Carlton was disappointed when his call went to voicemail. He considered calling again when Juliet walked over, having finished giving her statement. Carlton put his phone away and focused on his partner. "How'd it go?"
"Oh, fine, same as always." Juliet pulled a chair up to Carlton's desk and sat down. "Now tell me about your week with Goochberg. I've already heard some interesting stories."
Carlton sighed. "It was a disaster, honestly. I have no idea what I did to make the Chief stick me with her. She must be mad at me about something."
Just then the Chief exited her office and called out to her detectives. "There's been a bombing, head out to the site, figure out what's going on."
Carlton and Juliet got to their feet immediately. "Where at, Chief?"
"Redman Apartments."
Carlton's heart stopped. Juliet noticed Carlton's face go white. "What's wrong?"
"That's Shawn's apartment building."
Juliet's face fell and the two of them raced out of the station. They climbed into Carlton's Crown Vic and headed towards the location of the bombing.
Shawn came too while being carried out of his apartment building. He blinked a few times and glanced around, trying to figure out where he and his team were and what mission they were on. It took him almost a minute to realize he wasn't in the middle of a combat zone and he was in fact in Santa Barbara.
Cards set Shawn down gently and was glad to see his brother awake. "Shawn, you with me?"
Shawn nodded and immediately regretted it, his head pounding. "Yeah, I'm with you. What happened?"
"Well what do you remember?" Cards needed to know how much memory Shawn lost, trying to gage how bad his concussion likely was.
Flashes of the last ten minutes play through Shawn's mind. "Um, we got back to the apartment…something wasn't right…I saw a photo of Lassie and me…then everything goes dark."
Cards nodded. "There was a small bomb under the photo. Couldn't have been bigger than 2 by 5. It wasn't meant to take down the building, just take out you."
"There was a red X over Lassie's face, they're going after him next. We gotta-." He tried to stand up and Cards pushed him back down.
"You just got knocked unconscious by a bomb, you're not going anywhere until paramedics check you out. I'm pretty sure both of us have a few burns."
Shawn sighed and started to assess the damage. He felt pain on his back and arms, likely minor burns from the blast. His head was throbbing, which would mean a concussion. He then checked his surroundings.
People were exiting the building, which was now on fire from the blast. He heard sirens coming down the street, which was good. No one coming out of the building seemed injured which was a plus.
Shawn glanced over Cards who was scanning the area. His brother had holes in his shirt, likely meaning he had burns as well. He didn't know if Cards had been knocked out, but it seemed unlikely if he got him out of the building so fast.
The blast…caused by a small bomb, meant for him. And Lassie was the next target, making this personal. There was a likely suspect, and he wondered if he was the only target or if his brothers were in danger too. They had hoped the terrorist that chased them out of active duty would have been caught by now, but that obviously wasn't the case. And if he was targeting Shawn personally, then everyone he knew could be in danger. Fuck.
Shawn was dragged out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.
"Shawn!"
He turned to see Juliet and Carlton rushing over to him. He instantly relaxed seeing that Carlton was okay. He met Carlton's eyes and saw the fear and love in them, and he just knew, something was different.
"Shawn, we're so glad you're okay!" Jules pulled Shawn into a hug; he tried not to flinch when she hit the burns. Shawn never broke eye contact with Carlton while he hugged Jules.
Juliet stepped back and Shawn finally looked at her. "We heard there was a bomb at your place, and we got so worried!"
Shawn smiled a little. "I'm fine, Jules, nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about after you've been checked out by a paramedic," Cards added.
"Why do you need to be looked at-?"
"We were just close to the bomb is all, but there's no need to worry. I'm fine."
Cards scoffed and Carlton tensed.
Shawn ignored his commanding officer. "Why don't you go coordinate with the Fire Chief and start your investigation. I promise you, I'm fine."
Juliet was hesitant but eventually nodded and left to go do just that.
Carlton stayed where he was and glanced Shawn over, looking for injuries. Then he pulled Shawn into a hug. It was tense for a second before Shawn hugged Carlton back. Shawn was thrilled to see that Carlton was okay. Carlton was glad to see Shawn in one piece, he had assumed the worse. He slipped a hand in Shawn's hair and tensed when he felt something wet. Shawn hissed in pain.
Carlton stepped back and noticed blood on his hand. "Shawn, did you hit your head?"
"Yeah, the bomb knocked us into a wall. But I'm fine."
Carlton wasn't listening and was already waving over some paramedics.
"I don't need-."
"Quit arguing, you're getting checked out." Cards used his commanding tone and Shawn reluctantly nodded.
Two paramedics walked over and Carlton told them to check out Cards and Shawn. Carlton squeezed Shawn's shoulder before leaving to join Juliet in coordinating the investigation. The paramedics had Cards and Shawn take a seat before checking them over.
Shawn and Cards both had various burns, some superficial, a few worse than that. Shawn needed stitches on the cut on the back of his head and he a had a severe concussion. Cards ended up having a sprained wrist from catching himself from hitting the wall. The paramedics treated the burns and wrist, but the stitches had to be done at the hospital.
Cards promised to take Shawn immediately after they talked to the detectives about the bomb. The two of them waited awhile for the detectives to finish what they were doing, before they came back around to ask them some questions.
"So, Carlton said the bomb knocked you into a wall. Did you guys get a chance to see it?" Juliet asked.
"Yeah, it was a small black box, about 4 by 5 by 2 I'd say. It had about 5 seconds on it when I saw it," Cards answered.
"Where was it?"
