Hey all. We're finally in the 3rd trimester of the pregnancy! Which means I should probably figure out the baby's name...

Sharon is almost 28 weeks

X

X

X

Chapter 21

Wednesday, September 1st

"So, how does it feel to be going back into the field?" Juliet asked as they drove to a crime scene.

"Like I can finally be useful again." Carlton grumbled as he concentrated on the road

"It's only been five weeks since you got shot."

"Felt much longer, especially with all of the time that Sharon and I have been spending together. The only quiet times I really get are when I'm driving to and from work."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me that I need to stop talking in the car?"

"No, as long as your conversation topics are not too annoying."

"Well, how about we talk about you and Sharon. How are the childbirth classes going?"

"Awkward as hell. It doesn't help that I couldn't get down on the floor with her for the first couple of classes, so we haven't been able to do some of the exercises the correct way. Trying to do them in folding chairs was pretty uncomfortable."

"Hmm. Have you tried it on a couch?"

"A couple of the exercises, yeah. Although Sharon is starting to have trouble staying awake if she gets too comfortable while sitting."

Juliet laughed, "I'm so glad that you two are getting along so well."

"As much as I hate to admit it, couples therapy has been very helpful. Doctor Beeks seems to be very understanding about our differences and has offered several techniques that Sharon and I feel okay with continuing on our own."

"That's great! I kind of wished that you two had done couple's therapy years ago."

Carlton snorted, "You would have had to drag me along and tie me up before I went to therapy with Spencer, even just 6 months ago."

"Yeah, but it would have been a lot more helpful. I'm surprised that the Chief never thought of that."

"Probably because she didn't want to risk one or both of us ending up dead."

"True." As they finally arrived and parked at the crime scene, Juliet put a hand on Carlton's arm. "Hey, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you, of both of you! I know this hasn't been the easiest situation to be in, but you are making such big strides in order to make this work and are opening up in so many ways that I never would have imagined before. I am so damn proud of you, partner!"

"Thank you, O'Har- Juliet. Your friendship and support is what makes this all possible."

"No, you make it possible! You and Sharon by putting the work in and not giving up when things get tough."

"Thanks," Carlton cleared his throat nervously as he looked outside of the car. "Do you mind if we get started on this crime scene?"

"Of course, Carlton!" Juliet smiled as she unfastened her seatbelt. "It's your first crime scene in over a month, don't want to be late."

"It's probably too late for that."

X

X

X

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Carlton exclaimed as Sharon entered the crime scene about 10 minutes later.

Sharon looked down at her clothes before smiling, "Clothes."

"Why in the hell does your shirt say 'Property of Detective Carlton Lassiter, SBPD'?!"

"Oh, that." Sharon shrugged and straightened her shirt. "Well, I'm kind of tired of people asking me who the baby's daddy is. This way, they don't have to ask! And bonus, it decreases the number of people who ask me if they can touch my belly."

Juliet tried to hide a laugh as Carlton glared at Sharon and took off his blazer. "Here, put this on."

"No, Lassie! It's too humid for a jacket! I don't even know why you're wearing it in the first place!"

"Maybe if you knew how to dress professionally, you would understand."

"But those clothes are so stiff and boring! I like my t-shirts better."

"Stop embarrassing me and put on the damn blazer!"

"You're the one making a big deal out of it! Plus, who's going to be more embarrassed when I keel over from heat stroke!"

"Either cover up or get the hell out of my crime scene!"

Sharon glared at him before turning around and walking out of the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

Juliet pulled Carlton over to the corner of the room and whispered furiously, "Carlton! That was totally uncalled for!"

"She's the one who always acts so unprofessional!" Carlton crossed his arms and glared at anyone who dared to look their way.

"You know how stressed out she is! Sharon's just expressing herself."

"And you don't think that I'm stressed out! Especially with my coworkers gossiping about me."

"Most of them are talking because they care and want to be supportive. A couple of them have even asked me if they should buy something for a baby shower."

"Really? Why?!"

"Because you are a good man who has earned their trust and respect, and they want to show you some appreciation; especially since they know you don't like presents for your birthday or Christmas."

Carlton shook his head and put his blazer back on."You shouldn't feel obligated to give gifts just because of some arbitrary date on a calendar."

"Don't get me started on how hypocritical that sounds coming from you when it came to your ex-wife!"

"Can we get back to the crime scene that we're supposed to be investigating?!"

"Sure, as soon as you apologize to Sharon." Juliet nodded and looked behind him.

