Twelve weeks before the wedding
Rob sighs as Mallory checks her email for the fifth time in an hour. "Any news?"
"Not really." She frowns as she looks at the screen. "Chloe is still ignoring me. Dad says she left the house before anyone got up so they don't know what happened last night. How about you?"
"I got nothing. JoJo hasn't returned any of my calls or messages and Dad says she spent the night crying in bed without talking."
Mallory rubs her temples. "I wish we weren't on another continent. I need to know what is going on."
Rob moves behind her and starts massaging her shoulders. "They've been best friends forever. They'll work it out."
"They'd better."
"Did you know that Chloe is the one that named my sister 'JoJo'?"
"I did not know that." Mallory closes her eyes and leans back, as he continues to work on her muscles.
"It's true. Chloe couldn't say 'Johanna' when she started to talk, so she called her 'JoJo' and then everyone began calling her that. Their friendship goes back a long way."
"What if they can't make up?" Mallory asks sadly. "Are we supposed to pick which of our sisters is in the wedding?"
"Maybe they're like our moms?" Rob smiles. "They won't talk for a while and then they'll just decide to speak to each other again as if nothing happened."
"I doubt it will be that easy."
Chloe quietly enters the Hunt house, after her morning run. Sighing, she sees that her parents are waiting for her in the living room. "Good morning," she mutters, before entering the kitchen. Owen and Cristina stand and join her.
"We respect that you don't want to talk," Owen says quietly. "But you owe your sister some kind of explanation. You dropped a bombshell on her last night and she's very upset."
"I have a headache," Chloe says. "And I think JoJo should explain everything; it's her fault."
Cristina shakes her head. "JoJo has been too busy crying to talk." She rummages in a cupboard and pulls out a bottle of ibuprofen. "Take some of these. We'll be in the living room."
Owen smiles softly at Chloe before pouring her a glass of water and then leaving. He sits down next to Cristina as she checks her phone. They look up as Diego saunters downstairs.
"Any news?" Diego gestures to the kitchen.
"No. How many times has Mallory called you?" Cristina smirks.
The teenager thinks. "10?"
"Oh come on." Chloe emerges from the kitchen and crosses her arms. "That bad?"
"That bad," he assures her. "Please talk to her."
"Or we could call her for you," Owen suggests. "Just tell us what to say."
"Do you want to talk to just your dad?" Cristina asks. "We can leave the room."
"No, no." Chloe sits down across from her parents. Diego takes a seat next to her. "Let's get this over with."
"Start from the beginning," Owen prompts. "Where did you go?"
"Mickey's house," she admits. "He invited both of us to a party. But don't worry, I am definitely never ever going to see him again."
Owen frowns as Cristina sighs.
"You can do better than him," Diego assures his sister.
"So Mickey did something?" Owen asks.
Chloe rubs her forehead. "I couldn't find JoJo after a while, so I went looking for her. I figured she would be bored. I found her in a sun porch, talking with Mickey. They didn't know I was there."
She struggles to gain control of her emotions. "I overheard JoJo talking about me to Mickey. She called me 'Little Miss Perfect'. She stood there and she bitched about me, about how 'perfect' I am, what with graduating with honours and never getting into trouble. It was really ... nasty."
Owen places a hand on Cristina's arm as she starts to glower. Diego shakes his head in disbelief.
"And then Mickey hit on JoJo, because I'm a 'very good girl' and he said she isn't," Chloe mutters. Her parents wince as Diego listens, wide-eyed.
"And ... what, JoJo made out with him?" Cristina looks furious.
"Hardly." Chloe shakes her head. "She wasn't interested and that made him mad and he started to corner her and that's when I spoke up. I told him to back off and he did and we left."
"So Mickey didn't hurt either of you?" Owen asks. "Nobody laid a finger on you?"
"No." Chloe grimaces. "You were right about her. You have been telling me for years that she takes advantage of me and she isn't the friend she could be. I knew, I knew that she thinks I'm this boring little bookworm but I kept telling myself that she's my best friend. No more!"
"Wow." Diego looks down at the floor.
"Did you talk with her?" Owen leans forward. "Did she say anything?"
"She made excuses, like she always does," his daughter replies. "She said she was drunk, she didn't mean it, whatever. I've deleted like ten voice mails from her. I didn't bother listening to them."
"I want to slap some sense into her," Cristina seethes. "What a two-faced brat. Owen, get your keys."
He holds up a hand. "Cristina, you can't smack her around."
"Why not?" Cristina explodes. "She hurt Chloe! Nobody disses our kids like that!"
"I know, I know. You think this doesn't make me mad?" He sighs and looks at Chloe. "I'm sorry, hon. You've always done your best to give JoJo the benefit of the doubt. Though I never imagined that she was that ... do you have any idea of what prompted that? Is it that she just doesn't like you?"
"How should I know?" Chloe mutters. "I feel stupid. How many times have you pointed out all the little ways that she screws me over, like always going back on her promises? How many times has she criticized the way that I dress? I am so sick of her picking at me! She doesn't get to do that to me any more."
"Attagirl," Cristina says. "Has Mallory said anything about the wedding?"
"No, she just wants me to call her." Chloe sighs. "I can't stand up there next to Mallory and look at JoJo. I really can't."
Owen frowns. "I can't imagine the Shepherds would be okay with JoJo being banned from the wedding."
"Not my problem!" Chloe says, before standing up and leaving the room.
Derek quietly prepares lunch in his kitchen. He looks up when JoJo slowly enters the room, eyes swollen from crying.
"Hey. Good morning." He watches her with concern, noticing her fragile posture.
"Morning," she mutters, opening the fridge.
"Did I wake you? I tried to keep the noise down."
"I couldn't sleep," she says, sitting down with an orange.
He nods, before sitting down across from her. "Please tell me what happened last night."
"I realized that I am a shallow, selfish, miserable excuse of a human being," his daughter announces, as she begins to peel the fruit. "Also, I suck as a friend."
Derek watches her, silently.
"I suppose you've already been told something," she says.
"Owen phoned half an hour ago," he affirms, gently. "Before I call your mother and fill her in, I want to hear your side of the story. Like what exactly did this Mickey guy do to you?"
"He got me saying things that I should not have said about Chloe, he came on to me, and he said some things about both of us that were not nice. I slapped him."
Derek watches the dishevelled young woman in front of him, noticing how she can't make eye contact as her hands shakily tear apart the orange. He is stunned to see this side of his daughter, instead of her usual confident persona. "Are you okay?" Derek asks.
"No," she answers candidly. "My former best friend overheard me being a total bitch and she never wants to see me again. No, I am not okay."
"But what about Mickey cornering you?"
"He was no worse than any jerk at a club," JoJo says. "He grabbed my ass but nothing else."
"That doesn't make me feel better," he sighs.
"Sorry." She continues to pick apart the segments. "Anyways. I could not sleep at all, wondering what I could do to make things right."
"Oh?"
"I don't have an answer," she admits. "I want to go over later and see if Chloe will speak to me. And, I'm going to make some changes. I am going to get a job, any job, so I will do something other than sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I want to try being not so self-centred and depressed and bitchy."
"Okay." Derek breathes. "This is a lot to take in."
"I know, right?"
He watches her. "Have you spoken with Rob or Mallory? Anyone?"
JoJo shakes her head. "Rob left me a bunch of messages asking me to call him. I guess he knows?"
"He knows there was a fight." Her father winces. "Chloe wants you banned from the wedding or she won't be there."
"Oh god." JoJo stares at him, blue eyes wide. "I didn't think about the wedding. I've really fucked things up."
Derek watches her hands drop the orange. She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes starting to fill with fresh tears. She tries to say something but chokes up. He quickly stands and wraps his arms around his daughter as she starts to sob.
Rob and Mallory stare at her laptop, where Derek and Owen are explaining the situation via video chat.
"And that's why they're fought last night," Derek concludes. "JoJo feels terrible about what she said."
"She should!" Mallory declares vehemently. "Nobody talks like that about my sister!"
"Oh man." Rob rubs his forehead. "What a mess."
Owen leans towards the camera. "From our years of living with the Twisted Sisters, we have some advice ... stay out of it."
"'Stay out of it'?" Mallory explodes. "Our wedding is being affected by this!"
