Title: The Bet

Author: Kat1132

Beta's: I lost them. I'm going to go look for them.

Disclaimer: I do not own either CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, or any of its characters. This story is not intended to infringe on any copyrights by the makers of CSI and it's owners. No profit is being made for this piece of fiction.

Summary: AU Eric is dared to get the newest CSI not only in his bed, but to fall in love with him as well. But how will Ryan react? And what will happen when an escaped convict from NYC brings Messer and Flack? Crossover in Chapter 2. Ryan is the MC. Alive!Speed

Pairings: Ryan/Eric (obviously), Danny/Don (perhaps in the future, but minor if anything at all)f

Warnings: SLASH. Very AU. Speed is alive (and it will be explained). Danny Messer and Don Flack are coming in the second chapter along with a criminal that we all love to hate. This does not follow any sort of episode timeline or cannon, but I tried to stay at least somewhat true to the strange and obscure cases that land in the CSI's lap. And yes, I am taking several liberties with both canons. Don't worry, not to much. Some Spoilers (not sure how many or particular episodes, but there are some, none from the current seasons though, don't worry).

AN: This is the chapter when the crossover will come into play. I'm mentioning this beforehand because I know there will be questions. This is AU, completely and totally so Danny and Lindsay haven't even dated, much less gotten engaged/pregnant. I'm not sure if the Don/Danny pairing will play out at all; let me know if I should follow that through. I wanted to give this a more realistic vibe by giving them a case and an objective to help pull in the other elements.

Let me know what you think, and please, this hasn't been beta'd, so point out the errors so I can fix them.

Chapter Two:

Ryan woke up, sunlight shining in his eyes, a delicious aroma tickling his nose and a scruffy face grinning down at him. Timothy Speedle was sitting on his bed waiting for him to wake up, coffee in hand. Ryan pushed his torso off the bed, forcing his back to bend backwards, before flopping back down into the soft comfort. Speed watched this ritual with an amused smile before thrusting the lukewarm coffee under Ryan's nose. Ryan flipped over onto his back and accepted the much welcome offering with relish. He sipped the divine liquid and closed his eyes in bliss as the flavor hit his brain; this was why he woke up every morning.

Speed and Ryan sipped their coffee in mutual appreciation. They didn't speak or even look at one another as they enjoyed their bliss. It was only once the liquid gold had vanished that Ryan reopened his eyes and focused on his friend.

"So," started Ryan. He knew perfectly well why Speed had let himself into his apartment (they had traded keys years ago), but he wanted to make his friend fish a little for the details.

"So? Are you going to tell me all about your 'date'?" Ryan rolled his eyes; Speed couldn't be subtle to save his life.

"It went fine." Ryan protested when he saw the incredulous look. "We went out to dinner and talked over trivial things, then we went to that new club, Essence, and then he dropped me off here."

"No good night kiss? Plans for a future date? There's no way the Eric Delko I know would have let you go so easily, even if he was half blind," said Speed.

Ryan examined the empty coffee mug in his hands, avoiding Speed's eyes. "Well he did make me promise to call this afternoon."

"Ha, I knew it!" Ryan narrowed his eyes in annoyance but did not say anything. Speed and Ryan spent the morning going over the details of the date. Speed was slightly surprised at the sudden turnaround in Eric's behavior and commented as such to Ryan who shrugged it off in typical Ryan fashion.

Speed knew his friend. Ryan was half in love with Delko already and Eric probably knew it. It honestly unsettled Speed because Delko didn't tend to suddenly start showing interest in anyone, particularly a guy, without something else involved. For Ryan's sake, Speed hoped that Eric had finally analyzed his actions towards the newbie and realized that Ryan was a great guy and definitely worth getting to know, even if it took forever to loosen him up.

Speed and Ryan made breakfast and devoured the small meal of toast and eggs before Ryan kicked Speed out of his house. He had to get ready for his coffee date with Delko after all, and didn't Speed have other things he had to do with his time than bug Ryan?

