Hey all! This chapter was another case of "this chapter is too short, what can I add to it" so, please don't hate me for the second to last scene, it was not planned originally. Also, sorry but not sorry for the cliffhanger.

At the beginning of this chapter, Sharon is 30.5 weeks pregnant, 33 weeks at the end.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 22

*Tuesday September 21st*

"Sharon! Get out of my chair!" Carlton yelled as he approached his desk.

"But Baby Daddy!" Sharon whined without looking up from the open case file. "I'm reading!"

"Go to the library if you need something to read! Stop trying to steal my cases!"

"I'm not stealing, I'm helping!'

"By taking the credit for solving it and getting paid?" He crossed his arms.

"Well, it's not like your paycheck suffers if I solve it first!" She turned the chair towards him and shrugged. "Besides, think of it as more money for the baby!"

Carlton shook his head as he sat on the edge of his desk. "What are you even doing here?! Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Why, you want to join me?" She winked.

"Like there would be any room."

"Hey!" She hit him on the arm. "I can't believe you just said that! No cookies for you today! And for your ...edification, Doc Jen said I should try and rest more this week and that she wants me on light bed rest starting next Wednesday."

"Should I even bother asking where Guster is?"

"His boss announced a surprise vehicle inspection for their company cars today; so Gus dropped me off here since it was closer than the Psych office, plus Gus doesn't think that I should be alone when I'm bored."

"Then I'll call Henry to come get you."

"But I want to spend time with you! Besides, it's getting harder to climb up into his truck with all this extra weight, and the truck's a/c is broken."

"Well, I can't leave, I still have work to do."

"Then let me stay and help! Look, I already figured out the who and when on this gun death."

"What?! How?" He asked as he leaned closer to look at the file.

"I just told you how, silly! With a gun!"

"You know what I mean!"

"Yeah, I do. Anyways, it was the best friend, Phillip. Ex-best friend, apparently."

"He had an alibi, he was at the arcade, where he goes every other morning."

"Yeah, except the arcade was having power problems because of a storm the night before, so even though they had opened at 9am as usual, they ended up closing at 9:50 and they didn't open again until 1pm that day. Gus and I were at the arcade that weekend, setting new high scores; so I remember being disappointed that they opened late."

"I had a rookie check out that alibi; they probably didn't ask about the particular day."

"See! I'm so much more useful than a rookie cop! I promise to just sit in the chair and behave!"

"Fine! No wandering off and no distractions!" He got up and went into the nearby conference room to grab a chair. "Here, this will probably be more comfortable."

"You just want your chair now that I've warmed it up for you." Sharon said as she slowly stood up.

"It's 80 degrees outside, the last thing I want is a warm chair."

"Ugg, don't remind me! I've been trying not to think about the heat or how sweat-drenched my shirt is."

"It is pretty bad, maybe I don't want my chair back."

"Hey!"

"I'm going to go find you a dry shirt and maybe some ice."

"Aww, that's so nice of you! I'll meet you outside of the restroom since I just realized how badly I have to pee!"

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*Saturday September 25th*

Sharon nervously tapped her fingers on the table as they waited for Mona and Althea to arrive. Sharon had managed to duck out into the hallway right after the concert ended, claiming that she was too overheated to stay and mingle, which was at least half-true. So Carlton had greeted his mother alone, promising to meet them at the restaurant in a half hour.

"What I wouldn't give for some liquid courage right now," Sharon mumbled as she checked the time.

"Look, I've had time to worry about it, and the worst they could do is walk right back out of the restaurant, possibly causing a scene, although she frowns upon that."

"She'll probably frown upon me and could call me a slut or a whore or a gold digger."

"Hey." Carlton gently took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "If they don't want anything to do with us or the baby, then that is their loss."

Sharon smiled slightly, "I like how you said us."

"Yeah, well. You've grown on me and we do make a pretty good team together."

"Does that mean you are back to calling me your girlfriend?"

Carlton nodded and squeezed her hand again. "Yeah, I think it applies."

Someone clearing their throat made them both look up. Carlton quickly stood as he introduced them. "Mother, Althea. I would like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Sharon. Sharon, this is Mona and Althea"

Sharon stood up with a nervous smile. "Nice to meet you both, officially."

Mona's eyes widened as she stared at Sharon's stomach, while Althea stepped forward and offered her a handshake. "Hello, Darlin. Nice to meet you." Althea leaned close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "We're so pleased that you could come to the concert and then have dinner with us!"

"Well," Sharon shrugged as she sat back down, "there's not much on my calendar at the moment, so I figured it was as good a time as any that we talked."

Carlton coughed slightly and pulled out the two chairs on the other side of the table. "If you want to take a seat, I'm sure the waiter will be here shortly. I did get a pitcher of water for the whole table."

"Thank you, Carlton." Althea smiled as she sat in the chair across from Sharon, leaving the chair across from Carlton for Mona.

Mona slightly smacked Carlton on the arm as she moved to sit down. "We are going to have some words later about keeping secrets from your mother!"

