B for Babies

23

It was early evening when Jo Wilson knocked on the door of the Attendings lounge. She had no idea why Meredith had paged her, but from her experience, it was better to just suck it up and do whatever it was Meredith wanted than to risk her career over something personal.

Meredith waddled over to the door, water bottle in hand. She gave Jo a once over and offered her a friendly smile. "You want to scrub in with me?" She asked her kindly before downing a mouthful of the cold water she had been craving. Being a pregnancy surgeon was kind of the worst. She didn't want to risk having anyone who wasn't skilled enough to take over if need be, and Jo was talented, regardless of any personal drama they had between them Meredith knew she was the woman for the job.

Jo nodded her head feeling confusion bubble throughout her body. She was up to date on all of Meredith's cases already, she had to be if she wanted even a chance at being able to assist on her service. "I would love to." She nodded her head as she silently wondered if there was some kind of catch. "Dr Grey, can I ask you something?" She asked boldly, not sure where it was coming from but she needed to know just to be sure.

Meredith smiled and placed on hand on the younger doctor's shoulder. "No, I'm not asking you to scrub in with me because of Alex." She said with a laugh. Jo felt her cheeks flush as she realised how obvious she was being. She didn't mean to be so awkward, it was still weird to her, seeing Alex and Meredith playing house after he had spent so much time assuring her that there was nothing between them. She accepted the relationship a while ago, but that didn't mean that she was entirely comfortable with everything that happened.

"Oh, yeah of course." She shook her head in embarrassment, playing it off as if she had been silly to even think it.

"Alex doesn't even know I'm operating," Meredith admitted with a smirk. She didn't think it would hurt to keep it from him. He was always so worrisome when it came to her and the pregnancy, that's what she got for faking having a baby with a paediatric surgeon.

"How are you keeping that from him?" Jo asked, surprised that she could get away with it when Alex was around.

"Easy, Alex is on a date. He won't even know until it's too late." Meredith told her.

"A date?" Jo asked in confusion, wondering if she had somehow slipped into an alternate dimension.

Meredith laughed softly. "With Zola, Derek used to take her on daddy daughter dates, and Alex didn't want her to miss out on the tradition. It's sweet, he's sweet."

Jo didn't know what to say, it felt all too personal hearing it all from Meredith, she didn't exactly need to know about Alex parenting Meredith's children, becoming part of her family. She knew it was inevitable with the baby on the way but somehow that felt so far into the future, she didn't have to live with that just yet. "Right." She nodded, forcing a smile, trying to focus on the surgery she had to get ready for. "I'll start the pre-op." She told the older surgeon, spinning on her heel to leave before she had to hear any more personal details about the life she wasn't having with Alex.

Alex was sitting opposite Meredith's eldest child, he could remember the very first time he'd met her, just a very tiny, very sick little girl. Now he sat across from her in a restaurant, watching her shovel Mac n Cheese into her mouth with a spoon that was far too big for her. She smiled across at him, loving every second of having the special treatment. "Is it as good as the mac n cheese I make at home?" He asked the little girl as he played with his own fork. He hadn't ordered the same pasta dish, his own pasta was drowning in vegetables that he hadn't even heard of before, and he was admittedly a little jealous of Zola's meal.

Zola nodded her head. "Probably better." She told him cheekily. She liked it when Alex acted offended, made a big deal out of her being mean to him. This time his mouth opened with a gasp. "Well maybe I won't make you anymore, you'll have to get your mom to do it." He threatened playfully.

"No! She is bad at it." Zola told him poking out her tongue at the memory of Meredith's over cooked cheesy mess.

"She is pretty terrible." Alex agreed with her before filling his mouth with a forkful of his pasta.

Zola let out a cheerful giggle, thinking it was hilarious whenever Alex made fun of her mommy. She didn't know much about their relationship, only that Alex had always been around in her life, and now he was there to take care of her because she had another baby in her tummy. She liked Alex, she liked that he cooked her favourite foods, and now he was taking her out for dinner, having a special time just for her. She finished the last mouthful of her pasta and took a sip from her water glass carefully, she didn't want to spill anything on her pretty blue dress because her mommy had bought it for her specially for this outing.

Alex cleared his own plate and asked his companion if she was in the mood for some dessert. The young girl nodded her head, squealing in delight at the idea of having a special treat.

It wasn't long before Zola was shovelling spoonfuls of her ice cream sundae into her mouth. Alex took a picture to show Meredith later, he knew she was still working, he was meant to swing by to pick her up after dinner. His phone had a message from her, although once he opened it he knew it wasn't her who typed it out.

'In surgery, will get a ride home later.'

He let out a small groan, trying to keep it from Zola who didn't need anything to disrupt their evening. He picked up his spoon and stole some of her ice cream, chuckling at the face Zola pulled once she knew what he was doing.

"Hey, I'm paying for it. It's the least you can do to let me have a taste." Alex told her, smirking as she tried to pull her dessert closer to herself so he couldn't reach.

"Thank-you." She said to him, remembering what her mother had told her about manners. Alex just nodded his head, she was welcome, she was very welcome. He didn't know what his resident self would have thought if he knew this was where he ended up, but he felt warmth in his heart as he realised he wouldn't want to end up anywhere else. This little girl was so special, all of Meredith's kids were. He couldn't picture a scenario where he wasn't in their lives. He would never be their father, he would never want to replace their father, but he would protect them with his life just like Derek would want him to.

When he tucked Zola into bed an hour later, he watched as her little eyes closed and sleep took over her body rather quickly. He switched off the light and left her door open slightly, the way she liked it. The house was so quiet, apart from the faint sounds of a laugh track coming from the television downstairs. He walked down the stairs carefully after hearing a car pull up out front. He walked outside and stood on the porch, watching as Meredith emerged from the car with a sad look on her face. Arizona climbed out of the car with her arms folded over her chest, following Meredith closely. "We need to talk." She said once the two of them reached Alex. Meredith was silent, she didn't know what to say, but Arizona knew something was up, and everything was about to fall apart.