Liam had done his best to let go of the Banks case. It comforted him to know that Chancellor was working on it and that he was doing all he could. It helped to have a new case, and he threw himself into it as usual. It was lunch now though, and Reagan had packed him a peanut butter and banana sandwich which was his favorite sandwich of all time. He'd long since learned to take a lunch break without obsessing over the case and he was in the conference room now, eating his sandwich and looking at the newspaper.

Since he had slept with Comfort, Chancellor hadn't been sleeping well. Between the hotel room and the case and knowing that there was still a chance that he wasn't going to be working for the FBI very much longer, he'd just been awake all night, obsessing over the case and over everything. For a while he'd worked at his desk, and he'd eaten lunch there, but he was having so much trouble keeping his eyes open that he got up to head to the conference room with plans to sleep on the sofa in there for a while. When he came in and saw Liam he stopped.

Liam took another bite of his sandwich, chewing it with deliberation. When he finally looked up and saw Chancellor, he didn't find it all that odd that the man was just standing there, but as he looked at him, something felt off. "Glad to see you still work here," he noted.

"Not for long, I'm sure." He went to the sofa, moving around the conference table to get there, and he laid down, his back to Liam. Chancellor was really too tall for the couch but he tucked his knees up a little bit so that he fit without having to hang his legs over the edge.

Since Chancellor wasn't looking at him, Liam could stare at him without feeling strange about it. He looked from head to toe, smiling a little at the fact that he was planning to sleep on the couch some more. "Does your hotel room not come with a bed? You know the offer still stands for you to stay at my place." He was almost sure Reagan wouldn't mind having a house guest.

"It does." Chancellor knew that he probably just needed to go back to the hotel and stay there until he could sleep but he didn't really feel up to it. The hotel still smelled like Comfort, even after the damn sheets had been changed, and all he could think about was that boy. "I don't think you'd like me staying with you."

The rustle of newspaper was heard as he turned the page. He wasn't really reading it now, but he wanted Chancellor to think he was still reading it, half-distracted. "Why wouldn't I? We have two spare bedrooms and one is clear at the other end of the house. I'd hardly have to deal with you at all." He knew that wasn't true; they always had the habit of running into each other even if there was an entire house in between them.

Chancellor said nothing, just stayed still on the couch. He had so much that he wanted to say, wanted to talk about. He'd talked to Mick briefly, she knew that he'd slept with Comfort. But he hadn't had the ability to tell her anything more and he didn't even know how to bring it up with Liam either. He was a complete mess right now but he was outwardly fine. Tired, but fine.

Liam was quiet for awhile, silenced by Chancellor's lack of response. But there was tension building in the room and he didn't know where it was coming from. "Did I ever tell you thank you for helping me find those kids?" And Reagan, him most of all, but he didn't want to mention that.

"You are welcome." Chancellor left it at that. He needed to go back to the hotel, he needed to just get the hell out of this place for a while, but he knew if he went there he'd never sleep. He'd just obsess. About Comfort and about his dead husband and god only knows what else.

"I haven't seen the Comfort kid," he said casually. He didn't afford him the respect of titles, especially not when he wasn't in the room. "Has he been harrassing you some more? Probably off digging up dirt on Meridian now." He had no clue the young investigator had gone back to the main office.

"Agent Comfort went back to Washington D.C." Chancellor said, though he knew that he was giong to have to elaborate now that he'd given that bit of information up. He didn't really want to get into it with Liam, he knew that they were likely going to fight.

Frowning, Liam actually set his paper down. "It's customary for the investigating party to let the lead agent know when the investigation is complete." He was annoyed that the kid hadn't even given him that. "Why did he go back to DC? Is it over?"

"It isn't, they are most likely going to assign another agent to the case once he's returned to the office. I'm sure his boss is already working on finding someone else to send here." He sighed softly and just closed his eyes, trying not to think too hard about what was going to happen next in their conversation and how he was going to take it.

Nowhere in Liam's mind existed the thought that perhaps Chancellor had slept with the agent and that's why he left. If he'd even considered that possibility, Liam certainly wouldn't have been laughing right then. "Really? So you did end up chasing him off." There was relief in Liam's voice, as if Chancellor had once again protected him from something terrible.

"Well that had been my original intention." Chancellor finally turned over onto his back and he turned his head to glance at Liam. He knew he wasn't going to like this next part. "He found out that I had all the case files so he came to the hotel to review everything and he saw pictures of Dory so he asked me to tell him about him and in return he'd tell me about something about himself. So I told him and then I asked him to tell me about the first time he fell in love or the first time he had had sex because I thought it would make him uncomfortable."

