Another Psych fic! Already! This time starring our very own Lassifrass! I freaking love Lassiter, so I had to write him his own fic. First part will have some action, but the rest will be mostly humor. Well… ONWARD!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or its characters. Or 7-Eleven.

Carlton Lassiter had been having a terrible week. A terrible, terrible week. From having a door slammed in his face and nearly having his nose broken at the station to being pushed down a very long flight of stairs by the perp of his latest case, nothing seemed to be going his way. Now it was Friday, and on top of the past four days of misery, Lassiter was late. Very late. Breakfast from a 7-Eleven was not his first choice. Unfortunately, after waking up to find his alarm clock had run out of batteries, Carlton had to sprint out to his car, hungry and caffeine-deprived. Of course, after pulling out to the road, he realized that his tank was nearly empty (although he swore it was at least three-quarters full the day before). So there he was, rushing through the gas station convenience store, coffee and doughnut in one hand, cell phone in the other.

In his haste, Lassiter nearly tripped over a small girl who'd wandered in front of him. "Excuse me," he mumbled absentmindedly, trying to maneuver his was around the young girl.

"Have you seen my parents?" she asked innocently, stepping in his way again.

"Uh, no?" Carlton glanced at his watch. He was really, really late. He tried to move around her again.

"Did you see my mommy and daddy?" This time, she tugged on his pants.

"I haven't seen them!" he snapped, his nerves obviously frayed. Then, he realized what he did. Idiot. You don't yell at kids. She couldn't be more than a few years old. "Uh…" The girl's almond-shaped eyes stared up at him, wide and glistening. Lassiter sighed guiltily, crouching down to level himself with the girl. He balanced himself on the balls of his feet. "Did your parents come in here with you?" he asked her as gently as he could, a hint of frustration seeping into his words. As far as he could tell, he was the only customer in the place.

The girl remained silent. Carlton was getting impatient. Normally, he liked kids, despite what his ex-wife thought. Not teenagers. Cute little kids like the one before him. Although, they could be annoying sometimes and had unnaturally high-pitched voices. He just didn't know how to deal with them well. Today, though, he didn't have the patience for much of anything.

"I dunno," the girl finally answered, wandering off in another direction.

The detective remained where he was for a few seconds, not quite sure what had happened. Then it occurred to him, Crap! I'm late, and he momentarily forgot the girl. He jumped up and headed for the cash register. On the way, he dialed his partner's number on his phone.

He held it to his ear, waiting for the ringing to cease. "O'Hara?" Lassiter said when his call was answered.

"Carlton?" he heard Juliet's voice on the other end. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the 7-Eleven getting some gas and food," he told her. He quickly turned the corner around a rack of junk food. "I'll be there-" he stopped suddenly.

"Carlton?" Juliet repeated.

"O'Hara… I may be a bit later than I expected…" he said carefully, slowly pulling the phone away from his ear.

He looked warily upon the gun that was now pointed at his face.

"Drop it," the man holding the gun commanded, indicating Lassiter's phone. The detective complied, setting it down on the tiled floor. He held his hands up unthreateningly.

Carlton cursed in his head. He'd been so distracted that he didn't notice the armed man walk in. The man was wearing a ski mask, a baseball cap, and a hooded sweatshirt. Anyone could have seen that the man was up to no good. Anyone but the very behind Carlton Lassiter. He let out a growl. Damnit!

"Are you putting the money in the bag?" the man shouted behind him at the teenage girl behind the register, his gravelly voice causing her to jump. Lassiter gaped. He hadn't even noticed the cashier being held up? He was really distracted.

"Y-yes," the teen stammered. Lassiter could see her shaking.

"FASTER!" the man ordered, swinging the gun towards her.

Lassiter saw his chance. Luckily, the man hadn't noticed his badge or holster. He drew his gun swiftly, aiming at the man's head.

"SBPD! Put down your weapon!" The man whipped around with surprise, coming face to face with the muzzle of Carlton's gun.

The roles had been reversed, and Lassiter could see the desperation in the masked man's eyes. He backed up a step.

"Freeze!" Lassiter barked.

The man took another step back. His eyes flickered to the right for a split second. Before anything could be done, the man dove to the side. Carlton's gaze followed him, and his eyes widened when he saw the man grab the girl from before. He held a gun to her head. Well. He hadn't expected that.

"I'll shoot her!" Lassiter could see it in his wild eyes. He wasn't lying. Lassiter had the sneaking suspicion he was probably on something. He was dangerous.

The girl wiggled, trying to push herself from the strange man. All she did was wrinkle her once-immaculate pink dress. Her lip quivered, and Lassiter could tell she was about to start crying.

