On My Watch Tonight

Sand, if Alexander never saw the damned substance again, he could live happily. His clothes had been ripped and torn and otherwise destroyed and it seemed like places that he hadn't even known to exist were covered by dirt and filth. He couldn't remember the last time that he had taken a real shower; the most that he ever received was a bucket of cold water tossed onto his body that was usually followed by laughter. Laughter because Alex rushed forward to anywhere that the water had puddled, if it did at all, and leaned down to lap at the liquid not unlike a dog. Anything to survive at this point.

As the months had worn on, his hope had dwindled and eventually, it was gone entirely. Alexander knew that people weren't looking for him any longer, there was no way. It had been years, though he couldn't tell you exactly how long it was because he had lost count a long time ago. The notches he carved into the wall of his prison had long since been stopped, it took far too much energy that he didn't have.

Alex was curled in the corner of the room he had been kept in since his arrival here and if it hadn't been for the sudden burst of gunfire that wasn't far off, he probably would have managed for a bit of sleep before someone came to torment him. On edge, Alex was expecting the gunfire to end but it continued and it seemed to be growing worse. Whatever was happening, his captors were being attacked... if he wanted a chance at freedom, this was it.

Raising to his feet took far longer than he would have preferred, Alex's muscles were weak from lack of use and malnutrition. Stumbling toward the door, Alex listened as the noise continued to grow closer, louder. The gunshots were accompanied by frantic shouting in a language he'd learned bits and pieces of.

He had to get out of here. Looking around, Alex patted the pants that hung loosely on his hips. Nothing. Nothing that would help. Hands moved upward and he ripped the chain from his neck - a cross that he had worn since he was young. Taking the cross off the chain, Alex's fingers worked quickly to jam it between the door and the wall. Try as he might, Alex couldn't budge the door and so he settled with ramming his foot into the door. He had never dared to before so he was mildly surprised when the door started to give way after the fourth kick. On the fifth, he fell through it, to the ground outside.

---

It had been nearly three months since that fateful night when Alex had stumbled through a haze, his arms in the air and shouting the same words over and over. United States Marine, Oliver. His branch and last name. The words fell from his lips so frantic, so loud, and so filled with fear that his rescue would end with being shot by an American. Please, God, no. It wasn't until a flashlight landed on him and Alex fell to his knees that he breathed a sigh of relief. Safe. He was safe. His prayers had been answered.

Three months of intense rehabilitation - Alex was little more than skin and bones and could barely stand for more than a few minutes. The medical aide wasn't the worst part, the worst came when he was interviewed time and time again about what had happened. He understood what they were trying to do, they wanted to be sure his allegiance hadn't wavered and he wasn't going to turn on them, but all he wanted to do was return home. See Juliette. The day he had been told that he would get to return home, that he had been cleared medically and through security, Alex had nearly cried. Juliette. The only thing that had kept him going for so long. He had made a promise to her on their wedding day and damn if he wasn't going to keep it.

Two plane rides later, Alex was leaving John Wayne Airport. Southern California, the place that Alex had always called home. A Marine escorted him, Alex still needed help walking - he walked slowly with arm crutches on either side.

What seemed like forever was the ride to the home that he had bought with Juliette just before his deployment. Would she even still be here? Alex didn't know but he was hopeful - the military had nothing to offer him in knowledge of Juliette's status. All he knew was that she was still residing in the home they had bought all those years ago. His bag forgotten in the rental car, his escort was only just climbing out of the car when Alex pushed himself out of the car. Forgetting his crutches, Alex rushed forward. Winded by the time he reached the front door, Alex leaned against the frame of the door. He wasn't skeletal still but he was a shell of the man he had once been - the skin pulled tight over all the wrong places and if he had lifted his shirt, you would have been able to count his ribs if he took a deep breath.

The sound of footsteps on the opposite side of the door made Alex want nothing more than to turn and run away like a coward. It had been so long since he had last seen Juliette, would she even recognize him in his state? Would she even want to?

