Fic: Invisible, Part 11/22
Title - Invisible, Part 11
Spoilers - Well...kinda some for the end of S4, if you get the reference...
Pairing - Why do I continue to put this section on here? We all know it's Eric/Ryan. Maybe it's for my own amusement...
Notes - I'm much *much* happier with this chapter than I was with the last one... It seemed to flow much nicer for me. And it took me two days to write, lol. I had no clue where to go with it, but then in a stroke of brilliance luck, I came up with this. For some reason though, the Ryan parts seem to come out a lot easier for me. And I'm sorry in advance because this chapter is a little sad, too, but it doesn't end with a sad line, so that's good, right? I kept my promise.
The next few days passed by in a blur for Eric. He’d gone through what little evidence they had for Ryan’s case five times, and hadn’t come across anything new. He was getting frustrated and tired, but he refused to give up. He’d made a promise to Ryan, and he intended to keep it.
Picking up the evidence log sheet, he checked it over again to make sure he hadn’t missed something. Both bullets from the vic’s body? Check. Casings for both bullets? Check. Tape lifts, DNA evidence, hair from the hallway, gun -
Wait, gun? There was no gun in the evidence box for the case. How had he missed that? But the sheet said there had been a gun at one point. Was somebody mistaken? He’d have to tell H -
No. He couldn’t right away. H was in court. Eric would have to wait until that was finished. But before that, he needed to make sure they actually had the gun at one point. And who better to ask than the bullet girl herself?
So, he paged Calleigh and waited, losing himself in his thoughts. What if he lied to Ryan? What if he really couldn’t break the case? Eric shut the door on that thought almost immediately. He couldn’t think that way; he had to break the case, no matter what.
Calleigh’s arrival interrupted his thoughts. “Did you page me?”
Eric looked up at her. “Yeah. I needed some information.”
“What case are you working?” she asked curiously. “Horatio mentioned that you wouldn’t be working any news ones for a little while.”
“I’m reopening an investigation from a couple of years ago. A cop was killed in his home.”
Calleigh frowned. “I remember that one. Speed and Horatio never did find much evidence.”
“Well, somebody wrote down here that there was a gun with the evidence, but there’s not gun here,” Eric explained.
“What do you mean it’s not there?” Calleigh demanded. “I remember test-firing the gun. It was a match to the bullets recovered from the victim.”
“It’s not here now. See for yourself,” he prompted. She leaned toward him, looking through the contents, and came to the same conclusion. “Which means,” he continued, once she agreed with him. “That somebody took it out of here, but didn’t bother making a note it.”
“Are you saying somebody stole it?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Calleigh was shocked. “Now, don’t go jumping to conclusions, Eric. It could’ve just fallen out or something.”
Eric stared at her. “You and I both know that didn’t happen. The gun was supposed to be here, and it isn’t. It can’t just fall out of the box and go missing, we’re more careful than that.”
“We have to tell Horatio when he gets back from court. Right now, we need to see if we can figure out who took it. More likely than not, it’s someone involved in the murder.”
***
Ryan, not for the first time in the few short days he’d known Eric, was lost in thought. Why, after he told himself he wasn’t going to, did he flirt with Eric? Why did he still want to try a relationship, even if he - well, both of them, really - knew it would only end badly? Why couldn’t he keep himself from falling in love with Eric?
Why couldn’t they have met sooner?
He told himself over and over again that he should just stick to the original plan - get Eric out of there as quickly as possible - but that wasn’t likely to happen. They’d both grown way too attached to each other. And, honestly, he enjoyed Eric’s company. After Eric had comforted him that night, he hadn’t pushed Ryan further to explain what happened during the case. They’d just sat on the couch and watched a little bit of TV, most of which consisted of making fun of that Spanish soap opera he’d annoyed Eric with that first night.
