A Moment Too Late (Part 4 of 6)

[musicalluna]

Title: A Moment Too Late
Fandom: Psych
Author: MusicalLuna
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Shawn/Juliet
Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Character Death
Complete: Yes
Summary:Juliet leaves for a week-long conference on the East Coast and Shawn hates to see her go. But when she fails to call him after her scheduled arrival, Shawn’s gloom gives way to fear.
A/N: O'Spencerness, guyzos. :)
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Probably better they aren't.
 

Shawn had let Gus drag him into his bedroom after the fog that was slowly invading his mind made him realize that his best friend had drugged the drink he’d given him. And while the drugs made his brain run slower, they didn’t stop it entirely and he couldn’t stop replaying the last time he’d seen Jules, and the look on Lassiter’s face when he’d told him of the plane crash and Juliet’s death.

The images slowly began to fade and mush together as the drugs continued to slow his mental processes, punctuated by slow and eerie imaginations of a plane, crashing to the ground and exploding into nothing. Lassiter’s eyes, tight with grief, saying quietly, “Juliet is dead.” The plane exploding into nothing. Juliet’s face, beautiful; full of fear. The explosion. Juliet.

He groaned faintly when the bedroom door creaked open slowly, rousing him from the edge of sleep, and mumbled, “Gus, ‘m almost asleep. Go ‘way. No more drugs.”

The mattress sagged slightly at his hip when Gus sat down on the bed. At least, he thought it was Gus until he spoke.

“Gus is still asleep on the couch,” Juliet’s voice whispered softly and his eyes snapped open, his heart freezing in his chest. Her hand brushed lightly in his hair and his throat tightened until he was struggling to breathe. “Can I stay here tonight?”

“Jules?” he rasped. Oh, god, he was dreaming. He had to be dreaming.

“Mmhm,” she murmured sleepily. “You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.”

Shawn’s eyes burned, his throat too tight to form words. Juliet’s voice was right, but he could conjure that up effortlessly. Everything else though, the feeling of her hand on his shoulder, turning him onto his back as she lay down beside him, the vague warmth of her body snuggling close to his, was all hazy and indistinct and that could only mean one thing. He had to be dreaming.

He didn’t care.

His arms felt sluggish and the frustrating feeling of being stuck in molasses only solidified his theory. It didn’t matter though. Any time with her, real or contrived was time he intended to cherish. It almost felt real and that was enough.

“Oh, I can guess,” he finally managed to croak, his arms wrapped tightly around her body. It hurt to have her so close and know that he would never feel this so clearly again. He held her tighter. “I love you, Juliet. I love you so much. God, I—I just…”

Juliet’s lips pressed softly against his neck and the hot burn from his eyes slid slowly on to his cheek when she mumbled drowsily, “’Love you too… Go back to sleep, you sound exhausted.”

He tried to focus the dream on her, to remember everything he could, every detail, every nuance, but at some point, it all finally faded away.

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 5   Part 6