Hello. I've been MIA for a while. Moving clean across the ocean and country will do that to you. This is a fic I meant to put up months ago but I haven't been settled enough until now to edit it. Hope you like. :)

What Remains

Saying goodbye was never easy and in Jackson Avery's case it would have been downright messy, so he decided to forego any proper goodbyes at his workplace, slipping out quietly two weeks after handing in his resignation. There was no going away party at the bar down the street, there were no hugs or 'see you laters', there was only Jackson and two suitcases in an empty apartment.

Jackson stood amidst his bags long after the final box had been hefted up by movers and loaded onto the back of a truck to depart Seattle for pastures unknown.

Seattle had been the place he'd planned on calling home. Even after all of his mother's protestations that he come practice back home in Boston after he became board certified, he'd remained. Inexplicably tethered to a gorgeous brunette with big brown eyes and a smile that could light up a room. It certainly lit him up and what a mistake that had been.

Jackson let out a low whistle, taking one last look around the apartment that had been theirs. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't dwell a second after the moment he stepped out the door, so he lingered in his apartment a while longer than needed, reminisced about the good things Seattle had brought him and frowned at the bad. When he'd gone through his mental catalogue of emotional baggage, Jackson grabbed up his suitcases and walked out the door, placing Seattle firmly behind him.

"Dr. Kepner, the lobby is full," said Nurse Leanne. She was an older woman, slightly gray, sweet but stern enough to keep patients in line while April finished up some last minute paperwork that was quickly reaching its deadline.

"Full?" the redhead asked curiously without taking her eyes away from the computer screen. "I'm coming. Can you have George take my first appointment? I'll be out in a few." April did look up this time, drawing her face together pleadingly.

Leanne shook her head in playful exasperation and April knew that her nurse would see that George covered for her. Leanne had known April since she was a baby. Leanne had been the nurse on duty the day she was born. She'd been the one to clean up a screaming April and hand her off to Karen and Joe Kepner. Then years later, she'd been the one to set April's arm after she'd been pushed off the swings at the playground. And when April was bullied mercilessly by a group of high school girls on her bus rides home, it had been Leanne who told April to come to the hospital directly after school to chart instead of taking the bus home. That is where April fell in love with medicine. Leanne was a surrogate mother of sorts, April knew she'd do just about anything for her.

"Alright," Leanne agreed. "But no more than a few minutes. Those hot-shot east coast doctors can wait."

That was the thing, the hot-shot doctors couldn't wait. Her application needed to be in within the week for her to even be considered for Massachusetts General's Fellowship program.

April smiled placatingly. "Just a few more minutes, I promise."

Leanne gave her a look that told April that she didn't believe her but she nodded anyway. Once the nurse was out of ear shot, April went back to typing furiously away at her keyboard.

Twenty minutes later April stretched her arms above her head and smiled happily to herself. It had taken longer than she'd planned but she'd finally forged through the endless paperwork and was ready to send her resume out for consideration. She was late in applying for surgical positions, that was what happened when you didn't pass your boards the first go round and took the fail so hard that you packed up and went back home to become a general practitioner and didn't bother taking your boards again for another two years.

But that was behind her now. She was officially a board certified surgeon, which meant she could finally do what she wanted more than anything; surgery.

April emerged from her office to find the waiting room maxed out. "I didn't have this many appointments," April whispered to Leanne.

The older woman shrugged. "There's a stomach virus going around," she supplied as the reason for the sudden flux of patients.

"So everyone decided to gather together in my waiting room instead of waiting it out in the comfort of their own bathrooms?" An alarmed April asked just as Mr. Cobb shot up from his seat and rushed to the restroom. He found it occupied and banged on the door with one hand while he covered his mouth with the other. April watched in horror as a chain reaction of sick people formed. "Barf bags," she declared, turning her face up at the horror show playing out before her. "We need lots of barf bags."

