Summary: Eric suggests something that will change Eric and Horatio's lives forever. Young College graduates are kidnapped and then end up dead on a highway, and Alexx and Jason don't know how to find the COD. An old enemy of Ryan returns! And somebody close to everyone dies while saving a life.

-I-

Frank sneaked behind a car. It was a burned out car. He looked behind himself and sighed in relief. He thought he had a heard footsteps. He crawled to a building, or what was left of it and looked at the direction he was sure one of his enemies had run towards. He was at war and had only managed to "kill" one person. Everything had been really quiet during the last fifteen minutes, too quiet. He peeked through one of the holes in the wall and saw a boot disappear.

"I got you know." Frank smirked evilly and crouched closer to the car that his enemy was hiding behind.

He was just a few feet away when, BANG!

Frank growled and stopped. He looked down at his chest and saw the big green circle that meant he had been shot and was out of the game. Frank knew that it wasn't the woman behind the car that had shot him, but she joined in and stood up and shot Frank on the thigh.

"Sorry honey, but you're out." Natalia smirked and ran away to hide again.

Eric stood up on the roof next to Frank and cheered. He was the one who had shot him at first.

"You're dead Tripp." Eric chuckled.

The team was at war, a paintball war. Frank was in the same team as Horatio, Alexx, Valera and Calleigh (they were only one more than the other team). While, Eric, Natalia, Jason and Ryan were on the other side. Cooper was the judge, since he had a broken arm and couldn't play. He had been in a little bicycle accident two weeks earlier and broken his arms in two places. He was watching everything on the surveillance cameras and had a microphone which he used to tell everyone who had "died".

"Frank Tripp is out of the game." Cooper announced.

Jason, who had been the first one to "die" sighed. Alexx, who had been shot after Jason cheered. However, as Frank joined them, Calleigh was shot too.

"It's three against two now." Alexx chuckled.

The playground was like a war zone. Burned out cars, buildings that had exploded, dead bodies on the ground, of course the bodies were just dolls. The team watched on the cameras as Natalia sneaked through some buildings, she was chasing Horatio and he was running in circles, trying to confuse her.

"Over here!" He yelled and ducked behind a car.

Natalia shot and missed. Horatio then ran in front of her and managed to get away again. Natalia hid behind a wall and stayed put. Horatio climbed up on the roof and waited for Natalia or somebody else to show up. If you were shot in the chest, head or stomach you died. All the other places wounded you, but kept you alive.

At another place in the war zone, Eric and Ryan had almost cornered Valera. Her only way to escape was to shoot them both. She was hiding in a tunnel and Eric and Ryan were waiting for her at both exits. She took a deep breath and then crawled towards the exit that Ryan was watching. She was lying on the ground and carefully aimed at the only part of Ryan she could see, his shoulder. She shot and hit him. Ryan was so shocked that he stood up and Valera took the chance to shoot him again, she shot him in the chest and Ryan sighed and left. She was now alone with Eric. She ran away and managed to hide behind a fountain. What she didn't know was that Eric was hiding on the other side. They were completely unaware that they were just a few feet away from each other.

Over at Horatio and Natalia's little war zone, Natalia was still hiding. She needed help.

"Don't be such a coward Natalia, come on out." Horatio teased, "I promise I won't shoot you."

Natalia snorted. Horatio had become a little kid on Christmas Eve when he had found out about the whole war thing. He loved the idea of shooting some of his team members. Of course, the others had been just as exited about shooting at their boss. Cooper had made the teams and been very clear about not putting the couples in the same team. After one hour, Eric and Natalia still remained on their team as well as Horatio and Valera on the other.

Natalia decided to take a chance and try to distract the red head. She took of her helmet and crawled to the other side of the house, she used her hand to raise the helmet just enough for Horatio to notice. Horatio saw the helmet and shot it, Natalia stood up and was just about to shoot when she felt a paintball hit her at the waist and then another on her upper right chest. She sighed and hung her head. Somewhere along the way, Horatio had picked up Frank's gun that he had tossed.

"Damn you Horatio Caine!" Natalia laughed as she joined the others on the bench of the dead.

Horatio now had to help Valera, but first he had to find her. He sneaked towards the library, but she wasn't there. So he sneaked to the plaza. Just as he noticed Valera, he was shot in the thigh by Eric and then on the helmet.

"Haha!" Eric exclaimed happily, "I got you Lt. Caine!"

