Angels and Demons

by amyb9090

Chris takes a case of child abuse personally and remembers an incident from his past, causing him to make a very bad judgement on their current case

Pride and the team had been out all night on a call. He glanced at the clock as he laid down. "Nine am." He said to himself. "I have time for a quick nap. He had just about fallen asleep when his cell phone rang. "Pride," He answered sleepily. "When?" Where?" "I'll call Loretta and the others. Keep the scene secure for me Lieutenant." "Alright. See you in a while."

Chris was the first one to the scene because he lived closer. He was sitting on the sofa talking to the victim. Commander Angela Waters. "Any idea where your husband is now, Commander?"

"He took off afterwards. I'm sure he's hurt."

"We'll check local emergency rooms. You should really go, too. You've got quite a shiner on your eye."

"Someone needs to go talk to Neal."

"Is he the one that pulled the trigger?"

"Yes, but he was only trying to protect me."

"Ma'am, if it was self-defense everything will be okay."

Pride and Brody walked in. "LaSalle, what do we have?"

"Commander Waters thirteen-year-old son Neal shot his father after he punched his mother. Commander James Waters managed to get into his truck and drive away."

"Go talk to the boy, Christopher. See if you can find out the whole story."

"King, I don't know that I can do that."

"Why not?"

"It's personal."

"Brody, sit with Commander Waters a moment. I'll be back." Pride turned to his senior agent. "Come with me and explain."

Chris followed Pride outside. "This is just too personal for me."

"Is one of the family members someone you know?"

Chris shook his head. "No, sir."

"Are they kin to you?"

"No, sir."

"Then how is this personal?"

LaSalle took a deep breath. "I just don't feel comfortable questioning the kid."

"Alright, I'll give you two choices. You follow my order and go talk to the kid or you head back to the office and we'll 'deal' with your insubordination when I get done here. What's it going to be?" LaSalle turned toward the house. "That's what I thought. Call me if you need my help."

LaSalle climbed the stairs and located Neal's room. The boy was wearing headphones playing a video game. Chris flashed his badge and Neal took off the headphones. "You here about what I did to my dad?"

Chris sat down on the bed next to the teen. "Yeah. I need to know what happened. From the beginning."

Neal put his game controller on the bed. "I got an F on my history test and then I got suspended from school for talking back to one of my teachers. Dad had to leave work to come pick me up."

"Why didn't he just send your mom?"

"The school called her first. She couldn't get away to come get me."

"He was pretty angry."

"Yeah. Didn't even give me time to explain. Just started beating me the minute we got home."

"With what?"

"His belt. At first it was on my butt. I figured he'd stop after a while, but he just kept going."

"Over your jeans or bare?"

"Bare." Neal pulled up his shirt. "After he was done on my rear end he started on my back."

LaSalle hissed. "That had to hurt."

Neal nodded. "Not the first time."

"Has your mom ever called the police? Reported the abuse?"

"He always said he wouldn't do it again. Then this happens."

"That doesn't explain how your father got shot."

"Mom came home and heard what was going on. She came running up the stairs and came in here. She screamed for him to stop. Dad threw the belt across the room and then started hitting her. He'd never done that before. I tried to grab his arms but he's too strong for me. I managed to escape, climb up in their bedroom closet and find the pistol. I called his name. He let her go and spun around. He started towards me and I shot him in the leg. He fell down the stairs, stumbled out the door to his truck. It was his left leg so he was able to drive away."

"Neal, I have to ask this question. Were you trying to kill him?"

"All that was going through my head was that he was going to kill my mom. I don't know if I was trying to kill him. I just wanted him to stop."

"That's good enough for me. Why don't we get you and your mom to the hospital to get some care for those bruises?"

"Mandy."

"What?"

"My little sister will be coming home from school on the bus. She's eight. She can't be here by herself."

"We'll have another agent pick her up. Right now, you and your mom need medical care and we need to locate your father and get him some care, too."

"Are you going to bring him home?"

"No. He'll be going to jail for what he did to you and your mom. Has he ever hurt your sister before?"

"No, sir. Just me until today."

"When I was thirteen I used to get into trouble, too."

The two descended down the stairs. "Agent Brody is going to take you two to the hospital to get checked out." Pride said.

"Mom, what about Mandy?"

"I've already told Agent Pride. I've called the school and one of the agents will pick her up and bring her to the hospital."

"What if he comes back?" Neal asked.

