A/N: I hope everyone had a great weekend. This is a bit shorter than usual but it was either one long update or two shorter ones this week. Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy and its characters are owned by ABC and not me.
…
Arizona was attempting to read the latest edition of African Journal of Paediatric Surgery when she kept hearing grunts coming from the hospital bed next to her. She thought that if she ignored it, she wouldn't have to deal with what she knew was coming – the tantrum. She kept trying to read the same sentence but each time she was interrupted by another grunt. She refused to look at her son and kept her gaze trained on the journal in front of her.
Finally, Abe got tired of his passive-aggressive way of getting his mother's attention. "Mama, I'm bored," Abe whined.
Arizona sighed and put the journal down. "I know you are bubba. Do you want to watch Elmo?"
"No," Abe shook his head.
"Cars?"
"No," Abe pouted.
"Yo Gabba? Spongebob? Diego?" Arizona spouted off the list of cartoons she knew her son loved to watch.
"No!" Abe sighed. He wanted to yell but he knew that would only make his Mama angry.
Arizona sensed an impending meltdown from her son and got up to lie next to him on the bed, "Abraham…what do you want to do? You have to help me out a little bit here. I'm not a mind reader, you know?"
"I wanna go home."
"I do too, bubba."
"Then let's go," Abe said simply like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Arizona pulled Abe closer to her body and rested her chin on his head, "We can't go home until Aunt Teddy says it's okay."
Just then the door to the hospital room opened and Teddy walked in.
"Did someone say my name?" Teddy asked as she picked up Abe's chart.
Abe was quick to answer his godmother's question, "Mama did! She says we can go home if you say okay."
Arizona rolled her eyes and got off the bed so that Teddy could complete her exam on her son, "I said we can go home when Aunt Teddy says it is okay."
Teddy smiled and took a few minutes to check Abe's incisions and listen to his heart. "Well, Mr. Abraham. I need to take you to do some more tests later today but assuming those come back as good as they did the other day then I see no reason why you can't go home by the end of the week."
Abe swiftly moved to envelop his godmother in a hug. "Promise?" Abe asked with his best puppy dog eyes.
"No promises. You just rest up so that you can do your best on the tests later today. And stop bugging your Mama about being bored," Teddy winked to Arizona.
Teddy headed for the door and Arizona followed. "I'll be right back, Abe. Stay in bed!" she commanded to her son.
Once the door was shut, Arizona turned to her best friend. "You really think he's okay to fly back to Boston?"
Teddy nodded, "His body is pretty much fully healed. I'd like it if Emily was flying back with you guys just in case."
"I can make that happen. I am her boss after all." Arizona paused, "Where are we on the transplant?"
Teddy reached out to rub her friend's arm in a sign of comfort, "It's just a waiting game now. We could get a call in two hours or it could be two months. He's at the top of the list."
"I know," Arizona quickly wiped away a tear that fell from her eye, "I know. As a doctor I know these things…"
"But as a parent," Teddy finished the phrase for her friend.
Arizona nodded, "As a parent – all of my medical knowledge goes flying out of my head when I see him on that hospital bed."
Teddy tugged her friend in for a hug. "We'll get a heart. And either I'll fly out to you or you guys will come out here but we're going to get it and I will be there every step of the way."
…
Alex and Arizona were enjoying a quiet, late dinner with Della in the cafeteria while Barbara sat with Abe for a few hours. It was after eight in the evening so the hospital was operating at graveyard levels. With most of the staff gone home for the night, it made for a very peaceful and relaxing dinner for the husband and wife. They didn't worry so much about someone seeing them being openly affectionate. By now, they assumed most everyone had figured out that they were together. Too many nurses knew for it not to be common knowledge. They didn't care who knew as long as they were still able to focus on their son. What they didn't know was that the nurses were fiercely loyal to the former attending surgeon who was always nice to them so they didn't gossip about her current marital status.
