A/N: Inspired by the song Breakeven by The Script. Lori is Jonas' sister in this AU. 

***

Jonas Taylor's gaze swept around the flurry of activity surrounding him. He'd just left the infirmary after making certain his sister would recover from the injury she'd received when her sub had been attacked. He needed a shower and a change of clothes but he was too busy searching the halls of Mana One for your familiar silhouette. He hadn't seen you since the two of you divorced and now that he was so close to you, he felt the need to find you. To assure himself that you were still whole and alive.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of you as you conferred with Suyin, both your heads bent over a tablet as she showed you something. He sucked in a breath as his chest tightened, an odd mix of longing and bitterness churning inside him. He shoved down the rush of emotions threatening to surface, schooling his features into his normal flat expression. He had to appear unaffected. He couldn't let you know how affected he was by your presence, how the pain clawed at his insides.

"I thought you were going to clean up," Mac's voice interrupted. His friend followed his line of sight to see you. "Oh." He dropped a hand on Jonas' shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Jonas shrugged him off and gave him a tight smile. "Got sidetracked is all."

"I see that," Mac agreed as he put his hands in his pockets and followed Jonas as he walked away from you. They walked in silence for a bit, steps echoing in the quiet hall.

Jonas licked his lips. "Seems like she's doing okay after everything." Bitterness colored his words though he'd tried to hide it. He hated that he was torn in pieces, aimless without you and you didn't seem bothered in the least. It was bullshit.

Mac studied him for a moment. "She's keeping her head up." He grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him into a room. "Let's have a drink. You look like you could use one."

Jonas nodded and took a seat in what was clearly Mac's private room. He sipped at his drink as he watched Mac contemplate something. Jonas knew the look well and waited for his friend to come to a decision.

"You've got it all wrong you know," Mac finally said with a furrowed brow.

"What have I got wrong?"

"It killed her to file those papers."

Jonas snorted. "I find that unlikely. No, she thought I was crazy just like everyone else and left rather than stand by me like she should have."

Mac shook his head. "I promised her I wouldn't say anything, but I'm tired of holding her while she cries over you. I love her like a sister, but she needs you."

"Then why the hell did she leave?" Jonas tried and failed to mask the desperation in his words.

"Because," Mac hesitated, swirling his drink as if searching for courage in its depths. "Because the old bastard gave her an ultimatum." Jonas knew instantly he must be talking about your father. None of you liked him but he was too wealthy and powerful to just write off. Mac sighed, regret contorting his features. "He threatened dire consequences, Jonas. Said you'd suffer if she didn't cut ties."

A heavy weight settled in his stomach. If your father wasn't already dead, he'd kill him for threatening you. For making you too scared to come to him. "Threatened? What did he do, Mac?" His grip tightened on his glass, knuckles whitening.

"He didn't want your presence staining his good name as he put it. Said he'd use all of his resources to make sure you were broke and homeless with no where to turn. He told her there wasn't a corner of the Earth where you would be safe from him. Then he told her if she tried to run with you, he'd make certain she'd never see you alive again." Mac's voice was little more than a whisper by the end, heavy with the burden of the knowledge he'd been carrying.

A cold shock washed over Jonas, followed by a surge of anger that left him breathless. Your father hadn't threatened you. He'd threatened Jonas. You'd shattered your entire world to protect him. His breath came heavy and he placed his glass on the table in front of him, afraid he'd drop it otherwise. He ran a hand over his head. "Damn it." How hadn't he seen this? Why hadn't he demanded more answers from you? Why had he just assumed you were abandoning him like everyone else? "I can't believe she never—"

"Hey," Mac interrupted gently, placing a hand on Jonas's back. "You didn't know because she didn't want you to. She walked away to keep you safe."

"Safe," Jonas echoed, the word bitter on his tongue. The truth of your motivations stripped him of his resentment, leaving a raw, gaping wound in its wake.

"Jonas," Mac's voice softened, "she loved you enough to let you go but she was far from okay with it. It tore her up. Still does."

He clenched his jaw as he processed everything he'd just been told. If you loved him that much, maybe there was still hope for the two of you.

