She was the first call he made after Marlowe and the baby were settled in the hospital room. Before his mother, Lauren, or Marlowe's parents. She was his first call.
"Carlton!" Her surprise was evident in her voice when she picked up after the third ring.
"O'Hara," he tried to make it sound like he wasn't so excited to call her. "Is this a good time?"
"It…" Juliet trailed off, distracted by something on her end of the phone. "Carlton, honestly I'm in the middle of something. Can I call you back?"
"Sure," he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. "Sure, it was nothing, really." She had moved on. She had a new partner, he was sure of it. He always thought this imaginary partner was a cousin to McNab, with a little bit of Dobson thrown in. But she had moved on.
"Carlton?" Her voice brought his thoughts back to why he had called. "You've never called me just to chat. What is going on? Is Marlowe alright?" She was concerned.
"Marlowe's doing great," Lassiter looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. He was sitting in the rocking chair in the hospital room. Marlowe was asleep in the bed and little Lily Nora was in his arms. "I was just calling to introduce you to someone."
"Carlton!" Her voice rose in pitch. "The baby wasn't due until next month."
"I know," Carlton laughed. "But she decided she was ready."
"She? Hang on," Juliet was now talking so loud that Carlton had to hold the phone away from his ear. The call disconnected and Lassiter sighed, she was probably at a crime scene. At work. Solving crimes with Karen.
His phone beeped. It was O'Hara, requesting a video call. He answered it, even though in the back of his mind he figured it was a mistake. He'd probably see the dark view of her pocket as he heard her interrogating a criminal.
Instead he was met with her beaming face. She looked great, less stressed and happy.
"Partner," he half laughed.
"Carlton, don't partner me. I want to see her!" She scowled at him.
Lassiter glanced up to make sure that Marlowe was still sleeping, she was thankfully. He tilted his phone so that the camera pointed at his daughter.
"Juliet, I want you to meet Lily Nora Lassiter," he could feel tears pricking at his eyes. She should be here in person. She should be in this room with him, holding the baby and cooing over her. Not looking at grainy video on her cell phone.
"Oh, Carlton," she sighed happily. "She's beautiful."
"She is," Lassiter agreed.
"Hello, Lily Nora Lassiter," Juliet waved on the screen. "Welcome to the world."
"I was thinking," Lassiter cleared his throat. "I was wondering really. Would you consider being her godmother? Not that Spencer is her godfather," he quickly followed up his statement. Putting the camera back to point at his face.
"Carlton," Juliet had teared up. "I would be honored. Now let me see the baby again!"
He obliged and then heard her speak again.
"Hi Lils, I can see your dad cringing at that nickname, but that's what godparents do. They come up with nicknames that dads don't like. I wanted to tell you about your dad. He's the most wonderful man you'll ever meet. He's honest, brave and true. He'll protect you at any cost-" her voice caught slightly. "And more importantly, he's the best damn police chief that Santa Barbara has ever seen. He's the best partner and I'm sure he'll be the best dad. So when you're twelve and you call me because he embarrassed you at school. I'll remind you of that. Because that's what godparents do."
"I miss you," Carlton said softly.
"I miss you too, partner," Juliet said even softer. "I have to go back to work, but-" she paused. "I'll call you to see the baby again."
"I'm sure she'd be happy to see you too," Lassiter smiled.
"Hey, Carlton," Juliet said before hanging up. "It's all going to be okay."