DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, really, that is a recognizable thing in this story.

WARNINGS: This continues to be a SLASH fic between two male characters. You have been warned ;)

A/N: This story took on more than a life of its own and created a whole world that I attempted to wrangle, wrestle and wrap into this story. I have received a couple of comments about how fast I may have tied it up, but I felt it needed to wrap up so that I could move on. I have many ideas for 'The Boys', but held fast to: Finish the BIG fic first, you dummy! So here is the ending of Maroon5d, I believe there will be a sequel.

Shawn opened the jewelry store bag he had placed on the bed and dug around until he found the ring box. He felt extremely proud of himself. After four long and excruciating days spent searching the jewelry market, he finally had THE ring for Carlton. He felt extra proud to have found it before they met with Carlton's mom and Althea for dinner Friday night. He couldn't wait to walk into Mona's house and for Althea to notice their rings.

Tonight, though, they had to survive dinner with Henry. Henry agreed that he could have handled things better the first time and that after seeing first-hand what the couple had gone through with 'Jack' he actually felt bad about how he had treated Carlton. While Shawn was in the hospital, Henry said he had gotten to talk with the detective and had gotten to know him a little. He also told Shawn that he could see that the man really cared for him and said, "I'd be an asshole if I stood in the way of someone who truly loves my son".

Shawn smiled when he thought about that conversation with Henry. Not completely because his dad was easing up on Carlton, but because just minutes before his dad had come over that day, Shawn had gotten one of the best blow jobs from the City of Santa Barbara's Head Detective. He chuckled as he remembered how Carlton cracked his jaw back into place as he walked past Henry at the door on his way to work.

He must have been deep in his own head space thinking about that moment because he failed to notice Carlton enter the house until strong, long and lean arms wrapped around him. Shawn jumped a little and reflexively snapped the ring box closed. He felt Carlton's lips graze against his ear before his tongue licked across the lobe and it was sucked into his fiancé's mouth.

"Oh God, Lassie." Carlton's right hand crept down to his jeans and rubbed him through the fabric. "How was your day, then?"

"Not terrible. Unfortunately, that weird pineapple scented shampoo you bought and I then accidentally used this morning kept me thinking about you all day. It took me twice as long to get through my paperwork this afternoon." He pulled Shawn closer and his erection brushed against the ass in front of him. "I have been so uncomfortably horny and right now there's nothing I want or need to do more than fuck my fiancé."

Carlton reached around Shawn with his left arm and both hands unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans quickly. Together with his boxers, they were pulled down and pushed to his ankles. Shawn had nowhere to go and didn't have time to move the ring box before Carlton pushed him onto the bed. He heard the side table drawer open and knew Carlton had grabbed the lube bottle from there. He really loved when Carlton got so worked up during the day that he came right home and had his way with him. It didn't happen often, but when it did; damn.

Shawn found a moderately comfortable spot between his pecs to keep the box so he could have his hands free as he heard Carlton unzip and kick off his own pants, boxers and shoes. He smiled to himself as Carlton finished removing Shawn's pants. He knew how the man would hang up and polish everything later on. As much as he had gotten Carlton to loosen up, some things could never be changed. Shawn flinched a bit as a cold, slick hand reached between his cheeks and fingers stretched further.

The time the couple spent on prep time had diminished to mere minutes; their consistent sex sessions made sure of that. So it wasn't long before Carlton sank into Shawn. Ever since the incident with 'Jack', Carlton had been freer with his feelings towards Shawn and, in Shawn's mind, the sex had benefited from it one hundred percent. Of course, Carlton still didn't like Shawn to be affectionate beyond the basics of hand-holding and kissing while at the station, but outside of work all bets were off.

With each thrust, Carlton hit Shawn's prostate and Shawn was left to making moaning and whimpering sounds. Carlton didn't seem to be able to say more than 'Shawn' or 'fuck'. The grip on his hips tightened and Shawn came first. He was flipped over while he was coming down from his orgasm and once Carlton resumed his rhythm, it was mere moments before Carlton came while Shawn watched the face of the man he loved. It was a sight he never got tired of seeing and Carlton knew it.

