Eric definitely realises something is definitely weird with Ryan when everyone around him seems to be telling him one thing but in his head he's sure of another. Contains story-line from 'No Mans Land.'
Notes:I was just reading through descriptions of Miami episodes and remembered that the main kind of bad guy in the last season is called Esteban. No connection though, totally slipped my mind xD but Ryan's dad has a name now, it makes it easier to have scenes between them.
Also, I am now in my university exam period and this continues until 28/05 so it is likely I won't be updating until then at least, but when my exams are over I will be updating more regularly. Those of you who know No Mans Land should be secure in the knowledge of Delko's fate.
I hope this doesn't seem a bit too fantastical but it is an AU so I guess I could go there.
Eric paced the halls of the hospital as Ryan was worked on in surgery. He had seen the confused looks of the doctors before they had rushed him into surgery and he wanted to know what was wrong. It had been three hours. His legs were aching from doing nothing but pacing and Eric's mouth was dry from yelling, although he didn't remember yelling, but he had probably been yelling at Ryan to stay alive. Despite this Eric did not leave the corridor he knew Ryan would be brought down when it was time to assign him a room. He assumed Horatio and Calleigh were still processing the scene since none of them were there but Alexx had called three times already to find out if Ryan had been out of surgery yet.
Eric did not know that Ryan was indeed out of surgery. Ryan had been out of surgery for an hour at least but the doctors were too confused by what had happened during surgery that they had been investigating and it had slipped their minds that someone was waiting to find out Ryan's condition.
Ryan had been moved into his own room, but the doctors had taken him a different way to keep him isolated from the general patients in the hospital, so Eric had not seen him. Typical, Ryan had thought has he had been wheeled to his own isolated room while feigning unconsciousness, they come across something that they don't understand and they fear it. The doctors believed they had left Ryan alone but they were wrong.
Ryan kept his eyes closed though he knew his father was stood by his bed, watching him with his brow creased in both worry and annoyance. Bandages were wound around his chest and there was a large pad underneath them, pressed against where there should have been a bullet wound. Sighing Ryan cracked one eye open and met his father's disapproving gaze.
"I told you that you were in danger." Was all his father said, crossing his arms and shaking his head as Ryan sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, barely glancing at his arm as the IV drip pulled out and he started bleeding.
"It was an accident. I managed to keep the bullet wound bleeding until I passed out." He pointed out as his father moved over to the bed and sat beside him, checking Ryan's arm as it bled.
"Accident or not you still got injured in front of someone. Ryan you know how dangerous that is! I bet you didn't act like you'd been shot did you? I bet you were calm and composed instead of panicking like someone would if they were shot. Just because you have nothing to fear that does not mean you shouldn't act like a human!" His father snapped as he put pressure on the wound on Ryan's arm.
Ryan jerked his arm away and got to his feet. "It doesn't matter what Eric thinks," He said dismissively, going over to the pile of his clothes on the chair and wincing at how ill-folded they were. He stripped off his hospital gown and tore the bandages from his chest. Slipping on his boxers and pants Ryan examined his chest as his father watched, eyebrows raised in disbelief. There was no mark where the bullet had entered him; no scar would ever be there and Ryan was glad of that, he was no great lover of scars.
"What are you doing?" His dad demanded as Ryan slipped his bloodied shirt on and buttoned it up before slipping his jacket on over the top of it.
"I'm discharging myself from here. I hate hospitals and there is no need for me to be there. Really dad, in surgery the wound healed itself and the bullet is already becoming part of my system I can feel it. The doctors are suspicious." Ryan declared as he turned to the machine that was supposed to be monitoring his heart and turned it off.
"I'll sort that out, they won't remember a thing. If you're so determined to leave hear this. I will be staying on Earth for a while to keep an eye on you under the alias Lykos. Please refer to me as such." His father, or the so called Lykos, stated.
Ryan scoffed at the news but burst out laughing at the nickname. "The Greek word for wolf? Are you kidding me? That is…ridiculous and suspicious. Why would my father have a Greek name and his son a non-Greek name?"
His father is silent, his lips pressed together in a thin line. He was obviously not happy. "My parents were Greek historians, they took their job very seriously and named me with an Ancient name."
"No." Ryan said simply. "If you want a stupid name call yourself Esteban or Lorenzo."
"Perfect." His dad said after a moment. "I will be Esteban Wolfe then, your father."
"Might want to change your appearance if you want to be taken as my father."
