Introduction

An alternate ending to Act 6. What if Dee hadn't listened to Ryo's pleads? What if the bullet had hit Ryo, instead of the wall?

Torn apart by guilt, Dee can only watch as the trust he shared with Ryo crumbles away, leaving their growing relationship a broken and shattered one. And when Ryo announces that he's leaving, it looks like all of Dee's hopes for a future with the man he loves have become impossible to achieve.

With only himself to blame for the turn of events, Dee searches frantically for Ryo, only to find that his old partner seems to have disappeared for good. Is this the end of their crime busting team? Has Dee's mistake cost him his dream of being with Ryo?

As events unfold, two hearts are broken….

Chapter Two; I Need You To Leave

Dee paced around the hospital's waiting room for friends and relatives of patients, anxiously awaiting news of Ryo's condition. Upon arrival, he had learnt from the Chief that Ryo had been rushed straight into surgery for a much needed blood transfusion and stitching of his wound, but that was all he knew.

Afterwards, the Chief had been forced to go back to the station and inform Commissioner Rose of the situation, but had clapped Dee on the shoulder before he left, smiling as reassuringly as he could in the circumstances. Then Dee had been left alone.

Collapsing into a chair, Dee buried his head in his hands, letting out a small sob. >I failed him…he was my partner, damnit, and I failed him! All he wanted to do was stop me from becoming a murderer…that was why he put himself between me and Lloyd – he trusted me not to shoot.>

Grinning bitterly to himself, Dee managed to squash down the urge he felt to cry. >He trusted me…and I sure ruined that, didn't I? I betrayed him…the man who's not only my partner, but the guy I'm in love with. How can I ever face him now?>

"Dee!" Hearing the door to the waiting room open, closely followed by the sound of his name being called, Dee lifted his head to see who it was.

SMACK!

Eyes wide, Dee raised a trembling hand to his slapped cheek, staring at his attacker – a shaking Carol that looked like she was going to break down any moment. The next thing he knew, there was a blur of dark skin and blonde hair, before Bikky was on top of him, hitting out at his stomach.

But the punches grew weaker and weaker, until Bikky finally allowed a loud sob to escape him as he let himself fall limply into Dee's arms.

"How could you, Dee? How could you do that to Ryo? I thought you cared about him!" He demanded hoarsely, his normally strong voice choked with tears.

"I…I didn't mean to…I just…I just…" Dee stammered, finding himself unable to finish his sentence. Everything just seemed to be happening so fast, but to Dee it felt like he was still standing in the alley, staring in shock at Ryo's bleeding body.

"You just what! Shot him by accident! You're too good with a gun to do something like that, Dee. You just let your hatred blind you, and now look what's happened!" Carol snapped, before sinking into the chair next to him and wrapping her arms around both Dee and Bikky.

"I hate you right now, Dee…but I know that you never truly wanted to hurt Ryo. So I forgive you." She whispered, her grip round the two males tightening. Dee made a small shocked sound, and Bikky shifted in his arms, staring up at the green eyed cop.

"I don't think that I'll ever forgive you for this. I hate you. But then again, what's new?" He said, smiling wanly at Dee. Dee gazed down at the young teenager, before letting his eyes shift to where Carol was sitting.

And the dam broke.

And he finally began to cry, allowing the tears to stream down his face instead of escape through his previous small sobs.

"Mr Laytner?" At the nurse's voice, three heads shot up, staring at the newcomer with an intensity that was almost frightening. Heart in his mouth, Dee struggled out from underneath Bikky and got to his feet, running a hand through his dark hair anxiously.

"Yes, I'm Dee Laytner. Do you have news on Ryo?" He demanded. The nurse frowned, checking her clipboard in confusion.

"Ryo? I'm sorry, I must have got the wrong person…forgive me." She apologised, beginning to back up. Dee sighed in exasperation, before suddenly realising what the problem was.

"Wait! He might be in your records under the name Randy Maclean instead!" He called, hoping that his theory was right. To his relief, the nurse smiled and nodded, coming back into the room.

"Ah, that explains the mix up. I assume that you're anxious to know what condition Mr. Maclean's in?" She queried, sweatdropping as three heads nodded frantically.

"At the moment, Mr. Maclean is stable, and likely to stay that way. We have stopped the bleeding, and removed most of the blood and air from the pleural space, which is the gap between the chest wall and the lung. Mr. Maclean has also had a chest tube inserted through his chest wall for the sole purpose of draining the remaining blood and air, as well as re-expanding the lung. We are hoping to be able to remove the tube in a few days time."

Pausing for breath, the nurse smiled reassuringly at the worried faces before her.

"Mr. Maclean should be fine. In most cases like these, he would not have required surgery at all, but due to the severity of the wound, it was necessary to assist in repairing the damaged lung and to stitch the entrance wound."

