A/N: As promised, the next 's day is almost over… *eyes shrinking supply of tissues; then runs to store to get more as well as more tea and something to spike the tea with if needed*

CHAPTER 29

The afternoon was passing by slowly. They had to wait six hours before Dr. Abbott was willing to discharge Hardy. There had been a brief battle of wills over leaving against medical advice that Hardy's doctor won. Baxter gained the impression that this wasn't the first time they had had this discussion. How she put up with Hardy's willfulness baffled Baxter. But then here he was, sitting at Hardy's bedside, in the same boat with Dr. Abbott.

Baxter was watching his sleeping friend. Hardy's pale face twitched now and then and he was restless. He couldn't move much due to the heavy sandbag on his groin. Hardy had been quick to point out that the bloody thing was only there to hold him back from getting up and leaving, to which Baxter replied that he thought it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. He was subsequently murdered by Hardy's piercing glare.

That had been the extent of their conversation after Dr. Abbott called him back. That and Hardy's plea to take him home as soon as they would let him go. His friend was taciturn on his talkative days, but now he was more tight-lipped than ever. Baxter wondered what had been said between Hardy and his doctor but he didn't pry. Judging from Dr. Abbott's face, it had not been a happy talk. She looked drawn and her eyes were suspiciously puffy.

Baxter's feeble attempts at not being too worried were thwarted by the crawl of Hardy's erratic heart rhythm on the monitor. He shouldn't be staring at it but it was hard not to. He remembered how it had always reassured him to focus on Emma's steady heartbeat even when she wasn't conscious or seemed so far gone. Hardy's ticker, however, did everything to be as disconcerting as it could be.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it. When it went off again, he sighed and pulled it out. They had found the car. A SOCO team had been dispatched and they were waiting for it to arrive. Baxter's eyes wandered from the screen to Hardy's face. Hardy was watching him through half-open eyes.

"And?" he groaned.

Baxter smiled at his DI. "We've got the car. SOCO will be taking it apart shortly. Good work, Alec."

Hardy's eyes fell shut and the only indication that the information had registered with him was the small smile that played around his lips. Baxter shot a quick prayer to anyone who was willing to listen asking for something to come of the car search.

"Alec, I'll be right back. Gotta call CPS and see if we're able to get an extension until the end of the day," he let Hardy know quietly. There was no response, Hardy was out cold. Maybe he was finally able to shed the tension and give his body the rest it needed so much. Baxter sure hoped so.

CPS was surprisingly reasonable and granted them another twenty-four hours to put forth charges against Ashworth. When Baxter came back, Hardy was awake.

"Where've you been? Every time I wake up you're not there. Why did I even bring you?" Hardy greeted him grouchily. He looked at him with wide eyes, desperately trying to hide the fear behind his gruff behavior. It tugged on Baxter's heart, seeing him like that.

"We've got another twenty-four hours from CPS," Baxter explained.

"Why?" Hardy seemed confused.

"Alec, did you hear anything I told you before I stepped out?" Baxter asked gently.

Hardy shook his head. "No," came his monosyllabic answer. His befuddled expression was only making Baxter feel more worried about his friend.

"They found the car. SOCO is on the way. I left to talk to CPS to get an extension because our time to charge Ashworth was running out," he repeated his words from earlier.

Hardy's face lit up and there was a rosy hue on his gaunt cheeks. He tried to pull himself up. A frustrated groan escaped his throat, when he lost the battle with all the cables, IV lines and last but not least the sandbag.

"Ach, for fuck's sake," he pressed through his gritted teeth and fell back on the bed. Baxter followed his gaze to the clock across the room. Two and a half more hours until they could leave. Baxter sighed. It might as well have been an eternity.

Hardy had finally established the correct number of ceiling tiles. Forty-three. Unfortunately, that knowledge didn't do squat to alleviate his growing impatience.

"Did your phone go off?" Hardy demanded to know.

"No, Alec, it didn't," Baxter sighed. "Just like the two dozen times that you have asked before." He sounded tired, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

"Are you sure? Maybe you have poor reception in here. Did you check my phone as well? They should have found something by now, right?" Hardy wittered on, oblivious of Baxter's growing exasperation.

Baxter finally snapped. His face turned red and he hissed at Hardy, "Bloody hell, Alec. If you ask me one more time, I swear I'll leave and you can walk home."

They locked gaze until Hardy looked away, rolling his eyes and snorting.

"God, stop acting like a child. Next thing you're going to ask is 'Are we there yet'," Baxter grumbled.

