Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Delicate ❯ Sticks and Stones ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Lyn and Andrew and their beautiful family are mine, must have expressed written consent to use, fanfic or whatever. Dee and Ryo etc. are not mine. Don't sue, I'm poor ^_^;

Delicate

Chapter One:

Sticks and Stones

By: Irish

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was one of those days. In fact Ryo had a feeling it would be a whole new definition of 'one of those days'

He and Dee had had dinner together the night prior. Dee had really gone all the way in preparing dinner, making a very impressive alfredo sauce to go over Fettuccini ad chickens, with a cheesecake for dessert. But Ryo had been called home shortly after they finished eating by Bikky who had accidentally cut himself working on an art project for school. The cut, done in a split second slip of the exacto knife had required several stitches and a three-hour wait in the ER.

If had ended there today wouldn't be looking quite so bleak. Ryo was also lactose intolerant. Had been since he was very young. General consumption of dairy usually left him with a mild stomachache and a couple other more embarrassing but equally trivial issues. It wasn't usually enough to make him avoid anything but straight milk. There were times however, when I flared up, and even a little dairy made him very ill. Apparently his dinner with Dee had been more lactose then his gastro-intestinal system wanted to handle. His wait in the ER with his son had been uncomfortable, but by the time he got home, his body was actively rejecting Dee's wonderful dinner.

Unfortunately by that morning he was fine, other then only having gotten four hours of sleep, which wasn't, In Ryo's book, enough of a reason to call in. Besides if he stayed home he would have to tell Dee why. Not only would it be rather embarrassing, he was sure it would crush Dee.

If it had ended there it would have only been a bad night. But despite only having been awake for three hours, his day was going very very poorly. He had woken late and exhausted, Bikky had not wanted to get up. They left the apartment behind schedule… and then the car wouldn't start. So, Ryo had to rush his son down to the subway, and escort him to school that way, knowing that left to his own devices Bikky would surely skip. Now, as he finally set foot in the precinct he was nearly an hour late, and his beeper was vibrating almost constantly with pages from the department. Oh yes. This would be a good day.

"Ryo, Jesus, where the hell have you been? Rose is having kittens! Full moon last night, you know what that means." Dee shouted across the squad room from where he stood at the coffee pot. Ryo sighed intentionally ignoring a wink from Janet, that girl just didn't know what 'no' meant.

"Good morning to you too Dee…. Pour me a mug will you? With extra caffeine."

Dee chuckled as he poured a second mug. "Well good morning sunshine, long night? How's the Brat?"

"Fine. A couple stitches and a very very long time in the ER. He will live."

"Well damn. Ah well, if he is gonna live then he can wash my car for me for some pocket money." Dee grinned handing over the mug, leaning back against the counter.

"No dice, he's not to get it unnecessary wet. What's Rose got his boxers in a bunch about?" Ryo took a sip of his coffee and grimaced as he burned his tongue. "Man… if I could get one thing to go right for me, I would be a very very happy."

Dee frowned in concern, shifting so he stood in front of Ryo, blocking him from view of the rest of the room. It was an unconscious gesture, Ryo was sure, but he still found Dee's urge to protect him very endearing. "Are you okay handsome? Anything I can do? You want to find a quiet corner so we can talk for a minute?"

"Do we have time? I could use a minute." Ryo said softly, trying to keep his body language neutral. He wanted to lean back against the counter with his legs a little apart so Dee could stand between them, but he forced himself to keep his eyes on his coffee and remain at a ninety-degree angle to the floor.

"What's Rose gonna do? Fire us? Loose some of his top shooters… and the ass holes we book are more likely to be convicted then anyone else's collars. Yeah we got a minute. Come on." Dee made a motion with his head moving out of the squad room over to their closet sized office, shutting the door carefully behind Ryo and pulling the warped blinds down over the small window into the squad room. "All right handsome, what's wrong?"

Ryo smiled as he moved over to Dee, wrapping his arms around Dee's waist, resting his head on Dee's shoulder. "It's been a rough twelve hours or so. No big deal, I just didn't sleep very well. Its not helping." He inhaled deeply against the crook of Dee's neck. Irish spring soap and shaving cream, very nice.

"Didn't sleep well eh?" Ryo could hear the wolfish gleam in Dee's eye.

"Not like that, don't be an ass."

