A/N~ I'm sorry to keep you all waiting so long! That was horrible of me. Here is the final chapter of this short story. I appreciate all the support and excitement I have received throughout this story more than I can say. Thanks everybody!

Flying down the steps after Travis assured him he would take point on the rest of the case, Wes reached the ground floor in record time. Brushing off a few officers, he searched the crowd for Alex. Logically, he knew that coming out with SWAT, she was safe, but at the moment, he wasn't in the mood to be logical. To him, the divorce papers were just that - papers. To him, Alex was still his wife. And husbands weren't very logical when their wives were danger.

Wes caught Frankie's eye as he scanned the crowd, and though he knew he should go say something to the older man, he went to skip over him before he realized the woman tucked into his side, shielding her tears in his arm like she had done with him many a time. Pushing his way through the crowd of hostages and police officers, Wes ran to Alex. Frankie whispered something to her that made her look up and turn around while Wes was still a few steps away, and the moment she saw him, she threw herself into his arms, the first time in a long time.

Having her in his arms again felt like coming home. Holding Alex to him as tight as he could, Wes released his first deep breath since the car ride there. Taking a moment to just hold her and not think, Wes inhaled the jasmine smell of her hair, fondly remembering the day he had told her it was his favorite; she wore it everyday since. Those were happy days.

A jumble of words coming from her mouth led him to pull back from her just slightly enough that he could see her face.

". . . yelled 'officer down' and I thought," she hiccuped, "I thought you . . ." and she broke into more tears. In that minute, her worst nightmare, the one that drove them apart, was happening. The idea of Wes getting killed on the job made her almost physically ill - she loved him too much to sanely allow herself to picture it.

Immediately catching onto her train of thought, Wes began to fiercely wipe away her tears and tuck her into his chest again, enveloping her in his arms.

"I'm here, I'm here," he whispered into her ear, continuing to alternate between words of reassurance and small kisses to her temple. Alex's sobs started to even out, and her tears soon dissipated, but that didn't draw them apart. Both of them forgot, for just a moment, that they weren't divorced, that they hadn't lived together in over a year, that they each had tried to move on. Just like the night they soothed Hudson to sleep a few weeks ago, they fell back into their old life so easily, so comfortably, it was almost like nothing had happened to pull them apart, and they cherished it.

A new wave of commotion caused Wes to look up and see the medics wheel the wounded SWAT member out, and he shifted his body slightly to eliminate the risk of Alex seeing it. He wasn't too concerned about the guy, seeing as he was sitting up in the bed and arguing with one of the medics about the hit to his leg only being a minor graze.

Speaking of paramedics . . .

"Alex, lets go have someone take a look at the bruise," he said softly, but leaving no room for argument in his tone. He kicked himself for not doing that right away. It was probably nothing, but it could be something, and even though he shouldn't worry, he did. Because that's what good husbands do.

To his relief, she nodded, obviously not up for the emotional onslaught of a fight. To his even greater relief, she didn't completely let go of him as they walked over to an ambulance. Travis had Flannigan call in several - just in case - but thankfully, they only needed two, and the others were there merely as support. As a medic began assessing Alex's delicate cheek, Wes took a step back, though not far enough to have to drop her hand. He stood out of the way, trying to organize his thoughts, classify his feelings and the situation.

What had Travis told (yelled) at him just a few weeks ago in one of their sessions? You keep everything inside of you. The next recall made him physically cringe, the sharp pain the words inflicted still there. No wonder Alex left you.

No. That was all going to change - he could see this working out, doing it right, and he'd be damned if he messed it up again.

Gazing upon his (ex) wife as the medic applied some kind of cream to the cut beneath her eye and another handed her two small pills (for the swelling, he caught even in his daze), he told himself that he'd win her back again, that this time, she would fall in love with Detective Wes Mitchell instead of Wes Mitchell, JD.

/

Alex could feel his eyes on her as she told the medics what had happened to her face, and stood there, holding Wes' hand, as they began their work. She started to shift beneath his hard gaze, and looked everywhere but at him, holding back tears she prayed he didn't see.

I left him, she thought. No, I kicked him out, remembering the day that all she could see was red when he came home, four hours late without calling, and blowing off her concern. She remembered suddenly stopping her screams, and telling him with too much calm in her voice to leave. She didn't want to be his wife anymore.

I don't deserve this, she told herself as he squeezed her hand when she hissed because of the pain in her cheek.

"Ms. Mitchell, you're good to go." Absentmindedly thanking the paramedic, Alex finally turned to Wes. Immediately, he pulled her back into his arms, and she clung to him just as tightly.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into her ear, just like he would do when they were married, and again she felt herself calm down at the sound of his deep, low voice. She nodded her head in response, then thought better of it. It was time to put everything on the table. So she shook her head.

"No."

/

"Travis and Wes, you two have been exceptionally quiet this afternoon. I was at the least expecting some sort of response to Clyde's assessment of the new developments with his mother. Is there something weighing on you both?" Dr. Ryan asked with a slight tilt of her head. Right as Travis looked at Wes, Wes looked down, taking an immediate interest in his shoes. Without moving his eyes from the other man's profit, Travis elbowed his partner once, twice, three times before saying, "I guess I'll start."

