Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Something Like Forever ❯ Thank God For Dee ( Chapter 6 )

Okay, so I confess. I hated the last chapter with a fiery, white-hot passion. It was way too rushed and I don't think it was very well-written, especially the end. But I really don't want to rewrite it… I'm sorry! I'll try to make this chapter better…then I'll make my next Fake fic a whole lot better than this one. I don't know if I really like this one…

 

Oh, and I need to put in a disclaimer, since I don't know if I put one up to begin with, so…

 

DISCLAIMER: I don't own it. Never did. If I did, it's be more fluffy…

 

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Chapter 6—Thank God For Dee

 

Around midnight, Ryo felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. His mind, however, was exhausted, and refused to register that someone was attempting to awake him. He slowly awoke to see that night had fallen completely around them, and Dr. English was standing next to the bed.

 

“What time is it?” Ryo whispered.

 

“Late. You're starting to annoy the nurses.”

 

Ryo chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

 

He started to get up slowly, only to feel an arm tighten around his waist, and he looked down to see Dee holding onto him with a slight frown, even in sleep. Smiling softly, the blond leaned down and kissed Dee's forehead. “It's okay, Dee. I'll be back,” he whispered, and the words must have registered in Dee's sleeping brain, because Ryo felt his lover's body relax and Dee sank deeper into his slumber.

 

His smile growing a little, Ryo untangled himself from Dee's arm and followed Dr. English out of the room.

 

“What's up?” Ryo asked, pulling the door to Dee's room closed behind him. “Is something wrong?”

 

“The nurses are after me to kick you out. They say you've been around for too long and you're disturbing the patient. Now, if it were up to me, you could stay here round the clock, but it's not up to me, and the nurses say you have to go.”

 

“But you're their boss.”

 

“Yeah, but see, those ladies are scary.”

 

Ryo laughed, his first real laugh in days. He felt…good…right now. “I got it. I'm out of here.”

 

“Okay. See ya tomorrow, man.”

 

“Bye.”

 

-----

 

Bikky was asleep when Ryo got home. Ryo peeked in on him and smiled, seeing his son slumbering peacefully, sprawled across his bed and tangled in the blankets with his arms around a pillow. Loosening his tie, he removed his jacket, folded it, and placed it on the back of a chair in the living room, putting his tie and shoes with it, before going to his room to change into something more comfortable to sleep in.

 

The apartment was deathly silent, and the quiet once again began to press on Ryo.

 

Sighing, he crawled into bed a few minutes later and pulled the covers up around him, but found that he couldn't sleep.

 

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Dee's grave.

 

Logically, he knew Dee was all right, that he would be back to normal soon, but he couldn't seem to convince that tiny, nightmare-inducing part of his mind that this was true.

 

He grabbed a pillow and brought it up to his face, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, trying to convince himself that the pillow somehow smelled like his lover. This did not work, however, and Ryo settled in for a long night of not sleeping.

 

-----

 

The next couple of weeks passed serenely. Ryo spent them tying up loose ends on some of their cases, finishing up the paperwork that seemed to have accumulated from every part of the precinct, and making sure that Bikky didn't destroy all of New York City during his vacation from school. He was sleeping better now, though he still missed Dee and had the occasional nightmare about his lover dying or leaving him.

 

Dee was making rapid progress in his physical therapy sessions, though he was still not allowed to leave the hospital, much to his dismay. One of the nurses actually threatened to wash his mouth out with soap if he didn't stop cursing every time a member of the hospital staff walked in the door.

 

He had been a little detached since their breakup and had been less prone to giving Ryo a great deal of affection, but things between the two were beginning to warm back up and get back to normal.

 

Dee was finally allowed to leave the hospital three weeks after he was admitted. The second Dr. English told him he would be discharged, he grabbed his phone and called Ryo, who immediately agreed to come as soon as he finished his shift.

