Piece of Heaven

The eight days in the Florida keys was slice of heaven for the couple. They spent the days in a cottage on the beach, strolling on the beach barefoot hand-in-hand. And as of the second day, they did this as a married couple. They purposely neglected to tell friends they talked to during their vacation this wanting to surprise them all.

Emily had called the family who had raised her since she were two-years-old. Harry and Vanessa Studman were happy for their daughter and couldn't visit any time soon. Their son James who was three years older than Emily and daughter Haley who was two years older both planned to visit Miami within a few weeks. They had met their sister's husband before and looked forward to seeing him again.

They joined the group hoping for a baby.

Soon.

"How was your vacation?" Natalia asked Ryan when the CSI returned to work on that Monday.

"Great. As long as I've been in Miami, I've never took the time to feel sand underneath my feet," Ryan replied.

He never said a word about the ring on his left hand.

"Lots of strolls on the beach, huh?"

"Yeah. We almost had the whole beach to yourselves. I only saw two other cottages occupied and that was on the other side."

Calleigh was the first to notice the object.

"Ryan, what's that on your finger?"

"This? It's a ring, Cal," he replied.

"It looks like a wedding ring!"

"Right again."

"You dog!" Calleigh said, slapping Ryan's arm. "You and Emily got married!"

"We did. Six days ago," Ryan grinned.

A chorus of cheers went up in the breakroom.

"Now what's the hold-up on the baby?" Frank asked.

There really was none.

The two were hoping Emily would get pregnant anytime now. She'd been off the pill since a day before their wedding.

Haley figured it out, James not so much that their sister was trying to get pregnant when they visited the sunshine state from Massachusetts. They should have had a preteen or two by now in her opinion so she was glad to make their visit only a weekend. And really there wasn't room enough for them to stay comfortably at the couple's residence anyway. Them staying at a bed and breakfast gave the couple time for each other and baby-making sex at night.

Twelve weeks later Natalia happened to notice Ryan's wife looking around at a furniture store.

In the nursery section.

She told the clerk she was buying just yet because she was found out she was pregnant only the day before and was just six weeks along. The saleswoman was friendly and helpful, asking Emily to describe the room. Emily said the room had a small closet that could hold the majority of clothing. Some shelves were going to be put up on the walls to hold diapers and changing essentials. Emily was looking for a crib, a change table with drawers below to hold extra clothes, a rocker, and perhaps a slim wardrobe. The saleswoman told Emily when she when she was ready to buy it would easy to find these matching items. As far as further decorating it was suggested that the room could be decorated with removable wall stickers if the family thought they might move in a short while and they didn't want to leave behind a beautiful nursery that so much work went into. Emily thought this was a good idea. Their home was small and though they had no plans to move for a while, maybe years, she could understand the point of the nursery art being "portable." Emily didn't notice Natalia before she thanked the saleswoman and left.

Natalia was called directly to a scene that morning before getting to the lab. When she did it was busy with no time for chat with co-workers. She had missed Ryan announcing before things got busy that he and Emily were expecting. His wife had told him she had suspected it two days before and it was confirmed the day before. It was difficult not to get excited too soon. When Ryan made that comment to Alexx Woods, the woman was like a surrogate mother to him, she was understanding. She knew that feeling, being a mother of two. The couple had thought about not telling anyone for a awhile but realized that would be impossible.

Selena O'Riley screamed in excitement when her friend called and told her she was pregnant. To her, it was "about time" the two "took this ride." She knew Ryan was going to a doting, even if annoying father-to-be. Ryan had always nagged Emily about her poor eating habits and her love of junk food, especially chocolate. Now he really had a reason to be doing so

Even if it might get him killed.