"Do you wanna dance?" Alex asked softly, bringing Jo back to reality after their little moment. Jo looked around. She had been so engrossed in their conversation that she hadn't realized that staff must have cleared a little spot for dancing and an accordion player was playing soft, romantic tunes. She smiled and nodded at him. They got up and Alex led her to the makeshift dance floor. A few couples were already swaying to the music and Jo got goose bumps when Alex pulled her closer and started to lead the dance. She sighed and put her head on his shoulder. Their date had been so perfect. Even though the situations quickly changed from relaxed to awkward to funny to romantic, she didn't think it could go any better. As Stephanie had told her – it wasn't going to be easy, but it was so worth it.

Jo wondered what it was like to be married to Alex. What their relationship was made of. She had heard so many things about them as a couple but what she really wanted to know was what it was really like. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach and noticed how Alex's hand on the small of her back held her firmly and how he steadily breathed on her shoulder. The only source she could ask about the most intimate parts of their relationship was holding her in that very moment and he clearly wasn't ready to tell her. Why wouldn't he tell her? Was he really that scared that now that she couldn't remember she would not fall for him anymore? She was already falling for him… and she had told him about that. What was he so afraid of? Was it really the fact that he was afraid of losing her or was there something he wouldn't tell her? Something that had happened between them in the past? She was sure he wasn't going to tell soon but she decided for herself that she was definitely going to find out. But for right now, she kept swaying in Alex's arms and enjoying the intimate moment with her date. After a couple of songs, Alex pulled her back to their table and she chuckled.

"What? I didn't say I was going to dance with you for the rest of the night," he excused himself. Jo laughed.

"That's okay, I enjoyed myself anyways," she said truthfully, looking into his eyes deeply. They were still holding hands.

"Do you want me to get the check? We'll have an early morning tomorrow, you know with the kids and all," he pointed out to her. She shook her head.

"I'd rather stay another little while. Just a bit. I just wanna talk to you some more. With the kids, we never get to talk much. Let's just enjoy it a little bit longer to get to be with each other, okay? And anyways, it's only 10.28," she looked over at his watch and chuckled. He nodded.

"So what do you wanna talk about?" he asked. She smiled at him.

"How about you tell me how I made you meet Ruth, I'd really like to hear that, especially because you said it was that early in our relationship," Jo smiled and leaned back. Alex chuckled.

"Alright, I'll tell you. It's actually the same story of how we found out that the Brans and Ruth are family," he said. She nodded interestedly.

"So, remember how I told you that you made me meet Ruth very early on in our relationship," Alex started the story. Jo nodded. "Well, actually, it was after our first… I mean, the morning after our first night together," he said, sheepishly. Jo raised her eyebrows in surprise and chuckled.

"Do go on," she said curiously. They both laughed.

They both got up after relaxing for a while and Alex had a shower, while Jo was drying her hair and getting dressed. When they were both done, and Jo had diligently made the bed, Alex looked at her. "Well, what do you wanna do with this still early day?" Jo smiled at him widely.

"Actually," she said, stepping closer to her partner. "I wanted to propose breakfast to you." In response, Alex' stomach growled loudly. They chuckled.

"Not a bad idea, princess." Jo rolled her eyes. "I am definitely starving," he added, loosely putting his arms around Jo's waist. "Where do you wanna go? There's nothing left in the fridge, as you might have guessed," he joked.

"Actually," Jo repeated with a questioning look. "I wanted you to meet someone." Alex raised his eyebrows

"Oh yeah? And who might that be?"

"How about we start driving and I will tell you all about it," Jo unwrapped herself from Alex and pulled him out of the bedroom.

"Are you going to make me beg for details?" Alex asked irritated by Jo's mysterious outputs.

"Baby, the only place I will ever make you beg for something is in there," Jo murmured, gesturing to the room they had just left. Alex laughed. They got in the car and Alex waited for directions which she gave him instantly.

"So?" Alex tried to not be impatient. He didn't like surprises. He also didn't like being kept in the dark. However, he supposed he needed to get used to a lot of new things with the beginning of their relationship. So he waited patiently.

