A/N: To all my wonderful, lovely readers. I am so, so, so sorry! This is like four months late. I feel just horrible. A lot has happened and it's taken a toll on my writing. My younger cousin just broke his hand and my grandma just got out of the hospital, crazy times. So, so, so sorry.

Also, I am very behind on this show oddly. So, some things written within maybe uncanon, sorry ahead of time. And the line of a song that Chris quotes is from Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

~*~Day 7~*~

The noon-time sun did little to eat at the cold of the day. Though, such knowledge did little to ruin Chris' day. He was finally allowed to relax at Dwayne's table and play Legos with Laurel while her father baked. It was a perfect conclusion to a busy morning of church and endless questions from Laurel.

He smirked at her as she took her turn putting a red block on the structure they were making. Neither knew what exactly they were building but neither cared. Chris was happy just to be welcomed into the family activities and escape his touring mother. Laurel was lots of fun to play with once he coaxed her into playing with Legos.

He blinked at the structure and turned it slightly before giving her a funny look. The thing they were building made no sense and put a smile on their lips. She giggled at him and he grinned wide as they snickered together.

"Geez, girl, jus' wha' ya buildin' o'er there? Ah'm jus' sayin', makes no sense."

"Mine? Look at your side!" She playfully stuck her tongue out at him. He was about to retort when his phone went off. He pouted and stuck out his tongue as he answered.

"LaSalle." He chirped automatically, just shaking his head at his bratty companion.

"Oh, Chris, Sweetie!" He cringed at the sound of his mother's happy voice a little too loud in his ear. He loved her to pieces but the woman did not know how to talk on the phone, "Are you busy, Love? Callihan and Ah just found the most adorable little cafe. He heard the food's wonderful. Why don't you and Merri come join us? We'll make it a double date!" Chris' stomach flipped at the suggestion and hoped Laurel could not hear, that would lead to more explaining. He swallowed thickly and looked over at where Dwayne was putting something in the oven.

"Sorry, Mom, Merri's busy today an' can't make it." He winced as Laurel looked at him in confused curiosity as she delicately stuffed her face with a pastry her father had just served her and Chris. The young agent guiltily looked away from his love's daughter, the lie his mother currently believed was making him nauseous.

"Ah'm with Pride right now at the office." He got another look from Laurel at the impersonal use of her father's name. Chris looked down and picked at his own pastry. He wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out, feeling lower than dirt.

"You should go see your mother. Laurel and Ah'll still be here when you get back." The tightness in Dwayne's voice stabbed Chris in the soul. He looked up but Dwayne's gaze never shifted from what he was making.

"But l-looks like Ah got some free time. A-ah'd love to meet you an' Callihan, Ma."

"Really?! Wonderful!" Chris barely listened as his mother went on with the directions. He shakily stood up, Laurel was giving him a condemning look as she slowly chewed. He doubted she knew but she was sharp and was probably putting the pieces together slowly. Chris smiled weakly at her before hanging up his phone and walked over to Dwayne. He wrapped his arms around the man's waist and pressed a kiss to his throat, apologizing softly. Dwayne nodded but did not look up as Chris slipped away and left.

Anger rose in Laurel as she watched her father just keep on cooking as Chris left. She did not know the details but that was not behavior between a couple. She felt hurt and was filled with a need to defend her father.

"Dad, what was that?"

"It's nothin', Laurel, let it go."

"Is he cheating on you with Brody?!"

"No. It's nothin' like that. Jus' let it go, Sweetheart."

"How am Ah supposed to let it go? His mom calls, obviously invites him and Brody to lunch yet you get mentioned by him as an after thought?! It's like his mom didn't even aknowledge you! You deserve better, Dad!"

"She doesn't know." the quiet confession stopped Laurel's rant. Her eyes widened in shock as her father's head hung low.

"Wha?"

"Mrs. LaSalle thinks that Chris is dating Brody. It's a coverstory we made to protect Chris." Laurel slowly chewed her treat, using the back of her hand to wipe the powdered sugar from her mouth. She looked at him in disbelief.

"Protect him from what? His mom?"

"Yes. This is very new for he and Ah, an' it's a little frightening." Dwayne sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, "Chris is scared his mother'll reject him for lovin' me. That's why we made the story and Brody helped sell it."

"But, Chris' mom loves him to death. She wouldn't like disown him or anythin', would she?"

"Ah don't know, Laurel. But, Ah've jus' barely put him back together an' Ah don' want him breakin' again o'er this." Laurel sighed and let her head droop. She was worried about what being rejected might do to Chris but in the meantime, her father was suffering. A daugther's place is to take her father's side in a battle of honor.

