HELLO EVERYONE ! I just suddenly had this come to me today in the morning and I thought I'd try to write it. First of all, this is my first fanfic. I have no clue what I'm doing haha. Second of all, english is not my first language so apologies ahead of time for any grammatical mistakes I make. Also, please let me know what you thought of it. I'd love to know if I should write more or if this fanfiction writing thing isn't for me haha. By the way, it's written mainly from Catherine's perspective so maybe it's not for everyone. Anyway, enough talking, hope you enjoy it.

disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are property of shonda rhimes and grey's anatomy

BE YOU

Catherine was furious. Her son's behavior in front of her colleagues had been extremely embarrassing. He'd lashed out and stormed off from the party after a colleague had casually mentioned that plastics was a "quick buck" specialty for people who lacked the talent to make into cardio. Jackson, after having heard too many snide remarks for one night, has snapped.

She understood her son's reaction and felt a sense of pity, and if she was been really honest, even guilt, considering how she herself had on countless occasions given him a hard time for what she believed was a stupid decision on his part. But that didn't warrant him reacting the way he did. He was an Avery and that meant keeping up appearances. It meant that sometimes you had to control the way you react even if every fiber in your body wants to lash out and cause a scene.

She was aware of how difficult that was. After all, when Jackson's father left she had to ensure that it didn't harm the Avery name, that it didn't affect the way people perceived the Avery legacy. The feelings of anger, betrayal, sadness and loss had to be buried deep within and the grieving could only happen on the inside. She knew that this was unhealthy and now realized that maybe her own refusal to face her ex-husband's departure and deal with those emotions led to Jackson's refusal to deal with them as well. She wasn't too proud of that. She loved her son deeply and it pained her to realize that fulfilling the expectations of this unwelcome legacy may have come at the cost of been a well-adjusted person.

She recognized Jackson's voice coming in from one of the rooms. He seemed to have cooled off since the whispers coming from the room sounded more frustrated than angry. She was about to step into the room when the sight of her son stopped her. If she was a "soft" woman her heart might have been melted at the sight. Her son was seated on an armchair in the middle of the room. April was sitting on his lap. He held her closer to him wrapping one of his arms around her body, while the other was underneath her thigh, softly running circles on the outside of her thigh. She had her face next to his cheek and was caressing his other cheek. She gently whispered, quiet sentences in a soothing tone, that Catherine couldn't make out, occasionally placing kisses on his jawline.

The actions were having a surprisingly calming effect on her son. She could visibly see the frustration leaving his body, allowing him to relax. Catherine smiled to herself. She's never seen anyone have such a natural ability to ground Jackson. She really did always have a special place in her heart for April. She was a good person. She had a very pure heart and was an open book. Sure, she stuttered and stumbled and was overall a little bit overzealous, but Catherine found it endearing. She also respected the way she treated patients, with such humanity and love. A skill even her son had a difficult time mastering.

She recalled how once, when they were merely best friends, sometime before their on-call room romps which Catherine had no knowledge of until some days ago, she had invited April to a dinner with some of her friends. She wanted the girl to let loose and enjoy herself. During the dinner one of her colleagues made a snide remark about Jackson, hinting at the fact that maybe he was of better use in an industry where he could exhibit his "pretty" face. She knew that he was always very defensive about people underestimating his capability because of how he looked. She saw him tense up and ball his hands into fists, ready to fight back. Catherine remembered quickly trying to change the subject, but her efforts were all in vain. She saw April rub his arm up and down, grabbing his attention. She remembered how they shared a look that communicated a whole conversation between them. She saw him relax and smile and chuckle away the insult.