After six months of her husband's disappearance, MIA, as the USMC had put it, her faith hadn't faltered. Juliette wouldn't let that happen. She knew what she was getting herself into when she repeated her vows. She knew what she was getting in to when she watched her high school sweetheart swear in at the MEPS office. She knew what she was getting herself into when she whispered into Alex's ear four months prior at he flight line. She promised she would wait, no matter what. That promise also rang loud and clear when those two pink lines showed on the test that sat on the bathroom counter two months into the deployment. She hadn't really had a lot of contact with her husband. Static secured-line phone calls wasn't really the best form of communication.

Soon enough six months turned into a year. After a year the Marine Corps "ruled out" all possibility of a POW circumstance. They had even had a flag and boots delivered to her doorstep.

In the home they bought together, Juliette would sit with tears in her eyes as she looked down at her four month old baby boy. Spitting image of his father. Friends urged her to try and get out, get a distraction. How the fuck am I supposed to be distracted from this? But when she did, she met a man. A man who reminded her of the man she loved. Courageous, courteous, smart, funny, and loving. And that man stuck by her side.

---

The sound of a car pulling into the gravel driveway caught Juliette's attention. She cradled her soon to be toddler Alexander to her chest as she walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtain, a crease making its way to her forehead as her brows furrowed together. She let the curtains close, turning away from the window.

She was slightly worried that John wasn't there yet. He had promised that he would be by around noon so that she could go out and get some groceries. She was certain that he was going to suggest moving in soon, but she wasn't ready for that. She still wasn't even ready to pull the diamond ring off that third finger on her left hand.

A bang at the door got her attention. She walked over slowly, her eyes flicking to her late husbands 9 millimeter that sat on the stand by the door. When she pulled the door open, nothing could have prepared her for what stood on the other side.

"Oh my god," She breathy choked out, tears immediately welling in her eyes.

Therapists had told him, had tried to warn him that things certainly had changed since he last saw his wife. That regardless of what those changes were, that he couldn't fault her for them and Alex had grown angry. Not for the expected reason, no. Of course he knew things could have changed but he pushed that thought to the furthest recesses of his mind, telling himself that there was no way. He would be able to return home, right? Of course. But then they were pulling up to the home and he was suddenly afraid, those words playing over and over in his mind.

Whatever fear he had was long forgotten the moment that the door was pulled open. Alex straightened as best as he could, an arm still leaning against the door frame for support for he was afraid he would fall without it. His attendant stood back, watching Alex with baited breath. It was an emotional moment, regardless of who you were.

Alexander had built up the courage, had been as prepared as he possibly could be but then, his eyes flickered down to the child in her arms and it felt like he had hit a brick wall. There was a child and his mind was trying to process it but there was no logical explanation coming to mind, nothing that he could offer to ease the sudden burning pain that was in his chest. He opened and closed his mouth, opened and closed, several times over before he found the will to look up to meet her eyes.

A sad sort of smile settled onto his features. Alex had to take another deep breath to collect himself before he could finally speak. This was what he had been warned about and he remembered the anger he'd felt at the therapist's comment. Of course he wouldn't blame Juliette for moving on - it had been nearly three years since he had disappeared. A lot could happen in that time. Obviously.

What was there to say? Alex was standing, staring at Juliette and he struggled like he had never struggled before to find the right words. "I... uh, I just wanted to let you know that I'm still... here," he finally forced the words out of his mouth. He gave a curt nod of his head, his grip tightening on the door frame. There was no way in hell that he was going to admit that he had hoped to be welcomed back into the home like he had never disappeared. Like the entire ordeal was just his imagination. "Sorry," the word was choked out and he had to look away, grinding his teeth together so that he wouldn't start talking because he knew if he did, he would undoubtedly shed a tear or two and that was one of the very last things he wanted. "If I interrupted something."

Juliette stood back, her arm gripping around her son—she was half afraid she was going to fall over. He was supposed to be dead wasn’t he? Isn’t that what the ceremonial folded flag that sat on her bedside table meant? Isn’t that what the boots she kept by the dresser meant? Her breath was hitching in her throat, her mind racing. She wanted to find words to say, she wanted to reach out and touch him… But part of her was terribly afraid he was going to vanish in front of her.