"Sorry, just teasing." Dee brought his arm's around Ryo giving him a warm hug then just stood their holding him, calloused hands smoothing over the soft cotton of Ryo's dress shirt, pausing to knead the muscles at the nape or Ryo's neck. "Can I come over tonight?"

"Of course." Ryo smiled and gave Dee's neck a light kiss before stepping back. He was so, so glad Dee was here for him, as a partner and friend, as well as a lover. But Ryo tried very hard to keep it in the 'friends and partners' category at work, so did Dee… well, when others could see them anyway. "So what has Rose spitting tacks?"

"Oh some lawyer from G.O.A.L is here to do some sort of diversity training or some shit." Dee shrugged lighting up a cigarette as he leaned back against a filing cabinet.

"G.O.A.L?" Ryo wave a plume of smoke out of his face picking up his coffee and taking another sip. Now that it had cooled he could actually tasted it, and decided that the burning was better.

"Gay Officers Action League. Do you live under a rock?" Dee smirked a little, cracking their window that face the street to filter out some of the smoke, of course, the second hand from Dee's smoke was probably healthier then smog outside.

"No. I don't. Thank you very much. I just have no reason to know what that is." Ryo frowned. "I'm not gay."

"No, you just like fucking men." It was Dee's turn to frown. Ryo had had a rough night, but damn he hated when Ryo decided that he wasn't 'gay' or 'bi' that he just 'happen to fall in love with a man' like it was some big cosmic whoops. "Fine. Then your bi, whatever."

"I'm not bi either, damn it Dee. We've talked about this and even if we hadn't now is not the time. Further more, why do you always seem to think I'm 'gay' when you get to be 'bi'? What the hell is that?!" Despite having decided now was not the time to talk about this Ryo temper was stoked and well burning. "Listen Dee. You can be whatever the hell you want, that is just fine. But I am not like that. I like women. I want to get married and have children some day, okay? I am not homosexual! So just drop it!"

"You're the one still talking." Dee remarked mildly as he butted out his cigarette. A band that he thought had loosened since Ryo and he had finally gotten together constricted painfully around his heart. He thought he had let Ryo make all the choices, that he hadn't force the man into anything. Dee was starting to think that wasn't the case. "Come on. We've got some fag waiting to lecture us about other fags. Don't forget your 'I'm not a homosexual' sign. Wouldn't want anyone to think you're one of them." Dee snagged his clipboard from his desk and strode out of the room.

Ryo stayed back, blinking at the empty office… what had just happened there? Had what he said sounded as bigoted as what Dee threw back at him? Today was not going well. He hadn't meant to hurt Dee. Shaking his head, Ryo grabbed his own clipboard from his desk and headed for the classroom.

"Ten percent of the population admitted to being homosexual to some degree on a survey. That statistic is from nearly ten years ago. Many think the numbers would be much higher if taken today, as it has become slightly more tolerated to be homosexual. This statistic includes both men and women, of all ages. So, I can safely say, standing here, that there are at least three of you in the room who are gay, not including myself. For those of you who were obsessing about that. I am Gay." The speaker took a deep breath and offered a small smile. "I have been out of the closet since I was seventeen…. And that never gets any easier."

From where he sat Dee offered the man a smile. He never quite understood why people had a hard time coming out, he never did, but hey the man was putting himself out there. He had heard Ryo slip in a few moments after him and take a seat in the back. Dee has found an open desk more towards the middle. Today's little in-service wasn't going to be as bad as he had dreaded. The speaker was very avid and passionate about the subject, witty, and most importantly, extraordinarily hot.

"So, not only are ten percent of your co-workers gay or lesbian, ten percent of the people you deal with are as well. Whether it's a domestic disturbance, murder, as victims, witnesses, or perpetrators. One in every ten is gay. If general human decency and acceptance isn't enough to make you interested in tolerance I can tell you this as well. More then ten percent of the lawyers, in the DA's office, prosecution, Defense, legal aid, private practice, not to mention G.O.A.L, are gay or lesbian. So, it would be very, very easy to get sued nine ways from Sunday. So. What is tolerance?"

As the lawyer spoke he moved, not a lot, just the occasional step, or shift of weight, enough to make him look animate and alive. He had long fingered hands that didn't just gesture, they danced. If Dee hadn't been taken, he surely would have tried to bed this man. Dark brunette hair, stunning blue eyes, legs a mile long, this man was definitely a wet dream in the making. Dee grinned and slouched in his chair a little. It was like being in high school again and having a hot teacher.

