Author: Shadowfax27
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. Okay?
Beta: Mistakes make me human…
A/N: AU after Driven. Yeah, okay… I know it's been forever since I last updated. --hangs head in shame-- Stupid writer's block! Do you guys even remember this story at all? At any rate, here's the next chapter (probably one of my least favorite chapters in the story, but it's something that "needed" to be covered for continuity and realism). Again, my apologies for the long delay. You guys forgive me, right? --puppy eyes--
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Chapter 6 – Winking In Hushed Conspiracy
Stolen moments time has broken
My eyes are open to this life-long mystery
And so I'll go with what I know
Take my chances and run with destiny
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And Speed never got a chance to fulfill his promise to Eric and Ryan.
Until now…
'No face… no name… no…clue?'
And then draw conclusions…
"Oh, my God…" Eric gasped in stunned realization, his wide, shocked eyes settling disbelievingly on Ryan.
And Ryan tore his gaze away and buried his face in his hands as soon as he saw realization dawn on the Cuban's face, saw the truth flash before his eyes.
'Holy shit!' Eric thought incredulously as he stared at Ryan. "That was you?"
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"That was you?" Eric's voice sounded incredulous and something else entirely that Ryan couldn't quite figure out when he had asked him the dreaded question a second time.
He could only look away and bury his face in his hands, shaking his head in dismay and disbelief. How could Speed do this to him? But more importantly, how the hell did Speed know about his secret attraction to the Cuban?
Great! Now, Eric's going to think that he's a freak and wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore… and just when he thought that things were starting to get better between them. He wasn't even counting on the Cuban to return his feelings for Pete's sake! Really, he just wanted his friendship at the very least. But now, that might've just been ruined by this newest revelation, and he might as well prepare for the inevitable embarrassment and possible ridicule he might have to endure because he couldn't help whom he fell in love with.
Great.
Wonderful.
Just fan-fucking-tastic!
He made the decision right there and then that he wasn't going to be the object of Eric's shock and ridicule. No, he couldn't take that. Not now. And not from him, most of all.
Without another word and certainly without daring to meet the Cuban's eyes anymore, he stood up abruptly and hastily strode away from the other man. He could feel his face growing red with anger and embarrassment, his eyes sinking back with fathomless regret as he desperately tried to dam up his roaring emotions, his tears not far behind.
He didn't know where he was going, but he certainly didn't care at that moment. All he wanted to do was to get away from Eric as quickly as possible, to expand the distance between them even more, like the footprints that he was currently leaving behind as he stomped on the sand with determined steps, and to pretend that this night never ever happened.
As he quickened his pace on the soft earth, he realized that he didn't have his car with him to escape since Eric had taken him to dinner, and he had left his car back at the lab. Frustrated, he shook his head, muttering a series of incoherent expletives before reaching for his phone, flipping it on, and dialing for a cab to take him away… far away from Eric and this night that he'd rather forget.
He was so angry and hurt that he could barely breathe, his lungs constricting painfully as his heart drummed up inside his chest. He feared that he'd fall apart if he didn't put some immediate and immense distance between them really soon.
He had barely finished saying "hello" into his phone when he suddenly felt the sensation of being whirled around forcefully, a strong hand on his arm stubbornly restraining him and pulling him into its owner until he had crashed none-too-gracefully onto a strong chest, the other hand, now grabbing his other arm as well, holding him up and firmly in place.
Ryan barely had time to look up as he collided with the muscled chest. He opened his mouth, about to curse at the son of a bitch who had dared stop him, when he unexpectedly felt a pair of warm, soft lips crashing down onto his own, firm and insistent and pleading for understanding, for a few moments to explain.
The phone slipped out of his hands, dropping onto the sand, and lying there forgotten… for now.
The lips beseeched him to stay, even as it devoured every ounce of angry breath within him, stilling him with shock, and draining him of all the tension he had felt when he had marched off without a word. And he kissed him… he kissed him until Ryan felt himself melting into the deepening kiss, and soon, he was kissing its owner back with equal intensity, leaving him with nothing but soft whimpers as he gulped in ragged breaths.
