Feeling Sleepy?
Chapter 1
"It's negative." Zoë sighed as she looked to Horatio and held up the pregnancy test for Horatio to see while they stood in the middle of the brightly lit bathroom. She then threw the stick in the bin and looked down at the tiled bathroom floor as she took a deep breath. She bit her lip as she swallowed.
"It's okay Zoë, it's only been 3 weeks." Horatio said softly as he moved forwards and embraced her in a light hug. He placed his chin on top of her head as he looked over to the window that let in all of the natural light. He was slightly disappointed that the test wasn't positive, but knew that things took time.
"3 weeks is more than enough though, I don't understand why I'm not getting pregnant yet." She said as she looked up at Horatio and wrapped her arms around his waist. He looked down at her while she placed her chin on his chest and looked up at him through her lashes.
"Sometimes these things take time, we were just lucky with Maya, we were lucky to conceive her so easily. Patience Zoë, it'll all work out, I promise you." Horatio said softly as he rubbed her back and she nodded as she placed her cheek back against his chest and took a deep breath.
"Can we speak to Nathan though? Or Alexx, whoever you'd rather talk to; I'm happy with talking to either one of them." Zoë asked softly.
"Of course sweetheart, we'll talk to Nathan. If he can't answer your questions or put your mind at rest, then someone specialist can and he can point us in the right direction." Horatio said softly as he placed his chin back on the top of her head and felt her hands lightly moving over his lower back. He moved one hand into her hair while the other remained on her back.
"Will more sex help?" She asked as she turned her head again to look up at him with a sweet expression.
"I would assume it would improve the chances." Horatio said softly as he delicately pushed her fringe back and then ran his thumb from the corner of her eye to the corner of her lips with a soft expression as he looked into her beautiful coffee coloured eyes.
"Can we have more sex then?" She said softly and Horatio nodded with a smile broadening.
"I'm not going to complain, am I?" He asked and she chuckled and smiled naturally up at him. "Come on, dinner's nearly done." Horatio said softly and she nodded and then re-washed her hands for the 4th time. "Don't you think 4 times is a little excessive?" Horatio asked and she shook her head with an innocent smile while she dried them. He smiled at her and then placed his hand on her back as they walked out.
"I'm going to ring Nathan after dinner, is that okay?" She asked and Horatio nodded.
"If you want to go and see him this evening we can as well." Horatio said softly and a smile appeared across her face. 'He'll probably put us in contact with a family planning centre or something, but Zoë won't listen to them… I know she won't. She'll only listen to Nathan.' Horatio thought to himself.
"Thank you Horatio." She smiled sweetly and then walked down the stairs with him.
"Is there anything you'd like for your birthday?" She asked softly as they walked into the kitchen.
"Just you." He smiled and she smiled back.
"Seriously though?" She asked.
"Really. Anyway, our birthdays are a fair few months off yet." Horatio said softly.
"Yeah, but I like to plan in advance." She smiled softly as she placed her hands flat on the cold work surface.
"How about you then?" Horatio asked and she smiled shyly as she bit her lip. "Out with it, what do you want?" Horatio smiled at her boyishly.
"I just want to get pregnant, that's all I want." She said softly and his smile turned a little sweeter.
"We will conceive before our birthdays, they are about 4 months off." Horatio said softly and she smiled sweetly as she nodded while he moved closer to her.
"I hope so." She said softly and he embraced her in another hug before pulling the food out of the oven. He dished up as she got them both a drink and then sat at the island counter with him and ate.
"Have you ever walked in on someone having sex?" Zoë questioned as she looked up at Horatio as he sipped his water. He stifled a cough as he put the glass back down and then swallowed is mouthful of water while he furrowed his eyebrows. He stifled a chuckle as he cleared his throat and looked up at her through his lashes.
"Can I ask you one thing?" He asked and she nodded with a sweet smile. "Please, try and make sure I'm not eating or drinking when you ask these sorts of bizarre questions?" Horatio asked and she giggled quietly as she looked down.
"I'm sorry Horatio, my mind just wanders and before I know it I'm saying the question out loud. It only really wanders when we eat." She said sweetly as she looked back up to him and he couldn't help but smile at her. 'She is cute.' Horatio thought to himself as he leant on the counter and allowed his smile to develop more.
"I have and I haven't. Not anyone I know anyway. I've walked in on a few suspects and witnesses who hadn't locked their doors getting intimate with each other, but not the full act of intercourse." Horatio said softly and she nodded, satisfied. "You?" Horatio asked softly with a smile when he saw her blush a light shade of pink.