“Alex,” she breathed, barely an audible work. “Alex.”

The toddler she gripped in her arms blinked his eyes open, his head finally lifting. He turned and looked at his father—regardless of the fact that it wasn’t known yet. The brown haired boy gave the man in front of him a sleepy smile before laying his head back down onto his mother’s chest.

The tears that had pooled and brimmed in Juliette’s eyes fell as she braved up and took the initial step forward. She gripped onto Alex’s shirt, her face burying in the man’s chest. “I thought you were gone,” she finally choked out when she took a step back. “I thought you were fucking gone.”

Trying not to sob like a child, she studied the man who was standing in front of her. He looked the same, yet so different all at the same time. He looked broken, beaten down. Her heart was breaking for him already. There was so many things she wanted to ask him—so many things she wanted to tell him. But she knew he needed to adapt. She watched his eyes continually flick to the child in her arms. She gave him a sad smile, “This is your son.”

A feeling that Alexander was unable to identify curled into the pit of his stomach as he made eye contact with the little boy in Juliette's arms. He offered that same sort of sad, forced smile that barely had his lips turning upward. Before he could say anything else, the very thing that he had been dreaming day in and day out for years, it finally happened.

Juliette pressed herself to him and he couldn't help it, couldn't resist the urge to wrap an arm around her waist, just under the one that held the little boy. The other arm left the doorframe to cup the back of her head. He let out a pained noise, clamping his eyes shut to halt the tears that threatened to fall. This moment was even better than the day he'd finally been found, he wasn't even sure how it was possible. The doubt and the fear had been pushed away long enough that he could enjoy the embrace until Juliette broke it off.

"Yeah, I got a little... lost," Alex tried to joke, tried to ease the tension that stirred between them. He choked on a laugh and looked away. He would spare her the details, there was no reason to tell her things that didn't need to affect her.

There had been a comment on the tip of his tongue but the words were lost by the next ones out of Juliette's mouth. His eyes shot to hers from where they rested on the little boy and back again.

"But... you weren't..." Alex trailed off, his eyes searching hers, desperate for answers. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deliberate breath.

"Can I, uh, come in?" He finally found the courage to ask. Alex's shoulders sagged as he turned his attention back to the little boy in front of him so that he could study the boy's features.

Juliette lead him into the house, even though she was sure he still knew his way around. She hadn’t changed things much, she left them nearly the same. It was comforting to her; almost like knowing he was still around. She took baby Alexander over to his pack and play, setting him down gently. She looked over her shoulder at Alex, who was easing himself down on to the couch. “Do you want anything to drink? I’m just going to go grab his sippy cup real fast.”

After his response, she made her way into the kitchen. Her mind was still reeling, trying to silently find answers without asking the questions that should precede them. She braced herself against the granite counter top, her heart still beating out of her chest. She wasn’t even really sure where she needed to go from here. The man in the room over was almost a stranger—but then again he wasn’t.

She shook her head, willing the thoughts to go away for just a moment. She needed to collect herself. She grabbed the toddlers cup, then moved on to pour a glass of tea for Alexander. Juliette made her way back through the kitchen, emerging almost sheepishly into the living room. This was their home together--wasn’t it?

She bent down and gave her son his juice, exhaling a shaky breath as she stood back up. She walked back over to Alexander, extending her arm to offer him the tea. She smiled as he took it from her. Juliette turned on her heel and went to sit in the arm chair across from him. She was sincerely at a loss of what to do.

She nodded her head and clasped her hands in front of her, setting them on her knee. “So, I guess I should address the white elephant in the room.” She started as she motioned over towards their son. “I found out I was pregnant shortly after we lost contact.”

She pressed her finger tips to her temples and sighed once more, “I was—I was going to tell you but—“

Alexander was almost hesitant to make his way into the home that they had... well, they should have raised their son together. He followed after a moment, his movements still slow and concentrated. He had dropped his gaze to his feet, his brows pulling together in concentration as he took each step. Through the rehabilitation, Alex had gotten better with standing but walking was a whole other ball game. With his crutches, it wasn't as difficult but he had abandoned them in the car because of how eager he was to see her again. He slowly eased onto the couch, dropping the last little bit. Looking up at the question, he asked for a cup of tea. If it wasn't beer, water, or whiskey, it was tea. Always with him.

