Olivia Sutton's Fanfic Journal

HI again,

Well, again, I've got an idea for a post from G0shawk.  I swear, girl, I'm NOT copying you, but you keep having great ideas, and I never seem to know what to do with this Journal, so here it goes.   Someone asked G0shawk how she became a slasher -- well, I've had an essay on my hard drive for awhile about that, slash that is, which I intended to post to my own website someday.  And since I still don't have my own website, I'm going to post the essay here, then update it a bit at the bottom of this entry.

--Olivia
___________________________________
 

Slash why? / Slash Why not?

First, let's get a few misconceptions out of the way about slash writers.

Myth #1:   Slash writers are gay.   This is untrue, most (80-90 percent) of slash fans and writers are straight women.   Note:   Think about it-- if you were a lesbian-- Would you be interested in MEN having sex?

Myth #2:   Slash writers will slash anything and everything.   This is actually only true of some slash writers.   There are slash writers who see it as a challenge to come up with unlikely pairings.   However, there are also slash writers who only write slash for one or a couple of series, and disagree with the "let's slash everything" philosophy.   I do not know the statistics for either scenario.

Point #3:   "But slash is out of character" --I used to agree with this whole-heartedly, BUT, if the character IS gay-- is it slash?   And if the characters aren't openly gay but the creator of the series and the series' writer(s) are gay-- is it conceivable that the characters might be.

The truth is slash readers and writers are individuals and have there own preferences for the slash they read and/or write.  I can only speak about my own experiences with slash fanzines and fandoms, and not speak to anyone else's experience.

I attended my first con in 1986, returned to one in 1987, then attended my first Mediawest in 1988.   At Mediawest I bought a lot of zines and picked up a lot of flyers. Back then, e-mail was rare (though I did have an e-mail account in 1987 through my university at the time), but anyway, e-mail was rare so contact for information on zines was obtained by writing to the zine editor, asking your questions and including a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).   I no longer remember who the zine or zine editor was, but I asked one such editor "What is slash?" because her zines were slash.   So she told me.   I was... surprised, shocked, embarrassed, etc.   And decided to avoid it.

At Mediawest, I quickly learned slash was popular and you really should just let other people do what they enjoyed and not criticise them for it (which went with my liberal upbringing  just fine).   For years I avoided slash.

But I was curious, so I bought Rose Tint my World  a Man From Uncle "romantic" slash zine-- I didn't find it romantic, I found it, um, acrobatic.   Some of the stories were okay, but I wasn't that impressed.

Then I saw flyers for Perestroika a Uncle slash novel, beautifully illustrated by Susan Lovett-- I had to have it, even though it was slash.   Bought it, and LOVED it.   Didn't buy other slash zines after that, but I did love it.

Things happened and I got less involved with paper zines and fandom.   Occasionally read mostly straight fics on-line, and that's about it.   Started watching The Wild Wild West every morning before work (5am folks!), got hooked, read everything I could find on-line, including on-line slash, then found some printed zines including Gentlemen Never Tell.   I also found out the creator of the series was openly gay, at a time when you didn't see that in Hollywood very often. Also, I was challenged, sorta'--mostly by myself, to do a Artie/Jim story so I did -- by my own admission it really, really isn't that good.

Again, kinda' dropped out of fandom-- or moved on-line, where I could read fanfic and even publish my fanfic, whatever my flavor-of-the-month was and I found appreciative audiences.   Maybe if I had been going to MediaWest at the time some of my later fic would have been published in zines instead of on-line but oh well, I learned a lot pubbing on-line and met some great folks through discussion lists.

Then I found Randall and Hopkirk, Deceased -- thanks to BBC America!   I quickly, quickly fell in love with the series.   I wrote my first fanfic after only seeing three eps ( a record, certainly for me).   After a few straight fics, I had ideas for slash fics.   And if you read "Snapshots", you'll see they are short vignettes-- that's how the ideas came, little bits and pieces of Jeff's and Marty's background.   What brought the story into focus for me was the idea of making it like the film, Same Time, Next Year  where each piece takes place at a different time and dealing with a different 'issue' in Jeff and Marty's lives (first time, telling Jeff's mum about their relationship, opening the detective business, etc), and I loved writing the story.   I also really like my beta/writing partner for her encouragement, edits and help.   I actually think my slash stories are quite good, so I'm not going to apologise for them.   Hopefully, I will bring you more soon.

