Title: And In Comes the Sun
Author: Kacey
Rating: FRT or PG-13
Fandom: CSI: Miami/CSI: Crime Scene Investigation crossover
Pairing: sort of Eric/Ryan, implied Nick/Warrick (Tina never happened!), implied Nick/Warrick/Ryan, implied combinations of Nick/Warrick/Greg/Ryan, implied Horatio/Marisol
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just borrowing them for fun.
Warnings: Sequel to Now Comes the Fallout. Set after that story. And, I'm still not thrilled with this because it's still not a happy ending. It didn't end up where I was planning for it to either, so" there will be a third installment. I'm not sure if there are spoilers or not. Be prepared in case there are. I don't think there are, but you never know. Total AU, of course, do I write anything but? And, of course, totally made up the personal bits about their lives, just like I always do. Set four and a half years after Season Four.

***

---------------------------- Six Months Later (after the events in Now Comes the Fallout)

Horatio sighed and watched as Alexx, Calleigh and Eric left for the day. Ever since Ryan and Seattle, things had gone from bad to worse. Alexx was unhappy and it showed. Calleigh was terrified that Ryan would just disappear again. And, Eric, Eric had gone silent on them. He only spoke when he had to. Even his parents were worried about him. As was Marisol. If there was one thing he could never thank Ryan enough for, it was for saving Marisol's life. Even Eric had been shocked to find out that it was Ryan who had saved his sister. Thinking of his wife and two children, Horatio smiled slightly and then left as well. There was no point in brooding at work when he could go home and be with his family.

-----------------------------

The next day, they received a new case, one with ties to a triple homicide in Las Vegas. Wincing slightly at the thought that they might have to go to Vegas, Horatio wondered what would happen if they ran into Ryan there. Ryan had called and given both Alexx and Calleigh his phone number. However, they had quickly found out that anytime either one of them mentioned him coming to Miami or Eric that Ryan would hang up on them. Not something that Alexx ever appreciated. Unfortunately for her, it was time she learned that Ryan was an adult and could follow his own life path. The choices he made were his own. He was the one who had to live with them.

A week later, having gotten nowhere fast on their case, the brass ordered them to Las Vegas to get some information to help solve the case with. Walking slowly down the hallway to his team, Horatio dreaded telling them the news. It wouldn't make any of them happy, including Ryan once he found out. And find out he would. He was sure that Ryan's CSI friends would tell him. That was the least of his concerns at the moment. Right now, he had to worry about his own team.

-----------------------------

Ryan sat up straight in bed, body aching in desire, slick with sweat and chest heaving from trying to catch his breath. Another damn dream about Eric Delko. Every time he fell asleep, Eric Delko was all he dreamed about, ever since he had seen him again in Seattle. Blinking hard to keep himself from crying, Ryan crawled out of bed and made it to the shower. Stepping in, he turned the water as cold as he could stand it and stood under the spray until he had his body under control again. Quickly washing his hair and himself off, Ryan turned off the water and climbed out of the shower, grabbing a towel from the nearby rack.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked over to the sink and looked in the mirror. It was obvious to himself that he wasn't dealing well with this, so, of course, it was more than obvious to his friends. All three of them had tried to stay last night, but he hadn't let them. He'd not had sex with anyone since that night in Vegas six months ago. He just couldn't bring himself to. He wanted more than just sex. While he loved and cared for Nick, Warrick and Greg, he wanted something more. And, he reminded himself, I'm never going to have that. Eric Delko will never love me. And I guess that's just that. It's not like I won't survive without sex. I did it for most of the two years that I knew Eric Delko. I can do it for the rest of my life.

Shaking his head and forcing himself to focus, Ryan shaved and brushed his teeth, glancing at the clock in his bedroom. He now only had thirty minutes to meet his friends for breakfast. Drying himself off, he grabbed some clothes and put them on, not really caring what he looked like at the moment. His friends already knew what was wrong, so when he showed up pale, haggard and even thinner than before, they wouldn't really be that surprised. Although, they would all mother hen him.

