FIC: "Right Place, Wrong Time" by Regann - PG-13/R - Shawn/Lassiter (21/21)
Title: Right Place, Wrong Time (21/21)
Author: Regann
Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: This story was begun just after the end of Season 1, and makes no reference to events in Season 2 or 3. Also, this is the end of the story, my friends.
Summary: 17-year-old Shawn has a fake ID burning a hole in his pocket, a college party to crash, and a mission to stop being the only virgin in his senior class. Unfortunately, there's this big-earred, good-doing grad student by the name of Carlton who catches him in the act. The unfair nature of cosmic humor being what it is, thus begins something that'll come back to haunt them both over ten years later -- when an adult Shawn Spencer decides to give psychic investigation a try.
Past Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
Right Place, Wrong Time (Part 21)
Shawn wasn't sure if it was their phenomenal arrest record or the commendation the team had received from the mayor, but Chief Vick was in one hell of a good mood when Christmas finally rolled around, so much so that she threw a more private holiday bash a few days after the departmental one -- one to which he, Gus and Henry had been cordially invited.
Lassy and Jules were there, too, along with some of the Chief's personal friends and Shawn couldn't help but be touched that she liked him enough to acknowledge him in front of non-work people. Of course, he figured most of her fondness was probably due to her rekindled friendship with his father, but he'd take what he could get.
The day of Vick's party marked the 42th-day anniversary of his thing with Carlton, if he counted from around Halloween when they'd finally tried to set things straight between them. While that might not have seemed like very long to most people, it had already passed every one of Shawn's relationship records and was even more extraordinary since he had no plans to hop on his bike and jump town.
There was only one little blemish on his and Lassy's monogamous bliss and that was their shared terror in what to do next. So far, a grand total of one person besides the two of them knew they were even together and that was only because Shawn couldn't hide the well-laid look from a friend like Gus; he'd just known him too long for it. The point wasn't so much that they wanted other people to know -- Lassy seemed as apprehensive about the idea as Shawn did -- but they both knew if there was going to be any chance of longevity to their thing, it had to be handled eventually, probably sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, they both agreed that "sooner" was a very relative term and basically described a time at which they could no longer keep it a secret.
Shawn was all for secrets; he was still keeping more than he could count from Lassy and that was even after the heartfelt confession part of their thing. One of those secrets happened to be the truth behind his psychic-ness -- not that Carlton really believed him. But secret-keeping was more difficult than he wanted it to be when everyone he knew was jammed into one room and plied with alcohol for hours.
And that was the one downside of the Chief's party.
He was on his best behavior but he knew that that wasn't anyone's definition of stellar conduct. Still, so far he'd kept himself away from trouble, mostly by keeping himself away from Carlton and away from the liquored-up eggnog.
If his father hadn't been there, Shawn's worry would've been negligible, but Henry's involvement in anything tended to ratchet up the tension for him. Part of it was general Spencer-family issues, but the other part of it was that Henry Spencer was a damn good detective who didn't need much in the way of clues to ferret out his son's secrets.
And his son's biggest secret was standing ten feet away from them, talking with the Chief's husband, generally being irresistible to Shawn by doing nothing at all.
Shawn was pulled back from his wandering thoughts by the Chief, who made her way to the Spencer-Guster cluster.
"Good evening, Henry, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster," she said, smiling. The Chief looked good, Shawn noticed. She looked...softer than she did at work, more relaxed than Shawn had ever seen her. And she seemed to genuinely be glad to see them -- well, Henry -- if her smile was any indication.
"Hey, if it isn't my favorite Interim Chief," Shawn said in greeting, lifting his glass of eggnog in silent salute. "This is one heck of a rockin' party!"
"I'm glad you approve, Mr. Spencer," she said, lifting her eyebrow in her usual faintly ironic way.
Henry, more jovial than made Shawn comfortable, leaned forward and gave Vick a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Kid's right, Karen," he said. "And that little girl of yours...cute as a button."
"Thanks, Henry."
Shawn tuned out the love fest going on between his boss and his father, and felt his eyes wander across the room, back in Lassy's direction. The last few days had not been the best for them, time-wise, and they'd spent more time talking on the phone than they had in each other's company. Shawn blamed that separation -- brought on by a rotating stakeout on Carly's part, and a private case on Shawn's -- for the fact that he couldn't keep his mind off Lassy.
Deciding that he could blame any outrageous behavior on the over-spiked eggnog, Shawn broke off from Henry, the Chief, and Gus, who were currently discussing...medical insurance? Shawn shook his head, ditched the boring grown-up types, and slinked through the milling partygoers until he reached Lassy and Jules.
"Jules!" he enthused, arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "You look hot! Like a girl, even!"
While most people wouldn't have considered that much of a compliment, Juliet spoke his language well enough to take it the right way. "Well, thank you, Shawn," she said, grinning, posing a little to show off her snug, red, wraparound dress. "Glad you noticed."
"Well, I didn't at first," he said, eyes light with mischief. "But Gus? He couldn't stop talking about how great you looked."
Juliet's eyes went wide, and Shawn decided if his hunch played right, he wouldn't be owing Gus anything for Christmas this year. The junior detective shot a quick glance at her partner, who Shawn had been purposely ignoring since he walked over. "Carlton, do you mind if I...?" She wiggled her fingers in Gus's direction.
Lassy sighed. "Knocked yourself out, O'Hara," he told her.
She smiled at both of them and dashed off.
Shawn turned his eyes to Lassy. "And good evening to you...Detective."
"I thought we were keeping our distance tonight, Spencer," Lassy said through gritted teeth.
"I tried, but you're just too magnetic, Carly," he said, batting his eyelashes in an astounding mockery of his usual flirtatious manner. "Couldn't help myself."
Carlton had been exposed to him enough in the last 42 days that he only reacted to Shawn by rolling his eyes and sighing. "Why do I think that Guster hasn't mentioned O'Hara's dress once tonight?"
"He...would've," Shawn said. "If he hadn't been too busy drooling."
"I can't believe you're trying to play matchmaker with Guster and O'Hara," Carlton said.
