A/N: In my last story, I said my next story would be 'It's Not Your Fault' - as you can see there's been a change in plan and I've merged that story with this one to create a story that is better (I hope!).

His World Comes Crashing Down

Chapter 1

Eric was woken early in the morning when he felt something sitting on his chest and an unfamiliar sensation around his nose. He slowly opened his eyes to see Tyler sitting on his chest, pushing blue-tac up Eric's nose.

"Tyler, no," Eric said with a slight chuckle himself as he pushed Tyler's hand away and then tried to pull the blue-tac from his nostril. Tyler giggled as he began to bounce on Eric's chest.

"Where do you get your energy from?" Eric asked as he playfully rolled over and pinned Tyler down as he began to screech with excitement, waking Calleigh up. She looked over and saw them beginning to play-fight as Tyler laughed uncontrollably.

"Boys, what is wrong with you? It's 6AM." Calleigh groaned as she rolled onto her side and hid a small smile, she was very happy to see Tyler so happy and Eric so relaxed.

"Sorry Cal, but I think he's pushed something up my nose, and I can't get it out." Eric said as he sat up and Calleigh chuckled as she sat up too.

"He's done that to me before, wait here, I'll get the tweezers." Calleigh smiled as she got up just as Tyler stood up and began to jump in front of Eric with a wide smile.

"Woah, calm down tiger," Eric said as he placed his hands on Tyler's shoulders and stopped the jumping. He then stepped forwards and placed his hands on Eric's shoulders himself.

"Park" Tyler beamed excitedly.

"We'll go to the park after day-care?" Eric asked and Tyler nodded and then tried to push the blu-tac up Eric's nose more but he pulled his head away from Tyler with a light chuckle. "If you're real good this morning and at day-care, I'll get you an ice-cream at the park too. But you have to be a good boy, okay?" Eric asked and Tyler nodded with a smile as Calleigh walked back in and sat next to Eric.

"No jumping, Ty," she said softly and he nodded as he sat down and watched them. Calleigh pulled the ball of blue-tac from Eric's nose and then threw it in the bin with an amused smile.

"You have to keep your eyes open with this one I'm afraid." Calleigh smiled and Eric chuckled.

"Tell me about it." Eric smiled.

"8 months old today, can you believe that? Time is just flying by, I wish it would slow down!" Zoë beamed towards Horatio as they changed both babies nappies in the nursery.

"It is flying by, it still seems like 16 months ago was last week…" he replied with a cheeky grin, lifting Isobel into his arms as he strolled over to Zoë. Feeling an overwhelming sense of love and pride, he looked into his daughters deep brown eyes while she looked up at him and started to babble nonsense. 'They are growing up so fast, I can't quite believe it. They look so much like Zoë, they are so beautiful. I'm not surprised they both have dark brown hair either, they take after Zo in every single way, even their laugh is the same,' he thought as he felt warmth swell in his stomach as Isobel raised her hands to his cheeks and began to giggle when he pulled faces at her.

"You'll make me broody, but I agree, it does seem like last week." She picked Ella up and turned to him with a smile. He began to laugh after Zoë had begun to giggle while she watched Isobel amuse herself with her father.

"Give Daddy a kiss?" Zoë enthused as she stepped forwards and included Ella in the fun and games. "Kiss," she encouraged as she leant forwards and planted a loving kiss on his lips, and then receiving one back off him before they looked back to both babies. Each giggled loudly before both twins copied Zoë and Horatio, Isobel kissing Horatio and Ella kissing Zoë.

"Daddy kisses are the best." Zoë cooed at the both of them before she kissed him once more with a dreamy smile. Taking a pause, they looked into each other's eyes and felt a feeling of tranquillity develop in the air around them.

"Dada," Isobel babbled as she looked at the both of them with a smile. Both Zoë and Horatio looked back to her with shocked expressions. Neither could believe what they just heard.

"Did… did she just say Dada?" Zoë whispered with a huge smile beginning to develop across her face, hoping it wasn't something she'd just made up in her head. Horatio also looked down to his daughter in his arms, shocked, but overwhelmed with glee.

