Work Text:
“I’m sorry babe, there’s a storm and there’s no flights going to Seattle at least until the 27th.”
“You were supposed to be home two days ago Alex,” Jo tried to contain her frustration as she settled onto the couch in the empty living room. She stares at the Christmas tree in the corner, the boxes of lights and ornaments spread out on the floor around it. “The house isn’t even decorated and now I’m going to have to spend Christmas alone.”
“You can go to Meredith’s, I’m sure the kids would love to see you. I’m sorry, you know I'd be home if I could.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re not here! I’m just… this is exhausting. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” Jo swiped at her eyes as tears began to well up in them. “Just text me when you have a flight.”
“Jo, I-”
“I have to go,” Jo let a shaky breath out, running one hand through her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Ending the call, Jo threw her phone onto the cushion next to her as she let her tears freely fall. It had been six months since Alex had come home from Kansas for the first time, sitting across from her and telling her about Izzie and their kids and everything that had happened in the two weeks he had been gone. There had been screaming and crying and a lot of fighting, but they had both decided that their marriage was worth saving. Alex had been splitting his time between Kansas and Seattle as much as he could which unfortunately left Jo alone more than she would care for. She loved that Alex had stepped up to his new role as a father, she even loved Eli and Alexis like they were her own, but recently her and Alex’s relationship had been strained.
Alex's absence from Seattle wouldn’t be an issue if he and Jo hadn’t just moved into a new home. The two story home was supposed to house the twins on their visits to Seattle as well as any other tiny Karev’s that might come along. The thought made Jo laugh now, she’d spent more nights alone in their new bedroom then she had with Alex despite the fact that she’d gone off her birth control two months ago.
They’d decided that they wanted kids of their own, that they were ready to start their family. Jo was regretting that decision now, she barely saw Alex and when she did their time was split between work and arguing. The only times they’d even had sex since deciding to try had been out of anger and frustration, meeting in on call rooms late at night and muttering curses as they set a quick and desperate pace while they both had a moment to spare. Between on call rooms and the one time in their new bedroom that Alex had lavished her body for hours on end, there hadn’t even been a chance to try for a baby.
Somewhere deep down, Jo was grateful for that. It wasn’t that she didn’t want a baby with Alex, she really did, but she didn’t think that their practically long distance marriage wouldn’t handle the stresses of a pregnancy and a baby, the thought nauseating her as she sat with the thought. The sudden wave of nausea got her brain turning, calculating how long it had been since she’d been to the store for tampons….
Cursing under her breath Jo ran upstairs and began to dig under the bathroom sink for the pregnancy tests she kept stashed there. Leave it to Alex to get her pregnant when they were barely having sex. She missed him, she wished so badly that he was sitting on the other side of the bathroom door making fun of her as she peed on the four pregnancy tests. As she sat on the closed lid of the toilet waiting for an answer to appear on the four pieces of plastic, her phone lit up with a text.
I’m sorry I can’t be there tomorrow. I promise your Christmas gift will more than make up for it. I love you so much Jo.
Before she typed out a response, her eyes flitted to the tests waiting for her, all of them reading the same exact thing. A heavy sigh left her then, eyes closing for a moment as she took a steadying breath.
Love you too. See you soon.
Jo barely sleeps that night, in fact when she does fall asleep it’s on the floor of the bathroom because she can’t seem to keep her dinner down. She’s hurt and upset and kinda pissed that her morning sickness seems to have cropped up late at night. She almost calls Alex, when she’s half asleep and crying on the bathroom floor she almost reaches for her phone and dials his number because she misses him so much. But she knows in the end it’ll only make her feel worse because he can’t be there.
When she wakes the next morning her back is aching and her face is cold from the tile of the bathroom, but her stomach turns uncomfortably and sends her back to the toilet bowl. She’s shocked that there’s anything left for her to throw up, but she’s heaving and gasping for air just like she’d done all night. The twisting feeling in her stomach intensifies when she realizes that she’s home alone in a huge house on Christmas and will probably spend her whole day in the bathroom. A round of sobs accompanies her next bout of nausea, hot tears streaming down her face as a feeling of loneliness encompasses her, reminding her of her solitary days spent in her car.
“Jo?”
Jo looks up in surprise at the voice sounding from the doorway, her eyes meeting her husbands for just a moment before the urge to vomit overwhelms her exhausted body once more. This time Alex’s hands are on her back rubbing circles as she continues to cry between heaves. She’s barely registered her shock at his presence, just grateful to have him close to her.
“Geez, you look awful,” Alex’s remark barely phases Jo as she flushes the toilet and leans heavily against him. His fingers find their way to her forehead, feeling for any sign of a fever even though she knows he won’t find one. “You probably just have a bug, why don’t you go lay in bed?”
She doesn’t have time to ask how he’s home, her body barely makes it to their bed where she promptly tucks herself under the covers. She thinks Alex says something to her, but she’s asleep before she can register it. Her mind drifts off more peacefully than it had the night before knowing Alex is here now. Even if she has a million questions, she’s just glad she doesn’t have to spend the holiday alone.
When she wakes up again, the sun is filtering through the curtains brightly and the other side of the bed is occupied. Jo turns around to look at Alex, who’s sitting against the headboard looking down at her, “You know staring at people is creepy. And rude.”
“I think I get an exception since you’re my wife,” Alex smirked, running one hand through Jo’s hair as she snuggled back into her pillow. “You feeling better?”
“A little bit now that I’ve gotten some sleep,” Jo paused before moving her gaze away from Alex. “What’re you doing here? You said you wouldn’t be home.”
“I had to fib a little bit, I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t think you’d be lying in the bathroom throwing up when I got home, but now I’m glad I’m back because I’m not leaving this time.”
Jo’s brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of Alex’s words. Of course he was going to leave again, his kids lived in another state, “You're going back after the new year Alex, you already booked your flight.”
“No I’m staying here and so are the kids.”
She took a moment to soak in Alex’s words, head spinning as she tried to wrap her mind around it. Finally she sat up, propping her head on her hand as she stared at her husband in confusion. Alex wore a smirk as he watched her slowly put together what he was saying, “Alex Karev what the hell did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything, Izzie decided to move back to Washington for her mom and that means the kids are 30 minutes away instead of almost halfway across the country,” Alex shrugged as Jo gawked at him, her shock clearly evident on her face. “That’s why I’ve been out there so much, because I’ve been helping Iz pack up her house and get the kids ready.”
Jo’s eyes are wide as she registers everything that Alex is saying to her. She almost doesn’t believe him, but his behavior the past few weeks all makes sense now. She wants to cry in relief, for her marriage and her exhausted husband and their new baby. In fact she almost does as she meets his eyes again, realizing that he probably feels just the same as she does.
“I’m sorry about that, being gone so much and leaving you here, but I promise that I’m not gonna be gone from here on out,” Alex lets his hand trail down to Jo’s stomach, a smirk on his face as he does so. “I wouldn’t want to anyways, someone’s gonna have to hold your hair back if you’re gonna be puking for the next few weeks.”
The satisfied look on Alex’s face tells Jo that somehow her husband has figured out she’s pregnant without her telling him. A small grin lights up her face as she blushes, “I just figured it out myself but I’m sure the constant vomiting would’ve given it away sooner or later.”
“Yeah and the tests you left on the bathroom counter were also a pretty big indicator,” Alex let out a laugh as he leaned down and kissed Jo sweetly. “Merry Christmas.”
“I know you said your Christmas gift was good but I think mine is better,” Jo grinned up at Alex, a laugh escaping her as she sat up and straddled his lap. “Merry Christmas.”