____________________________

Well, here's an update.  I've written six straight Randall and Hopkirk, Deceased (2000) stories and four slash Randall and Hopkirk, Deceased (2000) stories.  I have two more slash stories on my hard-drive.  They've been edited by my beta, and are close to being ready to publish.  However, they've been in this state for months because I've been so busy with my new job.  I do want to get them ready and published (on Fanfiction.net) but I don't know when I'll have the time.  I'm hoping to find the time to re-watch RnHd though (there's only 13 episodes to the entire run of the series), which I figure will help.
I've also started writing Psych fanfic now - straight this time.  I have three stories, posted at www.fanfiction.net and www.psychfic.com.  I'm working on another story for that fandom (actually a longer version of one of the published stories).
In terms of reading slash tho, I'm enjoying reading Psych slash stories, esp. Ilsaluvsrick's series, and other fics I've found here at Live Journal.  Tho', for pairing, I prefer Shawn/Lassiter.  I got into reading the S/L stuff, not just because when I saw season 2 (Summer 2007) I wanted to read everything I could get my hands on (which happened with RnHd - and Stephanie's slash series "Unreality" is in large part responsible for my fics) but I watched/downloaded a ton of Psych vids from youTube, and I really enjoyed the S/L ones, esp. "Devious Stares" (Sex and Candy).  Watching the vids, led to me reading the slash fic, and who knows, maybe at some point I'll write a slash Shawn/Lassiter fic (or two).  I'll tell ya', the story I'm working on now keeps wanting to go slash, and I'm trying to keep it straight (having gotten a bit tired of writing slash after all the RnHd fics).  We'll see.
--Olivia

I posted the updated version of my first longer *Psych* fanfic to Fanfiction.net and Psychfic.com.  Same pen name as here, Olivia Sutton but with a space not an underscore.  Info on the story is in the previous announcement.  It's a h/c piece.
Olivia

This review might be a bit of a mish-mash, but here we go.

Packaging:  I love it!  The case opens like a book, and you life open the plastic piece holding disc 1 or 2 to get to disc 3 or 4.  The outside of the case is like a hardback book.  Very classy!  And the only other DVD I have remotely like it is my 2-disc Special Edition of Double Indemnity (great movie starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson.  That and Sunset Blvd. are THE classic Film Noirs in my DVD collection.  Tho' I also have The Maltese Falcon, but Double Indemnity is better.)  Anyway, I loved the packaging, and that's rare, esp. for a TV DVD (Yep, I tend to complain about TV DVD packaging).

Cost/number of eps.  Well, there's only 15 eps in the set, 16 if you also include the International pilot.  I received my copy as a gift, but from what I remember looking on-line, the price was a little high, especially considering it's only 15 eps.

Series itself?  I loved it!  I'd only seen slightly more than half of the episodes, tho' I HAD seen the pilot and "Spellingg Bee".  So it was good to catch up.  Now, if I just had the last ep. from this summer on tape or something (I managed to miss it :-(  I'd be all caught-up, finally.
I like the humor of the show.  It's laugh out loud funny, WITHOUT laughing AT the characters or sinking into "stupid sitcom"-land.
The characters are GREAT - I liked all of them, especially Henry (we soooo need to see MORE of Henry, and more flashbacks to young Shawn and/or Shawn & Gus).  I also like, as you can tell from my userpic, Lassiter - whom I see as a good cop.  He's even willing to take Spencer's help once Shawn proves himself.  (Lassie also will use forensics, technology, computers, whatever to help him solve cases, which is what motivates him).
And I just like that Shawn is off-the-chart smart.  He uses his brains as well as his special talent for observation AND deduction to solve cases.  In a way, he reminds me of Sherlock Holmes --someone so smart they don't fit into the average, normal, 9 to 5 world so they create their own job (both as private consultant detectives).  Holmes worst enemy is boredom (thus the acceptable at the time drug use for Holmes).  Shawn too gives the impression he'd get in an awful lot of trouble if he didn't have his work as a private "psychic" / police consultant to keep him busy.  Shawn also has a best friend who he could leave in the dust in the smarts dept (Not that Gus is dumb, he's smart but average smart, not genuis-level smart like Shawn) to help him out, not just on cases but in his life.  Gus is Shawn's rock -- he'd be lost without him.  (Watch Shawn in "Scary Sherry" when Alice asks him what he would do if he lost his best friend - Shawn literally can't answer her - both times she asks the question). Then there's Lassiter, who like Holmes' Lestrade is a competent detective, but again, like Gus, not as giftedly smart as Shawn.  If you read the Arthur Conan Doyle books (or watch Granada's excellent series with Jeremy Brett) Lestrade isn't stupid - he has average to high intelligence, and he trusts Holmes and works with him as needed.  Lestrade doesn't know anything about forensics, but Sherlock Holmes was written in the late 1900s-early 20th century, and back then even fingerprints were new when it came to criminalogy.  'Course Psych has characters that don't have SH parallels (Chief Vick, Juliet, and Henry, by name) but for the ones it does have it's an interesting comparison.

