Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Fight or Flight ❯ A Reappearance ( Chapter 2 )

AN: I am SO SORRY I forgot about my wonderful MediaMiner reviewers!!! I just realized I neglected to reply to you guys…I'll remedy that right now.

 

Raven Black: I'm really sorry to tell you that the teaser will remain just that for basically the entire story, up until like the last chapter. It's mean, and if I saw myself doing this I would have to beat the crap out of myself, but I wanted to catch attention. Doesn't seem to have worked, since you two and a couple of FanFiction people are the only ones who have so much as glanced at this fic, but that's okay, because I still have you guys and I'm grateful for it! Thanks so much for reviewing!

 

gddsinferno: Thanks for reviewing! I have TWO chapters up now!!!

 

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Previously:

 

“Ryo?”

 

Ryo's heart plummeted at the sound of the voice, and a sick feeling welled up in him.

 

It was JJ.

 

And he'd been crying.

 

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Half An Hour Later

NYC Morgue

 

“Ryo, I don't think this is such a good idea,” FBI agent Diana Spacey said, her tone unusually gentle as she guided Ryo into the spacious, well-lit room that nevertheless couldn't hide its dark nature.

 

“Which one is it?” Ryo asked, disturbed by the chill flatness of his own voice.

 

“Ryo…”

 

“Where, Agent Spacey?”

 

Diana sighed, and strode quickly and determinedly to one of the silver doors lining the walls. Her hand on the small square, she turned to face him. “Ryo, you need to be prepared. Dee was shot with a full clip directly to the heart. The bullets were packed so close together that it was almost impossible to separate them. The bastard used silver bullets, for whatever reason, but those were already packed up as evidence. The point is…he's a real mess, Ryo.”

 

Ryo felt each brutal sentence hit him like the silver bullets that had taken his lover, and he very nearly gave up the idea. But somehow…somehow it was very important for him to see this.

 

“Open it.”

 

Diana let out a long breath, and pulled the handle.

 

Ryo had thought he was prepared. As a cop in one of the world's most dangerous cities, he had seen a great many ugly and disgusting things—things a thousand times worse than a gunshot wound to the chest, and though he had felt it all very keenly, and been deeply affected by it, he had always been able to handle it.

 

But today, he would learn the difference between studying the body of someone you've never met, and gazing upon the lifeless face of a loved one lost.

 

The sight of Dee struck him like a physical blow, and he took a stumbling step back without registering it. “Oh, my God…” he murmured, his voice so soft that only he heard it.

 

Dee Laytner's killer had obviously known what he was doing, because the rest of Dee's body was untouched. There were no facial bruises or contusions, so there hadn't been any fight beforehand. But his chest was a mess—so many bullets had entered it that where there should have been separate entry holes, there was only a large, gaping wound. The blood had long since stopped flowing, of course, but no one had stitched up the wound yet, since the investigation of the body was still going on.

 

Ryo suddenly felt a strong desire to throw up, but he swallowed it with an extreme force of will and took a slow step closer, his mind stubbornly refusing to believe what he saw. There was no way Dee had gotten caught and killed without a fight…he was simply too good a cop for that…

 

He's too good to die…this wasn't supposed to happen…oh, God…

 

“His cross.”

 

He said it without thinking, his eyes fixed on Dean's chest.

 

“What?” Diana asked, still using that gentle tone as if he were a frightened two-year-old.

 

“It's…a necklace. A silver cross. He wears it all the time—he never takes it off, but it's…it was under his shirt usually. I want it. Get it out of evidence lockup, Diana. I don't care how.”

 

Diana looked puzzled. “Ryo…”

 

“Don't tell me you can't. You're FBI. I…I need that cross, Diana. Please.'

 

“Ryo…” Diana interrupted. “Ryo, there wasn't any necklace.”

 

XXX

 

Meanwhile

Some Random New York Street

 

“So why are we still here?”

 

“Because,” Sam said calmly, “when I spoke to the cops earlier today they said that this area has been the center of all the criminal activity around here for months now, but they could never find any evidence linking one single person to the crimes. Well, we know why that is—it wasn't one person who's been doing it.”

