"I want to see him!" Dee demanded, staring down at the woman who barred his way.
"I'm sorry, detective, but it's family only at the moment."
"I'm his brother," Dee said through clenched teeth.
It was the first time he had said it out loud, claiming their relationship in any way. Green eyes were burning with the need to get into the unit and see for himself that Ross Barclay was breathing on his own, that his heart was beating.
The nurse frowned a little and anger bubbled up inside Dee, but it was Ryo who intervened.
"It's true, Nurse Walker. They're related. Please, let him see his brother."
She gazed up at him, frowning a little at the calm, serene face, the open brown eyes.
"You're not listed, Detective Latener."
"I know. We didn't know about each other for a long time. Listen, he's my brother. We might not share the same name, but we have the same parents! Please!"
After another look, she nodded. "All right. If this is a lie, you'll get to know me, Detective, and not in a good way. You can see him for a moment, but I want your name on the family list ASAP!"
"You will."
Ryo was about to step back, but Dee's pleading expression had him glance at the nurse. She gave them a little smile, the first she had showed.
"Dress up and wear the mouth cover," she instructed. "I can give you a while with him."
Ryo nodded his thanks and they proceeded to don the surgical clothes, covering their mouths and slipping protective covers over their shoes. Then they walked into the intensive care unit.
He looks so pale, was the first that shot through Dee's mind as his eyes fell on the motionless figure on the bed. Barclay was sans glasses, his blond hair combed back out of his face, which just served to highlight how pale and thin he looked. There were dark smudges under his eyes. He was dressed in a hospital gown and there were so many tubes and cables running back and forth, it seemed he was unable to exist without mechanical help. Blood was drained out of the wound, which was a thickly bandaged bulge underneath the thin gown. Two lines ran into his arms, one of them for a blood transfusion.
Ryo took his hand and interlaced their fingers, squeezing them reassuringly.
Dee just stared at the inanimate face, unable to move. Part of him wanted to touch Barclay, another shied away.
Ross Barclay had tried to protect Ryo, had almost died for it. He had thrown himself between his lover and the deadly projectiles. He had stood up despite his injuries, intent on keeping Ryo alive.
Because he was Dee's brother, because Dee was bonded to Ryo, because the whole Barclay family would protect the other man. Dee had never believed it to be the truth, but now
What if Barclay died? What if he never woke up? What if there were complications?
Questions were running through his head and he felt himself starting to swim. Ryo wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Let's go," he whispered.
"No..." Dee protested faintly, but he followed his partner's gentle pull.
Outside they stripped off the borrowed clothes. Ryo threw them into the bin placed right next to the ICU and pulled his lover with him since Dee seemed to have no life of his own. They finally arrived in the small private area and Ryo took him into his arms, holding him tightly.
"He can't die," Dee whispered. "He can't."
"Shhhh..."
Ryo didn't know how long they had been standing like this when he was startled by someone softly clearing his throat. He looked over Dee's shoulder, still holding him protectively, the black head buried against his neck.
A tall woman with shoulder-length, dark hair stood in the entrance to the private area. She was dressed in casual, gray pants and a dark blue blouse.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said softly. "Are you Dee Latener and Ryo McLane?"
Ryo nodded. "I'm McLane."
"My name is Bethany Moore. I'm Ross's sister."
Dee's head came up and he turned around, eyes wide. Green eyes met blue ones and a little smile graced Bethany's lips.
"Hello, Dee. I know it sounds corny, but Ross told me a lot about you." Another smile. "I'm glad to finally meet you in person, though the circumstances could be better."
Ryo caressed the small of his lover's back, giving him the hold Dee needed and radiated.
"Why don't we sit down," he said calmly. "I'm sure you have questions..."
She nodded and sat down on one of the cream colored chairs. Her eyes kept going to Dee, studying him, curious. Dee made a point not to look at her and Ryo sighed to himself. He knew this was bad on his lover, but he wasn't making an effort either. Well, for now he would take the lead, but he and Dee would talk.
Ryo and Dee had returned to work, answering questions, fending off the well-meaning and too nosey, and thankfully JJ helped with getting rid of people who just wanted the gory details. Ryo was forced to work his desk because of his injury, which meant Dee was out a lot and doing the leg work while his partner got rid of files and reports, cleaning up the 'in' boxes and piling neat files in the 'out' box, both on his desk and his computer.