Alex had spent the day with Eli and Della so the pair was busy catching each other up on their respective days with the children over dinner.
"Teddy says that Abe should be able to be discharged by the end of the week," Arizona informed Alex between bites as she used her other hand to feed Della a bottle.
"You sure you want to go back to Boston?" Alex questioned. He and Arizona had been debating for the last two weeks whether they would return home or wait for the transplant in Seattle. Arizona was most concerned with something happening to Abe during the five hour flight back to the East coast.
Arizona nodded as she finished taking a sip of her drink. "I think we all need to be home. Abe and Eli are more than ready. Poor Daniella is almost three months and she has no sense of schedule or any idea where home even is to her." Arizona sighed as she twirled her fork, "We all need to get back to some sense of normalcy with work and life."
"You're going to go back to work?" Alex sounded surprised. He figured that Arizona wouldn't want to go back to work until Abe was one hundred percent better.
"Not full time and neither are you." Alex quirked his eyebrows at his wife wanting her to explain herself. "We need to spend as much time with Abe as possible but I don't want to be overbearing. I can do a lot from home – paperwork-wise. And we can both go in and do surgeries as needed until we get the transplant."
Alex reached out and took Arizona's hand in hers. "That sounds good to me. When will Teddy know for sure when we can leave?"
"Not sure. Probably tomorrow," Arizona shrugged. Arizona noticed a tall figure appear behind her husband. "You can ask her yourself."
"Hey," Teddy and Mark greeted the pair as they joined them at their cafeteria table.
"Were your ears burning?" Arizona asked. "Every time I've said your name today you appear out of nowhere."
Teddy chuckled, "I'm just that good. What were you talking about me for this time?"
"Alex was just wondering when you'd give the okay for us to take Abe back to Boston."
Teddy looked up from her plate, "I'll have all of the test results back by the time I get in tomorrow morning. You guys that anxious to get away from Seattle already?"
"Boston is way better than Seattle," Alex smiled.
Mark agreed, "Even I have to agree with Karev on that one. Boston is one heck of a city."
"But there's so much snow," Teddy whined to her boyfriend.
"I'd take the snow any day over the rain," Mark mused. He would always be an East Coaster at heart. "Have you ever been in the summer?"
"No, I've only really been once for Christmas a few years ago."
Mark put down his apple, "That's your problem, Teddy. Who in their right mind would visit Boston in the winter?"
"It was for their wedding," Teddy answered while nodding her head toward Alex and Arizona.
Mark looked at Alex and Arizona who simply shrugged their shoulders. "I thought you two got married in Africa?"
"We did," Alex smiled as he rubbed his finger over his wedding band. "Then we got married again in Boston."
"I'm confused," Mark looked toward Teddy for clarification.
Teddy patted his hand and smiled, "It's okay. You just sit there and look pretty."
"We got married because we had to in Africa. We got married because we wanted to in Boston," Arizona explained.
Alex turned to Teddy, "You're lucky you only had to show up for the wedding. I spent the three days before that waiting for her father to shoot me. He literally threatened me with a gun."
Arizona rolled her eyes and punched Alex in the arm, "It was a hunting rifle and it was mounted on the wall behind him as he had a fatherly chat with you. Hardly threatening you with a gun, Alex."
"I was there and you weren't," Alex quipped as he took Della from Arizona to burp her. "It's all because you let me sleep in the first morning in your parents' home."
Arizona was running around her house like crazy. She was grabbing clothes off of the clothes line and throwing them into her bedroom. She kept checking her watch wondering where her husband was – they needed to leave the house in less than two hours and he still wasn't home. She stopped to take a quick peek into the nursery; thankfully her two children were still asleep. She couldn't handle all of the last minute travel preparations by herself if they were awake.
