Hi :) This is my first foray in Psych fanfiction, so the characterisation may be off, but I'll appreciate any hints or tips :) and I already have a few fics on the go, but what can you do when you really feel like writing something different? :) Enjoy :)

Santa Barbara, 1987

"Shawn, come in here a second."

Shawn looked up at his Dad, a bad feeling erupting in the pit of his stomach. He followed his sombre looking father into the living room and sat down on the couch next to his mother, who was looking quite odd as well.

"If this is about that essay – Gus said I could have his to use." Shawn tried to defend himself.

"No, Shawn, it's not about that – but we'll talk about that later," Henry promised, before becoming even more serious. "Now, son; you know how I'm doing an important case?"

"The serial killer?" Shawn remembered seeing files strewn out on the kitchen table.

"That's it," Henry confirmed. "I arrested the guy today, but he confessed to having a partner. Now until we find him too, I don't want you going anywhere without and adult present, okay?"

"Why?" Shawn asked, confused.

Henry paused, looking to his wife for guidance. "Well, Goose," she said softly, "this man is very powerful and intelligent. His friend will be too. He'll be angry at your father for arresting the killer. This means he might try and find ways to hurt or scare your dad. Now while he's safe at the station or here because he's a policeman, you need to be extra careful. Understand?"

Shawn nodded, and then promised his parents he wouldn't go anywhere without them.

However, he went to put the trash out that night. And someone was waiting in the bushes. His loudest yell brought his dad running, but by that point, the man was gone, and Shawn had a long cut across his collar bone and going slightly over onto his back.

Present

Shawn was tired. Well, maybe a bit more than tired. Very tired. Nodding off in the Chief's chair tired. It wasn't his fault – why could she not have gotten rid of the extraordinary comfiness that this chair provided after she'd given birth? She didn't need a pregnancy chair now. Oh, and there may also be the small fact that he hadn't slept in just over 30 hours. They had just finished a case that required all and more of his brainpower, and he had so far managed to keep going on sugar alone. Whilst that had annoyed Gus, Shawn could tell that the fun part was well and truly over, as he was quickly crashing from his high.

The Chief had left her office about ten minutes ago, and so Shawn had snuck in to have another sit on her chair. Gus had been sent to get smoothies, ("If they don't have pineapple, go buy some and smush it up and stick it in, oh smoothie-maker extraordinaire!") which left Shawn waiting in her magic chair. Why was her office so warm as well? He felt like a cat stretching out in a patch of sun on a summer's day. Surely the Chief wouldn't mind if he had a small cat-nap? Heh, cat-nap…

"Mr Spencer, what are you doing?"

Shawn leapt up from his cosy position and looked up at Vick with hazy eyes. "Oh, Chief… is this your office? I'm sorry, I'll just…" he paused, his voice slurring as his foggy mind tried to come up with something.

She seemed to look at him with some pity. "Mr Spencer, don't leave – while you're here you may as well have a look at a case."

He seemed to brighten (Although not by much) and got off her chair to take the file she was passing him. Just at that moment, Gus came back balancing some smoothies in a cardboard. "Shawn, they only had pineapple and mango, not just pineapple on its own, and I know…" he trailed off, spying Vick. "Chief!" he squeaked in surprise. He looked over to where she was stood, her eyebrows raised. "This is not what it looks like, we were going to leave as soon as I got these, Shawn was just…"

"Gus don't be a… a thing holding smoothies," Shawn said to him, his exhausted tone evident.

Gus pulled a face at him, "Really? After every other thing you describe me as – that's what I get?"

"I'm trying to read, I can't multitask." Shawn muttered distractedly, slurping on his drink.

"You? I have seen you multitask thousands of times…"

"Gentlemen!" the Chief said swiftly. "Please. Mr Spencer, if you're too tired to do this…"

"No! Chief I'm fine –"

"Shawn you haven't slept in two days," Gus chipped in (I thought he didn't notice, Shawn thought). "And you're only fine because of the amount of energy you're taking in from that smoothie."

"Irrelevant!" Shawn dismissed, although he was feeling a lot better. Bouncy even. He was finally managing to take in some of the words on the page in front of him.

Vick watched him for a second, before deciding to tell him what was in the file, instead of waiting for his eyes to focus. "Mr Victor Miller was murdered in his apartment last night, and the whole room was trashed, so it's taken hours for us to bag everything that probably won't be of value."

"Chief, don't be so pessimistic," Shawn told her, beaming. "I can sense that you got something of deep importance in that apartment."

"We did find something that seemed out of place." She told him, and took the file from his hand to turn the page. She pointed to a piece of evidence photographed and marked on the sheet.

"A little figurine of a fox?" Gus frowned. "Either this guy's an Ocean's 12 fan, or -"

"There's something else," Shawn interrupted, looking down at the file, sucking on his straw like a small child with a lollypop. "He left a note saying 'You can never outfox a fox.'"

"Does he mention the pellet with the poison?" Gus asked nonchalantly.

