Title: In the Dark
Author: Kacey
Rating: FRT or PG-13
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just borrowing them for fun.
For: Paigesipowicz1 and her challenge on CSI_Miami_slash. Had to include power outages and being stuck in someone's house. And, seriously, don't ask me where this came from. It so didn't end up where I had planned for it to.
Warnings: 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. Set in the immediate future after Driven, so, I'm sure, completely AU after that. Oh, and, once again, I'm totally making things up about Ryan's past, (and everyone else's) as we know pretty much nothing about him.

***

Eric was making his way through the parking lot to his vehicle when he spotted Ryan slumped over his steering wheel in his own vehicle. He'd heard bits and pieces about what had happened at the chop shop, but he wasn't clear on what had actually happened. Deciding to stop and see if he was okay, Eric walked over and knocked on the window. Ryan's head snapped up and over. Raising his brow in question, he rolled the window down and asked, "Did you need something, Delko?"

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. I just needed some time to relax before I went home," Ryan replied, not meeting Eric's eyes. Not that it helped any. Eric could still tell that he'd been crying earlier.

Sighing heavily, knowing he couldn't leave his friend, because, yes, they were friends now, like this, Eric opened the door and ordered, "Out. You're coming with me."

While Ryan stared at him in complete bewilderment, Eric rolled the window back up, took Ryan's keys from him, pulled him out of the car and locked it. Taking him by the wrist, he dragged Ryan behind him to his SUV. Opening the passenger door, he manhandled a quiet and shellshocked Ryan into the seat, shutting the door once he'd gotten him in. Walking around, he climbed in the driver's seat, started the car and drove off. Neither one of them noticed Horatio watching from his own vehicle.

"Eric, what are you doing?" Ryan asked several minutes later, having finally found his voice.

"Taking you out to get a drink," he replied, "where you're going to tell me what happened today."

"I don't think...Not to offend you or anything...I don't want to talk about it," Ryan quietly said.

"Mhmm. Too bad. You're going to because if you won't talk now, I'll get you drunk enough to make you talk to me."

Ryan laughed lightly at him and remarked, "Just to warn you now, Eric, I don't drink a lot."

"I already knew that, Ryan."

Shaking his head in amusement, Ryan relaxed back into the passenger seat and decided to just follow Eric's lead. It's not like Eric was going to just leave him wherever they were going. They were friends now, maybe not the best of friends, but friends nonetheless. Besides, a drink sounded really good right about now.

Pulling into the bar he and Calleigh frequented when they went out together, Eric parked and turned to Ryan. "Do you want to go somewhere else or is this okay?"

"This is fine," Ryan shrugged. "Calleigh brought me here not too long ago. It seemed okay."

"Great," Eric said, killing the engine.

They sat down in the back corner booth and each ordered a beer. Eric nursed his drink and encouraged Ryan to drink more. Within an hour, Ryan on his second beer, Alexx, Calleigh and Horatio joined them, pinning Ryan in the back of the booth, squeezing him in next to Eric, which they could all tell made him extremely uncomfortable, but they ignored that. They wanted him relaxed so he'd talk to them. He hardly ever shared personal information, the one thing more than any other that Alexx really wanted to change. She wanted to know more about him, and so did the rest of the team.

An hour and three beers later, Ryan was well on his way to drunk, and his tongue was loosened enough to satisfy Alexx. Deciding to find out some things about her boy, she asked, "Honey, what happened today? I've heard all sorts of things. Why don't you tell me what was going through your mind?"

"I have no idea, Alexx. I just looked up and completely froze. I'm still not sure why."

"Think about it. You'll eventually figure it out. Now, why don't you tell my some things about yourself," she ordered.

Ryan went still and turned to face her, speculative look on his face. "Like what?" he suspiciously asked.

"Anything. Ryan, we don't know much about you. Why don't you share?"

"Okay. I was raised in New York by my grandparents. I went to Boston College for my all of my bachelors' and then went to Florida State for my masters'. After college, I attended the Academy and, lo and behold, here I am. Is that good enough?"

Shooting him an amused look, Alexx said, "No. A little more detail would be nice."

"Of course, you want detail," Ryan groaned. "All of you want detail. Why can't you just be happy with what you do know? Why do I have to share? I mean, why don't you share? I really don't know much about any of you."

"All right. How about this? You can ask all of us three questions, and we'll do the same with you," Alexx stated. "The only thing is you have to answer the questions asked, even if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Fine," Ryan said. "I'm going to need more alcohol for this. However, no more asking me about my life after this. Not to be rude, but it's none of your business unless I choose to share."

