He hadn't planned on ending up on his dad's doorstep, but that's exactly where his hour-long drive to no where in particular had ended.
"Shawn, did you leave your bike on my lawn again?"
"Why would I do a thing like that, Dad?"
"Because you do it every time and it ruins my lawn. Go move your bike, Shawn."
"It's not hurting anything, Dad. Don't be a Mr. Wilson."
"Move your bike, Shawn!"
"Why are you always yelling at me for no reason? I parked on the street; give me some credit."
"Well you could've just answered my question in the first place instead of giving me the run around. Now, what are you doing here? I'm leaving early in the morning to go fishing."
"Juliet's pregnant," Shawn whispered.
Henry froze. "Like . . . the kind of pregnant that makes me a grandfather pregnant?"
Shawn nodded.
"What happened, Shawn? I didn't even know you two were dating."
"We're not."
Henry held up his hand. "I can already tell this story requires coffee."
Once settled on the couch, coffee in hand, Shawn related the whole story.
"She wanted to go out with you before she knew, didn't she?"
"I'm sure she did."
"So she must have just found out today and panicked."
"I guess."
Henry sat deep in thought for a moment. "Are you going to marry her?"
"I don't know, Dad. I don't know if she'd marry me. I don't even know if . . . if she's planning on having the . . . the . . ."
"You didn't ask if she was planning on keeping it?"
"I couldn't speak, Dad."
"It just seems like a logical question to ask."
"Logical?" Shawn stood and began pacing. "Dad, someone I've harbored poorly-concealed feelings for and had what I hoped wouldn't be a one-night stand with just informed me that I'm going to be a fa . . . fa . . ." He gripped the mantle for support as he felt light headed.
"Shawn, sit down."
"I feel like I just ate an entire family-size bag of Bugles by myself. I may fall down."
"Shawn!" Henry exclaimed, leading him back to his seat on the couch.
"Is this what morning sickness feels like?"
"Dads don't get morning sickness, Shawn."
"Dads," he whispered. "Dad, I can't be someone's father. I don't even brush my own teeth every night!"
Henry smiled. "Shawn, the day you were born was the single most maturing day of my life."
"I don't want to be an adult yet, Dad. I would've asked Juliet out a long time ago if I was ready to move into adulthood."
"What does that mean, Shawn? Why does that make a difference?"
Shawn cocked his head. "Juliet's a real commitment, Dad. I knew as soon as we went there we were really moving towards something."
"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her, Shawn—baby or not?"
"I never want to spend a day without her."
"Then talk to her, at least. Find out what her plans are—what she's thinking—and how she sees you fitting into that."
"That's a good idea. Talk to her."
"And Shawn?"
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Let me know how it goes."
...
"What are you doing here, Shawn?"
"Can I come in?"
She opened the door just wide enough for him to enter. He turned around immediately and looked at her.
"I know you haven't had very much time to think about this but I've had even less time and I think we should be able to talk about it together. I think we should get everything out in the open. So, I'll go first. I like you, Juliet. I've liked you for a very long time and I've been too afraid of what we could have to be serious about it. But I can't imagine my life without you and I would marry you on the spot if I had to choose between that and losing you. So, if you'll have me, I'll be your husband—baby or not."
"Baby or not . . . Shawn, what does that mean?"
"Well . . . I . . ."
"Did you think I was going to . . ."
"Well, I assumed it might be an option."
"Even though it came as a complete surprise, Shawn, I'm . . . a little excited about having this baby . . . having your baby," she tagged on honestly.
"Then marry me," he repeated.
She squeezed his hand. "Let's take this one step at a time, Shawn. Let's do the baby thing first and then talk about marriage."
"Well, at least let me be a part of it. Let me shop with you and set the crib up and go to the doctor and . . . and . . . take care of you . . . both of you."
She looked at him for a second and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ok."
"I can . . . I can . . . have this baby too?"
"You are a part of it, Shawn. You're a part of me now—I couldn't—wouldn't—do it without you."
He smiled. "And . . . and us . . ."
"We can figure us out later."
He kissed her cheek and resumed the embrace. "It's so good to have you in my arms again, Jules."
She sighed. "It's good to be here."
...
They weren't obviously a couple, but something had changed between them—the chief and Lassiter had both noticed. Shawn paid a lot more attention to her comfort and she asked his opinion more, but they almost never came in physical contact. Sure, he helped her out of a ditch in the desert on that case a few weeks before. And his name had been the first one she'd called in the abandoned factory earlier that month. But was that really a change?
After a particularly grueling case, Lassiter noted that Shawn hadn't changed clothes since the previous day—at which point Juliet invited him to move some clothes and a toothbrush over "just in case".
