A/N: Hi guys! It's so that time of the year again, and I felt inspired to write a little holiday fluff. It's set in the future, about 15 years after Ripple Effect. I actually had a lot of trouble trying to get into everyone's head 15 years from now. So apologies for any characterization issues. Thank you all so much for reading, and please do let me know what you think. Happy Thanksgiving!
Jackson Avery yawned as his car pulled to a stop in the driveway of his home in the morning hours of a November Thursday. Thanksgiving morning to be exact. He sighed. He wasn't supposed to have been stuck in the Burn Center all night. Especially this year. Normally, he and April and their children would have taken the holiday off and flown over to Ohio to see her parents and siblings. Only this year was different.
Joe Kepner had died in early January, unexpected heart attack, and less than 5 months later, Karen had a brief illness and passed away herself. Fitting, in some ways, but a double punch for the family. And so this year, Thanksgiving would be different. The sisters were giving thanks with their in laws, and everything was different. Jackson, April, and the kids would be staying in Seattle, and spending Thanksgiving with his mother, Richard Webber and other various members of their hospital family.
Sliding his keys from the ignition, Jackson stepped out of the car into the misty Seattle weather. April and the kids seemed to be doing okay. Loss wasn't exactly a new concept to his wife, but Jackson knew that holidays were going to be tough for all of them.
He knew that, and yet he'd gotten called back to work after an apartment fire early Wednesday morning, and Jackson hadn't been able to drag himself away until now. Even though he knew he could have. There were other attendings and residents who could have held down the fort. The head of the department didn't have to be there for everything. In fact, as Chief Bailey had spun things, one of the supposed perks of the job was meant to be the plumb pick of vacation time.
But the Burn Center had always been Jackson's work baby, more than any other aspect of the plastics department. He'd been a resident when it was started by his late mentor, Mark Sloan, over twenty years previous, and in the ensuing time it had become the passion of his career as a surgeon. He knew he'd never able to receive a Harper Avery Award, by virtue of who he was, but Jackson was still determined that his Burn Center become one of the best on the West Coast. It was a Catch-22. Everyone expected him to do well. He was an Avery, though it wasn't like he could ever win the most coveted surgical achievement. But he always tried.
So, he'd been unable to resist staying on to oversee the treatment of the new patients. He kind of regretted it now, because it meant that April had absolutely had to go home and handle the kids Wednesday night. They generally worked to balance their schedules to manage childcare, but more often than not, Jackson knew that he was the one who bucked the system. Sometimes, even after all his years as a surgeon, Jackson still let his ambition get carried away. Sometimes he worried that he was turning out too much like his father and grandfather.
Letting himself carefully into the quiet house, he was first greeted rather indifferently by Zootsuit the cat, who yawned and stretched, seemingly miffed at the brief influx of cold air that came through the opening door. Jackson slipped off his coat and scarf, and made his way into their brightly colored kitchen, drawn by the smell of hot coffee. He paused in the doorway, taking a moment to observe his wife as she moved from the counter top to the oven. Baking something apparently.
Jackson thought the years had been kinder to April than they had to him, but then again, he was probably more than a little biased. They were both a little thicker around the middle, but Jackson thought he was, disturbingly, looking more and more like his grandfather. Where the lines on his forehead had become more pronounced and severe looking, he thought April's laugh lines made her look carefree and happy. To him, she always looked beautiful, even more so with time. He slowly made his way into the kitchen, coming up behind April and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Hey," Jackson whispered into her ear.
"Hello you."
"You're up early. Not how your supposed to start your days off."
"No," April turned to face him with a glint in her eyes. "It isn't."
Her words didn't seem angry, but Jackson still felt a pang of guilt over staying at the hospital as long as he did. He knew her well enough to see that she might be a little touchy. This would be a bittersweet holiday for her and he could have come home sooner.
"Sorry to take so long," he quickly apologized. "We had 3 burn victims from an-"
"Apartment fire, I know," April interrupted running her hands down Jackson's chest, and widening her eyes for emphasis.
"They came through my department first. I saw them before you did. Only I learned how to delegate better than you, so I let my residents handle things on their own after the patients were stable."
Despite initially failing to pass her boards, in large part to the unusual catalyst that started their relationship, in the years that followed April had gained confidence and excelled much more than people had given her credit for. Jackson always knew she was capable, of course. Hell, she'd become a department head before him. But it was just nice to watch.