The speaker scanned the room quickly. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy audience. "Right, well then." He said when he saw not a single hand go up. "Tolerance is 'putting up' with something. You tolerate… a head cold, or wet shoes or a whiney kid. You cope with it because you have to. Now can anyone tell me why this might be detrimental to understanding minorities, be they gay, black, Asian or Jewish?" Some of the wind was being taken out of his sails. The faint smile on his face seemed to dry there like ketchup on the wall. Dee was surprised Ryo's hand wasn't in the air. His partner had a penchance for over participation. Finally he heard Ryo's quiet but resounding voice in the dead room.

"If you are only tolerating someone you still have a negative perception of them but are allowing their existence because you have to."

"Right, thank you officer, what is your name?" The man looked much relieved.

"Randy MacLean." Ryo replied, but his response sounded a bit board. Yeah Dee didn't envy the lawyer a bit.

The lawyer, who they found out went by the name of Lyn Doren, held his composure admirably throughout his speech, even in the face of the blue wall of silence staring at him. At the end of the hours most of the Detectives bolted from the room, in less time then it took Mr. Doren to turn around and start to pack his briefcase.

"We should talk to him Dee, he gave a really good lecture, and under some serious pressures." Ryo said softly, laying a hand on Dee's arm as he made to pass.

"What about? You're not gay, remember." Dee's mood dropped quickly again as he remembered their earlier exchange of words.

"Dee, don't be like that, please, we'll talk about that later. Come with me to thank him for coming in, I doubt Rose will, he looks pretty irritated, I wonder why."

"Probably because he doesn't like being reminded that sexual harassment is illegal." Dee grumbled, letting Ryo lead the way back up to the front of the room.

From a distance Mr. Doren didn't look tall… or at least not as tall as he was. His slight build lead him to be easily underestimated, but as Dee and Ryo stopped beside him, he was easily a full hands span taller then Dee, and a good half foot taller then Ryo.

"Mr. Doren… I just wanted to thank you for coming in today, I know it cant be easy talking to such a belligerent crowd."

The lawyer turned to them and smiled, hitching a hip up on the desk. "No sweat, I knew what I was getting into coming to speak to a police department. Its almost as bad as speaking a at a republican convention. Please, call me Lyn." He offered a long fingered hand first to Ryo then to Dee.

"Detective Dee Laytner." Dee replied shaking hands with him firmly. "You actually got it easy with this precinct. There was more then three people in the room who are gay."

"Really? Fascinating. They must ship them all over to this precinct then." Lyn chuckled.

"Its odd, I know. Mind, no one's exactly marching in the Pride parade. But our almost as likely to get hit on by a man as a woman around here." Ryo nodded, sizing Lyn up.

"Well, most police officers I talk to don't have the luxury of being out. I'm amazed that you are willing to even talk about this." He spoke with an odd turn to some of his words that Ryo had picked up during his lecture. He couldn't tell if it was even a real accent, maybe just a dialect of English, or a slight speech impediment.

"I'm bisexual, everyone in the department knows it. Is that a wedding ring?" Dee's emerald eyes had caught the flash of silver as Lyn had reach up to rake a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, actually." He grinned holding out his hand for Dee to examine. "We've been unofficially married for about three years now."

Dee shot Ryo a look that Ryo couldn't quite interpret. It was some where between pleading an 'I told you so'. If Lyn caught it, he chose to ignore it, not even missing a beat.

"It's been a rough three or four years, but we're making it. I am hoping that the honeymoon phase will start any moment here." Lyn grinned. "Listen… I am not really supposed to ask but…. Are you two…?" he trailed off letting the silence ask his question. Ryo glanced around nervously but Dee just grinned.

"Yeah, we are. We've only officially been together about two months now. We're trying to keep it at least a little on the DL, we don't want to get split up."

"And it's not very professional." Ryo added quickly. Dee frowned again… what was Ryo's deal today?

"Of course, of course. Hey, speaking of unprofessional, how would you like to come have dinner with my family? We have two toddlers, it's not often my husband and I get adult conversation, and I would love to get to know the two of you." Lyn smiled winningly.

"You have kids?" Ryo perked up. "How old?"

"Keiry is two, Annie is one." Lyn's smile widened, his pride for his daughters shinning through like a lighthouse at night.

