Ryan and Natalia (picks up after explosion in the meth lab)

~Natalia's POV~

"You can't stay in here! Just go!" I shouted to Ryan, feeling my back and chest being crushed.

"I'm not leaving you here!"

"Ryan, just go!" I knew that I wasn't going to get out alive. I didn't want Ryan to die too. He tried, using all the muscle he had to lift the wall, but he couldn't. I was stuck; the wall was too hard and heavy for one person to lift. And then H ran in.

"Don't worry miss; we're going to get you out." The two strained and put everything they had into lifting the wall. It finally, finally came off. Ryan dialed 911 from his cell phone, and H supported me to walk out of the burning house. I lived. Everything that I thought was impossible happened because of H. And Ryan.

I was hurt, but I didn't want to tell anybody. My head hurt, I was bleeding, and there were scratches all over my body. There would soon be bruises on my back from the wall that Ryan and Horatio lifted off of me.

"Natalia, are you okay?" Ryan asked from behind me, like I knew he would.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ryan had been working with me long enough to know when I was lying through my teeth.

"If you want to talk, just come find me, Nat." I nodded and smiled at him. He gave me a look over his shoulder, one of deep concern. I made a mental note to talk to him later.

Once the paramedics dismissed me, I argued with Calleigh just to get back on the case. I had to.

"Nat, it's not worth it. You need to rest before you come back to the lab."

"Look, I'll be fine. You guys need me anyway." Because Maxine Valera was on a vacation break, I was the only DNA analyst left, besides the night shift. Calleigh knew that she didn't have an argument.

"Just be careful out there, Nat." Happy that I got to work, I drove back to the lab and got to work on the DNA and trace found at the explosion scene. Just as I forgot about the injuries and trauma, Ryan snuck up behind me to "ask," about the evidence. I knew that he just wanted an excuse to talk with me.

"What did you get?"

"Well there wasn't any usable DNA left, but I did find traces of TNT there."

"So now we know exactly who we're looking for."

"Someone who know what they're doing and has access to meth and TNT."

"Thanks, Nat."

"No problem."

"Natalia! Your arm is bleeding!" I managed to hold in a swear as I looked at my blood stained lab coat.

"Come here, Nat." He helped me out of my lab coat and used it to put pressure on the wound.

"Is that from earlier?" I nodded, afraid of what he was going to say.

"Natalia, you said you weren't hurt."

"I know." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Please, go home for the day. You're scaring the hell out of everyone here," Ryan commanded more than asked.

"Why do people keep telling me that? I'm not hurt that badly; I can stay." Ryan gave me a look that said he didn't believe me.

"Nat, your arm just started bleeding in the middle of an investigation. You need to clean up."

"The day's over in an hour. Just give me until then."

"If that really makes you happy, fine. But on one condition."

"Which is?"

"You let me take you home tonight and watch out for you." The idea excited me in a strange way.

"If you insist." He laughed.

"You got it. I'll meet you here in an hour." I nodded and slowly smiled to myself.

~One hour later~

"You ready?" Ryan asked, opening the glass door. I had forgotten he was coming, and jumped when he spoke. He laughed at me.

"Yeah, let me get my stuff." As we were walking out, Calleigh smiled at me. A minute later, I checked my phone and saw a text from her. "You guys look just like Eric and I used to. (:" I smiled at the image and showed it to Ryan. He thought about it for a second and agreed. I let my mind wander as Ryan walked around the car to get into the driver's seat. Would Ryan and I end up like Calleigh and Eric?

I wouldn't particularly mind if we did.

~Ryan's POV~

The whole night with Nat. I don't know what sparked me to ask her about sleeping over, but I'm glad I did. When she showed me the text that Calleigh sent her, I wondered if she thought about the message as much as I did. If we looked just like the famous romantics in the lab, would we end up the same way as them, too? Married and parenting two kids? I wasn't sure how that life would be. I just wanted her.

"Ryan? Ryan!" I realized that she was trying to get my attention.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something." Or someone.

"It's okay. I was just going to say that you can sleep on the couch tonight."

"Sounds good." I had only been to her house once or twice before, and it was at a party. I'd never actually been there by myself.

"Your house is nice."

