The character of April Kepner is one that I have really grown to love lately, and I am a Grey's Girl who swore to never accept any Mercy-Westers when they invaded Seattle Grace back in Season Six. Now April is my favorite character on the show (I realized this after seeing her rock during the trauma certification). I don't know how long this story will be yet. There's at least one more chapter after this one, but it is too soon to tell at this point.
April Kepner reached into her tiny locker at Seattle Grace Hospital and threw her belongings into her backpack for the weekend. Standing up tall she felt a rush of adrenaline as she headed for the door. She had led her team, the Blue Team, to victory during Dr. Owen Hunt's trauma skills lab and she couldn't feel happier. Competition was nothing new to the farm girl from Ohio, who believed that success was her only way out of the rural community and into the big city. So she pushed herself in middle school, high school, and college so that she could be accepted into a strong medical school program. There had been no way for her father and mother to pay her way through school – not with three other sisters back home. April was very fortunate to receive a full ride to school, taking on a part time job to send money home to her family and pay for any extra expenses that she may have incurred.
Fixing her sloppy ponytail, April frowned in her small locker mirror. This whole uptight thing is why you don't have any friends. The harsh words of Alex Karev still stung hours after he had spoken them outside in the heat of frustration, after their impromptu celebratory hug that ended a long and grueling afternoon of training.
I shouldn't let him get to me; April scolded herself for even thinking of him when she should be concerned with celebrating her victory, with calling home to tell her more than proud parents of her latest success. What he said isn't even true…at least; I don't think it is she thought softly, feeling a sudden chill in the room.
While it was true that her competitive spirit, coupled with her studious attitude, didn't make her the most popular girl in the room, she did have some allies that she would call 'friends'. Reed Adamson was one of her very best friends, like a fourth sister who she could talk to everyday. But the rampant slayings by grieved Gary Clark took her best friend away from her. Lately Jackson Avery, one of April's roommates, and colleagues from Mercy West was her best friend, often the one person that she could talk to in the whole hospital.
It really wasn't fair for Mercy West to collapse and combine with Seattle Grace Hospital. Two competing hospitals were now forced to co-exist together, use the same resources, play on the same team. April and her fellow Mercy West holdovers felt like aliens and outsiders in the tight Seattle Grace community, where they did not receive a warm welcome.
It had been several months since the shootings, and both hospitals struggled to heal together and move forward as one. April found it funny how the tragedy brought so many of the employees together. She and Jackson moved into the house of Meredith Grey, who took them as a sign of compassion for her fellow residents. Two other residents at the hospital, Lexie Grey and Alex Karev, also lived in Meredith's house, making the residence very crowded.
Alex, April once again berated herself for even thinking of him. He doesn't know what he's talking about…I have friends. There's Jackson, and Meredith and Lexie. I wouldn't really call Cristina a friend…too intense for me really. April struggled to think of other people in her life. There really wasn't anyone that she kept in touch with after leaving Ohio for the West Coast, and she didn't spend a great deal of time outside of the hospital. When she wasn't in surgery or working in labs, she was studying her medical books.
Okay, so I'm not popular, but I have people she reminded herself. Though she did often wish that she had more people in her life, especially ones outside of the hospital. There's more to life than your precious books April, her father reminded her as she went off to college for the first time. April kept his warning in the back of her mind, knowing that it was true, but wanting to make a name for herself first. Being the daughter of a farmer and teacher didn't exactly provide financial stability, and April knew that she wanted more for herself and for her family as well.
I just need to complete my residency, she reminded herself, an excuse that she often used to hole herself in her room with her books while her roommates were at Joe's or having one of their dance parties in the living room. I just don't have the time for much else. April closed her locker with a slam, a familiar gnawing feeling coming back to her stomach. That's why I'm lonely, she thought, sitting down on one of the benches. April knew that she buried herself in her work to compensate for a lack of social life; it was a trick that she had been using ever since grade school, but it didn't make her feel better when the pang came back.
