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Mac tried to comfort his lover as he tossed and turned in his sleep. He embraced the older man and said soothing words to him. Horatio was sweating and whimpering. He would occasionally shout out words too. Mac hated to see the redhead to upset and wished he could take the nightmares away.
Horatio had always suffered from nightmares ever since he was a kid, due to a violent childhood and an abusive father. But since he had met Mac his dreams had been more pleasant and he rarely had bad dreams anymore. Horatio had had nightmares just after the kidnapping, but then they had stopped. Until two weeks ago when they had found out that the trial against Missus Reardon had been set to start today.
Mac, together with the team and Horatio had been called to witness. Missus Reardon's lawyer was one of the best in the state, Spencer Campbell. However, Campbell knew that there was no way he would win the case and the reason he was even going along with having a trail was because Missus Reardon had paid good money for it.
"No!" Horatio screamed and bolted up in a sitting position.
"It's okay." Mac said.
The redhead lied down again panting. It was always the same dream; Mac and the twins were kidnapped by Missus Reardon and she had bombs strapped to their bodies. Horatio would always be incapable of moving in the dream and thus failing to save his family.
"I'm not going with you today." Horatio said.
Horatio was supposed to testify next week. Mac and Frank were testifying today.
"I know." Mac said, "You should stay home. We have two little ones and a ginger monster that will need you."
Horatio smiled. He wasn't sure if he could face Missus Reardon again. Not many people knew it; but the kidnapping and torture had affected Horatio more than he cared to admit. He had been genuinely scared for his life; something he rarely was in other situations. Missus Reardon had gotten under his skin and Horatio wasn't sure how to handle it.
He closed and opened his fists. He had been going through physical therapy since he had woken up in the hospital two months ago. Two months and almost all of his strength had returned. He would most likely suffer from pain in his arms for the rest of his life though; it would come and go the Doctor had said. Horatio had a little ball that he squeezed to train his muscles; he found that it also helped to relieve stress.
Through the baby monitor they heard the twins cooing. Horatio sat up to get out of bed, but was pushed down by Mac.
"They don't need us yet. They'll let us know when they do." Mac said.
Horatio nodded and smiled. Mac grinned and slid down under the covers. Horatio gasped when he felt his lover wrap a hand around his member; it instantly hardened and Horatio moaned.
"Mm, Mac."
Horatio closed his eyes and arched his back when Mac's mouth enveloped the head of his erection. Mac hummed and his tongue swirled around the rigid shaft. He knew his lover needed to unwind and this one way of doing it.
"Uh Mac."
Horatio reached hand down under the covers and grabbed his lover's hair. Mac let the redhead's length slip all the way into his warm mouth and with one hand he fondled his balls. Horatio's thigh and abdominal muscles tightened and he rolled his hips as pleasure overwhelmed him.
"Oh yes, Mac!"
Mac could taste the pre-cum already and let his teeth gently grace the sensitive skin, causing Horatio to arch his back and cry out. Mac knew that his lover was close and he started sucking faster to bring him over the edge.
"Ah, god!"
Horatio could feel his orgasm building up all the way from his toes; he was panting and sweating and with his free hand gripping the sheet hard.
"Mac, I'm so close."
Mac moaned and let his tongue swirl around the head of Horatio's manhood; he could feel the length twitch and his lover's body tense. It wouldn't be long now, he knew.
"Mac!"
Horatio cried out and came; Mac swallowed everything and continued sucking his lover's member until Horatio calmed down after his orgasm. Mac then slid up towards the redhead's lips and kissed him deeply.
"Did I say good morning to you?" Mac asked.
"I think you just showed me a good morning." Horatio smiled, "But nevertheless, good morning."
"Good morning, love."
A loud cry came over the baby monitor and told the two fathers that now their twins were tired of waiting for them.
"I think they're trying to tell us that we need to leave the bed." Horatio said.
"Or maybe they just want to watch TV." Mac shrugged.
Horatio laughed and kissed his lover before climbing out of bed. Mac watched his naked lover put on boxers and sweatpants.
"You are so sexy in the morning." Mac said.
"You mean I am less sexy in the afternoon or evening?" Horatio teased.
"No, but you are extra sexy in the morning." Mac grinned and then got out of bed as his lover left to tend to the twins.
-I-
Rebecca Nevins was the state attorney in the case against Missus Reardon and she had warned the team that Spencer Campbell would be asking stupid or nasty questions. It was his only shot at trying to give the jury some sort of a picture that Missus Reardon was a sweet, innocent woman incapable of understanding what she had done. Campbell had to try and discredit the team somehow and he wasn't afraid of asking rude questions to do it.
