Author's Notes: This chapter takes place during S4E5, Shawn Gets the Yips. I was debating whether or not to include this episode, because I wasn't sure if I had enough ideas for it. But I trudged through, and eventually churned out…something.

After the shooting in the cop bar, tensions were high at the precinct. Everyone desperately wanted to catch the shooter. When Buzz revealed a motel key found at the scene, it almost seems too good to be true. Immediately, Carlton and Juliet prepared to head to the scene.

"I'll drive," Juliet said, assuming Carlton still didn't have his car back. The two of them started walking towards the exit.

"No need. I finally got my car back from the shop. It's perfect. I am gonna ask you to sit on a towel though," he told her. At the end of the sentence he quickly tacked on, "No offense".

"Why would I be offended by that?" Juliet sarcastically asked.

They hurried out of the precinct and into his car. Carlton buckled his seatbelt and turned towards Juliet with a smile on his face. "Like I said, perfect, right?"

Juliet shifted around on the towel he must've placed down earlier. "Perfect," she replied to appease him. She idly started fiddling with the edge of the towel.

"You know what, how about I turn on the siren, and then you can really feel how smooth this baby rides". He put his sunglasses on and turned the ignition, grinning over at her.

She tilted her head in confusion at this strange sentence. "Carlton, it's the same car as before. It rides the same".

Carlton's smile faded. "Yeah well…What would you know? You're in the passenger seat". He put the car into reverse and pulled out of his parking spot.

"Only because you won't let me drive," she replied while idly staring out the car window.

A few minutes later, Juliet made a subtle attempt at moving the towel. It felt uncomfortable and strange to sit on. She was grateful there was no double standard, and that Carlton sat on a towel as well.

Carlton's keen eyes caught the movement. "Don't move the towel, O'Hara".

He was rapidly approaching her threshold for tolerance of Carlton-related antics. This is getting absurd, she thought to herself in frustration. "Why do I need to sit on it? What, is the back of my pants dirty?"

A surprised expression formed and froze on his face. "I don't need to be thinking about your butt, O'Hara".

"I said pants, Carlton," she corrected him.

Carlton's heart leaped into his throat. Crap. "No you didn't," he quickly retorted.

"Yes I did," she said while taking stock of his current demeanor. It was not often that Carlton got ruffled in this way, trading his typical stiffness for unguarded panic.

Carlton took a slow breath in and out before speaking again. "Look. I'm sure you're a very clean person".

"Thanks, I guess?" Was there seriously a doubt about her cleanliness?

He finished his statement. "But we just spent a few hours playing softball. We're both bound to have gotten dirty during the game". Carlton didn't want to risk getting any dirt in his currently pristine car.

Juliet just nodded and went silent. She didn't have the energy to continue this strange conversation.

Suddenly Carlton slammed his hand against the wheel. "Damn it".

Juliet looked over at him in bewilderment. "What's the matter?"

"I should've had us taken our shoes off before we got in". Simultaneously, Juliet and Carlton shook their heads, but for altogether different reasons.

Juliet sped towards the site of Carlton's crash, just barely resisting the urge to put the siren on. Her heart was still pounding as she drove, even though she knew Carlton was relatively unharmed. She wanted to get to her partner as soon as possible. What if the shooter came back to finish him off? The thought of losing Carlton was unbearable, and thinking of it again caused her to press harder on the gas pedal. He was such an important person in her life.

At long last she arrived at the scene. A slew of vehicles were there-cop cars, an ambulance, CSU vans, and of course Carlton's wrecked car. He had slammed into a wooden wall. The front of the car was smashed, with a headlight dangling off, and a significant amount of bent metal. A cop was snapping photographs of the damage and surrounding scene. Meanwhile, a tow truck pulled up into position behind the car. Juliet knew Carlton would be pissed about his car having to go into the shop right after he got it back. Speaking of whom…Juliet scanned the area and finally spotted Carlton. He was sitting on the floor of an ambulance, legs dangling off the edge. His fingers drummed impatiently against the wall of the ambulance while a paramedic finished checking him for injuries. Once the paramedic finished up, Carlton leapt down to the ground. He briskly walked past Juliet, not seeming to notice her presence. He was on a determined path towards his crashed car.

"Woah woah Carlton," she called after him.

He didn't stop or even turn his head at the sound of her voice. He just continued walking towards his car, lost in his own thoughts.

She raced to catch up with him, and once she was right behind him grabbed his arm. He stiffly turned round to face her. She released his arm and quickly took him in. His jaw was set in a tight line and he craned his head over his shoulder to get another glimpse of his car.

"Are you alright? Were you hurt?" She anxiously asked him. It was a silly thing to ask-the paramedics had cleared him and he was standing before her, as grumpy as ever. But she felt like she needed it to hear it directly from him.

