Disclaimer: I own NOTHING, no recognizable character from CBS or the real people my OCs are based on so please don't sue! You'd probably spend more in legal fees than what you'd get anyway seeing as I'm annoyingly broke (yet again).

A/N: I've based my OCs on the folks at Charm City Cakes you know from the show Ace of Cakes.

Ryan was pumped he was going to visit his childhood friend Jeff for a week. He'd decided right after he was fired he needed a break. As soon as he'd walked out those glass doors he'd know that that his life had changed forever. Even if he somehow managed to get his job back(he had no clue how) they'd disliked him when they'd had no reason to now that they had a reason they'd make his life hell. He didn't care if it made no sense to go on a vacation after just being fired. He had tried living his life by logic and look where that'd gotten him, miserable and jobless with a scared soul. Besides when putting a gun up to your head and pulling the trigger was actually starting to sound appealing something had to be done. So he was jumping on the next plane to Baltimore, well the next plane to New York then he'd catch the train to Baltimore. He knew that he should be upset, that he should be crushed and at first he had been. On the way home he'd cursed the fact that he'd ever set foot inside a casino, cursed Stetler for firing him, and cursed Horatio for not helping him. As soon as his apartment door slammed shut behind him he'd bawled his eyes out, but as soon as the sobs had ended he'd realized that the sky hadn't fallen, the world hadn't ended. What was so important to him about the Crime Lab anyway? Helping people? Making a difference? Near the end it's felt like no matter how many cases he solved there would always be another crime scene, another mangled body. He felt like an interloper there an unwanted replacement; they treated him like some sort of walking crime analysis machine. So what if it broke? Get rid of it, replace it. Who cares what's wrong with it, it doesn't work throw it out with the rest of the trash. They probably were glad to have finally gotten rid of him they had obviously been trying to get him to leave from day one by giving him the cold shoulder, but he had hung on, then become depressed and then screwed it all up with his attempts to make something out of his monotonous life to feel like he was actually living instead of being stuck in endless gray…yeah that had worked out splendidly. He had screwed up, but hey it wasn't all his fault they'd pushed him toward the edge all he'd done was fall off it.

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His hot breath fogged up the window as he sat there nose pressed against the glass silently willing the train to go faster. Faster, faster, faster, hurry up. He was already antsy constantly shifting in his seat. The sun was setting casting a beautiful pink backdrop for the ever changing scenery as the skyline of Baltimore came into sight. His heart leapt in delight at the sight, this was home, it wasn't where he lived, it wasn't where he'd grown up, but it was where his friends were and that was all that mattered. His insane, weird, and crazy friends Jeff, of all things, owned a bakery and Becca Claire was the bakery manager, while Shane was a cake decorator. He chuckled at the though after all it'd been HIS mother who'd owned the bakery while Jeff's dad owned a health club, yet Jeff was the Chef and he was the, well he had been, the CSI although now he was qualified as the unemployed weirdo. He found himself laughing at the pure irony of the situation. "A little too much ambition Wolfe," he thought. He pulled out his book, a full collection of Edgar Allen Poe, it reminded him of the time in fifth grade when they'd had to recite poetry if front of the entire class and Becca had recited Annabel Lee, and flipped to the Tell Tale Heart there was just something about a story about the insane madman trying to convince you he wasn't insane while talking about killing a man and dismembering the corpse that he found amusing in his current situation. Just as he finished the poem, he'd always been an extremely fast reader, the Conductor's voice boomed out over the loud speaker announcing that they were coming into the station. He stood up, straightened his coat as his OCD dictated, and then grabbed his luggage down from the top rack. Slinging his duffle, full of books and other thing with which to occupy himself first on the plane to New York and then the train to Baltimore, over his shoulder and dragging his suitcase behind him, he staggered a little as the train lurched into station. The Conductor's voice boomed over the loud speaker again with instructions for departing the train. Ryan shifted impatiently from foot to foot as he waited for the door to open. When the train door hissed open as the train gave one final lurch as it settled into the station, He was gladly swept along with the crowd as everyone headed to depart the train. No sooner had he stepped onto the platform then he was met by a squealing Becca in a spectacular flying hug. He laughed and hugged his old friend back as he stumbled back a few steps in an attempt to keep his footing drawing sounds of protest from the people behind him who were trying to go foreword because they didn't have an overenthusiastic hugger hindering their progress. She reluctantly released him so they could get out of the way. He grinned as he caught sight of Jeff and Shane waiting in one of the more out of the way areas of the train station. Jeff holding a box that contained, more likely than not, a cake. Jeff yanked the box open and revealed what was really more like edible art than a cake. Ryan frowned at the silent poke at his situation it represented then laughed at the comical twist it put to it. It was a giant MD-PD badge with a stack of poker chips and a deck of cards resting against the edges with a tiny figurine of himself, most likely made of modeling chocolate, standing in the middle scratching it's head with a look of "How'd the hell this happen" plastered on it's little face. It sported an outdated hair cut of long brown hair, but other than that it looked exactly like him even getting the facial expression right.

"Gee thanks," he said laughing before smacking Jeff lightly on the shoulder with his fist, Jeff just laughed back and Ryan got the impression that it'd been his intention to make the cake slightly obnoxious

"Did you think I'd let you live this down?" Jeff asked grinning from ear to ear. His blue eyes sparkling mischievously, as he tossed his great big head to one side slinging the shaggy blonde hair out of his face his goatee wrinkling to match his smiling face taunting his old friend.

"I was hanging onto foolish hope." Ryan answered groaning and chuckling at the same time.