Jackson really wasn't a house kind of guy and he definitely wasn't a house with land kind of guy. Yet here he was with a house on a plot of land with grass… lots and lots of grass. He mentally put 'riding lawnmower' on his checklist of things to purchase for the new house as he shot his key into the lock and opened the door. It was a nice house considering it was out in the middle of nowhere. Three bedrooms that he didn't need, two bathrooms, hardwood floors, high ceilings. It was bright and airy, different from what he was used to. He probably would have passed on it if not for the huge kitchen with a fantastic island. Cooking was a favorite pastime of Jackson's. He supposed he enjoyed it for the same reasons he loved being a surgeon; it was a way to use his hands to create.

Jackson set his suitcases down in the empty house and sat down on one of them. So this was starting over.

"Did you hear about the new doctor that just set up shop?"

April rolled her eyes at her little sister's inquiry. Had she heard? Of course she'd heard. Who hadn't heard. And not only had she heard, she'd started losing patients to the new guy. "Yes, Alice, I've heard," April grumbled as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"He's supposed to be really good looking," Alice dreamily added. "Heather and I are going to stop by his practice after school and scope things out."

April fidgeted, turning her hot mug in her hands. "Alice," she chastised. "Is that necessary?"

Alice shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "You know you're curious, too. No one ever moves to Moline. People leave Moline, they don't just up and move here one day and open up a practice." Her sister hooked a long lank of red hair behind her ear. "Anyway," she said placing her bowl in the sink. "I'll let you know what I find out." Alice grabbed her book-bag and rushed out of the kitchen.

The front door slammed closed and the screen door banged behind it. April looked out of the sink window, watching her sister making her way down their long driveway.

She had to admit that she was a little curious about the newcomer and Alice had a point about people leaving Moline. She herself had left the first chance she got. Moline was a last resort kind of place for a doctor. It was where you went to retire and live out your days in peace or where a local girl escaped back to to lick her wounds after she'd been humiliated in more ways than one.

April frowned down at the cup of coffee in her hands, old wounds that she thought had healed over were itching enough to scratch. Luckily, she didn't have time to backtrack down memory lane, she had patients to see. April poured the now cold coffee down the drain and set out for work.

"If you could just turn your head to the side. This way…" Jackson's patient complied and turned her head, though her gaze remained solely on his face. Jackson smiled at her as he pressed his fingers to either side of her neck, he didn't feel tight muscles or anything out of the ordinary. "Do you feel any pain?" he asked, directing her head in the opposite direction. Again her eyes were trained on his face.

"What?" she asked huskily.

"Mrs. Creekmore, do you feel any pain?" Jackson asked again.

"It's moved," she replied.

"Moved where?"

Mrs. Creekmore slowly lifted her hand to a spot just above her right breast. "Here."

Jackson stepped back, coughing uncomfortably. "In that case," he said, steadying himself. "I'll have Dr. Wilson have a look at you."

His blonde haired, blue-eyed patient got to her feet. "You don't have to do that," she implored, closing in on him.

Jackson nodded. "Actually, I do. Jo?" He called, opening the exam room door. "Dr. Wilson?"

"Yeah?" Jo walked into the room. "Everything alright.?"

"Yes," Mrs. Creekmore insisted. "I'm feeling so much better now. Thank you, doctor." She gave Jackson a lingering smile before hooking her purse over her shoulder and sauntering out of the room.

"Not again," Jo said, barely containing her laugh.

Jackson rubbed his eyes, exasperated.

"What was it this time?"

"Her breast."

Jo really did laugh then. A full on, bend at the waist laugh at his expense. When she came up for air there were tears in her eyes and her face was flushed. "So it was a butt with Mrs. Carson, the inside of a thigh with Miss Hart and now a breast with Mrs. Creekmore."

"I get it, no need for a replay," Jackson said. He was becoming increasingly disgruntled. Of all of the patients that he'd had over the last two weeks since opening his practice, only two of them had been experiencing any real ailment. Everyone else was either being nosy or wanted him to bang them on a medical bed while their husbands were at work. How had he ever thought this would work?

"It's just hilarious that's all."

"Well you're no better," He pointed out. "Need I remind you of Mr. Flemings and Mr. Bradshaw."