"We'll have agents watching the house," LaSalle explained. "He'll be picked up as soon as he shows up here again."

"If he's not found by the time you all are ready to come home, we'll find a safe place for you." Pride added. "Christopher, come with me."

LaSalle walked out of the house matching his boss' stride. "Clear cut case of self defense."

Pride climbed in the car and unlocked the passenger side door. Chris climbed in and sat down. "You concluded that from talking to the boy?"

"And his mother before you got here. Their stories match."

"The boy intentionally shot his father?"

"In the leg because he was beating his mother."

"The commander told us that Neal shot his father in the hallway and he rolled down the stairs." LaSalle nodded. "He wasn't beating on his mother then."

"He called him out and pulled the trigger. The only thing on his mind was saving his mother's life."

"Self-defense?"

Chris nodded. "Yes, sir. That's what I believe it was."

"Commander Waters said this wasn't the first time her husband beat the boy bloody."

"Neal said the same thing. He didn't indicate how many times, but it's happened before. He showed me his back and there are some contusions that were already healing."

"The hospital will take pictures. Brody will make sure they get to Loretta. We need to find Commander James Waters before he bleeds out. The boy could be facing murder charges if we don't."

"He's thirteen."

"I know. He's capable of knowing right from wrong and made a conscious decision to go get that gun."

"They won't lock him up for trying to save his mom."

"That's not for us to decide. The evidence will have to point to self defense."

"This was a scared kid, King. He wasn't thinking rationally like an adult. Hell, he's a kid."

"Yeah, I know."

The pair checked three hospitals and four walk-in clinics in the area. As they pulled up to the last clinic on their list, LaSalle noticed a man in uniform. "Bingo."

"Careful. He's like a scared animal. Even he's not sure of what he's doing. He's lost a lot of blood."

The two men exited the car carrying their weapons. "NCIS. Commander James Waters."

The commander collapsed to the ground. "LaSalle, go inside and have the staff call an ambulance. We don't have much time." Pride knelt on the ground next to the commander. "Help is on the way. Stay with me."

"My son. My son shot me."

"We just came from your house. Your family is safe."

"He shot me."

LaSalle walked back out of the building. "ETA five minutes on the ambulance."

"He's passed out from the pain."

"Did he say anything?"

"Just that his son shot him."

The commander was loaded into the ambulance and LaSalle and Pride got in the car. "He's going to make it."

"Yeah," LaSalle replied. "Lucky SOB. I'd have pegged him in the heart."

"And you'd be facing a murder wrap."

The rest of the car ride was quiet. LaSalle tried to shake a thought from his head but he suddenly had a flashback

**Flashback***

"C'mon, Chris!" Steve Henry called. "We're all going swimming!"

"Swimming. It's forty degrees."

"Yeah, we're seeing how long we last in that cold water. It'll be fun."

"I gotta tell Cade where I'm going. I'll be right there." Chris walked into the barn. "I'm going swimming with a couple of the guys. I'll get that firewood cut and stacked when I get home."

"Don't be late for supper."

"I won't. You look after Shelly for me."

"I will."

Chris joined his friends and they took off running down the road. They took turns jumping off the bridge into the cold water below. Just as he was coming up for another jump a car stopped on the side of the road. The passenger window rolled down. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just having a little fun, Calvin" Chris replied.

"Get in the car!"

"You ain't my dad. I don't have to do what you say."

The driver's side door opened and a tall, bearded man exited. He opened the passenger side door, and grabbed Chris by the ear. "I said get in the car!" He forcefully put Chris in the car and slammed the passenger side door. He walked back around the car. "The rest of you better head on home and hope you make it before I get your daddies on the phone." Teenage boys scattered. The man got in the car and sped towards home.

"You ain't my dad."

"I'm the closest thing you have to a father and I intend to make sure you know it."

**End Flashback***

"Christopher," Pride said for the third time. "We're at the office, son."

LaSalle snapped back to reality. "Sorry, King."

"You were a million miles away. Did you hear a word I said?"

"No, sir. I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep."

"Must have been some dream."

"Nothing special."

The two men exited the car. "Why don't you go catch a little sleep upstairs?"

"I'm not tired. I've got a report to write."

"The case isn't over yet. You don't have to write anything until we have a conclusion."

"I want to re-write my notes, so I don't leave anything out of the report when I do write it."

Pride put a hand on his senior agent's forehead. "You sick?"

"No, sir, why?"

