Chapter 9
Val entered with a gentle smile and then drew the curtain back again. She perched on the side of the bed and set up the machine while Horatio and Zoë looked at each other many times before looking back to Val and the machine. There was silence between them all as Zoë watched Val intensely while her heart rate had shot through the roof.
"I'm just going to put some of this gel on your stomach okay? It's cold." Val said warmly as she turned to Zoë and then placed some gel on Zoë's stomach and on the end of the hand-held device that was used to scan her stomach. Val looked down to Zoë's abdomen, then began to scan as she looked back up at the screen. Zoë's and Horatio's grip on each other's hands had tightened as they looked back to the screen. They listened as Val turned the sound back on and they heard the odd sound again which caused them both to panic more.
"Everything's okay." Val assured both Zoë and Horatio as she looked back to them.
"I'm going to be honest, if you don't tell me what's going on, I will have a heart attack." Zoë said firmly as she glared at Val. Val looked back to her with a sweet expression and then looked up at Horatio and saw the deep worry on his face too.
"I'm sorry for worrying you both, I just needed to look before I said anything." Val apologised and looked back to the screen.
"Well?" Zoë questioned firmly as she looked at Val.
"Do you see that, there?" Val asked as she pointed to the screen and then looked back to them as they both nodded.
"That is another baby, you're having twins." Val said softly and Zoë and Horatio looked to her with wide eyes as their jaws dropped.
"What?" She asked, thinking she'd mis-heard Val.
"You're having twins, Zoë." Val said softly with a warm smile as she watched the initial shock fleet across their faces, wiping their worried expressions right away.
"Oh my gosh, we're having twins?" Zoë questioned and Val nodded. She watched a beaming smile appear on Zoë's face as her eyes lit up bright like the sun. She gasped and then covered her mouth with her hand before she looked up at Horatio who also had a brilliant smile as he looked at the screen. He then looked down at her with an ecstatic expression himself before Zoë looked back to Val who had got a few pictures. "Twins?" She asked again and Val nodded with a wide smile herself. She was happy with both Horatio's and Zoë's reactions, they both seemed genuinely overjoyed by the news before Zoë's eyebrows lowered as she looked back at Val. "Why have you only just noticed this?" Zoë asked frantically.
"Well, your first scan was at 6 weeks and that is earlier than what we'd usually do. I was unable to detect a heartbeat then, which isn't entirely uncommon. I also read through your notes briefly about when you were brought in the other day and I had saw that Nathan had picked up on one heartbeat, which again, isn't uncommon as one baby is generally a little more grown than the other, but I picked up on two heartbeats just now, but I wanted to check with the ultrasound first. You have twins that are 8 weeks and 5 days old, both have a very healthy heartbeat and are looking a good size." Val explained softly and Zoë's mouth fell open again as she grinned. "Double congratulations for you both, and I'm sorry for not picking up on it before." Val said warmly with a gentle smile as she printed a scan picture for them.
"Don't apologise this is fantastic! Better late than never!" She grinned and Val handed a scan to Horatio before she handed Zoë some paper towels to wipe the gel from her stomach.
"Are they mono or dizygotic?" Zoë questioned as she wiped her stomach as Val pushed the machine away.
"They're dizygotic." Val smiled and Zoë nodded with a grin.
"That means they're non-identical?" Horatio asked and both Zoë and Val nodded at him. Zoë covered her mouth in sheer surprise and happiness.
"We could have a baby of each gender!" She smiled as Horatio looked down at the scan with a smile that he couldn't hide. Zoë pulled her top back down as Val washed her hands again and nodded at Zoë. "I'm so happy. That's why I'm so big then?" She asked and Val nodded as she dried her hands. "Thank you Val!" Zoë beamed as she quickly walked over to Val and shook her hand before she walked back over to Horatio and hugged him tightly and then looked at the picture in his hand. She gave him a kiss and then walked over to Val's desk with him, she no longer felt tired and drained, she felt so alive and happy.
"You'll need to be eating a little more now that we know you've got twins, but by the sounds and looks of it, you've already had the second baby very nourished." Val smiled and Zoe chuckled lightly, she seemed so at ease with Val now. "You should take a little more folic acid now, that's my advice anyway, don't exceed the safe dose though." Val said softly and she nodded.
"Is this why my morning sickness has been horrendous?" She asked and Val nodded.
"And perhaps why your breasts are hurting so much." Val said softly and she nodded. "How many glasses of water a day would you say you're drinking?" Val asked as she wrote a couple of notes down.
"Between 6 and 7, I know that isn't enough but I simply can't drink anymore." Zoë said softly as she lightly bit her lip and took a hold of Horatio's hand.
"Have you tried carrying a bottle of water around with you and drinking throughout the day rather than a glass here and there?" Val asked softly.
"I'll give that a go." She smiled and Val nodded. "Everything looks really good and healthy." Val said warmly and Zoë smiled brightly. "No swimming, stick to walking now, I wouldn't advise a long run, a 10 minute jog here and there shouldn't be harmful though. Try and get up slowly, drink plenty of water, eat regularly, if you have any concerns, please call me again. I will see you in about 10 weeks at your 18 week scan." Val said warmly and Zoë and Horatio nodded again with bright smiles.
