A small collection of times Juliet and Carlton almost kissed, and one time they actually did. Loafer, here you go. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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1. The Accident.

Juliet O'Hara hated late-night calls.

Late-night calls were never good. Usually they were from her partner, letting her know he was on his way to pick her up so they could go to a crime scene. Sometimes they were from a crying victim Juliet had given her card to, and once or twice a year it was a bartender who found her card in Carlton's wallet and needed her to pick him up from their bar because he was too drunk to safely leave his bar stool.

So when her phone began to ring at just after two a.m. Saturday night, Juliet was reluctant to leave Shawn's warm embrace. But the ringing persisted, and eventually she rolled over and grabbed her phone to look at the number. It was a Santa Barbara number, but she didn't recognize it.

"O'Hara."

"Yes, is this Juliet O'Hara?" a professional-sounding voice queried.

Juliet sat up in the bed, ignoring Shawn's sleepy grumbling. "Yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Emily Reyes. I'm an intake nurse at Santa Barbara General, and one of my patients has you listed as next-of-kin. A Carlton Lassiter."

Immediately Juliet was out of the bed and grabbing the closest shirt and pants. "Carlton? Is he okay? What happened to him?"

"Mr. Lassiter was in an accident tonight, Ms. O'Hara. If you could come down here, his doctor can discuss his condition with you in full."

Juliet groaned at the vagueness of the nurse's words. "I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Thank you."

Ending the call, Juliet grabbed a pair of running shoes and her keys.

"Jules?" Shawn sleepily called to her from the bed.

"Go back to sleep, Shawn. It's work."

To her relief, Shawn grumbled and buried his face in his pillow. His snoring resumed a few moments later, and Juliet slipped out of their home.

She had to get to Carlton.

The soles of Juliet's shoes squeaked and the sound seemed to echo off the walls as she walked up to the nurses' desk. "Juliet O'Hara. I'm looking for Carlton Lassiter." Her hand came up and flashed her badge.

The nurse closest to Juliet tapped her keyboard. "Upstairs, room 314."

Juliet barely remembered to thank the nurse before she rushed upstairs. It was almost three a.m. now, and the halls were almost completely deserted. She found Carlton's room easily, but before she pushed the door open, something made her pause.

How badly was he hurt?

Would he be okay?

Was she ready for this?

She had to remind herself to stop and breathe. He was alive. If he wasn't, she would be identifying his body, not walking into his hospital room.

But the thought of identifying his body…

Shaking her head almost violently as though ridding her mind of the thoughts, she reached out and pushed the door open.

There he was.

Her knees wobbled slightly as she took in the sight of him. He was lying on the narrow hospital bed, white gauze wrapped around his head and a blanket drawn up to his chest. There were a few cuts and bruises available to Juliet's eye, but nothing apparently life-threatening. A soft breath escaped her as she moved closer to the bed.

"Carlton…"

His eyes remained closed; his breathing was deep and even.

A wave of tremendous relief suddenly hit her, and she nearly hit the floor. He was okay. He was okay.

Her hand came out and settled on his arm. His skin was so warm and comforting beneath her fingertips, proving to her that he was still with her. Her thumb began rubbing small circles over his skin.

As she stroked his skin, his long eyelashes fluttered against pale skin. A soft groan interrupted the silence of the room. Juliet's head jerked up.

"Carlton?"

He groaned again as his eyes finally opened. His unfocused gaze settled on her, and he graced her with a crooked smile.

"Juliet?"

He never used her first name, and for a moment, she couldn't respond. When she finally found her voice, she murmured, "I'm here, Carlton."

He blinked slowly. "Hospital?"

"Yeah. But you're going to be okay." Another surge of relief sideswiped her. He was going to be fine. It might take a few weeks, but eventually he would be just fine.

Shifting his hips, he reached up and gently touched her cheek.

Juliet froze at the tender touch. She almost pulled away; the last thing she wanted was to damage their partnership and friendship. But he was clearly on some heavy duty painkillers and likely wouldn't remember this moment. Against her better judgment, she leaned into his hand briefly before she leaned over.

He watched her with interest. His beautiful blue eyes, still cloudy, were slowly closing.

She hovered over him, her lips inches away from his, for several moments. She was so close, and still so far. At the last moment, she moved a few inches north and gently kissed his forehead.

The smile on his face when she pulled away was the sweetest she had ever seen, and moments later he was sleeping soundly. Juliet stood there for a long time and just watched him sleep.

"Thank God you're okay, Carlton."

He remained deeply asleep, and she ran her thumb over his cheek before she sat down beside his bed and settled in to watch over him as he slept.

The next morning, Carlton was back to his grouchy self. Before noon he was scaring off the nurses and demanding to be released. Juliet stayed with him and eventually agreed to take responsibility for him, which was the only way his doctor would agree to release him so soon. He had a moderate concussion and needed someone to look after him, at least for a day or two. Despite Shawn's complaints and Carlton's insistence that he didn't need anyone babysitting him, Juliet packed a bag and stayed at Carlton's apartment to make sure he was okay.

He never remembered their almost-kiss at the hospital, or at least he never acknowledged it. Neither did she, because at least she still had him.

The End.