I'm so sorry for the long wait. I got super distracted working on a bunch of fics for the holidays. The rest of the story is done and will be posted as soon as my beta finishes with it.

For those of you that read the original story, I hope you like the changes I made.

Sunday

Nikki gently eased open the back door of the Psych office and smiled to herself. Gus had been reminding Shawn to remember to lock the front door but they both had forgotten about the back. She slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.

The office was empty, which wasn't surprising. Last night had been another late night for everyone. Shawn and Gus had driven her back to Mr. Spencer's place to find the ex-cop waiting for them. Mr. Spencer had taken one look at Shawn, swaying on his feet, and sent him home, saving all of his lecturing for Nikki.

That had lasted for a good hour and covered a wide range of topics; she had put herself, Shawn and Gus in danger, the police were trained to handle it, now his deck was laying unfinished because his helpers had all been running off after a murderer. He put a lot on emphasize on how lucky she was not to get hurt or worse and really made her feel guilty for what had happened to Shawn and Gus.

She tugged lightly on the bandage on her arm. Shawn had let her borrow his sweater to cover up the injury, both of them agreeing that it would be best to hide it from his dad. If he had seen it, Mr. Spencer would probably have yelled at her all night. And he probably would have dragged Shawn back over to yell at him too, which wasn't even fair because it was her decision to go after Newton. Really, it was just better if Mr. Spencer never found out.

She went over to Shawn's desk and sat down, covering a yawn with her hand. Despite how exhausted she had been last night, she had barely gotten any sleep. The pain of her arm had kept her awake and what sleep she did get was bothered by nightmares. Sometimes she wished she didn't have such a great memory. It made the nightmares that much more real. She had eventually given up on sleep and come down here (this time leaving a note for Mr. Spencer so he wouldn't worry). She figured Shawn would show up at the office eventually.

She slowly spun the chair around, wondering what to do until he got here. Shawn had looked really worn out last night, so would probably sleep in, leaving her with a bunch of time to kill. She wondered if he had anything good on TiVo.

Her glance fell on an envelope sitting on the desk. She stopped spinning the chair and picked it up.

It was from the hospital in Denver where her mom had been. She recognized the name on the return address as one of the nurses who had taken care of her. Curious now, she dumped the contents of the envelope on the desk. A picture landed face down along with a folded piece of paper.

She reached for the picture first and flipped it over. Her breath caught when she saw the two people in it. After a long moment, she placed it carefully back on the desk and reached for the paper. She carefully unfolded it and glanced it over. It was a letter to Shawn and her eyes widened when she saw who it was from. "Why would you write a letter to Shawn?" she asked quietly.

Completely confused, and a little unsettled, she started to read.

He was in the abandoned building again, tied to the pillar. Newton had just taken off after Nikki, gun in his hand. One shot had already been fired. He sat there breathlessly, hoping Nikki was safe.

Another shot rang out, followed by a cry of pain. "Nikki!" He started tugging on his bonds, drawing blood in his attempt to free himself.

He heard the sound of running footsteps, then someone stumbled into view. It was Nikki, bleeding heavily from a shot to her abdomen. "Shawn," she gasped, looking at him accusingly. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. "You said you would keep me safe."

He watched in horror as she collapsed to the ground. "Nikki!" he screamed, trying desperately to wrench himself free. She took a couple of choking breaths, then lay still. As he watched, her eyes turned glazed and lifeless. "Nikki!"

Suddenly Newton was standing in front of him. He raised the gun and pointed it at Shawn's head. "One more complication to take care of," he said before pulling the trigger.

Shawn woke with a gasp, the sound of the gunshot still echoing in his head. Disoriented from the dream, he glanced around quickly, trying to figure out where he was. He relaxed as the familiar view of his bedroom met his eyes. He was safe at home. Newton was dead. He and Nikki were fine. He kept repeating that to himself as he took deep, shuddering breaths, trying to slow his racing heart. Slowly, the dream started to fade, and the fear and anxiety along with it.

He looked at the alarm clock and sighed. It was way too early for him to be up after the night he'd had; actually, the last few nights. He had not gotten a full night's sleep in almost a week. He rubbed his eyes tiredly but knew from past experience it was no use trying to fall asleep again. The nightmare would just come back, as vivid as the first time. It was one of the drawbacks of having a photographic memory. Sure, it was fun to solve crimes and play at being a cop, but he often woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, haunted by what he had seen. Some days, it didn't seem worth it anymore.

