Work Text:
They drove under the stars all night and made tearful conversation until Ted had to drop the rental car off at the airport. Hand in hand, they walked inside silently and danced around their inevitable goodbye. Still in the floor-length pink dress she'd worn to dinner, Alexis looked up at Ted, forcing a smile overshadowed by tears. Ted looked down at her and squeezed her hand, his lips pressed together and his tears matching hers. With one last kiss, a hug that broke both of their hearts even more, and a few more words exchanged, Alexis watched the man, a man who hours earlier she had called the love of her life, walk further into the airport until he disappeared.
As tears continued to escape her eyes, Alexis stopped trying to erase them and pulled her phone out of her purse to call David. It was only 6 a.m., and he was definitely asleep, but Alexis needed to leave the place that had whisked away the only man she had ever really loved. She needed her brother.
"Alexis, it's early," David said groggily on the other end of the phone. "What do you need?"
A few moments passed with the only thing breaking up the silence was sniffles.
"Alexis?"
"David, I need you to pick me up," Alexis said, her voice choked. Immediately, she heard the sound of a ruffling comforter. "I'm at the airport in Elmdale."
"I'm on my way."
Alexis, lost in thought, sat on a bench inside the airport and mindlessly looked around at her surroundings. She didn't take anything in until 40 minutes later when David texted her that he was outside. She quickly attempted to clean up her smudged mascara and walked outside to her brother who was getting out of Patrick's car, which he took alone to get there. When Alexis reached her brother, she collapsed into his arms, and he held her tightly as she sniffed.
"I know," David said gently into his sister's hair. "But it's only four or five more months, and then it'll go back to normal."
David grew concerned when he saw Alexis shake her head slightly and heard her small sniffles change into real cries.
"He's not coming back," she said in a voice that could break anyone's heart but especially David's.
David didn't want to press his Alexis for answers, so instead, he draped his jacket over her shoulders and guided her into the passenger seat of the car.
As they drove back to the motel, the sun was rising above them. David drove with his right arm controlling the steering wheel and his left elbow perched on the window. Alexis, still crying, leaned her head down against the car's wall to see if it would make the pressure behind her eyes go away. Her cries weren't sobs, but they were constant, and from the corner of his eye, David could see her shaky body heaving up and down in an attempt to make her crying less obvious than it already was. David hardly knew what to say without knowing the situation.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," David began. "But if you need to talk to someone, I can be your sounding board." He glanced at Alexis. Any chance of her mascara not creeping down her face was gone, and her glassy red eyes and devastated face killed him.
Alexis took a few moments to gather herself but knew that if David knew, at least for a while, he could tell whoever else needed to know, so she didn't have to.
"They extended his offer to stay in the Galapagos," Alexis said. She took a deep breath. "The contract is for another three years." Somehow, though it was obvious she was crying, speaking always made Alexis feel more gathered.
"Oh," David responded. He couldn't find anything else to say.
"And, like, he can't stay here, David. Whatever he's doing there is literally his dream. I would be the actual worst person ever if I let him stay here," Alexis said. "And, I mean, I don't think I can move there for three years. Mom finally has a career, and I can't do my PR stuff on a beachy island. The wifi probably isn't even good."
"What did Ted say about it?" David asked as he glanced at his sister. A tiny and soft but deeply sad smile appeared on her face.
"He said he wouldn't let me go even if I tried," she answered.
"I think you did the right thing," David said simply. He couldn't find anything else to say; he was so sad for his sister and knew the role she had thought that Ted would play for the rest of her life. He would not be brave enough to make that decision. He would not be brave enough to put love in fate's unpredictable hands and wait to see if it would bring Patrick back to him.
"I wish it were the wrong thing," Alexis admitted trying but losing at her attempt to not cry again. "I'd never loved anyone like that. I don't think I will."
David was struck by Alexis's vulnerability. There were a lot of ways that she was an open book, but Alexis being this upset about a man--a man without a yacht, beach house, or millions of dollars--showed how much she had grown since moving to Schitt's Creek. This new version of Alexis loved hard, cared deeply, and was experiencing real heartbreak.
The rest of the car ride was a comfortable kind of quiet. They talked a little bit, but Alexis didn't want to rehash the whole night quite yet, and even if David knew exactly what to say to fix it, he didn't want to pry. They spoke briefly about Patrick's tanning situation, which made Alexis laugh, but David avoided wedding talk at all costs.
