Spoilers for Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark and Deez Nups. This fic is complete and I'll be posting a chapter every couple of days. If you enjoy it drop me a comment!

Juliet picked up her mug with both hands, taking a moment to let the warmth seep through her palms. She sat down in her office chair and breathed in deep, the pleasant scent of coffee relaxing her instantly as she tuned out the hustle and bustle of the station around her. Not that the relaxation would last long. Since Lassiter's wedding two weeks ago, she hadn't felt calm—just anger and a chest-aching sadness.

Shawn had finally stopped calling. He wasn't popping by her apartment anymore or showing up at the station. Still, every time someone walked into the station, she found herself scanning for tousled brown hair and familiar hazel eyes, unsure if the knot in her stomach came from dreading his presence—or hoping for it.

She scowled and took a sip of her coffee. It certainly wasn't because she wanted to see him. He was a liar. More than that, Shawn Spencer, 'psychic' detective, had completely, irrevocably shattered her heart. The only decent thing he'd done was stop reaching out when she'd demanded space. If he'd ever cared, he'd give her that much.

Juliet grimaced, recalling the despair on his face when she'd screamed at him, cutting off his attempts at an explanation.

"I don't want to know!" she'd screamed, even putting her hands over her ears like a child. "I don't want to know how you lied and tricked and manipulated everyone into thinking you're psychic. I don't care!" He'd shrunk back as she'd stepped forward, her entire body trembling. "I want you to leave me the hell alone and give me some damn space!"

"Okay, Jules," had been his whispered response and he'd walked out of her apartment, the backpack he'd stuffed his clothes and toothbrush into slung over his shoulder.

At least he'd kept his word on that. She hadn't seen or heard from him since.

The clearing of a throat behind her made Juliet jump and nearly spill her coffee. Juliet swiveled in her chair.

"Detective O'Hara."

"Chief." Juliet felt her cheeks burn, realizing that she'd been at the station an hour and hadn't so much as logged into her computer.

Chief Vick's lips pressed into a thin line as she scanned Juliet up and down. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Juliet's heart pounded. Shawn. Had something happened to him? Swallowing hard, she placed the coffee mug on her desk and stood up to face the chief.

"It's Rollins."

Instant relief hit her that Shawn was okay, and then annoyance that she'd let herself care at all. Juliet frowned, scanning her memory for the name. "Rollins." A flash of a lanky man with limp, dark hair came to mind. "The partner of the guy that shot Shawn?" Damn, it was related to Shawn after all.

Chief Vick nodded. "He's escaped prison. I need you to contact Mr Spencer and bring him in."

Juliet's hand flew to her chest. "Do you think Rollins will go after Shawn?"

"No. There is no indication that Rollins plans to go after him, but I think it's better to be safe." The chief paused, her brow furrowing. "And given Mr Spencer spent time with the man perhaps he can help us track him down."

Juliet picked up her desk phone and hovered her finger over the keypad, hesitating.

"I can call Detective Lassiter back early," Chief Vick said, apparently noticing the hesitation.

"No!" Juliet shook her head. Was she really that obvious? She needed to get her head back in the game. "Carlton's only got a couple of days left of his honeymoon. We'll be fine without him."

The chief gave her a sharp nod but her gaze remained wary. "Very well O'Hara, let me know when he's on his way in."

Juliet steadied her hand and dialled.

"Neither of you have seen Shawn in a week?" Juliet stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the two men in front of her.

Henry and Gus glanced at each other then both shook their heads. When Shawn's phone went straight to voicemail she'd called them in. Gus had been mid route and was dressed in his usual dress pants and a long sleeved blue pinstripe shirt, while Henry still smelled faintly of fish from his morning fishing trip.

"Could he have skipped town?" she asked. Surely not. When she told him to stay away, she meant from her, not everyone.

Gus shook his head emphatically. "Definitely not."

Henry frowned. "It's possible. He's skipped town before."

"I know for a fact that he hasn't." Gus crossed his arms, a smug expression on his face.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Go on then. Enlighten us. Where's Shawn?"

Gus's face fell slightly. "I don't know where he is," he admitted. "But I know he hasn't left town. Shawn isn't the only detective at Psych, you know. He's crashing at the office sometimes. Left his pineapple in the fridge. You know how he is."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "A pineapple? You're taking that to mean he's still around?"

"And a He-Man toothbrush," Gus added, crossing his arms. "He's still in town."

"We need to find him," Juliet snapped, her patience fraying. "Where do we look? His favorite food spots? The pier?"

"Just pull his phone records," Henry said. "He has friends all over town, he's probably with one of them."

"That's illegal."

"Not if I report him missing." Henry folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Shawn won't like that," Gus pointed out. "He clearly wants to be left alone."

