Jo scrubbed a hand over her face and tried to stretch her back. Steph's couch wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world.
She zoned out as she changed into her light blue scrubs, just going through the motions. She was tying the laces on her sneakers when Steph walked into the lounge.
"Hey," Steph said, dropping her purse into her cubby. "How'd you sleep?"
Jo didn't respond. Steph leaned forward and frowned when she saw the glazed look in her friend's eyes.
"Jo!" Steph called again, a little louder. Jo startled when she heard her name and looked over.
"Oh, sorry, Steph," she mumbled. "I just..."
Steph frowned sympathetically, "You've had a tough couple weeks."
"I can't believe we're over," Jo dropped her head to her hands. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes to try and stop the tears that came whoever she thought about The Breakup.
Steph sighed and moved over so she was sitting on the same bench as Jo. "It's going to be okay, Jo. You and Alex have fought before."
Jo shook her head, "Not like this. Steph, this one was bad. I said some things I shouldn't have. He said things he shouldn't have. I really think we're over."
She sniffed back tears, not listening to Steph's next words.
Jo couldn't believe how fast it had all fallen apart. She thought back to the night they had fought. Alex had proposed - for the third time and she had said no again. They had so many issues with how his friends treated her, she couldn't possibly say yes to a proposal when she was feeling so miserable. It had all gone so downhill from there.
And now Jo was sleeping on Steph's couch while Alex stayed in their loft.
All in all, one of the worst two week spans of her life.
"Jo, we have to get started," Steph eventually nudged her shoulder. Jo stood up slowly and scraped her hair into a ponytail.
"At least Torres is a neutral party," Jo sighed as she followed Steph out into the hallway. "She probably won't make me talk about Alex."
Jo nodded and said, "Yeah, Torres is cool," as if she were trying to convince herself.
"What am I?" Callie appeared behind the two residents, scrub cap already tied on her head.
Steph grinned at the fish-like quality Jo's mouth had taken on.
"Wilson was just saying how cool you are," Steph supplied. Jo agreed weakly, still startled at Callie's sudden appearance.
Callie's smirked, "Well, duh! Anyway, Wilson you're just the resident I was looking for. I need you for an emergency bone graft."
Her problems with Alex pushed aside for now, Jo smiled widely and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Really? Ugh, yes. I love bone grafts!"
"And this," Callie pointed at Jo's excited face, "is why you're my ortho protégée. No one else gets that manic gleam about bones but me."
Jo turned to shoot Steph a smile and trotted off after Callie towards OR 2.
Alex woke up to the sound of his cell phone going off the hook. He groaned and rolled over in bed and groped for the phone on his bedside table.
"Shut the fuck up," he groaned, finally grabbing the device. He slid to answer without looking at the screen.
"Turn on the news!" Arizona's shrill voice pierced his eardrums.
Alex grunted and pulled the phone away from his ear a little. "What?"
He yawned and rolled over in bed, planning on falling back to sleep. But Arizona wasn't going to let that happen.
"Alexander Karev! Turn on the damn news," she snapped, fear lacing her voice.
"Fine, fine. Don't get your panties in a twist," he muttered, reaching for the remote and jabbing the power button. He'd been in a bad mood ever since his and Jo's possible break-up and sleeping was just about the only thing he wanted to do right now.
The phone almost fell from his hand when he saw the news coverage.
"Reports have shots fired at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. It is unknown at this time how many shooters and what the conditions are of the staff and patients. We will update -"
Alex's eyes were wide and Arizona was chattering nervously in his ear.
"I went to pick up Sof and her teacher told me and I was supposed to be there today. Oh my god, I can't...how is this happening again?" she broke into nervous sobs on the other end of the phone, but Alex was barely listening.
Jo.
His only thoughts were for Jo.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he cursed, jumping up from the bed and getting tangled in the sheets. Arizona was still on the phone, talking, and Alex stumbled around the loft finding discarded jeans and a shirt to throw on.
"Arizona?" Alex cut her off. "I'm going. I'll let you know what happens."
"Alex! You can't -"
Alex hung up the phone before Arizona could finish her admonishment. He needed to get to Jo, to make sure she was okay.
He bolted out of the loft, clutching his phone in a death grip.
His heart was clenching in his chest and Alex felt like he might throw up or punch something.
He needed to get to the hospital. He needed to get to Jo, break-up be damned.
Jo shook with fear and kept cutting her gaze to Callie.
The older woman was biting at her lower lip, bloody gloves held up in the air.
"We don't...this...you don't have..." she stuttered, unable to form full sentences.
Jo could see her trembling and vaguely remembered that the older attendings had been through a shooting before. Callie's PTSD was emerging.
"You killed my sister," she said, outstretched hand holding firm to a gun.
Jo couldn't recognize the woman in the OR, but she wasn't sure if it was fear blocking her memory or not. Her teeth chattered.
