LAST CHAPTER! FINALLY!

Right, well, school's so far so good...how's it going for everyone out there? Thank you for the reviews, you guys, really! I don't own CSI Miami or its characters, though Ryan would be a nice touch to my collection...

Chapter 21

The door was locked. Again. She sighed heavily and pounded on the door, praying he wasn't having another episode. She waited a minute, then turned to leave, just as the door opened.

"Cal," Ryan said breathlessly. She turned back to face him with relief in her eyes. She must have been staring, because he looked away bashfully. "Just got out of the shower," he said, explaining his shirtless attire. "I have something for you. It's not big, but..." Ryan turned and headed back into the apartment, leaving the door wide open, so she entered, closing the door behind her, then locking the three locks on it. She'd been gone for nearly three hours, and was sure Ryan hadn't had a blink of sleep from the way he was acting. The front room was empty as she looked around, he must've went into his bedroom. He limped back into the front room within a few seconds, holding a small piece of metal in his hand along with his cane.

Calleigh smiled as the thought of House flashed through her mind, but she quickly hid it.

"Cal, you don't have to stand, take a seat," he told her, so she did. "I have..." he said, pausing as he sat down, "a key for you." Ryan raised the key after leaning his cane on the coffee table.

"What's it to?"

"My apartment," he told her, and quickly added, "And not just because I keep locking you out, even though that's part of it, but...I trust you more than anyone I know. I want you to know that, so yesterday, I got my key copied, so...here." Ryan held the key out to her, and she took it slowly.

"Thank you, Ryan," she said, quietly. "I know this is a big step for you, trusting me. Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," he told her.

Calleigh slid the key into her jacket pocket carefully and looked up at him. "I didn't get called off on a case," she told him uneasily. When she saw the look on his face, she said, "It's not what you think. Horatio wanted to meet with us. Eric, Natalia, and I. I didn't know it was about you until I got there, but it felt wrong, like we were conspiring against you, but...we want to help you, Ryan. All of us," she said, sending them into an uncomfortable silence.

Ryan leaned back on the sofa as he set his elbow on the arm, staring at the wall in thought. Finally, he spoke.

"So what do you want?" he asked, still staring at the wall.

"Horatio thought...he...would you go back to the warehouse, Ryan?"

Ryan didn't say anything as his gaze shifted to his nerve-damaged hand. The warehouse...the warehouse.

Calleigh shifted uncomfortably under the tension that filled the room. Ryan looked lost, and she felt terrible for putting him in this position. She'd been so used to the quiet that she nearly jumped up at the sound of his voice.

"Cal, I...I don't know," he whispered, looking over at her with a pained expression. "I don't know if I can."

"You don't have to, Ryan. Not now, not at all. It was just a suggestion Horatio made," she said. "We thought it might be a good idea."

Ryan turned to her. "You thought it was a good idea?"

Oh, God. He didn't look mad...he didn't look anything, his expression was blank. "We thought...well...Ryan, we thought it would be like a face-your-fears kinda thing. I know it's a little drastic, but it could help." He still didn't do anything, so she tried again. "I know...I know what he did to you there, Ryan, I know what you went through, but...Ryan, I think it could really do something for you."

"I...I need to think about it, can I think about it? No, no, I don't...I don't need to think about it, you're right, I need to do this," he said in one jumbled statement, like he was arguing with himself. "I have to do it," he told her. "When?"

Calleigh was slightly shocked that he'd actually agreed, but she told him. "Whenever you're ready. We'll all be there with you. You won't be alone, Ryan. We can do it tomorrow, next week, next month. It's your call."

"Today," he said quietly. "I have to get it done and over with." God, he didn't know if he could do it today, but he had to do it today.

"All right. Ok, I'll call the others, we're in this together. You hear me?" she said comfortingly.

Ryan nodded as she pulled out her cell and dialed.

I can do this. I have to do this, it's the only way.

They rode in silence, excluding the sound of the air conditioning. It was already freezing in there, but Ryan broke into a nervous sweat the minute they got in. Calleigh reached over and squeezed his hand gently, reassuringly. They made a moment's eye contact, and he gave her a smile before she turned her attention back to the pavement.

The two arrived within the hour, the others had yet to show up. Calleigh stepped out of the car, but Ryan hesitated for a moment.

"Are you going to be all right, Ryan?" Calleigh asked, ducking her head into the driver side window.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a sec," he said. He sighed and opened the door, stepping out with his cane.

It wasn't long before the department's Hummer showed up, revealing Horatio and Eric, and Natalia followed in a small town car.

"This feels strange," Ryan whispered to Calleigh as the three approached.

"We're your friends. You said you trust me," she said. "You'll be ok."

Ryan still felt unsure, and knew he looked unsure, but he couldn't help it.

