Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any references to Paranormal State nor do I claim to have extensive knowledge of the Paranormal. I also do not claim that anything I say about Mr. Ryan Daniel Buell is true. I am only the owner of the plot. So...that's it :)

Ryan

It had been a long and exhausting day to say the least. Ryan picked up his jacket from his desk chair and slowly pulled it on. All he wanted was to get home, feed Xander, and settle down for the night with a good book.

Halloween was the busiest time of the year for them and there was only a month to prepare for the tours, speeches, and countless fans pouring in from all over the world in the hope to catch a glimpse of a ghost and of course Ryan.

He sighed and reluctantly picked up his over the shoulder bag. He said goodbye to the five other people in the office before heading out for the night.

He admired his staff and friends. They were dedicated and loyal. That was something he had lucked out with in life. Most of his former cast members had decided to part ways into various careers or hobbies. He smiled when he remembered the pictures Sergey had sent him via email from Texas.

Heather still worked on some cases from time to time. Katrina had her own show to worry about but Ryan had offered to help her as much as he could. Josh and Elfie still worked with Ryan most days but they also had things of their own.

He hadn't felt this exhausted since his first year with Paranormal State. It had all been so much so soon. Classes, the show, his life. He shook his head and sighed. He was a couple of blocks away from his house, he could make it.

His phone rang signaling a text from Susan. The head hancho in charge when Ryan couldn't come into work.

Did you get my email this morning?

Ryan groaned. He had forgotten to write back, now he would have it. He decided he could pretend to have missed her text, maybe he would drop his phone in the toilet. That's how much he didn't want to talk to Susan right now. He trusted her judgment but every once in a while she would receive a case from the interns and pester Ryan until he looked at it. Normally she would shove it in a pile of papers he had to sign or letters he had to read. This time she had emailed him instead of waiting to come back from her leave.

His phone rang again and he reluctantly looked down to press read.

I know you're ignoring me asshole. If you don't write back I'll call you until you answer.

He had to laugh at that. Him being her boss didn't stop her from acting just as she would outside the offices. It was good she was in Maine dealing with moving down to Pennsylvania to be able to work for him better. He wouldn't have to face her until she came back and by then hopefully she will have forgotten about this case.

He had read it, but it was very vague. Some girl having visions. He had seen it all before. These were the cases Susan especially liked. She was a bit psychic herself but as Michelle (Bellanger) had once described her as, she was a rebellious little gypsy.

His phone started ringing earnestly. He cursed a little too loudly while passing a couple on a bench, startling them. His guilt about not answering her texts pushed him over and he found himself answering her.

"Oh Susan, how I've miss you so…" he started, barely keeping his smile away. He really did miss her. She was organized and professional when she had to be. She eased a lot of the tension in the office when Ryan got in one of his moods. In lame terms, she was his better half.

"Oh shut up," she said laughing into the speaker, "Listen I didn't get a response from you this morning, what do you think about the case?"

"Susan," he moaned like a little child being told to go clean his room, or worse, do the dishes, "It's almost Halloween, I can't believe you're suggesting I take a case now-"

He heard her groan in the background and possibly kick something, "Ryan Daniel Buell, I don't know how you get through life by only reading half of your emails."

Ryan was confused and before he could ask what she meant she started to explain, "Michelle wrote me before I left. She told me she had a friend staying over and that she needed help. I told her I would do the best I could. Then when I got here she sent me her case and she's fascinating Ryan…you don't even know."

"Yeah Susan, I don't know. I can't take a case I know nothing about," he was near his house so he started walking a little faster, "what makes this girl so special?" he asked.

"Ah isn't THAT the million dollar question hun," Susan said sounding a little morbid instead of teasing.

"What do you mean?" asked Ryan pulling out his keys even though he still had a couple houses to go.

Susan sighed and turned serious suddenly, "Ryan, just meet her. It's not really any of my business to be telling you hers. Besides I have to go and continue packing. I'll email you the confirm dates for the tours and the times of your speeches at the local colleges." With that she hung up and Ryan breathed hard into the speaker.

He walked into his house and waited for Xander to tackle him. As expected he came running down the stairs and slid to a stop at his feet barking and spazzing out.

"Hey boy you hungry?" he said running his hands through Xander's hair and ears. He led him over to the kitchen and gave him some dog food. Ryan stood by his counter contemplating the conversation he had just had with Susan.

She wasn't telling him something. That wasn't like Susan. She wasn't a gossip but she never kept anything from him unless it was important or unless it really wasn't any of her business. He decided he'd re read the email after a long hot shower.

He never did get to the email. He passed out on his bed after he finished his nighttime routine and with the promise of reading the email tomorrow he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Ryan woke up in a less than peaceful way early the next morning. Slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed he wobbled over to his shower to turn the sprayer on. While he waited for the water to warm up but not so much he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

The slight pink tint that lay on his cheeks remained even after the cold water hit it. Ryan closed his eyes and tried to breathe normally again. I'm not a teenage boy damnit!

His breathing evened but nothing below the belt did. Ryan undressed and stepped into the warm shower. He reached for the knob and switched it all the way to cold as he closed his eyes again. He let the icy water wash over his shoulders and head all the way down to his feet.

He loved her green eyes, full lips and long hair. Her laugh, her walk and her embrace. And he didn't even know her name.

Ryan sighed and leaned against the wall. He was tempted to just reach down and relieve himself but it felt wrong. Any other person, any other girl, and he would have. But she felt special. The girl of his dreams, literally.

He had been seeing her during sleep for the past month and it was getting ridiculous. He kept telling himself it was the stress of the time of year. He may have seen her in passing one day and his subconscious had taken over from there.

Ryan shook his head. No, he would have remembered those eyes. They would have made him stop in his tracks or knock the breath out of him.

The cold water started to work and soon he found himself drying up and dressing to go to the gym. He would call Michelle and set a date to meet this girl from the case. Maybe if he dealt with it now Susan would back off for a few months until his schedule went back to normal.

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