He laughed and lifted his hands to cover hers, "I suppose I could have...but, well...it was the Burn Center."
"Burn Center. I understand," April repeated crisply. She leaned forward and kissed him, before turning to the coffee maker, pouring a cup, and offering it to Jackson. "But you're gonna be really tired at Richard and your mother's this afternoon."
Jackson smirked and took the cup in both his hands letting it warm his cold fingers, "Maybe it'll be an excuse for us not to stay that long."
Even though Catherine Avery and Richard Webber had been together for almost as long as Jackson and April, he still bristled occasionally in his mother's presence. And to a certain extent,over her whole 'thing' with Richard. Even though he supposed he was glad that they were happy. And he was grateful that Webber acted as another grandfather to his kids. Retirement, and a move to Seattle hadn't exactly been the greatest antidote to Catherine's habit of meddling in Jackson's business. She still had a tendency to pry into his professional, personal and family life. If he could get out of this early, he wanted to.
A finger appeared in his field of vision, above the steaming cup of coffee, and waggling from side to side, "Uh, uh, uh! I think not. It's your mother, Jackson. You always do this, and this time I don't even want to hear it. She and the old chief have generously offered to host, and we are not going to skip out early just because you can't just suck it up."
"April-" Jackson knew what she was going to say. He knew she had a point. He was just tired and the prospect of facing his mother daunted him.
"She's the last living grandparent!" April continued, frowning sadly as she turned away from Jackson and poured a cup of coffee for herself. "This holiday is about family and gratitude and...and believe me Jackson, you are going to miss her when she is gone."
He sighed and scratched the back of his head with one hand. Jackson knew April missed her parents. Seemed like everyone he knew had parents who were getting up there. Jackson realized that he was fortunate to have his mom still around. Sometimes he lost sight of that. Luckily, he'd married someone who he could count on to call him on it.
"I know. You're right. No leaving early."
After a beat, Jackson's eyes drifted to the glitter infested hand print turkey's that adorned the refrigerator, and to change the subject he asked, "Kids up yet?"
April chuckled and rolled her eyes, "7:30 am on a morning with no school? Four guesses who's awake."
Without even pausing they both said the answer in unison, "Conner."
The teenager had taken to rising early each morning and running, before anything else. Jackson shrugged, "Well, seems like he wants to make the spring track team really badly..."
A lot of the time, even now, Jackson was a little baffled that he was a father at all. Let alone to four kids. Four completely new individual people that existed because of his and April's love. It just seemed so amazing. Conner, the oldest, was 15 years old and a few months into his second year of high school at Seattle Prep. They had a kid in high school. Crazy.
It still seemed like only yesterday that April had nervously fumbled to tell him that she was pregnant. It had all been a little unexpected and only a few months after they'd come back from their honeymoon. April wasn't even finished with her fellowship at the time. Jackson would never forget how small his son had felt in his arms the first time he'd ever held him. But now, after a series of recent growth spurts, the boy had shot up to nearly the same height as his mother.
And of course, there were three other people in the house who had started out just as small as Conner, that Jackson knew would continue to grow and surprise them like Conner had. But the passage of time and growth wasn't quite so shocking with the younger ones yet. His daughter Riley was only 10, despite occasionally acting like she was 25. Hannah was 7 and Simon was just 5. Both still small enough for Jackson to pick up and twirl in the air. Eventually, they'd all be as big as their older brother, but Jackson liked to bury his head in the sand because that day hadn't arrived yet.
Most of his kids were still little.
"I think he can do it," April said."He's trying a lot harder than he did for the crew team."
Jackson was reminded of himself in some ways when he thought about Conner. At the same age, he'd been pretty well able to coast along on being good looking, and his oldest son had the same predilection to 'coast' for certain things.
Conner had always been a fairly successful athlete, and so he'd had been a little over confident earlier in the year, assuming that he would easily measure up for the crew team. He didn't really do much to prepare at all, even after a summer of relative inactivity, and unfortunately had not been asked to the second round of try outs. It was quite a blow, since the previous year, Conner had rowed for the school.
However, the sting of failing to make the rowing team seemed to have spurred Conner into making a disciplined and calculated effort to improve his chances for the next opportunity. He woke up early every morning and ran for an hour rain or shine, kept his grades up, and did his best to eat foods that would make him a healthy runner. Seemed like he was learning to give up on coasting and Jackson and April were really proud.
