Author's Notes: Takes place during S4e12, "A Very Juliet Episode"

Juliet strained to hear one particular voice through an overlapping chorus of voices and whistling trains. She shifted occasionally on the hard and unforgiving wood bench beneath her. Streams of people with unfamiliar faces hurried throughout the station. Juliet let her gaze shift back and forth between the entrance and the incoming trains. Would he come by train, or some other mode of transportation?

Every time another train chugged into the station, her heart pounded a little faster. But the same empty feeling consumed her each time all the passengers filed out and bypassed her without a glance. At one point, a tall figure with light brown hair stepped into the station through the front entrance. Juliet's head lifted up and she strained to get a view of his face. Finally, she got a clear view, and she slumped down into her seat. It wasn't him. She bitterly watched as a woman ran into his arms, imagining that it was her instead, running into Scott's warm embrace.

After the hands on the large clock on the wall spun fully round twice, Juliet pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed the number she had on speed dial. It rang twice, and then after a click a voice came through.

"Hey, O'Hara," a gruff voice said.

"Hey, Carlton," she responded. She grew quiet, uncertain of where to begin. They'd been partners for four years now, and not once had she brought up Scott. Granted, it hadn't seemed pertinent until now, but still. How could she start to explain the situation to him?

'What's up? Do we have a case? Why didn't Vick call me too?" The questions rapidly followed one another, leaving no time for Juliet to respond to any of them.

"No, no. Umm…can I talk to you about something personal?" She stared down at her shoes, suddenly feeling very awkward.

"Me? You're sure you meant to call me?"

"Yes, Carlton". She rolled her eyes. She could clearly picture the look of incredulity on his face.

He cleared his throat and said, "Well then, shoot".

After taking another moment to gather her thoughts, Juliet did her best to explain what had led to her waiting for over 2 hours in a train station. She tried to keep it short for him and just give him the key points.

After finishing explaining, Juliet took a deep breath of air and exhaled forcefully. "Wow. You must think I'm crazy, waiting around for a guy I haven't seen in 7 years".

"Who am I to judge? That's way more commitment than I've ever had in a relationship," he responded dryly.

10 minutes later…

"I should just leave, right?" She asked him. Did I ask him that already? I can't remember, she thought.

"Yes, that's what I've been saying for the past 10 minutes," Carlton replied with a brief glance at his watch.

Um, not sure how I feel about that response. "Okay…No, no, a couple more minutes. I'll stay".

"O'Hara, if he hasn't shown up by now, he probably won't at all. You don't deserve to be wasting your time on a no-show,". Carlton knew she deserved far better than that, and he would gladly punch any jerk who dared stand her up.

"No you're right you're absolutely right," she told him, but there was no conviction in her tone.

"So you're leaving? O'H-"

Juliet pressed the end call button and shoved her phone into her bag. She plopped her hands into her lap, sighed, and furiously scanned the station for Scott for the 10,000 time that day. There was no way she was leaving if there was even the slimmest chance he would still show.

Carlton sat on the edge of Juliet's desk, listening intently as she caught him up to speed on the Scott situation. "I really do appreciate you being my sounding board through all of this," she told him honestly.

Carlton leaned forward a little. "I want you to listen to me, O'Hara. And believe this, because I mean it from the bottom of my heart ".

She nodded, hoping for some good advice from her partner. After all, he had been right about the fact that she should have left the station sooner.

"All romance ends in despair-or death-but mostly despair. Gut-wrenching despair. And I'm-I hate to say this, but I'm actually happy that this happened, because now you know". He gave her a little smile.

Juliet frowned at him. He's happy that this happened to me? What the hell does that mean?

"And it's just going to make you a better cop to realize that all people are essentially just out there to destroy any chance of happiness you would ever have". He curled his hands into a fist as if he were crushing something.

Oh Carlton, why can't you realize that the world isn't always out to get you. Juliet hoped that he could learn to be a little less cynical over time. Sometimes it felt like when he was with her he was less negative at the very least. Maybe she just had that effect on him. The thought was a little intimidating-after all, why should she have such a noticeable impact on her partner's disposition unless he cared… No. Unless nothing, Juliet.

"Even you?" She asked him.

Carlton looked a little surprised at her question. "No, I would never intentionally hurt you, O'Hara. But you know, sometimes it feels like I accidentally hurt people's feelings without meaning to".

"You're not as bad as you think you are Carlton," she reassured him. Why did he think so poorly of himself?

