AUTHOR'S NOTES: Last chapter folks! I wanted to thank everyone for their views and reviews. I really had fun writing this story and hope to entertain you just as much with the next installment.

Chapter 17- Ashes of the Fallen

Santa Barbara 2006

Karen heard a knock on her office door. She hadn't been expecting anyone for an appointment for another 20 minutes, so she was a little perturbed at the unexpected interruption. She was just finishing up her own witness statement from the McCallum case, having been there to see the man's confession herself. She shook her head sadly and looked at her swollen stomach. "How could someone kill their own child?" She wondered.

Another knock reminded her of her unplanned guest. "Come in." She called out, not looking up from her paper.

The door opened and the gruff voice of Henry Spencer finally got her attention away from her work. "Hello Karen."

Karen had not seen Henry Spencer in years. She heard he had moved back from Miami about a little while ago but had not gotten around to calling him to catch up. He had gotten a little heavier and a lot balder but she kept her observations to herself. If she didn't know him, she would have found it strange he was here just a few minutes before her appointment. Which just happened to be with his son Shawn. "Henry Spencer, I can't say I am too surprised. What brings you down here?"

Resisting the urge to say, "My idiot son." Henry sat down and sighed. "Look Karen, I know about Shawn and what he told you."

Karen's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What he told us?" She knew what he was talking about but she wanted to hear him say it.

"His whole…" Henry twirled his finger by his head, "Psychic thing."

Karen nodded, her theory confirmed. "Yes, he did tell us that. However, if he is not psychic he could be charged with fraud and hindering a police investigation since he was involved in the McCallum case." She leaned forward and folded her hands on her desk. "So if you are here to tell me that your son was lying about being psychic, I just want you to be aware of the consequences."

Henry took a deep breath and nodded. "Karen, both you and I know he isn't psychic. So we can both cut the crap and get down to business."

"Down to business?" Karen now had no idea what Henry was talking about.

"There are a few things you need to know about Shawn before you make your decision."

Raising an eyebrow, Karen leaned back in her chair. "Such as?"

"He is probably the best detective you will ever find." Henry stated simply.

Karen rolled her eyes, "Look Henry, all parents think their child is the best at…"

"I am not saying this because he is my kid." Henry interrupted her. "I'm saying it because if you are going to hire him, you have to know what he is capable of."

"You are being more cryptic for my liking. I have a lot of work ahead of me Henry so I suggest you start getting to the point quickly." Karen was definitely getting impatient.

"My son has been trained as a detective by me since he was a baby. Everything he would need to know I taught him and he is damn good. Better than even I was, but the problem is…I pushed him too far." The pain in Henry's features was very evident. "He started to rebel and I got angry. Years of training were wasted when he stole that damn car. In the end, I drove my son away…but he still had the spark in him."

Karen's brow scrunched as she thought about what Henry was getting at. "The tips he calls in."

Henry nodded. "I am put in a situation here Karen. On one hand, my son is claiming to be a psychic but is solving crimes and working with the police. On the other hand, I have a son who is a trained detective, refusing to become a cop because it is too confining for him." Karen was starting to see Henry's dilemma. "So you have to ask yourself, what is the bigger evil; putting to waste what could be a valuable asset to the department or playing along with a charade that gives Shawn enough leeway to do what he has to do to save lives."

"You are asking me to turn a blind eye to the lie and focus on the results Shawn brings in?" Karen nut-shelled.

"If Shawn isn't an idiot and doesn't admit to not being psychic, there is nothing anyone can do to prove he isn't, so he can't be charged for anything." Henry pointed out.

Sighing, Karen hoped she wouldn't regret the decision when it came back to bite her in the ass. "Ok Henry, I'll give him a chance. BUT if he screws up or wastes my department's time I am not going to put up with it. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Henry smiled before his expression turned serious. "You can't tell him you know Karen. If he knows that you know that he's not telling the truth about being psychic he may not stick around."