"When I first moved here, I didn't know anyone. As you know I've never had a real family or relatives, and all my friends were staying back East. I came here weeks before the intern year started, mostly because I had finished my old job and I wanted to make friends and get to know Seattle before starting a job that would take up my whole time and, well, life. I moved into that god awful small apartment in Belltown. I had no friends. I had no clue where to go from there."

"Wow, you sure get chatty once you establish the boyfriend-girlfriend thing," Alex joked. For that, he earned one big slap on the shoulder. "I'm kidding, I wanna hear the story," he chuckled. Jo glared at him.

"Well, I really don't care if you wanna hear it or not, you are gonna!" she stated half mad at him for interrupting her, half joking. Alex reached over for his girlfriend's hand and intertwined them in her lap.

"Go on," he pushed her, rolling the car through a school zone.

"Well, alright then. If you can't live without it, I'll tell," Jo winked at him. "So, the first few nights I grabbed a drink at different bars around the city. Going from Belltown to Capitol Hill, over to the University district, nearby the hospital, well, all around. I met a handful of nice guys, but all they wanted was sex. Every freaking time," she explained exasperatedly.

"I don't blame them," Alex whispered, earning another glare from Jo.

"You know, I probably wouldn't have liked you very much if I had met you in a bar back then," Jo stated.

"Babe, you didn't like me much when you met me in the hospital back then, either," Alex pointed out.

"True that." She smiled lovingly. "Good thing I screwed up your good graces and got to know you better," she said, squeezing his hand softly. "Anyways," she resumed her seemingly never-ending story. "What I did was I started to go to this diner a lot. I liked it there. It's near Pike Place-," Alex interrupted,

"So, that's where we are going," he said.

"Putting together the puzzle pieces, good job!" Jo cheered theatrically like talking to a two-year-old. They laughed. "It's cozy and low-key and I just liked it from the first moment I went in there. Anyways, I sat in there for hours and hours at a time, reading the research I was getting acquainted with at the end of my term at my old job and drinking too much coffee and actually meeting a lot friendlier people than in all the bars. So, one day, this tiny lady comes out, I guess she must be like – I don't know – say, 90 years old? And she comes and sits with me. She tells me how she had been watching me and asks why I was alone all the time. Later, it turned out she's the owner of that little diner and even though she isn't running it anymore, she still bakes all the pies and spends all her time chatting up the customers and friends she has made over decades of working there. Since I started working at the hospital I have been going to visit with Ruth every week. She has been such a sweetheart and I feel like she's my surrogate grandma." She smiled absent-mindedly. Alex watched her for a second.

"We spent one night together and you are already introducing me to your family?"

Jo laughed out loud. "Well, you could say that," she said earnestly. "Nah, it's not like that. During my run this morning I realized I haven't been to see her for a while now. So I thought we could take a bit of a trip downtown. Is that okay?"

"As long as I get food in my system, everything's fine with me," he smiled at her.

"Good," Jo watched Alex drive down the freeway exit contently. After parking the car, they got out and went to stand in line.

"Are you sure you want to wait in line with all those people?" Alex studied the huge line. There had to be something about that diner that people actually stood in line in the parking lot. Especially, considering how many diners Seattle sported.

"I'm gonna go look if there's something I can do about that," Jo smiled at him and walked past the line to talk to the hostess. A couple of minutes later, she exited the little building again and came to stand with Alex. "It's not going to be long. Cathy says it's a come and go this morning," she informed him. "It's Sunday, after all," she added, looking back towards the restaurant. Alex hugged her from behind and Jo leaned back on his broad frame, resting her arms on his, which were bolted around her waist. They waited in comfortable silence, walking up a couple of steps every few minutes. Both of them were in deep thought, when suddenly they heard a young boy's voice talking to them. They both turned around to see 8 year old Bobby Bran running towards them.

"Dr. Karev, Dr. Karev," he called out ecstatically. Alex's face lightened up immediately.

"Hey, Bobby," he said, rumpling the boy's hair. "What are you doing here?" They both smiled down at the happy boy.

"Mom and Dad brought me and my cousin to have pancakes," he said proudly, rubbing his tummy in anticipation. Alex pulled the boy closer to the line.

"Hey there, just because you finally got rid of that evil man doesn't mean you can conquer all, especially big cars steering towards you," he scolded the youngster good-naturedly.

