AN: I do not own any of Taylor Swift's music or the lyrics to Mine.
The intern and fellow, although technically Jo was a 2nd year resident and Alex was an attending now. They both left their past and never looked back. After running away from her marriage with Paul and after everything with Jason, Jo was hesitant to get into a new relationship. Alex had his own fears, he had been married once, and Izzie left him, but he knew that Jo was special, and he was willing to risk it all for her.
Intern Jo knew that Alex wasn't like all the other guys she was with before, he got her like no one else did, and she knew he would never hurt her. After everything they've been through together, she could hardly believe that they'd found something so good together. Falling in love with him was as easy as the crooked smile gave her every day. She had seen that look of love before on the faces of other men, but Alex was different. Alex was stupidly, affectionately, head over heels in love with her, and she couldn't help but love him the same.
"Can you believe it?" Jo said as she smiled up at him from where her head was on his chest as they laid on the couch together.
"Believe what?" Alex asked, his hands stopping from where he was playing with her hair.
"Just this," Jo said as she gestured around the room before looking up at him.
The pizza and beer were left out on the coffee table, a movie is playing on the TV that neither of them were paying attention to. It was a typical night at their house together, but Jo couldn't help but think about how much she loved this and how much she loved him. She didn't have to explain herself to Alex. He just looked down at her with that crooked smile. He was just as much in awe of the life they created together, the home they had, and the love they have for each other as she was.
"Do you remember the date we had on the beach a while ago, when we were first dating?" Jo said, looking at him again as his fingers began to braid her hair.
"Yes," Alex said, smiling at her as he tilted his head.
"That was the first time you put your arm around me," Jo said as she smiled at him, remembering it all.
They had made plans for a beach day, but it was too overcast and cloudy to lay in the sun, so they just ended up walking along the shore. She remembered how his jeans were rolled up into cuffs with his white t-shirt and the flowered yellow sundress she wore that flowed in the breeze. The water was cold as it came up over their ankles, but they kept walking and talked about anything and everything. Jo remembered the way he laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders as he pulled her in, and she remembered the way she laid her head on his shoulder. Everything seemed so perfect at that moment.
Things were so good now too. She looked up at Alex again, and she couldn't help but be filled with love for him. He was so good to her, and she was so happy with him.
"Alex Karev, you are the best thing that's ever been mine," Jo said as she leaned up and wrapped her arm around his neck as she pulled him into a kiss.
His lips smiled against hers, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as her fingers tangled in his hair. The movie and the beer were forgotten about after that in favor of lips against skin as she pulled off their clothing and made him her own.
I say, "Can you believe it?" As we're lyin' on the couch, The moment, I can see it, yes, yes, I can see it now, Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time. You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter. You are the best thing, that's ever been mine.
It was a typical Saturday in the Loft and they both had the day off. They spent the morning being as lazy as possible, barely even getting out of bed other than to grab coffee and breakfast before they were both getting tangled up in the sheets again. When they finally got up, Jo smiled at the way he automatically tossed her his old t-shirt and he slipped it on before they both got out of bed. She gets out of bed and goes over to collect their mail as Alex collected the numerous dishes that were scattered around while she sorted the mail into piles of bills.
Alex groaned as he started the water in the sink. "We should have sprung for a dishwasher when we had the chance."
"We barely had room for the stove and the fridge," Jo said as she kept sorting.
"Well, maybe it's time to start looking at other places. I mean, you want to apply to a fellowship in Boston, and even if we do stick around here, it'll be hard to make space for a baby. Besides, kids should have a yard and a play center, just space for them to run around, you know," Alex said with a shrug and he turned off the water and started scrubbing as Jo paused from where she was sorting the mail.
Sure they had talked about kids. They had even talked about maybe trying for a baby after the wedding. All things considered, they were in a good place. Alex would follow her wherever and let her take on the workload with her fellowship. He even joked about taking the year off to be a stay-at-home Dad. Having a baby now would be a good thing, and they were ready, but just the thought of getting pregnant, having an actual baby, and moving into a house with a yard, it just all seems too real. It wasn't just an idea that they kept talking about and Jo wasn't sure how she felt about it yet.
"Well, let's pay the bills before we start adding other expenses to our finances," Jo said, trying to brush it off as she looked around and gestured to the pile of bills in front of her. "Besides, I don't think we should sell the Loft, we should keep it and maybe we could rent it out."
