While writing this chapter, I was listening to the Taylor Swift song I Almost Do. I highly recommend listening to it while reading this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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Juliet made it home a little past midnight. The drinks she'd consumed at dinner had burned out of her system already, leaving her head unfortunately clear and free to go over every mistake she had made that evening.

Jealousy shown? Check.

Sticking her nose where it didn't belong? Check.

Blowing off her boyfriend? Check.

Making a move on her partner, colleague and best friend while forgetting her faithful boyfriend at their new apartment? Done and done.

God, she was a stupid woman.

Retrieving her keys from her pocket, she unlocked the front door of her new apartment and let herself in. Despite the darkness, she could immediately see Shawn and Gus on the couch, snacking on nachos and engrossed in what was no doubt an eighties flick. Anger bubbled up in her chest. Anger and hurt. She had no right to be feeling either of those emotions; just an hour ago, she had almost single-handedly wrecked two of the most important relationships in her life. Just as quickly as it appeared, her anger was gone. She removed her jacket and holster, hanging them on the coat rack by the front door. Then she kicked her shoes off and headed into the bedroom she shared with Shawn.

Less than five minutes later, she was tucked into their queen-size bed and her eyes were too heavy to keep open any longer. Her phone, placed on the nightstand beside the bed, lit up, but she didn't notice. She curled up on her side and fell asleep listening to the laughter vibrating from the living room.

Across town, Lassiter stalked into his apartment with the intention of going to bed. Instead, he detoured into the kitchen and found a bottle of his old friend, Jack. He opened the bottle and took a long pull, embracing the rush the alcohol sent through him. He had work in the morning, but the hell with it. Juliet could use a break from him, and truthfully, he needed one from her. He was one wrong step from doing something incredibly stupid, something he wouldn't be able to come back from. Tonight was the worst in many ways, and the best in others. He took another drink and relished the burn.

Tonight, he was going to drink her away.

The next morning, Juliet was the first to arrive at work, much to her surprise. Usually by the time she arrived, Lassiter was already filling out paperwork and waiting on her. Unsettled, she set her jacket down and turned on her computer.

Lassiter arrived a half-hour later, looking like hell. Juliet longed to ask if he was okay, but it was clear he wasn't. So she kept her mouth shut and her focus on her own paperwork.

The tension was palpable between both of them for the entire day, so much so that no one dared approach either of their desks. At four o'clock, Vick told them to head home and get some rest. Juliet almost offered Lassiter a ride home, but he was already up and out the door before she could manage to form the words. Helpless, she watched him go with a heavy heart.

God, she had screwed all of this up.

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When she arrived at home, Shawn was waiting for her. To her surprise, he had dinner on the table, complete with candles and a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket of ice. She stripped her jacket and holster off her body. "Shawn?" Her voice echoed strangely off the walls, and for a moment, she didn't even recognize the sound as her own voice.

Shawn poked his head out of the kitchen and shot her a dazzling smile. "Hi, sweetheart. I made dinner!"

"I see that…" It looked delicious, and her stomach grumbled noisily as she moved closer to the table.

Emerging fully from the kitchen, Shawn slid up behind her and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Then he gently moved her hair aside and trailed his lips over her neck.

Juliet froze initially, but soon his ministrations had her melting against him. His arms held her closer as he whispered into her ear.

"Marry me, Juliet."

Sometime around midnight, Lassiter finally went to bed. His irritation at himself had drained him, and he was looking forward to crawling between those sheets and at least trying to sleep. But his phone had other ideas as he rested his head on his pillows. The annoying thing began vibrating on his nightstand almost immediately. Scowling, he contemplated not answering it. But knowing his luck, it was probably work and he couldn't ignore it. So he snatched the thing and held it close to his face. It was a text from Juliet. His heart began to jackhammer in his chest. Either it was a case or something was wrong. Neither scenario made him happy. He opened the text and was immediately thankful he was lying down, because he would have hit his knees otherwise.

Shawn proposed to me.

Sitting up in his bed, he fumbled with the lamp before he was able to turn it on and a dim light flooded the room. It was inevitable, he supposed. What man wouldn't propose to Juliet, given half a chance? She was beautiful, sweet, smart, and could kick ass with the best of them.

His palms began to sweat mercilessly. Was this it? For so long, he had been able to fool himself into thinking the relationship would end eventually. Maybe the idiot really cared about Juliet, but he loved himself and Gus more. He wasn't the settling down kind, and eventually the novice of a serious relationship would wear off and he would run. It just seemed so obvious, Carlton never even gave a second thought to the other possibility: Spencer would one day propose to Juliet, she would accept, and they would live out the traditional happily ever after with 2.5 kids, a white picket fence and a dog.

