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When it comes to being bunkmates with your child, there is one key piece of information you should know.
Never.
Under any circumstances.
Ever.
Let them know you are awake if you aren't ready to commit to being awake.
Make sense?
One day it will.
Ayla was awake. The little hand exploring my face tipped me off. I'd been poked in the eye, felt little fingers on my mouth, and had a little hand repeatedly pat my cheek. She was at the stage where she wanted to touch anything she could get her hands on. This morning it just happened to be my face. I didn't dare open my eyes, though. Like I said, you never let them know.
She was a morning person. Always woke up happy and smiling. That came directly from April. She may look like me, but I had nothing to do with her being so happy in the morning.
I decided to risk it and opened one eye slowly to see what exactly I was dealing with. Again, long as she didn't realize I was awake I could probably buy myself another 30 minutes or so. I wasn't going to risk turning my head to look at the alarm clock, but I could tell from the light in our bedroom that it was early morning.
Ayla was most definitely awake and had apparently woke April at some point because her hand was resting on Ayla's tummy. I think she'd probably attempted to gently pat her back to sleep and had passed out in the process herself. And I do mean passed out. April was currently lying on her stomach with her pillow over her head.
It was Halloween weekend and she had worked the day before. What started out as a very relaxed day for her did not end that way. A massive trauma in right before she finished up for the day that she had to take straight to surgery. No sooner than she'd gotten the patient settled in ICU and called to tell me she was on the way home, the patient went south again and she had to open them back up. The final time she didn't get them off the table before she had to go back in. Needless to say, it was a train wreck, but this patient was still alive because of her.
I could have saved the guy some time, actually. If she has her mind made up that you aren't going to die, you aren't going to die. I know we aren't supposed to treat immediate family members, but if I am ever in need of a Trauma surgeon they can just throw that rule right out the window. April would just have to pull it together and do her thing.
Anyway, she didn't get home until after 2AM. Ayla and I had fallen asleep in the living room waiting up for her. Hey, we tried. She woke us after she'd gotten a shower so we could come to bed. As if the insanely late night wasn't bad enough, she'd also been paged three times by the ICU nurse taking care of this patient for various reasons.
Needless to say, we wouldn't be rock-paper-scissor'ing it this morning. I had early duty. April had earned her sleep. Not to mention today was the annual Fall Festival at the hospital for the Pediatric population, so she had to be up soon anyway.
I laid there a bit longer before I decided to just get it over with and see what time Ayla had popped awake.
7:20. On a Saturday.
Wonderful.
I rolled over onto my back and picked Ayla up to lay her on my chest. Maybe I could get her back to sleep. I closed my eyes and gently rubbed her back. I felt myself dozing when I got the feeling I was being watched. Everyone knows the feeling.
I opened my eyes to see Ayla raised up on her arms looking down at me. She'd mastered head control and the ability to raise up on her arms while on her stomach during mandatory tummy time. I had doubts April put her down long enough for her to learn stuff like this, but I guess she really did given the new skills.
I looked up and saw her watching my every move intently. Probably shouldn't have, but I raised my head to get nose to nose with her before kissing her cheek. Biggest grin spread across her face. She was honestly the sweetest thing in this world.
I did the same thing a few more times until she let out a squeal. Her favorite thing to do. The second she learned she could make that noise, it was all over. She'd do it over and over and crack herself up. "Shh," I laughed quietly. "Mommy's sleeping." Another squeal. "Yeah, Mommy's asleep. Shhh!" It was my fault. I'd gotten her riled up.
I got out of bed while holding her as quietly as I could. Another weekend morning where I was up at the crack of dawn. I shut our bedroom door as carefully as I could before taking Ayla into her room for a diaper change. "Let's hope Mommy put some milk in the fridge for you," I said as I went to work changing her. I'd used the last bottle right before April got in from work. I should probably get better about remembering to move some from the freezer, it's not like I could just run to the store and get Ayla's food if we ran out while April was gone.
I finished getting her changed and picked her up. If only I could be as bright eyed as she was this early on a weekend. "You can just keep your pj's on until Mommy wakes up. You know I never get it right," I told her as we exited her room and headed for the kitchen. I opened the fridge and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that April must've put several bottles in there when she got home. "Thank goodness for Mommy, huh?" I grabbed one and put it in the bottle warmer so it could be heating while I found myself something to eat.