"You're volunteering to write. That's not like you."

"I just really want to make sure this kid is taken care of."

Pride cocked his head. "You've already decided he's innocent."

LaSalle drew a breath. "I saw the bruises on that boy's back, King. It's no wonder he didn't do this sooner."

King's phone rang. "Pride," He answered quickly. "I'll be there in a few minutes." "Thanks." Pride turned to Chris. "You want to come with me to question Neal's father?"

"Not unless you're ordering me to."

Pride's eyebrow raised. "Come again?"

"Sorry, King. It's just this case is getting to me."

"I'll chalk it up to you not getting enough sleep. Loretta's supposed to call with an analysis of those bruises on Neal's back and rear. You call me when you know the results. Don't wait. That is an order."

Chris nodded. "Yes,sir."

"Get some sleep!" King exclaimed walking out the door to the parking lot.

Chris started re-reading his notes and then lost himself in his own thoughts once again

**FLASHBACK***

"Hi, Mom!" Chris said, heading toward the stairs.

"Hold it just a minute, young man. Where have you been?"

"Swimming with a couple of the guys. I asked Cade if I could go."

" Swimming? Christopher James it's forty degrees outside. You're going to get sick."

"I'm fine, mom. It wasn't that cold."

"You're soaking wet. You go right upstairs and take a hot shower. Change into some dry clothes and then come in the kitchen. I'll put on some hot chocolate to warm you up."

"Cal told me to come out once I'd changed."

"I'm your mother. You do as I say and I'll have a talk with Cal."

"You didn't see him, mom. He was real angry."

"Probably because you were swimming in that cold water. Now, go!"

"Yes, ma'am." Chris made his way up the stairs and into his room. He pulled a pair of jeans from his laundry basket and a clean shirt from his dresser drawer. He grabbed a towel from the hook on the back of the door and went into the bathroom.

Cal came through the back screen door to the kitchen. "Where is he, Kay?"

"Who?"

"Chris? I sent him in here ten minutes ago to get changed."

"He was cold to the bone from swimming in that river. I sent him to take a shower and get changed."

"He told you that he was swimming?"

"That's not all he was doing?"

"He was jumping from that damn bridge. Something you and I have told him a hundred times not to do."

"I'll talk to him."

"Talk don't work on that boy, Kay. He needs a lesson. He went down there and skipped out on his chores."

"You need to lay off."

"What that boy needs is discipline and if you aren't going to do nothing to him, I will."

"I'll send him out after I give him some hot chocolate to warm up."

"If he don't come out I'll come get him." Cal turned and walked back out the kitchen door.

Chris walked into the hallway. "Cal's looking for you. He's madder than a hornet."

"Sis you scared me to death."

"Sorry." Shelly replied. "What'd you do anyway?"

"The better question is what haven't I done?"

"You shouldn't let him treat you like that."

"What do you recommend I do, sis? He's bigger than me. Stronger too."

"I've read about people like him. What happens if he turns on me or mom?"

"I'll kill him. If he lays a finger on either of you, he'll regret it."

"Can't you and Cade just tell him to leave?"

"It ain't that easy, sis." Chris said, hugging his sister. "Mom loves him."

"But he doesn't love her."

Chris shook his head. "Probably not in the way she thinks he does."

Shelly followed her younger brother into his room. Chris threw his wet clothes in the nearby basket. "Please be careful, Chris."

"I will, sis. I will."

The pair walked downstairs to the kitchen. Kay fixed two cups of hot cocoa and then sat down at the table with the kids. "Cal said you were jumping off the bridge into the river, Christopher."

"Yeah, until he stopped me. Embarrassed me in front of all my friends and then threatened to call their fathers to tell them what we were doing."

"It's dangerous, and I know I've told you more times than I can count not to do it. Cal has, too."

"Mom, why do I have to do what Cal says. He's not my dad."

"No, but he's the role model you and your brother need. It's not good for a boy to not have a male around the house."

"Some role model," Chris murmured.

Kay took Chris' hands. "You're not giving him a chance."

"A chance, mom. He can't act like my father if he's not my father. I don't need him."

"But you do. I told him to lay off the punishment and he said he would."

"They always promise there won't be a next time," Shelly chimed in.

"Young lady don't you have chores to do?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well then hop to it."

Shelly rose from the table. "Love is blind," She said, walking out the door to the living room.

"I believe him, Christopher. So should you."

