Sorry this is so long in coming. Life has been crazy lately. Between being busy at work and getting sick yet again, I've barely had the energy to get any editing done. But the story is almost finished and I will try my best to keep you guys from waiting long for the ending.

Enjoy!

As soon as Newton was out of sight, Shawn started tugging at his bonds again. He found that if he twisted his wrist far enough he might be able to get a hold of the knot.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Gus asked quietly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," he said, concentrating on the rope. His wrist was bent as far as it would go but he still couldn't get a grip on the knot. "Damn it," he panted, sagging against the pillar.

"Newton seemed pretty determined," Gus said uncertainly.

"Nikki's smart," Shawn said, looking at the ground around him. If he could find something sharp, maybe he could cut the rope. "She's just needs to get far enough away to call for help. Then she can hide until the police get here."

"She didn't have much of a head start, and Newton has a gun," Gus pointed out.

"I know Newton has a gun," Shawn said sharply. He saw a likely piece of metal with a sharp edge. He stretched his foot out and was just able to touch the edge of it. Very carefully he slide the piece towards him.

"You don't seem very concerned," Gus said with disapproval. "She could get shot trying to save us."

His foot slipped, sending the metal shard skittering away. "I know, Gus," he snapped, losing his temper. "She wouldn't even be here if I hadn't told her about the case, or if I had been quicker in finding Newton. Instead I'm stuck here, helpless, while he chases after her with a gun." He glared at Gus. "But worrying about it isn't going to do anything. So help me figure out a way out of here."

Gus seemed taken aback. "Shawn – " He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot.

Shawn froze, heart pounding. He listened intently, hoping to hear something, anything that would tell him what had happened.

Silence.

He took a shaky breath, looking at Gus. He saw fear in his friend's eyes, the same fear he himself was feeling. "It could be nothing," he said, voice trembling. "Shooting at shadows." Gus nodded, but didn't look convinced.

Another shot rang out, followed by a cry of pain. "Nikki!" Shawn shouted frantically. Please don't be dead! He started tugging on his bonds again, barely noticing when he rubbed his wrists raw enough to draw blood.

He heard the sound of running footsteps seconds before Newton came into view. He was still holding the gun, now smoking slightly. "Who did she call?" he asked, advancing on the two of them.

Shawn exchanged a panicked glance with Gus. Neither of them knew what to say.

Newton held up Gus's phone. The screen was cracked and dark. "She dropped this after I shot her."

Shawn's heart stopped. Oh God no. He suddenly found it hard to breathe, feeling like he had been punched in the stomach. Shot doesn't mean dead he tried to convince himself. Newton moved in closer, reminding Shawn that his own life was in danger right now. He forced himself to take a deep breath, then another as he fought to stay focused.

"Who did she call?" Newton asked again. His eyes flickered between Shawn and Gus, waiting for an answer.

"We don't know," Gus said, panicking.

"Don't lie to me," Newton yelled angrily. The hand holding the gun was shaking. He walked over to Shawn and crouched down in front of him. "I heard you call her name. You know who she is. Now. Who. Did. She. Call?" He poked Shawn in the chest with each word, the gun digging in painfully.

Shawn swallowed hard. "I don't know."

"Was it the police?" When Shawn didn't answer, Newton stood up slowly. He glanced at Gus, then at Shawn, then at the gun in his hand. "I need to think logically. The police will be here soon." His voice was quiet now, controlled, and that sent a shiver of fear down Shawn's spine. "I should leave, but first I need to clean up this mess." He looked at him regretfully as he pointed the gun at Shawn's head.

"Wait!" he shouted desperately. He could see Newton's finger already tightening on the trigger and knew there was no talking his way out of this one. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

Three shots rang out. One bullet clipped the beam next to his head and continue past into the pile of ply wood behind him. He waited but he didn't feel the impact of any other bullets. Maybe he was in shock.

A strangled gasp made Shawn open his eyes. Newton was staggering back from him, two blood spots blossoming on his chest. He looked at Shawn in confusion.

"Freeze!"

Shawn whipped his head around and saw Lassiter and Juliet coming cautiously around a pile of girders, guns pointed at Newton. Juliet glanced at him fearfully while Lassiter kept his full attention on Newton. "Drop the gun!" he shouted.

Newton looked at Lassiter, swaying. He started to bring his gun up towards the detective. Another shot rang out and Newton dropped to the floor. He landed facing Shawn, eyes wide and confused. He took a shuddering breath, blooding leaking out of the corner of his mouth. One more breath and he went still. Shawn watched as his eyes slowly turned dull and lifeless.

