Part 2

"No running in the house," Horatio called after him and walked into his bedroom. There he grabbed his underwear and quickly slipped into his shorts, the wet towel lying on the floor. Now he had a problem - what should he wear? A suit of course, but which one? And which tie? He knew that Calleigh would wear a purple dress, so he had to find something fitting. "Hmm.." This was a tough decision.

Aaron just rolled his eyes about his father's comment and opened his closet. Looking inside he bend his head slightly to one side as he tried to decide which shirt he wanted to wear. Finally he pulled out a Spongebob-shirt, happy about his choice. With that he walked back to the big bedroom from his parents where he found his Daddy standing in front of the closet, deep in thoughts. "I want this," the boy told him and held it up for his father to see.

"Oh Spongebob and Gary? That's a wonderful choice, Aaron," H nodded. "Nana will love it and so will mommy...speaking of, do you know where she is?" He asked and took out a pin-striped dark blue suit plus a fitting shirt. Not to forget some socks which he laid onto his side of the bed.

"I'm in here," Calleigh answered because she had heard the question since she was next door to the bedroom in the smaller bathroom where she tried to decide which jewelry to wear. She took a few items with her and entered the master bedroom where she was greeted by her husband and son. "Don't you think you should hurry up a bit, Mr. Caine?" She asked playfully, normally being the one who ran late.

"Have you heard, Aaron? Mommy said you need to hurry up," Horatio smirked and sat down on his bed to slip on his socks. "May I say that you look lovely tonight, Mrs. Caine?" He told her in his charming way, but it was nevertheless the very truth. She did look stunning, well she always did for him, but tonight it was even better. "I'm not sure if I can keep the other men at bay...," he sighed, "but I will try, just for you."

"I'm expecting nothing less, Mr. Caine," Cal replied smiling at the sight as Aaron fought with the shirt and tried to find the opening for the head and Horatio who sat there with nothing but boxers, shirt and socks. "You look very fashionable," she grinned, then went to help her son.

"Don't I always?" He replied cheekily and slipped into his trousers before he started to button up his shirt. Watching his wife helping their son with his clothes was one of his favorite hobbies. Seeing Calleigh as a mother was very different from what he saw at work. And he loved it dearly. No, it wasn't only the sight, he loved his family dearly. "What do you have there?" He asked and nodded to the jewelry.

After she succeeded in dressing Aaron up, she turned towards Horatio again. "I was wondering if you could help me," she answered and held up two necklaces. "I can't decide."

"Hmm, let me see," he held out his hand and made a quick decision. "This one...definitely," he said and showed her the necklace with a pendant in form of a tulip. He had given it to her as a present on their first anniversary. "It will fit perfectly," he said in conviction and opened the fastener. "May I?"

Smiling she stepped closer, presenting her neck. "Yes, please." She had always loved the tulip one the most and was happy that Horatio had chosen this one. A slight shiver ran down her spine as she felt his fingertips on her bare shoulders and leaned into the touch.

Smiling at her goosebumps, he needed a little bit longer than necessary. Grinning he kissed her neck and then let go of her. "And now shoo shoo Mrs. Caine. We men need some private time…" he grinned and then leaned down to her, "you will get the rest later," he whispered in his husky voice.

"Promise?" She asked back rather quietly so that Aaron wouldn't hear it. "Oh, speaking of...what did you two do in the bathroom for so long? You were in there for quite some time," Cal said and looked at her son who sat on the bed enjoying the fact that he had the opportunity to do so.

He also heard the question and was faster than Horatio when he replied: "We shaved."

"Uh-huh," Horatio nodded at Calleigh's disbelieving face. "That we did. Why don't you test it? We made every effort," he offered her.

Calleigh smirked. "You better don't temp me," she told her husband and tipped on his chest.

"Well it's the truth..," Horatio said and shrugged.

"Here mommy, touch my cheek. No stubble," Aaron jumped from the bed and ran to his mom.

"If you touch his cheek, you have to touch mine too," Horatio sulked and put on his best puppy face.

There was no way to deal with two Caines at the same time and Cal knew that she had lost. Sighing she touched Aaron's cheek first and smiled. "Well, you did very good, darling," she smiled warmly at her son and then stood up and saw Horatio broadly grinning at her. "If we don't hurry up, we will get late for sure," she played with him and enjoyed it.

"Well it's not my fault then, because it's you and only you who don't want to touch my cheek," he huffed and crossed his arms. "Maybe I should ask one of the other women at the ball," he challenged her playfully.

As much as she loved this conversation, she had to be careful what to say because Aaron was still in the room and usually children tended to pick up things that they better shouldn't. "I don't believe that," Calleigh answered and rolled her eyes as she touched his cheek, too. "There...are you happy now?"

"Hm, no...but I guess it's all I can get at the moment," he winked at her and then looked at Aaron. "Come on Buddy, we need to find a fitting tie to complete the outfit...," he told him and stuffed his shirt into his trousers. "We don't want to be late at your grandparents."