Request: @patrickdempseyswife
Jo coming back from visiting her birth mom and not shutting Alex out
-
The second he saw her there in their bed, pretending to be asleep, he knew she was not ok. The fresh stain of tears under her puffy eyes, the wet spot on her pillow, and her red nose let Alex know immediately that she wasn't sleeping. But he still let her be. He figured quickly that whatever she discovered during her trip to Pittsburgh wasn't the closure and peace she had hoped for. Otherwise she wouldn't lie there pretending to be asleep. But he let her be. If he knows one thing about his wife than it's that pressuring her never helped. So he will wait until she's ready. Just like she does whenever he needs his time - she leaves him alone until he's ready to talk about it. And now is his turn to let her process and digest before she's willing to talk to him about it.
After kissing her forehead and a last look at her he quickly resumes his nightly routine in the bathroom and changes before he joins his wife in bed.
Normally he would scoot closer and wrap his arms around Jo but he's not sure if that's what she really needs right now; instead he pulls the cover closer to his chest and stares at the ceiling, trying to guess what discovery his wife made to return this broken. Every possible scenario plays in his head, preventing him to close his eyes and fall asleep.
Even though the loft was dark except from the little moonlight shining through their windows, he turns his head to look at Jo.
Her back is still turned towards him, her head is buried in her pillow while her hands are still holding tightly onto it.
All he wants to do is hold her close, showing her that no matter what had happened he is here for her, will keep her safe and just loves her, but he wasn't sure if his closeness wouldn't cross her boundaries right now.
But he also can't just lay there - he at least needs to let her know that he's here. So he probs up on his left arm and comes a little closer.
"Jo." He starts softly, "Whatever happened in Pittsburgh I want you to know that I love you and that I'm here for you whenever you're ready."
He carefully brushes the stray hair behind her ear and places another kiss against her temple before he scoots backwards to lay back down. But before his head hits the pillow again her shaky voice fills the silence.
"C- can you- hold me?" She quietly asks between now loud sobs.
That's all he needs to hear to pull her close in his arms, tightly holding her while she cries into her pillow.
-
Even though he got only three hours of sleep that night, he gets up the next morning to make breakfast. He knows that Jo didn't get any sleep either, so he called the hospital to call both of them sick for the day. Luckily Bailey didn't ask any further questions and Alex continued preparing them something to eat.
It breaks his heart to see his wife like this. Even though she's sleeping right now her hand is still holding tightly onto his pillow while her red puffy face looks anything but relaxed.
He misses her smile, her laugh. But this is what he promised her - for better, for worse. And he would keep this promise - always.
The smell of smoke rips him out of his thoughts. He quickly turns the waffle iron off before he puts the last waffle on the little pile he already made. He pours himself a coffee and takes it with him back to bed. He doesn't know why but he feels like he needs to stay close to Jo; even though she's sleeping he doesn't want her to wake up alone, which is actually bull shit considering they are living in one big room - he still wants to be close for her.
