A three chapter story in which Juliet and Lassiter find love and happiness together. Cowritten with Loafer. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not ours!
PsychPsychPsychPsychPsych
Juliet O'Hara was not an easy woman.
While she'd had her flings in college (because it was a time for experimenting, of course) she usually had to be in a relationship to have sex. Her friends teased her for being old fashioned, but that was just the way she was. She liked having someone to come home to at the end of a long day, but once she joined the police force, relationships seemed fewer and farther in between.
Then she met her new partner, Carlton Lassiter. With broad shoulders, a slim build and blue eyes someone could get lost in, he was far from her typical type of brown eyed football players. Not to mention she had vowed never to get involved with a partner. Maybe that was why she let herself flirt with Shawn Spencer. He was safe, fun, and sweet. And there were no rules keeping her from getting involved with him. He was the safe choice.
And yet, here she was some four years later, sitting on the edge of her bathtub while Carlton slept in her bed.
It had started innocently enough. A dinner and drinks after a particularly hard case. After he had a few drinks in him, Carlton started to relax, and Juliet saw a side of him that she had only caught brief glimpses of before. Then he had talked her into dancing, and after the first song, Juliet's heart was gone.
She rested her head in her hands and breathed deeply. Beside her sat a pregnancy test waiting to be read, and she was almost afraid to look at it. She and Carlton had been together for six months. Everything was still so new, and they were still adjusting to each other. Bringing a child into it so soon... She closed her eyes and fought a wave of tears. She knew, without even wondering, that Carlton would make an amazing father. She had seen him with Chief Vick's daughter, how tenderly he had held her and the look of contentment on his face. The only concern in her mind at the moment was how he would handle the news if she was, in fact, pregnant.
Lassiter rolled over in bed, sensing Juliet was missing. A glance at the clock told him it was nearly five a.m., slightly too early for either of them to be up. He touched her pillow and it was cold, and what that told him was she'd been out of bed for awhile.
He sat up, and finally noted the light under the bathroom door. No sounds from within, however.
For some reason he found that unduly disturbing.
The past few months, apart from being terrifying and unsettling and exhilarating and-dare he think it-blissful, had never disturbed him in any kind of actual fear-generating way.
Staring at the door as if somehow he could will it to dissolve before him, he told himself she was just up early. She was having a hot bath before dawn. She was doing some mysterious thing only women knew about which kept her glowing and lovely and sunny. She was ill but not in a way he necessarily needed to be involved with.
Forget that; it was Juliet, and he had to know. They'd spent a lot of time in bed the past couple of weeks but hadn't actually had time to talk much, work being more intense than usual and making love in their off time much preferable, so maybe something was wrong; maybe he'd missed something. And she was the one person he didn't want to miss anything about.
Crossing the room in the darkness, aiming for the light, Lassiter tapped on the door lightly. "Juliet? You all right?" Please be all right.
At his voice, Juliet jerked her head up. The concern in his voice touched her deeply. "I'm okay, Carlton," she assured him as she picked up the pregnancy test and studied the results.
Two lines. Positive. She was pregnant.
Her blue green eyes welled up with tears, and her free hand went to her abdomen. She was going to have a baby. Carlton's baby. Warm tears rolled down her cheeks as she wrapped the test in toilet paper and shoved it to the bottom of the small trash can. Then she took the box and returned it to its hiding place beneath the sink.
A baby... She turned the sink on and splashed water on her face. She could still sense that Lassiter was just outside the bathroom door, and she dried her face thoroughly before pulling the door open. "Hey..."
Lassiter let her step into his arms, hugging her because that was always a good thing to do. He'd never been one to allow much intrusion into his personal space, but Juliet was an exception. The closer she stayed to him, the happier he was. "What's up?" he murmured against her hair.
She slipped her arms around his neck. "Nothing," she murmured, resting her ear over his heart. The steady beats soothed her, and she felt the tension bleeding from her body. "Did I wake you?"
"Your absence woke me," he admitted. "I missed you. I don't know I slept at all before you."
She smiled into his chest. "Just when I think you can't get any sweeter..."
He said gruffly (but maybe it was only sort of gruff; she had a way of softening him), "Don't call me sweet, O'Hara. You know I'm too tough for that."
She pulled back and looked up at him. "Right. Tough. How tough would you be if I told you I was pregnant?"
Lassiter froze. "Are you serious? O'Hara? You don't want to say something like as a joke."
Her hands came up and absently played with the hair on his broad chest. She had once pointed out how comfortable he was, and his expression was a cross between amusement and horror, as though she had likened him to a piece of old furniture. "I... I just took a pregnancy test."
Lassiter felt punched. Too much to process. Too much. Her closeness, her words-competing reactions in his gut. "It's true? You're sure?"
She nodded hesitantly. "How do you feel about that...?"
"I feel..." He thought about it. A therapist he'd resisted going to a long time ago had told him that when presented with conflicting emotions, go with the most predominant one. Therefore, he surprised them both by asking something he'd never asked before, because neither one had said it yet. "Do you love me?"
Her hand moved to his cheek. When their relationship really began, she had sworn to herself that she would take things as slow as she could. This was the one relationship she was determined not to screw up. That had been the only reason she held back those three little words for so long... But suddenly it was too much to keep them in. "Yes, Carlton. I do love you."
