Title: Partners
Author: Kacey
Rating: FRT or PG-13
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just borrowing them for fun.
Inspired by: tye_dyed_daisy's request for a birthday fic and a new list of prompts that showed up in my lj's friends area, as well as the X-Men, gotta love Cyclops. (Hope you like it!)
Warnings: AU, of course. Be prepared to be surprised. This is a little different, and I do mean different. I'm not sure where this came from. Probably one too many sci-fi movies, or reading my X-Men comics too much. Anyway, if you don't like, please don't let me know. I'm not sure myself about this story.

***

Post nuclear world war. Governments no longer exist and anarchy reigns. Communities have banded together to protect themselves. All of the radioactive levels have caused mutations in adults and children alike, but not everyone, giving them powers only before thought to be impossible. Groups of mutants and non-mutated humans have formed military like squadrons to protect their communities from scavengers and other crazies, as humans weren't the only ones affected by the radiation. Life is all about survival of the fittest.

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

Eric Delko looked over at his new partner. Horatio had decided they needed someone new to take on some of the added pressures and expectations their team was continuously having heaped on them. Ryan Wolfe had been at the compound for two days, and the only things Eric had learned about him had been his name and his abilities and mutation. He was extremely quiet and kept to himself. While Eric had no problems with letting a man have free time, it bothered him slightly that his new partner hadn't made any attempt to get to know any of them, especially him. Speed and Calleigh had both told him to lighten up and let the new guy get settled in before he pestered him.

However, Eric had never been a very patient man. Deciding he'd better leave Ryan to his whatever he was doing before he interrupted him, Eric turned to walk out the combination workout/recreational area. Ryan's voice stopped him before he exited the room.

"Was there something I could help you with, Delko?"

Hesitating slightly, Eric finally inquired, "Can I ask you something personal, Ryan?"

"All right," the newbie warily stated, "but I reserve the right to not answer."

"Fair enough. My question is this: Do you not like us or something? I understand you've only been here two days, but we're a close knit team, and you've spent all your time by yourself. Are we going to have problems?"

Ryan laughed and then apologized when he saw the offended look on Eric's face. "Sorry, it's just my old teammates asked me the same thing. My powers are different. My main power is the ability to read the entire history of whatever I touch, inanimate and animate objects both. In order to not be overwhelmed by the readings I get, when I first enter a new territory that I'll be in for any significant amount of time, I have to acclimate myself to the inanimate objects first. After that, it's the animate objects. That's what I've been doing. This was the last room I had to read. Since you're here, you can be first. Why don't you sit down?"

"What other powers do you have?" Eric curiously asked, sitting down on couch next to Ryan.

"Well, I have some ability with telepathy and telekinesis. As well as some healing ability, nothing like Alexx, though, only small stuff. I can also manipulate time to a certain degree," Ryan explained, turning to face Eric. Reaching out with his hands, he made sure it was okay to touch him. "May I?"

When Eric shook his head in agreement, Ryan placed both of his hands on Eric's forearms and closed his eyes. Eric watched as his new partner "˜read' him, whatever that meant. Several minutes later, Ryan opened his eyes and smiled at him. "Thanks, now I need to go read everyone else as well."

"Why?"

"Your powers all deal with water, right?" Waiting until Eric had nodded his head in agreement, Ryan continued, "Whenever you're around any kind of water, it calls out to you, clamors for your attention until you've manipulated it in some way, yes?"

When Eric simply nodded again, Ryan said, "That's exactly what it's like when there's an unread object, person, animal, whatever near me. The object keeps pulling at me until I've read it. If I ignore the pull, I get migraines and my vision starts to go, so it's easier to just read the object and get back to whatever I'm doing."

"Makes sense," Eric replied. "Why don't we go to breakfast? Everybody should be in the dining area by now."

"Okay," Ryan responded, following Eric out and to the dining area.

He was right, everyone was already there. They all looked up and greeted both of them, asking Eric where they'd been. Eric just said they'd been in the training room. Horatio simply shook his head at him and turned to Ryan. "Mr. Wolfe, do you think you'd be up for some weapons training later today?"

"Of course, Captain, just as soon as I read everyone," he agreed.

Alexx looked at him quizzically and asked, "Read?"

"Yes, read," Ryan smiled. "I need to touch you and read you, that's all."

"Well, then, let's get this over with," Speed said. "Come read away, Ryan."

Sitting down next to Speed, Ryan held out both of his hands, question on his face. Speed smiled and gestured with his hand. Ryan took both of Speed's forearms in his hands and closed his eyes. Everyone watched as he did what he had to do. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and let go of Speed's arms.

"So, do I pass muster?" Speed inquired teasingly.