"Sure. Why don't you start?"

Rolling his eyes at her, Ryan sighed. Turning to Calleigh, he asked, "Okay. First, what's the deal with you and guns? Second, where would you be if you weren't in Miami? And third, what's the one thing you've never done that you really want to?"

"Quite a list there. You've been thinking about this, haven't you? Well, I've always been fascinated by guns. My father taught me to shoot when I was young. Ever since then, I've just always been drawn to them. I can't really explain it better than that. If I weren't in Miami, I'd most definitely be back in New Orleans. I love that city, even more than Miami. The one thing I'd really like to do is have a child. I just haven't found the right guy yet."

Shaking his head in acknowledgement, his four teammates watched as he digested what he'd just learned about Calleigh. Smiling wickedly, Calleigh stated, "I hope you're ready to answer my questions, my friend. What's your relationship with that reporter? How many relatives do you have? And, what's the one thing you'd like to change in your past if you could?"

Smiling at her, he replied, "I should have known one of you would ask about Erica. I just figured it would be Alexx. We dated all throughout college and then got married. A year ago, we got a divorce. Relatives. As far as I know, I only have one living relative, my uncle. My parents have been dead for over twenty-five years, my grandparents for five. I never had any siblings. The one thing I'd like to change is ever meeting Erica. She was the biggest mistake I've made to date. I can't believe I ever married her."

"You were married, honey?"

"Unfortunately. I don't remember much about the wedding. We were in Vegas and woke up married to each other. Not the highlight of my life, let me tell you."

Looking over at Horatio, Ryan quickly asked, "So, H, why the Crime Lab? You were a pretty good Homicide and Vice detective from what I've read. Why do you continuously call me Mr. Wolfe? And, what's the one case that got away that bothers you the most?"

Smiling at Ryan, Horatio quietly answered, "I got tired of not knowing why some of the evidence was thrown out for whatever reason. Then I got tired of Vice and going undercover. After that, the Crime Lab made sense. Then the Bomb Squad wasn't what I was looking for either. So, I went back to the Crime Lab. It's been the best place for me. I call you Mr. Wolfe because you seem uncomfortable when I call you Ryan. Actually, every case that we don't get the conviction in bothers me, but the Resdin case from New York. If we had caught him then, more people would be alive today."

"Now, what can I ask you? Oh, yes, why did you become a cop? I've seen your file, you had a great shot at medical school. You were accepted at Johns Hopkins. Why didn't you take the promotion you were offered before I asked you to join our team? And, how is your eye, really?"

Ryan shot him a look and smiled tightly. "The cop thing. I still don't know. I just knew that I was tired of school and really didn't want to take another four years of classes. My roommate was going into law enforcement, I just kind of tagged along. The promotion. I didn't take it because I didn't want to work Vice. No offense, but I didn't really want to go undercover for the next three years. I wouldn't have lasted long. My eye...my doctor said that for right now she wants me to take the antibiotics, and we'll go from there."

"And you'll let us know after your next appointment, right?" Alexx seriously inquired.

"Yes, Mom," Ryan sighed out. "Speaking of you, what should I ask you?...Hmm, what's it like having children? Why do you treat me like I'm your child, always calling me by terms of endearment, take such an interest in my life?...Why forensic pathology?"

"Children. They're...It's the most intimate thing you can do. Have a child and watch them grow, try to teach them, help them learn how to cope with life. Just, it's the most amazing thing in life to see something that you helped create grow up and become their own person. I'm not sure how else to explain it, Ryan," she answered. "You are my child, honey, even if you weren't born of my body. You need a family, somewhere to belong. If you'd open up, you'd see that we're trying to give you that. I started out in the morgue after med school, not what I wanted. But the job grew on me. I quickly learned that most of the people that ended up on my table didn't have anyone to care for them like they should have been. So, I decided that I would. I eventually ended up here in Miami. The rest as they say is history."

"Now, Ryan. What three things do I most want to know about you?" she thoughtfully asked herself out loud. "Well, first and foremost, young man, who is that redhead I often see you out and about with? Second, how in the hell can you afford your house on a CSI Level I's salary? Third, what's your absolute favorite thing to do on a day off?"

"We get days off?" Ryan asked sarcastically, causing Calleigh and Eric to snicker. "The redhead is my best friend and roommate from college, Storm Lopez. She's currently a Detective working Narcotics. The house was my grandparent's. I inherited it when they died. My favorite thing to do is sleep in. I am so not a morning person. I hate being up early."