Karen decided to take Henry at his word and promised not to tell Shawn. "We have to come up with a plan in case this all blows up in our faces." She stated wryly.

Henry thought for a moment. "Eighteen is the legal age of accountability. We could say he was eighteen when he got his...powers or whatever. That way we are covered and Gus would be too."

"Do not tell me how he does it either. What I saw him do can't be explained by regular detective work and I want some kind of plausible deniability on this myself." Karen smirked.

Henry huffed out a breath, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway."

Nodding, Karen moved to stand, " Alright Henry we have a deal..." Karen started as Shawn burst in the office.

"There she is!" Shawn exclaimed while giving Karen a smug smile.

Surprised and affronted Shawn would just waltz into her office she gave him an angry look. "Don't ever walk into my office without knocking!"

Shawn's face fell and he was momentarily surprised at the chief's anger. "I'm sorry, I got excited."

As they bantered back and forth briefly, Henry stood and all traces of swagger left Shawn's mannerisms. Karen thought it was almost amusing how fast this confident and cocky man seemed to wither in his father's presence, thinking he had just given away his secret. They exchanged awkward greetings and the older man walked away with a self-satisfied look.

Smiling Karen pointed to the now unoccupied chair. "Have a seat..."

Present:

"Excuse me?" Shawn's eyes widened in surprise at the Chief's words.

"I asked you how many hats were in the station Mr. Spencer. Can you tell me or not?" Karen's smug smile was back. She had finally asked Henry what Shawn could do. Six years before she had refused to have him tell her, but when she finally asked all he did was tell her to ask his son, "How many hats?" She didn't understand why, but Shawn's reaction to the question was sheer panic.

Shawn licked his lips and tried to stay calm. He figured this had to be some kind of test. A test to see what he could really do, or a trick to prove he wasn't psychic... he didn't know. Shawn listened. Her heart was going faster than normal, meaning she was bluffing, or nervous. Still no help there. "What am I going to do?" He thought confused.

Karen sagged against the desk after a minute of silence and worried looks. She didn't see how whatever he was hiding could be worse than being a vampire. "Look Mr. Spencer, I just..."

"Eight." Shawn blurted. Karen blinked; she was still not getting the significance of Shawn knowing how many hats are in the station. Her question was answered when he put his hand to his head and closed his eyes. "Four police hats, mostly on desks, two belong to captains. One is on the perp in the hallway, it's a basic red and white truckers hat. One was a brown FedEx hat on the FedEx guy who was delivering more office supplies." Shawn temporarily opened his eyes. "He may have left already so don't quote me too much on that one but I still think I can hear the squeaking dollie wheels." Closing his eyes again he continued, "One was denim with a flower on it on an older lady who was here to complain about her neighbor's loud dog. The last one is the straw hat on your hula girl in the corner there." Shawn opened his eyes and looked at Karen like a kid who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Karen pushed away from the desk and hurried out the door. Spotting almost all of them, except the FedEx... until he rounded the corner with an empty dolly. "How in the world?" She voiced turning around and heading back in the office. Walking in front of Shawn she noticed his head was facing down and he refused to look at her. "Shawn, what exactly was that?"

"Pardon the pun, but that stuff was old hat, been doing it for years." Shawn gave a mirth filled chuckle. "I don't know who told you but I figured if I tell you the truth now I won't get so much jail time later." He was going to be a father, he wondered how much he was going to miss because someone messed up and told his secret. "How do vampires survive in jail?" He asked himself. Shawn didn't expect Karen to make special considerations for him, it would make her look like she played favorites and he wouldn't do that to her. He swallowed and looked up.

Karen gasped and saw his eyes were white. He didn't look angry though. He looked scared. She knelt down to face him. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing his hand in a motherly fashion. "Shawn, your dad told me you weren't psychic after the McCallum case. That's not what this is about."

