Gus was surrounded by safety as Shawn let him cry out all of his emotions, but it felt like no time at all before the smell of a sea breeze entered the room and a gentle voice coaxed him away from the arms that were holding him together. He soaked in as much comfort as he could as Shawn pulled him into a forehead-hug, both of them just breathing for a few seconds before they had to be separated again.

"You good?" Shawn asked as the nurse waited patiently.

Gus took a quick mental stock before answering truthfully, "I'm better."

Shawn nodded and squeezed the back of his neck one last time before letting go. Gus stood up shakily, and he wondered if it was the lack of pain meds for a few minutes or just his mind playing tricks on him when it seemed like his leg hurt more on the way back to his bed.

The nurse tried to help, but he shied away from her touch; he'd made it to Shawn on his own, he could get back on his own too. It was probably stubborn and stupid, but he needed to prove that he could do it. To the nurse's credit, she seemed to understand and stayed close enough to help if he needed, but not so close as to feel stifling.

The IV being put back in was harder than the walk, but Gus was almost too exhausted to panic again. He focused on the quiet words of the nurse, the beads of his necklace in his palm, and Henry's hand on his shoulder while he breathed through the memory of burning. The nurse left quickly once she made sure he was hooked into the monitors properly, and he made a mental note to give her a glowing review. Just as soon as he learned her name.

The silence after she left was different than before; it was more settled, if not comfortable. Gus knew it couldn't last long, not with Shawn in the room, but he appreciated it all the same. He laid back and let his eyes fall closed; he couldn't put off sleep any longer.

He was just starting to drift off when Henry asked quietly, "So, when were you going to tell me?"

Gus was too comfortable to answer, but luckily the question didn't seem to be aimed at him.

"Tell you what?" Shawn asked back, his voice completely innocent.

Henry clearly wasn't buying it. "You know what."

"I definitely don't… but if I was pretending to know, I'd be asking when you figured it out."

"When do you think I figured it out?"

Gus sighed, knowing they were going to keep dancing around the topic for another several rounds if he didn't do anything. "Yes, I'm psychic. He figured it out when I knew you were dreaming. As long as you don't think about where you hid the bodies, I won't know where they are and you won't have to shoot me."

Henry's thoughts stuttered and Gus wondered if it was too soon for shooting jokes.

Shawn scoffed. "Oh please, we already know where the bodies are. They're clearly in the same spot as my last two Easter eggs."

Gus woke up a bit at that; he knew the Easter egg story and had always been curious where Henry had managed to hide something from Shawn. He found the memory hidden in the new puzzle piece that had popped up at Shawn's words. "Really? The septic tank? Why?!"

Shawn made a nose of disgust as Henry looked at Gus, his fishing line thrumming in surprise. He answered with an echo of his usual smugness. "It was so he would learn that sometimes you have to get dirty to find your prize."

"Ugh, I'll pass on that one," Shawn said with a shudder. "How was I supposed to even find that? What kind of twisted logic did you think of?"

"I had it inspected a week before Easter; it should have been easy to put the pieces together." Henry smirked, his thoughts trying to grow quiet. "You still don't know about the last one."

Gus raised an eyebrow at the silent challenge and easily followed the smug color in the fishing line to the answer. "You never hid the last one."

"What… You lied to me?!" Even Gus couldn't tell if Shawn was delighted or appalled.

"What's rule one, kid?" Henry asked pointedly.

Shawn just stared at him before complaining, "The game was rigged!"

"Nope, if you'd figured out I was lying, I would have given it to you."

"I can't believe you."

"So, you don't want your quarter, then?"

"Of course I want my quarter!"

Gus closed his eyes again as he pointed out, "Technically, it should be my quarter."

"We should both get a quarter," Shawn agreed. "For… Emotionally rep… Reputation."

"Close," Gus acknowledged through the fuzzy film of sleep pulling on him. "Reparations."

"Yes. That."

Gus didn't register Henry's answer as he fell asleep to the familiar pattern of the Spencers bickering. It was good that some things were starting to get back to normal.

A loud noise woke Gus up before any dreams started, and he gasped, looking around frantically for the threat. All he saw was Henry blinking blearily from the chair next to him and Shawn grinning at them both as his hand hovered over the hospital phone.

