This is going to be the last of the regular updates. Real life and my Thanksgiving story are going to keep me busy the next couple of weeks. I will try to get the next chapter up soon. I made this one extra long to make up for it.

Plus it was super fun to right.

Enjoy.

Juliet got to the bar early. She glanced around but it didn't look like anyone else had arrived yet. She made her way through the light weeknight crowd to the bar to order a drink while she waited for the others. She drummed her fingers nervously against the counter as the bartender prepared it.

This would be her first time spending time with Carlton without the buffer of work between them since the 'incident.'Things had been uncomfortable between the two of them all week. He refused to talk to her unless it was directly related to their cases. Not that she blamed him. The last time they had talked about anything personal she had accidentally outed him to the whole police station. He had a right not to trust her anymore. Still, she hated the tension between them. She wished there was something she could do to fix things, but without a time machine, she would just have to wait until he decided to forgive her.

"Ma'am? Your drink?"

Juliet looked up, startled. The bartender had returned with her drink while she had been lost in thought and was now looking at her pointedly. She flushed. "Sorry," she said, paying for her drink. He just shook his head and moved on to the next customer.

Stepping away from the bar, she sipped her strawberry daiquiri as she looked around the room. When Shawn had suggested they all go out to celebrate solving the case, he had insisted they come to this bar. They usually went to the local cop bar, but with everything going on with Carlton at work that wasn't an option. Juliet knew Carlton frequented this bar, since it was close to his home, and suspected that was why Shawn had chosen it. It gave the detective one less excuse for refusing to join them. It seemed like a nice place; a little old fashioned for her but it suited Carlton perfectly.

The crowd was light tonight but the booths and tables were filling up fast. She spotted a booth in the corner that would give them some privacy without being completely removed from the crowd. They would also be able to see almost the entire bar from there, something Carlton would appreciate. She wound her way through the tables to the booth, just beating a young couple to the corner. "Sorry, seats taken," she said, sliding in. She gave the woman a challenging look, raising an eyebrow, daring her to say anything. The woman looked like she wanted to make a fight for it but her date just shrugged and led her off to another booth. She let herself feel a small sense of victory as she sipped her drink. It was juvenile, sure, but her ego could use the boost tonight.

Shawn and Gus arrived a few minutes later. They paused by the door, looking around for her and Carlton. She waved at them until she got Shawn's attention. He grinned and gave her a thumbs up to show he saw her then turned to Gus. He said something to him, pointing to the bar, then clapped Gus on the back. Gus just crossed his arms and looked at Shawn, clearly not agreeing with whatever his friend had said. Shawn leaned over and said something else, giving Gus his saddest puppy dog look. Juliet grinned. Shawn only used that look when he really wanted something and he could be very persuasive. Gus looked over at her, then back to Shawn. Shawn's look must have worked, because he sighed and walked over to the growing crowd surrounding the bar.

Shawn weaved his way through the tables, heading over to the booth where Juliet was sitting. "Hey Jules," he said, sliding in across from her. "I see you started without us." He looked at her drink and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

She flushed slightly. "I was a little nervous," she admitted. "Carlton has barely said a word to me all week." She looked down, toying with her drink. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea."

"First off, it was my idea so that automatically makes it a good one – nah a great one," he said. "Second, Lassie's been so stressed at work he's barely talking to anyone. And third, quit worrying so much, you'll get those little crease marks in your forehead."

She nodded, still staring down at the table. "Juliet, look at me," Shawn said. She looked up to see him looking at her intently. "It was an accident. Stop beating yourself up about it." He gave her a reassuring smile. "He'll get over it."

"Are you sure?" she asked doubtfully.

"Of course I'm sure," he said confidently. He put a hand to his temple. "Psychic remember? Besides, I've told loads of Gus's secrets over the years and we're still friends."

"Were any of them this big?" Juliet asked.

"Well," he said, considering. "Does telling everyone that you wore your sister's underwear to school because all yours were in the laundry count?"

"No," she said. She looked at Shawn speculatively. "Did that really happen?"

He grinned at her. "You can ask Gus and find out."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. Shawn always knew what to say to cheer her up.

"That's my girl," he said, smiling back. "Now, any sign of your grumpy old partner yet?"

"Carlton is not old," she said, defending her partner.

"Old isn't always a bad thing. Means you have more experience," Shawn pointed out. "Though I notice you didn't argue on the grumpy part."

