Just because it took so long I'll let y'all have two chapters. ;)

Skinny Jeans

Horatio collected his personal things from the office in the Center for Disease Control. He followed the CDC specialist, Kevin, down the hall. He was given a lab coat and a mask to wear as they entered the lab.

"Alright so here's what we found," Kevin explained, "The can of pepper spray your lab sent in contained a live small pox virus, but it wasn't a normal virus."

"What do you mean?" Horatio inquired as Kevin lifted a frozen vial from a freezer of dry ice.

"Well the virus was altered," Kevin explained, "It seems someone tried to make the virus stronger but what they really ended up doing was destroying the virus's ability to reproduce."

"You mean," Horatio began, "The virus can't multiple like a normal virus?"

"Exactly, once the virus infects someone it can't infect anyone else," Kevin continued. "It becomes sterile."

"So it's not contagious?" Horatio inquired.

"Correct, once the virus tries to leave the body it dies. It looses its vitality because it no longer has the DNA support from its host."

"So what does that mean for Ryan?" Horatio asked.

Kevin looked at him with an intrigued expression. "Well it seems that when he died the virus also died," he explained. "We've ran the tests, we've taken samples, we've done the analysis. I can't believe I'm saying this but the virus is gone."

"You mean…" Horatio slowly said.

"Yes," Kevin said, "Ryan Wolfe no longer has small pox. He survived and defeated the small pox virus."

Ryan's hand shook as he carefully and slowly spooned the soup into his mouth. It was warm and soothed his throat and slowly satisfied the terrible hunger that had overtaken his body. He stopped after just four bites and had to rest. He was so tired and weak. He looked at the end of his bed and looked at Jesse.

"I'm kind of jealous right now," Jesse said.

"Why's that?" Ryan inquired.

"You can't really eat once you're dead," Jesse explained, "And I kind of miss food. It is nice not having to stop and eat but I really liked food."

Ryan chuckled as he picked up his spoon. "Well get ready to feel the hate, Cardoza," Ryan chuckled, "Because my nurse said if I can finish this I can have pudding."

Jesse laughed and shook his head. "Just don't let Horatio know," he said, "He was so pissed because the nurse wouldn't give him pudding."

Ryan laughed but quickly stopped when he began coughing extremely hard. He looked at Jesse and smiled. "I still win," he quietly said, "I survived and I get pudding."

Horatio smiled behind the paper mask the CDC had given him as he walked into Ryan's room. It had been a week since Ryan died and returned back to life. Ryan was thin and pale and wrapped in a thick blanket.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" Horatio asked him as he sat in the chair next to Ryan's bed.

Ryan's face poked out from where it was buried beneath the blanket. "I'm cold," he mumbled.

Horatio chuckled and looked at Ryan's hazel eyes, still shining with life through the pale skin and red rimmed eyelids. "You feeling better I take it?"

"I'm freezing and always hungry but no one wants to give me food that actually tastes like something other than salt," Ryan grumbled. "How is that better?"

"You're not dying," Horatio said, "That's an improvement."

Ryan chuckled and curled up under his blanket. "Can I talk to Jessica again?" he quietly asked.

Horatio shook his head. "She's refusing to answer any of our calls right now," he explained. "All I can tell you is that she's alive and knows you're alive and well. In fact she's ecstatic to know you're alive, but I think she needs some time to process what happened. She's still pretty shaken up."

Ryan groaned and buried his head beneath his blanket again. Horatio could hear him sniffle, and knew he was crying. Horatio gently pulled the blanket back and looked at Ryan's torn face. "Three more days and the CDC doctors said you can leave," he quietly said. "Then you can call her all you want to talk to her."

Ryan gave him a weak smile. He reached his hand out and Horatio gently grasped it. "Thanks Dad," he whispered.

Ryan's legs shook under his weight as he emerged from Horatio's house and out onto the patio. He pulled the hood up on his sweatshirt and placed the red aviator sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. Lucy snorted and snapped playfully at his heels, happy to see him again. He sat down in a chair and crossed his legs as Lucy jumped into his lap. He curled up with the dog, willingly accepting the warmth from her body.

"Wolfe!" Eric exclaimed as he ran outside. He clobbered Ryan from the chair and to the ground, hugging him tightly. "Aw man, I've missed you!"

Ryan chuckled as Lucy alternated between licking Ryan and Eric's face. "What, you didn't get enough of watching me in the hospital?"

"I didn't actually get to talk you," Eric said as he stood up, helping Ryan to his feet. "It was mostly me crying over the fact that you were dying."

"You cried about me dying?" Ryan asked.

"Well yeah, you're my best friend and, well, you're kind of like family."

Ryan smiled and hugged his friend. "Thanks Eric," he whispered.

