Summary:

A year has passed since Ryan left Miami and Eric has carried on living as normally as possible. However the newest case that Eric is working takes an interesting turn when he sees Speedle, who has been dead for a long time. This 'chance encounter' ends up helping Eric more than he thought and after seeing Ryan for the first time in a year, albeit only for five minutes, Eric is determined to figure out his feelings and hope Ryan is still interested.

Notes:

This chapter is kind of an interlude in the story, even though it's the longest chapter I think. It sort of deals with episode 6.4, and generally follows that canon, but with a bit of a twist on the ending.

. /alpe-d-huez/chalet-altiport/fact-file
Follow this link for more info on the Chalet that Ryan is staying in.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

~One year later.~

Calleigh approached Eric and asked him to get her up to date with the case details so far and Eric did, explaining that there was one dead and one critical. The two of them joked a lot but then as Eric looked past her as she observed the burnt out car standing on the beach he saw Speedle stood there, quite a way away from the crime scene, looking at him. Speedle was dead, Eric remembered that quite clearly, he remembered the call, he remembered the funeral, he remembered everything. There was no way Speedle was there. But he could see him stood there.

Eric stood slowly and Calleigh, concerned by the look on his face, turned to look at the spot where he was. She saw nothing.

Turning back to Eric, Calleigh observed him with concern.

"Are you okay?" She inquired.

Eric took a moment to compose an answer. Speedle could not be there, he was dead.

"Yeah, nah I'm fine." He eventually said.

Calleigh did not look convinced. It was probably the slight frown that Eric wore that did not sell it to her.

"You don't look fine." She said, her face showing her scepticism at Eric's answer. Could this be to do with Ryan? Calleigh knew that Eric thought he was hiding it well but since Ryan had left the CSI had seemed a little lost. Perhaps it was because Ryan had taken the place of Speedle in some ways, when both Eric and Ryan had gotten over their enmity they had become extremely close and yet Ryan had left now. True, he was still alive, but he had left all the same.

"I just stood up too fast, that's all." Eric lied. The last thing he needed was for everyone to think he was going insane.

"Alright," Calleigh finally replied with a smile and did not push it further. Instead, she turned and walked away from him, around the other side of the car.

Eric glanced back to the place where he had seen Speedle and found that his friend had disappeared. Shaking his head Eric took a breath and got back to work, trying to find out what had happened to their victims.

That was until Calleigh cornered him again in the lab. Mike had dropped off the photos he had taken of the crime scene to Calleigh and the first picture was one of Eric looking shocked and slightly afraid. Eric asked her what the photos were of.

"You." She replied softly, "I thought you looked like you'd seen a ghost out there."

"Don't worry about me." Eric stated with a small sigh.

"You don't have to be embarrassed Eric. Even with your miraculous recovery and the time that has elapsed since then without a problem the doctor said that that could change." Calleigh said to reassure Eric.

For a moment Eric was confused as to what she was talking about until he realised she was referring to his bullet wound. That hadn't bothered him once, whatever Ryan's dad had done, he had done it well and Eric had suffered no side effects. He highly doubted that was the problem, but maybe, maybe it only worked well when Esteban was close to him, in Miami, and now he had gone the side effects were coming back. Why else would he be seeing Speedle? He had never hallucinated before.

"Calleigh I'm fine, I told you that wound doesn't bother me." He informed her.

"You did. It's still strange to accept that you can be perfectly fine after being shot in the head. But Eric, it's me. What did you see out there?" She asked.

Eric had to suppress a grin as Calleigh continued to push it. He should have known she would not let up about this.

"I saw evidence of arson." Eric said, trying to bring the conversation onto the case and not his own personal life. He would figure out why he was seeing Speedle alone, he didn't need anyone worrying about him.

Before Calleigh could come up with a response the computer gave them a suspect and the case moved on.

Alexx found evidence that it was a botched double suicide that killed the girl and critically injured the guy and so Horatio decided to send Eric back to the scene to find out what it was they missed.

As he walked up Eric saw Speedle standing at the opposite stretch of crime scene tape, hands in his pockets, waiting for him. Eric smiled, though it was hardly noticeable and made his way towards Speedle. It was good to see his old friend again, even if, peculiarly, seeing Speedle made him think of Ryan.

"Tim," Eric began. He was smiling properly, as was Speedle. "It was you this morning."

