"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," a small figure screamed as she jumped onto her parents' bed, then flopped onto her dad's stomach.
"Ooof!" Carlton said, shooting up from his sleep and wrapping up his little girl in his arms. "Good morning, Lilypad."
Beside him, Marlowe rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head, "It's too early for this!" She said, laughing as Lily slowly pulled the pillow off her mom's face and stuck out her tongue.
"It's not too early!" Lily said, wiggling in between her parents, "The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"
"Is that so, Anna?" Carlton said, planting a kiss on Lily's head. Iris, the chief's daughter, had shown Lily Frozen when she was babysitting her a year ago, and it had been a pretty big staple in the Lassiter household ever since.
But what was crazy was how much Carlton found himself enjoying the movie himself- but not for the movie, obviously. The songs were irritatingly catchy, and he had found himself humming them under his breath more than once with a perp in the back of his car. But it was watching Lily dance around in front of the TV acting out both parts of the songs or quoting the movie when they were at the dinner table.
It was because Carlton loved being a father more than he had ever imagined he would. And he loved his little girl more than he had ever imagined he could love another human being. He would do anything to protect her, and he would shoot anyone who even threatened to come close to hurting her without hesitation.
"Okay, Bunny. Let's go." Carlton grabbed Lily and rolled out of bed. Lily was four years old and had just started preschool so that Marlowe could go back to work.
"Horsy Daddy!" Lily said, jumping up and down so Carlton would pick her up.
"C'mon Cowgirl," he said, crouching down so Lily could jump onto his back. He got up and jogged down the stairs and around the rooms into the kitchen. This was a special side of him- one that he reserved only for Marlowe and his baby. Other than his partner, no one at the station knew about how he acted at home- and it would stay that way too. It would put a major damper on his street cred if anyone knew that he ran around his house playing "horsy" with his daughter.
"You two hungry?" Marlowe asked, following them, and pulling out some frozen pancakes to warm up.
"Pancakes!" Lily said, bouncing on her Dad's back.
A sharp pang suddenly hit Carlton's head, right behind his eye. "Let's sit down now," he said, reaching for the chair behind him and helping Lily to the ground. He had had a headache the night before as well, but nothing that a couple extra Tylenol couldn't take care of, though they honestly didn't do a whole lot. However, it had been enough for him to get to sleep. He was just stressed from the case.
"Carlton, are you okay?" Marlowe asked, looking into his eyes.
But just as soon as the pain came, it was gone again.
"Yeah. Just a little headache- I'm sure it's nothing." He rubbed his forehead with his palm and shook his head a couple of times. "I'm good."
Marlowe came over to the table with two plates of pancakes with some butter and syrup and placed them on the table in front of them. Lily grabbed her plate. "Help?" She asked, holding out her plate to her dad for him to make her pancakes just the way that she liked them.
He started working the butter onto her pancakes, his mind still feeling a little fuzzy.
"Carlton, did you hear me?" Marlowe asked, staring intensely at his eyes.
"What?"
"Can you pick Lily up from preschool today?"
"Oh um…" He rubbed his forehead again. "Yeah, sure."
"Iris is coming over at 5 to babysit tonight so we can go out to dinner." He could feel her eyes watching him.
"Mhm…"
"Carlton, are you sure you're alright?" Marlowe said, coming over to examine him. She put her hand on one of his shoulders and leaned in to look closer into his eyes. His eyes switched back and forth to focus on her light brown eyes staring back at him. The ones that he fell in love with seven years ago. The same ones that his four-year-old looks at him with every day. His favorite eyes in the world. "Maybe you should go and see a doctor."
"No. I'm completely fine. It's gone now," He stood up to grab his coat.
"Carlton, are you sure?"
"Marlowe, please. I have a big case today and I can't just put that aside for a little headache. I promise. It's gone now. And I have some pain killers in the car."
"Carlt-" Marlowe started to say again, but she was cut off by a kiss.
