Chapter 6

"That's because he's my son, Walter." Eric whispered as he looked up at Walter. Walter's eyes widened as he tilted his head.

"No, you're kidding me?" Walter asked as he looked up at Eric, shocked as he looked back to the young boy.

"No, he's my son." Eric rasped and Walter still looked shocked as he looked back to Eric and Calleigh as Calleigh nodded at him.

"You've known all this time? You said Calleigh was dead." Walter asked, confused as he frowned at Eric.

"No, I've not known all this time. Things happened and it wasn't Calleigh's fault, she did what she thought was best for him." Eric said quietly as Calleigh poured him a cup of water when she heard his voice becoming rougher again.

"Did you get her pregnant before she left then?" Walter asked as if he completely forgot that Calleigh was in the room.

"No, I impregnated her from the other side of the country." Eric said sarcastically and Walter swallowed as he frowned more. He just hoped that he hadn't annoyed either of them. "Sorry Walter." He apologised when he realised he was being slightly snappy as he felt quite groggy.

"No, I'm sorry I didn't mean to ask such a dumb question." He said and Eric nodded as he sat up and sipped the water after Calleigh passed it to him.

"We'd like it if you kept this quiet for now, please?" Calleigh asked and Walter nodded.

"Of course." He said as he nodded more.

"Does anyone else know?" Walter asked as he looked at the both of them.

"Only H and Zoë know." Eric said a little louder now his throat and mouth wasn't so dry.

"What's his name?" Walter asked as he softened his expression considerably and looked back to the young boy.

"Tyler Delko." Eric replied as he handed the cup back to Calleigh.

"Congratulations." Walter said softly and Eric gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Walter." Eric said softly and Walter nodded.

"Are you two together then?" Walter asked and they looked at each other. Calleigh then nodded at Walter.

"Keep that to yourself for the time being as well, please." Eric said softly and Walter nodded.

"I won't tell a sole." Walter said softly. "Anyway, I'll let you rest or do whatever you want to do. Give me a ring if you need anything. Glad you're okay." Walter said and Eric nodded with a small smile. Walter promptly left and Eric looked back to Calleigh and laid back down.

"Half of Miami will know by midnight, I know it." Eric sighed softly as he moved and got himself comfortable.

"It doesn't matter anyway, people are going to find out that we have a son. I'm surprised that people don't already know." Calleigh said softly as Tyler got up and sat on one of Eric's legs with a smile.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing?" Eric asked softly as he placed his hand on Tyler's arm. He gave Eric a nod and then looked back down to the phone.

"You won't get much from him at the moment." Calleigh said softly and Eric nodded.

"Will you move in with me?" Eric asked as he looked back up to Calleigh and she nodded while Eric began to lightly rub Tyler's back.

"I think that's a good idea at the moment, if that's still okay. I've applied for a few jobs today, I'll keep looking though. You wouldn't know if there's any openings at the lab, would you?" Calleigh asked.

"Sorry Cal, there isn't. Natalia, another CSI has filled in the gap and the funding has recently been cut so they can't afford another CSI at the moment." Eric said softly

"Can't I work there temporarily? Just until Zoë goes back? She won't be back for some time, surely?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't think they'll do that as they've just lost some funding for a certain department and so all other departments are trying to compensate now. A load of guys from IAB have been laid off. But Horatio will be back soon, he might be able to pull some strings." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded while she sighed softly.

"How's Horatio still on leave, men only get a couple of weeks leave for a baby, don't they?" Calleigh asked.

"He's taken compassionate leave, he needs to be home with Zoë." Eric replied.

"Why?" Calleigh asked and Eric sighed.

"A few reasons, Calleigh." Eric said dismissively.

"Maya is a lovely name. How did they lose her? Like, how did those kidnappers kill the baby or was it just the stress of being kidnapped that caused Zoë to miscarry?" Calleigh asked softly. Eric took a deep breath and looked down at Tyler as he played on the phone still. 'Should I tell her? She'll fine out sooner or later, won't she? I don't want her to ask either H or Zoë, or worse, someone else. I don't want her to hear it in gossip if she hears anything that could be going around. I know what the lab is like, rumours always go around and old things stirred up.' Eric thought to himself.