Speedle nodded in reply.

"It's been a long time." Eric added.

Again Speedle nodded and looked away from Eric. Just as Eric was beginning to fear that he was just hallucinating and Speedle couldn't speak the dead CSI turned back to look at him with a grin.

"Yes it has."

"Why are you here?" Eric asked. It hurt so much to see Speedle now, and talk to him. Eric could feel his heart racing with the joy but his brain was protesting. He suddenly wanted to run, to get away from Speedle and the conversation they were about to have and be alone. Speedle was dead, he was dead, there was no way Eric could talk to him. And Eric knew, he knew that if he stayed there and talked and listened to Speedle when it was over it would only hurt worse knowing that it never happened, it was never going to happen and Speedle was still lying in his cold grave.

"I figured you could use my help." Speedle said, bringing Eric from falling inside the sorrow that was building.
"I mean, you always did right?" Speed added with another smile.

Eric laughed. It felt good to laugh, it was almost like old times when they two of them had bantered away, comparing cases, trying to decide who had the better case.

"Alright then, help. What am I missing?" Eric asked.

"What's the first thing you learn on the job?" Speedle asked.

"How to pad your time card." Eric replied. He wanted to keep the jokes going, he knew Speedle was being serious but he missed the way anything could be a joke between them, everything except the cases.

"The second thing." Speedle said as though encouraging a rookie.

Eric admitted to himself that he was a little confused about where this was going but he replied nonetheless.

"Every person who enters a crime scene brings something in and takes something away." He answered, all traces of laughter gone from his expression and tone.

"Even before we call it a scene." Speedle added.

"What are you saying, someone took evidence before we even arrived?" Eric asked. It did and had happened before, Eric knew that, but it was strange discussing this with Speedle. Speedle just looked at Eric with a soft smile on his face, eyes a little narrowed against the sea breeze.
"Then how do I find something that's not even here?" Eric asked. Speedle had offered him help and now he was going to help him.

"Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there." Speedle replied.

Eric was about to say something in anger about Speedle talking in riddles but then it truly hit him what his friend had just said. Speedle was dead, his body was rotting but that did not mean he wasn't there. Eric remembered him and therefore Speedle lived on through that. The lab loved him, and he lived on through that. They may not talk about him, but they thought about him.
The same went for Ryan as well. He wasn't there but Eric felt like he was. Sometimes he would turn around in the lab about to make a joke with Ryan only to find himself alone, or facing a lab tech who looked concerned and sometimes afraid. Just what was Speedle helping him with exactly?

Before Eric could say anything Speedle turned and walked away, ducking under the yellow tape and Eric, not knowing what else he could do, followed him. Speedle took up a spot on the rocks that jutted out into the sea, away from the sandy cliff Eric was stood on and when Eric looked down he found a pipe coiled up there, which he realised on closer inspection was a burnt piece of tubing. He said that out loud to himself, or was it for Speedle's benefit? The CSI must have known it was there to lead Eric to it, but how?

Eric slipped gloves on and picked up the tube.

"It's got to be from the crime scene." He murmured. "Speedle-." Eric began, standing and turning to find nobody there. Eric cast glances around desperately, trying to see where Speedle had wandered off too and found nothing, no one, he was alone.
"Thanks for the help." He sighed.

The case after that became a little more complicated for the CSIs as they realised both victims were in debt to Liberty Coast Credit and the fact that the tube that Eric had found was used to pump carbon monoxide into the car, which meant it was murder, not suicide.

And then Calleigh found Speedle's credit card in the seatbelt fastener of a hummer.

"I knew it." Eric said, nodding his head in understanding. There was no way Speedle could be dead now, not if his credit card was in the hummer.

"What is going on?" Calleigh asked. She was even more concerned now. The case had taken many twists and turns and she was worried that Eric was indeed feeling side-effects of his wound and had been hiding them but now, now she was sure that Eric was hiding something else from her, something bigger.

"Nothing." Eric replied. He couldn't tell Calleigh he had seen Speedle. He was dead. There was no way he had survived that.

Ryan survived a bullet wound to the chest and your shot to the stomach. Eric had heard that small voice in his head before. It had eaten away at him when he had heard Ryan's story about how he had been wearing a vest and it had eventually driven him to shoot Ryan just to confirm that he was right. Could Speedle be like Ryan? Surely he wouldn't have hidden from them all? He couldn't have hidden from Eric, they were…or had been best friends, Speedle would have come and told him. Or would he? Ryan had left everything he loved just because Eric knew about what he was, could it be that Speedle wanted to tell him but couldn't because he was afraid of Eric's reaction, afraid that he and Eric could not have had a secret friendship?

