The sun was shining brightly and there were no clouds in the sky as the Santa Barbara Police and Sheriff’s Department’s baseball team faced off with the Santa Barbara Fire Department’s team. It was supposed to be a friendly competition to raise money for the rebuilding of the ruined SBPD, but it ended up being a bit more competitive as the innings wore on.

             Because of the good weather, the two coaches for the SBPD had to spend most of their time in the covered dugout. Being vampires, it wasn’t good for either of them to be out in the sun for long. Neither were happy about having to stay on the sidelines, but each had their own reasons:

            Carlton Lassiter hated it because it was hard to look motivating, or intimidating, when you had to shout at your players from twenty feet away. He wanted to be able to tell the rookies to watch the ball or scream at the umpire up close and personal.

            Shawn Spencer was unhappy because they couldn’t be out there playing for the team. His competitiveness was being stifled and it irritated him to no end. Plus, he missed the crowd’s cheering as he scored a good solid hit.

             It wasn’t just because of the sun that they couldn’t play. Vampires were okay with short trips into the sun, though it wasn’t recommended. It was mostly the hitting over 600 foot home runs and breaking bats, consistently, that was a dead giveaway that something was up. Both of them suddenly batting better than Mickey Mantle would be very suspicious and counterproductive to the whole vampire secrecy thing, even though Shawn gleefully went through at least thirty baseballs to test that fact.

            “Atta boy!” Carlton shouted as Buzz it the ball over everyone’s head and landed at least a double.

            “Yeah! Atta boy!” Shawn parroted.

            Rounding on the psychic, Carlton growled, “What did I tell you Spencer!”

            Shawn rolled his eyes, “Fine, geez lighten up.” He punched Carlton on the arm good naturedly. And people say I’m competitive. He smirked to himself.

            Carlton grimaced and went back to watching the game. “Oh come on! He was safe by a mile!” He threw his hands up in exasperation then waited for their next batter, then growled in frustration before shouting, “MCNAB! Actually swing the bat! Don’t let them try and walk you! You’re our best hitter!”

            The other players in the dugout glared daggers at him.

            “What?” Carlton looked at them confused.

            Juliet was next up to bat. Being five months pregnant, she wasn’t able to run the bases herself, so Gus was nearby and ready to take off as soon as the Jr. Detective sent the ball flying. “Go sweetie!” Shawn yelled in support of his baby mama. She smiled at him over her shoulder and lined up for a swing.

            The pitch was perfect and Juliet connected solidly with the bat. Gus took off as fast as he could and ended up on second base. Shawn squinted at the pitcher and saw the small smile and nod he gave Juliet, and knew he’d pitched it to her nicely on purpose. I’ve got to remember to thank him later. Shawn noted to himself and went back to annoying Carlton by repeating his instructions.

            The game was extremely close for the last couple innings until the Fire Fighters’ team scored a double in the eighth inning and ended up keeping the lead and winning the game. Carlton threw down his hat in frustration and cursed at the umpire, who for once wasn’t Shawn’s dad Henry, but a volunteer fire fighter. Henry was actually in the stands with the rest of the crowd, shouting out friendly jeers at the winners.

            During the good sportsman handshake after the match, the fire fighters gave their condolences for the police department’s loss and their congratulations on the almost completion of the new SPBD. The explosion three and a half months before had temporarily moved the whole department to the now cramped Sheriff’s offices on the other side of the city. After a lot of volunteer work and clean-up, they had begun building and were just a couple months away from completion. The officers couldn’t have been more excited about it.

            “Shawn!” Juliet called and rushed to her boyfriend in the dugout.

            He gave her a quick hug and the nearby Carlton rolled his eyes. “Hey, you did great out there.”

            Juliet smiled, “I think the pitcher was being nice to me.”

            “Well, you’re going to be someone’s mother now, plus if he wasn’t I could sneak into his room at night and scare the bejeezus out of him, or would that be more along the lines of Ghost Dad than scary vampire?” His silly retort was followed by a slap to the chest from Juliet. “What?” Shawn said indignantly pulling Juliet closer and laying a hand on her stomach, “I could pull off a great Bill Cosby.”

            “Please don’t ever compare yourself to Bill Cosby, Shawn.” Gus complained as he walked up with Henry.

            Shawn tsked at Gus dejectedly and turned to his dad. “Hey pop. We could have actually used your delightful umpiring skills today.”

