You are my person! (Jo, Alex Fanfic after the storm) GREY'S ANATOMY

Chapter 7

Izzie Stevens didn't want to leave Alex in the shit storm that took place when Jo walked in on their kiss. No choice. She had her job, her boyfriend, her new life. So with regret in her heart, she walked out of Alex's life for the second time and back into hers. They agreed to keep in touch. She held onto that little piece of whatever and it helped her get on that plane. She told herself this time was different.

They were going to make sure that the other was okay, didn't have cancer, wasn't shot, doing okay...or maybe, hopefully, better than okay.

"This is Grey Sloane Memorial Hospital not General Hospital. I know you thrive in the Lifetime movie of the week drama of crazy chick gone crazier and trying to kill you and whatever, but you need rest. Do you want to get out of here?" Cristina waited for a response.

Alex tried to fold his arms but could only manage one, so he folded the one. Scowl firmly in place.

"Quit being a baby and answer me! Do you want out of here? Do you want to eat real food? Do you want to see Zola's dance recital on Sunday?" Yang knew that brining the kid into the equation was going to get a rise out of Karev and that's what she wanted.

The weakling lying in the bed before her was not the friend she knew. Hell, Alex had been through so much more than this in his miserable little childhood - druggie, abusive poor excuse for a dad, bat shit crazy mom. This current soap opera swirling around had nothing on the peds surgeon. Cristina just had to get him to see it.

"Alright, you made your point. I need to get my ass outta here. This is crap!"

Making progress, Cristina thought with a smile creeping across her face. Angry Karev would be out of the hospital in less than a week. She ordered a bland meal of soup and rice, had to start easy, make sure his stomach could tolerate it.

"This is crap!" Alex repeated tasting the nondescript food in front of him. "You expect me to eat this crap?"

"Every bite or should I tell Zola you can't make it on Sunday? I can do that..."

"You are pure evil," mumbled Alex mouth full of rice, some falling out of the side.

"Charming. How the hell do you get these crazies lining the hallway to add misery to your already miserable life?" Cristina was checking his vitals, pleased with how everything looked.

As soon as he was done eating, she needed to check out her handiwork on the stomach, make sure there was no infection. The color in his face said Karev was on the mend, skinny as hell, but on the mend.

"Did ya hear Dr. Doucheface is pressin' charges after all? You believe that?" Alex shoveled the last of the rice in his mouth looking for more.

Cristina pulled a pudding out of her pocket and tossed it his way. Alex caught it with one hand and managed to get it open with his teeth.

"I heard. I also heard you and Izzie were going at it pretty hard when your crazy intern walked in. I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you. One eye open."

"Ya tryin' to freak me out, Yang? Cuz that's what you're doin'. Yes, Izzie did give me a kiss goodbye, no big deal. I barely noticed it. Jo thought she saw somethin' so now she won't talk to me." he paused for a bit before the request. "Will you get her up here for me?"

"You need to finish your food and worry about putting on a few pounds." Cristina checked Alex's abdomen happy with her surgeon skill. She turned to her patient on the way out, "I'll see what I can do. No promises. That is if she hasn't already been sent away to prison or the looney bin or reform school."

"Not funny. Thank you," Alex yelled to Yang already out in the corridor.

He was half expecting the food to come back up. It didn't. Yang did a good job second time around, he thought. I'll be out of this place in time for Zo's dance recital. Kid was a freaking dance whiz, really gifted in dance, in everything. Genius kid.

Jo interrupted his mental bragging over Zola, appearing in his room, hand on hip again... no knife. That was good.

"What?" the intern had full armor on, no one breaking down in this room.

"What's happening with Peckwell? You okay?"

"I'm just great, Alex! Jason is going forward with the case. Police have questioned me. It's been awesome!" she said dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey, come here," Alex said holding out his arm. "We'll get through this."

"There is no WE! We were friends. I was never into you. You were obviously never into me. It's all good." Jo turned to leave, not waiting for an answer.

"Wilson, please! Aaahh!" moaned Alex trying to push himself up and get out of bed. Hurt like hell, but there may have been a little acting involved. His puppy dog eyes waiting for a response as he grabbed his chest. "Aaahhh!" he groaned again.

"Dammit, Alex! What are you doing? You're not supposed to be getting up!" Jo ran to Alex forgetting about the hurt she felt at seeing the former couple kissing. The man she WAS into kissing someone else.

She pulled the sheet back looking at his incisions, pushing around his stomach, making sure he hadn't done anything serious.

"Princess, can we talk? I need to explain."

"You have two minutes. Go." Jo was looking at her watch tapping a foot for effect.

"Izzie and I have a long, complicated, twisted history. Most couples don't go through half the crap we've gone through. It ended badly. It was total crap. I hated her. She hated me. I never thought I'd see her again."

Jo put her arm down and quit tapping her foot. She knew honest Karev when she saw it. This was definitely it.

"I wake up, she's here, all worried about me. It brought back a crap load of feelings. I got baggage, Jo. Enough for a damn year long vacation." Alex wanted to stop and explain no more. This sharing sucked. He wasn't built for this. He also knew if he didn't tell Jo the whole truth, he had no shot at anything with this girl.

"So I love her? Yeah. I hate it, but I do. But we're not together. We're not gettin' back together. We'll always have this thing. Whatever. That's it. That's all of it."

"Why do I care about this?" asked Jo, hard exterior back.

"Because I care what happens to you. Because I wanna kick Peckwell's ass the day I get out of here. Because I thought we might have a thing. I don't know. Forget it." Alex knew he was rambling, knew he'd probably blown it with the intern.

The fact was he didn't want to blow it. He wanted a real chance with the gorgeous brunette. He had for a long time just hadn't admitted it to anyone, not even himself. They'd been flirting with the idea, flirting with each other for months, but Jo decided she wanted Chest Peckwell. He fit her laundry list of requirements...he was on the rise, strong, confident, good family, would make beautiful babies.

What did Alex offer? A wise ass comment every other minute and a childhood so screwed up it rivaled her own. No, he was off limits. She put him off limits. But those damn eyes, those eyes that could see right through her, that made her feel six years old. Those eyes that made her want to kiss him every second they were together. Those damn eyes were making her stay and listen and love the man lying injured in the bed before her.

"I care, Jo. I can help you through this. I'll get him to drop the charges. I'll do whatever it takes." Alex tiptoed around the words he couldn't say, the "I love you" trying to creep in. I care about you would have to be good enough for now.

"Alex," Jo whispered burying her head in his side, holding on to his arm. She needed someone in her corner, someone looking out for her, someone who actually cared about her. She hugged Alex harder thinking about him defending her, ready to kick Jason's ass. She felt protected and safe...foreign territory for her, but an area she wanted to explore.

"Alex, I can live with the ex wife thing if you can live with the beating the boyfriend up thing," she said looking up into those brown eyes.

"Shut up, Wilson, and get up here," Alex leaned forward a little waiting, waiting so long for her lips to meet his.

The wait was worth it.

Wow, Karev's been a busy boy! What do you think? He's getting out of the hospital next chapter and Meredith will be back. Maybe others?