"I'm not discussing that with you, Calleigh. Don't go off and ask anyone else either." He warned dryly, she noticed the darkness in his voice so decided to leave it at that. "Look, I'll talk to H and see if he can pull a few strings to get you back at the lab, okay?" He asked and she nodded contentedly.

Eric then picked up his phone and then read Zoë's message when Calleigh turned to see what Tyler was up to and found that he was accidentally sending messages to any number he typed in.

"Hey sweetie, was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight? Alexx and her husband, Joe and Nathan are all coming over, would be lovely if you could make it. Z x," He smiled when he read the message. Calleigh looked back to him and then studied his small smile.

"What did she say?" Calleigh asked softly when she looked back to him and saw him smiling.

"Just that they're having a few people over for dinner and wondered if I'd like to join." Eric said softly.

"You should go." Calleigh said softly as she tilted her head.

"I'm currently in hospital, Calleigh. I don't even know if I'm going to be out yet." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded as Eric looked back to his phone.

"I'll ring her." Eric said softly as he dialled her number.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" Zoë asked as she picked up her phone just as she was changing the girls.

"Hi Zo, I'm not too bad thank you. How are you doing, how's H? How'd Isobel and Ella get on at the hospital today?" Eric asked softly as he looked down to Tyler and smiled at him.

"Good, we're good thank you. They did really well, Sophie thinks that Isobel is doing really well compared to the last visit, so we're very happy, Ella is also doing really well. Are you able to make it tonight? We just wanted a change, we need some time with you guys." She asked softly.

"I'm not sure, sorry Zo, I'm currently in hospital, I had an accident at work today. I'm good though, so don't worry, I'm just not sure if I'll be out in time." Eric said softly and calmly in hope of it keeping her calm.

"Ooh Eric, I'm sorry, are you okay? Are you alone? What happened?" She asked as she stopped what she was doing and smiled down at both girls once she'd finished dressing them.

"I'm okay, I just had my throat cut by a chicken. I'm not alone, Calleigh and Tyler are here, so don't worry about me." Eric said softly. He knew then that she was with the girls as he detected a hint of the chirpy, nearly high-pitched baby voice she was talking in.

"Oh of course, Calleigh is here. Sorry Eric, I've got the baby brain. You got your throat cut by a chicken?" Zoë asked softly and he could hear that she was confused.

"Yes, well it was a rooster, there was a cockfight that we stopped and they threw the roosters at us, the talons caught my neck. But I'm good. Don't worry about that Zoë, I know you've got enough on your plate." Eric said softly with a very small chuckle.

"Christ, that's something to tell the grandchildren. Glad you're okay though. If you do want to come over, Calleigh and Tyler are welcome too, but I completely understand if you want to give tonight a miss, we don't mind. Just let us know, yeah?" Zoë asked but he heard her slight unease when saying that Calleigh was welcome, she knew full well that Horatio wouldn't have any of it, Eric knew that too.

"Will do Zo, I'll text you later. Thank you." Eric said softly.

"No problem, see you soon, call if you need anything." Zoë said softly.

"Thank you, bye Zoë." Eric said softly before they hung up.

"Are you going to go over?" Calleigh asked softly and Eric shook his head with a shrug.

"She said that you're welcome to as well, but I don't think it's a good idea as my throat is killing me and I am really tired." He said softly and Calleigh nodded.

"There will be other times though, so don't worry if you're not feeling up to it. Who's going?" Calleigh asked warmly as she gently rubbed his upper arm.

"Just some friends." He said softly and Calleigh nodded.

"Work friends?" She asked warmly as she tilted her head, he could see the bright glint of curiosity in Calleigh's eyes.

