As night passed into early morning, Ryan woke with a start and grabbed his cell-phone off the portable table that was next to his hospital bed. He flipped it open and dialed a number.
Ryan held the phone to his ear and it rang six times. Frowning, he closed the phone and placed it on the bedside table. Something was wrong, he knew it, and he had to leave the hospital now.
Quietly stepping off the bed, Ryan tore the IVs from his arm and searched the room for something that he could put over his hospital gown. He found a blue housecoat in the closet and quickly put it on. His head and chest hurt, but getting out of the hospital was more important than his own pain.
"Wolfe, where do you think you're going?" Eric, who had heard noise from inside the hospital room and peeked in only to see Ryan trying to leave. "You're supposed to stay here overnight."
Filled with panic, Ryan shoved Eric aside and bolted down the hallway, well aware that Eric was chasing after him. All that mattered to him, however, was getting out of that hospital.
He could hear shouting as nurses noticed him and gave chase, but Ryan kept running. He ran outside into the cool night air and frantically looked for a taxi in which to make his escape.
"You make one move and I'll shoot," a dark voice said as Ryan suddenly heard the click of a gun.
Eric walked outside just in time to see a figure, one's whose face was completely shadowed by the darkness, place a gun to Ryan's head, "Get down on the ground," he heard the man say.
Drawing his weapon, Eric moved forward just in time to see Ryan laying himself on the ground with his face touching the pavement, "MIAMI PD, DROP THE WEAPON!" Eric shouted.
"Eric, GO AWAY!" Ryan yelled in a semi-hysterical voice. "This isn't about you..."
The figure cackled, "Yes, go away and let Wolfie here meet the same fate as Bernie's two little brats," he hissed maliciously. "Goodness knows where Bernie's taken them by now..."
Eric raised his gun, "I'm giving you one more chance to drop the weapon," he said sharply.
"Well, dang, Wolfie, you got the PD looking out for you," the figure guffawed. "Too bad."
There was another click and suddenly shots were fired, causing Ryan to scream.
"Wolfe, are you injured at all?" Eric asked, as he could hear Ryan whimpering.
Shaking, Ryan got to his feet, "I-I have to get to Miami PD," he stuttered, his voice shaking.
Suddenly, the body of the unknown figure fell, dropping his gun to the sidewalk, "Eric, get me a cab, I have to get over there," Ryan repeated in an unsteady voice as he moved into the light.
Eric's eyes widened at the sight of Ryan's gown and housecoat covered in blood, "Ryan, you're covered in blood!" he said in an anxious voice. "You need to go back inside the hospital!"
"It's not mine," Ryan stated in a weak voice. "I-I need to go down to the PD right now."
Ryan made to move away, but Eric grabbed his wrist and felt a sticky substance, "You're bleeding, are you are of that?" he snapped, keeping a grip on Ryan's wrist as he tried to pull away.
"I pulled my IVs out, I need to get a cab," Ryan said in an anxious tone. "Let go of my wrist."
Ryan jerked his wrist from Eric's grip, "Just go away," he restated in a pained voice.
Eric pulled him back and, gripping his shoulder, he escorted Ryan back over to where three nurses were standing, "Look, go back to your room, get some more rest, and I'll take you to the PD in the morning," he said, gently nudging Ryan towards the nurses. "I'll go with you, all right?"
Too horrified to say anything, Ryan was numb as Eric and the nurses led him back inside the hospital, back to his quiet room. As the nurses helped Ryan back into bed, Eric saw that the cell-phone on the portable table was vibrating. Ryan looked at the phone fearfully.
"Don't answer it," Ryan said, giving Eric a scared look as the nurses covered him up and cleaned the blood from his arm. "Just leave it alone, Eric, it's probably nothing important."
"Officer Delko, can you please wait outside while we calm Mr. Wolfe down?" one of the nurses asked. "Take Mr. Wolfe's phone with you, please, as it will interfere with the equipment."
As Eric picked up the cell-phone and moved towards the door, a doctor entered the room pulling a monitor with one hand while he carried a syringe in the other, "All right, Mr. Wolfe, I'm gonna give you a little something to help you sleep while we have you on a monitor and more IVs."
