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FAKE First Year Together: A New Day (May)	By : BrittColumbia Category: +. to F > FAKE Views: 14597 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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FAKE
First Year Together: A New Day (May)

chapter 23

Pairing:
Dee/Ryo

Fandom: FAKE

Rating:    Worksafe.
There's swearing, however, and a kiss.

Spoilers:   To Volume 7

Timing:
Set in May directly after Book 7 ended

Summary:
Ryo is coming to terms with the changes in his relationship with Dee, as
well as his new sexual identity. Meanwhile, Dee and Ryo are trying to find
enough evidence to expose a crooked cop. This story explores homophobic
attitudes but is primarily a love story between two men.

Disclaimer:   I do not own these characters. They are the property of Sanami
Matoh. I am not making any money
from this.

Author's notes:
Please read and review.  Any references to Kyle Baker, or the
Baker brothers are from the story just prior to this one, which is only
partially written. A New Day is actually the second story in my series,
but this was the one that insisted on being written first.

I'd like to thank Bluesimplicity and Mtemplar for their help
and feedback. Mtemplar, your info
on injuries and hospital procedure is much appreciated!

A New Day
Chapter 23

"Get
your hands up! Step away from the
victim!"

Ryo
raised his hands and stood, glaring wild-eyed at the patrol officer who had
spoken. "I'm a detective! Let
me show you my badge!"

"Shit,
it's McLean from the 27th," a voice said. "He's a cop boys, leave him alone."

The
guns were lowered and Ryo once more dropped down beside Dee, his fingers
reaching automatically for the pulse on his partner's neck. When he felt it, coursing weakly and erratically,
but definitely there, he could
have sobbed with relief. The wound
appeared to be low down on Dee's left side. Ryo hoped the bullet hadn't blown out a kidney. He tried to be calm and think
rationally. God, there was lot of
blood. And what if there was
internal bleeding?

"Who's
the vic?" someone asked.

"My
partner," Ryo replied in a voice that cracked slightly. "Detective Dee Laytner.   Have we got an ambulance?"
he yelled suddenly, raising his head and looking around him agitatedly. A short distance away, he caught a
glimpse of Mel on the ground, handcuffed and yelling about fags and how they'd
ruined his life. He didn't give a
shit about Mel; in fact, he
suddenly wanted to kill him with
his bare hands, and he wanted it with a passion that contravened all his years
of police and Karate training.

"Easy
there, Detective," said the cop who had recognized him as being from the
27th. "Your partner's gonna be okay. The bleeding's not too bad and the
wound's pretty low down. You can trust me on this one, kid." His hand was
on Ryo's shoulder, and as Ryo looked up into sympathetic and concerned eyes set
in a lined, middle-aged face, he felt his urge to murder Dee's shooter start to
recede from him. His eyes met the
older cop's with anguish in them while his mouth worked incoherently, unable to
speak. The other man impulsively
enfolded him in a brief, but gruff, one-armed hug. "Don't worry, son. Look, here comes the
cavalry." He indicated a red
and white fire truck that was even now squeezing itself into the small parking
lot. "They're A-1 medics and
they'll stop the bleeding and get him stabilized in a matter of minutes. And hear that?"

They
both listened.

"That's
the ambulance. So come on, buck
up."



&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&

"Officer
McLean?" A short, stocky
nurse with a goatee and a clipboard stood looking around the waiting room.

"Here." Ryo jumped up with alacrity, his face
betraying the worry he felt.

"Your
partner is awake now. He's asking
for you."

"Is
he okay? Can I see him?"

"Yes
and yes," the nurse said with a smile. "My name is Bryce, by the way, and I'll be coordinating
his care tonight."

"Can
you tell me about his injuries?"

"Officer
Laytner is a very lucky man," said Bryce. "The bullet only grazed along his lower left side. It
didn't penetrate any internal organs, nor did it damage his intestines. It got him between ribs and hip, so no
bone fractures or splinters either."
He shook his head.
"Incredibly lucky. But
I'm afraid he's going to be sore for a while."

"Will
he be able to go home tonight?"

"I'm
sorry, but no. We're more
concerned about the concussion he received when he struck the pavement. We'd like to keep him overnight for
observation."

&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^

Dee
turned his head when Ryo entered the room. "Partner," he said weakly, and attempted a grin.

"Dee!" Ryo hurried to his bedside and sat
down, looking at him anxiously.
"How do you feel?"

"Like
I did a few rounds in the ring with Brooklyn Briggs. But they tell me I'll live, so you're stuck with me for a
while longer."

"Officer
Laytner, will you cooperate now that I've brought him?" asked Bryce
solemnly, indicating a waiting IV unit.

Ryo
looked questioningly back and forth between them.

"I
was afraid it'd knock me out or something before you got here," Dee
informed Ryo with a rebellious look at Bryce. "Been out for a while, they tell me. I'm kind of enjoying the novelty of
being conscious."