"Did you know?" Eric now asked when they finally separated, resting his forehead against Ryan's as they panted for air.
For a brief moment, Ryan could only shake his head in response. But when he had caught his breath enough, he pulled away to look into the Cuban's eyes, searching for something he wasn't entirely sure of.
Certainty? Assurance that this wasn't just a cruel joke at his expense? He didn't exactly know, but for once, he braved a response, despite of his insecurities.
"No… not really," he managed to stammer out. "I mean… I… I didn't know. But the thought did cross my mind while I was waiting," he finally confessed, feeling sheepish all of a sudden.
He closed his eyes and looked down once more, avoiding Eric's gaze. He could feel the blood rushing to his face, and he felt that if Eric didn't say something soon that he would either surely die of embarrassment right then and there or he would take off running once again to avoid humiliation.
"Did you?" he finally managed to ask, still looking down.
He felt Eric's fingers lift up his chin gently, forcing him to meet his eyes, and he was surprised to find warmth there and a faint glimmer of remembrance as a small smile settled on the older man's lips.
"No…" Eric replied softly. "But it did cross my mind too," Eric confessed as well.
Shock registered in Ryan's eyes until Eric leaned down and captured his mouth once more, reassuring him that he was indeed telling the truth and that there was no need to be embarrassed now that they know what their mutual friend, Speed, had secretly but purposefully done to try to get them together.
And for the space of that moment, the doubt and the fear that had Ryan leaving in a hurried and angered mess before was now instantly drowned out by the sound of lips and tongue colliding before the crashing waves, watched by the billions of stars winking in hushed conspiracy under the dimly lit spotlight of the half-moon.
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"So… Ryan and Speed were friends?" an incredulous and shocked Alexx Woods asked the next day in the morgue after she had finally cornered Eric on what had been going on between him and her 'baby.'
Eric nodded, "Yeah… they were."
She fell silent, as if piecing together the information she had just received and her interaction with Ryan for the last year and a half or so, trying to make sense of some of the things the young man had said to her when she was first giving him the cold shoulder when he had started as a CSI.
She distinctly remembered something that Speed had told her as they were working a particularly hard case. She had been in the morgue, working on the body of yet another young victim, a young girl this time, whose life had been taken way too early, and Alexx's motherly instincts had kicked in.
Speed had been there when she very nearly lost it, and he'd told her something that at that time, didn't make any sense to her, but looking back, and with the information she had just received from Eric, now made perfect sense.
They were standing in the morgue, working a case of a young girl, who was found dead in a playground near her home.
"It'll be alright, Alexx," Speed said, hugging Alexx as she sobbed softly in his arms.
"I know, Timmy…" Alexx sniffled. "It's just that… baby girl was so young. She didn't deserve this."
"None of them do," Speed agreed. "But that's why we're here… to find out what happened and who did this and to bring her justice."
Pulling away slightly, Alexx wiped her tears away and composed herself before meeting Speed's eyes, "Thanks, Timmy. You always know what to say," she replied, smiling weakly.
"Hey, that's what I'm here for," he teased, smiling cockily.
Rolling her eyes while chuckling, she replied, "Leave it to you to put a cocky spin on a tender moment."
"Of course!" he agreed, still wearing that same arrogant smirk.
Alexx merely shook her head at his response before turning to work on the young girl's body again.
Sensing her still-apparent distress and her maternal urge to care for others, Speed thought that this might just be the prime moment to bring up the topic of his 'new' and secret friend.
"Hey, Alexx?" he began carefully.
"Hmmm?"
"How would you like to have another friend who could use some, uh… mothering?" Speed queried teasingly.
Alexx stopped what she was doing to give Speed a questioning frown, "What do you mean, Timmy?"
"I'm just saying that you're the type of person who cares a lot about people, and I know someone who could use a person like you in their life," Speed explained evasively.
Suspiciously, Alexx asked, "Now, Timmy… What do you have up your sleeve?"
But Speed merely smirked, "Nothing! I just thought you could use a new friend, you know? A new 'baby,' if you will, to take care of."