Shawn noticed that Carlton didn't look directly at him, probably for the same reason Shawn couldn't stop looking at Lassy. He was feeling the separation, too, and he was fighting the desire to drag Shawn home to bed -- or let Shawn drag him. They were both showing remarkable amounts of self-control that evening.
Shawn found it endearing, and sidled closer, whispered in Lassy's ear. "Just think of all the time we wouldn't have to worry about Gus being around if he's off sparking with Jules somewhere. Just think of the alone time we could have, you know, at the office." Shawn knew it was his kink to have sex at the Psych office, but obviously he'd explained it in enough detail before that the mention made Carlton's breath hitch.
"Shawn, I swear, if we're going to make it through tonight, you are going to have to behave." The words were strangled, frustrated, quite serious.
Shawn just grinned. "Oh, Carly, you're so gonna change your mind about that."
**
Having a "thing" with Shawn Spencer had turned out to be as chaotic, nerve-wrecking, and generally insane as Carlton had always worried it would be but he had yet to feel one moment of regret over that fact. Of course, it had only been forty-some-odd days, but then Carlton also felt like it had been years and years; he was, obviously, too far gone to be affected by common sense at this point.
Carlton was affected enough, however, to know that if he wanted to make it through Vick's Christmas party without outing them both in a very humiliating way, he needed to stay as far away from Shawn as possible. After Shawn had come around purring in his ear, Carlton had beat a hasty retreat, working his way into a group of schmucks from City Hall whose idiocy was a welcome distraction. He eventually moved on, circling the room in such a way that he avoided Shawn as much as possible.
It was by some terrible sequence of events that Carlton eventually ended up with Henry Spencer and Guster.
As much as he'd enjoyed Henry as a fishing companion, Carlton had eased off that friendship as soon as he and Shawn had started up again. Knowing that Henry was the faceless, nameless cop he'd feared as a young man, and knowing that they were both deliberately not telling Shawn's father about their relationship ended any fun Carlton could've had with the man. He didn't have that kind of brass, not even as a almost-forty-year-old-man.
Still Henry was friendly enough with him, and the eggnog had helped lubricate the social situation, as they say. After the two exchanged the usual pleasantries, the camaraderie had been comfortable enough Carlton didn't feel the need to dash off -- even if Guster was smirking at him every time he glanced over.
"I hope that son of mine isn't driving you too crazy," Henry said conversationally.
Carlton somehow kept a straight face even as Guster started choking on his eggnog. "We've reached a truce of sorts for the moment."
"Don't let him give you too much hell, Carlton," Henry advised. "He can be a handful -- I know."
Carlton shot Guster a look when he choked once again on his drink. The cop could only imagine the color Shawn's partner-in-crime would have in his face if his dark skin didn't mask it.
Henry searched the room with his eyes, looking for his errant son. He finally spied him in one of the corners, having a lively conversation with O'Hara under the mistletoe. He shook his head. "You better watch it, Gus," he said, pointing the pair out with his glass. "It looks like Shawn is trying to put the moves on that girl you were making eyes at earlier."
Carlton couldn't tell if Guster was embarrassed by Henry's casual remarks about his feelings for O'Hara, but he figured the guy had to be immune from it as long as he'd known Shawn. Instead, Guster cut an amused glance in Carlton's direction before he answered. "I'm not worried, sir," he said. "I'm pretty sure Shawn has got his eyes on someone else."
Henry snorted. "Like that matters with Shawn."
"No, I think it's definitely pretty serious this time," Guster told him.
Carlton had to fight off a little smirk at Guster's belief in the statement.
"Yeah, right," Henry snorted again. "The last time Shawn took any romance seriously, he was -- what? -- 17 or so? He spent that whole summer mooning over someone named Carly."
Carlton and Guster shared a look of companionable, horrified surprise. "He told you about that?" Guster sputtered.
Henry shot him an 'are you out of your mind?' look that Carlton had seen on Shawn a time or two. "What? No! Of course not, but I was around, kid. I know the two of you thought I was completely oblivious, but you weren't exactly pros at keeping your voices down. I couldn't help but hear him whine over Carly, and then you bitch at him for whining over her."
"Uh, wow." was Guster's brilliant reply. Carlton just downed the rest of his eggnog.
"And since that's the only time I've really heard him whine over some girl and I never even saw her?" Henry made a vague gesture with his hands. "Shawn wouldn't know serious if it bit him on the ass."
Guster couldn't keep in his laughter at that, even though there seemed to be a thin edge of hysteria to it. Carlton was glad he'd finished his drink already, or else he'd be choking on it the way he was Henry's words.
Brandishing his empty eggnog like a weapon, he excused himself from the conversation and beat another hasty retreat.
**
Gus really hadn't been looking forward to the Chief's party that much, if only because he felt miserable being the only person in the room who knew about Shawn and Lassiter -- especially when they made goopy eyes at each other across the floor that made him want to beat their hands in and confess to the world so Gus could stop feeling the burden of the secret on him.
It was especially difficult when Shawn expected him to babysit his father all night. Gus liked Henry, always had, but the man was scary as hell, and Gus did not hold up well under interrogation. He knew if Shawn's dad got one whiff of suspicion, he'd turn his evil powers on Gus and that would be that.
The party, however, surprised him, and so far he was having a great time. First had been the sight of Jules in her hot-damn dress, then she'd come over and worked it. Gus had earned some good-natured ribbing from Henry about it, but he could tell Mr. Spencer approved of his current choice of lady friend. Juliet was hot, like comic books, and carried a gun. Gus was pretty sure he could fall for that if he could work up the nerve to do something about it.
Second, he'd never had as much fun at Lassiter's expense as he had watching him react to Henry's bent recollection of Shawn's summer of "Carly." For a second, he'd been worried, too, but once he'd realized how off Henry was about one certain thing -- gender -- it had been a gleeful exchange, for him, anyway. Lassiter had looked like he was about to pass out before he slunk off. Gus loved it.
In fact, he was still laughing to himself about it when Shawn decided join them again. He was a little red in the face, but Gus figured he'd gotten it from the dancing he'd been doing with one of the hot legal secretaries Vick had invited from her old job at City Hall.
"Hey!" he announced, swinging arm around Gus's shoulders and ignoring the knowing look on Henry's face.
