It had now been officially announced that Horatio would take the position as Chief by the end of the month. After thinking all weekend he had come to the conclusion that it was for the best; he could spend more time with the family and to put it simply: there comes a time in a person's life when you have to move on from something. That time had now come to Horatio and it was with mixed feelings he went down to the lab after the announcement made by the current Chief about his retirement and Horatio's promotion. On his way to the lab he was congratulated by several police officers for his promotion and it felt good to know that they would be happy to see him as their boss.

When he entered the lab it was empty; he figured everyone was in the break room and he was right. They seemed to be talking about some important and when Horatio opened the door; they all got quiet.

"H." Eric said, "We um…"

"Are talking about a surprise party?" Horatio asked; being able to read his team and the lab techs like an open book.

"Yeah." Travers said, "We were thinking about celebrating your last day as Lt. at the end of the month. As said as it will be to see you go; you will at least still be in the department."

"Yeah, it's just four floors further up." Horatio smiled, "Go ahead and plan a party if you want and I will pretend that I know nothing about it."

Everyone grinned and then Calleigh stepped up to give the man she considered a father-figure a hug. (Little Viola was with her mother in the lab for the day too).

"I'll miss you." Calleigh smiled.

"I will miss you too." Horatio smiled, "All of you."

He looked at his friends and co-workers and they smiled. They truly were a family.

"Calleigh, since I'm leaving I was wondering if you wanted to get promoted to Lt. and become the boss of the crime lab." Horatio said.

Calleigh thought for a moment; on the hand it was a great promotion and one she had always wanted, but on the other hand she was a mother now and she knew what being a Lt. in the crime lab meant; overtime and a bigger risk of getting called for work in the middle of the night.

"I think I do, but I don't think I can do it on full-time or all by myself." Calleigh said.

"Okay, who would you like as your co-supervisor then? You'll still be the big boss, but whoever your choose as your co-Lt. will be able to do the same thing as you; only not have the full power completely since we only need one boss." Horatio tried to explain, "That way, you two can divide all the work up."

Calleigh nodded and thought for a moment. She would have chosen Eric if he hadn't made it clear to everyone already that being a boss in the crime lab was not something he wanted right now. Not to mention it would probably be better if they weren't supervisors together since they were married.

"I choose Ryan." Calleigh smiled.

Ryan gladly accepted the offer and Horatio told them that as soon as he became Chief they would both become Lt. The rest of the day Horatio spent in his office and the team in the lab. Today was just a strange day; nobody felt that they could focus one hundred percent.

-I-

Jessica and Sophia were having some time alone while swimming in the ocean. Sophia loved the water just like her parents and she wanted to learn how to swim. While mother and daughter were busy, daddy and the boys were making dinner. Or more like; Horatio made dinner and the boys did mischief.

Horatio was focused on putting the right spice in the food and while he wasn't looking, Joshua grabbed the bottle of ketchup and sprayed it all over his brother's face. Horatio heard the giggling and squealing, but he had not expected to turn around and see his sons covered in ketchup.

"What the!" He exclaimed in surprise.

Joshua and Kevin giggled and ran around the table as Horatio did his best to catch them. Horatio couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard his boys giggle and he forgot all about the food. Finally he caught Kevin and took him to the bathroom; Joshua followed and the boys let daddy wash their faces. While Horatio did that, the food that was boiling in the big pot; boiled over the edge and down on the stove and floor. Horatio came back to the kitchen just in time to see his food ruined and he managed to save less than half of it. He sighed and decided that the family would just have to eat take-out tonight and instead decided to clean up the floor and the stove.

As he was scrubbing the floor, Kevin and Joshua tried to drag the bucket of water and soap out of the kitchen. Unfortunately it was too heavy for them and when they tried to lift it up; they lost their grip and it all spilled out on the floor. Horatio looked at them and they looked back with the most innocent look they had.

Jessica and Sophia came back from their swim just as the boys had been told to help daddy clean up the floor as punishment for making it wet. They were not happy about it, but helped daddy anyway.

"I thought you were making dinner." Jessica said.

"Change of plans. We're having pizza instead." Horatio said.

Jessica shrugged and grinned, "Sounds good!"

When the kitchen was clean again Horatio ordered the pizza and the family sat down to eat when it arrived a few minutes lates.

"Why does Kevin have ketchup in his hair?" Jessica asked.

"He and Joshua decided to play with it." Horatio said and then told Jessica everything that had happened in the half-hour that she had been gone.

It took Jessica ten minutes to stop laughing.

"I just can picture you struggling to keep an eye on the boys and the food at the same time." She chuckled.

"My pride has been hurt." Horatio muttered, "I used to be a good and respected chef; the food used to obey my every will and now…"

"The food used to obey you? Honey, it's food!" Jessica laughed.

"Food has a will of its own."

"Is this your way of trying to tell me that it wasn't your fault that the food boiled too much?" Jessica asked.

"Yes..."

"By saying the food is some sort of evil genius that on purpose did it to make life miserable for you?"

Horatio smirked and nodded. Jessica just shook her head amused.

"Next time, read the cook-book." She suggested.

"We have a cook-book?" Horatio asked surprised.

Jessica pointed at the book on the kitchen counter.

"I've never seen it before." Horatio said.

Jessica chuckled, "And you call yourself a CSI!"

Horatio smirked and threw a piece of pizza on her chest. Jessica gasped and threw water on her husband; Horatio's payback was to grab Joshua milk and throw it at her. The kids just laughed as their parents got involved in a food fight, which in the end Jessica won.

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