"I bet they are adorable, Dee and I would love to come to dinner. What time?"

Dee stood back as arrangements were spelled out, surprised Ryo had so readily accepted to have dinner with another same-sex couple. He was so edgy about their relationship lately. Dee blinked back into reality when his shoulder was clapped firmly.

"Great to meet you Detective, I am really looking forward to tonight. You seem like very interesting men."

"Yeah, sounds great counselor." Dee nodded glancing over to Ryo who seemed in a better mood. His blonde partner stood with a small smile on his face hands in his pockets. Dee wondered if the man had a clue how deeply he had hurt him early. The counselor swung his soft-sided briefcase over his shoulder, giving them a last wave before ducking out the door, literally. "You look pleased Ryo." Dee remarked quietly, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops and leaning back on the desk.

"Well aren't you? We've never… hung out with another couple… I mean, Drake and JJ don't count. And they have kids. It's been ages since I've had a chance to see little kids."

"You should come with me to the orphanage more often. There are about ten kids under the age of five, all who badly need some individual TLC. But yeah, should be a nice evening." Dee nodded, lighting up another cigarette, he had refrained from smoking while Lyn's spoke, thinking that was excessively rude, but his hands were starting to shake.

Ryo shook his head as his partner sucked on the cancer stick like it was keeping him alive. He wasn't going to nag Dee to stop smoke, he knew what he ha d signed on for, but it still worried him. Dee wasn't too heavy of a smoker, less then a pack a day, but still more then Ryo was truly comfortable with. But Dee had been smoking for over half his life, and that wasn't something that was easily changed.

"Yeah I know, filthy habit. But its hard to change fifteen years of habit, filthy or not." Dee sighed softly looking at the cigarette briefly before inhaling again.

"I know. I don't expect you to change Dee. I wish you would, for your own health, but you're a grown man and able of making decisions for yourself. But if you ever decide to quit, I would be happy to help you." Ryo gave him a soft smile reaching over to squeeze Dee's hand. The contact was over almost before it started as the office door swung open with a bang.

"Guy's Rose is gonna have a coronary, he has been waiting for you two for ten minutes." Drake called at them as Ryo snatched his hand back almost instantly.

"Right, thanks buddy, we're on our way, double time." Dee sighed, straitening up and butting the last of his smoke in an ashtray before following Ryo from the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Jesus…" Dee murmured as he looked around the crime scene crossing himself subtly. He stood at the door of a bedroom in a seedy apartment in Brooklyn. It was impossible to tell what color the carpet had been, it was almost entirely saturated with blood. The body hung suspended from the ceiling by a meat hook that had assumable been mounted there specifically for the crime, as there were particles of plaster from the ceiling that Dee could see from here. Taking a breath he stepped into the room. It had been thoroughly photographed already, and Ryo and he had slipped on plastic covers on their shoes so as not to leave evidence or take any with them.

"It looks like the perp intentional drained the man of blood. Look, he has been cut across the throat, the wrists, even up here on his thigh. Ryo indicated with a pen the deep slash that bared the mans thighbone to daylight.

"The meat hook suggests that. That he was… you know, treating him like a slaughtered animal, a side of beef or something." Dee observed as he edged around the victim. "Well… he must not have mounted him immediately, unless the perp was eight feet tall."

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked following Dee around to the back side of the victim. Dee pointed with a grimace at the man's ass.

"He has been ripped to shreds. A broken bottle would have done less damage." Dee shook his head. "Well at least we know our perp is a man." Another indication of the pen pointed at congealed semen on the man's thigh. "Hey, get this body down and send him to autopsy, we need room to work." Dee called to the other officers.

Ryo stepped back as the EMT's came in with the body bag and a ladder borrowed from the superintendent of the building. Dee moved over to the nightstand and started to poke around carefully, Ryo chose to move over to the attached bathroom looking over the sink and tub for traces of blood, pubic hair, anything that would imply their perp had been here.

"This is going to be serial, I guarantee it." Dee called from where he squatted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The scene had taken the better part of the day to fully secure and process. Both the detectives had missed lunch, but it hardly even registered, both of them left too nauseous from the scene to have any interest in food.

"You still up for our dinner invite?" Dee posed the question around the butt end of a smoke as he stroke towards his car with Ryo, having offered to give him a ride home.

