AN: If you don't understand what is going on that is kind of intentional, keep reading and it will start to make sense.

Kansas City, February 2020

.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Izzie said, breaking the silence around him.

Alex looked up as she placed a cup of tea in front of him on the table. It had been a long day and Alex was sitting at the table in the kitchen. He was supposed to be helping her put away the leftovers, but instead, he was looking out the window and watching the fireflies dance in the tall grass across the field.

"It was a long shot anyway," Alex said as he sighed, remembering the custody hearing that they had earlier that afternoon in which the judge denied him custody. He had only been with Izzie and twins for a few weeks, and although he had taken a fatherly role in their lives, it wasn't enough for the courts.

He glanced up to see Izzie's guilty look as she held her own mug of tea. It was one she had worn since they got there. She had that guilt in her eyes from the moment she saw him interact with the twins. She had apologized for keeping them from him for so long, but he didn't think she quite accepted his forgiveness. Still, he didn't blame her for keeping them from him either, although he was angry at first. They had gotten past that. He was here with them now, that was what mattered.

"Come on, it's bedtime. Help me wrangle them, yeah?" Izzie asked, nodding her head to go.

Alex smiled as he followed her and left the tea untouched on the table. They went down the hall to the twin's room, where he could hear their quiet giggles. The door was closed and there was a scribbled note on the door not to disturb them during their surgery. Alex and Izzie exchanged a smile as she knocked and waited for one of them to answer the door.

A masked Eli in his little doctor's coat with blue gloves two sizes two big on his hands poked his head out. "Yes?"

"Hello Dr. Stevens, I hate to disturb you and your sister, but I must inform you that it's almost bedtime, so I hope your surgery is almost done," Izzie said as she played along but raised her eyebrow at him. They both knew how long their games could go on for.

"But Mom, we just got started. Alexis hasn't even fixed the funny bone yet," Eli whined as he stuck out his lower lip in a pout.

"Well, perhaps the two of you could use an assist. Besides, it's not good to keep the patient under for very long?" Alex said as Izzie nodded her head in agreement.

Eli poked his head back into the room and whispered something to Alexis that neither of them could hear before he looked back at them. "Alright, but please scrub before you enter the sterile field."

Izzie and Alex both scrubbed as requested by pretending to wash their hands in a little bowl and putting on two raincoats backwards, as Eli requested. Then, they both walked into the room to see Alexis practicing surgery on an exposed arm where the rest of the patient was draped in a blue blanket. Alex sat down next to Jo's head as he brushed his fingers over her face where Alexis and Eli had taped tubing around her nose.

"How's my favorite patient doing?" Alex said as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

Jo opened her eyes as he pulled back and smiled up at him. "Pretty good."

"Shh Jo," Alexis said quickly, shushing her with her finger over her mask. "Patients under anna-thea are supposed to be sleeping."

"Sorry, Dr. Stevens," Jo said, glancing over at her before she looked at Alex and gave him a wink before she closed her eyes again, and he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

"How is your surgery going, Dr. Stevens," Izzie asked Alexis as she sat down next to her.

"Pretty good, but I need to repair Jo's funny bone if she's ever going to laugh again." Alexis insisted, throwing her hands up and looking very serious despite how everyone else giggled.

"Well, she seems to be giggling already, so it must be going good," Alex said, resting his hand on Jo's cheek as she peeked up at him with sleepy eyes.

"I agree with Alex. All you have to do is wrap it up and then put Jo's arm in a sling, and then she's good to go," Izzie said, looking down at Jo's arm.

"Aww, Mom, but that's boring," Eli complained with a huff.

"Yes but, the sooner you finish, the sooner we can read another chapter of the cat books," Izzie said, raising her eyebrows, knowing that it was the twin's favorite.

"Okay," both of them agreed as they quickly finished the surgery.

They wrapped the wrap bandage around Jo's arm and put it in the sling that they had from when Alexis broke her arm last year. Alex was surprised by the amount of medical stuff that the twins had. It was mostly stuff like gauze, tubes, tape, gloves, and there were even a few drapes and things. Izzie must have gotten it all from the hospital or clinic. Finally, they finished by drawing two smiley faces in the bandages.

"Alright, the surgery is done. Time to take the patient off of anna-thea," Alexis announced as Eli carefully removed the tape and tubes from Jo's cheeks with Alex's help, although she didn't flinch.

