Part 9: Package Deal
"I swear this belly came out of no-where." Juliet wriggled around in the passenger seat while entering hour two of the stakeout.
Carlton noticed that during the last two weeks Juliet had gradually been starting to show more. She managed to wear it well, but it didn't stop the suspicions and rumours around the station. Knowing it was best not to argue with her, he decided not to reply to Juliet's comment and instead tried to concentrate on the warehouse at hand. But the woman was getting a little distracting.
"Can you turn on the air-conditioning or something? It's really hot in here."
"Listen O'Hara." Carlton knew that by saying what he was about to there was a good chance of getting slapped, but he could no longer keep it in. "I know you want to work in the field but you're clearly restless."
"I can do this. I'm not a porcelain doll that breaks at the first sign of trouble." Juliet lashed out, turning to look out the window. "Plus I think we're passed the point of all this last name stuff."
"Geez, calm down."
"I'll calm down when you're the one that's forced to give up field work and do probably the most painful thing known to the human race. But not before you get fat, depressed, uncontrollably frisky and have ridiculous cravings like chocolate covered chicken." Juliet suddenly felt a little upset, biting her lip at realising all she had to sacrifice. "I just get sick of it sometimes, you know? It's like I – Oh Ow! Back Pain!"
A jolt of pain had rushed up Juliet's lower back. She also couldn't hold back the urge to pee for much longer. As stubborn as she could be, Juliet was starting to think she wasn't up for field work. Even something simple as watching a building had become too much.
Carlton, filled up with concern, reached over and turned Juliet back to face him. He gradually managed to open his arms up, signalling for a hug.
"What's going on? You never initiate hugs." Juliet eyed him suspiciously, yet still feeling happy by the gesture.
"Come on, Juliet." He inched slightly closer to her.
The woman literally jumped at the chance and hugged her partner close. She could feel him stroking her hair, trailing his hand down and rubbing her back. Juliet liked Lassiter's surprising gentleness but couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
"Okay, that's it. Ever since we've started talking again you've started being all nice. I want to know why."
"You're carrying my child and you've been understandably moody. Forgive me for thinking it's best to get on your good side." Carlton replied, shifting his eyes a little.
Juliet had known her partner long enough to tell that he was hiding something. Suddenly it occurred to her. "Wait a minute. This is about what I said about you being nice, isn't it? That's when this whole thing started."
"You want me to be more sensitive and less gruff, as you put it, so I'm holding up my end of the deal and you'll hold up yours."
"Deal? This is a baby we're talking about." Juliet was stunned by Carlton's reply. "You're a part of its life no matter what. There's not really a deal in place."
"But you have Spencer doing everything. You told him first. He took you to your first ultrasound. He was by your side at the first Lamaze class." Carlton looked at the warehouse, hoping for some activity to avoid the sensitive topic of conversation.
"Firstly, I didn't tell him, he figured it out. Secondly, he drove me to my first ultrasound but I wouldn't let him in." Juliet petted her partner's arm reassuringly. "Are you jealous or something?"
He scoffed at her accusation. "Jealous of Spencer? That's ludicrous!"
"You are, Carlton. Even though there is no need for you to be."
"I just don't want you and Spencer taking my kid away!" Carlton let out his true feelings a little harsher than intended. After everything that had fallen with his divorce, he didn't want to lose a child as well.
"That will never happen. Do you really think…?" Juliet kept looking at the man's face, hoping he'd turn back. When he didn't, she continued. "I'm not going to leave you like Victoria did, okay?"
"You called me an asshole, remember?" The head detective wasn't convinced just yet but was letting his guard down a little. "And if I recall correctly, you said I was an unfeeling robot?"
"My moods are so out of control I've yelled at McNab and Gus for no reason. Then I freaked out the guy at Subway when I cried over a sandwich." Juliet shook Carlton's arm lightly, hoping her stories would open him up. "Look at me."
"I don't even know how to be a dad. I mean, my dad…let's just say he wasn't the greatest example."
The woman's face turned to one of concern. She gave Carlton's bicep a gentle squeeze. "I know that you keep your guard up, probably because you've had to. But I also know that you have this determined nature and you can be really sweet when you want to be."
"You think so?" The head detective seemed puzzled by her words, despite how flattered he was.
"Shawn may be my boyfriend, but Carlton…you're basically my best friend. More than that, you're my partner. I just need you guys to get along, even though I know Shawn can drive you crazy sometimes."
Carlton finally turned to his partner, feeling an involuntary grin coming on. "I'm really your best friend?"
Juliet pushed him playfully, hoping for the older man to lighten up a little more. "Look, I only agreed to let Shawn come to Lamaze class because you were angry at me. I understand you had every right to be. Shawn wants to prove himself. I want you around too but we can't risk the chief finding out."
