This was a request from GabrielaC12!


December 20th, 2015

Alex and Jo watched as Dr. Finley moved the wand across Jo's stomach. Dr. Finley smiled, and turned the ultrasound screen so they could see. Jo literally gasped. The last time she'd had an ultrasound the baby hadn't really looked like a baby, but now it definitely did. While she'd had pregnant patients before during her rotations in OB, it was really weird to be on the other side of it.

"Now," Dr. Finley said. "Do you want to know the sex?"

Jo nodded eagerly. "Yes,"

Dr. Finley smiled at the mother to be's enthusiasm before moving the wand around again until they could see the baby's legs. She pointed between them. "Congratulations, it's a healthy baby boy."

A boy. The news was still stinking in for Alex as they left Dr. Finley's office. Jo was staring at the ultrasound photo, her eyes hadn't left it since Dr. Finley had handed it to her. "Wow," She said, smiling. "We're having a boy."

Jo grinned at Alex, and he kissed her cheek. "I have a surgery," He said. "I'll see you at home."

"Oh…okay," Alex smiled half-heartedly and Jo watched him walk away.

She touched her cheek. Was it just her, or had that kiss felt completely forced?


December 21st, 2015

When Jo woke up, she smiled and rolled over, expecting to find her husband. However, the spot next to her in the bed was vacant. Alex had been on call when she'd gone to bed last night, but he'd said his night shift ended at four am. It was now half past six – he should've been home. Slowly, she got into a sitting position, which was becoming hard with the bump she now had.

Jo smiled at her abdomen. "Morning, baby boy." She addressed it. She was extremely excited to be having a son, and was already picturing a little boy that looked liked Alex.

When she got downstairs, she found everything empty and quiet, Alex nowhere in sight. Jo walked into the kitchen, and stopped when she saw a note on the counter.

Big trauma in The Pit. Hunt asked me to come in. Didn't want to wake you. – Alex

At first glance, this seemed perfectly normal. But Jo couldn't help but notice that the small differences between this note and the ones Alex usually left for her when he had to leave suddenly. Usually his handwriting appeared hastily written, while this note looked like he'd taken his time to write it. And he always – always – wrote 'love you' instead of just signing his name.

Jo picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello?" Stephanie said on the other end of the line.

"Hey Steph, it's Jo." She said. "I'm just wondering…is there a big trauma in The Pit today?"

"Umm, no." Stephanie replied. Jo could hear the confusion in her voice. "Why do you ask?"

Jo felt tears prick her eyes. Why would Alex lie to her like that? "No reason, I gotta go." She said, before hanging up the phone before her friend could ask any more questions.


December 22nd, 2015

Jo had planned to confront Alex that night about his behavior, but she was on call that night, and didn't see him again. She'd called him this morning when she knew he wasn't in surgery, but she'd gotten his voicemail. After leaving a message on his machine, she went to the cafeteria to get some coffee – decaf, since she wasn't supposed to drink a lot of caffeine. She was on her way back to the peds ward to look for Alex when Stephanie intercepted her.

"Hey," Stephanie said to her. "I've been looking all over for you. Why did you ask me about what was going on in The Pit yesterday?"

Jo shrugged. "No reason," She lied.

"Are you okay?" Stephanie asked. "You don't seem like yourself. Everything's okay with the baby, right? And Alex?"

No. "Yeah," Jo assured her. At first, this was all she'd planned to say, but Stephanie still looked skeptical, and she wanted to make her believe everything was fine. And okay – maybe it would be nice for someone else to be happy about the sex of the baby. "We…we just found out it's a boy."

Stephanie slowly started to smile, and then she squealed. "Oh my God!" She said. "It's a boy? Really?" Jo smiled and nodded. "Yes! I knew it!" Stephanie cried excitedly. "Everyone's going to have to lock up their daughters in about fifteen years!"

Jo laughed lightly. "Are you excited to have a mini-Alex?" Stephanie asked her. "Or are you worried having two Karev men in your life will drive you crazy?"

"I'm really happy." Jo answered truthfully. Though, she honestly didn't think she sounded like she was telling the truth when she said it. She was too mad at Alex to sound happy.

"Is Alex excited?" Stephanie asked.

Jo forced herself to smile and nodded. "Yeah," She lied. "Yeah, he is."


December 23rd, 2015

Alex sat alone in the attendings' lounge, staring at his phone and untouched cup of coffee. There was another message from Jo – this was the fifth time she'd called since yesterday morning. The first couple times she'd tried to act calm and had finished with an 'I love you', but with each message she was getting less and less cordial. Now, she sounded nothing short of pissed. "Alexander Michael Karev," She said. "I am your wife and the mother of your son. You can't ignore me like this. You know what…just don't even bother coming home tonight, okay? Not like you planned too anyway. Bye." The beep sounded, and that was it. Alex turned off his phone and pushed it far away from him.

"Hey," He looked up, and Meredith was standing in the doorway.

