Fake Fan Fiction ❯ FAKE in Love: Act XX, Memories and Moments ❯ Chapter 1

Warnings and Disclaimers: I do not own FAKE. Dammit. You'd think by now you'd all know that. I'm not making any money off of this, though if anyone's interested in hiring a writer, feel free to contact me. This is yaoi.

 

One finger twitched slightly. It was barely a movement and not enough to draw the attention of the other man asleep in the room. A moment passed, and the finger twitched again, a soft sigh escaping dry lips as chestnut hair shifted slightly. Dark brown eyes blearily opened, then closed again, a dull frown pulling at handsome features as he leaned back into the pillows.

Soft beeps filled the air, echoing in time with his heartbeat, and the acrid scent of a too clean room rattled through his nose. This wasn't home. The frown deepened and he forced his eyes open again. He blinked thickly, every movement sluggish as he tried to take in his surroundings. He was in a hospital bed, he was sure of that now, and his head was throbbing in a way that he knew that it would hurt badly without the drugs pumping through his system.

His eyes started to drift shut again and then landed on the man sleeping in the chair next to him. Brown eyes pushed open once more and he smiled faintly.

“Dee…”

His voice was a rasping scratch and he winced a little as he heard it, one hand rising to pass over his throat before he cleared it.

“Dee…”

His hand brushed over his partner's arm, Dee shifting suddenly and then sleepily sitting up.

“Dee,” he murmured again.

Dee was instantly awake.

“Ryo,” Dee breathed.

He leaned closer, his hand running up through Ryo's hair as he pressed his lips against the other man's forehead.

“Thank god,” Dee whispered over him.

Ryo smiled again and fell back into the pillows, his eyes still groggy and unfocused as he stared at Dee.

“What happened?” Ryo asked, his words almost clumsy with the sleep that was rising up to claim him.

Dee laughed quietly and kissed Ryo again, his eyes locking with his partner's glassy ones.

“You fell down the stairs,” Dee said. “That's what I get for letting you go by yourself. I should know better by now; never let you out of my sight.”

Ryo blinked and the puzzled frown returned.

“Stairs?” he echoed. “What was I doing on the stairs?”

Dee stared at him and Ryo's frown deepened.

“Is the elevator broken again?” Ryo sighed and closed his eyes for a long instant. “Did Bikky get to school on time?”

Dee swallowed and smiled again. “Yeah, he did.”

“Good,” Ryo said.

“You feeling okay, Ryo?”

Ryo's eyes rolled up to Dee.

“No.”

“That's okay,” Dee said softly and brushed his hand through Ryo's hair. “It's okay.”

“Don't forget to file the Baker case,” Ryo said groggily. “We have to remember to do that. It has to be done today or we're going to have problems at trial.”

The silence that passed in that next moment was almost deafening to Dee. Something was wrong here, and as Ryo sighed and let his eyes drop closed again, the worry began to bloom bright.

“Ryo,” Dee said softly. “We did that.”

Ryo sighed. “Okay.”

Dee's lips thinned. “Ryo?”

“Hmm?” his lover answered tiredly.

“How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Ryo mumbled. “My head hurts. At least I think it does.”

“What's your son's name?” Dee asked.

Ryo snorted.

“Bikky,” he answered sleepily. “Unless he's in trouble.”

“Where do you work?”

“NYPD,” Ryo answered around a yawn, a little confusion beginning to slide back into his eyes. “Why? What's wrong, Dee?”

“Nothing,” Dee said soothingly. “What day is today, Ryo?”

Ryo sighed, his face pulling back into that perplexed frown as he thought. His eyes closed again and he yawned once more before he spoke.

“Thursday,” he murmured. “It's Thursday today.”

Dee's lips worked for a moment and then he spoke again.

“The date, Ryo,” Dee asked softly. “Do you know the date?”

“It's the thirteenth,” Ryo murmured. “One day before the fourteenth.”

Silence slid back around him, but Ryo just sighed again and gave over to the sleep that was tugging at every part of his body.

 

“You should just be glad that he's awake right now,” the doctor said.

“He's lost seven days,” Dee said angrily. “What's there to be glad about?”

“Four days,” the doctor corrected gently. “He was unconscious for three.”

“You're not helping,” Dee growled.

“He's lucid,” the young man in the sterile jacket answered. “He knew you, he knew the other questions you asked. It's probably just a temporary glitch. He took a hard fall, Detective.”

Dee slumped, the worry on his face showing that he wasn't placated at all. The doctor sighed and rested a soft hand on the dark haired man's shoulder.

“Look, he's still heavily medicated right now. He might just be confused. We'll run some tests and we'll let you know if we find anything.”

“That's a pretty damned big if,” Dee muttered.

“Hey,” the doctor answered with a slight smile. “When has this hospital ever let you down before?”

 

“Alright Mr. MacLean, that's about enough of the physical tests.”