 

Ryo showed up at the hospital a couple of hours later, whistling happily. It had been a good day. He'd finished up all of their paperwork, therefore ensuring that when Dee was put on desk duty, he would have minimal amounts of his least favorite job. Berkeley hadn't made a single move on Ryo that day, either, and everything seemed to be going well both at work and at home.

 

Ryo loved days like this, days on which he felt accomplished and felt as though his life really was where it was supposed to be.

 

“Hey, Dee,” Ryo greeted his lover as he entered the hospital room. “Sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I was about to leave when I got slammed with another round of paperwork. I swear, I think the entire precinct has stopped doing their work because they know I'm around to do it for them. Hi.”

 

Dee laughed. “You look like you're in a good mood.”

 

“I had coffee.”

 

“Ah.” Another laugh, and then Dee was pulling Ryo down for a kiss. “Did you come to bust me out?”

 

“That's exactly what I came to do. I already filled out the paperwork.”

 

Dee was looking much better now than he had three weeks before. The bruises that had previously covered most of his body in an interesting array of greens, yellows, purples, and blues, had nearly faded and the stitches had come out of most of his cuts. His more serious injuries would need more time and therapy to heal, but those would also eventually become just a memory.

 

The only thing that was currently a huge problem for Dee was the uproar that followed his spectacular rescue of the orphans. The news programs and newspaper articles that had been aired and printed had left their subject distinctly disgruntled.

 

All in all, though, life was looking up.

 

None of the nurses were exactly displeased to see Dee go. He was—as they had told him frequently, loudly, and in several languages—the most disagreeable patient they'd ever had the displeasure of taking under their wing. Only one of the nurses seemed genuinely upset to see Dee go, and she was a young, bubbly, idiotic and annoying woman who had nearly started crying when she found out Dee was in love with a man.

 

And that man was in love with him.

 

Life really was perfect for some people…

 

-----

 

One Year Later

 

“Hello, freedom!” Dee yelled as he and Ryo stepped out of the hospital and into the sunlight.

 

Ryo laughed, even as he began to scold his lover. “Dee, the doctor said you still shouldn't over-exert yourself…”

 

“I know, I know,” Dee said, having just jumped into the air with his arms over his head. Hitting the ground, he promptly tripped, and Ryo leapt forward to catch him. Dee smiled sheepishly, holding onto Ryo's shoulder to steady himself. “Okay, maybe that was a bad idea….have to get used to using both legs again, I guess….”

 

“You were never exactly graceful to begin with, Dee,” Ryo replied teasingly.

 

“Bite me.”

 

Dee had finally gotten the all-clear from Dr. English, and he could not have been happier.

 

The last year had felt like something akin to hell for Dee.

 

During the first three months or so, every time he'd had a physical therapy session, he would come straight home to take a painkiller, a fact which he desperately tried—and failed—to hide from Ryo. As time wore on, the therapy became easier and the pain became less, but Dee still had to depend on Ryo for things he normally wouldn't have had to, and while he loved Ryo and was glad the blond cared about him so much, he hated being dependent on anyone for anything. He and Ryo had had several fights about that very fact, and the blond had spent more than one night on the couch in the last few months. (Strange, considering that the apartment, and therefore the bed, belonged to Ryo.)

 

Desk duty hadn't exactly been a picnic either, and Rose had gone to great pains to remind Dee that Ryo was spending a great deal more time with the Commissioner than he was with his partner. Dee, knowing that neither he nor Ryo had a choice in the matter and that Rose was bound to take advantage of that fact, had assigned JJ and Drake to follow Rose everywhere he went with Ryo—a task which the detective duo had accepted willingly and accomplished well enough that Rose threatened to fire them.

 

But all that was behind them now. Dee was back to active duty in two weeks, and Dr. English had told him that as long as he didn't experience any more difficulties, he didn't have to take part in any more physical therapy sessions, though he did have to come in for a checkup in a month.

 

Things between him and Ryo were much better now, as well, with Ryo finally beginning to come to terms with who and what he was, and Dee learning to trust Ryo with his heart and to be patient with the blond's insecurities.

