Forever and a Day//Jolex

Chapter 11

Jo changed out of the baggy hospital gown and into some stretchy clothes and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Alex was down the hall signing discharge forms, so it was just her and the baby in the room.
She looked over to where Brooklyn lay in her cradle, making the most perfect little cooing noises, and scooped her up. She looked into her tiny blue eyes, which sparkled like her own.
"Hello, baby girl! You ready to go home?" She said in a childish voice.
Brook was wearing an adorable pink onesie with a little frog on it which Jo had picked out for her to go home in. She cuddled the baby for only a moment longer before clicking her into the car seat and checking the strap was tight enough. She gently draped a little flowered blanket over her gifted to them by the excited new godparents, Link and Amelia.
"Ready?" Alex said, strolling back into the room.
"Yup."
An orderly pushed Jo to the hospital exit in a wheelchair, as per protocol, and they walked to the car and secured the car seat. Alex drove while Jo opted to sit in the back with Brooklyn. It was a cold day, and the new parents had the poor baby bundled up in 3 layers of warmth, so she was probably sweating to death.
She was very calm, and had barely cried once since she had been born 2 days ago. Jo stroked her peach fuzz hair as she drifted to sleep. When they pulled up to the loft, they brought the baby inside and Jo got comfy on the couch.
"You want your mommy? Here we go." He said to the baby, lifting her out of the seat and into his arms.
Alex sat next to his favorite people in the world as wrapped his arm around Jo.
"She's so beautiful."
"You're beautiful." Alex replied.
"You hungry? I could get you some soup."
"No. I'm exhausted."
"Want me to take her?"
"No, I like letting her rest on my chest. She seems to sleep better that way."
"It's your heartbeat. It calms her." Alex said. Jo closed her eyes and rested her head on Alex, falling asleep with her baby in her arms.
When she woke up, alarmed, she frantically looked for her baby, who was no longer with her.
"It's ok, I've got her. I didn't want her to wake you." Alex chuckled. He was standing across the room, lightly bouncing around in an attempt to keep Brook quiet.
Jo nods and checks her phone, seeing an unread message from Mer.
Mer: Hey! You guys up for some visitors?
She quickly replied, remembering how excited the kids were to meet Brooklyn.
Jo: Sure!
Mer: Great! 2:30?
Jo: Perfect, see you in a few.
"Alex? Mer is bringing the kids by to meet the baby. Is that ok?"
"Of course, as long as your up for it."
Exactly 15 minutes later, the door opened and Zola, Bailey, and Ellis approached their baby cousin with a smile.
"Hey guys! Brook is just about to eat. Do one of you want to give her a bottle?" Jo asked, still sitting on the couch with Brooklyn, Alex by their side.
"Yes please!" Zola says.
Meredith positions Zola on the couch and Jo gently place the baby in her arms, then gets up to warm a bottle, and Ellis follows behind.
"Aunt Jo, can I have a snack?" She asks.
"Yeah! Lemme just grab the baby some milk from the fridge, quick." Jo replies. She grabbed a bottle of breast milk she had pumped previously and put it in the microwave, then opened the cabinet.
Jo and Alex  didn't usually keep a ton of food in the house since neither her nor Alex were ever home, but with pregnancy came waves of hunger and cravings, so the cabinets were filled with all kinds of snacks and junk food.
"Okay, El. What can I get ya?"
"Can I have some cookies?" She said, pointing to a box of chips ahoy.
"Okay, just don't tell mommy." Jo whispered, handing her a few.
The microwave beeped and Jo grabbed the milk and walked back over to the couch, handing the bottle to Zola.
Alex sat and helped Zo with the baby, and Jo joined Meredith at the dining room table.
"So, hows's motherhood treating you so far?"
"Pretty great. I'm completely in love with her. Whenever she's awake, I cuddle and play with her, and then when she's asleep, I just watch her breathe. I know I'm supposed to sleep when the baby sleeps, but I just want to hold her all the time."
"Well, I can't blame you. I think Zola is getting attached, too. Next thing I know, she's gonna be asking for another sister or brother."
"Good luck with that." Jo laughs, imagining poor Meredith trying to balance four kids and a job.
"I think I'd like to have more kids." Jo continued. "I mean, I know I'm only two days in with my first, but Brooklyn's gonna need someone to play with. Plus, I really liked being pregnant. You know, beside the constant nausea and bloating and cravings and hormones and exhaustion- it was just nice having her safe inside me all the time, feeling her move and grow."
"Aunt Jo, I think baby Brooklyn is finished with her bottle." Zola chirped a few minutes later, interrupting the ongoing conversation between Jo and Meredith.
"Okay, Zozo. I'll come get her." The new mother replied, walking back over to her baby.
Jo scooped her up and burped her, and not 15 seconds after taking off her bib, Brook spit up all over her onesie.
"Crap. I'll be right back, lemme go change her." Alex said, taking the baby from his wife.
"Alrighty. I think the kids and I are gonna get going." Mer replied.
"Okay, thanks for coming guys! I know Brooklyn is glad you came too." Jo said with a smile.
A minute or so of hugs and goodbyes passed before the company left, and when Jo turned around, she saw Alex siting in the rocking chair in the nursery, singing softly to Brooklyn as he gently rocked back and forth.
Jo stood out of sight, watching quietly as her two favorite people in the universe made her happier than she had ever been. "Lucky" wasn't a word that was often used to describe her life, which, before now, was a mess. But now, she had everything she ever wanted. A person who loved and protected her, and who she loved back, a baby, a home- and as of right now, she wouldn't change a thing.