Self – Episode 4 – Self Resolve

Ryan packed his bags in a neat and methodical manner. This was good, this was needed, and this was actually going to happen. This was the chant running through Ryan’s head as he kept on task, readying his belongings to be shipped out to his new position in Colorado.

He couldn’t believe his luck when Agent DiNozzo had offered him the job, his dream job plus the ability to finish his Master’s degree without the worry of being unable to pay his bills. Another major plus?  Not having to suffer within the ever so welcoming arms of the Miami Dade Crime Lab.

Now there was a place he was more than happy to say goodbye to.

When Horatio had offered him a coveted spot on his shift, he had really thought it was going to be everything he was looking for. Alas, it was not meant to be. Instead he found a group of cruel unprofessional CSIs who spent more time making sure he was made aware of exactly how unwelcome he was than on doing their jobs. And honestly, had they never heard of following the evidence? They had practically turned jumping to conclusions into an Olympic Sport.

Their inability to spot detail was worrisome and was another reason that Ryan was not really that upset about parting ways. The disrespect was another. Everyone there received friendly smiles from their boss, yet he was still Mr. Wolfe. Everyone received hugs, pleases and thank yous, yet he was told explicitly that Mrs. Alexx Woods didn’t need any new friends. All righty then!

Eric – well, there wasn’t much he could say about Delko that would be positive at all. The man made sure that he knew he was the bottom of the pile. Sure, Ryan knew there would be a bit of hazing as he was the newbie in the lab, but he wasn’t a  newbie on the force by any means. He put his time in on patrol, he was even about to be promoted right before he switched over to the CSU.

And none of them liked his OCD, which didn’t make much sense in the long run since it actually helped his job. Yes, okay, he was aware that he came off a little cocky sometimes and maybe he overdid the confidence thing a bit. He was never any good at the social interaction thing, dammit. But he didn’t feel like he could let his guard down at all in this environment, and so instead he ramped everything else up to eleven.

A knock at the door had Ryan tensing up. There was no reason for anyone to be stopping by. All the crates had been packed, the only things left were his clothes and personal items. He didn’t really have any friends and his coworkers from the lab would be the first ones to hold the door open to help him leave, so who could this be?

Caine. Of course. The circus grand master himself.

“Horatio, to what do I owe the honor?” Ryan asked dryly.

“I hear you’re leaving us, Mr. Wolfe,” he said stepping inside without even waiting for an invitation, removing his sunglasses as he did so.

“Sure, Horatio, come right on in, don’t wait for the actual invitation like normal people.”

Caine actually paused in his steps and turned around with eyebrows raised at that, as if offended by the disrespect shown him, but Ryan didn’t care. It’s not like he could lose his job for insubordination now.

“What’s this I hear about you leaving us already, Mr. Wolfe?” Caine inquired again, as he took in the bare home. The SGC had done a good job of packing away everything that Ryan owned, leaving just the furniture that had come with the house.

“Yes.” Ryan knew better than to offer up any extra information. It was none of Horatio’s business where he was going, it’s not like they were friends. The man couldn’t even bother to call him by his first name, for God’s sake, no matter how many times Ryan asked him to do so.

“And?”

“And what?”

“And why? And where? I would like more information, Mr. Wolfe,” Horatio replied impatiently.

Ryan just looked at him incredulously, “Are you kidding me here, Caine? In what world do you think you’re going to get any more information? I was in your lab for six months and was treated like complete shit by the entire staff, where it was made clear that I wasn’t welcome in the least, and you think you deserve any information about my future career? Get real man. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.”

“Everyone goes through an adjustment period, Mr. Wolfe,” Caine answered, waiving off Ryan’s concerns.

“Excuse me?” Ryan just could not believe what he was hearing. “An ‘adjustment period’ is something like a few weeks while people get used to quirks. Not months of being treated like the scum on the bottom of someone’s shoe because you had the misfortune of being hired on directly after someone else had died on the job. It’s not working with completely unprofessional people who would rather spend their time jumping to conclusions than working with and following evidence! Can you imagine how much quicker we would have actually solved cases had we actually worked the evidence instead of letting one of your pets run off with a half baked theory every time a piece of evidence was done being checked?” Ryan didn’t wait for any response before continuing, “It’s also not working with a man who thinks he’s above the law when it suits him, Horatio.”

Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself down. There was no use getting all worked up about these people, they were about to become his past. “I chose to accept an offer to work somewhere else. That’s the beginning and end of it. It’s none of your business, I don’t owe you any explanations or apologies, Horatio. So I’m not really sure what you’re doing here.”

“You’re one of my people and I don’t appreciate you being poached without even asking my permission,” Caine responded with some anger creeping in.

“I’m not one of your people and I never was, I wasn’t allowed to be. As I’ve just explained.” Ryan opened the front door and motioned for Horatio to vacate his home.”Please leave.”

Horatio just stared silently for a moment, not moving, before replacing his sunglasses and heading to the door.

“And Horatio, don’t go snooping around, as I’m sure you’re about to do. Contrary to your beliefs, you aren’t above the law. You go digging into my files without a warrant – and I’ll know if you do – I’ll have you up on charges in a hot minute. My life and career are no longer your concern.”

Slamming a door never felt so good.

Ryan made a note to warn Tony about Horatio digging into things and went back to packing. He was ready to get the hell out of Dodge.