So, there's a few things you MUST know before continuing.

- Carter is the same age, but no son.

- Reese is a normal guy, still charming and everything, but w/o the haunted shadow of being a killer around

- Amelia is my own creation, she's mine so don't hate

- Fusco will still be Fusco

- Finch will be appearing...soon

My fic is AU for a reason. I enjoyed coming up with this concept so know before going in that you shouldn't have any preconceived notions of what everything will be like. Enjoy with an open mind.

I WILL NOT be updating unless I have the future CH or 2 done, so any suggestions for directions would be much appreciated. Anything is possible, so don't be scared to be honest :]

Walking into the remarkably calm precinct, John scanned the room until his eyes fell onto a short pudgy man that he recognized from the investigation years ago. Though it had been four long years, he'd never forget the man's pessimistic attitude when it came to his girlfriend's murder in Central Park. Everything about those few months that they looked for her killer had him in a daze unless he was talking care of little Amelia. He looked down to see his daughter on his shoulder, one tiny hand resting on the free right side of his neck, while her head rested in the crook of his left side, her little hand scrunched into the back of his suit jacket. Her eyes were scanning the room, her eyes just barely visible over his shoulder as he held onto her, making his was way for said detective. He saw a female detective at a desk across from this man's, her face not registering with him as part of the investigation before. He dismissed it as he walked up to the man's desk, his back to what he assumed was the man's female counterpart.

"Detective Fusco" he said in a curt tone, shifting Amelia's weight as she popped her head up, him letting her lean more on his shoulder as he talked.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked in a bored tone, regarding John with a wary gaze, his stance intimidating and his jaw locked in quiet anger.

"You were the lead detective in my girlfriend's murder four years ago and never returned her personal belongings. You stated they were evidence and never were around when I came to collect them conveniently. I'd like my daughter to have something of her mother's at the very least" he finished angrily, shifting his focus as Amelia's hand squeezed the side of his neck lightly to gain his attention.

"Lo que es mi hija?" he murmured into the side of her head as he glared at the detective. The man got up to get another officer for confirmation or something of the sort as he stood there.

"Down" she said to him, wiggling her feet as he sighed and placed her gently on the floor. He'd known that at four she'd be inquisitive, but it was scary just how much like him she was. She almost didn't look anything like Jessica except for her slightly more rounded eyes. She was his little mini-me and he couldn't be any prouder of her.

As she stood beside her father, she watched as he sighed irritably at the other man for taking so long. She'd seen the people in the room as they walked in and she wanted to find the lady she'd seen. She was only able to see the side of the lady's face, but the half smile and eyes reminded her of the pictures her father showed her. She didn't remember her mother much, but when the lady looked up to talk to someone, her eyes looked just like her mother's had. The smile on the woman's face seemed genuinely kind and it made her want to go see what she was like. She saw her a few feet away leaning her head against her hand on her desk, flipping through paper and drinking from a coffee mug. While Amelia was mischievous by nature, she approached the detective's desk soundlessly as she placed her small hands over the edge just barely getting her palm on there, her eyes just visible above the metal of the desk. She stood and watched the detective for a minute, smiling with her entire face, as she stood there unnoticed. She then worked up the courage to announce herself, her face still half hidden behind the desk.

"Hi" she whispered, and the detective jumped in surprise as she swung her head up to meet the most intensely blue eyes she'd ever seen.

She sat and just watched the little girl for a minute, neither of them moving as they took they other in. Aside from the amazingly baby blue of the little girl's eyes, she had this dark chocolate brown hair that was wavy from what she could see in her ponytail. She swore the little girl had read her mind because she came to stand in front of her drawers, giving Detective Carter the ability to look at this little thing entirely. She was a beautiful little girl, blue eyes and, she'd been right about the hair, but she also had the prettiest oval shaped face. Her hair was in a ponytail, but you could tell it was still wavy and long. She had small studs in her ears and wore the cutest pair of jeans, sneakers, and baby white and purple bomber jacket. She wanted to laugh at the adorable overload this little girl exuded, but just smiled as she inched closer to her chair.

"Mi llamo Amelia" she said in a quiet voice, smiling shyly as the detective leaned her elbows onto her knees to be closer to her height. Carter smiled and responded, glad that she knew some Spanish.

"Mi llamo Jocelyn" she answered, ecstatic at the smile that over came Amelia's face. She came really close to Carter this time, the top of her head about six inches from her forehead as Amelia held her hands out.

