Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: Miami nor any of its characters. I do own Rowan.

Author's note: Thank you all for following and reviewing this story! Sorry that you had to wait a bit longer for an update, but well, I've been busy. This chapter is a bit longer though. Well, nothing more to say I think. Just enjoy!

Natalia Boa Vista was watching Alexx while she was extracting the third bullet from the victims chest. She grimaced when the bone the bullet was in creaked. Alexx put the bullet in a sachet and gave it to Natalia.

'Well, that were all the three bullets. I'm sorry honey, but I can't tell you any more other than I already told you. No trace on the victim. He must have been shot from a long distance.'

'Thanks anyway, Alexx. I'll let Calleigh find out if the bullets match the bullets from the previous victims.'

'About that,' Alexx said. 'Calleigh and Ryan had a victim with the same MO this morning. But Ryan still hasn't showed up for my findings. Have you seen him?'

Natalia shook her head. 'No, I haven't. But Valera told me he had locked himself up with all his evidence. So he could avoid us as much as possible. He hasn't even eaten anything, I think.'

'Oh, my poor baby. Why does he have to make it so difficult for himself?'

'I don't know Alexx, but I think there is a lot more going on than he is willing to admit to us.'

Alexx nodded. 'I'm worried about him. As long as he is not gambling again.'

'Me too,' Natalia admitted. 'I will look for him when I get back to the lab. And if I find him I will send him over to you.'

'Please do.'

'No problem. Thank you Alexx.'

'Thank you too, honey.'

...

Natalia walked back to the lab to find Ryan, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

'Hey Valera, where did you say Ryan locked himself up?' Natalia asked the labrat.

Valera pointed. 'Just on the opposite of the hallway. But I haven't seen him for awhile now.'

Natalia looked through the glass windows into the room Valera had pointed at. But she didn't see Ryan.

Eric bumped into her. 'Hey Natalia, I'm sorry I didn't watch were I was going.'

'that's okay Eric. Have you seen Ryan today by any chance?'

'Eh… well not anymore since an hour ago. When he was acting like a little child in the locker room.'

Natalia walked to the locker room, but Ryan wasn't there as well. Maybe she had just missed him, when he was going to the morgue, Natalia thought. But still something didn't seem right. Ryan was never late at appointments. His OCD took care of that.

Natalia decided she would walk around the lab one last time. And then she saw it. The mess on the table where Ryan had put his evidence on. That wasn't Ryan at all. His OCD could definitely not handle that.

Natalia stepped inside the room. 'Ryan?' But there was no answer. Natalia walked a bit further into the room and tripped over something. She grabbed the table to stay on her own two feet and looked back to see where see had almost tripped over.

A leg… 'RYAN!' Natalia yelled whilst running to him. 'Ryan?' Natalia squatted next to his head and shook his shoulder carefully. 'Ryan!'

Ryan moaned and grabbed his stomach unconsciously.

'Ryan? What's wrong?' Natalia looked at Ryan's stomach. 'Oh my God, you are bleeding!'

'Natalia, what is wrong? Why are you screaming?' Eric asked. He was standing in the doorway. 'Everyone can hear you.'

'Eric, go get Alexx!'

'W-what? Why?'

'Now Eric! Quickly!'

Eric saw the serious look on Natalia's face and ran towards the morgue.

'N-no,' Ryan moaned.

'Yes Ryan, you need help.'

'I'm fine, just stomachache.'

'You're not fine, Ryan! You are bleeding!'

Ryan looked to his stomach and saw the blood. 'Oh damnit.'

Natalia stroked Ryan's hair. 'You'll be all right, okay? Alexx is on her way.'

Ryan heard the uneasiness in Natalia's voice and took her hand in his. 'Don't worry Nat, it is not that bad.' He wanted to sit up, but at that exact moment Alexx walked into the room.

'Stay down, Ryan!' She said severely.

Ryan obeyed.

'What happened?' Alexx asked Natalia.

'I don't know. I found him like this. But he says he has stomachache and he is bleeding.'

'Let me see, sweetie,' Alexx said to Ryan.

Ryan pulled his shirt down. 'No.'

'Ryan please.' Alexx tried to pull Ryan's hands away from his shirt, but Ryan didn't let go.

'No! No, please don't!' Ryan yelled somewhat panicked.

'Come on, Wolfe. Do you really think you can win it from the three of us?' Eric said who had walked into the room after Alexx.

Natalia pulled Ryan's hands away and Alexx unbuttoned his shirt.

'NO!' Ryan screamed. But he was powerless. Ryan put his hands over his face so he couldn't see the shocked faces of his colleagues. But nevertheless he heard them grasp and knew it wasn't because of the surgery wound.

Natalia saw the old scars and burns on Ryan's bare chest and abdomen. She was shocked. She had just never expect this. All those scars… just like Rowan, maybe even more. She now understood why he wouldn't let go of his shirt and she felt a bit guilty for forcing him.

