A/N: Ah, alas, the final chapter, and no, I am not joking ;)

LexieCabot: If I recall correctly when you asked me if this would be A/C endgame I responded carefully by saying, yes it is an A/C story. I never said anything about endgame. And I didn't lie, it was an A/C story. Was mostly centered around Alex though but still.

Anyhow, last chapter! Enjoy!

"You were extremely rude." Alex says firmly as she follows Casey into the bedroom. She has noticed that within the past few days the redhead's normal, cool demeanor has tuned to one of agitation and frankly it's been getting on her nerves. "When I'm having a conversation with someone you have no right to order me about like that."

"I have a right when you're wasting my time." Casey snaps back, nostrils flaring with anger before she rolls her eyes. "Besides, what use of time have you got for that bottom feeder anyway? She's no longer in your class Alex and you don't resort to lowering yourself to her standards. Especially not to socialize."

Alex raises her eyebrows in complete surprise as she shakes her head. "You need to calm down. First of all, that 'bottom feeder' you just so affectionately addressed just happens to be my best friend. Despite the fact that we may disagree on some things does not mean that she isn't going to be my best friend and that doesn't give you a right to talk about her like that. If I feel like socializing with her, I am going to."

Casey snorts mirthlessly at this before she folds her arms. "Well you aren't if you are going to be with me." she replies back, throwing up her hands in irate frustration. "Why are you defending her anyway? You are with me Alex, me. Are you choosing her over me? Is that it?"

"What are you even talking about right now!? Casey you're being childish!"

"Am I? Am I being childish when I'm the one who has to constantly feel like I'm looking over your shoulder just so you don't say the wrong thing or talk to the wrong people?!"

Looking at the redhead with incredulous disbelief, Alex's arms fall haphazardly to her sides as she once again slowly shakes her head in complete confusion. "What is going on with you right now?" she all but whispers with a frown of confusion still plastered across her face. "Why are you all of a sudden acting like this?"

"Because you're the one that doesn't know how to act, Alex!" Casey explains, stepping closer. "There's only so much I can give you before you gotta start figuring out how to act on your own. Associating with the wrong people is going to make you look bad and if you look bad then I look bad."

"When did you become so controlling?!" Alex exclaims, her face still showing that she wants answers. "And selfish? When is everything suddenly all about you!?"

"Everything is always about me Alex." Casey explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "It's my world and everyone else is just living in it as I could buy everyone and sell them back just to buy them another time."

"You don't own me." Alex spits venomously, completely taken off guard by the hard backhand that makes contact with her face. The blow is so hard the it sends her to her knees as she is so stunned that she doesn't have time to anticipate and defend herself against the oncoming blows.


The sky is dark by the time Abbie reaches Casey's penthouse. "Stay in the car." She orders Serena firmly, her heart thumping loudly in her ears as she sprints into the building and into the stairwell as she deems the elevator to be far to slow as time is clearly of the essence at the moment and all she can do is hope that she isn't too late.

Reaching the very top floor, Abbie gives the door a few good rams with her shoulder before managing it to rip it from its enforcing locks. The silence and faded darkness that she is met with is eerie and the only sound she can hear is the roaring in her ears and her heart pounding so heavily that she feels as if it's about to jump out of her chest.

"Alex?" she whispers carefully, moving about the living area as there is absolutely no sign of the blonde. Sighing quietly, she continues to move efficiently yet carefully while she continues to look for any signs of other inhabitants.

After looking about the living room, lounge and kitchen areas, Abbie proceeds up the stairs and into the first bedroom that she sees. Finding herself in what she assumes to be the master suite, her heart slams to a halt when she finds an unconscious Casey sprawled across the mattress with an empty bottle of expensive hard liquor hanging from her hand.

Shaking her head, she turns around to head out when she swears she hears a noise. Pausing, Abbie listens harder for the noise, her brows furrowing together when she just barely makes out the noise as faint groaning from the bathroom.

She proceeds into the large bathroom where she pokes her head around before her eyes land on the bathtub and her heart aches. Slowly approaching the tub, her hands begin to tremble as her eyes fall on the badly beaten and bruised woman lying haphazardly on the inside.