"Excellent. Thank you, Travis." But he said nothing.

"Alex was a hostage in a robbery," Wes supplied after the lengthy silence. He took a deep breath and continued, pretending like it wasn't a big deal and that he was okay, wishfully thinking that they would believe him – or at least, not call his bluff.

"We got the call, went in, got everyone out and safe. Caught the guy, too. It was a win," he supplied, going back to finding tiny spots on his shoes.

"And how did you feel, while Alex was in danger," Dr. Ryan asked.

"How did I feel, what do you mean, how did I feel? Of course I was terrified." He was suddenly agitated now. "I watched as a guy held a gun to my wife's head, how would you feel?" The moment he said the words, he regretted it. Everyone was looking at him with those pitying eyes that came out each time Alex came up.

"Wes, Alex is no longer your wife," Dr. Ryan started tentatively.

"They sure did look the part yesterday," Travis said, still looking at his partner.

"Travis," Wes said warningly. The rest of the group shifted in their chairs, anxious to hear more. "Turns out she was just as worried something happened to me after we got her out as I was worried about her. We are," he coughed and tried to play it down. "We're having dinner tonight. Just to, you know, make sure we have all the details straight for the official report." Everyone chuckled, and Wes just rolled his eyes.

"What happened during the hostage negotiation?" Dr. Ryan asked, noting a slightly different interaction between the two cops.

Travis was about to respond when Wes cut in again. "Travis actually handled the whole thing. Talked to the suspects, coordinated the tech and SWAT teams, and organized the post-crisis affairs. I uh, I meant to tell you yesterday, but thank you." Travis grinned, not only at Wes' praise (or as much praise as Wes ever gave), but his embarrassment at showing generosity and being the one in need for once. Dr. Ryan smiled too.

"So Wes, has this situation proven to you that Travis is capable of handling serious situations, and perhaps in the future, you can allot more trust in his abilities?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh, Travis is capable alright. I just question if he would step up to the plate unless he absolutely needed to."

Dr. Ryan sighed and Travis rolled his eyes. "Baby steps, gentlemen."

/

Wes couldn't help but smirk when Alex opened up the door. Apparently, she had forgotten that in the five years they were married, he had caught onto what kind of clothes she wore when she wanted to look good without appearing like she tried too hard.

"Hi," she said, stepping to the side to let him in. He returned the sentiment and let himself in, putting the wine bottle he brought with him (her favorite) for dinner in the cooler like they always would. His ease around he house was unsettling right after the divorce, and to some extent was a bit awkward still, but at least he knew what to do. They stood in uncomfortable silence just looking at the other before they broke it at the same time.

"So, I -"

"Look, there's-"

"Let's sit outside," Wes offered after a pause. "It's nice outside."

"You just want to make sure I haven't completely destroyed your hard work in the yard," she joked, figuring the night would only be as awkward as they made it.

"No comment," he replied smirking. Settling on the love seat together watching the sun set was something they had done quite often as a married couple. It surprised both of the that their conversation flowed so easily. The elephant the room didn't make an appearance until Alex muffled a yawn and Wes realized how late it was. Making up some lame excuse to get going, he began to stand when a light tug on his arm brought him back down next to her.

"Wes, I -" she started, then paused. Her ex-husband waited in disbelief. Alex never struggled for words. For the most part, he didn't either (Travis' stupidity was the only thing that made him speechless), and communication between the two of them was easy. At the moment though, Alex seemed nervous, even a little afraid.

She couldn't help blushing slightly and dropping her eyes when he turned his body towards her, drawing in a breath that made his hard chest rise as he sized her up.

"Wes, I was terrified yesterday. Really, I was. Let me finish," she added raising her hands to signal him to hold onto whatever thought he was about to voice. "It reminded me of the reasons I couldn't stay married to you." Wes ducked his head. He braced himself for the crushing he berated himself for walking into. Her soft hands cupping his jaw were another surprise, but he couldn't meet her eyes and hear her tell him she still wanted to be separated.

"But I realized that no matter how much I try to hold you at arms length or how long we're not together, I'm always going to love my husband." He snapped his eyes up to see Alex's eyes watering, but a small - loving - smile on her lips and in her eyes. "I've hurt you so much, and I'm so sorry. So, so, sorry. I'm sorry I didn't realize that I'd rather have you with me and worry about you instead of worry alone. I mean, if you still love me too." The words had barely left her lips when his attacked hers. Alex was only thrown off guard for a second before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

"I still love you," he whispered against her lips when they finally broke apart. "I didn't stop, couldn't." She nodded, silencing him again.

"So, I guess I can stop paying rent on that hotel suite?" he asked playfully (and hopefully). She laughed.

"I'll fire that new handyman tomorrow morning," she replied.

"Make it tomorrow afternoon," Wes said as he pulled her against him.

A/N~ Ta da! Finished. Tell me what you think of the story - I LOVE reviews! Thanks for sticking with this story!

xoxo

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