Hey all!
I'm so sorry for the delay! I thought I was almost done with this chapter, so for a few weeks I focused almost entirely on finishing some crocheted gifts for valentines day. Then when I came back to this chapter, I realized that I had stopped in the middle of the scene and I didn't know how to end it! It just kept going and it still ends on a weird note, but it was the best I could do!
Anyways, this chapter takes place the next day after the last one, so Sharon is still about 22.5 weeks pregnant.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 17
*Tuesday July 27th*
"You're here early," Carlton grunted as Sharon entered his hospital room the next morning.
Sharon grinned. "Visiting hours just started; and you know what they say: the early squirrel gets the pineapple!"
"Nobody says that." He shook his head as he turned off the television.
"I say it all the time! Just ask Gus!"
"Fine; no sane person says that."
"Ah! Lassie! You wound me!" She held one hand to her chest as she fell into a chair.
Carlton rolled his eyes, "You'll survive."
"If you're gonna be mean to me, maybe I'll just take these freshly baked muffins and go!" She pulled a couple of paper bags out of her backpack.
"You know how to bake?" He asked as he sniffed the air.
"Yes, usually just from a mix. But I didn't make these. I got them from the bakery down the street. Apparently, if you get there before the morning rush, they let you watch the pastries bake."
"How early did you get there?"
"Well, Gus wanted to be at work by 7am, and the nurses are very strict about visiting hours on this floor; so I had to hang out somewhere."
He shook his head. "So, when do I get a muffin?"
"When you offer me something in return." She grinned.
"How about I don't tell Henry that you're here?"
"Oh, please! Gus told him last night while I was visiting you. My dad called me about an hour ago and he expects me and Gus over for dinner tonight."
"Okay." He crossed his arms as he thought. "How about, I let you stay with me at my house once I'm released from the hospital."
"Tempting, but that would benefit you more than me. And you already told me last night that I could possibly stay with you. How do I know that you are not going to change your mind before then?"
"Well, how about a kiss?"
"Really?! With tongue?"
"No, you have to earn back those privileges. Just a kiss on the cheek, and I will let you stay here until the end of visiting hours."
"It's a start, at least." Sharon smiled as she watched Carlton raise the head of the bed higher.
"Are you going to make me do all the work?" He asked.
"Well, you're the one who wants some muffins. I could easily eat all of them in the next ten minutes."
"Just get over here!" Carlton growled.
"Okay!" Sharon stood up and leaned over the bed railing.
Carlton gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled back before she tried anything. "There, now give me a muffin."
"You forgot to say please!"
"Please, or get the hell out." Carlton growled.
Sharon shrugged, "Close enough." She handed him a small paper bag before sitting down and opening the second bag.
Carlton frowned, "How many have you eaten so far today?"
"I only had one at the bakery, taste testing of course. I also had a pineapple danish and some mini quiches."
"You're supposed to be eating healthy food."
She swallowed a bite before saying, "Quiches are totally healthy food, and also fun to say! Besides, I'm making up for all of the calories I didn't eat yesterday when I was stressing out about you!"
"Just don't make it a habit." He sighed.
Sharon rolled her eyes, "Of course not, doctor."
"If I was your doctor, you would be on bed rest right now."
"What?! Why?"
"Because of all of the trouble you land yourself in."
"Um, it's called being a detective."
"No, it's called being irresponsible and letting yourself get shot!"
"Oh come on! Like you can talk! You're currently healing from a gunshot wound!"
"I'm a cop! It's part of my job to protect people, and sometimes it means taking a bullet. You, on the other hand, are a civilian and should not be confronting murder suspects!" He raised his voice as he emphasized certain words.
"Dude, I already told you! I didn't know that Nicky was going to be there! I was just investigating!"
"You shouldn't be investigating on your own, especially when pregnant, and…."
"Excuse me!" A nurse interrupted sternly as she entered the room. "You two are being entirely too loud and are disturbing the other patients! Also, Mr Lassiter…."
"Detective!" Sharon and Carlton corrected at the same time. "Jinx!" Sharon added with a smile as Carlton rolled his eyes.
The nurse crossed her arms and looked directly at Sharon. "Detective Lassiter needs to keep his heart rate and blood pressure down as we monitor him for infection. If you can't have a calm conversation, then you will be asked to leave. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Sharon gave her a fake salute.
"Thank you." The nurse replied as she turned back towards Carlton. "The doctor is starting rounds, but should be by to talk with you in about an hour. If you need anything before then, please let us know."
"Thank you." Carlton nodded.
Once the nurse left, Sharon laughed, "See? I told you they were strict."
"At least she didn't kick you out, yet." Carlton shook his head as he finished his muffins.
"They can try, but it's not gonna work." She grinned. "So, now that you are properly nourished, what do you want to do?"
"We could have that long-overdue talk." He suggested as he threw his trash away.