"You two were completely adorable while you were sleeping together," Shawn cheerfully informed them as the phone rang again. "I'm pretty sure you were even snoring in sync for a minute."

"Just answer the damn phone," Henry grumbled as he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

Shawn's grin grew and he let the phone ring one more time before finally picking it up. "Hello? Room service." His eyes suddenly sharpened, and he sat up straighter. "Jack! Hi!"

The last remnants of sleep fell away at the name of their fellow-captive, and Gus listened to Shawn's thoughts carefully for clues on what the other man was saying.

"No, yeah, you got the right room. I'm Shawn, the con- the other psychic. Gus is here too. How are-" Shawn's grin turned fond as Jack said something and he answered back, "Nice to meet you too, Jack. How are you doing?"

He listened to the answer before covering the receiver to report, "He says it was a bit touch and go for a bit, but the docs think he should be fine. His wife's with him now." Gus let out a sigh of relief while feeling the familiar prickling of guilt underneath. Jack shouldn't have been in that position, but it was good that he was going to be ok.

Shawn was still talking on the phone. "...already gave your statement? Wow, that was fast. Uh…" he gave Gus a nervous look, "just to be curious, what did you tell them about me and Gus?" He relaxed at the answer. "Funny, someone else told me something real similar recently."

He broadcasted a set of memories in explanation: Jack tied up in the garage, "I won't tell. I know it's what's keeping you alive." Gus being psychically responsible in the car, "They're not mine to tell."

Gus smiled at Jack having their backs, but the smile fell as he remembered when he should have had Jack's back first. He'd made a choice and Jack had paid for it. It was going to keep haunting him until he did something about it.

"...We haven't heard, I know the detectives took her statement, but I don't know what they're charging her with."

Gus caught Shawn's eye and held out his hand for the phone; he needed to make things right. Something must have shown on his face as Shawn gave him a concerned look before saying into the receiver, "Hold on, one sec, Gus wants to talk to you."

Shawn pulled the phone from his ear and glanced between their two beds, clearly trying to figure out the logistics of actually handing it over. He made a decision and started prepping to toss the phone across the divide when Henry seemed to appear out of nowhere, plucking it from Shawn's hand. He passed it off to Gus with an eye roll before walking back to his chair.

Gus gave him a small smile for the assist before speaking into the receiver. "Hey Jack, it's Gus."

"Gus! It's good to hear from you," Jack's voice positively beamed through the phone.

"You too," Gus said sincerely. "I'm glad to hear you're going to be ok."

"What about you two?" Jack asked. "I hadn't asked Shawn yet."

Gus shrugged, not wanting to get bogged down in the details. "We're a little banged up, but nothing life changing." He took a deep breath; it was now or never. "Listen, I just wanted to say…"

He looked over and saw Shawn watching him intently, and he suddenly remembered their conversation from earlier. He couldn't exactly hope for Shawn to forgive himself for his misplaced guilt if Gus couldn't do the same with his. He changed what he was going to say. "I just wanted to say thanks. For not being batshit insane."

Jack laughed. "Well, there's a glowing review if I've ever heard one." His tone sobered. "Uh, I feel like I need to apologize."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Gus asked in surprise.

"Rhianna. She-" Jack sighed. "In the garage, we could hear you. When you were being hurt. I mean, how could we not? But she just… kept writing in her damn journal like nothing was happening." His voice turned venomous. "She even kissed the bastard afterwards. Someone like that doesn't just get like that overnight. I should have known; maybe I could have stopped her before-"

Gus cut him off. "The only people who have anything to be sorry for are those two." He saw Shawn relax out of the corner of his vision. "And I don't know if it helps or not, but she wasn't crazy at first. She did change."

Gus figured Jack didn't need to know he was the reason Rhianna had snapped. That part could stay between him and Shawn.

"I'll be honest, I'm not sure if that helps," Jack said. "But thanks anyways. If there's anything I can do for you guys, let me know."

"We will."

"And when you get out of here, know that I'm happy to help out if you want to understand your stuff better." Gus felt a chill before Jack continued, "Otherwise, I'll do my best to stay out of your way. You've dealt with enough scientists for a lifetime."

"Thanks," Gus said in relief, feeling touched by the offer. "Stay safe, Jack."