"Then he should have checked his voicemail once in a while."

Juliet hesitated, knowing it would invade Shawn's privacy, but Chief Vick had been clear—they needed to find him quickly. "Fine." She grabbed the necessary paperwork. "Fill this out and I'll do the search."

Fifteen minutes later, the paperwork was complete and Juliet had Shawn's phone records in front of her.

"The last number he called was yesterday." She clicked into it to get the details of the number. "It's a landline registered to a Molly Gogolack." Jealousy rushed through her. Had Shawn really gone from trying to win her back to jumping into bed with someone else? "Who's Molly?" She didn't quite manage to keep the bite out of her tone.

Gus looked at her sharply. "She's the wife of a good friend of ours. Dennis Gogolack."

"That weird alien obsessed kid?" Henry asked.

"That's the one."

Juliet deflated immediately, shocked at how relieved she felt.

"Juliet." Gus fixed his gaze on her. "You don't really think Shawn would have—"

"Can you give your friend Dennis a call?" Juliet cut him off. This was not a discussion she wanted to have.

Gus opened his mouth as if to continue, but must have seen something in her eyes because in the end he just nodded and walked away, dialing the cellphone in his hand.

Apparently Shawn had been on an all night Call of Duty session with his friend. Gus had returned after a few minutes saying Shawn was on his way. Gus hadn't given any details, and just said it was an emergency.

Juliet knew the moment Shawn entered the station. The air shifted—like electricity crackling through the station. Her hands froze over the keyboard. She looked up to see him bounding in, much like he had hundreds of times before, and he skidded to a stop underneath the station's art-deco tiled archway the moment he saw her.

Shawn's hair had been flattened by the helmet he carried under his arm. He hadn't bothered swooshing it back into place like he normally did. His clothes were rumpled too. His shirts were usually impeccably ironed but the blue plaid he wore was wrinkled.

Juliet stood up. His gaze flickered from her to Gus and Henry standing behind her, and for a moment she thought he would bolt. He clearly sensed a trap, his eyes wide and taking in everything around him.

"Shawn." She aimed to sound firm and in control. It came out as a squeak.

He moved forward then, giving wan smiles and halfhearted waves to staff as they called out to him. When he got to her desk he placed his helmet on it and looked her up and down with a worried glance. Seeing nothing physically wrong with her he glared at Gus. "SOS?"

His friend shrugged. "Knew it would get you here." He grinned and held out his fist. "And maybe I just missed you."

Shawn rolled his eyes but bumped Gus's fist with his own then started glancing around the room. His gaze fell on his father. "You reported me missing?"

"You were missing," Henry said.

"I was not! Just because I didn't come to dinner on Sunday doesn't mean I was missing." Shawn looked at Gus. "You should have seen Dennis's computer moments before you rang. He was freaking out thinking the government was tracking him. He was relieved when we figured out that you were tracking me instead."

So far he hadn't really looked at Juliet, other than his first scan. Although she was avoiding meeting his gaze too. She sighed inwardly. This was going to be just as awkward as she feared.

"So is this another intervention?" Shawn froze, his expression going blank. Then he inhaled sharply. "Rollins escaped?"

Juliet frowned. They didn't have a board up yet. It wasn't public knowledge. "How did you…?" She couldn't stop herself from asking, even as Shawn flinched.

He closed his eyes briefly as he took a breath before looking back at her with a stare that pierced her soul. "It was just a guess, Jules."

Juliet folded her arms and waited.

He glanced around the station, as if looking for anyone who might overhear. "As I walked in Dobson was radioing about a 10-35. That's code for escape." He tapped his fingers on a file on her desk. "And then there is this." He pointed to a corner of the file on her desk, where part of Rollins' prisoner number was visible.

Juliet looked at him in disbelief. "You remember his prisoner number?"

He cocked his head, his eyebrows drawing together. "I thought you didn't want to know my modular operation."

"It's modus operandi, Shawn," Gus said.

"I've heard it both ways."

"You have not."

"Oh, good." Chief Vick chose that moment to appear. "Mr Spencer, thanks for coming. I'm placing you into protective police custody until we get Rollins back."

"What? I don't need babysitting."

At Shawn's objection she held up her hand. "It's non negotiable. I want you here helping on the case, but you are not to go anywhere without a police escort. Is that clear?"

"I really don't think—"

"Is that clear?"

Shawn paused, apparently thinking through the benefits of arguing this further. Finally, he said, "Crystal, Chief," with teeth gritted into a smile so fake that Juliet would have laughed if she hadn't needed to remain completely professional on this case. She prided herself on professionalism, but Shawn had a way of pulling others into his antics. Not this time. Not ever again.