Speed was almost ready to hit something in frustration or maybe throw something -- something loud and breakable. As satisfying as that would be, it would also wake up Ryan.
He had tried many times to contact Ezra, calling his cell phone, his home phone and finally the FBI offices in Atlanta. He even fudged a little and tried using his job, claiming he needed to talk to Agent Standish regarding a case, and still yielded no results. Ezra was totally and completely unavailable.
He then tried Tamilla. He had met the exotic Moroccan beauty only once at her wedding. He still wasn’t sure why Tony invited him to Ezra’s wedding, but Tony always did have an oddly skewed definition of family. He knew that Tony considered him family even before he became involved with Ryan.
That was a big part of the reason why he had avoided any of the family trips that Ryan took. Speed was loath to be confronted for taking advantage of the younger man. He almost didn’t start a relationship with Ryan at all, because he feared that his friend Tony would be upset by their love affair. In the end, he couldn’t ignore the fact that he had fallen in love with the younger man, and to cope, Speed stayed away from any situation that would bring him into contact with Ryan’s family. So far, it seemed to be working. No angry family members had come pounding on his door.
After unsuccessfully trying to contact Ezra through his wife who also was not answering her cell phone and upon calling her job being rudely hung up on, he called Tony. Speed had been avoiding his call for months, and now, he was forced into it. Again, he was unable to contact his friend at Tony’s home or at his job. Speed received another rude reply from whomever answered the phone in Tony’s section of the Philly PD, advising him to tell Tony he had better brush up on his resume.
Even Tony’s cell phone, the one that was always answered, went unanswered. Speed left messages both on Tony’s home and cell phones. In the end, none of his messages were returned.
Ryan’s cell phone, which Speed had been holding, started ringing. Speed did not recognize the number or area code, and Ryan had only marked the number with a single initial in his phonebook instead of a full name, but Speed decided to answer it, hoping whoever was calling could provide some answers for him. He was surprised by the voice of the other end. The caller, a female, started talking before Speed even had a chance to say hello.
“Ryan, how are you feeling? Is your eye ok? Mom is worried about you.” the caller said before being cut off by Speed.
Initially, Speed wasn’t sure who the female caller was. The voice was vaguely familiar, but he wasn’t positive until the word mother was mentioned. It could only be Melissa. He had hoped that Tony would get back to him, but he could settle for talking to the street smart NYPD officer. Even if she couldn’t tell him what happened, she could probably tell him where Ezra was and why he couldn’t get hold of either Ezra or his wife. Besides, she had to know something that much was evident from the little she had said thus far… she knew Ryan had been hurt, she as much as said so already. One thing Speed knew for sure Tony’s “family” cared for Ryan and if he was injured they would all know about it and know how it happened.
“Hey Melissa ? right? This is Speed, Ryan’s uh- roommate, Ryan’s sleeping right now. When he got back to Miami, he was really wiped so he went straight to bed. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Ezra to find out what happened. Would you happen to know how Ry got injured?”
The tone of the voice on the other end of the line took on a distinct chill, the type that would freeze hell in an instant. Roommate??!! That’s all Ryan was to this man his Roommate?!? “Hello Mr. Speedle, yes I do know how Ryan was injured.” It sounded like she was saying FUCK YOU to him, in the nicest possible way of course. This was the attitude he had been trying to avoid. He was already a pariah with his own family; he didn’t need to fulfill that position in this one too. Melissa had been brought up in a wealthy family and knew how to act imperiously when the situation demanded it. She was playing the rich disdainful bitch to the hilt for all that she was a civil servant the same as he was.
“I’ll let E-ezra know you are trying to reach him. I will try and contact Ryan at another time. Good day Mr. Speedle.” Mel’s voice cracked slightly when speaking her brother’s name. She hoped that she had caught enough of it so that bastard didn’t get the satisfaction of knowing he hurt her. He sent poor Ryan alone to face this and then acted as if there was no problem.
That Bitch! She was about to hang up on him, and she knew what happened to Ryan. And she wasn’t willing to tell him!!!
Speed could hear it in her voice she was going to hang up on him! Since Tony wasn’t returning his phone calls this was his only chance to find out what happened to his lover.
“No please, uh Mel, please, don’t hang up!” Speed said emphatically then paused to collect his thoughts. He blew out a sigh. “Listen I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, I’m probably the last person in the world you want to talk to, but I really need to know what happened to Ryan.”
Speed could have sworn he heard the sound of crying on the other end of the phone line. He wasn’t surprised by the cold reception from the people who were closest to Ryan. His younger lover was not that close to his own parents, but he had cobbled together, with help from Tony and Ezra, a family that truly loved him. Speed had expected them to be opposed to their relationship, most families are not thrilled to find out their child is gay. Then to add insult to injury the person who was supposed to be his protector in a new city seducing him into a homosexual relationship, was definitely not an act that would endear him to them.