"Right". He glanced away from her and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

A moment later, he said, "You know what? I think I feel a hug coming on".

He leaned forward and embraced her. She relaxed into his arms, enjoying the warmth of him and their physical closeness.

"Ok, there you go". He pulled away, and Juliet resisted the urge to make a sound of disappointment. Even after he had removed his arms from around her, she could still almost feel the weight of them.

She mulled over his advice a little more. Maybe he's right-not about all romance ending in despair, but sometimes things don't work out the way we expect. I can either wallow in misery or get back to work and keep being the great detective that I am. She stood up to vocalize these thoughts to Carlton. "You know what, you are right. I am not going to sit here and wonder why he didn't show up. I mean I barely remembered the date, how could he?"

"Pssh," he was uncertain what to contribute to her little speech. She seemed in the zone, and he didn't want to interrupt her.

"I am going to get back to work. I have important things to do". Juliet sat back in her chair and spun towards her computer. The sound of clacking keys soon filled the air.

"Ok," Carlton said with a nod. He could clearly feel he was being dismissed. "Glad I could help," he said to her as he headed away from her desk.

Shawn and Gus were standing obtrusively in the middle of the precinct when Carlton walked in-nothing new about that. Nor was their back-and-forth squabbling unexpected. But the guilty look in Shawn's eye and the severe face on Gus were certainly not a common occurrence.

Curious, Carlton went against his typical desire to evade the two guys and asked, "What are you two bickering about?"

Gus redirected his gaze from Shawn to Carlton. "Shawn told Juliet her college boyfriend is dead in the most nonchalant and uncaring manner".

Shawn threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Well I didn't know it was her boyfriend at the time!"

"You should still have a little more sympathy for the dead," Gus said with a disapproving shake of his head.

Carlton couldn't care less about Shawn's morality at the moment. All his brain power was focused on Juliet. This must be hitting her so hard. You don't spend hours waiting for a man if he doesn't matter to you. "Where is she now?" Carlton said in a demanding voice.

Shawn and Gus pointed down a hallway off of the bullpen, and immediately Carlton headed for it. As he walked down the hall, he popped his head into every room he passed (he may have startled a few co-workers with his abrupt appearance in each room). A little ways down the hallway, Carlton entered a small file room. Juliet was huddled against the far wall, her arms crossed over her knees. Her chest rose and fell heavily, and tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. Her jaw quivered a little, and a little sob escaped.

She glanced up at the sound of Carlton's footsteps. After a deep inhale she choked out, "Scott's dead" .

He nodded and crossed the room towards her. He sat down beside her and pulled her in close to his side. As he did so, he felt some of the tension release from her.

"He is-was," she sobbed again, "a good and honest guy. I knew he wouldn't just not show up".

"Deep breaths, O'Hara. Just breathe. You're going to get through this, even if it doesn't feel like it right now". He placed a kiss on the top of her head and pulled her tighter. Screw professionalism and distance, his partner was in emotional pain and he wanted to help her whatever way possible.

McNab's tall frame appeared in the doorway. He spotted Carlton first, and started talking. "Hey boss. I was just…ohhh". He trailed off as he caught sight of a tear-stained Juliet huddled into Carlton's side.

"Go away McNab," he bellowed.

McNab's eyes went wide and he spun around, banging his shoulder on the door frame. He scurried off away from the unexpected scene.

Juliet giggled a little. "Oh Carlton, you're going to give the poor guy a heart attack one day".

They could hear McNab's feet pounding against the floor, quickly fading away. He chuckled along with her. "Yeah, I guess I might".

Shawn, Gus, and Carlton had unsuccessfully attempted to interrogate Juliet about Scott. All their efforts only culminated in Gus' tears and Juliet's departure. No new leads about Scott's suspicious death.

Carlton sprinted outside, hoping to catch up with Juliet. She hadn't made it too far, and was just cutting through the parking lot when he made it down the front steps.

He quickly caught up to her and fell in step with her. "Hey O'Hara. I'm sorry about what happened in there. I guess we're not really sure how to talk to you about this whole Scott situation".

They set a brisk pace away from the station, following a sidewalk lined with a few trees and occupied by many pedestrians out to enjoy the sunny weather.

Juliet looked over at him and smiled sweetly. "It's okay, Carlton. It was actually really nice of you to ask about him. Although asking about his darkest tendencies was a strange first question to ask".

