A/N: Right… so I forgot you do this on here. I'm crossposting this fic on AO3 as well, and I kind of suck at notes and stuff. But I can see that a few people have been reading this story and I've already gotten some reviews. Thank you so so much! They mean the world to me and make me keep writing every single day.

So this chapter starts off with a short flashback and I hope you can forgive me for it. I think it works and I'll be adding some more as time goes by.

Please keep commenting 😉 Thank you so much for your support!

Chapter 10

"Are you done yet?"

"You know I'm not. Shush."

"Seriously, let me see."

"Nope."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She was just about to stand up. He could see that. Just to tease him.

"Don't move." He laughed, tracing the line of her neck on the piece of paper. She was lying there in the grass, shadows of the leaves ahead slowly gliding over her body. Her clothes were somewhere to the side, mixed in with his. How could it be that they'd only known each other for a few days?

"This stuff takes time."

"A lot of time."

She closed her eyes again and wrapped the towel tighter around herself and stretching out her leg. Her foot was touching his knee now.

"You should be glad I'm just drawing your face. The rest would take forever."

"Because I'm so fat?"

He grinned again. "Because this…" he tapped his pencil on the side of the paper and met her eyes "stuff takes time, and I want to do it right."

"Okay…" Alex returned his smile. "But I want you again once we're done."

"Sure… Javier and Sam want to meet up for dinner later, hope that's okay?"

"As long as I don't have to cook."

"Nope, wouldn't want to poison them."

"Good point."

2002

The fluorescent light made her look paler than she probably was. She was still sitting upright on one of the beds, the only patient in the whole infirmary. Murdoch was in surgery, but things didn't look too good from what he'd heard.

A young doctor was holding her hand, wrapping it up. "You'll have to come in tomorrow and have it checked out again, Doctor," she said before starting to put the bandages away again. "It's not too bad. No using that hand, though. Not even for driving. And I want you to see Doctor MacKenzie before I can clear you for duty. He'll be in tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks, Doctor Keller," Alex said wearily. Her eyes were drooping slightly. Probably the pain medication. When she raised them, Evan saw that they were dilated. No, she really shouldn't be driving. But he couldn't help but smile. Here she was. Alive and healthy. Well, for the most part anyway.

"Can I take her home?" Evan found himself asking. The young Doctor looked over her shoulder at him. God, she was young! Was she even fully qualified yet?

"Sure. No need to keep her under observation. Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." Keller patted Alex' shoulder and bustled off, clipboard in hand.

"Are you okay?" Evan asked doubtfully, stepping closer to the bed where Alex was sitting.

She blinked, but nodded. "Yes," she said mechanically, getting up from the bed. "You don't have to take me home, I can drive."

"No, you really can't." Not by the way she was swaying anyway. How much had that Doctor given her? "Come on, I'll drive you and you can sleep this off."

Alex brushed a hand over her eyes and he remembered the time she'd been sick during one of his visits. Drunk on cold medicine, she'd looked a lot like the Alex he was seeing now. "Probably not a bad idea." She laughed softly. Almost a giggle. Alex never giggled. Only when she was drunk, and that rarely happened. He didn't really like that sound.

"Alright then, Doctor Woolston, you change, I drive."

She nodded again. "Where's the locker room again?"

Evan sighed. "Come on, let me take you there."

Her head was leaned back, her eyes drooping. He was almost sure she'd fall asleep right there and then. She did that sometimes, but usually only on longer routes. The drive into town wouldn't take more than half an hour, if that.

"Alex?"

Her eyes fluttered. She looked so vulnerable, he wished he could just wrap her in his arms and hold her until she fell asleep, her body pressed tight against his, as the warmth of her body slowly started blending in with his.

"I need to know where I'm taking you."

She blinked again and turned her head slightly. They'd just passed the gate. "Hm?"

"Your address, Alex. I need it."

"Oh…" she rubbed her eyes again. "You know I haven't been there much. Just for sleeping? I could tell you where to go. It's quite a nice place, actually. Two rooms and everything. One of them's a bathroom. With a bathtub in it. Crazy, huh?"

Evan rolled his eyes. He wouldn't drive around town, hoping she'd get it right eventually. The sun had set already. He sighed. "Will it be okay for me to take you home with me?"

"Oooh no no no, we're just friends, remember?"

He felt his lips twitch into a smile despite himself. "I know we are. I have a spare bedroom for guests." Heck, he'd even rented a house. Talk of wasting money, when he spent most of his time on the base or offworld. But at least he'd fillet it. With a dog… "You can stay in there for the night."

"Okay, Major." Her voice sounded even heavier now. And then she fell silent altogether.

