April, Come She Will
By: Aubrie1234
Even though he'd fallen asleep, maybe even passed out, Alex still felt exhausted. His cheeks were still warm and it felt like the tears were dried on, not having been wiped away. His hand was sore, locked onto clenching something, and underneath his ear he could hear something thumping. It was calming, honestly, trying to lull him back to sleep but he resisted. He needed to find out where he was, what was going on. He remembered crying so hard, but then he was being comforted, loving hands around him, and he knew either Shawn or Juliet had come to his rescue. He had been carried elsewhere and, looking around, found himself back in the apartment. Glancing up, he found Shawn sleeping, the man head tilted back as a small snore escaped his mouth. Alex laid his head back against Shawn's chest and closed his eyes, resting more than trying to get back to nothingness. Darkness had settled outside and a lamp was on. No sound could be heard except for Shawn's snoring. Alex wiped at the tried tear stains, licking his thumb to rub the stains away. He listened to Shawn's heartbeat until he heard the lock on the door start to move. He wished Shawn had a gun so that he could defend them but there was nothing to do except freeze up and hope that it was only Juliet. Much to his relief it was. Seeing them sitting on the couch, Juliet slowly closed the door behind her, quiet as a mouse. Alex made no move to leave Shawn's side, the man's arms still around him, and so Juliet sat beside them.
"How do you feel?" she whispered.
"Awful." he said.
"Need anything?"
"Maybe something to drink." Juliet nodded and got up. She soon came back and handed him a bottle of water, having already worked at the cap. Alex opened it with one hand and drank from it before capping it and handing it back, not letting go of Shawn. He didn't know why, there was no danger, and yet he still refused to remove his grip. Juliet put the bottle aside. The water made Alex feel considerably better for sure. He asked, "How much trouble am I in?"
"Lots. But for right now, you get to rest." She glanced up at Shawn, "You're a lotta work, Alex, but if anything happened to you..." Juliet shook her head, "This isn't just because you're our kid, everyone would be devastated if you got hurt. Everyone cares about you. Yet why did you sneak into that house when it had nothing to do with you?" She frowned at him. Alex was silent, looking away, "Please, Alex."
"I'm not your kid." Alex's eyes slid closed,, "I wanted to show Shawn how independent I was. I don't like being called your 'son' because I'm not!" Even though his voice didn't raise above a whisper, Juliet knew he wasn't happy, "I was sent into a panic attack because of what I saw."
"What did you see? Was it what happened-?"
"Wasn't related to the Pleasures. Wasn't even attached to Jack. It was me."
"What?" Juliet was taken aback by this, "How did you scare yourself?"
"I don't like seeing myself in a mirror." Juliet thought back. In her time around the teen, even when he was with her the day before, he had never been around a mirror, at least for long.
"Are you afraid of yourself so much it causes a panic attack?"
"It's not myself I'm terrified of."
"Alex, you're not making sense. Please, just tell me." Alex was quiet. Sighing, Juliet put a hand on Alex's shoulder for a moment, then got up and moved off. Alex went back to resting against Shawn again. He opened an eye when he felt something being draped over him and saw Juliet. He gave her a smile before trying to get some more rest. He really needed it, honestly, even though he was sure he wouldn't get any.
Shawn rubbed his eyes with one hand as he woke up. Alex was still under his other arm and, judging by his breathing, was still deeply asleep. There was also a blanket draped over them, which Shawn knew hadn't been there before. Clearly his wife was home. He wanted to get up but he knew he couldn't do so without waking Alex. Tapping the coucharm, he looked over the back of the furniture and towards the kitchen, the light on from what he could tell through the crack in the door. He made a small whistle, hoping not to disturb the boy. Alex shifted a little but didn't seem to wake and the door opened. When Juliet saw him, Shawn gestured her over.
"When'd you get home?" he asked quietly as she leaned against the back of the couch.
"An hour ago. Alex was also awake."
"How was he?"
"No worse for wear. Definitely not crying anymore."
"Did he say anything about why he went inside, what scared him?" Juliet looked at Alex.
"He did. I'm not sure if he'd like me to tell you, though."
"Why not?"
"I don't think he was all that lucid, or at least wanted to share it outside of me."
"Jules, please. I take care of him too." Juliet bit her lip, then nodded.
