''Horatio,when did we buy sauerkraut?''

''Last week,''the redhead replied as he continued to eat his sandwich.

''Okay,why did you buy it?''

Horatio's head dropped in embarrassment. ''I had a craving for it,''he replied nervously.

Ryan cringed when he saw that the sauerkraut was what was on the bread. But he saw something else.

''Is that peanut butter? Eww! How can you eat that?!''

Horatio looked at the sandwich and thought for a moment.

''You know,I'm not sure. Oh well. It stays down. That's all I care about.''

Ryan shuddered in disgust.

Once the cravings set in,Horatio started eating again,and he stopped looking so pale.

Horatio had been pregnant at this point for eight months,and nothing had changed,not even his physical appearance.

He'd only gained about three or four pounds,(the amount he'd lost from the first three weeks)but he still looked the same.

''Goddammit!''

A pen went flying across the office as Horatio went digging for a new one out of his desk.

Frank was sitting in front of the redhead's desk in shock.

''What was that for?!''

''Damn pen's out of ink.''

Frank looked over at the broken pen on the floor. Horatio had thrown it hard enough that when it hit the wall,it broke into five separate pieces.

''I almost feel sorry for the pen,''Frank muttered.

He looked back at his boss,who was grumbling incoherently as he scrawled his name at the bottom of the report.

''Should I leave?''Frank asked nervously. Horatio was having another mood-swing.

''I'm fine,you don't have to leave.''

Frank looked back at the pen again.

''Here. This report is done. Get it out of here before I burn it.''

Frank snatched the papers and quickly vacated the office.

Horatio started suffering from mood-swings about a week ago,and at first they were minor. But by the end of the week,forget it. Horatio's fuse had shortened considerably.

Even Stetler avoided him. It was a good thing,though. The stress of having Stetler around would probably turn Horatio into a homicidal maniac,Ryan was sure of that.

The team was careful around him though,and with the way his mood-swings were,none of them dared try his patience. They did their best to not cause distractions and worked extremely hard when processing evidence.

They often gave him time to himself,which he vitally needs,and as long as they caused no trouble or argued with him,everything was fine.

It was well after ten o'clock before Horatio found himself staggering into his home,completely exhausted. The team ended up chasing a killer all over the south end of Miami,and since the places that the killer was ducking into were too small for a car,everyone was on foot.

The redhead collapsed onto the couch out of breath,and soon after Ryan stumbled in and kicked the door shut.

Ryan at least had the decency to set his stuff down in the closet. Horatio had just dropped everything in front of the couch as he was on the verge of passing out.

''Damn...I've never run that much...not even in high school,''Ryan said as he sat down on the couch,getting on of those I-just-got-comfortable-and-you-made-me-move looks from Horatio since the redhead quickly got out of the way in order for the younger to sit down.

He hated sharing the couch.

But he thought better of it and simply lay his head down in Ryan's lap.

''Thought you signed up for track in high school,''Horatio stated with a yawn.

''I did. Coach kicked me out.''

''What for?''

''I tripped somebody on purpose.''

''That must have been funny,''Horatio chuckled.

''Yeah,it was...till the bastard reeled some of my gym clothes up the flagpole.''

Horatio laughed. ''Karma's a bitch,but she's a fair bitch.''

''I still have a list of people she missed,though,''Ryan whined.

''Give her time.''

The room grew quiet,and then Ryan soon looked down to find Horatio sleeping;no surprise.

If the pregnancy wasn't taking a toll on him,then the running sure as hell did.

''Fucking hell...''Horatio muttered when the alarm clock went off. The redhead slammed his fist down on the off button and rolled over to go back to sleep.

Ryan however was up and getting dressed.

''Come on,Horatio. Get up.''

''No.'' Horatio pulled a pillow over his head.

''Come on.'' Ryan grabbed the comforter and yanked it off,Leaving Horatio curled up in his nightclothes without a blanket.

Horatio simply curled up even more,still holding the pillow over his head.

Ryan watched him reach for the blanket and pull it back over his body as he tried to drift off.

''H,you have a job to do.''

''To hell with the job. I'm staying in bed. Little brat won't stop kicking...It's making my stomach hurt.''

''All the more reason to go to work. You can talk to Calleigh.''

''Like hell.''

''So I take it you won't care if I come home with a pink slip that has your name on it from the chief?''

There was a bit of a growl,and then Horatio sat up. ''Fine.''

''But I'm sure if you read one of those books on pregnancy,you'll find the kicking is normal.''

Horatio glared,then cringed.

Ryan smiled,knowing exactly what had just happened.

'''Relax,H. You only have another month to go.''

''Yeah,then the doctors rip my stomach open.''

Ryan rolled his eyes. ''Oh well. Better get dressed. You'll be late for work if you don't. And besides,look on the bright side;all you're doing is paperwork.''

Horatio groaned and fell back onto the mattress.

''Another cold day in hell...''Horatio muttered.

Please review! Chapter 5'll be up soon!