Shawn looked at Karen in stunned disbelief. "You already knew?!" She nodded with a small smile. Shawn took his hand out of hers and stood up. He opened his mouth to speak but was unable to get any words out. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose before blurting, "All that stuff I did to try to convince you I was psychic... you just let me believe..." Shawn growled in frustration. "I dazzled and stretched for you!"

Doing her best to keep a straight face Karen replied "Yes, you did the dazzle and stretch, then I went home and laughed harder than I had in a long time."

"Well I am glad that you and my dad had a nice laugh at my expense!" Now Shawn was getting upset.

Karen's expression turned serious. "We didn't do it to laugh at you Shawn. We did it to give you an opportunity to prove yourself, and you have. Many times over. Why do you think I kept hiring you?"

He huffed. "I can't believe you guys lied to me for six years."

Walking up to Shawn, Karen looked at him. He was still hurt and angry but she hoped she was able to teach him a lesson with this. "Not to be harsh right now Shawn... but the way you are feeling right now, is how everyone else is going to feel when they eventually learn that you have been lying to them for six years. Think about that."

Shawn ran a hand through his hair, "Talk about putting things into perspective." His smirk returned and he walked up to the desk, picking up the hula girl with the straw hat. "So I guess the old man told you to ask me that question?" He took the hat off the hula girl and put it on his finger, wiggling it back and forth.

"He didn't tell me why though. For the sake of deniability I wanted to make sure I didn't know exactly how you do what you do." Karen explained. "So I finally asked him and he told me to ask about the hats."

Shawn stared at the straw hat for a few moments more, amusing himself with his dancing finger before putting it back. He turned to face Karen and sighed. "It's a combination of perfect memory and trained deduction. I inherited the eidetic memory but it was my father, who made me a perfect detective."

"You have an eidetic memory?" Karen looked puzzled. "I heard it was a myth."

"That's probably why my dad didn't straight out tell you. Easier to show you and have you believe me." As he spoke, Shawn thought of something, "Why all of a sudden did you ask my dad about this? Is it because of the vampire thing... do you not want me to work for you anymore?"

Karen pursed her lips. She had asked Henry outright if he thought Shawn's new condition would affect his work. The answer was a resounding yes from the elder Spencer. When he saw the defeated look Karen wore after his statement he explained his answer. Since Shawn had become a vampire, he had saved Juliet and Carlton twice, Henry once, and a whole precinct of cops all while pushing himself to the brink. Even though it had only been about two weeks, he had shown a lot of responsibility and maturity when it came to his decisions, more than Henry had seen in his son... well, ever. So he said being a vampire would affect Shawn's work, but he said he could only imagine it would be for the better, and as always Shawn would deal. Karen had smiled at that.

"Shawn, from the day I hired you I knew you had a gift, it isn't exactly psychicness but it is just as impressive and useful." Karen felt the need to be honest with Shawn. "At first I put up with you initially because you got results and at that time I needed results. You weren't the only one with something to prove back then you know." She admitted quietly.

He knew the Mayor had never approved of Karen's appointment but at the time she was the only person available to be Interm Police Chief of the SBPD. It was by Shawn's direct intervention that she became the official Chief of Police after the Mayor's first choice was proven to be an adulterer. Even so, Shawn realized that Karen had been balancing precariously on an occupational cliff. The mayor had just been waiting for her to mess up so he could replace her. It had really been a perfect storm that pushed Shawn into creating Psych and sticking with a job that he loved doing.

"But then you ended up being right. Every time, and I realized when your father said you were a great detective that he was absolutely right. I started to trust you more and stood behind you as much as I did all my other detectives. Sometimes more so." Karen gave Shawn a hard look. "I am not going to fire you if that is what you are asking Shawn, but there are a few conditions I wanted to go through first before I hire you again."

Shawn was glad he wasn't going to get fired, he was even gladder now that he knew how much Karen trusted him. He figured he could return the favor by doing what she asked of him. "Ok, shoot."