"Bobby, Bobby, you can't just run off like that," Mrs. Bran came jogging towards them, obviously confused about who her son was talking to.

"Mom, mom, look who it is! It's Dr. Karev and Dr. Wilson, mom!" he shouted out excitedly. His mother gave them a surprised look and changed her worried face to the friendly demeanor they had met her in before.

"Oh, hi there," she said, still bewildered about the meeting. "I guess I didn't expect that surgeons ever get off," she joked awkwardly, before her husband joined them with another boy seemingly the same age as Bobby. They laughed.

"Doctors," he exclaimed, seeing them for the first time. He shook both their hands, looking pleased. "So, you've heard about Ruth's famous pancakes?" he asked, all of them adopting a good mood.

"Ah, well, I do prefer her salmon-scrambled eggs on hash browns with the bacon crust," Jo answered smilingly. Mr. Bran nodded excitedly,

"Well, somebody knows the menu pretty well," he laughed.

"Dr. Karev, have you taken another evil man out of somebody else?" Everybody smiled at the boy.

"Actually, Bobby, yours has been the last one conquered for a while," he sighed. "Which is a good thing," he added, winking at the boy.

"Yeah. Food wasn't so great in there. I wouldn't wish it on any other kid," Bobby stated thinking hard. The adults laughed.

"No kidding, buddy," Alex agreed. The mood was very nice. The adults small talked another couple of minutes while making their way up the line.

"Dr. Karev," Bobby interjected again, "you never told me Dr. Wilson was your giiiirlfriend," he chuckled wildly and high fived with his cousin.

"Bobby!" his mother reprimanded him.

"Well, Bobby, you never asked," Alex only replied, enjoying their little chat.

"Jo," the girl at the seating chart called out which made them both jump.

"Well, that's us," Jo announced happily, turning to the Brans. "It was so nice seeing you again," she told them.

"Take care, Bobby," Alex said, bumping knuckles with his young patient. He said his good-byes to the parents and followed Jo, who was already led to a little table by the window.

"That was weird," Jo stated, watching the Brans from the window while Alex studied the menu. He looked up at her in confusion.

"Weird?" he asked, making her look at him and sigh. Before she could explain, she was interrupted by the waitress.

"Jo, hey, how are you?" the middle aged friendly looking waitress exclaimed.

"Sarah! Hi!" Jo got up and hugged the lady. Sarah smiled at Alex who smiled back politely. They small talked a bit before ordering coffee and their respective breakfasts. Sarah hurried away to place the order, Jo's eyes following her to the counter to look for what Alex thought might be Ruth. He reached for her hand and took it in his softly to get her attention. She looked at him smiling. Alex waited.

"I guess I'm just not used to being seen with you. No that got out wrong. I'm just not used to people realizing that we are a couple. It's weird," Jo tried to voice. Alex looked at her empathetically.

"Everybody knew about you and Jason," he noted after a while. Jo sighed and took Alex's second hand in hers as well, intertwining them both.

"I didn't mean I don't want to be seen with you, Alex, the only thing I meant was I am not used to it yet," she said, kissing his hand softly. Sarah was back with their coffees and they thanked her before getting back to their conversation. "And also, it's a lot harder with you than it was with Jason," she rounded up.

"Okay," Alex stated questioningly. "Why is that?"

"I don't know. I didn't care at all what people thought about Jason. I wasn't serious about him. I really didn't care. They could have thought whatever the hell they wanted. I didn't care if they liked him or approved of him or anything. If you remember, you were actually the only person I asked for their blessing because I did care what you thought. With you, it's different," the last sentence was a little quieter; Alex struggled to not miss a word. "I feel like you are so different from anyone else I have ever dated. I just, I feel like this is really serious. And I want the world to know that. And I need them to see what they're missing out on. And how lucky I got. And how much I…I..," Jo fought for words and simultaneously tried to not ruin the casual setting they were in. Alex smiled and stroked her arm up and down.

"Alright, I think I understand." He smiled at her.

"Do you really? Because it's important to me that you know that I am absolutely not jumping from one bed to the next. It's important to me that you know that I lo-," but Jo couldn't finish her sentence because Alex had reached over and kissed her. The kiss was soft and longing and as usual, expressed far more than they could ever say. They broke breathing a little faster.