 

Dee had also received an award for “actions above and beyond the call of duty”, though he strongly felt that all he deserved was a reprimand for more profound stupidity than the average human mind could possibly comprehend. He had received an official reprimand from the Chief for performing what the NYPD viewed as “an act of vigilantism,” but all the positive publicity that the precinct was receiving had caused the repercussions to be somewhat less than severe.

 

Ryo, too, had been angry with him for putting himself in such a dangerous situation without so much as telling anyone what he was doing. Dee doubted his lover would ever let it go completely. But Ryo was also immensely proud of Dee, and had told him so once, then proceeded never to mention the entire orphanage “incident” again unless Dee spoke of it first. The whole situation had just been too painful for Ryo, and he didn't like dwelling on the painful memories in his life.

 

“Drake wants to take us out tonight,” Ryo said, slipping his arm around Dee's waist. He had started becoming more comfortable with this sort of thing, and while the thought of kissing Dee in public still caused Ryo to blanch slightly, he didn't hesitate much when it came to simple gestures. Dee was being incredibly patient with him, and Ryo was grateful.

 

“Huh? Why?” Dee asked, confused.

 

“Well, he says it's to celebrate you getting back to normal, but we all know it's just an excuse to party and consume ungodly amounts of alcohol. JJ and I are gonna be the designated drivers.”

 

“Whoa, what? JJ's coming?”

 

“Yeah. You, me, Drake, and JJ.”

 

“Why JJ?”

 

“Because he wanted to come.”

 

“Great,” Dee said gloomily. “Now just invite the bastard and the sea hag and it'll be the greatest night of my life.”

 

“Rose and Diana aren't coming, and don't be so dramatic.”

 

“No, seriously! All we need is some dancing penguins and Mary Poppins floating in the corner to bring back the worst two hours of my childhood!”

 

“How do those two thoughts even coincide?”

 

“You'd have to be in my head, but there was a track.”

 

“Okay. Whatever. So are we going?”

 

“Do you want to?”

 

“Kind of. It sounds like fun, and you and I could use some of that.”

 

Dee let out a sigh that was far too loud and dramatic to be genuine. “Okay. We'll go.”

 

Ryo smiled and put his other arm around Dee, so that he was hugging his lover as he walked. “Thank you.”

 

Dee smiled and slipped his arm around Ryo's shoulder, placing a kiss on the blond's head.

 

-----

 

Drake had been standing at the door of his and JJ's office for the past ten minutes, engaged in a serious internal struggle. At last, after much consideration, he slid the door open and stepped in.

 

JJ looked up from where he was organizing paperwork on the desk, and smiled happily. “Hi, Drake.”

 

In the last several months, things between Drake and JJ had returned to something resembling normal. JJ had decided to temporarily give up his quest for Drake's affections, much to Drake's relief, and now they were just friends again.

 

Little did JJ know that during those months, Drake had never stopped thinking about his partner and wishing that he himself wasn't such a coward.

 

“Hey,” Drake said, smiling awkwardly.

 

“Okay, the people in this place have no idea how to organize their crap, and I have no idea how I got stuck with it, but we've gotta get Ryo back in here fast.” JJ looked up again, still smiling. “Why are you just standing there?”

 

“I need to talk to you,” Drake replied softly.

 

“Ooh, spy voice, cool,” JJ teased, turning his back to the desk and leaning against it with his arms crossed.

 

“Focus, please.”

 

“I am a camera.”

 

Drake chuckled quietly, but still looked uneasy.

 

“I was doing some thinking last night.”

 

“Okay, right away, bad.”

 

“No, it's nothing bad. It's just… God, I suck at this whole talking thing.”

 

“No guy is really good at talking. Just try. I promise, if you revert to caveman speak, I won't laugh. Much.”

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

 

“Okay, I'll shut up.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You're welcome. Now what's up?”

