Author note: So it has been a while... I told you I wouldn't abandon this :)

I admit, I'm a little hesitant posting this after so long so please let me know what you guys think. I'm already working on the next chapter so hopefully it will only be a few days before the next one.

What happened previously: (Having their "christmas" dinner)

"Shawn?" Gus asked, noticing how his friend was acting. "Who?"

All eyes turned to Shawn discreetly, whose eyes turned to the seemingly empty chair at the end of the table.

"I…uh." Shawn struggled to formulate his response.

Henry suddenly slammed his fork down and glared at the empty chair.

"Look, I don't know who you are or what the hell you came here to do but STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM MY SON!"

All expressions filled with shock including that of Mr Holmes, "My goodness. Your father does indeed have quite the temper. I do not believe I should asked twice. Just think about what I said Shawn"

He began to walk away when Shawn spoke out with an ecstatic grin on his face, "Don't forget your cane"

The rest of the table were staring at him slightly shocked but Shawn was far to entertained with the prospect that his dad had managed to scare of his hallucination.

Shawn turned to face his father with a smile who had wide eyes, feeling a little silly after what he had just said to thin air.

"I did it?" Henry asked in mild disbelief.

The look that Shawn was giving his father was one of pure wonder that made Henry's heart melt. It was like his son finally needed him again. He was useful.

Shawn nodded, wide eyes at his father like he had some sort of super power.

"Good, now we can enjoy our meal without interruptions" Henry stuttered, giving his son a small smile, offering that little comfort which Shawn needed.

Shawn bit his lip and seemed to suddenly become sober as he stared at his dad, wondering how Henry managed to get rid of Mr Holmes when Charlie and the drugs only succeeded some of the time.

"Drink?" Gus then asked Shawn, distracting him momentarily. Shawn turned and accepted and Henry began another conversation with Bill as Gus filled up Shawn's glass. Everything was as it should.

The rest of the meal passed without incident and Shawn happily participated in the conversation. The topics usually resounded about him as Winnie was intent on learning more about her son's best friend.

"So Shawn" Winnie started causing Shawn to put down his fork, "How are you enjoying your freedom so far?"

She smiled calmly and Shawn who gave a tentative smile back.

"It's great" Shawn told her honestly. "But West Haven is hardly a prison, it has great facilities there now"

Henry looked at him in shock, "Really? I got the feeling that you weren't very happy here to be honest"

Shawn looked towards Henry, his expression unreadable.

"What's wrong honey?" Winnie asked gently, noticing the tension.

"Nothing" Shawn was quick to reply.

Gus caught his eye immediately and his eyes softened and gave a small smile. Shawn sighed.

"It's hard" Shawn eventually said looking down at the table. "But I am glad to be here, even if it is only for a week. I've never had a proper Christmas dinner before" he admitted shyly.

Bill's eyes narrowed on Henry who was now looking down in shame.

"Shawn honey, come and help me with dessert" Winnie suggested, rising from her seat.

Shawn glanced down at Henry who was still staring at the table in shame before standing up and walking round the table to join her.

Shawn watched as Winnie took out a ready made cake from the fridge, decorated with pineapple slices. His mouth watered with excitement causing Winnie to chuckle.

"Gus rang me as soon as he found out, I wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to see you and so I baked this almost immediately. Charlie tells me it's your favourite"

Shawn grinned, "Thanks Winnie"

"Now" she said placing her hands on her hips, "Are you ok? Really? Henry told me you had a little fight earlier"

Shawn blinked and took his eyes of the cake, Henry told her? Of course he had.

"He… everyone at the station knew about me" Shawn whispered,

"Of course they did honey, you don't think Henry would just ignore the fact he has a son" Winnie calmly told him.

"Not just my existence" he argued feebly, "He told them about my past, the things I've done"

Winnie's expression softened.

"He had no right to tell anyone anything" Shawn whispered brokenly.

"Oh Shawn" she whispered back before she walked forwards and embraced Shawn in a hug.

Shawn automatically tensed at the contact but Winnie seemed oblivious. It was only a few seconds later that Shawn relaxed and for the first time, he actually hugged back.

What seemed like minutes later they broke apart and Winnie smiled cradling Shawn's face.

"It's gonna be ok" she whispered and Shawn believed her.

After Winnie and Shawn left the table, there was a moment's silence. Bill frowned and concentrated on scraping the remainder of his food into his mouth. Gus had finished and laid a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"It's ok, Henry" Gus said solemnly.

