Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:31:45 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 15 If you're under the legal age or it is illegal in your country/principality/SAR then read no more. If the thought of two men together is also offensive, read no more. Disclaimer: I dont know Jake, and I don't claim to know him or his sexual preference, he's pretty and all, but really, it's his own business. This work is entirely fiction. Chapter 15: "Come on cutie." Jake whispered as he inched Chris in the door. Once inside Jake threw the keys on the table, "Did you want to go to the couch, or the bed?" Chris thought for a moment, the combination of the concussion and the painkillers were messing with his mind. "The bed I guess." "Okay Chris," Jake whispered as he helped Chris into the bedroom. He pulled the sheets back before helping Chris out of his destroyed clothing. Once Chris was left in only his underwear, Jake allowed him to rest his head softly on the pillow before pulling the sheets over him. Sitting down on the bed, Jake quickly leaned over and kissed Chris on the forehead, "I love you Chris." "Mmm love you too." Chris murmured as he fell asleep once more. Jake smiled and gently stroked Chris' hairline over the bandage. He sat there for a moment before standing up to make his way into the living area. Even though he wasn't in his house, Jake felt absolutely comfortable spending time in Chris' apartment. He quietly fed both animals before finding something for him to eat. Giving Chris some time to rest a bit, Jake pulled off his shoes and socks and crashed on the couch. He flicked the TV on and scanned through the channels. A while later he turned the TV off, followed by the lights and made his way back into the bedroom, passing through it en route to the bathroom. He quickly washed his face before peeling off his black polo shirt and jeans and heading back into the bedroom. "Poor baby," Jake whispered as he saw Chris curled up in the bed, covered in bandages. He then pulled back the sheets on the other side of the bed and gently moved himself so he could hold Chris' battered body in his arms. Jake quickly fell asleep with his head resting on Chris' shoulder It was still dark when Chris slowly woke up. He slowly lifted his head and winced in pain. Chris then noticed Jake was holding him in place. "What the hell happened?" Chris muttered to himself as he softly touched his head. "Ow fuck." Chris winced as he felt the area the bandage was covering. Slowly Jake began to stir. "How you feelin'?" Jake said softly as he sat up and kissed Chris on the shoulder. "Like I've been hit against a wall." Chris muttered as he continued to lightly touch the wound. Jake smiled and pulled Chris closer to his chest, "You were." "Oh yeah." Chris muttered as he surrendered to Jakes warm body. "My head is killing me." Looking over at the clock, Jake slowly pulled himself out of the bed, "I can get you something." Chris attempted to pull himself out of the bed at the same time. He finally got to a seating position before Jake quickly ran around to the bed to support him. "I think I'm okay," Chris said as he shakily got to his feet. Jake carefully helped Chris into the living area and gently sat him at the dining table. He then padded his way over to the bag full of prescription drugs and searched for the painkillers. "What time is it?" Chris asked as he looked out the window. It was still dark. Returning to the table with a glass of water and a handful of medications, Jake set them down on the table and replied, "Nearly 5." Chris picked up the pills one by one and swallowed them before looking back at Jake, "Thank you." Furrowing his eyebrows, Jake enquired, "For what?" Placing the glass back on the table, Chris explained, "For being here for me, everyone else seemed to disappear. But you stuck around. I really appreciate it." Stepping closer, Jake slowly brushed Chris' cheek, "They do care about you. On the other hand, they all came to the agreement that I was the one who was going to look after you." "They just expected you to?" Chris interjected, "That was pretty presumptuous of them." He then lightly touched the bandage on his head. As the painkillers had only just been ingested, they were having no effect. Slowly Jake moved once more so he was sitting right in front of Chris, he pulled up his shorts and explained, "Hey, don't be so harsh about them. They love you." He then grasped Chris' hand, "I was sick to my stomach when I thought you were hurt. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." Chris smiled weakly, "I'm sorry, I guess that was a little harsh." "It was, but I forgive you." Jake said as he lightly touched the bandage, causing Chris to wince. "Sorry." Jake apologized, "I wanted to look after you. You mean everything to me and I didn't want to see you hurt." He then leaned down and kissed Chris lightly before helping Chris to his feet. "Did you want to go back to bed, or the couch?" Jake asked as he held Chris in his arms. Chris thought for a moment, "I think I really want a shower." "Okay, let's get you in there." Jake said softly as he helped Chris towards the bathroom. He sat Chris down on the toilet seat before reaching in to turn the stream of water on. As the water heated up, Jake made his way back to Chris and helped him remove the bandage presenting Jake with the first sight of the large bruise. He gasped slightly and then rolled the bandage up to put on the cabinet. Jake then helped Chris into the cubicle before slipping off his own shorts to join him in there. Slowly lathering up his torso, Chris scrubbed the dried blood off before quickly rinsing his body. "Whoa," He groaned as legs began to give out. "I got you," Jake said as he held Chris back under the jet of water. He held Chris as the soap bubbles rinsed off his body. "Did you want to wash your hair?" Chris nodded and leaned over to pick up the shampoo bottle. Jake quickly grabbed it and squirted its contents onto his head, allowing Chris to massage it in carefully. "Ouch It really hurts." Jake smiled and held him around his naked waist while Chris. Once his hair was significantly lathered, Jake directed Chris' body under the water once more. Chris then slowly made his way out of the shower as Jake quickly washed his body. By the time he had finished drying his body, Jake had jumped out of the shower. Still unsure of his steps, Chris sat down on the toilet seat once more and waited for Jake to help. Jake quickly pulled his shorts back on before helping Chris into the bedroom, "I'll be right back cutie." He then disappeared into the wardrobe. A few minutes later Jake returned with a pair of shorts for Chris. "Thanks," Chris said as he quickly pulled them on. He was then helped up by Jake and taken into the wardrobe to grab a shirt and pair of jeans. He settled on a button up shirt, as it was easy to put on. Jake gently kissed his back of Chris' neck, "Where do you want to go? Back to bed, or do you want to watch TV?" "TV I guess, as long as you're there." Jake smiled and helped Chris out to the couch. He noticed the sun was just starting to rise. After making sure he was settled, Jake then returned to the bedroom to pull on his pre-worn clothes. "I'm just going to grab my bags okay?" Chris sleepily looked over at Jake, "Okay, I should be fine." He then picked up the remote and began flicking through the channels. Chris quickly skipped over the infomercials and other early morning programs, eventually landing on a DIY type show. He closed his eyes and listened to the voices or the people overcapitalizing with their investment properties. Jake quietly opened the door of the apartment and made his way down the stairs. It was quite cool outside. Jake also noticed how still the air seemed to be. That was one good thing about being up early, the peace and quiet. He then headed down the small garden path and towards the garage. As he reached the end of the path, the silence was briefly interrupted by the sound of a garbage truck doing its rounds. Continuing down to his car, Jake unlocked the doors and pulled his bags out of the trunk. He closed it before locking the doors and slowly made his way back up to the apartment. As he headed up the stairs, he was passed by a young man wearing a business suit; obviously on his way to catch an early morning flight. Jake smiled and acknowledged his existence before making his way up to the third floor landing. Placing the bags on the ground, he fished around in his pocket for the keys. He unlocked the door and made his way through with the bags. After placing them by the door, Jake padded his way back over to the lounge area and quietly sat down next to Chris. "You awake?" Chris lay there with his eyes closed; suddenly he leaned over and nuzzled himself gently into Jakes body, "Barely." Gently stroking Chris' ear, Jake then lightly kissed him on the top of his head before pulling the throw rug over Chris to make him more comfortable. Suddenly he was joined on his right side by Boo Radley and on Chris' left by Fergus. Both made themselves comfortable around their owners before Jake stared out the window, watching Los Angeles slowly wake up. "Chris? You ready?" Jake asked as he made his way into the apartment. He sat down on the arm of the couch. He could hear a commotion coming from the bedroom. After a short time Chris finally appeared out of the bedroom, "I think so." He finished buttoning up the shirt he was wearing and headed over to the small blue gift box on dining table. Jake smiled with a proud smile on his face as he watched Chris carefully make his way to the table. He was wearing a dark brown button up shirt and a loose pair of jeans. He had long since taken the bandage around his head off, however he still had a large bruise. Jake finally stood up and made his way over to hug Chris for no reason, "After this shower, we could go get your car." He then