The wood splintered under Lassiter's heel, giving way as the two detectives rushed into the small shack. Lassiter was prepared to fire, his finger already edging for the trigger, but Sol Hayden managed to recover from his surprise quite quickly.

The man tightened his grip on his own weapon, digging the barrel into the side of Shawn's head. He had an arm around his prisoner's neck as he snarled at Lassiter and Juliet. "Get back!"

"Shawn, are you all right?" Juliet asked, taking in his bruised face and wavering expression. He appeared to be close to unconsciousness.

Sol didn't give Shawn a chance to respond, pulling his arm closer, further cutting off any air. "Shut up!" he snapped at Juliet. His eyes darted between the two detectives.

"Hayden, you don't want to do this," Lassiter warned. He was watching intently for any break, no matter how small, that he could use to his advantage.

"Oh, don't I? And why not? Seems like a good way to keep you two from blowing a part of me off."

Shifting his weight to the other foot, Lassiter nodded. "Sure, but how long is that going to last? This can't go on forever."

Sol noticed the motion. "Stay back!" he warned, backing up a little. He kept his grip firmly clenched around both Shawn and the gun. "I don't want this gun to go off by accident. I'm sure you don't either."

"Hayden …" Lassiter's tone was hard and tense.

Throughout the exchange, Lassiter had been watching Sol, but he dropped his gaze to Shawn for a moment. When they had first burst in, Sol had been throttling the life out of him, and Shawn still looked pretty close to passing out. Lassiter's eyes narrowed as he returned to glaring at Sol, but the man just smirked and returned the gaze.

He was doing a remarkable job of covering both detectives, Lassiter observed, then mentally kicked himself for complimenting a criminal.

Suddenly, Shawn went limp. The sudden shift surprised Sol, and he stumbled slightly as he tried to compensate for the extra weight now hanging from his arm. His gun lowered slightly, wavering as he was thrown off balance.

Lassiter noticed and took advantage of the opening. One shot from the detective's gun and Sol dropped his own with a yell. He fell backwards, knocked by the force of the bullet. His arm was still wrapped around Shawn's neck, and he pulled Shawn with him as he collapsed. Shawn's fall was cushioned by the other man, and the detectives could hear the whoosh of air leaving Sol's lungs.

The thought of how appropriate the turn of situation was came to Juliet's mind, but it was quickly covered with worry for Shawn. She followed her partner as he rushed over to the two men on the floor. As Lassiter kicked Sol's weapon aside, Juliet reached to move Shawn to a more comfortable position. As she touched his shoulder, his eyes popped open.

"Shawn!" She couldn't help her gasp of surprise.

He looked slightly disoriented, but he still managed to wink at her. "I told Gus that boneless act would come in handy one day," he said, his voice slightly husky.

"Spencer, you're lucky you led us to Hayden," Lassiter growled, cinching the cuffs around Sol's wrists before turning his attention to the wound in the man's shoulder. "Otherwise, this wouldn't be such a happy reunion."

"Shawn!" Gus' shout came from the door.

Rolling his eyes in frustration, Lassiter didn't bother looking up. "Guster, I told you to stay in the car."

Gus ignored him and hurried to Shawn's side. "Shawn, are you okay?" He took in the fresh blood on Shawn's shirt and paled slightly.

"Don't worry," Juliet assured him. "It's not his."

The information didn't seem to make much difference to Gus; he swallowed and focused his gaze on Shawn's face. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Shawn. I was worried sick!"

"More so than normal?" Shawn asked. His normally chipper voice was slightly slurred, and his eyes were focused somewhere beyond the two people bent over him.

"Shawn, are you all right?" Juliet asked. She had noticed his distant expression and slow reflexes as well as the bruises on his face, and she was worried that Sol had managed to do serious damage before they had arrived.

He didn't answer her or show any sign that the question had registered with him. When Juliet pressed along his abdomen, Shawn's hiss of protest indicated that she was right. He had at least one broken rib along with a concussion and a bruised windpipe.

"We need to get you to a doctor," she stated, sitting back on her heels. "Can you walk?"

"Can't we just call an ambulance?" Gus asked. His brow was furrowed in slight confusion.

Juliet turned to look him in the eye. "It would take too long to get one here. Newport doesn't have an ambulance service, and the nearest town is too far. It will be a lot quicker if we take him back to Newport and find a doctor ourselves."

"You're right," Gus agreed. He bent down and put a hand on Shawn's shoulder. "Come on, buddy. We need to get you to the car."