"Yeah… it's not that pleasant really. I've walked in on Kaitlin banging some short-lived boyfriend and Joe with some ladies – not all at once, obviously." She said as she looked up at Horatio who looked a little shocked as his jaw slacked slightly. "Yes, my facial expression resembled that too…" She said as she looked down at her food and began to pick at it slightly. "It wasn't intentional before you ask. Kaitlin was in the conservatory once and I walked through the conservatory after a bike ride to get into the house, she was just as embarrassed as I was, but we both find it slightly amusing now. I've walked in on Joe doing the deed a couple of times. He didn't seem to mind, I did though. He was once on the floor in the living room and I walked through the living room to get a glass of water at 2AM in the morning… another time I walked into his room as his door was open because I was returning a book for him, I didn't even know he had company. Both of them were short-lived girlfriends, if I can even call them girlfriends. Not very pleasant." Zoë said softly and Horatio looked down with a smile.
"Was that before or after you and Joe were together?" Horatio asked curiously as he looked up at her.
"After." She said softly as she looked up at him and Horatio nodded as he took another mouthful of the steak. "He very rarely brought girls back before us as he didn't want to make me uncomfortable by having sex under the same roof as me. Neither of us were sure what I could take, we weren't sure what would happen if I heard them or if I accidently saw them, so we didn't chance it. It could have re-awakened some buried memories of the abuse, so yeah. He was and is very thoughtful. That and because I was his first proper girlfriend, the girls before that were very short lived and were just about sex, he even admits that. He was a young good-looking man, all of the girls wanted a piece of him." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with a smile. "Anyway, I'm sorry for making you cough again… I'll try and think about the question before asking you next time." She said shyly and he smiled at her.
"Not a problem sweetheart." Horatio said smoothly and she smiled shyly. Once finished they tidied and Zoë phoned Nathan.
"Hey Nathan, it's Zoë." She said sweetly as she sat between Horatio's legs as he rubbed her stomach while they relaxed back on the sofa.
"Hey Zo, everything okay?" He asked softly with paper lightly rustling in the background.
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk with you when you next have some free time, if that's okay?." She asked softly.
"Certainly, would you like to talk with Doctor Nathan or friend Nathan?" He asked warmly.
"Both really, but I'm much rather talk with you outside the hospital, if that's okay? Is that allowed? It's just that I want advice really. If you can't do that then I can talk with Alexx. I don't want to take up your time when you're at the hospital as there's patients that need your care." She said warmly as she felt Horatio kiss the top of her head lightly.
"Of course, I can come over after work if you'd like?" Nathan said softly as he sat back in his chair and put the paper down.
"That would be great, thank you Nathan." She said softly with a smile as she glanced over to the TV.
"Okay sweet, I'll see you then." He said softly before they hung up.
"He's going to come over after work." Zoë said softly once she put the phone back down on the sofa.
"That gives us about 45 minutes, want to pass the time a different way to watching TV?" He asked as he kissed her neck.
"I really would love to, but what if he wanted to take a look down there, I mean, what if something was physically wrong with me?" Zoë questioned.
"He won't look down there sweetheart, he can't do that here anyway." Horatio said softly.
"But what if something is wrong down there and that's why I'm not getting pregnant?" Zoë asked softly as she turned her head to look at him. He saw that she was concerned.
"Zoë, there is definitely not anything wrong with you down there." Horatio assured her with a warm smile.
"You wouldn't know that though." She said softly as she mildly frowned at her.
"I think I would, don't worry about it." Horatio said softly as he lightly ran his fingers up from her belly button to her ribs and then back down.
"I really don't want sex before Nathan comes round, I'm really sorry. We can after though?" She asked softly, hoping not to upset him.
"Of course sweetheart, that isn't a problem." Horatio said softly with a gentle smile.
"What if I can't have children because I lost Maya? What if the drug they gave me did something and now I can't have children?!" Zoë questioned frantically as she sat up and turned to him and knelt between his legs with a grave expression.
"Calm down sweetheart, that won't happen, that's not true. Don't worry. Sometimes it takes some time to conceive, it doesn't always happen straight away." Horatio said softly as he placed his hands on either side of her head and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He gave her a reassuring smile but he could still see her worrying. "Take a deep breath, Zoë. It'll be fine, I promise you." Horatio said softly and she nodded and then moved closer to hug him. He played with her hair for a few minutes and felt her relax.