***

You'd taken to hiding in your room since Jonas arrived, leaving only when you were made to. You hadn't even been to see Lori in the infirmary afraid you'd run into him there. Mac had been trying to get you to tell Jonas the truth since your father died, but you just couldn't. He'd hate you for breaking his heart, regardless of the circumstances. It was better to just let him move on without you. For him to find his happiness even if you never did.

A knock at your door reverberated through the room. You opened it without checking who was on the other side. An action you regrated instantly when you found yourself face to face with the love of your life. "Jonas," you whispered, your voice breaking on the word.

He greeted you in return before pushing gently past you and stepping into the room. You shut the door behind him, your hand trembling against the cold steel. "I didn't expect—"

"Neither did I," he said cutting you off. "Why did you do it? Why did you leave me?"

The words hung between you as your eyes searched his, wondering why he suddenly wanted to have this conversation when he'd never asked at the time. "Jonas, I..." you trailed off not certain what you could say to get him to possibly forgive you.

"Please," he pleaded as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I heard things about your father, about threats. I need to hear it from you. The truth."

The silence that followed was suffocating. Your gaze faltered, drifting away before finding its way back to him. "I...you don't understand."

"Then help me understand," he said, stepping closer.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as your heart raced, pounding against your ribs. "My father threatened everything. I never wanted to leave you but if I stayed, if I fought for you...He might have been bluffing, but I couldn't risk it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion. "Why didn't you ask for my help?"

A laugh escaped you then, a cold, bitter sound of disbelief. "How could I, Jonas? Threats from my father aside, you'd been pushing me away since the day everything went to shit. I tried to help you, tried to back you and you didn't want it. When my father gave me the ultimatum, I figured it wouldn't matter much to you anyway. It didn't matter if I was broken, as long as you were okay."

You couldn't bear to look at him as hot tears trailed down your cheeks. Strong hands gripped yours and you sucked in a breath in surprise. "Listen to me," Jonas ordered. "I always knew you deserved better than me and I didn't want to drag you down with me, but nothing, absolutely nothing would ever make me quit loving you."

When you said nothing he squeezed your hands. "Say you believe me," he whispered. "Believe that in a million moments, in a million lifetimes, I would always choose you."

Your eyes found his, wanting to believe his words. Gods you wanted to. And as he gazed at you full of hope and love and desperation, you found that you did. Could the two of you really have another chance? With your father and his threats gone from your lives, what was stopping you?

Jonas leaned forward suddenly and you barely had time to catch your breath before his lips met yours in a kiss that was both an apology and a plea. His hands moved to cup your face tenderly as if you could vanish in an instant.

Pulling back just enough to meet your stunned gaze, Jonas ran his eyes over your face as if memorizing your features. Whatever he found must have made him happy as a wide grin curled his lips. "Marry me," he breathed. "Be mine again. Forever this time."

The sincerity in his eyes was undeniable. Fresh tears trailed the paths of the previous ones but this time they were happy, full of love and hope. You brushed your lips against his as you whispered his name.

He kissed you again, needy and wanting, before resting his forehead against yours. "Is that a yes?"

You chuckled. "Yeah, baby, that's a yes."

His hands trembled slightly as he pulled you into his chest and wrapped his arms around you. He buried his face into the curve of your neck and inhaled your still familiar scent. For the first time since you walked out the door all those years ago, he felt whole.

"I'm so sorry," you whispered against his skin.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. As long as you never leave my side again everything will be fine." As he pressed a kiss to your temple, there was a knock on your door.

"Go away," he called, making you laugh.

There was a stretch of silence before you heard Mac say your name in question which only made you laugh harder. You pulled away to answer your door, Jonas moving with you. Mac looked between the two of you, before grinning like an idiot. "I'm sorry to interrupt this, like you have no idea how sorry, but we've got a meeting to talk about the meg."

You nodded and moved to follow him before Jonas grabbed your arm and pulled you back. "We'll be there in a minute," his rough voice said as he shut the door in Mac's face.

When he turned you and pressed you against the door as he kissed you deeply, all your protests disappeared. This is where you belonged. Right here with your husband as if the last five years had never happened. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you kissed him back and wondered if they really needed you to tell them to kill the giant shark before it ate everyone. Surely they could figure that out on their own.