Notes:

- English is my second language, please forgive me for any mistakes.

- It's my first time writing this pairing so, I hope you like it :)


"Sorry, I know it's been a while, but I needed someone to talk."

Allison was sitting at the hospital's cafeteria with her former best friend, Riya, in front of her. She told her everything that happened in the last few days. From her return to LA to Mona staying in her house. From the constant war between the ex-MPC member and her detective father, to the constant desire she felt being around Mona.

"Wait, are you telling me that Mona, the same Mona from your dark past, was your very first patient and now she's staying in your house? This is too much for a coincidence," Riya took a sip of her coffee.

"But it was, she just left prison. She had no idea I was even back to LA or that I was a doctor."

"Maybe somebody kept her informed during all these years?"

Allison sighed. She knew it wasn't true. Mona wanted to make explicit the whole time that she wasn't willing to find her again. She wasn't sure if she constantly said that on purpose, to hurt her, or if she was trying to prove it to herself.

"I don't know, all I know is… the feelings, they've returned. I can't even force myself to speak to my fiancé anymore."

"Allison, if you want to hear an advice, don't throw it all away for Mona again. Someday you'll get home and she'll be gone. That's how she is, it's the life she chose, she isn't changing. Now Griffin, you've been with him for eight years. He's a doctor, like you, and… he has a steady life. He never served time in jail."

Riya's words didn't leave her thoughts the entire night. She had a hard time to sleep, missing even the alarm. It was something else that made her jump out of her bed. It was her phone beeping, a text from Griffin.

Allison sighed and typed a reply, lying she had been really busy lately. So busy she'd forget to charge her phone. A discussion in the living room, made her awake completely.

"I'll ask for the last time, who were you calling?" Mr. Wheeler's voice echoed through the entire house.

"It's none of your business, Pops!" Mona's voice followed right away.

Allison decided it was better to intervene before they killed each other.

"I'm not your father or I'll ever be."

"Good, because I've never had one and I'm not looking for a replacement."

"Guys…" Allison spoke, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Can you both stop? Peace, please?"

"Allison, she was making a phone call! You know what she's doing, she's trying to get in touch with them!"

"Dad!" She yelled, making her father listen. "I authorized her to make any phone calls she need. She was calling her lawyer, who's trying to get her some money from the time she worked in prison."

"Is it true?" Mr. Wheeler directed the question to Mona, who nodded in response. "You believe her too much, Allison. Way too much."

"Screw you both," Mona went back to the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

"I do, dad," Allison said. "Nobody believes her, but I do. I know her. I know when she's lying."

"No, Allison. You don't. You know an illusion you had back in High School. Reality is very different. Sooner than you think, she'll be back to car theft. But this time she won't be dragging you into this, I won't let her."

After breakfast, Mr. Wheeler announced he'd be out of town for an investigation. Another murder case, that seemed to be connected with the others.

"B-But Mona will be alone and she…"

"What concerns me, Allison," he told before entering the car, "is that you will be alone with her."

—-

In fact, his words never left her mind during the whole day. When she was at work, her father was responsible for taking care of Mona. It was against his will, but he did his best to treat her well. When Allison arrived, he'd leave for his turn. Until now, she never really had much time to be alone with her ex-lover. For the first time, she'd have an entire night and the following morning. That thought made her stomach flip.

Her day at the hospital hadn't been easy either. She had two patients that weren't responding to the treatment and another one she couldn't close a diagnosis, causing her a lot of distress.

"Here we go…" Allison spoke before leaving the car, when she finally got home after an exhaustive day.

For her surprise, the whole house was dark and silent. Riya's words instantly came back to her thoughts.

"Mona," she shouted. "I'm home."

She obtained no response, what made her rush to her bedroom. She opened the door and for her surprise, Mona was still in bed.

"Hey, didn't you hear…" she approached, noticing something was wrong. She placed her palm on Mona's forehead. "Oh my god, you're feverish."

"It hurts too," Mona grunted, holding the place she'd operated recently. "I'm sorry, Allison."

"For what?"

She took a while to answer.

"I decided it'd be the best for all of us if I just disappeared. I was walking to the bus station, but things got too bad. The pain was so intense I started vomiting. A woman drove me back here."