The other four laughed at that. They had all noticed that Ryan wasn't his best in the morning. He turned to Eric and quickly inquired, "What's it like having siblings? How hard was it to cope with having parents from different cultures? And how many damn languages do you know? You drive me crazy when you respond to me when I'm talking to myself."

Eric laughed, "It's interesting. I'm the youngest and have three older sisters. I'm not sure how to explain, but it's great, knowing there's someone out there who's grown up with you and knows you, usually better than you know yourself. The different cultures were harder to deal with when I was younger. My father wasn't around much when we were children, so we spent all of our time with our mother. However, we did learn all about his family and culture, including the language. Russian was a bitch to learn --"

"Tell me about it," Ryan interrupted.

"Anyway, it was difficult, but you live with it," Eric shrugged. "And I know five languages. Just out of curiosity, this isn't one of the questions I want to ask you, how many languages do you know?"

"Twelve."

"Which ones?"

"English, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Romanian, Japanese, International and American Sign Language, which I count as one, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and Portuguese," he rattled off. "And I'm learning several more."

"Why?" Calleigh asked in disbelief.

"Why not?"

"Okay. My turn. What's up with your aversion to touch? Why do you volunteer in my neighborhood children's center? Don't bother denying it," Eric ordered when Ryan opened his mouth to protest. "I've seen you there. And, if you don't like that reporter, why in the hell do you still speak with her?"

Ryan sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Why don't you just ask me to shoot myself, Eric? That would be easier...Touch. I don't have an aversion to touch. I just don't like it when people randomly touch me. I can't explain it any better than that. I have to be able to see that someone's going to touch me, or it completely freaks me out. The children's center. When I moved down here, my grandparents were still alive. They had hired someone to take care of the house and the estate it occupies. They made me promise to keep them employed if anything happened to them. Maria and Juan Carlos live in your neighborhood. Their children are at that center all the time. They've pretty much adopted me as their older brother. I can't really say no to them, it hurts their feelings, so I spend a lot of time there. And, Erica. Erica is complicated. I try to stay away from her as much as possible, but she doesn't take no for an answer very often. I've found that it's a lot easier to give her what she wants, or pieces of what she wants, to get her to back off. Other than that, I don't have any contact with her if I can help it."

Leaning back, Ryan drained his drink and plaintively asked, "Now that you all know things about me I rather wish you didn't, can I go home? It's been a long day, and I'm frankly exhausted."

"Sure, honey," Alexx agreed. "Just tell me you're not driving."

"No. I was going to call a cab," Ryan stated, shooting an amused look at Eric. "Especially since someone has my keys and basically kidnapped me from my car."

"You looked like you needed to relax," Eric shrugged. "Don't bother with the cab. I'll take you home. You will, however, have to take a cab to work in the morning."

"Actually, Ryan has tomorrow off," Horatio commented. "And we should probably go home now, for those of us who do have to work."

Everyone said goodbye and walked out to their cars. Eric kept an eye on Ryan, as he had had quite a few drinks and had also mentioned that he hadn't eaten all day as well. Ryan made it out to Eric's car fine, but fell asleep on the way to his house. When Eric pulled into the driveway of the address Ryan had given to him, he raised his brow in surprise. Ryan lived in an expensive neighborhood, and he could see why Alexx had wondered how he could afford this house.

Reaching over, he shook Ryan awake and then got out and helped him out of the car and up to his door. He handed Ryan his keys and waited patiently while he unlocked and opened his door. Ryan stumbled in, Eric following in his wake. He noticed that there was absolutely no light whatsoever in the house, except what the moon provided.

"Ryan, there's no light."

"Probably a power outage," Ryan muttered, throwing himself facedown on his couch.

"Up, up," Eric ordered, pulling Ryan up off of the couch. "I can't leave you here. You can crash at my place."

"Why? This happens all the time, Eric. It's no big deal. The power will be back on shortly."

"Fine," Eric said. "I'll just stay here and make sure."

Ryan laughed and replied, "Do whatever you want. Let me show you to the guest room. I'm going to bed."

Eric followed Ryan down the hall very closely due to the little light. He bumped into Ryan when he stopped. "Here it is."

Opening the door, he walked in and over to something Eric couldn't see. He heard something that sounded like a drawer opening and then a flashlight came on. Ryan handed it to Eric and said on his way out, "There's some clothes in the dresser. Some of them might even fit you. There's a battery operated alarm clock and extra batteries in the bedside table, top drawer. If you need anything, my room is right across the hall. Bathroom's on the right. Good night."

