So this is in present time, a little while after the box incident. The lab has already been attacked and Jesse's dead (sadly). They've just wrapped up a case and are ready to go home.

Thanks for the reviews! And by the way, the point of the last chapter was for it to be kind of a quick introduction to the characters : ). And thanks for clearing out the police rankings. The point with making Amanda a lieutenant was for her to be able to boss Horatio around a little bit. If they had the same rank he'd have no reason to listen to her, and that kind of makes some of the things I've planned for the story impossible. I also wanted the cops in the story to respect/be afraid of her not only because she sometimes physically lashed out on them, but also because she had more "power" than them as she had a higher ranking. Lieutenant was obviously a bit of a stretch. But at least now I know for next time.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: Miami or the characters. I do however own my own characters and plotline.

Ryan closed his locker and was surprised to see Natalia sitting on the bench close by. How could he not have noticed her coming in?

"Hey, you ok?" he asked carefully and sat down beside her.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." she mumbled.

"About…? Or am I not allowed to ask?"

"It's stupid really."

"Come on Natalia, you're talking to me. Whatever you say can't be more stupid than everything I've managed to blurt out over the years." Natalia laughed and shook her head.

"How you always make me smile, Wolfe. Ok, the thing is that this Carl, you know the guy in the case, he took the blame for Johnson's death in order to keep Emily, who was the real killer, out of jail. And I just couldn't stop thinking that: what idiot would voluntarily go to prison for the rest of his life to protect a woman who wasn't just a murderer, but who also probably didn't even love him back?" Natalia said shaking her head.

"Come on Natalia, we've seen stranger things than that. Remember the computer guy, who killed for a girl he'd never even met? People simply do crazy things when they're in love."

"Oh no. That was not love. I know what love is, I saw it every day while growing up. My parents were in love, these people are just crazy."

"Well, I wouldn't really know. My parents hated each other. The few times dad came by to visit while I was still living with mom, they hade ground shaking arguments. Scared the hell out of our neighbors."

"Yeah, you mentioned that. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's no big deal. I got a fair look at love while growing up."

"You mean from your father and stepmother?"

"Hell no. They hated each other too." Ryan chuckled.

"You mother and stepfather?"

"Well, they were close enough. But I was actually referring to my mom and uncle Harry."

"Oh, the man who gave her the bird necklace."

"Yeah." And to Natalia's surprise, Ryan reached in to his pocket and took out the necklace. "You know how all the memories from your childhood are blurry, but then there are a few that are so clear that they could have happened yesterday?" he mumbled carefully.

"Ehm, yeah…"

"Well, the looks on my mother's face when Harry gave her this necklace is one of them. That was pure and undying love."

"Then why did they break up?"

"I was six years old, how the hell was I suppose to know?"

"Good point."

"I can't figure out what I'm suppose to do with this thing though." Ryan said and looked back at the necklace. "I mean, it means a lot to me and I love having it around. It reminds me of the good times I had with my mother and uncle Harry. But it seems a little to expensive to be kept in my pocket forever." Ryan scratched his eyebrow, like he always did when he was trying to figure something out. "Maybe I should take it to her grave."

Something about how Ryan said "her" made Natalia suspect that he wasn't talking about his mother. But she quickly shot the thought away.

"Or maybe you should carry on the tradition."

"What tradition? The only tradition my family's got is the Blue Band tradition and I don't see how that's relevant."

"Well, you could always start a tradition." Natalia said, resisting the urge to ask what the Blue Band tradition was. "Harry gave your mother that necklace because they loved each other. Maybe you should pass it on to the woman you love?" Ryan looked up at her.

"That sounds a little cheesy…" he shrugged.

"Women love cheesy things." Natalia smiled. "Anyway, you can do whatever you want, but my advice is to keep that thing with the living and give it to the woman you love. Whenever you meet her." She didn't really know why she'd said the last thing. Maybe so she could confirm her suspicions; that she'd lost her chance years ago after that stupid date when she'd been wasting her time thinking about Eric, and move on with her life.

Ryan looked at her for a while, seemingly lost in thoughts, before reaching out and tucking an escaped part of her hair back behind her ear. He kept his hand by her cheek and his expression became a bit softer. It took every part of Natalia's self control to keep her from leaning in to his touch, not wanting to intimidate him. He kept his expression while carefully stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"What if I've already met the woman I love?" he said carefully. Then his expression suddenly changed and he quickly took his hand back. "Bye then." he mumbled and hurried away, leaving Natalia speechless.

While on his way out of the locker room Ryan walked in to Horatio, literally.

"Sorry H." he said embarrassed but Horatio just smiled at him.

"It's okay Mr. Wolfe. Don't worry about it." Ryan nodded and walked away, wondering about the wide smile on Horatio's face. What he didn't know was that his boss had been standing by the locker room for some time and had heard everything Natalia and Ryan had said to each other. And he couldn't stop thinking about Ryan's last response.

"What if I've already met the woman I love?"

That surely brought back memories.

Ok, I officially admit defeat! I'm terrible at writing romantic scenes. I can do angst scenes, sad scenes, fantasy stuff, and love scenes, but not romantic scenes! Probably because my life is currently empty of romance. Although I did try, so I should at least get some credit for that. I should also probably say that the next couple of chapters are going to be flashbacks.

As always: R n R.