Heyheyhey! Here's the next installment, now with most of the actual characters we all know & love.
Thankies for the reviews; because of them, this chapter is twice as long as the others & has a bit of the ship that this story is going to be about. I hope that even though you might not be a fan of this ship, that you'll still read it & give me comments, cause my writing's not even close to perfect.
Also, to my readers, read closely & pay attention. I can guarantee you that this story will be intertwined with the little pieces of information that i leave behind in my descriptiveness. (Thank you, JagLady! I have a very vivid imagination, so details hopefully help you all to follow along with my story & see where i'm going with this.)
I apologize in advance for the poor grammar & spelling errors that i might have overlooked. So, enjoy!
9:24 AM
"Now are you absolutely sure that Mr. Wolfe hasn't been kidnapped? In an accident? Out of the country?"
"Yes, Horatio. He just left me a message. I can't believe you would think he got into an accident just because he's a couple minutes late."
"He could be stuck in traffic, you know."
"Mm. No, if he were in that situation, he would have left his car and ran the whole distance just to make it on time. This is Ryan Wolfe we're talking about, Eric. And Calleigh, same thing goes for you. It's Mr. Wolfe. He just doesn't have the ability to… be behind schedule."
"Come to think of it, H, you're right. I've never seen Wolfe late for anything. Almost makes me believe something worse than waking up late did happen to him."
"Men. Always thinking the worst of things. I'm sure Ryan's got a perfectly logical and reasonable explanation as to why he's not here to 'Bon Voyage' you out of this place. Speaking of, you should go soon."
"Actually, I should have gone 4 minutes ago."
"Horatio, sweetie. If you don't leave this instant you're gonna make me think that you're purposely trying to miss your flight to the conference. Go on, get. You've got a one-day vacation, honey. And don't be calling here; it can wait until tomorrow, when you get back."
"Alexx! Nice of you to join the farewell party. Only person left to make an appearance is Wolfe."
The obviously impatient cabdriver gave the small crowd gathered by the building's front steps a rude honk!, reminding his passenger of the extensively heavy morning traffic on the way to the airport. To the cabdriver, Valentine's Day immediately meant an excess amount of empty chocolate boxes flying around on the highways and those incredibly annoying newly wedded folks riding in their 'Just Married' cars or limousines or carriages or whatnot. It never mattered what type of vehicle they rode in – they always found some way to cruise down the roads while pretending not to hear their empty tin cans bouncing and thumping and pissing everybody else off.
Upon finding that his honking only managed to lengthen their conversation, he stuck his head out the driver seat window and shouted "Let's get going, man!" to the red-headed suit-wearing man. He soon found that his efforts were wasted, as they seemed to take their time and moved even slower than before. They must have known that he was incapable of leaving the crime lab with an empty backseat; he was on parole and the only business that would even take a glimpse of his résumé was the taxi-driving company. He would have settled for being homeless if they had told him that he was to be the personal chauffeur of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab and the Miami-Dade Police Department as well.
But they failed to mention that, and having been duped by the authorities, decided to drive as foolishly as he possibly could with a police officer – a Lieutenant, even – riding along with him without getting arrested again. And yes, that was the best retaliation scheme he could come up with in such short notice.
"I'm going now. If I wait any longer for Mr. Wolfe…" Horatio Caine took the black sunglasses he had been fiddling with and put it on in the most dramatic way the cabdriver had seen someone wear shades.
"…I'm afraid I'll miss the only flight going to the conference." He cocked his head until it rested on his right shoulder then looked straight at Alexx. "As a matter of fact, Alexx, I certainly am afraid of what you will do if that does happen."
Horatio placed his hands on his hips (completing his signature look) as his colleagues' hearty laughs filled the air. Seeing them this light-hearted even got the more-often-than-not-dead-serious Lieutenant to crack a smirk that Ryan, still MIA, failed to experience.
Eric Delko offered to carry Horatio's lone suitcase down the steps and into the backseat of the taxi, earning a pat on the back from his boss. Calleigh Duquesne and Alexx Woods followed the two men.
"All right. Calleigh, you're in charge. If Mr. Wolfe does not show himself in the next few minutes, please give him another call. It's not like him to be late, understand?"
Calleigh, the temporary Lieutenant, nodded once as a substitute for a worded reply.
To the cabdriver's relief, Horatio finally opened the passenger side door, climbed inside, and slammed the door. He waited for the glass window to slide down, then stuck his right arm out the window, waving a good-bye to the three left behind.
They responded with waves as well, and continued to do so until the taxi was on the road once more and their boss' red hair was no longer distinguished.
"Well, guys, I have to go. There's a lot of paperwork waiting for me in the morgue." Alexx made her way back to the air-conditioned crime lab.
Calleigh became worried as she took a glance at her cell phone. "I wonder where Ryan is," she said to Eric. They were about to turn around and go back inside, when, almost as if on cue, Ryan's usually spic-and-span dark blue Honda civic turned into the driveway of the lab.
"I found him," Eric said, trying to stifle his laughter when he saw that his friend's car was now half-blue and half-soil. It looked like it had gotten stuck in a pool of mud on his way to work. The Cuban couldn't hold it in anymore, which resulted in a loud snort before he burst out laughing. He got a slap on the chest by Calleigh for that one.
Ryan parked the car in his reserved parking space, amazingly not caring how his vehicle wasn't rightly postitioned in the middle. He exited the driver's side wearing a red, white, and pink pinstriped long-sleeved shirt along with a pair of dark blue jeans and leather shoes that looked too polished to be an old pair of his.
