If anyone hasn't, you should read my story Over His Dead Body. It explains events from the past mentioned in this chapter.
I would. And I have.
Every time Horatio had had to shot someone in the line of duty, especially if it were a shot to kill, no matter why, he had felt a ting of guilt even if it were fleeting.
Every time except one. Shooting convicted rapist Mason Shaw when he escaped a privately-run Georgia prison and came to Miami.
The way Shaw had terrorized Horatio's new family and forced them into hiding was almost enough to drive him over the edge. The sight of Mason with his hands around Aimee's neck and seeing the life being drained from her body drove Horatio to kill someone and feel absolutely no remorse. Before this, before he had even met Aimee, Horatio trouble seeing Mason Shaw as a fellow human. Witnessing this, Horatio felt no more guilt than if he had killed a cockroach. It frightened him to think at times if he hadn't got there in time and Aimee had died. Or he had got there and shot Shaw but were too late to save Aimee. He still would have strived to be the father Rachel deserved but there would have forever a hole in his heart and soul from the absence of the only woman who was able to knock down very wall he had put around his heart and kept him feeling safe while she did it.
Then there was the fact there wouldn't have been any Cheyenna or Austin, another two pieces of him would be missing without Horatio not quite knowing what else wasn't right. No one close to him ever bought up him shooting the Georgia convict. They all believed he had been a 'thousand percent' justified. There would have been an outcry in the lab if the shooting hadn't been ruled anything but justified as swiftly as it had. Even Internal Affairs, that was infamous for giving lab employees and the police a difficult time stated Horatio not only "saved his fiancée's life but he had also done Miami and the world as whole, a favor."
There had been brief talk of awarding the lieutenant for his actions, but the moment he got wind of it, Horatio stated he would not accept anything.
His award was a life with Aimee, their daughter and now their younger two children.
Any people who asked him "would you kill to protect your family?" didn't know his history when they asked the question.
Horatio would answer yes, he would.
I have and I would do it again, he thought.
Horatio blinked hard to banish the memory from his mind. His newborn cooed in his arms. Aimee had been in the doorframe watching the two men in her life. It was noticeable Horatio was deep in thought. She walked over and kissed his temple.
"You okay, babe?" She asked softly.
Even though her husband had been through counseling following what they had been through at the hands of Mason Shaw she was aware the experience still ran through his mind, especially at times when he was holding one of their children. In a way she had been lucky, thanks to combination of fever and medication, she didn't remember her near-death experience. Nobody was more happy about this than her husband.
Horatio smiled up at her.
"I'm fine," he said.
Three-week-old Austin Caine was now doing much cooing. He often cooed in response when his mom or dad spoke to him. He didn't like it when he thought they were ignoring him. Both smiled at him when he started to coo loudly, his fingers in his mouth.
Calleigh and Eric came over to visit their godson that day. At three and half pregnant with twins Calleigh's baby bump was beginning to show. Aimee thought pregnancy definitely suited the southern CSI. It was about the two had got to this point, wedding or no wedding.
When they asked where the girls were Aimee said they were outside in the backyard, "go to the door and yell 'presents!' and see how fast they come in," she said.
The visiting couple had bought presents for all three children. While the two were there Eric noticed what he thought was a picture of baby Austin that looked vintage.
"How'd you get the picture to look like this?" Eric asked Aimee, knowing her background in photo editing.
Aimee glanced at the photo.
"That's not Austin," Aimee answered. "That's him when he was a month old," she said gesturing to Horatio.
"Holy shit!" Eric said. The resemblance between a 4-week-old Horatio Caine and 3-week-old Austin Caine was spooky.
Austin in her arms, Calleigh walked over to see what Eric were talking about.
"You look just like daddy, Cutie,"she said
Austin cooed when Calleigh placed him in Eric's arms. The Cuban soon was to find out that the last one who was holding the baby changed him.
"Wha..?" Eric said, trying in vain to give the baby to Calleigh.
Horatio said, "That's the house rule! Besides, you're the godfather and you definitely need the practice. C'mon," he said, leading the younger man upstairs to the nursery.
Eric complaining all the way with Austin in his arms.
Both women giggled.
"If Eric thinks diapers are bad at this age, just wait a few months when a baby drinks more than formula!" Aimee said.