Hi Everyone this is another story and my first Graceland fic so tell me what you think
I know that this story is a bit like my Katy Reagan one from Blue Bloods however I am writing this one slightly differently. I am a huge fan of Briggs and while I do love him with Charlie-Charlie I found is difficult to write and I really enjoy a vulnerable Briggs.
In this story Charlie is dead in a car accident created by one of the drug cartels she had previously put away and I tried to highlight Brigg's anguish in this story.
I hope this story should be around 30 chapters but I would like some prompts from you guys-any chapter any character and any scenario-no deaths however of the rest of the Graceland residents prompted if that's ok I don't really write character deaths very well.
I hope you all enjoyed this and let me know what you thought! I also don't have Graceland Season 1 on DVD (due to living in the UK) and I haven't watched all of Season 2 so I apologise for any inaccuracies I hope I have kept the characters as accurate as possible
Disclaimer-I own nothing but Carina Briggs
And Please Let me know what you think-I hope to receive prompts and update soon
Snapshots Of A Single Father-
Briggs didn't expect Charlie to die in a car accident by some drug dealers she was trying to break-and he sure as hell didn't expect to be a single father to their daughter. Watch the residents of Graceland and Baby Briggs struggle in the big bad world-or cute daddy Briggs feels. Accepting Prompts for approximately 30 chapters.
Chapter 1-Glass
Brigg's takes to the bottle in the weeks after Charlie' death and ends up nearly making a terrible mistake.
Charlie was not supposed to go out in a car accident. The fact that she had was seeping into Graceland like dry rot. Paige had taken over food, managing in a way that was effective and worked. When Jakes and Mike and Johnny staggered in from where they had been spending the day there would always be something hot for them and they ate in silence before falling into bed always to exhausted by grief and the work to say much.
Paul Briggs however had taken to his room; it was common knowledge that his room was now banned at night and when Mike came in the next day to see if Briggs had made it through the night it was always to find a couple of bottles on the floor and Briggs fast asleep his room a mess.
There was also barely any mention of the man for his daughter. Carina Catherine Briggs had been only a month old when her mother had died in what seemed like payback from a drug cartel she had put down months prior and since then she had barely seen her father.
It made Paige's head spin. She had never lost someone in the way that Briggs had but she could never understand why Briggs seemed so distant to his own child. It seemed only she Mike and Johnny were talking care of Carina, with Johnny and Jakes (mainly Johnny) spending all day with her and Paige and Mike feeding her at night.
"We need to make him see some kind of reason" she said during the second month of this isolation. Carina was asleep and Johnny, Mike and Jakes were all sat downstairs with her. "We need to do something true" Mike said nodding in the voice of reason "But its Briggs Paige what can we do?"
"Well we need to do something" Johnny said rubbing his face over his hands "The kid needs her father and I need a decent nice sleep" Jakes nodded "I say we don't give him a choice –let's just place Carina in his room tonight and see how it goes. Maybe if he hears his daughter cry it might make him snap"
"In which way?" Jakes muttered.
That night Paige dressed Carina in a little white onesie with rainbows on it and gave her, her bottle. She was an incredibly cute child. She had a tuft of dark hair and dark eyes and a cute button nose and her skin was the colour of extremely milky coffee. She wrapped her in the fuzzy yellow blanket that Jakes had bought at the baby-shower and after slipping in a small pacifier she hoisted the baby on her hip and gently slipped into Briggs room.
He was in the shower when she slipped in. The crib that Charlie had bought was still in the corner of the room the smaller one having been taken into Paige's room in the aftermath. Gently Paige placed the baby into the crib pulling the blanket over her securely and leaving the room.
She caught Mike and Johnny and Jakes outside the room watching and she shrugged. It didn't matter anymore the ball was completely in Brigg's court now.
When Brigg's staggered out the shower he collapsed into bed taking another swig of rum that had become his daily source of comfort. He fell asleep unaware of the sleeping child away from him.
Until like all new-born's Carina cried.
It was a thin reedy cry at first that changed into a full blown hungry wail in nearly five seconds. Briggs ignored it in favour of burying himself into the pillow.
When it became clear that Carina was not going to shut up Paul staggered upwards blinking blearily against the light that had filtered from the moon into the open window.
He tried to think, he tried to do something but all he could think off was Charlie-the life that they were supposed to happen and the voices that blared in his head that he had failed. That this kid, his kid, Charlie's kid was now faced with the daunting process of growing up with just him. And he was going to screw this up as he screwed everything else up.
He sat on the bed and rocked forwards his head encased in one hand and the other clutching the bottle like it was a lifeline. He growled feeling the tension build and build unable to think or breathe over that damn crying and he needed it to stop…
"Shut the Fuck up!" he roared unable to control himself anymore and before he could stop himself there was a crash as he threw the bottle across the room, soaring over his daughters crib and shattering on the other side of the wall.
There was a pause as something undignified fell out of Paul's mouth as his daughter's cries continued in earnest before the door slammed open.
It was Paige who was stood there in her shorts and slouchy t-shirt her mouth wide open in something akin to horror. Mike was stood behind her sleep rumpled and somehow younger than his age looking at Briggs with something akin to a terrible disappointment and Johnny watching in anger.
