"Are you ready?" Marlowe asked from the driver's seat, slowing down to a stop at the top of the hill leading to their house.

Their home.

He was going home.

The street looked so familiar, and yet so new. The trees that were just starting to lose their leaves the last time he had been home were bright green and full of fresh leaves. He thought about that morning.

Carrying Lily down the stairs.

Walking out the door.

Driving up the street.

All the things he could no longer do. All the things he didn't know if he would ever be able to do again.

But none of that mattered. Because after six and a half months he was sitting in the car, next to his wife, with his baby in the back seat, getting ready to go home. He took a deep breath, letting the sun beat through the front window onto his chest, warming his heart. "I'm ready."

Marlowe stuck out her hand and placed it gently on his shoulder, squeezing it and beaming over at him. He looked over at her, turning his head completely to center her in his field of vision. He reached his right hand up and placed it over Marlowe's. She had tears collecting at the corners of her eyes.

Carlton wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe her eyes, but with his arm steadied securely in his sling and brace, he was unable to reach her. Instead he smiled at her, pulling her hand to his lips and giving it a soft kiss against the scruff that had collected around his chin.

"Let's go, Mommy!" Lily said, kicking her legs against the back of Carlton's seat. "Let's go home!"

"Okay, baby!" Marlowe said, pulling her hand away from Carlton's shoulder and easing her foot off the brake to turn down the street. Marlowe soon slowed again, turning onto the driveway, and put the car into park.

Carlton craned his neck to take in the whole house. The red trim and white walls looked clean, like the house had just been painted. Though in all fairness, a run-down cabin would have looked like a castle after spending months in the hospital.

Marlowe parked the car and quickly ran to the trunk to pull the folded up wheelchair out of the back. From behind him, Carlton could hear Lily fumbling with the buckles of her car seat and Marlowe shaking out the wheelchair. He sat silently in the front, breathing in the fresh, non-sterilized air.

Lily jumped out of the car and he could see her crazy brown curls bobbing next to his window as she pulled on the door handle. "Let's go, Daddy!" Lily said, jumping up and down on the driveway. Marlowe appeared behind her, pushing the wheelchair to be lined up with the door, just like they had shown her at the rehab hospital. Carlton reached across his lap, twisting a bit to press the button on the buckle.

"Do you need any help?" Marlowe asked cautiously.

Carlton exhaled as a satisfying click answered her question for him.

"Alright, take it nice and slow," Marlowe said, standing at the door and helping him swing his knees over the side of the seat. She braced herself as he extended his legs, carefully making contact with the ground while leaning against Marlowe to steady himself as his weight shifted on his feet.

It was tedious, and a little anxiety inducing. But then again so was everything he did these days. He was getting better, as time went on and his strength improved and he worked more with his therapists. But that doesn't mean that simple tasks like getting on and off the toilet don't still make him nervous sometimes.

Once he was properly situated in the wheelchair, Marlowe began pushing him across the cracked driveway.

"Close your eyes!" Lily said, running in front of the wheelchair before they could get to the front door. "Close your eyes!"

Carlton obeyed, smiling as he shut his eyes and covered them with his right hand for good measure. He felt the wheelchair hit a bump and turn towards the house, and he heard Lily giggling next to him. "Okay, open them!"

Carlton opened his eyes looking around to take in the front steps of the house where a new ramp had been put up.

"Spencer and Guster helped us!" Lily said, running up the ramp. "Come inside now!"

Carlton looked up at Marlowe who was laughing as their daughter ran around the white column on the front porch, holding onto the middle as she swung herself around the pole.

Marlowe began pushing him forward again, and Lily ran to the front door to open it. She bounced just inside the front step, gleeful mischief tickling her eyebrows and Carlton smiled watching her bounce, happiness filling inside of him.

"Surprise!"

The exclamation filled the room the second Marlowe pushed him through the door and he startled, looking around at the familiar faces that filled the living room. His mom and Althea were there, as were Henry, Guster and Selene, the Chief and Iris, McNab and Francine, and some other detectives from the station.

But most importantly, standing off to the side with a small bundle across her chest, stood his partner, beaming at him with nothing but love in her eyes, and her husband standing behind her, completely preoccupied with the baby that squirmed in Juliet's arms.

"It's a surprise party, Daddy!" Lily squealed, tapping on his knees.

"I can see that, Lilypad!" he said, his eyes still taking in all of the people around him. It was a little overwhelming, to be surrounded by so many faces. But it was comfortable too. They were his home. And he was so happy to be there, in his home, surrounded by people who had been there for him and rooting for him since day one.

"Speech!" Shawn yelled, still barely taking his eyes off the baby, yet still managing to avoid Gus' elbow attempting to jab him in the rib.

"Uh, I… uh," he thought for a minute, his sluggish brain trying to string the proper words together. His voice still sounded deep- too deep, and his words often sounded hollow. But he had to say something. He wanted to say something.

Slowly, carefully, he leaned forward in the wheelchair.

And slowly, carefully, he planted his feet on the wood floor.

And slowly, carefully, he pushed his weight up with his strong hand, letting the braces around his ankles stabilize his legs as he rose up to a stand.

"I've never really been great at speeches," he said, looking around at the faces, "but I do want to say thank you- all of you- for being there for me. And for being there for my girls." He looked back at Marlowe, who had a fresh batch of tears running down her cheeks. She was eyeing him nervously, afraid he might lose his balance and fall, but she was smiling nonetheless. "I don't think words will ever properly express how grateful I am to all of you."

