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.

A/N: All OOCs shall be explained by the end.

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5. Psychotic

Linkin Park played through the speakers. It wasn't a honeymoonish song by a long shot, but with the way Shawn sang the lyrics out loud, Juliet didn't argue. He definitely had a voice to match the electric guitar.

She was glad that it was all over. The wedding, not the song. It hadn't been so prominent then, but now as they flew down the highway at seventy fifty miles an hour, Juliet had a nagging feeling that she had been watched all through the ceremony and after party.

It must have been subtle. She did have the slight shiftiness, but it hadn't registered in her mind yet.

"Tell me the truth, wifey." Shawn interrupted. "I break vocal cords better than Chester."

Juliet chuckled, "I have to be biased to answer that, hubby. Chester can definitely rock it."

His mock offended look made her snort. The afternoon was hot on the road but cool in their car. The lack of vehicles along the stretch they were on didn't escape her notice, but it was the start of economic, business and school terms. The Spencer-O'Hara families were probably the only ones who experienced the hefty shift in their lives through the wedding.

"What's the new car smell?" He asked as he changed the radio station. He must have had enough of Chester.

"It's probably pine. I just got it serviced."

"I'd know if it was pine. This one is a little faint. Kinda sweet. I like it."

"I think that's my perfume."

"... oh right. Well, then. How are you feeling?"

Juliet raised her eyebrows. Shawn's voice had taken a complete turn. She kept her eyes on the road, her guard going up. Something felt wrong. "Are you talking about the wedding?"

He gave a sigh. "Yeah. Gus told me how stressful it was to put together the whole thing within two weeks. I didn't know it was that hard."

She relaxed, "That? Well, it was rushed, but I think it went great. Nothing out of line. No guest died. Everything ended well."

Shawn turned towards her, a look of surprise on his face. "No guest died? What? Were you expecting someone to keel over?"

"I was thinking of a worst case scenario."

He nodded. She could sense him being doubtful. "Yeah, that would be pretty bad. I kinda thought that a worst case scenario would be you leaving me at the altar."

He laughed at his words and she went along with him. Her heart was beating fast. It felt like he was building up the moment to ask her about the note.

But he couldn't know about it. No one knew about the note. She hadn't told anyone.

She went cold. What if... he had gotten a note himself? What if the same person who had warned her sent a message to Shawn saying that she knew something and was keeping it from him?

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened till her knuckles hurt.

"What's wrong?" His voice was soft. He was looking at her. There was something in his eyes that Juliet couldn't understand.

She changed tactics by smiling, "You thought I would leave you at the altar?"

Shawn didn't laugh. Juliet swallowed and looked ahead. The mirages on the hot asphalt in the distance contrasted with the cool air in the car. She was starting to sweat.

She imagined Shawn to reach into her purse to take out her gun. She imagined hearing the bullet shoot out into her head.

He frowned. Juliet inhaled sharply and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're acting weird again."

She wanted to scream. He was the one driving her insane.

"I'm fine."

"Are you serious? Don't go all Harry Potter on me, Jules. If you're really tired, I could take the wheel –"

"And drive us off the road? Go somewhere secluded where no one can hear us? Somewhere without cell signal?"

Shawn stared. Juliet bit her lip. He was going to find out.

"What are you talking about?"

Her head was hurting. She hated the game he was playing. It was starting to look clear that he knew something about how she felt, but the way he still kept pretending to be in the dark was really starting to bug her.

She glared at the windshield, "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

He looked back at the road still frowning, "No, I don't. I'm not a mind reader."

"No, you're a psychic, aren't you? At least, you're damn good pretending at pretending to be one!"

Shawn stared at her. The line had been crossed. Warning bells rang in Juliet's head. She wondered if she should stop the car before they started fighting.

"What are you on about? Why are you so aggressive?"

"Me? What's with all the questions? I told you that I'm fine."

"If this is fine, I'd hate to see you aggravated."

"Oh ha ha. That's so witty, Shawn."

"You've been like this for the past few days. What've you been up to?"

That made her slam on the brakes. The car swerved to the side and screeched to a halt. Juliet swore she saw steam rise up from the tyres. But she was far past caring about the way she looked. The questions had hit a nerve and she was on the last one.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"There is nothing wrong with me! Why do you keep suspecting me?"

