So the idea for this little fic has been churning around in my head for a while now, and I finally sat down and typed it out. Title comes from the song The Story by Brandi Carlile, but also sung by the lovely Sara Ramirez in episode 7x18 "Song Beneath the Song" :)
Disclaimer: My name is not Shonda Rhimes, and therefore I do not own Grey's Anatomy.
June 25th, 2015
Jackson Avery fiddled nervously with his tie as he scrutinized himself in the mirror. He knew that April wouldn't notice if his shoes weren't shiny, wouldn't care if his tie was crooked, but today, he had to be perfect. He could almost hear her laughing in his ear. "Relax, Jackson, you look wonderful," she'd say, and he would be so distracted by the sound of her voice that he'd totally forget about himself.
"Avery!" A booming voice interrupted his reverie and he turned around to see a suit clad Mark Sloan beaming at him. His mentor clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly. "You ready?"
Jackson took a breath and nodded. "If you could do this, then I can definitely do this."
"I have no doubt that you can," the older man laughed, "but I was talking about your family. Your mother is demanding to speak with you before we head over to the altar."
Jackson groaned as Mark left the room, but he forced a smile as Mama Avery sashayed in, followed closely by his siblings.
"Oh, baby," Catherine sighed as she took his face in her hands, "You look so handsome."
Jackson turned his attention to Emily, his younger sister and one of April's bridesmaids. "How's April? Shouldn't you be with her, keeping her from getting cold feet or something?"
Emily snorted. "I don't think you have to worry about her getting cold feet. It's all we can do to keep her from running up the aisle."
"She knows she's marrying you, right?" his older brother Jonathan joked. "Because I could understand the enthusiasm if she thought she was marrying me, but you?"
Jackson punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Hey, don't forget that I'm the only one in the family capable of fixing your face when it's all busted up," he warned.
"Well, faces aren't exactly hearts, and the last time I checked, my face was fine," Jonathan retorted smoothly.
"It won't be when I'm done with it," the plastic surgeon threatened.
Catherine threw her arms up between her two sons. "That's enough. You can kill each other after the honeymoon, but I'd be careful if I were you, Jonathan, because I don't think April would like that and quite frankly I think she could take you," she teased before becoming serious. She turned to her younger son and took both of his hands in her own.
"Jackson Avery, I am so proud of you. You found a wonderful woman whom you love, and who loves you back, and you're marrying her. That's all a mother could ever want," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Jackson wrapped his arms snugly around his mother's waist before hugging each of his siblings in turn.
"Come on, Mom, let's get you settled in your seat," Jonathan said, taking his mother's arm. She dabbed quickly at her eyes before turning back to Jackson. "I love you, baby."
"I love you too, Mom."
Emily watched the pair exit the room and took her brother's hand. "Well, I should probably get back to April," she said, giving his hand a tight squeeze. "You nervous?" Jackson nodded. The younger woman smiled. "Don't be." She pulled her hand free and started for the door.
"Hey, Emily?" Jackson called. She turned around in the doorway. "How does she look?"
A wide grin broke across Emily's face. "She looks beautiful."
April paced back and forth in her waiting room. "What is taking so long?" she fretted.
Kimmie Kepner rolled her eyes as she adjusted her bridesmaid's dress. "Chill out, April, the ceremony isn't supposed to start for another ten minutes. Calm down or you're going to sweat off your makeup."
April plopped herself down on a chair, impatiently picking at her bouquet. Lexie quickly snatched it from her grasp. "I assume you want some of this left for when it's time to walk down the aisle," she said sternly, gesturing at the petals on the floor. April stared guiltily at them as Emily let herself back into the room.
"Sorry, I'm just... I'm freaking out a little bit... Were you like this when you married Sloan?"
Lexie chuckled. "April, you were there, you were one of my bridesmaids. You must remember the panic attack that I had before I walked down the aisle."
"Oh, right," April laughed weakly, "You were a mess."
"Exactly, and Mark and I are extremely happily married. It's normal to be freaking out. You've been April Kepner for your entire life and in a few hours, you're going to be Mrs. Jackson Avery. It's a big adjustment," Lexie replied reassuringly. "You can do this."
April nodded to herself. "I can do this," she muttered, "I can do this." She glanced around the room. Kimmie was fanning herself with her bouquet and Emily was skimming through the wedding program. April rose slowly from her chair. "I have to go to the bathroom again," she announced.
Emily groaned. "Seriously? That's like the fifth time today!"
"I was hydrating!" April complained. She held the edges of her dress out towards Lexie. "Pretty please?"
The neurosurgeon exasperatedly took the folds of fabric. "Fine, but if you have to go during the ceremony, you better hold it. Nobody stops a wedding for a bathroom break," she grumbled before following her friend to the ladies' room.
