Thank you for continuing to read my story! I hope you like this chapter.

Emily chuckled as Ryan led her down to the morgue. She knew that her wrist was fine but she like Eric had seen the rage in Ryan's eyes. Ryan looked at her quizzically when he heard Emily chuckle. "Ryan don't you think you are over reacting just a little? I mean it is just a scrape. I have had hundreds and I am just fine." Emily replied and gently pulled Ryan to a stop. She smiled as Ryan looked down at the floor. Emily could still see that he was worried. She put her right hand under his chin and forced him to look up at her. "Ryan…" Ryan looked up into Emily's eyes. "What is going on? It is just a scrap and you are acting like my hand is about to fall off." Emily said with a laughing smile. Ryan sighed. He knew that he was over reacting but he couldn't help it. Emily raised her eyebrow as she waited for him to answer. Ryan cleared his throat. "Well… I … Emily… I…" Emily laughed. She only really heard Ryan stammer once and that was the first time they met and she thought it was funny that he would when he would talk to her. He had never stammered to anyone else and it made her feel special. Ryan swallowed thickly. He wanted to tell her the way he felt. Like how when she looked him, he would hold his breath or when she smiled at him, his heart would skip a beat. He had never felt like this for anyone before and he was uncertain about how to tell her.

Ryan opened his mouth to try again but closed it. He looked at Emily and saw her smiling at him. He thought he saw something in her eyes but he wasn't certain. Just then Emily's phone rang. Emily looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her dad. "Hold on. We are going to continue this conversation and you are going to give me an answer." Emily said teasingly as she answered. "Hey dad! No I am fine, I didn't get you in trouble did I? That's good. Yeah ok. Sure I will tell him. Alright drive safe and send her my love. Love you!" Emily closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. Ryan watched Emily while she was on the phone. She would reach up and twirl the end of her braid around her finger as she talked and would spin it faster if she was thinking and would slow down when she got excited. Ryan smiled at her as she hung up and looked back at him. "So it seems that the man from earlier…" "Stetler." Ryan said bitterly. Emily nodded. "Yes Stetler, has been brought back on duty and if you have questions about that you can ask dad when he comes home tonight. He was going to finish up here and then visit Natalia and tell her the news about Stetler.

Since you have nothing to do what do you think about coming with me to the store so I can get some groceries for dinner?" Emily asked. She knew that Ryan was not going to let her go alone. "Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy?" Ryan asked giving her a 'you are a rule breaker' look. Emily grinned at him. "That is why you need to come with me. You can push the cart while I put stuff in it." Ryan shook his head and chuckled. "Alright." Ryan replied. Emily grabbed Ryan's hand and led him to the elevator. They had made it to the morgue floor which was in the basement. Ryan's eyes widened as Emily continued to hold his hand as they waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, Emily turned and gave Ryan a brilliant smile. Ryan's heart skipped a beat when she did. It was just them in the elevator and it took all that Ryan had not to shove her against the wall and kiss her until they ran out of air. Ryan shook his head trying to shake those thoughts out of his head. Emily saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye and turned her head farther away as she smirked. She had a pretty good idea about what Ryan was thinking of. The doors opened again and Emily pulled Ryan out to the parking lot. "Come on Wolfy, we have some driving to do." Emily said laughing. Ryan smiled as Emily led them out the doors. He kind of liked the little nickname she just called him. Yes he liked it more when she said his first name but he would settle for Wolfy right now. Eric caught a glimpse of them leaving and he also noticed their hands. Dang it! I just lost twenty bucks. Eric thought as he smiled and shook his head. Calleigh had been right about the two.

Horatio finished up a few more files but he couldn't get Stetler out of him mind. Horatio threw the folder that he was currently working on, on his desk and rubbed his temples. Horatio decided that now was a good time to go see Natalia. He really needed a distraction and she always gave him one whether it was on purpose or not. Horatio signed out and got in his hummer. The drive to Natalia's was short with little traffic. Horatio pulled into Natalia's driveway and got out of the hummer. He walked up to her porch and stopped. He raised his hand to knock but stopped. How many times had he stood right here in this exact position? Horatio shook his head and knocked. Today was going to be different. There was no answer so he knocked again. Just before Horatio knocked again he heard someone slowly making their way to the door. He heard the them undue the locks and Horatio was met with a tired, runny nose, Natalia. She looked at Horatio in surprise. "Horatio? What are you doing here?" Natalia asked. Horatio stepped forward worried. "Natalia are you ok?" He asked worried. Natalia sniffled and nodded her head.

