Disclaimer: I own nothing from the TV show, Psych. Its characters belong to the cast and crew as does the show of Fear Itself. Any copyright infringement is unintended and may be reported to me.
Query (TheShulesLovinPsycho) - I just have a question, though- are they living in Santa Barbara? Did Vick move to SF and Juliet stay? Why is Carlton chief?
A - I kind of messed up on that scenario. I haven't seen the last episodes of the eight season. So this story is basically set in Santa Barbara. Lassiter's the Chief. Karen Vick is not actually featured in the story. I've assumed Juliet as the head detective for the department. Trout's out.
4. Psychodrama
"Dude, I'm telling you. It was like walking in on one's parents." Gus muttered, eyes on the road.
Shawn chuckled. "Oh, don't be Rumpelstiltskin. I know what it's like to walk in on parents and that is nothing how it was with Jules and me. Speaking of which, never talk about my parents in a situation like that. I'll lose my appetite."
"You knew I'd be coming over to pick you up! You planned it on purpose. It's probably the only thing you've ever planned in your life."
"Come on, son! You think I'd do that to you? My buddy, my Gussy?" He reached over to palm Gus's head.
"Shawn! Stop that!"
"You stop that!"
"I'm not doing anything!"
"You're fondling that steering wheel."
"Oh my god." Gus sighed. "It's like arguing with a baseball shooter."
"You mean pitcher?"
"No. And don't distract me. I don't like to talk when I drive."
Shawn smiled. It was definitely different when they were on a case. On the other hand, Gus was a little too fond of his car. Though any time his car was injured, Shawn was mainly to be blamed for.
"Gus, you think Jules' been a little nutty since yesterday?"
"What?"
"Jules. Do you think she's been acting weird?"
Gus gave a shrug. He didn't look too bothered by it. But if he had been in Shawn's shoes, he'd know the situation.
"She seemed okay when we left."
"Yeah, well I had something to do with that."
Gus reached over to smack Shawn's head. The latter ducked and smacked back.
"Stop, stop that, Shawn." Gus wrinkled his nose. "Man, when are you going to grow up?"
"Gus, that timeless question has been asked since I was two. The answer will forever be 'never.' No. No-sir. Niete!"
He started to sing a lost symphony of a violinist.
They pulled into the garage of his house. Gus cuffed his head and said, "Point for me. Now get out. You're ruining the soothing reverberations of the leather. It's custom made and scotch guarded–"
Shawn let out a fake snore.
"Why do I even bother?"
"Because you care. Man, even with me marrying Juliet, you still care. I caught that part of your best man speech. Oh, and I have to say, that was probably the best bachelor's party ever thrown for me."
"You've had only one bachelor's party all your life." Gus pointed out. They walked up to his apartment. Shawn gave up and yawned, stretching his arms, letting out a loud belch along the way. Gus shoved him into the wall.
"Hey, easy there! I've got road rash."
"Shawn, do you know how long it's taken to plan this wedding?"
Shawn snorted, "What? Two weeks. That's not much."
"Exactly. Can you imagine the total stress of doing all the planning and preparation of the entire wedding in just two weeks? Why do you think she's been dropping by the department for normalcy?"
Shawn looked up. "You know about that?"
Gus nodded. He pushed upon the door to the guest's room and waved his hand towards the shelves, "Pillows are in there. I went to the station to pick up the check for our last case and I saw her at her comp. And yeah, she looked relaxed when she was filling out the paperwork. You know cops have a problem with finishing up case work."
Shawn sat down on the bed, thinking hard. She'd been going to the station for days. He never knew about that. Even after the vacation leave, she still went back there. Was she regretting the marriage? Did she think that the engagement was too short?"
"Come on, son. You know that she loves you. I see her looking at the ring. She wants to marry you and I'm just saying it's the stress of the process that makes her go back to the station. It's nothing to do with you."
Gus patted his shoulder. The reassuring the words took away the strain. Shawn gave a half smile.
"Buddy?"
He got up and looked at him. Shawn gave him a grin. "I'm getting married tomorrow."
Gus smiled back. "Yes, you are. And someone just fainted somewhere."
.
Juliet stayed in her house. Alone. That was a bad idea. She couldn't find a comfortable thought to nestle with.
She felt absolutely wretched. Images of Shawn wanting to kill her swam through her mind. The note was horrendous. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Shawn holding a knife, holding her gun, stabbing her, shooting her, strangling her, pushing her off a cliff, out a speeding car, murdering her.
The person marrying you is a serial killer.
She remembered the stories Shawn had told her about his travels. He'd been on road trips since he'd run away from home. How many places had he hit? Did he leave a body in each town? Did he get away cleanly? Did the people chase him out? Was the police of some remote place in Mexico after him? Did he have a wanted poster mentioning a certain price for his head? How many did he kill? How many mourners did he leave in his wake?
Juliet clutched the sheets, wanting to sob in them. It was all because of that note. Those eight words had ruined her life. She couldn't hold it in.
She was getting married tomorrow.
She cried herself to sleep.
.
Marsha almost shrieked when she saw Juliet's face – bags underneath the red eyes and miserable.
"What the hell is your problem, woman?! Didn't I specifically tell you? No shenanigans with Shawn!"
Juliet groaned and placed her face in her arms. They were in the dressing room in the church. The service was under way to turn the hall into a ceremonial wedding palace. It was already eight in the bright morning. The wedding would take place at eleven. Three hours before she signed up for death. It was the worst kind of cold feet a bride could get.
"I'm sorry, Marsha. I couldn't relax the whole night. I didn't even sleep well."
