AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is me officially promising you that I can now update this story regularly! I got the first chapter out early because I couldn't wait anymore, but I will have at least a chapter a week for you guys. (Disclaimer: I do work A LOT and if said work distracts me from doing a chapter I apologize in advance.)

This chapter isn't as light hearted as I usually do. The humor is still there but it is very angsty. Would you expect anything else with Shawn having to break the news to his mom?

The action will pick up in the next chapter but for now, enjoy the touchy feely stuff I put in this one.

Chapter 2- In Retrospect...

"Dad I'm here!" Shawn yelled as he entered the house. He was hit instantly by an array of scents that took him a second to work through. He'd originally had trouble with it, but between the help his father and Juliet were giving him, he was getting better. Focusing on one at a time he smelled cooking fish, which Shawn would have complained about had he actually been eating. A subtle smell of wine, his father had opened a bottle to let it breathe, and the last was his father's nervousness.

Shawn wrinkled his nose. Feelings were a hard smell to describe. He'd tried explaining it to Gus once but it just ended up confusing him. With each emotion a person feels they put off a scent. Some smelled good, others smelled unpleasant. Anxiety was never a pleasant smell.

Shawn never thought his dad would be as hyped up about his mom's visit as he was, but the evidence of his dad's labors was all around him. The house was spotless. Shawn couldn't even see any lingering dust and that was saying something. Looks like I made it just in time. Shawn smirked, "Hey Dad, I think you missed a spot! There's still a speck of dust on the ceiling."

Henry came pacing into the living room carrying the wine and a cheese tray. "Hey Shawn. I'm just about ready."

Looking at his watch Shawn commented, "Dad, it's not even 4pm. Mom's flight doesn't even get here till 6."

"Not everyone likes to do things last minute Shawn." Henry grumbled, "Now help me with this couch. I want a bit more leg room." He bent over and was about to pick up his end when Shawn stepped up to the middle of the couch.

"I got it dad." Shawn bent over and lifted the couch like it was practically nothing.

Henry was still learning something new about his son every day. He knew Shawn had been trying to keep things as normal as possible for them so it was hard to really see what was going on with him, but Henry had been a detective. Despite Shawn's best attempts to cover it up, he did see the little things that had changed. The small sniffs when someone else entered the room, and other small actions that screamed to Henry that Shawn was still trying to protect them, mostly from himself. He had no idea how hard it must be for his son to keep himself in check 24/7.

After the couch was in position they both sat down and relaxed a bit. Shawn knew he'd had too much sun today after the baseball game and it felt good to be in a nice air conditioned house. Vampires love cold. The silence started getting to him though and he started bouncing his foot a bit. He looked over and saw his dad staring at him. Leaning away a bit he raised his eyebrow. "Dad, what you're doing right now is kinda creepy."

Henry sighed, "How are you?"

Shawn put on his best smile, "I'm good, yep. Grrreat."

"I know you Shawn." Henry leaned forward, "You're scared as hell about tonight."

"Mmmmm…" Shawn made a skeptical noise.

"Kid, it's okay to be nervous about this. You've been through a lot and telling your mother is the next big step. You still want her in your life don't you?" Shawn nodded and stared at the ground. Henry knew only times Shawn usually clams up is when he is upset or truly scared. Maybe he needs a bit more reassurance. "Shawn, I need to tell you something."

Shawn turned to face his father. "Alright, shoot."

Henry took a calming breath, "When I found out you were-" He hated calling his son a vampire, "…what you were, I honestly did wonder if you were still my son." The hurt that registered in Shawn's face was heartbreaking.

Shawn got up, rubbing his lip, and turned his back to his dad.

Henry hadn't ever wanted to tell Shawn that, and he'd been ashamed he felt that way afterwards, but right now he felt Shawn needed to hear it. He rose and came around to face him but Shawn turned away again.

"Dad, just don't." He held out a hand to stop his dad from seeing him.

"No Shawn. Look at me!" After another moment Shawn's white eyes came up to meet his own. "I was trying to tell you that at first, yeah. It was a lot to process and I did wonder if you were still my son, but…when you put everyone's safety above your own, thought about nothing else but saving the people you love, I knew. I knew you were still my son, and I am damn proud of you and I know your mother will be too."