Horatio chuckled and put his gun on the ground, as he walked passed Valera he gently kicked the gun to her. He winked at her and then joined his fellow team mates as dead.

Valera now knew where Eric was, but he still had no idea where she was. She carefully crawled over the edge of the fountain and laid down inside it instead. There wasn't any water in it so Eric hadn't heard her.

She crawled to the other side and was right next to Eric, when he suddenly stood up. Valera shot him with both guns in the chest and Eric didn't even have time to pull his trigger.

"And the winner is Maxine Valera Maxton!" Cooper announced and her team cheered.

"The losers now have to buy everyone else dinner." Frank smirked.

Everybody went to shower in the locker rooms and take off their uniforms that they had used during the war. The boys chuckled at the bruises they would get from the paintballs. After the shower, the losing team took the winning team to a nice diner by the beach and they all ordered food.

"Well, I'm not mad for losing, because shooting Horatio makes everything good." Eric chuckled.

"Uh oh, somebody is sleeping on the couch tonight." Valera laughed.

"Nah, the cellar is better." Horatio joked, "This was fun, we should do it again."

"Oh yes, the men against the women!" Frank smirked evilly, "We should give the women two guns, otherwise they don't stand a chance."

"Frank you do remember that it was a woman that won today?" Alexx asked.

"Yes, but she had help from the male members in her team." Frank smiled.

"Not from you, you only killed me and then you died pretty fast yourself." Jason said.

"Well, I died in the hands of a man. Not a woman." Frank said, "Next time, men against women."

"Shoot me and you will definitely sleep on the couch big boy." Natalia grinned.

After dinner everyone went home. Valera and Jason smiled as they got home and their two babysitters looked exhausted. Jason had thought it would be best to have two babysitters for the triplets, because the three kids had a lot of energy. However, the two girls seemed to have difficulty handling the kids too.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, but we miss our beds. We need to sleep after this day." Jesse chuckled and Gina nodded in agreement.

Jason paid them and then said goodbye. The triplets then came running towards their parents. They were just entering their 16th month now and were full of live. Valera and Jason worked full-time and had the children at kinder garden from eight to five. The kinder garden was so close to the lab that it only took ten minuets to get there.

"How are my little babies?" Valera asked and hugged them all.

They all looked identical, except Jan who was a girl, but they had the same blond hair as Jason and Valera's green eyes. Jan did look a bit more like her mother and the boys more like their father, but there was no doubt that they were triplets. Everyone who saw them noticed it right away.

"Baby?" Jan asked.

The triplets had, during the last month, been asking their parents for a sister or brother. At least that's what Jason and Valera thought as they always mentioned baby and pointed at Valera's belly. A new baby was the last thing on Jason and Valera's mind. They had gotten married three months earlier and Valera was now only Maxine Valera at work, otherwise she was Maxine Valera Maxton.

"Not yet." Jason smiled.

He and Valera hadn't discussed having a baby again. They were happy with the three that they had and it was a bit too soon for another baby. Having three toddles were enough. Maybe in a couple of years they could have another child.

"Hungry?" Jason asked and the kids nodded.

-I-

In the Wolfe resident, Calleigh and Ryan were watching their 12 month-old daughter Riley, taking her first steps. Ryan was videotaping the moment and Calleigh held her hands out for Riley. Riley smiled and walked towards her mother. As she reached her mothers arms, Ryan turned off the camera and kissed his daughter on the cheek.

"You did so good honey." He smiled.

"You can walk Riley!" Calleigh grinned widely.

"No!" Riley said and then chuckled.

She was such a happy kid and enjoyed saying no and then laugh. Calleigh chuckled and shook her head. Riley was still messy after eating dinner and missing her mouth most of the time. But she tried to learn how to get better at holding her spoon and eating. Ryan and Calleigh were so proud of her.

"We're going to take a bath." Calleigh smiled.

Riley nodded and had a hard time keeping still as Calleigh tried to remove her clothes. Ryan filled the water in the tub and then put Riley in the water. He and Calleigh played with her as well as cleaning her. Riley loved taking a bath and she always seemed to sleep easier after one.

"Bat!" Riley exclaimed happily, though she was trying to say bath.

After the bath, Ryan and Calleigh noticed how Riley yawned. However, Riley didn't fall asleep when they put her in her bed, so they stayed up with her for a while, watching TV. It didn't take more then ten minutes for Riley to fall asleep in Ryan's arms.

