Daddy's Little Girl Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych, just the DVDs in my DVD collection (:

This chapter is a lot more Shulesy, probably the most Shules I have had in any chapter! I'm glad you all like the back and forth notes, because… well, this is A LOT of those notes (:

Forgive me for the formatting, in the beginning it's gonna be a lot of short little sections but the later in the weeks it gets the longer the sections get and then, the end… I'm saying sorry now for it, but it all works out, I PROMISE!

Really forgive me for how long it took to update this chapter, I am sorry but school has kicked my ass and most of my free time is dedicated to running the Gravy_Film twitter, aka the Official twitter account for James Roday's movie Gravy that I run with nicolewriter ( nicole_msmith).


Shawn walked into the police station and knowingly made his way to Juliet's desk. Gus followed behind, still completely unaware of what exactly was transpiring at Juliet's desk every few days but he noticed the spring back in Shawn's step, the light (or at least some of the light) back into his eyes.

While Shawn took his usual seat and Juliet's desk, Gus gave the file back to Lassiter. This was an actual case and not information on Bridgewater. Chief had been keeping their case load light but enough to keep money in their pockets and to keep them coming back to the station.

All so Shawn could be doing what he was right now.

Shawn,

I miss you. Our bed, despite the fact Gracie sleeps in
it every night, feels empty. I know you asked about her
nightmares last time and I didn't say much, but they are
getting worse Shawn. She wakes up crying and I don't
know what to do except hold her. She refuses to talk about
it afterwards. I remember when she would have nightmares
when she was younger and just the sound of your voice
would make her spill exactly what happened. How she trusted
you wholeheartedly. I cannot wait until our family is whole
again. Carlton told me that he has been giving you information
on Bridgewater. I am glad you are not giving up but Shawn,
don't kill yourself trying to find it out. Your mother is taking
a crack at getting her to open up. I'm sure she will tell you how
it went before I can tell you next time but just remember that
we are all on your side.

Love, Juliet.

Shawn frowned as he read of Grace's nightmares and the truth to it. He used to be the one who could calm her down, who she would cry out for in the middle of the night, who she would cling to. Brushing it off he began to write his note to Juliet


Juliet watched as Grace followed Madeleine into the Chief's office, as they had been doing every 3 days. Not that it seemed to be working. Maddie couldn't say much of what Grace was saying, but none of it was progress. She talked only about what they already knew and already had evidence of, but it was a start.

But that wasn't helping their sleeping patterns either.

Despite the fact that Gracie slept in her bed every night, at least twice a night she would wake up in a panic, at least once a night crying out and taking several moments to be calmed down.

It was becoming routine, too routine. Wake up, have breakfast together, watch tv, complain about physical therapy, have lunch, go to therapy. Every three days. Even though Juliet should be grateful to be in the station because Grace was finally getting help, she was most excited about what she knew was in her desk drawer.

Her partner already had a cup of coffee on her desk because he realized if it was there already, she would finish whatever she was doing there quickly enough to sit at his desk to update him on Grace, talk, or maybe lend her advice about his latest case.

Taking a sip of her coffee and nodding a thank you at Carlton, she pulled the letter out.

Jules,

It breaks my heart to hear of Grace's nightmares
and I have to believe that my Mom is helping some.
She helped Lassie for God's sake. How are you
sweetheart? You can't be getting enough sleep, Lassie
said that you looked tired. It kind of reminds me of the
advice my Mom gave you when we had Grace home for
the first month and she was so colicky. When Grace naps
you should nap, and I know Grace naps because of the
pain meds she is on and how exhausting I imagine PT is
for her shoulder. Promise me Jules you are taking care of
yourself. Remember how we struggled those first few
months Jules. Barely married a year and with a baby who
was downright adorable but had a very good set of lungs
on her. I feel like it's that all over again Jules. You had to go
through so much of that alone Juliet, because I didn't have
the food source and I didn't know how to calm her. I wasn't
ready to be a dad when we had Grace but you were a natural
as a Mom. It makes me feel so glad that Grace is in your hands.
But I will never give up Jules.

I love you,
Shawn

"You silly stupid man," she whispered and wiped tears out of her eyes before writing a note back.


Shawn,

I think you might have a memory lapse. You, of
all people. When we were fumbling through those
first few months with Grace, it was hell, for both of
us. Mostly me. You were my rock. You would get up
in the middle of the night and bring her to me if she
was hungry and the first day the Chief asked you to
come in when I was still on maternity leave you called
me five times in the first hour. You were such an
incredible partner in trying to raise our daughter and
you are such an amazing and devoted dad. I wouldn't
have had it any other way. When we found out I was
pregnant we were terrified, but you told me we could
do it, that we were together in this. And right now I feel
like we aren't together in this, like there is a line and it's
been drawn by Bridgewater. We will cross that line Shawn,
I promise.