Alexx was the first to recover from the shock and started to look at the surgery wound. 'Did you just had surgery, sweetie?' She asked.

Ryan nodded, his hands still over his face.

'How come it started bleeding again?'

'I… I don't know,' Ryan murmured.

'Oh crap,' Eric said. 'You do know how it started, Ryan. I punched him there,' he admitted. 'I'm really sorry Ryan.'

'For what have you been in surgery?' Alexx asked Ryan.

'My kidney,' Ryan said softly

'You kidney? Is something wrong with your kidney?'

'No, no, Rowan needed a new kidney.'

'Who is Rowan?' Alexx asked.

'His brother,' Natalia whispered.

'So you gave a kidney to your brother, Ryan?'

Ryan nodded.

'When?'

'Yesterday,' Eric filled in. 'That's why you called in sick yesterday.'

Ryan nodded again.

'Yesterday?' Alexx said shocked. 'Ryan! That are major surgeries! You can't just go to work the next day!

'I'm fine,' Ryan murmured.

'No, you are not fine! You are not fine at all! I'm going to call an ambulance. You need to get back to the hospital as soon as possible. You could have an internal bleeding!'

'No! No ambulance!'

'Yes, Ryan. An ambulance.'

'Please don't Alexx. Don't do this to me. I don't want everyone to see me like this,' Ryan begged.

Eric walked towards Ryan and helped him up. 'I'll bring him, it is parially my fault anyway.' He walked towards the elevator whilst supporting Ryan. Closely followed by Alexx and Natalia.

Natalia saw all the labrats watching her friend and it made her angry. He didn't deserve this. 'What are you looking at? Go back to work, you prying vultures!' She called.

...

Eric helped Ryan into the backseat of his car. Alexx sat down beside him, whilst Eric and Natalia took place in the front of the car. Eric started the car and drove with high speed towards the hospital.

Natalia clung to her seat fearful. 'Eric, can you please slow down. Before you get us all killed?!'

'No Eric, go faster!' Alexx screamed from the back of the car.

Natalia looked back and was startled to see Ryan in the bad state he was in. He looked white as a sheet and his surgery wound had started bleeding again. Alexx put a pressure bandage around Ryan's abdomen, whilst Ryan's head was resting on her shoulder. His eyes were squeezed shut. He must be in a lot of pain, Natalia thought to herself.

Eric stopped his car in front of the entrance from the hospital and got out. He helped Ryan out of the car and into the hospital, whilst Natalia and Alexx parked his car. There was nothing more they could do now, except for waiting. And the waiting was long.

…

Natalia started to worry even more when they hadn't heard anything from Ryan an hour later. Why hadn't he just told them that he needed to have surgery, she thought to herself. Why did he always kept everything to himself.

Alexx saw Natalia's worried look and put an arm around her shoulders. 'He will be okay, honey,' she said.

'I just don't understand Alexx. Why didn't he just told us?'

'Me neither,' Eric agreed.

Alexx sighed. 'Maybe we just saw a glint of why he didn't tell us. Who knows what might have happened to him in his childhood. And maybe that is the reason why he just doesn't trust people.'

'What do you think that has happened to him, Alexx?' Natalia asked.

'I don't know. And we can't force him to tell us if he doesn't want to.'

A man walked into the waiting area towards Alexx, Eric and Natalia. 'Are you here for Mr. Wolfe?' He asked.

The trio nodded.

'He is asking for Natalia,' the man said.

'Me? Why is he asking for me?' Natalia asked surprised.

Alexx gave her a little push. 'Maybe he wants to tell you something.'

Natalia stood up and the man pointed her in the right direction.

Ryan laid down onto a stretcher with his eyes closed.

Natalia walked towards him quietly. She took a folding chair and sat down next to him.

Ryan smiled. 'You don't have to be so quiet Natalia. I'm awake.'

'How did you know it was me?' Natalia asked puzzled.

Ryan opened his eyes and Natalia stared into them for a while. She could easily drown in those beautiful eyes… (who couldn't?;))

'I recognized the way you walked,' Ryan answered.

Natalia stroked Ryan's hair. 'You gave me quite a scare, Ryan.'

'Don't worry, Natalia. It wasn't anything serious. I should just had more bed rest instead of going to work. My body wasn't capable of standing a whole day yet, so close after surgery. But I'm okay now.'

'Why didn't you just tell us, Ry?'

Ryan closed his eyes for a second. 'It wasn't that I didn't want to tell you, I just couldn't.' He sighed. 'I still can't. I don't know how to climb out of this deep hole of secrets. I know you saw the scars and you probably want to know where I got them. But I don't know where to start. It is just such a deep hole of secrets and I haven't shared them with anyone before.'

'With a ladder, Ryan.'

Ryan looked at Natalia puzzled. Failing to understand.

'With a ladder you could climb out of that hole of yours,' Natalia said. 'Let me be your ladder, Ryan.'

Aww, how romantic, a ladder. Well, that was chapter 2. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you thought of it. See you in chapter 3!