Avoiding homework? Yard work? Work Work?

No problem. Here's a new chapter! Avoid responsibilities to your hearts content!

Shules heavy chapter ahead.

January. 2011.

Juliet turned the page eagerly. It was her day off and she was curled up on her couch, catching up on her reading. She pulled her blanket tighter about her shoulders and glanced around her apartment uncertainly. The Yin case had closed less than a week ago. She shivered; even here in her own home, knowing Yin was dead, she still didn't feel completely safe.

Her cat purred and rubbed up against her hand. Juliet smiled softly and scratched the purring creature under the ear. She was grateful for his company, to be sure. But he was no replacement for Shawn. Sadly, her boyfriend was off working some special 'urgent' case for the Chief.

She was pretty sure Shawn was lying-he and Gus probably were engaged in one of their many ritualistic bonding traditions they'd amassed over 30 years of friendship. Today was probably some completely trivial anniversary of something or other that only had any real meaning to them. She rolled her eyes. Shawn was absurdly ridiculous sometimes, but that was why she lov-liked…him. A lot. Her face flushed.

Besides Carlton would have called her if something big was going on.

Suddenly a gunshot split through the quiet. Her cat screamed, its feet spinning like the roadrunner for a good ten seconds before it managed to make a break for the safety of Juliet's bedroom.

Juliet meanwhile was on her feet. She ripped her gun out from its hiding place under her pillow and she made her way cautiously towards the front door. The gunshot had come from her driveway.

She moved towards the door slowly, her heart was pounding loudly in her ears; it was the only noise in the newly settled silence. Her gun shook in her hand like it hadn't done in years. She steadied it and slowly unbolted her front door. Cracking it open, she used it to provide cover until she could establish where the shot had originated from.

She stepped onto her porch, and spun towards her drive way.

"Woah!" Shawn's hands shot up instinctively. "Jules?" he cocked his head, his eyes darting between the gun and her face in confusion.

Quickly she lowered the gun and closed her eyes in relief. "Shawn, what did you do?"

Shawn's eyebrows shot up. "What? Me?" He tried to grin innocently and failed miserably.

"You can put your arms down Shawn," she reminded him dryly.

Shawn lowered them awkwardly. He smiled sheepishly, "Right…old habits," he shrugged. "That noise was just the car backfiring," he assured her.

As his arms came down she frowned, catching sight of a large orange monstrosity behind him. She cocked her head to the side and brushed past him.

Sitting in her driveway was the most beat up car she'd ever seen. She spun back to Shawn, "Is that a 1969 Dodge Charger-like from Duke's of Hazard?" She wouldn't put it past him to try and blow his money on an absurd relic like that. Though she was surprised Gus hadn't stopped him. She growled, oh who was she kidding. The car probably was Gus's.

Shawn grinned, "God, I love that you know that," she blushed. "But sadly, it's a 1970 Dodge Charger." The 1969 models were insanely expensive.

She pursued her lips. "And why is it sitting in my driveway?"

Shawn's grin fell. Her eyebrows knit together as she watched Shawn stuff his hands in his pockets.

"Well, originally I was going to get an Echo. A black one. And call it the Blackberry. That way if Gus and I ever went driving together we'd match. But Gus didn't like that idea," Shawn smiled sadly. "And then I saw this and…," he sighed, "Well Jules, it was love."

She still didn't get it.

Shawn licked his lips and nervously swayed back and forth. His mouth moved to form words but no sound was coming out. Juliet felt her heart rate accelerate. She could count the number of times she'd seen Shawn at a loss for words on one hand. Typically when that happened he was inches away from a major confession to her; though both times he'd done it before he'd been close to losing her forever; once to a deadly virus and the other time to their perpetual bad timing. She felt her cheeks flush.

"I sold my bike," he admitted finally. Juliet opened her mouth then shut it. She was still learning to read him as a girlfriend, but she knew him well enough to know not to give him any opportunities to derail his confession. He had a very hard time staying focused sometimes. "I…," he sighed and moved closer to her, his hands moving to her arms, "I can't…I can't sit at the police station and promise to protect you then pick you up for a date and throw you on the back of a motorcycle Jules," he stared at her intently, hoping she understood what he was saying. He would protect her. When he'd promised her that in the interrogation room he'd meant it. And while he'd prefer for the situation to never arise, he would gladly take another bullet if it meant keeping her safe. But after Yin, well, he wanted more than anything for her to feel safe. And he needed to feel like he was the one making her feel that way.