"Thank you so much Val!" She smiled and stood up as Val did to shake her hand warmly.
"Take care." She smiled as she shook Horatio's hand too. Horatio put the picture in his pocket and then took hold of Zoë's hand and thanked Val again. Zoë and Horatio then exited the room and closed the door before Zoë jumped on the spot and hugged Horatio tightly.
"We're having twins, Horatio!" She beamed as she held him tightly.
"We certainly are." Horatio grinned as he rubbed her back and then kissed the side of her head. They broke from the hug and placed a light kiss on each other's lips before they started on down the corridor hand in hand.
"I feel so good right now. I don't feel tired anymore and I certainly don't feel drained." She beamed up at him with a wide smile. Horatio looked back to her with his secret smile, he was so happy to see her feeling much better. "Are you okay with twins?" Zoë asked as she looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows.
"More than okay sweetheart, I'm ecstatic, twins is more than I could have ever hoped for. You're okay with twins, aren't you?" Horatio questioned and Zoë nodded excitedly.
"Same as you. I hope we have a boy and a girl!" Zoë grinned and Horatio nodded with a smile as they squeezed each other's hands as they made their way out. They walked through the entrance and into the bright sunlight with beaming smiles. Zoë glanced round and saw Nathan leaning against the wall as he looked up at the sky.
"Horatio, hold on." Zoë said warmly as she stopped. Horatio looked back and saw Nathan running a hand through his hair, he looked exceptionally stressed. "Come on." Zoë said as they began to walk over to Nathan. "Nathan?" Zoë called and Nathan lifted his head and looked down at them. He quickly stubbed out the cigarette he had in his hand and threw it away before swatting the smoke away. "Is everything okay?" Zoë asked compassionately as she looked up at him and he nodded with a gentle smile.
"Yeah" Nathan replied.
"No it's not, I know for a fact that you don't smoke." Zoë said as she tilted her head at him and stepped back slightly.
"You're right, I don't smoke, but I will have a cigarette when I have a difficult day. It's only ever once in a blue moon, I don't even buy them, a visitor offered it to me before they threw their packet of cigs away." Nathan admitted.
"What's wrong?" Zoë asked softly as she tilted her head.
"I just lost 3 patients, a family. I did everything I could for them, but their injuries were too extensive. But that's life. I can't save everyone." Nathan said as he took a deep breath and then exhaled steadily.
"Oh sweetie, I know you did your best for them, that's all you ever do." Zoë said as she stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Thank you Zoë, I'll be fine in a moment, it still gets to me even now after years of being a doctor. But that's my job, I've got to deal with it. There really is no need to worry about me." Nathan said warmly before Zoë pulled back and nodded at him while Horatio gave Nathan a sympathetic look. "Anyway, how are you and baby?" Nathan asked with a genuine smile tugging at his lips when he saw the smiles form on Horatio's and Zoë's faces again once they saw that Nathan was okay.
"We're great thanks, and we've just had some more amazing news." Zoë grinned at him and his smile widened.
"Are you going to share the news with me?" Nathan asked with a smile before Zoë turned to Horatio and pulled the scan from his pocket with a grin. "Don't say you bullied Val into giving you an Ultrasound? She said she was just going to use the Doppler." Nathan smiled smoothly with a cheeky grin and Zoë began to giggle.
"Hey, I don't bully anyone… much, anyway. Take a look for yourself." Zoë grinned as she handed Nathan the scan and he looked down at it. He frowned mildly at the start as he made the scan out.
"Twins?" Nathan asked as he looked up at Zoë and she nodded with a brilliant smile. A brilliant smile then appeared on Nathan's face. "Double congratulations to the both of you!" Nathan said with a thrilled smile and tone of voice.
"Thank you! They're dizygotic, we could have one of each gender!" Zoë beamed happily as she jumped on the spot again.
"Come here." Nathan smiled and she moved forwards and hugged him happily as he wrapped one arm around her. She pulled back and Nathan stepped forwards to shake Horatio's hand and then handed the scan back to him. "That is wonderful news, I can see that you're both thrilled with it." Nathan smiled and they nodded.
"What's it like having a twin Nathan?" Zoë asked as she stepped back towards Horatio as Nathan popped a mint into his mouth.
"There's definitely a special bond between Matt and I, we even had our own secret twin language when we were children apparently. We are identical twins though so some people argue that identical twins have an extra special bond, but I believe that any twins identical or not will always have that bond between each other." Nathan smiled and Zoë nodded with a gleaming grin.
"I'm so excited!" She said as she looked at Horatio. Nathan looked from Zoë to Horatio and then back and could see the grins on their faces.
"I'd love to stay and chat about it, but I really should be heading back in to get on with a few things." Nathan said softly.
"Sure thing sweetie, thank you!" She smiled and then hugged him again. Horatio and Zoë then walked away together after Nathan walked away himself.
"Twins!" She squealed as she got into the car. "You tell Eric, I'm telling Joe." She smiled and he chuckled with a smile and then kissed the back of her hand once he was in the car. "Does this mean I can get away with eating more?" She questioned and Horatio nodded with a smile and light chuckle. "Excellent!" She grinned and Horatio chuckled more as he pulled off.
