Jo smiled to herself and crept up behind Alex. He had his back turned to her, and he was leaning against the nurse's station while he tapped away on a tablet. She jumped on him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. Alex jumped and turned in her arms.

"Jeez Jo, you could have made me drop this tablet." Alex scolded, but he was having an impossible time keeping a smile off his face. Jo smiled sheepishly and leaned in to kiss him gently. Alex returned the kiss. He really could never be mad at Jo's antics for long. She was too irresistibly cute for her own good when it came to Alex. Jo pulled out of the kiss first and produced a box from behind her back. Alex shook his head.

"Happy Birthday Alex." She announced and pushed the box toward Alex.

"Jo, we agreed no birthday presents." Alex scolded. Jo smiled.

"Screw that. Open it." She insisted. Alex sighed and took the box from her outstretched hand. He popped it open and frowned. He pulled out a silver watch.

"Jo, this is way too much." Alex sighed. Jo grinned.

"I was sick and tired of you grabbing my wrist to check the time." Jo shrugged. Alex shook his head, but a smile was threatening to break out of his tough façade.

"Well alright then, help me put it on." Alex caved. Jo grinned and took the watch from him. She slid the loosened band around his wrist and then snapped it in place. Alex leaned back a little to admire the watch long distance.

"It looks pretty sharp." He admitted and bent down just slightly to give Jo a gentle peck on the lips. Jo smiled into the kiss.

"What do you want to do tonight? It is your birthday after all." Jo said. Alex shrugged.

"I really just want to stay in with you. Maybe order Chinese." Alex answered. Jo smiled and nodded. She could definitely get on board with a night curled up on the couch with Alex. She knew he wasn't much for one to celebrate himself, even on his birthday. Alex wasn't that kind of person, and maybe that was what she liked best about him. He only ever bragged about his surgical skills and he definitely had the right to brag about that. She had to admire her style. She had chosen the perfect watch for him, it really did look awesome on him. "I get off at seven." Alex added and turned back to updating the tablet. Jo smiled and leaned next to Alex on the nurse's station.

"Where should I meet you?" Jo asked. Alex shrugged and pulled a patient's scans up on his tablet.

"I can meet you in the resident's locker room." He answered. Jo nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't get in too much trouble today, I'll see you later." Jo teased and flounced away. Alex chuckled to himself and shook his head as he watched her turn the corner and disappear from sight. He definitely liked his new watch, it was sharp. He didn't need any gifts though; she was a big enough gift for him. Not to mention he simply hated the idea of gift giving. It was just another day and once you passed twenty-one birthdays were never really a cause for celebration. They were just a reminder that you were continuing to get older and your family life still sucked. The thought of his family now had him thinking about Amber and Aaron. He knew that Aaron had said that Amber was getting out of that hell hole as well after high school but that had been years ago. He wasn't sure if she'd actually gotten out. He fished for his phone and pulled it from his lab coat pocket. He pulled up his contacts and selected a name he hadn't selected in a long time. He hit the call icon and took a deep breath as he brought the phone to his ear. It rang twice before the dial tone cut off and a female voice answered.

"Hello?" It asked cautiously. Alex smiled. That was his Amber for sure.

"Hey Amber, it's Alex." He answered bravely. He heard her take in a sharp breath.

"Alex? Is everything okay?" She asked. Genuine concern leaked through the receiver.

"Yeah. I'm sorry it has been so long. I was just thinking about you and wondering if you ever got out of that hell hole." Alex said sheepishly.

"I've been thinking about you a lot today too. Happy birthday. And yeah, I did get out. I'm at medical school in Boston." She answered. Alex smiled.

"Are you at Harvard Medical?" Alex asked. Amber laughed lightly.

"Actually, yes." She answered.

"Amber that's amazing." He gushed, breaking out into a huge smile.

"Thanks. I have class in a couple minutes. Maybe we can talk this weekend?" Amber suggested.

"That would be great. I'll talk to you soon." Alex agreed.

"Bye Alex. Happy Birthday." Amber said and the line went dead. Alex smiled and slipped his phone back into his lab coat pocket. He spent the day almost on an emotional high. His surgeries all went really well and he was getting off on time for once. He met Jo in the Resident locker room. She was pulling on her jacket over a simple red v-neck. She smiled when he walked into the locker room.

"Ready?" She asked. Alex nodded. "How was your day?" She asked as he held the door open for her. She smiled her thanks and slipped through the door way. Alex didn't answer her until they were almost to the elevator.

"It was good. I called my sister Amber." Alex answered nonchalantly as he pushed the elevator button to call the elevator to their floor. Jo nodded.

"How did that go?" She asked gently. She knew that Alex's family life wasn't great.

"Really well. She got out of that dump, and she's going to Medical School at Harvard." Alex answered as the elevator doors slid open. Meredith and Derek were deep in conversation inside the elevator. Meredith smiled up at Alex and Jo as they stepped into the elevator.

"Happy Birthday old man." Meredith teased Alex. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, old lady." He shot back. Meredith grinned wider. The pairs parted ways at the ground level of the hospital, wishing each other a good night. Alex opened the passenger side door on his Jeep Cherokee for Jo and she smiled as she climbed into the seat. They drove to the apartment in a comfortable silence. Alex opened the door into the apartment and Jo gasped at the sight that was before her. The floor of the apartment was covered in rose petals.

"Alex, what the hell is going on?" She asked. Alex smiled and led Jo into the center of the room. He dropped to his knee and fished grabbed a large red box from behind the couch. He sat the box down in front of himself and cleared his throat.

"Jo, I don't need a lot for my birthday or really any day. I just need you. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife.? So I can always spend every day making you as happy as you make me." He asked and pulled the lid off the box. A black Labrador puppy poked its head out of the top. A big green bow was tied around its neck and looped around the ribbon was a silver diamond ring. It was a simple ring with only a small diamond set deep into the band. Jo grinned.

"Absolutely!" She answered. Alex smiled and pulled the ring off of the bow and slid it onto Jo's finger.

Hey guys, sorry it took so long. A guest requested this forever and I forgot about it. I do love this collection of stories though and I'm excited to get back to it. As always, I love requests for prompts. Almost any pairing goes, and because of that these fics won't necessarily always follow cannon. Please review and tell me what you thought or suggest prompts. Much love, Jane Torres-Cooper.