Jackson's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a buzzer from the oven, as April quickly set her coffee on the counter and dawned an oven mitt. She lifted two pies out of the oven and grinned, pulling a knife out of a drawer to test the pumpkin filling.
Watching her skeptically Jackson took a swig of coffee, "You know my mom is having this catered, don't you?"
April let out a small exasperated laugh, "Yeah, but I wanted to make a little something. It just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without something homemade."
"Why starting so early?" Jackson yawned, wondering, with some trepidation, whether he wasn't becoming immune to the effects of caffeine altogether.
"You really think I am going to get anything done once they all wake up?"
Shaking his head and pulling a cup of yogurt out of the fridge, Jackson laughed, "No."
Wrangling the small ones and getting them ready to go anywhere was pretty much a full time undertaking which would probably be best staffed by a small army. Sometimes Jackson wondered whether is was a bad idea to let themselves get outnumbered by their children. But, April knew better how to deal with a family of six than he did, and somehow they always managed to get where they needed to be, even if they were usually a little late.
Opening the cup of yogurt and moving to stand directly behind April, Jackson observed his wife very closely. She hadn't fully gotten ready and her hair was still tousled from sleep, and the way she had her head tilted to the one side made him want to kick himself for staying at the hospital over night. Choosing to sleep in an on call room instead of sleeping next to your hot wife seemed like a bad call, patients or not.
Jackson took a slow bite of his breakfast before swiveling his hips against April's, and pressing close to her back. Grinning, he whispered seductively in her ear, "There are other things we could get done before they all wake up."
April paused her work with the pies, turning to look at him, widening her eyes and biting her lower lip, "Oh yeah? Other things. I like other things."
With one swift motion Jackson set down his cup and spoon and pulled her into a deep kiss, breathlessly speaking in between, "How long until Conner gets back from his run?"
"Oh," April replied wrapping her arms around his neck. "20? 30 minutes. Easy."
"Plenty of time," Jackson grinned, holding his wife's hand and pulling them out of the kitchen towards the stairs.
He made a mental note to try to catch himself the next time he had the urge to stay at work too long unnecessarily. Jackson was a surgeon and that meant he had odd hours, but he was a husband and dad first. He didn't ever want to get his priorities mixed up. That was Harper Avery's mistake. Not Jackson's.
"Plenty," April agreed.
Even after 20 years of friendship, 16 years together, and 15 being married, somethings never got old.
Only it just wasn't meant to be. As they made their way up the stairs toward the master bedroom, they froze when they were greeted by a tiny figure with wild sleep hair. Hannah rubbed her eyes, still waking herself up, as she mumbled, "Mama? Daddy?"
Sighing, Jackson hung his head and let it rest on April's shoulder for a moment, feeling deflated. So much for that. Having children was great, but sometimes...well. Sometimes it was very inconvenient. He quickly turned and finished the rest of the stairs, approaching his younger daughter and scooping her up to rest on his hip.
"Hey, Hannah Banana."
April, still a little flushed and breathless, leaned over and kissed the back of Hannah's head, "Good morning. Did you have a good sleep?"
"Mhmm..." The little girl stopped rubbing her eyes, took an excited breath and whispered, "Guess what?"
"What?" April smirked, having played this little game with Hannah before.
"It's Thanksgiving today!"
Jackson had to laugh. Hannah was their most outgoing and perky child. He thought she had the most beautiful hair, she was always quick to smile, and he'd always loved that she was more of a Daddy's girl than any of his other children. Holidays were her particular favorite, and Hannah delighted in the decorations, traditions and food. Mostly the food.
Sure enough, the next words out of his daughter's mouth were very much about the day's menu. She flung her little arms out wide and beamed up at her father, "We're gonna eat pun'kin pie!"
"We sure are," Jackson agreed, spinning the girl around in a small circle. "Mommy just pulled some out of the oven."
"Breakfast!" Hannah giggled scrambling to get down.
"I think the pie will taste much better if we eat it for desert at Gramma's house," April reasoned, making her way up the rest of the stairs. She moved down the hallway toward the other kid's rooms to see if anyone else was awake.
Jackson mimicked Hannah's comical frown, as she begged, "But Mommy!"
"We have plenty of oatmeal and fruit if you are hungry..."
"Bummer," he said, holding back his laughter as his daughter quickly changed track.