Grabbing up his wallet, keys and phone on the way out the door, he hastily locked up and walked out to his car. Climbing in, he started it up and drove away.

-------------------------------

The entire table, Nick, Warrick, Greg, Gil, Jim, Sofia, Catherine, Sara, David and Archie, watched in concern as Ryan managed to work his way through the crowd in the restaurant. Rolling his eyes at the looks on their faces, Ryan dropped down in the open seat between Warrick and Greg, after Greg stood up to let him in the booth, and ordered, "Stop looking at me like that."

"Put on some weight, baby, and we won't have to," Warrick countered, placing his arm around Ryan and pulling him against his side. "That shirt used to at least show off your muscles. Now, it practically hangs off of you."

"I'm trying," he whispered, burrowing into Warrick's side, "but it's not as easy to gain weight back as it is to lose it."

"I wish I had that problem," Catherine quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Me, too," Sara chimed in, smiling at the relieved look Ryan shot their way. "But don't worry, Warrick ordered for you. I'm sure you'll gain something back with the massive amounts of food he got you."

Ryan laughed and teased, "Good thing Greg's sitting beside me then. He'll eat what I don't."

"I expect you to eat the majority of what's on your plate, baby," Warrick warned.

"I'll try, Daddy."

Nick busted up at that. Warrick shot the two of them an irritated look, but a smile was tugging at his lips. Finally, he sighed heavily and joined in on the laughter. Their food came a few minutes later, and they dug in. About an hour later, everyone was ready to leave. Ryan told Catherine he'd make sure to take Lindsey to that exhibit she wanted to see and Nick he'd see them later that night and left. Turning to Warrick, Nick stated more than asked, "You didn't tell him, did you, love?"

"No, I didn't have the heart. He wouldn't show up until they were gone. And since we don't know how long that's going to be, I want him there," Warrick explained. "Besides, they get here right at the beginning of our shift. That gives me plenty of time to have a talk with Delko."

"You'll behave yourself, Warrick?" Gil asked in amusement.

"I'm not going to hurt him, if that's what you're asking," Warrick replied. "Just tell him a few things. I'd like to see my best friend happy, even if I have to manipulate that into happening."

"He's not going to be happy with you," Greg cautioned. "You've never lied by omission to him before, Rick."

"He needs definite closure," Warrick passionately argued. "He keeps running away, just like when he was younger. Happiness is what you make it, Greg. He's too insecure to ever be happy with anyone but Delko. Otherwise, trust me, it would be you that he was with, Greg. I would have made sure of that."

"And what if I didn't want him?" Greg mocked.

"Yeah, right," Nick laughed. "You couldn't be more obvious if you tried."

"What can I say?" Greg shrugged. "Ryan's hot. I'd grab him up in a heartbeat if he was available" Anyway, I need a nap. I'll see y'all later."

A chorus of goodbyes ensued. Everyone left within fifteen minutes, Warrick and Nick the last to leave. Draining the last of his milk, Warrick turned to Nick and asked, "Am I doing the right thing, Nick?"

"I think you are," Nick reassured him. "Ryan really needs to deal with this. I think this will be the last opportunity we have to make him. Those two aren't going to keep being thrown together forever. If it doesn't work, however, you're going to have to be there to pick up the pieces, Warrick. For a very long time. If Delko breaks his heart, Ryan will fall apart even more than he already has. Just be prepared."

Nodding his head in agreement, Warrick whispered, "I know. That's what I'm afraid of," as they left.

--------------------------------

Warrick stood in the lobby, Catherine at his side and shooting amused glances his way, waiting for the team from Miami to show up. When the door opened and four familiar figures strode in, he straightened up, unconsciously sending out threatening vibes the moment he saw Eric Delko. Looking the man up and down, he still couldn't see what had made Ryan fall so fast and so hard for him. So the man was hot, he had never treated Ryan very well. Maybe Ryan was a masochist. Shaking himself mentally, Warrick reminded himself that this was about Ryan and not how much he wanted to kill the man in front of him for hurting his friend.

