Don't want to fight, don't want to die
When Elle woke the next morning, Ryan was already up and in the kitchen. Elle kissed him on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm making pancakes."
"You don't have to."
"I'm not used to having people here with me in the mornings. And you could use a treat."
"Ryan…" He turned to stare at her. Her big eyes welling up with tears. "I love you."
Ryan gazed down at her. "I love you too." He leaned down to kiss her but they quickly pulled away when someone knocked on the door. "I better get that."
Elle nodded and settled down on a stool with a stack of pancakes, a cup of coffee and a copy of TV Guide.
"What are you doing here?" she heard Ryan ask. She looked up and saw Horatio standing at the door. She pulled down the sweater she was wearing to cover her underwear. She smiled up at Horatio.
"I'm just gonna go get changed." She stood up and left the kitchen.
"Sorry if I was interrupting something," Horatio said as he stepped into the apartment.
"No, you weren't. We were just having breakfast."
"Can you come into the lab today?"
Ryan glanced back to the bedroom. "Why?"
Elle dialled Ryan again as she got off the elevator. He was supposed to meet her and he never showed. She thought he might be at the lab, but why wasn't he answering her calls?
She frowned when Natalia hurried past her. "Natalia!" They walked up to each other. "What's going on?"
"It's Ryan and Horatio. There was a shootout and… One of them got shot…"
Elle's head swam. "Can I go with you?"
"Yeah."
Elle ran into the waiting room. Everyone but Horatio.
Ryan was covered in blood. Elle ran into his arms. "You promised you wouldn't fight! Horatio could die and you promised you wouldn't fight," she sobbed into his chest.
Ryan wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh… It's all gonna be ok.""No, it's not… I don't want any more of family to die."