"He said, the reason why he went inside, is because he didn't want you to call him our 'son.' He wanted to be independent, probably look at the body and get out, show you up when you returned."
"Of course he did. That's just what I'd do if it was my Dad." Shawn glanced down at Alex, saddened, "I wish he'd told me. I wouldn't have called him my kid if he'd asked me not to. I mean, he did kinda mention it but he really didn't elaborate so I didn't think much of it. Now I feel terrible."
"He didn't tell me either." Juliet kissed Shawn's cheek, "As for why he was so scared, he didn't really say much. He saw himself and apparently he looks like someone that terrifies him, if I got everything right."
"That's horrible. I mean, I kinda noticed that he never liked to look in mirrors, but I didn't think about why. Who in the world would he be scared of what looks just like him?"
"Maybe if we find Jones and Crawley we can get that answer." said Juliet.
"I guess. And now, what happened after we left? Didn't mean to cause a scene this time."
"Just tried to get back on track. Carlton and Vick let me leave early to see how everything was with you two. Carlton also wants to talk to you tomorrow, after what you asked me to say to him."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Shawn said, "I could hear him crying through the door and it hurt, y'know?"
"I know." Juliet laid a hand on Alex's shoulder, watching the boy sleep. It was a few moments before she spoke, "Sometimes I just wish that he'd died in that explosion."
"Wait, what? Why?!" Shawn had to try hard not to let his voice edge above a whisper.
"I didn't mean it like that! Just, so he didn't have to have so much pain hanging over him all the time. He's lost so much and he's only fifteen. If he'd died, then he could be with the people who love him most. Not us, who are doing our best to make a home for him when he clearly doesn't want it."
"Okay, yeah, I get that." Shawn nodded, "But now we've just gotta make the best of everything, help him feel like he can still live on. I mean, before I became a psychic, I had so many jobs that never amounted to anything. I'd kinda given up on Life by that point, but then I became a psychic to save my skin and met you." Shawn grinned, "So maybe there's still hope for him, just like there was for me." Juliet smiled back but it quickly dropped out of sight again.
"Let's hope so."
The next morning, Alex woke up to Juliet and Shawn talking in the kitchen. He was still on the couch and didn't remember getting up again, so someone Shawn had managed to free himself. Glancing down at the shift still in his grip, Alex let go and sat up. He didn't think much of still wearing his clothes from yesterday as he moved into the kitchen, following the smells of breakfast. He'd completely skipped lunch and dinner and was starving. He made a beeline for the food and was eating away by the time the two adults noticed his presence.
"Well, looks like someone finally got up." Juliet was smiling. With his mouth full, Alex was unable to say anything and so kept eating. It was only when Shawn began speaking that he nearly choked, "You're gonna be spending the day with my Dad today."
"What?" Alex finally managed when he could breathe again.
"After yesterday, you're grounded, which means you can't come with either of us. So Gus and I are dropping you off at my Dad's for the rest of the day." Shawn went on. Alex wanted to say it wasn't fair but knew that they wouldn't give him any room and so he relented, but not before slumping into somewhat of a grouch to get his anger across. He was still a teenager, after all. Shawn rolled his eyes and turned back to Juliet, dropping their voices to the barest of whispers. They clearly didn't want him overhearing but Alex still had sharp ears.
"We're...to Chaucer's today...Schroeder's...guard." was all the blond teen could catch. If he was piecing things together right, Shawn and Gus would be going over to Chaucer's again and maybe they'd found Schroeder, so they'd need some protection? Alex bit his lip. He was trying not to like them too much but he couldn't help but worry that they'd get hurt if they were planning to go after Schroeder now. After all, the man had a long and nasty record. He needed to go with them to protect them as much as they protected him. He was paying them back, that's all. He gave no indication to his plans and went along sullenly when Shawn said it was time to go. Already Gus was out front, waiting for them in a more relaxed outfit than what he wore for work. After saying goodbye to Juliet and sharing hugs, Alex and Shawn got into the car with Gus.
"You look like you're just about ready to go on a date, dude. It's only 8 in the morning!"
"I'm planning on having lunch with Ceceila later, after we're done."
"That chick you met while we were over at Chaucer's? You know we're going over there today and she might hate you later?"
"Unlike you, I'm gonna do my best not to make a fool of myself!"