It was on that first day back to work with Ryo taking it easy as by doctor's orders that someone entered the office he usually shared with Dee. The man was dressed in a casual outfit, his hair thinning and almost gray, his eyes hidden behind glasses that looked like they had been in fashion twenty years ago. He was favoring a full beard, neatly trimmed, and a visitors badge was clipped to his shirt.
"Detective Randy McLane?" he asked.
Ryo nodded. "Yes. What can I do for you?"
"I'm Paul Ortiz from criminalistics."
The man held out a hand and Ryo shook it, making moves to get up. Ortiz waved at him to remain seated.
"Better for the leg," he only said.
"What gives me the honor, Mr. Ortiz?"
"Well, I'm in charge of the investigation of the shooting you were involved in. I thought I'd drop by and talk with you about the results of the first lab tests in person. Some of them are a bit astounding."
Ryo frowned slightly.
Ortiz materialized a photo from inside the folder he had been carrying. "This is what the doctors pulled out of Lieutenant Barclay."
Ryo gazed at the picture and knew why Ortiz was here. The object on the photo was a screw. A very long one, probably out of the workman's box, and Harding must have used it as a projectile.
"Whatever explanation there is for a screw ending up inside a human body without having it fired from a device that can achieve the necessary velocity for the deep penetration, it's nothing that can fit your report or mine," Ortiz went on and his eyes were suddenly serious. "Normally I wouldn't have come here, would have handled this on my own and no one would be the wiser. I could have Harding down for possession of an unregistered gun, shooting a police officer and assorted other crimes, and you wouldn't even know it. Fact is, you do know what happened, Detective McLane. You worked the job long enough."
Ryo's expression changed. He carefully schooled his features, watching the other man sharply. Ortiz might be talking about ally business, but he might also be up to something else.
"Not long enough to meet you," he replied, words carefully chosen.
Ortiz smiled. "I hadn't heard from you either and I blame it on the fact that we never worked on such a case before. I called a few people and received an interesting phone call from a woman called Mitsumi this morning. She said to handle this with gloves on and all eyes open. Looks like your status was elevated, Detective."
Ryo smiled wryly. "Not really, no. But I'm out of that business, Mr. Ortiz."
"Yes, being partnered to someone like Detective Latener changes a lot of things. I was also warned about your Lieutenant. Looks an interesting triangle here."
Ryo chuckled. Yes, an interesting triangle indeed. In more ways than one. Then he grew serious.
"What about the evidence now?"
"It'll uphold in court, but I doubt you can get a conviction. Mr. Harding sadly committed suicide."
Ryo shot the man a sharp look and Ortiz waved him off.
"Officially," he added. "Unofficially he's been taken care of and he won't be a bother. I think Latener scared the shit out of the guy, whatever he did. There wasn't a scratch on him, but Harding was babbling about creatures from Hell."
He remembered the metallic golden eyes, the murderous expression, and Ryo could only agree with the phrase. Dee had been a terrifying vision.
Ortiz rose, smiling jovially. "Anyway, just wanted to let you know. You don't have to worry about a thing. It's in good hands."
"Thank you, Mr. Ortiz."
"That's what we're here for."
Ryo gazed at the door Ortiz had closed after himself. Yes, that was what allies were for. He had never appreciated their work more than now-- now that he was so much part of the world that needed them.
Dee looked at the pale form, noting the lines that had etched themselves into the usually so smooth features. The long blond strands were in disarray, the usual style changed into what the nurses had combed the hair into. The dark bruises under the dull, blue eyes added to the exhausted look of the man lying in the hospital bed. Dressed in the standard hospital gown, an IV still leading into the vein of his left hand, Ross Barclay was far from the self-assured, sometimes too arrogant for his own good superior officer Dee liked to hate.
He was simply a man. A hurting, injured man. The man who had protected his lover and partner, Dee reminded himself sharply. The man who would die to keep Ryo alive.
Because Ryo was a shield.
Because Barclay was the Shaman Pair's shaman's brother.
Brother.
Here it was again. This one word. In the past three days in which Barclay had fought to live, to heal, Dee had come to terms with it all of a sudden. The aspect of losing the man had brought everything into sharp relief. As much as he wanted to despise Barclay, he was his older brother, someone he had never known was out there, searching feverishly for his baby brother he had sworn to protect.
