One Year Later

The warmth from the rising sun shone into the little hotel room. Jess moaned, still sleeping, and automatically pulled the sheet up over her head, cuddling down in the pillow. Don gazed at her from where he sat on the edge of the bed. The sun hadn't woken him; he had been up for hours: watching her sleep and thinking.

Today was May 20th.

Don sighed; a whole year had passed since he had carried her wounded body out of the diner, had been covered in her blood, had waited and paced in the hospital for news, had taken another man's life (without cause), and watched her come back to him. The year had been a rocky one. He struggled with killing Simon Cade in cold blood. There was no other way to put it. Yes, Cade shot her; could off easily killed her with the desert eagle. And when Don saw it lying next to him in that basement, there was never another decision to make. Danny, Jess, and Mac could all tell him he was justified doing what he did. Didn't make it any easier. The alcohol helped for awhile until he was force by Danny, Mac, and Sheldon to realize drinking your demons away wasn't a healthy solution. He still struggled with his decision, but somehow he had learned to live with it. There were nights he woke in a cold sweat and the feeling of being covered in her blood. The first month after the shooting, he nearly rubbed his skin raw trying to get her blood off his hands. Being covered in your lover's blood; it was an eerie feeling. He still woke up, but the nightmares and uncontrollable feeling had eased to once or twice a month.

Through all the bad there was good. Jess was alive. Something he never let himself forget, it was a miracle. They were given a second chance and he wasn't about to waste it; everyday he made sure she knew she was loved. They spent two weeks in Cape Cod, doing nothing but staying bed and lying on the beach. The 4th of July party was spent with friends and family. They had snuck off from the group and made love under the fireworks show. It was a magical night. Sam being sober for one year. Jess's and his annual walk in the first snowfall. Christmas: when he asked her to move in with him and she said yes. His dad getting remarried. Being able to return to Tillary's. Skating in Central Park with Jess. Jess returning to work. The evenings and days he got to come home to Jess to do nothing but laugh, talk, and make love. Don smiled; the year sure had been full of ups and downs. But they had survived and were stronger for it.

Jess lay cuddled into the pillow, but she wasn't asleep. She had awoken hours before the sun had. Today was May 20th. Jess sighed; a whole year had passed since she had been in that diner. She remembered being on the phone with Don, joking about her underwear; the next thing she knew, she was in a hospital being told she had been shot and was lucky to be alive. The year had been a rocky one. Getting back on her feet meant countless of hours of physical therapy and patients. The pain was unbearable and there were days, weeks even, when she gave up…tossed in the towel. It was only with will, stubbornness, and the push of her loved ones that she made it. The physical part of her healed, but she was still mentally broken. Waking nightly in cold sweats because she was dreaming about being autopsied by Sid or she was back in the diner. Both dreams still gave her chills. Crying uncontrollably and spending days in bed in a dark room shutting the world out. Guns terrified her and for a long time she believed she would never be able to go back doing the one thing she was meant to do: be a cop. Alcohol became part of her daily, sometimes hourly, routine. It took Lindsay and Stella and a very long, loud telling off to wake her from the slum she was in. It also took Don being by her side every moment. She had put the pieces of herself back together, but like Humpty Dumpty not all the pieces fit anymore.

Through all the bad there was good. She was alive. Something she wouldn't let herself forget. It was a miracle. She was given a second chance and she wasn't about to waste it. She woke every day with the intention to live like there was no tomorrow. Every day, she made sure the people important to her knew it. She told Don daily, sometimes hourly, that she loved him. Spending those two weeks in Cape Cod with Don, doing nothing but staying in bed, and lying on the beach was paradise. Holding her niece for the first time. The 4th of July party spent with friends and family; she and Don had snuck off to make love underneath the fireworks. Turning thirty, something she never thought would make her happy. Being able to hold a gun in her hand again. Standing in her youngest older brother's wedding party. Don's and her annual walk in the first snow fall. Moving in with Don. Being able to return to Tillary's. Skating in Central Park with Don. Going back to work. The evenings and days where she got to come home to Don to do nothing but laugh, talk, and make love. Finally being able to smile again. Jess smiled, the year sure had been full of ups and downs. But they had survived and were stronger for it.

She stretched out and turned so she could see Don. "Hey, you're awake." Jess said.

"Yeah, so are you," Don replied.

"Come back to bed," Jess patted his side of the bed. "Watching me is creepy."

Don slid down moving so he was resting on top of her; he nuzzled his lips to her neck hitting the spot that made her giggle. He lifted up. "Vegas was a good idea," he said.

Together, they decided they needed to be away from New York to spend today. Too many reminders there. Being a gambling girl, Jess suggested Vegas. Neither had the intention to do what they did last night. "It was," Jess agreed.

"I love you," Don whispered into her ear, kissing her neck again.

Jess wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you too."

Don moved and placed his lips on hers. The kiss was full of passion and love. A year of struggles and happiness packed into that one kiss. Finally the need for oxygen caused them to break apart.

Don peered into her chocolate brown eyes, "So, Mrs. Flack, what are we going to do today?"

The End!