"I know," Alex just whispered, their foreheads still touching. Alex wondered what had gotten into him. Never in his life had he imagined a situation like this, when he would act as he kept doing with Jo. She smiled at him.

"Now you are thinking how mushy we are," Jo teased. Alex chuckled and pulled back, leaning back on the bench.

"Yeah, actually, I am," he replied.

"Well, if it makes it any better, I am not used to such a show of affection either," she said truthfully. "However, I feel like I can't tell you enough," she sighed. "I don't know why but I still feel like we wasted so much time," she looked at him questioningly, as if she expected an answer to her odd feelings.

"I don't think it's a feeling of wasted time. After all, if we wanted to we have our whole lives before us," Alex contemplated. "What I think is nagging you…," Alex slowly fumbled for the right words. Jo looked at him curiously.

"Go on," she chuckled slightly.

"I think you unconsciously blame yourself for not wanting to realize your feelings for me before," Alex said, nervously looking down at his coffee. Jo laughed.

"Oh! Is that so?"

"I'm not trying to say I'm irresistible – which by the way, I am," Alex remarked. They laughed.

"Agreed!" Jo called out. Alex turned serious again.

"I am trying to say that I think you reprimand yourself for not believing in your feelings for me and you unconsciously blame yourself for going into the relationship with Jason." Jo looked at him with big eyes. She didn't know what to say. She also didn't exactly know how to read Alex's words. Was he saying he was blaming her? Or was he actually concerned she was torturing herself? She bit her lower lip.

"Alex…," she began to shape the words in her mind. That plan didn't go too far because a tiny little – seemingly ancient – lady was hugging Jo from the side. Jo laughed in surprise and turned to hug her friend back.

"My dear girl, why haven't I been seeing more of you?" the old lady croaked. Alex had to smile. Jo's description of the woman fit her one hundred percent. The girls parted and Ruth sat down on the chair besides Jo.

"I am so sorry, Ruth, I have been super busy at work – you know, with the storm and all – and then I had lots of stuff going on privately…"

Ruth smiled understandingly, patting Jo's hand soothingly.

"It's fine, it's fine, you youngsters have a life to go after, don't you?" She winked at the younger woman. "So, I see you finally brought your special someone to meet with me," she exclaimed cheerfully, observing Alex good naturedly. Alex smiled at Jo's slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Yeah, Ruth, I wanted you to meet…," Jo started like a schoolgirl bringing her date home to meet her parents. Ruth waved a dismissive hand at her.

"I know who he is! Well, shake my hand, Mister! I have heard lots about you, now I finally get to meet you. I hope you are treating this very special girl with due respect, Jason," Ruth said with as much enthusiasm as she could, shaking Alex's hand firmly.

"Oh no, Ruth, this is not Jason," Jo exclaimed panicky. "This is Alex," she added. Ruth raised her eyebrows, looking back and forth between the couple.

"You mean, this is Alex, the doctor you have been talking about nonstop since you first met him?" Ruth asked half confused, half amused by the situation.

"Ruth!" Jo bleeped, Alex chuckling.

"Well, it's not as if I'm telling lies," Ruth winked at Alex. "Well, as you can hear, I have heard lots about you as well," she told Alex. Jo bit her lower lip again, looking at Alex seemingly embarrassed. "So, what happened to Jason?" Ruth didn't blink an eye about her curiosity.

"How can you tell that I'm not still seeing him?" Jo asked cautiously. Ruth chuckled and leaned back in her chair.

"You are cute, girl. The entire café can tell that you guys are madly in love with each other," Ruth informed them, making them both blush. She didn't seem to notice that she made the couple slightly uncomfortable. "I am happy for you, Jo. I don't know why but I always felt like I wanted to meet this young man before Mr. Jason," she contemplated. "Alex has seemed a lot more important to you. There must have been some truth in that." She smiled, pleased with herself. Sarah, the waitress, brought both their breakfast plates. Jo was considering what Ruth had said, not touching her food.

"So, my relationship with Jason seemed off to you?" she asked her truthfully. "I mean, how could you tell Jason wasn't the right guy for me? And why didn't you tell me?" Ruth considered this.

