Fic: Kept in The Dark, Chapter 1 (CSI Miami, Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko)
Title: Kept in The Dark, Chapter 1
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Makes the World Turn
“Okay, we`re here. What do you have?” Calleigh walked into the break room with
Eric in tow. “Was it homicide?”
“I haven’t done the post yet.” Alexx answered from the couch. “I have it scheduled
for the afternoon.”
“Then why did you wanna see us?” Eric was about to pour himself some coffee
when his eye came fixed on an item on the floor, next to Alexx`s feet. “And is that
Wolf’s back bag?”
“Yes. He asked me to get his things from his locker. And to tell you two some news.”
“What news?” Calleigh asked. “When is he coming back?”
“He’s not coming back.”
“What do you mean? He’s been away for three weeks!” Eric exclaimed.
“Calm down. It this about the nail gun incident?” Calleigh asked.
Alexx paused for a moment. “Partly.”
“Partly? What the hell does that mean?” Eric was pacing around the room.
“I cant tell you. If Ryan wants to tell you he’ll tell you, but right now he doesn’t
want to come here. I promised not to talk about it, and I’m not going to.”
“You can’t just say he’s gone and leave. The nail gun thing was over a month
ago and he was fine after that! He came back to work and he was fine.”
“You listen carefully. I would tell you if I could. Ryan wants to be left alone for
now so do as he wants. I need to get back to work.” Alexx got off the couch and
grabbed the back bag. “Remember what I said.”
She walked out and run into Valera who was on her way in.
“What’s going on here?” Valera asked after the ME had left.
“Ryan’s not coming back.” Calleigh explained.
“Yeah, I just heard.”
“You just heard? Where?”
“From Kimmy.”
“Kimmy?”
“From the administration. She handled his papers. But it’s so weird.”
“It is!” Eric complained.
“I meant the way they handled it. Kimmy just told me about the decision. He’s
not being transferred or fired. The county granted him a disability pension.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Kimmy didn’t know any more than that, but I think it’s about his eye and
that nail thing.
“That’s what Alexx said. Whatever it is he could he have come here to tell us.”
“But he didn’t want to. End of story. We all have work to do so let’s focus on that,
okay?” Calleigh said calmly. She swallowed the last of her coffee and left.
-------------------------------------------------
“Open up, I know you’re in there.” Eric pounded the door. Ryan’s car had been on
it’s usual spot, so he had to be home. Finally Ryan opened the door, and Eric took
a good look at him.
“You look pretty healthy for a man who cant even come to work.” He pushed past
Ryan into the apartment.
“Delko, if you have something you wanna say, say it and leave. I don’t have time
or interest for this.” Ryan marched to the kitchen and started shoveling coffee
grinds to the coffee maker.
“I don’t want coffee.”
“And I didn’t offer you coffee. Get to the point and get out.” Ryan snapped the
coffee maker.
“Well, you could at least offer.” Eric didn’t know what to say and started fiddling
with the cord of the blinds. “Why did you send Alexx?”
“She was going there anyway, and I didn’t want to drive.”
“Is this about the nail thing? Are you trying to torture me with guilt? You’re late,
I already did that a while ago.”
“I just didn’t want to go there, is that really so hard to understand? I wanted to
leave without a fuss.”
“Yeah, I get that, but you didn’t even tell any of us. We worked together for over
a year, it can’t be that hard.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll find someone else you can drive up the wall. And stop that!”
“Stop what?”
“Just leave the blinds alone! Put them in the same position they were when
you came in. I adjusted them to fit the light.” Ryan poured himself some coffee
from the half full pot and headed to the living room.
Eric gave the strings one last tug and followed him. The living room was pretty
much like he remembered it. He had been there just once, when he brought
Ryan back from the hospital. Everything was just as clean and well organized
as they were before, but on thing had changed. Stuffed chairs and the coffee
table had been moved next to the wall, leaving the center of the room completely
empty.
“Are you renovating or something?”
“Or something. Did you have anything more to say, because I’ve had a pretty
long day. I wanna go to bed.”
“Too bad. Are you trying to avoid us or are you hiding something?”
“Why would I be hiding something?”
“I don’t know, why would you send Alexx to tell us you’re leaving?”
“I had no reason to go there myself. Leave it.”
“You waited for ages for an opening, and then you leave like that? I don’t buy it.”
“Yeah, I waited for a long time, and you spend a long time reminding me how I
got the job.”
“Don’t start that again-”
“I do start again. I have no obligations to tell you anything.”
Eric tried to suppress the urge to start yelling. “It took time but we’ve been
better, right?”
“Drop it. It doesn’t matter. You know I’m leaving, and that’s all you need to know.
You also know where the door is.” Ryan grabbed his empty mug and went back to
the kitchen.
Eric was about to follow him, when he heard it. A crash of glass breaking, followed
by a loud thump.
TBC