Whatever It Takes - Jessica & Alex

"If I die, I'm haunting you first!" Sara's shrill voice reached Jessica's ears over the rush of the water below them. "Do you even know how high this bridge is?"

"I couldn't tell you in feet, I'm British," her room-mate shrugged, grinning infuriatingly. Where the hell did the girl get her reckless nature?

"I really don't like you sometimes, Parker," Sara groaned, shuddering as she peered into the water against her better judgement.

"You love me," Jessica giggled. "I'd jump with you but the boys around here might get the wrong idea if you take so long that we have to keep holding hands."

"If I wasn't so freaked, I'd be offended, but as it happens, you're off the hook. That guy Alex from the diner earlier has been ogling you for ages. Why don't you just leave me here and go for it?"

Jessica's eyes lit up when she spotted the dark-haired flirt staring at her from a distance. "That boy is fine," she sighed dreamily. Then she bit her lip regretfully. "Will you be okay on your own?"

"I'll manage," Sara muttered, the nervous tension twisting her insides in knots. "Go!"

The hustle and bustle of the bar she sat in wrenched Jessica from her musings eventually. She had wanted to be helpful but just arriving back on American soil for the first time since her college years had thrown her for a loop. Add to that the fact that her best friend was dead and she didn't really know how to feel right now. Even the chattering of other patrons couldn't pique her interest right now, notorious gossip though she was.

"Is this seat taken?" Jessica lifted her head reluctantly, prepared to snap at whoever dared interrupt her internal whirlwind of emotions. Instead, she felt her jaw drop.

"Alex," she whispered. Then found her voice to speak louder over the noise around them. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You really have to ask?" he demanded, none of that cockiness she remembered in his words. "Sara's gone." Struggling to breathe around the lump swelling in her throat, the British girl gestured at the empty seat beside her. "I brought my Nonna's famous pasta recipe all the way from Europe. How lame is that?"

"It's not lame at all," Jessica told him. "You come from the land of the ultimate comfort food, we could all use some of that."

"You look good, Jessie," he said softly. "I hope it's okay to say that. I'm way out of my element here."

"I think we all are," she pointed out. "Did you go to see Clay already?"

"That sister of his is acting like a gate-keeper," Alex grimaced. "Makes you wonder how bad the spiral must be if even we feel this crappy."

"She's just trying to protect him," said Jessica defensively.

"Oh that's right, Jessica Parker can't hear a word against Lily and James Potter," Alex teased, sounding like the guy she remembered from college for the first time. "You're like a loyal little puppy."

"Shut up!"

Alex grabbed her hand before she could land a punch to his arm. "Oh no you don't, missy."

"Let go of me, Alex," Jessica demanded and it was her tone that made him drop her hand. He was used to annoyed and exasperated from the British girl; this sadness was new. But then, what else could there be but misery under the circumstances?

"Sorry," he sighed. "You know I don't mean to bug you, it just kind of happens."

"Life happens," Jessica pointed out quietly. "And sometimes it royally sucks."

"Amen," Alex agreed, raising his beer in her direction.

"You're not even offering to buy me a drink with that smug grin?" Jessica marveled. "I guess times really have changed."

"I can take a hint, Parker," he said stiffly. "I'm here for my best friend, chasing you was never my intention."

"And my best friend is dead," Jessica breathed, the words barely audible since they didn't feel remotely real to even say out loud. "You know, all I can think right now is how she promised to haunt me if that bridge jump that we did in college had killed her? How ridiculous is that?"

"I don't think it's ridiculous at all," Alex told her softly. "Man, that was a crazy day, huh?"

"Wild," she agreed. "Did you know that even after things ended between us, Clay and Sara were the reason I believed in soulmates?" Jessica took a deep breath, the threat of tears was way too real right now. "This isn't fair!" With an involuntary squeak of suppressed emotion, the girl covered her eyes. "Oh God, I promised myself I wasn't going to lose it. I came here to be useful, damn it!"

"You're plenty useful, Jessie." She felt Alex put his arm around her, not trusting herself to look up yet.

"You've gone soft, Walker," she mumbled, attempting to joke but the pain was still too close to the surface. "I'm uh…I'm sorry about this."

"I'm not," he said truthfully. "It's nice to have something feel so familiar when the idea of Sara being gone is so damn surreal. Don't you think so?"

"I…I hadn't really thought about it like that," Jessica stammered. She finally lifted her head and immediately wished she hadn't. Alex's dark eyes were full of more warmth and understanding than she had ever known him to possess in college. "This feels so bizarre."

"By this do you mean us?" Alex asked, gesturing between them and she nodded mutely. "It doesn't need to, you know. We're both here for the same reason, nothing else really matters right now."

"I suppose you're right."

"Could you say that again? I don't think I heard you right." Just like that the teasing smirk was back and Jessica rolled her eyes at him half-heartedly.

"Would it kill you to be sincere for more than five minutes, Alex?" she mused in exasperation. "You are so frustrating!"

"You love me," he said jokingly, if for no other reason than to get her out of her own tornado of feelings. What he wasn't expecting was a shaky nod.

"God knows why, but I actually do," Jessica sighed, wiping her eyes subtly. "I missed you, Alex. I just hate that it took Sara freaking dying to get us back on the same page. I wish things were different. I mean just thinking about that poor little baby is breaking my heart."

"It's a good heart you've got there, Parker," he said, throwing caution to the wind to give her a one-armed hug. "For the record, I missed you too." He cautiously pressed a kiss to her cheek and rather than the instinctive urge to flinch, the fleeting touch felt like a safe haven. "We'll get through this, okay? I promise!"

"Do you still want to buy me a drink?" she asked with a shaky laugh.

"If that's what you want, absolutely," said Alex without even thinking. To his surprise, Jessica swiveled her bar stool around to face him and pressed herself into his arms.

"Actually, what I really want is this, believe it or not."

"That works too," said Alex, stroking her hair gently. She couldn't blame the surprising tenderness entirely, but that touch was when Jessica finally broke.

"She's really gone," she choked. "How the hell does shit like this happen?"

"I don't know." Alex sighed and pulled her closer. "Life is short, Jessie. Why don't we head back to Clay's and I can make my Nonna's famous pasta for everybody? I think sticking together is how we'll get through this."

"He's a mess," Jessica warned. "I flew from England with Lily, she's the only one he's letting down the walls for right now. I feel so freaking helpless."

"All the more reason," said Alex gently. "He's my best friend…I'm going to do whatever it takes."

"I'm with you," said Jessica decisively, wiping her eyes once more. "Whatever it takes. Can I just do one more thing before we call a cab?"

"Hmm? What's that?" asked Alex, toying with her slender fingers the way he used to all those years ago. And she kissed him again, pouring all the grief into the one thing that made her feel very much alive right now. Everything seemed to have turned upside down but it was comforting to know that love always remained.