Shawn was all for chasing after Nikki right away. He now understood why she had been so upset. He would be too, if it looked like someone he trusted had betrayed him, especially if that person turned out to be family. He needed to talk to her and explain his side of the story. The whole thing was his fault and he couldn't rest until he made things right.

Gus had argued against it, saying it was best to give her some space and she would come back when she was ready. Shawn knew he was probably right, but he couldn't just sit still. He compromised by limiting his search to areas around the Psych office, hoping she hadn't gone far. When the search turned up nothing, he returned to wait.

"Calm down," Gus said, watching Shawn pace back and forth in between their desks like a caged animal. "Everything is going to be fine."

Shawn glanced at the clock. "It's already been two hours," he said worriedly. "What if something happened to her?" His mind raced through all the things that could befall a fifteen year old girl wandering the streets alone and he started pacing faster. "She could have been hit by a car, or attacked in an alley, or kidnapped. She could be lying in a ditch somewhere, scared and hurt, and we would never know." He could almost see it; Nikki lying there covered in blood, trying to call out any time she heard someone passing by. He took a shuddering breath and ran a shaking hand through his hair.

Gus got up from his desk and grabbed Shawn, pulling him to a stop. "Snap out of it," he said, looking Shawn straight in the eye, making sure he had his attention. "Relax. She's smart. I'm sure she's fine."

Shawn took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Once he started to calm down, Gus let him go. "Thanks man," he said. "I guess I was overreacting a little." He grinned sheepishly at Gus.

"You think?" Gus asked, arching an eyebrow. He walked back to his desk, giving Shawn time to regain his composure. "She needs some time to sort things out. It's a lot to take in."

"Tell me about it," Shawn muttered. He plopped down in his desk chair, looking for something to keep him occupied. He grabbed a tennis ball off the shelf behind him and started bouncing it off the wall. Thunk-thwap.

"You know, the only person I've ever seen yell at you like that is your dad," Gus said thoughtfully. Thunk-thwap. "I guess she gets her temper from him." He shook his head in mock pity, trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry dude."

Thunk-thwap. "I'm more worried about what she got from me," Shawn said, staring at the wall. Thunk-thwap. "I don't exactly have the best track record with emotional situations." Thunk-thwap. "What if she decides to run again?" Thunk. Kkrrsshh! The ball had hit the wall at an angle and veered off across the room, knocking over a lamp in the corner. "Perfect," he said with a sigh. He grabbed a trash can and walked over to clean up the mess.

"Shawn," Gus said worriedly.

"Kind of busy, Gus," he said abrasively, kneeling down by the broken lamp. He started carefully picking up shards of glass and depositing them in the trash can. His right hand slipped on one of the more jagged pieces. "Damn it!" he cursed, grabbing his hand. Blood quickly welled up along his slashed palm and dripping to the floor. "Can't anything go right today?" he muttered darkly.

A first kit fell in front of him. "Thanks," he said, looking up at his friend.

"No problem," Gus said, averting his gaze. "Make sure to get the blood off the floor." He grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the broken glass.

Shawn bandaged his hand as best he could (being ambidextrous was not one of his talents) and wiped up the blood. "All better," he said, holding up his hand to show Gus. He grabbed the first aid kit with his other hand and went to put it back by the sink.

Gus dumped the last of the glass shards in the trash can. He put the broom back and looked seriously at Shawn. "Do you really think she'll run off?"

Shawn sighed. "It's what I would do." He snorted, turning to give Gus a wry grin. "Hell, if it was me, I would be long gone by now." He grabbed the tennis ball off the floor and went back over to his desk. He placed it down carefully, keeping his back to Gus. "She already ran away once coming here."

"I don't think she'll run," Gus said slowly. "She had nothing to lose the last time she ran. No home, no family. Now, she has a place to stay and people who care about her. . . and she has you."

Shawn turned around, looking at Gus uncertainly. "Me? I'm the reason she ran off crying."

"She may be mad at you and hate your guts right now, but you're still her father. She's been waiting fifteen years to meet you." Gus gave him a reassuring look. "She's not going to leave now."

"I hope you're right," Shawn said. The office phone rang, breaking the tension. He answered it automatically. "This is Psych. Unfortunately, disturbances in the ether mean we aren't taking any new cases right now – "

"What the hell did you do?" an angry voice cut him off.

Shawn blinked. "Dad?"

"Nikki just showed up in tears, yelling that you're a bastard and that she never wants to see you again," Henry said. Shawn closed his eyes in relief. "You better have a good explanation."

