Somewhere in Between
Chapter 3 – Bitter and Twisted.
Sunday arrived and Ryo secretly found himself regretting making the lunch invitation. Friday and Saturday had seen them both working double shifts and so by Sunday, he wanted nothing more than for the two of them to spend the day cuddled up on the couch watching whatever happened to be on the TV. Dee had promised his services to Penguin in the morning to help out at the orphanage and Ryo had unsuccessfully tried to talk him into postponing.
The other's low blood sugar level was a continued cause for concern and as a result, he was constantly lethargic. He had arranged to see his diabetes specialist but the appointment wasn't for a couple of days; in the mean time, he had to monitor his blood sugar frequently to ensure it didn't slip dangerously low. Over the months since his diagnosis, they had come to recognise the symptoms that indicated all was not well.
The long work hours hadn't helped and since he had returned from helping out at the orphanage, Ryo had all but forced him onto the couch to lie down. He'd been asleep in seconds. Bicky and Cal had arrived home after walking Bright and Cal immediately went to help Ryo in the kitchen before Tyler arrived at one.
"Is Dee okay?" she asked, watching how the sleeping man didn't stir even when Bright jumped onto the couch and settled down to sleep on his stomach.
"Yeah, he's just worn out," Ryo replied, stirring soup in the pan. "His diabetes has been a bit unstable recently and it's giving his energy levels a real knock." He stopped speaking as he unsuccessfully stifled a yawn.
"Yeah? What's your excuse then?" Cal asked with a smile as she playfully elbowed him out of the way and took over his stirring duties. "Sit down, will you? You obviously need to rest too."
Ryo smiled gratefully as he sat down and ran a hand through his untidy hair. "Work's been a little crazy lately. Lots of cases, all of which are top priority. I guess it's finally caught up with both of us."
They both turned as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Cal said firmly. "You stay there."
The teenager moved into the living room, frowning at the loud music blaring from Bicky's room. She had to smile at the sight of Bright snoring noisily in Dee's lap as she answered the door.
"Hey, you must be Dee's friend, Tyler, right?" Cal smiled in welcome.
Laura stared back at the pretty blonde teenager who clearly felt at home in the apartment. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Er, yeah," she replied, forcing a smile despite her rising irritation. Who the fuck are you?
"Hi, I'm Cal, Bicky's girlfriend," she explained, sensing the sudden tension and presuming that the other girl's reaction was shyness. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Laura replied, entering the apartment as Cal stepped back to allow her past. Easy, keep calm. You almost blew it then.
Her eyes immediately went to search out the object of her fixation but she forced herself to pay attention to the reason she was supposed to be there. She bit down on her fear as she saw the dog, who blinked an eye open and looked straight at her before going back to sleep with a grunt.
"Hey, Randy. Glad to see he's so pleased to see me," she joked as Ryo appeared in the doorway. My God, you're beautiful.
"Don't mind Dee. He's worn out. Let me get you a drink."
Laura followed him into the kitchen, casting one last malevolent stare at the man on the couch. Lazy bastard. Does Randy have to do everything while you lie about? How dare you treat him like that.
She was further incensed by the obvious signs of tiredness on the blond's face, but he waved off her voiced concern, citing long work hours as the cause.
"I'll wake Dee up; he's been really looking forward to you coming."
"That's okay," she said quickly, "Let him sleep." Cal had disappeared to wherever Bicky was, leaving her and Ryo alone in the kitchen. She didn't want this moment to end.
"No, he needs to wake up," Ryo said, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt as he wandered through into the living room. Reluctantly Laura followed.
"Bright. Off," Ryo said in a firm voice to the dog, who studied him unhappily for a moment before reluctantly doing as he was told. With the dog out of the way, Ryo gently pulled Dee around into a sitting position and proceeded to stroke his face.
"Dee, love? Tyler's here and it's almost time to eat."
Heavily lidded eyes blinked open slowly but wouldn't focus and Ryo was quick to recognise that Dee was low again. "Bicky," he called, having to shout over the music. He paused until the boy appeared. "Can you get Dee a drink?"
The teenager knew what was required of him as he nodded and headed to the kitchen. "Hey, Tyler," he said passing the girl in the doorway as he opened the cupboard to find the sugar-laden fruit juice they kept for this purpose. He had learnt to understand Dee's condition and didn't argue when Ryo asked him to help out. Once, when he had less experience of the problems associated with diabetes, he had refused Ryo's request for assistance, claiming 'slave labour' in his usual confrontational manner. Only when his adoptive parent broke down and cried did he fully comprehend Ryo's own fears and the fact that even he could be supportive when Dee's diabetes needed careful management.
Laura, however, knew none of this. The scenario she saw was a man, excessively pampered by his partner who instructed those around him to treat Dee in the same manner. She hated him… Her illusion was quickly shattered when Bicky passed her again, this time carrying a glass of the fruit juice.