Just staring, Liam didn't say a word, the tension in his jaw growing so tight as Chancellor told the story that he wouldn't have been able to open his damn mouth even if he'd had something to say. Now the idea was there and he wasn't laughing anymore.

"He told me he'd never been with anyone before. Twenty-eight goddamn years old, blown up in afghanistan for his country, working for the FBI in a job that could really get him killed, even if he is IA. And he's never been with anyone. So I fucked him. I didn't even think about what that would mean for his job, which he's resigning from now, or for his life or anything." or what it would mean for Chancellor.

More staring. The silence grew and grew before Liam pushed his chair back from the table as if he was going to simply get up and leave. But no, that wouldn't be like him at all. "You fucked him because he was a year old veteran? You took his virginity off his hands just because? Just because it seemed like the patriotic thing to do? Are you fucking kidding me, Chancellor?"

Chancellor moved to sit up and he put his elbows on his knees and he leaned forward as he looked up at Liam. He knew he deserved an ass reaming but he also felt like he deserved to tell him all the reasons he did it. "No. I'm not kidding. I did it because he wanted it and so did I. Because I'm tired of being alone, and thinking about Dory all the time, and thinking about you and how if you hadn't picked alcohol over me I would have never had to meet him and I would have never had to lose him. And I was thinking about how fucking unfair it is that you have Reagan and that you're happy and yeah he was gone for a month and now he's a little bit broken, but you still have him. And after everything you put me through you have me and I have nothing." He got up. "So I fucked him because I was lonely and because I was sad and because I was so sick of missing you. And it just made me feel worse. Is that what you wanted to know, Liam? Is that a good enough answer as to why? "

Liam visibly winced, Chancellor's words making his stomach turn with guilt. There were too many things that Liam simply hadn't considered and there all of them were. It was so easy to be selfish with Chancellor, so ingrained into the way Liam operated and it wasn't fair to the other man. Very rarely did Liam not have the confidence to make eye contact and now was one of those times. He'd lowered his gaze, staring down at the table in front of him. "Yeah," he said quietly. "That's a good enough answer."

"I'm going home." He moved around the conference table but when he got to the door he turned around and came back. Unclipping his gun from the holster he had the clarity of thought to know it wasn't a good idea to go home with his gun when he was feeling like this. Chancellor took the clip out and laid each piece on the table in front of Liam before he turned to leave.

"You don't have to go," Liam said, alarmed by the fact that Chancellor had left his gun. It was good that the man had had the foresight to leave it, but the faint sense that he might use it was terrifying to Liam. "Don't leave. Don't go back and be alone. Just stay here in the conference room, Chancellor. I'm sorry. I can leave you alone and you can sleep, okay?"

"I'm tired, Liam. I'm tired of being in the hotel and I'm tired of being so exhausted all the time." and he was tired of being alone, and that was what he was going to be for the rest of his life, he was certain of it. "I'm just going to go sleep."

He looked at him hard, trying to discern Chancellor's real state and it was clear that he was telling the truth. "Okay," he said somewhat helplessly. He couldn't ask Chancellor to stay any longer. "Okay, I know you won't call if you need me, but I want you to."

Chancellor wanted to tell him not to worry about it, wanted to tell him goodbye and that he probably wouldn't get to see him again. But instead he just nodded and turned to leave the room. He took off his jacket as he walked out, loosened his tie. It was going to be a walk back to his hotel but he didn't mind.

Liam would call him later, go over to his hotel to check on him. He was still worried but he didn't think for one second that Chancellor thought they might not see each other again. He thought perhaps sleep would do the man good, if he could get it. Throwing away the rest of his sandwich, he headed back to work.
---------------------

The walk back to the hotel wasn't too bad. It was chilly out but Chancellor just let it soak into his bones. He figured it would be easier to fall asleep once he got back to the hotel if he was could and could wram up in bed.

Cooper could only imagine that Chancellor was at the BAU office, but he wasn't about to face the awkwardness of going to find him there. When he'd driven back to Quantico, it hadn't been as an investigator, it had been as someone recently unemployed. No part of him could justify going on at Internal Affairs after sleeping with Chancellor; he'd tried and failed. Now he was sitting and waiting outside of the man's hotel room door, knees hitched up, arms resting at his sides, head back and mouth open because he'd fallen asleep.