Frank wasn't afraid though; he had met lawyers like Campbell before and he knew the drill. While Frank was giving his testimony, Mac and Calleigh were watching. The rest of the team had to work and Horatio was home with the twins and Elvis.
"Why wasn't Lieutenant Caine put in a safe house after you found out that Missus Reardon had allegedly asked to buy a gun with a silencer?" Campbell asked.
"Lieutenant Caine and Mac Taylor didn't want to leave their home. They wanted to live as normal of a life as they could." Frank said.
"So what protection did they have?"
"They had two officers outside the house at all times." Frank said.
"Why couldn't the MDPD find Missus Reardon before she kidnapped Lieutenant Caine?"
"Objection!" Rebecca said, "Why is this relevant?"
"It shows how competent the MDPD is and it's a simple question regarding the investigation." Campbell said.
"I'll allow the question." Judge Bertha Hicks said.
"So Sergeant Tripp, why couldn't you locate Missus Reardon?" Campbell asked again.
"She was good at hiding. She kept her face hidden as much as possible and rented a car and plane in her mother's name so she could leave the country and we couldn't track her." Frank said.
"That was not in the first police report." Campbell said, "Why?"
"When we first questioned the man at the rental car shop he didn't have the rental contract that Missus Reardon had signed." Frank said.
"And according to him he had barely seen her face either, so how did he know it was her?" Campbell asked.
"When we showed him a photo of Mrs. Reardon he recognized her." Frank said.
"Her picture was all over the news, why hadn't he recognized her earlier?"
"You have to ask him."
"Why didn't you ask him that?" Campbell asked, "Isn't it possible that he simply said that it was Missus Reardon to please the police?"
"No, Mrs. Reardon had rented the exact kind of car that we found burned to crisps, besides the tire treads matched from outside the house." Frank said.
"But that could have been someone else's car; anyone could have driven past the house before Missus Reardon and left thoe tire treads." Campbell said, "Isn't it also possible that the car had been rented by someone else and set one fire by someone other than Missus Reardon?"
"No."
"So maybe then the rental guy recognized Missus Reardon right away, but just didn't call the cops." Campbell said, "Or maybe he made it all up?"
"No." Frank said.
Campbell knew that he really had nowhere to go with the evidence. Missus Reardon had after all called the lab herself and demanded her husbands' release and confessed to kidnapping Horatio; no one would be stupid enough to believe that she was innocent. Campbell was just trying to make a fool out of the MDPD.
"Missus Reardon found out that her husband wasn't getting released through the news before you were supposed to bring him to her, correct?" Campbell asked.
"Yes." Frank said.
"You did not know this when she called after the three hours she had given had run out and she gave directions to where she wanted her husband to be dropped off?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"We had not yet seen the news report where Miss Sykes revealed the governor's decision not to release Mr. Reardon." Frank said.
"So you don't watch the news then?"
"Objection! This has nothing to do with the case; it is irrelevant to the crimes Missus Reardon has committed." Nevins said.
"It is not!" Campbell said, "Isn't it relevant if the cops working on a kidnapping case of one of their own watches the news and thereby finds out that Sykes practically ruined their idea of trying to fool Missus Reardon?"
"Overruled, Mr. Campbell it is not relevant." Judge Hicks said.
Campbell sighed and Nevins smirked.
"Sergeant Tripp, why did the CSI team decide to dress you up as Mr. Reardon and trick Missus Reardon?" Campbell asked.
"We were hoping that she would fall for it long enough for the SWAT team to get inside the house and arrest her and save Lieutenant Caine." Frank said.
"But it failed, because?"
"Because she had seen the report and knew that I wasn't her real husband." Frank said, "She had also placed a bomb in the house that killed two SWAT members and made it look like the body of Jimmy Warrens was Horatio."
"Nothing further." Campbell sighed.
-I-
Four month old Caylee squealed with delight as she rolled over on to her back. She wasn't yet capable of rolling back on to her stomach though, but every time Horatio put her on her stomach she would roll over. Noah hadn't yet figured out how to do like his sister, but since every baby developed differently Horatio and Mac weren't too worried about it.
Horatio looked at the time and knew that Mac would soon have to testify. Horatio had a sick feeling in his stomach; he had no appetite and had trouble sleeping. He hadn't thought that the trial would be so hard on him, but not having to worry about it for the past two months had made him push away certain feelings that he should have probably worked through.
He had been so busy with his physical therapy and talking about what he had gone through in the house that he had forgotten about what he thought about the trial.
"You think she's an amateur don't you, Elvis?" Horatio asked.
The ginger cat looked at Caylee rolling over; he had been observing her closely ever since she had started doing it about a week ago. Elvis finally jumped down from the living room couch and lied down in front of the baby girl.
