008 Innocence - One Hundred Reasons

[musicalluna]

Title: 008 Innocence - One Hundred Reasons
Fandom: Psych
Author: MusicalLuna
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Lassiter/Polly
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Drama
Warnings: None
Complete: Yes
Summary: One of my responses for my 100 themes collection revolving around Lassiter and Polly.
A/N: And for this prompt, you have Jenn1984 to thank for the idea.
Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or it's characters.

 

The front door is unlocked when he gets home.

“Polly?” he calls, setting his briefcase down.

There’s no answer.

He wonders vaguely if she’s upstairs in the bedroom, a sick anxiety growing rapidly in his stomach. Oh god, what if something happened to her? Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of a familiar figure as he moves past the living room.

She’s fast asleep on the couch.

He immediately changes course, heading straight for the couch. His hands wrap around her shoulders and he pulls her upright without hesitation. She wakes with a start, eyes wide and panicked until she catches sight of his face, when it immediately fades. That only fuels the fire building quickly inside him. “Carlton,” she says blearily. “You’re home.”

“Are you insane?” he demands. “Are you trying to get killed?”

She stares at him, bewildered, and winces at the vice grip he’s got on her arms. “What? What are you talking about Carlton?”

“The door, Polly,” he says, as though it’s perfectly obvious. When her brow furrows in confusion he says angrily, “The front door, Polly. It was unlocked.”

She still looks baffled and he’s tempted to shake her to try and get her to see sense. Why doesn’t she understand? “Of course it was unlocked, you were coming home,” she says.

“Polly,” he grits, “You fell asleep with the door unlocked. Do you have any idea what could have—who could have—”

She flinches as his grip on her arms tightens and he immediately pries his hands off of her, clenching them into tight fists as he moves away. “I was only asleep for a minute, Carlton,” she says and he can tell she’s trying to soothe his temper.

“That’s all it takes!” he snaps. “It doesn’t take a minute to get in an unlocked door, Polly! In a minute, someone could have stormed through that door and shot you, or stabbed you, or done some other god-awful thing to you and you would have never seen it coming because you were fast asleep! The door should never be unlocked if I’m not here! Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” she whispers, and he knows he’s frightening her, but dammit, she has to see; she has to understand.

“The world is not a safe place, Polly, no matter what you think. And you may have avoided its horrors so far, but there is no reason you should give them any opportunity to get access to you. Don’t ever leave the door unlocked.”

She nods, her bottom lip caught tightly between her teeth and Carlton deflates, his hand moving to rub at his forehead. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, and it kills him because she’s trying not to cry.

“You scared the living daylights out of me, Polly,” he says wearily and eases onto the couch beside her. “God, don’t cry,” he begs as the first tear slips down her face and takes hold of her again, this time much more gently. He pulls her to him until she lets go, crying uncontrollably into his chest.

Holding her tightly, he presses his lips to her hair, only partially regretting the harsh lecture. “I’m sorry,” he mutters when she’s calmed a little. “I just…you haven’t seen the things I have and— Yelling was wrong, but I don’t regret what I said. You have to understand how easy it is for bad things to happen.”

She nods, and sniffles a little, her hands wrapped tightly around the fabric of his shirt, inside his jacket. “You were just worried,” she says, voice thick. “I would worry too, if I were you. I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

He holds her close, threading his fingers into her hair and pressing his hand to the side of her head.

Her innocence is one of his favorite things about her, but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying at times like these.