When Chancellor got back to the hotel and saw Cooper there he walked over to try and wake him up. He ran just the tip of his finger down the bridge of Comfort's nose. "Wake up, Cooper." Cooper because he knew that the boy liked to hear the sound of it. "You can't sleep out here."

"It's not impossible for me to sleep out here," he mumbled as he came to slowly. "But I suppose it's probably against building codes." He opened his eyes to see Chancellor standing over him and he wanted to reach up and drag him down. He'd tried very hard to be logical about this and realize that Chancellor probably hadn't slept with him for any more reason than he was horny at the time. But he'd had a hard time not thinking about him constantly and he just wanted to see him again. He got to his feet and concerned himself with pressing the crinkles out of his clothes from sitting there. "Can I come in?"

"Yes." Chancellor got his key out and let them into the room, holding the door open for Comfort to step inside. He had cleaned up all the case files the night before, though they were still sitting on the desk because he was still working on the case. "How did things go in Washington DC?"

As soon as they were inside, Comfort stepped closer to Chancellor, putting a hand on his back. "I know we didn't leave it on very good terms but I just--" his hand moved up to hook around Chancellor's shoulder and he moved to press his lips against the back of the man's neck. "I don't care if it doesn't mean more than what it is right now, I just want to feel you again." He purposefully did not even touch the question about DC.

Chancellor closed his eyes and he let his head dip down as Comfort pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. He wasn't sure he could get into it, even if he tried to. "Let's just lay down. I need to sleep." They could sleep for a while and maybe he'd be more in the mood after he'd relaxed for a while.

Cooper wasn't sure how to take that. "If you don't want to--I'll understand." He pulled back, wondering if this was just a nice way to reject him, but when he looked at Chancellor, really looked at him, he could see how tired he was. Still, he felt kind of stupid for driving all the way back there.

Chancellor turned to him and he put his hand on Cooper's hip to pull him a little closer. "Just lay down with me." Because if he left now Chancellor didn't know what he was going to do.

He felt his body go pliant. The idea of laying down next to Chancellor was a lot different than fucking him. Worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, Cooper nodded a little. "All right. I can do that."

"You don't have to." He wasn't going to force him to do anything that he didn't want to do. Letting go of Comfort's hip, he stripped out of his jacket and toed off his tennis shoes before crawling into the bed. He hadn't even taken his tie all the way off, it was just loosely knotted around his neck.

"I would like to," he said honestly but his voice was still full of trepidation. He took his own shoes off, the ones Chancellor had had him buy. He was dressed as casually as it got for him, slacks and a button-down. Even though he knew his pants would get unforgiveably wrinkled, he didn't take any clothes off. Instead, he went to the bed and gently started to unfasten Chancellor's tie. He slid it from around his neck and then went to hang it neatly over a chair. "Have you been sleeping?"

"No." Chancellor couldn't sleep, he hadn't been sleeping becuase of thinking about Comfort and about Liam and just a whole variety of things. "I just can't even think straight." he said softly. "Everything is hazy and it's just like walking around with gauze over my eyes.'

"I'm not on the case anymore, so if you want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you, please feel free." He unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his shirt and then laid down next to Chancellor, tentatively putting his hand on the man's stomach and scooting close to him.

"No, I don't want to talk about it." It had been hard enough telling Liam why he was so depressed but he didn't want to talk to Cooper about it either. ""I just need to think about this for a little while." And figure out what the hell he was doing with Cooper and what it meant that the kid was back.

So there they were, neither of them talking about it and Cooper thought he could handle that for now. "You're sure you want me to stay for a little while?" The man felt very good next to him. This was what he'd been thinking about since the moment he'd stormed out the door. He put his cheek on Chancellor's shoulder and the movement betrayed just how much he wanted to be there.

"Yes." Chancellor could tell that he wanted it, that he wanted to be there just as badly as Chancellor wanted him. Sliding one arm around him, he pulled him in closer so that their bodies were flush and then he closed his eyes.

For a little while, Comfort stayed awake, just trying to keep his body from shivering. He wasn't cold, he was just nervous. But eventually it subsided and he relaxed against the other man.

After a while he finally drifted off to sleep, his body so exhausted that he didn't have any other choice but to give in. He kept his arm around Cooper, his hand pressed against his back. But the sleep didn't stay peaceful, it started to get a little restless and he murmured to himself.

