Chapter 10: The End
Juliet helped the hobbling Shawn walk slowly out of the building to the waiting ambulance. Gus ran over when he saw the pair. "Shawn! Are you all right? You look terrible, man."
"Thanks buddy. Good to see you too," Shawn quipped as Juliet helped him sit down on the gurney. The EMTs immediately started to take his vitals and check on his injuries. Gus looked at Juliet.
"Are you okay?" he asked her clearly concerned.
"Yes, Gus. I'm fine. Unfortunately, he took the brunt of the abuse," she said sadly as she gazed over at Shawn. Both Gus and Juliet looked up as Lassiter and a few other officers lead Miller out in hand cuffs.
"Well, at least he won't hurt anyone again for a while," Gus said.
"Let's hope not," Juliet said. The suspect was loaded in the car and Lassiter motioned for Juliet to come over.
"Either of you riding with Shawn?" one of the paramedics asked.
"You go with him Gus. I have to speak to Lassiter. I'll see you both at the hospital."
"Okay. Bye Juliet," Gus said.
"Bye, Gus." Juliet walked over to the gurney. She looked down at Shawn.
"I'll see you later," she said softly as she gently touched his arm.
"Bye, Jules," he said and as she started to walk away he added, "Thanks for coming."
She turned to look at him and smiled. "Sure," she said and she walked back toward Lassiter.
Shawn was in the hospital for two days before he was released. Juliet did come to check on him that first night, but Shawn was out of it due to painkillers. Then he spent two lecture filled days at his Dad's house. He was hoping that the guilt from the blow to the head would have lasted a little bit longer, but there was no way Henry Spencer would pass up an opportunity to lecture a captive audience.
The one bright spot he kept hoping for was that Juliet would call or stop by. All he knew was that she hadn't been back or hadn't called since that night. What happened? Did he do something? No, not that he remembered. She was feeling guilty. He knew it and he had a plan. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Gus' number. "Gus, pick me up at my Dad's. I need a ride."
Juliet sat on her couch, dressed in sweats and lounged watching the television. She operated on auto-pilot the last four days. She desperately wanted to see Shawn or call him, but every time she reached for the phone she stopped. The guilt for his injuries was eating at her. How could she look him in the eye when it was her fault for what happened? He had called her once, but she let it go to voice mail. It was Saturday. No work to distract her. Mookie was curled up at her feet. She sighed as she flipped through the channels for the tenth time. There was a knock at the door. She got up and walked toward the door. She peeked through the peep hole and didn't see anyone. Opening the door slowly with the security chain still latched, she looked out again and then she heard a soft meow. Looking down she saw a pet carrier with an envelope on top of it, she closed the door and unlatched the chain, and opened the door again. She reached down for the note with a shaking hand. It read: Dear Jules, A very handsome young man with awesome hair purchased me for you. He is very sweet and you should definitely stop ignoring him. My name is Wembley, by the way. He said you'd understand why. Your new pet, Wembley. P.S. He is over by the little blue car. She grinned and looked up. There was the familiar little blue car by the street. Shawn was leaning on the passenger side of the car and Gus was next to him. Shawn waved and gestured for her to open up the crate. Picking up the small box and inside she saw a small calico cat. She laughed and walked toward the car.
When she got close he said, "Do you like him?"
She chuckled, "It's a she, Shawn. All Calicos are female."
He looked puzzled and glanced at Gus. "Did you know that?"
"Yes, I did. Animal Planet," Gus said with a smile.
"Well, it's not like I checked out all her parts," Shawn said, "So, why are you ignoring me?"
She blushed slightly. "I'll wait in the car," Gus said.
Juliet walked closer to Shawn and looking down, she said, "I'm sorry, but I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure how to apologize."
"Hey," he waited until she looked up at him, "You had nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong. Jules, I don't blame you for any of this. Besides, I'm fine. The most pain was listening to my dad for two days. And you can make it better if you hug me." He held out his arms.
She chuckled and stepped into the hug. After a minute, she moved back. "So do you two want to come in? We can order a pizza."
"Sounds like fun," he bent down and waved for Gus to come out. When Gus got out, Shawn said, "Jules invited us for in for pizza. You coming?"
"You two go ahead. I have some things to catch up on," Gus said with a smile. Shawn grinned at him and turned back to Juliet.
"Looks like it's just us," Shawn said. She smiled and the pair headed inside. Gus chuckled as he heard Shawn say, "So little boy cat was a girl. Does Buzz know?"
THE END