It's called fanfiction for a reason, kids. Not mine.
Chapter Nine
Alex spotted her just after lunch. She was walking around aimlessly, supposedly looking for him. "Ava," he said. She turned towards him, a bright smile upon her face. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
"Fine," Ava said. "Everything is fine. I wanted to come to . . . to talk to you. Do you have a minute or do you have a surgery?"
"I've got some free time," he said, smiling at her. "Let's go." They found a linen closet. "I take it you aren't here for a quickie."
"No," she said, smiling, "I'm not. I'm actually here to say goodbye."
"Goodbye? Seriously?"
"I got a job at a publishing company in New York. A friend of mine from college got a hold of me. I don't want to be so far from my daughter, but. . ."
Alex nodded.
"I'm leaving, soon," she said, "and I just wanted to let you know so we had time to have a . . . a proper goodbye."
"When are you leaving," he asked.
"Right after Christmas," she said. "My friend, Charlene, has an extra bedroom. She's going to show me the way in the concrete jungle. Listen, can we keep in contact or something? You know, emails or letters or something."
"Sure," he said, "I guess."
"It's just, I really like you Alex. I just don't think the two of us are ever going to work," she said, surprising him. "Especially since I'm moving to the other side of the country. Even if I was staying, though, you work crazy hours, and I may just be crazy . . . it would be too much."
Alex nodded, not knowing what else to do.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"What," Alex asked.
"Have you had lunch," she clarified.
"Yeah," he said, "sorry."
"Don't apologize," Ava smiled. "I tried, right? I have some things to do before I get on the airplane so I better go. If you're even in New York, look me up, okay?"
"Yeah," Alex said. His pager went off. "I have to go, but . . ."
"I'll come find you before I leave," she said, "I promise. Go save a life."
Alex kissed her cheek, lingered a bit, and then ran off to answer his page. He pushed the thoughts of Ava out of his mind, hoping he wasn't making a mistake by letting her go – a second time.
A/N: A quick update, but a woefully short chapter. I decided it was time to get Ava out of the way but still give her a "happy" ending. She's not gone for good, we still have the "proper" goodbye and I'm not sure if she won't make an appearance sometime after that. We'll see. It was just time to let Ava go. Of course, Alex has to silently question himself. Anyway, reviews are encouraged and appreciated. Thanks for reading. Megan.