"Ryan baby!" Alexx exclaimed as she hugged Ryan, "Oh baby, you're alive! Oh dear, but you're skinny as hell." She commented as she held Ryan's arms from his body and lifted his shirt to look at his thin body. "My god, we need to get some weight back on you."

"Yeah, Paulie said he won't touch up my tats until I put on ten pounds," Ryan chuckled as he adjusted his shirt.

"My god, you could play those ribs like those like a xylophone," Natalia chuckled as she, Calleigh, and Walter walked outside.

"Hey, give me a break," Ryan chuckled, "I've only been out of the hospital for a few hours. And you know what they feed you there? Soup; soup, jello, and pudding. No real food."

"They gave you pudding?" Horatio asked as he walked out with a plate of food. "Those nurses wouldn't give me any." He handed Ryan the plate and smiled. "Eat up boy, Jess isn't into little boys."

"A veggie burger?" Ryan said as he examined his food. "Still no real food."

"Veggie burgers are better for you than real beef," Horatio said. "Besides I don't think eating something like a cheeseburger would be the best idea right now. You've ate almost nothing for two weeks. You need to start small and work your way up."

Ryan sighed and chomped into the veggie burger. He moaned when the taste hit his tongue and quickly took another bite. "Ok, this is amazing!" he exclaimed, "I take it back. I'll have another."

Horatio chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Why don't you get through that one first slim? If you can finish it I'll gladly make you another."

"Deal!" Ryan exclaimed as he continued eating.

Ryan stretched his arms and crawled into the bed of Horatio's guest room. He laid there feeling more exhausted than he had in a long time. Something caught his eye and he smiled at the sight of Jesse Cardoza standing at the end of his bed. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You tricked me," he quietly said, "You knew Jessica would never take her own life, but you told me that knowing I'd go back, didn't you?"

Jesse smiled at him. "Yeah I kind of lied, sorry bud."

Ryan smiled and slowly closed his eyes. "You win this time, Cardoza," he mumbled as he fell into a deep sleep.

Ryan stood in his bedroom back in his condo. He dug through the dresser and closet, trying to find a pair of jeans that wouldn't fall off his thin body. He pulled on his smallest pair and looked at how his hip bones protruded through his skin and his jeans hung low. Ryan tugged at them and sighed when they slid back down to their original resting place.

Ryan sighed and continued to dig through his clothes. He picked up a pair of Jessica's jeans and looked them over. He smiled and pulled them on. He laughed when he actually managed to zip them up. Ryan stood in front of the full length mirror and laughed at the sight of himself in Jessica's small jeans.

Ryan ran down the hall to Jessica's studio and quickly began taking pictures of himself, posing in all sorts of ways. He attached several of them in an email and sent them to Jessica. Moments later he dialed her number and hoped she would answer.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice mumbled in his ear.

"Jessica?" Ryan quietly said, afraid he had wakened her.

"Ryan," Jessica's voice sounded again, "How are you, pumpkin?"

"I'm doing better," Ryan said with a smile. "I'm out of the hospital now."

"Good, that's good," Jessica said. Ryan heard her shift in bed and a male voice say something. "It's Ryan," he heard her quietly say to the other person. "Greg says hi," Jessica mumbled into the phone.

"Greg? You mean Greg Sanders?" Ryan inquired.

"Yeah, Greg Sanders," Jessica said with a yawn.

"Jess, were you sleeping?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I work the grave shift so your four o'clock in the afternoon is my two o'clock in the morning."

"Oh, got it," Ryan said, understanding her explanation. "Why's Greg there?"

"We were cuddling," Jessica muttered. "I had a nightmare so Greg was holding me so I felt safe."

"Awww, Jessie," Ryan quietly said, "I'm sorry. I wish I was there for you."

"It's ok," Jessica said in her sleepy voice, "I'm doing alright. Did you need something?"

"Yes," Ryan said, remembering the original reason he called, "I sent you an email. You need to read it."

"Ok," Jessica mumble, "Greg can you get my computer?" Ryan heard Greg's familiar quirky voice say something and listened to more rustling of bedding. "Thanks G," Jessica replied. "Ok, yup here it is." There was a moment of silence before Jessica spoke again. "What in the world is this?"

"Me," Ryan said with a smirk, "Wearing your jeans."

Jessica laughed and Ryan heard Greg's familiar laugh, also. "Oh my gosh, you have lost weight," she said. "I think I need to come home and fatten you up."

"I think I would love that," Ryan smiled. "Why don't you do that right now?"

"Sorry pumpkin, not yet," Jessica chuckled. "But thank you for the pictures. It really makes me happy to see you again."

"You're welcome Jessie," Ryan quietly said. "I miss you, love."

"I miss you, too, Ryan," Jessica said. "I love you, pumpkin."

"I love you, too, Jessie Belle," Ryan said. "Please come home soon."

"I think I might," Jessica chuckled, "If I don't you might wear out my jeans."

Ryan laughed and smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in weeks.