Authors Note: Thanks to all of you who have stuck with this story. A few of you asked if the last chapter was the last chapter. Obviously, as you can see now, no it's not. The next chapter after this one is the last chapter. Sorry for the long wait between chapters. Inspiration is running really low these days.

Jo stood next to Alex at the luggage carousel clutching his hand tightly. They were a mere 75 miles from his parents' house. In less than two hours she would be meeting the in-laws, and she was nervous to say the least. Alex grabbed their bags and led Jo to the rental car counter. If they were anything like Alex, she would be fine, but she had been warned by Alex himself, as well as by Jackson, that his parents were very old fashioned and quite strict.

Alex closed the passenger door behind Jo, crossed in front of the car, and slid into the driver's seat, "Calm down, Jo; it's gonna be fine they'll love you. I do," he squeezed her knee. Jo smiled softly at his words. Not a moment went by that she had to doubt if he loved her. He showed her in so many ways each and every day.

He tried to keep the car ride to his parents' house light, pointing out various landmarks and sharing stories about the few small towns between the Des Moines airport and his hometown. Jo appreciated the effort, but her heart was pounding as they pulled into the driveway.

Alex's parents met them just inside the front door with big hugs for Alex and curious looks for Jo. "Jo, these are my parents, Jimmy and Helen. Mom, Dad, this is Jo," he made simple introductions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Karev, it's so nice to finally meet you," Jo turned on the charm offering her hand to each of them.

"Why don't you take Jo upstairs and show her to the guest room where she'll be staying," Helen turned to Alex after shaking Jo's hand, "you'll be in your room, and I'm hoping Arizona will grace us with her presence at some point this weekend as well. We're having an early dinner; your father and I are meeting with a couple from church this evening."

Alex did as his mother asked and gave Jo a brief tour of his childhood home, leaving her suitcase in the guest room and his next door in his old bedroom. Jo was captivated by the pictures lining the hallway that captured the progression of Alex from newborn to the man standing at her side. She lifted up on her toes and leaned into him whispering, "We are gonna have really cute babies if this is any indication." His eyes widened at the mention of babies, but then a smile tugged at his lips.

Dinner that evening turned out to be all that Alex had been praying it wouldn't be. His parents could be hard on the partners their children brought home, especially when they hadn't handpicked them. Alex didn't want to tell Jo, but his parents had their eyes set on the daughter of one of the church elders. They had known her all her life and were good friends with her parents. They always thought Alex would come home, marry her, and take over his father's church. It's what the whole congregation expected. She would be the perfect preacher's wife.

Dinner started off somewhat quiet until Jimmy Karev started asking questions, 'getting to know' Jo. She cleared her throat looking up to meet his eyes determined to answer honestly. "I work at a photography studio now, but I just enrolled in classes at Rice University. I took an extended break from college when my ex-husband and I moved across the country after he had graduated." Strike one. "I never knew my father, and my mother died in a car crash when I was little. I was passed around in foster homes after that, never adopted, so I don't have parents," she shrugged sadly in answer to his next question. Strike two. She pushed the food around on her plate and quietly answered yet another question, "I wasn't raised in any church... but I've been going with Alex," she added looking up at the man. Strike three.

Alex had a protective arm around Jo squeezing her shoulder and lightly rubbing her back in support throughout the whole exchange. He cringed at his parents' questions and judgmental sighs and looks. It was worse than he had expected. Worse than he had ever endured. Of course he felt sure they could feel the connection between him and Jo like he'd never connected with anyone before, and they weren't happy about it. She was not who they had chosen, who they would have chosen. But this was his life and his choice and Jo was his wife and he loved her.

When they had all finished eating, Alex offered, "Why don't you guys go ahead and go. Jo and I will clean up." What could he say to her? "Jo, I'm so sorry for all that. I should have prepared you, but I had no idea it would be so bad," he pulled her into a hug.

They put the dishes away and cleaned up the kitchen in relative silence both taking it all in. When they finished, they curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Jo was snuggled into Alex's side with her head resting on his shoulder and his arm around her. They heard keys in the front door and Alex stiffened. Jo slowly sat up and scooted away from him when his parents appeared in the room with disapproving looks on both their faces. Not surprisingly, Jo decided to make it an early night stating she was tired from traveling.

Alex lay in bed that night tossing and turning, angry at his parents, and unable to sleep without Jo beside him. Jo paced the floor in her room waiting until all was quiet and she was sure Mr. and Mrs. Karev would be asleep. She tiptoed next door to Alex's room and quietly pushed the door open. He sat up in bed grateful to see her, "Jo." She put a finger to her lips to quiet him.

She crossed the room to his bed where he quickly reached for her crushing her in a tight embrace. "I can't sleep without you anymore," he pressed a kiss to her lips. "I need you with me."

The full meaning of his words was not lost on Jo, but, "This isn't going to work, Alex," her voice broke as she pushed against his chest distancing herself from him, "I can't come between you and your parents."

He winced, "Jo, don't…" he reached for her again.

"It's clear they hate me," she interrupted, inching back further from him.

He grabbed both of her hands before she could get away and looked deeply into her eyes, "I love you Jo," he said it with all the love and sincerity he felt for her, "I am in love with you, and I need you. I don't want to live my life without you. This is going to work. It is working. And my parents.. well they'll just have to deal with it. They'll come around."

There was such a vulnerability in his eyes; she could see love, honesty, and a hint of fear reflected in them. She could see how scared he was to lose her. It was obvious to her he really meant it when he said he needed her.. and she needed him too. She didn't want to let him go, but, "They're your parents, Alex, your family."