"Hey, nice to see you again" Shane said emoting about as much happiness as he was capable of emoting which, in his case, was a little less flatter than usual monotone, but Ryan knew him well enough to know that just because you could barely tell didn't mean he wasn't happy. Shane's short black hair was spiked up into a sort of Mohawk thing, he shifted from one foot to another his heavily tattoo muscles practically creaked with stiffness protesting the movement. Shane had the habit of standing motionless with his arms crosses across his chest his brown eyes unfathomable pools. A skill that Ryan himself had tried to copy, although he never was quite able to mimic the level of motionless that Shane easily achieved, and he knew he'd coupled it with the odd habit of cocking his head to one side that he's unknowingly picked up from Becca.

Becca just squealed again and started bouncing up and down while clapping her hands her head tilted to one side "Yay, the gang's all together again," Her flame red curls bounced around her shoulders, her emerald eyes shining with happiness tears of pure joy welling up in the corners, He pearly white smile almost blinded him. It was impossible for him to see her smiling face and not be happy too.

It was like nothing had happened, like nothing had ever gone wrong, like he was still just a high school kid filled with wonder hanging out with his close friends before he'd learned that just because people spoke pretty words like "protect and serve" it didn't meant that they weren't effected and poisoned by the stain of politics, instead of bonding together for a common goal they held grudges, and fought against each other for ambition's sake, and held onto first impressions even when they were wrong. He should've known he would've been fired eventually. He had a hard enough time just understanding the rules much less playing the game.

But even after all the crap he'd been through it felt good just know that

Jeff was still Jeff…

Shane was still Shane…

And Becca was still plain old Becca.

All was right with the world or it was as far as Ryan Wolfe was concerned in that moment. They left the train station happily joking and laughing then when they got into the parking lot they all piled into Jeff's white Honda Accord. Jeff in the driver's seat, Shane in the passenger seat, and Ryan and Becca sandwiched into the back seat along with a pile of Jeff's junk…and the cake.

"Why do you have a snowboard in here?" Ryan complained trying to shove the offending object out of the way, but only succeeding in whacking himself in the head with it.

"Ain't it supposed to snow or something?" Shane wondered letting the question hang in the air more to himself that answering Ryan.

"Yeah there's a snowstorm tomorrow," Becca confirmed as she tried un-press herself from the window she was trapped against as Ryan battled against the mountain of junk that had them trapped there.

"See just in case." Jeff called over his shoulder.

"You have that snowboard in here even when it's 80 degrees out side!" Becca protested

"Just in case!" Jeff echoed laughing.

"This crap is SOOO like you!!" Ryan cried in exaggerated annoyance. "And what the hell is this?" he said gingerly picking up a dirty sweat shirt that had fallen out of the pile. It reeked and looked as if it might come alive at any moment. Jeff's car was like the ultimate nightmare for OCD people. He quickly, even though it went against all of his compulsions to clean and organize, tossed the offending article of clothing back on top of the monstrous pile of junk, and sat there as the urge to grab it and fold it tugged at his subconscious even though he REALY didn't want to touch it any more than he absolutely had to.

"What's what?" Jeff asked glancing up at the rearview mirror lazily trying to see what he meant.

"Ever heard of a wonderful new invention called a washing machine? Or are you hoping this sweat shirt's gonna get up and wash its self?" Ryan clarified jabbing his finger at the object of his annoyance.

"I don't know it looks like it might." Becca joked, her cheerful laughter echoing in the small space that made Ryan VERY glad he wasn't claustrophobic along with his OCD, his fear of dog, his fear of heights… well you get the point.

"It's not that dirty!" Jeff protested blissfully ignorant of his car's disgraceful state of impending disaster.

"It looks like a junkyard threw up in your car" Shane observed flatly

"Does not!!" Jeff shot back his blue eyes widening.

"Your puppy dog eyes hold no power over me!!!" Ryan piped up form the back seat. Sparking a fit of laughter from all involved, well more like a dry chuckle from Shane.

"Why don't we ask the ultimate authority on cleanliness, Wolfe?" Becca said mediating between the different parties involved before it could dissolve into a full blow chaotic witty comment war between the four of them, as she turned to Ryan expectantly.

Ryan broke into a lopsided grin "Jeff Sanford's car" here he paused for a dramatic silence causing Becca to become annoyed and so she told him none too gently to "Hurry it the hell up" "Has received the official OCD seal of disapproval." He glanced at the snowboard. "Extreme disapproval" ha added.

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"My poor baby" Alex thought sadly as she drove her car with a sense of fierce determination and strength of purpose daring anyone to get in her way. She felt so guilty letting her baby deal with this alone for so as long as she had, He'd been fired yesterday morning for crying out loud, and it was already around 8 o'clock today. She felt terrible but work had been so terribly busy that she'd had to pull a double, besides she didn't think he'd take kindly if she'd shown up before he was ready to talk. She pulled into the parking structure of Ryan's apartment complex. She entered the double doors and took the elevator to the Fifth floor and then walked to the apartment at the end of the hall. She frowned when she saw the piece of paper tapped to the door although she couldn't read it from here she assumed it was a note telling people not to bother him. She steeled herself against the state she would most likely find her darling boy in, but all her best laid plans were shattered with three neatly written words

Gone on Vacation

She shook her head she never would be able to understand the way that crazy boy's mind works, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number she didn't know what was going on with him…but she would soon find out.

Like it? Hate it? This was SUPPOSED to be an oneshot but like I've stated before damn my random mind and the stupid idea fairy.