Always been you//Jolex

Chapter 17

"Okay, we're gonna go see Maggie for a quick checkup and then you're gonna stay at the daycare for the day with Zola and Bailey and Ellis while mommy and daddy save some lives, okay?" I say, pulling up to the hospital early in the morning. It's our first day back to work and our first time leaving Sadie, and I'm kind of freaking out.
"Okay."
We get out of the car and I take her hand, and the three of us walk down the sidewalk. As we pass the coffee cart, I see Maggie grabbing her cup off the counter.
"Hey, guys! How's that heart doing, Sadie?" She says when we approach her from behind.
"Good," she says shyly, twirling a piece of her hair.
"Let's head up to an exam room and take a look, okay?" Maggie says, taking a sip of her coffee.
Sadie simply nods.
"You want something?" Alex asks, surprising me.
"Hmm?" I say, confused at first.
"I see you eyeing those donuts." He says with a chuckle, referencing the ones at the coffee cart that I was, in fact, craving.
"Baby wants chocolate." I say with a smile and "dog eyes," as Alex once called them. He gets on line, returning with a donut for me and one for Sadie. We head up to the cardio wing and Maggie does a routine exam, but Sadie gets nervous when the needle for the blood draw comes out.
"It's okay, sweetie." I say, sitting on the exam table and scooping her onto my lap. "Close your eyes, Maggie will be really quick."
"Okay, a little pinch. Ready?" Maggie says.
"Yeah." Sadie replies.
"All done!" Maggie says a moment later, letting the tube fill up and pulling out the needle. She puts a bandage on the spot where she pricked, and shouts for Helm to take the blood to the lab. We drop Sadie at the daycare, and she immediately settles down at the table in a seat next to Zola, picking up a blue crayon and coloring.
My pager goes off, and I say goodbye to Alex.
"Oncall room at lunch?" He asks.
"Booty call."
I head to the ER where Hunt is paging me. I'm about to head to bed 3 for a consult but I end up rushing to the nearest garbage can, throwing up the donut that baby didn't want after all. All eyes turn to me.
"I'm fine. Do your jobs, people!" I proceed to the consult, and Schmitt is trailing me.
"Schmitt, what do you want?"
"I'm on your service this week."
"Great." I mutter, mostly to myself, sliding the curtain open."Hello Ms....Grenten, I'm Doctor Karev. I see you're experiencing some abdominal pain." I pick up the tablet and see that a scan has been ordered. "Schmitt, what do you see?" I say, referencing the CT on the screen.
"It's a large mass. Wait. It looks like...is that...?"
"Yup. God, I love this day." I pull over the ultrasound. "Fetus in fetu. It's incredibly rare, I've only seen one my intern year. Ma'am, you had a partiality developed twin that you absorbed in utero, and it's the source of your pain. It can be removed with surgery, I can fit you in this afternoon. Doctor Schmitt will have you admitted and prepped and I'll see you in post op!"
A few hours later, the gallery is packed with people wanting to see the case. The surgery goes smoothly, but Meredith spends the whole time leaning over my shoulder, backseat cutting.
When I'm done 6 hours later, I feel like it's been 12. I'm exhausted and everything hurts, which is weird because I can usually do 6 hours without breaking a sweat.
I decide to go to the attendings lounge, which has the nicest couch by far. I sit down and put my feet up, but just as my eyes flutter shut, Alex walks in and pours a cup of coffee, not seeing me at first.
"Hey." I say, clearly startling him.
"Oh, hey." He says, coming to sit beside me. "How did your big surgery go?"
"It was great. But now I'm exhausted."
"Come here," he says, holding out his arms. I Scooch up next to him, and he just holds me.
"No freaking way." Meredith says from the door way, acknowledging Alex's hand on my belly. I sit up straight, hoping she didn't notice yet, despite her prior comment. "I mean, it crossed my mind when you threw up in the ER, but I didn't know for sure."
"Wait, what?" Alex says.
"Ummm.... Surprise!" I say, wanting to change the subject before Alex starts freaking out over morning sickness. Last time I threw up, he made me stay home and called in for both of us so he could take care of me. It turned out to be bad takeout.
Mer comes over and gives me a hug, and then Alex is paged. "Don't forget, we have an appointment with Carina at 4:00." I add, as he walks out the door.
"Wouldn't miss it!"
"Did you tell Sadie yet?" Meredith asks, once Alex is gone.
"No, we haven't told anyone. Except you, accidentally."
"Well, when adoptive parents have biological kids, it sometimes makes the kid feel like you don't want them or they aren't good enough. It happened with Zola when I was pregnant with Ellis."
"Oh crap, I didn't even think of that." I pull out my phone and text Alex.
Me: Let's bring Sadie to the ultrasound later.
Alex: Are you sure it's not to soon to tell her?
Me: I don't want her to feel like we were hiding something. We should include her in this stuff.
Alex: Okay, Ill get her from daycare and meet you in OB.
Me: Love you 😘
-Later that day-
"Hey Sadie!" I say when Alex comes into the OB waiting room with her. Her hair is in a Dutch braid, which Alex somehow knew how to do.
"Do I have another appointment?" She asks, sitting beside me.
"Actually..." I pause, unsure of how to say it "Me and daddy are having another baby, which means you're going to be a big sister. There's a baby growing in my belly, and Doctor DeLuca is gonna make sure it's healthy."
"A baby? How'd that get there?"
Alex and I both laugh, unsure of how to answer the question.
"Jo, are you ready?" I turn around and see Carina, and we stand up as she leads us to a room.
"Alright, Jo. I'm gonna have you sit on the table right here and pull up your shirt, and we're gonna take a look at the little baby."
Alex is standing right beside me, but Sadie is still standing in the door.
"Come here, Sadiebug." Alex says, walking over to pick her up. Carina squeezes the gel on my stomach, and it surprises me how cold it is, despite the fact that we warn patients about it all the time.
Sadie has her arms wrapped around Alex's neck, and they're both standing by my head. Sadie watches in awe at the black and white sonogram, confused as to how it's a baby. As the only one in the room who can't read the picture, she waits for someone to explain.
"Okay, this little splotch right here is the baby, and it looks nice and healthy. The baby is the perfect size for 8 weeks. It's a little early, but should we take a listen for the heartbeat?"
"Yes, please." I say. A minute later, a fast, loud thump fills the room. My eyes start to tear up at seeing and hearing the tiny human that Alex and I made.
"Would do you think about that, Sadie? That's your brother or sister."
"Well, which is it?" She says, and I laugh.
"We won't know for a few more weeks." Carina says.
"Is it going to live with us?" Sadie asks.
"Yeah, then you'll have someone to play with. The room next to yours will be the nursery, you can help us decorate it."
She takes another look, as if deciding how to feel about it, and finally smiles and waves at the blurry black and white picture. Then, she turns her attention to my belly, whispering:
"Hi, baby."