Love,
Juliet


Jules,

I don't think you realized I was serious Jules when I wanted to
hear (or read) that you promise to take care of yourself. If you
are still worried about me and my feelings and trying to get Grace
to trust me again you are not taking care of yourself. You paint me
out to be this incredible father, but Jules, a month before you found
out you were pregnant I said five years until we would have children
I remember seeing your face, that you weren't necessarily happy with
that number but you agreed because I know in your heart you knew
I wasn't ready. Grace related to me because she was a child, and I
still was a child. Now she needs you, because they are grown up
problems and you are a grown up Jules. That's what I need to do,
grow up. And I am working on that Jules, I promise. We will be a
family again sweetheart but we need to give our Gracie girl time to
heal.

Love,
Shawn


Shawn,

I'm taking care of myself the best I can Shawn, I
know that's not what you want to hear but it's the
truth. Marlowe, Carlton, and the kids came over for
dinner yesterday, or Marlowe invited herself to come
over and cook for us because Gracie isn't ready to leave
the house for long extended hours. So I am eating,
socializing, and I'm putting into practice the whole "I sleep
when she sleeps" philosophy your Mom insisted upon when
Gracie was a baby. Luckily Gracie is not fond of messes anymore
so the house is not as dirty as it was back then, plus it's good to
keep her active since her shoulder is slowly getting better. In a few
weeks she shouldn't need her sling anymore. What is this whole
growing up business mister? That isn't the Shawn I love. You have
grown Shawn, you married me didn't you, something you thought
would never happen. Well it did, and that is all the growing you need
to do. Remember our honeymoon? The week we spent in The Bahamas
was incredible but the week after, when we traveled the country on your
motorcycle and stayed at random motels I am most fond of. You showed
me places you used to work, the adventures you had, it showed me
how you became the man I love and I don't know how, but I fell for
you even harder after that. I now knew what makes you, you, and it's
the fact that you are carefree and fun and so loving and caring. I don't
want anything to change Shawn, this is why this situation breaks my
heart. Too much in my life is changing Shawn. My relationship with
Gracie for the better, but you growing up, I don't think I could handle.

I love you,
Jules


Jules,

Don't be a collection of Nicholas Sparks novels.

Love,
Shawn

P.S. Sorry this one is so short sweetheart, there
is a break in the case and I just wanted to prove
that no matter what happens, whatever changes,
I am still Shawn.

Juliet giggled softly to herself and decided to update him on Gracie's progress thus far. From what Madeleine has been telling her Gracie still refuses to talk about Shawn but she told her how Bridgewater didn't let her sleep during the time after he knocked her unconscious until he stabbed her, which puts into perspective exactly why he was able to manipulate her.

But the biggest problem in their understanding was how he manipulated her. They still didn't know what exactly made Grace turn, other than the fact of being tired, in pain, and concussed. And somehow, whatever it was discredited Shawn and partly Gus from her good graces.

Suddenly her head snapped up as the door to the Chief's office opened and out walked Gracie and Madeleine. Shocked Juliet looked at the clock and saw that it was only a half an hour into the session. Worriedly she hurried over.

"Grace, Maddie what's wrong," immediately she thought the worse looking at her daughter for signs of distress or hurt. Her eyes were slightly red but she was smiling slightly. And the smile seemed genuine.

"Absolutely nothing," Madeleine shook her head. "Grace, can you go see Detective Lassiter for a minute."

"Do I have to, I spent all last night with him," Grace chided before Juliet shook her head at her and pushed her towards him playfully.

"Madeleine, what's up?" she said once Grace was out of sight.

"Nothing," Madeleine beamed.

"What do you mean nothing."

"Nothing is the matter, quite the opposite."

"She told you…"

"He did many things to her, when she wasn't allowed to sleep. He choked her for one, but that's just the beginning…" Juliet gulped and closed her eyes at the simple thought of what was done to her daughter, her hands clenching into fists. "He kept splashing water in her face or hitting her to keep awake. She didn't have a doubt in her mind she was going to die. And I think he was talking the whole time, feeding her lies."

"You think-"

"She clammed up when I asked if he talked, she didn't lie and say he didn't, which is a step in the right direction as well. We started to talk about you, what you were doing now that she is recovering," Maddie explained.

"She doesn't like to leave the house much, unless we go to the movie theatre where it's dark. Her friends have come over a few times but it's mostly just me and her," Juliet told her. "We've watched a lot of movies and just talked."