Shutting the door, Eric set the alarm clock, after putting batteries in it, and stripped down to his boxers. He slipped into the bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

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

Sitting straight up in bed when he heard a moan of distress, Eric looked over at the clock. He then reached over to the table for the flashlight. Turning it on, he noticed that it was two thirty. Hearing Ryan groan again, he got up and opened his door. Stepping across the hallway, he knocked on Ryan's door and asked, "Ryan, are you okay?"

Waiting a couple of minutes and not receiving an answer, he warned, "Ryan, I'm going to open the door."

When Eric opened the door, he could hear Ryan thrashing about in bed and the whimpers of distress he was making. Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge and reached over to shake Ryan awake. He was clammy and cold and muttering to himself in his nightmare. Shaking harder, Eric sharply ordered, "Ryan, wake up."

Ryan gasped loudly and tried to sit up. Eric's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Waiting until Ryan had his breathing under control, Eric asked, "You okay?"

A strangled laugh came out of Ryan's mouth. "Not really."

"Nightmares about today?" Eric guessed.

"Yeah," Ryan confessed. "But in them, I'm not the one in the line of fire. It's you or Cal or Alexx. And each time I freeze. And each time whichever one of you is in the line of fire dies."

"Yeah, I know how that goes," Eric sighed, shoving Ryan over and settling down next to him on the bed. "The first time after I shot and killed a suspect, that was all I dreamed about, shooting and killing one of my teammates. It drove me crazy. Until Speed smacked me upside the head and threatened me. He told me I needed to go to Support Services or he'd tell Horatio. They really did help. And nothing you say can be repeated. It's probably a good idea."

"Alexx already made an appointment for me," Ryan muttered. "I love that woman, I really do. However, contrary to her opinion, I don't need a mother."

"Well," Eric teased, "I dare you to say that to her face."

"Do I look like I have a death wish?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Eric remarked, "Not really, but one never can tell."

They spent the next hour just talking. Eric talked about Speed for the first time with someone who wasn't Alexx, Calleigh, Horatio or a therapist. Ryan told Eric about some of the things that had happened to him while he was working patrol, and why he had taken the job at the lab. Eventually, they fell asleep, both of them tired.

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

When Eric woke up the next morning, his mental alarm telling him he needed to get up, he was surprised to feel someone else in bed with him, their back to his front. Opening his eyes and groaning at the brightness of the sun, he waited until his eyes had adjusted before he looked around. A confused expression crossed his face when nothing looked familiar. The person in front of him shifted, and Eric looked down. Memories of the night before came rushing back when he saw the back of Ryan's head. Laughing at himself, Eric shifted until he could climb out of the bed without waking Ryan up.

Quietly leaving Ryan's bedroom, he walked across the hall and quickly showered. Dressing himself in the clothes he'd worn the day before, Eric found some paper and a pen on the table by the front door. Writing a quick note to Ryan, Eric left, making sure the door was locked behind him.

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

After a simple robbery case in which he'd arrested the perpetrator by quitting time, Eric was exhausted. Instead of going home, though, he went to Ryan's. He'd promised himself something, well, actually he'd made the promise to Speed. If he ever found someone he was interested in as more than a one night stand, he'd pursue them. Over the last few months, he'd been hiding his attraction to Ryan, or he'd tried to. Alexx, Calleigh and Horatio had all noticed and called him on it. Ryan, however, had not noticed. Not that that particularly surprised Eric. Ryan could be rather oblivious at times. Sometimes, it was pretty entertaining. Other times, like now, it was fairly annoying.

He was going to take a chance and hope that all went well. If it didn't, well, he'd deal with that when he had to. Parking in Ryan's driveway, Eric got out of his vehicle and walked up to the door. Hitting the doorbell, he impatiently waited for Ryan to answer the door. A few minutes later, the door opened. Ryan raised his brow in question, but stepped to the side and let Eric in.

As soon as Ryan closed the door and turned around, Eric pinned him to the door, grabbed his wrists and urgently kissed him. Ryan gasped in surprise, and Eric took that opportunity to bring his tongue into play. He mapped Ryan's mouth with his tongue, possessively and eagerly. By then, Ryan was jerking his wrists, trying to get Eric to let go. Mentally sighing, just knowing Ryan was going to punch him, he let go and was shocked when Ryan's hands became tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. Relaxing, Eric let his body weight settle on Ryan and deepened the kiss further, deciding that Speed had been right. Chances were meant to be taken.

***