 

“Yeah, I get all that. But Sam, we found the shifter, in case you forgot. We chased it two blocks from that woman's apartment and then loaded it with silver bullets.”

 

“I don't need a review, Dean.”

 

“Well, apparently you do, because we're still hanging around the thing's perimeter like we expect it to show up again.”

 

“That's not why we're here,” Sam said absently, pausing for a moment in indecision, then nodding as if to himself and turning down a narrow side-street.

 

Dean looked at him, puzzled, but followed anyway. “Then why are we here?”

 

“To find Dee Laytner,” Sam said simply, now moving slowly along the street lined with shops, warehouses, and factories, pausing at each of them before moving on.

 

“…Oh,” Dean said, as if that thought had never occurred to him. “Well…that makes sense, I guess…since no one will be looking for him…”

 

“Exactly…so we need an actual location. And even then we probably shouldn't use his name. Just call in a tip with something like one of their cops is being held somewhere, and leave it at that.”

 

“Okay, so all of that I get. But how the hell are we gonna find him? He could be anywhere, in all of New York. What, do you plan on checking every freakin' building?”

 

Sam paused as they reached another door, then shook his head slightly and kept walking without replying to the question.

 

“Okay, I give. What are you doing?” Dean finally asked in frustration.

 

“Waiting,” Sam replied, tilting his head as if listening for something.

 

“For what?”

Sam held up a hand, as if asking for silence—even though there was nothing to hear—as he stopped at the next building. He didn't move on as quickly this time, however. Instead he stepped closer and put a hand to the wall, and got a look on his face like he was thinking very hard.

 

“Man, who do you think you are? Lassie?”

 

“Shh…” Sam listened—or did…whatever he was doing…for another couple of seconds, then nodded as if satisfied. “Well, he's in there. We can call now.”

 

Dean looked from the door, to Sam, and back again. “How do you…?” And then a thought crossed his mind. “Dude…is this another part of your Shining deal?”

 

Sam looked a little uncomfortable. “I don't know.”

 

“What do you mean, you don't know? How could you not know?”

 

“Would you just call?” Sam snapped, irritated. Dean just kept looking at him steadily, and Sam sighed. “Look, can we…not talk about it right now? We have work to do.”

 

Dean watched him for another moment, then shrugged and took out his phone. “Fine. But we will talk about it. Later.”

 

He was sure they would.

 

Just as sure as Sam was that they wouldn't.

 

XXX

 

NYPD 27th Precinct

 

Jemmy J. Adams, professional sniper for the NYPD 27th Precinct and psychotic ball of adorable energy on the side, could barely get up the strength to push his pen across the page in front of him, completing a recent batch of reports with his small, loopy signature. With a sigh that seemed to spring forth with all the sorrows of the ages, he pushed the paperwork away and leaned his head into his hands, his entire body still as stone.

 

 

He hadn't planned on pulling desk duty tonight. JJ hardly ever pulled desk duty, actually. That was usually reserved for cops who disobeyed orders or something. Cops like…

 

But things were so screwed up in the precinct right now, and no one was doing what they were supposed to. Marty had taken the night off—no doubt so he wouldn't have to face Ryo. JJ's partner in everything, Drake, and Ted, Marty's partner on the force, Ted, had been called away on an attempted convenience store robbery. Jim was where he always was, but he wasn't doing any forensics work. Even the Commissioner had locked himself in his office with a huge pile of papers, and Agent Spacey had turned up a half hour ago, which was a good thing because she seemed to be the only one willing to and capable of facing Ryo…

 

God, how did things get so screwed up?

 

And then the phone rang.

 

XXX

 

The Random And Nameless Factory

 

Dee Laytner was absolutely certain that he was going to die.

 

He was not hungry or thirsty—the well-stocked mini-fridge saw to that—and the TV had every channel that the one at the apartment had. The bed was extremely comfortable and the place was fully air-conditioned. All in all, it wasn't a bad place, especially if he was as much a prisoner as he seemed to be. It even had a freakin' shower, though how it had gotten there Dee could not for the life of him figure out.

