So, I had to write this. I was having one of those gray days, but for no reason. I have no excuses like Juliet. It's just.. an off day. But an off day that made me do this! So it's not all bad! :)) It can't rain forever, right? Sooner or later you get the rainbow. :)

I PINKIE PROMISE in the next one there will be silly, happy fluffer nutter stuffs and will probably end with a kiss. :) tehe

So review! Do what you do! It'll make me go faster! ;D

Enjoy!

Slouched over with her head in her hands, Juliet O'Hara let out a pitiful sigh. She had been sitting at her desk since... since way too early in the morning. She didn't even remember the time on the clock when she had left the sanctuary she called her apartment, rushing down to the SBPD's headquarters to meet her partner and head off on another case.

It hadn't even been an exciting case that pulled her out of bed, it was a couple of teenagers who had too much to drink and thought they would be able to successfully rob a house while the family was home. When they had arrived at the two-story Victorian house with a perfect white picket fence and freshly mowed green lawn, the teens were already seated on the couch looking ashamed. Well, all except for one, who had been puking all over the poor family's bathroom.

When they had finally dragged all of the teenagers back to the police station and called their parents, she felt like she was going to fall asleep on her feet.

I am never going to convince myself it'll be fine to read a few chapters before bed again. Every time I do something like this happens, and I have to get myself up extra early.

Straightening up a little in her desk chair, she couldn't help but give the room a quick scanning with her tired blue eyes. Another sigh escaped her lips and she leaned back against her chair, letting her eyelids droop.

The day had been just plain bad.

Sure, starting her day with vomiting "criminals" hadn't exactly been the greatest, but it felt like it went downhill from there.

On the way up the stairs to the glass doors of the station, her heel had broken and she'd come down on the concrete steps rather ungracefully. So now she had a throbbing ankle and her favorite pair of work heels were ruined. And to accentuate her pain, a headache had slowly began to creep up on her. Most likely caused by Lassiter's incessant complaining about his car smelling like alcohol, even though the teens had been taken back in a squad car and hadn't been anywhere near his beloved car.

After nearly choking on the Advil she had attempted to swallow, she had missed the bathroom door completely and smacked right into the wall. Which defeated the whole purpose of going to the bathroom in the first place to take Advil for her throbbing head, and she was not going to risk choking on another pill.

To top it all off, the weather was dreary and gray. It had been drizzling on and off throughout the day, making the air feel damp and chilly. Usually she loved this kind of weather; it gave her the perfect excuse to pull out her thick, fuzzy, warm socks and her oh-so-soft sweatpants, along with two blankets and a mug of hot chocolate to curl up on the couch with while playing her favorite romantic drama.

But today she couldn't do that. Not until she actually got home, which wouldn't be for a few more hours. No, instead she was stuck in this place – which seemed a lot colder than normal – with nothing to do, a possibly sprained ankle, and an aching head.

She was in that state of mind where all your depressing thoughts about life and love surface, bringing down your mood to match the weather. She found herself fighting back misty eyes as certain memories of a special psychic detective floated through her mind, reminding her of all that could be - but never would be. And those thoughts triggered different thoughts, ones about going home to an empty apartment and how even though she would get to curl up on her couch later, she would be doing so alone. Completely and utterly alone.

It was just one of those days where you wished someone – a certain someone – would appear and wrap their arms around you in a tight bear hug and never let go, whispering in your ear that everything was okay, and that the day will look brighter tomorrow.

"U-u-g-g-h-h..." She groaned, drawing out the sound and forcing her eyes open to glare at the world. The ever so gray world. It was as if someone had taken a huge vacuum and sucked all the color away. Her shirt was no longer a bright magenta, but a dark gray. The normally warm yellow walls of the station now looked cold and colorless. Everything was black and white and every shade in between.

"Jules!"

Oh look, the walls are starting to turn yellow again... It was a weird thought, but nevertheless it was the first that ran through her head when she heard that voice.

"Why the long face?" Swiveling around in her chair to face the one man who would be able to brighten her day, Juliet scowled. He seemed to be the only person in the room whose skin wasn't dull and lifeless and whose clothes had color in them. And slowly, bit by bit, the rest of the room started regaining its color as well.

"It's been a long day. A long, long day." A quick glance to her watch told her that it actually hadn't been that long, it was only 1:40 in the afternoon.

"Never fear, Shawn is here!" He grinned, promptly placing one hand on his hip and raising the other to point at some far off thing. He turned his head slightly and put on a somewhat pouty expression that was most likely supposed to come off as gallant.

Juliet just stared at him, her expression blank.

Breaking his heroic stance, Shawn peeked down at her and started to notice that her expression wasn't blank at all. In fact, it was a mix of so many emotions they combined to form an unnamed emotion that happened to make her look emotionless.

