Part 4

Several hours later, it was just after midnight; Horatio closed the bathroom door behind him and turned off the ceiling light. "Oh God, I'm still bloated with food, I don't think I can ever eat again," he rolled his eyes about himself and crawled into the bed. Alexx' pudding had been too delicious, not to forget Tim's turkey and its filling. The whole team plus families had met at Alexx' house to celebrate Christmas. Everyone had chipped something in. Eric some sort of Cuban salad, Calleigh had made her special shrimps salad, Alexx the pudding and Tim the turkey. No need to say, that everything had been very good and Horatio needed to start fasting from tomorrow on, or he would never ever shed these pounds again.

Aaron had fallen asleep sometime between eight and nine, after he had told everyone about his train. It had been quite a conjuncture to convince the boy, to leave the train at home and not taking it with him, but in the end Calleigh and Horatio had succeeded. But he had invited everyone to come home, so he could show them his present and much to Horatio's amusement, the male members of the team had accepted this invitation immediately.

Calleigh rolled with her eyes, hearing her husband complain. Carefully she stretched a bit in the bed. "Yeah? You're still bloated, mhm? What should I say then?" she smiled, putting a hand on her stomach. "I'm the one who's fat."

"You most definitely aren't," Horatio argued back and sighed when he had finally found the most comfortable position. "It was a wonderful day, don't you think?" he asked and smiled at her.

"I totally agree with that. I love to see Aaron and you happy. Santa did a good job. And the dinner was wonderful. As always," she told him, and turned around a bit. "But still, I'm fat. You can't deny that, Mr. Caine."

"Of course I can," he laughed and kissed her tenderly. "You know, as much as I loved this Christmas, the next one will be even better," he whispered and let his hand rest on Calleigh's already swollen belly.

"Why's that?" she asked though she already knew the answer.

"Because next year, there won't be three, but four Caines," he smiled broadly and gently caressed the bump.

"I'm doing my best to make that happen," she answered and watched him as he softly touched her belly, placing tiny kisses on the fabric of her nightshirt. Still, she couldn't believe that they were having a baby again. Aaron already was a miracle child, but having another child was probably the most precious gift they could ever receive. "Everything is perfectly fine so far."

"Mhm, and I'm sure that it will stay that way," Horatio looked up and leaned forward to steal another kiss from his beautiful wife. They had no idea about the baby's sex, because they wanted it as a surprise. After all, everything that mattered was that the baby was in perfect health. Horatio didn't need to know anything else. "I love you, Cal," he whispered against her lips.

"I love you, too," she answered almost inaudible, because their lips almost met. Suddenly she began to laugh. "Try to memorize my words, because in three months I think I'm gonna curse you."

"Been there, done that," he joined in her laughing and lay down completely next to her. With one arm loosely wrapped around Calleigh's waist, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Even though I can't wait for this day, to hold your little visitor in my arms," he started, "I do enjoy the wait, since we're both more relaxed than we were with Aaron."

She leaned close to him so she could inhale his scent. "I'm convinced it'll be worth the wait," she said, but couldn't suppress a yawn. "As long as you're by my side, there's nothing to fear." And for that she was thankful. Horatio was the most caring husband she could wish for. "Good night, Handsome."

"Good night, Beautiful," he murmured and once again started to stroke her belly. "And a good night and merry Christmas to you, too."

The End