"Yeah, I need a nice night after that. That was brutal. It made me realize that… I don't even notice on that on women anymore. I mean, you know? Another dead hooker is another dead hooker. I think the job is getting to me." The blonde sighed, melancholy.

"You're not like that baby, I know you're not. Not like those ass holes who step over their bodies like trash. You just… have found professional detachment. Its necessary. It's why the EMT's call them Cadavers, not dead bodies… They cant." Dee rested a hand between Ryo's shoulder blades as they walked to his car. "To you, that badge means something. It's your magic wand to fix the world, not just… I don't know… like a gun, a way to enforce your will. You want to make this city better."

"You do too Dee. Don't you dare discredit yourself, I can hear you doing it already." Ryo admonished, glancing at the handsome relief of his lovers face.

"Nah, if I wasn't the law, I would be breaking it, that's all. I get to run around with a gun and beat people up, and get paid and not go to jail." Dee shrugged pulling out his keys as he found his car, unlocking the passenger door before his own, settling in and buckling his seat belt as Ryo did, their knuckles brushing. Ryo snagged his hand and brought it to his face and holding it there as he caught Dee's jade gaze.

"That isn't true Dee. You know those women are people. You care about them too. And if you weren't a cop, you would be something else, something honest. Because you are an honest guy. Mother doesn't just mean that you tell the truth, she means in your soul, you are honest and pure of heart, if not always pure of action."

Dee sighed softly, warm, dark pools drawing him in, piercing him deeply. "I love you." Dee breathed, fingers stroking lightly at the smooth skin under them. "You actually see me." More so then anyone else ever had, accept maybe Penguin, but even she missed some of what he was. ''It doesn't matter.' Dee reminded himself. 'He wants a wedding and children, and we all know there is only one way he is going to get those things, and it isn't with me.'

"I love you too Dee. Lets go home, I'm looking forward to spiffing up a little and pulling out my table manners." Ryo's smile gelded him for a moment and it was only Drake's friendly thumping on the hood as he climbed into his own car, that brought Dee back to earth to turn the key and start the engine.

An hour later found then standing on cement steps in front of an impressive Victorian or impressive size for the heart of the city. For a moment neither detective knocked. Dee felt a bit intimidated by the situation, being dressed up and on the doorstep of strangers'… strangers who likely had some understanding of table manners. Dee had never used more then one fork, had never even touched a cloth napkin. The house was large and Dee barely noticed anything beyond that. Had the veil of his stress not been so thick, he would have noticed that it wasn't lavish; that the car parked on the street in front of their own was a ten-year-old Honda Civic. The lawn wasn't manicured; in fact it was hard to see the grass under the fall of red and orange leaves. It was a house, and it was large, but it was by now means on of New York City's palaces.

Finally Ryo raised a fist and knocked politely. There was a moment of silence, then it was as though someone had hit play on a CD of household sounds. There was a series of sternum vibrating parks and the thunder of large paws over hardwood, the squeal of children, the low rumble of voices just under the din. It took several beats for the door to be swung open.

The man behind it seemed impressively unfrazzled, less so then the two dumbfounded detectives standing on his front stoop anyway. The man who answered was California handsome, long blonde hair in a near ponytail, bronze toned skin, dove gray eyes. He was built like a Norse god, but the image was ruined by the blue wheel chair he sat in. He smiled up at them from his seated position, one hand keeping reign on a little girl trying to scramble off his lap, the other restraining an overzealous dog the size of a horse.

"Ah… Andrew?" Ryo managed finally after both of them had stared long enough to look like slack jawed yokels.

"Yes, pleased to meet you, sorry I cant offer to shake, don't worry about Duke, he is as gentle as lamb, ignore his size. Duke, Sit." The gray moose sat instantly, his long tail thumping at the wooden floor rapidly, his tongue lolling out in a large doggie smile. "Come in." Still smiling the man wheeled back a few paces from the door letting the men in, finally settling the toddler in his lap.

Dee stepped in first, giving the dog's ears a friendly scratch. "Hey their boy." He turned to Andrew then, offering a hand. "I am Dee Laytner. We met your… partner? at the precinct today."

"I'm Randy McLean, but please, call me Ryo." Ryo's hand was proffered after Dee's.