Between Gus and Juliet, they managed to get Shawn up from the floor. He leaned heavily on them both on the way out the door, stumbling more than once as they made their way to the car. Lassiter had already seated Hayden in the backseat of the Newport police car, having confiscated the keys once the sheriff was in custody. Juliet helped settle Shawn in the backseat of Lassiter's car, ignoring the head detective's protest about his seat covers. As Gus took a seat beside Shawn, Juliet retrieved a roll of caution tape to mark off the shack. While she didn't expect that many people would be nosing around, the place was officially a crime scene.

She finished taping it off and rejoined the others, hopping into the driver's seat of Sol's vehicle. Lassiter was grumbling various warnings at his passengers as she shut her door and started the engine.

Within an hour, they had dropped Shawn and Gus off at the doctor's and were on their way to the sheriff's office. They turned Sol over to his surprised deputy, giving him the location of the crime scene, before returning to check on Shawn.

By that evening, word had spread throughout town, and there was a crowd at the diner as the three visitors stopped in for a bite. It had taken threats from all three of them, as well as Doc MacReedy, before Shawn would consent to wait for them to bring him his dinner.

"So, you're sayin' Sheriff Hayden was really a wanted criminal?" Velma asked, setting steaming plates on the counter in front of them. Her tone conveyed surprise but also carried the hint of someone eager for the newest gossip.

Gus savored the tantalizing aroma of his chicken, letting the detectives answer the various questions being thrown at them.

"Well, yes, and that's part of the reason he came all the way out here," Juliet answered, picking up her fork. "Putting distance between himself and Santa Barbara helped him stay hidden."

"How'd you manage to catch him? Wasn't it dangerous?" Velma leaned against the counter, looking up at Lassiter with an awed expression.

The others gathered in the restaurant leaned in closer, intent on hearing the entire story.

"Well, yes, it was dangerous. He was an armed criminal after all. But I didn't let that bother me. After all, I had a civilian to rescue," Lassiter began, his voice rising as he launched into his story.

Gus and Juliet shared a look before turning their attention to their plates. It was going to be a long night.

WMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

"All I'm saying is, please try to get along with your dad tonight." Gus fixed Shawn with a firm stare.

The two were back at the Psych office after having returned from Newport the day before. The town doctor had insisted Shawn stay at least a day before attempting to travel. However, Shawn had talked him down to one day, and Doc MacReedy had only agreed after making Shawn promise to take it easy for a week after arriving home. Knowing his friend's tendency to leap into anything and everything, Gus had managed to procure two days' vacation from his job at the pharmaceutical company.

Henry was taking over the psychic-sitting for the remaining three work days, a fact Gus had yet to tell Shawn. They were having dinner at Henry's house that night, partly to make up for the dinner Shawn had skipped when he first left town. Gus expected the issue to come up over the meal, and he was already preparing for the protests that were sure to come.

In turn, Shawn spread his hands to the sides. "Why do you feel the need to clarify that?" He leaned back in his chair, a grin playing across his face. The bruises were nearly healed; after a week, only a light hint of green and yellow could be seen on his cheekbone and jaw.

"Hmm, probably because you never seem to remember it?"

"Remember what?"

Gus groaned in mock frustration and turned his gaze back to his computer screen. Before Shawn could say anything further, the office door opened and Juliet entered.

"Jules, welcome! Normally, I'd leap up in enthusiasm, but you understand if I can't, right?" Shawn grinned at her.

She nodded and returned the smile. "Of course. How are you doing, by the way?"

"Oh, you know, as good as can be expected after a homicidal maniac beat me up last week," Shawn replied in a piteous tone.

"Has he been like this all week?" Juliet asked Gus.

Gus rolled his eyes in reply.

"Well," she continued, "I just came by to let you know that charges have been officially filed against Beverly Masters. She probably will get off fairly easily, since she was ignorant of the extent of what Sol had done. However, Louis Masters was very quick to drop the lawsuit against you once the situation was explained. They may have had success if they continued with it, but I don't think he ever wanted it in the first place."

"That's good to hear," Gus replied, visibly relieved.

Juliet glanced at her watch. "I need to be going," she told them. She stopped at the door and turned back. "Oh, and the Chief said to let you know that you are welcome back as soon as Shawn is ready." With a wave, she disappeared outside.

Gus caught the look in Shawn's eyes. "Uh, no."

"What?"

"That look. You're trying to figure out how to convince Chief Vick that you're ready to start tomorrow. Shawn, the doctor told you to wait at least several weeks before doing anything strenuous. And knowing you, you'll be in some sort of predicament within days of starting on cases again."

"Please," Shawn scoffed. "What makes you think I'd get into any trouble?"