"Yes Ma'am," Carlton mumbled as he rubbed his arm and sat back down.

"It's not entirely Carlton's fault," Sharon began. "I mean, it's a very delicate and complicated situation."

"I don't see how hard it is to pick up the phone and tell your mother that you knocked someone up."

"Well," Sharon replied. "seeing as I wasn't even sure I was going to keep the baby until a month ago, I don't think it was any of your business."

Mona crossed her arms. "You mean you were going to abandon your child all because of a sinful mistake?"

"Mona!" Althea warned as she passed Mona a glass of water.

"Look," Sharon glared at Mona. "This has been a very difficult pregnancy, one that I wasn't even sure if me or the baby was going to survive; I'm still not sure if something will go wrong. Neither one of us planned it, but in no way was it a sinful mistake! And quite frankly, I'm so tired of worrying about what other people think! We are keeping the baby, with no plans of getting married any time soon. So if you want to be involved in the baby's life, great. If not, then keep your opinions to yourself, because we don't need them!

Now if you don't mind, I'm starving." Sharon looked around and waved down the waiter.

"Amen!" Althea laughed softly and raised her water glass towards Sharon. "You are one fine catch. Carlton would be an idiot to let you go!"

"Agreed," Carlton replied as he smiled softly at Sharon.

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After their food arrived, Althea brought the conversation back to the baby. "Can I ask how far along you are?"

"About 8 months!" Sharon grinned. "Due around November 22."

"So soon! You must be excited."

"That's one way to describe it."

"Do you know the gender?"

"Well, I didn't want to know at the beginning of the pregnancy, but I know Lassie has been itching to find out."

Carlton rolled his eyes, "Only because other people keep asking me. I'm just hoping for a healthy baby."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Sharon patted his hand before he snatched it away. "But I know that you're secretly wishing for a boy, while I hope it's a girl. We have one last ultrasound scheduled in two weeks, so I might let Doc Jen tell us."

Althea smiled, "Have any names been picked out?"

Sharon shrugged, "We haven't decided yet."

"We're not naming our kid after Val Kilmer." Carlton said.

"But Lassie! Our kid needs a cool name! Something that will set them apart from the half a dozen Matthews or Jennifers."

"How about Stephen or Constance or Zach." Althea suggested.

"Oo! Nicknames of Zachary Binks! Or Constantinople! Or how about Xena, warrior princess?!"

"How about a good Irish name?" Mona added. "Like Patrick or Patricia."

"Ooh! Nickname of Peppermint Patty!"

Carlton shook his head. "And this is why Sharon is not allowed to name anything on her own."

"What?! But I'm awesome at picking names!"

"Since when?! You named Guster's car the blueberry."

"Sometimes you just have to sit with a name to see how it feels. I'm sure we'll find the right name after a few weeks with them."

Mona shook her head, "The nurses told me it was going to be $50 to change the birth certificate if we didn't name Carlton before we left the hospital. I can only imagine how much that price has risen since."

"Okay, so we'll pick a name before we leave the hospital." Glancing at all of the half empty plates, Sharon asked, "Anyone up for dessert? This place has the best chocolate mousse cake!"

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An hour later, Carlton parked in his driveway and looked over at Sharon, who was asleep. With a sigh, he got out and opened the passenger door. "Come on, Spencer, it's time to head inside."

Sharon groaned as she stretched a little. "I don't think I can get up. I'm stuck."

"Well, I definitely can't carry you, I might trip in the dark."

"At least help me get up. Your car is too low to the ground."

"You're like Goldilocks. My car is too low, your father's truck is too high. Is Guster's car just right?"

Sharon laughed as she made it up out of the seat. "No, the Blueberry is also too low. Maybe you should get an SUV."

"How about you sell your motorcycle and get an SUV?"

Sharon gasped, "Not my precious motorcycle!"

"You can't exactly strap a baby seat to a motorcycle."

"Well, technically…."

"Hell no! You either get your own car or you can take the bus!"

"You know I was just kidding, right?" Sharon smiled as Carlton unlocked the front door.

"With you, I can never tell."

Once inside, Carlton stopped her before she could walk down the hallway. "Oh, come on, Lassie!" Sharon whined as she leaned against the wall. "I'm too tired and don't think that I can stay vertical for very much longer!"

Carlton stepped closer and placed a hand on her cheek, rubbing her cheekbone softly. "Thank you for tonight."

"Of course," She replied softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Please do."

They both slowly leaned forward into a gentle yet sensual kiss. As the kiss ended, Sharon sighed and closed her eyes. "Mmm. As much as I've missed this, I'm so tired I could fall asleep against the wall. Raincheck?"

"Maybe, it depends if you annoy me before you can cash in on it." He smirked.

"*Tsk* Rude!" She smacked him lightly.

"Here, I'll help you down the hall."

"Nice to know chivalry ain't dead yet."

"Teasing counts as annoyance."

"Who said anything about teasing?! I was just stating a fact." Sharon grinned as Carlton wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

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*The next morning*

Hearing the unique ringtone go off, Sharon smiled as she answered her phone. "Hey Mom, what's up?"

