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"Dada!"

Through the baby monitor Mac could hear his 11-month-old son calling for him. He yawned and climbed out of bed. It was early; too early for Mac's liking after having spent almost all night awake with a sick daughter; whom had the stomach flu. Horatio had been called in for work early and wasn't home.

Mac walked up the stairs to the nursery and was greeted with a huge smile from Noah. Caylee was still sleeping in her crib so Mac picked Noah up and went downstairs again. The twins had just recently started talking; their vocabulary mostly just containing the words "Dada", "yes" and "no". They did say other words sometime that sounded similar to the actual word though, "Ca" meant "Caylee" for example. While Mac quickly made breakfast Noah sat in his chair and played with a spoon; typical for the boy when he was bored. The twins' personalities had started becoming more noticeable over the last few months too.

Noah was calm, rarely got angry and never seemed to be in a hurry. He preferred to take his time with whatever he did and although some people used to say he wasn't a rule-breaker, he was exactly that. The difference between Noah and his sister when it came to breaking the rules and doing the opposite of what their fathers wanted was that Noah was calculating and patient enough to wait until nobody was expecting him to be disobedient before he actually did mischief.

Caylee was energetic, always the one in charge and the one more prone to having mood swings. She was also a little rascal; for being so young she sure knew how to disobey her fathers and be mischievous.

"Dada." Noah grinned as Mac put a plate of food down in front of him.

Mac helped his son eat a bit, but mostly he let Noah feed himself so he got used to it. People used to say that Noah was more like Mac with his personality and Caylee like Horatio. The redhead sure was more energetic than Mac and definitely more prone to mood swings, just like their daughter. Although Horatio did have patience he was not as patient as Noah and Mac.

"Ca!"

"Yeah, Caylee's awake." Mac smiled and ruffled his son's red hair.

So far both Caylee and Noah still had their red hair and it was not unusual for them to get a lot of attention because of it. Through the baby monitor Mac heard Caylee cooing and babbling quietly to herself. Mac hurried up the stairs to get her, completely forgetting that Noah was left alone with a plate of food.

"Hey there Caylee." Mac smiled.

He picked up his little girl and headed downstairs. Caylee was not her usual happy self and just put her head on Mac's shoulder as he carried her.

"I should have known." Mac said when he came downstairs and saw that Noah had pushed his plate down on the floor.

The boy looked innocently at him, but a small grin gave him away.

"You planned that." Mac said and shook his head, "It's too early for this Noah."

Noah giggled while Mac cleaned it up, still with Caylee in his arms. Whenever he tried to put her down she whimpered. After making sure Noah wasn't hungry anymore Mac helped his son brush his only tooth and get dressed. Caylee seemed happy enough to stay close to Mac by that point; as long as she was allowed to cling to his leg. Mac looked at the clock and yawned; it wasn't even seven in the morning yet.

-I-

"Tell me."

"No."

"Come on, tell me." Frank begged.

"No."

Frank sighed and slumped down on the guest chair across Horatio's desk. All day he had been pestering the redhead with questions about the barbeque invitations that he and the team had received.

"It just seems strange that you and Mac are inviting us to something that is seven months away." Frank said.

"Francis."

"I want to know why."

"I'm not telling you."

Frank growled and Horatio smirked. Mac and Horatio had decided to invite the Miami and New York team to a barbeque; what they didn't know was that before the party actually began they would watch their friends get married. Since homosexuality and male pregnancy was just as common as heterosexuality and female pregnancy, same-sex marriage was not illegal in any state.

"You didn't invite us this far ahead for the twins' birthday party." Frank said.

"We just want to be sure that everyone can come." Horatio said.

"Why is that so important?"

"We always want everyone to come."

"Yeah, but this time it's extra important." Frank said.

Horatio sighed and focused on reading a file. Frank eyed the redhead; he couldn't think of anything that was supposed to be celebrated in seven months. The twins' birthday was in just three weeks, Horatio had already celebrated his birthday, and Mac's birthday was two months away. The only one having a birthday even close to the barbeque was Ryan, but his birthday was still one week earlier.

"Please tell me if I'm forgetting an important date." Frank said, "Is it somebody's anniversary or birthday?"

"Nope."

"Then what is it?"

"Not telling you."

"Oh come on, pretty please?" Frank pleaded.

"No."