"It was in my apartment, Jules, the bomb was meant for me."
"Oh my gosh, Shawn. Why didn't you say that first?"
"Because I knew you'd worry about me instead of dealing with the fire and making sure everyone was safe."
"That's not-."
"We both know it's true, Jules."
Juliet didn't agree, but knew it was true.
"Do you know who would leave a bomb for you?" Carlton asked.
"Yes."
They waited for Shawn to elaborate, but he never did. "And who would that be?"
"I can't tell you, not without special permission."
"Special permission? Shawn what are you talking about?" Juliet was at a complete loss, but Carlton caught on, realizing it had something to do with the military, likely classified.
"I have to have permission from my superiors, Jules, it's complicated." Shawn glanced at Cards who nodded. Cards walked off to make a phone call.
"I don't understand."
"I know, and I'll explain everything when I can. You both should probably call the Chief. She's likely about to have her station invaded by Homeland and military police."
Carlton nodded and dragged Jules off before she could ask more questions.
Cards walked back over a few minutes later. "Doc said he'll call the locals. We're about to have a major investigation on our hands."
Shawn nodded. "That's what I expected…Cards, Lassie is the next target."
"I know. We'll keep him safe, Spence. I promise."
"You know better than to make promises you can't keep."
"Well I plan to keep this one." He ruffled Shawn's hair, cautious of his cut. "Now lets get you to the hospital for those stitches."
Shawn grumbled about it but didn't put up a fight as he was dragged to Cards' truck.
8:30pm
Cards: Moreno tried to kill Shawn
Snake-eyes: Wtf, how?
Cards: Bomb. We got out fine, just a few burns and stitches
War: Is he after all of us?
Cards: We think Lassiter is the next target
Read: I'm getting on the next plane
War: Same
Snake-eyes: Me too
Cards: See you guys soon
"They don't all need to come here, there's a good chance we won't be allowed in the investigation." Shawn and Cards were back in Cards' truck after getting Shawn stitched up.
"They know that. But their brother was just targeted by a bomb, they're going to worry until they see you in one piece."
"…yeah, I know."
"So we'll see them all tomorrow." Cards' phone rang just then. "Jackson…Yes, sir…Yes, sir, right away." He hung up. "I hope you're ready for a long night, that was Doc, we need to report to SBPD immediately."
Shawn sighed. "Fucking great." He leaned his head against the window as Cards drove to the station.
Juliet and Carlton walked into the station and noticed a tense atmosphere. "What do you think is going on?"
Carlton shrugged. The two of them walked through the station towards their desks and quickly realized why it was so tense – there were military officers and Homeland Agents in the conference room with the Chief.
"Why is the military and Homeland here?"
"You'll know when you need to know, O'Hara."
Just then the Chief waved the two of them into the conference room. The two of them entered and moved to stand by the Chief. "Detectives, these are Sergeant Majors Jensen and Erickson, and Agents Ross and Adams from Homeland Security. Agents, Sergeant Majors, this is my Head Detective Lassiter and his partner Detective O'Hara."
They all shook hands.
"As we were saying, this is highly classified, secret-level information that cannot leave this room. You three have been given approval to be read into the operation. If you leak this information you could face up to 10 years in federal prison. Is this understood?" Agent Ross took over the conversation.
The detectives and the Chief nodded. Agent Adams handed out three packets of information, most of which is blacked out.
"Back in 2004, the Hell Hounds team went into Spain, with Spanish government approval, to remove a small terrorist from their country. They went in under the radar and without governmental protection. They went in with the target of Antonio Moreno. They tracked him to his home base and entered to take him out. The mission went wrong, Moreno escaped, and Moreno's wife and daughter were taken out when they brought out weapons of their own. Since then Moreno was off the radar for years until last year, he threatened to release the secrets of this mission to the public unless the Hell Hounds team was disbanded. It ended up being in everyone's best interest to do as he asked while we tracked him down. We tracked him to California a few months ago and have been making moves against him ever since. We lost sight of him a week ago, until today."
"A terrorist has been loose in California for months? And you lost track of him a week ago and we're just now hearing about this?" Carlton was livid.
"We couldn't determine where he'd go and we couldn't risk national security by alerting all of California to his presence, Detective."
"You didn't think that he'd go after the nearby member of the team he had disbanded?" Carlton instantly blamed the men in front of him for Shawn being in danger.
Juliet was confused how any of this had to do with Shawn.
"Detective." The Chief used her stern voice, and Carlton stopped talking, but remained livid.
"We had our suspicions but didn't think he'd make a direct attack so soon. We've been keeping an eye on Sergeant Spencer all week."
"Wait, Sergeant Spencer?"
"Yes, Sergeant Shawn Spencer. He's been working here as a psychic, I believe." Sergeant Major Jensen stated.
Juliet didn't know how to place Sergeant Spencer with the goofy, lovable Shawn Spencer she'd known for almost a year. She didn't get long to think about this as she noticed Shawn and Cards enter the station. Sergeant Major Erickson motioned them to join them in the conference room.
The two of them entered the room and saluted their superiors.
"At ease." SM Jensen said.
They both relaxed and crossed their arms behind their backs, in the at ease position.
"Sergeant Spencer, Master Sergeant Jackson. Nice of you to join us."
"We came immediately after getting Sergeant Spencer's head was stitched up, sir."
"Good. You were both at the scene of the bombing, correct?"
"Yes, sir." They answered in unison.
"Recap us on what happened."
