Author's note: Thanks for the reviews and encouragement. Here's the next chapter.

Walking the Same Road

One afternoon in late October Alex didn't have wrestling practice so he and Jo met early. They finished their homework and were going to head home, but Alex turned his truck the opposite direction and started out of town. "Alex, where are we going?" Jo asked with a confused look on her face.

"It's early, and I'm not ready to go home yet. I thought we could hang out and talk or whatever," he answered back sheepishly.

"Okay, that's cool," Jo agreed settling back into the seat and picking at her fingernails. They stayed fairly quiet only exchanging a few words of small talk here and there. After a few miles Alex turned down a narrow dirt road that led to a stand of trees at the edge of an empty secluded field. He parked the truck and got out, Jo scrambling out after him.

"What is this? Did we 'run out of gas'?" Jo questioned with raised eyebrows making air quotes and nudging Alex's shoulder.

"No!" Alex laughed back incredulously. "I come out here when I want to be alone and think. I didn't know where else to go." He yanked down the tailgate and sat on it looking up to the sky.

"Well it is nice. How did you find this place?" Jo asked sitting next to him on the back of the truck.

"This land belongs to an old widow. I keep her yard mowed and fix stuff around the house when she needs it."

"Aww, how sweet of you," Jo responded in a mockingly sweet voice. In reality she thought it was incredibly nice of him to take care of the older lady's house and yard.

"I just do it to get paid," Alex huffed back gruffly. Jo's eyes sparkled at him as she held her laughter in.

"Where's the house?" Jo wondered looking around.

"Over that way. You can't see it through the trees," Alex pointed off to the left. "There's a little house and barn."

"Do you come here a lot?" Jo continued questioning him.

"Nah. Mostly just when I don't wanna go home," Alex said quietly looking down at his shoes.

Now the conversation was turning where Jo really wanted it to go. She ventured one more question, "What makes you want to stay away from home?" she asked in a soft voice watching his profile.

Alex didn't say anything for so long Jo was sure he was going to ignore her. Finally he spoke up answering her in a flat voice staring off into the distance. "It's not really my home. I've only lived there a little over a month. It's a foster home. My dad is a junkie, an abusive junkie. I saw him high more often than not. I tried to keep my brother and sister out of his way, so me and my mom got the brunt of it. I couldn't take it anymore and finally got strong enough. A couple of years ago I beat him, I beat him bad, put him in the hospital. He never came back after that. We were good for a while or I thought we were. I thought I had it under control. But then my mom quit taking her meds and attacked my little brother. I had to have her committed. And now we're all in foster care. At least my brother and sister are together; at least they have each other. So it's just me at this new place and it's not home," Alex rambled, finally looking at Jo unsure of what he would see written on her face, probably pity like everyone else who knew his story. And that wasn't many people. He didn't open up to anyone. He didn't want them to know. He wasn't sure why he did now with her. Actually, he was getting angry at himself for saying too much. But when he looked in Jo's eyes, and read her face, there was no pity; he saw compassion, a touch of sadness, and was that understanding?

"Do you ever get to see your siblings?" Jo asked squeezing Alex's upper arm to show him comfort and support. She took in everything he had said and it broke her heart, but really what could she say? Feeling sorry for him doesn't change the past; it can't make it better.

"Some, not much. They tried to place us all together, but the couple who took them didn't want a moody teenager with anger problems," Alex smirked, "I just need somewhere sort term anyway, just for a year until I can get out of here." Jo nodded not sure what to say.

After a short silence where both were lost in their own thoughts, Alex spoke quietly again. He had pushed himself farther back in the truck and now his back was resting against the front of the bed; he was picking at a hole in his jeans. Jo scooted up beside him sitting cross-legged facing him. "It's so messed up, you know? He beat her; he beat her kids and him leaving is what broke her." Jo wasn't sure if Alex was talking to her or himself. She just kept quiet studying his face, hurting for the hurt and guilt she saw in his eyes. "I work when I can to try and pay for what she needs, but between school and wrestling there isn't much time. And now I've fallen behind in some of my classes, but I have to wrestle. I have to get a scholarship; there is no other way. I have to go to college. I'm not going to stay here; I'm not going to become him. I'm going to do something with my life. I'm going to do good," Alex finished looking over at Jo and meeting her eyes. Jo now saw determination replacing the pain in his eyes.

"That's a far cry from your happy family in your big fancy house isn't it?" Alex chuckled after a while trying to lighten the mood. He took his jacket off and wrapped it around Jo's shoulders putting an arm around her when he noticed her shiver in the cool air.

She shifted around until she was sitting right next to him snuggled into his side, before answering, "We are a lot more alike than you might think, Alex. That happy family isn't my family. Not really. I've been with them for about three and a half years. That is a record for me," Jo explained with raised eyebrows and a pointed look. "I'm a foster kid too," she shrugged.

"I had no idea," Alex tightened his arm around Jo.

"Yeah, my mom left me at a fire station when I was two weeks old. I have no idea who my parents are. I have been bumped around foster homes my whole life. I came to live with the Sages when I was twelve. They have three boys of their own… actually you probably know Daniel, he's a senior too." Alex nodded. "Then there is Nathan he's a sophomore like me, and Zack is a freshman. Ellen always wanted a girl and I guess she finally got Curtis to give in. They wanted someone about their own kids' age so I fit the bill. I've been there ever since."