 

“Well, like I said, I was doing some thinking last night, and I realized…you were right.”

 

“I was…right?”

 

“Yup. All along.”

 

“Okay, I'm gonna need you to fill in some blanks here, because I'm not following.”

 

“There is something between us.”

 

JJ's eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

 

“Yeah. But I don't know how to do this sort of thing.”

 

“So you've said.”

 

“But this whole thing with Dee… I know it's been months, and I know you probably aren't interested anymore, but… I still think about the whole thing with Dee and Ryo a lot. Dee almost dying…before Ryo could…well, get a life, to be blunt. And…that thought bothers me. I just don't want anything to happen to us before… It's just such an unpredictable job, JJ, and—”

 

“I get it.”

 

“So…what do we do now? I don't—" But Drake was cut off when something slammed into him, and his arms were suddenly full of a squealing, laughing JJ.

 

-----

 

“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” Dee said as he and Ryo entered the bar.

 

“Because you love me?”

 

“And because I'm alcohol deprived.”

 

“I wouldn't have gotten rid of all your beer if you hadn't tried to mix it with your painkillers.”

 

“One time, Ryo. One time.”

 

“Hey, guys!”

 

Dee and Ryo turned to see Drake waving them over to the bar. Smiling, they went over to sit next to him.

 

“Hi, stud,” JJ said, leaning around Drake as he sipped from a tall glass of lemonade.

 

“Don't call me that,” Dee snapped, then yelled at the bartender, “Hey, thirsty people here! I need beer.”

 

“You get crabby when you're alcohol deprived,” Ryo observed.

 

As the night wore on, Dee and Drake grew more intoxicated, and JJ and Ryo tolerated them good-naturedly.

 

“C'mon, have a drink, Ryo,” Drake urged, taking another drink of his tequila.

 

“No thanks,” Ryo replied firmly.

 

“Aw, you're no fun.”

 

“No, believe me, he's doing us a favor,” Dee interjected. “Two beers and he's doing a Coyote Ugly bar dance to `It's Raining Men'.”

 

“I'm gonna kill you, Dee Laytner.”

 

“No you're not.”

 

“Yes I—"

 

“Okay, in order to prevent any homicides,” Drake interrupted, “JJ and I have an announcement.”

 

JJ choked on his lemonade and spluttered, “What? Now?”

 

“Why not?”

 

“But…you said you didn't want anyone to know.”

 

“But you want people to know.”

 

“…But—”

 

“JJ, take advantage of the five gallons of alcohol in my system, because this is probably the last chance you're gonna get for a really long time.”

 

JJ grinned. “Drake and I are dating!” he squealed, then covered his mouth and looked apologetically at Drake. “Sorry.”

 

Ryo blinked. “You…what? Drake, you're…”

 

“Apparently.”

 

“Oh my… Er…congratulations? I think?”

 

“Hey, I say we celebrate!” Dee exclaimed. “Shots?”

 

Ryo groaned. “Oh dear God….”

 

-----

 

The next morning, Dee was the last to stumble into his and Ryo's kitchen.

 

Drake and JJ had come home with Dee and Ryo the night before and ended up falling asleep on the couch. Drake was now sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands, and Ryo and JJ were chattering happily as they made breakfast. The smell of sizzling eggs and frying bacon made Dee's stomach churn, and he flopped into a chair next to Drake, folded his arms on the table, and dropped his head into them.

 

“Morning, Dee,” Ryo greeted him cheerfully.

 

“Bite me.”

 

“Got anything else to add to that?”

 

“Yes. Four people called last night and asked that you bite me.”

 

“You look worse than I thought you would this morning.”

 

Dee lifted his head high enough to rest his chin on his arms and shot Ryo the best death glare he could under the circumstances. “Die.”

 

“Aww, poor Dee. Want some breakfast?”

 

“Die twice.”

 

“What about some coffee?”

 

Dee perked up slightly. “I love you, Ryo,” he said pleadingly.