"Are you ready?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, I...no...I don't..." Ryan was at a loss for words as a feeling swept over him, the kind of feeling he'd get before he'd ask a girl out, the kind he'd get before watching a horror movie, the kind of feeling he'd get when...when Benningzer came into the room to torture him...fear, apprehension... "I can't do this, I can't," he said, giving Horatio a pleading look. "What in hell is going on with my head? It won't stop," he said, his voice cracking under the strain.

"You don't have to do this, Ryan," Horatio said quietly, avoiding the others' hearing. "Nobody's forcing this onto you."

"H, Natalia and I can wait by the Hummer. Wolfe, we aren't pressuring you, take your time. We don't want you to feel overwhelmed," Eric said.

"Ryan?" Calleigh said. She grabbed both his hands, caressing the back of his numb hand with her thumb. "It's completely up to you," she whispered.

"Just...just give me a few moments alone...I want to go in alone, right now," he told her.

"Are you sure?" Calleigh asked.

"Yeah, I just need to think. Five minutes, and I'll be out," he said.

"Ok," she replied, and he glanced at them all before turning and approaching the door. He'd never actually seen anything of the warehouse except the two rooms he'd been held captive in. It was dark inside, and he pulled out the flashlight Horatio'd given him. It was a little complicated trying to hold his cane and light in the same hand, but he managed. The sunlight filtering in lit the first room, but the stairway was incredibly black. His breath caught in his throat as he swung the light down the dark passage. Fear crept under his skin as he descended, and familiarization began to form into his mind. He couldn't turn back. He only needed to look at the room, that was all. Then he could leave, he could forget about all of it. He passed through the first room and stopped in the doorway. It was dark, despite the small amount of light draining in through the window. The sun wasn't on that side of the house, so it made it harder to see. That was probably a good thing.

His mind screamed at him to turn around and leave, but his feet wouldn't obey, and he stepped forward. His cane slid on something, and he fell, smacking his knee on the cement. He held back a cry as he stared at the cold ground so close to his face. Crimson liquid poured out onto the ground before him as his vision grayed, then returned to normal, but forced him into a dizzy spell. His breathing became heavy as he frantically shot up, away from the object on the floor. The pipe. No, his mind was playing tricks on him. He shook his head. It was his cane. Was it? Ryan stared into the darkness directly behind the cane. He's here. He knows you're here.

Ryan pushed himself backward into the corner, feeling warm liquid run down his cheek, to his jaw line, onto his neck, soaking his T-shirt collar. This couldn't be right. They were outside, right outside, he was ok. He had to keep it together. The flashlight was on the ground just two feet ahead of him. He just had to reach out and grab it, it was as simple as that. He lunged forward and snatched the flashlight from the ground. Ryan clumsily pulled himself to his feet, taking a few controlled breaths, then slowly pointed the light into the darkness. No.

"No," he said aloud. "No, no, no." He shook his head, trying to back up, but there was nowhere to back up, he was already against the wall. He dropped the flashlight. It went out. It was so dark, was it all in his mind? "You're not real," he whispered. "You're...not here, you're not here, you can't..." Ryan pressed himself against the wall hard, like he somehow might be able to phase through it, but he knew he was trapped. "This isn't happening again. It's not gonna happen again," he said. "God dammit, why won't you just leave me the hell alone?!" He turned. He knew it wasn't real, it was all in his mind, but damn it, it was driving him crazy having to live like this.

He screamed out his agony, spinning around and slamming his fist into the concrete wall. He screamed again, this time from physical pain as he held his tortured hand in the other. His distorted hand, right hand...right hand?

He heard footsteps and clutter as the others made their way to him, flashlights in hand. And he could move his arm, he'd moved his arm, his arm...

"Ryan?!" came Horatio's voice. The light shined in his face, but was quickly removed as it ventured to his hand. "Are you all right?"

"I'm..." Ryan's voice came out cracked, and he tried again. "I'm ok. I'm ok, now," he told them. Eric approached him from the darkness and threw his arm around his shoulders lightly.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get back to the light."

Ryan allowed himself to be led outside, and he leaned against the building's wall as he closed his eyes, and slid to the ground. He felt a presence beside him, and he looked up to see Calleigh kneeling beside him.

She looked down at his hand, mutilated, but he wasn't upset. She saw his tired smile, but there was something else in his eyes, this time, a glint, a small shine, that showed her that he knew it would be ok.

Calleigh glanced back at the others, then turned to Ryan again. "You hurt your head," she told him. He had a nice gash on the side of his face, which was leaking blood profusely. "Come on, Ryan. We'll take you to the hospital."

"My hand worked," he whispered. "It worked."

Calleigh smiled at him and helped him to his feet. "I told you it would be ok."

"I know," he said.

She leaned forward into his chest, and he hugged her with his good arm. It would be ok.

THE END!

Awwwww. I bet you all hated that, right? Tell me the truth, reviews for the last chapter count for the most points! So I actually finished this about three days ago, but I haven't been able to get it up because of school, but please tell me how I did! And thank you all who reviewed in the past, I'll remember! Bie:0D