Karen held up a finger. "First, you are going to get a legitimate investigator's license. That way you are covered if anything happens or comes up."

"Fine." He said defeated. "I will even frame it in teak and let you hang it on your wall."

"Mr. Spencer you are supposed to hang it on your wall." Karen shook her head but was smiling inwardly. "Secondly, I need to know you are going to be in control of yourself. I cannot send you out knowing that you are going to be a loose cannon at the first sign of stress."

"I'll do my best. Jules and my dad were planning on helping me manage my new abilities. Once they are feeling better we'll get to it." Shawn admitted.

"Glad to hear it. There is only one last thing though…for the love of God, tell Lassiter the truth. Half the time he is distracted by trying to figure out how you do things. The least it could do is getting him to respect your process a bit more."

Shawn laughed hard. "Did you want to be around for that conversation? If not for the fact you get to see the look on his face but maybe for the fact you could help me when he tries to shoot me with silver."

Karen gave Shawn a sly look before ushering him towards the door. "You know me Mr. Spencer, I stand behind my detectives." Before Shawn could figure out which of them she was going to stand behind, she had already closed her office door and left him to wonder.

The air was filled with the sound of bagpipes. Shawn had always wondered where the idea for bagpipes had come from. It was such a weird instrument, and why they always had to have it at memorials was another mystery to him. He looked to his left as Carlton stood at attention. Shaded blue eyes found his and Carlton mumbled, "Stand still." Shawn went back to trying to remain in one place.

Two weeks after the SBPD bombing the city had a memorial service for the men and woman who died in the blast and the aftermath. It had been scheduled out enough so most of the injured officers were well enough to attend, which was good foresight on the Mayor's part in Shawn's opinion. A lot of emotional healing was going to be done today and those in attendance that had been injured were grateful they were able to make it to the ceremony.

They were currently doing a moment of silence after the Mayor had finished his speech. Shawn, however, couldn't fight his antsy nature. Bouncing in place he asked, "How much longer?" Carlton just sneered at him a bit and continued to watch the stage. He had been incredibly snippy towards Shawn since he had come clean with the detective and finally admitted to him that he wasn't psychic. Shawn figured Carlton was pissed at him but he hadn't noticed the Cheshire Cat grin that Carlton wore when he knew the fake psychic wasn't looking since he finally found out that he was right after all these years.

Despite having to stand in the shade next to Carlton off to the side of the hundred or so folding chairs sitting directly in the sun, Shawn wasn't in a bad mood. He noticed Juliet had looked over at him from her chair, he winked at her making her blush before she turned back to watch the stage. His eyes fell to her stomach and he closed his eyes, listening for the barely audible hum of heartbeat from his baby. A couple moments later, he opened his eyes and looked around, remembering he was supposed to be paying attention to the ceremony.

After the moment of silence, to everyone's surprise, the Mayor in a rare partnership with Karen decided to award Juliet, Henry, and Gus metals of valor for going above and beyond the call of duty by getting as many people in the station organized and out of the building during the crisis. Shawn was stunned and incredibly happy for them. When the three heroes took the stage, he showed his support by yelling, "That's my daddy!" and making sure to whistle and clap extra loud when Gus and Juliet received their metals.

After the cheers died down and the trio thanked the mayor and Chief, then took their seats. The mayor stepped forward again. "We have two more metals to give out today." Whispers broke out as he stepped away from the stand and motioned for Karen to step forward.

"The Metal of Honor is the highest award I can bestow on an officer in my employ." Karen paused for dramatic effect. "It is given only to those who have shown the highest form of bravery and selfless acts in the line of duty. The detectives who so rightfully deserve this honor, escaped capture while injured and rushed to the station to inform us of the bomb." Shawn and Carlton turned their heads towards each other slowly. Even with sunglasses on each could see the shock on the other's face.

