Jo made her way down one of the many stairwells in the hospital, her day had been going extremely slow. Every time she had checked the clock it seems that only five minutes had passed, despite that fact that it had felt like hours. She half blamed the hospital for being so quiet today, but she didn't think that out loud – she didn't want the hospital to be thrown in to chaos, especially with the intense pain that was rippling through her body.

The bruise started on her hip, the large, deep purple welt made her feel sick. She thanked her unlucky stars that it wasn't broken, it looked broken. She thought about getting it checked out, but going to Torres would only cause problems. She would put up with the pain for the day, tomorrow she had a day off – she could stay in bed all day with Paul working. She couldn't wait. The bruise made its way up to the side of her ribs, the welts were more scarce there. She was glad, sometimes when the bruises were on her ribs, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Like someone was squeezing her chest until she exploded.

Last night was bad. Jo almost flinched at the thought. Paul had been so nice for a few days, it was the calm before the storm. In a good mood he had told her they were going out for dinner, he had told her to dress up in one of her nice dresses, he had told her to put her hair in that style he liked, he had told her to be ready for seven o'clock. So, she did as she was told.

The restaurant was lavish, with expensive wine and tiny portions. It reminded her of one of their many first dates, the ones when she would tell him that she dreamed of going to places where they served wine with a bucket of ice, and he would make her dreams come true. The ones where she would tell him that she never had been to the movies to see a animated film when she was younger, and he would take her. The ones where she would tell him that she loved the idea of a drive-in movie date, under the stars, and he would find the nearest one just to take her.

It reminded her of when he was the man she loved, and the man she thought loved her.

There was something different about this date than the others, though. She couldn't put her finger on it, sure they weren't the young couple that they once were, she wasn't the young and naïve girl she once was. But, there was something off. His eyes never found hers, they were trained on the waiters as they set down the food in front of her, as they took her order, as they poured her glass after glass after glass of wine. Jealousy was always one of Paul's worst traits.

His conversation was all about him, how his work day had been, how annoying his intern was, how his right shoulder was aching. You should probably rest it. His right arm was the one he always used when he went for her, with the way the night had been going she wasn't worried about what would happen at home afterwards. She needed to stop getting her hopes up.

No, this date was nothing like their past ones.

She was getting up to leave, the waiter had offered to get their coats. Jo's engagement ring had always been a little loose, as she got up it fell off of her hand. Crap. She quickly dropped to the floor to pick it up. Back bent, ass up, legs straight. Got it! She straightened her back and placed the ring back into its place. Turning around, she came face to face with the waiter who had a clear smirk on his face as he handed her the coat. Unbeknownst to Jo, the waiter had a full view of her earlier display – this wasn't something that went unknown to Paul. He was raging.

The screaming match that took place in their home was a complete contrast to the silence that filled the air on their way home. YOU WERE PUTTING ON A SHOW! YOU WANTED HIM TO LOOK! YOU WANTED THEM ALL TO LOOK! GOD, JO YOU'RE SUCH A WHORE!

He had threw her across the room before she even had a chance to defend herself. Slapped her so hard she hit her hip against the glass coffee table on her way down. Pushed her so hard she thought her spine had cracked. Strangled her so hard that she thought she would die, again. For the second time that month she felt as if she was going to die.

She felt the same as she struggled to get out of bed this morning, but she pushed through it and hobbled her way down to the car after getting ready, and then into the hospital.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, clutching on to the railing for support, giving herself a few moments to catch her breath and ease the pain before she started to walk towards the NICU, where Alex had paged her from. He would probably have something to say about how long she had taken, but Jo couldn't find it in herself to care.

She carried on, using all of the strength in the non-bruised side of her body to push the door open, this day couldn't end quick enough.

"You paged?" She asked Alex as she found him at the nurses station with Robbins.

"Uh huh. I need you to swap with Murphy, I want you on my service." He told her without a single glance, Jo was getting bored of always being told what to do – but then again, unlike her off duty husband, Karev was her boss.

"No, you just don't want Murphy on your service." Jo giggled, Alex and Leah had hooked up once a few weeks ago – the picture had been burned into her memory. Just like Jo predicted, Leah was obsessed. She did everything she could to get near Karev, and he did everything he could to get away. Jo lapped it up, it was hilarious.

"It's Ivy's final surgery today, you've been on her case the most and…and she likes you!" He reasoned.

"No she doesn't. She spat jello at me literally last week, the girl hates me." Jo shook her head, she was just being awkward to show him up in front of Robbins, his boss. Maybe she was a little mean but she couldn't help herself.

"You still know her case." He said through gritted teeth. Turning away from Robbins, he whispered, "Please, Jo!"

"Fine! If you're not careful you're gonna' have a harassment suit on your hands." She joked, he didn't seem like he was in the mood when the only response she got was a grunt. He leant behind her to get some paperwork that was scattered across the table, Jo pressed her body up against the nurses station to make way for him, causing her to flinch in pain.

