Meanwhile, Shawn and Gus were finishing up dinner with Henry. Shawn wished his dad would just shut up so he could go home. Looking up, he realized that Gus and his father were both looking at him. The room was strangely quiet.

"What?" asked Shawn.

"Where's Susie?" asked Henry.

"She's at the office. Why?"

"I was just wondering. I hadn't seen her in a while."

"You saw her today, Dad. At the station. Remember? The whole twin issue that pissed you off so much?"

"Shawn, I--"

"Getting senile in your old age?"

"Has she adjusted to living there?" asked Henry, getting up to put some dishes in the kitchen.

"Um, yes?" said Shawn. "What's with the twenty questions?"

"No reason, Shawn." said Henry. "Why? Is there something you're trying to hide?"

Shawn looked at his father. "No, but there's something you're trying to hide," he said. "And I know what it is."

"I'm not hiding anything Shawn."

"You're attracted to her," said Shawn. "You feel like you finally have a grandchild."

"Shawn--"

"You want to spoil her to death. You like feeling like an old coot."

"Shawn, I just want to make sure she's okay. She's been through a lot."

"Of course she's okay, Dad. I'm her guardian."

"And that's what scares me."

"Nice, Dad. Real nice." Shawn stood. "Well, we should probably go," he said to Gus, who stood up. "Later Dad," said Shawn, as he made his way to the front door.

Shawn and Gus walked into the cool outside breeze. The moon shone above the ocean. It was a wonderful California night.

"Your bike's still at the office, right?" asked Gus.

"Yeah," said Shawn. "I didn't want to piss my dad off anymore that I already do. He hates that thing."

"Shawn, that is not the reason. You just didn't have time to go get it."

Whichever was the real reason, Gus dropped Shawn off at the office and drove off to his apartment. Shawn walked to his bike. Looking up at the office, he wondered what Susie was doing. He decided to go inside and check on her.

He opened the door and walked into the front room where a small table lamp was turned on.

"Susie?" Shawn called. "Where are you?

Susie took her cell phone out of the pocket on her skirt. She dialed and prayed. 'Please pick up,' she thought.

"Hello?" Monica said, answering after the fourth ring.

"Monica, thank God." Susie said.

"Susie? What's up?"

"Is your brother home?"

"Who, Mike? Yeah, why?"

"Do you think he could…. come pick me up?" Susie asked, shivering against the cold.

"From the office?"

"No….."

"Then where….? Susie, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I… I just need to get back to the office," said Susie, close to tears.

"Where are you?" Monica asked, knowing that her friend was in trouble.

"Corner of Town and Code street," said Susie, looking up at the street signs and wiping her eyes.

"We'll be right there," Monica said as she hung up. She turned to the stairway. "Mike!" she called. "Get your ass down here!"

Shawn wandered around the office, but didn't find Susie anywhere. He called Susie's phone.

"Hello. You've reached the voicemail box of--"

"Dammit," Shawn said. He dialed Gus next.

"Hello?"

"I can't find Susie."

"Where'd you leave her last?"

"Dude, I'm serious. She's not here."

"Is she on the roof?"

"No."

"Did you call her?"

"Yes! She didn't answer."

"Maybe you should call your dad."

"And say what? 'Hey, Dad, guess what? I lost Susie. By the way, that was wonderful chicken you made.' No, I can't call him." Shawn began to think. He had to keep his cool.

"Then call Lassiter," said Gus.

"So he can attempt to kick my ass and rub it in that I'm not parenting material? No thanks."

"Well, I don't know, Shawn."

Shawn glanced down and saw something round on the floor, underneath the table. He bent down and picked it up. It was a tube of lipstick. "Hm," he said.

"What?" asked Gus.

"I just found a tube of lipstick lying on the floor."

"So?"

"Well, it's not mine. So, unless it's yours, it's Susie's."

"So what does that tell us?"

"That she probably went out somewhere. No need to worry."

"You still don't know if she's okay."

"Gus, I'm sure she'd call if she needed something."

"Shawn, she could have been kidnapped, or raped, or killed--"

"Dude! Lay off the T.V. Stuff like that doesn't happen in Santa Barbara."

"Shawn, do you realize how stupid that sounds? You work with the police on murders and disappearances all the time. Of course it happens in Santa Barbara!"

"Trust me on this, Gus. I don't think anything's wrong."

"Go to the police. Tell them what happened."

"I think I'll stay here for a few minutes. If she doesn't show up, I'll come get you and we can go look for her."

"What? Shawn, no--"

"'Night Gus," Shawn said as he hung up. He looked around the room. 'Suze, where'd you go?' he thought.

Mike and Monica pulled up at the corner, right where Susie said she was. Susie opened the car door and got in.

"Susie, what happened to you? Why are you out here?"

"Long story. How fast do you think you can get me back to the office?"

"A few minutes," said Mike, putting the car in gear and speeding off. "Granted we don't meet any coppers."

