i would move heaven and earth to be with you.

psych challenge: [2/4] relationships - carlton lassiter & marlowe viccellio

For timomundson's Psych fest - Five characters- 1/5 Marlowe Viccellio

Notes: This random little bit just popped into my head, and I had to write it—I had to, even if I don’t normally write Psych fanfiction and, indeed, this is the first one I have written in literal years. Spoilers for season eight.

Summary: As aggravating as Carlton may find Shawn at times, if Lily is to spend time with her godmother Juliet, then so, too, must she spend time with her godfather, Shawn. But while Carlton knew that Shawn would be a bad influence, he didn’t know how bad things would get until Lily was five years old. [Humor/fluff, drabble.]

- - -

It was only one weekend.

Everyone had assured him that he had nothing to worry about. Spencer had promised to be on his best behavior, O’Hara (he was going to call her that no longer how long she was married, because some habits were hard to break and Carlton didn’t think he could stomach calling her Spencer, even after all these years) had promised that she would make sure Spencer was on his best behavior, and Lily Nora herself had looked so excited to spend the weekend with Aunt Juliet and Uncle Shawn that, even with his better judgment telling him 'no,' Carlton couldn’t help but say 'yes.' Besides, he and Marlowe needed a mini-vacation. It wasn’t often that Carlton could take time away from the department, and with Spencer and O’Hara volunteering to let Lily stay with them in San Francisco for the weekend, Carlton was pretty sure Marlowe would have killed him had he said no, and he didn’t need her going to prison for a second time.

So, it was only one weekend. Carlton assured himself, over and over again, that nothing could go wrong over the course of a single weekend, even with Spencer at the helm.

When they went to pick Lily up, Carlton discovered how very wrong he was.

"Carlton!" O’Hara greeted him and Marlowe at the door, and within seconds of her excited greeting her arms were thrown around his neck in her usual hug. Carlton returned the gesture, but even before O’Hara pulled away to embrace Marlowe in much the same manner, he was craning his neck around to try and catch a glimpse of his little girl. It only took about three seconds; the moment O’Hara pulled away to greet Marlowe Carlton’s little girl came running into the foyer, her dark hair bouncing in a ponytail against her shoulders, a wide smile splitting her chubby cheeks.

"Daddy!" she cried, and Carlton grinned as he scooped down to pick her up.

"Hey there, sweetheart! Did you have a good time?" he asked, and after a brief squeeze set her on her feet again. She would always be his little girl, but she was already five, and Carlton would make sure that she knew to stand tall and proud like any Lassiter should. Lily bobbed her head.

"Yup! Auntie Jules and me baked cookies, and I watched cartoons with Uncle Shawn and Gus, and we had water balloons, and cookies, and lotsa fun." 

Carlton smiled, and reached out to ruffle her hair. “I’m glad to hear it.”

"And, and!" Lily held up one finger to quiet him, and bounced from foot to foot. "Uncle Shawn taught me somethin’, too! He showed me somethin’ real cool."

"Oh?" A sense of foreboding wormed its way into Carlton’s gut, and he felt his smile tighten. Beside him, he heard O’Hara intake a sharp breath. "And what’s that, sweetheart?"

"Oh, it’s just something silly," O’Hara said quickly. "They were just playing around—" Carlton held up a hand to shush her, much as Lily had done to him a moment prior.

"I’ll hear it from her, O’Hara," he said, and he heard O’Hara sigh. "Well, Lily? What did Uncle Shawn teach you?"