Disclaimer: RB does not belong to me.

Rated T, for minor language.

A/N: This one was hard to write, for some reason.

Just another quickie!

Semi-companion piece to 'Black, White, And Gray', because it left AngelWings8 wanting more. I hope this is good enough for you!

And sorry for the terrible name, it's all I could think of.

Hope you enjoy!

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Chris Diaz. Set after 'Honor Role'.

So we told the truth. I'm starting to think that I'd rather be liked.

He's been having a lot of trouble accepting this case.

Everything about it, it seems, has been stretching his boundaries and testing his limits.

It's been twisting everything he's ever believed in, and changing it all.

He didn't think he'd ever be willing to overlook something like this; but earlier, he'd as much as told Andy that they should stay out of it. That they should keep their heads down and let somebody else deal with it; or not deal with it, as the case may be.

That's not the cop he always thought he'd be.

That's not the cop he wants to be.

Trying to deal with the fact that maybe, just maybe, that's the kind of cop that he is, isn't easy; it's a rather bitter pill to swallow. He's ashamed, and confused, and he just wishes the world was more like a zebra. Because zebra's don't have gray stripes; they're white, and black, and that's it. There aren't a million shades of gray for him to drown in on a zebra; but there are plenty all around, in the world, right now.

He wishes that he was sure of something right now.

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And then there's Gail.

She's not his girlfriend. He's not even really sure if they're dating.

All he knows is that when he's with her, the world seems a little brighter and it's a little easier to forget that he's living in a city full of jerks and assholes. When he's with her, it's a whole lot easier to just be happier.

And when he was watching her face crumble as he told her what he knew, he felt his heart crumble just a little bit. Watching her walk away from him, he was introduced to a whole new level of pain that he hadn't even known existed.

Ugh, he thinks to himself, taking a long sip of his beer and only just managing to pretend to be listening to Traci and Dov's conversation. If only the gray could just disappear.

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Please review, it would make me smile!