 

But Ryo wasn't there, and so he was going to die.

 

It was that simple.

 

I think I'm finally getting why people in solitary confinement go nuts…Dee thought boredly as he lay on the bed, flipping through channels without interest. As has begun to happen at odd moments since he'd come here, he felt anger begin to rise in him. Why aren't they looking for me? And then, just as suddenly, he jumped to his friends' defense, against his own mind. I'm sure they are looking. But seriously, who would think to look here?

 

Dee sighed, and turned off the TV.

 

That's it. I'm doomed.

 

And then the door at the top of the stairs exploded.

 

That was really the only term for it—there was a loud crack that Dee recognized as a gunshot, followed by the sound of a lock shattering, and then the door flew open so hard it bounced off the wall.

 

Dee scrambled off the bed, nearly toppling over in his hurry, and stumbled toward the stairs, his eyes fixed on the shadow darkening the doorway. Then the light in the basement glinted off shockingly purple hair, and Dee froze, cursing silently. Of all the people to find me…

 

But JJ didn't do any of the things Dee had expected him to do. He didn't jump on him with his startling screech of “OH, MR. SEXY!” or try to make out with him or anything. He just stood there as if frozen solid.

 

Hmm…maybe I got off easy? Dee thought, a little put off by the silence, and feeling a strong urge to say something.

 

“Took you long enough. What have you people been doing? `Cause in case you didn't notice I could've used some help…”

 

“…DEEEEEE!”

 

As if Dee's words had broken some sort of spell, JJ launched himself the rest of the way down and attached himself to the other man, sobbing like a child and babbling like a maniac.

 

“I can't believe I found you! Everyone thought you were dead—Commissioner Rose got a call about a murder and he went himself to check it out and he brought back someone in a body bag and he sent it to the morgue and he said it was you and Diana came and she said it was you, too, and I didn't see the body but we all thought it was true and the whole precinct went into chaos but I guess they were both wrong because you're here and—”

 

“JJ, SHUT UP!”

 

JJ fell silent abruptly and stood staring at Dee with eyes that still watered slightly.

 

“Now tell me what's been going on.”

 

JJ opened his mouth.

 

“Slowly, JJ.”

 

XXX

 

Dee's first thought when he and JJ walked into the precinct was that he had never seen it so empty. The 27th had always been the smallest of the NYPD precincts, but now even of the nine people that worked there, only he, JJ, and Rose were in the building right now. And Rose hardly counted, since he hardly ever left his desk…

 

“I know, it's awfully quiet. No one felt much like being here after…after we got the news,” JJ said, his voice oddly subdued in a way that it had never been before and that Dee had never, ever expected to hear from the other man. But then suddenly he gave a little skip and his voice regained its normal, screechy quality. “Boy, I can't wait for them to come back and see you—”

 

“Oh, yeah, that'll be peachy,” Dee muttered, rolling his eyes. “Where's Ryo?”

 

“Probably with Commissioner Rose. Unless he's not back from—” JJ cut himself off abruptly, and looked suddenly guilty.

 

“Back from where?” Dee asked, with a sneaking suspicion that he already knew.

 

JJ looked away.

 

“Back from where, JJ?” Dee asked slowly, dangerously.

 

“Back…back from the morgue.”

 

Dee had known what JJ's answer was going to be, but that didn't make it any better. “JJ…how much like me did that body look, exactly?” he asked hesitantly as the two headed for the Commissioner's office.

 

“Well…I didn't actually see it, but…Commissioner Rose swore it was you. And…and you know we're supposed to examine the bodies pretty closely…” he added as he knocked on Rose's door.

 

Dee closed his eyes slowly as a voice snapped through the door for them to come in, and then opened them again. Oh, Ryo…

 

XXX

 

Ryo heard a strange roaring in his ears as he wrestled over the implications of what Diana had just told him. He stepped back from the table and turned his back on the…body…facing the wall as he tried to steady himself. He had never felt so angry in his life.