"You know, Jo, you are young. You need to find your own way. Jason might have not been the guy but the time with him most certainly taught you something, didn't it? I can't tell you how many things I have done in my life that I thought wouldn't have been necessary. However, in the long run, there's usually something you wouldn't have done later on or you wouldn't have learned unless you walked the way you chose initially," Ruth pondered. Alex couldn't believe how easily Jo talked to that woman. Also, he couldn't believe how Jo didn't seem to mind him being there. Jo was deep in thought. She startled, when Ruth suddenly got up and clapped her hands. "Alright, darlings, you enjoy your breakfast and I will come chat some more later on," she said and already busied herself again, waddling towards the kitchen. Alex had started his food which he dubbed as most delicious. Busily shoveling eggs and bacon into his mouth, he needed a while to register that Jo hadn't touched her food yet.

"Earth to Jo," Alex waved his fork in front of her. Jo smiled. She took her cutlery and started eating. Alex realized, she still wasn't back to real life yet when she kept them in silence. He reached under the table to pat her knee. "Hey," he said softly, connecting their eyes, "we're going to survive this together, okay? I'm not leaving you alone in this," Alex reassured her. Jo smiled. She sighed.

"You are the best, you know that, right?" Alex nodded enthusiastically with his mouth full. Jo laughed, relaxing a bit. They finished their breakfast and Sarah offered them dessert, which they declined politely, Alex rubbing his stomach in pleasure. They sat in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, sipping their coffee.

"You need to talk about it, you know," Alex picked the conversation back up where they left it, looking at her earnestly.

"I know," Jo sighed heavily, putting her face into her palms, rubbing her eyes before taking Alex' hand into hers again and started playing with his fingers. "It's just, I can't figure out why everyone seemed to see what a jerk he was except for me," Jo stated exasperated.

"Who figured that out before you?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "You?" she asked slightly confused.

"Nah. Of course I thought he was a jerk. I mean he got you when I didn't. Also, I thought he was an idiot – which means I didn't like him. AND I didn't appreciate how he was doing his job much. But no, I didn't see coming what happened then," Alex concluded, shaking his head still not wanting to believe what he knew happened with them.

"Well, Ruth seemed to know about it," Jo said half-heartedly.

"Ruth didn't see something like that coming, either. All she said was that you seemed more eager about telling Alex stories than Jason stories," Alex tried to calm her. "Just because some people aren't perfect for each other doesn't mean the relationship is meant to escalate like it did with you guys," he added, caressing Jo's cheek. She looked at him with all her guard down. Since the day he found her on his porch he realized now, she hadn't let him see how vulnerable she really was.

"I don't know, Alex. Sometimes, I think, I must have seen it coming. I mean, how could you not see something like that coming? How could you just be in a relationship with someone and from one day to the next he hits you? I mean, I moved in with that guy! I shared a bathroom, a bed with that guy. I freaking slept with him," Jo seemed to panic slightly, tears pricking her eyes.

"Hey," Alex soothed her, taking both Jo's hands into his. "Hey, it's okay, it's alright, you are safe now," he told her repeatedly. "Nobody could have seen that coming, you know that. You need to stop blaming yourself for that," Alex said, trying not to think about what he wanted to do to this guy for hurting his girl as he did. Jo looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"I don't know what I would do without you," she said. "Ruth is right. I would probably have never admitted my feelings for you unless Jason hadn't messed up so royally." She took a deep breath.

"I don't want you to go find positive outcomes from what he did to you. What he did was horrible and there's nothing more to that. If he hadn't hit you, we wouldn't be together? Come on, Jo, you're not serious, right?" Alex got somewhat agitated. Jo looked at him patronizingly.

"Yeah, because we both know we were acting like perfect adults and if he hadn't hit me, we would be talking to each other again by now. Nuh-uh!" Jo shot back.

"Well, not exactly. We are a couple of morons - that much has been established. But I'd rather not be with you than knowing he hit you," Alex stated truthfully. Jo looked at him thoughtfully, mulling over what he just said.

"So, what are you saying? You'd rather have Jason and me still going out, and you and me not talking?"

"Well, yeah, if that means he hadn't put a hand on you," Alex said.

"What about us? What about all the… I mean… all the…well, this," Jo gestured wildly between them.