"You too. Good luck. To both of you."

The phone line clicked and Gus met Shawn's eyes. "Don't say it."

"I wasn't going to." Shawn held out his hand and Gus tossed the phone over before Henry could do anything. Shawn caught it easily and put it back in the phone cradle before pointing up. "I'm proud of you."

Gus returned the gesture with a smile. "I'm proud of you."

"Great," Henry grumbled, "can I go back to sleep now?"

"Sorry, Dad, but I don't think any sort of beauty sleep is going to help that," Shawn waved in Henry's general direction.

Henry rolled his eyes before crossing his arms and getting comfortable again. "When Juliet gets back, I'm going home."

"I hope she gets here soon; she promised food…" Shawn stared at the door longingly.

Gus nodded in agreement and Shawn turned on the TV to find a movie they could both watch. He was a bit nervous at the idea of Henry leaving, but he was going to have to get used to not always having his grounding presence around.

And food did sound really good.

The food was worth the wait. Gus closed his eyes in sheer joy as he took another bite of the perfectly seasoned beef that had just the right amount of sweet and spice. The ponging sounds of happiness next to him only added to the experience and Gus wished he could bottle the moment up for the next time the dread tried to creep in.

Gus finally slowed down as he reached the last few bites, hoping to savor it and make the moment last. Shawn talked around the food in his mouth as he asked, "So, what happened with bitchshit?"

Juliet sighed with a small smile. "Lassiter told me you were calling her that… She didn't bother asking for a lawyer until she realized we actually had something to charge her with. We're expecting them to plead insanity any time now."

"Oh, great, Yang's gonna have a cell buddy…" Shawn sighed.

The last few bites of food didn't taste as good as they should have, and Gus found himself already mourning the loss of the simple happiness from a few minutes ago.

"That probably is where she'll end up," Juliet agreed. "She'll be considered too dangerous to go to West Pines."

"Padded walls are too good for her," Gus grumbled as he stared at his fortune cookie and debated if it was worth opening. "Even if it's where she belongs."

Juliet nodded. "I actually agree with you, but that's probably why we're not the ones who decide sentencing." Her thoughts prickled uncomfortably, and her voice was carefully controlled when she spoke again, looking at Gus. "While looking through your statement, we realized something. Dahmer went to your apartment." Gus' stomach turned and he pushed the fortune cookie away. At the time, he'd been more concerned with getting Shawn help than thinking about the fact that Dahmer would be in his home. Juliet continued, "We'd like permission to go there and make sure everything's in order."

"Make sure it isn't a crime scene," Gus corrected.

"Yes."

"Yeah, you can." It would be better than dealing with it himself. "You can use my keys to get in, assuming he even locked up behind him."

"Do you want to know if we find anything?" Juliet asked.

The question was simple, but the concern behind it thawed the icy band squeezing his heart. "I… Yeah, I think I do."

Gus wasn't sure he could explain his reasoning, but he needed to know how much of his life Dahmer had touched and tainted.

"Ok. Do you want us to bring you anything from there? Clothes, pillows, movies…"

Shawn's thoughts were ponging quickly in concern and Gus decided he needed to steer the conversation to safer waters. For both of them. "Can you bring my Harry Potter movies?"

As he predicted, Shawn immediately started arguing. "Wait, no! Not those!"

"You promised me a Harry Potter marathon," Gus pointed out.

"No! You said you wanted to watch them, and I said to kill me now."

"Well, you're still alive. So we're watching them."

"That is terrible logic!"

Bubbles popped in amusement as Gus and Shawn continued to argue over the remnants of their meal.

There were plenty of times in the next couple of days when Gus wished he could have that bottled happiness.

The police didn't find anything strange at his apartment, which should have relieved him, but instead added to his constant feeling of wrongness. Someone like Dahmer shouldn't be able to walk through a room without leaving a trace; he should have left behind a trail of dark sludge like an evil slug so everyone would know what he was. Rhianna did plead insanity; Gus tried to not feel too resentful about the fact that she'd be able to get treatment while he and Shawn struggled alone after declining the offer of therapy.

He couldn't risk it, too scared of anyone else finding out about his abilities. When asked, Shawn had shut down immediately and had only said that he'd been psychoanalyzed enough by his mom when he was a kid. Gus wished Shawn would have taken the offer, but he understood there were other risks involved with Shawn opening up to someone they didn't know.

