Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:58:33 +0000
From: Chris Salter <chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com>
Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 29

Under age? Illegal? Offended by homosexuality? Leave, vacate and shoo!

Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal, nor do I claim to know his
sexuality, preferences or relationshop status. What he does is his
business, no one elses. This work is entirely fiction.


Chapter 29:


Finally finished with his paper work for the morning, Chris reveled in the
idea that he now had a short time to eat before the round trip to San
Diego. All in all it was going to take about 6 hours to get down there,
find the lab, get the paperwork filled out and head back to Long Beach. He
wasn't looking forward to the fact it would be nearly 11 by the time he got
home.

Finally able to log off the computer, Chris added the file to his box of
equipment and headed out of his office. Locking the door, he wandered his
way out of the dilapidated building and down the street. He wasn't going to
eat for a while, and he was desperate for food.

Locating the first fast-food store in sight, he made his way inside and
joined the long queue. Finally he approached the counter and placed his
order. "Uhhhhh, can I get a cheeseburger and a large coke?"

"That will be $3.85" The woman replied in a chipper tone.

Pulling out his wallet, Chris handed over the exact change and waited for
his meal.  Grabbing the tray, he then made his way to the first available
table and sat down. As he sat down, he felt his phone vibrating within his
pocket. Pulling it out to check the message he just received, he smiled as
he noticed it was from Jake.

"Thought I'd try and cheer you up! I love you! :)"

"Awww," Chris whispered as he began to punch in his reply to the
message. "I love you too, I wish you would be there when I got home. I'm
about to leave for San Diego." He then sent the message and placed it on
the tray next to his burger.

Taking another bite from the barely palatable burger, Chris smiled as
watched the mobile dancing across the tray once again. Picking it up again,
he read the next message.

"I do have to pack, but I will be there in spirit. Have a safe trip sexy!"

Finishing the burger, Chris quickly replied before grabbing his drink and
wandering back towards the lab. Grabbing the set of keys from the
receptionist, he then headed back to his office and grabbed the
files. Finally making his last trip, he headed into the main cold storage
room of the lab and pulled the blood samples and other evidence from the
freezer.

After signing the evidence out, he then made his way to the SUV on the
street and placed the containers in the back seat before jumping behind the
steering wheel and locking the doors. It was always important for Chris to
lock the doors of the car, as his own extra measure to maintain the chain
of custody.

Starting the engine, he jiggled with the gear stick and put the
transmission into drive before indicating and slowly pulling out into the
street.

"This is so fucking boring!" Chris screamed at himself, wishing he could
have brought his iPod with him.

Switching the radio on, he briefly flicked through the programmed stations,
while maintaining his eyes on the freeway ahead of him. Giving up, he
turned the volume up and settled for the music that was playing on the
station.

A while later he arrived at the exit he had been looking for. "Finally,"
Chris muttered as he indicated and began to slowly drive down the
offramp. Reaching the bottom of the ramp, he looked around for which way to
go. Unsure of which, he turned to the left and drove down the wide avenue
searching for the address he was looking for.

Pulling into a residential area, Chris realized he had gone too far, and
made a U-turn and headed back the way he came, passing the freeway once
more. It took another 5 minutes of searching; however, he finally found the
address.

Bringing the large SUV to a stop outside the building, Chris switched off
the engine and jumped out of the seat, before heading to the back door and
grabbing the container. He then closed the door and waddled his way towards
the large, reflective glass doors.

"Can I help you sir?" A young man asked as Chris entered the building.

Chris smiled as he looked the young man up and down, he was quite
attractive and enthusiastic. "Yeah, I'm Chris; I'm bringing down some
evidence to get tested."

"Oh you're from LA?" The man replied as he briefly put his hand on Chris'
back, pushing him in the right direction. "It's just down here," He then
shot Chris a pearly white smile; "I can show you where to go if you like."

"That'd be great!" Chris responded, shooting the young man a smile in
return.

As the man led Chris through the large foyer, he finally introduced
himself, "I'm Michael, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Chris." He replied as he continued to walk by
Michael's side.

Pulling a large black door open for Chris, Michael continued, "How is it up
there at the moment?"

Chris laughed, "Not that different to here I guess." He then followed
Michael's direction down a long corridor, "I'll be glad when I'm home
though. Don't think I will be home till about 11, which sucks."