"Did you have fun kissing every girl in the room?" he asked sarcastically.
"Not every girl," he amended. "I still haven't managed to catch our esteemed hostess under the leaves and berries."
"And you won't," Henry told him. "Karen's sharper than any move you're packing, pal."
"Yeah, she used to work with you, right?" Shawn was leering comically, layering on the innuendo. "I keep meaning to ask you about that."
Henry looked a little horrified. "About what?"
"About how chummy you are with the Chief," Shawn said.
"We're friends."
"You kissed her when we got here."
"It was a friendly kiss!"
"Sure, Dad, sure." Shawn gave him a broad wink and Henry glared at him. Gus knew his friend was only doing it to piss Henry off -- the thought of his dad with anyone but his mom sent him into hysterics, but Shawn would play anything to rile his dad in moments like this.
When Henry didn't respond out loud, Shawn gave up. Instead, he crowded in next to Gus, and asked, "I thought I saw Carly over here a minute ago. Any idea where he went?"
"I think he needed a refill," Gus said. "So maybe the kitchen?"
Henry eyed them both. "Are you talking about Carlon Lassiter?"
"Uh, yeah, Dad," Shawn said, in a perfect regression to his 17-year-old self. "What was your first clue?"
Henry's eyes were narrowing, which was never a good sign. "You call him Carly?"
Shawn shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It's his name, and he gets offended by Lassy for some reason I can't figure out...."
"Doesn't that, I don't know, bring up bad associations for you?"
"I think it brings 'em up for him, which is why he doesn't like to be called Lassy, like the dog."
"No, I meant Carly. You know -- Carly. Like that...old friend...of yours."
Shawn was confused, but Gus was catching up fast and his eyes widened.
"Dad, I don't know anybody else named Carly."
"Sure you do."
"No," Shawn said. "I don't. A biker named Curly, sure, but no other Carlys but Carlton Lassiter. It's what I've always called him."
Gus watched as that look he'd been afraid of all night passed over Henry's face. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, really." Shawn shook his head. "Dad, I think you need to lay off the drunk punch, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, he headed off, no doubt in search for Lassiter.
Gus wanted to open his mouth and call him back, but he couldn't work it properly.
Henry had that look pinned on him, and Gus knew what was coming.
Suddenly, the party sucked.
**
Juliet was enjoying herself immensely at Chief Vick's party, but she needed a breather after the last half-hour. Not only had Shawn managed to embarrass her thoroughly by kissing her -- and everyone else -- under the mistletoe, but he'd then persuaded her to join in the impromptu dancing he'd started. It had been great fun, but now she was overly warm, stifled by the room.
She headed through the kitchen, toward where she knew the Vicks had a back deck. It actually wrapped around to the living room as well, but she couldn't stomach pushing through the partygoers to reach the glass doors they had opened for that purpose. She just wanted a few minutes in the cool air before she dove back in for the rest of the evening.
Juliet was about to step out onto the darkened deck when she heard a vaguely familiar voice speak. "Lassiter."
She couldn't place the voice, but it clicked into place when she heard her partner's reply. "Henry."
Through some instinct, Juliet stayed just outside the back door, peering at the two men from behind its obscured safety. She didn't want to walk out into a private conversation, and something told her that was what she had stumbled upon.
"I had an interesting talk with my son earlier this evening," Henry said. "Seems he calls you...Carly."
"Among other things."
"But what was funny was he didn't have any recollection of that Carly chick I mentioned to you earlier tonight."
"Real funny."
Juliet had never heard Carlton sound so wary before, not anytime she'd heard him speak. She didn't understand the import of the conversation at all but the tone of her partner's voice warned her she was missing something.
"Then I had a chat with Gus," Henry continued. Juliet could barely make out their forms from her hiding place, two dark figures against the dim, starlit night. "And he started spouting nonsense that I still haven't deciphered, but it left me with the impression that you were the one I needed to talk to."
"Henry, if you have a question, I suggest you ask it."
"Any reason Shawn says he only knows one Carly and that's you, even though I know as good as I stand here that there was a Carly who he moped over for months when he was a kid?"
"Yes, there's a reason."
Juliet thought both men were acting very strangely, but she couldn't figure out why. She knew she was still missing some piece of the puzzle.
"I think you should be sharing it about now." Shawn had never sounded as menacing as his father did with that one sentence, and she doubted her goofy friend would ever be able to.
In the darkness, she could see Lassiter turn toward Henry, straightening to his full, lanky height. It was something she'd seen him do on the job, knew he was gathering himself for a confrontation. She waited. Finally, he spoke. "It's not difficult to work out."
"The only thing I can think of, other than that my son has developed some kind of weird selective memory loss which I highly doubt, is that there is only one "Carly" and --"
"Jules! What are you doing?" Shawn's whisper in her ear scared Juliet out of her skin, and she reacted as any sane woman in her position: she bit back a squeal and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Your dad and Lassiter are having a very weird conversation about you and somebody named Carly out on the deck," she whispered.
Shawn's eyes widened and he gestured for her to remove her hand from his mouth. He didn't say anything, but squashed in with her behind the door, obviously listening.
"I can't say you're wrong about that, Henry," Lassiter was saying when Juliet refocused on them. She felt less like a eavesdropper with Shawn as unashamedly interested as her. "I'm not going to lie."
There was a long pause. "He was 17, Lassiter." Henry's voice vibrated with anger. "And you were quite a bit older."
"I know." His words were quiet, and Juliet was surprised at the sadness in them. She glanced at Shawn to see if he understood the conversation, but his expression was so uncharacteristically serious, she didn't dare distract him.
"And now?" Shawn's father asked.
"He's an adult," Lassiter said. Shawn tensed at her side. "And we've finally...figured it out."
"Have you now?" Henry still sounded scary and Juliet was still as confused as she'd been from the start.
Shawn squeezed out from behind her and stepped out on the deck before she realized his intent. "Dad, give it a rest, will ya?"
Since Shawn knew she was there, Juliet risked edging around the door to more clearly see the three of them. Both Henry and Carlton were staring at Shawn, who was glaring at his father, arms crossed.
"Maybe you can clarify a few points for me, then, Shawn," Henry said, crossing his arms in the exact same fashion.
