A/N: It's been a long time since I last posted anything. My Psych muse seems to have left me and most of my writing now is for an original novel I'm working on. But I was reading a fanfic for Fairy Tail recently and remembered I had this sitting on my computer. It was originally supposed to be part of a longer story later on in this series but I realized I had enough written to post for the Easter story with a few adjustments.
The entire thing is already written, I'm just finishing the editing. I'll have the next part up in a couple of days. This hasn't been beta read so all mistakes are mine. Feel free to point them out.

Easter started out good. Shawn and Carlton spent a lazy morning in bed, having their own version of an Easter 'egg' hunt. After that they ate breakfast that for Shawn mostly consisted of chocolate and for Carlton an excessive amount of bacon. Carlton had to check on something at the station with Jules, so Shawn and Gus had spent the afternoon watching movies and eating yet more chocolate. Now Shawn was waiting for Carlton in front of the restaurant where they were going to have dinner with Shawn's parents.

Shawn checked his phone. No new texts and no missed calls. "Dammit Lassie, where are you?" he muttered. Carlton had promised to be on time for dinner. His boyfriend knew how important this was for him. His mom was only rarely in town and Shawn had wanted to surprise her with his new boyfriend. He hadn't told her who Carlton was yet, just that he had met someone he wanted her to meet. His dad had agreed to keep the secret, in exchange for help with the yard work next weekend. It would be worth it to introduce his mom to his new, successful, long term boyfriend.

Of course, to do that said boyfriend would have to actually be here.

He checked his phone again, then sighed and shoved it into his pocket. His boyfriend was half an hour late. He had kept his parents waiting long enough. Hoping Carlton showed up soon, he entered the restaurant.

It was busy with the holiday but he still spotted his parents easily. This restaurant generally catered to a younger crowd, making his parents stick out. He wound his way through the tables, coming up on his father from behind. When his mom spotted him, he smiled and put a finger to his lips. Her lips twitched as she fought her own smile but Henry was too engrossed telling his story to notice.

"It turned out she was overdosing the residents with high blood pressure by slipping extra medication into their food. Shawn never would have cracked that case without me," Henry said smugly.

Shawn clapped a hand on Henry's shoulder, causing him to jump. "That's right, G-pop," Shawn said in a condescending tone. "Did you also tell her about the people who sneak into your room at night and move things while you sleep?" He shook his head and looked at his mom. "Senile," he whispered loudly.

Henry glared at him, shrugging Shawn's hand off his shoulder. "It's about time you got here, Shawn. We've been waiting for half an hour." He looked around as Shawn walked around the table to his mom. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Running late," Shawn said, a touch of irritation in his voice. He bent down and kissed his mom on the cheek. "Hey Mom."

"Hello, Goose," his mom said. He made a face at the nickname. He hoped Carlton didn't tease him too much about it. He hadn't been that bad about the whole 'Booker' thing, after all. "Is everything okay?"

"He's probably just stuck at work," Shawn said with a sigh. "It happens all the time."

"What does he do?" Mom asked. "You've barely told me anything about him."

Shawn glanced at Henry. His father shrugged, clearly telling him this was his problem. "He works for the police department," Shawn said cautiously.

"He's a cop?" Mom asked in surprised.

"Yeah," Shawn said, hoping Carlton would forgive the little lie. He was very proud of his position as Head Detective but telling his mom that now would give things away too soon. "I met him while I was consulting on a case."

"Do his coworkers know, or his he making you keep it a secret?" Mom asked, a hint of censure creeping into her tone.

"They know," Shawn assured her. "Though it hasn't always been easy."

His mom smiled. "Well, I'm proud of you. I honestly wasn't sure if you would ever settle down with someone."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks Mom."

Mom smacked his shoulder. "I mean it. He must be a great guy to bring about such a change in you."

Shawn smiled. "He is."

"When he's not late," Henry grumbled. "The man should know how to be on time."

"I remember a certain detective being late plenty of times because of work," Mom said, raising an eyebrow. "It wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer."

