B for Babies

16

Arizona Robbins sat facing her good friend, and colleague - Alex Karev. She admits that she hasn't been a great friend lately, hardly taking the time to congratulate Alex on becoming a first time father. She was trying to fix that, trying to give Alex the friend he needed. As they sat across from each other, she couldn't help but smile across at her friend.

"What?" Alex asked as he tried to keep his burger fillings from falling. He didn't know why Arizona had asked him out for dinner, but he wasn't complaining. It was good to have a meal outside of fish fingers and salad, which was Meredith's specialty and the only thing all the kids agreed on.

"Nothing. I'm just really happy for you! You're going to be a dad, and I'm just so happy for you." She gushed, and sure maybe she knew Alex wasn't the gushing type, but she was and she was gushing enough for the both of them.

"Thank you." He said with a nod, before filling his mouth with soda, occupying himself so he didn't have to speak.

"You and Meredith, I didn't see that coming." She told him, which made Alex simply nod. He never knew what to tell people when they said things like that. He didn't want to say something he couldn't take back, adding to the narrative he and Meredith had jumped into head first.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that." Arizona made sure she covered that fact. She didn't want her friend thinking that she was out there disapproving of his life choices. She was willing herself to keep her nosy questions to herself, feeling like she would ask something stupid at any moment, only to have Alex get upset and leave. That was the opposite of what she wanted here, she just wanted to show him he had a friend in her.

"It's different. I know it will take a while for people to get used to it." He said, throwing her a life line. Sure it had been a few months already, but they had flown by so fast, even Alex was sometimes pinching himself at all the changes. It had been over a week since the incident, and he hasn't stopped thinking about it, how the two of them had almost slept together for real, how Meredith blamed it on her hormones, but what was his excuse? What could he blame for this?

"Maggie got an eyeful the other night." He blurted out, obviously his thoughts had decided they wanted to be out loud thoughts without having any common sense to stop his mouth from giving them away.

Arizona chuckled at that, thinking about poor Maggie, and how awkward it must have been. She's seen more than her fair share of doctor hook ups, but it was still a shock every time. "I bet she didn't have a lot to say after that."

Alex shook his head, amusement on his face. It was nice being able to talk to somebody about this. He couldn't tell her everything, like how he was beginning to fall for his friend, with the fear that she didn't want that at all. He couldn't tell anybody about that, without ruining the secret, ruining everything Meredith is wanting to keep to herself. "She wasn't her usual chatty self, and she now always announces herself before entering a room. I can't decide if that's more annoying than usual, or if it's really helpful."

They continued chatting away about work and home life. Alex didn't give too much away, apart from how happy he was lately, and how he was really looking forward to being there for Meredith this time around. He can remember the last time she gave birth, and he only found it after the fact. They talked about Callie leaving, and how much Arizona missed her daughter, everything felt like old times between the two friends, apart from the fact that Alex desperately wanted somebody other than Meredith to talk to about their secret, he kept his mouth shut about all things Nathan Riggs.

By the time he got home, Meredith was asleep in front of the humming TV. He draped a rug over her sleeping body and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She didn't fuss, didn't even notice the changes at all. It was peaceful, and Alex was ready for bed. He checked on the children one by one, like he did every night and wondered what life would be like if he had his own children, but those thoughts were soon gone because to Alex these children were his family, even before this secret.

When morning arrived Meredith woke up to the sound of utensils clanging in the kitchen. She stumbled up onto her feet and walked over to where Alex was making breakfast. "You know you don't have to do this everyday." She told him, folding her arms neatly over her chest. Alex looked across at her and nodded his head. "I want to. We all have to eat anyway, it's not like I'm going out of my way to do something." He pointed out, and Meredith couldn't argue with that fact. She slipped past him and poured herself a glass of juice.

"And were you responsible for the blanket?" She asked after a long gulp of zesty orange juice had burned through her throat. It was like a child friendly version of tequila, she liked it.

"Didn't want you to get cold." He said plainly, not taking his eyes off the eggs in his pan. Things weren't exactly awkward at home, but they also weren't back to normal. Mainly because none of them really knew what normal was any longer. Meredith didn't go out of her way to avoid him, which was probably the best possible scenario.

"Thank you." She nodded, sneaking a glance over at what he was cooking up.

"I think Maggie likes them scrambled." She told him before she was heading out of the kitchen, a waddle like movement in her pregnant steps.

A smile ran over his lips as he looked across at her, shaking his head slightly to his own amusement. "You like yours fertilised.." he shot at her, and Meredith started to smile herself.

She turned to face him, a big grin spread across her face. "Shut up." She snickered, walking back to stand beside him. "It's not my fault." She told him, nudging his side with her hip. It was playful and light hearted, which was a mood they hadn't shared in a while.

Meredith was the official taste tester, and in the end it was decided that Alex was going to have to do all of the breakfast cooking from then on out, she was done trying to compete with that. They shared a few more laughs before the children were busy making a mess with their food, and Maggie was rushing out the door, eager to see he who shall not be named.

It was nice.
They hadn't had nice in a while.