"Dada," she repeated as she looked up at Horatio and then pulled at the collar of his t-shirt. 'She did say Dada… my little girl is saying Dada!' he thought as his smile began to grow as he nodded, he could feel an unbelievable amount of happiness and pride bursting through each cell in his body. He began to praise her profusely and also kissed her a few more times with a wide smile while Zoë stood there speechless. Once he was finished praising Isobel, he turned to Zoë to see her crying, but with a very wide smile.

"She said Dada," she mumbled as she looked at him through her tears. He immediately knew that she was incredibly happy and not upset, so pulled her closer and put his arm around her lower back. Ella began to pull at Zoë's hair but quickly turned her attention to her sister.

"Ella, can you say Dada?" she asked as she wiped her tears away and smiled at both babies. Nothing but nonsense came out of Ella's mouth as she turned her attention back to Zoe while Isobel began to repeat her word as she began to work out she'd get a lot of praise for it. 'Her first word was Dada, I thought it would be Mama… I think Zoë's tried to get them both to say Dada, she's been saying it a lot to them… she knew it would make me very happy. Just how did I end up with such a thoughtful, loving wife and three beautiful daughters, including my little angel, Maya?' he thought to himself while he began to gently rub Zoë's lower back as he looked at her, his adoration was clear to her.

"I love you," she said with a smile before she kissed him, then kissed Isobel in his arms before kissing Ella.

"I love you too," he replied before they both composed themselves and continued with their daily routine.

Eric was in the shower just as Tyler ran into the bathroom naked; Calleigh was in the middle of dressing him. He pulled the shower door open and Eric turned around, thinking Calleigh had opened the door and realised it was Tyler as he jumped into the shower too.

"Woah Tyler, I'm having a shower." Eric smiled softly as his son began to jump excitedly before he lifted Tyler up and turned the water off.

"I join." He beamed and Eric smiled in amusement.

"Mummy isn't going to be happy, is she?" Eric asked with a smile as he stepped out of the shower and put Tyler down. He wrapped him up in a towel after quickly wrapping a towel around his waist as Calleigh walked in.

"He decided to join me in the shower." Eric smiled as Calleigh lifted Tyler up.

"I can see that." Calleigh smiled softly as she raised her eyebrows and smiled. She then looked back to Eric with a certain look in her eyes and his smile widened. "I should be the one joining you." Calleigh said softly and Eric smiled widely.

"I wouldn't complain." Eric smiled cheekily as Calleigh moved forward and kissed him. They broke the kiss when they felt Tyler's hands in their hair and then turned their heads and both kissed him playfully as he began to laugh.

"Come on, we'll make Daddy late otherwise." Calleigh smiled softly and then walked out as Eric dried himself. 'Daddy, it is quite a nice thing to be called, much better than Dad.' Eric thought to himself.

"Are you sure you can handle them both?" Zoë asked Joe as he stood by their crib in their bedroom next to her.

"Yes, Zoë… They'll be fine, I promise you. I'll call you if I need anything, Uncle Joey has got it all covered. Go and enjoy your evening, they'll be fine. I'll have the baby monitor with me constantly, I won't leave the room without it. They probably won't even wake while you're gone." Joe said softly but he could still see that she was slightly hesitant. 'It doesn't get any easier to leave them, but Zoë is still struggling a little more than me,' Horatio thought to himself as he stepped forwards and placed a hand on her lower back with a comforting smile.

"Yeah, but–" Zoë began as she looked down at both twins sleeping peacefully before she reached down and gently ran her finger tips over both babies foreheads.

"No but's, Zoë, go and enjoy your night; they'll be fine with me. You know I can handle them and that they actually like me. I promise you that they'll be fine, okay? Just enjoy your night and try not to worry." Joe said softly with a gentle smile as Horatio stepped forwards, hoping to encourage her to leave.

"It's easier said than done." Zoë said softly and Joe nodded while Horatio silently agreed and looked at both of his daughters with nothing but love filling his blue eyes.

"They'll be fine, Zoë." Horatio assured her as she glanced back to him. When she looked back to Joe, he agreed with Horatio and then gave her another smile, just hoping to make her feel better.

"I promise you that everything will be fine." Joe said softly and she nodded as she took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Okay, thank you." She said softly as she moved towards him and lightly hugged him.

"You look lovely by the way." Joe said softly as she pulled away and smiled up at him.

"Thank you." She said softly before she turned back to Horatio and took hold of his hand.

