Another week passed, and they had traced the bow and arrested the guy that bought it. That night, Ryan caught Natalia as she was about to get in her car.
"Hey, Natalia!"
"Yeah? What's up, Ryan?" She said, facing him and he stuttered,
"Well, uh, um, I was, uh, I was wondering, uh, maybe, um,"
"Just spit it out, Ryan," She laughed, and Ryan smiled nervously and said,
"Wouldyouliketogooutwithme?" He said, jumbling the words together.
"Huh?" She said, the confusion evident on her face and he took a deep breath and said,
"Would you like to go out with me, Natalia?"
"Um, well, sure!" She said, the pleasure evident on her face and Ryan relaxed.
"Now, was that so hard?" Natalia teased later while they were walking on the beach at sunset after they had gone to a movie. Their hands got tentatively closer until Ryan's hand bumped Natalia's and she smiled shyly as she grabbed his hand. He smiled back, and then they heard the shots.
"Get down!" Ryan shouted, ducking for cover and dragging Natalia with him. He and Natalia began shooting at them, while Ryan called for backup. Then, he heard a moan of pain and looked over to see Natalia slumping over, clutching her thigh.
"Oh my God, Natalia! No, no, no! Natalia, no!" Ryan shouted, and lost his concentration for a fraction of a second. A ripping pain hit his shoulder and he hit the ground next to Natalia and whispered,
"Don't, Natalia, please," Then, the blackness overtook him just as he heard sirens in the distance.
Calleigh's Hummer squealed to a stop next to the beach and she nearly ran to Natalia and Ryan. When she got near them, she said,
"Hang in there, guys, just hang in there," Her voice betrayed just how much on edge she was, but she hid it, watching them load Natalia and Ryan up. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder and a rumbling voice said,
"Go with them, Calleigh," She looked at Horatio and said,
"No, no, I need to process the scene," Horatio caught her before she could turn around and said,
"Believe it or not, I actually know how to process a scene by myself, so go,"
"No." She stated firmly, and then elaborated, saying,
"One, I'm the lead CSI. Two, I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Three, they will be fine."
"Whoa, why can't I be here by myself?" She glared at him and said,
"Surely you've noticed?"
"Noticed what?"
"That there's someone with a hit list out on the lab! First Eric, then Frank, now Ryan and Natalia, who knows who could be next, you, or Alexx,"
"Or you," He added quietly, and she shrugged. He let out a frustrated sigh and said,
"Fine, stay, but when we're done, we're going to the hospital, and then the lab, all right?" She shrugged and they got to work. They finished processing quickly, carefully placed it all in the Hummer and drove to the hospital, where Alexx was sitting, along with Bella, who had come out of Eric's room. When they walked in, Alexx looked up at Calleigh and said,
"Calleigh, I need to have a word with Horatio, would you sit with Bella?"
"Sure, no problem," Calleigh said and sat next to Bella, who had tears streaming from her face, as Natalia was her other best friend. Meanwhile, Alexx led Horatio away and said,
"Horatio, there's a pattern here,"
"Yes, I know," Horatio said slowly, keeping his head down, and Alexx said urgently,
"But, if you know, then, what are we going to do?"
"Alexx, we are going to get them," Horatio said, conviction in his voice and he walked out. Calleigh squeezed Bella's hand and jogged to catch up to him, and then matched him stride for stride.
"Horatio, Bella told me that the doctor told them that Ryan and Natalia will both be fine, they were lucky."
"That's good,"
"Yeah, so, now the lab?"
"Yeah, now the lab," Horatio said, and they both drove to the lab to process the evidence from Ryan and Natalia's crime scene. They were both done about midnight, and as they put the boxes away, Horatio said to Calleigh,
"You should go home, get some sleep,"
"Are you?"
"That's irrelevant," Horatio began, but Calleigh interrupted him and said,
"I'm not going home until you go home," He looked at her and she set her face and said,
"I can be stubborn too, Horatio Caine," He smiled and they walked out, intending to work some more.