"The wedding is in three months," Derek points out. "Try to be patient and let the two of them work things out."
"'Work things out'?" She shakes her head. "After what JoJo said?"
"I know you're angry, I am too," Owen says. "But, they are both part of our families and we can't get involved."
Mallory sits back in her chair and stonily looks away.
"Okay." Rob rubs his hands through his hair. "Thank you for explaining all of this. We should log off, it's getting late here."
Derek nods. "Say hi to Jonah."
"Mallory." Owen is stern. "Take some time to digest this and don't say anything to JoJo until you can do so calmly. Yelling at her will make things worse."
She glances at the screen and nods frostily. Rob waves before closing the connection. He sits back and looks at his fuming fiancée.
He takes one of her slim hands. "I'm angry about what JoJo said too, okay? But she's my sister. I'm going to cool off and then I'll call her. I really want to know what the hell is wrong with her."
"She's evil."
"She's my sister," he reminds her, softly. "Call your mom, commiserate with Chloe, vent about this with whomever, do what you need to. But please refrain from calling my sister names around me, okay?"
"Do I have to?"
"Yes." He kisses her cheek. "This really sucks."
"It does."
Cristina looks up as Chloe storms into her home office.
"JoJo is here with Meredith," her daughter announces, pointing to the door. "I saw them drive in. Get rid of them."
"My pleasure," Cristina says grimly, as she stands. Her daughter nods and leaves the room.
The doorbell rings. Cristina opens it and stares at JoJo, who is meekly standing on the doorstep, with Meredith behind her. JoJo's face is ravaged by tears and exhaustion.
"Go away," Cristina tells JoJo. "You're not welcome here."
"I'm sorry," JoJo says. "I want to apologize to Chloe."
Angry, Cristina shakes her head. "She doesn't want to talk with you."
"Please," JoJo begs, tearfully. "I know I was wrong. I want her to know that."
"I'll pass the message along," Cristina says, crossing her arms across her chest. "But you can't come in."
Meredith folds her own arms. "Cristina. JoJo is very sorry and she's really upset to know that this is affecting the wedding."
"She should be!" With that, Cristina closes the front door and locks it.
Meredith puts a hand on JoJo's shoulder. "It's too soon."
JoJo shakes her head. "I really fucked up, Mom."
"You're a Grey, you're genetically programmed to fuck up," her mother says.
JoJo looks at her. "Do you hate me?"
"No." Meredith squeezes her shoulder. "I may hate some of your actions, I may really hate them, but I could never hate you."
In Paris the next day, Mallory calls Chloe on her lunch break. She grins as her sister answers.
"You're talking to me!' Mallory says. "Finally! How are you?"
"I'm fine," Chloe says, crisply. "Is she out of the wedding yet?"
Taken aback, Mallory pauses and tucks her hair behind her ears. "That ... is not a decision I can make alone. We thought we should give you two some time ..."
"So you're a Shepherd now." Chloe ends the call.
Mallory stares at her phone. Then she quickly dials Rob's number.
"What's up Mal?"
"Um." She nibbles her bottom lip, as a wave of sadness envelops her. "I talked with Chloe. She asked if JoJo is out of the wedding yet. She hung up on me after I said we were going to give them some time. She said I'm a Shepherd now."
"Oh Mallory." She can hear Rob sigh against the background noise of a busy kitchen. "I'm sorry."
She sniffs into the phone, as her eyes fill with tears. "I hate this."
"Me too." He pauses. "Just imagine I'm there with you. I'm putting my arms around you and giving you a big hug."
"Okay." Mallory closes her eyes, willing herself to relax.
"And I'm stroking your hair, which smells terrific, and you're relaxing and not stressing out."
"Uh huh." Mallory smiles a little. "I could use some phone sex to make me feel better..."
Rob laughs. "I'm at work." He lowers his voice. "Okay, I'm squeezing your breasts. That's all you're getting for now."
She sighs. "Not enough. Not while our sisters are at war."
The sound of dishes breaking carries over the phone. "I really have to go now," Rob tells her. "Love you."
"Love you." She disconnects the call. An icon pops up, informing her of a text message. She opens it, to read one single word from Chloe: "Sorry."
Rob sits down in front of the computer and adjusts the screen. He waves to his sister, viewing him from a chat window.
"Hey." He tries to hide his surprise at JoJo's appearance, her puffy eyes, her defeated posture. "How are you?"
"Terrible," she mutters. "I screwed up."
"What's going on?"
She looks to the side. "I'm an idiot."
"JoJo..." Rob swallows. "I'm worried about you. Why did you talk about Chloe that way?"
"I don't know," she replies. "I guess ... I've just been ... wrapped up in my shit and not really caring too much about other people. I made a huge mistake."
"Uh huh."
She looks at the camera. "Is Mallory there?"
He shakes his head. "She wanted to give us some privacy, so she's out with Jonah. She's going to introduce him to some of her girlfriends, they want to meet my 'hot American cousin'."
JoJo smiles slightly. "I'm glad he's having fun in Paris. He sent me some beautiful photos."
"It's been great having him here."
"So ... I want to make things right," she says softly. "I'm going to step out of the wedding. You don't have to ban me."
Rob blinks. "What?"
"I won't be in the wedding party," his sister replies. "Chloe can be the maid of honour and not have to look at me. I won't go to the ceremony or the reception."
He shakes his head. "No."
"Yes," she insists. "I'm the one who messed up, I should step out so that Chloe can enjoy her sister's wedding."
"But I want my sister there." He smiles gently at her image on the computer screen. "I can't get married without you by my side."
"This will be easier for you. I imagine the Hunts hate me."
Rob shakes his head. "Owen is staying out of it, and Mallory ... has agreed not to say nasty things around me."
"But Cristina isn't talking to Mom now and we all know what Chloe thinks of me, as she should."
Rob sighs. "You're sorry, right? You realize that you screwed up and you want to make some changes, right?"
"Right."
"As long as you are sorry and you are trying to change things, you are in the wedding," he tells her. "We have some time to figure this out. You are my Best Woman."
JoJo sighs. "Well, let's give Chloe some time and hopefully I'll think of how to make everything right."
"It was nice of you to try and back out for her sake," he tells her. "Now go have a hot bath or something. You look like crap."
"I am crap."
"Shepherds are not crap," Rob retorts. "I love you and I want you to feel better, okay? Go soak in some bubbles."
"Okay."
Eleven weeks before the wedding
With some trepidation, Meredith enters the house after work. She notes that her daughter is not in her usual spot in front of the TV. She walks upstairs and goes into the master bedroom, where JoJo is standing in front of her closet.
"Are you lost?" Meredith asks.
"I need to borrow some clothes," JoJo says. "I have a job interview tomorrow and I have nothing appropriate to wear."
"Oh." Meredith walks over to her side. "What kind of job?"
"Waitressing."
"Since when do you want to be a waitress?"
JoJo sighs. "I need to get a job. I need to get out of the house and do something and I need to pull myself together."
"Okay." Meredith starts rummaging through her clothes.
"I know that this is not what you want," JoJo says quietly. "But I can't stay home and do nothing, Mom."
"I don't want you to sit at home doing nothing and I see nothing wrong with being a waitress." Meredith pulls out a white blouse. "How about this?"
"I guess it's okay. I don't know." JoJo takes the shirt and holds it up against herself. She looks in the mirror. "I've gained weight."
"You were too thin before. Now you look healthy." Meredith turns back to her closet. "Where is this job?"
"At Toulouse, I know the owner."
Her mother raises an eyebrow. "One of your male friends?"
"Who is willing to take a chance on someone who has never waitressed before," JoJo notes. "What?"
"Well." Meredith steels herself. "I think if you want to make a real change with your life, maybe you should find some new friends."
"Al's cool," JoJo assures her. "He's not going to demand flavors from me to get this job."
"That doesn't make me feel less disturbed." Meredith sighs. "You aren't happy, JoJo. I don't think it makes you happy to be 'getting by on your looks' and manipulating men and I don't think it's a good idea for you to work at a club where men will be hitting on you all night long, not right now when you're so ... so ..."
"Messed up?"
"Fragile!" Meredith grabs her shoulder. "You are fragile! You are not in a good head space right now. Your whole family is very worried about you."