In her bedroom she had three suitcases on the bed that were each half full. It wasn't until they started packing for the trip that they realized that after two years in Africa they really didn't have any appropriate clothing to wear to Boston in winter. They would have to go shopping once they arrived. One suitcase was devoted solely to the twins. For a fourteen day trip they would require the most supplies of the family. Between multiple outfits a day due to spills, blankies and stuffed animals that they couldn't sleep without and toys for entertainment their stash would fill their suitcase easily.
Arizona was looking through her closet once more trying to will a sweater or a jacket to magically appear when she heard an apologetic voice behind her.
"Sorry, sorry," Alex said as he leaned in to give her a kiss hello. "I've been trying to get out of there for four hours now."
"It's okay," Arizona replied. "Everything good at the clinic?"
"If you're asking if it will survive without you? Then yes it will because we both deserve two weeks off after two years of non-stop work." Alex pulled Arizona into a hug, "Now go shower while I finish packing."
It was their first time traveling with children. They planned a two hour buffer into their travel schedule to account for any delays that might pop up because of the children. To their credit, they had plenty of time to spare at the airport before they caught their first flight. They had a long couple of days of travel ahead of them. They had to fly to Lilongwe to Johannesburg to London before finally arriving in Boston. Four flights with two fifteen-month olds. Alex thought this trip would be more a test of their sanity than anything else. The family made it to London without any real problems. Between both parents it was fairly easy to calm the boys when they got fussy. Walking them around the back of the plane seemed to help as well. It was on the flight from London to Boston that the nerves started to hit Alex and Arizona. This would be the first time that Alex would meet his in-laws. He would be meeting his very tough and no-nonsense father-in-law. Arizona would be introducing her family to her new family. She was worried about how the meeting would go down. On top of it all – they were getting married, again. They decided to have a small ceremony at the Robbins' family home with their family and close friends.
The plane had touched down fifteen minutes late. Alex and Arizona slowly gathered their family's belongings. Alex flung a backpack on his back before they each took one of the car seats as they headed out of the plane and into the airport terminal. They had a short walk before they would see Daniel, Barbara and Emily Robbins waiting for them at baggage claim.
Abe and Eli were wide awake after landing and ready to be released from their personal prison of their car seats. Legs and arms were flailing everywhere and their soft cries were getting louder.
"You would think they knew that they're about to be spoiled rotten for the next week," Alex commented as he glanced down at the boys.
Arizona gave a small smile. Alex could tell she was nervous about how the meeting was going to go. "You sure you want to do this?"
"You're not backing out on me, are you, Zo?"
"No," Arizona shook her head. "Definitely not. Just ready to get this over with."
Alex tugged his arm around Arizona's shoulder as they walked onto the escalator that would take them down to the baggage claim, "Your dad can't be that bad."
"You have no idea," Arizona muttered to herself.
As soon as they reached the bottom of the escalator, Alex's head was spinning. Before he knew it, the car seat carrier he had been carrying was ripped from his hand by a petite older graying blonde who immediately started cooing at the babies. A slightly taller, younger version of his wife had pounced on Arizona as soon as Barbara Robbins had taken the car seat carrier from her hand. Behind them all, an intimidating man stoodwith his arms crossed and grunted as Alex approached him and stuck out his hand to shake it. Alex Karev had just met his in-laws.
The car ride to the Robbins' family home was loud but neither man in the car spoke much. It was difficult to get a word in between all three Robbins women in the car. Alex would chime in when a question was posed to him but otherwise he kept his mouth shut and his eyes and ears open as he took in his new family.
Luckily, for Alex and Arizona the couple arrived in Boston at nine o'clock in the evening local time. With their long days of travel Barbara insisted that they go straight to bed so that everyone would be well rested for the upcoming week
"My mom loves you," Arizona said as she spit her toothpaste out in the sink.
Alex quirked his eyebrows as he finished brushing his teeth. "How do you know that?"
"She said so when you were unloading luggage with my dad." Arizona slapped his ass as she walked by and into her old bedroom, "Apparently you are very handsome in person."
Alex stifled a chuckle, "I don't think your dad feels the same way."