"We...I'm sorry," she finally said, holding her hands in the air.
The woman's attention turned and so did the gun. Jo stared down the barrel of the gun and in the interminable silence could only think of Alex and how the last thing she had said to him was a horrible insult.
Tears traced their way down her cheeks.
"You don't even remember her, do you?" the woman (Kate! Her name appeared in Jo's consciousness.) scowled. "You killed her and you don't even remember her!"
Her hand and the gun shook. Jo's insides turned to mush.
"We do!" Callie spoke up suddenly. Her lower lip trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks, but her voice was firm. Or as firm as it could be in their current situation.
"We remember her." Callie said again, standing still and barely daring to take a breath. Jo wondered if Callie really did remember the patient.
Kate rounded on Callie, her blue eyes wide and slightly manic. "How could you let her die? She was all I had!"
The young woman's bright red hair was frizzing out with the dry OR air and there were dark purple circles under her eyes.
Jo sniffled back her tears. She couldn't fall apart. She just couldn't. She had to survive. She had to get back to Alex.
Alex skidded his car to a stop outside the hospital. There was already a massive crowd of reporters, police officers, patients, employees, family members, and the SWAT team gathered outside.
He swallowed thickly.
His chest felt tight and his palms started to sweat.
God it felt like yesterday he'd been shot.
He could still feel the metal piercing his skin, the blood pooling under his body, Mark and Lexi working to save his life.
"Shit," he ground out, trying to suck in deep breaths. It didn't feel like he could get in enough air.
Alex's hands were white-knuckling the steering wheel when a sudden thump at his window startled him.
"Shit!" he jumped in his seat, head snapping to the side. "Hunt?"
Owen Hunt shook his head, "Karev, you're not supposed to be here."
Owen looked stoic, but there was a wild fear in his eyes that told Alex he was just as affected.
"I have to make sure Jo's okay," Alex opened the car door, pushing Owen out of the way. Still in slight shock, Owen let himself be moved.
"You can't go in there, man," Owen grabbed Alex's forearm as the younger doctor strode past. Alex shook him off.
"Hunt, I don't care. Unless you can tell me that Jo is somewhere in that," he gestured to the large throng of people, "then I'm going in there to get her."
"I...haven't seen her," Owen sighed.
"That's what I thought," Alex snapped, pushing past the trauma surgeon. Owen watched Alex storm off towards the hospital and frowned.
"Well, fuck, Karev," he muttered, jogging off after him.
Alex stopped and whirled around to face Owen, "What are you doing?"
"I can't let you go in alone," Owen hugged angrily. "Maybe I can negotiate or something."
Alex's frown softened. He nodded, "Thanks, man."
Owen nodded and both men slipped past the cops that were covering all the entrances.
Alex just hoped they weren't too late.
"We didn't kill your sister," Callie pleaded, looking weary and older than her 38 years.
"She had surgery and then she died!" Kate screamed, making both Jo and Callie flinch. She shook the gun in he air. "She didn't deserve to die! You two should die!"
And that's when it happened.
Time slowed down as Kate pulled the trigger on her gun.
The bullet sliced through the air and embedded itself in Jo's stomach.
She might've made a sound as she fell, but all Jo was aware of was the searing hot pain. Her hands scrabbled for purchase as she tried to press her hands to the hole.
"No!" Callie shouted, falling to her knees and pressing her hands against Jo's stomach. "Wilson, you're going to be okay. I promise."
"God, it hurts," she moaned, the searing heat spreading across her abdomen.
"Move away from her!" Kate shrieked, losing control on her already tenuous grasp on reality. "She deserves to die. You all should die!"
Jo's face creased in pain as Callie pushed down harder on the hole.
"Stop it!" Kate screamed, pulling on the trigger and sending a bullet ricocheting off of the overhead light.
Several of the nurses screamed as the light blew, sending them into partial darkness.
"Fuck!" Callie ground out, hating the way Jo's blood was pooling against her fingers. The younger woman's pulse still felt strong and she was groaning in pain, but it wouldn't be long before shock set in.
"Tell Alex," Jo mumbled through numb lips, "Tell him I'm sorry."
Callie shook her head, "You're gonna tell him yourself. Come on, Wilson. It's going to be fine. Stay with me."
Jo's eyes blinked open and closed and her breathing shallowed. Callie cursed again, praying silently for help to come soon.
"Do you have a plan, Karev?" Owen frowned as the two men crept through the silent hallways.
Alex balled his hands into fists when he realized they were shaking.
"No. No plan," he admitted.
"Jesus, Karev," Owen muttered. "We can't just storm in and take down a gunman."
Alex stopped dead in his tracks, almost causing Owen to smack into him.
"Karev," Owen snapped, frowning deeply when Alex shushed him.
"Listen. Do you hear that?" He murmured, straining to listen.