You're a virgin. April recalled Cristina's loud cackle at discovering April's forbidden secret. She blamed herself for coming up with such a perfect story, one that was too good to be true. She listened to the other residents talk about how they had their first times in high school or college, and she was literally at a loss for words. So she decided to borrow a page from the romance novels that she loved to read, and created her own fantasy sequence. Of course her story was too perfect – too neat – and April being the terrible liar that she was, quickly buckled under questioning. Cristina laughed at her, Meredith tried to make her feel better by telling her what a nice story it was, Jackson wouldn't look her in the eye, and Alex….Alex stared at her, with a disgusting smirk that made her want to throw up.
So what if I am a virgin, April laughed, recalling the evening at Joe's where she told everyone off for making such a big deal over it when they had their own things that they were ashamed of. I am waiting for the right guy and the right time and that's smart, April reminded herself. Then she recalled a warning placed by older sister Libby the night of her high school graduation. You're setting yourself up for disappointment by waiting too long.
April had often wondered if she had waited too long, using work or school as an excuse to not date. She knew that boys were often intimidated by her. There were guys like Avery, who thought of her as a good friend or study buddy. And then there was Alex Karev, who teased and ridiculed her for knowing too much or trying too hard.
April let out a moan. Here she was again, thinking of Alex Karev, the type of boy that her mother warned her about back in Ohio. The 'bad influence' April laughed out loud, recalling her mother's words. Before leaving for the big city Mrs. Kepner made her daughter promise that she would not allow any boy to get in the way of her education.
April wondered why she was thinking of Alex Karev so much, especially in the past few months. She supposed that she started the day Meredith let her move in. April had accidently walked into the bathroom while Alex was half naked, shaving his beard. April stood there, frozen, unable to move with her mouth slowly opening into an 'O'.
'In or out?' was all Alex said as April stood there, bracing herself against the doorframe.
April never had brothers growing up, and lived in the girls' dormitories in college, which led to very little experience with the physical aspect of the male anatomy.
April took in a sharp breath and ran down the hall, nearly running down Meredith in an effort to get back to her bedroom. She could wait to use the bathroom.
After that incident, April was very careful to knock before entering the bathroom, or another person's bedroom. Sadly, her fellow roommates did not share her same affection for common courtesy. Like the time that Alex walked in on her when she was wearing only a towel.
April Kepner turned off the hot water and reached for her big, pink, fluffy towel. Wrapping it around her torso, she stepped out of the shower area and stood in front of the mirror, reaching for her second towel to dry her hair. April let out a frightened scream as the door to the bathroom burst wide open.
"Whoa, what are you hiding under there Kepner?" Alex laughed with a smirk.
April was fuming, she didn't know what to do, never having to share a bathroom, or any space really with men before.
"I need the mirror," Alex said, tired of waiting for April to make a move. Alex barged in as April gripped her towel closer to her body. Shaking her head, she gathered her things and scurried out of the bathroom, back to her room, nearly running over Lexie in the process.
April smirked at the memories that she could never write home to mom and dad about. As far as the Kepner's knew, April was living with four girls in a nice house near the hospital.
April could still recall the first time she met Alex Karev, and all of the staff at Seattle Grace Hospital. With one quick speech, former Chief Richard Webber merged the two hospitals together, citing the economy as the reason for the dissolution of Mercy West Hospital indefinitely. The Mercy West residents were thrown into their new surroundings with a Seattle Grace resident to show them around the hospital. As luck would have it, April had been paired with Lexie Grey, half-sister of Meredith Grey. April actually took a strong liking to Lexie, believing herself to have quite a bit in common with her fellow resident. They were both quiet, studious, and very detail oriented. April had even believed that she could be friends with this person. Until Lexie had taken her diary and decided to read it aloud. Utterly humiliated, April had taken to hiding in the cafeteria, which is where she met Alex for the very first time. Alex's head was right next to the head of another blonde doctor with short, blonde hair. April had heard earlier that the woman was Izzie Stevens, Alex's wife and recent cancer survivor. April watched Alex from afar, while April's best friend Reed was bold enough to go right up to Alex and talk to him, in front of Izzie and everything. April could hear Izzie chewing out Reed from halfway across the hospital and laughed in spite of herself, wishing that her friend knew better than to flirt with married men in front of their wives.