Gus still woke up in a panic whenever he was able to get a few hours of sleep, and the thought sensations around him seemed to grow heavier the longer he was stuck in their room. Shawn didn't always win his fight against flashbacks, and his guilt was always louder afterwards when he refused to even look at Gus. Neither one of them had handled the needle well when a technician had come in to draw blood.

There were good moments too, though. Times when Gus could be hopeful about their chances to recover and glue their broken pieces back together. Their window was lined with gifts and cards from people at the station, and so many people had tried to bring pineapples, the nurses had had to ban the fruit. Gus had been able to walk on his own to the bathroom and back with the help of a crutch, Shawn's cast was covered with signatures and drawings, and Juliet had brought in the Wii from their office, leading to hours of trash talking and complaining about terrible AI.

There were even a rare few moments when they'd been able to talk a bit more about what had happened.

They almost always had a visitor keeping them company, even when visitors weren't allowed. Gus wasn't sure if that was the work of the ocean-breeze-nurse or one of their badge-carrying friends, but he appreciated the constant promise of safety. And it had been very entertaining to watch Lassiter get chased out as the nurse berated him for cleaning his guns in a hospital room.

Currently, Henry was the one in their room, and Shawn had been looking for a fight with him all morning.

Gus wasn't sure whether it was because they'd been cooped up for days, or if it was Shawn's way of coping with his emotions, or if it was because they'd both had their pain meds dialed back. Either way, Gus was keeping an ear out, both physical and mental, as he stared at the comic in his lap and pretended he wasn't there.

"Admit it," Shawn snapped. "You think you're better at police work than me."

"Of course I am," Henry agreed, his thoughts staying steady even as he kept the argument going. "I'm also better at fishing than you. You're not a cop and you don't like to fish."

Shawn crossed his arms and glared. "I don't have to be a cop to do good police work."

"Yeah, you do," Henry said, an edge growing in his voice. "It's in the name. You aren't police, so you can't do police work."

"So, what? Me helping the police solve cases doesn't count?"

"Nope. Because that's not police work. Police work is following procedure, making sure you're safe, and keeping a paper trail. All things you don't do."

Shawn's thoughts settled as Henry's started to spike. "You just hate it that I can do your job better than you ever could."

"You know what else police do?" Henry growled out. "They have guns, they have procedures for staying out of sticky situations, and they have training for how to de-escalate a situation if they end up in one anyways."

"Finally!" Shawn beckoned with both hands. "Come on, give it to me. I know you've read our statement, I know you've got a lecture all ready to go. Tell me how I fucked things up."

Gus looked up and Henry met his eyes before quickly looking away. It wasn't fast enough, and Shawn's thoughts crested loudly as he looked between them. "Oh my god! Gus told you not to lecture me, didn't he?"

"Yes, I did," Gus acknowledged, refusing to feel guilty for watching Shawn's back.

Shawn stared at him for a long second before turning to tell Henry, "I'm not a child, I can take it. I'm so sick and tired of waiting for you; get it over with."

Henry's thoughts stuttered as he winced, and he took a deep breath before standing up and clasping his hands behind his back. "You're right, it's time to get this over with."

Gus put his comic down and watched carefully, ready to jump in the second it looked like things were going downhill. This was a bad idea, but it was Shawn's choice.

Shawn straightened in his bed and set his jaw. Henry looked him straight in the eyes as he started. "I screwed up."

Shawn's jaw dropped as his thoughts ground to a halt. "Wh-What?!"

"I screwed up," Henry repeated. "I had all of the information in front of me, but I didn't see it. I should have thought to check for vacation houses sooner; we could have found you within the first few hours. You never should have gone through all of that."

"You were looking for a needle in a haystack," Shawn said faintly, looking bewildered at where the conversation had gone.

"A needle that had a connection to a previous victim." Guilt dripped along the fishing line. "You were just trying to survive; it was a Kobayashi Maru. I was the one that should have done better."

Shawn glanced over at Gus before looking back at Henry desperately. "Gus should have been at the house."