"Okay, mom." He rose from his chair. "Thanks for the hot chocolate."

***End Flashback**

LaSalle snapped his head up when he heard a voice calling his name. He saw Loretta on the video screen. "Sorry. I must have fell asleep."

"I've called your cell five times. I was about to call Dwayne and see if you were with him." Loretta said, the concern showing in her voice. "Maybe you ought to go home and get some sleep."

"I've got a report to write. King said they need it for court tomorrow."

"Yeah. We've got a few things for you. I'll hand you over to Sebastian."

Sebastian appeared on the screen. "Hey, buddy," LaSalle said. "What do you have for me?"

"How about you and I talk bullets ?"

"Don't you mean, bullet? As in one?"

"No, it's definitely bullets, in the plural sense. In this case two. Brody dug it out of the wall upstairs."

"Does King know about it?"

"I assume so because he's the one that asked me to work up the trajectory of both of them."

"Why?"

"I don't know why. Maybe to determine if the kid was shooting to kill."

"That's not possible."

"Actually, it is. You may not like what I have to say. Agent Pride said you have quite a connection with this kid for some reason."

"I don't have to like it. I have to report the truth."

"Well, the good news is that the combination of the site being off and the fact that the kid probably shot a gun twice maybe three times in his life, one of the shots missed."

"Which one?"

"That's impossible to say."

"Why?"

"Because, they were shot off one behind the other. It's not important, anyway."

"It is to me."

"Don't you want the bad news?"

"Not particularly but I have to get it since it has to be in my report too."

"The shot that missed, if he hadn't missed, would have killed Commander Waters."

An image appeared on the screen. "Straight to his heart. That just proves his father told him to aim for center mass."

"Maybe. Maybe not. He could have been trying to kill him."

"That boy didn't know what he was trying to do. All he knew was that he was beating on his mother and he needed to save her life."

Loretta appeared on the screen. "He tried it several different ways, Christopher. The scenario never changed."

LaSalle drew a breath. "Anything else I need to know?"

"You were right about the bruises." Loretta said. "Evidence of at least six months of abuse."

"They always promise it won't happen again," LaSalle mumbled. He looked up at the screen. "Does King know about the bullet trajectory and your other findings?"

"No. He told me to call you. He's visiting with Commander Waters. I trust you'll relay it to him."

"I will. Thanks, Loretta."

"Christopher, go home. Get some sleep. That report can wait until morning. You're stretching yourself too thin with this one."

"Yes, ma'am. Talk to you later." Chris clicked the button to hang up the video. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Pride.

"Yeah, Christopher, what do you have?"

"The analysis of the photos from Loretta."

"Yeah and?"

"Why didn't you tell me there was a second bullet?"

"I did. You were so lost in your thoughts in the car you didn't hear me."

"You had Sebastian work up a trajectory."

"Yeah. It's standard operation on a case like this. What is it that you don't want to tell me?" The phone was silent. "Christopher, whatever it is we'll work it out."

"The first bullet hit the Commander's left foot. The second hit the wall behind him. Trajectory points that Neal was aiming to stop his dad. Not to kill him."

"That's good news. Why the delay?"

"I don't know, King. I guess I'm just relieved. I didn't think the boy should face attempted murder charges for trying to save his mom."

"What about the pictures?"

"Prolonged abuse. Loretta said six months or more."

"That evidence alone should make the case easy. I'll make sure the charges are filed. You write the report and put a hard copy on my desk. I'll expect you back in the morning after you've had some sleep."

"Yes,sir."

"And Christopher."

"Sir?"

"Good work today."

"Thanks, King. See you in the morning." LaSalle hung up the phone. He put it next to him on the desk and began typing his report. He proofread it several times and printed two copies. He sent an email copy to Pride with the report attached and one hard copy was placed on the desk. He put the other in his own desk for safe keeping. He sat back in his chair and drifted to sleep.

***FLASHBACK***

"I gave you and order, boy!"

"I have a name," Chris mumbled under his breath.

"Shut up!" Cal yelled, slapping the boy across the mouth. "I'm getting tired of your smart-ass mouth."

Chris wiped the blood from his lip. "Well, what if I said I was tired of you trying to pretend to be my dad?"

Cal smacked Chris again. "You'd better shut up if you know what's good for you."

"What if I don't?" Chris asked bravely. "You gonna beat me again?"