"She feels safe with you, which is the whole point, she knows now you would never do anything intentionally to hurt her," Madeleine said. "I am worried about her self-punishment."

"I'm giving her her phone back once it is a month after I grounded her. She won't budge on that. The community service I have no control over, she would have to serve it eventually even if the judge grants her an extension if she can't complete it in time because of her shoulder."

"That's good. I want you to have Shawn over for dinner." Juliet's eyes widened.

"What?"

"It's time. She's made progress and she feels comfortable and safe, it is time to push it a little. We can't appease her forever."

"Are you sure it's not… too soon?" Juliet questioned.

"It's been almost three weeks since Shawn moved out, I'm sure." She didn't need any more convincing. She hugged her mother and law before jogging over to her desk. The note where she updated him on Gracie's progress was quickly torn and a new note invited him over tonight replaced it.

Grace was getting better, and she was getting to see her husband again.


Shawn tore the note out of her back pocket as he turned his motorcycle off and put down the kickstand. Before he took his helmet off, he reread the words.

Shawn,

There is no way you can get out of this.
Come to dinner tonight, at OUR house.
Your Mom says she's ready.
I can't wait to see you.

Much love,
Juliet

Taking his helmet off and running his hands through his messy helmet hair, he shoved the note back into his pocket and walked to the front door. His hands were shaking, and he had no idea why he was so nervous to walk into his own house.

It felt strange knocking on the front door. Juliet answered almost immediately and simply the sight of her made Shawn want to melt. She was wearing tight jeans and a simple blue blouse. Her hair was down and in its natural state, curly. She was beautiful.

"Shawn," she whispered.

"Oh Jules," he sighed and immediately cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss that Juliet immediately turned passionate. Her hand snacked around his neck and wound through his hair. Their tongues danced as he pushed her up against the wall and nibbled gently on her bottom lip causing her to whimper. By the time they broke apart, they were both out of breath.

"You don't know how much I missed doing that," Shawn gasped.

"I love you," Juliet answered simply. Shawn peeked around her and into the house nervously.

"Where is she?"

"In her room," Jules said softly. "She's angry at me, but I told her she had no choice was to come out 20 minutes before dinner is ready."

"Don't push her Jules," Shawn shook his head.

"Your Mom said to push," she protested before taking his hand and guiding him up the steps and into the living room. She made her way to the stove and stirred the pot of spaghetti sauce and shivered as she felt Shawn push the hair off the back of her neck and kissed her softly.

"How has, that been going?" Shawn asked. "Mom has stopped by the Psych office but she wouldn't tell me. She wanted to know more about how I was feeling and when I wouldn't tell her she asked about the case."

"She told your Mom that Bridgewater didn't let her sleep, towards the end," Juliet said softly. "With a concussion she was probably so exhausted that-"

"That she would have believed almost anything," Shawn nodded.

"And now it's just a matter of finding out what he told her," Juliet finished. "And that's where you come in. If we bring you back into the picture, your Mom hopes now that Grace fully trusts me and her that she will tell us exactly why she doesn't want to be around you. And then we can work on proving that it's not true."

"And you think that will work?" Shawn murmured.

"It's worth a shot," she shrugged. "I don't know what else to do anymore Shawn. She's still hurting, but I think she is hurting just as much hating you as she is from what he did to you. She knows you are still her Daddy, she is still daddy's little girl, she is just confused. " She turned down the sauce and spun around, winding her arms around his waist. "GRACE! It's almost time for dinner!"

"I'm not hungry!" Grace's voice traveled down the hallway, her voice was hard.

"Grace Madeleine," Juliet warned and Shawn's felt a lump in his throat as he heard a door open and slam shut; Grace appearing from the bedroom hallway 20 seconds later. She didn't look into the kitchen before sitting down with a bump on the couch. It was the first glimpse he has had of her since watching Jules say goodbye to her before she went into surgery.

The differences made Shawn want to smile. Despite the scowl on her face, her cheek was no longer swollen the bruises were practically nonexistent. She was no longer pale and the only thing that showed any indication of what happened was the sling on her arm.

"Hi Grace," Shawn's voice wavered.

"Shawn," Grace said curtly and Shawn's mouth snapped shut before turning back to Juliet. She put the pasta in the boiling water and set the timer before taking his hand encouragingly and leading him in the living room and grabbed the remote.

"What do you want to watch?" Juliet tried to start a conversation.

"It's pointless," Grace muttered. "Dinner will be ready. I'm going to the bathroom to freshen up."

"You can go in a few minutes, let's watch tv as a family," Juliet pleaded and Shawn watched as mother and daughter caught eyes. Jules must have looked desperate because Grace relaxed.

"What channel?"

