Disclaimer: Not mine. sniff

Read this: English is not my mother language and all mistakes are my own. If you find a mistake, don't be shy and tell me. Contructive critizism is always welcomed.

Dedication: FrozenCellophane, for the driving experiences. :D

A/N: coughs Slightly cracky... I hope, you still enjoy it. :)

He's always punctual. Always in time.

Actually, he's quite proud of it. He dislikes people that make him wait. It's uncomfortable; waiting and waiting. That's why he's always punctual. Mostly even way too early. Just to make sure, nobody has to wait for him. It's annoying. He knows. And tries to avoid it.

You can say it's due to his OCD but a part of him believes that it's a polite action. It's better to wait because of being too early than waiting because being too late.

So, he really does not care if he has to wait for anybody else. He knows he's often way too early. It doesn't matter to him. To him, it's normal.

He likes being someone you can trust. Someone you will be there if it's needed, without staying away for too long. When you need him, he's there as soon as he can manage to get where you want him.

He has this certain reputation. And he's proud of it. And don't say he did not work for it because he did work for it. That's why it's so important!

But this day it was different. And he really didn't know what happened. He was just… too late. A lot too late. If you see it from Ryan's point of view. Because his priority is called punctuality.

And the reason why this day was the exception from the ever-working rule was awful as well; his alarm clock did not work.

His fucking alarm clock. The battery was spent.

He was too late because of a stupid alarm clock. Consider him crazy but Ryan Wolfe likes good reasons. Not this. An alarm clock that has stopped is not an adequate excuse for being too late.

This special day…

At first, he thought it normal. He did not think it was strange that the first rays of sunlight were shining through the curtain as he glanced at his watch that told him it was 4 am.

It was summer. Days started earlier. Especially in Miami, in Florida. So he turned around and fell asleep again happy about being able to do so (Yes, he likes sleeping.).

Later, much later, he woke up again, the sun now shining merciless on his face. He looked at his clock once more and wondered for a second why the sun was shining like this at 4 am, plus only a few seconds after he looked at the watch before.

That was when realisation struck him.

He jumped out of his bed, adrenaline flooding his system.

He was too late! Unbearable for Ryan Wolfe.

He never got dressed faster. And he never left his house this quick. He grabbed his keys, locked the door (once, not twice as usual) and hasted, almost in frenzy, to his car. The old lady next door just stared at him in disbelief. Normally, Ryan Wolfe was always calm and nice. Today, he did not even look at her. He shook her head. These young people…

Fortunately, the kit for work was always prepared and already stored in the trunk (by the way, this was also the day where he decided that his OCD was not always a curse), so Ryan just jumped in. On the way to the lab, he met several little obstacles.

First, there was a crosswalk. Nobody walked on it, so Ryan sped up. Nevertheless, a woman shrieked shocked as he drove by and he saw her waving a fist as he checked the rear-view. And then there was this chick with a dog. One of these very small dogs. It was not his fault that he nearly killed it. Honestly, that thing was just too small for its own good.

Understand, it's not that he does not care; it's just that he does not like being late. And no cross walker and no Chihuahua can keep him from minimizing the extend of his long sleep. His sleep that was too long. Because of this fucking alarm clock. An alarm clock!

Twenty minutes after his wakening, Ryan Wolfe arrived at the parking lot that belonged to the Miami Dade Police Department. Believe it or not: half an hour after his shift had started.

Three-quarters of an hour later than usual…

He grabbed the kit and ran to the lab, hoping he wouldn't have to meet H or –worse- Eric Delko. That would be no fun…

But, bad luck, the Cuban was the first to appear on his way. A smug grin plastered on his face as he discovered Ryan's form.

"You're late…" was all he managed to say. It was obvious that he struggled to keep from laughing out loud. For a moment, Ryan thought he had never disliked someone as much as he hated Delko in this very moment.

He just smiled back. A smile that did not reach his eyes. Eric didn't say anything more but he still grinned like a maniac. Ryan wished he could just hit this face. He wished it so badly. But he would never do it. Delko was a colleague. They had to work everyday with one another. Plus, the reputation… Sounds stupid but a man is only as good as his reputation. At least that's what his father had told him when he failed once more at being the best at school.

As Delko didn't seem to leave soon, he just passed by and walked on.

Natalia who was working in her small lab room shot him a curious glance as he walked past her glass wall.

Secretly, he was glad that he didn't have to talk to her as well. She spent a lot of time with Eric, so…

But just as he walked past a corner, Calleigh came to him.

"Hi, Calleigh." He greeted, hoping that she wouldn't tease him about it. She was not the one to make fun of him like Delko but still, she liked to tease him.

"Hey." She grinned. "You're late."

"Yeah…." He stared at his shoes. Of course, Calleigh, the teasing queen. He just hoped she'd loose interest in the course of the day.

"Not my fault." He mumbled. Calleigh just looked at him compassionately.

"You're not the only one who is too late today ." She whispered as if she was about to tell a top secret story of the CIA or so. Ryan cocked an eyebrow. Calleigh signalled him to lean forward.

"H isn't even here yet…" She reminded him oddly of a young teenage girl that just told her best friend an embarrassing detail about someone else.

"So, I suggest we grab a coffee and pretend we were busy all the time." He said, grinning, even as she just declared him as a teenage girl as well.

"Sounds good."

"What a pity, I could've slept longer…" Ryan complained. He had to admit that sleeping a little longer was definitely a pleasure. Punctuality or not.