"You disobeyed your mother. Could've got yourself killed jumping off that bridge. Were you thinking about her when you did it, boy? All the pain you would cause your mother if you were dead?" Chris shook his head. "Didn't think so. Here's the reality of it. I'm the adult. I may not be your father but I'm the closest thing you have right now and I'm here to teach you right from wrong, no matter what you think. I told you to get that wood stacked for your mom. You instead chose to disobey me and go jump off that damn bridge. I'm giving you thirty minutes to stack what's been cut and split the rest. Cade and I will stack it when we're done with the chores in the barn. You think you can follow my order?" Chris nodded. "I didn't hear that."

"Yes, sir."

"After that you and I will be having a little discussion about following orders and out right disobedience. Don't let me come back out here and find you not working. Clear?"

"Yes, sir.

**End Flashback

"Christopher." Pride said, gently nudging LaSalle's shoulder. "You should have gone home. You didn't have to wait on me."

"Just wanted to make sure you got the report in your hand. I know how important the court case is."

Pride patted Chris on the back again. "You think you can drive or do you want to sleep on the cot upstairs?"

"I can drive just fine, thanks"

"Be careful going home."

"I will, King. Thanks." LaSalle grabbed his bag and left the building

Unable to sleep, Pride went to his computer and began reading the reports. He grew increasingly concerned with the blatant discrepancies between the lab and LaSalle's findings. He called Loretta, hoping to catch her before she left for the evening. She too had some mixed feelings about the conversation she'd had with LaSalle. "Can you stop by here on the way home? I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Everything okay, Dwayne?"

"No. I'll explain when you get here."

Dwayne pulled an extra chair in front of his desk and gestured for Loretta to sit. "Glad to know chivalry isn't completely dead."

"What can I say?" Pride replied. "My mama raised me right." He handed Loretta a printed copy of LaSalle's report. "There's just a few things that don't add up."

Loretta skimmed the document. "This is not what we told him, but judging by the fact that I'm the one here instead of Christopher, you already know that."

"Why would he falsify a report?"

"He knew you'd read it."

"I almost went to bed instead. I just couldn't get the fact that he was so distracted by this out of my mind."

"You noticed that, too? I called him five times on his cell. Decided that if I didn't reach him on the video conference I'd call you instead."

"He hesitated when he told me about the trajectory of the second bullet. There was no hesitation when he told me about the bruises."

"He has a connection with that boy. He doesn't want to see him go to jail. He thinks he's protecting him by saying that the bullet wasn't aimed for his father's heart."

"The commander isn't pressing charges. Neither is the D.A."

"Court tomorrow?"

"Family court. Anger management, family counseling. If Neal does what the judge says then he won't have a record."

"Did Christopher know that?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell him. I found him sleeping when I got back from the hospital and sent him home."

"He's hurting, Dwayne and you need to find out the source of it. He'll be no good to you until you do."

Pride nodded. "You're right." he replied. "After that I'm going to suspend him."

"Dwayne, perhaps you shouldn't be too hard on him."

"Loretta, the integrity of this agency is on the line with that report. Not just Chris LaSalle's. It's not something he can get away with. Not something solved by a slap on the wrist, either."

"How about sending him on vacation instead? Give him some time to clear his head and catch up on his sleep."

"I'll think about it."

Loretta stood up. "And I know you'll do what's right." Pride followed her to the door. "See you tomorrow. Let me know if I can help."

"I will." He hugged his friend and watched her as she walked to her car.

He pulled out his cell phone to call LaSalle and then decided on a text. He was much to angry to speak to his young senior field agent. He wasn't as angry about the false report as he was about the fact that LaSalle didn't trust him enough to share what was bothering him. "I need you back at the office, now!" He set the phone down and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He heard the phone beep and went back to his desk. "ETA five minutes. He was expecting this."

Pride poured two cups of coffee and set one in front of LaSalle. "Son, we've got a problem."

Chris nodded. "Yes, sir. I know."

"You trust me, don't you Christopher?"

"Yes, sir," LaSalle replied, nodding slightly.

"So why have you told me what's had you distracted all day?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know? You've shut me out."

"There's a correct report in my desk." Chris began to rise from his chair but Pride put his hand up. "I knew Loretta's report wouldn't match but I had to write what I told you."

"We'll get to that later. Why is this case so hard for you?" Chris stared into his boss' eyes and shook his head. "Tell me, son. Get it off your chest so you can get some sleep tonight."

"It was a long time ago. I guess I'd suppressed the entire memory until I saw that kid's back today."

