A/N: For anyone who isn't Jewish, "bashert" means "soulmate" and "mensch" means "a good person".

CHAPTER 6

Ryan was nervous throughout the day. He kept thinking about how he was going to propose to Calleigh. Would she say yes? No? Not give him an answer at all? Would she think it was too soon to get married? Would she say that she doesn't want to get married at all? He fidgeted with his pen as he went through his paperwork. His mind drifted back to a conversation he had last week.

-a few days ago-

Ryan stood in front of the doorway, not sure if he wanted to go inside. But he had already told him that he was coming and it would make no sense to back out now. He hadn't been back in twelve years and hadn't been to temple for about ten. After his parents died, he basically lost his faith and slowly drifted away from it. Now he needed reassurance. He sighed and walked inside.

"Can I help you?" Asked the receptionist.

"Yes, can you tell Rabbi Cohen that Ryan Wolfe is here to see him?

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes I do."

"Ok, thanks." She called the Rabbi. "Rabbi? Ryan Wolfe is here to see you." She placed the phone down. "He'll be right out."

"Thanks." Ryan was about to sit down when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Rabbi Cohen approaching him.

"Ryan! It's great to see you again after all these years." The Rabbi said as he hugged him. He stepped back to take a look at Ryan. "I see that you've grown into a handsome man." Rabbi Cohen hadn't seen Ryan since he was a teenager. After his parents' death, Ryan moved down to Miami to live with his grandfather, who was his only living relative. They talked on and off over the phone in the years since then, but this was the first time they stood face to face in over twelve years.

"Thanks. It's nice to see you too, Rabbi."

"Come with me back to my office." The two walked back to the Rabbi's office. "Please have a seat, Ryan." Rabbi Cohen gestured towards a seat in front of his desk. Ryan sat down.

"Thanks for seeing me on such a short notice. I didn't feel like talking over the phone."

"Well, something must be bothering you enough to fly all the way up here to talk about it in person."

"I just hope that I'm not wasting your time."

"Ryan, I haven't seen you in twelve years. I was glad to make time for you. What brings you back to Cincinnati?"

"Um, well…I'm conflicted, Rabbi." Ryan shifted nervously in his seat.

"About what, I may ask?"

"It's about Calleigh."

"This is the same girl that you were seeing the last time we talked, right?"

"Yes, but we now live together and I want to marry her."

"So what are you worried about?"

"She's not Jewish."

"Oh." Rabbi Cohen leaned back in his seat. "Does she want to convert?"

"I don't think so. She's pretty set in her ways."

"Are you thinking of converting to her religion?"

"No, no, Rabbi…I may no longer worship, but I'm still rooted in some of the traditional values that our religion follows and I have no desire to change. My concern is that I'm betraying in some way those values by not marrying a Jewish woman and having a Jewish household to raise a family. There's also the fact that if we have kids, they might not be Jewish."

"Have you talked to her about having children?"

"No. We haven't gotten to that point yet."

"Well, Ryan-as being a Reform Jew, your children will be recognized by the community as being Jewish, even if they aren't raised as Jews. However, the Orthodox wouldn't traditionally recognize them."

"I know. But I love her so much. I can't see myself living life without her."

"Would you say that she's your bashert?"

"Yes, Rabbi…she is."

"Is she a mensch?"

"Very much so, Rabbi. She has a pure heart."

Rabbi Cohen thought for a minute as Ryan sat there waiting for him to speak. "Ryan, I don't think that you are betraying our way of life by marrying a gentile. I think you are betraying your heart of its true love by not following it through. We try to follow our ways and beliefs as best as we can, but we can't deny what our hearts and souls want. Your parents were good people and would want to see you happy. I know you've been alone for a long time now and I think that it's time for you to fully heal. Go and marry her. Make yourself happy for a change."

"That's what I wanted to hear, Rabbi. Thank you." Ryan got out of his chair.

"Is Calleigh here with you?"

"No. She's at a convention in Las Vegas until tomorrow. She doesn't know that I'm up here. In fact, I'm catching a red-eye back to Miami tonight. If she knew that I came up here on such a short notice, she would wonder why."

"Yes, you would want the marriage proposal to be a surprise. Call and let me know how it went."

"I will."

Rabbi Cohen stood up and walked around his desk to give Ryan another hug. "I'm glad you're doing pretty well with your life. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Ryan answered.

"Try not to wait another twelve years before visiting again."

Ryan chuckled. "I won't."

Rabbi Cohen smiled. "It's too bad you don't have time to stay. I'm sure Sheryl would have loved for you to come over to the house and visit. You can see her the next time you come up…with your wife, I hope."

Ryan smiled at his comment. "Thank you again, Rabbi. Take care.

"Ryan?"

Ryan was jolted from his thoughts to see Eric standing there.

"Oh, hey Eric…what's up?"

"Dude, I've been standing here for about a minute. I must've said your name three times now."

"Sorry about that. I guess I was daydreaming."

Eric handed Ryan a file. "Here are the results for the tire tracks."

"Thanks, Eric."

Eric walked back out of the room as Ryan looked at his watch. His shift ended in about 5 minutes. He reached for his keys to unlock the file cabinet that sat behind him to retrieve the ring that was in there. He bought the ring a few weeks back and kept it at work for fear of Calleigh finding it at home. He took the ring box out and placed it in his jacket. He got up and started putting his work away for the day and making sure that everything was back in place for the nightshift. He grabbed his jacket and checked again to make sure the ring was still where he put it. He turned off the lights and walked out.

Calleigh had already left for the day about an hour earlier. Ryan called the apartment to see if she was home. There was no answer. He then tried her cellphone and got the same result. "I wonder where she is," he thought to himself. As he drove home, he called Lombardi's to confirm his 9pm appointment. Pulling into the parking lot of his apartment, he looked over to the left and noticed Calleigh's car parked in one of the spaces. He parked next to her and got out. As he walked into the apartment, he noticed that no lights were on, except for a glowing kind of light emitting from their bedroom.

to be continued…