"Jo, I can't tell you what would have been. I have no idea what would have been. I'm just saying you would have been a lot better off without him hurting you."

"You know I hurt him, too," Jo offered for the first time, unsure how her counterpart would take it.

"Yeah, I saw that," Alex just replied, sighing heavily.

"That doesn't bother you?"

"Yeah, it bothers me. Of course it bothers me. Because I know how unbelievably horrible he must have hurt you for you to put him in the state he was in when I found him," Alex hissed. Good thing they were seated in a corner booth, people couldn't hear a thing from where they were and with all the noise coming from the other diners. Sarah refilled their mugs and they both smiled at her gratefully. "But Jo, you are not naturally violent. You just have had enough in your life. You know how to defend yourself – thank God you do, otherwise you most probably wouldn't have been able to come to my place on your own afterwards. You wouldn't have hit him, if he hadn't bothered you, right?" Alex looked at Jo expectantly.

"Probably not, no," Jo said reluctantly. "But it still wasn't okay for me to…"

"No, it wasn't. It wasn't okay. But it was justified. At least, it was in my opinion. And I'm not saying that because it was you he hurt. Any woman should protect herself from what is coming her way, heck, any person should protect him- or herself. It's not a girl thing. It's not okay for females to hit, either. The thing is, most guys are a lot heavier and stronger and can hurt more easily than women. No offense. And aggression is more common in males than females. It is what it is. As said before, if you wouldn't have done it, I would have killed him, and yes, I'm scared of that too. I was so angry at him I couldn't even think straight. And with me it wasn't self-defense. So stop treating yourself like you are the monster in this. You're not. Defending oneself is nothing to be ashamed of," Alex spit out angrily.

"I'm sorry," Jo said.

"What are you sorry for? I don't mean to 'tell you off', I just can't have you thinking you did something wrong," Alex said impatiently.

"You are getting pulled into this mess and I don't even know what to do about it myself," she apologized.

"Jo, I wanna be in this with you. Because it's not a 'what would have been' but a 'it is what it is' and in this one, I am with you now, and we for once chose to bury our gazillion differences and tell the other what we mean to each other. We got over our childish fight and we got over how it's actually not so gross to do it with one another but really – at least for me as the guy in this relationship - the only thing I wanted to do since I first saw you. So, after getting over all that crap, now we're getting over Jason. I mean it, take your time and all, but don't exclude me. Cause – shown by example A sitting opposite the table from me: 'Present Jo' – she jumps to completely messed up conclusions about what happened to her," Alex said, trying to get a little teasing tone in the last statement.

"I still can't believe you," Jo frowned.

"What?"

"I still can't believe how you… what you… I mean, why would you do all of this? You seem so organized, so… well, you seem to be good with this. I don't even wanna ask why you are managing this like a 90 year old with just as much experience as wrinkles on his back."

"I must have been a really crappy friend to you," Alex said.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because apparently you know nothing about me. This is who I am. I will always be there for you. I will always try to protect you from something. I promise, if we ever break up it's because of that reason exactly. I'm a freak," Alex chuckled. Jo looked at him sideways.

"You are my freak," she whispered, "come here," she gestured, pulling his face over the table and kissing him hard. Their foreheads still touching, Jo closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know anything anymore. It's just so confusing and I wish it'd all go away".

"It will, in time. It's gonna leave a scar but it's going to heal. I promise," Alex said, pecking her lips again. They leaned back slowly into their respective chairs.

Alex looked at her deeply in thought. "What?" Jo asked him. Alex just shook his head, realizing that he hadn't put on his blank mask. "Hey, ask away, I owe you answers, I know that," Jo whispered, fidgeting in her seat uncomfortably.

"You don't owe me anything, Jo, you don't owe anything to anyone," Alex stated with emphasis.

"You know what I mean," Jo argued. "Tell me, come on!"

"I don't know, Jo, this might be too intimate," Alex voiced his concerns.

"I don't think there's something I don't want to share with you," Jo said honestly.

