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To Those Who Wait

Chapter 10

Part 1

"Hope everything goes okay with Chris and Travis, I'm still reeling from the fact that Paxton actually fined him." Nathan remarked as the five agents exited the elevator and moved to the bullpen. J.D. was sitting at his desk working at his computer, when the agents came through the door he turned in his seat to look at them.

"Hey guys, is it true what's going around the building about Chris freaking out on Judge Paxton?" J.D asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well, Chris was angry and let Paxton know it, if that's what you mean." Buck answered as he hung his coat up and flopped into his desk chair.

J.D. looked at Buck in confusion, "I heard that Chris cursed the Judge out and then punched him flat in the face because the Frankel case got thrown out."

Ezra shook his head and chuckled, "Mr. Dunne, you know that you can only believe a portion of what you hear between these walls. There are too many people in this building, who at some time or another, feel that they have an axe to grind against either Mr. Larabee or this team. So to answer your question; yes, Mr. Larabee cursed at Judge Paxton, and no, he did not physically attack him."

Vin retorted while sitting on the edge of his desk, "People need to mind their own business, we all know Paxton was wrong, but he's made his decision and we'll have to live with it." He rubbed at the ache between his eyes, "Does anyone have any aspirin? I've got one hell of a headache."

"Here, this should help." Nathan replied as he handed him some aspirin and a bottle of water, "You eat anything yet?"

"This is Mr. Tanner you're talking about, he's constantly snacking on something; I bet he's got a package of cookies, or a bar of some type in his pocket right now." Ezra commented as he mindlessly shuffled his deck of cards.

Vin's face lit up for a moment, "I totally forgot with all the excitement, I have a bear claw in my coat pocket." He reached in and pulled the small paper bag out; laying it on his desk. "All is right with the world again." He sighed and took a bite of the pastry.

"So now that the savage beast has been quieted, did I miss anything else today?" J.D. asked looking at the others.

Buck was about to answer but Chris walked through the door at that particular moment, "It go okay?" Buck asked hesitantly unsure of how it could go.

"As well as can be expected; I shouldn't have blown up at Paxton like that." Chris explained as he walked toward his office, "Listen, I'm taking the rest of the week off, and I'll be out of here as soon I take care of any messages."

~o~

Chris leaned against the window looking down onto the street below; he could see people moving along the sidewalk hurrying to wherever they needed to be. He looked up at the clock, noticing that it was 1 p.m. and remembered that he had a meeting to attend at 3 p.m.; not any longer since he had been "encouraged" to use his annual leave; "Son of a bitch!" he muttered under his breath, he shouldn't have let Paxton get under his skin, now he had to use leave and take time off and fork over money to the court. The sky was turning as gray as his mood; there'd probably be snow before nightfall, absolutely wonderful. At least he'd be able to get the hay into the barn; he had plenty of time for that now.

Placing his palm against the window pane he could feel the cold seeping through the glass chilling his skin, a knock at his door startled him; pulling his attention back into the office. Looking over his shoulder he noticed Josiah standing in the doorway. "You knocked and waited?" This must be a first Chris thought to himself, because they never waited, not a one of 'em, they've always just walked in as they knocked; he'd been trying for years to get them to wait for his acknowledgment, maybe he needed to loose his cool more often. He withdrew his hand from the pane and moved to sit at his desk; looking up he noticed that Josiah was still standing in the doorway. Chris waved Josiah in, "Take a seat."

Josiah nodded silently and moved into the office, lowering himself into one of the chairs situated in front of the team leader's desk. Josiah leveled his gaze at Chris, trying to read his expression, but Chris had schooled it well and he was unable to draw any conclusions from what information Chris was silently conveying. "Are you okay? The boys and I are concerned, you've been far quieter than you usually are and that is saying a lot."

Chris stared at Josiah and leaned back in his chair, tapping his thumb on the armrest, "I'm fine Josiah, I just let Judge Paxton get under my skin and I played right into his hands."

"How do you feel you did that, Chris?" Josiah could almost see the wheels turning in his team leader's head.