"Oh! If I eat oatmeal, can I have maple syrup too?"
The sound of movement in the other rooms started to filter through the walls. Everyone was waking up. Whatever little window he and April might have had was now definitively gone. The day was beginning, and before he knew it, Jackson was swept up in the carefully controlled chaos of getting breakfasts ready, playing games, combing hair, and dressing the little ones in sweaters and shiny shoes, in addition to persuading a petulant teenager that ripped jeans were not the kind of thing Catherine Avery would approve of at a family get together.
It was an acceptable substitution, however, because Jackson loved everything about his family and the life that he and April had built. He loved them more than anything, job, awards, and even the Burn Center. Jackson's family was everything and more than he thought it would be. They were very fortunate; many of their friends didn't get the chance to live this kind of life, and Jackson tried to never forget that. They'd find another moment.
Rolling her eyes as she gathered her belongings and got ready to leave for Richards home, Meredith Grey tilted her head, holding up her cell phone with her shoulder, "You have never been good at trusting the interns, Alex. I'm sure Peds isn't going to fall apart during one long weekend."
"I'm telling you, Mer," Alex's frantic voice responded clearly. "It's not paranoia. Robbins or I have always been there. At least one of us!"
"You always go somewhere and then you try to worm out of it by coming back," Meredith retorted, frowning as she fished around on the messy counter top for her keys. Where the hell were they?
"Remember boards? You left and almost missed your test."
"Whatever."
Enjoying teasing her friend, Meredith continued, "Or that conference Arizona sent you to in Louisiana, you tried to come back early then..."
"There was a hurricane, they evacuated the whole-"
"And when you went to Africa, you were barely there three weeks before you flew back."
"Megan had to get her tonsils out, what did you expect me to freaking do? I'm her Dad."
Sighing in victory against the cluttered counter top, Meredith retrieved her keys from beneath a discarded neuroscience journal, "I'm just saying, you have a track record of cutting out of important events."
"No," the voice on the other end of the line sulked. "Right now, I've got a kid in recovery with-"
"At least a dozen interns on scut duty without the holiday off. They'll be fine," Meredith said, more seriously. "You just don't want to listen to any congratulatory toasts from Lisa's folks over Thanksgiving dinner."
That was the truth of the matter and Meredith knew it. She'd known Alex long enough to know that he was never comfortable with praise and accolades. Even when he very much deserved them.
She rounded the corner and headed into the living room, finding Derek systematically sifting through the abandoned pile of homework on the coffee table. When he looked up, Meredith grinned and jangled the keys in the air.
"It's no big deal," Alex predictably snapped. Coming out on top was never something Alex thought he was going to do. Success always surprised him.
Derek stood up and leaned onto the stairway, calling for Zola and Mei to cease their key searching and come downstairs.
Meredith rolled her eyes, "It is a nomination for the Warner Petersen Pediatric Award. It's a pretty big deal."
"I'm tired of hearing about what an honor it is to be nominated."
"It is an honor to be nominated."
"I didn't even get the freakin' award."
"Oh, poor Alex," Meredith teased as she watched her daughters descend the stairs. "You are one of only five surgeons in the country to be nominated for a great big award. And people care about you enough to be proud."
"Proud?" Alex had come a long way in the time that Meredith had known him, but moments like this still broke her heart. Sometimes he just needed to have things really spelled out for him. Clearly stated, so that he could, finally and truly see that he did deserve all the good things that happened in his adulthood.
"Proud," she replied firmly. "Just think: Warner Petersen nominations today, Harper Avery's tomorrow."
Meredith knew Alex was headed for great things. He was an excellent Pediatric surgeon. She wanted him to believe it.
"Whatever," he mumbled after a long and awkward pause, although Meredith swore she could here a smirk in his voice.
"I gotta go."
"Right...well, just keep an eye on Peds then. Give Avery a smack for me, and tell the old lovebirds hello."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Alex."
"You too, Mer."
Hanging up the call, Meredith slid her phone in her purse and turned to regard her family as they stood by the front door. She couldn't help but smile as she observed them. It was so nice to have Zola back from college in New York for the first time since August. The house had seemed too quiet with only Meredith, Derek and Mei. Even though the family was proud of Zola, and wanted her to do well, New York University was a long way away. They missed her.
"All ready?"
"Yep," Zola said, elbowing her sister and chuckling. "Now that you found the car keys."