The crying"the crying definitely threw him though. It was more than casual “girl” tears and more like her heart was shattering as each sob left her. There was no reason for her to be crying over the relationship that he had with Ryan. It wasn’t the end of the world or anyone dying. He was about to say as much when the voice on the phone changed.
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Tony had been trying to sleep. It seemed like years since he had last had a good nights sleep. More likely it had been months well maybe 6 weeks since he had been able to get a full night’s sleep. His mind was too blurred by exhaustion to calculate it correctly and the fact he was thinking this was a clear indicator of just how tired he was.
The case he had been working in Philly was high profile and had consumed all of his time. Nights and weekends were spent at work rather than home resting. The case had been still open when he left Philly with his captain yelling at him not to come back as he walked out of the man’s office. Oh well, he had been thinking of leaving anyway. Seemed like 2 years was his average life expectancy at a job and he had been in PA nearly that long already. There was no power on earth that would have kept him from Atlanta. He could always get another job; family and especially cousins however, were not so easily replaced.
If the past few months at work had not allowed him too much sleep, then the past week had not allowed more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time. Quick cat naps usually leaning on someone at the hospital. Generally Mel or Joe, sometimes Mary, Ryan too at least while the younger man had still been speaking to him, before Ryan went back to Miami.
Tony’s not sleeping was a product not only of his worry for Ezra but the burning hot anger he harbored towards Ezra’s coworkers. Let’s not forget the guilt. No one else knew that he had been using Ezra’s contacts to aid the investigation of the case he was working in Philly. He really worried that he had stirred something up something that Ezra paid the price for. In addition, he got in a fight with one of those pricks that Ezra worked with, that didn’t bother him. Ryan getting hurt as a result of that fight, that bothered him, A LOT.
Tony had just settled into a restless sleep leaning on Mel’s shoulder. She had insisted he sit with her and then coaxed him into sleep. She was almost as worried about him as she was about Ezra. His behavior for the past few days worrisome, not eating, not sleeping, decking federal agents, and the most troubling behavior of all, arguing with Ryan.
Tony wouldn’t talk about it so the best Mel could do was make sure he rested, well get at least as much rest as was possible considering where they were, and to get him to eat.
Tony’s “pillow” moved slightly, and he frowned in his slumber, restless though it was. Then it moved again, the next thing he knew he was hearing muffled sobs. He hated to hear sobs, especially female sobs, certain female sobs. He came awake with a start fearing that something had happened while he was sleeping that his cousin had taken a turn for the worse or " no, he didn’t even want to think it. Tony looked around quickly searching for the cause of Mel’s distress. Then he saw the phone in her hand. He had no idea who could be calling and upsetting her this much, but he was going to make sure they knew not to bother her again.
Tony took the phone from his “sister”. He heard the last word of the conversation, it was enough to let him know that whoever she was talking to knew Ryan but not enough to identify the caller.
As Tony confronted the person on the phone, Mel’s brother Joe came to comfort her. While she was crying, she kept saying over and over again “I am going to Miami, and I am going to kick his ass from South Beach to the Everglades and you can’t stop me.”
Joe had no intention from stopping his sister, none whatsoever.
“Who is this and what do you want.” Tony said gruffly into the cell phone. So gruffly that it was more a statement than a question. He had past the point of niceties days ago.
“Tony? Man, I‘ve been trying to reach you. It’s Speed, Ryan came home from Atlanta today looking like he went 5 rounds with Tyson. What the hell happened there? “
Tony held on to his temper through sheer will power. He knew his cousin loved the scruffy CSI, but right now even though Speed was a close friend, Tony wanted to knock his teeth in or break a rib or three. Nothing permanent just…painful.
He decided to play it cool. “It happened just how you think it happened. You’re a CSI the mechanism of injury should be obvious to you, it’s a classic injury, pretty much only one way to achieve it, fist met face and face lost.”
Of course Speed knew the mechanics of the injury, but he wanted more. Most notably how the hell did Ryan get what was most likely a bar fight injury.
“Yeah, Tone thanks, I figured that part out all on my own. Now how the hell did it happen?” Speed said with all of his trademarked sarcasm.
Tony’s will power snapped. He felt guilty enough for his part in Ryan’s injury but having Speed question him about it when Speed couldn’t even be bothered to come and be with Ryan while Ezra was critically injured… It was just too much for Tony to hear and still stay polite.
“What the fuck to you care huh Speedle? I mean really, Ryan can’t mean all that much to you. You couldn’t even be bothered to be with him when he needed you most. You let him come and face this all by himself and now you’re concerned for his well being. Too little too late Speedle.”
Tony was practically yelling by the end of his statement. Mel and Joe were next to him, attempting to calm him down. The last thing they needed was for Tony to be kicked out of the hospital for making a scene.
Tony acknowledged Mel and Joe with a wave of his hand. He took a deep breath to calm himself and awaited Speed’s response.