I poured some cereal, grabbed her bottle from the warmer, and went to the living room so I could get myself and her fed. I sat her in my lap so she could lean up against me while I held the bottle with my free hand. I'd have to figure out my eating situation with the other all while making sure I didn't spill anything on the couch.
I felt Ayla's tiny hands on mine as I held her bottle. I guess she thought she was helping with the bottle holding. We both ate in silence as I looked around the living room. It was a damn disaster area. I'm sure April really hadn't taken time to notice it getting in so late from work, but this baby and I could destroy a place! Leave us alone here for one day and it looked as if a tornado had blown through.
"Ayla, we gotta pick up some around here before Mommy wakes up," I told her. If she came out of our bedroom and started yelling at me I would absolutely deserve it. There were two baskets of laundry I'd failed to fold yesterday, baby toys scattered all over, Ayla's swing and jumper were in the middle of the room, and I had a couple cups sitting around that I failed to take into the kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen, there was also a sink full of bottles to be washed that I'd forgotten about.
Yeah, I'd probably get my ass chewed out.
I finished eating and sat there until Ayla was finished. "Ok baby girl," I said as I put her in her jumper. "You stay here and Daddy is going to try to clean some of this up." Try being the key word there. Ayla immediately went to touching and grabbing all of the toys in front of her that were attached to the tray. At least she was occupied for the moment.
I quickly rinsed all of the dirty dishes and bottles out and loaded them into the dishwasher. One task down, about a hundred to go. With Ayla occupied I was able to pick up all of her toys and put them in the basket where April kept them. I'd just go ahead and say it, I didn't see how in the hell April managed to keep this place looking like she did. The city would probably condemn it if I was the one in charge. When I lived here alone it was no problem. Most likely because I was rarely home.
"You sure Mommy doesn't have a pack of gnomes that come out every day to help her clean?" Ayla smiled at me as I talked to her. Don't know if that was a yes or no. Once I finished picking everything up, I got the two baskets of laundry and sat down in the floor next to where Ayla was hanging out.
Before April and I married, I didn't know anything about doing my own laundry. You sent that stuff to a laundry service. It'd come back washed and folded. Well that isn't the way things were anymore. The first few months of our marriage was like domestic boot camp for me. I'd never turned a washing machine or dryer on, let alone used them. It was an eye opening experience.
I reached over and gently bounced Ayla's jumper. She couldn't quite reach the floor to bounce herself just yet, but she had great head control, so we went ahead and started using it. Also, it was another place she might be content for a few minutes so April could get some things done during the day. You take what you can get.
I laughed to myself as I folded one of my long sleeve t-shirts that April had obviously worn recently. They had been my uniform around here all summer long while she was pregnant. Middle of June and winter clothing was the only way I could survive in this apartment. The closer she got to her due date, the colder it got in here. And don't dare touch the thermostat. She knew if I moved it one degree. Hell, she knew if I even started walking in the direction of it.
Speaking of my significant other, I knew she was awake before I ever turned around to see her. The millisecond Ayla spotted her it was like Christmas morning for this baby girl. Legs kicking, hands banging on anything she could reach, the cooing started, huge smile...it was too cute to be offended that I was clearly in the number two seat far as our daughter was concerned. "Let me guess," I said. "You see Mommy."
I got an affectionate pat on top of my head from my wife as she walked by to get Ayla. "Hey beautiful girl," April said as she picked Ayla up and kissed all over her little face. Ayla let out a belly laugh at that. We'd just started that too. Laughing. I know I said other stuff was the cutest damn thing ever, but I was wrong. The laughing was the cutest damn thing ever. "Have you been helping Daddy clean up his mess?" She had noticed. "Yeah, have you been helping?" Ayla squealed and cooed in response to April talking to her. "He needed it!"
"Yeah," I said. "Sorry about that."
"You're lucky I love you," she laughed. "Did you have a good day with her?"
I couldn't complain. "Yeah," I replied. "She's a full time job!" The best full time job, but a full time job nonetheless. "The second I thought I had her settled and I'd start doing something for myself, she needed ."