Catherine greeted them all politely and led the way back to the conference room, where everyone else was waiting for them. Giving them their files to look over, an hour later, after a question and answer session, Gil assigned everyone someone to take to the different crime scenes. Warrick stood up and grabbed Delko's elbow before he could go anywhere. Smiling grimly, Nick took his other elbow and said, "You're with us, Delko."

Eric simply looked between the two of them and raised his brow in question. He waved off Horatio when he moved to interrupt. Letting the two men drag him out of the room and out of the lab, he simply waited for one of them to tell him what they wanted. Nick climbed into the driver's seat of the lab's vehicle, while Warrick got in the front passenger seat. Shrugging to himself, Eric settled himself in the backseat. They made it to the scene in about fifteen minutes.

Opening the door, Eric went to get out of the vehicle when Warrick cleared his throat. Turning around, he sighed and quietly asked, "What do the two of you want?"

"I just want to say some things to you," Warrick stated. "I don't know exactly what went down in Miami, Delko, Ryan wouldn't tell me the whole story. All I know is that you nearly killed him. He is so in love with you, it's not funny. I know you want him. What I want to know is if you love him or ever could?"

"Why?"

"I'd like to see him happy," Warrick fiercely whispered. "He's never been happy. He deserves to be happy, for once in his life. I think you could make him happy."

Shaking his head in denial, Eric remarked, "Yes, I am in love with him. It took me three years to figure that out. However, I can't leave Miami. My family's there. I need them, and they need me. Ryan's already said he won't come back. I'm not going to set myself up for heartbreak when he stays here. So, yeah, I want him, and I'm in love with him, but I'm not going to do anything about it. And neither are you. Besides, too much has happened. I don't think either one of us would ever be able to fully trust each other."

"That's final?" Warrick inquired, wanting to beat Eric over the head with something, preferably a baseball bat.

"That's final," Eric affirmed.

"Fair enough," Nick said. "Then here's the deal, Delko. We haven't told Ryan that you guys were coming to Vegas. So, we expect the four of you to stay away from him. He'll be bringing us supper in about three hours. Take your teammates and leave the building or hide in the very back. If you won't give him what he wants, you'll give us what we want and stay the fuck away from him, all of you. Ryan's too fragile at the moment to survive a run in with any of you."

"I can do that," Eric promised.

"Good," Warrick said. "Now let's check out this scene."

They all got out of the vehicle and started a walk-through of the scene.

-----------------------------------

Arriving back at the lab two hours and forty-five minutes later, Eric hurried to go find his teammates and get them away from the front of the lab where Ryan would see them. Gathering them up, he exited the building pushing them along in front of him and down the alley to the small diner Nick and Warrick had told him was there. As soon as they were seated, Alexx turned to him and asked in amusement, "Was there a fire we didn't know about, Eric?"

Smiling at her, he replied, "No, but Brown and Stokes told me that they didn't tell Ryan we were here, and they'd prefer that he not see us. I'm just doing as they asked."

Nodding her head in understanding, Alexx wistfully said, "It'd be nice to see him, though."

"It most certainly would," Calleigh added.

Thirty minutes later, they made their way back to the lab, and, lo and behold, they saw Ryan as Warrick was walking him to the exit. He was smiling at whatever it was Warrick was telling him, but that didn't detract from the fact that he looked horrible. Alexx shook her head in disapproval. Ryan had lost weight, his clothes were hanging on him, he was so very pale and his eyes had dark circles under them. The four of them raised a collective brow in concern. Even when things had been bad in Miami, Ryan had never looked like this. They could all see why Warrick and Nick were trying to protect him.

Alexx glanced over and caught the look of longing on Eric's face and in his eyes. However, she already knew that he wasn't going to do anything. She knew without being told that Nick and Warrick had spoken with him about Ryan, and he had given them an answer. If he was hiding them from Ryan, then he had told them that he wasn't going to pursue Ryan. Shaking her head at the stupidity of men in general, she turned her attention back to Ryan and watched as he climbed in his car and drove away.