"Glad you like it. Want a drink?" She smiled a flirty little smile.

"Sure." She handed me a glass of red wine. "I love this kind."

"I know; you told me at the last party I had." That made sense. She knew me so well.

"Will you let me wrap your arm now please?" She promised that she would let me help her out tonight. She sighed. "If you must." I laughed at her resentment towards care and looked for some gauze in my kit.

"When did you become such a good Medical Examiner?"

"I used to run patrol, remember? We were trained for emergencies."
"I don't think that this would classify as an 'emergency.'" She made air quotes with her fingers.

"I think this is….a very extreme case of injury." She laughed, causing me to accidentally hit the gash.

"Ouch," she instinctively said.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't mean to."

"It's okay."

"Do you want some ice?" For some reason she found that funny.

"What?"

"Ryan, it's okay really. You're being too good to me."

"I care about you, Natalia. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. It just makes me feel special. Thanks for everything that you've done." It made me almost speechless to know that Natalia and I shared the same feelings for each other. I couldn't recall the last time I felt that way about a woman.

"Anytime," I barely managed. She threw her arms around me. Nat looked up. There was no water in her eyes, yet she looked close to crying.

"What really happened, Natalia?"

"Ryan…when I was about seven years old my mom was killed." I listened. "The car she was in exploded when she was driving home." No wonder she was upset. "I remember watching everything go up in flames…and today…"

I put my finger to her lips. "You don't have to go on." She rested her head on my chest. "You're alive…..and that's all that matters."

~Natalia's POV~

I was embarrassed, yes, but it brought Ryan and I closer than ever. He was the only CSI I had ever told my story to, and he was so sympathetic. I felt bad, but now, lying in bed, I realized that it was completely worth it. The situation had almost completely worn me out, and I was asleep in 15 minutes at the maximum. Until something woke me up around 2:00 AM. Assuming that it was just Ryan, I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to sleep.

And then I felt arms wrap around me. Rapidly sitting up, I was forced back down by a pair of hands.

"RYAN!" I screamed out, hoping that he could hear me. If he was still alive. The attacker slammed his hand over my mouth, disabling me to make any noise and cutting off half of my air supply. I tried, tried so hard, to kick, but my legs were sore from the explosion. I realized that my ankles were tied together. Even if I wasn't bruised and burned from the bomb, I wouldn't have been able to defend myself. Ryan ran through the open door. He was smart, and kept quiet as he snuck up behind the two people trying to hurt me. Choking one of the men from the back, he kicked the other one off of me. Once the first guy was down, Ryan was all business with the other.

I eyed my gun on the table beside me, and holding up I said, "MDPD, you're under arrest for attempted murder." Ryan flipped the light switch and had the two men in handcuffs before they could fully recover. Once they were determined, "not dangerous," Ryan tended to me.

"Natalia, are you okay?" My feet were still bound together and my arm was gushing blood again. He acted fast, first untying my legs and then wiping my arm off with a towel. With my free hand I called Horatio, and then Calleigh and Eric. It only took H five minutes to get to my house. Good old H.

"Ms. Boa Vista, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Ryan came to my rescue." I flashed a smile at Ryan. After giving H all of the necessary information, the two assaulters were taken down to the police station. Just like that, it was back to being Ryan and I.

"What did they do to you?" Ryan asked, clearly concerned.

"They tied my legs together, and then I think they tried to pick me up and carry me somewhere. That's when I woke up. I tried screaming for you, but he shoved his hand down my mouth to keep me quiet. I know one of them had a gun, but the other one…. I don't know, I really don't," I tried to explain.

"Shh…it doesn't matter right now. Everything's going to be okay." I was so shaken up; I could barely keep myself still.

"Why me? Why now? Were those the guys who tried to blow us up today?"

"I don't know, Natalia. If so, we need to be extremely careful. Especially you."

"What makes you think they're targeting me? It could be you."

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I don't know if anyone knew I was here tonight. If so, they got it from an inside source."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the only people who could have arranged this is Calleigh and Eric, who I know wouldn't do that."

"So it is me."

"Maybe. We can't assume anything right now."

~Ryan's POV~

Her wrist was so swollen; it was bothering me that she wouldn't go to the hospital.

"I'll go in the morning, I promise."

