"Are you coming to my surgery today?" Meredith greeted Erin in the hallway a few days later.
"Of course I am," Erin said.
"Isn't that baby one more interesting for you?" Meredith raised her eyebrows.
"Well, no," Erin shrugged. "You're my sister. Your surgery is more interesting to me," she said.
"You're a really bad liar. You can go to the baby one if you want to," Meredith said.
"I don't want to. I want to go to your sheep surgery. I'm in surgery until like, an hour before. Providing there are no complications, I should be there right on time," Erin said.
Her pager beeped and she looked down, seeing it was Arizona for the pit.
"Okay, depending on what this is, I should be there right on time," Erin smiled at Meredith, kissing her cheek before darting down the hallway.
"What is it?" Erin said.
"We have a car crash vic and I figured you'd rather do that than go to April's shower. I wanted to give you the choice," Arizona whispered, motioning over her shoulder to where three red haired women were watching everything with wide eyes. "April's sisters. I walk really good, apparently, and their three legged cat reminds them of how much strength I have," she whispered.
Erin slowly looked over at them and then back at Arizona.
"You sure you don't want to go and I'll deal with the sisters?" Erin said.
"No, I can deal with them. And, anyway, you're gonna be taking a while off if we have a baby so I'll give you cool surgeries to make up for it," Arizona said.
"I love you," Erin kissed her and headed over to the bed where the patient was, gloving up straight away. "Okay, we need a CT and MRI, stat. What resident do I have?" she asked.
"Wilson, but she's with Alex's dad," Arizona said quietly.
"Oh, shit, okay. Uh, is Alex out of surgery?" Erin said.
"No," Arizona said.
"If I need you to assist, I'm gonna page. Be ready," Erin said.
"I will," Arizona nodded.
"My sheep just died," Meredith said into the speaker while Erin was in surgery. "And Cristina's consuit didn't go to plan," she said.
"Are you okay?" Erin said, clamping the bleeder.
"Yeah. It's all a part of progress," Meredith shrugged. "But Ross is an absolute dick. I swear, he's aggressive and mean and when I asked Cristina, she said I was blaming her for him trying to be more like her and I didn't say that at all," Meredith said.
"He has been quite snappy lately. I've been keeping him far away from peds in case he scares the kids," Erin said. "Lap pads, please," she said. "Thank you," she said.
"You're gonna be late for Kepner's shower," Meredith said.
"I'll be five minutes," Erin said.
"I'll save you a seat," Meredith said.
"Thanks," Erin said.
"This one is from your sisters," Arizona handed April a present.
"Oh, no, not that one," one of the sisters said. Erin had no idea which one was which because they all kind of scared her and not in a good way, either.
"We wanted to save that one, Duckie, to open in private," another said.
"Oh, my god. You guys, you-you actually remembered? You remembered how much I wanna wear mom's veil?" April asked, pulling the box open.
"No, we didn't-"
"Grab it, Alice!"
"I'm trying, stop!" Alice cried. April pulled out a pair of ivory panties with pearls hanging from the crotch area. Erin stared at them with wide eyes.
"Oh. This isn't mom's veil," April said awkwardly.
"Adorable!" Leah and Stephanie shouted.
"Delightful!" Webber said. Erin laughed, leaning into Arizona's side.
"It's not. We are sorry. That was supposed to be for later. But since you've opened it..." one of the sisters trailed off.
"Surprise! It's for your wedding night, for when you and Matthew..." another smirked.
"Oh, god," April whispered.
"There's no reason to be embarrassed. We all had our first times, too, right, ladies?" the third said.
"We wanted to give you the lingerie and some tips. The pearls, by the way, are for the inside-"
"Stop. Just stop talking. I-" April tried.
"But Matthew is your first real boyfriend. We're trying to help," one of them said.
"Please, don't," April groaned.
"And he's a great catch. And you don't have the best track record with men," one said.
"No, she doesn't have any track record. When I found out you had a boyfriend, I was like, don't make any sudden movements," another laughed.
"Oh, my god, stop talking to me like no man has ever found me sexy," April burst out.
"Duckie-"
"And stop calling me Duckie! I'm not Duckie anymore. My acne cleared up years ago. I got rid of my braces in college. I-I wear contacts. I use makeup. I did years of physical therapy to correct my pigeon toes, and in case you haven't noticed, I've learned how to condition my hair. I'm not your hopeless, ugly little sister anymore. I am not an ugly duckling. I'm a swan. And a surgeon, a freaking kick ass surgeon. Who, by the way, has had sex before," April said. Erin whistled lowly at the shocked looks on their faces.
"Oh, my. Does daddy know?" one of the sisters whispered.
"You know what? You're fired as my bridesmaids, all three of you. I don't want a single one of you standing up for me at my wedding," April said.