The four of them watched Jo for a second as they waited for her to wake up, although nothing happened. Alex smiled as he realized Jo had fallen asleep. Jo had been so jet-lagged from the constant trips to Kansas to visit him and the twins and still keep up with work back in Seattle. She had changed to doing four, twelve hours shifts so she could get three days off to visit. Jo had come every weekend since she and Alex had found out about the twins a month prior.

"I think we need to wake up the patient Dr. Stevens," Alexis said, looking over at Eli.

"Any idea how?" Alex asked, looking over at the twins

"Any gentle ideas how?" Izzie stressed knowing how they woke everybody up in the mornings with screaming and jumping on their beds.

"I know we need to wake Jo like a princess, so we need to wake her up with true love's kiss," Alexis announced, getting up on her knees as she got excited with her idea.

"I'll kiss her," Eli quickly announced as Alex and Izzie exchanged a smile.

His little crush on Jo had been obvious from the first day he met her. Eli carefully bent down to press a kiss to Jo's cheek. Jo stirred, but she didn't wake up as the four of them watched her.

"It's got to be true love's kiss, Eli," Alexis said with a roll of her eyes that was so Izzie that sometimes Alex had to do a double-take when he heard her talk. "Which means Daddy's got to kiss her because he is her true love."

"She's right, Alex," Izzie said, as she looked at him with a bright smile, ever so slightly teasing him.

Alex smiled as he closed his eyes and leaned down to press a kiss to Jo's lips. He felt her stir under him and soon she reached up and put a hand on his cheek as she kissed him back. After enjoying his wife's kiss for a second, Alex pulled back and watched her eyes flutter open as she yawned.

"Yay, surgery was a success!" The twins cheered as they high fived.

"Thank you, doctors," Jo said as Alex helped her sit up and she leaned against him, still visibly tired.

"You're welcome, Jo," Eli said as he reached forward to hug her, and Jo wrapped her unbandaged arm around him and pulled him to sit in her lap as she kissed his cheek.

"Alright, let's clean up and get ready for bed," Izzie said as she stood up.

"No wait, we need to check if Jo's funny bone has really fixed," Alexis insisted, pulling Izzie back down.

"Okay, Alexis, why don't you tell me a joke and see if it makes me laugh," Jo said with a smile.

Alex put his hands on Jo's sides, ready to tickle her as she giggled and glanced back at him. Alexis put her finger on her chin as she tried to think of a joke, although she was probably just delaying bedtime.

"I know one," Eli said as he leaned forward to her and cupped his hand around his mouth as he whispered it to her.

"Okay," Alexis said, sitting back before she cleared her throat. "Jo, What do you call cheese that isn't yours?"

"I don't know?" Jo said with a shake of her head as Eli giggled.

"Nacho cheese!" Alexis shouted with a glint of chaos in her eyes that made the joke all too funny.

Everybody laughed, and Alex's fingers immediately went into action, tickling Jo's sides as she howled with laughter. She wiggled away from him and turned around to tickle him. Eli quickly caught on and attacked him too, tickling him, and soon enough, Izzie and Alexis were joining in and ticking him too. Alexis even managed to sit on his legs and take off his shoes as she tickled his feet.

"Okay, okay, uncle," Alex shouted in between fits of laughter.

"Okay, let your Dad go," Jo said as she pulled Eli back and Izzie picked up Alexis.

Alex caught his breath as he laid on the floor. He smiled as he stared at the ceiling. This was why he and Jo came to Kansas. The pure joy and happiness that Alexis and Eli brought to his life. When Alex agreed to fertilize the embryos for Izzie, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be a dad. Then he got into Peds and he loved working with all the kids. He was at home there and he loved playing with them and joking around. When he met Jo, he realized his desire to be a father and have a family with her. He knew she would be a good mom and watching her with Eli and Alexis now only deepened that desire to have a baby with her. Still, he never thought it would happen like this.