"Your dad?"

Chris shook his head. "No, sir. One of my mom's boyfriends. He started the story from the beginning.

***FLASHBACK***

"Time's up!" Call said walking around the corner from the barn. "Let's go."

"I'm not finished yet. I knew I wouldn't have enough time."

"You can finish when we're done."

"Done with what?"

"I told you. I'm gonna teach you a lesson in respect and obedience." Cal took Chris by the collar. "There's nothing I can't stand more than a punk kid who doesn't know how to respect his elders." He swung open the wood shed door and shoved Chris inside. "Drop em!"

"No!" Chris said gaining his balance. "I told you before I'm not letting you do this anymore!"

"Shut up and do as your told." Cal unbuckled his belt and pulled it through the loops. "Now I said drop em!"

Chris threw a punch with his left arm towards Cal's face. Cal grabbed his arm and pulled it behind the boy's back. "Guess I'll have to treat you like a baby and do it myself."

"Cade!" Chris screamed. "Help!"

Cal loosened Chris' belt and pulled his jeans down to his ankles. He reached over and put the hook on the door to the shed. "Big brother can't help you now." Cal pulled up Chris' shirt

"Cade!" Chris screamed again and the belt came slamming down on his back

"I said shut up!"

Each time the belt his Chris he screamed. Suddenly the shed door was kicked in. "Go get mom. Call the police."

Chris dressed quickly and ran past his brother "Cade?"

"I've got this. Go, now!"

Chris took off like a shot towards the house. "Call the police!" He screamed as he ran inside. "Cal's gonna kill Cade!"

Shelly retrieved the phone for her mom who had run to the front porch when she'd heard the commotion. Chris grabbed a loaded rifle that hung by the front door and ran past his mother. "Christopher, no! That'll only make it worse."

"I've got to stop him before he kills my brother."

Suddenly, Cade appeared being closely chased by Cal. "Put that phone down Kay!" Cal screamed. "It's just a little misunderstanding."

"No, mom. Just go inside and call the police," Cade said.

Cal jumped up on the porch and slapped the phone out of Kay's hands sending it flying. It broke to pieces as it hit the ground. Kay started gathering the pieces and reached down to pick up one off the step. Call pushed her, sending her careening down the steps. Shelly ran to her mother's side. "Mom!"

"I told you to leave it be."

Chris cocked the shot gun. "Cal," he said. He waited for Cal to turn around and fired a shot. It hit Cal in the knee and he fell to the ground. "You've gone too far, this time."

Chris and Cade ran to their mother's side. "Go get the other phone and call the police."

"Cade and I made up a story that we told the police that he pulled the trigger, not me. Mom and Cal told them a different story so it didn't last long."

"You did what you had to do," Pride said. "You should have told me this morning."

"I tried."

"You should have tried harder."

"I didn't think it would effect me like this."

"Once it started effecting your work, you should have said something. I guess I should have known by the way you were distracted."

"I'm sorry, King. It won't happen again."

"No, I'm sure it won't but I think you need a few days off."

"You're suspending me?"

"You did lie to me."

"For good reason. I guess now Neal will be tried for attempted murder."

"Were you?"

"No. Times were different back then, King. And I only shot him once. I thought about putting it through his heart. I've tried to figure out why I didn't several times."

"Because you didn't want to kill him and Neal didn't want to kill his father, either." Pride explained. "There's no charges being filed. The family will go to court and be ordered counseling and they can begin to put their lives back together."

"Commander Waters?"

"He'll spend time behind bars and face court martial and discharge from the Navy."

"What about..."

"The family will go home and we'll do routine checks. Likely family services will too. They live on base so they'll be well covered."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"No, but I have some other questions."

"How long was it going on?"

Chris shrugged. "Let's see, mom brought him over on my twelfth birthday. I had just turned thirteen when that happened."

"A whole year."

"Cal moved in three months after we met him. He always promised he'd stop. He would for a while until I did something stupid.. Fight at school or on the bus. Bad grades."

"You? Bad grades? Mr three point seven GPA?"

"Let's just say I wasn't as studious in Junior high as I was in High School and college."

"Your mom did re-marry, didn't she."

"Yeah, when I was fifteen."

"He was a real dad to you, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. He knew the whole story. Me, Cade, Cal. He knew all about us and didn't run away. He was the real deal."

"You must have put him through hell."

"Sir?"

"Well, you had to have a rebellious side somewhere in those teenage years."

