Jo wasn't feeling good and not just physically, mentally she felt like she was teetering on the edge of a dark hole, one she knew all too well, one that she wasn't sure how she'd be able to pull herself back out of if she fell in. The only thing keeping her in line was her daughter, the only person who seemed to have the ability to pierce right through the darkness that occasionally clouded Jo.

Somehow even on a day like today, she managed to bring a smile to her face, as she watched Mia from the doorway. The little one was set up in front of the TV, her toys lined up in a row, as she high kicked them out of the way following Mulan's movements on the screen.

Suddenly there's movement at the front door, the sound of the lock making Jo's heart speed up even though she knows realistically there are only two people that have a key to her front door.

A frown forms on her face as she watches Link emerge, wiping his shoes on the mat, ignoring her dirty look as he shrugs out of his jacket.

"You know that key is meant for emergencies right?" Jo grumbles.

Link lets out a half-laugh, hanging his coat on the rack by the door. "This is an emergency for all I knew you were lying dead somewhere, how was I to know you were just ignoring me?"

Jo's about to tell him to go away, put his jacket back on and leave because she's not in the mood for this, not today.

"Uncle Wink" Suddenly Mia is flying past Jo, her Spider-Man tutu and ladybug wing combo a blur as she leaps forward into Link's waiting arms.

"Oh if it isn't the cutest ladybug in the world." Link cheered, lifting her up onto his hip.

"Hi…" she whispers, leaning her face against Link's neck, Mia's pretty shy for a three-year-old but you ask her who her best friend is and the answer is always 'Uncle Wink', has been that way since birth, she just seemed mesmerised by him. She'd really clung to him after the fire, Jo was a little worried because since that day Mia had been really dependent.

"Hi…bug!" Link grins, bouncing Mia around in circles. "I bet mommy isn't ignoring you huh?

Jo's unamused by Links teasing as she moves from the doorway, lifting Mia up from his arms and setting her down on the floor. "Mia why don't you go get your painting to show uncle Link…" she whispers, kneeling down by the little one, brushing her unruly curls back as she spoke. "Go on...go get it."

"What do you want?" Jo snaps as soon as the little girl is out of earshot, spinning around to face Link her arms crossed over her chest as she looks expectantly at him.

"For you to go to work?" Link shrugs, leaning against the wall, crossing his own arms mirroring Jo as he raises an eyebrow at her.

"I told you I'm sick."

"Come on Jo...look I know it's hard but you can't hide out here forever, from what I heard he'll be back and forth for a while."

Jo rolls her eyes, this is exactly why she didn't want him here, she's heard this speech, please she'd been telling herself this speech for days now and hearing someone actually say it only made it worse.

"I'm not hiding," She grumbles, pulling at her sleeves to avoid his knowing gaze. "Stop looking at me like that, I'm not hiding."

"Then why aren't you at work?...you have patients that need you," Linc sighs, resting his hand on her arm.

"I. Am. Sick" Jo mutters shrugging him off.

"No. You. Are. Not"

"Yes. I. Am" she hisses, stomping her foot, resembling a tantrum that Mia might have when she can't have ice cream at bedtime.

"Uncle wink...wook at my picture...it's a horsey." Mia beams, running back into the room, shoving the still-wet painting in his face, the pink blobs barely resembling a horse.

"Wow Mia that is the best horse I have ever seen…" Link grins, bending down to examine the painting in his hands, one arm wrapped around Mia as he looks up at Jo, his face growing serious. "Jo you are a talented surgeon, one of the best in your field, you should be at work."


"Wow, you really are sick?" Amelia frowns, chewing away on her breakfast as quickly as she could while hovering over Jo who had leant down to slip off her shoe covers when a wave of sickness had come over her, now she was hovering over the closest trash can hoping she wasn't about to vomit in front half the surgical staff.

"Why the hell does everyone think I'm faking? obviously I'm sick." Jo mutters, taking deep breaths, waiting for the nausea to subside, her first dack at work this week was going far worse than expected.

"Just thought you were avoiding Alex." Amelia shrugs, popping the rest of her cereal bar in her mouth.

"No...I mean yeah I don't wanna bump into him and I'm not particularly enjoying everyone's eyes on me like they're waiting for me to blow up but I wouldn't do that not to my patients." Jo sighs, straightening out.

"So you really are sick?" Amelia asks, handing her water bottle as Jo wipes her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Mhmm, probably some bug Mia picked up at daycare no doubt," Jo mutters, accepting the water bottle, nodding her thanks as she slumped down on the bench again. "It'll pass."

