B for Babies

3

Alex had his eyes glued to the television, watching a program that Meredith had never heard off. She dangled a bottle of tequila in front of him, from where she stood behind the couch. He tilted his head back swiftly, a front across his brows. "You're pregnant." He reminded her, and she rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm pregnant, and you're on my couch. At least one of us deserves a drink." She pointed out, before walking around the furniture, and sitting herself down beside him. Her fingers remained curled around the neck of her bottle, and Alex glanced down at her hands.

"Since when does sitting on a couch mean I need a drink?" He asked her as he took the bottle from her grasp. She chuckled at that, and cocked her head to the side, admiring him from where she sat. "Since you've been sleeping here the past few nights, and I assume that means you and your lady love aren't getting along." She hummed, raising an eyebrow as she waited for him to protest, or agree with her. She didn't know which was more likely.

"We get along fine. Stop prying." He told her, taking a sip from the glass bottle. He didn't want to talk about his love life, he really didn't want that looming over them constantly. Meredith was a sore spot in his relationship already, he knew Jo would hate it if he started confiding in her.

"It's not prying when you're friends." Meredith told him, watching him in envy as his face changed, the burn of the alcohol running down his throat, was a familiar feeling she knew so well, and missed in this moment. "Cristina wrote to me, an email. She's doing good." The words hung in the air for a moment, before Alex was turning to face her, his intrigue getting the best of him. "When's she coming to visit?" He questioned, knowing the two women often talked about it, but it had been years and nothing had become of it as of yet.

"Didn't say. Probably doesn't want to make promises she'll only end up breaking."

Alex listened to those words and wondered if Meredith was still talking about Cristina, or if there was something else going on in that twisted head of hers. He didn't take another sip, instead he capped the bottle and placed it on the coffee table. "I want to raise this baby with you." He told her, and Meredith erupted in laughter, finding that very scenario hilarious. She didn't want this for him, that was completely absurd.

"No. I'm not doing that to you. You'll go play happy families with Jo again soon, and I'll be fine on my own. I do have three fatherless children you know? I'm not incompetent Alex." She shot at him, and Alex felt himself deflate slightly at the bite to her words.

"You think I haven't tried playing happy families with her?" He asked her in frustration, feeling it rising inside of his chest. He wanted to take care of her, he's always wanted to take care of her, but rarely did she let him. Rarely would Meredith let him in, and it was painful to watch her struggle to keep up her superwoman act. She was capable of doing everything on her own, but that didn't mean she had to do it forever. Derek would never have let her, if he could have a say in what happened right now, Alex was sure that he would expect him to do whatever it took to look after her. "You said so yourself, it takes a village to raise a family. Yet you're not letting anybody into your village."

"My village is closed for business, I don't need nosy neighbour's poking around in my barred up windows."

Alex shook his head and placed a hand atop of hers. "Let me help you." His voice was filled with pain and desperation, Meredith didn't know how she was meant to respond, but she knew she still felt anger and frustration bubbling throughout her pregnant body. She longed for somebody to come and take her away, to take all of this away for just one day. She didn't believe in such things as being possible, but she wanted it regardless. She wished she had things simple, that she could just detach herself from things like Cristina, or have solutions like Alex. She knew that she would never be those people, never have life go easy on her. Not only was she widowed with three kids, she was also pregnant with a man she didn't love, a man who Maggie was head over heels for. Meredith didn't know what she was going to do about that at all. She knew she didn't want anybody else coming to her rescue. Alex was too kind for his own good, and she wasn't going to reward him for that. "Go home Alex." She told him, folding her arms over her chest firmly.

Alex rolled his eyes, and grabbed his coat from where it lay over the couch. He didn't know where he was going, or if he would even make it out of the house. He went straight for the door, when Amelia walked in startled by him being in her way. "Why do you smell like booze?" She asked him, pulling away because the scent was intoxicating. She's been around enough alcohol to last her a few life times already. Alex shrugged his shoulders and nodding back to where Meredith stood in the hallway. "Ask her." He said coldly before he wandered outside into the cool breeze of the evening.