"We entered my apartment at around 19:40. I noticed a new object I didn't recognize on my counter, so we went in guns drawn. I reached the foreign object and noticed it was a photo of Las- Detective Lassiter and me, with Detective Lassiter's face crossed off. Master Sergeant Jackson then noticed a small black box under the photo, and we raced out of the apartment before the bomb could go off. It went off as we reached the hallway outside my apartment and knocked us into the wall. I blacked out." Shawn began.
"I stayed conscious. One of the neighbors came out to inspect the noise. I told them to call 9-1-1 and evacuate the building. Then I carried Shawn out of the building. In minutes the fire department showed up." Cards finished.
"Tell us about the black box," Jensen said.
"It was about 4 by 5 by 2. It wasn't meant to take down the building, just the target." Cards answered.
"And tell us about this photo."
"It's a photo of Detective Lassiter and myself. We're friends and it was captured while we were hanging out. Lassiter's face was crossed out in red marker… I think he's the next target, Sir."
Shawn glanced over at Lassie to see how he's taking the news, but his face was a blank mask.
Carlton was shocked to say the least, he didn't think it'd be known how much they meant to each other. Now he was being used to hurt Shawn. He kept his face blank, not wanting to give away how much he wanted to take Shawn away and hide out until this was all over. He couldn't give away their maybe relationship, not in front of Shawn's superiors.
"That is how it looks. We'll need to set up you and Detective Lassiter in a safehouse until this is all over." Agent Adams decided.
"Yes, sir."
"Absolutely not, I am not going to sit on the sidelines of this investigation."
"Detective, your safety is on the line, you'll do as they say."
"But Chief-."
"Detective."
"Fine."
"We'll get you set up in a safehouse in the morning, for now you'll stay at the station." Agent Adams said.
"Yes, sir."
Carlton nodded.
"The Hell Hounds would like to be in charge of security at the warehouse, sir."
"Homeland will be handling security."
"With all due respect, sir, we trust each other with our lives. We want someone we trust watching over Spencer. They're already on their way, and this way they won't interfere with the investigation."
The Agents and SMs discussed this for a few moments.
"Fine, but you will coordinate your efforts with Homeland." Agent Adams finally agreed.
"Yes, sir."
"Now you three can leave, you can't be involved in the investigation. Dismissed." SM Erickson said.
Carlton, Shawn and Cards left the room. Carlton watched Shawn's shoulder slump in exhaustion.
"The cells are empty tonight, you two can go rest there if you want."
Shawn nodded. "Thanks, Lassie…I'm sorry you got dragged into my mess."
"You don't have to apologize, Shawn. It's not your fault." He hesitantly reached out and squeezed Shawn's shoulder. "We'll talk more after you get some sleep, okay?"
Shawn nodded and he and Cards headed towards the room of cells.
Carlton headed to his desk and sat down. He sighed, today had been a long day. First he had to deal with Goochberg, then his partner was attacked, and to top it all off the guy he loved was the target of a bombing. He was exhausted. But there was something he wanted to do before he got some rest for the night. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his second speed dial.
"Carlton?"
"Hi, Victoria."
"Are you okay? Its late."
"I'm fine, I just needed to talk to you about something."
"Okay, what?"
Carlton took a deep breath. "I want a divorce."
"What?"
"I want a divorce."
"Well this is sudden."
"We've been separated for over 2 years, Victoria, it was only a matter of time."
"You've just been so dead set on fixing us, I never expected this from you."
"I've finally realized it's a losing battle."
"…is there someone else?"
Carlton considered lying, but went with the truth. "Yes."
"…I'm happy for you Carlton."
"Thank you. So you won't fight it if I file for divorce?"
"No, Carlton, you're right, it was only a matter of time."
"Perfect, I'll talk to my lawyers in a couple of days. I'll talk to you soon, Victoria."
"Goodbye, Carlton."
2005
"Carlton, I want a separation."
"What?" Carlton looked up from the case file he was looking through.
"I want a separation."
"But, why?" To Carlton, this came out of nowhere.
"Because we're not happy, Carlton. We hardly talk, we haven't had sex in months, and I barely see you anymore. You can't be happy like this."
Carlton had honestly not noticed. "With you, I'm always happy."
"You can't be serious. Our marriage is a mess. When we're together we don't talk, we just exist. This isn't what I want in life. Carlton."
"Okay."
Victoria nodded and went to go pack her stuff. She was done in a few hours.
"Goodbye, Carlton." She kissed his cheek then left their home.
Shawn was woken a few hours after he fell asleep. Cards wanted to check on him and his concussion.
"You're all good. Feel free to go back to sleep, I need to go coordinate with Homeland."
Shawn nodded and dozed off again. He was woken up again several hours later.
"The safehouse is ready." Cards said after shaking Shawn awake.
Shawn nodded and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He stood and followed Cards into the rest of the station. Lassie and a homeland agent were waiting for them. They went outside and climbed into a few cars. It took them almost an hour to get to the safehouse, with all the sideroads and car changes they did.
The safehouse was a simple one-story house surrounded by trees on all sides. It was painted to blend into the scenery so as not to be seen from a distance.
Cards and the homeland agent climbed out first and did a sweep of the house before Shawn and Lassie were allowed out of the car. Then the two of them were escorted into the house. Inside was as simple as the outside. It was a little out of date but was kept up well. The kitchen had been stocked the night before, and their clothes would be brought by when the rest of the guys got there.
Lassie did his own sweep of the house out of habit, Shawn trusted Cards to have done it just fine.