"Nickelodeon," Shawn and Grace said at the same time. Grace gasped and Shawn hid a smile. The smile that spread across Juliet's face practically lit up the room. Grace immediately recovered.

"I meant Animal Planet," she said quickly and her eyes traveled to her lap. Juliet flipped to Animal Planet and the family watched in silence until the timer went off in the kitchen and Juliet went to finish dinner.

"Shawn, can you get drinks?" Jules asked sweetly. "And Gracie can you set the table?"

"Mom," she warned.

"Grace." Shawn was surprised. He knew that her daughter and his wife had gotten close, but now more than ever, more than their fights and everything that happened before all this, he saw the similarities between the two of them.

After Grace set the table, she made sure she sat at the very end, on the opposite side of Shawn's usual seat which he took despite Juliet's eyes telling him to sit in the seat in the middle. Juliet put dinner out and Grace immediately helped herself and began eating in silence.

"How has work been Shawn?" Juliet finally said. Grace made a coughing sound but Shawn couldn't hear the words that she was trying to hide.

"It's been a little slow," Shawn shrugged. "Grace how has PT been?"

"How do you think it is?" Grace snapped.

"Gracie," Jules hissed.

"Painful, that's how," Grace continued.

"But you are getting better," Shawn said.

"No thanks to you," she shot back.

"Grace, stop it," Juliet exclaimed.

"No Mom, YOU stop it. Whatever you are trying to do, it's not working," Grace stood up. "It's not as simple as a dinner or polite conversation. I am going to my room." Knowing it was futile, they let her storm away.

"Well I was right," Shawn grumbled. "It's too soon. It might not ever been time-"

"Don't Shawn," no one had an appetite anymore so Juliet simply played with the pasta on her plate. "I refuse to give up. You will keep coming over until she gets used to being around you again. Appeasing her is not going to help. I am going to get her for dessert and you can't stop me."

"Sweetheart, she's not ready, it hasn't even been a month. She wasn't just tortured psychically, but mentally, this man was a genius and knew just how to twist the truth. She needs time," Shawn tried to reason.

"Help me clean up," Jules sighed.

"I'm pretty sure my spot is in the living room, in front of the tv," Shawn excused with a smile and kissed her cheek. Juliet smiled at his attempt to make things normal. He wasn't paying attention to the television at all. Shawn was watching his wife intently.

The way she moved, the stress that was etched into every line in her face. This was harder on her than he imagined and it was obvious she wasn't taking care of herself. She looked exhausted; he imagined she didn't sleep well, even if Grace didn't have a terrible nightmare. Her movements were calculated and quick. He knew she wanted to get dessert out as soon as possible, force it. Especially as the smell of coffee wafted through the air. He knew Grace would want some, it was inevitable. At least that would make her emerge from her sanctuary and Jules would have one last attempt.

"Grace, coffee!" Juliet called as she poured herself and Shawn a cup. "I'm not bringing it to you."

"Who are you talking to?" Shawn joked.

"Both of you," Jules teased and Shawn got up.

"She's not going to come by herself Jules," he took a seat and reached for the muffins Jules had placed in the middle of the table. Francine had heard about Shawn moving out from Buzz and was giving him a basket once a week too, so he shouldn't be eating these, but they were so good.

"Shawn couldn't you wait?"

"No," Shawn mumbled through a mouthful of muffin. Juliet laughed softly to herself and sighed as a minute passed and there was still no sign of Grace.

"She'll come out if she realizes you are going to eat all of the muffins but I might as well give her the coffee," Juliet said while pouring Grace a cup.

"Tell her to hurry," he reached for another and smirked when Juliet smacked his hand away from the basket when she passed. Faintly he heard a knock on Grace's door.

"Gracie, I have your coffee but-" Shawn was reaching for another muffin for real this time when the sound of a coffee cup shattering startled him and made him jump up.

"GRACE!" Juliet screamed and Shawn was in the bedroom hallway in a flash. He immediately recognized four things. First, the bathroom door was open, and empty. Second, the coffee cup shattered, leaking coffee all over the hardwood floor in Grace's bedroom doorway. Third, the look of complete terror and distress on Juliet's face.

And finally, Grace's bedroom, completely empty; her window wide open.

She was gone.


DON'T KILL ME (: It's not as bad as you think and though it doesn't seem like it, it is starting Grace's healing process more than it has already!

I cannot believe Psych is over, but we will always have Santa Barbara, and syndication, and fanfiction of course. Sorry I couldn't get this out before the final episode but once the summer starts (my last final is April 24th) I will start updating more regularly. Also, check out my new story Last Night Jules, which I also will be updating sporadically until the summer but it will become more regular.

Please R&R!