lol XDDD This was going to go in my happy little collection of O'Spencer moments, but...it's not exactly a moment anymore. XDDDD So it's getting it's own little thingy. It'll be a two-parter. :)
This was requested by Raych. Apparently I really liked the idea...because this is long-ish. XDDDD I really enjoyed writing it and it went from a couple of cute moments between Shawn and Juliet during an argument to...well, this. With Henry moments and all sorts of other nonsense.
It was an interesting excercise in characterization, so you guys will have to tell me how well you think I pulled it off. I'm pretty sure everybody's in character and the arguments aren't totally lame, but I'll leave that up to you. :D
Juliet smiled as Shawn greeted her with a light kiss and a hug outside the station Thursday afternoon and she sank into his embrace. It was a warm, sunny quintessentially Santa Barbarian day and she had never been gladder to take an earlier shift. Shawn's appearance was just the cherry on top of the sundae. "Hi…what are you doing here?" she asked warmly.
Shawn grinned. "Hi. I thought I'd drive you home today."
She smiled. It never ceased to amaze her how he always seemed to be one step ahead of her. "How did you know I didn't have a car?"
The psychic's grin broadened. "I think the question is how could I not?"
She laughed and said, "Well, as much as I appreciate the foresight on your part, I'm not sure I want to ride on your motorcycle. Besides, I'm almost certain it wouldn't fit three people."
"Hey, I'm an excellent driver. Among the likes of Richard Petty. I had a feeling you might feel that way though, and Gus is not yet aware of it, but I borrowed his car. So who is this third person we're picking up?"
Her eyes lit up and she said, "Alex Walsh. My best friend from college."
"Oh really? Dropping in to have a few drinks, gossip about your gorgeous new boyfriend, that sort of thing?"
Juliet grinned. "Yep."
He smiled and kissed her temple. "So when are we expected and where?"
"Four-thirty—oh! We'd better go!"
Shawn laughed and let her pull him in the direction of the car.
They arrived at the airport twenty minutes later, Shawn following casually at Juliet's heels, riding on the tail of her good mood. Juliet had referred to herself and Alex as "we" the entire trip, driving home her declaration that they had been best friends. From the sound of it, the two had been inseparable. Alex sounded like a lot of fun, and if Juliet liked her this much, he couldn't wait to meet her.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe how long it's been since we last saw each other!" Juliet exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she tried to peer over the heads of the other people waiting to greet someone. "Ooh, ooh, here they come!"
Shawn smiled in amusement, fixing his gaze on the crowd of people now flowing from the terminal. He could probably guess who it was before the girls' squeals identified her. He had written off nearly half the women in the crowd when Juliet shrieked girlishly and dashed forward, leaping into the arms of a dark-haired man.
Wait a minute.
He took a double take, his stomach suddenly churning unpleasantly. Alex was a man. A tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed, athletic, square-jawed Adonis of a man. How had that not come up?
His jaw clenched as he took in the details of their reunion hug again and he noticed Alex's hands clasped beneath Juliet's behind, supporting her weight. He forced a smile as the pretty boy released his girlfriend and looked in his direction, Juliet saying excitedly, "You have to meet him!"
It surprised Shawn, how intensely jealous he was. He'd never really thought of himself as the jealous type, but then again, he'd never really cared about exclusivity with his previous girlfriends. It was hard to keep his smile from turning into a grimace as the pair headed toward him, Juliet's hand clasped in Alex's. Hands off, buddy.
"Shawn," she said, and now her happiness only served to feed the feeling growing in his gut, "This is Alex. Alex, my boyfriend, Shawn."
The growling was momentarily soothed by his introduction, but a closer look at Alex riled it right back up. Who the hell was that attractive?! He squeezed a little harder than necessary as they shook hands. "Nice to meet you, man." NOT.
"Nice too meet you too," Alex smiled, looking completely oblivious to Shawn's subtle hostility. "Spunky's told me a lot about you."
Spunky? What the hell kind of nickname was that?
Juliet laughed, blushing and said, "Oh my gosh, nobody's called me that in forever."
Alex smiled in return and opened his mouth to reply when Shawn said, "Funny. She never mentioned you."
The underhanded snipe didn't elicit the desired reaction. "Oh, I'm not surprised. I'm not a particularly savory character. She probably doesn't want people to know she associates with me."
Juliet smacked him and Shawn's gut clenched. "Alex! You're perfectly savory!"
Innuendo!
Alex laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder hoisting his bag over the other as they headed out toward the parking lot. The temptation to trip him was almost overwhelming.
"So you consult for the police, Shawn?" Alex asked.