"Yeah I'm fine I just caught a bug. Oh where are my manners. Horatio please come in." Natalia stepped aside and let Horatio in. Horatio stepped in and watched Natalia lock the door behind her. "So what did you come down here for?" Natalia asked as she made her way back to the couch. "Had some news to tell you but that can wait until you feel better. When did you start feeling sick?"Horatio asked as he sat down beside Natalia. She tiredly waved him off. "This morning… I'm fine… just give me till tomorrow…" Natalia sneezed after she said this and Horatio handed her a tissue. "Thank you." Natalia said nasally. Horatio gave Natalia a small smile. "No problem Sweetheart." Horatio brushed Natalia's cheek with his finger tips. Natalia closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers on her face. Horatio brushed his fingers through Natalia's hair and she sighed contently. He watched as Natalia fell asleep to his hand running through her hair. Horatio looked around the room and saw photos that Natalia had around the living room. He carefully got off the couch without waking Natalia up. There were some family photos of Natalia and her family. There were more of just Natalia and her sisters. Scattered around the room were photos of the team. His eyes widened when one photo caught his attention.

It was a photo of him and Natalia at one of the department parties. Horatio had been standing behind Natalia watching her but she had turned around and caught him. It was the only time that she had and he was smiling like a little kid and she had a slight blush. Horatio wondered who had taken the photo but he liked it. There had been so many people taking photos that night he hadn't noticed. He would ask Natalia about that photo later and went to check up and her. He placed his hand on her forehead and noticed that she was warm to the touch. Horatio went in search for a thermometer. He finally found one in the bathroom cabinet. He gently placed the thermometer in Natalia's mouth and waited for it to take her temp. As he waited Horatio looked Natalia over. She had on some grey sweats and a large faded yellow t-shirt. He let his eyes slide along her body and Horatio was quickly becoming aroused. The thermometer beeped and brought Horatio out of his quickly running away thoughts. 102.3 He was right, Natalia had a fever. Horatio put the thermometer away and got a few towels that he got wet in some cool water. He wrung out the towel and sat back down next to Natalia and placed the towel on her head. Natalia shifted and mumbled something. Horatio leaned in closer to Natalia trying to hear her. "What Sweetheart?" Natalia kept her eyes closed and smiled a bit. "Hmmm… that feels nice but I can think of something that would feel even better." Natalia said a little louder.

Horatio tilted his head just a bit confused. Then all of a sudden Natalia sat up and kissed Horatio right on the lips. His eyes widened in surprise but he was quickly lost in the kiss. His eyes closed as he felt Natalia's tongue probe for entrance into his mouth. After a little bit more probing, Horatio finally opened his mouth to her probing tongue. He was quickly absorbed by her and returned the kiss. Their tongue's dueled for dominance for a bit but Horatio let Natalia take over. They only broke off the kiss for their need for air. Horatio sat back in surprise and just stared at Natalia. She opened her eyes and looked at Horatio. Her eyes were slightly glazed but Horatio quickly forgot about it when Natalia moved toward him. She climbed in his lab and had one knee on each side of him. Horatio swallowed thickly as he looked her up and down. Natalia leaned down and kissed Horatio again but with more passion and need. Horatio closed his eyes and kissed her softly back. He was so immersed in the kiss that he didn't notice her hands unbuttoning his shirt until there were only a few left. He gasped when he felt her hands run across his chest.

Natalia gave him a smile as she lowered her head to his chest. She brushed her fingers across his nipples and kissed his chest. Horatio gasped again and let his head fall back in pleasure. Natalia took advantage of the skin he exposed and kissed the skin over his collar bone. She sucked right there and continued to explore Horatio's body with her hands. His breath became uneven and he was barely hanging on from losing control. This had to stop but Horatio didn't want it to. Horatio's eyes shot open and he sat up as Natalia's hands moved lower. Horatio gently grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from his body. Natalia sat up and looked at Horatio curiously. "Sweetheart, you have a fever and need to get some sleep." Horatio said as he switched their positions and laid her down on the couch. She pouted which cause Horatio to chuckle. "You are getting some sleep." He said as he ran his fingers threw her hair. She was out in seconds and Horatio noticed that she didn't feel as warm. He was not going to leave her like this so he decided that he was going to call Emily and tell her he wouldn't be coming home tonight but for now he was content to sit there and watch Natalia sleep as he ran his fingers threw her soft hair.