He forced his mind away from that depressing thought and sat up, groaning as his abused body protested the movement. If he was going to be up this early, he needed coffee. He paused as he crossed the room and took in his disheveled and dirt smeared appearance in the mirror. He had been too tired last night to do anything besides fall straight into bed. Okay, first a shower, then coffee.

He stood under the hot spray for what felt like hours, letting the soothing heat relax his tense muscles. He only got out once the water ran cold. Afterward, he felt refreshed and slightly more human. He re-bandaged his wrists and headed for the kitchen.

There was a note waiting for him taped to the coffee maker.

Shawn,

Needed at the station. Didn't want to wake you.

Try to get some rest.

Love,

Juliet

She had put a little heart instead of a dot over the 'i' in her name. He smiled. He had never figured out how he had been lucky enough to end up with Juliet. They had been dancing around each other for years, never available at the same time, constantly missing out on each other. He had almost given up hope it would ever happen. Finally confessing his feelings to her in Canada and sharing that kiss on the bridge had been the best thing to ever happen to him.

Still smiling, he opened the cabinet over the counter to get the coffee. His smile faded when he saw a bare spot where the coffee was usually kept. He searched through the whole cabinet but came up empty handed. Even the special flavored beans were gone.

He had a sneaking suspicion he knew where the coffee had disappeared to. Luckily, he had a Plan B. He went to the cabinet where they kept the fine china and other dishware they rarely used. He kept a hidden stash of coffee back there, just for this situation. Instead of coffee, he found a box of green tea. Grumbling, he went back to the coffee maker and grabbed the note. Flipping it over, he found more writing on the back.

I knew about your hidden stash, Shawn. Try the tea.

Shawn sighed. As much as he loved her, she could still drive him crazy at times. She was getting much better at figuring out his secrets too. Soon, he wouldn't be able to keep anything from her and wasn't that a scary thought.

He went into the living room and grabbed the remote. Lowering himself to the couch, he turned on the TV and started flipping through channels. After a couple of minutes, he had to turn it off. The flashing lights were making his head ache. While not nearly as bad as the night before, he still probably had to take it a bit easier today.

He looked around the room, trying to think of something to do to occupy himself. The house was quiet and peaceful and the stillness was starting to get on his nerves. He needed to get out of here.

A glance at the clock proved it to be midmorning. Considering their late night, Gus was probably still asleep and wouldn't appreciate Shawn waking him up. But his bike was still at his dad's place, so it was either Gus or walk. He grabbed the portable phone, pretty sure he remembered the number to Gus's new work cell.

The first time, the phone rang five times before going to voicemail. The second time, it rang twice before going to voicemail. The third call went straight to voicemail.

"Fourth times the charm," he said, dialing Gus's number again. His friend wouldn't shut off this phone in case the call was work related.

This time he finally got a response, if a short one. "No, Shawn," followed by a dial tone.

Shawn called him again. "Dude, I didn't even ask anything yet," he said indignantly as soon as Gus picked up.

"What do you want Shawn?" Gus asked irritably.

"I need a ride."

"No," Gus said, hanging up.

"Some people are grouchy in the morning," he muttered, dialing again. "Dude, stop hanging up already," he whined once Gus answered.

He heard Gus sigh. "Do you have any idea how late I got home last night? I had to wait three hours for Juliet to show up before I could leave your place."

"You didn't have to hang around," he said, surprised Gus had stayed. He could barely remember getting home last night and had passed out as soon as he stretched out on the bed. "You could have just gone home."

"Shawn, you most likely have a concussion," Gus reminded him. "Remember what the paramedics said? Someone needed to check on you to make sure you were okay."

"Aww, Gus, how sweet," he said, using his most cutesy voice. "When did you turn into a girl?"

"Shut up Shawn," Gus said crossly.

Chuckling, he asked, "Now, how about that ride?"

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Gus asked wearily.

"I can rest at the office," he argued. "Besides, I have to call that PI today, remember?"

"Not for another couple of hours," Gus pointed out.

"Come on, it's so boring here," he whined. "Would you rather I walked? I don't think that would be very safe, considering my head injury." He waited, knowing Gus couldn't say no now.

Gus sighed in annoyance. "Fine," he said, causing Shawn to grin. Gus was so predictable. "I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

"Thanks dude. Any chance we can stop for coffee along the way?" There was silence, then a dial tone. "Guess that's a no then."

