To Tell the Truth
Charlotte's Web, Chapter 3
Meredith walked with Alex to go find Jo. She assured him, internally hoping she was right, that Jo would be supportive and understanding. Jo was standing at the NICU nurses' station as they approached. She smiled broadly and approached Alex, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Wow, that was some phone call. From what I could hear, you received pretty shocking news." Alex nodded and looked at Meredith, who said, "Pardon me, I need to go check on a patient."
Alex placed his hand on Jo's upper arm and said, "We need to talk. Let's get out of here." Jo nodded, "Ok, but I'm on call. Cafeteria? It should be pretty empty right now." Alex nodded and said nothing as they walked to the elevator and descended three floors. Jo stopped to grab an apple and some water while Alex found a table outside in a corner. Jo looked at the spot in front of Alex as she approached the table, "Are you sure you don't want anything?" Alex nodded, "Yeah," then grabbed her water and took a drink. She laughed lightly, "Ok. So what's up?"
Alex looked deeply into Jo's eyes and locked his gaze. She sat back saying, "Alex, you're making me a little concerned here." Alex responded, "Well, this is big news. Crazy news." Jo nodded and grasped his hand, assuring him, "Alex, whatever it is, we can deal with it." Alex turned his head a bit to the side and asked, "Really? Are you sure you want to say that?" Jo smiled broadly and said, "Absolutely. For better or worse, right?" Alex grinned and looked more relaxed than he had in hours.
"There's no easy way to explain all this, so I'm just going to spout it all out and then you can ask me questions and we can talk about it, ok?" Jo smiled softly and offered, "I'm all ears." Alex explained his college relationship with Sophie, the pregnancy and child he'd just learned about, and Sophie's health status. "Wow," Jo said as she looked gently at Alex. Alex paused then added, "There's one more thing: Sophie wants me…us…to assume custody of Charlotte. There's really no other family and, well, I'm her dad." "So we need to go be with our daughter. Her heart has got to be breaking into a million pieces as she watches her mom decline."
Alex looked at Jo and tears pooled in his eyes, "We? Our? You're willing to be a part of all this mess?" Jo furrowed her brow and said, "Ummm...yeah. Why wouldn't I? Now let's figure out when we're leaving and get plane tickets purchased. I'll take care of the details, unless you'd rather do it." Alex shook his head, "It'd be great if you took care of it." Jo nodded, "Ok. I'm just assuming you want me to go. I guess I should've asked." Alex grasped her hand more tightly and proclaimed, "I can't imagine going through this without you. I need you with me. Besides, it'll give you a chance to meet my crazy family." Jo placed a hand on Alex's cheek and kissed his forehead. "Why don't you call it a day? I'll finish your shift." Alex nodded silently, amazed at his wonderful wife and her response.
After Alex went home, Jo scrambled to find Owen so she could explain the situation. Owen was accommodating and tried not to respond with shock that Karev had a teenage daughter. After rounding on her patients, Jo stopped at an open computer and purchased airline tickets for the first flight to Iowa she could find. By the next morning, they were on their way to meet their daughter..