"I thought you said you didn't get attached to places?" Alex asked, looking over at her with raised eyebrows.
"This place is different," Jo said, looking around and the brick walls that had seen so much of their relationship. "It's home."
"Yeah, it's home," Alex agreed as he caught her eye and gave her a soft smile.
"Do you remember the ferry ride back to Bainbridge Island and the Dreamhouse after I showed you this place? You pulled me out onto the observation deck and we watched the city lights get further away," Jo said as she let the memories take her back.
She remembered the cold ocean breeze of the night as they stood together on the deck pressed against the railing. The sound of the ocean waves and the ferry filled their ears, but she remembered the way Alex looked at her when she told him she loved him and the way his lips felt against her. That night they agreed to make this place their home.
"It was such a beautiful night," Alex said as he remembered, he looked at her, but his eyes glazed over as he remembered too. "The city lights sparkled on the water and everything was so peaceful. I know we had been fighting for weeks and we hadn't had a quiet moment together and I just wanted to spend some time with you, alone. I was so in love with you that night. I'm still am so in love with you and it makes me happy to know that you're marrying me soon."
Jo looked down at the way that the diamond sparkled on her hand, just like the light sparkled on the water that night. She loved her ring from the moment she saw it. It was a princess cut, a nod to the annoying nickname he first gave her, but it was what she had always wanted. She had told Alex in passing before they even started dating that she wanted just a simple diamond. She wanted it to be large enough, so it was a little flashy, but small enough not to get caught on things.
The ring Paul gave her had been large with several diamonds. It was so big and fancy, but she was constantly getting it caught on things. She even lost one of the diamonds in the band, and she tried not to remember what happened because of that. She never thought she'd get engaged again, but here she was, wearing the ring of a man who loved her, and Alex's ring was nothing but perfect.
She wondered if that night on the ferry with the night that he decided to propose to her, he always said that he knew he wanted to marry her from the beginning. He told her about the night that she was walking around naked and got caught when Meredith came over. He didn't know it at the time, but as she went to go back upstairs, the house was quiet enough that she heard the words he said to Meredith. That he was going to marry her, and her heart still fluttered at the memory.
The night on the ferry was a different night of proposals, of house and home proposals. It was the night that Jo went all in with him. The night that she wanted him to be hers, and she made it happen. He accepted and they built a life together. Their life together started that night on the ferry.
"We leaned against the cold green railing and you wrapped your arms around me as we watched the city," Jo said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist the same way he did with her that night. "I was so in love with you in that moment, and I still am, because you, Alex Karev, you are the best thing that's ever been mine."
Alex just smiled his crooked happy smile at her and turned his head back to kiss her. She loved that he was hers.
Do you remember all the city lights on the water? You saw me start to believe, for the first time. You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter. You are the best thing, that's ever been mine.
Jo had just gotten home from work after a long day of surgeries. It was 2:30 a.m. and all she wanted to do was crawl in bed when she got home. She could feel the tension in the Loft the moment she walked in and when Alex looked at her, she just knew. He had his suitcase half packed sitting on the bed, toiletries, and socks, and shirts were scattered around him. All of his favorite things were tucked away in his suitcase. Then he sighed looking down at the floor before he looked up with her. She knew then that he was leaving.
She could see the weight of the world on his shoulders in the way he looked at her as he grabbed her hands and led her over to the bed. He gently had her sit down so he could explain it all. Jo sat there in shock as she took in his words. He had kids, twins with Izzie. Not just one child, but two, two five-year-old children that he had with Izzie. She could barely wrap her head around it. She just replayed his words in her mind. Two kids, Alexis and Eli, that Alex had with Izzie.
He had a family, a wife, despite the ex part, and two children. It was all he ever wanted. A wife and two kids, that's what he always talked about. She thought that he would have that with her. She was ready, they had even started trying for kids, but now he had all of that without her. Her whole life just turned upside down and she thought she was going to be sick.
"Jo, just take a deep breath," Alex said as she could feel his hands on her knees and saw him kneel in front of her. "Do I need to get the puke bowl?"
Jo moved her hand from where she had pressed it against her mouth and shook her head before she looked at him. "You're leaving to go be with your kids, aren't you?"
She could tell his answer by the way he just looked down and let out a sigh. He looked at his hands, looking down at his wedding ring for a second before he twisted it around his finger. Alex never played with his wedding ring. That was her nervous habit. He never played with it unless he was taking it off for surgery. He put his fingers on it, and she knew he would take it off. Jo couldn't sit there and watch him give her his ring. She couldn't sit there and watch him leave her.
