Title: More Money, More Problems

Chapter: 1 – Hold on Hope

Characters/Pairings: Shawn Spencer, Juliet O'Hara, Shules Pairing, Burton Guster, Henry Spencer, Carlton Lassiter, Chief Karen Vick, & Buzz McNab

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Romance, Whump, & Fluff

Chapter Word Count: 2,383 words

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Violence, Character Injury, Discussion of Medical Procedures, Sexual Banter, Profanity

Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Psych or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction and all the characters are property of USA and Steve Franks.

Spoiler Alert: Takes place after 3x15 "Truer Lies" but before 3x16 "An Evening with Mr. Yang." Spoilers through 3x15 including direct references to 3x8 "Gus Walks Into a Bank." Pre-Abigail relationship and pre-Juliet's confession of love to Shawn at the drive-in move theater after the events of "An Evening with Mr. Yang."

Summary: It was bad enough that Shawn was up at 9 am on Saturday to accompany Gus to the bank. But then the gunman showed up and recognized Juliet as a cop and everything went to hell. Lots of Shules h/c, angst, and romance.

"Wake me up before you go-go, take me dancing tonight. I want to hit that HIIIIGGHHH," Shawn sang along with his iPod, his voice cracking slightly as he reached for the high note. It was a beautiful fall day in Santa Barbara with the air seeming so cool and crisp it practically crackled with electricity. Shawn yawned for the tenth time as he cruised the interstate on his motorcycle heading towards the bank. It was much too early for Shawn to be up, on a Saturday no less, but Shawn owed Gus one. "More like a million," Shawn thought to himself though he'd have never admitted it to Gus. After being held hostage at the bank last year, Gus insisted that Shawn be an equal partner when it came to the business side of their agency. "Or was that bid-ness side?" Shawn thought with a snort of laughter.

Gus had been working late all week and hadn't made it to the bank in order to deposit the last three checks from the Chief for department cases. Given that their Psych account was dangerously low (mostly due to Shawn springing for a cotton candy machine on E-bay last month, a totally necessary business expense he'd claimed), they needed to deposit the checks ASAP or risk getting their cable shut off again due to nonpayment. Gus didn't trust Shawn to deposit the checks on his own without stealing some of the funds to buy a snow-cone machine, electric pineapple corer, or other ridiculously unnecessary gadget, but he also refused to go to the bank on his own after last year's hostage scare. That meant that he insisted on meeting Shawn at the bank at 9 am sharp on Saturday and bribed him to come with the promise of treating him to pineapple crepes at Yolk, the brunch spot next door. "Those crepes better be good," Shawn thought..

Shawn pulled up to the bank at 9:15. "Not bad," he thought to himself. "Only 15 minutes late." After parking next to the Blueberry Echo, he slid off his bike helmet, slipped on his shades David Caruso-CSI Miami style and headed towards the front entrance. He stopped short when he saw a beautiful blonde sipping coffee on the front patio of Yolk and flipping through a romance novel.

"Hey Jules," he said in what he hoped was a low, seductive murmur. Jules startled at the sound of his familiar nickname for her and dropped the paperback to the table, blushing furiously. "Hey," she said, trying and failing to sound casual.

"Jules, Jules...there's no need to be embarrassed. I myself have read Tall, Dark, and Deadly six times. I especially like the part where Ricardo scoops Isabella into his arms and tells her how much he needs her touch." Shawn rambled on, barely stopping to take a breath. "Did I ever tell you about the summer I spent in Maine working as a model for romance novel covers? They may have had to draw on the abs of steel, but I assure you that the rest of the picture is all me if you know what I mean,"Shawn said with a wink.

Juliet shook her head in mock horror while trying to suppress a giggle. "Shawn, I'm going to pretend that whole conversation never happened. What are you doing up and about so early?" Juliet asked.

"Well, my business partner insists that I am physically present to observe him deposit our checks, not to mention the fact that he needs my psychic powers to ensure that there are no more unhinged men hiding out in the bank waiting to take him hostage."

As if on cue, Gus peeked his head out the front door and gestured furiously for Shawn to join him inside. "Well Jules, that's my cue. Might I entice you to join us? I hear that they give out delicious suckers to their patrons," Shawn tempted teasingly.

"Thanks for the offer Shawn, but I think I'm going to stay right here and finish up my coffee," Juliet replied, taking a long sip from the steaming mug in front of her.

"Suit yourself, Jules,"Shawn said with a smile, his lips curling a bit as he imagined her eagerness to get back to the steamy sex scene that he was sure was on the next page of her tawdry romance novel.

Shawn sauntered into the bank taking in Gus's furious expression and trying (and failing) to suppress a grin. "Shawn, do you realize you are almost 25 minutes late?" Gus fumed before directing them both to the line for the bank teller.

Outside on the patio of Yolk, Juliet was about to resume her novel when she saw a flash of bright blue in the periphery of her vision. Without thinking, she lifted her head to see the owner of blue sweater and nearly gasped when she saw his face. He was tall, muscled, with closely cropped hair, and bright blue eyes that rivaled the blue (or was it cerulean?) tint of his sweater. However, it was the scar that ran from his temple to his jaw that demanded her attention. She had seen that scar before. But where? Without knowing exactly why, Juliet found herself tossing a few dollars on the table to pay for her coffee and got up from her brunch spot and began to follow the man in the blue sweater, her police instincts screaming at her that this man was up to no good.