"I think you might be," Emily chimed in happily. Neither one of them had noted her stepping up to the bed. "If 'there' means that it's time to go home," she added, smiling at their bewildered faces.

"How you're feeling, Alec? Still can't convince you to stay?" she asked hopefully.

"'M fine. And no. Please, Emily, don't make this harder than it needs to be," Hardy pleaded. He couldn't wait to get home.

She gave him detailed instructions – strict bed rest, no unnecessary walking around, no getting up without help until the wound healed a bit more, no forgetting to take his medications, no skipping meals, and to drink plenty of fluids.

"All right then. I'll send the nurse to get you disconnected from everything. You'll call me tomorrow?" There was an unspoken question underlying her words.

"I will," Hardy promised. He had every intention to do so. With the support of his family he'd be able to get through this and he had finally reached the point where hiding seemed harder than telling. Besides there wasn't really an option of concealing his condition any longer. He wanted to believe he'd dread the fussing that would most certainly ensue, but deep inside he welcomed the idea of being taken care of. He was so weary and worn down and his body was beaten. The thought of not having to fight alone was a greater relief than he would ever admit.

"Mr. Baxter, can I rely on you making sure he's not going to do anything stupid tonight?" Emily addressed his friend.

"Absolutely. The only place he's going is his bed. Do you think I could borrow that sandbag though?" Baxter asked, a twinkle in his grey eyes.

Hardy moaned. They ignored him.

"Did he say he thinks it's there to prevent him from escaping?" Emily sighed.

"Yup." Baxter grinned and Hardy felt the strong urge to throttle him.

"Well, he was right," Emily said with a straight face. Hardy squinted at her trying to find any trace of humor in her expression. There wasn't any.

"You can't be serious," Hardy muttered in disbelief. "And stop talking as if I'm not in the room," he added grumpily.

Baxter and Emily exchanged a glance. Then Baxter reached for the sandbag.

"Oh, for God's sake, will you guys give it a rest. I'm not going to jump out of my bed at home and run down the next best villain," Hardy cried out in frustration.

Emily's face twitched.

"Ah, I knew it." Hardy pointed his index finger at her. His eyes flicked back and forth between the two who were now giggling like teenaged girls. Unbelievable.

"Well, I'm glad you lot find this amusing, because I don't," he groused, crossing his arms over his chest. It wasn't even thirty seconds later, that the corners of his mouth pulled up.

"Is he smiling?" Emily asked Baxter, emphasizing the disbelief in her voice.

"I think he might be. Must be the pain meds you have him on. Looks like good stuff, can I have some?" Baxter joked. Hardy's pillow hit him full in the face.

"And I think someone's needs to go home," Emily commented, clearly having a hard time not laughing out loud. She turned to get the nurse and the remaining paperwork.

When she came back, she had turned serious again. Hardy was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed and more than ready to leave. His groin was throbbing and he felt dizzy but he didn't let on. His urge to see Tess and Daisy superseded everything else.

"Get home safe, Alec. Rest and talk to your family. Call me anytime if you have concerns. Please." A plea was hiding behind her words.

"I will. And I'll give you an answer tomorrow," he reassured her again.

She nodded in silence. The worry was etched onto her face and for once it was Hardy who gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "I'll be fine, Emily," he added with a smile.

"You better go now," she mumbled, casting down her glittering eyes.

Feeling guilty for causing her heartache, he didn't protest when the nurse made him use a wheelchair instead of limping down the hallway. They said their final goodbyes and a few minutes later, Hardy was tucked into Baxter's car, going home to his family.

The ride was silent again. Hardy rested his head against the window, eyes half open. The cars and houses passed by, blurring into each other across his faint reflection in the glass.

"Alec?" Baxter asked quietly, presumably not wanting to disturb him in case he was asleep.

"Hm?" came Hardy's drowsy response.

"What did you and your doctor talk about after you sent me away?" Baxter wanted to know. Hardy kept his eyes closed. He had dreaded the question.

"We went over what's going to happen next," he answered, avoiding any details.

Baxter was quiet for a moment, then he continued, "If you need more time off, it's not a problem."

"Hm," Hardy grunted.

"You really don't want to talk about it, do you?" Baxter sighed.

"Not now, Ed." Hardy felt bad for shutting his friend out but he couldn't bring himself to tell him that his chances were possibly worse than when Emma had been sick.

"Do you want me to stay with you until Tess comes home?" Baxter offered.