The murmuring woke him from his very light sleep, but he didn't try to wake Chancellor up just yet. He watched him curiously, trying to decipher if he was having a nightmare or not and if he should wake him.

Chancellor was shivering and he tucked his head down, his eyes closing a little bit tighter. "Don't." he muttered, the word clearer than the rest of them. "you drink too much." he was dreaming about Liam, about their life together before the alcohol.

Cooper wasn't sure what that meant specifically, but his heart went out to him and he kissed the top of his forehead gently. "It's all right," he muttered against his skin, trying to soothe him without actually waking him up.

From the kiss on the forehead he went quiet for a little while, his body settling as Cooper murmured against his skin. He liked that, that he was comforting him, even if he wasn't fully aware of what was happening. He murmured Liam's name but it was so quiet and so mumbled that it wasn't really something that could be made out.

Shifting closer to him, he sighed. "I'm pretty sure you can't hear me right now, but I can't believe you were right. It's infuriating that I feel this way about you. It's probably nothing, but it doesn't feel like nothing."

Chancellor shifted slightly and he wrapped his arm a little tighter around Comfort. Of course he didn't really raelize what he was doing because he was still mostly asleep. "stop drinking." he whispered to him.

"Who's drinking?" he asked softly. He liked the fact that Chancellor was squeezing him more tightly, but he got the distinct feeling that the man thought he was someone else right now.

"You are." he murmured. chancellor was holding him almost painfully tight at this point, as if he wanted to hurt him to make him realize the error of his ways. "stop it. you're ruining this. you are ruining everything."

"Agent Connelly," he said when the squeeze turned from nice to hurt. "Stop, I'm not drinking." He got lost in the moment, briefly taking on the role of this person in Chancellor's dream. He felt the urge to deny such accusations.

"yes you are." he loosened his grasp just a little bit, as if he was already prepared just to lose this battle. "all the time." he moved his hand away from his back and he started to turn over.

Cooper put a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from turning away. He didn't want Chancellor to turn his back on him--not like this anyway. "I won't drink if you don't want me to." He was talking more to himself now rather than to Chancellor. "If that's what you need."

"let me go, why can't you let me go?" he asked with a soft sigh and he tilted his head down so that his forehead was touching to cooper's. he settled down after that, drifting back off to sleep fairly easily.

This didn't seem like a dream about his husband, and so Cooper assumed that it was about Liam. While he'd known that the two had been a suspected item, he hadn't been aware that it had been so intense, or that Liam had had a drinking problem. Somehow, it had been kept clear of the bureau's records. When Chancellor settled, Cooper settled too.

Chancellor was still and quiet for about an hour before he woke. His eyes just opened slowly and his breathing evened out a little bit as he blinked and then turned onto his back to rub his eyes. He'd still been dreaming about Liam, something just as heated as before, but it hadn't come through the way the other had.

"You're awake," Cooper pointed out from his spot on the bed. He was sitting indian style at the foot of it, reading a magazine he'd found lying about. He'd woken up just a little while ago and had decided to leave Chancellor to his sleeping.

Chancellor rubbed his eyes and he looked down at the end of the bed at Comfort. "I'm awake." He hadn't gotten very much sleep and he was still exhausted, but he knew he didn't need to bother with trying again. He wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep.

"Have you ever considered taking sleeping pills?" The man obviously needed more rest. He'd also heard that sleeping pills made it more difficult to dream, which in Chancellor's case, he guessed would be a good thing.

"No, I haven't." He rubbed at his face a little more and just laid his head flat on the bed after he tugged the pillow out from under him. Chancellor tossed it onto the floor and he glanced back over at Comfort again. "There is a shrink at the bureau, I could probably get some from him."

"Maybe," Cooper said with a nod and glanced back down at the magazine. It wasn't all that compelling, but he needed something to look at other than Chancellor lying there. "Did Agent Montgomery drink? Is that why you're not together anymore?"

Okay. Now he was pretty sure that he must have been talking in his sleep or dreaming. "What did I say when I was asleep?" It had to have been something, he wasn't sure what though and he was kind of worried that it was really bad.

"You begged me to stop drinking and then you just gave up. I guess you could have meant your husband, but it just didn't seem like that. Liam is the only other person I knew that you've dated. I guess it could have been a parent or a friend. I shouldn't have assumed." He sat up a little straighter, feeling like he should defend himself, or at the very least explain himself.

Laying his head back down on the bed he closed his eyes and he stayed quiet. The last thing he wanted was to get into a long conversation about what had happened with Liam. Not when he was feeling so down today. "My relationship with Agent Montgomery was complicated and none of your business.'