Shawn slurped his drink happily. "Suzy really does make the best smoothies." He took another long slurp and turned to Gus. "Don't you agree?"

Gus made a noncommittal noise as he pulled into his parking spot in front of Psych. He had put his foot down about getting coffee yet Shawn had managed to convince him to drive across town to get smoothies. His friend was good at talking people into things.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. You can't still be hung up about this."

Gus shut off the car and looked at him. "I don't think it's right conning free smoothies out of her."

"I'm doing no such thing," Shawn said indignantly. "She's merely expressing her gratitude for the work I do helping the citizens of Santa Barbara." He took a sip of his free drink, looking incredibly smug. "Cops get free things all the time."

"You're not a cop."

"Gus, please, I'm practically a cop," Shawn said. "I solve crimes like a cop and catch bad guys like a cop. I even have handcuffs." Gus tried really hard not to think about why his best friend had handcuffs. Shawn smacked him on the shoulder. "Dude, do you think the Chief would make me an honorary cop? I bet I could get all sorts of free stuff with a real badge."

"No," Gus said shortly. He got out of the car and started walking towards the Psych office.

Shawn jumped out of the car and caught up with him. "You're grumpy. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"You woke me up," Gus grumbled. He had been up half the night doing concussion checks on Shawn until Juliet had come home and could take over. He had hoped to sleep in this morning to make up for the late night but Shawn, as usual, ruined his plan.

The little sleep he had gotten had been restless and uneasy, plagued by fragments of disturbing dreams and memories from the night before. This wasn't the first time either one had had their lives threatened or he'd had a restless night's sleep, but it left him tired and irritable. Only the knowledge that Shawn's nightmares would have been worse than his own, and the fact his friend looked just as exhausted as the day before, kept Gus from lashing out.

"No, I don't think that's it." Shawn snapped his fingers. "I bet it's because you had to pay for your drink." He nodded wisely and took another long, loud sip from his smoothie.

"It's not like you solved those cases on your own," Gus said, unlocking the door. He did just as much work on the cases as Shawn yet his friend always seemed to get all the credit.

"I knew it!" Shawn crowed. "You're jealous!"

Gus frowned. "Maybe I am," he admitted reluctantly. "But that's not the point. You are taking advantage of her. She was flirting with you the whole time."

"Really?" Shawn asked, sounding too innocent. "I hadn't noticed." He drained his smoothie and threw out the container in the can by the door.

Gus raised an eyebrow. "Please, Shawn. She was all over you." He sighed when he saw Shawn had left the door open and went over to close it. "It's not right to lead her on like that when you have a girlfriend."

"Relax, Gus," Shawn said. "A little flirting never hurt anyone."

They walked into the main area of the office and stopped short. Nikki was standing there, arms crossed, waiting for them. She looked angry and her gaze was fixed on Shawn.

"Hey Nikki," Shawn said uncertainly. No response. Not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was about to happen, Gus cautiously moved to the side, out of direct eyesight.

"How are you? Do you want a smoothie? I'm sure Gus could go get you one. Right Gus?" Shawn looked over at him and he glared back. He wanted no part in whatever trouble Shawn had gotten himself into with Nikki.

"How could you Shawn?" Nikki asked finally. Gus was surprised by the amount of pain in her voice. "How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?" Shawn asked, looking completely clueless.

"Don't play dumb!" she said angrily. "You lied to me!"

"Lied to you?" Shawn glanced over at Gus, completely baffled. Gus shrugged, having no idea what Nikki was talking about either. His friend had been unusually upfront with Nikki about everything; more than Gus was really comfortable with to be honest.

"Yes, lied to me!" she shouted. "I've barely known you a week and you lie to everyone, even your girlfriend." She laughed bitterly. "I was stupid to think I'd be any different."

Shawn looked uncomfortable and tried to lighten the mood like he normally did in tense situations. "Okay, maybe I wasn't an actual sheriff but the people of Old Sonora loved me," Shawn said, trying a small grin.

"Stop with the jokes!" Nikki said, eyes blazing. "I found the letter." She held up an envelope Gus recognized as the letter from the hospital they had received yesterday. "How long have you been hiding this from me?" she demanded, waving it at Shawn.

"Look, I just got that yesterday," Shawn said defensively. "I haven't even read it yet."

"I don't believe you." She angrily wiped away tears, still glaring at Shawn. "I thought I could trust you."

