What? 3 new reviews? Thank you! You actually managed to motivate me to finish this story. So enjoy this shules-ish chapter and keep up reviewing :D

Chapter 6

10 hours later in Santa Barbara…

It was another long day for the two. After spending numerous hours in the car and on the plane they were finally back in sunny Santa Barbara. They were currently sitting in Chief Vick's office telling her again about what they had found out.

"I talked to the police department in Amarillo but luckily nothing happened so far. They'll keep their eyes open. The same applies to the next cities on the list. This was real good work by the way Mr. Spencer." She nodded in his direction.

"Thank you, Chief." He answered with a small smile.

Chief Vick looked over to Juliet. What happened in the past two days? He was quiet, rarely smiled and hadn't made any witty remark yet. But Juliet looked as bewildered and confused as she did and just shrugged her shoulder at the chief's silent question.

"Well it's been a few exhausting days for you two. How about you call it a day and head home, get some sleep so you can start again tomorrow?" The Chief suggested.

They thanked the Chief and headed out of her office trying to avoid Lassiter's suspicious glances while he was sitting at his desk going through some case he worked on.

"Shawn, could you do me a favor?" Juliet asked when they arrived at her car.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Can you drive again? I know you already drove from L.A. back here but I'm so tired and I really don't want to cause any accidents. I had to hold back at least ten yawns while we talked to the Chief." She chuckled.

He smiled at her. "Of course."

By the time he came to a halt in front of his place she was sleeping in the passenger seat. Just like two days ago he carried her out of the car and into the old dry cleaner's store. Laying her finally down on his bed and covering her up. She can just sleep for a few hours and I can use this time to eat some pineapple. I feel like I haven't eaten any in months. And I'll call Gus, I'm pretty sure he missed me. He chuckled at his thoughts.

Stepping into his kitchen he had to find out that he didn't have any food at home except for two pineapples. He sighed and quickly wrote a note for Juliet in case she woke up while he was at the grocery store.

She didn't wake up. She was still in the same position he left her when he came back 30 minutes later. He smiled when he saw the peaceful and relaxed smile that was tugged on her lips.

It was still only 7 pm so he sat down on his couch and turned on the TV. He would start cooking in an hour or so and would wake Juliet when everything was ready. But first he had to call Gus.

It was a short conversation as Shawn didn't want to tell him over the phone about how he eavesdropped on Juliet's phone call and what happened last night. So they set a time to meet at the Psych office the next morning. Shawn refocused on the TV instead watching reruns of Full House.

After a good half hour he got bored and decided to start cooking. So he went to the kitchen and began his work always keeping an eye on the cookbook his father had given him for Christmas once.

Once he was done he set the table and walked into his bedroom to wake Juliet. "Jules, hey, Jules, wake up." He said keeping his voice low.

She awoke slowly, opening her eyes just a bit at first. Where was she? She looked around when her eyes were fully open. She was lying in an unfamiliar bed. A wave of anxiety flooded her body. Why was she here? When she looked up her gaze settled on Shawn. She relaxed immediately and sighed relieved. She was apparently in Shawn's bed. Wait. Why exactly was she in Shawn's bed?

"Hey, sleepyhead, nice of you to join me again. Get up, dinner's ready." He said and walked out of the room.

She quickly got up and followed him into the kitchen. There was a table set for two with plates and two glasses of wine. She inhaled the scent when she came closer to the table. It smelled really good.

"Uh Shawn, you cooked this?" Please say no. Please say you ordered in and just put the food in the pots to make it seem like you cooked. Please be old Shawn and not new Shawn. Her mind pleaded.

He nodded eagerly and motioned to the cookbook on the kitchen counter. "But I must say that I had some help. Come on, sit down." He pulled back a chair and waited until she was seated till he took his own seat.

"So how did I end up in your bed? And fully clothed for that matter, did you lose your magic on women?" She asked playfully while Shawn handed her a plate with pasta and tomato sauce. "This smells and looks delicious by the way."

"Thanks." He smiled at her obviously proud to have cooked an actual meal. "I don't know about my magic but you fell asleep in the car and I didn't want to wake you so I brought you in here. Thought you needed the sleep."

"Thank you." She gave him a small smile trying to hide her disappointment when he didn't really pick up her playful remark.

They ate in silence much to Juliet's dismay. She felt more and more uncomfortable being with him. Something she definitely wasn't used to. It was always easy to be with him and have a good laugh but now he just sat there and didn't say a word.

"So, Shawn how are things anyway with you? We barely talked lately." She tried to start a conversation.

"Uh things are fine, I guess." He answered not looking at her. Of course he knew as well that they hadn't talked to each other in a while. They talked about cases and case related things but that was it. No personal questions, even their bantering had become rare.

They fell back into silence. Great plan. Definitely worked out to start anything close to a conversation. Juliet thought bitterly. They finished eating and Shawn stood up to wash the dishes. Juliet stayed in her seat and watched him for a while. What had made him change so dramatically? And when exactly did it start? Did it start before their trip to Ellensburg? What triggered the change? These and a thousand more questions went through Juliet's head. She missed the old Shawn. She missed his jokes. She missed his flirtatious winks. But what she missed the most was his smile. She hadn't seen him smile genuinely at her for a while now.