"Sleep well angel." He whispered as he put Riley in her bed.

Later that night he and Calleigh decided to go to bed themselves.

-I-

In Frank and Natalia's house, things were still running wild by ten thirty. Madeline, Frank's youngest daughter, was now 17 and having her first boyfriend. Frank had "interrogated" him and he was a good guy. He had asked Madeline out for a movie and Madeline was now trying to find the perfect outfit. In the house, was also Frank's other daughters, Jenny and Nelly. Together with Natalia, they were trying to find the perfect outfit.

"Dad! I need money to buy new clothes!" Madeline yelled from the bathroom where she was trying on a dress, "My clothes are old."

"Didn't you buy clothes last month?" Frank asked from the living room.

He was reading the news papers and just wanted to go to sleep. However he knew what it was like to live with only women in the house and as long as Madeline was still looking for the right clothes, he wouldn't be getting any sleep at all.

"Dad! I don't have anything nice. Clothes that are perfect for dates." Madeline sighed.

"If this guy likes you he will like your clothes as well." Frank yawned, "It shouldn't matter what you wear, honey."

"Well, I want to look good tonight." Madeline said, "Mom, this isn't working."

Madeline was the only one of the girls that called Natalia, mom.

"Try this." Jenny said and gave Madeline a nice top and a skirt.

"Better, but not perfect." Madeline sighed, "He will be here in ten minutes."

"Why does he want to take you out so late at night anyway?" Frank asked, "This guy."

"Dad, his name is Johnny." Madeline said, "Because we're going to see a horror movie and we wanted to see it late at night."

"And how are you planning on coming home?" Frank asked.

"Johnny has a car." Madeline sighed.

"Try this." Nelly said and gave Madeline a dress.

"Perfect!" Madeline grinned widely and then put on some makeup.

Natalia and the girls sat down in the couch and sighed. Two hours of hard work and now Madeline had finally found the perfect outfit. A few minutes later, Johnny knocked on the door and smiled widely as he saw his girlfriend.

"You look very nice." He smiled.

"Thank you!" Madeline grinned and gave him a kiss.

Frank cleared his throat and glared at both kids. Natalia sighed and shook her head.

"Frank, be nice." She said, "Have a good night kids!"

Johnny and Madeline said goodbye and left. A short while after, Jenny and Nelly left as well. Frank yawned and laid down in bed. Natalia sat down next to him.

"Frank, do you like the names Elliot or Dominic or maybe Theresa?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah, why?" Frank asked.

"Because we have to choose a name for our baby and I like those names."

Frank sat up in bed and stared at Natalia. She smiled and nodded. Frank put his hand on her belly.

"You're pregnant?" He asked.

"Yeah, 16 weeks." Natalia grinned.

Frank chuckled and kissed her hard. They were going to have a baby!

-I-

Across town, Eric was trying to sleep. But he couldn't. In the room next to his and Horatio's, his father Joseph was sleeping and snoring! Joseph was snoring loudly and it drove Eric mad! Horatio seemed to be able to sleep though.

"H." Eric said and shook Horatio.

"Mm?" Horatio asked, not opening his eyes.

"His snoring is driving me mad." Eric whined.

Joseph had bought a new apartment two days earlier, but some sort of problem with some pipes in the bathroom of the new apartment had turned up and it would take two weeks to fix it. In the meantime, Joseph was staying with Eric and Horatio.

"You suggested that he'd stay with us." Horatio yawned.

"But does he have to snore so much?"

"He can't control it, Eric."

"Horatio." Eric whined.

Horatio chuckled. Eric was whining like a child that didn't get the candy he wanted. Or the wrong Christmas gift. Horatio turned and kissed his husband hard. Eric moaned and deepened the kiss.

"No, wait! We are not having sex, while my dad is in the same house." Eric said as he broke the kiss.

"I'm trying to distract you from his snoring Eric." Horatio chuckled, "Okay, focus on anything but his snoring. Close your eyes."

Eric sighed and closed his eyes. He focused on the sound on the waves crashing on the beach outside.

"Listen to the sound of nothing in the night." Horatio whispered in his ear.

Soon, Eric fell asleep and Horatio smiled. But, as he tried to sleep again himself, all he heard was Joseph's snoring.

"This is going to be a long night." He sighed.

TBC…

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