Hey guys! Haven't written a fic in a while but the finale was crap so here's my take on what could happen next.

...

April sits in her car, places both hands on the steering wheel and takes a deep breath. Then, taking a glance at the review mirror, she sees her daughter sleeping peacefully in the backseat. It's been a long day, with the fire and Stephanie getting hurt, trying to be in charge of triage and of course that moment when her world fell apart. "He likes you. He has feelings for you." She closes her eyes as if she's trying to forget that memory, but she can't move on. Every time she blinks she goes back to that instant, when Jackson and Maggie's eyes met. The tenderness she saw in that stare, the way her co-worker worried about him, the way she yelled at him, the way she held his hand, the way she kept touching it. She can't escape that moment as much as she tries to.

It's already late when she pulls up on the driveway that leads to their place. To his place. Funny how they never got a place together, a true home. It's always been his apartment, his house… never truly their home. Taking a sleepy Harriet out of the car, she feels the crispy air of the night. Exiting the car, she notices that the house is quiet, there are no lights turned on and for a second she thanks God no one's home. It's probably for the best that Jackson hasn't arrived yet because she's been doing her best to avoid him all day and has succeed so far.

Inside, she turns the living room light on so she doesn't step on anything before finding her way to Harriet's room. Placing the sleeping baby down on her crib with a kiss on her forehead, she makes her way to her own room.

Exhausted, she simply lets her body fall on the bed, above the cream duvet cover. Her whole body feels sore but she can't fall asleep. No, first she needs a shower to take all of the smoke out of her body, out of her lungs, out of her system. A shower at the end of a very long, hard day always makes things feel better, even if it's just for a short while.

So, after a couple of minutes of simply laying there facing the white ceiling above, staring at it with a complete blank face, April stands up. Raising her hands to her shirt, she pulls it off, folding her jeans and putting them to the side as well. Then, grabbing a soft pink towel from one of the drawers, she crosses the empty corridor that leads to the bathroom in her matching blue underwear.

Stepping into the shower, April leaves the bathroom door half open in case Harriet wakes up and cries. Standing there with her thoughts alone, she lets the water fall down on her body like a warm river washing every pain away. The flashbacks of the previous night never leave her mind, though. "He's the kind of guy who runs into a fire apparently." Jackson has always been a good man, with standards and values and a terrible sense of justice that goes beyond him. He likes to help others even when it means that he can get hurt. He doesn't walk away from a person in need of help. He just doesn't quit until he knows the person is going to be fine. He's been her greatest supporter and the best shoulder to cry on.

She thinks about the night he almost died trying to save a little girl trapped inside a burning bus. And she thinks about how she hated him for it. How she loved him for it too. How she thought she lost him for a very scary minute. How she never thought she'd be so happy to see him alive. The thought makes her go back to Matthew. They were still together when it happened. That was the night she realized she felt something different, something bigger, stronger for Jackson. Something she knew she felt all along. And she knew Matthew that night realized it too, but kept it to himself. She wondered about him now. How their life would be like had they stayed together. How his life must be like without her. And it's not that she ever regrets running away with Jackson, leaving Matthew behind. She only regrets the way she did it and how she never got the chance to apologize since he took off town without a word. Had she married him, she wouldn't have Harriet, her baby girl, she wouldn't have lived all the amazing things she lived with Jackson by her side and she wouldn't have experienced love in the highest form of all, because the truth is Jackson is the love of her life. She just isn't sure Jackson feels the same way now too.

When she saw their stares, by the gurney, she felt anger at first. But that feeling quickly turned into sadness that quickly turned into pain.

Turning off the water, April steps out of the shower and quickly dries herself. Then, she holds the soft pink towel against her, placing it around her back, wrapping herself in it and making sure it's tightly pulled across her body. She looks into the foggy mirror and sees a distorted image of herself. Her red hair completely wet, leaving small traits of water down her shoulders, her hazel eyes tired. How could a simple look destroy her completely? Yes, the look Jackson and Maggie shared destroyed her feelings or what was left of them.

They've been through so much and she promised herself she wouldn't let him hurt her anymore. Sure, she wasn't a saint either and they both said and did things that were wrong to each other. But this was too much. Especially after Montana and what happened there. He opened up to her like he would before, when they were best friends and it felt good to share a moment of peace and quiet in that hotel bed with him. Holding him like she did, listening to his heart beat fast closely against his chest, the way his fingers played with her skin. It felt like a daydream, except she wasn't dreaming at all. They haven't talked about it since but she was sure things would get better from that moment on.

How could she be so blind? Of course it was just sex to him. He was breaking down in hives and in that moment he found the perfect release in her. And she figured he had been spending way too much time with Maggie. It all made sense now.

Raising her hands to cover her eyes, she feels a hot burning feeling on her throat. She never imagined things could go like this. All she ever wanted was him, with her and their daughter, living in their perfect little bubble. Why did things have to be so hard? Why did things never go according to plan? Just… why?