"Not going home to a lonely house I hope!" Michael replied shyly.

Chris smiled and shrugged, "I think I am tonight, my boyfriend is off at
his own place tonight. He's packing to go away on business for a week or
so."

"That sucks," Michael admitted before pushing another door open for
Chris. "Why aren't you going with him?"

Getting absolutely lost in the building, Chris smiled nervously, "I dunno,
I'd be a bit of a third wheel. He will be pretty busy, and I don't want to
sit around the hotel waiting for him." He then looked over at Michael, "He
keeps his work life separate from home life actually, and I like that." He
couldn't believe he was opening up to this complete stranger, who exuded
trust.

"What does he do?" Michael asked. "If you don't mind me being nosey." He
then pulled the last door open and allowed Chris to pass.

Pausing for a moment, Chris wasn't sure whether to lie to the complete
stranger, tell the truth, or downplay Jakes status. Deciding on the last
one, Chris admitted, "Oh he's an actor or something, not that big really."

Michael smiled and stared at Chris, "That's pretty good." Grabbing another
person's attention, he finally continued, "Well, I'd better let you go."

"Thanks for your help Michael." Chris replied shyly.

"It was nice to meet you Chris," He then placed his hand gently on Chris'
shoulder. "I might see you around after."

Chris smiled at Michael as the woman finally came up to the desk he was
standing at.

"I think he likes you," The woman whispered as Michael bounced out of the
room and down the corridor. "I haven't seen him like that in a while."

Blushing from the woman's statement, Chris turned his head and watched
Michael walking down the corridor. Every few steps he would turn around and
look back the way he came. "He's kinda adorable." He admitted. "But I'm
seeing someone."

"Oh well, he still likes you. He's been through at lot; maybe say hi to him
on your way out." The woman replied. "Now, what can I help you with?"

Delving into the box, Chris grabbed out the case file. "I got some blood
samples that need to be tested, along with some evidence which needs to go
to trace." Handing the file to the woman, he enquired, "Sorry, I never got
your name."

"Trish," The woman replied with a smile as she brushed he long brown hair
out of her face. Examining the paperwork, she then reached into the box and
grabbed the blood samples.

"Nice to meet you Trish, I'm Chris." He watched as she carefully filled out
yet another form before throwing the samples into a small white box and
threw it onto a shelf next to her.

Grabbing another form, Trish quickly filled it in and looked at Chris,
"Come with me, I'll show you through to some of your coworkers."

Picking up the box, Chris followed Trish through another maze of corridors.

***** **** ***** ****** ********* ********* ******** ********** ********
***

About 2 hours later, Chris finally finished with his work at the lab. He
was on his way back through the maze when he literally ran into Michael,
who was roaming the corridors.

"Whoa, watch it there!" Michael exclaimed before he saw who it was. "Oh
sorry, I didn't see you."

Chris blushed, "My fault," He then stared into Michaels brown eyes, "I
guess I'm a little lost."

Smiling at Chris' lack of navigational skills in the building, Michael
finally spoke up, "I can show you out if you want."

"That'd be great, you've been such a help." Chris admitted.

"It's this way." Michael said softly as he pointed down the long corridor.

Following by Michael's side, Chris tried to keep up with his brisk
pace. "This place reminds me of the old lab."

"What the hell happened with that anyway?" Michael asked. "Were you
involved?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, I was near the blast actually," He then lightly
touched his head. "I ended up with a concussion and lots of scratches."

"Aw," Michael whispered. "Well you cleaned up well." He then slowed down
his pace, not wanting to get rid of Chris so soon. "Who was the miracle
worker that looked after you?"

Smiling shyly at Michael, Chris admitted, "Jake did. He's always been my
knight in shining armor." There was something about Michael that intrigued
Chris, it was obvious Michael was infatuated with him, and he didn't seem
to mind Chris talking about Jake.  "He apparently stayed with me the whole
time when I was in the emergency room, then after he didn't leave my side
for days."

"What do you mean, apparently?" Michael asked with a smirk as he pulled the
door open.

Chris laughed, "Well, I was pretty out of it." Deciding to explain the
story as he had been told, Chris continued, "As soon as he got out of the
airport he got to the hospital as fast as he could. Spent hours sitting on
my bed holding my hand." Chris blushed, "He kept kissing me too, which is
pretty surprising since he doesn't usually do public displays."

