AN- This chapter hopefully won't be as sad as previous chapters. I hope. This chapter, Dee will go back to work. I skipped ahead a little. But not much. Anyway. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

"Hey Dee!"

Dee turned around to see JJ running towards him.

"Not now JJ. I'm not in the mood for you to pounce on me."

Dee had returned to work, but something in him had changed. He just wasn't the bright happy man that he used to be before.

"I wasn't going to pounce on you, I just wanted to say welcome back."

Dee just nodded and brushed JJ off. He wasn't happy to be back, but Berkeley only gave him a week and a half off. And he did have bills to pay for, and the silence in the house was killing him. Bikky had gone off to college a few days ago. He decided to go to a college in LA. Bikky said he wanted to be as far away from Dee as possible.

'So much for patching things up.'

Dee thought bitterly to himself. He came to his and Ryo's office.

'Brace yourself Dee.'

He wasn't ready to go in. It would be really empty, and lonely in there.

"Hey Dee."

Dee turned around before he could open the door. He met Berkeley's eyes.

"Hi."

"Welcome back. Before you go in there, come with me. I have something to give you."

Dee was puzzled for a moment, and then followed Berkeley.

"This came in a few days ago. It's from one of Ryo's relatives."

Dee followed Berkeley into his office. He took the package that Berkeley was handing to him.

"I was debating on whether or not to give it to you, but I opened it, and I think you deserve to have it."

Dee sat down in one of the chairs in front of Berkeley's desk, and opened the package. There were several pictures of Ryo as a child, and a few of him just goofing around.

"Who sent these?"

"One of Ryo's cousins."

Dee nodded his head.

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome. Now. I have another thing to give to you."

Berkeley pulled out a case file.

"Oh. What about that case in Chicago? Did that one ever get solved?"

"Yes. I sent Ted and that new guy Jake. They solved it a few days ago. Now this one that I am giving to you is really small, and I think it's something you can handle."

Dee nodded his head.

"It's a drug related case, but it's not your average drug case. This one deals with the drugs being dealt only to Japanese men. Not women, or any other race. We want you to find out why, and where the drugs are coming from."

Dee nodded his head.

"The men are Japanese?"

Berkeley nodded his head, and then realization came to him.

"Oh. I'm sorry Dee. If you want we can give you another case and I'll give this one to someone else."

"No. I need to stop grieving now, and go back to work. I will get this case solved."

Dee stood and left the room.

"Damn. Why is it, every time I see him with that look, I want to gather him up in my arms, and hold him?"

Berkeley said to himself.

"Hey Dee."

Drake came up to Dee.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

Dee looked at Drake. Drake didn't see any life in his eyes.

"How the hell do you think I am doing?"

"I'm sorry Dee. It was the wrong thing to say. Oh. Here."

Drake handed Dee a key.

"It's the office key. We had the locks all changed while you were gone."

Dee thanked him and opened the door. So many memories rushed his senses.

"Oh my god."

He said to himself as he walked passed Ryo's empty desk, to his. He sat down in his chair, and just stared blankly at the empty desk before him.

'How am I suppose to get through this?'

He thought to himself.

"I guess you need a new partner then?"

Berkeley startled Dee out of his thoughts.

"I...I don't think I am ready for a new partner. This is harder then I thought it was going to be...I...I can't look up and see his empty desk."

Dee was willing himself not to cry at work. He didn't want to show people that he was still weak. Berkeley shut the door, and walked around the desk to Dee.

"It'll be ok Dee."

Dee looked up at Berkeley. Berkeley had been acting a little strange lately to Dee. He was acting almost friendly to him.

"I want to say thank you for coming and seeing me over the past week."

"You're welcome Dee. Did Bikky go off to college?"

"Yes. He left yesterday. Carol called me, and said he wanted to be as far away from me as possible. So, I guess he went to some college in LA. Carol said she was going to go and see him when he gets settled in. She said she would try to patch things up between me and Bikky."

Dee hung his head.

"I know this sounds odd...but...would you maybe come over tonight? I am going to go through the house, and pack up Ryo's things. I got a few letters from his nicer family members that said they would like a few personal things of his, and I can't do it alone, and Bikky's not there anymore...and...You know what, never mind. I'm stupid to ask such a thing. You probably are going to say no."

Dee went about putting things away in his desk. He brushed past a picture of himself and Ryo at the police ball last year. He was giving Ryo a light kiss on his head, and Ryo was blushing.

"Dee, I would like to come over and help you. It would be hard for you if I didn't come over and help. I'll bring something for dinner as well. That way you don't have to worry about making food. I'll be by about five then?"

Dee looked up wide-eyed.

'Did he really just agree to come over? Berkeley Rose, the man that wanted my Ryo, the one man that I hated more then anything, just agreed to come over and have dinner with me tonight. What the hell is going on with me?'

Dee thought to himself.

"Yeah. Five will be fine."

Berkeley smiled.

"See you then."

Dee just nodded as Berkeley walked out of the room.