"Are you up for a quick stop off at the supermarket? We're running low on salad and fruit." He said softly and she nodded with a wide smile.
"We also need some more juice." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded.
They returned home and put the food away and then Horatio left for work in the BMW after making Zoë promise him that she felt okay and that she'd call if she needed to. Zoë took a very quick shower and put a new top on and then hopped into the Porsche and drove over to Joe's. She pulled up on his drive and then let herself in with the key Joe had given her.
"Hey." Zoë said as she walked through to the kitchen with a beaming smile.
"Hey darling, how are you? Are you okay? You said you might be late as you were heading to the hospital this morning." He asked softly as he gently hugged her.
"We only went because Val wanted to check my blood pressure and it turned out to be incredible! I'm so glad I did go. I'm glad I passed out this morning and had a nose bleed!" She squealed and he mildly frowned and gestured for her to go on as he got the orange juice from the fridge and poured her a glass. She could see that he was confused and she couldn't wait any longer. "Horatio and I are having twins!" She grinned and Joe's eyes widened as he turned back round to her.
"Twins?" He questioned looking a little shocked and she nodded with a bright smile.
"We found out today! I can't believe we're going to have two babies! Look, I'm bigger than I would be if I only had one baby in me!" She said as she pulled her top up and pointed down to her stomach. "We've been saying for the past couple of weeks that I am much bigger than I was with Maya! Neither of us thought that I was carrying twins!" She grinned and Joe's expression grew into a brilliant smile as he looked back up at her and into her happy eyes.
"Are they identical?" Joe asked and Zoë shook her head and dropped her top.
"So they could be one of each gender!" She grinned as she picked up the glass before putting it back down again when he gently hugged her again.
"That's fantastic Zoë, congratulations again!" Joe smiled and then kissed her forehead.
"I wanted two babies before I was 30, but that wouldn't have ever happened because I'm 28 now… it's a dream come true!" She grinned up at him as she lifted the glass again.
"What about Horatio? Is he okay with knowing you're having twins?" Joe asked and she nodded.
"He's ecstatic too!" She beamed and Joe nodded with his smile widening again.
"I'm really very happy for the both of you." He grinned.
"Thank you Bunny, I really appreciate it! You just need to have children now and our children can get married!" She grinned and Joe chuckled as he shook his head playfully.
"Hmm…" He murmured with a smile while she sipped the orange juice.
"I will find you a hottie, don't you worry about it." She smiled at him and he chuckled.
"When are you going to start to get baby stuff then?" Joe asked softly as he sipped his drink.
"Probably around 20 weeks, I don't want to get stuff too early on in the pregnancy. It'll scare me." She said softly and he tilted his head with a mild frown as he placed his glass back down.
"Scare you? Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked softly and warmly.
"Yeah, I'm really ready… I don't mean it'll scare me in that way. I mean that it'll make me feel like I'm jinxing something and that something will go wrong if we get the baby things too soon. That's what I'm afraid of." Zoë said softly and Joe nodded in understanding as he relaxed himself.
"I see, okay darling, Uncle Joey won't be buying the babies anything yet then." He smiled and Zoë chuckled as she bit her lip.
"They're going to be so spoilt… I've already told Horatio to tell me off if I do spoil them too much." She smiled shyly.
"I think you'll do just fine, it'll be me that will spoil them too much… you'll be shouting at me, I know you will." He grinned and she chuckled again as she knew it was probably going to be true.
"I can't believe I'm having twins, Joe!" She said as she looked at her orange juice with a wide dreamy smile. She then looked up at him with the same dreamy smile as she placed both of her hands around the glass of orange juice. "I really hope they have Horatio's eyes." She said before she bit her lip and imagined Horatio's beautiful eyes again.
"I can't really say, I've not gazed into Horatio's eyes… but you do have beautiful eyes. You know you do." He said softly and she smiled shyly as she looked back down to the orange.
"Yeah, but I'd like to look into my children's eyes and see his eyes in them." She said softly and then bit her lip again as she looked up at him.
"Alright, too lovey for me… you know I don't do that sort of thing." He smiled as he put his mug in the sink with a casual smile.
"Actually you do do that sort of thing, you and I both know that." She said softly as she raised her eyebrows and he chuckled as he turned back to her.
"Very rarely then" he said softly and Zoë smiled and finished her glass then handed it to Joe.
"We're going in the Porsche." She said softly and he nodded as he put her glass in the sink and turned back to her.
"Let me guess, safer car?" Joe asked and she nodded with a natural smile.
"Safer driver too." She smiled cheekily as she pulled her keys from her handbag and stepped back and walked out with him.
"Cheeky driver you mean." He said as he closed his front door and then got into the passenger seat.
"I am a safe driver when you're in the car. I only push the speed limits when I'm on my own." Joe said as he pulled his seatbelt on it and looked over to her.
"You shouldn't be telling me that." She smiled at him with a light chuckle.
"You drive like a crazy woman sometimes though." He said as he looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"I've had training to drive like a crazy woman, you haven't." She said softly and he chuckled as they pulled off the drive.
"Alright, I'm the perfect citizen, I don't do anything illegal like that." He said softly and she chuckled.