 

Ryo chuckled and set a cup of black coffee in front of Dee. “There you go. One bag of coffee per cup of water, just like you like it when you're hung over.” The blond turned back to the stove and then set two plates of pancakes in front of Dee and Drake.

 

“Oh thank God, hangover food,” Drake said, picking up a fork and taking a bite.

 

“That's my little New Yorker,” JJ said, smiling and ruffling Drake's hair affectionately.

 

“Oh my God,” Dee said, having just taken a small bite of his pancakes. “I think I'm gonna be sick.” He paused as he finished chewing slowly and swallowed. “Nope, I'm good,” he reported after a moment. “Oh, my head…”

 

“Did you take some aspirin?”

 

“Aspirin?”

 

“White pill, big `A' on it?”

 

“Right. Yup.”

 

JJ and Ryo chatted away all through breakfast, and by the end of the meal, Dee and Drake were on the verge of killing both of them. When JJ began to sing Broadway songs at the top of his lungs, Dee snapped.

 

“JJ, the only sound I wanna hear from you right now is you screaming, `Oh God, oh God, please stop beating me to death with my own rib bones!'”

 

“Aw, don't be so mean, stud.”

 

“Drake, how attached are you to your boyfriend's limbs?”

 

“Not that attached. Rip them off as you see fit.”

 

Ryo laughed and stood, putting his dishes in the sink. “Okay, JJ and I are going to work. We'll see you guys there, okay?”

 

“Can you cover for me today?” Dee asked, having just dropped his head back onto his arms again.

 

Ryo's eyes narrowed dangerously. “Excuse me?”

 

“…See you at work, Ryo,” Dee said meekly.

 

“That's better.”

 

-----

 

An hour later, Dee and Drake came into the precinct looking reasonably awake after having taken more aspirin than it was previously thought humanly possible to ingest.

 

Dee's nerves were already on edge from his headache, so when he arrived in his office to find Rose and Ryo in a…compromising position against the desk, he very nearly lost it. Launching himself at Rose's back, he yelled, “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY RYO THAT WAY?!”

 

Ryo sighed in relief and slumped back against the desk.

 

Thank God for Dee.

 

-----

 

“God, I can't wait to get off desk duty,” Dee muttered, scribbling down a last note on one sheet and moving on to the next. As he raised his pen to put it on the paper, he suddenly dropped his hand heavily onto the desk. “Oh, Ryo. Something very dark is happening here. It's suddenly heavy as lead.”

 

“Dee, get back to work.”

 

“I see dead people…”

 

“Dee, focus.”

 

“Ryooooo…” Dee whined. “My hand hurts.”

 

“Well my head hurts,” Ryo snapped irritably. “So suck it up and take it like a man.”

 

Dee didn't say anything for a moment. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who was getting bored with paperwork. Things were getting dull at the 27th…

 

Sighing inwardly, Dee dropped his pen onto the desk and stood. He went up behind Ryo and, placing his hands on the blond's shoulders, began to rub them in gentle, steady massaging motions. Ryo sighed contentedly and slumped, resting his head on the desk. Dee chuckled. “You're really tense, Ryo… When was the last time you actually took a minute to relax?”

 

“It's been awhile,” Ryo replied. “Ooh, right there…”

 

Dee frowned and started to work on a particularly stubborn knot in his lover's shoulder. “I think you're working too hard, Ryo.”

 

“Jesus, Dee, I'm not an old man. I can handle hard work.”

 

“No one can handle this kind of workload, Ryo, not even you. You get up at the crack of dawn and don't get home until midnight most days. Why are you working so hard? All we've done lately is paperwork, anyway.”

 

Ryo sighed; he was too relaxed to try to think up a convincing lie right now, so he settled on the truth instead. “When we were broken up…”

 

Dee stiffened slightly. He and Ryo had stopped talking about that; neither of them felt like reliving that particular period in their relationship. “Yeah?” he prompted hesitantly.

