AN: Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it :) I hope you like this one too, there's not very much action, but anyways... Don't own nothing u recognize. Enjoy, read and of course review :)

Chapter 5

Eric Delko was jogging along the beach. Normally, he did this early in the morning, when nobody was around. It helped him thinking. But today, he decided he would go for a little evening run. To think. Think about what Horatio had told them. As Delko would freely admit, he wasn't too fond of Ryan. At the beginning, he hadn't liked him because he filled the spot Tim, his best friend, had left. He had gotten over this feeling after a while, though. But still… In his eyes, Ryan was a person difficult to be with. Too eager to please everyone at the lab, sometimes arrogant as hell, and, what he disliked most about him, he was too much in love with the media. But now, as Delko was sitting down on a bench next to the beach, he understood everything. He had to admit, he never thought about Ryan's personal life. But then again, Ryan had never talked about it. At least not much. A bit about his uncle… they knew he had a niece…. but that was it. They hadn't known anything about Ryan's parents so far. Delko just remembered that Ryan had once told him that he had to work to pay his studies. But he didn't tell him anything more than he had to know. Now that he knew what had happened to Ryan, he understood everything….

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Calleigh had gone to the gun range. She had once found out that she could think best while firing bullets on a target. She could have done it also at the HQ; she was sure that there were some guns which only waited to get tested. But she needed to be alone. Being around her workmates right now distracted her; everybody from dayshift just talked about one thing: Ryan Wolfe. Calleigh had always sort of liked Ryan. Already on his first case, Ryan had shown that he took this job serious. And that he wasn't out to make friends in the first place. For him, justice and truth had been more important than just being loved by everyone right from the start. But it had changed during the years. A bit at least. The truth was still important to him, and he had never tried to everybody's favourite. But she had seen his struggle to get appreciated for the work he did. He wanted to be accepted and respected. Not more, not less. And he had tried hard to get that. And now Calleigh knew why. Because, apparently, he had never been appreciated at home for what he was, but only for what he should become. And since he didn't choose that path, he had been thrown out. Practically, he was told that he wasn't worth a damn thing, if he didn't do what he was told to. Calleigh had noticed that too. That he followed orders without ever objecting. It was something Calleigh had always thought of as very weird. She didn't know anybody else who was like this. But now, of course, it was clear to her; he was used to follow orders. God knew what orders he had already followed in his life. And how he had been punished for not doing it…

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When Alexx Woods got home that night, she saw her children and her husband sitting at the dressed table, dinner was ready, she just had to sit down and enjoy it. But while she was eating, she could only think of Ryan. Had he ever had a dinner like this, family dinner, where everybody told the others about their day, about things they thought about… just relaxing from day's hard work or studies… She doubted it. She had spent several lunch breaks with Ryan, and it rarely happened that he talked. Normally he would just sit there and eat. She had sensed something was wrong with Ryan. From the beginning on. But, being honest to herself, she had to admit that she never bothered about asking. What worth would it have been? He wouldn't have opened up to her anyways…. But now, Horatio counted on her to keep an eye on Ryan. And she would do. So, right after dinner, she got up and told her husband there was something she had to take care of. Then she grabbed her car keys and drove over to Ryan's flat.

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Ryan was reluctant to open the door at first. But he knew, if he wouldn't, Alexx would be worried as hell. And he seriously didn't need more attention drawn to him than necessary. So he just opened the door, let Alexx in, poured two coffees and sat down on the couch.

"So, you wanna talk to me, I guess?"

Alexx shook her head, "I just wanted to check you're okay. It has been a hard day for you. I know how close you and Ron are…"

Ryan nodded, "Without him, I wouldn't be here. I would do anything to save him…"

"I know, Ryan. I…" she stopped a bit, not knowing how to put it. "I can understand that you don't wanna talk about… what Horatio has told us. But I want you to know, if you ever need somebody to talk to… I'm there."

Ryan had to smile, "I do know, Alexx. It's just… There are people out there who need more help than I do. It's just…" He shrugged, "I don't want them all to look at me like 'Oh poor Ryan, such a terrible, terrible childhood….' I mean, come on, I meet people who are worse off than me everyday. I had cases where children died from abuse. Those are the ones they should worry about. I'm over it…"

"I hear what you say but… You have to understand us too. You're a friend of us, even if Delko doesn't admit. And we worry about our friends. And the fact that nobody actually knows what has happened makes us nervous."

Ryan nodded, "I know… it's just… I don't wanna talk about it. I don't want people to look different at me than they do normally."

"I talked to Horatio… Your father and mother are coming over. Tomorrow. I thought you should know…" Alexx had told him so he wouldn't face his father unprepared. And when she saw his reaction to that news, she knew it was the right thing. He was trembling. No, not trembling, shaking. But only for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath.

"Thanks for letting me know…"

Alexx just looked at him, "Oh gosh, baby, what has he done to you?"

Ryan smiled a bitter smile, "He broke me…"

"You're not broken, Ryan."

"I am. And scared." He got up and said, "I think you better go now…"

"Don't throw me out, Ryan. I know you need help. And I'm here to give it to you."

But Ryan shook his head again, "I can do this alone. I have to. And I don't want to bother anybody."

"You don't bother me, Ryan…"

"Just go, will you?"

Alexx sighed and got up, "I'm available 24/7 for you Ryan…" She laid her hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone on this, Ryan. He can't do anything to you anymore."

"Not more than he has already done, you mean?" He opened the door. "I see you at work." Alexx gave him a last look and then left. Ryan closed the door behind her and then went back and sat down on the couch again. So, his father was about to come to Miami. Okay. Don't freak. It's gonna be alright. Maybe you're not even gonna see him. No, you want to see him. You want to get over it. Stop running away from it…. He walked over to the bathroom. When he saw his face in the mirror, he saw nothing but fear. Why am I so afraid? He's not going to do anything to me. I'm old enough to defend myself. Not that he would in the first place. He took a deep breath. It would be alright. Hard, yes. But alright. He had to overcome that fear. Finally. And he would.