April laughed. "Welcome to my world! Now you know why I don't always reply immediately to your texts during the day. Half the time I have no idea where my phone even is!" She sat down on the couch and Ayla immediately snuggled up to her. That baby. I swear. Not at all spoiled.
"I went to the bathroom for maybe a minute, minute and a half," I continued as I kept folding. "Screaming like I'd left her here alone all day."
"Uh huh," April nodded. I could tell she'd climbed every hill there was to climb when it came to being home all day with a baby.
"Nothing beats the newborn days, though," I said. "Like to the bone exhausted. How did we survive?"
April kissed the top of Ayla's head as Ayla busied herself by playing with April's hands. "I don't think I brushed my hair for 3 or 4 days at one point. I just did the whole run my fingers through it to get it back in a ponytail thing."
I remembered. "People saw us like that, April..."
She was cracking up now. "And your beard. Oh my God..."
That was the one and only time I think I have ever heard my wife use profanity so freely. "Shave your f'ing beard, Jackson!" She snapped at me one night.
"Or the day the delivery guy knocked on the door..." April had put a note on the door asking people to please refrain from knocking. If we ever got Ayla to sleep, we didn't want her disturbed by someone banging on our door. Either text us or leave whatever you needed to drop off outside. This guy either couldn't read, just didn't care, or had never had a newborn in his home.
"He probably quit," April said. "I don't even remember what all I said to him, but it wasn't very nice."
I laughed. "He probably lost the will to live after that, babe." For real. She chewed him up and spit him back out before snatching the package out of his hands and slamming the door in his face. Sleep deprivation had probably been the motivation in many a murder plot now that I'd experienced it for myself.
Those were some days.
"How is your patient?" I asked changing the subject. I hadn't heard her pager go off, so I assumed still with us, but a train wreck from the sound of it.
"Oh Jackson," she said. "It was so bad. How he ever made it from the scene to us is a miracle in itself. I was actually walking out the door when they brought him in. Most everyone had already left to go home. Amelia was there, but she was in a case. Ended up being me and Ben."
I laughed, "You and Warren?" Trauma was not where he had any plans to go. It's not that he avoided it, but he made no bones about what areas he preferred.
"I may not let you have him for your stupid posse!" She wasn't poaching my posse member. No way. She could find her own. "He really did a great job. When I had to take the guy back to surgery I called Owen in, but Ben stayed with us. He didn't leave until I did." Little known fact about my wife is that while she's sweet and a great teacher, she is not easily impressed. Residents usually thought their rotation with her would be one of the easier ones. Wrong. She was fair, but had expectations she refused to lower. I'd have to tell Ben he'd managed to achieve the impossible.
"So...plans for today?" I was being a good husband and getting my daily itinerary.
"Fall Festival thing," she said. "Then Meredith's neighborhood is doing their Trick or Treating tonight and she invited everyone to go. Arizona is taking Sofia so they won't be out on a school night. I thought we could just go with them since you'll be working Monday."
Oh yes. We were going Trick or Treating. Ayla had not a single tooth in her head, but we were going for the full experience. I guess the perk was I could eat all the candy. "Fine with me," I replied. "Whatever you want to do!" That is always the correct answer. Whatever you want to do, dear. "You think she's gonna be happy in a costume all day?"
April looked at me confused. "Oh she's not wearing the costume all day. Just tonight. I bought her another Halloween outfit for today. Then your Mom got her a pumpkin hat and some Robeez with pumpkins on them. They are adorable!"
"What are Robeez?" There was honestly no telling what they were. Between my Mom and April, this kid had every article of clothing known to man.
"Shoes," April replied. "You know the little pink slip on ones she has with the owls on them?"
"Oh yeah," I actually did remember those.
"Same brand," she said. "These are just black with pumpkins on them."
If they weren't her baby Jordans she had three pair then I didn't know specifics. "Why would you buy shoes for a holiday that she'll never wear again?"
"Because, Jackson..." She rattled on and on and on and on and on in response to my very legitimate question.
I don't even know why I asked.
Every year we do this thing. Actually, it had started out back in the day for the kids that were patients on Halloween and unable to enjoy the holiday like they would if they were at home. Small and simple. Just something nice to do for them.