"What's with that?" He grumbled, once he was back in his previous place.

"What?" She furrowed her brows and pretended it was nothing. Truthfully, she wanted to scream. "I'll go tell Leah her medical career is being compromised because you can't keep it in your pants. See you in a min!" She gave him a sickly sweet wave as she walked away, she probably looked like she had crapped her pants with the way she was so stiffly walking.

"What was that Karev?" Robbins piped up after overhearing the intern.

"Nothing!" He groaned before walking off also.

Alex couldn't believe he was hiding in a closet for the second time just that day. Leah was nuts. Why did no one tell him that she was a complete psycho until after he had slept with her. He was horny, and bored and she was willing and…there. God, that made him sound like the biggest skeeze. He just wanted to get it out of his system, have sex with someone that wasn't the crazy hot intern that was always on his service. It was typical man logic, sleeping with one person to get their mind of another. It was stupid.

He didn't think he had feelings for Wilson. No he couldn't have, she was just funny and smart and witty and kind and annoying and had a real cute laugh. Stop. She was just his friend, his friend who he sometimes fantasised about what she looked like naked. That was normal? Having a sexual attraction to someone who was as hot as Jo was completely normal. That's all it was. No feelings. It's not like he found himself wanting to hold her dainty little hands, or getting to kiss her soft lips, or getting to feel her silky smooth skin underneath his hands. Nope. He didn't do that. Not that you'd hear him admit, anyway. Just why couldn't he get her out of his head?

Having sex with Leah was one of the worst decisions his lower region ever made. He found himself thinking about Jo even more, probably because she walked in on them; fully naked and covered in their sweaty after glow. He wondered about what she must have thought after witnessing the desperate attempt of him distracting himself from her, not that she knew that she was the only reason he had been that position – but, did she think he was just some player? Screw 'em and dump 'em kinda guy? Cause he guesses he kind of was, he doesn't want her to think that…not that it mattered.

He shook his head, why was he even thinking like this? She is married. She had told him enough times. Every chance she got actually, he knew the first day that he met her that she would get him in some kind of trouble. He really should have took himself more seriously when he said stay away. Then, maybe he wouldn't be sat in the corner of a supply closet whilst hiding from Murphy, who he only slept with because he let his head get all messed up with a married woman. If that was even what it was. All he knew was that she was on his mind all the time.

Should he tell her? He had thought about it just last week. What she would say, what she would do, if she would smile or if she would scowl. He also thought about kissing her, he thought many, many times about kissing her. He thinks about what her lips would taste like, in his mind they were sweet and tasted like cherry lip balm, and they were soft and moved perfection in sync with his. He bets that she would blow his mind, though. But, what would he even be telling her? That he thought about her a lot? There was nothing really to tell.

He shouldn't tell her anything. He knows what the reaction would be, she would politely turn him down and tell him she was happily married. She would request to be taken off his service and he would have to be the jerk who stopped the eager intern being able to work on peds. She would probably tell her husband, too. He'd probably be met with a hard punch to his face the next time he saw him, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself – because, yes he did hit on the guys wife. He doesn't want to set himself up for that disappointment.

Sometimes he felt like she flirted with him, or at least maybe there was something there. She would go out of her way to make him laugh, she wouldn't even be working with him and she would still spend her free time up on peds, she would give him little…looks. Looks that he's pretty sure he's caught himself giving her. Like when she laughs and he just has to stare because she was so, so…gorgeous. Or, that time she stuffed a stolen doughnut in her mouth and his lips couldn't help but curl into a smile. Those kind of looks.

He shook his head once again, he really needed to stop thinking like that – he was going to get his hopes up.

"Paul…" he was distracted from his thoughts as he heard her exasperated voice, speak of the devil. "I'm working, and you have patients!" Jo was stood in the doorway with it wide open, he could just make out Stadler on the other side from where he was sitting. He watched the older man let out a growl and rub at his face.

"We'll talk at home." He told her sternly as his pager started going off, what a jerk.

"Urghhh!" Jo slammed the door shut after him, letting out a groan but wishing she could scream. She let out a huff as she pushed her back up against the door, immediately regretting it as she was once again met with the excruciating pain that had been rocking her body all day.

"Hey." She let out a small scream as she startled, once again hitting her body against the door. Fuck Opening her eyes back up from being screwed shut, she looked up to see Alex and her features immediately softened. "What was that all about?" Alex stood up and walked over to where Jo was stood, still back against the door.

"God, Alex! What are you doing?" Jo's hand was still firmly placed on her heart. She was grateful that Paul's pager went off when it had, Alex would interrogate her until she told him exactly what was going on. "Wait…" Jo smiled, "are you hiding from Leah?" Her smile grew wider as Alex let out another groan of annoyance. "Oh my God! You really need to get your life together!" She said through giggles. "Hiding from horny interns doesn't look too good!" She couldn't stop her laughter.

