Part 3:

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The next few months went by quickly. Izzie's surgeries had gone well and she was undergoing IL-2 treatments again in hopes of killing the cancer. While she was working hard to fight her cancer, she hired a caregiver to make sure her mom was okay. About a month after her last surgery, Izzie was discharged from the hospital. With Maggie living with Jackson and Amelia living with Owen, Izzie, Geo, and Piper all moved into Meredith's house. For about two weeks they'd been living there and Izzie was bored out of her mind.

"I need to get out of this house," Izzie banged her head against the kitchen island. "I need to go to work. I can't sit here all day doing nothing. I'm a freaking neurosurgeon."

"Trust me, I get it," Meredith chuckled. "Why don't you just ask Alex for a job? I'm sure he'd be willing to move some things around for you to work at least a few hours throughout the week."

"You're kidding right?" Izzie picked her head up from the counter and raised her eyebrows. "He's not going to give me privileges. Have you seen the way he's been hovering these past three months? He didn't want to discharge me. The only reason I'm here right now is because Jo said it was ridiculous to keep me in the hospital and that she was my surgeon, so she was the one who got to clear me to go home."

"Maybe you should talk to Jo then? Get her to soften him up. Tell her to tell him that she's prescribing work because mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes to fighting cancer," Meredith suggested as she readied the kids lunches for school. "Does Geo like carrots?"

"Not really, but put them in his lunch box. He needs the vegetables," Izzie played with the hem of her sweater. "You know, I think I will talk to Jo. I need this. I need to work. I don't care where. I'll even work in the clinic if I have to. I'll see if she can talk to him for me. She's the only one he has a hard time saying no to... When the hell did he get so whipped?"

"Oh, just somewhere around six years ago," Meredith laughed. "He's been whipped since before they even got together."

Izzie popped a couple blueberries into her mouth, "Tell me how they met. Every time I ask either of them, they try to change the subject. I don't know if it's because I'm the ex-wife or because they don't like talking about it and being all mushy, but I really want to hear about it."

"Well, Jo was an intern and Alex was doing his first year of fellowship. They met because Jo was on his service one day. He was a jerk the majority of the day. So, Jo told him that he didn't have to worry about being nice to her because she had no plans on sleeping with him, since he'd already slept with all of her friends. Things obviously worked out very differently," Meredith smirked.

"Of course he slept all her friends first," Izzie chuckled softly. "But how did they get together? I'm still not understanding. Did they end up falling into bed together or something? Alex and I had sex in a supply closet while you had your hand in that guy's body holding a bomb."

"Wait, that's happened?" Meredith raised her eyebrows and laughed when Izzie nodded embarrassed. "I can't believe you guys... But anyway, no that's not what happened. A few months later, they became best friends after going to Bailey's wedding. They would hang out all the time and drink beer like old buddies. I kept asking Alex why he didn't just ask her out already and he insisted that there was nothing going on between the two of them. Fast forward six months and a whole lot of complicated things, and Alex finally told her that he was in love with her. Then they kissed."

"Hold on, he said I love you before sleeping with her first?" Izzie asked in surprise.

"Yup," Meredith grinned as she nodded. "You know, they were a thing for entire week before having sex? He kept chickening out because he said he wanted it to be special. Jo on the other hand was desperate to jump his bones, haha."

"He really did change," Izzie shook her head in disbelief. "Jo is good for him. It's like they were made for each other."

"I'm glad you think so," Meredith said as she finally sat down to drink her coffee. "I was a little worried at first when you came back. Not because I doubt Alex or anything like that. I know Alex would never leave Jo. He's willing to die, kill, and go to jail for, in love with her. But I was worried that you would try to cause problems. And I was worried for Jo. She'd been through a lot in her life. Maybe even more than me, but she's always smiled and been happy. I was worried that being your surgeon would cause her to lose some of that. She never did though, and she still hasn't."

"Honestly, I kind of fell in love with her. So I completely understand," Izzie chuckled. She really meant it too. Jo had been wonderful in the past few months. She didn't know how to even begin thanking the woman for all that she'd done for her.

"I'm going to the hospital. Are you coming with me?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah," Izzie nodded. "I'm going to go upstairs and and get the kids."

"Jo, come on babe. We've got to go or we're gonna be late," Alex yelled from the opposite side of the loft.

Jo sat in the bathroom staring in disbelief at the pregnancy test she held in her hands. After months of trying and receiving negative test results, Jo finally saw the answer she'd been hoping for. She hadn't planned on taking a test this morning. She usually did one every few weeks. Today she'd seen the box under the bathroom cabinet and decided to take it.

Truthfully, as much as she longed for it, she hadn't expected those results. She hadn't expected the little flutter in her chest and the prickling of tears in her eyes when she saw the two little lines she'd prayed for. It was positive. She was pregnant.

"Jo, we really need to leave. Let's go," Alex knocked on the bathroom door, startling her out of the moment.