'Esteban' ignored him. "What do you intend to tell your friends? And that Eric? He was there he will be suspicious."
"Simple." Ryan said softly, a smile on his lips, "I'll convince them I was wearing a bullet proof jacket."
"Be careful Ryan, make sure you do it right." Esteban warned.
Ryan whirled around and glared at him full on, all traces of his smile gone. "If you're so worried about my abilities you do it." He hissed before storming from the room.
He had not expected Eric to be waiting in the corridor that he had to take to get out of the hospital and was definitely not expecting him to grab him by the arms and force him into a chair.
"What the hell are you doing Wolfe!?" Eric asked angrily, doing his best to keep his voice down.
"I'm fine Eric. I was wearing a bullet proof vest so the bullet didn't graze me." Ryan stated calmly, fixing his eyes on Eric's to help him get the point across. He hated being what he was sometimes but he had to admit it did have its benefits, especially in situations like this one. Eric however, did not look convinced.
"What do you mean you were wearing a bullet proof vest I'm covered in your blood!" He snapped, gesturing to the blood on his shirt with equally bloodied hands.
Ryan frowned, it was going to be a lot harder to convince Eric that he had been wearing a vest that had stopped the bullet, but he could succeed…with his father's help. Luckily, or perhaps because he sensed that Ryan needed him, Esteban appeared behind him and held out a hand to help Ryan to his feet.
"It was lucky you were wearing a bullet proof vest Ryan," He stated firmly, catching Eric's eye in the same way that Ryan had. The unsure, angered look that Eric had had on his face faded away almost immediately and Ryan held back a sigh as his father steered him around the Cuban and out of the hospital.
"Did you change the thoughts of everyone in the hospital?" Ryan asked quietly as he climbed into his father's car.
"Yes. That man is going to be trouble Ryan, he doesn't believe us." Esteban muttered as he climbed into the driver's side and started the engine.
"Can't you make him?" Ryan slurred his words a little for he felt suddenly exhausted. He had been shot and had had to make the wound stay open even though his body wanted to heal it, but he had never realised it would make him so tired.
"Not with your blood all over his clothes." Esteban snapped. Ryan ignored his annoyance and disapproval, he was too tired to care.
"What about H and Alexx? And Calleigh as well?" He mumbled.
"I'll take care of that when I drop you off at home. They'll be easier to deal with since they didn't get covered in your blood, it'll be easy making them convinced that you weren't bleeding. That Eric though, he's going to become a problem in the future and not just in this particular issue." Esteban sighed, reaching over to fasten Ryan's seatbelt as the CSI hadn't done so in his tired state.
"Oh Ryan I could just take you away from this place and back to our actual home but I know you'd just run away again to be here." Esteban murmured as he pulled away from the hospital and drove the relatively long journey back to Ryan's flat.
By the time he arrived at the flat Ryan was fast asleep in the seat of the car, as curled into himself as he could be, the seatbelt restricting his movement slightly. Esteban reached over and pulled Ryan's keys out of his pocket before climbing out of the car and moving around the other side of the car to take Ryan into his arms and carry him up to his apartment. It would have been easier to take the lift but he didn't really want to run into anyone so Esteban took the stairs, Ryan's weight easy in his arms, the stairs not taking anything from him.
"Ryan honey…who are you?" A voice cried as Esteban emerged on Ryan's floor and he found himself facing the Medical Examiner that Ryan was fond of…Alexx something.
"My name is Esteban Wolfe, I am Ryan's dad." Esteban replied to her question quickly, reaching forward to try and unlock the door.
"Here let me," Alexx offered and took the keys, opening the door and moving back so Esteban could carry Ryan over the threshold.
"Is he okay?" She inquired, following Esteban in.
"Yeah just tired, getting shot hurts."
"I've seen many gunshots before I know," Alexx stated, following close behind Esteban as he moved to Ryan's meticulously clean bedroom and laid him in the bed, gently covering him with the covers and tucking them up to his chin.
"Is there something you need?" He inquired, turning to Alexx who was busy scrutinising him.
"You know Ryan has never once mentioned you to me before but he's mentioned his mother. Why are you here?" She asked in return, her arms folded.
Esteban had to hide a smirk at the question, he could see why his son would like this woman, she had the same sort of personality as his mother.
"Ryan ran away from us after he decided to go to University. I've spent all this time tracking him down and I finally found him in Miami making a name for himself in the Crime Lab." He lied. He had known exactly where Ryan had been and he hadn't run away to go to University, but this woman did not need to know the truth.