Surprising Henry, Shawn grabbed his father in a tight emotional hug. They'd had very few of these in their life time. Mostly they were after Shawn almost died, and there was one right after they'd both saved Abigail from a watery grave when she was kidnapped by Yin. Never one because his dad admitted that he was proud of him though. It felt good, really good to hear it.

After a few seconds they let each other go. Henry looked at Shawn's eyes and saw they were green again. "You feel better?"

Shawn nodded and sniffled a bit. "Just don't tell anyone about that. I have my macho reputation to consider."

"Your secret's safe with me kid."

Juliet showed up at the house around 5:30pm. Henry was just leaving to go pick up his wife at the airport. "Oh, hello Juliet."

"Hey Henry." Juliet lowered her voice and whispered, "How's Shawn?"

"Nervous, but we talked a bit." Henry glanced down at the paperwork in her hand. "Is that a case?"

Juliet nodded, "Yeah, I figured it would give him something to focus on while we waited. To get his mind off things."

Henry nodded and glanced at his watch, "I gotta go. Make sure to keep an eye on the fish. See you in an hour." She waved goodbye and entered the house, noticing Shawn was sitting on the couch watching TV.

He looked up as she entered. "Jules! How was work? Wait, lemme guess. Lassie finally convinced the Chief to make Clint Eastwood movies into training videos for new officers?"

Juliet was surprised at Shawn's good mood considering how somber he was earlier. "The chief asked us to bring you in on a case." She opened the file and sat down on his lap. "Its the robbery cases we've been on since last week. One of the store owners was murdered during a break in."

That got Shawn's attention. He tilted his head to look at the files. "Creepy spider." He pointed out the graffiti.

"One is left at every crime scene. The group is apparently called Las Arañas."

Shawn rolled his eyes and scanned over the pictures, committing each one to memory. "Original. So are these guys new? I haven't heard of them before."

"Relatively, they started making their marks about three weeks ago. Tomorrow we're checking out the crime scene." Juliet continued to chat with Shawn about the crime until they heard Henry's truck roll up.

Shawn was immediately off the couch and to the door. Juliet barely saw him move. "It's them! Remember you gotta hide!" Juliet was very visibly pregnant so that would have to be the first surprise of the night for his mom.

Juliet nodded and went around the corner to the kitchen with a barely repressed giggle. She couldn't wait to see the look on Madeline Spencer's face. She hadn't known Madeline very well but she had always been the type of person who wanted people to like her, let alone her soon to be mother-in-law.

Madeline was the first one through the door followed by Henry who was laden with bags and suitcases. Madeline turned to her ex husband and chided, "Now Henry I told you to leave those in the car for now. We'll get them later."

"Mom!" Shawn enveloped her in a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh!" She exclaimed when suddenly she had an armful of her son. "Goose!" She hugged him back. "How have you been?" She moved back to get a look on him and put her hands on his face. "Oh my gosh you're freezing."

Shawn wasn't surprised she noticed. Vampires don't give off body heat and they generally need to stay cool, which is why they sleep in freezers and part of the reason why spending time in the sun is a huge problem.

Madeline turned to Henry, "He's not sick is he?"

Shawn grabbed her hands and gently lowered them away from his face. "I'm fine mom, but we have a surprise for you."

She gave them a puzzled look, "Shouldn't we wait till Juliet gets here? You said she was coming right?"

"Well..." Shawn trailed off as Juliet took her cue and rounded the corner. Shawn gave her a sideways hug and rubbed her belly. "Say hello to your grandchild!"

Madeline's eyes widened as she spied Juliet's swollen stomach. She started tearing up and put a hand over her mouth. I'm going to be a grandma! Madeline grabbed Juliet and gave her a big hug. "Oh, Sweetie!"

Henry stood back and dropped the luggage on the ground, watching as Shawn grinned proudly.

Shawn's mother's sniffles became less frequent. She let go of Juliet and rubbed the few tears out of her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe it."

Henry huffed out an amused snort. "You weren't the only one." His reaction to the news had been a little less enthusiastic and a bit more suspicious until he had concrete proof his son was not pulling his leg. Privately his reaction was a lot like his ex-wife's, but he'd never tell Shawn that. "Okay guys, the fish should be done and I'm sure your mother is hungry." He shooed them all to the living room so he could serve dinner.

Shawn joined Henry in the kitchen as Madeline and Juliet sat down on the couch. "So is my son treating you well?"

