A/N: Angst, angst, angst! You have been warned! Oh, and I think the language in here is okay, but be aware just in case!

For the next few months, Daniel and Chris seemed to be inseparable. They ate together, worked together, and, of course, slept together (some nights, anyway). But, as fall drew near, Daniel could tell that she was pulling away slightly. He didn't worry too much about it until she started cancelling dates and going straight home after work, not saying a word to anyone. He would go to her house and, while she never refused his company, she just wasn't there with him completely. He tried to figure out what was wrong, asking her as gently as possible, but she would just brush him off and change the subject. He just could not get her to open up and, he suddenly realized what he had been like for the past several years.

Finally, after a particularly nasty and stressful day at work, he went to Chris's house in hope of getting some sympathy. But, as dinner rolled by and she stayed quiet, he got more and more agitated until he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Chris- what the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped. She didn't look up from her plate.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as innocently as possible and he nearly screamed out of frustration.

"Don't give me that! You have been withdrawn and reclusive for the past three weeks. I have tried- God knows!- I have tried to figure out what is wrong, what I am doing wrong or what is going on with you, but you wont talk to me and it is really getting old!" he cried. He expected her to get angry back at him, to yell or maybe even try to punch him (she really did have a hell of a temper!) But, she stood silently and walked out of the room. It actually pissed him off even more than if she had decked him! Following her into the living room, he was surprised to see her facing the mantle, staring at her few family pictures.

"You remember the first time we talked, Daniel? When you came to my office that first day?" she asked and he nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "I showed you a picture of John."

"I remember."

"I never told you much about him…or my dad, did I?"

"Just that John was a year and a half older than you."

"What else? What else did I say about him?" she asked, prodding slightly. Daniel thought back to that day and eventually it came to him.

"…That is a very old picture. It sounds silly, but..."

"He will always be that age to you…" Daniel said quietly, understanding immediately what was so wrong now. "When did-?"

"13 years ago tomorrow." She answered. "Hospital mistake. He had…he had a kidney stone, and they gave him too high of a dose of pain medicine. He went into cardiac and respiratory arrest. It took over an hour to get anything back, but by then he was pretty much gone. We….the doctors turned off the machines two days later." She said and he heard the strain in her voice. He moved closer, but waited for her to reach for him. She let out a short bark of mirthless laughter and shook her head, clearing her throat. "Kinda of funny…I had told him he was going to overdose and die if he kept it up…who knew it would be the damn doctors that would do it, for him?"

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, not so much because he was confused, but because she was finally talking to him and he wanted to keep her going.

"Oh, come on, Daniel- it isn't hard to figure out!" she yelled, tears filling her eyes, and she swiped them away angrily. "He was a freaking drug addict! He used to wash pain pills down with vodka and whiskey!"

"Chris, he was young…"

"No! He was old enough to know better! I was his kid sister and I knew it was wrong! I was the one taking care of him! I was always the one picking him up and trying to straighten his life out…Then I kicked him out of the house. I couldn't take it anymore…not after Daddy….I couldn't go through anymore of his crap….So I kicked him out and he went and lived at a friend's house. Then….then one day, he had pain in his back. He called me for a ride to the hospital and I…I brushed him off. Said I wouldn't take him just so he could get another prescription. His friend took him, instead." Chris didn't even notice the tears running down her cheeks. "The hospital called a few hours later, telling me that they were transferring him to a trauma hospital for further treatment and that I needed to get over there, that his condition had 'changed'. Yeah, it had changed- he was freaking brain dead!" she cried and Daniel moved to hold her. Chris let him, but didn't reciprocate. "They had to have someone make the call…make that decision…. Our mom was on her honeymoon and I couldn't get a hold of her. She's never forgiven me for not waiting until she was home, but the doctors kept telling me that I had to make a decision. He kept having seizures and they said it was just going to get worse and… I was only 17, Daniel! I didnt know half of what they were talking about! I just listened to what the doctors were saying and...And I…I told them to kill my brother! They turned off the machines because I told them to…" she started sobbing then, and he held her tight to his chest, supporting her as she collapsed against him. He managed to sit them down on the sofa and cradled her, rocking gently and pressing soft kisses against her hair.

Finally, she calmed and finished with a sniff, but didn't pull away. It was too old of a wound to heal in one good cry, but Daniel's arms felt like a nice balm on her ragged emotions and she found that she did actually feel a little better. Daniel just held her close, waiting to see where she would go from there. He wondered about her father, she had mentioned him, but he figured that maybe that was a conversation for a later time. He felt Chris hiccup against him and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Feel better?" he asked and she nodded. "You know that none of that was your fault, right? You were just a kid and you did everything you could to help him. He should have been trying to take care of you instead, but…"

"He was a great big brother….even with all of that other crap, he was a good big brother. Gave me a hard time, but stuck up for me when it counted. He was going to be a paramedic, ya know? He would have been brilliant in the medical field- always knew what do in any emergency. But…after Daddy passed away…it all went to hell so fast. I tried to stop him…he just wouldn't listen."

"Its okay. You did more than most people would have. Addicts are hard to deal with, especially for someone who was just a kid. I mean, you were only 17, Chris." He said comfortingly and felt her sigh deeply again.

"I told them to turn off the machines…They said that they didn't see any brain waves, but…I mean, people have recovered…maybe I should have-."

"Ah! Don't start that!" Daniel said, cutting her short, although he had a feeling that these words hadn't been said early enough. "You did what was right, and from what you are saying, he would have just suffered if you hadn't made the call. You may have only been 17, but it sounds like you had thought it out quite a bit before making the decision." He said and she nodded. "I'm just surprised that they asked a 17 year old to make that decision in the first place…"

"Oh, I lied. I told them I was 18."

"Ah, that makes sense." He nodded.

"You really think I made the right decision?" she asked, sounding so much like a tiny child needing reassurance that it broke his heart again.

"Yes, love, I think you did exactly what you should have, given the circumstances." He said and she sighed once again.

"I miss him, Daniel. Even after all of this time, I miss him so much…" she whispered and he fought the tears that filled his eyes.

"I know, baby, but at least he is safe where he is now. You did good." He said and she started crying again, only this time quietly. She cried herself to sleep a few minutes later and he laid her on the sofa, covering her with a spare blanket and pressing a kiss to her forehead as she drifted off.

When Chris woke the next morning, she felt a lot better than she had the night before. She blushed, ashamed, at what had happened- she hated crying in front of people and generally made it a rule not to. Somehow, though, she was just able to let go with Daniel and she was kind of glad she was able to now. She noticed she had slept on the sofa and, seeking out the snoring from nearby, saw Daniel asleep in the recliner. Smiling, she laid the blanket over him and started to walk away. But a hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her down on him and she couldn't hide her laugh as he pulled her into his lap and yanked the blanket up over them both. Snuggling as comfortably as possible, they both soon drifted back off to sleep, smiling.

Later that day, Daniel told Chris that he had to run some errands and he would be back. She puttered around the house, cleaning and decided to make lunch and hope that he would be back by the time she was finished. Just as she was putting the last piece of bread on the last sandwich, he walked in and called to her. Smiling, she went to greet him and saw that he had a couple of large bags.

"I picked up some groceries on the way back. Would you grab that one, please?" he asked and she moved to lift the bag. Much to her shock, the bag moved and made a strange whimpering sound and she cried out. It was a good thing that Daniel hadn't completely let go or else the bag would have crashed to the floor. She looked at him and Daniel smiled widely back at her. "Look inside." He said and she tentatively did as instructed.

"Oh my God!" she squealed and pulled out a fuzzy Siberian Husky puppy. "Daniel, he is gorgeous!" she said, inspecting the puppy closely.

"He was at the local animal shelter, believe it or not! Even has papers!" Daniel said and Chris stared, shocked.

"Why would anyone give up a purebred Siberian Husky, especially one as cute as this?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Beats me, but as soon as I saw him, I knew he was your dog." He said and she grinned wider.

"He is so cute! I have always loved Siberian Huskies!" she said and looked closely at the puppy's face. "D'Artagnan"

"D'Artagnan? As in from the Three Musketeers?" Daniel asked and she nodded. He looked at the puppy and had to agree that it seemed like a good name for him. "Sounds good."

"I think he needs to go outside." Chris said as the puppy began to wiggle.

"He also needs a collar and tags. The shelter gave him all of his shots so far and micro chipped him and everything, so we don't need to worry about that. But they said that he will need to be registered with the city and a vet."

"So, a trip to Pet Smart after he pees, then?"

"Sounds good!"

"Oh, and Daniel- thank you." She said and kissed him. "I really needed this today."

"I thought so. Now, come on and get him outside before we have a mess to clean!" Daniel laughed and they went outside.

A/N: Just to let you know, giving a pet as a gift is actually a terrible idea if you haven't spoken to the would-be owner. And, yes, purebred dogs end up in shelters ALL of the time! I know, I work at one…it is really sad. Anyway, what do you guys think so far? Are you excited about D'Artagnan? I know I am!!!! BLURP, BLURP, BLURP!!!!