Ten:

They all climbed in Rick's car and drove to the block of addresses that Rick had wrote down. They sped the whole way, surprised that they didn't get pulled over by a police officer. Of course, they themselves could have just taken an official vehicle, but there was no way for that to go unnoticed. And they definitely didn't want to be seen. It was pure luck that they hadn't gotten pulled over; that would have wasted precious time.

Rick stopped at the beginning of the street and opened his door. "Dave you stay in here. Ryan and I will go to these 3 buildings and check them out."

"Why do I stay?" Dave asked.

"You don't have a gun." Ryan answered flatly.

Dave shook his head. "Exactly! What if this is a trap? A bunch of guys can just kidnap me, too once you guys leave. Or what if I get mugged- this is an unsavory looking neighborhood."

He was right. All around them were empty houses. Most were dirty looking, moss and mold covered and there were busted windows in most of them. It looked abandoned, but a squatter's dream. It looked perfect for people who had something to hide, even if it was themselves.

Rick exhaled deeply. "No one wants to kidnap you. Geeze, Dave, how did you ever get a job at the lab?"

"Hey. I'm brains, not brawn."

"Dave acts like he's this weak, useless guy but he is a lot stronger than he looks. Trust me. He can take care of himself. Dave, just stay in the car. Lock the doors if you feel unsafe." Ryan answered. "This is an emergency, you know. We have to go, now." Ryan got out of the car. Dave reluctantly climbed from the backseat of the vehicle to the front. Rick shut the door, and both he and Ryan heard the car doors lock immediately. Ryan wanted to comment but he knew he had more important things to do. They were so close to finding Horatio.

"What 3 places are we looking at?" Ryan asked as they both continued walking.

Rick started to look around. He glanced at the paper, back to the homes, and then back to the paper again. He pointed to one of the houses. It was obviously supposed to be white, but it was so dirty it looked almost yellow. The front windows were busted out and the door was wide open.

"That's one of them." He pointed to a house a few more feet ahead. It was a dark blue, with moss and mold all around the door. Ryan was cringing at the thought of it being on the doorknob and him having to touch it. "That's another."

Ryan saw the last address but he couldn't see it anywhere. "Where's the other one?"

Rick stopped and looked. "I have no idea. Maybe a glitch? Maybe the tracker made a mistake."

Ryan shook his head ."It never makes a mistake." He said. "Maybe it's farther down. And I think once we find it, it should be the first house we check out."

Silently, Rick followed Ryan. Ryan didn't like Rick walking behind him, so he slowed down to match Rick's pace.

"I didn't think you'd want me walking anywhere near you." Rick said.

"We're here on a mission. What happens in our personal lives is irrelevant right now. But after this, you're right- I'd prefer not having you anywhere near me." Ryan told him.

They both continued on walking together could hear the sounds of their shoes on the road with the rocks and patches of broken concrete colliding. There were barely any birds out chirping, even though it was a bright and sunny day. There was a dog barking somewhere in the distance. Both men silently wondered how the dog was possibly living here under these conditions. Really, the place looked like a ghost town. The whole neighborhood looked like it would be demolished soon.

"There's another house." Rick brought Ryan out of his thoughts. Ryan looked but couldn't see what Rick was talking about. "You see that green house up there? There's a yellow one behind it. You can see it from where I am."

Ryan stepped to the left, almost bumping into Rick. Sure enough, there was another home sitting behind the green house. "That has to be it. Makes sense to kidnap someone and then keep them in a place where people couldn't find without trying hard enough, right?" Ryan said. Rick nodded in agreement, and they both continued on.

Ryan saw Rick's hand going for his right side holster, where he kept his gun.

"Why can you carry a gun, but Dave can't?"

"Well, for one, Dave is in charge of Audio/Visuals in the lab. That does not warrant a gun. But, you must know that Dave applied to be an officer and was denied. So why would we give a gun to someone who couldn't even become a cop?" Rick shrugged.

"Dave was denied becoming an officer?"

"Yeah. You didn't know that?"

"No."

