This is chapter number two, simply named No. 2. This is Juliette's view of the recent events. Still one day after the arrest, just across town from the Psych office.

'Yesterday,
All my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they're here to stay.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.'
"Yesterday," The Beatles

2

Juliet hadn't been able to concentrate all morning and it was driving her mad. Reports could not hold her interest for more than a couple minutes at a time, and she found herself watching the front desk out of the corner of her eye. But no way was she waiting for someone to stop by. The Leiken case was out of the department's hands, and Lassiter had asked her to finish getting all their case files together for the Feds while he hobnobbed in an attempt to be invited to take that test again. She'd never seen him sociable before, but as he left the station with two agents she realized he would probably fit in nicely in Washington. If he ever got there. She was watching the front desk because as soon as Lassiter returned she could take a lunch. She wasn't really hungry, but she could get a little time to herself. Maybe clear her head and be able to focus for the rest of the day. God, I just need some fresh air. Juliet sighed dramatically.

"Everything alright, O'Hara?" Karen's voice came from behind.

Juliet started at that and straightened up. "Everything's fine, Chief."

"Alright," Karen said before walking back to her office.

Juliet concentrated on the papers in front of her. Evidence, photos, criminal backgrounds. It was all fairly mundane—until she came to the after action reports and newspaper clippings. She silently read them to herself: 'Cash not the Only Counterfeit Revealed by SBPD Consultant'... 'Spencer Spies Forgery, Twice'—that was a good one, she thought to herself.She skimmed over some of the articles and statements to double check the facts and then put them into manila envelopes. All that was left for her to do was to actually hand everything over to the treasury agents

Juliet rapped her nails on her desk and glanced at the front desk again. Gah! She thought when she realized what she was doing. She heard Karen talking on the phone in her office through the open door and eavesdropped:

"It's already been done…Yes, I know that…That's right, at the airport. Leiken's in federal custody…"

Lindsay Leiken. Juliet didn't know what to think about the woman, other than the fact that she was glad Leiken was behind bars. She led us on a wild goose chase; made us all look like fools. Then she took Shawn hostage when he figured it out. She made it a point to tell herself that Shawn had figured it out. Officially, the jury was still out on whether she believed Shawn was psychic. She tried to stay neutral about the situation, and even told herself that he never divined anything, channeled spirits, or saw into the past. After all, Leiken was supposed to be a psychic, too. And look how that turned out. When Juliet first met Shawn, she was very skeptical of his claim to have psychic abilities, chalking it up as one of those west coast oddities. His 'spiritual outbursts' seemed more like something a child would do to get attention than connections to other dimensions. But then again, his track record was indisputable. And how on Earth could he have been right about that dinosaur? Shawn was nothing if not intriguing.

Juliet wondered idly how Shawn couldn't see that Leiken would take him hostage if given the chance, but she knew his answer to questions like that: Dude, it doesn't work that way. Great, now he was in her head. And as much as she told herself otherwise, it wasn't the first time this had happened.

She realized with a start that it wasn't the hostage situation that upset her; it was the fact that after Leiken revealed that she and Shawn had been together he didn't even have the decency to deny it. Then there was Gus, who did everything but high-five Shawn. And then later even Carlton was part of the event; the whole scene was juvenile and left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She didn't mean to blow up at Shawn in the station, but she couldn't just sit there and listen to him being charming. Not after earlier that day. And she hated this feeling twisting her stomach into knots—it wasn't jealousy, no way. It was…protectiveness? Well, not exactly. But it's close enough, though. Juliet kept telling herself that Leiken had used Shawn; it was obvious now. Leiken had seduced Shawn to destroy his credibility and have an alibi for when she killed her partner in crime. But then again, how hard was it to seduce Shawn Spencer? He was a single man who—by his own admission—was wildly attracted to Leiken. A few choice words, a coy smile; ugh. I could do it so much better. Juliet stopped herself. Okay, moving on… She valued her friendship with Shawn and Leiken threatened it, so it was understandable for her to feel this way. Except she knew Shawn didn't need protecting; it wasn't her place. They were friends. Co-workers, really. Well, sort of. Besides, she had made it clear that he didn't have a chance with her. And amazingly, he seemed to accept it. He made teasing comments and sent her flirtatious smiles, but didn't seriously pursue her. And she couldn't help but feel that he gave up a little too easily.

Then why was it so awkward at the speed-dating event? Easy, Shawn was the reason why it was awkward. I mean, really—who begins any date with the 'desert island' scenario? Then at the bowling alley… Why was he even at the bowling alley? He must've been there with Gus since he couldn't bowl to save his life. He was obviously just trying to stir up trouble. 'Sensing rejection,' she scoffed at the memory of what he told her date. Like that's not vague enough to cover just about anything that could happen. But truthfully, Shawn didn't ruin her date. There was just no spark with Kyle and Shawn had probably noticed, because not long after he left the date was over. It was similar to what happened later at the speed-dating event. Juliet could see that the woman he was talking to didn't really care about what he was saying. Besides, she definitely wasn't his type.
Juliet sat up a little when she saw the front door open. But it was just another cop coming in from patrol.