Through most of it, they’d been lying down, Eric holding Ryan tight against his chest, as though if he let go it would be the end of the world. And Ryan had been quite content to just lie there, despite his inner voices telling him it as a bad idea. For a short while, he’d been happy. But then, he’d felt Eric’s body shiver slightly, and it brought him crashing back to down reality. Just because he was solid and moving didn’t mean he was also alive. His cold, dead body was just a shell. He wasn’t even human.
And it hurt. It hurt so bad that he couldn’t stand to lie there with Eric anymore; he had to get up and walk around, get rid of the notion that he could be happy with someone who was alive when he wasn’t.
He’d never felt like that about anybody when he was alive. Sure, he’d been in relationships, but they never amounted to anything; half the time, he barely even liked the other person. But Eric… Ryan couldn’t even go ten minutes without thinking abut Eric. How had Eric gotten past his defenses so quickly? Why had Ryan let him?
Ryan buried his face him his hands, tears filling his eyes. He’d have to leave. He needed to save them both some heartache. He knew it would hurt Eric if he left now, not that it wouldn’t hurt Ryan, too, but it would hurt a lot less than if they got even closer before he left.
Resolve setting in, although he no idea if he even could leave, he stood purposefully, ready to walk right out the door.
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” a voice from behind Ryan warned, stopping him in his tracks.
Ryan turned slowly, unsure if he really wanted to know who was talking to him. The voice belonged to a young woman, probably slightly older than Ryan, who had long, curly dark hair and kind chocolate eyes. Something in her appearance struck him as familiar, but he brushed it off. “Who are you?”
“You shouldn’t leave,” she added, side-stepping the question altogether. “He needs you just as much as you need him.”
“What he needs is someone he can spend the rest of his life with, someone who he can show off to his friends and family. Someone who’s alive. And that’s not me.”
“He loves you and you love him. That’s all that matters. If you step out that door now, you’ll be gone.”
“Who are you?” he asked again. He didn’t want to think about what she was saying, or what she could possibly mean by ‘gone.’
“Let’s just say I’m a friend,” she finally answered, with a small, gentle smile. “To both of you. Please don’t leave.”
She disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared.
Part 12
Spoilers - Well...kinda some for the end of S4, if you get the reference...
Pairing - Why do I continue to put this section on here? We all know it's Eric/Ryan. Maybe it's for my own amusement...
Notes - I'm much *much* happier with this chapter than I was with the last one... It seemed to flow much nicer for me. And it took me two days to write, lol. I had no clue where to go with it, but then in a stroke of brilliance luck, I came up with this. For some reason though, the Ryan parts seem to come out a lot easier for me. And I'm sorry in advance because this chapter is a little sad, too, but it doesn't end with a sad line, so that's good, right? I kept my promise.
The next few days passed by in a blur for Eric. He’d gone through what little evidence they had for Ryan’s case five times, and hadn’t come across anything new. He was getting frustrated and tired, but he refused to give up. He’d made a promise to Ryan, and he intended to keep it.
Picking up the evidence log sheet, he checked it over again to make sure he hadn’t missed something. Both bullets from the vic’s body? Check. Casings for both bullets? Check. Tape lifts, DNA evidence, hair from the hallway, gun -
Wait, gun? There was no gun in the evidence box for the case. How had he missed that? But the sheet said there had been a gun at one point. Was somebody mistaken? He’d have to tell H -
No. He couldn’t right away. H was in court. Eric would have to wait until that was finished. But before that, he needed to make sure they actually had the gun at one point. And who better to ask than the bullet girl herself?
So, he paged Calleigh and waited, losing himself in his thoughts. What if he lied to Ryan? What if he really couldn’t break the case? Eric shut the door on that thought almost immediately. He couldn’t think that way; he had to break the case, no matter what.
Calleigh’s arrival interrupted his thoughts. “Did you page me?”
Eric looked up at her. “Yeah. I needed some information.”
“What case are you working?” she asked curiously. “Horatio mentioned that you wouldn’t be working any news ones for a little while.”
“I’m reopening an investigation from a couple of years ago. A cop was killed in his home.”