Speed listened to his friend, well, right now, it seemed more like former friend, yell at him over the phone. Speed didn’t think he had ever heard Tony as angry before in all the time he knew Tony. Something didn’t ring true though. Tony was angry actually mad as hell was probably a more accurate description for his mood. The reason he was upset was all wrong.
Speed expected to be called several derogatory even homophobic names denounced as a seducer of young innocents. What he got was a tongue lashing from not one but two people for letting Ryan “face” something on his own. WTF???!!! Face what??? It’s not as if he sent him to face those idiots who call themselves his parents.
Speed sent him on a trip to visit his cousin in Atlanta - a cousin who Ryan was close to and one who was expecting a new baby. Speed assumed Ryan had gone for the birth of the baby. During the conversation, Speed had made his way to their kitchen and sat down at the table. He crossed his arms and lay his head on them. Speed let out a sigh and gathered his thoughts. He had to think like a CSI now. He had no evidence; he didn’t even have enough information to make an educated guess. He needed to get more information.
“What they hell are you talking about, DiNozzo? Face what? Were his parents there? Maude? WHO HURT RYAN????!!! I put him on a plane for Atlanta in one piece to visit one of his closest relatives, and he comes back injured and all I am getting from you is the fucking runaround.” He didn’t raise his voice, but there was no doubt he meant business, serious and deadly, in defense of Ryan. His temper was fraying from nothing but the seeming run around that he had gotten thus far.
Something penetrated Tony’s fog of anger. The young Italian rarely let his temper get the better of him. He had learned at a young age the damage an uncontrolled temper could cause. His father was a good role model in that at least.
Speed was not only wondering what happened to Ryan; he was clearly upset by the injury. It wasn’t just the dutiful lover doing what was expected, a rote action. Tony truly listened to Speed this time. Speed thought Ryan had gone to Atlanta for a visit to see the baby -- could it be that those stubborn DiNozzo genes reared their ugly head again, and Ryan didn’t even tell Speed about the shooting? It would be exactly the kind of thing that that stubborn kid would do.
Tony shook his head and rubbed his hand through his lank hair. He really needed to go to the hotel room that Mary had arranged for the family; he needed a shower and a change of clothes badly.
“Speed, what did Ryan tell you about his trip to Atlanta?”
“He told me he was going to see his cousin and the baby.” Speed replied quickly and impatiently without even thinking about his answer.
“Are you sure those were his words?” Tony was willing to bet that they weren’t, apparently Ryan had learned more about the “art of prevarication” than either Tony or Ezra realized. “Think carefully about what he said.” Tony continued, wanting to get to the bottom of this issue. He was beginning to think that Speed wasn’t the ogre that the entire family, including Tony, had made him out to be.
Speed really thought about the discussion he had with Ryan the day before he left Miami. The younger man didn’t really come out and say anything. He just told Speed he had to go to Atlanta and that he had arranged some days off from work. Ryan asked for a lift to the airport. Speed was the one who assumed that Ryan was going because the baby had been born.
Now Speed was back to wanting to throw something. He should know his lover better than this by now. The man had been in a strange mood before he left. Speed had known something was up but wasn’t sure what it was. Judging by the reaction of Ryan’s family whatever it was, it was important.
“Actually now that you mention it, he never really said much about it other than he was going and where. I guess I supplied the details myself. What happened Tony?” Speed was marginally calmer now. It seemed he was finally going to get some answers.
Damn -- he could really hate Ryan, if the little shit wasn’t already hurt. Tony had been meaning to have this conversation with Speed. He had wanted to find out why one of his best friends was treating his cousin like a glorified whore -- willing to sleep with him but unwilling to come out as a couple in a safe environment. He had a feeling there was more to the story, and he had been preoccupied with his job so he had let the conversation go, figuring he would get around to it eventually.
Now fate had forced his hand. He could no longer avoid this conversation. In addition, he had to tell Speed about Tammy’s death and Ezra’s critical injury. Tony moved out into the hallway and walked down the corridor. He wanted to get some fresh air for this discussion. Every time he relived what happened to Ezra, he felt claustrophobic as if he couldn’t breathe.
“There’s no easy way to say this. Ryan came to Atlanta because Ezra was the target of a drive by shooting.” Interjected with “Oh my-” and Tony continued cutting him off, “Tamilla almost didn’t make it to the hospital. They took the baby, and she died a short time later. The baby is in the NCCU. The docs are … damn how did they term it cautiously optimistic that she will live, but she could have problems.” Tony took a deep breath to steady himself and once again ran his hand through his dirty hair. He really, really needed that shower.
“What about Ezra?” Speed asked quietly. He knew how close Ryan, Tony and Ezra were to one another, and he had been given was, if Ezra was dead, it would be a thousand times worse.
Tony blew out another breath and answered, “It’s still touch and go. He’s in the ICU; we can see him every hour for fifteen minutes only two of us. It’s bad, Speed, really bad. Ryan really could have used you here. He needed you man.”
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