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Chris moved his eyes from the kissing couples outside to the guy that just sat right before him. He looked… sad. He was young, younger than him, with dark hair and bright eyes, that were full of tears. The man looked devastated.
“Are you okay?” Chris asked quietly, not wanting to bring people’s attention on them. The man chuckled and his lips stretched in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Chris thought that he had never seen a more broken man and he had a few missions behind his back. He’d seen a lot of broken people in his days.
“No.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Chris bit his lower lip as soon as the words left his mouth. It was obvious that the man was really upset; he probably didn’t want to talk to a stranger about his personal problems.
“I… I don’t want to upset you." The man said quietly and Chris almost laughed at the words.
“I’m going on a secret military mission for an unknown amount of time. I had to leave my three year old daughter with my sister, and she’s not very good with kids. I’m going to a really dangerous place and I don’t even know if I’m gonna come back, if I’ll even see my daughter again.” The man’s eyes widened and Chris shook his head. “I'm already pretty upset.”
“It’s… It’s my older sister. She… There was an accident and she…” Taking a deep breath, the guy clenched his fists, trying to stop their shaking. “She’s dead. Her husband, his brother and two of their children. Gone.” Chris gasped quietly as a fresh wave of tears hit the man. “The worst thing? The youngest ones saw it. They were there, in the house, listening to their parents burn. Christ, Cora is only five months old. She’ll not even remember Talia.” The man’s voice quivered and Chris quickly sat right next to him, pulling him closer. After a few seconds the man buried his face in Chris’s neck as his body started shaking. The soldier spend the next few minutes whispering quiet, reassuring words in the guy’s ear and once the train started moving the man started relaxing again.
“I’m sorry. It’s just been a rough day.”
“It’s okay. I was way worse when my wife passed away.” Nodding, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. “You’re going to take care of the kids?”
“Yeah. I’m the only one they have left. And I know nothing about children. I just graduated from college and I am so not ready for this.” Chris chuckled and squeezed his shoulder.
“No one really is. Take me for an example. I was overseas during my wife’s pregnancy. I took five different books with me to try and prepare for what was waiting for me when I came back. But the one thing that books don’t prepare you for is what to do if your wife dies right after giving birth.” The young man’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Oh, I am so sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend. The worst thing is that she’ll never see Ally grow up. She didn’t saw her first steps or heard her first words. She'll miss all of the milestones, you know? And it kills me that Ally will not remember Vic, but that’s life, right?”
“Yeah. It’s still unfair, though. Your daughter didn’t do anything wrong to never get to meet her mother. Laura, Derek and Cora did nothing wrong to have their parents and family taken away from them. It’s not fair.” Humming quietly, Chris agreed with him. They spend the next few minutes silently staring through the windows before the man started talking again.
“So, captain Argent, a three year old, huh? Is it true? Are you really exhausted all the time?”
“Oh, yeah.” The soldier chuckled loudly. “But it’s worth it. So, so worth it.”
“I just… I just hope I don’t screw something up.”
“Hey, screwing up every now and then it’s a part of the whole deal. But I’m sure you’ll do great. I can tell you really love them and that’s the most important thing.”
Smiling, the man nodded and started asking Chris some random kid-related things, making small talk. They soon started talking about their lives. Chris found that Peter (his names was Peter) just graduated on top of his class from a law school and was supposed to start working next month, but his boss let him take some time off. He found out that Laura is a six year old know-it-all that loved chocolate way too much for her mother’s liking. Derek, the only boy, was two and a half, and every time Peter had visited them he glued himself to his uncle, trying to escape all the girls that surrounded him. Cora, the youngest one, was only five months old and Chris felt his heart clench at the pain in Peter’s voice when he talked about the baby.
“So, secret missions, huh? Is it hard?” Peter tried to change the subject when he felt the tears burn in his eyes.
“It ain't easy. It’s hard to be away from your loved ones and it’s even harder to leave them behind. And the places we go are not exactly like a trip to the spa. But you get used to it. I’ve been doing this for eleven years now. I’m just glad that this is my last is mission.”
Peter lifted his eyebrows in surprise and smiled widely.
“That’s great! You’ll get to spend time with your daughter.” Chris nodded but his eyes stayed serious. Peter’s smile fell of his face. “You’re afraid that something’s gonna happen to you?” Instead of answering, Chris pulled out the chain that hung around his neck until it was all out. “Is that…” Peter started, his eyes wide. “Is that a bullet?”
“Yeah. They got it out right out of here.” Chris pointed right next to his heart and Peter gasped. “It was my first mission after Allison was born. I wasn’t careful, I was constantly thinking about her and how I had abandoned her and they got me. The doc said they were sure I was a goner. But I didn’t gave up because I knew that back in L. A. there was this little girl that was waiting for me.” Chris looked at the bullet for a few seconds and then shook his head. “You know what, I’ve been saving this to remind me that no matter how bad things are they can always be worse. But I don’t think I need it anymore.” Lifting his hands, Chris gently hang the thin chain around Peter’s neck and smiled tightly. “I know it’s bad, and I know it hurts. But those little kids need you. They need their uncle. And I think you need them too.” The words barely left his mouth when Peter closed the distance between them, lips touching lips in a chaste kiss.
“Thank you, Christopher.” Looking around, Peter saw that they were reaching his stop. “I hope you come back safe and sound. I hope that you’ll get to spend the rest of your life with your daughter by your side.”
