The day of the funeral arrived in a warm burst of spring air. The sun poured its light on Santa Barbara, brightening the area with its golden rays. Most people went to the parks or beaches. One group of people however, slowly made their way to the cemetery. Henry was surprised at the size of the crowd that assembled to say goodbye to his son. He'd expected maybe twenty or thirty to show up. He was unprepared for the sight that greeted him when close to two hundred people filed into the church they were using for the service.
Much of the Santa Barbara Police Department was in attendance as the group circled around the plot of ground Shawn would be buried in. There were so many faces Henry had never seen before, and all seemed to have cared a good deal for Shawn, in one sense or another. One after another, they came up to Henry and gave their condolences. He had never known the positive impact his son had left with people.
Soon everyone had left but those closest to Shawn. Henry reminded Vick, Lassiter, Gus and McNabb that they'd be having a cookout at his house later that night. Once they left, he turned to Juliet. She looked on in silence as the coffin was lowered into the ground and buried. Those doing the solemn deed gave the duo a sympathetic look as they walked off.
"He always had to have things the wrong way. Everything was upside down with him. Even the day we bury him." She looked up at the sky. "It should be raining right now. It should be dark and dreary, cloudy and wet, gray and bleak. But no; on the day we bury Shawn it has to be sunny and beautiful. It should be a crime for it to be so nice outside today."
Henry put his arm around Juliet's shoulders. "Come on, honey. Let's go home." She nodded and pulled something from her purse. She stepped up to the granite marker at the head of the new pile of dirt. She knelt down and placed something at its base; she ran her fingers across his name and wiped a tear from her eye. Henry watched as she got up and walked toward his truck with deliberate steps. He looked at the place where she'd knelt and saw a single rose attached to the sonogram she'd handed him two days earlier.
"Well Shawn, at least you had the chance to know you were going to become a father." He turned and followed his daughter-in-law to the car.
"So then, we hear someone coming. We press ourselves up against the wall as this old guy rides by in his motorized wheelchair at like, a foot a second." The group burst out laughing as Gus painted them a picture of his adventures with Shawn. Henry was glad that the gathering wasn't completely somber as laughter was sprinkled throughout the night. He even caught Juliet smiling a few times.
As McNabb started recalling another humorous moment with Shawn, Henry excused himself and made his way in to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. A minute later Karen joined him and he took out another beer. They drank in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say.
"What's next, Henry? What's next for you?"
Henry set his beer down on the counter with a sigh. "I'm not sure, Karen. Go on as before, I guess. I'll do what I can to help Juliet, especially now-"he stopped speaking as he realized he was the only one that knew her secret.
"Now what? What aren't you telling me Henry?"
He rubbed his hand over his head and sighed again. He was about to speak when they heard another voice. "Now that I'm pregnant."
Karen and Henry's heads snapped toward the door, where Juliet stood. The weariness she felt was evident not only on her face, but in her whole stature as well. Karen's jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened. "What?"
"I'm pregnant. I was going to tell you soon. I only found out the day before Shawn-"her voice broke as she spoke her husband's name. She looked as if she would try to finish the sentence, but as her lip quivered she took in a shaky breath and wiped her eyes.
"I told myself I wasn't going to cry anymore. I've done enough of that this week." She saw both Henry and Karen open their mouths. "Don't bother telling me it's normal or expected. I know it is, but I just don't want to cry anymore!"
The other two gave the woman a moment to compose herself before Karen spoke up. "What are your plans for this, O'Hara?"
Juliet sighed and sat down. "I was planning on doing light cases for a while, then desk work and finally maternity leave. Now, I just don't know. I don't think I want to do this anymore."
The others sat up straighter. "Do what?" Karen asked.
"I don't know if I want to be a detective anymore. Shawn's not here and I'm having a baby. I'm not about to leave my child with a babysitter so I can go out and possibly die, leaving an orphan behind. There are other, safer jobs I can do that will provide for us and still allow me to spend time with my child."
Everyone sat in silence as her news set in. They knew it was the best plan of action, but they still couldn't picture her doing anything other than police work. Henry put his hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you want, honey; whatever you think is best. We'll support you."
Karen put her hand on Juliet's other shoulder. "That's right. I know that, if I were in your place, even though I'm not on the streets as much as you are, I'd do the same thing. When you're ready, come talk to me and I'll get everything straightened out for you."
Juliet nodded and turned to walk back into the living room.
"Juliet." She turned at the Chief's call.
"Congratulations. I'm sorry things happened this way, but congratulations. If you have any questions, you can come to me." Juliet gave her boss a tight smile before going back to rest of the group.
Karen put her elbows on the counter and rested her head in her hands. "Oh, Henry. Why is this happening? Why?"
"I don't know Karen. I can't help but chalk it up to another one of Shawn's inconveniences. He was always doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Why should he change any in death?"
So, I'm going to try to get as much of this up (or at least done) as soon as I can. I'm going to be camp counseling on an island all summer and I only get one day off. That means any relaxing/email checking must be done when I get to the mainland. I'll try to put some stuff up, but I won't be able to really put stuff up until after graduation on August 17. This is my warning to y'all, so don't get too upset when you don't get too many updates this summer. Sorry! Hope you enjoyed!