"He'll come around. Once he interrogates you."
Alex pulled back the comforter on the bed, "Interrogates me?"
"I'm sure he's had a background check run on you," Arizona got into bed and waited for her husband to join her.
"Background check," Alex choked on his words. He knew that his background was very interesting and not very father friendly.
Arizona rubbed her hand on Alex's chest. "Don't worry. He knows you didn't have the best childhood. He cares more about how you've overcome your past and how you intend to treat his amazing daughter and grandchildren."
Alex closed his eyes and sighed. This was supposed to be his vacation. It had been a very long two days and was only going to get longer.
Arizona snuggled closer and laid her head on Alex's chest leaving a soft kiss where her lips rested. "It'll all be okay. Let's just get some sleep before the munchkins wake us up in a few hours."
…
Alex groaned as he rolled over in the bed. His arm reached out to feel for his wife but he was met with cold and empty sheets. After feeling the absence of his wife in the bed, his eyes darted open. He scanned the room for some type of clock and found an alarm clock on the nightstand next to Arizona's side of the bed. It was seven in the morning. He could hear laughter and chatter coming from the other side of the bedroom door. Alex groaned again. His first full day with his in-laws and he slept-in while his wife must have gotten up to take care of the children. Alex knew that Colonel Robbins was judging his every move and sleeping in was not a good move to make. Alex quickly hopped out of bed and reached for a pair of jeans and a shirt. He was not about to go out into the Robbins' living room in his boxers.
Alex slowly left the confines and safety of the bedroom. He was so exhausted when they got in last night that he didn't really take in the house and its layout so he followed the voices. As he walked down the stairs he noticed the family pictures along the stairwell as he descended. He smiled as he saw pictures of Arizona throughout her lifetime. His smile got even wider when he noticed a picture of himself, Arizona and the twins amongst all of the family pictures.
After making a wrong turn, Alex eventually found everyone in the kitchen. Daniel was standing behind the stove making pancakes while the women gossiped around the kitchen table. Arizona was sipping on a cup of coffee while Emily and Barbara both held a baby in their arms.
Eli was the first to notice his father's presence. "Dada," he said as he reached his arms out for his father.
Arizona turned her head and smiled at Alex. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"You shouldn't have let me sleep so late," Alex said as he took Eli from his new sister-in-law.
"I don't think seven counts as sleeping late," Emily laughed as she handed over the baby.
Barbara smiled at the gurgling boy in her hands, "It is when you have kids, Emily."
Arizona offered Alex her mug of coffee and got up to get another for herself while Barbara questioned Alex about how well he slept the night before. Between pancake flips, Daniel kept glancing at the man sitting at his kitchen table as he tried to figure out his new son-in-law. While Daniel wasn't happy to see that Alex had the nerve to sleep in while his wife was up taking care of their children he also couldn't help but notice how easy and relaxed he was with Elijah in his arms. Eli was smiling and laughing as Alex was tickling the little boy and feeding him small bites of pancakes. He also noticed the way his daughter gazed at the man and how he looked back at her. They looked at each other with such love and affection that it was hard to ignore.
After breakfast the family got ready for the day. This was the part of the trip that Alex was dreading the most. The girls had plans to spend the day shopping with the babies while Alex was enlisted to help Daniel find a Christmas tree. The Robbins family didn't just go to a lot to get their tree – they ventured out to cut one down themselves. Alex wasn't thrilled at the idea of being alone with his Marine Corps father-in-law in the woods; especially when the Colonel would be wielding a saw.
"Please don't leave me alone with him," Alex begged as he wrapped his arms around Arizona's waist to prevent her from opening up the bedroom door and leaving to go shopping with her mother and sister.
Arizona turned in his arms, "Babe, he's harmless."
"What if he kills me? He looks at me with that look… the one that says 'I know you're having sex with my daughter.'"
"I promise you, he won't kill you," Arizona said as she pressed a kiss to the pouting lips in front of her.
