OMG! I'm so sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. I've been super busy with work and school and everything else. But yeah. I finally got this one up. Not quite as exciting as the firts chapter, but I promise it gets better. C&C welcomed greatly.

"Ryo? Ryo? Hey, anybody home?" Drake waved his hand in front of Ryo's face. "Dude. Wake up, man. Time for lunch." Ryo shook his head and stretched, blinking sleepily at his friend. He had zoned out at his desk again. He hadn't been sleeping well recently. Recently being for the last four months. This isn't good...I can't concentrate when I'm so tired all the time... He grabbed his jacket off the rack as he stood from his chair.

"Come on you guys!" JJ complained. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Ryo smiled as Drake swatted playfully at his hyper friend. It was nice to see that they were getting along well as partners. Ryo wasn't the only one who had been hit hard by Dee's passing. JJ had taken off for nearly 6 weeks after the incident. Drake had just been assigned as his partner at the time and had taken it upon himself to comfort him. It seemed that they had grown very close after JJ came back to the precinct.

"Ryo? You zone out on us again?" Drake asked as he tried to keep JJ from running out the door with his keys. "Come on! If this moron get's to the car before me, there won't be any food left at the restaurant when we get there." Ryo smiled and slipped his jacket on.

"You two go on ahead." he said. "I've got to drop this paperwork off in Berkeley's office and file a few more things real quick. I'll catch up to you at the restaurant." The two nodded and rushed out the door. A small smile escaped Ryo's lips as he watched them go. He remembered how Dee had always drug him out the door when lunch rolled around. He shook his head and gathered up and small pile of papers from his desk. He turned the corner and slipped into Berkeley's office. "Here's the paperwork on the Anderson case you asked for, sir."

"Thank you, Ryo." Berkeley replied as he took the papers from him, placing them in a manilla folder for filing. Ryo turned to walk back out but Berkeley stopped him. "Ryo? Are you doing ok? You're falling behind on some of your reports and you've been really out of it recently. If you need a few days off to have some time for yourself don't hesitate to ask. I don't want you pushing yourself too hard." Ryo glanced over his shoulder at his boss, slightly confused. Time off? He never gives anyone time off...plus, I didn't think he really cared about anything but this job. That's a little odd...

"No. I'm alright." he said as he opened the door. "I think I just need a bit more sleep. Thanks though." He stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him. Dianna waved as he passed by and he waved in return as he stepped into the bright sunshine of the crisp December afternoon.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Woohoo! Sushi!" JJ bounded out of the car with Drake and Ryo behind him, desperately trying to find a way to disown their overzealous friend. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to have that much energy...Oh well. At least I get to have sushi for lunch. It's been a while since I've eaten anything but take-out. They had met up in the parking lot of the restaurant, since Ryo had stayed a little later, and JJ was about ready to eat through the cars to get to the actual food. Drake grabbed Ryo's sleeve and yanked him between JJ and himself.

"Save me!" he squeaked in mock terror. "I don't think he took his medicine this morning. The hyperactivity could spread!" Ryo chuckled lightly, playing along with the joke, and yanked Drake in front of him.

"Well, don't use me as a shield." he muttered. "There's only one way to calm him down." Drake glanced over his shoulder, catching the mischievous grin on Ryo's face. "Count of three?" Drake nodded, donning a grin of his own. "One...two...three!" All at once, they pounced on JJ, tackling him to the ground through fits of laughter. They wrestled around for a few minutes before they realized they were still in the parking lot as well as in plain sight. Ryo jumped up, red-faced, and helped his friends to their feet.

"Let's not ever do that again in public." Ryo muttered as they walked in, taking a booth by the window. The waitress came by, smiling sweetly as she took their orders, making the three of them blush slightly. Immediately after she walked away, Drake snickered and winked roughishly at Ryo. He stared back at his friend, slightly confused. "What was that for?"

"Oh come on, Ryo!" Drake said, nearly giggling. "There is no way that you can deny that chick was hot. Even if you don't like girls you can still appreciate that, right? I mean, damn! Ooo! And a cute ass, too." He leaned around the corner of the booth as she walked past, heading to another table. "Hee hee...Ouch!" JJ smacked the back of his head contemptuously. "Hey! What was that for? Just because I belong to you doesn't mean I can't look." JJ stared, Ryo stared, and Drake realized what he said. He covered his mouth and his face flushed bright red. "I...uh...I mean..."

Try as he might, Ryo couldn't help but laugh. "Ha ha ha ha! Well, congratulations! Though I think from the look on JJ's face you should have told him about that." JJ just stared dumbfounded. Sure they were close and he had asked him out on a few dates but he had never expected Drake to feel the same way. It was quite a shock but, as usual, he recovered quickly. His hand reached out and grabbed Drake's almost automatically and he smiled.

"Better late than never." he said, his normal energy and complete honesty returning. "Besides, who could say no to that? I mean, seriously!" Drake gently shoved him away, blushing slightly, and muttered something about JJ being an embarrassment to his age bracket.

The rest of lunch went smoothly enough, aside from the consistent teasing and the fact that JJ decided that nothing else existed once their food arrived. Ryo sat in relative silence, hardly eating any of his food. His mind was elsewhere. For a brief moment, Ryo felt like he was being watched but he shrugged it off. I'm just being paranoid. He glanced out the window, watching the blank faces of the people walking by. Suddenly, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He caught a glimpse of a man across the street staring through the window at him but when he tried to get a better look he was gone.

"Ryo?" Drake looked concerned. "What's wrong?" Ryo just shook his head. What was he supposed to do? Tell Drake about the mysterious stranger the night before with the photo that wasn't supposed to exist? And now everywhere he goes he feels like he's being watched? Not hardly. So he smiled, paid his part of the bill, and walked out to his car.