"Look," Calleigh said rather firmly and Eric broke out of his thoughts, "Eric if we are going to be working together you have to talk to me." She said.

Eric licked his lips before glancing at her. Calleigh had a determined look on her face and Eric was sure that she would understand if he told her but something compelled him to lie to her again.

"I told you it's nothing."

"Does it have something to do with me and Jake, is there a problem?" She asked and Eric could see the hurt in her eyes at the possibility and he was almost glad that what she was suggesting was the furthest thing from the truth.

"No Calleigh, don't be ridiculous." He muttered.

"Well you've been acting strange with me all day so what else am I supposed to think?" She asked, her tone accusative now.

Eric stared hard at the steering wheel and wondered if he should tell her. He didn't want her to think he was mad at her, or upset because she had found happiness because he wasn't.

"Let's just forget about it." Was his eventual answer and mentally he kicked himself for avoiding answering her again. Calleigh was his friend, she had been Speedle's friend, she would understand.
"Can I have Speedle's card please?" He requested.

Calleigh handed it over to him and Eric knew without looking that she was not impressed with him.

When Eric managed to be alone he got out his phone and called Miami Mutual Bank to find out what was going on and if Speedle's credit card had been used recently. The bank told him that Speedle's account had been active for two weeks but was stumped when he was asked for a password which would allow him further information.

He did not really have much time to dwell on it because they found out that their female victim had been sleeping with the manager of the Credit Company that she was in debt with. Approaching him at the university a shooting happened and their suspect was shot to death, leaving Eric and Calleigh with even more questions than before.

And again now, Eric saw Speedle stood just outside the crime tape and he called out to him, ignoring Frank's words rather rudely, but seeing Speedle combined with the fact that his credit card was being used made Eric sure that Speedle was there and he wanted to know why his friend kept appearing and the disappearing again.

A hand touched his shoulder and Eric jumped.

"Eric," Alexx said softly, "What's going on?" The concern she felt was evident on her face and Eric looked at her as if she were mad, couldn't she see that Speedle was right there?

He lied to her just like he lied to Calleigh and found a perfect excuse when he found a leaf with a bullet hole in it. Alexx was not convinced he could tell, and she told him that if he wanted to talk he was to find her. It was a nice change, for the first month or so after Ryan had left Alexx had not been impressed with Eric, or happy to be around him and she had made it clear whenever he was there but slowly her anger had faded and they had fallen back into their old friendship. What Eric didn't know was that Calleigh had phoned Ryan and told him that Alexx had not taken him leaving well and Ryan had come back to Miami and told Alexx that she should lay off Eric, it wasn't his fault and the two of them had made peace before he left. To hear her offering to help him again made Eric want to smile despite how confused he felt inside.

Calleigh and Eric finally found the evidence that led them to the shooter and Eric found himself outside of Speedle's locker, with the door open and Speedle's badge in his hands.

That was how Horatio found him.

"You're looking in Speed's locker Eric." Horatio said to announce that he was there.

Eric glanced at him and shut the door.

Sighing Eric faced Horatio. "Out of respect I haven't touched it since he was shot." He said, "But now his wallet's missing."

Horatio did not seem fazed by this news but Eric knew his boss well enough to know that Horatio did not always react emotionally to all news.

"What do you think happened?" Horatio asked.

"Well, maybe he took it." Eric suggested. "There has been some activity on his credit card." He added.

"Eric, when someone that is important to us leaves us it can be difficult to accept they're gone." Horatio said quietly, looking up at Eric as he spoke while he messed with his sunglasses.

Eric was formulating an answer, deciding to tell Horatio what he had kept from both Calleigh and Alexx when Ryan flashed into his mind again. Why do I keep doing that? Eric wondered, this is about Speedle not Ryan. He isn't as important to me as Speedle was so why do I keep thinking about him?

Pushing his thoughts of Ryan to the back of his mind Eric took a quiet breath.

"This is different," He informed Horatio, "I know this sounds crazy but he pointed me in the direction of that tube, he solved this case."

"You solved the case." Horatio corrected him, "You did."

