Authors' Note: Hey guys, quick reminder that these are all older stories initially posted on fuckyeahalexjo on tumblr. We are just uploading them here per requests from followers :)

"They are gonna love you," Alex tried to reassure his beautiful fiancée as he drove along a dark side road in his hometown.

Jo was staring out the window, taking in the surroundings. She turned back towards Alex, "And just how do you know that?"

Alex shrugged and gave a boyish grin, "Because I do." He watched as she looked back out the window unconvinced, "How could they not?"

"I tend to not impress mothers."

Alex looked back at the road in front of them, hurt at the rejection in her voice, "Good thing mine's not much of a mother then huh?"

Jo turned back towards him to give a sad smile, "I think she did alright."

Alex turned the car onto a street he knew all too well. It didn't seem as if anything has changed since he was a kid scrounging these same streets for food. He looked back at Jo, "Look, I'll be able to tell within a few minutes of she's off her meds or having a psychotic episode. I'll signal you to let you know if she's good or not. Same with Aaron. Until I do, don't speak more than simple pleasantries and answer yes or no questions. Otherwise let me do the talking at first. Make eye contact, but don't keep it. Don't mention…"

"Fairies, Green Bay, or Diana Ross and for Aaron don't ask about music." She looked back at him as he parked the rental car, "Alex, you've been prepping me for weeks. I got this, alright? If I wasn't comfortable I wouldn't have agreed to come. Calm down, okay?"

Alex nodded as they exited the car, "Okay….At some point tonight Amber…"

"Will lead you away to talk about how things are really going and what you guys need to do now." Jo gave a smile as she took his hand in hers, "I'll be okay, I promise."

Before they could knock on the door of the older clapboard house it opened widely and a beaming brunette in her early twenties came bounding out and jumped into Alex's arms, "You really came!"

Alex smiled and hugged the younger woman back, "I promised didn't I?" He then pulled away slightly and motioned towards Jo, "Amber, this is…"

"Your better half?" She asked with a Karev smirk before giving Jo a tame hug, "It's so nice to meet you, Dr. Wilson."

Jo smiled at Alex over Amber's shoulder, "Jo. Please. It's great to finally meet you too."

Amber gestured for them to enter the house and Alex immediately walked over to hug his mother who was seated in an older recliner, "Hi Mom."

As he pulled away Ms. Karev looked at him for a bit before asking, "Did they let you off work or did you quit?"

Alex knelt before her, "They actually let me be off for Christmas this year." He turned and smiled at Jo before looking back at his mother, "Mom, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Jo."

Jo took a small step forward and held out her hand, "It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Karev."

The older woman took the hand offered to her and grasped it tightly. She looked back at her son, "You're serious about this one?"

Alex dropped his shoulders slightly, "I am. We're gonna get married next year."

Ms. Karev eyed the young woman, "If it's that serious she should have brought a side dish for dinner."

Amber stepped forward quickly, "It would have ruined on the plane ride mom. Besides they came early so Jo could help me cook." She looked over at Jo and winked, "So we better get started. Spend some time with Alex before Aaron gets here."

With that she grabbed Jo's hand and lead her into the kitchen. Jo smiled appreciatively, "Thanks for that."

Amber nodded, "No sweat. She's really having a good day, she would have found something negative to say no matter what. You could have come in with a turkey more beautiful than one painted by Norman Rockwell and she would have said it was too brown."

Jo nodded, "Is she that way with everyone?"

Amber grinned and started gathering ingredients, "Nope, just lucky you. She doesn't think anyone is good enough for her Alex."

Jo smiled, "He doesn't realize how lucky he is to have a mother like her."

Amber cocked an eyebrow, "Are you kidding?"

Jo shook her head, "No. I know things are hard with her and it's a constant battle with her illness, but at the end of the day she loves you all so much. I can tell just from what Alex says and in the few minutes I spent with her and that…" Jo bit her lip trying to calm her emotions, "It's beautiful. The way you guys look after each other even in the dysfunction is wonderful. You are all so lucky to have each other."

Amber nodded and took a cleansing breath, "Well, Alex is very lucky to have you."

Jo looked back into the living area where Alex and his mother were laughing while watching 'Wheel of Fortune' and smiled softly, "I'm the lucky one."