Sharon sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "I guess. I mean, I don't even know where to start."
"How about... why did you approached me on New Years Eve?"
Sharon laughed, "Well, it seemed like fate."
"Fate?"
Sharon shrugged, "Yeah. Things finally lined up almost perfectly. I had just turned into Sharon, I knew Jules was dragging you to the party, and we were both single. I could make it seem like we met by chance, then we could have a few days together; or, if things went badly, I could easily slip away. I did get to the party a little late because of a slight argument with my dad, and you were a bit too drunk; but you were still there when I arrived, so I saw it as a sign to keep going."
"But why me?! You could have had almost any guy there; there were plenty of eyes on you." He mumbled the last part as he crossed his arms.
She smiled softly, "Because I've always had my eyes on you, even before I realized the feelings behind them. And it hurt, anytime you pushed me, Shawn, away. So I tried to keep Shawn and Sharon separate, even though I wanted to tell you."
"Would you have broken up with me if you hadn't gotten pregnant?"
"Eventually? Maybe? When my dad found out about us, he was pressuring me to tell you. And Gus was on my case too. And I could tell you were falling for me."
"If I hadn't overheard your fight a few weeks ago, would you have told me?"
"I don't know." Sharon sniffled and let a tear fall unchecked. "The further along in the pregnancy I got, the more excited you got, and I didn't want to ruin things. And part of me thought that if I just didn't tell you and gave up the baby, then Sharon could just disappear. Maybe Shawn too."
"And do you want to keep the baby?"
"Maybe? I do but I don't. I'm so scared of messing them up. Like if it's a boy, then they have a high chance of carrying the gene for this curse and can pass it on to future generations. And I don't even know who I will be once the pregnancy is over. Will I go back to Shawn 90% of time or will I stay as Sharon? Unless I stay as Sharon, how are we going to explain it to people outside of our little circle? Are people going to accuse you of polygamy or cheating? I don't know if I can go back to you being hostile to Shawn. It will be so much easier to just give up the baby."
"Nobody said that life was easy." Carlton whispered.
Sharon scoffed, "Yeah, you don't have to tell me that."
"I've found that the things you have to fight for are the things that mean the most."
"And what, exactly, have you had to fight for?"
"Fulfilling my dreams to be Head Detective. Nobody thought that I would make detective, let alone be the youngest Head Detective in the state. Most detectives have family connections, money, legacies. I had none of that. I worked twice as hard as anyone else in my program in order to get the internships and recommendations. I worked weekends and doubles. When I noticed that the married cops advanced quicker than the bachelor's, I basically married the first woman who would commit. I think I was more in love with the idea of marriage and the benefits I received, than I was with Victoria. Once the euphoria of being newlyweds wore off, I focused on my job. A week after I made Head Detective, Victoria kicked me out. And I didn't fight for her. I fought to stay married and keep my reputation intact. At least until I realized I didn't need a facade of a marriage to earn people's respect."
"I always wanted to ask you what changed." Sharon said softly. "You went from buying her expensive figurines, to signing the divorce papers without a fight. What made you let her go so easily?"
"You did."
"Me?! But I thought you hated me!"
"I have felt a lot of various emotions towards you, including aggravation, annoyance, and jealousy; but never hatred. You and O'Hara have shown me that you respect and trust me; in your own unique and annoying ways. That having a failed marriage wasn't the end of the world, or the end of my career. That I'm not defined by my marital status or what others think of me. That at the end of the day, I am defined by my actions and attitude."
"Aww, Lassie! If you weren't stuck in that bed, I would give you a big old hug right now!"
"Then I guess I should be glad that I'm stuck in the bed."
*Tsk* Sharon crossed her arms and looked away, trying to hide her grin. "Rude! Here I am, keeping you company, and you're just being mean!"
"I just don't do hugs; and one right now would be really awkward between your pregnant belly and me being stuck in the bed."
"Are you calling me fat?!"
"No, you are perfectly healthy for how far along in the pregnancy you are." He crossed his arms. "Are you going to react like this every time I mention your pregnant belly?"
Sharon shrugged and covered her stomach with her arms. "Maybe? I'm just not used to people casually commenting on my body; unless I'm out clubbing and I dress in a way to actually attract those types of compliments."
Carlton sighed, "Well, from what I've observed, people like to compliment pregnant people and even try to touch without permission."
"Oh my God! They totally do! I probably had two dozen people at the airports talk to me yesterday! I might have been a bit snappish at some of them and ignored others while I tried to listen to calming music. Even with headphones on and a book in front of me, people still wanted to talk to me! My mom tried to warn me about people touching, especially older ladies, and that I need to be somewhat polite when I tell them not to touch. Luckily, no one tried yesterday; but there was a customer at the bakery who tried, and the owners were nice enough to intervene. Maybe I should get a couple of buttons that say 'don't touch' or something."