A single tear made its way across her cheek without her noticing. But Shawn noticed. He had turned around and saw her sitting in her chair with a sad expression on her face.

Without saying a word he kneeled down in front of her chair bringing his hand up to her face. He softly wiped away the tear with his thumb.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Shawn's touch on her face. She looked squarely into his eyes. What she saw wasn't really helpful. Of course there was concern in his eyes but he looked so serious and concentrated. So un-Shawn-like. She could have sworn that his eyes didn't have the same hazel brown color but were darker instead. Colder. That was when she lost it completely. She started sobbing uncontrollably and tears were running unstoppable down her cheeks.

Shawn was startled by her sudden outburst but recovered quickly standing up and pulling her up from the chair into his arms, engulfing her in a tight hug. She buried her face into his chest, grateful for the warmth and comfort of his body.

He tried to usher her out of the kitchen but she didn't move so he picked her up bridal style for the second time today and carried her to the sofa. He sat down holding her in place on his lap and just let her cry into his chest. What's going on with her? Apparently the breakup with Declan is harder on her than I thought. I guess she actually really loved him. He thought bitterly oblivious to the fact that she was crying because of him and not her ex boyfriend.

The sobbing stopped after a while and Shawn could tell that she fell asleep judging by her steady breathing. He sighed and shifted uncomfortable beneath her. His back would definitely hurt like hell if he stayed like this the whole night. So he fastened his grip around her and got up. He glanced at the clock on the wall: 9.42 pm. He decided to wake her up once he had placed her on his bed again.

"Jules, wake up." He said while running his hand up and down her arm.

She opened her eyes and her look fell immediately on the man sitting next to her. Realization dawned on her. She was in Shawn's bedroom after basically crying her eyes out in front of him for the second time within 24 hours. She blushed at that thought. Oh my God, when did I become such girly girl? Crying like a ten year old girl in front of Shawn of all people.

"Uh… hey." She said shyly.

"Hey." He said smiling down at her. This time she could tell it was genuine. There was no force behind it and she felt her heart melt just like every time he shot her this smile. "Wanna change into something more comfortable? "

"Change? Uh… no. I think I should head home. I don't want impose on you." She said sitting up and trying to move out of his bed.

"Nope, sorry I won't let you get out of this room. Well of course out of this room since you'll need to use the bathroom but not out of this building." He said with determination.

"Shawn, I should really get home. It's late and I have to work tomorrow and…" She was interrupted by Shawn.

"Jules, you stay here. End of discussion."

"You can't tell me what to do. And if you hold me against my will in here I could press charges." She looked directly at him and there was no hint in her eyes that she was just joking around.

"Jules, be reasonable." His voice softened immediately when he saw anger rising in her eyes. "You've been up for nearly 16 hours now, you're chasing a crazy serial killer and you're going through a break-up. Back when I got my driver's license I was told not to drive when I'm in an unstable emotional state. You of all people should know better than driving home tonight." He put his hand on hers squeezing it a little to reassure her.

She looked down. "I just… you…" She didn't know what to say because she knew he was right she shouldn't drive home. She should stay here.

"It's okay, Jules. I'll get your bag from the car and you'll stay the night, alright?" He had moved his other hand up to cup her face and he finally found her eyes again. She nodded slightly.

Half an hour later Juliet was lying in his bed again in her sleeping boxer shorts and the t shirt she had demanded from him two nights ago. She was waiting for Shawn to exit the bathroom that was attached to his bedroom. But after a few minutes her body started to protest against her efforts to stay awake and the wave of tiredness won over her and she closed her eyes drifting to sleep instantly.

When she woke up again the lights were out and apparently Shawn had put the covers over her. She rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand: 11.30 pm. She sighed and got out of bed. She tiptoed on her bare feet through the bedroom and entered the living room. Shawn was sitting on the couch and the TV was on. She stood behind the couch and watched a rerun of an episode of Full House for a minute until she reached down to place a hand on Shawn's shoulder. As soon as her fingers touched him he flinched and jumped up.

"What the… Jules, oh my God you nearly scared me to death here." He said after turning around and spotting Juliet standing there.

She chuckled. "Why aren't you sleeping yet?" She said with a inquisitive look.

"Well if you must know: I was so nervous because there was this hot chick sleeping in my bed and I was too scared that she would sneak out on me. So I camped out here to make sure she stays right where she is." He winked at her.

"Hot chick, huh? Well I can assure you that said hot chick isn't going anywhere." She mused. "At least not if you join her because she's feeling kind of lonely in your big bed." She put on a fake pout.

"Is that so?" His voice was husky now making him sound so sexy in Juliet's opinion.

She bit her lip and nodded her head slightly. He swallowed hard. This woman would be the death of him. Without saying a word he turned off the TV and rounded the couch. He held out his hand and Juliet happily wrapped her fingers around his while they made their way into the bedroom. As soon as both where lying in bed Shawn opened his arms invitingly and Juliet snuggled up to him right away, placing her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his abdomen. Before they said there goodnights Shawn planted a soft kiss on the top of her hair which made her smile into his chest.

A/N: So I hope you liked it! Reviews are very welcome. (: