Chapter 9

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"Ah stop hitting me!" followed by three weak smacking sounds came from Alex's patient room. Jo turned the corner, a coffee in one hand, a baby in the other and questioned the noises. The creaky door opened and in the room was Arizona, Callie, in a wheelchair and their two kids. Shockingly, it was Sofia hitting Alex on the arm.
"You're so dumb. You could have died!" And then walked around to her mother, and wacked her in the arm, saying the same thing. This was the first time Callie and Alex were out of the ICU, and Sofia, being a 12 year old child, wasn't permitted in the ICU beforehand. That's not a hospital rule, it's an Arizona Robbins rule, and they're pretty hard to negotiate. Safe to say, if Arizona had let Sofia see her mom, it would have been torture to watch.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Jo nervously chuckled at the gathering that was occurring in room 0906.

"Oh, Sofia wanted to see Alex as he was out of the ICU, finally. They both are and I couldn't be happier." Arizona squealed. No matter how stressed she was, she would always find the light in something dark and negative and that's just what Alex needed at the moment. This past week has been tormenting him, not being able to operate, not being allowed out of the four walls of the hospital. As an intern, seeing these four walls everyday was a dream but now it's becoming a nightmare when you can't do the things you know you need to. He mainly just wanted to get out and see his kids. Alexis was awake ; she had all her strength, and was in the room next to Alex but Eli was still up in the ICU. They wouldn't let him leave, and he hasn't regained the strength to be taken out of the medically induced coma. It broke Alex that he wasn't able to help. He's a peds surgeon and can't help his own son. How is that fair?

"How did the Ped's case go that we actually came here for?" Alex asked, clearly trying to find distractions.
"It went really well, and the kid is being discharged today. It's weird working with Hayes instead of you though." Arizona looked down at him. "And you." and then turned her head towards Callie. "Hayes and Link are amazing but you guys are arguably the best."
"These two are pretty good." Jo chimed in. She didn't feel ignored but she felt out of place. She took Eve there to cheer up Alex, but he seems pretty content already, so she went to reach for the door handle. Before she could get to it, door spun open and in came 5 interns, all following around Meredith. She somehow always ended up with the new interns when it's their first day. It's unavoidable.

Stern words came from Meredith's mouth. It was only 7am and she already seemed fed up. "Present." Everyone in the room turned to see a shy, first year step forward to try and present.

"A-Alex Karev, 41, MVC pileup, vitals are, umm,-"
"Surgeons don't say 'umm'." Simultaneously came  from both Alex and Meredith, without realising they even did it. Bailey etched it into their brains as interns.
"Right, sorry. Vitals stable, should be able to be discharged in the next few days."
"Okay. Well done Spencer, moving on." Meredith hadnt even looked up from the tablet since entering the room, and didn't notice Jo standing there with Eve, until Eve reached out for Meredith's hair and latched on.
"Oh hi! Oh my- hello- yes hello!" Meredith's voice softened and she began talking baby talk. Stopping in their tracks, 4 of 5 interns turned to stare at the sudden change in their teachers voice. The only one who didn't stop was Spencer. Dr. Emerson Spencer.
"Spencer!" Meredith's stern voice came back, catching the attention of the intern. She looked paralysed. Until Meredith lowered her voice and started to whisper as Spencer walked back towards the doorway again.
"Monitor Dr. Karev and make sure he doesn't lie about how he's feeling, after rounds. He's trying to escape. Come on then, carry on." As the group of 6 left, Jo went to join them.

"Jo? Where are you going?"
"Oh, uh I was going to go get uh- coffee, Alex."
"But you've got one already in your hand. What's actually up?"
"You seemed pretty happy before Eve and I got here so we were just gonna leave you guys be. That's it. "
Silence filled the room. It wasn't like Jo had done something wrong but they made it seem like what she just said was as bad as murder. 
"Guys, can you give us a minute?" Alex asked the family of 4, and they followed his wishes.
"Jo, I want to see you, but I want to be out of here. I want my kids to be okay. I need distractions, and when Callie was in hospital after the car crash when she was pregnant with Sofia, she felt the same way. She tried to escape, and she's just trying to make me feel distracted."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just miss you. And so does Eve." Jo looked ashamed about how she felt, but they both know it's hard.
"Look. It's not your fault. Pass her here. I miss her."
A smile grew on both of their faces as Evelyn put her hands out, reaching for her dad. In such the short amount of time they've known of each other, they've grew so close, and it finally feels like a family. The family is growing by adding the twins into the mix, but it's a good thing. They always wanted a big family. And that's what they're getting.

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Anyone who entered a foot into the hospital could hear screams echoing throughout the hallways.
"Alex. You can't just leave. You're still recovering!"
"I can't recover here. I'm not recovering here. I'm going somewhere else. Somewhere where my son didn't just die. Okay?"
"No, not okay-."
"Why is it not okay Jo? You can keep me here to be a prisoner. I feel fine-."
Alex fell to the ground, clutching his ribs. Meredith came walking around the hallways, questioning the commotion.
"Alex! Someone go get a wheelchair. Jo, what's going on?"
"Eli died. He died."
The pair were paralysed.

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