If there was one thing Dex took away from his turbulent time in the military, it was to keep his mouth shut.

Mac Scorpio stood over him, hands in his pockets. Dex focused on the clean white table in front of him, absent-mindedly running a finger across its cold surface. He was quiet on the ride to the PCPD station, and he remained quiet under Mac's intense gaze.

"You know, Dex," Mac sat down across from him, "this is a good chance to get ahead of whatever the news will say about you. You already had attention from saving Ava Jerome, positive attention at that, and this could take it all away."

Silence.

"Come on, man, I'm trying to help you out here. If you didn't attack Diane Miller, just say so."

More silence.

"Dex."

He finally opened his mouth, "I want a lawyer."

"You work for Sonny Corinthos, right?" Mac leaned forward, his fingers intertwined, "The lawyer that would help you is out of commission. I wonder how that happened."

"I'm sure there's someone else."

"Do you know of anyone else?"

Dex bit his bottom lip, looking down at his lap.

"That's what I thought."

"Am I under arrest?"

"Technically, no."

"...Fine," Dex sighed, "I'll talk."

"Great," Mac braced his elbows on the table, "Let's start from the beginning. What were you doing before you arrived at Xtreme Motors?"

"I was at home, taking a shower."

"What time was this at?"

"Between nine and ten in the morning."

"Why did you go to Xtreme Motors?"

"My boss asked me to come by."

"And when was that?"

"I don't know, a little after ten?"

"Why did Sonny want you at the garage?"

"He wanted me to watch over Ms. Miller."

"So you were supposed to be around her."

"Yes," Dex sucked his lips in, a glare on his face.

"Were you there all day?"

"Pretty much."

"Who was the last person you spoke to besides Diane?"

"My boss."

"When?"

"Sometime in the evening, I don't know the exact time."

"What were you talking about?"

"He was checking in."

"Did you ever leave your post?"

"Other than to use the bathroom, no."

"...Really," Mac cleared his throat, crossing his arms, "So you were around her the whole time, and somehow, she was attacked?"

"I didn't attack her."

"Then what did you do, Dex?"

"You saw what I did," there was a hint of aggression in Dex's tone.

"You were the only person with her! How could you not have seen anything?"

Dex bit down hard on the inside of his bottom lip, glancing away from Mac.

"Did Diane ever finish her work prior to being attacked?"

"Yes."

"What happened after she told you?"

"I went to get my car. She took a rideshare to the garage and wanted me to take her back to her firm."

"So you left her alone in the garage to get your car?"

"...Yes," Dex sighed.

"I see…" Mac hummed, "How long were you gone?"

"I don't know how long exactly, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes."

"So what you're telling me is that, in the few minutes you left Ms. Miller alone to get your car and come back, someone attacked her?"

"Yes."

"Did you see what the wound looked like?"

"Not really. I was more focused on stopping the bleeding."

"Hmph," Mac stood up. Dex followed him with eyes full of concern.

"I'm telling the truth, sir, I swear. I wouldn't do something like this to anyone."

The men stared at one another. Dex searched Mac's expression, hoping that the detective would say something, anything, to alleviate his nerves. Nothing came out.

"Am I…" Dex cleared his throat, breaking the silence, "Am I under arrest…?"

"...No," Mac replied after a beat, "but don't leave town."

"I won't," Dex got to his feet as Mac led him out into the lobby. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a flash of blond hair at the reception desk, Oh no…

"Dex?" Josslyn approached the two men, an eyebrow raised, "Why are you here?"

"He needed to answer some questions," Mac patted his shoulder before walking off, a firm glare on the young man.

"Did you drive here?"

"No," he walked past her and began writing on a clipboard at the reception desk.

"Well, do you need a ride back to your place? I can take you."

"I can call a rideshare."

"...Still mad at me, huh?" she put her hands on her hips, "It was a one-time thing."

Dex stopped mid-signature and turned her way, "Joss, you followed Kristina to my place, and then you broke into my apartment when I wasn't home. That's not something I consider 'one-time.'"

"At least let me try and make up for it! Let me take you home."

"No!"

"Come on, Dex," Josslyn frowned, "Do you really want to take a chance on a rideshare?"

"You're acting like I'm going to get kidnapped. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"That's not the issue."

"Then what is?"

Josslyn pursed her lips, cocking her head and giving him a look. Dex began to shake his head in confusion, scoffing at her posture.

"...Fine," he snapped, "take me home."

The young man did all he could to avoid her eyes as she drove through the night. He ducked his head down, subconsciously trying to hide behind the driver's seat. Josslyn bit her lip as each and every streetlight she passed flashed into her car.

"I heard about Diane, about her being attacked," she spoke up, "She's so important to me and my family; it's so sad what happened."

Dex remained quiet, turning to look out of the driver's side window.

"I heard you were there too. The news works pretty fast nowadays."

