Title: P.S. I Still Love You
Author: Bravo45 (Sierra Crane)
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the characters, or the song this story is
based on.
Summary: A year has passed since she left him, and now she's wondering whether
she made the right decision, what happens when she calls him up again?
A/N: Just a short, sweet story (kind of shocking from me, huh?) I hope you like
it. I've finished a couple more chapters of "Incomplete" and am trying to get it
updated, so thanks for your patience!
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Jen Scotts paced the floor of her apartment room anxiously, running her fingers
through her long dark hair, her mind racing with decisions she had yet to make;
it was the one year mark, one year since she had come home after spending nearly
that long in the 21st Century, one year since she had broken it off with the man
she thought she would spend the rest of her life with.
And one year later, she was still questioning her move.
She sat down on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her
arms tightly around them, resting her chin down, closing her eyes and imagining
a face that was still so familiar to her, even though she hadn't seen it since
that day; the last time she laid eyes on him, his face was a mask of pain, his
blue eyes filled with hurt. She had forced herself to look at him steadily,
showing no regret, but inwardly it had broken her up inside when she saw the
look of defeat cross over his handsome face. He had stepped aside without a
word, not even putting up a fight, often she had wondered if she would've had
the strength to go back in time if he had tried to convince her to stay . . .
probably not, she realized; after all, she never could stand to see him hurting.
A week later, she came home for good, triumphant and escorting a handcuffed
Ransik into the courtroom, she had looked around expectantly, but never saw him
in the dark corners, watching with pride; in fact, she never saw him at all from
that point on, for shortly thereafter she left Silver City to join an elite team
of officers dedicated to bringing in any of the remaining mutant renegades. She
suspected her ex-fiance had remained in the city he grew up in, at his new job
in Time Force HQ, now promoted to the rank of Captain and in charge of one
section of the Force; but she knew him too well to think he enjoyed it at all,
he had always wanted to be in the fight, to be a part of the action.
She shook her head, knowing her thoughts had carried her away again, as they had
so often in the past twelve months, a fact she could no longer escape; she
swallowed hard, wondering if there was any chance at all . . . don't be stupid,
you left him, why would he take you back? But another part of her just wanted to
be absolutely sure, after all, Alex was anything but predictable . . . and what
could it hurt?
She glanced at the coffee table in front of her, the framed picture her mother
had taken on her birthday three years ago, when Alex had surprised her with a
party . . . and three special words; she smiled, remembering how he had led her
into the dark room, so obviously excited about something:
"Just follow me."
Jen laughed, his hands still clasped over her eyes gently but firmly, she tried
to shake her head: "Alex, where are you taking me?"
"You'll see . . . "
At once, he lifted his hand away and turned on the lights, revealing a small
group of people all holding balloons or other party decorations and shouting at
once: "Happy Birthday, Jen!"
Her cheeks blushed a furious red, she turned to Alex with her mouth wide open,
her eyes starting to sparkle with tears, he just smiled warmly, reaching out to
touch her cheek, and then leaning in closer till their lips met; for a moment,
she was too surprised to react, but then she relaxed and returned the kiss,
disappointed when it ended a moment later. But her disappointment quickly faded
when he added in a nervous voice:
"I love you, Jennifer."
Jen let out a loud sigh, knowing there was no one that could hear her anyway,
the memories were assaulting her too much, she had to know; quickly, she got to
her feet and hurried to her computer, his number still burned into her mind, she
dialed it in hastily, her heart in her throat, she had no idea what she would
say when he'd pick up, but she had to talk to him. Sure, he would probably blow
her off, he had probably found someone else, but----
His voice answered, but just as she was about to speak, it continued on,
obviously a recording, her heart sank slowly as she continued to listen, his
voice just a soft as she remembered: "Hi, it's Alex. If this is about the car,
don't bother, I sold it . . . if it's anyone else, wait for the tone and leave a
message. P.S. If this is Jennifer . . . I still love you."
Jen gasped, nearly jumping away from the computer as Alex's voice stopped and
the line went dead, his words were still replaying in her mind, their amazing
impact still sinking in; one year later, after all they had been through and how
badly it had ended, he still held on hope. What kind of man does that? she asked
herself, who holds on that long?
Unsure where to go next, she left the computer and went to her bed, undressing
then crawling in under the blankets, pulling herself up in a tight ball;
unexpectedly, she felt tears well up in behind her closed eyelids, a hope she
had been clinging to for so long finally had a chance of being realized, it was
so close . . . but she had no idea what to say, how to explain herself.