Left alone in the room with his son and the attendant who had accompanied him, Alex looked up to the nurse. After a moment of discussion, the nurse disappeared back through the front door and returned with his crutches that were laid on the floor at his feet before leaving entirely. The nurse would come later, to pick Alex up once he called him.

Alex's attention was focus on the little boy who had begun to play with a toy in the pack and play. His mind began to drift away, his thoughts thousands of miles away. It wasn't until the tea was offered to him that his train of thought was broken. "Thank you," he whispered, lifting the drink to his lips. He savoured the first sip, a small shiver of pleasure running down his spine. How he had missed it, how he had missed this. Everything about being at home with her, it was a sort of comfort that he couldn't explain.

The short lived explanation was enough to ease his mind, ease the doubt that had sparked in the back of his mind. "Juli, you don't have to explain. I... get it," he managed, a hint of a smile forming on his lips. It was hard to wrap his head around but he was doing his best to stay calm. If the military had offered him only one thing, it was the ability to stay calm under a great deal of stress.

Alex still didn't know how to talk about what happened other than the blunt side of things, the facts without emotion. So he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and fixed his gaze on her. "I don't know where to begin," Alex started, dropping his gaze to his drink. He swirled the liquid around, shrugging awkwardly. "So just... I don't know." He shifted around, gritting his teeth as he tried to get a bit more comfortable. "Ask and I'll tell you everything."

Juliette wasn’t quite sure she was even ready to know what had happened with her husband. Just by the look of wary on his face, she didn’t really want to even ask him anything at that time. She couldn’t help but continue to stare at the man. She was sure if she looked away, he wouldn’t be there when she turned her eyes back to him. She wrung her hands nervously, toying with the ring that she still had on her finger. Juliette didn’t really know what to say to the man. It wasn’t like she had completely moved on and decided to start a brand new life. But things were different now. She was still very much in love with the man who was sitting in front of her—she just knew he was a changed man.

She sighed softly, bringing a hand up to run through her hair. “I don’t even know what to ask, Alex.” She looked away from him for a split second. “All I know is my husband was gone and now he’s back and—“ She stopped herself before the tears decided to come again. She inhaled a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I mean, when did you—how did you--…” She began to trail off, feeling herself start to ramble. “How long have you been back in the states for? I mean, I haven’t been notified or—or anything, Alex. They promised me they would—no matter what. No matter how long it took… And then you just show up?”

She sighed a long, heavy sigh. Juliette knew that she was throwing too much at him at once. He probably didn’t even have any control over the situation. She was familiar with the military process—it was always hurry up and wait. Or, better yet, no information at all. “I’m sorry,” she offered feebly. “I just… I don’t know.”

Whatever reservation that he felt was gone the moment that Juliette began to break. No matter what had happened while he was gone, to either of them, Alex would love her until the day that he died. Just like his vows had said, he was a man of his word. Pushing himself to his feet, Alex moved so that he was in front of her before he lowered himself into a sitting position at her feet. His legs extended out on either side of her feet because bending them was so much more painful. Alex thought it was perhaps a step too far to hug her and so he settled with a hand on her leg, rubbing up and down slowly in a minimal act of comfort.

"A little over three months ago," Alexander started, his voice taking on a monotonous tone. The story he had recounted and told and recounted time and time again that he had very nearly forgotten it was his story. "The camp I was being held at was assaulted by Marines. I heard the gunfire and it kept getting louder and louder and I just... I knew, if I was going to escape at all, it was then. I managed to get to my feet and knocked the door down after a handful of kicks."

Alex lifted the tea to his lips and took a long sip, hesitating a moment longer before he continued. "I was basically skin and bones when I was found," he continued, drawing in a shaky breath. "The longest three months of my life. Rehabilitation and interview after fuckin' interview to make sure I wasn't some traitorous bastard," he muttered the last little bit, his eyes narrowing. His free hand balled into a fist as he finally raised his gaze to meet hers.

