A soft knock sounded on Horatio's open door and he looked up from his paperwork. He smiled softly at Samantha. Just yesterday he had found out this beautiful woman carried his child. And unless he was mistaken, Samantha was coming to tell him how her parents had taken the news.
"Hi." Horatio said softly. "Come on in. Shut the door please."
She smiled briefly and did as he requested then moving to the front of his desk and sitting in the open chair.
Horatio looked up at her with concern. "Did you tell them?"
She shook her head. "No."
Horatio sighed. Setting down the pen he'd been holding he stood and moved around the desk to kneel in front of Samantha. He reached out and took hold of her hands. Squeezing gently, he tilted his head and smiled at her. "Samantha honey… I know this is going to be hard for you to do. But I'm going to be here for you, ok? I'm going to be right here with you."
Samantha nodded and took a deep shuddering breath. She squeezed his hands for support. "I know." She took another deep breath. "Do you mind if I use your office to call them now?"
"Of course I don't mind." Horatio said quietly. A knock sounded suddenly from his office door. "Yeah?" He called out in response.
The door opened and Alexx peaked her head inside. Her kind brown eyes scanned the room a moment before falling on Horatio kneeling before Samantha. She smiled softly. Horatio's eyes left Samantha and turned to Alexx. "You wanted me to let you know before I started my prelim on Charles Benson?" Alexx asked.
"Yes, thank you Alexx. Umm… is there any way I could get you to hold up for a bit? I have something else that requires my attention." He squeezed Samantha's hands gently as his eyes flickered briefly to her face before going back to Alexx.
Alexx beamed in response. "Of course, Horatio. Just pop on over when you're ready."
"Thank you, Alexx."
Alexx turned to leave Horatio's office. Just before she shut the door behind her, she poked her head back into the office. "By the way…congratulations." She shut the door behind her before Horatio could react.
Horatio smirked and turned his surprised eyes back to Samantha. "Nothing gets passed that woman does it?"
Samantha smiled sheepishly. "She found me sick in the bathroom this morning. I guess she filled in the blanks from there." For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Samantha let out a deep sigh. "Well… as pleasant as that distraction was… I need to do this."
Horatio shook his head. "No. We need to do this."
Horatio rose from his kneeling position and moved to pick up the cordless phone. Leaning against the front of his desk, Horatio handed Samantha the phone. She took it with slightly trembling hands. Dialing the number before she could find an excuse not to, Samantha held the phone to her ear and listened. Four rings later, Samantha's mother picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey mom." Samantha said cheerily. Her voice betrayed none of her anxious and fearful emotions, but Horatio could read them clearly on her face. He considered taking her hand again, but knew that while this was something she needed him there for it was also something she needed the strength to do on her own.
"Hey Sammy. How are you?"
"I'm fine mom. Is dad around?"
"Yes he's here. Did you want to talk to him?"
"Yes. Well… I need to talk to you both actually."
"OK. One second, Sammy." Samantha heard her mother distantly on the phone as she tracked down her father. A soft click followed by her father's hello let Samantha know the time had come. It was now or never.
"Hi dad. I…" She sighed, her voice trembling slightly. "I have something I need to tell you both. Horatio and I are seeing each other---."
"--- You're dating your boss?" Deb's voice interrupted.
"--- Yes mom. But please, let me finish." Horatio watched helplessly as Samantha's confidence threatened to give out. "I'm pregnant." She blurted. The responding silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. Samantha waited for one minute. Then two. After the start of the third minute, Samantha became worried. "Hello?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm here." Samantha's father responded. She heard him sigh. "Your mom's going to need some time to process this, Sammy. She's not on the phone anymore. Geez Sammy… I'm just… surprised is all."
"I know daddy." Samantha whispered meekly.
"Is Horatio with you now?"
"Yes."
"Let me talk to him."
Horatio watched Samantha's surprised expression as she held out the phone to Horatio. "My dad wants to talk to you." Horatio couldn't stop a brief wave of panic from passing through his body, but he quickly regained his calm and took the phone from Samantha.
"Hello, Don. Yes, sir." He paused, listening intently to Don on the other end of the line. Horatio lowered his head, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I plan to, sir. Yes. I do. All right, sir. Goodbye."
Samantha watched Horatio hang up the phone and set it gently down on the desktop. "What did he say?" Samantha asked anxiously.
"Uhh… he said that he will give you a call later tonight. And that he would talk to your mother."
"Oh." Samantha crossed her arms. "What else did he say?"
Horatio knelt again in front of Samantha. "Your parents love you, Samantha. Everything is going to be ok."
Samantha threw her body forward and embraced Horatio in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her inhaling the scent that was so uniquely Samantha. She sighed and whispered softly. "I don't deserve you."
Horatio closed his eyes and let her words sink in. No woman had ever made him feel this way before. He pulled back from her, kissing her lips softly. "I'll never deserve you." They smiled. Horatio cocked his head slightly. "We should tell the team. While I trust Alexx to be discreet, I'm fairly certain the puzzle pieces have started coming together for the rest of the team as well."
Samantha nodded. "When should we tell them?"
"No time like the present. Come on." Horatio stood and pulled Samantha gently to her feet. Leaving her hand clasped in his, Horatio lead Samantha out of his office and through the busy halls of the crime lab in search of his team. If Horatio and Samantha noticed the strange looks as they walked through the lab hand in hand, they chose not to dwell on them. The lab would know of their relationship soon enough. And while handholding didn't usually make the front page on the cover of "MDPD Gossip Weekly", it certainly turned enough heads to see Horatio Caine in such a position.
The couple rounded the corner and came into view of the main reception area, noticing Delco and Wolfe talking over a case file outside of interrogation one. The two turned in unison, their eyes moving from the couple down to their clasped hands. Both of them smiled.
Samantha blushed slightly. She couldn't help but feel like the luckiest woman alive to have secured the affections of Lieutenant Horatio Caine. Her stomach flipped slightly and she unconsciously placed her free hand over her belly. Whether it was nerves, pregnancy, or both, the gesture didn't escape the attention of the two young CSIs.
"Gentlemen. Would you mind stepping into interrogation one please? I…we have something we'd like to talk to you about."
"Sure thing, H." Eric responded as he and Ryan walked into the room, Samantha and Horatio following behind. Eric and Ryan sat down at one end of the table, watching with some amusement as Horatio helped Samantha into a chair as though she were made of precious glass. Remaining standing, Horatio moved behind Samantha and placed his hands on the back of her chair.
"Gentlemen. Uhh… let me just get right to it." He paused a moment. "Samantha and I have become involved in a relationship. And… she's pregnant with our child."
Small sputtering noises issued from both Eric and Ryan before they managed to shut their mouths. Horatio smiled softly and chuckled. "I dare say I had much the same reaction when I found out." He squeezed Samantha's shoulders gently.
"Wow." Eric finally said. "Wow. I'm just --- wow."
"Congratulations." Ryan said sincerely.
"Yeah." Eric nodded. "Congratulations. I couldn't be happier for both of you. Truly, H." He focused his gaze on Samantha. "Motherhood suites you, Sam. You're positively glowing."
Samantha blushed. "Thanks, Eric." She turned to thank Ryan as well, but noticed his gaze had turned towards the lobby. His expression was best described as stunned. Horatio noticed his expression as well and followed his line of site to the lobby. His eyes opened wide at the site of the petite blonde woman.
Eric finally turned along with the others. He gasped in shock. "Calleigh?"