Hi! And Welcome to story #2 of the Miss March Adventures series! It would help to have already read "Carlton Lassiter Meets a New Friend." This is currently a WIP that I started on Psychfic back in May and have yet to finish it! In my defense, I was working at a Girl Scout Camp for 9 weeks and it was crazy intense! I think I only wrote 500 words the whole time! Also, this story is moving a lot slower than any of my other ones. I try for a 2x a week update but I'm finding it hard enough to post once a week. Hopefully I will get this done before Thanksgiving so I can continuing writing and start posting the 3rd story in this series, which I am so excited for! I even have a crossover fic planned after that but I have to write the other series stories first...Sorry, I tend to ramble a lot online.

So, my character has 3 pets all based on my family's pets. Unfortunately, Frisco (and Murphy, but I didn't like him as much and we only had him for 3 years) died in the middle of summer :( I was devastated! I was a mess at camp that week and it took almost 2 months to not tear up a little bit thinking about him. The dog in this story is maybe 4 years younger than Frisco was this year, but I tried to keep his traits and history as close as possible. This a special, short "scene" in ch 12, just for him. So, because I am such a sap, I'm dedicating (at least bits and pieces) of this story to my dog: to Frisco, the best buddy a girl could ever have. RIP 1998-2011

Anyways, this story takes place in March and the last one took place in January. It all happens after season 5 (in case you've forgotten or didn't read the other story) and I don't think that there are any episode spoilers in this one...

This should stay at a T rating for mild language and alcohol.

So enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I'm not affiliated with Psych or anything else in any way, shape or form. I have no expertise in anything, especially medicine or law enforcement.

CHAPTER 1

Saturday morning found Juliet O'Hara getting ready to leave the police station after working the night shift. While putting on her coat, she noticed Carlton Lassiter was sitting at his desk, trying to finish a report. Walking over, she asked, "Carlton? What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving for Ohio today?"

"I am. My flight leaves in about 2 hours but I need to finish this."

"Can't it wait? You don't want to miss your flight."

Sighing, Carlton finally looked at her. "I'm going to be gone for over two weeks and who knows how much stuff is going to pile up before I get back. Besides, this needs to be filed by Monday."

"Are you at least packed?"

"Yes, everything's in my car. As soon as I finish this, I'm going to call a cab."

"Come on, I'll drive. You can finish your report in the car and this way you won't have to worry about a cab being late."

Groaning, Carlton looked over what he wrote before nodding, "Fine, let's go. You better be careful, I don't want any dents on my car."

"Carlton, I've had my license since I was 16, I know how to drive safely." Juliet remarked as she grabbed her purse.

Snorting, Carlton quickly collected his things before following her outside.

They were still about 5 minutes away from the airport when Carlton finally finished his report. It wasn't his best handwriting because of all the bumps, but it would have to do. Leaning back in his seat, he was about to close his eyes when Juliet spoke up.

"So, have you talked to Beth recently?"

"Yes, she got home yesterday morning and gave me a quick call before taking a nap. She checked in again this morning to find out when my flight was."

"Yesterday? I didn't know that it takes that long to drive to Ohio. Didn't she leave Sunday night?" Juliet wondered as they stopped at a light.

"Yeah but she spent a day and a half in Illinois with her oldest sister and her family. She managed to get in and out before it started raining. I told her she was crazy for driving 10-12 hours at night, but she said that it's quieter and more peaceful."

Juliet smiled at Carlton's scowl. "So, did you pack warmly? I heard that you might encounter snow while you're there."

"Don't remind me," Carlton groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Beth went through my wardrobe with me last weekend. She said it can get anywhere from 10 to 70 degrees. She's not sure that I have enough warm clothes, but I told her that I'll be fine. If worse comes to worse, we'll probably go shopping or something."

"As long as you don't wear suits the whole time. You're on vacation, enjoy your time and relax."

"She limited me to 4 suits and if I brought anymore then that, she was going to hide them and I wouldn't be able to wear any. I've only got 2 pairs of jeans so I don't know what she expects me to wear." As they pulled up to the drop off lane, Carlton held up the file. "Please be sure to hand this in to records."

"Okay," Juliet nodded as she took it. "Do you need any help?"