Taking a calming breath, she called out, "Coming! Just need to wash my hands. Wait for me in the car."

Alex grumbled something she couldn't quite make out. Jo waited until she heard the loft door close before walking out, the positive pregnancy test clutched tightly in her hand. She crossed over to the other side of the loft and placed the test in her nightstand, hiding it underneath a couple articles she'd been reading. Grabbing her purse, she steadied herself and schooled her expression so as not to alert Alex of her newfound knowledge.

She jumped into the passenger seat and pretended like it was any other day. As much as Jo wanted to just blurt it out, she wanted to take a blood test in the hospital first before telling Alex. She wanted to be sure, and she wanted it to be special.

They arrived just as Meredith and Izzie were walking towards the hospital entrance. Alex and Jo hopped out of the car and greeted the two women warmly.

"What are you doing here?" Alex turned to Izzie. "You should be home resting."

"I came to talk to you about letting me work," Izzie gave Jo a pleading look. "Jo said that my mental health is very important to my reconvert and she suggested that I do things I love and get back to as normal of a routine as possible."

Understanding what Izzie was trying to tell her, Jo nodded, "Yes. That's right. She should be getting back to her normal routine, which includes work. Not as many hours as she was working before, but she definitely needs to do what she loves. She needs to work. Doctors orders."

The three women looked over at Alex expectantly. His eyes flitted back and forth between them and he eyed Jo skeptically, "I feel like you guys are ganging up on me."

"Come on, Alex. Let her work. She's okay and she needs this," Jo looked at Alex with wide eyes that she knew he wouldn't be able to resist.

"Fine, you can work in the clinic," Alex sighed as she addressed Izzie. "But no heavy lifting or exerting yourself. And I'll grant you privileges to work on simple neuro cases that come into the ER, like clipping aneurysms."

"Ah! Thank you!" Izzie jumped in excitement and gave Alex a brief hug. "Best chief ever!" She turned to Jo and smiled, "And you are amazing! I get to put on some scrubs for the first time in months."

Alex rolled his eyes, "I'm going inside. See you guys later."

The ladies walked over to the coffee cart and got in line to place their orders. Once up at the front, Jo asked for her coffee, "Hi. Can I get a a regular coffee, two creams, two sugars? Actually make it decaf."

"Decaf?" Meredith looked at Jo quizzically. "Why are you getting decaf? You live off of expresso shots."

"That's true, every time I saw you with a cup in your hand, it was always something with expresso in it," Izzie tilted her head in confusion. "You thrive off of caffeine."

"I just... didn't want it today," Jo shrugged, hoping that would be a good enough explanation to distract from the fact that she'd only ordered decaf because she may be pregnant.

"Since when do you not want caffeine?" Meredith questioned.

Izzie gasped, "Oh my God! Are you pregnant?"

Jo froze in surprise. She'd always figured that if she were to get pregnant, Meredith would be one of the first to know. Ever since she and Meredith got closer, the order of people finding out would be Meredith, Alex, Link, Ben, and Bailey. She never once expected that her husband's ex-wife would be on that list, let alone figure it out before anyone else. So, that's why she just stood there in shock, I unanswering.

"Oh God, you are pregnant!" Meredith exclaimed.

"Shhhh! Keep it down. I don't need everyone to know that the chief's wife is pregnant before I even tell him," Jo looked around frantically, hoping that no one else heard what happened.

"Wait, he doesn't know?" Izzie asked.

"No. I found out this morning as he was rushing me to get out of the house," Jo scanned the area and spoke in a hushed voice. "The car on our way to work didn't seem like the appropriate time to share this life changing news. I want it to be special. Plus, I really want to take a blood test first to be sure."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go do the test right now," Meredith urged.

"We can go to the clinic and do it in one of the private exam rooms. It doesn't open for another hour, but I can take the test for you and no one will ever know," Izzie grabbed Jo by the hand and started walking away from the coffee cart, motioning for Meredith to follow. "Come on, let's go!"

"You know what I just realized?" Izzie wondered out loud.

"What?" Meredith and Jo said at the same time.

"Oddly enough, this isn't the first time I've run a pregnancy test for someone Alex may have knocked up," Izzie chuckled as she thought back to events of over a decade ago.

"Alex knocked someone else up? Alex has a kid?" Jo's eyes widened and her voice raised in pitch.

"What? No! No, no, no... when we were second year residents his ex-girlfriend Rebecca thought she was pregnant and I ran a pregnancy on her that came out negative. She was having a hysterical pregnancy," Izzie explained as she removed the needle from Jo's arm and disposed of it.

"Ooh, I forgot about that," Meredith gasped. "That girl was insane. Actually crazy."

"Wait, is this the same girlfriend that peed on your couch?" Jo turned to Meredith.

"Yup," Meredith nodded. "Ava—or Rebecca was her real name. She was a patient that Alex saved and she fell in love with him... and then she went crazy."

"I'm not crazy," Jo looked back and forth between both women. "I know I have had my moments, but it was really was positive."