He just shrugged in response and stared at the sidewalk in front of them. They were approaching a playground, where many children were scaling the equipment while parents anxiously watched nearby. A hotdog vendor stood in a prime spot in the corner of the playground, with a decent line of customers in front of him. Some adults strolled along the outside path of the park, just as Carlton and Juliet were doing.

Juliet's gaze turned wistful, and she pulled to a stop on the sidewalk. "He was a wonderful guy. I was crazy about him in college. All of my friends said it was because he was tall. I love tall guys".

Shawn and Gus had been tailing the detectives, hoping to glean some information from Juliet that would help them solve Scott's murders. They stood behind a nearby tree, close enough to hear the detectives' conversation. Shawn whispered to Gus, "What are we talking- like Lassie height, or Buzz height? I need to decide between lifts in my shoes or stilts".

Unaware of the two eavesdroppers, Juliet continued. "But for me it was his heart, his soul".

Carlton shifted a little on his feet and shoved his hands in his pants pockets. "Okay, getting a little too sappy for me here, O'Hara".

"I liked that he was athletic too. He was a football player. Is that too sappy a sentiment for you?"

At her mention of that, a realization smacked him in the head like a ton-no make that 40 tons-of massive concrete bricks. She's attracted to football players…

Carlton's mind flickered back to the football case. Some previously inconsequential moments played through his head at a fast pace, like one of those old films.

"And I don't know. It's just something about that uniform. Mm". Juliet bit her lip and looked towards Carlton, her gaze becoming unfocused.

Had she been imagining him in a football uniform? And later she had even bought him a jersey to wear. Woah-had she been attracted to him then? No, that couldn't have been possible. Besides, even if she had been, it would only have been because she was imagining him as a football player. No interest in the actual person.

"Carlton? Carlton?" Juliet waved a hand in front of his face. When that failed to grab his attention, she started jumping up and down. She even made a few faces at him in the hopes that that would grab the stern detective's attention.

"Dude he's freezing up," Shawn lamented.

"One of us really should have talked to her instead," Gus responded.

Finally Carlton responded. "Huh? What?"

"You dazed out there for a second. Are you alright?" Juliet asked.

"Yeah, yeah fine," he said with a wave of his hand.

Juliet began turning towards where Shawn and Gus were not-so-secretly hiding behind a tree.

Those idiots…What the hell are they doing here? Carlton's heart began to race and he fumbled for any tactic to distract her. "3:00! Man with a gun!" Carlton pointed to his left, in the opposite direction of Shawn and Gus.

"What?" Juliet spun to her right, her hand reaching towards her gun.

Her hand relaxed and moved away from her gun. "Carlton, that's a hot dog".

"Oh. Sorry". Together they watched as the man with the hot dog went over to collect his kids to go home.

"Sometimes you really are too paranoid," she told him.

"Yeah. Should we head back to the precinct?" He asked, subtly looking at Shawn and Gus out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, sure" Juliet spun around in the direction of the precinct and started walking. When he was certain her back was turned, he bent down and picked up a stray rock on the ground. Winding his arm up, he chucked it like a baseball towards the trunk of the tree Gus and Shawn were hiding behind. They stepped out from behind the tree and spread their arms out in a what the hell gesture.

A plan had been enacted to keep Scott safe. Juliet invited him over to his house under the guise of a date, and Carlton would be outside the whole time. Carlton stood by the trunk of a tree on the front lawn, his body mostly concealed by its leaves and branches. He scanned the dark street before him. The only cars present were parked, and the only sounds came from crickets chirping and tv filtering out of people's houses.

Carlton abandoned his position by the tree to circle the outside of Juliet's house. Nothing appeared amiss. No unexpected shadows shifting, no snapping branches or crackling leaves, no clicking noise as a gun's safety was turned off. It was all peaceful and quiet, perhaps a little too quiet. What's going on in there? He suddenly wondered. What if she's not just acting in a professional capacity? He shuffled closer to the side of the house and attempted to peek through the window. The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and Scott and Juliet were not standing in a position to cast any shadows through the window.

Carlton's stomach churned a little. They're having sex, he thought. They closed the curtains so that I couldn't see what was going on. This thought overwhelmed the logical part of his brain that knew keeping the curtains closed was a security measure.

He sprinted past the window, purposely slapping his shoes harshly against the ground. He then kicked at the branches of a bush on the side of the house for a few seconds. After that, he quietly slipped over to the front door and knocked rapidly.

Juliet swung the door open, a gun in her hand.

