This chapter is 95% new material. The events that take place were referenced in the original story but because of the way I separated the chapters I didn't have room for the scenes. Now I do and I hope you all enjoy them.

Chapter 11: (Almost)The Breaking Point or Why Irish Detectives Need Sleep

Saturday

Juliet sighed, wishing she could cover her head with a pillow and ignore her ringing phone. She knew when she became a cop that she would always be on call in case something happened but sometimes it was hard to remember why she agreed to it all. Like right now, when she was pulled from some badly needed rest. A glance at the clock showed she had barely been asleep two hours.

Shawn groaned next to her, a frown marring his features as he ducked his head under the blankets. Not wanting to wake him up if she didn't have to, she reluctantly slipped out of bed and grabbed her phone. "O'Hara," she answered quietly.

"Detective, I'm sorry to wake you, but I need you to come down to the station."

Juliet glanced at her sleeping boyfriend and quietly left the room, pulling the door shut behind her. "Can this wait Chief? Shawn and I only got home a couple hours ago."

Vick sighed. "I'm sorry O'Hara but it cannot, and I'll need you to bring Spencer in with you as well."

"Is there any way we can do this without him?" Juliet asked. "He's been pushing himself too hard and really needs the rest."

"I'm aware of Spencer's condition but with a killer on the loose and no leads to finding him I'm afraid I need everyone in." Vick genuinely sounded regretful, which made it hard to be mad at her.

Juliet rubbed her forehead with her free hand and stifled a groan. She had friends with normal nine to five jobs. They were probably sleeping right now, all warm and cozy in their beds, or just waking up from a restful night's sleep. They didn't have to worry about being woken up in the middle of the night to go to a crime scene or running on little sleep for days trying to solve a case. She was jealous of the peaceful existence they got to lead but knew it was only possible because of people like her.

Though if she was being completely honest, she never would have been truly happy living like that. She loved not knowing what to expect when she went into work every day and the thrill of catching a criminal. At the end of a long, tiring day she usually had the satisfaction of knowing she had made a difference in the world.

And, if she wasn't a cop, she never would have met Shawn.

She slumped back against the wall. "All right, we'll be there soon. Have you called Carlton?"

Vick chuckled dryly. "There was no need. He hasn't left the station yet."

Juliet winced. Carlton could be particularly hard to deal with when he was sleep deprived. "I'll bring in coffee for everyone."

"Thank you, O'Hara," Vick said with such gratitude she wondered just how long the Chief had been up herself. "I'll expect to see you and Spencer soon."

Juliet ended the call and stared down at the phone. Her background was a picture of her and Shawn at the end of their first date, standing on the boardwalk. She was laughing and Shawn had a sly grin on his face. What you couldn't see in the picture was that Shawn had slipped a hand up under her shirt and was tickling her sides. She had wanted to be annoyed at Shawn for ruining the picture but all she could think about at the time was the way his hands felt against her bare skin. They had quickly headed back to her place after the picture was taken, where she had done a thorough study of how his touch felt against all manner of body parts; and done some touching of her own in return.

She sighed. Once this case was solved, maybe she could take Shawn out to dinner to that same little pizzeria they had gone to on their first real date and see if they could recreate some memories. They hadn't had a date night out in a while because of work and they could both use a break.

Right now, however, they had a job to do. Juliet re-entered the bedroom and went over to Shawn's side of the bed. "Shawn, sweetie," she said, gently shaking his shoulder. "You need to get up."

Shawn groaned, peeking his head out from under the blankets and opening one bloodshot eye to peer up at her. "Jules?"

She ran a hand lightly through his hair. "Shawn, you need to get up. We have to go."

Shawn sighed heavily. "But I'm so tired," he said, sounding so weary and pathetic that Juliet almost considered leaving him and making up some excuse to the Chief. She knew Shawn desperately needed sleep but she also knew he would be upset if she didn't wake him up for this. Vick had insisted everyone needed to come in and her boyfriend was an important part of the team.

"I'm sorry Shawn, but the Chief needs us at the station."

Shawn sighed again but struggled to sit up. "Newton?"

Juliet nodded. "Vick didn't say what exactly but it has something to do with the case."

Shawn stretched and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. With the way his hair was sticking up Juliet was reminded of a sleepy five year old and couldn't help smiling.

"What?" Shawn asked suspiciously.

Juliet shook her head. "Nothing." She stepped away to get dressed when Shawn grabbed her arm and pulled her down on the bed next to him. "Shawn!" she protested before his lips met hers in a kiss.