He ignored her question. "Shooter wrecked my car. And right after I got it out of the shop".

She did a visual scan of him because he hadn't answered her questions. "At least you're alive and unharmed," she said with obvious relief. Today she had come too close to losing a man who was beginning to matter more to her than anyone else in her life.

Carlton had been constantly pestering them about the case. It had proven too much of a distraction, so Juliet, Shawn, and Gus decided to continue investigating the case in the Psych office.

Almost immediately, the topic of pizza came up. But the cordless phone was nowhere in sight, and no one was willing to search for it. So they began reading case files with gurgling stomachs.

About 15 minutes into this, Juliet's phone rang in her pocket, and she pulled it out.

Shawn stared incredulously at her phone. "Wait. Jules, you have your phone on you? Then why are we looking for the cordless? We can just use yours to get pizza".

She quickly responded, "You still should find your phone". Before the call went to voicemail, she pressed the answer button. She had been too distracted by Shawn to check the number, and so answered with an inquisitive "Hello?"

Shawn called over, "Dibs on the phone when you're done".

On the other end of the phone, an all too familiar gruff voice said, "O'Hara. Did you check out Warner yet?" Warner was one of practically a million enemies Carlton had made in the past.

At the same time Carlton was speaking, Gus was reprimanding Shawn. "It's her phone, Shawn. You can't call dibs on it".

Juliet tuned out Shawn and Gus talking in the background. "Oh my God. Carlton? How did you get a hold of a phone?" He was supposed to still be locked in a room with no outside communications. A little harsh in her opinion, but if it kept Carlton safe, then she wouldn't argue. And, y'know, she kind of had to listen to Vick's orders. Her being the Chief and all.

Shawn and Gus were still throwing remarks back and forth. "You're just mad because you didn't call dibs first," Shawn said in a teasing voice while shuffling through some papers. Meanwhile Gus was making a beeline for a bag of Doritos.

In her ear, Carlton spoke again. "I just walked over and used one of the many phones in the precinct". A tad bit of condescension was evident in his tone, but Juliet was used to it by now.

Juliet leaned back a little in her chair. "But you're supposed to be in-"

She was interrupted by a shout from Shawn. "Ah! I've got it!"

Carlton's voice grew excited. "What's Spencer saying? Do you have a lead?"

Spencer was jumping out of his seat, sending papers flying to the floor. He ceremoniously lifted his hand to his head and grimaced.

Juliet's eyes widened at Shawn's rambunctious display. "Uhh. Gotta go. Stay strong, partner!" She hung up the call before Carlton heard anything pertinent to the case. Guilt pooled in her stomach. Didn't he deserve to know who was after him? Wouldn't it be beneficial to know who was trying to kill you? But on the other hand, Carlton likely would go after the criminal himself. She wanted more than anything to keep him out of harm's way. Fear for his safety could not wash out the guilt. Partners told each other the truth, no matter what. Right? Juliet groaned and resisted the sudden urge to slam her head against the table.

Juliet was on her way to Vick's office to share their latest lead. She caught sight of Carlton slumped in seat in the conference room, staring blankly out the window. I have to tell him. He deserves to know. And besides, she felt guilty about hanging on him before and keeping him out of the loop.

She stepped into the room and took the seat across from him. "Hey Carlton," she softly said. After a quick glance towards the officer stationed at the door, she leaned in and whispered, "I've got an update on the case for you".

A little light came into Carlton's eyes and he sat up a little. "Finally". It was difficult to solve a case when you were stuck inside a small room and all the evidence was withheld from you. What he wouldn't do to be out of the streets, hot on the criminal's tail.

"We think that Petrovich is the one trying to kill you," Juliet informed him in a low voice.

His eyes took on a stormy look. "That son of a bitch. Wasn't it enough that he ruined the lives of so many teenagers by getting them hooked on drugs?"

"I can't even begin to understand a man like him. I need to speak with Vick about this lead".

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Carlton replied despondently, expecting Juliet to leave him in the seclusion of the office. He would stay uninformed about further developments about the case.

But Juliet was completely done with keeping this case from him. She quickly told him. "Sneak out to my desk. I'm going to call from Vick's office phone. That way you can hear us discussing the developments in the case".

His eyes widened in surprise and the corners of his lips turned up. "Thank you, O'Hara". He greatly appreciated the lengths she was going to to help him.

And later Juliet felt her decision to defy the Chief was validated when Carlton killed Petrovich. Case closed, Carlton was praised for taking down Petrovich, and all was right again. Carlton went out on his own to inform victims of Petrovich's actions of Petrovich's demise. It felt like the perfect conclusion to the case.

But then a frantic Shawn and Gus approached Juliet, and she knew this was only the beginning of the worst.

