Sister, Sister¹

One-Shot #13: Pictures

Time: oldest twins are 15

Ivy cooks dinner in the kitchen as Jackson works in his home office on a couple last minute deals. She hears the kids all giggling in the living room. It's the first night in forever that everybody, including Garrett, was able to come home for dinner.

"What are you kids laughing about?" Ivy hears Jackson ask.

"All these weird pictures of you and mom in Seattle."

"Um, weird pictures? What do you mean by that exactly?" Jackson asks, his voice wavering for a second as he remembers a few pictures the couple had taken before they had any kids.

Ivy joins her husband in the living room door area, also being cautious, "Yeah, what pictures?"

Alexus' face scrunches up in disgust as she detects what her parents are so worried about, "Of you and mom and your resident class in the hospital and at Aunt Mer's Seattle place."

Jackson whispers to Ivy, "I'm not sure any of those are much better."

Hitting her husband's shoulder, Ivy makes her way to sit next to the kids and look at the pictures as well, "Oh, babe, this is the one where Charles was trying to flirt with Reed by giving her a piggy back but then fell."

She holds the picture up for him to see, it showing Charles Percy laying on the floor, face scrunched up in pain as a laughing Reed Adamson sits on top of him. In the background, you can faintly see a laughing Jackson and Ivy.

"Who are Reed and Charles?" Garrett asks, the others all looking at them as well.

"Our best friends from Mercy West. Like Aunt April. We were all interns and residences for a while at Mercy West, before we were transferred to Grey Sloan or what was then Seattle Grace. That's where we met Aunt Meredith and Aunt Cristina and Uncle Alex and grandpa Richard and Aunt Bailey," Ivy explains, smiling at another picture she finds of her and Reed laughing on their couch.

Aria, who is now 10, asks, "Why haven't we met them? Don't they like you anymore?"

Ivy looks down at one of her youngest, wondering where the sass came from, "Well, um, there was an incident at the hospital. People got hurt. Some died that day. Aunt Reed and Uncle Charles were among those. That's why Alexus' middle name is Charlotte. After Charles. Aurora's middle name is Reed after Reed."

"Oh. So they're with Uncle Derek and Uncle Mark and Aunt Lexie and Grandpa Shepherd and Uncle Andrew?" Christopher lists.

Jackson nods, taking in how many people that were listed, "Yup. Exactly."

"I have a question," Alexus tone alone tells them it will be dripping with sass, "Instead of patients dying, do doctors die instead in Seattle? Or do you still lose a large amount of patients?"

"I honestly have no idea where you kids get the sass from, but it needs to stop," Ivy starts, stopping to glare at Jackson when he scoffs, "But anyways. We....look, life tests all of us...I'd like an easier question."

Garrett starts flipping through a different album, one April made them about their 4th year of residency, "So this is Uncle Mark and that's Uncle Derek?" He points to a picture of Ivy on Derek's back but leaning over to have her upper body's weight rest on Mark.

Ivy chuckles, nodding, "Yup. They were my brothers. The first men to ever annoy me."

Adelia shares a look with her twin before poking her older brothers and whispering, "You are the boys that annoy her now."

"Adelia Ginny!" Ivy chastises while Jackson laughs.

"Oh, please, like she's wrong?" Alexus asks, "Cause they sure annoy me."

"They're your brothers. If they don't annoy you, they are failing."

Christopher looks at his mom, giving her puppy dog eyes that used to help him get away with everything when he was younger, "I don't annoy you, right mom? You love me."

Garrett sighs, leaning back against the couch, "Those two things aren't mutually exclusive."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, she can both love us but also be annoyed by us."

Aurora nods, "Like how I feel about dad!"

Ivy snorts as Jackson looks at his middle daughter offended, "Princess!"

She shrugs, looking innocent, "You and mom always talk about being honest."

Aria points at another picture, "Why are dad and Aunt Lexie having a dinner by themselves? With a candle on the table between them?"

"Did you used to date Aunt Lexie? Is that why we refer to her as Aunt Lexie?" Garrett asks.

Jackson struggles to answer, "We-there was a time...Ivy?"

"Daddy used to date Aunt Lexie. We call her Aunt because if she and Uncle Mark had lived a little longer, they would have gotten married."

"Wait. Weren't you and Uncle Mark the Plastic's Posse or whatever nickname you try and rope Christopher and I into? And you dated the love of your mentor's life?" Garrett questions, smirking as he learns more about his adoptive parents history.

"While living in the same house as me, Aunt Meredith, who's Lexie's older sister, Uncle Derek, Aunt April and Uncle Alex. It was the gossip of the hospital for months," Ivy nods, loving how her husband is looking embarrassed.

"So you didn't always love mommy?" Aria asks, her eyes big as she wonders why daddy didn't always love mommy.

"No, I always have loved mommy. It's just been a...different love at time," Jackson tries to explain.

Adelia's head tilts, "So, was Aunt Lexie almost our mommy?"

Jackson shakes his head quickly, "No, she was dead long before any of you were born."

Ivy laughs as Jackson realizes exactly how bad that sounded while Garrett snorts, "Nice, dad."

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AN: there were a couple of requests asking for Javy showing kids old pictures, and it kinda morphed into the kids showing that the Shepherd sass will always live on.

Long time no see! Please remember to leave ideas wherever because you never know when it might inspire me!

QoC: what specialty do you think each kid would be apart of? (Garrett, Alexus, Christopher, Aurora, Aria, Adelia)

Thanks for all of the votes and reads and comments!!!!