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Horatio was home alone with two-month old Noah and Caylee while Mac helping the team at the lab with a case; he was there as a consultant. For the past two weeks Missus Reardon had left no threats. Her letters had stopped coming to the house and some people thought that maybe she had given up. Mac and Horatio knew better though, they were certain that she was just preparing for something bigger.

Noah smiled when he saw his father enter the nursery. Horatio picked up his son and went to check on his daughter; Caylee was still sleeping. Noah made baby noises while Horatio changed his diaper and put some clothes on him. By the time he was going down to get his son some food Caylee woke up and started cooing. Horatio went down to the kitchen and put Noah in his babysitter, then went back upstairs to get Caylee. He changed her diaper and put some clothes on her before taking her downstairs to join her brother.

The two siblings looked at each other while they "talked" and smiled. Horatio enjoyed listening to them while making breakfst. He sat down on a chair in front of them (their babysitters were on the table). Noah was happy to eat, but Caylee had started being more difficult when it came to food. She wasn't always so keen on eating and it wasn't unusual that it took over an hour before she ate. Mac and Horatio had tried to wait to feed her to see if she got hungry later, but no matter what time of the day or night it was she always put up a fight; sometimes only for a few minutes and sometimes longer.

While Noah happily took food from his dad, Caylee whimpered and spit hers out.

"You're like me. You don't like to eat very much." Horatio said, "Your brother is more like daddy Mac, huh?"

Horatio smiled as Noah laughed at him and kicked with his little legs. After ten minutes Caylee devoured her food and was back to being a happy girl.

After breakfast Horatio and the twins watched some cartoon on TV. Neither Caylee nor Noah seemed interested in their toys when Horatio tried to play with them.

"We have to start buying cartoon movies soon." Horatio said, "So you two can watch it when you get older."

Horatio lied down on the couch with his son lying on his chest and Caylee on his arm, leaning against the back of the couch. Within in minutes all three of them had fallen asleep.

It had amazed both Mac and Horatio at first that even in their sleep they made sure their babies didn't fall. Alexx had told them that subconsciously they knew that they had a little one to hold and keep safe, so it was no problem sleeping with a baby on the chest or in the arms.

-I-

Mac was stunned at how quickly it took for someone to get used to not being in a lab. He hadn't lost his touch when it came to the job, but suddenly being in a lab coat again and being inside a lab working felt weird. He already missed Horatio and the twins; though he had to admit that it was nice to be in a lab again too. Sometimes he missed his job as CSI very much, but he had never regretted his decision to retire and move down to Miami.

"Hey Mac, I'm going to take another look at the crime scene and I could use a pair of fresh eyes." Ryan said.

"I'll go with you." Mac said.

He put the evidence he was working on away and went with Ryan to the parking lot. They got inside a hummer and then Ryan drove towards the crime scene. The case they were working on was about a 13-year old that had been strangled; supposedly by her own big brother. Mac didn't even want to think about what had gone through the brother's mind when he had strangled his own sister; although there was a good chance that it wasn't him. He had confessed, but the evidence suggested that another person could have been involved and that the brother was covering for the real killer.

"Mac, I wanted to talk to you about something." Ryan said.

"What is it?"

Ryan stopped the car on the side of the road and Mac instantly got worried; he knew it had to have something to do with Mrs. Reardon.

"Mrs. Reardon has been spotted among some small-time criminals." Ryan said, "Specifically the kind that deals with guns."

"You think she's bought a gun?"

"Well, according to the confidential informers we have that hang out with that kind of crowd… no, she hasn't." Ryan sighed.

"But they could be wrong."

"Exactly. Just because they haven't seen her buy a gun or heard about it, doesn't mean she hasn't found someone willing to sell her one." Ryan said.

"It's a good thing we have two officers outside the house then." Mac said.

"Well... um… she's been asking for a gun with a silencer."

"Damn." Mac growled, "She's smart. She knows that with a silencer no one will hear the shots."

"Yeah." Ryan said sadly, "But look, the officers are still protecting you and H."

"But if she finds a loophole she'll take it without a doubt." Mac said.

Ryan nodded sadly. Mac sighed and told Ryan to continue to the crime scene. He knew that the two officers assigned to guard Horatio and Mac outside their house was two of the best men the department had. But all it took was for them to look away or lose for one second and Mrs. Reardon could take the shot.

"At least she didn't ask for a sniper gun." Mac said.

"Yeah, that would have been worse." Ryan agreed.

Silently both men were thankful that Horatio had his service gun at home and he wouldn't hesitate to shoot Mrs. Reardon if he had to. They could only pray that it didn't come to that.

