One last time

Eight Weeks Later

Horatio and Ryan were alone as they drove through the dark night in the Everglades. They had been called out to a crime scene and had gotten lost in the pitch black. They drove around for an hour trying to find the main road with no luck.

A sudden booming noise caused the entire Hummer to shake unevenly. Horatio stopped and pulled off in a grassy clearing. He clicked on the hazard lights and climbed out, Ryan following close behind him. Horatio sighed as he knelt beside the flat front driver side tire.

"Great," he muttered, "Well I guess I'll call the station and see if someone can come get us."

"I'll call Natalia and see if anyone's still in the lab and can check out the crime scene," Ryan said, pulling out his phone. Something dropped to the ground and Ryan swore loudly as he dropped to his knees. "Fuck, where did it go?"

"Where did what go?" Horatio asked as he grabbed a flashlight.

"My ring," Ryan said, "I had a ring in my pocket and it fell out when I grabbed my phone. Shit, I can't loose this ring!"

Horatio shined the flashlight beam towards Ryan and knelt beside him. "What does it look like?"

"It's silver with three diamonds. The center one's bigger than the rest." Ryan explained, "Shit, I have to find it!"

Something cold brushed against Horatio's fingers and he quickly grasped it. He held up the silver and diamond ring in the light of the flashlight and just stared at it. It was beautiful, clearly hand picked and designed. Horatio felt his heart sink as he realized what it was.

"You're going to propose to Natalia," he quietly said.

Ryan smiled weakly and held out his hand for the ring. "Yeah, I was going to put it on a DB in the morgue from one of her cases and let her find it, but I got called away to another scene."

Horatio chuckled as he handed the ring off to Ryan. He smiled at the younger man, trying to fight the feelings. "That's great," he whispered.

Ryan looked at Horatio. His blue eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the Hummer headlights. His hair shined as the red hazard lights pulsated in time. Ryan leaned forward and kissed Horatio passionately.

"One last time?" Ryan whispered to him.

Horatio slowly nodded his head. "One last time."