"Kind of, Alexx and her husband are going, Joe, who is Zoë's best friend and the God-father of the twins and Nathan, another good friend of us all, he's a doctor." Eric said softly and Calleigh nodded.

"Do you know Joe? Is he the tall one with shortish messy hair?" Calleigh asked and Eric nodded.

"Is he gay?" Calleigh asked.

"No, he's far from it." Eric smiled, amused.

"But he's not got a girlfriend has he?" Calleigh asked inquisitively.

"No, but he's not gay." Eric said softly.

"How? He can't be that hot and without a girlfriend if he's not gay, and that doctor, is he the one that treated Zoë when her throat was cut?" Calleigh asked and Eric nodded as he raised his eyebrows at her to let her know that she was starting to tread on ever thinning ice.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Calleigh asked and Eric shook his head. "But he's hot too. They're always either hot and taken, or hot and gay…" Calleigh said softly.

"That's really something you shouldn't be telling me." Eric said softly and she picked up on the slither of disapproval in his voice.

"I'm sorry Eric." Calleigh said softly.

"They're both busy men, they don't have time for girlfriends." Eric explained softly.

"What does that Joe guy do?" Calleigh asked curiously.

"He's the CEO of an oil company." Eric replied and Calleigh looked shocked.

"But he's like 25?" Calleigh asked.

"He's 30, and he's a clever man. He attended Prep and grammar school with Zoë and also went to the same University." Eric said softly.

"He comes from a wealthy family too? What University did they go to?" Calleigh asked.

"Princeton." Eric replied and Calleigh looked shocked again. "Why are you so interested in Zoë?" Eric asked softly as he lowered his eyebrows, feeling something suspicious about how interested in Zoë she was.

"Well, she's Horatio's wife for one… she's obviously a big part of the team. I'm just curious as to what happened and who happened after I left." Calleigh said softly and Eric nodded with a small frown.

"Am I a rebound, Calleigh? Am I second best to Tom? Is that why you've agreed to try a relationship again?" Eric asked and she looked a little shocked.

"No, not at all. I've always had feelings for you, I told you that. I have your child Eric. I told you that since seeing you again, I've felt stronger feelings and felt closer to you." Calleigh said softly.

"So I'm not second best?" Eric asked.

"You're not second best." Calleigh replied and Eric nodded, a little happier.

"We can make this work Eric." Calleigh said softly as she leant back down and kissed him. Eric looked back up at her with a smile and a nod as he took her hand with a warm smile developing.

"Just promise me one thing." He asked her to which she nodded. "Don't ask anymore questions about Zoë and Horatio, they are none of your business and none of mine either." He said as he looked up to her and she nodded again.

"I promise, I was just curious, that's all," she pleaded and he nodded.

XXXXXXXX

At 1.30AM in the morning that night, Horatio woke. He couldn't feel Zoë wrapped around him like usual so he rolled onto his side and reached over for her, just as he'd always do if she wasn't sleeping close by. He opened his eyes and squinted when he couldn't feel anyone in the bed with him.

"Zoë?" he asked quietly as he quickly flicked his bedside lamp on and then turned back to her side. He frowned as he sat up and then looked into the cot to see both babies sleeping very peacefully before he pushed the duvet from his legs and looked towards the en-suite. He could hear the shower running so slowly clambered out of bed and headed towards the door.

"Sweetheart?" he asked warmly as he gently pushed the door open and entered to see Zoë sitting on the floor of the shower with her head bowed down and resting on her knees as she raised them to her chest. He quickly entered fully and then pulled the shower door open, but she still didn't even look up to him.

"Zoë, sweetheart," he called warmly as he leant in and turned the shower off before he stepped in and crouched down beside her.

"Sweetheart," he called as he placed his hand on her bare shoulder. Suddenly, she looked up, completely startled and sprang away from him and into the corner of the shower, breathing heavily.

"Sorry," Horatio apologised as he raised his hands to show her he meant no harm. She began to settle once she realised it was Horatio.