"I have to do something!" Her daughter holds up the blouse again. "This is something! I have to get out into the real world and interact with people and figure out how to become a better person and I'm not going to become a better person sitting on a couch waiting to be happy!"
Meredith blinks at the ferocity in her daughter's eyes. She finds herself feeling reassured. "I know just the right skirt to go with that blouse."
"Have you heard anything about Chloe?" JoJo asks. "Is she okay?'
Her mother shrugs as she looks into her closet. "Cristina is avoiding me at the moment, and I haven't seen Owen in a few days."
"Oh."
Meredith pulls out a plum-coloured skirt. "Try this."
Tentatively, Owen knocks on the door of Chloe's bedroom.
"Come in," she calls out.
Owen quietly enters the room, shutting the door behind him. His daughter is sprawled face down on her bed, her head buried in her arms. He sits down beside her.
"Want anything? Supper?" Owen asks.
She shakes her head.
"I'll just sit here then," he informs her.
"I'm not going to kill myself, you know."
"I know." He looks around her neat and tidy room. "You've been spending a lot of time in here by yourself. I thought I'd keep you company."
Chloe sighs. "Am I a goody two-shoes? A priss?"
"What?"
She rolls over and stares at the ceiling. "Mickey said that I was too afraid to have a good time. He called me a 'very good girl'."
Owen lays down beside her. "That's what jerks say when a woman turns them down."
"Guys don't like me," Chloe says softly. "They like me as a lab partner or in a study group because I can help them, but they don't 'like me' like me."
"Then they're idiots," Owen tells her.
"I'm not pretty."
"You're beautiful."
"I can't have this conversation with you, Dad," she grumbles. "You're not objective. You have always thought I'm perfect."
"But you are perfect to me," he smiles gently. "Oh, you were a challenge growing up, because you had a lot of hard questions, and you took many things apart without knowing how to put them back together again. But any guy who doesn't appreciate you doesn't know what he's missing."
"I am afraid," Chloe muses. "I'm so good because I'm afraid to be bad."
Owen takes her hand. "Chloe, there's nothing wrong with not being bad."
"Guys don't want to date good girls."
"There are good guys out there who can appreciate a woman like you. They're outnumbered by the jerks." Owen rubs her hand. "You remind me a lot of my mother, you know? Everyone thinks that she's a saint. It isn't because she's trying to be good ... she's just not interested in drama. She always wants to see the best in people. I've recognized that in you … you always defended JoJo and it seems to me that you don't act wild because you're just not interested in it. You're too busy pursuing your dreams."
Chloe snorts. "I don't feel like a saint. I really want to punch JoJo, so hard that you'll have to fly Mark Sloan in to fix her nose."
Her father chuckles. "If you break her nose, I'll buy Mark a first class ticket."
"Thanks."
"Can I give you some advice?" Owen asks.
"Sure."
"Don't ever tell your mother that you don't think you're pretty."
Chloe frowns. "Why not?"
"Because you look so much like her." Owen smiles. "And she is beautiful."
"Dr Grey, your daughter is in your office." a nurse informs Meredith, as she leaves the elevator.
"Thank you." Meredith rapidly walks over to her office and opens the door. She frowns as she sees JoJo sitting in a chair, wiping tears from her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't get the job," JoJo mumbles. "And I just walked 20 blocks in high heels."
"What happened?" Meredith puts her arms around her daughter.
"There was a misunderstanding," JoJo says. "Al didn't want to hire me for Toulouse. He wanted me for his other club - The Scarlet Lantern."
Meredith raises her eyebrows. "The strip club? Please tell me he still wanted you as a waitress."
"My choices were stripper or waitress," JoJo snorts. "And the waitress uniforms there are ... scanty. He told me that he was doing me a favour since I have no experience. I told him to go to hell and he threw me out of his office and I was so upset that I couldn't call a cab so I walked here so I could get a ride home with you."
Meredith strokes her hair. "Did you really walk twenty blocks?"
"Uh huh. My feet are blistered," JoJo whimpers.
"My poor girl." Meredith crouches at her daughter's feet and starts examining them. "I'll get an intern to take care of these."
"The real world sucks," JoJo says. "I hate men and my best friend hates me because I'm a bitch and now I've ruined my brother's wedding and I got kicked out of a party school because I'm like the only Shepherd too dumb for medicine. I suck."
"You can't find a wonderful job after one day of trying," Meredith says. "You'll find something that you're passionate about and that makes you happy. We Grey women may be crazy as hell, but we're also smart and resilient."
Ten weeks before the wedding
Derek and Owen nod to each other in the cafeteria. By unspoken agreement, they sit down at a table with their trays.
"Any news?" Derek asks.
Owen shakes his head. "Chloe still won't talk with JoJo or be in the wedding if JoJo is there. Mallory is starting to panic, Rob says she's having asthma attacks again."
Derek sighs. "JoJo has another job interview today but is still depressed. At least she's stopped partying every night. It's nice to come home after a long day and have her give me one of her massages. She pounds the crap out of my back and we both feel better."
"Uh huh."
Derek looks at Owen. "What's going on with Cristina? Meredith and I have noticed that she's shunning us."
"Cristina is avoiding you so she can't say something she'll regret," Owen advises him. "She's still very angry with JoJo."
"Ah. Well, Meredith is mad that Chloe wants JoJo banned, so it's a good thing if they don't talk for a while."
Owen frowns. "Derek, I think it's up to us to save the wedding."
"I was afraid that it would come down to us." Derek runs a hand through his hair. "Got any ideas?"
"Not a clue."
Walking home from the subway, Rob is pleasantly surprised when JoJo calls him on his cell phone. He quickly answers.
"I got a job today," she breathlessly announces.
"That's great! Where?"
"This women's gym near our house. I'm going to start at the front counter and if they like me, then there is the possibility of getting some training and teaching classes."
"Congratulations!" Rob grins, relieved to hear the joy in her voice. "I'm happy for you."
"I can't wait to see you next week," JoJo says. "I have to ask ... is Mallory even going to talk to me?"
"Yes," he replies. "We've ... had a few talks with our dads about not getting involved. And we've talked with each other about how we should try to be friendly with each others sisters and not make things worse. Mallory will be civil and I will play nice with Chloe."
"Why wouldn't you be friendly with Chloe?"
He sighs. "Because this is not fair to me. She's demanding that my sister not be at my wedding when I did nothing wrong. And the longer this goes on, Mallory is getting more and more anxious. She's having asthma attacks almost daily, and she can't sleep and she's barely eating. Which is not good because she has her last exam today and she needs to focus. I've tried to call Chloe and tell her this, but she's not speaking to me either."
"I'm sorry," his sister says. "I know I keep saying it but it's true."
"I know." Rob enters the apartment building. "Maybe Chloe will be more flexible if she can see in person how this is affecting Mallory."
"I hope so." She pauses. "Mom and Dad just pulled in, I gotta go tell them about my job."
"Congratulations again."
Nine weeks before the wedding
Derek and Owen meet in the cafeteria for coffee.
"JoJo is liking her job so far, she's looking better, and she hasn't been late once," Derek reports. "Which for her is a record. Meredith is happier, she might be willing to talk with Cristina now."
"That's good about JoJo." Owen sighs. "Cristina refuses to talk to Meredith or JoJo, but promises she will be friendly with Rob when they return to Seattle, she still likes him." He looks somber. "Rob has warned us that Mallory is losing weight due to the stress, and she has always been a little skinny. I hope this mess doesn't get drawn out too long."
Derek frowns. "Any ideas yet on what we can do to make the wedding happen?"
"No."
Derek pauses as he spots Chloe at the nurses' station near Cristina's office. Impulsively, he walks over. "Hello, Chloe. What brings you to the hospital?"
"Hi." She smiles politely. "I have a lunch date with Mom."
"Do you have time for a quick chat?"
"Um, sure." Chloe looks puzzled as Derek guides her to an exam room. They sit down, facing each other.
"I hope I don't have to tell you that JoJo is very sorry about what happened," he tells her. "I'm really concerned about how this is impacting the wedding."
"Then get her to drop out of the ceremony," she says.
He shakes his head. "I can't attend the wedding if my entire family isn't there. She's actually tried to back out many times but Rob won't let her."
