Fires Aren't Your Friend

Shawn moaned happily when he collapsed on to the big, plush couch in the Psych office. His whole body ached and not in the pleasant way that it usually did after a night of loving with Lassie. Today he ached because he spent the entire day with Gus trying to track down an arsonist. They had some luck in their hunt but Shawn still needed a bit more before he could pull off a worthwhile reveal.

"So tired," Shawn whined loudly. "Why didn't I just go straight home?"

Shawn pouted as he lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't really remember why he had come back to Psych. The young man gave up on trying to remember and rolled onto his side and made himself comfortable.

"Might as well catch some Zs until Carlton is off work," he yawned and smiled sleepily at the thought of the detective.

They had started seeing each other, in a more private manner than how they saw each other at the station, about five months ago. It had thrown Shawn for a loop when it had happened. He had almost gotten shot five months ago and after everything had been squared away, Carlton had pulled him away from the scene and kissed him within an inch of his life up against the alley wall. At the time, Shawn had been so stunned that he had just stood there and let Carlton kiss him. But when the detective had pulled away and Shawn saw the look of regret, self-doubt and leftover fear in Carlton's ice blue eyes, Shawn had surged forward and returned the heated kiss.

Since then, the two of them had become almost inseparable in their off hours and they maintained their unusual but normal work relationship. No one at the station knew and they wanted to keep it that way. Normally, Shawn would openly express his relationship to anyone who would listen but he didn't want to cause Carlton to lose his career. So the younger man did everything in his power to keep their relationship quiet. He still flirted with Jules and suspects – which usually resulted in hot jealousy sex – and poked fun at Lassiter.

Shawn's thoughts on his relationship with Carlton petered off as he succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep on the couch. He was completely unaware of the person dressed in black that lurked outside and watched from the window as he fell asleep.

Shawn woke slowly and snuggled back into the couch. He would have sunk back into the dark abyss of sleep if the room hadn't been so hot. He shut his eyes tight and maneuvered himself into a sitting position.

"Damn it Gus," he cursed out loud as he rubbed at his closed eyes. "He always leaves the heat on too high! You'd think that after knowing me for over twenty years, he'd know that I only like to be hot during sex and at the sauna. Geez."

Finally Shawn opened his eyes and had to snap them shut against when they started to sting due to the smoke in the room. Carefully, he cracked them open and took in the Psych office. The office was engulfed in smoke and fire.

"Holy Shit!"

The pseudo-psychic immediately dropped to the ground before he opened his eyes fully. He was slowly starting to panic. He had to find a way out of there. The fire was starting to spread and most of the exits were blocked off by the flames.

Got to get out. Got to get out! Shawn thought desperately. The window! Break the window and then I can get out.

Even though he knew that it was unwise to do so, Shawn took a deep breath and stood up. As quickly as he could he found Gus' desk lamp and hurled it at the window that overlooked the beach. The lamp broke the window but not enough to do him any good.

Shawn's lungs began to burn and he started to feel lightheaded. He collapsed and hit the floor and barely missed hitting his head on the coffee table. By some stroke of luck, he was within reach of the phone. Shawn used the last bit of energy he had left and grabbed the phone and pressed speed dial one. As the phone rang, Shawn felt his consciousness start to slip away.

"Detective Carlton Lassiter, speaking."

Thank God for Lassie's strong work ethic.

"Carl...ton..." That was all Shawn was able to get out before everything went black.