Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: To understand this story a little better, here's my Ryan/Emmie series in a nutshell. Ryan truly loves Emmie for who she is. Rick Stetler, in the meantime, is interested only in her political connections and her rich daddy.

Life's Little Storms

Ryan Wolfe dodged into the Miami-Dade Crime Lab from the latest summer storm to unleash its fury over South Florida. He now glanced behind him as he stepped into the computer lab carrying his latest case file. Shivering in the air conditioning, he shook his arms off and then smoothed out his wet hair with his fingers. His gray jacket was speckled by the fat rain drops.

"Hey Emmie. Wow! It's really coming down out there."

Senior computer tech Emmie Stockburne smiled and gave him a sideways glance. "Hi Sweet Stuff."

"Careful. Never know when you-know-who might come sniffing around."

She backed her chair up from the main console and groaned as she stretched her arms and arched her neck. "Ouch. I really need to adjust this work station. It's way too low, and my neck is killing me. Sounds like it's getting bad out there."

That area of the lab had no windows, but the thunder and rain seemed louder by the second. Ryan dipped his head to listen. "Yeah, in fact it sounds worse. And everybody else is out in the field right now. Even Horatio."

Suddenly the lights flickered right before thunder gave a deafening crash. The building vibrated. Startled, Emmie stiffened up and looked at the ceiling.

"Wow! Sounds like that one was right on top of us! I think I'm gonna shut some of this stuff down, since nobody else is here. Rather not risk a blowout." She reached down and flipped switches behind the console. Monitors and AV equipment went dark one by one as the humming of computers ceased. "I'll just turn it back on when this thing passes."

Ryan sighed as he laid the brown case folder on the desk next to her. "I guess this one will have to wait until you turn everything back on again." He then looked around. "Kind of quiet with everybody gone."

Emmie glanced at the lifeless computer equipment and then at Ryan. She leaned her chin on her hand and gave him a coy look. "Well, if you're not busy, I could sure use a big, strong man to help me with something."

IAB agent Rick Stetler furiously yanked up his phone and stabbed numbers while glaring at his dark, lifeless computer monitor. It had suddenly blinked off while he was reading emails for one of his most important investigations. The wet, roaring darkness outside of the Miami-Dade Police Headquarters meant nothing to him. Storm or no storm, he needed that computer back up and running. Immediately.

"Computer Lab, Emmie Stockburne" a strained voice said on the other end.

Rick huffed impatiently. "Emmie, my computer went dead. I'm in the middle of an important case, and I need you to fix it now, please."

"Hey, Sir. The lightning probably took out your surge protector. Actually, can you hold on a minute? My hands are kind of occupied. Just a second. Putting you on the speaker." Rick heard several clicks and then background noise. "Okay, Sir. You say your computer went dead?" She then giggled. "Stop it!"

Rick furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "Is there somebody else in there with you?"

Emmie grunted slightly. "Just CSI Wolfe, Sir. Why?"

The IAB agent huffed. "As I was saying, my computer's completely out! Mind taking care of the problem? Wolfe's stuff can wait."

"Actually, Sir, there's not a lot I can do until this storm rolls through. Could you hold on for about thirty seconds? I think CSI Wolfe and I can finish this thing up pretty quickly. Be right with you."

Rick felt his blood pressure rise as he gripped the handset more tightly. He had long suspected that snarky little patrol officer had been muscling in on Emmie and all those goodies she owned. His eyes blazed when he thought he heard heavy breathing and shuffling in the background.

"Damn, that guy's impatient" he overheard Ryan whisper.

Emmie giggled between breaths. "Not as impatient as you, sometimes! Hang on. Let me just get these off." Rick heard rustling and rattling in the background. "There."

"Ready when you are."

"Let's do this."

Ryan drew a breath. "Move your leg so I can get all the way in there."

"Okay. How's that? Ooh, this thing's gonna give me a hernia!"

Rick now gripped the edge of his desk hard enough to scratch it as he heard more heavy breathing, grunting, and scraping in the background.

"Don't get that stuff on my skirt! Makes a stain I can't wash out!" Rick heard Emmie say, sounding like she was out of breath.

"Hey, sorry. Guess I'm just messy, okay?" Ryan retorted, sounding equally worn down.

Emmie's voice sounded strained. "Here. Push a little harder. I'm gonna get on top here. Make it easier. Yeah, that's good."

Rick's breathing quickened as he heard more shuffling in the background.

Emmie sighed with relief. She had a smile in her voice. "Oh, yeah. This is great. Now I could do this all day long!"

Ryan took a deep breath. "Come on already, Emmie! How long am I supposed to hold this?"

The IAB agent had heard enough. That lifeless computer and the impossible deadline no longer mattered. He slammed the handset down almost hard enough to smash it. Tightening his lips, he bolted up out of his chair and stormed through the hallway toward the elevator, his paisley tie trailing behind him.

You're dead meat this time, Wolfe!

Rick clenched his fists and continued to breathe deeply as he bolted off the elevator in the direction of the computer lab. He couldn't see anyone through the windows, but then something else caught his attention. He craned his neck when he spotted Emmie's left hand gripping the edge of the computer table and pushing upward. His eyes narrowed, and he tightened his lips as he stormed through the door.

"Wolfe! Emmie! What the hell is going on in here?" he roared.

Both Ryan and Emmie whipped their heads up at him in surprise.

Ryan sighed as he took his hands off the computer table he had been positioning. He looked dryly at the fuming IAB agent as he stood up slowly and dusted himself off.

"Sergeant Stetler. Run out of things to investigate?"

Emmie quickly set down the coil of gray computer cables she had been holding and glanced behind her at the phone. "Oh, hey Sir. Sorry, this took a little longer than I expected. CSI Wolfe was helping me raise up my work station. I had to hold the cables while he pushed the desk against the wall."

Rick locked eyes with the CSI. "Wolfe! Don't you have somewhere else to go?"

Ryan glanced back at the computer tech. "Call me when you got that search done, Emmie" he said to her while he shot the angry IAB agent a glare.

"Sure. See you later, Ryan" she called after him, wiping dirt off her hands with a paper towel. She then turned her attention to Rick. "Didn't mean to forget about you, Sir."

A white plastic bottle lay on its side in a small puddle next to her monitor. She immediately picked it up with two fingers and wiped it dry. "Wolfe knocked over a bottle of Citrix when he was moving this thing. This is stuff you never want to get on your skirt. It makes a nasty bleach stain."

"I'll take your word for it" he muttered.

Emmie tipped her head up to listen for the storm. "Well, sounds like it's clearing up out there. How about we take a look at your problem?"

Up in Rick's office, the computer tech flipped switches, watching Rick's computer come back to life. Satisfied that everything worked properly, she stood up.

"Looks like you're back in business. The lightning just tripped your surge protector, and it shut everything down. One of my easier fixes."

Unfazed, Rick Stetler folded his arms and glared at her. "Emmie, what was going on between you and Wolfe?" he demanded.

She paused. "Actually, Sir, CSI Wolfe and I were the only two in the lab. He came in and asked me if I needed any help with something. Well, I told him I was hurting, and could he give me some help. So he had me sit on top of my console while he pushed it back and forth so I wouldn't have so much pain." She turned to leave. "And now I'm going back to the computer lab so CSI Wolfe and I can finish what we started before everybody gets back here."

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "Fine! But next time you be ready to fix my computer when I tell you."

Not able to resist the temptation, Emmie sidled up to him. "Actually, Sir, I would rather have asked you, but I know how much you hate getting messy." She whispered with a smile in her voice. "See you later."