There are Days like This Too

Author: Irish Kaoru

Rating: T possibly M by the end

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own nothing whatsoever!

A/N Ok I hope that this doesn't seem to rushed. It's 6:24pm and I have to have this up by 11:59… so yeah I was lazy and haven't even started to sort out my ideas. Not to mention that I left off at an odd spot to pick up from. Oo

Wish me luck with my NaNoWriMo which starts at 12:00am. Yeap that's right I am pulling an all nighter and I have to work really early in the morning!!

Although this may be my last post for the month of November please look forward to the upcoming posts. There may be one or two this month depending on how much writers block I suffer from. Yoroshiku -bows-

Chapter 9

Danger Lurks Here

Berkley's POV

My phone rang for what had to be the twelfth time in the past hour. I swear I am going to kill Janet. She knows that we are short handed so I am doing odd jobs that someone of my rank shouldn't have to do, and yet, she insists on calling me up for every little thing that comes up thinking that I 'might want to know what's going on'. Somewhere in my mind I was really thinking about just letting it ring and ring and never answer it. It was about noon so for all she knew I could have stepped out for lunch. But my irritation got the better of me after about the tenth ring and I grabbed the receiver out of it's cradle.

"What the hell do you want?" I yelled, which is most uncharacteristic of me but I was fed up with all of this. Ryo was out sick, Dee took a personal day to take care of his partner, Ted's brother-in-law was in an accident so he got called out halfway through the morning shift, and JJ's car wouldn't start and he said that he wouldn't make it till noon because he had to wait for the tow truck. So that left me, Chief Warren, Drake, Marty, and Janet. Oh did I mention that the crazy's all decided to come out to play today?

"Do you always answer your phone so politely ass hole?" Laytner's voice drawled on the other end.

"My apologies Laytner, I thought it was Janet again. Had I known that it was only you I wouldn't have answered at all." I shot back. As if my day couldn't have gotten any worse. What the hell did he want now?

"Right now is not the fucking time for your wise cracks commissioner" his voice was strained like he was forcing himself to be normal. He paused for a moment before adding"He's in the hospital, I thought you would like to know."

Now it's regulation that when an officer goes to the hospital to get permission. After all we wouldn't want just anyone to have access to the facilities that we had access to, especially the morgue. But why was he calling me about it? This is something that could be handled at the lowest level; all it took was an ok from the chief.

"OK, but isn't this something that you should call Chief Warren with? Why should I care?" I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. It's not like I didn't already know Mr. Connell's body had been moved to the morgue, Janet had been so kind as to inform me of that half an hour ago.

"So you really could care less that he had been admitted?" Dee sounded more angry than anything at my comment. I sighed before I did a mental double take. Admitted? That was a word used for people that were still living. My heart stopped for a moment.

"You mean R-Ryo!" I knew I sounded a little more frantic than I meant to.

"Yes Ryo!" he shot back, I could have sworn that I heard his mutter dumb ass under his breath but I let it slide this time. I couldn't help but wonder just how sick Ryo was. This morning when Dee had called he said that it was just a slight fever nothing else.

"What's wrong? How bad is he?" There was no way that a slight fever could be bad enough for Ryo to go to the hospital. It was common knowledge that the man would avoid going there for himself at all costs. I am sure that it had something to do with his parents but I never pushed the issue.

"Look as much as I hate the idea this is something that I need to talk to you in person about. Can you come to the hospital?" His voice was strained and it was obvious that he was trying to keep his cool. He really did hate me but I could care less. He was one of my subordinates and as much as I hated to admit it, he was damn good at what he did.

"I'm on my way." Was all I said after I got the confirmation that he was in fact there now. I grabbed my jacket and took the steps two at a time on my way down the stairs. I stopped Janet once I got to the front desk and told her that I was head out and only to call me if there was an emergency.

"You do know what the word emergency means right?" She rolled her eyes at me which caused me to give her a death glare.

"Of course I know what an emergency is sir." She replied sarcastically. I glared once more for good measure and a warning of what would happen if she called me for anything other than what I instructed before turning tail and rushed again out the door.