When he called Izzie to ask her to help Meredith, he wondered what her life was like. Then he heard Alexis singing, he asked her if she had kids, and she said she had his kids. Alex remembered that moment so vividly. Jo was in the kitchen making mac and cheese, humming to some music, and he just stared at her. She felt his eyes and looked up at him with a smile that fell after she saw his frozen face. Alex put the phone on speaker as Izzie told them both about the twins. They were both so shocked. Alex barely remembered asking to meet the twins and setting up a time to see them after Meredith's trial. They were both so nervous on the plane ride to Kansas and Jo gripped his hand and refused to let it go. He remembered the first time they met the kids and how they showed them their room. Jo instantly fell in love with them and he did too.

Since then, things had gone so smoothly. Izzie had allowed him to stay, although Jo had to go back for work, but flew in every weekend to spend with them. Alex gave orders to Pac North over the phone, putting Webber in charge, as he had taken leave to spend time with his kids. The five of them were all happy, and he was happy here with his kids. So much so that some days he couldn't imagine leaving, not that he had told Jo this.

"Daddy, did you fall asleep like Jo?" Alexis said as she stood over him with her hands on her hips, she stared down at him.

"No, I was just thinking, Lex," Alex said as he got up and scooped up Alexis as they walked over to the bathroom.

"Thinking about what?" Alexis asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head as she looked at him.

"Just about being your Dad and stuff?" Alex said as he sat her down at the second sink next to Eli, who was already brushing his teeth while Jo and Izze talked and undid the bandages on Jo's arm.

"Do you like being our Dad?" Eli asked, looking up at him with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"I do Eli, I like being your Dad a lot," Alex said as the twins gave him matching toothpaste filled smiles as Jo and Izzie giggled.

Alex helped them brush their teeth and get settled in bed before the two of them insisted that all three of the adults stay and help read the story. So all five of them sat against the wall in Eli's bed, passing the book around between. Alex did his best to do all the voices for each cat character and the twins giggled as he read.

"Jo, do you have to go back to Seattle tomorrow?" Eli asked as he rested his head on her shoulder as Alex passed the book to Izzie to read.

"I do buddy, but not until tomorrow evening, and I'll be here all day. I'll even tuck you two into bed," Jo said as she snuggled closer to him and laid a kiss on his head.

"Can't you stay for the rest of the week like Daddy does?" Alexis asked, picking up her head from where she was resting on Alex's other side next to Izzie as she paused reading.

"I wish I could, but I have patients and surgeries that I need to do in Seattle," Jo said, giving her a sad smile.

"Can I come with you to Seattle and help you with your surgeries?" Eli asked, looking up here with big pleading eyes. "It'd be better than going to school here and I bet I'd learn a lot more."

"I wanna go to," Alexis pleaded with her, leaning over to join Eli as the twins did their double pout and puppy dog eyes at her.

"I wish I could take you both with me. I know you'd be the best little surgical interns I could have," Jo said, matching their pouts as she looked between the two of them.

"But you've got to go to school before you become surgeons and you two haven't quite finished yet," Izzie said with a little reminder to them as she tapped Alexis's nose as both the twins deflated.

"I wish I was finished with school," Eli said as he turned and snuggled further into Jo's arms.

"How about I come back early next Friday and sneak you out of school?" Jo whispered to them, although it was loud enough for him and Izzie to hear. She and Alex had done it once before and Izzie agreed that it was fine to do on occasion.

"Will you take me too Jo?" Alexis stage whispered as she leaned over Alex's chest and elbowed him in the process to get to Jo.

"Of course," Jo whispered back with a wink. When she could, Jo did her best to make their time together special.

The twins giggled as they settled down and Izzie started reading them again. Alex looked between Alexis, Eli, and Jo, sometimes he wondered if the twins loved her more than they loved him. Still, he knew that he was around for them all the time and the twins sucked up all the time they could with Jo while she was there on the weekends. Soon enough, they had finished the chapter and Izzie insisted it was time for lights out. Eli and Alexis got a kiss from all of them as they whispered good night and shut off the overhead light, leaving just the glow in the dark stars and the little nightlight across the room.

"Daddy, will you make waffles in the morning?" Alexis asked, looking up from her bed when she held her bear close.

"Of course I will, it's Waffle Sunday, but I won't make them unless you go to bed and fall asleep," Alex said as he lingered in the doorway with Jo and Izzie behind him.

"Okay," Alexis relented as she closed her eyes.

"I want another one," Jo whispered to him as she stared at the twins and wrapped her arms around him as she leaned her head on his chest.