Shawn glared at her. He rubbed his shoulder from where the seatbelt had pulled. She felt her chest hurt too, but she kept the furious eye contact.

"You're hiding something." He said in a self-possessed tone. "And it's taking a toll on you. Why is that, honey? What's going on?"

She didn't back down. There was a flash of rage in Shawn's words and she could see that he was starting to lose it. Well, if he did attack her, she had a gun.

"You know what? I think I know why you're so inquisitive. You think I'm hiding something from you." She could hear the smugness in her voice. She saw his ire heighten.

"I know you're hiding something from me."

"Tell me something, Shawn Spencer." She almost smirked with the reaction to her diction. "You were on your little road trip for nearly ten years before you came back to Santa Barbara. Was there something you were up to? Did you develop a new hobby? I'm very interested to know how you spent a decade on your Norton."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's the reason why all the problems started! What have you been keeping from me, Shawn?"

"You're the one with secrets!"

Juliet's nostrils flared, her eyes dilated. Her vision turned red. Shawn seemed to respond to her anger. He grabbed her neck (she thought he was going to strangle her) and pulled her into a forceful kiss.

She grabbed his hair and pulled. The gel coated her fingers and the intensity of their movements was an excellent release for her pent up frustrations. She pushed herself out of her seat and over the gear, onto his lap.

The air conditioning was moot. Not registering how much time had passed, Juliet just went with the flow. Her instincts were all over the place and so were her hormones.

There was nothing sweet about it. Shawn exhaled. The air was hot over her face and neck and she couldn't remember breathing well enough. Trying to keep track of where his hands touched, where his lips were, Juliet's nails sank into his upper arms, her mouth deftly finding his. The radio blared out Dancing Queen by ABBA. Shawn blindly groped for the dials to turn it off.

She twisted her body to remove his jacket and he pulled her neatly piled hair out of its bun. Without the music, the sounds were their heavy gasps and moans.

It took her a while to realise that something was seriously wrong.

Was Shawn trying to distract her?

She felt a cold shiver down her spine which had nothing to do with him leaving hickeys over her neck. Juliet opened her eyes and pushed him away from her, panting heavily and trying to process what had happened. He frowned at her, red lips, deep breaths. She had to get away.

She clumsily reached for her purse (definitely not going to leave her gun near him) and pulled on the door handle to climb out of the car.

"What... where are you going?" Shawn yelled watching her stumble away from her Bug. It had to be a hundred degrees outside. She could see heat waves rising from the road. The late afternoon was merciless.

"Getting away from you!" She shouted. Couldn't he see that? There was something terribly wrong with the situation. Juliet wasn't sure what but it had to do with them.

Shawn nearly tripped as he got out of the car. His hair stuck at odd angles from all the yanking she had done. Unconsciously, she smoothed down her blouse and jeans. His clothes seemed like he had tried them on in an inebriated state.

"Tell me something." She stopped. She had to know. "Tell me if you did anything bad during your ten years away from Santa Barbara."

He spread his arms, looking irritated, "What does that have to do with anything?"

He was still moving away from the topic. There was clearly something hidden there. She clutched her purse tighter.

"It's a simple question, Shawn." She gave her a steady look, trying to compose herself. The heat was horrendous. Her skin felt damp but she held a stoic pose trying to undermine him.

He shook his head slowly as though trying to make sense of things. "I did a thousand things on my run. What are you referring to?"

"Did you ever do anything against the law?"

"Jules, you're supposed to be my wife not my parole officer! I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're asking!"

Checkmate, jackass. That was a Freudian slip for sure. She unzipped her purse as subtly as she could.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you didn't kill anyone? Are you sure you didn't leave any witnesses?"

Shawn's jaw went slack and he simply stared at her, at a loss for words. It wasn't often that happened. Juliet was even more convinced of her conclusions.

"I did not kill anyone. I never got into a fight not even a bar fight! What's wrong with you? Why are-"

"I got a note." Juliet said.

He went still. She almost smiled even though it was a humorless situation.

"What note?" He sounded afraid.

She levelled her chin. "A note accusing you of some very damning things, Shawn."

His hands shook. She noticed that and reached very slowly into her purse for her gun. She saw him grow angry.

"Who gave you this note?"

"Does that matter? You're reacting in a way a criminal would. That doesn't bode well for you."