Karen continued with her speech, "They are the reason many of us are still here and deserve to be recognized for their amazing acts. Please step forward Head Detective Carlton Lassiter and Head Psychic Detective Shawn Spencer." Applause erupted as both men walked disbelievingly up the stairs to the stage.

Though the men were usually attention hounds, they were surprisingly reserved as they stopped in front of the mayor. The man had never really liked Shawn and had almost gotten him permanently fired from consulting over a video tape of him searching a business for clues. Shawn could say after that, the feeling became mutual. "Mr. Spencer." The mayor greeted him curtly before shaking his hand, resisting the urge to squeeze down just a teenie bit.

After the Mayor extended the same courtesy to Carlton, albeit without the seething hatred part, Shawn took off his sunglasses and nudged Carlton, signaling him to do the same. It would be uncomfortable for them but the situation was worth it.

Karen could see their instant discomfort so she leaned in and whispered, "I'll try to make this brief." before addressing the audience again. "For saving the life of your partner and countless fellow police officers after escaping a hostage situation, the City of Santa Barbara awards you, Carlton Lassiter, the Metal of Honor." A loud cheer went up from the crowd.

The three people on the stage shared a knowing look. The "official" story was that Carlton had been kidnapped by the two BCA agents for getting too close to their operation, investigating the fires they had lit themselves.

Carlton face was solemn, as he stood up to say a few words. "I wish I could give each and every family member who lost a loved one to this heinous act a Metal of Honor, for being strong through your pain and making it here while we honor their sacrifice." Sniffs and more applause erupted after his speech, but he continued, "I also wanted to say that if anyone ever tries anything like this again I will personally rip out their…"

Karen jumped in and gave Carlton a look that clearly said enough. "Ok, thank you Detective…" Realizing he put his foot in his mouth, Carlton stepped back as Karen talked about Shawn. "Shawn Spencer, for selfless bravery, by assisting in the rescue of our Head Detective, warning your fellow officers of an imminent threat, and saving the life of the Santa Barbara Police Chief seconds before the bomb went off…" There were gasps at that statement. Many didn't know exactly what Shawn had done that day since most had seen him disappear shortly after arriving and warning everyone. "The City of Santa Barbara awards you the Metal of Honor." Through the applause Shawn heard his dad and Gus' whistles and couldn't miss Juliet's beaming smile.

He flashed them all a grin before walking up to the microphone for his few words which he hoped wouldn't be as awkward as Carlton's. Taking a deep breath Shawn started, "I don't deserve this. Not at all but…uh, I guess you think I do so thanks." He paused and looked at the metal, before continuing. "Thanks for always making me feel like I was a part of your team, and not just the baseball one." That got a few chuckles from the others on the team. "Even if I sometimes overthrow first base, you guys accept me and that makes us practically family." Shawn's expression became somber. "Two weeks ago, we lost some of that family to a senseless crime. Now more than ever, we need to be strong and support each other. Not all of us may get along, but in the end we have each other's back no matter what. That's what's important. That's what makes heroes." The applause was thunderous. Carlton practically stared open mouthed at the fairly eloquent speech that Shawn had given. Shawn gave a boisterous salute to the crowd before he and Carlton went back down the stairs, receiving handshakes from co-workers along the way.

Shawn fist bumped Gus on the way by and stopped next to his dad. "You proud of me yet old man?"

"I was proud of you when you actually wore something besides jeans and plaid to this thing." Henry replied sarcastically and Shawn rolled his eyes. Grasping Shawn around the shoulders Henry gave his son a comforting squeeze. "You did good kid"

Juliet smiled at the moment between father and son before turning to Carlton who had stopped to watch as well. "Well done partner." She beamed at him.