-I-

Johnny Mitchell and Thomas Gable were the two officers sitting outside the Caine and Taylor household; they guarded the family during the mornings, days and afternoon, while Officers Kenny Rogers and Liam McCabe were there during the evening and night. They had been working with Horatio for over ten years and knew him quite well at work. Thomas had just walked around the house to check everything out, while Johnny was sitting in the car keeping an eye on the street outside.

They had seen some of their colleagues posing as civilians walking past too. Now the streets were empty and the only thing heard was the soft wind blowing.

"Hey Johnny, when was the last time you heard from Kenny and Liam?" Thomas asked.

"Thirty minutes ago, they're on their way here."

"They should have been here already."

Thomas had a gut feeling that something was wrong and checked to see how many bullets he had in his gun; it was full. Johnny looked confused at him and then did the same.

"You think something happened to them?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know." Thomas said, "I just got a bad feeling about this."

What Thomas and Johnny didn't know was that their two fellow cops were dead in a ditch by the road. They had stopped by the side of the road when a hooded woman had waved at them for what seemed like a call for help. They hadn't even made it out of the car before she had pulled a gun and shot them. She had then dragged their bodies of the car and pushed them down a ditch before getting in the car and driving away.

"Radio them." Thomas said, "Ask them where they are and if they're okay."

Johnny reached for the radio but then saw the squad car coming around the corner in the rearview mirror.

"Here they come." He said and let out a relieved sigh.

The car came closer and Johnny frowned when he only saw one person in it and that he or she was hooded. He reached for his gun as the car pulled up next to him, but he was too late. With one bullet in the head he slumped down in the seat... dead. Thomas ducked behind the car with his gun ready in his hands. He heard the car door open and someone walk on the ground. Then everything went quiet.

Thomas peeked around the hood of the car and saw no one. Then suddenly he saw something flash in the sun to his left. He glanced towards the hooded person standing behind the car and was greeted with a bullet between the eyes. He dropped dead on the ground and the killer took off the hooded shirt.

Mrs. Reardon smiled and silently thanked her partner for the gun; completely perfect with a silencer. She dragged Thomas's body to the backseat of the car and dumped him there. Then she checked around to make sure no one was there before making her way to the beach house. She approached the front door and with all the strength she could muster she kicked the door in.

A loud bang woke up Horatio up from his sleep. He had fallen asleep in the twin's bedroom in the recliner. He could hear Caylee cooing and stood up with a smile. He wondered what the bang had come from and was just about to go check it out when he found himself looking into the barrel of a gun. Holding the gun was none other than Lacey Reardon.

"Miss me?" She smirked, "Sit down."

Horatio backed towards the recliner but refused to sit down. Mrs. Reardon glanced towards Noah and Caylee, and then aimed the gun at Caylee.

"One move and I blow her brains out."

"What do you want?" Horatio asked, although he already knew that she wanted to kill him.

"I want you to come with me."

"What?"

Mrs. Reardon chuckled and repeated her request. She told Horatio what she had done with the officers outside the house and the two officers that were supposed to be working the next shift.

"All four of them dead." She smirked evilly, "Now come with me or this little sweetheart's brain matter will be all over these walls."

Horatio glared at the woman in front of him. He knew Mac would be home in twenty minutes and hope that he could stall her.

"Don't do this. Just walk away." Horatio said.

"I am not leaving without you. I know your lover has no gun with him and that your gun is downstairs." Mrs. Reardon said.

"If you hurt my kids I swear I will kill you." Horatio growled.

"Let me remind you that I'm the one holding the gun."

"I know that if I come with you I'll die."

"True. I won't lie to you lieutenant." Mrs. Reardon said, "But if you want to save the lives of your children and your lover you will come with me now."

When Horatio didn't answer Mrs. Reardon cocked the gun and put it against Caylee's head.

-I-

Mac saw the two squad cars outside the house and frowned. He quickly parked his car in the driveway and approached the two police cars. He instantly saw the blood in both vehicles. In one of them he saw Johnny and Thomas's dead bodies. His blood froze and he ran inside the house through the broken door.

"Horatio!" He called.

He checked the living room and then heard the twins crying. He ran upstairs and found Noah and Caylee in their cribs. No sign of a struggle; everything was clean.

"Horatio!"

Mac felt desperate and he tried to soothe the twins while calling his lover's phone. He heard a familiar ring tone coming from the bedroom downstairs and realized that Horatio's phone was still at home.

"Horatio, where are you!"

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