"Every damned day. I asked when I was going to be allowed out because seeing you? That was the only thing that got me through day after day."

Juliette looked down at her husband. She couldn’t help it, but she allowed her hand to reach out and lay on the side of his face. She smiled, but the smile faltered when she saw him flinch back slightly. She knew it wasn’t intentional. She knew he wasn’t aiming anything towards her. He had been through too much—and she could tell just back looking in his eyes.

Juliette rubbed her thumb gently across the scruff the laid out across his face. Her eyes studied the dark circles etched under the two orbs of his own eyes. She bit her lip, searching his face for any type of emotion. “I missed you so much,” she whispered. “I’ve just missed you so much.” She glanced over towards their son who was happily toying away with some sort of toy in the pack and play. Her heart swelled with the sudden realization that her son would know who his father was.

“I know there is a lot of things we have to go over,” she breathed. “And a lot of things that we have to figure out… And even more time that we have to recover.” She removed her hand from his face, bringing it down to rest on top of the hand he still had placed on her knee.

“But,” she spoke again. “It doesn’t really matter now that I know you are here. We can take all the time you need.”

Alex cursed to himself when Juliette reached forward before he knew what his instinct would be. When you didn't know a friendly touch for two and a half years, it took far too long to extinguish what was now a standard response to fear. A knot curled in the bit of his stomach before he leaned into her touch. His eyes fluttered shut for the briefest of moments before he opened them, looking up to her before he followed her gaze to come to a rest on their son. "What's his name?" The question spouted before he could even really think about it.

Clearing his throat, Alex nodded as she spoke. His fingers stilled on her leg for just a moment before he laced his fingers with hers. If all he did for the rest of his life was sit with Juliette in front of him and his son to the side, he'd be happy. "Juli, I missed you so damned much. I prayed every day that I would get to see you one more time. To see your smile, hear your laugh," he whispered, choking on the last word. He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. "I had started to lose hope but.." he let out a tiny sob, his head dropping fully as he leaned into her lap. "You're right in front of me."

"Right, ah," he spoke after clearing his throat, straightening a bit as he looked up to her. "There's a hotel room that my nurse is staying in and I'm welcome to stay there until I get things figured out a bit more." Alex dropped his hand from her thigh, his attention turning to his hands that rested in his lap. "The nurse will be around for a month, after that my situation will be reevaluated and I'll go from there."

Alex hated saying nurse. He had a nurse that followed after him, made sure he was okay in basic tasks and the more complex ones. He'd never been more humiliated and humbled all at the same time other than when he took the first initial shower after breaking free. His strength hadn't been there yet and so he had needed help to perform the most simple of hygienic care.

Tears were still in her eyes as he spoke. She couldn’t even imagine the hell he had been put through, and here he was just concerned about getting back to her. He had always been that way. Even when he enlisted, he had still put her first when he should have been putting his country first. But she knew even that was a close call.

Juliette bobbed her head along with every word he said, a nervous habit she had for years. She rubbed her finger along the skin of his hand. She wanted to badly just to tell him to come home—to tell him he didn’t need to go anywhere. But she knew that wouldn’t be a wise decision. She needed to ease him back in to the process. There had been too many changes in their lives for her to just throw him back into their household. Juliette didn’t need to lose him again.

And then there was John. John had been the shining light in her days of darkness. She didn’t necessarily consider them to be a romantic item, but he had been there. John and her had even talked about him moving in. He had been so good to her and her son, she knew there was no way she could ever repay him. She wasn’t sure how Alex would feel about how close of a relationship she had with another man; be it romantic or not. John had become her saving grace, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to just dump him on the curb after everything he had done for her.

Juliette brought her hand back up, skimming it across the top of his head. She whispered, “Let’s just take some time to get reacquainted. You can spend as much or as little time here as you need until you are ready.”

She slowly leaned forward, her face getting closer to his. She pressed her lips against his forehead briefly before pulling back. “I love you.”