"Maybe you should work on your glare. It seems to help me when someone, other than you, tries to touch my mustache for civil war reenactments."
She laughed. "Or maybe I should just hang around you all of the time so that you can glare and growl for me!"
"I don't growl." He glared at her.
"Yeah you do. I can recall at least a couple of dozen times you've growled at me or Gus, and a few times at suspects."
"Maybe you should stop annoying me, then."
"Mmm, tempting, but it's just too much fun to press your buttons. I'm just glad that you're all bark and no bite. Well, usually no bite." She grinned.
He groaned, "Really?! You're going there?!"
"Yep!"
"You're the one who has given me so many hickeys that I've had to buy cosmetics!"
"I don't understand why you won't just show them off?"
"Because I have a reputation to uphold."
"Didn't you just say like 10 minutes ago that you don't care what other people think?"
"Well, I don't want people gossiping about my private life anymore than they already do."
"What are they saying?"
"From what O'Hara has told me, they already know about us and the baby."
"Hmmm, okay. I mean, I wasn't exactly hiding it that well."
"I would rather not have people asking me personal questions; especially since we haven't talked about the future."
"Yeah, about that…."
*knock knock*
The door opened and a doctor walked in. "Hello Detective Lassiter. I apologize for interrupting. I'm Doctor Kate Kittering. Is now a good time for a quick exam?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Sharon stood up with a smile. "I'm gonna go to the little girl's room and give you some privacy. Maybe find some lunch."
"It's barely 10:30 and you've been eating baked goods all morning." Carlton commented with a frown.
"Yeah, but by the time I find a restaurant, order food, and bring it back here; it will probably be closer to noon. I'll bring you back something good. Bye Lassie!" She quickly ducked out of the room before he could call her back.
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*2 hours later*
"What I don't understand," Carlton started as he pushed the rest of his food away. "Is how O'Hara and I never noticed that Shawn would disappear for three days every month. You were bound to have slipped up every once in a while."
Sharon shrugged. "Well, I have had like 17 years of practice. Being seen as a flakey slacker and commitment-phobe helps a lot."
"So Sharon had been investigating cases?"
"Of course! Like you said on the phone a few weeks ago, it's the perfect disguise. And if I needed your help or to tell you something, I would just text from Shawn's phone or have Gus call. There were a few close calls where I had to blend into the crowd before you showed up."
"How do you have a P.I. license if there's no background check or fingerprints on file for either Shawn or Sharon?"
"Well, let's just say that my dad has connections and it is listed under S Spencer. And before you ask, yes I really did pass the exam; as well as the detective's exam, twice."
"The one you took when you were 15 and got a 100?"
"Yep!" She grinned. "I took it a second time right when I started Psych, just to make sure I remembered everything."
"So you're not really psychic, just a really good detective."
"Lassie! It's just the drugs!"
"I'm not that high on painkillers! I've watched you during the past few cases that we worked on together! You would occasionally close your eyes and think for a minute, before pointing out something no one else had noticed; no psychic spasms or anything!"
"Lassie, I meant the drugs I take dull my senses, including psychic ones; so I have to concentrate harder in order to hear the spirits. My dad thought it would be too risky for Sharon to work as a psychic, so he suggested to go the PI route. Although, Buzz has hinted a few times that he thinks I'm transgender. Which, honestly, is pretty close and much more believable."
"Spencer, you really expect me to buy this story?!"
"I expect you to trust me."
"Spencer, I…."
*Knock knock*
The door opened and Juliet poked her head in. "Hey Carlton! Are you... oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude!"
"It's fine, O'Hara." Carlton sighed and rubbed his head. "We were just discussing the truth, right Spencer?"
"Yeah, sure." Sharon replied nervously as she checked her phone. "Oh, hey! Would you look at the time?! Gus is supposed to pick me up in about 10 minutes, so I should probably get going."
"Nice try, Sharon." Juliet crossed her arms and let the door shut behind her. "But I just had lunch with Gus, and he says that he has a few last-minute appointments; so he won't be able to pick you up until 4:30."
"Oh, Gus is such a sneaky jackal! He told me to wait at the hospital until 1pm so we could investigate some old cases; all along knowing that you would probably get here before then."
"Sharon, why are you avoiding me?" Juliet asked.
Sharon shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I figured that if I avoided you, then I wouldn't have to face your disappointment or hurt."
"Yes, I was disappointed and hurt when I heard the truth from Carlton, but I was also worried about you!"
"Just worried about Shawn?"
"No, you as a whole person. A few weeks ago, when Carlton told me what happened and then Gus said you were on suicide watch, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I mean, obviously you weren't alright at the time, I couldn't even begin to imagine what you were going through or what you were thinking. But I would still like to be your friend, if you will let me."