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"How'd it go this morning, H? I didn't expect you to be in as you mentioned that Zoë was unwell." Eric questioned as Horatio approached him in one of the labs alone.
"Very well, thank you Eric. Zoë's feeling much better." Horatio said as he smiled down at the desk.
"I'm glad to hear it!" Eric replied as he picked up on Horatio's obvious thrill. "Are you going to tell me what went so well?" He asked as he wanted to know what Horatio's wide smile was about.
"Zoë and I are… we're having twins." Horatio said quietly as he turned on the spot so his left shoulder faced Eric while he glanced at him to see his initial reaction. Eric's smile began to widen as he looked at Horatio. Horatio looked back down with pure bliss nearly bursting from the seams.
"Congratulations H, that's fantastic! I'm so happy for you." Eric replied quietly as he looked at Horatio while Horatio began to nod.
"Thank you brother," he replied as he glanced back up to Eric.
"Are they identical? Do you know that yet?" Eric questioned.
"They're non-identical, so it is entirely possible to have a baby of each gender." Horatio said as he looked back to the floor with a very wide smile.
"Wow, I really am so happy for you both. Send Zoë my congratulations too, please." Eric said warmly and Horatio nodded.
"Will do, thank you, Eric." Horatio replied and then turned as a Natalia walked in with Walter following. Horatio gave Eric a quick secret smile before he looked to the floor and walked out.
"What's got him in such a happy mood?" Walter questioned with a smile and Eric shrugged as he looked back down to the desk.
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Wednesday of week 10 arrived and Horatio had brought Zoë up a ginger tea up along with a few ginger biscuits.
"Thank you kitten, could I be a pain and ask you to grab me a banana as well please?" She smiled as she slowly sat up in bed. He nodded and then walked out to return with a banana and lifted her legs and sat under them as he began to massage her legs and feet.
"Do you want a blow job?" She questioned before she ate the banana and he shook his head with a slightly amused smile. 'Another random question?' He thought to himself.
"Thank you sweetheart, but I'm good." He said softly as he lightly rubbed her legs.
"Are you sure? I know we've not had sex for a couple of weeks now… I don't want you to be missing out on it just because I don't really want intercourse for a few reasons." She said softly before she took a bite of the banana.
"I'm really fine, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that. I understand. If you're anything like you were last time, we'll make up for the lack of sex during this trimester during your second trimester." He smiled cheekily with a boyish grin and she began to giggle once she'd swallowed.
"That's so true!" She grinned. "I can't wait for my 2nd trimester, pregnancy gets so much easier." She said softly as she finished the banana and Horatio nodded.
"How are we for bananas?" She asked softly.
"Low, we'll get more today though." Horatio said softly and she nodded.
"I want to come in for a bit to the lab, I miss Eric and Alexx… I even miss Walter believe it or not." She smiled and Horatio chuckled.
"Alexx will probably pick up on the baby belly… you know that, don't you?" He asked softly as he smiled up at her.
"She won't." Zoë said softly as she shook her head and smiled at him.
"She will, especially if you hug her." Horatio said softly with raised eyebrows and a gentle smile.
"Oh well; I don't mind Alexx knowing if you don't mind." She said softly and Horatio nodded.
"That's fine sweetheart." Horatio said softly and Zoë smiled brightly and then lightly rubbed her abdomen.
"Right, I'm wearing black and something loose today so Walter, Natalia and the lab techs don't suspect a thing." She said as she got up and walked into the en-suite to shower.
"Look at my belly, there could be two of you in there, or two of me, or one of each of us!" She grinned as she walked back out and dropped the towel from herself and he grinned back. He felt a warmth move through him each time he looked down at her abdomen and each time he thought about her being pregnant. She pulled on her underwear and turned to him with a gentle smile. "Am I big enough for twins, Horatio?" She asked softly as she put her bra on and bit her lip.
"Yes, you're big enough Zoë." Horatio chuckled softly. Once dressed they quickly went shopping and returned home about an hour later and put the shopping away together. They got into the Porsche together and drove over to the lab. She took his hand as they began to walk over to the entrance after they'd parked up.
"Can you see my belly?" Zoë asked as they walked in and Horatio shook his head with a smile.
"As long as you keep the jacket on, you'll be fine sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded as they walked into the building.
"Are you going to come down to see Alexx with me after we've seen Eric?" She asked softly and Horatio nodded. They walked in and met Eric in the hall.
"Hey sweetie! How are you?" She grinned as she hugged him.
"Good thank you Zoë, how about you and the babies?" He asked quietly as they pulled back from the hug.
"We're great thank you!" She beamed and Eric nodded with a smile. "I'd show you how big I am already, but we're not in private." She said softly and he chuckled with a nod. "How are you coping without me?" She smiled as she placed her hands on her hips.
"It's difficult, I tell you that now. I hadn't realised just how much you make things run so smoothly or quickly. Cases are taking forever." He said and she chuckled and grinned up at him.
"I had a feeling you'd fall apart without me, this lab needs a woman to help keep it organised, I tell you. Natalia's a good CSI, so you shouldn't be struggling that much anyway." She smiled and both Horatio and Eric chuckled lightly, they both knew Zoë made it easier.
"Hurry up and have them so we can have you back." Eric smiled cheekily and she giggled lightly.
