An: I don't know why but there's something about writing Jo, heavily pregnant and absolutely done with everything, that is just so fun!
Jo Karev was comfortable. Which at eight months pregnant was not an easy feat. She had a good little setup in her office. She was sitting in a comfy chair and a fan was blowing on her 24/7. She had as much ice pops as she could demand from the interns and Alex had bought her a little ottoman so she could put her feet up.
Although she was still working at this late stage of her pregnancy, she was confined to desk duty. Jo had actually learned to like it as she was doing video appointments, taking care of patient calls, scheduling, and other light duties. Also, she wiggled her way into doing less paperwork because she was pregnant and it stressed her out. As she said, she was comfortable. Therefore anyone asking her to be uncomfortable, aka getting up and walking was not a request she took lightly.
"Your husband's being grumpy," Meredith said as she entered Jo's office, shutting the door behind her.
"He's always a little grumpy," Jo said as she turned to her and slurped on a red ice pop.
"Well, today he's acting like a petulance child. He even snipped at me," Meredith said, giving her a look as Jo sighed.
"It's the Kidney transplant patient. They're a teenager and they're not following Alex's protocols for recovery. On top of that they're being a snippy teenager, so it's getting under his skin. Plus he's worried about them and that means he comes off as extra grumpy. But the kid is recovering well and will be discharged in a few days, then Alex will return to his usual semi-grumpy self."
"I know, but I have a surgery with him this afternoon," Meredith said as Jo narrowed her eyes, knowing what Meredith's next request would be. "Could you go see him and try and get him in a better mood?"
"I'm not going anywhere, but I'll text him and see if he can visit me for a bit. Then I'll do my best to make him less grumpy."
"Can you just have sex with him?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow at her as they both knew that was Jo's usual fix for a grumpy Alex.
"I can't," Jo said as she shook her head. "I'm at risk for preterm labor so Carina said no sex until after the baby is born."
"That sucks," Meredith said with a sigh.
"Tell me about it," Jo said with a huff, getting a bit grumpy herself as she quickly texted Alex.
Jo knew he would reply quickly. He had been eagerly checking her texts and calls in the past few weeks just in case she went into labor. Meredith looked over her shoulder as they watched the three little dots appear. However, she frowned at his reply.
'Jo, I can't, I'm really busy with my caseload today, but I'll visit for lunch, love you.'
Jo looked back at Meredith to see a frown on her face as well. "Well, you'll have to go visit him then."
Meredith stood up and gestured for Jo to do the same. However, Jo stayed where she was and gave Meredith a deadpan look before she gestured to her very pregnant belly.
"Meredith I am nine months pregnant."
"You're eight months pregnant."
"And on light bed rest."
"Light duty."
"I can't just walk the three miles."
"Three hundred feet."
"To the Pediatric Ward to cheer up my husband whenever he's grumpy."
Meredith huffed and crossed her arms at her, which Jo ignored as she finished the rest of her ice pop. That is until Hayes knocked on her office door.
"Hey Jo, do you think you could visit Alex for a bit?" Hayes said with a very innocent shrug as Jo glared at him.
I already asked and she said she's not moving., Meredith said glaring at Jo as Hayes found and Jo just shrugged. There was only so much she could do especially when it came to cheering up her grumpy husband. and these days growing a baby was about her limit.
"Come on Jo, I'll get you a pack of the red ice pops?" Meredith said, trying to bribe her with a smile.
"And I'll get you a little mini fridge and get it down to freezing temperatures so you can have them in your office whenever you like?" Hayes added to the bribe, glancing over at Meredith before looking over at her with the same pleading smile.
Jo sighed as she prepared herself to have to get up and go deal with her grumpy husband. She was still going to try to wiggle her way out of it until she got a notification on her phone. Jo quickly checked it thinking that it was Alex texting her back.
Instead, it was nurse Ginger telling her that Alex was grumpy and asking her if she could fix it. Jo sighed, if the nurses were calling her to complain about Alex, it was only a matter of time before they went to the Chief. Who would certainly not give Alex the same kindness that she would.
"Fine," Jo said with a sigh as she held her hands out and Hayes helped her up. "But I want it in my office by the time I get back."
"Done," Meredith said with a smile as they watched her walk out of the room.
Jo walked her way down the hall, but as she looked back, Hayes and Meredith were smirking at each other. Sending them a glare back, their smiles quickly dropped as Jo smirked as she walked away. Then Jo prepared herself to visit her grumpy husband as her swollen feet protested.
Waddling her way down the hallway, Jo looked around for any sign of Alex. She didn't have to look very hard and heard him before she saw him. He was in the hallway yelling at a resident. Rounding the corner as she saw them. It was one of the junior residents, a short young man, who was rather clumsy and forgetful. Regardless of the validity of the reprimand, Jo knew they didn't deserve such virility. She walked faster as she quickly stepped between the two of them.