"I don't think any of your life is my business really, but that won't stop me from asking." His voice had taken on a sharpness and he got up to put the magazine back in the exact place that he'd found it.

"Are you angry with me now?" He ran his hands over his face again as if he tried to make the whole situation go away with this action. As if he thought for once second that that would actually work. Honestly, he was pretty sure it was just going to get worse.

"I'm trying not to be anything with you right now," Comfort said honestly with a shrug. Not angry, not sad, not infatuated. He set the magazine down on the floor and then straightened up. Glancing at the case files, he felt the urge to look through them, but they were off limits now that he'd resigned.

"All right." Chancellor got up from the bed and he went for the bathroom. He disappeared behind the door long enough to wash his face and then he came out and put his shoes back on and he looked around for his tie and grabbed it off the back of the chair.

Cooper sat on the bed and watched him. "You're going back to work, I suspect," he said a bit stiffly. This hadn't gone how he'd expected and he wasn't sure if he was glad he'd come or not.

"No, I'm going out for a drink." Chancellor put his tie on and he tied it into place. "And then I'm going to go for a walk. Maybe not necessarily in that order." Especially not if he got so shit faced he couldnt' walk.

"You're going out for a drink when only an hour ago you were asking some mystery person to stop? Well that sounds like a great plan." Cooper sighed, running his finger through his hair with slight frustration before realizing that he'd messed up his hair and had to fix it again.

"Yep. That's exactly right. Because right now it's go out and get drunk or think of new and creative ways to fucking kill myself because I can't sleep and I can't be awake and I gave my fucking service pistol to Liam, so I'm going to go out and get drunk and hopefully I'll pass out and sleep the rest of the night and i don't care where, hopefully in some alley behind some dank bar in a pile of trash, because right now that seems like a better place to sleep than anywhere else in this town."

Cooper nodded and went to get his bag, digging around for the keys to his car. He felt like maybe he should go with him, but he didn't think he could stand much more of this.

Cooper being angry with him was just sort of the last straw. He'd been relieved to see the boy at his door but waking up like that and now this, he just didn't even know how to handle it. Part of him thought he should just go home. Back to his model cars and his loneliness.

Laughing a bit bitterly, Cooper shook his head. "You couldn't have just fucked me one more time, could you. It would have been so much easier." Another fuck and then it could have been over and Cooper could have gone off to work at Walmart or something. He slung his bag over his shoulder. "Well--are we going or not?"

"Is that what you want?" He asked him, turning to face him. "do you want me to fuck you and then that's it? Because if that's what you want then take off your pants. I'll fuck you right now and then you can go back on your merry little way. you don't have to go with me to get drunk, you don't have to hold my hand."

"Well, to be honest I thought you'd already fucked me and then that's it. The only reason we're talking now is because I had to come back for more." Not because of any desire to make contact on Chancellor's part. Deep down, Cooper knew that wasn't fair, the man was obviously going through some shit, but he was feeling a little selfish at the moment.

"Well then if that's what you want then I'll fuck you and I'll go get drunk. Or if you want a sloppy fuck you can wait until I get back. But I don't need you to hold my hand while I go and get drunk, kid. I'm an adult.'

Cooper threw his keys at him as hard as he could. It was the most childish outburst he'd ever had and he just felt stupid when the keys hit Chancellor in the chest and dropped away from him lamely. "Why don't you just tell me that I shouldn't have come?"

Chancellor looked down at the keys on the ground. "No. I'm not going to say that. Because when I saw you sitting on my doorstep it was the first good thing that has happened to me since I got here. And then I woke up and I was right back to where I was. So if you just came here for a fuck then I'll give you what you want and you can leave. Otherwise i don't know what to tell you."

He grit his teeth, jaw clenching. Stalking closer to the man, he bent down to pick his keys up and shoved them in his pocket. When he stood up, he was closer to Chancellor than he'd thought and he reached up to grab his tie. Tugging him down a little, he moved forward as if he was going to kiss him, but angled it to the corner of his mouth, something almost chaste. "I don't know what to tell you either."

Part of him wanted to shove Cooper back into the room and he wanted to fuck his brains out for one last hoorah. The other part of him wanted to just break down and cry. Instead he just leaned his head down, letting his forehead touch against Comfort's. "I'm sorry. I'm a mess, I'm a complete mess."