"No. I've only got a suitcase, a duffle bag and my heavy coat, I'll be fine." He growled as he climbed out and opened the back door.

"Well, have a good time. And remember to relax, you can worry about work when you come back in 2 weeks."

"Be careful with my car," He stated as he shut the door.

"Have fun!" Juliet called as she drove off, leaving Carlton alone to make his way through the airport.

The next morning, Carlton was pissed as he marched through the Cleveland Airport. His flight was suppose to get in around 10pm last night, but because of the weather, they were almost 9 hours behind schedule. He called Beth when his connecting flight was first delayed and then again when they were finally boarding. He felt bad about calling her so late, but she explained that she was up since she couldn't sleep.

So here he was, cold, tired, hungry and irritated, making his way as swiftly as possible to the pickups. When he was about 10 yards away from the doors, he received a text from Beth saying that she was outside and to remind him to put his coat on. He couldn't help the smile as he stopped at a bench and quickly donned his coat.

Wishing he had an umbrella, Carlton stepped out into the near freezing rain and started to look for Beth. He was about to call her phone when a green blur came right at him, knocking them both to the ground. "Oh sweet justice," he groaned as he tried to get a grip on the body covering him.

Laughing, Beth responding, "Well hello to you to! About time you got here!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't control the weather. If I could, I would have gotten here last night and it would be about 40 degrees warmer and not raining."

"Good point." She finally got off him and offered a hand up. "That doesn't matter now, but if we stay here too long, we'll get soaked and will probably be late."

"Late for what?" Carlton questioned as he tried to swipe some of the water off his face.

"Church, it's Sunday. I figured we have just enough time to stop for breakfast before service." She smiled as she grabbed his duffle bag.

"Do we have to? I'm tired, cold and am now getting wet, which means I'll be even colder."

"Carlton! This is important to me! I grew up in this church and I haven't been back since Thanksgiving! I promise that if you're too tired after service than we won't stick around for Sunday school."

"There's Sunday school too?" He groaned as he grabbed his bag and followed her to the car.

"Yes. It's a fairly large church, not one of those mega churches, but still a lot of active members. There's Sunday school for people of all ages. Even though you're technically a couple years too old, we'll go to the young adults group. It's for people in their 20s and 30s, but they never turn anyone away. I made sure of that." Beth unlocked her car and put his stuff in the back seat before walking to the front. "Amy and I were the main leaders when the group formed about 5 years ago. It was originally for people 18 to 27, but then we would have only had a couple years, and there wasn't a lot of interest at the time, so we opened it up and got a much better response. It's almost as big as the youth group which had about 50 youth on their last mission trip."

"Wow," Carlton said as he got in next to her. "I guess we could stay. I mean, how long is it?"

"Well, my church has 3 one-hour services and Sunday school takes place during service. So if we stay, we'd be leaving church around noon. And Amy invited us for dinner tonight. It was originally for lunch after church but when I told her last night that your flight was delayed, she said that it would be fine to postpone it and give you a chance to sleep. Oh, did you get any sleep? I forgot to ask."

"Only a couple hours on the plane." Carlton said as he readjusted the seat for his longer legs before leaning back slightly.

"Okay, well it's about a half hour ride to McDonalds if you want to take a nap now. I'll just put on the radio or something." Beth commented as she slowly pulled out. "Actually, it might take a bit longer in this weather."

"I thought you Midwesterners were able to drive in any type of weather?" Carlton commented as he took off his wet coat and covered his legs.

Beth laughed as she turned on the radio. "True, but I'm always a bit more cautious in the rain. I'm fine in the snow, it's just rain that I don't like."

Carlton snorted as he closed his eyes, smiling when he heard Beth singing along to the music.

When they got to the church, they hurried across the parking lot as bells were ringing.

"I can't believe that it took you so long to change shirts! And was it really that hard to leave your holster in the car. I mean seriously, this is a church! Nothing criminal happens, except maybe people taking too many cookies. Why did you bring it in the first place?" Beth asked as she stopped under the overhang at the entrance.

"I'm sorry," Carlton snapped back as he straightened his tie. "It's a force of habit, almost like a security blanket."