Jo turned her nose up. "God, no."

"Exactly."

"How did I end up in this place, anyway?"

"I've been asking myself that question ever since you showed up on my doorstep with your bags. Not sure I've gotten a real answer yet."

"Yeah, well, I'm not ready to talk about it. Like you, I'm on sabbatical."

Jackson knew all about not wanting to talk about things so when his friend from Seattle had shown up uninvited and unexpectedly, looking like she'd been through the ringer, he'd simply opened his door wider and offered one of his extra rooms, no questions asked. He couldn't say he minded having her around though Jo was loud; she banged pots and pans, stomped as she walked on the hardwood floors, slammed cabinets and doors and played heavy metal music so loud his ears nearly bled. Still, her intrusion had been a welcome change from the achingly quiet Moline days and nights. Jackson was used to city noise, lights and sirens. The sound of birds chirping in the morning, woodpeckers drilling into bark in the afternoon and crickets chirping at night made him restless. It also made it too easy for his thoughts to slip back into the past. Jo and her persistent noisiness kept him in the present.

Jackson checked his watch. "Early lunch?"

"I'm starving."

One thing Moline had going for it was Kimmie's Coffee Shop. They had the best coffee, bagels and sandwiches anywhere. After trying multiple diners in the area and a the regular fast food joints, Jackson had pretty much given up on good food. That was until Jo dragged him along with her to a coffee shop that she'd found on Yelp. "It has a five star rating!" She'd insisted. So he reluctantly went along and ended up loving it. Now Kimmie's was their go-to lunch spot. Jo always ordered the Ruben while Jackson mostly stuck with the French Dip.

He was dunking the end of his sandwich into his au jus when a redhead walked up to their table. She was the wearing typical Moline attire of jeans, a tank top with a flannel thrown over it and cowboy boots on her feet. Her red hair was tied up messily on top of her head.

"How's everything?"

"Delicious," Jo said around a mouth full of sandwich.

"Really good," Jackson agreed.

"Hey, you're that new doctor, huh? Avery something or another."

"Guilty as charged. Jackson Avery," he extended his hand. The redhead took it and smiled.

"And this is?" She turned her gaze on Jo.

"Jo Wilson," his friend said in greeting not bothering to put her sandwich down. "We didn't get your name."

She smiled pointedly at Jo. "I'm Kimmie Kepner, this is my place."

Jo coughed lightly and wiped her hand on a napkin before extending it to Kimmie. "Great food," Jo remarked seriously.

Jackson nodded. "Best in town."

Kimmie didn't seemed fazed by the flattery. She was forward and confident, if not a little cocky in not bothering to thank them for their compliments. She regarded them openly and pressed on. "What brings you two to this little blip on the map?" She inquired nosily.

Jackson leaned back in his chair and exchanged a guarded look with Jo. "Change."

April's waiting room was quiet, too quiet. "Don't I have appointments today?" she asked Clara, the young strawberry blonde receptionist.

"You had two for later this morning, both cancelled." Clara gave April a sympathetic smile.

"What's that look?"

"What look?" Clara asked, fiddling with a pen, refusing to meet April's stare.

"That look like you feel sorry for me?"

"I- I'm sorry?" Clara tried.

"Don't be," April huffed. "Where's George?"

"Right here," her friend and business partner announced, walking into their practice with two cups of coffee.

Kepner and O'Malley Family Practice had been in business and prospering for a year and a half. They were right in the middle of town so people didn't have to make the trip to the nearest city for treatment, they were both local kids who had grown up in Moline and had gone on to become doctors, that made them superstars and everyone who ever knew them or had spoken one word to them in their childhood liked to come in and remark about how they set them on the path to greatness or how they always knew that awkward April and dorky George would turn out so well. In a farm town, it was always surprising when anyone did anything other than being a farmer or something close to it. Parents loved getting bragging rights when their kids went off to be a big city lawyer or a doctor and if that kid happened to come back home, they were an instant local celebrity.

April took the cup George handed her and sipped. "Mmm. You stopped by Kimmie's?"

