Peace For A Time
Neither Horatio or Aimee were surprised to hear Julia was the one who shot him. They were very relieved that she were now being held without bond. Maybe now they could somehow prove that she was the "Bree" in cahoots with Rick Stetler to kill Aimee. They already knew she was Rick's girlfriend. And everybody knew how both Rick and Julia felt towards Horatio and his wife, even if it were for d. Horatio didn't think, though he couldn't be sure, that Rick and Julia didn't run in the same circles. He believed the only way Julia could have come into contact with Rick was the time she had visited Horatio at the lab shortly before he and Aimee married, when she demanded to see Kyle. The team, and many of the lab staff were witnesses to that confrontation. Though no one had said they had seen the parking meeting it was figured the twosome had to meet up somewhere in between the lab and there. Far from feeling if Horatio had let Julia see Kyle, that none of this would have happened, it was further proof to the couple that the woman was a danger to their son.
There was no doubt there was going to be trials coming up, Rick's criminal trial. Hopefully now Julia could now linked to Aimee's attack and charged as well. Jack Lewis agreed to testify against them, rejecting any plea agreement. He would let a judge decide the appropriate punishment. There was the separate trial for the attack on Horatio as well. Now that the family had safety they could restart their lives and focus on enjoying the impending arrival of the new baby before having to worry for a while.
Aimee were now thirty weeks pregnant. Her belly was getting bigger by the day and despite the discomforts and difficulties in mobility this caused, she enjoyed it.
And still every chance he got when people and especially their six-year-old weren't there, Horatio could be caught gawking at her breasts. Aimee had given up telling him to stop; but she wasn't above throwing pillows or cushions at him for it. Despite all she had been though, she and the baby were healthy. She was at a healthy weight and her blood pressure was normal. Kyle was now back at school and it hadn't taken much convincing to get him to go now that he knew the "bad people" were locked up. He had missed his friends, too and appeared happy to see them again. He was still anxious when he was away from his parents for a longer period of time. But a therapist told the parents this should fade; if it didn't seem to, to "absolutely" bring the boy in for some help.
The doctor seemed to be dying to tell the couple the gender of their baby. Very few patients of hers didn't want to know the gender of their child prior to birth, either because they were just too excited, or because they wanted to pick out a name, decorate the nursery and have gender-appropriate clothing. Aimee's mother and best friend were throwing her a baby shower the following day. The mother-to-be knew about it. The event neither parent-to-be knew about was Alexx Woods and the rest of their family from the crime were throwing them a surprise co-ed baby shower at Alexx's house the following week. This one would be a barbeque without the silly games, except for a pinata and clown to entertain the children there.
"God, Alexx!" Aimee said arriving at the surprise gathering. "You didn't have to do this!"
The African-American woman ha already given the parents gifts at the previous baby shower. Now, along with the party, she and the rest of the CSI team had pooled money to help the couple pay for the nursery furniture and baby swing. Aimee's parents had given them a stroller. The baby furniture was ordered, on credit and would arrive shortly, now the two wouldn't have the debt. That in itself was a relief with Horatio on leave at the moment, even it he were still receiving pay from others covering for him. Horatio was supposed to go back to work for while, and then take some time off for paternity leave, But then he got shot. Changing those plans. Not that he was anxious to go back yet. Putting aside the circumstances, Horatio was enjoying being home with his family without having to worry his phone would ring in the middle of dinner or playing with Kyle and he would have to leave for an unknown period of time. Kyle definitely wasn't used to having daddy home like this and thrived on it. The six-year-old didn't have much trouble saying goodbye to having the a babysitter now that his mom was not longer worked outside the house. Aimee always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. She planned to formally quit her job once her maternity leave expired. If she could get benefits for a year by saying she planned to return to work after (even if she didn't) then why not?
"Should I tell him to slow down on the food?" Alexx asked Horatio.
Alexx was getting worried Kyle might throw up with all the food he was eating and the running around he was doing.
"You could," Horatio said, chewing on his burger and sipping his drink. "Won't do ya any good though. Don't worry. If he gets sick I'll clean it up."
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