Hey all! Just a quick note/trigger warning: there is a conversation in this chapter that went in a weird, totally unplanned direction and I should probably warn about. So, if you don't like talk about sex or rape, you should skip the section that is just Sharon and Juliet talking and resume after the page break. I promise that you're not missing too much of the plot line.

Sharon is about 24.5 weeks. (I never planned on going week-by-week but I keep writing good content so the next chapter skips time, hopefully)

X

X

X

Chapter 20

*Monday August 9th*

Carlton carefully placed his travel mug of coffee onto his desk, leaned his singular crutch against the side of the desk, and took off his blazer. Placing the blazer on the back of his chair, he breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down. It was still about an hour before the day shift would begin, so the bullpen was pretty quiet. Turning on his computer, Carlton decided to check his email before looking through the small pile of files on his desk.

"Good Morning, Detective Lassiter!"

Carlton looked up at the person who greeted him. "McNab. What are you doing here so early?"

Buzz glanced at his watch as he replied, "I'm only about 10 minutes early, sir. I usually clean and refill the coffee pots before everyone else arrives. How long have you been here?"

"I guess an hour." Carlton sipped his coffee, surprised at how cold it had become.

"Would you like me to reheat that for you, sir? Since I'm already going into the breakroom."

"Sure."

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" Buzz grinned.

Carlton grunted as he looked around the bullpen. A few other people were trickling in, talking with each other; he could see Juliet with some patrol officers near the front desk. Chief Vick was already in her office and on the phone.

"Here you go, sir!" Buzz said as he returned a few minutes later.

"Thanks." He mumbled as he accepted the mug.

"It's good to have you back, sir! Did you have a good vacation?"

"It was medical leave, not a vacation. I didn't go anywhere besides doctor appointments." He took a sip of coffee, pleased by the warmth. "Well, we did go to the paint store."

"Oh, are you painting your house?"

"Just one of the bedrooms."

"Any particular reason why?"

Carlton narrowed his eyes at Buzz. "I don't believe that is any of your business, McNab. Don't you have some work to do?"

"Not yet. Right now, I'm just waiting for the coffee to percolate."

"Well, why don't you go check on it while I get back to work."

"Yes, sir!" Buzz replied as he quickly left.

Carlton shook his head and took another sip of his coffee. He turned back to his reports, although was quickly interrupted again.

"Hey partner!" Juliet greeted as she arrived at her own desk.

"O'Hara."

"How is the painting going?"

"Fine. We got two layers on the wall and Sharon is going to sketch out some designs this week."

"And how have you two been getting along?"

"Surprisingly well, all things considered."

"Good, I'm glad." She glanced at the Chief's office before saying. "I have a meeting in a few minutes, but would you like to get lunch together?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Great! I'll see you later!"

X

X

X

"Hey Lassie!"

Carlton looked up from his computer screen to see Sharon standing by his desk, carrying a couple of take-out bags. "Sharon. What are you doing here?"

"I brought you and Jules lunch! The Chief said that it would be okay if we ate in the conference room since no one is using it today."

"I think O'Hara wanted to have lunch with me alone today."

"Oh, I already talked with Jules. Actually, she texted me and said that she was a bit overwhelmed by the case and practically begged me to do this favor for her."

"I doubt that she begged." Carlton replied as he saved his reports.

"Not in so many words, but she did promise to buy me lunch later in the week. So, I'm gonna go set up in the conference room and finally get off my feet. It feels like I've been walking all morning and am considering getting an electric scooter. Any chance you can give me a foot rub after lunch?"

"Definitely not in the station." He mumbled.

"Hmm, that wasn't a no. How about after work?"

"Depends on how the rest of the day goes and how much you annoy me before then."

"Sweet!" Sharon grinned as she finally walked away.

X

X

X

By the time Carlton entered the conference room with a fresh cup of coffee, Sharon was already done with her sandwich and halfway through her fries.