The two women remained in silence for a moment before April couldn't take it anymore. "I'm nervous," she burst out suddenly.
The brunette nodded. "Like I said, it's normal to be freaking out," she said soothingly.
"Not about the wedding... about tonight. It'll be our first time. My first time... I know I always said I wanted to wait, but what if it's terrible tonight? What if I don't like it, or he doesn't think I'm very good, or-" April trailed off, feeling her heart rate beginning to escalate.
Lexie paused for a moment before speaking. "Jackson loves you, April. He was patient enough to wait for your wedding, and he'll be patient enough to be a perfect gentleman about your first time. He knows it's all new to you and I'm sure he'll go at whatever pace you're comfortable with, so just try to relax and enjoy it. Your first time is something you can't get back, but Jackson is one of the good ones. Try not to stress about it and you'll be fine."
April laughed shakily. "I knew I picked you as Maid of Honour for a reason."
The redhead was visibly calmer as they re-entered the waiting area, where Joe Kepner was now standing with the bridesmaids. Emily, Kimmie and Lexie quickly circled April, tucking in stray hairs, wiping away smudged makeup and smoothing wrinkles in the dress.
"It's almost time," Emily said, tucking the bouquet of calla lilies into April's hand. Joe sidled up next to his daughter and offered her his arm. She took it, grasping his hand tightly.
The beginning notes of Pachelbel's Canon began playing from the church, giving the bridesmaids their cue. Emily, Kimmie and Lexie left the room one-by-one for their walk down the aisle until it was just April and Joe in the waiting room.
April took a deep breath and smiled. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, darlin'," he replied, hugging his daughter gently with one arm. The musicians began playing their cue, and they heard the rustling of the guests standing up. "It's time, April," Joe said softly, squeezing her hand.
April felt a surge of excitement. "Let's go."
July 1st, 2007
Jackson Avery shrugged into the sleeves of his white lab coat and slung his brand new stethoscope around his neck as he surveyed the locker room. All around him, people were excitedly chatting to each other as they pulled on their very first set of orange scrubs before their very first 48 hour shift at Mercy West Hospital. There was a tall, broad-shouldered guy leaning up against the lockers next to him, casually talking to a petite redhead with a pixie cut and Jackson got the sense that they knew each other from before. He closed his locker and turned to the tall intern.
"Hey, who are you guys assigned to? I'm with Armstrong."
The pair stopped conversing and gave Jackson the once over. "Armstrong," the girl said coolly before turning her attention to the other man. Jackson rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly. Normally he'd be offended, but he figured it was just a matter of time before they all wanted to know when they could meet his grandfather.
He noticed a small, timid looking brunette in the corner whose head had flicked in their direction at the mention of the resident's name. She was clutching a red notebook in her left hand and didn't seem to notice that she was grasping it tight enough to wrinkle the pages. He met her gaze and she quickly looked away.
"Adamson, Avery, Clarke, Kepner, Percy," Jackson heard a resident call out. He smoothed his lab coat and strode toward the door, but before he managed to escape, the whispers began.
"Avery? As in the Harper Avery?"
"Wonder who it is..."
"I thought all the Averys went to Mass Gen..."
Jackson tuned them out and walked up to the resident. "Dr. Armstrong?"
"End of the hall," the man gestured.
Jackson could feel the other interns in his group following as he set off toward the young, dark haired woman. She sized each of them up before beginning to speak.
"As I'm sure you all know, Mercy West has one of the most prestigious residency programs in the country. We are a Level 1 Trauma Center and we have world class surgeons in specialties like Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, Cardiothoracic Surgery and General Surgery. Maybe some of you will become world class surgeons, maybe not. You're fresh out of med school, you think that every patient you touch is going to make a full recovery, that your hands have the power to save lives. Well, guess what? You're interns. Grunts. Nobodies. Bottom of the surgical food chain. None of you even touch a patient unless your resident says so, so I suggest you keep me very happy."
The woman raised her eyebrows expectantly at Jackson and the rest of the group. He chanced a sideways glimpse at the other interns in his group. They looked just as terrified as he felt. Dr. Armstrong cleared her throat.
"I have five rules. Memorize them."
April Kepner's hand was starting to cramp as her pen flew across the pages of her notebook. No sucking up, pagers, on-call rooms, labs, no complaining. She knew that she looked like a brown-noser but she was determined to get on her resident's good side. She had worked too hard to get into the program and her family was so proud of her that there was no way she could fail now. She skimmed over her notes.
"Um, Dr. Armstrong?" she asked timidly. "You said five rules... that was only four."
The pager clipped to the resident's waist began beeping. "Rule number five: when I move, you move," she said sharply as she strode out of the room. April stuffed her notebook into her pocket and jogged after the taller woman. This was it... her chance to prove herself.