"Honey, don't be silly. You have to have bridesmaids," one said.
"And I will. These are my people now. Right?" April said, looking at Erin, Arizona, Meredith and Cristina on the couch.
"Right," Arizona said.
"Yes," Cristina nodded awkwardly.
"Yeah," Meredith said.
"Of course," Erin said.
"These are my bridesmaids. Yeah. Yeah. Yay!" April beamed, hugging Arizona's side.
"Okay, Erin, are you ready?" their OB smiled at Erin and Arizona on implantation day.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Erin smiled back at her, squeezing Arizona's hand tightly in hers.
"Arizona?" the OB asked.
"Ready if Erin is," Arizona nodded.
"Okay. Deep breath in," Ben Warren placed the anesthesia mask over Erin's face and she took a deep breath in, feeling the local anesthetic already making her loopy. "Good?" he said.
"Good," Erin smiled.
"We're good on our end, doc. Up to you now," Ben said. Arizona squeezed Erin's hand as the OB got herself gloved up and settled herself with the microscopic surgical tool to implant Arizona's fertilized eggs in Erin's ovaries.
"Okay. Watch the screen if you want to know what's going on," the OB said.
Erin and Arizona looked at the screen, watching as the OB planted two eggs into her ovaries. They had more being frozen for future use but they'd only wanted to use two because Erin had been pregnant twice before and had no issues conceiving.
The OB finished up and left Erin for half an hour to give them time before wheeling her to a patient room until the anesthesia wore off.
"I have a few patients to check in but I will be back as soon as I'm done. Don't go anywhere," Arizona smiled, kissing Erin softly.
"I'm not allowed to move, remember?" Erin giggled.
"I know," Arizona said.
"Check on our baby, too," Erin said.
"Of course," Arizona winked, leaving the room to go and check on her patients.
"How long do you have to wait until you know?" Callie asked Erin as the two of them sat on Meredith's couch. Emma was cooking Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen with everybody else either helping, playing with the kids or getting drunk.
"She said wait at least a week, and that they might not even implant the first time around. We've got loads stored, though, so it's gonna be okay if it doesn't happen this time around," Erin shrugged, sipping her water.
"Would you want another boy or a girl?" Callie asked.
"We're gonna have more after this one so I will take whatever we get," Erin laughed.
"How many do you guys want?" Callie grinned.
"I don't know. I mean, a few. Definitely a few. Maybe four. But we'd leave another gap between this one and the next one, 'cause imagine trying to breastfeed two babies," Erin laughed.
"What if you have twins?" Callie smirked. "They're common with IVF," she said.
"Don't you dare jinx us with twins," Erin kicked Callie in her thigh, making Callie laugh loudly.
"Think how cute they'd be!" Callie cooed.
"We made sure that the donor didn't have twins in his history because we know having a toddler and two babies at once is gonna be a lot harder than one toddler and one baby. I mean, if we had them, great. They're still babies. But two babies is a lot different than one baby. Right?" Erin said.
"I don't know. I can't speak from experience. But I imagine that it's probably the same as one, except you have two and they could be the same or entirely different. But, on the bright side, the babies will have two mamas to take care of them. You could do a mixture of breast and formula, or pump a lot so Arizona could help feed them and do night shifts. It'd be hard, but not unmanageable," Callie said.
"I guess we'll just see what happens," Erin smiled, rubbing her stomach. "I swear, though, if I get knocked up with twins and have them naturally, Arizona isn't getting in my knickers for a long time," Erin said.
"Hey, I heard that!" Arizona called from the kitchen with a smirk.
"Good!" Erin called back.
"Erin, where are you?" April groaned into the phone on her wedding day three weeks later.
"At home, why?" Erin asked, putting her hand over her mouth as the smell of Archie's banana slices and oatmeal hit her nose and sent her stomach reeling.
"You're still coming to the wedding?" April asked. Erin stepped out of scent-reach of Archie's breakfast.
"Yeah, of course. I'm starting late because Arizona and I were gonna spend the morning with Archie to make up for leaving him in daycare tonight, but she got called in about an hour ago. I'm coming to work about an hour before we have to be at the venue and then I'll meet you there to help you get ready," Erin said.
"You and Arizona are the only organised bridesmaids," April groaned.
"Well, Mer and Cristina have their whole fighting thing going on, so I guess that's why," Erin chuckled.
"Mama, done!" Archie grinned happily.
"I'll be at the wedding, April. Don't worry. I have to go and get my baby ready for the day," Erin said.
"Thank you," April ended the call. Erin walked over to Archie, holding her breath as she lifted him out of the highchair and put his bowl in the sink.
"Okay, bathtime," Erin said, ushering him towards the stairs.