"And if he had been, you probably would have died," Henry said, as if it was a simple fact. "I can't say I would have done things the same way, or that you made the best decisions, but you won the no-win scenario. You're both here..." His jaw worked, as though he wanted to say something else but the words wouldn't come out.

Shawn watched him struggle for a few seconds before rescuing him. "You found us, both times. In the house and the garage. We wouldn't have won without you."

Henry broke their eye contact first, looking away with a slight nod at the unspoken forgiveness. Both of their thoughts relaxed, glowing bright blue.

Gus shook his head at them and returned to his comic. Even with his psychic sense, he didn't think he would ever completely understand the relationship between the two Spencers.

Gus stared at the TV, studying the freeze frame of Neville chopping off a snake's head as Doctor Hunt finished his inspection. If things looked good, there was a chance he'd be let out of the hospital within the day.

He couldn't wait to be able to sleep without all of the thoughts around him.

"Whelp, everything's looking pretty good so far. You'll need a few check-ups in the next few weeks, but I don't see any reason to keep you here any longer," Hunt said. Gus felt his arm pull as the bandage was put back on. "The nurses will show you how to take care of this when you're at home. Though, you know… " Hunt's tone lowered, and Gus looked over, carefully keeping his eyes off of his arm. Hunt held his gaze as he continued, "You're going to have to look at it to be able to take care of it."

Gus felt a flush grow along his cheeks, but he nodded in acknowledgement. He'd spent the last few days pretending like his arm just had a few extra cuts, that there wasn't anything too wrong with it. He still hadn't dared to look at the wound and shatter the illusion.

The doctor continued in his original blunt tone, "The nurses will show you some stretches to do to make sure your arm mobility isn't limited and they can also help you set up your physical therapy appointments for the leg. Your bruising should start to fade in a week or so, though it could take longer."

Gus swallowed reflexively. He didn't feel the phantom collar as often anymore, but the bruises still pulled anytime he moved his head, constantly reminding him of their presence. Every now and then he'd run his hand over the back of his neck, making sure it was still bare, but the movement was too obvious to do as often as he'd like.

"We'll send in a script for pain meds and antibiotics, anything else you need should be over-the-counter. Any questions?"

Gus shook his head. His voice was healing, but sometimes it was simpler to not worry about talking. Like when he was trying to fight against the thought of having to see and touch the skin that he wasn't sure belonged to him anymore.

Hunt gave him a brisk nod back before leaving the room. Shawn spoke up in his wake, his voice pulling Gus from his thoughts. "Yeah, I still don't like him."

Gus shrugged in response. "I'm pretty sure he's like that for everyone."

In some ways it was almost comforting that the blunt doctor didn't think he was fragile enough to be treated differently. Like he wasn't always just one wrong word or move away from shattering apart.

Shawn's thoughts crested slightly as he watched Gus before he grinned and said, "Guess what?"

"What?"

"We're both gonna be out by Friday."

Gus smirked. "Someone's going to have to drive us to the japadog food cart."

Shawn immediately looked over at their visitor. "Daaaaaaad…?"

"No," Henry answered without even looking up.

Shawn pouted for a second before realizing it wasn't having any effect. "Fine. Jules will take us."

"'Cause that's not weird at all," Gus said wryly.

"What? She approved our date, you were right there."

Gus sighed, "This is just going to be a thing now, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be," Shawn said, his expression turning serious.

Gus looked back in surprise at the choice he was being given before thinking quickly. He didn't want to date Shawn, not for real, but he didn't actually mind the joke. It reminded him of what was important. He shrugged as he answered, "It's not like we don't hang out every Friday night anyways."

The smile that lit up Shawn's face was the only indication he needed that he'd chosen right.

They were still alive, they were still together, and they'd always have each other's backs.

Juliet tapped the end of her pen on the paperwork in front of her, the words swimming in her vision as her mind refused to stay on task. It had been days, and the chief had been lenient, but she really needed to get this statement done.

But with every line she managed to write, another memory flickered by of the hospital room she'd just left.

The suspect was injured and unarmed…

Something had happened before she'd arrived, and Shawn had been completely silent when she'd entered their room. The only explanation she'd been given had been Henry murmuring quietly as he walked past her, "Nightmare."

Detective Lassiter moved in to restrain the suspect…

Gus had only shook his head when she'd looked questioningly at him, and she'd followed his lead by sitting quietly and waiting for one of them to break the heavy silence first.

