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PsychPsychPsychPsych

"Detective Lassiter?"

Lassiter looked up at the unfamiliar voice, his hand straying around to the piece tucked into his pants. He had been sitting with Juliet for the past four hours, just watching her face and trying to understand how this had happened. "Yes?"

A man in a white lab coat gave him a small smile. "I'm Alexander Desmond, Ms. O'Hara's primary."

Lassiter's hand slowly left his piece. "Detective Carlton Lassiter. I'm O'Hara's partner and medical proxy."

"So you have her power of attorney?"

"Yes."

"Good." Desmond looked at the file. "Hopefully we won't need you to make any decisions. There is pressure on Juliet's brain due to swelling, but it should be reduced within a few days, or at the most, a week. Then we'll wean her out of the coma, and we should be able to tell if she has suffered any brain damage."

Lassiter stared at his partner's passive face. Within just a few days, either everything would begin returning to normal, or nothing would ever be the same again. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around that concept. Juliet wasn't just his partner, she was his best friend. She was the reason he smiled most of the time, and she could send him spinning with just a kind word or simple look. No one else did it for him. No one.

Desmond's beeper went off, and he looked apologetic. "Excuse me." He hurried away from Lassiter, but Lassiter barely noticed.

Why the hell was this happening to Juliet, of all people? She was a genuinely good person who deserved nothing but happiness and success in her life. If this had to happen, it should have happened to him. No one would miss him, except Juliet.

Exhaling deeply, he extended his hand and wrapped it gently around her forearm. Then he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Come back to me, Juliet."


Early the next morning, Juliet's parents arrived. Lassiter had fallen asleep in the chair beside Juliet's bed; even though he knew it would cost him dearly in the morning. He couldn't bring himself to leave Juliet's side, even though the medical personnel insisted her condition was stable and they would call him if it changed in any way. He was determined to watch over her.

A nurse's voice startled him out of sleep, and instinctively his hand went for his weapon. The need to protect Juliet was like a need to breathe. No second-guessing, no questions.

"Detective Lassiter? Juliet's parents have arrived."

No sooner had those words registered when he heard a soft feminine voice. He lifted his bleary gaze in time to see whom he assumed to be Juliet's mother (he had only seen pictures of Juliet's mother and stepfather) rush over to Juliet's bed. He pushed himself to his feet, stifling a groan at the discomfort in his back and joints. "Mrs. O'Hara." He extended his hand to her. "I'm-"

"Carlton." Maryanne's voice was thick with tears. "Juliet has told me a lot about you. So have my grandsons."

Lassiter's cheeks flushed. That was one meeting which hadn't gone over well.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she continued, but her eyes were on her daughter's face. "We spoke to her doctor in the hallway. He said there's a possibility she'll have brain damage."

"There's a chance," he agreed. "But Juliet is the strongest woman I have ever known." And that was the truth. When he had taken her on as a partner, he was very angry. He was in the middle of a separation from his wife, and the partner he'd had before, he'd made the mistake of getting involved with. She was the first woman he had been attracted to after Victoria, and dating her had been the biggest mistake of his professional career (but not his personal one). In the end, Spencer had outed his relationship with Lucinda, which ultimately brought Juliet into his life. She was sweet and optimistic, a good match for his rough, angry personality. She smoothed all of his roughened edges and, though he would never admit it, she brought out the good in him he had once thought was dead.

Maryanne smiled weakly. "She's always been strong," she murmured. "Ever since she was a little girl. She's my baby." She swiped at her eyes with a trembling hand. "Juliet… she was unexpected. We had the boys, and we thought we were done. But then I got pregnant again, and Juliet was born almost two months early."

Lassiter looked surprised. He tried not to pry too much into Juliet's personal life, but they did know a fair amount about each other's personal lives. He supposed it was inevitable, with all the time they spent together.

"We thought we were going to lose her, but she's tough. She spent a month in the hospital before I could take her home. And even then, she barely weighed five pounds."

Moving cautiously, Lassiter made his way to the head of Juliet's bed. Then he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, seeking reassurance from the contact. "She'll be okay."

"I'm glad you think so."

Her words struck a nerve, and he looked at her. "Of course I think so," he growled. "I know so."

Maryanne sighed. "Of course. I just meant…"

"I know what you meant. Don't worry. I'm going to be here for her." He looked at Juliet again.

"We're going to be here for her, as well. And we're her family. I'm her mother!"

Her use of the word family pissed him off further, and he spun around, eyes blazing. "I have been here for her every day for the past seven years," he spoke through gritted teeth.

"And we raised her!" Maryanne countered. "We're her family!"

"So am I!"

The monitors beside Juliet's bed began beeping at a faster pace. A nurse stepped into the room a few moments later, her brow furrowed. "What is going on in here?"

"We were just talking," Juliet's mother responded, her arms crossed over her chest.

The nurse looked at Lassiter, who had returned his attention to Juliet and was speaking softly to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Maryanne sighed. "That's not really necessary, nurse. He's-"

"I didn't mean Detective Lassiter. I meant you, ma'am."

The older woman looked stricken. "But…"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot have my patient being upset. Even comatose, patients can hear everything that is going on around them, and obviously she heard your arguing." She kept one eye on the monitors as she explained the situation to her patient's mother. The tall Irishman was still murmuring to her patient, whose vitals were slowly returning to normal. Obviously he had a positive effect on her. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave the room for the time being."

At a loss, Maryanne nodded and rushed into the hall.

