Re-uploaded so its now readable... Sorry about that!

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There she was walking down the street, plain as day and in perfect sight unlike him.

A quick glance was all Colby needed.

Alex was so radiant and full of life, such a difference from the last time he'd seen her- those beautiful dark eyes and hair setting her apart from the other brunette by her side.

Colby licked his lips and quickened his speed down the side walk, weaving in and out of the crowd of people littered in his way. Alex might have well been ten feet away, talking and laughing so carefree like. That's when it hit him like a crushing strike to the stomach- she was happy.

He wasn't jealous or envious of the life she was living. In fact, it was the total opposite. Finn was coming for her and it was only a matter of time until the happiness would be wiped from her face, and her life. That's when he sped up, determined somehow to garner her attention even if he was trying to play incognito.

He might have gotten a few feet closer but in the corner of his eye he saw Jon. He was charging towards them and Colby freaked.

Their last encounter was a bloody one- a war of all wars with the Irish and Bray.

And it was the night Jon let him go, willingly.

If Jon wanted him out of town, far away, it wasn't to save his ass. It was to save Alex.

He figured that's why Alex never wrote back.

Maybe she never got the letters in the first place. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense because he knew if the roles were reversed, Alex would be sheltered from the past.

So he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and continued, crossing the street instead of following Alex to the back parking lot.

He blew his chance and he'd forever kick himself for doing so. He let her go on her merry way, with no warning and no way to protect herself from the inevitable.

He took a right into a coffee shop, standing in line and thanking God others followed suit behind him incase Jon scoped the sidewalk or little shops aligning the street. Right then and there he devised some sort of Plan B.

Tonight, he was going to Alex and Jon's house completely unannounced whether Jon was there or not. He didn't care anymore.

Time was fleeting.

Alex needed to know what was going on and how much danger she was already in head first.

xXx

Jon pulled into the driveway a lot later then expected- tied up behind his desk once Joe mentioned a drug bust the next town over. He dug into it as much he could, turning up short and damn tired.

He dragged his feet up the stairs and turned the key in the lock, opening the door as quietly as he could. The kids were gone for the weekend but he was sure Alex would be sound asleep.

Jon chucked his jacket on the stairs, kicked off his boots and climbed the stairs, about ready to crash once his bed came into sight. But as he approached the bedroom, a ray of light shined through the bottom of the door. Alex was awake which Jon found strange. So far the pregnancy sucked the life out of her and she'd been dead asleep even before Jon came home. She even had a tough time keeping up with her night classes.

Slowly he turned the handle, pushing open the door with an unpleasant creak.

His heart felt as though it fell to the floor at the sight of her- seated on the bed with pieces of paper and opened envelopes scattered on top of the sheets. She didn't even bother looking up to see who entered the room, too consumed with the words jumping off the letters from a year ago.

"You found them," Jon mumbled, unable to move from his place in the doorway.

Alex stayed silent, a nod of the head answering him instead. She couldn't make anything of her emotions just yet. At first she was angry, having been kept in the dark for over a year. She owed so much to Colby. He took care of her and Kylie long before Jon came into the picture. It was like she was in his debt.

But then she felt sad. Jon had kept this huge secret from her. They had a family, a baby on the way and marriage in the cards... She was beginning to question what else, if anything, he was keeping from her.

"Why did you keep these from me?" Alex croaked. Her voice sounded so sad, so confused that it even pained Jon.

"Why?" She whispered.

"I had to." Jon's response was simple and it didn't sit well with Alex.

"What do you mean you had to? You have to hide things from me?"

Jon sighed. He knew this day would come. In fact he'd mentally prepare himself for this day when he first slipped the stack of envelopes in the closet. But no matter the preparation, Jon could never underestimate Alex' reaction because he did in fact hide a vital part of her past from her.

"Alex... I did it to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" Leah asked, her voice raised, "Colby's not the bad guy."

Dean clenched his teeth. He wasn't so keen on agreeing. "He's the goddamn reason why everything happened to you, Alex."

"You know quite well who was responsible for that," Alex muttered, her voice sharp as broken glass, "Colby wasn't..."

"He's the reason you got caught up in all that shit before, Alex. You were the Irish' play thing, waiting on them hand and foot no matter what because of him... He's the reason you almost died! Don't you try and tell me otherwise!"

Jon couldn't even control the tone of his voice as the thought of a year ago popped in his head. Alex was taken aback, having never experienced Jon so heated. He sensed it too, letting out a sigh as he was frustrated with himself.

"Alex..."

"You can't take it back, Jon," she said, her voice above a whisper, "It's what you've been feeling this entire time, I know it is. You haven't been the same since that night."

No words needed to be said from Jon's end. He just listened as Alex continued, unable to keep her eyes off the letters.