"Ah'm sorry, Daddy." She got out of her chair and walked over to him. Her arms slipped around his waist as she pressed her cheek against his back. He sighed and patted her hand in return.

"It's alright, Sweetheart, we'll figure it out."

~*~NCIS~*~

Chris had never been so glad for his ability to plaster a believable fake smile on his face. "Smile and nod" seemed to be his mode of conversation with his mother and Callihan. No matter what subject he used as a topic for conversation, it all came back to him and Brody. He had to be vague and twist the truth slightly to keep from out and out lying. He gave a silent sigh of relief when his phone rang. He smiled sweetly at his mother before excusing himself and answering it.

"King?" He asked softly as he picked up.

"No, it's Laurel."

"Oh, hello, Sugarcube. You two alright?"

"As well as can be. Christopher LaSalle, you got a lot of explaining to do." Chris winced at the level of anger in her lovely voice.

"'Bout what, Darlin'?"

"About why my dad's playing second chair to a woman that you're not even cheating on him with." He swallowed thickly at this. He had hoped she would wait longer to lecture him, "My dad's here planning a nice dinner for you an' him an' you're there pretending he doesn't exist. That's not fair, he deserves better." Chris' stomach twisted and the meal he had just eaten felt like it was climbing back up his throat.

""Yer right, he does. Ah'm so sorry."

"Don't tell me sorry, make this right. Your mom loves you but she doesn't run your life. You promised my dad no secrets, Ah think this counts as breaking that promise."

"You're right, Laurel." He took a calming breath and nodded even though she could not see him, "Ah'll fix this. So much for keepin' this relationship quiet, huh?"

"Good things shouldn't be kept quiet."

"Yeah, ya got a point there, Little Lady." They shared a quick goodbye before hanging up. Chris groaned softly as he hung his head. Fear and guilt ate at his insides as he tried to find the courage for this talk. The walk back to the table felt too long and too short all at the same time. He gave his mother and Callihan an uneasy smile as he sank down into his chair.

"Sweetie, is everything awlright?" His mother asked softly as she gently took his hand. He nodded slowly as he looked down at the table. He sighed and squeezed her hand.

"Ah gotta confess somethin' to yu."

"Confess? What're you talking about, Love?" Chris sighed softly and covered their linked hands with his free one. He held her hand gently, fingers stroking over her smooth skin.

"It's about me 'n' Brody. Well, there is no me 'n' Brody. We lied to yu." Mrs. LaSalle was slightly taken aback. She was shocked her son and his friend both lied to her.

"But why, Sweetie?" He squeezed his eyes shut, clutching her hand gently.

"Ah hadn't seen ya in so long. Ah was scared of ya rejectin' me, hatin' me."

"Darling, you're not makin' much sense. Ah could ne'er reject or hurt you. Please tell me what's scaring you. Did you break up with yer sweetheart and didn' want to tell me?" He shook his head in reply, "then what is it, Love?" Chris swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"It's about King, er, Pride."

"what about him, Sweetie? He giving you a hard time at work?"

"No, ne'er." He shook his head and opened his eyes, staring into hers, "It's King. He's mah new sweetheart, it happened six days ago." His truth was met by his mother and Callihan jerking back as they gasped softly in shock. Chris watched his mother's face mask what looked like disgust while Callihan sneered in outright disgust. Mrs. LaSalle quickly swallowed down the bile in her throat as she weakly squeezed his hand.

"Chris? C-can Ah ask why? He- He's-" She trailed off and Callihan picked up, "-a back door whore. No wonder the slut's divorced. Prolly ran around behi-!" The older man never got to finish his comment as he was cut off by the crack of a fist slamming against his jaw. The older man and his chair fell backwards to the ground. An angry, huffing Chris stood above him, flexing his fingers, his mother's grip the only thing stopping him from laying into the other man.

"Don' yu e'er call him tha' 'gain!" Chris yelled, drawing the entire cafe's attention for a spit second before they anxiously went back to their meals as Chris lowered his voice, "Tha' man's got a soul purer than snow an' ne'er had an adultrous thought in 'is life! 'e di'n't e'en ask for this relationship. 'e did it to put me back together because Ah was broken, an' because Ah asked fer it!" Chris glared down at his mother's companion as the man and Mrs. LaSalle gaped in horror. Chris' eye twitched slightly, fist flexing as his mother blinked back tears. She shakily stood up and walked around the table and took his hand. Chris looked over at her as she gently rubbed his arm.