Carlton turned and saw Sharon hovering around the dead body, her shirt clearly turned inside out. With a sigh, he went over to her. "Sharon, I'm sorry for being rude."

She shrugged as they stepped away from the body, "Lassie, I get it. The shirt would invite too many questions from your coworkers that you're not ready to answer and, quite frankly, neither am I. So I'll try not to wear it near the station or at crime scenes."

"Thank you. Although, some of them have already asked O'Hara if there is going to be a baby shower, so I guess it's not much of a secret right now."

"Huh, well that's nice. I didn't even think about having a party since Sharon doesn't have many friends; but it would be cool if you had one."

Carlton shook his head, "I don't think I could stand being the center of that kind of attention for long."

"I've never actually been to a baby shower, so I have no idea what's involved besides opening presents and eating cake."

"The few times that my ex-wife went to one, she would be gone for several hours and would always bring back a goodie bag and food."

Juliet cleared her throat as she interrupted them. "I think that you two are the only people I know who would make amends right next to a dead body. Well, not including Woody."

"Sorry," Carlton mumbled as he scanned his notes.

"Hey Jules," Sharon began, "do you want to organize the baby shower? Gus has already started a baby registry and my mom has also offered to help."

Juliet smiled, "I would love to! Assuming it's okay with Carlton?"

"As long as you keep it simple and you don't have me do anything embarrassing!" Carlton replied as he walked away from them.

Sharon sighed, "Sadly, I will have to agree with Lassie. I know I have been pushing his buttons a lot lately, so something calm would be better; gives me less chances to embarrass anyone! Plus, my energy levels are not as high as they used to be!"

"I'll consult with Gus and your mother, and get back to you."

"Oh! And don't forget Lassie's sister! She seems pretty cool and will probably come up with some great ideas."

"Yeah, I met her at the hospital and luckily she gave me her number, mainly to keep tabs on Carlton. What about his mom?"

Sharon cringed, "I don't think that he's told her yet."

"What?!" Juliet exclaimed, but quickly covered her mouth when she realized she had attracted some attention. "Why?" She whispered.

Sharon shrugged, "Something about having a bad relationship and maybe some catholic guilt and that it will be easier to tell her after the baby is born, maybe even wait until the holidays."

"Hey!" Carlton called from across the room. "Are you ladies here to gossip or to work?! This is a crime scene!"

Juliet rolled her eyes as Sharon placed her hands on her hips and responded, "I'm already done, I'm just waiting for you all to catch up! In fact, let me find a chair and sit while I'm waiting." Sharon went into the connected dining room, pulled out a chair, and sat down facing Carlton. "Let me know when you're ready to compare notes."

Carlton just shook his head and refocused on the crime scene.

X

X

X

After another 15 minutes, Carlton turned to Juliet, "I think we're about done here, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me finish writing down some details."

"I'll be in the car."

"What about Sharon?"

"She's still here?" Carlton frowned as he looked around. Sharon was sitting in the dining room, fast asleep. Rolling his eyes, he went over and shook her shoulder. "Sharon, it's time to go."

Sharon groaned and started to stretch. She would have fallen out of the chair if it was not for Carlton's quick reflexes. She laughed as she straightened up. "Oh, hey Lassie. Thanks for the save. What's up?"

"It's not a good idea to be sleeping at a crime scene."

Sharon looked around. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"O'Hara and I are about to head out, would you like a ride?"

"Sure, saves me a taxi fare." She groaned and placed a hand on her stomach. "I think Junior wants me to eat something. Any chance we can stop for lunch?"

Carlton glanced at his watch, "It's almost 11, I guess we can grab something to go."

X

X

X

As they were finishing lunch in the station's conference room, a file clerk brought in a couple of file folders.

"Thanks, Mike!" Juliet said as Carlton set down his napkin and opened the first file. "What does it say?" Juliet asked.

"Preliminary report confirms the identity of the victim as the owner of the house, a Doctor Gregory Larkin, who works at the local hospital. Divorced, no kids, one sister who lives in the city."

Juliet nodded. "Have they gotten the address of the ex-wife yet?"

"Ex-husband, Ricky." Sharon commented as she finished her burrito bowl.

"How do you know that?" Carlton asked after confirming the name of the ex-husband. "You're on the other side of the room, there's no way you can see the file."