"Pleased to meet the both of you." Andrew shook each of their hands firmly. "The moose is Duke, and this squirm worm is Keiry, our oldest." Andrew's blunt hands moved as he spoke. Dee could only associate the gestures with gang signs and furrowed his brow a bit. Ryo's eyebrows shot up a little.

"Are you signing?"

"Yes, I am, Miss Keiry is Deaf." He smiled, saying it with no hesitation or sadness. The little girl smiled brightly and moved her little hands. "She signed her name… and told you she was two, and that I'm her… well she signed my name sign, but its translates as 'Daddy An'."

"That is the cutest thing I have ever seen." Ryo grinned at the little girls signing. "Can you tell her my name is Randy?"

Dee watched the exchange from a pace away, feeling stretched. Ryo's excitement over the child was like a sliver of ice in Dee's heart, but Ryo was right, that had to be the cutest little girl on the planet.

The strawberry blond cherub watched her daddy a moment grinning, before climbing carefully down off his lap. The dog didn't seem to mind a bit that the girl used him as a step stool, and Dee could swear the dog had used a paw to steady her once she was standing on the floor in front of him. First she toddled carefully over to Ryo, wrapping little arms around his neck and giving his cheek a sloppy kiss. Ryo positively beamed, and looked a little teary as he hugged her back gently.

"She is gorgeous, and sweet as pie." Ryo said softly, releasing her when she squirmed.

"Thank you, I wish I could take credit." Andrew laughed, releasing the Dog who padded after Keiry, like a watchful nanny. The Little girl approached Dee cautiously, standing almost toe-to-toe with him, and craning her head way back to look at him. She cocked her head to the right and blinked, then smiled sweetly and waved. Dee waved back, crouching down to eye level with her.

"Well hey there monkey."

Keiry turned to look back to her daddy, pointing at Dee. Again Andrew spoke as his hands moved. "His name is Dee, sweetie."

She signed his name and then held up her arms, the universal sign for 'up', she certainly wasn't shy. Dee lifted her into his arms standing as Lyn rounded the corner into the living room.

"Well it looks like the party has started you guys!" Lyn laughed. "I see you have met my husband and my oldest girl. Looks like you have a friend for life Dee." Lyn's light lilting voice sailed over them as he sauntered closer, a girl just out of her infancy on his hip. Dee would have never guessed the two girls were sisters if he didn't already know they were. The tyke clinging to her dad's dress shirt had olive skin and hair the color of jet, a total contrast to her fair haired and fair skinned big sister.

"Hey Lyn." Ryo grinned, moving over to the lanky lawyer as Andrew rolled out of the way headed for the kitchen. "Who is this angel?"

"This is Morgaine." He grinned pronouncing it more-gain-y. "Annie for short." Lyn pronounced his daughters name with an odd twist to the word, making it sound more like 'A knee'. "She is about one and a half."

"She is precious. Lyn your girls are beautiful." Ryo was gushing. Dee felt a stone drop on his heart.

He blinked as he felt small, sticky fingers come to rest over his lips. He looked down at the munchkin in his arms. She grinned up at him as if to say 'glad to see I got our attention.' "What are you doing monkey?" Dee smiled a little, kissing her fingers before moving them from his mouth.

"Please, please come in you two, man I'm sorry its such a madhouse here, what a host am I that you have been standing in the door for ten minutes. Sit down…" Lyn ushered them both to the living room, gesturing to the couch. I can take Keiry, Dee, don't feel obligated to hold her, she is getting heavy."

"No, no its alright Lyn, I understand, kids are a handful, and that dog! He is like another kid!" Ryo laughed as he sat. "But Lyn…" His face became more serious and a concerned hand wrapped around his hosts wrist. "What happened to your husband?"

It was a question that took serious balls, Dee respected that, he could have never asked himself. But it was that extremely concerned tone in Ryo's voice that made it okay.

"What? Oh you mean the chair." Lyn laughed softly, shaking his head. "Its nothing…well I mean, he isn't normally in a wheel chair like that. He was…. Queer based, almost four years ago. They did a lot of damage to his legs, he is still recovering. He was just having a bad day, and with the dog and girls still running wild, he didn't want to trip on them. I am sure he will be on his feet using his crutches by the time we sit down for dinner." Lyn's tone was light, an 'I deal with this every day' sort of nonchalance but neither detective missed the sorrow under his voice.

"Queer bashed?" Dee asked at the same time Ryo said.

"I'm so sorry!"