Shawn and Lassiter exchanged an unreadable glance before Shawn finally answered. "Like what? Like, Carlton's the Carly which you've already figured out? Or did you mean what he was saying about now? Because, yeah, we're sleeping together. Again."
Juliet had the last piece of the puzzle, finally. It just made her wonder if she'd lost her mind along the way. Shawn and Lassiter? Her mind was blown.
She must've made a noise of surprise because someone new answered. "Me too, girl. Me, too," Gus whispered behind her, reassuring hand on her shoulder. She was grateful for his solid support while the world tilted dangerously around her. Shawn and Carlton having sex?!
"Guster said you were serious now," Henry said to Shawn. "He telling the truth?"
"Does Gussypants ever lie?" Shawn replied. "Especially to you?"
Henry conceded with a nod. "This is insane, Shawn, on so many levels."
"Merry Christmas, Dad."
Henry didn't reply, but turned to glare at Lassiter. "Shawn is an adult, and I can't say anything about what he does now."
Lassiter nodded tightly.
"You just better be glad I never found out then."
"I know."
"As fun as all this is, can we go back to the party before someone notices we're all gone?" Shawn gestured to include Juliet and Gus in the doorway. Juliet pinked when the two other men realized she was there.
"Sure, I don't want to ruin Karen's party," Henry said. He glanced at Lassiter. "There's just one more thing."
Lassiter looked at him. "Yes?"
Before anyone knew what was happening, Henry Spencer landed a very heavy right to Lassiter's face, which sent the detective stumbling toward the ground. Juliet squeaked again -- she thought Gus did, too. Lassiter managed to right himself, and lift a hand to his already-purpling face. "I guess I deserved that."
Shawn huffed and headed over to Carlton's side, looping one of the detective's arms around his shoulders for support. "Dad, as much as it means to me that you're proving your fatherly love and concern through violence, I'd be a lot more appreciative if you didn't beat up my boyfriend, okay?"
Just when Juliet thought the whole mess couldn't get any worse, another voice rang out, strong and clear.
"What in the hell is going on here? And why did Henry just punch my head detective?"
They all turned to see the Chief glaring at the lot of them.
Shawn grinned and pulled Lassiter closer. "Well, Dad, I think that's your cue."
Gus and Juliet exchanged glances.
Suddenly, the night was no longer looking very bright.
**
"We are never ever ever going to any parties ever again," Shawn announced as he came out of Carlton's kitchen carrying a bag of frozen peas. "Ever."
Carlton had his head tilted against the back of the sofa, hoping to relieve some of the pounding in it. "That's what you say now, but I know you better than that."
"Nope, it's a rule now. Never again." Shawn plopped down next to him, somehow arranging himself so that one leg dangled over Carlton's as he gently applied the bag of peas to the left side of Carlton's face.
Carlton winced as the cold hit the bruise he knew he was going to have. "I'm not that lucky."
"You're very lucky," Shawn disagreed. "Dad left his brass knuckles at home."
Carlton chuckled in spite of himself, wincing at the pain it sent through his head. "Not lucky enough."
"I don't know..." Shawn ran his practiced hands over Carlton's shirt-clad shoulders, digging in masseuse-like at all the right points. Carlton groaned and Shawn grinned. "I came home with you. That says something."
"You mean other than the fact I'm a masochist?"
Shawn's lips trailed down toward Carlton's ear. "We haven't played that game yet, Carly, and I don't think you're up for it tonight."
Carlton stopped himself from laughing to save himself added pain in his face.
Shawn watched him for a moment. "The peas gonna be enough?"
"It's about all I can do," Carlton admitted. "Your dad packs one hell of a punch."
"Don't I know it?" Shawn said.
"I didn't plan for him to find out that way."
"Me neither, but at least it's done," Shawn said. "And, hey, we broke the news to Jules and the Chief at the same time. One stone, lotsa birds."
"Don't remind me," Carlton groaned.
"Do you feel better now?" Shawn asked, and for a moment Carlton thought he meant now that Shawn was making himself comfortable on him, which would have been a resounding YES. "Is that boatload of guilt gone now that you've confessed your terrible old sins and had the crap knocked out of you for it?"
Carlton seriously considered Shawn's question. Did he felt better now that Henry knew? Now that he'd actually suffered some ramifications from his past behavior that wasn't the frustrating-but-good fortune to have Shawn back in his life?
"Actually, yes," he finally said. "I do."
Shawn removed the melting bag of peas and ran light fingers down the side of his face. "I hope it was worth it because you're going to be black and blue tomorrow."
Carlton wrapped his arms around Shawn. "I think it's a fair trade, although this was not how I wanted to spend the evening with you."
"The night's still young, and you're only a little banged up," Shawn said, punctuating his words with brushes of his mouth against Carlton's. "I can work with this."
"Can you now?"
Shawn kissed him again, long and hard, and Carlton didn't notice the sparks of pain flaring in his face thanks to the sparks of pleasure flaring down his chest as Shawn worked at the buttons of his shirt. He slid his hands up under Shawn's shirt, also seeking warm, bare flesh.
"Oh, Lassy you have no idea."
"Actually, I think I do," he told him. "And it was worth it. Everything was."
Carlton caught a glimpse of Shawn's smile before he kissed him again. "I couldn't agree with you more, Carly."
The End.
Author's Notes: I know I have the wackiest update schedule known to man, but I finally had the inspiration to finish this. Thanks for that goes to badluck97 who gave me the challenge to finish it yesterday, and, of course, pookaseraph who had deep discussions with me about the plot when we went to catch 'em all earlier this month. I know a lot of this story no longer meshes with Season 2 canon, but I hope it's still been an enjoyable read for you all.
The story really ended in the last chapter, but I wanted to tie up the loose ends -- namely, Henry. If I got a little silly and mentioned all my favorite Psych pairings in it as well...a girl's gotta have some fun, right? There are some other stories I want to tell in the universe -- the return of Rodney, the appearence of *my* version of the ex-Mrs. Lassiter, to start -- and I hope that I'll be able to do that sometime soon, if people are interested in them.
Thanks so much for reading through all 21 parts, and for leaving me the positive feedback that kept me working on it for so long. I adore every comment I get!