"Better than coffee for waking you up," he said with a sly grin as he pulled away.

She reached up and ruffled his hair, grinning at his indignant squawk. "Now that you are awake, get dressed. I promised we would grab coffee for everyone on our way in. Carlton hasn't even gone home yet and will definitely need it."

Shawn got out of bed and went over to his dresser. "Maybe I should see if a kiss would wake him up too."

Juliet laughed. "I wouldn't try it if I were you. With how sleep deprived he is bound to be, he really would shoot you."

Shawn grinned as he slipped his shirt over his head. "Don't worry, my kisses are only for you." He gave her another one before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. "Besides, I wouldn't want to infringe on Marlowe's turf. That woman is tougher than she looks and I'd like to keep my boy parts intact."

Juliet had to agree after hearing some of the stories Carlton had passed along after one of his visits to the woman's prison his girlfriend was incarcerated in. "I want you to try to behave today. Everyone is under a lot of pressure already with this case."

Shawn re-entered the bedroom, looking somewhat more awake and smelling of pineapple and citrus. Still, Juliet could see the dark circles under his eyes and the drawn look to his face. "I know Jules. I want to catch Newton just as much as everyone else."

Juliet walked over to him as she finished buttoning up her shirt. "Just don't push yourself too hard."

Shawn smiled that slow, sexy smile that always made her shiver. "I won't." He gave her another kiss, this one longer and deeper than the others. It was broken when he had to pull away to yawn.

Juliet grinned. "Very romantic."

Shawn shrugged. "I try." He kissed her lightly on the lips again before pulling away. "I'll let you finish getting ready."

Juliet noticed him try to hide another yawn as he left. She frowned as she finished getting dressed. Yes, Shawn was an important part of the team and it was almost impossible to order him off a case. But between this case and how hard he was working to find Nikki's father, she worried that he was overextending himself. He also had a frightening tendency to end up in dangerous situations and with his level of exhaustion it would be easy from him to slip up and get himself killed.

"Jules? You ready yet?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly put a smile on her face. "Coming."

Shawn looked at her quizzically. "Everything okay?"

Juliet forced her worries to the back of her mind. It was no good borrowing trouble ahead of time. "I'm fine," she said and this time her smile felt genuine. "Let's go."

Shawn slowly sipped his coffee, staring at Pratt through the two-way mirror. His head felt full of cotton and his eyes itched from lack of sleep. He rubbed them blearily, trying to get them to focus on the man in the interrogation room.

It was really unfair how well-groomed and un-sleep deprived Pratt appeared with that slimy smirk on his face. Of course, he hadn't been out half the night chasing down a lead that hadn't gone anywhere. None of the night shift workers at the bus depot had seen Newton and his car hadn't yielded any clues to where he was heading. There was a chance someone on the day crew had seen him but Shawn wasn't holding out much hope. Newton was too smart to use public transportation; he would know it would be monitored. However, the bus depot was the perfect place to ditch the car the police were tracking and either leave on foot or hitch a ride with someone.

With no clue where Newton was even heading, they were at a dead end.

Shawn was pulled from his thoughts by the door to the observation room opening. "Carlton and I are heading in," Juliet said. "The Chief wants you to watch and see if you sense anything."

"This whole thing is a waste of time," Lassiter complained. "I doubt this asshat has anything useful he can tell us."

"Carlton, be nice. He's doing us a favor by coming in to answer our questions," Juliet said, though her words lacked any real conviction to them.

"It'd be a better favor if he came in at a reasonable hour," Lassiter grumbled.

Juliet ignored him and looked at Shawn. "Let us know if you come up with anything we should ask him."

"How about, was he always a soul-sucking demon or did he become that way after years of teaching college students?"

"Serious questions Shawn."

Shawn pouted. "But I was serious."

"O'Hara, let's get this over with already," Lassiter interrupted. "I'd like to make some real progress on this case this morning."

"Knock him dead, Lassie," Shawn said.

Lassiter muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'I wish' before leading Juliet into the interrogation room. Shawn moved back over to the window to watch.

"Why, officer Lassiter, what a pleasure to see you again," Pratt said with false sincerity.

"That is Detective Lassiter," the Head Detective scowled. He sat down in one of the chairs across from Pratt. Juliet sat down in the other.

"Right, right." Pratt turned his gaze on Juliet. "I see your lovely partner is with you this time. Lovely to see you again, though I must say, that pantsuit does not become you. You would be better suited in something more. . . feminine."