Horatio got the video camera because he sensed that something was going to happen. And he was right, the moment he started recording Elvis rolled over at the same time as Caylee; as if he was trying to teach her.
Caylee squealed and grabbed Elvis's tail; the cat hit her hand as gently as he could with his paw, but she didn't let go. Elvis meowed and then lied down in front of her again. Horatio put Caylee on her stomach and sure enough she rolled over and so did Elvis.
"Good job buddy." Horatio chuckled and turned off the camera, "You teach her how it's done."
-I-
Mac knew that Campbell was trying to make him look like a bad father because he hadn't taken much care of the twins during Horatio's kidnapping. Mac would always feel a bit guilty about it, but he also knew that the team was right; Horatio had needed him more at the time than the twins had.
"So when you arrived home and found the two officers dead outside the house you rushed inside anyway?" Campbell asked.
"Yes." Mac said.
"And you found the twins but not your lover?"
"Yes."
"You ran inside without a gun?"
"Yes." Mac said.
"Why?"
"Because my only thought at the time was to find my lover and my children. To make sure that they were okay." Mac said.
"But then you ignored the twins." Campbell accused.
"Objection! Mr. Taylor did not ignore the twins because he tried to find his missing lover. This accusation is purely rude and disrespectful." Nevins said.
"Withdrawn." Campbell said, "Mr. Taylor did it ever occur to you that Missus Reardon could have been waiting for you to shoot you?"
"Yes, but she had also made it perfectly clear that she never wanted to harm me or the twins; only Horatio." Mac said.
"But according to Lieutenant Caine's statement she threatened to shoot your daughter." Campbell said, "So she was willing to shoot a baby to make him go with her and you don't think she would have shot you if she needed to?"
"She probably would have, but she had got what she had come for." Mac said.
"Why do you think she was willing to kidnap Lieutenant Caine and then let him go in return for her husband's release?" Campbell asked.
"She wouldn't have let Horatio go. She would have killed him anyway, either that day or later." Mac said.
"Are you sure?" Campbell asked.
"Objection! This is not about questioning Mr. Taylor about what he thinks about Missus Reardon, it's about what happened during the kidnapping." Nevins said.
"But what he thinks of my client is vital to his actions." Campbell said.
"I'll allow it." Judge Hicks said.
"So, are you sure that she would have killed Lieutenant Caine anyway?" Campbell asked.
"Yes."
"How?"
"I've been a cop for many years and I know how people like Missus Reardon are." Mac said.
Campbell nodded and paced for a while. Mac watched him and glanced for a second towards Missus Reardon; she was smiling proudly as if she expected to be set free.
"During the case you didn't take care of the twins did you?" Campbell asked.
"Objection! Why is this relevant?" Nevins asked.
"I'm finding out what kind of a man Mac Taylor is." Campbell said.
"Allowed." Judge Hicks said.
"Did you take care of the twins?" Campbell asked.
"Not the way I should have no." Mac admitted.
"Why?"
"I was trying to find my lover and I had family and friends that could take care of the twins for me." Mac said.
"Doesn't that make you a bad father?"
"Objection! That's an accusation that has no relevance to this trial." Nevins said.
"Overruled." Judge Hicks said.
"Nothing further." Campbell said.
As Campbell sat down Rebecca Nevins stood up and approached the stand.
"Lieutenant Caine suffered a lot during the time Missus Reardon was missing right and when she started sending threatening letters to him?" Nevins asked.
"Yes."
"You said in a statement that you saw it as mental torture, correct?" Nevins asked.
"Yes."
"But Lieutenant Caine stayed strong and you both refused to let her ruin your life, yes?"
"Correct." Mac said.
"So it is fair to say that Lieutenant Caine is a strong man?"
"Absolutely."
Nevins continued asking questions to make it clear that Mac and Horatio were the victims and that they were both strong, she also asked questions regarding the motives behind Missus Reardon's crimes.
Next Horatio's doctor was questioned about Horatio's injuries, then Missus Reardon and finally the trial was over for the day.
-I-
"You think the jury will see that she's the bad guy- woman?" Horatio asked.
He and Mac were lying in bed later that night talking about the trial.
"Yeah. It's impossible for Campbell to make her appear as the victim or the innocent woman that was unaware of the seriousness of what she did." Mac said, "You should have seen it today when she played innocent and Nevins pointed out that she shot four police officers point blank, stabbed Jimmy Warrens to death and made a bomb that killed two SWAT members."
"That made her shut up didn't it?" Horatio grinned.
"Oh yeah, she and Campbell had nothing to say against that." Mac smirked.
"I just wish that this would be over." Horatio sighed.
"It will be, love." Mac said and embraced the redhead, "It will be."
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