Eric took a deeper breath and let it out in a sigh. Horatio did not believe him, he probably thought he was crazy, or thought that he was suffering from his bullet wound like Calleigh did.

"Eric," Horatio continued gently, "Speed is gone, he's gone."

"What if I told you I'd talked to him?" Eric asked. He was throwing all caution to the wind now, so what if Horatio thought he was crazy, maybe he was crazy. Seeing Speedle made him think of Ryan that in itself was crazy anyway.

"I'd say…" Horatio began before pausing as if he did not want to say what he was truly thinking. "I'd say that it's time to get some help."

Eric looked at Horatio, just looked at him and his emotions were all portrayed clearly on his face. Horatio thought he was crazy, Horatio thought he was suffering side effects, Horatio had let Speedle go and was pitying him because he couldn't do the same…Horatio saw the anguish in Eric's face but he knew that he was not the person that could help Eric with these feelings he was having, this confusion that was plaguing him and so he left the locker room.

Eric sat down on the bench running parallel to the lockers and put his head in his hands. What was going on? Speedle was there and then he was gone, his credit card was being used and now Horatio thought he was crazy. He didn't blame his boss for that, it was the reason he had lied to both Calleigh and Alexx but still, was it so hard for them to believe that Speedle had survived?

Yes Eric it is, the little voice said, you've seen Ryan get shot and walk away completely fine, twice now. You want to think Speedle is alive because you know that Ryan can't die. You want Speedle to be alive because you love him.

"No." Eric said out loud. "I want Speedle to be alive because I miss him. And I'm going to find out what's going on here and who is using Speed's credit card."

Horatio it seemed was in the same frame of mind and he found out exactly where Speedle's credit card was being used so Eric could find an answer and put his mind at ease.

Taking Calleigh, Eric drove to the Bay to find out what was going on. He did not like the answer. First he had a case of mistaken identity but then Calleigh found out that it was Cooper, one of their own, who had been using Speedle's credit card and Eric had lost his temper with him, but instead of taking his anger out on him he just threw Cooper's wallet back on the table and left. Calleigh remained behind.

Eric slammed the door to the bar and stalked away. Cooper had some nerve using Speedle's credit card like that. He had to go and see Speedle, properly this time, not in hallucinations at crime scenes. He didn't wait for Calleigh but he left her the hummer before hurrying to the graveyard to see Speedle's grave. He wasn't going to take Horatio's advice and see someone, there was nothing wrong with him. He was going to go and talk to Speedle. Properly.

In the cemetery Eric stood by Speedle's grave and closed his eyes, pulling up the memories of Speedle's funeral, the day he had seen him placed in the ground. When he re-opened his eyes Speedle was stood there, by his own gravestone and he was smirking.

"You helped me solve the case." Eric said softly.

"I know, that's why you were imagining me." Speedle replied.

"I could always turn to you for help Speed, so I guess I did now even though you're dead." Eric concluded. Of course he had been imagining Speedle but Cooper, Cooper had not helped at all.

"I'm not just here to help you with cases Eric." Speedle announced.

Eric looked up at him without even realising that he returned to focusing on the gravestone.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked.

"It's about Ryan too you know." Was all Speedle said.

"Huh?"

"You love him Delko, you have for a while but you've been too blind to see it. You loved me too I know you did." Speedle laughed, "But now that you're falling in love with someone else you're denying it because of me."

"But-."

"Eric." Speedle interrupted, "When you took Ryan out for dinner he kissed you and you liked it. All you can think about is Ryan, every little thing somehow reminds you of him. You've got to go and talk to him."

"How, I don't even know where he is?" Eric asked. I've just realised I've been imagine Speedle because I needed help and now I'm arguing with him about my feelings for Ryan. Maybe I am crazy, Eric thought as Speedle laughed again.

"You don't need to find him Eric, he'll find you."

"But I don't feel like I love him." Eric protested.

"You won't until you get a chance to feel what him loving you feels like." Speedle countered before turning to walk away.

"Don't go Speed." Eric cried.

"I have to Eric. Besides, your chance is here." Speedle said.

"Hey Delko." Another voice said and Eric turned, not really wanting to face anyone who may have overheard him talking to somebody that was not really there and he was shocked at who he saw.