Shawn shuddered and looked away.

Lassiter walked cautiously over, gun still trained on Newton, and checked for a pulse. It seemed unnecessary to Shawn as Newton was clearly dead. Maybe it was because the blood was continuing to drain out of him even though his heart had stopped beating. Shawn moved his legs to avoid the growing pool surrounding the body.

"Shawn!" He looked up, vaguely realizing it wasn't the first time Juliet had said his name. "Are you okay?" she asked, brow wrinkled in a worried frown.

"Fine," he said, voice cracking. "I'd be better if I wasn't tied to this pillar." Juliet pulled out a pocket knife and moved behind him to start cutting away the ropes. Turning his head, he saw Lassiter cutting Gus free. Gus looked over at him, wide-eyed in shock.

"There," Juliet said as she cut away the last of the ropes. He brought his hands in front of him, wincing as his cramped arm muscles protested. He flexed his fingers, trying to get the feeling back into his hands. "Can you stand?" He nodded numbly. She reached an arm down to help pull him to his feet.

The room immediately started spinning and he would have fallen if Juliet hadn't caught him. He leaned back against the pillar and closed his eyes. "Stop the ride. I want to get off," he groaned. His head was throbbing harshly and he was worried he was going to throw up on the body in front of him. It would be his luck to survive Newton only to have Lassiter shoot him for contaminating the crime scene.

The joke wasn't as funny to him as it would have been under other circumstances so he forced all thoughts of shooting from his mind and focused on taking slow, even breaths.

When the floor felt more like solid ground and less like a ship at sea, he risked opening his eyes. This time the room stayed still. Juliet was still standing in front of him, one hand resting on his arm, watching him closely. "All good now," he said, trying to grin reassuringly. He must look worse than he thought because she just looked more worried.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, Spencer," Lassiter said. He walked over with Gus, both of them giving the body a wide berth. "Care to explain how you ended up tied to a pillar with yet another person with a gun about to shoot you?"

"Quick question first," he said. "Did either of you see anyone else in the building?" He put his hand to his temple. "I thought I sensed someone else here." He didn't want to mention Nikki's name just yet. If she hadn't been seriously injured, she could have made it out before Lassiter and Juliet showed up. He hoped that was the case. He didn't want to think of her out there, bleeding and unable to move. Or lying there like Newton, her eyes staring sightlessly and her body growing cold and stiff.

"No sign of anyone else," Lassiter said slowly, studying him with narrowed eyes. "Back up should be here by now. I'll have them search the building." He took the radio from his belt and walked a few steps away to the give the orders.

"Lassiter got a phone call from someone telling us where you two were," Juliet said. "Do either of you know who made the call?"

He exchanged a quick look with Gus. So that was who Nikki called. "No idea," Shawn said at last. "Gus dropped his phone when Newton grabbed him. Someone else must have picked it up."

Juliet gave him a long look. "So you never saw anyone else besides Newton?"

"Nope. I just sensed their aura." Shawn did his best to meet her gaze levelly, though the way his head was pounding it wasn't easy.

Luckily, before she could ask anything else, Lassiter rejoined them. "The search is underway. If anyone else is here, we'll find them." Shawn nodded, careful not to jostle his head too much. "Now quit stalling and tell us what happened."

Shawn took a deep breath. This would take some creative storytelling. "I had sensed Newton was still in town," he began. Juliet nodded, having heard this already at the station. "I kept getting something to do with the brother, that his brother was the key." He gestured at their surroundings. "James Newton worked for Mendorra, the company that abandoned work on this building. No one was using it, or would think to connect it to Newton. It was the perfect hiding place."

"And instead of calling us, you decided it would be better to come down here and get yourselves kidnapped," Lassiter said mockingly.

"The link was weak. I needed to be closer to sense if Newton was actually here." He looked at Gus uncertainly. Until they knew for sure what happened to Nikki, he wanted to keep her involvement out of this. "Unfortunately, something about the building blocked my senses. Newton was able to sneak up behind me and knock me out."

The radio on Lassiter's belt crackled to life. "Hold on a minute," he said. He walked a few steps away and spoke quietly as he got the reports from the search. Shawn listened closely, trying to make out what was being said over the radio.

"Newton was behind both murders?" Juliet asked, breaking his concentration.

