A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! You are the greatest! I replied to each of your reviews, but then went all weird and so I don't know if they all came through. If they didn't just know that I am very thankful for all the reviews! I know this chapter is short, but I like how the end of this part parallels the first chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Three years later...

"So see you around midnight then?" Charlie asked his partner.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Ryan said, walking up to his apartment building, "Don't forget the fake IDs and the spare gun."

"Okay," Charlie said, moving on down the street.

Ryan sighed and walked up the rickety flight of stairs to his cramped apartment. He opened the door to the cluttered space he called home and threw his jacket over the chair by the door. Papers were scattered all over the apartment and there were empty pizza boxes and beer bottles on almost every flat surface. The messy state of the apartment still freaked him out, but he knew he had to keep up appearances if he was ever going to succeed on this mission. A mission that was supposed to have only lasted a year, but had soon dragged on to three. He had gotten used to Chicago in that time, even called it home once or twice, but at the back of his mind he knew there was somewhere else he should be.

Ryan knew he should sleep if he was going to be alert tonight, but he couldn't get his mind to shut down. He walked to the fridge and pulled out another bottle of beer. Popping the top he took a long swig before stooping to pick up the mail and then plopping on the couch. He couldn't count the number of nights he had spent on this couch, trying to drink away memories of her. Somehow he had never been able to do it, though. The alcohol might numb the pain for a while, but the memories were always just as fresh in the morning as they had ever been.

He flipped through the mail in his hand. Bill...catalog...another bill...advertisement... He stopped short when something caught his eye. It was a letter, addressed in a hand he recognized, her name on the return label. He hadn't heard from her since the night she kicked him out. He had sent her a letter when he made it to Chicago apologizing for the things that he had said, but she had never written him back. Which was just as well, he thought, made it easier to live a lie.

He slipped a finger under the edge of the seal and opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper. He got a sinking feeling in his stomach when he saw the tears stains on the paper and the short message inside:

Our daughter is dead. I need you to come home.

Calleigh

He held a hand to his mouth as the idea sunk in. He felt like he was going to throw up. His little girl..dead? What had happened? He was numb for quite some time, not feeling anything at all. Then all at once the reality of the situation hit, along with the grief behind it. Tears came to his eyes and he cried. He dropped the letter and put his face in his hands. Bitter tears of anguish and sorrow wracked his body for a long time. For the first time since coming to Chicago, he felt alone.

A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming! ;) I really didn't expect this story to be told from Ryan's POV, but it kinda ended up that way. If you liked it, please review! There is more to come!