Ryan stood by behind him, arms folded, face relaxed, the traces of a smile on his lips. He was dressed as if he had just come from somewhere extremely snowy, definitely not in clothes fit for the Miami weather and his hair was wet as if snow had melted in it.

Eric's heart began to race at the sight.

"Ryan…are you an hallucination too?" He asked in disbelief.

"No Eric I'm here. But I'm only here to help you." Ryan replied softly, glancing down briefly at Speedle's grave then up to where Speedle had stood only a few seconds before.

"Why does everyone assume I need help?" Eric snapped.

Ryan smiled and moved forward, reaching into the pocket of the coat he wore and withdrawing some pills.

"My dad realised that the side-effects of the bullet were beginning to affect you because he isn't here to stop it. He made these for you, they should help stop them." Ryan explained as he passed the bottle to Eric.

"What happens if I don't take them?" Eric asked.

"We'll be forced to come and save your ass again." Ryan laughed.

Eric felt exhilarated to hear Ryan laugh, it was such an amazing, beautiful sound. Could it be Speedle was right? Or was he right, since Speedle was a figment of his imagination that was his unconscious desire for Ryan.

"And when I run out?"

"I'll come back to Miami to give you more." Ryan replied softly this time. He still held the pill bottle in one hand as Eric did, so their hands were touching gently but eventually Ryan moved away and turned to walk away just as Speedle did.

"Wait Ryan!" Eric called and Ryan did, turning back to him. "Where are you living right now?"

"Here and there, we're travelling mostly but I miss Miami a lot." Ryan admitted.

"I want to keep in touch with you Ryan." Eric said bluntly and Ryan blushed a little.

"You have my phone number Eric." He pointed out.

"I want to be able to see you." Eric added. Hearing Ryan's voice would not be enough to make Eric realise if he did love him or not. Speedle was dead and he had been acting crazy recently, so he was going to carry on doing so and follow the advice of his friend. It was easier for Eric to accept that Speedle had come back as a ghost to tell him that he loved Ryan than his mind had rebelled against him and had forced him to imagine Speed just so he could believe it.

Ryan looked at him suspiciously before sighing and taking out a small notebook and a pen. He scribbled something down, tore out the page and handed it to Eric.

"That's my email address. Add me on Skype if you want to keep in touch visually." He mumbled.

"Thanks." Eric replied.

"I've got to go, my dad's waiting for me. It was nice seeing you again Eric." Ryan said quietly.

"Yeah you too." Eric agreed. He stood by Speedle's grave and watched Ryan walk away.

When Ryan was still in his sight but too far away to be noticed Horatio appeared beside Eric. Eric turned to him and smiled.

"I took your advice I guess, and talked to someone." He admitted, keeping the fact that it had been Speedle and then Ryan.

"And?" Horatio inquired.

"They said that the side-effects might be affecting me even though I had a miraculous recovery." Eric lied. "I've got some pills that should help."

"That's good Eric. Come on, I'll drive you home." Horatio offered and Eric nodded.

As they walked from the graveyard his hand was clenching the bottle of pills tightly, he could still feel the warmth of Ryan's fingers on his.

/

"I can't believe we had to fly all the way from France for this." Esteban grumbled as Ryan eventually climbed back into the car.

"I'm not listening. Get us back to Chalet Altiport and then complain at me. I reckon mum has conquered that slope by now." Ryan replied airily. Esteban did not reply but he made a noise of discontent before driving them to the airport.

He did listen to Ryan though. Throughout the flight and the journey back to Altiport in Alpe d'Huez Esteban did not say a single thing unless it was necessary – like asking Ryan to slow down when they got out of the car at Altiport because he couldn't walk over the snow as well as his son – and when they were finally back in the Chalet they had rented, the smallest size available, he sat Ryan down before going to light the log fire.

"Now, let me say it again. Why did we have to fly all the way to Miami from France just to give him some pills, we could have sent them to him." Esteban said again.

"Yeah because there is a post box around here dad." Ryan replied, head tilted back and eyes closed. He was comfortably spread across the couch in their Chalet and Esteban shook his head.

"I must say Ryan you've been very relaxed since we came skiing, why is that?" Esteban asked.

"I like skiing, I like the snow and the ski lift is fast so I don't have to think about how high I am for very long." Ryan answered.

"What has made you so happy though? You were a little sullen still even if you were relaxed before we left to see Eric Delko." Esteban pressed.

Ryan opened his eyes and eyed his father in annoyance.