"Up?"

Carter smiled and nodded, asking her whether she wanted to sit on her lap or on her desk. Amelia chose to sit on her desk, turning to face Carter's left and her father's back as she sat cross-legged and waited. Carter was impressed that Amelia was content to look around for the time being, giving her time to pull any small amount of Spanish out of thin air.

"You have pretty eyes," Amelia said, smiling an adorably dimpled smile at her as she placed her head in her right hand, her body facing Amelia completely. She sighed in relief that she spoke English, not sure her introductions and lunch menu choice of Spanish would suffice. John was still waiting on Detective Fusco when he noticed Amelia wasn't next to him and silently began to panic. Before it got out of hand, he spotted his little girl looking enthralled with the female detective he'd seen earlier when he arrived. Amelia was never that open with people to begin with, and it intrigued him that this woman had gotten his daughter to smile and laugh with her in the ten minutes they'd been there. He wanted to continue to watch, but the other detective was making his way back.

"You're sweet Amelia, do you go to school yet?" she asked curiously, generally curious about her. She nodded her head emphatically then paused and looked stumped before answering.

"Preschool Jos…Josse…" she struggled with her name and Carter just smiled and cut her off gently.

"It's ok sweetie, you can call me Jos"

"Oh, ok! In school, we made noodle pictures Jos…" and she started to ramble on excitedly as Carter sat and listened intently, unaware that they were being watched once again. John was leaning against the rude detective's desk for a few minutes before the man huffed and called to him.

"Mr. Reese, is there something else I can help you with?" he asked annoyed, pushing his chair back to get up.

"Yeah just one more thing, who's that" he inquired, watching as his daughters hands flailed at a story she was telling the detective. He smiled wider this time, knowing that that was one of the few things she inherited from her mother.

"Oh, that's Detective Carter. She's been here a couple years now, so if you'll excuse me" he supplied, then made a gesture of movement as he grabbed his coat and left. John watched his daughter for a few more moments before regretfully interrupting.

"Mi hija, is this the crayon story again?" he asked knowingly as Amelia nodded her head and blushed lightly, before trying to finished telling the detective the story.

"I'm sorry, she's been on a bit of a coloring kick since she found out other kids couldn't color in the lines yet" he said chuckling as the detective turned her chair to face him head on. He was taken away at the sparkling smile she gave him as she said hello, even her eyes crinkling in joy at his daughter's storytelling.

"Daddy Daddy, this is Jos! She's my new friend," she stated proudly before reaching out to Carter and having her pick her up, only to be placed on her lap sideways because Amelia didn't want to be put down just yet. He was shocked that his daughter had taken such a liking to her, but what floored him was that the detective wrapped herself around Amelia; almost protective like he did when they were at home. She never let anyone do that, and when they did she'd scream bloody murder until she was released. Amelia just snuggled deeper into her embrace as he met the detective's startled gaze as Amelia's eyes closed, the detective running a hand over her head as Amelia clutched a piece of her jacket in her left hand while she sucked the thumb on her right.

"I'm sorry, she never lets people hold her, let alone fall asleep on them" he whispers, realizing that he's crouched at her height in her chair as he strokes his daughter's face gently before looking up at the detective again.

"John Reese, and this little one is Amelia as I'm sure you know. You are?" he knew her title, but he wanted to know exactly what Jos was short for. She looked back down at his half-asleep daughter before meeting his eyes once more.

"Oh, sorry hi. I'm Detective Jocelyn Carter. It's nice to meet you Mr. Reese," she whispered back, and the words wrapped around his spine as he shivered at how intimate his name sounded coming from her. He hadn't felt this close to a woman in years, and all he knew was her name. They held each other's gaze until they both noticed Amelia trying to shift, instantly whimpering as her father tried to pick her up. She held on tighter to Carter and he smiled apologetically at her before his jaw dropped in amazement at how she was smoothing her hand over Amelia's head, taking out her ponytail and massaging her head. She then proceeded to murmur what sounded like a lullaby to her as she shifted her to have Amelia's head on her shoulder now, Amelia immediately relaxing and curling atop her chest and into her neck. He could feel the warmth spread through his chest at the gentle smile on the detective's face as he stood, forcing her to look up at him as she rose cautiously with his daughter. He tried to wake Amelia again, but she just sighed and snuggled deeper into Jocelyn's chest. They smiled at one another before John looked around the squad room still scant with people at 12 in the afternoon. He motioned his head towards her desk and she tilted her head to one side in question.