Susie smiled slightly and brushed a piece of stray hair out of her face.

"So?" asked Monica. "Spill. You call me in the middle of the night--"

"Middle of the night? It's 8:15."

"Still. You owe me. We came and got your ass out of there."

"It's not like you would've left me."

"You still owe me."

Susie sighed and rubbed her neck. "I was at a party."

"And you didn't invite me? How rude?"

"I was with someone."

"Shawn?" asked Monica smugly.

Susie shook her head. "Skyler."

"And he is?"

"Jackass from Baby Fall Off the Stage."

"What the hell is that?"

"Local band that's going down the drain."

"Well, that explains your outfit and make-up," said Monica. "You look like a tramp."

"A sexy tramp?"

"But of course."

The car skidded to a stop. "Here we are." said Mike.

Susie looked out the window and saw a shadow move inside. "Thanks for the ride," she said, getting out and closing the door quietly. The car went off into the night. Susie walked quietly up the pathway. She looked around and found a rather large stick. She picked it up and quietly opened the door.

'Okay,' Shawn thought. 'Enough waiting. I've got to find her.' He snapped off the lamp and walked towards the door.

CRACK.

"Ah!" Shawn exclaimed, falling down in pain. something had connected with his right knee. Hard.

"Shawn?"

The office lit up. Shawn looked up to see Susie, standing by the light-switch, a stick in hand. At least, he thought it was Susie. She was dressed very strangely. And pain could make you hallucinate.

"Shawn?" she asked again, dropping to her knees next to him. "Are you okay?"

"Except for the throbbing pain in my leg, yes." he said, sitting up. "Jeez, you have quite an arm on you. play softball as a kid?"

"No. Oh my God. Shawn, I'm so sorry."

"It's all good," said Shawn, attempting to stand up. "Oh, shit. That's painful."

"Just stay there," Susie said, getting up and stepping over him. She went into the kitchen and got some ice. She wrapped it in a cloth and walked back over to Shawn.

"Here," she said, bending down and placing the ice on Shawn's knee.

"Thanks," Shawn said. "What'd you hit me for, anyway?"

"I didn't know who you were."

"Well, I guess I should be thankful that it was just my knee and not my head."

Susie smiled. "I really am sorry, Shawn."

"It's cool," said Shawn.

"But, um, what are you doing here anyway?" asked Susie.

"What were you doing when you weren't here?" asked Shawn. "And what's up with your outfit?"

"I was… with Skyler."

"What?"

Susie sighed. "He wanted me to go to this 'pre-gig' party with him."

"Did you have fun?"

"No. But I did learn that he has a low alcohol tolerance, he's an even bigger jackass than I originally thought, he's most likely bi-polar or has multiple personalities or something, and the band is barely hanging together."

"Well, sounds like you had a busy night."

Susie looked down in her lap. Busy didn't even begin to describe the night she'd had. "Um…"

Shawn looked at her. Had he said something wrong? "Suze? You okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "Of course."

"Susie," Shawn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She twitched and tensed slightly. "Susie, look at me." Shawn slowly moved his hand to her chin and gently tilted it, so she was facing him. Her eyes looked red. "Susie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Susie said. "I'm fine."

"Then why were you crying earlier?"

"Are my eyes that red?" asked Susie.

"No," said Shawn. "But there's a black smudge of eyeliner and mascara on your fingertip."

Susie looked down. "Hm," she said. "And here I thought you were being psychic."

Shawn smiled and pulled her into a hug. "God, I love you." he whispered.

Susie's eyes began to fill with tears again. "I'm sorry I left without telling you."

Shawn pulled back. "It's okay. I was worried as hell right before I got hit."

"And I'm sorry about that…."

"Next time you go out, please tell me, okay? I don't want to go through the whole 'stick-to-the-knee' thing again."

"I said I was sorry!"

Shawn laughed. "I know. And now," he said, handing the ice to Susie. "I should probably get going."

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Susie as she helped him up.

"Yeah," he said, grimacing. "It's a short ride home." Shawn limped to the door, maybe a little too exaggeratedly.

"Shawn," Susie said. He turned.

"Yeah?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe for support.

"Why…. why didn't you get pissed when I was gone?"

"Because I used to do the same thing when I was your age. I figured you were okay."

"I could have been kidnapped or--"

"Or murdered or raped. Yeah, I know. Gus said the same thing." Shawn noticed Susie twitch slightly. "Suze, I'm psychic. I knew you were okay." Shawn opened the door and stepped outside. "'Night Suze."

"'Night Shawn." Susie said, closing the door. Walking into the main room, she saw her lipstick on the table. She picked it up and smiled slightly to herself.

Outside, Shawn took a deep breath. 'That was a lucky break,' he thought. Because he knew that he was just thinking wistfully earlier. He knew there was no way he could have known she wasn't going to come back in one piece, or at all. And that thought scared the hell out of him.