AN: Hey! Here's my new story! This is going to be a bit darker than my other stories. I've got it marked T, but I might move it up to M in the later chapters.

Shawn stood still, studying the Psych office. It was evening, and the setting sun cast deep shadows across the room. He had long ago memorized the layout, where each knick-knack rested on the desks and shelves. He had always felt like this office was a second home. So many things had happened here: cases closed, friends made…

It was over.

Of course it was Juliet who discovered his secret. Of course. He had done everything he could to keep his secret from her. He was going to tell her, just not yet. He hadn't found a way to break it to her. But he was too late. One innocent comment and his life had been destroyed. He had lost Psych-the job he had grown to love, that challenged him, and that was never boring. He had lost the trust and respect of his friends and colleagues. Gus…well, he wasn't sure what was going on with Gus. He had pretty much lost his pharmaceutical job when the scandal broke and was doing everything he could to hang onto his position with that company. Shawn had a feeling something may have broken in their friendship, if they even had a friendship anymore. Maybe if Gus was able to save his job, then they would be okay…

His father…his father was angry, no doubt about that. He'd lost his job at the station. All three of them were facing charges, but Shawn was sure he would be able to clear Gus and Henry. At least he really, really hoped so.

Lassiter was beyond angry, though he wasted no opportunity to point out that he had been right; Shawn was a fraud.

And Juliet…oh Jules. He had never, ever wanted to hurt her. He had long ago learned he would do anything to protect Juliet. He had thought it would be something drastic, like take a bullet for her, but now he realized he would do anything to rescue her from this pain, from his lie.

He had a meeting with the Chief tomorrow, to plead his case and clear Gus and Henry. It would be an absolute miracle if Shawn didn't face any jail time. He honestly did not think he would be able to handle jail. In fact, he was certain it could possibly drive him crazy; that knowledge that he was confined…He suppressed a shiver at the thought. He couldn't run. He had to stay and face the consequences, hoping it would be enough to begin making amends.

He wasn't ready to give up Juliet. He loved her, more than his own life.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention, and he turned to look at whoever it was walking through the door. He hoped it was Gus or even his father. He shook off the disappointment when he saw a man he didn't recognize walking towards him. The man had brown hair to his shoulders, was roughly 5' 8" and had blue eyes. Shawn frowned; there was something in the man's gaze that gave him pause.

"I'm sorry; we're not open," Shawn said, gaze narrowing at the man who was now openly studying him.

"I'm not here for a case," the man said absently, cocking his head to the side as he continued to stare at Shawn.

"Then is there something I can do for you?" Shawn asked, letting impatience enter his voice.

"Yes, I do believe there is, Shawn," the man said, a smile breaking across his face.

"Do I know you?" It wasn't a pleasant smile. In fact, it only made Shawn feel even more uncomfortable.

"Not yet. But you will."

Okay, I think I reached my quota for creepiness today. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Shawn said. His phone started ringing and Shawn held the man's gaze until he started walking away. He didn't take his eyes off of the man until he reached for his cell-phone.

It was a mistake. His hand closed around the phone just as he saw the stranger come running back towards him. He dropped the phone, hands coming up to block the man's attack. It was too little too late. His hand flew to his neck, trying to pull out the needle the man had jabbed into him.

"Wh-what?" Shawn asked, confused, as his whole body turned numb. When the numbness spread, his legs gave out and he fell to the floor. Shawn looked up at the man, anger and fear mixing in his expression. His eyes started to close and he tried to force them open, tried to fight the darkness that was encroaching on his vision. But it was a losing battle. His eyes closed once more…and he couldn't open them again.

…

"Shawn…It's time to wake up."

The voice seemed to come from a great distance, and it was easy for Shawn to ignore it. He just wanted to sink back into oblivion.

"Come on, Shawn. Wake up."

Whoever it was that was talking to him was now tapping his face in an annoyingly persistent manner. Well, that was rude. Where did he know that voice from?

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet. But you will."

Shawn's eyes flew open, landing on the man standing in front of him.

"Ah, there you are. Good morning!"

What the…?

"You've been out for a while, Shawn, but we can finally get started."

Shawn shifted, trying to get away from the man. Nothing happened, though, when he tried to stand, and he looked down in confusion. He swallowed when he realized his arms were tied tightly to the sides of the chair, his legs and ankles tied just as securely. His gaze snapped back up to the man, fear coursing through him as the man smiled at him. "What do you want?" Shawn asked, looking around the room carefully. There was a computer, and the camera that sat on a tripod several feet in front of him warned him that whatever the man wanted was definitely not pleasant. There was a window and a door…was he in a cabin? His eyes froze on the table-more like a long workbench-when he saw the chains and handcuffs attached to it.