~ Regann (30 June 2008)
Author: Regann
Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: This story was begun just after the end of Season 1, and makes no reference to events in Season 2 or 3. Also, this is the end of the story, my friends.
Summary: 17-year-old Shawn has a fake ID burning a hole in his pocket, a college party to crash, and a mission to stop being the only virgin in his senior class. Unfortunately, there's this big-earred, good-doing grad student by the name of Carlton who catches him in the act. The unfair nature of cosmic humor being what it is, thus begins something that'll come back to haunt them both over ten years later -- when an adult Shawn Spencer decides to give psychic investigation a try.
Past Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
Right Place, Wrong Time (Part 21)
Shawn wasn't sure if it was their phenomenal arrest record or the commendation the team had received from the mayor, but Chief Vick was in one hell of a good mood when Christmas finally rolled around, so much so that she threw a more private holiday bash a few days after the departmental one -- one to which he, Gus and Henry had been cordially invited.
Lassy and Jules were there, too, along with some of the Chief's personal friends and Shawn couldn't help but be touched that she liked him enough to acknowledge him in front of non-work people. Of course, he figured most of her fondness was probably due to her rekindled friendship with his father, but he'd take what he could get.
The day of Vick's party marked the 42th-day anniversary of his thing with Carlton, if he counted from around Halloween when they'd finally tried to set things straight between them. While that might not have seemed like very long to most people, it had already passed every one of Shawn's relationship records and was even more extraordinary since he had no plans to hop on his bike and jump town.
There was only one little blemish on his and Lassy's monogamous bliss and that was their shared terror in what to do next. So far, a grand total of one person besides the two of them knew they were even together and that was only because Shawn couldn't hide the well-laid look from a friend like Gus; he'd just known him too long for it. The point wasn't so much that they wanted other people to know -- Lassy seemed as apprehensive about the idea as Shawn did -- but they both knew if there was going to be any chance of longevity to their thing, it had to be handled eventually, probably sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, they both agreed that "sooner" was a very relative term and basically described a time at which they could no longer keep it a secret.
Shawn was all for secrets; he was still keeping more than he could count from Lassy and that was even after the heartfelt confession part of their thing. One of those secrets happened to be the truth behind his psychic-ness -- not that Carlton really believed him. But secret-keeping was more difficult than he wanted it to be when everyone he knew was jammed into one room and plied with alcohol for hours.
And that was the one downside of the Chief's party.
He was on his best behavior but he knew that that wasn't anyone's definition of stellar conduct. Still, so far he'd kept himself away from trouble, mostly by keeping himself away from Carlton and away from the liquored-up eggnog.
If his father hadn't been there, Shawn's worry would've been negligible, but Henry's involvement in anything tended to ratchet up the tension for him. Part of it was general Spencer-family issues, but the other part of it was that Henry Spencer was a damn good detective who didn't need much in the way of clues to ferret out his son's secrets.
And his son's biggest secret was standing ten feet away from them, talking with the Chief's husband, generally being irresistible to Shawn by doing nothing at all.
Shawn was pulled back from his wandering thoughts by the Chief, who made her way to the Spencer-Guster cluster.
"Good evening, Henry, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster," she said, smiling. The Chief looked good, Shawn noticed. She looked...softer than she did at work, more relaxed than Shawn had ever seen her. And she seemed to genuinely be glad to see them -- well, Henry -- if her smile was any indication.
"Hey, if it isn't my favorite Interim Chief," Shawn said in greeting, lifting his glass of eggnog in silent salute. "This is one heck of a rockin' party!"
"I'm glad you approve, Mr. Spencer," she said, lifting her eyebrow in her usual faintly ironic way.
Henry, more jovial than made Shawn comfortable, leaned forward and gave Vick a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Kid's right, Karen," he said. "And that little girl of yours...cute as a button."
"Thanks, Henry."
Shawn tuned out the love fest going on between his boss and his father, and felt his eyes wander across the room, back in Lassy's direction. The last few days had not been the best for them, time-wise, and they'd spent more time talking on the phone than they had in each other's company. Shawn blamed that separation -- brought on by a rotating stakeout on Carly's part, and a private case on Shawn's -- for the fact that he couldn't keep his mind off Lassy.
Deciding that he could blame any outrageous behavior on the over-spiked eggnog, Shawn broke off from Henry, the Chief, and Gus, who were currently discussing...medical insurance? Shawn shook his head, ditched the boring grown-up types, and slinked through the milling partygoers until he reached Lassy and Jules.
"Jules!" he enthused, arms wide in a welcoming gesture. "You look hot! Like a girl, even!"
While most people wouldn't have considered that much of a compliment, Juliet spoke his language well enough to take it the right way. "Well, thank you, Shawn," she said, grinning, posing a little to show off her snug, red, wraparound dress. "Glad you noticed."
"Well, I didn't at first," he said, eyes light with mischief. "But Gus? He couldn't stop talking about how great you looked."
Juliet's eyes went wide, and Shawn decided if his hunch played right, he wouldn't be owing Gus anything for Christmas this year. The junior detective shot a quick glance at her partner, who Shawn had been purposely ignoring since he walked over. "Carlton, do you mind if I...?" She wiggled her fingers in Gus's direction.
Lassy sighed. "Knocked yourself out, O'Hara," he told her.
She smiled at both of them and dashed off.
Shawn turned his eyes to Lassy. "And good evening to you...Detective."
"I thought we were keeping our distance tonight, Spencer," Lassy said through gritted teeth.
"I tried, but you're just too magnetic, Carly," he said, batting his eyelashes in an astounding mockery of his usual flirtatious manner. "Couldn't help myself."
Carlton had been exposed to him enough in the last 42 days that he only reacted to Shawn by rolling his eyes and sighing. "Why do I think that Guster hasn't mentioned O'Hara's dress once tonight?"
"He...would've," Shawn said. "If he hadn't been too busy drooling."
"I can't believe you're trying to play matchmaker with Guster and O'Hara," Carlton said.
Shawn noticed that Carlton didn't look directly at him, probably for the same reason Shawn couldn't stop looking at Lassy. He was feeling the separation, too, and he was fighting the desire to drag Shawn home to bed -- or let Shawn drag him. They were both showing remarkable amounts of self-control that evening.