"Talk to me, Zoë," he encouraged as he stayed where he was, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by getting too close to her when she was clearly very timid. She looked up at him, it was clear she'd been crying.

"I told you that I'd have nightmares." She murmured quietly as she looked back down to the floor.

"You should have woke me up sweetheart, I can help." He said warmly but she just shook her head.

"No you can't," she argued as she looked back up to him and furrowed her brow.

"How do you know that if you didn't ask for my help?" Horatio asked warmly as he moved slightly closer to her.

"Because you were the nightmare." She admitted as she looked at him. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at her, completely startled and shocked. 'I was the nightmare?' he asked himself as he tilted his head at her.

"I am very sorry sweetheart." He apologised as he moved forwards again.

"I want to be left alone, please." She asked quietly but he didn't move.

"Zoë, look at me sweetheart." He said warmly as he slowly knelt down on his knees from the crouching position he was in. "Sweetheart, look at me." He asked warmly as he tilted his head to the side and watched her lift her head to look at him.

"I am very sorry about what happened, and I'm sorry that you had a nightmare about me… but you must try and get some sleep Zoë, you need it. We both need it. I promise you that everything is alright, I promise you that you're not going to get hurt. I know it's not a nice–" he said to try and soothe her but she cut him off.

"No you don't, Horatio, you have no idea about how this makes me feel. I've just had a nightmare about you, the only man in this world that I feel truly comfortable with. You were never sexually abused, you simply won't understand how I'm feeling. Sexual abuse is different to physical and mental abuse… The last thing I want is for me to associate you with anything remotely negative, I don't want to associate you with the sexual abuse I got from him… that's what this is… you were both there, you and he…" she stopped talking when the lump in her throat grew too big. It was all he could take, he couldn't sit back and watch her fall apart without comforting her.

"Zoë, I know sweetheart, I know I won't understand. But remember, it was a nightmare, it wasn't me." He soothed as he moved closer and sat on the floor beside her before he gently pulled her over to sit between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her as she put her head back on his shoulder and turned her head towards his.

"I'm sorry," she apologised as she began to sob again while Horatio hugged her tightly against him.

"There's no need to apologise, sweetheart." He soothed gently as he began to rub her stomach with both hands as he delicately kissed the side of her head lovingly.

"You're going to get wet." She murmured as she tried drying her face with her wet hands.

"That doesn't matter." He replied warmly as his hands continued to skim over her belly, he could tell that it was easing her anxiety.

"Think about Ella, Isobel and me… we're all apart of each other. We've got two beautiful daughters and we conceived them on that Saturday night… maybe that can happen again in the future, maybe we'll be able to conceive another baby." He said gently as he kissed her hair again as she nodded.

"Hopefully we will, not too soon though." She said quietly which caused Horatio to chuckle lightly as he nodded.

"Yes, not too soon, but when the time is right." He whispered to her warmly.

"I keep seeing him, Horatio… in my dreams. He's just standing there, watching… like he's waiting to pounce…" she admitted before she pressed her lips together.

"How long have you been seeing him?" Horatio asked delicately as he raised one hand to her head and began to play with her hair.

"Since a few days before they were born, more since they were born." She whispered as Horatio began to nod.

"You could have spoken to me sweetheart." He said warmly and she began to nod as she sobbed.

"I know, but I just hoped that they'd stop, but they haven't. I've been seeing other things too, Horatio," she cried as she turned and tried to hug him tightly but they were both just in awkward positions.

"Okay sweetheart, how about we get out of the shower and back into bed where we can properly talk things through, yeah? Would that be better? You're getting cold." He said warmly and she began to nod at him as she pulled away. They both stood and walked out of the en-suite, dried and then changed into dry clothes before they climbed back into bed. He pulled her over towards him and allowed her to wrap herself around him, placing her head directly next to his.

"Just talk to me sweetheart, we have all night." He soothed quietly as he wrapped his arms around her and began to nuzzle her nose lightly.