Speed left with a roguish grin announcing that he would return for more details from Ryan, and if Ryan didn't produce said details, he would announce his 'living' status to Eric and get the details from him. Ryan laughed because he knew perfectly well that Speed wouldn't get around to reintroducing himself to the crime lab for at least another few days. He gave Speed a shove and told him to mind his own business, knowing Speed never would.

Closing the door on his nosey friend, Ryan returned to his bedroom to change the sheets and make the bed. He then proceeded to clean his house extensively during the three hours between Speed's departure and when he needed to call Eric.

-

They met at a local bakery. No nonsense Latin women bustled around calling out orders and delivering food with swift efficiency. Spanish flowed around them in a stream of harried voices. Ryan was glad Eric was with him. He knew enough Spanish to get by, but this type of atmosphere overwhelmed him.

Eric's eyes were alight though, a grin splitting his face handsomely. He was seriously enjoying this. It reminded him of his last family reunion.

Getting their food didn't take long as Eric ordered. A few of the women called out to him as though they were old friends, and they exchanged jokes and pleasantries before Eric introduced him to the formidable shop ladies.

One of the elder women made a sly comment from the look on her face, though Ryan didn't catch what it was, before she turned and practically threatened Eric.

Eric just laughed and got their food before ushering Ryan to a table.

The two men sat in silence for a while. It was crazy enough in the small building that there was no lack of noise, but the flowing Spanish soothed Ryan's ragged nerves like a slow song on the radio would. He let himself get wrapped up in the language, occasionally picking up on a strand of conversation before it flew over his head again.

Strangely enough, the silence between them wasn't uncomfortable as most of the silences between the two had been before last night. Ryan could tell something was bothering Eric, but he didn't mention it. If Eric wanted to tell him, he would.

Eric was chewing on a question, thinking it through. If he asked it wrong, he might lose the interesting new camaraderie they had formed last night. But the question was burning. He couldn't think of anything else.

"So," Eric finally took the plunge, "why didn't you ask me why I've suddenly shown an interest in hanging out with you?" Ryan blinked in surprise. He certainly hadn't expected the question to come out of the blue, much less be pointed out so bluntly.

"I figured it didn't matter." Eric looked skeptical so Ryan elaborated. He probably didn't want to talk about this anymore than Eric did. "I mean, it's not like we can go back and fix wherever it was I screwed up so badly."

Eric was surprised. Ryan made it sound like it was Ryan's fault for how the lab had treated him. The Ryan Wolfe he thought he knew would have eagerly blamed the lab for his misfortune. His whole perception of Ryan shifted.

"And besides, if this is a short thing, then I didn't want to ruin it by questioning your motives."

"'Ruin' it?

Ryan smiled. It seemed sad, though Eric could honestly say he didn't see enough of Ryan's smiles to tell the difference between this one and ones he'd glimpsed before. And while normally when Eric saw Ryan smile he felt angry, a sense of immense hurt that Ryan could smile while Eric was so upset. When he caught sight of this smile, however, he felt his heart ache for Ryan though he couldn't say why.

"I'm lonely." Eric looked at Ryan quickly. That was definitely not what he expected.

"What did you just say? I thought you said you were lonely?"

Ryan's lips quirked up in genuine amusement at the tone Eric was using. "I'm serious. I alienated most of my friends on Patrol when I became a CSI."

"But didn't you say that we couldn't go out yesterday because you were meeting a friend?"

Ryan smiled again. It was such pure joy at the mention of his friend that Eric was shocked. The expression did weird things to his insides. He was used to getting those weird feelings from women, but to have a guy give him butterflies? He'd really have to watch himself if he wanted to win the bet and not break himself in the process.

"Yeah, he's been out of town for a while, but hopefully he's here to stay," said Ryan.

Eric couldn't place how that made him feel, it certainly wasn't jealousy. "Sounds like you guys are close. When did you meet?"

"Back in high school. I was the new kid, he was the loner, we hit it off when the half the school got sick including both of our chemistry partners."

"Sounds like nerd love," said Eric somewhat bitter, but unsure as to why. It didn't make him feel better when Ryan outright laughed at him.

"No way, we're just like brothers. We just really hit it off. We had a lot in common and I ended up following him down here after I finished my bachelor's degree."

