A/N: Thank you to the two guest reviewers who took time to comment on the previous chapters. I appreciate you! Happy New Year, Y'all!

Lieutenant Commander, Watkins. That has a nice ring to it." Chris LaSalle said to the beautiful woman standing before him. Addie was dressed her formal dress blues: a long black skirt, with the standard dress shirt with tuxedo pleats, cute little black tie, gold cummerbund, and a black service coat, donning her medals and gold strips at the cuff. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a neat French twist, leaving her neckline completely exposed. And oh what a pretty neck she had!

Damn Chris LaSalle, you are going to hell for thinking that. But he couldn't help it. He'd always found himself physically attracted to Addie, despite this best efforts to fight it. Long slender legs, full lips, and a flawless complexion she was looker. Even without a stitch of make-up she was naturally gorgeous. What man wouldn't be attracted to her? But if he had to point to just one thing, it would definitely be her lips. They were plump without the need for collagen or any other type of enhancement. Even with tonight when she had purposely toned them down with just a pale lipstick to go with her uniform they still worked their magic on him.

Keeping in the theme with the holidays, the Command had decided to forgo a traditional frocking ceremony and include it within their annual holiday ball; A formal ceremony followed by dinner and dancing.

I think so her smile said, as she looked at him with her big dark eyes. Her eyes weren't quite as big as Meredith Brody's but they were gorgeous nonetheless, large dark brown orbs that sported a certain glint. They had a playful yet innocent look to them that even when she was behaving a bit on the ornery side opened a window to the goodness of her beautiful soul.

"You clean up nice, LaSalle," she said, of his black suit and red. festive tie. Taking him by crook of his arm, she steered him toward the line for the bar.

"Ya wanna glass of Champagne while we wait?" Chris asked spotting a waiter with a huge round tray of plastic flutes. Unlike the spirits, the Champagne was courtesy of the Command, free for the taking. Drinking while you were standing in line waiting for drinks was a little suspicious of the socialistic behavior that they normally engaged in together but he didn't care, he was just trying to lighten the mood with the familiar habit.

"Now, you know I'm a whiskey and beer girl." She teased, looking into his dark blue pools of loveliness that sat on either side of his nose. At times she'd catch herself envisioning what children might look like, with Chris' eyes and her darker skin tone. Not that she ever actually saw them getting that far, but it was a nice thought.

"It's a special occasion, just thought you might wa'nt somethin' a little different." Chris shrugged, "But if ya wanted beer, I could have swung through the drive-thru barn on mi' way. Picked ya up a bucket of peel-n-eat shrimp with boiled peanuts tuh go along with it."

"Feelin' a little homesick LaSalle?" Addie giggled over the thought of having boiled peanuts and beer with peel-n-eat in her formal dress uniform when the nights entrée was Prime Rib and traditional Christmas ham with all the usual side dishes. The Navy had even sprung for good silverware.

"This is my home an' it's yours too." He grinned largely at her, knowing she didn't she didn't see New Orleans as her home, but rather a temporary place in her life until the next duty stationed call, which he secretly hoped would be never. He'd decided that he rather liked having her around. Unlike other woman, she made him safe in time when he still felt vulnerable.

"No..no…" Addie breathed still laughing. "I'm from Maryland and unlike you; I don't immerse myself into the culture so deep that I can never crawl out." She was referring to his fun-loving nature and the passion that he seemed to have for the Crescent City. There was a part of him that seemed to be rooted to it.

"Ya don't huh?" LaSalle raised a skeptical eyebrow, "I'll remember that the next time ya call me to scrape up yer drunk ass off Bourbon Street."

"That happened one time during Mari Gras!" Addie returned in hushed voice that still contained hints of laughter, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. "And for the record I would have found a way to survive without you."

"Really?" Chris wrapped his hand around her arm as he leaned in unintentionally nuzzling her ear as he gave his soft retort. "You were haf Nek'ked with beads of every color hanging off yer chest." It wasn't like she'd gone topless with her breasts hanging out or anything but her shirt had been open enough that Chris LaSalle had no doubts about her lovely bosom.

"We need to stop. People are staring." Addie said pursing her lips in effort to try and contain her laugher as people started to pick up on their shameless flirting. Evidently, they thought the new Lieutenant Commander was having a little too much fun. "What do you think Pride will want?" she asked suddenly watching his brow furrow. He'd almost forgotten that the Senior Agent was with them. Pride was such a social friendly guy that after the ceremony, he'd gone off to another table to converse with an old acquaintance.

"Whiskey, prob'ly." He shrugged. And once again, that awkward space surrounded them, that uncomfortable barrier that they'd thrown up to protect their former working relationship. And this was her work environment, hence the need for killing their fun trip down memory lane.

Back to platonic, respectful, friends.

Her mouth twitched into a firm line that read uptight but her eyes said otherwise. "So, if you could leave New Orleans, where would you go?" she asked trying to break the tension that had just filled the room.

"Back tuh, Bama I suppose," he answered without missing a beat.

"And if there were no Alabama?"

His brow furrowed. No Alabama, No New Orleans? Well damn. He'd really never ventured out of the South save for a college trip to Cozumel during Spring Break. Once he'd come to NOLA the thought of leaving had never crossed his mind. "Dunno, where would you want to go?"

"I asked you first."

He thought a moment more. "Tennessee?"

"Tenne-" She started to scoff and then stopped, plucking a stray white thread from his jacket. "Someday, I'm gunna show you the World, LaSalle." She loved everything about Chris, she really did. But Lord help this boy. He was sheltered, groomed since birth that he needed to stick close to home. Addie had friends like that who had lived in the same towns all of their lives, never really seeing all that the world had to offer and at times she felt sorry for them.

"I'm gunna hold you to it, Watkins," he grinned, gazing into her perfect dark irises, as her hand gently fell to his chest where the displaced thread had been. If there was a kissable moment it was now. The way she was looking him! She had already leaned in all he needed to do was dip his head and-.

"Christopher-"Automatically, his head jerked up at the sound of Pride's voice. The Senior Agent was holding his phone in his hand. Without even asking he knew what that meant. He was going to be leaving beautiful, gorgeous Addie Watkins on one of the biggest nights of her life.

"Sorry, to break up the party, but we've got tuh run." Pride said, silently cursing himself for ruining the moment that he perceived was about to happen. "Dead body, Navy housing, Commander's wife. Brody and Sonja are going to meet us there."

"Roger that, King."

Swallowing his disappointment, he waited for Pride to leave. "I gotta go," he said lowly. "But I'll try to come back as soon as I-."

"Don't worry about it." She finished, trying not to show her own disappointment. "Just go do that thing that you do so well and I'll catch up with you some other time." She was trying to sound casual. The last she wanted for him to think that she had misread some sort signal and end up looking like a fool or worse look like some pouty school girl who wanted to cry because her date had been called away.

LaSalle had to leg it pretty fast to catch King before he hit the parking lot where the big baby blue Cadillac sat. "Sorry to break up your date with Addie," Pride, fished his keys out of his pocket while Chris opted to just hop over the door into the passenger's seat.

"It wasn't a date. She invited me same as you."

Pride looked at his friend as he stuck the keys into the ignition and turned the engine over. "C'mon Son, I may be getting old but even I can see the way she looks at you."

Chris opened his mouth and then promptly shut it, looking away as a warm burst of heat started to crawl up his neck. "Don't know what you're talking about King."

A/N: Oh Pride! What are you going to do about ruining their moment? Not that he could help it, really. ;)