Shawn found it endearing, and sidled closer, whispered in Lassy's ear. "Just think of all the time we wouldn't have to worry about Gus being around if he's off sparking with Jules somewhere. Just think of the alone time we could have, you know, at the office." Shawn knew it was his kink to have sex at the Psych office, but obviously he'd explained it in enough detail before that the mention made Carlton's breath hitch.
"Shawn, I swear, if we're going to make it through tonight, you are going to have to behave." The words were strangled, frustrated, quite serious.
Shawn just grinned. "Oh, Carly, you're so gonna change your mind about that."
**
Having a "thing" with Shawn Spencer had turned out to be as chaotic, nerve-wrecking, and generally insane as Carlton had always worried it would be but he had yet to feel one moment of regret over that fact. Of course, it had only been forty-some-odd days, but then Carlton also felt like it had been years and years; he was, obviously, too far gone to be affected by common sense at this point.
Carlton was affected enough, however, to know that if he wanted to make it through Vick's Christmas party without outing them both in a very humiliating way, he needed to stay as far away from Shawn as possible. After Shawn had come around purring in his ear, Carlton had beat a hasty retreat, working his way into a group of schmucks from City Hall whose idiocy was a welcome distraction. He eventually moved on, circling the room in such a way that he avoided Shawn as much as possible.
It was by some terrible sequence of events that Carlton eventually ended up with Henry Spencer and Guster.
As much as he'd enjoyed Henry as a fishing companion, Carlton had eased off that friendship as soon as he and Shawn had started up again. Knowing that Henry was the faceless, nameless cop he'd feared as a young man, and knowing that they were both deliberately not telling Shawn's father about their relationship ended any fun Carlton could've had with the man. He didn't have that kind of brass, not even as a almost-forty-year-old-man.
Still Henry was friendly enough with him, and the eggnog had helped lubricate the social situation, as they say. After the two exchanged the usual pleasantries, the camaraderie had been comfortable enough Carlton didn't feel the need to dash off -- even if Guster was smirking at him every time he glanced over.
"I hope that son of mine isn't driving you too crazy," Henry said conversationally.
Carlton somehow kept a straight face even as Guster started choking on his eggnog. "We've reached a truce of sorts for the moment."
"Don't let him give you too much hell, Carlton," Henry advised. "He can be a handful -- I know."
Carlton shot Guster a look when he choked once again on his drink. The cop could only imagine the color Shawn's partner-in-crime would have in his face if his dark skin didn't mask it.
Henry searched the room with his eyes, looking for his errant son. He finally spied him in one of the corners, having a lively conversation with O'Hara under the mistletoe. He shook his head. "You better watch it, Gus," he said, pointing the pair out with his glass. "It looks like Shawn is trying to put the moves on that girl you were making eyes at earlier."
Carlton couldn't tell if Guster was embarrassed by Henry's casual remarks about his feelings for O'Hara, but he figured the guy had to be immune from it as long as he'd known Shawn. Instead, Guster cut an amused glance in Carlton's direction before he answered. "I'm not worried, sir," he said. "I'm pretty sure Shawn has got his eyes on someone else."
Henry snorted. "Like that matters with Shawn."
"No, I think it's definitely pretty serious this time," Guster told him.
Carlton had to fight off a little smirk at Guster's belief in the statement.
"Yeah, right," Henry snorted again. "The last time Shawn took any romance seriously, he was -- what? -- 17 or so? He spent that whole summer mooning over someone named Carly."
Carlton and Guster shared a look of companionable, horrified surprise. "He told you about that?" Guster sputtered.
Henry shot him an 'are you out of your mind?' look that Carlton had seen on Shawn a time or two. "What? No! Of course not, but I was around, kid. I know the two of you thought I was completely oblivious, but you weren't exactly pros at keeping your voices down. I couldn't help but hear him whine over Carly, and then you bitch at him for whining over her."
"Uh, wow." was Guster's brilliant reply. Carlton just downed the rest of his eggnog.
"And since that's the only time I've really heard him whine over some girl and I never even saw her?" Henry made a vague gesture with his hands. "Shawn wouldn't know serious if it bit him on the ass."
Guster couldn't keep in his laughter at that, even though there seemed to be a thin edge of hysteria to it. Carlton was glad he'd finished his drink already, or else he'd be choking on it the way he was Henry's words.
Brandishing his empty eggnog like a weapon, he excused himself from the conversation and beat another hasty retreat.
**
Gus really hadn't been looking forward to the Chief's party that much, if only because he felt miserable being the only person in the room who knew about Shawn and Lassiter -- especially when they made goopy eyes at each other across the floor that made him want to beat their hands in and confess to the world so Gus could stop feeling the burden of the secret on him.
It was especially difficult when Shawn expected him to babysit his father all night. Gus liked Henry, always had, but the man was scary as hell, and Gus did not hold up well under interrogation. He knew if Shawn's dad got one whiff of suspicion, he'd turn his evil powers on Gus and that would be that.
The party, however, surprised him, and so far he was having a great time. First had been the sight of Jules in her hot-damn dress, then she'd come over and worked it. Gus had earned some good-natured ribbing from Henry about it, but he could tell Mr. Spencer approved of his current choice of lady friend. Juliet was hot, like comic books, and carried a gun. Gus was pretty sure he could fall for that if he could work up the nerve to do something about it.
Second, he'd never had as much fun at Lassiter's expense as he had watching him react to Henry's bent recollection of Shawn's summer of "Carly." For a second, he'd been worried, too, but once he'd realized how off Henry was about one certain thing -- gender -- it had been a gleeful exchange, for him, anyway. Lassiter had looked like he was about to pass out before he slunk off. Gus loved it.
In fact, he was still laughing to himself about it when Shawn decided join them again. He was a little red in the face, but Gus figured he'd gotten it from the dancing he'd been doing with one of the hot legal secretaries Vick had invited from her old job at City Hall.
"Hey!" he announced, swinging arm around Gus's shoulders and ignoring the knowing look on Henry's face.
"Did you have fun kissing every girl in the room?" he asked sarcastically.