kissed Chris lightly on the cheek, "If you're up to it later, we could even grab something to eat." Chris smiled and surrendered to Jakes intoxicating scent. "Sounds good, we should probably get going though." He swiftly picked up the small box and held it in his right hand. The couple then made their way out of the apartment and down to Jakes car, which was parked on the street. Jake unlocked the doors and Chris slid into the passenger side. Chris carefully buckled his seatbelt and waited for Jake to get in. Starting the engine, Jake slowly pulled out into the street and followed Chris' directions to the house. On the way, he turned the stereo up to a level that he could hear the music and talk with Chris at the same time. Chris slowly tapped his fingers on his knee, "What is this?" Jake quickly took his eyes off the road to look at Chris, "Rufus Wainwright. I love his music." "Oh okay, can't say I've ever listened to his music before." Chris nodded, "Not really my type of music." Jake chuckled at Chris' statement, "I suppose you either like it or you don't." He then returned his attention to the street in front of him. A while later they pulled up outside the house. There were quite a lot of other vehicles in the street, so Jake parked a short walk from the door. Jumping out, Chris and Jake then made their way towards the large house. Stepping towards the door, Chris pressed the doorbell and waited. "You okay?" He asked, as he noticed Jake standing nervously next to him. Jake slipped off his sunglasses, folded them and tucked them into his checked shirt. He then smiled and looked over at Chris, "A little worried. It's nothing really." "It will be fine, they're great people." Chris replied as he went to place his hand on Jakes shoulder. Suddenly he remembered they were outside. Trying to hide the movement, Chris knocked on the door. Almost immediately, the door swung open. There stood a woman in her early 60s with medium length brown hair. "Hi Mrs. Miller." Chris said as he stood in front of the woman. She immediately smothered Chris into a hug, "Enough with the Mrs. Miller, call me Silvia." After releasing Chris from her Chanel scented grip, she quickly surveyed his battered body. She then quickly looked over at Jake, "He hasn't been beating you has he?" Chris laughed and followed Silvia inside, with Jake quickly behind, "Not anymore than I'm used to." As the door closed, Chris softly took Jakes hand in his, "Actually, Jake has been a great help after the accident." He feeling of Chris' holding onto his hand in front of a stranger sent shiver up his spine. It was exhilarating, yet terrifying at the same time. "Oh the boys were telling me about that," Silvia continued, "It's good to see you're okay. Who do we have here? I know your face from somewhere." She asked as she surveyed Jake. Chris let go of Jakes hand, "Silvia, this is Jake. Jake, this is Wills mum, Silvia." Jake extended his hand to shake her hand, however was quickly brought into a smothering embrace. "It's nice to meet you Silvia." Letting Jake escape, Silvia continued to run through her mind of where she knew this man. "I swear I have seen your face somewhere?" Smiling, Chris proudly announced, "Silvia, you saw Zodiac didn't you?" Suddenly it dawned on her, "Oh my goodness, It's nice to meet you, I love your work." Jake shrugged and smiled, "It's nice to meet a fan." Silvia then began to lead them back towards the groups of people attending the party. She then excused herself to make more drinks. Looking around the room, Chris finally spotted Terry and Will with the baby. They were sitting on the couch surrounded by a group of people. "Hey guys." Chris said as he began to approach them, Jake closely in tow. Jake looked nervously around as people began looking at both him as well as his battered boyfriend, his attention was then drawn to the couple sitting on the couch. "Hey nice of you to show up," Terry said as he stood up to hug Chris. "Oh that looks so painful." He commented before looking over at Jake. He quickly nodded before listening to what Chris has to say. "It feels like someone's cracked a coconut on my head, but Jakey boy has been playing nurse with me." Chris replied in a soft tone, so as to not announce it to the room. Terry smiled, "I knew he would be good to you." He then looked over at Jake who was still looking nervously around the room with his large blue eyes. "Jake, I'd like you to meet Lila." Crouching down at the same time as Chris, Jake admired the infant, which was asleep in Will's arms. "She's adorable. She's the cutest thing I've ever seen." He then looked over at Chris, "Well, second cutest thing." Chris blushed and stood up, "I'm going to grab a drink and dump this on the table." Taking his place next to Will, Terry looked up and replied, "Okay, just look for Silvia, she's hovering around the bar." "Thanks," Chris laughed, "You coming Jake?" Sick of being looked at by the people in the room, Jake