Motherhood Lessons²

You Just Got A Letter

Ivy sighs as goes through the documents the agency sent to her and Jackson in order for them to apply to be foster parents. Paperwork upon paperwork and she had already been filling out her information only for over an hour and a half.

She doesn't look up as she hears a knock on the door, "I know, I know. I said I would go home early but I got-" She looks up quickly, "Oh, Alex, I thought you were Jackson."

"I assumed. Uh, do you have a minute to talk?" He comes in and sits across from her at her desk, "What are you doing anyways?"

"Jackson and I are applying to be foster parents so this is the paperwork for that: background checks, tax forms, family history, all that fun stuff. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

Alex holds out an envelope out to her. She quietly takes it and opens it, reading over the resignation letter, "I-I don't know if I thought this was the route you were gonna go, but I knew you weren't gonna come back here. Where are you gonna be?"

He sighs, clearing his throat, "I-uh I reconnected with my ex-wife. We have twins, Alexis and Eli. They live in Kansas and I am applying to be the Chief of Peds in Shawnee County."

"I have to say," Ivy smiles, "Your daughters name is great and you aren't allowed to use the nickname Allie cause my daughter would hurt you."

"I believe it."

Ivy sets the letter down, "So, you aren't quitting here because of money or benefits, you're leaving to be with your kids?"

Alex nods, "My kids deserve to have two parents. They didn't know I existed for five years as I didn't know about them. Now that I do, I can't imagine leaving them. You understand, right?"

She smiles, her eyes drifting to the framed picture of her family, "Yeah, yeah I understand. Have you told Jo?"

"Uh, no," He scratches the back of his neck, "That's something I wanted to ask you about."

"I am not telling your wife that you are leaving her."

He rolls his eyes, "I knew you wouldn't, I want you to deliver a couple of letters. To Jo, Mer, Webber and Bailey."

Ivy leans forward in her chair, her fingers rubbing her temples, "Are you leaving your wife with a letter? That's horrible!"

Alex tries to explain himself, "Look, I-"

"No. No. There is no way for you to make that better! Do you remember when your wife left you? Didn't she leave you with a letter and cause you to almost kill a patient?" Ivy recalls.

Ivy sits across from Webber and the hospital lawyer and head of the board, retelling the events that had taken place earlier that night, "Karev seemed totally out of control."

"Get me an AMBU bag," she says to the nurse, side-eyeing Karev.

"He was pale, shaky, just....really unsteady."

"She's got no landmarks. I was hoping that...what are you? You're going in blind?" Ivy asks him as he sprays the patient's throat.

He mumbles, "Hit the carotid. Hit the carotid."

Alex stutters, "Well, ye- I, uh, yeah, yeah she did. But this is different."

Ivy gives him her best mom look, "Not really. You should talk to Jo. In person and explain everything. You owe her an explanation."

"You know, when you guys all bought the hospital, we all knew that you were the only one who would make a seamless transition. And you proved us right time after time again and still continue to be the most kickass surgeon."