Ryo smiled faintly and gratefully sat back down on the edge of his bed. He felt tired again, and he couldn't wait to slide back into his uncomfortable bed and go to sleep.

“I just need you to answer a few questions for me.”

Ryo nodded. “Alright.”

“What's the last thing you remember before waking up in the hospital?”

Ryo sighed slightly, his lips pursing as he thought.

“I was making breakfast,” he said. “Bikky was getting ready for school, and when I went to grab the coffee, I tripped and I think I broke the pot. Did I hit my head then? But Dee said something about stairs. What stairs?”

“It's alright,” the doctor said smoothly. “What else happened that morning?”

Ryo frowned and shook his head.

“Just the usual. We were all trying to get ready for the day and tripping over each other while we did it.”

“Not an overly organized house?” the doctor asked with a grin.

Ryo smiled back.

“We've got a teenager,” Ryo said. “They're hard to plan around.”

“Don't I know it. What time did you get to work that day?”

“We…” Ryo's voice faded and he frowned again. “Uh…I don't think we were late…”

“That's fine,” the doctor said. “Did you drive or did your partner?”

“Dee usually drives in the mornings,” Ryo said. “I drive home.”

“And that day?”

Ryo's hands spread across his knees.

“Dee drove,” Ryo said.

“Do you know that or are you guessing?”

Fingers curled loosely.

“Guessing,” Ryo admitted with a slightly guilty grin.

“Just answer honestly,” the doctor said soothingly. “If you don't know, just say you don't know. It's alright.”

Ryo's face tightened a little. This wasn't alright. Something was wrong here, and the strange fog that kept pulling over his mind was making him nervous. He didn't like this and the throb in his head was only making it worse.

“What did you do when you got to work?”

A long moment passed.

“I don't know,” Ryo admitted flatly.

“Did you go out for lunch or stay in?”

Another pause.

“I…I don't know,” Ryo said, his voice dull again.

“Did you talk to your chief at all?”

“I don't know.”

No hesitation that time, just a slight wince. The doctor nodded.

“What did you make for breakfast?”

“Eggs,” Ryo said. “Scrambled for Bikky, over easy for Dee, and pounded dead for me. And toast.”

“What were you wearing?”

“Uhhhh…” Ryo chuckled then. “I know this. I think grey slacks and a blue shirt with a black tie, but I can't be sure on that.”

“Any problems come up that morning?”

“Bikky hadn't finished his English homework, so he was yelling at me to pile his eggs on his toast for him so he could eat and run.”

“Typical. Did your partner like his eggs?”

Ryo's mouth opened and then clicked shut. He remembered making the eggs, and then the coffee fell and he was…

“I don't know,” Ryo said with tired resignation.

“That's fine. Did you have coffee with breakfast?”

“I reached for the pot, and it slipped out of my hand,” Ryo said, his eyes distant and then a frown passed over his face. “And then…”

His mouth worked for a moment, as if trying to pull up what had happened afterwards, but it just wouldn't come. He shook his head.

“That's it,” Ryo said. “That's all. Then I woke up here.”

“I see,” the doctor said and smiled. “Very good. Why don't you get some rest?”

Ryo wanted to argue. He wanted to know just what in the hell was going on, but he was tired. And he was scared. He nodded numbly as the doctor shut the door behind him. Ryo sat still and silent on the edge of his bed for a long time.

 

“I don't understand,” Dee said.

The doctor took a deep breath, his hands moving now as he explained again.

“Basically, it boils down to a localized amnesia,” he said. “It's temporal, and covers about four and a half days. The last thing he clearly remembers is dropping a coffee pot while making breakfast.”

Dee nodded distantly. He remembered that too; they'd spent almost twenty minutes cleaning up glass and wasted coffee. And since then…

A hand splayed over the detective's face and he shook his head.

“So what does all that mean for Ryo?”

“It's too early to tell,” the doctor said. “At this point, we can't be sure of anything. It might be temporary, it might be permanent.”

“But what caused it?” Dee said, suddenly a frustrated anger sneaking into his voice. “Why Ryo? Why those four days?”

“I don't know. It could have been caused by physical trauma, he did fall down a flight of stairs and land on concrete. It's possible he sustained a slight…well, think of it like a bruise. It's nothing major, but it's a bump that needs to heal. It's something that you can't ignore, but it's not life threatening. Or, it could be something more serious, swelling or permanent damage.”

Dee's veins ran cold in that moment and the doctor shook his head.

“At this point, we aren't seeing anything that suggests that either of those are even a remote possibility for your partner. I'm optimistic about this and you should be too,” he shook his head slightly. “And this may not even have a physical cause. It might be some kind of psychological barrier. We'll have specialists in to talk to him in the next couple of days and see if we can't find anything else.”

Dee rubbed at his temple and stared down at the floor between them.

“Have you told him yet?” Dee murmured.