"Let's go, then," Derek said opening the door and leading the way to the car, and the four of them filtered outside.
The choice to adopt Mei from China had been easy. After the plane crash, Derek's hand was never steady enough for surgery again. He settled into teaching well enough, but he also had spent a lot more time with Zola. The subject of another adoption had come up when Zola had gone off to kindergarten. Derek had said he missed having someone small, and it wasn't like they couldn't afford to give a good life to a child. And Meredith had fully agreed.
Because of Lexie, Meredith knew what it was to have a sister. She knew was good. She thought it would be good for Zola and a new child to have each other.
And it was. Nearly a year after Meredith and Derek had made the decision to adopt, a shy three and a half year old named Mei came into their lives and changed them forever. The shyness hadn't lasted, but her impact on the Grey-Shepherd household continued. Zola and Mei had their spats, as all sisters do, but they also had formed a deep bond, and Meredith thought it was wonderful.
Sliding into the car, Meredith turned the keys in the ignition, and looked back at her daughters. She liked to think that Lexie would have loved Mei. In some ways her younger daughter reminded her a lot of her lost sister, even though they had never met, and weren't biologically related. She was funny and smart and genuine. So much like Lexie. Strange how that worked.
She caught site of Mei's eye in the rear view mirror and the teenager grinned.
"You have everything, Mom?" Mei joked. "Didn't forget where you put your shoes, or your purse too, did you?"
Meredith rolled her eyes. She hadn't lost her keys, or forgotten where she'd put them. If everyone would just clean up their work, keys wouldn't get buried in the first place. Still, she didn't feel the need to point that out.
Instead, Meredith answered truthfully, "No. I have absolutely everything I need."
"Gramma's gonna like my turkey best!" Simon said waving a hand shaped paper they'd had the kids decorate like a turkey at school, and kicking his feet in excitement as Jackson drove them to Catherine and Richard's home on Mercer Island.
The persistent bump of Simon's feet against the back of her seat reminded April Kepner of another, much longer, and less happy drive she'd taken years ago to Spokane. After the plane crash that killed Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey, she had been the one to drive Zola and Sofia to the hospital to be reunited with the survivors. That fateful drive had been much quieter, and less happy. Yet, in April's own life, it also been a step on the path to getting where she was today.
Hard to believe that 16 years had passed. Sometimes it still felt like yesterday. Yet, Zola and Sofia were now in their first years of university. April had stood at their high school graduations, bittersweet affairs, as bogged down with the melancholy of those who weren't there as the hope for the future. She'd congratulated them on their accomplishments, taken one or two 'homesick but I don't want to admit it to my parents' calls, and sent care packages to dorms. Time really did fly.
April herself was now a mother of four. Sometimes that still felt unreal. She wasn't quite sure how it had happened. Well, she actually knew exactly how she'd ended up pregnant four times, but being a mother just wasn't something April had always thought she was going to be able to do. It wasn't something she always thought she'd be good enough for.
Though she adored all of her children, there were plenty moments where she didn't feel grown up enough to be raising someone else. Like when her parents had died earlier in the year. In those moments, April had felt small and orphaned and just wanted to curl up and cry. For all the loss she'd experienced over the years, it never seemed to get any easier. Then again, Jackson arms had held her when she curled up and cried and her children had snuggled with her, and they didn't seem to mind at all that her response had been less than mature. She supposed all she could do was try her best as a parent. So far, things seemed to be okay.
Her daughter Hannah giggled at her brother and pointed out, "Yours doesn't even look like a turkey! He doesn't have feathers."
The kicking increased, "He doesn't need 'em!"
Reaching back behind the seat, April gently grabbed her son's ankles and stilled his movements, holding on to them.
"Foot jail!" Simon yelled, immediately relaxing his movements, allowing April to release her grip.
It was a game Jackson had come up with, years ago when Conner was small. Grab their feet as a warning and hold them in 'jail' until the child stopped moving. It worked pretty well, and let the kids know when they needed to calm down, without turning the car into a constant shouting ground. Jackson was really good at coming up with things like that. Little games and rituals that would keep everyone behaving. April was glad he was good at that. She tended to get flustered and shrill in the face of bad behavior and Jackson's methods kept everyone's emotions calm. He generally had that affect on her.
The morning hadn't gone quite how April planned. She'd meant to tell Jackson off for staying overnight at the hospital. She'd been mad at him. Because she'd seen those burn patients, and she knew his residents and fellows were perfectly capable of handling them.
