Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well, I'm sorry it's been a while but it's senior year and there's a lot going on. Almost done with high school!
Thanks again to my beta orchids117!
Enjoy!
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
-"Under Pressure" Queen and David Bowie
Santa Barbara: 2019
Juliet was surprised to walk into the room and find Shawn awake. His eyes were glued to ceiling, his chest moved up and down slowly with every breath, and he blinked quickly every few seconds. His knuckles were white as they gripped the blanket draping his form. A white cast covered his entire right arm and leg, and both were propped on a pillow. From beneath the blanket, Juliet could see white bandages wrapped around his torso; his head was also wrapped.
"Goose?" Maddie stepped forward almost shyly. It took a few seconds before Shawn turned his head towards his mother's voice. From her position by the door, Juliet could immediately tell something was off. He seemed unfocused, and the late reaction worried her. "How are you feeling?" Maddie asked tentatively.
Shawn took a deep breath and rested his head back, his eyes going back to the ceiling.
"Like he got hit by a car," Carlton mumbled under his breath. Juliet smacked his arm as a warning and he looked at her. "Too soon?"
"Zuri's okay," Juliet said as she stepped away from the door and walked slowly from the door to his bedside. "She has a broken leg but she's alright. She's sleeping right now, worried about you actually, but we didn't tell her all the details." Juliet put her hand on top of his. As Henry broke away from the congregation and crossed the room to stand on the opposite side of the bed, Shawn slowly took Juliet's hand in his. He didn't give a verbal acknowledgement of her words, but a gentle squeeze to her hand let her know he appreciated the information.
"You're pretty banged up kid," Henry began. "Broken ribs and bones. Bleeding, freaking skull fracture…" He sighed, and rubbed his face.
"We're here." Maddie stepped forward and put a gentle hand on Shawn's good leg.
Juliet stroked the back of Shawn's hand with her thumb. "Go to sleep. You need to get better. We're working on the case, and we're watching Zuri. You need to sleep right now. Someone will be with you all the time; you'll never be alone. Just close your eyes." Shawn gave no indication he was listening. His eyes remained on the fixed spot on the ceiling and his breathing remained the same.
Henry crossed his arms. "She's right. Get some rest. They probably have you doped up."
A minute later, Shawn's mouth opened, but closed after a few seconds without a sound. His grip on Juliet's hand tightened as his chest picked up speed.
"Don't try and speak," Juliet told him. All eyes were on Shawn as the room fell silent. After a few minutes, Carlton left the room with a nod to Juliet, signaling his departure. A nurse brought in some chairs and they were placed around the bed so the remaining visitors could sit.
The grip on Juliet's hand never changed its pressure even when Shawn's eyes finally closed and his breathing steadied to a somewhat normal pace.
Henry scratched his chin and rested his head on the top of his hand. "Is he asleep?"
"I don't think so," Juliet responded while watching Shawn closely. It was weird that Shawn hadn't tried to speak. Normally they would've had to try and get him to shut up, but he didn't make a single sound.
As if she could read minds, Maddie looked at Juliet. "Why didn't he try and talk?"
Juliet shrugged. "I don't know. You're the doctor."
"In psychology." Maddie shifted in her seat. Juliet looked back at Shawn and undid their entwined hands.
"I'm going to get his doctor." She stood up from the chair. "Maybe there's an explanation."
"I'll go." Henry pointed to Shawn's hand, which had begun moving around the sheet slowly.
"I'm right here," Juliet assured him, and placed a kiss to his knuckle. "It's okay."
"There might be something wrong with his brain." Maddie stood and took Henry's place next to Shawn's head. She gently touched the white bandage around his head and looked at her son's face.
"Most likely," a man said as he walked into the room with Henry behind him. "Doctor Smith, I'm your son's new doctor." He nodded to Maddie and looked down at the folder in his hands. "Due to the trauma your son has experienced, it's more than likely he'll be experiencing some problems with speech, as your husband has described. However, we won't know the full extent until he's able to be tested."
"When will that be?" Juliet asked.
"Once he's showing some signs of improvement." Smith smiled dimly at her. "Mister Spencer will need to get some rest and off most of the pain medication before I'll feel comfortable performing the necessary tests."
"Is there anything we can do to help him?" Henry questioned as he moved around the doctor and stood next to Juliet.
"The biggest thing we can do for him right now is let him sleep. He needs to rest his body and recuperate as much as he can on his own." Smith placed the folder down at the foot of the bed and walked to stand next to Shawn's head. "How long has he been asleep?"
"He's not sleeping," Juliet said, and lifted up her hand to show Shawn's tight grip on her palm.
"That might be a reflex. Mister Spencer, are you awake?" Smith asked softly, and took out his small flashlight. Shawn opened his eyes and slowly focused his gaze on the doctor. "On a scale of one to ten—ten being the worst pain you've ever felt and one being nothing—how much pain are you in?"
Everyone looked at Shawn waiting for his answer. A couple of minutes went by before Juliet felt Shawn's fingers moving against her hand. It was subtle at first. She wasn't sure if she felt anything at all, and wasn't positive until she looked down.