"That's it" Paige snarled throwing her hands up in the air her face white with a combination of shock and anger. She stormed over to the crib before her voice rose an octave. "Oh crap Johnny get me a car I need to take Carina to the hospital"
"Why" Paul forced out his voice nothing more than a croak the feeling of helplessness drowning him, but Paige ignored him turning instead to Mike "There's glass in the crib" she said urgently "I need to get her checked out"
"I'll come" Paul said his hands reaching out in desperation the sudden urge to feel his daughter for the first time in nearly two months, but again Paige ignored him shushing Carina silently turning to face him her face twisting "No" she snapped moving out of his range "You're not coming"
"She's my daughter" he said unable to form anything else out knowing deep down that the words were meaningless and hypercritical and Paige just shot him a look that made him feel like nothing.
"You're not acting like her father" she snapped "And she can go back in my room tonight and I swear Brigg's if there is so much of a scratch on her then I will ensure that you never see her again" and with that she stalked out leaving a gaping Brigg's and an embarrassed Mike.
"I…" Paul looked around desperate to catch something, anything that could make this ok. He couldn't think, couldn't understand anything other than Charlie was dead and his daughter was reliant on him. His daughter didn't have a mother.
How the hell was he supposed to be good enough? How the hell was he supposed to replace or even attempt to contemplate replacing her? How was he a competent replacement?
"I…I wasn't gonna hurt her" he said catching Mike's eye "I'm… I'm her dad, I wouldn't…Mike I wouldn't…" he trailed off unable to finish his breath catching in his throat, choking him.
Mike nodded walking slowly looking at Brigg's like he was a startled animal "Come on Brigg's" he said softly his voice and face full of pity "How about we go for a walk down the beach?" he said reaching forwards to grasp the bottle and pull it out of the loose hands on his once training agent.
They stumbled down the beach, the two of them Briggs stumbling in the sand slightly.
When they were sat in the sand listening to the waves when Briggs said suddenly his voice low and rough after listening to the waves. "I don't know what to do Mike" he said unable to control the shivering "I don't know what to do-I don't know what the hell I am doing any more"
It struck Mike that this was Brigg's at his most vulnerable. That this was what Brigg's must have been when he didn't have his friends, when he was a scared drug addict. This was Brigg's without the mask.
God It was unnerving.
"You know Paige is just upset." Mike warned slowly "She's the only girl in the house now and that scares her, not to mention for the last two months she's been looking after your baby as well as her own cases, she's burnt out Brigg's we all are"
"I don't know how to take care of her" Brigg's confessed and Mike blinked before nodding-it made sense "I don't know what to do" he kept repeating it like a mantra and Mike genuinely felt for the guy.
"Were all here" Mike continued "Me and Johnny and Jakes and Paige-were not gonna leave either one of you alone, you and Carina-you're not gonna be alone in this"
"Stop the drinking" he carried on looking over the shoreline. "Stop the sleeping in and focus on your daughter, get back to work and prove that your still one of the good guys." He paused "Prove to Charlie's memory that you can still be the man that she choose to have a baby with-imagine what she would have said if she'd have seen you tonight"
Briggs nodded numbly "There was a lot of glass" he mumbled and Mike nodded his eyes wide before wincing as Paul suddenly turned and was violently sick all over the sand. Once he had finished retching he turned shaking slightly "I could have killed her" he muttered. "I could have killed my own baby Mike" and he turned his face away so Mike didn't see what was so obviously painted on his face.
"Then let this be the turning point" Mike said relaying on his FBI physiological training "Be the dad that she deserves" he patted Briggs on his knee "And we always have your back"
Mike left Briggs on the beach for another five minutes before the Agent came back in his face whiter but he seemed calmer than before. By this time Mike had swept up most of the glass and hovered upstairs, he had cleaned up the bottles with an alarming sense of how they had grown and managed to pack Briggs into the shower while he made him a sandwich and some soup and a coffee, with a change of clothes, a shave and a good meal down him Brigg's looked at least thirty years younger. "Thank You" he muttered and Mike just nodded
He was still playing with the edge of his plate when the door opened and Paige and Johnny came in. Johnny nodded once at Briggs before muttering something about 'getting a good night's rest' and Paige was just about to storm upstairs a sleeping baby in her arms when Mike gave a small cough.
She turned to stare at him blankly and Mike shot her a look before her eyes flickered to Briggs who was watching Carina with a blissful and hopeful expression.
Paige rolled her eyes before passing the baby to Mike. "Paige?" Brigg's asked his voice smaller than Mike thought possible "Was she hurt?" his voice was small and Paige flashed him with a quick pitying look "No" she said softly as the tension visibly deflated from Brigg's shoulders "You got lucky this time"
Once she had gone upstairs Mike passed the baby to Briggs muttering something about going upstairs and leaving Briggs to his daughter.
Once Mike had gone Paul yawned the night, the last two months taking its toll on him "I'm sorry baby" he muttered "I know your momma's not here but I promise you I'm gonna do my best to be the best daddy you've ever had so just bare with me"
He sat down on the chair curling up so Carina was falling asleep into his chest her little face scrunched up in sleep." Dragging a blanket over the two of them his eyelids suddenly heavy for the first time in months he fell asleep. For once it was devoid of any nightmares.
And when the residents of Graceland came downstairs the next day it was too there resident leader and his daughter fast asleep on the couch both of them wrapped up in nothing but each other, oblivious to the world.
And right there and then the residents of Graceland knew that everything was gonna be alright.
And let me know what you all thought.
Next Chapter-When Briggs takes Carina out trick or treating he understands what it feels like to lose your child for a brief moment and meets a man giving kids a different kind of (illegal) treat-Mike is heavily amused by all this of course.