B for Babies

24

"She knows," Meredith said as they walked through the threshold. She didn't have a clue as to how Arizona pieced it all together, but she had and now things were about to get very messy. Alex and Arizona shared an awkward glance. The blonde stepped inside feeling less than welcome about her visit. She had known both Meredith and Alex for a long time, but this wasn't something she ever expected to have to face with them.

The three adults didn't know what to do.

Nobody sat down.

Nobody said a word.

The chill in the air was enough to send shivers down Meredith's spine. The awkwardness in the car when they'd pulled up the driveway kept playing in her mind, the way Arizona blurted it out, told her that she knew Alex wasn't the father. Meredith had just sat there stunned into silence. She didn't know what to say then, and she certainly had no idea what to say now.

It was Arizona who spoke first, she didn't want to be tied up all night with a drama that shouldn't include her. All love and respect she had for the two people standing across from her had diminished, she was scared to know the truth, but she couldn't live her life, do her job, be their friend unless she knew what the hell was going on.

"Who's the father?" She asked softly, eyes darting between Alex and Meredith. Neither one of them knew what to respond. Meredith could lie, it would make things easier for now until the inevitable happened and the truth unfolded. She didn't want Arizona to feel lied to yet again. Alex didn't think it was his place to answer, it wasn't his baby, it wasn't his story to tell.

Meredith sat herself down because the weight of her unborn child was making it uncomfortable for her to remain standing in one spot.

Arizona was still waiting for an answer, she looked over at Alex who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Nathan's the father," Meredith said from her spot on the couch.

"Genetically." Alex interrupted. He didn't want Nathan to get all the credit, he wasn't involved in this situation at all, despite the fact that he helped create it. As far as Alex was concerned, the contents of Meredith's uterus was his child, he didn't want to share, he didn't want anybody to get in the way or hurt the unborn child. The protectiveness he felt was something he hadn't noticed until now as Arizona was the threat that stood between him and his fatherhood.

"Okay, genetically." Meredith nodded. She looked over towards Arizona who looked like she was struggling to process the new information.

"I don't understand. Did he not want to be involved?" She questioned, frown prominent on her face. She didn't know him very well but she didn't see him as the type to abandon his own child, especially when he had to work alongside the woman carrying his foetus.

Meredith looked across towards Alex, her brow was filled with worry, his face was filled with pain. This was the first time they'd had to be honest with anybody but each other. They didn't talk about it often, it was an unspoken secret they learnt to live with, neither one of them wanted it out in the open.

"He doesn't know," Alex said bravely. His head told him it was wrong to keep this from another man. If he were ever in Nathan's position the anger he would feel, the hurt he would be, it was too much to think about. He was keeping a child from another man and for the first time he felt bad, he felt like he was the villain in this equation. He wasn't doing it to hurt anybody, he was doing this for Meredith, his best friend, the woman who held onto his heart in a way that no other person could. She looked to him for bravery and strength, protection and loyalty.

"He doesn't know?" Arizona asked, feeling herself tearing apart. This wasn't what she expected. She had confronted Meredith in the car she had expected her to confess a one-night stand, anything that would explain this away without it being so personal. She didn't know how it was possible to work alongside a man who didn't know about his own child, and the two people keeping it from him. "You have to tell Nathan, I don't care if you don't think he has rights, but he should know about his own baby." She said calmly, although she felt anything but calm in that moment. The people across from her were not her friends, they were strangers who looked like her friends. She didn't want to know them, didn't want to be in the same room as either one of them any longer. Her heart was breaking knowing that they were capable of such a secret.

"Arizona," Meredith said softly, she felt guilty about everything, but she was scared of what the blonde would do. This wasn't Arizona's secret to spill, but Meredith didn't trust that she could keep it to herself.

"No. Meredith, no, you don't get to look at me with those eyes. I'm sorry but I can't deal with you right now, either one of you. This isn't right, none of this is right and if you don't tell him. I'll tell him myself." She said as she shook her head in disappointment. Her friends looked just as winded as she felt, but that wasn't possible. She felt like someone had just told her they'd run over her pet cat, she didn't even have a cat but the feeling still remained as she left the house without another word.