Hardy contemplated his answer. It might be nice to have company but then he suspected he was going to sleep anyway. The exhaustion that he had pushed away for the last weeks seemed to mercilessly catch up with him and he barely could keep his eyes open long enough to even have a short conversation. Baxter had watched him dozing off the whole day long. He shot a brief glance at his friend who looked almost as tired as he did. It was time to let him find some rest as well.

"Nah, I think I'll be all right. You've done enough for a day," Hardy said, stifling a yawn.

"I didn't do anything, Alec," Baxter replied.

Hardy sat up and took a proper look at his friend. "Not true. Couldn't have done it without you," he mumbled.

"Yah, 'cause you needed a chauffeur," Baxter retorted sarcastically.

"Ed, please. Don't make this harder for me than it already is. You know I'm no good at this," Hardy sighed, moving in the seat. He winced when his leg twisted.

Baxter shot him a sideways glance. "You're sure you don't want any of those pain pills?"

"Do you want me to puke in your car?" Hardy threw back at him.

Baxter shrugged. "Point taken."

They fell silent again and Hardy dozed off quickly. He woke to the ring of his phone. When he saw Tess' name pop up he was awake immediately. As soon as he picked up, she started talking.

"Alec? Where have you been all day?" she shouted into the phone.

"Doctor's appointment, remember?" Hardy replied demurely.

"Jesus, that must have been a hell of a wait if you're still not done yet," she said dismissively.

"I guess so," Hardy sighed into the phone. If you could call recovering from a cardiac cath waiting. "I'm on my way home. Any news about the car search?" he added anxiously.

"The car was squeaky clean…" – Hardy's heart fell – "… but it wasn't in vain." Her voice was ringing with excitement. Hardy tensed up, waiting for her to reveal what she was holding back.

"So?" he prompted her when she didn't continue.

"While you were sitting around at the doctor's office, we… I found Pippa's pendant!" she boasted.

"What?" Hardy exclaimed and sat up straight. He suppressed a moan when a stabbing sensation shot down his leg. "You found Pippa's pendant in Ashworth's old car? The pendant that she was wearing on the day she died?" In his excitement, his Scottish accent grew thick. Out of the corner of his eye, Hardy caught Baxter shooting him a surprised glance.

"Yup," she confirmed enthusiastically.

They got him. That was the evidence they needed to link Ashworth to Pippa Gillespie. The relief he felt made him dizzy.

"Oi, you're brilliant! How did you find it?" Hardy was proud of his wife.

"SOCO couldn't find anything, but I didn't want to leave the car behind until I looked myself. Remember when Daisy lost your mother's bracelet that one time?"

"Aye." Daisy had been heart broken when they couldn't find the only memory they had from Hardy's mother. After a frantic search of the whole house, Hardy remembered to look in the car. It turned out the bracelet had fallen under the front seat and got entangled in the wiring under the cushion. Daisy had declared her father a hero and stored the bracelet safely away in her treasure chest.

"I looked in the same place and there it was. The damn pendant. And guess what? It's got his prints on it. At least that's the preliminary forensics report," Tess explained excitedly.

"Out-bloody-standing. I could kiss you, love." There was a broad smile on his face. He stole a glimpse at Baxter who was grinning. His ears were burning with the embarrassment over doting on his wife.

He cleared his throat and continued with more seriousness in his voice, "Who has the pendant now?"

"I do," she was quick to reply.

"All right. Take it back to the station right away and make sure it gets handled properly. This is all we needed to get him charged. I'll let Baxter know and he can deal with CPS," Hardy ordered, an unspoken question on his face. Baxter nodded affirmatively, still smiling.

"Okay. Will do. Gotta go now, Alec. Bye." She had hung up the phone without giving him a chance to say goodbye.

Hardy let out a breath that he had been holding for weeks, his head falling back onto the seat. It was done.

Baxter pulled up in Hardy's driveway. Hardy was snoring, head lolled back and drooling. Baxter grinned and considered snapping a picture with his mobile. He really shouldn't. A minute later, he put his phone away, feeling like a kid on Christmas. This was going to be prime extortion material. He sniggered to himself, feeling giddy after a long day of tension and heartache.

Hardy stirred in his seat. He stretched and yelped in pain. His eyes jerked open and he blinked into the setting sun.

"You're home, Alec," Baxter said while opening the car door for Hardy who glared at him when he pulled him up onto his feet.

"I'm not an invalid, Ed. I can walk by myself," Hardy growled. Baxter tilted his head, shrugged and crossed his arms.