Sharon grinned as she placed a finger on her forehead, "The spirits told me. If you dig deeper, you will find that Greg was a specialist with HIV/AIDS patients and would often meet with patients within his own home, much to the annoyance of his ex-husband, since it would make the patients feel less anxious than in a sterile hospital setting. That's about all the spirits were able to tell me before I took my impromptu nap at the crime scene. Now that my energy levels have been replenished by both sleep and food, I'm sure the spirits will be a bit more talkative, especially if I can tag along while you question Ricky."

"You're not coming with us." Carlton stated as he closed the file and collected his trash.

"But Lassie! I need to be near Ricky to get a reading off of him!"

"Until we can eliminate him as a suspect, I'm not putting you in harm's way."

"Dude, were we even looking at the same crime scene? Because it totally screamed upset, possibly psychotic, patient; not revengeful ex-husband with a grudge. Ricky is not the murderer; although he might know of which patients Greg was nervous about since they still kept in touch."

"Okay, how the hell do you know all of this?! You were barely in the house five minutes before you fell asleep! And don't say psychic!"

Sharon shrugged, "You just gotta learn to read the room, spirits and all."

"Besides, what sort of impression will you make as 7 months pregnant with your shirt clearly inside out?"

"Pregnancy makes me an easy person to talk to!"

"Or an easy target to threaten." Carlton said as he made his way out of the conference room.

"Jules! Back me up here!"

Juliet winced as she stopped at the door. "Sorry Sharon, but he's right. You're a bit of a liability right now."

"Oh come on! I still have like a month before my doctor recommends light duties and then bed rest. You didn't see Chief Vick sitting things out in her third trimester!" Sharon crossed her arms and pouted.

"That's because Chief Vick rarely went out into the field, usually just stayed at the station." Juliet sighed. "Look, why don't you stick around here and, if we think we need to bring anyone in for interrogation, you can watch from the observation room."

"So not fair." Sharon mumbled to the empty room.

X

X

X

*Friday, September 10th*

"Hey Lassie," Sharon greeted from her desk as Carlton entered the Psych office.

"You really shouldn't leave the office door unlocked."

"How else am I supposed to get walk-ins for tarot readings?"

"Since when do you do tarot readings?" He asked as he sat down at Gus's desk.

Sharon shrugged as she continued typing. "I've been doing it on and off for years. I picked it up when I was in New Orleans. It's an easy way to make a quick hundred bucks on the weekends, double that if some event is happening on the boardwalk."

"You mean an easy way to con people out of their money."

"Hey! I never lie to the people. I just tell them what the certain placement of cards mean and let them know that it's up to them to interpret the cards however they see fit."

Carlton rolled his eyes. "Next you're going to tell me that you also do palm readings."

"Only when I'm trying to pick someone up at a bar . Ladies are more open to it than the guys. Hmm, maybe I should try it out on you sometime."

"Only if you want to get hurt."

"Empty threats, Lassie." She finished what she was doing and closed down the laptop. "Since you're here, it's the perfect time to go get some lunch."

"I ate lunch two hours ago and your appointment is in 20 minutes."

"Oh, oops. I guess I'll just grab some snacks and eat in your car." Sharon slowly got out of the chair.

"As long as you don't make a mess in my car"

"Lassie, you know I can't make any promises with how clumsy the baby is making me!"

"You were clumsy long before you were ever pregnant."

"Lassie!"

X

X

X

Sharon walked outside of the doctor's office and found Carlton sitting on a bench. "There you are, Lassie! I was looking for you."

"Sorry, I was on the phone." He moved over so she could sit next to him.

"Was it the station?"

"No. Actually, it was my mother."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

After a few seconds of silence, Sharon asked, "Well, what did she say?"

"That there is another concert in two weeks and Althea is singing a duet. They would like it if I would bring my girlfriend and we can have dinner after the show."

"Oh. That sounds...nice?"

Carlton rubbed his face. "I told her that I would have to ask my girlfriend and that I would need to pick the restaurant, due to dietary restrictions."

"Any chance you mentioned the baby?"

"No, I figured we could drop that bombshell at dinner; if you wanted to go."

"Umm, yeah. It should be fine. I will have to check with Doc Jen since the last concert was like two hours long. She will probably just say to minimize the amount of time that I am standing. I will also need to be near the restrooms since Junior likes to lean against my bladder at the most annoying times."

"Alright. How about you check in with your doctor while I find a restaurant near the concert venue."

"Sounds good! Oh, crap!"

"What?"

"I don't have anything nice to wear! Which means I have to go shopping!" She groaned.

"Do you need to ask O'Hara to go with you?"

"Probably, since she would be faster at finding me an outfit. But I'll wait until after I talk with the Doc."