"Yeah," Shawn said. "I even got him to give a whole monologue of how he did it. Gus and I can give you all the details later."

"It was a pretty ingenious plot," Gus said. "If Cooper hadn't caught Newton planting evidence he probably would have gotten away with it."

"Dude, are you saying he could out smart me?" Shawn asked indignantly. Yeah, he probably had another concussion and he hadn't been sleeping and Nikki had been the one to figure out his hiding place. He still would have figured it all out eventually.

Gus gave him a look. "I think the fact he was holding us hostage proves he already did."

Lassiter rejoined them. "Preliminary sweep didn't pick up anyone else in the building." He smirked at Shawn. "Guess your 'senses' were off." Shawn couldn't hide a sigh of relief. Nikki couldn't be hurt too bad if she had managed to leave the building without getting noticed. Though he would feel better once he could see she was fine for himself.

Lassiter gave him an odd look before continuing. "Paramedics are outside." He looked Shawn and Gus over. "You two should probably get checked out."

"I'm fine," Shawn protested quickly. The last thing he wanted was to spend the night at the hospital. He pushed away from the pillar, determined to prove his fitness. He made it two steps before the room started spinning again.

This time Lassiter caught him. "You probably have a concussion," the detective said, holding him upright. "Have them check you over, just to be safe." Shawn was surprised by the concern in his eyes.

"Aww, Lassie, I didn't know you cared," he gushed.

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "I have no problem dropping you."

Shawn looked down. "You do know we're standing over a dead body, right?"

Lassiter sighed. "Guster, get over here." Once Shawn was safely leaning against his new Gus-wall, Lassiter turned to his partner. "O'Hara, we have work to do."

Juliet looked at Shawn, visibly torn. "Go," Shawn said. "I'll see you later at home." He grinned. "How much more trouble could I possibly get into tonight?"

She looked at Gus. "Make sure he gets himself checked out."

Gus nodded. "Definitely." He patted Shawn on the shoulder. "Let's go, buddy." He slowly started leading Shawn out into the maze.

"Just a minute," he said, pulling Gus to a stop. He turned around, keeping on hand on Gus for balance. "Hey Lassie!"

Lassiter was talking to McNab and Milton. He glanced over his shoulder. "Get out of here, Spencer."

Shawn waved at him. "Come over here a minute."

Lassiter gave the officers their orders, then stalked over to Shawn as they headed out. "What is it now?" he said irritably.

"I know we don't always get along, what with me being fun and you being boring," he began. "And we end up fighting every week until you eventually let me solve your case for you." Lassiter folded his arms, giving him a look of annoyance. "Forget that. What I'm trying to say. . ." He took a deep breath, glancing at Newton's body. He shifted his gaze to the pillar he had been tied against and the mark where Newton's bullet had hit, inches from his head. "If you hadn't been here tonight, I'd be dead," he said thickly. He cleared his throat and looked up, meeting Lassiter's eyes. "So, thank you."

Lassiter nodded. "Anytime."

"Detective!" McNab called.

"Good night Shawn," Lassiter said, nodding again. He turned and walked over to McNab.

Shawn watched him leave. "Did he just use my first name?" he asked Gus. "Or did I hallucinate that?"

"Yes, he did," Gus said, shaking his head. "Come on." With Shawn leaning on his shoulder he led the way out of the building.

Lassiter stopped next to McNab. "What did you find?"

"Blood splatter sir," McNab reported. "About a dozen yards back." He pointed out which direction to Lassiter.

He remembered the girl who had called him and the way it had sounded like she had been hit during the call. Officers had already swept the area and seen no sign of her. "Show me."

He followed McNab through the piles of debris until they found the blood. He crouched down to get a better look. Based on the position of the splatter, the bullet had hit low. This could be because the shooter aimed low or the person hit was crouched low to the ground. He followed the probable trajectory with his eyes and saw the bullet lodged in a sheet of metal.

He pulled out a glove and an evidence bag before carefully extracting the bullet. At a glance he could tell it came from a 9 mm and guessed it would prove a match for Newton's gun. He handed it to McNab and pointed at the blood on the ground. "I want you to run a DNA test on that blood. As soon as the results come in show it to me and no one else, understand?" McNab nodded. "The same goes for the ballistics result on that bullet."

"Yes sir."