The suspect fought Detective Lassiter and attempted to use a rock as a weapon…

It had been almost an hour before Shawn had finally said something, giving a small comment about the show playing on the TV. Gus had picked up the conversation easily, but there'd been something off about what they were saying. Almost like a second, invisible conversation was happening under the words.

There weren't any clear, non-lethal shots available…

They were both hurting, mentally and physically. And the man responsible had enjoyed what he'd done to them.

I shot the suspect…

And she wished she'd been able to shoot him more, to give him a more fitting death for his actions. And that scared her more than the actual blood on her hands.

"O'Hara, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?"

Juliet jumped, and her pen slashed a long line of ink through her words. She looked down with a grimace before reading what she'd actually written. 'I shot the suspect, and I'd do it again. Gladly.'

She sighed and pulled up the paperwork on her computer, printing out a fresh page as she explained, "Buzz came by, said he wanted to hang out for a few hours. I didn't want to crowd the boys, so I headed out early."

The fact that she'd seen Buzz as a guardian angel could be kept to herself. She hated being useless and forced to just sit by while someone was hurting.

Lassiter walked up to her desk and eyed up her ruined page. "You know, I did say you could ask for help on this."

"I'm fine," Juliet said grumpily.

"No you're not." Lassiter walked over to the printer and came back with the fresh page.

Juliet accepted it with a quiet thanks. The warmth from the paper was a small comfort, but it was enough to help her relax; she smelled the fresh ink as she took in a deep breath and let it back out again. "I'm glad I killed him."

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"Because he's the first person I've ever killed," Juliet said, letting her frustration bleed into her words. "Because I'm supposed to regret it, or be freaked out by it, or… something! But all I can think about is how he deserved worse."

"He did," Lassiter said, like it was obvious. "You put down a rabid dog; there's nothing to regret."

Juliet sighed; she should have known better than to turn to Lassiter for help with complicated emotions.

Lassiter eyed her up before rolling his eyes and turning around. She half expected him to leave the room, but all he did was walk over to the next desk and grab a chair before dragging it back. He sat down and put his arms on his knees as he leaned forward. "Look, we knew things were bad even before the garage, right?"

"Right," Juliet answered hesitantly.

"So, did you go into the garage planning on killing him?"

Juliet had to think on that one for a few seconds before being able to answer. "I knew he deserved to die. But I wasn't planning on killing him."

Lassiter nodded like it was the answer he'd expected. "He was clear, an easy kill, for over a minute. You could have taken the shot then, but didn't. Why?"

She didn't have to think as long for that one. "Because he was injured and unarmed; he wasn't an active threat and we could have taken him in."

"And that's why you don't have to feel regret." Lassiter sat back, looking proud of himself. "He deserved worse, but you didn't do it. You waited until there wasn't any other choice besides taking him out."

"That… actually helps," Juliet realized. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lassiter shifted in his chair and his eyes flicked over to her paperwork, the coffee machine, and her face. "Uh, I know we don't really do this whole confidant thing very often, but… if there's anything else…"

Juliet thought about the anger and fear that seemed to constantly be flickering inside of her. She thought about how she both looked forward to and dreaded her shifts at the hospital. She thought about how Shawn had flinched away from her touch, and how Gus kept rubbing his neck. She thought about how glad she was that they were safe, while also aching at how they might never be the same.

She thought about pulling the trigger, an explosion of blood, and a deep rush of relief and closure.

"I'm… honestly not sure where to start," she finally admitted.

It was Lassiter's turn to think for a few seconds before he shrugged and offered, "What about the shooting range?"

Juliet huffed a chuckle at his reply before looking at the ruined page of paperwork that she needed to redo. "You know what, shooting things actually sounds really good."

Lassiter's face lit up and he immediately shoved the chair back and stood up. Juliet knew he'd been spending more time down at the range than usual, which was saying something, but she couldn't blame him. At least he was finding a way to cope, instead of just bottling everything up.

She stood up to follow him as she said, "You know that goes both ways, right? You can talk to me if you need to."

He looked over with a small smirk. "I'm fine."

She sighed with an eye roll. "No you're not."

His smirk grew and they walked the rest of the way to the range in companionable silence.