Title: Aftermath
Author: Morgan a.k.a. scgirl_317
Genre: Drama, romance, a smidge of angst if you squint
Summary: Tag for 8.23 "Time Bomb". Talking about the day's events leads Ryan and Natalia to something more.
Author's Note: This episode literally begged me for a tag. I also realize that some of the events in this story may be somewhat out of character. I confess, I'm not as up on CSI: Miami as I'd like to be, so I did some digging on the characters. I tried to stay as true to them as I could while still obeying my muse.
Ryan sighed as he closed his front door. His teammates had tried to be careful, but his home was still a wreck after being searched. He let out yet another frustrated growl at Stetler for subjecting him to that. Handcuffing the man was simply not enough.
He had barely begun straightening the living room when he heard a knock at the door. Curious, Ryan stood from his position on the floor and answered it. He was shocked to see Natalia standing on his doorstep, looking quite unsure of herself.
"Hey," she said.
"Hi," he replied, not entirely sure what to say. "What are you doing here?"
"Thought you could use a hand cleaning up," she said with a shrug. "I know the place didn't look too great when we left."
Touched that such a thing had even occurred to her, and too exhausted from the day's events to argue, Ryan stepped aside to allow Natalia to enter.
Natalia took one look into the house beyond, and her eyes widened. At the time, she had not realized how ransacked the place had been. She had been in too much shock after the diamonds had been discovered in Ryan's stereo to pay much attention. They had apparently been thorough, because there was literally no cushion, book, or table left unturned. Taking a deep breath, she stepped across the threshold.
"Where do you want to start?" she asked, not sure what else to do.
"In here's fine," he said, at as much a loss as she was.
When Eric found the diamonds, Ryan had seen the looks of disbelief and what he thought was disappointment in his colleagues' faces, as if they believed he had taken them. He didn't care what the evidence said, the evidence was wrong. It was the thought that they didn't believe him that killed him. The fact that Natalia had worked to clear him meant a lot.
Natalia had caught a glimpse of Ryan's face as Stetler hauled him away in handcuffs. She had never seen him so… She wasn't entirely sure what emotion that was. Despair? Resignation? Whatever it was, she hoped to never see it on Ryan's face ever again. It went completely against the strong, determined man that she knew him to be. And this uncontrollable fear had settled over her when she realized that if they didn't do something quick, the next time she saw Ryan would be from the other side of bullet-proof glass.
They were mostly silent at first as they reseated cushions and replaced books, eventually clearing the living room to a manageable point before moving on to the kitchen. She could tell he must have been exhausted, as he began going back over areas that had already been cleaned, straightening and re-straightening as his OCD kicked in. Eventually the quiet got to be too much, and Ryan had to speak.
"Why did you come here?" he asked, closing the drawer once the flatware was back in place.
"I told you, I felt bad we trashed your house, so I came to help you clean up," she replied, hoping she sounded more convincing than she was.
"That's what you said, but that's not it. What's the real reason?"
Natalia squirmed, trying desperately to come up with a decent answer when she had none.
"I should have done more," she blurted out. "I should have thought of testing for bacterial DNA sooner. If I had, Stetler wouldn't have arrested you and we would have found out it was him sooner."
Surprised by her outburst, Ryan placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.
"You think you didn't do enough?" he asked. "Natalia, I might have sat in that cell days waiting for the paperwork to be processed if it hadn't been for you. What's done is done, there's no point in beating yourself up over something that's not worth it."
It was his turn to shock her as he replaced his hand with his lips, giving her a soft kiss. She was surprised to find that it was not a kiss of passion, but of kindness and genuine gratitude.
"Thank you," he said sincerely, placing a hand on her cheek.
"Your welcome," she breathed, astounded to find that she could put that small sentence together.
Still at a close proximity to Ryan, Natalia found herself taking a closer look at his features. There was still a faint scar by his right eye, where he had been shot with a nail gun. She shuddered as an image of Ryan with a nail sticking out of his eye entered her mind.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Just thinking that we never know what's going to happen when we go out to a crime scene," she replied. "Everything may go by the book, or it might not."
Gathering her courage, Natalia pulled Ryan down to her. Whereas the previous kiss had been nothing more than a mode of conveying thanks, this kiss was passionate. It took him a moment to register what was happening, but he quickly responded, pulling her closer to him.
Even though they had agreed to part amiably after their only date several years ago, Ryan had still secretly wished for this. He had been physically attracted to her since the day they met, but what had started as mere infatuation had grown into deep admiration as he got to know her. Her quick mind and intuitive thinking had helped them solve many cases, and had only served to endear her further to him. The fact that she was several years older was not even a factor for him.
Natalia had often wondered what might have become if they had continued on past their one date three years ago. She could not deny that she found Ryan handsome, but it was his kind nature and determination that drew her to him. She had been surprised to learn he suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder; instead of hindering him, he made it work for him. He wasn't afraid to think outside the box. And while he had his issues with her being an FBI informant, he had also made her feel as if she belonged to the team. He had even encouraged—all but forced, more accurately—her to have her ears checked. Ryan was always there.
Ryan pulled back, out of breath and still slightly stunned. He knew he should say something, but he was at a loss. Thankfully, Natalia spoke first.
"I've often wondered what that would be like," she said softly.
"Same here," he responded, unable to stop the smile that came to his lips. "Now what?" he asked somewhat unsteadily.
"I have no idea," she confessed. "I wasn't really planning on doing that."
"Do you regret it?" he asked, after a moment's consideration.
"No," she replied instantly. That was the one thing she was sure of, right then.
"Well then, I think the next step would be for me to take you out to dinner," he stated with more confidence than he actually felt.
"Sounds great," she smiled.
Previous tension gone, the rest of the house was brought to a state of only mild disarray in short order, but it was still close to one in the morning when they finished. Conscious of the late hour and the fact that they had work the next day, Natalia prepared to leave.
"Pick you up at seven?" Ryan asked, hoping she hadn't changed her mind about going out with him.
"Works for me," she said, feeling slightly giddy at the thought of going on a date with Ryan Wolfe.
Unable to help himself, Ryan pulled her to him for their third kiss. While it was not as heated as the second, it was no less passionate, a promise of what was to come.
"I will never get tired of that," Natalia said softly after he pulled away.
"I hope not," Ryan grinned, suddenly feeling more sure of himself.
"Okay, I need to leave now, otherwise I will never get out of here," she laughed. She had not felt like this in a long time, and it felt good. "I'll see you at work," she called back over her shoulder as she walked out the front door.
Ryan stood there watching her drive away, and the fact suddenly struck him. He was going on a date with Natalia Boa Vista, the woman he'd all but fantasized over for years. A part of him wondered if he was dreaming.
But the rest of him honestly didn't care.