Part 11: There for You
Shawn and Juliet sat waiting in the doctor's office. The time had finally come for another important ultrasound. The couple agreed that they were going to find out the sex of the baby, though Shawn claimed he already knew. To tease his girlfriend, he refused to tell her of his apparent prediction.
"This way we get to find out together." Shawn explained to Juliet, stroking her baby bump affectionately.
The pregnant woman let out a somewhat solemn sigh. "But we're not finding out together if you already know."
"I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you." The pseudo-psychic told her firmly, but smiled as he did so. "Nor am I going to give away the other surprise."
As he voiced his last comment, Shawn patted his jeans pocket. Inside was a small box, containing a special piece of jewellery that he planned to give to Juliet.
She couldn't help but notice this action immediately. Her eyes widened at the concealed object in Shawn's jeans. "What's that bulge in your pocket?"
"Jules, please. We're in a doctor's office. That's not appropriate." He slid his arms around her, grinning flirtatiously. "At least not until later."
Juliet smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "You clearly wanted me to see it."
Shawn's eyes turned earnest as he spoke to Juliet. "After the ultrasound. But I'll say one thing…it symbolises that I am in it for the long haul, sweetie."
Suddenly a thought occurred to Juliet as to what the surprise might be. Her eyes stared at Shawn's pocket as if trying to see right through to the gift. Breath caught in her throat at the possibility. Despite how much she cared for him, Juliet found herself hoping her suspicions were false. Now that the seriousness of her situation was starting to hit, she had to be one hundred percent sure. In her eyes, Shawn was attentive but not quite there yet.
As though he sensed her scepticism, Shawn continued. "I know the birthing video was - well it was disturbing and I've been acting a little weird about it. I can sense you've had your doubts about me. Admittedly I've even had a few doubts about whether I could handle it. But you're more than worth it and I'm sticking with you. I'm right by your side."
Juliet's mouth opened, but no words came out for a few seconds. "Look, I have to be honest. I'm glad you want to stick with me but I'm not ready for a commitment of this-"
Shawn put a finger to her lips and halted the woman immediately. "Whoa whoa, Jules. No it's nothing like that." He pulled out the jewellery box and handed it to her. "Well since you've freaked out on me, I'll have to think of another surprise to make up for this one."
"You totally baited me and you know it. Don't get all cute and innocent."
The pregnant woman opened the gift in front of her. Inside she found not a ring but a silver bracelet with three beautiful charms attached. One was a pineapple, which made Juliet giggle as it was so typically Shawn. Beside it was a cute kitten charm which made her gush. The third one was a heart, clearly to symbolise the affection between the couple. Just looking at the present made her smile widen and although she did feel a little guilty about ruining the supposed surprise, it reassured her that Shawn was serious about being with her.
"That look on your face is even better than the one in my vision when I bought this." The pseudo-psychic tilted her face to his, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. "Look at it whenever you doubt me."
"You know I'll never doubt you." Juliet pulled her boyfriend into a deeper kiss which lasted until Lillian called them in to the examination room.
Juliet followed her doctor into the room enthusiastically. She stepped up and sat herself on the bed, making small talk and getting ready for the procedure. Shawn stood by the door just watching with his phone in hand. Juliet was curious as to why he wasn't coming in, considering he'd been so genuinely keen to accompany her this time.
"Come over here." She gestured with her hand, reaching out to him. "Dr Salerno, this is my boyfriend, Shawn Spencer."
Shawn shook his head. "Sorry Jules, and doc, I have to call about the other surprise. I'll be back in a minute."
Juliet didn't know whether to be annoyed or flattered by his exit. Either way it left her a little puzzled. But Shawn didn't do things like other people and Juliet liked it that way. Upon looking at her purse, where she had put the sweet bracelet, she figured that a few minutes of patience wouldn't go astray. Whatever Shawn had planned had to be something big.
"Let's just get started without him. He'll be back soon. He's really sweet, trying to prove himself." Juliet urged Dr Salerno to proceed, feeling a little squirmy as the gel was squeezed onto her stomach.
As the scan got underway, she relaxed. This time was a little easier for Juliet, as she knew what to expect and technically wasn't alone. Still, the emotions came forth once the baby's outline appeared on screen. It had evolved from the small blob shape into a clear baby. Her mouth opened in positive awe as Dr Salerno pointed out quite a few new features.
"Look at how much the baby's grown. Wow."
After a few minutes looking at the healthy foetus which had certainly changed since Juliet had last checked in on it, Shawn still wasn't back. The pregnant woman kept staring at her baby, smiling cheerfully at its development. Nothing could have made her happier.
Still, it began to bug her that once again neither Shawn nor Lassiter was there to experience it with her. She began to feel a little hurt that her boyfriend was still absent.
"So are we going to find out the sex?"
Juliet bit her lip, worried about what was going on. "Can we just wait for Shawn to come back? He said he'd only be a minute. I know he wants to see this too, please."
"Of course. We'll keep admiring your healthy baby." Lillian smiled at Juliet, trying to keep the patient calm. "While we're waiting, let's see if the heart's as strong as last time."