"That's cute." Michael whispered. "Do you live together?"

"Kind of." Chris said with a slightly confused tone. He wasn't exactly sure
what the living arrangements were with Jake. "Well we have our own places,
but lately he's been treating my place like home. I like the idea of living
with him," Chris smiled proudly, "In fact, I would love to get a place that
was just ours. But we're kind of new, I don't want to rush things, you
know?"

Pulling the large door open, Michael led Chris back out into the
foyer. "Sounds like you're the perfect couple!" He replied in a chipped
tone.

Grinning stupidly, Chris agreed, "Yeah, we are." He then looked into
Michael's eyes once more, "Sorry, I heard you had a thing for me."

Following Chris out into the dark street, Michael thanked his deity that it
was too dark for Chris to see him blush. "Maybe, but it's good to here you
love this Jake person." He then fished around in his pocket and pulled out
a business card. "Look, here's my number," He continued. "If you ever get
lost in the lab again, give me a call."

"Aw thanks." Chris replied. He then unlocked the SUV and grabbed his small
bag of personal items. "Jake will probably kill me, but if you're ever in
LA, give me a call, it'd be nice to get you know you."

Michael giggled, "That's cute."

Interrupting Michael, Chris explained, "I mean as friends. I love Jake to
death." He then closed the passenger door. "I'd better get going back to my
lonely apartment."

"It was nice to meet you Chris." Michael whispered as he extended his hand
to shake Chris'. "I hope you see Jake before he leaves town."

"Nice to meet you too." Chris replied, before he looked at Michael's dimly
lit face.  "Have a good night at work."

Moving his way around to the drivers' side, Chris opened the door and
jumped inside.  After turning the headlights on, he started the engine and
waved at Michael, who was still standing by the car. As he pulled out of
the parking spot, Chris made a U-turn and turned towards the freeway
onramp.

Glancing down at the clock, he noticed it was just after 8. Chris then
sighed and turned his attention back to the road. Quickly accelerating his
way onto the freeway, Chris fiddled with the radio stations again, trying
to find something to listen to.

Chris always liked driving at night. The dark sky mixed with the light of
the freeway and headlights always seemed soothing to him. Taking one hand
off the wheel, Chris rested his elbow on the window, and held his clenched
fist up to his face for something to lean on.

As he left the city limits of San Diego a song on the radio caught his
attention.

"Over the sea and far away She's waiting like an Iceberg Waiting to change,
But she's cold inside She wants to be like the water, All the muscles
tighten in her face Buries her soul in one embrace They're one and the same
Just like water Then the fire fades away But most of everyday Is full of
tired excuses But it's too hard to say I wish it were simple But we give up
easily You're close enough to see that You're.... the other side of the
world to me On comes the panic light Holding on with fingers and feelings
alike But the time has come To move along Then the fire fades away But most
of everyday Is full of tired excuses But it's too hard to say I wish it
were simple But we give up easily You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world Can you help me?  Can you let me go
And can you still love me When you can't see me anymore Then the fire fades
away most of everyday Is full of tired excuses But it's too hard to say I
wish it were simple But we give up easily You're close enough to see that
You're.... the other side of the world Ohh.... the other side of the world
You're.... the other side of the world To me."

"That's so adorable." Chris muttered to himself as he took notice of the
song title, as announced by the DJ.

About 30 minutes later, he passed a small town, as well as several gas
stations and fast food businesses. Spotting the various restaurants was
causing Chris' stomach to grumble loudly. He hadn't eaten in over 7 hours
and it was beginning to affect his judgment.

Pulling off the freeway into the parking lot of a diner, Chris switched the
engine and lights off before he jumped out and triple checked the car was
locked. He then waddled his way inside and took a seat in one of the booths
near the front.

Minutes later, the waitress strutted her way over to his table, "Good
evenin', what can I get you?"

Chris flicked through the menu cards trying to find something. Finally, he
settled on his order, "Uh yeah, can I get a small cheeseburger and a Coke?"

"Not a problem." The waitress replied before disappearing with his order.

Looking around, Chris admired the 50s design of the Diner. It was the
epitome of tackiness, but it was charming nonetheless. Listening to the
same radio station he had been listening to in the car, Chris listened to
the announcers' voice as he became captivated with the traffic speeding
down the freeway.

