Disclaimer: Not mine, not now or ever.

A/N: Just a short oneshot based during the Christmas episode. When Carlton first showed up and Juliet hugged him.

It was not exactly cold outside, but it wasn’t really warm either. That was one thing the Carlton did not like about Santa Barbra; the weather was always so warm, no matter what time of year it was. His knuckled connected with the cool wood of Juliet’s front door and after knocking he took a step back and waited for her to open the door. He could hear people inside talking and laughing, it sounded like quiet the party, and he wasn’t sure exactly why he was there. He had come because Juliet had asked him to, he knew that much but he wasn’t sure why she had wanted him to come over. Carlton had wanted to refuse but she had cocked her head to the side and grinned at him in a manner that made it impossible for him to refuse her anything. Carlton did not do too well with large amounts of people, but he would try for Juliet. If it would make her happy then he would give it his best shot.

He could hear her coming closer to the door, her heels clicked on the hard wood floor and he found himself suddenly nervous. What if he got stuck talking to someone boring or they asked him all sorts of weird questions? He had not the time nor presence of mind to think about these things—as soon as his mind had been flooded with these questions the door had opened. Juliet was standing in front of him, a beautiful smile dancing across her face. She looked beautiful and Carlton could not speak for a moment.

“Carlton, you came!” Juliet exclaimed. Somehow Carlton had forced himself to walk toward her and once he was standing in front if her he started searching for something to say, but found nothing.

Juliet surprised him by throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a warm hug. Carlton wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, trying to commit the feel of her body against his to memory. He wanted to never let her go, he wanted to forever be close to her and be able to feel her warm skin and smell her perfume. Juliet began to pull away and it took everything Carlton had not to tighten his hold on her and refuse to let her go. Juliet was still smiling when she looked back at him; her eyes showed no sign that she noticed how strangely he was acting. Or was it even strange behavior for him?

Juliet took his hand and led him inside, and Carlton found it in himself not to act too strangely around the O’Hara’s.

Psych—Psych

Juliet had walked Carlton out to his car hours later, still smiling her radiant smile. Carlton fumbled with his keys as he drew them out of his pocket, unable to take his eyes off of her. He had told her that she didn’t have to walk him to his car but she had insisted. And again she had cocked her head to the side and grinned, making it impossible for him to turn her down.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Carlton said. He went to unlock his car but as he reached out to unlock the door Juliet grabbed his arm. He slowly turned to face her, unsure of what her motive to stop him was. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the feeling her warm hand holding onto his arm.

When Carlton was facing her Juliet put one hand on his cheek and the tightened her hold on his arm with the other. Carlton looked down at her, unable to think clearly, but his hands took on a mind of their own and began moving around her body. One settled in her hair and the other on the small of her back.

Juliet pulled him closer to her and looked into his eyes, waiting for him to lean in and kiss her. Carlton wanted to kiss her; he wanted to press his lips to hers and never release her, but he never got the chance.

The persistent beeping of it drew him from his sleep and he groaned, angry that he never got to finish his dream. At that moment Carlton rolled over and caught sight of Juliet asleep next to him. Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled at him, then rolled closer to him and kissed him. The anger from being ripped away from his dream suddenly evaporated and he pulled Juliet even closer to him and buried his nose in her hair. She still smelled as sweet as she had that night only two weeks ago, the night Carlton had dreamt about.

“Morning handsome, sleep well?” Juliet asked him. Carlton pulled back from her only enough to look into her eyes.

“Mhm, I dreamed of you,” Carlton said. Juliet laughed then closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.

“How about we make some breakfast before we have to go?” Juliet asked him. She had already gotten out of bed and was pulling on his work shirt from the day before when Carlton got up.

“Sounds good,” Carlton said pulling on a pair of jeans and following her out to the kitchen. He no longer felt that desperation to hold her close and never let her go—he knew that she wasn’t going anywhere—and he couldn’t be happier.

END

A/N: I just love oneshots! Tell me what you think!