 

He took it…that son of a bitch took Dee's cross…

 

And it had to have been taken after, too, because under no other circumstances would Dee let anyone get that thing away from him. It was the most important thing in the world to him, and now some bastard had taken it from him in death…

 

“Ryo?” Diana asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she touched his arm gently. He jerked away from her, almost violently, but Diana Spacey was not one to pay attention to the meaning of little things like that, and she stepped forward and took hold of him again, this time more firmly, almost to the point of pain.

 

And just like that, Ryo's anger exploded.

 

With a snarl that was completely unlike him, he whipped around, his fist lashing out quicker than he thought to stop it, and it was the most violent punch he'd ever thrown.

 

It didn't matter, though, because the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back with Diana leaning over him and the wind knocked completely out of him, trying to draw in air after having forgotten both Diana's agility and her black belt.

 

They stared at each other for a long time, and then Diana wordlessly took his hand and helped him to his feet. Then she let go of him, and watched as he turned away. Neither of them apologized, and both may have stood there until they died of it if Diana's cell phone hadn't rung just then.

 

Her eyes still on Ryo's back, Diana took it out and flipped it open. Ryo didn't listen to what she was saying, and he didn't see her eyes widen until they were the size of saucers, her eyes flicking from the body on the table to Ryo and back again.

 

“Okay. Five minutes,” she said, and hung up.

 

Ryo didn't notice her striding toward him, but he certainly noticed when she grabbed his elbow as she passed and yanked him after her so hard he nearly fell flat on his face.

 

He tried to pull away at first, but she snapped, “Stop it, Ryo. You're coming with me. Get over it. And who knows, you might thank me later, anyway…”

 

XXX

 

Ryo was silent the entire drive back to the 27th precinct. He didn't seem angry with Diana for flipping him or for forcing him to return to the precinct, but even if he had been Diana knew she wouldn't be able to tell. The young man's eyes were hooded and his face expressionless, as if he had become a statue. But his entire body was tense and rigid with steely determination.

 

Diana had been an FBI agent for a long time now, though anyone looking at her wouldn't have thought so, and she had seen this before—this cold, calculated exterior a person sometimes assumed after losing a loved one. But the mask never stayed up for long, and it seemed to be a fact that the quieter someone was at first, the louder the explosion was when it finally came.

 

And if this law of proportions was true, then Ryo was going to bring down cities and set the world on fire with the force of his fury.

 

Diana prayed that Berkley had been quite sane when he'd called her, though it seemed impossible, and that things would never go that far.

 

The 27th was silent as a graveyard when they entered it, even though it was still late afternoon, and someone should have been at the desk. But the quiet didn't bother Diana. She walked straight past the desk without glancing at it and headed for Berkley's office, her hand firmly clasped around Ryo's wrist.

 

When she finally reached the door, she knocked twice, since, after all, it was a Commissioner's office—and besides, Berkley might be crying or something—and then she pushed open the door.

 

XXX

 

Rose was stunned.

 

Ryo had never seen Rose stunned.

 

Ryo enjoyed seeing Rose stunned. It was almost funny, the way it made him all pale and darty-eyed, and caused his hand to shake as he downed a full cup of coffee in two gulps, ignorant of the steam that rolled over the rim of the cup. And it was doubly amusing when he choked, and JJ had to pound hard on his back to keep him conscious, with the air of someone who had done it before, and very recently—like in the last few seconds recently.

 

But then Ryo figured out what Rose was so stunned about, and suddenly came dangerously close to joining his superior in the need for CPR. Time seemed to sort of freeze as he stared into the room, his mind simply refusing to comprehend what he was seeing.

 

No…you're seeing things, it's not possible…you left him in the morgue…he's not here…

 

But no matter what he told himself, no matter how many times he tried to blink the image away, there Dee remained, standing a couple of feet from Rose and JJ, looking embarrassed and not quite sure what to do now. He looked like a man who desperately wanted to speak but had no idea what to say. So finally, he just reached up and scratched the back of his head and murmured, “Hi, Ryo.”

 

The words fell on deaf ears, though, because right then Ryo caught sight of something dangling at Dee's chest, something silvery and shiny and usually hidden, but not now, for some reason.