Looking at the angry teenager, Gus was reminded how young she really was, despite how mature she acted at times. She had been through a lot these last couple of weeks, including being chased by a murderer the night before and getting shot. He wasn't the best with kids and Shawn wasn't much better, so he hoped his friend would tread lightly.

"Nikki, I promise I have not lied to you," Shawn said quietly. He cautiously moved closer to Nikki. She glared at him, but didn't step back. "I've done my best to try to help you. I never wanted to hurt you." He took another step closer, putting him right in front of her.

Nikki looked away, tears slowing running down her face. "I don't believe you," she said softly.

"You can trust me," Shawn said solemnly. "I promised to keep you safe and find your father and I will."

Nikki's head snapped up and Shawn took a quick step back at the raw anger in her gaze. "You know what? Screw you Shawn!" She threw the envelope on the ground, shaking with rage. "I never should have saved you from Newton!" She choked back a sob as she shoved past Shawn and ran out of the room.

"Nikki!" Shawn called after her. The door slamming shut was the only reply. He ran a hand through his hair, looking after her uncertainly, before sighing heavily. He bent down and picked up the envelope Nikki had thrown on the floor.

Gus walked towards Shawn slowly. "What was that about?" he asked quietly.

Shawn looked at him, hurt and bewildered. "I don't know." He looked back down at the envelope. "But I know how to find out." He walked over to his desk and dumped the contents of the envelope on its surface. A folded piece of paper and a photograph fell out.

Shawn picked up the picture first. He frowned and tilted his head as he studied it, a puzzled look on his face. After a moment, he put the picture down and picked up the paper. He unfolded it and glanced over it quickly before looking up at Gus in surprised. "It's from Nikki's mom."

A letter from her dead mother would certainly be upsetting to any teenager. However, Gus suspected it contained something big for her to lash out at Shawn like she did. "What does it say?"

Shawn looked back down at the letter. Gus watched his eyes traveling over the page, resisting the urge to peak over his shoulder and read the letter himself. After a minute Shawn froze and his eyes widened in shock. "No way," he muttered.

"What?" Gus asked eagerly.

Shawn didn't answer him. He flipped the page over as if checking for more written on the back. Gus noticed he had gone pale and his hand was trembling as he read over the letter again. He suddenly dropped down into his chair, putting his head in his hands.

"Shawn?" Gus asked anxiously. When his friend didn't answer he gently touched his shoulder. "Shawn, are you okay?"

Shawn raised his head slowly. He looked like he had aged in the last few seconds, the dark circles under his eyes and stress lines standing out in sharp relief on his pale face. He gazed off into the distance as if Gus wasn't even there. "I didn't see it," he muttered half to himself. "I'm supposed to be super observant and I never saw what was right in front of me." He started laughing as he finally looked at Gus. "No wonder that PI found the situation funny."

His laughter had a hysterical edge to it. Gus wondered if this was all a reaction to the letter or if Shawn was suffering brain damage from the blow to his head last night. His friend had never gone to the hospital and a slow bleed could take time to develop. Gus knew altered mental status was a sign of a head injury (Shawn had had enough concussions for him to be familiar with the warning signs) and he prayed he wouldn't have to rush Shawn to the hospital. "Shawn, I need you to calm down and tell me what's going on," he said, speaking slowly and clearly.

Shawn shook his head, letting his laughter die off. "Sorry." He picked up the photograph and handed it to Gus. "This is Sarah Peterson."

Gus examined the picture. A young girl recognizable as Nikki was standing next to what was obviously her mother. She had long straight brown hair, startling blue eyes, and a pretty smile. Gus could see himself being interested in a woman like that. "Why would she send you this?" Gus asked.

"About fifteen years ago, a young man on a motorcycle was traveling along the east coast. One night he was stranded by a rainstorm in a small town in North Carolina. He needed a place to stay and luckily one of the waitresses at the local diner was kind enough to let him spend the night." Shawn pointed to the picture in Gus' hand.

Gus guessed the guy with the bike was Shawn and the waitress was obviously Sarah Peterson. He didn't need Shawn to spell it out for him that his twenty year old self had probably slept with the pretty waitress. Shawn did always have a thing for them. But why did this matter almost a decade and a half later and why would Sarah send that picture to him on her death bed?

When the realization hit, Gus felt both incredibly stupid for not seeing it right away and shocked at what his friend was implying. "Shawn, are you saying. . ?"

"Yeah." Shawn leaned back in his chair, hands clasped in front of him, and grinned wryly at Gus. "Nikki's my daughter."