Forever and a Day//Jolex

Chapter 6

Jo was officially 20 weeks into her pregnancy, and she and Alex decided to visit his mom in Iowa. They felt bad that they waited so long to tell her about the fact that she was going to have a new granddaughter, but they wanted to make sure she was stable before they made the trip.
They were currently in the car on the long drive to Alex's childhood home, Jo staring out the window as Alex drove. They had been in the car since the day before; it was a 26 hour drive from Seattle to Kanesville. Music quietly played from the radio, the only thing filling the silence.
"What do you think we should name the baby?" Jo asked, still facing away from her husband.
"I've been thinking about that. I have a few in mind." Alex replies.
"Oh yeah?" Jo said cheerfully, turning to face him. "Like what?"
"Well, I thought Brooklyn would be cute. Like your birth name, Brooke."
"Really?" She said with a smile, liking the idea. "Yeah, that's really nice."
"Brooklyn Karev it is." Alex said, grabbing his wife's hand.
"She needs a middle name."
"Any thoughts?"
"I feel like it should mean something. When I was an intern, you always called me princess. The name Sabrina means princess, I thought maybe it could be something special for us."
"It's perfect."
Jo was overjoyed. They had decided on the most beautiful name for their little girl. Brooklyn Sabrina Karev. Jo liked the way it flowed, and how it had a special meaning behind it that only she and Alex knew.
They turned onto the street, exceedingly familiar to Alex, and pulled into the driveway. Alex pulled the key out of the ignition, then got out of the car and came around to open Jo's door.
Her growing belly was making it increasingly harder to walk, sleep, or get up, hence the reason Alex had to take her hand and help out of the car.
They knocked on the door and waiting for Helen to let them in. They stood on the doorstep, hand in hand, Jo's free hand resting on her bump.
"Alex! Jo! I'm so happy to see you two!" She said, opening the door. Her eyes darted to Jo's stomach, and she smiled, waiting for someone to confirm her thinking.
"Mom, we have something to tell you." Alex says, shifting on his feet. He seemed almost nervous to see her, despite the fact that she looked like she was doing pretty well.
Jo looked to Alex, as if asking if he would rather she said it, and he nodded.
"We're having a baby!" Jo blurted out, unsure of any other way to put it.
"I'm going to have another grandchild! Oh, I've been waiting for this. Come in, sit down. I have something for the baby!" She said, waving them in. Alex showed Jo to the living room, where they sat side by side on the couch, and Helen returned a moment later with a bag.
"I knitted a bunch of baby clothes! Gender neutral colors, of course. Speaking of which, do you know the gender?"
"Oh, it's a girl." Jo said with a smile.
"Would you like some tea?" She asked, pouting herself a cup.
"No thank you." Jo said, looking through the bag of knitted clothing.
The visit didn't last long, as Alex knew better than to disrupt his mom's schedule, but the drive was too long to make it a day trip. They had booked a hotel near by to spend the night, and they would take a plane home.
On the drive to the hotel, Alex seemed worried.
"Did she seem okay to you?" Alex asked.
"Alex, it seems like she's doing really well. I know you're worried about her, but I really think she's fine." Jo replied. But it did little to calm Alex's nerves. "Hey, we're gonna fly her out to Seattle when the baby gets here. It's gonna be fine." She says, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
They reached the crummy little hotel and brought their bags inside.
"This place is a shit show." Alex says, still grumpy from their visit with his mom.
"Hey, it's not so bad. And it's only for the night. Besides," she says, plopping down on the mattress with a devious smile, the bed spring squeaking beneath her, " It has a bed."
"God, you find the silver lining in everything."

*****

4 weeks after their trip, Jo sat on the couch eating a bowl of cereal and watched as Alex attempted to put together the crib. They decided against moving until the baby got a little older; Jo just wasn't ready to let go of the loft that they had shared so many laughs and late nights with.
It was the first place Jo and Alex lived together, and an absolute dump when they bought it. But with Jo's optimistic thinking, they were able to make it into whatever they wanted, and that's just what they did.
They had decided to take down the punching bag and turn that corner into the nursery. They figured such a tiny person couldn't need that much space, anyway.
"Do you want help with that?" Jo laughed, desperately wanting to help a struggling Alex.
"No, I've got it." He says. "Can you pass me that screwdriver?"
"Are you sure that's on right?" She said, handing him the toolkit.
"What?"
"Here, take this." She said, handing him her half eaten bowl of cereal. She took the screwdriver unscrewed the leg, then turned it around and redid it.
Alex looked confused, still unsure of what he was doing, and went back to the instruction manual. Jo laughed and sat back on the couch, laying back and propping herself against a pillow for support. Her hands rested on her bump as usual, and she focused on the movements she felt in her belly.
"Alex?"
"Hm?" He replied, still focused on his project.
"Who do you think should be the baby's godparents? I meant, if something happens to us, we need to work out who's gonna take care of Brooklyn."
"Oh, well then what about Mer? She's already the baby's auntie."
"Actually, I was thinking we could ask Amelia and Link. I know you're not that close to him, but to me, he was like... I don't know,"
Alex cut her off.
"Your person."
"Yeah."
"I get it. I think it's a great idea. But, for the record, if Mer gets mad about it, I'm blaming it on you." He said with a grin.
"I can live with that." Jo teased.
The next day, Jo and Alex were trying to find a time when Amelia and Link were alone to ask them. Alex had been in a surgery all morning, which Jo had watched from the gallery, and he was finally finished around 10. Together they walked towards the lounge to grab a cup of coffee. Conveniently, Amelia was on the couch with Link beside her, his arm around her.
"Oh, hey guys!" Jo said, cheerfully. She took a seat on a near by chair, and Alex just stood behind her.
"Hey, Jo! Look at you, you're glowing." Link said, knowing it would annoy Jo.
"What's up?" Amelia said, noticing that Jo and Alex both looked like they wanted to say something, yet no words were coming out of their mouths.
"We actually wanted to ask you guys something." Alex said, putting his hand on Jo's shoulder.
"We know this is a lot to ask, but we were wondering, hoping, really, if you would take Brooklyn if something happens to us." Jo said, nervously.
"You want us to be the baby's godparents?" Amelia asked, exchanging a look with Link. "Of course!" She said, getting up to hug Jo.
"Wow, okay!" She said, surprised by Amelias sudden surge of energy.
"Brooklyn?" Link asked.
"Yeah, we already picked her name. Brooklyn Sabrina Karev." Jo announced proudly.
"Aw, so cute!" Amelia said, hugging her again.
"I love it!" Link said. "Jo, I'm so happy for you. Really."
"Thanks." She said with a smile. "Welp, I gotta get going. Mer asked me to take her lap chole, so I'll be about two hours. Meet you in the cafeteria for lunch around one?" Jo said to Alex.
"Sure. Love you." He said with a smile, giving her a kiss.
"Love you. Thanks again, guys!" She said, redirecting her attention to their friends before setting off for the OR.