"Go to daycare?" Archie asked.
"Yeah, we are today. Mama and mommy have to go to aunt April's wedding, remember?" Erin smiled.
"Yeah! I go, too?" Archie said.
"You, Zola and Sofia are having a special playdate in daycare," Erin said, kissing his forehead as they stepped into the bathroom. "Get undressed," she said.
Archie started getting undressed while Erin ran his bath, adding a few toys to make it fun for him. She lifted Archie in and knelt at the side of the bath, grabbing the water jug and carefully wetting his hair while he played.
She grabbed the shampoo and opened the bottle, wincing when the strawberry smell hit her nose. She frowned at the shampoo and then at Archie.
"Does this smell bad?" she asked, holding it out. Archie sniffed and shook his head.
"Red berries," he said.
"I know," Erin said, smelling it again.
She gagged and put the shampoo down, putting a hand over her mouth to keep the vomit down.
"Mama?" Archie frowned. Erin's stomach lurched and she turned, lifting the toilet seat up just in time to vomit. "Mama? You okay?" Archie frowned.
"Stay there, baby," Erin mumbled through gags. She leaned back against her heels once she was finished, flushing the toilet.
She stood up and grabbed her toothbrush, brushing her teeth as she rummaged through the cupboard for a pregnancy test. She grabbed one and put it on the side, finishing her teeth before returning to Archie.
"We're gonna skip your hair today," Erin said.
"You okay?" Archie asked. She leaned in and kissed his cheeks until he was giggling.
"I'm perfect, baby. I have you," Erin whispered. He grinned and Erin laughed. "C'mon, water boy. We have to get out of the bath before we get wrinkly," she said.
She washed Archie and got him out, drying him and dressing him. She set him up on the bathroom floor with a few of his toys and then sat on the toilet, taking the test. She washed her hands and set the timer on her phone, sitting down to play with Archie while she waited.
Her timer rang after five minutes and she stood up again, grabbing the sink as she looked at herself in the mirror. She actually didn't feel worried about the results of a pregnancy test, which was a first for her. She'd had many accidental scares and two actual pregnancies, so not being scared was a first.
"Mama?" Archie said.
"Yeah, baby?" Erin said.
"Phone," Archie said. Erin looked down, seeing her phone was vibrating with a call from Alex.
She grabbed the phone and put it to her ear, leaning against the sink to watch Archie.
"Hey, Al," she said.
"My dad is a dick," Alex said angrily.
"Yeah," Erin agreed with a sigh.
"You okay?" Alex said.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Erin said.
"You don't sound okay. Are you busy?" Alex said.
"No, not at all. Never too busy for you. Rant away," Erin said.
"I just wanted you to know he's a dick," Alex said. "What are you doing?" he said.
"Honestly? I'm just about to see if the IVF worked or not," Erin said.
"You took a test?" Alex said.
"I threw up and I only throw up when I'm pregnant," Erin said.
"Want me to go so you can do it?" he said.
"No. Stay on the line with me, please," Erin said.
"Whatever you need," Alex said.
Erin put her phone on speaker and put it down on the side, looking down at the test, upside down so she couldn't see the results.
"Okay," Erin took a deep breath and turned the test over.
Alex waited for Erin to tell him the results but he could only hear Archie babbling as he played with his toys.
"Erin? You there?" Alex said.
"I'm here," Erin said, putting the test in a plastic baggie and zipping it up.
"And?" Alex said.
"I swear to god, if Callie has jinxed me and I have twins, I am gonna kick her ass," Erin smiled to herself, putting the baggie underneath the sink to hide it until Arizona got home.
"It worked?" Alex said.
"Yeah. I'm pregnant," Erin said.
"You are?" Alex laughed happily.
"Yeah," Erin laughed.
"Oh, Robbins is gonna piss her pants because she'll be so happy. I'm happy for you, baby Grey," Alex said.
"Thanks, Al. I'll see you at the wedding?"
"See you at the wedding."
"You look beautiful," Erin smiled as April turned to show them her completed wedding look. Them was Arizona and Erin, the only two bridesmaids present out of the four.
"Anything from Mer or Cristina?" April asked. Erin checked her phone again.
"No. Sorry," she said. The door opened and Meredith stepped in with a smile.
"I'm here," she said.
"Thank god," April groaned.
"Yang forgot. I knew one of you would forget," April groaned as Erin, Arizona and Meredith fixed the train of her dress. The door opened and Cristina stepped in.
"I'm here," she said.
"Aah! Thank you! I knew you'd make it. Okay, so when we get out there, Arizona's gonna take my bouquet. So, if you and Meredith can be on either side of my train, and Erin has my vows, I-" April said.
"How dare you say I haven't changed," Cristina interrupted.
