Heroin and Vodka

Author's note: Hey guys. I know its been a while since the last update. But I'm really bogged down with studies and what now. Despite this story's plot being in my mind for a year and a half or so for now, its surprising that I haven't been able to complete it yet. Anyways, with the show finally over, do let me know your thoughts about the series finale in the reviews. Enough blabbering, let's begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Get Away With Murder. It's plot and characters are the sole property of Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes.

Chapter 42

She shifted uncomfortably in her bed, the sheets ruffled up as her body was twisted into a fetal position. Her eyes were shut and beads of sweat were trickling down her forehead.

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Think about what you're saying. Think really well about it." She replied quietly.

"I've given this enough thought….I'm doing this." replied the person in front of her.

She shook her head in denial, not wishing to believe what she was hearing.

"You're just going to throw everything away. All that we've done to cover everything up. So…all that was for nothing?!" she asked, her voice taking on a menacing edge.

"You don't get it. We can't live like this. Sam, Rebecca, Sinclair, my father…the bodies are just piling up one after the other. Don't you get it?" he replied. He walked up to her and placed his arms on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. I'm going to sign an immunity deal. We're not going to jail…"

The rest of his words began to sound distant. The person let go of her shoulder and began walking away. Her head snapped up as she noticed him reaching for the door.

It was now or nothing.

She grabbed an empty bottle of wine from the mantlepiece and rushed towards him. Hearing her approaching, the man turned around. Spotting her, his eyes widened.

"Laurel. What are you—"

CRASH!

Laurel's eyes snapped open as she began to hyperventilate. It took her several minutes to ease her breath. Once she had calmed herself, she tried to understand what had caused the abrupt break in her sleep. She realized that she had been sweating profusely as she wiped her head with her sheets. She shut her eyes again, hoping to focus on what she had dreamt of.

But it was as good as attempting to hold onto running water in her cupped hands. The details were slipping away faster than she was capable of recounting. The only thing she could recall vividly was the sound of a bottle smashing down hard on an object. But for the life of her, she couldn't associate it with anything else.

She sighed.

This hospital was getting to her now.

Isaac walked up to the door and knocked on it. As he awaited a response, his eyes couldn't help but drift to the elevator at the far end of the corridor.

The elevator where Laurel had given birth to her child.

His thoughts were brought back to focus as he heard footsteps approach the door. The person on the other end though had already seen him through the eye hole and she rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Go away!" she shouted.

Isaac sighed. He had been anticipating this response.

"Annalise, please open the door." Isaac requested calmly. There was no response from the other side.

"You know what? I'm just going to stand here until you do open that door." Isaac replied firmly as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

After a few minutes, sure enough, the door swung open slowly and Annalise emerged from her apartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Aren't you going to let me in?" Isaac asked as he eyed the shut door.

"No." Annalise snapped immediately. "Say what you came to say and leave."

Isaac gazed at her. It never ceased to amaze the man as to how fierce and proud the woman standing opposite to her was. She was a force to be reckoned with.

And it was pretty evident to him that the woman was pissed off at him for the events which had transpired last night. She had every right to be. And he needed to correct the situation before it escalated.

"I'm sorry, Annalise." Isaac replied softly.

Annalise shook her head.

"I don't need your apologies. And I never asked for it to begin with." She countered.

"Annalise, I…know I went overboard." Isaac lowered his head. "I was only looking out for you." he asserted.

"I don't need you looking out for me. I need you to let me do my god damn job." she replied with a frustrated sigh as she turned around and opened her door. She was about to shut it when Isaac's foot blocked it.

"And I need you to let me do my job." Isaac countered firmly. "Now, should we do this in private or would you rather we do this out here? Your call." he replied.

Annalise was silent for a few moments before she stepped aside. Isaac sighed in relief and walked in. Annalise shut the door behind him.

Isaac gazed around the apartment as he took in the atmosphere of the room. It was dimly lit and the air was somewhat musty. While there were plenty of furniture which furnished the living room, the apartment did not reflect its inhabitant in any fashion at all. One end of the living room was in disarray as files were strewn all across the floor haphazardly. A white board was propped up against the wall, which had several pictures of inmates on it.

Isaac turned to face her.

"Love what you've done with the place." he replied with a chuckle.

Annalise raised her eyebrows in response.

"I don't need you questioning my taste in decorations. Just say what you need to say and leave." she replied in a firm voice.

Isaac rolled his eyes inwardly. Clearly crossing the threshold of her apartment had been the only progress he had made. Isaac knew better than to attempt explaining himself while she was in this state. Instead, he took off his overcoat and propped it up on the coat hanger. With a nonchalant gesture, he walked over to one of the couches in the living room and occupied it.

Annalise's eyes widened.

"I didn't say you could make yourself at home." she replied in a firm tone.

Isaac turned to face her and gave a casual smile.

"You said I had to explain myself. You didn't say anything about any time constraints or the fact that I couldn't make myself comfortable while doing so."

Isaac couldn't help but chuckle as he watched his words have the intended effect on the woman. The expression on Annalise's face looked as though she was going to blow a fuse any second.

"Get out!" she shot at him.

In response, Isaac simply settled himself into the couch.

Seeing the man take no heed of his words, Annalise snapped and strode across the room to his couch.

"I said leave." she whispered, in a threatening tone.

Isaac looked up at the woman and shook his head, the same cocky grin on his face.

"Unless you can make me, I'm afraid you're just going to have to settle for the time being." he replied.

But Annalise wasn't one for settling. If anything, Isaac's statement had just riled her up. And she still had one card left to play. She walked over to the countertop and grabbed the phone propped up against the wall.

"If you don't leave, I'm calling my super. Your call."