"I'll take you." She looked right into my eyes. "Ryan," she whispered. I didn't know what to say. "You've done too much for me already," she broke the silence.

"No Nat, I'm not letting you go alone." She sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. I sat down next to her. I could tell by the way she was looking at me that there was something else missing from the story. She wanted to tell me—but couldn't.

"I'll listen, whatever you need to say."

"Ryan, I….."

"Are you okay?" I asked, seeing if that would help provoke the last words.

"No…I'm not." I saw the tears well up in her eyes, the ones that had almost fallen earlier.

"They…said that no matter how many times I escaped, they would always come back." I didn't realize how much these guys wanted Natalia dead.

"I won't let that happen to you. Stay with me and you'll be safe." She looked up and gently wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Being careful not to hurt her, I lifted her a couple inches off of the bed and onto my lap.

"Look at me." She did. "I promise with my life that you're going to live, and no one will ever be able to touch you." Natalia bit her lip as she tried to keep the barricade of tears from overflowing.

"Let it fall. Let everything go; it's okay to cry." The tears fell. She buried her face into my green t-shirt. I ran my fingers through her gorgeous brown hair as she cried. Stroking that back of her head and down her shoulders, I said, "Let it all out. You've been through way too much today." Natalia had always been one of the stronger team members. In all of the years that we had worked together, I had never seen her drop even the slightest hint of emotion. I had never imagined tears from her. But she needed me so badly. I had to ignore myself and focus on her.

"Ryan," she began, lifting her head off of my shirt.

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. I'm here to help you when you need it." She wiped the water droplets from her eyes.

"Ryan, will you stay here with me tonight?" I must have looked confused, considering I was already sleeping over, and she sensed that.

"I mean here, in this room with me."

"As long as that makes you happy." She smiled. I slid into the bed next to her.

"Natalia, let me see your wrist." I noticed that there was an indentation on the swollen part.

"That's…that's a barrel of a gun." Judging by the look on her face, I assumed she hadn't known.

"Calleigh can probably identify the gun tomorrow." Only then did I look at the time and realize that it was 4:15 in the morning.

"She should be getting up soon. I'll text her in a bit," I volunteered. I saw the drowsiness in Nat, and reached over to turn off the lamp. Once I was back on the pillow, she instantaneously snuggled her body against mine. I smiled. Score. I tenderly rubbed the top of her arm to get her to calm down.

"Relax…" I felt her even breathing within a couple of short minutes. Finally, I let myself rest. Until my phone vibrating in my pocket woke me up. It was from Horatio.

"Tell Natalia to stay home today. You can stay with her."

I was looking forward to more time with Natalia, and I reached over to the nightstand to switch off the alarm. I took that time to text Calleigh and tell her about the gun imprint on Nat's her arm.

Natalia woke up at 9:30. Which is especially late for a CSI. When she sat up I awoke too, and her initial panic about the time was almost funny.

"H told us to take the day off." She relaxed.

"You're the best, Ryan."

"It wasn't me!"

"Well if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now, would I?"

She had a point.

~Natalia's POV~

Waking up next to Ryan…was the best feeling that had come to me in a while. After the first time I woke up, I lied down and fell back asleep again. Ryan wasn't next to me like I expected him to be, but I saw him in the kitchen once I walked out.

"Sleep well?" he teased, and that was when I noticed that it was almost 11. Calleigh is coming over in 20 minutes or so to check out your arm. I flipped my wrist over to see the huge bruise and barrel mark.

"Ouch," he said, looking at it. I felt the same way. "Do you want anything to eat?" he changed the subject.

"No, I'm okay. You?"

"Nah, I'm fine from dinner last night." After grabbing a water bottle, I wandered over to the couch that Ryan and I were sitting on earlier. Much to my delight, he followed me.

"Honestly," I started. "What the hell is going on?"

"I wish I could tell you. Horatio offered police protection, and I said yes."

"I would have accepted anyway." The doorbell rang. Calleigh half-walked, half-ran inside, with Alexx right on her heels. They both went straight to me.

"Baby, what happened?" Alexx asked, looking shocked. Calleigh was interested in the pattern embellished into my left arm.

".38," she said immediately.