"Don't worry," he said misinterpreting her blank expression as concern. "It's just his diabetes."
"Oh right… I forgot," Laura said quickly, wondering how she'd managed to overlook that in all the things she'd learnt about the dark haired man from his childhood. In her hurry, she didn't stop to contemplate the fact that she wasn't expected to know about his diabetes. Bicky picked up on this but just presumed that Dee must have told her when he met up with her at the orphanage, or maybe she'd seen the medical alert bracelet that he wore almost all the time.
"Here," he said, handing the glass to Ryo who continued to support Dee's head with his other hand.
"Dee? Can you drink this for me?" he said, waiting for the green eyes to flicker open before he put the glass to his lips. He gently stroked the hair away from Dee's eyes as his lover slowly took several swallows of the liquid. The green orbs had a glaze to them, indicating that he wasn't quite back in the land of the living yet.
"Some more," Ryo encouraged, his voice firm but positive. In the early days, he had been sick with worry whenever Dee's condition fluctuated from the norm; now he had learnt to deal with things practically rather than emotionally.
"Come on, baby," he soothed, knowing how disorientated Dee would be feeling. All they could do was wait for the sugar to kick in. After a few minutes, Dee seemed to blink away the haze and finally see Ryo properly.
"Man, I hate that," he said, frowning at the odd sensations he was sure he'd never get used to. He rubbed his eyes vigorously to banish the unwelcome feeling that having low blood sugar gave him.
Ryo smiled, always relieved when Dee seemed to pull back from the clutches of his condition. "Tyler's here so why don't you go and check your levels and splash some water on your face. Lunch is almost ready."
Dee nodded, standing slowly and testing out shaky legs. He glanced around, his eyes eventually coming to rest on Laura who was still leaning on the kitchen doorframe. "Hey, Tyler," he said, managing a grin. "I'll be right with you."
"No probs," she replied with a wave of her hand. When he turned away, she studied Ryo watching Dee disappear into their bedroom. When the dark haired man had gone, he stood, bringing with him the empty glass. He smiled at Laura, like Bicky thinking that she was worried by what she had just witnessed.
"He'll be fine now," he said reassuringly, returning to the food on the stove once he had deposited the glass in the sink.
"You're very good with him," Laura replied; pausing before she told the greatest lie of all. "I'm glad he's got you."
Ryo turned and smiled. "Well I consider myself very lucky to have Dee. He's a wonderful man."
Laura nodded and took a sip of her drink, using the action to negate the need to smile. She wasn't sure she could have managed it if she tried. Inside she was fuming. Diabetes… great. Now you've got a reason for Randy to take care of you. Can't you see he's only with you because he feels sorry for you? You don't need a partner, you need a slave.
"Can I help?" she asked, knowing she was compromising the validity of her assumed persona by dwelling on negative thoughts about Dee.
Ryo looked around. "Um, you could get the plates out if you don't mind. They're in…"
"S'okay," she said quickly, putting down her drink and going to the appropriate cupboard. "I remember where they are."
"Oh, okay," Ryo replied, turning his attention back to the food. Bicky and Cal came in and helped carry things out to the dining table. They were just settling into their seats when Dee appeared, looking considerably better than he had several minutes previously.
"Hey, love. How're you feeling?" Ryo asked, moving aside to let Dee past. "Was your reading okay?"
"Not great, but not the worst. At least I've got my appointment next week." He took a seat opposite Laura and smiled. "I'm diabetic if you haven't already guessed. Type one, insulin dependant."
Laura nodded, oblivious to Bicky's frown of confusion. Why had Tyler said she'd forgotten Dee was diabetic if he'd never told her in the first place? As lunch began, he mentally rebuked himself for being so suspicious, particularly when she defended him from Dee's teasing. To further ingratiate herself into the family, she used a couple of her ace cards; stories that she'd heard from Penguin that she told as if she remembered them personally. Clearly Dee did, as he laughed in delight with Bicky and Cal as Ryo tried half-heartedly to look like he didn't approve of his husband's delinquent past. Laura however took his handsome frown for real. You know you're too good for him, Randy. I can see it in your eyes.
Part way through the meal, the telephone rang and Ryo got up to answer it. He was gone for several minutes, his conversation occasionally filtering in from the kitchen when there was a lull in the talk at the table. It ceased temporarily when he returned, the others curious to know who he had been speaking to.
"That was the guy from Hardman's. Our new TV's in the shop. I said we'd drive down and pick it up on Tuesday since it's our day off."
Dee was about to nod when he recalled something. "I can't go Tuesday, I've got my appointment with Dr Stephens, remember?"
