A/N: Hello again! Sorry to take so long with this last part guys. I have been out of town the past two out of 3 weekends so my writing time was small, and add to that my muse is always reluctant to cooperate when it's a last chapter, simply because it's sad to see such a rewarding story end. (Luckily for you and me, the sequel is well underway and will be published soon. Big things in store for this and other stories, and a long mostly unbooked summer to publish in). I want to thank you all very much for sticking around for the duration of this story and for leaving your thoughts over the past months. It really means a lot. I know AK2 is never going to happen on the show, but I certainly have a blast writing in this world for them, and it's nice to know that others enjoy reading it. You guys are the best! Please let me know what you think of this final chapter, and see you soon for the sequel (if you want to read it). Thank you!
Can you remember the most important days of your life? What were they? Birthdays, graduations, weddings. These moments are the mileposts of life. A way to measure where you are, where you've been, and where you are going.
Standing inside the dressing room of St. Whatever's Big Ass Drafty Church, Alex scowled and turned his head to one side, groaning as his sister fidgeted with the lapels of his tuxedo jacket.
Amber swatted his hands away and rolled her eyes, "Dude, you are all crooked. How the hell did you let your jacket get so messed up?"
Taking a step back and shoving his hands in his pockets, Alex escaped his sister's grasp. He rolled his eyes and frowned more deeply when he realized Avery had shown up from nowhere and started smoothing his hands down his back. Talk about awkward. They were dudes!
"Take your freaking hands off of me!"
Alex had taken the jacket off for a few minutes earlier to go outside. Because he needed some air. He'd needed to get away from the frills and the people and the too hot church, and the legions of chicks all over the freaking place. Half of freaking Ohio. He'd needed to get away from the candles. And the formal wear, the flowers, and memories of another similarly decorated event in his life. He knew this wedding was nothing like his first.
With April, everything was different.
But it still didn't mean he wasn't kind of scared. He couldn't take a nice wedding that led to a marriage that didn't work out all over again. Alex had needed a break. So he'd draped his jacket over a chair and stepped outside for some fresh air. Being outside had temporarily made him feel better, but now that he'd returned indoors, the freaking fuss everyone was making over his stupid jacket was enough to make Alex feel claustrophobic again.
Amber gestured at him as Avery demanded, "Take it off, Karev."
He scowled, "No freaking way!"
"Alex!" his sister chastised. "Off!"
"I can't let you marry April in a wrinkly ass jacket," Jackson said seriously, holding out a small bottle of de-wrinkle spray. "Take it off!"
Alex glowered in horror as his sister and April's best friend practically pounced on him, quickly managing to wrangle him out of his jacket and beginning to spay and pull at the wrinkles. Freaking psycho. Especially Avery.
"What are you, a maid?" Alex huffed.
This is why he'd just wanted to buck tradition and use Mer as his best man instead of Jackson. Dude was already acting like a maid of a sort, maid of honor couldn't be too far off the path, right? Let April deal with Avery.
Instead, they kind of swapped. Both their best friends were still participating in the ceremony, but Meredith had joined April and the sisters, while Alex was stuck with Jackson, and supposedly his new brother's in law, though Mike, Wendell, and Diego somehow managed to find a place to chill without Avery and Amber fuzzing all over them. Alex hadn't seen them in over 20 minutes.
Jackson pursed his lips and shook his head, smoothing and re-smoothing the jacket as it dried, "I'm an Avery."
Pulling furiously at the edges of his exposed vest, Alex huffed, "Whatever."
The door opened and Libby Kepner squealed, "T-minus 20 minutes!"
Amber beamed, "Almost time!"
Alex rolled his eyes when Avery added, "If we can get Karev's tux figured out..."
His future sister in law wrinkled her nose and watched as Jackson continued to finish smoothing out Alex's suit jacket, "What happened to your jacket?"
"Nothing," Alex rolled his eyes and brushed past the excited people in the room mumbling awkwardly. "I gotta get some air..."
He didn't linger to hear Jackson, Amber, or Libby's responses, because he was pretty sure they'd all try to tell him that he wasn't allowed to got outside or whatever, but frankly, Alex didn't care to listen. He'd had enough of their fussing and hovering.