More silence.

"Mac questioned what you were doing there, didn't he?"

Dex glanced her way before returning to the window.

"I knew that would happen," she shook her head, "Getting involved with Sonny only leads to destruction. You were just doing your job, and next thing you know, you're being accused of something you didn't do."

"You don't know what was discussed."

"Oh good," Josslyn looked in her rear view mirror, "you're talking to me."

Dex looked away from her. His phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he expertly avoided her scowl as he checked the notification.

From: Kristina (8:43 PM)
I heard about you & Diane
Are you ok?
Call me!

"Let me guess," Josslyn sighed, "Sonny?"

"None of your business."

"Hmph, I'll take that as a 'no.' Of course he wouldn't check up on his own employee, especially after said employee was taken into custody."

"I wasn't arrested."

"But Detective Scorpio still brought you in for questioning. And based on his expression, he wasn't happy."

Dex rolled his eyes as he settled into the seat.

"Look," Josslyn huffed, "things have gotten off to a rocky start between us, what with you beating up that reporter and then intimidating one of Trina's jurors-"

"I know what I did, Joss."

"But," she cut in, "we can fix things. You did bad things, I did bad things. Let's meet in the middle."

"...Why?"

"Because," she took a deep breath, "I've seen and heard some things about you and it's…changed what I think of you."

"Like what?"

"You saved Ava's life; Avery gets to keep her mom. Plus, you and Kristina and…whatever you two are doing."

Panic shot through Dex, his eyes bright as he shot her a look through the rear view window.

"She's so lucky to have you around. She's always lived a messy life, so you being her friend…it probably means a lot to her."

Dex looked down at his phone, the unanswered texts sitting on his screen.

"For the record, I don't think you did what Detective Scorpio thinks you did. Whoever went after Diane…seems like they wanted to get you in trouble. Or maybe they had a personal issue with her. Did you have any problems with her?"

"...No."

"Then you should be in the clear," Josslyn kept her eyes on the road, "I don't think you attacked her. You may be a mob goon, and that makes you an idiot, but you wouldn't go after someone as important as her."

"...Thanks," Dex caught her eyes in the rear view mirror, his own softening. Josslyn donned a gentle smile as she pulled over by a sidewalk.

"We're here," she turned to look at him straight-on, "and I promise I won't follow you up to your place."

"Thank God for small favors," Dex muttered as he scooted to the passenger door, stepping out of the car.

"Dex," Josslyn called out. He stopped in his tracks, halfway between her car and the front doors of his apartment complex.

"What?" he turned around.

"I meant what I said; I think you're innocent. You made sure Avery was happy, you're making Kristina happy, you have no motive in hurting Diane. It probably doesn't mean much to you, but I'm in your corner."

Dex blinked at her a few times before she rolled up her window and drove off. He shook his head in disbelief before entering the complex, making his way to his apartment.

"Ugh…" he groaned as he flopped down onto his couch. The only sources of light were from the overhead lamps by his bedroom door, turned on after he fumbled around to find the light switch. He looked at Kristina's contact before pressing down on the glass. It took seconds for her to pick up.

"Hey," her voice was gentle, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he rubbed his face.

"You weren't arrested, were you? Some outlets are saying you were."

"I wasn't."

"Good. What happened, anyway?"

"I…" Dex took a deep breath, "I stood guard the whole time Diane was working. I leave to get my car, which only takes me a few minutes, and she's attacked."

"That's awful," he could hear the sadness in her voice, "Did you try and save Diane?"

"Of course. I used any towel I could find to stop the bleeding."

"I wouldn't expect any less from you," he smiled at her words, "I hope that she's able to recover."

"I hope the same."

"Are you still at the PCPD? I could come get you-"

"No, uh, I'm home," Dex gulped, "Josslyn…drove me home."

"She was at the PCPD? Why?"

"I don't know."

"Oh…hmm…"

"I only took her offer to oblige her. She tried to talk to me during the drive, but it was just her talking and me sitting there."

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worried about."

Dex's heart skipped a beat, "...You're not?"

"I think I know you well enough to know that you're not obliging Joss out of any deep-seated affection."

"Definitely not."

"Just…be careful, okay? I love Joss, she's my stepsister 'til the end, but when she wants something, she won't stop until she gets it."

"And that's her prerogative. I know who I want, and it's certainly not her."

"Aw, I feel so special."

"I hope you do," Dex replied before yawning, "...Sorry."

"Don't be," Kristina spoke sweetly, "You had a long day. Get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow?"

"It's a date," the line went dead. Dex smiled down at his phone before pocketing it. He got to his feet, slowly marching to his bed. It didn't take long for him to crash the moment he hit the mattress, sprawled out on its surface. The events of the day slowly yet surely melted away, fading into what he hoped would be nothing more than some kind of strange, distant memory.