Everything You Needed
Summary: Fate works in strange, mysterious...and sometimes...heartbreaking ways. When Marlowe unexpectedly dies in a car crash, Lassiter is left alone with his newly born daughter, Lily. Pushing himself into his work, he takes up every case he can, and by doing so, finds himself protecting the single survivor of a Japanese Trafficking and Murder Case. His hearts is on the line, and he's terrified to lose it again...but is it really losing his heart, or gaining it back?
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Psych
Pairing: Kagome/Carlton
Rated: M for Mature Content
Genre: Romance/Drama
-x-x-x-
"Carlton, I'm not asking..."
"Neither am I!" He clenched his fists, glaring at Karen, pleading with his chief. "I need this...give me another case, don't send me home, don't give me leave! I can't deal with that!"
Karen stared brokenly at her head detective. Not knowing how to grasp this situation, she gave him a good and long once over before finally conceding. Grabbing a file, she looked at it for a few seconds then handed it over. "Work on it with Mr. Spencer."
"I don't need his help,"
"I don't care," she turned a cold stare on him, "if you want cases, you will have a partner. Since O'Hara is currently out of state dealing with personal issues, you will work with Mr. Spencer. Unless...those vacation days are seeming more appealing to you by the course of time. Detective?" She tilted her head, giving him a look that dared him to argue further with her instructions. Thankfully, he gripped the file tightly, and merely turned and left the eyes of his Chief.
While this situation may have seemed normal enough to anyone looking on from outside the office window, to anyone not close to the Head Detective of the SBPD...it was far from normal to those who were.
Watching Santa Barbara's finest storm out of the office and out of the building, they stood silent before whispers echoed the halls once more after his absence.
-x-x-x-
Carlton got into his car, hating the silence, he turned the radio on. He hated the radio, even more now, having to use it as a distraction. A distraction from what? Putting his car in reverse, he pulled out of his parking spot and left with a single destination in mind. 'Marlowe...' his eyes started to burn at the thought of that name. Once upon a time, the sound of that name was one he'd only hear when offered a drink, but a few years ago...he had met a woman who had taken his breath away, more so than any fine wine could. She was sweeter than the bitter wine she was named after, despite its different spelling. She was kind, and gentle, and strong, and beautiful...god was she.
Pulling to a stop at a red light, he blared the music louder, hoping it would drown out his thoughts, his rampant, and hysterical thoughts. But to no avail, his mind still pulled out precious images he wished he could drown with the burn of his Irish whiskey. Those images never faded...no matter how many shots he downed, no matter the time of night, no matter how deep asleep he may be. He always saw her. Saw her brown eyes shining and beautiful smile...her gorgeous blonde hair in all those glorious waves, and he heard her. He heard her...still...
He heard her laugh...his heart would skip a beat.
He heard her cry...he felt as if he were dying inside.
He heard her scream...angry, scared...he thought he'd go into a fit of hysteria.
He heard her whisper...three harmonious words...words he'd never truly hear her whisper again. Despite what love he should have felt, hearing those words echoing in his head, he felt himself only drowning further into his despair. Those words...
I Love You...
Pulling into his driveway, a house he'd bought with Marlowe, so that they could truly have a family life, with their newly born daughter. His daughter...and hers. Climbing out of his car, he realized, the noise of the radio had coincidentally failed to drown out the sound of his own thoughts, and instead, he'd found himself more focused on them than ever before. Walking over to his front door, he looked to the curb where a white Prius was parked, pulling his keys out, he unlocked the door and walked inside.
"Carlton," a woman turned, mid-fifties, fifty-seven to be exact...brown hair pulled into a loose bun, and green eyes tired in her age. She was holding a sleeping infant, and rocking her slowly and carefully as she had been putting the infant to sleep moments prior to Carlton's arrival.
"Thank you for coming by on such short notice, Catherine, you can put Lily in her bed and head home, I'll write a check while you do."
He did as he'd said, and she did as he told, knowing the detective wasn't one for jokes and idle conversing. At least, not with her. She was merely the nanny/babysitter, and while she adored the baby, the father was a different subject all together. She couldn't say a kind word to the man without it turning into a lead bullet...who it turned out to be aimed at was always something left up for debate.
Taking the check, she spared a final glance to the broken man before she left his house and headed towards her own car to go back home.
Carlton had his own things to do, however. He had a ritual, of sorts. When he would get home, he would do two things before bothering with his work clothes or case files. He would stare at his daughter, and he would just barely graze his thumb over her slumbering form, gently brushing it over her cheek. While these two acts took place, he would cry...silent tears...tears that no one else saw. No one else was privileged to his tears...no one else had earned them...no one.
-x-x-x-
(Psych Agency)
Shawn stared hard at his cellphone, placing it down, he closed his eyes and sighed loudly. 'Damn...' this thought came from a long conversation he'd just finished with the Chief of Police. No nickname necessary, the woman had scarily earned her title as Chief Vick. However, what names he could and should call the strong minded and outspoken woman...wasn't what lingered on his mind at the current moment. No...What was left in his head, was something he hadn't been able to shake since the day it had taken place. Even as the paper holding its tale lay listlessly on his desk. Lifting it at eye level, only to drop it on the desk a second later. It didn't need to be looked at any longer. He'd long since memorized it...sadly, he wasn't able to forget it...much like he was sure Carlton couldn't.
The headlines of the paper read:
Collision Kills Two
It didn't matter that the drunk driver had died too, had gotten what he'd deserved as far as Shawn was concerned...what mattered was he'd taken someone amazing away from them. He had taken a woman who had found a heart in his Lassie and helped it burn in ways he knew only she could. He had seen her warm his soul, and brighten his life, and just as quickly as she'd come into his life...a drunk driver took her from him...leaving him a widowed father of a newly born infant. He couldn't even bring himself to try and joke around with the Detective, and now...Chief Vick was demanding he stop by and assist Carlton with the new case he was given.
"Life sucks..."
-x-x-x-
Me: Okay, sorry. I was watching Psych, and this kept gnawing on my toes, finally, I decided to write it, now onto Believing in the Impossible, as I had previously promised my readers!