Sat talking to BonesBird last night during and after channel 5 aired 1/03 Breaking Brig and we discussed the random bits that I should not write and why I should not write them. So what did I do...I wrote this. I have no shame now as the boat long sailed and I have been sucked into the World of Prody and I will not be going back. I have a post episode from Breaking Brig already but this was something that would not leave me alone.
Disclaimer- Still a fanfic site so need not say anymore.
Home isn't a place its the people...
Driving in the car to the scene of the prison transport bus crash LaSalle decided to play punch buggy with Brody. As she received her first thump to her arm she turned and looked at LaSalle
"Ooww what was that for?" She asked.
"Punch buggy, no punch back" LaSalle replied.
"Come on, everyone knows punch buggy, right King" as LaSalle looked to his boss for back up.
"We called it slug bug" Pride answered back.
LaSalle then told them how him and his brother always played it on long car trips and ended up black and blue by the the time they got where they were going.
"What did you do on long car journeys Brody?" Pride inquired as he tried to get Brody to open up and talk to them more.
"Long car journeys meant going back to boarding school every September, moving on" as Brody tried to change the subject but was saved by Prides phone ringing.
As it was sitting in the middle of the car and everyone could see the caller ID showing it was Linda.
"Linda, you not going to answer that?" Brody asked.
Since she arrived she had heard that Prides marriage was in tatters and by the sounds of it there was not much to save. Going by the fact he didn't want to take her call and he was happy to let voice mail get it rumours sounded about right.
"Nope, voice mail can get it. She wants me to go see another couple therapists with her" Pride told Brody and LaSalle.
"Well thats good that you are working on it and all" LaSalle told his boss and friend.
Pride just looked at Brody then went back to looking out the front window. Brody was a little confused by the fact that it was LaSalle making comments but it was her he was looking at. Sweeping it to one side she would see if he there was any other signs or symptoms that pointed the to the fact something was wrong.
After securing and processing the crime scene they set out tracking down the escaped prisoners. The had eyes and ears everywhere tracking them so it wasn't long when a call came in saying 2 of them had been spotted. Following up they were lead to a derelict building and after searching it the found a little boy hiding in the cupboard after he had been playing there and heard voices.
Pride managed to gain the boys trust and get him out the cupboard. They got him to sit on the step and Pride coaxed him into talking while Brody watched on. This was a cute and different side of Pride that Brody hadn't really seen. She knew that Pride had a grown up daughter but she had never seen him smaller kids. He was an instant hit and soon won the boys trust and eventually he presented the boy with a small badge with the NCIS crest on it. Brody was having a major cute moment as she watch him interact with the child. She could just picture him with more children of his own sitting playing and laughing and where on earth had this train of thought come from?. One minute she was focused on what the boy was saying the next she was day dreaming of her boss sat with kids and babies and looking so cute doing it especially if they were there kids.
Now was the time to give her head a wobble, that thought snuck up on her from nowhere. The more she tried to put it out her mind the more it wanted in. The images she played out in her head where getting out of control. From images of them sat together, to images of her pregnant and holding a baby with him at her side. This was getting her nowhere so she finally gave her head a shake and set about getting some actual work done.
They put a trace on the 2 men the little boy placed at the cabin and set out to Alabama to trace the third man. They were sure he was headed home which made LaSalle a happy man. It was late when the 3 agents drove over the state line entering Alabama. LaSalle did the window down and stuck his head taking a deep breath before bringing his head back in smiling.
"Smell that?" He asked to no one in general.
"Yes, smells like burnt rubber and skunk" Brody replied.
"Nope smells like home" LaSalle answered back still with a big smile on his face.
"Don't you think your over romanticising the whole sweet home Alabama thing just a little?" Brody said not being able to help herself from asking.
"I am not romanticising it, am appreciating it which is something you're clearly not good at doing" LaSalle said defensively.
"What's that supposed to mean" Brody responded on the defensive now.
"Well it means you got to stay somewhere long enough to get hooked. In the past seven years you have moved 4 times" LaSalle pointed out to Brody.
Brody gave a rundown of why the 3 places she had been were not to her liking. It was then Pride joined the conversation.
"You ever thought it could be you got your criteria wrong Brody?" Pride asked not being able to see her face as she was sat behind him.
Now he had her attention.
"Home isn't a place, it's the people" Pride told her with a smile on his face.
Now there was more food for thought, especially from Pride. That man was a Rubics cube today. With his many sides and insights she was getting confused. She thought she had figured him out then she found another side to him that needed to be pondered over and worked out. She really needed to talk to him but until they were finished this case she would have to wait.
After arresting one of the escaped prisoners he was found to have no real link to the others. They still had to track down the remaining 2 escaped prisoners and after chasing up video surveillance and working out where they were headed. All 3 agent arrived at the dry dock yard and were covering each other as they entered the building. They split to cover more ground which was a bad move. LaSalle came in contact with the prisoner first on the upper floor and was threw over the railing only managing to hang on with his fingers to stop himself falling.
"Pride, Brody heads up " trying to let his boss and partner know he was headed down.
The problem was it was not his boss that meet the prisoner next it was Brody. Brody did try but he was too strong and had her in a choke hold when Pride came into a view.
He had a choice here, let him kill her or take the shot. He knew which his superiors wanted but standing here looking at the terrified look on Brody's face was a different matter. He couldn't let him kill her, she was family now and after today and the things he has said and done he was hoping for more than that. The shot rang out through the empty building and the prisoner fell backwards with a single kill shot to the head.