"Lassie! I could have gotten you some coffee! You didn't have to limp all the way over to the break room with just one crutch. The doctor told you to keep walking to a minimum."

"I've been sitting behind my desk since 8am this morning, I needed to stretch my legs." Carlton replied as he carefully sat down across from her.

"Wait a minute." Sharon closed her eyes and held a finger to her temple. "You only brought one crutch into the station! Where's the second one?! Did you leave it at home or in the car?"

"In my car. I'm just on desk duty, I can handle it."

"Dude, I saw you struggling right before you sat down. Here, give me your car keys."

"Spencer, I don't need you babying me."

"Then stop acting like a baby! You're allowed to show a little weakness, you got shot two weeks ago! Two more inches and you could have bled out and died!"

"I don't need you to remind me of that."

"Then act like it! Now give me your damn keys or someone might arrest me for breaking into your car, and who knows how much damage I'll cause."

With a sigh, Carlton pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Don't touch anything else in my car!"

"Like there's anything worth stealing!" Sharon scoffed as she took the keys. "Except maybe some gum or loose change for the vending machine."

"Hey Guys!" Juliet greeted as she opened the door. "Sorry I'm late!"

"It's cool, Jules." Sharon shrugged as she stood up and made for the door. "Lassie and I were just discussing how important it is to follow the doctor's orders. I have to go grab his other crutch from his car; so why don't you knock some sense into your partner while I'm gone."

Juliet crossed her arms as Sharon left, shutting the door behind her. "What did you do?"

"Is it a crime to decide to only use one crutch so that I can carry my coffee in one hand without spilling it?!"

"Not a crime, but also not a very smart medical decision if your doctor hasn't approved it yet." Juliet walked over and took the seat next to Carlton.

"I saw the doctor on Thursday and they said I could start walking on my injured leg by now."

"I'm pretty sure "start" means short distances, like between rooms in your house; not the five minutes it usually takes to get from your car to your desk."

"I just want things to go back to normal." He sighed. "Well, as normal as things can get right now."

Juliet laughed. "I understand, but you know you can make things worse and end up lengthening your recovery if you do too much too fast."

"Yeah, I know." Carlton took a big bite out of his sandwich, hoping that the conversation was over. "How is your current case going?"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "It's fine, pretty straightforward with no signs of foul play. I finished interviewing all of the witnesses and next of kin, and am just waiting on the autopsy report."

"Would you like another set of eyes, just in case?"

"Nice try, Carlton. Sharon already took a look around the crime scene and also agreed that it was just an accident. When did the Chief say you could go back out into the field?"

"Not until my doctor approves, which could be a few more weeks."

"Well, in the meantime, you need to learn to enjoy these slow days. After the baby is born, you will practically be begging for a break!" Juliet grinned as she noticed through the blinds that Sharon was coming back. "The same applies to spending time with Sharon: enjoy it while you can."

"Yeah."

"Hey." Sharon said as she entered the room and placed Carlton's second crutch with the other one. "Sorry it took so long, I saw Buzz in the parking lot and it was really hard to shake him off. I love the guy and he already suspects a lot, but I am so not ready to invite anyone else into the bank of secrets!"

"Don't you mean the vault of secrets?" Juliet asked as Sharon sat back down.

"Oh no, there are like so many vaults full of secrets that it is its own bank."

Carlton rolled his eyes. "I agree with Sharon; at least the part about not telling more people."

"Aww, thanks Lassie!"

"That wasn't a compliment, I was just stating my opinion."

"Ear of the beholden, Las."

"That's not…*sigh*" Carlton shook his head as he finished his lunch. "I should get back to my desk."

"If you would rather go back to your boring paperwork than hang out with us, then go. Jules and I will enjoy some girl talk!" Sharon grinned as Juliet laughed.

Carlton rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Whatever. Thank you for lunch, and the company."