"Well, you're acting a bit of a psycho yourself. What does the note say?" He couldn't have stressed the words anymore if he wanted to.

"You can find out in court."

His eyes narrowed at her. He was deadly serious. "Juliet, I'm warning you."

Her breathe hitched. She took a few steps back. She couldn't recall a time when he called her 'Juliet.' It had always been 'Jules'. This hardened it. He wasn't her Shawn. She caught a good grip on her weapon, ready to pull it out if he tried to harm her.

Shawn swallowed. He managed a small chortle. "Come on, Jules. I didn't mean to say it like that. I'm sorry. Let's just... get back into the car. It's too hot for this. I'm sure neither of us wants a heat stroke. We can talk calmly in the car."

Juliet watched his movements. His fingers twitched and his breathing was shallow. It was close to an unbearable hotness and she did want to be back in the cool interior of her car. But then she remembered that the keys were in the ignition. If she hesitated, would Shawn simply get into the seat and drive off? Would he leave her in the middle of the Saharan road?

He tilted his head and gave her his all star smile. She blinked, trying to remain strong. She had to think fast.

"Get in the back seat." She said, jerking her head forwards.

Shawn frowned. "Seriously? Jules, you look tired. I'll drive for a while and let's cross our fingers for a smoothie stall, eh?"

"Shawn, I'm not going to ask you again."

"Why are you interrogating me like a suspect?" He asked, disturbed.

She gave him an innocent look. "Do you feel like that?"

He clenched his fists. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing here, Juliet. But I'm not going along with it. Just give it to me straight."

"I thought you wanted to talk in the car." She retaliated coldly.

"I thought you wouldn't keep secrets from me."

"That's rich coming from you."

"That again? I told you, I did not kill anyone!"

"How can I believe you?!" She yelled walking forwards until she was in his face. "How can I trust you when you know how to lie? You could be holding back the truth. How do I know you're innocent?"

"Innocent of what?!"

She sucked in a deep breath. Damn, she could still smell the Axe off of him. The heat only made him sultrier.

Shawn seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He leaned forwards, but this time, Juliet moved away. She wasn't going to let her guard down.

He grabbed her arm. Like last night, she went rigid.

Shawn whispered, "That's enough. Just get in the car." He sounded murderous. She almost laughed hysterically.

"And then what? You'll kill me?"

"You're close."

She saw his clamped jaw, felt his tight grip and watched the solemn look in his eyes. Juliet pressed her lips together and shoved him away as strong as she could. Before he could seize her again, she pulled out her gun and pointed it at his chest.

He froze. "Jules..."

"Don't move." She said carefully. "Shawn, I know you did something. I'm going to call in an investigation and this time, you can't run away. Your time's up."

"You're mad."

"You're the one who threatened me."

"You're the one who's accusing me!"

Juliet shook her head. The ground was spinning. She had just pulled her gun on her husband who was a probable suspect.

"You keep avoiding my accusations. Only the guilty party does that."

Shawn looked at her in disbelief. "Jules, you have to believe me, I didn't kill anyone."

"You've been acting suspicious for days."

"Me? What about you? It's like you were high or something!"

"Get in the car." She said evenly. She had to call Lassiter. She was still clutching her purse, its embellishments digging into her palm. Shawn looked down.

Juliet couldn't believe it had come to this. Just a week ago, she was excited to tie the knot, but here she was, planning to get Shawn arrested. Her handcuffs were in the bag inside the car. She hoped he didn't know that.

Shawn bent down to pick something off the ground. Juliet moved the gun along with him, "What are you doing –"

Her voice died. Shawn was holding the note. The cramped piece of paper with the eight damning words that had ruined everything. It must have fallen out of her purse when she had pulled out the gun.

"Shawn, don't."

"What's this?"

He stared at the paper as though his mind had gone numb.

The person marrying you is a serial killer.

"Is this the note?"

"Put that down."

"Juliet, is this it?" He shouted. "Someone sends you a random message and you believe it? How can you be so stupid?"

"Shut up! You've been scaring me for the past few days. How can I not believe it?!"

"Put the gun down." Shawn warned.

"Get away from me."

Shawn lunged forwards. Before she could press the trigger, he knocked the weapon out of her hands, pinning them above her head. Her back met the hot road and she could feel the heat burn through her clothes into her back.