Promptly 10 minutes later, the waitress returned with his meal and placed
it on the table.

"Thank you!" Chris murmured as he took a sip from the drink, before he
picked up half of the burger and began to try and stick it into his mouth.

Barely able to consume the whole burger, Chris left the fries untouched
before taking a last sip from his drink and making his way over to the
cashier. Paying for the meal, he then headed back outdoors and towards the
SUV.

Jumping behind the wheel, Chris switched the headlights and engine on
before making his way back onto the freeway.

An hour or so later, Chris arrived back at the lab. Pulling the SUV up
outside, he locked the doors and made his way inside. As it was a 24 hour
lab, there were still a few people wandering about, so entering was not an
issue. Dumping the keys with the receptionist he then made his way to his
office dump the paperwork on the desk and pick up his own car keys.

"I'm fucking exhausted," Chris moaned as he let a small tear out the corner
of his eye. He hated having to work like this. All he wanted to do was
cuddle up next to Jake, but not even that was possible tonight.

Locking his office door, he then headed back out of the lab and into the
dimly lit parking lot. Getting behind the wheel of his car, he pressed
Start and waited for the engine to warm up.

Engine purring like normal, Chris switched gears and pulled out of the
parking lot, setting course for home. Unlike the trip to San Diego, this
journey was pleasant for several reasons, one being the lack of traffic,
another because he was on his way home.

As the clock switched over to 11, Chris pulled into his street. He slowly
navigated his way down towards his building and pulled up in the driveway.

After parking in his parking space, he noticed Jakes car indeed, was not
there. Letting out a small sigh, Chris slid out of the seat and waddled his
way up to the apartment. After stumbling with the key in the dimly lit lock
for several minutes, he finally pushed the door open, and was greeted by a
very dark and quiet house.

Switching the lights on, Chris noticed a small note on the side
table. Making his way over to it, he noticed it was from Jake. He picked it
up and read it.

"Sorry I couldn't be there cutie! I had a lot of stuff I had to catch up
on. But I do have a surprise for you in the study, I will see you
tomorrow. I love you. Jake. Xxxx"

Chris giggled as he read the last part of the message. He still couldn't
believe Jake Gyllenhaal was continually telling he loved him. Pulling his
shoes off, but leaving his socks on, Chris padded his way through the
apartment softly so he wouldn't wake the neighbors.

Opening the door of the office, Chris turned the light on he immediately
noticed there were several new photo frames hanging on the wall. "What's
this we got here?" Chris asked himself as he looked at the new photographs.

Some of the images were from his shoebox of photographs, all photographs of
himself.  Jumbled up in the sea of frames were also quite lot of images of
Jake in various poses with his friends and family. He then spotted various
frames with the same piece of text in them, "We need more photos together
Cutie!" which caused Chris to laugh.

Suddenly a few more images caught his attention, especially one distinct
image of him leaning his head on Jakes strong chest, obviously
asleep. "You've been a naughty boy, haven't you Jake." Chris muttered.

Secretly he loved the images, especially the last photo. However, he too
was in agreement that they needed to take some couple-like photos
together. Switching the lights off, he padded back into the living room,
switched the light off and headed into the bedroom.

Walking straight into the bathroom, Chris stripped all his clothing and
pulled on a pair of pajama pants before brushing his teeth and washing his
face. He then wandered out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

Approaching the bed, he noticed there was a large mount under the
covers. Carefully stepping towards the bed, Chris turned the light on and
smiled proudly. There facing him was Jake, who was sound asleep in his bed.

"That's so fucking sweet." Chris whispered as he pulled back the sheets and
poured himself inside. Leaning over, he kissed Jake on the cheek before
turning over so his back was facing Jakes.

Almost immediately, Jake wrapped his arm around Chris and pulled him
closer, "Welcome home baby." He murmured while still half asleep.

Chris melted into the feeling of love in Jakes arms and whispered in
return, "I didn't think you'd be here. I'm glad you are now."

Jake nuzzled himself into the back of Chris' head and murmured, "I love
you."

"I love you too." Chris replied as he shut his eyes.


---30 soon---

Okay, some of you know why I put this up earlier. I hope I won't be gone
long guys! I miss you all already!!!

Chris