"Oh." Rick said. "Well, that happened. I can carry a gun because I am a Sergeant, Ryan. And not to mention the Head of the SOC Swat Team. It'd be foolish for me to not have a gun."

Ryan and Rick both stopped at the driveway of the green house. The dog's barking was a lot louder, meaning they were closer to it. Ryan even fancied the thought of it being a guard dog, to protect any unwanted intruders from the house. Since Ryan couldn't exactly see the dog yet, he figured it was at the yellow house.

Ryan started up the driveway toward the back, only to have Rick put his arm out to stop him. Ryan almost exploded in anger. Rick had been annoying and pissing him off since the bathroom incident. But the way Rick looked at him made him stop. "Ryan, you're pregnant. You have to be careful. Let me go first, okay?"

Ryan quickly nodded. He was right. "Okay, sure."

Rick stepped in front of Ryan. He had his gun out and pointed already in his right hand, but his left arm was extended backward to Ryan. As if to make sure he was staying behind him. Ryan took that opportunity to also pull out his gun. The men both walked very quietly and slowly. Rick peered around the corner of the home to the yellow house. He stopped walking suddenly, causing Ryan to bump into him. "That dog is on alert." He told Ryan. "It's already staring at me. But it's not moving."

Ryan moved to the side of Rick to get a better look. Sure enough, he was right again. The dog was there in front of the house barking while staring at them. But it didn't move.

"Maybe it's trained to attack when we get close." Rick suggested.

Ryan shook his head as he looked at the dog. "Or it's tied to that mailbox, so it can't attack anyways."

Rick looked closer to the dog, sighed, then lowered his gun. They slowly walked toward the dog, that stopped barking and was just staring at them now. It would have been scary if the dog itself didn't look so frightened. With each step they took, the dog backed away farther until it couldn't move anymore. Ryan approached the dog, much to Rick's dismay. But Ryan just brushed him off.

Ryan held out his hand to the dog.

"Worst guard dog, ever." Rick stated.

"He's probably just for show." Ryan answered. "You know, to scare away people? But he's harmless. Look how scared he is." The dog was walking back to Ryan slowly but surely.

"Yeah well, since he's been barking this entire time, if someone was here they know we are too. Let's keep moving."

Ryan waved to the dog and followed Rick up to the ugly yellow house. The door was ajar but the windows were boarded up with wood. Rick raised his gun again, and also put his arm back toward Ryan to keep him at bay. Even though Ryan knew he was concerned about his safety as he was pregnant, he was still annoyed by how protective he was being. Then again, Rick could have just breathed heavily and Ryan would have been annoyed by him.

Rick pushed the door open slowly, trying to be inconspicuous. But that didn't work out as the door loudly creaked open. He went inside fully with Ryan right behind him. Ryan instantly began gagging at the horrible stench coming from the home. "What the hell is that smell?"

Rick's nose wrinkled in disgust. There was blood on the floors and walls. Rick saw Ryan notice them, but he didn't comment on it so Rick didn't either. Probably trying to remain optimistic, Rick thought.

Rick continued on through the one-story home. He walked very slowly through the house, turning very frequently to be sure that no one was coming behind him. Which, Ryan thought was ridiculous considering how small the home was. And there wasn't anything for anybody to hide behind.

The first room they stepped into was the living room. The carpets were brown with obvious dried blood stains on it. But there was no furniture. There was a small blue blanket in the corner that looked to be for a small child, but that was it. Ryan wondered what the rest of the house looked like.

He kept going, past Rick and into the next room. It was a kitchen but there was nothing in it except for an old looking refrigerator and a broken table. Upon further inspection, Ryan saw something shiny on the ground. Handcuffs. He heard walking behind him, and knew Rick was now in the room. "I think the house is clear. I just checked the bedroom- nothing." Rick told him.

"Yeah, I figured it was clear." Ryan went to pick up the cuffs, but saw they were attached to the leg of the table. "You think these are Horatio's?"

"Probably. Whoever took him must have kept him handcuffed to the table." Rick eyed the table. "Although, it doesn't seem too sturdy or strong to me. So I don't see how they could keep him here. I mean, unless they were holding a weapon to him- like a knife to his throat, or a gun to his head, or-."