Shawn saw Juliet's eyes narrow. His girlfriend hated being considered weak just because she was a woman. He hoped Pratt didn't push her too far. When she got really mad, even Lassiter was afraid of her.

Then again, considering how much he hated Pratt, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"We're not here to discuss clothing," Lassiter said. "We're here to get any information you have about Timothy Newton."

Pratt eyed Lassiter for a long moment before settling back in his chair with a sigh. "I didn't work directly with Newton but I did see him around and, well, students tend to gossip." He rolled his eyes, as if he was above such failings. "My impression is that he was a loner but did his job well. I had thought Newton fairly intelligent, though if a hack like Sanders stole his research I must have been wrong." He looked disdainfully at the detectives. "The fact I am here proves he was smarter than the two of you at least. I shudder at what that means for the safety of this city."

Lassiter tensed and leaned forward in his chair until Juliet put a calming hand on his arm. "Do you have any idea where Newton may have gone?" she asked.

Pratt shook his head. "Isn't it your job to figure that out? I hope our tax dollars are not being wasted on layabouts waiting for others to do their jobs for them." Pratt smirked at Lassiter. "Or is that the reason you keep that annoying psychic around?"

"Watch your mouth or you'll wind up in a holding cell," Lassiter snapped.

"On what charges?" Pratt tsked, shaking his head. "Really, detective, I would expect better from you than empty threats. If I expected anything at all, that is."

Lassiter's hands clenched into fists. "How about obstruction of justice for wasting our time? I have yet to hear anything that is useful to the case."

Pratt shrugged. "You were the one that requested this interview, not me. I merely showed up to see if there was any way I could help."

This was not going well. Not only was Pratt a complete waste of time, he was seriously pissing off Lassiter. The detective had trouble controlling his temper around this guy when he was fully alert; Shawn was worried what would happen with Lassiter sleep-deprived and already irritable.

"We are grateful for your help," Juliet said, looking like the words left a foul taste in her mouth. "My partner has just been stressed trying to find Newton before he hurts anyone else."

"It's a shame you didn't know it was him before he went after Cooper." Pratt shook his head. "Maybe if you hadn't been wasting your time with me you could have saved him."

It was a low blow that struck all three of them hard. Juliet bit her lip, looking like she either wanted to scream at Pratt or cry. Lassiter was giving Pratt such a death glare Shawn was surprised the man hadn't keeled over already.

As for himself, he had to quickly put his coffee down before his suddenly shaking hands caused him to drop it. He had known Pratt was innocent but he also hadn't figured out it was Newton in time to save Cooper either. Pratt had known just what to say to throw all of them off their game.

He saw Juliet glance worriedly at the mirror and knew he had to do something to stop this. He headed over to the door to the interrogation room. He wasn't sure what he was going to say or do but he was used to winging it.

"Ah, here's the charlatan," Pratt said when he entered the room. "Funny how you're always stepping in when the detective here screws up. I guess the reason they keep you around is to clean up his mess."

"That is it!" Lassiter lunged across the table at Pratt.

Shawn was too surprised to react but luckily Juliet was not. She immediately grabbed her partner around the shoulders and pulled him back. "Shawn! Help me!"

Shawn jumped forwards, grabbing Lassiter from the other side. He got elbowed hard in the side for his troubles, knocking the wind out of him. "Dude, Lassie, calm down!" he gasped as he tried to catch his breath and still hold on to the struggling detective. "Now is not the time to go all Rambo on his ass. You could never pull off Stallone."

Lassiter glared at him. "Let me go."

"No." With Juliet's help, he dragged Lassiter out of the room. He had a glimpse of Pratt watching them with smug amusement before Juliet shut the door.

"Get off me!" Lassiter yanked himself from their grip and took a few steps away, breathing hard.

"Carlton?" Juliet asked, watching her partner carefully.

"I'm fine," Lassiter snapped. He turned away, reaching one hand up to lean against the wall. His other hand was still clenched into a fist at his side but Shawn didn't think he was going to punch anyone anymore. Still, he kept his distance to be safe.

"I have to go back in there and try to convince Pratt not to press charges," Juliet said. Lassiter didn't move but the way his shoulders tensed told Shawn he had heard her. "You need to come up with something to tell the Chief when she hears about this."

Lassiter nodded sharply, still facing away from them. Juliet turned to Shawn. "Keep an eye on him?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, sure," Shawn said, crossing his arms. He winced as he pulled on his undoubtedly bruised ribs.

