk the length of the bullpen for the fourth time in the last few minutes. "I'm going to find him, tell him I'm glad he's okay, and then I'm going to kill him."
"Do you want help with that?" Honestly? Lassiter was annoyed that Spencer had once again pulled a stunt like that.
"Lassiter! You're not helping." He shrugged at his partner.
Sydney was yelling into her phone in French and Lassiter didn't need three guesses as to who was on the other end. One thing was for sure, he was glad it wasn't him.
One thing he knew for sure, never piss Sydney off.
Sydney hung up the phone and did another lap. "I'm going to kill him."
"You know, as much as I'd love to see that, I really don't feel like doing the paperwork your booking would require." Lassiter took a seat at his desk and put in Spencer info into the GPS tracker.
"Like you'd catch me afterwards." Sydney let out a scoff nad settled down in a chair next to his desk.
"I don't even want to hear you elaborate on that." Gus shifted uneasily from where he sat next to Ohara's desk.
"I wasn't planning on it." Sydney smirked.
They sat around for a few minutes, waiting on the results, listening to the sound of the COPS marathon going on in the conference room. COPS there, Alias continued upstairs, and rumor had it Scooby Doo was somewhere in the precinct.
Guess Spencer wasn't the only one that hadn't grown up. But hey it kept people from complaining about being trapped for over 24 hours.
As long as they got some work done…
"What's the latest on finding Spencer?" Chief Vick came out of her office, looking exhausted and frazzled.
"Well, we're working on keeping Sydney from shooting him once we do." Lassiter nodded in Sydney's direction.
"Who said anything about shooting? I can be way more creative that that."
"I'm going to pretend, for the sake of the paperwork involved, that I didn't hear that." Chief Vick turned to head down the hall. "I'm going to check on everyone. Have something for me when I get back."
"Sure thing Chief." Ohara chimed in from her desk where she was looking in traffic cams to see if they could pick up Spencer along the way. What were the chances of a car running a light when he was in range?
"Hey Jules, I've been meaning to ask you but where did you get the necklace?" Lassiter looking up and noticed the necklace in question.
"It was a wedding present from your Dad. He said he found the charm when he was moving into our house. It screamed me so he got it set into the necklace.
Sydney went over and Jules took off the necklace and held it up so Sydney could see. To everyone's surprise, the light from the window went through it and cast something on the walls of the chief's office.
"What is that?" Lassiter got out of his chair and went over to examine the pattern.
"I've seen this before." Sydney joined him.
"What is it?" He repeated his question.
"It's a legend."
"Like to a map?" Ohara suggested being careful not to move.
"Exactly."
"So if there's a legend there's a map which means…" Lassiter started.
"It means there's something to find and I'll bet Gomez wants it."
Lassiter's computer pinged as Sydney's phone rang. He headed over and looked at the data on the screen. "Spencer's at the Psych office."
"I doubt he's still there." Sydney hung up her phone. "Alex just got there and the place has been trashed."
Hope that was worth the wait.
Til next time... :)