"Alright, so we'll be staying here until everything is settled, which could be awhile. So get used to the space. Snake Eyes' plane lands within the hour, so he'll be here first, followed by the others." Cards informed them.
Shawn nodded. "Sweet."
"I've got first shift, so I'll be outside if you need me. The codeword to enter the house is "Platypus." Don't let anyone in that doesn't know the codeword."
"We know how this works, Cards. Quit worrying about us." Shawn patted his brother on the back, before pushing him out the door.
"Oh and there's weapons for you both in the first bedroom." Then Cards was out the door.
Shawn turned away from the door and went to check out the first bedroom and the weapons. Lassie was already there. The weapons were just a few Glocks that they could stash around the house or carry on their person. They each carried a Glock and then hid the other three around the house – one in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the hallway.
Shawn settled onto the couch and watched as Lassie walked through and checked out the house again. He could tell Lassie was frustrated with the situation and was likely to start pacing any second. When Lassie reentered the main room, Shawn reached out and grabbed Lassie's arm. "Lassie, chill. We're in good hands."
"I don't know any of those people out there."
"But I do. I trust Cards with my life, so just trust me."
Lassie looked into Shawn's eyes, and Shawn saw that difference he noticed earlier. Lassie was looking at him with more love than Shawn had ever seen. What had changed?
Lassie nodded. "Okay."
"Now sit down, because if you start pacing, you'll drive me insane." He let go of Lassie's arm.
Carlton walked over and sat on the other side of the couch. He purposely left space between the two of them, unsure if closeness would be appreciated now that things had calmed down. He also needed space to tell Shawn about the divorce, afraid rejection would still follow.
Shawn looked over at Lassie and instantly knew Lassie had something he wanted to say, so he waited. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lassie finally spoke up.
"I called Victoria."
"Yeah?"
Carlton nodded. "I told her I wanted a divorce."
"Really?" Inside, Shawn was thrilled and he finally understood the looks he'd been getting from Carlton. Carlton had finally chosen him. "Lassie, I'm so sorry. I know you loved her."
"It was time, we'd just been postponing the inevitable."
Shawn reached out and placed his hand on Lassie's. "Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell to finally take that step."
Carlton relaxed at Shawn's touch. It meant there was a less chance of his rejection. Carlton nodded. It had hurt to place that call, but he knew Shawn meant more to him than Victoria ever could.
"I had to make a choice, and I did." He turned his hand over and took Shawn's hand in his.
Shawn smiled, relieved that he had read Carlton correctly.
After another minute of silence, Carlton spoke up again. "So what does this mean for us?"
Shawn's smile fell a smidge. "You're still married, Lass. There needs to be a finalized divorce before there is an us."
Carlton nodded, sad to hear that.
"But for now," he squeezed Lassie's hand. "We're friends. So tell me about your latest case, I heard a little. From what I could tell it was interesting."
They spent the next hour or so exchanging stories. Carlton told Shawn about Goochberg and her antics and Shawn shared his side of O'Hara's case. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Instantly, they were on their feet and armed, guns trained on the door. Shawn relaxed as soon as he heard a familiar voice say 'Platypus.' He tucked away his weapon and headed over to the door. Carlton stayed armed, not recognizing the voice and wanting to be able to keep Shawn safe from whoever was at the door.
Shawn smiled at the sight behind the door. "Snake!"
"Pineapples, look at you in one piece!"
Shawn pulled Snake Eyes into the safehouse and closed the door behind him, before pulling his brother in arms into a hug. "Man, it's good to see you."
"You too." They ended the hug and Snake Eyes finally caught sight of Carlton. "Carlton Lassiter." He offered his hand to the man and gripped it tightly when they shook, causing Carlton to hide a wince.
"Carly, this is Jordan "Snake Eyes" Stryker. Snake, you clearly know this is Carly."
Snake let go of Carlton's hand. Carlton looked over the man in front of him. He was taller than Shawn, but not as tall as Carlton. His skin was dark brown and he had dreads longer than the government required length.
"Nice to meet you, Stryker."
"Wish I could say the same."
Shawn elbowed his brother in the side. "Jordan."
"Shawn it's fine. I'm sure none of your team will be glad to see me because of our…history." Carlton knew Shawn's whole team probably hated him and would want to chew him out like Cards already did.
"Which is none of their business."
"Of course it's our business, Pineapples. We were the ones who had to pick up the pieces after he left you broken and distraught."
"You know, I expected this from War but not you. What happened is in the past."
"That's not what Cards said when he found you reeking of liquor a few days ago."
"We're past that now, we've talked it out and things are good."
"How are things good? You can't possibly be thinking of getting back with this guy, Spencer. He left you without a word for some random chick, after 2 years together. He doesn't deserve you."
"You know what, we are not talking about this anymore. Why don't you go out and help Cards with the perimeter. We're clearly fine in here."
Shawn quickly ushered his brother out of the house and closed the door behind him without a word. Shawn couldn't believe Snake's nerve, saying those things in front of Lassie.
Carlton walked over to Shawn who stood by the door, seething. He laid his hand on Shawn's shoulder. "Shawn, it's alright."
"No, it's not. He shouldn't have said any of that. It's none of his business what I do."
"He cares about you. Your whole team does. They're just looking out for you, something you'd do for them too."
Shawn sighed, he had a point. He turned to his ex- current- not so boyfriend? "They're going to try to convince me not to see you again, Lassie."
"You don't have to listen to them, Shawn, not if you don't want to."
"But what if they're right?" Shawn looked up at Lassie. "Lassie, you broke my heart all those years ago…what's to keep you from doing it again?"