"Is she okay?" he asked quietly.

"Besides the screaming," Henry said matter-of-factly. He gave a sigh. "What did you do now?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone over his dad's protests and looked at Gus. His friend was already grabbing his keys. "She's at my dad's."

"So I was right," Gus said with a grin.

"Drive now. Gloat later," Shawn said, pushing Gus out the door.

Shawn hesitated in front of his father's door. He usually just walked in; he used to live here too after all. But this time, given the situation, maybe he should knock. Or would that make his dad suspicious, deviating from his usual behavior?

He shifted his weight, staring blankly at the door. He knew he was over thinking this and probably stalling but he couldn't decide what to do. If he couldn't make this simple decision, how could he expect to tackle the more complicated problem of fixing things with Nikki?

Before he could make up his mind, Henry opened the door and glared at him.

"I don't appreciate screaming teenagers running through my house," he said, letting Shawn inside. "I got enough of that when you were growing up." He noticed the bandage on Shawn's hand and rolled his eyes. "Can't you go one day without injuring yourself?"

"Apparently not," Shawn said, distracted. "Where's Nikki?" The house was quiet and he didn't see any sign of her.

Henry sighed. "Out back. She said she wanted to be alone." He looked speculatively at Shawn. "Whatever you did, it really upset her."

"I'm trying to fix that." Shawn looked hesitantly at his father. He didn't want his dad to overhear this conversation; he'd had enough screaming for one day. "Look, it might take a while and I can't promise there won't be more yelling. . ."

Henry took the hint. "I have some errands I can run." He nodded towards the back door. "I hope you can fix this."

"Me too," Shawn said quietly.

Henry patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck kid. Don't screw it up."

Shawn rolled his eyes as his father left. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," he muttered. He walked slowly over to the back door and looked outside. Nikki was sitting on the picnic table in the yard, staring out towards the beach.

He was overcome with a sudden wave of emotion. That was his daughter out there. His own flesh and blood, carrying half of his DNA. He was half responsible for her existence and, until a few days ago, he had known nothing about her. He felt a surge of anger at her mother but reason quickly smothered it. He hadn't been the most responsible person when he met Sarah and could understand why she hadn't bothered to track her down.

It still would have been nice to know about her. He had missed so much of her life already, all the important moments he had promised he would never miss with his own kid like his dad had missed with him. He wasn't there when she spoke her first word, never taught her how to ride her first bike. He missed her first day off school and couldn't comfort her after getting into a fight with her friend. He guessed he may still have a shot dealing with her first boyfriend (and wasn't that a terrifying thought; he knew what teenage boys were like) and teaching her how to drive but it wasn't much compared to all that he had missed.

He reached for the door and hesitated, suddenly nervous. What if he couldn't fix things? What if he had blown his one chance to connect with his daughter? He had only known her a few days and already she had become an important part of his life. He didn't want to lose her before he got the chance to know her.

He shook his head. He had to stay positive. He could fix this. No, he would fix this. He took a deep breath, strengthening his resolve. When his hands stopped shaking, he slid open the door and stepped out onto the back porch.

He put up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. It was probably one of the last truly nice days of summer. The sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight. The sun shone down warmly without being overly humid or muggy. In short, it was the perfect day to kick back outside and relax.

He barely registered any of this, all his attention focused on the girl on the table. "Hey," he said quietly. Nikki stiffened but otherwise didn't acknowledge his presence. He walked slowly over to the picnic table and climbed up on the end opposite her. Still no response. He sighed softly. It looked like it was up to him to get the conversation started.

"So. . . " He cast around for an innocuous topic of conversation. "Nice weather we're having," he said finally. The weather was always safe to talk about.

"Go away, Shawn," Nikki said, angling her body away from him. Her voice was raspy from crying and he saw her discreetly wipe at her eyes. It hurt, seeing her so upset because of him.

"Nikki, just let me explain – "

"Just go away," she said forcefully. She sniffed, wiping her eyes again.

They sat there in silence for a while. Shawn tried to figure out how to get her to talk to him. Maybe a different approach would work. He leaned back on his hands, looking out at the ocean. "You know, technically, it was Lassiter that saved me," he said nonchalantly, referencing her angry outburst back at the Psych office. He avoided looking at Nikki directly; instead, he watched her out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see how she would respond.

