"Mr. Wolfe." I turned around to see Horatio standing in the doorway of the lab with his hands on his hips. "Where's Natalia?"
"She's outside, in the hallway. Stetler wouldn't let her in." Our infamous asshole supervisor decided to pay us a visit at the most inopportune time—banishing Natalia from her own place of work and putting everyone on edge.
"Let's go pay her a visit, we need to talk." I followed him outside. What are we talking about? Does he know we're dating?
"What's going on? Why won't anybody tell me anything?" Natalia stood up frantically from the bench she had been sitting on, walking quickly towards us.
"The people here care about you, Natalia," Horatio started.
"I know, and I appreciate it," she conceded. "But are there any updates?"
"That man that Ryan took down at the bar was lying—he gave the orders to the people that tried to hurt you."
She breathed a sign of relief. "Did you book him? Is this over?"
"He's going away for a long time. But Natalia, I have to tell you." He made eye contact with her. "We have reason to believe that he's working for a bigger organization."
"So it's not over." Her gaze fell to the ground. I stared at the air vent on the ceiling, already planning how to help her cope with the aftermath of this case.
"This investigation will continue as long as there is a suspect." How can he be sure? Am I supposed to make sure?
She mustered a smile. "Thanks, H."
"Ms. Boa Vista, this is a marathon and not a sprint. All in due time." I watched him walk out of the lab and into the elevators, leaving me with nothing but Natlalia and my thoughts. What have I gotten myself into?
"Nat," I snapped her out of her thoughts as she leaned absentmindedly against my kitchen counter. "How are you doing?" I gently wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder.
She sighed. "You know what I was thinking when that guy was beating me? Before he shoved me into that freezer?" She put her hands on top of mine, but I could feel her wince as she brought up the attack. "All I remember is my back literally exploding into muscle spasms, and wanting nothing more than for you to give me a massage."
I laughed. "Is that your subtle way of asking me for one?" I spun her around gently and placed my hands on her hips.
"I didn't think it was too subtle," she smiled back, leaning her forehead in slightly as her silent way of asking for a kiss.
"Come on, let's go upstairs." I took her hand and led her to my bedroom, a place that began to look oddly empty without her in it.
"Lay down, I'll be back." She rested on her stomach as I stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked behind me. I counted to 120 in my head as I brushed my teeth—a childhood habit. Does Natalia know that? Did I ever tell her?
I stared at the countertop and found pieces of Natalia everywhere—her toothbrush had replaced mine in the medicine cabinet. Her hairbrush was in the corner, shoved underneath her makeup bag. Holy shit. She lives here.
"You ready?" I asked gently as I returned to the bed, grateful for a reason to quiet my thoughts. I placed one hand on her back, lying on my stomach next to her as I pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"You're a sweetheart," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I have quite a way with the ladies." I sat up and began to apply slight pressure, only to be interrupted immediately by her cries.
"Ry, Ry, stop," she winced.
"I barely touched you." I lightly ran my hand over the muscle, just enough to identify where it was tender. "I'm going to start from the outside and work in. Tell me when it starts to hurt okay?"
"Okay." I could feel her body tense up.
"Does this hurt?"
"No."
"Here?"
"A little bit."
"Now?"
She inhaled sharply. She couldn't stop the tears as she clenched one hand around the comforter and reached for me with the other.
"Natalia," I started gently, lowering myself back down to the bed. "I think you need to get this checked out."
"Maybe," she sniffled. I smoothed her hair down a few times, searching for the right thing to say.
"You are absolutely not going back out in the field until this problem is fixed," I warned, completely serious.
"You're really bossy, you know that?"
"I know you, Nat. You don't like to admit when you're wrong."
She tried to lift her head off of the pillow, but yelped out in pain as the fire in her back returned.
"See, exactly."
"Stop it, Ryan."
"Relax, will you? You're going to make it worse."
"You don't make any sense," she started, my words muffled from the sheets around me.
"I don't make any sense?" I asked sarcastically. "Why?"
"One moment you're the sweetest guy I've ever met, kissing my cheek and playing with my hair, and the next moment you become some self-righteous asshole trying to make me feel bad about myself." She glared at me.
I stared back. "Fine, you're right. I'm not used to this whole boyfriend thing, I'm sorry." I didn't mean to say that.
She smiled. "So you admit that you're my boyfriend?"
"I want to be, Nat. I'm just not really sure how to do it." I could feel myself blushing. Did I just commit to a girl? "Besides, you're stubborn as hell. How else could I get through to you?" I was disgusted with my own internal conflict—half of me was mad at myself for abandoning my tough guy, single act, but the other half was just as annoyed for not being the perfect man for Natalia.
"That's a nice excuse." I sighed and put my hand on her back again, this time taking care not to apply any pressure.
"I'm going to take you to the doctor tomorrow to get this checked out, and we'll go from there okay? I'm sorry for being a dick." I placed my lips on her forehead. "Get some sleep, babe. You could use some."