About a decade into the future. Based on a scene from Gus' Dad Might Have Killed an Old Guy. Enjoy.
Detective Lassiter saw the box appear on his desk from the corner of his eye. He ignored it and continued typing until he heard the paper scraping across the wood and noticed the wrapped box had moved closer. Rolling his eyes, he snapped, "I'm working."
There was no response for a moment, then the paper crinkled again as the box slid even closer.
He slammed his hands on his desk and pushed himself up.
"You know what—" he exclaimed, then paused when he saw the little girl. She gave a toothy grin, missing a front one as she stood as well.
"Hi Uncle Lassie!"
He slowly looked around the precinct, but didn't see Shawn anywhere.
"Did your father put you up to this?"
She narrowed her eyes, perplexed. "No? Mommy said it was your birthday. And…well, Daddy may have said we should get you one of these, but I picked it out," she claimed excitedly.
He sighed in defeat and sat, jerking his head to indicate she should come closer, she bounced up, her wavy blonde hair bounding behind her, and stood directly before him as he spun his chair to face her. They seemed to have a staring contest as she bounced from one foot to the other.
"Well, aren't you gonna open it, Uncle Lassie?"
He clenched his teeth, but tried not to let her realize it, as he placed the box in his lap and began to remove the paper. Folding back the cardboard flaps, he tried not to imagine any horrifying possibilities, but if Spencer was involved…
Lassiter inhaled swiftly as he realized what he was looking at.
A snow globe.
He hissed, clenching his jaw.
"Your father helped pick this out?"
The child's smile faltered, and for some reason he still couldn't figure out after almost eight years, it physically hurt him.
"He said a snow globe…but I picked it! I even picked the, um, inscription. See!"
Lassiter lifted the glass carefully, looking for the metal base.
"Uncle Lassie." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "You're even better than pineapples. H and Ks, Elayne."
He met her wide, brown eyes and forced a smile.
"I love it."
Her toothy grin returned, hopeful.
"Really?"
His smile became slightly less forced.
"Really."
She put her arms around his neck and he squeezed her gently. As soon as he let go, she turned and all but sprinted towards the chief's office. He shook his head as he watched her go.
"What's that?"
Lassiter turned his head and held the gift up for his partner to view. She giggled.
"So that's what she meant."
Ignoring the implications of that, he shook his head.
"I hope you can handle that kid alone, because I am going to kill your husband."
Juliet laughed, and Carlton swore under his breath. But that snow globe never left his desk.