An hour after the shootout, Lassiter and Juliet stood in the office that formerly belonged to Chief Vick being chewed out by Trout. Lassiter's arm was wrapped and bound in a sling. He had a frustrated look on his face but was trying hard to be respectful. Juliet looked as if she was sick to her stomach. Wallace and Crofton stood by. They seemed to have sidestepped Trout's wrath.
"Detective Lassiter! What were you doing out there?!"
"Sir," began Lassiter. "I saw my fellow officer in danger and followed my instincts. If I hadn't pushed O'Hara out of the way she most certainly would have been severely injured or killed."
Juliet swallowed deeply, trying not to let her tears fall.
"Lassiter, do I need to remind you that you are now Crofton's partner, not O'Hara's! While you were busy seeing to her, you failed to assist your partner in apprehending the head of a major criminal operation and he got away. As noble as you think your actions, protecting O'Hara is no longer your responsibility."
"With all due respect, Chief Trout, if Wallace had had his partner's back like he was supposed to, I wouldn't have had to step in." Both Wallace and Crofton roared in protest and a heated argument began.
"Stop!" shouted Juliet, speaking up for the first time. "I can clear all of this up." Everyone turned their attention to her. "It was my fault. I…I choked. I failed to follow my partner to the scene, so he must have lost track of me." She took a deep breath. "Lassiter had to protect me, because…well, because it wasn't just me he was protecting…" Everyone had a confused look, except for Lassiter who knew what she was about to say. "He was protecting my unborn child." Trout's eyes grew wide with surprise and Wallace's jaw dropped.
"You're pregnant?" Trout asked, still sounding surprised.
"Yes," said Juliet.
"And Lassiter knew about this?"
"Yes"
"Everybody out!" yelled Trout, "…except O'Hara." The three men turned and left, and Lassiter placed a comforting hand on Juliet's shoulder as he left. For the next several minutes Trout berated Juliet. She didn't argue, or even say a word. She stood there and took it. Despite his anger though, Trout didn't fire her. Instead he informed her that she would be transferred to desk duty, effective immediately. She didn't object. She knew it was time.
When Trout's rant was over and he invited her to leave, Juliet exited the office to find Shawn standing before her.
"Lassiter called me," he said.
Juliet wrapped her arms around Shawn's broad shoulders and held him tight. Finally her tears began to fall. Shawn reciprocated the embrace and rubbed her back with comforting hands. Lassiter looked on from his desk several feet away. "Maybe Spencer isn't so bad for her," he thought.
Trout peeked out from his office, his face getting angrier than it already was when he spotted Shawn. "What are you doing here? I told you, you are not welcome in this station anymore!"
"What is wrong with you?" said Shawn. "This is my fiancé! You think I came here just to piss you off?!" Trout didn't respond. Juliet ended their embrace and hid her teary face in Shawn's chest. "I'm taking her home now." Shawn gently guided Juliet away, but stopped mid-step and turned. "By the way, if I ever again hear of you treating her like you just did, you can be sure you'll be seeing me here again!"
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Even by the time they got home, Juliet was so shaken up by the events of the day that Shawn insisted she immediately change into her pajamas and head to bed. She was lying on her side, head buried in her pillow, when Shawn came to her with a tray of hot soup and toast. Juliet had hardly said a word since leaving the station but thanked Shawn for his thoughtfulness and attempted to stomach the food even though she didn't have much of an appetite. Shawn stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and sat on the bed next to her. He didn't push her to talk about what just happened. He knew that she would talk about it when she was ready.
"I felt the baby move," she said out of nowhere.
Shawn perked up. "What…just now?" he said.
"No, earlier…right before the shootout. That's why I…I just got really scared." Her eyes started to water again.
"Shh…Jules," said Shawn rubbing her back. "I…I'm sure that's normal. It was just your motherly instincts kicking in."
"We…we could have died…," she wept. "I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have been out there."
"Jules, there's no use worrying about what should or shouldn't have happened. That's all in the past. The important thing is that you are ok now."
"Thanks to Lassiter," she said.
"Yeah, thanks to Lassiter," agreed Shawn. Shawn moved the tray of half-eaten food from the bed. He put his arms around Juliet, pulled her close, and rocked her gently as she cried.
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