Amelia chokes back a laugh, before giving Jo a look that quite clearly reads 'really?' before lowering herself down beside her. "It's a long bug if you've had it the last four days now isn't it."

"Amelia…" Jo hisses, eyeing the board to see her surgery had in fact been moved as there was now an emergency surgery in O.R 3 and much to her surprise the attending on the board was Karev. A.

"What's he doing up here?" She mutters gesturing towards the board.

Amelia follows her gaze, an uncomfortable look falling across her face. "Bailey gave him surgery privileges whilst he's in town...there's no reason to not use the best when we have it."

Logically that makes sense at least that's what Jo tells herself as she feels the buzz of her pager, a welcomed distraction.

"Trauma in the pit...I have to go." She mumbles, standing up and heading towards the doors before Amelia even has a chance to respond.


Jo wasn't feeling too hot, she'd been slammed since early this morning with one surgery after the other and it didn't help that this week had brought new interns who couldn't tell their left from their right. "Shit...fetal heartbeat is in distress," Meredith mutters, looking up frantically towards the screen. "Page O.B and Dr Hayes"

"Hayes is in surgery...should we page Dr Karev" An intern Jo couldn't remember the name of called back, the beeping of the machine seemed to get louder in Jo's ears as she tried to focus on stopping the bleeding of the patient in front of her. The blood was blurring out in a red haze as she tried to remain calm.

"No...who else is on call?" Meredith barked back, her patience wearing thin with the lack of support on offer today, they'd already lost a patient earlier.

"Smith but he's also in surgery." The intern answers, biting her lip like she was afraid Meredith would come over there and cut her.

"Just page Hayes and we'll wait" Meredith mutters looking between Jo and the intern, sighing she called for more suction.

"No…" Jo shakes her head, they don't stand a fighting chance if they don't get this baby out and they both know it. "We shouldn't make this baby wait...page Karev"

Moments later Alex is walking through the door, it takes Jo back for a second, when he's scrubbed up it's almost like no time has passed at all. "What've we got?"

"Car crash victim, internal bleeding but I can't work out where it's coming from and baby is in distress, she's only 27 weeks but we've got to take it out now if we wanna have a chance at saving them both," Meredith explains, there really is no time to acknowledge the awkward atmosphere.

"Paged O.B?" Alex nods, coming to stand beside Jo as he looks down examining the situation for himself.

"On the way," Jo whispers, not looking up but she can feel the heat tingling up her arm. Suddenly she feels too hot, her eyes that had been going in out of focus completely haze over. The nausea from earlier hitting her full force.

"What can I do...Jo...Jo?" Alex frowns, taking in Jo's numb appearance, her hands shaking as she lifts them away from the patient slowly, stepping back.

"Are you feeling okay Jo?" Meredith calls over to them, never taking her eyes off the patient.

"Mhmm a little bit hazy...you whatever your name is, take over," Jo mutters, dropping her scalpel down on the tray beside her, waving towards the intern.

"Wilson?" Meredith barks again.

"What's going on Jo?" Alex whispers, stepping back from the table, frown etched across his forehead as he takes her in, she looks ghostly pale under the light.

"I don't feel too good…" Jo manages to mutter before it all goes black.

"Jo...get her a chair now." Alex bellows, teaching coward to catch Jo as she crumples in his arms.

"No, I...I know...I know what's wrong…Alex...I" the words tumble from Jo's mouth involuntarily as she closes her eyes letting the nausea take over.

"Jo…" Alex cries, one arm wrapped around her keeping her head up off the floor, completely ignoring the buzz around them.

"Page Chief Bailey, tell her it's an emergency, then page O.B again and get them to hurry up and for fuck sake page Dr Hayes now." He can vaguely hear Meredith yelling as he holds Jo's face in his hands checking her breathing.

"Alex is she okay?... Answer me, Alex!" She snaps, trying to keep her focus on her patient as her eyes glance over the table.

Alex ignores her, holding Jo closer to his body, as he waits for help to arrive. "Jo...I got you, I got you," he whispers softly into her hair hoping she can hear him.


I updated so yay me and my slow brain. Lucky for you guys there may or maybe chapter written for tomorrow, so everyone be nice to me. Thank you for all the reviews I really appreciate them, and all the asks on Tumblr requesting this chapter, although please don't spam my asks with requests fr just this, request other things too. Thanks again for reading I really do love you all. Also big thanks to the mass grave chat who have to put up with my whining and Nat who gave pretty much all the ideas for the next chapter.

Ps. Don't know anything about medicine or surgery so if the lingos wrong its wrong.

Love You In The Dark - Adele

That's why I can't love you in the dark, it feels like we're oceans apart. There is so much space between us, maybe we're already defeated.