Warrick walked back in, shaking his head at Ryan's snarky comments. He was definitely hanging out with David too much. Raising his brow in surprise at seeing the Miami group standing in the hallway, he went to walk around them when Alexx stopped him by lightly grabbing his wrist.

She grimly smiled at him and softly requested, "Walk with me, Warrick."

Shooting her a curious look, he warily replied, "Okay."

She tucked her arm in his elbow and took off, dragging him with her. When she made it to Gil's office, she shut and locked the door behind them, not caring that Gil was sitting at his desk, working on some overdue paperwork. He turned a quizzical expression on Warrick, who just shrugged his shoulders.

Leaning against the door, she ordered, "Tell me what the two of you talked about with Eric."

Shaking his head in amusement, Warrick summed up their conversation. "I asked him if he loved or could love Ryan. He said he did, but because he can't leave Miami, he wasn't going to do anything. Then, Nick told him to stay away from Ryan, all of you."

"That stupid, stupid boy," Alexx whispered.

Pulling out her cell phone, she opened it and dialed a familiar number. Catching the questioning look on Warrick's face, she answered, "I'm doing something I should have done a year and a half ago, when Eric finally figured out that he was in love with Ryan."

"Clorinda?" No, everything's fine, well, no one's been hurt, anyway" I have a favor to ask of you" Yes, it involves Eric" And Ryan" Could you come to Vegas?" To smack some sense into your only son" Yes" He told them he wasn't going to do anything about it because he can't leave Miami" My sentiments exactly" See you tomorrow then."

"Delko's mother is coming to Vegas?"

"Oh, yes," Alexx smugly said. "Maybe he'll listen to her. He won't listen to any of us any more."

-------------------------------

The next day, Eric was working in Trace with David, amused expression on his face as he listened to him rant and rave about his CSIs and their lack of manners. They both glanced up at the knock on the window. Eric groaned in dismay at seeing his mother standing shoulder to shoulder with Alexx, determined expressions on both of their faces. David looked from Eric to the two women and back again before he cattily said, "I do believe they're waiting on you, Delko. Get out of my lab before they decide to invite themselves in. I don't do nice, even if it is someone's mother."

Shaking his head in amusement at David's words, Eric slowly made his way out of Trace, mentally praying that a hole would magically appear before him and keep him from this, certain to be interesting but unwanted, conversation with his mother. Sighing heavily in resignation, Eric opened the door and smiled warily. "Hello, Momma. What are you doing in Las Vegas?"

"I'm here to talk to you, not with you. I will talk. You will listen. You will not interrupt. Is that clear, young man?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Now let's go somewhere with more privacy," Clorinda ordered, holding her arm out for her son to take.

"Dr. Grissom has kindly volunteered to let you use his office, Clorinda," Alexx said, smile on her face.

Suppressing another sigh, Eric took his mother's arm and escorted her down the hallway. Gil's door was open, and he was sitting at his desk. He glanced up when they stopped right outside the door. "Ah, you must be Mrs. Delko. I'll just leave the two of you alone, now. Oh, and you might not want to touch anything."

"Thank you, Dr. Grissom."

"Not a problem," Gil said, walking off down the hallway to find something to do for a while.

Dragging her son into the office behind her, Clorinda shoved him down into the nearest chair and swiftly shut the door. Turning to face him, she weakened just a little at seeing the unhappiness on her son's face and in his eyes. She didn't want her son living thousands of miles away from her, but she did want him to be happy. Only Ryan Wolfe could make that happen now. None of the relationships that Eric had attempted had worked out since he had left Miami. Shaking herself mentally, she calmly repeated the words she'd been constantly repeating to herself ever since Alexx had called her yesterday.