"It looks like you didn't sleep at all. What kept you up?" She gave her a look.
Juliet shut her eyes tight. Technically, not Shawn. But it was Juliet's horrific version of serial killer Shawn. Now that she was in the church amidst the hustle and bustle of the workers, incoming guests and family, she couldn't believe she had been feeling that way. Shawn could not hurt anyone. He definitely wouldn't try anything untoward Juliet.
Then why did she keep feeling that way all night? She remembered the paralysing effect the night terrors had on her. She had kept imagining a dark shadow creep up behind her, whisper in Shawn's voice and then stab her, once, twice, several times. He wasn't just a murderer in her nightmares, but a psychopath.
Right now, she felt a bit relaxed about the entire situation. It was clear that the note had messed up her head. She'd known him for eight years. She'd loved him for more than three. Nothing would ruin their day, least of all her worries about him being the bad guy.
Juliet had tried to throw away the note, but for some reason, she held onto it. Call her a masochist, but it was an unintentional instinct to hold on to and conquer her fears.
She lifted her head and watched the three mirrors facing her. Her reflections looked more confident than before.
"I'll wash my face. I swear, I'll behave. Come on, Marsha. Your stylist can make me look like a bride, can't she?"
.
Juliet realised that her reflection was the one who looked like the perfect blushing happy bride. She looked beautiful. The white dress shimmered in the sunlight. It was slightly wavy as she moved about. Her garter was tickling the skin behind her knee and she shivered at the slight wind that went through the room.
Marsha shut the window. "Marvellous. And it's almost time."
Juliet picked up her bouquet and practiced smiling at the mirror. Lloyd would be walking her down the aisle. She doubted whether Frank would be able to make it.
It was a mark of her strength. She twisted her engagement ring around her finger. The nightmares from last night had all but dissipated but she still had goose bumps over her skin. She probably should have informed someone about the note.
The note was in the safest place she could think of. At first, she had placed it down her bra, but the more her heart thumped, the heavier it felt against her chest. She replaced it beside her gun in her bag.
She wondered if it wouldn't be too odd to strap the gun onto her leg with the holster. But it probably wouldn't look too good for the guests when Shawn had to remove the garter.
Juliet took another deep breath and exhaled, giving herself the widest smile possible. She was marrying the man she loved. Nothing would go wrong.
"Everything will go as planned." She said out loud. Her reflection looked determined enough to fuel her resolve.
.
The ceremony went fluidly. Juliet had expected someone to cough too loudly or a disturbance from the inner rooms or one of the guests dropping dead or Shawn to whip out a machete and kill everyone in the hall.
Nothing happened. Shawn was the opposite of a psycho. He was half bouncing on his feet, smiling giddily. His enthusiasm made her smile through the entire time the Priest spoke.
They held hands. Shawn whispered, "Your palm is sweaty."
She clicked her tongue, "So is yours."
"It's not sweat. My hand is glowing with the awesomeness that is the priest. I've never seen a nose like his."
Juliet pressed her lips together to muffle her laugh. The priest looked like he hadn't heard it. But Shawn was semi-right. The Father's nose was very prominent as compared to the rest of his mouldy features. He had kind eyes which reassured Juliet but the moment Shawn had pointed out the nose, she had to work hard to keep her posture during the ceremony.
She slyly turned her eyes towards Shawn. For once he looked at least 90 percent immaculate. The black tux made his shoulders look broader than usual and she loved that. He was clean shaven along with trimmed sideburns and his hair was gleaming with the gel Gus must have convinced him to use to flatten the wild tufts down.
He caught her glance and winked. She blushed as she heard the end of the priest's words.
"... pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Juliet turned happily, watching him as Shawn lifted the veil out of the way.
A shadow fell across his face. Just like the previous evening, she froze, but it was only a brief second.
Shawn's face was normal and happy again. He leaned in, closed his eyes and kissed her. She responded almost robotically.
.
Her fears were fluctuating with the strangeness. She was starting to feel nervous again. There had to a reason why she felt like this. The morning had been relatively customary but the moment she thought there was something off about Shawn, Juliet was plagued with the repeated nightmares.
"You look nervous." Shawn murmured. He twirled her across the dance floor along with the other couples. She had done her best to hide her terrified expression through the first few dances, but it was slipping.
She hid her face in his lapel. "Just a little tired."
They swayed to the song. Juliet could hear the others talking and laughing. She slid her hands up to his neck to pull him down for a soft kiss. It was to avoid saying anything else. She hoped the kiss could get rid of her irrational fears.
Flashes went off and it worked. Juliet smiled as she pulled away. Shawn looked at her, amused but responsive, "Not that I didn't enjoy that, but really, what's with the extra affection?"
She shrugged, feeling better already. She was so over these mood swings. "If you'd like I could plant a big one on Gus. May be he wouldn't question me."
Shawn leaned until their foreheads touched. His hold on her waist became natural and she giggled at his expression.
"Joking." She sang. He shook his head and kissed her again.
.
By the time all the festivities were done with, the rice shower was rampant over the newly wed couple as they rushed to her car. The last people Juliet saw before climbing into the Convertible were her mother, Lloyd and Henry. Carlton stood off to the side with Marlowe, all smiles. Everyone looked to be in the celebratory mood.
She blew them a kiss and waved. It was surreal. This was happening. She was Juliet O'Hara, wife of Shawn Spencer.
She smiled as they pulled away from the grounds in front of the church.
"We're married." Shawn said as though to convince himself.
Juliet nodded, "I know the feeling."
The sun set as they turned on one of the National Highways, bound for Resort Vermont, their honeymoon spot for the next two weeks.
…