"Of course, Lassie! Oh, and don't even think about leaving your second crutch behind! I'll bring you a fresh cup of coffee once Jules and I are done here."

"Yes, mother."

"What?! Lassie!"

Juliet laughed as Carlton left the conference room. "Sorry, Sharon, but you totally deserved that."

Sharon shrugged, "Yeah, I've probably said the same thing to Gus a couple of dozen times in the last month alone. So, my sweet Juliet. What, exactly, is girl talk?"

"Well, to put it simply, girl talk usually revolves around three main categories: gossip, personal questions, and style, like hair, makeup, clothes. Obviously there's some overlap."

"I guess we can skip style since you're probably not interested in the pregnancy look. I don't have much gossip to share on my end and you're still eating. So I guess there's not much girl talk to be had."

Juliet swallowed a bite of food before saying, "I do have a very personal, kind of private, question for you; although you don't have to answer if you're too uncomfortable."

"Jules, I am an open book." Sharon grinned.

"Okay," Juliet checked that the door was still closed before leaning forward and whispering, "do you prefer being a top or a bottom during sex?"

"What?! Jules!" Sharon exclaimed before quieting. "How can something so dirty come out of your sweet, pure mind?!*

"Oh, please! I have five older brothers, I have seen and heard way worse! Plus, my gal pals and I have a sex bash where we talk about sex and consume a crap ton of alcohol."

"Wow, okay, first of all, you'll need to change the name if no one is actively engaging in sex during your meet-ups."

"A valid point." Juliet nodded as she started on her fries.

"And second of all, any chance I could join in?"

"No! Besides, we usually have them in June so you just missed it. Now, are you going to answer my question? Please?!"

"Okay," Sharon leaned closer and whispered, "Honestly, it depends on the partner. If they can get me to orgasm as a woman, then that definitely tops everything else, pun intended."

"And have you done it since finding out you were pregnant? I heard the middle of the second trimester is the best time to do it."

Sharon blushed and looked away. "No, I haven't had sex in months, which is like a record for me, and I am definitely starting to get horny at the most inappropriate times."

"Are you two sharing a bed right now?"

"Nope, still working on being comfortable with each other again. Besides, with his leg injury and me being a restless sleeper, it's probably a good thing that we are in different beds right now."

"I think you two will get there eventually. Carlton is still having a little difficulty reconciling the fact that, in some ways, he's been dating Shawn this whole time."

"I know. I kind of feel bad that I was hiding that from him for so long. And, sometimes, I think about how he can claim rape since we had sex under false pretenses, and that this pregnancy and baby could just remind him of that." Sharon shrugged and looked away.

"Sharon, I know it's not my place to say, but Carlton has always wanted kids, and the two of you fit so well together. You both have strengths and weaknesses that pretty much balance each other out. You make an amazing detective team and will be incredible parents, once you learn to trust yourselves and each other! Don't give up or run away just because of some what-if's or could-of-been's."

Sharon laughed shakily as she brushed a stray tear off of her cheek. "You know, Jules, if you ever get tired of this whole detective thing, you should consider being a counselor or motivational speaker. I would totally attend a Fred lecture by you."

"It's called a TED talk! It stands for technology, entertainment, and design."

"Huh, that makes a lot more sense. I always thought it was somebody's name."

Juliet laughed as her phone buzzed, "Well, I should get back to work."

"Yeah, and I should get Lassie some coffee before he yells at a poor rookie or tries to get it himself." Sharon groaned as she slowly stood up.

"Thank you again for picking up lunch. We should have girl talk more often."

"As long as I'm not the only one in the hot seat."

"We'll see." Juliet smiled.

X

X

X

"Here you go, Lassie! One freshly brewed cup of coffee!"

"Took you long enough, did you roast the beans yourself?" Carlton grumbled.

"I'm sorry, was that? Was that a thank you hidden in there somewhere, because I must have missed it." Sharon crossed her arms.

