Juliet walked in about two hours later, her house dark.  Confused at the lack of light, she entered carefully.  She quietly set her badge and purse on the end table near the door, but kept her gun with her. 

Moving through the house, she flipped on the light and moved like a cat.  The sight before her made her smile and drop her gun.  There was Shawn, asleep on the couch. 

She giggled, which woke the sleeping detective.  He rubbed his eyes and spotted Juliet staring at him with a smile.

“Hey, Jules.  When’d you get home?” he asked groggily.

“Just a few minutes ago.  Come on, let’s go to bed.  We can get a fresh start in the morning.  Lassiter couldn’t find much and his agent friend was still looking for files.  We’ll have to work without him tomorrow, though.  He’s insistent that he spends time with Marlowe,” Juliet said as she walked into the bedroom.  She turned on the bathroom light and began her nightly regimen. 

Shawn leaned sleepily against the doorway, watching her as she brushed her hair 100 times.  She stopped at forty-five and looked at him.

“What?” she asked, the hairbrush poised to continue.

“Just love watching you, Jules,” Shawn stated.

He leaned in and gave Juliet a deep kiss.  The brush fell to the floor as the two embraced.

Across town, Gus sighed as he lay in bed.  Shawn’s behavior on the way home worried the young detective. 

‘Maybe the case is getting to him.  People posing as agents, wanting to test Shawn’s abilities, another case involving the same people.  It’s just like Pluto, messed up,’ Gus thought.

Eventually, Gus fell asleep, but his dreams were haunted by the two “agents” taking Shawn away to do crazy experiments, and the subsequent news stories that would follow about how the psychic wasn’t really psychic.

Palar paced back and forth inside the Foundation.  Suina and J’ahara had yet to return from a meeting with the Elders deep in the woods near Santa Barbara.  They had gone to inform them of the news that they had found their candidate for experimentation.  L’wana stood nearby, watching her colleague pace.

“Palar, calm yourself,” she said finally, feeling a little dizzy watching him.

The younger alien stopped and looked at L’wana, “I am sorry, my friend.  I’m just worried about Suina and J’ahara.  They’ve been gone too long,” Palar answered, sitting down on a cushion by the older woman.

“They will return soon.  You know how the Elders are.  They will ask many questions,” L’wana assured him.

A few moments later, Suina and J’ahara came inside, looking peaceful.  Palar and L’wana approached them with questions on their minds.

“The Elders agree that this Shawn Spencer is a perfect candidate.  However, they don’t agree with the plan you came up with, Palar.  They feel that they should handle this case, now,” J’ahara said.

Palar’s face looked confused, “The Elders wish to handle this?  Why?”

“They, they feel that Shawn Spencer is a special case.  He seems to possess powers greater than what we’ve studied in the past.  The Elders are coming here to take Shawn back to our world,” Suina stated.

L’wana gasped, “They’re coming here?  The Elders will be gracing us with their presence?”

“Yes,” J’ahara said, “They will be arriving in the morning.”

“Then we shall prepare.  Bring the ceremonial robes, L’wana,” Palar said.

The four aliens began a traditional welcoming ceremony, which continued long into the night. 

Lassiter was tossing and turning in bed, which was keeping Marlowe awake.  She sighed and turned to him.

“Trouble sleeping, Carly?” she asked.

Lassie picked up the slight hint of annoyance from his wife’s voice.  He sighed, “Yeah.  Spencer and this case are making it impossible to shut my eyes.  I’m sorry for keeping you up.  I’m going to go for a walk to clear my head.”

“At two in the morning?” she asked incredulously.

“I used to walk late at night when I was working a tough case.  Or when Spencer got on my nerves.  It’s a mix of both, so I really need to get some air.  Don’t worry, I’ll take my gun, okay?” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Okay, but be careful, Honey Bear,” she cooed. 

Lassie climbed out of bed, got dressed as casual as possible (which was a dress shirt and his suit pants) grabbed his gun and walked out the door.  Not wanting to disturb the neighbors, he took the stairs down to the main lobby and left Prospect Gardens with the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

About a mile down the street, Lassiter felt as if he were being followed.  Carefully and methodically, he continued walking, keeping his eyes straight ahead.  One hand was on his gun, the other clenched into a fist.  Something rustled beside him, and he pulled his gun.

“SBPD! Come out with your hands up!” he shouted.

Slowly, an image emerged from the brush.  It was none other than Guster in his pajamas.  He was shaking like a leaf, his hands in the air.

“Guster!  Judas Priest, man!  I could’ve shot you!” Lassie said as he holstered his gun. 

Gus dropped his hands, “Sorry, Lassiter.  I couldn’t sleep.”

“You too, huh?  Since when do you take walks at two in the morning?” Lassiter asked as the pharmaceutical rep fell in step beside him.

“I used to all the time when Shawn was gone.  I’d always wonder what he was doing, where he was at that time,” Gus said.

“What about now?” Lassie asked.

“I’m worried.  He wasn’t acting like himself when I took him home.  It was like he knew something was wrong,” Gus answered.

Lassiter turned toward him, “I would think that’d be a relief to you, Spencer not acting all childish.”

“Lassie, when Shawn gets quiet, I get worried.  He’s done this before.  Like when his dad was shot.  You remember how he was,” Gus stated.

Lassiter remembered how the psychic seemed determined to catch Carp after Henry ended up in the hospital.  Heck, he’d even put his badge on the line to help the brown haired detective out. 

“You think being asked to go with those fake agents may have something to do with it?” Lassie asked curiously.

“I think so.  He was a little shaken up at the idea,” Gus said, trying not to give too much away.

They stopped in front of Gus’ apartment complex.  Lassiter had never realized how close Guster lived to he and Marlowe.

“I’m going to turn back to home.  I’ll see you in a few days, Guster.  I’m spending time with my wife tomorrow.  Agent Samson will be coming to the station at ten sharp.  Make sure you’re all there by that time.  Got it?”

“Right.  See you soon, Lassie,” Gus said, heading to his complex. 

Lassiter watched him until he got inside, then turned around toward home.

He happened to look up and see a bright shooting star arc across the sky.  Sighing, he continued back toward home, looking forward to falling asleep next to Marlowe.