Checking his watch to make sure he made it back in time, Alex quickly made his way out of the church, pleased not to run into anymore miscellaneous relatives or do gooders. The only person who seemed to notice his escape was Mark Sloan turned childminder. He was holding a fussy Adam, surrounded by 5 absurdly overdressed toddlers, as well as April's two older nieces and Tuck. Sloan glanced up from an animated conversation with Sofia, and smirked, offering Alex a wink.
Only nodding in response, Alex pushed open the front doors and burst into bright blinding light of summer, breathing in deeply as the fresh Seattle air hit him. That was one of the things he actually found cool about this place when he and April picked the venue. It was just north of downtown, near the Magnolia neighborhood, and just close enough to the Puget Sound that the air smelled like water.
Descending the front steps of the church, a figure in the adjoining cemetery caught his eye. Turning to his right and walking into the grassy park, Alex smirked. Looked like he wasn't the only one who'd gotten fed up with all the well wishing, fussing, and meddling relatives. April, all decked out in a beautiful off white dress, was standing off on her own, near some stately looking stone memorial.
Pausing in his approach, Alex allowed himself to take in the sight of his bride, since it was clear that April wasn't yet aware of his presence. He hadn't seen her in her dress yet, and he couldn't deny that the whole thing was pretty hot. Something about satin, and curves, slender necks and exposed shoulders. kind of cool. It reminded Alex of how lucky he was. Slowly he could feel his tensions and frustrations begin to disappear. His smile grew. For all his dislike of ceremony and song and dance, Alex was happy to be going through it all with April.
"Hey," Alex teased standing beside his soon to be wife and nudging her shoulder playfully. "Are you running out on me?"
Once that fear had been very real. People had been running out on him his whole life. His father, Izzie...and Alex had spent most of his life running too. It was nice to know that he'd never have to worry about that again. Stability for the first time in his life. It was nice to stand still with someone for a while.
April smirked, and turned to face him, tapping the side of her bad leg, "I can't run, remember?"
Alex chuckled, "Oh yeah...are you limping out on me?"
"Obviously," she replied, before her expression turned into a pout. She nervously fidgeted with the fabric of her dress, "Alex! It's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony..."
"Whatever," he shook his head, and stilled her hands by taking them in his own. "We've already had our bad luck, I think."
April took a deep breath and squeezed his hands. "I guess."
"Besides," Alex continued. "You look really hot."
April flushed and ducked her head,"So do you. Very handsome." She wrinkled her nose and ran a finger down his chest, "Second best looking man in this whole place."
Feigning offense, he demanded, "Second best? Don't tell me your ranking pretty boy Avery above your freaking groom..."
April grimaced, "No! I mean Adam! He looks so cute in his little suit."
"Oh...okay," Alex chuckled, as April leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I can live with that."
The easy banter made him feel as though a weight was slowly being lifted from his chest. Just the normal, typical kind of talking that he and April might do on any morning over breakfast. Or on a walk with Adam in the park. Today was a big day, for sure. A happy day, absolutely. But this was still them, and it was still going to be them when the wedding was over and all was said and done.
"Who are you escaping?" Alex asked curiously.
"My sisters. Well, mostly Libby," April answered immediately. "She's driving me crazy. It's like she's a freaking atomic clock! I already can't stand the anticipation, I don't need her making it worse by-"
"Counting down to the second," Alex agreed. "She's not as bad as Amber and Jackson though...they keep acting like the god damn fashion police!"
"Well..." Pursing her lips April scrutinized his appearance carefully. "Your tie is a little of center...and you missing a jacket..."
"Seriously?"
They both laughed heartily and then looked around the tranquil cemetery in silence. The calm before the storm. A moment of peace before the wonderful whirlwind that would be their wedding. After a moment, April sighed, "We should get back."
"Before we get caught?"
Giggling April nodded, "Before Libby has a coronary."
"Are you nervous?" Alex asked seriously.
She shrugged, "A little...not as much as I thought I'd be. You?"
Nervous didn't cover it. And a heck of a lot more than expected. Not that he would admit it. Then again, Alex found that actually being out here, just standing with April was immensely calming.
"You think anyone would miss us if we just grabbed a cab down town and got the paperwork all filled out at the courthouse?" Alex joked as they turned and walked back toward the church, hand in hand.
"No! We're not going to leave!" April replied firmly, gesturing at a moss covered statue as she took the steps extra slowly, Alex matching her pace. "Our wedding is supposed to be here!"
