Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. As always thank you to my beta orchids117!
Love, love is a verb
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter
Fearless on my breath
Night, night after day
Black flowers blossom
Teardrop on the fire
Water is my eye
Most faithful mirror
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Of a confession
"Teardrop" Massive Attack
Santa Barbara: 2019
Juliet watched from the back of the room as the doctors performed yet another test on Shawn. It had been a few days since the accident and the since the feasible diagnosis of brain damage had been made, Shawn had improved little. He still hadn't spoken formable words, using a system of one tap for no and two for yes to communicate with a variety of word-like sounds. Even with the simplicity of the system, Shawn still took moments to tap back an answer. It was really starting to worry her.
Shawn's gaze was fixed on her as the doctor lifted his limbs and asked him questions Juliet assumed he could barely comprehend. He hated the doctors and all their probing questions; he hated the constant observations and let everyone know by the constant sounds of discomfort or whines he released. He was much like a child who was denied a cookie. The only thing he seemed to enjoy was her presence in the room with her hand tucked firmly in his.
"Nothing seems to have changed," Doctor Smith grumbled trying to shine a small light into Shawn's eyes; however, Shawn moved his head trying to keep contact with Juliet.
"He's moving a little more." Juliet walked to his side to keep him still so the doctor could finish his examination. "And he's certainly more verbal, even if it's not full words."
Smith shook his head. "I'm going to schedule him for a MRI."
"He's not going to stay still for that." Juliet placed her hand in Shawn's hair.
"He needs to. Think of something to keep him still." The doctor departed and Juliet met Shawn's eyes.
"You need to stay still for that, you hear me?"
Shawn blinked at her slowly.
"We need to see what's going on in there." Juliet rubbed his head and he leaned into her touch. "They're releasing Zuri today." Juliet took a seat on the bed next to Shawn's waist. "She's really excited. To be going home, and seeing you." Juliet removed her hand and checked her phone for a message from Carlton.
Shortly after Shawn's admittance to the hospital, Carlton had requested and received a warrant to search the Fisher home. A pair of green snake boots had indeed been found on the premises; however, the owner was nowhere to be found. Rita Fisher had disappeared it seemed shortly after Shawn and Juliet's visit to her house, and neighbors recalled seeing her leave in a hurry. The boots were being processed as the moment for DNA or anything else that might lead them to the Texan.
"Za," Shawn's mouth opened slightly.
"Hmm?" Juliet looked at him.
His eyes squinted as he concentrated, trying to form words in his mind. "Za!" Shawn sounded a little louder. He was trying to speak, everyone could see it, and his brain just wouldn't let him.
"Zuri?" She guessed.
Shawn tapped his finger twice on the sheet a few seconds later.
"She's okay Shawn. The cast is a little much for her but she's young and your parents are looking out for her. Besides that she's okay," she informed him.
"Juliet?" Henry knocked at the door. "Can you come out here?" Juliet nodded and stood from the bed.
"I'll be right back," Juliet assured Shawn as he made a small noise of protest. She left the door open so her voice would carry and he would still be able to hear her, even if he couldn't fully understand what she was saying.
"I just got off the phone with Shawn's boss back in Salem at the insurance company." Henry folded his arms.
"And?" Juliet mimicked his movements.
"They wish him the best but can no longer hold him as an employee."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Juliet groaned running her hands through her hair. "He's in the hospital, and they fire him?"
"Apparently, Shawn's been slipping for a while. A few medical leaves and things with Zuri….this is their final reason for letting him go. It's better for his health." Henry scoffed. "It's all bullshit."
Juliet shook her head and looked around. "You know what? This is good. Makes his move down here easier."
"He's moving down here?" Henry looked at her.
"He is now." Juliet put her hands on her hips. "Who knows what's wrong with him. And Zuri? She needs a stable place to be. We haven't gotten into it but look at him, Henry….I can't leave the room without him freaking out." They both paused and listened to the small whines coming from his room.
"He has no choice. He's moving back to Santa Barbara whether he likes it or not." Juliet sat in the chair next to the doorway.
"Yes ma'am." Henry nodded.
