❀❀❀ THOSE WORDS ❀❀❀

PROMPT: "Can we get a fic where Jo is trying to subtly drop hints that she's pregnant to Alex, but he's a big dumb idiot who isn't getting it? Ex: suggesting that they buy a new car or house idk lol"

The day had gone rather smoothly – a few exciting surgeries, no patient losses, and even a longer lunch break than usual – but, despite all that, Jo couldn't wait to get home. She had officially hit the ten week mark in her pregnancy and whilst Jo had been ecstatic when she'd woken up that morning and spotted the tiniest bump on her figure, she was not enjoying the fact that her nausea was now becoming full blown vomiting. Along with the heartburn and fatigue that had been around since before she'd even peed on the stick, Jo spent most of her shift lately counting down the hours until she could go home to bed again. It was honestly such a miracle these days if she remembered to change out of her clothes before going to sleep. The only thing the bed was missing was Alex however that was about to change since he had gotten home from his three week trip to Iowa just an hour ago. Hence, now walking up the steps into the loft, Jo was eager to get inside and see him, especially since he was completely in the dark about the pregnancy.

Sliding open the door, Jo's eyes immediately fell to her husband soring away on their couch. His suitcase laid open on the bed, not yet unpacked but clearly just thrown open to retrieve Alex's favourite pair of sweatpants that he had changed into, the faded pair of jeans he'd worn that day screwed up in a ball on the floor. All Jo had thought about all day was being back in his embrace, to lay her head against his chest and feel it go up and down with each breath. For the past three weeks, she'd been missing the way he'd always play with her hair when they were lying together like that, or draw circles on her arm. And yet, even with him right there in front of him, she couldn't bear to wake him up and interrupt the adorable smile he always had in his sleep, the one that always looked as if he was having the best dream of his life.

Alex must have heard the door shut behind her, though, because when she turned back around again he was already standing up to greet her. "Hey there," he walked over to Jo ever so slowly, grinning with his arms out wide in invitation.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words," Jo gladly accepted the hug.

She felt Alex chuckle against her, "we spoke this morning on the phone Jo."

"It's not the same thing though is it. I missed this, hugging you, touching you. Three weeks is way too long," Jo hugged him a little tighter.

Alex kissed the top of her forehand before pulling out of the hug slightly, so she could see him when he spoke. "You know I would have been here if I could-"

"I know, Alex. I truly do understand," Jo interrupted, moving her hands to his chest in protest. "It sucked to be apart for so long but I know it was necessary. And I'm just glad everything is sorted with your mom now."

"Well luckily for us neither of us has to work tomorrow, so we can make up for our time apart all day long"," Alex grinned mischievously.

Jo had considered going with some Pinterest level cheesy pregnancy announcement to cue Alex in on everything but she just hadn't found one that felt right yet. Everything seemed so unlike the two of them, and it just made her cringe at the idea of it. It was officially too late to find anything and plan it now, though, because with Alex home and, with her bump already starting to make an appearance, the clock was ticking. So, she figured now was as good a time as any to let him know about their impending arrival.

"Or…" Jo smiled back equally as mischievous, "we could go house hunting."

Alex pulled away as confusion set it, his eyes scanning Jo's face intensely. "But you love the loft. Why would you want to go house hunting?"

"I was just thinking, it might be time for us to get a bigger place, you know? An actual house with walls and a garden and more than one bedroom," Jo stepped forward to close the gap between them. "A family home."

Alex furrowed his eyebrows again before a lightbulb appeared to go off inside his head. "You don't need to be worried about my mom, Jo. I promise it's all sorted and so we don't need to start looking at houses for her to move in with us."

Jo groaned inwardly at his complete obliviousness to what she was actually trying to say but figured if she continued to drop enough hints that he'd eventually catch on. She had all night after all. "Okay well let's eat because I'm famished. It's as if my body is trying to eat for more than one person these days…" she walked over to the kitchen.

"As if you didn't already eat like you were feeding more than one person," Alex snorted. "Are you happy if I order us a pizza?"

"Sure, can you get me a plain cheese one?" Jo rolled her eyes once again at his complete inability to put two and two together. "I've been so nauseous lately and I've also been a bit off certain foods so I don't want to risk it with something as strong in flavour as pepperoni or hawaiian. I'd rather not spend our first night back together in weeks with my head in the toilet."

"That's weird," Alex mumbled, not actually listening to her at all as he focused his attention on the list of desserts on the back of the restaurant menu instead. "I'm going to go to the hallway to call and order it because there's way better cell reception out there."

All Jo could do was nod, afraid she'd laugh if she tried to speak. "You are a piece of work, Alex Karev," she muttered quietly once he left the room.

"I'm going to grab a beer, would you like one?" Alex asked midchew, sitting his half eaten slice back in the box on the coffee table.

"Nah, I'm all good thanks. I shouldn't be drinking," she tilted her head curiously, watching Alex's reaction. Jo thought for sure that he'd figure it out with this hint.

But, of course, he didn't. Not even in the slightest. "Suit yourself," he shrugged, "your loss, not mine."

"What do you think about taking a cooking class?" Jo changed the subject, trying a new approach again.

"Sounds like a waste of time," Alex returned to his previous spot on the couch. "Why?"

