An update! And with the update, a little self-promotion. I recently cowrote a Psych crossover story with a dear friend, and if you want a good chuckle, it's called Crossing A Line and it's on my profile. Check it out, but first, enjoy the next chapter of Round About Way!
Disclaimer: Not mine!
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"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Juliet stared at the man standing beside her. He was tall and lanky, with dark hair that was slowly graying at his temples. But his eyes were what captured her attention. The cerulean depths were captivating and reassuring, and she instinctively trusted him without reservation. His hand warmly clasped hers, gentle and protective. Immediately she felt safe and comfortable with him.
His expression reflected concern. "Juliet, it's me. Carlton."
"Carlton." It certainly seemed to fit him.
On her left, the other man present shifted uncomfortably. Juliet wasn't certain what to make of him. He was boyishly handsome with frothy hazel eyes. There was a seashell necklace around his neck, and his entire appearance was overwhelmingly loud to her overworked brain.
"Jules, what's wrong?" the seashell man asked, one light brown eyebrow raised quizzically.
"Who are you?" she wondered, still not releasing Carlton's hand.
"It's me, Jules. Shawn. Your boyfriend. Shawn."
"Oh." There was a strange kind of disappointment associated with his declaration, and she didn't miss the way a strange flicker of anger briefly cross Carlton's face.
Shawn sighed but quickly plastered on a big smile. "It's okay, Jules. We'll get through this. You can come to the Psych office with me and Gus, and we'll have pineapple smoothies. You love those. We'll get some of those movies with Molly Ringwald…"
He continued to babble, but Juliet had tuned him out. Even though he said he was her boyfriend, she felt more comfortable and relaxed with Carlton.
"Hello, Juliet. Nice of you to finally join us." A woman Juliet assumed was a nurse came up to the bed, smiling kindly. "How are you feeling?"
"Confused."
Carlton spoke up. "She can't remember us."
The nurse's smile faded. "She can't?"
"No."
The next few minutes were uncomfortable and tense as Juliet quickly tired of answering the questions everyone asked. No, she didn't remember the year. No, she hadn't remembered her name until Carlton told her. No, she didn't remember Carlton or the man who claimed to be her boyfriend. Her head began to throb. She noticed that her boyfriend had retreated to the other side of the room, but Carlton stayed close enough so she could see him. She met his eyes again, and somehow she felt a little more relaxed, even as she was being poked and prodded.
"Are you experiencing any discomfort or headaches?"
"Yes." She pulled the scratchy hospital blanket tighter around herself.
One of the nurses made a note of Juliet's answer.
"Do you know what year it is?"
"I told you, I don't know!"
Lassiter had clearly had enough. Using his most commanding and intimidating voice, he said, "That's enough. I want everyone out of this room, now."
"Excuse me, but-"
"Now!"
Finally the nurses and doctors filed out of the room, until only Juliet, Shawn and Lassiter remained. Lassiter looked at Shawn.
"You too, Spencer. Get the hell out."
"I don't think so, Lassie." Shawn returned to Juliet's side. "Jules is my girlfriend, and I'm going to stay right here with her."
"No, you're not." Lassiter looked downright dangerous.
"Then let's ask Jules." Shawn turned and looked expectantly at Juliet. "Jules, you want me here, right?"
Suddenly her headache increased tenfold. "I…"
"See, Lassie? She wants me to stay!"
Growling at Spencer, Lassiter turned his focus to Juliet. "Juliet, what do you want?" he asked gently.
She was quiet for nearly a minute. "I… I want to be left alone."
He nodded. "Okay." Grabbing the younger man roughly, Lassiter shoved him toward the door and out of the room. Then he looked over his shoulder. "Get some rest, Juliet. You can call me if you need anything."
"I need you."
"I need you."
She whispered it so softly, Lassiter wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He turned around and looked at her, confusion written all over his face.
"What?"
"I need you," she repeated, this time with more certainty. "Please don't leave."
Reeling with disbelief, he slowly pulled the door shut and made his way back to the bed, back to her side. If this was anyone else, he would be certain it was some kind of trick, a cruel hoax. But this was Juliet, and even without her memory, she was still the same person. She would never deceive him, at least not intentionally. She couldn't. He continued to study her face as he came closer and closer to her. She was clearly in pain, but there was a certainty in her beautiful features. She wasn't lying about wanting him there, and he could never find it in him to deny her anything.
Once he sat down in the chair by her bed, she seemed to settle down. He made himself comfortable in the worn chair.
"Thank you."
Why on earth was she thanking him? She was his partner and best friend. He would walk to the ends of the earth for her.
But she didn't know that, and if she did, now she didn't remember it.
Damn it.
Juliet wasn't so out of it that she didn't recognize Lassiter's discomfort and concern, and she was tempted to tell him to leave if it was what he wanted. But she couldn't bring herself to say the words. So she pulled the blanket up further and curled up on her side, away from him. She could hear him shift in the chair and softly clear his throat. Reasoning he would go if he truly wanted to go, she closed her eyes and tucked her hand under her throbbing head.
Her stomach churned as she attempted to settle down. Silence descended on the room, save for the sound of their breathing, and she was oddly comforted by the sound and knowing he was right there beside her.
But before she could think about it, sleep claimed her and pulled her into a dark dream of nothing.
The next morning, Juliet awoke to the sounds of an argument. She kept her eyes closed as she picked out bits and pieces of the heated conversation.
"She's our daughter…"
"I'm her partner. She's safe with me."