"So if you followed him down here, why did he leave? Was he trying to get away or something?" asked Eric, more out of politeness than actual interest.

"It's complicated," Ryan said, and left it at that.

Eric let Ryan end the conversation and asked for the check. After paying for their meals, which magically disappeared despite all attempts to savor the delicious flavors, Eric took Ryan home before heading off himself.

Eric smiled as he got in his car and pulled away from Ryan's house. That went well.


Last Night, Riker's Island, New York:

He was sure it would work. The bribes had been paid, the gears greased by large sums. Soon, Sonny Sassone would be a free man. There was just one more complication to be dealt with. The guard who patrolled the halls needed to be taken care of before the plan could be set into motion. They couldn't find any leverage on the dumb bastard, and they couldn't have any insurance that he wouldn't turn tail and squeal on the whole operation should they include him in the scheme. He would have to be taken out.

Once the guard was out of the picture Sonny would be back. And the Tanglewood Boys would get their revenge on the traitor, Danny Messer.

-

Ron Rolsasky was making his nightly rounds at Riker's Island Prison. He had worked there for three years, dealing with some of the most twisted minds New York had to offer.

Ron made his way to the high security ward, flashing his light into each cell, checking that the occupants were still where they were supposed to be. He passed by Sonny Sassone's cell and notice the Italian man wide awake, fully dressed, standing, and staring directly at him; smiling his crooked smile that made Ron want to knock all his crooked teeth out.

"What are you doing up, Sonny?" he asked the black haired man, not really interested in the answer.

"Say good night, Copper." Ron felt something crash into his back. He went down, knocked out cold.

-

Mac Taylor's steel grey eyes snapped open at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He glanced over at the large digital, neon green numbers of his clock and became instantly alert. It was almost five o'clock in the morning. There was only one person who would be calling him at this time of night, and Stella Bonasara wasn't the type to call over nothing.

"Taylor," announced Mac, running a hand over his face and through his short cropped marine cut hair.

"Mac, Sonny Sassone broke out of Riker's last night."

-

Only twenty minutes later Mac Taylor walked into his packed office. His presence was immediately notice. Taylor, an ex-marine, was not someone easily forgotten. From the windy city of Chicago, the power he carried in his aura demanded respect. Mac always stood up straight and kept eye contact. His suites were always pressed, (except after an all-nighter) his shoes always shined. He was a detective and in charge of the CSI's who worked New York City. Mac was well respected by the mayor and all the different police chiefs, even if they didn't see eye to eye on all of the cases.

After losing his wife on 9/11, Mac drifted away from his friends and colleagues. Now, only fifteen minutes after five in the morning, every member of his team was crammed into his office.

"Where are we?" asked he as he moved to his desk. The other people occupying the close quarters moved to let him by.

"We've been able to ferret out some of the inside contacts but as to where they went, nobody's talking." Stella a slim woman of his height and dwarfing curly hair spoke up.

"The guy in the cell across from Sonny's ID'd one of the Tanglewood Boys as the guy who knocked out the guard." Don Flack, a detective who worked with them so often he was like family to most of them, spoke while checking his memo book.

"And how's he doing?" Mac wanted to know.

Hawk, the former ME and second newest addition to the team, answered, "He got a nasty concussion when he hit the ground, but no lasting damage. He say's he didn't see the guy who wacked him."

"Well at least we don't have a DB to deal with," said Mac as he sat down.

The team stayed silent as Mac thought over what step to take next.

Danny Messer in particular was sitting on the edge of his chair. With blond highlighted brown hair and ice blue eyes covered by thin rectangular glasses, Danny was a looker. He was in very good shape and a trouble maker. He had the issue of not being able to turn off his mouth at times. He used to be a friend of Sonny's, and on his way into Sonny's gang, the Tanglewood's. Danny's life had changed when he had discovered chemistry and science.

Danny knew Sonny would be out for revenge. But who Sonny thought had wronged him bothered Danny more than his actual escape. Sonny took revenge very seriously, and if he knew Sonny the way he thought he did, Sonny would be gunning for him, not Mac.