The trip to the store was great. Emily had teased Ryan the whole time and he teased her right back. She knew that he still hadn't answered her question from the morgue but she was going to let him off the hook for now. She got a few things so she could make dinner for the week and Ryan helped her take everything to the hummer. They just pulled up to Horatio's house and Emily had a pretty good plan on how to get Ryan to talk. Ryan turned the hummer off and looked over at Emily. She had said very little on the ride home but she had sung along to a few songs that she knew that came on the radio. Right now she was smiling like she had something up her sleeve. Emily noticed him looking at her and she turned and gave him a big smile. "Hey can you help me bring everything in?" She asked. Ryan raised his eyebrow to her teasingly.

"You are supposed to be taking it easy. Do you really think that I was just going to drop you off and leave you to your own devices? I don't think so, if I did who knows what kind of trouble you might get yourself into." Ryan said joking. Emily nodded her head, playing along. Ryan and Emily slipped out of the hummer and went around back. When Emily reached in to grab a bag but Ryan wrapped and arm around her waist and lifted her up. Emily giggled as he turned and placed her behind him. "I will get the bags and you can unlock the door." Ryan said loving the sound of her giggle. Emily stood there looking Ryan up and down. Definitely good looking and so far a great personality… ok really good looking. Emily thought as she watched Ryan gather up all the bags and close the back of the hummer. Ryan caught her watching him and raised a knowing eyebrow at her. Emily just gave him a smirk and walked up to the house. Ryan shook his head and followed behind her.

Emily pulled out her key and unlocked the front door. She held it open for him and closed the door behind him. She locked it back up and turned to find him wait for her to tell him where to put the bags. Emily pointed to the kitchen. "Just set them on the counter and we can put things away." Ryan dipped his head and moved to the kitchen. Emily put her keys away and found Ryan in the kitchen looking through cabinets seeing where everything went. Emily joined Ryan and in no time they had everything put away. Emily had some spice to put away but Ryan was currently in the cabinet above where she needed to get in. She decided that she was going to get him to squirm. She moved forward and stood right behind him. She placed her left hand on the counter just in front of him and with her other hand reached around him and opened the drawer he was in front of. Ryan froze as he felt Emily behind him. He had one arm raised as he placed the last item in the cabinet and his other was holding the cabinet door. Emily pulled open the drawer further and it gently bumped into Ryan's waist. Emily smiled as she reached further around him and placed the spice in the drawer. She closed it and slowly brought her hand back around but she let her hand brush Ryan as she did.

Ryan swallowed thickly when he felt her hand. Emily saw him tense under his shirt. This is going to be easy. Emily thought as she moved away from Ryan. Once he could no longer feel the heat from Emily's body, Ryan let out the breath that he had been holding. Emily smiled as she went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Ryan put both hands on the counter as he caught his breath. She had barely touched him and he felt like he had run a marathon. Ryan took a few deep breaths and went in search for Emily. He found her on the couch waiting for him. She turned and looked at him when she heard him enter. She smiled and folded her arms on the back of the couch, placed her head on her arms and looked at Ryan. "Do you have to go back to work or can you stay for dinner?" Emily asked. Ryan rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked slightly away from her. "I probably should get back to work after all I don't have the permission to leave." Ryan said. He wanted to stay but he was worried about what Horatio would think. Emily smiled. She had a pretty good idea about why he was hesitating is staying. "Hmm… you do know that I have a certain… pull… over the boss and could probably get you the day off." Emily said with a big smile. Ryan looked at her quizzically. Emily patted the couch next to her.

"Come here. You don't want to leave me all alone now would you? Please just come sit with me until dad gets here." Emily asked. Even if he wanted to, Ryan couldn't say no to Emily when she asked like that. He sighed and moved around the couch so he could sit down next to her. Emily handed Ryan the remote. "Why don't you find us something to watch?" She said as Ryan took the remote. He found an interesting movie and raised the volume a bit. He put the remote on the table and leaned back into the couch. Emily scooted closer to Ryan and snuggled against his side. Ryan raised his arm and let her scoot even closer. She moved closer and put her head in the crook of his neck. Ryan glanced at her without moving his head and saw that she was smiling. He lowered his arm to her side and smiled when she sighed contently. A half hour later Ryan heard her breathing become even and when he glanced over he found her asleep. Ryan shifted and froze when Emily mumbled something when he moved. She moved closer and Ryan smiled. He sat back and enjoyed the feeling of her next to him. He wished that everyday could be like this.

