"Mer, it's me. Again. I'm just calling to let you know that, uh, Archie was asking about Zola again. He's learning how to read and he wants to race her on reading the Hungry Caterpillar. And, Rueben's trying to stand up using the furniture. He uses us, half of the time, and Archie loves it. Arizona's been taking me through all of her fetal surgeries, too, so Alex is pretty much handling peds alone until I've finished the fellowship. Owen said she could do a crash course for me like Herman did with her," Erin spoke into her phone.
"It's Easter," she continued. "And I know the kids are probably stuffing their faces with chocolate and you're probably thinking about all of the clothes you're gonna have to wash it out off. If you use bleach on white clothes, it works pretty well, but you already know that from washing chocolate stains out of my clothes when we were kids. Uh, I just wanted to call and update you on everything going on, let you know that I miss you and if you want someone to visit, you know where I am. I love you and the kids. Bye."
"Any luck?" Arizona asked, holding Erin's hand that afternoon when they were in their OB appointment. Erin shook her head and Arizona sighed.
Alex had talked Erin into actually making an appointment to get inseminated. They'd missed their one when Derek had died and Erin had been hesitant about whether or not to do it, so she'd talked to Alex before bringing it up to Arizona again.
Alex had told her that Derek wouldn't want them to not have another baby because of him and Erin had rolled her eyes because what did Alex know about what Derek would've wanted? And then he'd hugged her and she'd cried for an hour about how much she missed Derek and Meredith because Meredith would've told her what to do because Meredith always knew what to do and Derek was her big brother and he had gone and fucking died on everyone and she wanted to hate him for leaving them but how could she ever hate him or Meredith for leaving her behind?
Alex had held her while she cried and then he'd told her something that sounded exactly like something Derek or Meredith would say: "You're allowed to move on and want to be happy for yourself. If you want another baby, have one. Derek would want you to be happy."
And Erin didn't doubt him that time. She'd told Arizona and she'd agreed because she wanted Erin to be happy and she wanted this baby but she would never have said anything until Erin said she was ready. Erin had said she was ready, so they had made the appointment to be inseminated.
"The boys okay?" Erin asked.
"On a playdate with Sofia as we speak. Callie said she'll bring them over later so I can get you home after this," Arizona said.
"Cool," Erin smiled slightly.
The door opened and the OB stepped in with a smile.
"You guys ready?" she said, pulling on her gloves.
"Yeah," they nodded.
She inseminated the eggs and then told Erin to keep her legs in the stirrups for an hour before moving home to rest for a few more hours.
"I swear to god, if we get twins, Arizona, I'm gonna stab Callie," Erin muttered as the OB left.
"Why?" Arizona laughed.
"Because she put the idea in my head last time and now I'm scared that we'll have two," Erin said.
"Would two be that bad?" Arizona smiled. "Brings us to an even four. We can stop after this pregnancy, regardless if it's twins or not. But imagine if we have twin girls," Arizona said. Erin rolled her eyes fondly.
"Yeah, okay, having twins would be cool and stopping at four would be very satisfying, but still. Delivering two babies? Feeding two babies? Wait, actually, carrying two babies? Archie kicked like a bitch and Rue made his bed on my bladder. Imagine if I'm peeing and being kicked constantly. I'll go crazy," Erin said.
Arizona laughed and sat down on the chair beside her.
"But we'll get two loads of cuteness. And I'd make it up to you if Callie jinxed us," Arizona said.
"You would?" Erin raised her eyebrows.
"Of course. I would love to make it up to you," Arizona smiled, kissing Erin softly.
"Okay," Arizona said as her phone beeped with the timer. Erin stood up and turned it over in the sink. "Well?" Arizona said.
"Pregnant," Erin smiled, turning and showing Arizona the stick.
"Yay!" Arizona laughed, lifting Erin up and onto the counter in the bathroom. Erin laughed and put the test back in the sink, kissing Arizona deeply.
"I swear, Arizona, if we get twins, I'm gonna kick your best friend's ass," Erin mumbled between kisses.