"He's the perfect gentlemen." Madeline gave Juliet the look only a mother could give when she doesn't believe a word you say about her kid. "Alright... we're okay. It was rough for a while, the baby was a bit unexpected but things are good now. I love him very much."

"I can see that dear." They hadn't had much time to talk before the men came out of the kitchen with plates full of food.

"Bon Appetite!" Shawn shouted and with a flourish handed Juliet her plate.

Madeline noticed Shawn didn't have one of his own. "Where's yours? Aren't you eating?"

Shawn knew the question would be coming. He had offered to eat to keep up appearances but his father said he wasn't going to waste perfectly good fish on someone who couldn't even digest it. "Nah, you know me and fish." Shawn did grab the wine in front of him and drank some.

"Are you sure you're getting enough to eat? You look a lot thinner." In fact, there was more than just her son looking thinner, he was a lot less tan as well. He didn't exactly look unhealthy but Madeline was starting to think there was something very off about him and the situation in general. The awkward glances between the others, was just the icing on the cake. She could tell something was up.

"I'm fine mom, just exercising more, getting in shape. Gotta look hunky for my lady." Shawn really hoped she was buying it. He didn't want to ruin dinner quite yet.

Madeline decided to let the subject drop. Shawn did look happy. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

The conversation went back to the baby and some of Shawn's recent cases until their meal was done and just the wine was left.

"I don't know about you, but I'm stuffed. That was a lovely meal Henry." Madeline smiled. Henry blushed and mumbled some kind of "Thank you." before grabbing the plates and putting them away.

After Henry left the conversation dwindled down. In the silence Shawn started getting antsy again. Going over and over what he had to say in his head and thinking about all the horrible things that she could say about him.

"Shawn." Juliet hissed under her breath and he realized he was gripping the chair too tight and was beginning to rip it.

"Damn it." His dad wouldn't be happy about that.

"Goose..." Madeline leaned forward. "Are you okay?"

Defeated and knowing now was the time to tell her, Shawn shook his head. "No ma. I'm not. Not really."

Henry took that moment to walk in and he saw the expressions on everyone's faces; the fear in Shawn's, the nervousness in Juliet's and the concern in Madeline's. Shawn hadn't told her yet, but he was about to.

"Mom, could I talk to you out on the porch for a second?" Shawn led his mom out the door with a backwards glance and a mouthed, "Wish me luck."

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Juliet asked watching them go.

Henry shook his head. "Knowing Shawn, I think we will have a bit of explaining to do when she comes back in."

Shawn led his mother to the shaded deck and took a seat on the bench. With a deep breath and had a few false starts he finally blurted out. "Remember a few months ago when I had my accident and the next day I called you and said I was fine?" Madeline nodded. Due to her own auditory memory gift, she remembered the conversation perfectly.

"Miraculous recovery! Yes, that's what they said."

She had been concerned but Shawn had promised to take care of himself. Did something happen? Why didn't he tell me this before? So many questions were going through her head, but she was afraid he would lose his nerve if she interrupted him.

Shawn continued hesitantly, "Well, there was something in one of the transfusions I was given." He wished Gus was there so he could explain things more scientifically. All Shawn had understood from the conversation they'd had about what Gus had been told by Coraline was vampirism was caused by some kind of virus. He went on to say that the virus got into his cells and used his DNA to replicate itself and presto! Vampire. It was all very confusing but Shawn tried to explain it anyway. "It's a type of virus. Gus mentioned it was from the 70's or something."

"You mean a retrovirus?" Madeline gasped, the most common retrovirus that she could think of was HIV. Is Shawn trying to tell me he has AIDS? "Honey, we'll do everything we can. Find the best doctors..."

Shawn shook his head, "No, Mom listen, there is no cure... well there was but that's a long story-" Shawn knew he was starting to ramble so he paused to get his thoughts straight. "Suffice to say, I'm not the same."

"What are you trying to tell me Shawn? What is it you have?" She lay a hand on his and felt again that his skin was very cold and she pulled her hand away, giving him a measuring look.

Shawn stood up and rubbed the back of his neck, "The technical term is homo nus nocturnes." Shawn had memorized it because it sounded so much more mysterious and night-stalkerish saying it in latin. "It means Vampire, mom."