The man followed his gaze and chuckled, "Don't worry about that yet. That will be for some of our final sessions."

"I'm sure whatever you've got planned will be fascinating, but if you'll excuse me, I have a very important meeting I need to get to."

"The one at nine o'clock?"

Shawn felt his eyes widen; how did he know?

"Afraid you'll miss it. It's already 9:30 anyways."

Shawn hung his head, swearing silently. He had promised to attend that meeting and this psycho had screwed up Shawn's one chance to clear Gus and his father of any charges. His anger burned his fear away and he glared at the man. "What do you want?" He spat out.

He watched the man breathe deeply, gathering his thoughts as he started to pace.

"My brother's name was Sam. He was a smart kid, very funny. Our parents died when I was 22 and Sam was 13. I didn't want him to go into the system, so I took him in. It was difficult, but we managed. We were best friends, and we relied on each other. But when Sam was 17, he started hanging with the wrong crowd. I tried to warn him, but his friends had become like another family to him. They dragged him into a robbery-an armed robbery-and someone died. He was arrested and went to jail when he was 19. He had been in jail for four years when a gang war broke out and he got caught right in the middle of it. He was killed."

Shawn frowned. "Look man, I'm sorry for your loss. That sucks. But why am I here? I wasn't involved with your brother's case."

"I know, and I must say I'm very sorry about taking you."

"Hey, it's no problem. Everyone makes mistakes; no harm done. I'll just go now." Shawn forced a confident smile, heart sinking when the man started to shake his head.

"I'm afraid you can't leave. You see, you're the only one that will work."

The words were gentle, but matter-of-fact and Shawn couldn't stop staring at him, incredulous. There was something very off about this man. "What are you talking about?" Shawn asked.

"The Santa Barbara police department was responsible for my brother's arrest, and ultimately, his death," the man spat out, eyes narrowing with a brief flash of anger.

Shawn blinked at the abrupt shift in emotions.

"You took away my brother, my only family. You took away the most important person in the world to me. I want you all to pay! I want you to know what it's like to lose something important to you!" The man stalked behind Shawn, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back.

Shawn gasped at the sudden movement and struggled to free his head from the man's tight grasp. Who was he talking to? And then it clicked. The camera. Of course. His eyes caught sight of the knife in the man's hand and froze when it was pressed against his neck, his breathing automatically accelerating. The knife bit into Shawn's skin and he grimaced.

"But it won't be that quick." The knife moved away, the hand released his hair, and the man took a step away from Shawn. "My brother suffered in prison for four years, so this will last for four days. That's fair, don't you think? And at the end of those four days…" The knife was suddenly back at Shawn's throat and the man chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you understand. Oh, and you won't find us. I have a special talent for computers; the signal is untraceable."

"I hate to tell you this, but you chose the wrong person." The words were hard to speak with his neck bent back at such an awkward angle.

"What?" The man let go, circling the chair until he faced Shawn.

"You chose the wrong man. They don't give a flying pig if something happens to me. You'll be lucky if they're still watching your little show." The half-smirk and careless tone of his voice didn't quite reach his eyes; but then his eyes had always been able to give him away, if anyone ever bothered to look closely enough. His father had, every once in a while. Gus and Juliet probably did it the most…had done it the most.

Shawn closed his eyes, giving a quick shake of his head. When he opened them again, his eyes were clear, blank. It was harder than it used to be, holding that mask in place. He had gotten soft, let a little more of his true self show to his friends.

"I'm pretty sure the saying is flying fig," the man corrected, and Shawn shrugged. The man continued, "I thought I might have chosen the wrong person, too, after the scandal broke. And I was angry; all those months of preparing-I had to learn about you, about your father, your friends-and I thought you had ruined my chance to get revenge!" The man shook his head, pacing again. "I considered going after Detective O'Hara when that happened.

Shawn's mask slipped, the anger shining fiercely until he regained control.

"But I really didn't want to hurt a woman. After a few days, I realized you were still the perfect choice! The police wouldn't be so angry if they didn't care about you. They were upset, but they would get over it eventually."

"Yes. After putting me in jail," Shawn said slowly, emphasizing the words, trying to break through the man's delusion.

The man waved his hand airily, ignoring Shawn's logic. "You'll see-Well, actually, you won't. You'll just have to trust me."

"Of course! Trust the weirdo who's planning on killing me…because that makes perfect sense."

The man started rolling up his sleeves. "Enough talking. There's plenty of time to talk later."

Shawn felt his stomach clench in fear. "What's wrong with talking now? Let's clear the air a little more. I-" Shawn saw the punch coming and cringed, unable to do anything to stop it from connecting painfully with his face.

AN: I'm a little nervous about this story, so I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you thought?