4 Months:

"Hey, Chuck! Can I pleeease take Carina to the pier?" Johnny begged. Charlie was preoccupied with buttoning the tiny buttons on Carina's onesie.

"Jeez, Johnny. Can you give me one second to dress my daughter?" Charlie growled. "She's so little. I don't know if that's a good idea for you to take her…"

"Do you trust me, Charlie?" Johnny asked seriously. Charlie rolled her eyes.

"You know I'd trust you with my life, but my daughter's life? Do you know anything about taking care of such a young baby?"

"I read Briggs' damn-"

"No swearing!"

"I read Briggs' darn books; I think I know what I'm doing."

"Reading about doing something and actually doing something are two very different things," Charlie said seriously.

"Please, Charlie?"

"Why do you want to take her so bad anyways? If you're trying to pick up girls-"

"I just want to show baby Carina a good time! She needs to experience California," Johnny convinced. He made sure to turn on his irresistible doggy pout.

"You only go to the pier, and if something goes wrong, you call me. If anything happens, you do not want to know what I will do to you. Are we clear?" Charlie threatened.

"Yes, ma'am. Look, Charlie, I know you're exhausted, baby. You should take a nap while I have Carina."

"What if something happens and I don't hear the phone ring?" Charlie worried.

"I'll call Briggs or anyone else if something happens, but nothing will happen so don't worry," Johnny beamed.

"Fine. You know where her stroller is," Charlie yawned. Johnny took Carina from her arms excitedly, making cute faces at the baby to make her laugh. "Put sunscreen on her face. Make sure she wears her hat."

"Gotcha. We'll be back in an hour or two."

After Johnny applied the special baby sunscreen to Carina and fastened her sun protective hat on top of her head, he retrieved the stroller and the pair was off.

"You're going to so help me score with some lucky lady," Johnny laughed. "I think Charlie must be really tired because normally she'd see straight through me if I said I just wanted you to experience California. I guess it's kind of true because you definitely need to take a trip to the pier, but you know… Oh my, God. I'm talking to a baby."

Carina just garbled baby nonsense in a response. She waved her chubby little fingers around in the air, clearly enjoying the nice day.

Before the two had even reached the heart of the pier, a young woman approached them.

"What an adorable baby!" the lady exclaimed.

"Thank you. She's my daughter," Johnny grinned. Carina began to cry. "Oh no, Carina!" He picked her up and rocked her gently.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make her cry!" the woman apologized, hurrying off.

"C'mon, Carina. She was pretty! Can you keep your tears in your eyeballs for Uncle Johnny?" he whispered in a gentle tone. Carina's furrowed brow and teary eyes subsided almost instantly. "Good baby!"

Just as Johnny placed her back in the stroller, she started wailing again.

"My little princess, what do you want?" Johnny asked desperately. "Do you miss your mommy?"

"Do you need some help?" asked a woman who approached Johnny and a screaming Carina.

"Nah, I got this under control. But thanks," Johnny grinned. A loud wail from Carina had him swallowing his words. "This child will not stop crying!"

"I don't have any kids of my own, but I helped out when my older sister had her first baby. I definitely learned a lot. I think your baby might be overstimulated," the woman said gently. Johnny couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face- this woman was beautiful.

"I'm sorry, overstimulated? From the pier?"

"She's so tiny, and this scene might be too busy for her delicate senses. Do you want me to help you find a quieter spot?" the woman asked.

"Only if you tell me your name."

"I'm Claire. And you are?"

"Johnny. Nice to meet you, Claire. Now what about that quiet spot?"

The two walked for a short while before finding a bench in the shade.

"This is perfect," Johnny grinned. He gently rocked Carina (but did NOT shake her- that was one of the first things that Briggs ever told Johnny and he would not mess this up), and her crying finally stopped for good.

"Aw, your baby is adorable," Claire smiled, tickling Carina's feet.

"Thank you. This is the first time we've gotten out of the house since…" Johnny trailed off, pretending to get emotional.

"Since?" Claire prompted.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to force our pity story on you, but we haven't been out of the house since Carina's mother died in a car crash," Johnny sniffled. He had never been so thankful of his FBI skills in his life.

"That's horrible!" Claire gasped. She embraced Johnny in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I know we just met, but I figured you could use the comfort."

"No, it was nice. It was four months ago, and I think I'm finally starting to get better," Johnny grinned. All of a sudden, Briggs and Jakes walked past Johnny, Carina, and Claire.

Shit! Johnny thought. Why is Briggs here?

"Johnny?" Briggs asked, noticing his friend sitting on the bench. Carina started to cry when she heard her dad's voice, and she made hand motions signaling that she wanted him to hold her. "Carina!"

Briggs walked straight to the stroller and picked up his daughter.

"How's daddy's little princess?" he asked, kissing her on the nose, and immediately her whimpering stopped.

"Wait, I thought Johnny was Carina's dad!" Claire exclaimed in confusion.

"What? Why the hell would you think that?" Briggs asked. His accusatory tone was clearly directed at Johnny.

"You asshole! You lied to me about this precious sweetheart being your daughter! I bet her mother isn't even dead!" Claire shouted.

"I can assure you that I'm this child's true father, and Carina's mother is completely alive and well," Briggs said through gritted teeth.

Jakes found the whole exchanged hilarious. He was just laughing his ass off in the corner.

"What kind of sick person lies like that?" Claire grumbled, walking away as fast as possible.

"Johnny, man, I have no words," Jakes said, gasping for air. "That was the greatest moment of my life."

"You can just shut up," Johnny groaned. "I cannot believe that happened. Claire seemed genuinely interested."

"Yeah, in Carina. That girl was way out of your league," Jakes shrugged.

"That girl was not out of my league!" Johnny defended.

"Dude, you ain't even playing the same game as that woman."

"Johnny, Charlie will not be happy to hear about this," Briggs said seriously. Johnny's eyes widened.

"No! Don't tell Charlie about this! I will do anything!"

"You have to do my chores for the next two months, and I won't say a word," Briggs offered.

"Two months? One month," Johnny bargained.

"Two, or no deal. Take it or leave it."

"Fine, dammit. I hate you all," Johnny mumbled. Jakes and Briggs high-fived behind his back.

A/N: Sorry it is taking me so long to update! I don't think it is possible for an update a day, but I'll try to update as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please don't forget to send requests and prompts for future chapters. Btw, Lucia is not in this story. She's just not.