They struggled noisily. Juliet bent her arm and pressed her elbow against Shawn's neck, digging in harshly. He let go of her other arm and wrestled to hold both her wrists down. She brought her leg behind him to kick into his back. It worked momentarily. Shawn lost his balance from his arms and fell completely on her. His weight crushed the air out of her lungs. Desperate, she surged forwards with her head which bumped hard into his forehead. He yelped and rolled away.

Juliet balanced onto her feet searching for her gun. She found the note stuck to the underside of her converse but the gun was closer to Shawn. He grabbed it and kneeled, clutching the metal expertly in his palms.

"Shawn." Juliet raised her arms, her fear growing. The heat had dug into her skin and it made her lightheaded.

"On your feet. Now." He commanded. His hands shook slightly. She held onto her car as she stood up.

This was it. She hadn't been farfetched. He was going to kill her with her own gun. Maybe he was the one who was high. Maybe he'd dealt with drugs before but overdosed this time. Maybe he would return to his killing spree, starting with her.

"You ruined everything, Jules." He said softly. She stared at him. His finger was wrapped around the trigger. He could squeeze it at any moment.

"Who sent you that note?"

She told him the truth, "I don't know."

He clicked his tongue, frustration seeping back in. "Didn't you even try to find out?"

"I checked the old police records of the cases we solved over the past eight years. Some names jumped out, but nothing hit me remarkably."

She couldn't believe how stable she felt. Her husband was about to kill her and she accepted it. It was probably because she had finally found out the truth.

"How many?"

He stared. "What?"

She reiterated, "How many people did you kill?"

A slow smile came on his face. Shawn looked amused, "Are we back to that again? I don't think it matters. You wouldn't believe me."

She nodded. He was probably right. He'd lied about being a psychic for years. It would make sense about this as well.

The more she thought about it the clearer it became. Shawn was the perfect fit for the profile of a serial killer. He knew the police hand book word for word. He knew how to use a gun. He had the boyish charm to make people follow his lead. He could lie flawlessly and through his teeth. He knew how to escape from people and avoid capture. His smile opened doors more than brute force could.

"You won't get away with this." She muttered. Shawn had yet to actually shoot her. She wondered what was stalling him.

He lowered his gun by a few inches, looking annoyed, "I'm not going to –"

There was sound that resembled the screech of tyres, just like when Juliet had pressed the brakes on their car. She saw Shawn's eyes widen. He shifted the gun and pointed it to a target behind her. She turned around and saw a black Prius race towards them at a thundering speed.

Shawn shot twice. The bullets made mere holes in the tinted windshield. The couple realised that it would hit them.

Unthinkingly, Juliet grabbed Shawn hand as he did the same. They tried to move away but the car spun around and the side collided with both bodies in a tremendous force.

Juliet and Shawn were knocked off their feet like dolls. They landed on the hot and hard asphalt, bones screaming and flesh burning. The sun blinded her eyes for the next few moments which were crucial. She groaned as the heat seared her from all sides. Her body felt roasted.

She turned her head away, unable to get up. Through the black spots in her vision, she saw someone emerge from the car and pick up Shawn, dragging him towards the Prius. She saw Shawn trying to evade him but his attempts looked as strong as she felt lying there.

She thought they'd get her too. But to her surprise, the doors closed and the car revved up the road, screaming back up the highway.

Juliet was alone. The note was taunting her from its place on the ground. Her gun was gone. She was sure her car was close, but she couldn't get up. Her muscles felt fried and coughed hard. The sun was too hot. She couldn't think straight. They had taken Shawn. Someone took him. She didn't know who or why. Was it the same person who had sent her the note? Did they kidnap him to kill him for his deeds?

Juliet lay there for what felt like hours. Her thoughts were scrambled like eggs in the frying pan. Her mind felt like it was on fire. She didn't know how long she simply lay on the road in the blazing heat. She couldn't reach her purse. She couldn't tell how far away it was. She could barely move her fingers.

The black spots in her sight grew larger until it completely engulfed her. Before she went out for the count, she remembered that Shawn had lowered his gun. He hadn't been about to shoot her. Would he have turned himself in? And the Prius. It had matched the description of the car that had injured Father Chris. Was that related?

The questions swirled around and the confusion was all she could feel before she blacked out.

...