No matter how stressful the day was on his Head Detective, Shawn could count on his passion and love to be shown when he came. Carlton had been getting better at saying that he loved Shawn in public, but he had no troubles showing him how much he truly loved him when they were alone. Naked. Sweaty.

Shawn pulled Carlton down further and opened both his mouth and his legs to ease around Carlton's body in order to fully enjoy a post-orgasmic makeout session. He could feel Carlton still inside him and as he toyed with his tongue, Shawn continued to move his body up and back down the un-softened cock. It didn't happen often, but Shawn was hoping to cause things to escalate enough to move to a second round.

"Shawn. I don't. I can't." Carlton was trying to speak between kisses and hip thrusts.

"Relax, baby. Just enjoy it. I don't want you out of me yet." Shawn could feel Carlton's semen dripping out of him as he moved, but didn't care at the moment. He wanted to keep hearing the moans and intimate sounds coming from the man on top of him.

He felt Carlton's muscles start to shake from the earlier exertions, so Shawn flipped their positions to straddle his still half-hard fiancé. Shawn felt like he was taking advantage of Carlton a little, but he also felt like being naughty. He unrelentingly continued to impale himself on Carlton's rapidly returning erection. He felt dirty using him the way he was, but Carlton's hands urged him on as he closed his eyes. He felt the gentle way Carlton stroked the skin over his heart that carried the tattoo that Shawn knew he loved so much. Shawn couldn't believe how worked up he had gotten from the touching and the ooey gooey thoughts that swam in his mind and rode himself to another orgasm.

The second one left him a boneless heap on top of Carlton and he passed out.

Carlton had never had a lover pass out during sex before and couldn't help the boost his ego felt as he carefully rolled Shawn off of him. He took a few deep breaths before getting off the bed to go to the bathroom. He cleaned himself and then returned to clean Shawn. He took his time and enjoyed touching the naked body; he seldom got the chance to see Shawn so still. He dragged his tongue over the salty skin that was imprinted with his badge number. A warmth enveloped his heart as he thought about Shawn being as much his as the number he was issued upon graduation from the academy.

As he pulled the sheet over Shawn, he saw a small box that he hadn't noticed earlier. "Where were you hiding this, Shawn?" His left eyebrow raised with the question as he figured Shawn must have been laying on it the whole time earlier.

Carlton opened the box and just stared at the ring inside. Shawn never ceased to astound him. He was torn about what to do about the ring and the box. He looked to Shawn and then the ring as he smirked. He had an idea.

"Shawn. Wake up, sleepy head. We have to leave in half an hour to make it to Henry's on time."

"Can't you go by yourself?" Shawn mumbled into his pillow. He felt so warm and relaxed and he didn't want to leave the bed.

"No. I can't and I won't." He felt the bed dip down as Carlton sat on the bed next to him and started rubbing his bare back. "Come on, baby." He felt kisses pressed along hiss spine from his neck to his shoulders which caused Shawn to smile and roll over to meet Carlton face-to-face.

"We could always call and cancel. Spend the evening in bed instead." Shawn pulled Carlton down and kissed him slowly. Shawn thought he had gotten his way, but then Carlton pulled back and away.

"Nice try, but Henry already called to remind us to not be late." Shawn rolled back over with a moan. He had just closed his eyes when his ass was smacked not so lightly.

"Ow! Lassie. That was too hard." Shawn sat up and glared at Carlton, who only smirked and looked smug with himself.

"But it got you moving. Clean yourself up and get dressed. We now have only twenty minutes. And your hair's a mess."

Shawn immediately brought his hands up to his head and moved as quickly as he could to look in the bathroom mirror. As soon as he saw his reflection, Shawn gasped.