"He's never had a Christmas dinner?" Henry murmured. "I was sure….."

Gus frowned, "He has them at West Haven every year."

Henry's eyes widened, "I'm sure that's not what he meant Gus"

"But you're here now" Bill interrupted, "And that is what counts"

Gus smiled looking up at his dad proudly.

Suddenly there was a timid knock at the door and Gus rose from his seat and walked to the door to see who it was.

He opened the door to find the smiling face of Charlie, looking quite sheepish for being late.

"Charlie" Gus greeted her, "You're a bit late, you've missed the main. Shawn's just helping mom in the kitchen with dessert"

"Thanks Gus" she smiled as she entered the house, "Today has been tiring"

Gus smiled and watched as Charlie greeted Bill and Henry first and then was directed in the direction of the kitchen. Charlie knew Bill and Winnie quite well. They had both taken turns in bringing Gus to visit Shawn and so had gotten to know them well, often letting the boys socialise while they got a coffee.

Charlie walked silently through to the kitchen as Gus and Bill sat back down at the table. She approached the door silently and stopped in the bend before the kitchen as she heard Shawn's voice.

"He told them about my past, the things I've done. He had no right to tell anyone anything"

"Oh Shawn…. It's gonna be ok"

Charlie remained silent and watched Winnie embrace him in the reflection of the glass door. She was about to enter when she saw Shawn's arms move and return the hug. She let out a silent gasp and began to smile. She quickly left them to it and returned to the table.

Gus raised his eyebrows at the prompt return.

"They were busy" Charlie explained with a cheeky smile before catching Henry's eye, "We'll have a chat later"

Henry nodded, eager to please her as he knew she was the one woman who knew his son the best.

Shawn came back into the room, the cake balanced in his hands. He almost dropped the cake when he saw Charlie sat at the table.

She smiled guilty, "Sorry I missed the main course"

Shawn gave a small smile back and looked towards the dessert in his hand before setting it down in the middle of the table.

"That's ok, is everyone ok?" Shawn responded.

"Everyone's fine, they miss you though" Charlie answered back honestly.

Shawn appreciated the honesty but couldn't stop himself from feeling guilty for leaving them, especially Jessica.

"How is Jessica doing?" Shawn asked.

Charlie sighed, "She wouldn't take her pills, but that's not unusual"

Shawn gave a small smile back that was Jessica alright. Shawn and Jessica both shared the opinion that neither of them were sick, they were just different which was not an excuse to be heavily medicated, causing them to feel sluggish and tired.

"If she did take her pills willingly, then I would be worried" Shawn responded with a small giggle which he easily disguised as a cough.

Neither Henry or Gus believed it.

"So, I hear you and your father had a small disagreement" Charlie remarked, once everyone had sat down.

Everyone tensed, Henry shooting daggers at Charlie with worry who didn't want to make the situation any worse.

"Nothing gets passed you" Shawn remarked back easily, Charlie always liked to get everything out into the open, this family meal was now turning into a group therapy session. Henry smiled slightly to himself, recognising what Charlie was doing.

Charlie smiled smugly back to Shawn.

"Henry" she turned towards him, "Have you apologised?"

"i…no" Henry stuttered and Charlie frowned before gesturing towards Shawn.

"I'm really sorry Shawn" Henry muttered, looking at his son in the eyes so he could tell he was sincere.

"It's fine" Shawn answered back nonchalantly.

"No it's not" Henry responded immediately, "I should have warned you at least."

Charlie nodded with encouragement.

"When you were taken away from me I was a wreck and I told my partner everything and we were overheard. Gossip spreads fast…. I had hoped they had forgotten but I guess things like that stay with you. I haven't told them about what you were diagnosed with, not even the Chief when she asked." Henry tried to explain.

Shawn tried to suppress his emotions, was he lying? Was this still a betrayal if they found out years ago?

Charlie recognised the beginning of the staring and got up from her seat and gently shook his shoulder.

Henry watched as Charlie rocked his son who stared vacantly for a few moments before jumping, shaking Charlie from him.

"I'm fine!" he snapped, pushing her arm away.

Winnie and Bill watched awkwardly unsure of what they could do to help. Then Winnie had the great idea of dishing up the cake and cut the slices, handing them out on the small plates she had brought through, receiving thanks from each person as she went round the table. She made sure that Shawn's slice had extra pineapple, it was a small gesture but it was much appreciated.