"Are you okay?" Juliet asked in concern.

"Lassie has really pointy elbows," Shawn complained. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze as he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. Go take care of Pratt."

Juliet looked at the interrogation room and made a face. "I won't be long."

After Juliet left, Shawn leaned carefully against the wall next to Lassiter. "That was a pretty stupid thing to do."

"You think I don't know that?" Lassiter said, turning his head to look at Shawn. "I'm well aware of my own failings. I don't need someone else pointing them out to me."

Shawn looked closer at the detective. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles underneath them, giving him the appearance of a rabid raccoon. "When was the last time you slept?"

Lassiter sighed. "Day before last. I think."

Shawn shook his head. "Dude, maybe you should take a nap or something. Just because crime doesn't sleep doesn't mean you don't have to."

Lassiter scowled at him. "I can't just leave in the middle of an investigation."

"Juliet can handle things for a little while. I'm sure she'll call you if something came up."

Lassiter looked tempted for a moment, but then shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You're exhausted."

Lassiter snorted. "You're one to talk. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep, Spencer?"

Shawn shook his head. "This isn't about me. I'm not the one in danger of being arrested for assault."

Lassiter crossed his arms. "I can handle losing a little sleep. I'll rest once we have Newton behind bars."

The interrogation room door opened and Pratt walked out. Shawn glanced at Lassiter worriedly. The detective had gone ramrod stiff and was glaring murderously at the professor but didn't seem like he was about to take his head off.

Pratt smirked and shook his head when he saw the detective. Shawn put a warning hand on his arm as Lassiter unconsciously leaned forward. Thankfully, Pratt didn't say anything as he walked past them and up the stairs.

"Jackass," Lassiter muttered.

"I'd have to agree with you on this one, Lassie," Shawn said. "That guy is a real peace of work." Lassiter looked down where Shawn was still gripping his arm. Shawn quickly pulled his hand back while it was still attached to his body. "I didn't want you getting in any more trouble. Jules would kill me if I did."

"I wouldn't have done anything," Lassiter said, not sounding very convincing. He sighed, slumping back against the wall. "Besides, he's right."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Look, Lassie – "

"Do not let that bastard get to you." Shawn turned as a very pissed off Juliet walked towards them. "He isn't worth the air he's wasting, let alone letting him have the satisfaction of messing with your head."

"Jules, are you okay?" Shawn asked, surprised by how angry she was.

"I had to apologize to him about what happened," Juliet said. Shawn didn't miss the way Lassiter flinched at her words. "Do you know what he said? He said he'll 'let it go this time since Carlton's partner is a woman and obviously couldn't provide the backup he needed.'" She huffed angrily. "As if my being a woman had anything to do with the vile words coming out of that man's mouth. He's a horrible, condescending, miserable excuse for a human being."

Shawn was really glad Pratt had already left. If not, he would have been sorely tempted to punch the other man himself. Or let Juliet do it; from the way her hands were clenched into fists at her side and her shoulders were tight and tense, Pratt was lucky not to have a black eye right now. He had rarely seen Juliet this angry before. "Wow, Jules, why don't you tell us what you really think of him?" he said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. He flinched when she favored him with an icy glare.

"You want to know what I really think?" Juliet let loose with a string of curses that made Lassiter's eyes go wide in shock.

"Why, Juliet O'Hara," Shawn said with an impressed grin. "I didn't know you had it in you." He walked over to his girlfriend and wrapped her in a hug. "Do you feel better now that you let all that out?" he asked quietly.

Juliet sighed, relaxing in his arms. "Yeah, I do."

"Good." He gently steered her towards the stairs. "Now, we are going to forget we ever talked to Pratt this morning and get back to trying to figure out where Newton is." He glanced over at the other detective. "You in on this plan, Lassie?"

Lassiter grimaced, like he did whenever he was forced to agree with Shawn, but nodded. "Come on O'Hara. We'll go over Newton's known associates again. Someone has to have an idea of where he could be heading."

Shawn reached out and slung his free arm around Lassiter's shoulders while still keeping his other arm around Juliet. "See, we're one big happy family again."

Lassiter grabbed his hand and did something to it that made pain radiate up his arm. He yelped and pulled his arm back to cradle against his chest. "Enough with the pain already! I'm not into that sort of thing."

Juliet shook her head. "I warned you to play nice Shawn." She kissed his cheek before pulling away from his side. "Can you look over the case file again while Carlton and I talk to his coworkers?"