"Jesus, Lassie. What did you do to me?" His hair wasn't only mussed, but he totally looked the perfect image of a well-sexed man-slut. His cheeks were flushed, his lips were puffy, there were hickeys along his collarbone and when he turned to the side he saw Carlton-sized finger-shaped bruises already forming on his hips. "Damn."

He smiled as he started the shower. His man certainly knew how to rock it in the bedroom. Just as he was about to step into the shower, he remembered that the ring box was still on the bed. He ran back into the bedroom. He pulled the blankets and sheets flat but came up empty on finding the ring box. He searched the room and found the store bag with his receipt, but no ring box. He was completely freaked out but had no more time to focus. Shawn figured he'd look around more after he was showered and dressed. The entire shower he couldn't think about anything else. Maybe the box had slid onto the floor and had been kicked under the bed, maybe he had just missed it in his hurry to find it, maybe it was jammed under a pillow... over and over more and more 'what-ifs' showed up. It was distracting.

By the time he was dressed and ready, Shawn was prepared to tear apart the room. He was well on his way to doing just that when Carlton knocked on and then opened the door.

"What the hell? Never mind. You are putting all this back together when we get back. We have to go."

Shawn took another look around the room, he felt stupid thinking he'd find it at the last second. Where the hell could it have gone?

He couldn't keep it in any longer when Carlton slid into the driver's seat of his Fusion.

"Um, Lassie?"

"Yeah, Shawn."

"How long was I out after..."

"After you passed out?"

"Hey. I did not pass out, I was simply resting after..."

"After passing out."

Shawn crossed his arms in front of him. Of course he had passed out, that's why he had lost track of time and somehow lost the ring he was going to give to Carlton. "Fine. How long was I... passed out?"

"About an hour. Why?"

"Well, during that time, did you find something that was lying on the bed?"

Carlton chuckled and Shawn knew the answer. "Okay, grown-up man pants-wearer. Jig's up." Shawn tried to act upset, but he was truly relieved that it hadn't been lost altogether. "Where did you put it? It's not anywhere naughty is it? Because honestly, it will NOT fit around, you know." Shawn wiggled his eyebrows.

"Shawn. You really think I would try to fit a ring that's supposed to fit my finger onto my..."

Shawn smirked, but waited for Carlton to finish the sentence. "Onto your what, Lassie?"

"You know," Carlton's ears turned pink as he gestured to the front of his pants.

"What?" Shawn leaned in and licked Carlton's ear. "Tell me what the ring wouldn't fit around, Lassie." Behind his back, Shawn started the voice recorder app on his phone.

"Shawn. Stop. We're grown men, quit being ridiculous."

"You are completely right, Lassie. We are. Grown. Men." Shawn dragged his hand to Carlton's lap and stroked him a little. It caused Carlton to growl as Shawn knew it would. "You should be able to say cock, or at least boner."

"Fine. My cock. I didn't try to fit the ring you so generously purchased for me to wear on my FINGER onto my COCK. I know it wouldn't fit. And that's just ridiculous."

Shawn sat back into his seat and turned off the recorder.

"So, where is the ring?"

"Glovebox. Look in the glovebox."

Shawn opened the glovebox, which he still believed was a stupid name for the compartment, and snatched the ring box from it. He opened it, but cursed when it was empty.

"Lassie. This isn't funny, man. You're obviously being cruel. Like Cruella level of cruel, if I were a puppy."

"You'll just have to find it, Shawn. But you only have until we get to Henry's front door."

"Damned it." Suddenly, Shawn had some creative thoughts and started to grope his fiancé. His hands went everywhere they could reach while he was still wearing his seatbelt. When Carlton pulled into Henry's driveway, he still hadn't found the ring. He felt as frustrated as he had when he tried to find the tattoo Carlton had gotten. He stopped his grope-search, sat back in his seat and drew in a deep breath. Shawn closed his eyes and forced himself to remember how Carlton had hidden that tattoo in plain sight under a bandage. That damned clever man of mine. I'm supposed to be the observant one and he's done this to me twice now. Carlton got out of the car and walked around to Shawn's door to open it for him.

