Gus had plans for Christmas.  Big plans.  Plans to celebrate the holiday with his extended family, all gathered together in one spot for the first time this century.  Plans that did not in any way, shape, or form involve his best friend Shawn, or his best friend's girlfriend Juliet.  

    But plans can change.

    He had checked every item off his 'to do' list that night - the night before the night before Christmas - and had settled into bed with visions of being treated like an adult by all of his relatives dancing in his head, when the cell on his bedstead rang.

    'Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.  It's the best time of the year,' a tinny Burl Ives sang out, waking him out of a not-quite-sound sleep and making him seriously question, not for the first time, his decision to let Shawn pick out his Christmas ringtone.  Two more days, just two more days, he thought as he fumbled to answer before Burl could go on about his stupid 'cup of cheer'.  Oh by golly, how he hated that song.

    "Hello?"

    "Gus!"

    "Shawn, what's wrong?" Gus asked, instantly alert and alarmed at the urgency his friend's voice had conveyed in just the single syllable of his name.  "Is there a case?  Did something happen to your dad?  Are you hurt?"

    "Gus, don't be a red-nosed reindeer that everybody laughs at and calls names.  Way to jump to conclusions.  I'm fine.  Dad is fine.  And no one is dead.  Or, you know, people die every day but no one in the immediate vicinity has died as a result of muuuurder.  So far."

    "Then you had better have a darn good reason to be calling me after ten p.m. on Christmas Eve eve, Shawn," Gus shot back, attempting to regain his dignity after his brief, no doubt sleepiness-induced panic.

    "Christmas Eve eve?  Is that a thing now?  Do people start celebrating the night before the night before Christmas?"
    
    "No, it's not a thing.  But it does happen to be the night before a very important thing, and I need to get some sleep."

    "And I need to talk to you."

    "If it's not a matter of life or death, I don't want to hear about it."

    "But it IS a matter of life or death."  Gus waited.  A few seconds passed before Shawn's sigh resonated over the cell's tiny speaker.  "Well, okay, just life.   Specifically mine."

    Gus pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand and exhaled slowly.  He didn't want to get worked up about this or he'd never get back to sleep again.  He had to stay calm, he told himself, taking a deep, cleansing breath.
    
    "Shawn," he began, his voice as calm and rational as he could make it.  "Doesn't my life matter at all?  I mean, do you even remember me telling you how busy I'm going to be for the next two days?  I have to be at my parent's house at seven o'clock sharp to help get the house in order and everything cooking.  Then I have to drive to the airport to pick up my grandmother and my aunt and uncle and cousins from Jamaica, arrange a rental car for the cousins so they can follow along and then get everybody back to the house by twelve thirty for Christmas dinner.  To be followed by football watching and catching up with everybody and Christmas supper.  Then the Christmas Eve service at church, more catching up and cleaning up and getting everybody settled into their various rooms and beds and cots and sleeping bags and even a few hotel rooms for the night.  Then bright and early on Christmas morning I have to help get everybody up and away to church again, followed by more food and opening all the gifts and more football and just general chaos for the next forty-eight hours, and I'm going to be in the middle of it working pretty darn hard to help keep everything running smoothly because it's my family that's hosting this Christmas reunion and all of us kids have to pitch in."  

    Out of breath by the end of that litany, Gus knew he'd failed miserably at keeping calm.  Just the very thought of the utter chaos of the next two days, all the things that could go wrong that he could potentially be blamed for if he messed anything up, had him on the edge of hyperventilation.  One more deep breath and he delivered the killing blow, the whole point of his tirade.  "You need to get it through your head that the world does not revolve around Shawn Henry Spencer.  I have a life, too!"

    Just before he could angrily jam his finger down on the 'end' button and try to get at least a little bit of sleep before Christmas Eve officially began, he heard Shawn sigh again.  Something made him hesitate.  Maybe the fact that Shawn still hadn't told him why he called.  Gus knew he should at least hear the reason before he shoved it back down Shawn's throat.