"I haven't seen him yet. He was still at the station doing paperwork when I left," she said.

Shawn sighed. "That man really needs to get his priorities straight. Who chooses paperwork over drinks with friends?" He shook his head. "He really needs to get out more."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show up," she said. "He's not exactly getting along with any of us right now."

"Jules, I told you, everything will be fine," Shawn said. "And he will show up. He said he would. Carlton Lassiter does not go back on his word." He paused, considering. "Though he may show up as late as possible and ditch as soon as he can, he will at least show up. For a few minutes anyway."

"Very reassuring Shawn," she said dryly.

"So," he said slowly. "Since we may be waiting awhile anyway." He glanced around quickly and leaned over the table towards Juliet. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?" she asked, unconsciously matching Shawn's quiet tone and leaning in closer to him.

He grinned slyly at her. "How did you find out Carlton is gay?"

She leaned back. "That's none of your business," she said crisply.

"Come on," he complained. "Everyone already knows the big secret. This is just a little side secret. Not even a real secret. More like an anecdote."

"Shawn," Juliet said wearily.

Gus arrived at the table, holding two drinks. "You owe me," he said to Shawn, placing some kind of fruity drink down in front of him. Juliet thought she saw a chunk of pineapple floating in it. He tried to sit next to Shawn with his own drink but Shawn blocked him.

"Sit next to Jules."

"Why?" Gus asked.

"I think Lassie would be more comfortable not sitting next to her right now," he said, giving her an apologetic look. She tried not to let it bother her. Shawn was probably right.

"Then why don't you sit next to her?" Gus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you haven't been able to look Lassie straight in the face all week," Shawn explained. "He doesn't need you being all twitchy next to him all night."

"I don't twitch," Gus said, affronted. He gave Shawn a long, considering look before nodding. Juliet stood up and let Gus take the inside seat next to her.

"Thanks man," Shawn said.

Gus just rolled his eyes. "So what were you talking about?"

"Juliet was just about to tell us how she first found out Lassie is gay," Shawn said. Gus turned to look at her, clearly interested.

"It's not that interesting a story," she said.

"Oh, that means it's got to be good," Shawn said excitedly. "Please Jules." He gave her his best puppy dog look, the same one he had used on Gus earlier.

She sighed. "Fine." She took a sip of her drink, collecting her thoughts. "Remember that guy from forensics I went on a date with a couple of months ago?"

"The guy where you begged me to call you so you could ditch him?" Shawn asked.

Juliet nodded. "The story starts that night. . ."

" So Carlo and Maria had this torrid affair 10 years ago. This wasn't explicitly said on the show of course but they did imply some kind of history between the two of them. And, you know, writer's prerogative. Anyway, that leads to problems when he starts seeing Maria 's best friend Angela , who has no idea about their past. Now, on the show she's dating Luca but I figure I can get around that. You see. . ."

Kevin started going into his elaborate plan to get Angela single. Juliet nodded politely, stifling a yawn . He had been talking about his story since they got to the restaurant. From what she understood, it was a fan story for some obscure Italian TV show she had never heard of. She let her eyes wander the restaurant, wondering if anyone else was having as horrible a date as her.

"Medici di Amore."

Juliet looked at Shawn. "What?"

"The show he was writing about? It's called Medici di Amore." Shawn shook his head. "Not bad, but if you're into Italian medical dramas I recommend Ospedale Cuore."

"How did you even hear of those shows?" Gus asked.

"I stayed with an Italian family in New Mexico for three months," Shawn said. He shrugged. "The mother was addicted to day time Italian soaps." He turned to Juliet. "But Carlo and Angela? That is so predictable. Why not try something daring like Carlo and Luca?"

"Because most guys don't write gay stories," Gus said.

Shawn eyed him thoughtfully. "And exactly how do you know this?"

"Guys, do you want to hear the story or not?" Juliet asked.

"Sorry Jules," Shawn said, getting back on track. "I believe you were telling us what a horrible date you were having?"

" Juliet, are you listening?"

She snapped her gaze back to Kevin. "Yes, of course I am," she lied. "It all sounds really fascinating."

"You really think so?" he asked with enthusiasm. "Because most people don't want to listen to me talk about my stories."

I can't imagine why, Juliet thought sarcastically. Out loud she said, "You're clearly very passionate about them."