"What were you doing last night, O'Hara?" Lassiter finally pried after almost six weeks of ridiculously suspicious interactions between them.
"I was at home."
"I know Spencer was with you and you look . . . terrible."
"Thank you, Carlton. I was throwing up all night and Shawn was taking care of me. Is that detailed enough for you?"
"Shouldn't you be at home?"
She shrugged, but he noticed the color drain out of her face as she felt him zeroing in on what up until now had been a secret between herself, Shawn, and Henry—Shawn, at her request, hadn't even told Gus yet.
"Wait a second . . . you and Spencer have been acting weird for weeks . . . now you're mysteriously sick but not sick and he's spending the night? What's going on, O'Hara?"
"Nothing. Nothing's going on, Carlton. Leave it alone."
His eyes narrowed. "You're not . . ."
"Please, Carlton," she begged.
"You couldn't be . . . you wouldn't still be working if you were . . ."
"Carlton, please." She was starting to cry.
"Hey, Lassie, did your hair gardener use a tractor this time?" Shawn greeted. He immediately prickled when he surveyed the situation. He moved to stand behind Juliet. "Are you ok?" he whispered, hand on her shoulder. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to keep from crying.
"You little bastard got my partner pregnant," Carlton hissed.
"You told him?" Shawn exclaimed.
"No," she whimpered, burying her face in her hands.
"Hey," he knelt beside her, wiping her tears with his thumbs, "you don't need to cry. It's ok."
Lassie stared, dumbfounded. "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?"
Shawn squeezed Juliet's shoulder. "I need to go talk to Gus."
She nodded and touched his hand briefly, giving him permission to go. "Shawn and I are . . . having a baby," she stated succinctly, regaining her composure. "I'm due in June."
"O'Hara, why didn't you tell me you two were dating?"
"We're not."
"O'Hara . . ."
"I can't explain it to you, Carlton. Don't judge him. It was all my choice."
...
"Hey, Buddy, want to go get some ice cream?"
"Don't we have to finish our case, Shawn?"
"We need to talk, Gus."
Gus was startled by the absolute gravity in Shawn's voice.
They were walking on the pier in silence for a while before Gus prompted, "Shawn, is something wrong?"
"Not exactly. Things are just changing, Gus."
"How so? Did Juliet finally agree to go out with you?"
"No . . . not really. But . . . Gus . . . Jules is . . . Jules is pregnant. I'm going to be a . . . a . . ."
"A father, Shawn? I'm going to be Uncle Burton?"
Shawn nodded.
"Boy or girl?"
Shawn didn't say anything until Gus slapped his hands away from his temples.
"I thought it was worth a try."
Gus shook his head and started to walk back toward his car.
...
Shawn was pacing back and forth in the waiting room.
"Shawn, sit down!" Juliet hissed.
"I can't!" he responded.
"Juliet," the nurse called.
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed, standing and following Shawn to the room they were guided to by the nurse. But when they got to the door, Shawn felt her hand on his arm. He turned to look at her.
"Wait here," she whispered.
"But, Jules . . ."
"Just for the questions and the exams . . . you can come in for the ultrasound."
He sighed and nodded submissively. He waited in the hall, playing Duel on his phone impatiently until he was admitted inside.
"Come here," she whispered, offering him her hand.
"This'll probably feel a little cold," the tech instructed. Shawn felt Juliet flinch as the cold gel made contact with her skin.
"And there it is," the tech stated. "A healthy little heartbeat."
Juliet turned to look at Shawn. He was trying to fight crying. He began snapping at the nurse. "Chair," he choked. She grinned to herself and brought him the chair.
"Well, that's all for today," the tech stated. "You two take all the time you need."
Still holding Juliet's hand, Shawn buried his head in her hair. She reached up and touched his face.
"This is really happening," he whispered.
"It is."
He stood up, allowed his eyes to rove her face, and briefly kissed her lips. "Thank you."
"For . . .?"
"Letting me be a part."
...
Shawn could already see the tiny bump that had begun to form. She'd already informed him that in two weeks they'd be shopping for maternity clothes. Shawn was eating Doritos and watching talk shows when Gus came in.
"Shawn, Juliet is here to see you."
Shawn immediately took his feet off the desk and turned off the TV. "Jules, hey. Is something wrong?"
"I'm going home for Christmas," she stated, getting straight to the point. "And I think you should come with me."
"You . . . you mean . . . you want me to actually be in the room when your father finds out that someone had sex with his daughter?"
She smiled. "Shawn, he's our baby's grandfather. You're going to be in his life for a couple of decades. You really want his first impression to be the guy that didn't have enough balls to face him and tell him he was the father of our child?"
Shawn slouched. "I'll go home with you for Christmas. But you're coming to my New Year's party."
"Deal."