While Eric was calming down from his outburst, Calleigh couldn't help but smile secretly to herself. Finally, after God knows how many not-so-stylish dress shirts and suits, he wears something that's not totally disgusting. She looked down at her own outfit – a white collared blouse underneath a bold red v-neck top and black dress pants with her favorite black heels – and felt her girlish self overpowering as she squealed in delight. We match! Then, remembering where she was, hoped that neither man heard her. Looking over to her left was Eric, taking deep breaths while repeating "Oh man. That was good." over and over again to himself. And straight ahead was the reason for Calleigh's squeal then and panic now, running as if the parking lot behind him would suddenly explode.
He skipped every other step on the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of the two, nowhere near panting because his body was accustomed to running.
"Hey Cal. What's the time now?" By then Calleigh had composed herself, relieved to know neither had noticed what had happened. She flipped open her cell phone in compliance to Ryan's question.
"Hey Ryan. Um… 9:29, no wait. 9:30."
Eric spoke up, saying, "With seconds to spare, Wolfe. Nice." They greeted each other hello with a fist pump and a half-smile.
"So what are you guys…oh no. I missed Horatio, didn't I?" Realization dawned on Ryan as he remembered that he was supposed to come a half-hour earlier so he would be present to see his boss leave.
He had informed Horatio numerous times, telling him that there was no way he could change his schedule.
"H, I respect you, I really do. But you know I can't just rearrange the schedule I've been living on ever since patrol. Even for you."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wolfe, but it's the only flight from here that's heading to the conference on that day. This may be hard, but I need you to come early."
Ryan gave a defeated sigh. "All right, okay. I can try. But if I'm not there, please don't fire me."
Horatio chuckled slightly. "Come early, Mr. Wolfe. Then you'll never have to live with the worry that I might fire you."
Calleigh answered him again. "Yes, you just missed him. But he told me to tell you that – "
"I'm fired, aren't I? I'm done. What… what am I supposed to tell my next employer – if there's even gonna be one? 'My boss fired me because I didn't come early enough to say good-bye to him.' I can't… I can't say that. It's too humiliating. I guess I should start packing now. I should start packing…start packing…now. I guess I should –"
"Whoa, whoa. Easy there. Relax, Wolfe. Nobody's getting fired, okay? Take deep breaths, man." Eric's eyes squinted in confusion and then widened, knowing Calleigh would receive the message.
What the hell is happening to him?
She responded with an open mouth and palms facing up, shrugging and shaking her head simultaneously. She walked up to Ryan and started rubbing her hand softly on his back. Though worried about his sudden reaction to a minor mistake, she was joyful for the excuse of the physical contact with Ryan.
Eric held the younger man's shoulder as he took shaky inhales and exhales.
"Ryan, I'm sorry. I meant to say that Horatio told me that if you weren't here for another couple of minutes to give you a call and make sure you were all right."
Ryan acknowledged Calleigh's statement with a nod. "So wait. I'm still working for him?" His tensed muscles relaxed and he stood from his bent-over position, forcing Calleigh to remove her hand from his back.
"Yeah, man. You're still hired to work here." It took all of Delko's willpower not to ask him what happened and not to tease him about it. He did, however, promise himself to grill the man to tell him later.
Ryan threw his hands up in the air as thanks to the higher gods for not being smitten, or worse, fired. He was about to show his gratitude to Calleigh and Delko for helping him calm down when he noticed something odd.
He moved his arms up and down, almost like those old-school weighing scales, until his left arm was slightly higher than his right.
"My left arm's lighter than my right," Ryan stated.
"Your what?" Calleigh asked in disbelief. He wasn't holding onto anything, and it looked like nothing was wrong with him or his arms. Okay, maybe something was up with his brain, but other than that…
"You say that like we're supposed to know. What's going on, Wolfe?" Eric queried.
"My left arm's lighter than my right," he reiterated.
They watched as their co-worker and soon-to-be-straitjacketed friend lifted his left arm and bent it so that the palm of his hand was in front of his face. Then he rotated his wrist until the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt was in full view.
"Aw, crap. Crap, crap, crap." He displayed his cuff for the two to see. "What? What is it?" Calleigh pondered.
"You see that?" Ryan said as he pointed to the spot where a button should have been sewn. "There's no button. That's why it felt lighter." He grinned (because he figured it out), despite the fact that a missing button was a real problem.
Delko's eyebrows furrowed while Calleigh wrinkled her nose. Both were speechless.
Delko was the first to find his voice. "Your left arm weighed less…because it didn't have a button but the right cuff did…How the hell were you able to feel that?"
Before he could answer Calleigh spoke up. "It's just a button, Ryan."
"No, Cal, it's not just a button. I'm never gonna be able to function properly if one arm is lighter than the other."
"Well, why don't you just roll up your sleeves?" Calleigh debated.
"Now that I know the reason, rolling up my sleeves isn't going to make a difference."
"Yeah, Calleigh. It's like that thing everybody says, 'you can't run away from your problems'. And this, obviously, is a problem to our friend here," Delko mocked.
Ryan, oblivious as ever, agreed. "Exactly. Come on. Let's get inside so I can change."
"But, I still don't understand how a button can make that much of a weight discrepancy," Delko marveled.
"You're into sayings, Delko. It's like that old saying: 'if something feels lighter than the other, it's time to change your shirt.'"
"Uh…I don't think that's a saying, Ryan."
"Really, Cal? I've been saying it for years."
A small note: the 'fist pump' is actually a props. & that the last lines between Calleigh & Ryan were inspired by the show Monk. Comments & advice will be rewarded by another chapter soon enough.
A big thanks also to the reviewers who have favorited either my story or me. Learning that made me feel warm & fuzzy. Hehe.