A/N: And the truth comes out...
Chris woke up and looked at the clock: 1:43 a.m. something inside of him pulled him awake. It was the feeling that something or someone rather was missing.
Addie was gone. It hadn't taken much to figure out that she was notably distracted as they had made love. It fact it was quite evident when he figured out he was doing all of the work. When he called her on it, she claimed that she was just enjoying the fact that he seemed to be slaving over her. But the anguish in her eyes, said something different.
Strange for a woman who had just hours earlier professed that she loved him. And Chris had said right back to her without so much as a thought.
Sitting up, he clicked on the light. Her clothes were still on the hope chest right where she had left them as was her purse. Reaching for a pair of flannel sleep pants he pulled himself out of bed and padded into the living room. From there he could see the light on in the courtyard. As he drew closer he could see she was sitting in one of the wrought iron chairs at the patio table, hugging her knees.
Grabbing the blanket from off the back of the couch he went to her. "It's freezin' out here," he said softly slipping it over her near bare shoulders. Well, it wasn't exactly freezing, they didn't actually have that kind of weather in New Orleans or if they did it was rarity. But when you were more than half naked and outside in the middle of the night it could feel pretty chilly.
"I hardly noticed," she said distantly taking a swipe at her cheek.
He dropped down beside her, anchoring his hand on the arm of her chair. "Lem'me guess, I farted in my sleep and now you're regretting what ya told me earlier," he said, with a big ol' grin.
"That's disgusting, but no," Addie couldn't help but roll her eyes at his male centered sense of humor, she supposed that being a female in man's Navy she should be used to it by now. "But you might regret saying it back to me."
Her face turned somber automatically making his contort. "There's something I need to tell you, Chris."
"Hawaii". The word played on his tongue as if it were some sort of exotic food, requiring exploration of the texture before he could swallow it. Hawaii was four thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean.
New Orleans was his home.
He rose to his full height, questioning if he had heard her correctly. In the scope of a couple hours, she'd told him that she loved him, crawled into bed with him where she then proceeded to show him just how much and then subsequently dropped a bomb, obliterating anything credible about the admission they had just declared to one another.
She was leaving? Again? So soon? But she had just come back into his life. Though he was well aware of how the military worked (service to your country first without input as to personal regard or family) it still stung.
"I am a LT Commander technically filling a billet designed for a Lieutenant, they want it properly filled." as if he needed a rational answer from her.
"When?"
"I have to report on June 17th" She swallowed praying he wouldn't hate her for her slight deceit. She'd only known a couple of weeks and in the grand scheme of their relationship two weeks, made little difference in the overall outcome. It wasn't like she could have prevented herself from falling in love with Chris, nor he with her. That had taken place months ago.
Three months. Chris blew out a heavy sigh. He almost wished that she had announced she was pregnant. As difficult as an unplanned pregnancy would be at least that was something they could have worked on together with or without regard to marriage.
But this.
He supposed he'd always known this would come about someday, he just didn't think it would occur quite this soon.
"I'm sorry, I never meant for this to happen," Addie's voice shook as she spoke, she wasn't a crier, it just wasn't a part of her emotional make-up, but there was always something about Chris that threw everything about her into a tailspin the thought of hurting him, made tears form at the drop of a hat. She supposed it was her way of expressing just how much she really loved him.
"It's not yer fault." he shrugged, trying to avoid the strangled sound that had just erupted from the back of his throat. He wanted to say more, offer her some uplifting words of comfort, but the vice that was currently crushing his chest prevented that.
Reaching for her, he pulled her into his chest, stroking the ringlets of her fine dark curls, "We'll think of somethin'"
"You could come with me," she whispered, lifting her big brown eyes to him. She already knew his answer. A Southern boy in the middle of a small Island, he'd stick out like a sore thumb, even if he could manage a transfer with NCIS, the situation just wasn't plausible.
"And you could resign." He quipped giving her a small doubtful grin.
Resign her commission after 13 years of service and do what? She was past the age limit to apply with NOPD and even though she was more than qualified to work for NCIS it wasn't realistic that she could just slide into the position even if Pride did have room in his budget. There were other things to consider.
She had invested way too much time to leave the service now.
"Maybe we should stop seeing each other?" Break it off sooner than later. She watched his eyes widened, reflecting a hint of fear and confusion.
"Is that what ya want?" The thought was unrealistic. Chris seriously doubted that three months was going to make any difference. Either way, the situation ended in heartbreak.
"No," she whispered, her voice hoarse.
Chris placed his hands on either side of her face, kissing her softly, "Well ok then, we have three months to do whatever ya want." He would make it the best 3 months of her life.
Addie's face twisted in half elation, half anguish. This was the part that would make her leaving so hard. Chris LaSalle was just too damn adorable and giving for his own good. Of course, he'd looked toward the optimistic side of things. Despite, being the son of an aggressive career driven and at times controlling oil man, he didn't have a negative bone in his body. At least none that Addie could see. Reaching up, she cupped the side of his face, trying to smile. No matter how this ended, she was a lucky woman.
"Have you ever been to Hawaii? Chris, it's beautiful." This would be her two second tour so she already knew what a romantic place it was to share with someone you loved.
"My father used tuh own a time share on Kauai. We spent quite a bit of our summers there until the oil business took a hit and he had to sell it," he replied steering her inside.
"You're right, it can be a very beautiful place." He closed the patio doors and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders so that her back was pressed flesh with his torso.
"But so is New Orleans," He had three months to convince her to stay. Gently, he swept her hair, aside, planting soft kisses on the back of her neck. "And there's never a dull moment, ya can entertain yerself year round with very little effort, as opposed to gettin' Island fever." Though, he'd never experienced anything like that, he'd heard stories from other sailors, who had done time on the "rock" as it had been dubbed throughout a certain class in the military community.
"It also has the highest murder rate in the country," Addie turned into him, placing her hands on his bare chest.
"Keeps me busy," he quipped, his eyes going wide in the type playful manner that she had grown to love. If he had too, he could keep the argument to favor his beloved city going all night, hell, the entire three months in the hopes it would eventually wear her down. In the same token, he knew that Addie would do the same to him. There seemed to be no amicable solution at this point, all roads leading to an eventual break-up.
Hawaii was just too far and the travel expense too great to consider a long distance relationship. Addie gave him a small smile, before pressing her forehead to his as he gently kneading the muscles in her neck, "I'm going to miss you, Chris."
"I'm going to miss you, too, Watkins."
A/N 2: One more chapter to go.