 

Ryo's silent protestations were silenced quite suddenly, leaving only a ringing quiet in their wake. And suddenly, the world was tipped the right way again, and Ryo stopped being confused and stopped asking why and how, because it just didn't matter anymore.

 

XXX

 

Dee wasn't quite sure how it happened. One second, he was facing the door and his love was staring at him like he'd suddenly sprouted two more heads, and the next Ryo was bounding toward him like an exceptionally tall rabbit. He grunted as Ryo grabbed him in a fierce hug that was enough to squeeze the breath straight out of his lungs. And then the other man did something that made Dee sure the apocalypse had come—he shoved Dee against the wall, hard, and kissed him.

 

Full on the lips.

 

In front of Berkley Rose.

 

And not just once, either.

 

Both of them were oblivious to Berkley's screeches that this was his damn office, for crying out loud, as JJ shoved him unceremoniously out of the room and closed the door behind them, Diana following with a happy sort of smirk on her face.

 

“Are you hurt?” Ryo asked a little breathlessly, pressing kisses over Dee's cheeks, his forehead, and then finding his lips again.

 

Dee chuckled a little and ran a hand through Ryo's hair, reaching with the other to wind their fingers together. Ryo's hand immediately tightened on his, almost to the point of pain, and he pressed their lips together again.

 

“You didn't answer me,” Ryo breathed as they parted again. “Are you hurt?”

 

Dee smiled reassuringly at him. “I'm right as rain, Ryo.”

 

His smile disappeared with a wave of alarm when, upon hearing the words, Ryo suddenly swayed and leaned heavily against him. “But apparently you're not…” he murmured, taking Ryo's chin in one hand and looking carefully into his face. He felt a jolt of shock as he noticed Ryo's appearance for the first time—pale—white as a sheet, actually—with shadows under his eyes that were so darkly purple they were almost black. And he was shaking like some kind of junkie…

 

“Babe, when was the last time you got any sleep?” Dee asked gently, one of his thumbs running over Ryo's cheek.

 

Ryo kept on leaning heavily against him, resting his head against Dee's shoulder. “I don't remember…”

 

“Too long, then,” Dee murmured absently. He felt Ryo nod in agreement, and smiled a little. “Come on,” he said, already headed toward the door, leading Ryo with him.

 

“Where we goin'?” Ryo mumbled, though he didn't resist the pull of his partner's arm.

 

“Well,” Dee said with a quiet chuckle, “I'm going to drive you back to the apartment, and when we get there you're going to go to bed, and you're going to sleep until you're not tired anymore.”

 

“An' then what?” Ryo asked with a yawn.

 

“And then you and me are gonna take a day or two off—during which we will send the house ape somewhere that's away—and then we'll come back to work and completely ignore the fact that a person who looks exactly like me is in the morgue, and wait for some other genius to close this case. Okay?”

 

Ryo nodded. “Okay…”

 

“Can I have my office back now, then?” Rose asked irritably as they came down the hall and into the main part of the building. He was alone—apparently JJ had wandered off as he was sometimes wont to do—and looking extremely put out, his shock having begun to fade a little and the realization that Ryo was once again lost to him beginning to set in.

 

“Whatever, Rose,” Dee said carefully, steering himself and Ryo toward the building's exit.

 

“You were in there forever, you know.”

 

“Whatever, Rose.”

 

“You better not have messed anything up.”

 

“That's a little OCD, Rose.”

 

“That's `Sir' to you, Laytner.”

 

“Whatever, Rose, sir.”

 

“Stop saying whatever.”

 

“Whatever you say, Rose, sir.”

 

“You realize I want you back here in two days and no more.”

 

“That's nice, Rose.”

 

“Go to hell, Laytner.”

 

“I'll see if I can't arrange that. Later, Rose.”

 

XXX

 

Fifteen Minutes Later

 

Dee managed to get the door unlocked and help Ryo inside without too much difficulty, and once the door was closed behind them, they headed straight for the bedroom, Ryo half-stumbling as he walked. There hadn't been much conversation during the drive home—Ryo hadn't been exactly coherent—and Dee didn't particularly want to start one now—not when things were finally so peaceful—but there was one important thing he had to ask…

 

“Ryo?”

