Disclaimers: I don't own these characters; they're property of ABC and whoever.

Also have to confess to stealing another title (because I'm no good with titles). This one's a translation of the song title "Entre azul y buenas noches" by Jeans. The song really has nothing to do with these fics, I've just always loved the image… it seems to me to be the place where everything is possible. So don't feel like you need to look up the song, if you haven't heard it (in fact, be glad, otherwise I've probably just gotten it stuck in your head). Though, if you have heard the song, or even heard of the group, give yourself 50 cool points (no, what am I thinking, don't do that. You should probably lose that many cool points…)

Author's note: So… trying something different here. I'm going to try not stating up front what the "What if" scenario is because I want to keep ya'll guessing. If anyone has any suggestions for scenarios, please send them my way, the only requirement is I'd prefer one that someone hasn't already written. Random is good. Feedback, of course, appreciated (especially since this first chapter is kind of out of my element)

I. Saving Lives

She moved her hand to cover his, caressing it for half a moment before she seemed to realize it wasn't quite appropriate. Quickly she pulled it back, drumming her fingers quietly on the sides of her coffee mug. She couldn't quite bring herself to look at him so she stared into her coffee, waiting for him to speak.

But he didn't; all she heard was the low hum of the other patrons in the café as the space between them grew progressively more awkward.

"Please," she said when she couldn't take it anymore, "I need you to understand."

"Well explain it to me again," he said in a voice that was taut with some mix of hurt and anger, "because apparently I'm a little slow."

"He needs me," she said.

"I don't care about him," he said.

"I do," she said quickly in as firm a voice as she could manage, "I care about him a lot."

"But you don't love him," he said with much assurance than she could say much of anything.

She didn't respond. She couldn't. No matter what she said it wasn't going to help, wasn't going to change anything. "He's been through a lot," she insisted, silently pleading with him to let that be enough. To let this go. To let her go.

"We all have," he said, "but the only one I'm worried about here is you."

She shook her head and still refused to meet his eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Jen," he said grabbing her hand suddenly, "his father almost killed you. Have you forgotten that?"

"It's not his fault," she protested.

"It's not yours either," he said not relinquishing her hand, "you don't owe him anything."

"Not as much as I owe you," she said finally looking into his eyes which she was surprised to see brimming with tears. "You saved my life Rex. If you hadn't come into that garage when you did Mr. Colson would have-"

"Shh," he said putting a finger to her lips, "don't even think about it."

She flinched away from his hand and pulled her hand out of his while she was at it. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, don't be, it's just-"

"You're with Riley now."

"He needs me," she repeated. It was almost becoming a chant. "I'm sorry."

"What if I said that I needed you?" he asked those intense eyes driving into her skull.

"You don't," she said shaking her head and looking down again.

"I do," he insisted.

"No," she said, "you want me. And it's… it's actually nice to hear, but it's not the same."

"And that's what you want?" he asked sounding slightly disgusted, "you want some guy who needs you? Who can't stand up on his own?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"Why? How?"

She tucked a lock of silky blonde hair behind her ears, searching for the right words, "Okay, like I said, you saved me. You saved me from going to jail, you saved me from Mr. Colson and I know that if I ever needed saving again you would be there to do it."

"I would," he nodded, "because I love you."

She fought to keep the declaration from bringing tears to her eyes. "But that's the problem—I don't want to be the girl who needs saving anymore."

"You want to be the one doing the saving," he said softly. There was resignation in his voice. Was he finally starting to understand?

"I want to know that I can be the one doing the saving," she said. "I want to know that I can be the strong one for once."

"Okay," he said, "I get it. But you can do all of that here."

She shook her head sadly. "But Riley can't. Everyone in town knows about his dad now. What he did, why he did it. He'd have to live with that day in and day out. He needs a fresh start somewhere else."

"And he needs you," Rex said.

She nodded and drained the dregs of her cup. "Thank you for understanding."

"I don't," he said.

"But you-"

"Look I'll accept it," he said, "because I don't think I really have much choice in the matter. But I don't think I'll ever understand why you would choose to be with that-"

"Don't," she said holding up a hand as if to stoop him.

"If he ever hurts you-" he warned.

"I'll take care of it," she said. Her meaning was clear; she wanted him to stay out of it. She needed him to stop fighting her battles. She needed to save some lives for herself.

She reached out for his hand one last time, "Good-bye Rex. Thank you so much for everything. I'll never be able to repay you."

He squeezed her hand, "Just stay in touch, you know. If you ever ne—if you ever want to talk." He'd almost said to call if she needed him, but she'd made it clear enough that she didn't want that to happen.

She smiled at him as she gathered her purse. "Take care. You're going to find a really great girl soon, and I hope she makes you happy."

And she left. As though that promise that he was going to find someone else held any truth. As if he even wanted to move on. He would never regret saving her, but why had he lost her anyway? He sat there for a moment, letting his coffee cool as her warmth dissipated.

Just as her perfume started to fade his cell phone rang. "Hello," he said impatiently.

"Hey Balsom, it's Bo Buchanan, I have a few loose ends I need to tie up with the Colson case, can you come down to the station?"

"Yeah," he said trying to lose the hitch in his voice, to regain his composure, "sure, I'll be right there."

"Balsom?" Bo asked sounding concerned, "everything okay?"

"Yeah," he said, "it's great, it's just… Jen's gone, Bo."

Author's note 2: Barring some sudden inspiration this will be the only chapter with these two. But I am interested in experimenting with other characters, so seriously, I'm open to suggestion.