He crossed the street and headed for the front door of the bank, looking as if he was a man on a mission. As Juliet followed him from a safe distance, she began mentally scanning her current case files looking for a match, but none of the suspects seemed to fit. "Wait, there was that aggravated robbery case from a few months ago!" she thought with a jolt of recognition. The assailant or assailants had started out by robbing a string of convenience stores before moving up to banks and retail stores, always at gunpoint. As the crimes had escalated, so had the level of violence and while no one had been killed yet, Juliet and Lassiter had privately speculated that it was only a matter of time before these robbers made their first kill. But that would mean... "Oh god, Shawn and Gus...I've got to get in there!" Juliet thought in panic, reaching into her small purse to remove her service pistol, carefully tucking it into the back waistband of her jeans out of sight before pushing open the bank door, trying to look as casual as possible as she entered so as not to cue the suspect that she was on to him.

Juliet had just located Shawn and Gus near the front of the line and was headed towards them when she was stopped short by the sound of a warning shot being fired overhead by the assailant in the blue sweater.

"This is a hold-up. Everyone down on the ground and no one gets hurt. I want cell phones, wallets, and valuables now. Drop them in front of you and then face down on the ground. If anyone tries to play hero or call the cops, I will shoot. And I never miss," said the man warningly, his blue eyes gleaming with a slightly evil glint that suggested that he was definitely not lying about shooting to kill.

The assailant turned to the bank tellers, directing them to empty out their tills into several large canvas bags before taking a survey of the hostages, ensuring that each was following his directions to the letter. Shawn gave Gus a reassuring pat on the shoulder as the gunmen passed them by after collecting Gus's company phone, something Shawn knew that he'd have to hear about from Gus for weeks or even months to come. Assuming that they all got out of here in one piece, that was...

Shawn's eyes carefully tracked the gunmen around the room, trying to take in every detail so that he could find something that might help get all of the hostages out of the bank in one piece. Shawn's eyes widened when he saw the gunmen pause next to a petite blonde whose hands were shaking so badly that she was having trouble unhooking the clasp on her watch in order to remove it. "Jules!" thought Shawn. "Jesus, what is she doing here? I don't want her in the middle of this," Shawn continued to think worriedly. He turned to Gus who had also noticed Juliet's presence by this point.

"Shit, Gus. I hope she doesn't have her badge or gun on her. If they find out she's a cop...she's...we're all in big trouble," Shawn whispered. "What do we do? Should I try to create a diversion?"

"You must be out of your damn mind, Shawn," Gus whispered back fiercely. "Let's hope Juliet does have her gun on her and maybe she can help get our asses out of here. We should just do what the guy says and he'll let us go. He wants the money, not us. Just don't do anything stupid, okay? You might end up getting Juliet killed instead of helping her."

Shawn ran a hand through his hair haphazardly, thinking hard, his eyes never leaving Juliet's. She looked up and he caught her eye, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay," he mouthed to her.

Juliet managed a weak smile and a nod in return, her body relaxing slightly. The assailant gathered Juliet's valuables and had just stepped past her to collect the personal belongings of his next hostage, when he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing as he noticed a small bulge beneath the woman's cardigan at the small of her back. His eyes widened in recognition and suddenly his bright blue eyes were as flat and unforgiving as a snake's. He grabbed the woman's arm and pulled hard, yanking her to her feet roughly. He gestured to his accomplice who was dressed as a bank security guard. "Get over here now! We got a problem."

"I know you, lady. You're a cop." The assailant's eyes narrowed threateningly as he pointed his gun at Juliet's trembling form. Shawn was watching the entire scene in mute horror, before deciding that he needed to act to diffuse the situation quickly. He slowly climbed to his feet, his hands raised in a non-threatening signal of surrender. He began to slowly advance towards Juliet, wanting to put his body between hers and the gunman's.

Just then, a noise sounded behind them as a hostage jumped up from the floor and dived for the gunman's accomplice, attempting to wrestle his cell phone away from the second gunman in order to call for help. Immediately, the assailant raised his gun higher, pointing it directly at Juliet's chest. Juliet instinctively reached for the small pistol tucked into the back waistband of her jeans, attempting to outdraw the gunman. In the split second in which this all took place, Shawn traced the set of the gunman's jaw, the twitch of his trigger finger, and finally the path of the bullet that was about to be released from the shooter's gun, registering with dread that it would be a direct hit to Juliet's aorta, a wound that would no doubt kill her instantly. Without thinking, Shawn dived in front of Juliet, knocking them both to the ground in the process as the sound of a single gunshot rang out, echoing off the marbled floors and walls eerily.

End Chapter Note: I know, I know... It is evil of me to end on a cliffhanger like this. But I have a good reason for doing it, I swear, which is where all of you come in. I've got two versions of this story outlined. In one version, Shawn takes the bullet for Juliet and Shawn whump and Shules hurt/comfort ensues. In the second version, Shawn isn't fast enough and Juliet still winds up being shot, although his quick action keeps it from being a direct and lethal hit to her aorta, and instead it becomes a more survivable gunshot wound. In this version, they are all held hostage for several more hours and Shawn has to take care of Juliet and keep her awake and alert until they can get help. Of course, Shawn also ends up plotting to outsmart the gunmen and save the day. I really like both versions of the story as they both progress the Shules relationship but in different and interesting ways. So, since I can't decide, I've decided to put it to a vote. Please cast your vote via review for which version you most want to read. I'll tally the votes on here, , and the psychfiction LiveJournal community and will post the next chapter later this week based on the plot point with the most votes. Thanks for reading and can't wait to see which plot point you will choose!