"She'll be safer with us."
"I can protect her!"
Juliet didn't recognize two of the voices, but she worried over the sound of Carlton's. He was clearly upset by whomever he was arguing with.
"So can we. We would never let anything happen to her."
"I don't want to argue with you anymore. You'll wake her up. She's coming with me, and that's the end of it."
"Like hell it is!"
Despite the heated argument going on around her, Juliet felt sleep tug at her again. She assumed the doctors were giving her something to make her sleep, and she tried to fight it. But it was pointless, and finally she surrendered and slept.
Once Juliet's parents were gone again, Lassiter dropped down into his chair and held his head in his hands, sighing heavily. He couldn't keep doing this. He knew Juliet's family only had her best interest at heart, but how well did they really know her? They knew the girl; he knew the woman. He knew Juliet wouldn't want to be coddled, and he knew she would want to go home…
Or would she?
Damn it. Once again, her current mental state had him questioning everything he knew about his best friend. While she was sleeping, he had talked to her doctors and nurses, and he had done a little research on her condition himself. It seemed the best thing he could do was keep her in familiar surroundings and gently reacquaint her with her life. It seemed easy enough, didn't it? But if Juliet's parents had their way, they would fly her back to Miami, on the other side of the country, and he wouldn't see her again until she regained her memory.
If she did.
He got to his feet and began to pace the small room, the cogs in his brain turning as he tried to wade through the situation. She was his best friend in the entire world, and he cared about her more than he ever should. He knew her better than most people, and if anyone should take care of her, it was him. If anyone could remind her of who she was, it was him. It was a daunting prospect, but at the same time, it wasn't.
He had to find a way to bring her back.
Later that evening, as the sun began to fade beyond the horizon, Juliet started to stir again. Lassiter was sitting by her bed, watching and waiting. In his lap was a small cardboard box full of items he had retrieved from his home and hers.
She sighed and turned over, and he watched her silently.
"Carlton?"
His mouth relaxed into a soft smile. "Hi…"
"You didn't go."
"I did, but just to get a few things. I came right back." Standing up, he set the box in his seat. Then he helped her raise her bed until she was comfortably sitting upright.
"You didn't have to…"
"I did. I wanted to." He returned to the box and picked it up with a small amount of reverence. Then he placed it gently in her lap.
Juliet's expression turned quizzical. "What is this?"
"Open it," he gently encouraged.
Curious, Juliet opened the box.
Lassiter watched her as she began to sift through the items in the box. Movie ticket stubs, post cards, a set of wedding bands they wore when they went undercover together as husband and wife, a small, blue stuffed bear… He watched her face for any sign of recognition, but there was none.
Once all of the items were laid out beside her on the bed, she looked at Lassiter.
He leaned forward in his chair and picked up the little blue bear. "I gave you this after our first year as partners. I was so certain I would have scared you off by the end of the first week."
Juliet smiled. "I don't see how."
"You will." He set the bear down and found a charm bracelet. "I gave you this on our fifth anniversary." He held it up so that she could see the charms dangling from it. A tiny pair of cuffs, a kitten, a music note, a rollerblade, and a heart. He had started with the cuffs, and he knew he shouldn't have gone any further. As it was, giving her the bracelet was probably entirely inappropriate. But he hadn't been able to help himself. And when he had given it to her, he had wrapped it up and left it at her desk without an indication of who it was from. He had savored the smile on her face when she unwrapped it, but it was a year before he knew that she knew he was the one who had given it to her. The rest of the charms had come later, on small but special dates. He had always been a bit of a romantic man, but it took the right woman to bring it out in him.
It took Juliet.
Juliet stared at the bracelet. "It's beautiful…"
"Here…" He slipped the bracelet onto her slender wrist. "Perfect."
She smiled and shook her wrist gently, enjoying the sound the little charms made.
Grinning, Lassiter picked up a small photo album he had retrieved from his own home. "We haven't taken many pictures together, but we've taken a few." He began flipping through the album, showing her each of the pictures. He always hated having his picture taken, but with her, he didn't mind it so much.
Juliet looked at each of the pictures he showed her, her fingers absently playing with the charm bracelet on her wrist.
"Do you remember anything?"
She shook her head slowly. "No. I'm sorry…"
He exhaled deeply. "Don't apologize. None of this is your fault. We'll get through it."
Juliet looked at him, her blue-green eyes as beautiful as ever. "We will?"
"Of course we will." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Then he picked up the little blue bear again.
He just didn't know how…
After they had gone through the box of memorabilia, Juliet gently insisted Carlton go get lunch. He rarely left her side, and even though she didn't remember him, she did worry about him. He spent all of his time with her; he needed to get out of here once in a while.
Moving her blanket aside, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up unsteadily.
He wasn't the only one who needed to get out.
Lassiter came back to Juliet's room after getting lunch for himself and Juliet. He had bought her a sandwich and a chocolate shake, one of her favorite splurges and a treat he knew she would enjoy. He took a moment to pull himself together before he pushed the door open.
"Juliet, I want to talk to you…"
His voice trailed off when he saw her bed. It was empty, and so were the chairs in the room. He frantically looked around the room, but there was no sign of his recovering partner.
"Oh, hell…"
The bag and shake slipped from his hand as he spun around and raced out of the room.
He had to find her.
To Be Continued...
A/N: I know, I'm mean for the cliff-hanger. But I promise, the next update will make up for it! Thanks for reading, and please review!
