IT IS FINISHED!

Finally. I'm taking a break from this series to work on other stories. There are at least 3 more stories for this series (one a crossover). Feel free to check out my livejournal account where many of my fanfic ideas are.

So thank you all for reading and reviewing!

Enjoy!


CHAPTER 29

Once his doctor's appointment was over, Carlton waited outside the building, glaring at his watch impatiently. Since Juliet was taking her lunch break to drive Carlton, she dropped him off and went to eat. he called her when he was done and she said she would be there shortly, 10 minutes ago.

The doctor put Carlton through a whole array of stretching exercises and an x-ray. The doctor cleared Carlton to return to work for desk duty but he still had to keep his shoulder as still as possible. He had another appointment in a week and a half where he could hopefully get the sling off.

Carlton was about to call Juliet again when he finally saw her pull up. He barely waited for her to stop before opening the door. "Took you long enough." He huffed as he eased into the seat and buckled up.

"Sorry. I met Shawn for lunch and lost track of time. When you called me, we hadn't even gotten the check yet and still had to wait on the food we ordered for you guys." Juliet handed him a bag with two styrofoam containers. "This place makes really good Rueben sandwiches so I hope it's okay."

"Sounds good but I don't think Beth likes sauerkraut."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe she can pick it off?"

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"Okay," Juliet smiled nervously as she pulled away from the curve and started driving.

They drove in silence for a few minutes until Juliet asked, "So, how'd it go?"

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it? Are you healing alright? Is there going to be any permanent damage? When can you head back to work?"

"O'Hara," Carlton sighed. "Yes, everything's fine. I can go back to work tomorrow. I'll have the sling for the next 2 weeks and then I'll probably be back to full duty a week after that."

"Oh, good. So I should pick you up tomorrow on my way in?"

"Yeah, that would be fine." The food was starting to make the car smell good and Carlton was glad to see them pull up to his house. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem. And can you let Beth know that I'll be back around 6?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I'll see you later." Juliet smiled as Carlton got out and shut the door.

Carlton was slightly relieved when Juliet drove off before he reached the door. Stepping inside, he was a bit surprised by how quiet it was. When he left, Beth and Frisco were on the couch as Murphy and Salem explored the living room. But now, none of them were to be seen.

"Beth?" Carlton called as he made his way into the kitchen. "Beth, where are you?"

"Out here!" He heard from the direction of the back porch.

Setting the bag on the counter, Carlton went over to the sliding door and opened it. Beth was sitting on the porch while Frisco was laying in the middle of the yard. There was a pot on a chair in front of Beth that smoke was coming out of.

"Hey Carlton, how'd it go?" Beth smiled as she threw some paper into the pot.

"Is that a fire? You started a fire on my porch?" Carlton asked as he stood next to her and looked into the pot.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I work at a girl scout camp for a couple summers and I know all about fire safety. See, I've got a bucket of water, a lid and kitty litter."

"Kitty litter?"

"Well, you didn't have any sand."

Carlton rubbed his forehead. "I'm pretty sure that you're breaking a handful of fire codes, not to mention ruining one of my favorite pots."

"I'm sorry. I'll buy you a new pot if I can't get this clean."

Sighing, he sat down and looked at all the papers on the table between them. "So what's all this?"

"Well, most of it's everything that has to do with Fred. From random rants and half-finished poems to love notes he sent me. I'm basically starting over here and I don't need these reminders."

"It couldn't have all been bad, could it?"

"There were good times. I've saved all the pictures, mainly because you really shouldn't burn them. Plus, I don't have many pictures of myself over the past few years that didn't have Fred in them." Beth shook her head and looked down at the notebook sitting on her lap.

"What's that?"

"Just a list of things that I need to keep in mind when looking at apartments. I've got within 2 miles of either you or the daycare, preferably both; either a backyard or close to a patch of grass for Frisco; at least two bedrooms; and a sizable kitchen. I probably won't get my ideal place on my budget, but hopefully by the end of summer I'll find something."

"The end of summer? Why so long?"

"What? Are you tired of me already?" Beth smirked.

"No, not you. I'm thinking more about your pets. I've never been much of a pet person and can't imagine living with them for 6 months."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll probably move out before then, but it'll be at least a month before I can walk without assistance and they'll need me less at the daycare during the summer."

"Seems like you have everything figured out." Carlton said as he stood up to go get the food.

"Not everything, but I'm getting there. Besides, you know what they say about making plans."

When she didn't continue, Carlton said, "Something about life passing you by?"

"Close. I was thinking about the one that says God laughs when we make plans." Beth smiled as she put another paper in the fire.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind." Carlton said as he opened the door. Before going inside, he looked back at Beth and asked, "Are you going to be alright now?"

Beth laughed, "I can't make any promises since we don't know what tomorrow will bring." She sighed as she looked into the fire. "But for right now, I'm perfectly content."

As she looked back at him with a happy smile, Carlton couldn't help having one of his own as he replied, "Me too."