"Shut up. You didn't answer my question?" Jo looked around the small supply closet, trying to find what Murphy had sent her here for – she'd be kicking herself if she found out Karev was in here. It was part of their trade, she would trade service if Jo ran her errands. Unfortunately, Jo had ran into Paul on her way here.

He told her to go home. He told her that if people saw how she was acting then they would ask questions. He told her she was being selfish coming into work. She scoffed at him and his eyes turned dark, the way they always did when he was angry. He was all about to push her down to the floor in that closet, luckily – she hates herself for saying luckily – one of his patients started coding and he had no choice but to leave.

"Old married couple things." She deadpanned, she and Alex acted more like an old married couple than her and Paul did.

"Right. You did swap with Murphy?" He raised his eyebrows, scared to open the door just incase.

"She's waiting for you just behind that door." She joked with him as if she was reading his mind. Jo leant up to the top shelf of one of the many cupboards in the room, she had to extend her arm fully as she was on the very tips of her toes.

"What the hell!" Alex came towards Jo as his eyes landed on the deep, dark bruise that covered the entirety of her hip. Out stretching his arm to softly touch the skin that was now exposed due to Jo's top riding up as she stretched. She flinched away from his touch and stopped his hand.

"It's nothing." She told him coldly. She hadn't felt her top move at all, she hadn't felt any cool air against her exposed skin. She felt open, and she felt stupid. Open, because no one had ever laid eyes on her bruises and reacted like Alex had. Stupid, because how did she let that happen – she shouldn't have let this happen.

"That's…that's not nothing, Jo. How…wh…who did this?" Alex couldn't help but seethe with anger at the sight of the huge bruise, and at the thought of someone touching her. He was ready to kill.

"No one, Alex! I fell…" she looked down to the floor, she had always been pretty good at lying. Alex and her have became close recently, she had never lied to him, though. So, maybe he wouldn't be able to see that she was lying.

"What the hell did you fall on? Off a cliff?" He raised his eyebrows, he had no reason not to trust Jo. The idea that she had just fallen over was a lot better than being…being hurt at the hands of someone. He doesn't know why he thought like that, seeing her in pain just made his head go into overdrive.

"No." She furrowed her brows. "I was making a bath last night and I…I got distracted, it flowed over and…and I slipped on to the tiled floor. Hard." Not her best but Alex seemed to take it, nodding his head.

"How are you so clumsy, huh?" Jo looked up at Alex, his voice was soft as she finally let him touch the painful bruise, softly. It was almost…affectionate. It was the softest touch Jo could remember ever receiving from a man, it was sweet and his eyes were laced with concern. "Have you not had this checked out?" He assumed as she flinched in pain. Of course he was worried, with a bruise like that, the bones underneath could be fractured or even broken.

"No." She moved away from his hand once again. "It's embarrassing."

"What's more embarrassing is passing out whilst at work, due to the pain." He gestured towards the bruise. She didn't want to get it checked out. She didn't want to be having this conversation. She like always, wanted it to go unnoticed until she could deal with it. Alone. She didn't need his help and she didn't need his pity. He believes she had only slipped in the bathroom and his eyes just screamed pity, imagine if he knew the truth.

"You go see Torres, and I'll drop it. Ok?" He could see she was uncomfortable with the conversation, but he didn't want her to be on her feet if she needed rest. Even if he didn't have feelings for her, she was still his friend. He cared about her.

She let out a big sigh, "fine." She agreed, she just wanted to shut him up.

Alex stopped Jo as she was about to exit the closet. "Are you sure?" He asked with concern lacing his voice. "Are you sure, Jo?" Jo couldn't bring herself to shake her head. He was asking. Someone was asking.

Ask me if I'm ok.

Ask me if I'm ok.

'Are you sure' isn't enough. It's not the words she so desperately wants someone to ask her. Because she can't tell him everything, load all her problems on to him when he wasn't even asking. She would feel like she was burdening him, burdening anyone – 'are you sure' wasn't enough to make her turn on Paul like she so deeply wishes she was powerful enough to do so.

But, if he ask's if she's ok… She could tell him. He would want to know, he would be asking for her troubles and struggles, he would be someone who cares and someone who truly wants to know. She would feel like he was someone who was willing to listen, to hear her speak and listen to every word that dropped off of her tongue. She would have a reason to cry and sob and scream and pour her heart out with everything she had felt for the past miserable years of her life. Because, no she is not ok and she is not sure. But she needs a reason to tell someone, she needs a reason to admit she is most definitely not ok. Ask me if I'm ok!

He didn't.

"Yes, Alex! I hit my hip, not my head." Was all she muttered as they both exited the closet.