A/N: I am quite excited about this story and feel the need to get it finished. Hold on to your hats. This chapter packs a powerful punch!

Chris stood in the middle of his courtyard surveying the report form the fire marshal. Luckily, the fire had mostly been contained to bathroom with some minor damage to the guest bedroom so all in all the house wasn't a total lose. Which was more than he say for his own peace of mind.

The news that the picture and the text had come from a number belonging to Savannah Kelly rocked him to his very core. The idea that someone would actually want to toy with him like that was beyond comprehension. To top everything off, his head was swimming in pain and his stomach was running amuck from what he assumed to be stress over the entire situation.

Thankfully, he had people like Meredith Brody to help keep him focused and grounded.

"How ya feeling?" he asked as his partner came through the wrought iron gate with a more than concerned look.

"Better than you look," Brody quipped, joining LaSalle at the table in the courtyard with two Venti sized coffees in hand. When she heard that about the picture and text, it was all that she could do not to rush over to her partner's side, wanting to swaddle him in comfort.

Chris smiled at her a little, "Seriously, how do you feel?"

"Throat's a little sore from where they performed a bronchoscopy, but other than that…" she shrugged taking careful notice of the dark circles under his eyes. There was also pallor to his face that she hadn't noticed before. It suddenly became obvious to her, that Chris was physically starting to go downhill. Not that this surprised her really, it concerned more than anything. The 90 hour window for the effects of the Quaaludes should have been over by now. He should be feeling better, right?

"I'm sorry you got caught up in all this, Brody."

"Wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't have my partner's back," she quipped, foreshadowing as her hand fell to the middle of his back in a show of support.

"So where'd you sleep last night, LaSalle?"

"I didn't."

"Okaaay. Then who were you with?" She completely expected that the news that the picture and the text had come from a number registered under the name of Savannah Kelly would have completely sent him over the edge, retreating back into the depths of Bourbon Street, seeking a way out.

LaSalle picked up the paper cup and took a long swig. "Believe it or not, no one."

"You mean Mr. Southern charm with the dazzling smile didn't find a pretty girl to drown his sorrows in? I find that hard to believe."

"It's true," LaSalle smiled sadly before lowering his eyes to the table. "Ya know... when I'm with those other women, I never see their faces. I only see…um...you know...her."

There he had shared a little, hoping it would make her back off of wanting to coddle him with her constant offers of support. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her kindness, he did. He just didn't want her pity or anyone else's for that matter.

Brody sighed, her smile fading as two weary and broken looking blue eyes met bright brown ones. "Where are we on your case?" she redirected quickly, knowing that at the moment he'd given her all he could.

"The number that Patton found is registered to a Savannah Kelly, 67, from Knoxville, Tennessee." LaSalle answered tightly. "Reported her phone, stolen three days ago when she accidently laid it down at a Stripes to get a cup of coffee."

"The names a coincidence, which means someone, was probably stalking her for the phone." Brody inferred. Whomever it was, was definitely methodical. The only real lead that they had go off of what that when the text had been sent it had pinged off of a local tower that supported the French Quarter.

"Yup."

"You've got to think back," Brody pressed. "Is there anyone from Savannah's past that would want to get back at you? Maybe an ex-boyfriend, some other family member, a childhood friend?"

LaSalle reached under the Fire Marshall's report and pulled out a yellow legal pad, where he had carefully constructed a list of names from people he remembered attending Savannah's funeral and people in general that she had associated with while they had been dating.

"That's it?" Brody frowned at sparse number of names that now decorated the first few lines of the notepad. "C'mon, you've known Savannah since childhood."

"Since I was in high school and we didn't associate much back then." He corrected filling in the fact that he didn't really get to know her until she had taken over as Cade's case manager at the clinic.

"So, five names then," Brody stated. "Tell me about this first one."

Chris opened his mouth but the sound of his cell quickly interrupted anything he might have wanted to say.

"It's a video call from Percy," he groaned making a face that more that captured Brody's attention. It was his face that said, I really don't want to talk to this person.

"Did something happen between and you Sonja?"

"We're not on the best of terms right now, is all," LaSalle answered, setting the phone of the table so that Brody could see what the rebel agent to say.

