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Shawn stared down at his own body, an overwhelming sense of dejá vu creeping over him.
Shit, not again. Lassie's gonna kill me.
This time he hadn't been in a car accident. He'd been shot. If the bullet had been a little more to his left, he would have been hit in the shoulder. Except, the bullet went into his neck, severing the artery there, and he had bled out in less than a minute. No time to contact anyone, or get help.
He felt a presence behind him, and he had never been so conflicted in his, well, life. He didn't want to face Lassie's disappointment, but he could really use the comfort of the reaper he loves.
He turned around, and it wasn't Lassie.
"J-jules?" Shawn wanted to panic. "Where's Lassie?"
No, it can't be someone else. I need Carlton.
"Lassie?" Jules asked, taken aback. Usually these things started out with reassurances from her, not requests to be transferred to another reaper. "Oh! You mean Carlton?"
"I've got this, Juliet," a quiet voice came from beside them. Shawn and Juliet turned to see Carlton standing beside them, staring down at Shawn's body, the grief clear on his face. "You need to go now."
"Oh, okay." She turned back to Shawn and said her goodbyes. She vanished in the blink of an eye, not that Shawn needed to blink anymore.
There was silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say. But Shawn couldn't be quiet for long.
"Lassie. I'm-"
"How could you do something so stupid, Shawn?" Carlton wished he could cry.
"I can fix this."
"You didn't even tell anyone where you were going. Why would you do this alone?"
"What if I just wake up? Like last time."
Carlton scowled.
"Last time you thought it was a dream. Now you know better. But go ahead and try it."
Shawn closed his eyes hard, looking very much like he was suffering from the world's worst headache. Carlton couldn't help the fleeting moment of hope, however. After a few seconds, both men realized that Shawn wasn't going to poof back into his body again.
Shawn let out a shaky breath, and opened his eyes.
"I guess you have to take me to Heaven now."
Carlton flinched, as if he'd been slapped.
"What? Why-"
"Unless… I'm going to Hell?"
"Of course not! You've helped too many people, and you're a good man! Why would you think that?"
Shawn threw his hands in the air, as if Carlton was the one not making any sense.
"Well then, why are you acting like I just stole your last pineapple by asking you that?"
Carlton went quiet once more. He looked away from Shawn, but Shawn stepped forward, into his space, forcing Carlton to see him. Carlton raised his hand to cup Shawn's cheek.
"You know I love you, right?" Carlton asked.
Shawn nodded. "Yeah, I know. I love you too." Carlton smiled sadly at Shawn.
"So you must also know that I can't just ferry you to Heaven and leave you. We've been together for years now, we love each other. I had assumed that, when the time came for you to die, you would join me here, in this plane of existence, as a reaper. I thought he would have decades together before we even had to talk about this."
Shawn pulled Carlton against him, hugging him tightly.
"Lassie, if you want me to stay here with you, I will."
"But, is it what you want?"
Shawn's silence was answer enough. Carlton held him tighter, trying to savour these last moments.
"I can call Juliet back, but I - I can't, Shawn. I-"
Shawn pulled away from him, only far enough to be able to look him in the eye. He put both palms to Carlton's face, thumbs swiping at his cheeks. Carlton realized his own cheeks were wet. So this is what it takes to make a reaper cry?
Heartbreak?
"Come with me," Shawn demanded, but couldn't he see that what he was asking was too much?
"I can't just leave you there. It feels impossible. I need someone else to do it."
"So don't leave. Come to Heaven with me. Be with me forever."
Carlton shook his head.
"I made my choice 11 years ago. I don't get to change my mind and decide to move on."
Shawn smiled sweetly at him.
"Haven't I taught you anything, Carlton Lassiter? There are no rules."