I would run this scene over and over in my head back in junior high.

While listening to Selfless by It's Alive on repeat.

But, again, I never wrote anything down.

"Sir, have you seen Alice?", the lieutenant asked.

"Have you checked her room?", Warner asked, clear disinterest in his voice.

"Yes, sir."

Warner shrugged.

"Well, she's bound to be sulking somewhere."

Delalieu frowned at this.

"P-pardon?"

"Alice threw quite the fit at the fact that Juliette had shot my father between the eyes. I have not seen her since then."

"But she went towards her room?", Delalieu wondered.

Once again the commander shrugged.

"She disappeared, in that way. Leaped."

He was quite surprised when a wave of worry washed over the older man.

"Lieutenant?", Warner questioned as Delalieu turned to walk back the way he had come from.

He was too old to be running around the compound like this.

Sure, he would have to jog every now and then to reach a particular situation ,but he was in no shape to be doing intervals along a beach. He only stopped to call for Alice.

He didn't know what it was that had drawn him towards the ocean. But his conscience was already weight down by too many regrets of not trusting his gut feeling that he followed it.

He covered his eyes with his hand as he looked out into the waves.

There had been something…

Something that had caught his eye.

There in the waves-

Something bobbing up and down in the waves.

He ran into the water, not giving any thought to the awful state of the water. Or the fact that water was running into his shoes. Soaking his socks and his pants and the bottom of his coat.

The water pushed against his legs. The tide was coming in. Still he pushed forward until he had water far above his knees. There he saw what it was.

A shoe. Black with a patented toe.

He lunged forward before the waves could pull it out and caught it.

It could be any shoe, he tried to reason. There was so much garbage floating around along the shore. The piles lining the beach was evidence enough.

Yet this shoe was too clean to have floated in the sea for any longer than a day. And Alice had a pair just like this. The feeling of unease was overwhelming at this point.

Hypothesis sprung from his terrified mind.

Had she gone to the shore and fallen in? Could it be that Alice had tried to return to Sweden? Had she appeared mid air above the water?

He didn't know if she could do that...

He didn't even know if she could swim…!

He looked up and tried to search the waves. Looking for anything.

"Alice!", he called.

Panicked now.

"Alice!"

Frantic.

He stepped forward but did not know where he meant to go. The waves pushed him backwards.

He looked over his shoulder, back towards the beach. Contemplating whether to get help or rush further into the water. Perhaps he should search for higher ground-

"ALICE!"

Then as he turned back; in the corner of his eye.

A flutter of fabric.

There, on the beach walk, just close enough for him to make out her face, she stood. She had also just looked and seen him,

They stared at each other for a moment, equally as surprised to see the other, then Alice wailed.

"Jasper!"

If it wasn't for the adrenaline he probably would have collapsed right there on that beach. Instead he jogged, or stumbled forwards, feet sinking in the wet sand.

Perhaps she did that thing. Leaped. Because then she was already in his arms. And once she was knees buckled underneath him.

And he held her.

Held her like he had never held anyone before.

-had never dared to.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" He could barely get the sentence past his lips, his stammer worse than he could remembering it being.

She cried. He realized he was also crying.

"I thought..."

When had he felt such relief before?

When the doctors had allowed him inside the labour room after the entire previous day and most of the night.

When his grandson had woken up in a pool of blood inside a children's classroom.

"I'm sorry", she said.
"I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry…!", she murmured.

"What are you doing out here, my darling?", he asked her.

She pursed her lips and sniffled after a pause. The child who knew they had been in the wrong.

Then she brought her arms around his neck and turned her face into his coat.
"Aaron hates me…!", she sobbed.

He would be lying if he said that he did not feel deflated at the fact that Alice was upset that Anderson had been killed.

And at the same time he didn't want her to know; to know the amount of pain that man had caused single handedly. Because, in his selfishness, he wanted her to stay pure. To not burden her with that kind of knowledge.

But even if that mattered he would still comfort her.

"I-I'm sure that's not the case, d-darling", he said, hugging her; practically smothering her.
"We're all up in knots right now. Just give it time... and then we can start unraveling this mess...", he said, unsure if that would even be the case.

But he hoped it would be. Because surely his grandson wouldn't let this wonderful girl slip from his grasp? Not when she had obviously helped to uphold both of their sanities for the last year and a half.

Despite his uncertainty it seemed to calm the girl. Little by little her sobs melted away and all that remained were sniffles and hiccups.

Then, suddenly, three words against his neck.

"I love you."

He felt his breath catch.

"I don't think I've told you, but I really do, Jasper…" She hiccuped.

How much was his heart supposed to take in one day?

He smiled despite the cold and the pain in his body and the emotional stress he had just experienced.

"I love you too, my darling."

She turned then so that her face was outwards.

"I know that", she told him, almost in a pout.

He let out a laugh.

Then he turned his head and kissed her.

"And Sir Warner loves you more than he admits to...", he added.

"You really think so?"

"I do", he told her.

Then he shivered. His body had seemed to dismiss the cold weather in the rush of adrenaline. But now it was coming down from its high and he was soaked.

And Alice wasn't wearing anything but her everyday dress. She was already curling in inside his coat seeking whatever warmth he could still provide.

"We need to get back to base, dear", he told her as he brought them to stand up.
"It's dangerous for you to be out here in the cold."

She sniffled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. She looked down at her feet suddenly.

"I lost my shoe...", she murmured.

He made a face.

"I found it in the water. It's probably ruined by now, but you can't walk home with just one shoe...", he told her.

"It should still be on the beach, wait here", he said and turned to go and fetch it.

He was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"There's no need", she said.

Then he wasn't sure what happened, but she took his hand in hers and he was pulled along with her, just like that winter day that felt so long ago, then-

they were standing in his quarters.

It ended on a bit off a cliff hanger, I know, but I promise Jasper doesn't freak out too much.

I got a few ideas when reading Restore me that I will try to type out as scenes when I have the time.

Thanks for reading!