WPWTCH1

part 1

Alexis is sitting by herself at her desk at home. She�s trying to concentrate on the work in front of her, but her mind keeps wandering to Ned and how he treated her at the Deception party. She doesn�t blame him for what he said, but something nudges her mind as to how Chloe was acting that night. Alexis, figuring she has nothing better to do, decides to investigate. She grabs her coat and heads for the docks.

Ned and Chloe are walking hand in hand on the docks. Alexis is approaching the docks. The image of Ned and Chloe stops her short and she ducks behind a building corner, watching. Ned takes his hand from Chloe�s, puts it around her shoulders and whispers something in her ear, his lips close to her ear. Alexis silently steams in her hiding place. The smile on Ned�s face is too much. She rushes out at them.

�Alexis!� Chloe and Ned say at the same time.

�How could you do this to me, you selfish bitch?� she screams, pushing Ned aside and getting in Chloe�s face. �Is this how you treat me, after all I�ve been through, you repay me by stealing him?�

She pushes her farther back, against the railing of the stairs. Ned comes up behind Alexis and places his hands on her shoulders. �Don�t do this Alexis,� he says, pulling her away.

Alexis wrenches out of his grasp and turns on him. �Don�t do what? Huh Ned, don�t do what?� she challenges.

�Chloe, could you excuse us?� Ned says, still staring at Alexis. Chloe nods silently and walks up the stairs, her shoes crunching in the snow. �Alexis, what is wrong with you?� he asks incredulously.

�What�s wrong with me? What�s wrong with you? What are you doing Ned?�

�I�m not doing anything!� he says.

�Yeah, right, I believe that,� she says sarcastically.

�What�s wrong with you, Alexis? Why are you being like this?�

�I�ll tell you why. I just saw the love of my life and my best friend in the entire world cuddling and cooing. What do you think is going to come to my mind when I see that?�

�I�I don�t know,� he replies hesitantly.

�Of course you don�t Ned. You don�t know anything lately,� she says. He looks up at her, confused. �What�s going on? Is this what happens every time you dump me? Run to Chloe?�

�No! It�s nothing like that! She�s the only one who understands my point of view at this point in time.�

�What�s that supposed to mean? That I never understood you?� she accuses.

�No, I�m not saying that! You were never willing to compromise! You were more in love with your job than with me! How do you think that made me feel?�

�What I don�t understand is why you can�t accept my job, my life, the person I want to be,� she says, crying.

�And what person is that? Last time I checked, Alexis Davis was afraid of commitment and being loved by any human on earth. So, what person is it?�

�I�I wanted to be Mrs. Ned Ashton dammit!� She stalks away while he stands there, totally shocked. Chloe returns.

�What?� he says to himself.

�What just happened? Oh, she�s running away again, I see,� Chloe says, smugly.

�Shut up Chloe!�

She steps back, stung. �I�m sorry. I shouldn�t have said that.�

�No, you shouldn�t have.� There is a silence.

�What are you standing here for? Go after her!�

�I�m probably the last person, besides you, that she wants to see right now. Plus, I�m sick of chasing her.�

�But you love her! Go, now!� She pushes him.

�But�� he protests.

�No buts! GO!� she pushes him harder, and he almost falls over.

�Ok, Ok, Jeez!� He walks off, shaking his head.

Alexis is sitting on her couch, leaning on the arm of the couch, staring into the fire. The light casts shadows across her face. Her tears reflect in the light.

There is a knock on the door.

�Go away,� she says.

Another knock.

�I said go away!�

There is a short silence. Then a key is turning in the lock and a click as the lock is opened. Alexis sits up, alarmed. Ned walks in slowly, and closes the door quietly. He looks around the dark apartment, only a few candles and the fire light up the room. He glances at Alexis and sees wadded up Kleenex strewn on the carpet. He removes his coat and drapes it over her desk chair.

�Get out,� she says.

�No,� he says quietly.

�How many times do I have to repeat myself? Get out of my home!�

�No,� he says more forcefully.

