"Good job, O'Hara," said Lassiter pleasantly as he and Juliet got into his Red Ford Focus.

Juliet, surprised at the rare compliment from her partner, responded unsurely, "Oh! Uh…thanks Carlton." She studied her partner's body language for a few seconds to determine whether his compliment was sincere, or whether he was just being nice because he hoped to get something from her. The last time he had complimented her success on a case, he ended up following it up with a request for her to complete his portion of the subsequent paperwork. There was no way she was letting that happen again.

Lassiter, noticing Juliet's uncertainty, said, "Don't be so unsure of yourself, O'Hara. It was your detective work that led us to the comic book store where Rhiannon was hiding out."

It was true. Juliet had discovered that their missing teen had been frequenting Newbury Comics during the last few weeks where she was secretly dating the 21-year-old manager. She had figured it out after one of Rhiannon's friends told her about a mysterious college boy named T.J. that she was seeing without the knowledge of her parents, followed by a stash of receipts from Newbury Comics, and a search of the Newbury website where a young man named Thomas John was listed as the manager. They had gone at first to question T.J. but out of sheer luck discovered that Rhiannon herself was at the store. She had been staying in the back room of the store ever since running away from home. The detectives immediately notified Rhiannon's parents who showed up in record time to collect their daughter…and most likely, ground her for life.

Convinced that Lassiter was being sincere, Juliet gave a more certain "thank you," and added that it helped to have been a rebellious teenage girl herself back in the day. She couldn't even recall how many times she had retreated to her boyfriend after a fight with her mom.

"And of course, it makes it so much better that you didn't even have to resort to calling in Spencer and Guster on this one," added Lassiter. He knew that his partner normally didn't hesitate to call the so-called "psychic" and his black sidekick as soon as a missing persons case was dropped onto her desk. "You did it on your own and without those ridiculous antics of theirs," he continued. "Could it be that you are finally seeing what a waste-of-time those idiots are?" asked Lassiter hopefully.

The mention of Shawn brought memories of her last meeting with him to the surface, threatening to make her stumble nervously over her words. But Juliet held her cool enough to mumble something about the case being simple enough and to disagree that Shawn was a waste of time. She immediately regretted the second part of her statement though, when Lassiter responded frustratingly, "Come on, O'Hara! This case probably would have dragged on for two more days if he had gotten involved. Can't you see that his techniques only complicate cases that could otherwise be solved easily with real detective work?! You're still not buying that fake psychic mumbo jumbo, are you?"

"I admit that Shawn could do with less of the theatrics, but how can you just overlook all of the impossible cases he has solved for us? Whether you believe he is psychic or not, he clearly has a gift. In more ways than one…" Juliet added to herself. Desperate to get off of the topic of Shawn, Juliet stifled Lassiter's next interjection. "…But maybe I could benefit from putting in some more effort myself before calling him in on a case."

Juliet was sure that living up to this statement would not be hard. Previously, she would have called Shawn immediately to help find a missing teen, but this time she refrained. She hadn't been able to admit it to herself until now, but it was true that most of the times she called him to help with a case, it was less because she felt she needed his help and more that she just wanted a reason to see him. Working cases with Shawn was always fun, even if he could get frustrating at times. But now it had been a week and a half since she had seen or spoken to him, and she knew it was better that way. She hadn't called for help with any cases since their failed undercover mission, and he hadn't shown up randomly at the station. Thankfully, the chief hadn't called him in either. She didn't even know if she'd be able to function in his presence anymore anyway, especially since she had no idea where they stood at the moment. When Shawn had said "I know now that you are the one that I want" Juliet half expected him to show up at her door within a day's time…that is if he truly meant to end things with Abigail. She didn't necessarily want him to do that, and if he did do it, she knew she would have to tell him that they would have to take some time to figure out what they were to each other. But he hadn't, and now she had to wonder if he was even being honest with her in the first place. She wondered whether he might have just decided to try to work things out with Abigail instead. It wouldn't be the first time he chose Abigail over herself.

"I would appreciate that," said Lassiter in reference to Juliet's suggestion. "It's been nice to have a break from that clown for a while. Now, I say we put aside our differences and celebrate a case-well-done with a cup of coffee before we go back to the station. You can even get one of the cappulottamochino drinks that you like if you want."

"That sounds good to me," said O'Hara. "I'll buy though. You got the last one." That was one thing she was sure Lassiter wouldn't argue on.

A few quiet minutes later, they pulled up to Coffee with Attitude and Juliet went inside. She went straight to the counter to order the drinks and then to the cream and sugar station to supplement Lassiter's coffee while she waited for her latte. She was putting in 2% milk and 2 sugars – she had been gradually adding less and less to Lassiter's coffee for the last few months to try to reduce his usual 3 creams, 4 sugars to a healthier level without raising his suspicions – when she looked up to see a familiar body across the room.