But then, he'd apologized, and she really did understand about his special connection to the Burn Center, it being one of the last projects he'd ever worked with Mark Sloan on, and she knew that even after all these years spending time with his mother and Richard still threw Jackson for a loop, making him act weird, and it really wasn't that big of a deal that he stayed at the hospital, anyway. And then, of course, he'd stood up right behind her and well...her irritation was quickly replaced by something else.
Lust.
Once, she would have been ashamed to admit to having the feelings. Once, she'd thought it was a sin. A sin of the very worst order. Once, April had believed that God was actually punishing her for her lust. She'd believed that everything had gone wrong in her life as punishment for her sins.
But now April believed something else. The God she believed in now was nicer than that. Lust combined with love, and you ended up with four beautiful children, and years of happy memories. It was a kind of magic. April could find nothing sinful in that. She thought that all any God really wanted was for people to do their best and to be happy.
In the end, unfortunately, their trip upstairs had not ended in morning sex. But Jackson had certainly done the trick in calming April's agitation.
"Real turkeys have feathers though," Hannah continued. "And you didn't even color inside the lines! It just looks scribbly."
Simon scowled, and crossed his arms.
"Be nice," April cautioned from the front seat.
"You're s'posed to stay in the lines," Hannah pressed on logically, ignoring April's warning. "That's why they're there!"
"He can color how he wants to, Hannah," Jackson added, as Simon's pout deepened. He was sensitive and often bristled being the youngest child, especially underneath two sisters who were very particular and fastidious in how they thought things ought to be.
"Gramma is gonna like mine," Simon huffed.
"No one cares about your stupid Turkey anyway!" Riley snapped, from the very back, arms crossed. "Gramma and Granpa Richard are just gonna fawn over Zola and ask her about NYU. She doesn't care what we do."
April sighed. Riley, Riley, Riley.
Her oldest daughter was the most moody and tempestuous of any of her children. Sometimes it felt like she was a combination of Catherine Avery, Libby and April's most emotional self. Lots of strong women to take after, but April knew it was hard. Riley was a smart girl, but perhaps a little too smart for ten.
Zola getting into NYU was a big deal, but April could empathize with Riley's jealousy. She'd always been the envious one in her own family. And all their friends and family in Seattle had been talking about how wonderful it all was for Zola for most of the summer and fall.
Add to that the previous holiday all Catherine and everyone had wanted to talk about was Zola and Sofia upcoming graduation, and Conner and Mei starting high school. April could understand that sometimes her older daughter felt left out. She wasn't as little as Simon and Hannah, but she also wasn't yet at the same level as her older brother. For someone who liked being first and being the best, it much be hard to always feel behind.
Still, as parents, Jackson and April found Riley's attitude hard to deal with. She was only ten. They'd thought that they had a few more years to prepare before the terrible teen times.
Next to Riley, Conner snorted, "Gramma doesn't care what you do maybe, but she cares about me."
"Yeah and how you couldn't make the rowing team this time," Riley sneered.
"Shut up."
"Hey!" April said, sternly looking back in the car as Jackson turned the steering wheel and guided the car down Catherine and Richard's street. "Enough! Both of you. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. I don't want you fighting at Gramma's."
Chastised, Conner looked down at his hands guiltily, while Riley crossed her arms and slumped in her seat.
"Sorry, Mom," the teenager apologized quickly.
"I don't want to go to Gramma's. I miss going to the farm," she grumbled sadly. "I miss Nana Karen."
April blinked rapidly and swallowed. So did she. Riley's spike in moodiness had coincided with the sudden losses of her Kepner grandparents. She had always been prone to emotional outbursts, but losing her grandmother had only made things worse. She'd been particularly close to April's mother. Riley was still working through her grief just like they all were. It was another reason why April was inclined to be less harsh over a lot of Riley's outbursts. This was just a hard year for all of them.
"Nana Karen is in heaven isn't she?" Simon chimed in earnestly. Rambler that he was turning out to be, the little boy continued, counting down on his fingers, "She is in heaven with Grampi Joe and Great Grandpa, and Sofia's Daddy, and the angels and Lincoln and all the dead peoples and God. And my fish."
"Yeah," Jackson said, parking the SUV with a small frown. "Nana Karen is in heaven."