"Someone go check with all the private and public airports as well as all car rental records and security. See if either Sonny or his friend left us a trail."

The team dispersed to try and get Mac's tall order to him in a timely manner.

-

Sonny smiled at Joe Spegal as the man on the other side of the bars reached down and unhooked Ron's keys from his belt. As soon as Sonny was out of his cell the two ran out of Riker's and to the nearby air base. Sonny walked on to the plane and as soon as the other man had closed the door he turned to the pilot and announced their departure. The man flying the plane nodded his assent and turned the plane towards the runway.

As the plane was taking off, the pilot turned back to the two men celebrating their well executed plans. "Where to, gentlemen?"

"Miami," said Sonny with conviction. When the other man in the cabin looked at him strangely, he answered the unspoken question. "There's a sure fire way to get to Messer, and he lives in Miami."

Mike Gord didn't like the way this conversation was sounding. Whoever this Messer guy was, it sounded like he had ticked off the wrong people and someone else was going to be paying for it.

Mike resolved that as soon as this job was done he'd disappear. There was no way he wanted involved in what was going on. If the money hadn't been so good he wouldn't even be here now. He sighed into his headset and turned the plane towards Miami. The sooner these two got out of his plane, the better.

-

"Mac," Stella said walking into his office holding a manila folder, "We've got a lead. A video feed from the private airfield close to Riker's. Sonny and Joe Spegal were seen getting into a private jet. I just got off the phone with air control, guess where they were headed?" Mac didn't even try to guess knowing that she'd tell him faster if he just waited her out. "Miami."

"Nice work, Stell."

"That's not all." The smile on Stella's face was big enough to light the lab. "We got the pilot, a Mike Gord." She smacked the file she was holding against her hand and turned to accompany Mac walk through the lab. "What's the next step?"

"I think we should send someone down to Miami to help them out."

Stella paused, "You're thinking about Danny." The two paused in the corridor, turning to face each other

Mac faced her, expecting that she was going to argue with him. "He's the obvious choice. He knows Sonny and he was telling me yesterday that he had a friend who recently was added to Horatio's team."

"Well someone should go with him."

"I can't spare anyone else from the lab. We had a triple homicide last night. I need everyone here working the evidence. That we can even send Danny is a miracle."

"Well, how 'bout Flack?" asked Bonasara.

Mac thought about it. There was a new detective that had yet to get his feet wet. "As long as he clears it with his captain."

-

Sonny settled back down into his leather seat. He'd gotten word that Ryan Wolfe was working as a cop in Miami. He remembered the little squirt from back in New York. Sonny blamed Ryan primarily for Danny pulling out of becoming a Tanglewood. If Wolfe hadn't introduced Danny to chemistry and made him into such a God damn nerd, Danny would have followed Louie into the Tanglewood gang like a good little dog.

Wolfe screwed up Danny's future. And Danny cared the world for the little shit. Maybe offing Wolfe would teach Danny not to double cross the Tanglewood Boys, and more importantly Sonny Sassone.

-

The minute Don Flack heard of the plan for him to accompany his good buddy Danny Messer down to Miami, he was in his captains office negotiating the logistics. Captain Quinn finally decided to let Flack go, on the condition that Flack made sure to do all the paperwork and keep precise records. Flack promised without a thought. Quinn excused him for the rest of the day to go home and pack.

Don called Mac up to let him know Quinn was onboard. Then he called Danny, who had just been informed of his trip, to explain that he would be going down to Florida as well. The two went home to pack with plans to meet in the morning for breakfast before they went to JFK to catch their plane.

-

Horatio called his team together for a meeting, even requesting for Mr. Wolfe to come in on his day off. H pulled off his sunglasses and looked at the team assembled before him. He didn't miss that Eric had maneuvered so he was sitting next to the exhausted brunette. Horatio's face was grim as he prepared to tell this news.

"I just got a call from a friend of mine, Detective Mac Taylor from New York City. And it seems that Sonny Sassone has escaped from Rikers Island. Taylor and his CSI's have traced the man to Miami and he is sending two of his best men down to Miami to help us find Sonny. Danny Messer and Detective Don Flack are coming down here to help us out.

