Hello Psycho's! Hope you're having a fantastic week. I kept my promise. Jack is in THIS Chapter. You're welcome~


Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while

Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst

Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever

We don't have the power but we never say never

-"Forever Young" by Alphaville

Santa Barbara: 2019

Henry looked around the room for what seemed like the hundredth time. The doctor who was attending to his son had told him nothing but a quick; "He's stable for now, we'll know more soon." Before taking off and disappearing behind a set of double doors he wasn't allowed to cross. After much debate and fighting from a pair of orderlies had Henry finally went from screaming to pacing silently. Every once in a while Zuri would grab onto his leg and look up at him with her big eyes. Henry would pick her up and hold her for a few minutes before she went back to her grandmother and would later repeat the motion.

Detective Buzz McNab left around twenty minutes prior promising to return back soon with coffee, food and treats for the little Spencer. Henry noted the way Buzz held himself and spoke with a clear tone. He was still trying to prove to everyone he was a good detective and wouldn't let anyone down. Henry was happy that the young man finally reached his goal of becoming a detective, but he still had far to go to become a true detective, spirit and all.

"Grandpa where's daddy?" Henry sighed as Zuri asked the question again. No answer seemed to appease the child. Didn't matter how many times Henry and Maddie explained to her the situation, she seemed to forget or not believe them.

"Daddy is getting looked at by doctors." Maddie answered in her husband's silence.

"Because of the car?" Zuri looked at her grandmother.

"That's right. Daddy got hurt by the car." Maddie stretched her hand and stroked the top of Zuri's head.

"Is the car in trouble? Because hurting people is bad."

Maddie nodded, "That's right baby girl. Hurting people is very bad, that's why the car is in timeout."

"I don't like timeouts." Zuri shook her head and slowly dropped onto the ground. She looked around the room and walked over to a water fountain across the hall.

"Henry…" Maddie pointed at her. Henry turned in his path and walked over to Zuri. He lifted her up and helped her drink from the spout. Once she was finished Henry placed her back onto the ground with her hand in his and they walked back over to the group of chairs they'd claimed.

"There they are!" A voice yelled causing all the Spencer's to turn in the direction of the noise.

"Who is that?" Zuri asked as a man approached them.

"What are you doing here Jackie?" Henry lifted Zuri into the seat next to Maddie.

"Well I was in chemo when I heard from the grapevine that little Shawny was in the hospital, came straight to find you all." Jack Spencer was the same height as Henry with more of a lesser body. His brown hair was in tuffs and his blue eyes looked weary.

"You know him?" Zuri looked at the man curiously.

"And you must be little Zuri." Jack knelt down so he was her height, "I'm your great-uncle Jackie. I haven't seen you since you were a little baby." Jack smiled trying to get a reaction out of her; instead her eyes went to Henry's looking for confirmation.

"Jack is my younger brother." Henry explained with a nod. Zuri looked back at Jack and touched his head.

"How come you don't have no hair?"

"Uh…" Jack went silent not knowing how to answer her.

"He's taking medicine that's making his hair go away but soon it'll grow back even better." Maddie moved Zuri onto her lap so Jack could have a seat in the chair.

"Is daddy gonna lose his hair too?" Zuri wrapped her arms around Maddie's neck.

"No. Daddy is taking another kind of medicine." Henry told her hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Speaking of him how's the kid?" Jake watched as his older brother sat next to him.

"We know practically nothing. The doctor said he's stable but we haven't heard anything since. I'm sure he's alright though. Just a fever and a scratch." Henry reported scratching his cheek without looking at Jack.

"That's good… that's good." Jack put his hands in his lap and stretched out his legs to get more comfortable. The room went into a silence no one could break but the sound of a phone or a random intercom message meant for some doctor. Soon Zuri's eyes began to droop as the events of the day caught up to her. With Henry's help Maddie managed to create a makeshift bed for the young girl to sleep. Just as Maddie pulled a blanket up to her chin Buzz made his reappearance.

"Forgive me for taking so long but Chief Lassiter called and wanted an update." He set down a bag of food onto the table in front of Zuri's still form.

"Jack Spencer." Jack introduced himself at the detective's look.

"It's fine McNab. How's the scene?"

"They've finished up for now. Both Chief and detective O'Hara are on their way." Buzz nodded finishing his report.

"Just what we need…" Henry trailed off giving a sigh and looking over at the blank white wall.

"They're doing their job Henry and I'm sure they still care about him, even if it's just a little. Let them be here. What's the worst that can happen?" Maddie voiced watching her husband.

"What's the worst that can happen? The last time the three of them were in the same room our son was chased out of the city." Henry's leg began to bounce up and down. Maddie sighed but didn't argue with him.