Kevin beamed at her. "I knew you would understand. How about I read you a passage from my latest story?" He reached down next to his chair and started digging through the bag he had brought with him. "I should have it in here somewhere."

"Wonderful," Juliet said with a forced smile. "Listen, while you look for that, I'm going to run to the ladies' room. I wouldn't want to have to interrupt you in the middle of your story."

"Of course, go ahead," Kevin said, bringing his bag into his lap. He started emptying the contents onto the table, muttering to himself.

Juliet got up quickly and walked towards the rest rooms. Once she was out of sight, she pulled out her phone and dialed the one person she hoped could get her out of this mess. Though in retrospect she should have seen it coming. Kevin had a man-purse, for crying out loud.

As she waited for Shawn to answer, she eyes wandered over the restaurant. She stopped when she recognized a familiar face in the far corner of the room. Carlton was having dinner with a man Juliet didn't recognize. She frowned slightly. Her partner hadn't mentioned meeting anyone tonight. She wondered what it was about.

Shawn finally answered the phone, interrupting Juliet's thoughts. "Jules! To what do I owe the pleasure of your call on this fine evening."

"Hi Shawn," Juliet said, taking a deep breath. "I need your help with something."

"Lassie was on a date, wasn't he?" Shawn said excitedly. "That's how you knew he was gay, because you saw him getting all cozy with that dude in the restaurant."

"Shawn, let her tell the story," Gus said.

"But I already know this part," Shawn whined. "This is when Jules calls me to rescue her from Ian. Let's skip it and get to the good stuff."

"It's Mark," Gus corrected. "And I haven't heard any of this yet."

"His name was Kevin," Juliet said, exasperated. "And please stop interrupting Shawn."

"As you wish, Pagemaster," Shawn said, bowing from his seat.

Juliet rolled her eyes.

" My help? Why would you need my help while you ' r e on a date?" Shawn asked.

Juliet frowned. "How did you know I'm on a date?"

"Juliet, please. I'm psychic, remember?" Shawn said teasingly. " I'm sensing that the date isn't going well."

"It's a disaster," Juliet said. "The only thing he's talked about all nigh is a story he's writing about some obscure Italian TV show."

"Which one?" Shawn asked.

"Something about doctors, I think," Juliet said. "He wants to read me part of his story. I need you to wait five minutes, then call me so I can get the hell out of here."

"What's my motivation?"

"What?"

"Why am I calling you? Is it work related, or personal? How well do we know each other? Oooo, I could do an accent," he said, voice rising with excitement. "Do you think my character has an accent? I bet he does. I'm thinking something European, maybe British. Though I could pull off Chinese if you want a more Asian feel."

"It doesn't matter," Juliet said, cutting him off. "I just need you to call my phone so I can answer it and tell Kevin I have to leave. You don't actually have to say anything."

She could practically feel Shawn pouting over the phone. "That doesn't sound like nearly as much fun."

She sighed. "Just call me in five minutes, OK?"

"Can do," Shawn said cheerfully.

Juliet glared at Shawn. "Knock it off."

"I wasn't doing anything," he said innocently.

"You were mouthing the words of the entire conversation," she said.

"I told you, I already know this part. I'm bored," he whined.

"Gus?" she asked, hoping his best friend might know a way to control him.

Gus shook his head. "It could be worse. Trust me."

She didn't doubt him.

Juliet ended the call and sighed. Normally she hated women who would fake a phone call to get out of a date. She usually just toughed it out and made it obvious at the end of the night there wouldn't be a second one. Now she knew what motivated those women. She would rather deal with the guilt of ditching him than spend an entire evening hearing about a made-up love triangle for a TV show nobody watches.

Kevin was flipping through a notebook when she returned to the table. "I don't usually let people see my unfinished work, but for you I'm willing to make an exception."

"Wonderful." She hoped Shawn called soon.

Kevin found the passage he was looking for. He cleared his throat dramatically and started to read. "It was a calm night at the hospital. Carlo and Maria were working alone on the third floor. Everything seemed calm, but Carlo didn't know that Maria was on to his secret. And she wasn't happy about it. It was time to get her revenge."

Despite a somewhat interesting beginning, Juliet quickly found her self losing interest in the story. She just nodded politely or smiled whenever he looked up at her. She resisted the urge to look at her watch. It had to have been five minutes already. Where the hell was Shawn?