"Hey," Alex replied unenthusiastically, as Meredith walked over and sat down next to him.

"So," Meredith said. "It's a boy."

Alex looked up at her. "How did you know that?"

"I didn't," Meredith replied. "I just know you."

They sat in silence, and finally Alex sighed. "What if I can't love him?"

"Alex," Meredith said. "You and I both know that's complete and utter crap. You have loved that baby since the day you found out about him. That's not it."

"…I don't think I'll be any good with a boy." Alex confessed. "For most of my life, the only father-son relationship I knew was mine with my dad. I always thought I'd be a terrible dad, but when Jo told me she was pregnant, I began to think maybe I would be okay. And then we found out we were having a boy and…I just panicked. I don't think I'm cut out for this, Mer."

"Sometimes I worried about being like my mother," Meredith said. "I thought that Zola and Bailey might grow up to resent me somehow. But then, I realized that I wasn't my mother. I'm not going to make the mistakes she made. I love my kids and the fact that my mother wasn't the best doesn't change that, just like how your bad childhood won't change the fact that you are going to be an awesome dad, especially with a son."

This was exactly what Alex had needed to hear. After ten years of friendship, Meredith did know him inside and out. "Thanks Mer," Alex said, smiling at his best friend.

Meredith smiled. "I expect to be godmother." She joked.

They both laughed. "Jo and I have to talk about it, but I'm pretty sure you have it in the bag." Alex said. The two friends sat in silence for a second, then Alex shook his head. "God, I screwed up Mer…" He said. "Jo probably hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," Meredith interjected. "She's probably mad, sure, but you'll work it out."

"What am I going to do?" Alex asked.

Meredith shrugged. "Make things right."


December 24th, 2015

Derek and Meredith were throwing a party at their house on Christmas Eve. At first, Jo had planned to blow it off and spend the night on the couch with the TV, a blanket and a sleeve of Oreos, but Meredith had persuaded her to come anyway. "Trust me," She'd said. "You'll be glad you did."

Now, she was sitting with April in the Shepherds' living room. And ironically, April was holding a baby boy – she and Jackson had welcomed a son named Lucas a few weeks before. "I swear, forty-eight hour shifts are nothing compared to being a mother." April was saying, rocking her son gently back and forth. Jo's eyes were locked on the child's tiny face. Lucas had a few of April's facial features, but for the most part, he was a Jackson clone. "But it's all worth it." April finished. "I didn't think I could ever love someone as much as I love Lucas."

"Does Jackson like having a son?" Jo found herself asking. She spotted the plastic surgeon across the room, talking to some people.

"He loves it." April said. "I mean, what man doesn't want a little mini-me?"

Alex. Jo thought. "I'll be right back," She told April, before getting up and walking out of the room.

She needed to get out of there, now. Jo couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just act like everything was fine when she hadn't spoken to her husband in days. She grabbed her purse and was about to slip out undetected, when suddenly someone else entered the Grey-Shepherd home, and she was face to face with Alex himself.

Jo stared at him, not knowing what to say, while Alex looked back at her. He couldn't help himself from thinking about how beautiful she looked tonight. She was wearing a red long-sleeved dress that accentuated every perfect curve of her body, and those silver heart earrings he'd bought for her one Valentine's Day. "Hi," He simply said.

"Hi." She said firmly, her gaze turning from one of confusion to one of anger. "What are you doing here, Alex?"

Her husband stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "I came to say I'm sorry." Alex said. "I was an ass."

Jo's expression softened ever so slightly, morphing into a sad look. "Yeah," She replied. "You were."

Alex looked down and pulled a bag out from behind his back. "It was really hard to find a store open on Christmas Eve," He said, extending it towards Jo. "Open it."

Jo resisted a sigh as she took the bag, wondering what material item Alex could've possibly bought her that he thought made what he did okay. But when she saw what was inside, she was pleasantly surprised.

Alex smiled as Jo held up the blue pacifier, which read 'Future Surgeon'. "He doesn't have to be a surgeon if he doesn't want to," He explained. "But I figured, with us for parents, he'll probably have a real talent for peds. He could be one of the best of his generation."

Jo didn't know what to say, so she just stared at her husband, at a loss for words. Alex continued. "I'm sorry I've been such a shitty husband and father for the past couple days. It's just…when I found out we're having a boy, I was scared. My childhood kind of ruined father-son relationships for me. My dad wasn't a good father to me, and I'm scared to be him. Having a boy made those fears resurface. I know I've been an ass but I'm really sorry, and I am going to do my best to be a good dad. And I know I'm not going to be perfect, not even close, but…I promise, I'll be better than our parents."

Jo had tears in her eyes as she hugged Alex. She wasn't mad at him anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. "I'm sorry," He said. "I don't want to ever be without you or our son."

"You're going to be a great dad." Jo assured him, burying her face into his chest. "I love you."

Alex smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Merry Christmas, Jo."