Without even noticing, April feels the first couple tears coming out of her eyes. It's impossible not to cry when all those thoughts cross her unsettling mind. Feeling her knees start to crumble, she finds support by placing both hands in the sink in front of her. Her body breaks down as she sobs uncontrollably now. After everything that has happened, since Samuel's tragic death to their divorce, and all the times she let him in, only to watch him go again, losing him in the process over and over, aching, disappearing when he comes back, running away, hiding and trying all over again… it's been quite the roller-coaster but she feels exhausted. There's no fight left to be fought this time. She lost him once and for all and April saw it in his eyes last night.

Lost in her thoughts, she jumps when she feels a soft touch on her shoulder. "April? What-"

She turns around, but hides her face, lowering her now red eyes to the floor. "Oh, you're- here."

"You're crying? Why are you crying?"

"Oh, it's just… it's nothing." She shakes her head, crossing her arms closely against her chest, taking a defensive position. He places one hand under her chin, making her raise her face up to him. She doesn't look back, though. Instead, she takes a step back, only to find herself cornered against the sink. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You're crying."

"I'm-"

"Is this because of what happened last night?" He asks and she wonders if he knows she knows what's going on between him and Maggie. "Is this because of the fire? Because I went in to look for Edwards?"

She lets out a breath, using one hand to clean up her nose. "I-"

"You were scared, I know. But-" Resting his right hand on her naked arm, she feels his body closer. "I was fine. I'm okay. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

She opens her mouth, but no words come out. He always wears his best apologies, looks at her with his green eyes wide open and suddenly everything's better, but not this time. "Sure." She simply replies, feeling her throat hurt as she speaks quietly.

"I had to go look for Stephanie, you know. I left her with that guy and… I just felt so-"

"Guilty?" She raises her eyes for the first time, meeting his stare halfway.

"Yes." He nods.

"I guess you'd know how that feels like." She says, before storming out, leaving him behind, running to her room and shutting the door.

…

The next morning, he leaves for work before her. Leaving her a message on the breakfast table, Jackson lets her know he had to go earlier because they have an important board meeting to discuss the events. So, she gets herself ready to get outside and sets Harriet for the day as well. Looking at her baby, she thanks God for that miracle in her life and appreciates the fact that that little girl saved her life in more ways than one.

Arriving at the hospital, the first thing she does is drop Harriet at daycare and head down to the pit, her save heaven. In there, she's in charge, she's in control of the situation, she knows what to do and people trust her to do her job well.

The day goes on as usual until about lunch time, when she takes the elevator to go down to the cafeteria only to find Maggie in it. Stepping in, April doesn't say a word, trying her best not to make eye contact. It feels awkward and painful to be in the same place as the woman Jackson has real feelings for, but she's stronger than that. "Hmm… did you tell him?" April asks.

"I'm sorry?"

"Did you tell Jackson?" She asks again, this time turning her face slowly to the side, trying to see Maggie's reaction from the corner of her eyes.

"I didn't, because-" Maggie starts.

"You're waiting for him to tell you? About his feelings, right?"

"No! April-"

"It's okay. Honestly. It's… okay." She goes on, placing her hands on her lab coat pockets. "I waited too. And he did. He confessed his feelings for me… with the worst timing possible."

"I know." Maggie says, taking one step. "He told me he stopped your wedding."

"Oh, he did, huh?!" April shakes her head. "Then, I guess you should take the first step, because-"

"No, April… you don't understand." Maggie says. "He told me that, because he was worried about Stephanie. He told me why he was so worried about her. I mean, obviously because she was with that lunatic man, but mainly because he never forgave himself for what he did to her."

"What?"

"No, I mean… he told me that he felt sorry for what he did to her… with you." The confused look on April's face raised a red flag. "No, I'm not making myself clear. When he stole you-"

"Stole me?"

"From the wedding. I mean, not stole you but…"

"So he told you he felt sorry for what he did… with me?"

"No, April-" Maggie says, shaking her head. "That's not what I'm trying to say. What I'm trying to say it that we talked about you right before the alarms went off. We were talking about that crazy man and Stephanie and why he needed to make sure she was okay."

"Because he feels sorry for ruining things with her by getting married to me?"

"No… April. That's not-" The elevator doors open in that moment and April makes a move to step outside, but Maggie blocks the doors before they close. "Will you just listen?"

"What?"

"He doesn't have feelings for me!"

"I saw it. I saw his eyes on you. I saw the way he looked at you and trust me when I tell you that that look… it means something!" April says, almost yelling. "I've felt that look. He's looked at me like that before and trust me… I know."

"You don't!"

"I do! I know what I saw. And you like him too and couldn't make it any less obvious." April sighs. "And he obviously likes you too. He likes spending time with you. He likes talking to you, apparently. He- We are obviously not together anymore so… there's your chance." And with that, she turns around and leaves, barely walking, more like running, hiding inside a supply closet.

...

AN: Not that long, but this is just the beginning. I hope you guys liked the first chapter even thought I focused a lot on feelings and thoughts and stuff. I promise the next chapter will have japril interaction. Sorry for any mistakes you might find, but english is not my first language! And I hope you liked this. If you did please please leave a review!

Thank you.

Love, Annie.