Ruby: Why have you neglected to update this story?

Genie: What? Am I in an interrogation room? And why am I tied to a chair?

Shawn: Shut up and answer the question!

Genie: Shawn? You too?

Shawn: Don't make us do this the hard way.

Genie: Shawn, you're not intimidating, so forget the macho act.

Shawn: I am intimidating! *whines*

Genie: *rolls eyes* Yeah...ok. I'll answer the question if it means that much to you. It wasn't my fault. We got a new computer and the software I needed wasn't loaded. Happy?

Ruby: Oh...that's it?

Genie: Yup.

Ruby: Well...this is awkward.

Shawn: You bet it is! And now for the disclaimer: They don't own Psych or me, just the plot and Brittany. Enjoy and we'll see you at the end of the chapter!

We rode along in an awkward silence. Well, Gus and I did. Shawn just grinned and stared out the window, completely ignoring the annoyed looks Gus kept sending him.

After a few minutes of driving in total silence, Gus broke the tension.

"So...why did you need to go down to the police station?" he asked casually. Gus glanced at me through the rear view mirror.

"I need to see my father. He's a detective for the SBPD."

Gus raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Who is he? Shawn and I work for the Santa Barbra police department on occasion. Maybe we know him."

Just before I answered, through the mirror, I saw Shawn's happy grin turn in to an expectant smirk. That was odd.

"He's Carlton Lassiter." I said, turning my attention back to Gus.

Apparently, that came as a huge shock to Gus because he slammed down on the brakes so hard I hit my head on the back of Shawn's seat , and my seatbelt locked painfully across my lap.

We sat there for a few seconds until Shawn glanced in the mirror and his eyes doubled in size from fear.

"Gus! Start driving now! There's a huge truck coming and I don't feel like being turned into a roadkill pancake!" he yelled.

I started hearing this high-pitched squealing sound and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was Gus screaming. He punched the accelerator and the car lurched forward. I heard the tires screech in protest.

After the car got moving, Gus looked in the mirror, then glared at Shawn.

"Shawn, there was no car!" he growled.

Shawn just shrugged his shoulders. "I know."

"Then why would you scare me half to death for no reason?"

"You were in shock and I didn't want to sit there in the middle of the road."

This was getting too weird for me, so I decided to cut in. "You know, I think I'll walk from here. It's not too far. You can just pull over right here, and I'll be on my way."

Shawn spun around in his seat till he was facing me as best as he could.

"No need to worry. We do this kind of stuff on a daily basis." He spun back around in his chair.

I don't know what scared me more. The fact that this was a regular occurance or the fact he just openly admitted it to an almost complete stranger.

Gus finally recovered from his annoyance with Shawn and his shock to start talking again.

"Is your father really Head Detective Carlton Lassiter?"

Before I could answer, Shawn did it for me. "Yup! You heard right, buddy. We have our own Lassiette."

What did he just call me? "What the hell is a Lassiette?"

"A Lassiette is a daughter of Lassie." Shawn stated matter-of-factly.

"That still doesn't answer my question." I pointed out.

"He means Lassiter. Shawn calls him Lassie, which is kind of funny if you think about it."

After that "lovely" conversation, we pulled up in front of the police department. I climbed quickly out of the little blue car. I jogged up the steps and walked inside, barely noticing that Shawn and Gus had walked in behind me.

I couldn't see Carlton...Dad...whatever, anywhere. I turned to the nearest police officer.

"Hey, can you...oh, you're that man that came to my house yesterday. McNab, right?"

He grinned. "Yup! Buzz McNab at your service. What may I help you with, Miss Jameson?"

"I'm trying to find Detective Lassiter. Is he here today?" I glanced around the room through the corner of my eye.

Buzz started laughing, which really confused me. I hadn't said anything funny.

At my confused expression, Buzz clarified: "There is almost never a time when he isn't here. He works around the clock."

Oh. So he's a dedicated workaholic. Interesting.

"Doesn't he get days off?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure he does. He just comes in on those days too."

Ok. Correction: He's not dedicated, but obsessed. Good to know.

"Can you tell me where he is?"

Buzz pointed to the far right corner of the desk spaces. "He's over there. You have a good day, Miss Jameson." Buzz said as he started walking away.

I started walking in the general direction of where Buzz had pointed and soon saw my father sitting at his desk with a bunch of papers spread out across it.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. I got a small response: an irritated sigh.

"Whoever is trying to get my attention, stop and get the hell away from my desk." he ordered without so much as looking up.

I cleared my throat again, trying to get him to look up.

"Look, when I say get the hell away from my desk I mean..." he finally saw me.

I gave him a small wave. "Hi. Can...can you talk?"

Lassiter shot up from his desk, then tried to play it cool after he knocked about half of his papers onto the floor.

"Yeah, sure. I've got some time. "

I nodded. "We can go talk over some lunch. If that's alright."

"Sure. We can take my car." He said as he grabbed his jacket and grabbed his keys.

We walked quickly and silently out to the parking lot. Lassiter led the way to a sleek, black, Ford Fusion and opened the passenger door for me. He walked around to his side and slid in, starting the car. I hopped in and slammed the door behind me.