She had been stupid. She'd brushed it off as merely been a "very strong level of understanding between best friends." What she understands now is that Jackson was right. This thing between them was not new. But it was something older than the first time they kissed. She realized that they had been falling in love since the first day they met, unaware of doing so. What they had was the best kind of love. Sure, it would've helped for her son to have realized his love for her sooner. It would've helped a lot of people, like April's ex fiancé for instance, if he had realized it before she almost married another man, but she knew that whichever way it happened, them been together was inevitable. She may have also partially been to blame. Her son had learnt to deny his emotions, thinking they'd go away if he was stubborn enough about it, like she and Harper did. It was a cost he bore that she wish he didn't have to.

She snapped out of her train of thought when she heard Jackson laugh. He was looking at April, who now held his face between her hands. She watched as April gave Jackson a soft kiss and laughed along with him. Although their actions were purely PG and Catherine was by no means a prude, the intimacy of that moment felt overwhelming, she had to briefly look away. When she turned back she saw her son placing kisses on April's neck while slowly running his arm inside her gown, up and down her thighs. Catherine knew exactly what was on his mind and this time it was most certainly not PG. However, any plans her son may have had were quickly shut down.

"No honey. No. No. No. I'm not having sex in your mother's house while there's a party with like 30 people outside." Catherine had to resist the urge to let out a laugh. Even in the privacy the two thought they had, April still whispered the word "sex" as quietly as possible. Her innocence was sweet. Although clearly sporting a pout like a child deprived of candy, he placed one final kiss on her neck and took his arm out of her dress. She was proud that she had raised a son that understood clearly the power of consent.

"I know you're upset. And I know that you don't like to talk about it," April started to say after a moment of silence, "so I'm going to talk and you can just listen." She smiled at him and pecked his lips before continuing.

"I know what it's like to be judged for the choices you make Jackson. It's part of the reason why I never told anyone about my faith. I didn't want it to affect the way people saw me as a doctor. But you know, I love that part about me."

"I do too." Jackson, replied.

"But you don't like it ?" April asked with a smirk. Jackson smiled back at her comically. Clearly this was an inside joke that she didn't understood, but she thought made sense. Catherine herself was not a woman of faith, and she knew her son shared her beliefs, or lack thereof. She herself had remarked on how this difference of opinion could affect them, injure their relationship. She felt guilty now for having brought that discussion into their relationship so early and hoped it didn't affect them too much. They were after all still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage and she ought to have respected that. However, her sadness at having been excluded had blinded her. She'd even gone so far as suggesting that April might be a "gold digger", a suggestion Catherine knew was utterly untrue and now felt horrible about. Yet, at the time her pride had been hurt and she had tried to feel better about it by hurting someone else. An attribute she hoped her son didn't pick up on.

"Jackson ... You love plastics. It makes you happy. So happy. And I know there's so much more to your job than boob jobs and liposuction. I know that the happiest you are when you're at work is running the burn center. I love that. You picked plastics because it's true to you. It's something that truly makes you happy to get up each morning." She saw Jackson's face break into a childlike grin.

"That's how I feel when I go to church." April continued. "People are going to judge me for it my whole life, they're going to assume I'm stupid, assume I share the same narrow minded sentiments that some people share about homosexuality and whatnot and whether I like it or not they're going to judge me for it without getting to know me. Without asking me why I have faith, or finding out about the specifics of it."

"The thing is, you can't be afraid to be you. You can only hope that the people who love you love you whole. Even if there are parts of you they don't agree with." Catherine realized April was referring to them, their earlier "inside joke". She was starting to understand it clearer.

"The only opinion that matters is the opinion of people like that. Those people out there don't understand why you chose plastics and they'll never make an effort to. So there's no point beating yourself up about it. You're unafraid to be you Jackson. And that's ... One of my favorite things about you. I mean, it's the reason we're married." Catherine supposed there was a great truth to that. If her son had contemplated the consequences of his actions, in terms of how people would perceive him thereafter, and allowed himself to be affected by them, he may not have stood up at her wedding.

"I got you. Thanks to that, I got you. And ... Thank god for that you know." April laughed, although her tone was more emotional. "So, you go out there and just shut them out. They don't matter. You do." She kissed his forehead and looked at him expectantly.

