Juliet was drawn out of the realm of dreams by the white light filling the room, which was quiet all except for the faint breathing of Stella from her crib. She stretched, spreading out over the empty bed. Empty? She sat up, looking at Shawn's side, which was empty. Probably just making breakfast. Her feet were heavy below her as she trudged out of bed and over to Stella's crib. The little baby had her eyes closed, sleeping soundly. Juliet smiled affectionately at her, still kind of processing the fact that this was her daughter, her little girl!
After she'd gotten dressed, Juliet made her way out into the kitchen, expecting to find Shawn throwing cereal in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth. "Shawn?" she asked as she entered, but the kitchen was empty. "Shawn?" No reply. "Hello?" Still no noises, no familiar voice shouting her name back. He was never up this early. She glanced over at the clock and saw the time, surprised at the number read on their clock. 12:00 p.m.? Juliet's mouth dropped open. She shook her head and walked over to the table. It was empty all except for- "Huh." There was a note on the far side of the table on a ripped piece of notebook paper.
Chief called me in for case! Be back later. -Shawn. P.S. You look so cute when you're asleep! She smiled. He was on a case, no need to worry. Juliet stretched and opened the fridge, scanning the food inside thoughtfully. May as well make break- er, lunch. As she removed the peanut butter, jelly, and bread she heard a familiar cry coming from the bedroom. She set down the ingredients and jogged back into the bedroom, swooping over to the crib. "It's okay, Stella!" she exclaimed, picking her up. "You must be hungry," she said to her in a cutesy voice. She walked back into the kitchen and held Stella with one arm as she half-wrestled with the purple-and-green high chair she'd bought a few months before Stella was born. It clicked open, and she set the baby gently in it.
She smiled at her, and Stella's dark grey eyes twinkled. Stella screwed up her face as if trying to do something, and her mouth made an 'o' shape. Slowly, that 'o' seemed as if it were becoming a smile, but she stopped partway. Juliet frowned, disappointed, but still somewhat impressed at the baby's attempt to smile. Just as Juliet was about to stand up and get her a bottle of milk, Stella's tongue stuck out, and she blew a raspberry.
A wide grin spread across Juliet's face, and she felt excitement course through her. Stella was imitating what Shawn had done last night; he'd blown a raspberry at her and made some funny faces in an attempt to get her to laugh for the first time. He hadn't availed, however, and only got a few amused coos from Stella. Right! Shawn! Juliet quickly set a bottle down on the counter and took her phone out of her pocket and pressed speed dial.
The phone rang a few times before picking up. "Hey Jules!" he sounded out of breath as he spoke. "Hi, Shawn," she replied. "What's up, how's it goin' back at 'la casa'? How's- How's that little m-unchkin of ours?" Okay, yeah, he was definitely out of breath. "It's all good here... Um, Shawn, are- are you okay? You sound out of breath," she asked, worry gnawing at her gut. "Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Uh, funny story- I'm kinda in an alley. Running from these guys-" he replied with a quiet, nervous chuckle.
Juliet's heart begin to pound. "Oh my god, Shawn, did you and Gus call in back-up?" she asked, panic threatening to overcome her. What would she do without him? What would Stella do? She tried to keep away those thoughts. "Uh, I told my dad I was going to a Little Caesar's about a block from where I- I am, does tha-at count?" he panted. "Absolutely not! Hold on, just, find a safe place to hide or something! I'm gonna call Karen! Where are you?" she nearly yelled into the phone, pulling up her contacts. "I'm downtown, next to that old garage." "Alright, just hold on," Juliet said urgently, clicking on the Chief's contact.
The phone rang a few times, feeling like hours despite only being a few seconds. "Karen Vick," the Chief of Police's voice on the other end introduced. "Karen! I-I called Shawn to see how he was and he's in trouble, he needs backup!" she proceeded to explain where he was, worry enveloping her. "Okay, I have our best on their way. Check up on him, ok?" "Alright!" Juliet changed back to Shawn's call. "Shawn! Are you okay?!" she demanded, feeling her heartbeat in her now-clammy fingertips.
"Yeah," he was whispering now. "I found a good hiding spot in a dumpster." "Shawn! There's completely uneaten Thai take-out in here!" a different, yet still very familiar voice said in the background. "Ew, dude, are you seriously gonna eat something from the trash?" "Well, I wouldn't be so hungry if someone had let me go to Tacotopia before we went after these guys," Gus said, muffled. Juliet smiled slightly. The two men were in danger, yet they still had time to argue over food. Of course, the next thing Gus said had fear coursing more through her blood. "This could be my last meal, Shawn!" "Gus! Jules is on the phone, don't say stuff like that," Shawn hissed at him. Suddenly, she heard a new sound on the phone. Sirens! Police sirens! Relief flooded her mind and she let out a sigh. "You guys alright, backup there yet?" Of course, she knew it had, but she still felt she needed to make sure. "Yep! All good here, Jules. I'll talk to ya later, gotta do the rap-up now. Big, fat kisses!" A smile spread on her face. "Big, fat kisses," she breathed, hanging up and leaning against the chair.
When Shawn came home 23 minutes (she counted) later, she hugged him so tight she was almost certain she probably bruised something. "I was so worried that something would happen to you, Shawn... You know how I said yesterday I wouldn't know what to do without you?" Shawn smiled softly. "Yeah." "I really meant it. I have no idea how I'd raise Stella on my own and stay head detective. Heck, I don't even know if I'd be able to even be on the force without thinking about you all the-" she was interrupted by Shawn leaning in close.
"I'm not gonna go anywhere, I promise."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the second and final part of this 2-part mini-story!
Chapter End Notes:
I hope you enjoyed these two! Don't forget to leave a review.
Side note; I don't know crap about San Francisco, so my apologies if I screw anything about it up.
Side note; I don't know crap about San Francisco, so my apologies if I screw anything about it up.
You must login () to review.