"I won't be coming straight back to work sweetie, I'm going to be off for a good few months after. Actually, I'm not even sure I'll be returning at all. If you're struggling too much, then send me something over, I can research and stuff at home, anything that doesn't involve direct contact with evidence and such, you know. I've got so much free time on my hands now, I just don't know what to do with myself." She smiled and Eric nodded and took her offer into consideration.
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Eric said softly.
"Anyway, we're off to see Alexx, we'll be back up in a moment." She smiled and he nodded. Horatio and Zoë then walked down to autopsy hand in hand, both of them were grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Alexx looked round as the door opened and saw Zoë with Horatio. Her eyes lit up as she looked at their smiles.
"Zoë, baby girl! I've not seen you in ages, the boys were saying you quit and everything. How have you been?" Alexx asked as she snapped her gloves off and Zoë gave her a smile.
"Yeah, I quit… long story Alexx." She said softly and Alexx hugged Zoë warmly. She then then withdrew and lowered her eyebrows as she looked to Zoë.
"What?" Zoë asked softly with a sweet smile as she looked up at Alexx. 'She's picked up on it already. Horatio was right.' Zoë thought to herself as she placed a hand on her hip.
"Nothing honey." Alexx said softly with a natural smile.
"No, tell me." Zoë said softly as she raised her eyebrows.
"I just thought… it was probably me, don't worry about it baby." Alexx said softly. 'If I say she felt like she was pregnant I could really upset her.' Alexx thought to himself and Zoë saw the hesitance in Alexx's eyes. Zoë smiled at her and then looked down as she bit her lip, unable to hide the brilliant smile. She then gripped the bottom of her top and pulled it up and placed her hand over her abdomen which caused Alexx to look down too and she saw Zoë's baby belly.
"Did you feel that?" Zoë asked with a wide smile and Alexx's mouth fell open as she looked back up at Zoë. She was rendered speechless for a moment as she looked to Horatio from Zoë and he nodded at her with a nod and smile before she looked back to Zoë.
"Oh my gosh, Zoë! Congratulations baby girl, congratulations Horatio!" She grinned and then hugged Zoë again once she'd dropped the top. She then hugged Horatio, and once she broke from that hug she placed her hand over Zoë's stomach and looked up at Zoë while Zoë and Horatio smiled blissfully at her.
"How long have you known?" Alexx asked as she lightly rubbed Zoë's stomach.
"About 4 weeks now, we wanted to keep it quiet though, but it's getting harder to conceal as you can probably tell." Zoë said softly as Alexx's smile grew.
"How many weeks are you? 16?" Alexx asked as she looked up at the both of them.
"No, only 10 weeks." Zoë said softly with a smile as she placed her hand back over her stomach.
"10?" Alexx asked a little surprised and both Horatio and Zoë nodded as Horatio stepped closer to Zoë and lightly rubbed her lower back.
"We're having twins." Horatio replied with his charming smile and Alexx's mouth fell open again as she looked at the both of them even more thrilled. Zoë could see Alexx's excitement beaming through her smile.
"Oh my gosh, that is fantastic!" Alexx beamed herself and Zoë nodded. "Who else knows?" Alexx questioned as she placed her hand back over Zoë's lower abdomen and felt her larger belly.
"Joe and Eric, Joe found out about 4 weeks ago, Eric about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Could you keep it to yourself please? You can tell your husband if you wish, but please keep it quiet." Zoë asked softly before she bit her lip and lightly furrowed her eyebrows.
"Certainly baby. I'm so happy for you both." Zless smiled and Zoë bit her lip more.
"Thank you." Zoë said softly as she took a step back and rubbed her stomach. "Please excuse me a second." Zoë said as she rushed out.
"Is she getting morning sickness?" Alexx asked and Horatio nodded as he took a deep breath.
"It's quite bad and it can last the full day, not just the morning, but we've found that ginger tea helps when she first wakes up." Horatio said softly and Alexx nodded as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Have you tried grinding ginger onto salad for lunch or something?" Alexx asked and Horatio shook his head, but his eyes lit up a little more.
"That's a good idea though. Thank you Alexx." Horatio said softly and she smiled at him with a nod. "I'll be right back." Horatio said softly and Alexx nodded and then watched him rush out after Zoe. He returned with Zoë a few minutes later. Alexx seemed just as happy as she did when they had left.
"I was just telling Horatio that ground ginger on salad works a treat." Alexx said softly as he placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head.
"We'll give it a go, thank you Alexx. Have you got any other tips?" Zoë asked as she rubbed her stomach after putting a mint in her mouth.
"Avoiding spicy and fatty foods is the main one. You might find that a small amount of chocolate in the morning with your ginger tea might help, it helped me. The smell of fresh lemons also helped me, you might be the same. But different smells can help, so try anything. I've heard fresh rosemary helps, give that a go. I don't think I got it as bad as you though. You need to rest baby, you're looking a little tired, so I suggest that you get more rest." Alexx said softly and Zoë nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you, I'll definitely give those a go." She said softly.
"Who's keeping an eye on you and the babies?" Alexx asked softly and curiously.