Ryan smiled and replied, "I don't know. Some of your thoughts, man. Are you sure you're still not a teenager?"

Speed laughed. "You'll fit in just fine here."

Calleigh sighed, "I suppose we should line up and let you read us, hmm?"

"However you want to do this. I understand you might not be comfortable with this, but I have to read you," Ryan apologized. "Otherwise I have to stay as far away from you as possible. That's not a great way to try to work with your teammates."

"No, it's not, Ryan," Alexx agreed. Holding out her arms across the table, she said, "Go ahead."

He smiled at her and quickly read her, moving on to her husband, Peter, and then their children, Bryan and Janie. Horatio was next, then Calleigh, Yelina, Ray, Jr., all of Eric's family and then the others living at the compound. Thanking them all when he was done, he told them he'd been in his room meditating when they needed him. As he walked away, Calleigh asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Later," he called back. "Right now, I need to, for lack of a better word, digest what I've learned. The information needs to settle in my mind so that I can focus on other things."

When Eric went to get him later that morning, he found the door to his room wide open and Ryan sitting on his bed, just like he'd said, meditating. Eric knocked on his open door, waiting until Ryan looked at him, and said, "Weapons training. Ready?"

"Sure," Ryan answered, crawling off his bed and walking over to Eric, stopping only to put his shoes on. Shutting the door behind himself, he followed Eric to the training room and prepared to be assessed at every turn. His new teammates needed to know that he could back them up and that he knew what he was doing, and he needed to know the same thing.

For the first hour, he worked with Calleigh and showed her that he knew how to use the majority of the guns she was showing him. There were a few that he didn't know how to use, and she said she'd have to train him. He just smiled and nodded. The hour after that was spent with Speed going over swords, knives, staffs, other weapons that weren't guns. Speed complimented him on his proficiency with swords and knives, but told him that he needed work in other areas. Ryan just shook his head in agreement. The next hour was spend in hand to hand combat with Eric. This was harder for Ryan, as his power was reaching out at all times to read whatever he was touching. When they were finished, Eric, of course winning, he commented that Ryan was pretty good, but he needed to work on controlling his powers. Ryan just smirked and sarcastically muttered, "Gee, you think?"

Horatio watched the whole session, making the final decisions on partners. He'd guessed right when he'd read Ryan's file. Eric would be the best partner for him, as he was weakest in hand to hand, just as his powers would make him, and Eric wasn't as proficient as Ryan was with weapons, guns and others alike. They'd make a good team once they got to know each other a little better.

----------------------------- One month later

The team was just returning from their latest mission, Ryan helping Speed down the hallway and Eric helping Horatio, when Bryan came running down the hallway. "Ryan, Ryan, Mom's hurt. You've got to help her."

Handing Speed over into Calleigh's capable hands, Ryan hurried down the hallway after him, wondering what had happened while they were gone. Stepping into the med lab, he followed Bryan over to the far corner and found Alexx laying on the gurney there, Peter holding a cloth tightly to the side of her torso, blood all over her clothes and several cloths already discarded on the floor. Walking over to her, he quietly asked, touching her forearm and closing his eyes, "What happened, Alexx?"

"A side force attacked here," she whispered, her breathing very labored. "We ran them off, but one stabbed me in the side. It went through the ribs and into my lung. You'll have to heal me, Ryan. I'm sorry."

Opening his eyes, he smiled at her and assured her, "It's okay, Alexx. Let me make sure there's nothing in the wound, okay?"

Waiting until she nodded, Ryan gently pried Peter's hand off of the cloth he was holding and closed his eyes, pressing down extremely hard on her wound. She gasped in pain, but stopped her husband from interrupting Ryan's read. Glancing over at the doorway, she noticed the team and most of the occupants of the compound standing either in the med lab or out in the hallway, wanting to make sure she'd be okay.

"All right," Ryan stated, opening his eyes. "I'll take the cloth off and heal you, Alexx. You'll just have to make sure no one interferes, yes?"

"I promise," she gritted out quietly.

"Okay," he said. Lifting his hand, everyone watched as it glowed white before he quickly moved the cloth and slapped his hand down on her wound. They all heard her scream of pain, but stayed back. Alexx knew what she was doing. Several minutes later, Ryan lifted his hand and staggered back, grabbing his torso. The wound on Alexx's torso was gone, not even a scar there to show she'd been injured. Sitting up slowly, she watched in concern as Ryan slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood as he did so, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out in pain. Eric and Calleigh, having placed Speed and Horatio comfortably in the chairs near Alexx's workstation hurried over to him to help him, but Alexx stopped them.

"No!" she barked out. "This is how healing for him works. His body just needs to figure out how to fix the injury. Give him a few minutes."