"Now I need someone who has room to give these two a place to stay," said Horatio looking through his brow at his team.

"I'll do it," said Mr. Wolfe almost before Horatio had stopped speaking. Ryan blushed when he realized that everyone was staring at him but he didn't explain. He was too tired to care at the moment.

He knew Danny from when he lived in New York City. Ryan and his family were vacationing in New York City when his parents and sister died in a car crash. Ryan, the only survivor of the three car pile-up, was sent to an orphanage until his Uncle Ron could be contacted to come get him. But Uncle Ron left Boston without telling anyone and he couldn't be found.

His uncle had gone on a long vacation to Europe and could not be contacted for several months. Ryan had been forced to go to school while he was waiting for the man's return. Ryan had met Danny in school in Chemistry class and, after a rocky start, they had quickly become friends. Danny had even become a protector of sorts for Ryan, who was a favorite target for bullies.

Ryan and Danny still spoke over the phone on occasion. Danny told Ryan everything, including his crush on one Don Flack. Ryan wondered how well Danny would handle the close quarters, but he didn't think the other man would mind too much.

He didn't know if Flack would be able to handle his OCD, but he knew Danny had been around him long enough to know how he liked things. Danny would be able to help him.

Eric was surprised that Ryan would offer to take not only one, but two, strangers into his home. He had experienced Ryan's OCD first hand when he picked Ryan up for dinner last night. There wasn't a single thing out of place at all. He was worried about how the strangers would react to Ryan's issues. But he trusted Ryan's judgment. Ryan knew more about his OCD than Eric did.

Since Horatio didn't question Wolfe's decision, so no one else felt they could either, though several significant glances were exchanged.

Horatio continued, describing what was known about Sonny's escape. Apparently, he had bribed several people, including guards, to orchestrate his escape. The New York CSI's had tracked him to a private jet captain who had admitted that he had flown Sonny to Miami. The man had died in holding due to an anonymous stabbing. The New York team was following leads to find the people on the inside that had helped Sonny escape.

Horatio asked for volunteers to go down to Miami Dade airport to pick Messer and Flack up. He guessed Wolfe would want go so he could meet Danny and Flack. Horatio wasn't surprised, after having observed the man's strange gravitation towards Mr. Wolfe all week, when Eric volunteered immediately after Ryan said he'd go. He was surprised, however, when Calliegh also decided to tag along.

Horatio gave the three of them permission to go and sent Natalia back to the DNA lab to work on the back log that had been piling up while she had been in the field.

Ryan got into the Hummer's back seat as Eric drove and Calliegh sat in the passenger seat. No one was speaking though Ryan could see that Calliegh was shifting with questions she wished to ask, but wasn't quite sure how to word so she wouldn't offend Ryan, and after the birthday present he had given her, she was unsure how to act around him.

Ryan wasn't going to answer any questions she didn't ask and so the ride to the airport was spent in silence.

-

Danny was sitting in the window seat, ice blue eyes eagerly peering down at the landscape was passing below the aircraft. Don was sitting beside him fast asleep, his head lolling back on his neck.

Danny's thought's roamed. But mostly they focused on Ryan. He remembered how they met. During sophomore year, he had walked into his last required science class, chemistry. It was the first class of the first day and Danny was late, as had become usual for him; he had been talking with Sonny.

Danny had planned on slacking off in the class as he did in every other class. Grades weren't important when your future was secure as a Tanglewood.

When Danny looked around the classroom there was only one seat open and the only reason that one seat was open was the simple fact that Danny had claimed it way back in freshman year. A mop of brown hair was slumped over an open chemistry book in the seat next to it. There was no way the kid could have known he had just sat himself next to a future Tanglewood.

Danny sat down next to the skinny boy. The kid actually smiled shyly at Danny and introduced himself. It was odd. No one had acted friendly towards Danny since he had started hanging out with Sonny.