Alex had listened to her words but his reply was cut short by her actions. His eyes fluttered shut as she ran a hand over his head, just trying to cement into her mind what her touch felt like. Opening his eyes when he felt a kiss, Alex was relieved that he hadn't been expecting it. Flinching away from a kiss would have destroyed him and likely would have upset Juliette and he wouldn't have been able to blame her whatsoever. "I love you, too."

His eyes dipped to her hand and a stupid little grin settled on his features as he reached out to brush his fingers over the ring that she still wore. "You're still wearing it."

"Did mine ever make it back here? It was in my things back at camp," Alex explained quietly, glancing down to his own hand. He hadn't even thought about his belongings that were few in the first place. In theory they would have returned the items to his wife but he wasn't going to bet on it.

A goofy little grin settled onto his features as he looked up to his wife, his bottom lip jutting out in a bit of a pout. "Can you make that balsamic pork tenderloin? God, I think I missed your cooking almost as much as I missed you," he said quietly. "You can't blame me, can you?"

Juliette couldn’t help the low giggle that emerged from her lips. Here her husband sat, battered and broken, and he was wanting her to cook his favorite meal. She nodded her head in agreement, the smile still on her face. “You’re in luck because I have the things to cook it.”

She stood up slowly, maneuvering her way around him. “I just have to make a quick phone call, okay?”

Juliette excused herself and made her way back into the kitchen. She produced her cellphone from her back pocket, quickly punching in John’s number. When he answered, the first thing that flew out of her mouth was “He’s home, ” followed by a short sob. After explaining the situation briefly, she said “I think it would be best if maybe you didn’t stop by tonight. I don’t want to shock his system any more than need be. He’s already in a state—and I don’t want to tip him.”

“It’s not like you’ve cheated on the man, Jules.” John said to her.

“I know,” she mumbled. “But he’s my husband. And he’s home. And I just—I don’t even know what to do right now, John.”

After the rushed conversation, which she hoped Alex hadn’t over heard, she made her way back into the living room. She didn’t want Alex to get the wrong impression. “Your wedding ring, I do have it. Do you, uhm… Do you want it back?”

The look of absolute happiness that washed over his features when Juliette commented that she would, well, it was nothing short of amazing. The smiles that he had forced to his lips over the past few months were short lived and never really reached his eyes, not the way the one on his face did now. There was still sadness, still a broken man sitting at Juliette's feet but at least he wore the first real smile he had in the past three years.

When Juliette headed toward the kitchen, Alex twisted around and slowly began to force himself to move forward on his knees. It was a slow, painful process but at least he was making his way closer to his son. Inching closer on his knees was easier than rising all the way to his feet and lowering himself back down by the pack and play.

Alex raised just enough to be able to reach into the pin, reaching his fingers out toward Alexander. His son looked up to him and laughed and his heart melted right then. Everything in that very moment didn't matter. The pain and the suffering that he had been through didn't matter because at least his son was happy and he was healthy. His wife was in the kitchen and... they were his family.

He nudged a little play ball in Alexander's direction and they began to push it back and forth in the pen before Juliette reappeared. He looked up from his position and hesitated for a moment before he nodded ever so slowly. "Only if you're okay with it," he finally answered, his eyes flicking down to the floor. "Please don't feel obligated, angel. A lot has happened, right?"

Alex pushed to his feet using the edge of the pen and he hesitated with his hands lingering just inside the top of it. "Can I..? I dunno.." he winced, realizing how ridiculous he probably sounded. "When's his birthday?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said quietly with a soft smile on her face. She murmured, "Come here."

She helped Alex over towards his recliner. She still remember the day he picked it out. He had all but pleaded her to take him to the Laz-y-Boy outlet, saying he needed a nice chair--that all men needed their own chair. She had laughed at him, but like in most situations she agreed. Once she had him settled in his chair, she walked back over to her sons pack and okay. She scooped him up in her arms and walked back over towards Alex. She gave him another smile, extending their child out towards him. "Here baby, go to daddy while I go upstairs." She placed him into Alex's lap, her heart beginning to bury at its seams just at the sight of the two of them. "I'll be right back."