"Well,
I'm here now, so you can just stop being stubborn," said Ryo sternly.

That
made Dee smile because Ryo was using his 'dad' voice, the one he used to scold
Bikky.

"Well,
you know me," said Dee.
"Always ready to obey orders." He attempted a wink, but winced. "Ow. Okay,
Bryce, hook me up. Am I gonna get
a good buzz off whatever's in the magic bag?"

"No,
not a great one, but it's pretty good, I'm told." Bryce smiled at him and moved to the
little table where the IV needle and other paraphernalia was waiting. "And
it certainly won't knock you out.
We never sedate patients with concussions."

"Why
do I have to stay overnight?" Dee complained. "I'm a little stiff and I've got the overlord of all
headaches, but I'm basically okay.
I wanna go home."

"Your
record shows you were in here with another concussion just over a month
ago," Bryce said, his hands moving confidently as he inserted the needle
for the IV drip into Dee's right arm and taped it down. "That's at least two more
concussions than the average person receives in a lifetime. Concussions can have serious
after-effects, more so than people realize, especially when they're
cumulative. We'd just like to keep
an eye on you tonight. I'm fairly
sure the doctor will release you after she sees you again tomorrow, as long as
there's someone at home to take care of you."

He
glanced at Ryo as if he had already guessed how close the two men were. Ryo nodded back, surprised to realize
that he didn't really care. He was
getting used to it.

Dee
looked disgruntled. "Home tomorrow, eh? Yeah, yeah. I've heard THAT before. I should warn you guys that I'm not
exactly a model patient. You might
be itching to get rid of me by tomorrow morning. Maybe even later tonight."

"I
used to work in the psych ward, Officer, so I've seen it all," Bryce told
him, smiling. "Go ahead and do your worst, if you feel you need to. I'm going to leave you two alone for
now, but I'm not going far. I'll
be coming back to check on you at intervals. Press the call button if you need something."

"Thank
you, Bryce," Ryo murmured, and turned back to Dee with a concerned
frown. Dee's energy must really be
low if he wasn't correcting Bryce on the "Officer" thing. Dee was usually quick to remind people
that his rank was Detective. On
the other hand, Ryo had no problem believing Dee's threat to misbehave if they
didn't let him go home in the morning.
He had a history of being a notoriously uncooperative patient.
"Dee, don't hassle the nursing staff, or you know they'll recommend
keeping you for extra tests, like what happened at Metropolitan last
year," Ryo said, giving Dee a fierce glare. "Now, just keep still and
go to sleep if you can."

"Not
yet, Ryo. Talk to me. You look like you wish you could bite
my head off and the only reason you're not doing that is because I'm in a
hospital bed."

Ryo
realized that it was true. Now
that he knew for sure that Dee was going to be okay, that realization seemed to
have cleared the way for anger. He
was conscious of feeling furious with Dee for taking such a risk. Not only had he been the one who had
started the violence, but he had also taunted a man with a gun and had gotten
himself shot.

"Yeah,
Dee. It's true. I'm pissed. But you ARE in a hospital bed and I'm not going to quarrel
with you."

"Just
say what you gotta say. You heard
the man. I'm not gonna start
flat-lining anytime soon. I can
take it. And I'd rather we get it
out in the open now."

Ryo
sat in tightlipped silence, the muscles of his jaw bunching. He didn't trust himself to look at his
partner.

"Okay,"
Dee said, "I'll start you
off. You're mad because I provoked
that little weasel until he shot me.
And you probably think the whole damn mess was my fault anyway, even
though you were the one that went out to the parking lot without even thinking
about telling your partner that you wanted to have a chat with a party of
psychopaths. How'm I doing?"

Ryo
nodded and gave up on trying to control himself. "Yeah, you're right. I AM mad about those things. What the
hell were you doing, trying to get him to shoot you like that? It was like you were suicidal or
something! You just wouldn't shut
up!"

Dee
shrugged. "I thought he would
miss. I STILL think the guy got a
lucky shot. Anyway, I was sure the
little bastard was working up to shooting somebody, and if it had been you, you
would have died for sure 'cause of the range."

"Don't
you ever do that again! It was by
no means certain that he was gonna pull the trigger. You gambled your life there, and you nearly lost it. I could've talked him down."

"It
was 'by no means certain' you
could've talked him down, either!
Did you hear that shit he was spouting? The little fuckwad was having an unscheduled psychological
moment. And if we don't hear back
that he was on something, I'll eat one of Bikky's basketball shoes."

"My
God, Dee! If you knew how I felt
when I saw you on the ground..."