"Sure thing Jules." The two detectives walked off, discussing which person to call in first. As he walked to Juliet's desk to grab the casefile he yawned, almost stumbling over his own feet. Damn he was tired. He thought longingly of his warm, cozy bed at home, then shook his head. He could rest once the killer was caught.

He pushed aside the uncomfortable thought that he sounded exactly like Lassiter had earlier and went to get himself a cup of coffee. He had work to do.

Shawn stared at the file in front of him as he sipped his gajillionth cup of coffee of the day. He was hoping there was something in there he had missed or overlooked the past twenty or so times he had reviewed the file. It was unlikely but without any new leads they were at a dead end.

Pratt's observations had unfortunately proven correct; Newton was a loner. Juliet had contacted Newton's only remaining family yesterday; a brother currently out of town on a construction job. James Newton had said he hadn't talked to his brother much in the past few months besides the occasional phone call or birthday card. Officers had checked out James' residence anyway but there was no sign Newton had been there.

The only person who Newton regularly talked to at the college was Cooper and since Shawn couldn't really talk to the dead that left them with a grand total of zero people who might have an insight into where Newton was going.

Newton would likely go to someone or somewhere he was familiar with but everything they had checked so far had led nowhere. Shawn knew there had to be a clue to where Newton had gone if only he could find it.

"Shawn!"

He looked up as Juliet walked excitedly over to his desk. "Did you find something?"

"One of the day shift workers at the bus station remembered selling a man matching Newton's description a ticket yesterday," Juliet said. "We checked the security cameras and receipts and were able to determine he bought a one way ticket to Santa Maria that left at 7:40 this morning."

"He let himself get caught on camera?" Shawn was surprised that a guy like Newton hadn't thought to disguise himself at a location that would definitely have security.

Juliet nodded. "He kept his head ducked and hood up while inside the station but we were able to get a clear look at his face when he bought the ticket."

The whole thing didn't sit right with Shawn. Why would Newton slip up at the exact time and place that would let the police know exactly where he was going? "I don't like it. It feels like he's sending us in the wrong direction to hide where he is really going."

Juliet looked at him skeptically. "Do you have any proof?"

Shawn sighed. "No."

"Well, since this is the only lead we have right now, we're going to pursue it," Juliet said.

"What about that cabin? The one in the picture at Newton's house?" Shawn had done some digging earlier and found the old cabin Newton's family had owned before money troubles had forced them to sell the property. "That looked like a pretty isolated spot to run off to."

Juliet gave him a strange look. "A couple officers went up there this morning to check it out. I told you that already."

Shawn frowned, struggling to remember when she had told him. He closed his eyes to help himself concentrate. That's right, when he went to get his third cup of coffee. He had mentioned the cabin and she had told them they had checked and found it abandoned. Mystery solved, he found sitting with his eyes closed very relaxing. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to leave them shut a little longer, just while he thought of another place they could look.

"Shawn?"

His eyes snapped open. "I'm awake," he said, sitting up quickly and almost knocking over the cup of coffee he forgot was still in his hand.

Juliet moved the coffee cup out of harm's way and gently took his hand. "I think you should go home."

Shawn shook his head. "Newton is still out there. He's already killed once because he was found out; he could do it again. I need to figure out where he is going." His sentence was cut off by a yawn wide enough to leave his jaw aching.

Juliet crouched down next to him and cupped his cheek with one hand. "You can barely keep your eyes open. You're not going to be able to solve anything like this. Get some rest. Maybe once you're recharged you'll come up with something."

Shawn leaned into her touch. "I don't want to let you down," he said softly.

Juliet smiled. "You're not. Everyone needs to rest, Shawn, even you." She rubbed her thumb gently against his cheek and his eyes fluttered shut. "I'll call Gus to come get you."

He grabbed her hand before she pulled away. "You'll call if you find out anything, right?"

"I promise." She leaned down and pressed a light kiss against his lips before pulling out her phone and stepping away.

He rested his head on his hand and watched her, aware he had a sappy grin on his face but too tired to care. God, he was lucky to have found someone like her. It made it all the more important to solve this case. He would have Gus take him back to the Psych office and he could continue digging into Newton's past from there.

He could also see if he could find out anything else to help him track down Nikki's father. Newton's case had priority right now but he still needed to find Nikki's father before Monday.

He sighed heavily, aware of the enormity of what he still had to accomplish and just how tired he was. Later, once everything was solved, he could rest. Until then, he would just have to find a way to stay awake and hope he wouldn't miss anything that would get someone else killed.