Now? It had snowballed right into ridiculous. Now it was for any children in the community as well as the current patients well enough to wander down from the Peds unit. Games, prizes, crafts, a tour of an ambulance and fire truck, free car seat checks, free health screening, you name it. If you were a Physician at this hospital with children, you were expected to attend. It's for a good cause and all that. Whatever. We were here.
I was currently hanging out over by the dunk tank. Karev was the lucky guy. Some of us adults may or may not have mingled in the line with the kids to take a stab at throwing a baseball at a target to knock him into the water. It's not everyday an opportunity like this comes around.
I had no clue where April had roamed off to. She had taken the baby and left me with the stroller, her purse, and the diaper bag. In a social setting, I was basically the personal assistant to April and Ayla. Nothing more, nothing less. Good thing I loved them.
I watched Karev get dunked a few more times and finally spotted my wife across the way talking to some of the nurses she worked with in the ER. I decided I'd better go to her before I lost track of her again. I had half a mind to make myself a shirt that said "If found wandering aimlessly return to Kepner" whenever we were at the hospital. I never could keep up with her. She liked to mingle and talk way too much.
I spotted Cross shuffling along ahead of me looking lost as usual. Such an easy target. Nice guy, but an easy target. I rolled up behind him, "Move it or lose it, Cross."
"Dr. Avery!" He said turning around. "Do you have the baby with you?" Really?
I gave him a minute to retract the question. Not gonna happen. "No, I just like to roll this around from time to time." I was met with a blank stare. "Yes, she's here. April has her."
"Oh!" He smiled. "I'd love to meet her!" Sweet kid, but I've ran across brighter bulbs. He followed me over to where April was standing with Ayla in her arms.
"Hey Babe..." I interrupted. She stopped chatting long enough to look at me and know I was asking for Ayla. She handed her over and went back to her conversation. I noticed she was holding something to drink, so I took that too while I was at it. "This is Ayla!" I said to Cross. Poor guy looked terrified. Babies did that to guys his age. I remember when I thought babies were the most terrifying creatures on Earth.
"Hi Ayla," Cross said. He carefully shook one of her little hands. She was giving him the eye. The that-is-as-close-as-you-better-get-to-me eye. "How old is she now?"
"Almost 4 months," I replied. "4 months on the 12th."
"Wow, I didn't realize she was that old already!" Tell me about it, dude.
"Time flies," I said. Well, probably not for him. I remember the years of Residency passing painfully slow...like a kidney stone. Cross stood there a few more minutes making small talk before excusing himself to go elsewhere. Again, nice guy but damn he's awkward.
I heard April saying her goodbyes to the pack of women she'd been chatting with as I took a drink of whatever she had in this cup. "Ugh! April!" She knew I didn't like lemonade. "Why did you give me this?" I said as I shoved the cup back in her direction. "Disgusting! Now I'm gonna have to lick the ground to get the taste out of my mouth!"
April rolled her eyes. "Would you stop being dramatic? And you took it from me. Without asking. So you deserved that. And give me back my baby."
"You can have your drink back, but the baby is mine," I informed her.
"Ok, well we need to get over to Bailey's station. I told her I was on the way 2 hours ago." I didn't know exactly what Bailey was doing other than it involved some type of craft that would probably make a gigantic mess. Crafts and kids do not mix. Leave it to Bailey.
We walked up to find Meredith's crew doing something with paint. What did I tell you? Gigantic mess.
"There's my girl!" Bailey said reaching out for Ayla. I reluctantly handed her over. Of course, you typically didn't tell Dr. Bailey no about anything. "You get more beautiful every time I see you! Yes you do! Oh April, she's gorgeous..."
"Thank you," April smiled.
How come the compliments always went to her? Hell, I helped make her too! I was there! Speaking of that trip, I usually went alone to medical conferences. April couldn't care less about tagging along. I guess it was supposed to hurt my feelings when she told me she would be joining me ONLY because she would be ovulating on the days I would be gone. There is nothing quite like allowing your wife to take advantage of you when she's trying to get pregnant. Best. Trip. Ever. Anyway. So maybe I didn't birth this child 9 months later, but ½ her DNA came from me so it chapped my ass when people acted as if I didn't have anything to do with her. Of course I didn't say any of that aloud.
I stood by waiting for instruction while the women discussed this as if it were a life or death operation. From what I gathered, the kids were turning their hand and footprints into Halloween characters. At least that is what it looked like to me.