 

“Hmm?” Ryo asked, snuggling back against him with a satisfied sigh as Dee began to run his fingers gently through the dark blond hair.

 

“Where's Bikky?”

 

“Oh…I sent him to stay with Aunt Elena, so he's probably at Carol's.”

 

“And…uh….does he know about the…erm…” Dee trailed off, trying to think how to phrase this.

 

Ryo sighed again, more sadly this time. “He knows you went missing, but not about that, no.”

 

There was a moment of silence as Dee waited for his own thought to strike Ryo. When it didn't, he murmured reluctantly. “Um…Ryo?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Don't you think you should…”

 

“Call him. Yeah, that might be good…” Ryo murmured, half-sitting up and reaching for the phone. He settled back to the bed and leaned against Dee, who wrapped his arms around him as he dialed, so close that he could hear every word of the conversation.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi, Carol.”

 

“Ryo?”

 

“Yeah. Put Bikky on, would you?”

 

“What? Bikky…Bikky's not here. He's probably at Elena's…since, uh, that's where you…sent him…”

 

“Carol…”

 

A sigh. “Okay, okay…”

 

Then there was some indistinct murmuring, and Dee heard Bikky ask, “Didn't you tell him I'm at Elena's?”

 

“I did. He didn't believe me.”

 

“Then you didn't lie well enough.”

 

“Or maybe he didn't believe me because every time he's called her in the last three days she's said you're here.”

 

“…Did he sound mad?”

 

“Will you just take the phone?!”

 

Shuffling sounds, and then Bikky's voice came over the line. “Uh…hi, Ryo.”

 

“Bikky,” Ryo said calmly, “does Aunt Elena have the slightest clue where you are?”

 

“Well…I told her I was going to see Carol for a while…”

 

“And what time did she say to be back?”

 

“Uh…five…”

 

“And what time is it now?”

 

“…Seven…”

 

“Well, isn't that interesting?” Ryo asked pleasantly.

 

“Uh…Ryo, could you just…yell at me, or something? `Cause you're kinda scaring me…”

 

And suddenly Ryo was laughing.

 

“Ryo, have you completely lost your—oh, my God,” Bikky cut himself off. “You found him.”

 

“Mm-hmm,” Ryo said, and smiled as Dee's arm tightened around him.

 

Bikky was quiet for a moment. Then he said abruptly, “Let me talk to him.”

 

Dee began to shake his head violently, but Ryo smirked and said, “Sure, Biks.”

 

Dee glared daggers at him as he took the phone, but Ryo just smiled innocently. “Hi, monkey-boy.”

 

And then he held the phone about a foot from his face as Bikky began to yell.

 

“YOU BIG STUPID OAF! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LET YOURSELF GET KIDNAPPED?”

 

“Bikky—”

 

“I MEAN, YOU'RE A FREAKIN' COP! YOUR WHOLE JOB IS TO NOT GET KIDNAPPED!”

 

“Actually, Bikky—”

 

“AND BESIDES THAT, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU PUT RYO THROUGH?”

 

“Bikky—”

 

“HE'S BEEN OUT OF HIS FREAKIN' MIND FOR ALMOST THREE DAYS NOW! AND I—”

“OH, FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, YOU STUPID APE, WILL YOU SHUT UP?”

 

There was silence on the other end of the line.

 

“Don't you think I know all that?” Dee asked quietly. “I know what I put you guys through. I suck, okay? But I'm back now, and I'm fine, and Ryo's fine. We're all fine, Bikky. Right?”

 

After a moment, Bikky sighed. “Yeah, I guess. So…should I come home, then?”

 

“Bikky wants to know if he should come home,” Dee passed on to Ryo, all the while shaking his head violently. Ryo motioned for the phone, and Dee gave it to him.

 

“Bikky, why don't you call Elena and just tell her we found Dee and that I said you could stay at Carol's tonight?”

 

“What?” Bikky asked.

