Hey all!
Not sure if I have mentioned it before, but this story is an a/u that splints off after s4e9 "Shawn takes a shot in the dark". So Shawn and Abigail broke up right after that episode (which premiered in October 2009) and this story starts in January 2010 (technically NYE 2009). Also, since Carlton's sister doesn't show up until the later half of season 5, Shawn hasn't actually met her yet.
This is the same week as the previous chapters, so Sharon is about 23 weeks pregnant.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 18
*Thursday July 29th*
"Hey, Lassie! Sorry I'm late." Sharon smiled as she entered the hospital room.
Carlton glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow. "Visiting hours only started a half hour ago and you're not obligated to be here. I don't need a babysitter."
"But I know how boring hospitals can be and distractions are usually super appreciated! Plus, it keeps my dad from making me clean the house. We've been working on the attic before it gets too hot in the day. But I was totally sweating within 10 minutes. And apparently it's not 'proper' for me to take off my shirt, even though I totally had on a sports bra. It's like so unfair that I can't take off my shirt just because I have boobs!"
Carlton shook his head with a chuckle. "Just wear a swimsuit next time."
"I would if any actually fit me! I'm already wearing two sizes bigger than before, but don't want to buy too many new clothes if I'm only going to wear them for a month or two!"
"Well, then explain to him that he either has to deal with it or not get any help from you until it cools down. We don't need you getting heatstroke."
"He just tells me to take more showers, which is so not good for my poor hair!" She pulled her hair out of the ponytail. "Look, I'm already having trouble with keeping it healthy right now; I don't want to over-condition it and end up bald like my dad!"
"Speaking of health, how did your appointment go yesterday?"
Sharon shrugged as she put her hair back up, "Fine. The baby is fine and I'm fine."
"But...?"
"But Doc Jen wants me to talk to a shrink that is not related to me. Which I think is a bad idea because who is going to believe this craziness that is my life right now."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Get someone with a less biased opinion to bounce ideas off of."
She laughed, "This is rich, coming from you! Maybe after you've been going to therapy consistently for a couple of years, then you can give me your opinion. Otherwise, keep your hypocrisies to yourself!"
"Actually," Carlton said as he nervously scratched the beginnings of a beard. "I was thinking about finding a psychologist myself; maybe even trying couples therapy with you."
"Wait, are you serious?!"
"Yes. I think it would be helpful if we had someone to mediate our... transition into parenthood, in whatever form that ends up taking."
Sharon stared at him for a few moments before whispering, "Who are you and what have you done with my Lassie!"
"Spencer!" He groaned.
"Have you been talking to my mom? Did you call her?!"
"No, I have not talked with either of you parents recently. I'll admit, O'Hara was the one who suggested the couple's therapy, but I do agree with her."
"Why is everyone ganging up on me?!"
"That's not what's happening, everyone is just trying to help."
"I wish I could just go one day without someone voicing their opinion about how I should live my life!"
"Spencer! You need to stop trying to alienate yourself and let people help!"
"But I am an alien! I am a freak whose life doesn't make any sense and is just making everyone else's lives more difficult!"
"Spencer, calm down."
"Don't tell me what to do, Carlton Lassiter! I don't..."
*Knock knock*
They both turned towards the door as it opened and a young woman slowly stepped in. "Hey Carlton." She greeted.
"Lulu? What are you doing here?!" Carlton asked.
"I heard my big brother had been shot and I decided to come check up on him." She looked around the room. "Is this a bad time?"
Carlton rubbed his forehead. "No, um. I think we could use a break. Um, Lulu, this is Sharon. Sharon, this is Lauren, my sister."
"Oh,this is Sharon!" Lauren exclaimed. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you!"
"Thanks?" Sharon replied as she crossed her arms. "I wish I could say the same, but Carlton has never mentioned you before."
Lauren scoffed as she sat down in the empty seat next to Sharon. "I'm not surprised. It's like pulling teeth to get any information out of him. Plus, he has always been super overprotective of me."
"Not everyone likes being an open book." Carlton said.
Lauren rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, he hasn't told me much about you, besides meeting on New Year's Eve, you're pregnant, and that you sometimes help out with cases."
"All true," Sharon shrugged. "Yet still more than I know about you. Speaking of cases, I need to head to the station and talk to the Chief about a few cases that I've solved."
"Sharon." Carlton sighed.
Sharon stood up and collected her things. "I'm gonna leave and let you two talk."
"Spencer, don't go."
"So, I'll talk to you tomorrow." Sharon quickly fled the room.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Lauren asked with a wince.
"It's complicated." Carlton groaned.
"Okay, besides getting shot, did something happen between the two of you since we last talked a month ago?"
"It's not really my place to say."
"She's obviously still pregnant and she was hanging out with you in the hospital; which are both positive signs. I just want to help, big brother!"
"I know." He sighed. "It's just that she revealed something very personal and private that affects me, and we are still working on talking it through. As my sister, you will probably have to become aware of it eventually, but it's not important for you to know right now."