"I don't think Shawn's coming today." An officer sitting at another desk said.

Juliet turned to him. "Listen," she quickly glanced at his name plate. "Edwards. I'm not waiting for Shawn to show up."

"My mistake," Edwards shrugged his shoulders before returning to the newspaper he was reading.

"Why, um…why would you think I was waiting for Shawn?" Juliet asked.

"No reason," Edwards answered. "It's just that usually, if he stops by then he's here by now. And if he does come to the station you're one of the first people he sees. I don't blame him for hiding though."

"Why?"

Edwards lowered his newspaper and looked at Juliet. "You basically ripped him a new one in front of the entire police station—it'll probably take a couple days for his pride to heal." He chuckled at that.

"What? I did not!"

"Even Detective Lassiter asked what was going on. I think he was hoping to finally have an excuse to shoot Shawn."

"Carlton asked that?" It sounded like something one of her brothers would do.

"Yep. What did Shawn do anyway? All I heard was something about disappointment."

"None of your business." Juliet huffed at him. She heard the front door open and turned back to see Lassiter talking with the officer at the desk. "Finally," She said to herself. She ignored Edwards and picked up her purse. "Carlton, I'm taking my lunch." She told him, leaving no room for argument.

"Oh…okay." Lassiter said slowly, confusion on his face.

She was nearly out the door when she heard Lassiter again. "What did you do to her?" She paused halfway out and saw Lassiter staring down Edwards.

"What? Nothing!" Edwards sounded apologetic. "She was wondering why Shawn—"

"What did he do?" Lassiter demanded. He rubbed his forehead and the aggravation was obvious "Did he come by?"

"No, sir."

"Did he call her? Send a dirty note? A pineapple?"

"No! She was wondering why he hadn't come by yet." Edwards tried to explain.

"Hopefully he learned his lesson." Lassiter said. He pointed a finger towards the officer sitting down, "You see Spencer here today; tell him not to get in my way. He upsets my partner again and I'll take him out back and beat the crap out of him." He sounded eager to fulfill the threat.

"Yes, sir." Edwards replied, and Carlton walked away.

At least she knew her partner was watching out for her. But I don't need another brother. She went out the door and down the steps to her car. She stopped at a sandwich shop and got her lunch to-go: A ham sandwich and a pineapple smoothie. The smoothie was all Shawn's fault. She recalled asking why he liked pineapples so much. "It has good digestive enzymes." He said with a wink. Exactly the sort of interesting, slightly weird trivia I thought he would know.

Juliet sat on a bench facing the ocean. The secret meeting bench, she thought to herself as she remembered her rendezvous with Shawn the last time she had been out here. Like that day, the sun was out and a stiff sea breeze kept her cool. The pungent, salty air briefly took her back to Miami, but it wasn't quite the same. The Caribbean air was warm and heavy; it felt thick and the humidity clung to her skin. Here in Santa Barbara, especially with the wind blowing in from the ocean, the air seemed sharp and sleek. She turned her head and looked down the beach, feeling the stitch of nostalgia.

She didn't regret her move to California, but she did miss her family. She still called her parents three or four times a week just to talk to them. She didn't talk to her brothers as often, but she missed them all the same. Her friends from Miami didn't understand why she decided to take a position in California, and she could feel herself drifting away from all but the closest of them. But after almost a year, she was finally beginning to rebuild her social network. Karen went a long way in helping with that, and so did Lassiter. Together they helped her find her footing in the station and make fast friends. Karen even pointed out some social events outside of the police station. And of course she couldn't forget about Shawn and Gus; they were a dynamic duo if she'd ever seen one.

The topic she'd been avoiding all day came to the front of her mind: what was she going to do about Shawn Spencer? I wish I knew… How did their personality profiles match up exactly? Lord knows… Shawn told her that he had copied her answers, but she couldn't remember if he had been sitting close to her when they filled out the surveys. And the confusion she felt over the surveys mirrored the confusion she felt about what Shawn meant to her. Well, until he can show a hint of seriousness he's not getting anywhere. I will not get involved with some playboy or lothario. She sighed loudly and realized this wasn't going to get any easier. If he really wants to be with me, then he'll make the effort. Besides, it'll be interesting to see how hard he'll work for me. She smiled at the thought and then immediately chided herself. Not that I would date him to begin with. After all, we are co-workers… Well, sort of. Somehow the argument didn't seem as strong as when she had used it earlier that day.

I've learned that women tend to focus more on the emotions surrounding an event than the actual event because women are more perceptive and try to understand the motivations and reasons involved. I've tried to use that knowledge as a base for this chapter, it's the reason Juliette has an inner voice constantly streaming thoughts.

Having said that, what are your thoughts?