---
When David and Alexis arrived back at the motel at around 7:30 a.m., David got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side to open his sister's door. She was exhausted both physically and emotionally. He guided her inside of their motel room, got a pink sweatshirt and grey sweatpants out of her dresser, and told her to shower and get the remaining makeup off her face. Although Alexis didn't really feel like doing anything but trying to sleep, she complied. She figured that if she showered, she wouldn't have to be in the room when David told their parents what had happened.
David walked into Johnny and Moira's room, and both parents looked up from the newspaper, coffee and tea in front of them, when they noticed him.
"Were you out galavanting for all of the dark hours with Alexis, David? Or were you traipsing the streets unaccompanied?" Moira asked with a hint of sharpness to her voice. Sometimes, David missed the days when Moira simply did not care about his whereabouts, but these thoughts were often combatted when he reminded himself how much fuller his life was when his family was actively in it.
"Moira, he was probably at Patrick's," Johnny suggested, hardly glancing up from his newspaper. "Also, he's an adult."
"Okay," David said irritatedly. "First of all, for your information, I was at Patrick's last night. I literally told you that at lunch yesterday."
"Who could recall, Dav--" Moira tried to respond.
"Nope," David interjected. He needed to break Alexis's news with no interruptions. "Second of all, I just got back from picking Alexis up from the airport. She was out all night driving with Ted, and do not--and I repeat, do not--ask her about it."
Moira and Johnny looked startled at the gravity of David's voice. The last they had heard, Ted was in town for a visit.
"Well, personally, Son, I'd like to hear about her day with Ted. It was such a nice surprise for her," Johnny said innocently. David cupped his own face with both of his hands and shook his head.
"Dad, that is literally the worst thing you can do right now," David plainly stated.
"Yes, David, I would also like to know about her grand 24 hours with Theodore," Moira added, a whine in her voice. "I don't see the perplexion. He will return in just months.
David stood in front of his parents and leaned forward enough so that both of his hands were flat on the table. He sighed, and although it sounded like an annoyed huff, there was a hint of sadness.
"Ted's not coming back," he said, looking at his hands on the table. "His contract got extended another three years. They broke up last night.
Moira and Johnny, startled by the information, looked at each other and then at David. David noticed that like himself, sadness with a touch of disbelief was newly written on both of their faces.
"They...they broke up?" Johnny asked. David nodded. "Who broke up with who?" He asked as a follow-up question.
"It sounded mutual. Alexis didn't want Ted to move back here for her, and Ted didn't want Alexis to move away with her career and everything," David answered. "It was amicable and everything...but I think that sort of makes it worse."
The room was eerily quiet as if they had all forgotten how to speak. Even when someone spoke, the sounds were dull. Moira was silent and nodded, her lips pressed together. Johnny had more questions; he was worried about what this meant for Alexis
"Is she...is she okay?" Johnny asked even though he knew the likely answer. He knew that Ted was the only person Alexis had been with whom she really loved--someone with whom she had actually been in love.
"Um, not really," David replied. "She cried the entire way home from the airport. I think..." David cringed, not wanting to use a perfunctory phrase, "I think she's heartbroken."
Johnny and Moira recognized the weight of heartbreak for Alexis. She had never had her heart broken by someone she loved so much, and both parents had learned throughout their years with their children in Schitt's Creek that their daughter feels deeply. They looked at David. Moira slightly opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say. Neither parent knew what to do or say, and the sorrow on both of their faces was growing. This was not news they were expecting to hear when they woke up--it wasn't news that they ever expected to hear.
"How can we be of assistance?" Moira asked. David was a little bit stunned by his mother's unusually generous offer...and he wished he had an answer.
"I really don't know," David responded. "I think we are in uncharted territory."
---
Alexis woke up for the day at around noon after falling asleep at around 8 a.m., but she didn't leave her bed. With a box of tissues on her bedside table, she remained under all of her blankets and tried to forget the past 24 hours.
The Roses didn't know how to help her, but really, they knew that Alexis was going to have to mourn the end of a relationship that she thought, as they did, would last forever.
David got Alexis back into her bed after her shower. He tucked her into her comforter and told her to try to sleep. Once she was sleeping, he left to go to the Apothecary and fill Patrick in on what happened.
Johnny, more than anyone, had no idea how to help his daughter. It was a familiar feeling from the past, but now it felt different...like it mattered.
He first poked his head cautiously into the joined motel room at about 12:30. Alexis was laying on her side and just staring. Johnny could tell she was crying but wanted to ignore it for the sake of her pride. It made his heart ache though.
