One-Shot #2
"Come on Wilson. It's Halloween! Let's have some fun," Jo heard the new attending yell through the toilet stall door.
She had moved from Grey Sloan Memorial over three years ago but was yet to make any proper friends, at least not until this past month. Mel had arrived as a transferring attending and was lucky enough to operate with Jo on day one. The two quickly realised that they were each other's only chances of a social life – everyone else was way too annoying to optionally spend time with. Plus Jo figured she might as well get out more considering she was only ever at the hospital or her apartment. So, when Mel invited her to the bar at the end of their very first shift together, she of course said yes.
Since then, Jo had made it a point to herself to say yes every time Mel tried to drag her along to something. Together they had drunk their way through every bar menu in the city, most definitely making a fool of themselves each and every time. The only thing slowing them down was the bouts of intense nausea hitting both Jo and Mel the morning after, a far cry from the days when Jo would drink all night with Alex and feel fine the next day.
Ah Alex Karev… her ex-husband… the man who had left her all those years ago. He was the reason that she'd found herself turning down Mel's drinking plans for the first time since they'd met. She just couldn't do it, not today of all days, not on Halloween. All Jo could see herself doing that evening was to change into a pair of sweats before ordering herself dinner and climbing into bed to watch a shitty reality show. There weren't many days a year where she would allow herself to get upset over Alex, but Halloween was an exception.
"I'm sure it will be Mel, but I'm just not feeling up to it at all…" Jo sighed heavily, sinking against the wall beside the basins. "Halloween isn't really a good day for me."
Leaving the stall to join Jo by the sinks, Mel shot her a curious glare, "how can someone hate Halloween?"
"It's not like that. I don't hate Halloween itself. It just brings up complicated feelings," Jo tried her best to explain to the other attending, hoping she'd just accept the simple excuse without asking anymore questions.
"Uh-huh… complicated feelings? Now I'm intrigued," Mel smirked back, determined to know more.
Jo rolled her eyes in response and walked in the direction of the door. "There's nothing more to know, alright? Just understand that I can't come out tonight."
Except Mel beat her to the door before she could leave, holding her hands up in protest. "Spill, right now!"
Jo groaned frustratedly, "it's my wedding anniversary! I got married on Halloween to a man that I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with… a man who I loved more than life itself… a man who loved me back and who accepted all my problems and me"
"Hold on, you were married, how did I not know-," Mel interjected.
"But yet here I am, years later and single. Alone on halloween because I'm no longer with that man. So I guess all I can say is yes Mel… yes, today is damn complicated. It's complicated because it fucking sucks," Jo continued, turning away slightly to hide the fact that she was now crying.
"Oh Jo…" Mel rushed over. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you… if I had known"
"Look, I really don't like to talk about it but please, I'm begging you, let it go," Jo interrupted.
"I won't mention it again, I promise," Mel paused, holding the door open for Jo to leave through. "But you've not got out of tonight. If anything, you've convinced me that you need it more."
"Seriously?" Jo whined.
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.
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Hopping from party to party all night, Jo was all but ready to throw in the towel. Mel had somehow convinced her to not only go out on Halloween of all days, but to dress up in a costume as well. She didn't want to admit it, but Jo was happy she'd decided to go out. She'd actually ended up having a really good time. That being said, the angel wings Mel had forced on her were starting to fray and itch on her shoulder.
"Who the hell are you texting now?" Jo ducked her head into the uber.
"James – he's a tinder match – we've been invited to a bar," Mel held up the profile on her phone.
Jo laughed, "um… no thank you. Believe it or not; I would rather not spend my night third wheeling your date."
"Nah it's okay because he's bringing a friend," Mel reassured cheerfully. "Plus you have to come with me because otherwise my devil costume won't look as cool."
"If you agree to do my post-ops for a month then I'll come with you," Jo bargained.
"Two weeks and you've got yourself a deal," Mel extended her hand to shake, in which Jo accepted.
"We've arrived," the driver announced.
"Thank you," both Mel and Jo said together, stepping out of the car onto the pavement.
"So which bar is it?" Jo looked around at the busy street.
"I think it's this one," Mel pointed straight ahead of them, leading Jo inside.
The bar had been decorated as a haunted house for halloween, thousands of black and orange streamers covering the entrance. Everyone inside was either drunk or stoned, and were mostly definitely college students who got in on fake IDs. It wasn't her scene at all, but she really hated post-ops so she was determined to stick it out.
"I'll go grab us a booth," Mel walked away.
Jo nodded, turning around to go order herself a drink at the bar. The effects of her last few drinks had worn off and she wasn't willing to do the night sober.