Glad that Alexx was okay, everyone but her family and the team, along with Yelina and Ray, Jr., left. Alexx got to work on Horatio and Speed, sparing a glance at Ryan, who'd passed out at some point, every once in a while. About an hour after they got back, Ryan suddenly sat up and grabbed his side. Groaning in pain, he rasped out, "Couldn't you have picked an easier spot to get a fatal wound at, Doc?"

Alexx laughed and patted the chair beside her. "Your turn, honey. Come sit down and let Dr. Alexx fix everything."

Ryan gingerly got up and made his way over to her. Shaking his head at her, he said, "I'm fine. You'd know if I wasn't, so why do you want to check on me?"

Sharing a mischievous smile with the other women in the room, she teased, "Why to get a free show, of course, honey. Now off with that shirt."

Grumbling good-naturedly, Ryan did as he was told and let Alexx poke and prod until she was happy.

----------------------------- Two months later

Clorinda Delko watched from the hallway as her son's partner and friend, Ryan Wolfe, was attempting to work himself into an early grave. He was performing a kata with two swords, his movements blurring together. She was worried about him. The team had just come back a few days ago from a mission in which Calleigh had been injured. Calleigh had saved Ryan's life when his powers went out of control and placed him in the line of fire. Ryan, of course, blamed himself, but no one else did. All of them knew what it was like to not have their powers under control. They could work on control all they wanted, but when it came down to it, their powers were like attraction, hard to control and hide.

"Momma, what are you doing here?" Eric asked from behind her.

"Checking up on your partner," she informed him, still watching as Ryan began to work even harder. "Maybe you should talk to him."

"I will," he assured her. "Just as soon as he puts those swords down. While he's not quite as good as Speed, he's still very deadly with them. I'd rather be alive to have this talk."

"I'd rather you were alive, as well," Clorinda remarked. "Let me just interrupt him."

"Don't you dare go in there, Momma," Eric warned her. "He's in a zone right now. He could kill you and not realize it's you until it's too late."

"Well, duh, my child," Clorinda laughed. "Which is why I'm going to use the intercom."

"Oh, okay."

Twenty minutes later, Ryan met them in the dining area for dinner. He picked at his food, only talking when he was directly addressed. Horatio quietly asked Eric if he was going to talk to Ryan. Eric assured him that he was going to that night. "Then I expect this to be taken care of, Eric."

"It will be, H," Eric promised.

When dinner was over, Eric dragged Ryan out of the room behind him by his arm. Ryan protested the treatment, but Eric ignored him. Opening the door to his room, Eric slammed the door behind them and threw Ryan down on his bed.

"Sit there and be quiet," Eric ordered. "I have some things to say, and you're going to listen."

Ryan snapped his mouth shut and glared at Eric. Laughing, Eric said, "Like that's anything. Janie's glare is scarier than yours. Now, I know you're sorry about what happened and that Cal got injured. Do you think nothing like that has ever happened to any of us? Believe me, it has. Now, what's the problem?"

"I can talk?" Ryan sarcastically asked. "The problem is that I almost got Calleigh killed. I have to maintain control over my powers, Eric. I have to."

"Why? You do the best you can, we all do, what's the big deal?" Eric asked in genuine concern.

"Remember when I told you that I could manipulate time somewhat?"

Nodding his head, Eric watched as his friend struggled to find the right words to explain what was going on.

Finally, Ryan just sighed and got on with it. "Horatio already knows, but when my powers get out of control, my latent ability to mess with the time line kicks in. If I don't keep myself and my powers under control, I can change any part of the time line we live in, past, present and future. I never know where or when my power will hit"¦"

"And that's why you keep such control over yourself," Eric interrupted. "You're afraid of what might happen if you ever let yourself go."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "After all, who knows what could happen if I don't?"

"You know, if you'd have just told us this, we could have helped you," Eric patiently said, trying to keep himself under control. He wanted to shake his partner and scream at him that they were all friends and teammates, he could share his secrets with them. At the same time, he understood. If the wrong person found out what Ryan could do"¦well who knew. They'd just all have to keep a closer eye on him. Himself more than the others.

------------------------ Three months later

After much bullying, prodding and finally flat out blackmail, Eric and Speed had found out that Ryan's birthday was today from Horatio. The women had run with it and were planning a big party at dinner that night. Their job was to keep Ryan occupied all day, somehow, someway. Deciding that practice sounded like a good idea, they dragged a protesting Ryan from his bed at five o'clock and made him work with them. Three hours later, they then forced him to help them make sure the vehicles were all in working order, even though he knew absolutely nothing about cars. That was okay with Eric and Speed. They kept him busy by making him bring them the different tools they needed. It was only two by the time they were done in the garage.