"Not every girl," he amended. "I still haven't managed to catch our esteemed hostess under the leaves and berries."
"And you won't," Henry told him. "Karen's sharper than any move you're packing, pal."
"Yeah, she used to work with you, right?" Shawn was leering comically, layering on the innuendo. "I keep meaning to ask you about that."
Henry looked a little horrified. "About what?"
"About how chummy you are with the Chief," Shawn said.
"We're friends."
"You kissed her when we got here."
"It was a friendly kiss!"
"Sure, Dad, sure." Shawn gave him a broad wink and Henry glared at him. Gus knew his friend was only doing it to piss Henry off -- the thought of his dad with anyone but his mom sent him into hysterics, but Shawn would play anything to rile his dad in moments like this.
When Henry didn't respond out loud, Shawn gave up. Instead, he crowded in next to Gus, and asked, "I thought I saw Carly over here a minute ago. Any idea where he went?"
"I think he needed a refill," Gus said. "So maybe the kitchen?"
Henry eyed them both. "Are you talking about Carlon Lassiter?"
"Uh, yeah, Dad," Shawn said, in a perfect regression to his 17-year-old self. "What was your first clue?"
Henry's eyes were narrowing, which was never a good sign. "You call him Carly?"
Shawn shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It's his name, and he gets offended by Lassy for some reason I can't figure out...."
"Doesn't that, I don't know, bring up bad associations for you?"
"I think it brings 'em up for him, which is why he doesn't like to be called Lassy, like the dog."
"No, I meant Carly. You know -- Carly. Like that...old friend...of yours."
Shawn was confused, but Gus was catching up fast and his eyes widened.
"Dad, I don't know anybody else named Carly."
"Sure you do."
"No," Shawn said. "I don't. A biker named Curly, sure, but no other Carlys but Carlton Lassiter. It's what I've always called him."
Gus watched as that look he'd been afraid of all night passed over Henry's face. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, really." Shawn shook his head. "Dad, I think you need to lay off the drunk punch, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, he headed off, no doubt in search for Lassiter.
Gus wanted to open his mouth and call him back, but he couldn't work it properly.
Henry had that look pinned on him, and Gus knew what was coming.
Suddenly, the party sucked.
**
Juliet was enjoying herself immensely at Chief Vick's party, but she needed a breather after the last half-hour. Not only had Shawn managed to embarrass her thoroughly by kissing her -- and everyone else -- under the mistletoe, but he'd then persuaded her to join in the impromptu dancing he'd started. It had been great fun, but now she was overly warm, stifled by the room.
She headed through the kitchen, toward where she knew the Vicks had a back deck. It actually wrapped around to the living room as well, but she couldn't stomach pushing through the partygoers to reach the glass doors they had opened for that purpose. She just wanted a few minutes in the cool air before she dove back in for the rest of the evening.
Juliet was about to step out onto the darkened deck when she heard a vaguely familiar voice speak. "Lassiter."
She couldn't place the voice, but it clicked into place when she heard her partner's reply. "Henry."
Through some instinct, Juliet stayed just outside the back door, peering at the two men from behind its obscured safety. She didn't want to walk out into a private conversation, and something told her that was what she had stumbled upon.
"I had an interesting talk with my son earlier this evening," Henry said. "Seems he calls you...Carly."
"Among other things."
"But what was funny was he didn't have any recollection of that Carly chick I mentioned to you earlier tonight."
"Real funny."
Juliet had never heard Carlton sound so wary before, not anytime she'd heard him speak. She didn't understand the import of the conversation at all but the tone of her partner's voice warned her she was missing something.
"Then I had a chat with Gus," Henry continued. Juliet could barely make out their forms from her hiding place, two dark figures against the dim, starlit night. "And he started spouting nonsense that I still haven't deciphered, but it left me with the impression that you were the one I needed to talk to."
"Henry, if you have a question, I suggest you ask it."
"Any reason Shawn says he only knows one Carly and that's you, even though I know as good as I stand here that there was a Carly who he moped over for months when he was a kid?"
"Yes, there's a reason."
Juliet thought both men were acting very strangely, but she couldn't figure out why. She knew she was still missing some piece of the puzzle.
"I think you should be sharing it about now." Shawn had never sounded as menacing as his father did with that one sentence, and she doubted her goofy friend would ever be able to.
In the darkness, she could see Lassiter turn toward Henry, straightening to his full, lanky height. It was something she'd seen him do on the job, knew he was gathering himself for a confrontation. She waited. Finally, he spoke. "It's not difficult to work out."
"The only thing I can think of, other than that my son has developed some kind of weird selective memory loss which I highly doubt, is that there is only one "Carly" and --"
"Jules! What are you doing?" Shawn's whisper in her ear scared Juliet out of her skin, and she reacted as any sane woman in her position: she bit back a squeal and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Your dad and Lassiter are having a very weird conversation about you and somebody named Carly out on the deck," she whispered.
Shawn's eyes widened and he gestured for her to remove her hand from his mouth. He didn't say anything, but squashed in with her behind the door, obviously listening.
"I can't say you're wrong about that, Henry," Lassiter was saying when Juliet refocused on them. She felt less like a eavesdropper with Shawn as unashamedly interested as her. "I'm not going to lie."
There was a long pause. "He was 17, Lassiter." Henry's voice vibrated with anger. "And you were quite a bit older."
"I know." His words were quiet, and Juliet was surprised at the sadness in them. She glanced at Shawn to see if he understood the conversation, but his expression was so uncharacteristically serious, she didn't dare distract him.
"And now?" Shawn's father asked.
"He's an adult," Lassiter said. Shawn tensed at her side. "And we've finally...figured it out."
"Have you now?" Henry still sounded scary and Juliet was still as confused as she'd been from the start.
Shawn squeezed out from behind her and stepped out on the deck before she realized his intent. "Dad, give it a rest, will ya?"
Since Shawn knew she was there, Juliet risked edging around the door to more clearly see the three of them. Both Henry and Carlton were staring at Shawn, who was glaring at his father, arms crossed.
"Maybe you can clarify a few points for me, then, Shawn," Henry said, crossing his arms in the exact same fashion.