"Yeah. She told me to tell you that the new doc is 'hot, hot, hot.' "

April groaned. "I wish people would stop talking about this new guy. Who cares?"

Clara cleared her throat, then busied herself when April shot her death glares.

"Judging by this empty waiting room, a lot of people do," George stated plainly.

"They're just curious about the new guy. Once the newness wears off and they see that he's nothing but a pretty face, the allure will pass and they will come back."

George shrugged. "It's not like you'll be here anyway."

April frowned at her friend. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

George sighed and moved past April. "Clara, let me know when my 11 o'clock arrives."

"Sure thing," Clara called after him.

"What's his problem?" April asked to no one in particular.

Jackson's day pressed on like all of the ones before it. After lunch with Jo, he saw a handful of patients. Mostly women, mostly with nothing wrong. He checked his emails and phoned his mom and let her talk his ear off about the huge mistake he was making with his life. Properly chastised, Jackson decided to wrap his day up early. Jo could close up shop, he needed a good run to drown out the nagging voice in his head that kept telling him his mother was right.

Just as Jackson opened the door to walk out, a small redheaded with a pale round face breezed in. "You must be Jackson Avery of Avery General Practice. I'm Alice Kepner."

Jackson shook her proffered hand. "That would be me. How can I help you, Alice Kepner?" The name rang a bell along with the face and red hair. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Kimmie Kepner?"

"Yep, she's my big sister. Well, one of them."

Oh, so there were more Kepner's out there. Jackson could only wonder at how their parents managed if they were all as bold and straight forward as the two he'd met today.

Alice walked around the small waiting room, taking every detail in with inquisitive gray eyes. "You know this place used to be a funeral home?"

"I'm aware," Jackson said, rubbing his chin. He noted the book bag Alice was wearing and the girl who was trailing behind her rather sheepishly like she'd been forced into accompanying Alice in her mission. She was definitely not a Kepner.

"It's kind of weird turning a funeral home into a doctors office, no? Like… dead people once resided here."

Jackson was taken aback. "Well, when you look at it that way… What can I help you with?" Jackson tried again.

"You have nice eyes, you know that? And the freckles across your nose are really cute, you're tall and-" she squinted her eyes at his scrub top "-built."

Jackson was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He didn't think that the kid was coming on to him but it was still unsettling that she was sizing him up the way she was. "Um, Alice?"

"Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you. Just committing you to memory, that's all."

So that's what this was about. Another local interested in the new doctor who'd opened up shop. "I'm thirty years old, never been married, I have no kids, I like sports - go Red Sox."

"Thank you," Alice said generously, giving him a warm smile.

Jackson was amused. "You're welcome."

"Come on, Heather." Alice called to the quiet girl who had taken a seat and was flipping through an issue of Teen Vogue. Heather sat the magazine down and went to Alice's side. "Later, doc," Alice said as she maneuvered Heather out of the door by her book bag before closing it behind her.

Jackson waited a few minutes to be sure the teenage girls were gone before he left. He really needed a run.

Dinner at the Kepner's was never a quiet affair, there were way too many women in April's family for it to ever be. Add two husbands and a handful of kids to the bunch and it was a regular madhouse around the Kepner dinner table.

"How was work, April?" Joe Kepner asked as he placed a biscuit on his plate.

April smiled at her dad. "Fine," she replied brightly.

"Interesting," Kimmie remarked.

Libby snickered behind her napkin and her husband, Kenan, placed a quieting hand on her shoulder.

"What's so interesting?" Karen Kepner inquired.

Kimmie cleared her throat. "It's just that George came into the coffee shop this morning and told me that Kepner and O'Malley Family Practice has been a bit quiet lately."

"It's that new doctor," Libby chimed in. "He's taking all of Duckie's business away."

"That's not true," April protested. "Business is fine. We're a little slow but I have loyal patients."

"So loyal they aren't even showing up," Kimmie dug in.

"Now, Kimmie," their dad chided.