"There's just things that I'd forgotten… things that I wished had stayed buried that seem to have woken up… I don't want to look into my past, Horatio, why am I seeing things like this now?" she asked him quietly as she ran her hand over his chest.

"I've mentioned before, having our daughters with us might re-awaken memories we'd rather keep hidden. I know I've had a few that have come back to haunt me." He admitted quietly and then felt her hand stop on his chest.

"We never got round to finishing that conversation on the shop when we bought paint…" she remembered as she began to stroke his chest once more.

"You're right, we didn't… I'm not sure where to start, Zoë." He admitted quietly. "I've never spoken of it to anyone." He added as he began to run one of his hands up and down her back.

"If you're not comfortable, then you don't need to talk, Horatio." she said quietly before she kissed him delicately on the lips.

"My father was a drunk and he was violent when he was drunk. You know that I killed him, don't you? I told you that, haven't I?" he asked quietly to which she nodded at him. He exhaled steadily as he tried to think about his words.

"It was just classic abuse; he'd get drunk and would lose it… his belt was his favourite weapon that created most of the scars on my back. He'd hit me repeatedly, until I was bleeding and barely conscious on the floor or until my mother managed to stop him. I managed to defend Raymond from most of the abuse, but he still got some of it, he still got scars no matter how much I tried to protect him. The day I killed him was the first time I felt free, but I also felt an incredible loss as he'd murdered my mother. I don't know what happened that day… why it was so different from the rest… but I should have done it sooner, I shouldn't have waited so long." He said quietly as Zoë listened carefully.

"I'm so sorry, Horatio." she said quietly as she nuzzled his nose. "What memories have come back for you? If you don't mind me asking?" she asked him warmly.

"I was about 5 years old… I was standing by Ray's crib watching him sleep while our mother had a very quick shower. Suddenly, he appeared and drunk as ever… Ray was only a few weeks old and completely defenceless. He pushed me out of the way and began to smother my brother with a blanket. I tried to stop him, but I was only small myself… it wasn't until our mother came back in and stopped him. She hit him for that. It was the first time I'd seen her hit him. But of course he didn't have that, so he dragged her away from us. That's all I remember... It just makes me realise just how helpless Ray was then when I look at our daughters... they rely on us to defend them from everything, but we didn't… the people who were supposed to defend us were the ones hurting us. Ella and Isobel are such happy babies, they clearly know who we are and are already showing us both so much love and affection… I just wonder if I was ever the same towards him." Horatio admitted quietly.

"Oh handsome, I'm so sorry. That must have been horrible. But you must remember that both you and Ray survived that, you got through that together. Horatio, you were a baby, if your father was anything like mine, he wouldn't have been around you for long, only when it suited him… you probably wouldn't have built up that bond with him either. I didn't with my father at all. As babies get older, they get picky with who they want to be around… I always wanted my mother, I bet you were the same. You wouldn't have wanted your father, you wouldn't have shown him affection if he didn't show you affection. I'm going to say something that I think we both need to listen to. It was the past, the past stays in the past." She paused as her fingertips delicately danced through his chest hair.

"We have a beautiful family now, we have two happy, loving daughters who will always have our love and attention. These memories are nothing but memories, they are not what we should be thinking about, we should be focussing on making new memories to replace the old ones we don't want. I know it's harder said than done, but when I look at you… when I look at them, that's all I see, I see my present and my future and that's all we need to be looking at. The best things in our lives are right in this room… that's you, me and our two beautiful babies… who could be ginger like you." She smiled as she nuzzled him.

He began to smile as he nodded, he knew she was right and that she was feeling much better herself. He was very proud that she was the one talking sense this time, not him. She was the one being strong and not allowing the dark places in their lives to overtake the light places.

"I'm sorry Horatio, for waking you and for breaking down on you…" she apologise quietly.

"Don't apologise sweetheart, you should be proud of yourself, you managed to build us both back up." He said warmly as he moved his head and gently placed a kiss on her lips. "Are you okay though? Would you like to talk about what you'd remembered?" He asked quietly as he began to play with her hair.