Lassiter let out a breath, and some of the conflict faded away. "I love you too," he said softly, and turned his head to kiss her palm. "But will I make a good father? Do you even want that?"
"Of course you'll make a good father..." Her thumb brushed lightly across his lips. "We didn't plan on this happening so soon, but we'll be okay." It was strange comforting him instead of the other way around, but she knew that she could do it. "You're a good man, with an amazing heart. Any child would be lucky to have you for a father."
"I didn't have much of an example in my own dad," he said quietly. "And God knows my mom didn't make up for it. I'm not sure I know how parenting is supposed to be done. But you... you're amazing, Juliet. You'll make an incredible mother. My God, is this really happening?" He felt as if his heart was expanding... and it was good.
"It is." She suddenly looked around the bedroom, and her shoulders slumped. "It's happening, and we don't have the room..." Her cozy, one bedroom apartment that had been perfect for them up until now suddenly seemed terribly inadequate. Panic began to creep up inside her.
"Easy, easy," Lassiter soothed her, feeling her tension. "I'm pretty sure you still need to see your doctor. One thing at a time." Another holdover from therapy. Funny how this was the impetus for him actually putting therapy to use. He guided her to the bed, made her sit, and then dropped to one knee.
Her eyes widened as he took her hand. "Carlton...?"
"Juliet, I know it's three a.m. and I don't have a ring and until a minute ago you didn't know I loved you, and I don't want you to think I'm saying this just because you're pregnant, because God knows you could marry anyone you want and I know you don't even have to get married at all if you don't want to, but-" he stopped, and looked up into the lovely eyes of the woman he'd loved for so long. "But will you marry... me?"
Slipping her hand out of his, she reached out and took her face into her slender hands. Her blue-green eyes were bright with tears as she searched for the right words. "Carlton, I love you so much, and I..." She sniffled and smiled. "It might be three a.m., and I might be a little hormonal... but I've been in love with you for years. Of course I'll marry you."
Lassiter felt relief and love flooding him simultaneously, and he kissed her hard, almost desperately, trying to convey with that what mere words could not. She urged him to join her on the bed, and they lay wrapped together. His heart was pounding. "Are you current on your CPR?" he asked, and she laughed, but he didn't care. "I'll be the best husband and father I can be, you know that. If I live through the night."
"You better live through the night," she teased, playfully poking him. "We need you." She kissed him again, then settled her head on his broad chest. His hand came up and began playing with her thick blond hair. They were going to get married... Joy bubbled up inside of her. They were getting married, and they were going to have a baby. Her eyes closed, and the image of a blue eyed little boy with Carlton's laugh and her nose sprang to her mind.
"She'll look just like you," he whispered. "I'll have to teach her self-defense really early."
"No, he's going to look like you, and all the little girls will be after him." She picked up his hand and ran her fingertips over his palm. "Could I really be this lucky?" She had her career, the man she loved, and now she was going to have a baby.
"Could I?" He was serious now. "You love me, and you want to marry me, and you're having my child. What have I ever done in my life to deserve all of that?"
"Carlton..." She moved until her upper body was draped across his chest and she could see his eyes. "You don't give yourself the credit you deserve. You are a wonderful man." She kissed his chest. "I'm really lucky, because I get to see the side of you that the rest of the world doesn't. You're kind, loving, gentle, and the most loyal man I've ever known. And now that I have you, I'm never going to let you go."
"Is that a threat, Detective O'Hara?"
She laughed joyfully. "It's a promise, Detective Lassiter."
"Then I put my trust in you," he said simply. "When will you marry me?"
A thoughtful look crossed her face as she settled down again. "As soon as we can," she finally replied. "If we keep it small, we could probably do it next month." An impish smile appeared on her face. "Or we could elope."
"I'll do whatever you want," he said. "Eloping would be a lot easier, what with everything else we'll have to settle. But I swear, I'll do whatever you want."
She relaxed as his arms slipped around her and held her protectively. She knew how private a man he was, and the idea of a big circus wedding didn't appeal to her at all. And legally, things would be easier if they were married before their baby arrived. "Let's just do it," she murmured, nuzzling his neck. "We can get a license and go to City Hall."
Lassiter kissed her before answering. "I accept you terms of surrender." He grinned when she laughed-oh how he loved her laugh-and said, "I always thought the marriage should be more important than the ceremony anyway." He cupped her face and kissed her again. "City Hall. Thursday. I'll buy you lunch."
"You? Buying lunch?" Her eyes widened in fake shock. "I think Hell just froze over."
He had to laugh. "You shouldn't marry a cheapskate. It's not too late to shop around for a better deal."
"Oh, no. You're not getting rid of me. You've ruined me for any other man." A shudder went through her as she thought of just how he had ruined her... No, no man would ever be able to measure up to Carlton in her eyes.
"That was my evil plan," he admitted. "And I'll buy you whatever my salary can afford to buy you. It's all yours. I'm all yours. And no man in his right mind would want to get rid of you, Juliet. Ever."
"I'm happy to hear that, sweetheart." She shifted onto her back, but kept her head on his chest. "This is it. It's you and me, forever." She pulled his large hand under her shirt and held it against her toned abdomen. "We're a family."
They were a family.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Two more chapters to come! Thanks for reading, and please review!