Bailey passed Ayla back to me and grabbed a canvas to give to April. "Ok, so what you're going to do is paint the top of her foot yellow, the middle orange, and the bottom white," she explained as she squirted paint on a paper plate in front of where April stood. "Then we'll put her prints on the canvas." I mean who sat around thinking of this stuff?
April took Ayla's shoes off and pulled me closer to her so she could get to work painting Ayla's feet. "Hold her foot still, ok?"
"Got it," I replied. The millisecond April started painting the bottom of her foot she started crying. Full on pitiful crying. As in April was killing her crying.
"Ayla," April said. "It's just paint, baby girl." She continued painting and Ayla continued screaming. Meredith was trying to keep Ellis from touching everyone with her hands that had black paint on them. Apparently she was making her handprints into a spider. "Ok, bring her up to the table," April instructed.
"Start at the heel and kind of roll her foot forward," Bailey explained. "Toes last!"
"You're going to have to bend down, Jackson," April snapped. "You're like 7 feet tall and the table is down here!" She was such a perfectionist that the thought of not getting this footprint just right was causing her anxiety. You want some entertainment, just gather a group of surgeons, give them menial tasks, and watch the deep rooted issues fly. We were the same group that would probably break out in hives if our kid colored outside of the lines. We were a special bunch.
Ayla was screaming her head off as Bailey and April stamped her footprint on the canvas perfectly. Now I got where they were going with this. The prints were supposed to be candy corn. "Ayla, it's your 1st Halloween!" Bailey said. I guess trying to reason with her.
"When you're older, you'll be glad you have this," April added. "I promise you will! I love looking at stuff I made when I was little!" She would.
Well she sounded thrilled now. "Ben, get my phone," I told him. "Back pocket. Passcode 0625. Record this." They wanted 1st Halloween memories, they'd get it. This family was anything but a Hallmark commercial and I planned on being open about that.
"Ben Warren here live at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital," he said as he recorded the scene of the crime. See, this is why Ben and I were such good friends. I could appreciate a good smartass. Bailey and April bent over making perfect footprints while our baby continued to protest the situation loudly. "Where these two," he continued as he zeroed in on Bailey and April. "Are doing arts and crafts with the children. Against their will."
"Benjamin Warren!" Bailey snapped.
"It's Ayla Avery's 1st Halloween. Her Dad, Jackson, is here with us. Jackson Avery, do you have anything to say?" We were going to be in so much trouble with the wives later, but you know, Ayla needed to know this stuff.
"This wasn't my idea," I said. "This was all your Mother's doing, Ayla."
By this time April and Bailey were ignoring us as they went to her other foot. April painted while Bailey cleaned the paint off the foot they'd already printed. I continued to hold our very pissed off baby girl. Ayla moved the foot Bailey was cleaning and it went in April's direction. "Oh no Ayla," Bailey said as she stopped her little foot from coming in contact with April's hand. "April, don't get paint on your ring for goodness sake! You should have taken it off."
"Honestly, April," I said before smiling in Ben's direction. She was going to kick my ass after this was all over with.
"He had to save and save to buy that thing," Ben teased. "Had to skip meals. Didn't have a home. Lived in the on call room. I said, "Brother, why are you living this way?" He said he had to get that ring for the love of his life."
"I can't talk about that time of my life..." I added.
"Jackson..." April said exasperated.
"I know you two are married to them," Meredith said walking up to join us now that her brood was done painting. "But you should be stuck in an OR for hours with them. Jackson has a very eclectic playlist of music." She did have a point. When Ben and I worked together in the OR, we tried to at least have fun with it. What goes on in the OR stays in the OR. "Of course I know how it is going to be when I agree to scrub in with them, so I can only blame myself."
"Meredith, I married and had a child with this man," April said. "No judgment from me."
"Oh don't act like you don't know every word to every song that comes on," I said to Meredith. She did. We would have probably been good friends in college. Might not have finished, but I think I would have been friends with Meredith even back then.
Meredith was the last one that should be saying anything and my wife? Well, let's just say she can party with the best of us. We'd all settled down, but we all had our share of fun before we decided to become actual adults. "We went through Residency together, we all know one another's skeletons!"