He respected Juliet's decision and supported it—Shawn certainly needed to relocate back home. Any kinks with the deal worked out with Karen would be revisited and fixed given the current situation.
They'd only been back together for a week officially, but no one considered it as such. Shawn and Juliet just seemed to flow with each other, like they'd never been apart. It had taken Henry and Maddie along with fierce words from Carlton to get Juliet to move from Shawn's side the first couple of days after the accident. Of course the moment she left, Shawn went in an uproar. He started yelping and moving quickly, his casted limbs swinging. It took several nurses and a sleeping agent to get him to calm down and Henry holding Juliet back from entering the room for her to actually leave the floor. The rare moments Shawn was sleeping, Juliet was talking with Carlton over the phone trying to work into the case.
"How's Zuri doing?" Juliet glanced up from her lap.
"She's fine, Maddie's with her now and they should be up in a few minutes." Henry sat next to her.
"Do you really think she should see him?" Juliet questioned. "He's not himself and…"
Henry interrupted her with a sigh. "I honestly don't know. A part of me doesn't want her to see him like this, but he is her father."
Juliet nodded in understanding.
"You love him? Shawn?" Henry looked at her.
"Of course," she answered without hesitation.
Henry stood from the chair. "I'm going to bring Zuri up here and then you'll take her in the room."
"Wait, what?" Juliet followed him as he began to walk away.
"She's part of the deal, Juliet," Henry said.
"I know, but I can't be alone with them. I don't know if I can…"
"You need to learn!" Henry turned on her suddenly. "If you love him like you say you do, you need to learn to be with him and his daughter—your stepdaughter eventually—alone. It's the only way any relationship between the two of you will work." Henry turned and was gone before Juliet could say another word.
He was right.
Juliet knew she had to get closer to Zuri, she had to, but a part of her didn't want to. Why, she had no idea. Juliet sighed as the sounds coming from Shawn's room got louder, and she went back in.
Santa Barbara: 2013
"Shawn, can I ask you something?"
Shawn looked up from the pasta sauce he was currently stirring and turned to face his girlfriend. "Of course sweetheart! What is it?"
"What would you say if I told you I was pregnant, hypothetically?" Juliet asked. Shawn dropped the wooden spoon and made no move to pick it back up. He looked her up and down to try and detect any slight change. She hadn't gained any weight, she looked normal.
"You're pregnant?" He gulped gripping the counter behind him.
"I said hypothetically, Shawn." Juliet bent down and picked up the spoon before crossing over to him.
"So…you're not pregnant?" Shawn clarified.
"I am not pregnant." She washed off the spoon.
"Thank God." Shawn felt himself physically relax.
"Thanks for that, Shawn." She shoved the spoon in his chest and stormed off towards his room.
"Wait, Jules!" He rushed after her. "I don't get it."
"What if I was pregnant? Huh? Would that upset you?"
"I don't know if upset is the right word…" Shawn stopped and watched her closely.
"Would you be happy?" It was then he noticed the meaning of her words. She was seeking an answer for a possible situation.
"Hypothetically?" Shawn walked closer to where she sat at the bed.
"Of course." Juliet nodded.
"If you were pregnant, I would be scared." Shawn sat next to her. "I would be terrified. I'm not ready to be a father. I can't even imagine…" He chuckled softly.
"I think you'd be great a father." Juliet took his hand.
"And you'd be an even better mother. So together? We'd be good. Because I would have you there to fix my mistakes." Shawn kissed her temple.
"Boy or girl?" They leaned back into the mattress.
"Girl." Shawn smiled wrapping her in his arms. "With blonde hair and blue eyes."
"Really?" Juliet chuckled. "I'd want a little boy."
"Maybe we'll have one of each." Shawn smiled at her.
"Maybe." Juliet nodded.
Santa Barbara: 2019
Juliet sat in a chair at the end of the bed while Zuri sat on the bed with her leg cast on the side. Zuri talked away, giving Shawn's brain little time to grasp the story she was telling. In response, Shawn held her hand and watched her closely with a small smile on his face.
"I miss you daddy." Zuri shifted slightly. "When can you come home?"
"Su." Shawn grasped her hand.