"Please, I have to help my sister," Ryan whimpered, flinching as the doctor tied a strip around his arm and injected him with the syringe. "Stetler's a jerk…He'll hurt her…cause of the past."
Frowning, Eric watched the nurses remove Ryan's bloodstained housecoat and gown, "Can you put those into bags so I can take them to the lab?" Eric asked. "I'll come back…."
"Don't look at my cell phone," Ryan slurred as he fell asleep in a nurse's arms. "You can't.."
Moving out into the hallway, Eric gazed down at Ryan's phone and saw that Ryan had received a text message, not a phone call. He opened it and quickly accessed the message.
Ryan,
Don't you DARE call this number again. She's already got stuff in her past that makes her a likely suspect and the evidence will just confirm that she's guilty. I got this off of one of the CSI's at Vision and it has pretty much condemned her. You had better stay out of this and stick to your CSI duties unless you want your own scarred past to be brought to light.
Horatio's trying to get her out of this mess, but it's not going to work.
Keep your nose clean, kid, remember what happened last time you didn't?
Rick
Closing the phone, Eric thought for a moment and then moved down the hallway towards the elevators. He had an idea as to who Ryan was referring to, but he needed access to that office.
Having just finished a shouting match with Stetler over the information on Emily that was already in the computer, Horatio walked down to the lockup area and saw Rosa lingering outside the door, near where a uniformed officer was standing with his arms crossed.
"Lieutenant Caine, the guard won't let me in," Rosa said in a concerned voice as she saw Horatio approach. "I'm very worried about her…I know that Emily would not do this."
Horatio nodded, "I believe she wouldn't either, but Stetler wants to keep her here indefinitely because of some information that was already in the computer," he stated.
"Oh dear, I was hoping that nobody would ever find out about that," Rosa replied in a worried tone.
Horatio sighed, "Rick's always been a pain," he replied tonelessly. "Anyway, I came to talk to Emily about her whereabouts between being at the hospital and at the club."
"Is it possible that I can come with you?" Rosa asked. "I am very concerned for her."
Shaking his head, Horatio gave Rosa a gentle look, "It's best if you went back to the hospital and spent time with Speed and your husband for now. If anything comes up, I'll get in touch with you, all right?"
"Lieutenant, I knew that girl when she was a lot younger," Rosa stated as she moved away. "I know that she wouldn't be involved in something like this, especially considering the rough childhood she had."
Rosa then moved away, leaving Horatio to think on what they had talked about.
Unable to sleep, Tim had gotten out of his hospital bed and got his housecoat on. His father was slouched in a chair near the window, sound asleep with snores coming from his mouth and nose.
Without waking his father, he used his IV pole for support as he walked slowly down the hallway towards the elevator. He wanted to get something from the cafeteria that might help him go back to sleep.
With a ding, the elevator door slid open, revealing Eric standing there, "Speed, shouldn't you be asleep in bed at this time of day?" he asked as Speed slowly entered the elevator.
"I couldn't sleep," Tim replied, keeping a firm grip on his IV pole as the door slid closed and the elevator began to move. "Besides, Eric, what are you doing at the hospital at such an odd time of day?"
Eric sighed, "Ryan Wolfe got involved in a little altercation and he tried to escape, so a doctor sedated him for the rest of the night," he explained. "H wanted me to stay and keep an eye on him."
Tim gave Eric a look, "Isn't Wolfe that guy that H hired until I can come back?" he asked.
Eric was silent, so Speed changed the subject, "I'm going to sneak up to the cafeteria for some food, wanna come?" Tim asked, his tone eager. "Even if it's early, I could use the company."
"I have to stop by a counselor's office first," Eric replied. "Do you know Emily Mannis, by any chance?"
Recognizing the name as the one who counseled him the previous morning, Tim nodded just as there was a ding and the elevator door slid open, "Yeah, she's a trauma counselor here," he replied. "Why?"
The two walked out of the elevator and Eric immediately saw an empty wheelchair against a wall, "Have a seat and I'll tell you," he stated, ignoring the irritated look on Tim's face as he sat down.