"Gus don't be ridiculous, it's in the vessel with the pestle. Whereas the chalice from the palace holds the brew that is true." Shawn replied, bumping his elbow on Gus' fist as his hands were full.

"What are you two on about?" Vick asked, completely at a loss.

"It's a bit of a detour from our casual 80's references, but he left that wide open for us." Shawn said, draining his cup and throwing it in the bin, his energy somewhat renewed.

"Anyway," Vick started, "this is a calling card from a killer who used to kill years ago in Santa Barbara, his name is Oliver Volpe. All the signs point to it being the same man, but it could still be a copy cat," Her eyes flicked to Shawn before saying, "your father arrested him. He got out last year, since they could only pin one of the murders on him. Do you remember the case?"

Shawn nodded, his eyes slightly wider as he subconsciously touched his shoulder. "Chief, has anyone found his partner?"

She looked at him, "He went off the radar last…" she paused, "at about that time Vople was released…" she quickly ushered them out. "Gentlemen, see if you can find where these two are – bear in mind they are extremely dangerous so do not under any circumstances approach them. Lassiter!"

Shawn and Gus were left standing in the hallway as the whole department seemed to buzz with activity.

"Dude, I need to go see my Dad." Gus whipped around to look at his friend.

"What? Shawn, I think you need sleep. Desperately. Since when have you wanted to voluntarily go see him?"

"Gus, he worked this case back in the day, we need his input."

"Fine, but you need sleep. We go later."

"Dude – either you take me now, or I'll just drive my bike down there." Gus recognised that this was not an empty threat and sighed. Shawn was awful when stubborn, but he knew that there was something else going on. Maybe if he got Henry alone, he'd ask him. Maybe.

Unfortunately, while he'd been deliberating, Shawn had wandered over to Lassiter, and was annoying him the only way a hyper yet exhausted Shawn knew how, "Gus, Lassie said that if we leave now he won't give you a fine for parking your car next to the station!"

"What?" he asked, confused. "We always park there!" At Lassiter's face, he wished he could take those words back. "Uh, we won't in the future."

He finally managed to drag Shawn out and had to put up with his tired ramblings in the car before finally getting to Henry's.

"Shawn, you're making no sense, when was the last time you slept?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm tired?" Shawn whined, trying and failing to stop a yawn.

"What did you come here for, kid? I'm busy." Henry complained, slapping at Gus' legs with a magazine when they were about to rest on the coffee table.

"A case." Shawn said simply, rubbing at his eyes. He decided to get up and pace in an effort not to fall asleep.

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?" Henry sniped, going back into the kitchen to continue preparing his lunch.

"It's one of yours." Shawn told him, as he and Gus followed the elder Spencer through the house.

Henry paused for a second before turning round. "Which one?" he asked slowly.

"The ah…" Shawn stopped, not wanting to say.

"Mr Spencer, we need to know all about the Volpe case." Gus said, elbowing Shawn in the ribs for his cowardice. However, he was completely unprepared for Henry's response.

"No. No way, Shawn. You are not doing this to me," he ranted. "You remember exactly what happened last time. And that was his partner, think of what –"

"Oh they're both in on it now, we think." Shawn said pleasantly.

"Shawn – I will ground you if that's what it takes. You will not be a part of that investigation."

"You'll ground me? Good luck with that, Dad. I haven't lived here in about ten years."

Gus felt extremely confused. What happened 'last time'? He was about to voice his query when Henry stabbed at Shawn's shoulder with his finger.

"And what about that, huh?" he started prodding harder, and Shawn was forced to keep walking backwards before he was pushed down. "Do you have any idea what me and your mother went through? I'm sure you remember fine what you went through -"

Gus suddenly realised what they were talking about. He remembered Shawn coming into school on a Monday with his arm in a sling and a bandage all the way round his shoulder and top half of his back. He never actually gave a straight answer as to how it happened.

"Shawn," he said, as both Spencers stopped and looked at him, Shawn two steps away from collapsing on the couch. "Is this about what happened to your shoulder ages ago?"

Shawn looked away, and was shocked when he was pushed onto the couch. "Sit down before you fall down, kid," Henry admonished. "And yeah, Gus – Shawn was cut by Volpe's partner who'd come after me. Now do you see why you can't take this case?"

Gus nodded, feeling shocked (and slightly light-headed) that such a thing had happened. Henry gave Shawn a glass of water and glared at him until he drank some.

"Dad, we need to take this case – it might be a copycat, it might actually be him – but he's killing people." Shawn told him, his words slurring more.

"Shawn, are you okay?"

"Gus don't be a… sleeping pill? Dad?" Shawn looked over to his father, who had the good grace to look guilty.

"You need sleep, and you aren't going to do it on your own. It's just a mild dose anyway."

Shawn slipped down the couch and was soon drooling on the cushions.

Okay, ignore any britishisms please :P And I'm sorry this really feels like it's going nowhere, by I promise it is ;) Next chapter will be full of actiony-goodness :P And the odd reference to a film made in 1956, I couldn't help but reference XD anyone who actually knows what it's from without using Google wins a pineapple capable of giving birth to more pineapples :P Review?