"Better
me with a flesh wound than you with a hole in your head, Ryo! How do you think I felt when I saw that nut job shaking a loaded gun
in your face? Yeah, I drew his fire, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. And
what the hell did you think you were doing when you wandered out there to take
on four guys without a word to me?" Dee was getting steamed and his head
was really beginning to pound, but he was damned if he was going to let Ryo see
it. He fought the urge to clutch
at his temples.

"Yeah,
I did go out into the parking lot alone, but I knew I could handle that
situation, and I knew you'd be along in a minute," Ryo retorted hotly.
"We could've avoided the fighting...the injuries...the MISERY we've both
been through tonight if you hadn't gone and punched that guy in the head! Why the hell didn't you just show them
your badge at the outset?"

"I
don't know," Dee sighed.
"They didn't seem to be showing much respect for yours."

"TWO
guys with badges would've made them think twice. And I don't think they would've gone for me anyway. I was in
the process of convincing them I was a cop. You basically escalated that whole thing right out of
control. What on earth were you
thinking?"

"I
was thinking they were gonna hurt you." Dee's eyes flashed just at the memory of it. "And I was
mad that you had to listen to the names they were calling you."

          "I'm
not your girlfriend! You don't
have to go all gallant on me. It's
insulting AND it's going to get you injured or even killed. This is the second time you've felt
like you have to punch out someone with homophobic issues in defense of my
'honor'. I mean, what am I, some
kind of weak and fragile creature who needs to be protected? I'm a man like you, Dee. I'm a fucking COP. The first time you
did it was bad enough, but look at us now! We're in a goddamned hospital for
God's sake. You're lucky to be
alive, you bastard."

Dee
was silent. Then he tried to explain.
"Ryo, I don't think you're weak and fragile. Far from it. I count on you every day to back me up if we find ourselves
in a tight corner. You've saved my
ass more times than I can even recall.
But when gay-hating assholes say those things, it hurts. I see it on your face. It hurts me too, a little, even after
all these years. But enough time
has gone by for me that I now have a protective shell. You don't, yet. You're shocked by it, and you get all
quiet and nervous, especially since you're not out. I can't stand to see you hurt. I just want to kill anyone who upsets you! I know I have a little temper problem,
and I know I shouldn't respond to the insults or the challenges, and hell, if
I'd been alone tonight, that fight probably never woulda happened. Anti-gay insults just kinda roll off me
now. Fuckin' punks. Who gives a shit what they say? But
you, you're not like me. You're
not gonna sling their crap right back at them. You're just going to take it and
then feel bad afterward." He
paused because he realized he was twisting the sheet violently in his right
hand. He immediately let it go and
smoothed it down. "You're so precious to me, the best and brightest light
in my life. How can I let those
assholes get away with making you feel like shit?"

          "By perhaps considering how much worse I would feel
if you got killed or seriously injured," said Ryo. "Remember what happened to Kyle
Baker? He got beaten into a
coma. Now he can't even tie his
own shoes. And his brother? Where's he? In the ground, that's where. Okay, I'm not saying we're not in a dangerous line of work
and that we don't face serious risks all the time. But let's not go seeking them out unnecessarily!"

Dee
swallowed. "I'll try. I swear to you I will do my best to
keep my temper next time we run into any gay-basher types. And there will be a next time, you know
that don't you?"

Ryo
nodded.

Dee
continued, "But I need you to answer a question for me, Ryo. Please don't sugarcoat it."

"Shoot,"
said Ryo, then winced at his choice of words and added, "Sorry." Dee hadn't appeared to notice, however.

"Do
you...Do you regret getting into a relationship with me and taking on this
lifestyle when the stares and the insults start? Do you wish you could go back to being straight again?"

Ryo
was silent for a while. He sat
looking down at his hands, while he thought about how he was going to answer.

           Dee
waited tensely, trying to steel himself to accept it if the answer was the one
that he feared. He had to look
away from Ryo. He forced himself
to concentrate on the sounds of the hospital that could be heard in the
corridors outside the room; snatches of barely audible conversation, the
rattling of equipment being rolled down the halls, the distant sounds of
ambulance sirens urgently pushing their way through traffic toward whichever
hospital could accommodate them.
There were other people out there who were facing loss this night too,
people who hadn't been as lucky as he had. He had to remember that. But if Ryo said yes, if he even answered ambivalently, Dee
felt that a newborn part of him that was just starting to live would be snuffed
out in an instant.

Finally,
Ryo spoke. "Dee, I thought
you knew me. In fact, if anyone
had ever asked, I would have said that you knew me better than anyone on this
earth, maybe even better than my parents used to." His face and voice were somber. "When I told you I loved you, I
meant it. That's not something I
go around saying to everybody, you know.
It wasn't something that just popped into my head a few weeks ago that's
likely to pop back out again at the first sign of difficulty. I told Bikky that we were in it for the
long haul. At least that's what I thought."