Salamatchia kept his gun trained on Carlton, a cold look in his eyes. Salamatchia pushed him forward and he stumbled, barely keeping himself from falling over. Carlton took a slow breath in and relaxed all his muscles, forcing himself to think clearly. He was an experienced cop, dammit, and he would find a way out of this. But no plan came to mind, and slowly he grew resigned to his imminent death.

He hadn't thought that he would go this way. Best case scenario, he would go down in a giant, fiery explosion after exchanging a hailstorm of bullets with the enemy. At the very least, he would be gunned down in the line of duty after performing a heroic act. He wouldn't have gone down from a single shot to the back of the head, submissively kneeling to his captor. Yet here he was. This was his reality. At least it would happen in a cemetery, which would make for an easy burial.

Salamatchia placed his hand on Carlton's shoulder in a tight grip. In what Carlton thought might be his last moments, his family briefly came to mind. Then very rapidly his head was consumed by thoughts of O'Hara. He didn't think about his job, or his ex-wife, or his beloved civil war reenactments. Instead he focused on his beautiful, intelligent partner. The one who somehow had stuck it out with him for 4 years. 4 years of having each other's backs, of making each other laugh, of arguments and silly conversations. 4 long years of keeping Spencer somewhat under control. 4 years of chasing down perps and defending each others' decisions in front of Vick. 4 incredible years full of more emotion than the robotic Carlton had ever felt before. He was a damn Grinch, and O'Hara had forced his heart to grow three sizes.

And this past year or so they had grown exceedingly closer. His mind was filled with many shared moments with O'Hara this past year. O'Hara and him sharing a bed on a Coast Guard ship. Feeling a spark of something between them while apprehending a suspect in a vent. Then his mind jumped to watching a football game with her. Then he recalled her falling asleep on his shoulder on an airplane. And in that same trip she had kissed his cheek on the Kissing Bridge. All special moments that made the danger, taunts of Spencer, and other bullshit from this year worth it.

Carlton had yet to admit to himself what was happening to him. But now, with the Grim Reaper knocking on his door, he could finally think things he had stoutly wouldn't call it love. He was too cynical to call it that, and they were just friendly partners. Admiration for and an emotional attraction to O'Hara-he'd leave it at that.

Salamatchia's left hand was still a heavy weight on his shoulder. Carlton's knees slammed down against the ground as Salamatchia forced him down. Salamatchia proceeded to jam his gun hard against the back of Carlton's skull. It wouldn't be too much longer now. This was the end for Carlton Lassiter. Goodbye, Juliet.

"Freeze!" Juliet shouted.

Great. Not only was he about to die, he was now hallucinating. Wasn't that just peachy.

Salamatchia pulled Carlton back up to standing. He spun the two of them around to face Juliet, Shawn, and Gus. Ok, so maybe I'm not hallucinating, Carlton thought. Unless he and I are participating in a shared delusion…

"Drop it!" Juliet yelled, her gun steadily trained on Salamatchia.

Salamatchia gritted his teeth and then shouted back, "No, you drop it or I'll kill him right now".

Carlton gestured to O'Hara to drop the gun. She slowly placed it on the ground. He could see her confidence wavering as fear began to overtake her.

Thankfully Shawn had the perfect distraction- a cordless phone. It orchestrated enough of a diversion for Carlton to overpower Salamatchia. He tackled the man to the ground. Both Carlton and Juliet pointed their guns at the man. Once close enough, Juliet roughly slapped the cuffs on and yanked Salamatchia up. She guided him over to her car and shoved him into the backseat.

"Lassie-have you heard about Jules' exercise regimen? She dies if she doesn't complete the exercise. Very hardcore, not my cup of tea. But I feel like it's the sort of high-danger thing you'd like"

"I don't die if I don't complete the exercises, Shawn. It's just a mindset, not reality. Although earlier today you seemed to have trouble grasping that concept".

"Well excuse me for thinking my cordless phone was a bomb!" Shawn shook his head and walked towards the car. Gus hurried to catch up to him, leaving Juliet and Carlton alone.

Carlton thought he would be dead by now. Not standing in front of the woman that had completely occupied his "final thoughts". Now standing here, looking at her, he felt an overwhelming sense of affection. He swayed toward her and lowered his head down a little. When he caught her gaze, a jolt of shock raced up his spine. What the hell am I doing? He lifted his head up and took a step away from her. His emotions were all out of whack from the events of the day.

Thinking he was just trying to hug her and had hesitated, she stepped forward to embrace him. She gave him a smile and a quick hug before walking towards the car.

She had misread his intentions completely, and he was relieved for that. Otherwise, she would have known that Carlton Lassiter had idiotically almost tried to kiss her.

End notes: A lot of up-coming episodes in season 4 are very Juliet-oriented. I'm hoping that helps speed the writing process along.