Alex sighed as he listened to Meredith rant as they walked through the parking lot towards the hospital, "I mean, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking she looked like she needed a little bit of help, alright? It shouldn't have been a big deal."

She shook her head, "I warned you not to get too close. You two have too much history and baggage to toss on top of everything else going on."

"I'm not," he argued exasperated. "I just…it's hard. I've tried to not worry or think about her, alright? I never could stop even in freaking Kansas when she was two thousand miles away. How am I supposed to not worry when I have to see her and her sick kid every day?"

They slowed up as they rounded the corner and got in line at the outside coffee cart. "I'm sure it is," Meredith finally added softly. "I can't imagine what it's like for either of you."

Alex grunted and then stood in silence for a moment before looking back over at his friend, "It just, it makes all the regrets that much clearer. I knew I screwed up, but I just didn't realize…"

"Speaking of, I think maybe you should try explaining some of your perspective. Make her see where your head was and for God's sake set her straight on things she's been told that aren't true."

Alex sighed, "That's not fair to her, Mer. She's well within her right to hate me for what I put her through. And just how am I supposed to defend what I did?" He put his hands on his hip and tilted his head to the side, his voice getting a tad bit lower, "Hey Jo, I was a complete ass, but you're wrong about me on these certain points, so can you ignore your sick kid for a few minutes so I can explain why you shouldn't hate me to the degree that you do?" He raised an eyebrow, "That's not fair to her."

"Well you have a point there," Meredith deadpanned.

"Speaking of," he began as he narrowed his eyes accusingly, "how the hell did she find out what I wrote to everyone else?"

Meredith looked at him guiltily, "You think it was easy for me to get that letter? I needed support. So Bailey, Richard and I swapped notes and I let Maggie and Amelia read mine. I think Richard talked about his during a meeting so Amelia knows part of what was in his." At Alex's perturbed look, Meredith shrugged, "You really think it was easy for any of us when you left?"

"If I had known you were going to give them the Reading Rainbow treatment I would have watched how I worded certain things," he explained through gritted teeth.

Meredith nodded in understanding, "Well look out, here comes Jo."

Alex grimaced to himself before forcing a smile to greet her noticing that Hayes was a half step behind. Jo had her head down, the circles under her eyes deeper than they had been the day before. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself seemingly warding off a chill that was not present. He watched as Hayes reached up and placed his arm across her shoulders, Jo immediately wrapping her arms around his waist. Alex glanced away, suddenly feeling like a voyeur, and decided to ignore them.

"Hey," Jo gave in greeting, her voice sounding surprised to see them, "Good Morning."

Meredith's eyes narrowed as she studied the junior surgeon's appearance, immediately concerned, "Is it?"

"Her ANC is lower," Jo provided, her voice sounding hollow as she glanced away to look over the plaza. Alex's heart broke for her as he realized just how on edge she truly was. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and press their foreheads together like he used to do whenever she was starting to spin out.

"But not low enough to be concerning," Hayes added with a brighter tone, his grip on Jo tightening for a moment before he began rubbing her upper arm in comfort. He looked at Alex, "Oncology is looking at scheduling the resection tomorrow if you're free. They were going to touch base with you this morning."

"Yeah. Yeah, that works great for me."

At this, Jo looked over at him sharply, "You still want to be on her case after…."

Alex shrugged, wanting to keep the tone light, "Why wouldn't I?"

She seemed to be struggling even more, her eyes more troubled than he had ever seen, before she glanced away, "I'm really sorry for the way I talked to you last night. I can't promise I won't do it again, but I'm going to try to keep my emotions and more importantly my tongue in check." Alex's eyes widened as he glanced at Hayes, Jo immediately noticing, "I told him. I don't keep anything from my spouse." She then covered her mouth with her hand, "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not doing it on purpose."

Alex couldn't help but snicker, "I guess I deserve jabs like that. But nothing's changed for me as far as Mattie goes. I reviewed her chart completely yesterday and I think going ahead tomorrow is the right call."

The four stood around awkwardly before a junior resident scurried up, looking panicked, "Dr. Karev!"

"Yes?" Both Alex and Jo answered before glancing uncomfortably at each other.

"I'm sorry, I meant original Dr. Karev." She then handed a tablet to Jo, "Ms. Thomas' labs came back."

Jo stepped away from her husband's embrace to study the results for a bit before nodding solemnly, "Okay, order a CT for as soon as possible and go ahead and book an OR just in case, but I'm pretty sure we're going to have to go back in."

The resident ran off leaving an awkward silence in her wake before Alex ventured, "I didn't realize you kept the name."

Jo shrugged, "It's not like I didn't have options. Guess I could have gone back to Stadler if me keeping Karev wasn't comfortable for you."

Alex sighed and tilted his head to the side, knowing she threw Paul's name up to antagonize him, "Jo…."

"Should have put that in the letter if you were so against it."

Alex sighed in frustration, "Will you stop? That's not what I meant. I'm just saying I'm surprised is all. I didn't think you would after….well after. I don't care about the name."

Another silence fell upon the group before Meredith ventured, "I really thought you both had gotten it all out of your systems last night."

Jo rolled her eyes, "Maybe I should get my coffee inside."

"Now? We're almost at the front of the line," Hayes pointed out. When Jo glanced at him unbelievingly, he shrugged, "But if you want to leave, I could get yours for you." Jo rolled her eyes again and seemed to plant herself even more firmly in line. Hayes then looked at Alex, "Oh Karev, I meant to ask earlier but would you be free for drinks tonight?"

The women stared at him in disbelief, as Alex spoke up, "Drinks?"

Hayes waived off his uncertainty, "It's something I do with all the new attendings in peds. Just kind of a get to know you thing. Probably an hour tops. But only if you want to."

Jo narrowed her eyes while raising her eyebrows, "Tonight? Our daughter is most likely having surgery tomorrow and you want to do this tonight?"

"Yeah, why not?" When Jo continued to stare at him incredulously, he shrugged, "We both know how Mattie's going to be tonight. And I'll be right across the street."

Jo sighed and shook her head before starting to walk away, "I'm going to get my coffee inside."

Alex watched her go, almost waiting to chase after her to console her in any way he could, "Look man, I appreciate the offer, but you don't have to…."

"I told you, I do it with everyone. Don't I, Grey?"

Meredith nodded as she took her coffee, "He does. Every attending that comes through."

Alex tilted his head to the side, "I don't want to get in the middle of something the day before…."

Hayes waived him off, "Don't worry about Jo, this is how she is the day before anything big with Mattie. She'll be fine, trust me."

Alex didn't like the way Hayes seemed to be trying to explain Jo to him, and liked even less that it bothered him so much. He grabbed his coffee and gave an answer as he started to leave, "Yeah okay. Just let me know what time." He waited until he and Meredith were several steps away before asking, "Was that as bad as it seemed?"

Meredith shook her head, "You are so screwed."