It was a small movement; as if she had started to turn towards him, but changed her mind right away. But it was enough for him to know it was working. "Scream at me, say you wish I was dead, whatever." She gave a start at the word 'dead.' "But at least get your facts straight. It's all thanks to good ol' Lassie that I'm here." He saw her fists clench slightly. Anger was good. Anger would get her talking. "I should make him a cake or something," he mused.

"Lassiter may have shot Newton, but he was only there because I called him," Nikki snapped. "Therefore, I saved you." She turned and glared at him. "You never even said thank you."

He sat up and turned towards her. Her hazel eyes were red rimmed and sparking with anger. "You're right," he said softly. He took a deep breath, looking her right in the eyes. "Thank you, Nikki, for saving my life."

It wasn't the response she was expecting and she seemed unsure how to respond. She looked away, crossing her arms. "You're welcome," she said quietly, less anger evident in her voice now.

He had gotten her to acknowledge he was there. Good. Now he had to keep her talking. "How's the arm?" He could see the edge of the bandage sticking out from under her sleeve. He hoped Henry hadn't noticed it when she ran past earlier.

She tugged on her sleeve to cover the bandage. "It hurts," she replied shortly. She glanced at him quickly, then back towards the beach. "How's your head?" she asked with a note of concern in her voice.

"It hurts," he replied, just as succinctly. He held up his hand. "This hurts too."

She looked over at his hand. "What did you do?" she asked, turning slightly towards him.

"Had an accident with a lamp," he said, grinning sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot." She turned back to the beach but not before he saw a hint of a smile on her face.

"Some would call me a genius," he said.

"What, the other wackos at the loony bin?" she retorted.

"Hey, don't make fun of the crazies," he said indignantly. "Wackos are people too. The ones at the hospital really looked up to me."

She glanced over at him. "You spent time in a mental hospital?" she asked, not sounding too surprised.

"I was undercover," he said defensively.

"Uh huh," she said skeptically. They lapsed into silence again, although with a great deal less tension than last time.

"How long have you known?" she asked quietly. "And no lies, or jokes, or anything." She looked at him seriously. "I want the truth."

"Since this morning." She looked skeptical. He held up his hands. "I swear it's the truth," he insisted. "I got the letter yesterday, but didn't get a chance to read it. Someone ran off after a murderer." He looked her straight in the eye, willing her to believe him.

She studied his face for a moment, then looked away. "I'm sorry I ran off," she said quietly. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning. The letter was open, so I assumed you read it. I shouldn't have said the things I did." She glanced at him, embarrassed. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too," he said sincerely. "Apology accepted. And for the record, I have never lied to you about anything important. Not even about most of the little stuff." He looked out towards the beach. "There's very few people I'm that honest with," he said softly.

He saw her nod slowly. "Shawn?" she asked hesitantly. "What happens now?"

He sighed, looking down at his hands. "Well, the police in Denver will have to be notified that you're here. You are a missing person after all." The Chief was already aware of the situation and he was sure she would help him out. Although she would want to know the identity of Nikki's father and he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her. He'd have to be honest with social services or whoever was in charge of deciding where Nikki ended up but he wasn't ready to be the gossip of the whole station.

"Are you going to send me back?" she asked quietly.

His thoughts slammed to a halt and he looked at her in shock. "Of course not. I made a promise to keep you safe." After everything that had happened, after everything he had learned, that was the last thing on his mind.

"You made that promise before you knew the truth," she said, looking down. "When I was just a case, some kid you were helping out because you were bored." She took a shuddering breath, sounding close to tears. "I've already caused you enough problems. I thought it might be easier for you, if you sent me back."

Shawn slid across the table until he was next to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You were never just a case to me, even before I knew the truth," he said softly. "Yes, I was bored when you walked into the office but even if we had a dozen cases I wouldn't have turned you away. I can't ignore someone who needs my help. But that isn't the reason I want you to stay."

She looked up at him, tears trickling down her face. "What is it?"

"You're my daughter." He wrapped his arms around Nikki, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, crying into his shirt. "If there's one thing I learned growing up with my dad, it is you should never turn your back on family. He wasn't always there for me but I promise I will be there for you." He looked down fondly at her. "Besides, you're a great kid. Who wouldn't want you around?"

She looked up at him. "Do you really mean that?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded. "I really do." She smiled and pulled away, wiping her eyes. "That doesn't mean it's going to be easy," he cautioned. "There's a lot that needs to be sorted out." He hesitated. "It might be best if you stay here for now. I'll need time to talk to Juliet." He wondered how she would take it. They had been taking their relationship pretty slow and only just moved in together. Suddenly throwing a kid into the mix was a huge step forward.

