SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW!

Author's Note: So... It's Wednesday. The poll for what you want for my next story is still up on my profile until sometime tomorrow. You can keep voting for one more day. However, the first place winner is abundantly clear :P. As my cyber-pal fergie put it, "mortal peril is always a crowd pleaser" lol. So, the first chapter for my next story is FINISHED and will be up tomorrow after the poll closes. Until then, I thought I'd give you a tiny taste of what's to come. This scene is from what is now my planned Chapter 7, but with me, there's no telling where the chapters will end until I actually sit down and write it out.

Well, without further rambling... here's a super-duper-ultra-mega-special sneak preview! ...Ok, it's not that special, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. ;) See you tomorrow...

Horatio stood next to the window, staring fixedly out at the trees swaying gently in the wind. He tried to draw some semblance of calm from them, fighting to keep the worry out of his face. He needed to make sure he maintained a perfectly steadfast facade. For his own sake.

For Ryan's sake.

Horatio glanced at his CSI quickly, then looked away before he noticed. Ryan was sitting on the hospital bed, his legs swung over one side, gripping the edges of the bed abnormally tight. His eyes were fixed on the ground below, barely even blinking, lost in his own thoughts.

Alexx silently sutured the gash on the back of Ryan's head, her eyes alight with worry. Her gaze darted back and forth between her work and Horatio. He wouldn't meet her eyes. But they didn't need to; they both knew they were thinking the same thing.

Ryan sighed. "It's gonna come back positive," he muttered.

Alexx swallowed. "We don't know what's going to happen, honey. Just wait for your blood tests to come back."

Ryan rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying not to move his head.

The three were silent for a few moments. Alexx snipped the thread deftly. "All done," she said, pushing away the small stand with her suture kit on it.

"Thanks," Ryan mumbled.

"I still want you to get an MRI," she began.

"Really, I'm fine, Alexx," he insisted.

"How long did you lose consciousness for?"

"A few seconds, if even," he said. "I'm fine."

Alexx shook her head. Stubborn as ever. "I'll go check on your tests, okay? I'll be right back."

As she left the room, Horatio distinctly heard Ryan mutter, "I'm really not going anywhere."

Horatio tore his gaze from the window and looked at Ryan. He looked tired. But he didn't look scared. A small twinge of pride squeezed Horatio's heart.

"How are you feeling?" Horatio asked, looking pointedly at the floor.

Ryan sighed again and looked up at the ceiling with bright hazel eyes. They looked even more green in this light than usual. "Okay... for now, I guess."

Horatio's gaze wandered to the small band-aid on Ryan's neck, concealing where the syringe had bitten into his skin.

Ryan had insisted on changing into his street clothes before coming to the hospital. They had needed his work clothes to process anyway, to see if they couldn't find any trace of his attacker, that doctor they were investigating. Ryan was sitting in a plain grey t-shirt, faded blue jeans and black sneakers. He looked a little pale, but other than that, there was no way to tell that anything at all was wrong with him.

"If the test comes back positive, we're gonna admit you to the hospital, okay?" Horatio said quietly.

He had no hope that it would come back negative, try as he might to hold onto it. That doctor had injected that crap straight into Ryan's neck... if what was in that syringe was what they all thought...

Ryan propped his elbows on his knees, his hands over his face. He nodded. "Fine, but I'm not changing clothes," he said quietly through his hands.

"Mr. Wolfe..." Horatio began.

"No, H," Ryan said flatly. "If I'm gonna die, it's not gonna be in a stupid hospital gown."

Horatio looked at him sharply. "Mr. Wolfe, you are not going to die."

For the first time since they'd gotten to the hospital, Ryan met Horatio's eyes, hazel-green into piercing blue. Horatio's heart twisted under Ryan's gaze.

Those eyes said it all.

Don't lie to me.