"S-sweetie, what do you mean broken?" Worry over rid the sick feeling in her stomach. She pulled close to her son as he sighed weakly.

"Last year, when Savannah died, my heart shattered. Ah tried to fill it with different women. King an' the girls at work called me on it an' got me to stop sleepin' around. as mah best friend, King's been slowly putting me back together. Then, six days ago..." His eyes squeezed shut and he shuddered, his head hung as he leaned into his mother's embrace.

"What 'appened then, Sweetheart?"

"...We got called in fer a case. Me 'n' Brody went to check it out. King 'n' Percy stayed at the office because he got a call."

"Then what?" Both were surprised when the question came from Callihan as he stiffly stood up and fixed his chair, napkin to his bleeding nose. He sounded genuinely interested, concerned even. Chris took a deep breath and tried to settle as he and his mother sat down again, he was still angry at Callihan but knew he had to get this out, clear Dwayne.

"When we got to the scene, the victim, s-she looked just like Savannah." Callihan gaped at this and Mrs. LaSalle gasped softly, pulling her son closer, "She was like her twin. Mah world started to quake all o'er 'gain. Brody tried her best to keep me together as we worked but then the call came in; King had been stabbed in front of our office. S-some punk kid with a grudge against feds. As soon as Brody told me, mah world finally broke." He paused, trying to get through the memories, eyes watering as his mother stroked his arm.

"I-it had been raining all day. a-ah was so cold, inside and out. T-the world around me moved so slow as Ah finished mah shift in a daze as the girls made sure King was taken to the hospital." He gasped for air weakly, lungs not feeling full enough, "Ah ran once work was over. Ah ran to a cemetery. Ah hid in the cover of a tomb alcove. Mah heart an' head were in pieces. Ah had jus' had a fight with Cade before work, then Savannah's twin, then King gettin' attacked. It was all too much at one time. A-ah must have been sitting there jus' starin' at the rain fer hours." He relaxed slowly, shifting a loving gaze over at his mother.

"Tha's where Dwayne found me. He left the hospital, went home and baked, then came and found me. He sat next to me, wrapped me in a blanket, gave me hot coffee and pastries, then just held me." He looked down at his hands and chuckled weakly, "He was so sweet, protective, and kind. Jus' like he had been for the past ten years." Chris flushed and dipped his head to avoid their eyes, squeezing his mother's hand.

"that's when Ah kissed him, Ah finally realized he was the only constant in my life and that Ah loved him in a not so platonic way." His words made the two uneasy but Callihan stayed quiet with a glare from Mrs. LaSalle. She swallowed hard and stroked Chris' hand as she tried to gut her next words out.

"A-an' he felt the same?" Chris laughed softly and shook his head, smiling brightly.

"Nah! Far from it! Nah, he jus' about freaked but didn' wanna upset me more so he kissed back but Ah could tell it made him uncomfortable, still kinda does. But King hates hurtin' those close to his heart so he played along an' when Ah tried apologizin' he jus' asked if'n that a relationship would make me happy again."

"Did it?"

"Oh, very much so. When he agreed to date me, Ah felt him sewing mah heart back together. Straight an' traditional as can be but he still gave himself to me so Ah could feel alive ag'in." Chris shifted uncomfortably now that he was done. He refused to look up, could not take the look on their faces. His parental figures were trying to wrap their heads around what they just heard. Callihan was shaking his head but sighed as Mrs. LaSalle took a deep breath.

"A-ah can't say Ah think it's right o-or that Ah like the idea of my baby boy with another man, b-but if'n you're happy and safe..." Chris smiled softly at his mother's hesitant acceptance. His heart hurt that she did not truly find happiness with him finding love.

He shifted weakly in his chair and raised her hand in his. He kissed the back of her hand as he watched her smile weakly. He sighed softly, watching his mother and Callihan.

~*~NCIS~*~

It was late afternoon by the time he escaped lunch with his mother. His chest still ached and he felt a little sick to his stomach. He was unsure how to feel about his mother begrudgingly accepting him. It meant the world that she did not disown him but the barely contained disgust had felt like a stab in the soul.

He sighed tiredly, emotionally exhausted, as he climbed the steps to Dwayne's bedroom. He unlocked the door and slipped inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He slipped out of his coat and let it fall to the ground as he searched out Dwayne's bed. The man had not been in the rest of the office so he must be in his room.