"I'm sorry, I just panicked." She said quietly as she pulled away from him and he nodded with a warm smile. She turned back around and laid back against him as she pulled his arms back around her. He hugged her warmly from behind while she really relaxed back against him and looked over to the TV again. There was a knock at the door and Zoë sprang to her feet and rushed out and pulled Nathan in before Horatio had even got out into the hall.
"Thank you so much." She said as she hugged him.
"No problem. What can I do for you both?" Nathan asked as he rubbed her back with one hand and looked up to Horatio.
"We want to talk" Zoë said softly and he nodded as she pulled away from him. Horatio shook his hand and then gestured for him to go into the living room.
"Would you like a drink, Nathan?" Horatio asked softly as Zoë walked into the living room with Nathan following.
"No thank you Horatio." He said softly and Horatio nodded and then walked through to the living room with them. Zoë sat between Nathan and Horatio and looked up at Nathan as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Nathan, I'm not pregnant yet." She said as he sat down. He sat down fully and then looked up at her with a gentle expression.
"How long have you been trying?" Nathan asked softly as he sat forwards and gave them both his full attention.
"3 weeks now, why aren't I pregnant yet?" She asked as she sat forwards and looked at him with a worried expression.
"Calm down sweet, these things can take some time. You've only been trying for 3 weeks, that's not long at all." He said softly with a gentle smile. He could see that Horatio wasn't worried at all, he knew that it was probably Zoë's idea to call him in the first place.
"What if there's something wrong though? What if it's something to do with losing Maya?" Zoë questioned as her worried expression deepened.
"It's nothing to do with that sweet, don't worry about that. Not everyone gets lucky so quickly. You're perfectly normal Zoë, I know you're both fertile, there's nothing wrong with either of you. It won't just happen at the snap of your fingers." Nathan said softly and she looked at him and then nodded as she bit her lip. He could still see the unease in her eyes, however.
"How am I not getting pregnant now though when I got pregnant when I was on the pill? I don't understand." Zoë said softly and Nathan exhaled lightly as he gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's just the way it is sometimes, Zoë. It's different every time." Nathan said softly and she sighed as she looked down at her hands between her knees. "Are you stressed?" Nathan asked softly with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, I'm not pregnant yet." She said as she looked up at him with a mild frown.
"Have you been stressed for the past few weeks?" Nathan asked and she shrugged.
"I don't know, I mean we don't have an easy job I guess I could be stressed." She said softly and Nathan nodded.
"Horatio, are you stressed?" Nathan asked as he looked to Horatio.
"Not particularly." He replied softly and Nathan nodded, noting his very casual, relaxed posture.
"I think it may be down to stress in this case then. Are you stressed when you get intimate?" Nathan asked and Zoë shook her head.
"No, I'm completely the opposite when we're together and getting intimate." She said softly and Nathan thought to himself as he nodded at her.
"Okay, well I suggest you try and lessen the stress at work and really relax. It could be a factor, but it's only been 3 weeks, if you're still having trouble in 2 months' time, then I'll refer you both for testing but I know you're both fine. Carry on as you are, don't worry about it Zoë. Really, do not worry, it's fine sweet." Nathan said softly and she nodded looking a little relaxed.
"Okay, thank you Nathan." She said softly and he gave them both a warm smile.
"Not a problem." He said smoothly.
"Sorry for dragging you round here so you could tell me exactly what Horatio has been telling me." She said shyly as they all stood.
"That's not a problem, just listen to Horatio; he's right." Nathan said softly and she smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you." She said warmly.
"If you need anything else, just give me a call, okay?" Nathan asked and she nodded as they walked through to the hall again.
"Take care sweetie." She said softly and then hugged him.
"You too, both of you." He said softly and she smiled at him with a nod as Horatio shook his hand once Zoë had moved away. He quickly left and Zoë turned to Horatio with a shy expression.
"You can say it." She smiled lightly as she raised her eyebrows at him.
"Say what?" Horatio asked softly as they walked through to the kitchen.
"I told you so." She said with a smile.
"It didn't cross my mind." He said smoothly as he flicked the kettle on.
"I'm sorry Horatio; I wanted to hear it from Nathan's mouth. I was just scared that something was wrong." She said softly and Horatio nodded.
"I know sweetheart, I understand that." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a smile as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and then placed her cheek against his back as she took in his aroma. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over his stomach lightly while he made the drinks.
"Can we have sex in the shower or does that have a counter effect if we want a baby?" Zoë asked softly as she relaxed against him.
"Sex in the shower is fine, it doesn't really matter where or what position as long as I'm inside you, sweetheart and as long as you don't wash yourself out after as that could decrease the chances." Horatio said softly and he then felt her nod against his back.