"Can I take a look over him?" Alexx inquired, moving to Ryan's bedside and sitting down next to him gently, reaching forward and stroking his face.
"The doctor told me that he's fine and Ryan wanted to go home." Esteban said simply. "But sure, go ahead."
Alexx did so, pulling back the covers and pulling Ryan's shirt back. Esteban realised his mistake the moment she was pulling back his son's shirt and quickly reached forward and stayed her hand. Alexx looked up at him with surprise.
"What are you doing?"
"The doctor told me not to remove his bandages." Esteban stated firmly. Alexx did not look happy with him but she stood up and moved from Ryan.
"Tell him that I'm here to talk to him if he needs to." Alexx said softly before leaving the apartment.
Esteban turned to Ryan and pulled the covers back up to his neck, smiling softly and tucking him in before moving out of the bedroom and moving to the living room to wait for his son to wake up.
/
"Ryan you shouldn't be working today, not the day after you were shot." Horatio stated quietly yet firmly and Ryan had strong déjà vu from the time Horatio had told him to go home and rest after he had been falling asleep everywhere.
"I'm fine Horatio really." Ryan replied, unconsciously scratching as his chest where the bullet wound should be, a little uncomfortable that Horatio had used his first name.
When he had woken up the next morning Ryan had found his dad asleep on the couch and had covered him with a blanket before getting in the shower and staying there for at least two hours, scrubbing himself until he felt clean. He then moved around his apartment and cleaned things up, straightening things up and cleaning before dressing and leaving to head to the labs. Horatio had cornered him as soon as he had climbed off the lift, something Ryan was glad of, he wanted to avoid all the stares of the lab techs that had heard what had happened. Hopefully the story that he had been wearing a bullet proof vest would have circulated.
"Mr. Wolfe really, you should go home and rest." Horatio asserted.
"H please, resting at home sent me crazy when you sent me home last week, please don't send me home again." Ryan near enough begged.
Horatio observed him with a gaze that was extremely unnerving and Ryan fidgeted under it. "Alright Mr. Wolfe, Eric is in the morgue working on the John Doe you recovered before your accident. I'd be surprised anyone kept a bullet proof vest in their apartment but it doesn't surprise me that you do Mr. Wolfe, and it's lucky that you do."
Ryan smiled widely and stood. "Thank you Horatio." He exclaimed and stood, exiting Horatio's office and heading down to the morgue as quickly as possible. Ryan could not see Eric but Alexx was stood over the body but she did not seem to be talking about the body.
"I don't know Alexx…I think that Ryan was wearing a bullet proof vest but I just remember being covered in blood as well…I don't know what to think." Eric said quietly, leaning against the wall close to the door, Ryan could hear his voice perfectly.
There was a slight clattering from the room and Ryan assumed Alexx was examining some sort of body-part while she took in Eric's information. Please don't let Eric know, please don't let Eric realise, Ryan thought desperately, waiting for Alexx's reply.
"Eric honey you know that Ryan must have been wearing a vest otherwise he probably wouldn't have survived." Alexx finally said.
"I know Alexx, I really do," Eric snarled, then sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm just really confused. My head keeps telling me that he was wearing a vest but my heart tells me that he wasn't wearing a vest and something strange is happening." He added softly and Ryan heard him move from the door.
Taking a breath Ryan moved through the door and stopped when they both saw him and froze. Alexx moved first and hurried over to Ryan so he could enfold him in a hug.
"Ryan baby, I didn't think you'd be working today." She proclaimed and Ryan let her hug him tightly but his eyes were on Eric. He was staring at Ryan with a rather concerned expression on his face and Ryan knew, he just knew right then that Eric knew he hadn't been wearing a bullet proof vest but he was confused by how everyone else kept telling him that Ryan had been.
"Yeah well I felt fine when I woke up this morning and I didn't want to be stuck at home when there was no reason for me to be." Ryan replied, pulling back from Alexx and casting an eye over the body. An autopsy had been conducted but it was evident that the findings hadn't been discussed yet.
"I have a question for you Alexx," He said after he grew sick of both Alexx and Eric staring at him, Eric still looking concerned and now confused and Alexx worried.
"What is it honey?"
"The suspect I shot, did he shoot this man?" Ryan asked.
"Calleigh confirmed the bullet match this morning, but there is something strange about the body." Alexx acknowledged and gestured for Eric and Ryan to come forward and take a look. "This is the bullet wound that killed him, but there is another gunshot on his body here," Alexx murmured, rolling the body onto its side and showing the two CSIs another hole.