"And you're hoping that charm is gonna win her over?"
"You know that's right." Shawn rolled his eyes, clearing knowing how this would turn out. Alex listened to all of this while staring out the window. With them dropping him off at Henry's, how was he supposed to go along and help? If he had enough time with the right chances, he could easily hide in the car and go along without them knowing, but how would he do it? He mused over this as the car went turn after turn, growing closer and closer to Henry's house. As they finally pulled up, Shawn said, "I'm kinda glad he never sold this place, y'know? I can never look at my room with the same face again but this is still my home and I almost always kicked your ass at Battleship."
"That was because you cheated, Shawn."
"And if I didn't you wouldn't have gotten to become as strong as you are. Probably would've grown up a big baby."
"If I never knew you I still would've grown up to be a handsome man with interesting tastes."
"You mean weird ones, like how you know so much about money."
"It's called Numismatics, Shawn, and is actually a very real job! In fact, I could've gone into that instead of pharmaceuticals, but I didn't because of you!"
"How was I the reason you went into drugs?"
"Pharmaceuticals, Shawn. And you said I couldn't hold a job longer than you could. Let's see who's laughing now."
"Hey, that's one way you're better than me, but you will never beat me in Battleship."
"Because you always cheated!"
"Girls, girls, let's settle this later so we can go inside, please." Alex said. It had been fun listening to Gus and Shawn go back and forth but he had a plan to put in place and these two weren't going to ruin it. Besides he, could see Henry waiting on the porch from here.
"I still would've beaten you even if I hadn't cheated." Shawn got out of the car before Gus could respond.
"Shawn!" Alex rolled his eyes and joined the two in getting out of the Blueberry. The window had been replaced the day after the Joseph shooting and looked good as new. The same could not be said for the door, but at least the bullets hadn't gone through. Alex thought about it for a few moments as he followed Shawn and Gus over to Henry, who got up from his spot in his chair to greet them.
"Well now, I heard a certain someone needed a proper grounding." Henry mused, looking pointedly at Alex, who refused to stare at anything except the ground.
"Just for today, hopefully. We're hoping to crack the case today, get it done, and then I can keep an eye on him at home. But while you're at it..." Shawn shrugged, "Maybe teach him something."
"Oh, I'll teach him something alright. C'mon in, Alex." Henry gestured. Alex saw it out of the corner of his eyes and did so, going inside the house.
"Careful to keep an eye on him, he's tricky." said Gus.
"If I can handle Shawn I can handle Alex." said Henry.
"You'll eat your words, Dad." Shawn said with a grin. They bid their goodbyes and turned back to the car. Henry went inside and looked around, already sensing that something was up. He carefully examined the kitchen and found that a window to the backyard was open. Looking out, he saw nothing, but he knew what had gone down without having to see it.
That kid is good. Henry thought, Certainly better than Shawn. I'll have my hands full if I have to take care of him again. Henry knew exactly where Alex was and knew the kid could take care of himself, but with the situation he might be going into, Henry had to go and hopefully get him out of it before he got injured or worse. Yeah, Alex was definitely worse than Shawn because even Shawn had more common sense than this kid most of the time, "Shawn!"
"What?" The light-skinned man stuck his head out of the passenger side.
"You might wanna check your trunk right quick." Henry walked out and moved to the back of the car. The two best friends shared a confused look but Gus unlocked the trunk and they joined Henry, where the man lifted the trunk and they found Alex hiding inside, lying on his back and fitting in the small space surprisingly easily.
"Hey." Alex gave a sheepish grin at the three men, waving. Shawn glared as Gus gave an exasperated sigh.
"How did you deal with me?" he asked his father, comparing Alex to himself.
"With a lot of angry patience. Now come on out, Alex." Henry gestured. Alex rolled his eyes but crawled out. He stood with Henry's hand on his shoulder as the trunk was closed and Shawn and Gus drove off. With a small push, he was guided inside by his shoulder and he tilted his head down. He wasn't ashamed for being caught, he had been fighting against an ex-cop and his highly-observant son after all, but Alex didn't want Henry to see how irritated he was.
