Beep-Beep-Beep Beep-Beep-Beep
"Oh crap!" Shawn said, when he heard the alarm for them to leave go off. "Jules! We have to get up now- it's 8:15."
"Oh shoot," Juliet said, jumping up out of bed and running to their closet to put on a pantsuit.
"I'm so sorry. I kept on turning the alarm off- I forgot what it was for."
"Shawn," Juliet said, pulling a shirt over her head, but slowing down when she her hands went to her neck to flick the hair that wasn't there out of her collar.
Shawn quickly turned around to pull on his shirt, pretending he hadn't seen the awkward moment.
"You ready?" Juliet said after she pulled on her jacket.
"Jules, you need to eat something."
"I'm not hungry right now," Juliet said, throwing on a pair of heels and walking towards the door. "I'll eat when I get there."
"You sure?"
"Yeah- I just don't want to be late."
"Okay, let's go."
"That was the fastest you've ever gotten us here without getting pulled over," Juliet said, giving Shawn a sideways smile when they got to the street of the station.
"Well, we have my trusty cranberry steed to get us here."
"Yeah. That's what it was."
Shawn pulled into a spot in the front and turned off the car. Shawn was about to give Juliet a little warning, or encouragement, or something that would prep her for the storm that was waiting to break out inside. But before he could stop her, Juliet had already jumped out of the car and started running into the station.
"Wai-" Shawn yelled, running behind her, but she had already run in, the door to the station slamming behind her.
Shawn ran up the steps and swung the door open to reveal the station at a standstill. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at Juliet. People just stood there, their unblinking eyes rested on the top of her head. A few mouths hung open while others were covered by clenched hands. Shawn turned his head, feeling the whole station fall into an infinite, echoing silent pause.
He could see Chief starting to stand up, looking out of the window of her office. Her hands were leaning on the top of her desk and her mouth hanging slightly unhinged. He saw McNab sitting at his own desk, his tall head peering over his computer, tipping forward, trying to get a closer look.
But most heartbreaking was Lassie. He sat as his desk, his eyes slightly downturned. He was the only one in the station not looking at her head. Instead, he set his eyes on her feet, his back slouching like a deflated balloon. His face looked flushed and discomfort wrinkled his forehead and along the side of his eyes.
Suddenly, someone hit their coffee mug off their desk, breaking the silence, and just as soon as it started, the infinite second was gone. Shawn turned and saw Juliet's shoulders fall. Without looking up, she ran down the hall to the stairs and raced towards the bathroom.
Shawn took one last look around at the station before racing down the hall behind Juliet, leaving the station in whispers behind him.
"Jules?" Shawn opened up the door to the bathroom. "Juliet!" There she was, her chest heaving up and down and her hands shaking uncontrollably as she slowly slid down the far wall in the bathroom.
"Lassie!" Shawn called out the door, then ran over to pick Juliet up from the floor. She was limp and pale, breathing heavy. Shawn sat down and held her close, wrapping his arms around her so she would calm down.
"No, no, no, no, no, no," Juliet whispered, her whole body now shaking so violently, Shawn though she might hurt herself. Shawn held on to her as tight as he could, afraid to let go.
Just then, the door swung open, and Lassiter and Chief Vick ran in. Chief ran over to kneel in front of Shawn and Jules, but Lassiter stopped dead at the door and just stared. Shawn could tell by the blank but wrinkled look on his face, the way his shoulder had dropped, his eyes finally resting on the top of Juliet's shiny head, Lassiter was terrified.
"Juliet," Chief said calmly, waiting for Juliet's breath to slow down a bit and her arms and head to stop shaking.
"Juliet," Chief said again when Juliet finally started to relax, her arms and legs slowly stopped shaking and her muscles started to let go. "You can't keep doing this. You can't push all your emotions down."
Juliet's eyes turned up, staring at the bridge of Chief's nose.
"There's no shame in showing weakness."
Juliet nodded slowly. Her eyes softened, and a single tear slid out of the corner of her eye.