Shawn stumbled up the road for about five minutes till finally a bar popped up on his screen. "Yes!" He knew it wasn't enough to make a phone call but he could send a text message, the irony about how similar this was to time Garth Longmore had him was not lost. He typed away quickly and hoped that his blurring vision didn't affect the message. As soon as he hit send he sat down on the bumpy road and draped his arms on his knees and breathed as deep as he could with his aching ribs. His head was swimming, his knee throbbing, and he was pretty sure that his puncture wound was bleeding again. To confirm his suspicions he sat back and pulled his shirt up and sure enough a tiny rivulet was steadily running down. Dammit!

Despite everything in his being telling him to stay down and put, he managed to stand and start making his way back to his dad. He wrapped his arms around him as he staggered like a drunk and prayed that the pressure he was applying was enough to stop the bleeding.

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Gus looked up when he though he heard his phone vibrating but when he checked he saw that he had no messages. Hate it when I do that. He went back to his laptop and started to 'work' again.

"Hey whatcha playing there?"

He looked up and saw a bemused Juliet standing behind him. "I thought you were reading a book."

"I was but I got bored, explored the cabin a little, and then saw you completely engrossed in this." She waved at the computer that he was currently playing his latest addiction on.

He smiled up at her. "It's Space Invaders, I found a website that has retro games on it." Juliet sidled next to Gus, who pointed the laptop toward her. "Spacebar is fire and the arrow keys move your tank."

Juliet pressed enter to start the game and began firing away. "It's been years since I've played this." She bit her lip as she continued to battle against the aliens.

Gus smiled and stood, he figured since work was caught up on and his laptop had been commandeered by the detective he was going to catch up some much needed sleep. He went to his room and turned in for a nice long nap.

As Juliet fought space invaders, Gus napped, and Carlton bagged his third bass for the day , Juliet's phone lit up and vibrated as a reminder for the text message that her boyfriend sent her, a message that went unnoticed.

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Shawn fell not so gently onto the ground at the truck's window. "You awake dad?"

"Yeah." Henry shifted and tried to look at his son. "Did you get a signal?"

Shawn wiped his nose on his sleeve and cringed at the crimson staining it, he sighed. "Yeah, sent a text. It said it sent and I waited to see if they would send anything back but I didn't want to leave you alone too long. I guess time will tell."

"Yeah, Shawn…." Henry wanted to say something to his son, to let him know that he wasn't a disappointment but his mouth froze at the words. He closed his eyes and cursed himself mentally.

"Did you know I can cook?" Shawn changed the subject before Henry could even start his own. The older Spencer snorted.

"I highly doubt pushing a few buttons on a microwave is considered cooking." Henry knew when to pry and when not too, so he just went along with his son. "And ordering out isn't cooking either, a skill in your respect since you know which ones deliver faster but still not a cooking skill."

Shawn snorted and instantly regretted it when pain shot through his nose and eyes. "I know but it's easier for you guys to think I can't otherwise you'll bug me every chance you got."

It was Henry's turn to snort. "I seriously doubt that."

"You do, huh? Je vais vousle prouver."

Henry felt his eyebrows rise. "I'm sorry, what?"

"That was French for I'll prove it. You see I spent two months in Paris and I was….."

Shawn didn't know when he took a job in this five star restaurant he was going to be mopping and washing dishes till his blisters had blisters. "Monsieur Spencer, the sink is overflowing."

But he took all those blisters because the head chef was gorgeous and watching her cook was beyond the best thing he had ever seen. "Oui le chef." He put his mop away and began scrubbing on the dishes that were covered in old food.

"When you're done there Monsieur Spencer, the cooler needs a good mopping taken to it." Shawn just nodded as the woman left.

Shawn waited till he heard her moped start up and speed away till he got out some pots and pans of his very own. Every night, as soon as he was left alone to clean the kitchen and close up, he would try to cook something that he watched her cook during the dinner shift, emphasis on the try. He had only gotten a sample of the simple vegetable dish but it made his mouth water in torrents, so he accessed his memory and began. He was just making the tomato/pepper sauce to mix with the other sautéed vegetables when the kitchen door opened and the head chef breezed in.

"Monsieur Spencer!" She stood there with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her lips. "What are you doing!"

Shawn stopped mid-taste and tried a disarming smile. "Chef Eloisé, ummmmmm…..what brings you back to the restaurant?"

Eloisé's dark eyes flashed anger as she tied her equally dark hair up with some chopsticks. "Needed some paperwork." Her eyes flitted at the pans and the sauce that was dripping off the spoon. "You're doing it wrong." She walked over to him and grabbed his hand, with the spoon in it, and started to stir the sauce. "You must be gentle, Ratatouille may be a simple dish but prepared right it can even bring the king to his knees."

Shawn closed his eyes as the wooden spoon was worked gently back and forth through the mixture and took a deep breath, he could smell so much the tomatoes, the sautéed vegetable mixture, and an undertone of lavender that he attributed to the woman pressed against his back. "I'm sorry Chef Eloisé. I just loved it so much during dinner and I wanted to recreate it with some of the leftovers but it's lacking something, sensual." He turned his head and smirked at the raven haired woman who turned a brilliant shade of pink.