"Abbie?" Alex croaks, just barely able to open her left eye while the right one is practically swollen shut. Her vision is slightly blurry and as she raises her head to move, sharp pain shoots through her spine that causes her to whimper and slump back down into the tub.

"My god, what…what happened to you?" Abbie whispers, kneeling down to the side of the tub to get a better look at the blonde's injuries. She notices the split lip, swollen eye, the dark bruises at her cheeks and most importantly, the fractured nose.

"We had a fight…" Alex whispers, tears springing to her eyes and burning on their way down her face as the salt from her tears begin mixing with her cuts. "She got…she got so angry and first she slapped me and I yelled at her. Then she…then she…" Alex can only trail off as her body begins wracking itself with sobs which only serves to aid to her pain.

Standing up, Abbie gently lifts the other woman into her arms, a look of apology passing over her face as Alex nearly cries out from being jostled. As quickly as she possibly can she gets Alex out of that house and soon finds herself crossing the street to where she parked her car.

Once she reaches her car, she opens the back side door and gently lays Alex down in the back seat. Closing the door behind her, she then spins around and heads back towards the building, once again not bothering to take the stairs.

With her adrenaline pumping, Alex barges into the bedroom once again but this time she heads straight for the unconscious drunk woman. Grabbing Casey by her shirt, she jars her from her slumber for only a brief second of leeway before she lands a hard punch square to her face, knocking her into the end table.

"What the fuck!" Casey exclaims before she manages to get to her feet. Her eyes lock angrily on the brunette staring back at her and she gives her a firm but otherwise pitiful shove do to her drunken state. "Get the hell out of my house!"

Abbie manages to fend off of Casey's pitiful attacks though she manages to take a few well placed lucky hits. Their fight spills out onto the second floor landing before Abbie gives an aggravated yell and rams Casey, sending the both of them tumbling down the stairs in a mess of flying fists.

They both reach the bottom with audible thuds, both women feeling the impact of the roll from the stairs and the fall to the first floor. Seeing Casey crawl across the floor, Abbie just barely manages to dodge the lamp thrown straight at her head but she shade does manage to cut a small gash into her cheek.

Reaching the kitchen, Casey pulls a plate from the wrack, breaking it over Abbie's back which causes the brunette to flinch and yelp in pain. "You think you're just gonna barge into my house you stupid bitch," Casey slurs, seemingly unaware of the blood pouring down her nose.

With her rage from what this woman just did to Alex combining with the rage for what she did to Serena in the past, Abbie grabs Casey by her neck and rams her hard into the kitchen counter before ramming her face first into the refrigerator.

Throwing her onto the floor, Abbie straddles the redhead's waist pinning her in place before the punches just begin raining down. Tears of anger blur her vision as her punches continue and she can just barely recognize the feeling of bone shattering against her hand upon each impact. Blood begins staining the floor and her fists as Abbie continues, completely unaware of what she's doing. That is, until an unknown force throws her to the side.

"Abbie stop!" Serena exclaims as she quickly pulls the distraught brunette to her feet. "Abbie, she's not worth it. Please…she's just not worth it."

Glancing down, Abbie feels nearly sick to her stomach at the sight of what she did with her hands. Taking a deep breath as her heart rate slowly begins to calm, Abbie nods her head and moves past Serena to head out the door before she feels compelled to do anymore damage.

Risking a glance down, Serena sucks in an involuntary breath as she stares down at the woman she has been living in fear of for months on end now and how the tables have turned. She stares down at how this woman with a dashing smile and charming attitude is by far one of the most violent people she has ever come across was just beaten within near inches of her life. She is so busy being in shock that it nearly scares her half to death when that familiar voice speaks.

"Serena," Casey croaks, her eyes just barely visible through the blood caked across her face. A weak but sinister looking smile, probably due to the blood, splits her face as she stares up at the woman in her kitchen. "Serena, you came back."

"No. I didn't." Serena states firmly as she squares her shoulders. "And I'm never coming back."

"You don't mean that." Casey scoffs, frowning when the blonde steps over her to leave. "Serena!" she shouts angrily as she just barely manages to roll over onto her side. "Serena, damnit! Come back here you little bitch! Serena!"