"Honey, you need to get yourself checked out," Alexx commented, repeating the plea Ryan had given me earlier.

"Ryan's taking me in a bit." They turned to look at him. While Calleigh took pictures of my arm, Alexx went over to talk to my protector. I didn't know what they were talking about, but then again I had no reason to care.

"How are you doing?" Calleigh asked gently, equipped with her little southern accent.

"I'm okay…just a little confused I guess."

"Why?"

"The attackers said that they were going to come back, and I have no idea why."

"You have police protection outside of your house. They'll keep you safe."

"I hope so."

"Baby, Ryan's going to take you to the hospital, and they're going to bandage your wrist." She turned to Ryan. "Make sure she follows the doctor's orders. It's nasty, but it will heal in time."

"Feel better, Natalia," Calleigh waved as she walked out of my front door. I didn't make a move to go and get dressed.

"You coming?" Ryan asked, trying to sound gentle and comforting. I gave him an A for effort. Sighing, I finally stood up.

"Take your time, Nat." I managed a smile and said, "Give me five minutes." I threw on a light purple tank top and jeans. It was casual, but I wasn't going anywhere dressy. Ryan was fully dressed by the time I came out.

"Let's go." We drove. It turns out that Alexx had already scheduled an appointment for me, so Ryan and I didn't have to wait.

"Do you want me to come back with you?" he whispered in my ear. I nodded silently. He was a part of this now. The doctor took some x-rays, and all through it Ryan looked nervous and uneasy. Even more so than I. We were surprised when Alexx herself came in, but then again it was Alexx. She loved us all too much not to.

"You broke it, baby. What color cast do you want?" I wasn't surprised. It hurt too much.

"Umm…"

"I'll give you purple." She knew it was my favorite color, so I didn't object. The cast was heavy and uncomfortable, but I had to live with it for the next three and a half weeks.

"I knew it was broken," Ryan said randomly as we walked.

"Did Alexx tell you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," I teased.

"If you must know, she told me back at your house." Ryan took me back home, and stayed with me faithfully all day long. By the time night fell, he was still there. Right by my side, like he promised.

"You didn't have to stay with me the whole day."

"But I have to stay at night?"

"Yes," I smiled.

"It's not a big deal, Nat. You needed me."

"I always will."

~Ryan's POV~

She was so beautiful and adorable, I could barely control myself. Natalia said that she would always need me, that I meant the world to her. No women had ever said something as simple as that, and make me feel so good about myself. Her tiny pajamas weren't making it go away either. A pair of perfect-length boy shorts and a black tank top made her look like the equivalent of a Victoria's Secret model. That was why I volunteered to sleep here.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound casual. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I need a Motrin." She started to get up, and I gently pushed her back down.

"I'll get it. What hurts? Your wrist?" She nodded. "I can imagine. Wait here." I went out into the kitchen to get the bottle for her. I remembered seeing her grab it from the cabinet on the far right side of her kitchen earlier today. I was about to turn around and go back to Nat, but then a bright orange sticky note on the cabinet door caught my eye. On it, it said "Ryan...3" I couldn't even move for a couple of seconds. Natalia…was sharing the same feelings for me. Everything that I had wanted was finally happening.

"Here's your Motrin." I handed the bottle to her. I desperately wanted to tell her about the note, but I couldn't make my dry mouth form the words. I realized that it was probably more practical to let life take us wherever it wanted to.

"Thanks….Hey Ryan? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why did you stay?"

"Because, Natalia. Because I care about you that much. Listen to me. If something happens to you when I'm not here, I feel responsible for it. I can't live that down. If you get hurt because of me, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life. I can't let you leave me. I can't…" I trailed off. I realized how much I had been holding up inside of me. I also realized how much I had just told Nat.

"Ryan, I had no idea. But it means so much to me that you're here. That you care enough to help me out. To protect me. Nick would have never done-" I cut her off.

"Don't talk about him. He doesn't deserve you."

"I know Ryan. But it's hard to just forget someone like that."

"I understand. It takes time to heal."

"Thanks for caring, Ryan."

"I'd do anything for you."

"I need you in my life right now."

"I know you do. That's why I'm here." She brought her face closer to mine. "I'm here for you, too."