The gesture utterly broke his heart and his body leaned against Chancellor's. "Let me go with you. I'm not going to babysit you--I can't even imagine how one might try to do that."

"I don't want you to see me like that." Because he wanted to get too trashed to function and he didn't want Cooper watching while he did that, and he didn't want Cooper there for the things he might say.

Two steps forward, three back. "Then I'll leave you to it." He let go of Chancellor's tie, smoothing it down with his hand because god forbid he leave it crinkled. He just kept touching it, trying to press out any damage he'd done by holding onto it and then it was obvious he just didn't want to stop touching the other.

Chancellor just stood there, letting him touch him because it was clear that needed to be touching him. He leaned against the door jam, not touching Cooper but he wasn't pulling away from him.

He reached up to kiss him again, this time on the mouth, but even briefer than the last. "Okay, I'm going now." He didn't want to, but there was clearly nothing for him there right now or maybe ever. Heading down the hall, he disappeared down the stairs.
----------------

Chancellor never drank. Not since before Liam. And so it didn't take much for him to get wasted beyond belief. Shot after shot until he couldn't feel anything and couldn't even remember where he was. He stumbled out of the bar, looking around as he headed towards the hotel. By the time he got there he couldn't find his key so he just slid down and sat against the door in the hallway. He got his cell phone out to text Mick to ask if she could come and get him, but then he found Liam's number instead and he called him, planning to really let him have it.

Liam was picking up a late dinner, sitting in a drive thru line. When his phone rang and it was Chancellor, he thought maybe there had been a break in the case. Then he thought maybe the man was calling because he'd asked him to call if he needed help. That alarmed him and he picked up the phone. "What's going on?"

"Do you think that I did something to deserve this?" Chancellor asked, his voice slurring as he leaned his head back against the door. "Do you think that I did something at some point and this is why everything goes this way?"

The slur made Liam's blood run a few degrees colder. He knew the sound of that so fucking well even though it had been nearly a decade since he'd had a drink. He remembered the way his own voice sounded when he got to that blissful place of trashed. "Of course you didn't," Liam said softly.

Chancellor took a deep breath and he put his hand against his face as he sat there. "Comfort was here when I got back. He just wanted me to fuck him and he left. I should have just fucked him. But I didn't. Instead I was talking about you, fucking always talking about you."

"Nobody ever just wants you to fuck them, Chancellor. You know you get under people's skin." Liam said it with a touch of bitterness that he couldn't keep out of his voice. Not that he wanted Chancellor to be alone, but he sort of wanted to pretend that the man didn't have sex anymore. "What do you want from him?"

"I don't know." Chancellor didn't know what he wanted anymore. He didn't know what he wanted in his life. "I want Dory back." that was what he wanted. "I want you not to have been an alcoholic. That's what I want." He wanted the life he was supposed to have, not this one. Not the one he was stuck with. He knew in the morning he was going to regret this. Regret admitting anything at all.

"What do you want me to fucking say, Chancellor? I'm sorry. I can't say I'm sorry enough. And if Dory were alive I'm pretty sure he'd be apologizing for dying." In reality, dying was just about as controllable as being an alcoholic sometimes. He jumped when someone honked at him. The car in front of him had long since driven off and he was holding up the line. Scooting forward, he went back to the call. "Where are you?"

"I'm selfish." Chancellor said finally after a long moment and he put his head down against his hand. "I'm sorry." Calling was a mistake, feeling this way... it was just selfish. So he hung up the phone and tucked it back into his pocket and he sat there.

Liam just about threw the phone out the window with frustration. He hurried up and got his food and then drove to the hotel, hoping that Chancellor was there. It was just as likely a place as any and mayb the man had drug himself there.

Chancellor just stayed sitting against the door. He figured when he sobered up he would just head down to the front desk and get himself another key made and then sleep off what was left of what he assumed was going to be a horrific hangover in the room. If he could sleep. His knees were bent, arms resting on them, though he had one elbow bent up so he could lean his head against his hand.

With a flash of his badge, Liam had managed to get a key to Chancellor's room. If the man was there, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't let Liam inside, whether it be out of stubbornness or the fact that he was unconscious. But when he got upstairs and found the man leaning against the door, he was almost relieved. "Stand up," he said as he leaned forward and hooked his arms underneath Chancellor's arms to help hoist him temporarily to his feet.

Chancellor let out a grunt as he was hoisted up to his feet and the whole hallway was set spinning. He leaned back against the door, his head leaning back against it and he let his eyes close. "fuck." he muttered. "It's spinning. Everything is spinning."