"I don't have to justify my choices to you, not one," Meredith scoffed.
"How dare you say I am the same person I was when I got here, before I knew Burke and Owen and you. Your life looks different because it's filled with houses and husbands and kids. And my mine looks the same, but I'm not. I've changed. I'm doing this alone. And that's... that's just as hard as what you're doing. But I thought I would at least have you," Cristina said to Meredith.
Erin looked between the two of them like it was a rapid fire tennis match.
"I'm so jealous of you, I wanna set things on fire. You did what I tried to do, and I couldn't. And you don't even know how you did it. You have nothing but time and focus. You're not who we were when we got here. You are who we both set out to be," Meredith said angrily.
"And you've become something... we never saw coming. You are as good a mother as you are a surgeon. And I'm happy for you. But we are growing apart," Cristina said, stepping closer to Meredith.
"I know. And I don't wanna compete with you, but I do, because we're supposed to push each other and make each other better forever. Since the day we met, right?" Meredith said.
"Right," Cristina agreed.
"Okay. So then-"
"God, I know. I'm so glad because-"
"Oh! Shut up! Today is not the day," April interrupted them, pointing at them both. "You two... super neat that you're working your crap out, but not today, because it is my wedding day! I should be feeling very special right now. I should be flounced and fluffed up and checked over and handed tissues and told not to cry with joy. So just... you know what? Stop thinking about you, and you make me feel special," April sighed deeply.
Erin bit back her smile, motioning at Meredith to grab the tissues while she grabbed an extra clip for April's hair.
"Here," Erin said.
"Would you like a tissue?" Cristina took the box and handed a tissue to April.
"Uh-huh. I'm gonna," April trailed off, fanning her eyes.
"You look good," Arizona smiled.
"You know what? The veil turned out to be so pretty," Erin agreed, making April smile too.
"Hi, baby," Arizona wrapped her arms around Erin's waist as they walked outside to do the wedding procession.
"Hi," Erin smiled, kissing Arizona's cheek softly.
"You okay?" Arizona said. Erin squeezed her hand, almost dying to tell Arizona the news.
"I'm perfect. Absolutely perfect," Erin whispered. Arizona beamed and kissed Erin on the lips before letting go to get in line.
Erin would tell Arizona tonight, but today was April's wedding and Erin wasn't gonna ruin that for her. Not when April had been so great helping Erin and Arizona plan their wedding.
"There is no greater example of God's power than the love we share between us. April and Matthew are here today to commit that love to each other before god and before all of you. So let's pray," the reverend said to the guests.
Everyone bowed their heads, but someone's phone rang. Erin rolled her eyes. What else did she expect at a wedding filled with doctors.
"Heavenly father," the reverend started. Erin looked up, seeing Derek stepping out to answer the call. "Watch over April and Matthew as they take the first steps on a journey that will last them the rest of their lives on earth," the reverend said.
He finished the prayer and ran through the rest of the ceremony, Arizona tearing up as she saw how happy April looked.
"And you, April and Matthew's closest friends and family, are here today to bear witness to their union. Will you promise to love and support their marriage in all the days to come? If so, please respond, we will," the reverend said.
"We will," everybody said.
"Now, I've know the two of you for quite some time. And I'm happy to be here today to be able to do this for you. I-" the reverend cut himself off as Jackson stood up. Erin stared at him with wide eyes.
"What the hell are you doing?" she mouthed. Jackson shook his head and sat back down, looking at his feet as people started whispering between themselves.
The revered chuckled forcedly, bringing everyone's attention back to him.
"April and Matthew, I have known the two of you for quite some time, and I'm happy to be here today-" he cut himself off again as Jackson stood up again.
"I love you, April. I always have. I-I love everything about you. Even the things I don't like, I love. And I want you with me. I love you, and I think... that you love me, too. Do you?" Jackson asked.
Erin looked slowly at April, seeing she looked like the ground should swallow her up and fix this for her. Erin looked at Jackson, seeing his face dropping with every second April didn't respond. She looked at Stephanie, seeing she was close to tears.
Arizona squeezed Erin's hand in hers and Erin looked at her, seeing tears in her eyes.
"What the hell is she gonna do?" Arizona breathed. Erin looked at April and couldn't help but smile.
"She's gonna be happy," Erin whispered. Arizona followed her gaze, smiling as she saw April step off the altar.
Jackson's face lit up as April grabbed his hand and he laughed in disbelief, turning to the doors. He and April ran out of them and Erin couldn't help but kiss Arizona's cheek softly. April had done what Erin would've done, if she were April and Arizona were Jackson. She had picked who made her the happiest, even if their love wasn't as easy as love could be. She had picked her soulmate.
"You okay?" Arizona whispered.
"Perfect. I'm perfect," Erin whispered.