CHAPTER FOUR: Details!

A/N: Final chapter...of this fic.

He awakes the next morning to a steady pounding at his door, and he figures it's way too early for this kind of intrusion. Even if it is already 10:00...

He groans as he pushes himself out of bed. He slips a pair of sweat pants over his boxers in an effort to be more presentable to his caller, who keeps knocking with the persistence of a...something persistent (it's too early for a clever analogy, anyway).

He makes his way out of his bedroom and to the front door. He glances out of the peephole, and what he sees doesn't surprise him: his partner, looking way too perky and awake – waiting for him to let her inside.

He sighs, undoes the bolt and chain, and opens up.

"Hey, Carlton!" Juliet greets him. "Can I come in?"

"I suppose." he grunts back, stepping aside to let her pass. "Is this urgent, O'Hara? Because I was pretty sure proper etiquette for visiting people isn't before eleven."

"Pretty sure it's not before ten." she replies with certainty, and he follows her to his living room couch. She practically bounces as she walks, and he rubs a hand over his face before sitting across from her.

"You know, you should have called me after your date..."

"Sorry, but I was sleeping – ever hear of it?"

Juliet just rolls her eyes. "I don't care about your sleeping habits, Carlton. Since you didn't call me, I called Elizabeth last night to find out the details. Now I want to hear them from you."

He swallows anxiously, now wondering if perhaps everything last night was a fluke, a misreading on his part. Perhaps Elizabeth had only been humoring him by sharing stories? Perhaps the kiss was a pity kiss? He swallows again, "Wha-how did she say it went?"

Juliet is beaming at him, excitement showing on every inch of her face. "She had a great time with you! She really likes you and wants to see you again. She told me you guys talked the whole time!"

Relief washes over him; it wasn't a fluke. Juliet looks at him, now more calculating than before. "Wait, how did you think it went? Did you like her? She'll be so dis-"

"I liked her, O'Hara." interrupts Lassiter curtly.

She beams at him again. "Elizabeth didn't tell me whether or not...did you guys kiss?" she asks.

Lassiter feels the heat rush up in his face. "For God's sake, O'Hara, are we really back in middle school?"

Juliet blinks, then smiles. "You did, didn't you?"

"We...may have."

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he would never have believed that an officer of the law could make a sound even slightly resembling a squeal.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, she actually jumps forward to close the space between them so that she can wrap him into a potentially bone-crushing hug.

He looks around awkwardly as she squeezes him. "Okay, O'Hara! I'm not sure it's that big of a deal!"

She pulls away, and her grinning expression clearly says otherwise, but she refrains from commenting.

The silence presses in on him. "Hey, um, before I forget...I guess, um, thanks for helping me out with all of this. For setting me up, and the advice, and well, you know..."

He thinks she just might explode with happiness, but she manages to keep her voice calm and cool. "Of course, Partner."

She pauses for a moment, then her smile seems to widen, as if that were possible. "So...what's next?"

Carlton rubs the back of his neck self-consciously. "Well, I want to call her, but I've kinda got a question for you first."

"Ask away."

He coughs a little to clear his throat, tries to contain his awkwardness. He can feel himself going red again. "Well...I just...I mean...do you have any ideas on what we should do for a second date?"

His partner smiles. "Oh, I may have a few things in mind."

If Carlton didn't trust her so much – more than anyone in the world, actually – he might have been apprehensive about the mischief glinting in her eyes.

But he does trust her, so all he feels is surge of excitement (and only a little anxiousness) for whatever the future holds.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! That's the end of this fic, but if you enjoyed it and would like to see more of Lassie/Elizabeth, you're in luck. Lots of luck, actually. One sequel, highlighting date number two, has already been written and will be posted soon. It's a little bit shorter than this one, but not by much. There will still be a good dose of Lassie/Jules friendship too. The second sequel is a collection involving various firsts, random moments, and whatnot between Lassiter and Elizabeth. They could probably technically be called separate oneshots, but they're pretty much in chronological order...that one has a slightly more mature writing style, but is still full of fluffy Lassie happiness. The usual gang of Shawn, Gus, Jules, Buzz, maybe a little bit of Vick or Henry, will definitely make occasional appearances. :)