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.

When he woke, Juliet was gone.

The last tendril of hope dropped out of the pit of his stomach and he pulled the covers back up over his head, crushing his face into the pillow.

He had no idea how long he lay there, his face pressed into the pillow and debating whether the crushing sensation in his lungs was because he was cutting off most of his oxygen supply or if it was because of the grief. It wasn’t until he heard the quiet, muffled voices from the living room that he rolled over. Had Gus called his father? That was just what he needed.

Despite the fact that he kept telling himself he had no desire to see his dad, he managed to roll out of bed, scrubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Without bothering to do so much as glance in the mirror, he staggered out into the hall.

Gus stood in the doorway of the dining room, peering into the kitchen and looking happier than Shawn thought he had any right to be. “…I guess those pills knocked him out better than I expected.”

His heart tightened in his chest when he heard the next voice. “I’m still surprised that scream of yours didn’t wake him up.” Juliet appeared at Gus’ side, carrying two plates and then caught sight of him, a smile leaping onto her face. “Hey, sleepyhead.”

“Oh, crap,” Gus exclaimed and managed to cross the distance between them just before Shawn’s legs buckled.

Everything began fading to white, and the last thing Shawn remembered seeing was Juliet’s face, hazy and glowing.

~ * * * ~

“Shawn. Shawn, honey. Come on, wake up.”

Not this again. Not more dreams. He didn’t want to dream about her anymore. “No…” he muttered.

“Shawn, come on. Open your eyes. You’re scaring me.”

Damn. He couldn’t even do that to imaginary Jules. His eyes opened and he felt his brow crease slightly. Her face was so clear. He reached up, fingers brushing across her face. Her skin was soft, just like he remembered it and his vision began to muddy.

“Damn it, Jules. Why did you have to go?” he whispered.

Juliet’s pretty blue eyes widened and she glanced up, looking at Gus. “Oh my gosh. I don’t think he—” She turned back to him and took his face in her hands, and he closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling. It was so real.

“Shawn,” Juliet said, her voice fervent. “Hey. Hey, I’m not gone. I wasn’t on the plane that crashed last night.”

Shawn’s eyes opened at that, his brow furrowing. “But Lassie said…”

“I know, I know. I missed my connection by just a minute or two. They made me check my bag at the gate here or I would have called you. It had my phone, and my pocketbook, everything in it. By the time I managed to get some money to call you on one of the airport phones, I guess the plane had already crashed. I called you, but the phone was busy.”

“How did you get here?” he asked, his hands wrapping tightly around her. It all made sense. If the last few details could be explained, maybe…maybe she really…

She laughed faintly and said, “I talked one of the taxi drivers into driving me back here. I didn’t have any money to get a hotel room and I didn’t want to be stuck in LAX forever. I took all the money in your wallet to pay the driver, sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“You missed your plane,” Shawn reiterated, still trying to grasp the fact that she wasn’t dead. Juliet nodded. “You lost your stuff.” Another nod. “And you took a taxi home.” Again a nod. “You’re really not dead?” he said, voice breaking slightly, and his hands began moving over her figure, feeling her face, her shoulders, her arms, her waist, all of it there, tangible, and warm.

“Oh, Shawn…” she whispered. Her arms snaked around the back of his head and she hugged him tightly.

Shawn pulled back just enough to press his lips to hers. He wasn’t going to stop kissing her until he was sure she wasn’t going to disappear again.

She was alive.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6