Keep You Warm
Disclaimer: Sadly I own neither Saving Hope nor Daniel Gillies.
Pairing: Joel & Alex
Rating: T
Summary: Joel waits for Alex to return home during a winter storm.
Joel Goran stood in the kitchen and waited anxiously for his wife to return home from the hospital. Their three children were already in bed as the snow swirled outside. It was nearly midnight on a Tuesday in late December and a blizzard was looming.
Joel kept one eye on the television screen, with the sound off, where the news was being interrupted every few minutes with a weather report.
He dialed his wife's number again and it rang three times before it went to voicemail.
Again.
"Alex, love it's me. I know you're probably on your way home. But the storm's getting worse, and I just wanted to make sure that you're all right. I'll see you soon, Reid."
Joel hung up his phone and tried to stay calm as he waited for Alex.
He turned off the television and fell back onto the sofa, still holding his cell phone.
Every inch of ground was covered in a thick layer of white snow several inches deep.
The car door was open and snow blew inside swirling around Alex as she lay slumped over in the driver's seat.
She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead where it had struck the steering wheel.
The roads were icy and she'd lost control of the car and hit a tree.
She was disoriented from the impact and she reached for her cell phone, dialing the familiar number with clumsy fingers.
"Joel…" She whispered just before she lost consciousness.
Joel awoke with a start, calling out her name in the darkness, even as he dialed her number once more from their landline.
This time the call wouldn't even go through.
The weather must have knocked out the phone lines.
He looked on the coffee table for his cell phone only to realize that it was still in his hand.
He dialed her number for the third time that evening.
Voicemail.
Joel muttered a curse and hung up, dialing another familiar number.
"Zack, hey mate, it's Joel. Is Alex still there?"
"No, she left about an hour ago. She said she was headed home."
"She hasn't come home yet." Joel replied his voice low and filled with worry.
"It's probably the weather," Zack said trying to reassure him, "It was a madhouse in here tonight. I'm sure she'll be home soon."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. Just do me a favor and call me if you hear from her."
"Will do." Zack answered before he hung up.
Joel poured himself a drink with shaking hands and paced around the kitchen waiting for the phone to ring as the snow swirled and stuck to the windows and the wind howled from outside.
He was just about to go upstairs to check on the kids when he saw the tow truck turn down the end of the street toward the house.
The tow truck had Alex's car hooked up to the back of it.
The grey SUV's driver's side window and windshield were shattered and Joel could see their son Theo's baby seat in the back.
Joel threw on his coat and opened the door, the moment he saw his wife's silhouette as she stepped cautiously out of the front passenger seat of the tow truck, walking slowly toward the house.
"Reid, are you all right?" He said, meeting her as she came through the open front door.
"I got caught in the storm. I hit a patch of ice and ran into a tree…I had to call the tow truck and then my phone died. And the phone lines were down so I couldn't call you. I didn't have any cash on me. I had to charge seventy-five dollars on the credit card just to get home. They're going to take the car to the body shop as soon as the storm breaks. Are the kids already asleep? Joel, baby, I'm sorry…"
Joel stopped the rush of her anxious adrenaline fueled words with a long kiss before he repeated the question.
"Are you all right, Reid? He asked again, his voice insistent even as he fingers caressed the side of her face.
Her skin felt cold to the touch.
There was snow matted in her beautiful dark hair.
Her teeth were chattering slightly from the frigid temperature.
But she was here.
She was safe.
She was home.
Alex Reid.
His wife.
The love of his life.
The mother of his children.
She nodded, but he felt her body shaking as he wrapped his arms around her and assessed her for both visible and invisible injuries.
"I'm fine, Doctor Goran." She insisted leaning into his embrace, grateful for both her husband's closeness and his body heat as he shut the front door.
"Then why are you shaking, Doctor Reid?" Joel asked as he watched her take off her coat and boots, both of which were saturated with snow.
"Because I'm freezing." She replied through chattering teeth.
"Of course you are, love. And you're also bleeding. C'mere." He said, as he ushered her into the downstairs bathroom, with one hand against the small of her back.
He noticed the cut on her forehead that mirrored the one in his dream and it made him shiver.
"Joel, baby, what's wrong?" She asked, softly. Her breath against the shell of his ear as she stood beside him while he looked through the medicine cabinet for the first aid kit.
"I was just worried about you, Alex" He said, kissing her lips once more. "I'm just glad you're in one piece."
So am I." She replied, wincing slightly as he cleaned, disinfected, and bandaged her forehead with expert precision and pressing a kiss against her forehead for good measure
"I really am fine, Joel." Alex insisted, walking slowly out of the bathroom toward the stairs with her husband right behind her.
"Yes, ma'am you are." He agreed, holding her close as she trembled with cold.
"I'm just so cold," She said, softly.
Joel flashed her one of his trademark grins "Let me see what I can do about that, Reid." He said, just before he disappeared down the stairs.
A few minutes later, Joel came back upstairs with a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt, still warm from the dryer.
Alex had already stripped out of her wet clothes and he let out a low appreciative whistle at the view before him as he entered the bedroom.
She laughed, "Sorry, I don't feel very sexy right now."
Joel smiled again, meeting her gaze as he handed her the fresh clothes, "You're always sexy. Do you hear me, Alex Reid? He whispered in her ear as he climbed into bed beside her, and pulling her close.
She laid her head on his bare chest, whispering an apology even as she did so, "Sorry, I know my hair's wet."
The words ran together as she gave in to the force of her exhaustion.
He pressed a kiss into her damp hair, "It's all right, love. Get some rest."
"Joel, baby, I love you. I didn't mean to scare you tonight."
"It's all right Reid." He whispered, kissing her temple. "I love you, too."
She snuggled deeper into the covers and pulled Joel even closer, "I'll make it up to you."
"Alex, there's nothing to make up for," He insisted, brushing his fingers against the skin of her shoulder, down her arm, past her elbow to her wrist, "But I wouldn't say no to a dirty weekend."
She felt the curve of his smile as he pressed his mouth along her clavicle, her body still shaking with cold, but the shivers were also mingled with desire as Joel held her.
"Keep me warm tonight, and you're on, Doctor Goran."
"I'll keep you warm tonight and every night, Doctor Reid."
"Promise?" She asked, kissing the mole behind his ear as she whispered into it.
"Yes ma'am." He replied, drowsily as they both fell asleep.