"Mona! Your body wasn't ready for such a massive effort. Oh my god, couldn't you listen to me at least for once?"

"I'm sick of putting you in trouble with your dad. And I'm sick of his judgments and accusations too."

"There's a thing called 'talking', that people usually do before taking extreme measures. You should've talked to me first."

Allison examined her. She had no way to find out if Mona's action had caused any internal damage. Yet, driving her to the hospital could put her in a risky situation with Dr. Carlson. She gave her a painkiller, an antipyrect and decided to wait.

—-

"Thank you, Dr. Carlson," Allison hung up the phone. Alone in her bedroom, she called her boss, and father-in-law. She lied, saying Mona had contacted her. He suggested the same procedures she did. Both the pain and the fever should be temporary effects of the big effort she made. In case she didn't improve in a few hours, she should attend the emergency as soon as possible.

After taking a shower and preparing them dinner, Allison went to her father's cabinet and grabbed a bottle of wine. Though she was a lightweight, some alcohol could help her to relieve the stress. After a few glasses, she was about to check on Mona again, but her presence in the kitchen was an indication she already felt a lot better.

"Wow!" She noticed the bottle of wine, half consumed. "Bad day at work?"

"What are you doing here?!" Allison asked. "You need to rest. Even more now!"

Mona grimaced in response.

"I'm okay. I just can't stand being locked in your room all day anymore."

"Sit down here then."

Allison pulled a chair and served her dinner. She sat in front of her, about to explode in rage.

"Where were you going?" She inquired.

"I have no idea," Mona shrugged.

"I trust you. I believe in you. That's why I allowed you to use my phone and computer. Does it have anything to do with the phone call you made this morning?"

Mona stared at her for a second. Allison could tell the question bothered her somehow.

"You shouldn't trust me this much. For your information, I lied to you. My lawyer wasn't the only person I called."

"Who was the other one?"

"Why don't you check for yourself?"

Allison did as she told. She went to the phone and after checking the records, she called the last dialed number.

It was in another state. For her surprise, it wasn't either Logan or Colt that answered, but a woman, that Allison quickly learned to be Mona's mother.

"Y-Yeah, she's fine… I dialed the wrong number, I'm sorry."

She returned to her seat, somehow feeling guilty for what she just did. If she wanted to keep Mona around and earn her trust, being suspicious of everything she did wasn't the right thing to do.

"See why I was leaving?" Mona asked. "In the first opportunity, you acted exactly like your dad. You assumed the worst about me."

"I-I… I'm so sorry, it's just… people tell me things about you all the time. They say you'll go away, that you'll go back to your old life…" as much as Allison tried to control herself, a few tears ran across her cheek. "I care about you. I don't wanna lose you again. You can't blame me for being afraid, you push me away all the time. You don't let me in…"

She got up and went straight to the guest room. Being alone was what she needed the most in that moment.

—-

"Allison?" After a few minutes Mona opened the door, to find the young female sitting on the bedroom's carpet, in tears.

Though she wasn't good at comforting people, the fact Allison was so upset bothered her a little. The last thing she wanted was to see her crying. She sat on the bed's edge near Allison, looking for the right words to say.

"This is my fault. I was angry at your dad and I didn't think how it'd affect you. I kinda pushed you to call my mom, so…" she took a deep breath, fighting hard to pronounce those words. "I'm sorry."

Allison wiped a few tears from her face and sighed. Then she joined her on the bed.

"It's not only about you. I've been under so much pressure lately, it's my dad, my job, my relationship… I feel like 18 years old Allison all over again, I don't know what I want, I don't know what to do."

"That's okay. Most people don't."

Allison finally opened a small smile.

"Can I tell you something I never told anyone?" She asked. Mona nodded in response and she proceeded. "When I decided to be a doctor, I was only thirteen years old. My mom died in a car crash. She was taken to a hospital, but they weren't able to save her. Then I watched my dad secretly crying every night and… I didn't want that pain for anybody else. All my teenage years I spent studying, focusing on Langston, the same university my mom attended. Griffin was my first actual boyfriend and I'm already engaged to him. Now I question myself all the time, is that what I really want?"