His eyes darted between her face and the statue. There was probably supposed to be something significant here, some reason April had been so enchanted with this place all along beyond it's location and amenities, but he realized he had no idea what that might be. If she'd told him, he'd tuned it out, or she might have just assumed her reasons were so obvious that an explanation would not be necessary.
"Whatever..."
"I told you why it was meant to be when we picked the place!"
Alex shrugged, "Doesn't mean I remember..."
April could be weird like that. Thinking that this or that and everything in between, was 'meant to be'. Supposed to happen. Destiny. Fated. Or whatever.
The way April explained it, all the crap that had ever happened to them was all part of some grand plan. This had all worked out the way it was supposed to. Earthquakes and ex-wives, and counselling, and shootings and all. Yet, Alex could imagine that just as easily things could have worked out some other way. Many, many terrible ways, all in which he ended up alone.
Say Lexie and Mark didn't find him in the elevator when he'd gotten shot and he bled out? Or the building collapsed just a little sooner and more than April's leg was crushed beneath its weight? Or if Alex couldn't overcome his asshole ways and April refused to date him? And suppose he'd actually gone to Africa right after Adam had been born? What if Kyle's existence had turned out to be a deal breaker?
There were just so many freaking possibilities. A thousand what ifs. When Alex really took a minute to stop and think about them all, it was so clear. Odds said, they shouldn't be here. By rights Alex didn't think he really deserve most of what had. But April prattled on about how it was all meant to work out. It was just what she believed, and Alex supposed it was better to face that then to know that it was all some random fluke. He might not agree, but he wasn't about to take away her happiness with the idea. Her happiness mattered to him. More than most other things.
"Ladybug! Alex!" Peering out the church doors at the top of the stairs, a somewhat frantic looking Joe Kepner waved them on. "Where have you guys been? We've got ten minutes to go. Alex needs to go to the altar!"
Alex spotted Meredith leaning on the doorway as well, looking far more relaxed than his future father in law. She looked at him with an expression of amusement and added, "Alex needs to find his jacket."
"We were just getting some air before the ceremony, Dad," April answered calmly. "We've had our eyes on the time."
Her words seemed to be enough to satisfy her anxious father, and when they reached the top of the steps Avery was there, ready to quickly assist Alex back into his newly de-wrinkled jacket. The wedding party was all assembled, bridesmaids on one side of the hospital lobby, and groomsmen on the other. Shifting in his formal clothes, Alex could feel some of the calm his stolen moment with April beginning to slip away.
This was really happening. His wedding...second wedding. It was really happening. And there were flowers and crap, and people from work and all, assembled nearby waiting to watch it. Alex gulped and tried not to think about how much sweat was running down between his shoulder blades.
Just as there were a thousand what ifs that could have led April away from his life before this point, Alex could easily conjure almost as many more that could pull them apart in the future beyond this moment. What if he screwed up? His knew his luck in this whole thing had been far too good so far. He'd gotten the girl, the children, the work, hell, Alex felt everything he had gotten everything he could possibly want in the last few years.
Wyatt would say that Alex was letting his past disappointments get the better of him. Alex tried to focus on the technical crap they'd learned in therapy. He had to remember that just because his previous marriage, and family experiences had been a bust, he and April had worked hard already to make sure that they were solid. And they were. Wyatt had often pointed out that Alex and April effectively acted as husband and wife, ever since Adam's birth the previous year. For all their communication issues and whatever, they'd loved each other and committed to staying the course even when all kinds of crap had burst into their lives.
They were solid. A wedding wasn't going to change anything about that. He really just had stage fright, because as soon as all his thoughts and fears about marriage in general flew through his mind, Alex also was inundated with thoughts and fears about screwing up the actual nuptials. Would people really notice if his coat was all wrinkly? What if he forgot his vows? Or passed out? Was his shoe untied?
He instantly glanced down at his feet.
"Alex," April paused before Mer could lead her away, leaning to Alex's ear. She seemed to sense his sudden nerves. "Don't worry. It's going to be fine. It's going to be great. We're supposed to be married here."
"You keep saying that."
Whispering again, April pointing to another statue that seemed to be of the same old guy they saw on their way in, "See? It's St. Jude. Patron saint of lost causes. Can't be a bad place to start..."
Alex laughed, and nodded, "I get it...see you in there."
"See you in there," April beamed.