Ryan Wolfe was quiet and shy. He had lost the things most precious to him and wasn't cowering in his grief, but living for his parents and sister who had died. He wore sweater-vests, a thing that Danny had soon learned to recognize as Ryan's way of showing his insecurity. Ryan rarely stood up for himself, something Danny had helped him get over after only two months of acquaintance. Ryan had a quality about him that made you want to hug him and never let him go. Perhaps it was his giant green eyes, or his elfin features, but Ryan had a look about him that screamed a need for protection.

Only a few weeks had passed since Ryan and Danny met. Danny was actually passing chemistry. Not only did he pass, but he actually got an 'A'. For the first time in his high school career Danny had felt smart. He had pulled B's without really trying and taking only the mediocre classes offered by the school. But having Ryan sit next to him in most of his classes, so excited about what they were learning, had inspired him in a way nothing had before. It was like Ryan lit a fire under Danny, making him want to make the grades.

Ryan's enthusiasm was contagious when he latched onto the schools gruff loner, Timothy Speedle and drew him into their study group. Ryan and 'Speed' as they had affectionately named the kid when he expressed a deep dislike for 'Timothy', were thicker than thieves, and after seeing how well Speed handled himself when accosted with some of the more arrant gang members, Danny felt comfortable leaving his vulnerable new friend alone with him.

Alone Ryan was persuading, but after he and Speed had joined forces, they inspired Danny so much he drifted away from Sonny and his brother Louie's influence. He had caught Sonny teasing the younger brunette one day after school. When he had seen his friend being pushed around like a sack by Sonny he had nearly snapped.

Ryan was the one who had introduced him and Speed to the "dream job". Ryan helped him get his life back on track. He owed a lot to Ryan Wolfe.

He had been devastated for his friend when he heard about Speed's passing. While he and Speed had been close, each of them special to Ryan in their own way, he knew that his relationship with Speed was nowhere near Ryan's. Even so, he and Ryan had spent long hours curled around the phone sobbing over their friends death, falling asleep to the comforting words of the other drifting through the wires and over the miles to soothe them into sleep.

After Ryan lost his parents, and with his uncle always traveling Ryan latched on to his friends. The younger man was very dependent on his friends. Danny knew that the wound that gaped when they had discovered Aiden's mutilated body was equaled only by Ryan's pain for Speed's passing.

Speed was older than the Danny and Ryan and after he graduated college, Speed moved down to Miami, having realized that he couldn't handle being a criminalist in his hometown. Ryan was offered a full ride scholarship to Boston College after graduating valedictorian, and Danny got into the minor leagues. Ryan would drive down every once in a while on school breaks to hang out with his friend, share a few beers and just catch up in general. After graduating college, Ryan followed Speed down to Miami.

The occasional visits were enough for a while, but without Ryan and Speed's constant support, Danny fell back in with his brother and the Tanglewood's.

Last year when Louie was beaten half to death and put in the hospital after saving Danny from a murder rap, Ryan flew up from Miami to keep Danny away from the edge. While Danny had a whole family looking out for him and his brother, despite that relations had been strained due to the brother's gang ties, Ryan only had Danny now that Speed was gone. Ryan took a week of vacation time to stay with Danny, to be the man's rock as Danny had so often been for Ryan. Ryan really helped Danny get through that week

A particularly loud snore drew Danny's attention away from the blurring landscape and to Danny looked over at Don and winced in pity. When they got off the plane Don was going to have a horrible crick in his neck. Danny smiled. He was lucky Don was able to go with him. Don would love Ryan, he was sure of it.

Maybe Don could help him convince Ryan to ditch the people who were so cruel to him in Miami and come back to New York. Danny would even let Ryan live with him until he found his own place. Danny was sick of getting phone calls from Ryan where his friend was either exhausted or in tears due to the shoddy treatment he was receiving. Worse, Ryan always shrugged it off, which made Danny madder than heck.

Maybe things were better for Ryan now, though. Danny hadn't spoken to Ryan in two weeks, but people could change, and had, in less time. Danny was just truly worried. Ryan was such a great guy that he couldn't allow someone to break him.

Danny understood the pain of losing a comrade. When Aiden died he didn't know what he was going to do. He had wound up over at Don's place drinking himself into a daze and picking a star to name for Aiden. It had made sense when he was drunk.

