CHAPTER 28

Coming out of the bathroom, Carlton found Beth still sleeping. Sighing, he went over and shook her shoulder. "Time to wake up."

She mumbled incoherently and turned away from him. Looking at Frisco, who was finishing his food, Carlton asked, "Can I get some help?"

Frisco quickly made his way over to Beth and started licking her face. She squirmed and tried to get away from him, only to have the dog jump up on the bed and continue his assault. "Carly! Why are you so mean?" Beth whined, pulling the blanket over her head.

Carlton laughed as he started to pack up his stuff. "Maybe if you weren't out until 2am you wouldn't be so tired."

"Well I'm sorry that Shawn and I decided to have some fun instead of staying in the hotel all night, watching the news."

"Hey! A lot of things have been going on this week that newspapers can't cover nearly as well."

"Whatever," Beth sighed as she threw the blanket off and sat up. She looked at the clock and groaned. "Why did you wake me up so early? It's barely 8 o'clock."

"Because the Hendersons are going to be by around 10 to pick up their RV and we still need to move stuff to Henry's truck."

"Can't you do it without me? It's not like I can be much help, with crutches and all."

"You can help empty the fridge and pack up the cat toys Murphy managed to spread all over the RV."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Beth laughed as she looked over at Murphy, who was currently playing with a ball of yarn; letting it trail all over the room as Salem watched from his perch on a dresser.

"It's your cat; you get to clean them all up."

"Fine," Beth yawned as she moved to the edge of the bed and grabbed her crutches. "Just give me a half hour or so to shower and change."

"Good. I'll be downstairs, getting some breakfast."

"Oh, can you bring me up some! I'd like some fruit and pancakes, please."

"I'll think about it," Carlton mumbled as he opened the door.

"Thanks Carly!" Beth called. Carlton ignored her laughter after the door shut.

An hour after arriving at his house, Carlton was getting a bit nervous. He and Henry had unloaded the truck and placed everything inside but Beth and Shawn weren't back yet. Shaking his head, Carlton dialed Beth and waited for her to pick up. It rang about 4 times before she finally answered, shouting a bit over the radio and Shawn's singing.

"Hey Carlton! What's up?" "Take on meeee."

"I was wondering where you guys are. We've been back for about an hour and Henry's ready to go home."

"Take me on." "Oh, um. Well I think we just past Ventura, so maybe another 40, 50 minutes? Give or take." "I'll be gone."

"Okay. I was going to order delivery. Does pizza sound good or.…"

"TWOOOOOO!" "ARRRHHHOOOO."

Carlton pulled the phone away from his ear as Shawn seemed to screech the last note and Frisco howled. Henry rolled his eyes as he walked over and took the phone from Carlton. "Tell Shawn to shut up for a minute or, so help me, he won't see another case from the department for at least a month."

Carlton heard the music and singing instantly stop as Henry handed the phone back. "I'll be going now. Please only call me if it's a medical emergency."

"Okay, bye Henry." Carlton replied as he put the phone back up to his ear in time to here Shawn protest, "Oh, come on dad! We're just having some fun!"

"Spencer! Pay attention to the road and hand the phone back to Beth!"

"He's gone, isn't he? Man, he always does that! Threaten me and then somehow make it so I can't argue back!"

"Spencer!"

"Fine," Shawn sighed.

"Sorry," Beth giggled into the phone. "But we were just having some fun. That's what you're supposed to do on road trips."

Carlton shook his head before heading to the couch. "As I was saying, does pizza sound good?"

"Oh yeah. Did you want us to pick it up or…?"

"No, I think you two have enough on your hands with 2 cats, a dog and crutches."

"Oh, right. Well, be sure to get something good." "I want pineapple!" Beth giggled. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Is chicken and pineapple good?"

"Yep. See you in a half hour or so. Bye."

"Bye," Carlton said right before the music got turned back up and she hung up.

Yawning, Carlton got comfortable on the couch as he dialed the pizza place.

Carlton was startled awake by a loud pounding. He was reaching for his absent shoulder holster before he recognized it as someone knocking at the door. Taking a deep breath, he slowly sat up and rubbed his face.

As he got off the couch, the knocking started again, soon joined by a voice: "Lassie! Are you gonna let us in or what?"

"Yeah, come on Carly! It's getting late and I really shouldn't leave the cats in the car too much longer."

Glaring, Carlton opened the door to Shawn, Beth and Frisco. "What have I told you about the nicknames?"

"That you don't like them," Beth smiled widely as she moved past him. "Now be a dear and help Shawn get my cats. Come on, Frisco."

Carlton stepped back as Frisco followed Beth, his leash trailing, before heading out to his driveway.

"So, did you have a good time with my dad?" Shawn asked with a smile as he handed Murphy to Carlton.

"Actually I did. We barely spoke 5 sentences the entire ride, and they involved where to stop for lunch and what's the best way to get to my house. I doubt you two had 5 minutes of silence."

"Oh, you're totally right on that account, Lassie. Our ride consisted on having fun and enjoying each other's company." Shawn flashed Carlton a smile before opening the door again. "Hey Kitty, Kitty. Are you ready to go inside?" Shawn picked up the slightly squirming Salem, who started meowing quite angrily.

"I don't think he likes you," Carlton snorted as he headed back inside.

"Aw, he's just nervous about being in a new place. Salem and I got to know each other very well on the way over. He even sat on my lap when we stopped for lunch."

"That's not hard. He was bugging me the other day for food."

Beth laughed as they entered her room. "Ah, so you guys have figured out one of the ways to win Salem over. He's so like a guy, a little bit of food and he'll be friends with anybody."