"I'm getting so tired of being treated like glass," Tim complained as Eric wheeled him down the hallway.
Eric smiled, but before he could reply, they came to a door with a nameplate that read Emily Mannis: Trauma Counselor, "I wonder if the door's unlocked," he said, reaching for the handle.
"Put some gloves on first," Tim quickly said. "Just in case there's any sort of evidence in there."
Realizing that Tim was right, Eric got two pairs of gloves out of his pocket and tossed a pair into Tim's lap, "Put those on so you don't get into trouble," he said, smiling. "I'm gonna need some help in there."
Tim and Eric put on the gloves and Eric easily opened the door. Not wanting to disrupt evidence, Eric flipped on the lights and wheeled Tim into the office. There was a momentary silence.
"Looks pretty untouched," Eric commented as he moved further into the room.
While Eric gazed at the couch, chairs, and desk, Tim remained in the wheelchair, trying to find anything with his eyes that seemed unusual, "Hey, Eric, there's a closet in this office," he suddenly commented, spotting a door that was slightly ajar on the other side of the bookshelf Eric was looking at.
"Better not go in there, as evidence could be in that closet," Eric replied, suddenly noticing a row of photos and a framed degree above the bookshelf, one of which was a younger Emily and Ryan standing at some sort of outdoor location: Ryan was dressed in a suit and Emily was wearing a cap and gown. Both were smiling and there was a small notebook shaped item in Emily's right hand. Another one, besides one of Emily's children together, was one of Emily and Ryan together with both the children.
Eric frowned, "Why would Emily and Ryan be in a picture together with each other and with her kids?" he asked. "Do they know each other?"
Tim shrugged and with a great effort, he got up from the wheelchair and used the pole to help him walk over to where Eric was standing and gazed at the framed degree, suddenly frowning, "Eric, check out the name that's on this diploma," he said, gazing at Eric. "Why does she go by a different last name?"
His eyes widening at the name on the degree, Eric grabbed his cell-phone off his belt and quickly stored Ryan's in his pocket, "I'm calling H," he said, quickly dialing a familiar number.
Nodding, Tim silently gazed at the photos and the degree, both intrigued and alarmed by this mystery.
Taking a deep, tired breath, Emily laid back on the skimpy bed that was in her cell and stared up at the ceiling in silence. Her jeans and t-shirt were gone and replaced by an oversized orange jumpsuit and a pair of skimpy slippers, as her shoes had been taken to the Crime Lab.
Despite Horatio's protests, Stetler had booked her, ordered her processed, and locked in a solitary cell within the confines of the Miami-Dade PD lockup. There were no charges yet, as the evidence was still being gathered, but Stetler wanted to charge her with Murder One and association with a drug dealer.
The children were still missing and dogs had been called in to try and locate them.
Shivering, Emily turned to face the wall so she could cry privately. Even though the charges she was facing were very serious and could lead to prison time, Emily knew that she had to protect others from that fate.
From what she knew, Ryan was safe at the hospital, which brought her a slight comfort.
The reality was that she would probably never see her beautiful babies again and it broke her heart.
Suddenly, the door to her cell was unlocked and opened. Letting out a sigh, Emily turned and saw Horatio standing there in the open doorway, next to a uniformed guard. He had an intrigued look on his face.
"Is there anything you want to tell me, Miss Wolfe?" Horatio asked, gazing at Emily intensely.
Back at the hospital, Eric closed the door to Emily's darkened office and watched Tim's mother walked alongside a nurse who was pushing Tim back towards the elevators.
Almost immediately after Eric had phoned Horatio with Emily's real surname, he and Tim had been found in Emily's office by Mrs. Speedle and a nurse. Both were worried about Tim's escape from his room.
After a short lecture, Mrs. Speedle had convinced Tim to allow a nurse to wheel him back to his room and put him back to bed for more rest. Tim had readily agreed, as the whole office break-in had tired him.
While Tim was escorted back to his room, Eric had turned off the lights and locked the office. He put in a quick call to Tripp and explained the possible connection between Emily and Ryan, emphasizing the importance of a possible office search and a deeper investigation into the growing pile of revelations. Every detail was especially important, as innocence was on the line