It was about then that he began to change how he looked at his friend after Don helped him out. Don just let him cry and didn't judge. Don had played hoops until they were both too exhausted to even lift the ball anymore.

Yes, Danny was glad to be going to see his friend. He was glad Don was coming with him. And he couldn't wait to stick Sonny back behind bars where he belonged.

-

Ryan was nearly bouncing in place as they waited outside of security for Danny to arrive. He was mildly curious about the man who had caught Danny's interest, but it was pushed aside in favor of the bubbly feeling of excitement.

His grin threatened to split his face as he spotted his friends spiky blond hair walking through the gate. He would recognize Danny Messer's smile anywhere. Danny dropped his laptop bag to the floor and met Ryan in a grand hug that swept the slightly younger man off his feet with his enthusiasm.

The enthusiastic meeting between the two threw off their companions. Danny and Ryan began speaking quickly, catching up. When they finally released each other, they spent a minute just staring at each other to memorize the changes the other had undergone.

Finally they pulled away completely. Danny turned and said, "It's good to see you Ry, let me introduce my good friend, Don Flack." Ryan reached out to take Flack's hand, noticing the man's piercing blue eyes first about his appearance, strong features immediately after.

"It's nice to meet you," said Flack as he stretched out his hand. "Danny's told me a lot about you. He didn't shut up more ten minutes, he was yapping 'bout you so much."

"Hey, you got to sleep didn't ya?"

"No thanks to you."

Ryan released Don's hand after giving it a firm shake. "Danny's been known to do that. God knows he's spent over an hour talking over the phone with me about you."

"All good I hope?" replied Don.

"Most of it." Danny shot Ryan a glare. Ryan caught it and gave the blond a smirk, which Danny returned with a fake to Ryan's head. Ryan just smiled as he raised his hand to defend himself.

Ryan had nearly forgotten that Eric and Calliegh had come with him until Calliegh coughed. The three other males turned to see Ryan's coworkers staring at them. Neither had ever seen Ryan act like this. (The closest was when Eric held Ryan while they were dancing at Essence two nights ago.) He was so carefree. It was as though he'd shed twenty pounds of weight, or gained it.

"Hey Ry, these the clowns you been telling me about?" Calliegh and Eric couldn't quite tell whether or not Danny was joking or being serious.

"Knock it off, Danny. These are my colleagues Eric Delko and Calliegh Dunseque." The two shook first Danny's hand then Don's.

"It's nice to meet you," said Calliegh. "So, Ryan didn't tell us that you guy already knew each other."

"Yeah, Ry and me go way back. Lived with me up in New York for a while."

"Really! So, What do you specialize in Danny?" asked Calliegh.

"Trace mostly," answered Danny lifting his laptop bag onto his shoulder, before he turned back to Ryan, "Hey Ry, you know where we're staying?"

"Well, actually, Ryan volunteered to have you guys stay with him." Calliegh answered before Ryan could speak up.

Danny slapped Ryan on the shoulder, a wide grin on his face. Ryan grimaced as Danny hit him, but smiled anyway. Danny noticed and turned to look at his friend properly. Ryan looked like he hadn't slept in days. The bags under his eyes were purple. The kid had slimmed down, and not in a healthy way if Danny was to judge.

Ryan shifted uncomfortably under Danny's stare. He was nervous about if he'd changed since he had last seen Danny, and whether or not Danny would mind.

Danny noticed Ryan's nervousness and gave the younger man a gentle smile. He knew that Ryan had a tendency to over think things (a side effect of his OCD).

Ryan shifted despite Danny's calming smile. He could feel the weight of Eric and Calliegh's stares. He was desperate to break the awkwardness that had fallen over the group. "So," he said, "are you sick of the airport yet?" Both Danny and Don laughed while Eric and Calliegh smiled. Eric was somewhat familiar with Ryan's wit, but as Calliegh hadn't encountered Ryan outside of work she hadn't seen him loosen up enough to joke around.

Danny threw his arm around Ryan's shoulder and grabbed Don's wrist (effectively dragging the older man behind them) as the three headed off to baggage claim.

