Street stares back at Chris and tilts his head from side to side. He is confused as to what is going on here and voices that. "You asked me here, remember? So can you at least tell me why you are yelling at me?"
"Tan asking stupid questions. I don't want him or anyone at work to start questioning my ability to do my job," Chris sounds angry, and Street knows her well enough to know the signs. The last time she exploded on him wasn't pretty.
"What exactly happened? And how is it my fault this time?" Street asks with a slightly sarcastic undertone and Chris visibly rolls her eyes. How can he not know?
"Don't make me repeat myself. Just stop projecting your fantasy on me. Most of all at work. I am almost sure Tan heard us today, and it's never gonna happen," Chris let's out and walks back to her front door.
Street takes the hint and gets ready to leave again. "If you say so. See you tomorrow," he throws her a look that seems to ask if they are broken again but the small smile Chris gifts him with before closing her door makes at least Street's heart feel lighter even though Chris just shut the door in his face literally and figuratively.
Over the next few days Tan keeps a close eye on Chris. He can't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes and the way she seems to pop more aspirin lately. But she always dismisses his questions. So, when a few days later Chris is missing their morning briefing and Hondo announces she called in sick, all of Tan's inner alarm bells start going off. He slowly lets his eyes wander around the room and to his surprise Luca stares at Street who doesn't seem too surprised by the announcement at all. Come to think about it, Street had been cutting it awfully close this morning too. But Tan didn't have much time to dwell on his colleagues' odd behavior as the case called for his full attention. He tried to focus on the work, but he couldn't quiet the voice in the back of his head that maybe he should check in on Chris and make sure she is only sick. Something just didn't sit right with this whole thing, and he needed to know for sure. What if he was at fault here? Maybe he should've said something?
They all had their assignments and Victor was through with his, but they still had to wait on other intel before they could make another move. He decided to seize the opportunity and drop by Chris's place.
From experience Victor knows to grab the first parking spot in relative walking distance to the apartment and while he parks his car, he spots another charger a little down the road from the building.
Had Chris maybe taken one home after last shift? He couldn't remember but his thoughts get interrupted by a slightly frazzled looking Street stepping out into the courtyard. Something in his friend's expression made Victor duck back around the corner and hide. Street looked more than frazzled, almost crestfallen and gutted.
What was going on here?
With new resolve Victor climbs the stairs to Chris's apartment and knocks resolutely on her door.
He doesn't have to wait long for the door to open but Chris looks more annoyed and surprised then sick to him. "What are you doing here?" he immediately hears the irritated undertone in her voice but choses to ignore that and walks past her inside.
Out of reflex he walks to the kitchen area and the fridge while Chris closes the door. He just has to check and make sure.
"Tan, don't," he hears from Chris when he reaches for the freezer.
The picture he sees in there conjures up some bad memories for him and when Tan's eyes move across the kitchen, they land on a shot glass in the sink. His stomach drops but his hands aim for it anyway. Lifting the glass to his nose he gets the pungent smell of vodka and finally turns to the sofa.
Chris has taken refuge there again. Hugging a huge pillow and burrowing her head into it.
"Can you not look at me like that," Chris mumbles but continues to stare onto her feet.
Victor walks closer and exhales in an almost desperate sigh. "Like what? Worried?" he asks for clarification. "What's going on Chris?"
He takes a seat and looks at her, but Chris remains stubborn. Her eyes move from her feet out her window and thoroughly try to ignore his presence.
"I take it you aren't sick in the way Hondo thinks, huh? What happened?" Chris hears the care, and fear behind his statement. "It's handled," she tries to dismiss Tan's line of questioning.
"I am sorry, I didn't realize you needed more help," Chris hears Tan say and she finally dares to look at him. "I am sorry I wasn't there for you after Erika…."
"No, don't. Don't do this to yourself. You tried," Chris sends him a crooked smile and reminds them both of that night.
"I should've made sure you were okay back then and I should've stepped in when I saw you were hurting. This is partly my fault," Tan continues to insist and then gets up abruptly. "There is one thing I can do though," he offers as explanation before pulling open fridge and freezer again and placing all the bottles on the counter.
"I can help you with these," he motions to the collection after he is finished. Chris face freezes and for a moment Tan thinks she is going to be dismissive and throw him out, but Chris shakes her head and slowly walks over. He observes her twisting the top of a whiskey and pouring it down the sink.
They slowly get rid of all the contents and before leaving the apartment with the empty bottles, Tan offers Chris to be a shoulder and a friend to call up on if ever needed. He decided not to ask about his other suspicions. Not wanting to aggravate Chris any more than she is already, but if he got the chance Victor knows he would ask Street. Just something in the back of his mind told him his friend had a role in all of this mess. But every time his mind wants to blame his friend it also conjures up the image of Street leaving Chris's place when he arrived and that pain, he saw then.
The rest of the shift is busy, and Tan has no chance to talk to Street inside but he spots him leaving and so he decides to hurry a bit and try to catch him outside.
Tan is about to call out to Street when he steps out of the doors but stops himself seeing Chris approach the other man cautiously. They need to talk.
So, he stays in the proverbial shadows and watches the scene unfold, leaving him slightly confused when the two opt to leave Chris's truck behind and take off on Street's bike.
Just one more thing to ask about.