"Okay. I'm sorry that I intruded like I did and made her feel like she needed to leave."
"Sharon has a habit of running away; but she promised me that she will work on coming back."
"That's good."
"Yeah. So, how was your flight? How long are you staying? And does Mother know that you're here?"
She laughed, "Well, a trip from Chicago to Santa Barbara isn't exactly short or cheap! And at least I didn't get hit on by the seatmates this time! I have a flight Sunday morning, and no, I did not tell Mother that I'm here since I didn't want to tell her why and get you in trouble."
"Thank you. I'll be back at work in a couple of weeks, there's no need to worry her."
"Do I need to get a hotel room, or can I crash at your place?"
Carlton sighed, "I'm not sure. I told Sharon that she can stay with me once I'm out of the hospital, but I'm not sure if she'll be coming, especially after the fight you interrupted."
"I can totally crash on the couch, if she wants the guest bed."
"No, I wouldn't do that to you."
"You're not, I'm offering! Besides, I'm only here a few days and I'm younger than both of you, not pregnant and not recovering from a gunshot wound. I'll be fine."
"I don't like it, but okay. The doctor said I could leave as early as Saturday morning since there has been no sign of complications."
"That's good. So, mind telling me what the fight was about?"
Carlton sighed, "I suggested that we do couples therapy."
"Wow. You must really like her if you're willing to go through that again."
"Yeah. I, ah, I think she's worth keeping around."
"Keeping around, for like marriage?" Lauren grinned.
Carlton shook his head, "I don't think either one of us is ready for marriage. Besides, everything is too complicated as it is."
"Well, never say never."
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*Saturday July 31st*
"Are you sure you have everything?" Carlton asked as he fiddled with his cell phone.
Lauren rolled her eyes as she replied, "For the hundredth time, yes! You've been here less than a week, so you only have like two outfits and a boxful of gifts."
"Do you have my cell phone charger and my keys?"
"Yes! You better relax or I'm going to ask the nurse to give you a sedative!"
He crossed his arms and glared at the door. "Why is it taking so long for the nurse to come back?! The doctor told me an hour ago that they were getting my release papers ready."
"Release papers?" Lauren scoffed as she looked up from the book she was reading. "You make it sound like you're stuck in prison or something."
"Most prisoners have more freedom and aren't confined to one room for days at a time."
Lauren sighed. "Do you want me to call Sharon?"
"Why would I need you to call Sharon?! It's not like we're married or anything."
"Because you have been low-key worried about her since she left here two days ago and she hasn't talked to you since."
"She sent me texts."
Lauren rolled her eyes. "Yeah, two. One to say that she couldn't visit because she was investigating a case, and then today she just replied 'k' when you said you were leaving the hospital soon. Look, I know you don't want to talk about whatever drama is going on between you two, but the stress of it all is not good for your health."
"I told you…."
*Knock knock*
Sharon poked her head in and smiled when she saw Carlton. "Hey! You're still here! I thought I might miss you." She came over and sat in the empty chair next to Lauren.
"We're waiting on paperwork. Where the hell have you been?!"
"I told you yesterday that I was working on a case. Took longer than expected and my phone died. I kind of fell asleep before it finished charging."
"You could have let me know that you were coming today."
Sharon frowned and looked through the messages on her phone. "Huh, I guess I didn't actually press send. My dad called me while I was writing the text, and I guess I just forgot."
"So, Sharon." Lauren interrupted. "Will you be joining us for the rest of the day? I would love to get to know you better."
"Um, sure?" Sharon shrugged. "I mean, only if it's okay with Lass-iter."
Carlton crossed his arms. "It depends, are you going to behave?"
"Maybe. Can we stop for some lunch?
"It's almost 2pm, why the hell haven't you eaten lunch yet?!"
"Because we had brunch at 11am, duh!"
"Why didn't you get something before coming here?"
She scoffed. "Gus refused to stop since he has a date tonight he has to prepare for; although that didn't really explain why I couldn't just get food."
"Then go to the cafeteria while we're still waiting for the nurse."
"Fine, but don't leave without me!" Sharon carefully stood up. "Or I'm gonna have to wait like three hours for my dad to get back from his fishing trip; which means his truck will smell like fish and I honestly can't stand that smell right now."
Lauren laughed, "I promise that we will wait for you!"
"Okay, I'll be back in twenty minutes. Do you want anything?"
"I'm good, thanks." Lauren smiled.
"No, thank you." Carlton replied as he grabbed his crutches.
"Where are you going?" Sharon asked as she stood by the door.
"Not that it's any of your business, but the bathroom."
"Need any help?" She grinned.
"Not from you, there wouldn't be any room to move."
"Hey! I thought you were going to lay off the fat jokes?!"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm just frustrated that I'm still stuck here." He sighed before standing up. "Maybe I should just go to the nurse's station myself."
"I'll do it!" Sharon said as she opened the door. "I'm walking past, anyways."
"Thanks, Sharon!" Lauren called as they watched Sharon leave. "Huh, that was interesting."
"What was?" Carlton asked as he made his way across the room.