Lyn smiled, but it looked a little strained, and Ryo shot his partner a hard look. He sat down carefully laying Annie on the couch beside him to play with a stuffed animal. Folding his hands on his lap he leaned forward a little looking at both men intensely.

"Yes queer bashed. But don't be sorry… it doesn't do anyone any good. It happened a few days before thanksgiving, about five days into our official relationship. We had known each other for nearly a year before…and were sort of unofficially together… But two days after we… were intimate for the first time, he was caught alone on the street after dark. I don't know how they knew he was gay… but from what little Andrew told me they knew… there were five of them, with bats and crow bars and a hammer." Lyn shrugged. "He was in the hospital until February. He is still recovering." Lyn spoke quickly, evenly, getting the story out, no emotion, just fact. Very lawyerly. Accept that look in his eyes.

"Only five days and you stuck with him, god Lyn, that is dedication." Dee was even impressed. He glanced down at the toddler in his lap, who was curled against his chest and sucking her thumb.

"Lets just say I owed him, I still owe him, that's what kept me with him, but love is what made it real." Lyn smiled a little.

"Is that why you went into law?" Ryo asked softly, big brown eyes wide and sad. Dee reached over and patted his husband's knee.

"Well I had already gone to law school but its what prompted me to take the bar. But dear gods, I have been sitting her palavering for ten minutes. Don't let me bore you. I will go get some wine." Lyn was on his feet and off to the kitchen before either had time to protest.

"Wow." Dee said quietly looking to his husband.

"No kidding. Dee… they beat him up just because he was gay? Does that happen?" Ryo knew it did in some fundamental way, had even investigated a few homicides to that effect, but it scared him, rather badly, to know this happened to real, innocent people. It was hard to imagine being anything but friendly to the big blonde man that had opened the door.

"You know it does, baby." Dee said softly, taking Ryo's hand. "Are you glad we've came?"

"Yeah, I am. These are good men. Let me see that little one." Ryo smiled leaning in and stroking Keiry's cheek. "Hey princess, come over to Ryo." He put his hands around her middle, lifting her from Dee's lap when she didn't fuss. Dee turned his eyes to the one on the couch. She was watching him, with eyes as wide and dark as Ryo's. Dee watched her in return. Not moving to pick her up, she seemed happy to sit and watch.

"Gay men can have kids too, Ryo."

"I'm not gay Dee. Besides you know any woman's uterus we can borrow for nine months. Do you even like kids?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, I don't feel the same drive to procreate you seem to, but these two are pretty cute." Dee shrugged.

"Kittens are cute Dee. These are kids." Ryo replied shortly.

"I grew up in an orphanage Ryo, do you think I've never changed a poopy diaper? Or been spit up on?" Dee tried to keep his voice even, but he felt something in the pit of his stomach, and it wasn't indigestion. Ryo had been so sharp with him about these things, these issues of commitment, what the hell?

"I'm sorry Dee, I don't know what's wrong with me today." Ryo turned to look at his partner, catching his gaze and holding it. "I love you, baby."

"Hey, I love you too. I don't know what's wrong either but I will do what ever you need me to do for you to make things better." Dee wrapped an arm around Ryo's shoulders pulling him in for a gentle, lingering kiss.

Each man felt a miniature hand pushing forcefully against their chest, and broke the kiss off almost unwilling, looking down at the pint sized princess who crossed her arms looking up at them in perfect drama queen fashion.

"I think she is jealous." Ryo chuckled, kissing the girls curls.

"Are you sure you want kids." Dee teased.

"Yes just not this one." Ryo shot back with a grin, leaning in for one last quick kiss.

"Never change baby. I love you."

"I love you too Ryo. Always."

Authors Note: After working in tandem with Wildefyre, I am returning to the FAKE scene solo. This is a different version of how they meet Lyn and Drew, and takes a very different path then A Time For Healing. Don't Worry A Time For Healing will be putting out chapters for many months to come ^_^ . However I am making no apologize for any 'OOC'ness of our beloved FAKE folk, because if I didn't feel this is how our men would truly react to a situation, I wouldn't write it. I don't think they are OOC. No its not cannon, but if Kracken is cannon, nuts to that. I don't think people's current concept of 'cannon' is in anyway related to the reality of the manga. Am I terribly arrogant? Do you need to ask? -_^. Bare with me folks, I promise you a treat.