He steered the car through the darkness, heading into town. Nothing but trees, the night, the headlights, the road stretching on ahead and the silence between the two of them inside the car. But to his surprise he wasn't desperate for it to end. Not once had he allowed for complete silence with her. Not since… how long had it been? A few weeks? Two months? Longer? He wasn't even sure anymore.

"You know," she mumbled, but didn't continue.

"What?" His voice was calmer than he thought it could be. He felt calmer. She was wounded, had almost been lost to him, but she was here with him now. Not exactly unhurt, but safe. He wouldn't push his luck and ask for more.

"You know," she repeated in the exact same tone of voice, "we were pretty good together, weren't we?"

"Yes, we were." There was no denying it. He'd tried to go out with someone else. It was likely that in the aftermath of their breakup, he'd committed the most hideous crime and gone out with his sister's best friend and ruined his relationship with his sister forever. And so he'd just quit. There was simply no use looking for the kind of connection he'd had with her anywhere else. Being alone was less excruciating than trying to get a conversation going with someone he didn't care about. At least not in the way he could talk with Alex.

They had been good together. For a while anyway.

"Not just in the sack, I mean. I mean, we were amazing there, but we were so good at the other things. Talking and stuff."

"No doubt about it," he laughed. Instinctively he reached out and squeezed her uninjured hand. The lights of town were straight ahead. It was high time he got her into bed so she could sleep this off. "But talking to you is usually easier when you're not high."

"Agreed. Talking is easier, too. I mean, getting the words right."

"You're still doing fine."

"I'm working hard here…"

"I know." He couldn't stop smiling. The topic wasn't one he liked, but it was talking. Joking. And her hand in his was so wonderfully warm…

"Murdoch said you kept that picture of me." Her voice had changed now. It sounded higher, less controlled. Not that she'd had a lot of control since getting into the car. And then he felt the hot droplets hitting the back of his hand, making his heart contract painfully.

She was crying and Evan cursed Murdoch, regretting it instantly. Murdoch was most likely dying, and Evan had no business wishing him anything bad. But Murdoch had blabbered about that picture… he could only have seen it maybe once, but still. That wasn't anything you talked about. And now she was crying. She rarely ever did that. Not even during sad movies.

"You kept in your locker? You kept it?" He hated how desperate she sounded. This wasn't the woman he usually knew… but a version of her… a version he wasn't sure he could cope with right now. He should've taken that drawing down as soon as Alex joined the SGC, but he'd gotten so used to it. To that smile on her face and the memories that flooded him every time he looked at it for more than five seconds. "Of course I kept it." His thumb gently stroke over the back of her hand. It had been seven years, but this still felt right. And that was the appeal. The perfect ease with which they found each other. And it was dangerous to the both of them. And a liability if they continued it the way they were.

Evan turned right into his street. Not long now.

"I still-" she gasped. "Evan- I-"

"Yes," he interrupted her before she could get it out. "Yes, I know." But she was injured. She was drugged and traumatized. He stopped the car in his driveway. "Alex, I know." Taking a deep breath, he turned to look at her again. She was staring at him, her eyes still wide. "And believe me, I feel the same way. And if I thought it was a good idea, I'd kiss you senseless right now. But it's not."

He could feel her hand starting to slip out of his, but he held on tight.

"Listen," he urged her. "You're right. We were great together. But things are so different now. We have to work together, not just be together. Heck, I was about to go through the Gate with the rescue team today, and who knows what could've happened. You need a clear head and so do I." He talked fast, unwilling to let her interrupt him and break his resolve. Evan wasn't sure it was strong enough as it was. "I'm not gonna ask for a transfer, though, and you're not gonna quit your job. Before we can do anything about this, about us, I have to know that we can do this. Work together, be apart, be together. And we sucked so bad at this being apart thing. And I can't go through it again. No matter how much I love you."

Alex let go of his hand to touch his cheek, but she didn't say another word. He could see that she understood. That she wouldn't argue anymore.

Evan took a deep breath, took her hand and kissed it briefly. "Okay, now I have to tell you something else before we go in." He let go again. Touching her too much wasn't a good idea. Not after that speech.

She wiped her eyes again. "What? Is your mom in there to rip me to shreds? Ellen said she wanted to do that."

"You've been talking to my sister?" Well, that was a surprise.

"Every week… just never about you."

Evan swallowed hard and nodded. He'd have to talk to her too. "Alright… okay it's not my mom. She left this afternoon." He grinned again despite himself. "Alex, I have a confession to make."

He saw the sudden fear in her eyes now and he felt ashamed as soon as he registered the pleasure at seeing her jealousy. He smiled and couldn't stop himself from brushing the hair out of her face and leaning in to kiss her cheek. Carful, Lorne… "I got a really ugly dog a few months ago."