Lassiter stepped back as McNab left to collect an evidence kit. He trusted the officer to keep things quiet until Lassiter decided what to do. He suspected Spencer and Guster knew who had placed the call to his phone but for some reason were covering it up. Well, he could play that game too. Nobody else knew a third person had been injured by Newton, so nobody else would be expecting the blood results. The ballistics test would be trickier but without being taken in combination with the blood it could be explained away as a routine check of a bullet found in the vicinity of a crime scene where a gun was fired. He'd be able to track her down before Spencer or anyone else knew he was looking.

Lassiter glanced again at the blood splatter. Someone had risked their life to save the two consultants and gotten shot for their efforts. Someone the same two consultants were trying to hide from him, however obviously. Someone whose voice he swore he had heard before. "Who are you?" he muttered quietly.

It didn't take the paramedics long to bandage and clear Gus to leave but Shawn was another story. The medics were worried he had a concussion (he privately agreed with them about that) and should go to the hospital to get checked out. His balance had improved during the trip outside and he could now walk on his own, if leaning a bit, and the pain had died down to a dull throb. Unfortunately, they did not see this as much of an improvement. It was only after Gus agreed to watch him overnight that they reluctantly bandaged his wrists and let him go as well.

"When Juliet said to get checked out, she also meant to listen to the paramedics," Gus said as they walked in between the police cars staged around the building to the far side of the lot where the Blueberry was. "Not to ignore their medical advice."

"Then she should have said that explicitly." He yawned, sleepiness creeping up on him again. He wasn't sure if it was from his head injury or the lack of sleep the night before. "The doctor at the hospital would have told me to do the same thing the paramedics did. This way I didn't have to wait around three hours in the ER and have someone threaten to keep me overnight for observation."

"You could have brain damage," Gus said.

"I'm fine," Shawn said, really tired of having this argument. He forced himself to stand up straighter as they closed the last few feet to the car. He could see movement in the back seat and let out a sigh of relief, knowing who it was.

"Thanks to Lassiter," Gus muttered.

Shawn stopped next to the car. "No, thanks to Nikki." He opened the back door. "You can come out now."

Nikki crawled awkwardly out of the back seat, cradling her left arm. "Hey Shawn, Gus." She looked down nervously. "So, how much trouble am I in?"

"Did you get any blood on my back seat?" Gus asked.

"Dude!" Shawn smacked him in the chest.

"It's a company car, Shawn. I have to return it in like new condition. They are not just going to overlook blood stains on the upholstery." Gus peeked inside to check for any damages.

Shawn glared at him. "At least pretend you have a heart." He turned to Nikki and held out his hand. "Let me see your arm." She gingerly extended it so he could examine the wound. She had been hit in the upper part of the arm. When he pulled back her sleeve, he saw fresh blood well up from the injury site.

"That looks bad," Gus said worriedly. "You should probably go to the hospital."

"No!" Nikki said quickly. "If we go to the hospital and they find out what happened, they'll send me back to foster care." She looked at Shawn fearfully. "You promised Shawn."

Shawn glanced at Gus. "I still think she should go but it's your call," his friend said.

Shawn looked back at the wound, twisting Nikki's arm carefully to see it in better light. The bullet had torn a long furrow along the outside of her arm. It didn't look too deep but was still oozing pretty heavily. "It needs stitches," he said, looking up at her face.

"I don't mind a scar," she said quietly.

Shawn sighed. "Gus, do you still have that first aid kit in your car?" His friend nodded, frowning disapprovingly. "Get it out and let's see if we can bandage this."

"Are you sure?" Gus asked, clearly not agreeing with his course of action.

"You heard her. Scars are hip now. She'll be the coolest delinquent hanging at the mall." He ignored the way Nikki rolled her eyes at him.

Gus crossed his arms. "If you can't bandage it, will you take her to the hospital?"

Shawn looked at Nikki. "If it's foster care versus bleeding to death or losing your arm, will you go?"

Nikki sighed. "I'll go."

Gus shook his head. "I think there are some steri strips in the kit we can use to close the wound," he said in defeat. "I also have a sample of a new antibiotic cream that should help."

Shawn looked at him gratefully. "Thanks man."

He waited until Gus was digging around in his trunk before stepping closer to Nikki. "Why did you call Lassiter?" he asked in a low voice. "Why not call the police?"

"I didn't know if the police would believe me," Nikki said. "I knew Lassiter would come."

Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that? He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Nikki said. "Every time you've been in real trouble, he's come to help you out. Even though he had no reason to trust me, I knew he would come just to make sure you were safe." She nudged Shawn with her good arm. "He's a good friend. You should be nicer to him."