"Let's just say that everything is okay between us and I may soon return to Miami." He replied before standing. "I'm going to go and shower, being in Miami in my winter clothes has made me a little sweaty."

"A little sweaty?" Esteban cried, "I felt like I was melting."

"If only you would, then I would be free from your whining. It's too cold here, how do you ski, this lift doesn't feel very stable, the Chalet is too big, Miami is too hot. All you do is whine, whine, whine." Ryan laughed as he made his way into his bedroom and closed and locked the door.

Esteban shook his head and stuck his tongue out at Ryan's retreating back because at that moment Francesca entered the room and she would have yelled at him if he had made a ruder gesture at their son.

"You're back early." Francesca said as she settled on the couch that Ryan had just vacated. Esteban moved over to sit beside her and sighed.

"I don't know what happened between them but Ryan is definitely happier than before." He admitted.

"Perhaps he and Eric have sorted themselves out," Francesca suggested and Esteban smirked. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She laughed as he kissed her cheek.

"While he's happy and distracted we should take this as an opportunity." He suggested with a wink. Francesca laughed and pushed him away.

"Let's take this opportunity to get you back on your skis you mean? I will make you good." She informed him.

Esteban shook his head. "I'm not getting back on skis it hurts."

"Esteban you can heal in a flash do not give me that excuse." Francesca chastised him. "I'm going back out, you can either come with me or not."

"Fine." Esteban grumbled and stood up with his wife and left to get their skis.

As they left Ryan finished up with his shower and had padded back into his bedroom wrapped only in a bathrobe. His father had suggested he leave most of his important things at home during their travels around, which happened to still be in Miami, but Ryan had made it clear that if he didn't have something like a laptop he would have gone crazy. Esteban had consented and bought Ryan a cheap laptop – if there was any such thing as a cheap laptop – but Ryan was not complaining. He wanted to open his laptop and check if Eric had added him to Skype but Ryan was absolutely knackered and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed. He had not rested on the flight to Miami or on the flight back and going through different time zones that quickly didn't feel good.

It had been nine in the evening when he and Esteban had finally boarded a flight back to Grenoble Airport and it had taken them six hours to fly there, meaning it had been eight o'clock, Miami time, when they had arrived and a two hour drive awaited them. It was now four in the morning in Miami, but there was a six hour time difference between Miami and France, give or take, so it was actually ten in the morning in France.

Ryan shoved his laptop aside and collapsed onto the pillows. He knew his mum had dragged his dad out to go skiing and assumed his dad was not as tired as he was. Eric could wait, Ryan just wanted to sleep and he wanted to do it now. Closing his eyes Ryan smiled as his thoughts turned to Eric and he drifted into sleep.

/

It was at least five in the morning when Ryan awoke again, he had slept for at least nineteen hours. Sitting up Ryan noticed that there was a piece of paper on the floor, apparently having been slipped under the door and Ryan slid out of his bed and picked it up.

Ryan me and your mother have driven out of Altiport to find a really nice restaurant to eat in but we might even be back before you wake up so if so, we're probably on the slopes and we brought some food back from the restaurant for you.

Ryan smiled as he read the note and decided that his father had not been expecting him to sleep for nineteen hours. Ryan hadn't been expecting to sleep for nineteen hours. Considering it was five in the morning Ryan assumed that neither of his parents was on the slopes, but the food that Esteban had referred to sounded good right now, Ryan was starving. As he passed through their Chalet towards the kitchen Ryan wondered what it would be like if he was deprived of food. He wouldn't die, that was obvious to him, but he felt hunger. So, would it be a slow torture that would drive him out of his mind? He couldn't eat but nor could he die, Ryan shuddered as that thought passed through his brain and made a mental note to try and avoid any situation that could lead to that.

As promised when he opened the fridge there was a plastic box full of food and a smaller one with a small slice of cake in it. Ryan grabbed the food and tipped it onto a plate before shoving it in the microwave and watching it spin around and cook. Tapping his fingers on the counter Ryan turned his thoughts to calculating what time it was in Miami right now. It was five in the morning for him, and Miami was six hours behind France so if his calculations were correct it was eleven at night in Miami. Ryan didn't know much about Eric's sleeping patterns but he assumed that he would still be awake, Eric didn't strike him as the sort of person who went to bed early, if eleven at night could be said to be early.