"I was thinking that it would be fun to try and improve our cooking skills. Let's be honest; we both suck so there's only one way to go but up," Jo turned to face him front on. "All we eat is takeout these days and that's not exactly the healthiest habit in the world...What about when it's not just the two of us?"

"Like if we had a dinner party?" Alex guessed. "Well, it's never been an issue in the past. All of our friends are doctors and they can't cook either so I'm sure they'll never get bored of takeout. If you're worried we could always pay for a caterer, but that seems a little over the top for us. I don't really see what the big deal is though, so what we can't cook, but what we can do is save a person's life and I think that more than makes up for our lacking skills in the kitchen."

"Maybe you're right," Jo mumbled, slight attitude to her words as her annoyance started to shine through. Alex's behaviour had been laughable at first, goofy and what not, but now it was just incredibly frustrating. "I do think we would benefit with a new car sometime soon, though. Something more child friendly," she said in a last-ditch attempt to let Alex in on the news.

"But we always just take Meredith's car whenever we're watching her kids? It seems silly to buy a whole new one specifically for them."

"Seriously, Alex!" Jo snapped. "You're are so unbelievably stupid sometimes. I'm being so obvious, laying it out right in front of you, clear as day. What more could you need from me? I often wonder how the hell you made it through med school."

"I don't understand…" Alex reached over to take Jo's hand in his but she pulled away quickly, the scowl that followed telling him everything he needed to know about how his wife was feeling.

"Whatever, it's fine. It's getting late, and I've been at work all day so I'm going to go and get ready for bed, feel free to join me if you can figure out how to do that one on your own," Jo huffed angrily, storming in the direction of the bathroom.

Shocked from her sudden and rather unexpected outburst, a confused Alex started cleaning the pizza boxes away slowly, knowing there was no chance she'd talk to him if the loft was still a mess when she came back. And if she wouldn't talk to him, then Alex would also never know what it was he'd done to piss her off. He knew Jo, sometimes more than she knew herself, and it was abundantly clear that he'd get nowhere by asking anymore questions. Right now Alex is just the man who's slightly annoyed his wife, but one wrong move and he runs the risk of becoming the man who pisses his wife off for an eternity and now sleeps on the couch. He couldn't afford to make the situation any worse. And so, in what was probably the most intelligent thing he'd done that evening, Alex waited for Jo to come talk to him in her own time.

He hadn't quite realised how tired he had been until he stirred back awake less than 30 minutes later to Jo crawling into bed beside him. "I'm sorry about before," Jo pulled at the duvet he had been hogging to cover more of over herself. "I overreacted…"

"Come here," Alex smiled warmly, nodding Jo towards him while simultaneously shuffling closer himself. "Please don't ever apologize for voicing your feelings," he held her in a tight hug, "Clearly I did something to upset you so I just need you to tell me what that was because I'll be honest Jo, I'm a little lost here. It would help me out a lot if you told me what I did wrong so I can make sure I never ever do it again."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Alex," Jo snuggled closer against him, laying her head on his chest the same way she'd been thinking about that very same morning. "I got frustrated because I was trying to tell you something rather important, and actually quite exciting, but obviously neither of us are good at puzzles because you caught onto none of my hints."

"I'm the tiniest bit concerned that you hadn't figured that out by now considering we've lost every single game night we've attended since you were an intern," Alex chuckled. "But anyways, what was it that you were trying to hint-" he started to ask but was abruptly cut off by the loud ringer on Jo's cellphone.

"Hold that thought," Jo reached up to grab the phone from her bedside table, "damn it, I've got to take this. It's Meredith. She's asking about our plans for next week."

Jo continued to relay all of her and Meredith's conversation back to Alex, and yet,

he failed to comprehend every single bit of it. Instead, all of his focus was drawn to the slight curvature of Jo's abdomen. Having moved his hand from around her arm to allow Jo to answer the phone, Alex's hand had fallen straight to her stomach, immediately finding the slight swell that had not been there when he left three weeks before hand. Suddenly, everything made sense; the desire to go house hunting, talking about eating for two and complaining of nausea, suggesting they learn how to cook, asking to buy a new car, and well...mood swings. Jo was pregnant.

Without thinking, Alex grabbed the phone away from Jo and brought it to his ear instead. "Sorry Mer, you and my wife will have to catch up another time because I have something really important to talk about with her and my thing is most definitely better than whatever you two are planning," he hung up, throwing the phone into the mess of the duvet.

Jo was seconds away from yelling at him again when he cut her off with a kiss, moving his hand to cup around the small bump he'd just discovered. "Yes, yes and yes – that's my answer to your questions before. Tomorrow we will do anything you like. We can find a new place to live, buy a new car, take a cooking class, we'll do it all. I really am sorry I didn't get the hints earlier, I'll admit I was being a bit thick, but I get it now Jo," he rubbed circles on her belly. "How far along are you?"

"I'll be eleven weeks on Tuesday," Jo placed her hand over Alex's on her stomach. "I wasn't expecting to show this early on but this thing popped up out of nowhere this morning and yeah...I have a baby bump, Alex" she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away the tears starting to fall. "That's our baby in there."

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear those words," Alex said with watery eyes.

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mdevonsunflower

AUTHORS NOTE: Just another one of the fics I wrote last week but forgot to post here!