"You don't know mine!" Bailey replied. "I wasn't with you hoodlums! It was about the medicine in my group! With the exception of Kepner, every last one of you were awful! It's a miracle I thank God for every day that any of you turned out!"
I laughed out loud on that one. "Ben, tell me you have my phone off cause there are some things Ayla doesn't need to know about her Mama." I nudged April's leg with mine while she was busy finishing up Ayla's footprints. She knew I was kidding.
"Ayla," Bailey said. "Do not listen to him. Your Mama was the best thing that happened to your Daddy. I could hardly stand him before her influence. Avery this and Avery that!" You had to love Bailey. You never wondered where you stood with her. "Your Daddy is sweet and precious and that's the only version you'll ever know, but you just know that your Mama brought most of that out."
"Bailey, you should have spoke at our wedding," I said placing my hand over my heart.
Bailey shot me a look. "Well had we known about it..."
"Ok!" April said grabbing a wet cloth to clean Ayla's foot off. "We're all done!"
"Jackson, Ben...you two behave, we have actual people walking over here now," Bailey scolded. "We have to act like we have some sense."
"Come here, angel," April said taking Ayla from me. She snuggled up to April and laid her head on April's shoulder as if she hadn't been angry and screaming for the past 15 minutes.
I pulled April to me, wrapping my arms around her. "I love you," I whispered. I could tell by the way she leaned into me that I was forgiven for teasing her relentlessly. "And I like the candy corn feet."
"Shut up," she laughed elbowing me in the side.
Meredith was trying to track down her three kids and gather their things. "Meeting at our house tonight at 6, guys. You are coming, right?"
"We'll be there," April replied.
We stood watching as Meredith and kids made their way to another area. "You ready to call it a day?" I asked. "You two probably need a nap before tonight." April was still resting against me and Ayla was already struggling to stay awake in her arms. "Well, you do. She's almost out already." As worked up as she had gotten earlier, I wasn't surprised.
"Yeah," she said. "Random, but what does your passcode mean?"
"Huh?" Welcome to life with April. One random question after another.
"Your phone," she said. "I've entered that a thousand times, but I never asked you what it meant. Is it just random numbers or an old PIN or what? Like you know mine is my birthday. Which is super secure, I know..."
I'd managed to make it for years without her ever asking me that question. "It's actually the day I first saw you."
She looked up at me surprised. "Really?! You remember the day we met?"
"Not met," I replied. "Saw. I saw you before I met you, before I knew anything about you."
"I remember you! Like when we all had to introduce ourselves. Gah, that was a lifetime ago." It really was. Now that she mentioned it, I could vividly recall the day she was speaking of. Back then I thought she was so strange. She thought I was so arrogant. And look at us now.
"No, the first day I clearly remember you was June 25th at Orientation. During one of those boring lectures we were required to sit through," I explained. This wasn't some love at first sight story. Not even close. The truth was, I didn't remember that day for a long while. I didn't remember it until long after I knew I loved her. "You were sitting on the row in front of mine. Down at the end. Right side of the lecture hall."
She shook her head, "You are unbelievable. I can't even get you to remember to pick up milk on the way home from work."
"I'm right though, aren't I?"
She leaned up for a kiss. "Yeah, you're right."
For as much of a force of nature as my wife is, she came into my life almost unnoticed. Except she was, for a second, at the very beginning of this insanely crazy journey that became our life together.
We were an hour into this Trick or Treating expedition and I had to say that I remember it being much more exciting when I was about 30 years younger. Back when Halloween costumes were those flimsy gown type deals with the horrifying plastic mask. High quality stuff.
Meredith's neighborhood covered a lot of ground. Some of our group took this whole thing very seriously. Others, including myself, not so much.
For one, it was cold. We decided to change Ayla out of her bumble bee costume before leaving Meredith's house and bundle her up in something warm instead. The only part of her costume that remained were her antennas. April had put them on over her hat. As far as pictures will remember, she was a bee tonight. End of story.
April was in warm clothes, but had dug a hoodie of mine out of the back of the SUV and put it on before we got started. She couldn't wear the baby carrier with Ayla in it AND the hoodie, so guess who got the honors?
I'll give you one guess.
