Author's Notes: This is really, really short and not a lot happens plot-wise, but I felt Alex & Jo needed some time to themselves after all the recent chaos :)
There are three more chapters after this one, so we're almost there!
Oh, a couple of people commented on how surprising Izzie's "You once said that about me" was. That completely shocked me too. I was in the zone writing/typing on my phone as fast as my thumbs would go and it just happened. I sat back for a bit in surprise, but ended up keeping it because I liked it. :)
Jo's eyes fluttered open as she tried to take in her surroundings. The first thing that struck her was how incredibly tired she was. She realized she couldn't feel or move her left hand and glanced that way to see it covered by her husband's hand and head. He was bent over at an awkward angle that had to be painful or would be later. "Alex?"
He stirred lightly before raising quickly, his eyes open wide as a slow grin grew across his face, "Hey! You're up."
"Wha- What happened?" she asked fearfully as she searched her brain for what could have sent her here. She then remembered sipping water and a sudden jolt of pain. She focused her attention on her now empty womb.
"You had a large placental abruption..."
"Oh my God, I lost our baby? I'm sorry Alex, I'm so, so sorry," she gasped out, her body already wracked with sobs.
"Hey, hey. We have a beautiful baby in the NICU. She's going to be just fine," Alex had raised up on his good leg and was struggling to maintain his balance as he sat on the side of the bed. He pushed the hair from her face and smiled tentatively as she tried to calm down. "She's on a vent, but she's doing really well."
"Promise?" Jo asked brokenly, her eyes searching his, not quite believing him.
Alex smiled a little wider, "Promise. Ten fingers, ten toes...No third arm," he said with a light teasing tone.
Jo felt her lips turn up slightly as she whispered timidly, "She's fine?"
Alex bent over to kiss her softly, "She's fine. We are parents to a beautiful four pound baby girl."
"I want to see her," Jo said determinedly.
Alex looked at her sadly, "They want to wait until at least later today for you to go down there. You know, get your strength up."
Jo nodded dejectedly in understanding and squeezed his hand, "Then you should go. I don't want her to be alone Alex. She can't be alone. Please, go be with her." Jo could feel a single tear slowly make its way down her cheek and fall to the blanket.
Alex awkwardly maneuvered so he was sitting beside her in the bed and wrapped his arm around her, "She's not alone. Amber has been with her and is there now."
Jo smiled slightly, "You should still go spend time with her and get to know her."
"I've visited twice already, but now that you're awake I want to wait for you."
Jo smiled a little larger at this, "This is going to be the longest day of my life."
Alex reached over and grabbed his phone off the bedside table, "Well until then we can stare at pictures of her together."
Jo felt overwhelming anxiety and excitement take over her body as she waited for Alex to pull up the images. As he moved the phone closer to her, her heart swelled with unfiltered joy as she took in the pictures as Alex thumbed through them. She couldn't believe she was actually a mother and that she and Alex had created a life together. She already loved their daughter more than she could have possibly imagined. At the next picture she laughed and said with wonder, "She has Amber's nose."
Alex pulled the phone closer to his face, his eyes squinting in concentration, "I don't see that. She's a baby, babies don't look like anyone."
"Except she has Amber's nose," Jo said with a proud smile.
"Well maybe she'll grow out of it," Alex said with a grin.
His phone then went off with a message from Amber 'Look who's becoming more active' with a video of their baby moving her arms more. Jo began to cry softly while laughing at the video as Alex played it repeatedly. She looked up at the joy on his face and her heart broke, "Alex?"
"Yeah?" he asked before glancing at her, "Hey what's wrong? Are you in pain?"
"Will one be enough?" she asked as her tears streamed faster.
"What? Jo, we don't have to think about that now," he said in a comforting tone as he rubbed her upper arm soothingly.
Jo nodded her head, "It's just I know you wanted more and now I can't give that to you."
Alex hugged her tighter and kissed her temple, "You and our daughter are enough if you don't want to have more."
Jo squinted her eyes in confusion, "Didn't they have to do a hysterectomy? There was so much blood."
Alex pulled back from her, understanding dawning, "I'm sorry, I guess I should have explained that in the beginning. But no, they were able to save your uterus," he explained as he cupped her face lovingly and wiped her tears with his thumbs.
Jo felt relief wash over her that they would at least have the option to conceive again if they wanted to. She smiled mischievously, "So we can go through all of this again one day?"
Alex smirked as he pulled her close again and kissed her hair, "God, I hope not."