    "So what do you want," he demanded instead, prodding Shawn.  "What?"

    "Sorry," Shawn said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.  "But…  I don't know what to do."

    This was Serious Shawn, Gus suddenly realized.  Serious Shawn only popped up on very rare occasions.  Gus immediately guessed the reason for it this time and decided that he could probably sneak in a nap during the Chargers game tomorrow afternoon.  He didn't really follow football anyway.  "This is about Juliet, isn't it."

    "I miss her."

    "You don't miss me."

    "Dude, I saw you two hours ago.  Plus your house is only three blocks from mine.  But Jules is in Miami.  I should have gone with her."

    Gus pulled back the covers on his bed and got up.  He might as well get some warm milk while he talked Shawn down.  "All couples everywhere, throughout the history of time, have had to deal with whose family to spend the holidays with," he began.

    "Sure.  It's just that-"

    "Shawn, you both agreed to this, to have Christmas with your families so that you could spend the New Year's Eve weekend with each other."

    "I know.  But-"

    "But it's a good plan, Shawn."  And Gus should know, since he was the one to suggest it, he thought as he poured his milk and popped the glass into the microwave.

    They had been arguing, very quietly, in the reception room at the Psych office one day, a couple weeks ago.   And Gus, much against his will and entirely due to the lack of actual glass in the window that separated the two rooms, had heard the whole conversation.  

    Juliet had been so excited for Shawn to come meet her parents in Miami.  "You've met Frank, of course, but I really want you to meet the man that I actually call 'Dad'.  And my mom wants to meet you, too.  And my brothers, and their wives, and all the nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles.  You have to come, Shawn!"

    But Shawn had been equally thrilled to introduce Juliet to his family, who would for once all be together for Christmas.  "They've already met me," Juliet pointed out when he rattled off a much shorter list of family members who would be gathering at the Spencer house for Christmas.  "Everybody except your Aunt Dolores.   You really have one?  I thought you made her up."

    "Oh, she's real alright, or at least, I'm pretty sure she's real.  I haven't seen her since I was twelve and I had a fantastic imagination back then."

    "Only back then?" Juliet teased.

    But Shawn would not be deterred.  "Yes my mom and my uncle Jack both know you, but not as my…  extremely significant other."  Gus frowned at that choice of words and tried to concentrate on his paperwork.  But Shawn's words carried.  "Plus, I was hoping for a little mistletoe action on Christmas Eve."

    "They have mistletoe in Florida, Shawn.  The O'Hara Christmas is a major tradition in my family.  This year it's in Miami and I wouldn't miss it for the world.  So come with me!"

    "The Spencer clan may not have as many members or as rich a tradition as yours, but there's the contest me and my dad have every year, copious amounts of shrimp cocktail and disgusting Christmas cookies, and watching The Christmas Story over and over and over again.   My parents haven't spent Christmas in the same state for over a decade, and now they're going to be spending it in the same room, with Jack and Dolores and my cousins Betty and David on top of that.  I promised them I'd be there, Jules.  And if you come with, then we can sit at the kiddie table together, since we'll be the only people there under forty.  Please?  Pretty please?"

    They had reached an impasse.  Gus could see it, even if they couldn't.  He popped into the window above the two of them on the couch, feeling a bit like Lucy offering Charlie Brown psychiatric advice for five cents, though he really just wanted some quiet so he could work.  And the two of them had agreed.  Christmas apart, New Year's together.  

    But now this.  Shawn could be pretty insecure sometimes.  He needed reassurance.  

    "I should have gone.  Shouldn't I?  I mean, I hate to disappoint her.  She wanted me there and I just ditched on her.  What if her family turns her against me?  What if-"

    "Take it easy, Shawn.  You didn't ditch Juliet.  You both agreed to this.  She'll be back in seven days and you'll pick right up where you left off."