"Good morning, Goose! You sound tired, I didn't wake you, did I? It's almost 9:30 there."

"Not really. I've been lying in bed for like 10 minutes, debating getting up."

"I'm surprised that your bladder hasn't made you get up yet."

"Well, Junior likes to wake me up around 6am for the bathroom. I have about another hour before they make me get up again."

Madeleine laughed. "Alright then. How was the concert and dinner last night?"

"It went pretty well. The music was just upbeat enough that I didn't fall asleep; although there were a few close calls and I had to mentally review cases in my head. Also, I felt like I spent more time out of my seat than in it because of all of the bathroom runs!"

"And how was Carlton's mother?"

Sharon sighed, "Well, she stuck around for the entirety of the dinner, but she didn't talk much. Mona tried to shame us early on, but I put a stop to it real quick. I can kind of understand why Lassie avoids her. Althea seems to like me, at least. So there might be hope of friendly holiday interactions later on."

"That's good! It will be nice to have another set of willing grandparents to help out."

"If Althea could get Mona into the 21st century and away from those archaic family ideals."

"You can't change someone overnight, but you can plant some seeds. Maybe the promise of interacting with a new baby will help mellow her out. I've seen it happen a few times with my patients."

"Yeah." Sharon groaned and rubbed a hand on her stomach. "Ugg, Junior is starting to get fussy, probably from all of this talking."

"Alright Goose, I'll let you go."

"Are you able to visit any time soon?"

"I might have a weekend off soon enough, fingers crossed that no emergencies happen. Otherwise, I'll be in town for three weeks in November."

"Okay. Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'll talk to you again real soon, alright?"

"Yeah. Bye."

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As Sharon entered the kitchen, Carlton looked up from his case files and checked his watch. "I'm surprised that you're up before noon."

"Ha ha," She replied sarcastically as she went for the fridge. "Yesterday was a very stressful and active day and I didn't get a single nap in! I needed to catch up on my beauty sleep."

"I think you look fine."

Sharon scoffed and turned away from him, "Fine?! Lassie, that is so not what I want to hear when I feel like a fat penguin when walking."

"Hey," Carlton whispered as he came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You look amazing. Pregnancy suits you."

"I never would have taken you as a chubby chaser." Sharon crossed her arms.

"I'm not. But you have this certain glow about you that seems to accentuate your more alluring features." He leaned closer to kiss her neck. "I see this brave, confident woman who is not afraid to stand up for herself. That alone is pretty attractive."

"Lassie?" She sighed as she leaned her head to the side to give him more neck to kiss.

"Hmm?"

"Would you still find me attractive if I wasn't pregnant?"

"Of course."

"What about as Shawn?" She whispered.

Carlton leaned his chin on her shoulder and tightened his hold on her. "I honestly don't know."

"That's what I thought." Sharon said as she tried to unwrap his arms.

"But I'm not entirely against the idea." He let her go and waited until she turned around before continuing. "I have honestly never thought of ...being with Shawn before I found out that the two of you were the same person. But I had a lot of time to think about it while you were in Canada and then while I was in the hospital. And I came to realize that I have fallen in love with your personality and your mind. While Shawn can be a bit too eccentric at times, you usually know when to stop, or at least you toe the line. So, I guess this is my way of saying that I can see myself with Shawn Spencer long-term; although we will have to wait until I see him undressed before deciding if he's attractive to me."

"Oh Lassie!" Sharon sniffled and pulled him into a hug. "I just came into the kitchen for some breakfast, instead I got a whole love confession."

"It's your own damn fault, you shouldn't ask a serious question if you don't want a serious answer."

"Just shut up and kiss me already!"

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*Friday October 8th*

"Hello Carlton." Doctor Jen greeted as Carlton entered the exam room.

"Doctor Martinez."

"Before we complete this last ultrasound, do you have any questions?"

Carlton shook his head as he sat down on the other side of Sharon. "Just if everyone looks good and healthy?"

Doctor Jen smiled. "Yes, both Sharon and the baby are progressing nicely. There are no signs of complications; although we don't want to relax too soon."

"You think there's still a risk something might go wrong?" Sharon asked nervously.

"There's always a risk with any pregnancy anytime up through the birth. So far, everything looks good. I don't want you to worry about it, just be aware of anything that seems off. We can discuss any concerns later; but for now, how about we focus on the ultrasound. Okay?"

"Okay," Sharon replied softly as she took Carlton's hand.

"Okay. This will be the last one we do, unless something comes up." The doctor started to put the gel on Sharon's stomach. "Sharon mentioned that you both want to know the sex of the baby, is that correct?"

"I'm okay with whatever Sharon wants." Carlton replied.

Sharon grinned, "He's been dying to know as well. And I figured now is as good a time as any."

"Alright. Then let's get this show on the road!" Doctor Jen smiled as she maneuvered the wand around. "I can tell you with about 80% certainty that your baby is a …."