"What?" Zuri giggled. "I don't get you daddy."
Being four, Zuri didn't understand the seriousness of her father's condition. As far as they could all tell, she barely understood he was sick.
"Ba- su…" Shawn frowned moving his hands to his head.
"Daddy?" Zuri asked as Shawn began to slowly hit his head.
"Okay, it's okay." Juliet intervened before he could whack himself with the cast. The last thing he needed was a concussion. "Daddy is getting better." Juliet smiled at Zuri.
"Really?"
"Mhm." Juliet moved Shawn's arm to his lap. "Ask him a question."
"Umm…Daddy, do you like pineapple?" Zuri looked at him.
A few seconds later, Shawn's finger moved twice.
"See that? He said yes." Juliet moved her chair closer and proceeded to explain their system to Zuri and the improvement of her father. Once she was sure Zuri understood how well Shawn was doing compared to that first night, she stopped talking and let Zuri ask all the questions she wanted.
After an hour, Juliet had settled into the bed next to Shawn with her hand in his hair. She stroked it lightly while Zuri continued to ask questions with a bright smile on her face.
"Daddy, do you love me?"
Two taps.
"What about Juliet?"
Two taps.
"Can we get a doggy?"
One tap.
"But daddy…." Zuri sighed.
"We'll talk him into the last one, I promise," Juliet said, earning a smile of her own from Zuri.
"Can it be a puggy?" Zuri looked hopefully from Juliet to Shawn.
"It has to be!" Juliet laughed.
Two taps from Shawn.
"O'Hara?" Carlton came into the room motioning for her to step outside.
"I'll be right back you guys." Juliet stepped from the bed and ignored the noise from Shawn. "What's up?"
"Good news and bad." Carlton sat in a chair waiting for her to sit next to him before he said anything else. "We found Rita Fisher held up in a cabin in Los Padres, that's the good news."
"Bad news?"
"She's dead." Carlton held out a file to her. "Appears to be a suicide, with a confession note."
"A confession?" Juliet glanced over the pictures in the file.
"According to her, the entire thing is a scam created by her, Turner, Mike and her husband years ago. Drug certain teenagers with alcohol, and then keep selling to underage kids." Carlton explained.
"No, it doesn't make any sense. Why kill in the first place? And where's the Texan? Why go after Shawn?" Juliet shook her head.
"The Texan was the supplier of the alcohol—" Carlton was suddenly interrupted by a scream.
"Juliet!" Zuri yelled.
"Zuri!" She rushed up and went back into the room. Shawn was moving his arms and legs quickly, sounds coming from his throat they couldn't understand. Juliet led Zuri from the bed and then tended to Shawn.
"What's wrong? Shawn?" She grabbed his hand.
"Te- Ta- Tea-" Shawn stuttered trying to talk.
"Shawn, don't." Juliet touched his forehead.
"Tea- Ta!" Shawn gripped his hair.
"Shawn, stop." Juliet grabbed his hands.
"Texan!" He blurted out. They stood there, stunned.
"Texan?" Juliet repeated, looking at him.
"Tex-an," he said again, slower to make sure she understood him.
Carlton moved passed Zuri and claimed the other side of the bed. "What about the Texan, Spencer?"
"Pa-ark." Shawn sounded slowly.
"Daddy and I got some stuff at the park," Zuri said. "Daddy got a drink but his was open. The man who gave it to him talked funny." Carlton and Juliet turned to face Zuri.
"Kid, do you remember what the man looked like?" Carlton asked.
Zuri nodded and they both could have jumped with joy.
"Let's go find your grandparents." Carlton picked Zuri up and carried her from the room.
"You did it babe. Well, Zuri did…we're going to solve the case." Juliet sat on the bed in front of Shawn and smiled. "And you talked. I knew you could." She stroked the side of his head lovingly.
"Ga home so-on?" he asked hopefully.
Juliet laughed. "You just keep talking like that and I'll get you home real soon baby, I promise." She cupped his cheeks and kissed his lips.
There is one more chapter to go after this. The big finale. I have yet to decide on if I will write a sequel. What are your thoughts? Would you guys like to see a sequel?