"Together we're strong. We are not going to get hurt." She took that as a cue to lie back on the bed. In doing so she took me with her. Just like the previous night, she rested her head on my chest. I turned off the light, seeing that she was tired. Lying there in the dark, I realized that Natalia had quickly become the main focus in my life. That without her, I was nothing. Softly and quickly, I placed a kiss on her head. I could tell that she felt it, but she didn't say anything. And I felt great about it.

~Natalia's POV~

I honestly thought I was dreaming. Until he did it again in the morning. Ryan kissed my head. Ryan, the one that I thought I would never be able to have.

We woke up early, unfortunately having to work again. He gently placed a kiss on my hair. Instantly I was pulled out of my fog of sleep. I turned around a smiled. "It works every time."

"Well that's good to know," he said laughing. That was when I noticed the blood smear on my wall.

"Ryan? Was that always there?" He came over to look.

"It's not yours, and it's not mine, so it might be one of the intruders."

"I don't remember either one of the two guys bleeding enough to cause a blood smear that size." He looked worried.

"Was there a third guy?" At that moment it all hit me. I became scared out of my mind. He sensed that, and said, "When we get back to the lab, the first thing that I want you to do is test the sample, okay?" I nodded. I could tell that Ryan was just as frightened by the whole situation as I was. But I couldn't let that get in the way of our work.

"Speaking of the lab, we better get going." We were running a little late, but at that moment I wasn't that worried about what time we clocked in.

Ryan was right; there was a third intruder. The DNA samples didn't match Evan or Diego, the two guys in our holding cells that attacked me.

It belonged to Maxwell Loden. He had quite a record, and the fact that he was still on the loose was making me anxious. I grabbed the print out and rushed to find Ryan. In the panic, I crashed into Eric.

"Eric, look I'm sorry, but I need to find Ryan." He grabbed my arm and made me stop.

"Natalia, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I just really need to find Ryan." Eric sighed and put his hands on his hips. He was mad that I wasn't telling him. But I guess he could see that I was upset, so all he said was, "He's in the interrogation room."

"Thanks Eric. I promise I'll explain later but right now I really need to go." Outside the glass walls, I waited impatiently for the interview to end. Ryan stole at glance at me through the window, and tried to hurry it up as much as he could. Once the officer had escorted the suspect out to the cells, he turned to me.

"Natalia, what'd you find?" He brought his voice down to a whisper to avoid unnecessary attention at the lab. Not that we weren't getting it already.

"There's another one out there. I'm scared, Ryan." I just flat out told him. No reason to hide it anymore.

"I know, I know. Listen, we're going to find Horatio and get the guy in here before he can do any more damage." Horatio dragged the guy in thirty minutes later.

"You want to tell me why your blood was found at Ms. Boa Vista's house?" H asked, putting his hands on the table. Normally there was only one, or maybe two CSI's in the interrogation, but this time the circumstances were a little different.

"I don't know," Max said, playing clueless.

"Look, your blood was on the wall. We know you were there. Why? WHY?" Ryan pressured, starting to get angry.

"I wasn't there!"

"Do these guys look familiar?" I asked, slipping pictures of Evan and Diego in front of him. I was planning to ask him that later in the questioning, but Ryan looked like he would explode if I didn't do something.

"Yeah, those are a couple of my pals."

"Well, since they broke into my house, I think it's safe to say that you were right there next to them." We weren't going down without a fight.

"Look, we were at a bar, and I may have gotten a little bit tipsy. I got cut on the way out to the parking lot." The story sounded like B.S to me, but I let him go on.

"It was bleeding, and they were trying to clean it up. But they were drunk too, and it got all over them. That's all I remember."

"Let me see," H demanded. The cut was definitely substantial enough to cause the smear on my wall.

"Don't leave town," H walked out of the room. After Mr. Loden had left, H walked over to Ryan and I.

"Ms. Boa Vista, I need you to stay somewhere else for the time being. Your house has become the primary crime scene." I knew exactly where I would be staying. "I suggest with Mr. Wolfe," H said with a smug look on his face.

"Sounds good," Ryan agreed, trying not to laugh. I smiled.

Ryan drove me back to my house after the day ended to grab a couple of my things. I really liked his place. And not just because Ryan was there.