"Agent LaSalle," Percy started off in a more than formal tone, before giving a friendly, cheerful, nod to Brody. " Good Mornin', B"

"What'cha got?" Brody chirped nudging LaSalle as Sebastian also came into view.

"Tall and Nerdy here was able to reconstruct some of the video from the night you were at the Prince of Arms Hotel, shacking up with Petty Officer Hale," Percy tossed out.

Brody could almost see the hackles rising up on the back of LaSalle's neck and quickly placed her hand on his knee giving it a firm don't you say anything squeeze.

"There wasn't any shacking up going on at all." Sebastian interjected, launching into a detailed explanation of how once again it was becoming a common occurrence for videos to be altered. "Alexandria Hale was there but it three days earlier. She was visiting some relatives from out of town."

LaSalle looked at Brody before turning his attention back to the screen. "So someone doctored up the video to make her look like she was with me?" He looked back at Brody as Sebastian began to ramble about some video editing technique Chris had never heard of.

"So, if I wasn't with Petty Office Hale, then who in the hell bit me?"

"That's the answer to the 64,000 dollar question," Brody said softly, before directing her next question to Sebastian.

"Where are we on that DNA sample we took from Chris?"

"Still at the main lab in Baton Rouge, with a state crime rate of every 1 in every 14 people in Louisiana, committing violent crimes the turnaround time is slow."

"Well thanks," Brody sighed as her partner next to her let out a deep seeded growl of frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Forcing a smile, Brody gently pulled his hand away from his face. "Why don't we go check out some of those names on your list?" she suggested commanding his attention.

"Ok," he replied suddenly feeling completely worn out beyond measure. He didn't know how much longer he could keep his façade of holding everything together.

Rising to his feet with Brody, he was suddenly overtaken by an overwhelming sense of vertigo and stomach pain that nearly forced him back down into his chair. Eyes closed Chris gripped one of the wrought iron chairs to prevent curling in on himself.

"Chris!" Alarmed, Brody touched his arm. "Chris, look at me."

Hesitant, he started to speak, I'm-"

"Don't you dare say that you are fine!" she threatened, giving him a murderous stare as he opened up his eyes.

"I was gunna say I need a minute. Just got a little stomach cramp from somethin' I ate is all." Working late, with Patton last night the agent had taken to devouring the last of Pride's sriracha style jambalaya in effort to avoid his body's need for sleep at least that was lie he was telling himself at the moment to skirt around the real issue that his body was just plain ready to give out from all of the toxin that he'd recently been exposed to. The side effects from the Quaaludes were really tearing up his system.

Brody continued to look at him with her hardened, concerned glare. What had just happened was more than just a little belly ache. The sheer idea that the man seemed to have such little regard for his own well-being absolutely infuriated her. "Ok, but I'm driving, so hand over your keys."

LaSalle did as he was told, fishing his keys from his pocket, "As long as we can get some antacid somewhere along on the way."

"Not going to help you, LaSalle," she suddenly found herself angry with him as they walked out the courtyard side by side to the truck.

"Why is that?" Chris could tell by the edge in her voice that she had achieved more than her usual level of frustration with him, but he still needed to ask.

But at that particular moment, Brody decided to whirl on him. "Because ever since Savannah died, all you have tried to do is throw yourself over a cliff with the partying, one night stands, it's the reason you're in this mess. You got careless and let someone get to you, steal your badge, and poison you. You could have died in that hotel room and for what? Because you're too afraid to face the pain that the rest of us have to face when someone close to us dies?"

LaSalle's jaw was set, eyes narrowed. "Are ya finished?"

"No, I am not!" Brody retorted, she was almost shaking now she was so angry. "When my sister died, I grieved for her, I almost tore my heart out because it hurt so much, but I talked to people who were close to me, I went to see a therapist, I got help!"

Chris steeled himself, hardening his gaze. "As I recall, you also blew up a boat and got 8 people killed. What did your therapist have to say about that?"

LaSalle heard the crack of her hand long before he felt the sting as her palm connected with the side of his face.

A/N: FYI, true statistic, 1 in 14 people in New Orleans have been arrested and served time in the state's prison system. Other than that nerdy fact, Oh Shit! Did Brody just slap LaSalle? Did he deserve it? And what is he going to do/say next?