"I did nothing wrong," Chloe protests. "I don't see why I have to be the flexible one."
"I know," Derek says. "I was very unhappy to hear what happened. I've known you your whole life, and you've always been a good friend to JoJo. I agree that it's unfair that she wasn't a good friend in return."
"She really hurt my feelings," Chloe says.
"Other people are going to hurt them too, you can't shut out everyone who does that," he points out. "Chloe, I do care about you. If JoJo were acting like what happened didn't matter, I would not be asking you to speak with her. But she is aware that her actions have hurt you, she is remorseful about that, and she is now holding herself to a higher standard."
She cocks an eyebrow.
Derek leans forward. "I would not be asking this of you if I thought I was setting you up to be hurt. I'm not saying that you should try being friends again, I completely understand that you wouldn't want to. I am asking you to talk with her so that you will feel comfortable at the wedding with JoJo there."
She sighs. "No."
Rob stretches as he walks into the apartment. He waves at Jonah, who is sitting at the small table in the kitchen, enjoying a sandwich.
"Hey," his cousin smiles. "I am going to miss Mallory feeding me."
"Paris has lots of great places to eat. You won't starve."
"But nobody can make a Philly cheesesteak sandwich like the Hurricane." Jonah holds up the remnants of his meal. "You're a lucky man."
"She's motivated me to take up jogging again," Rob chuckles, rubbing his abs. "Otherwise, I won't be able to fit into my suit."
Jonah grins. "Hey, my mom says 'hi'."
"You spoke with her?" Rob takes a seat. "How is she?"
"She's good," Jonah says. "She's looking forward to coming to Seattle, for your wedding."
"My mom definitely wishes that Lexie would move back," Rob says. "What's keeping her in Salt Lake City?"
"Me," Jonah replies. "She stays because I'm still in school there, even though I live with my dad. I think she'd be happier if she left, to be honest. She's getting along better with Dad, but his family ... well, that's another story."
Rob nods. "Well, I'm going to see if Mallory has packed the bedroom up yet." He stands and goes into the bedroom. He is surprised to see Mallory sitting on the bed, just staring out the window.
"What's wrong?" He looks around the room, at the open boxes. "Why are you just sitting there?"
"I don't want to leave," she sighs. "This is our first home together."
"Ah." He sits down next to her and puts an arm around her shoulder. "We'll have our own place again once we move to LA."
"But Paris is where we fell in love."
Rob smiles. "We'll come back. I promise. And maybe we'll have a couple of kids to bring along when we do."
She leans against him. "Or maybe we could return sooner. Like for my 25th birthday. I was thinking we could invite my parents and then Dad would pay for it."
"You really do plan far into the future, don't you?" Rob chuckles.
"Yeah." She sighs. "What I need is a plan to get our sisters and our mothers talking with each other again. So they don't ruin our wedding."
"Something tells me that you will figure it all out. You have a knack for getting what you want."
She takes his hand. "Like you."
Owen smiles patiently as Meredith lets him into her house. "Derek will be downstairs soon," she informs him coolly.
Owen nods and sits down in the living room. He looks up as a young woman wanders through. She pauses when she sees him. It takes him a couple of seconds to recognize JoJo, with her blonde hair neatly pulled back, and wearing minimal make-up. He quickly reminds himself to be diplomatic.
She shyly waves. "Hi."
"Hello," he says. "How are you doing?"
"Good." She remains standing, nervously. "I have a job now. At a gym."
"I heard, congratulations." He smiles softly at her. "I always thought you would do well in something like personal training or massage therapy."
"Really?" JoJo looks pleasantly surprised. "Nobody has ever told me that before."
"Well, when your father has a rough day, he can't wait to get home and let you work the kinks out," Owen tells her. "You have a knack for it. Maybe that's something for you to consider."
She nods. Then draws in a deep breath. "How is Chloe?"
His expression grows sad. "She's okay."
"Is she ever going to talk to me again? I miss her."
Owen looks at her carefully. She is standing uncomfortably, as if she were a small child waiting to be punished. "I don't know, JoJo. She's keeping her feelings very quiet."
"Would – can …" She sighs. "Is there anything I can do? Or would you prefer I just drop it and leave your family alone?"
He frowns. "You're my god-daughter, and I would prefer that you and Chloe reach some sort of agreement so that we can be one big happy family. And have a wedding with everyone there."
She smiles in relief. Owen leans forward.
"To be honest, I've thought that you could have been a better friend to Chloe many times, not just recently" he says gently. "If you really want to make things right, you need to show her that you can change. It's not enough to say that you can be a better person, your actions must speak for you."
"Got it," she assures him. "I haven't missed one day of work, I haven't even shown up late. I've stopped the partying. I'm determined to be a responsible person now."
He smiles. "I can tell her that, but I can't guarantee anything. My girls can be really stubborn, you know."
"They come by it honestly," JoJo grins. "I mean, they get it from their mom …."
"Yeah yeah," Owen chuckles, holding up a hand. "None of us are perfect."
Diego sighs as he waits with his parents at the Seattle airport. "Do you think JoJo will show up with the Shepherds?"
"If she does, I'll take care of her," Cristina promises.
"Derek said that JoJo is tied up with work, and she won't be here." Owen waves at someone. "Here he comes with Meredith."
Derek smiles as they approach. Meredith pointedly does not make eye contact.
"Good timing," Owen tells them. "They just texted that they're almost through Customs, we'll see them soon."
Diego notices how the two women are not looking at each other. He looks at his father, who shrugs.
"I think I see them," Derek says, gesturing to the line of passengers coming into the baggage claim area.
"Hi!" Mallory shrieks, breaking into a run and throwing herself into Owen's arms, as Rob follows her, greeting his parents warmly.
"Hi Mom!" Mallory hugs Cristina tightly. "Hi Diego!"
"Hi," he grins, dropping all pretence of looking cool as Mallory squeezes him hard.
"How were your flights?" Owen asks.
"Terrible!" Mallory scowls. "I'm not talking to him." Rob shoots her a cool look.
"Now what?" Cristina sighs.
"He's decided that he wants to stay with his parents until the wedding," Mallory declares. "Even though we've been living together for six months. And we agreed that we'd stay with you first."
"We'd have more space at my house," Rob says.
"But I want to stay with Mom and Dad," Mallory declares passionately. "I've been away for so long. I missedthem."
Owen beams as Meredith rolls her eyes.
"You could stay in my new RV," Derek laughs, clapping Rob on the back. "A definite upgrade from the old trailer."
"An RV?" Rob looks disgusted as Mallory's eyes light up.
"We could have our own place right away," she tells him, taking his hands. "Say yes, Rob."
"I thought you weren't talking to me," he smirks.
"I hate you," she says, before she kisses him fervently. "You are just awful."
"Get a room," Owen sighs, as everyone else laughs.
"So?" Mallory looks hopefully at her mother and Meredith. "Are we all made up and speaking to each other again?"
"Not yet," Derek sighs.
"Oh come on!" Mallory points at the older women. "The wedding is in two months, you have got to stop acting like this."
Cristina smirks slightly as Meredith coughs. The men exchange amused glances.
"JoJo is doing well at her new job and has stopped partying," Derek announces.
"And Chloe still hates her guts," Cristina mutters.
Meredith sighs. "It's been a month. Chloe shouldn't be making demands about a wedding that isn't even hers."
"You two should be better role models on forgiveness!" Mallory points at the other two women. "This fight isn't even about either of you!"
Meredith looks at Cristina. "You raised a really bossy brat, you know that?"
"Do you want to get into what kind of daughter you raised?" Cristina asks. "I have plenty say about that."
"Let's go get the baggage," Derek interjects. "And see if the lovebirds can figure out where they're staying tonight."
Mallory is giddy as Rob throws down his battered backpack on her old bed. "Thank you for deciding to stay here with me," she grins, hugging him.
"I do have a bigger room at my parents' house," he chuckles, pointing around them. "I still think it's the better place."
"But my family isn't there," she murmurs. "We can go stay with your parents after the wedding, okay?"
"Okay," he smiles, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear, leaning down for a kiss.
"Ahem," Owen coughs from the doorway, setting down another of Mallory's suitcases. "Chloe just pulled in with my mother."
