"What do you mean Hubert wasn't murdered?" Lassiter flipped through the coroner's report. "It was a B&E."
Juliet shook her head. "That's what the first on the scene officers said. After more investigating, the mess in the study was caused by Mr. Hubert when he was stumbling around. The coroner found a brain aneurysm. He fell, hit his head against the hearth of the fireplace and bled out."
"That must have really hurt." Shawn noted, he was sitting on the conference room table. Lassiter had taken his files in there to better analyze them when he'd gotten back to the station.
Neither had said a word about the incident at lunch, but now that the case was out of the way, Juliet spoke up. "Carlton, about lunch."
Lassiter's shoulders tensed. "I know what people are saying, O'Hara."
"They-"
"They're saying I'm crazy." Lassiter turned to face her. "And maybe they're right."
Juliet slowly sat in the chair next to Lassiter.
"I shove my emotions to the back. I don't deal with them, because if I deal with them it's admitting that I have a fault." Lassiter was leaning on the armrest, his chin propped up on one hand. "And sometimes those pent up emotions manifest themselves in ways that I hoped they never would."
"Hey! That's not nice, Lassiface!" Shawn objected.
Lassiter ignored him and continued. "You're not the only one who misses Spencer."
"You miss him?" O'Hara seemed surprised.
"I'm not a damn robot." Lassiter snapped, and then softened when O'Hara winced a little. "He was a pain in the ass, but he was my pain in the ass. He was frustrating, but he got results. I was a better detective with him around." He motioned towards the coroner's report. "I should have known that it wasn't a robbery. I should have seen the tell-tale signs of a man in trouble."
Juliet reached out a hand and patted Lassiter on the knee. "We're all a little off."
"But I shouldn't be." Lassiter objected. "I deal with death on a weekly basis. This shouldn't throw me off."
"It's because you don't miss the dead bodies in the cases. You miss me, Lassie." Shawn seemed a little proud of that fact.
"Shawn liked you," Juliet gave a little smile. "He wouldn't have stuck around if he hadn't liked you."
"He wasn't sticking around because of me," Lassiter shook his head. "Spencer stuck around because of you."
"I stuck around for both of you," Shawn clarified. "And to provide Gus with a stable income to help support his sock habit."
"I really miss him," Juliet sniffed.
"Me too," Lassiter stood and offered her a hug, feeling much more comfortable then when Spencer had prodded him to hug Guster.
After a few moments, O'Hara left to finish up her paperwork and to put together a statement for the newspaper.
Lassiter stacked up his files.
"You shared your feelings and the world didn't end." Shawn was now lounging on the table.
Lassiter grunted in reply.
"You're going to have to let me go eventually, Lassie."
Lassiter raised an eyebrow at him. "I have to let you go? Aren't you the one hanging around?"
"I'm only here because you think you need me to solve your cases."
"Unlikely," Lassiter picked up his pile of folders.
"It's true," Shawn followed him as he headed to the front desk. "Deep down, you know there's no possible way that I could be here, unless you've gone crazy. And since you haven't gone crazy then you must be imagining me."
Lassiter looked around and made sure no one was watching, and then he sighed. "Spencer, what if I can't solve the cases without you?"
Shawn gave him one of his trademark smiles. "You did it before I got here, you can do it now that I'm gone." When Lassiter didn't respond, Shawn continued. "Just keep working with Jules, she's awesome. Maybe help her find an awesome boyfriend. Not more awesome than me, but you know, better then average."
"I really doubt that I'd imagine you telling me to get O'Hara a date." Lassiter grumbled as he signed a few release forms and statements. "Besides, what are you? My conscience?"
"I've been your Jiminy Cricket for the past month, Lassie. Since when I do I say things like 'Swanky pant suits'?"
Lassiter rolled his eyes.
"Just, let life go on." Shawn sighed.
Lassiter nodded absently as he signed the last form. "Life goes on." He looked around the station. McNab was talking with O'Hara. They were actually laughing about something. Maybe, things would be alright... without Spencer. They wouldn't be the same, but they wouldn't be horrible either.
Lassiter turned to Spencer, and oddly enough wasn't surprised to see the psychic gone. "Life goes on," Lassiter sighed.