quickly followed Chris into the other room, finding Amy and Sarah camped out at the bar with Silvia filling her martini glass. Chris quickly dumped the small box on the table and walked up to hug Amy. "Hey you two." "Hey Chris, Hi Jake." Amy replied as she placed her glass on the bar top. "You're looking better. Did you want a drink?" Pointing at his head, Chris replied, "I guess I'll just have water. What about you Jake?" "I'll have the same." Jake replied as he slipped behind Amy. As Chris went to sit down, he was swiftly dragged into the next room by the martini bearing Silvia. "What's going on with this Jake boy?" She enquired as she took another sip. Keeping his voice low, Chris then explained, "I met him a couple of weeks ago, but we're kind of seeing each other." "Good for you Chris. He seems like a nice boy." She then downed the rest of her drink before popping the olive into her mouth, "Just don't get hurt like what happened with Daniel." "That was more of a mutual breakup." "Even so, you're probably just swept away at the moment; just don't let anything with Jake hurt you. You're a good kid." Silvia explained as she waved at a couple that had just entered the room. Chris nervously looked up to see Jake coming to rescue him from the drunken Spanish Inquisition. "I'll try." Jake reached his side and Chris excused himself. Walking with Chris towards the backyard, Jake asked, "What was all that about?" "The drunken ranting of a crazy woman." Chris joked. "She just doesn't want me to get hurt." "Well, I will try my hardest not to hurt you." Jake replied as he opened the door for Chris. They then headed into the garden for a while. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the guests of the party were finally summoned indoors for the grand unwrapping ceremony. They reveled in the various gifts for the baby, finally getting to the box Chris had placed on the table. "Who's this from?" Will asked as he picked it up and shook it lightly. Chris was leaning on a chair near the back of the crowd with Jake close behind as a means of support, incase he lost his balance. "I hope you like it!" he shouted. Slowly Will lifted the lid and sifted through the light pink colored tissue paper. He finally found a small silver rattle in the bottom of the box. Lifting it out carefully he admired it before reading the inscription, "Lila, may all your hopes and dreams come true. Chris and Jake." Jake quickly looked over at Chris. Blushing at the fact his inscription was just read out to the entire group, Chris sheepishly looked at Jake before explaining himself, "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that. I hope it's okay." Shrugging it off, "It's fine. I just didn't realize you wanted to have my name always associated with yours." Discretely Chris held Jakes hand while the rest of the gifts were examined. A while later the group had dispersed around the house once more. Jake and Chris were once more in the room with the bar talking with Amy and Sarah. Suddenly Terry entered the room with the crying infant. "I think she wants her godfather, Chris." Terry announced as he handed the baby to Chris. Immediately she stopped crying. "How about I take her for a walk?" Chris asked as he gently supported her head. Terry wheeled the stroller over towards them before responding, "I think she would love that." He then kissed his daughter on the forehead before excusing himself to find his mother-in-law. Chris carefully placed Lila in the stroller before looking at Jake, "You want to come with me?" "Sure," Jake replied as he placed his glass on the bench. He then helped Chris carefully maneuver out the front door and down the street. Squinting from the bright sunlight, Jake quickly shoved his sunglasses back on before walking by Chris' side. Chris was busy paying his attentions to the baby, before his daydream was interrupted by a bright flash out the corner of his eye. "What was that?" "Shit," Jake said as he quickly looked over to see a photographer on the far side of the street. "Just keep walking, don't acknowledge them." "How do you deal with it?" He asked. Continuing to look at the street ahead Jake explained, "Just go about your normal day I guess, if its not interesting then there's a chance it doesn't get published." "Fair enough." Chris said as he smiled lovingly at Jake and continued down towards a small park. They slowly followed a small tree lined path before a car alarm began to sound, setting Lila off. Quickly Chris picked her up and tried to console her. "Come on Lila. It's okay little girl." Chris softly cooed as he brought the young girl up into his arms. After a short time, she began to stop crying. "She's so adorable." Jake commented as he admired Chris holding the infant. He then lowered his voice making sure only Chris could hear him, "You'd be great father." "Aww," Chris replied as he placed the infant back in the stroller. He then slowly began to push it. "We should probably get