 

“I dunno…I worked every second of every day because it was the only way I could stop thinking about you. Guess I never really slowed down again.”

 

Dee smiled slightly. He didn't say anything, but just kept gently rubbing Ryo's shoulders. He lost track of time, but luckily no one bothered them, and Dee only stopped the massage when he heard Ryo's breathing even out. Smiling, he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the top of Ryo's head, then carefully removed the pen from Ryo's hand and went back to his desk to finish the rest of the paperwork.

 

In his sleep, Ryo smiled. Thank God for Dee.

 

-----

 

“God, I'm exhausted,” Dee sighed, tossing his jacket and tie onto the couch. “My hand cramped up about halfway through the O'Keefe case and it's been spasming ever since… How did all the paperwork pile up like this?”

 

Ryo laughed as he took Dee's jacket and hung it neatly in the hall closet next to his own. “It's always been this bad. You just started noticing.”

 

“Well I have a new respect for you,” Dee said, reaching out and grabbing Ryo's wrist. He spun the blond around and pulled him into a kiss. Ryo wrapped his arms around Dee and deepened the kiss, and to his surprise, Dee was the one that broke it. “Where's Bikky tonight?”

 

“At Carol's…”

 

Dee grinned. “Good.” Then he pulled Ryo into another kiss.

 

“Dee…” Ryo said, breaking the kiss. “I don't think I can stay awake that long…”

 

Dee laughed. “Don't worry. I'm not planning on jumping you. C'mon.” He turned and took Ryo's hand, leading him into their bedroom, where he threw himself onto the bed and pulled Ryo down next to him. Ryo leaned over and gave him another long, slow kiss, then said softly, “I'm gonna go change, okay?”

 

The blond stood and went into the bathroom, grabbing his pajamas from the closet as he went.

 

A moment later, Dee dragged himself out of the bed and changed into a pair of sweatpants, dropping the rest of his clothes onto the floor. Ryo saw this as he came out of the bathroom, and sighed, picking them up and dropping them into the basket of dirty clothes by the door. Then he crawled back into bed and settled next to Dee, resting his head on his lover's chest. Reaching down to take Dee's left hand in both of his, he began to rub it in deep massaging motions. Dee sighed happily and settled deep into his pillows, feeling his eyes flutter shut. “Reward for earlier, I'm guessing?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“God, Ryo, this goes way beyond writer's cramp…this is deep pain…”

 

Ryo brought the hand he was massaging up to his lips and kissed it gently, then rested his head back on Dee's chest and continued rubbing the black-haired man's hand.

 

“Dee?” he asked thoughtfully after a moment.

 

“Hmm?” Dee asked sleepily.

 

“Did you…ever imagine we'd end up like this?”

 

Dee wrenched his eyes open with difficulty and looked down at Ryo. “Like what?”

 

“I dunno, I was just thinking…” Ryo sighed and dropped Dee's hand. “Why in God's name did you stay with me this long?”

Dee frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“It's just…I've had so many issues, you know? I still have some of them… How does someone like you put up with someone like me?”

 

“…People do crazy things when they're in love, I guess.”

 

Ryo smiled and rolled over so that he could rest his chin on Dee's chest and looked at his lover. “In love, huh?”

 

“Happens to the best of us.”

 

Ryo chuckled and leaned up to kiss Dee gently, then settled back into his former position, smiling as he listened to his lover's heartbeat. “I love you.”

 

Dee buried his face in Ryo's hair and smiled contentedly. “Love you, too.”

 

Dee fell asleep a few minutes later, his arms holding Ryo in a tight embrace. As the night grew deeper, Ryo moved impossibly closer to Dee's side, and as he began to drift off, he smiled to himself.

 

Thank God for Dee.

 

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Okay, I typed this all up at two in the morning and I'm exhausted, so there's probably a lot of typos. But the story is finished. I'm gonna go write more fics now… No, not now. Tomorrow. I am going to bed. You can review now. Please?