"Go on, both of you or you'll be late for your reservation, they're fine," Joe said softly and they nodded. Zoë quickly bent over and touched both of them again and lightly kissed them, Horatio did the same and Joe knew that Horatio was just as nervous as Zoë but was hiding it a lot better.

"Thank you Joe," Horatio said sincerely and Joe nodded. He walked out after them with the baby monitor in his hand and went downstairs.

"See you both later." Joe said as Horatio opened the front door.

"See you later, thank you Bunny." Zoë said softly as she reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"See you later, Joe." Horatio said softly as he took Zoë's hand and then walked out with her. Joe closed the door after them and they got into the BMW Z4 with Horatio in the drivers seat.

"You look amazing." Horatio said sincerely as he placed his hand on her thigh and looked into her eyes. She smiled shyly as she looked round to him and gazed into the blue eyes that always mesmerised her as she placed her hand over his.

"You do too." Zoë grinned and he chuckled and then leant over and kissed her affectionately. He sat back and put the car in gear after removing his hand from her thigh.

"You know, you look rather sexy when you drive this car." she grinned as they pulled off the drive. "I reckon you'd be steaming hot if you drove it with the roof down, and smoking hot of you drove it with the roof down in your sunglasses. You'd make me weak at the knees." Zoë said softly and Horatio chuckled more as he concentrated on the road with a wide smile and watched Zoë gaze at him lovingly.

"I didn't think the car suited me at all." Horatio said softly.

"Ooh, it certainly does." Zoë grinned softly and he chuckled.

"Well, you already know that you look smoking hot when you drive with the roof down. You look amazing in anything mind you." Horatio said softly and she giggled softly as she placed her hand over his thigh and smiled at him brightly.

Once at the restaurant they were seated and ordered what they wanted, whilst gazing at each other adoringly.

"You're so beautiful, Zoë." He announced as he leant forwards on the table and took hold of her hand. Running his thumb over each of her knuckles he felt warmth grow in his stomach as he watched her natural smile widen. 'I tell her every day, yet she still blushes with embarrassment and disbelief… I will tell her every day for the next 20 years, I just hope that one day she'll believe me.' He thought to himself as she hid her smile by looking down at her lap.

"You're so handsome, even with slight bags under your eyes." She replied as she looked up at him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Lifting her hand as he chuckled, he nodded before he kissed her knuckles; he knew he had bags under his eyes but wasn't embarrassed by them, it was a sign of fatherhood and lack of sleep as both he and Zoë still struggled to get a full night's sleep with Isobel's nearly constant waking.

"Well, we can't all look perfect like you," he replied sarcastically, causing her to laugh.

"If perfect has bags under the eyes and a couple of wrinkles coming through, then yes, I'm perfect." She grinned at him as they let go of each other's hands as their drinks were brought out to them. After thanking the waiter, Zoë pulled her phone out of her bag and placed it in her bra after checking it out of habit. She smiled at Horatio when she looked up to him and realised that something was starting to bother him.

"What's up?" She asked sweetly as she tilted her head.

"I hate to bring this up, but could you put your phone elsewhere please?" Horatio asked softly and she tilted her head as she pulled it back out from her bra and placed it on her thigh. "Thank you Sweetheart," Horatio said softly, he knew that she needed her phone on her person in case Joe rang, so knew there was no chance of her putting it back in her bag.

"Was it causing a massive cleavage or something?" Zoë asked as she looked down at herself and made sure that she was presentable before she looked back up at him looking confused.

"No, but I'd rather your phone wasn't put in your bra, if that's okay?" Horatio asked softly as he smiled mildly at her, he just hoped he didn't come across as too controlling.

"That's fine handsome, but may I have an explanation as to why?" Zoë asked softly and he exhaled as he glanced down to the menu.

"Well, there is still stigma around whether phones have a role to play in cancer, and with it being right by your breast, it makes me slightly uncomfortable." He said softly as he reached over the table and took hold of her hand with a gentle expression.

"Oh yeah, you've mentioned that before, I'm sorry, Horatio I keep forgetting. I won't do it again… anyway, the girls are mainly on formula now, I think my boobs are probably dry now. You've not got anything to worry about though, there is no proven fact, most of the female population do it as well, but I respect your wishes." she replied with a warm smile.

