Chief Vick came up the hallway just as Henry was stepping out of the interrogation room after his talk with the kid. She breezed past us, pretending not to notice him shutting the door behind him.

"Come on, gentlemen," she said commandingly, opening the door to Room C. "I want to get you back to the hospital."

She had a small smile on her face as we followed her into the room, and for some reason I suddenly realized that she had to have known the kid was in there when she sent up the corridor alone.

She had to have known Henry would see him…

I shook my head and took a seat, slightly confused.

I never asked her about it. I didn't have to. That small smile told me everything.

I think…

Anyway, she was true to her word and we were back at the hospital in less than an hour. As promised, Juliet was still waiting when we got back. She was curled up in one of the hard, blue plastic chairs, her shoes kicked off underneath as she rested her head on her knees. She looked up as we walked back in, shaking her head.

"No news yet. I'm sorry."

Henry nodded and sat down next to her. "I know. You didn't call."

She smiled at him, and for a moment I saw her hand come off of her knee, almost as if she was going to pat his leg sympathetically, but she stopped herself at the last moment, though her smile didn't fade. She just wrapped her arms around her knees again and sighed, watching him.

I sat on the other side of her so she was between me and Henry, slouching tiredly in my chair. I felt like I could fall asleep the moment I shut my eyes, but I was terrified to shut my eyes. Until Shawn was out of surgery and I heard the doctors actually say he was okay, I knew he wasn't out of the woods. I couldn't risk missing anything.

Not again.

According to the timetable the kid gave us, he had been lying dead in a ditch for at least ten hours before I even knew he was missing.
Ten hours.

It was a miracle he hadn't died of exposure, not to mention the head injury…

I was just praying the miracle lasted a little longer…just until he was out of surgery…

Juliet was staring off into the distance, and I could tell she was thinking about him.

Of course she was.

That's why she was there.

That's why we were all there.

A doctor came out a moment later, catching Henry's eye immediately. "Mr. Spencer?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded, standing up.

The doctor nodded grimly at him. "Can you come with me, please? We have to talk."

Henry followed, for once not questioning. For once not demanding an explanation.

He just followed.

Juliet sighed again once we were alone, and I suddenly remembered what she had said about it being her fault…about not catching the kid soon enough…

She was still thinking it. I could tell.

I cleared my throat, shooting her as subtle a sideways glance as I could manage. "Hey, Jules…" I grinned, nudging her.

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at me, blinking back into the reality from whatever world her mind had been creating around her.

I nodded at a plaque across the waiting room that had caught my eye earlier. It was a picture of a stern-looking man with a white beard. Underneath it was the inscription Dr. Melvin K. Munkipantts.

"What?" she asked, squinting at it.

"His name, Jules…" I pressed on. "His name is Melvin Munkipannts."

"No way!" she snorted, looking again. She laughed when she finally saw it. "No way!"

I nodded, actually laughing myself.

It felt strange, actually finding something funny….but I didn't have a choice at that point.

Neither of us did.

His name was Melvin Munkipantts.

"That can't be real! It sounds like a name Shawn would make up!" she laughed, her shoulders rocking so hard she had to stop and catch her breath.

"Actually, I think he did use it once," I commented.

"Really? When?"

"On the Stevenson case," I shrugged. "When we were checking out…uh--" I stopped myself, clearing my throat as I suddenly remembered the semi-illegal breaking and entering that fake name had entailed. "Never mind."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to bust you for investigating, Gus."

"I know."

She smiled, shaking her head in quiet amusement. "It just sounds like a name he'd make up…"

"Yeah."

"He would've had it figure out sooner, too. Wouldn't he?" she asked quietly, looking over at me.

I nodded.

What was I supposed to say?

We both knew it was true.

"Probably."

"He always just…knows," she sighed. "It's incredible."

"I know," I agreed.

"He's acts like such an immature clown sometimes…" she pressed on, her voice growing more distant. "Sometimes, I don't think he knows which way is up. Sometimes, I don't know how he even figured out how to operate a door. But then he'll say something so brilliant…something that just cuts through all the crap and all the pointless, useless details…"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Sometimes I can't tell if he's an idiot or a genius. And I've known him my entire life."

"Sometimes I don't know if he's the biggest pain in the butt I've ever met or my best friend."

I looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "Trust me. He's both."