Catherine knew that what April had said meant the world to Jackson. She could see it in his eyes. She watched on as he lifted her up and set her on her feet and kissed her lovingly.

"Thank you." Jackson said. "I needed that. I'm so glad you married me. Thank you for that too."

"Thank you for standing up," April said as she smiled adoringly. "I love you."

"I love you too." Jackson replied. "And by the way, the only person whose opinion matters to me is yours. And maybe my mother's." He added as an afterthought, "Sometimes."

Catherine held back another laugh as April swatted him across the chest while laughing along. "Hey ! It should matter all the time mister. She's your mom. She may not always be right, but she only has your best interests at heart." Catherine smiled at that. She was grateful to April for thinking that. She assumed that April had a much better relationship with her parents than Jackson did and so understood the fundamentals of such a relationship.

"Sure babe." Jackson joked, but Catherine could tell he took what she said to heart. She was happy. Truly happy that they had each other. Whatever betrayal she had felt, which had given rise to her anger at the time, was no longer there. Instead, she felt a sense of pride. Proud that her son had chosen someone who truly and completely understood him and loved him for all that he was, the good and the bad. She was also proud of herself. She never thought she'd raise a son who could love the way Jackson loved April. She always assumed, although she hoped against it, that because of his relationship with his father, he would be reluctant to love as deeply as he did. But Catherine reminded herself that the kind of love she could clearly see them share was something that you couldn't talk yourself out of. She was sure Jackson had tried to, but like she'd suspected, it was inevitable. They were inevitable.

Catherine remembered that maybe now was the time to make them aware of her presence. She stepped into the room, taking the couple by surprise.

"Um ... It's time for desert. Just thought you two should come back." That a poor excuse and Catherine knew it. However she couldn't bring herself to make the speech she had clearly been prepared to make at the beginning of this. She realized what her son needed from her was not that. She felt like she understood him better. Having April around will do them both some good, Catherine thought.

"Sure Dr Avery." April smiled and let go of Jackson's waist as she started to walk towards the door. Catherine stopped her and engulfed her into a hug. "It's Catherine, honey. Welcome to the family sweetheart."

She looked at the shocked faces of the two and finally laughed out loud. "I know I may not have been the most welcoming at first," Catherine said. She heard Jackson mumbling something that sounded a lot like, "understatement of the year" under his breath, but she chose to ignore it. Especially considering how that wasn't exactly false. "However, I really am happy. And I'm sorry for how I treated you April."

April was quick to say, "Oh no no Catherine it's fine. I ... I understand. And I ... We really are sorry that you couldn't come to our wedding. I ... We really wish .. We're sorry." She smiled at Catherine apologetically. Jackson smiled at April, he found her ramblings adorable. Although, he could live without the metaphors.

"It's alright darling ... Plus, you could just reward me with many beautiful little grand babies." Catherine said, ruefully.

They both laughed heartily, even though it did notably make them uncomfortable. April smiled and walked out of the room with Catherine by her side and Jackson tailing behind them. Catherine quickly turned around, leaving April to walk on, she smiled at her son. "I'm proud of you. In more ways than one. I thought you should know that." She could tell he was clearly taken aback, but quickly recovered as he realized what might have brought on this sudden declaration.

"How much did you hear ?" He asked, grinning.

"Enough." Catherine replied. "Oh and also. Don't you dare think about having sex in my house during a party. We have class. Remember darling, I'm a urologist. I know exactly where to make a nice, clean cut." She turned around and went on to join April, leavingbehind an amused and slightly apprehensive Jackson.

THANK YOU READING !

Also, if you did enjoy this and want me to write more just leave behind a prompt in the comments or send me one on Tumblr: my blog is "astoldbyacertifiedunicorn"

p.s : I was told I'd pasted some of the paragraph twice, hope that's fixed ! Sorry !