"Alright, you don't have to answer though, if you change your mind," Alex said. Jo nodded in agreement. Alex fumbled for the right words. "I totally realize I just said I don't wanna talk about what would have been… but… what do you think? Would you still be together if he hadn't messed up? I mean, you had feelings for him, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have moved in with him, right?" Alex looked at her uncertainly. Jo looked at him in concentration, biting her lower lip again, trying to form a reply in her head. She didn't know what to say. She had been thinking along the same lines as Alex had.

"I admit, I am not sure. See, if we hadn't fought, I wouldn't have come to your house or would have asked for refuge. You and me, we would probably still not be on speaking terms and I would still be living with Jason. You wouldn't have any reason to tell me that you love me," she recounted the scenario. "And I would probably still be grasping for reasons to be with Jason," she added. Alex looked up at her in surprise.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it wasn't like I was madly in love with him. I mean, of course he attracted me. And I liked him. But it wasn't like I wanted to spend my life with him. I guess, I just needed something in my life to change; I needed some stability. So, I moved in with him. I never really thought much about it. Now that I think of it, I must have definitely known about my feelings for you. I just didn't want them to come to the surface. I needed you as my friend. I don't know. This is all so stupid when I think about it now. Ugh, that irritates me," Jo sighed. Alex nodded.

"Well, let's leave the 'what would have been's behind for today, what do you say?"

"Music to my ears right now," Jo answered with a small smile. Alex caught Sarah to get the check, while Jo was looking for Ruth to say her goodbyes. She spotted her over at the Brans' table. Ruth saw the couple and waved them closer.

"Jo, Alex, I want you to meet my nephew and his family," she said joyfully. The whole party looked surprised at their second meeting that day.

"Ruth, these are Bobby's doctors! How do you know them?" Mr. Bran asked curiously. Ruth looked between her nephew and Jo before focusing on both doctors.

"You are the doctors who fixed my sweet Bobby?" she said tearfully, already engulfing them in a hug. They both raised their eyebrows in surprise, looking at the Brans who chuckled and Alex patted the old lady's back awkwardly. When she let them go, she still held their hands. "Oh, Jo, I didn't even know you were operating on the young ones," she said. "And your Dr. Alex… if I had known you were the one saving my little Bobby… oh, you are such a good man," she said, not believing her ears. Jo and Alex both laughed.

"Well, it's my job," Alex said quietly, Jo nudging his side. The Brans smiled.

"So, how do you know each other?" Mr. Bran repeated his question, intrigued.

"Well, when my dear Jo moved to Seattle she came to visit me regularly and since she didn't have anyone we became a little family, haven't we?" Ruth winked at Jo who smiled.

"Yes, indeed," she said, touched.

"And this fine young man I just met. They're a couple, you know," she said, nodding at the Brans knowingly. They laughed.

"You don't say, Ruthie," Mr. Bran laughed. After a little more small talk, they parted ways and Jo and Alex left the diner almost visibly a little more light-shouldered.

Jo looked at Alex playfully. "What?" he said defensively, signing the check the waiter had brought them a while ago.

"You tend to tell really long stories, now that we are boyfriend and girlfriend," she winked at him, earning a glare from Alex and she laughed out loud. "Aw, I loved that story, thank you for being so truthful," she told him earnestly, trying to catch his eyes. He smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it," he said. They left the restaurant and got in the car. They drove home in silence, enjoying the last few minutes to themselves. Alex parked the car in the driveway and helped Jo up the staircase. Before they turned the corner to unlock the front door, Jo slowed down and hesitated. Alex turned around.

"What is it?"

"This was a really nice first date," she commented slowly. Alex smiled.

"Yes it was," he said. They shared an awkward moment.

"So… I wouldn't have picked you for the careful type of guy," she said. Alex frowned.

"What are you saying?"

"Well… with this being our first date and all… aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" she smiled at him expectantly. He let his head fall to his side and rolled his eyes. They stood there for a second, Alex considering the situation. After that second, he caught her waist and pulled her a little closer. Jo placed her hands on his shoulders and waited in anticipation. Alex bowed down and kissed Jo softly, just like on a first date. No tongue, no intrusion, just a light, romantic version of 'when can I see you again?'. He pulled back and looked at her.

"Thank you for dating me tonight," he said, making it as realistic as he could. Jo gave him a genuine smile.

"I can't wait for the next one," she said, honestly. And with this they walked inside to meet with Lauren.