"He's moving his fingers." She held up their hands.
The doctor leaned in for a better view. "That might be a form of communication."
"Communication?" Henry scoffed, and shook his head. "You asked him a question with a number as the answer. If he was trying to communicate he'd be tapping his fingers with the answer—if anything."
"He might not have understood what I asked. Mister Spencer, do you understand what I'm saying?" Smith locked eyes with Shawn. Shawn blinked slowly and his fingers stilled.
"Shawn?" Juliet leaned over so she was in his eyesight. His eyes closed and his head slowly tilted to the side. "Now I think he's asleep." Juliet placed his hand down next to his torso and tucked the blanket under his chin.
"Let me know when he wakes up. I'm suspecting it won't be for a while." Smith grabbed the folder from the foot of the bed and prepared for his exit.
"Wait!" Henry stopped him. "What's wrong with my son?"
Smith sighed. "I'm not sure at the moment. There might be an issue with his ability to communicate. Or it could be his ability to understand. It's hard to say at this juncture."
"You're saying he has brain damage?" Maddie asked with a frown.
"I'm not saying anything." Smith looked at all three of them in turn. "I'm just warning that it's a possibility." He turned and left the room.
They all watched as the door swung closed.
Santa Barbara: 2014
"Okay, okay!" Juliet giggled, and playfully smacked Shawn's hands.
"Get back here!" He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her over to him. The sun was setting and they had been lying comfortably on a blanket in the sand until Shawn had decided to start a tickle-war.
"Knock it off! I'm serious." Juliet shoved him onto his back.
"Ouch!" Shawn rubbed his arm. "That hurt."
"I didn't even touch your arm you big baby." Juliet shook her head with a smile.
"I am not a baby. I'm just sensitive. You know this." Shawn put his arms under his head and rested back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the salty air.
"This was nice. Thanks for pulling me out here, I really enjoyed it." Juliet crossed her legs and put a hand on Shawn's chest.
"I couldn't have my woman stuck in the station all afternoon stacked with Lassie's papers. That's just so not cool." Shawn turned to lie on his side so he could face her. "You know I love you, right?"
Juliet leaned on her arm to be on his level. "Of course. And I love you." She smiled. Shawn returned the smile and kissed her softly. Juliet groaned and pulled away as Shawn's phone rang.
"What Gus?" He asked, and moved onto his back, although he kept a hand on Juliet's waist. "Uh huh." Juliet snuggled into Shawns side as she listened to the one-sided conversation. "Fine; I'll be there." He hung up and looked at her dejectedly.
"No!" Juliet said; knowing what he was going to say.
"But Jules!" Shawn rolled onto his stomach. "Gus needs me. Something about raccoons breaking into the garbage cans at the Psych office."
Juliet sighed. "Shawn…we haven't had a date in a while. You promised it would be just us."
"And it will be! After I help Gus out with the raccoon problem." Shawn gave her his signature-winning smile.
"Fine. But you have one hour." Juliet stood, and with surprisingly little nudging, they got their belongings packed into her green beetle and were parked in front of the office within ten minutes.
"One hour," Juliet reminded him.
He held up a single finger. "One hour." He gave her a peck on the lips and left the car. He walked over to Gus, who stood near his 'blueberry', which was full of brown grocery bags. The two men disappeared inside—and Juliet was about to drive off—when she noticed Shawn's phone on the seat.
"He'll need this…" Juliet got out of the car and quietly opened the door to the office. She stopped out of sight when she heard Gus's voice.
"The fact is that psychics don't exist. There's no such thing except in fiction and TV shows."
"Dude; relax," Her boyfriend responded. "I know psychics aren't real, you know psychics aren't real, but they don't." Juliet could feel her heart fall into her stomach. "That's why we're making money."
He was lying to her? Juliet blinked to try and make sense of everything that was happening. Shawn wasn't psychic? No way. He solved all those crimes, helped all those people...he had to be real. How else could he solve all those crimes? Juliet shook her head and decided to confront him head on. With a deep breath, hiding her hurt and anger, Juliet stepped through the threshold and faced her boyfriend.
Santa Barbara: 2019
"He's not brain damaged. He just can't…" Henry paused in front of the open window to stare at the city scene below. Cars were piled in the streets as the afternoon rush home began.
"You saw him move his fingers. He's just resting." Juliet folded her arms and tried to muster up a small smile to convey her own hope. It wasn't much to be honest; after all, he had sustained a lot of trauma. It was more than likely there was something wrong.
But his fingers.
He had moved them—more than that—he had responded to her. No one else had been able to get the same movement from him as she had.
"Even if—God forbid—there is something wrong, we'll deal with it." Maddie looked at each of them for reassurance.
Juliet nodded. "Of course."
"Let's let him sleep." Maddie pursed her lips and all their eyes landed on Shawn as he slept gently.
Ha ha, yes. Do I have plans for Shawn... Oh boy.