"Please stop talking." Ryan said. He didn't even want to think about anything like that.

Rick nodded. "Right. Sorry. You uh, wanna look around some more? I brought some envelopes to collect evidence in, just in case we needed it."

Ryan said yes. He entered another room, which he assumed was the bedroom. It was almost as ugly as the living room. The walls had ugly, moss-filled wallpaper that was peeling off. And the smell, Ryan noticed, was a lot closer. That was when Ryan noticed the bathroom next to the bedroom.

Well, there isn't any water here. That's probably where the smells coming from.

Ryan had to leave the room just so he wouldn't throw up and probably pass out from the smell. When he entered the living room again, he saw Rick kneeling on the ground. He had a pair of scissors and a knife, cutting into the bloodstained carpet. He pulled pieces off and put them into the envelope he had brought. When he finished, Rick used the scissors to scrape the dry blood off the walls, too. Then wordlessly, both men left as there was nothing else to do or say.

As Ryan walked down the driveway, though they were a distance away, he could see Dave frantically waving to them. Rick and Ryan sped up their pace, but Ryan had suddenly stopped and looked at the dog, who was still obviously scared. "I can't just leave it here."

"Ryan, is now the time to be picking up pets?"

"I'll be quick." He waved him hand. He went back to the mailbox and approached the dog. He seemed to like Ryan now, because he didn't cower away like he had done originally. When Ryan pet him, he shook his leg. Ryan unhooked his leash from the mailbox and started off again, saying "come on, boy" over his shoulder. Apparently, that was all it took because the dog had run off. Past Rick and Ryan, and right to the car door that Dave had left open for them. Dave was sitting in the front seat, body turned to face them and using his hands to frantically gesture to them.

They eventually made it back to the car, where Dave was petting the dog sitting in the front seat.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked.

"A car started coming down here. The driver saw me and turned and sped off. I didn't see his face because he had sunglasses on though. So, I'm actually guessing he saw me." Dave answered. "What's with the dog?"

"Ryan decided he needed a pet."

Ryan glared at Rick. "Lay off. Dave, did you pay attention to the car- do you know what it looks like?"

"Yeah, and I got the license plate number. I can run the numbers when we go back to the lab." He answered. Rick and Ryan buckled up, Dave took the initiative to buckle up the large dog and roll down the windows even farther for him since it was a pretty hot day. The now four went back to the lab, where Ryan waited in the car with the dog while Rick and Dave went inside to try to run the plates. The dog seemed to be warming up to Ryan, at least he thought. He was nudging his face against Ryan's hand and whenever Ryan stopped petting him, he'd try to get his attention again.

Ryan was disappointed to see Rick and Dave looking rather dejected. Dave informed Ryan that there was no way they could run the plates then and there. The night team lab was already there and pretty much all the equipment was being used. And none of them wanted to risk it and get caught then have to explain everything. So, tomorrow they would try.

Ryan and Rick pulled up to Rick's home. He went inside, told Alana to collect her things and to hurry up.

"But Jasmine was going to take me to the park. She said we could swing together." Alana protested.

"I know and maybe you two can hang out again some other time." Ryan told her. "But right now, we have to leave. I promise you and Jasmine can see each other again."

"When?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"Alana."

"Daddy."

"Alana you have to go now." Rick stated. Ryan, Alana, and Jasmine, who was also in the room, had turned to him after hearing his voice suddenly. "Ryan and I will set up a little play date for you and Jasmine soon. Maybe this weekend, if he allows it."

Ryan hesitated. He didn't want to chaperon anything if Rick would be there because there was no way in hell he'd leave Alana with him. But ultimately, he wanted to make his little girl happy. He turned back to her. "This weekend sounds good. As long as Jasmine isn't busy with her other friends, of course. Now go get your things, Alana."

Momentarily, Alana seemed to accept that answer. But then she frowned. "Why do we have to leave?"

"I'll tell you after we get home." Ryan answered. "But please go get your things. I'll take you to the park later."