"Believe me, baby, if we get twins, I'm gonna keep you far away from my best friend and her ass," Arizona laughed, hands snaking down Erin's pyjama shorts.
"Yeah, probably best," Erin said.
"Hey, Mer, me again. Just wanted to keep you in the loop. So, uh, Arizona and I got inseminated again. We were gonna do it back in March but, uh, well, you know... So, uh, we did it on the first of May, and it worked. We did a blood test to confirm and the OB booked our three month appointment for the fifteenth of July. So, we're gonna celebrate Archie's birthday, have the scan and then it's Rue's birthday. Bailey's birthday is coming up soon, too, so I was gonna send presents over but I don't know where you are," Erin forced out a laugh.
"So, I'll keep it here," she continued. "For when you come back. Or for when I see you. 'Cause you're gonna have to come back or tell me where you are eventually. I know you're not in Boston, 'cause that would be really obvious. And I know you're not in New York or LA, because Addison and Carolyn haven't seen you. So, I was thinking of your favourite states, and I think you could be in San Diego, 'cause you always said you wanted to go. But I don't know," Erin said.
She took a deep breath and looked at the time on her phone.
"I have a surgery now. I gotta go. Uh, I love you and the kids a lot. So much, honestly. And I miss you guys. Bye."
"Hey," Amelia and Maggie greeted Erin as she stepped onto the elevator with Archie a few days before his birthday.
"Hi," Erin said.
"What one?" Archie looked at the buttons.
"Four. We're going to meet mommy and Rue," Erin said. Archie pressed number four and leaned back against Erin's legs.
"Are you excited for your birthday, Archie?" Maggie asked her nephew.
"Yeah," Archie hummed, looking up at her. "Mama says we're getting cake with Fia," he said.
"Yeah," Erin nodded.
"Zozo isn't coming, or Bailey," Archie added, looking back at the controls panel. "What number is this?" he asked.
"Nine," Erin said awkwardly. The doors opened on the fourth floor and Erin gently pushed Archie out. "Bye," she nodded at Amelia and Maggie.
"Bye," they said.
"Happy fourth birthday baby!" Erin smiled as Archie came downstairs for breakfast on his birthday.
"Thanks, mama!" Archie laughed, jumping into her arms.
"There's the birthday boy," Arizona sang, carrying Rueben out of the kitchen on her hip. She put a pink party hat on Archie's head and he laughed, feeling it curiously.
"Very nice hat," Erin said.
"You too, mommy," Archie said.
"Oh, of course," Arizona said, grabbing one from the side and putting it on. "We're the coolest. Now, breakfast time," she said.
"Yay!" Archie laughed. Erin put him down and he ran into the kitchen, Rueben baby babbling and pointing after him.
"Let's go," Erin rolled her eyes fondly, kissing Arizona as they walked into the kitchen to get breakfast.
"Okay, guys, are we ready?" the OB smiled as Erin lay on the bed with the gel on her stomach for the ultrasound. Arizona was holding her hand tightly, a smile already beaming across her face.
"Yeah," Erin smiled.
The OB put the wand on her stomach and started moving it around, an image coming onto the monitor.
"Okay, I see our baby," she smiled, moving the wand further up. Her smile dropped slightly and Erin frowned.
"What is it?" she said.
"I can see something else," she said, moving the wand again. Her smile was quickly pulled back onto her face. "It's twins!" she said, turning to smile at them.
Erin turned slowly to look at Arizona, who's mouth was open in surprise.
"Oh, I need to keep you away from Callie, don't I?" she whispered.
"She jinxed us," Erin said, turning back to the OB.
"Is this not a good thing?" the OB said confusedly.
"Oh, no, it's a good thing. Her best friend just jinxed us about it," Erin said. "Twins, hey? Identical or fraternal?" she asked.
"Identical," she said, pointing to the monitor. "You can see they share the same sac here. It's too early to tell the sex but I'm going to estimate your delivery date as the fourth of February," she said.