"I'm good now, I think I've talked some sense into myself. It's no longer bothering me, it's the past, sure, it's not a great memory, but I'm not going to allow it to affect me." She said softly but he knew it was still playing on her mind.

"Zoë, I know you better than you think. I know it is bothering you." He admitted delicately as he swept his fingertips over her skin. Suddenly a sharp cry from one of the babies sounded causing both Zoë and Horatio to sit up and shoot out of bed.

"Hey baby girl, what's that about?" Zoë said gently as she reached down and gently ran her hand over Ella's soft hair. Both Horatio and Zoë looked down at her as she continued to cry.

"She can't be hungry, can she? She was fed 2 hours ago, she should be good for another hour." Zoë asked as she checked her temperature and then gently stroked her cheeks.

"It would seem so." He replied when Ella turned her head towards Zoë's hand, looking for milk.

"Come on then, let's feed you hungry little monkey." Zoë said as she gently lifted Ella out of the Moses basket and then walked over to the bed with her.

"Isobel is waking too, she'll probably want feeding as well." Horatio said softly as he reached down and smiled at her before he lifted her up.

"They both must have not had much the last feed then…" Zoë said as she took her t-shirt off with her bra and sat back on the bed.

"Are you looking for milk too?" Horatio said as he held Isobel against his bare chest, feeling her warm body heat his skin nicely. He then walked over to Zoë with her just as she began to cry too and handed the baby to her after putting her bib on. Both babies quickly silenced their cries as they began to drink while Horatio quickly collected a couple of items ready to change them after the feed. He then assisted Zoë in any way he could before Isobel stopped feeding while Ella continued.

"She's a very hungry baby, wow." Zoë smiled tiredly as Horatio gently took Isobel and began to change her in their room.

Once finished, they both settled each baby back down and sent them to sleep. Zoë and Horatio then finally settled back down themselves. Horatio had noticed that Zoë was much calmer and seemed to have forgotten about what they were speaking about previously.

"Alright?" Horatio asked casually as he moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her as they both closed their eyes.

"Yeah, how about you?" she asked warmly.

"I'm good, I'm glad we finally managed to talk, even if it wasn't much." He replied.

"Yeah, you know you can talk to me about anything as well don't you?" she asked him warmly.

"I know sweetheart, thank you." He replied equally as warmly. 'It would seem that me talking caused her to sort herself out, I thought it was going to be a difficult night, I thought that she wouldn't want to touch me after having a bad dream about me, I'm glad I managed to talk to her about it, she is right, she was the strongest one out of the both of us… even if it wasn't for long, she was the one supporting me properly. I knew she had it in her, she just needs a little push I think. She allows herself to be beaten down about her past, that's the problem, but tonight she didn't.' he thought to himself.

"Good, goodnight handsome, I love you." She said as she turned over to face him and place a loving kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight beautiful, I love you too." He whispered before he returned the kiss.

XXXXXXXX

Also that evening, Calleigh and Eric shared the same bed once more after Eric had been discharged from the hospital with the all clear.

"How are you feeling now?" Calleigh asked softly as she laid on her side against Eric as he nodded.

"I'm feeling much better thank you, but I think I'll be taking tomorrow off." He replied to which she nodded with a light giggle.

"Maybe we can all go out, perhaps to a park or somewhere fun for Tyler. If you're feeling up to it that is." She asked warmly and he nodded.

"That would be good." He replied. She nodded at him with a smile before she moved closer and then closed her eyes.

"Goodnight Eric, if Tyler wakes again tonight, don't be alarmed if he does climb into bed with us again." She said as she exhaled tiredly.

"I won't, I know to expect it now… I just didn't expect it at 4 in the morning yesterday…" he replied and then listened to the small giggle coming from Calleigh. "Goodnight Cal," he said before he gave her a gentle kiss and then closed his eyes too.

The End

Thank you all for reading, next story is "Caine Me" - hopefully it'll be up within a couple of days.