Present Day

"But…" Jennifer begins, finding herself dabbing at her slightly unshed tears at the conclusion of the story. "What happened after that?"

"I wish I could say." The marriage counselor responds with a sad smile as she glances down at her hands. "But I'm not entirely sure of what happened after that on that particular night. I hope you understand the reason that I told you this story?"

Nodding, the shorter blonde drags a hand through her hair as she takes a deep breath. "That the grass isn't always greener on the other side." She chuckles despite her dampened mood. "And that I shouldn't run off towards someone else just because I feel like things are falling apart. That I should fight to fix them and not place all of the blame on her because a marriage requires two people. Not just one."

Smiling, Alex nods her head as she reaches over and takes Jennifer's hand. "And I advise the both of you to sit down and have a talk about both of your wants and goals for the future, that way you can come up with a plan and a compromise beforehand so you aren't stumbling on through life with no clue of what either of you want."

Giving Alex's hand a squeeze, Jennifer smiles as she rises from her chair. "Thank you so much for sharing your story with me." she explains softly. "It really shed light on my situation."

"It's my job to help." Alex responds before the two share a brief hug and brief talk about their next visit. As she heads to her desk to pack up her things for the day, she catches a glimpse out of the small window in her office to where she watches Jennifer run into her wife's arms and the two hold each other tightly, clearly whispering words of apology. The sight brings a small smile to her face.

With a small sigh, Alex grabs her purse and makes her way through the rundown office in which her service is offered. Normally she would opt for taking a cab home, but this time she opts for taking a walk as she finally has the courage built up to make a certain stop.

On her way home, she pauses on the sidewalk as she nearly walks past the newly opened art gallery. Peering through the glass windows, she spots a familiar brunette in an expensive tailored suit shaking hands with whom Alex just barely recognizes as some business executive. Taking a deep breath, she grips the strap of her purse with both hands before she slowly puts one foot in front of the other and walks inside.

Immediately her attention is drawn to the tiny blonde girl who can be no more than seven years old as she runs about the area, with what looks to be a model plane in her hand. Alex can't help but smile softly as she watches a taller version of the little girl chase after her all the while shouting 'Molly no running'." Alex's thoughts are jarred when she hears her name.

"Alex?" Abbie says in complete disbelief as she slowly makes her way over to the blonde lingering awkwardly in the doorway. She struggles with her words for a brief moment before chuckling quietly. "What're you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd stop in for a look…" Alex explains with a small shrug and tiny smile. "I saw the article in the paper about your grand opening and I've been meaning to swing by for a look. I just…you know…but the place looks really nice. I like it."

"Thanks…" Abbie responds, awkwardly shuffling her feet before she clears her throat. "So how are you?"

The question renders a pause from Alex before she sighs heavily and shrugs one again. "I'm managing." She responds with another tiny smile. At least it isn't a complete lie.

Before Abbie can respond, the blonde from before approaches the two and wraps her arms around Abbie's waist from behind, obviously having given up on chasing after the hyper active child. "I hope you've finished up your lunch meetings because your daughter claims that she's hungry." She purrs, placing a gentle kiss to the side of Abbie's neck before she notices Alex and a look of realization dawns upon her. "Oh. Um. Hello."

Clearing her throat, Abbie steps aside far enough to let the new comer into the conversation. "Alex you remember Serena."

"I do." Alex responds with a head nod and a smile. "You have a beautiful daughter."

"Thank you." Serena responds politely as she spins around just in time to scoop Molly into her arms causing her to squeal as the seven year old finds herself being tickled. "You take after your hyper Momma don't cha? Don't cha? Abbie, we'll just be in the back and you can come get us when you're done."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary, I was just leaving." Alex speaks up, as she sends the family another small smile. "Really, I must be going."

"Okay…well it was nice seeing you." Abbie responds carefully as her eyes soften. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too." Alex answers, sending Abbie a smile one last time before she takes her leave, leaving behind the woman she once knew and the life she could probably could have had.

Not all stories have happy endings you guys. Besides, I've written several stories for you guys that have had happy endings, what's one gonna do? I'll make it up to you though, I promise. Leave your thoughts!