"That's great! What about their hearts?" Arizona asked. The OB pressed the button and two heartbeats echoed through the room.
"Strong and consistent, just how we like it," the OB smiled. "Two photos?" she checked.
"Please," they nodded. She nodded and took two images before leaving to get them printed.
"Twins," Arizona whispered, kissing Erin before wiping her stomach clean.
"I know," Erin chuckled, standing up and pulling her scrub top down. "Twins," she said.
"Oh, is it bad that I want them to be girls so we get two of each?" Arizona said.
"I want them to be girls, too, but I think we're destined to be boy moms, Zona," Erin laughed, kissing Arizona again. "You tell Callie and tell her I expect a lot of love because she's the one who jinxed me. I'll handle the sisters and Alex," Erin said.
"Cool," Arizona grinned.
"Oh, good. You're all here," Erin walked into the attending's lounge that afternoon, seeing Alex, Amelia and Maggie sat around.
"What's up?" Alex said. Erin handed him the scan photo, pouring herself a cup of decaf. "Torres was right, then," he chuckled, handing the photo to Maggie.
"You're pregnant with twins! Oh my god!" Maggie gasped, standing up to hug Erin.
"You are?" Amelia said, standing up to hug her, too.
"Yeah. Identical, too," Erin laughed, hugging her sisters back.
"That's amazing! I call godmother on one," Amelia said.
"Of course. You and Maggie, we decided with Rueben that you two would get the next one. Now you get one each," Erin said, squeezing Amelia's hand as she pulled back.
"You want me?" Maggie said.
"You're both my sisters, so yeah," Erin rolled her eyes fondly. "Of course I do," she said.
"Thank you," Maggie smiled, squeezing Erin's shoulder.
"They're due the fourth of February, but at least I'm not gonna be fat for summer," Erin said.
"That's good," Amelia said.
"Yeah, you just get to be fat for Christmas," Alex laughed, standing up to hug her.
"Yeah, and you're cooking this year," Erin said.
"Jo can cook. I can't cook," Alex said.
"Jo didn't have an oven growing up. She doesn't know how to make anything that isn't a microwave meal," Erin said.
"Good point," Alex said. "We'll figure it out," he said.
"Yeah, we will. We always do," Erin smiled, leaning her head against her best friend's chest.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Rueben, happy birthday to you," Arizona, Archie, Alex, Jo, Maggie, Amelia Callie and Sofia sang as Erin carried Rueben into the living room on the evening of the third of August.
Rueben squealed in her arms when he saw the cake, clapping his hands excitedly.
"Make a wish and blow it out, baby," Erin said, kneeling in front of the cake with him. Rueben tried to blow the candle out but was having trouble, so Erin discreetly blew it out.
"Yay!" everybody cheered. Erin put Rueben on the floor and grabbed the knife to cut pieces for Archie, Sofia and Rueben to eat.
"Sit at the table, kids," Erin motioned to the kiddie table across the living room. Archie grabbed Rueben's hand and Sofia grabbed his other one, the two of them helping him get to his feet.
"Be careful," Callie said.
"I got 'em," Amelia said, leaning over behind Rueben to shadow him in case he fell.
"He can do it," Arizona smiled at Rueben. He smiled back, letting Sofia and Archie help him walk towards the table.
"See?" Archie smiled at Callie. "He's smart," he said.
"He is, isn't he?" Callie smiled back.
"He can do it on his own," Sofia agreed, letting go of Rueben's hand and sitting at the table.
"Yeah! Look!" Archie let go of Rueben's hand and Amelia's hands moved closer than ever.
"C'mon, Rue," Erin smiled at her son, putting the cake on the table and holding her arms out.
He wobbled on his feet, smiling with two teeth as he held his arms out for her.
"Come on," she said. He slowly took one step and made sure he had his balance. He giggled and made another step, and another, and another until he was in Erin's arms. She threw him up into the air, catching him and tickling his stomach. "My little smart boy," she laughed, kissing him a few times.