Disbelief and horror turned to concern for his sanity in a matter of moments. She had listened to a lot of people lie over the years, and she had gotten pretty good at telling when people believed what they said, and her son... seemed to believe that he was a vampire. "It was that case last year, the one with the vampires, it was right before you went to that mental hospital wasn't it? The stress of having a baby and you've had a tough year case-wise... Goose, it's okay to fantasize but you aren't a vampire!"

Shawn knew his mother would think he was crazy at first, but he'd really hoped that she would trust him enough to believe him. "Mom this has nothing to do with-"

Madeline stood up and gripped her son's hands. "Shawn, I will get you some help. I know some good doctors around here. I'll stick around until you're doing better. I am so sorry that I wasn't here for you. Oh, it's all my fault."

"MOM!" He shouted and looked her in the eyes, "I'm not crazy. I just wanted to let you know so you can still be a part of my life. I love you Mom."

Juliet and Henry heard the shout from inside the house and ran out to see what it was. Madeline turned to Henry with barely repressed rage. "Henry, how could you not tell me that Shawn was having delusions?" Madeline started dragging Shawn into the house. "I'm getting him out of here. He needs professional help Henry!"

Shawn cringed at his mother's words, "I'm standing right here you know!"

"He isn't having delusions, just listen to him!" Henry hollered as Madeline stormed back into the house with Shawn in tow.

Shawn planted his feet once they hit the living room and his mother was no longer able to move him. It was time to show her the proof. She already wasn't taking things well but she had to see to believe. "Mom, look at me." Shawn's mother stopped trying to drag him and looked at him.

"What Shawn?" She turned to face him and saw him close his eyes. She gasped when his face visibly paled to almost white and a rosy tint around his eyes gave his face a haunted appearance. When he opened them a moment later, his irises were almost pure white. "Oh my God." She stumbled back and Henry caught her before she could fall.

"Got you Madds, it's okay honey. It's still Shawn, it's still him." He tried soothing her.

Madeline shook in Henry's grip. "No, it can't be. It can't be him!"

Shawn turned his face away ashamed. He could instantly smell the fear pouring off his mom, which made him feel that much worse for scaring her. Juliet moved to go to him but with a loud and menacing growl of frustration he ran out of the house.

"Shawn!" Juliet called from behind him but he kept going.

He ran as fast as he could down the beach, trying to get as far away from the house as vampirically possible. His biggest fear had become reality. My mother's scared of me. Part of him knew he was being irrational, his father had reacted the same way, but in a life or death situation he'd had to come to terms with it pretty quickly. But she was his mom. She was the one who always understood him, talked to him about everything. He'd never had to hold back with her, which is probably why it hurt so much now.

Eventually he slowed down to a trot and finally plopped down on a bench overlooking the ocean. He reached into his shirt and pulled out his sun glasses, his vampire eyes were very sensitive to the light.

The sun was just starting to set and the lingering oranges and reds on the peaks of the waves combined with the darkness of wearing his sunglasses almost made it look like an ocean of blood. Shawn quickly took off the glasses before leaning over and putting his head in his hands, blocking out the sight. That's one more image I don't need floating around in my noggin.

After staying that way for a few minutes, the sun started to bother him. Huffing out a breath Shawn looked at his watch. It was barely after eight thirty. Juliet would be worried about him if he didn't come back soon, but he didn't want to go back. Not yet anyway. He needed someone to talk to, but he didn't want to deal with people treating him like glass, wondering when he was going to break. He was a vampire damn it! Invincible, bullet proof, and immortal, but he'd felt more vulnerable and weak in the last three months than he had in his entire life. Irony. Shawn was getting really sick of that word.

Putting his sun glasses back on, and making sure not to look at the water, he trudged off to talk to the one person he had left to talk to right now.

Henry was sitting next to Madeline on the couch when Juliet came back in the house after chasing Shawn to the edge of the yard. "He's gone."

Henry nodded, he figured if things didn't go well Shawn would take off for a while. He didn't have time to worry about Shawn right now though, It was time to deal with his ex-wife's panic attack.

"What-what is he? Henry how did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Madeline shook in Henry's arms.

Figuring they should start from the beginning, both Juliet and Henry nut-shelled what had happened to Shawn to make him change.