"Hey," Jo yelled, placing her hands on Alex's chest as he stepped back. "What is going on?"
"This idiot…" Alex started before Jo pushed his chest, although lightly. Alex huffed but took a second to sigh and stopped yelling. "He messed up a central line on a 9-month-old. Now I have to take the kid to surgery to put it back in."
Alex looked around Jo to glare at the resident. "You are going to be the one to tell the parents about your screw-up and how we now have to do surgery. And you're scrubbing in with me, but you are not allowed to go anywhere near this kid or any other patient for the rest of the day."
The resident just nodded, their long blonde curls getting into their wide eyes that held back tears. Jo motioned for them to leave and they took the opportunity to run away. Then she grabbed Alex by the collar of his scrub shirt. Her nails dug into the fabric and scraped him as she pulled him down the hall. She waddled as fast as she could, looking for an empty room. She quickly spotted one and dragged him into it.
"What the hell, Alex?!" she asked, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at him.
"That guy was an idiot, Jo!" he said, defending himself as he pointed to the invisible resident.
"I don't fucking care! You have no right to scream at the residents like that. I don't care how incompetent they are or how much they deserve it! You looked like you were about ready to beat him up and I swear to God if you ever lay hands on any one of these residents…"
"I won't! Not after DeLuca, Jo, you know that," Alex said with pleading eyes, his lips parted.
"I know," Jo whispered with a nod.
There was a moment of silence between them. Both of their anger dissipated and they stood staring at each other. Jo saw Alex's eyes return to the kindness that she knew and she sighed as she let go and dropped her arms.
"Come here," Jo said as she held her hand out to him.
He reached for her outstretched hand and stepped closer to her. Taking it in his, Jo guided it over her belly to the spot where their baby was kicking. Alex smiled as they kicked for him and his shoulders relaxed. They had a moment of quiet together feeling their baby kicking under their hands.
"They had been kicking up a storm there since the moment they heard you yelling."
"I know they don't like it when we fight," Alex said with a nod as he rubbed his hands across her belly and the kicking slowed down. "Daddy's sorry."
Their baby settled under their father's touch, but Jo was unable to relax. She reached up to cup his face. "What is going on? Meredith said you've been grumpy all morning, and even Hayes and the nurses said the same thing. They both asked me to come and check on you."
Alex stayed quiet as he moved his hands across her belly. Jo moved her hand to his chin as she held it up and forced him to look at her. Although he kept his eyes to the floor. Therefore, she waited. The words would come when he was ready, something she had learned a long time ago. Something that she was the same with.
"Caden is in the ICU."
"Oh no."
"He threw a clot and we caught it in time, but he had a heart attack," Alex whispered as he shook his head and Jo saw his eyes glaze over with tears.
"I'm sorry, Alex," Jo whispered as she reached up and wrapped her arms around him.
He melted into her, burying his face into her shoulder and Jo just held him. She rubbed his back and held his head. Running her fingers through the hairs at the base of his neck. They had grown and she could wrap the little ringlets around her finger. He needed a haircut, as it was starting to get shaggy, but she would bring that up at a different time. He all held on to her for several minutes and Jo waited for him to pull away first. Finally, he let out a breath and pulled away, only enough to look at her while she still held him in her arms.
Jo reached up tilting her head and closing her eyes as she kissed him. One last reassurance that made him smile against her lips. His hands moved down to her hips and gave them a squeeze as he pulled her into him as much as her belly would allow. Although their baby gave a kick of protest at being squished between them. Alex laughed as he pulled back with a smile.
"Sorry baby didn't mean to squish you," Alex said as he leaned it down and kissed her belly.
"Come on," Jo said, pulling him out of the room. "Let's go get some lunch and we can eat it in the daycare with Luna. We both need a break."
Jo got her reward from Meredith an hour later. Alex walked her back to her office after they had lunch with Luna. He opened the door for her and she spotted a red mini fridge with a big red bow. It was sitting on her desk plugged in and humming.
"Who is this from?" Alex asked, touching the bow as Jo sat down in her chair.
"A friend," Jo said, choosing to remain vague as she opened the fridge door.
The cool air breezed over her hand as she picked up one of the dozens of red ice pops. It was just barely frozen and still mostly liquid. Still, she grabbed a pair of scissors from her cup of pens and snipped off the top. She smiled at the cold red liquid that met her tongue and slurped it up eagerly.
"What for?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrow, his eyes narrowing at her.
"For helping them out," Jo said with a smile as she ate her ice pop.
Alex scowled as he flicked the bow and Jo groaned. "Don't be an asshole about it, It's from Meredith for helping her on a case."
"You didn't do surgery did you?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrows with a bit of concern in his eyes.
