This is a work of fan-fiction. I do not own the characters of CSI: Miami. I am just borrowing them for fun.

This piece is set after Season 7's "Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing". I'm new to the fandom, so if you catch any typos or continuity errors, please drop me a line. I am still looking for a beta-reader for future pieces - if you are interested, let me know. Thanks!

The minute Horatio put on his sunglasses and sauntered off, Ryan felt his energy level plummet. He'd had no sleep the night before, enduring hour after hour of physical torture at the hands of a sadistic madman. Ryan touched his bruised lip gently. The pain of his missing lower molar had returned with a vengeance. The fact that his abuser was dead brought little comfort. The hug that Billy had given him before he rejoined his father helped some.

Horatio knew that Ryan had risked his career to keep the little boy safe and his words told Ryan that he had earned the older man's respect. But Horatio had no idea of the extent of abuse that Ryan had endured, the keen sense of abandonment which he still felt because of the team's inaction, or the fact that he had cried out in vain for his boss' help during his night of misery. Ryan's emotions, the ones he kept so closely guarded, threatened to bubble to the surface, right there in broad daylight on the steps before the Miami-Dade crime lab.

Eager to put distance between himself and this horrible day, Ryan attempted to walk toward the parking lot. But as he staggered forward and nearly fell, he abruptly realized that he was in no condition to drive home. It occurred to him then that the human body can run for only so long on pure adrenaline. Maybe a shower will help, he thought.

Reluctantly, he turned back toward the crime lab, hoping that he could avoid collapsing in front of anyone he knew. The day shift had begun to trickle out of the building to head home for the night; he desperately wished to avoid Calleigh and Eric. Ryan could feel his weakness rising; the next time they pushed him verbally, he wouldn't be able to stop at "extenuating circumstances." He would tell them everything in excruciating detail, right down to the blood splatter exiting his mouth after the Russian mobster had extracted his tooth. Maybe that would wipe the smug looks of disgust from their faces.

Why do I even care what they think? Ryan wondered. Clearly, they think so little of me that they never even noticed I was missing. He swallowed hard as he pulled open the glass door. And when did these front doors get so heavy?

Ryan ducked his head as he hurried down the hall toward the locker room. Surely, a shower would help soothe his sore muscles and relax him enough to drive home.

"Have you seen Ryan?" Natalia entered the room where Eric and Calleigh had returned to process evidence, a perplexed look on her face. The couple shared a meaningful glance before Calleigh responded.

"We just threw him out of here," she said, with her usual blunt efficiency. She locked her calm gaze on Natalia's wide brown eyes.

"What?!"

Eric nodded. "He was withholding evidence." With gloved hands, he held up a little plastic bag containing a shell casing and waved it at Natalia. "Said something about 'extenuating circumstances.'" Eric shook his head. "There's never an excuse to tamper with a crime scene."

Natalia swallowed. "Front desk said he staggered down the hall about an hour ago, screaming 'no' over and over again into his cell phone before sliding down to the floor. They said he nearly collapsed."

Now it was Eric and Calleigh's turn to look surprised.

"Ryan did that?" Eric asked Natalia, demanding confirmation. "Ryan Wolfe?"

She nodded. "I wasn't here - I was at training all day - but everyone's talking about it." She chewed her lip worriedly before adding, "And someone said he's missing a tooth?"

Calleigh turned her troubled gaze to Natalia and spoke thoughtfully. "I asked him about that. He said he had a crown made and the temporary fell out."

Eric frowned. "None of this makes any sense. I'm going to go talk to H." He hurried toward the door.

"And I'm going to keep looking for Ryan," Natalia said, following Eric out of the room.

Calleigh stared at the evidence in front of her and sighed at the retreating backs of her co-workers. "Let me know what you find out."