A/N: This is my attempt to soothe those who feel our beloved show was taken from us way too soon. I know it left us with a hint of E/C to come, but y'all know me. I am DuCaine to the death. I've "met" a lot of you through Twitter, and have loved our International tweets. So, here we go!

SEASON 11-EPISODE 1

"There seems to be a problem, Ms. Duquesne. The background check we did on your boyfriend uncovered a history of Felony drug possession."

"My boyfriend?" They had to mean Eric. "Can you give me a minute to make a phone call, please?"

"Of course." Calleigh stepped outside and hit Horatio's number on speed dial. The minute she heard his voice, the tears began to fall.

"Horatio, I've got a problem."

"What is it, Sweetheart? You sound like you're crying."

"I'm at DCFS. Eric thought he was helping, he came down and told them..." she sniffed. "He told them that I wasn't going to be alone raising the children, and they think that..."

"That the two of you are getting married. Are you?"

"NO! But now they think we are, and they did a background check on him and uncovered his..." she choked back another sob.

"His sealed drug possession record, right?"

She nodded and batted away her tears.

"Calleigh, Sweetheart, you have to answer me, I can't see your head shaking."

"Sorry...Yes, they can unseal the records when it comes to adoptions. I know he meant well, but, Horatio, I might lose the children."

"Give me fifteen minutes, Calleigh. I'll be right there." He disconnected the call and quickly called the courthouse as he hurried to his Hummer, hoping what he was planning would help Calleigh gain custody of the children she loved so much. She was still outside trying to pull herself together when he arrived. "Alright, Sweetheart, let's see if this works."

She took it from his hands. "A marriage license?"

We simply show it to them, tell them we're taking the kids to your parents' home in Louisiana for our wedding, and hopefully they'll buy it."

"And if not?"

"If not, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Ready?" She nodded and moved to the door. Horatio opened it and smiled. "After you, Ma'am."

They approached the counter when she had been interviewed and showed the license to the social worker. "This is the man I'm going to marry, not Eric. We dated a while back, but now we're just very good friends. He's right, though, our lab IS like a family."

"This is dated today."

"We're actually getting married in Louisiana at my parents' farm. That way Patty and Austin can meet all their new cousins, aunts and uncles."

The case worker looked at the license and back at the couple. "I'll tell you what, since you plan to marry anyway, the two of you go back to the courthouse and exchange this license for a marriage certificate, and then the children will be yours." He smiled an almost wicked smile.

Calleigh's knees almost buckled. "But..."

Horatio put his arm around her waist to steady her. "Fine, we shouldn't be long. Will the children be ready when we get back?"

"As soon as we verify that the two of you are not trying to manipulate the system."

Horatio nodded and steered a still in shock Calleigh out the door. Once outside, he led her to his Hummer. "Are you alright, Sweetheart?"

"Horatio, we can't do this...we.."

"We almost did it once, we can make this work, Calleigh." After helping her into the vehicle, he climbed and eased it into traffic. "We're supposed to meet the crew at the bar, I'll make your excuses so you can take the kids home and get them settled."

"Which home?"

"Take them to your place. That's the one that's been inspected and has the toys and furniture, am I right?"

"Yes, their rooms are ready for them, but..."

"Enough with the buts. We'll work with your place for now, and look for a bigger place...one with a yard for them to play in."

Calleigh closed her eyes and laid her head back on the headrest. Once they arrived at the courthouse, Horatio took her hand and led her inside where she numbly said her vows. Wedding certificate in hand, she took a deep breath as she left the courthouse with her husband. When they returned to the county building where the children were, they were waiting in the lobby for her. Horatio produced the certificate to the caseworker as the children rushed to their new mother. Patty was holding flowers, which she immediately started putting in her mother's hair. Horatio was seated at the counter, deep in conversation with the caseworker. When he was done, he came over and took Calleigh's phone and snapped a picture of the three of them, smiling with flowers in their hair.

"What was that all about?"

"What? Oh, you mean..." indicating the social worker. Calleigh nodded. "We were filling out the new birth certificates for Austin and Patty.

She flashed him one of her brightest smiles. "So now we..."

"That's right, we are now their parents." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Now, why don't you take our angels home and I'll head on over to the celebration for a bit. Then, I'll come home and we can have our own celebration. Maybe get pizza for the kids and make a big salad to go with it."

"No cooking, sounds wonderful! You two ready to go home?"

"Yes, Mommie. Is he our new daddy?" Patty clung to Calleigh's leg and looked up at Horatio.

"He sure is, Baby. We're your new mommie and daddy."

Austin smiled. "Cool!"

"Let's head home and get things ready for dinner so we can eat when Daddy gets home." She stood up and whispered into Horatio's ear. "That's gonna get some getting used to."

He smiled back at her and placed his lips against her ear. "So's this...I love you."

"Horatio!"

"You're my wife, now, Calleigh."

"Yeah, I guess I am. Um, I love you too. I think I never stopped."

"Same here, Beautiful."

"I'll see you when you get home. Drive safely, Handsome."

"Always, Calleigh...Always."