back." The couple then slowly and quietly made their way back to the house, so as to not wake the infant up. After making their way inside Chris noticed the party was beginning to break up. Quietly wheeling the stroller towards Terry and Will, Chris announced that he was leaving. After also saying his goodbyes, Jake walked with Chris out of the house and back towards his car. He then unlocked the doors and jumped inside. "Thanks for coming Jake," Chris said as Jake pulled into the stream of traffic. "I really appreciate it." Jake smiled and placed his hand on Chris' leg, "It was sweet of you to include my name on that rattle." Chris smiled and rested his sore head softly on the headrest. He then closed his eyes as felt the motions of Jake maneuvering around the Los Angeles streets. A while later Jake had pulled into a parking spot outside the lab. Smoke damage was still clearly evident on the exterior of the structure. As he switched the engine off he looked over at Chris, "You want me to go in with you?" Chris pulled the latch of the door open and unbuckled his seatbelt, "I should be fine, do you want to meet me at my place, or your place or at the caf‚?" "Maybe my place, if you're feeling up to it?" Stepping out of the car, Chris held onto the door, "I'll give you a call when I get home okay?" "Sure, I'll be home. See you later cutie." Closing the door Chris smiled as Jake accelerated back into the street. He then turned and slowly made his way inside. He was immediately greeted by a guard who was preventing strangers from entering the building. "I'm just here to pick up my car. I think it's still in the garage." Chris said as he approached the bulky guard. The man picked up a clipboard full of names and looked at it, "Name?" "Salter, I work in the lab." Chris immediately slapped himself mentally for his stupidity. Not even looking up from the clipboard, the guard responded, "Obviously." He flicked through the pages and found Chris' name. "Go on through, there's some others in the garage." "Thanks," Chris replied as he then stepped over the shattered remains of the large glass door. He then crunched his way carefully down the smoke stained corridor, passing various labs, which were all missing windows. He then made his way through a large door that had been propped open. Stepping into the garage he saw a group of people standing around talking, slowly he approached them and spotted Lana, "Hey Guys." Lana looked up solemnly, "Hi Chris, you look like shit." "Thanks, so do you." Chris replied jokingly, he then looked around to see the rest of the group was looking equally as sad as Lana, "What's wrong?" "Evan died this morning." Chris' heart stopped for a moment, his eyes immediately focused on the ground near his feet, "How?" He began shaking as it finally sank in. Lana immediately dropped her professional fa‡ade and hugged Chris quickly, "Complications from the surgery he had after the accident. We haven't got much more info." "When's his funeral?" Looking over at the group, Lana replied, "Well you know he was a pretty private person, his funeral is family only I'm afraid." "Oh, okay." Chris replied as he put his hands in his pockets. "We are going to have a get together to remember him early next week if you want to come. We're going to discuss the lab situation." Chris nodded, "Give me the time and place and I'll be there. What's happening with the lab anyway?" Lana folded her arms and explained the situation, "We're shutting down for a few weeks while we relocate temporarily around the city. Everyone's going on paid leave, which won't affect your vacation times. Eventually the lab will reopen in a few months." Chris looked at his watch, "I guess I should be going now, I have a date. I'm sorry to hear about Evan." He then excused himself from the group of battered employees before making his way carefully into the bowels of the parking lot. He found his car in his usual parking spot, slightly dirty from the fire sprinklers that had ejected their contents over the entire complex. Unlocking the doors Chris sat in the drivers' seat and tapped his shoes together to remove traces of crushed glass from the soles. Closing the doors, Chris slumped his head onto the steering wheel and began to softly cry. --- 16 soonwat--- Hope you liked that little development, I thought it was cute, but eh, you be the judge. There's some interesting developments in the next few chapters, so stay tuned! I love hearing from you guys, but as I said in previous emails, I'm preeeetty sure MSN is screwing up. I'm still not getting all my emails. Try nevertheless, if I don't reply, I probably haven't received it! Feel free to drop me a line, via email or MSN. I can be contacted on both at chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com I love hearing from you guys! You're so cute! Anyway, I have a week off class, so I shall be around a bit more often to talk to you guys. Thanks for reading, Love you all. Chris.