Shawn hid a grin at his father's abashed look. Score one for mom.

"I guess we can wait," Henry said. "But he's helping pay for dinner."

Shawn shook his head. Carlton probably would have insisted on it anyway, but if it made his dad happy he wasn't going to argue.

Shawn's cell phone started ringing. "Finally," he muttered, pulling it out. He paused when he saw who was calling. "That's weird."

"Who is it?" Mom asked.

"It's the Chief," Shawn said, answering the phone. "Hey Chief. What's up?"

"Shawn." Vick's unusually somber tone and the use of his first name immediately warned Shawn something was wrong. "There's been an accident."

Shawn took a deep breath. "Who?"

"Detectives O'Hara and Lassiter. Their car was hit about an hour ago."

"Are they okay?" he asked anxiously. He vaguely noticed his parents had stopped talking, looking concerned as they listened to his end of the conversation.

"O'Hara sustained some minor injuries but the doctors think she'll be fine."

She hadn't mentioned Lassiter. That couldn't be good. Please, God, don't let him be dead. "What about Carlton?" His father looked at him sharply. Shawn met his gaze, unable to hide the fear he was feeling.

Vick sighed. "The car was struck on the driver's side." And Carlton always drives Shawn added silently. "As a result, his injuries were much more severe. Last I heard they were prepping him for surgery." Vick's tone softened. "They asked me to get his family to the hospital as soon as I can. I'm sorry Shawn."

Shawn closed his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to hold himself together. Surgery. Carlton was hurt bad enough he needed surgery. But he wasn't dead, so the doctors thought they could fix him. But the doctors also wanted his family at the hospital quickly, so they weren't sure they could fix him.

He could lose Carlton.

"Shawn. . . Shawn." He released he had dropped the hand holding his phone and quickly brought it back to his ear. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you able to get to the hospital?" Vick asked gently.

"Yes," Shawn said hoarsely. He cleared his throat. "My dad's here. He can drive me."

"I have to handle a few things here before I can make it myself." Vick's voice became hesitant. "Can you let me know if anything changes in the meantime?"

"Sure thing, Chief," Shawn said.

"Carlton's a fighter, Shawn. Don't give up on him."

Shawn nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "I don't intend to."

He hung up the phone, clutching it tightly in his hands. He stared blankly down at the tablecloth, thinking about the last time he had seen Carlton. Had he told him he loved him? He couldn't remember. He had reminded Carlton when dinner was and not to be late. Carlton had promised to be on time and given him a kiss. Had he said anything else as Carlton walked out the door?

Shawn Spencer, who didn't forget anything, couldn't remember if he had told his boyfriend he loved him during the possibly last time he would see him alive.

"Shawn?"

He looked up at his dad's worried face. "Lassie and Jules were in a car accident," he said quietly.

"Are your friends okay?" Mom asked.

"Jules will be fine." He took a deep breath and looked back at his father. "Carlton is in surgery. The doctors, they. . .they said. . ." He swallowed hard. "It's bad, Dad."

Henry stood up. "I'll drive you."

Shawn slowly rose from the table, immensely grateful his father was there. They didn't always get along but when times were bad Shawn could always count on him to be there.

"What about your boyfriend?" Mom asked. "Should we call him? I'm sure he would want to be there for you."

Shawn felt his throat tighten. He had forgotten his mother didn't know. He glanced at his father, unsure if he could get the words out.

"Maddie," Henry said carefully. "There's something you need to know."

"What is it?" she asked, looking between Henry and Shawn.

"Carlton's my boyfriend," Shawn said abruptly. He looked at her, tears threatening to obscure his vision.

"Oh Goose." She wrapped him up in a hug. "I'm so sorry," she said softly.

He held her tightly, a few tears slipping through before he got himself back under control. "Thanks Mom." After a moment he pulled away, ducking his head while wiped his eyes. "We should go."

Henry wrapped an arm around Shawn's shoulders. Leaning into the unexpected fatherly support, he let his dad lead him out of the restaurant.