He couldn't stop thinking about her words as he and Avery made their way down the long aisle of the church to the altar. If you'd have asked him 4 years ago whether there was any change at all for him and April to work out, he'd have said it was a lost cause. Yet, here they were. And Adam too. Against whatever odds there were, the two of them had build a life.
Maybe April was onto something.
These moments frame all that important crap that you wouldn't understand otherwise without these moments to take stalk. But what part of those days do you remember? What part of any day do you remember? Big moments often only seem big because of the way they make you notice the smaller ones.
Meredith had never really been that interested in weddings. She'd never been one of those girls who grew up planning and day dreaming about her own wedding. That was something girls like April and Izzie must have done. But not her.
As a child Meredith had had far more pressing concerns to think about. Like where her father was and why he didn't pour her cereal for her anymore, what kind of surgeon she would grow up to be, and whether or not her mommy would live to see it. Weddings were far from her youthful imagination.
As an adult, her indifference to the whole institution persisted. Heck, she'd originally gotten married on a post it note. Meredith hadn't minded not having a ceremony. She didn't really do weddings. Getting the paperwork at city hall for her had merely been a formality; a means to an end so that she and Derek could have a chance to adopt Zola. The fact that her 'wedding' had been a rushed set of standard words and a quick signature with an exasperated judge in a tiny office did not bother Mer in the slightest.
Weddings were not her thing.
So it was completely inexplicable to her why she found herself with tears rolling down her face at Alex and April's wedding.
Because, as much as Meredith didn't consider herself to be a 'yay wedding' sort of girl, she also certainly didn't consider herself to be a crier. But, she thought with chagrin as she watched April and Alex pose for photographers on the front steps of St. Jude's Roman Catholic Church, here she was, reaching for another tissue to dab at her leaking eyes. The traitors.
Maybe she was going soft.
Derek squeezed Meredith's arm, and she blubbered, "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me."
In front of her Zola looked up, "Are you sad, Mommy?"
Blinking rapidly, and smiling at her daughter, Meredith replied, "I'm not sad, Zozo. I'm not sad at all. Sometimes you cry when you are not sad. I am very very happy for April and Uncle Alex."
The girl grinned, and returned her attention to the church steps, "Me too! Plus we get to eat cake!"
Smiling faintly at the little girl, Meredith had to wonder whether or not that was a part of it too. For all that little Meredith Grey had had many more pressing issues on her mind than weddings and rainbows and happy things growing up, Zola Grey-Shepherd's childhood was something else. Zola may well turn out to be a wedding sort of girl, and even if she wasn't, the child would never carry the worries and fears her mother had in youth. Meredith had seen to that.
It had been this way all through the ceremony. Suddenly, she'd just look at her friends and feel overcome with the emotion of it all. Which had been a little awkward, considering her place in the wedding party as Maid of Honor and all. Hard to hide running mascara from the front of the church. Luckily the focus had been on the happy bride and groom, and even luckier still Meredith had known she was far from the only misty eyed person in the chapel.
One whole side of the room, the Kepner side of course, had provided a veritable downpour of tears, led on by Joe himself. Then again, the Karev side of things, made up of mostly friends and people from the hospital, had not been void of tears either. Scanning the room during the exchange of vows, Meredith had seen through her own teary eyes, Amber Karev blinking like there was no tomorrow.
By the time the priest announced, "You may kiss the bride", the stubborn young woman had lost her battle and was weeping openly.
Objectively speaking though, Meredith could admit that it was a pretty moving ceremony. Everything from April's barely suppressed giggles as she fumbled to place the gold band on Alex's finger, to Alex's muttered vows and proud smirks was heart warming to see. they were clearly delighted to marry each other.
Anyone would be pretty hard pressed not to be moved. Even the pauses were kind of beautiful because they were far from completely silent. Adam, from the safety of his grandmother's lap, seemed bound and determined to participate in his parents nuptials in some way, and filled silences with coos, raspberries, and giggles.
In front of them photographer gestured to Alex and April as he snapped a few more photos. Meredith sniffed and wiped at her nose red headed surgeon looked radiant in her dress, which stood out in the perfect summer weather, while Alex stood tall and proud, looking more carefree than she'd seen him look in a long time.
"Hey guys," the man said casually, lowering his camera for a moment. "We are almost done. Let's bring the kids in for a few frames okay? Then we'll bring in the families, and get some shots and that will be that."
Derek leaned down, as Alex and April began posing with both Adam and Kyle, and whispered, "Are you sure you are okay?"