Shawn opened his eyes and really looked at Carlton for the first time since he had woken up. He had been in such a rush and been so flustered about thinking he had lost the ring, he hadn't noticed that Carlton had worn Shawn's favorite tie/suit combo. He had even styled his hair slightly different than his usual side part. Shawn smiled and grabbed Carlton's hand. There on his ring finger was the ring Shawn had purchased; stately sitting in its place all along.

"Lassie."

"Yes, Shawn?"

"It looks good on you."

"Yes it does." Carlton closed the car door and they walked up to Henry's porch. "Thank you."

Shawn rang the doorbell and grabbed Carlton's tie to pull him into a wet kiss. Shawn's hands went into Carlton's back pants pockets just as Henry opened the door.

"Jesus."

Carlton pulled back and smacked Shawn's hand off his tie so he could stand up.

"Sorry, Henry. We, uh."

"Hey, Dad. We're here and we're hungry." Shawn placed his hands on his stomach and groaned. "I haven't eaten since lunch and Lassie used up all of that food energy when he jumped me after work."

Henry glared at Carlton and Shawn laughed as he stumbled to find something to say.

"Shawn. Lassiter." Henry closed the front door and shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know these things."

"What things? I mean, you're old enough to know how sex between two men works, right dad? So, technically you already know those things."

"Yes, Shawn. Fine. But I don't want to know that you two. Do. Those. Things. Never mind. Dinner's almost ready. Shawn, help set the table."

"Okay."

Shawn started to walk into the kitchen but was pulled back by Carlton.

"Shawn, please. Let's try to not aggravate your dad tonight. He's obviously uncomfortable about the sex topic, just drop it. No man wants to hear about his kid's sex life."

Shawn stepped in to Carlton's personal space and looped his arms around his neck.

"I just want him to know that I'm happy. I'm happy with you. Maybe I am trying too hard. Okay, no more sex talk unless he brings it up. Promise." Shawn leaned in and kissed Carlton quickly and then continued on his way to the kitchen.

Shawn practically bounced his way into the kitchen to set the table as Henry had asked and Carlton found himself alone in the man's living room. He thought about helping Shawn, or maybe finding Henry to offer his help, but neither men called out like they needed help. So, he took to browsing the mantle where Henry had arranged some fishing trophies.

"Thank you." Carlton jumped at Henry's voice and turned to face him.

"For?" Carlton was confused as to what Henry might be meaning by thanking him.

"I saw and heard the two of you there. I have been watching you with Shawn since the whole case with the Feds. Not creepily or anything. I just needed to know. You're good to him. Hell, you're good for him. I don't think I have ever seen him so genuinely happy. Lassiter, Carlton. I would be honored to have you as a son-in-law."

Henry stepped closer and offered his hand. Carlton shook it then took the opportunity to pull Henry closer for a hug.

"He's been good for me, too Henry."

The rest of the evening went well, even when Henry asked about their plans for the future. Shawn told his dad about Lauren's offer of her donated eggs and got extremely excited about the fact that the kid, or kids, would be genetically both of theirs, not just one side. The smile that beamed off Shawn's face made Carlton's heart so happy it hurt.

On their way home, Shawn fell asleep with his head against the window and Carlton felt exhausted himself. They tiredly made their way into the house and into bed. Shawn curled up into Carlton's chest as the little spoon and threaded their hands that wore their rings together. It felt nice and Carlton kissed Shawn's neck as he felt him fall back to sleep. He listened to Shawn's rhythmic breathing and even dozed off for awhile, but around two in the morning, Carlton couldn't sleep any longer.

He slowly slid out of bed, put on his robe and carefully closed the bedroom door.

By the time the sun rose, Carlton had done some research about surrogacy, the process and procedures involved and had a couple of services listed to check out. He, of course, would run background checks on the services and the surrogates themselves as they moved through the process. He read through a few websites specific to gay men finding surrogates and was quite pleased at the thoroughness of the information he found. He made some quick notes and calculations in regards to the costs involved.