Juliette disappeared upstairs and into their bedroom. She walked over to what was his side of the bed and opened the bed side table drawer. She dug around in it as she searched through the various belongings they had given back to her. There was his wallet, his CAC card, a few polaroids that were taken over in the desert. She reached towards the back, her hand finally clasping the cool metal of the tugbston carbide ring. She smiled, the tears coming back to her eyes. She wiped at them once more before she closed the drawer.

When she finally made her way back downstairs, she could hear the elated giggles of her eighteen month old. The grin spread wider and she walked over to them. Slowly, she reach out and grabbed her husbands left hand and began to slip the ring back on it. "Here you go."

The moment that Alexander was sitting on his lap was a moment that he would never forget. Alex leaned forward and scooped the child right into his arms, holding him as close as he would dare. Alex didn't know what would injure his son ans he certainly didn't want to, not the first time that he had ever met him. "Daddy's going to do everything I can to keep you and Mommy safe," he whispered to his son, brushing the hair out of the little boy's face.

Extending the leg rest of the chair, Alex let out a groan as he stretched a bit, resettling Alexander on his lap. He bounced the little boy, only to look up with a little grin when he heard Juliette's approaching footsteps.

What little tension still resided in his features soon disappeared the moment that Juliette began to slide the ring onto his finger. He blinked, eyeing the ring for a moment before he looked up to her. "Thank you for being such a strong woman," he whispered, his fingers lingering on hers before he dropped his hand back to his lap.

"Is it okay if I come with you to the kitchen? I'll probably be able to help just as much as I did before but I'll certainly try.." Alex trailed off, offering a sly smile. "If you'll have me."

Juliette just smiled at her husband as she reached down to pluck the child out of his lap. She help him to her hip as she nodded her head, "You know you are more than welcome to come in there and stare at me like you always have."

Juliette helped Alex to his feet, watching him carefully as she walked over to the other end of the living room to grab his crutches for him. She bent down carefully as she continued to hold on to the toddler. After she grabbed them, she made her way back over to her husband. She helped him get situated with the crutches. Once she was sure he was stable, they made their way into the kitchen.

She placed baby Alexander down in the corner of the room, closet to the chair that she had helped Alex get settled into. That way they could both keep an eye on him as she cooked. Her eyes lingered on her husbands face as she stood in front of them. Slowly, she reached out to place her hands on both sides of his face. She carefully bent down, finally pressing her lips to his own for the first time in a few years. She pulled away, smiling as she spoke softly. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait any longer."

@ varkatzas.

There was something off about all of this, Alex was sure of it but he was so content with just being here that he pushed the uneasy feeling to the past of his mind. It still nagged but did nothing to actually ruin his mood by any means. Nope, he wouldn't allow it. Not now. Not when he was finally getting what he wanted.

Alex had pushed himself out of the chair with every intention of walking to the kitchen, of pretending to be the man he was before he had left. The man that Juliette had married, the same man that had apparently had a son with her. That hadn't been there for her during her pregnancy or throughout raising Alexander up until this point. Now he had to be. But the relief that flooded him when she offered his crutched was enough to very nearly make his knees go weak.

Sitting down in the kitchen, Alex pushed the chair back a bit from the table so that he could inch forward just enough to lean his shoulders against the back of the chair. He looked over to his son, a small smile on his lips before he turned to look up to Juliette just in time for her fingers to brush against his cheeks. Her lips pressed to his - his breath hitched and his chest tightened. Before he could react though, she was moving away and he was left to look up to her with a dumb look on his face.

Alex cleared his throat, reaching forward to give her hand a light squeeze. "You don't have to ever apologize for kissing your husband. Ever," he exclaimed, bringing her hand up so that he could press a kiss to where her wedding ring rested.

He tugged her a bit closer and spread his legs so that she could stand between them. Alex sat up a bit straighter and wrapped his arms around her legs, his thumbs massaging slow circles into the fabric of her jeans. "They're still just as magic as they were before. If not even more powerful than before. Must be another reason why I married you. Or maybe it's just everything about you is magical, angel. Don't you think?"