"You're my family now," he pulled her to himself, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her. She couldn't resist; she didn't want to. She wrapped her arms around his neck and reciprocated with every bit of love she held for him. Never had she been so cherished by a man. Never had any man been willing to give everything up for her.

They held onto each other for a long time, neither willing to let go. Jo readjusted her head on Alex's chest and sighed, "What does it say about me, that the best decision I've ever made, I made while I was drunk?"

"No," Alex argued with a barely contained chuckle, "We made the decision to get married drunk, but we made the decision to stay married, to make our marriage work sober."

"I guess that's something," Jo agreed sleepily.

"You know, I would have never approached a woman like you without the help of the alcohol," Alex confessed. "You're everything I needed and never knew it." Jo just smiled in response almost to drift off to sleep truly tired out from the travel, the interrogation, and the agony of thinking she would walk away from Alex.

The bedroom door banged open, and the lights flashed on suddenly. Alex and Jo sat bolt upright in bed. Alex found his voice first, "What the heck, Arizona," he hissed at his sister, "You're going to wake up Mom and Dad." He was furious at his sister. Why would she come banging into his room like that?

Eyes wide at finding a woman in her brother's bed, Arizona looked down the hall towards her parents room and quietly pushed the door closed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, "You know they can sleep through anything." She dropped down on the end of Alex's bed, "So what's going on here?" she wiggled her eyebrows looking between Alex and Jo, "And under Dad's roof."

"Nothing," Alex insisted, "We were about to fall asleep before we were so rudely awakened." He leaned forward giving his sister a quick hug, "Hey, sis. It's the middle of the night, you know?"

"Yeah I know. I took a late flight. But really, what's going on?" she looked to Jo again.

"Arizona, this is Jo… my wife."

Arizona's eyes bugged out and her mouth fell open, "Your.. your w-wife?"

"We met in Vegas, a few months ago, when I was there for Jackson's bachelor party," Arizona nodded, "We apparently had a few drinks and then got married. She moved to Houston a couple weeks after and we fell in love and.. yeah.. we're married." She was stunned; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Mom and Dad don't know yet. They think we've just been dating.."

"Well, you know I'm not going to say anything."

"Thanks, Zona. I'm gonna tell them soon.. somehow."

Arizona turned to Jo, "Welcome to the family," she gave her a hug, "I can't wait to get to know you, but right now we better all get to sleep. And Mom and Dad better not catch you two in here together," she put on her big sister voice.

Jo immediately liked Arizona. The woman seemed to genuinely want to get to know Jo. And Jo didn't miss the ease and openness between the siblings. Alex didn't think twice about telling his sister the truth and she just accepted it.

The next morning, the family attended church together. As warm and welcoming as Jo found Alex's church in Houston, his father's church in Iowa was just the opposite. She noticed the curious side glances and the whispered conversations among the people. She also noticed it wasn't all directed at her, but Arizona was also the target of the gossip. Introductions were brief and greetings cool.

Pastor Karev turned the pulpit over to his son. Jo had never heard Alex preach before, and was impressed. He commanded attention with his wit and charm. He spoke to the people on a personal level. And she was sure his topic of choice, acceptance, was no accident. The nervous fidgeting in the pews and the number of people looking down at the floor or their fingernails, told Alex his sermon had hit its mark. But maybe not with everybody.

After the Sunday meal of roast beef, Jo and Arizona found themselves sitting alone on the front porch swing. A gentle spring breeze was rustling the leaves in the trees. The doors and windows of the house were open to let the fresh air in. As the two women talked, the sound of angry voices floated out to them.

"She's not right for you, Son. She doesn't have what it takes to be a good preacher's wife. You need someone more like…"

"You're wrong, Dad. She is right for me. Jo is perfect for me. And if you would just give her a chance you would see that."

"Maybe we should take a walk," Arizona suggested helplessly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jo replied, hanging on every word the two men said.

"I have never been in love before, Dad. I love Jo. I'm happier than I have ever been.."

"You are going to be a pastor," his dad cut him off, "you have to think about more than just yourself. You have to think about the church, your congregation."

"I'm not going to do my job, my church, my congregation justice if I'm not happy in my personal life," Alex argued. "What about me and what I want and need?"

"Jo is just not right for our church. We need someone more like…"

"Oh I'm sure you have just the woman in mind don't you?" Alex snorted.

"As a matter of fact.."

"No, Dad. This is real. This is forever. If Jo isn't right for the church than neither am I. I'll go somewhere else."

Jo put her head in her hands, "I never wanted this to happen," she groaned.

Arizona patted her back soothingly, "It's good for him. It's time he grew up, made his own choices, and stood up to our father. He's a hard man, but I promise he will respect Alex for it… eventually."

"I didn't want to tell you like this," Alex's voice was calmer now, "Jo and I are married." His mother had joined the two men, judging by the gasp heard all the way out on the porch. He retold the story again, to his parents this time. "I'm sorry. I know you are disappointed in me, but believe me when I tell you, that was the best mistake I have ever made. My life is so much better and happier since Jo has come into it. I know without a doubt she is the woman for me. She makes me a better man. Isn't that what you want for me? Someone to love me, and challenge me, and help me to grow?"

Jo's heart soared hearing Alex profess his love for her to his parents. Arizona beamed, so proud of her little brother.

"I hope you will give her a chance and really get to know her, because I know you would love her too. But for now, I think it is best if we go. I love you both and I'll call you soon." He hugged both of his parents.

Alex gathered his and Jo's luggage and met Jo on the front porch. She couldn't hold back the tears when she saw him. She flung herself into his arms. "So, I guess you heard?"

She nodded. She pulled back wiping at her eyes, "I love you, Alex."