"Are you saying that guys are so easy to win over?" Carlton asked as he placed Murphy on her lap.

"Yep!" Beth smiled widely. "Hey, can you shut the door so the cats can investigate?"

"Sure. And actually, I agree with her, Lassie. Give me a good pineapple smoothie or some jerk chicken and I'll be your friend, at least for a little while. Which reminds me, when is this pizza supposed to be here? I'm hungry."

"It should be here soon. And I don't remember inviting you for dinner, Spencer." Carlton said as he went out the door.

Before he could shut it, Shawn followed him. "Aw, come on Lassie! Jules is picking me up so I can get my bike but that's not for another half hour or so."

Carlton rubbed his forehead as he heard the doorbell ring. "Fine. But I better not see you again for a couple days, at least."

"Oh, you know I can't promise you that, Lassie. Beth and I have a couple movie nights that we need to catch up on."

"Then do it someplace else, not here."

"But Lassie, Beth needs to help her pets adjust! Their auras are all out of whack and they need Beth to help them relax."

"Spencer! Just give me some space. Okay?" Carlton snapped.

Shawn took a step back and raised his hands. "Okay Lassie, whatever you say."

"Spencer," Carlton sighed as the doorbell rang again.

"Hey, I'm gonna go help make sure the cats don't escape when Beth joins us." Shawn smiled half-heartedly as he quickly left Carlton alone.

Shaking his head, Carlton went to the front door.

"Will you stop throwing food all over my house?" Carlton reprimanded as he rubbed his forehead.

"But Lassie! Frisco is having fun, running around and trying to find all the food. He's finally calmed down a bit." Shawn smiled as he threw another piece of chicken behind the couch and watched the dog go after it.

"Yeah, Carly. Relax." Beth giggled as she put her empty plate down on the coffee table.

"He better eat all the food and don't make this a habit." Carlton started cleaning up when the doorbell rang and Frisco started barking.

"Oh, that must be Jules!" Shawn jumped off the couch and ran to the door, Frisco following.

"I hope that means you're leaving," Carlton called.

"It hasn't been that bad, has it?" Beth asked as they heard Shawn introducing Juliet to Frisco.

Carlton sighed as he saw the laughter on Beth's face. "I guess not. But I'm tired and really just want a quiet night."

"Alright," Beth smiled as Frisco came over and sat in front of her.

Juliet came in and stopped by the couch. "Hey Carlton. Did you guys have a good trip?"

"It could have been worse," Carlton said.

"Oh, well I'm glad you're back." She held up a bag and set it on the coffee table. "I brought you some eggs, milk and bread for breakfast."

"Thanks O'Hara."

"No problem. So I'll be by around 11:30 to pick you up for your appointment, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Carlton picked up the bag and went into the kitchen.

Beth laughed as she petted Frisco. "Sorry, it's been a long week. I think he's just glad to be home."

"Yeah. If you need anything, feel free to call me. I'll swing by tomorrow after work and take you grocery shopping."

"Okay, thanks Juliet," Beth smiled as Shawn came back in with a few boxes and bags.

"Hey Beth, where do you want these?" Shawn tried to see around the boxes without them falling.

"Oh, um. You can just leave them against the wall. They'll probably make it into my room at some point."

"Okay." Shawn put the boxes down before going over to Beth and giving her a hug. "Let me know if you need to escape. You can even bring Frisco with you."

Beth laughed as they parted. "Thanks Shawn. I'll let you know."

"Well, I guess we're off. Bye Beth. BYE LASSIE!" Shawn shouted as he went to the door.

"GO HOME SPENCER!" Carlton shouted back

"Aww, I knew you cared." Shawn winked at Beth before bouncing out the door.

Juliet shook her head as she went over to hug Beth. "I'm glad you guys weren't hurt too badly in that accident."

"Yeah, me too." Beth smiled as she hugged back. "So, how long until Carlton tries to go back into work?"

Juliet laughed as she stepped back. "Probably tomorrow after his appointment. He'll be put on desk duty first so he can wait until Tuesday to come in for that, possibly Wednesday. When are you going back to work?"

"I don't know. I think I still have a week off at the daycare but I might have a gig Wednesday night. I have to call them tomorrow and find out."

"Okay." Juliet's phone rang at that moment and she sighed when she checked the caller id. "It's Shawn. Obviously he's getting impatient waiting."

Carlton snorted as he came back into the room with a glass of scotch. "I'm surprised that he hasn't come barging back in to drag you outside like the little kid that he is."

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny Carlton." Juliet said as she went over to give him a hug.

"It is kind of funny." Beth commented as she got more comfortable in the middle of couch. Frisco jumped up and settled on her right side.

"Thank you." Carlton grinned slightly as Juliet stepped back. "Weren't you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm going. Have a good night." Juliet smiled as she went to the door.

"Bye Juliet!" Beth called as she grabbed the remote. "So, what are you in the mood for?"

"I don't know, something relaxing?"

"So no action movies." She turned on the TV and started flipping channels as Carlton sat down next to her. "Aren't you on drugs and not suppose to be drinking alcohol?"

"I haven't taken any of my pills today so I figured that I would be fine."

"Okay, it's your health." She yawned.

"If you're tired, you should go to bed."

"No, I don't want to yet. Look, it's Cary Grant and the movie just started. I'll go to bed afterwards."

"Fine. As long as you're quiet now."

"Okay Carly." She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch before covering them both up and using Carlton's shoulder as a pillow.

"Comfy?" He smirked.

"Yep. Now be quiet. "

Carlton laughed as he carefully took another sip of his scotch without disturbing Beth too much.