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Chapter 23

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Calleigh was terribly afraid of another miscarriage during the first few weeks of her pregnancy. Every twinge of pain in her abdomen made her worry.

Her worry somewhat got better when she passed the week of pregnancy in which she had first miscarried. She resisted the urge to hide her fears from Horatio and they got through it together, one day at a time.

"Your place is beautiful," Susie told Calleigh, looking around, "You certainly brought some femininity to Horatio's domain." It was strange though, Susie sort of felt like at CSI with the same type of lighting, colors and furniture yet it was cozy like a home.

"Horatio's being so helpful," Calleigh chatted with Susie, "He was with me for an early sonogram to see the baby's heartbeat, he insists I take time off from work and that I stay less hours at the lab to keep me well-rested and stress-free," Calleigh shook her head disbelieving how much this man could do for her, "he does most of the house work, he takes the time to ask if I want to talk every now and then, he's always saying how much he loves me..." she trailed off in thought.

"He's a great man."

"Now I worry I'm going to get bored."

"With Horatio?"

They shared a laugh.

Calleigh suddenly shared a confidence, "I'm trying to keep a positive attitude, but the cravings and mood swings are hell."

Calleigh's eyes went to Madison who was playing with Ella. "Did you go through all that with Madison?"

"Of course and it was a lot worse... I was going through withdrawal at the same time." Calleigh had forgotten that Susie had been a drug addict.

"And here I am complaining about a little morning sickness and such."

Susie's smile translated into 'that's alright'. "So what are you going to call it if it's a girl and if it's a boy?"

"I don't want to think about it too soon," Calleigh answered.

"But, you have," Susie made it sound like a question.

"Of course I have. I thought Darian for a boy. It supposedly means 'precious gift'."

"Darian Caine," Susie tried it out, "Sounds nice. What about for a girl?"

"Horatio and I agreed that I'd pick the boy name and he'd pick the girl name. I don't think he's come up with one yet."

They fell silent both thinking about a girl name and wondering what kind of name Horatio might think of.

Calleigh took up conversation again, "Did I tell you we started going to pregnancy yoga classes together?"

Susie grinned, "No, I believe you've left that out."

Horatio was making sure Calleigh ate well even though it was hard to figure out what she no longer liked such as cream cheese and what she wanted to eat such as salted crackers. Now, he was making sure Calleigh was getting light relaxing exercise? One in million, Susie thought, Horatio is one in a million!

"It's going well. I was afraid I'd have to contort myself into a pretzel, but it's nothing like that, thankfully. It's all about posture and breathing - relaxing."

Madison came beside Calleigh, "Can I touch the baby?"

"Sure," Calleigh took Madison's small hand and placed it over her softly rounded belly. "You can even talk to him, if you'd like."

Madison, surprised, looked up at Calleigh searching for a confirmation.

"Go ahead," Calleigh nodded. "Horatio does it all the time."

Madison brought her mouth close to Calleigh's jutting abdomen, "Hey baby," she said softly as if speaking into a phone, "When are you coming out so I can play with you?"

"It's not ready to come out yet, sweetie," Susie answered.

"I can't wait to be able to feel it kick and move around," Calleigh said.

"Oh, you'll wish you hadn't," Susie smiled.

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Calleigh kept a journal to write her fears, tears, hopes and excitement and every night, before bed, she wrote in it while Horatio read The Birth Book.

He put his book down when she closed her journal and laid down with her. He drew patterns on her bare back as she lay on her side in bed.

"I've never felt this tired in my life," Calleigh groaned.

"Making a baby is hard work," he leaned closer and kissed her shoulder. He, then, made her imagine herself holding their baby, "Just imagine in a few months, you'll be holding our child. A beautiful little boy or girl with either green eyes or blue eyes, blond hair or red hair - "

"Meanwhile, my body has taken over. I'll be right back," she climbed out of bed and went for the bathroom.

Calleigh ambled out of the bathroom and into their bedroom, holding a glass of water, saying, "How can I be thirsty and have to pee at the same time?"

"I don't know, pumpkin'," Horatio smiled. She was so beautiful.

"You cleaned the bathroom," she said standing amidst their bedroom, taking a sip of water.

"I did."

"So I guess I can't accuse you," she pointed to her belly, "of doing this to me."

Mood swing again.

Horatio sat up in bed and fluffed her body pillow saying, "C'mere I'll give you a massage." He knew she was happy to be having his baby. She was just tired.

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Alexx stood in the vestibule and saw Calleigh slowly waddle towards the building wearing a lovely wide edged black hat and matching black and white outfit. Apparently, shopping wasn't out of the question during her free time. The ME stepped out to greet Calleigh with a hug.

