Fic: Invisible, Part 20/22
Title - Invisible, Part 20
Rating - PG-13ish
Pairing - Eric/Ryan eventually, mentions of Horatio/Speed
Spoilers - No Man's Land/Man Down, Nailed
Disclaimer - What do you think?
Summary - Ryan and Alexx talk.
Word Count - 1,034
Notes - beta'd by
rini1031 . Only two more chapters after this... I'm kind of sad to see it coming to a close. :(
The week that had passed since Ryan woke up in the hospital seemed like a year. The first couple of days were spent working on getting his voice back, and after he’d accomplished that, he’d threatened walking out of the hospital so many times he lost count. He probably would’ve too, were it not for the fact that his legs probably would’ve given out under him. Besides, he wasn’t too keen on the idea of walking around in a hospital gown. When he informed Calleigh of his escape plan, she laughed and told him that Eric said pretty much the same thing. Then she asked what it was about men that made them hate hospitals so much. Ryan had gone quiet at the mention of Eric’s injury. He’d heard about it from Alexx, but he spent most of his time trying not to think about it. Between trying to avoid that and spending the last three mornings in physical therapy and trying to piece his life back together - and figure out why he had memories of two lives - he’d been exhausted.
Now though, he just wanted answers. He’d put as much as he could back into place; he needed someone else to help him with the rest, and who better than Alexx? She knew him better than anyone else, probably even his own uncle. He knew he could trust her not to get frustrated with him and give up, and he’d decided to tell her about everything that was confusing him. She told him she’d stop by after work, so he planned on telling her about it then.
After having all day to lie around and think about it though, Ryan was starting to lose his nerve when she finally did show up. Would she think he was crazy if he told her all about it? Would she even want to listen?
She squeezed his hand gently as she sat in the chair next to the bed, just as she had that first day. It was meant to be reassuring, but it just made him more tense than before.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” she asked, sensing that he was beginning to worry. “You know you can tell me anything.”
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. “I need your help,” he whispered.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
He looked directly into her eyes, and felt the dam break. He found himself relating the whole story to her, what he remembered of the beginning of his ‘other life’, about his death, meeting Eric, all the way through waking up in the hospital. He told her of falling in love with Eric then finding out who killed him. When he was finished talking, Alexx was very quiet, bringing his panic to forefront. “Alexx…”
“Oh baby! So that’s why you’ve been so withdrawn? You should’ve told me sooner! I was worried about you!” Alexx scolded, leaning over to pull him into a tight hug.
He buried his face in her neck, feeling better than he had since he woke up a week ago. “Alexx, I’m so confused. Is this real? I’m not dreaming, am I? I’m not really dead?” he murmured.
“No, Ryan. You aren’t dead,” she assured him. “It’s a miracle you’re talking to me right now, but you aren’t dead.” She pulled back for a moment, a small smile playing on her lips. “So, you and Eric…?”
Ryan looked away, blushing furiously. Part of him hadn’t intended to tell her about that, but he wasn’t able to stop the flow of his own words. On the other hand though, he was glad to have it out in the open. At least he knew that she wasn’t going to hate him for being in love with a man - not that he was sure yet whether he really did love Eric, or if that was just part of the dream.
Then Alexx asked him the very thing he was questioning himself: “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. I just… don’t know. Before… if I did love him, I didn’t know it. Or maybe I convinced myself that I couldn’t love him, because he didn’t even want to be my friend, much less more than that. Besides, he so obviously in love with women… it’s a waste of my time to bother pining over him.”
Alexx shook her head. “A lot has happened since you were hurt. Eric has been through so much in the that time that I very much doubt he’s exactly the same person he was last year. Maybe you should talk to him.”
Ryan stared at her for a few seconds before asking, “How am I supposed to do that when we’re both stuck in hospital rooms?”
“Eric’s going to be released very soon, and I imagine after that he’ll stop in to see you. You can talk to him then, get to know the real Eric Delko.” She gave him another smile. “And maybe you’ll find that loving him wasn’t just a dream.”
He frowned at her. It really seemed to him like she was pushing for him to fall in love with Eric, but why would she do that? “Do you want me to love him?”
“I want you to love whoever makes you happy, and I really think he could.”
He nodded, accepting her answer, though he wasn’t sure what the result would be. She stayed a while longer, and they talked about everything from him wanting to leave the hospital as soon as possible (to which she responded by telling him that the doctors were amazed at how quickly he was recovering, and that it wouldn’t be too long, maybe another week, before he was released) to the lab’s most recent case, even though she told him that he wasn’t allowed to mention that to anyone else, as technically she wasn’t supposed to tell him. He promised to keep her secret, and as she filled him in on the details, he gradually felt himself falling asleep. The last thing he remembered before succumbing to sleep was glancing toward the clock on the wall and catching a glimpse of a young brunette who looked very familiar.
