Some days just aren't worth the effort of getting up in the morning. Traffic jams are bad enough on any ordinary day. But this? Gus hadn't signed up for this. He's pretty sure he'd remember it if he had.

"Picture This!"- inspired story.

It's that time of year again. The time when Christmas approaches, and everyone is busy falling prey to the stress of the season. Presents need to be bought and wrapped, cards need to be sent, family visits prepared.

With everything that's going on at this time of year, it's easy to forget the things that really count.

For the Psychfic-Advent Calendar

A young woman is brutally murdererd. The police don't think they need Shawn's help on this case. But then somebody else asks Shawn to get involved - his own father.

As Shawn investigates, he gets entangled in a web of wrong suspicions and misplaced trust, until he himself no longer knows what to believe. Because if there's one thing Shawn has learned over the years as a police consultant, it's that you don't always find the evidence you'd like to find.

Henry knew that leaving Shawn alone for the weekend while he was at work promised trouble. But considering what came out of not leaving him alone, he just wished he had taken the risk.

Warning: Spoilers for season 3.

The spoilers refer to episode 4 "The greatest Adventure in the history of basic cable". So if you've seen this episode, it's safe to go ahead and read the story now.

A series of hate crimes in Santa Barbara leads Shawn to investigate a group of doubtful ideological background. They are dangerous, and they show no hesitation. And as the investigation progresses, it forces Shawn and Gus to confront something that in over twenty years of friendship has never been an issue between them.

Rated for some fairly descriptive acts of physical violence in later chapters.