Carlton hated the pain he saw in Shawn's eyes at that moment. He stepped towards Shawn and laid his hands on the man's cheeks. "I know this won't mean much, but I promise that I won't break your heart again. I love you, Shawn. More than I've ever loved Victoria or anyone else for that matter. I'll do anything to prove that to you."
Shawn looked into Carlton's eyes and believed every word that the man said. He leaned up and pressed his lips to Carlton's.
Snake walked out of the house and over to where Cards was scanning the perimeter. One glance at Snake and Cards knew something was up. "Jordan, what did you do?"
"I may have told Spencer off for considering getting back with that bastard."
"Snake. We're here to protect the both of them, not meddle in their business."
"It's our business too. We can't let Pineapples set himself up for hurt like that again. He won't be able to get through it again."
"Spence is tough."
"But is he tough enough to get his heart broken again by that bastard he's in love with?"
"We can't make Spence's choices for him, Snake."
"I know. When do Read and War get here?"
"They should be here in the next hour or so."
Snake nodded and they split up to take up their posts.
Shawn kept the kiss brief, meaning what he said about nothing happening between them while Carly was still married. Shawn smiled up at Carlton. "I believe you."
Carlton smiled back. His smile quickly turned into a yawn, he hadn't slept in over 24 hours.
"Why don't you go lay down, Lassie? Get some sleep."
"Join me?"
"Lassie..."
"Just to sleep, Shawn."
Shawn was reluctant, but the idea of laying down in Lassie's arms was extremely appealing. "Okay."
The two of them made their way into the first bedroom. Carlton removed his suit jacket and tie before laying down on the bed. Shawn quickly joined him and laid down with his head resting on Carlton's chest. They were both asleep in moments.
War and Read arrived 2 hours later with clothes for Carlton and Shawn. They check in on Cards, made sure he's okay like he claimed, before heading to the house. They knocked and said the password a few times before Shawn answered the door, looking like he just woke up.
War smiled. "Well good morning, sleeping beauty."
Shawn rolled his eyes and let the two of them inside. He hugged them both before accepting the bags of clothes. He dropped them on the couch. "Nice of you two to finally show up."
"We had to make a few stops on the way." War and Read did a quick once over of the front room out of habit. "Where's the asshole?"
Shawn sighed. "I am not having this conversation again, War. I get that you guys don't like Carly, but he's important to me. So you are just going to have to deal with that."
"How can that bast-." Read laid his hand on War's shoulder to shut him up.
"We understand that, which is why we're here to protect the both of you. We just want to finally meet the guy."
Shawn shot War a dirty look before turning to Read. "Well he's sleeping, you'll have to meet him later."
They nod. "How are you doing, 'apples? We heard you got a few burns and stitches."
"I'm fine, I've had worse. Just a concussion to deal with."
"We're glad you're okay, Spencer." War pushed his anger away at the situation. He cared for Shawn and was glad to see him in one piece.
"I really appreciate you guys coming out here to babysit me." Shawn was glad to see his brothers again after so long, but he was not thrilled with sitting on the sidelines with nothing to do about the situation.
"We're happy to do so."
"Hopefully they'll take down Moreno and we'll get to go back to work."
"What, the apple pie life not doing it for you, War?"
War smirked. "I love my wife, you know I do, but we're about to kill each other with me being home all the time. Monica can't wait to send me off again."
"Well if you found something to do, you probably wouldn't annoy the shit out of her so much."
"Not everyone can start their own psychic detective agency, Pineapples. I tried construction for awhile, but man I couldn't do it. I actually miss doing paperwork."
"Well then you can do all my paperwork when we go back."
"Nice try. Use those psychic powers of yours and see if that'll actually happen."
Shawn smirked and put his fingers to his head. "I'm seeing lots of paperwork in your future, War. Hope you're ready for it."
The soldiers laughed. "That seriously works on these people? How the hell does anyone believe you're actually psychic?"
"I purposely don't predict the future, I just use my hyper-observance to figure out what happened. It actually works quite well. I've solved a lot of cases."
"Which you'll have to tell us all about, later. We have to go protect you and your Lassie." Read hugged Shawn again before he and War headed out to join the protection detail.
The next few days went by without incident. The Homeland agents switched out every 8 hours, all under Cards' watch, and the Hell Hound men took turns sleeping in the extra room in the house, since Carlton and Shawn shared. Carlton and Shawn made food for the agents and soldiers, who took turn eating between shifts. War and Snake Eyes tended to ignore Carlton, while Read and Cards took time to try and get to know him a bit.
By the fourth day, Carlton and Shawn were both getting restless. Neither liked that there was a terrorist out there after them and there was nothing they were allowed to do about it. They also both hated that they had to be watched over, both feeling capable of protecting themselves.
That day, Shawn decided to let Carlton sleep in. The man had been stressing out over everything and Shawn felt he could use a few extra minutes sleep. Shawn slipped out of bed and turned off Carlton's alarm. He headed to the kitchen and started breakfast and coffee. By 7am, food was ready and the men watching the property started taking their turns at grabbing food and taking a break.
Snake Eyes woke up to the smell of food and headed out to grab his share. From outside came Agents Matthews and Holland. Matthews headed down the hall to the bathroom, while Holland took a seat in the kitchen. Shawn dished out some food to Snake and Holland.
Matthews made sure he wasn't seen before slipping into the first bedroom. He took out his gun and screwed on a silencer before walking over and shoving Carlton awake.