"McNab!" The detective turned quickly at the call of his name.

"Yes sir?" He asked eagerly.

"Go back to the station and look over the autopsy." Carlton instructed walking into the room with Juliet at his side. The young detective nodded before walking away.

"Don't be so loud Lassiter, she just fell asleep." Henry motioned to Zuri. Both Carlton and Juliet looked at her.

"She's black." Carlton announced.

"I think the term is African American." Jack corrected.

"What's your point Lassiter?" Henry snapped glaring at the man.

"Just that she looks nothing like her father." Carlton pocketed his hands and shrugged.

"Thank you Captain Observation." Henry mumbled. As Carlton opened his mouth to speak he was stopped by Juliet's gentle hand on his arm. "Not worth it." She whispered. Carlton rolled his eyes and sat in the row of chairs across from the Spencer's. The room went back to the silence from before.

"To hell with it, Maddie wake her up." Henry grunted reaching over to the table and grabbing the bag.

"Henry she just fell asleep, she needs a nap." Maddie replied.

"I'd rather have her sleep deprived then starved." Henry responded opening the bag and placing its contents onto the table. After a few seconds Zuri rose up from her position and rubbed her eyes, spotting the food she stopped and looked at it. "Are you hungry?" Henry asked knowing full well that she was.

"Yes." Zuri yawned looking over at the two across from her, "You're the police." She said.

"We are." Juliet confirmed.

"You're the pretty lady." Zuri told Juliet.

"What?" Juliet's voice lowered to a whisper.

"Ignore her; she's just hungry and tired." Maddie chuckled nervously placing a napkin with a small triangle sandwich in front of Zuri, "Eat that and I'll give you more." Zuri picked up the sandwich and began to munch on it quietly.

"We should of heard back something by now." Maddie broke the silence a few minutes later.

"Is he in surgery?" Carlton asked.

Henry shrugged, "All they told us that he was stable. Then the doctor left."

"He's stable? That's it?" Juliet inquired.

"Basically." Maddie nodded handing Zuri another sandwich when she finished hers. Henry and Maddie were glad that Zuri was only four and she was blissfully unaware of the danger her father might be in. Even if Zuri knew and understood everything that was happening they doubted she'd be able to cope with it properly at her age. Shawn kept Zuri as sheltered as he could, he believed in telling Zuri the truth as long as it didn't hurt her. Whenever she asked a question they tried to be as vague as possible without lying to her. Shawn's childhood had been filled with lies only discovering this as an adult; he wanted Zuri to have an honest time growing up.

Salem Oregon: 2016

Shawn put his hands on his waist and looked up at the tree in front of him. The lights were arranged in a nice neat order with ornaments dangling next to them. On the top of the tree was a bronze star, its tip against the ceiling. Presents were stacked under the tree wrapped in gold, white and pink paper. It was Zuri's second Christmas, but they considered it her first seeing as how the family hadn't celebrated properly due to the young infant's arrival the year before.

Shawn heard a shuffling by his feet and he looked down, "Zuri!" he reached down and picked her up gently. Zuri had just begun learning to crawl and Shawn wasn't able to keep an eye on her. One moment she would be by the kitchen and the next all the way in his bedroom. The house had been baby proofed and stripped of anything Zuri could get her hands on. Her current target was an ornament on one of the lower branches.

"You can't play with those baby." He walked over to the middle of the large room and sat down in the playpen with her. As soon as she was set back onto the ground she turned and tried to make her way back to the tree. Shawn sighed and grabbed a bit of the onesie she was in before she could reach the plastic gate. With one hand Shawn shut the gate and Zuri protested her predicament by crying out.

"Oh hush, I'm not hurting you." Zuri turned to look at Shawn and changed her direction climbing into his lap instead. She smiled up at her father and reached a hand up to his nose. She giggled loudly when Shawn smiled and made a noise.

"Seems like you two are having fun." Maddie said walking into the room and sitting onto the couch nearby.

"We are." Shawn nodded picking up Zuri and helping her stand on his leg with her arms bracing against his chest.

"She's adorable." Maddie cooed sitting across from Shawn in the pen.

"Can you believe we've had her for over a year?" Shawn kissed the side of her head.

"I know. She's gotten so big," Zuri's head turned as she tried to find her grandmother. Once spotting her she extended a hand, the universal sign of 'Pick me up!'. Maddie took Zuri into her arms and sat her down in her lap with her face towards Shawn.

"Where's dad?" Shawn asked looking into the kitchen.

"He went out to get a few things and a last minute gift for Zuri." Maddie explained taking Zuri's hands into hers gently. Shawn nodded and shifted so he was lying on his back. He sighed contentedly as his back popped.