"It's a different bullet," Eric commented.
"I gave it to Calleigh and she concurs, it is not from the gun that fired the shot that killed him. Calleigh didn't find a hit in the database so it's a dead end. But she probably knows what sort of gun you're looking for so you'll want to talk to her about that." Alexx said and Ryan noticed she was looking at the John Doe with a kind expression and he had to fight back a smile at her mothering tendencies even for the dead.
"So we're looking for another shooter?" Ryan inquired, even though he didn't really need to.
"Not necessarily," Eric broke in, "It could be the same man you shot yesterday just using a different weapon."
"Highly unlikely," Ryan muttered, avoiding Eric's eyes.
"Come boys no fighting in my morgue." Alexx warned them, "It could be the same man but you'll need to find the gun that matches the bullet striations to be sure. Tox doesn't show any abnormal things in his system but I did find skin under his finger nails, it's been sent up to DNA."
"Thanks Alexx. Ryan I need to talk to you." Eric stated and Ryan blinked in surprise but followed his colleague from the room when Eric made for the door, offering Alexx a smile to show her his gratitude. He didn't miss the worry in her eyes as he left.
Eric did not speak to him as he moved through up from the morgue to the labs and into the locker room. Ryan interlocked his fingers time and again as he followed Eric, praying that he would not continue prying into the memories he and his father had tried to cover up.
"Is there a problem Delko?" He demanded after they entered the locker room and Eric still didn't talk to him, focusing instead on opening his locker.
"Yeah Wolfe there is," Eric replied with a somewhat harsh tone before withdrawing a white shirt from his locker. Ryan looked at it in confusion until he saw the red stains of blood on the material and his brain froze for a moment as he tried to think of an excuse for that.
"What's that?" Ryan asked weakly.
"It's the shirt I was wearing when you got shot. This is your blood on this shirt." Eric stated. "This is your blood Wolfe and if I need to take this to DNA I will. If you were wearing a vest how did I get all this blood on my shirt?!" Eric demanded, shoving the shirt into Ryan's hands.
Ryan took the shirt but he had no words to say. Eric was glaring at him and Ryan knew he had to come up with an excuse fast.
"You went over to check the suspect I shot Delko, that's probably his blood." He finally managed to get out and Eric's expression went blank. Ryan waited nervously, suddenly feeling extremely tired under Eric's scrutiny. He could get out of this situation easily if he pretended to be too tired, if he pretended that he had thought wrong about being able to work and that he needed to go home.
"I have to go and see Horatio, Delko, I don't feel well."
Eric immediately became concerned, or his expression did, but he crossed over to Ryan and put his hand on Ryan's shoulder.
"Want me to take you home?" He inquired.
"No Delko I don't." Ryan snapped. He did not have the patience to deal with Eric's mood swings.
"You don't believe that I was wearing a vest and now suddenly you're concerned about me. Make up your mind Delko!"
With that said Ryan kept a tight hold on the shirt and stalked from the room, heading straight for the break room where he could see Horatio drinking a cup of coffee with Calleigh. Calleigh went to say something but Ryan cut her off.
"H I think I made a mistake. I feel a little ill and quite tired, is it alright if I take the day off?" He asked quickly and Horatio looked him over, his eyes lingering on the bloodied shirt that Ryan was holding slightly behind him before nodding.
"Mr. Wolfe, take as many days as you need." He added as Ryan made to leave the room. Ryan nodded curtly and wondered whether he would ever be ready to come back with Eric suspicious about what had happened.
When he got to the parking garage he wasn't surprised to find his father leaning against his car waiting for him. His appearance had changed, he no longer sported a bushy white beard or white hair, but rather dark stubble on his cheeks and hair the same colour as Ryan's, styled a little longer than his sons. The connection between them was evidently there now but Ryan couldn't bring himself to be bothered that his father had taken his advice.
"Drive me home," Ryan requested, throwing his dad the keys. Esteban did not argue, merely climbed into the driver's side and waited for Ryan to buckle up.
"It's that Eric isn't it?" Esteban asked as he drove.
Ryan sighed, rubbing at his eyes with finger and thumb. "Yeah. He gave me this," He said, brandishing the bloodied shirt at his father. Esteban's eyes flickered to it before focusing back on the road.