A hard lump formed in his throat as he read the text over and over, still unable to make sense of it.

Shawn proposed to me.

He fought the suddenly overwhelming desire to throw the phone against the wall and revel in the shattered pieces. This couldn't end well. It wouldn't. Either Spencer would take off and break Juliet's heart in the process, or Juliet would come to her senses and realize he was nowhere near good enough for her. In either scenario, Juliet would be the one who wound up hurt, and he felt sick at the thought of Juliet feeling any kind of pain. She was too sweet, too good and kind to deserve to be in pain.

Shawn proposed to me.

Swinging his lanky legs over the side of the bed, Lassiter stood up and started to pace, the phone still clutched in his sweaty palm. It suddenly vibrated again, startling him. He swung it up to his face.

Another text from Juliet.

Did he really want to know what she had to say now? Was she going to ask him to be part of the wedding? Would she ask him to be the godfather of her first child? A cold fear snaked around his heart.

Was she pregnant with Spencer's child?

Finally he decided that the only way to know what the message said was to read it. So he opened the message, and his heart stopped.

Open your door.

Dropping the phone on his bed, he rushed out of the bedroom and into the dark living room. Not bothering to turn on a light, he unlocked the front door and pulled it open.

Juliet stood in front of him, her arms wrapped tightly around herself and her head hung low. It took every ounce of strength he had not to pull her against his chest and hold her for the rest of his life. "O'Hara?"

She finally looked up at him, and the pain in her eyes floored him. "Can I come in?" she whispered.

"Of course…" He ushered her inside and closed the door, locking it again. Without prompting, Juliet made her way to his couch and sat down, her arms still securely wrapped around her slender waist. He watched her for a moment before joining her on the couch, taking care to maintain a professional distance between them.

Silence reigned supreme for a while, until he broke it. "O'Hara, what happened?"

"Shawn proposed to me."

His eyes immediately went to her left hand, which was suspiciously bare. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I came home and he had this fancy dinner and he just asked me…" She finally unwrapped her arms from around herself and cradled her head in her hands.

Lassiter waited patiently for her to continue.

"He just… I don't…" Then the tears came in a torrent, and Lassiter gave up. He wrapped an arm around her and guided her against his chest, hoping like hell she wouldn't make him for the gesture. To his surprise, she turned into him and buried her face in his old t-shirt.

"It wasn't like I hoped," she finally continued, her voice muffled by his shirt. "He didn't even have a ring. Said his dad had it or something."

Lassiter barely contained a growl of distaste.

"I don't know what to do, Carlton. I love him, but I'm not ready to be married. Not to him. But we just moved in, and I don't want to break up with him…"

He hated himself for the thoughts currently running through his head. Of course she didn't want to be married to an asshat like Spencer. She had some common sense after all. What would happen if they got married and had a kid? How long would it take Spencer to get bored of playing house and call it quits? He wasn't the marrying kind, no matter what woman was with him. Even someone as special and amazing as Juliet couldn't settle him down. Or was this all in his head? Was he so desperate to call Juliet his own…?

No, a voice in his head resounded. He just wanted her to be happy, no matter what that meant. He wanted her to have anything and everything she wanted in life, and if she believed Spencer would give that to her, then he would do everything he could to help her. He would hate himself later for it, but he had to.

"Then tell him that," he heard himself murmur. "Tell him you're not ready to be married, but you want to live with him."

"You make it sound so easy, Carlton," she whispered.

"Because it is. If he can't understand you need a little time, then…"

"Then he's not the one?"

"Something like that."

She curled up closer to him, sending an ache of longing racing through his chest. "Can I just…?"

"What?"

"Can I stay here for a little while?"

No, you can't, he wanted to say. You can't stay unless it's forever. But he didn't want to scare her into requesting a new partner. Losing her now would kill him. So he just said, "Of course." Because he would rather die than ever admit the truth.

She smiled and yawned against his chest. "Thanks, Carlton."

He just nodded and slid an arm over her, holding her securely to his chest. After a while, her breathing evened out as she drifted into sleep. But there was no sleep to be had for him, not while he was so close and so far from what he knew he wanted.

This had to be what hell was like, he decided as Juliet burrowed deeper into his chest while she slept. Holding her and knowing she would never be his. Didn't she know this was slowly killing him? Of course not, and she would never hear it from him. He would play the part of a good partner and best friend, no matter the cost to him.

As long as Juliet was happy, he would forever play the part of the supportive best friend.

To Be Continued...