THIS WEEKS EPISODE IM SCREAMING. I SHIP MER AND ALEX SO MUCH.
When Meredith woke up, her head was throbbing. She didn't remember the exact details but she could recall a few bottles of liquor, that she probably shouldn't have drank last night. She let out a yawn and stumbled out of her bed. She was tired and possibly a little grumpy, but her stomach was growling and she really needed a glass of water.
The aroma hit her as she wandered down the staircase, she could smell it from almost the very first step. She let out a relief when she realised she wasn't dreaming. As she rounded the corner, her gaze was filled with a vision of Alex helping Zola with her pancakes, as Bailey made a mess of his cereal. In the corner her youngest child was sitting in her high chair, kicking her legs excitedly as she made a mess of her own breakfast.
"Morning." She spoke, a little groggy. When Alex looked up, a smile came over his face.
"I made you some eggs. Thought that'd cheer you up a bit." He said, nodding towards the plate he'd already served up.
She sighed and walked further into the kitchen, stopping to press a kiss on each child's face.
"You don't have to do this you know. I'm supposed to be their parent. You're just renting a room." She pointed out, and Alex rolled his eyes. She really wasn't used to people doing things just to be nice. It drove him mad sometimes.
"Just sit down and eat your breakfast." He instructed as he handed over a fork. Meredith smiled and played with the many condiments that lines the table. Her stomach was very thankful towards her friend, who looked after her better than she looked after herself it seemed.
"Last night. I'm sorry about that. I probably said a few things I shouldn't." She said sincerely as Alex sat down beside her. Her children weren't paying them any attention, and probably wouldn't for the rest of the morning really, until they needed something, they learnt that from a young age.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about." He assured her, taking his first mouthful. He didn't mind any of this, cooking and looking after the kids, he didn't mind sharing a drink with Meredith as they laughed and tried to forget about their crappy lives. There was something about how easy it was to get along with her. He didn't know how to describe it, but that feeling of belonging was everything to him.
Meredith didn't quite believe him, and simply smirked across at him. She fiddled with her eggs, until they were cold. She didn't want to be rude so she downed the rest of her plate, despite the feeling of wanting to gag came over her with every bite. She washed up all of the dishes, despite Alex's protests.
It was late that afternoon when Meredith had finished teaching her class, and Alex had called her in for a consult. She wandered in through the doorway, with her hair up in a messy ponytail, with her hand clutched to her chest as she took a moment to catch her breath.
"You paged me." She said once she could muster up the words.
Alex nodded and handed over his patient's chart. He watched as she scanned her eyes over the words, a frown on her face. He caught himself staring and glanced back towards the patient.
Meredith knew exactly what to do, and they worked along side each other without a hitch as usual. Alex didn't know when they'd become so in sync, but as they talked procedures, it seemed that every idea they bounced between each other seemed to stick, they were on the same page.
When Meredith's head hit her pillow that evening, she was tired, and her head felt like it was spinning in hundreds of different directions all at once. She closed her eyes in an attempt to stop it from spinning. She felt the bed dip down, a grown adult body laid out beside her. Maggie was working, which meant it had to be Alex. She smiled and rolled over to face him.
"Bailey just called me dad." Alex whispered, searching her eyes for a reaction. Meredith didn't know how that made her feel, Alex wasn't his father, Alex wasn't anybody's father.
"I'll talk to him in the morning." She said tiredly, feeling a little deflated. This wasn't what she needed to be dealing with right now, this wasn't what she needed to be dealing with ever actually.
"I told him I wasn't his dad, don't worry." He hummed softly, staring up at the ceiling. Meredith closed her eyes again and let out a little sigh. She missed Derek, she missed her children having a father, but things happen and she's had to adjust. She was adjusted, she was ready to move on from the past.
"Jo talked to me." She whispered, reaching out to find his hand. Her fingers wrapped around his, swallowing them into an embrace. She tried to recall the exact details of that conversation.
"What about?" Alex frowned, rolling over to face her, Jo hasn't been able to even look in his direction since they broke up, and he had no idea why she would be talking to Meredith of all people, someone she blamed for their relationship's death.
"She thinks I'm in love with you." Meredith whispered, chuckling to herself. She wasn't in love with Alex, that was just absurd. They were friends. They were just friends. That's all she knew right now.
"She thinks that I pay you more attention than anybody else." He snorted, shaking his head.
"You don't. That's not true." Meredith answered, shaking her head slowly. "She's just trying to make sense of whatever it was that went down between you two. I don't want any part of that."
"We don't have to talk about this anymore." Alex whispered as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He wasn't in the mood to think about Jo any longer, and by the sound of things, neither was Meredith.
"Good. Let's stop." She whispered, rubbing her thumb across his hand.