Owen fell silent and listened for a few seconds before nodding, "The OR."
Alex was sprinting down the hall before Owen had even finished talking. The army vet sighed and sprinted after him. He snagged Alex's arm before he could burst into the OR.
Off of Alex's furious glare, Owen whispered, "We need a plan, Alex. Let me just look through the window."
Alex nodded sharply, "Make it quick. I want Jo out of there."
A quick recon mission showed Owen the bleak scene in the OR. He maintained a poker face so he wouldn't worry Alex, but he knew that they had to get Jo help quickly, if the amount of blood everywhere was an indication.
"Wilson and Torres are in there," he said quickly. "The shooter is a woman and she's close to the door."
Alex ground his teeth, fear and anxiety churning low in his stomach.
"I'm going to go in and tackle her," Owen said. "You get to Wilson. Understand?"
"On three?" Alex nodded firmly.
"Three," Owen said quickly and they both darted for the OR doors.
It was a blur from there.
Kate grunted as Owen tackled her from behind, sending the gun skittering away.
Alex slid onto his knees, scrambling for Jo. He blanched slightly at the sight of her blood staining her scrubs and the floor beneath her, but swallowed and gathered her into his arms.
Callie let Alex grab Jo into his arms and crawled a few feet to pick up the discarded gun.
The impact of Owen's tackle had knocked Kate out and he stood, frowning down at their shooter.
"I don't..." Callie stuttered, "Jo needs serious surgery. Now. She's lost so much blood."
"Bring her into the other OR," Owen commanded, entering trauma surgeon mode. Alex carried Jo into the OR next door and placed her gently on the table. Owen followed Alex and they both washed their hands as fast as possible.
"I shouldn't be letting you work on her," Owen said, almost to himself.
"I don't give a shit, Hunt," Alex snapped. "I'm helping. Tell me what to do."
It took them three hours. Jo woke up briefly, screaming in pain, but the anesthesiologist that had been working on Jo and Callie's previous surgery ran in to help.
Callie ran out and got the Seattle police to come and get Kate. She was just proud that she didn't break down.
There were still questions and mental trauma to overcome, but right now what mattered - the only thing that mattered - was that Jo would make a full recovery.
Alex refused to leave her side, not even to change out of his bloody clothes. He wouldn't leave her again.
"Alex," Arizona brought him some food, "She'll be out for a little longer. Why don't you try and sleep a little?"
"I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up," Alex replied simply. "I left her alone for too long."
"Oh Alex," Arizona sighed. "It'll be okay."
She leaned against the window ledge and stayed with Alex for a little bit, knowing he shouldn't be alone either. She hoped that Alex and Jo could sort out their problems. Jo was good for Alex.
And from the way Alex was clutching Jo's hand like a lifeline, reconciliation might come sooner rather than later.
Jo's whole body was hurting. She groaned as she woke up, feeling the intense pain in her stomach.
She opened her eyes and was blinded by the overhead lights. "Ah," she winced, trying to lift her hand to block out the brightness. Moving her arm hurt so badly though. She moaned again.
"Hey, Princess," Alex said quietly, hovering over her, "You're gonna be fine. Just go slow."
"Alex?" she whispered, squinting against the light and pain.
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm here. God, Jo. This just took ten years off of my life, I was so worried."
The corner of her mouth lifted weakly in a wry smile, "Sorry."
Her eyes fluttered shut again, "Tired."
"I know," Alex gripped her hand tightly, the pad of his thumb running over her knuckles. "Get some rest."
"You gonna leave?" Jo mumbled.
Alex knew they were going to have to have a long talk when Jo was better. He had a lot to work on if he wanted to be in a relationship with her again. But...
"Never," he replied. "I'm not leaving you again."
The corner of Jo's mouth tilted up in the tiniest of smiles, "Good. I hate Steph's couch."
Alex laughed, and then quieted when Jo whispered, "I hate the couch as much as I love you."
She opened her eyes again and looked at him with tear filled eyes, "I miss you, Alex. I miss you so much. And this...all I could think about was you. I didn't...I could've died and you wouldn't have known how much I love you."
Tears were rolling down her cheeks an Alex struggled to wipe them away fast enough. "Hey, it's okay. I know. You're going to work yourself up though. Calm down, rest, and we'll talk later, okay?"
Jo sniffled and nodded, "Okay."
"You're gonna be just fine, and I'll be here if you need anything," Alex leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Just rest."
He only had to wait for a few minutes before Jo's breathing evened and she was passed out. He kept her hand wrapped in his, settling into the bedside chair.
He wasn't leaving her again.
A/N: YES! I wanted to get this out before the show came back from hiatus since this'll obviously be AU. I know that we've seen a shooting on the show and whatever, but I wanted to put Jo in danger and have Alex freak out.
I really don't have much to say about this, I've been working on it for a while and I hope you guys like it!
Drop me a review :)