"Hey Alexx."

"Calleigh, honey, you keep getting bigger and bigger and look at you," Alexx stroked her cheek, "you're glowing."

Calleigh smiled, "You always know what to say to make me feel better." Calleigh felt less tired than she did during her first semester, but she did still have difficulty sleeping and knew it was visible under her eyes.

"What are friends for?" Alexx looked up at the building towards Horatio's office on the second floor, "I tried to push him out myself, but you know how he is... he wouldn't budge."

"I'd go in and get him, but I'm afraid he'd think I stayed the entire day." Calleigh was now working a few mornings a week and Horatio kept close watch.

"I've never seen him so happy, though," Alexx told Calleigh and saw her green eyes light up. Alexx turned, saying "Speak of the devil," seeing Horatio saunter towards the two of them.

He stopped to brush Alexx' shoulder, "See you tomorrow, Alexx."

"You can count on it," Alexx said with resolve and left the couple for her car in the parking lot.

Driving away from CSI, she smiled watching the slim redheaded Crime Scene Unit supervisor remove the hat from the petite firearms expert's blond head and lock lips with her.
Between them, their growing child.

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Just as Calleigh had imagined herself five years ago, with tears of joy in her eyes, she held her new baby boy, her husband by her side.

It had been a long delivery, but the mother and baby were doing well.

"Welcome to the world," Horatio whispered, leaning to kiss the infant's head and then Calleigh.

"He's so handsome," Calleigh cried, as she gently arranged his tiny bonnet over his distinguishable brow. "The eyebrows and the eyes... it's definitely you," Calleigh smiled at Horatio.

Everyone in the waiting room was anxious to see the cute baby so Horatio took him from Calleigh saying, "I'll go introduce him and I'll be right back - You rest."

Calleigh sat back and heard the loving comments from the hallway. The baby was passed along from one's arms to the other. The first person to hold little Darian was his grandfather and when he gave him to Calleigh's mother, he stood in the doorway and peeked into Calleigh's room.

"Hey Lambchop, how are you doing?"

Calleigh smiled, "I'm okay," and waved him over, "come in."

"I don't want to disturb you or anything. I just wanted to look in on you."

"Come here, Dad," she opened her arms and her father walked over to hug her.

"Your mother's holding the little guy. Is she staying for a while?"

"Yeah. I called her yesterday and she jumped on the first bus leaving for Miami. She's going to stay with us for a few days."

"That's good." He suddenly felt uneasy and said, "I'll leave you to rest."

"Okay."

He walked off, blowing her a kiss saying, "Love ya."

"Dad!" she stopped him and he walked back to her bedside. "Could you tell Horatio to call the others at work and let them know the news. I know Alexx will worry if she doesn't receive any news soon."

"Why, certainly," he brushed back his daughter's hair, "You just settle back and close your eyes now, you hear."

She nodded and her father left the room.

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Horatio and Calleigh kept the baby's bassinet close to the bed so when he woke up, hungry in the middle of the night, Calleigh could feed him without having to get up.
She reached in and picked up her son, "Darian, it's okay, sweetheart," the little boy's face was red from wailing, a frown etched on his face. Horatio shifted in bed at the sound. "Mommy's here. Don't wake up daddy," she soothed him as she breastfed.

Horatio had woken up, of course, and was now lying in the dark listening to his son getting fed. He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, wanting to watch this wonderful sight. There was something so beautiful about a mother nursing her child and this wasn't just any mom or any child. A special bond was being created between them.

Calleigh smiled at the honeyed look on Horatio's face and he moved closer to kiss her temple.

Darian's eyes, attracted by the movement, shifted to his father's face, "Look, he's watching you," Calleigh said softly.
Horatio caressed the little boy's hand and started to hum a lullaby. Calleigh's lips bloomed into a smile as Darian stopped suckling for a moment to listen to his dad's voice. Calleigh rested her head against Horatio's chest and was lulled to sleep along with her son to Horatio's deep velvety voice.

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The next morning, Horatio gone to work, Calleigh fumbled with the pearl drop earrings Horatio had bought her in Italy as she watched her mother through the patio door. The grandmother was rocking Darian in the same chair Calleigh had been rocked in as a child.

Elizabeth cradled the child, caressing his small head of red hair with her fingers.

"Just wait 'till you get older and find a lovely girl to make your life with," she murmured then left his pretty little round face to look up at the cloudless blue sky, "Know that your parents love you so very much. You were a gift. A gift of love and happiness."

THE END.