She would not, and could not, blame it on Wes, that wouldn't be the whole truth
and it wouldn't be fair to the man she had loved so dearly, if only for a short
time; he would always remain a part of her, just as she had always known Alex
would, but he was gone forever, and she had come to terms with that. But Alex
was alive and well, and still loved her . . . .
A few more minutes went on before she climbed out of bed and went to the
computer again, her body trembling with anticipation, perhaps he had only gone
out for a moment, and this time she would really speak to him; she dialed the
number again, heard three rings, and then Alex's answering machine pick up with
the same message. She braced herself, closing her eyes as he neared the end:
"P.S. If this is Jennifer, I still love you."
She took a deep breath, listening to the tone fade away and leaving her own
number, praying he would call back, and soon; satisfied with her effort, she
went back to bed and tried to convince herself to sleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex Drake covered his long yawn behind his hand as he strode down the halls of
Time Force HQ, it was nearly nine o'clock at night, he had been working since
five that morning; his body ached and cried out for rest that he so rarely gave
it anymore, it seemed as if he had been better rested when he was actually in
action than he was in the office. He headed outside, grumbling to himself when
he realized it was raining down hard, soaking him instantly; he hopped into his
patrol car, taking off too quickly, anxious to be home.
Nearly thirty minutes later, he finally pulled into the lot and rushed into his
small house, thankful to be within it's warmth and out of the frigid cold; he
unzipped his leather jacket, tossing it aside, heading straight for the bathroom
and turning on the shower. He removed the rest of his snug clothing, breathing a
sigh of relief and relaxing before stepping into the shower, the hot water hit
him and ran down his bare body, easing the soreness of his taut muscles; he
stayed in for another fifteen minutes, closing his eyes and enjoying every
second.
At last, he stepped out and walked to his bedroom, finding a pair of comfortable
sweatpants and pulling them on before going back out to check the messages on
his computer; he yawned again, his eyelids beginning to droop even as he stood,
but he pressed the controls and listened with only half-interest. Logan had
called about some nonsense, he hardly even heard him; a couple more messages,
and then one that caught his interest immediately, a feminine voice he
recognized but couldn't pinpoint:
"Sorry I missed you. Please call me back. 555-2147."
Alex hesitated, replaying the message, certain he knew that voice from somewhere
but not sure enough to say exactly who it was; he chewed on his lip, thinking
hard, his fatigue now completely forgotten. The voice was high and sounded
nervous, but was always strong, as if she was sure of herself; he squeezed his
eyes shut, searching through his memories:
"Alex . . . Alex, wake up. C'mon, just because it's your day off doesn't mean
you can sleep in till midday! Get up! You're always complaing about me being
lazy---"
"All right, all right," he groaned, rolling over and opening his eyes to see his
girlfriend bent over him, smiling playfully; he couldn't help himself, he smiled
right back. "You're so beautiful," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair away
from her face.
"Don't be ridiculous," Jen giggled, "I look awful at this time in the morning!"
Her smile broadened. "But thank you, and you look pretty good yourself."
"I love you."
"Not as much as I love you."
He took a startled step back from the computer, the voice was so clear now, but
that was impossible! There was no way Jen was calling him now, not after so
long, not after . . . it couldn't be; he sighed, listening to the message again,
this time paying attention to the number she had recorded. There was only one
way to be sure. Don't be stupid, he told himself, you're mind's playing tricks
on you. It's not her.
Now having fully convinced himself, he mechanically dialed in her number and
waited for the mysterious woman to pick up; probably just one of those damn
sellers or something, he thought. He waited impatiently, then heard the same
voice answer, and he found himself fighting back unexpected tears as she spoke:
"If you're calling about my heart, it's still yours . . . I wish I'd listened to
it a little more. Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to do this, to know
where I belong."
"My god," Alex whispered.
"And by the way, Alex, this isn't a machine you're listening to." A pause.
"Can't you tell? This is Jennifer."
Alex breathed in sharply, it wasn't possible, not after a whole year with no
word from her . . . not after everything that he'd done to her . . . not after
Wes . . .
"And I still love you."
He stayed silent for a second, then clicked the image icon to see his ex-fiancee
seated before him, her hair uncombed and loose around her face, wearing her
pajamas and staring back nervously; they stared for a few more moments, neither
wanting to be the first to speak, but Alex managed, somehow finding his voice:
"Jennifer . . . "
She took a deep breath, holding it.
"It's always going to be . . . you and me."
She smiled, her face relaxing and tears spilling out over her flushed cheeks as
she said in a broken whisper: "Forever, Alex . . . forever."
THE END