Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:06:16 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: RE: How I Met Jake: Chapter 51 If you're underage, it's illegal, or homosexuality is offensive, leave now and play with a squirrel. Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal, this work is entirely fictional and does not align itself or allude to the actions of his private life. Chapter 51: He was freezing. Wishing he had brought more of his clothing with him, Chris wrapped himself up in his sweater and headed towards the closest clothing store. Making his way through the heavy glass door, he stumbled aimlessly through the store trying to find a jacket, or anything to fight the cold. Sorting through the various racks, he finally found a black jacket that seemed to suit him and made him look more athletic than he really was. Stuffing it under his arm, he made his way to the register. Complete with his purchase, Chris did away with the bag, instead deciding to wear the jacket straight out of the store. Now that he was comfortable and warm, he felt slightly safer despite the fact at the back of his mind was the notion that he was being watched everywhere he went, luckily not many people knew exactly where he had relocated. Making his way down the busy sidewalk, he kept his hands in his pockets. He felt more uneasy than usual surrounded by a large group of people, but deep down he knew the large crowd brought in a fair amount of anonymity. Reaching the crosswalk, he waited for the lights to change. Suddenly, he felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. Panicking, he began to turn around. "Going somewhere?" Setting his eyes on Maggie, Peter and Ramona, Chris smiled warmly as he hugged her tight. It was good to see them again, especially as he was already missing Jake. "I was just on my way to get something to eat," Chris replied. "What are you guys doing here?" "We were just at my parents place." Maggie whispered. "Have you seen Jake?" Chris nodded and leaned in closer, "I have, but I can't really talk about it here." Maggie smiled and looked Chris in the eye, "I understand." "We're actually on our way to see Danny." Peter interjected. "Do you want to join us?" Letting out a small chuckle, Chris nodded, "Sure, it's not like I have far to get home anyway." Turning away from the crosswalk, he started off back to his building with the trio in tow. The walk back to the building was a short one. He was still fairly unsure of most of the area, so he hadn't ventured far from home to do his shopping. Reaching the building, he bounced up the stairs and held the door open for the guests. Following Chris towards the elevator, Maggie decided to speak up again. "Do you like your apartment?" "It's okay." Chris sighed. "It's not really home, but it will do until I can get settled I guess." Holding the elevator door open, he allowed the others to join him in the enclosed space before selecting Danny's floor number. Once the doors closed, he continued. "I know where home is, but I can't have it yet." Maggie smiled gently and gently placed her hand on the back of Chris' head. "You really miss him, don't you?" "So much so, it hurts." Chris replied shyly. As the elevator doors opened, he headed out of the enclosed space first so he could try to hide his tearing eyes. "Did Danny say he'd be home, or were you just planning on breaking into his apartment?" Peter chuckled as he took Ramona from Maggie's tiring arms. "He said he'd be home. He said something about giving you some space, whatever that means." "Oh, okay." Chris whispered as he fumbled around his pocket for the spare key. Pushing the door open, he spotted Danny lying on the couch, fast asleep. Walking softly over to him, he sat down on the couch and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "Hey, wake up sleepyhead." Slowly opening his eyes, Danny smiled at Chris. "Hey," Danny whispered before noticing they weren't alone. Continuing to keep a low voice, he enquired, "Everything okay?" Chris nodded gently as he continued to stare at Danny. "Everything's fine, I just ran into these two on the street, apparently they were on their way to see you." "Do they know?" Danny asked as he sat up. Shaking his head, Chris explained, "Not yet, I was just about to tell them though." "Tell us what?" Maggie asked as she sat down next to Chris on the coffee table in a playfully eager manner. "What are you keeping from us?" Chris smiled proudly as he looked her in the eye. She was obviously happy to have him in her life, he trusted her, and she obviously trusted him. Finally, he decided to spill the secret. "Jake was here yesterday." "And this morning." Danny interrupted. "Oh?" Maggie enquired, "That mean you're back together?" Blushing profusely, Chris smiled. "It's complicated," He continued. "He explained his actions, and I trust him." "What does that mean?" Maggie asked, genuinely confused. "Are you back together?" "In a way." Chris continued, "It's hard to explain really." Sitting down next to Danny, Peter shot Chris a confused expression. "What happened?" Chris sighed and began to explain the situation, "We fixed everything, but there's more to it." "What is it?" Maggie enquired. "What's wrong?" "Well," Chris explained, "Some people are out to get me actually." Noticing he was beginning to tremble, Danny quickly wrapped his hands around Chris'. "Someone has been following me around, taking photos and they're planning to blackmail me," Letting out another sigh, he continued. "Basically they're trying to get money out of me to stop them from releasing all this crap to the press, my relationship with Jake, my dirty laundry, everything." Wrapping her arm around Chris, Maggie kissed him on the cheek. "I'm so sorry Chris, I didn't realize things were like that." "Neither did I." Chris replied distantly. There was a certain amount of hurt and pain in his voice, the feelings were obviously getting to him. "Until this shit is sorted out, we're just going to be more secretive I guess." He continued, "You guys are the only ones who know we're back together right now." Letting out a deep sigh, he grasped Danny's hands stronger and explained, "I just want this over with." "It will work out." Danny whispered as he pulled Chris over onto the couch, wrapping his strong arm around him. "We're all here for you." Maggie nodded, "We're not going to let this destroy you." Placing her knee on his knee, she smiled