Finally, after what seemed like hours, her cell phone rang.

"Hold on one second," she said, digging out the phone. She frowned down at the screen, faking concern. "It's work. I should answer it."

Kevin nodded as Juliet answered the phone. "O'Hara."

"Hello detective. This is Major General Lance Armani," Shawn said with a thick southern accent. "I have a matter of national security of the highest level and you are the only one who can help me."

She fought hard to keep from rolling her eyes. "You need me to come in. Now?"

"Come on Jules. The least you can do is play along," Shawn whined.

"No. I understand. It's very important," she said, ignoring Shawn. She covered the phone with one hand. "It looks like I'm going to have to go," she told Kevin.

"Uh huh," he said. "Of course you do."

"It's a really important case," she said.

"It always is, isn't it?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"Well. . .," she said, hesitating.

"Give him the phone."

"One moment," she said, holding up a hand. She half turned in the seat and hissed into the phone. "Why do you want to talk to him?"

"It's obvious he's not buying it. He's probably had dozens of dates pull the same move on him. If you want to keep things from getting too weird between you to at work, let me talk to him," Shawn explained.

"I never said we work together," she said.

"Once again, I am psychic," Shawn said. "Trust me, give him the phone."

She looked over at Kevin. She didn't know how much of the exchange he had heard, but he was still looking at her suspiciously. She didn't have much of a choice. Either she could let Shawn try to fix this, or she had to tell the truth.

"OK, I'll let you speak to him," she said, handing Kevin the phone. She really hoped Shawn knew what he was doing.

"Hello?" Kevin asked. She couldn't hear what Shawn was saying, but Kevin's eyes suddenly widened and he shot her a fearful look. "Really? I didn't think that was possible." He continued to listen attentively to whatever Shawn was saying, giving her odd looks every so often. "Of course you need her. This is a very serious situation."

She breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like Shawn's plan was working.

Whatever Shawn said next caused his face to go pale. "O-of course. I understand." Kevin hung up the phone and carefully handed it back to her. "Juliet, I'm sorry I doubted you."

"It's OK," she said. "I'm sorry this couldn't work out." She started to stand up to leave, when Kevin stopped her with a touch on her arm.

"Be careful. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you," he said seriously.

"I'll do my best," she said, wondering what the hell Shawn had said to him.

Juliet looked at Shawn.

"What? I didn't say anything this time."

"What did you tell Kevin on the phone?" she asked.

"Oh, that," Shawn said dismissively. "Nothing really. I just convinced him you really needed to leave, that's all."

Her eyes narrowed at his suspiciously innocent grin. "I'm not buying it Shawn. What did you say?"

Shawn sighed. "All right, fine. I sensed that the show he wrote stories about was Medici di Amore. I remembered there was this crazy contagious disease that kept popping up called pox viola. You get these ugly purple spots all over your body and start seeing orange raccoons everywhere." He shuddered dramatically. "I don't know what part is worse."

"Shawn has an irrational fear of raccoons," Gus explained.

"It's not irrational. Just look into their beady little eyes. That's pure evil staring back at you," Shawn argued.

"What does this have to do with what you told Kevin?" Juliet asked, getting them back on track.

"I said I was from the CDD and one of Juliet's latest cases involved this disease. She needed to brief us immediately on it before the disease spread," Shawn said.

"I think you meant the CDC, the Center for Disease Control," Gus said.

"Really? Then that makes him even more gullible. I mean, who believes in a disease you can cure by drinking lots of diet peach Snapple?" Shawn asked, shaking his head.

"Is that why someone delivered six cases to my house?" Juliet asked.

"He must have been worried about you. Usually you only need to drink three," Shawn said.

"He also missed work for a week. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" she asked.

"I may have said something about how he may have been exposed and it would be best to quarantine himself," Shawn said.

"He almost got fired," she said.

"But it worked, right?" Shawn said.

She sighed. "Yes, it worked," she conceded.

Juliet walked quickly away from the table , tucking her phone back into her purse. It was times like these where she was glad she had a friend like Shawn.

S he noticed a man talking on a cell phone heading in her direction. As he got closer, she realized it was the same man she saw having dinner with Carlton earlier. He glanced back quickly, then ended his call and pocketed his phone.

They reached the door at the same time. He opened it, gesturing for her to go first.