Chris re-adjusted in his chair and cleared his throat, "Paxton knew that this was an important case, just as he knew that accepting the lesser charge undermined our work."

"Chris, you don't actually believe that do you?" the profiler waited for an answer and when none was forth coming he pressed Chris further, "You know, and I know, that the judge had made his decision before you went to court this morning." Josiah watched as Chris turned his gaze out the window, "What happened this morning was unfortunate, but unless Judge Paxton somehow receives another appointment, the chances of him getting one of our cases again is not out of the realm of possibility. You and he need to come to some amicable understanding if we are to do our sworn duty."

Chris slid Josiah a glance before turning his gaze once more to the outside, "That's not going to happen." Chris bit out in irritation as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

Josiah leaned forward trying to exhibit a more calming influence, "Everyone knows how hard you worked on this case, maybe too hard. You throw everything into your work. When was the last time you did something for yourself?"

Chris frowned deeply at what Josiah was saying, "Don't try to analyze me, Josiah."

"I'm not trying to analyze you, Chris. Do you think that yesterday Paxton may have noticed the animosity you were directing at him and fed off it? We," Josiah indicating the office at large, "were all cognizant of it and it wasn't even aimed at us. If we recognized it for what it was, you can guarantee that Judge Paxton did too." The profiler watched as Chris turned toward him, Chris's infamous glare aimed at him. "You need to find a way to decompress, get the tension out, you have been looking sickly lately. I only tell you this, because we are concerned about your welfare."

Standing up suddenly, Chris moved to the door of his office and looked out, not surprised that everyone looked hard at work; even Ezra who had insisted that he wanted the remainder of the day off. The team leader huffed and shut the door with a resounding "thwack!"

Turning back into the office, he skirted around Josiah, and took his place back at the window; to once again stare down at the people hurrying around below. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Josiah stand and reach for something on his desk, he didn't bother turning around, because he knew exactly what the damning evidence was that Josiah held in his hand.

Josiah looked down at the bottle of antacids he'd plucked off Chris's desk; it was the same bottle Vin had purchased for their team leader. "Chris, this bottle was brand new yesterday, now it's more than half gone. This has to stop."

Chris leaned his forehead against the window, barely acknowledging Josiah's continued presence in his office. "I'll have plenty of down time for the next five days." He murmured placing his palm against the cold glass, the coolness of it soothing on his too over tensed nerves.

Josiah set the bottle back down on the desk and moved to stand near Chris to look out at the darkening clouds. "You know, instead of being Buck's 'wingman' maybe you need to search out some female companionship of your own. You haven't dated a single woman in what, eight months? That's a long time to go without someone to offer you comfort." Josiah sent Chris a wolfish smile when Chris shot him a look, "Someone to spend your nights with, someone who can share your inner most secrets and fears with. You haven't had that since you and Sarah were together, have you?"

Chris snapped to so quickly that Josiah would have bet it had hurt his back; Chris aimed his finger at the door, "Out! I'm not listening anymore, I'm perfectly fine. I just need to be left alone." When Josiah didn't move right away, Chris stalked to the door, yanking it open; and stood there waiting for Josiah to exit with a fixed stare on his face.

The door slammed loudly behind Josiah as he stepped into the bull pen.

"Well, that went well." Ezra sarcastically remarked as he threw his pen down on his desk.

"Sorry boys, it was going well until I mentioned Sarah." Josiah sank down at his desk dejectedly.

Vin shook his head and put his feet up on his desk, "Put your foot in it good this time didn't you?"

"Thank you for taking the time to point out the obvious, Vin," Josiah barked as he scooped up his coffee cup and headed to the break room.

Part 2

Chris looked up at the readout above the door, watching as the floors ticked by slowly, hoping that he'd make to the lobby without having to stop for anyone. He just wanted to get on the road and head home. The elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened to a group of FBI agents waiting to get on. Chris pushed out through them trying to ignore the spiteful remarks about his run in with Paxton this morning. Chris could feel his temper building as he made his way through the lobby and outside. Pulling his coat closer about him, he silently wondered how long this incident was going to stay the topic of conversation.