"You too O'Hara." Carlton glanced at her stomach. He had heard that Shawn had gotten her pregnant. At first he readied his gun and prepared to make good on his promise to shoot Shawn if he hurt his partner. Eventually he came to his senses and realized how lucky they had gotten. It would never happen again. Shawn and Juliet would never be able to have another child, just like Carlton would never be able to have children now. He had really wanted to have kids with Marlowe but he would just have to be happy with being "Uncle Carlton" as Juliet had already nicknamed him. "Spencer. Let's get back to our spot so they can finish with the ceremony."

Shawn gently shrugged off his Dad's arm and followed the other detective back to the shade. They both watched as five balloons were released into the air, commemorating each of their fallen comrades. Both had the same thought going through their mind as they watched the latex orbs float away on the breeze. They both thought about how many friends and family they were going to lose by living forever, how each one would be lost in time just like those balloons drifting off in the wind. Like Josef had told them, you can't take everyone with you.

"Gus, what do you think a good name for a girl would be?" Shawn asked as he messed around with one of the random toys on his desk.

His friend wasn't paying much attention to his ramblings. Gus was rushing and getting some papers together for their client that was showing up within the next ten minutes. "I don't know Shawn, maybe she should be called get off your ass and help me."

"Such a spoil sport." Shawn griped but got up and started picking up a bit. "So how are things with you and Mick's ex?"

"Stop calling her that! It's weird." Gus complained.

The teasing glint entered Shawn's eye and he said, "It's weird huh? I never took you for one who likes kinky Gus."

"You know what I meant Shawn! It's weird that you call her Mick's ex. Not that our relationship is weird. We're friends. That's all. Two adults who go out for coffee." As he said it Gus knew he had just given Shawn more ammo to use against him, but he could never resist correcting Shawn even when it made his situation worse.

Far from being amused, Shawn was actually concerned for Gus. He had heard how Mick talked about Coraline. There was a lot of bad blood there, no pun intended, and he was still having a hard time fully trusting her. Endlessly teasing Gus about it was just his way of showing he cared. "Buddy, just please promise me that you will be careful when you are around her."

"Alright I promise." Gus relented. He watched in amusement as Shawn sped through cleaning getting it done in half the time. "That is so not fair Shawn."

Shawn held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Hey man, it isn't my fault you don't have the moves."

Gus snorted. "Whatever Shawn, I have the moves." They continued cleaning in silence before Gus remembered something he was going to ask Shawn. "Hey, how did Lassiter take it when you told him you weren't psychic? I heard from Juliet that he chased you with a gun."

The fake psychic crossed his arms and put his nose in the air. "He did not chase me with a gun. He actually seemed to be more relieved than anything." Shawn threw the last of the garbage in the trash. "To tell you the truth, I am a bit relieved myself. Maybe I should try this truth thing on a regular basis. It's very liberating." Gus could tell that Shawn was only half joking

"Oh yeah, you telling the truth." Gus laughed sarcastically.

Affronted and turning to his friend Shawn stated. "Just call me Mr. Truth from now on."

A knock at the door stopped his rant and both rose to meet their prospective client. Just by his scent Shawn could tell that the man was afraid of something and it was his job to find out what. "Hello, please come in." Shawn ushered the person into the office area. "I'm Shawn Spencer, otherwise known as "Mr. Truth" and this is my associate "He Who Has the Moves…"

END NOTES:

I am planning on a third in the series as I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. It will be a bit before I get the story out but I do have the title and a bit of a teaser synopsis. If anyone is interested in me letting you know when I put out the third one... just give me a holler.

ALSO... I am gonna do a bit of a game. If you can find a line from the theme song in the story...I will send ya an alternate ending that is cool, but just didn't work for the story. Good luck and here is a hint. It is in the flashback. PM me with your guess!

"Love Lasts Forever, but Sanity Has a Shelf Life"

When Shawn goes missing during what was supposed to be a routine stakeout, the gang rallies the troops to find the missing detective. However, when crimes committed by rogue vampires start popping up in Santa Barbara the gang starts to wonder if Shawn is actually the one responsible.