The head detective knew he didn't have much choice in the matter. But the way he saw it, this option was better than being taken out of the equation completely. "Fine. But when he can't be there, you call me immediately."
The blonde woman's face now sported a wide smile and excited eyes. "Well Shawn is busy with some infidelity case later so you can come shopping with me for maternity clothes. Lord knows I need them now."
Carlton let out a slight groan, slightly regretting his determination to help out. "Can't I just agree to tolerate Spencer?"
Shawn was at the Psych office, flipping through Juliet's pregnancy book while waiting for his next appointment. He was reading the chapter on her particular week, before getting distracted by other thoughts.
Finally he couldn't help but voice what he was thinking. "Dude, do you think Jules and Lassiter will ever do it again?"
Gus looked up from his laptop, shooting Shawn a death stare. "I'm not having this conversation with you again. But thank you for getting that image right back in my head."
"Don't be a worm infested apple. I'm totally serious here." Shawn tossed the book on his desk and stood up. "They're having this baby together and I know Lassie's not happy about me being around all the time."
"I think by now he's learned to tolerate you Shawn. This whole experience may actually make you friends." Gus replied, shutting his laptop and giving all attention to his friend.
"Wake up Gus. I can't be friends with a guy who's been with my girlfriend. It's too weird and I still kind of want to hit him." Shawn whined before rummaging through the refrigerator for something to eat. "Sometimes it's like I see these little Lassiter's climbing all over her and planting little blue flags."
"Now you're just being ridiculous." Gus rolled his eyes. He regrettably knew there was no way out of the conversation until Shawn had some kind of clarity. "You're going to have to deal with it if you want to keep dating Juliet. They're kind of a package deal now."
"But what if she doesn't want to date me anymore?" Shawn let his guard down, shutting the refrigerator door and sighing. His tone was one of earnestness that seemed too unnatural for him. "What if she turns around one day and decides she wants to be with Lassiter?"
Gus shook his head at his best friend's insanity. "Who's the one taking her to Lamaze classes?"
"That would be me." Shawn answered, standing up a little straighter.
"Who is the one she is currently dating?"
"Me. But then her and Lassiter with all that alone time at this stage in her pregnancy. Even the book says to be prepared for heightened sexuality." Shawn grabbed his head as couldn't stop the images running through his mind, even though he could see he was being a little paranoid. "You've seen those movie scenes where they get to talking and then flirting. The next thing you know they're covered in maple syrup and rolling around in the hay."
Gus slammed a hand on his desk. "Yet another image I really didn't need."
Shawn's eyes opened wide with a realisation. "Dude, they could be doing it right now."
"Juliet is not cheating on you Shawn. Just think about it, when did she hook up with Lassiter?" Gus raised an eyebrow at Shawn, hoping he'd get the hint. "Things were awkward, you guys weren't talking, she was getting over one heck of a traumatic experience and you'd just been dumped by Abigail. Both of you did some crazy stuff in that period of time."
"What do you mean crazy things? I didn't go out and do it with Lassiter."
Gus sighed as he remembered Shawn's particularly nutty period. "No but you did get drunk, steal my shoes and end up sleeping over at your dad's begging to go fishing."
"I did you a favour. Those shoes were really ugly. They were purple." Shawn explained as he too went back through the drunken night which he regrettably remembered perfectly.
"You're wearing purple right now!" Gus pointed to the purple shirt Shawn was wearing, feeling a sense of annoyance. "I liked those shoes."
Desperate for a subject change, Shawn steered back to the issue at hand. "It's just that Lassiter's the dad. Where do I really fit in this happy family? How can I compete with the suits and a gun, he's practically James Bond. And that dude always gets the ladies."
Gus couldn't believe that Shawn, always one to go with the flow, was still insisting on his unfounded fears. "Well your parents had you and they didn't work out. You should know that just because two people had a kid doesn't mean they're going to automatically be together."
"Fine but-"
"No buts, Shawn. You're acting crazy – more than usual. If you ask me, you have the sweet deal. You get the girl and you get to play fun parent while Lassiter takes care of all the serious dad stuff." Gus tossed some junk mail into the garbage. "And by the way, Bond is English. Lassiter is Irish."
"Fine. Case and point. Mr Smarty McSmartpants wins the game." Shawn threw his hands up in defeat before quickly grabbing a piece of notebook paper. "But I can totally beat you at trash can basketball."
NOTE: Just can't have Jules without Carlton, or without Shawn. And you also can't have Shawn without Gus. Speaking of Gus, he so needs more love in this fic...then again, he's important later. For now you can guess what happens next, YAY! Thanks for reading and reviewing this fic.