"Damn," Ryo replied, sitting back down and frowning. "I'll have to ring them back but that's annoying because it'll be almost two weeks before we can go again. It's definitely a two man job." He turned to Tyler and explained. "Over TV broke so we're having to use the one out of our bedroom. Dee insisted since we were replacing the TV we may as well order a big widescreen set and a DVD player."
"Don't forget the cinema sound system," Dee cut in, exchanging triumphant grins with Bicky. They'd both been responsible for turning a simple trip to replace the defunct television into an exercise in persuasion. Poor Ryo hadn't had a chance when, in league with the more than enthusiastic salesman, the man and boy had convinced him that they absolutely needed the new equipment. Eventually the blond had relented, but only after several conditions had been made. Dee had promised to cut down on cigarettes; Bicky had pledged to complete his homework before he started on videogames and TV after school.
"I'll come with you," Tyler said as Ryo finished his explanation. "If all you need is an extra pair of hands."
Ryo looked at Dee before he turned back to the girl. "Are you sure? It's not a very exciting day for you."
Tyler shrugged. "I don't have any plans. I'd be happy to help. Call it thanks for a great meal."
Ryo smiled broadly. "Thank you, Tyler. We'd really appreciate it."
Dee chuckled as he nodded his agreement. "Are you sure you'll cope with a full day of just this guy for company? He listens to weird music in the car y'know!"
"Hey! I do not!"
"Do too!"
Laura laughed but inside she was euphoric. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be okay," she said, attempting to sound serious. You bet your ass I'll cope!
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Laura Burns sat in her rented apartment looking out of the window. To those passing by, it appeared that she was staring aimlessly, but in reality she was thinking. Laura did a lot of thinking to occupy the empty moments. She liked thinking – thinking made her smart. She hadn't excelled at school, but that was because the subjects weren't of interest to her. When she found something worth studying, her mind was razor-sharp. Just like now. Now she had Randy. It had been a month since her initial meeting with Dee at the orphanage and so far she had done a superior job of fitting into his family.
Over that period, she had studied the two men and witnessed their love and dedication to each other, but none of it had diminished her determination to split them apart. Randy was hers. She had gone with him to pick up the electrical equipment but had been somewhat disappointed by the amount of time he had spent talking about Dee. She realised it was because she was supposed to be Dee's friend, but it had been something of a challenge not to scream out loud in frustration. Just as he had moved onto other topics, Dee had called to tell Randy how he'd gotten on at the hospital, and the 'Dee conversation' had started up again. As irritating as it had been, she realised there was yet more about Dee that she needed to find out. Randy hadn't said anything directly, but from little comments here and there, she had deduced that there were vulnerabilities, chinks in Dee's brash armour, that she could exploit. She realised she needed to do a little more digging.
On her days off, when she wasn't crashing the McLain residence, she continued her research. Dee McLain née Latener, she discovered, had been far more scarred than she'd first realised by the events of the previous year. She knew from the newspaper reports of his kidnapping that he'd been physically injured, but the media had said nothing of the psychological strain that Randy had hinted at. She had probed gently, but he seemed reluctant to tell her anything, assuming that Dee would tell her if he wanted to. She would work on Dee, but she also wanted to find out the cold hard facts. There would be files, surely – a man with psychological damage would have to be assessed in order to return to such a high pressure job as police work. Laura wanted to see them, wanted to know how she could use the information in her scheming.
Getting access would be tough. She needed to think carefully about how she could overcome this particular problem but whilst she did that, there were other things she could be doing. In the months of preparation, she had thought up a number of schemes that would hopefully inject doubt and mistrust into the seemingly rock-steady relationship. So, until she could get hold of Dee's files, she would put into action one of those original plans.
Laura picked up the phone and dialled.
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"So you're going home with Drake?" Ryo asked as he closed his briefcase and flipped the catches. Dee leaned back in his chair and grinned, unable to resist the temptation to tease his partner.
"Yup, but you don't mind if I screw his brains out while I'm there do you?"
"Hey!" Drake complained, firing an elastic band at the dark haired man across from him. It hit Dee squarely on the forehead and in his attempt to stop it, he nearly overbalanced on his chair. Ryo and Drake laughed as Dee grumbled.
"I was kidding. Besides, he hasn't got any brains to screw out in the first place."
Ryo shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I'll see you after the game. Keep it quiet if you're coming in late."
"Sure, baby," Dee replied, the grin now back on his face. "If you've gone to bed then make sure you keep it warm for me. And I wouldn't bother going to sleep, if you catch my drift." He winked to emphasise his point.
It was Drake's turn to roll his eyes. "Hey, straight man in earshot! Knock it off, McLain!"
"What?" Dee said innocently. "Can't a guy show a little affection to the one he loves?"
