Horatio thought it had been well worth the wait to become a husband and father. Even though he didn't doubt he would have savored the two earlier in life that would mean he wouldn't have Aimee. Horatio had never met anybody who understood him and the demands and risks of his job. And loved him anyway, the way she did.

All Aimee asked of him was that she and the children not be ignored or neglected when Horatio was home. Considering all the crap a cop's wife had to put up with Horatio thought she had every right to ask that of him. If he didn't deliver he was only one at fault.

Seeing the Caines so happy Eric and Calleigh were seriously considering starting a family, maybe even before getting married. Rachel and Cheyenna were the happiest little girls. Horatio and Aimee were awesome parents and a great couple. The two lovers wondered how the married couple kept the romance alive with two small children and another baby on the way.

"I wonder if the baby gonna be a mini H," Eric said to Calleigh. The two were laying in bed together early in the evening.

"Yeah, I wonder," Calleigh replied. "He probably won't be a lil' redhead though."

Both Rachel and Cheyenna had chestnut brown hair. That made sense with their mom having black hair and Horatio being a redhead. A perfect mix. Both children had inherited their father's bright blue eyes and facial features. Because Cheyenna Caine would only be twenty-two months old when her baby brother was born, the couple were thinking of getting another crib. Alexx told them they might want to hold off on doing that however. The new baby would be in the bassinet for a while and by the time he outgrew it and was ready for the crib Cheyenna might be ready to use her toddler bed.

The bed was already in her room. Her parents thought if the girl to get used to seeing it she might move from her crib easier.

Wrong.

At present, Cheyenna played with her stuffed toys on the white railed Sleigh bed. She told her parents that her toy bears slept there. Using that logic mommy and daddy tried asking if Sam, her favorite bear, who currently slept with Rachel in her crib wanted to move there, have Rachel come with him and the other bears could sleep on a cushion on the shelf.

Rachel's answer was no. Her parents figured there was still time with four months left in Aimee's pregnancy and the fact the new baby would be sleeping in a bassinet in their room for a few months.

The names for the baby were now narrowed down to two; Jesse and Matthew. So far. there was plenty of time to change their minds. Aimee thought the name Jesse Matthew Caine was nice. Horatio was beginning to like the idea of he and his son having the same middle name.

Horatio thought the lab tech in front of him was insane. Cory Robbins and his wife were expecting their first child. Cory was telling Horatio that he was "determined" that his wife not have pain medication during childbirth, even if she decided she couldn't handle natural childbirth after all. Unless she had to have a c-section, that is. The man was not cold-blooded.

"What do you think, lieutenant?" He asked Horatio.

"I think you've lost your mind," Horatio said raising his eyebrows. "I'd have to have a death wish to do that. That would be the same as handing Aimee my gun and saying 'here, dear. Shot me.'"

"You wouldn't do the same thing if your wife stated adamantly before-hand that she didn't want drugs?"

"No," Horatio said. "I wouldn't. Because, number one, what she says before going into labor is totally different from what your wife needs or desires when she's finally in labor. Second, it's her body going through the pain, not yours. To quote my wife 'when it's you on the bed with your feet in stir-ups then you can go natural.' The mom's the one who decides whether she receives pain medication. I find it unbelievable that you rather see your wife suffer in unnecessary pain just so you can say she did.

"If I was to do that with Aimee, I'd either be a) dead on the floor because Aimee could kill me with one blow; they'd give her the epidural and then move my body. Or b) I'd be in the fetal position on the floor begging for an epidural myself because of the fierce kick she gave to my lower region. Either way, Aimee'd be getting what she needed."

Horatio could actually picture himself laying on the floor of the labor room, whether he was dead or withering in agony.