Dee's POV

I had already been there for an hour and a half. In between anxiously pacing around the waiting room floor and cigarette breaks I called back to the orphanage to check and make sure Bikky was ok. It was obvious when I dropped him off that he was not himself.

Rather than talking to anyone he walked into the kitchen and sat at the table refusing to look at anyone, do anything, or give any other sign of life. He was like the walking dead. His face was still pail and expression still frightened. I was really worried about the brat. He didn't even complain when I told him that he was going to the orphanage for the day while I went to the hospital. Apart from the few words that I heard him say to the operator when he called 911 I hadn't heard him say a damn thing.

"How is he?" I asked mother after my call with Berkeley. It had to have been the fourth time I called there. She confirmed my worst fears each and every time. He still hadn't moved, talked, or eaten for that matter regardless of the sandwich that penguin tried to get him to eat.

I walked in and sat for the first time since I got there. I hated hospitals just as much as I knew Ryo hated them. There was something about the sterile smell in the air and how things were far to clean, unnaturally clean even. I knew why Ryo hated them and although my reason was more childish than his it didn't mean that I disliked them any more than he did. I had spent far too much time behind the white walls and under the white linen. Not to mention that somewhere in the building walked the ape herself, nurse Emery. Why did they have to transport Ryo to this hospital? There were two others in the same city.

It was some time later when a man walked out from behind the double doors, white coat swaying behind him giving him a look of more authority than the people that were nurses or even other doctors.

"Is someone here for Randy McLean?" He called out running a pale white hand through his dark brown hair. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Yeah I am." Some how I managed to say this calmly without any hint whatsoever of my nervousness. I was almost sure that they were going to give me the ultimate blow of the day and tell me that there was nothing they could do. I knew that the injury was bad, even for something so small. He had to sliced though his artery, that was the only way that there would be as much blood as there was.

"And you are?" He studied me with an eye that said he somehow knew who I was but didn't really want me to know.

"He's…" I paused for a moment. What would Ryo want me to say. I knew that there was no way that they would let me see him if I was just his co-worker but I also knew that Ryo was not completely secure in letting everyone in the world know that we were a couple. Well one person isn't the whole world right? "He's my partner and my boyfriend." I said showing him my badge to let him know what I meant by partner.

I knew that it was a long shot that I would get to see him. In New York a gay couple had even less rights then a heterosexual couple. [1

"Ok, well then please follow me. I have some paperwork that I am sure you will be able to help me fill out and of course I am sure you k now I have a few questions about the situation." He smiled but I could tell that he was most serious. I gave a half nod and followed him down the corridor.

The halls here were a little better than the rest of the halls. At least this one had color. It was dull still but at least not white. About waist high there was a strip of wood that ran the length of the hall on either side. Below was wallpaper that looked like a mash of light purple, blue, green, and gray in such thin strips that it was impossible to tell where one color started and another ended giving it the over all look of a light gray-purple with a hint of blue-green.

Above the wood was white but decorated with a picture every fifteen feet or so. They were some of the more famous ones like Norman Rockwell and the like. All depicted some form of medical service. As if I would forget this was a hospital and needed the reminder.

We entered the last room on the right. The name plate on the door read "Danny Fuller MD." And of course he was proud of his achievements and decorated his walls with his diplomas. Also interestingly enough scattered among the diplomas were a few pictures. All of them photographs of him with another guy. Both were handsome and I have no problem admitting that because I knew that Ryo was ten times hotter.

"Who's that?" I jerked my thumb at the pictures on the wall. My gaydar was so well honed that I knew the second I saw it. I was just wondering if he would admit it or not. He just laughed a little.

"His name is Justin and I am very sure you know who or at least what he is to me. I am by protocol not suppose to be talking to you like this, not after knowing that he is your boyfriend but I have no clue what I would do if I was in your position and Justin was in Randy's. You should have just left it at him being your partner. With that badge you are allowed to see him. Why the system works that way is beyond me." He smiled a little before sitting down at his desk. "Please feel free to have a seat." I sat stiffly but was still fidgeted.