�Yes! I don�t want to see you, talk to you, or hear your name ever again!� she shouts.

He walks over to a chair opposite the couch and sits down with a sigh.

�I�m not leaving until you listen to me,� he replies, staring directly at her.

�You can talk, but I won�t listen.�

�Why are you so stubborn?� he says, smiling.

�Little trick I learned from Stefan and Helena, I guess,� she says coldly. �So, talk.�

�You sure get to the point don�t you?�

�Which is something you should do soon, or I�ll��

�You�ll what? Get Sonny and his guards to throw me out? Fat chance!�

�Alright already, I�m tired, so get this over with!� she says, agitated.

Ned clears his throat. �What you saw at the docks today was not what is seemed to be.� Alexis rolls her eyes. �Chloe and I were talking,� he continues. �That�s it. That�s all it will ever be. We�re close friends, you know that Alexis.� She stays silent. �Anyway, Chloe and I had an important conversation the other day. We made a bet. If, in 2 years, neither of us is married or involved with someone, we�d give serious consideration to having a relationship.�

Alexis closes her eyes and tears roll down her face.

�But I don�t think I�ll be needing that bet.�

�Then why did you make it in the first place?�

�Because I came to think that you and I were happier with each other when you were married to Jax and I was married to Chloe.�

�So that justifies you marrying her in 2 years?�

�No. I don�t plan on ever marrying her. I had planned on marrying you, but those plans changed, obviously,� he says, smiling.

�Is anybody ever going to let that go and stop joking about it?�

Ned suppresses a smile. �Sorry.�

�Very funny.�

�I�m sorry, really I am, about everything.� Alexis rests her head on her fist and stares into the fire.

�I know I don�t have a good track record with relationships. My family still hasn�t let that one go, and at the rate I�m going, they never will. But forget them,� he takes a breath. �There�s only been one person for me. You, Alexis. You�re the only person I�ve ever loved like this. You make me feel like I matter, that I can contribute something positive to another person�s life. I love you so much, it hurts.�

Alexis turns to look at him and sniffles. Ned looks down at his hands. �All I�ve wanted since the wedding is to be with you. I don�t know how that�s possible, but it is. I also don�t know how I can love you even more now than I did before the wedding. I want to be with you, no one else.�

�I thought you were sick of compromising.�

�I am. But I�m willing to give it another shot. If you�ll have me.� Alexis turns away and starts to cry again.

�Alexis, say something, it breaks my heart to see you like this,� he says as tears fill his eyes.

�I don�t know what to say Ned. I�ve loved you like I�ve never loved anyone or anything in my life. Actually, I�ve never loved anyone besides you. And I�ve never stopped loving you. And I never will.� She looks down and traces on the couch with her finger.

Ned gets up quietly and kneels in front of her at head level. He puts his fingers under her chin and lifts her head. He stares intently into her eyes.

�Well?� he whispers. She smiles slightly.

He pulls her to him, their lips meet and they kiss passionately. He runs his hands through her hair and she wraps her arms around his neck. He pulls away and begins kissing her face and neck.

�Ned��

�Hm?� He pulls back slightly.

�I�m sorry. For everything. I don�t know��

�Alexis shh.� He places his finger over her lips. �I forgave you weeks ago.�

�Only weeks?� she says smiling.

�It took a while,� he says, smiling back.

�I don�t blame you.�

�Enough talking. Come here.�

He pulls her back into the kiss. She pulls him down on top of her. He takes off her shirt and kisses her shoulders while she unbuttons his shirt. He pulls away suddenly.

�What? What did I do?� Alexis asks.

�Nothing, I just had an idea.� He looks at her mischievously.

�Ned�what are you going to do?� She looks reluctant.

He bends down and scoops her up into his arms.

�Ned Ashton! What in the world are you doing?�

�What?� he says as he heads for the stairs. �I happen to like the bed better than that lumpy couch.�

The next morning�

Alexis� head is nuzzled under Ned�s, against his neck. He has his arms around her.

