I'm back! Wow, this has to be one of my quickest updates in history! Once again, thank-you to everyone who is still reading OAM. Special thanks to Golden feathers Edward and Alison for reviewing chapter four. This chapter is dedicated to Golden feathers Edward for following my story from chapter one, and for the lovely review for the previous chapter.

I'm not so keen on this chappy, but I wanted to post it so badly, so enjoy!

Chapter Five: Lost Memories

Dark eyes opened slowly, scanning every inch of a room that was so unrecognisable. Ryo sat up quickly.

"Ouch…" Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. The sandy-haired man groaned in pain, seeing the bandages wrapped around his ribs, and coming to the obvious conclusion that at some point he had become injured.

"All right…where am I?" He wondered, trying hard not to freak out.

A bright yellow post-it note caught his eye, and he slowly made his way to the bedside cabinet it was stuck to.

Don't worry, you won't remember coming here – short-term memory loss or something.

Ask Dee – you can trust him.

It said. It was written in his handwriting, yet Ryo couldn't remember writing it.

'Dee…'

On the table there was a photograph of a man with dark hair and beautiful green eyes. He looked late twenties, and his smile was so warm and friendly, that Ryo couldn't help but smile back at the picture.

'He's cute…' He thought, blushing pink at his own conclusion of the man. Turning the picture over, Ryo found writing on the back. It read:

Dee Laytner

Work partner, friend

Then, in chicken scrawl handwriting that Ryo couldn't place, it read:

Lover

"Lover…? Is he my boyfriend?" Ryo wondered aloud, temporarily forgetting his situation.

The half-Japanese man was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of the door opening.

"Good morning." A voice said cheerfully. A handsome man with raven hair grinned at the pale detective. Before Ryo could even open his mouth, the younger man continued. "Yes, I am. The Bertram Inn. Three days. It's okay. I love you."

"Huh?! How did you know what I was going to -?"

"Easy, babe." Dee smiled. "You asked me the exact same questions yesterday morning too…"

"I'm sorry." Ryo stared at the floor apologetically.

"You apologised as well. It's okay, Ryo. The Doctor said you'd regain your long-term memories in no time…"

"I hope so…it feels weird, looking at you, finding out I'm…in a relationship with you, and yet I don't even remember you." Ryo sighed, running his hand through his sandy locks. "You know…" He chuckled lightly. "It's like there's a big, black cloud invading my brain. I keep trying to remember, but all I can see is a hazy vision of darkness. It's like the weather…when that one that cloud has disappeared, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"The Doc said it would take only a few days to regain your long-term memories. That's why I gave you that picture of me, to speed up the progress... I thought spending a few days at your apartment would bring back memories straight away, but nothing…" Dee shook his head. No point in making the atmosphere any more depressing.

"On the post-it I wrote to myself, it only mentioned short-term memory loss. So… so why did I forget you? And why did I forget myself? God, I don't even know what I do for a living!" Ryo took a few deep breaths, watching as Dee sat closer to him.

"I'm not sure. The Doctor said it was 50/50 to whether your long-term memories would be affected. I guess luck just wasn't on our side." Dee began to rub circles on Ryo's back, sensing how tight his muscles were. He was feeling the stress of this fiasco…Not that Dee wasn't. It wasn't often the one you loved forgot who you were. "You work at the 27th Police Department, NY." He added softy.

Ryo sighed as he felt his muscles relax to Dee's gentle ministrations.

"So…" He asked after a few minutes of peaceful silence. "Why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep." Dee admitted true fully. "I had the dream again. The one where you wake up in hospital, unable to recognise me…" He closed his eyes, unable to ignore the pricking behind his green orbs, that signified his need to let go and cry. But he wouldn't. For Ryo.

"I will remember you, Dee. After all, if the Doctor says I will, then I'm sure soon enough, I'll know all about you!" Ryo said with renewed enthusiasm.

'You've said that everyday so far.' Dee thought sadly, tightening his grip on the man that meant so much to him. 'But when? When will your memories return? I don't know how long I can stay strong without you, Ryo. Please, please God, let him remember me. I'm begging you.'