"My turn," Arizona grinned, holding her arms out. Erin passed Rueben along and kissed Sofia and Archie's heads as they ate their cake.
"Mommy," Rueben put his hands on Arizona's cheeks.
"What did you say?" Arizona smiled.
"Mommy," Rueben repeated.
"I got the first word!" Arizona smirked at Erin.
"I got Archie's," Erin laughed, kissing Rueben's cheeks proudly as Arizona sat him at the table. "Well done, baby boy," she said.
"Didn't Archie take his first steps on his first birthday?" Callie said.
"Yeah. I got his first word a few weeks earlier, though," Erin said.
"First time he called Arizona mom," Alex nodded.
"Oh, yeah," Callie smiled, nudging Arizona as she sat down beside her.
"Any word from Mer?" Maggie asked, sitting down beside Erin on the couch.
"Nope," Erin shook her head.
"More cake?" Archie asked.
"Sure," Erin said, cutting him another slice and sitting with the kids so she didn't have to talk about her missing sister.
"Hey, Mer. Me again. So, it's identical twins. We go for the five month scan next week. We're gonna find out the sexes and then we're moving Rueben into Archie's room. Archie asked for them to share, surprisingly. Maggie's kind of moved in. She's always here, anyway, so I just made her up a room and now she's just always here all of the time. It's nice. I like her being here. She makes me miss you living here, though, so I usually hide in my room. Pregnancy hormones are not kind to me, but the twins stay off my bladder so I'm not gonna complain," Erin said into the phone.
"And, uh, the kids had great birthdays," Erin continued. "So did Arizona and I. I, uh, got a call. The call. Rob got out. His mom called, too, to tell me that she's got a restraining order against him, and Richard made sure my restraining order is active. Which is great. I think. He's away from me but he's also a maniac running around in public, so, well, you know. April's still in Jordan. She keeps extending her stay. I know it's driving Jackson insane. He's been here a lot, too, hanging out with Alex. It's weird," Erin said.
Her pager beeped and she sighed.
"I gotta go. I love you and the kids. Bye."
"Okay, how are we feeling today?" the OB smiled as she sat at the monitor.
"We're good," Erin and Arizona chorused.
"Cold," the OB warned, squirting the gel on her growing stomach.
Erin thought she was quite small, considering she was having twins, but their routine ultrasounds confirmed that the babies were both growing within the right limits and that she would probably 'pop' later on.
"Okay," the OB said, moving the wand around. "Here we have twin A," she said, pointing at the baby on the bottom. "If you choose natural birth, this one will be born first. Twin B will be right behind A," she said.
"I want a natural one," Erin nodded. "If I can, anyway. Saves me having unnecessary surgery," Erin said.
"That's perfectly fine," the OB smiled.
"Can you tell their sexes?" Arizona asked.
"Give me a minute," the OB nodded, moving the wand over Erin's stomach. "As you know, they're identical, so if I can only find one sex then it's the same for both. I will check, though, in case they're fraternal and the sac isn't showing," she said.
"Okay," they nodded.
"Twin A," the OB hummed, "Is a girl!" she smiled.
"We got our little girls," Arizona smiled, kissing Erin's temple.
"And so is twin B. Twin girls, congratulations," the OB smiled.
"Yay," Erin smiled, kissing Arizona properly. She looked back at the monitor, feeling tears in her eyes. "Our girls," she whispered.
"Two photos?" the OB checked.
"Yeah," they chorused. She smiled, took two photos, and left the room to print them. Arizona wiped Erin's stomach and then helped her to her feet.
"Our girls. I hope they look like you," Arizona whispered, stroking Erin's cheek softly. "With your cute little nose and those eyes, and I hope they're just as smart and strong and brave as you are," she said.
"Oh, no. They're gonna be like you. They're gonna be all smiley and happy and just rays of sunshine. They're gonna be strong and brave and smart because of you," Erin said, kissing Arizona's neck as she lay her head on her shoulder.
"All you, baby. It's all you," Arizona whispered, rubbing her back softly.
