Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Psych belongs to Steve Franks, USA Network, and anyone else who owns it.

*OoO*

Carlton looked at O'Hara—no, wait, he was out on a date with her for crying out loud! He really needed to start thinking of her as Juliet. But whether he thought O'Hara or Juliet, she was beautiful.

"Carlton?"

His attention snapped to her. Geez, get a grip, Lassiter! You're got a beautiful woman who is willingly on a date with you and you're ignoring her. No wonder you're still a bachelor!

"Carlton, is everything okay?" Juliet's voice was nervous.

He nodded. "Yeah, O'Ha—Juliet. I was just wondering how I got so lucky."

The tension eased from her face and she grinned. "You called me Juliet."

"Well, yeah. It's your name."

"I know but you've never called me Juliet. You've always called me O'Hara."

"Under the circumstances, I thought maybe I should try to be a little more personal."

Juliet blushed. "I'd like that," she said softly.

He cleared his throat at the sudden rush of warmth her approval and blush sent through him. He felt like a teenaged boy the way his hormones were kicking in. Then again, he'd been dreaming of this woman for a very long time, so maybe a few hormones were acceptable. But only a few.

The waiter stepped up to the table and Carlton ordered a bottle of champagne.

"Champagne, Carlton? I didn't know you drank the stuff."

"Isn't champagne what you drink when you celebrate?" he asked seriously. "Considering I've waited for this night for years, I think it calls for a celebration."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "Years?"

"Years," he confirmed with small nod.

"But—you left. You left and you barely stayed in touch." Her voice held a hint of mild accusation.

"'Barely' was all I could do."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't be close to you or talk to you every day and not tell you how I felt and—" He hesitated.

"And what?"

"And you weren't ready," he finished. He waved off her protest. "No, you weren't ready and that's okay. You needed to reach your goals and discover everything you were capable of." He considered her for a moment. "You needed to know you could achieve every one of your goals and you needed to do it without me. Only then would you see me as something more than a senior detective, your partner, or just your friend."

He could tell she wanted to object to what he said, but her words still surprised him. "You're right. I've been so cautious about my personal life. My relationship with Shawn—even though it had been over for years—colored my personal decisions. I came so close to ruining my career over that relationship and I was worried if I committed to another man, I'd do the same thing again."

"Now you're not?"

She shook her head. "Now I'm definitely not."

He smiled. "Glad to hear it."

The waiter interrupted their conversation to take their order. When he left, Carlton stood and asked her to dance.

"I didn't know you could dance. Well, other than tap," she amended as she took his hand.

He gave a smirk. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

She let him lead her to the dance floor and stepped into his arms. "So I see."

As the music played, she relaxed and put her head on his shoulder. Carlton let the peace he hadn't felt in years move through him. He'd missed her more than he realized until he'd seen her today. Now? Now he could finally admit he wasn't completely whole without Juliet O'Hara in his life.

The song ended and they went back to their table. He contemplated asking for another dance, but their meal arrived.

*OoO*

Before Carlton knew it, the evening was over and he was driving Juliet back to her place.

"Would you like to come in?" Juliet asked as he opened her car door.

He nodded. "Very much."

He followed her into the kitchen where she put on a pot of coffee. They chatted as it brewed and then took their cups into the living room.

"So, tell me about what you're doing now," she said as she settled at one end of the sofa. He'd wanted to hear about her rise through the department ranks, so they hadn't really touched on his job.

He sat down at the other end and took a sip of the dark, bitter brew. "Well, my partner and I have established solid working relationships with a lot of the movers-and-shakers in D.C., which has helped build the business."

"Carlton Lassiter politicking." Juliet laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day."

He made an unpleasant face. "Yeah, neither did I. But Joe, my partner, couldn't do it all himself so I had to learn." He leaned back with a sigh. "Once I got it through my thick skull they weren't perps I could send to jail, I got pretty good at it."

She laughed and then laughed harder at his sheepish look.

They sat in silence for a moment and he realized how much he'd missed these times with her.

"So what happens now?" Her voice broke into his musings.

"Now?"

She gave him an exasperated glance. "Carlton! You're in D.C. and I just took the chief's position in Santa Barbara." Her shoulders slumped. "I finally get to the point in my life where I'm ready to find out what I want outside of my job, you're here—which ties in nicely, by the way—and we're on opposite ends of the country." She lowered her head in disappointment.

"Oh, didn't I mention?" he asked in an innocent voice.

Her head slowly came up. "Mention what?"

"We're opening a branch of the company on the West Coast?" He grinned as her disappointed look faded.

"No!" He dodged a playful slap. "You did not!"

He laughed before sobering. "Did you really think I'd put myself out here like this if I didn't intend to see it through?"

He could see her thinking about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No, you wouldn't." She put her cup down and scooted closer to gently caress his cheek.

He reached up to cover her hand. "I wouldn't have come to the party tonight if I couldn't stay." He was heartened to see the joy in her eyes. "But, the question is, are you sure you're ready to see what's next?" He'd heard her say it in a general way, but he needed to hear it again about him.

"Carlton, I honestly think if you hadn't shown up tonight, I would have booked a flight to D.C. as soon as I could."

She surprised him. He thought for sure he'd have to work very hard just to get her to see him as a close friend again. After all, he'd been M.I.A. for the better part of five years.

He was so glad he was wrong.

Before he could think anything else, Juliet closed the distance between them and kissed him. It wasn't the most passionate kiss he'd ever received, but it held the most emotion of any kiss he'd ever gotten.

When she pulled back, her eyes were shining. "Do you want to stay for breakfast?"

He exhaled slowly. "I can't. Don't think I don't want to," he added quickly, "I do. But if we're going to do this, I want us to do it right."

"Do what, Carlton?" she asked impatiently. "To get to know one another? We know each other." She blew out a frustrated breath. "You're my best friend!"

He smiled in spite of the situation. It gave him a thrill to know she still considered him her best friend. "You're my best friend too, but you're also more. I owe it to you—and to myself—to show you. Before I'm through, you will know you are the most important woman in the world to me and I want you more than anything else in my life."

"Well, damn! How am I supposed to say no to that?" she asked with a chuckle, then nodded. "Okay, I'll accept slowly, but I won't accept glacial, got it?"

He returned the nod. "Yes ma'am."

"How long will you be in Santa Barbara?"

"I have to go back to D.C. in a couple of weeks and then I'll be back permanently about four weeks later."

"That long?"

"We've gotten pretty big, so it takes some time to get everything set up on this end. We've been working on it for several months or it would take even longer."

He could tell he'd surprised her. "Several months?"

"Yeah, I was really hoping you'd get your promotion soon. I wasn't sure how much longer I could wait to come to you." He gave her a bashful smile. "Okay, I've got to go now." He stood up and pulled her up and into his arms.

"You don't have to go," she said as she wound her arms around his neck.

"Evil woman," he accused with a chuckle, "I just told you why I had to leave."

She laughed as she pulled his head down for another kiss. He deepened the kiss for a few minutes before pulling away with a groan. "I really need to go."

Juliet released him reluctantly. "I'll let you go with a warning."

"Warning?"

She nodded with a glint in her eyes. "Remember when I said I'd accept slowly, but not glacial?"

"Yes."

"Slowly means you have breakfast with me your last morning before you go back to D.C."

He tamped down on the desire her words sent through him. "You drive a hard bargain, lady, but I accept." With one last, long wet kiss, he left before she could talk him into breakfast tomorrow morning.

He drove away from her condo feeling more joy than he'd felt in years. He had finally come home.

FINIS