Special features:  Excellent!  Tho' I missed having the "psych outs" for each episode.  The deleted scenes and bloopers - fun (as such features usually are).  I wish they'd been able to run *Scary Sherry* long and use the extra scenes, they were awesome!
Writer's table - gets the Best Special Feature award, even if it's just to hear the writers officially say they were inspired by Remington Steele and Moonlighting (2 of my favorite 80s shows). 

--Olivia Sutton

Psych Fanfic
Title:  Accusations and Ramification
Author:  Olivia Sutton
Warnings:  Implied violence (against a child)
Rating:  PG-13/Teen
Spoilers:  None.
Season:  Not specific, but yes, it could be considered second season. However, I have not seen all of Psych yet, especially first season-- I'm a late-comer to this fandom, so conflicts with canon are all on me and you can call this AU if you want. 
Feedback:  Yes, please.
Archive:  Fanfic Net, Psychfic, otherwise please ask.

Summary:  Lassiter would never use his position to invade Shawn's privacy.  Or would he?

Disclaimer:  I don't own Psych, and I'm not making any profit from this.  This is for the enjoyment of other fans.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 AN:  Just a little scene that popped in my head while watching Untold Stories of the E/R on Discovery Health Channel.  That show was about Munchausen's by Proxy, but a previous one had dealt with an E/R doctor's unfounded accusation of child abuse.  Between the two, I somehow came up with this.  Besides, I'm stuck on my other Psych fic.  Oh, and I don't know who Henry's old chief of police would have been.  If someone can enlighten me, I'll update the story and correct the rather vague opening.  And I like Henry--REALLY--but this just popped in my head, so I went with it.  And Lassiter rocks!  Sorry for the lack of Gus guys!

AN Mark II:  And this is a quick update to fix a couple of errors I noticed (including the name of DHC's real med program-- I got mixed up with TLC's, which I also watch) after I posted last night.  Why do  I always notice the mistakes AFTER I hit "post"?

SPECIAL AN FOR LIVEJOURNAL:  I've never posted fic to a live journal before, hopefully this will work. I have posted to fanficnet though.  Also, I'm posting this to Shawn_Lassiter too, but it's not necessarily slash, it just really features those two characters. 

ADDENDUM FOR LIVEJOURNAL:  OK-- I do owe everyone on both communities an apology.  I suppose, from the comments filling up my e-mail inbox that I really screwed-up posting this.  So, I'm sorry.  Sincerely.  But, come on-- you think that at least one person would explain how to properly post the fic?  Telling me the "code" doesn't do me any good because I don't know HTML programming and I don't know what you're talking about.  (I only know UNIX/Linux programming and I'm a beginner at that; I also know database, security, and networking).  Anyway, I'm going to try posting this just as a journal entry and hopefully someone will actually explain how to do the links?  Thanks, guys.

 

Accusations and Ramifications
by Olivia Sutton

 

Date:  1982

Officer Henry Spencer rushed into his chief's office at the Santa Barbara Police Department.

His chief sat behind his desk with a serious expression on his face, "Henry?"

"What's happened?  Dispatch said I was to come straight in, that it involved Shawn, what happened?"  said an anxious Henry.

"The hospital called, Shawn's there..."

Henry looked at his chief, "Which hospital?" he asked as he started toward the door.

"There's more, Henry, your wife..."