            “Well if you would have actually paid attention to the game rather than bug Lassiter and oogle Juliet, we may have won.” Henry scowled. “And don’t even think about making any other plans today. Your mom will be here around six. I’m picking her up from the airport and you two,” He pointed at Juliet and Shawn. “are going to have a nice long discussion with her.”

            Shawn frowned. They’d put it off as long as they could but tonight was the night. He had to tell his mom about the baby, and about him being a vampire. He rubbed his face and nodded, but it was Juliet who spoke. “I’ll make sure he’s there.”

            “Good, because lord knows when she’ll be back in town and you are not telling her over the phone Shawn.”

            Their conversation halted abruptly as one of the other officers in a baseball uniform approached them, “Hey guys, are you coming to the bar for some beers?” Juliet raised an eyebrow at the officer who blushed at offering a beer to a pregnant lady. “Uh, I mean…”

            “Yeah we’ll be there.” Shawn grinned. If he wasn't one of the guys before, he sure was after saving at least twenty officers from a fiery and explosive end. They'd lost four but it could have been so much worse, and the other cops knew it.

            The officer gave a sheepish smile at the couple and walked over to Buzz, probably to ask him the same question. Turning to Carlton, Shawn asked, “You coming too Lassie?”

            The detective nodded, “I’ll be there. Just need to stop at home for something.” No one who knew him needed to ask what that something was, but they were just glad he was going. With Marlowe set to be released in a couple weeks, the usual grumpy detective was in a pretty good mood lately, which was a nice change.

            For a while after the incident with Lance, both Shawn and Carlton had gone through some rough patches figuring out what exactly being a vampire entailed. Their first couple weeks as vampires the pair hadn’t had much time to process their new lot in life with all the hectic mess going on around them. Kidnappings, murders, arsonurderers…neither had it very easy but it had been the adrenaline had kept them going.

            Afterwards, having had time to think, they took it pretty hard but had made a lot of progress emotionally with the help of friends and family, not to mention their respective mentors Mick St. John and his older vampire friend Josef Kostan. They kept in touch regularly with questions and encouragements that made all the difference in the world for the two young vampires.

            Juliet smiled at her partner and put a comforting hand on his arm. “We’ll see you there.” She turned to Henry, “Are you coming too?”

            “No I have to go home and make sure I have everything for supper tonight. You kids go have fun.” Henry gave Shawn a nod and headed to his truck.

            “See you in a few minutes buddy.” Shawn fist bumped Gus, and arm in arm, walked with Juliet to his muscle car.

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            Once inside the vehicle, Juliet grabbed Shawn’s hand and squeezed it gently while giving him a small smile. It had become her way of silently asking how he was doing without having to constantly voice her worry. Shawn squeezed her hand back. “I’m okay Jules. Just too much sun.” He smirked and started the vehicle.

            “You’re worried about telling your mom the news, aren’t you?”

            “Which news? The fact that she is going to be a grandma? Or the fact that her son is now a handsomely devilish, blood sucking fiend?” He growled playfully while leaning over and leaving a slobbery kiss on Juliet’s neck.

            Juliet squealed, “Ew! Shawn! I’m serious!” She knew Shawn was just trying to hide his feelings with goofiness again.

            He let out a sigh. “Fine. I guess I’m just worried she won’t take it so good, ya know? With you, Gus, and Dad, it was kind of a special circumstance. You saved me, I saved you, and it gave me the chance to prove to you guys I’m still me. It's a bit different than just coming out and saying it to someone. You saw how the chief reacted.”

            Knowing her boyfriend wasn’t the best at nut-shelling, Juliet did it for him. “You don’t want her to think you’re a monster.” At the hurt look in Shawn’s eyes Juliet squeezed his hand tighter. “Shawn, she’s your mom. She’ll never say that about you.”

            “I know she won’t ever say that about me, but I see her so little as it is and I want her to be a part of our baby’s life. She may just leave and not want to see me again after finding out.”

            “Shawn, I’ll be right there. So will your dad. Everything will work out.”

            Shawn smiled and kissed her hand, while keeping an eye on the road. He loved her optimism, especially since the last few months had been hard on her too. He thanked whoever was out there every day for giving him such a spectacularly understanding and wonderful girl. He stole a glance at her increasingly swollen stomach. “So, how are the cravings? Do you need to order the Shawn Spencer when you get to the bar?” In just a short week they were going into the doctor so they could find out if they were having a boy or a girl, Juliet was beside herself with glee at finding out.  

            Laughing, Juliet admitted to herself she was craving chili cheese fries, among other things. If appetite was any indicator, their baby was going to have the same eating habits Shawn used to. “I can’t believe you actually got them to call it that after so many years.”