We rode in silence until we pulled up in front of a cafe/diner called The Railway Cafe. It looked a little outdated, but not horrible. After we had both hopped out of the car, Lassiter held the door to the diner open for me. There was an expected strong scent of greasy food as we walked iin.

I led the way to a back corner booth where we wouldn't be disturbed or seen easily. I slid in one booth and Lassiter slid in the one across from me. He attempted to look casual, but he just ended up looking awkward. The tension between us was so thick, I was almost surprised we couldn't see it.

"So...what exactly should I call you? Lassiter, Carlton...Dad?" The last name I hoped he wouldn't pick. It was too strange just suggesting it. For now, anyway.

Lassiter's eyes widened at the last suggestion. "N-no. No. Carlton is fine."

I nodded. "Carlton it is. Exactly how long have you been a detective?"

"I've been a detective for ten years. It's a difficult job, but I enjoy putting scumbags in jail and making the streets a safer place." As he spoke, Carlton sat a little straighter, which I didn't think was possible because he was already straight as a board. "Enough about me, what do you enjoy?"

"Umm...I like to go running every chance I get. I like being by myself and reading, and I work part-time at the Last Bite Diner."

Our waitress came to our table. She had on a soft yellow shirt and black capris. Her nametag read "Elise."

"Hi, my name is Elise. What can I get you?" She asked, tucking a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.

"I'll have the cheeseburger with fries and a vanilla milkshake." I said, looking up at her. She wrote down my order on a little notepad then turned to Carlton.

"I'll have the chicken sandwich and a coffee." Lassiter said.

"Okay, your orders will be right out." Elise smiled and walked away.

We were quiet for a few seconds before Carlton, thankfully, broke the silence between us.

"Why is it called the Last Bite?"

"Oh, it's called the Last BIte Diner because if you eat their corndogs, it'll be the last bite of food you ever eat. That actually happened to one of their customers."I said with a completely straight face

Carlton's face stated turning red. "Those lowlifes killed a person with their food? I'll have the restaurant shut down and place them under arrest." Carlton got angrier by the second. The few people around were starting to stare.

"Carlton, relax. I was just joking." I said, attempting to calm him down.

"Oh..." That was all he said and he calmed down almost instantly.

Note to self: Self, no murder jokes around him.

Luckily, Elise decided to come at that exact moment with our food. She placed our meals in front of us.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked.

"Yeah. Can I get three creams and four sugars?" Carlton asked.

Elise raised an eyebrow. "Alright." She walked away for a few seconds and came back with the sugars and creams., then she left for a final time.

As Carlton poured the cream into his coffee, I spoke.

"You drink your coffee the same way I do."

He looked up at me. "Really? I guess that's one thing we have in common." He dumped in the sugar.

I started eating my burger, not realizing how hungry I had been.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave your mother's house?" Carlton asked. he looked a little uncomfortable.

I took a sip of my milkshake before answering. "Umm...well, she's not exactly the motherly type. Actually, that's putting it mildly. Like I said yesterday, she's overbearing and rude. She's almost never home, doing who the hell knows what. Quite frankly I've had a gut full of her. So I decided to start saving some money and get my own place, and last month, I moved out. Currently I live down on Fairway Road."

"I'm sorry to hear that." he said quietly. "But, as a minor, you can't live on your own. You have to live with a parent or a legal guardian."

I sighed. "Well, considering my only choice is to move back in with her, I'm not liking my options right now."

We got silent again. The two of us seemed to be developing a pattern. Awkward silence, slightly steady conversation, awkward sentence, and back to silence.

"I'll try to find you a suitable solution, Brittany." Carlton said, looking me in the eye. "Just to change the subject, how did you get down to the police station earlier? If you live on Fairway that's about a twenty minute drive."

"I took a walk in the park this morning and hitched a ride with a guy I met."

"You got in the car with a complete stranger?" Carlton asked incredulously. "Do you know how many people get kidnapped that way?"

"He seemed like a nice enough guy." I shrugged.

"What is his name?"

"Shawn Spencer."

Carlton stiffened and his left eye started twitching.

What did I say? All I said was I hitched a ride with with a guy named Shawn Spencer.

"He also said something about being a psychic for the police and judging by the look on your face, I'm assuming that he was telling the truth."

"Yes, Spencer does work for the police department from time to time, but do I think he's really a psychic? No." He relaxed some, but his eye hadn't fully stopped twitching.

By this time, I had just finished my burger and I was downing the last bit of vanilla milkshake. Carlton had long since finshed eating. Elise came back with our check.

I reached into my pocket for some money, but Lassiter had already paid for the meal and had given Elise a tip.

"Ready to go?" Carlton asked, already standing.

I nodded and stood as well. "Let's go."

We left the diner quickly. The two of us had made some progress. Not much, but it was a start.

Genie: Awww! Daddy-Daughter bonding!

Shawn: *gags*

Brittany: *slaps Shawn's head* Don't be rude.

Genie: As always we would love for you to leave reviews. We would love to hear your comments. I'm forgetting something...what was it? Oh yeah! SHAWN! UNTIE ME!

Shawn: Uhhh...See ya next time! Review! *runs away*