"Thank you." She walked out the door, then stopped and turned to look at him, curiosity getting the best of her. "I guess the meeting's over."

The man looked at her, startled. "What meeting?"

"With Carlton. Sorry, this must sound weird. I'm his partner, Juliet O'Hara," she explained. She gave him a warm smile, trying to put him at ease.

"Business meeting, right," the man said slowly. He glanced at the restaurant, then back at Juliet. "Look, I 'm kind of in a hurry . Tell Carlton it's nothing personal, I just don't think this is going to work." Before she could ask anything else, the man walked away, presumably towards his car.

"Strange," she muttered to herself. She would have to ask Carlton about it tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to go home, take a hot bath, and pretend this date never happened. She walked quickly to her car and headed home.

"No matter who it is, Lassie just sucks at dating," Shawn said.

"Shawn," Juliet snapped.

"I'm just saying what we're all thinking," Shawn said defensively. "The guy does not hold the best track record with relationships."

"And you do?" Gus asked.

"Touch-e, Gus," Shawn said.

"It's pronounced touché. The accent mark changes the [e] sound to an [a] sound," Gus said.

"How do you know that?" Shawn asked.

"It's common knowledge," Gus said with a shrug.

"Anyway," Juliet said loudly, glaring at both of them, "that was the end of my date. I didn't think much about seeing Carlton at the restaurant until the next morning. . ."

Carlton seemed to be in an exceptionally bad mood that morning. He had snapped at Foster for bumping into him on his way back to the records room, yelled at the file clerk when he took too long collecting the files, and terrorized a rookie for taking the last cup of coffee.

Juliet did damage control the best she could and had McNab start a fresh pot of coffee. She was used to dealing with her partner's moods, and got the both of them settled catching up on paperwork without any bloodshed. She watched him sipping his second cup of coffee, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

"Rough night?" she asked cautiously.

Carlton sighed, rubbing his face. "You could say that. Didn't get much sleep."

Juliet waited, but Carlton didn't say anything else, just went back to working on his case files. He wasn't going to make this easy on her. She would have to dig to find out what was going on. Good thing she already had a pretty good guess. "Did it have anything to do with your meeting last night?"

His head snapped up and he looked at Juliet suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

"I was at Mario's last night. I saw you having that dinner meeting," she said. He seemed to relax slightly at her words, so she decided to press for more information. "Was it about a case?"

"I can't really share the details," he said hesitantly.

Juliet nodded. She figured he would have told her about the meeting if he could have. "Can I ask how it went?"

Carlton's jaw clenched. "Not well," he said, his words clipped.

"That's too bad. He seemed like a nice guy," Juliet said.

"You talked to him?" Carlton asked sharply.

"Yeah. I ran into him in the lobby as he was leaving," she said, taken aback by his tone. Carlton nodded, then bent his head and returned to working on the file. Juliet decided to let the topic drop for now. It seemed to be making him uncomfortable and he was in a foul enough mood as it was. She returned to her own file, quickly finishing it and moving on to the next one.

" Did he say anything?" Carlton asked suddenly.

Juliet looked over at her partner. Carlton was staring down at his hands, fiddling with a pen as he waited for her answer. He seemed twitchy, unsettled , whic h definitely wasn't normal . Business meetings fell through all the time. He usually just got angry and ranted about it for a few hours. It didn't mak e sense. In fact, his whole behavior while they were talking about the meeting seemed odd.

The question itself was odd too. The guy must have said something to Carlton before he left. Though now that she thought about it, his message to Carlton made it seem like he had run out on him. Maybe that's why Carlton was unsettled. That was more the thing you expected to happen on a bad date, not during a business meeting.

"Well?" he asked, when she didn't answer right away. This time, she heard the nervousness in his voice as he asked the question.

Carlton, who didn't blink when a suspect pulled a gun on him, was sitting there waiting nervously to hear what his dinner partner said about him last night.

Her eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. Carlton wasn't. . . but it would make sense. . . but he couldn't be. . . that wasn't. . .

" Carlton," she asked, staring at her partner in shock, "was that a date?"

"I knew it!" Shawn shouted triumphantly. Several patrons looked over at them, drawn by Shawn's exclamation.

"Shawn," Juliet said warningly.

