by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: Psych
Characters: Juliet O'Hara, Shawn Spencer, OC Child Character
Words: 1,172
Tags: Post-Canon, Movie-Verse, Domestic Fluff, Light Angst, Parenting
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Originally posted to tumblr on Nov 1st 2020. Written for the 2020 Comfortember challenge on tumblr, prompts used: Blanket Fort / Campfire. Archived here on Jan 9th 2025.
Shawn glanced up at the sound of the doorknob rattling. He relaxed again a moment later when he heard the scrape of a key in the lock and the familiar sound of his wife’s footsteps in the entryway.
His attention turned back to the little girl snuggled into his lap, helping her turn the page on the book that was too big for her tiny hands. But part of his focus was still on the noises coming from the front area. He didn’t miss the fact that Juliet double checked the lock on the front door before removing her shoes and sidearm. Or the way her eyes scanned the room upon entering — and specifically the windows — before landing on her family.
“Mom!” Riley shouted, launching across the room at her mother.
Juliet smiled tiredly, kneeling down to wrap her daughter in a hug. “Hey, sweetie. How was your day?”
The greeting was normal enough, but there was something off in the tone used. And something entirely too protective in the grip that held her little girl close.
“We made muffins,” Riley said proudly. “And Dad took me to his office. I got to talk to the clearance.”
“Clients,” Juliet autocorrected. Between her husband and daughter, she’d become quite adept at interpreting them without having to put any conscious effort into it. Shawn was somewhat impressed by that talent.
“Selene had a doctor’s appointment today,” Shawn explained. “And Gus had to work all afternoon, so the kids ended up at Psych. Riley’s cousins insisted on organizing the whole backroom while she helped me up front.”
“I was good at it,” Riley felt the need to add.
“She is surprisingly good at dealing with the customers,” Shawn agreed. “I think we’re raising a little con artist.”
“Well, she is your daughter,” Juliet teased, finally releasing the squirming girl in her arms. “Everything went okay today?”
Shawn understood the unspoken part of that question and nodded reassuringly. “Yeah, everything was fine here.”
He didn’t ask out loud how her own day had gone, but the concerned frown he sent her was enough to get the idea across. She nodded back, biting her lip as her hand landed on her daughter’s tousled head.
Riley added her own agreement, completely unaware of the silent conversation going on over her head.
It was never hard to keep their painfully oblivious child out of the loop on things like this. So far, she showed no signs of having inherited her father’s memory and observation skills. Madeleine told them it was unlikely it would manifest in her as early as it had for Shawn, but Shawn was secretly holding onto the hope that it never would. He knew the downside to having an eidetic memory and wouldn’t want his daughter to go through that. Even if part of him would have loved to have someone around who could see the world the way he did.
“So, what’s going on in here?” Juliet asked. She stepped farther into the living room, eyes sweeping over the massive blanket fort and other items gathered around. “You two renovating the apartment?”
“We’re camping,” Riley said. “We were gonna do s'mores. You want some?”
Juliet laughed, hand swiping quickly at her cheek. “Sure, sweetie. That sounds great.”
“Why don’t you grab the marshmallows from the kitchen,” Shawn suggested. “I left them on the table.”
Happy to have a task to do, the little girl rocketed towards the kitchen, disappearing through the doorway.
Juliet sat down on the pile of blankets next to Shawn and leaned into his side. He looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, resting his head on hers. They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of mild destruction coming from the kitchen. It wasn’t anything they couldn’t clean up later.
Shawn frowned as his wife leaned in closer, wrapping her arms around him and clinging on tight. He held her tighter in return — a silent promise that finally let some of the tension ease from her body.
“I’ve got them!” Riley shouted as she barreled back into the room, holding her bag of treats high.
Keeping one arm around his wife, Shawn helped her get a marshmallow onto a chopstick. Their flameless candle surrounded by lincoln logs didn’t hold up to his father’s idea of a real campfire, but at least it wouldn’t burn down their apartment, so it would have to make do. And the nice thing about having a child with an overactive imagination was that Riley never seemed to care when they had to make substitutions like this.
Someday they’d be able to invest in a real house with a backyard for Riley — and a matching yard next door for her cousins. With Gus’s ever-growing army of mini geeks, that day might have to come sooner rather than later. But for now they were content with their little home.
“We weren’t sure what time you would get home,” Shawn said quietly. “So I kind of promised her that she and I could sleep in the tent tonight. But if you need—”
She shook her head, jostling his slightly with the movement. “No, that actually sounds really nice. As long as you two don’t mind me joining you?”
“Yay!” Riley cheered, giving her obvious approval of the idea. “We made a big tent, Mom. You’ll fit easy.”
“Big-ish,” Shawn corrected with a laugh. “But it should be fine.”
After they’d eaten their uncooked s'mores, Juliet headed back to the bedroom to change while Shawn helped Riley brush her teeth. They regathered in the blanket fort a few minutes later.
The three of them snuggled into the pile of pillows and blankets, with Riley sandwiched between her parents. Shawn opened the book he and Riley had been working on the last few nights and read the next chapter until his daughter finally nodded off.
Closing the book, Shawn pressed a kiss onto the blonde head nestled against his shoulder. “I love you,” he murmured into her hair. It didn’t matter how often they exchanged those simple words, there were some days he felt it really needed to be repeated.
“Love you, too,” she murmured back sleepily.
After getting them all settled into more comfortable sleeping positions, Shawn checked the window and door locks one last time before climbing into the makeshift tent beside them.
The quiet living room, lit only by the soft glow of the flameless candle, was soothing after the chaotic day.
He was almost asleep himself when a hand reached across from the other side of the tent. Smiling, Shawn latched onto it, letting both their hands rest on the sleeping child between them. A few minutes later, he could hear his wife’s gentle snores drifting over.
He might not be able to protect her from the bad days like today, but at least he could be there for her when it was over. A silent reminder that, no matter what she was going through, she would always have people here who loved her.
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