"I know there's no proven fact, but I'd rather not chance anything sweetheart. Especially as you're breastfeeding every now and then, there's an elevated chance as your breasts are still changing slightly." Horatio said softly and Zoë nodded with a gentle expression as she ran her thumb over the back of his knuckles.

"Okay Kitten, that's fine. Thank you for the explanation." She said softly and Horatio nodded and then mildly frowned at her when he saw her cheeky, yet inquisitive grin. 'She's got that look about her… she's either about to say something very embarrassing or she's thinking about doing something naughty…' he thought to himself as he felt his smile widening, as if he was waiting for something to happen. He knew her too well now, there wasn't ever a moment he didn't know roughly what she was thinking.

"If you grew a beard, would it be as ginger as your hair?" she asked as her eyes narrowed on his jaw line. 'That's what she was thinking of? I really would love to know what goes through her head.' He thought as he chuckled quietly and just admired her total ease with him.

"I would assume it would be… I've never tried to grow one, but I do get ginger stubble, so a full beard would be ginger too." He replied with a large smile before he took a sip of his soda. He watched her think for a few moments and knew she was trying to picture him with a beard.

"Don't ever grow a beard please?" She asked softly, causing him to chuckle again; he completely agreed with her; a beard in his mind wouldn't suit him at all.

"I would love to see what runs through your mind on a daily basis." He said as he watched her lift her drink to her lips and take a few small sips. She quickly put the glass back down and smiled brightly at him.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure you would like to know that… there's lots of thoughts about you, not all clean thoughts too… I know you don't like thinking of yourself so that would be horrible for you." She grinned at him, causing him to blush slightly but she saw the curiosity glisten in his eyes.

"What sort of thoughts about me?" he questioned warmly as he took her hand once more and gently played with her wedding ring.

"Oh you know; just that you're the most incredible husband and father… that you're so sexy and devilishly handsome…" she replied with a grin before the grin became cheekier. "And that I'd happily walk back out of this restaurant and have you in the car right now." she added while she winked at him and rubbed her legs against his under the table. He quickly looked down to the table to hide his increasing grin, but looked up at her when he felt her beginning to fiddle with his wedding ring.

"You really like the idea of making love in the car, don't you?" he asked with a grin, causing her to grin more.

"It's not really the idea of making love in the car, more like the idea of getting to make love to you as soon as it was possible, we wouldn't have to wait to get home or anything…" she grinned at him, causing him to chuckle.

"Well, we'll save that for another day I think," he replied with a smile. She nodded but he could see another question burning in her eyes.

"What would you say to another baby?" she asked out of the blue, stopping him in his tracks as his thoughts turned to another baby. 'Is she pregnant again? That condom did split a few weeks ago… I thought she got the morning after Pill though…' he thought to himself as he tilted his head at her with a smile developing. 'Another baby would be a blessing, but is she ready for it?' he wondered as he swallowed and then looked down at their hands. There was nothing more he'd love than to have another baby with her.

"Are you pregnant? Is that why you wanted us to come out tonight?" he asked quietly as he smiled and looked down to her stomach. Hope filled his eyes, she could see that he was hoping she'd say yes and she wanted to be able to say yes, but she couldn't, because she was not pregnant.

"No, I'm not pregnant… I was just asking your thoughts on another baby, because now the girls are 8 months, I think it's a good time to start thinking about another baby perhaps? I don't want a large age gap between them and another brother or sister. They'll be nearly 2 years when another baby comes along if we start thinking about it soon." She explained, causing him to nod.

"I would love another baby Zoë, but are you sure you want to go through pregnancy again? So soon as well, Belle and Elle are only 8 months old, it's not that long ago that they were just born." He replied and she nodded almost instantly as she looked at him.

"I'm positive, I've love to go through pregnancy again. My pregnancy with them wasn't that bad either, I was just so uncomfortable because I was so big. Every woman gets uncomfortable and pregnancy isn't all nice, I know that… I'd definitely do it all over again to have another baby with you though, I'd do it over and over again. I didn't say we have to start trying now, I just think it's a good time to start thinking about it and discussing it." She said softly as she rubbed his hands with a warm smile.

"Another baby would be a blessing," he said softly just as their shared starter were brought out for them.

"So, you agree? You'd like another baby?" she asked with her eyes glowing bright with happiness and hope.

