I'm never gonna give up on you.

46. You are my everything

Alice went out of the little bathroom with a small bag with her cosmetics. She was packing her personal effects into a small suitcase, FP had brought to her after she had finally woken up from a coma so that she could put on some of her domestic clothes or read one of her favorite books.

It was the time she could finally go back home and she was more than happy to finally spend some time with her family. Not that they hadn't been visiting her almost every day, she was just missing  sitting on the couch in the living room with a cup of hot chocolate or just enjoying the beautiful sunny day in the garden.

She was feeling pretty good, but she still needed more time to adjust herself to the new situation and get the full recovery. Even though she knew about Gladys's accident and both Jellybean and Jughead had been supporting her, Alice didn't feel too comfortable with the fact, that she had Gladys's heart inside her body.

She carefully sat down on the bed and grabbed a frame with a photo of their whole family that Betty printed for her. Even though Betty knew, that it couldn't replace their presence, she wanted her mother to feel herself at home. Having such caring children was a blessing.

They had been treating her like a queen for the past few weeks and she couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed it, because she had, but the truth was, she wanted to go back home.

The knock on the door ripped out of her thoughts. She turned her head and smiled once she saw Dr. Ross coming into the room. Alice couldn't thank her enough for saving her life and she was more than happy that Dr. Ross as the one, who helped her overcome her illness.

"Looks like you are feeling more than fine today. Your results are really good and without a doubt, I can finally let you go home." Dr. Ross assured her sweetly. Seeing Alice full of strength and hope warmed her heart. She loved working as a doctor for moments like this.

"Thank you for saving both of us," Alice whispered and came closer to the woman to give her a hug. Charles had told her that at the very beginning FP had been the one, who decided to be a donor. She deserved to know the truth and to know how much FP loved her.

"One more thing before I let you go." Dr. Ross said after Alice pulled her out of her embrace. The woman reached into the pocket of her white apron and pulled out the pink envelope with Alice's name on it.

"FP asked me to give you this after you woke up and I decided to wait until you will feel better." Dr. Ross smiled at her brightly and gave her the letter right before she left the room.

Alice was glancing at the pink envelope suspiciously. She knew, that FP was the one who wrote her name on it, but still, she didn't know what was waiting for her inside. She was just about to open the envelope, but she heard the footsteps and decided to put it into the suitcase and read it when she would have enough time.

"Are you ready to go back home, honey?" FP asked her sweetly right after he kissed her cheek and showed her a bunch of yellow roses, he bought for her on his way to the hospital. Alice placed a thankful kiss on his lips and took the flowers from him while he was helping with her suitcase.

They got out of the hospital and Alice stopped for a while to breathe the fresh air and let the sun rises to touch her skin. Of course, she had been walking for short walks, but this time she felt different. There was nothing holding her back and the feeling of being alive and free made her smile even wider than before.

"Come on, Al. The kids are waiting for us at home." FP grabbed Alice's hand in his and lead her towards the truck. She got into the car and FP turned the engine on. It was finally the time to take her home.

***

"WELCOME HOME!" Alice smiled widely once she was greeted by all of her kids and their friends back into the house. She was pretty sure that it was Betty's idea to invite them and threw a small "returning party" for her. It was nice to see all of the familiar faces after a month she had spent all alone in the hospital room.

After she hugged and kissed all of her kids and grand twins, everyone else wanted to talk with Alice just for a few minutes. Cheryl and Toni were the ones who proposed that the kids could stay at the Thistle House whenever they would want to if Alice wouldn't be feeling alright. Veronica and Hermione offered, that if only she would want to, they could go for a few days to the Lodge Residence in the mountains to take a rest. Archie and Mary offered help too, the same went to Kevin and Caroline, who was became a family member in Alice's eyes.

It warmed her heart to see how many people offered their help. It was good to have friends and family who cared about her health. She was trying to talk with everybody and everyone at the same time to thank them for thinking about everything.

Once Alice sat down at the table waiting for dinner, she noticed that her oldest son is sitting on the couch with Kevin Keller. Kevin's head was rested on Charles's shoulder and they were silently talking with each other. She smiled to herself, because of the sight of her son starting a new relationship with such a caring, loving and positive boy.

Right after dinner, everyone left the house so that Alice could take some rest. To be honest, she needed to go straight to the bed to lie down for a while. She went upstairs and went into her and FP's bedroom thinking about how she had missed him sleeping by her side.

Alice got into the room and opened the suitcase to grab a book she hadn't finished. Once she unzipped the suitcase, the pink envelope caught her attention. She picked her up and sat down on the bed. She had enough time to open it now so that she decided to finally do it.

Dear Alice,

Writing this letter was pretty challenging for me, because I know I'm not an as good writer as you are. The truth was we both know that I'm a shitty writer, but that's not the point. I decided to write a letter all by myself because there is a lot, I would like you to know and I have never had enough courage to tell you about it.

I know that the things between us have been too complicated since the very beginning, but I also need you to know that I've changed. I'm not the same man I was all those years ago. I'm ashamed of how I was treating you and our relationship in high school and I want to apologize to you. I should've never been playing with you the way I did and any other way. I realized it after I lost you. It was too late to change anything, but now everything seems to be different. 

Remember when you came to me a few days ago to apologize? We had a wonderful time together, but what's more important it felt so damn right to have you in my arms again. Seeing you so broken after you confessed that Hal bastard was cheating on you with a Penelope Blossom broke my heart, but I was glad that I was the one who could hold you close that day. Right after this very moment I fucked up everything, again. 

I was afraid that if I will let the emotions go, I will fall in love with you and ruin everything both you and I built for all these years of being apart. The truth I, we are meant to be together and we always were. Alice, please give us one more chance and I promise I will make you the happiest woman on earth.

I hope, that the letter wasn't as badly written as I think it was, but it was the only way I could tell you about how I feel about you, about us. I regret that I was too blind to admit it earlier. I wish you could think about us too.

I love you, Alice.

Truly yours,

FP Jones

FP was standing in the doorframe, looking at his girlfriend who finished reading the letter. The tears were stung in her eyes and the moment she saw that she wasn't alone anymore, she let them go. He walked closer to her and kneeled down so that she could look straight into his chocolate brown orbs.

"I should've told you about it sooner. You are my everything, Alice. I love you." He whispered with a smile on his face, wiping her tears away. She smiled back and scratched his beard with her nails as he had always liked.

"It was the most romantic gesture of telling me how you feel about me. I love you too FP." She said and pulled him closer into a sweet kiss. It was the first time they say the three magic words out loud. It took them a too long time, but they need to agree, that it was worth waiting and finally hear it.