Chris LaSalle had no idea how long he had sat in his truck as his cell phone jarred him back to the present. He was sitting there thinking about the dream he had the night before. It was a challenge for him to go to sleep. All he could think about as he thrashed about in his bed was the smell of her perfume as he hugged Percy that last time.
Sonja had once again caught him off guard. It had been a difficult day for the entire team and he was not entirely sure that he was going to walk away from the danger this time. He knew good and well that King had no idea where Henry Chen had whisked him off to or even who the bad guys in this situation were.
Tammy, PPP and Sebastian had joined him crowded around the single window that looked out to the courtyard. He was not sure who was more stunned as they watched Percy hand her NCIS badge to King. They all made a quick dash as she turned and caught them all gawking.
It only took a few moments for Percy and Pride to enter into the bullpen. A lot of bantering and soft words filled the area. In the end it was just the two of them. Nervous, he remembered hearing her ask him if he was mad at her.
" No, I'm happy for you" he said. Then added "now that you are really leaving, I couldn't help to wonder what might have been." He pulled her into a hug and they expressed their regret at not pursuing a relationship. It had crossed his mind to kiss her but he just couldn't. He was afraid that if he did, that he would never let her go.
He quickly departed the office and had to sit for a few minutes in his truck to think but was unable to stop the tears that slowly erupted from his eyes. This was wrong LaSalle he thought. Another woman gone from your life as a result of this job. He knew that there was nothing else that he should say. She deserved to be happy. It was him, he remembered, that had stopped her cold when he knew she wanted to profess her feelings for him right after they stopped Hamilton's cronies from blowing up the flood gates.
He had managed to pretend to be okay at the bar but had to take a few more minutes once he arrived outside to get himself together. He put on a fake smile and sat contently nursing just one beer. Miss Loretta had met them there and pretty much dominated Sonja's attention. He approached his former partner one more time as he went to leave. He knew he could not hug her again at least not with Tammy standing there.
He was proven right when he realized that Gregorio was right behind him as he left the building.
"So that's all" she said in an accusatory voice?
"What" he responded?
"You weren't here fifteen minutes and you are out the door?"
"I can't do it. I have to go Tammy" he quickly replied!
No one could have told LaSalle how he got home. All he remembered was getting into the truck and arriving at his house. He was distressed and knew he if went into the refrigerator that he would drink every bottle of beer that was in his fridge. Let me call Momma he thought and he went back to grab his phone out of the charger.
He recalled he sounded like an idiot as he took off his shirt and found one he could sleep in along with his pajama pants. He looked at the clock after he had laid down for a while and saw that an entire hour had passed and that he was still wide awake.
The last thing he remembered that night was hearing a siren driving by.