"I know, I'm trying," Alex whispered to her as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

Finally, Alex closed the door and Izzie gave him a knowing smile before she went back down the hall into the kitchen. Jo leaned in to kiss him and pulled him down the hallway towards their room and Alex dutifully followed her. However, he wasn't in the mood for it and she soon realized this. Before they reached the door, Jo pulled back and tilted her head as she looked at him. He couldn't keep his eyes on her as he looked away and Jo ran her fingers over his lips that were turned down in a frown.

"I wish I could do Waffle Sundays with them back in Seattle," Alex said as he looked down at her brown shirt rather than her brown eyes. "We could all be together, you and me, and the twins, and Izzie, and Meredith, and Amelia, and Maggie, and all the kids. I wish I could have all of my family together."

He had been hiding his disappointment from everyone, the judge, Izzie, and the kids, but now that he was alone with Jo, he knew he couldn't hide it anymore. He took a second to wallow in his sorrow as he could with her. He had wanted the twins so badly that he filed for custody. He just wanted to be their father on paper and in name. He wanted to be able to take them back to Seattle with him and hated that Jo had to split her time between Seattle and Kansas. They were separated for the majority of the week and he wanted them all to be together as a family. Now he didn't know how he would make that happen.

"I'm sorry," Jo said, looking down as he looked up at her.

"Why it's not your fault," Alex said, pulling her close as he tried to reassure her.

"It is, it's my fault we didn't pass the background check and why we can't get custody of them," Jo said as she fixed the collar of his shirt as she put her hands on his chest.

"You know my history is just as checkered. The only reason I passed was because DeLuca dropped the charges. It's not your fault Jo," Alex stressed to her, putting his hands on her cheeks and prompting her to look up at him.

"I'm still sorry," Jo said with a shake of her head.

"Don't be. We'll think of another way to try and get custody of them," Alex said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Any ideas?" Jo said, looking up at him with a shrug.

Alex looked down now, ashamed of his thought. "I do have one idea, but you're not going to like it because it's not too fair to you."

"What do you mean?" Jo asked, looking up at him in concern, but he just looked down.

"Let's go downstairs and talk to Izzie too," Alex said, moving to put a hand on her back as he prompted her to walk towards the stairs.

A few minutes later, he was seated at the table next to Jo and across from Izzie as Alex explained the rest of his plan to both of them. Jo held on to his hand the entire time and she just stared at him in shock as he spoke. Izzie didn't look too pleased either as she sipped her tea and listened to him.

"Explain it to me again," Jo said, closing her eyes although he could see the grief in her face.

"If you and I get a divorce, I have a better chance of getting custody of the twins," Alex carefully explained, watching her face.

"Okay, I get that part," Jo said, opening her eyes and he could see them glaze over as tears collected in her eye.

"But I'd have a better chance of doing it if Izzie and I got married legally. It wouldn't be because of love or anything, okay Jo, I love you. But then I could file for custody of them as a stepparent, and the odds of me being granted custody would be much higher. Then we can stage or divorce right away, although I would retain custody. Then I could come back to you in Seattle, and everything could be as it was before, but we could have the kids stay with us once in awhile."

Izzie shook her head as she set her mug down on the table. "And what about me, Alex? I have a boyfriend now."

"Yeah and he's such an amazing guy," Alex said with an eye roll, although Jo tugged on his arm and glared at him as Izzie rolled her eyes.

"I married you once, Alex," Izzie said, setting him with a look. "I'm not too eager to do that again. Besides, he's your problem now, Jo."

It had been a running joke between the two of them since Izzie and Jo met, although it didn't make Jo giggle all this time. Alex watched her take it all in again as she put a hand over her mouth, although he could see her turn green and move to get up before she ran out of the house. Jo threw open the screen door, but it nearly slammed into his face as he raced after her. By the time he got to the porch, Jo was leaning over the railing and vomiting in the bushes on the side of the house.

Alex grabbed her around her waist and gathered her hair with his other hand. Jo kept heaving as she lost her dinner and Alex hated that he caused this. He twisted her hair back and rubbed her back as he whispered to her that he loved her. Jo sobbed as she stopped heaving and leaned back into him as Alex pulled her back to the porch swing. He sat down and pulled her into his lap as Jo curled up in his arms. He looked over to see Izzie standing in the doorway, but she looked down and let them have a moment.