Ryan brought the plate of food to his room and settled on his bed, dragging his laptop towards him and turning it on. Picking at the plate of food as he typed in his password Ryan tried to figure out what his parents had actually brought home for him. Whatever it was it tasted nice so Ryan didn't complain about it and ate it. As soon as his laptop had loaded Ryan clicked on Skype and watched the circle spinning around as it loaded. Almost as soon as it loaded it came apparent that Eric had indeed added him on Skype and the green tick told him that Eric was online, or at least logged in. Turning his attention to the food before he tried Eric's account Ryan heard the ringing symbolising someone was calling him. Without thinking he answered the call with video and after a moment Eric's face popped up on his screen. Ryan barely managed to stop himself from grinning and showing Eric what he was eating.

"Hey," Eric greeted him with gusto, as if he hadn't seen Ryan in Miami recently.

"Hey," Ryan replied after he swallowed his food.

"Are you busy?" Eric asked.

"Nah I'm just eating, been asleep since we got back about nineteen hours ago." Ryan explained and Eric laughed.

"Seriously Wolfe?"

"Eric if we're going to take our relationship to Skype level I think we can use first names." Ryan chuckled as he took another mouthful of food.

Eric paused for a moment, thinking for a moment before chuckling as well. "I guess you're right, Ryan."

"You say it like it's weird to use it Eric, it's not like you've never used my first name before." Ryan pointed out and he swore Eric blushed at his words.

"I don't know," Eric replied, pausing to examine Ryan's face, "Ryan, it's weird you know. You said it yourself this is…Skype level did you say?"

"Yeah," Ryan found himself laughing again as he spoke, "I mean, before this we were just colleagues, we never talked to each other out of work and even in work we had a lot of issues and yet now, now we're talking to each other in different countries, outside of work, because you wanted to keep in touch." He continued, "I think that symbolises we should use our first names."

"That's true." Eric murmured. "So, where are you exactly?"

"In France, skiing." Ryan mumbled as he ate.

"I guess that explains the clothes when you came to see me, you weren't exactly dressed for Miami weather." Eric grinned.

"Yeah, as soon as my dad explained that something was wrong I came straight to Miami, there didn't seem much point in getting changed." Ryan admitted.

Eric laughed again. "That worried about me?" He asked.

"Yes." Ryan replied straight away.

Eric was rather taken aback by that answer and was unsure of what to say. A rather awkward silence settled over them as Ryan avoided looking at the screen and continued eating, until it went down the wrong way and he started choking. As he tried to cough the food back up Eric inquired and asked if he was okay until Ryan finally managed to dislodge the food into his mouth and re-swallow it before gasping for air. Eric laughed when Ryan glanced up at the screen, his face a little red.

"What's so funny?" Ryan gasped as he pushed the plate away from him for the moment.

"Well you were so desperate to get that food dislodged but it's not like it could have killed you." Eric chuckled.

Ryan stared blankly at him for a moment, unsure of how to react to that before settling upon laughing as well.
"It's still kind of uncomfortable to choke on food." He told Eric but they both continued laughing.

Eric eventually yawned, leaning back and stretching as he did so.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Ryan asked.

"I'm fine." Eric replied.

"Do you have work tomorrow, well later today I guess?"

"No, unless there is an important case, I've got the day off." Eric informed Ryan and he grinned.

"Well how about this? You go to bed now and we'll spend the day talking? How does that sound?" Ryan suggested.

Eric grinned as he yawned again, well Ryan assumed it was a grin since his mouth was open and covered by his hand. He was definitely grinning when he finished yawning.

"That sounds good. Um, I'll be waking up around nine, what time will it be in France?"

"About three in the afternoon. I'll log in around then and we can talk." Ryan stated.

"Alright Ryan, we'll talk later." Eric said before biding Ryan goodnight. Ryan chuckled and bad Eric goodnight despite it being early morning for him and closed his laptop when the call ended. He could hear someone moving around the Chalet and assumed his parents were up and about now and Ryan decided to finish eating before inquiring if they were going out on the slopes that day. He wanted to go skiing to take his mind off the fact that he was going to spend the entire day, well, afternoon talking to Eric and if he didn't he'd be sat around constantly checking Skype in hopes that Eric would have woken up early. Ryan also made the decision that, if this conversation went well, he would contact Horatio and ask him if he could come back to the Crime Lab in Miami.