"All right. Let's see it then," he challenged Hardy who was leaning lopsidedly on the car. Hardy hobbled up the driveway, valiantly pretending he wasn't in pain. Baxter trailed behind him, whistling inconspicuously. When Hardy faltered, Baxter was there to catch him.

"Don't say a word," Hardy hissed, putting substantial weight on Baxter's arm.

"I'm not," Baxter stated drily. He bit down on his lip, trying not to grin.

They made it inside and stopped in front of the stairs up to the bedroom. The both stared at them for a bit until Hardy took in a deep breath and expelled the air quickly.

"Right," he said, scratching his stubbly chin.

"You guys got a guestroom?" Baxter questioned doubtfully.

"Nope," Hardy sighed.

"Sofa?" It wasn't ideal but better than climbing all the stairs.

"Yup," came Hardy's resigned response.

Baxter maneuvered Hardy into the living room and onto the sofa. The short walk from the car inside the house had taken a toll on Hardy. His face was ashen and he was panting, rubbing his chest.

"You okay?" Baxter frowned at his breathless friend. To his surprise, Hardy shook his head. His hands were trembling as he tried to pull something out of his pockets. Baxter was quick to help him with his pills. They waited in silence until Hardy's color improved and his heaving chest eased up.

"I was thinking –" Hardy started, running his fingers through his hair.

"Did it hurt?" Baxter interjected.

"Seriously, Ed? How old are you? Five?" Hardy snapped at him. Baxter kept a straight face. It was so easy to rile him up.

"So, I was thinking…" – a daggered stare shut Baxter up before he could get started – "… maybe I could come in tomorrow and talk to Ashworth again," Hardy said slowly.

"What? Are you out of your fucking mind? No way are you coming to work any time soon." Baxter's good mood was gone. Hardy was such a stubborn idiot.

"There's something that's bugging me," Hardy continued pensively.

"Like your heart disease?" Baxter retorted sarcastically. It was hard to keep his calm after all that happened that day.

"Ach, shut up, Ed, and let me talk," Hardy huffed. Baxter raised his eyebrows.

"You do remember that I'm your boss, right?" he asked with indignation. He hated the fact that he wanted to know what it was that kept Hardy preoccupied.

Hardy ignored him, thinking out loud. "Ashworth has been very adamant about not having anything to do with Lisa's disappearance and presumed death. Nothing that we've found could link him to her. What if he really didn't kill her? What if he knows though what actually happened to her? Now that we've got proof that Pippa was in his car on the day she died, maybe we could use that as leverage to get him to talk?"

Baxter searched Hardy's face that had taken on a healthy rosy sheen. It wasn't easy for Baxter to say what he had to, but in the interest of protecting his friend from himself, he didn't have a choice.

"Alec, I can see this is important to you and I even think you might be onto something, but I can't let you come back to work. Not like this. I'm sorry."

"Ed, please. Just for one day. Don't discard it so easily, give me a chance," Hardy pleaded with him.

Damn those puppy eyes, Baxter cursed inwardly. His resolve was wavering.

"I don't know, Alec." Skepticism was written all over his face.

"All I ask for is that you think about it," Hardy begged.

"Ach, fine. I'll think about it." Baxter felt tired. It was bad enough that he had never been able to say no to his daughter, now he had to contest with a forty-something year old Scot. Maybe it was time to retire.

Hardy had sunken back onto the sofa, eyes fluttering shut. It seemed as if all energy was leaving him and the exhaustion was taking a firm hold over him. He shivered, then tried to curl up. He whimpered and rubbed his right groin.

"Get some rest, Alec," Baxter ordered gently, tucking a blanket tightly around him. Hardy's muffled response sounded like 'thanks for everything' and Baxter was willing to take it. He left Hardy's phone and his medication on the coffee table, together with a glass of water, a banana, and a sandwich, all within easy reach. He leaned against the door frame and watched his friend sleep once again. A smile curled up his lips, welcoming the intense feeling of relief that Hardy would finally be able to find peace.

Hardy was ripped out of a dreamless sleep in the dark. His phone was ringing relentlessly in the quiet house. He rolled over to reach it, a groan escaping his throat. The throbbing in his groin was almost unbearable and he wished he'd taken some of that pain medication that Emily had given him.

He pulled the mobile to his ear and rasped into the speaker, "Hardy."

"Alec?" Tess' trembling voice crackled through the phone.

"Love, what's wrong?" Hardy was immediately alarmed. The distress that had resonated in his name pained him.