Isaac eyed her confidently, as if daring her to make her move.

In response, Annalise began to dial. She was just about to press the last number when a hand came up behind her and clicked the pin down.

She looked up. Isaac calmly took the receiver from her hand and placed it back on the wall.

"Are you so mad at me that you won't even give me a chance to explain myself?" he asked softly.

"I shouldn't have trusted you. I let my guard down and you took advantage of it. You're just like him. You're all the same." she spat out bitterly.

It was the same thing she had said last night. Wearied by the night's

"Sam?" Isaac asked in a low voice. Annalise looked away from him and nodded.

"So, what if I was Sam, Annalise? What would you do?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Annalise didn't reply.

He came closer until he was mere inches away from her.

"Hit me." Isaac whispered softly.

Annalise's eyes widened as she turned to stare at him, eying him as though the suggestion was ridiculous.

"What are you—" but Isaac cut her off.

"Sam hurt you, didn't he? So did I. Hit me!" he replied more firmly.

"I'm not going to—" but Isaac cut her off once gain.

"I hurt you, didn't I Annalise? What would you do to someone who hurt you?" he asked, cocking his head to the side inquisitively.

Annalise narrowed her eyes.

"You asked for it." she replied, and without warning she began to beat her fists against his chest.

"Why?" she raged, as her fists ponded on his chest. "Why would you report me to the bar? Have I not done enough for you?" she asked, her voice rising. "Its because of me that your case was dropped by Denver. I left to protect you. And this, this is how you pay me back?" she screamed in fury. She stopped as she began to take deep breaths.

Isaac cocked his eyebrows.

"Are you done?" he asked, rhetorically. "As for why I did what I did, I did it to protect you Annalise. Because…I…" The man lowered his head. "You're my friend. And I couldn't lose you again."

Annalise's eyes widened. She had felt certain the man would defend his actions as a doctor. But here he was, lowering his guard against her. The woman who had caused him so much pain ever since she had entered his life.

"I would never report you to the bar, Annalise. But I couldn't bear to see you putting others' needs before your own. You were going overboard. And…I feared you would relapse like me…or worse."

Isaac paused. The silence between them seemed to magnify a thousand times as even the faintest sounds seemed prominent.

"On the bright side…" Isaac began abruptly, "…you pack one hell of a punch there! I definitely felt those hits." he replied with a chuckle, as he rubbed the area where the woman had hit him repeatedly. He winced in pain as his hands brushed against a particularly sore spot.

Annalise's eyes widened in shock. She rushed over to him and pulled his hands away and unbuttoned his shirt partially. Her eyes zeroed in on a particular spot which was faintly red. She looked up at him.

"Why?" she whispered.

Isaac raised his eyebrows, confused.

"Why what, Annalise" he asked.

"Why did you put yourself through that?" she asked.

Isaac chuckled.

"I think after all that we've been through, I can safely admit that this is the least you've hurt me." he replied with a soft smile.

It was at that moment that Annalise realized how grossly he had misjudged the man. He…was nothing like him. Nothing like Sam. The parallels between the two were only superficial. She had never known Sam to own up to his actions. She had…never known Sam to willingly allow himself to be treated in such a violent manner without any defenses. Ever since Lila had entered the equation, she…had never known Sam to lower his guard against anyone, least of all her.

And yet, Isaac continued to associate himself with her, refusing to give up on her, despite the pain she had put him through time and time again. She had never met someone as resilient as him. Someone who continued to break down all her walls ever since Sam. The walls she had erected around herself and which she would judiciously guard. Yet, Isaac had penetrated all her defenses with ease. And this was not owing to any of his therapeutic skills. He had laid himself bare to the woman.

Isaac cocked his eyebrows.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he asked softly, snapping Annalise out of her epiphany.

Annalise gazed at the man before reaching out and taking his hand softly and led him back to the couch he had been seated on.

Isaac watched, puzzled, as Annalise entered her bedroom and emerged with a medical kit. She sat down beside him and gently applied some lotion against his chest. Isaac grimaced in pain as the medicine stung. Annalise continued to apply the lotion gently against the sore spot. As she did, her vision began to blur as tears streamed down her face.

Unexpectedly, a gentle hand reached out and softly brushed the tears away from her face. She looked up from his chest and met his eyes.

"Don't cry, Annalise." Isaac whispered softly. "I'll be fine after some time. Besides…" the man added with a chuckle, "…this was a learning experience for me. I would definitely not want to be in your bad books."

Annalise couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Even in this condition, he still managed to crack a joke. It never ceased to amaze Annalise as to how the man would break the tension between the two. Annalise leaned in and gently kissed the man on his cheek.

Isaac chuckled softly.

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?" he asked.

Annalise looked away from his gaze, embarrassed, and nodded. While her anger at the man had almost evaporated into nonexistence, she was still prideful enough to not give the satisfaction.

Isaac sighed in relief. At least he had managed to defuse the situation between the two. While he would have enjoyed nothing more than spending hours on end with the woman, they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Annalise." he replied, his voice taking on a serious edge. "I have something to tell you."

Author's note: and with that, this chapter comes to an end. What did you all think? I know Annalise might seem a bit OOC in this chapter, but I figured that given how she acted towards the end of 6x01, it seemed appropriate. After all, she has been through hell and back. She's bound to crack at some point.

Anyways, do let me know what you guys felt about the season finale. I personally loved it. Although I was quite upset with how the show dealt with a few of the characters, particularly Bonnie. Also, Tegan finally confessed her feeling to Annalise. I like to believe they ended up together although in my head, I'll always ship AnnalisexIsaac. As for the next update, I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but I cannot guarantee anything as of right now as my schedule is quite packed. But I will definitely be able to update at least once a month.