            “Well, I’m a hero now, and it is a cop bar.” Shawn shrugged, “It was only a matter of time before they realized my awesomeness and caved.” Juliet snorted and leaned in close to her boyfriend the rest of the short trip to the bar.

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             The traditional post game gathering was always something Shawn looked forward to and had sorely missed. Mingling was something he was good at and being around happy people usually made him feel good too. Which is why he was disappointed when, just after the food arrived, multiple beepers and cell phones started going off all at once. Including Juliet’s. Something must have happened, and they hadn’t even been at the restaurant for a half hour. Carlton hadn't even gotten there yet.

            “Oh man!” Shawn complained, wrapping an arm around Juliet who was reaching for her cell. “Can’t criminals just give us one day? There should be a city wide broadcast. ‘Police are currently partying at a local bar. Please don’t commit any crimes till at least 3pm.’”

            “Uh, Shawn. That might actually cause more crime to happen if they thought the police were distracted.” Gus pointed out while eating both his and Shawn’s food orders.

            Shawn, who only had a beer he was nursing just to keep up appearances, rolled his eyes and let Juliet go answer her phone. Gus was taking what he said way to seriously again. “Gus, don’t be a three day old deflated balloon, I just want Jules to be able to finish her lunch, she’s eating for two now.”

            A moment later Juliet came back. “That was the chief, she-”

            “Needs you at the station because the theft case you’ve been working on just got more interesting.” Shawn finished for her. He’d been listening to the conversation while arguing with Gus. It was a benefit of super hearing.

            Juliet shot him an annoyed look. “Yes Shawn, and I have to get down there right after we’re done eating.”

            “What about later? You’re still coming to dinner?” Shawn gave her a pout.

            “I’ll be off in time to meet with your mother. The chief knows how important this is.” Juliet assured him.

            Shawn looked relieved. “Good, I don’t think I can convince my mom that I’m actually in a lasting relationship, let alone going to be a dad without some hard physical evidence.”

            “You know that’s right.” Gus said between mouthfuls of food.

            Carlton came in about five minutes later still dressed in his baseball uniform. “O’Hara let’s get moving.” Apparently he got the same phone call and was just there to pick up Juliet

            Shawn pointed at a seat. “C’mon Lassie! Relax for a few minutes. The Chief gave you guys some time.” Grumbling but giving in Carlton sat. Shawn took a swig of his beer and looked at Carlton slyly. “How was the visit with Marlowe?”

            Straightening, Carlton feigned innocence. “What?”

            “Dude, I can smell her on you, plus about twenty minutes ago I got the warm and fuzzies so I figured you made a pit stop.” It had also been almost an hour since the game and if he was still in his uniform it meant he didn’t stop home to change and get blood like he said he was going to do.

            “Damn it Spencer I told you to shut that off!” Carlton knew Shawn had been practicing control over their emotional connection and had gotten better at ignoring it. It was creepy having someone in your head all the time.

            “You think I want that information? Why do you think I started figuring out how to control it in the first place?” Shawn shuddered. “I only have another couple months before I start getting full blown interactions if you get my drift, and I don’t want that in my head either.”

            Juliet and Gus grimaced at the same time and felt a lot of sympathy for Shawn at that moment. “Okay! I’m done eating.” Juliet pushed her food away and stood. “Let’s get to the station.”

            “Call me.” Shawn stood up and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she was out the door.

            Shawn sat down again and took another small sip of his beer. “You know you’re whipped right?” Shawn looked up and saw the smirk on Gus’ face.

            “You wish you were whipped.” Shawn mumbled, “So what’s up with you and Coraline? Still just friends?” He waggled his eyebrows.

            “Yes Shawn, and as much as you give me a hard time about it, that’s all we’ll ever be.” Gus looked away indignantly.

            Shawn grinned. Coraline was a smart, cunning and beautiful vampire. She just happened to also be their friend Mick’s ex-wife, which made things really complicated for his friend. She and Gus had a lot in common and had “coffee dates” where they discussed more about the cure for vampirism that Coraline had to reinvent, due to the situation with her brother Lance. Gus’ pharmaceutical insights helped her along in the process but without a rare and possibly extinct flower from Europe, they were stuck at square one.

            Shawn finished his beer in one gulp and got up. “I’m going to go help my dad with the whole ‘get ready for mom’ thing. Lord knows he’ll probably buy some girly champagne to try and impress her.”

            Gus nodded. Henry did still have the hots for his ex-wife and it bugged Shawn to no end. “I hear that. I have to go home and change for my route. Let me know how it goes?”