Simon's face became pensive, "Heaven must be crowded."
Th statement made April clear her throat. She unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, thinking about all the people she'd lost over the years. Grandparents, patients, friends. parents. Age, illness, shootings. Plane crashes. It was amazing how many people had left her life.
April had tried to instill a sense of faith in her children, but not to the same extent her as own religious upbringing. She never wanted them to feel like they weren't good enough or that God was mad at them. She never wanted them to believe in something that held them back. So, the kids had been exposed to many religious traditions, and they went to a church regularly. And she was glad they had some faith in the face of loss. Simon seemed like he needed the belief in heaven the most.
Opening the back doors, April carefully lifted her youngest son out of his care seat. He kicked his dangling feet and watched her pensive expression with concern. He lifted his hands to her cheeks and pushed them together trying to make her smile.
"Don't cry, Mama," he whispered, flashing a dimpled grin.
"I'm not," April replied as she wrinkled her nose and kissed his forehead before setting him on his feet.
"Okay!"
He raced Hannah up the front lawn toward the doorway eager to ring the door bell.
The children filed out of the car, and April gave Jackson a pointed look, as she tapped Riley's shoulder and pulled her back by the side of the car. Jackson slid his hands in his pockets and leaned against the car as April turned her daughter to face them. She used one hand to adjust her daughters dark curls.
Small copies of Jackson's green eyes, narrowed and looked uneasily between her parents, "Am I in trouble?"
"No," April said calmly.
Jackson added, "You will be if you don't try and act a bit more respectful."
Riley chewed her bottom lip and looked at her feet. Her shoulders slumped and she scratched at her neck, "I didn't mean to be rude...I just...I dunno, I just wish...I wish Grampi and Nana didn't die."
April pulled her daughter into a hugs and whispered in her daughter's ear, "I miss them too. I wish the same thing. It's okay to feel sad about that."
Jackson's ran his hand along Riley's back, "It's fine to be sad. But you also gotta think about how you are sad. We're all a little sad. But, do you think Nana Karen would want you to be so sad that you have a miserable Thanksgiving?"
The girl tightened her arms around April's waist, answering quietly, "No."
"When you lose someone, you have think about living life all the better," Jackson continued. "Because they can't anymore. You remember them, but you keep living, because that is what they'd want. Because they love you. And nothing can stop them from loving you. Not even dying. You always have that."
"Always," April agreed, giving Riley one more squeeze and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "It's okay to enjoy yourself, even when they aren't with us."
"Jackson! April, honey!" Catherine Avery's voice called from the front of the house. "What on earth is taking you all so long? It's cold out there, I don't need my grandbaby catching a chill. Come on into the house!"
"Coming," April answered back, as Jackson groaned and rolled his eyes dramatically, making Riley giggle. Her Gramma was never someone to leave waiting.
The three of them linked hands and walked up to the house. Jackson caught April's eye, over their daughter's head, giving her that look that made her feel like she was lighter than air. Riley would be okay. They would all be fine, because they had each other. People did leave your life through death and that totally sucked. But God always gave you new people too. And that was a miracle.
Richard Webber grinned as he sat in the living room and listened to Zola talk about her fist classes as a university student. He'd watched her grow up over the years, and he was proud of the intelligent, confident, charming young woman she'd become.
"I never realized how much chemistry you need to do Premed!" she continued eagerly. "I mean, I am taking Chem 110, and Lab. Chem 180 and lab, but only the one bio class, and gender studies.."
He leaned back in his creaky chair and nodded, "Well, that's how it is. Chemistry is important, Zola. Everyone has to learn the basics first."
"Oh, I know, Grandpa," she replied earnestly. "I actually really like chem."
There that word was again. Grandpa. Richard never thought he'd ever be someone's grandparent, or father figure. After everything that had happened, with Ellis, Adele, and the drinking, Richard wasn't entirely sure he even deserved it. But then Meredith had always kept him in Zola and Mei's lives, and he'd fallen in love with Catherine and so he saw plenty of her grandchildren, and somehow he'd just slipped into the position. Grandpa.
"Tell him about the time you got lost on the subway, Zola!" Mei piped up from beside her mother. She was yet another fine young lady. Richard was proud of the job Derek and Meredith had done raising their daughters.
"Oh my gosh!" the older girl said, chuckling. "It was insane..."