Hurrying to the parking lot Chris cursed as the first snowflakes started falling, this just isn't fair; he unlocked the truck and hopped in quickly closing the door behind him. His breath frosted out before him as he shoved the key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Blowing on his hands, he cranked the heat up as far as it would go, shivering violently against the chill. He exited the lot and pulled into traffic, a couple blocks later he was waiting at the light when he noticed a familiar figure dressed in lavender standing at the bus stop. Lowering the passenger side window he shouted out, "Hey Molly!" he watched as she lifted her face out of her scarf and when she recognized who it was, waved happily.

"Hey there, Chris, didn't think I'd see you again today." she moved over to the curb so she wouldn't have to shout as loud.

"What are you doing standing out in the cold?" he asked as she did a little hop and wrapped her arms around herself.

He watched as she looked at the Bus Stop sign, pointed at it and laughed, "I'm waiting for the bus; I unfortunately am without my own mode of transportation at the moment."

A horn blared behind him as the light changed, "You want a ride home, beats standing in the cold waiting for the bus?" An impatient driver blared his horn again and Chris shot him a glare.

Molly looked around for a moment, as people started to yell for Chris to get his vehicle out of the way, "Sure, like you said it beats standing in the cold." Chris reached over and pushed the door open and Molly hopped up into the cab, pulling the door shut behind her

"So where are we heading?" Chris asked as he carefully pulled into traffic.

"Oh, ah, I live on West 14th, on the other side of the interstates. Hope it's not too far out of your way." Molly glanced around the inside of the truck, noticing how clean it was. "Nice truck."

"Thanks, it's ideal for hauling things around the ranch, it's small to Colorado standards." Chris stopped at the next traffic light, looking out the windshield at the snowflakes that had increased in number over the past few minutes. He looked over when Molly sighed and relaxed into the seat. She had a contented smile on her face and he couldn't help thinking that she looked awfully good sitting in his truck.

"Not used to snow in September. So you have a ranch, but work for the government? I would think that takes up a lot of your time." she replied as she looked out the window at the people standing at a bus stop, wishing she had her car, but not minding the company.

"I have a few horses at the ranch, mainly for pleasure riding. At one time Buck and I had thought about breeding horses, but it didn't work out." Chris went through the green light and continued on.

"Wow, a real life cowboy." Molly shot him a smile as he laughed at her comment.

"Not really, I don't have any cows, like I mentioned before, just some horses and a few barn cats. That's pretty much the extent of the domesticated wildlife living there. It's a lot of work but I don't mind, I like to keep busy." He explained as they went under the interstate.

"Just a little further down this street and you'll turn left, I think it's the second light? I've only been here a few days, still getting used to everything." She leaned forward to see the street name, "Yup this is it. Then you just follow the road and I'm the complex out near the pool."

A comfortable silence filled the cab as the Ram made its way through the parking lots leading to Molly's building. The drive was over too quickly, as Chris pulled the Ram into an available parking spot. Without hesitation he shut the engine off and pocketed the keys, "I'll walk you to your door." He hopped down and came to the other side to let her out.

"That's sweet, but you don't have to do this." She grinned as he helped her down, "It's awfully cold out here. It's an okay neighborhood; we've got a few police officers living in some of the other units." She mentioned as they walked along the path to her building, Chris's presence comforting.

As they walked through the lobby to the elevator Chris noticed that the apartment building was showing some age, there were some cracks in the walls and water spots on the ceiling; though he had to admit the lobby was clean.

When they stepped into the elevator Molly hit the sixth floor button, the car had some graffiti on the walls and the lighting flickered some. As the doors were about to close two teenage boys pushed themselves through the doors and hit number three, as the doors closed one of the boys turned a leered at Molly.

Chris glared at the youth as Molly sidled closer to him; impulsively he clasped her hand in his, and was secretly thrilled when she didn't pull away. Buck might need to find himself another conquest, Chris thought to himself, because being with Molly right now was feeling way too good. As the doors opened on the third floor the boys stepped off and before the doors closed again the teens waved back at them.