"Hi, Honey," he said gently. He knew David told Alexis that both parents knew the situation, so Johnny didn't mention anything. Alexis didn't like pity. "I'm going to the cafe. Do you need anything?"
"No thanks," Alexis replied through sniffs.
Johnny walked a little bit closer to his daughter. "I can get you a smoothie if you want?" he said as a question.
"I'm really not hungry," Alexis said. She wasn't irritated with the question like she might have been years ago. She was sad--and out of the three other members of the Rose family, Alexis knew that it was Johnny who would be the most directionless but also maybe the most loving in trying to help.
Johnny agreed and left the motel to head to the cafe for lunch. He felt so bad for Alexis but knew there wasn't much he could do.
---
A few hours later, Alexis was in a light sleep when she awoke to her mother walking through the door that joined their motel rooms. Alexis opened her eyes to see Moira approaching slowly before sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Can I help you?" Alexis asked.
"I just wanted to engage in a small confab with my one and only daughter," Moira replied more casually than Alexis was used to.
"I thought you don't do girl talk," Alexis stated. She didn't know if she could handle her mother at the moment.
"I don't," Moira clarified. "This is an adult chinwag discussing recent happenings."
"What recent happenings?" Alexis mumbled, her pillow almost covering her head. She knew, but maybe if she played dumb, her mother would catch on and not bring it up.
Moira stood from the end of Alexis's bed and walked to the side of it before lying next to her. Between an ugh and an ew from Alexis, Moira somewhat gently pushed her over and stole some of the blanket.
"David apprised your father and me of last night's happenings," Moira said.
"Mom, I don't want--"
"Shh," Moira interrupted. "I will not coerce you to speak, but I would be remiss if I neglected this opportunity." After a few moments of silence indicated that Alexis would listen, Moira went on.
"You know how I feel about dear Theodore, Alexis. Very attractive and smart and loving," Moira said more gently than anyone was used to. Alexis moved closer toward her mother, and Moira wrapped her arm around her daughter. "There is no doubt that he loved---loves--you, and I think I know the role you thought he'd play in the remainder of your lifetime."
Alexis turned to face Moira, new tears in her eyes. Not only was her mother being an actual mother, but she wasn't aware before that what she and Ted had together was so clear to everyone else. She didn't know that everyone else thought Ted belonged in her future too.
"I just...I just thought that our thing together was, like, forever," Alexis admitted in something just over a whisper.
"It still could be. Maybe it's not in your current line of vision, but you don't know what might occur in three years. He might depart from his Galapagonian paradise and land back here."
Alexis contemplated her mother's words for a moment before asking, "But what if I'm not here?"
"Then he'll find you on whatever leg of your journey you're on," Moira knew that regardless of where the rest of the family would be in three years, Alexis's days in Schitt's Creek were numbered. Moira knew as soon as her daughter had received bouquet after bouquet of flowers that Alexis was on a path that would soon lead her out of the town that made them a family. "Alexis, have you ever seen the way he looks at you? Like you've created the world itself."
Alexis looked up at Moira, now with tears on her cheek. She smiled softly. "I just couldn't go. My career would literally fall apart, and I finally feel like I'm...doing something," she said, taking a break every few seconds to calm herself so her crying didn't get to be too much to talk through. "I know that I don't need a guy like I used to when I would travel around; I just really really want him.
Moira got closer down to Alexis's level.
"Someday, you'll feel the gap in your chest close just a little--with or without him. For now, know that I'm very proud of you."
Those were words that Alexis didn't hear from her mother often, and whenever she did, she cherished them. She knew she made the right choice and dreamed that someday, the stars would align and the world would be right and she and Ted could officially be a forever thing.
Moira wiped Alexis's tears and began to get off of Alexis's bed. She had said everything she needed to, and she knew that in time, her daughter would be fine.
"Mom?"
Moira turned back to Alexis.
"Thank you."
Moira gave a closed-mouth smile and a nod to her daughter.
"And mom?"
Moira nodded again and waited for what Alexis had to say.
"I'm a little hungry."
Moira walked out of the room and kept the connecting door open while she said, "Your father brought a smoothie back from the cafe earlier. I'll fetch it for you."
With that, Alexis knew she'd be okay. She would probably spend forever (or at least until the next time they met) missing Ted. For now, though, she had her mother, father, and brother--three people who, about three years ago, she feels like she barely knew--to get her through the initial ache.