A sob caught in the younger man's throat. In response, the sandy-haired man snuggled closer to Dee's chest. 'Even if it's only a memory…' Dee prayed, holding onto his angel.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"J.J, could you pass me the file, please?" Drake Parker, another drone worker of the 27th Precinct asked his usually full of life partner. "J.J? Earth to Jemmy!" Drake got up out of his seat to tap the lavender-haired man softly on the head.

"Drake? I'm sorry…" J.J sighed. "Let's finish this off so we can leave earlier today."

"Nah, it's okay. Without the dynamic duo in here, it's like a party at Ted's."

"I resent that!" The red-head shouted over from his desk. "But, I'm worried about Dee and Ryo too…"

"Dee wasn't himself at the hospital. I've never seen him so emotional, ever." J.J admitted. "He's so worried about Ryo."

"Yeah." Drake sighed. "But that's why we're working extra hard, right? So they don't have mounds of work to do once they get back."

"How long has the Walrus given them?" Ted asked, joining the pair at J.J's desk.

"Two weeks for Dee, Ryo is on paid sick leave until he's fit to return to work." Drake replied, opening up the file. "Oh what have we got here…?" He said suddenly.

"What is it?" J.J suddenly became interested; looking at the picture in the newspaper clipping that had caught Drake's attention.

"I know he looks familiar…" Drake began to think hard. "We've seen a picture of this dude before, I know it."

"Oh! Oh, I know!" J.J was once again his typical loud self. "It's in the Bennet file…it's one of the men under suspicion for the ransacked apartment we checked out a few weeks back."

Ted ran to his desk, grabbing the said file. J.J began to flip through the sheets of paper until he came to a photograph. It wasn't of decent quality, but the man certainly looked like the one in the other photograph.

"Hell, it is him!" Ted exclaimed. "Let's see, his name's…Morrison. Craig Morrison, thirty-one years-old, and a New York resident."

The three men stared at the photograph. They were one step closer to solving two horrific cases.

The man had shoulder length blonde hair. He wore shades in both pictures. In the newspaper photo, he wore a Hawaiian leaf print shirt, in the other, a brown suit. His smile was cold, as if he was unable to express true feeling. In the Bennet case photograph, he was holding something.

It looked like some sort of soft drink…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Huh?!" Ryo stared at the dark-haired stranger, trying to remember his face, but he just couldn't. "Are…are you Dee?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes." The other replied gently.

"My lover…?" Ryo whispered, remembering the words on the back of the photograph.

"I am." Dee smiled, sitting down on the bed next to Ryo.

"Where…where are we?"

"The Bertram Inn." Dee watched for any sign of recognition in Ryo's eyes. Sadly, there was none.

"And how long have we been here, I can't remember…" Ryo started to panic, clutching his head.

"Two days. You were released from hospital a week ago; we came here for a break from…well, reality I guess. To help you relax and regain your memories." Dee wanted to add 'of me', but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Ryo, however, saw the sadness in those emerald depths.

"I'm so sorry, Dee."

"It's okay. It isn't your fault. I can't even imagine how hard this is for you…" Dee took Ryo's right hand in his own, brushing his lips against the paler man's knuckles. "I love you." He said quietly, feeling a surge of happiness when Ryo smiled at him, laying his head against Dee's shoulder.

It was a sign of trust, and although it wasn't much, it was a start.

TBC…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Okay, in case this chapter confuses anyone, let me explain. Part one is the present, following on from the last chapter, which was the past. Part two is the present at work, and part three is the past (but not as far back as the past from chapter four) from part one. Got it? I hope so…I'm going to end up confusing myself one of these days!

This will be my last dip into the FAKE section for a while. I' m leaving to venture through other sections and write my other stories. But, I'll be back, I promise! I'm so sorry I didn't complete the evil cliffy from the last chapter…Maybe I will in a later chapter? If anyone wants me to continue, that is.

As long as one person wants to read my story, then I'll keep working at it!

Until the next time!

Minako Angel xxx