"We're not friends," Shawn scoffed. Nikki gave him a look and said nothing.

Gus slammed the trunk of his car. "Got it." He dragged the kit over and dropped it at Shawn's feet.

Nikki's eyes widened. "That's your first aid kit?"

To be fair, Gus' first aid kit more closely resembled a trunk of medical supplies than the standard rectangle box most people were used to. "He's a pharmaceutical rep. Half this stuff he's stolen from doctor's offices and hospitals."

"Those were all free samples. Anyone could take them," Gus said defensively. "Besides, with how fast you go through those supplies, I can't afford to pay to restock the kit."

"Gus likes to overreact," Shawn said. "We don't use the kit that frequently."

Gus reached inside and pulled out a folder at least three inches thick. "I keep his medical record on hand just in case we need to take a trip to the ER."

"Fine, so I'm a bit accident prone," Shawn said, grabbing the file from Gus and throwing it back in the trunk. "Where are those strip things?"

"Here." Gus pulled them out, along with some gauze, tape, and alcohol wipes. He glanced at Nikki's arm and swallowed hard. "I'll just wait over there," he said, pointing to the other side of the car.

Shawn nodded, grinning as Gus beat a hasty retreat. His friend hated the sight of blood. He turned back to Nikki, who was looking inside the kit. "Is that a belt?"

He glanced in the kit. "Yeah. They're good for holding a split together." Nikki gave him a look that was a mix of exasperation and, oddly, admiration. "Turn so I can see your arm." He ripped open the first alcohol wipe and set to work. "How did you make it past the police to Gus's car?"

Nikki winced as he cleaned out the wound. "After Newton shot me, I ended up not too far from where you were tied up. I had a pretty clear view of what was happening. I hid there until Lassiter and Juliet showed up." She swallowed, looking away.

He realized she must have seen Lassiter shoot Newton. She had probably never seen a dead body before outside a hospital or wake, let alone seen someone shot and killed in front of her. That wasn't something the average person just walked away from unaffected. She was probably having a hard time dealing with it. Hell, he was having a hard time dealing with it, even with everything he'd seen. He grabbed the strips and carefully started using them to close the wound. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Once I knew you were safe, I snuck out to the car. I ducked into the back seat right before the rest of the police showed up." She grinned wryly at Shawn. "I guess they're used to seeing Gus's car at crime scenes. They didn't even bother looking inside."

Shawn nodded. She was probably right. He grabbed the gauze and tapped a couple pieces over the wound. "There you go," he said, smoothing the last piece of tape. "Good as new. Well, eventually." He threw the supplies back in the kit. "Next time, try not to get shot."

"I'll try," she said giving him a wane smile. She blinked, tears starting to form in her eyes before she turned away.

"Hey," he said worriedly. "You're okay now. Everything will be fine." He tilted her head up to look her in the eyes. "He's gone. No one's going to hurt you," he said seriously.

She gave a strangled sob and threw her arms around him. "I thought he was going to kill you," she said into his chest. "It's my fault you're here and it would have been my fault if he killed you. I'm so sorry." She started crying softly as she clung tightly to him.

Shawn carefully wrapped his arms around her. He had been so focused on keeping her safe, he hadn't considered she how worried she must have been about him. He could feel her trembling and held her tighter. "Trust me, I probably would have ended up like that with or without you. I kind of have a thing for getting in trouble." She shook her head, face still pressed against his chest. "Hey, look at me." He waited until she had raised her tear-streaked face before smiling gently. "I'm fine, thanks to you," he said quietly. He remembered the terror he felt when Newton went after her and he heard those gunshots. He swallowed hard. "Just don't scare me like that again. I can't afford to lose my apprentice."

She gave a short laugh, sobs slowly subsiding.

He saw Gus around the corner of the car, watching them but not intruding. He met Shawn's gaze and jerked his head, holding up the car keys.

Shawn knew they should leave before someone noticed what was happening but he was oddly reluctant to let her go. She had almost seen him die and probably needed the reassurance of feeling that he was still alive. And, well, maybe he did too. A glance around told him nobody had noticed their little tableau yet.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling some of his tension drain away. He pushed aside his worries about finding Nikki's father, if Lassiter would investigate the strange phone call, if his dad would find out what happened with Nikki tonight, and a myriad other things. They could wait until later. Right now, he was going to take another minute to enjoy the fact they had both made it through the night alive.