"Yes," Meredith said, laughing. "I am just...I'm proud of them, you know?"
He grinned as the photographer ushered the mass of people that turned out to be April's immediate family on to the steps for pictures as well, "I know. I'm glad they made it here. I wasn't sure either of them had in it in them to get here..."
"I'm sure there were people in the world who'd have said the same thing as us..."
Derek smiled, "Probably."
"It's us now, Mommy!" Zola shouted, clamoring up the stairs the minute the photographer called for Alex's side of the family to be photographed. "The man said it's UncAlex family's turn."
"I think they just want Amber, sweetie," Meredith said, holding her daughter's hand, uncertain as to what kind of photo Alex and April really wanted. The photographer certainly wanted the Karev family side of things. Amber really was the only other Karev around, so a picture featuring Alex's blood relatives would be small.
"Oh come on, Mer!" Alex beckoned from the steps. "You guys count as my side! Yang too! Even freaking Avery...everyone, get a move on..."
Meredith could feel another wave of tears beginning as she, Zola, and Derek, and Cristina, Owen, Jackson, Mara, his mother, Mark and Lexie, and various other friends from the hospital joined Alex and April on the steps of the church.
Smiling through her tears, Meredith realized it was true. After all these years, it was true; they'd become a family. From intern year to the this day, a ragtag band of doctors really had pulled it together.
The joyful and raucous group soon moved on from the photos to the reception hall, and soon the party was in full swing. Watching her old friends and constructed family mingling right along with April's family didn't do much to stem the flow of Meredith's tears. Thinking about what this wedding, and what this moment meant for Alex, kept her emotions high.
In a way, Alex had been chasing this moment his entire life. A stable family had always been what he lacked, but now he'd finally found it. So had Meredith herself.
It was the kind of unity, shared history, and togetherness of family that Meredith knew very little of, but that she also was well aware that Alex had never experienced. Not with the crazy and the abuse and the foster care. This family, reconciling with his sister, and the past few years of general happiness Alex had had with April and Adam, was the first time he'd ever had one. It was the best possible outcome for him, and Meredith was proud.
Which is why she'd decided to give him and his new family a piece of her old family past.
Meredith stood as the DJ announced the beginning of the father daughter dance, and Alex stepped aside to allow April to dance with her father. They wouldn't be winning any dancing contests any time soon, but watching Joe and April dance made Meredith smile. She didn't know the man very well, and had spent more time in the wedding planning process with April's mother than her father. Even so, it was clear just how much the tall farmer cared for his daughter very much, just as she was.
Having now met various members of April's family, Meredith could begin to see just how exactly her friend ended up being the person she was. Meredith had discovered spending time with them as bridesmaids that April's sister Libby turned out to be twice as neurotic as she was, and Kimmie was about ten times as cheerful. Alice wasn't as bad, she was quite funny actually, but Meredith had seen how all four sisters acted together and it made her want to laugh. They bickered and teased and hugged. She and Lexie had their moments, but they didn't have the shared history of growing up together, so they didn't really have old patterns to fall into. They'd only known each other as adults.
With April, Kimmie, Libby and Alice, there were moments where you'd never know that they were all grown women. The three other women did have a tendency to pick on April, though she usually gave as good as she got, and it was clear that their dynamics had not changed much since the sisters were small. Libby and Kimmie vs. April with Alice as the wild card, who joked and teased, but also generally sided with April. From the dress, to the hair, to the schedule for the day, Meredith felt like she'd narrowly avoided whip lash from watching the four of them prepare for the ceremony. Now, the sisters had calmed down and were happily enjoying the wedding party with their husbands and children.
Meredith caught sight of Karen Kepner, holding a sleeping Kyle Stevens, and trying valiantly to prevent a tipsy looking Grandma Murphy from acquiring another cup of punch. Unfortunately, the old lady prevailed, pretending not to hear her daughter's protests, and downing the spiked beverage in one fast gulp. Karen sighed in exasperation as her elderly mother smirked.
As April had learned as chief resident; sometimes you can't get people to listen to you. She'd found her footing eventually, (and after the earthquake literally), but it had taken April time. Sometimes you just had to go slowly. Watching her kind and patient father gracefully match his dance movements to keep pace with April's disability, Meredith had to think that is where her friend's patience and love for Alex came from.