"I didn't get away with much."

"I seem to recall a story you told me the other day."

"I'd been in a fight at school and got suspended. I was grounded and everyone except me was headed to the high school football game. The team was in the regional championship. There was a big party planned whether we won or lost. I wasn't going to let everyone else have all the fun."

"Of course, not."

"I snuck out my bedroom window. Doug forgot to confiscate my extra set of keys." Chris smiled. "I got in the car, started it up and threw it in reverse. I wasn't even paying attention. I slammed the car right through the garage into mom's. The commotion brought everyone running from the house. After he checked to make sure I was still breathing, Doug dragged me into the house by the ear. I didn't even fight it. I walked funny for a week. Sitting was mighty uncomfortable for a while and I was grounded for another month. I had to get a job to help pay for the damage to the garage. But the difference was, he forgave me. He never took his anger out on me."

"He loved you, Christopher. That's what dad's are supposed to do."

"Yeah."

"We've got one more thing to talk about."

"I don't get a choice this time, do I King?"

"No, son. Not this time. You not only put your job on the line. You put mine and Loretta's on the line, as well. When you did that, you were just thinking of yourself."

"And Neal Waters."

"This is serious business, Christopher. I should send you home for a while for this."

"I understand if you have to, King."

"Why don't you take tomorrow and Friday. You can have the weekend, too. You can come back ready to work on Monday."

"Just two days?"

"Yeah. I'll file the paperwork for your vacation."

"Vacation. You said I didn't have a choice."

"I said you didn't have a choice."

"Thanks, King."

"Thank Loretta the next time you see her. She's the one that reminded me we all fall short sometimes and need a second chance."

Chris nodded. "I'll get you that report." He rose from the chair and went to his desk. He retrieved the written report.

"Send me an email copy. I may still be able to get it to the court before morning."

"You didn't already send the others, did you?"

"No. Luckily for you I read everything before it gets sent."

Chris clicked his mouse. "Report is sent." He handed him the printed copy. "Are we done?"

"Yeah. Go home, get some sleep. That's an order."

"You and Brody will be okay without me, right?"

"Get out of here before I change my mind."

**The next morning***

"No wonder he was so distracted," Loretta said. "It opened some old wounds. Now it explains why he did what he did."

"Understanding doesn't make it right, Loretta," Pride replied.

"The end doesn't justify the means," Loretta smiled. "He didn't see any other way."

"He didn't ask."

"I have a feeling he's learned his lesson and he will next time."

"I really hope there isn't a next time."

"Dwayne, it's LaSalle. Spontaneity and snap decisions are his calling card. A leopard doesn't change his spots."

Pride nodded. "Yeah, but they do learn from their mistakes."

Loretta smiled. "I'll bet he slept like a baby."

"So, did I. I wonder where Brody is"

"It's not like her to be late, is it?"

Pride shook his head. "I'll give her a few more minutes."

"I'd better head out myself. Last time I showed up late I was surrounded by three sheriff deputies in the parking lot."

"Sebastian was worried about you."

"I was ten minutes late."

"You'd better call him on the way."

"Exactly my intention." Loretta walked to the door. "Don't take this the wrong way, Dwayne but I hope we don't see each other later. I have a few things I can catch up on."

Pride looked up from his computer. "Nice of you to join us, Agent Brody. You're late."

"I over slept."

"Funny thing, though. I didn't get a call."

"I focused on getting ready and out the door. I figured by the time I called I'd be five minutes away. I thought I'd exercise LaSalle's philosophy of act first ask for forgiveness later." Brody looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Family emergency. He'll be back Monday."

"Something happen to Cade?"

Pride shook his head. "I'm not at liberty to share."

Brody picked up his phone. "Should I call him?"

Pride raised a hand. "No. LaSalle needs some space. Leave him alone and that's an order."

"He's my partner. Why wouldn't he call me to let me know."

Pride drew a breath. "He asked me not to share. He'll tell you when he's ready."

"My interrogator's mind says there's something you can tell me but you're choosing not to."

"The Waters case really hit him hard. I gave him some time off to get himself refocused. He'll be back Monday." Pride looked up from his computer. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

Brody nodded. "So, we don't have a case?"

"Not yet. It's still early."

"What do we do around here when there's nothing to do."

"Oh, Agent Brody there's never 'nothing' to do around here. I think it's time we introduce you to the NCIS New Orleans branch office downtime procedures."