It had been a long while since he had allowed himself to think about having kids and being a father. After seeing how excited Shawn was when he told his dad about the possibility, Carlton couldn't help but feel hopeful about the future again.

A future with Shawn that included children. Carlton turned off the computer and went back into the bedroom where, if things were slightly different and one of them was a woman, the things done could have resulted in them being parents without the use of a surrogate.

When Carlton returned to work on Monday, he was unprepared for several things that happened. The biggest of which was Chief Vick's announcement that in light of her husband receiving a huge promotion at work that she was transferring out of Santa Barbara. Her replacement hadn't been announced yet, but for the first time he wasn't obsessed with wondering if he had made the list. Sure the pay increase that came along with the promotion would be welcomed, but he knew the hours that Karen put in above and beyond even his own. He just wasn't as eager as he once was to jump from the detective pool.

The second was that Juliet had procured all the photos and the video from the Federal case that the FBI deemed unnecessary for 'Jack's trial. He was going away for many counts of murder; Carlton was more than fine with them dropping the stalking charges. 'Jack' was still being charged with kidnapping and Shawn and he would have to give testimony for that. The envelope felt good in his hands and when Juliet handed him a box of matches along with it, he didn't hide the smile that formed on his face as he imagined lighting everything inside the envelope on fire. They set to meet after work at Carlton and Shawn's house and use the BBQ grill.

During lunch, he and Shawn looked through their calendars and tried to set a date for their wedding. Carlton didn't realize how many dates Shawn deemed unacceptable due to something involving Val Kilmer or Billy Zane.

"I think I'm going to start having a problem with this, Shawn. Should I see this as a warning?"

Shawn scooted his chair closer to Carlton's and patted his leg.

"Don't worry, Lassie. I promise that in the event I ever meet Val or Billy, I will behave myself. However, if I get an invitation by either of them to join in on a game of skeeball or something. I'm going. Sorry."

"I don't know, Shawn. I mean part of the wedding vows includes the words 'Forsaking all others'. If you can't do that..."

Carlton threw his hands up in the air, but the smile on his face never faltered. Shawn's hand didn't falter either and it traveled to places not suitable for the workplace. At least it was underneath Carlton's desk, so he allowed it. He encouraged it after a cursory look around the bullpen. His own hand joined Shawn's and he pressed himself against Shawn's hand as he let Shawn stroke him through his pants.

Shawn let out a whimper and Carlton lent into Shawn's ear to whisper a promise about continuing this evening after O'Hara left.

"God, Lassie. I'm not sure I can wait."

"Sure you can. I'll make it all worth it to you. Now, let's get this date set so I can call Althea and she can start calling around for a place for the reception."

"Okay. But I'm going to hold you to all sorts of naughty things tonight. By the way, I never would have guessed Althea would be so ready to help out with this stuff."

"Are you kidding? She didn't have any kids of her own so she uses all the Lassiters to fulfill her dreams or something. I'm the only one that stayed local, so this is her chance to be wedding coordinator. If she goes to crazy, let her know. This is our wedding, and if something is too weird or wacky..." Carlton turned his head to look at Shawn. What was he thinking? Shawn wanted to have an ice sculpture of a pineapple on the buffet table. "Never mind, I'm sure the two of you will get along fine with all of this stuff."

It took the entire lunch hour, but they finally had the date. Shawn and Althea made their plans to start working on things and when Carlton returned to the paperwork on his desk, his pen felt lighter and he felt freer.

*So, THE END of Maroon5d. I DO have a sequel in mind, but first! A few fics that I've had pop into my brain while working on this crazy piece. Hope you enjoyed the story... and if you find anything that I oopsed or didn't revisit, etc. please PM me. I'll make a list. Thanks for sticking around for TWO YEARS. You have all been great! Now on to the next thing.*