"How can you be so sure?" Alex continued to look distressed.
Arizona laughed and hugged Alex tightly, "If he killed you, then I'd have to kill him – because I have no desire to be a single parent. And he's the one that taught me my ninja skills so he knows that I can do it."
Alex let out a nervous laugh and held his wife closer, depositing a kiss on the top of her head. A knock from outside the room startled the couple from their embrace. "Zona, let's go. We're waiting on you!" Emily shouted through the wooden door.
"I love you," Arizona said as she pulled out of the hug. "I'll see you in a few hours." She leaned in closer to nibble on his lip, "And if you're lucky maybe I'll come home with something for you too."
Alex grumbled and took the hand his wife offered as she led them out of the bedroom and back downstairs. Alex helped load the boys in the car and leaned in to kiss his wife goodbye. "You owe me," he whispered to her before adding, "love you."
Alex turned around after saying goodbye and saw Daniel standing in the doorway with a scowl on his face. "Let's get this over with," he muttered under his breath as he walked back up the path toward the intimidating man on the porch.
"Sir, I'm ready when you are," Alex said as he got closer to the porch. He was trying his best to be respectful to the senior Robbins. He knew how close Arizona was to her family and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that relationship.
Daniel's surly look didn't budge from his face. "I just need to get some things from my office," Daniel grunted before turning around and walking into the house. Alex stood on the porch afraid to move. Daniel noticed the absence of his son-in-law, "Follow me."
Alex entered Daniel's office and immediately noticed the sword, rifle and various deer heads mounted on the walls. Alex audibly gulped as he continued to take in the various pictures and citations from the man's military career.
Daniel moved to stand behind his desk. He didn't even pretend to be looking for anything on it. "Sit," he barked as he nodded his head toward the chair opposite the desk.
Alex immediately did as he was told. He couldn't help his leg from trembling. The man in front of him was intimidating by himself let alone with a gun hanging over his head. Daniel didn't say anything for several minutes as he stared at the young man in front of him. He thought he'd never have to do this for Arizona – intimidate a significant other. As hardcore as Daniel was, he couldn't use the same tactics on a female so all of Arizona's previous suitors had escaped his death glare.
Finally Daniel got straight to the point. "I've seen your record. It's impressive."
"I can explain and I haven't been arrested in a very long time - over fifteen years," Alex immediately tried to defend himself.
Daniel raised his hand and Alex immediately quieted. "It's impressive that you've become a doctor after everything you've had to overcome. An excellent doctor as my daughter tells me. I can trust that all of your previous indiscretions are in your past?"
"Yes, sir." Alex decided to keep his responses short and to the point.
"I've also seen that you are divorced. That leads me to believe that you don't take marriage seriously. What do you have to say about that?"
Alex nodded, "I take it very seriously. I was married. We got married fairly spontaneously but I meant my vows. I intended to be with her for the rest of my life. But, she left me. She left me when she thought I turned my back on her but really I was looking out for her. She had cancer and I was trying to help her get better..."
"Arizona has explained it to me," Daniel interrupted. "I know that you two got married because of the boys but now that marriage has turned into the real thing at least according to her."
It was Alex's turn to interrupt, "To me too, Sir. I love your daughter more than anything. I want to spend the rest of my life loving her if she lets me."
Daniel continued the questioning, "You don't have any family coming to the ceremony this weekend. How can I trust you to take care of my family when you don't have any experience with it?"
"That's exactly why you can trust me. I didn't have a father. I barely had a mother. I want my kids to have everything that I didn't have. I didn't have a father to teach me to play sports. Or to teach me how to ride a bike or fix a car. I want to be there for all of those moments. Not just the big things but the little things too. I can't imagine not being there to tuck them in every night. The best part of my day is coming home and making dinner with Arizona and having quiet time with Eli and Abe." By the end of his speech Alex was smiling just thinking about the quality time he shared with his family.