Carlton jolted awake. "Shawn?" He rolled over and tensed, seeing a gun trained on him by Agent Matthews. "Matthews?"
"Say another word and I'll shoot. On your feet."
Carlton climbed out of bed and got to his feet. He kept his hands visible to Matthews, not needing to give the man a reason to shoot.
"Out the window. Go." Matthews kept his voice low and demanding.
Carlton scanned the room for a way out but found nothing except his gun on the nightstand. He'd never be able to grab it fast enough. He reluctantly headed for the window and opened it, trying to do so as loud as he could, but the window wasn't loud enough to be heard over the chatter in the kitchen. He climbed out, followed by Matthews.
"Head north." He pointed the right direction and followed Carlton.
They quickly came upon an agent watching the perimeter and Matthews shot him silently in the back of the head without hesitation.
Carlton walked and waited for his opportunity.
Shawn noticed Matthews had been gone awhile, but didn't think much of it. He decided Carlton wouldn't want to sleep forever, and went to go check on him around 7:30. He excused himself from the kitchen and went to check on Lassie. He tensed when he noticed the door cracked open, knowing he'd closed it when he left earlier. He snapped his fingers to get Snake's attention and nodded towards the bedroom door, slipping his gun out of his waist band. Snake got to his feet, weapon ready and silently walked over to have Shawn's back. They quietly entered the room, guns ready and immediately noticed Lassie gone and the window open.
"Check on Matthews." Snake nodded and slipped back out of the room.
A few seconds later he called out. "He's not here."
"Fuck."
Snake quickly headed towards the door to go notify Cards and turned to stop Shawn from going too. "You need to stay here."
"Fuck that. It's Lassie, I'm coming."
"Spencer."
"I'm coming, Jordan. That's final." He pushed past Snake and headed outside for the first time in days. He spotted Cards to his right and headed that way, followed by Snake and Agent Holland.
"Spence, what are you doing out of-."
"Carly's gone. So is Matthews."
"How long?"
"Up to 35 minutes. They headed out the back window."
Cards whistled, loud, and in moments the Hell Hounds team emerged from the trees. He couldn't use the walkies, since Matthews likely still had his.
"Alright, Carlton is gone, likely taken by Agent Matthews. They could have 35 minutes on us, let's go." They all grabbed their weapons and headed around the house and into the trees. They stumbled upon the dead agent pretty quick and headed that direction.
They cruised through the trees, in their element, for several minutes. Shawn hid his emotions behind his military persona, unable to allow his emotions get the better of him. Though he was worried.
10 minutes into their search Cards heard a rustle up ahead and held up a hand. His men stopped instantly. He searched for the sound and pointed his gun. "Freeze or I'll shoot!"
The target froze instantly. The men moved in formation, all guns trained on the target. It took a minute to get close enough to recognize the man.
"Lassie!" With a nod from Cards, Shawn broke formation and bolted to Carlton's side. As he got closer he noticed Carly's pale face, blood on his side, and a gun with a silencer in his hand. "Shit, Lassie. What happened?" He immediately moved to check out Carly's side, gently lifting his shirt. He was thrilled to see it was just a bullet graze, though it likely still hurt like hell.
Lassie was tense with pain. "Matthews dragged me out of the house. He killed an agent and forced me to head north. Luckily he stepped too close and I was able to disarm him. Not before he got a shot off though."
Cards sent Snake and War off to go find Matthews, while he and Read kept an eye on Carlton and Shawn.
"Luckily it's just a graze. A few stitches and you'll be fine, Lassie-frass." Shawn gently let go of Carlton's shirt and laid a hand on the man's cheek.
Carlton nodded and leaned into Shawn's touch. He looked into Shawn's eyes and saw the relief in them. "What are you doing outside the house, Shawn?"
"Looking for my man, obviously. I wasn't going to let some backstabbing agent take you without a fight, Carly."
"There's a terrorist out for your head, Shawn."
"Who clearly hired Matthews to take you out. You're a target too."
"If he was just going to take me out, he would have done so in the house."
Shawn nodded. He gave the whole situation some thought. "He left the window open…he wanted us to follow you. You were a distraction."
He looked to Cards who had just realized the exact same thing. "We need to get back, now."
They all heard rustling in the woods to the north. They all turned, weapons trained, Shawn stepping slightly in front of Carly. Out of the trees came Snake and War, unarmed, followed by 5 men with semi-automatic weapons trained on them all.
"I'd put those down if I were you." Behind the 5 men, emerged Moreno. "We clearly came more prepared."
The Hell Hound men had pea-shooters in comparison to the heavy weaponry carried by the mercenaries. With a nod from Cards, Read, Cards and Shawn put down their weapons. Carlton followed suit.
"Smart move. It's so nice seeing the team all back together again, isn't it? You military men are so predictable. Of course you'd come to protect your team members, putting you all in one convenient location." Moreno smiled. "You really helped me out there." He waved his hand and each of his mercenaries took a Hell Hound soldier, one of them forcing Shawn away from Carlton's side. Moreno pulled out his own pistol and walked over to Carlton. "Alright, boys, lets get moving. We're on a tight schedule."
The mercenaries forced the soldiers back towards the house, weapons trained on their backs. Moreno and Carlton took up the rear. They walked in eerie silence. Even Moreno was silent, which was strange since this was when most villains spieled their evil plans. As they got closer to the house, they noticed each Homeland agent was dead that had been watching the perimeter. There went their backup.