"What are you going to tell her? And your dad?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or should I say grandpa?"

Shawn shuddered. "I can't even imagine how that conversation ends well." His dad would kill him. He had always told Shawn to be responsible and this had to count as the most irresponsible thing he had ever done. He groaned, covering his face in his hands. They had been getting along so well lately too.

"We could keep it a secret."

He looked at Nikki in surprise. He couldn't have heard her right. "What?"

"We could keep it a secret," she repeated. "People keep this kind of thing quiet all the time. And I know your dad will be a lot more lenient on me if he didn't know I was his granddaughter." She made a face. "It's going to be really weird calling him Mr. Spencer now."

"I can't deny you're probably right about my dad. He definitely won't give you a break because you're blood." Just look at what happened to him with the borrowed car. "But I'm not sure I like this. It makes it seem like I'm ashamed of you." The whole idea was making him uncomfortable. Sure, he kept secrets from people all the time, but never one this big; this topped not being psychic and lying to the police by a mile.

"It was my idea" she reminded him. "I know you're not ashamed of me. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks." She looked down, fiddling with a hole in her jeans. "I've already disrupted you're life enough," she said quietly. "I don't want to cause any more trouble. This will give us both time to get used to it before everyone finds out."

"Are you sure?" he asked. He had to admit it would make things a lot easier for him. But this wasn't just about him, it was about Nikki too. She would have to live with the lie just as much as he would. He wasn't sure he could ask such a thing of her.

"I'm sure." She looked up at him, face serious. "You've done so much to help me already. It's my turn to help you."

He studied her face, seeing how determined she was to do this. "Okay," he said. "But only until I get things sorted out. Then we tell everyone." That shouldn't take too long. A couple of weeks, tops.

"Deal," she said, smiling at him. "Besides, I'll see you all the time anyway. I am your psychic apprentice."

Shawn smiled back. "Yes, you are. And speaking of which," he said, standing up. "I believe last time I was here, I was educating you on the finer points of 80's filmography." He took her hand and pulled her off the table. "No daughter of mine should be that ignorant of such an important period of movie history."

She rolled her eyes as he led her into the house. "Whatever you say, dad."

Henry pulled up to the house and shut off the truck. He had stretched out his errands as long as he could but eventually he had to return to home. He had given Shawn plenty of time to clear things up with Nikki. He hoped his son had succeeded. He had dealt with enough teenage drama while Shawn was growing up to want a repeat.

He took a moment to survey the scene. Shawn's bike was still parked in the driveway. His son must still be here, unless he called someone for a ride. Either way, it would be best to enter the house cautiously. He got out of the truck, quietly closing the door behind him.

He walked to the door, looking for any signs of movement from the windows. All he saw was a flickering light in the front room. He slowly opened the door and listened for the sounds of arguing. He could hear the TV playing but nothing else. It was oddly quiet considering Shawn was there, but at least there was no yelling.

"Shawn? Nikki?" he called out, shutting the door behind him. No answer. Feeling a little foolish for sneaking around in his own home, he crept through the kitchen and peeked around the doorway into the living room.

Shawn was sitting on the couch with an arm wrapped around Nikki. She was nestled up against his side, head pillowed on his shoulder. Both of them were fast asleep.

He walked silently through the room to turn off the TV, then retreated back to the doorway. He looked at the two of them, deep in thought. Shawn had always been a bit of a slacker. That fact had frustrated him immensely while Shawn was growing up. His son would have been a great cop, if only he could have stayed focused and applied himself. Henry had eventually accepted the fact that that was just the way Shawn was. His son rarely took anything seriously.

But Shawn took Nikki seriously.

In fact, he had never seen Shawn work harder on a case. It gave him hope that his son might finally be growing up. It was about damn time.

Nikki shifted against Shawn in her sleep and he tightened his hold on her. It was unthinking, a reflexive movement by his unconscious mind. Instinctive, one might even say. Henry smiled, thinking about how protective Shawn had grown of Nikki over the past week. His son had always cared about other people but he was especially considerate and watchful of her needs. And he was good with her, this morning notwithstanding. All skills that any good parent needed.

Henry chuckled softly to himself. Sure, Shawn would make a great father, someday. Too bad it wouldn't be anytime soon. He quietly headed upstairs, leaving the two on the couch to their slumber.

Epilogue will be posted tomorrow.