"Eric. Baby, I know you want to stay close to home. I know you feel like you have to take care of your sisters and me. But, baby, we don't need you to take care of us. We have our own lives, our own loves. You took great care of Marisol when she needed you, but she doesn't need you now." Holding up her hand to cut off her son's protests, she continued, "We all love you. You're a great brother, uncle and son. You're my baby. However, you aren't happy. The only one who can make you happy is here, in this city, at this very moment. He is so very much in love with you. Why would you throw that away? So you can stay in Miami and be unhappy for the rest of your life? Eric, all we want is for you to be happy. All of us. If he can make you happy, why won't you go to him? Why would you make it so that both of you are miserable? Much as we love having you around, your happiness is more important than the fact that you make us happy. I know you don't want to leave us or Miami. Miami is your home. Ryan Wolfe is your last chance at happiness, baby. Grab that chance and run with it."

"It's too late, Momma," Eric replied, voice rough with suppressed emotions. "There's too much between us. It's too little and much too late."

"You'll never know until you try," Clorinda quietly interjected.

"If he says no, I" I don't know if I can live with that."

Shaking her head, she emphatically stated, "Eric, just go to him. That's all he's ever wanted from you. That and your love. If you can make him listen to and believe you, you'll have all you've ever wanted. Just remember, Eric, we want you around, we love you very much, but we don't need you. Not like Ryan does. Nor do we love you as much as he does. Think on that, my son. I'll be staying with Alexx if you need to talk."

Walking over to her brooding son, Clorinda kissed him on the forehead and left. Eric simply sat there for several minutes, thinking over what his mother had said. Deciding that she was right, he got up from the chair and stalked down the hallways, looking for Warrick Brown. One way or the other, he needed to know.

Finding him a few minutes later in the break room, Eric walked up to him and simply said, "I need to know. Give me his address."

Warrick, who'd been leaning back in his chair talking with Nick and Greg, turned a speculative expression on Eric. Apparently deciding that Eric was sincere, he slowly sat the chair on the floor. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys. Handing them to Eric, he offered, "His address is 1625 Kensington Lane. The alarm code is 123178. The house key is the bronze key. He'll be asleep by now. It's the last door on the second floor. I'll call you a cab" Don't fuck this up, Delko. I'd hate to have to kill you."

"I'm going to try not to."

"Good. Go wait outside. Your cab should be here soon. And, don't worry, we'll take care of your boss."

"Thanks."

"Just make him happy."

"I'll try," Eric whispered as he left.

--------------------------

Forty-five minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of Ryan's house. Climbing out of the cab and paying the driver, Eric walked up the front sidewalk and unlocked the door. Quickly stepping inside, he quietly shut the door and entered the alarm code. Striding across the floor, he went up the stairs and down the hallway to the last door. Taking a deep breath, he noiselessly opened the door, shutting it behind himself.

Turning his attention to the bed, Eric saw Ryan sprawled out on his back, no shirt on, covered up to his abdomen by one of the sheets on the bed. He looked no better than he had the day before, still exhausted and thin. Not sure what to do next, Eric paced the length of the bed for a few minutes trying to decide what to say to make Ryan believe him. That decision was taken from him when Ryan stirred and then woke up. He simply stared at Eric for several minutes, covering himself up with the sheet, before he sighed heavily and stated more than asked, "Warrick let you in, huh?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Great," Ryan said. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk with you," Eric replied.

A confused expression on his face, Ryan asked, "About what?"

"A few" misconceptions" you seem to have."

"Which would be what?" Ryan suspiciously inquired.

"Probably everything."

"Everything?"

"Ryan --" Eric began.

"Delko, only my friends have the right to call me Ryan. Now, what do you want?" Ryan harshly demanded.

Trying to stop himself from growling in frustration, Eric took a step forward and was both dismayed and gratified to see Ryan scramble backwards away from him on the bed. Taking another step forward, Eric sat down on the edge of the bed, as Ryan moved to the very edge of the other side, making sure to take the sheet with him.

"You know what? I don't really care what you have to say to me," Ryan fiercely said. "You said everything you needed to say in Miami. Now get out of my house."