The soldiers kept their eyes on their leader who was up front, waiting for a sign to move. They were trained in situations just like this and were ready to disarm at a moment's notice.
The group reached the clearing around the house when Cards whistled. In unison, the soldiers turned and fought their captors for their weapons. It took less than a minute and several shots. In the end, each mercenary laid on the ground, dead. The Hell Hounds turned and pointed their weapons at Moreno. The only problem was Carlton was between them and their shot.
While the Hell Hounds disarmed the mercenaries, Moreno shoved his gun into Carlton's back and used his other hand to put pressure on Carlton's wound, leaving Carly to have dotted vision from the pain. Carlton wasn't able to fight off his capture from the position he was in.
Moreno smiled at the Hell Hounds. He expected something like this to happen, which was why he took Carlton. He knew just how much the man meant to Shawn. Shawn had been the one to shoot his daughter and was his main target all along. Now he'd make him feel a similar pain to what he'd been feeling for years.
He shot Carlton in the back without hesitation. Once Carlton hit the ground, the Hell Hounds shot, filling Moreno with holes. Moreno hit the ground looking like bloody Swiss cheese.
Shawn ran to Carlton's side immediately, while his brothers scoured the area for other mercenaries.
"Lassie!" He dropped to his knees and rolled Carlton over to see the wound, which was gushing blood. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He slipped off his own shirt and pressed it to the wound. "Lassie, don't you leave me."
Carlton had fallen unconscious seconds after being shot.
"Cards! We need a hospital!" Shawn barely kept his voice from shaking. He doesn't think he'd been this scared in years, not since Cooper. He couldn't lose Lassie now that he had him again.
The Hell Hounds returned a minute later. Cards quickly relayed orders.
"Read get the car. War, Snake carry Carlton to the car. Spence, don't stop putting pressure on that wound."
They all followed orders quickly and soon had Carlton in an SUV and on the way to the nearest hospital.
Shawn sat in the back with Lassie, keeping pressure on the wound. Cards and Read were in the front and War and Snake were following in another vehicle.
Cards got on the phone with Doc immediately to update him on the situation. Doc promised to send men out to the safe house to take care of the bodies. Agents would meet them at the hospital for protection until they confirmed the threat was gone.
Shawn's hands shook as he watched the life physically leave Carlton's body.
Several hours later, Shawn and his brothers sat in the hospital waiting room, surrounded by Homeland agents. Gus, Juliet and the Chief were there too.
Cards kept his arm wrapped around Shawn, which was the only thing keeping Shawn from getting up and pacing again. He'd paced for an hour before Cards forced the younger man to sit. Gus sat on Shawn's other side.
Carlton was in surgery and none of them knew if he'd even have a chance. Back wounds were tricky, especially if it had hit vital organs, and were hard to diagnose without surgery. So they were all left in the dark.
A doctor came into the waiting room. "Family of Carlton Lassiter?"
Shawn, Juliet and the Chief were on their feet immediately. Shawn took a step forward, but Cards stopped him, he wasn't family and had no authority in the hospital.
Juliet walked over and flashed her badge. "I'm his partner. What's his status?"
"He was lucky, the bullet missed his spine, but caused severe damage to his large intestine. He coded on the table once, but we were able to resuscitate him. We were able to repair the damage the bullet caused, and if he makes it through the night, he should make a full recovery."
Juliet let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, thank you. Can we see him?"
"We're moving him into a room now, give us an hour to get him settled and a nurse will be out to let you in."
Juliet nodded and the doctor left.
Shawn sat back down and let himself relax for the first time in hours. He closed his eyes and a tear of relief fell from his eye and down his cheek. He wiped it away. He leaned against Cards who rubbed his back.
An hour later, a nurse came out to lead them back to the room. Shawn stood up immediately and walked to Juliet's side. Juliet reached out and squeezed Shawn's hand. She knew Carlton was important to Shawn and could see the pain he was in. The two of them followed the nurse back to Carlton's room.
The man was asleep and likely would stay asleep another hour or so.
Shawn walked over to his bedside and grabbed his hand. Juliet stayed back and gave them a moment.
"You'll be out of here in no time, Lassie, and then I can kick your ass for getting shot on my watch." He pulled up a chair and sat down, not letting go of his love's hand.
Juliet walked over a minute later and grabbed Carlton's other hand. "I'm glad you're okay, partner."
They were both still there awhile later when Carlton finally came to. He noticed Shawn first and smiled. "Shawn."
Shawn smiled brightly and jumped to his feet. "Lassie!" He squeezed the man's hand.
Carlton then noticed Juliet was holding his other hand. "O'Hara."
"Hey, partner. It's good to see you awake."
"What happened?"
Shawn was the one to tell the story. "Moreno shot you in the back… Lassie, I'm so sorry you got dragged into my mess." His voice was soft and regretful.
"Shut up, Shawn. You had no control over any of this." Carlton squeezed Shawn's hand.
"If I hadn't come back to Santa Barbara, none of this would have happened."
"And then none of the good work you've done this past year would have happened either, Shawn. Like Carlton said, you had no control over any of this." Juliet pointed out.
Shawn didn't want to listen to either of them, instead wanting to blame himself for Carlton getting shot. But he knew they were right. Shawn nodded.
They chatted with Carlton a little while longer before the man drifted off to sleep.
The two of them took their seats again.
"So, tell me about you and the military." Juliet smiled over at Shawn. She still didn't quite believe it, but wanted to see more of that side of Shawn. She thought the military was very impressive.
"Well, I joined when I was 18."
