Chapter 43

"What?" Dave wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly. Maybe he had wanted her so much to say something along these lines that he was already imagining things.

"He wasn't you," JJ whispered again, sounding almost desperate.

Dave still looked at her in disbelief. He had spent the whole eventing plotting how to get rid of Anderson, how to win her back, and now she was telling him what he had been trying to show her all along? To say he was surprised would be the least.

Combined with the relief that he hadn't lost her, he also felt anger rise in him again. He had waited patiently for months, had given her all the time she needed to think, had let her push him away from her over and over again, and now all of a sudden she decided to have him? He knew he should be nothing but thankful but he couldn't help it.

"What do you mean, JJ? I'm suddenly good enough again?" he replied more harshly than he had intended to, the words out before he could even think about them.

Now it was her turn to stare at him in shock. And she suddenly realized what she had been doing to him all this time. She'd been playing with him, with his feelings. She had been so sure that he would always be there, waiting for her to come to a decision, that she never noticed what this must have been doing to him. It had never occurred to her that he might not wait forever.

"Oh my God." Her words were nothing more than a faint whisper. "Please tell me I'm not too late." her eyes filled with tears as she looked away, burying her face in her hands.

When he didn't move, she turned to him again, trying to find something in his face that would tell her that her realization had not come too late.

Dave just closed his eyes.

"Dave, please say something," she begged him.

Opening his eyes again, he asked: "What? What do you want to hear, JJ, that I haven't told you already? I'm not the one who has to explain himself here." He had spoken softly and calm, but JJ could not miss the hurt in his voice.

"I am so sorry, Dave. I never realized how much I was hurting you. Or maybe, subconsciously I wanted to hurt you, to get back at you for how much you had hurt me. I don't know. I'm truly sorry, David."

Her apology tore at his heart.

They had both had their fair share of being hurt by the other, that much was for sure, but he knew it had to stop now. He had never meant to cause her any more pain tonight, so his own reaction had surprised him quite a bit. There had obviously still been a lot of accumulated anger in him that he hadn't been able to keep in control. But right now, he just wanted it all to be over, he wanted to forget everything that had happened between them in the past year – with exception of their first night together when they'd made their daughter – and just start all over again. It was the only way they'd both win.

JJ, who interpreted his silence and hesitation as rejection, nodded in defeat and stood up.

"I'm going to bed," she said softly. "Maybe tomorrow we can talk about how to go on from here."

She turned to walk away, when she felt his hand catching her wrist and holding her back. Turning back to him in surprise, she had to cry even more when she saw the look in his eyes. But this time they were happy tears, and they were beginning to form in his eyes as well. The pain had vanished and the deep love she saw reflected in them almost brought her to her knees.

"Come here," he whispered, pulling her down into his lap.

Wrapping his strong arms around her, he let his own tears fall freely as he held her close for several minutes.

"I'm so sorry about everything, David," he finally heard her soft voice against his ear.

"Shh, it's okay, Jennifer. No more apologies. We're together now, that's all that matters to me."

Pressing a soft kiss into her hair, he closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. For the rest of his life he would remember that moment, when he felt truly at peace by just holding her. He couldn't even begin to describe the happiness that filled his heart. Now he had everything he ever wanted, and he was going to do his damnedest to keep it.

Feeling his warm breath against her hair and hearing his strong and steady heartbeat made JJ relax completely. Everything was okay now, everything was clear. All doubts about his intentions and her own feelings for him had vanished and had left only the essential: She loved this man and he loved her back.

A/N: This was supposed to be up yesterday, but I got distracted by watching the Soccer World Cup (Go, Germany! :-)).

Thank you very much everyone, who is still with me and reading this story! I truly appreciate everyone's feedback!