“And I hope that everything’s gonna be alright with the kids. I hope you find a way to manage it all.” Chris leaned in and kissed the younger man again. He watched after him as Peter got off the train. He waved at him when he turned around to look at him one last time.
“I hope I get to see you again, Peter Hale.”
10 months later
Chris almost laughed as he saw Peter on the Beacon Hills train station. He knew it. He knew that he’d see him again. He just didn’t think that it’d be before he even saw his own daughter. Chris smiled as he looked at the younger man. Little Cora was in his arms, messing up his hair with both of her small hands. Laura and Derek walked right in front of him, holding hands tightly. They looked like a family. Standing up, Chris looked at the door, hoping that the Hale bunch will walk through it.
“Hey, Peter!” He said loudly as soon as they walked in. Peter lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
“Christopher?” Laura and Derek, who looked curiously at Chris when they heard him call for their uncle, looked at Peter and smirked. Running of to Chris, hands still tightly intertwined, they stopped right in front of him and looked him from head to toe.
“So you’re the Christopher uncle Pete always talks about.” Laura said thoughtfully and looked at him again. “You really are pretty.” Chris lifted his eyebrows and turned around to look at Peter, who had just caught up with the kids, only hearing the last word Laura said. Cheeks reddening, Peter opened his mouth to scowl at his niece but Derek spoke first.
“Yes, yes, he weally is pwetty, but look at him, Lauwa. He is a sowdier.” The boy’s eyes widened with excitement as he looked closely at the man’s uniform. “A real sowdier.”
“Alright, alright, you two. Please sit down. The train is about to go.” Peter pleaded and the kids listened to him. Laura helped Derek get on the seat across from Chris and then she sat right next to him, thus meaning that Peter had to sit right next to Chris.
“It’s over then? You’re back for good?” He asked quietly and Chris nodded
“Yes. And I can’t wait to get to L.A. and see my girl. I can’t believe I saw you before her.”
“Eat. Eat. Eat.” Cora started cooing from Peter’s lap, getting everyone’s attention to her.
“Okay, baby girl. Laura, please get out the bottle.” Laura got the food out and passed it to her uncle. Peter started feeding the baby and few minutes later he passed the empty bottle to Derek and picked up the diaper bag. “Kids, I need you to listen to me very carefully. I’m going to the restroom to change Cora’s diaper. I need you two to stay here with Chris and not cause any trouble for a couple of minutes, okay?
“We will be good, uncle Peter.” Derek looked at his uncle with his best smile and Chris felt his heart melt a bit. The little boy looked at his uncle with so much love in his eyes. It was obvious that Peter had found a way to make things work and he was happy for him.
“Mr. Chris?” Laura spoke up as soon as Peter walked through the door. “Can I ask you a question?” Chris nodded and the kids exchanged a secretive look. “Do you like our uncle? Because it looks like you do.”
“It does?” The soldier asked trying to keep his voice even. Because he does. He does like Peter. For the past ten months his thoughts turned to that day way more than what he was sure was normal. He sometimes caught himself daydreaming about the two small kisses they exchanged and how nice and soft Peter’s lips felt against his. It was weird because Chris had never felt something like this before.
“Yeah. Uncle Peter carries the thing you gave him all the time. And when he speaks about you… He looks the same way you did when you called us over.
“You know what, Laura. You are a very smart and observant girl.” Laura smiled widely at him, showing her missing tooth.
“So that means I’m right?”
“Right about what?” Peter asked as he sat down next to Chris.
“He likes you too, uncle Peter." The younger man stilled, eyes widening with horror. "And now that we all know that you two really like each other I have another question. Can I be the flower girl when you get married?"
"Laura!" Peter gasped with an unusually high voice. "We are not getting married."
"Why not? You said that when two people really like each other they get married and become a family."
"It's... It's a lot more complicated than that, sweetie." The young girl frowned with confusion and Peter sighed. "Before people get married they go on dates - they go to see a movie, or walk around the park or go to expensive restaurants. The spend a lot of time together and if they really love each other, they decide to get married and become a family."
"That really does sound complicated." The girl stated and looked through the glass, a hilariously thoughtful look on her face. Turning towards Chris, Peter felt his cheeks warm up again as he met the soldiers amused eyes.
"I'm really sorry." He said with a quiet voice, careful to not let the kids hear him. "Laura's just gotten into that stage where she questions everything and everyone. It can get annoying really fast but I just try to explain things to her the best way I can. Again, I'm sorry if she made you feel uncomfortable."
"It's okay. I see you have found a way to work things around."
"Yeah. It took me awhile but I finally figured things out. Laura got accepted into one of the best schools in L.A. and I found a nanny for Derek and Cora which means that I can get back to work next week. I'm lucky that my boss knew Talia - if he wasn't an old family friend things would've been a lot harder."
"You're moving to L.A.?" The soldier asked surprised and Peter nodded. "Well, how about we go to the movies sometime? Or to the park? I'm sure Allison will really like the kids. And you." Peter blushed even harder as he nodded.
On the seat across them, Laura was already recruiting Derek into her wedding plans, declaring that the boy will be perfect for a ring bearer.
(She was right. Two years later she, Allison and Cora walked down the aisle in matching pink dresses, hand clutched together, followed by a slightly annoyed Derek in a tux. Twenty minutes later Chris and Peter were married and they all became one big family.)