"Well, if you're not happy with who you are, you can always change," Mona told her. "You're an adult now. No one can force you to be a doctor… or marry Dickens."

"Griffin," Allison corrected with a small laugh. "What about you? What do you plan to do now?"

Mona was thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know. I don't want to work on Vaughn's food truck forever, but after being imprisoned for eight years, I don't plan to come back to jail again. And there's my lawyer, who was an angel in my life. I was in a really dark place when she took my case. And there's also my mom and you…"

"Me?" Allison's eyes widened in surprise.

Realizing what she just said, Mona stopped breathing. She felt her cheeks burning.

"Y-You… did I say 'you'?" She tried to fix it. "I mean, I don't wanna cause you more trouble with your dad and your boss. T-That was what I meant."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two. Allison would glance at her every second, as she was preparing to say something.

"I was never able to forget you."

"Nobody usually is," Mona used her usual defense mechanism, crack jokes when she was feeling nervous. "Look at your father, even after eight years he…"

"I'm not joking, Mona. Everytime I came to California, I'd catch myself in front of the prison, wondering if I should visit you or not."

"I'm glad you didn't. That wasn't a place for you."

"Would you let me finish, please?" Allison sighed. "And I wrote you multiple letters I never sent. I only started dating Griffin to fill the emptiness I felt without you. To get rid of the anger and sadness I never stopped feeling for having to drop you at that hospital and leave you alone! You almost died. I-I was a coward, like your ex. I should've done more for you."

"Hey," Mona squeezed her hand, noticing how emotionally disturbed she looked. "It's not your fault, okay? Were you going to throw you life away, give up on your dreams only for me? I'm happy for you, I really am. All I wanted was for you to move on. You deserved it."

"Griffin was only a mask, to hide my feelings for you."

"And now? Do you love him for real?"

"I guess you already know the answer."

Allison straddled her. Her face being only inches from her. She looked into Mona's eyes in a dangerous manner. She removed a strand of her black hair away from her face before leaning forward, in a manner their lips were almost brushing. Before Mona could close the distance between them, Allison's phone started ringing.

"Griffin," she read the name on her screen. "My fiancé."

Mona rolled her eyes in frustration. Allison stood up, walking away from her to the other side of the room, where she stared at her phone, unsure of what to do.

"Are you going to answer?" Mona asked.

"Not today," Allison turned off her cell phone. "I'm gonna wait until tomorrow, so I can clear my head a little."

"And what will you tell him?"

Allison left through the door without saying a word. Alone with her thoughts, Mona wondered what it meant. Did that mean Allison was going to dump her fiancé for her? Or did that mean she'd continue lying to him, and to herself?

—-

"Another terrible night of sleep," Allison thought when she woke up on the couch, feeling tired and with a terrible headache. "At least I have the day off."

The headache lead her to remind of the wine she had in the previous night, followed by the things she said and the things she could've done if Griffin hadn't called.

"What have I done?" She whispered to herself.

Though Mr. Wheeler hadn't arrived yet, she found a mug of coffee and a plate of pancakes in the coffee table. Under it, she found a note:

"Dear sleepyhead, my lawyer came pick me up for a quick meeting. I'll be right back. I promise."

Allison opened a smile. That was a sign Mona was finally warming up to her again and willing to show she was determined to stay in her life this time. She bit her lower lip in excitement. Maybe it was time to follow her heart. She was ready to text Griffin a message, saying she needed to speak to him urgently, when the door bell rang.

She went to open it, expecting to see either Mona or her dad, but for her surprise it was Dr. Carlson.

"Dr. Carlson, hey," she greeted, confused. "What brings you here so early in a Saturday morning?"

"Hello, Allison," he said. "Do you have a minute?"

She invited him in and served him some coffee.

"Griffin said he tried to call you last night, but you didn't answer."

"Oh, I was with that patient I told you."

"Is she doing well now?"

"Yeah, after the medication she improved quickly."

Allison tried to hide her nervousness.

"So," the man smiled after a moment of silence, "Griffin was going to tell you the great news last night."

"What news?"

"I received a proposal to work on a big research in New Zealand and I'm taking you and my son to integrate my team. It'll be a lifetime opportunity. What do you say, Allison?"