"Goose, are you going to let her believe in Santa?"

"I'm not sure." Shawn looked at his mother and daughter. "Is it honestly worth it?"

"That's up to you. Your daughter means you choose how you parent her. She'll love you either way." Maddie smiled down at Zuri who looked up and giggled. The door opened and Henry entered the house quickly before the winter chill could join him. He shut the door and took off his coat hanging it onto the coat rack. "Welcome home." Henry nodded and sat onto the couch with a bag in his hand.

"Can she open it now?" He asked his wife. Maddie smiled and Shawn sat up to take the bag from his dad. "You'll have to help her Shawn."

"Trust me dad, she knows how to climb in bags." Zuri was handed to Shawn who placed her in front of the bag. "Open it up Zuri." Shawn encouraged. Zuri looked around before finally gazing at the bag. She hit the side softly and smiled as a bell jingled inside.

"Shawn…"

"Give her a second dad." Zuri hit the bag again softly before it fell over. When the bag hit the ground an object rolled out. A small brown teddy bear stopped when it hit Zuri's feet. She reached out and grabbed it by its ears.

"Merry Christmas baby girl." Maddie took away the bag so she could see them better. Zuri grasped the bear in her hand and shook it softly. A bell which was attached to its hat rang causing Zuri to shake it faster.

"Oh great. A bell." Shawn pursed his lips as Zuri continued to make the bell sound.

"She'll get tired of it eventually." Henry promised.

"You obviously don't know my daughter." They all went silent and watched Zuri as she experimented with her new toy.

Santa Barbara: 2019

"Henry." Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder as the doctor from earlier walked their way. "Is my son alright?" Henry stood up.

"We had a few complications." The doctor responded.

"What kind of complications?" Maddie stood next to her husband.

"Your son stopped breathing a few times in which we applied CPR. We got him breathing again; however, he's having trouble taking in air on his own. He's on oxygen at the moment but we'll take him off once we're sure he can handle it by himself." The doctor stood straight and still as she gave her news, "His fever is down and was the result of dehydration. We have him on some fluids to fix the problem. We also stitched up the gash on his side. "

"But he'll be okay? Once he's breathing on his own." Jack added shifting in his seat.

"Correct. We'll be keeping him for observation; the length of his stay will vary on his condition. If he improves we could release him as soon as tomorrow afternoon." The doctor gave a curt nod before turning to leave.

"May we see him?" Henry asked.

"Yes. Ask the nurse, she'll lead you to him." The family turned to the appointed nurse who walked over to the group.

"This way." The nurse motioned for them to follow her. Henry turned and picked Zuri up.

"We'll stay here and watch your things." Carlton volunteered.

"I'll stay too." Jack relaxed back into his seat and closed his eyes. Henry, Maddie and Zuri followed the nurse down the hall and around a corner.

"This is it." The nurse tapped on the door sign which read Shawn's name. Maddie went in first with Henry and Zuri behind her. Shawn's eyes were open and looking around the room. An oxygen tube was attached to the sides of his head and led into his nose. The gown he was wearing was parted slightly and Henry could the edges of a bandage peeking out.

"How are you doing Goose?" Maddie sat down in the chair next to the bed. Henry sat next to her and was having to grip Zuri tightly as she reached towards her father.

"Okay." Shawn answered after a few seconds.

"Let me go, I want daddy!" Zuri yelled. Shawn chuckled softly and nodded at his dad. Zuri was released and climbed onto the bed where she hugged Shawn. He groaned softly as Zuri pressed against his side.

"Be careful sweetie, you don't want to hurt daddy." Maddie patted Zuri's back to get her to release him.

"Are you okay daddy?" Zuri was kneeling at Shawn's side with her hands against his chest.

"I'll be just fine baby, I promise." Shawn leaned forward and kissed her head. Shawn stayed in the position and within seconds his body was shaking.

"Goose lay down." Maddie stood up and placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder pushing him down softly. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, fisting his hands.

"Shawn, kiddo, are you okay?" Henry stood up and folded his arms with a look of concern across his face.

"It hurts." Shawn managed to get out before his jaw clenched again.

"Where?" Henry took Zuri off the bed. Shawn's hand rose up and touch the area which Henry knew was bandaged.

"I'll increase the pain medication they have you on." Henry pressed a red button on a control near Shawn's hand. "There you go." Henry pushed down on it one last time before letting it go.

"Mmm… good." Shawn said with his voice low. In seconds his body relaxed and he fell back into the dark world he'd only just awoken from.


I know Shawn spent basically all of this chapter away. He'll be in the next one a lot with more interaction with Carlton and Juliet. Might add a bit of Shules. Who knows? I don't. At least not yet...