Her entire life, her first instinct when things got bad was to run. She always ran and this time, she didn't even have to think about it. She just ran. She ran past him and out of the Loft. She ran out of the apartment building and out into the parking lot. She didn't know where she was going, but the cold night air felt good in her lungs. She ran past their cars when she realized she didn't have her keys or anything else and took in a deep breath of cold air, pausing just for a moment.
"Jo," Alex called out to her as she looked around. He caught her wrist and pulled her back to look at him.
"You're leaving me," Jo said, her voice breaking with her words, and she didn't realize that she was sobbing until she spoke.
"No, no, Jo. I'm not leaving you. No, I'll never leave you," Alex said, as he reached out to cup her cheek, brushing away the tears with his thumb.
Jo paused, taking in his words as she wiped her cheeks and her snotty nose with her sleeve. "You're not leaving me?"
"No, Jo, I want you to come with me!" Alex stressed, something about the cold night air made his words ring clear in her ears. "You and me, we're a family. I don't want to be a Dad without you, and you could be such a good step-mom to them. I want you to meet them too. It was always supposed to be me and you, us as a family. Alexis and Eli are mine, and we're married, so what's mine is yours. If you're okay with that, the twins could be ours."
"What about Izzie?" Jo asked, biting her lip. "Is she okay with me meeting them?"
"Yes, I explained to her that we're a package deal, and she's agreed to let both of us meet the kids," Alex said with a nod, although he still looked worried for her. "We haven't worked out all the details yet, but she's agreed to let us both be a part of their lives. If you want to, if you want that."
"But you want me to come with you? You want me to meet the twins?" Jo asked, finally understanding.
"Yes, please," Alex asked, his plea prompted her to look at him for the first time since he sat her down in the Loft. His worried expression surprised her as she took in his furrowed brow and the worry lines in his eyes. Finally, she realized that as much as she was worried he would leave her, he was worried that she would leave him too.
"Okay," Jo said, she was still so unsure about everything, but she could do this. She could go with him and meet the kids.
Alex let out a breath of relief before he pulled her forward to wrap his arms around her waist. He gave her a small smile as he just stared into her eyes. "I remember putting my arm around you for the first time at the beach and I thought to myself. I can never let this girl go. And every time I look at you, I remember the first day I met you. You're still so beautiful, and I'm still head over heels in love with you, Jo. You are the best thing that's ever been mine."
Jo could only nod as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close, and holding his body against hers. She breathed in the scent of him and tangled her fingers in his hair. Alex was hers and she would never let him go.
"You are the best thing that's ever been mine, too and I'm not going anywhere."
And I remember that fight, two-thirty am, 'cause everything was slipping right out of our hands. I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street. Braced myself for the goodbye, 'cause that's all I've ever known. Then, you took me by surprise. You said, "I'll never leave you alone." You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water, And every time I look at you, it's like the first time, I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter, she is the best thing that's ever been mine."
Jo and Alex both walked across the grass to the beach with both of the twins between them. As soon as they could hear the water, Alexis and Eli jumped up and down for joy, pointing and shouting. Their childish excitement was so infectious and exciting. They had never seen the open ocean before, so Jo and Alex had planned a family trip to Ocean Shores for the weekend. It was the twin's first trip to the beach and their first trip to Seattle, whereas previously, Jo and Alex had gone to Kansas twice a month.
The open ocean stretched out endlessly in front of them, the large sandy beach stretched out in either direction, and the sun was warm and hot on their backs. Jo was glad they brought the extra big umbrella as she adjusted the sun hat on Alexis' head lest she get burned with her fair hair.
The past few months since she and Alex had met the twins had been a whirlwind. When they met the twins, Jo instantly fell in love with them. How could she not? They were both a part of Alex, the man she loved. Eli was the spitting image of his father, and he warmed up to Jo in an instant, faster than he did to his father. He was so free with his affections for her in a childish manner. He just snuggled up to her on the couch and grabbed her hand, and pulled her to play with him.
Alexis was one hundred percent daddy's little girl. Even now, as she commanded Alex to drop everything and pulled him towards the waves that crashed the beach. Alexis looked so much like Izzie, but she had that Karev smile and Alex's charm, and soon she had both Alex and Jo wrapped around her little finger.