"Goodbye. I love you. I'll see you at dinner. Happy first-date-aversary, baby," He said, then scooped Lily up into a hug. "I love you, Bunny," he said, giving her a quick kiss before returning her to her seat at the table.
"Bye-bye, Daddy."
"O'Hara," Lassiter yelled down the hall, waiting for his partner to return from the evidence locker with some files for their case.
"Spencer, Carlton. It's Spencer-O'Hara." Juliet jogged up the stairs and fell in line next to him as they walked through the station.
"Never gonna happen." He said, bluntly.
"Are we really going to have this conversation every day?"
"As long as we're partners," He said, giving her a sideways grin. She knew that he cared about her and that he respected her marital choices. He had told her that before. But that didn't mean that he had to call her by that name that associated her with Spencer- the actual Spencer. The Spencer who, most of the time, made him want to rip out his own hair and braid a noose out of it. That would make the association too solid. And sure, they'd been married for four years, but that didn't mean that he had to accept it.
"What's the word on the car thefts?" His partner asked, rolling her eyes and moving on with the conversation.
"There was another car stolen last night from the convenience store on the corner of Castillo Street and West Montecito. I got a call from the manager on my way in."
"Let's go check it out," Juliet said, tossing him his car keys and heading for the door. Carlton reached up to grab them out of the air and felt the sharp pain behind his right eye again. He steadied himself with the desk before tossing the keys back to his partner.
"Actually, could you drive?" He said, blinking his eyes to attempt to refocus them. The stabbing behind his eye didn't fade this time. Instead, it lingered, scratching his vision and making the scene in front of him slowly fade into one solid image. He blinked again, but his vision felt clouded, unable to discern desk from person from wall. What is happening? "I want to go over some of the notes from the case before we get there." He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen off his desk and attempted to walk casually towards the door, focusing intensely on the light reflecting through the front windows.
"Uh, sure?" Juliet replied, catching the keys and following her partner to the door. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Lassiter snapped, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "Let's go.""Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," a small figure screamed as she jumped onto her parents' bed, then flopped onto her dad's stomach.
"Ooof!" Carlton said, shooting up from his sleep and wrapping up his little girl in his arms. "Good morning, Lilypad."
Beside him, Marlowe rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head, "It's too early for this!" She said, laughing as Lily slowly pulled the pillow off her mom's face and stuck out her tongue.
"It's not too early!" Lily said, wiggling in between her parents, "The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!"
"Is that so, Anna?" Carlton said, planting a kiss on Lily's head. Iris, the chief's daughter, had shown Lily Frozen when she was babysitting her a year ago, and it had been a pretty big staple in the Lassiter household ever since.
But what was crazy was how much Carlton found himself enjoying the movie himself- but not for the movie, obviously. The songs were irritatingly catchy, and he had found himself humming them under his breath more than once with a perp in the back of his car. But it was watching Lily dance around in front of the TV acting out both parts of the songs or quoting the movie when they were at the dinner table.
It was because Carlton loved being a father more than he had ever imagined he would. And he loved his little girl more than he had ever imagined he could love another human being. He would do anything to protect her, and he would shoot anyone who even threatened to come close to hurting her without hesitation.
"Okay, Bunny. Let's go." Carlton grabbed Lily and rolled out of bed. Lily was four years old and had just started preschool so that Marlowe could go back to work.
"Horsy Daddy!" Lily said, jumping up and down so Carlton would pick her up.
"C'mon Cowgirl," he said, crouching down so Lily could jump onto his back. He got up and jogged down the stairs and around the rooms into the kitchen. This was a special side of him- one that he reserved only for Marlowe and his baby. Other than his partner, no one at the station knew about how he acted at home- and it would stay that way too. It would put a major damper on his street cred if anyone knew that he ran around his house playing "horsy" with his daughter.
"You two hungry?" Marlowe asked, following them, and pulling out some frozen pancakes to warm up.
"Pancakes!" Lily said, bouncing on her Dad's back.