"Thanks Dad," she grins. "We'll be downstairs very quickly." He nods and leaves them alone.
Rob checks his phone. "JoJo wants us to come over tonight. Both of us." He looks at Mallory, who is silent. "Remember what we discussed on the plane? Besides where to stay?"
She nods. "We're going to try to get them talking again, and we're also going to be nice with both sisters despite what we may think of their current fight."
"Right."
"I'll do it," Mallory assures him. "I will go with you to your parents' house and play well with others. Including JoJo."
"Because she is working on being a better and happier person," he reminds her. "As long as she is trying, we need to not judge. And I won't point out to Chloe that her demands are causing us a great deal of stress and maybe she could give JoJo at least a chance to be civil."
"Okay. First, let's go see Chloe. And Grandma Hunt!" She grins and leaves the room, running downstairs, where Owen is helping his mother with her walker, while Chloe stands by and Cristina watches from the couch.
"Grandma!" Mallory bounces over and tenderly embraces the older woman. Then she grabs her sister and hugs her tightly. "I missed you both!"
"Look at you." Mrs Hunt smiles sweetly. "All grown up now."
"Allegedly," Chloe smirks.
Mallory grins and twirls around, as Rob chuckles. "Grandma, do you remember Rob?"
"Of course I do." She smiles as Rob bends over and kisses her weathered cheek. "I think it's so sweet that you two are getting married."
"I'll take good care of her," Rob promises, as he gives Chloe a quick hug.
"Wait until you see my wedding gown," Mallory tells her grandmother. "It's the most beautiful dress ever."
"I'm sure you'll look lovely in it."
"And I also picked out gorgeous dresses for everyone in the wedding party, including the maid of honour and the best woman," Mallory slyly glances at her sister, who sighs.
Their grandmother chuckles as she slowly walks over to a chair. "Give the girls more time, Mallory."
"I don't need more time," Chloe protests. "Grandma, I told you in the car that I never want to see her again. And Mallory, don't you start with me."
"What?" Mallory smiles sweetly, as her parents share a knowing look. "We're going over to the Shepherds later tonight. Want to come with us and hug it out?"
"No!" Chloe grumbles, before abruptly going upstairs.
"How about you, Mom?" Mallory grins at Cristina, who scowls.
Amused, Owen shakes his head and points at his younger daughter. "You've been here for half an hour and you're already annoying your sister and your mom. Welcome home, Hurricane."
Rob opens the truck door and helps Mallory climb down. He takes her hand as they walk to the Shepherd house.
"Okay." Mallory straightens her shoulders. "I can do this. Even if she's rude to me and calls me a ginger."
"She's not going to do that!" He gives her a quick kiss before opening the front door.
"Robbie!" JoJo tackles him in a huge hug. He chuckles, stepping back as she grips him tightly. Then she lets him go and smiles tentatively at Mallory.
Mallory raises her eyebrows. She finds JoJo almost unrecognizable, dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans. And smiling.
"Hi JoJo," she says politely. "How are you?"
"I'm good," JoJo tells her. "It's great to see the two of you again! And engaged! Can I see your ring?"
Mallory nods and extends her left hand. She looks at Rob while JoJo examines her engagement ring. Rob merely grins.
"Well done," JoJo says. "That is so pretty. Very sparkly, just like you."
"Uh huh," Mallory responds. "Thank you."
"Okay come on in!" JoJo beckons. "Let's catch up!"
Rob grins and Mallory stares, as they follow her into the living room.
Later that night, Chloe finds Mallory digging in the Hunts' kitchen.
"Who rearranged the kitchen? I can't find what I'm looking for." Mallory complains.
"It's not your kitchen," Chloe smirks. "I hope you're making yourself something to eat. You're too thin."
Her sister stands up and brushes her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm too thin because I can't eat. I can't eat because every time I think about my wedding being disrupted, I want to throw up." She pauses. "Crap. I was trying to not yell at you."
Chloe gestures helplessly. "What am I supposed to do? Push some magic button and forgive JoJo? You were one of many people telling me that she wasn't really my friend, and you were right!"
Mallory nods. "I did say that."
Chloe opens the refrigerator. "So what happened when you saw JoJo tonight?"
"That was ... different," Mallory muses. "She was very friendly, it was weird. She asked if I could show her how to bake chocolate chip cookies, and she was full of compliments about my ring and my hair and stuff, and she suggested that we could go to a movie or go shopping sometime."
Surprised, Chloe looks at her sister. "What, JoJo likes you now?"
"Apparently so!" She shrugs. "I mean, I'm glad she wasn't snotty to me. But it was strange, having her suddenly be so nice and stuff. And she didn't even call me a ginger. She called me 'sparkly'."
"She's up to something," Chloe deduces. "Watch yourself with her."
"I will." Mallory exhales. "Before the fight, you said that you and JoJo were going to plan the wedding shower. What happened with that?"
"She can plan it," her sister shrugs, opening a cupboard. "I won't be there."
"But it's my shower-"
"No." Chloe glances at her. "And she's not coming to your bachelorette party either."
Eight weeks before the wedding
Owen sighs as he reads an email from the wedding planner on his phone. He looks at Derek, sitting across from him in the hospital cafeteria.
"I really hope that Chloe elopes," Owen says, holding up his phone. "Mallory hates the caterer that Alexandra lined up, so they have to find another one on short notice. Also, she's changed her mind on the floral arrangements. Again."
"I'm not going to let JoJo get married," Derek laughs. "Not unless she wants to elope too."
"Have you not learned that we can't dictate what our grown daughters do?"
"I don't think 'Papa Bear' should be giving me parenting advice. We both know that you're the over-protective one."
Chuckling, Owen puts his phone away. "Mallory and JoJo are going to the bridal salon today for fittings. I hope they won't start brawling in the shop."
"What about Chloe?"
Owen shrugs. "My understanding is that she's going to her fitting separately so she doesn't have to see JoJo. Chloe is expecting that Mallory is going to cave and ban JoJo, and she wants to make sure her maid of honour dress fits."
"I'm not saying that Chloe is wrong to still feel hurt," Derek says carefully. "But I wish she'd speak with JoJo. My girl is really trying to do better. She's smiling more now. I don't think it's right to let this continue to affect the wedding."
"We have to follow our own advice and stay out of it," Owen reminds him. "Although I am tempted to lock the two of them up on the vent and make them work it out."
JoJo looks at her reflection in the bridal shop. She turns, keeping an eye on the mirror, seeing how the black velvet dress moves with her.
"That looks fabulous on you," Mallory sincerely notes. "You really wear it well."
The blonde woman nods, smoothing the fabric with her hands. "You picked out a fantastic design."
"Thanks."
JoJo glances at her. "I wish Chloe were here with us."
"Oh boy." Mallory exhales. "She's scheduled her fitting for tomorrow."
"I'm sorry," JoJo mutters. "I never wanted things to go this way."
Mallory nods.
"Let's get some coffee after we're done here," JoJo blurts out. "I have something I want to ask you."
"Okay, what's up?" Mallory asks as they sit down in a coffee shop, with their drinks.
"First, please know that I'm not trying to criticize you," JoJo starts. "I'm just wondering how you went from Hurricane Mallory to being the person you are today, all responsible and a grown-up and stuff."
"Oh." Mallory blinks. "Really?"
"Yes," the other woman smiles. "Once upon a time, you got arrested for shoplifting and your parents allegedly permanently grounded you for getting into trouble. Now, you're almost married and planning a future and you got my brother to settle down. How did that happen?"
"Hmmm." Mallory scrunches up her nose and thinks. "Paris."
"Paris?"
"Uh huh!" Her eyes light up as memories surface. "When I was about 15, 16 years old, I knew that medicine wasn't for me. I kept thinking how hard it is to become a doctor, and then when you're a doctor, you're getting phone calls in the middle of the night, and praying that you don't get sued over some little mistake. Plus, you're around sick people a lot and they're kind of gross."
"Okay."
"So I asked myself, what do I like to do? And the answer was, I like to cook. Good food keeps people healthy. Nutrition is fascinating."
"If you say so," JoJo smiles.
"Then I started thinking about where I'd want to go to college. Again and again, I realized my dream was to go to culinary school in Paris. Our family went there when I was like 13 and I loved the city."