            “Will do buddy, and let me know how the coffee date goes with Coraline tonight too.” Shawn smirked and made a quick exit.

            Gus blanched. He had only talked to her about meeting this morning before walking into Psych. With Shawn’s super hearing he must have picked up on his plans. “Wha? What? Have you been listening in on my phone calls? SHAWN!” The other officers stared in Gus direction for the outburst but he was too fuming to pay attention. He’d have to have another talk with Shawn about vampiric senses and privacy.

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            Baseball uniforms mingled with dress blues and a few spatters of tan from members of the Sheriff's department as the officers crowded in the conference area that had been cleared out for the SBPD meetings. Since the police station was destroyed the two law enforcement teams had to share the Sheriff's station that had been across town. It was always packed but the officers of the SBPD were never made to feel unwelcome.

            After finishing setting up the projector, a very pregnant Chief Karen Vick shouted to get everyone's attention. "Listen up people! We just got word about another break in by the gang Las Arañas."

            Carlton frowned. Las Arañas had been running amok for almost the past month, robbing everything from jewelry stores to grocery stores in Santa Barbara. Despite the best efforts of the gang task force, none of the gang had been apprehended yet so he and Juliet had been put on the case last week.

            Detectives and officers jotted down notes as the chief continued. "For those of you who don't speak Spanish, their name literally means "The Spiders," as illustrated by their gang symbol here." She indicated a picture of a skeletal spider with a skull for a body. "They leave this mark at every crime scene, and that's the only thing they leave. No prints, no marks, and no merchandise. Unfortunately at this last crime scene, they did leave something..." She clicked the next slide on the projector and a body appeared.

            The body was that of an older man, probably in his late 50's. He lay on his back and three bullet holes were visible in his torso. A few grumbles and gasps accompanied the news.

            Karen gave her officers a moment to absorb the evidence and moved on. "That was Richard Price. He was the owner of the store and had just returned from a business trip. Our best guess is that he came in when they were cleaning him out and surprised them. This is now a murder case ladies and gentlemen, and with one murder comes more and I want them found before that happens." Every officer in the room could see that she meant it. "Now, there are packets of evidence on the table. I want each of you to look over it and let me know about any insights that you may have. You're dismissed."

            The crowd of officers began to disburse and Karen approached Juliet and Carlton. "Detectives, I want Mr. Spencer and Mr. Guster in on this as well. We need all the man power we can get we clear?"

            "Yes Chief." Both Carlton and Juliet answered.

            Smiling, Karen nodded at Carlton and pulled Juliet aside. "How is Shawn doing?"

            Juliet frowned." He's nervous. His relationship with his mom is complicated at best. I think she's a lot like him so it's hard to say how it'll go."

            "Well give him my luck, and try to be understanding. The news she's getting tonight isn't going to be easy to take." Karen knew from experience how life changing it really was. Finding out that vampires were real opens up a can of worms that takes a lot of getting used to. She was just happy that both Shawn and Carlton had the support system to be able to deal with their new 'condition.'

            "Thanks, I will Chief. Get some rest okay?" Juliet found it funny that both of them ended up pregnant at the same time.

            "You too O'Hara."  Karen nodded and went to talk with another couple officers about the case.

            Carlton walked up to her after grabbing one of the packets of evidence. "Here, give this to Spencer tonight, I'm sure he'll want to jump right in."

            "Thank you." She plucked the packet from her partner's hand while Carlton read his own copy.

            "I can't believe these bastards keep getting away with this. The Chief is right, if we don't get them soon, the bodies will start piling up."

            "Well once Shawn gets this he'll be all over it. Psych hasn't had any new cases so far this month and I keep walking in on impromptu paper basketball championships." Juliet complained. The fame from the heroics during the SBPD bombing kept the psychic detective business busy for a couple months, but eventually the hype had died down and everything was back to the normal, one or two cases a month.

            "I'll go talk to Strode and see what I can find. Maybe I can get a scent from the body and track them. You can go get ready for your dinner. I'll let you know if I find anything. Lord knows you are going to have your work cut out for you trying to convince Spencer's mom that he's not crazy." Carlton spun around and headed down the hallway with Juliet frowning after him.

            She should have been impressed, Carlton had almost been sweet by her go get ready, even though he was right about tonight. It was definitely going to be interesting. With Madeline Spencer being a psychologist. The first response to "Mom I'm a vampire." would be that Shawn went insane. One thing was for sure, it was going to be an interesting dinner.