The doctors were pleased with his progress. He had been transferred from intensive care to the normal station and they expected him to return home by the end of the week. Dee was glad the other man wasn't awake; it would have been awkward. He had no idea what to talk to him about anyway.
Turning, he left the hospital room and nearly collided with Bethany. She smiled at him.
"Hello, Detective."
"Dee," he corrected her automatically.
Another smile. "Can I invite you for a coffee?"
He hesitated a second, then just shrugged. They silently walked to the cafeteria that was on the first floor of the hospital, looking out the back where no cars or ambulances reminded visitors where they were for a while, though how anyone could forget this was a hospital was beyond Dee.
Bethany got them two large coffees and they settled down at the far end near the large glass windows. Dee let his eyes stray outside, taking in the serene, calming garden that stretched behind the hospital. It was small, but it was still a welcome change to the gray and white everywhere else.
"Ross is getting better," Bethany said almost as if to herself. "He was awake for a while yesterday and today. We talked some. He needs a lot of sleep and his body demands it, but he's strong."
Dee nodded, sipping at his coffee. "Good to hear."
Bethany's eyes were on him and Dee felt decidedly unwell. This woman was supposedly his older sister, twelve years his senior, the oldest of his siblings, but he had no connection to her at all. He had more of a relationship with Barclay than her, and there were more siblings out there, including their respective others and children.
"It's hard," Bethany suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"After so many years of no hope, of accepting the loss... and even after Ross told me that he had found you, asking us to give him time before we came here to see you..."
Barclay had asked them to wait? "Why?" he blurted.
"Why did he stop us from coming here?" At his nod she smiled. "Well, he told me that you hadn't been very... happy about the revelation. He said it was because of your past work relationship and after hearing him out, I agreed. Unless you accepted your brother, the one person who never gave up and shaped his life around finding you, we didn't even want to think how you'd react to the whole Barclay family coming for a visit."
Dee winced a little. "It was a bit much," he murmured.
"Finding out you're not an orphan? Having Ross as your brother? Or discovering you're actually paranormal?"
"All and nothing of the above." Dee gazed out of the window. "Who doesn't want a family after growing up alone? It's a child's dream. As for Barclay... I think it shocked me the most. I can live with the paranormal stuff, though." He flashed her a little grin.
Bethany smiled in return. "You look a lot like Mom," she said softly. "I'm so glad you're still alive, that Ross found you and that you're healthy. Dad shielded you, hid you from everyone, and we never knew. If we had known, maybe we would have found you sooner."
"A lot would be different then."
She nodded her agreement.
"I wouldn't be here, a police officer. I wouldn't have met Ryo."
"Believe me, you would have. Just under different circumstances. He's your shield and in a Shaman Pair, the two parties involved are drawn to each other. You would have met, believe me, Dee."
"It wouldn't be the same."
"No, it could never be the same as how you two found each other and achieved your balance." Bethany smiled warmly. "What I've seen of your partner, he's cute."
Dee shot her a warning look, sharply reminded of the discussion he had had with Ryo about genetics and the Barclay family. Ryo was his and no one would come between them.
"Whoa, Dee, down boy. I just stated a fact. I'm not going to woo him away from you." Bethany made a calming gesture. "I'm happily married. You know it's just a normal reaction from your siblings to your shield."
Her eyes suddenly turned very serious.
"It's why we're sitting here, in this cafeteria, this hospital, right? The reaction we show toward Ryo's safety. Ross did what comes natural to us. We women don't feel any differently, Dee. Not at all."
Dee winced and evaded the knowing eyes, unwilling to think about Barclay and his near-death at the hands of someone who had been out for Ryo's blood.
"This will take time," she said calmly. "And understanding."
She touched his hand and Dee looked up, right into her warm eyes.
"Dee, no one of us is your rival, least of all your brother. Try to give him the benefit of a doubt. Try to give him a chance. This hurts him more than you think."
He bit his lower lip and suddenly pushed away, unable to take this any longer.
"Gotta go," he murmured.
Bethany rose and nodded. "I'll be here until the end of the week. It's as long as I could take time off from work. Gwynn is in Europe at the moment and Lenore can't come, but they'll be in contact. I'll keep them informed." She smiled. "Say hello to Ryo from me."
"Uh, I will."
And with that he fled from the cafeteria and finally from the hospital. Things were getting way too complicated for his liking.