By the next morning, Shawn was still at Carlton's side. Carlton had woken up a few times throughout the evening and night, and Shawn had wanted to be there each and every time. Juliet had pulled some strings for him, so that he could stay after visiting hours, for which he was extremely grateful.
Around 8:00am, Cards entered the room to check on Shawn. He came in to see Shawn asleep, his head resting on the bed and still holding Carlton's hand. He quietly walked over and gently shook Shawn awake.
"Shawn, wake up. Doc is going to be here within the hour."
Shawn sat up and yawned. "Why is Doc coming?"
"He's taking all our statements…You need to be Carlton's friend, not his boyfriend, by the time he gets here."
Shawn sighed. "Right. Thanks for the heads up."
"Of course. I brought you some clothes, thought you could hop in the shower before he got here. Not look like you've been here all night."
"Thanks, Cards." Shawn stands and reluctantly lets go of Carlton's hand.
"Also…Doc says we will need to report to Washington by the end of the week."
"What? So soon? That's only three days!"
"I know. The guys are heading home in a few hours to say goodbye to their families. They need our reports on everything that's happened and want us to return to active duty immediately."
"…I have a life here, Cards."
Cards smiled sadly. "I know, Spence, and Doc said we have the option of retirement instead of returning. You can choose that if you want, but the rest of us are headed back."
Shawn sighed. "I don't want to retire."
"Then you have three days to wrap everything up here."
Shawn glanced at Lassie. He wouldn't even be out of the hospital by then, much less divorced. Shawn was going to have to leave him without their relationship established. What if Lassie changed his mind when he realized Shawn wasn't going to be around all the time?
"Everything will be okay, Spence. I've seen how he looks at you. I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Shawn nodded. "Thanks, Cards."
Cards nodded and left the room.
Shawn stared at Carlton for a little longer before he forced his worries away and headed off to shower.
Shawn only left Carlton's room long enough to give his statement to Doc before he immediately returned to Carlton's side. He smiled when he noticed Carly was awake.
"Hey, Lassie."
"Hey, Shawn."
Shawn sat down next to Carlton and grabbed the man's hand. "Sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, I had to give my statement to Doc."
"It's fine. I don't expect you to be by my side 24/7."
"Well I plan to be, so get used to me."
Carlton smiled. "I think I can do that."
Shawn smiled, before it faltered some when he remembered he'd be leaving in a few days.
Carlton noticed. "What's wrong?"
"The terrorist threat is gone."
"That's great, Shawn."
"Which means we can return to active duty."
Carlton caught on immediately. "When do you leave?"
"Friday."
Carlton nodded. "How long will you be gone for?"
"Likely a couple months."
"What will you do about Psych?"
Shawn shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought… I hope to still help with cases when I'm visiting…if the Chief will still let me now that she knows my background is a bunch of crap."
"She'll likely just expect you to act more mature now that she knows you're actually responsible."
"I'm not responsible. Don't go telling people that."
Carlton smiled. "I won't tell people that, on one condition."
"And what's that?"
"You come back as soon as you can."
Shawn smiled. "Deal." He leaned up and kissed Carlton's cheek.
Juliet decided to visit Carlton before she headed into work. She was allowed to show up late today after such a long day in the hospital yesterday. She headed to the room and noticed Shawn was still there, not that she was surprised. What did surprise her was when Shawn leaned up and kissed Carlton's cheek, and Carlton smiled instead of protested. Interesting. Clearly there was more to their relationship than just friends. She decided to give them some space and left. She'd visit after her shift.
Thursday morning, Shawn finally left Carlton's side to go meet Gus for breakfast. Gus still didn't know he'd be leaving. He got there early and waited at a table for Gus to arrive, nervous to tell his best friend.
Gus arrived right on time and sat down across from Shawn. "What's wrong?"
"Why do you think something's wrong?"
"You're early. You're only early when you're nervous. What's wrong?"
"The Hell Hounds are returning to active duty."
"Oh." Gus picked up the menu and didn't say anything else until after the two of them ordered their food. "When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"How long have you known?"
"Since Tuesday."
"And you're only telling me now?"
"…I didn't know how to tell you. How do you tell your best friend that you'll be leaving and only visiting every couple of months?"
"Exactly like that, Shawn. You just say it."
"I didn't want to upset you."
"You've upset me by not telling me until the last minute."
"Right."
"What about Psych?"
"I plan to still pay the rent for the office with my paycheck, and I hope we can work cases when I come back to visit."
Gus nodded. "I can't promise I'll be available for cases when you visit. I do have a job."
"I know."
"You also don't know if there will be cases available for us when you visit. They may not need your help."
"I know, Gus. But I can always hope."
There food is brought out by a waitress. They both dig in.
"When will you be back?"
"Hopefully in a couple months."
Gus nodded.
On Friday, Shawn left Gus in the hospital parking lot and headed inside. He headed up to Lassie's room and was glad to see no other visitors. He knocked and headed inside, smiling at Lassie. Carlton smiled back.
Shawn walked over and grabbed his love's hand.
"Come to say goodbye?"
Shawn nodded. "Gus is waiting for me to take me to the airport…I'll miss you, Carly."
"You'll be back soon, and I'll still be here, waiting."
"You better be."
"I promise."
Shawn leaned down and kissed Carlton on the lips. He kept it brief, otherwise he didn't know if he'd be able to leave. "I'll email you as often as I can."
Carlton nodded. "I love you, Shawn."
"I love you too, Carly." He kissed Carlton's forehead before leaving the room and then the hospital.