Shaking his head in denial, Eric responded, "No, I didn't."

"So, what? Now you're here to tell me all the other things I did wrong while there? Don't worry, Delko, the biggest mistake I ever made was accepting Lieutenant Caine's offer. The minute I stepped into that job no one in that lab welcomed me. All they wanted was their precious Speed back. I'm sorry they couldn't get that. I wish he had lived, then I wouldn't have gone through the hell all of you put me through. But, I can't change the past, Delko. I've moved on enough to be able to have a life, sad as it may be. Just leave me alone. That's all I want from you. Why can't you give me that?" Ryan whispered hoarsely, averting his eyes so that Eric couldn't see him fighting back his tears.

"Because I just can't. There's something I've needed to tell you for almost a year and a half. And I promised my mother."

"Fine, hurry the fuck up and leave then. I have to meet them for breakfast. I need to sleep."

Eric suppressed his sigh of frustration when he saw that Ryan was keeping his eyes glued to the sheet in front of him. Opening his mouth to speak, he found that he couldn't. Well, he never had been that great with words, action always what he was better at. Shifting until he was right next to Ryan, he touched him lightly on the arm, trying not to laugh when Ryan's head snapped up. He looked down into Ryan's dark, startled eyes and made the split second decision to show instead of tell.

Leaning down, he kissed Ryan. Not the harsh, possessive kiss he wanted, but slowly, gently and very carefully. He didn't want to scare him so soon. Ryan gasped in surprise, allowing Eric to use his tongue to explore. Eric waited until Ryan mostly relaxed and then pulled him over onto his lap, without breaking the kiss. Feeling Ryan stiffen up, he placed one hand on his neck and wrapped his free arm around Ryan's waist, pinning him in place. Tightening his grasp, he pulled Ryan closer to him and deepened the kiss further, allowing his instincts to take over. Both his hands and his tongue became possessive, claiming territory he'd never touched before, but, looking back, he had always wanted to. That was why they'd had so many problems. He hadn't understood his own emotions, and Ryan had hidden his away.

Realizing both of them needed to breathe, Eric reluctantly broke the kiss off, turning his attention to Ryan's neck. Nuzzling into his throat, Eric wasn't really that surprised when Ryan all of a sudden jerked back and started halfheartedly fighting him.

"No, no, no, no, no," he desperately pleaded. "You can't do this to me. Not now. Not when I've finally found a place to be happy. You can't do this to me. You can't."

Lifting his head, Eric asked, "Why not?"

"I can't do this, Eric," Ryan implored. "I'm not going to let you do this to me. You'll go back to Miami, and I'll be here. You'll leave me here with nothing. No. Just go, Eric. Just go. Please."

"I can't do that," Eric firmly explained, tightening his hold further to hold Ryan still. "Like, I said, I have to talk with you." Raising his hand on Ryan's neck to his mouth, he placed a finger on Ryan's lips when he went to speak. "Just listen" I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time, and it took me a long time to figure that out. Three years after you left to be exact. I need you. I can't be happy with anyone except you. If that means I have to move to Las Vegas in order to be with you, well, then I guess I'll be moving soon. I need you, Ryan. You. Not anyone else. And believe me, I tried. No one else could live up to you."

Shaking his head in denial, Ryan viciously spat out, "No. I don't believe you. You can't be telling me the truth. I'm not blind, Eric. I know you want me, even Warrick mentioned it to me. I can't let you do this to me. And, yeah, I may be stupid enough to be in love with someone who doesn't love me in return, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be stupid enough to fall for your lies. If you want to fuck me, go ahead. I won't stop you. Just don't ever come near me again."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Eric let go of him and got off of the bed. Looking down into Ryan's face and seeing the fear in his eyes, he leaned down and gently kissed him one more time. "You're wrong, Ryan. And, I'm going to prove it to you."

With that, Eric left, already making plans to transfer to Vegas and prove he meant what he had said to Ryan.

***

Next story in series - Happiness Is What You Make of It.