Lassiter paid no attention to the conversation taking place behind him. His focus was on Juliet and Juliet alone. His words made no sense; all that mattered was their meaning. One summer, when he was a teenager, his best friend had been in a coma for over a month. When he awoke, he could recount every person who had spoken to him while he was comatose. Lassiter remembered that summer well, and he implemented that knowledge now.

The nurse stepped up behind Lassiter, watching curiously.

Sensing the nurse's presence, Lassiter frowned. "I'm not leaving her."

"I don't see a need for you to." She checked Juliet's vital signs again. "She's stable and her vitals are improving. Keep talking to her."

He did his best to hide his surprise and continued to talk to Juliet. "You got what you wanted. At least, I assume you did. You didn't start acting up until your parents came in here. Or was it because we were arguing? I'm sorry about that." His tone was low and soothing. "But I'm not going anywhere, no matter what your mother says."

He wouldn't leave no matter what anyone said.


"Carlton."

Lassiter looked up from the book he had been reading out loud to Juliet. Maryanne was standing close by, a remorseful look on her face. Slowly he closed the book and set it aside. He didn't want her there, but this was Juliet's mother and she would want her to be there. He wanted whatever Juliet wanted, so he would make an effort. "Mrs. O'Hara."

"I'm…sorry about this morning." She let her arms fall to her sides. "I'm not handling this very well. Juliet is my baby girl, and while I've been preparing myself for something to happen in her line of work, I never thought something like this would happen."

"Yeah, well…" He reached out and took Juliet's hand protectively, almost possessively. "I'm sorry as well. I was rude."

"You weren't. I was the one who was rude." Maryanne took a step closer to him. "I just want to be here for my little girl."

"The medical staff is limiting visitors to fifteen minutes at a time." He was only allowed in there because he was her medical proxy, he could calm her down, and he had a gun.

"Then I'll come in here for fifteen minutes at a time." She didn't bother pointing out his seemingly constant presence.

He shrugged. "Okay."

And an uneasy truce was formed. Over the following three days, Lassiter was a fixture at Juliet's side. Juliet's parents were there as well, whenever the medical staff allowed them to be. Occasionally when they were present, he would step out for a cup of coffee or a quick shower and a bite to eat. Then he would be back at Juliet's side. Her doctor told them that the pressure on her brain was easing, and he didn't want to miss the first time she opened her eyes. He had missed those beautiful eyes, even if he was too afraid to tell her so.

On the fourth day, Lassiter was almost going out of his mind. He was worried and on edge, and the nurses avoided him as much as they reasonably could, except when they gave him updates on Juliet's condition. The only time Lassiter even looked up was when Juliet's doctor came in and told him they were going to bring her out of the coma and see how she did. After the doctor said that, Lassiter took Juliet's hand and began speaking to her again in a soft, reassuring manner. He lost all track of time until an annoyingly familiar voice spoke and made his blood boil.

"Lassiter."

Whipping his head around, Lassiter glared at Spencer, who was shuffling uncomfortably. "What the hell are you doing here, Spencer?"

"I came to see Jules."

"She's been here for almost a week, and you're just now getting your lazy ass up here?"

"No. I've been in here a few times."

Lassiter wracked his brain, but he came up empty handed. "When?"

"Whenever you weren't here."

The older man continued to scowl. "Why are you here now?"

"To see Jules," Shawn repeated. "I talked to her doc. He says they're bringing her out of the coma. I want to be here when she wakes up."

Reluctantly releasing Juliet's hand, Lassiter stood up and approached Shawn, his hands clenched. "I don't care what you want," he snarled, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "She broke up with you. She doesn't want you around."

Shawn shrugged, fidgeting. "I still want to be here for her. She'll be happy to see me."

"The last thing she needs is you begging for a millionth chance when she wakes up. I am her medical proxy and her partner-"

"What's a medical proxy?"

"That means I have the right to make decisions for her while she's unconscious. In words you can understand, I decide what's best for her. And you are not best for her." Lassiter wasn't even sure that he was, but for right now, he would be there for her in any way he could.

"You're just her partner-"

"I'm not just her partner," Lassiter growled, his fingers curling into fists. "As far as the hospital and I are concerned, I'm her family. You're just the loser she wasted a year on."

Shawn started to bring his own hand up, but a soft moan stopped both of them in their tracks.

Spinning around, Lassiter rushed back to the bed. "Juliet?" He took her hand into his and gently squeezed. "Juliet, can you hear me?"

Shawn moved around the bed and took Juliet's other hand, despite Lassiter's territorial scowl. "I'm here, Jules. Everything's gonna be okay."

Juliet moaned softly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Shh…" Lassiter squeezed her hand again. "Take it easy."

Several long moments later, Juliet's eyelids flickered before slowly opening.

Lassiter almost cried out in relief when he finally saw her sleepy blue eyes. She was finally awake. She was going to be okay.

Juliet blinked slowly, and her gaze focused on Lassiter's face. A small smile crept across her face.

He returned her smile, hardly able to contain himself. "Hi."

Her voice was hoarse with disuse as she said, "You have beautiful eyes…"

Shawn stared at Juliet, eyes wide with disbelief.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he murmured, "How are you feeling, Juliet?"

"Hurts…" Her right hand gripped his hand tightly, but her left hand let go of Shawn's completely. "Where… where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," Lassiter explained gently. "You've been in a medically-induced coma for almost a week, but you're going to be fine."

"I'm here for you, Jules," Shawn interrupted. "I'm going to take care of you."

Juliet smiled, but it wasn't a smile that Lassiter recognized. It was an awkward and uncomfortable smile, one that suggested that she had no idea what was going on. And then Lassiter felt the world drop out from beneath him.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

To Be Continued...

A/N: *runs and hides* Please review!