Author's note: I need a proofreader and ought not to write when drowsy. Sorry for a delay; I was going one way with this and then decided against it. Thanks for reading.

/

If anyone asked LaSalle on how the night went, he would have a big smile and say it was "good". It probably could be listed as one of the best nights they'd had in several months time. There was something to be said about waking up with someone you truly love so close by. He wasn't about to jinx himself by saying they were back to being on the same page; no, things were probably no where near that in reality. It would have been nice though.

Pride had been very gracious to his team and instead of bringing them in so early like the previous morning, he had decided the usual time would be sufficient. It wasn't like anything new had come in over night and any and all offices would still be closed early on. He had to grin when he saw Chris come in, toss his bag down and start picking on Percy and Brody. This was a good sign. Elizabeth had quietly followed him in. It always amused him to see opposite couples; in this case - who was the morning person and who clearly was not.

By ten that morning, things were off to a great start. Plame was making great progress with the surveillance camera and the Bay St. Louis police department requested the presence of a couple agents, to which Percy and LaSalle responded to. They were one step closer to solving this case and getting whoever the suspect was off the street.

/

Brody had been discussing with Percy their co-worker of a little over a year (at least for Brody) and this new found part of his life. Percy didn't seem bothered by the fact that they didn't know much about Elizabeth outside of LaSalle. All questions asked had been about /them/ and not /her/. Brody took advantage of LaSalle being out to really talk to Elizabeth. She found her in the kitchen, making hot chocolate. It must have been something she brought with her as Brody didn't recall them having any. "Mind if I join you?"

Elizabeth jumped slightly, "Oh, not at all. Would you like some?" she asked, holding up a packet. It wasn't fancy, but it served it's purpose well enough.

"Sure. Thank you," Brody said, sitting on one of the stools as Elizabeth pulled up the bag she carried with her most of the time. "Work bag?"

Elizabeth nodded, opening up a pocket. "If I didn't carry it with me, I'm sure I'd forget everything. It's not required to have one, by any means. But it makes life a whole lot easier. It makes overnight shifts easier when you can't get to the cafeteria for coffee." She didn't dare drink the dredge in waiting rooms.

"How long have you been a nurse?" Brody asked, and Elizabeth noted the distinctly northern accent, or more appropriately, the complete lack of a southern one.

"Since August 2005. I had been in communication with my current hospital in Mississippi before graduating and I had to get my official certificates and all that. I was a nurse all of two weeks before Katrina wiped us out. Still was needed, if not there. I can't tell you the hours I put in with the Red Cross and various organizations. It was so heartbreaking."

Brody recalled watching everything on TV from miles away. "I saw the news reports but somehow I don't think they scratched the surface."

Elizabeth shook her head. "People were appreciative. /I/ was appreciative; if it wasn't for what I was doing and where, I'd have had no place to go. My apartment was higher up, but I still couldn't get to it. There is a difference between strangers coming to lend a hand and locals helping locals. Personally, we could have done without all the cameras."

"So you're native then, to New Orleans?"

She nodded, "For the most part. I was born in Texas, but the paperwork didn't go through right away or something and I ended up in foster care for a bit before I was able to come home to my parents; I was adopted," Elizabeth added on, in case it wasn't clear. "But after that, this was home. Went to school in Texas and loved it, but this was better. Where are you from?" Perhaps Chris had mentioned and she had forgotten, she wasn't sure.

"Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It's right outside Detroit on Lake St. Clair." Brody said, taking the prepared cup from Elizabeth.

"How do you ever survive those winters?"

"How have you managed to survive summers here?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh. "I guess it's all what we know."

Brody nodded, "So do you have any brothers and sisters?"

"No, I was an only child. My folks aren't around anymore either."

Brody frowned, that seemed horrible. "I'm sorry about that. My parents are still in Michigan. I lost my sister years ago."

Elizabeth merely shrugged at the first comment. "It doesn't bother me so much anymore; please don't take me wrong, I miss them still, but I don't let it overwhelm me. Chris is my family now. He makes up for the loss. I'm sorry about your sister. I don't mean to triavialize any pain you have."

Brody shook her head, "You haven't." She opted to change the subject. "Have you ever seen snow?"

"I think once, maybe. Chris and I went to Alabama and it snowed for a little bit."

It was Brody's turn to laugh. "You poor thing. Next time I go up there during winter I'll be sure to send you a picture, although that doesn't do any justice."

"A picture is all I'll ever get. I get cold down here in the winter, let alone someplace so far north. I've been places up there, just not in winter time." Elizabeth amended. She enjoyed the back and forth of questions. It helped her to get a feel of who Chris was working with.

"I don't mean to get invasive, but how do you and LaSalle manage to make it work?" She was so used to referring to him by his surname, that it didn't cross her mind that Elizabeth shared his name as well.