Ned stirs in his sleep and opens his eyes slowly. He glances down at Alexis and smiles.
�Alexis. Alexis. Wake up,� he whispers.

�Mmm?� She moves slightly.

�Are you awake?� Ned says, rubbing her back.

�Yeah��

�Then open your eyes.�

�I don�t want to.�

�Why not?�

�I�m afraid that if I do, I�ll wake up alone, that it�ll all just be a dream.�

He kisses her forehead, then her lips. �It is a dream, but in a different sense.� She smiles and opens her eyes. �Hey, you�re still here.�

�Yes, I am.� He says, laughing.

�What time is it?� She says, stretching.

�I don�t know, ten or so.� He does the same.

�I never sleep this late,� she yawns.

�You wanna stay in bed all day?� He strokes her cheek.

She kisses his hand. �I wish�how about twenty more minutes?�

�Better than nothing.� They start kissing again.

They�re sitting downstairs, drinking coffee on the couch. There�s a knock on the door.

�Twenty bucks says that�s Sonny, Zander, or Emily.� Ned says.

�Or Helena.�

�Why Helena?� he asks.

�She�s been making several surprise visits lately.� There�s another knock.

�Please go away.�

�There you go, be polite,� he says, laughing.

�Ha ha,� she says sarcastically. �Go away now!,� she shouts. �How was that?� she whispers.

�Good,� he says, kissing her forehead.

There is another knock.

�Who is it and what do you want?�

�It�s Sonny.�

�Yes! You owe me twenty bucks,� Ned says.

�Is it an emergency?� There is a pause.

�No, not really.�

�Then I�ll see you later, I�m busy right now.�

�I�m not going to be around later.�

�Just let him in,� Ned says, exasperated.

�Ned, I�m shocked!� She walks over and opens the door.

�It�s 10:30 in the morning and you�re still in a bathrobe?� Sonny asks.

�Yeah, I had a late night last night. Come in.� Sonny walks in and sees Ned, also in a bathrobe.

�Hello�Ned. So this is what �busy� means Alexis?� He says, smiling.

�Yeah. What did you need?�

�I wanted to know if there�s a legal way to get Laura�s 50% of Deception without her really knowing��

�I can�t think this hard this early in the morning,� she picks up her coffee mug and settles next to Ned, who puts his arm around her. �No, there is no legal way, I think she would notice if she was suddenly out of a job.�

�Carly and Laura won�t stop fighting over the Face, Scotty is asking to buy me out, and Laura won�t let me buy her out, which was the original plan.�

�Then buy her out or quit.�

�I just came by to warn you that I might need you soon.�

�Why?�

�Laura and Scotty are threatening to take me to court.�

�Great, I can�t wait.�

Sonny heads for the door. �Oh, yeah, I tried calling you, but your line was disconnected, you might want to check that out. See you two later.� He leaves.

�Would you have anything to do with that?� she says, using mock sternness.

�Who me? No way!� he smiles.

�You disconnected my phone!� She playfully punches his arm.

�Hey, I didn�t want any interruptions.� He leans over and kisses her.

�I guess not,� she says.

�What do you have to do today?�

She thinks for a minute. �Nothing, unless someone gets shot again.�

�Or jumps bail.�

�Or that.�

�Good, what do you want to do then?�

�I don�t want to see Chloe.�

�Why not?�

�I think after the way I treated her last night, she won�t want to see me again. She probably thinks I�m insane. And I absolutely don�t want to hear �I told you so�.�

�I�ll second that,� he says, draining his coffee. �So, back to Helena, why is she coming to see you?�

Alexis groans. �I don�t want to talk about her�she�s threatening me, saying that if I get in her way, I�ll pay. She�s still trying to control Nikolas, and she�s trying to do it through me.�

�Hm�maybe that can be our activity for the day. Hunting down and attacking Helena.�

�Oh, yeah, that will be great fun,� she says, getting up. �I need to get dressed.�

�So do I, but I only have my clothes from yesterday.�

�You shouldn�t have come back and packed up your things,� she walks upstairs.

�Yeah, I know,� he says, following her.