"Right, no more interruptions," he said. He pretended to lock his mouth and throw away the key. He tried to take a sip of his drink, but couldn't because his mouth was 'locked,' which led to a scramble to find the 'key.' Unlocking his mouth, he took big gasping breaths before attacking his drink with a grin at her.

Juliet sighed and continued the story.

" Carlton, was that a date?"

Carlton froze. He glanced at her then looked away, dropping the pen to the desk. "Of course not," he said gruffly. He gathered his files into a neat stack as he stood up. "I should file these ."

"Carlton, wait," Juliet said, reaching out to grab his arm as he walked past. He avoided her hand and headed down the hallway.

Juliet watched him walk off, her mind racing. Carlton was gay? She knew he had been married, and that he had an affair with his last partner, so it was logical for her to assume he was straight. Of course, being a detective she knew it was unwise to jump to conclusions about anyone. Thinking back on it, she realized he never went into detail about what his dates looked like and tended to use gender neutral pronouns to describe them. The clues were there, she just hadn't seen them.

The question now was what she should do next. When he had glanced at her, she had seen the panic on his face. He hadn't wanted her to know about him. She could pretend it was all a joke, let him keep lying to her, and keep things the way they were. Except there had been more than just panic on his face. She had also seen pain and a hint of fear in his eyes. That she couldn't ignore. Decision made, she got up and headed after him.

He was already gone from the file room by the time she got down there. Since he hadn't headed back upstairs, there was only one other place he would go. She walked further down the hallway towards the interrogation rooms. Seeing the door to the first room open, she cautiously walked inside.

He was standing with his back to her, hands braced on the table. He slowly straightened up as she entered the room. " What do you want, O'Hara?" he asked without turning around.

"We need to talk," she said quietly.

He sighed, then turned slowly to face her. The look he gave her was cold and indifferent, though she could see the wariness in his eyes. "All right," he said, crossing his arms, "Talk."

"Were you on a date last night?" she asked.

"Yes."

"With a man?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes with a man."

"And you weren't undercover or anything like that?" she asked. She wanted to make absolutely sure this time that she had all the facts before jumping to a conclusion.

"I was on a date last night with a man, of my own free will, not related to a case," he snapped. "And before you ask the next stupid question, yes, I am gay O'Hara." The sudden burst of anger seemed to have drained Carlton. He turned away from her,

"Oh." Not the best response, but it was all her befuddled brain could come up with.

"It's fine if you want to request a new partner. I understand," he said wearily.

"A new partner?" Juliet asked in surprise. She walked around the table so she was facing Carlton. "Why would I want a new partner?"

He kept his head down, refusing to look at her. "Why wouldn't you, now that you know the truth?"

"Do you really think I'm horrible enough to reject you just because you're gay?" she asked indignantly.

He finally looked up. She could see the pain and sadness in his eyes. " It wouldn't be the first time someone did. "

" I don't know what jackasses you've encountered before, but I'm your partner and I care about you. I would never hurt you like that," she said.

He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Victoria said almost the same thing before I told her the truth. A few weeks later we were separated." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "No matter how much people say they care, they still turn on you in the end."

"Victoria is a bitch," Juliet said vehemently. He looked at her in shock, but she pressed on before he could say anything. "If someone truly cares about you, they should accept you for who you are, not turn on you the first chance they get. You're a good man Carlton, and you didn't deserve what she did to you."

He stared at her silently, surprised by her outburst. She walked over to him and gently took his hands into hers. He looked down at their hands, then back up at her. She had never seen him look so vulnerable before. She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not Victoria," she said quietly. "I'll admit, I was shocked to find out, but that doesn't change anything. I'm your partner and I will stand beside you no matter what."

"Thank you, Juliet," Carlton said softly, the look of gratitude on his face and the rare use of her first name conveying far more than the words themselves expressed.

She gave his hands another squeeze before letting go and taking a step back. "I just wish you had told me sooner. I wouldn't have kept pushing you to date those women if I had known," she said.

"It provided a good cover in case anyone got suspicious," he said bluntly. He took a deep breath, looking at her carefully. "Look, O'Hara, I don't want anybody else to know about this."

She nodded. "I understand. Though I don't think things would turn out badly if other people knew."

He sighed. " It's better not to take the risk." He glanced at his watch, then looked over at her . " Look, it's been a hell of a morning. How about we grab an early lunch?"

" Sure. I just need to grab my purse from my desk," she said.