Eloisé cleared her throat and stepped back. "If you want the senses to come alive Monsieur Spencer then you must add passion." She walked around to the sauté pan and grabbed an onion slice; slowly she put it to her lips and tasted it. "Your technical skill is very good, but it's still lacking." She walked over to Shawn and pressed a slice of eggplant to his mouth, he opened his mouth and bit the vegetable allowing his lips to brush her fingers as he did. He chewed slowly and licked his lips as he swallowed.

"I don't taste anything wrong."

Eloisé smiled. "They're perfect not overcooked at all and just the right amount of salt but that's just it, you are cooking it just like I did during dinner service." Shawn shook his head in confusion. "I was cooking for them, not for me. Monsieur Spencer, you are cooking for yourself, what do you want?" Shawn's brain kicked into overdrive and he grabbed the cream and started to drizzle it into his bubbling sauce. "Crème? Reduce the heat so it doesn't curdle."

"Like this?" He lowered the heat and continued to stir, Eloisé took station behind him and helped him. Once Shawn was satisfied that everything was done the two chefs ate the simple dish with a cheap bottle of wine. "That was incroyable."

"Incredible, huh?" She stood and grabbed some folders. "You are right Monsieur Spencer, it was." She flashed him a smirk. "Your French is improving."

"Merci."

"Those dishes aren't going to wash themselves Monsieur Spencer." Shawn's groan cause her smile to grow and she turned to leave.

"Eloisé." She turned.

"Oui."

"Call me Shawn." The woman nodded and then was gone, leaving Shawn to the cleaning.

For the next week Eloisé would stay long past closing to help with the cleaning and showing Shawn how to cook one of the many dishes she prepare that day. Shawn usually picked and entrée or appetizer but tonight he picked the dessert.

"You want to make the saffron yogurt with rose honey? I'm impressed Shawn." She smiled. "Well let's get to it." Shawn crushed the saffron while Eloisé whisked the yogurt. "The trick is to know when to stop so you don't lose the fluff."

"Fluff?" Shawn smirked. "Your English is getting better too." Eloisé laughed and brought the bowl with the beaten yogurt in it.

"Now the saffron." Shawn took a generous pinch on the spice and slowly folded it in. "Now unlike others I add the petals now and let it sit." This time Shawn stood behind Eloisé and took a handful of petals that he let flutter into the bowl while she gently stirred till she was satisfied. "Now we wait."

"For how long?"

"A couple of hours." She walked over to the cooler and placed the bowl into it. Shawn snuck up behind her and when she turned they were face to face.

"What should we do till then?" Eloisé blushed, Shawn swallowed and soon their lips met. Shawn tasted every part of her mouth and she did the same back, soon the yogurt was forgotten as other things were discovered and tasted that night.

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"For two months we ended up either cooking or at her apartment, it was bliss." Shawn smiled at the memories. "She got a call from some fancy hotel in Australia, I could tell she wanted the job but she wasn't going to take it because of me." He chuckled. "I told her to do what she wants, to live life with passion not to do what others expected of her. I drove her to the airport."

Henry heard the wistfulness in his son's voice. "Did you love her?"

"Yes, but you know what? I wouldn't change anything that happened, even her leaving." More memories flooded Shawn's brain. "She was the first woman I truly loved."

"What about Abigail?"

"She was my high school crush, who I came to love later. Eloisé was the first woman, who I didn't mind seeing without makeup and who I didn't leave as soon as we had a fight. There was just something about her."

At that single sentence Henry was flooded with his own memories of Madeline and when they were happy, he knew exactly what Shawn was talking about. "I know what you mean, kid, your mom was like that to me. Still is."

Both men were silent for a moment while their thought took them to stolen moments, kisses, and waking up in warm cocoons with their first loves. "She sent me a letter a while back, she got married and now has two kids. She thanked me." Shawn chuckled. "I should've thanked her, though, because she renewed a passion I didn't know I lost."

"Passion for what?"

"Life. When I came to Paris I was broke, my bike was in the states, I was basically living on the streets and then she gave me that job." Shawn closed his eyes and shook his head some to try and clear his fuzzy vision but it only caused his head to hurt more. He had to take a few deep breaths as he felt his heart rate rise and sweat coat his body.

"That's good kid." Henry shifted at the uncomfortable feeling in his bladder. "Ummmmm…Shawn I hate to do this but that water….."

Henry expected a chuckle or even a playful groan followed by grumbling, what he didn't expect was the silence. He rolled over to his stomach must to his leg's protest and was staring at his son's back. "Kid?" He watched as Shawn fell to the side with a whimper and shook violently. Henry backed out of the truck and ran around it to be by his son's side. Shawn did not look good, he was pale except for the dark purple bruises that had cropped up and the blood that was on his face. "Jesus, kid!" He rolled Shawn to his back and cursed under his breath at the ruby liquid that made his dark polo look wet and even darker.

"Dad?" Shawn's breathing was rapid and clipped. "I think something's wrong." Shawn closed his eyes and his head lulled to the side. Henry tapped his cheek, forcing the hazel eyes to open.

"Come on kid stay awake." For probably the first time in his life Henry was at a loss on what to do. "Tell me another story, kid, I want to hear more."

Shawn smiled. "You know how I have a dislike to extreme heights, that wasn't always the case." Henry listened to his son talk, his bladder forgotten as he pulled his son's head into his lap and huddled close to him as if just being there was going to make it all better.