He sighed, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. Thank you for bringing me coffee and for bringing lunch."

"You're welcome! Now, Gus and I have a couple of cold cases that we are going to work on today, so I'll let you know about dinner."

"I might just get something quick on the way home, depending on how hungry and tired I am."

"With all the caffeine you've been drinking today, I'll be surprised if you even fall asleep at a good time."

"It's more than likely that I'm going to crash from too much caffeine."

"Well, don't work too hard and don't drive if you're too tired! I can probably have Gus drop me off here later to drive your car."

"I will be fine. Just take care of yourself and don't get into any trouble!"

"I can make no promises, Lassie, but for you, I'll try not to."

"Ms Spencer!" Chief Vick called from near her office door. "A word?"

"Crap." Sharon whispered as she turned around and followed Karen into her office. "Let me start off by saying that it totally wasn't my fault!"

"What wasn't your fault?" Karen asked as she motioned for Sharon to shut the door.

"Whatever you called me in to talk about?"

Karen shook her head. "You're not in trouble, yet. I wanted to give you something. I was going to drop it off at the Psych office, although if you're going to be spending a lot of time at the station, maybe I should just leave it in the conference room instead." She pointed towards one of the chairs around the table.

"Ah!" Sharon gasped. "The Magic Springy Bounce-Up Chair!"

"That is not what it's called." Karen shook her head, hiding a smile. "It's just a lifting cushion."

"I can't believe you still have this! And you're giving it to me?!"

"Think of it more as a loan, with the hope that it will get passed on to other people."

With a big grin on her face, Sharon sat down in the chair and practiced standing up with it. "I was just telling Gus that I needed to buy one, but he told me to wait."

"Will Mr. Guster be picking you up from the station today?"

"Yeah, he should be here in like 5 minutes."

"Can I trust you to carry this outside without hurting yourself?"

"I'm not fragile, no matter how other people have been treating me."

"Trust me, I understand the frustration." Karen laughed.

"Thanks, Chief!"

"I also have a couple of checks for you from those cold cases you solved."

"Sweet! I have two or three more that I should be wrapping up this week, assuming Gus lets me investigate properly. Being pregnant can be such a hindrance!"

Karen smiled, "Well, your solve rate is still better than some of my detectives. So don't stress yourself out over the cases; your doctor probably won't like it."

"Probably not, but I still have to work. Babies are super expensive, even before they are born!"

"Yes, I know it all too well."

Sharon's phone went off and she checked the name. "Oh look, Gus is here early! I'll just tell him to meet me up here."

"Don't linger too long, I'm a very busy woman and need to get back to work."

"Of course, Chief. I'll just meet Gus in the hallway." Sharon grinned as she picked up the lifting cushion and made her way out of the Chief's office.

"Sharon!" Carlton called out to her.

Sharon put the cushion down on the bench outside of the Chief's office and walked over to Carlton's desk.

"Yes, Lassie dear?"

He rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "Can I have my keys back?"

Sharon frowned as she checked her pockets and found his keys. "Oops, sorry Lassie!"

"What did the Chief want, anyways?"

"Oh, she's letting me borrow her Magic Springy Bounce-Up Chair cushion! It's gonna be so helpful at the Psych office!"

"As long as you don't bring yet another thing into my house, it's getting a bit cluttered."

"Hey! You try putting on an extra 20 pounds, mainly around your stomach, and see how uncomfortable ordinary furniture is to sit in!"

"You're right, I'm sorry. Although, do you really need three of those donut cushions in my house? As well as two pineapple shaped body pillows?"

"Well, they were on sale! I got 6 for the price of 3!"

Carlton shook his head. "I guess it could be worse. Looks like Gus is here." He nodded towards the entrance.

Sharon looked over and waved at Gus. "Okay. I'll see you tonight, Lassie."

"Be good!"

"I always try!" Sharon grinned as she went to meet Gus.