If You Get Lonely, Give This Song Another Listen
Title: If You Get Lonely, Give This Song Another Listen
Rating: e
Characters/Pairings: Juliet/Shawn
Warnings: Genuine sap, eh.
Spoilers: none
Genres: Angst, Romance, Het
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 1625
Disclaimer: Different houses would be too far away if I was in charge of this fairytale.
Notes: Lu demands, and I supply. Win for all, I think. :D Story title-as well as inspiration for this fic-are from Hey There, Delilah by Plain White T's. I don't own those either.
Summary: Half-way around the world is much too far away for him to be.
She tried to concentrate on the stacks of work around her, tried not to think about her cell phone sitting in her purse at her feet.
It was like that Edgar Allen Poe story, only instead of a heartbeat under the floorboards there was silence. And she wanted to hear that heartbeat.
Her cellphone mocked her with its stubborn refusal to ring.
Her eyes flicked toward the small clock that she'd turned face down and then to her wrist where a tan line betrayed her missing watch.
She barely managed to keep from looking up at the wall mounted clock above her head.
This was ridiculous.
She was an adult-not a second grader with severe ADHD-and therefore perfectly capable of focusing on her work.
Except she couldn't.
It was past time-it had to be, because she'd been at work for hours and, unless she was living in some Syfy movie or Twilight Zone episode, time hadn't been paused.
Had it?
She shook her head.
No. No, it hadn't. She was letting her imagination run away with her.
She bit her lip and stared wistfully at her purse, trying to stay the desire to dig out her phone and check to make sure it was turned on and the battery hadn't died.
Why did Shawn have to take that case? Why did he have to do it when she couldn't go with him?
And now she was just being ridiculous. What was she? A lovesick teenager? She could handle being apart from Shawn for a week.
Especially after the case last year when Psych gained national-and then international-attention, and Shawn's schedule had come to rival hers at times for keeping him busy.
They lived in the same house and sometimes went that long without saying more than 'good morning' and 'good night' when they were working different cases that were both demanding. It was a sad but true fact of their jobs that they spent a goodly portion of their time together unconscious-usually asleep, though on one or two occasions it had been for other reasons.
In fact, she'd probably talked to him more this last week than she had in the last month.
And yet somehow...
She sighed. Somehow it was different, knowing that he wasn't in town. That there was no possible way he was going to pop in and surprise her with lunch or the answer to one of her current cases or just a kiss on the cheek and a crooked grin.
The physical distance between them right now made all the difference she was discovering-along with the fact that she didn't like it.
Not at all.
Which was why they had set up the rules in the first place. Because they had spent too much of his first two days away talking to each other on the phone and not working on their respective jobs. It was great for their relationship as a couple, but not so much for their jobs-and since delaying working on his case would keep Shawn away longer, they'd instituted restrictions on their phone conversations so he could focus and return quickly.
Next time, however, she was taking some of those vacation days she was stockpiling and going with him. And maybe when his case was over they'd stay and enjoy the time just being together-in person instead of on the phone.
Her eyes drifted down to her purse and she bit her lip. The rules were good things, necessary things, but...
She lifted her eyes and resolutely focused her attention on her paperwork. And that was why she needed to just work until it was time-
“O'Hara.”
She jumped, wide eyes flying up to lock on her partner, her face in what had to be a guilty expression.
“Yes! Sorry! I'm just about finished with that report and-”
Carlton rolled his eyes. “Make the call.”
She chewed her lip some more, but shook her head after the initial wave of wanting passed.
“No. It's not time. And it doesn't matter anyway because he's supposed to be the one who initiates the call when he has time.”
“Uh huh.” Carlton regarded her for a moment more, then set down the folder in his hands and scooted around his desk in his chair, sliding across the floor to her desk. “If you're not going to call, then take your lunch. You're no good to me as distracted as you are right now.”
Her eyes made the circuit of the clocks she couldn't see and only barely missed the one she could.