"Calm down, he's alive and stable right now." For some reason this seemed to calm enough to stop moving around. "It was however a very touch situation. While they were transporting him here his breathing had slowed dramatically and they couldn't stop the blood flow." He paused for a second I am guessing to see how I would react. He must have been satisfied because he soon continued and dropped the bomb on me.

"By the time he had made it here his heart had stopped and he was no longer breathing." I was sure that my heart had stopped now. He had died on me on his way to the hospital?

"We lost him for about two and a half minutes, however with a little CPR and one shock his heart was working again. It was a good thing you found him when you did." He smiled at me and I found it some what disturbing rather than comforting.

"He cut through the main artery that runs down the arm and into the hand, we had to go in and put it back together. Right now it's being held in place by a plastid tube fitted on the outside of the artery. With three or four weeks of nonuse it should piece it's self back together and we can either go in and take it out or leave it there. That decision will be his."

"He'll be ok though?" I couldn't help but ask. I was worried about him, I knew that he said Ryo was stable and all but things change in a heart beat… at least that's what learned today.

"He'll be fine physically, however there is something that I need to know." He looked at me with a somber expression.

"The cuts on his arms." I whispered he just nodded his head. "I didn't know he was doing anything like that until this morning. Both of us took the day off, I thought that it may be the stress of a case that we were working on. Then I got called in to investigate another murder that happened to someone we both know. He is… well was our son's teacher. I had told the commissioner that Ryo was sick so I was the only one that went. He had to be there when Bikky came back home. I was gone for maybe two or three hours. When I came back I saw him lying on the floor in a pool of blood a-and I-I…" I started crying. The wounds were still fresh so re-living them like this was like salt in a wound. "He told me he wouldn't do anything like that again." I said desperately. Neither of us said anything for a few moments.

"You called him Ryo… is that a nickname? His driver's license and the name given to the dispatcher was Randy."

Y-Yeah, well no, it's both a nickname and his actual name. He's half Japanese so his mother named him Ryo but they used it as his middle name." I sighed and buried my head in my hands.

"Well we moved Ryo to the fourth floor, the psychiatric ward to be more specific. I took the liberty of having him sent there because I figured that it was indeed him that made those wounds." He crossed his arms across his chest and sat back in the oversized office chair. "This doesn't mean that he is insane but that he is just not mentally stable right now. He's there for his own safety. If he really did try to kill himself we need to know why and help him." I looked up and just stared at him. A few moments paced before I nodded my head.

"I understand." With that I answered a few basic questions, birth date, social security number, and what I knew of his family history. When that was done we both stood up and shook hands.

"He will be fine Mr. Laytner. I asked to have him kept under my care; I hope that that is ok with you." It sounded more like a question than a statement. I nodded my head and he walked me out to the waiting area again.

"Right now he cannot have any visitors, come back in about an hour or so after the drugs used to keep him under during surgery have time to leave his system and then you can see him. He'll be in room 444. Do you have any other questions?" I shook my head. "Ok I will see you around Mr. Laytner."

"Dee please." I said as I shook his hand for the second time.

"Please feel free to call me Dr. Fuller or Danny." He replied letting loose my hand and smiling that annoying smile again before walking off.

I walked out of the hospital not feeling any better than I did when I walked in. I flipped open my phone and called the penguin. She once again told me that nothing had changed. I asked to speak to Bikky and heard the phone switch hands but nothing else.

"Hey sport, Ryo's going to be fine. He's staying in the hospital for a little while but he will be back to normal before you know it." I heard what sounded like a small sigh of relief on the other end and another switch of the phone from person to person before I heard penguin again. I relayed the news to her and told her that I had to meet with someone; I would tell her more of what happened when I came to pick Bikky up later than night.

As I closed the phone Berkeley Rose walked up to me. I really didn't want to see him right now but he needed to know what happened. This wasn't really something that I could do over the phone either. God why does this day just keep getting worse?

Berkeley's POV

I walked up to him just as he shut his phone. We did nothing but look at one another for a minute before he motioned to the park bench in the smoking pit. We sat down and I waited for him to speak. He looked ragged as hell, and as far as Dee's standards went that meant something.