Frank pouted and picked up another file from a cold case. The team had had a case several years ago and it had gone cold after the killer had stopped murdering people; now it seemed that he was back and the case was now top priority.

There was a knock on the door and Eric peeked inside the office.

"H, we got another body." He said.

"This guy is working faster than before." Frank said, "Last time he was on a killing spree he was killing with one week apart."

"Now it's only been twelve hours. If he keeps this up we're going to have a hell of a time with the media and the higher ups." Horatio sighed, "I'll meet you in the garage, Eric."

The younger man nodded and left.

"We're going be to working late today aren't we?" Frank sighed.

"Afraid so."

"Damn."

"Yeah, well we need to solve this case quick. I'm not letting him get away again." Horatio said.

Last time the killer had murdered 9 people in as many weeks and then disappeared. He always left his DNA behind in form of saliva, but he wasn't in the system. When Horatio stood up and left his office, Frank followed.

"If his cooling off period is not the result of a jail sentence, then maybe he started a family." Frank said, "Or moved abroad."

"Right, if he was in the system we would have caught him by now." Horatio said, "But finding out how many people started families or moved away from Florida six years ago and recently moved back is a long list."

"Too long." Frank sighed, "I'll see if I can find anything in the old reports."

"Thanks Francis."

Horatio joined Eric in the garage and they got inside the hummer.

"Ryan and Calleigh are already at the scene." Eric said.

"Good."

"So you are going to tell me what this barbeque is about?"

"Oh, not you too!"

"What?" Eric smirked, "I'm just curious."

"My lips are sealed."

"Not for long; I heard Alexx is looking for you and she had some questions." Eric grinned, "You know that she has her special methods of getting the truth out of people."

"She'll have to find me first." Horatio muttered.

It had been Mac's idea to send out the invitations now; Horatio should have known it would seem suspicious and that his friends would only ask questions about it.

-I-

"I've been on the phone all day with Stella, Danny and Don." Mac said, "They've refused to hang up before I tell them why they have been invited to a barbeque already."

"I've had a similar day with my team." Horatio sighed and slumped down on the couch.

It was late and Horatio had been at work for fourteen hours. At least he had had dinner at home and then gone back to work. He had made it a habit to always come home for either lunch or dinner when he knew he would be working late; that way he got to spend some time with not only his lover but Noah and Caylee too.

Horatio lied down on his stomach on the couch and Mac straddled him, sitting on his butt. He started giving the redhead a massage and Horatio moaned.

"Thank you." He said.

"No problem."

"So how is Caylee today?"

"She's better, but not back to her usual self." Mac said, "She has a bit of a fever too."

"Well, if she is anything like us she'll be better in no time." Horatio smiled.

"Your son decided to take full advantage of the situation though." Mac said.

"My son? Our son you mean."

"No, today he's been your son all day." Mac smirked, "He pushed his food down on the floor when I went to get Caylee from their room, then he noticed that she refused to leave my side unless she was taking a nap, so what does he do?"

"Create chaos?"

"Yes." Mac sighed, "He pulled out all of our clothes from the closet, he painted a giraffe on the wall inside the nursery; at least I think it's a giraffe, and then he threw water at Elvis."

Mac could feel Horatio shaking as he tried not to laugh.

"I swear that boy plans these things for months ahed and just waits for the one day his sister gets sick so he can do this to me." Mac said.

"He's smart."

"He's an evil genius." Mac said, "And the worst part is that when he hears Caylee laughing at him as he does these things, it only triggers him to continue and do more."

"Well of course. He likes to entertain others." Horatio grinned, "You want me to stay home tomorrow and help out."

"No, you have a serial killer on your hands and the victims and their families need you."

"Well, my family needs me too."

"I can manage." Mac smirked, "I have a way of getting back at him."

"A shower?"

"You read my mind." Mac grinned wickedly.

It was a well known fact that Noah Taylor Caine absolutely hated to take showers; he apparently didn't like the water and every time he had to shower it was hell for his fathers. Hours of screaming and crying was usually the routine and once he had showered, Noah would stay mad at Horatio and Mac for the rest of the day.

"You're phone is ringing." Mac said.

Horatio reached into his pocket and got his phone. He answered without seeing who was calling.

"Caine." He said, "No Frank. For the last time I am not telling you what is so special about the barbeque!"

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