Alex was resting in the hospital bed after her doctor, Patrick Woods, had taken an X-ray of her shoulder. Her collarbone had been snapped clean and it would take about six weeks for the fracture to heal correctly. She didn't mind that she would have to have it wrapped up and wear a sling for a month and a half. It was a reminder of how she fought with all her might and came out victorious in the end. The cuts on her face from the glass when she and Dawson went through the table had been cleaned with some antiseptic. The large cut on her forehead from hitting the side of the table had to be stitched close since it was bleeding a little too much for her doctor's liking. Patrick covered the stitched wound with a gauze and Alex thanked the older man for what he had done for her.
I’m about to be on the floor again,
Surely you’re gonna find me here
I’m about to sleep until the end of time,
Drug I take gonna wake
My fear right now
The expectant mother was listening to the song on her iPod called The Better Life by 3 Doors Down. It held some truth within the lyrics and Alex bobbed her head to the beat of the song. She was passing into the better life and knew that she didn't have to worry about getting raped again. The only thing she worried about was finding someone to love her despite the faults and dark past she had lived with for so long. Since she was fifteen years old, Alex dreamed of becoming a mother and being married to a wonderful man that loved her completely. The marriage part didn't work out, but at least she was going to become a mother.
I’m passing away on to the
Better life
I’m passing away on
To the better
Jethro, Tony, Kate, Michael, Ziva, Ducky, and Jimmy were sitting in the waiting room. They were waiting for Richard, Jenny, and Abby to come. Jethro contacted the other three NCIS employees to come to Bethesda. Tony yawned and rested his head on his husband's shoulder. The pregnant male was exhausted from what happened with Alex, but knew that she was finally able to breathe freely and not worry about someone trying to attack her from behind. Jethro looked up from where he was sitting and saw Richard walking in with Jenny and Abby following after him. "Hey you three. Alex had her shoulder examined and it's getting wrapped up in an bandage at the moment. She'll have to wear it in a sling for about six weeks, but she's cleared to be discharged and return to work full-time. She just won't be able to go out to a lot of crime scenes until her shoulder is completely healed. Since Tony and I are her medical proxies, we got to go fill out the discharge paperwork for her," Jethro said and helped his pregnant husband up from his seat. Tony smiled and Jethro slipped an arm around the younger man's expansive waist as they headed to retrieve Alex from the room she was in.
I’m about to see just how far I can fly,
Surely your gonna break my fall
I’m about to run as fast as I can,
Head long into that wall
This time I’m passing away on to the
Better life
Alex was still listening to her iPod when the door opened and Jethro walked in with his arm around Tony's waist. The young woman on the bed smiled and stood up from where she was laying. "Hey. So, am I free to go back to my house or am I staying with someone else?" Alex asked as she turned her music player off and tucked it into her pocket. The couple knew that Alex was feeling better now that Dawson was dead once and for all. Jethro remembered feeling the same way when he tracked down the man that murdered his best friend and fellow Marine, Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Thomas Jacobson.
Jethro and Tony smiled at the young agent and Tony said, "I packed a few bags of clothes for you since you're staying with the both of us for about two weeks. The FBI isn't going to deem your house cleared for about three days, but you're going to need a lot repairs around the house. One of the walls ended up collapsing after we had left the house. Jethro is going to start calling around for some house repairers and find out how much they charge for each repair. By the way, we called Mikey and Angie to let them know what happened. They're coming by the house later to see how you're doing." Alex nodded her head and the three friends walked out of the hospital room. As they were headed to the elevator, Alex was thinking about how grateful she was for what the couple was doing for her. The small group walked out of the room and headed for the elevators. The rest of the group was waiting in the lobby and Alex knew that Abby would be the first one to tackle her in a massive hug.
The three friends stepped into the elevator and Jethro leaned over to push the button for the lobby. The doors closed in front of them and the cart started to descend. Alex reached up with her right hand and adjusted the strap that was holding her arm close to her body. The expectant mother was glad that she didn't have to worry about someone attacking her again. When the doors opened at the ground floor, Alex walked out first. Jethro and Tony followed after the woman and when they made it over to the group, Abby was the first one to throw her arms around Alex. Jethro caught Alex as she stumbled a little bit from the force of the forensic specialist tackling her. "Alex, you're alright! When Jenny called me about what happened, I was so worried and thought that you had been shot!" Abby exclaimed and Kate slowly pulled her girlfriend off Alex.
Alex coughed softly and them smiled at her friends. "I'm alright, everyone. Dawson didn't expect me to fight back like I did and then pull a gun on him. I'm just glad that I remembered some of the martial arts moves that Ziva and Michael had taught me in the beginning. My shoulder bone will take about six weeks to heal, but that doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy to be alive and walking still," Alex said softly and the group nodded their heads. Ducky walked over to the young woman and pulled her into a fatherly embrace. Alex smiled and rested her head on the medical examiner's shoulder. Jimmy smiled at his best friend and knew that she would be alright. The two friends harbored feelings for one another and hopefully something would happen between them one day.
The Next Day
Alex was sitting in the back of the black Charger that belonged to Jethro and Tony. Jimmy was sitting in the front with the pregnant male and made sure that Alex had enough leg room in the back. The three adults were heading to see a movie that Tony had picked out and they were going to go shopping afterwards. The two pregnant agents and the assistant medical examiner were all best friends and they were going to keep being best friends for the rest of their lives. Tony pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater and Alex grabbed a few dollars for the parking fees. It was a good thing that the mall and theater were connected so they could just head into the mall after they were finished seeing the movie. The three friends got out of the car after Tony parked it and headed towards the escalator that would take them up to the movie theater entrance. As they were riding up, Alex was thinking of ways to tell Jimmy that she was in love with him and wanted to be together. Unbeknown to Alex, Jimmy was thinking about the same thing and wondered how he was going to show the NCIS agent that he was completely and utterly in love with her.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Alex had finally let go of her past after Robert Dawson had come back and tried to kill her. She defended herself and fatally shot the serial murderer and rapist. What happens to the young woman now?