"Lucky for me, I haven't eaten yet, so if you need to chuck, chuck." God knew Liam had puked enough times on Chancellor, and turnabout was fair play. He unlocked the door and helped the man inside, letting him use him as a crutch. Apt, Liam thought. When he got him inside, he let him flop down on the bed.

Chancellor dropped onto the bed and he turned over onto his side, pulling his knees up against him. He didn't bother taking his shoes off or trying to undo the tie. Right now he just wanted the room to go still again. "Go home, Liam. Leave me alone now."

Not listening to him, he set to work taking care of him. He went to the bathroom and got a cup of water. Sitting it on the bedside stand, he set to work getting Chancellor's shoes off. "Best hangover prevention is water. You're going to drink that as soon as I get you into your pajamas."

"Don't." Chancellor tried to pull his legs away from Liam, not wanting this. "Just get away from me. I don't want you anywhere near me. Your husband is waiting for you."

"Shut up, Chancellor." He said firmly and grabbed his leg more tightly, taking his shoes off. He'd called Reagan on the way home to let him know he'd be later than he'd expected. He'd been honest with him and told him it was Chancellor. Next, he leaned up to unfasten the man's tie because it would just be more comfortable.

Chancellor just tried to shove him off. The last thing he wanted was for Liam to be taking care of him while he was like this. "Seriously. Get off of me." He shoved at Liam's hands, trying to turn away from him as best he could.

"You're acting like a child. Stop. You did this for me a hundred times and there's no reason that I can't do it for you once. Will you just let someone help you?" He yanked at the man's tie, finally loosening it enough to get it off from around his neck.

"I did it for you because I was in love with you." The yank on the tie hurt his neck and he turned over away from Liam. "You don't owe me anything. I just want you to leave."

Unlike Cooper, Liam wasn't going to be easily deterred. "Yes, well, fight with me the entire way then." But he'd be damned if he was going to leave with Chancellor splayed out uncomfortably like this. "Scoot up," he ordered, hoisting the man higher on the bed so that he could sit up just a little, enough to drink the water.

Chancellor did not like being manhandled and he flailed as Liam tried to give him the water, knocking the plastic cup out of his hand and onto the floor. "I'm going to be sick." he scrambled out of the bed and for the bathroom.

With some dexterity, Liam avoided being knocked onto the floor by Chancellor's sudden scramble for the toilet. Instead, he turned and was wheeled down upon the bed. He supposed that getting some of the alcohol out of his system was going to be a good thing in the long run. While Chancellor was in there, Liam left to get a bucket of ice from the machine and a few bottles of water from vending. He took the key with him to be sure he could get back in.

Chancellor made it to the toilet before throwing up, which was a small miracle, because once he started he couldn't stop. He'd had far too much and his body just hadn't been equiped to handle it. The worst part was knowing that in the morning he was going to feel even worse.

Returning with some ice, Liam dipped dipped a towel in the cool depth before drawing it out and going inside the bathroom. "Feelin any better? Here's a cold washcloth." He haned it to the man to wipe his brow and mouth.

Chancellor took the cloth and he wiped his mouth off with it before laying his head back down against his arm. He closed his eyes and just tried to stay as calm as hecould because he knew the violent illness would probably be back if he moved. "No."

"You just wanted to forget everything for a night. For you, I'd say that's about shots. What'd you end up having?" He leaned casually against the counter, not looking directly at Chancellor, but keeping an eye on him.

"Ten." Chancellor muttered, his head still down. "And something called a something bomb." But he didn't know what kind of bomb it was, he just knew it had been bought for him by a girl at the end of the bar and he'd thanked her by drinking it in one go. That he was regretting now.

An impressive run. "Well, get as much out as you can and then replace it with water. I left a couple aspirin on the nightstand for you to take in the morning."

Chancellor heaved again, throwing up twice more before his stomach settled enough for him to sink back again, his butt on his heels. "I used to rub the back of your neck when you were getting sick? Do you remember? I did the same for Dory when he was going through chemo. It was the worst on nights when I had to work all day. I'd get home and he'd be fine and we'd go to bed and an hour later we'd be up, like this, all night. It's why I quit." He wiped his mouth again and then closed his eyes. "I just thought I'd come back when he got better."

Liam knew that even when Dory had been terminal, Chancellor had probably thought he would get better. He tried not to think back on it too much. "I remember surprisingly well for a drunk." Each time something came up, Liam looked away, feeling his own stomach churn with it.