"I've never been."
"You should go!" Mallory grins. "Anyways, so the next question was, how do I pay for all this? I sat my father down and I explained my dream to him and he said there was absolutely no way that he'd ever pay for that."
JoJo leans close. "Really?"
Mallory turns a little pink. "He pointed out that I wasn't exactly acting like a responsible person then. I can admit it now, I was in full Hurricane Mallory mode. Yes, I'd gotten into a lot of trouble, I was skipping classes, my friends were encouraging me down the wrong path, shall we say. Dad said that I would have to pay for everything myself if I really wanted to go."
"And I thought you could talk your dad into everything," JoJo grins.
"So did I!" Mallory chuckles. "Anyways. My parents challenged me to show them that I could in fact be trusted to live on my own without igniting another world war. I had to stay on the honour roll. I had to show up for every class. It was a little harder to let go of some of my friends, until a trespassing incident showed me that I should really find more positive role models."
JoJo raises an eyebrow. "I know the feeling."
"Dad showed me how to make a budget and made me stick to it, and my mom helped me research different programs, and they both made me commit to going a certain amount of time without ending up in trouble with the law. They paid for extra French classes. And finally, they agreed that they would support my dream. And I moved to Paris."
"Wow," JoJo says. "What did that feel like?"
"I cried every night for a month," Mallory confides. "I didn't want my family to know that the Hurricane was homesick. But, I started to make friends and I explored the city on the weekends and soon I was happy and living my dream."
"And now your dream is to marry Rob?"
"That's one of them," she beams. "It was his idea to get married so fast, but why not? We know we want to be together forever. And then he's going to pursue his dream of being a doctor and I'm going to be a world-famous chef someday."
"i think you will be," JoJo smiles shyly. "You're excellent. I could learn a few things from you."
"Thank you!' Mallory sips from her coffee cup. "Do you have a dream?"
"Not really," the other woman admits. "Other than standing by Rob's side at the wedding and seeing Chloe standing by you."
Mallory nods. "So ... I have to ask. Is this why you're being so chummy now? To be honest, we have not always liked each other much."
"That's true," JoJo acknowledges. "Well, we are going to be sisters-in-law and I would like us to get along."
Mallory nods. "I would like that. But I have to wonder if …"
"… I have an ulterior motive?" JoJo looks at Mallory directly. "Like you once did, I feel the need to put some distance between myself and bad influences. I have made some new friends at work. You and I are going to be family, I think we should be friends. That is my primary objective – make new friends."
"Okay..."
JoJo breathes deeply. "I'm very sorry about how I treated Chloe. I don't know how to fix that. I'm not going to use you to manipulate Chloe, but it would be nice if she could see that I can change."
"I see." Mallory tilts her head, thinking fast and furiously. "I do appreciate that you're being honest. Especially about hurting my sister."
"I'm an asshole. It's true."
"Hmmm." Mallory's eyes start to gleam. "So ... if we can become friends, then maybe you can start talking with Chloe again and then my wedding won't be ruined?"
JoJo grins. "Exactly. It could be a win-win-win scenario."
Mallory laughs. "Well, I do like win-win-win." Her smile fades. "But we have to be real friends. I'm not going to lie to anyone and pretend that we are."
"I'm willing to try."
"Wow." Mallory gulps. "Hmm. If we're going to be friends … I know my parents made me apologize at the time but … I am really sorry about being such a total brat at your birthday party."
"Oh my god!" JoJo surprises herself by laughing. "What were you thinking?"
The red-haired woman smiles ruefully. "I was thinking that everyone was being really mean to me that day. Looking back, I can see that I was a monster. My poor parents. Poor you."
"Apology accepted." JoJo smiles.
"Okay." Mallory takes a sip. "So, as my new friend, are you willing to host the wedding shower?"
The other woman sighs. "I'm guessing Chloe is backing out of that?"
"Yes," Mallory admits. "I can help you with it. In fact, I insist on being responsible for the food."
"Good, because that's not my forte at all." JoJo looks pensive. "We could have it at my house, we have lots of room."
"Okay!" Mallory smiles at JoJo. "Let's do this."
Seven weeks before the wedding
Derek enters the gym where JoJo works. "I'm Dr Shepherd," he tells the girl behind the front desk. I'm here to pick up JoJo."
"She's running late," the attendant informs him. "JoJo's cleaning up a tanning bed, someone made a huge mess in there. Lotion everywhere."
"Dr Shepherd." A tall woman approaches him, hand extended. "I'm Lisa, one of the managers here."
"Hello." He shakes her hand.
"We are so pleased with JoJo," she tells him. "You should have seen her today. We had a new client who was really nervous about using the equipment. An older woman, starting an exercise regime on doctor's orders. JoJo was so patient with her, she taught her how to use each machine and adjust them to her fitness level. The client was almost crying with relief after."
Derek smiles. "That's great!"
"I like to use JoJo with some of our newer clients, she has a knack for helping them feel more confident."
"Thank you for telling me."
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" JoJo rushes out of the changing room.
"Have a good evening!' Lisa waves as they leave.
"I really didn't mean to keep you waiting," JoJo tells her father as they walk to his car.
"It's okay. I heard there was a lotion emergency. I had a chat with your manager while I waited."
"Oh?" She looks apprehensive.
"She told me what a valuable employee you are," Derek smiles. " I'm proud of you."
JoJo stops walking and stares at him. "Really?" Her voice is soft.
Derek feels a twinge of guilt. "I guess I haven't said that enough."
Her eyes are moist. "I'm glad you can say it."
Callie smiles broadly as she lets Chloe into her house. "Hello sweetie!"
"Hi!" Chloe grins as she hugs Callie. "It's so nice to see you again!"
"I can't wait to hear what the bachelorette party is going to be like!" Callie looks behind Chloe. "You're here by yourself?"
"Uh huh. Mallory is harassing caterers today and can't join us." Chloe pulls out her laptop.
"And JoJo ...?"
"She's not invited," Chloe sighs.
Callie looks at her. "I heard you two are fighting, just like your mothers."
"We are not just like them."
"True, I've seen you pick up after yourself." The black-haired woman smiles warmly and gestures to the spacious living room. "Come sit and tell Auntie Callie all about it. Need a drink?"
"No thanks." Chloe sits down. "We went to a party and I overheard JoJo call me 'Little Miss Perfect' and bitch about me to this guy, about how I'm so wonderful. She hates me."
Callie frowns. "I've often wondered if she was jealous of you, but I never thought she hates you."
"Why would she be jealous of me?" Chloe looks incredulous.
Callie sighs. "Both of you were raised to meet high standards. I'm not criticizing your parents, I want my children to excel, too. But ... I've heard Derek and Meredith groan many times about JoJo's lack of ambition, and sometimes I've heard them talk about how you and Rob are going to be medical superstars. In front of JoJo."
"Oh." Chloe looks chagrined. "I didn't know that. But that's not my fault."
"I know, I know."
"How can she seriously be jealous of me?" Chloe looks confused. "I was always jealous of her, it's so easy for her to flirt with guys and ask them out or be asked out."
Callie smiles maternally. "Did you ever tell her that?"
"No..." Chloe sighs. "I wish I could understand relationships as well as I understand anatomy."
"You're a smart woman, you can figure things out."
"Some things can't be learned from books," the younger woman notes. "Like how to meet someone who likes me as much as I like him. I suck at that. I've had more A+ report cards than boyfriends."
"You're young, you have plenty of time." Callie smiles. "Think of romance as a grand research project. You're studying chemistry, biology, figuring out what's right for you. I had a lot of fun experimenting, before I even discovered that dating women was a worthwhile subject to dive into. And then I met Arizona and realized we were made for each other."
Chloe eyes her skeptically.
"I was married once before, before I married Arizona," Callie tells her, softly. "I married a sweet guy at a time when we both needed some stability and we both thought that we were in love. We tried to make it work, then he stopped trying, while I tried even harder to hold onto him, so that I could have a husband. It ended disastrously. My advice to you is, don't give your heart to someone just so you can say you have a boyfriend. Hold out for the guy who thinks that you're special, who deserves you. He's out there somewhere. Maybe he'll be at Harvard, maybe he lives next door."
"We live next door to retired couples," Chloe says drily.