"No, I'm not an idiot. I helped her get a diagnosis," Jo said, staring at Alex and smiling at him as she watched his face relax and he smiled back at her.
"Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you're being all confident and medical," Alex said with a smirk as he leaned in to kiss her.
Jo let him kiss her even as his tongue begged for entrance across her lips. Although she denied it. She pushed his chest away although she kept her hand there, teasing the collar of his scrub shirt.
"Carina said no sex," Jo said with a whine as she pouted.
"Yeah, but she didn't say anything about kissing," Alex said as he leaned in and kissed her again.
This time, Jo allowed his tongue to meet hers. They kissed again for quite some time. Getting lost in each other's lips and forgetting to breathe. They gasped for air before locking lips again. Then all too soon Alex pulled back and licked his lips.
"Those icy pops are pretty good," Alex said, reaching for the doors of the fridge.
Jo swatted his hand away. "And they're all mine!"
"Okay," Alex said, holding his hands up in defeat before looking back at her. He leaned in to kiss her again, and sucked on her lover's lips.
Finally, he pulled away, and Jo let go of his collar. "Alright, go back to your patience, and I'll try and keep an eye on Caden from here."
"Thank you," Alex said, getting up and reluctantly walking away although he turned back to smile at her as he closed the door. "I love you."
"I love you too," Jo said with a smile watching him walk away.
However, Jo didn't get her official thanks until much later. She was sitting at her desk and playing on her phone when Meredith and Hayes walked into her office. She actually didn't hear them come in until Meredith cleared her throat.
"Hey," Jo said as she smiled and put her phone down.
"Busy on tock tick?" Hayes asked with a smirk.
"It's TikTok, and I was texting Alex about dinner," Jo said as she shook her head.
"Don't like any of his suggestions then?" Meredith said, raising her eyebrow at her.
"No, and all of my usual favorites give me really bad heartburn," Jo said, rubbing her chest absent-mindedly.
"Didn't Carina send you a prescription for that?" Hayes asked as Jo shrugged.
"Yeah, I'm on this kind of stomach acid inhibitor or something. I try to keep doing small meals, but I'm just so goddamn hungry all the time!"
"I remember what that's like," Meredith said with a shake of her head. "With Bailey all I wanted to eat was burritos and with Ellis, I could have eaten a whole Mexican restaurant."
"Yeah, we have a permanent table at Allie's Pizza," Jo said with a shake of her head, but she smiled.
They all laughed and Jo smiled. "I take it Alex was in a good mood this afternoon?"
"He was," Meredith said, with a nod. "Thank you again. We were able to do the whole surgery successfully and he even asked me if me and the kids wanted to go to the new kid's movie with him and Luna."
"Speaking of which," Hayes said as he handed her another slip of paper. Jo opened it and signed a scrawled note in Haye's handwriting which was the worst of anyone's as he often mixed English and Gaelic letters.
"I don't know what this says?" Jo said other than she pointed to the signatures. "Other than yours and your kid's names here."
"It's a coupon for a day of free babysitting for you. It's to be used at any time before or after the baby comes."
"Thank you," Jo said, putting the paper in a drawer. "I really appreciate it and I appreciate both of you during the last couple of months. I know it's been stressful for Alex and myself."
"You're doing alright," Meredith said, coming around and hugging Jo. "We're just happy that you and baby are safe and doing well."
"Me too," Jo said, hugging her back.
"Are we having a party and no one told me?" Alex asked as he came into the room with Luna in his arms. He set her down and Luna ran up to Jo with her arms wide and a huge smile on her face.
"Mommy, Mommy look what I made!" Luna signed, holding up a paper she had scrawled on that barely looked like much of anything other than a couple of circles and lines. Although Luna was very smart, her drawing skills were rather lacking.
"Oh, it's beautiful, What is it, baby?" Jo said as she signed back to her.
"That's a doggy and the new baby and that's me and you and Daddy," Luna signed, pointing to different colors on the page.
"It's beautiful, baby," Jo said as she leaned down and kissed her cheeks giving her a quick hug.
"Alright, well we should get going. You guys have a good night and thank you again," Meredith said as Hayes wrapped his arms around her waist and they both left with matching smiles.
"What was that about?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Oh nothing," Jo just smiled and grabbed her bag and phone.
She came over to him and greeted him with a kiss, lingering on his lips and kissing him several times.
"Come on, let's go home grumpy pants," Jo said as she swatted his ass.
"I'm not grumpy, am I Luna?" Alex said and signed to them.
"Daddy's not grumpy," Luna signed as she ran ahead of the elevator.
"Yeah, Jo, even my girl thinks I'm happy," Alex said, pointing to her with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, let's just go home before something else can disrupt our good mood," Jo said as Alex wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead as they both walked away.