Dee smiled shakily, his eyes bright with unshed tears of relief.

"So he's gonna be ok? Ryo's really gonna be ok?" He choked out, hardly able to believe it.

"Yes. You should be able to see him tomorrow, after some final checkups are done. However, we're keeping Mr. Maclean unconscious for the first few days, in the hope that the added rest will speed his recovery."

Dee's legs gave out under him, and he fell to the ground, leaning back against the wall as he began to cry yet again. But this time, it was tears of relief that were being allowed release, and everything was going to be alright.

>It's gonna be ok now…it's really gonna be ok.>

Dee sat by Ryo's bedside, his sharp eyes examining every visible inch of the man that he had so stupidly put in hospital. Sighing, he gently rearranged the honey coloured hair around Ryo's face, before letting his hand drop to his side, feeling useless and unneeded.

>3 days…3 days since the incident. They took him off the drugs that were keeping him unconscious, so he should be waking up soon…but it's been 5 hours now, and no movement.>

"Dee? Hey bud, how's Ryo today?" Dee glanced up at the doorway to Ryo's private room, smiling tiredly at the visitor.

"He's doing good, Ted. He's meant to be waking up soon." He replied, his eyes moving back to the sleeping beauty in front of him.

"That's great, Dee. Everyone at the station have been so happy to hear that he's doing fine…no one's ever had a bad word against him there, unless you count JJ's obsessed challenges to his 'rival in love'. But right now, even that guy's only wishing Ryo the best." Ted grinned.

Ever since Ryo had been hospitalised, the precinct had come with a new routine. Every morning, Drake came over to the hospital to get news about how Ryo had been overnight. And every evening, Ted came to check up on him too. Between the two of them, they were keeping their workmates up to date on Ryo's condition.

Dee, although pending investigation for his pursuit of Lloyd and the shooting of Ryo, had been allowed to wait for Ryo to recover before being taken to court. So far, he hadn't left Ryo's side – he was even sleeping in the same room, in the visitor's chair.

"It's great how everyone just pulls together at a time like this. If even a little snot like JJ can be nice, then it just proves how good a team we are." Dee said softly. Ted nodded, before pulling back, getting ready to leave.

"If there's been no further news, then I'll be going now. Drake will be over tomorrow morning as usual. Ok Dee?"

"Ok."

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Ted shrugged, moving down the corridor and out of sight.

Dee watched him go for a moment, but soon refocused on Ryo, almost feeling as though he could get Ryo to wake through the force of his will alone. And then a miracle happened.

Ryo woke up.

"Unngh…" Hearing his partner groan, Dee's breath caught in his throat, finding himself almost unable to believe it. >He's waking up…Ryo's waking up at last! >

Heart thundering in his chest, Dee watched as Ryo's eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing beautiful dark eyes. For a moment, those eyes seemed to be flickering over the room in confusion, but as soon as they landed on Dee, their expression turned into something hidden and masked.

Opening his mouth to speak, Ryo instead began to cough harshly, his throat dry from his long sleep.

"Oh God! Hang on Ryo, I'll get you some water!" Dee exclaimed, rushing over to where the pitcher of water stood, and pouring Ryo a glass. Moving back towards the bed, Dee carefully manoeuvred Ryo into a sitting position that wouldn't aggravate his injury, before handing Ryo the glass.

The blonde gladly accepted it, gulping down the clear liquid quickly before signalling to Dee that he wanted to lie back down. Smiling broadly, Dee allowed him to do so, placing the empty glass on the nearby table, out of their way.

"I'm so glad that you're ok, Ryo! When you were in surgery, and then when you weren't waking up, I was so worried! I felt like my whole world had been narrowed down to this single point, and that the point was you…I've never felt so scared in my whole life!" Dee babbled, his words spilling over each other in their eagerness to be free.

"And I'm sorry, Ryo…I'm so so sorry that you ended up like this because of me. I…man, just listen to me. You've only just regained consciousness, and I'm already talking nonsense. Is there anything you need? Is there anything you want me to do for you?" Dee offered, staring anxiously at Ryo.

Ryo nodded slowly, gazing up at Dee silently. Dark eyes narrowed, and Ryo swallowed hard, before finally speaking.

"I want…you to go."

Dee did a double take, stepping back from the bed in shock at Ryo's words.

"Wha…what? Dude, what are you saying?" He gasped.

Ryo simply shut his eyes and turned his head away, refusing to look at Dee. And when he spoke, his voice was even colder, every word certain.

"I need you to leave."

Oh no! Ryo what are you doing? Don't say that to Dee! Mind you, we can't really blame him at the moment, can we? Anyway, do the usual please, and read and review!

(And on a side note, FAKE books 3-7 arrived yesterday! I love them so much! Now I have the whole collection - yay!)