Ok, not as fast as I promised, but whatever, still soon. This fic is going to be a little bit more humerous than my previous two, and its supposed to be. It may not seem like it at first, but just stick around. I named it after the Eagle's song "Take it Easy" even though the lyrics below are from a Kelly Clarkson song. You'll see why within the chapter. Anyways, I'll shut up now and present to you Take It Easy.
If you don't have the answer
Walk away
Just walk (walk) away
(Just walk away)
Then just leave
Yeah yeah
Walk away
Walk away
Walk away
"Mr. Wolfe."
Horatio's voice was soft, but stiff and firm, as it usually was when Ryan was spoken to by him. The sound of his name rubbed against Ryan's skin like sand paper. He'd been with this team for a while now, why couldn't they call him by his first name? No one did, no one except Alexx, and Ryan wasn't all that sure he could come near her with a ten foot pole now.
Ryan made no movement except to swing his legs over the Hummer's seat and lift his head to somewhat gaze at Horatio. If he wouldn't give him the respect to look at him straight, then Ryan would do the same. He was tired of being the scape goat for the things that went wrong. It wasn't so much from Horatio directly, but the tension that erupted when he came around anybody else on the team was easy to feel.
"I've spoken with Eric…" Ryan cut him off.
"The only thing I want to hear from him is an apology, an apology from him, not you." Ryan growled.
Horatio nodded and he tilted his head to the side slightly. "I understand, Mr. Wolfe. What Eric did could easily get him dismissed from the lab. He knows that. Let him deal with his own conscious as punishment. Make none of your own for him. He doesn't need that, and there's no need for you to sink that low."
Ryan rolled up his sleeve and took a glance at the scrape he had on his outer arm from where Eric shoved him into the concrete. He sighed and shrugged. It stung, but it didn't matter.
"Mr. Wolfe, I have an idea that may solve some of this conflict that has been going on ever since you joined the lab."
"Oh, really, what's that? Fire me, or Eric?" Ryan spat his statement with contempt.
"No, but I, and everyone else I think, agrees with the fact you two need to be separated for a while. There is a conference in Arizona starting tomorrow. We can have you flown out there for the weekend to be a participant, or just a listener, and when you return, hopefully some of this will have cleared up."
Ryan rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to hiss in an animal like way. "So, basically, you're going to find out if kicking me out would be worth it by shipping me off for a few days and leaving Eric here? Great, thanks," he snapped.
"That's not what I'm doing at all. What I'm saying is maybe you should look into it. Consider it as a paid vacation," Horatio said quietly before slipping on his shades and walking away.
Ryan sat for a long while in his Hummer, not having the will to move. His anger hadn't disappeared, but it left him with this hollow, sick feeling inside that seemed to weigh the equivalent of the world on his shoulders.
Footsteps on gravel alerted Ryan someone was coming. A glance in his mirror told him who. Calleigh.
"Hey, I heard what happened," she stated quietly.
"Who told you?" Ryan asked, his voice low.
"Alexx. Said you and Eric were having a brawl. What happened?"
"I told him basically to straighten up his act and he unloaded on me."
"Well, there was your first mistake. Never tell Delko he's wrong, unless your Horatio, or he'll unload on anybody." Calleigh said this with light laughter that made Ryan look up, but not smile.
"Still, I hope he took that bite seriously, for what its worth," Ryan muttered.
"You bit him!" Calleigh cried in disbelief. "You bit him?"
"Yes, I bit him. He had me pinned down, what else was I supposed to do?" But the humor of the situation did crack a smile on his face, finally.
There was a brief, but not uncomfortable pause before Calleigh spoke again.
"I heard about the conference in Arizona. Are you going to go?"
"I don't really want to, but what choice do I have? Horatio didn't leave me much room to maneuver here."
"He has a funny way of making you see things his way, without being threatening. At least to us, Stetler is a different matter all together," Calleigh muttered. She shook her head and continued. "So, are you going to go?"
"What's the conference on?"
"The blending of traditional detective work and forensics. Because apparently several of the more rural police stations are complaining they have lack of funding because its being given all to places like our lab."
"Why in Arizona though?" Ryan asked with a small laugh.
"I don't know!" Calleigh cried, throwing up her hands. "Your guess is good as mine."
Ryan chuckled softly and shook his head. But then his demeanor grew serious. "If you were in my shoes, would you go?"
Calleigh's eyes took on a devious sense of humor. "Paid vacation, in the middle of nowhere so I won't be bothered, spa, gym, good food, and all the scenery you need. You think I'd pass that up?"
Ryan laughed. "Thanks, Calleigh." He said smiling.
"Always here to help." she said with a firm nod before almost prancing off.
Ryan sighed and took a glance at the setting Miami sun.
"Well, if you put it that way…" he told himself as he shut the Hummer door and started the car up.
When Ryan reached his apartment he was happy to realize that he'd gone through his usual OCD routine that morning and straightened everything up. That way, when he came home, he didn't have to worry about it. Sometimes, if say, he woke up late, he didn't have time, and he never felt comfortable until he reached home and was able to satisfy his OCD urges.
Not the case today though, so as he hung up his outer jacket and walked to the kitchen, the apartment was spotless. Nodding his head in approval, he picked up the phone and dialed Horatio's number.
"Mr. Wolfe?" was the soft answer.
"Yeah, Horatio. I'll take you up on that offer."
"As a participant, or as a listener?"
"I don't have time to prepare anything, and I'm not expected to show up anyways, so I'll go and listen and give a report to hand in if you want."
"Offering to do homework? Calleigh must really have gotten to you. Alright, I'll have the department make the arrangements and send you an e-mail with your flight information."
They both hung up and Ryan gave a sigh and a nod to himself. How bad could a weekend trip to Arizona be? He shrugged and started to make himself dinner.
Supper eaten, he started to move around his apartment, packing anything and everything he thought he needed. And, in true OCD manner, he unpacked it all and rearranged it ever so carefully. It gave him ways to occupy his time.
After his second rendition of taking everything out of his bag and putting it back in, he clicked the remote to his sound system/radio. A little music might help quiet down his OCD urges and so when he repacked his bag this time around, he'd be satisfied.
What came on from the radio was Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away." He'd heard the song a few times, enough to know the basic tune and rhythm. He smiled in the irony of it all and continued to pack.
It was around ten when Ryan sat down and pulled open his lap top. He quickly clicked to his e-mail and found his flight information. His eyes went wide.
"What do you mean, the flight is at five AM!" he said in disbelief. He reread it again and again. It didn't change. That meant being at the airport at three AM! Because of 9/11, now you had to be at your gate two hours early.
"What?" Ryan asked himself in shock. Then he sighed and clicked of the radio that had been continually playing different music since he'd turned it on. He shook his head and dared himself to look at the clock. Ten fifteen, said the digital red numbers.
"That means I get three and a half hours of sleep," he muttered.
He undressed and slipped into bed and set his alarm, making himself silent promise that he would never ever let department pick his travel plans.