"Yes, I would love another baby, Zoë. But I need to be sure that another baby is what you want too, and I want to be sure that another baby wouldn't put you under too much stress." He answered with a smile as they let go of each other's hands and began to tuck into their starter.

"I feel ready for another baby, what's parenthood without stress? You just wait until the girls hit teenage years, I guarantee they'll be stressing us out more than our sleepless nights do," Zoë grinned, causing Horatio to chuckle. "You're going to be telling them that they can't wear the hot-pants that all their friends are wearing, or plaster their faces with make-up, I'll be telling them the same thing, we'll both be stressing when they don't come home at the designated time… you're going to have any boy that comes within a mile of them up against a wall interrogating them…" She grinned as she looked at him with a dreamy expression. "And we might be blessed with a son this time!" she squealed with happiness.

"We could be," he replied with a smile, feeling a burst of pure happiness unfold in his stomach when he thought about it as they finished the shared starter.

"Please excuse me Horatio, I think I got a little over excited and nearly wet myself," she said softly before she got up and placed a delicate kiss on his lips before heading towards the restroom and left him grinning widely with amusement.

She came back five minutes later with a mild frown set upon her face. As she sat down, he studied her confused look as she pulled the seat in towards the table.

"Everything okay, Sweetheart?" he asked warmly and she nodded as she looked back up at him and then took hold of his hand as the starter plate had been cleared from the table.

"Yeah, some woman just tried to chat me up though… do I look like a lesbian?" she asked as she tilted her head at him. He lowered his eyebrows, but could feel a smile developing.

"No, you don't look like a lesbian, Zoë, I can assure you of that." He replied as he tried to hide his smile; he knew she wouldn't be happy with him if he showed her that he found it humorous.

"Then why did a lesbian touch me on the shoulder and ask if I wanted a drink with her sometime?" she asked as she leant forwards. "Is it politically correct to say lesbian? Because I told her that I wasn't a lesbian and I'm not sure if I upset her by saying no or if I upset her because I called her a lesbian…" she whispered and then sat back with her frown becoming deeper as Horatio couldn't contain his chuckle anymore. He was in such good spirits that something he wouldn't normally find amusing had him laughing.

"Sweetheart, you don't look like a lesbian, trust me." He replied softly as he composed himself and saw a smile replacing her frown as she was entertained by his laughter.

"Good, because I'm not a lesbian." She said as she sat back and placed her phone on her thigh again.

"I know full well that you're not a lesbian, Zoë." He said softly as he took a quick glance around the restaurant to see if he could spot the woman who'd just tried to chat up his wife.

"Can I prove it to you in the back seat of the car?" She grinned as she bit her lip and gave him a cheeky grin, causing him to laugh a little more.

"Another time," he replied huskily as Zoë looked back over her shoulder.

"If that were a man chatting me up, you'd have his head off, what's the difference between a man chatting me up and a woman chatting me up?" she asked as she looked back to him and tilted her head. He paused and thought about it, but he couldn't think of a reasonable explanation.

"Erm… I guess another man is competition and another woman is no competition at all?" he asked, he didn't even seem sure of himself.

"I'm playing with you, Handsome. Oh and that's the woman, in the corner of the restaurant, with that group of people," she said as she looked at him. He looked up and saw a skinny woman with black hair, holding hands with another woman.

"I hope you get chatted up by a man one day," she grinned at him just as their main courses arrived.

"She didn't make you uncomfortable and overstep the line, did she?" Horatio asked and Zoë could see his protective behaviour amplify just as it would if any man came near her.

"No, Horatio, don't worry. It wasn't the most comfortable of experiences, but she certainly didn't overstep the line, calm down and enjoy yourself, just forget anyone else is even here," she smiled as she began to move her legs against his under the table. "The quicker you eat, the quicker we get home…" she grinned suggestively as she picked up her knife and fork.

A/N: Sorry for such a long time in updating - I've been incredibly busy. I hope to update at least once a week, but unfortunately it might take longer than that. I hope you enjoy the story - it's going to get quite dark in places, but equally I hope there will be some very light places too - this is a mixed bag of things, to entertain each reader - so there's going to be family scenes, hiphuggers scenes, action scenes, drama scenes, sad scenes, happy scenes - the lot. Thank you all for reading.