The lies started spewing out. "It was a male, about 5'8. I chased him off. I don't know how he slipped past me, unless he's a pro. You stay put-I'm going to secure the perimeter".

As he ran off to check the perimeter, what he felt foremost was not guilt for lying. It was stupidity for leaving Scott and Juliet alone once more.

Carlton was blatantly staring at his partner, who was thankfully immersed in her work and did not notice. A few cops wandering around the bullpen certainly did though, and shot some discomforted looks at Carlton.

He thought back to Juliet's reunion with Scott.

Juliet had been in the middle of a sentence, but her words trailed off as Scott stepped into the station. Her eyes lit up with immediate joy and she covered her mouth with her hands. The two just looked at each other for a second, just taking in each other's presence. Then Juliet was running over to Scott and lifting her head up to kiss him. Practically everyone in the precinct who saw the exchange was smiling. But it felt like someone had punched Carlton in the gut. He had to look away from the interaction. Why was this such an upsetting scene to him? If this made her happy, what reason would he have to object? And after a severely in-depth search, Carlton had to concede that Scott was actually an okay guy. But there was something inexplicable about it he didn't like.

He swallowed hard and then took a seat in an extra chair by her desk. At first he couldn't look her in the eye, and instead focused his gaze on her desk. Taking a deep breath, he told her, "I just want you to know that you have my blessing".

"For what?" Juliet inquired.

"To consummate your relationship with Scott," he elaborated. He got the words out quickly as if that would make them burn less.

"Woah Carlton," she said, feeling he was clearly crossing a line here.

"Well you didn't have it before," he petulantly replied. And it was true-he hadn't made up his mind about giving her his approval until about a minute ago.

"What-why not?" Not that she needed his blessing, but what reason could he have had to disapprove of her relationship with Scott?

"That's not important". He shook his head. "But really, what I mean is should this thing work out, this guy's okay in my book".

He leaned his elbow on her desk and looked her straight in the eye. "Look, I don't get to be a confidante all that often, ever, for anybody, 'cause people don't really talk to me. So I wanted to give this careful consideration, and, after a thorough background check and an unauthorized blood test, I get what you see in this guy".

"Hmm," she said, and didn't elaborate further.

"What? You don't seem so sure". Did that come out too happy? I better not be smiling right now.
"I showed up for a cup of coffee, and now he thinks I combed the state for him.

So don't show up anymore, he thought, Problem solved

"I mean, I would think I was a little creepy," she continued.

He smiled at her. You could never be creepy, O'Hara.

She let out a stressed laugh. "It's just a lot to take". She looked away for a moment to regroup her thoughts.

Suddenly the perfect analogy popped into her head. "You know what I feel like? I feel like that scene in Grease".

Carlton's eyes grew wide with excitement. "After the bonfire, when Sandy's sprung on Danny when he least expects it".

Juliet just stared at him with an open-mouthed expression.

"What? I can't see movies too?" He asked her.

"That is spot-on, with scary precision" And not even just the precision was scary. Also the fact that he knew her well enough to know exactly what she was feeling like

"Here's the thing, O'Hara. You haven't seen this guy in like, 7 years. You're both entirely different people". Carlton knew he was a different person from even just 4 years ago, thanks in no small part to O'Hara. "The only way you're gonna know anything is if you get to know each other again. Everything else is pure speculation". As he spoke, he felt an almost physical emotional pain spread throughout his body. He resisted the urge to immediately take back his words of encouragement.

He tried to turn to safer territory. "It's like- wondering what would've happened if Kenickie had driven at Thunder road"

"Are we still on Grease?"

"We never weren't".

She smiled at Carlton. "Thank you, Carlton. You have been such a great help".

He mustered up a semi-smile back at her, but was unable to give her a full grin.

And as he walked back to his desk, with a sharp and painful jolt he realized what it was that was plaguing him. Heartbreak.

Carlton was just settling down on the couch and about to turn on the tv when a knock sounded from the door. He begrudgingly stood up and prepared himself to berate whoever dared disturb his down time.

When the door swung open on its hinges and he saw the person on the opposite side, any and all reprimands died on his tongue.

Juliet looked up at him. Although she wasn't crying, he could clearly see the pain in her eyes. "Hey, mind if I come in?"

"Sure. What happened?" He asked with a sense of foreboding.