Her story was interrupted by the thundering footsteps and the appearance of an excited little boy. Simon Avery burst into the living room and quickly made hiss way over to Richard's lap, anxiously holding up a tattered paper turkey. The younger Avery's had arrived.
"Look Grampa!" Simon said happily. "Gramma said after I show you, she's gonna put it up on the fridge-rader!"
Laughing, Richard inspected the paper carefully, holding it up for Mei, Zola, and Meredith to see too. Simon tended to be sensitive, and the little boy was clearly very proud of his artwork, so Richard exaggerated his enthusiasm.
"Very nice," he said. "Do you make this all by yourself?"
"Yes!"
"Good job." Simon seemed to simmer happily under the praise and he shifted in Richard's lap to face the rest of the room.
"Do you know the story of the Pilgrims?" he asked with excitement. "We learned about it in school..."
"I don't think it is a story they have never heard, bud," the voice of Simon's older brother interrupted.
Conner Avery appeared in the doorway, and Richard had to chuckle. He was at the awkward age, Richard remembered it well. That age where your arms and legs are too long, and it's all you can do to stand and walk around without tripping all over your feet. Now he was leaning against the door frame, clearly struggling to maintain a look of studied nonchalance.
His eyes kept flicking over to Mei, and he took a step toward the couch, stumbling slightly on a bunched up rug. He froze, seemingly horrified, and finally he cleared his throat and gave the girl an awkward half nod from where he stood, "Hey."
"Hi, Conner," the girl giggled, and Richard had to hold back his own laughter at Conner's embarrassed flush. Poor guy. Being laughed at by a crush is hardly the kind of thing a boy of that age wants.
Richard had been as surprise as any of the other doctors at Seattle Grace when it became apparent that Kepner and Avery were an item. He'd always thought that theirs was simply a strong friendship. Then again, he knew from his own life that often, some of the greatest loves started with a foundation of friendship. He thought it all went back to the plane crash back in 2012.
Those had been some dark times for his hospital family. They'd lost some good people. And it had changed everyone, April and Jackson included. He seemed more confident, and determined. She seemed calmer and less uncertain. They were good for each other, and clearly more devoted than many couples he'd seen over the years. And looking at the little boy in his lap, and thinking of the other three children that they were raising, Richard had to admit that they were good parents too. Something good had come from the crash.
Jackson, April and the children didn't usually spend Thanksgiving with Catherine, and although Richard felt bad about the deaths of April's parents, he was happy to have some of his favorite young people around all at once.
Yet another small Avery, Hannah this time, appeared from the kitchen, "Hey! Hey! Everyone! Gramma says to come eat now! The food's ready."
Richard lifted Simon from his lap and eased himself out of his chair, "We better get a move on."
The group filtered into the dining room, joining everyone else, and settling down around the big dining room table. Richard took his seat at the head of the table, looking directly down, past all the guests, to Catherine Avery. She smiled at him with a twinkle in her eye, and glanced to the array of food on the table. The caterers had been a very good choice. The meal looked delicious.
Grabbing his glass and tapping it gently, Richard cleared his throat, "I know that everyone is hungry...but I thought I'd just stop and say a few words."
The family around the table paused. Derek leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to one side. Mei mirrored his action. Zola and Meredith smiled at him, while Catherine raised her eyebrows. Simon bounced in his seat, and Riley watched intently. Jackson and Conner both had furrowed brows and April deftly prevented Hannah from dishing food on her plate. Richard was overcome with a surge of love for them all.
"Thanksgiving is a holiday that makes you think about everything you have that you are grateful for," Richard said. "I know...I know that I don't deserve a lot of the happiness I have, and so it makes me all the more thankful. I am thankful to have this meal. And to spend this time with you all."
He shrugged, "I'm thankful. I am thankful for all that I have. And so should we all be. And let's try to remember it all the time, and not just on one day."
A quiet murmur of agreement echoed across the table, and Richard reached for the stuffing, signalling that the time for toasting had past. Very quickly the rest of the table followed suit.
"Now we can eat!" Hannah said happily scooping mashed potatoes onto her plate.
Richard laughed, He knew that he was lucky to have this. To have a family, even if it wasn't blood family. He looked around the table. At Meredith and Derek. Zola and Mei. Jackson and April. Their little ones. At Catherine. He knew he was a lucky man.
It was a privilege to be a part of their lives, and a privilege to love them. And that was something Richard was thankful for every single day.