"Yes, I got shot and yes, I almost died." Their eyes finally met as she recounted the day, the pain being shared between them. "But I'm here because of you AND Colby... I owed it to him to let him know I was okay, I lived! But you deprived that of me. You hid all of this away like a secret it didn't need to be."

"I didn't do it to hurt you," Jon defended.

"But you did it to protect me? From someone whose known me and been there for me longer than you?" Alex snipped.

"Alex..."

"No, Jon... I don't understand why you would do this. Are you hiding anything else from me?"

Bad timing and all, Jon's cellphone began to rig and vibrate inside his pant pocket. He could have thrown the device against the wall and watch in amazement as it chattered if it weren't for the name Hunter appearing on the screen.

"Shit," Jon mumbled, swiping to accept the call.

The entire time his eyes locked with Alex as he nodded and mumbled an "okay" and "yeah", his mind registering that he needed to get his ass to the station since they found Finn's car.

"You have to go, don't you?" Alex whispered, already knowing the answer. She hated the fact that their issues would be left unresolved till he came home, again. Now she would be left picking through the wreckage.

Jon only nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"I wish you'd tell me what's going on..."

"I did, Alex."

She shook her head. Her intuition screamed suspicions. "No... He isn't the real reason."

"What?" Jon was caught off guard.

"You're back with the DEA, you're working yourself to the bone, I'm just discovering one year old letters from someone who was my closest friend," Alex named, all her revelations leading to two possibilities.

"Either you've been keeping me from Colby because he's your number one target, which makes no sense... Or he's back." The look of horror on her face was real, like she'd seen a ghost... Or rather, sensed one.

"It's Finn, isn't it? This is all because of Finn," she panicked, "He's alive isn't he?"

His girl was smart. Jon didn't even have to prove her theory right with any words. The look on his face spoke volumes instead and before he could explain, his phone rang again.

"Go," Alex said, standing up from the bed. Jon noticed her hands shaking as she contemplated what she was going to do next.

"No. I'm not leaving you alone."

"Jon..."

He pulled her close, his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not leaving," he repeated, "Hunter can wait till I can get you somewhere."

"Has Finn been here?"

Jon paused. He was damn sure the son of a bitch had stepped foot in their house several times.

"Oh my God," Alex whispered, shaking even more. Her head spun, her stomach twisting with sickness as the thought of Finn defiling her happy home while the kids slept. She no longer felt safe- her sanctuary no more.

"I'll get you to a hotel," Jon said, quickly coming up with some kinda plan he hoped to God would work. "You'll stay there. I'll get Nick to stay with you till I'm done at the station."

Alex nodded. It seemed like too much- like a huge inconvenience for everyone- but Jon wasn't a risk taker when it came to Alex... At least, not anymore.

xXx

"Nick's on his way," Jon mumbled, running his tired eyes. It was way past 1am by the time he checked Alex into a hotel downtown. The entire drive he made sure they weren't being followed- playing it safe. He even checked in with a dummy name, explaining he was DEA and needed to lay low for obvious reasons.

He yawned for what was like the millionth time, sitting on the edge of the bed. He turned his head, his eyes peering over Alex curled with the blankets overtop and barely able to keep her eyes open. "Okay," she whispered, closing her eyes.

Jon's fingers stroked her cheek slowly. "I should have told you about Colby sooner... And Finn."

"You try to save me from so much... Keeping me from the inevitable," Alex said, "But this will always be our life until Finn is actually dead or locked away."

Jon couldn't hide the look on his face once she uttered 'dead' regarding the guy who was now making his life and hers a living hell.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say.

Alex opened her eyes slowly, her hand on top of Jon's cupping her cheek. "I understand why you did what you did... It's in your nature, Jon."

He leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you... Get some sleep. Nick'll get a key from the front desk."

"Okay," Alex nodded, her eyes closing again.

"I love you."

With that, Jon stole a kiss before he reluctantly left the hotel room- leaving Alex' well being in the hands of his two time partner Nick. He shivered from the thought but still made it out the hotel doors and into his car, down the street and to the station.

Alex couldn't have been sleeping for anything longer than fifteen-twenty minutes before she was awaken by a knock at the door. Her eyes opened slowly, scoping out her surroundings before she sat up in the dimly lit room. Once she got out of the bed, she pulled at her tank top to cover her baby belly and dragged her feet to the door. She wondered if Nick had forgotten to pick up the key at front desk, the only logical explanation behind the knock at the door.

She didn't even bother peeking through the peephole, yawning instead as she opened the door- in complete shock as to who stood behind it.

The man she hadn't seen in over a year's time.

She gasped, swinging open the door and lunging into his arms.

"Colby," she whispered, pulling his close while a million and one questions about his whereabouts and how he found her filled her head.