My hoodie zipped up in the front, so I put the carrier along with Ayla on and then zipped my hoodie up around her. It was a snug fit, and the zipper might blow open at any second, but while it held Ayla would remain nice and toasty. She must be comfortable because she'd been sound asleep the majority of our walk so far.
Hoodies, hats, gloves...late October in Seattle was here.
Leading the group was Meredith, Maggie, Amelia, and the children. They were all into it. The whole pack went up to the front door of every home we came to, yelled "Trick or Treat!", and dug into the candy bowls. Model Trick or Treaters.
The stragglers of the group consisted of myself, April, Arizona, Alex, and Jo. You really never knew who would come to what gathering. Alex and Jo happened to be off tonight so decided to come see the kids and ended up going with us. The more the merrier.
We were a good 40 or so feet behind the rest of the group. While they were power walking up there, we were taking a leisurely stroll. If you can even call it that.
"Dude, trade me something for this," Alex complained to April. "I hate Smarties. You have chocolate in there, I know!"
I could hear candy wrappers crinkling in the pocket of April's hoodie. Every so often she would run up ahead to the other group and get candy from Maggie. The only one nice enough to share with us. "I don't have any chocolate!" That was a lie. She'd stolen Reese's cups for me. Bless her.
"You are full of shit!" Alex fussed. "You're hoarding candy over there like a chipmunk!"
"She's allergic to peanuts, Alex," I reminded him. "All that chocolate comes from a packing facility that uses peanuts." I was not dealing with a damn anaphylactic reaction tonight. She could just eat her sad non chocolate candy and be happy.
"Well bring an EpiPen!" He yelled.
"Do you want me to turn around and deck you?" I was polite enough to ask him first, at least.
"Tell me before you do," Jo answered. "I'll move out of the way."
"If you'll shut up, I'll go find you some chocolate," April told him. This was pitiful at best. A bunch of 30-somethings trailing a pack of kids and fighting over candy.
"You know what to get me," I said making eye contact with her. This was serious business. I was counting on her. I reached in Ayla's carrier where I was hiding the pile of Reese's April had already gotten for me. Alex heard me opening one.
"He's hiding chocolate in his Kangaroo pouch!"
I popped the candy in my mouth before tossing the wrapper over my shoulder in Alex's direction.
"Chocolate," Alex demanded. "Get me some chocolate. Whatever you have to do. If you start gasping from peanut exposure, we'll do an emergency trach on you right here. You'll be fine!"
"He's all yours," Jo said moving out of the way. "Hit him!"
Arizona, who had been listening to something on her phone, pulled her earbud out. "I'll take anything. I only had a pack of crackers for dinner. Literally anything."
April nodded. "Jo? What do you want?"
"Whatever you get is fine with me," she replied.
We watched as April ran ahead to the other group. I'm glad she had the energy for that. We'd volunteered her as Tribute from the beginning. "Who was covering the ER tonight?" I knew Bailey and Ben were with Tuck and his friends at a Haunted House. It was slim pickings at Grey-Sloan tonight.
"Edwards," Jo replied. "I only know coverage for our group. Not sure about the Attending."
"I think it was going to be Owen," Arizona said. "Didn't Amelia say Owen was working when she got here tonight?"
I looked over at her. "Arizona, how long have you known me?" She'd been my wife's best friend for years now. Aside from April and my own friends, she knew me better than any of these other guys.
She rolled her eyes, "I know. You don't keep up with anyone but yourself and sometimes April."
"Correct."
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KEPNER, COME ON!" Alex was having a meltdown back there. He should have just gone door to door with the kids.
A few minutes letter we saw April running back to us with Ellis in her arms. We didn't care what kid she picked up along the way as long as she brought candy. If Alex didn't get some chocolate soon we were going to have to kick him out of the circle.
April rejoined the group with Ellis. "Who is that, Ellis?" April asked as she pointed to me.
"Jack Jack!" She was my buddy, so I allowed her to call me that. I held up my hand to her and got a high five.
"And who is that?" April asked as she turned to Alex. "Who were you asking for?"
"WEX!" Alex was her main man. Which he'd been there since day one, so I got it.
April handed Ellis back to Alex. "She's adorable and all, but don't think I forgot the chocolate, Kepner."
"Oh would you hush," April said digging into her pocket and shoving a handful of chocolate candy bars in his direction. "Choke on it!"
