A/N: So this is the next installment of It will never be over. I hope you all like it. Thanks again for the fantastic reviews and I am so glad you like it. I am going back to work Monday so I will be going back to updating once a week. This is my longest chapter to date!
Chapter 13 –Santa Baby
Alex, Jackson and Christina were hung over. It was approximately midday and the three of them were nursing headaches, taken pain killers and were just about at the stage of drinking lots of water to make them feel better. None of them were quite ready for food.
The doorbell rang and the three of them groaned. "It's your house." Christina said looking at Alex. He sighed and managed to get himself off the sofa to answer the door.
Fuck – I can't let my kid see me like this.
Alex plastered a fake smile on his face as he opened the door. Jo mouthed an "I'm sorry" as she knew a hangover when she seen one.
"Hey daddy, daddy guess where we going?" Thomas exclaimed excitedly.
"Where?" Alex said trying to muster the same excitement his son had and picked him up to give him a hug, hoping he didn't reek of alcohol.
"I'm getting my photo taken with Santa. He is at the mall."
"What now?" Alex asked knowing what was coming next and wondering how his head and stomach would cope with a mall full of Christmas shoppers and screaming kids.
"I'm so sorry Alex. I totally forgot that I had promised Thomas we were going today. I meant to tell you about it because we would like you to come with us."
"Say yes daddy." Thomas pleaded.
"You bet. I wouldn't want to miss that. Can you just give me twenty minutes to have a shower and get changed?" He said to both Jo and Thomas.
"Oh Dad." Thomas whined.
"Of course you can Alex. Don't be rude Tommy. Santa isn't going anywhere. "Jo reprimanded.
"Thank you. Hey Thomas go in the living room and say hi to Chris and Jax."
Thomas bounded into the living room to annoy his father's friends. Alex thought it was amusing as he heard Tommy asking why they looked sick and why they were laying around on the sofas.
"Alex, I am sorry about this."
""It's fine." He said, his head throbbing and having Jo still looking so amazing just made him feel worse.
"Um later I really need to talk to you. It's kinda important." Jo said, with an uncomfortable tone in her voice.
"Yeah, I think I got it. Look its fine. Let me have a shower, and clean up, we will go get this photo thing done and then we can talk tomorrow. I don't think I'm up for a talk today."
"Sure. You go. I'll wait in here." Jo said feeling a little dejected. She had to make him understand. She had too. God knows Alex wasn't perfect but he was perfect for her.
Jo drove to the Mall, as Thomas spoke excitedly from his car seat in the back. The silence between Alex and Jo was palpable.
Alex was determined last night to fight not run, but today feeling hung over and seeing his gorgeous ex still looking beautiful he was beginning to let his insecurities creep in. Maybe Jo would be better off with someone else. But when he thought about that someone else he clenched his fists as the thought of Dr Do Gooder kissing her again brought out every jealous bone in his body to the surface.
Sure he had felt protective of other women in his life over time. He would do anything for Christina, Meredith he even considered Arizona Robbins someone important to him and would defend her against just about anyone. They were his family.
He had cared and been protective of Ava, but that ended in disaster, he had even thought he loved Izzie, been resentful and devastatingly hurt of her choosing Denny, and O'Malley. He had let Addison go without a fight because he believed she would be better off without him. But Jo she was different. She was the ONE. The one he couldn't get over. He had been an idiot and Jackson made him see the light. He did have two choices. He was going to choose to fight.
The line for a photo with "Santa" was long. "Santa's helpers" were letting people know the wait time was nearly an hour at the part of the line Thomas was at. As all three year olds, he was going to get inpatient very quickly.
Alex was pre-occupied and Jo was thinking about how she could tell Alex that she was beginning to feel uneasy around Ryan. He had really freaked her out last night and she had good radar for this type of thing and needed to tell Alex.
"Look Alex I know now isn't the best time it's just last night..."
"Jo I said not today. I can't deal with that too."Alex said with a sharp tone in his voice, which got Jo's back up.
"You don't even know what I am going to say." She returned with the same tone.
"I got a pretty good idea. Look I saw you Jo. I saw you K.I.S.S.I.N.G Hardy." Alex said his voice rising again. Alex spelt the word kissing as he didn't think Thomas needed to hear that.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, I didn't...I don't want..." Jo replied.
"STOP FIGHTING!" Thomas yelled at both of them before he reefed his hand out of his fathers and ran away.
Jo and Alex both froze for about 10 seconds, before it registered what had happened.
"Thomas" Alex called out as he was the first one to spring into action. As full as the mall was, Alex never lost sight of his son. Jo followed running as fast as she could to catch Alex, she kept apologising to people as she knocked them.
"Thomas stop!" Alex kept calling. Thomas was so angry; all he wanted was for his mommy and daddy to get along. He had been so happy to have a daddy finally and this was his first year to have both parents with him while he visited Santa. He was not going to stop running.
A full fifteen minutes later Alex and Jo had finally caught up with their runaway child. Jo was on her knees grabbing Thomas by his shoulders.
"Thomas, what were you thinking? You don't EVER run away from us, is that clear. Anyone could have taken you. Do you understand?" Jo was yelling and screaming and crying.
As all the onlookers stared, thinking they may need to call Child services. Alex understood she was panicked but this was not helping.
"Jo. You have to calm down. This is not helping." Alex said in his best Doctors voice. He had switched into Pediatric mode and was talking to Jo like a parent of a patient, not as the mother of his son.
"No! Thomas you don't ever runaway, there are a lot of bad people in the world..."