Henry started first. "After he was in the accident a few months ago, a man came into his room and dosed him with vampire blood." Madeline shook her head, she didn't want to hear that word associated with her son, but Henry continued anyway, "For days we didn't know what was happening. He wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping. He healed from his wounds overnight. It was pretty scary for us, but you know Shawn, he took it in stride."

Madeline listened in rapt attention to the story that they told about Shawn. Most of it she couldn't believe. She didn't want to believe that her son had been turned into something against his will, kidnapped, and almost forced to kill someone. Then, a week later, having to watch his friends get taken and injured by a madman before coming up with a plan to save them. It was all too outlandish and fantastical. She had always been a woman of scientific facts. They were always something she could trust in, but now her whole belief system had come crashing down around her.

Telling the story had taken about an hour, and Shawn still hadn't come back. Juliet wanted to call him, but Henry had stopped her. "Give him time." She nodded and looked at Madeline. Shawn's mother had been mostly quiet during their tale and afterward had been no exception. She had the same contemplative look that Shawn wore when something was particularly puzzling, or when he was remembering something.

Suddenly, Madeline blinked and her face fell a bit. She raised a hand to her head, "I can't believe it. How could I miss it?"

Juliet and Henry looked at each other, mystified at her reaction. "What did you miss Madds?"

"So many sessions with officers who all said they saw the same thing. Usually they were the first officers on a scene, or they were alone so no one could confirm their stories." Madeline looked at the concerned pair and explained, "I've done thousands of psychiatric consultations, thousands, but there were a few that stood out. One was from LA a few years ago. The officer was investigating a disturbance at an amusement park. Some of the rides had started moving and the park owners suspected vandals. When he got there, he found the headless body of a teenager, apparently he'd been thrown from one of the rollercoasters and was decapitated. While calling for back-up he looked for the head… and found it."

A teenager? Juliet wondered where this was going. Madeline seemed really disturbed by it.

"He said the head didn't look human. The eyes were white, and the teeth…" She shuddered, remembering her son's fangs. "The teeth were pointed. He ran out of the park screaming and met the back-up at the entrance. When they got there though, there was blood, but no body or head. Everyone thought he was crazy and they sent for me. I had four sessions with him before he -" She stopped, not needing to continue. The people there were all too familiar with the cases where police officers couldn't take what they'd seen anymore. "There are others, a few of them. I never thought of them as connected until now."

Henry scooted closer to her and took her hands. "Madds, I know it's hard to take, but Shawn needs you. He is going to be alive for a long time. The reason he wanted to tell you, rather than leave you in the dark about it is he figures he doesn't have long with us. He wants to spend as much time with his family while he can, before we're gone."

"Henry, our son is a vampire. I don't see how you can be so calm about this!" She turned to Juliet, "You either! This is just too big for me."

"We'll be there for you, it's a lot to adjust to we know. The one thing to remember is that Shawn is still Shawn. You know he'd never do anything to hurt us."

Madeline nodded tiredly. "I need some time to think. Is that okay?"

Henry smiled and rubbed her back reassuringly. "Yeah, you can take my room. I'll sleep down here."

Madeline rose and headed up the stairs in a daze. She had a lot to think about and come to terms with tonight. She felt bad for treating her son like that, especially when he was so vulnerable and just trying to tell her the truth. She stopped and sighed. "Tell Shawn I'm sorry. I'll talk to him tomorrow, I promise."

"Okay, I'm sure he'll understand." Henry watched her go before sagging into the couch and grabbing a glass of wine. "That went well." He quipped sarcastically.

"I can't say I handled it any better. She'll be fine with time won't she?" Juliet didn't know Madeline as well as Henry.

Henry gestured at the stairs with his wine glass. "That was probably the best we could have expected. Shawn didn't end up in a mental hospital so I'd call this a win."

Juliet couldn't argue with his logic. She pulled out her phone and started to dial Shawn. She needed to know he was alright and this time Henry didn't stop her. It was picked up after only two rings.

"Spencer's phone." A familiar voice answered. Juliet's mouth dropped open in shock. She shouldn't have been surprised though. Shawn didn't have many people to go to and who better than someone who knew what he was going through. She had to ask though, just to make sure "Carlton?"

END NOTES: It took me a long time to figure out how Maddie was going to react. I think I did it justice though.

You guys seemed to like it in the last story when Shawn and Lassie talked it out, and honestly... who else would really understand what poor Shawnie was going through? :)