Title: innocent eyes

Author: shannyfish

Summary: Story Five in the "American Family Series". The serial killer who targets children is on the loose still and starts to hit closer to home. Horatio and Calleigh start to worry that they're targets…Emma and Madison in turn…

Category: CSI: Miami

Genres: Romance

Characters: Calleigh Duquesne, Horatio Caine, Eric Delko

Rating: PG-13

Chapter 2 ~ "Mourning Loss"

Author's Notes: Tissue Warning! Hate reviews will not be appreciated…just so you know; this has been the plan since I started the series ;) I have all sorts of fantastic twists and turns, just hang on!

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Jackson Memorial Hospital

Eric waited anxiously outside of the room they'd moved Calleigh to; no one was telling him anything. He wasn't a blood relative nor her husband, so he was kept effectively in the dark. He'd already informed Horatio where they were, but Horatio was currently stuck in traffic. Technically this wasn't a situation that called for lights and sirens, but Eric hoped that Horatio was eased by the fact that Calleigh's condition was stable and not critical. The doctors had told him that much.

"Eric," Horatio said as he approached the younger man. He pulled his sunglasses down and deposited them into his jacket pocket. "How is she?"

"They're still not telling me anything, H," Eric informed him and turned around. "I swear, H, I did what I could—"

Horatio kept his head down and stood towards Eric at an angle. "I believe you."

"They can page the doctor for you at the nurses' station," Eric told him.

Nodding, Horatio headed in that direction without another word to Eric. He was worried about Calleigh, not because she'd fallen down the stairs, but because she was already weak…she was sick and he didn't know what with. He hadn't gotten that information yet. He talked to one of the nurses and was relieved to know that the doctor was already on his way down. He wouldn't have to wait long for his answers. He headed back to where Eric was waiting and tried to tell himself that everything would be fine. He knew that the worst time of his life had been when Calleigh had been abducted and missing for nearly years…all the lost time he'd lost with her and Emma…that had been so painful…

The doctor arrived ten minutes later and the look on his face was not one of hope. Horatio worried, but knew that if he really needed to worry that Calleigh would be in critical care. "Doctor," Horatio greeted calmly and evenly.

"Lieutenant Caine," the doctor greeted. "I wish I could have perfect news for you, but I'm afraid that I don't."

"Will Calleigh be alright?" Horatio asked first.

The doctor nodded, "Physically she'll heal… No broken bones, mainly just bruises."

"Is there something wrong with her emotionally?"

"You didn't know?" the doctor asked.

"Know what?" Eric asked quickly.

Horatio studied the doctor carefully; he knew something that they didn't. "Obviously not."

"Your wife was pregnant…" the doctor said quietly. "I'm afraid that during the fall, she miscarried. She may not have even known about the pregnancy herself. She was not very far along."

"She knew," Horatio spoke up. "She just found out. She's been sick…"

Eric instantly realized that all the time Calleigh had been sick, she'd actually been suffering from morning sickness. They'd all just brushed it off as the flu. "I should have brought her straight to the lab," Eric said.

"This isn't your fault, Eric," Horatio said. He turned his attention back to the doctor, "Does she know?"

"No, I haven't told her. She's been unconscious," the doctor explained. "We'll want to keep her overnight just to make sure there's no complications…"

"I'll tell her," Horatio told him.

"Are you sure, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, thank you," Horatio said and watched the doctor nod before walking away. He looked over to Eric and noticed the look on his face. He was worried…he was blaming himself. "Eric, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," Eric said without a thought.

"I need you to take care of the girls tonight," he said. "Sheryl's there, but I would feel better if you'd spend the night with them as well."

Eric nodded, "You're going to stay here with Calleigh?"

"I would like to, yes," Horatio responded.

"You should," Eric said. "I'll go stay with Sheryl and the girls." Eric stopped and looked up at Horatio, "Should I tell the girls anything?"

"Just let them know that we're working late…" Horatio said. "They don't need to worry."

"And Sheryl?"

Horatio thought about it for a moment and then nodded, "Go ahead and let her know what's going on."

"I'll take care of them, Horatio," Eric promised.

"Thank you," Horatio said. He watched Eric leave before entering Calleigh's hospital room. He was quiet as he entered. She was unconscious…she looked a lot like she did when she was in the hospital in Las Vegas. This was going to be worse… She'd been so positive about them having another baby…and now… Now, he had to tell her that her dreams of another baby had come true, but then had also died… How could he tell Calleigh that? What would it do to her? He already felt like a tiny bit of him had died with their unborn child…he didn't want her to feel like that, but he also knew that he couldn't lie to her about it.

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The Next Day…

Jackson Memorial Hospital

"Are you sure you feel up to it?" Horatio asked for about the fiftieth time that morning. The hospital had kept her overnight for observation and with her showing no adverse signs of what she'd gone through, the hospital was releasing her. Horatio had explained to her the night before when she'd woken up that she'd miscarried, but she didn't take it as hard as he thought she would. He had a feeling that it was still to come. It was a lot to take in…

Calleigh nodded, "I'll be fine," she told him.

"Calleigh—"

She turned to him and tried to smile in an effort to ease his worries. "I get to go home to my girls, I'll be better once I'm with them."