"Why would I need a new friend when I've got you?" Alexx now asked, confused. "Besides, I already have Horatio, Calleigh, Eric, and some of the lab techs as friends, so why would I need someone new?" As if realizing her question all of a sudden, Alexx stared at Speed for a moment, her hands firmly settling on her hips, "Wait a minute… You're not planning on leaving us, are you, Timmy?"
"No, Alexx… of course not!" Speed only laughed. "I'm not planning to leave you or anybody at all. Really, you have nothing to worry about. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere," he said, pacifying her. "Knowing you and how good you are to me, I just thought that you could do the same with my new friend, who, by the way, is in desperate need of mothering," he explained, trying to butter her up. "Plus, we could all use another friend around here, a fresh face if you will," he added, smirking yet again.
"We?" Alexx asked, raising a curious eyebrow at him.
"Yes, 'we,' as in all of us… including H, Cal, and Eric," Speed clarified.
Alexx shook her head and turned her attention back to her autopsy, "I don't know, Timmy. I'm still not convinced."
At this, Speed sided up next to her, put his arm around her shoulders, and gave her a light squeeze, "Come on, Alexx," he coaxed gently. "Just give him a chance, will you?"
"So, it's a him, is it?" she teased, trying to hold down her own smirk this time.
"Yes, Alexx, he's a young guy, and I'm sure you'll love him," Speed encouraged, adding, "Besides, you could always use another person to 'baby' around here."
Sighing in resignation, Alexx answered, "Alright, Timmy… fine. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have another friend. So, when do I meet this new friend of yours?"
"Ah! That, my dear coroner, is something that I'm currently working on," Speed answered evasively. "You'll meet him when everyone else does, but yeah… if everything goes according to my plan, then you'll meet him soon enough, and you'll love him too," he winked teasingly. "I promise."
She was about to ask him another question, but just then, Speed's phone went off, cutting their conversation short, and thereby preventing Alexx from finding out more information from Speed about his 'new friend.'
"I gotta go, Alexx. They found something in Trace, and it could just be the lead we need to crack this case. But I'll catch you later, okay?" he asked, before turning to leave.
"Sure, baby, go ahead," Alexx replied, smiling faintly. "You know where to find me."
With a nod, Speed turned his back and left.
Looking back now, Alexx had thought about asking Speed about his new friend again, but it totally slipped from her mind, and she never once thought to bring it up anymore, since Speed never did either.
Still trying to piece that memory with her current knowledge about Ryan, Alexx thought back to the time when she first had to work with him at a crime scene. It happened in a home where an infamous athlete was murdered, while the jury, who was deciding his fate, was 'investigating' his home, looking for any evidence of his guilt.
That was also the time when she remembered telling Ryan that she didn't need any new friends, but it was also the first time when she did give him a chance to prove himself, and, thereafter, began to warm up to him after being surprisingly impressed by his keen eye and deductive reasoning.
Ryan: Knife missing from this block could be our murder weapon.
Alexx: sarcastically Nice work, Ryan. Think you may have cracked the case.
Ryan: Thanks, I…have a keen grasp for the obvious. Look… I know you and Tim Speedle were close. I know this was Speedle's case. I'm not trying to replace him.
Alexx: still coldly Good. 'Cause I don't need any new friends.
Ryan: All I want is to do a good job.
Alexx: Okay. Tell me what you see.
Ryan: kneels down next to the body
Alexx: You can touch him, honey. He's not going to bite.
Ryan: touches the body Single blow to the head. No defensive wounds on his hands or arms…means no struggle.
Alexx: Good. What else?
Ryan: We probably won't find the victim's blood on our killer.
Alexx: And why is that?
Ryan: No liquid blood at the time of impact. No second hit… so, no splatter.
Alexx: impressed Well, look at you go.
Now, as she began to connect all the dots in her head, she realized that, in her grief over Speed's untimely death, she failed to see who her 'baby' really was – Ryan Wolfe was the friend Speed had been talking about all along.
"Did Horatio know?" she asked curiously now.
