"Allison, I know what I'm doing," Doris assured her, interrupting the young mother's long list of instructions. "I raised Steve and Mary, I think I can handle looking after Sawyer for a night."

"I haven't been away from him yet," Allison fretted. "What if something happens?"

"If something that I absolutely can't deal with happens, I will call you, but we're going to be fine."

"Okay," Allison took a deep breath and turned to Steve. "Then I guess I'm ready to go."

He nodded and kissed the top of Sawyer's head before passing him over to his Grandma.

"You be a good boy tonight, okay?" He told his son. Sawyer simply smiled in response before grabbing his grandma's hair.

After letting Allison say a quick goodbye as well, Steve dragged her out the door.

"They're going to be fine," He assured her. "My mom knows what she's doing."

"I know, but this is the first time I've ever left him. He's used to having me around and I'm used to being there."

"Just try not to let it ruin your night," Steve smiled as he opened the door of his truck for her.

"Oh, I think the company will take care of that one," Allison teased.

"Hey! I am great company!" Steve protested. "And you better watch what you say or dinner will be on you."

Allison gasped dramatically.

"After a comment like that, I'd say this date is off to a horrible start!"

"Darn," Steve smiled. "Well at least it can only get better from here."

Allison nodded and Steve quickly shut her door before going around to the driver's side.

"No, I'm not gonna tell you!" Allison giggled later that evening as her and Steve ate their meal. He had once again taken her to one of the more fancy restaurants in town, despite her protests, but so far things had been going well.

"Please?" Steve begged. "Why is it such a secret?"

"It's not a secret, it's a surprise." Allison clarified. "You can find out on Halloween what Sawyer's dressing up as."

"Can I at least have a hint?" Steve asked, pleased with how easy the conversation was flowing between them.

"Nope, but he's gonna look so cute,"

"Of course he will," Steve smirked. "We made him."

"Yeah," Allison laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "Probably the only good thing to come out of our relationship."

"Don't say that, we were good together."

"Good?" Allison raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that. We fought constantly, all I ever did was worry about you when you were at work and I almost died just because I was your girlfriend."

"You worried when I was at work?" Steve asked, slightly surprised by her confession.

"Of course I did. With your stupid hero complex, I know you always lead the charge and put yourself ahead of your team and I know that means you'll always be the first to get hurt."

"I don't have a hero complex," Steve rolled his eyes. "If I put myself ahead of my team because they are my team. It's my job."

"Well what about the times you went without your team?" Allison asked, her tone conveying her obvious bitterness.

"I went to Korea by myself because it was a favour to a friend and dragging the team would have drawn too much attention and I went after Wo Fat to protect my family. That wasn't anything to do with the team and I couldn't put them in danger for my personal mission."

"But what if something happened to you, Steven? It's not safe running off without your team and then where would your family be? Sawyer would grow up without a father and I would lose the man I love." Allison tried to keep her tone civil, but could feel herself getting worked up over the topic once again.

Sensing her shift in mood, Steve reached over and gently rested his hand on hers.

"That's what I don't get about this whole thing." Steve said calmly. "You're upset because you could've lost me on one of those missions, but because you're holding it against me and pushing me away, you're going to lose me anyway."

"I was upset because you took off, after I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't, and left me a stupid letter because you didn't have the balls to face me," Allison clarified. "But it was supposed to hurt less this way," She continued, her voice quieter, as if embarrassed by her words. "I thought if I broke it off the feelings would eventually fade and it wouldn't be my problem anymore if you didn't come back from one of your crazy missions."

"And how's that working out?" Steve asked, knowing her feelings for him were still there.

"It's not," She sighed. "I still love you and, as a friend pointed out, I'm not gonna move on if I still see you when you visit Sawyer."

"So what are you planning on doing about this?" Steve asked cautiously, silently praying she wasn't drifting back to the idea of taking Sawyer away.

"I have no fucking idea." Allison groaned. "I can't keep you from seeing Sawyer. I know now that it was stupid of me to think I should. But even if I still have feelings for you, I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with the worry that comes along with being your girlfriend."

"But if you're going to worry anyway, isn't it better to at least know that when I do come home safe at the end of the day, I'm coming home to you?" Steve asked, trying to steer her towards making the decision he selfishly thought was best.

"I guess," Allison nodded, subconsciously squeezing his hand slightly. "But what am I supposed to do if you don't come home?"

"I promise that I will always come home, Ally."

"You can't make a promise like that, Steve!" Allison said, her voice filled with frustration. "In your line of work and with all your stupid missions, there's a good chance that one day you won't come home."

"Well I know what I want." Steve told her, knowing that arguing in the middle of the restaurant wouldn't solve anything. "So the choice is yours. Give me one more chance and we can try to work through our problems and be a family or don't, and we can both move on."

"I have to think about it," Allison told him after a moment of silence. Steve nodded and another awkward silence came between them. Feeling slightly uncomfortable after the shift in mood, Allison carefully pulled her hand away from Steve's before picking at her dinner.

The rest of the dinner and the ride back to Allison's house was filled with an awkward silence. Steve hadn't meant for the night to take such a turn for the worse, but he hadn't lost hope yet as it was quite obvious that Allison was quiet mostly due to the fact that she was weighing out the pros and cons of her options.

When they finally pulled up outside her house, they got out of the car and walked towards the building without saying a word.

"Well," Allison said finally breaking the silence when they arrived at her door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow when I come get Sawyer."

Steve nodded.

"Thanks for coming tonight," He said sincerely. "And let me know when you make your decision."

Before Allison could stop him, Steve pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and turned, quickly walking back towards his truck. However, after a moment of nervous indecision, she knew what she really wanted to do.

"Steve, wait!" She called before quickly running after him.

As if he was expecting this to happen, Steve stopped instantly and turned back to Allison. Allison, who wasn't as prepared for his reaction, couldn't stop as quickly and crashed into him.

"Yes, Allison?" Steve asked with a smirk as he caught her before she could fall to the ground.

"I think...Uh, I mean...well..." Allison stumbled over her words, not sure just how to say what she wanted to. "Oh, fuck it."

With that, Allison stretched up and pressed her lips against Steve's. At first he was caught by surprise, but wasted no time adjusting to the new situation as he pulled Allison even closer, kissing her back with equal passion.

"We still have things to work out," Allison reminded Steve as he slowly, but surely backed her up towards the front door, not letting her out of his grasp.

"I know," Steve agreed before kissing her again. However, Allison pulled away again, wanting to talk while she was still able to resist the temptation that was now overpowering her.

"And I don't entirely trust you not to break my heart, but," Allison gasped as Steve kissed her neck. "I'm willing to try."

"Mm, that's good." Steve whispered in her ear. "I won't let you down."

"Fuck," Allison groaned, overwhelmed by how quickly things had escalated and just how badly she wanted what was about to happen. "Do you want to come inside?"

Steve grinned and pulled away so Allison could get out her keys.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Author's note: Woo! I'm finally updating at a decent rate again. Hopefully I can keep it up and hopefully you all enjoy this part :)