Chapter 3: The Appointment

Ryan slowly opened the door and saw a man sitting behind a large rectangular desk, writing away. He had short brown hair and glasses. When he was done writing, he lifted his head to see who had come into his office.

``You must be Ryan Wolfe. Come on in`` he gestured

Ryan entered and shut the door behind him while the doc stood up and came to meet him.

``Pleasure to meet you Ryan. I'm Doctor Evans``

``Nice to meet you Doc``

``Please`` He gestured for Ryan to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Dr. Evans went back behind his desk, closed the file on his desk and pulled out another one from his drawer.

''So how are things? ``

``Fine, just getting back into routine of work``

``Did you find that hard at all? ``

``Why would it be? ``

``Well you were gone for almost a month. You were kidnapped for a week, a few days in the hospital and then two weeks recovery. It must have been awkward to just go back to work one day``

``I was glad to. I've never been one to just sit at home and do nothing``

``You enjoy the fact that work preoccupies you and then your mind is on that instead of other thing... ?``

``And I suppose that you mean that it helps me not think about the fact that I was kidnapped, tortured and almost killed? ``

``well does it? ``

Ryan sighed ``Look, every CSI has their own personal matters. The important thing is that they keep those matters separate from work. Each deals with his own problems in their own way``

``But, you can't deny the fact that quite often those personal matters do stumble into the work place. And in this case Mister Wolfe, we are not talking about very CSI, but just one...you and how you deal with those personal matters``

``Like I said, each deals with it in his own way. I'm taking care of it``

``Have you ever tried talking to someone instead of just dealing by yourself? ``

``Actually no`` Ryan said sternly ``I just want to go on with my life and forget that it happened. That's exactly why I didn't want to come here and start talking about it in detail again. I told you I'm fine and I am. So take my word for it``

He got up from his chair and headed for the door. His hand had just reached the knob when the doctor spoke.

``I'm sure that your boss feels differently about the talking. You should know that I have a duty to report to him on how this meeting went...Now we have five required meetings Mister Wolfe and based on how those go I can either stop it there or recommend more. That is entirely up to you. Just to be sure that you understand the seriousness of it I will remind you again that Lieutenant Caine has requested a progress report as those meetings progress``

Ryan stood at the door hesitating, as the doctor sat silently behind his desk. Ryan was still c ose to leaving but Doctor Evans words had hit him hard. The promise that he made to Horatio came back to mind. After a few long seconds, Ryan slowly went and sat back down.

``I know that it will be hard Mister Wolfe. Many people feel just as you do. All they want to do is forget and erase it from their minds. Lieutenant Caine felt the same way. When the team lost Tim Speedle, he didn't come to see my predecessor right away, but eventually he saw the necessity of it. And I hope that with time...you'll feel the same way.

Ryan took a deep breath ``Alright, let's get started``

-xxx-

Ryan walked out of the doctor's office. Even though he didn't think that it could happen, but he did feel a little better. He started heading back to the crime lab. When he got there he found Eric waiting for him at the entrance.

''H said that you wouldn't be long. He's with Calleigh and you're with me. Grab your kit and meet me at the hummer''

Ryan grabbed his kit and headed for the locker room. He opened his and took out some gauze and tape and sat down on the bench. He undid the wrap that was already around his hand. It had been a month and he knew that he probably didn't have to cover it anymore, but being a crime scene investigator and having a small case of OCD, he didn't take any chances. The other members of the team teased that he was mainly doing it because of his OCD. That was a factor Ryan admitted, but the real reason, he kept to himself. The real reason was that, he couldn't look at it. Every time he saw the scar all he could think about was how he got it. That led him to think about his horrific week and that was the last thing he wanted on his mind especially at work.

He finished up his new wrapping and went outside. Eric was waiting in the hummer at the entrance.

''So how did it go this morning?'' Eric asked as they were driving towards the crime scene

''Pretty good, we talked about a few things, nothing specific yet''

''He didn't declare you insane?'' Eric smiled

''Not yet'' Ryan laughed ''Looks like it's going to take more than one visit for him to realize that''

''When's your next appointment?'' Eric asked

''Three weeks. He said that it will give me enough time to really see if my work is affected or not by...you know''

''Well you're tough Wolfe, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it''

''Yeah, But there's a few people that still need a little convincing''

''You know it never hurts to talk about these things'' Eric told him

''Oh please...not you too'' Ryan scoffed

I don't expect you to pour out your heart to me, but if ever you do want to talk, I'm there for you man''

''Thanks Eric''

Ryan knew that he had his friends behind him. Now he had started his meetings with Doctor Evans, Ryan knew that he was on his way to recovery and getting on his life.

-xxx-

I am so sorry that it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I know that a lot of you were getting impatient and told me to update. Well I gotta tell you that your reviews

got me motivated to update and if they keep coming I will try my hardest to get the next chapter up A.S.A.P Please Review and hope that it was worth the wait!!!!!