 

“What?” Dee asked a fraction of a second later.

 

“Well, you might as well. Me and Dee could use some alone time, and you've been such a help lately. You deserve it and it just seems easier anyway. But Bikky,” he added warningly. “I'm trusting you a lot here. You will sleep on the couch, understood? And you'll be a perfect gentleman.”

 

“I know. I promise.”

 

“Okay. Good night, Bikky.”

 

“Hey, Ryo. Tell the freak…tell him I'm glad he's all right. Okay, g'night.”

 

And then he hung up, and Ryo smiled happily as he relaxed against Dee again, suddenly remembering how exhausted he was. He could barely keep his eyes open…and Dee's hand running through his hair so soothingly didn't help matters…

 

“It's okay, Ryo,” Dee said, pressing a kiss against the top of his head. “You can go to sleep. I promise to be right here when you wake up.”

 

“Mm…okay…” Ryo murmured, letting his eyes drift shut as sleep crept up on him. “Love you…”

 

And then he slept.

 

XXX

 

Meanwhile

The Winchesters' Motel

 

“I really don't understand why we're not out of here yet,” Dean murmured in annoyance, watching Sam fooling with his laptop again. “We've already been here almost three days, and we finished the job yesterday.”

 

“We're still here because we haven't caught wind of anything else yet and there are a ton of things to hunt in this neighborhood alone.”

 

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

 

“Well, so far I've found a possible vampire nest, a black dog, a zombie dog—”

 

“Okay, okay, all right, fine,” Dean snapped. “But once we get those taken care of you stop looking.”

 

“Seriously? You're suggesting we ignore everything else that happens here all the time?” Sam asked dubiously.

 

“Sam, we can't stay here forever. There are other places that need us, too. You know that.”

 

Sam sighed moodily and frowned at the screen. “Yeah…I guess. So should we start with the vampire nest? It's closest to here, I think…”

 

XXX

 

Ryo and Dee spent the next two days in utter R&R. They spent the first day or so resting from all the drama—it quickly became obvious that another thing Ryo had neglected to do during Dee's absence was eat—and just generally enjoying each others' company. And the second day…well, I'll leave that up to the imagination of the reader, and say only that Bikky was forced to spend rather a lot of time away from the apartment.

 

Now, of course, the couple did try for an extra day off work, but apparently Rose was determined to make Dee as miserable as possible—probably for daring to not be dead, Dee thought darkly each time the Commissioner paged him on the second day to remind him, on no uncertain terms, that he was expected to return to work tomorrow.

 

Of course, Rose offered Ryo the extra day quite freely, considering all the trauma he'd suffered—trauma which, apparently, had not involved Dee in the least.

 

“I really hate him,” Dee murmured grumpily as he and Ryo lay in their bed that night, curled up as close together as they could possibly be.

 

“I know,” Ryo replied soothingly, trying to get even closer. “But don't worry about it. I'm not taking the extra day, so it's not like we won't see each other.”

 

“But it's the principle of the thing. He's such a—God, I hate him.”

 

“Yeah, I know you do. I don't like him much, either, but I guess we have to deal with him…” Why couldn't he seem to get close enough?

 

“But what if I don't want to deal with him? What if I just want to kill him? I—Ryo,” he suddenly said gently, interrupting himself as Ryo shifted again, now pressing close enough almost to cause pain.

 

“What's the matter?” Ryo asked, looking worriedly up at him with that Ryo-innocence that always made Dee fall just a little more in love with him. When Dee simply looked at him with a slight, gentle smile, Ryo blushed slightly. “Oh…”

 

“Ryo, you don't have to worry,” Dee said softly, reaching to clasp Ryo's hand and hold it tightly. “It's over now. I know it'd be just stupid to tell you to forget it, but I can promise you that I'm not going anywhere. Okay? I promise.”

 

Ryo sighed. “I know. I do know that. But I can't get that picture of you lying on that table in the…in the morgue…out of my mind, and I just can't shake the feeling that something else is going to happen…” He shook his head ruefully. “It's stupid.”