With a touch of regret Meredith thought back to April Kepner's early days at Seattle Grace. The merger was hard on everyone and she hadn't gone out of her way to be overly welcome to the overly cheerful and exceptionally awkward red head. She couldn't have known then just how big a part of her life April would become. And Meredith had never thought in a million years that April would turn out to be the right person for Alex.
Slowly but surely, other fathers and daughters, began populating the dance floor. Derek took Zola's small hands and let the girl stand on his feet as he swayed in rhythm to the music. Mark held Sofia on one hip and swung the girl around in a wild dance that included lots of spinning and dips, much to her delight.
"Hey there, Mr. Kepner," Meredith teased, sliding beside Alex.
"Shut up!"
He'd retrieved Adam from Lexie's watchful care, and was patting the boy's back as he rocked gently to the music.
"Sha Ah!" the grinning child mimicked, making his father wince.
"If April hears him say that, I'm blaming you," Alex quipped.
Meredith shook her head, "You're the one he learned it from, not me."
"Whatever." He was distracted and his gaze lovingly followed his new wife's movements on the dance floor.
"So?" Meredith nudged his arm. "How does it feel?"
Alex scowled, "What?"
"Being a married man?"
"You're not gonna go all shrink on me...I've got Wyatt for that. She's better at it than you anyway."
Meredith smirked, "Just asking. How does it feel?"
"I've been married before, Mer," Alex mumbled scratching the side of his neck.
"I know," she conceded. "But not like this."
"It feels awesome," Alex said finally. "I mean, I know it's only been, like what? Two hours? But, it does. It feels better. This time around."
"I'm glad, Alex."
He grinned, "Me too."
Both Meredith and Alex winced as the slow father daughter dance song ended and was replaced by a glaringly upbeat song by ABBA. April and everyone else on the dance floor started busting out in a series of outlandish and exaggerated boogie moves. Adam seemed to like it and gurgled loudly, rocking back and forth in his father's grasp.
"Oh Jesus..." Alex mumbled, turning the boy around to look at him seriously and kissing his forehead. "Not you too? One ABBA fan in the house is freaking bad enough."
Meredith laughed and watched her husband and daughter dance. Mention of the house made her turn pensive. As the song ended, a breathless April made her way off the dance floor, grinning happily and reaching out to tickle Adam. She and Alex began to talk happily and the opportunity was there. Meredith caught her husband's eye, and Derek lifted Zola to his waist, joining them to the side of the dance floor.
This was it.
"Well you two..." Meredith nodded, and reached down to her purse pulling out a folded piece of paper. "Derek and I-"
"And me!" Zola piped up, even though she really didn't have any idea what was in store. Derek's eyes twinkled and he held a finger to his lips.
"We know we already gave you that cooking set..." Meredith continued.
April's face lit up, "Thank you again!"
"Yeah," Alex concurred, smirking. "Thanks to you, I'm gonna end up so freaking fat." April smacked his arm.
"We wanted to give you something else," Derek continued, as Meredith pressed the piece of paper into April's hands.
They waited patiently as the bride carefully unfolded the paper, leaning closer to Alex so that he could read it too. Meredith found it was hard to control her excitement as she watched her friends read the document. Alex's eyebrows knitted together as his eyes moved from side to side taking in the text. April finished reading first and her eyes opened wide.
She gasped and raised a hand to her mouth, "Oh God...this-this is the deed to...but you-you can't-"
"You're giving us the house?" Alex's jaw dropped. "Mer, that's your house, you grew up there..."
Meredith grinned, pleased to see how stunned her friends were with their gift. She'd thought about it a lot, and really it seemed like the right thing to do. She knew that the dream house on Bainbridge with Derek and Zola was her home. It was their place. But her mother's old house was still very important to her, despite the bad childhood memories she had there.
She also knew that the house issue was still one that weight heavily on Alex's mind. Though being full attendings at a top hospital was by no means a low income sort of job, Meredith knew that things were different for Alex and April than they were for herself and Derek. For one thing, Derek had been well advanced in his career before they had gotten married. And as unfair as it was, neuro surgery was in generally far more profitable and glamorous than trauma surgery. Alex and April had also picked up the tab for Amber and her schooling. And no matter what, the thing that really pulled on Alex's mind was the fact that Rita and Aaron Karev's full care treatment would likely always be his responsibility to pay.
As long as they lived, and were unwell, the cost of their care would be Alex, and now April's, to bear.