"Look," Henry began once they were back in the kitchen, "I get it, you're worried about him, I am too, but Shawn can handle himself. You can't do everything, Alex, you're only a kid." Alex wanted to say, 'You know nothing about what I've done,' but he stopped himself. He didn't need Henry asking questions that he clearly couldn't answer because he could see that the older man was of the stubborn sort and wouldn't stop until he knew what was going on. Alex really didn't need that. And so he sat back and waited for the phone call that would tell him whether or not Shawn and Juliet would be okay.
"I hate you so much right now."
"Because I'm just about to ruin your chances of a date or because I'm about to break out my psychic chops?"
"Shawn!"
"Okay, fine, I'll leave your girlfriend-not-girlfriend alone, but I'm still doing my psychic thing."
"How do we even know Schroeder is still here?"
"You'll see in my big reveal!" Shawn left the car and began walking towards the entrance to Cheezy Chaucer's. Gus groaned but followed his best friend, knowing they were about to get into a mess.
"Are Juliet and Lassiter coming?" he whispered.
"In a few minutes." Shawn assured, "Gotta double-check on my hunch."
"Hunch? This is just a hunch? Shawn!"
"Trust me on this, Gus. With all the references to FNAF, I might just be right."
"FNAF?"
"Short for Five Nights at Freddy's. Now c'mon!" They went inside. Shawn strode up to the counter and Gus instantly knew that he was about to make a scene to get to where he wanted. Hopefully it wouldn't embarrass him too much or do something that would endanger his date with Ceceila. In fact, she was at the register as Shawn strode over.
"Hi Gus!" She greeted them with a wave.
"Oh, so this is the girl you're taking out to lunch?" Shawn asked, "Well, introduce us!"
"Ceceila, this is Shawn, my best friend." Gus nodded at Shawn. He was only doing this to be polite, as he was sure Shawn was about to ruin everything. Ceceila, being the bright and cheerful girl she was, shook hands with Shawn, a warm smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you! So, what can I do for you guys today?" Shawn put a hand to his head.
Here it comes. thought Gus.
"Well, as the SBPD's resident psychic detective, I had a vision that we needed to come here."
"Really?" Cecelia leaned forward, interested. Oh great, the girl he was going on a date with liked psychics! Shawn just smiled.
"My vision, I could see a cloud of purple, and a star… Not one from the sky, but silver, like- like-"
"A Sheriff's star?"
"Exactly! But there are no Sheriffs here."
"There are security guards though, like Mayberry. They wear maroon uniforms."
"Yes, yes, I think that's it! I think we may need to talk to this Mayberry of yours!"
"I can go get him. You guys stay here." Ceceila walked away.
"If she likes me, then I'm sure you two will have a great date together." said the lighter man.
"Shawn! Your antics could ruin my chances!"
"How? She likes me!"
"So does everyone else, but I tend not to have a girlfriend or even a date after they meet you."
"C'mon, I'm not that bad. Just give me a chance, I won't mess up your chances of a date."
"Shawn..." Gus gave him a look. Before Shawn could respond, however, Ceceila came back with who they assumed was Mayberry. He wasn't a tall or strong man just from how he looked but there was certainly something about him that made them feel somewhat suspicious.
"Yeah?" he grunted.
"Oh c'mon, Mayberry." said Ceceila, "Don't be so gruff."
"Unfortunately, St. Ceceila, we have to break your heart because I'm afraid this man is a criminal." said Shawn.
"What?" said Ceceila and Mayberry. Gus was tempted to facepalm because he knew how out-of-control things were about to get.
"Over a week ago, I can see Otto, the previous manager of this establishment." Shawn waved a hand, "He had been checking and double-checking the profits of Chaucer's for a few weeks now and had come upon some discrepancies. Oh, I can hear him now, whispering in my ear!" Shawn grabbed the closest thing to him, which turned out to be a party hat. He put it to his ear, as if straining to listen to a tiny little voice only he could hear.
"Uh huh, uh huh." Shawn nodded, "Otto tells me that, as he got closer and closer to the truth, he started receiving threats to his life. They came through the mail and he got scared, so he tried to come to Psych for help. But he was followed and shot by HIM!" Shawn pointed at Mayberry.
"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Ceceila, "Mayberry looks tough and sounds tough but really he's just a big teddy bear!"