Alana stared at her dad. Then, she looked to Rick- everyone noticing just how long she stared at him. Finally, Alana gave a hug to Jasmine and left to go collect her things. When she returned, she thanked Mr. Rick for letting her stay there and asked Jasmine if they could see each other this weekend. Jasmine agreed and Rick said she was welcome. Ryan and Alana got into the car with the dog he had brought along, and they were on their way back to their home.

When they made it back, Ryan told Alana to go out back and play while he took her things inside. The dog seemed pretty scared of Alana at first, until she started petting him. Then he followed her outside. First, Ryan wanted to inspect the house to make sure everything was safe and okay. He was upset with himself for not thinking to do that before he brought her home, but he was still so upset about what had happened with Rick that he hadn't thought about it. Normally as a trained CSI and officer, a father and as a person with common sense he would have. But he was just thankful at the moment that there seemed to be no signs of anything bad or out of place with their home.

Ryan came outside with a glass of orange juice for Alana. At first, he didn't see her but he could hear her little giggle. She had to have been behind the trees in the backyard again. Horatio and Ryan had warned her to not do that anymore because she had climbed up and had fallen one too many times already. But she did it anyways. She thought it was fun.

"Alana, come out for a moment." Ryan called out, not really sure where to be looking.

Suddenly, Alana dropped in front of him. She tumbled over, not falling completely though. The look on her face just screamed feigning innocence. She knew she wasn't supposed to be climbing the trees. And she definitely knew to not just jump out of it like that either.

"No more." Ryan said as stern as he could.

Alana nodded and took the small pink cup of juice out of Ryan's hand. She took a small sip and handed it back to him. "Thanks daddy."

"Yeah, it's pretty warm out. I'll put it over there for when you want more. But first I wanted to talk to you a little bit."

"Is it dad?" Alana asked. "I miss him. I like when he reads to me. He does the funny voices. Tell him to come home."

Ryan nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I miss him, too. But you know, I think it's time I should tell you the truth- that he's not on vacation."

Alana's head turned to the side. "He's not?"

"No. Actually, something happened. I don't want to worry you or make you freak out or anything. But you need to know just in case something else bad happens to me, too." Ryan said slowly.

Alana's eyes widened. "What's wrong?"

"Well, he had to… go… undercover. To catch a bad guy." Ryan told her.

"Undercover? Will you have to go, too?"

"Rick's been helping out a lot." Ryan ignored the question, because he wasn't so sure how to answer it. "The bad guy is very unpredictable and he could have shown up here anytime. That's why we had to stay with Rick for a little while."

"Why did we have to leave? Did we annoy Mr. Rick?" Alana questioned.

He shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. He actually wanted us to stay. But I thought we had bothered him enough. He's been really… great… to us, and I'm thankful. But it was time we came home. And I know you'll miss Jasmine, but you'll see her this weekend and I promise I'll take you guys out to do whatever you want."

Alana looked down.

"Alana, are you okay?"

"I don't like Mr. Rick." She said softly.

"Why not? You two seemed to get along well."

"He's really nice to me. And he let me eat pizza and he colored with me once." She said. "But I don't like it when he stares at you."

Ryan was confused. He hadn't noticed Rick staring at him. But he figured that was just Alana's child imagination. "He stares at me?"

She nodded. "Sometimes when we're talking, he just stares at you. And when he came to pick us up that one day, he did, too. And in the car, and I got scared cuz I didn't think he was looking at the street anymore. He does it a lot more than that, too."

Ryan was pretty quiet. He wasn't sure how to take in that information. He was well aware of Rick's feelings for him. It was now very apparent. But he hadn't even noticed Rick staring at him. He just assumed that Alana was exaggerating. But he figured it did make sense- before Ryan and Horatio had gotten together when he had a massive crush on the lieutenant, he constantly stared at him. He was shocked Horatio hadn't noticed at all. And now it made sense to Ryan that whenever he and Rick spoke, he would catch Alana staring at him. He just thought it was because she didn't know him too well. But now he knew otherwise.