"It's got my blood all over it. I tried to convince him this wasn't my blood but I know he doesn't believe me. He's unsure why he thinks that I wasn't wearing a vest since everyone else thinks I was but he's sure that I wasn't." Ryan continued, eyes closed, arms relaxed by his sides but he was frowning and Esteban didn't bother saying 'I told you so' because he knew Ryan was annoyed at himself for being so careless.
"What do you want to do then?" He inquired instead.
Ryan glanced at him. The last time his father had asked him that it was because he and a friend had had at University had gotten spectacularly drunk and Ryan had gotten into an accident and had ended up with a spike through his chest that should have killed him but he woke up the next morning and was fine. His friend had freaked out and called an ambulance but Ryan had managed to escape before they had arrived and sort out the wound himself. The solution that Esteban had decided upon was to 'remove' his friend from society and convince the emergency services that his friend had still been a little drunk and had mistaken a spilt drink on Ryan's shirt for blood. Ryan had had no choice in this particular matter despite Esteban asking him what he thought they should do at the time. He didn't want that to happen this time.
"We're not killing him." He stated firmly, shifting rather uncomfortable in his seat. "I think I should disappear for a bit, not go back to work, until this blows over and Delko lets it go." He suggested.
Esteban said nothing and Ryan knew he did not want to take this chance but Ryan was not going to give him a choice this time.
"I'm not going to let you get rid of Delko." Ryan reiterated. "It's too risky to do that this time, there is no reason for Delko to disappear and Horatio and the rest of the lab wouldn't rest until they found out what happened to him."
Esteban was still silent but his lips twitched slightly in a smile. Ryan watched him warily but when his father said nothing he relaxed and closed his eyes again.
"You care for him don't you?" Esteban eventually asked.
Ryan's eyes snapped open and he stared at his father. Esteban stayed calm and kept his eyes on the road as he drew nearer to Ryan's apartment but he was grinning now, as if Ryan's reaction had given him all the answer he needed.
"He's my colleague and recently we've grown near enough friends. We had a rocky start okay, I'd like to keep it from going back to that." Ryan tried to keep a pouty tone out of his voice as he spoke but his father just grinned and shook his head.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" He asked as he pulled up to Ryan's apartment block and smoothly parked his son's car in the underground car park.
"I'll be fine thank you." Ryan said stiffly, holding out his hand for his keys. Esteban handed them to him and climbed out of the car with him.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I know how to contact you so if I need you I will. No doubt you'll always be close to me anyway." Ryan said forcefully, grabbing Eric's bloody shirt and heading for the stairs. Esteban stayed by his car, watching Ryan walk away with a rather blank expression on his face.
/
A week went by and Ryan heard on the news that Clavo Cruz had escaped from court with help and that Alexx had been caught in the explosion that had helped free him. He had talked to her every day on the phone since that day and he spoke to Horatio every so often as well to assure Horatio that he was healing fine, he just felt too tired to be in work. These conversations usually took place during the late afternoon, when Horatio was either on a break or wasn't too busy on a case.
That's why when Ryan received a call from Calleigh's phone instead of Horatio's he immediately knew something was wrong. Calleigh had called a few times to make sure he was okay but apart from that Ryan had not heard from her and at the time that it was – early afternoon Ryan realised as he glanced at his clock – she probably was on the job. This was not a personal call.
"Calleigh what's-?" Ryan began to ask but Calleigh told him to be quiet and he fell silent.
"Eric's been shot." She stated as soon as Ryan was quiet.
Ryan's thoughts immediately went to his father and anger filled him. Calleigh's next words had him second guessing himself.
"He was investigating the Clavo Cruz hostage situation with Horatio so we think that one of Clavo Cruz's men attacked them and he was shot…in the head. They don't know if he's going to make it. We need you to come back Ryan, we need you here." Her voice nearly cracked as she spoke. Ryan felt like his heart stopped at those words. Eric couldn't die. No, he couldn't. This was the moment that Ryan realised two things. One, Calleigh loved Eric. Two, so did he. He had always known that he preferred the company of men to that of women, even though he seemed to find it easier to make friends with females, but he had never assumed he would fall for Eric.
"I'll be at the hospital straight away." He cried down the phone when he registered that Calleigh was saying his name to try and get a reaction from him. Snapping his phone shut Ryan glanced at the coffee mug that was on the coffee table's surface instead of the coaster, at the papers just haphazardly scattered on the desk and he bypassed it all, with great difficulty since his OCD was rather strong and made for the door, grabbing his keys and rushing to his car to get to the hospital to find out news on Eric.