"Hey JJ?"

JJ looked up surprised. Dee was standing next to him in the coffee room.

"Yeah Dee?"

"Would you...How do you know if someone is hitting on you?"

JJ laughed.

"You? You need advice on this from me? What happened to you being Mr. I am the greatest at flirting?"

"JJ, please just hear me out. Normally I am the one who does the hitting on. I never really had people hitting on me before."

"You had me."

Dee gave JJ an evil stare.

"That doesn't matter. You are a different case."

"What do you mean, 'I'm a different case'?"

Dee just shook his head.

"Never mind."

Dee began to walk away, when he felt a hand grabbing at his shoulder.

"No. I'm sorry Dee. You need help, and I did nothing but make fun of you."

"It's ok. I should have taken it as a joke."

"Now, you need to know when someone is hitting on you?"

Dee nodded his head.

"Well...there are many ways I suppose. I know one I got all the time was by watching their eyes. If they look deep into yours and you can feel something in them, then they're trying to flirt with you secretly. Then there's the obvious ones with them coming up to you and saying, 'Hey baby, I like those curves,' or something cheesy like that. Which one do you need help with?"

Dee thought for a moment.

"More like the secretive ones. This...person isn't really making it obvious yet, but I kind of know what to look for...but he keeps sending me mixed signals."

"Oh so it's a man who is trying to chase after you then, hmm?"

"Yes...Don't ask who I think it is though. I don't want rumors started."

"Ok Dee. Now, have you looked into his eyes? Has he given off any feelings of 'hey I like you do you like me' sort of feelings?"

"Well...Now that you mention it..."

Dee thought back to all of those times when Berkeley had been really nice to him. He always got a weird feeling when he looked really deep into his eyes, and when he had smiled at him...

"So? Am I helping you any?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Well that's good. Now who is he? Tell me please?"

Dee just shook his head.

Come on! I helped you the least you can do is tell me who the stud is. It's not me, is it?"

"No. It's not you. Thank you."

Dee walked back down the hall into his office. He was going to test his feelings tonight.

'God. And Ryo just died, and I'm already moving on. I'm such a jerk. Maybe, I won't really feel anything for him. It has to be sympathy or something.'

Dee put his mind to the case at hand. Five was still a few hours away. He had time.

There was a soft knock at the apartment door. Dee jumped up from his position on the couch, and walked to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Rose."

Dee sighed, as he unlocked the door. He opened it, and let Berkeley in.

"Hey. I found some boxes in my storage, and I brought pizza."

"Thank you. Let me take that."

Dee took the pizza and the boxes and put them in the kitchen. Berkeley took his coat off and put it over the couch. He took his shoes off as well.

"You know, I really am glad you said yes."

Dee said while running the pizza cutter through the pizza.

"I wanted to."

Dee paused what he was doing.

"Why? I thought we were enemies, and it turns out you want to come over, bring me dinner, and help me pack up Ryo's things and send them off to his family."

Berkeley walked into the kitchen. Dee had set the pizza cutter down and was leaning over slightly.

"I...I don't know why. I guess...I just want to help you. You lost a partner, and a best friend. I have been through this with other detectives. Many of them losing wives or children. I just don't want to see you go crazy and do something to hurt yourself."

Dee didn't know what to say. He was really confused with his feelings right now.

"Maybe...we should just eat and get to work."

Dee wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible. Berkeley noticed this, and just nodded his head. He wasn't going to press the matter.

"Do you know who this one goes to?"

Berkeley asked while closing another box. Mostly his family wanted pictures, or small things like stuffed animals. Dee had found a box in the closet with Ryo's baby stuff. He was going to send it to his aunt, along with pictures of Ryo's parents.

"Yeah. That one goes to his uncle. Do we have a bigger box for his aunt?"

Berkeley nodded and got up to go and get it. He was glad that Dee hadn't broken down so much. He only cried a little when he had come across a scrapbook that Dee was working on for Ryo. Dee had wanted to surprise him for their third year anniversary. He planned on giving it to him, after he asked Ryo to marry him. But, fate had different plans for them.

"Hey Dee?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like more beer?"

"Yeah. Grab me another one please."

Berkeley brought in the box, and two beers.

"Thank you."

Dee opened it, as Berkeley began to put things into the box.

"Is this the last one?"

"Yeah."

"When are you sending them?"

"Tomorrow probably. I'll run down to the post office before work."

Berkeley nodded his head. Dee put his drink down and closed the box. He carefully wrote the name and address on the box.

"That's it."

Dee looked around the room. There were ten boxes in all. They were all in different sizes and shapes. The room also looked empty now.

"Thank you."

Dee saw Berkeley to the door.

"You're welcome. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call ok?"

Dee nodded his head, and Berkeley walked out the door. Dee sighed as he closed the door and sat on the floor in front of it.

AN- I'm sorry for the slow update. I got sick. I am behind in all of my updating. So? What do you think? I will try to get chapter six out as soon as possible. I have so many places I want this story to go!