warmly. "We care about you too much." Chris smiled with pride, he felt completely accepted by the trio. He knew Danny would always be there to look after him, and vice versa, but he wasn't sure about Maggie and Peter until that moment. He felt like he was part of the family. "We're glad you're here actually." Peter whispered as he looked over to Maggie. "We're going out to the vineyard this weekend." "You want me to house sit?" Chris enquired. He wasn't sure he could handle being stuck in Brooklyn on his own, away from Danny. Despite the fact they weren't together, he felt the need to be close to him at all times. Maggie laughed deeply before looking back at Chris. "No you idiot, we want you two to come out with us." Trying to judge Chris' reaction, she continued. "It might help you take your mind off things for a while, and it's a great place to relax." "Oh." Chris replied. "In that case I'd love to come, thanks for inviting me." Wrapping his arm back around Chris, Danny pulled him tight and rested his head lightly against his, "I can't wait. But what about.." He was suddenly interrupted by Chris' phone chiming in his pocket. "Sorry," Chris apologized as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. By matter of instinct, he connected the call before checking to see who was actually calling. "Chris Salter speaking." Watching Chris suddenly stand up and walk away from the group, Danny wondered whom it was that was actually calling. From the look on his face, he could tell it wasn't Jake, or Sarah. Something was definitely up. Staring blankly out the large window, Chris let out a deep sigh. "Look, I just want this to be kept quiet. What do you want?" He could feel a few tears crawling down his cheek. He hated feeling out of control, and most of all he hated the fact his private life was under threat. Although he loved Jake with all his heart, he was partly feeling responsible. If he had never been so friendly to Jake back at the crime lab, then Jake would never have fallen for him, which in turn would have resulted in Chris' private life remaining private. "You know what I want, in exchange for this; I'm going to need some kind of financial payment." Trembling out of control, Chris leaned his head against the window and cried silently. "What will happen if I don't comply?" The line was silent for a moment, causing Chris to believe they had actually ended the call. Suddenly they spoke up again. "These pictures I have are cute, I really like the way Jake is holding you like that," The voice continued, "I'm sure the media would think it's absolutely adorable....." "Alright!" Chris yelled slightly more audible than he should have. "I'll fucking play, I don't want to hurt Jake, I can't keep hurting him like this, what do want me to do?" "I'll be in touch." With that, the caller ended the conversation, leaving Chris with the unpleasant sound of the line beeping. "Hey." Danny whispered as he wrapped his arm around Chris. "What's wrong?" Collapsing out of Danny's arms, Chris fell to the ground and leaned against the glass. "It's begun." He mumbled solemnly as he watched the rest of the guests jump up from the couch and head over to him. "That was the guy who's out to get me." Danny looked nervously over at Maggie before kneeling down on the ground beside Chris. "What did he want?" "Money." Chris replied. "Money in exchange for silence," He continued nervously, "I don't think it will stop there either." Unfolding her arms, Maggie took a seat next to Chris, "He needs to be stopped." She explained, "If he can get you to give him money in exchange for silence, there's nothing to stop him from doing it again." "I know." Chris sighed. He felt completely helpless, but he knew the only way for this whole situation to end was to remove the threat of extortion from the field. "He said he'd call next week to tell me how much money he's demanding." Nervously looking over at Danny, he felt his lip trembling slightly, "I need help." "We're here for you man." Peter replied eagerly. "Jake is too, I'm sure he's doing all that he can to end this." ******* ***************************** *********************** *********** "Exactly what are we looking for?" Reese asked as she began searching through endless piles of boxes. Throwing the box he'd been looking through onto the floor, Jake let out a deep sigh and rested his hands on his hips. "I know he's got an address book in here somewhere, I saw it when I was searching through his place before." Opening another box, Reese began flicking through some various books and photographs, "You sure he didn't take it with him?" "He hasn't been back." Jake replied softly. Kneeling down on the ground, he pulled open a slightly larger box. Thumbing his way through, he eventually stumbled across the phone along with a small black book. "Got it!" "Oh thank god!" Reese replied in a relieved tone. She was getting sick of invading Chris' privacy. She'd seen too much of his private life in the boxes she'd been going through. "What are you going to do now?" Flicking through the various pages, he finally found the name he was looking for. Smiling weakly, he looked over at Reese. "I think we can leave now." Tucking the small black book into his back pocket, he headed towards the door. "Okay," Reese replied. "We can go back to my place, then grab the kids." Laughing to himself, Jake indicated for her to head out the apartment first. He still loved the apartment and it was a complete shame that soon he'd have absolutely nothing to do with it anymore. Every time he saw the area where the couch and coffee table once were, he felt warm inside as he recalled the first time he kissed Chris. Sighing, he headed out the front door, locking it behind him. "Now I'm all yours, in my gorilla like glory." "A very cute gorilla." Reese replied as she headed down the stairs. "They're going to absolutely love you." Once back onto the street, Jake jumped into the passengers seat and buckled his seatbelt. Once Reese jumped behind the wheel, he let out another sigh. "I just wish Chris was here." -Visit http://groups.msn.com/HowIMetJakeCafe for the rest of the chapters.- Things are moving in the world of HIMJ, hooray! Okay, I don't know what I meant by that, but it sounded profound. I love all the feedback I've been getting lately regarding the question I put forward to the group, your theories are interesting! Love hearing from you all as always, it's great talking to you all. Chris