Alex sat at the San Francisco airport waiting for his connection to San Diego. He wished he had managed to get a seat on a nonstop flight, but the early nonstop flights were booked. He knew Meredith was in the hospital, and her children were there as well, so a couple of hours wouldn't make a difference. Then he realized that he had one more person to call to share the news.

"Alex, have you heard from Meredith?" were the first words out of Cristina Yang's mouth. Since Meredith disappeared, the two spoke weekly, and the first words were always about Meredith.

"Yes, she's in San Diego, and I'm on my way there. She just had a baby girl."

"A baby?"

"Yes, I was her emergency contact. I guess she wanted someone who was at least in the USA."

"She didn't tell me she was pregnant."

"She didn't tell anyone we know. She just vanished with Zola, Bailey, and her fetus. Apparently, she went for sunshine. I don't know if she'd ever been in San Diego before."

"Not that I know of. It was a lot for her to deal with on her own."

"I know. I guess she wanted to disappear somewhere where she wasn't a widow. She could be just a single mom."

"But going to her doctor's appointments alone, that must have been tough for her. Derek was there every step of the way when she was pregnant with Bailey."

"And there was no super storm this time. But, being Meredith, she had an emergency c-section. But the nurse said she's fine. And I'm going to try to drag her home."

"I'm in the midst of a big trial, but let me know if you think she would want me to visit."

"Will do."

Meanwhile, in Seattle, April approached Jackson as he exited O.R. 2. She grabbed his arm and brought him to an on-call room. "What's up, April?" he asked.

"Did you hear the news?"

"What news? I don't think so."

"Meredith has turned up."

"Is she back?"

"No, she's in San Diego."

"Is she okay?" Jackson had been concerned about Meredith. She had just vanished, and things hadn't been the same since she left. He thought of Alex's pathetic Christmas party; it was a far cry from the parties that Meredith and Derek had thrown. Although those parties often went astray, he thought, as he remembered Owen yelling at Cristina for killing their baby at the party for Zola's first birthday.

"I think so. Alex got called because he's her emergency contact. Meredith had a baby." April spoke with a sense of wonder. "Dr. Shepherd is a father again."

"Wow," exclaimed Jackson. "That is amazing." He looked at April. "Are you okay?"

"I'm all right." She nodded. "I do feel a little jealous, to be honest. I'm only telling you because you're my husband. And I know it's wrong. I mean, Meredith lost Derek, and she loved him to pieces. But at least she has another baby to remember him with."

"And we don't have any children, yet," said Jackson. "I'm ready to try when you want to."

"I don't know if I can. I couldn't take losing another baby."

"While you were off in army, I did some research. We could do IVF and do genetic testing on the embryos."

"I don't think I can do that."

"We might be able to do the testing on the sperm and eggs separately, before conception. That could work."

"Maybe."

"Or we could adopt. There are lots of babies that need homes."

"We can think about it. I'm not sure I'm ready yet, but soon, I'll be ready soon."