    "But what if-"

    Gus sighed as he sipped his warm milk and headed back to bed, calmly reassuring his best friend the entire time.  Fifteen minutes later he finally ended the call with a worried but resigned Shawn, and settled back into bed.  He could still get a solid seven hours of sleep if he conked out right now.

    He snuggled deeper into the blankets and let his mind drift toward what it would be like to see his cousins from Jamaica.  They kept in touch, more or less, on Facebook.  But actually seeing them again after all this time, it would be so cool.  He could practice his Jamaican accent and…

    'Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year.  I don't know if there'll be snow but have a cup of-"

    Gus finally found the right button to push to end the madness, having knocked his phone on the floor when the call woke him out of a sound sleep.  A glance at the clock told him he'd been asleep for less than ten minutes.  "Shawn, I'm going to kill you," he began to say.  But it wasn't Shawn.

    "Gus?  Hi, it's Juliet.  Is it too late to call?  It's after midnight here but I just really needed to talk to somebody."

    "Shawn is somebody.  Call him, I bet he'd love to hear from you, seeing as you two are boyfriend and girlfriend," Gus replied a little testily.  

    "I woke you up.  Gosh, I'm sorry Gus.  It's just…  Is Shawn okay?  I talked to him today and he said he was fine, but I feel so bad about leaving him.  I should have stayed there.  My family gets together all the time.  His family never gets together, it would have been just this one Christmas but I was just so wrapped up in our family tradition.  It doesn't make his family's traditions any less valid, but I wish we could have worked something out, you know, and I just want to make sure he's okay."

    "All couples everywhere, throughout the history of time, have had to deal with whose family to spend the holidays with," Gus told her, beginning the exact line of reasoning he'd given Shawn.  By the time he finished his second glass of warm milk, he had managed to talk Juliet into a similar state of resignation about her situation.  

    "You'll see him on New Year's Eve and have the whole weekend to celebrate.  Just think how nice that will be.  You can wait that long, can't you Jules?"

    "Sure, I guess.  You're right, Gus.  I'm just being silly.  Sorry to keep you awake and I hope you have a great Christmas with your family."

    "You, too.  Good night, Juliet."  As soon as he ended the call, Gus powered his phone off.  No more interruptions, he thought as he settled in to get maybe six hours of sleep if he was lucky.  Tomorrow would be a busy day, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with Shawn and Juliet for the rest of the holiday weekend.


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *    

    At his father's house, Shawn paced around the kitchen table and thought of everything Gus had told him.  All that logic and reason.  Apparently Gus thought that would actually work on him.  But it never had before, so why start now.  He loved his mom and felt something similar, probably, about his dad.  As much as he didn't give a flying fig for Aunt Delores and the cousins from Wisconsin, he longed to see his Uncle Jack tomorrow.  It had taken years for him and Dad to reconcile after the whole 'treasure hunt' thing, and Shawn wanted to be there to make sure things stayed relatively calm between the two brothers.  But everything he wanted didn't matter.  Juliet wanted him to spend Christmas with her in Miami.  She wanted him to meet her family.  That was big.  Huge.

    His dad, his mom, Uncle Jack…  Everyone would be disappointed.  But disappointing Jules was worse.  He could still make it.

    Shawn grabbed a pad of paper off the refrigerator and hastily scribbled a series of notes.  With his mom's old Instamatic camera in hand, he set to work on the first phase of his hastily created plan.  And when that was finished, Shawn made another phone call.


*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


    'I wouldn't miss it for the world.'  Those words she used about her traditional family Christmas haunted her now.  Because she missed Shawn so much more than she ever thought she would.  They had been apart before.  But she knew now that this Christmas would simply not be the same without him.  

    Dawn had not yet broken on Christmas Eve when Juliet broke down and quietly knocked on her parents' bedroom door.  Her mother, a light sleeper anyway, slipped out into the hallway to meet her and the two of them shared a very early pot of coffee while she spilled her guts, as Carlton would say.  Of all the people in her family, she knew her mother, at least, would understand.  Not long after that, Juliet made another phone call.