That caught Elizabeth off guard and she had to take a moment to think as she drank her hot chocolate. "It's a delicate balance. Both of our jobs demand so much and we're both passionate about them. I've thought about moving back here, but I'm not sure I want the intensity of a large hospital." She wouldn't bring up the clashes they've had over jobs. That was too personal. "When we're truly off duty, and I know he's almost always on call, we just devote that time to the other. It's odd, but it works for us. I come up here when I have days and weekends off, and he'll come over there every so often." At least they had been.

Brody nodded as Elizabeth spoke. It did seem truly odd. But if it worked for them, so be it.

/

LaSalle had been very quiet on the ride back from BSL. The evidence found would have a domino effect on several different areas. He didn't want to discuss this with Elizabeth. She was getting restless; he saw the fidgeting and the pacing. Thankfully, for the most part, she had been gracious about it. This new development would cause world war three, he was sure. Before they arrived back at the office, LaSalle told Percy to let him tell Pride what was going on first. It was the only thing he said the return trip.

Fifteen minutes later after arrival at the office, Chris found Elizabeth sitting in the kitchen, idly scrolling through her phone. She could no longer avoid all the texts asking her whereabouts.

"Hey," he said, sitting next to her at the counter.

She glanced up to him, "Figure anything out yet?"

LaSalle gave a small shrug, "Yes and no. You haven't had anyone out to the apartment have you? Electricians, cable, plumber, friends?" he asked, off-handedly.

Elizabeth gave him a curious look, "No."

He merely nodded and thought over his next question. Surely there had to be a tactful way to ask this. "So no one at all?"

She wondered what he was fishing at. "No, no one. I've spent majority of that last month at work. I've been working shifts even on my theoretical days off."

Chris nodded once more. "No one has a key?"

"Chris! Come on! You're the only other one with a key. What's going on?" She was starting to get a bit frustrated with his questions.

He hesitated. "Based on recent evidence, Pride thinks it's best if you stay here through the weekend." It was Thursday afternoon now.

This was not what Elizabeth was wanting to hear. She didn't want to be hear in New Orleans, sitting around doing nothing without even the prospect of going to her home in New Orleans. No, this wasn't a good thing. "What recent evidence?" she said, trying to keep from snapping at him.

Once more, Chris hesitated in answering. "Well, to cover all our bases with this investigation, the police in Bay went over the apartment with a fine tooth comb. Of course, they found fingerprints everywhere. They have isolated several sets. Logically, two of those sets will belong to you and me based on location and all that. The others are... questionable. There hasn't been a hit on them yet. There was also fingerprints on parts of your car that there normally wouldn't be. We sincerely believe that this guy is just doing this to try and make me nervous. But we can't be one hundred percent sure, yet. Which is why Pride wants you here."

Elizabeth took all this in and her facial expression changed several times. She settled on highly annoyed. "And who is supposed to tell all of this to my boss? Who is supposed to pay my bills over there while I am not working? What am I supposed to do here? No. I'm not staying here any longer. It's one thing to be here for the sake of being with you. It's another because of some ... psycho, for lack of a better word, who may or may not do anything. I'd rather take my chances." She left a lot of things unsaid, which was probably for the best. She grabbed her phone off the counter before leaving the kitchen and heading towards the office area.

Chris let out a long sigh before moseying over to the coffeepot. He was more than slightly peeved at her reaction. It was the unknown factor that was driving him crazy. Was this guy dangerous? Was it more than one person? Sure, the other night he had been shot at. But was that the main culprit? He walked into the office area, mug in hand, and looked at the empty, save for Pride, room. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Sent Percy and Brody to the police department to pick up some evidence that may or may not be delayed some. Figured you two needed a modicum of privacy. Of course, when she went out the door, I assumed she didn't take things well. Didn't know she had such a temper." Pride said, watching as his teammate sat at his own desk.

"She really doesn't. It's a lot more tame here. Also, the temper thing is relatively new. I had just hoped it would go away by now."

"You concerned?"

Chris shook his head, "Not much that can be done. It's a time thing. As is this entire case it seems."

Pride gestured with his head towards the area where Plame worked. "He may have something."

/

And hour later, LaSalle was checking his phone every minute or so; he hadn't heard from Elizabeth since she left and a slight nervousness was creeping in. He decided to take the initiative.

/You still mad at me?/

A minute, then two went by.

\Ask me in December\

/Right. Where are you?/

\That little place by our house\

/Order the shrimp and grits/

\No.\

/You're missing out. Stay put there. Team has to go out. Think we may have something after all./

/P will be here. Don't wander off by yourself./

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his last message. /Okay Dad./

LaSalle was almost correct. They had found out one person's name connected to all his trouble. He ended up coming in quietly enough. He wasn't the leader though. The guy was relatively cooperative with them until it came to coughing up names; suddenly, he couldn't talk at all. LaSalle left Percy and Brody to get more information out of him.