"Alec, I need to talk to you," she cried. His heart was thudding in his chest. What could be so upsetting to her that she called him in tears?

"Where are you, Tess?" he asked, making an effort to sound calm.

"I'm in your office. Can you come here?" she implored him.

Hardy closed his eyes. How was he going to do that? He'd probably pass out halfway down the hallway.

"Tess, I really shouldn't –"

"Please, Alec." She sounded so desperate it was shattering his already broken heart. With a lot of effort, he sat, vertigo tilting the room around him. Almost two decades of love and devotion won.

"All right, love. It's going to take me a bit, but I'll get there," he promised, drawing on his last bit of strength. They hung up and he started the painful process of getting ready to leave the comfort of his home. He took his medication, slid the pill packet into his pocket and slowly limped out into the dark.

Hardy clambered out of the taxi. He still didn't understand why Tess couldn't have met him at home to talk to him. His whole body ached and his groin was throbbing despite the pain medication he had taken. He should have been more insistent with Tess that he couldn't come as he clearly wasn't supposed to be walking around. Baxter and Emily would murder him if they knew. But she had sounded so upset and had been pleading with him, that he didn't have it in him to tell her about his day. Not over the phone.

It was late, and besides the desk officer the station was deserted. He leaned against the wall, catching his breath while waiting for the elevator. The vertigo was not too bad and he could manage. He pushed away any thoughts of the complications during the procedure and their implications. The elevator came and he made it upstairs to CID where Tess was waiting for him in his office.

As soon as he saw her, his heart fell. Her face was pale and her eyes were puffy and red. She must have been crying for a while. Besides when Daisy was so ill a few weeks ago, he couldn't remember any other time that Tess had displayed this much emotion publicly. She was sitting on the sofa, rubbing her hands together.

He had to steady himself on the doorframe before he could walk in. The pain was getting worse again and he felt extremely lightheaded. His heart was tugging along, beating way too slowly. He took a deep breath and made it to his chair behind the desk.

"What's going on, Tess? Why'd you want me to come here?" Hardy asked, his voice gravelly with exhaustion and worry.

Tears were dripping from her long lashes, leaving long smudges of mascara on her cheeks. She looked more miserable than Hardy had ever seen her. But it wasn't due to sorrow. Knowing her for almost two decades now, he was sure there was fury at the root of it. His stomach knotted up, distress rising by the minute. He pushed himself up and limped over to the sofa. He didn't care about the pain, the lightheadedness or the tightness in his chest. All he wanted was to comfort his wife who seemed so uncharacteristically distraught. His thoughts were racing, frantically trying to make sense of the situation. Clumsily, he lowered himself down next to her and put his arm around her. She jerked away and shrugged him off.

"Don't touch me, Alec!" she snarled at him.

His hands dropped, bewilderment written all over his face. Panic about what she was going to tell him was threatening to overcome his frayed nerves, jolting his heartbeat from too slow to too fast.

With a shaky voice, he asked again, "Please, love, tell me what's going on."

"My car was broken into. They took the fucking pendant," she blurted out.

Hardy's world started spinning, around him and inside alike. Her car? How would they break into the car while she was in there driving back to the station? It didn't make sense. After a few thudding heartbeats, worry rose within him.

"Did you get held up? Are you hurt?" The sudden concern for her was making him nauseated.

Her reaction confused him even more. She smirked and shook her head.

"Alec, did you hear what I said? The pendant was stolen out of my car."

Hardy was starting to feel short of breath. It registered somewhere in him that she just revealed that their key evidence was lost, but everything was overshadowed by his intense fear for her well-being.

"Tess, you didn't answer. Did they hurt you when they held up the car?" Hardy's panic was audible in his voice.

She let out a short sarcastic laugh. "Aren't you cute? You actually think somebody tried to carjack me? I can't believe how daft you're being."

Hardy was taken aback by her derision. He was panting by now, barely able to focus on what she was saying.

"Alec, I was not in the car." She was all but shouting the words at him, emphasizing every single one of them as if he was hard of hearing.

If she wasn't in the car where was she then? Utterly confused and more and more out of breath, he could barely get out the next words.

"I don't understand."

She scoffed, "No, you clearly don't. Oblivious as ever." She was so snide. She turned, facing him for the first time since he had walked through the door.

"I wasn't in the car because it was parked in the hotel garage. I didn't go back to the station immediately," she explained drily.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and sight. Maybe it was his quickly deteriorating state, fogging up his ability to comprehend, but nothing that she was telling him made any sense.