"That is enough Jo? Do you want to scare him more? He is three years old, he doesn't understand." Alex said as he released Jo's grip on Thomas's shoulders and picked up the crying child.
Jo nodded her head. She realised her reaction was wrong but her heart was racing. If she lost Thomas her life would be over. She would never forgive herself. Her relief that he was fine was so overwhelming she didn't know what to do other than cry.
Alex held Thomas on his hip as his arm went around Jo and led them to a seat nearby.
"Jo do you have Thomas's Ventolin in your handbag?" Alex asked calmly.
"Yes" she muttered as she fished it out of her bag and handed it to Alex.
"Hey buddy, I know you are scared, but I need you to just take one puff of your Ventolin okay. Just to make sure you don't have an asthma attack. Can you do that for me?"
Thomas just nodded his head as Alex put the mask over his face and pushed the button to release a dosage of Ventolin to help him breathe. After a few minutes, Thomas's breathing returned to normal. He had laboured breathing from running so fast, and Alex thought it best to act know rather than take the risk of him having a full blown asthma attack especially after his mother yelled at him.
"I want go home to daddy's." Thomas finally said. Jo felt her heart break in two. Her son was making it very clear he wanted to be in his father's care and not hers.
"Why don't we all go back to my place? We can come back tomorrow for a Santa photo. Look tell you what, how about I call Arizona and see if I can get the day off tomorrow. Maybe Mommy can call Dr Ryan and she can get the day off too. Then we can all come back tomorrow and maybe go and see a movie too. I think Polar Express is on. It's pretty cool." Alex said, trying to make things better. He could not stand to see the pain on Jo's face.
"Okay, but mommy can go home. I just stay with you." Thomas said refusing to look at his mother.
"Oh Baby boy I am so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. You just don't know how much I love you."
Thomas still refused to look at his mother.
"Thomas let's go home okay and we will work everything out." Alex said giving Jo a sympathetic look. He took the car keys out of her shaking hands so he could drive home.
They arrived home and Christina and Jackson were gone. The three of them sat together and Alex drove the conversation. He explained to Thomas that it is only because mommy loves him so much that she was angry. She wasn't really angry with him she was just scared.
"Tommy you have to understand that adults get scared too. And when we get scared we sometimes cry and say things we shouldn't."
Jo hung her head in shame. She was the Psyche Resident she should know this stuff. But it is her rough around the edges, no emotions ex who is handling the situation so much better than anyone else could have.
Thomas finally acknowledged that he loved his mommy and was yawning. Alex took him up to his room so he could have a sleep.
On Alex's return, Jo took him in her arms.
"Thank you. I don't know how you kept so calm."
When Alex didn't reply she could feel him shaking and felt his tears as they hit her shirt.
"My turn to crack, the crisis is over." He muffled into her neck. "Fuck Jo I don't know what would have happened if someone took him. I just..."
"They didn't. You never lost sight of him. He was always going to be safe. You were always going to get him back for us."
Alex pulled away from her and wiped his tears.
"Do you want a drink? I sure need one." Alex said.
"No Alex." She said grabbing his hand as he turned from her. "I need you to hold me."
Alex returned and they held onto each other like their life depended on it. They stood like that for what felt like hours but it was probably only five minutes. Jo pulled back and placed her hands on either side of his face and pressed her lips to his.
Alex was unsure how to respond, was this real or was it just desperation from the day's events. Jo didn't let go and coaxed his mouth open. He responded briefly before he pulled away.
"Jo? What are you doing?" He said huskily.
"I need you Alex, please." She pleaded with her eyes as she stood on her toes and kissed him again. She sucked on his bottom lip which after a few moments he opened. His mouth moved as he now began to really respond to her kiss his tongue slid into her mouth slowly. Savouring the moment, Jo responded by lightly sucking on his tongue as an involuntary groan escaped his mouth and into hers. He pulled her flush against his body and wrapped his arms around her.
He moved his mouth from hers and placed it on her neck. "Feel what you do to me?" He asked as he moved his hips into hers. Jo could feel his erection pushing into her thigh. God she wanted him so desperately.
"Mmm, you move your hand between my legs and you will feel what you do to me."
Alex just moaned at the thought of touching her there, feeling that she was ready for him. Just as he was about to move his hand down and feel between her denim clad legs he pulled away once more.
"What about Hardy?"
"I don't want him Alex it has always been you. Surely you know that." She replied whilst running her hands along his shoulders and down his biceps.
"How would I know...?" He didn't bother to finish that sentence as he watched her hands travel up under his shirt. She knew just how to touch him, just how he liked it. His lips crashed back down on hers. It was an urgent and hungry kiss. He wanted this, after the day they had. He needed this too. His eyes snapped open and pulled away.
"One more time Jo. I don't want this to come back and bite me. We had a big scare today sleeping together, wouldn't it be a mistake?"
"No! It's the only thing that makes sense. God Alex when did you get so sensitive?" Jo smiled and run her hands back down his chest and lower, towards the top of his jeans.
"I'm not. I just don't want to be accused of taking advantage."
"I would never do that. Besides I am the one begging you to touch me. I want you. God I want you. We both need this baby, tell me you don't."
"Of course I do." He replied huskily. "Last chance because if I kiss you again now, I won't be able to stop."
"Good. I don't want you to stop. Ever." Jo whispered into his ear.
"I need to get you out of these clothes. I want you so much baby." Alex said as he rocked his hips back into her.
He pushed his hands through her hair before taking her hand and leading them upstairs. They needed each other naked. They needed to feel each other. They needed to be loved by one another in the way that only they had with each other and no one else. The rest well that could be worked out later.
A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter. Please be kind and review.