She stepped past him into the apartment and went to sit down on his couch. "Scott's gone, again. Off on another train, without me". It felt like deja vu, seeing him waving from the window of a train. Knowing she may never see him again, and if she did, it would be a long time before that moment arrived. Understanding that a man she really cared about was leaving her for far-off places.

"Geez. That's rough, having to go through that twice". He took a seat next to her on the couch.

"History repeats itself, huh?" She lamely joked while picking at a stray thread on her shirt.

"I know it's very difficult now, and this is probably going to haunt you for a while. But you can move on, and I know you will. I know from experience-it's a long, hard path, but it does have an end". He had lapsed with Victoria a few times. A prime example was when he sent her some figurines, only to have them sent right back. He kept desperately trying to fix things, all the while Victoria had no interest in fully healing their relationship. But once he signed the divorce papers, he understood it was over for good. And in a way, he felt freer after that. He was no longer scrambling to hold onto something hopeless.

"But how do I start down that path?" She honestly asked.

"Well you could always shoot a few of his valuables," he responded.

She laughed at the reference. "Might be hard since he and all of his valuables are halfway across the country by now".

"Right, right". Carlton grew quiet, uncertain of what else to say here.

Juliet simply studied Carlton for a few moments. They had become increasingly closer over the past year or so. The Carlton she had first met four years ago would never have sat here discussing relationships with her (let alone told her where she lived). And if she was being honest with herself, she knew she was capable of moving on from Scott. But she didn't think she would ever be able to move on from Carlton if he had left. He was her best friend, her support system, and her partner all wrapped into one. She couldn't think of a more important man in her life. She thought of how she had been attracted to him during the Chavez case. And she still felt a little prickle of jealousy every time she thought of Barbara. She could recall the warm feel of his arms around her at the docks after Ewan's arrest, transferring strength to her when it felt like she didn't have any left.

She took in a deep inhale and released it forcefully before speaking. "I think some part of me has been holding onto Scott all these years. I kept hoping we'd both have it together enough after 7 years to find a way to be together. Maybe that stopped me from realizing something else".

"What's that?" He asked curiously.

She leaned in towards Carlton until their lips were close together. Just before they touched, she hesitated, and moved her head to kiss him lightly on the cheek instead.

"O'Hara…" Carlton said in a warning tone, but it only came out a whisper.

Juliet's lower lip quivered and her breathing quickened. "I'm sorry, Carlton, I don't know what I was thinking. Oh gosh, I should probably go". As she stood up, her lips quirked upwards slightly, not quite reaching a smile. "See ya tomorrow, partner," she said before quickly pivoting towards the door.

Carlton's mouth was slightly ajar as he blanky watched her. A second later, he took a step forward. "O'Hara, wait". She turned back towards him. "I thought you had better aim than that".

"Huh?"

He stepped forward and grabbed her waist before kissing her fully on the mouth.

Juliet's heart skipped a beat the moment his lips touched hers. She closed her eyes and quickly began kissing him back. Her hands moved up into the hair on the back of his head.

Carlton felt that same spark of attraction he'd felt in the vents that day. It jolted straight through him, leaving a peaceful joy in its wake. He kissed her harder, for the moment forgetting all the consequences this would bring later. All that mattered was the wonderful feeling of kissing her, and the fact that she was fervently kissing him back.

The kiss lasted probably 30 seconds before Carlton was pulling away. He took a large step back, and then another one for good measure. "No, no this is wrong. Your emotions are all over the place from Scott, and we're partners for crying out loud".

"I-uh…" Juliet scrambled for something, anything, to say.

Eyes flitting around the room like a caged wild animal, Carlton informed her, "I'm gonna go".

Juliet finally found her voice. "Shouldn't I go? Don't forget, this is your apartment!"

While she was speaking, Carlton had made it over to the door and had swung it wide open. "You can keep it! I can get another one," he replied without turning back. He slammed the door shut behind him.

Juliet shakily lowered herself down onto the couch. An internal dialogue played out in her head as she stared at the door Carlton had exited through.

Did I just kiss Carlton?

Yes.

Shit.

Did I like it?

Hell yeah.

Double shit.

End Notes:

I must give credit where it's due- Part of the final dialogue is inspired by two scenes from Community:

"Shouldn't I go? This is your house!"

"You can keep it! I can get another one," he replied without turning back. He slammed the door shut behind him.

S1e09

Annie: "Oh you forgot your phone!"

Jeff: "Oh I can get another one".

and

S1e011

Sabrina: "But this is your car!"

Jeff: "Keep it!"