"Now, now you need to stay awake and watch. I promise to give you a show." The man laughed evilly as he moved away from the other man. The other man was badly beaten and had his hands tied behind his back also his feet. The first man dragged the beaten man to the opposite side of the wall and chained him to the wall. When he was done he turned his attention back to her. She whimpered through the gag in her mouth and tried to free herself but was unsuccessful. The man smiled as he watched her struggle. "Oh you are going to be fun. A lot funner than the last girl I had. But we need to do something about that blood of yours. With it running down you like that is just too distracting." The man looked at her as he thought of something to do. He smiled as he came to a decision and moved to the mattress that was in the other corner than the tied up man. He pulled the sheet that was on the mattress off the bed and threw them carelessly in a corner. He came back over to her and pressed his hips into hers. She gasped as she felt him. He kissed her neck and moved his hands under her shirt. Emily struggled and flailed her legs and almost caught the man between the legs. He growled and pressed into her side. She whimpered again and stopped struggling. When she did, he released pressure on her side. He removed her shirt and looked at her bleeding wound. "Let me guess… he got a little trigger happy. Don't worry, I am not trigger happy." The man said as he unchained her from the wall and dragged her to the mattress. He threw her on top of it and got on top of her. He handcuffed her to the bed post and then leaned down and began kissing her body. He made his way down and removed her skirt as he kissed her. She struggled some more but he just hurt her more. She cried out and stilled. "That's a good girl. Now just lay still and it will hurt less." The man said as he tossed her skirt on the floor. She whimpered as his hands roamed her body. She was scared and she didn't know how to stop this.

Ryan felt Emily start moving around. At first it was just a little but she began to move around more. Ryan turned his head and looked at her. Her eyes were shut tightly and her forehead wrinkled. She began to thrash. Ryan grabbed her arms and held her close to him as she thrashed some more. Ryan heard her say something and then she began to say it louder and louder. "No… please no… please!" Emily kept saying it over and over and tears began to run down her face. Ryan immediately knew she was having a nightmare. All of a sudden she jumped forward and opened her eyes. She was gasping for breath and was staring at nothing. Ryan rubbed her back and Emily slowly came back to reality. Emily turned to Ryan and buried her face in his chest. Ryan held Emily tightly. He had seen the fear in her eyes but he also knew right now was not the time to ask her about it. Emily slowly calmed down and Ryan felt her relax against him. Ryan let her stay there as she snuggled as close as she could to him.

He kept his arms wrapped protectively around her. Ryan tried to sooth her and ran his hand over her forehead. Emily calmed down and closed her eyes, feeling safe in Ryan's arms. She had just closed her eyes when the phone rang and made her jump. Ryan's arms prevented her from going far but the phone still scared her. Ryan kept one arm around her as he picked up her phone and looked to see who was calling. He handed the phone to her and gave her a soft smile. "It's your dad." Ryan said softly. Emily took the phone but Ryan noticed that her hands shook a little. "Hey dad. What does she do you know? Ok well I know a good soup recipe that I know by firsthand experience and it works. Yeah I will make some and bring it over. No that's fine. Hey can Ryan stay and help me? Yes I will feed him and you too. Well if you are worried he can stay and I can get the couch for him. Ok sure. Alright see you in about an hour and a half. Ok love you!" Emily hung up the phone and stood up. Ryan looked at Emily asking her a silent question. She gave him a soft smile. "Natalia caught a cold and dad is going to stay with her tonight. I am going to make a soup that will make her feel better sooner and I need some help. Dad also said that since he doesn't want me home alone so… you get to stay the night. Can I ask you a favor? Can you please drive me to and from Natalia's?" Emily asked. Ryan smiled and nodded. "No problem. So are you going to tell me what kind of soup we are cooking?" Emily shook her head. "Nope. It is a family secret." Emily really smiled at him now and he followed her to the kitchen. This was going to be an experience considering he had never cooked soup before.

~ What do you think? ~