April jabbed at her chicken. This back and forth was nothing new. April had been at the butt end of Kimmie and Libby's taunts since she was a kid. She'd been an easy target, being the uncoordinated scrawny one with the ratty hair, pimply face, and glasses. Her sisters' constant teasing made it easy for other kids to join in which had made April's formative years a living hell. If she wasn't getting it at home from her sisters, she was getting it at school from classmates. Leaving Moline was the best thing she'd ever done for herself esteem, on the contrary, having to tuck her tail between her legs and run back home, had been the worst. But she was surviving and doing pretty well for herself considering, and if all went well she'd be out of Moline by this time next year. That thought cheered April up.

"Oh, Kimmie, George relayed the message that you think the new doctor is hot hot hot, so thanks for that," April said pointedly.

Kimmie screwed her face up at April while her husband, Todd, looked questioningly to her. April, however, smiled sweetly as she took a bite of her chicken.

"I met him today," Alice piped up. "The new doctor, Jackson Avery."

"Did you?" Karen asked. "How?"

"I went to his practice."

-"Alice!"

-"I can't believe you did that, Alice."

-"What were you thinking?"

Everyone at the table had turned their attention to the youngest Kepner.

Alice shrugged. "He's nice, laid back, handsome…"

April bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning. Not her little sister, too! Alice was supposed to be on her side.

"He's got these green eyes that are almost blue and these freckles and nice, big hands-"

"That's enough," Joe cut in, rapping his knuckles on the table like a judge with a gavel. "No more talk of this new doctor. April, honey, I'm proud of you." He smiled warmly.

April looked into her father's soft gray eyes. She could always count on her dad to have her back. "Thanks, dad."

Jackson stocked up on groceries every Friday but by the following Monday his fridge and pantry were always bare, courtesy of Jo Wilson. The woman ate like a grown man and didn't have the decency to buy more food. She was a mooch. A loud, mooch who talked too much, drank too much, cursed too freely, and ate up all his food. Jackson considered sending her back to Seattle at least twice a day, but she would give him the sad I'm going through a really bad break up eyes and he'd relent. This grocery trip, Jo had decided to come along which meant he ended up with twice as much food in his cart than he normally did and paid twice as much, too.

"You're lucky I was raised to be a gentleman. Not many guys would let you get away with this," Jackson stated as he loaded groceries into the back of his car.

"Yeah, yeah," Jo said, handing in more groceries. "You'd be lost without me," she stated. "A sad, lonely man wandering around the countryside. I'm the only thing that makes you being here not look completely ridiculous."

"You can't be serious," Jackson said, closing the trunk.

"Oh, but I am," Jo retorted. She grabbed the cart and pushed it toward a stall.

Jackson shook his head and opened his door just in time to hear a yelp from the person in the car next to his. He turned quickly and saw an older woman nursing one hand in the other.

"Hey, I'm a doctor, can I have a look?"

She stared at him strangely for a second but the pain must have won out because she shoved her hand in his direction. Jackson gingerly took her hand, feeling with his fingers to see if there was a break. It was already starting to swell. "You smashed it pretty bad," he said.

"I got distracted closing the door, didn't move my hand away in time." She groaned as he pressed his fingers into her palm.

"I don't think it's broken but you won't know for sure without X-rays."

"What happened?" Jo asked, approaching them.

"She banged her hand in the door," Jackson informed. "I've got some first-aid supplies in the car."

Jo walked back to the car. "I'll grab them."

Jackson was able to clean her cut and bandage the hand but that was all he could do in the parking lot of a grocery store. The woman was adamant about seeing her family doctor for x-rays but thanked them both profusely for their help.

"No problem," Jo said.

"I'm Jackson Avery. I have a new practice not too far from here; Avery General Practice. Let me know how it goes, okay?"

"Sure thing," she said with a nod. "Thank you, doctor. I'm Leanne Baker, by the way."

Jackson smiled. "See you later, Leanne."

"What happened to you?" April gasped when Leanne walked in with her hand bandaged up, looking worse for wear.

"Slammed my hand in the door of my stupid car."

"How on earth did you do that?" April took Leanne's hand and unwrapped the bandage; it had been expertly done. "You wrapped this yourself?"