"I just miss him so much." Chancellor had hoped until the last second that things would turn around. And when Dory had passed away he'd just sat there, holding his hand for as long as the nurses would let him. He'd spent so much time at the hospital in the last month that he hadn't even known what to do or where to go. He sat in the lobby for hours until one of the nurses called Liam to come and get him.

"I know," he said quietly and fought the urge to get down and rub Chancellor's back. Touching him was probably not what the man wanted right now, even if it was a comforting gesture.

He didn't cry. He'd cried so hard and for so long over Dory and over Liam and there was nothing left. Part of him thought that maybe he was going crazy becasue he couldn't make it happen. When he felt like he wasn't going to throw up anymore he wiped his mouth and got up to go to the sink. It was a slow process and he was shaky on his feet.

Liam did his best not to touch him, fearing that would set him off and this calm had been a direct result of just giving him a little space. But he watched him carefully in case he stumbled. When the man seemed stable, or at least propped well, Liam left to grab a water bottle but was back quickly.

Chancellor brushed his teeth. He was and always had been a terror when it came to dental care. He brushed his teeth and used mouth wash and then pushed away from the counter so that he could shuffle back to the bed. He wanted to lay down and forget about this night and all the nights before it, at least for a little while.

Liam was sitting on the bed when Chancellor came out of the bathroom. When the man laid down, he handed him the bottle of water and held onto his hand so he would keep hold of it. "Drink some, all right?"

Chancellor took the water but he didn't take the cap off or take a drink. Instead he just curled his knees up once he was laid out and he closed his eyes, completely settled. "I'll be fine."

Liam sighed. "You'll be hungover and feel like shit tomorrow. And you'll be a complete bear." Not like Liam hadn't had some of those days. Usually, he handled hangovers pretty well, given the fact that he'd been perpetually drunk. But when they hit, they'd hit hard.

"I don't care. Maybe I just won't come into work tomorrow." he'd been working literally everyday without a day off since he'd started the case over a month ago. Of course they both knew he was going to be there.

"If you wanted to take a couple days off, you know you could." He put his hand on Chancellor's shoulder briefly before running it down his arm. "Might help you to sort things out. Go fuck that kid again if that's what you want since he seems to want another go. We're not going to find Adam." He'd all but given up and the longer Reagan was back and safe, the less Liam obsessed over it.

The touch against his arm made his eyes close and he sighed softly, his heart aching as Liam touched him. "My heart hurts." he whispered to him. It was such a simple statement, he couldn't even keep it from coming out of his mouth.

Liam let his hand slip down so that he could lace his fingers with Chancellor's. He'd hoped that for the evening they'd moved past angry outbursts and the man wouldn't pull away from him. "I really wish I could make you happy somehow."

Chancellor held his hand, he didn't pull away. Instead he just closed his eyes and tried to remember what it was like before everything had turned into such a mess. "I don't think it's possible anymore."

"Don't say that. Dory would be crushed to hear you say that." Liam was crushed to hear it, but he didn't mention that part. His thumb moved comfortingly back and forth against the backside of Chancellor's hand. After a second or two of thought, Liam mustered up the courage to offer Chancellor some freedom. "If it hurts you to stay, you don't have to do it just because I asked."

"You want me there." He was going to stay, even if Liam offered to let him leave. Because he knew that if he didn't stay then he would really have nothing to live for and he'd probably end up dying sad and alone.

"I want you to be happy. Or at least not miserable. Being around me makes you miserable--I think it always has, just for awhile there it was worth the misery. But it's not anymore." He hated the idea that every seconds Chancellor was at the BAU, he was sad or angry about something.

"If I leave then I will go home and I will sit by the side of the pool or I'll sit in the house in my study, and I'll think about Dory, and I'll think about you, and I'll think about how useless it is to even still be around. And I would rather not do that."

Liam nodded. That was fair enough. Gently, he released Chancellor's hand and stood up. "I'm going to leave you to get some sleep." It wasn't going to be restful sleep due to the alcohol, but at least it meant Chancellor was going to be unconscious for awhile and wouldn't have to think.

Chancellor nodded but said nothign. He just let Liam's hand go and he stayed still, holding onto the bottle of water. Next time he'd remember that this was a terrible idea. Getting drunk solved nothing.

With one last look over his shoulder, he left the hotel room, making sure to leave the keycard on the table where Chancellor could find it since he'd lost his own.