"Ryo..."
Dee was relieved and distressed.
"I've been scared -- so scared you would change your mind. Especially after you found out the real
reason for Bikky's fight. Don't
tell me you haven't been letting me get close and then pushing me away for over
two years now. I mean, you've
changed your mind on me a lot!"

"Yes,
but that was before I sorted out my feelings!" Ryo protested. "It really did take me that
long. I never would have opened my
mouth back there on the bridge if I hadn't been sure I wanted to spend the rest
of my life with you!"

Dee
took a deep and shaky breath and stared at Ryo. He couldn't trust himself to
speak.

           Ryo
gazed back at Dee, seeing his fear for the first time. Dee's face was so
vulnerable, like a child's, an orphan who had feared he would never be chosen,
never be loved, and still couldn't quite believe that that was what he had been
offered. Ryo's heart welled up
with a great rush of affection, and he took his lover's hand in his.

"I
know I've been flighty in the past," Ryo went on. "I still have many bad
qualities. I'm easily embarrassed,
I sometimes lack confidence, I care too much about what other people think, I
tend to worry, and my feelings are too easily hurt. I know I don't have that same toughness that you and Bikky
have. But I am loyal, I am resilient, and I always come through in the end. Don't I?"

"Yeah,"
mumbled Dee. "You've always
come through for me."

"Well,
let me just spell something out for you, since you seem to be having a little
trouble understanding it. I'm head
over heels in love with you, Dee Laytner.
I would walk through fire for you.
I'm committed to a future with you. I believe we belong together. I can certainly put up with a
few homophobic catcalls, if that's what it takes for me to be with you."

Dee
put one hand up to his eyes and took another shaky breath. And then, because he couldn't help it,
the tears spilled over. To his shame, several hot ones ran down his cheeks and
hand, one after another, before he got himself under control.

"Ryo..."
he murmured thickly, turning his other hand over in Ryo's and squeezing
it. "You mean it, baby?"

         Ryo lifted that
hand and kissed it. Then he leaned
over and kissed Dee's temple, letting his lips linger there, breathing in the
unique scent of his lover, a scent he would know anywhere.

"One
hundred percent," he whispered. "Please don't take any more of these
crazy risks. How can I live without you?
Don't ask me to do that, please.
I need you."

"I'm
sorry, baby. So sorry. Oh God, hold me..."

Dee
hated hospitals. He hated their
cold, clinical atmosphere, the smells, the despair, not to mention the sight of
sick and dying people. He was always
half-expecting to pick up some kind of horrible virus or disease just from
going into one. He hated feeling
surrounded by death and pain, floor after floor of it. But in all the years of his life that
came after the night that he got shot in the parking lot of Freddie's Market,
he would always remember this particular hospital room at Bellevue with
nostalgia and affection. For
better or for worse, he had already given his heart to Ryo. But that was the first time he felt
that his lover had truly taken possession of it and that it was in his
safekeeping. Ryo was willing to
endure difficulties and hardship for him.
Ryo needed him, was committed to him. Not even the searing pain in his head could dim the relief
and joy that he felt upon hearing those words.

When
Ryo eventually drew back and looked at him, Dee was conscious that his whole
body had relaxed. Maybe it was the
pain-killing meds seeping into his system through the IV, or maybe it was
happiness. He felt a little
awkward at having let Ryo see his weakness, but it was worth it for the
lightening of his spirit that had taken place.

"You're
just lucky I'm flat on my back with a gunshot wound and a bitchin' headache, or
you know what I'd be doing to you right now, hospital bed or no," he
informed his partner, chuckling weakly.

"Yeah,
right. Can I get you anything? Do
you need another pillow, or maybe something to eat?" Ryo was back in nurturing mode.

Dee
rubbed his hand roughly over his eyes and said, "I could use a beer, but I
know that's totally out. I don't
suppose they'd let me have a coke or something?"

"Probably
not, but I'll ask. For now, drink
this." Ryo passed him his cup of water. "How about a tissue,
too?"

"What
the hell for?" asked Dee challengingly.

"Oh
just...it looks like you've got something in your eye, that's all." Ryo's smile was a mix of mischief and
affection as he watched Dee swallow his water.

"You're
mistaken, dude. It's just the
crappy light in here. Now get back
down here and kiss me." He
tugged on Ryo's arm. "Will
you stay at least until I fall asleep?"

"I'm
not going anywhere," said Ryo firmly, and took Dee's face in cool, gentle
hands.

&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&

end
of chapter 23

More author's notes:
Bryce refers to the fact that Dee was in with another concussion just
over a month ago. That's another
thing that happened in the as yet unfinished and unpublished prequel to this
one.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'M relieved they finally
talked! Ryo still has some issues
to work through, and the bad guys are still out there, but at least Ryo has
laid Dee's doubts to rest.
- 22
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- 24
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FAKE First Year Together: A New Day (May)