"Three years is awhile and if they want a daughter are they going to adopt you?" Alex wondered hopefully for Jo's sake.

"I doubt it. They haven't ever brought it up. By now I would think they would have. I don't think Curtis was ever crazy about the idea of fostering but he wanted to make Ellen happy. It's fine… whatever… they treat me good. Way better than a lot of homes," Jo shuddered at the memories.

They fell silent again once again lost in their own thoughts. After a little bit Jo spoke up. "You said you were going to do good. What? What are you going to do? How do you see your future, Alex?" She questioned, once again turning sideways to face him and throwing her legs across his lap.

"I'm going to be a doctor. I'm going to help people. A surgeon," Alex answered confidence shining in his eyes but only briefly, "I know it sounds stupid. How am I gonna pull that off?" he looked away avoiding Jo's eyes.

She grabbed his chin and turned his face back to her searching out his eyes that were now filled with doubt and pain. "No, Alex," Jo shook her head her eyes burning into his, "You will be great. You don't show it to anyone, but I see it. I see your heart," Jo's eyes shone back at Alex with confidence and admiration.

No one had ever looked at Alex like that before. He didn't know quite what to make of it. So he broke eye contact looking past Jo over her shoulder, "How about you? What does your future look like?"

Jo laughed a little quietly earning a confused look from Alex, "a lot like yours actually. I had a foster sister once. I was about six. We lived with this couple; there were five of us kids there in all. Heather and I shared a room; we would take turns sleeping on the top bunk. She was my best friend, probably the best friend I have ever had until you," Jo recited smiling at the memory. It was now her turn to gaze into the distance while Alex studied her face. "She got a really bad headache and then got really sick, but they wouldn't do anything. The foster parents… they didn't like to be bothered with us kids. They finally took her to the hospital when they couldn't ignore it anymore, but she never came home. Heather didn't make it," Jo brushed a tear off her cheek and Alex took her other hand in his squeezing it. "Later, I heard my foster parents talking to Heather's social worker. If she had gotten to the hospital sooner she would be okay. She needed an operation. A surgery would have saved her life. So I decided right then that I was going to save little girls like her and save their friends from hurting like I did. If surgery would have saved her, that is what I was going to learn to do. I was going to be a doctor and do surgery and save little girls," Jo finished as a few more tears slipped down her face.

Alex pulled Jo into a hug, "Jo, that's terrible. I don't know what to say."

Jo pulled back and gave Alex a small smile, appreciating the gesture and kind words. "I couldn't be there anymore. I couldn't stay with them, so I acted out and got sent to yet another home."

"You mean they got to keep fostering?" Alex sounded angry, "after basically killing one of their kids?"

"They made it sound like they hadn't had any warning, like they were broken up about the whole thing, and child welfare believed them," Jo spat out disgustedly. Alex rolled his eyes mad at the system.

"So we both want to be surgeons. Crazy huh?" Jo changed the subject. "I guess we are going to keep walking down the same road." She squeezed Alex's hand that was still holding hers and they stared at each other smiling until Jo suddenly noticed how dark it had gotten. She grabbed Alex's wrist and looked at his watch 8:37. "Oh no! I'm so late," Jo groaned jumping up and heading to the cab of the truck. "I am going to be in so much trouble."

"Aw shit, Jo, I'm sorry," Alex apologized hopping into the driver's seat and starting the pickup. It groaned to life loudly and Alex sped back down the dirt road.

They rode in companionable silence before Alex once again started reminiscing, "He bought me this truck when I was fourteen. He was actually clean at the time. We were going to fix it up together and it would be mine when I turned sixteen. It was gonna be one hell of a truck when we got done with it. But then he started using again like he always did and forgot all about it. This piece of crap and a beat up guitar are all I have left of him." Jo squeezed his shoulder in response and they fell silent again both staring straight ahead.

Jo jumped out of the truck and hurried up the walkway as soon as Alex stopped. She turned and gave him a quick wave when she got to the porch. When she walked into the house Curtis put down the paper he was reading and glared at her, "You're late, and you didn't call."

"I know I'm sorry. I lost track of time," Jo explained honestly.

"You were with that Alex Karev, right? I don't think that is such a good idea. Daniel has told me about him. All the girls he has had, his reputation," Curtis continued seeming genuinely concerned.

Jo resisted the urge to roll her eyes knowing that would only make matters worse. "You don't know him; Daniel doesn't know him like I do. He is a good guy. We are friends. I was just helping him with homework. We had a tough assignment and time slipped away," Jo shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay," Curtis appeased. Jo had never given him a reason not to trust her, "Just be careful with him. Daniel says he is quite the player. Ellen saved supper for you. You better go eat and then finish your homework," he ended the conversation.

"Thanks," Jo wondered down the hall to the kitchen and warmed her dinner up. She didn't care about Alex's reputation. She saw who he really was. She saw the hurt he covered up with his cocky, jerky attitude. She saw his heart.

As Alex drove back to his house he couldn't quit thinking about the feel of Jo's hand in his and how it felt with her cuddled into his side for warmth and the look she had given him. Especially the look. If he closed his eyes he could still picture her eyes burning into his shining with pride and respect. She had faith in him; she believed he could achieve his goals. Alex never felt that from anyone else. And with Jo beside him cheering him on he believed in himself too.