"So who was our unwanted visitor earlier?" Gus asked curiously digging into his cake.

Charlie raised her eyebrows, she hadn't known about this.

"Shawn?" she prompted.

Shawn sighed, "It was Sherlock Holmes"

Henry gasped, "Sherlock Holmes? The fictional character by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"

"No the other Sherlock Holmes" Shawn sarcastically replied before chuckling to himself.

"What did he want?" Charlie asked.

"He wants me to solve the case and catch Elliot Sawyers" Shawn admitted.

"The case your fathers working on?" Charlie confirmed and Shawn nodded.

"Why?" Henry asked confused.

"The only things I read at West Haven have a beginning, a middle and an end. I joined this investigation in the middle and it's annoying the hell out of me!" Shawn blurted, feeling good to let this of his chest.

"Shawn…" Charlie started.

"I've got no beginning and no end! I don't know who he is, why he's killing these people or if they've caught him yet" Shawn complained, his cake forgotten.

"Shawn, it's not good for you to join the investigation… I don't doubt your ability to help but…."

The others remained silent.

"It's a puzzle Charlie" Shawn told her seriously causing Charlie to sigh.

"And a currently unfinished one" Charlie finished.

Shawn nodded.

"Fine" Charlie said, regretting the words as soon as she said them.

"I can't stop you from involving yourself in the investigation, but the moment your mental health deteriorates you're off the case immediately. You understand?"

Shawn's eyes widened, he hadn't expected Charlie to agree so quickly.

"You stick with your father at all times ok?" Charlie ordered, "You follow his instructions. He'll protect you"

Shawn nodded with a small smile and glanced at his father who was in complete agreement, he would protect Shawn with everything he had.

"He can even protect him from his unwanted visitors" Gus added, "Henry exploded at him and he left"

"Really?" Charlie gasped, shocked.

"Yeah…. He said he could tell he wasn't wanted then he left" Shawn told her smiling, "He's better than the drugs"

"I see" Charlie responded, finishing off the last of her cake.

"I will have to check with the Chief before you help on the case" Henry stuttered, "Civilians aren't meant to be involved in ongoing investigations"

Shawn looked up confused; he had thought that rule never applied to him. After all, he had helped with plenty of cases when he was younger. It was easy for him to look through his father's cases and highlight the occasional key word or annotate in the margins.

"So you will ask?" Shawn confirmed,

"Of course" Henry supplied quickly, "First thing in the morning"

The others smiled as did Shawn, albeit suspiciously. He would find out whether his father was being truthful tomorrow.

Bill then started clearing the plates and helped his wife take everything back through into the kitchen which she was thankful for. Winnie was very pleased with how the meal went, it was like a dream to have Shawn with her and she could tell how happy her son was to have him with him again. Though she and her husband were both concerned about how he had taken the week off work in order to be with him so Winnie snuck a small roll of cash in his jacket for him to find later.

Shawn and Charlie chatted avidly about what he was missing at West Haven though the mood dropped considerably when Charlie told him that she would be needing to stay tomorrow as well. Shawn was disappointed but ultimately understood that they were understaffed with this bout of sickness and that she was needed. Charlie reassured him that Gus would be with him, as well as his father and said that she would rather not be working a police case. Henry understood that very well after seeing how disturbed she was by witnessing the fire. It was Gus who suggested that they head home, Henry was initially hesitant as he was having fun, bonding with his son, but after seeing the time agreed that they should head home.

"So, I'll see you at the station in the morning?" Henry confirmed smiling.

Shawn nodded, "Yeah, I'll see you then"

"Thanks for everything!" Gus called through to his parents.

"You're very welcome honey!" Winnie replied, embracing them both in a hug and then stepping back and looking at them proudly.

Everyone departed from the Guster's within five minutes. Henry said watched as Gus, Charlie and Shawn got into the car and drove off before getting into his truck and leaving himself. He couldn't wait to see his son again in the morning.

Author note: Aren't I nice, leaving it without a cliff hanger.

Please let me know what you guys think, I am seriously nervous to see if anyone even reads this story anymore or if everyone gave up after not hearing anything from me since October last year... I seriously apologise guys.

So yeah, read, review, rant...

Also talking about catching up on things, I have almost finished season 8 of Psych! I'm so excited, seriously with no internet for the past nine months it's been SO HARD!

Until next time

gembomz