“No,” the doctor said.

“He'll suspect something's wrong,” Dee said.

“I think he already does,” the doctor admitted with a half smile.

“That's my Ryo,” Dee said tiredly. “I'll do it.”

“Are you--”

“He should know,” Dee said.

 

Ryo was sleeping when Dee opened the door and entered the darkened hospital room. A faint smile passed over the dark haired man's lips as he moved across the room. The thin blanket was draped over a body that still sent shivers running through Dee. His Ryo was gorgeous, amazing, and every desirable curve of the man's body sent a jolt through Dee. His smile widened a little as he ran his hand over Ryo's waist.

Ryo took a deep breath, his eyes opening slightly from where he lay on his side. He blinked and then stared up at Dee, a large bandage taped in place high on Ryo's forehead. Dee smiled and let his fingers lightly walk over the injury.

“Hey,” Dee said quietly.

Ryo smiled back and shifted onto his back, his eyes half lidded and tired as he looked at Dee.

“Hey,” he answered.

“How are you feeling?” Dee asked.

He sat down in his chair at Ryo's side, one of his partner's hands automatically pulled between his. He pressed the hand flat between his, noting the paleness of Ryo's skin against his and the way his lover's long fingers fit so well with his. He rubbed a little, the skin cool to the touch, and Ryo sighed.

“Tired,” Ryo said. “I've been tired a lot lately.”

“You work too hard,” Dee murmured as he lifted Ryo's hand to lightly brush his lips over the other man's fingertips. “It's a wonder you didn't end up in the hospital sooner.”

“As I recall,” Ryo said dryly. “You're the one with the frequent flyer miles at all our local hospitals.”

Dee chuckled and rubbed Ryo's fingers over his cheek. He couldn't look at Ryo, some part of him trying to figure out how in the hell he was supposed to tell his partner something like this. Dee kissed the end of one finger and continued to stare down at his lover's hand. Ryo's fingers curled around his, squeezing lightly, a soft soothing motion, and Ryo sighed quietly.

“Just say it,” Ryo said softly. “Just tell me, Dee.”

Dee's lips thinned, and he blinked quickly, his eyes still not rising to meet Ryo's.

“You were hurt,” Dee murmured. “And…there might be some damage, Ryo.”

He was rubbing Ryo's hand between his again and he shook his head.

“They still aren't sure about it, they're running tests, but you've…lost about four days of your memory.”

His hands tightened around Ryo's at the soft intake of his partner's breath. Dee shook his head.

“It might not be permanent,” Dee continued quickly. “You could wake up tomorrow and remember everything. The doctor says that head injuries are…unpredictable.”

His eyes darted up to his partner's face, Ryo's eyes distantly set on the door and head cocked to one side. As Dee watched, Ryo's fingers slid up to lightly pass over the bandage on his head.

“Four days?” Ryo murmured.

“Yeah,” Dee said dully.

Ryo sighed tiredly.

“Guess I hit my head pretty hard, huh?”

“Ryo…”

“It's fine,” Ryo said and then shook his head a little. “It's not fine, but I'm fine.”

He smiled at Dee, his face pale and eyes tired and lightly squeezed one of Dee's hands.

“It'll be alright,” Ryo murmured. “How did it happen?”

A long pause passed as Dee hesitated. The detective frowned sharply and brushed his lips over Ryo's fingertips again.

“I don't know,” Dee said. “We were checking on something, and we got a tip that one of the warehouses down by the docks was a new shipment point on the Grant drug line. I went around back to check the other entrance, and you headed in front. The backdoor was locked and barred, and then…”

Dee's voice abruptly cut off and his eyes slid away from Ryo's for an instant.

“We think you fell down a flight of stairs,” Dee said finally, his voice strangely subdued. “One of those rickety metal sets that they put up in those old warehouses.”

Ryo forced a smile as he tried to ignore the strange hesitation and jolted telling.

“I have bad luck with stairs, don't I?” he said with a soft chuckle.

“Yeah,” Dee agreed and leaned forward to kiss Ryo's cheek. “You obviously need more practice. It goes, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, repeat.”

“Jackass,” Ryo snorted.

“Yeah,” Dee said again with another soft laugh.

One hand slid up to lightly brush through Ryo's hair. He just couldn't touch his partner enough, he just couldn't let go right now. His other hand tightened around Ryo's, and he lifted it to kiss the back of the pale palm.

“Get some sleep,” Dee murmured.

Ryo nodded, his eyes sliding half closed as he settled back into the blankets. A long slow sigh escaped Dee.

“It'll be fine,” he breathed as Ryo slid to sleep.

Dee sat at his lover's side, the soft cool hand carefully held in his. A flight of stairs. All the evidence pointed to that, that Ryo had fallen, but that didn't explain just what had happened that an empty warehouse.

Or the gunshots Dee had heard.

Or the bodies left to cool.