 

Dee smirked, and dropped a light kiss on Ryo's forehead. “It's not. I worry about you constantly, sometimes for no reason at all. I got used to that a long time ago—it just comes with the territory of loving you more than I've ever loved anything in the world.”

 

Ryo flushed again, but with happiness this time. “I love you, too.”

 

Dee laughed. “I know that. My point is, it's not stupid to feel that way. But…I don't want it to hurt you the way it obviously is. I want you to be okay, Ryo.”

 

Ryo smiled. “I know. And I will be, as long as you keep your promise.”

 

Dee let go of the other man's hand then, but only to wind his arms around Ryo in a comforting embrace. Ryo lifted his head for a kiss, and then he snuggled down to sleep, somehow feeling much better now than he had in days.

 

XXX

 

The Next Afternoon

The 27th Precinct

 

“I hate him!” Dee exploded for about the twentieth time in the last hour, tossing yet another folder on the stack to be filed.

 

“Just don't think about him,” Ryo replied calmly, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the paper in front of him.

 

“But why bother forcing us in at all, if we're just gonna spend the whole day on these damn reports?! We're field agents! Doesn't he remember that?”

 

Ryo put the file he was working on aside and stood up as Dee picked up another paper—which he quite forgot about as Ryo suddenly learned over him from behind without any warning, resting his hands on the arms of the chair, and pressed their lips together.

 

A second later, the folder slipped unnoticed to the floor as Dee reached up to run a hand up and down Ryo's back, deepening the kiss as he did so.

 

“Laytner, Ryo, I have a case for you,” Commissioner Rose said, coming into the office without knocking, looking completely oblivious to what he'd just walked in on.

 

Ryo leapt back as if he'd been burned, and Dee felt his hatred for Rose increase just that much more.

 

“Yes, sir?” Ryo asked with careful politeness.

 

Rose closed the door behind him and leaned against it, talking to Ryo as if Dee had ceased to exist. “It's pretty basic. Series of murders in an area downtown, all the bodies severely mutilated. Tonight you'll go to this street—” He held out a piece of paper, and Ryo took it. “But it's strictly recon for tonight. Don't engage unless it's self-defense. Understand, Laytner?” he asked, suddenly turning to Dee.

 

“Yeah. I heard you,” Dee snapped.

 

“I'm sorry, you just looked confused…”

 

Dee frowned. “Should we finish the reports first, sir?” he asked, adding a mocking emphasis to the last word.

 

Rose looked irritated. “Of course not, you dolt. I'll get someone else to do it. You're field agents. Don't you remember that?”

 

Dee almost managed to wait until Rose was out of earshot before he started yelling.

 

But not quite.

 

XXX

 

“This is so stupid,” Dee muttered furiously as he and Ryo headed down their assigned street, later that night. “We've been out here for hours.”

 

Ryo reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “Come on, Dee. We're sure to find something soon…”

 

“Are you kidding me? Hell, Rose probably—”

 

CRASH.

 

Dee jumped about a foot, and then he and Ryo were racing in the direction of the sound, guns drawn as they headed for a single deserted alley.

 

Dee really didn't know what he'd expected to find, but whatever it was, it was not what they actually found.

 

Two men and…a dog.

 

A really, really big dog.

 

And the men had guns, and they were aiming them at the dog, and there was something wrong with that dog, but Dee couldn't quite put his finger on it…

 

Except that apparently the thing was extraordinarily fast, because it disappeared suddenly—and reappeared with its jaws firmly clamped around the arm of one of the men.

 

Dee could honestly say later that he had no idea what happened next. The man the dog was biting screamed, the other yelled angrily, there was a gunshot, and then…the dog was just…gone. No body…nothing. Then the man who hadn't been bitten looked up, and his eyes met Dee's.

 

There was a long, ringing silence, and then Dee spoke, summing up everyone's thoughts in two words.

 

“Holy crap.”

 

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AN: There, that's chapter two! Okay, so I know this story has been sadly devoid of De Boyz so far, but that should be remedied in the next chapter!

 

Now please, please, please review! You have no idea what that would mean to me right now…