Henry reached for a chair and sat down, "What?  What happened?  Was there a traffic accident?  Listen, I need to be with my family!  Just tell me!"

"Henry," said the chief, looking at the other man with sympathy, "You know about the new domestic violence hotline we've set up.  You volunteered to train the staff at local hospitals to spot domestic violence and child abuse."

Henry looked at the chief in shock, then said, "Yeah so?"   The penny dropped as Henry looked at the expression on his chief's face, "I have never hit my wife!  Or Shawn!  Never!  And if someone said I did, well, they're lying."

"I believe you.  But the hospital has clear evidence that someone's abusing Shawn.  He's covered in bruises, Henry."

Henry paled, and looked at his chief in shock.

"The E/R doctor who called suspects your wife.  Apparently, she was acting suspiciously, and Shawn was pulling away from her at the E/R.  The call came through the domestic violence hotline, and there will be an investigation."

Henry nodded, he'd been on the force long enough to be familiar with the ins and outs of domestic violence investigations.  "Can I see Shawn?  I don't mind if  I'm supervised, but can I see my son?  I want to know...  Please, this morning he looked just fine to me.  I can't imagine that he's in a hospital room right now while we're talking.  Please!"

The chief nodded, "I called you in here, because I thought you needed to be told in person that Shawn was in the hospital.  With the accusation, well, the department can't be seen to be protecting one of it's own at the price of  a child's health.  You're suspended, I'll need your badge and gun, and as I mentioned there will be a full investigation.  But you can go to the hospital to see Shawn, with an investigating officer."

Henry nodded, stood, took his badge off  his shirt, then pulled his gun from it's holster on his hip, he strode forward and laid both on his chief's desk.  "Thanks for being honest with me about everything.  I swear, I absolutely swear," he said, the palm of his hand on his badge on the desk, "that I have never hurt Shawn, not ever.  I also never saw any signs that my wife was abusing my boy, but in truth, I'm not home much.  Thank you for letting me go see him."  He took his palm from his badge, spun on his heel, then headed towards the waiting officers.

****

CONTEMPORARY SANTA BARBARA

 
Lassiter paced up and down in the E/R waiting area.

"Why don't you sit down, you're giving me a headache," said Juliet as she watched her partner pacing back and forth.

"It was my fault," said Carlton.

"Why would you think that?"

"I've never thought Spencer was in any danger.  I consider him a liability, like always, and I simply wasn't paying attention.  I should have noticed the car..." Lassiter stopped talking, and began to get up.

Juliet reached over and put a hand on Lassiter's arm.

Lassiter closed his eyes, leaned back against the wall behind the chairs, then opened his eyes again, "Did you get a hold of Henry?"

Juliet nodded, "Finally.  Chief  Vick sent some uniforms to the docks.  They found him when he came in from fishing off his boat.  He should be here any moment."

"And Gus?" asked Lassiter, rubbing his face with a hand.

"Still working on that one. He's not answering his cell.  Apparently, he's at a pharmacy convention for work, in Las Vegas.  We got the name of the hotel from his work, and called, but he wasn't in his room and the convention center is so large that they wouldn't do an emergency page.  We've left messages."

Lassiter nodded.

A doctor came from the E/R treatment area, "The family of Shawn Spencer?"

Lassiter and Juliet stood, and moved towards the doctor.

"For now, we're the only ones here," said Lassiter.

The doctor nodded, "Shawn is a lucky young man.  Just a few scrapes and bruises, no serious damage."

"Thank god," muttered Lassiter.  Then he looked at the doctor and said, "Not to tell you your job or anything.  But if he's not hurt, and I'm happy about that, by the way, why was he in there," he pointed at the treatment area, "so long?"

"It took awhile to clear his x-rays.  With all the old breaks, the films kept coming back positive because of calcification.  We finally had to get a specialist from orthopedics to look him over and make sure he didn't have any broken bones."

Lassiter looked at the doctor in shock, "Old breaks?"

The doctor nodded, but said nothing.

"Can we see him?"  asked Juliet.

"I don't see why not.  And I'll send a nurse in soon with his release papers."

Lassiter nodded, then proceeded towards the curtained off emergency treatment area, followed closely by Juliet.