Alex chased the twins around the beach and Jo joined them in the water as the waves came up to meet her toes. Eli pulled her over to create a sandcastle, and Alex and Alexis soon joined in as well, going out in hunt of leaves and rocks to decorate it. While Alex created a moat around it because every castle should have a moat.
It was the perfect day with the twins and the perfect day in general. Jo wrapped her arms around Eli's shoulders and placed a kiss on his brown curls as he placed the final leave on top, declaring at the flag. Alexis jumped around her, and Jo captured her wrist and spun her around as they danced together. Alexis grabbed onto Jo's leg and gave her a quick hug before she was gone in a flash, back into the sand to grab more rocks and hunt for more sand dollars.
They had barely been there an hour, but Jo could already feel the heat of the sun drain her. She retreated to the cool shade of the umbrella and curled up on the warm and fluffy beach towel. She watched her husband and their kids played together before she closed her eyes under her sunglasses.
"Hey you," Alex said, as he leaned down to kiss her lips and laid down next to her on the beach towel. "Stealing a nap in the shade?"
"I think I earned it after taking care of three kids this week," Jo said with a smirk as she opened her eyes and watched his face.
"Three?" Alex asked, scrunching up his eyebrows as he looked down at her, not fully understanding her words. "I think you miscounted."
"Did I?" Jo asked, raising her eyebrow and placing a hand on her belly. She watched him process it for a second. His eyes fell down to her hand before they grew as wide as dinner plates, and he sat up in front of her.
"Are you, are you pregnant?" Alex finally managed to ask.
Jo could only laugh as her nose crinkled up and she just smiled because he was so flustered. "Yes, it's been so obvious. I thought you would have caught on by now. I've been sick every day, and I even left my prenatal vitamins on the shelf in the bathroom."
"I'm sorry," Alex said, looking down and putting his hand over hers on her belly. "I've been so distracted with the twins. I haven't even noticed."
They had settled into their first week with Alexis and Eli in Seattle. The transition was rough at first, and Jo and Alex had been running around trying to manage two slightly overwhelmed five-year-olds. Alex barely noticed when she threw up or took a nap with the kids in the afternoon, although she hid her symptoms well.
"It's okay," Jo said, reaching out and putting her hand on his cheek as he looked up at her. "I've been distracted with everything too. I didn't even notice when I missed my period or when my body started to change until Carina pointed it out to me."
"Yeah, that I did notice," Alex said, his eyes glancing to her chest as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, I guess I can wear my hat, now," Jo said, as she pulled out her beach hat, like the bride hat she had worn on their honeymoon, except this one had the words 'baby on board' stitched around it. He just shook his head as he held the hat.
"Daddy, Mommy Jo, come play with us!" Alexis shouted at them as she waved her arm to catch their attention.
"Yeah, come back our castle isn't finished yet, we need another tower!" Eli called to them from where he sat in the sand.
"We'll be there in a minute," Jo said as they got up from the beach towel. Alex wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her up against him as they watched the twins play.
"A baby," Alex said, looking down at his hand on her belly, and although they could neither see nor feel their child, they knew they were there. It was magical and wonderful and they were a little in awe.
"Yes," Jo said with a smile, getting caught up in the way that he looked at her. "Do you think we could handle one more?"
"I think that we could and that we're going to be amazing, Jo. You're going to be an amazing mom. You're already an amazing step-mom to the twins. I know this wasn't the family we envisioned, but I love the twins and this baby is what I've wanted with you since the moment I fell in love with you. You and me being family, with our baby and the twins, this is what I want more than anything."
"I want you and this baby and our twins. Your right, they are ours, Alex this family is ours," Jo said, reaching out to hold his face as he just looked at her and his eyes sparkled with happiness.
"I love you," Alex whispered, leaning in for a gentle kiss.
"I love you too," Jo whispered against his lips.
"Can you believe it?" Alex said as they watched the twins play.
"No, if you told me three years ago that this was gonna be our life, our family, I wouldn't have never believed you, but we made it, and our marriage is stronger than ever."
"I can see it. I can see it all unfold, the future, the five of us, you, me, this baby, and the twins, I can see it now."
"It's going to be amazing," Jo said as she looked over at him, he caught her eye and smiled at her. He was so in love with her and she was just as in love with him. "I can see it too."
Do you believe it? We're gonna make it now, and I can see it. Yeah, yeah I can see it now.