Elizabeth had made her way back to the office and was sitting in Chris' chair when he came in. "Fancy meeting you here," he said to her, leaning on the desk, envelope in hand. "Did you get the grits?"

She shook her head. "That stuff is horrible and you know it."

"I don't get how you were raised here and not eat grits. Even Brody has tried them," he said, before opening the envelope. "If I showed you a picture, do you think you could identify someone?"

Elizabeth looked up to him, before shrugging. "I could try." He showed her the picture of the guy currently in their custody. She furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought. "Looks familiar. I don't know where though."

Chris sighed. "He's connected to all this somehow. I don't think he's the one we're really after though."

She looked at the picture again. "I... I think I've seen him in the complex. Maybe with a few other guys. Looks a bit different though," Elizabeth said, trying to recall how. "Maybe his hair is different."

LaSalle raised his eyebrows. "That close to home?" LaSalle took out his phone and called the police department in their town, giving them the name of the person in custody. "We'll see if that matches prints."

/

The other department finally returned LaSalle's call a few hours later, close to the time everyone was supposed to have gone home. It was going to be a long night, no doubt about that. The name of the suspect matched the prints found in the apartment, so they could hold him on breaking and entering; his fingers prints also came back from those found on Elizabeth's car and the one who took the photos of her vehicle. He still wouldn't budge on giving up the other's name involved.

At 9PM, Plame had a breakthrough with the hospital. They finally sent over the surveillance video with the estimate time frame given by LaSalle days earlier. He rolled himself into the main office area where LaSalle and Percy were while Pride tried his hand at interrogation with Brody's help. "I found one person with the broken wrist description. I can't begin to tell you how boring that hospital is."

Elizabeth shrugged, "it keeps us busy. Besides, we're not a trauma center."

Plame handed LaSalle a photo he had printed off, who showed Elizabeth.

"That's one of those other guys that was with your guy," she gestured towards where Pride was.

"Got a name yet?" LaSalle asked Plame.

He shook his head. "No, but it shouldn't take long," he turned and went back to his office.

LaSalle motioned for Percy to follow him up to interrogation leaving Elizabeth by herself once more.

/

At two in the morning, the team finally had the breakthrough they were looking for. They finally got a name out of the suspect. They'd wait until morning before going after him.

With the suspect headed off to the jail, LaSalle was exhausted in every form of the word. All the stress he didn't realize he had been carrying with him seemed to let up. At that late hour, Elizabeth seemed to want to talk, much to Chris' chagrin.

They were still at the office, the women had left and Pride was poking around other parts of the building, maybe even at his bar, LaSalle wasn't sure. He was in his desk chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

"What's going on with us?" Elizabeth asked him, sitting in Pride's chair.

Chris turned to look at her, "You tell me," he said, hands up in a defensive gesture.

She shook her head, "Never mind, forget I asked. Can we go?"

"Oh no. You're not going to start a conversation and leave a man hanging. What's on your mind?"

"Just wondering if I should just stay in Waveland and you stay here," she wasn't going to come right out and say the big word.

With all the turmoil rolling around in his mind, Chris' heart broke at her statement. "Is that what you want? Truly?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. But we haven't spoke before all this in over a month. No calls. No texts. Nothing." She knew she was just as guilty for lack of communication.

He shrugged, "I figured you didn't want to see me much. And we did text."

She rolled her eyes. "'I can't come out because of work' every week really doesn't count."

Chris knew she had a point. He had dropped the ball, but then again, so had she. "So what do you want?"

"I want to go home. I want to get back to normal."

"Are you seeing someone else?" Chris regretted the words as soon as he said them, but it had been on the forefront of his mind for a while now.

Elizabeth would have been less surprised had he hit her. "Are you crazy?" She felt like crying at that very moment, just at the accusation.

He struggled for the right words. "It's been the lack of communication. Even when we fight at other times, we still let the other know we're alive. But it's been over a month. And like you said, those other texts don't count. If it hadn't been for this, as off the wall as it is, I wouldn't have heard anything from you."

"I was wondering what was going on out here. I knew if something had seriously happened, I'd be made aware, hopefully. I just kept going between angry at the situation and having hurt feelings, stupid as it is. But no, there is no one else."

"You still angry and hurt?" It was a stupid question; he knew she was.

"A bit. And I'll get over it. I know nothing is going to change. Can we go now?" she asked, a bit impatiently.

Chris sighed, he wanted to get to the root of the matter but he was exhausted. "Alright. Let's go." He had a feeling tonight would not go as well as the prior night.