Knowing that was a worry for her friend, Meredith had decided to do something that would make them both feel more comfortable. She knew that her friends would take care and be happier in her childhood home than she'd ever been, and that for Alex it would ease his fears. They'd already been excellent renters and took wonderful care of the house. When she'd explained her idea to Derek, he'd completely agreed. Giving April and Alex the house was something they both wanted to do.
"It's your house now," Derek replied, watching his friends shocked faces in amusement.
"Are you sure?" April stammered tearfully, holding the paper out, as though she was giving Meredith the opportunity to take everything back. "It's-It's-A house is a huge, you know, and I know it means a lot to you, I mean, well I know you grew up there and that your mother was..."
"I want you two to have it," Meredith assured the trauma surgeon firmly, wrapping her hands around April's and pushing the deed back.
Alex looked up, and she could have sworn there were tears in his eyes, "You really want to?"
"I really do."
He laughed incredulously, pulling Meredith into a tight one armed embrace, "Holy crap."
The hug was tight, like Alex was trying to convey all the depth of emotion and gratitude he had within him. What he couldn't say with words he could say with his arms. And Meredith squeezed back. He really was like a brother to her, and they'd come a long way since they first met.
She didn't know how long they'd held each other before, Zola giggled, "Dats a bad word, UncAlex!"
Sniffing and blinking rapidly Alex shook his head, "What? I never say bad words!"
"Yes huh, you do!" the girl argued. "Daddy says I can't r'peat you!"
"Howy capcwap!"Adam parroted, clapping his hands, and Alex's eyes grew wide. Bad words aside, the baby seemed almost as thrilled as his parents.
Meredith had to laugh, because April was clearly too stunned to even register the words coming out of her son's mouth. Instead her expression crumbled and her tears fell harder.
"Meredith I-I can't- I don't even know how to begin to thank you," she explained gesturing vaguely with her hands. "I-thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Watching the joy in her friends reactions, Meredith was even more certain that she'd made the right choice. She had no idea what Ellis Grey would think of selling the house, but it finally seemed as though she could cast off her mother's shadow because it didn't even matter. She honestly didn't care anymore. She was happy with her own life, and with her decisions. Meredith wrapped her arms around April's shoulders.
"Just promise you won't keep any pigs in the backyard..."
April yawned drowsily, curling her bare limbs closer to Alex beneath the sheets of their hotel room bed. It was the early morning and sunlight was beginning to shine through the blinds of their room window. Blinking to full wakefulness April sighed contentedly. Morning though it was, she and her new husband hadn't actually slept much at all. As it should be.
They were on their honeymoon, after all.
It made her giggle. April could hardly believe that she was actually on her honeymoon with Alex. In Italy of all places. Currently in a small town along the Amalfi coast. She'd actually been surprised because Alex had been really excited to go. He always cracked jokes about beaches and snorkling and all that, but when it came down to it, Alex was the one who'd suggested Italy as their destination. He'd never been to Europe and April had only gone as a shy undergrad. She'd been more than willing to agree to the idea because Italy was the country of love.
Alex must have already been awake, because April realized with an excited shiver that he was watching her, and gently tangling his fingers in her disheveled hair. It wasn't often he woke up first.
She blushed and turned to face him, "Good morning..."
"Malto benny..."
April's brow furrowed. That wasn't right.
"Do you mean molto bene? Very good? Or are you trying to say good morning?"
Stretching his limbs lazily, Alex smirked, "Whatever...Italian sounds hotter when you say it."
April rolled her eyes and rested her head on his chest. She'd tried to teach him a little of what she remembered from taking Italian in college, but the lessons never really got that far because she really didn't think she remembered that much, just hello and goodbye and basic restaurant stuff, and then every time she started to talk, Alex distracted her. Not that she minded very much.
"Oh, I see," April answered, letting her hands roam up and down her husband's exposed chest. "You just want me to correct you..."
"Maybe," Alex laughed and patted her shoulder.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
April pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss. And then another. And another.
"So," Alex said after a moment. "Unless we're freaking staying in here all day, what statues of dead guys are we going to look at today?"
Even though it was their honeymoon, Alex and April were at least trying to make the effort to see all the cultural and historic experiences that Italy had to offer. Again, the fact that her husband was even remotely interested in this stuff at all had been a surprise to April. But Alex had only ever been outside the United States twice in his life before and only to Mexico, which he claimed not to remember clearly, and once to Canada which he brushed off as boring. He'd woken her up early on their first day in Rome and forced her to push through horrible jet lag because he was eager to see the Coliseum and all that "old Roman crap".