Meeting each other's eyes and communicating silently, Speed snagged Ryan's wrist and towed him off outside. Eric went inside and gathered the children. For the rest of the afternoon, they entertained them, playing games and chasing them around, though Ryan spent most of that time in the shade with the two toddlers of their group, taking a nap.

When Yelina came out to tell them it was time for supper, she laughed at the sight of Ryan and the two little ones. Picking one of them up, she waited for Speed to grab the other one. They left Eric to wake Ryan up and get him to the party in his honor. Shaking his head at them, Eric eventually woke Ryan up and helped him inside, as he was still pretty groggy. Knowing something bad could happen if Ryan was surprised in this state, Eric made a detour to the nearest restroom and made Ryan splash water on his face in order to wake up.

Several minutes later, Eric gently shoved Ryan into the dining area, where he was greeted with a chorus of voices calling out, "Surprise!"

Shooting Eric and Speed dark looks, Ryan sat down with everyone and had dinner. He was exhausted, and it showed, dark circles under his eyes and a sleepy expression on his face. For the past two weeks, he'd been helping Alexx out in the med lab, healing the easy stuff. He'd then rearranged and cleaned the lab, against Alexx's protests, although she later told Calleigh that everything made more sense and was easier to find, not that she told Ryan that. Also, he'd been training pretty much non-stop with Calleigh, Eric and Speed, though most of the training was with Eric. Eric was trying to help him learn how to control his powers better.

They'd become very close over the last six months, something everyone had noticed. Ryan, who shied from touch, never really seemed to notice how often Eric touched him. After all, much as he trusted and cared for everyone in the compound, Eric was different. Eric was his partner. He trusted and cared for him more than anyone, including his remaining blood family. They spent most of their free time together, with Eric's family or doing other things, watching movies, playing with the children, games, training, just a few of the things they did together.

Another thing everyone had noticed was that Eric no longer had anything to do with Natalia. They'd been dancing around each other for months before Ryan came along. Ever since Eric and Ryan had started to become close, Eric hadn't gone near her. Clorinda had been relieved. That woman was not what she wanted for her son. Though they couldn't give her grandchildren, she'd much rather her son ended up with Ryan. His loyalty would never be in question.

Watching as Ryan said good night to everyone and walked down the hallway towards his bedroom, she turned to her son and caught the fleeting expression of longing on his face as he also watched Ryan. Shaking her head, she called Eric over to her. Asking him to escort her to her rooms, he looked over at his father and back at her. "I need to speak with you, Eric. Your father will find me later."

"All right, Momma," he acquiesced, taking her elbow and escorting her to his parents' rooms. Opening the door when they got there, he helped her in and sat down next to her on the couch. Turning to her, he raised his brow in question and asked, "What did you want to talk about, Momma?"

"Baby, why don't you just tell him how you feel?" she bluntly inquired.

Eric exhaled slowly and said, "It doesn't matter. He doesn't feel the same way."

Laughing, Clorinda said, "Let me tell you a secret, baby. He does. Alexx told me so. She guessed, and he confirmed her guess. So, why don't you do something about it? Ryan is too unsure of himself to ever make a move, Eric. You'll have to do so. I'd like to officially welcome him to the family. So would your sisters and father. Now, go get me a son-in-law."

Staring at his mother in shocked disbelief for several seconds, Eric finally shook his head and asked, "You and Alexx already have everything planned out, don't you?"

"You know we do, Eric," she gloated. "Why don't you go inform Alexx's son of part of the plan?"

Kissing his mother on the cheek, Eric got up and left. Standing in front of Ryan's door several minutes later, Eric took a deep breath and finally found the courage to knock. "Door's open," came from inside.

Easing the door open and stepping inside, Eric shut the door behind himself and walked over to Ryan's bed, where he was laying down reading a book in the dim light supplied by the bedside lamp. Ryan glanced up from the book and smiled at Eric. "What can I do for you, Eric?"

Reaching out, Eric took the book from him and sat it on the bedside table. He sat down on the bed next to Ryan. Mentally praying that he wasn't about to make a mistake at the look of confusion on Ryan's face, Eric leaned down and kissed him, wrapping his arms around Ryan's waist and pulling him closer. About to pull away when Ryan still hadn't responded, Eric was stopped by Ryan's arms around his neck and hands in his hair. Smiling in relief, he deepened the kiss and followed Ryan down when he laid back against his pillows. Pulling his head back, Eric dropped his forehead on Ryan's shoulder. The only things Eric could hear were the racing of his heart and both of their harsh pants as they tried to catch their breath.

A short time later, he emphatically stated, raising his head so he could look into Ryan's eyes, "I love you, Ryan."

The brilliant smile that broke out on Ryan's face was all the answer he needed. Although, the "I love you, too, Eric," he uttered was nice to hear as well.

***