"Well, his real name certainly isn't Mayberry because then that would taint the name of Andy Griffith, not to mention all the TV Sheriffs he stands for! No, his name is really Arnold Schroeder and he worked here, years ago." Shawn turned to Mayberry, "You've been skimming a lot of money off the business with a record a mile long. And now Otto wants to make sure you go to jail from beyond the grave!"
"Are you serious?" Mayberry looked unimpressed., "Where's your proof?" Shawn narrowed his eyes before putting his hands to his head.
"After breaking into Otto's house and shredding the letters, you wanted to send us on a wild goose chase and so planted the fake ID of Michael Afton!"
"Really?" Ceceila turned to Mayberry, "Really? You used a Freddy's character? That is low and an insult for all of us that work in hell-places like this one!"
"I like her." Shawn whispered to Gus. The darker man nodded, but then Mayberry had out his gun and things were getting worse.
"I don't know how you figured that out but you're not getting out of here alive." He grabbed Ceceila to use as a hostage. There was no one else in the room except the four of them and so there was no one around to help. Where were Jules and Lassiter? They should've been here by now, Shawn hadn't called them too long ago. But what could they do when Mayberry (or was it Schroeder now?) had a hostage? But then Ceceila jabbed the heel of her heel into Schroeder's foot and elbowed him in the stomach, forcing him to let her go.
"Self-defense classes, asshole." she said.
"Okay, that's kinda hot." Gus admitted, then Schroeder was running for the door but not for long as he was soon tackled by the two detectives as they were coming in.
"Got him!" exclaimed Juliet as she and Lassiter held down the struggling Schroeder. Other officers came in to help arrest Schroeder. Once the man was in their hands, Lassiter and Juliet moved over to Shawn, Gus, and Ceceila. Gus was talking to her about how awesome it was with her using her self-defense knowledge to free herself, leaving Shawn alone with the detectives.
"He's gonna have a nasty cut in his foot and bruises but he'll be fine." said Juliet, "Kinda deserves a little more after all he's done, though."
"I'm sure he'll get it in prison." Lassiter looked at Shawn, "Can we talk, Spencer?"
"Sure." They left Juliet to finish up the arrest as they moved to the side, standing beside some of the party tables, "So, you got the message?" Lassiter nodded.
"I did. I accept your apology, Spencer. It was your kid stuck in there, not mine."
"Thanks, Lassie." Suddenly Lassiter's phone began to ring, "Don't you usually have that thing on Do Not Disturb?"
"Yes but there are some contacts that can still call me." He answered the phone, "Marlowe? Hey, calm down, calm down! What?" In all his time that he knew Lassiter, Shawn had rarely seen him look so terrified, "Okay, okay, I'll be right over." The others, who had noticed this frightened exchange, came over.
"Carlton?" Juliet asked, frowning.
"I need to get home. Juliet, you're in charge!" Lassiter was just on the edge of running when he left the building.
"He nevers calls you Juliet." Gus said, "Something just went down."
"Should we go with him?" Juliet wondered, "I hope Lily and Marlowe are okay..."
"I think you can handle this, Jules. Gus and I can go after him." Shawn offered.
"What? I never agreed to that!"
"Didn't have to, let's go!" Shawn grabbed Gus' arm and tugged the darker man with him. Gus was forced to wave goodbye to Ceceila as they went outside. When they arrived, they could hear car tires squealing with Lassiter pulling away in a hurry. Shawn blinked, "Wow. Whatever's happened has really got his undies in a twist."
"I don't like this, Shawn."
"I know you don't but Lassie's our friend, ain't he? We can go help him!" Shawn strode to the car and Gus sighed. He hated being dragged into things like this, especially when he had bad feelings about them.
Notes:
It's spelled differently but Ceceila is a reference to Simon and Garfunkel's song Cecilia.
Mayberry is the fictional town the Andy Griffith Show was set in.
The Battleship things are in reference to a Season 1 episode, can't remember which one but Shawn was cheating at Battleship while playing with Gus. Gus also knows a bit about money from a Season 2 episode (Psy vs Psy).
In recent iPhones, as part of the Do Not Disturb function, you can choose who can contact you (Anyone, Only those in your Contacts, No one, etc.)
The title (Welcome to the New Déjà Vu) is actually a line from a Fall Out Boy song that I've been listening to WAY too much recently (Alpha Dog).
I had a lot of fun writing this one, actually, especially with the references. I hope you guys like this chapter. Now, please read & review!