A silly grin spread across her face-which Shawn found beyond adorable-and she leaned up and gently pressed her lips against his. A small sigh escaped her lips as she pulled back, "Thank you," she whispered.

Shawn grinned, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. She definitely understood. She knew him so well that sometimes it scared him.

He laughed happily, his eyes sparkling and snaked an arm around her waist, pivoting both of them to stare at the large beat up car that was rusting before their eyes. "So, what do you think?" Shawn grinned.

She smiled. Truth be told, it was easily the ugliest thing she had ever seen. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's perfect," she said quietly. And she meant it.

June. 2015.

Shawn forced himself to stop staring at the back of the squad car, shaking himself from the memory. He pushed the lump in his throat down, stuffed his hands into his pockets and trudged onwards. Gus had offered to give him a ride, but Shawn had declined. This was something he had to do on his own, and if Gus came it would be much too easy to stick him in the middle. Besides, he'd had to run a few secret errands to prepare for the Bachelor party he was planning for Gus.

He still had his old police scanner, and it had lead him here. A murder at an apartment complex.

Shawn took a deep breath, instinct taking over, and he waltzed up towards the crime tap confidently. He paused suddenly. The young officer guarding the entrance to the building was definitely not McNabb. He bit back a self deprecating smirk; life had definitely gone on in Santa Barbara without him. McNabb had probably risen the ranks at least a little since Shawn had last seen him. Hell, he might have transferred or even…Shawn's smile vanished, refusing to entertain such a grim option.

The weight of what he was about to do hit him and he inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to start Lamaze breathing-something he was horrified to find out Gus still did. He was still far enough away from the crime scene that his presence hadn't been detected. He could still turn back, slink off into the shadows and no one would ever know he had been there.

The door to the apartment complex swung open and his heart stopped. Head Detective Juliet O'Hara strode out of the building and promptly scolded one of the rookie officers for something before heading towards her squad car. Shawn sucked in a breath. Juliet looked as beautiful as ever; he didn't think she'd aged a day. She paused suddenly, as if aware that she was being watched and turned towards him slowly. Shawn felt his mouth run dry. She froze, literally like a deer in the headlights, before blinking slowly, her mouth setting into a small, somewhat grim, smile. Glancing both ways first, she crossed the street and joined him under the street lamp.

"Nice beard," she smirked, but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

Shawn's response caught in his throat. Almost four years of not speaking and that was her opener? He hadn't expected that, "You too huh? Everyone's so concerned with my facial hair," he pursed his lips, a hand coming up to his face unconsciously. Maybe he did need to shave it…

She shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Why are you here Shawn?"

"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about…I came back into town for Gus's wedding and-"

Juliet shook her head, "I knew you were coming back into town for that," Shawn frowned and opened his mouth to respond. She cut him off, already knowing the question on his mind, "No, Gus didn't call me. But come on who else would be his best man?" She smiled softly; she'd been bracing herself for his inevitable return for months-ever since Lauren had told her of the engagement.

Shawn nodded, trying to avoid staring at her in awe; even after all this time she knew him like a book. But he'd lost the right to stare at her long ago. "Why are you here?" she pointed to the crime scene behind them, "Specifically. Right this very moment," Shawn winced. She wasn't mean, but her tone was clipped-formal…cold even. He swallowed hard. He deserved it though. Formality, after what he'd done, well, it made her a saint in his book.

He shrugged uncomfortably, "I…I wanted to let you know I was back in town," she quirked an eyebrow, unsure of where he was going with that, "Just so it wouldn't be a surprise when you saw me at the rehearsal," Shawn elaborated quickly. He wasn't trying to win her back, wasn't trying to sneak back into her life. No ulterior motive. He was just being courteous.

"Ah," She nodded her head slowly. She bit her lip, resisting the urge to remind him that that level of curtsey would have been nice all those years ago when he'd left without a word.

The silence that followed was almost physically painful. Shawn stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

"Well," he said finally, "I should a…I should probably," he gestured his head down the street.

She cocked her head to the side, "Do you want to look at our crime scene?" she asked suddenly. The murder had been gruesome and Shawn had a way of finding the most important detail at a crime scene instantly. Given how high profile the case was, it would be nice to get a good lead from the get go.

She pursued her lips. She was not trying to prolong his visit for personal reasons. Not at all. This was strictly in the best interest of the case.

