Title: Boundaries
author: Cindy Ryan
notes and summary: see part one

Forty-eight hours later Merri received the best news from her doctor. They were releasing her the next day. All her tests were at normal levels and everything else was healing as it should. Merri requested her release be as soon as possible. The doctor had smiled and asked if six a.m would be okay? Merri had readily agreed. She'd spent the rest of the night spreading the news and making arrangements. When that was done she read one of the paperback mystery novels Lorretta had brought earlier. Merri was thirty pages in when she fell asleep.

With the early hour Merri hadn't been expecting anyone to be there when she was released. She should've known better. Dwayne was first to arrive at quarter to six followed by Chris. Sebastian and Loretta arrived a few minutes later. Merri blinked back tears as she smiled at the group. She knew she'd never be able to express how grateful she was to them.

By seven o'clock Merri was home and settled on her sofa. Sebastian had loaned her his tablet that was loaded with a wide assortment of movies and books. He'd even showed Merri where a word file was located that had a list of his reccomendations of which to watch or read first. Loretta's guest house had never felt more like home than it did that day. Merri had been so happy to see it and to walk through the front door. She hadn't realized until that day how much of a life she'd built in New Orleans. Merri was grateful that she had another chance to enjoy it.

Chris knew he couldn't wait too much longer to talk to Merri. He just hadn't wanted to spring everything on her all at once. Especially not her first day home. Even with the extra help Vance had sent in Chris and Pride were still scrambling to catch up. Before Chris realized it three days had flown by and the rest of the week wasn't looking any better.

However, seeing how happy Merri had been just to be home and out of the hospital had clarified things for Chris. Made him certain that what he was feeling wasn't just a reaction from nearly losing her. The connection between them was strong and true. Chris just had to convince Merri it was worth taking the risk to take that connection beyond friendship. Chris knew now more than ever that it definetly was worth the risk.

What little free time Chris had the rest of the week he spent it with informants. Ones he trusted and ones that he normally wouldn't deal with. Except those he wouldn't normally deal with would lead him to one he would. One that would have a lead in the courthouse shooting. It was a gamble but one worth taking. Saturday found Chris not having been home much. Long enough to change clothes, shower and grab something to eat. When he wasn't working on offical cases he was following leads on one he'd been banned from.

Logically Chris knew he needed sleep. Will power, coffee and energy drinks were only going to keep him functional for so long. Chris also saw the worried looks King gave him when he thought Chris wasn't looking. King was afraid Chris was burning himself out. Little did Pride know how close to the truth he was. But Chris was protecting King's career by keeping quiet about what he was doing. It would be bad enough once Vance found out he'd gone against orders. It'd be worse if Pride had looked the other way. So Chris had taken the choice from his friend.

With a yawn Chris pulled his vehicle to a stop in front of a run down bar on the outskirts of the French Quarter. It was late afternoon; nearly dinner time on Saturday. The Quarter was showing signs of waking. Soon it would be packed with people looking for a good time. Or with those looking to forget their real life for a little while. Chris got out and walked through the front door of the dingy bar. The person he was looking for frequented this dive. At least according to a friend of a friend of a source Chris trusted. Mark 'Ztop' Shannon was a two bit thief with a drug history with a passion for Meth. His robberies had lead to blackmail when he started in on some of the ritzier parts of town. That connection was what Chris was interested in. The ritzer part of town was political always had been always would be. The attempt on Admiral Pack had been political. Without normal NCIS investigative tactics Chris had to find a back door that would lead him to the same answers. After a few minutes Chris spotted his 'source' sitting at one of the small tables near the back. Chris sat down across from the younger man.

"I don't know you."The hispanic youth stated angerily as Chris sat down.

"Tenrounds sends his regards."Chris stated. "And that this clears part of your debt."

"Why should I believe you, cop."Ztop retorted taking a swig of his beer.

"I'm not a cop today."Chris explained quietly. "Friend of mine got hurt and I think you can help me figure out who."

"Just because Tenrounds was dumb enough to listen to you doesn't mean I am."The young man spat."Go drink somewhere else."

"You've got a trial comin' up for two B&E's."Chris stated. "I doubt your P.O would be happy to find you in this lovely place. You help me; I help you; can get your sentence down."

"I'm listenin'."Ztop replied with a glower.

"What have you heard about the attempt on Admiral Pack's life?"Chris asked.

"Who?"The informant responded with a confused blink.

"Courthouse shooting last week."Chris snapped.

"That'll cost you more than you're offerin'."Ztop responded as he took a long sip of his drink.

"Maybe."Chris acknowledged. "But I think you're desperate enough to stay out of jail to tell me anyway."

After a long moment Ztop nodded and Chris listened to what the informat had to say. Ten minutes later Chris stood and left the bar.

It was another day before Chris was able to verify the information Ztop had given him. Another six hours on top of that to follow the leads. Everything was telling him the same thing. The shooting hadn't been directed at the Admiral. He'd been a bystander not the target. That had left a cold ball of fear in Chris's belly thinking that Merri might have been the sniper's orginial target. But he'd quickly ruled it out as more details emerged.

Agent Hackett had been the intended victim. The question was why? Why use the rally as a cover? Why kill Hackett on the job when a murder could be done so many other ways? Chris shook his head running a weary hand over the back of his neck. He knew he should take this information to the combined JAG/NOPD task force. Chris had a feeling they'd already reached this conclusion since the shooting hadn't been as prominent in the news. Unfortunately without the admiral as the main target in the shooting it took the priority of the investigation down a peg or two. Now it was just a normal case.