April's next big memory of Alex came a few short weeks later, after a very long night at the hospital. A patient, Cathy Becker, had died under the watch of the hospital staff, and Webber was out to fire the person responsible for the untimely death of the wife and mother. The culprit turned out to be April, who was distracted by another patient, and did not check the airways of her patient, a fire victim.
April had apologized, cried, begged Chief Webber's forgiveness but the gentleman would not listen. The hospital board was expecting someone to be penalized for the mistake, and April was fired, banished from Seattle Grace Mercy West.
April had walked down the cold, narrow hall from the Chief's office to the lobby of the hospital. What had hurt the most was the fact that her very best friend – Reed – had been the one to turn her into the Chief, though she had tried to apologize multiple times, claiming to not know what she was doing. April didn't listen to Reed, walking right past her and the other concerned looks from her fellow residents. April sat outside, on a cold bench, taking in the atmosphere that she would never be allowed to visit again.
April wrapped her arms around her body for warmth. "How could I be so stupid? How could Reed rat me out to the Chief?" April was afraid to look back at the hospital, knowing that she would break down in tears as her chances of becoming a medical surgeon were slowly slipping away.
"Hey."
April initially ignored the gentle touch of Alex Karev, who stood next to her, offering her his coat.
"You're going to get sick," he warned, wrapping it around her body.
"I don't care," April hissed through gritted teeth. "I lost my career; I may as well be dead."
Alex shook his head. He had had a long hard day of trying to contact his wife Izzie after she had abandoned him in a fit of rage from losing her own job at Seattle Grace. He couldn't help but take pity on the poor young woman in front of him. 'She didn't deserve to be fired and neither did Izzie', Alex thought to himself.
"Where do you live?" Alex asked her, taking a seat next to her on the bench.
"I can't go home," April shuddered, "I just can't."
Alex was going to ask why, but April cut him off.
"The person who turned me in…Reed, my so called best friend, she also happens to be my roommate. And there is no way that I facing her right now."
Alex nodded his head. The situation between the two Mercy West residents was playing in the same way that it had between himself and Izzie. Only in April's case, she really was done in by a friend. "That's harsh man."
April scowled at Alex for daring to butt in on her business, but her expression softened when she remembered how he had spent countless hours and teasing on the phone for trying to find his wife. "I'm sorry about your wife," she said quietly.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Alex echoed. He gave April a small smile. "Let me buy you a drink," he offered. "Since you can't go home yet."
April considered Alex's offer. She had found Alex to be cute the first time they met at the hospital, but he was with Izzie, and she had respected boundaries, unlike her friend Reed. "Just a drink?" she asked, making sure that he wasn't expecting anything more.
"You are the last thing I need right now," he joked, offering her his hand.
April found herself laughing at him. She wasn't sure if she should be offended at his refusal or relieved that all he wanted was a drink to cheer her up. Either way, April followed him out of the parking lot, and straight for Joe's.
A small smile crept on April's mouth. Alex had been the one to convince her to forgive Reed and go home that night. A few short months after her firing, the new chief at the hospital, Derek Shepard, gave April her job back, and everything was right with the world…until the day of the shootings.
The footsteps of fellow residents made April stand up and take her things with her for a well-deserved weekend.
"Hey I heard you kicked butt out there in the trauma certification," Lexie applauded, patting her roommate on the back.
"It was nothing," April blushed.
"That's not what Karev is saying," Jackson noted with a laugh.
"What is he saying?" April asked puzzled.
The residents walked out of the locker room and into the lobby of the hospital. Lexie was very quiet, looking down at the ground, almost guilty.
"Lexie?" April asked.
"Alex is taking credit for everything," Jackson said as the automatic doors opened and the cool Seattle air hit the residents.
April froze right in the opening between the two doors, forcing them open. "Seriously?" she asked, her eyes turning a dark color.
"What else do you expect from Karev?" Jackson asked as he headed to his car.
"I don't think anyone believes him," Lexie said reassuringly. "Everyone knows you're one of the best residents at the hospital."
"Thanks," April said quietly, wishing that Jackson had stuck around long enough during the certification drill to see that she had been the one to pull through and cause the blue team to win.