Part 21
Rating - PG-13ish
Pairing - Eric/Ryan eventually, mentions of Horatio/Speed
Spoilers - No Man's Land/Man Down, Nailed
Disclaimer - What do you think?
Summary - Ryan and Alexx talk.
Word Count - 1,034
Notes - beta'd by
rini1031 . Only two more chapters after this... I'm kind of sad to see it coming to a close. :(
The week that had passed since Ryan woke up in the hospital seemed like a year. The first couple of days were spent working on getting his voice back, and after he’d accomplished that, he’d threatened walking out of the hospital so many times he lost count. He probably would’ve too, were it not for the fact that his legs probably would’ve given out under him. Besides, he wasn’t too keen on the idea of walking around in a hospital gown. When he informed Calleigh of his escape plan, she laughed and told him that Eric said pretty much the same thing. Then she asked what it was about men that made them hate hospitals so much. Ryan had gone quiet at the mention of Eric’s injury. He’d heard about it from Alexx, but he spent most of his time trying not to think about it. Between trying to avoid that and spending the last three mornings in physical therapy and trying to piece his life back together - and figure out why he had memories of two lives - he’d been exhausted.
Now though, he just wanted answers. He’d put as much as he could back into place; he needed someone else to help him with the rest, and who better than Alexx? She knew him better than anyone else, probably even his own uncle. He knew he could trust her not to get frustrated with him and give up, and he’d decided to tell her about everything that was confusing him. She told him she’d stop by after work, so he planned on telling her about it then.
After having all day to lie around and think about it though, Ryan was starting to lose his nerve when she finally did show up. Would she think he was crazy if he told her all about it? Would she even want to listen?
She squeezed his hand gently as she sat in the chair next to the bed, just as she had that first day. It was meant to be reassuring, but it just made him more tense than before.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” she asked, sensing that he was beginning to worry. “You know you can tell me anything.”
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. “I need your help,” he whispered.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
He looked directly into her eyes, and felt the dam break. He found himself relating the whole story to her, what he remembered of the beginning of his ‘other life’, about his death, meeting Eric, all the way through waking up in the hospital. He told her of falling in love with Eric then finding out who killed him. When he was finished talking, Alexx was very quiet, bringing his panic to forefront. “Alexx…”
“Oh baby! So that’s why you’ve been so withdrawn? You should’ve told me sooner! I was worried about you!” Alexx scolded, leaning over to pull him into a tight hug.
He buried his face in her neck, feeling better than he had since he woke up a week ago. “Alexx, I’m so confused. Is this real? I’m not dreaming, am I? I’m not really dead?” he murmured.
“No, Ryan. You aren’t dead,” she assured him. “It’s a miracle you’re talking to me right now, but you aren’t dead.” She pulled back for a moment, a small smile playing on her lips. “So, you and Eric…?”
Ryan looked away, blushing furiously. Part of him hadn’t intended to tell her about that, but he wasn’t able to stop the flow of his own words. On the other hand though, he was glad to have it out in the open. At least he knew that she wasn’t going to hate him for being in love with a man - not that he was sure yet whether he really did love Eric, or if that was just part of the dream.
Then Alexx asked him the very thing he was questioning himself: “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know. I just… don’t know. Before… if I did love him, I didn’t know it. Or maybe I convinced myself that I couldn’t love him, because he didn’t even want to be my friend, much less more than that. Besides, he so obviously in love with women… it’s a waste of my time to bother pining over him.”
Alexx shook her head. “A lot has happened since you were hurt. Eric has been through so much in the that time that I very much doubt he’s exactly the same person he was last year. Maybe you should talk to him.”
Ryan stared at her for a few seconds before asking, “How am I supposed to do that when we’re both stuck in hospital rooms?”
“Eric’s going to be released very soon, and I imagine after that he’ll stop in to see you. You can talk to him then, get to know the real Eric Delko.” She gave him another smile. “And maybe you’ll find that loving him wasn’t just a dream.”
He frowned at her. It really seemed to him like she was pushing for him to fall in love with Eric, but why would she do that? “Do you want me to love him?”
“I want you to love whoever makes you happy, and I really think he could.”
He nodded, accepting her answer, though he wasn’t sure what the result would be. She stayed a while longer, and they talked about everything from him wanting to leave the hospital as soon as possible (to which she responded by telling him that the doctors were amazed at how quickly he was recovering, and that it wouldn’t be too long, maybe another week, before he was released) to the lab’s most recent case, even though she told him that he wasn’t allowed to mention that to anyone else, as technically she wasn’t supposed to tell him. He promised to keep her secret, and as she filled him in on the details, he gradually felt himself falling asleep. The last thing he remembered before succumbing to sleep was glancing toward the clock on the wall and catching a glimpse of a young brunette who looked very familiar.
Part 21