Pride ran forward to Brody and had to stop himself from getting to close. He slammed his internal breaks on and stopped himself from literally barrelling into her and holding her. She looked terrified.
"You okay?" He had to ask but he knew even if she wasn't she would say she was.
Broody mumbled something that he just made out as a yes. She still had a haunted terrified look on her face but at least she was alive.
"Yes you are" as he tried to inject some confidence in to her.
He would talk to her as soon as he could, after today he needed to but he had no idea when he would find time.
Arriving back at the office they finished reports and filed everything away now would have been an ideal time to talk but LaSalle and Brody had made a promise to take the first prisoner that's they caught to the hospital to visit his mother which they did. As they stood outside the room watching the man with his mother the scene hit Brody on a very emotional level. This man was saying his last good bye to his mother. She had never settled anywhere as LaSalle pointed out, maybe now was the time to reach out and make ties to a place and to its people. She knew what she wanted but the question now was did the person she want feel the same.
As they walked back to the car a plan formulated in her head. Reaching the car LaSalle suggested the go get something to eat but she had other plans. She made LaSalle stop and get a few bits before they drove back to the office. With LaSalle's help they soon had the pot cooking and it was there arguing that brought Pride down stairs.
"What on earth are you doing here?" He asked looking between his squabbling agents.
"She made me drive straight back here" as LaSalle winked at Pride.
"I wanted to say thank you for today for saving my butt so I decided to cook something" Brody smiled happily at Pride.
"All part of the job" Pride told her as he smiled.
"I know but still felt good knowing you had my back" Brody smiled back at Pride.
There was that smile back, he was glad she was happy again.
"What's in there?" He asked but dredged the answer when he considered neither of them could cook.
"Shrimp bouillon" Brody replied.
Then the argument started again about how to cook it between LaSalle and Brody. Pride watched then decided to step in. He got a couple of bottles out the cool box and passed them one each before grabbing the food and chucking the whole lot in together.
"It all goes in together. Done, now go enjoy each other's company I will do this" as he waved them away.
Lasalle and Brody took the hint and went and sat down. They sat talking and laughing as if this was a normal family tea time and they did this every day. When the shrimp was ready Pride dished it up and they sat eating with Pride watching on as Lasalle and Brody sat talking and squabbling. It felt good to just sit and relax and watch family bonding.
As time went on Pride kept an eye on how much they all had to drink, they still needed to get home. LaSalle stopped after 2 and didn't stop long after they had finished eating. He didn't miss the looks that both Pride and Brody were giving each other when they thought no one was looking. He helped clear up and after wishing them both good night LaSalle left knowing his partner and boss needed time to talk.
Pride and Brody were left sitting at the little table in the courtyard after LaSalle left. Brody was sat with her third bottle so she was either getting a Cab home or she was stopping there. Pride preferred the later as he would be more than happy to share his couch with her. It was Brody who broke the silence they were sitting in as she rubbed her arms to fend of the chill that had suddenly taken over her. Pride was at her side in seconds offering her his hand which she took as he pulled her to her feet. Once standing he slid his arm round her shoulder and pulled her to his side. He wasn't sure if she would accept the gesture but when she put her arm round his waist and settled against his side he was happy.
They walked inside and he hoped he wasn't going to be pushed away as he lead them both upstairs. They never said a word as they went but Pride noticed when Brody rested her head against his as they walked. Maybe this wasn't all one sided after all. When they reached Prides room he hesitated before he opened the door. Brody sensed his hesitation so she reached over and pushed the door open before leading them both in.
"Pride can we talk about today please" as they walked up to the couch and sat down.
"Sure, what do you to talk about?" Pride asked as he brought his leg on to the couch and turned his whole body to face her.
"Well I have a few things I wanted to know but I suppose we can start with the important one. Today when I was... When I nearly... Why did you shot him? You were under orders to bring him in alive yet you saved me over him? Why?" The last part was a near whisper and Pride would have missed it had he not moved closer as she spoke.
"Your family now, actually it's more than that. If I felt for my family the way I feel for you I would be arrested" as he reached across and took her hand interlinking there fingers tight together.
"You said something to me today in the car about people making a place a home. I want to make here home but I have no idea where to start can you show me?" She asked as she moved a little closer so there knees were touching on the couch.
"I will show you that if you stay here long enough the city and the people get under your skin and you can't shake them. They make you who you are and who you become. I can show you many reasons to stay here and make this home but I can show you a reason that out ways all of them" as he closed the gap between them and brushed his lips across hers.
Brody responded instantly and brought a hand to his head to hold him in place. As the kiss deepened they found themselves moving so that Brody ended up straddling Pride as they broke for air and she buried her face in his neck.
"I want this to be home" as she placed a kiss to his neck just under the collar.
"I want you to make this home as well and it will be as long as you want it be. Wherever you are is where I want my home to be as long as its in New Orleans and in my arms" as he brought them into a lying down position on the couch with Brody laid along his front.
"I can live with that" as Brody slid her arm round his chest and moved her head so she could look up at Pride as she felt herself finally relax after what had happened today. As she drifted off to sleep she the last thing she saw was prides face and she felt his hand resting on the skin if her back.
So this was what home felt like, belonging and fitting perfectly with another person.
AN2- That came out a little different than I expected and my smut monster must have went on vacation for a while.