"No. Happened at the grocery. The new doctor was nearby. He bandaged me up."

April narrowed her eyes. "You just happened to bang your hand in the door while the new doc was around?"

"Can I just get x-rays?" Leanne asked.

"Not until you tell me what really happened."

"You're withholding medical attention, Doctor."

"With good reason. Spill it."

"I might have happened to see him with that pretty brunette and I might have been listening to their conversation a little too hard and not paying attention to where my hand was while I was closing the door."

April shook her head. "Leanne."

"I know. Now x-rays, please?"

Fifteen minutes later, April had the x-rays in hand. "There's no serious damage. It's badly bruised and you have a slight sprain, but pain meds and not using it for a while should help." April could sense that Leanne wasn't listening. She had drifted off to some pleasant memory if her goofy grin was indicative of anything. "Leanne?"

"He had the softest hands."

"What?"

"That doctor Avery. He had the softest hands, the best bedside manner. Impeccable, really."

April was at once shocked and angered. Leanne, her Leanne; the one who knew her since birth, who'd looked out for her countless times, who'd left retirement to come work for her - she had gone to the dark side. How could she sit there and speak so highly of the man who was stealing business away from them like a thief?

April felt like she'd taken the arrival of the new doctor in stride, she'd remained positive even when everyone around her was telling her she should be worried. She continued to show up to work every day even though her patient list was dwindling. She was a constant professional in the face of adversity. But where had that gotten her? Nowhere. Not when her own nurse was smitten with the new guy.

She'd tried, she'd really tried to be unfazed by it all but this? This was the last straw. Jackson Avery had gone too far. Now it was war.

"I'm sorry, Leanne, I have to go."

"What? Where are you going?"

"Have George lock up!" April yelled over her shoulder as she ran out of her office.

Jackson was handing a written prescription to a patient when he heard a disturbance in his waiting room. "That should be all. Can you excuse me, Mrs. Fisk?"

He walked to the front and found Jo going toe-to-to with a redheaded ball of energy that looked close to exploding. "What's going on?" Jackson asked.

The redhead looked past Jo, her eyes landing squarely on him. "You!" she accused.

"Me?" Jackson replied, confused.

"Oh, yes, you!"

"What about me?"

The woman started to rush him but Jo stepped in front of her. "Hang on there, lady. I don't know what your problem is but you're not going to attack my friend."

"Oh, you mean like the all out attack your friend has waged against my practice? That kind of attack?"

"What are you even talking about?" Jo asked, incredulous.

"I'm talking about this guy who just waltzed into town, opened up shop and stole all of my patients!" She looked around the waiting room. "Mr. Grant, how are your bowel movements? Mrs. Fisk, how do your joints feel? Oh, hi, Mrs. Walsh, how's the husband doing?"

Audible gasps sounded in the room.

Jackson couldn't decide if he was intrigued or irritated. "It's alright, Jo," he said. "I don't think…?"

"April," the redhead supplied haughtily.

"I don't think April is going to hurt anyone. She's a doctor, after all."

Jo reluctantly stepped back from the woman, sighing harshly.

So this April had a practice and he was apparently taking business from her. The only other practice in town was… what was it? Jackson racked his brain. "What's your practice?" He asked.

"Kepner and O'Malley Family Practice, jerk-off."

Jo whistled.

Jackson took the woman in. She was about Jo's height, so not very tall. She had a pretty face; even with it screwed up in disgust, she was still easy on the eyes. She was slim, pale, red haired… realization hit him square in the chest. Kepner. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No one is kidding you," she snapped. "I know what both of you are up to. You," she pointed at him, "With your pretty green eyes and gorgeous face and you," this time she looked to Jo, "You know how you look. You two are stealing my patients with your newness and your charm, soft hands and pretty looks."

Jackson had to hold in a laugh. "Are you calling us prostitutes?"

"Well," she huffed, "If the shoe fits!" April turned on her heel and stormed out of the door, red hair flashing behind her like a flame.

Jo turned to Jackson and smirked. "Welcome to Moline."