"I have a midwife called Val, Nathan introduced us and I'm getting better with her. She is a lovely woman. I'll see her again in 8 weeks for my 18th week scan. But I'm keeping Nathan in the loop and I know that if I need him, he's there." Zoë said warmly and Alexx nodded with a smile.
"I'm here as well baby, if you have any problems or worries, I'm very happy to talk with you or even check you over if you're too tired to head over to the hospital. I'm sure you know that Val is also able to come and visit you at home too though." Alexx said warmly.
"Thank you Alexx, we really do appreciate that." Zoë said warmly as Horatio began to rub her back again delicately.
"Have you seen your cardiologist recently? Does he know about the pregnancy?" Alexx asked as she tilted her head.
"We've spoken on the phone, I've got an appointment with him in a couple of weeks. He said that he'll probably see me a couple of times during the pregnancy just to keep an eye on things." Zoë replied and Alexx nodded with a genuine smile.
"Everything looks good at the moment though, my heart rate has increased a little, I rang Val the other day to let her know and she said that it's normal and nothing to worry about." Zoë said softly and Alexx nodded.
"Good, I'm glad you're being very well looked after. How are you after that van crash? Eric said you were in a bad way. I haven't spoken to you because I thought you needed your space as you quit soon after it. I mean, Horatio has kept us informed and has been saying that you're well and all of that, but it's not the same as hearing you say it." Alexx said softly as she tilted her head.
"I'm good, yeah, at the time we thought I had lost the baby as blood seemed to be coming from down there, but we later found out that it was a piece of metal that had lodged itself in my upper inner thigh, quite close to the important areas. But it was nothing serious and Nathan whipped it out of there in no-time." She said softly and Alexx nodded as she pressed her lips together and mildly frowned.
"Oh honey, I can't imagine how you both felt." Alexx said softly as she gave them both a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, well it's over now and I have two healthy babies inside me now." Zoë said softly with a smile and Alexx nodded with another smile forming as Zoë had brought her mood back up. "I've got some questions and stuff that Nathan can't really answer as he's never been pregnant and well… because he's not a woman, is it okay if I talk to you one evening? I'd much rather talk to you about it than Val…" Zoë asked shyly as she furrowed her eyebrows again and looked up at Alexx as she played with her hands. "I mean, you don't have to, but I'm not sure who else I can get advice from or anything as I'm not close with Val yet and I don't feel too comfortable with her still, certainly not as comfortable with her as I am with you. I don't know anyone who's been through it before and my mother isn't here to give advice and things." Zoë said quietly as she looked down and fiddled with her hands a little more as she took a deep breath.
'Aw, bless her.' Alexx thought to herself when she felt a little bit of heart ache for Zoë as she reached out and placed her hand on Zoë's upper arm with a cheerful and touched smile as Zoë looked back up at her. "Of course baby girl, a catch up would be good too. You can ask me anything you like." Alexx said softly and Zoë nodded with a forming smile as she raised her eyebrows. Her smile burst back to life as she looked at Alexx relieved and joyfully at the same time.
"Thank you Alexx, I should be off, I've got to meet Joe for lunch, see you soon, I'll call you." Zoë smiled as she moved forwards and hugged Alexx once again.
"See you soon baby girl, congratulations, I'll keep my mouth shut too." Alexx said with a smile as she looked at Horatio with a pleased smile and then pulled from the hug with Horatio.
"Thank you." Zoë said warmly as she stepped back.
"See you later Horatio." Alexx said softly with a nod and friendly smile.
"See you later Alexx." Horatio replied and then walked out as he rubbed Zoë's back. They walked back up and spoke with Eric for a few minutes and Walter came over.
"Hey Zoë, how are you doing?" Walter asked with a wide smile.
"I'm doing really well thank you, I hear the same can't be said for you though." She smiled and Walter chuckled.
"Ah, Eric's filled you in. We need you back ASAP, please." Walter asked and Zoë smiled.
"Sorry Walter." She said as she shook her head and shrugged lightly.
"I'm happy to help where I can though." She said softly and Walter nodded.
"That's good to know." Walter said softly and Zoë nodded with a smile.
"I've got to go, I'll see you guys sometime soon, I'll see you later Ki… Horatio." She said softly and he smiled at her, slightly relieved that she didn't say kitten. Zoë glanced down a little embarrassed herself before she looked back up at Eric and Walter and saw a smug grin on Walter's face.
"What were you going to call Horatio?" Walter questioned with a grin.
"A nickname if you must know, but it's not for your ears. Have I taught you nothing about not questioning me about personal things? If you ask personal things, I will give you personal things." She said as she raised her eyebrow and placed her hands on her waist.
"I forget." Walter shrugged with a gentle smile.
"You shouldn't ask such personal questions, you wouldn't ask me for a picture of every period I get, would you? Because that's personal, so why you have to ask about other personal things is beyond me." Zoë said as she lowered her eyebrows and felt herself becoming frustrated.
"Okay sweetheart, I'll walk you out." Horatio said softly and she looked up at him and took a deep breath, she knew she was getting wound up again. She took another deep breath and nodded with a sweet smile appearing as she looked over to Horatio.
"See you both later." She said softly as she turned with Horatio and walked away quickly before she turned and blew up at Walter again.