Horatio nodded and let his head drop. She wanted her space, he could sense that, but he felt the irrational need to hold her and never let her go. He so desperately wanted to protect her from any further heartbreak, but it seemed like it wasn't happening…Calleigh was getting hurt anyway.

"Are there any updates on the case?" Calleigh asked as she went back to checking to see if she had everything. Natalia had dropped by the night before to drop off a set of clothes and other items for her, which she thought was extremely thoughtful.

"You're off the case for the next couple days," he reminded gently.

"That doesn't mean that I can't keep up with the details," Calleigh told him and slung the light duffel over her shoulder. She turned to face Horatio. She could see all the worry in his face, and she knew exactly why. He was waiting for her to break…and she would. She'd wait until she got home and when the girls were asleep…when she could curl up with Horatio and just cry. She felt like that was the only way that she could start mourning the loss of the child that almost was. "I want to know, Horatio."

Horatio didn't like it; he wanted her to focus on grieving and feeling well emotionally. He wanted to grieve, but he didn't feel like he could do that until Calleigh did so as well. He had been okay with having another child, but he wasn't pressuring Calleigh. But this was a loss nonetheless. "There's nothing new…everyone's worried… We don't know if this killer has fallen off the grid or if he's just waiting…like we are."

"I'll probably feel better staying home with the girls the next couple of days anyways," Calleigh told Horatio, trying to make her temporary downtime into a positive.

Horatio stopped her before she got to the door. He felt like he was dying inside. He turned her, so that she was facing him. "You know you don't have to be so strong," Horatio reminded her quietly.

"I know," Calleigh whispered and looked down. She couldn't look into his eyes. She had already seen the worry, but she'd also seen the sadness there too.

"You can cry, Calleigh…that's natural…"

"I'm not ready to yet," Calleigh told him truthfully feeling her eyes filling with tears as she lifted her head to stare into Horatio's bright blue eyes.

Horatio didn't glance away; he reached up and carefully smoothed away the tears when they fell from her eyes, betraying her hold. "Okay," he told her simply.

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Caine Residence

The girls were overjoyed to see her, and Emma kept trying to get her to lift her up. She had a ten pound weight limit currently on her and Emma was definitely over ten pounds. Madison was easily distracted by Sheryl offering a movie and giving Madison the opportunity to assist her in preparing lunch and cookies. Calleigh was thankful for that. "How about you and I go lay down in Mommy's bed?" Calleigh asked Emma. The doctor had instructed her to rest, and she was really feeling the need to do so.

"I'm going to go," Horatio announced as he approached her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her before kissing her cheek and then her forehead. "I love you," he told her. "I'll be home early."

"We'll be fine," Calleigh told him, not wanting him to fuss.

Horatio crouched down and kissed Emma's forehead as well, "Take care of Mommy, okay?"

"Okay," Emma replied brightly. She was happy to have her mother home. She'd cried herself to sleep the night before without her mother there to put her to bed. That wasn't normal.

"I'll be home early," Horatio repeated as he stared into her eyes. "Call me."

"I will," Calleigh promised. She knew that he meant, for her to call him if she needed anything. "I think I'm just going to rest until you get home." Calleigh watched as Horatio took a little longer to leave than he normally would, but she didn't linger in the hallway. She wanted to get off of her feet. She continued down the hallway with Emma to her bedroom. Calleigh changed into comfortable pajamas before getting into bed with Emma. Emma was trying to comfort her. Calleigh had a feeling that even though Emma didn't know what was wrong, she knew that there was something wrong just the same. Maybe Emma just sensed it. Calleigh wasn't sure, but her three year old daughter's warm body cuddled up to hers just made her feel like the world wasn't going to be crashing in around her. She let some tears fall, but it wasn't what she needed…she wouldn't scare Emma. "Mommy's going to sleep," she announced quietly.

"Kay," Emma whispered and tucked her head in under her mother's chin. "Night, night."

Calleigh allowed herself to sleep and relax there in bed with Emma. She felt safe and comfortable in bed with Emma in her arms.

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Caine Residence

It seemed like it took forever for the girls to finally both settle down and sleep. Horatio had to convince Emma that she had to say goodnight to Calleigh in their room instead of making Calleigh walk to the girls' bedroom. He knew that she could do it, but she seemed really comfortable and he hadn't wanted to force her to move in order to appease Emma, even though he knew that she would. Sheryl was also still staying with them, but she'd turned in as well. He headed back to his and Calleigh's bedroom after checking the house to make sure that everything was locked down and that all the lights were off. "Everyone's in bed," he announced as he went to go change out of his suit.

"Horatio," Calleigh whispered.

Horatio turned after discarding his jacket, "Sweetheart?"

"Can you hug me?" she asked feeling very weak.

He wasn't going to turn her down on that. Horatio pushed off his shoes and got onto the bed with Calleigh. "Of course," he whispered and wrapped his arms around her; he added pressure when she grasped him as if for dear life. "It's going to be okay, Sweetheart," he tried to soothe her. Her sobs quickly followed and Horatio just held her and tried to soothe her every now and then. After a few minutes, Horatio shed his own tears with her as he tried to explain that when the time was right…that they'd have another child. That this life had gone to God and was meant to spend eternity up in Heaven, not with them. Of course, it didn't ease the pain, but it was a nice thought.

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TBC…