"Oh sorry lady," Jo felt the heavy weight of a man in a batman costume push her against the wall as they ran past, a sudden coldness taking over as the ice from their drink spilled over her.
"Great… that's just perfect!" Jo looked down at her cola stained white dress.
"Here, let me help you," a familiar voice sounded from behind her, napkins in hand. "Batman was always my least favourite anyway."
He was here. Alex was here. Her husband – well ex-husband – was standing behind her at a bar on the same day they'd got married all those years ago. Her feet were glued to the floor, unable to move, when suddenly she felt his hand pulling on her arm. Alex swerved Jo around until they were standing face to face, "Alex…"
Alex dropped the napkins in his hand with shock, "Jo – hi – wow you look... just wow. I'm sorry let me grab some more napkins for you."
"No, it's okay Alex. I can do it," Jo avoided all eye contact, hoping Mel would see the interaction and intervene.
Luckily, her prayers were answered, as Mel swooped in from behind. "Shit Jo what happened?" Mel looked her ruined angel costume up and down. "Does this mean I have to do more of your post-ops?"
Jo smiled back awkwardly, "sure, thanks."
The man standing behind Mel, who Jo assumed could only be James, reached out his arm to shake. "You must be Mel's friend. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you to… sorry I look like this," Jo gestured to the drink stain.
"What are you talking about? I've heard the angels love Coca Cola," James teased. "Anyway, I see you've already met my friend Alex. I didn't even get the chance to introduce you two yet."
Jo swallowed a lump in her throat, furrowing her brow at Alex, "you're the guy?"
"You're Mel's friend?" Alex questioned back, equally as confused.
"Do you two know each other?" James gazed between the two.
Neither Alex nor Jo answered, both choosing to stare only at each other as they took one another in – their eyes locked together. Alex noticed that Jo had lightened her hair again, just as she had during her residency years. Jo, on the other hand, noticed Alex's hair had been shaven shorter than she'd last seen him.
"Jo?" Mel asked impatiently. "Have you and Alex met before?"
Jo snapped her head to the side, breaking eye contact with Alex. "No, of course not. We just met," she lied.
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The remainder of the night had been awful for Jo. Mel and James had been up and dancing for forty-five minutes straight, leaving her alone with Alex in the booth. Neither one had the guts to speak first so instead they sat in silence.
"Hey, James and I are going to get out of here!" Mel said, sliding back into the booth next to Jo.
"You're leaving me?" she asked in disbelief.
"No need to act so disappointed Jo, I know you never wanted to be here anyway," Mel winked. "Besides, I'm sure Alex will be a gentleman and make sure you get home tonight."
"Sure he will," James pulled his jacket on and patted Alex on the back.
That's exactly what Jo was afraid of. It was bad enough sitting next to Alex in a room full of a million distractions. She couldn't imagine walking home as just the two of them.
The moment Mel and James vanished from the bar, Jo stood up to leave herself. She hadn't expected Alex to actually try and follow her, but he did, making her stop in her tracks just short of the bar. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"It's late Jo… I know you hate me, and that's okay – I hate me too – but please let me walk you home. I promise I won't even say anything, I'll just walk silently behind if that's what you want," Alex moved to close the gap between them. "I don't want you out all alone at night."
Alex's words felt like a stab to the heart to Jo. She didn't know how to react or what to say to him… Did he really think she hated him?
Unsure of what her silence meant, Alex took a chance and reached to take her hands in his, surprised when she didn't immediately push him away. "Please Jo, I don't want anything bad to ever happen to you. Let me make sure you get home."
"Is that all you care about," Jo choked out, fighting tears.
"I don't understand," Alex shook his head with confusion, taken back by her reaction.
"You're such an idiot Alex!" Jo yelled as she pulled her hands out of Alex's grip. "I don't hate you, how could you ever think that?"
"What –" Alex tried to wrap his head around what she was saying.
"I hate a lot of things Alex Karev, but you are not one of them!" Jo flung her arms around in frustration. "I hate that you left me, that you didn't have the guts to tell me in person and that you didn't even consider asking me to come with you. I hate that for months after you left I couldn't sleep in the loft because it felt so lonely without you there too. I hate that I moved hundreds of miles to try get over you and yet here I am, years later, running into you at a bar on our wedding anniversary. It sucks Alex. I hate it all! But most of all Alex, do you know what I hate the most?" Jo's teared stained back stared back at him. "I hate that despite everything, after all of these years, I don't hate you. I want to hate you, but I can't because I love you. I am head over heels, deeply and utterly, in love with you."
"Stop talking," Alex grinned widely, rushing to pull her back into his embrace, this time with one hand against her back and the other on her cheek. "Just shut up and kiss me."
And so she did.