"She doesn't even work here anymore and you manage to piss her off, well done." Eric said sarcastically as he looked to Walter and then split from him and went into a different lab. Walter stood there a little astonished at how quickly a simple thing escalated.
"I'll see you later handsome, don't worry about me, I'm meeting Adam and Joe for lunch and a catch up. Joe is outside now actually." She smiled sweetly and Horatio nodded with a gentle smile.
"Okay sweetheart, give me a ring if you need anything." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she reached up and placed her hand behind his head and pulled him down.
"Will do handsome, I love you, all 3 of us love you." She said before she kissed him passionately.
"I love you too, all 3 of you." He smiled sweetly and she smiled back and then kissed him again before she backed off and got into the car with Joe.
"Hi Horatio!" Joe called brightly.
"Hi Joe, send my regards to Adam please." Horatio said warmly and Joe nodded.
"Will do." Horatio replied with a gentle smile as he closed Zoë's door for her.
"I'll see you later. I love you so much." She said as she put her seatbelt on and smiled at him. She blew him a kiss as Joe pulled off after briefly saying bye to Horatio. Horatio smiled to himself and then walked in.
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Monday evening of Zoë's 12 week came around and they both sat in bed with a hot drink with the news on in the background. Zoe held her mug in her left hand while she had pulled up her top to reveal her slightly larger baby belly. She lightly rubbed her stomach as they both watched the news and had a casual conversation before the pregnancy was brought up again.
"We should tell people now, there is no way I can hide this." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded as he looked over to her and down at her abdomen.
"Do you want to come in tomorrow and we can tell them?" Horatio asked and she nodded with a smile as they both finished their hot drinks and then slunk down into bed after turning the TV off.
"I can't believe I'm this big at 12 weeks, Horatio, I was this big at 17 weeks with Maya." She said as she looked at him and wrapped her arms around him and moved closer.
"There are two babies in your tummy, Zoë, you're going to be bigger." Horatio said softly and she nodded with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, but I'm worried that I'll get too big." She said as she looked at Horatio with a sweet expression as she began to lightly rub his chest.
"You don't need to worry about that sweetheart." Horatio assured her with a smile.
"I'm going to get uncomfortable soon, I can already feel them pushing organs out of the way." She said as she looked at Horatio with a warm smile in the dim light.
"You're just coming into your 2nd trimester, it might be better than you think sweetheart." Horatio said softly and she nodded as she ran her fingertips up the middle of his chest.
"I guess you're right, I think the tiredness and sickness is just getting to me handsome, I'm sorry." She said softly as she sighed and Horatio nodded while she placed a delicate kiss on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it sweetheart, we'll get there, there's going to be good times and bad times ahead, but we'll get through both of them together, okay?" Horatio said softly and she nodded and lifted her head to kiss him lightly. She then placed her head back down on his pillow as she contentedly exhaled.
"I guess it's good that my breasts no longer hurt as much, so I guess that's a bonus." She smiled sweetly and Horatio nodded with a smile as he wrapped both warms around her and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Are you having dreams, Horatio? The book says that the expectant father also often has weird dreams too." Zoë asked softly as she looked into his light blue eyes whilst her fingertips danced through his chest hair.
"Yes, I am sweetheart." Horatio said softly as he ran his fingertip up and down his spine.
"Tell me about them? You get to hear all about my weird dreams and the sex dreams." She said softly before she bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Erm, I seem to be dreaming about my mother quite often, I've never really dreamed about her, I used to after she died, but nothing recently. Ray has also come into my dreams quite often, that's not happened for a long time either." Horatio said softly.
"The book says that's quite often the case, apparently that means that you're looking at your family roots." She smiled softly and he nodded.
"I'm having a lot of sex dreams about you, more than ever." Horatio said softly and she nodded.
"The books says that's very common too, it also says it's common for fathers to have sex dreams about other people, so if you are having dreams about others, then it's nothing to worry about. The same goes for me, but in my case it's apparently to do with the fear of me losing your love." Zoë said softly as she moved to lay on her back which caused Horatio to move onto his side and snuggle up to her.
"You'll never lose my love, Zoë." Horatio said softly as he nuzzled her shoulder.
"I know Kitten, I've not had a dream like that. So far, all my sex dreams have been about you." Zoë smiled as she moved her left arm and put it down behind Horatio's head and neck to pull him closer. He placed his head down on her chest, just above her breast as he moved his other hand to her stomach where he began to lightly rub her abdomen. "Anymore dreams?" She asked softly as she began to play with his hair with the left hand. 'This is nice, I see why she lays like this so often now.' Horatio thought to himself.
"I have dreams where I dream of protecting you all, whether it's protecting you from a can of beans that you've put in the microwave that is about to explode to you crossing the road without looking. The dreams can sometimes be scary, but in the end I always keep you safe. But the weirdest dream I've had was I had dreamt of being pregnant myself, I also gave birth in the dream. That was weird…" Horatio said softly and he watched the smile appear across her face as he looked up at her.
"That's the protective and nurturing instinct taking over and the dream about you being pregnant is telling you that you want to be able to help me through, you want to share what I'm going through. That's really cute Horatio." She grinned and he smiled shyly. "I've read the entire book already, I've got so much time on my hands." She smiled as she lightly moved her fingertips through his floppy hair. But then she sensed something. "There's something else that you're not telling me, a nightmare perhaps?" She asked softly as she bit her lip. Horatio exhaled and knew that she would have got it out of him sooner or later.