"No, no, no, no, that's dessert!" Jo cried as Erin and Maggie dug into the pie Jo had bought for Thanksgiving dinner.
"I am sorry, but that turkey is three hours away," Maggie shrugged.
"I'm feeding your nieces, Wilson. Don't deprive them of food," Erin smirked teasingly at the resident. She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't know it was gonna take all day," she said.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you how to roast a turk-" Maggie started.
"No, 'cause I never had a mother and I didn't have an oven in my car," Jo said. Maggie stared at her before nodding.
"Point taken," she said. "Doesn't help the fact that I'm starving," she said. The front door opened and Erin heard footsteps.
"We have food!" Alex and Arizona called. Archie and Rueben ran into the room, Alex and Arizona following with takeout bags.
"Oh my god, thank you!" Erin gasped, taking the burger Arizona was offering her.
"Damn it, Alex," Jo whined. Alex laughed.
"Hey, it was a good effort, but the only thing that bird is stuffed with is food poisoning," he kissed her cheek with a look over her shoulder at the turkey in the oven.
"Oh, my God, I'm so frickin' hungry!" Maggie groaned, taking the food from Arizona.
"Here we go, children," Arizona laughed, setting food out for Archie, Rueben, Alex and Jo.
"Thanks, mom," Jo teased, sitting at the table and taking a bite of her burger.
Alex left the room with a bag and Erin shot him a look. He nodded at his phone and she nodded.
He was going to try and call Meredith.
"She answered," Alex ran back in a minute later. "Said she's fine, the kids are, but to please stop calling," he said.
"She still answered. That's good," Maggie said.
"Right?" Jo frowned, not seeing any good reactions on anyone's face.
"Yeah. Good," Erin said, taking a bite of her burger.
"Second batch! Deck your halls, y'all!" Maggie carried the eggnog into the living room on Christmas eve.
Erin was lying on one couch with her head in Arizona's lap, feet in Alex's, with her seven month pregnant belly protruding largely between them. She had popped two weeks prior and now looked like a watermelon.
Jackson was sat on the armchair eating a slice of pizza, and Richard was en-route.
"I always hated eggnog. Why is yours so good?" Alex asked.
"Mine's mostly hooch. It's basically a bourbon milkshake," Maggie said.
"Cheers to that," Alex said.
"Karev, that is definitely the saddest tree I've ever seen," Jackson nodded at the half decorated Christmas tree.
"Tell Robbins and Grey," Alex snorted.
"No, uh, it's better than no tree. We've been working chaotically and, well, my parents decided that they're taking the boys on Boxing day until New Years, so Alex was like, why bother? And I said, you have to have a tree at Christmas. Otherwise, your soul is just curdled and you've given up on joy, so I got a tree. The kids and I started decorating it, and then some woman went into labor, so I gave up," Arizona said.
"And I'm now fat, so," Erin muttered.
Maggie picked up a present from underneath the tree.
"To Zola, from Archie and Rueben," she said. Erin sighed.
"Archie keeps asking, mama, maybe at Christmas, we'll see Mermaid and Zola and Bailey. Shouldn't we get them presents? And I don't... I don't know what to say. I mean, I don't know if they're ever coming back," Erin said.
"Hmm, I know the feeling," Jackson hummed.
"So, I caved. I got them gifts, just in case," Erin said. The doorbell rang and Maggie got up to answer it.
"That's the spirit," Jackson said.
"Hey, merry Christmas!" Richard grinned at Maggie.
"Merry Christmas!" Maggie cheered, pulling him inside.
"You came! Yay!" Erin smiled, not making any effort to move because of how large she was.
"I brought a yule log," Richard said.
"Yum!" Maggie gasped.
"Oh, here. Come here. Here. Move the dip," Arizona said, helping Richard sit down and put the yule log down.
"Looking good, Grey," Richard laughed.
"Oh, don't. I can't move. I might have to crash down here if I want to be able to get up for presents in the morning," Erin said.
"I'll help you," Arizona laughed, kissing her forehead.
"Thank you, baby," Erin smiled.