Disclaimer: if I owned Grey's Anatomy, I'd have been writing last week instead of taking exams

Dedication: to Burcu, she's a pain in the ass, but she's my pain in the ass

Dr Webber told a good story. He had a gift for mimic, and the three second year residents could clearly see in their mind's eye the old-fashioned O.R. he'd spent much of his intern year in, a younger, less intimidating Medusa with ambitions similar to theirs, and his deceased wife Adele with her kind eyes and bright smile. But the last story dimmed his spirits, and he faded after that, growing tired quickly. Leah and Stephanie, sensing this, made their excuses and left, but Jo lingered. She had nowhere to go. It seemed downright depressing to continue her usual tradition of drinking herself into a stupor alone, and Alex was at Dr Grey's.

"Shouldn't you be with Karev?" Richard looked directly at her, refusing her the opportunity to avoid eye contact. A pink tinge rushed through her cheeks, and he chuckled. "I used to be the chief, Wilson. To a lot of people here, I still am. I have my spies. Nothing goes on in this hospital that I don't know about."

She sighed. "He's with the other attendings." Jo crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Dr Grey is having some sort of party. They'd be awkward with me there." The former chief looked at her. "I'm an attending, dear, and you're fine with me. Besides, I have it on good knowledge that you're quite popular among that particular group." Richard, used to having his orders obeyed, leaned back in his bed and shut his eyes, satisfied that his duty was done.

Jo stood still for a moment, processing. Then she nodded slowly. Alex loved her, and she wasn't going anywhere, so sooner or later the other attendings would have to accept her. Obviously, she'd bumped into Yang and Grey several times at the frat house, but they'd never really talked. Both of them cared about Alex, so they'd have to make an effort to tolerate her, she reasoned. And she didn't want to give them any reason not to like her. Their opinion mattered to Alex, and if they saw that she couldn't even be persuaded to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, they might see it as a bad sign.

Jo made for the door, but paused as Webber called out one final piece of advice to her.

"Dr Grey is rather partial to her tequila, Wilson."

She stood outside the door, cold and very much wanting to turn around and go back home. The wrinkled street clothes she kept in her locker made her feel ridiculously underdressed. She was the outsider, looking in. But she was a big girl now, and the only thing standing between her and spending the holiday with the man she loved and his friends was the doorbell hovering ominously over her. Faint music radiated from inside, and through the window Jo saw the outline of a laughing figure.

Summoning the last of her courage, Jo took a deep breath and pushed the button.

Almost immediately the door opened, and Jo could tell from the surprised expression on Grey's face that her attendance had not been expected. Act like you belong, and you will belong, she convinced herself mentally, and forced a cheery smile. "Thanks for inviting me, Dr Grey," she mumbled, passing the package in her arms to the attending. A myriad of expressions passed over her boss' face as she pulled out the bottle of tequila. In the end, she settled on amused.

"It's Meredith outside of the hospital, Jo. Come in, there's beer on the table and we're having dinner in an hour."

Jo merely nodded, although inside she was glowing. She hadn't been sent away, or her presence questioned. More than that, she'd been accepted.

As she entered the living room, the strong smell of roasting turkey hit her, and a rumble from her stomach reminded her she was starving. The setting was cosy, and everyone appeared to be a little tipsy. It was almost unnerving to see people who ordered her about on a daily basis laughing and joking about. Two small children played in the corner, while a group in the middle cooed at the baby she presumed to be Grey's. Unfortunately, scanning the room gave her no clue as to her boyfriend's whereabouts, and she felt sure she couldn't approach one of the attendings. Jo was at a loss as to what to do, but she knew she couldn't stand in the hall all night.

Luckily, Robbins looked up and spotted her right then and beckoned her over. Jo internally thanked her lucky stars. She'd worked with Robbins before, and liked her. Plus, the blonde seemed to like everyone, which Jo figured included her.

"Jo!" she squealed, clearly more than a little inebriated. "Alex said you weren't coming." She pouted, then hugged her tightly. Jo reciprocated awkwardly, taken aback. There was a familiar chuckle in her ear, and as the attending relinquished her surprisingly strong grip Jo whipped around to find a smirking Alex Karev.

Arizona proceeded to tell Alex off for misleading her about Jo's attendance, ignoring his claims that he hadn't known. She finally stopped after the combined promise of being fetched a new drink and the distraction of Kepner's entrance.

Alex grabbed her hand, pulling her into the hall. One hand snaked around her waist and the other tangled in her hair while he kissed her fiercely. They didn't pause for breath until the doorbell rang, shocking them both out of it. Jo laughed, smoothing her mussed up hair with her hand.

"Well, hello to you too. Maybe I should come to these parties more often."

Alex smirked. "If not for me, for Arizona. You were hugging for a freaking long time. Something you want to tell me, princess?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry you had to find out this way, jerk." she retorted, swatting his arm lightly. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Upstairs in one of Mere's bedrooms with one of my other girlfriends. She just left, by the way. I didn't think you were coming. Close call, that."

Jo looked thoughtful. "Maybe I'll ask her if she wants to join me and Robbins later."

Alex spluttered, and Jo slipped her arm through his, leading him back into the room. "You better get that drink for Robbins. She seems pretty angry tonight."

A short time later the pair sat down to eat with everyone else. The cook was a small, pretty brunette Jo didn't recognise that appeared to be here with the chief. They were about to eat when Meredith fixed them all with a glare that gave credence to her nickname. It could have turned any one of them to stone.

"This is Thanksgiving, and we will say what we're thankful for." She pointed her fork at Torres, who was sitting to her right. "Go."

Torres mumbled something about her research, and Robbins took a long sip of wine. Slowly the giving of thanks proceeded around the table until it was Alex's turn. Meredith rolled her eyes and tutted, clearly expecting him to scoff, or make a snide remark. Instead, he cleared his throat, and said four simple words.

"I'm thankful for Jo."

Four simple words that caused her to blush furiously and stare down at the table, aware of everyone's eyes on her. A heavy silence hung in the room before Meredith broke it, saying impatiently "Come on, then. Jo, it's your turn."

She'd desperately been trying to come up with a decent answer while everyone else had been taking their turns, but after Alex's response, her mind was blank. Worse, while earlier everyone had been half-distracted by the meal in front of them, now all eyes were on her.

"I...I am thankful for Alex. And this food. And surgery. Mostly Alex." she rambled, wishing she was anywhere else but here. There was a long pause, but eventually the moment passed and the Chief took his turn. Under the table, Alex squeezed her hand, and Jo immediately felt better.

She wasn't an insider just yet, but she had been accepted into the fold. And it looked like she would survive her first Thanksgiving at the Shepherd's.

A/N: This was a one shot, but I may do more one shots in the future. I just really liked the idea of Jo going to Thanksgiving. Anyway, please review, it means a lot, and if you have time and want more Jolex feel free to check out my multi-chaptered fic Uncharted Territory.