"Maybe they have hot grandsons!"
Six weeks before the wedding
Meredith knocks on the door to Owen's office, where he is seated, chatting with Cristina as she leans against his desk. He motions for her to enter.
Meredith stands in front of him. "I understand that you arranged for JoJo to spend the day in the hospital, observing physical therapists on the job, to see if that's something she would like to do as a career."
"Yes I did," Owen answers slowly. "They said she was very interested and asked some good questions and wants to come back on her next day off."
Meredith nods. "Stand up."
Cristina frowns as her husband rises to his feet. Meredith coughs, then reaches out and briskly hugs Owen.
"She really enjoyed the opportunity and is now thinking about going back to school in a year to study kinesiology. Thank you," she says.
Owen grins. "You're welcome."
"Hey Meredith," Cristina says. "Want to grab some coffee?"
"I'd love to." The two women exit the office as if nothing had ever come between them.
"Thank god," Owen mutters to himself.
Derek and Rob watch JoJo and Mallory with amusement. The two young women are looking at Mallory's laptop, surrounded by brochures and papers strewn over the Shepherds' dining room table.
"Could you ever imagine those two planning your wedding shower?" Derek quietly asks his son.
"No," Rob chuckles. "I'm not sure that I'm not hallucinating."
"They're watching us," Mallory mutters to JoJo. "Probably taking bets on when the hair pulling and the pinching is going to start."
"Or they're guessing how many strippers we're going to book."
"Ha!" Mallory grins. "Little do they know, we can't decide between an ice cream sundae bar or a chocolate fondue fountain."
"Or what colours to decorate with."
"It's summer. What is more summery than yellow?" Mallory asks, resuming an argument.
JoJo shakes her head. "Purple is elegant and you said you want something classy."
"You think I forgot that purple is your favourite colour?" Mallory opens her mouth to say more – then shuts it. Her eyes start to gleam.
"Oh oh." JoJo looks both amused and nervous. "What are you up to?"
"We really don't have time to fight over the colours," Mallory says. "You can have purple. There will be lots of yellow at the reception."
"I sense Hurricane Mallory is on the horizon. That was too easy."
Mallory merely smiles mischievously.
Rob wanders into the living room, and stares at what is happening in the driveway. "Dad! Look!" He points to the window. "Mom's home and Cristina is with her! They're talking!"
"Finally!" Derek grins and goes to the door. Smiling, he holds the door open.
"Hello, hello." Cristina enters the house and waves, followed by Meredith.
"Go look in the dining room," Derek grins. The women peek inside at Mallory and JoJo.
"Why good evening, mother." Mallory smiles. "So nice to see you here!"
"Hello," JoJo says apprehensively, her face pale.
"Hello girls," Cristina acknowledges. She turns to Meredith. "You said you have wine?"
"Right this way."
The next evening, Chloe comes home and goes straight to her room. She blinks to see her mother waiting for her.
"Please sit," Cristina says, patting the bed. "I want to talk with you about the wedding."
"Oh god." Chloe sits down and puts her head in her hands.
"I'm very worried about Mallory," Cristina continues. "She's not eating and she's almost transparent. It's upsetting to think about you not being there."
"Why is she siding with the Shepherds?"
"Why does there have to be sides?" Cristina retorts. "You can't ask Mallory to choose between you and her husband."
"That's not -"
"It is what you're asking," Cristina insists.
"I don't see it that way."
Her mother sighs. "Why won't you speak with JoJo?"
Chloe's hands clench. "I want her to pay. I want her to know that she's not welcome at the wedding, because she is not a decent human being. I want her to hurt."
Eyebrows raised, Cristina searches for the right words. "Chloe ..."
"Why shouldn't I get what I want?" Chloe asks, her voice choking with angry tears. "I've been the good girl all of my life and what does that get me? I'm a doormat. JoJo walked all over me for years and then complained that I'm so fucking perfect. Why don't I get to be in my sister's wedding and not have to look at JoJo's stupid, sneering, so fucking superior face?"
"That ... is a very good point," Cristina acknowledges. "Chloe, your problem is that sometimes you are too nice-"
"Oh now you're criticizing me too?"
"You need to speak up more for what you want!" Cristina continues. "You are my daughter! When it comes to your education, you are ambitious and bold and I am incredibly proud of you. But you ... lose that confidence when it comes to your personal life and I don't know why and if I could fix that in you, I would!"
They breathe hard as they stare at each other.
"Look, I'm still pissed at JoJo too," Cristina says. "If there wasn't a wedding, and if she wasn't the daughter of my person, I'd have told her off and I would have made her hurt. But ..."
"But there's a wedding."
"I saw JoJo last night," Cristina tells her. "I can tell you that she looked terrified to see me. Part of me felt good, seeing that."
"Part of you?"
"I ... could see a bit of the JoJo I used to know," her mother admits. "The girl who was your best friend and who would rather die than ever hurt you."
"Where has she been?"
"Back to your sister." Cristina strokes Chloe's hair. "She hasn't unleashed the full fury of Hurricane Mallory on you, has she?"
Chloe considers the question. "No, no she hasn't."
"Because she loves you," Cristina reminds her. "Mallory is trying to give you the time you need, no matter how much it hurts her. But she's running out of time."
"I'm always the one who has to accommodate everyone else," her daughter complains. "When do I get to have my wishes heard? This is unfair."
"So much about this is not fair," Cristina agrees. "But Chloe ... Mallory would never, ever tell you who you could or could not have in your wedding."
Silently, Chloe's shoulders sag.
Five weeks before the wedding
Derek and Owen meet for coffee.
"Cristina tried to get Chloe to talk with JoJo but Chloe refused," Owen reports. "Mallory is close to asking her friend Annick to be the maid of honour."
"We could ask Bailey," Derek muses. "I think she and Meredith are the only ones who haven't tried to change Chloe's mind."
Owen shakes his head. "Bailey tried two weeks ago. Even Diego attempted to intervene. The poor kid hates conflict, but he wanted a turn at making things right. Chloe almost made him cry."
"So ... Meredith?"
"No. That will make Chloe start muttering about Team Shepherd again."
Derek pauses. "What about you, Owen?"
The red-haired man smiles sheepishly. "I can't intervene. I want to be there for Chloe while she's hurting and working through her feelings ... she's my girl. And I also want Mallory to be happy and to not waste what is a very pricey wedding ... and she's my girl."
"Wuss."
"I prefer to think of myself as Switzerland. Someone who can stay neutral while providing support for both of his daughters."
"So you're a Swiss wuss."
Rubbing her head, Chloe enters the Hunt home after a long day at work. Sleepily, she walks into the living room. She stops and stares at JoJo, who is sitting in a chair.
"Hi." JoJo tentatively smiles.
"What are you doing here?" Chloe mutters.
"Mallory and I are going to a movie," JoJo explains quietly. "She's upstairs changing her clothes. Diego said that you're volunteering at the clinic tonight and wouldn't be here."
"No, that was last night." Chloe looks at JoJo, noting her casual appearance. "I'm sure you'd rather be going to a club so that guys can follow you everywhere."
"I don't do that anymore," JoJo says softly. "Even if I did, I have to work tomorrow. I can't show up hungover."
Chloe nods, crossing her arms across her chest. "Everyone tells me that you're being all responsible and stuff now."
"I am." JoJo asserts. "I like my job, well, except for cleaning the bathrooms. But I work with fun people and it's interesting and it has me really thinking about what I want to do in the future."
"And how long is this going to last?" Chloe asks. "I find it hard to believe that you could just turn yourself around so quickly."
The blonde woman nods. "I bet. It's just ..." She sighs. "It took hurting you to make me realize how wrapped up in my own problems I was, and how self-centred I was being. I'm sorry."
"You know what I think?" Chloe asks. "I think this could be about you trying to stay in the wedding. Maybe you're scheming to be the maid of honour. You'll go back to your usual self after it's over."
"No it's not," JoJo protests. "This is about me trying to make things right and trying to figure out who I really am."
"Hey!" Mallory bounces down the stairs. "You're talking!"
Her sister rolls her eyes. "Nothing has changed."
"Chloe … is there any way we can make this work?" JoJo asks. "Mallory really wants youto be the maid of honour, and I want that for you too."