Shawn and Lassiter exchanged an unreadable glance before Shawn finally answered. "Like what? Like, Carlton's the Carly which you've already figured out? Or did you mean what he was saying about now? Because, yeah, we're sleeping together. Again."
Juliet had the last piece of the puzzle, finally. It just made her wonder if she'd lost her mind along the way. Shawn and Lassiter? Her mind was blown.
She must've made a noise of surprise because someone new answered. "Me too, girl. Me, too," Gus whispered behind her, reassuring hand on her shoulder. She was grateful for his solid support while the world tilted dangerously around her. Shawn and Carlton having sex?!
"Guster said you were serious now," Henry said to Shawn. "He telling the truth?"
"Does Gussypants ever lie?" Shawn replied. "Especially to you?"
Henry conceded with a nod. "This is insane, Shawn, on so many levels."
"Merry Christmas, Dad."
Henry didn't reply, but turned to glare at Lassiter. "Shawn is an adult, and I can't say anything about what he does now."
Lassiter nodded tightly.
"You just better be glad I never found out then."
"I know."
"As fun as all this is, can we go back to the party before someone notices we're all gone?" Shawn gestured to include Juliet and Gus in the doorway. Juliet pinked when the two other men realized she was there.
"Sure, I don't want to ruin Karen's party," Henry said. He glanced at Lassiter. "There's just one more thing."
Lassiter looked at him. "Yes?"
Before anyone knew what was happening, Henry Spencer landed a very heavy right to Lassiter's face, which sent the detective stumbling toward the ground. Juliet squeaked again -- she thought Gus did, too. Lassiter managed to right himself, and lift a hand to his already-purpling face. "I guess I deserved that."
Shawn huffed and headed over to Carlton's side, looping one of the detective's arms around his shoulders for support. "Dad, as much as it means to me that you're proving your fatherly love and concern through violence, I'd be a lot more appreciative if you didn't beat up my boyfriend, okay?"
Just when Juliet thought the whole mess couldn't get any worse, another voice rang out, strong and clear.
"What in the hell is going on here? And why did Henry just punch my head detective?"
They all turned to see the Chief glaring at the lot of them.
Shawn grinned and pulled Lassiter closer. "Well, Dad, I think that's your cue."
Gus and Juliet exchanged glances.
Suddenly, the night was no longer looking very bright.
**
"We are never ever ever going to any parties ever again," Shawn announced as he came out of Carlton's kitchen carrying a bag of frozen peas. "Ever."
Carlton had his head tilted against the back of the sofa, hoping to relieve some of the pounding in it. "That's what you say now, but I know you better than that."
"Nope, it's a rule now. Never again." Shawn plopped down next to him, somehow arranging himself so that one leg dangled over Carlton's as he gently applied the bag of peas to the left side of Carlton's face.
Carlton winced as the cold hit the bruise he knew he was going to have. "I'm not that lucky."
"You're very lucky," Shawn disagreed. "Dad left his brass knuckles at home."
Carlton chuckled in spite of himself, wincing at the pain it sent through his head. "Not lucky enough."
"I don't know..." Shawn ran his practiced hands over Carlton's shirt-clad shoulders, digging in masseuse-like at all the right points. Carlton groaned and Shawn grinned. "I came home with you. That says something."
"You mean other than the fact I'm a masochist?"
Shawn's lips trailed down toward Carlton's ear. "We haven't played that game yet, Carly, and I don't think you're up for it tonight."
Carlton stopped himself from laughing to save himself added pain in his face.
Shawn watched him for a moment. "The peas gonna be enough?"
"It's about all I can do," Carlton admitted. "Your dad packs one hell of a punch."
"Don't I know it?" Shawn said.
"I didn't plan for him to find out that way."
"Me neither, but at least it's done," Shawn said. "And, hey, we broke the news to Jules and the Chief at the same time. One stone, lotsa birds."
"Don't remind me," Carlton groaned.
"Do you feel better now?" Shawn asked, and for a moment Carlton thought he meant now that Shawn was making himself comfortable on him, which would have been a resounding YES. "Is that boatload of guilt gone now that you've confessed your terrible old sins and had the crap knocked out of you for it?"
Carlton seriously considered Shawn's question. Did he felt better now that Henry knew? Now that he'd actually suffered some ramifications from his past behavior that wasn't the frustrating-but-good fortune to have Shawn back in his life?
"Actually, yes," he finally said. "I do."
Shawn removed the melting bag of peas and ran light fingers down the side of his face. "I hope it was worth it because you're going to be black and blue tomorrow."
Carlton wrapped his arms around Shawn. "I think it's a fair trade, although this was not how I wanted to spend the evening with you."
"The night's still young, and you're only a little banged up," Shawn said, punctuating his words with brushes of his mouth against Carlton's. "I can work with this."
"Can you now?"
Shawn kissed him again, long and hard, and Carlton didn't notice the sparks of pain flaring in his face thanks to the sparks of pleasure flaring down his chest as Shawn worked at the buttons of his shirt. He slid his hands up under Shawn's shirt, also seeking warm, bare flesh.
"Oh, Lassy you have no idea."
"Actually, I think I do," he told him. "And it was worth it. Everything was."
Carlton caught a glimpse of Shawn's smile before he kissed him again. "I couldn't agree with you more, Carly."
The End.
Author's Notes: I know I have the wackiest update schedule known to man, but I finally had the inspiration to finish this. Thanks for that goes to badluck97 who gave me the challenge to finish it yesterday, and, of course, pookaseraph who had deep discussions with me about the plot when we went to catch 'em all earlier this month. I know a lot of this story no longer meshes with Season 2 canon, but I hope it's still been an enjoyable read for you all.
The story really ended in the last chapter, but I wanted to tie up the loose ends -- namely, Henry. If I got a little silly and mentioned all my favorite Psych pairings in it as well...a girl's gotta have some fun, right? There are some other stories I want to tell in the universe -- the return of Rodney, the appearence of *my* version of the ex-Mrs. Lassiter, to start -- and I hope that I'll be able to do that sometime soon, if people are interested in them.
Thanks so much for reading through all 21 parts, and for leaving me the positive feedback that kept me working on it for so long. I adore every comment I get!
~ Regann (30 June 2008)