To Chris it wouldn't ever be just a normal case. Somebody had tried to take his partner's life. Hackett being the main target didn't matter. Merri had been hurt end of story. She deserved closure for this. Merri deserved not to wonder if the person responsible would ever be caught. No matter what happened between them in the future the least Chris could do for his partner was give her peace of mind. He'd follow this through to the end no matter what high powered upper crust types came tumbling down in the process. As Chris drove back to the NCIS office he didn't notice the dark blue sedan following him.

Dwayne knocked on the door to Merri's home. It was nearly nine p.m on Monday and Dwayne almost had debated about stopping by for a visit. He'd called first to make sure Merri was up for a visit that late. Hearing no tiredness in Merri's response to his knock all Dwayne's reservations vanished. It was good to hear her back to her old self.

"It's open."Merri called from the sofa.

"How are you feelin'?"Pride asked as he entered closing the door behind him.

"Tired but stronger if that makes sense."Brody replied with a smile. "Was good to hear from you. I know you guys have been busy."

"That we have."Dwayne confirmed as he sat down in a chair to the left of the sofa. "Been a long few days."

"That's what I hear from Loretta."Merri commented with a smile. "Do you want something to drink? Water? Tea?"

"I'm fine. Rest."Dwayne said with a shake of his head.

"Really I can walk a few steps to the kitchen."Merri insisted.

"I'm not going to keep you long."Dwayne replied with a smile. "Just wanted to see how you were doin'."

"Going a little stir crazy despite Sebastain's efforts to keep me entertained."Brody stated as she gestured to the computer tablet. "If I watch one more movie I might..."

Merri broke off as a loud thump was heard from the back porch. Dwayne frowned as he stood quickly.

"I'll check it out."Pride offered quietly as he unholstered his gun.

"I'm sure it's nothing probably an animal knocked over a flower pot."Merri suggested grimly.

"Probably."Dwayne agreed as he continued through the kitchen and reached for the door handle of the back door.

Just as he did something crashed through the kitchen window and bounced onto the kitchen floor. Smoke began to pour from the device. Pride cursed seeing the home made explosive device. Not pausing to think Dwayne grabbed it and ran outside. A quick look confirmed the yard was empty. Whoever had thrown it was long gone. Dwayne tossed it in a trash can and ran back to the porch just as it exploded.

"Pride!"Brody called anxiously as Dwayne reentered the house.

"I'm alright."Dwayne replied as he approached the young woman.

"Anybody out there?"Merri asked her gaze tracking to the door.

Pride shook his head.

"No. I'm going to check around and call it in. I'll be back as soon as I can."Pride stated.

Merri nodded and Dwayne left through the front door. Pride's anger mounted as he did a quick search around Merri's home and then Lorretta's nearby house. Once he was sure they were clear he called the NOPD. This attack was too much of a coincedence not to be connected to the shooting. However it was just another piece of the puzzle that didn't make sense and Dwayne was determined to figure it out before somebody else got hurt.

Chris arrived at Merri's just as the firefighters were leaving. NOPD and the bomb squad were still there. Chris's fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he took in the scene. Someone had went after his partner in the place she thought the safest. Chris fought the anger but it was difficult to keep it at bay. Whoever was behind this he was going to make them pay. No matter how long it took. Chris shut the truck off and got out and walked into the small house. Inside he found Merri sitting on the sofa with Dwayne sitting next to her on the right. An NOPD detective Chris didn't recognize stood in front of the coffee table asking Merri questions. Crime scene lab techs were photographing the kitchen and broken window.

"Detective Zanto this is Merri's partner at NCIS, Chris LaSalle."Dwayne said by way of introduction once he spotted Chris.

The slightly overweight black haired man nodded at Chris as he put his small notebook away.

"I think we have all the information we need for now."Zanto stated glancing at Pride. "You need one of our safehouses?"

Chris hated seeing the sadness and anger in his partner's eyes as Merri realized she wasn't safe in her own home any more. One more thing he was going to make the bastard pay for.

"No, we can arrange something."Pride replied quietly. "Thank you, Detective."

Zanto nodded and left. Chris quickly walked over to the sofa and crouched down so he was eyelevel with Merri.

"You okay?"Chris asked worriedly.

"Yeah they wanted to scare me not hurt me. Didn't succeed though. And I'm not leaving."Brody stated glancing at Pride.

"I'm sorry but that's not negoiatable You're not safe here."Dwayne insisted.

"Pride."Brody protested.

"King's right, Merri."Chris said as he placed a hand on Merri's left knee. "They'll be braver next time and I don't want to give them that chance.

"Alright."Merri agreed reluctantly.

"I'll have Loretta pack some of your things. Let's get out of here."Pride suggested as he stood and helped Merri to her feet.

The trio left. Chris helped Merri into King's car. As he closed the passenger door Merri placed her right hand over Chris's that was still resting on the door frame. He smiled at her but knew he failed miserably. All he wanted to do was make all the bad things go away for Merri and he couldn't. Not yet. It didn't ease the ache he felt as he looked at his partner sitting tired and sad in the passenger seat of King's car. After squeezing Merri's hand Chris stepped back and watched them drive off. A few minutes later Chris returned to his truck and drove away.