"You're leaving me. I knew you would when we came here. I knew it." Jo sobbed as she buried herself in his shoulder.

"No, No, Jo, I'm not leaving you and I wouldn't do this unless we had to," Alex said as he held her and moved the swing back and forth. "But it's not about you, Jo. It's about the kids. I want to be able to have them and this is the only way."

"But I love them too, Alex," Jo said as she wiped her eyes and pulled back to look up at him. "I love them as much as you do, and I want you to have custody of them, but I want to be part of their lives too."

"And no one's asking you not to be," Izzie said as she stepped forward and leaned against the railings. "I love how much you love them. Eli adores you and Alexis too. We don't have to do this. You two can get a lawyer and reapply."

"So that's what we'll do. We'll get a lawyer and we'll try again." Alex nodded before he looked back at Jo, taking her in. Seeing her like this was heartbreaking, and knowing that he caused it, hurt even more.

Alex watched Jo think about it and she shook her head as she looked up at him. "So long as you're married to me, you'll never be able to get custody of them."

"She's right Alex," Izzie admitted with a sigh. "You and Jo want to have them on the weekends and holidays, and I want you both to be a part of the twin's lives. I want them to get to know everybody back in Seattle, but you know I can't move yet with the clinic and everything. It's the long way around, but if we pretend for a year, then you could have them like we planned."

"I still don't like it," Jo said, with a shake of her head. "But it'll do it because I love you, and I love the kids. So I'll go back to Seattle and draft the papers."

"I'll do it," Alex said, waiting to spare her as much pain as possible. "I'll send you a, a letter or something."

"If we're gonna make this seem real. I'll stay back in Seattle for a few weeks," Jo said with a nod looking down at the floorboards of the porch.

"You don't have to," Alex pleaded with her. He loved her and he didn't want to lose her and all of this.

"I think that I have to," Jo said, looking up at him with that hurt in her eyes. "I love seeing you and the twins and being here in Kansas, but the travel has been really hard. Besides, if we're going to do this, then I think people would get suspicious if I disappear to see you all every weekend."

"We could stage a fight between the two of you. If we're going to make the divorce real, that will give you an excuse to come to Kansas. You could come once to fight with Alex and then again to sign the divorce papers and stay for a few days. Then the twins could see you again. You know how much they love you," Izzie said as she leaned forward and looked between the two of them.

She and Jo had become close friends in the time that Jo had been there. Sometimes Alex wondered if Izzie liked Jo better than she liked him. The two of them had butted heads a little bit when it came to things concerning the twins, but Jo always seemed to get them both to smooth things over. He knew that Izzie would miss Jo just as much as the twins would.

"Okay," Jo nodded and that was the end of it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alex asked, looking at her as they laid in bed together, staring at each other.

They had all gone to bed after talking on the porch and Jo had clung to him in a way she never had. As if he would slip through her fingers if she let him go for a second. He held her and made love to her because if this was their last night before she flew home, he wanted to savor it with her in his arms. He wanted her to know that she was loved and cherished by him, despite everything that they were doing because none of it was worth it without her.

"I don't like it, but I love you and the twins enough to do it," Jo said as she looked at him and played with his hair by his ear, twisting the little strands around her fingers. "Like Izzie said, it's the long way around, but it won't be forever. Soon we'll all be a family, you and me and the twins and Izzie too. If I can have all of you by Christmas, then I'll wait for you. I love you Alex and I always wait for you. I'm just sorry I have to break my promise to them and I can't get them out of school early on Friday."

"Even if it means putting our plans for a baby on hold," Alex said, pausing his hand that was running up and down her bare shoulder.

Jo didn't respond. She just leaned forward and kissed him as she moved over him. Jo smiled as she sat on his hips as she sat up, letting the blanket fall around her waist. "If you put a baby in me tonight, it'll give me an excuse to visit."

"That it would," Alex smiled as he reached up and pulled her down to kiss her and he did his best to fulfill her wish.

AN: So yeah basically it was all one big lie so Alex could get custody of the twins. It was not the original plot, my original idea was to allow Jo to confront Alex and have some agency in the 16x16 story. This twist was something my sister and I came up with and it just fit so much better than Alex apologizing and them reuniting. Because I wanted them to get back together, but I didn't want a quick apology. So while I still feel like it's betraying a story that I set out to tell, I still love the story that I've written.