Aria (a psych fanfiction)

Chapter 19

"Hey." Juliet sat next to Shawn on the front steps of the house. Gus stood a few feet away, watching him for anything, any reaction.

"Hey."

It was clear that, by this point, he was far past anguish. They'd called the fire department, and, despite their hopes, managed to unearth a teenager-sized corpse in the ruins. Whatever hope they may have had before was long gone.

If she was feeling sad before, seeing the blank stare on Shawn's face was heartbreaking. She placed a hand over his. "Shawn, it isn't your fault."

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, shaking his head against her words - but didn't brush off her hand. "Please don't, Jules. I should have seen this, okay?

For a moment, she was at a loss for words, but it was clear that Shawn didn't want any words of comfort. He just needed room to mourn. He deserves that.

"Okay." She leaned her head on his shoulder, encouraged when he didn't shrug her off.

It felt so inadequate, and she wished there was something more she could do. But, for now, all she could offer was her company, so she sat, and leaned, and tightened her grip on his hand as she felt him begin to cry.

Gus had never felt so powerless before. Shawn was his best friend, his blood brother; he couldn't let him stay so upset. But it wasn't just Shawn's loss, and Gus wasn't sure how to cope with both of their emotions at once. When Juliet came over, he was relieved, but felt slightly guilty, because that should be him, sitting next to Shawn, comforting him. It was his job.

Still, it was good to know that, if he couldn't always be there for Shawn, Jules would.

Henry wasn't, by any means, unfamiliar with loss. His parents, Maddie, Shawn, the countless people murdered every day - loss came in many shapes and sizes, and he had seen almost all of them.

Shawn hadn't, though. That wasn't to say that Shawn had never had to deal with losing someone - or something - he loved, but never like this. As he watched his son press a hand to his mouth, trying to keep the tears from flowing, Henry was once again amazed by how incredibly lucky they were to have been reunited, after that one argument which caused Shawn to leave Santa Barbara.

Shawn wouldn't get that chance. Aria was gone; she couldn't come back, even if she wanted to. In that moment, Henry resolved not to let any future chances go to waste. He knew he sometimes had trouble expressing his feelings; always had.

But that would change.

Lassie stood alone on the lawn, unsure of what to do. Part of him regretted his shortness with the girl, his reactions to her somewhat obnoxious peppiness, but the other side of him - the logical side - knew that he wouldn't have changed anything.

He never thought he'd feel so bad for Spencer. He knew what it was like to lose a child. It was one of the reasons why Victoria had left. The smallest thing was all it took: one sock left at the top of the stairs, one slip, and it was over.

They'd never got the chance to pick out a name. It hadn't even lived long enough for them to learn the gender.

The nights of holding Victoria as she cried turned to nights of fighting, screaming, bitter words stemming from broken hearts, until they began to wonder why they were even trying anymore. At least, she did; he was determined to make it work. Vicky didn't want to try for another baby; she was still hurting too much. Finally, one night, their anger spilled over. She'd threatened to leave, and meant it. He said fine. He told her to go, that he wouldn't care.

He didn't realize how much he didn't mean it until her suitcase was half full, and by then it was too late. She was out the door in less than fifteen minutes.

Lassiter jolted back into the present, and blinked back a few tears at the memory. They didn't know. None of them knew: not Spencer, not Guster, not even O'Hara, and he intended to keep it that way.

He just hadn't anticipated how much Aria's death would hurt.

Sorry for the short length of both chapters, but at least I posted them together. :) I was in a emotional whump kinda mood when I wrote this, and I always felt like Lassie deserved some kind of a tragic backstory, to explain why he is the way he is, and why he and Victoria got divorced (Not that there's anything wrong with Lassie, and I totally ship Carlowe, lol, I just wanted to put my own spin on his life prior to the show)

TSLP: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. *evil author grin*

Anywayyyyy...'Til next time!

P.S.: And no, this story is not over. Not. Even. Close.