"Your interaction just now. If I was a psychologist, I would probably be having a field day right now."
"Well, good thing you're not. I can only imagine what Sharon's mom would have to say, and she's a psychiatrist. Now, if you'll excuse me." Carlton quickly shut the door, ignoring Lauren's laughter.
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*4 hours later*
"Hey, Carlton. What should I order for dinner?" Lauren whispered.
"What?" Carlton blinked as he turned away from the 24-hour news tv stations. "Oh, uh. Whatever you want is fine by me."
She rolled her eyes and laughed, "I figured as much, but I was more curious about what your pregnant girlfriend would eat. She's the one with the weird food aversions and cravings right now. I already know not to get fish."
He turned towards the other end of the couch where Sharon was curled up and fast asleep, her head on the armrest. He reached out a hand and gently shook her ankle. "Hey, Sharon. You need to wake up."
Sharon groaned and started stretching. "Ow, my neck!" She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at him. "Why did you let me fall asleep on the couch?!"
Carlton scoffed, "I tried to warn you, I even offered you the guest bed."
"You could have carried me."
"Not on this leg injury, and definitely not with crutches. You're on your own for the next few weeks."
"Fine," Sharon sighed as she sat up and continued to rub her neck. "So, what's up?"
"I was wondering what we should get for dinner." Lauren asked as she looked through a pile of take-out menus. "Neither Carlton or I have a preference, so I wanted to ask you."
"Well, I could really go for some good fried rice right now. With greasy egg rolls and sticky orange chicken." Sharon laughed as she placed her hands on her stomach. "Junior seems to agree! Either that or they're telling me to shut up."
"May I?" Lauren asked as she stood.
"Sure," Sharon shrugged as she pulled her shirt down tighter. "A sister of Lassie is a friend of mine."
Lauren gently placed her hand where Sharon indicated and smiled when she felt movement. "Maybe one day we'll be sisters."
"Maybe." Sharon glanced at Carlton before saying, "Listen, Lauren. We should talk. After dinner. There's something you need to know."
"Okay. Um, let me call in a dinner order while you two pick a movie!" Lauren smiled as she picked up the pile of menus and headed into the kitchen.
Carlton groaned as Sharon took the remote from him. "Please don't pick anything too annoying!"
Sharon laughed, "No promises since my only choices are limited to what is available on the movie channels. Unless you want to splurge for some pay-per-view?"
"Hell no!"
"Alright then. We can watch 'Leap Year' again."
"Once was more than enough."
"How about 'Alice in Wonderland' or 'Sherlock Holmes'?"
"Aren't there any other movies?"
"A bunch of kids movies. Also some Harry Potter movies, but I figured you're not into those."
"No. Isn't Alice a kid's movie?"
"Dude, it's Tim Burton and Johnny Depp! Of course it's not just for kids! Might not even be appropriate for really little kids!"
"Just go with 'Sherlock Holmes', it will probably annoy me less."
"Be careful what you wish for!" She selected the channel and checked the time. "It doesn't start for another 10 minutes. Just enough time for a potty break! Do you want anything from the kitchen?"
"My sister is ordering dinner, so no."
"How about some beer?"
"I can't have alcohol right now and neither can you! Just bring back a couple of glasses of water."
"Yes, sir!" Sharon saluted before trying to get off the couch. "Umm, a little help here?"
Carlton snorted and shook his head. "I already told you I can't help you right now. Why don't you slide over and use the arm rest?"
"Fine."
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*Next morning*
"Are you sure you don't want a ride to the airport?" Carlton asked as he and Lauren sat at the dining room table, drinking coffee.
"I'm sure! The doctor told you not to drive for another couple of days and Sharon is still sleeping. I am perfectly capable of taking a taxi."
"Alright. But call me as soon as you get to the airport!"
"Of course! I'll also text you when I'm on the plane, during my layover, and when I'm back in Chicago! I know the drill."
"I'm just looking out for you, that's all."
"And I appreciate it!" She laughed. "You are going to have your hands full with Sharon and a baby!"
"Yeah, it's um, going to be interesting." He took a sip of coffee.
"I still can't believe that she's Shawn! And that you two get along so well!"
"I definitely didn't see that coming."
"Serious question: if Shawn had come up to you and asked you on a date, you have said yes?" She smiled.
"No."
"If Sharon never got pregnant and you found out about Shawn, would you have kept dating?"
Carlton looked down into his coffee mug. "It depends, I guess, on the timing. If it had happened within the first few months, then hell no. Also whether she told me the truth herself or I found out in some embarrassing way."
"Well, I guess there's no point in wondering." They heard a car horn and Lauren stood up. "That's probably my taxi."
"Thank you for coming out here."
"Of course! We need to hang out more often, and a baby is the perfect excuse! When is the baby due?"
"Late November."
"So Thanksgiving. I should definitely be able to get a week free then." They heard the car horn again. "Eek! I gotta go! Bye!" Lauren picked up her bags and jogged to the door.
"Be careful!" Carlton called, only to get a wave in response before Lauren was gone.