Calliegh looked at Eric surprise in her eyes. Eric just smiled and shrugged. The Ryan outside of work was completely different from the man they knew on the job.

They just smiled and followed the three men towards the baggage claim.

"Good God Danny, are you moving in or something?" Ryan was staring at the three bags Danny had checked separate from his laptop bag.

"Na, you know I need a special bag for my shoes." Ryan laughed at such a ridiculous notion. It's true that Danny cared about clothes more than Ryan did, and they didn't know how long the two from New York would be staying, but three seemed a little extreme to Ryan. To be fair, Don had the same amount of bags Danny had, but Ryan wasn't comfortable enough to tease Don, or anyone else he'd just met, the way he teased one of his oldest friends.

-

It had taken about an hour to get out of the airport and onto Highway 95, the freeway that ran through Miami. Ryan couldn't keep his eyes open. He was squished against the window behind Eric, who was driving, with Danny next to him in the middle, and Don against the other window.

Don was staring out the window taking in the palm trees. He'd never had a reason to leave the state before, and he'd certainly never seen palm trees. Danny too was peering over Don's shoulder at the trees scenery passing them by. It took about thirty minutes to go ten miles. They were crawling along when Danny felt something land on his shoulder. He turned to investigate and saw Ryan fast asleep. He smiled down at the mop of hair. Ryan needed the sleep, and to be honest, Danny didn't really mind being his temporary pillow.

Don looked over at Danny and saw Ryan asleep. He had heard enough about Ryan from Danny to know what kind of relationship they had. It was purely platonic. He stared at the younger guy from over Danny's shoulder. Ryan looked like one of those people made to be hugged and mothered to death.

"So how long until we get to Ryan's place?" asked Don.

Eric looked where they were on the highway and guessed, "About twenty minutes in this traffic."

"Do either of you know where he lives?" asked Danny

"I've been there once," said Eric, earning a sharp look from Calliegh. "It's a nice place, and decently close to the crime lab."

"Nice."

Eric turned off the highway and on to the off ramp that lead them down into the heart of Miami. True to his word, in twenty minutes they had pulled into Ryan's driveway. Eric, Calliegh and Don got out of the car first. Danny didn't move, not wanting to wake Ryan up any sooner than he had to. While Eric and Calliegh got his and Don's bags out of the back, Don opened Ryan's door and pulled the brown haired man out carefully trying not to move him too much. Ryan stirred but didn't wake up as Don pulled the smaller man into his arms. Danny pulled out his key to Ryan's place and opened the door for Don and Ryan, who had woken up when Don moved him out of the car.

"Where do you want the bags, Ry?"

"Go ahead and put them in the guest room. And don't forget to close the door."

Calliegh looked around the house with an interest she tried to hide. Her eagerness was noted but not commented upon. Several people in the lab had bets going about what Ryan's house looked like. She eagerly followed Danny and Eric to Ryan's guest room.

Ryan got out of Don's arms and walked around his house, Don following like a lost puppy as he watched Ryan switch all the lights on then off again. With a methodical precision Ryan made sure none of the lights were left on. By the time Danny, Eric and Calliegh had come back all of the lights were off again and Ryan was washing his hands for the fourth time.

Don watched all of this with something akin to fascination but more similar to horror. Danny pulled Don away when he saw the other man staring at Ryan. He knew that Ryan didn't like having an audience when he was fighting with his OCD. He led Don and the other two from Miami back out to the Hummer.

"He'll be out when he's done," was the only reply he gave when asked what Ryan was doing. Danny turned to Eric and Calliegh fire in his eyes. He opened his mouth, whether to tell them off or to demand an explanation he wasn't sure, but he needed to say something. Before the words had formed, Ryan walked out of the house and locked the door.

He opened the car door with his sleeve, something the others hadn't noticed him doing before, and they all piled in. Ryan let out a deep sigh when he saw the looks being exchanged by the other occupants of the car. It was getting worse. His OCD tended to act up in stressful situations. His tentative relationship with Eric coupled with his new house guests and hiding Speed's reappearance was piling up on him. Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.