"Can we have a shower together then?" She asked softly.
"Certainly." Horatio said as he smiled down at the two mugs of herbal tea and coffee.
"We have to get pregnant soon, surely?" Zoë asked.
"Yes, but don't forget that the first two weeks of pregnancy generally won't show up on pregnancy tests or anything as you technically aren't pregnant then as fertilisation is still going on. So we've only given it one week. Next week may be a different result." Horatio aid softly and she nodded feeling a little happier.
"You're right. Yeah, hopefully next week." She said as she let go of him and let him turn to hand her the cup of herbal tea. They both smiled at each other and relaxed on the sofa until 10.45PM. They both went upstairs and undressed. Zoë walked into the shower while Horatio was in there and gave him a smile.
"Baby making session?" She asked with a cheeky smile and he boyishly smiled at her and nodded as he pulled her closer.
XXXXXXXX
Horatio climbed into bed while Zoë quickly dried her hair. She turned around and then jumped onto the bed and sat on him with a wide smile. She quickly interlocked her fingers with his as she bent down and then placed a kiss on his lips and sat back up.
"Can you go again?" She asked with a grin and he chuckled.
"Not quite yet sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded.
"Okay." She smiled and then kissed him again and got up and off him and got under the duvet with him and snuggled up against him.
"I can't wait until my tummy gets in the way of us because you'll have to snuggle up with me again." She grinned as she lightly rubbed his chest. He turned onto his side and pulled her closer again with a smile.
"I can always snuggle up to you, your stomach doesn't have to get in the way for me to be snuggling up to you." He said softly and she smiled and then kissed him.
"Can you say tummy?" Zoë asked and he looked at her curiously while she lightly rubbed his nose with hers.
"Tummy?" He asked and she giggled with a grin.
"It's really cute when you say tummy." She smiled and he couldn't help but smile at her. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand to attention when he said it and she felt a magical feeling surge through her.
"I wonder if we'll have a boy or a girl this time." Zoë said softly.
"Do you want to find out as soon as we can, or do you want it to be a surprise?" Horatio asked softly with a smile.
"You answer first." She said softly as she ran her fingertips up his side.
"I'd like to find out when we can." Horatio said softly and she smiled.
"Same." She said and then rolled onto her back. He moved closer to her and pulled her top up to feel her skin beneath his fingers.
"Goodnight handsome, let's hope we get lucky tonight then." She smiled and Horatio nodded.
"Goodnight beautiful." Horatio said softly as he moved his hand to her lower abdomen and very gently rubbed it and she couldn't help but smile as she kissed him.
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Eric, Walter, Natalia and Zoë were at a house the next day, investigating a murder where the victim was killed by hanging after being tortured.
"Look, there's a small blood trail." Zoë said softly as she began to follow it from the body to the hall. Eric quickly followed her and studied the blood droplets too.
"He was either walking slowly or being carried, the blood droplets are gravitational with a few pointing towards the living room." Zoë said as she looked up at Eric and Eric nodded. Natalia quickly joined them, but kept behind Zoë as she wasn't sure on what level she sat with Zoë anymore. The two got on really well with each other, but Zoë tended to keep her distance from Natalia which added to the confusion. Natalia was unaware that Zoë had subconsciously kept her distance to avoid any potential questions about Ryan.
"There's some blood on the wall at the bottom – by the skirting board." Natalia said as she crouched and pointed. Zoë quickly crouched beside her and got a few snaps. Eric stood behind Zoë and kept a close eye on Natalia while he also kept his mind on the case. He just didn't want Natalia to cause any arguments due to a curious thought either about Ryan or about Maya as she seemed curious as to why a previous case involving a husband pushing his pregnant wife down the stairs had such an effect on Zoe. Walter then joined them as Natalia got a sample of the blood.
"It looks like it leads to this door." Walter said and they looked up at him and then walked over to him.
"It could be a basement." Natalia said as she pulled her gun from her holster. Eric, Zoë and Walter all did the same.
"Could our killer still be here?" Walter questioned quietly and Zoë nodded at him.
"Our vic isn't long dead." She said quietly. Walter quickly opened the door and Natalia entered first with Eric following. Zoë followed Eric and Walter followed Zoë. They quickly ran down the small flight of stairs as Eric flicked the light switch on. It flickered a little before it came on fully. Natalia tripped at the bottom of the stairs and they heard something click. They then heard the creak of the door and looked back up to see it shutting, forcefully.