“It's only lunch?” she asked, hating the whimper in her tone.
Carlton rolled his eyes. Before she could stop him, he bent and dug her phone out of her purse, holding it out like the snake with that damned apple.
“Take it.”
She looked up at him, then at the phone, then back at him. It was so tempting. All she had to do was reach out and take it...
She shook her head. “Carlton, I can't-”
“Oh for the love of sweet justice, O'Hara!” he said and flipped open the phone. “I thought it was bad when you couldn't hang up the phone, but-”
He didn't even have time to punch the speed dial button before the phone rang in his hand.
His eyebrows arched and Juliet's eyes shifted rapidly between the lit up screen and her partner's eyes.
“There. He called. Now answer it or so help me...”
She snatched it out of his hand and stood, finger pressing the button as she brought the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” she said, breathless and feeling foolish, but too caught up in her hope to care.
“Hey, Jules,” came the familiar voice through the phone. “Sorry I'm late. The spirits were being little Chatty Cathys about this case. I think they miss you as much as I do. They did, however, also tell me that you had something you really needed to tell me.”
A slow smile spread across her face at the sound of his casual tone, belying the desperate need he had been feeling as much as she.
“I think the spirits are playing games on you, Shawn. I didn't have anything pressing to say to you,” she said, strolling away from her desk and toward the doors that led outside.
“Yeah? They do that sometimes. Oh well. But since I have you on the phone-”
She interrupted, knowing what he was going to say and that it would bring the end of the conversation if he was that busy.
She wasn't nearly ready for that.
So she shrugged and stepped out into the drizzling rain. She held up a hand and let it hit her palm.
The Santa Barbaran sky was missing its favorite psychic as much as Juliet, but she wasn't going to boost his ego by telling him that.
“It's sunny and eighty-three degrees here. What's it like there?”
Shawn gave a half-chuckle/half-sigh, amused by her tactics and resigned to the weather.
“London is certainly living up to its reputation. Seven days I've been here and not a single ray of sunshine. Just rain, rain, rain. How does anyone live here and not kill themselves?”
“They're probably used to it, Shawn,” she said.
“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed.
There was a beat and she knew he was going to end the call if she didn't keep him on.
“How is the case going?” she asked.
“Good. The rain has been dampening my gift-” She snorted at his pun, and then smiled genuinely when he finished “-but I think I'll be done soon.” He waited a beat and said, “Miss you, Jules.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Miss you too, Shawn.” She had nothing else to say and she could see a regretful Carlton on the other side of the glass wishing he didn't have to interrupt her.
“Hey, Shawn? I've got to go.” She laughed. “Duty calls.”
“Yeah. I'm supposed to meet with some British Parliament guy or something in five minutes.”
“Talk to you tonight?” she asked hopefully.
“Maybe,” he said, but the wistfulness to his tone said he didn't think it was a very likely 'maybe'.
“Or tomorrow,” she said, trying to keep it light.
“Definitely tomorrow,” he said, sounding more sure.
There was a beat and then in unison they said, “I love you.”
They laughed and then he said, “Bye, Jules. Stay safe, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. “You too. Don't go offending the Queen and get locked up in the Tower or anything, okay?”
He laughed. “I'll try.”
There was one last beat and then a proper British voice spoke in the background to Shawn and Carlton said, “O'Hara...”
She nodded and blinked to keep her composure.
“Bye, Shawn.”
“Bye, Jules.”
She lowered the phone and sighed as she rubbed her thumb over the screen flashing the time of the call and 'Shawn'.
It cleared and she turned to Carlton, a smile on her face. “What do we have?”
He gave her a scrutinizing look, but apparently decided that following her lead and not mentioning it was the best route.
“ME has the autopsy done on our Jane Doe.”
“Then let's go,” she said and waved a hand at the stairs.
He nodded and led the way and she looked at the sky as she followed, wondering if the gray clouds of London looked anything like the ones here in Santa Barbara.