Calleigh frowned. “I remember that one. Speed and Horatio never did find much evidence.”
“Well, somebody wrote down here that there was a gun with the evidence, but there’s not gun here,” Eric explained.
“What do you mean it’s not there?” Calleigh demanded. “I remember test-firing the gun. It was a match to the bullets recovered from the victim.”
“It’s not here now. See for yourself,” he prompted. She leaned toward him, looking through the contents, and came to the same conclusion. “Which means,” he continued, once she agreed with him. “That somebody took it out of here, but didn’t bother making a note it.”
“Are you saying somebody stole it?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Calleigh was shocked. “Now, don’t go jumping to conclusions, Eric. It could’ve just fallen out or something.”
Eric stared at her. “You and I both know that didn’t happen. The gun was supposed to be here, and it isn’t. It can’t just fall out of the box and go missing, we’re more careful than that.”
“We have to tell Horatio when he gets back from court. Right now, we need to see if we can figure out who took it. More likely than not, it’s someone involved in the murder.”
***
Ryan, not for the first time in the few short days he’d known Eric, was lost in thought. Why, after he told himself he wasn’t going to, did he flirt with Eric? Why did he still want to try a relationship, even if he - well, both of them, really - knew it would only end badly? Why couldn’t he keep himself from falling in love with Eric?
Why couldn’t they have met sooner?
He told himself over and over again that he should just stick to the original plan - get Eric out of there as quickly as possible - but that wasn’t likely to happen. They’d both grown way too attached to each other. And, honestly, he enjoyed Eric’s company. After Eric had comforted him that night, he hadn’t pushed Ryan further to explain what happened during the case. They’d just sat on the couch and watched a little bit of TV, most of which consisted of making fun of that Spanish soap opera he’d annoyed Eric with that first night.
Through most of it, they’d been lying down, Eric holding Ryan tight against his chest, as though if he let go it would be the end of the world. And Ryan had been quite content to just lie there, despite his inner voices telling him it as a bad idea. For a short while, he’d been happy. But then, he’d felt Eric’s body shiver slightly, and it brought him crashing back to down reality. Just because he was solid and moving didn’t mean he was also alive. His cold, dead body was just a shell. He wasn’t even human.
And it hurt. It hurt so bad that he couldn’t stand to lie there with Eric anymore; he had to get up and walk around, get rid of the notion that he could be happy with someone who was alive when he wasn’t.
He’d never felt like that about anybody when he was alive. Sure, he’d been in relationships, but they never amounted to anything; half the time, he barely even liked the other person. But Eric… Ryan couldn’t even go ten minutes without thinking abut Eric. How had Eric gotten past his defenses so quickly? Why had Ryan let him?
Ryan buried his face him his hands, tears filling his eyes. He’d have to leave. He needed to save them both some heartache. He knew it would hurt Eric if he left now, not that it wouldn’t hurt Ryan, too, but it would hurt a lot less than if they got even closer before he left.
Resolve setting in, although he no idea if he even could leave, he stood purposefully, ready to walk right out the door.
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” a voice from behind Ryan warned, stopping him in his tracks.
Ryan turned slowly, unsure if he really wanted to know who was talking to him. The voice belonged to a young woman, probably slightly older than Ryan, who had long, curly dark hair and kind chocolate eyes. Something in her appearance struck him as familiar, but he brushed it off. “Who are you?”
“You shouldn’t leave,” she added, side-stepping the question altogether. “He needs you just as much as you need him.”
“What he needs is someone he can spend the rest of his life with, someone who he can show off to his friends and family. Someone who’s alive. And that’s not me.”
“He loves you and you love him. That’s all that matters. If you step out that door now, you’ll be gone.”
“Who are you?” he asked again. He didn’t want to think about what she was saying, or what she could possibly mean by ‘gone.’
“Let’s just say I’m a friend,” she finally answered, with a small, gentle smile. “To both of you. Please don’t leave.”
She disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared.
Part 12