"Of course you're still my friend, Jules!" Sharon smiled.
Juliet smiled. "Good! And it's nice to hear that nickname, again."
Sharon sighed, "You don't know how many times I have caught myself almost saying Jules or Lassie in the last few months."
"You haven't exactly been succeeding." Carlton mumbled.
"Aww, Lassie! You know you missed it!"
"Not really."
"Nicknames mean that I care!"
"It doesn't seem like it, calling me a dog."
"It's a compliment! You are just so loyal and lovable. Besides, what other nicknames do you have? You don't seem to like Carl or Carly. Although, I guess I could call you Booker or Binky."
"I might have to shoot you if you even try!"
"Of course you won't, Lassie! At least not while I have our bun in my oven."
Carlton grimaced, "Please never say that phrase again!"
Juliet laughed, "Speaking of the baby, have you thought about a name?"
Sharon's smile dropped. "Well, since I'm not sure yet if I'm going to keep it, I didn't want to agonize over names. Don't want to stick it with a weird name and then not be around to explain the meaning."
"You must at least have a nickname for the baby, like peanut or pineapple?"
"Well, I did think about pineapple; or maybe bun or bunny could work."
"No!" Carlton shot down quickly, causing the other two to laugh.
Sharon smiled, "Well, now that they are being very active, I was thinking of Roo or Joey, like a Kangaroo. But I think I'm going to stick with simply Junior."
"And what movie does that make you think of?" Carlton asked.
Sharon shrugged, "The 1994 Schwartzenegger and DeVito movie.I thought it was appropriate."
"Not exactly the same situation." Carlton rolled his eyes.
"I'm surprised that you recognize it!"
"My ex-wife loved any movies with Schwartzenegger."
"Then she must love the fact that he's governor."
"Most likely. It's not exactly a conversation you have during a separation or divorce."
"Sounds like the perfect ice breaker to me! 'How do you think The Governator is doing?' 'A lot better than you at governoring our separation.' See? Awesome segue!"
Carlton sighed, "It's governing, not governoring. Also, one spouse should not be managing everything all by themselves."
"Speaking of doing things together," Juliet interrupted. "Have you talked about plans for after the baby is born?"
"Haha, nice segue, Jules!" Sharon smiled and then shrugged. "We started discussing some of my fears; but then we kind of went off on a couple of tangents before the doctor came in and we took a break."
"You mean when you ran off?" Carlton said.
"Hey," Juliet intervened. "Why doesn't Carlton tell you what we have been discussing. Carlton?"
Carlton cleared his throat. "Okay, well. Um, you see….we, I mean I have, um." He took a deep breath. "Well, obviously we're not going to make anything final without your approval. That said, I would like to keep the baby. Preferably by co-parenting with you, but I don't want to force you to stay. You can be involved as little or as much as you feel comfortable. We could just stay friends. I can turn the office at my house into a nursery and keep the guest room open for you. I can…."
"Wait, stop!" Sharon whispered as she frowned and thought. "Are you sure?! What, what about your job?"
"I'm Head Detective, which means I have coworkers I can delegate tasks to. I also have over 300 days of unused vacation, so I can take a month or two off once the baby is born. According to O'Hara, most daycares take babies as young as 6 weeks, although you have to get on the waiting list months early."
"I already have a list of a few daycares we should check out." Juliet chimed in.
"Wow," Sharon whispered. "This is a lot more planned out than Gus and I have gotten."
Juliet smiled. "I have mentioned it to Gus a few times, just to see what his opinion is."
Sharon shook her head. "I, um, I think I need time to process this and discuss it with Gus and my parents."
"Of course." Juliet replied. "There's no rush. Well, except maybe the daycares, but Carlton and I can go look at them together. But you still have like 4 months before the baby is born."
Sharon looked at Carlton. "Are you sure you want to be stuck with someone as annoying as me?"
"Who says that I would be stuck?" He replied. "And you're not annoying. Well, most of the time."
Sharon chuckled and looked away. "Can we talk about something else? Like, what happened to the guy who shot Lassie?"
Juliet glanced at Carlton before saying, "Along with the charges already against him, we added possession of an unregistered firearm, assault and battery, and resisting arrest."
"Was he bleeding when you got him?" Sharon asked.
"He might have had scratches from when I tackled him into some bushes, but nothing that would warrant a visit to the hospital."
"Shame." She whispered.
Carlton rolled his eyes as Juliet laughed, "No comment."
Sharon smiled as she rubbed her belly. "So, care to fill me in with everything else I missed? It's been like over a month since I was last at the station."
"And who's fault is that?" Carlton asked as he picked up his water.
"Umm, Nicky?" Sharon responded innocently.
"Well," Juliet started. "You haven't missed much. There was an altercation in the holding cells that resulted in a couple of suspensions."
"Oh, do tell!" Sharon grinned.