"Yeah, Lassie!" Shawn said, clapping his hands and finally looking up. The rest of the room joined in, proudly clapping and holding their hands to their heart.

Slowly the group dispersed. Henry had burgers already running on the grill and slowly people began to trickle onto the back porch. Marlowe had pushed Carlton outside too, where he could sit out of the way and still talk to everyone.

He looked around, trying to find the one person who he needed to see. The one who was there for it all. The one who saved his life.

Where was she?

He nodded politely at McNab and Francine telling him some story about goat cheese or goat yoga. Was that even a thing?

"McNab!" Shawn exclaimed, coming up behind him and grabbing his shoulders. "Tell me more about this goat yoga," he gave Carlton a knowing nod and pulled McNab and his wife away. "Gus and I are looking for new ways to align our chakras- we hear goats are the way to do it."

Carlton chuckled to himself, listening to Gus begin to protest the idea.

"Is this seat taken?"

He knew it was her before he looked up.

"Please," he said, gesturing.

She sat down, adjusting the baby in her arms. Carlton leaned forward, trying to get a good look at the little face that poked out of the swaddle. He couldn't believe how small she was. He knew for a fact Lily had never been that tiny. And this baby was already six weeks old.

"Juliet," he said, hanging his head slightly. He was afraid to make eye contact. Afraid to look into her deep blue eyes. Afraid to remember the last time he had seen them, right before they flickered closed on his hospital room floor. "I am so sor-" his voice cracked. Heavy emotions suffocated him, filling his throat and threatening to take over.

"You saved my life," he managed. "I can never, ever repay you."

"Carlton," Juliet reached out her hand, gently placing it over his and squeezing it until he looked up at her. "It's not your fault."

"It was my hand."

"It wasn't you," she said calmly. Her eyes studied his face, and he could feel her searching his features. "Just looking at you now, my gosh, Carlton. You are so much more alive right now than you were then. I can see it in your eyes. And I could hear about it every time that Marlowe called with an update. I am so proud of you."

Carlton shifted under the weight of her words, his thoughts interrupted by a small squeak coming from the baby in her arms.

"What's her name?"

Juliet hadn't told him. She refused to. She had told Marlowe she was going to properly introduce them one day and that he better get his butt out of that hospital quickly because this baby was never stepping foot in a hospital again once they left the NICU with her.

So every day, as Carlton worked to get stronger and prepared to go home, he thought about the two babies that were waiting for him. His daughter, and the little baby who wouldn't even be in the world yet if it wasn't for him. But she was here now, and he couldn't wait to meet her.

Shawn ran back up the steps to the porch and looked between the two. "Did you tell him?" Marlowe followed him and stood behind Lassiter, excited for the revelation.

Juliet smiled at Shawn and looked back at her partner.

"I'd like you to meet Carly Rose Spencer-O'Hara."

Carlton stared at the baby. Processing. Suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Wait, Carly?" he asked, his eyes wide. He looked up at Juliet, who nodded at him, then up at Shawn who was grinning. "As in…?"

She named her baby after me?

Behind him, Marlowe was squeezing his shoulders. He heard soft cries escaping her lips once again and this time, he couldn't hold back his own emotions. With as much subtlety as his strengthened hand could manage, he slid his finger under his glasses, attempting to hide any evidence of excessive emotion.

"Do you want to hold her?" Juliet offered, holding the bundle slightly in front of her chest.

"Can I?"

"Of course," she smiled her shining smile. The one that made perps confess after two questions and had tied down an idiot like Spencer. The one that had invited him to trust her time and time again as their relationship morphed from a power-fought partnership to an equal and respecting friendship. His ray of sunshine, protecting him through thick and thin.

Juliet held out her arm with the baby, only a slight grimace flashing across her lips as she extended her arms for Shawn to take the baby and transfer her into Carlton's arm.

Carlton was shocked by how light she was. As tiny as she looked, it was nothing compared to how much, or how little, she weighed.

"You got her?" Shawn asked, cautiously letting his hands go like the last block on a Jenga tower.

"I got her." He watched her little eyes squint and her cheeks squirm into a smirk that he had seen millions of times on his partner's face. There was no question that they were related. He could already tell.

Without looking up, he heard Shawn and Marlowe's footsteps walking down the patio, leaving him alone with his partner.

"You named her after me?"

"She's a strong girl. She needed a strong name. She needed the name of a fighter."

"I don't know about that."

"Carlton," Juliet said, resting her hand on his knee and squeezing gently so he looked up at her. "You are the strongest person I know. You are a fighter. I have been watching you fight for your life back for the last six months. And I have stood by you as you fought for eleven years before that. I love you, and I don't know what I would do without you. Honestly. Everything that happened, with me," she gestured to her shoulder, white gauze and tape still poking out of her shirt collar, "Everything that happened with her," she nodded to the baby who was cooing in his arm, "It's okay. It's all okay because we're both okay and so are you. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you."

"Likewise," was all he could muster.

They sat on the porch, quietly watching the party on the lawn. Everyone was smiling, talking, eating. Selene and Buzz were wrapped up in exaggerated conversation. Shawn was playing some game with Lily and Iris, as the three danced around the lawn, working to get Gus to join. Karen and Henry were at the grill, talking over beers.

And Carlton, he was sitting with his partner, holding her baby, and thanking the lord for every breath he took.

He was alive.

And he was home. Finally.