"Boys will be boys, and teenage boys spend most of their time thinking with the wrong body part." Molly remarked as she looked up into Chris's eyes, noticing how much softer they appeared, compared to the guarded look she'd noticed when she first met him yesterday. She watched as he pulled his gaze from hers and released her hand, the moment over.

"How often you see those two?" he asked as the doors opened on six and they stepped out; walking short way down the corridor.

"Only once before, they're just being boys; nothing to worry over. Well, here we are; would you like some coffee or something to drink?"

Chris looked up to the door, committing her apartment number to memory, thinking that he'd never know when he'd need that bit of information again. Those teens had rankled him, and the thought of escorting her to and from her apartment ghosted across his consciousness. "Coffee would be fine."

"Coffee it is," she replied as she pushed her apartment door open and Chris followed her inside.

The first thing he noticed about the apartment was how small it was, and that the only piece of visible furniture was a futon, in what he suspected was the living room. There were boxes piled everywhere, some still waiting to be opened. "You said you moved in a couple of days ago?" he asked as Molly held her hand out for his coat. He handed it over and she went about hanging their coats in a small closet.

Molly let out a little laugh, "Moved in Sunday night, after Uncle Ray got done at the diner. So please excuse the mess, he's given me tomorrow off so I should be able to put a dent in it." She chattered as she moved into the kitchen to brew some coffee. "I still need to buy some new furniture, when I moved away from Baltimore I pretty much packed up what I could and sold the rest."

As Chris moved to the window to look out he noticed a box full of books lying nearby. Reading the spines he recognized "Treasure Island", "Tom Sawyer", "Little Women", "Ivanhoe" and some other classics, there were also books of poetry, and history mixed throughout. As he moved over to the futon he picked up the book sitting there and read the title, "Great Expectations." She's a reader, he thought, and was overjoyed with the prospect of, possibly having someone to discuss a book with. Oh, he'd tried with his team but the only ones who really read for pleasure were Nathan and Josiah. He'd found out rather quickly that Nathan preferred reading medical journals, and Josiah read genres that Chris found a little too heavy for his taste.

"I love to read." Molly confirmed from the kitchen entry, "That's," she pointed to the book in his hand, "one of my favorites. So how do you take your coffee?"

Chris put the book down and followed Molly into the kitchen, "Three sugars; no cream. I enjoy reading also, though I prefer 'Oliver Twist' to 'Great Expectations'."

She handed Chris his coffee, "Here you go; I hope it's not too strong. I like my coffee with a little bite; of course I'll admit I use a large amount of sugar and cream." She confessed and took a careful sip of hers. "Really appreciate you giving me a ride home this afternoon. I've never been a big fan of public transportation, as my main mode of travel."

"Not a problem, anytime." He grinned as he set his coffee cup down on the countertop; the trip had been too short, to his way of thinking. "When were you planning on getting this furniture?" he asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Well there's the rub, I need to rent a truck to pick it up, and I have to wait until my Uncle can help me get it to the apartment, probably the weekend." Molly turned to put the creamer away and thought, he looks way too good standing in my kitchen. She was feeling like a giddy school girl, she grabbed up a wipe to clean the counter where some sugar had spilled, in an effort to get her emotions back under control. Slow down, Molly girl, don't read something into it that might not be there, she admonished herself silently.

Chris found himself transfixed as she completed the simple domestic tasks, he watched mesmerized as she pushed stray strands of honey gold hair behind her ear. He cleared his throat, "Well I've got the next few days off and as fortune would have it, a truck. How would you feel about me helping you out tomorrow? Help you get settled in?"

Molly felt her heart do a little flutter and smiled brightly, "Are you sure? It's a lot of work, and I've got several places I wanted to go. I wouldn't want to be a bother."

Chris smiled back, "It's not a bother, and I'm no stranger to hard work. I've got some free time and I like to keep busy."