They both stayed silent as they left the station. She didn't want to push Carlton after the emotional display in the interrogation room. She figured he was feeling embarrassed about what happened. He usually kept his emotions hidden even from her. So she was surprised when he was the first one to break the silence.

"So why were you at the restaurant?" he asked, glancing over at her as he started the car.

She smiled wryly. "I was having my own nightmare of a date." As she told him about it, he gradually relaxed, acting more like his usual self. Juliet was glad. It would take awhile for both of them to adjust after all that had been said today, but they would get through it. After all, Carlton was still Carlton, no matter who he was dating.

She didn't tell Shawn and Gus all of the conversation between her and Carlton in the interrogation room, just enough for them to realize how certain Carlton had been of her rejecting him. Shawn seemed to know she was holding something back but thankfully didn't press the topic.

"I still can't believe Lassiter thought you would just abandon him over this," Gus said. "I know there are some assholes out there but how could he think that about you?"

"He's probably had people he trusted turn on him in the past. It would be harder to trust people after that," Shawn guessed shrewdly. Gus shot him a look but he ignored it, focusing on Juliet.

She nodded but didn't go into any details. "I guess he shouldn't have trusted me either," she said morosely.

"It was an accident, Jules," Shawn gently reminded her. "Besides, you're still there by his side, supporting him in all this."

Gus nodded. "He'll get over it Juliet."

She sighed. "I hope you're right. This whole situation at work has him completely stressed out. I just wish there was something we could do to help."

"You know what would help Lassie to relax?" Shawn asked. "Getting laid."

"Shawn!" Gus exclaimed.

"Come on, with the way his dates have been going he probably hasn't had sex in months," Shawn said. "A roll in the sack would do him good."

"Eww, Shawn. Now I'm not going to get that image out of my mind," Gus complained.

"Come on Gus," Shawn said slyly. "It's not like Lassie's the only gay guy out there having sex."

Gus covered his ears. "I'm not listening Shawn."

Juliet was tempted to agree with Gus. She didn't want to think about her partner having sex any more than he did, though she was offended on Carlton's behalf by the 'ew.' Carlton was in pretty good shape for his age, great in fact. Not that she had been looking, but she couldn't help noticing some things working with him every day. OK, maybe she had been noticing more now that she knew he was gay and not likely to return the attention. It made it safer, somehow.

Though now that the thought was in her head, she couldn't help thinking about it. She had never really considered the logistics of two guys having sex before. She wondered exactly what they would do, who would be in what position. She supposed it really depended on the guy he was with. . .

"Jules? You still with us?"

Juliet jerked her head up. Shawn was looking at her, a knowing smirk on his face. "Thinking happy thoughts?" he asked wickedly.

Juliet could feel a blush spreading across her cheeks. She cleared her throat, refusing to look in Shawn's direction. "I was thinking you may have a point. About Carlton not being good on dates," she added quickly as Shawn's grin grew wider.

"Sure that's all you were thinking?" Shawn asked slyly.

Juliet felt Gus move next to her. Shawn suddenly sat up straighter, wincing slightly. "Knock it off, Shawn," Gus said, glaring at him.

"I'm going to have a big bruise on my leg now," Shawn muttered.

Gus ignored his grumbling. "What did you have in mind?" he asked Juliet.

"Maybe we should try to set Carlton up with somebody. Do you guys know anyone who is gay and available?" Juliet asked.

Shawn and Gus exchanged a look. "I might know someone," Shawn said.

"Do you think he'd like Carlton?" she asked eagerly.

Shawn grinned. "I think Carlton is exactly this person's type." He winced and sat up straight suddenly, glaring at Gus across the table. "What?"

"You know what," Gus replied.

Shawn was about to reply, when his attention was caught by something behind Juliet. "Well, look who finally showed up."

Juliet turned. Carlton had just entered the bar. He had a resigned look on his face and was scanning the crowed looking for them. She ducked down, suddenly thinking this was a bad idea.

Shawn stood up, waving his arms. "Hey Lassie!"

Carlton spotted Shawn instantly. He squared his shoulders and started making his way towards them.

Shawn sat down, giving Juliet a reassuring grin. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

Juliet took a deep breath, nodding. She chugged down the rest of her drink, ignoring the amused looks from both Shawn and Gus. Right now she could use all the courage she could get.

Bracing herself, she turned to face Carlton as he reached the table.

Let me know what you think.