Dinner at the Hargraves'

"This was a terrible idea," Christopher grumbled as they approached the large doors to his family home. One family home, Liz reminded herself. Apparently the Hargraves owned real estate all around the world for both professional and personal use. Even Chris had had a few apartments when he'd worked for Halcyon. She hadn't learned until relatively recently that his condo there in DC had just been one stop. He had had one very similar - security and all - in New York City for easy access to their main offices there. That way of living made his abrupt split with the family business over what had happened even more impressive, and Liz supported him in it.

That didn't mean that she thought he should ostracize his family on a personal level forever. Especially if they were extending an olive branch. For better or worse, they were his family.

"Hey," she coaxed softly, touching his arm, "they took a risk inviting us. Both of us. That has to mean something."

Chris snorted. "Susan and Howard Hargrave are two of the most manipulative people you'll ever meet on your life. They don't do anything without a reason behind it. Even inviting their son and his fiancé to dinner."

"What about telling their son a secret that can only hurt them?"

She saw the twitch at the corner of his lips that showed irritation. "That was Howard, not Scottie." He reached up to knock on the door hard.

"So you're pissed at your mother?"

"They both kept it. I'm not letting that go any time soon."

Liz didn't have a chance to answer as the door opened and Susan Scott Hargrave offered a smile that probably would have fooled anyone that didn't know her, and maybe even a few that did. "Christopher. Elizabeth. I'm glad you made it."

Chris quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he followed Scottie into the house, shrugging his coat off as he went. It somehow looked larger now that it wasn't filled with guests for the Christmas party, and Liz's gaze took everything in as quickly as she could, filing it away. Antiques, expensive paintings, and ornate rugs. It was all perfectly put together.

Howard joined them and it was a blur of drinks, smiles, and small talk. Nothing was said about Grey Matters or anything else that might set Chris' temper off at them. Liz couldn't quite tell if they were doing their best to respect their son's need for space or if it was a manipulation tactic. She considered herself fairly adept at reading people - so said a couple of degrees and her successful line of work - but these two were nearly impossible to get a real read on.

Drinks led into dinner and Liz started to relax just a little. Howard, at least, seemed to be genuinely trying to get to know her. He asked about where she was raised, her education, and if she had any family left. She told a story about Hudson and Scottie piped up with a story about a cat that Chris had, apparently, gone out of his way in creativity as a child and named Fluffy.

Liz grinned at him. "You said you'd never had a pet before. Liar."

Chris snorted and took a long sip of his drink. "I didn't. That was Kevin's cat."

"It might as well have been yours," Scottie countered.

"Why? Because I was over there all the time?"

"Who's Kevin?" Liz jumped back in, trying to defuse what was going to soon be a dangerous level of tension building. "I've never heard you talk about a Kevin."

"Kevin Jensen. He was a...friend growing up. We lost touch over the years."

"Jensen? Like the reporter?" Liz gawked. "You grew up with him?"

"It's not a big deal," Chris grumbled, shoving a fork full of food into his mouth and shooting her a look that begged her to drop it.

Liz grinned as she sipped at her drink. She had about given up on hearing too many childhood stories from her fiancé. It wasn't that he was hiding them, particularly. He just didn't share unless asked. Chris' focus was always on the present and the future. Well, usually it was.

"Christopher and Kevin were inseparable," Scottie explained.

Chris frowned. "You and I seem to remember that very differently," he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "See, I remember being forced into situations with people I had no connections with. I though it was me, but I guess having large chunks of your memories blocked by people you trusted would make a kid a little hesitant to form tight bonds."

Scottie blinked hard and Howard stiffened a little. Liz remained intentionally quiet. He had been holding it in, his energies focused on building up Grey Matters and building a personal life with her. She had thought maybe he was trying to move past it, and maybe he was, but not talking about it was coming to a point now, and Howard and Scottie Hargrave were on the dangerously sharp end of that.

"Christopher," his mother tried, but Chris was already halfway to his feet.

"Listen, I thought I could fake it long enough to get through the evening, but even I'm not that good."

"Son, we just want a chance to-"

"What? Explain? You already did that. It didn't help. All it did was confirm something I've known most of my life. I can't trust you. Either of you."

Liz sat there only half a beat as Chris started for the door. She set her glass down and started to stand, but Scottie's strangely broken voice stopped her.

"Elizabeth, everything we've done up until this point has been to protect him. He has to understand that."

Liz closed her eyes briefly, pulling in a short breath. "He doesn't have to understand anything about this. Until you get that, you'll never get a chance to fix what you've completely screwed up with him."

She didn't give them a chance to answer her, but grabbed her purse and made a beeline for the front door that Chris had already left through. She found him standing in the driveway, his hands shoved deeply in his slack pockets, his back to her. The dreary sky had opened up at some point that evening, but the rain didn't seem to bother him. Liz stepped out into it and circled around him, catching his gaze. She tried for a smile, but he didn't return it. She wasn't the best at handling these moments, but she knew she had to try. Her fingers touched his. "You want to talk about it?"

He shook his head briefly and his expression broke her heart, the cracks in his angry mask showing just how hurt he was under it. Liz reached out and he was suddenly in her arms, her fingers gripping the back of his jacket and his strong arms around her in return. They held onto each other in silence, the rain pouring down on them. She may not have known what to say to make this better, but she could be there. She could support him. At least he didn't have to face it alone.


Notes: So... anyone else as heartbroken over Howard as I am? Anyone?