"You, uh…you have lunch yet? It's the least I can do since Amelia's using you as her personal pillow" he said smirking, his eyes watching hers for any hint of discomfort. When he found none, he smiled as she looked down at her and back up to him, shifting both of her hands, one under the little girl and the other rubbing soothing circles on her back. She motioned with her head to Fusco's desk then to her own.

"I guess since Fusco's on lunch, I can go too. Do you mind grabbing my jacket? My wallet is in the pocket"

"Oh no Detective, when I ask a woman to join us for lunch, she never pays" he says as he follows her outside and onto the sidewalk, aware of her suddenly more introverted mood.

"I guess you've had plenty of practice huh?" she asks lightly, her tone sounding slightly strained even to her own ears. She sighs and continues to hold Amelia and weave through the foot traffic when she feels his hand on her lower back, keeping her close to him. She could feel him lean close to her as he leant down to speak to her, and she could feel herself grow warm at his close proximity.

"Definitely not Detective, but I was raised to be a gentleman. Chivalry isn't nearly as dead as you may think" he states, looking at her as she meets his gaze, winking at her as they enter the taqueria, the smells hitting her full force making her smile at all of the memories they brought back. He noticed the easy smile and wanted to ask, but he could see Amelia coming around and wiping the sleep from her eyes. As she looked up at Jocelyn, she smiled and hugged the detective tight, making her eyes widen and another smile grace her features as she murmured something to Amelia before she nodded quickly and was put down on the floor. He was suspicious to say the least, but let it go as she came to take his hand, giggling as he swung her up into his arms to look at all of the food.

"Hi daddy! Can I have a steak taco please?" she asks sweetly, batting her eyelashes in a way that had Jocelyn holding in her laughter at the conceding look that overcame John's face. She'd never witnessed the bond between a daughter and her father, and it astonished her that he seemed to live solely for this little girl.

"Detective, what can I get you?" he asked, turning to meet two sets of identical blue eyes and sighed to herself. This man may not be married (since there's no band on his finger), but he just seemed to be too good to be true. He was gorgeous, well mannered, witty, and caring for his daughter and even took her to lunch today. It all just seemed too neat to be right, but she let herself indulge for the time being. While she appreciated the gesture, she ordered her food in Spanish like she did every week, smiling at the man behind the counter as he flirtatiously smiled back and stared at her. It made John uncomfortable at the attention she was getting from the man, but soon had to almost swallow his fist as Amelia wanted her to hold her again, the Detective doing so willingly, missing the look the man gave John as he stood close behind her and just smiled. He knew what he was doing, but he'd plead insanity if anyone ever asked.

As they grabbed their food to sit as a table outside on the patio, Jocelyn laughed as Amelia made herself comfortable next to her, leaving her father to sit by himself on the other side of the table. As Amelia dug into her food and ignored the adults, John started asking Jocelyn the questions he was curious about.

"So Detective, what was with the carefree smiled when we walked in?" he asked over his horchata, catching the way her eyes sparked in happiness as she leaned back to look at him squarely.

"Please Mr. Reese, call me Jocelyn. I'm off the clock for now" she said teasingly, and he just smirked in response.

"Well in that case, call me John"

"Alright John. The smells of this place bring me back to when I was a kid. I grew up next to my best friend until we were 15," she said, her eyes taking on a glassy look as she continued, "her family was Mexican and they used to have these huge parties with homemade arros con frijoles and it just…" she sighed and cleared her throat before she made to continue. Unfortunately, her phone chose that moment to ring. She smiled apologetically at them before she stood up and walked a few feet away. John looked after her as she stood sideways, talking and smiling a tender smile to whoever it was that she was on the phone with. He could see the way she played with the hair she kept tucking behind her ear bantering with the caller. He was curious to say the least, but he didn't have time to dwell on it when Amelia stood on the bench she was sharing with Jocelyn. He smiled at the serious look on her face before she placed her chubby little hands on the table and met his stare.

I have a confession to make...Amelia was based off a real person (or persons). It is actually based on a mix of both my brother and I from what we remember and stories my mom has told us. So, that's where I got almost everything about her, except the eye color. Everything else was a collaborated effort I guess you could say.

Review if you enjoyed it or have any suggestions! I welcome any and all feedback.