"You see the gun behind me?" Daniel questioned without taking his eyes off of Arizona's.
Alex gulped and nodded, "Yes, Sir."
Daniel leaned across the desk so that he was eye-to-eye with Alex. "If you hurt my daughter or my grandchildren in any way, I don't need that gun to make you disappear. They would never find you. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir." Alex replied, not wavering from the stare down he was receiving from his father-in-law.
Daniel smiled and stood. He walked around to Alex and patted him on the shoulder. "Okay then. Let's go get a tree."
Alex visibly relaxed as Daniel softened toward him. They walked out of the office and headed toward the garage. As Alex buckled his seatbelt he felt Daniel's eyes on him again.
"Can you keep a secret?" The serious tone had returned in Daniel's voice and scared Alex.
"Yes," Alex managed to choke out.
Daniel loved being able to have such power over Alex. The boy was truly scared of him. Daniel knew he couldn't abuse the power but he would certainly have fun with it. He knew that Alex would eventually learn that he was harmless. "I haven't gone out and chopped down a tree in twenty years. Tim and I used to just say we did and we'd go grab one from the corner lot. Then we'd spend a few hours at the bar watching football. With those three girls in the house, we'd never have control over the TV. The Pats are playing in an hour – you up for it?"
Alex laughed. He had not expected that reveal when the Colonel asked him if he could keep a secret. "Yeah. Definitely. Brady is still a great player even with that girly haircut."
"You're telling me. What is with grown men looking like girls these days?" Daniel continued ranting on the current state of men's fashion for a good five minutes.
After their talk in the office Alex and Daniel had an enjoyable afternoon together at the local sports bar before picking up a tree from the local Boy Scout troop and heading home to their girls. Alex was still intimidated by his father-in-law and a little part always would be, but after that day, they also became father and son.
"Can you keep a secret?" Arizona asked Alex.
Alex smiled at the words as he thought back to the secret that he had just shared with Arizona and the table. "Yes, ma'am."
"We've knew about Dad's Christmas tree shopping at the sports bar for years. We drove by one time and saw his truck there. We put it together when he and Tim came home smelling like beer with chicken wing stains on their shirts."
"Well, don't tell your Dad. He likes the tradition," Alex said in a fake whisper.
Arizona shrugged, "I wouldn't want to ruin your guys' traditions. As long as when you start taking the boys with you, you don't take them to Hooters."
"Deal," Alex shifted a sleepy Della from his right to his left arm and reached his right out to shake Arizona's hand.
The shifting position caused Della to start fussing. Teddy immediately held out her hands to take the little baby but instead Mark's hands got a hold of the baby first. Mark lifted her up and proceeded to make funny faces at the girl.
"She's adorable. I miss having one this small," Mark cooed at Della.
Arizona couldn't help but notice the look of longing on her best friend's face as Teddy watched Mark with the baby.
"They grow up quickly, don't they?" Arizona said rhetorically as she played with her daughter's toes.
"Too quickly," Mark smiled as he handed the baby to Teddy.
The foursome spent the next few minutes laughing as Teddy asked Alex to recount just how Daniel threatened him one more time. Teddy knew that as a former Marine, Daniel could be tough she had just never seen it. She saw Daniel as the man who would sing the theme song to Spongebob with the boys not the man who would threaten to make Alex disappear.
Meredith stood at the back of the cafeteria watching the weird foursome laugh over their dinner. Mark, Teddy, Alex and Arizona were four people that she would have never put at the same table four years ago. Various permutations of them, definitely but not all four at the same time. Mark was the odd man out. Meredith wondered just what Mark had to do with everyone. She also wondered how Callie would feel about his friendliness with her ex-girlfriend. It wasn't her place to spread the gossip though. Since adopting her daughter, work was just a job; it wasn't the only thing in her life. She was anxious to get home in time to say goodnight to her daughter so instead of going to Cristina with the latest update on Alex and Arizona, she instead went home.
…