A sharp pang suddenly hit Carlton's head, right behind his eye. "Let's sit down now," he said, reaching for the chair behind him and helping Lily to the ground. He had had a headache the night before as well, but nothing that a couple extra Tylenol couldn't take care of, though they honestly didn't do a whole lot. However, it had been enough for him to get to sleep. He was just stressed from the case.
"Carlton, are you okay?" Marlowe asked, looking into his eyes.
But just as soon as the pain came, it was gone again.
"Yeah. Just a little headache- I'm sure it's nothing." He rubbed his forehead with his palm and shook his head a couple of times. "I'm good."
Marlowe came over to the table with two plates of pancakes with some butter and syrup and placed them on the table in front of them. Lily grabbed her plate. "Help?" She asked, holding out her plate to her dad for him to make her pancakes just the way that she liked them.
He started working the butter onto her pancakes, his mind still feeling a little fuzzy.
"Carlton, did you hear me?" Marlowe asked, staring intensely at his eyes.
"What?"
"Can you pick Lily up from preschool today?"
"Oh um…" He rubbed his forehead again. "Yeah, sure."
"Iris is coming over at 5 to babysit tonight so we can go out to dinner." He could feel her eyes watching him.
"Mhm…"
"Carlton, are you sure you're alright?" Marlowe said, coming over to examine him. She put her hand on one of his shoulders and leaned in to look closer into his eyes. His eyes switched back and forth to focus on her light brown eyes staring back at him. The ones that he fell in love with seven years ago. The same ones that his four-year-old looks at him with every day. His favorite eyes in the world. "Maybe you should go and see a doctor."
"No. I'm completely fine. It's gone now," He stood up to grab his coat.
"Carlton, are you sure?"
"Marlowe, please. I have a big case today and I can't just put that aside for a little headache. I promise. It's gone now. And I have some pain killers in the car."
"Carlt-" Marlowe started to say again, but she was cut off by a kiss.
"Goodbye. I love you. I'll see you at dinner. Happy first-date-aversary, baby," He said, then scooped Lily up into a hug. "I love you, Bunny," he said, giving her a quick kiss before returning her to her seat at the table.
"Bye-bye, Daddy."
"O'Hara," Lassiter yelled down the hall, waiting for his partner to return from the evidence locker with some files for their case.
"Spencer, Carlton. It's Spencer-O'Hara." Juliet jogged up the stairs and fell in line next to him as they walked through the station.
"Never gonna happen." He said, bluntly.
"Are we really going to have this conversation every day?"
"As long as we're partners," He said, giving her a sideways grin. She knew that he cared about her and that he respected her marital choices. He had told her that before. But that didn't mean that he had to call her by that name that associated her with Spencer- the actual Spencer. The Spencer who, most of the time, made him want to rip out his own hair and braid a noose out of it. That would make the association too solid. And sure, they'd been married for four years, but that didn't mean that he had to accept it.
"What's the word on the car thefts?" His partner asked, rolling her eyes and moving on with the conversation.
"There was another car stolen last night from the convenience store on the corner of Castillo Street and West Montecito. I got a call from the manager on my way in."
"Let's go check it out," Juliet said, tossing him his car keys and heading for the door. Carlton reached up to grab them out of the air and felt the sharp pain behind his right eye again. He steadied himself with the desk before tossing the keys back to his partner.
"Actually, could you drive?" He said, blinking his eyes to attempt to refocus them. The stabbing behind his eye didn't fade this time. Instead, it lingered, scratching his vision and making the scene in front of him slowly fade into one solid image. He blinked again, but his vision felt clouded, unable to discern desk from person from wall. What is happening? "I want to go over some of the notes from the case before we get there." He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen off his desk and attempted to walk casually towards the door, focusing intensely on the light reflecting through the front windows.
"Uh, sure?" Juliet replied, catching the keys and following her partner to the door. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." Lassiter snapped, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "Let's go."