"No," Chloe says flatly.
"I've tried and tried to step out of the wedding," JoJo continues. "But Rob won't go through with it if I'm not there."
"It's true," Mallory says. "We could have settled this long ago but he wants his sister there. Like I want mine."
"I'm not asking you to be my best friend again," JoJo says quietly. "I've ... had a shitty year and ... I'm really sorry, Chloe. I'm the one that fucked up. I'm asking you to not let this affect their wedding."
"Poor you, you got kicked out of school," Chloe mutters. "You're not the only one who has failed before, you know."
JoJo lowers her gaze. "It's not just flunking out ... it was ..." She looks up at the other women and sighs. "You might want to take a seat."
Mallory sits down in the chair next to JoJo's. Slowly, Chloe sits down on the couch across from her.
"What happened?" Mallory asks softly.
JoJo looks guilty. "He is a professor and was my academic adviser. We ... started seeing each other when I was first put on academic probation."
"Oh boy." Chloe leans back as Mallory sits up straighter in her chair.
"I know." JoJo sighs. "He had this ... way of speaking with me. He made me feel like I wasn't just another student, he really made me feel special. I thought that he truly cared about me, that he could see behind this facade I'd built up, that he saw the real me and that he loved the real me. He guided me along in my studies. I don't think I would have survived my second year without him."
"Uh huh." Mallory listens intently, as Chloe remains silent.
JoJo looks down. "Ever since I hit puberty, I knew I had a power over guys. That I could make them do whatever I wanted just by smiling at them in a certain way. A touch on their arm, a little flip of my hair, it was that easy. I knew that I was playing them, that I was manipulating them, that really, it was all just a game to me."
Anger and jealousy flash across Chloe's face. Mallory shifts uncomfortably.
Eyes downcast, JoJo continues. "I went into it thinking that I could just manipulate him like everyone else. I never thought that someone could play me the same way. But he did. He strung me along with promises that it wasn't just a fling and that we could be together openly after I graduated, and I was stupid enough to believe him."
She looks up, briefly. "And then last fall, I discovered that I was pregnant. Before I had time to really think about what I wanted to do, he had scheduled and paid for the abortion. He insisted that it be 'dealt with' as soon as possible, and it was. Not even one week after, he told me that we shouldn't see each other any more."
Chloe stares at JoJo as if seeing her for the first time, as Mallory takes the blonde woman's hand.
"I didn't want to keep it," JoJo says, as tears form in her eyes. "Let's be honest, kids come with a lot of responsibility and they smell and it was not a good time for me to become a mother. But the way he ... arranged everything, it was like it was all my fault or that I was trying to entrap him. It really was a failure of birth control. I may be manipulative, but I'd never use a baby in that way."
Transfixed, the sisters watch as JoJo wipes her eyes. "Having the abortion wasn't as ... detached ... as I thought it would be. It was really awful. I'd rather have my tubes tied than go through that again. And then he treated me like I was garbage when he dumped me. It took me a while to realize how abusive he had been all along, and I'm not that much better.,"
"JoJo," Mallory breathes, her eyes full of compassion. "Didn't you have anybody you could talk with about this? One of your friends? Your mom?"
"Nope. I felt really stupid. The player got played. And nobody knew I was seeing him, he would have been in trouble. I haven't dated any guy since then, I don't want to," JoJo concludes. "I just … partied to try and forget what a stupid idiot I was, and I got kicked out of school. And then I really messed things up with Chloe ... I was unspeakably mean to the one person who has always had my back."
"Wow," Mallory exhales. She rubs JoJo's hand, as the blonde woman continues to cry.
Chloe stares at the floor, processing the conversation that just happened. Then she looks at JoJo again. Without a doubt, she knows that her former friend is wounded more grievously than Chloe could ever hurt her. She hangs her head and considers her next words.
"I am not a doormat," Chloe says quietly. The other women look at her in confusion.
"This isn't about me being submissive," Chloe continues. "I am saying ... I won't tell my sister who she can or can't have in her wedding."
"Okay..." Mallory nods, uncertainly.
"That doesn't make me someone that either of you can boss around. Ever." Chloe points to the other women. "I am saying that I realize I have put my sister in a stressful situation and I am sorry."
Mallory smiles, tears coming to her eyes.
"You will not tell anyone that I ... backed down, that I caved," Chloe insists. "Because I didn't. I realized that I have made an unfair demand and now I'm retracting it. You will not describe me in terms that make me look like a wimp."
"I'll never say anything like that again," JoJo vows. "I'm so sorry."
"We will say whatever you want us to," Mallory adds, slowly. "Or we could just not say anything at all ..."
"I think saying nothing would be best." Sighing, Chloe stands and looks at her sister. "I will be your maid of honour." Glancing quickly at JoJo, Chloe goes upstairs.
Mallory notices how JoJo's eyes follow Chloe. "That's a step," she says, squeezing JoJo's hand. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"I'm not exactly sure what happened," Mallory admits. "But, obviously something you said made her change her mind."
"But she didn't cave," JoJo reminds her. "I'm serious. She is not a wimp."
"She certainly isn't."
JoJo looks at the floor. "I don't want my family to know how badly I screwed up my life. You know, sleeping with my prof, that shit."
"I can keep the important secrets," Mallory assures her. "I'm honoured that you would trust me that much and I won't tell anyone, not even Rob. And you know that Chloe won't say anything."
"I know."
"And the wedding can proceed with both of you," Mallory smiles. "Thank you. For helping Chloe change her mind, and for being my friend."
JoJo nods, as fresh tears roll down her face.
"Aw." Mallory pulls her into a hug. "You really never told anyone what happened before?"
"No," she weeps. "I was too ashamed."
"So you're human," Mallory soothes. "Do you feel better that you told someone?"
"Uh huh."
"That's good. You're going to be all right."
Quietly, JoJo enters her house, with Mallory behind her. She goes straight to her room, while Mallory saunters into the living room, where Rob is talking with his parents. She sits down next to Rob and pulls out a chocolate bar. Ravenously, she breaks off a couple of pieces and sticks them in her mouth.
"You're eating!" Rob grins.
Mallory smirks as she swallows the chocolate and snuggles against him. "I have good news ... Chloe and JoJo will be in the wedding party."
Derek and Meredith smile while Rob looks confused. "What happened?"
"They talked ... and both of our sisters will be there. Yay! The end."
Confused, the three Shepherds look at each other.
"What happened?" Derek asks.
Mallory pauses. "They had a good ... cathartic ... talk."
"Are they friends again?" Rob asks.
"I don't think so," Mallory admits. "I don't think my sister is ready for that yet. By the way, she is not a wimp."
Meredith leans forward. "What did Chloe say to JoJo?"
"Uh uh," Mallory replies. "No details. My lips are sealed."
"Mallory Helena Sun-Hi Hunt." Meredith is grim. "We are talking about my daughter. You will tell me what happened."
"I will not," she sweetly retorts. "I have given my word that I shan't speak of it. My days as the family spy are over."
"Don't make me call your mother," Meredith threatens. "She'll force you to talk."
Mallory sits up and stares at Meredith. "It would hurt JoJo and Chloe's feelings very much if I broke my vow of silence. And I think enough feelings have been hurt already. Maybe this makes you unhappy, but that's the way it is. I am choosing to be your daughter's ally instead of her enemy."
Derek grins. "So you and JoJo are really friends now?"
"We are."
"That makes me very happy." Rob kisses his fiancée's cheek.
She dimples. "Me too."
Meredith shakes her head in disbelief. "Can't you tell us ... anything?"
Mallory considers the request. "I think JoJo is going to be okay now. I really do."
"Thank you." With a smile, Meredith leans back in her chair. "The Hurricane is a grown-up now."
The red-haired woman snickers before eating another piece of chocolate. "You guys hungry for anything? I'm starving," she mumbles.
"Our kitchen is your kitchen now," Derek smiles. "Help yourself to whatever you want. And if you feel like making some of your dad's lasagne, I wouldn't say no to that."
Author's note – this easily could have been two chapters, but there was a lot that I didn't want to postpone. The next chapter is the last one before the wedding. And you are cordially invited to the reception as well. Lexie fans, I've heard your requests, I will fill in the details with a separate story.