"Yeah…" Eric responded, even while he was still trying to consider the question. "Yeah, I think so. Though, I'm not sure how long he'd known about this. But he was the one who told me to go talk to Ryan about the photograph."
"And what about Calleigh?" Alexx now asked. "Did she know, too?"
Alexx had barely finished asking the question when the door to the morgue suddenly swung open and in walked a cheerful-looking Calleigh Duquesne, "Did I know about what?" she asked, looking back and forth between the coroner and the CSI.
Eric groaned in frustration and buried his face in his hands. He really didn't want to have to explain himself all over again, but when he finally dared to look up, he saw that both women were still looking at him expectantly. And it looked as if they weren't going to let him get back to work until he had explained things to Calleigh, too.
Where the hell was H when he needed him?
"Well?" Alexx asked again, this time putting a hand on her hip as Calleigh crossed her arms suspiciously, the smile on her face now replaced by a curious frown.
"I don't know, Alexx. I mean, I don't think so… you're the first one I told this about," Eric finally groaned out an explanation.
"Okay… I'm absolutely lost and curious," Calleigh piped up. "What did I miss? And what are we talking about here?"
"Ryan," Eric and Alexx both answered at the same time.
"Ryan?" Calleigh asked, more confused now than ever. "What about Ryan? Is he okay? Where is he? What's going on?"
"Whoa, Calleigh…" Eric replied, holding both hands up to stop the barrage of questions firing rapidly from the petite blonde. "Easy with the questions there, okay? Ryan's fine."
"So, what's going on then?" she pressed.
Eric looked exasperated and turned a pleading look towards Alexx. But the coroner merely shrugged, prompting Eric to take another exasperated breath, before looking at Calleigh and launching into another recap of his discoveries about their youngest CSI and their deceased colleague.
When he was done explaining his 'discoveries' for the second time that morning (conveniently leaving out the part where he had kissed Ryan on the beach, of course), he couldn't help but laugh at the still shell-shocked expressions on both of the women's faces.
"Wow!" was all a thunderstruck Calleigh could say, while Alexx could still only nod in stunned agreement.
"Listen…" Eric began once more as both women continued to stare at him in shocked silence. "Ryan doesn't know that I told you guys anything, and the last thing he wants is for everyone in the lab to know about him being friends with Speed. So, I'd appreciate it if you ladies wouldn't say anything about this to him or to anyone else, okay?"
"Sure, honey," Alexx replied in understanding. "It would be tough not to talk about this with Ryan, but I won't say anything."
"Calleigh?" Eric now turned towards the blonde, who has a penchant for gossip.
"Scout's honor," Calleigh replied with a teasing smile as she gestured with her right hand. "I promise I won't say anything to Ryan or to anyone else."
Sighing in relief, Eric added, "Thank you… both of you. And please don't treat Ryan any differently now that you know the truth. I don't want him suspecting that you guys know or that I told you about him."
And with that, Eric turned to leave the morgue, relieved that both women had promised to keep the information he had given them under the table, and smiling blissfully to himself as he recalled the kiss he had so passionately shared with Ryan.
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TBCLet me know what you think. Remember… Reviews feed my emaciated plot penguins.
So, please… be kind and feed the penguins!
A/N: I know, I know… I left you hanging again, and I'm terribly sorry. head desk I had a really hard time completing this chapter, other than the fact that I've been insanely busy. I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things, and well, the more I write the longer this story seems to get. Grrr! I know that this wasn't a terribly exciting chapter, except for the kiss on the beach, but I had to cut out what I had originally planned on including because this would get rather long. I've already started work on the next chapter, which I'm rather excited about, as it will address some of the questions you guys might have had about Ryan's dream way back in the beginning of this fic. Hopefully, updating the next one won't take nearly as long.
ETA: I do not own the script for the "Hell Night" dialogue between Alexx and Ryan. Credit for this S3 episode dialogue belongs to the talented writers of CSI: Miami. You guys rock! Lyrics in the beginning of the chapter were taken from Gerri Halliwell's song: "Mi Chico Latino."