Shawn felt a grin pull at his lips. He did love crime scenes. "Jules," he shifted uncomfortably, "Technically speaking, Psych doesn't exist anymore. And civilians aren't allowed on crime scenes," he reminded her, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned, "Just don't tell the Head Detective," she said dryly. "Besides, you've been working cases in Vancouver right?"

Shawn frowned, "How did you…?"

Shawn was pretty sure her cheeks flushed, just a little bit, "Gus mentioned it," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders, not even bothering to look back at him as she crossed the street.

Shawn jogged to catch up with her. They walked in silence until they got to the police tape. "So Lassie's Chief now huh?" He couldn't hide the grin that spread across his face.

Juliet grinned, her eyes rolling instinctively at his tone, "It's not that bad," she said calmly.

"And by 'not that bad' you mean what exactly? It's not that bad like the Star Wars prequels 'weren't that bad'? Or 'not that bad' like that remake of Bonnie and Clyde they did with Hilary Duff and the Canadian model from the Air Bud movies wasn't 'that bad'?" He cocked his head and smirked, before his mind caught up with his mouth and he sighed heavily in irritation. The words-the flippant references- just slipped out, without thought. It was habit to him. But he couldn't do that, he had no right to that…banter…with her. He couldn't pretend like everything was normal, couldn't just try and pick up where he'd left off like he hadn't missed years of her life.

"Definitely more like the Star Wars prequels," she agreed, shivering as she thought of the Bonnie and Clyde remake. God that had been a disaster. They started up the stairs to the apartment complex.

"And you're Head Detective now?" Shawn inquired. Gus had said as much during dinner the night before.

She nodded.

"If Lassie's stuck at the department all day…who's you're new partner?" Shawn asked slowly. Partner changes were always a touchy subject among officers. The level of loyalty between good partners-like Juliet and Lassie had been-was hard to replace, and changing partners was rarely an easy transition.

Juliet grinned, knowing Shawn wouldn't believe her answer, "Buzz McNabb," she answered, pausing just long enough to watch the stunned expression that crossed his face before she continued up the stairs.

"Wait wait-" Shawn's hand reached out, his fingers pausing just short of her arm; he quickly retracted them as she spun to face him, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Buzz McNabb? Buzz McNabb is your partner?" He repeated himself incredulously.

Juliet smirked, "Carlton put us together as soon as Buzz made Detective," she smiled, "He thought that if he put me with McNabb I'd be forced to learn how to play 'bad cop'."

Shawn chuckled, "And did you?" Somehow he doubted it.

"Not even a little bit. The first eight perps we interrogated together were so confused by our good cop, better cop routine that they caved within ten minutes," she smirked proudly.

Shawn laughed, wishing he could have seen Lassiter's befuddled expression as case after case was solved without having to crack anything like a bad back.

Juliet scrutinized him quietly, apparently debating whether or not to say something. Shawn shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze. "Buzz didn't make detective right away though," she cocked her head thoughtfully, making sure to keep eye contact with him, "Not until a really helpful 'How to' book on Detective work came out," Shawn swallowed hard. Juliet kept throwing him curve balls. He hadn't expected this to come up either. "Maybe you've heard of it Shawn-it was a bestseller. It was written by a Canadian author from what I hear. But they used a pseudonym-'Justin Tyme'," her smirk faded, "It was called 'Counting Hats: Everything You Need is Right in Front of You'," she stared at him quietly.

Shawn pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Catchy title," he agreed flatly.

Juliet nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but a really bad pseudonym," Shawn shrugged.

"Well not every pseudonym can be a winner Jules," he winced instantly, wishing he hadn't used his old nickname for her. He sighed regretfully but plowed ahead, "Maybe they tried multiple pseudonyms, like Michael Knight or Thomas Magnum but they got shut down by their editor," he pursed his lips into a pout at the memory, "You never know," he smiled innocently.

She chuckled. "I guess not," she turned and resumed walking up the stairs, her heels clicking on every step. Shawn glanced up the stair well; there were a lot of steps.

"What floor are we going to?" he asked nervously.

"The 9th. Why?" she looked at him quizzically.

He shrugged, "Oh no reason," he waited till she turned her back on him to wipe his hand across his sweaty neck. It was just a lot of stairs, that was all.

Fun Trivia Fact: The Bonnie and Clyde remake Shawn references is a real thing. Suppose to come out later this year. Do yourself a favor and rent the original instead ;)

Next chapter: More Shules. And more Angst. I'm about to start writing chapter 5 so again, I can crank out these updates!

Enjoy and review!