"Aw, are you feeling insecure and out of place?" She asked sweetly as she ran her hand through his wet hair.

Batting her hand away, he growl. "No! Maybe. Are we going in or not? You're the one who says that we're late."

Smiling, she gently fluffed her own hair, "We're only missing the opening songs. I wanted to get here before service started so that I could introduce you to people, but I guess you'll just have to wait."

As she started for the doors, Carlton opened it for her. Smiling, she walked past him, only to spin around quickly, making him to stubble back. "Oh, just one thing, this is a very friendly place, so they will be a lot of handshakes and don't be surprised if you get a few hugs, especially from Amy or Susie."

"Oh, okay." Carlton nodded as Beth took his hand, leading him through the halls.

Several people greeted Beth as they walked past and she politely responded as they continued walking. As they stopped to take off their coats, Carlton asked, "Why isn't it in the sanctuary?"

"Oh, well this is the contemporary service and this space was specially made for all the sound equipment. You'll see." Beth smiled at him before continuing down the hall and greeting the two people outside the door. "Hi Mrs. Banish, Mr. Banish."

"Hi Beth, sweetie!" Mrs. Banish engulfed her in a hug as Carlton awkwardly nodded at Mr. Banish. "I'm so glad that you're back! Is it another visit or are you staying?"

"Well, I'm actually moving to California, so Carlton here is visiting to help me pack." Beth said as she patted Carlton's arm.

"Hello Carlton. I'm Jane Banish and this is my husband Bill. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And welcome to Cleveland!" She reached forward and shook his hand strongly.

"Thank you."

"Well, we better get in there. Amy was suppose to save us seats."

"Yes, I think I saw her and Dan over on the right side with your other siblings," Jane said as she gave them bulletins.

"Thanks, Mrs. Banish. I'll talk to you guys later. Come on Carlton," Beth dragged him off into the giant room.

There were windows all along 3 of the sides with a huge ceiling. The floor seemed to be similar to that in gyms, the notion reinforced by the movable basketball hoops on the sides. There were over 300 chairs lined up in rows facing the front stage where the alter table was set with 2 tall candles and a matching cross. There was a break in the songs as Beth started looking through the rows.

The music starting up again managed to mostly cover up a squeal coming from the row Beth stopped at. A young women about Beth's age, with similar looks, except with long brown hair, scurried across the 5 empty seats and enveloped Beth in a hug as the people around them looked on. Carlton could make out the slight baby bump under her loose top.

"I'm so glad you finally made it! I was getting worried when service started." The other women whispered excitedly as she pulled back and looked Beth over. "Oh my gosh you look so good! Between your hair and your slight tan, you look fantastic! California is definitely agreeing with you."

Smiling, Beth spun a bit in her knee length blue skirt and light blue blouse. "Thanks, I feel great. And look at you! 5 months pregnant and you can barely tell! Oh, there's someone you have to meet." She smiled as she pulled Carlton forward. "This is Carlton Lassiter, that detective I've told you about. Carlton, this is my younger sister Amy Gilbert."

Carlton smiled tightly as he offered his hand. "Hello Amy. I've heard a lot about you. You seem to be Beth's favorite topic."

Smiling, Amy took his hand. "Well, we are pretty close. She's told me quite a few things about you, head detective."

Giggling at his blush, Beth looked around, "The song's ending, we should probably continue this later."

"Right-o!" Amy saluted as she bounced back to her seat, bumping a taller guy who immediately put an arm around her.

"I told you she's very hyper." Beth smiled as she dragged him down the row, standing between Carlton and her sister.

"I should have grabbed more coffee," Carlton mumbled as he looked through the bulletin. Laughing, Beth wrapped her arm around his as the song ended.

One of the ministers immediately hurried forward and said, "Welcome this cold and rainy morning. I invite you now to turn to those around you and greet them with signs of Christian affection and love."

Beth nudged Carlton slightly before getting around him and leaving the row. Being a bit unsure of himself, Carlton politely greeted those who turned to him, including the taller guy who Amy introduced as her husband Dan as well as her siblings Bobby and Jo on Dan's other side.

Beth bounced back in as they were sitting down and leaned into him as they listened to the announcements.