"Why wouldn't you go back?" His confusion was obvious.

His ears were ringing with her laughter. And although her face was blurry from his failing vision, he could see the smugness and contempt plastered on her features. She looked him straight in the eye.

"Alec, I stopped at the hotel because I was having sex with Dave Thompson as a celebration. We've been having an affair for months now."

The words cut through his foggy mind like a hot knife through butter. Confusion turned into immediate clarity.

An affair. With Dave Thompson.

His heart broke. The physical pain in his chest wasn't even the worst. The aching caused by the utter betrayal and destruction of everything that he cared about was more than he could bear. Closing his eyes that were stinging with hot tears, he slumped over, elbows resting on his thighs. His head fell between his shoulders and he buried his face in his palms. He took in a shuddering breath and managed to ask one question.

"Why?" His voice was breaking with the short word.

"Because you haven't been with me in so long. Because you don't see me any more. Because you don't care for me any more." Her voice was cold, all warmth gone.

"I love you Tess," he whispered. It was all he could say. There was nothing else.

"But I don't love you any more," she replied calmly as if she was answering an everyday question.

Hardy was crying in silence, sucking in breaths between quiet sobs. Her words were bouncing around in his mind, a mind that he felt he was losing. And with every skipped heartbeat, the realization of what she had admitted to burned itself deeper and deeper into his soul, eating away at whatever was left of his ailing heart.

There was a light touch on his shoulder. "Alec?" He could almost imagine that he heard concern in her voice.

He weakly swatted at her hand and between clenched teeth spat out, "Leave!"

She stood up abruptly. There was a quiver in her voice, when she spoke. "I know this is not the most opportune moment to ask, but what do you want me to do about the pendant? I've reported it as missing to you as my senior officer. Are you going to tell Baxter or do you want me to do it?"

He barely heard what she said. He couldn't think clearly. His heart was going ballistic and maybe that was a good thing. If he passed out now, the pain would at least be over. His face was still buried in his hands and he was trying to not let on how poorly he was doing. He didn't want her to see what her betrayal had done to him, he didn't want her contemptuous pity. He put every bit of strength that he had left into pulling himself together.

His voice was hollow. "I'll deal with it." And after a few stuttering heartbeats, he added, "'M staying. Not going back."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself. I guess we'll figure out arrangements tomorrow."

His head snapped up. "Don't tell Daisy. Not without me there, please?" He was begging her, eyes wide and full of tears. He couldn't bear the thought of his daughter finding out about her mother without him being there for support.

She hesitated for what seemed an eternity. Then she nodded. "Fine. We will talk to her together."

"Thank you." He didn't know why he said it, as if it was him who was in the wrong.

She left him behind without another word. He was alone, so completely alone that it hurt. His world had shattered and he didn't even quite understand why. Hot anger made him feel stronger than he had all evening and he clambered to his feet, needing to escape the room that still smelled like her.

He stumbled out of his office with no clear aim, besides the urge to leave everything behind. He made it halfway through CID when a sharp pain in his chest reminded him of his broken heart. The empty feeling behind his sternum was growing and he could barely feel his fingers. He fumbled through his pockets for his pills and then stopped. No more heartache, he had had enough. In his haze he realized he was in front of Baxter's office. Feeling the need to hide, he barged through the door and slid down the wall, curling up in pain, gasping for air until the welcome blackness of oblivion swallowed him.

A/N: On this day of giving thanks, I would like to thank all readers who have followed Alec's journey for the past months. Without your interest, support and enthusiasm this story wouldn't be what it is. My special, special THANK YOU goes to HAZELMIST who helped editing these 3 chapters within only a few days. She's out-bloody-standing!

And yes, I know it's maybe not nice to say thank you with the ending of this chapter, but like so often I end with Alec's day coming to a close. I wrote the last scene between Tess and Alec in the office many, many months ago and it is hard to believe that Alec (and I) made it there. I had lovingly referred to this day as "P-Day" (P for pendant, yea I know it's kinda dorky) for so long that when I typed the final words on chapter 26, it seemed a bit surreal that the time had come to write it all out. I have to admit, it makes me very, very emotional to have reached this point in the story. I feel very much like I'm saying goodbye to a good friend, because Alec will never be the same after this. What follows is a dark time in his life so you might want to prepare yourself for that. I hope you'll stick around for the aftermath as well.

So thank you again and I promise the next chapter is not too far away.