I'm sorry I didn't reply to any reviews this time, but I was super busy and had a cold. Plus some of them I didn't know how to respond. I'll try to keep up, especially for people who don't always review.

Someone asked when am I gonna finish this. Well, I'm not sure. It's definitely going to be a while, at least 30 chapters, hopefully less than 40, depending on how I end it. I'm hoping to wrap it up so there isn't a sequel, maybe a one-shot or something eventually.

Anyways, in the next few chapters, the perspective switches (which was really hard to keep straight while writing) so there's a lot of repeated stuff, I hope no one gets bored or lost.

Oh, and I've been meaning to say, my beta reader changed her name to pineapple moon. Hehe, it makes me think of sailor moon, which is a weird connection, oh well.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 14

Gun at the ready, Carlton quickly kicked opened the door and yelled, "Freeze! Hands in the air!" The person by the door quickly obliged, even going as far as to lay down on the ground. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark lighting, Carlton barely resisted the urge to turn away. Shawn was tied up, arms and legs outstretched, in the middle of the floor with a circle of salt surrounding him. His jeans were a tattered mess and his shirt was long gone. There were several cuts and bruises all over his body, including a few broken bones. However, what really drew his attention was the 5-inch cut down the middle of his chest that the other perp was pulling salt into.

Shawn was still screaming, with his eyes shut tight, and didn't seem to have noticed Carlton yet. The perp, on the other hand, continued to pour the salt and scolded, "Excuse me, but you are interrupting a very important ritual. Can you come back in a day or two?"

Clicking the hammer back on his gun, Carlton growled. "Move away from him now!"

The guy shook his head, "I told you that I'm busy, getting rid of these evil spirits so he doesn't curse our town! I'm doing this for the greater good, you'll see." He reached down and picked up the knife, getting ready to plunge it into Shawn again.

Without thinking, Carlton shot the guy in the arm. As the guy grabbed his arm and tried to stop the bleeding, Carlton quickly stepped forward and moved him away from Shawn and into the bathroom, handcuffing him to the sink before also handcuffing the other guy to him. Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialed Juliet as he went back over to Shawn, who was whimpering and moving his head back and forth in pain.

Putting his phone on speaker and dropping it on the floor, Carlton quickly untied Shawn before tearing off his jacket. He placed it over the cut on Shawn's chest with one hand as his other softly touched Shawn's cheek. "Shawn, it's alright; I'm here; you're safe now."

Shawn finally opened his eyes and the relief was evident as he spotted Carlton. "Lassie! You came!"

"Of course, you idiot. Where else would I be?"

"Glad to know you care," Shawn smiled just as Juliet's voice was finally heard through the phone.

"Carlton? What's wrong?"

"O'Hara, you need to get medics here, ASAP! I don't care what you have to do, just hurry the hell up! I've got two perps in custody, one with a GSW to the arm."

"What about Shawn? Is he okay?"

"I'm right here Jules," Shawn croaked, his breathing labored.

"Shawn? Oh my god, are you okay?"

When Shawn didn't answer, Carlton replied, "Just hurry up O'Hara, the sooner the better."

"We just pin-pointed your location on a map and it looks like we can be there in 30 minutes."

"You've got to do better than that! Get a chopper or something." Carlton growled as he pressed down harder on Shawn's chest wound, eliciting a moan.

"I'm doing the best I can with what I've got! There's a chopper in route that will take Shawn from Amelia to the closest major hospital in Bakersfield, but there's nowhere for it to land within 2 miles of the cabin."

"Just hurry," Carlton growled as he ended the call. Turning his attention back to Shawn, who had his eyes screwed shut again, he said softly, "Shawn, I need you to stay awake. For as long as possible, okay?" Shawn nodded. "Good. Now can you tell me where else it hurts?"

Shawn shook his head as tears began to fall. "I can't, I can't feel my arms or legs. I can't move them at all. They've been pumping me full of drugs and who knows what damage that has done. Hell, they somehow made the last few days happen, unless I dreamed it all up."

"You didn't dream it up, it was real. You were there, annoying the hell out of me, helping me find you."

"And kissing you." Shawn added softly, opening his eyes.

Carlton nodded as he gulped, "Yeah, that too. And I promise Shawn, we will explore that option after you get released from the hospital."

"W-why do we have, have to wait so long?" Shawn stammered as he took deep breaths.

"Because I need time to think this through and you need time to heal."

Shawn turned his head and kissed Carlton's hand. "Think what through?"

"You, me. Us. I just don't know how we would work out. We are constantly at odds with each other."

"Opposites attract, right? Besides, you need to live more … more in the moment." Taking a deep breath, Shawn whispered, "Come here."

"What? Why?" Carlton asked nervously.

"Just get down here," Shawn whispered impatiently.

Felling a bit foolish, Carlton leaned down until he was nose to nose with Shawn. With a sigh, Shawn leaned up and kissed him. It was a very chaste kiss, barely lasting more than a second, but it was enough for Carlton to feel some of Shawn's feelings and to feel something in return.

With a grin on his face, Shawn put his head back on the ground. "Now, do you really need time to think?"

Carlton sighed, "Maybe. I just don't know if I'm ready to take you on."

Shawn smirked as he closed his eyes, "Dude, there are so many ways that sentence could be taken that if I was feeling up to it, I would embarrass you for a couple of days at least."

"Then I guess I should be thankful."

"Yeah." They lapsed into silence for a few seconds until Shawn groaned, "Oh god."

"What? What's wrong?" Carlton quickly looked Shawn over to see if there were any injuries that needed his immediate attention.

"My dad."

"What? What about him?"

"I need to talk to him, let him know what's happened, smooth things over. Besides, you should check on the Winchesters and get me some water."

"I'm not leaving you." Carlton growled.

Shawn chuckled dryly which turned into a slight cough. "You're not going far. I promise to stay awake until you get back."

Still not convinced, but knowing that he had to make sure that the one guy wasn't bleeding out; Carlton grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Henry's number. Hearing it ring, he placed it by Shawn's ear before saying, "You better stay with me."

"I promise." Shawn mumbled.

Taking one more look at Shawn, Carlton regretfully got up as he heard Henry answer.