"I'm worried about seeing you in so much pain, Zoë. I dreamt about the birth, you were in excruciating pain and I couldn't do anything to help you." Horatio said softly as he continued to lightly rub her stomach.
"Aww Kitten, it's not going to be nice for either of us, but it'll be worth is when we have our babies in our arms. Childbirth isn't easy, we knew that. We'll get each other through it, it will be a magical time though Horatio. It's natural to worry about things like that." She said softly and he nodded and then lifted his head to smile at her gently. He then placed a light kiss on her lips before he reached up and turned the wall lamps off.
"Just because I'm the one that's pregnant doesn't mean that you're not important at all, I know that you're always looking out for me rather than yourself and now things have to change. I'm telling you now that you are not pushing yourself into the ground to make sure I'm okay, you are equally as important and I will tell you that every hour of the day if it gets the message into your head. You have to look out for yourself too and that means sharing any worrying thoughts with me, like I do with you. Believe me, it's nothing to be ashamed of, this is going to change our lives for the better and I can't wait. You and our babies are the most important things in my life and I want you to start making yourself number one in your head. I know I'm not brilliant at reading your feelings at times, so I need your help to help you." She said quietly, but he could tell that it was a heart-felt admission and he knew that it was true.
"I know sweetheart." He said warmly as he began to nuzzle her nose with his.
"Goodnight handsome." She said softly and kissed him again.
"Goodnight beautiful." He replied as he kissed her lightly.
"I'm going to turn onto my side, okay?" She said and then turned onto her left side. Horatio then wrapped his arm around her and moved closer to her so his stomach and chest were touching her back. He stroked her stomach as she fell asleep and was then taken into sweet slumber himself.
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They both drove into work the next day and Horatio called everyone into one of the labs. Zoë and Horatio stood before everyone, hand in hand. Horatio mainly looked at the floor as he usually would while Zoë smiled up at everyone brightly.
"As you all know, I no longer work here, but my leave hasn't been entirely to do with that argument with IAB. I left because I'm pregnant and they wanted to put me and our babies lives in danger and neither of us were going to accept that." Zoë said softly and she then watched the smiles appear across her colleagues faces. She glanced down when she felt the warm feeling rising again. She looked back up at them with a brilliant smile. "I am 12 weeks pregnant with twins." She added with a smile and then listened to the congratulations as she took hold of Horatio's arm and hand. He looked up at his colleagues with his joyous smile before they both received hugs and handshakes from the lab techs and officers that had gathered. There was no doubt that the entire police force would know by sun down. Walter walked up to them with a bright smile.
"I thought you were pregnant but Eric said you weren't like 5 weeks ago. It was just a hunch though." Walter said softly.
"I know, we wanted to keep it quiet though and only Eric and Joe knew, we wanted to wait as long as we could, but I'm now this big and it's getting harder to hide." She said softly as she lightly ran her hand over her abdomen and felt the cotton of her top and Walter nodded with a genuine smile.
"Congratulations, Zoë. I'm really happy for you both." Walter said warmly.
"Thank you sweetie." She said as she wrapped her arms around him. Walter then turned to Horatio and shook his hand.
"Congratulations H, you had better watch out if you have two girls, you might have two more Zoë's on your hands." Walter grinned cheekily and Horatio lightly chuckled as he glanced down with a wide smile.
"Hey, you cheeky sod." Zoë grinned with a giggle as she looked up at Walter.
"I'm joking really, take care, all of you." Walter said warmly before he walked away to get back on with what he was doing.
"Congratulations Zoë, I hope everything goes really well." Natalia said softly and Zoe gave her a sweet smile and nod.
"Thank you Nat, we really appreciate it." She said softly as she stepped forwards and gave her a gentle hug. Natalia then gave her a nod and a smile before he looked to Horatio with a genuine smile.
"Congratulations, H." She said happily as she shook his hand, she was uncertain if a hug with Horatio was appropriate, she didn't feel all that comfortable as in her eyes, Horatio only ever hugged Zoë, or rarely Alexx.
"Thank you Natalia." Horatio replied warmly before she walked away with a smile. 'Thank God she didn't ask or wonder about Maya… I'm worried now that someone will slip up and mention something. I don't want her to find out at all.' Zoë thought as she took a deep breath and turned to Horatio with a bright smile as she picked herself back up again and thought about everything good. The lab had emptied and it was just the both of them.
"Now I've just got to ring Kaitlin." Zoë said softly and Horatio nodded with his secret smile plastered all over his face.
"Are you home for the day?" Horatio asked and Zoë nodded as she stepped forwards and placed both hands flat on the lapels of his jacket as she looked up and into his bright eyes.
"I think Joe's coming over briefly though." She said softly and Horatio nodded and pulled her closer.
"Okay sweetheart, I'll see you later." He said softly and she nodded with a smile. They lightly kissed before Horatio released her and watched her walk out. She drove home to ring Kaitlin and tell her of the news.
The End
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Next story is called "Told You So".