Shawn was sitting about ten paces away with his side facing the cream and sugar station. If he had been sitting by himself, or even with Gus, Juliet may have plucked up the courage to go speak to him. But he wasn't alone. He was sitting across from Abigail. Wondering that Shawn was still seeing Abigail was one thing, but now seeing him still sitting across from her a week-and-a-half after he cheated on her was another. Juliet's face flushed an angry, hurt-filled red and she felt the sudden urge to get out of the café before realizing she hadn't yet gotten her drink. "Did he even tell her?!" she wondered. Before she even had the chance to look away, Shawn had already glanced in her direction and did a double-take, his eyes resting on hers. By the look on his face, it was obvious he had seen the hurt on Juliet's. He paused, gazing at her as if to tell her not to be upset, which only served to make her more upset. His pause did not go unnoticed to Abigail who followed his gaze just in time to see Juliet turn towards the barista, fidgeting impatiently until her drink was handed to her, after which she immediately bolted out the door.

Juliet stopped outside of the café door and attempted to gain her composure before walking back to the car, when something odd occurred to her about what she had just seen. Shawn and Abigail were not on a casual coffee date. From the quick glance she had of Abigail, she could see that her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying. And what was even stranger, neither she nor Shawn were dressed for a coffee date, unless that coffee date was at Reláis de París, the most posh café in town. Abigail had been wearing a dark navy blue dress and Shawn was in a pantsuit and tie. Juliet wondered what all of this could mean, and then pushed all thoughts of Shawn from her mind so she could return to the car straight-faced, though the hurt she felt didn't leave her heart.

Shawn was shaken. He hadn't seen her in over a week, and honestly hadn't had much time to even think about her with everything that was going on. She didn't look good. She looked pissed, in fact. And he had to wonder whether she was the reason he hadn't been called in for a case all of this time. Then again, when he really thought about it, he wasn't very often called in for cases. Most cases, he actively got himself put on by "leisurely" stopping by the station, sneaking a peek at a case-file or two, and then having a magnificent "psychic revelation." He hadn't stopped by the station, leisurely or otherwise, since before Palm Springs. Of course, part of the reason he hadn't stopped by was because he had been so busy helping Abigail through her grandmother's last few days, eventual death, and funeral. But he supposed that maybe he was also avoiding Juliet, at least until he could get things sorted out with Abigail.

They had just left the burial only an hour ago, and Abigail had nearly broken down at the realization that it was all over. Shawn insisted that a hot cup of coffee would do her good, which is what brought them to their current presence at Coffee with Attitude. During the last several days, no moment had seemed like the right one for telling her that he cheated on her and wanted to break up. He did care about Abigail after all, and didn't want to kick her when she was already down. But from the death glare that she was now giving him, he wondered if it would have been a good idea to tell her a week ago.

"What was that about?" she spoke harshly. "Why was Detective O'Hara looking at you like that? Why did she rush out of here?" Shawn had to admit that it looked awfully suspicious, and knew that Abigail had her suspicions about the "completely innocent" relationship that Shawn claimed to have with his co-worker. He decided that, as much as Abigail would be hurt by it, the best thing to do would be to tell the truth.

"Well, Abs…you see…there is something I have to come clean about…" Shawn stumbled nervously over his words. At this, Abigail looked like she might start screaming at him before he even opened his mouth. Shawn paused and swallowed deeply, willing himself to continue, while Abigail waited angrily. "It's just…well…something happened last week when we were working on that case in Palm Springs."

"Something…?" Abigail questioned severely.

"Yeah. Uh…Juliet and I…." Shawn stopped and the next thing that came out of his mouth surprised even himself. "…got into a fight," he finished. Damn! Why had he said that?! How was he going to explain this? Well, technically it wasn't totally a lie. Now he just had to say, "…after I slept with her."

Abigail relaxed slightly, having not heard what she expected to hear. "Got into a fight? About what?" she asked.

"Oh…uh…you know…detective stuff," Shawn lied, not understanding why he was saying what he was saying. "She got offended…when I sort of…blamed her for losing track of our criminals." Now he wasn't saying anything remotely true.

"Ok…so you had a fight with your co-worker…" Abigail said suspiciously, something clearly not adding up to her. Shawn nodded. "So…why is this something you have to come clean about to me?"

Shawn panicked for a second, sure that his lie had been caught, until he came up with a moderately believable explanation that, in all truthfulness, wasn't totally a lie. "Well, it's just that…I think she sort of hates me now. I kinda burned some bridges. It's very possible I may not be called in for cases by the SBPD for a while, which means I kinda lost my major source of income. It's going to be hard to buy us coffee for a little while."

Abigail took in the explanation for a moment, coming to realize that Shawn indeed hadn't had any cases since that weekend. Her demeanor calmed considerably and she took Shawn's hand in hers. "Oh, hun. I'm sorry. It's ok. You don't need to buy me coffee, or anything for that matter. I'm sure you'll work something out…and hey, I know I've been going through a lot lately, but that doesn't mean that you have to keep things from me. I am here for you just as much as you've been for me."

Shawn nodded, trying desperately to keep the guilt from his face. Following their coffee break, Shawn took Abigail home and then retreated to his own make-shift apartment. He played with the idea of checking in with Juliet to see if she was ok, but decided it would probably just be walking onto another bed of nails at this point. He had to tell Abigail the truth first, and he was going to do it first thing tomorrow. He hadn't even gotten out of bed the next morning, though, when his phone rang on his night-stand.

"What the…?" he said, blinking sleepy-eyed at his device. It was the last person he expected to be calling right now. It was Jules.