"Pompeii was the plan, right?"
Alex flopped on his side, "Sweet! A town covered in ash. Way apocalyptic!"
"It's really sad, I mean...one day you're just living your life and then-"
"Boom! Volcano," he shrugged. "But what can you do? Anyhow, the brochure thingy said it's like one of the best preserved examples of ancient Rome and whatever. Sucked for them, but at least it kind of meant something in the long run."
"That's true," April pursed her lips. The ancient ruin did provide a really cool glimpse in the the past that wouldn't have been possible without the tragedy.
Another added benefit of sightseeing and spending time together aside from in hotel rooms, was that it took her mind of the one dark spot in this whole trip; missing Adam. Missing him ached.
As much as it was beyond her wildest dreams to: a) Actually be married to the man she loved, and b) actually be on a honeymoon in one of the most romantic destinations in the world, April pined for her little boy. This ten day trip was the first time she'd ever been separated from her baby, and even though she knew he was safe and cared for with her parents in Ohio. She always knew she adored her little boy, but just how much she missed his little smiles and even his tantrums had come as a bit of as shock. And too was the shock of missing her step son Kyle as well. She'd grown accustomed to his weekend visits, even though the whole situation was still a little new and rocky.
"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Alex said quietly. "Adam?"
Frowning April nodded, "Yes. I miss him." She hadn't intended on being so transparent.
She didn't want Alex to think that she wasn't happy to be on a honeymoon with him. Or married to him. She was actually ecstatic and immensely grateful. April was having fun. For much of her life April hadn't even been sure that she would ever even end up being able to find anyone who would even want to marry her in the first place. She thought she was too awkward and too annoying for anyone, much less someone like Alex to love.
And while she knew it was probably bizarre and crazy creepy to do at all, and it wasn't like she'd ever admit thinking this way to Alex, she couldn't help but compare her very new marriage to her parents enduring one.
Not that April was trying to be creepy or anything. It was just, growing up, that was what marriage meant to her. Karen and Joe Kepner, in April's opinion had the kind of relationship she'd longed for all along. So now that she could actually say that she had a family of her own, a husband of her own, she could not stop herself from wondering what they might be like years down the line.
"Me freaking too. I miss my little dude."
His comment make her smile faintly. For all the lack of self confidence April had in herself, she now knew that Alex had thought he was too damaged and too much of a jerk for anyone to care about either. They were lucky to have found one and other really.
"Well," April said, trying to lighten the mood. "We can try to skype again this afternoon then, after Pompeii. I think Mom and Dad have finally figured it out."
They'd managed a few calls so far, more than her parents actually expected, considering they were on a honeymoon. It made them feel better .
Alex nodded, and stood up stretching his limbs and shuffling into the bathroom. "I gotta pee."
"Hey!" April called after him, as he walked into the adjacent bathroom and blatantly started to do his business, bare naked and door wide open."Just because we're married now doesn't mean you can't close the door!"
"Whatever. Ain't nothing you haven't seen before."
She sighed and rolled her eyes, "You can still have manners."
Alex rocked his hips and started doing a dance, highlighting his exposed backside, "Isn't this why why call it a 'honey moon'?"
April scowled and threw a pillow at him. Alex tucked and the soft object hit a small picture on the wall knocking it to the floor. They both froze and stared at each other in shock, before bursting out into laughter. Such a wonderful way to start the day.
Times like this reminded April that her marriage and relationship with Alex was very much their own thing. Nothing like her parent's marriage. Her Dad would never...at least she couldn't and didn't want to imagine him dancing in the bathroom. That was more of an Alex thing.
Their relationship had always been unique and nothing like anyone else's or how the thought things would be. And that was okay. Because it made April very happy. You never know where life is going to take you. Alex made April feel confident, and competent, and complete. They'd taken a long road, but in time he'd given her his love. And most important of all, he'd given her their son, and she couldn't imagine her life without Adam.
This life wasn't a perfect fairy tale, like she'd once imagined, but it was the kind of perfection April found in being a trauma surgeon. Messy and eye opening and profound. In fact, life with Alex was great.
It takes moments of great importance to make moments of normalcy feel like magic.