"Jo, we know you're not crazy," Izzie laughed. "Trust me, we know crazy—I was crazy for a minute there. I had a brain tumor that caused me to hallucinate my dead fiancé."

"I'm going to take these to the lab and put a rush on them. Go about your day like normal and we'll meet for lunch to give you the results," Meredith squeezed Jo's shoulder as she walked out.

Jo watched as Izzie cleaned up the supplies they'd used for the blood draw, "I'm sorry. This must be really weird for you. You just ran a pregnancy test for your ex-husband's new wife. It's not exactly something I'd be thrilled to do. But then again, my ex-husband was a horrible human being, so let's be glad he never procreated."

"You were married before?" Izzie paused and looked up at Jo.

"Uh—yeah... it's a very long story, but I was in an abusive marriage with a man who almost killed me on multiple occasions. I ran away, changed my name, and never divorced him. But then a little over a year ago, he died after being hit by a drunk driver, and I was free."

"I can't even begin to imagine what that must've been like for you," Izzie frowned sadly. She felt like there was still so much she had left to learn about the woman Alex married. The resilience after so much hardship and the ability to smile after enduring so much pain were encouraging. "If you are pregnant, this baby is going to be very strong."

"Thanks," Jo smiled as she stood up. She looked over at Izzie and opened the door. "Come on, let's go get your scrubs."

Hours later, the three women met outside the ER to read the results. Jo was fidgeting nervously. Everything within her was on edge. She knew she was pregnant. She had to be pregnant. The stick she peed on this morning had two lines and she was almost positive her labs would reflect the presence of child in her uterus. Sure, she didn't really have any symptoms yet, but the entire morning she thought back and realized that her last period was over six weeks ago. She'd been so busy with Izzie's case and her fellowship, that she'd failed to notice.

Meredith held the paper in her hands, "Do you want to read it or do you want me to do it?"

"You do it," Jo bit her bit anxiously. She watched as Meredith slowly unfolded the paper, Izzie leaning over her shoulder to see the results. "I think I'll chicken out if I do it. Which sounds stupid because we want this. We've been trying for months, now. But for some reason, I just feel like I want to puke."

"Well, that might just be the morning sickness talking because you're definitely pregnant," Izzie shared, a wide grin dawning her face. "Congratulations!"

"Yup," Meredith nodded, an equally large smile gracing her features. "Your hCG levels indicate that you are pregnant. Probably six to seven weeks along."

Jo took a deep breath, "Oh my God... I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant," Meredith chuckled and gave Jo a hug. "You two are going to be the very best parents to this baby."

"I need to tell Alex," Jo finally said, some of the shock beginning to wear off. She got up from the bench she'd been sitting on to go to his office when Izzie stopped her.

"Woah, hold on a minute. You can't just go barging in and say 'we're having a baby.' You gotta do something cute," Izzie insisted. "And you've got to plant a camera to record his reaction when you tell him because we definitely want to see that."

"You're right," Jo nodded. "That's why I didn't tell him this morning. I want it to be special."

"It's going to be special no matter what you do," Meredith placed a hand on Jo's shoulder. "It's special because the baby is special, and your love is special. However you decide to tell him will be special."

Jo took in Meredith's advice and decided that it was true. But it didn't make her want to abandon the thought of a sweet gesture any less. Deciding what she wanted to do, Jo made arrangements to set her plan in motion.

By the time she and Alex got off work, there were only a couple things she had left to do before telling him about the baby. Meredith had stopped by the loft early to plant the items she'd need for her pregnancy reveal. As they pulled into their parking space outside the loft, Jo felt her heart begin to beat rapidly.

She turned in her seat to look at Alex, "So, I have a surprise for you inside the house. It was delivered early so you've got to keep your eyes closed until I tell you. Promise you won't open them until I say so."

Alex sighed. He was tired and really just want to shower and go to sleep, but his wife had taken the time out of her day to surprise him. The least he could do was be grateful, "Okay. I promise."

Jo led him up into the loft with her hands covering his eyes, much like the first time she'd surprised him with their couch. She stopped him right in front of that very piece of furniture and removed her hands, "Ta dah!"

"It's our couch... the couch you already surprised me with six years ago," Alex made a face.

Jo slapped his arm, "Not the couch you dummy. Look at what's on it."

"It's a box of pizza. Not that I don't love pizza, but why?"

Jo released an exasperated sigh, "You have to open the box first, you dummy."

Jo watched as Alex leant down and slowly opened the box up, revealing the message inside. Congrats on being promoted to Dad. She watched his face contort with a variety of emotions before meeting hers with a look of wonder.

"You're pregnant?"

"I'm pregnant," Jo nodded. "Probably about six weeks or so."

"We're having a baby," Alex stood up from his position of being hunched forwards to wrap Jo in his arms. "Oh my God. We're having a baby!"

"We're having a baby!" Jo laughed and released the breath she'd been holding. "We're going to be parents!"

"Hell yeah, we are."