Just as the beating sound echoed throughout the room, the door opened slowly. Both doctor and Juliet turned to the source of the interruption. Shawn stood there with a grin on his face. An arm was wrapped around his new surprise: Carlton Lassiter.
"Sorry Jules, but it took Lassie-face long enough to get here." He walked over to his girlfriend, kissing her forehead and looking at the screen for a few seconds to take in the baby. "See he has to check this out! Look, I know you want him here and he looks so sad getting all left out of things, so I called him."
Carlton was still paralysed at the entrance to the room, unable to believe where he was. "Is that my baby's heart beat?"
"Yeah it is Lassie." Shawn replied before whispering to his girlfriend again. "I don't want to steal the guy's thunder. I have to accept that he's in your life. Plus it's only fair since I got to watch the miracle of life up close and personal."
Juliet, already emotional from a combination of seeing her baby and hormones, let a few happy tears roll down her cheeks. As much as she appreciated Shawn, it didn't absolve the fact that she wanted the baby's father around. While she saw him at work, circumstances had come so that they couldn't really be together. One didn't have to be psychic to sense that she missed Carlton sometimes.
"Thank you so much Shawn. But you can stay if you want. Carlton will understand I'm sure."
"Nah, this is you and Lassie's moment and I will gracefully step aside. There will be plenty more stuff for me to do, like making sure you have chocolate sauce to pour over your chicken." Shawn bent down and kissed a tear off her cheek. "I care about you so much. I'll be right outside when you finish."
"I know." Juliet nodded in understanding, letting her hand trail off from Shawn's and her gaze drift to the baby's father.
Shawn patted Carlton on the back as he went to exit. "Keep your hands off my lady, Lassie. I'm trusting you."
Carlton rolled his eyes at the typical Shawn behaviour before joining Juliet by the bed. Their eyes met and together they smiled excitedly. Turning their attention to the screen, together they watched the baby.
"Is that my baby?" Carlton's eyes fixated on the picture before him, entranced by the image. "I never thought I'd experience this after everything that's happened. But it's amazing."
"Okay, I think we're ready to find out the sex." Juliet told Dr Salerno.
"Here it goes, boy or girl." The head detective didn't have a preference for the sex of his child. He was just eager to know.
Carlton's hand rested on his former partner's shoulder before sliding into her hair. He continued staring at the screen and took in all the small features that made up his baby. After being left out for the last few months, looking at the screen made all the joy real for him. His eyes watered slightly as the foetus made small movements.
He was really going to be a father, after fearing he might never be. Just being in this moment caused Carlton to forgive all the things Shawn had done to annoy him in the past.
"It looks like you have yourselves a baby girl."
"A girl!" Juliet squealed excitedly, turning to Carlton. For the first time since the birthing video, all doubts were gone. She knew that she could do this, that they all could handle it.
The head detective was still in a state of disbelief. It was all so much to take in. His baby girl was growing healthily inside Juliet and had three people who cared about her already.
"Oh I'm going to spoil you." Carlton's usual walls fell down completely. "She's going to be gorgeous, isn't she?"
"Yeah." Juliet loved seeing the older man come out of his shell. She would never be able to thank Shawn enough for bringing him.
Carlton moved his hand from the back of Juliet's head and trailed it down her arm. Once he found her hand, he grasped it in his own and gave it a nice warm squeeze. Surely Spencer would understand the appropriate affection at this point.
The expectant mother squeezed his hand back in appreciation. "Thank you so much, Carlton. For everything."
Dr Salerno watched the two of them, admiring how the two just seemed to have a natural rapport despite not being together. "You'll make great parents." She remarked with a smile. "Now I'll just take a nice picture for you."
"Do you think we could get two of those?" The head detective asked, his eyes not moving from the screen. "Or maybe five."
Juliet turned to Carlton, unable to help but giggle at the look of amazement on his face. In all the years she'd known him, he'd never been this happy about anything. Not even his longest streak of cases solved compared to this.
"Look at you. You're practically gushing."
Carlton's attention turned to Juliet, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, what do you expect? That's our baby." He tried to put up a bit of a front but couldn't succeed. His joy could not be crushed by anything, even his over-analytical brain.
"Yes it is." The blonde detective let out a laugh of excitement. "It's our girl."
Juliet and Carlton kept looking at each other. They positively beamed in the comfortable silence between them. Opening her arms, the woman motioned for a hug. Almost as though he expected this, the man gave a slight eye roll but nevertheless leaned in to accept her affection.
"Do you want me to bring Spencer back into the room now?" Carlton was getting a little too uncomfortable with the closeness and vulnerability, despite the new-found love for his future daughter.
"No, I want you to stay." Juliet allowed their hug to drift apart but still kept a hold of his hand in case he tried to leave. Sweetly she kissed his cheek, once again to thank him for this moment.
"Fine." The head detective just couldn't refuse her. "Just five more minutes."
Juliet let out another excited squeak. She felt Carlton's hand once again squeezing hers and all felt right with her world. She had two great men who were clearly going to stick with her through this, no matter what the circumstance.