Drake couldn't suppress a smile. "Man, if you put as much energy into work…"
Dee looked suitably indignant. "Hey, we've made two, repeat two successful arrests in the last week alone! What have you done this week, Parker, besides sit around and watch your ass grow?"
Ryo waved a hand between the two men in an attempt to get their attention. "Uh guys? If you don't need me to referee or anything, I'll be going," he said as he headed to the door. He chuckled as Dee blew him a kiss.
He could still hear the two men bickering and trading insults as he started down the stairs. He smiled at the sound of Dee's voice, before loud laughter erupted from the office he had just left behind. Ever since his appointment with Dr Stephens, his specialist, when she had altered his insulin dosage, he had been fit and healthy and filled with his usual abundance of energy. Ryo was almost glad when Drake suggested that Dee come to his place to watch the game. They'd been working hard, making excellent progress on several of their cases, and the thought of a quiet night in to himself was keeping the tired blond detective going as he headed out to his car. A bath, a meal and then bed with a good book; he could barely wait to get home.
He arrived home to find Bicky in from school. The boy hadn't made a start on his homework as Ryo preferred him to, but it didn't dent the detective's good mood any. The successful conclusion to a couple of their cases, as Dee had earlier been boasting to Drake, had taken the heat off them. Ryo hoped, as he idly stirred his dinner in the pan, that they could finally go back to working normal hours, rather than the succession of double shifts that they had been forced to endure recently. They certainly deserved it. Maybe they could even get away for a few days…
Ryo was pondering the likelihood of a short break when the doorbell rang. Bright started barking as he usually did when someone came to the apartment. Knowing it would be unlikely that Bicky had moved from the couch and gone to do his homework yet, Ryo called out to him, not wanting to leave the cooker unattended.
"Bicky? Can you get that?"
He guessed Bicky must have answered it when he could hear voices talking. After a minute the boy appeared.
"Ryo, can you come here for a sec?"
"What's up? I'm just about to…" He looked up from the pan to be met by Bicky's solemn expression. "Ryo, it's important."
Fear coursed through him, his mind still haunted by the time he had realised Dee had left their apartment and walked straight into a trap. He reminded himself that that was all a very long time ago, but he still sensed trouble. He quickly turned off the cooker and followed Bicky out into the living room.
"Mrs Swanson!" he exclaimed in surprise at seeing the middle-aged woman from the Child Welfare Department, whom he hadn't seen since Bicky had formally been adopted. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm afraid not, Mr McLain," she replied, her expression troubled.
Ryo frowned, but gestured to the chair. "Please have a seat, and it's Randy, really."
The blond man was worried. Mrs Swanson had dealt with everything, from the initial guardianship order when he had first taken Bicky in, to the adoption proceedings and finally Dee's application for legal guardianship once they were married. She had dealt with them sensitively and without prejudice and they had gotten to first name terms, so to find himself suddenly 'Mr McLain' again was worrying to say the least.
"Bicky, could you take Bright in your room for a minute while I talk to Mrs Swanson?"
"Uh, sure," Bicky replied, his gaze switching between the two adults seated nervously in the living room. "Bright, come on boy."
The leggy white canine followed him obediently and only when his bedroom door clicked shut, did Ryo speak again.
"What is this about, Mrs Swanson?"
"Is Dee in?" she asked, before she would tell him. Ryo shook his head.
"No, he's out for the evening. Why? What's wrong?"
The older woman sighed as she placed her briefcase at her feet. "I'm not really sure how to say this, but we've had some anonymous allegations made against your husband."
"Allegations? Against Dee?" Ryo replied, dumbfounded. "What allegations?"
Mrs Swanson looked uncomfortable before she renewed her professional façade. "That your husband has been physically abusing Bicky."
"Abusing?" Ryo's dark eyes went wide. "Are you serious? That's ridiculous! Mrs Swanson, you can't seriously believe that Dee would…"
"Randy," she said calmly, seeing how upset he was. "I don't believe it. I like Dee but I have to investigate it anyway or I wouldn't be seen to be doing my job. I need to speak to Bicky alone, is that okay? I don't need it, but I'd prefer your permission to do so."
Ryo was too stunned to respond straight away. After several moments had passed, he nodded numbly. "Sure, I'll tell him."
He stood and walked over to the boy's room, knocking lightly on the door. "Bicky? Mrs Swanson needs to talk to you. Is it okay if she comes in?"
Bicky appeared at the door, his expression indicating that he was ready to protest before he saw Ryo's blank face. "I'll watch Bright," Ryo said, making a clicking noise with his tongue that got the dog's attention.
"She can come in here," Bicky said reluctantly before he disappeared back inside his room to await the woman he hadn't expected to see again either. Mrs Swanson smiled supportively at Ryo as she passed. "We won't be long," she assured before he closed the door behind her.
TBC…