They entered.  Shawn sat on the bed, his legs hanging off the side of the bed.  He looked a little pale, had a black eye, and some red marks on his right arm, which Lassiter could tell had been treated with clear liquid bandage.

Shawn looked up, "Hey guys."

"You all right?" asked Juliet, as she moved near him.

Shawn fluttered his eyes at her shamelessly, "I am now that you're here," he said.

Lassiter groaned, "Come on, Spencer, we'll give you a ride home."

Juliet looked at her frowning partner, "Don't let him fool you, Shawn, he was very worried."

Shawn simply nodded, then said, "Hey, can you find my shoes anywhere?"

Lassiter checked a nearby locker, then handed Shawn his shoes.  When Shawn winced as he bent to put them on, Lassiter simply slipped the tennis shoes onto Shawn's feet, and tied the laces.

"Thanks," said Shawn, sincerely.

"Don't get used to it," said Lassiter, then he straightened up.

A nurse entered with a stack of papers, "Here you go, Mr. Spencer.  Sign these then take them to admitting and you can leave."

Shawn nodded, and grabbed the papers from her.

Lassiter gave Shawn a hand as he hopped off the bed, then led him and Juliet to admitting.

At admitting they saw an anxious Henry Spencer asking about Shawn.

"Hi, Dad," said Shawn quietly.

Lassiter looked at Henry, then at Shawn, then at Henry again, "Mr. Spencer," he said.

Henry went to Shawn, "What happened?  You're all right, aren't you?  The officers were waiting for my boat, they said you'd been hit by a car?"

"I'll tell you later, Dad," said Shawn, as he laid the papers on the admittance desk, and signed them.

Henry looked at Lassiter and Juliet, "What happened?"

"He's fine.  We had a bit of a scare, but he's fine," said Lassiter.

Henry nodded, "Well, I'll take him home then."

Lassiter reached forward, grabbed Henry's wrist, and said, "I can do that."

Henry raised an eyebrow, and looked at Lassiter, then said, "No, Detective, I'll take Shawn home."

Shawn looked at Lassiter, then at his father, then stepped over to Henry, "Dad can take me home, Lassie.  I should tell him what happened, anyway."

Lassiter looked at Shawn, looking deeply into the young man's eyes.  He didn't see any fear there, so he nodded, and said, "I'll..."

Juliet cleared her throat.

"We'll head back to the station."

Shawn and Henry turned to leave the admittance area.  As Shawn passed him, Lassiter lightly grabbed Shawn's arm, "You sure you're all right, Shawn?"

Shawn nodded, again, his eyes showing confusion, "Yeah, you have something you want to tell me, Lassie?"

Lassiter shook his head, "Get out of here."

Shawn nodded again, then caught up with Henry and left the hospital.

Juliet looked at Lassiter, "What?"

"Nothing," said Lassiter, "I was just thinking about how the doctor mentioned Shawn's old breaks, that's all."

Juliet looked in the direction where Shawn and Henry had left, "Surely, you don't think?" she left off.

"Wouldn't be the first time a cop took the pressure out on his family, Juliet," Lassiter said tightly.

Juliet looked at Lassiter in shock, "He wouldn't.  Henry's too good a cop for that."

Lassiter simply shook his head, then led her out of the hospital.

 

*****

Carlton entered his office at SBPD headquarters.  He'd convinced Juliet that she should try to contact Gus and let him know Shawn was all right.  He closed the door and locked it, then closed all the blinds in the room.  He went to his desk and turned on the computer, then opened the department's computerized case search program.

Then he sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.  Carlton Lassiter was a good cop, he'd never abused his position or power or his ability to access information.  He told himself that Shawn had become a friend, and this was different.  He was helping, not interfering.  He turned back to the computer, and typed 'SHAWN SPENCER' into the waiting prompt box on the computer screen.

Carlton sat back and waited while the computerized database did it's work.  After a few minutes it beeped.  Carlton clicked on the link and opened the file, then began reading.

Several minutes later, Carlton closed the program.  Tears rolled down his face, and he mumbled Shawn's name.  He swallowed several times, then picked up his desk phone and dialed the number of  the Psych detective agency.

Shawn answered after a few rings.

"Shawn?" said Lassiter, quietly.

"Lassie?" asked Shawn, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.  Can I see you?  I mean, I half expected to get your answering machine, but since you're there?"