Shawn's eyes flicked to Juliet. She hadn't told him. Great. She was embarrassed by what he did. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. "Yeah. I'm a psychic," he said deliberately.
"Really," Alex said and sounded genuinely interested. "I've never met anyone who could do anything like that."
Gullibility usually didn't bother Shawn. Usually his favorite people were gullible. Alex, however, was an exception to the rule. "I always get my man," he said and then out of morbid curiosity, "What do you do?"
"Jeez, nothing nearly as exciting," he said as Shawn pulled open the hatchback. "I'm a doctor."
"A doctor."
"Yeah, I know. Very original, right?" Alex laughed and Shawn echoed the sound. A doctor. Of course. Juliet's closest college buddy was a male model doctor. Fantastic. Just fantastic.
"I'm so glad you're in town. I can't believe how much I've missed you," Juliet said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
He grinned. "I missed you too, Spunky. This is going to be a lot of fun."
Shawn scowled. Like hell it would.
"Dinner? I'm invited right?"
They had dropped Alex off at his hotel, not far from Juliet's house and Shawn had invited himself in to see if he could persuade her to tell him what they had talked about when she walked him inside. It had been easy.
"Shawn, no. I haven't seen—"
"No? Come on, Jules! You're breaking my fragile little heart! I want to get to know this guy!" He was hoping he hadn't made himself transparent just yet. Juliet probably would not take his raging jealousy well.
Juliet smiled and he knew she hadn't recognized the signs yet. "No, Shawn, and that's final. I haven't seen Alex in a really long time and I want to have a little time with him to myself. Trust me, there will be plenty of dinners for you to get to know him at."
Not if I can help it. "Then can you at least go without make up?" he asked petulantly. Juliet laughed and he frowned. He didn't see anything funny about the request. "I'm serious," he said and stepped forward, pulling her against him. "I don't want anybody else seeing you in your full glory."
She smiled and lightly pressed a kiss to his mouth. "Don't be silly. It's just Alex."
"You never know. He might suddenly be struck by what a total moron he's been all these years and—"
Juliet's amusement was evident. "Shawn."
"Some guys only work well under pressure! The competition could throw him over the edge! Come on, Jules…"
"Shawn, go home," she said firmly. "I'll call you tomorrow."
"Wait! Who's driving?"
"Ellie is bringing my car back in…fifteen minutes. Go. Watch sports. Con Gus into doing something stupid. Do…whatever it is you do."
"Pine for you?"
She smiled. "Go."
He made a face, bouncing unhappily on his heels, but after another firm kiss and a pointed look, he sighed and trudged toward the front door. He didn't like it.
Not one bit.
Technically, he was obeying Juliet's orders.
He had called Gus, and now they were doing something incredibly stupid that had about a 98 percent chance of backfiring on him and causing him a great deal of grief.
"This is wrong, Shawn. Juliet will have your head," Gus said, spearing a ravioli on his fork and brandishing it at the fake psychic, who was peering through the foliage sitting on the wall to their left, attempting to get a better look at Juliet and Alex who sat by the window just twenty feet away from them.
"Thank you for stating the obvious Gus. She's not going to find out though. I perfected my stealth skills tailing you, remember? I wasn't about to let her go on a date with a guy like that without doing a little recon."
"Whatever, Shawn. I came along with you because you're my best friend, but I won't help bail you out of it when everything goes to hell," Gus said. "I can't believe you're this insecure."
"I am not insecure Gus. I just don't trust that guy."
"Mmhm."
Shawn frowned as Alex reached across the table, taking Juliet's hands in his. He said something, running his fingers over the back of her hand and she laughed, her head tilting backwards. "This sucks. Why couldn't she be like normal girls and be best friends with another girl?"
"Hey. There are plenty of people out there whose best friends are of the opposite sex," Gus said. "Just because you're too insecure to deal with it—"
"I'm not insecure!" Shawn snapped. "This guy is just—he's—look at him!"
Gus looked unimpressed. "Keep telling yourself that Shawn. You're insecure, and you don't trust Juliet."
Shawn glanced at Gus, his mouth thinning. "It's not her I don't trust."
"Yeah, you tell her that."
Shawn shook his head. "Whatever; you don't get it." He turned, pushing the shrubbery aside and immediately said, "Oh crap."
"What?"
"She's gone. Jules is gone. Where'd she go? Gus, she's—"
"What are you doing here, Shawn?"
XDDDD So there's a second part, obviously. It's a two-parter. I'll post it...um...well I'm not sure when I'll post it. It may be within the next couple of days...or maybe not. But probably. XD
So I hope you enjoy:D