Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE. I lay claim to the compilation of the words that comprise this story.

Author's Notes: Thank you for reviewing. I felt that now would be a good time to upload the new chapter. Enjoy!

Unfortunately, Ryo was unable to keep his whispered promise to the man in his arms. Drake, who had evidently seen Ryo disappear into J.J.'s office, had come around to check on things. Ryo had balanced J.J. in his arms, abandoning the idea that it would be an awkward moment, and stood to open the door. Drake was nothing, if not completely speechless, as he took in the sight of his partner, cradled in the arms of the man that J.J. had once described as the bane of his very existence. It took Drake a few minutes to find his voice, before he could ask the question that was on his mind.

"What happened?" he asked, looking from Ryo, to J.J., and back to Ryo. "Is he okay?"

Ryo nodded, looking down at the man in his arms. "Yeah," he whispered, a soft, barely noticeable smile playing across his features. "He's just tired." It was then that Ryo realized how light J.J. was to hold. This concerned him, even more. As he paused, for a quick moment, to think about it, he did realize that J.J. had somehow managed to lose weight. The younger man was already about as small as they came. Now, he seemed to be even smaller.

A thought played into Ryo's head, and he looked up, acknowledging Drake's presence for the first time. His expression became serious, and he motioned for Drake to come into the office the rest of the way, and close the door. Drake did as he was asked, and, before the detective knew it, his partner was being gently thrust into his arms.

"Do me a favor," Ryo began. "Watch him, for a minute. I'm going to go talk to Commissioner Rose." Drake nodded, and Ryo smiled. Stealing one last glance at the sleeping form of J.J., the brunette left the room, and headed for the Commissioner's office. Once he was standing in front of the large wooden door, Ryo knocked, twice, and waited.

"Come in," came the monotone reply of his superior officer. Ryo entered the office, and Berkley, who had been apparently signing some papers, looked up. Upon seeing Ryo, a smile crossed the man's face, and he stood from his place, seated comfortably behind his desk. "Well, Mr. MacLean, how may I be of service to you, today?"

Attempting to block out the sudden feeling that Berkley had meant for his question to be taken in more than one way, Ryo looked at the man before him, and cleared his throat. What he was about to ask would be quite a shock, coming from his mouth. Though, shocking, or not, Ryo knew that he had to do this. Not for himself, for J.J.

"Ryo?" Berkley asked, growing impatient. "What is it that you want?"

Taking in a breath, Ryo began. "Sir, I would like your permission to take J.J. to his home, for the remained of the day." He paused, reconsidering his words. He did not want them to be misinterpreted. Judging by the look of confusion that was spread across Berkley's face, they most certainly had been. "What I mean, Sir, is that J.J. is not doing so well, this morning."

"So I noticed," Berkley interrupted, with a slight nod.

"Yes, well, I do not think that he should be here, today." Knowing that those words alone would not help his case, any, Ryo thought up a pretty good lie, to cover his tracks. "If something were to happen, today, Sir, well…" He paused, choosing his next words careful, as he knew that they would either make or break his attempt at getting J.J. home. "In his current condition, J.J. could very easily become a liability. That is not a risk that I would like to take."

Berkley seemed to consider this information, for a moment, before nodding, once more. "Neither would I, Ryo. Take him home. I am sure that today will be quiet, but, do hurry back." He looked Ryo in his eyes. "You never know what will happen, in this city."

Ryo nodded, remaining calm on the outside, while, on the inside, he was, for some inexplicable reason, ready to jump around like a five year old at Christmas. "Thank you, Sir." He turned to leave, and had his hand on the door, when he heard Berkley's voice, once more.

"Make sure that he is okay, Ryo," he said, quietly. "I'm counting on you."

Considering the Commissioner's almost feeling tone, for a moment, Ryo nodded, once more, and left the office. He swiftly made his way back to J.J.'s office, where he found Drake leaning against a wall, the younger officer still resting in his arms.

As if he were somehow tuning into Ryo's thoughts, Drake looked up at the brunette, and posed a question. "You taking him home?" Ryo nodded, and reached out his arms, offering to take J.J. from the man before him. Drake handed the younger man back to Ryo, and frowned. "He's lost weight. I don't like that."

Ryo frowned. "Neither do I." He heard a light chuckle coming from Drake's direction, and turned to look at what was so amusing. "What?" he whispered.

"Nothing," Drake said, with a small smile. "I just did know that you had suddenly become so worried about him." He pointed to J.J., who sighed, in his sleep. Looking back up at Ryo, Drake looked into the other man's eyes. "When did that happen?"

To that, Ryo could only shrug, slightly, and shake his head. "I have no idea." He smiled up at Drake, before nodding his head in the direction of J.J.'s desk. "Would you get me his coat?" Once the other man had retrieved the garment, Ryo asked one more favor. "Could you drape it across him? It's kind of cold, out there."

Drake did as he was asked, but looked back at Ryo, for a moment, quizzically. "You gonna' carry him out?"

Ryo nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." In truth, Ryo did not have the heart to wake J.J. In the brunette's mind, the younger man deserved to sleep. Even in his state of mind, lately, J.J. had not faltered in his work ethic. In fact, he had been working harder than even, which was another warning sign to Ryo that something was wrong. When Dee had left, it was all that he could do to refrain from doing his own paper work, and everyone else's, as well. Work was an outlet for his emotions, and he felt that such was most likely the case with J.J. Something was happening to the man in his arms, something deeper than what Ryo had original thought.

"Ryo," Drake said, quietly. "Take care of him, okay?"

Again, Ryo nodded. "I will." With that, he turned, and walked out of the office, the sleeping man still cradled in his arms. He made his way to his car, Drake holding open doors for him, along the way. Once he had settled J.J. into the front passenger seat of his vehicle, he gave Drake one last farewell, climbed into the driver's seat, and drove off. It soon hit him that he had no idea where J.J. lived. In light of this new realization, Ryo was faced with two options. He could either wake J.J., and ask the address, or, he could take the younger man to his own home. Ryo opted for the latter, still not wanting to wake J.J. from his sleep.

Ryo continued on, until coming upon his apartment building. It took some maneuvering, and just this side of a miracle, but, the brunette somehow managed to get his colleague out of the car, into the building, and up to his apartment. Once inside, he lay J.J. down on the couch, and headed for the bathroom. There, he retrieved a washcloth, and wet it down with cool water. Returning to J.J.'s side, he draped the washcloth over the younger man's forehead. One touch of the man's skin signaled that he had a fever, and this prompted Ryo to call back to the office, and explain that he would not be able to come back for the day.

Ryo sat down on the floor, and pulled his knees to his chest, as he watched J.J. sleeping. The younger man looked so peaceful, that Ryo could not believe that he was staring at the face of the little hellion that had caused him countless headaches and carried out a rivalry for Dee to the point of distraction. God help him, but, as he lay there, J.J. looked almost angelic. Ryo considered this, as he continued to watch J.J., as the man drifted further into a well-earned, much-deserved sleep.