Alex smiled. "I love you!"
April passed out the rest of the candy she'd collected. I felt bad for her. Halloween and she couldn't eat any of this goodness because she might swell up and die. Now don't get me wrong, I'd rather just have to feel sorry for her.
I'd witnessed one allergic reaction to peanuts from her and that was enough for the rest of my life. She had unknowingly eaten something that had been fried in peanut oil despite being told otherwise. According to her, that episode wasn't the worst she'd had by a long shot. I, however, did not deal well with listening to her struggle to breathe and this was post EpiPen injection while I drove 100 miles an hour to the ER.
It was then I realized she is just going to have to let me die before her. Which I have told her repeatedly since that day and I mean what I say. I'd be up at the funeral mad as hell. So if she didn't want to be embarrassed at her own funeral then she just needs to let me go first. I knew she could handle life without me, but I'd be useless without her. Truth is truth.
"Our poor bee," April laughed as she leaned over on me to see what Ayla was doing buried in her makeshift cocoon.
"Our broke down bee," I replied. She was over Halloween before it had even started. "I think she'll have more fun next year."
"She'll be almost 16 months next Halloween," April whined. "I can't even think about my baby getting that big!" That is why I didn't. When I thought about the fact that she'd be walking, talking, and into everything by next Halloween I couldn't take it.
"Oh think about it, sister!" Arizona chimed in. "It was yesterday Sofia was that age and now look at her! I miss the tiny baby stage. It goes so fast."
"Hell, Kepner, you'll probably be knocked up this time next year," Alex said with a mouthful of candy. "I'm shocked you aren't already!"
"Alex," Jo said scolding him.
"Actually," April replied. "I think we're going to be part of the one and done crew." Oh yeah. This. Here we go.
"Really?!" Jo said. "I saw you of all people having like 10 kids." I don't know about 10, but...
"Yeah, I just want to devote all our time to her. I have 3 sisters and it was just so much on my parents. They were always going in a thousand different directions." We'd had this discussion so many times that I could probably recite both our sides without missing a word. "Plus, I'm already 34. She's healthy and perfect and the older you get the more likely complications are to pop up..."
I rolled my eyes. Clearly we'd be ready for an assisted living home next year. "She feels that way because she doesn't know what it's like to be an only child." I absolutely positively did NOT want that for Ayla. However, since she's the one that has to carry the children and give birth, then she'd be the deciding factor in what we did. We've both had to make peace with certain things we can't change about each other. I'd eventually make peace with this.
"At least no minivan!" Alex chimed in. I guess if there was ever a silver lining...
"But your such a good Mom," Jo said. "It sucks being an only child. I'm with Jackson!"
"Hey," Arizona defended. "Sofia is an only child and she's perfectly fine. She's happy!"
"Siblings aren't all they're cracked up to be," Alex added. Poor guy just had a bad experience with them, so in his case, I really couldn't blame him. My wife just had annoying sisters. Big difference.
We were finally circling back around through the neighborhood and I could see Meredith's house down the road. Finally. I was ready for some warmth and food. Both of which could be found inside the house. I reached over and held April's hand as we continued walking. "So, how did you like your last first Halloween with your child ever?"
"Jackson!" She said slapping my shoulder. "Stop!"
"The last baby sized Halloween costume you'll ever buy." I was getting help from Jo now. This was great. Who knew Wilson would come in handy?
"You guys are awful," April replied. "Absolutely horrible."
I laughed as I heard Jo keep going. "The last time you'll ever see your husband looking all adorable carrying your sweet little baby around on her 1st Halloween."
"Hey!" Alex popped back at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
We continued walking in silence except for the sound of Alex's candy wrappers. Before we reached Meredith's April reached over and unzipped my hoodie. "You've had her long enough!"
I unsnapped the sides of the carrier and carefully lifted a sleeping Ayla out and passed her to April. I watched as she cradled Ayla close to her and was once again completely content now that Ayla was in her arms. If I didn't know any better, someone was struggling a bit with their supposed stance on the latest issue to be discussed.
I sure wasn't struggling with mine, so that left only one other person.
I could be 100% wrong, and I won't name any names, but that was my opinion on the matter.
Opinions can be like assholes what with all of us having one, but sometimes they're right.
Just saying.