"Put the gun down."

"Just…" the detective began.

"DOWN!"

"Just let her go." There was no way he was going to let that scumbag harm a hair on that child. She'd begun to sniffle, and Carlton was beginning to feel incredibly guilty for dismissing her earlier.

The man seemed to consider the words. "Fine."

Lassiter sighed with relief. At least he has some humanity in him, he thought derisively. He bent down, gently placing the gun down near his phone.

"Now let her go," he said with a little more force.

"Kick it to me." The man set the girl down, gun still trained on her head.

Carlton complied grudgingly, and luckily, the man released the girl. Tears in her eyes, she ran to the detective, grabbing his legs.

"The mean man hurt my head," she blubbered into his pant leg.

He lightly pushed her behind him. "Stay behind me," he told her.

"You don't want to do this," Lassiter called to the man. He'd turned back to the cashier, no longer having to worry about the disarmed detective. The man ignored him. In truth, Lassiter was trying to stall. "You can still get out of this."

The man let out a terse, staccato laugh. "I think I'm doing fine."

A minute passed in silence. The teen had finished emptying the register. She handed the bag to the man, terrified.

Before he could take his loot, sirens filled the air. Thank God, Lassiter thought. It worked.

In seconds, black and white cars pulled into the parking lot. Uniformed officers jumped out, guns drawn. O'Hara was there too.

"SBPD!" she yelled. "We have you surrounded! Drop your weapon!"

The man looked around wildly. There was no one close enough to hold hostage this time around. He had nowhere to go. After a few seconds, he let his gun fall to the ground. Gleefully, Lassiter pulled out his handcuffs and locked them around the man's wrists.

"You're under arrest for attempted robbery," he growled with a sneer.

Carlton handed the man off to an officer while Juliet walked up to her partner. He quickly retrieved his gun and phone off the floor. Behind them, other officers were taking care of the cashier.

"You okay," she asked, concern written on her face.

"I'm fine," Lassiter mumbled. "So you heard? I wasn't sure if you would."

"Yeah. You couldn't get him?"

Carlton shook his head bitterly. "He took a young girl hostage."

"That one?" Juliet inquired, pointing to the dark-haired girl, still clutching her partner's pants.

"That one."

Juliet crouched down. "Hi, I'm Juliet. What's your name?"

The girl hid her face behind Lassiter's leg. He rolled his eyes, grumbling. Was he going to have to take care of this? Juliet stood up, surprised.

"I think she likes you. You ask her." Lassiter did not miss his partner's smirk.

He looked down at the girl. "What's your name?" She mumbled something into the detective's pants. "What?"

The girl retuned his gaze. "What's your name?" she giggled. Carlton glared witheringly at Juliet with a look that said, "I can't do this. Don't make me do this. You do this." All he got for a response was her huge grin. He knew she'd be taking mental pictures.

Carlton brought himself as close to level with the girl. "My name is Detective Lassiter. Now, what's your name?" he managed, sticking out his hand. He felt stupid. Though not as stupid as if he'd been talking like women do to newborn babies. There was no way he'd ever talk like that. No way. No how.

Shyly, she shook his hand. "I'm George."

"Where are her parents?" Juliet queried from above.

Lassiter straightened up. "I don't know. She was looking for them before. I didn't see anyone come in for a while."

"They would just leave her?"

"I saw a pretty birdy," George piped up. "I followed it. Then Mommy and Daddy were gone." She began sniffling again.

"Uh…" Lassiter bent down, hesitantly patting her head. "There there?" He heard his partner stifle a laugh.

"How long were you following the birdy… George?" Must be short for Georgia, Juliet decided.

George shrugged, plopping on the ground. She yawned. "I'm tired." She raised her arms at Carlton expectantly.

"Wh-what does she want?" he asked Juliet suspiciously.

Juliet chuckled. "I think she wants you to pick her up."

"What?" Lassiter hissed. He didn't mind kids, but that didn't mean he was completely comfortable with them.

"You can't just leave her there."

"Well…"

"Carlton! We need to take her to the station in case her parents come looking for her!"

"But what if she-"

"Carlton." Juliet's voice took on a threatening tone.

"O'Hara, can't you-?" She glared at him. "Fine."

Lassiter reached down, hoisting the girl up to him. George wrapped her slightly pudgy arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Much to his annoyance, he heard his partner let out a small 'aw.' George snuggled close to him, and before she slipped into sleep, she mumbled, "Lassie…"

"Crap," Lassiter sighed.

Mmmkay. Like it? It just came to me one day. I thought, 'What is the cutest thing I can think of? Lassie and a little kid?' Bingo! Well, one more chapter. Fun at the station! Review maybe?