Chris was about to call out to his friend when he spotted him asleep on the bed. He smiled softly at the sight of his love resting on the bed as he curl about a pillow. The image was added to a quickly growing compilation of adorable memories. He shook his head as his smile grew and he knelt on the bed. His trained eyes caught the slight stiffening of Dwayne's muscles, a giveaway that the older man's hyper alertness had woken him. Chris tenderly rested a gentle hand on his love's lower back and made himself known before the other man ended up hurting him.

"Easy, King, jus' me." Chris whispered softly and stroked up his love's spine, feeling the older man relax. He watched as pale eyes slowly slid open and lovingly looked back at him. Chris heard a soft humming from his lover as he leaned down and kissed the back of Dwayne's neck. Chris chuckled softly at the pleasant shudder that passed through his partner as he gently laid himself down against his partner's back.

"Welcome back, Chris. How was your lunch?" The words were warm and slightly slurred from sleep as Dwayne's eyes slipped closed once more as he relaxed into the pillow again. Chris hummed softly as he pressed his nose to Dwayne's shoulder blade and sighed tiredly.

"It was fine. Long, but twas nice spendin' time with mah ma." His arms slowly slipped under the older man's solid weight to embrace him. He nuzzled the nape of his love's neck and breathed slowly through his mouth. He was rewarded with a soft, almost inaudible moan of bliss from his companion. Chris hummed happily, kissing where he nuzzled.

"Ah love ya, King." The words were soft and tainted with sadness. The tone made Dwayne's heart hurt. The older man's eyes slowly slid open and he twisted onto his back under Chris. He blinked slowly at the sad face and lovingly pulled the younger man close. He leaned his head close, gently kissing the younger man as Chris' arms moved out from under him to tenderly stroke Dwayne's sides. Dwayne lovingly petted the younger man's hair in return, soothing him.

"Wanna tell me what's got you so down?" he asked softly once they broke the kiss. Chris whined softly in reply, hiding his face against Dwayne's throat. The elder agent sighed softly, simply stroking down Chris' back. His pale eyes widened slightly when Chris spoke softly.

"Ah told her." Dwayne paused and blinked at his love, frowning softly.

"An'?"

"Well, Ah'm not really sure, King." Chris rumbled softly against Dwayne's throat for comfort, "She said as long as Ah was happy an' well taken care of she was fine with it. But, Ah could tell she was not happy. Guessin' Ah should be happy but mah heart still kinda hurts." He slumped slightly against Dwayne who had moved to stroking his short hair.

"It's only natural to feel like that. This is very new to us all and was just too much for her to take in." Dwayne gently kissed Chris' ear as he continued to pet the younger man's hair.

"Just let it go for right now, Chris. Just take a nap with me. Ah'm sure a lil' rest'll go a long way." Dwayne moved them so they were lying next to each other. Chris smiled and snuggled into his side, resting an arm over the other man's chest and shoulder. Dwayne hummed softly as he lazily curled his arm under Chris to stroke his back. The younger man smiled at the loving touch, slowly starting to drift off. He yawned softly and clung to Dwayne as slumber took him.

~*~NCIS~*~

Chris woke several hours later to the sound of music coming from the ground floor. He whined softly at the lack of Dwayne next to him and stiffly sat up. He yawned wide and stretched his arms up and out. Moaning softly as the pressure in his muscles relaxed. He felt happy and rested, his heart no longer aching like it had before.

He mewled as he crawled off the bed. He gave a smalled yawn and rubbed his eyes. He blinked slowly as his hands sluggishly straightened his shirt as he headed for the room's door. He smiled softly as he listened and began to hum along. He scrubbed his fingers through his short hair as he left the room and headed down the stairs.

It did not take him long to reach the kitchen. His smile peaked in brightness when he saw Dwayne setting the table for a dinner made for two. Chris felt himself flush brightly as the other man looked up and smiled.

"there you are. Was jus' wonderin' if'n Ah should go wake you." the older man walked over to him and wrapped an arm around Chris' waist. Their loving gazes met and sparked as Dwayne smiled brighter.

"Dinner'll be a bit an' the sun's settin'. Care to dance?" Chris blinked rapidly at the request but could not help the sparkle entering his eyes. He chuckled and nuzzled Dwayne's cheek.

"Love ta, King." His heart leapt as they moved into position. He hummed and rest his head on the other man's shoulder, easily falling step so Dwayne could lead their slow dance. Chris dreamily mumbled something against his partner's throat, making the other man hum questioningly.

"What?" The question was soft and confused. Chris raised his head, staring deeply into his love's pale gaze.

"Ah'm home. 'Home is wherever Ah'm with you.'"