It was in her eyes, mostly. There was a little bit of boredom, exhaustion, pain (he would have to ask about this), longing, hopefulness, sadness, emotions he couldn't put his finger on... or his toes...

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, dropping his arms and scooting closer to where she was sitting. Two hazel orbs peered down at her with a mix of worry and curiosity.

Biting her lip, Juliet abruptly stood and turned away from Shawn. If she met those eyes – oh, those eyes... – she would surely break. "Nothing is wrong, Shawn. I'm just tired. Unlike some people, I had to get up early this morning."

"Hey! I had to wake up at 10:00 this morning! 10:00!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. Not that she could see, because she was still facing away from him, pretending to be busy sorting papers or something of the sort.

She didn't even dignify that with a response. If she had been able to sleep until 10:00 she would be the happiest person in the room. As she shuffled the papers, hoping it looked like she was doing something important, the need for a hug overwhelmed her. It could get so incredibly lonely in the SBPD sometimes, and all she wanted at that moment was for someone to show her she wasn't so alone after all.

Jumping slightly when two strong arms surrounded her and squeezed her arms to her side, Juliet dropped the papers in her hands onto her desk and stifled a surprised squeak.

"Shawn? What are you doing?" She asked hesitantly, her voice coming out smaller than she'd meant it to.

"I sensed you needed a hug. Do you feel better now?" Shawn smiled at her as he unwound his arms from his waist and stepped around her to look her in the eye.

Looking away and blinking rapidly to clear the fast-approaching tears, Juliet forced a nod. When she finally did drag her blue eyes to meet his hazel ones, which looked especially green and colorful, she involuntarily shook her head. Shawn just raised his eyebrows and spread out his arms, inviting her in for another hug.

Without a second thought Juliet just sort of sank into his arms. Her head found its way to the crook of his neck and her arms snaked under his and up his back. Clumps of his blue plaid shirt were gripped in her fingers, just to make sure he didn't slip away.

Shawn was a little surprised she had actually given in, she usually gave him "The Look" and walked away. Today must have been really long... He thought as he slowly put his arms around her, almost like he was afraid she would be the one slipping away at any moment.

"Today was just such a horrible day, Shawn..." She mumbled into his shirt, her voice coming close to breaking.

"You know, I have the perfect cure for horrible days just like this." He responded matter-of-factly, rubbing his hand in absent circles on her back.

Lassiter sauntered by then, pausing for a moment to let his brows sink lower than Shawn had ever seen them. His mouth parted, and Shawn was fully expecting him to start a lecture, but instead he just shut it, shook his head, and walked away.

"What?" She sniffed, breaking away from the hug to blink up at him with large, round eyes.

"Well, it starts with super awesome fuzzy socks and my favorite pair of pineapple pajamas. Of course, yours probably aren't pineapple, but that's okay. That part is flexible." He paused, flashing her his signature little smirk before continuing. "Then we get ice cream and hot cocoa and a bazillion blankets and cuddle on the couch while we watch a movie! Personally I like the comedies, its been scientifically proven that laughing makes you live longer. But, you know, that part is flexible too. I don't know, you probably like the... what? The romantic dramas? Am I right or am I right?" By the time he had finished he sounded excited, like a little child making extravagant plans with their friend that probably would never actually be laid out and followed through.

And by the time he had finished, Juliet was practically gaping at him. "But that's my cure!" It actually kind of scared her how Shawn seemed to be able to read her thoughts sometimes.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jules. I wasn't aware that you put a copyright on it." Shawn snorted, feigning disdain.

"What? What do you mean? I just... well... I just meant... I..." Shawn chuckled as she stumbled over her words, looking like a deer caught in the headlights on a highway.

"Joke, Jules. It was a joke." Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she straightened her shirt.

"Right. Of course." She said with a sniffle, her eyes drifting upward to gaze at the ceiling.

"So what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Well duh, the cure! Should we try it?"

"I can't just leave in the middle of work, Shawn."

"Right, cause you were so busy feeling sorry for yourself. I should let you get right back to that."

"I was not feeling sorry for myself."

"Okay Jules."

"I wasn't."

"I know."

They stood there for a minute, Juliet looking away awkwardly and Shawn eagerly trying to meet her eyes.

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I get to choose the movie, okay?"

"Well of course. And I get to choose the ice cream flavor."

"Fine. As long as it's Chunky Monkey I don't care what you choose."

"Chunky Monkey it is!"

For the first time that day, Juliet let herself smile. Not just smile, grin. Like a full on, ear to ear, teeth revealing grin. And she was surprised to see that when she looked up at him again, the world had never looked as full of color as it did then. It was like a rainbow had exploded in the station, reaching every nook and corner.

No, more like someone had taken the time to paint every nook and corner by hand. Each color was unique and vibrant, and there was only one person that could choose colors like that for her world.

She had to admit, Shawn was one hell of a good artist.