"There is something that you need to know about Ryo, and before you get on my case about it I had no clue until this morning." I was about to go on the defensive but stopped when I saw how out of it her really was. It was obvious something was not right.

"Ryo's not sick exactly. He is in the hospital but not because of a physical illness." He took a deep breath and I could see the tears that he was trying to hold back. "Th-this morning when we woke up I walked in on Ryo in the bathroom. He was sitting on the floor with a razor blade and his shit sleeve pulled up. He had cut his arm rather deeply." I was taken back. Ryo, the picture of perfection (as long as Dee wasn't in the picture) had a fault?

"Obviously he did it to himself. The reason that I called in this morning was because I though Ryo needed a day off because of all the stress. But I got called in. He told me that he would be ok. Bikky had to come back to the house and after finding his teacher dead I can only guess what he was feeling. Ryo stayed there so that someone would be home when the kid got back." He paused and looked at me for the first time since he started speaking. I saw him struggle to hold back his tears.

"When I came back to the apartment Ryo was lying in the kitchen with a massive cut on his wrist. He was transported here. The doctor said that the cut through the main artery and they had to perform surgery to fix it." He sat back and lit up a cigarette. He took a long drag before continuing, I of course was too dumbfounded to say anything to the man who apparently broken in half right now.

"The doctor had him moved to the psychiatric ward for a little while. Just until they feel that he will not try to harm himself any more." A few moments of silence passed. I could hardly process the information that I just got.

"H-How his he now" Did I just stutter? I guess I was being rather uncharacteristic today.

"The doctor said he's ok but no one can see him for about an hour."

"Ok Laytner, I'll give you the week off out of the kindness of my heart. Get things settled and get Ryo back on track. As much as I hate to say it, I think that you are the only person that can help him right now. Do what you have to do but be prepared to work when you come back. There is someone from another jurisdiction coming to work on this case with you. I need you to get your head on straight and fast. Don't forget that there are innocent people out there in danger as long as this guy is on the streets." Ok so that was a little more like my old self… not really I was to kind. God what is wrong with me today? Dee studied me for a minute and then looked away.

"I understand." With that he stood up and walked off. I shook my head and wondered what would happen to our department if the two best detectives I had were unable to do their duties. I couldn't help but cringe at the though… things would go to hell in a hand basket with a nice red ribbon.

Danny's POV

I walked into Ryo's room and sat down on the edge of his bed. He looked almost peaceful… I would have to do something about that. Things were turning out better than I could have hoped for. Here he was, the man that I swore to ruin already breaking and I hardly did a thing yet. I brushed a few of the stray hairs out of his face.

"Ryo my beautiful fallen angel how fun you will be." I bent over him and kissed him. "How much fun I will have breaking you apart little by little." I bent next to his ear and whispered. "Next I am going to take something that is sure to send you over the edge. Ahh how beautiful she is that strawberry blond hair and those piercing eyes. She has this personality that has the ability to make you happy no matter how bad the situation is. Yes she is the perfect person for me to play with."

"Oh that reminds me my dear, I met Dee just a few minutes ago. I wonder how close I can get to him before I kill him right in front of you." I laughed outright. "Such fun, such fun!"

A/N ahhh done… and it's now 9:44. Not bad if I do say so myself. I did take a break for dinner and to take a shower…. I started to play tennis so my arms hurt really bad.

OK and congrats to Britt-chan who PMed me what I was looking for with the chapter titles. I still need more characters so let me know what you think the trend is.

Also wish me luck with NaNoWriMo. I am hoping that when I come back next month I will have a kick ass story for you all.

I also hope that this chapter is long enough to satisfy some people who may not come back after a full month away. Please don't think I am abandoning the story. I really do enjoy writing this one.

[1 This is true. In NY a heterosexual couple has more rights then a homosexual couple. Dee would not be allowed to see Ryo because he is his boyfriend and there is no way that they can legally wed in NY.

Ja-ne minna!

Irish Kaoru