She felt a little intimidated next to her fellow interns. She was aware that she was probably up against doctors who had graduated from top of the line medical schools like Harvard, Hopkins and Stanford and she definitely hadn't missed hearing the Avery name this morning. She wasn't sure which intern was royally inbred but her money was on the tall, statuesque, tanned girl who looked as though she belonged on a runway instead of in a hospital, or maybe the dark skinned guy with the hypnotic blue-green eyes who caused her knees to turn to jelly every time she looked at him.
The ER was a flurry of activity as they arrived, and April drove all of her distracting thoughts out of her head. If she was going to prove herself, she needed to focus.
Dr. Armstong's voice rang in her ear. "Adamson, you're on labs, Avery and Clarke, stay in the pit, Kepner, charts, and Percy, rectal exams. Now get out there and do your jobs!"
Jackson wearily pushed some money toward the lady in the cafeteria and searched around for a place to sit. Most of the tables were filled with people gossiping or intently poring over charts.
His eyes fell on a table that was empty except for one person, a familiar face. She was bent over her table, scribbling furiously in her little red notebook as she absentmindedly chewed on a sandwich. He approached her and cleared his throat.
"Is this seat taken?" he gestured towards the vacant seat. Her eyes flew up to meet his, and her blood rushed to her cheeks.
"Oh, um, yeah, I guess," she stammered. "I mean no, it's, uh, it's not taken."
"May I?" She nodded. Jackson lowered himself into the chair next to her and pulled back the lid of his pudding. "It's Dr. Kenner, right?"
The brunette laughed awkwardly. "It's Kepner, actually."
Jackson joined in with a chuckle. "Right... Sorry. I'm Jackson... Avery." He saw a flash of shock in her eyes before she quickly hid her surprise. He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Kepner."
"April," she corrected before taking his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Jackson."
"April," he repeated. "I'm sure you get this all the time, but you wouldn't have happened to be born in April, would you?" He smirked his playful grin at her.
She released his hand and giggled nervously. "I'm sure you get this all the time, but you wouldn't happen to be related to Harper Avery, would you?" Immediately she ducked her head and flushed, seemingly embarrassed at her audacity.
Jackson chuckled. "Touché." The corners of April's mouth twitched up and she allowed herself a small smile as she bent over her notebook once more.
Jackson scooped out a large spoonful of chocolate pudding and stuck it in his mouth as he leaned over curiously. "Writing about anything interesting?" he prodded. April's head jerked up to look at him and she reflexively closed her notebook.
"Not really, um, just some, uh, stuff," she said quickly, picking up the rest of her sandwich and cramming almost all of it into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged on the sides and Jackson quickly covered his mouth to hide his laughter. April glared at him good-naturedly.
"Shut up," she mumbled as soon as her mouth was clear. He opened his mouth to apologize when a loud hiccup erupted from the brunette's mouth and he burst out laughing. April joined in with high pitched giggles.
"Can I borrow some of your water?" she sputtered out between hiccups and laughs. Confused, Jackson pushed his water bottle towards her and watched, bemused, as she poured some into an empty cup, leaned forward and started taking sips as she swayed from side to side. She took ten sips in all, five on the right side and five on the left side, and seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she looked slightly ridiculous.
Finally she sat up straight and, looking satisfied, slid the water bottle back across the table to Jackson. He raised his eyebrows at her.
"What was that?" he asked, pulling the bottle towards himself and taking a swig.
"That was my foolproof hiccup trick... It has never failed to worked for me," she explained, chuckling at the amused expression on Jackson's face.
"I've seen some pretty bizarre hiccup cures, but I have to say, that one definitely takes the cake," he teased.
April grinned. "You can laugh all you want, but when you're done laughing, take a second to notice that my hiccups have stopped... don't knock it 'til you try it."
Jackson shook his head, laughing in disbelief. He got the feeling that she wasn't used to casual conversation with complete strangers, and even though she was a little bit awkward, a little bit neurotic and more than a little bit perky, she made pretty good company. It didn't seem to him like she was only being nice because of his famous last name and that was definitely something he wasn't used to, especially during medical school. He appreciated it. His grandfather always said that surgery wasn't about making friends, but Jackson figured that he could use one in Seattle. He smiled apologetically at his table mate.
"Well, I should get back to the pit or Armstrong will have my ass," he said, rising out of his chair and cleaning up the remnants of his lunch. "It was nice meeting you."
April smiled brightly up at him. "Yeah, I should get back to charting, but it was nice meeting you too. I'll see you around?"
He nodded. "Definitely."
A very big thank you to Hidge for teaching me that phenomenal hiccup trick! April doesn't lie, it works like a CHARM (as long as you don't mind looking a little bit ridiculous in public haha)
Relatively short chapter, but there will be more, I promise!
Please leave a review!