A HUGE thank you to all the kind reviewers... your reviews make me so happy and they inspire me to write more. I really can't thank you enough or express how thrilled I am you are enjoying my little story. : ) There's plenty more adventures ahead for H and Sam... happy reading!

Chapter 15

"Hey H!"

Horatio turned at the sound of Eric's voice.

"Welcome back! How was the convention?"

"The convention was… wonderful. And thank you… it's good to be back." Horatio smiled softly.

"Good to hear. Oh and hey, don't worry about that case I called you about. We matched the bullet to a cold case from four years ago. Just processed the perp through central booking."

Horatio frowned in confusion. "Exactly what case are you talking about?"

Delco couldn't help but smirk. "The one I asked you about while you were at the convention. You did seem… distracted. You don't remember?"

"No." Horatio thought a moment. He didn't usually forget things like that. The memory of what he'd been doing when Eric called suddenly came back to him. Feeling his face heat up, Horatio bowed his head and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Oh… I uhh… I remember now. Uhh… good work."

Eric smiled knowingly. "Thanks, H."

"Horatio?" Samantha's voice interrupted as she walked around the corner with her nose buried in a case file. She looked up to notice Horatio and Eric standing in the reception area. "Oh. Sorry. I can come back later…"

"No it's all right, I've got results waiting for me in DNA. I'll see you two later." Eric said, turning to walk past Samantha.

Samantha walked up to Horatio smiling softly. "I wanted to ask you a question about the Benson case. You have a minute?"

Horatio nodded. "Always."

Unknown to both of them, Eric watched just out of site around the corner. The differences in Sam and H were so subtle Eric was confidant most wouldn't notice the change. He watched silently as his boss spoke in hushed tones, standing perhaps a bit too close to Samantha as he looked over the open case file. The soft smiles they gave each other when their eyes met for a bit longer than necessary, the way they seemed to find reasons to touch each other softly as they spoke. No doubt about it, Eric thought. H had finally found someone. And Eric couldn't be happier. For both of them.

Horatio nodded, agreeing with Samantha's assessment of the Benson case file. "Good work." He handed the file back to Samantha. Lowering his voice, he stepped a bit closer. "Do you have plans this evening?"

Samantha smiled coyly. "Yes I do. I'm planning to head over to my boyfriend's after shift."

Horatio nodded, smiling softly back at Samantha. "Hmm… this… boyfriend of yours. Do I know him?"

"I believe you do." She winked and walked off towards ballistics.

Horatio watched her walk away with a satisfied smile plastered to his face.

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"Faster! Faster!" Horatio called out breathlessly.

Samantha groaned. "I'm---going--- as fast --- as I can!"

"Harder! Push yourself harder!"

With a groan of frustration Samantha kicked herself into high gear and sprinted past Horatio.

"Yes!" She threw her hands in the air in celebration of her victory only to watch with disbelief as Horatio passed her up again and looked over his shoulder with a teasing grin. Samantha stopped running, putting her hands on her hips as she leaned over in a desperate attempt to catch her breath.

Horatio walked up beside her. Samantha was pleased to hear that it sounded like he was having some difficulty catching his breath as well. She looked up at him and glared in response to the teasing smile he gave her. "What?" He asked shrugging his shoulders. "Can't even out run an old man like me?"

Samantha's glare faded and she burst out laughing. "Apparently not because the old man kicked my ass!"

Horatio laughed. "Don't you forget it."

Samantha smiled, still breathing quite heavily as she stood to the side of the running path. Several minutes passed, and still Samantha didn't seem able to catch her breath. Horatio's gaze was focused across the ocean as his own heartbeat returned to normal.

"Horatio?" The frightened tone in Samantha's voice sent a chill down Horatio's spine. Snapping his gaze to meet hers, he barely reacted in time to catch Samantha in his arms as she passed out cold.

"Samantha!" Lowering her to the ground in his arms, he shook her gently his frantic eyes scanning her face and willing her to open her eyes. He ran a shaking hand down her face. "Samantha. Samantha please wake up. Wake up."

With a soft moan, Samantha's eyes fluttered open. When her eyes came into focus she noticed the terrified expression in Horatio's eyes and frowned in confusion. "Horatio?"

"God honey you scared me… how do you feel?"

Samantha frowned again. "I feel fine. What happened?" She tried to sit up but Horatio didn't seem willing to let her out of his arms.

"You fainted. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Samantha forced herself out of Horatio's arms and into a sitting position. She ignored the worried expression on his face and crossed her arms defiantly. "I don't need to go to the hospital, Horatio. This is Miami, it's 100 degrees in the shade, and I was running too hard."

Horatio swallowed, still looking terrified. "Samantha please. I thought I'd lost you." His voice choked and he swallowed hard before continuing. "Let's go to the hospital just to be sure."

Uncrossing her arms and kneeling before Horatio, Samantha waited until his eyes met hers. "Horatio, I'm fine." She sighed. "But I'll go to the hospital. Just so I can say 'I told you so' when the doctor's tell me I'm fine."

Horatio smiled softly. "Thank you."

Smiling back, Samantha kissed him softly.

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"Samantha?" Horatio asked knocking softly on the doorway as he slowly entered the hospital room.

"Yeah." She said softly. She stared straight ahead of her, not even glancing at Horatio as he moved into the room and sat by her bedside. She looked over suddenly when she felt his hand in hers.

He squeezed her hand gently. "You ok?"

Samantha nodded, squeezing his hand and taking a deep breath. She smiled softly at Horatio. "Horatio…" She sighed again, bracing herself for his reaction. "Horatio I'm pregnant." She heard Horatio's sharp intake of breath. "That's… that's why I fainted." She finished lamely.

For a moment Horatio sat with his mouth hanging open while his mind tried to process the information it had just been given. This was followed closely by a series of unintelligible stutters that didn't seem to form any real words at all. Bowing his head, Horatio finally managed to speak. "Pregnant?"

"Yes. Doctor says about two weeks."

Horatio closed his eyes. The convention. Horatio sighed softly. He'd done exactly what he had told Samantha he was afraid of. He'd lost control. And now Samantha was the one who would suffer for it. He looked up at her with tearful blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Samantha. I… I should have been more careful I---." He was silenced by a finger Samantha laid gently onto his lips.

"Shhh…" Samantha smiled. "I'm a big girl Horatio. I knew what could happen as much as you did." She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak. "No. Horatio if you think for a moment that I'm sorry about this. That I regret anything that happened between us… you're wrong."

Horatio let out a rush of breath. "I love you, Samantha."

Samantha's eyes welled up with tears. "I love you too, Horatio. And I'll love this baby with all my heart."

And with those meaningful words, Horatio did something he hadn't done in over twenty years. He wept. As the tears fell freely down his face, Horatio allowed Samantha to pull him up onto the hospital bed as she held him close and cradled him in her arms. She held him while he sobbed, his body shuddering as he mumbled words of love into Samantha's neck. For several minutes he cried, years of feelings finally coming to the surface, sparked by the joy of knowing this woman he loved with every fiber of his being would be brining his child into the world. Their child.

As his tears subsided, Samantha pulled back and smiled up at Horatio's tear streaked face. "Happy tears?" She asked with a smirk.

Horatio laughed and nodded. "Happy tears." He paused a moment. "Uh oh."

Samantha frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"Your father is going to kill me."