"Sure.  Listen, Lassie, what happened today wasn't your fault, and I'm fine, there's no reason for you to..."

"I'll be there in ten," interrupted Lassiter.

*****

Shawn looked at the phone in his hand, and listened to the dial tone for a full thirty seconds before hanging up.  Lassiter was acting strange, and he was at a loss to explain it.

Ten minutes later, Lassiter arrived, he let himself in, and closed the door behind himself, then made his way from the entry area to stand before Shawn's desk.

Shawn looked up from where he sat at his desk.  Lassiter was still wearing his customary dark sunglasses, even though he was now inside.  Then Shawn noticed the older man's nose was red.  For a second, he thought Lassiter had been drinking, but he didn't smell any booze.  Shawn stood up and walked closer to Lassiter.  Nope, no booze, he thought.  Then he grabbed Lassiter's sunglasses off  his nose, saying, "Lassie, you really shouldn't..."  but the quip died on his lips, "Have you been crying?"

Lassiter looked at Shawn, holding his sunglasses.  Normally, he would have been angry, but after reading Shawn's file, he instead said, "No.  Well, maybe a little bit."

"What?  The divorce?  Hey, I know it's rough but..." Shawn waved a hand.

Lassiter just stared at Shawn, then grabbed the young man and whispered in his ear, "I know, Shawn."

Shawn paled and stepped back, "You know what, exactly?" he asked, thinking that somehow Lassiter had finally figured out he wasn't psychic.

Lassiter ran his hands across Shawn's shoulders, then pulled them back, "About the abuse, Shawn.  I know."

"What?" Shawn yelled at the older man, turning around and moving behind his desk.  Then he turned and faced Lassiter.  He began to shake, slightly, then he took a deep calming breath and said, "Those records are supposed to be sealed!  I was a minor!"

"You were a child.  A five-year-old child!"  Lassiter yelled back.  Then he took a deep, calming breath of his own, and fought the instinct to step closer to the young man in front of  him.  "No five-year-old should go through that.  Your mother..."

"Leave my mother out of this!" Snapped Shawn.

"She was the one that hit you!"

"And my father was the one who should have stopped her!  Not some E/R doctor.  How did you find out about this, anyhow?"

Lassiter's heart broke and he stepped closer to Shawn, despite his training.  "Today, at the E/R, the doctor said they couldn't clear your x-rays because of old breaks.  I know I shouldn't have, that it was private, but I checked the police records.  Shawn..."  he put his hands out towards the young man.

Shawn moved around the desk to Lassiter.  "He should have noticed.  He should have done something.  I... I was in foster care for months until he was cleared by an official investigation."

Lassiter nodded, and reached out towards the younger man.  Shawn fell into his arms, crying, mumbling, "He should have done something..."

Lassiter patted Shawn's back, and held him tightly.

Shawn pulled back, then dried his tears with his hand.

"You all right?" asked Lassiter.

Shawn nodded, "You won't tell Jules?  Or Chief Vick.  Or... or Gus, will you?"

"Gus doesn't know?" asked Lassiter.

"It happened before we met.  About a year before we met.  As far as Gus knows, my parents split when I was five, and I don't talk about it."

Lassiter nodded.  "I won't tell anyone.  But if you ever want to talk... Need a shoulder to cry on?"

"I'm not usually like this.  It's the shock..."  He looked at Lassiter.  "Honestly, it's not something I normally think about.  It's forgotten, for the most part.  I live in the present, Lassie."

Lassiter nodded, "Right.  Well, just remember, I'm here."

Shawn nodded.  Then he looked at Lassiter, critically, "Wait... you looked up police reports, because an E/R doctor told you I had old breaks?  What led you to the conclusion..."  Shawn's eyes widened, "You were acting strange at the hospital, especially when you saw my dad."

Lassiter sighed.  "You've never asked me why I became a cop, Shawn."

"So, why'd you become a cop, Lassie?"

"To protect people, Spencer, to protect children, to protect women, to protect people in harm's way.  And to get the bastards who hurt helpless people.  It's all I've ever wanted to do," then he spun on his heel and walked toward the door leading outside.

Shawn stared at Lassiter's retreating back in shock.  After a moment, he walked to the door himself, but Lassiter was gone.

 

THE END