This is a one-shot about what I can only wish happens for Japril when GA comes back from its hiatus. I just whipped it up quickly so it is most likely full of errors, sorry in advance. Errors aside, I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think :)

PS: I own nothing but a random Tumblr blog and a crappy Nissan Sentra.


Catherine Avery gave her baby boy one last kiss on the cheek before she took off with Dr. Webber, Dr. Shepherd and the rest of their team. Jackson tore out the main entrance of Seattle Grace Mercy Hospital like he was escaping the gates of hell and his body took him to the place he went when he felt lost. April's.

His mind was racing and he was uttering profanities that even he himself, king of cursing had never used before. He never asked for this. In fact, this is exactly what he didn't ask for. A move from sea to sea across all of the United States couldn't even liberate him of the Avery name. His mother had been in town for all of two days and had ruined everything he had worked his whole life for. His own reputation and accountability as a surgeon was gone in a microsecond.

"April!" He pounded on the door. It was her day off and barely seven am. Even though they rarely talked anymore he knew she would be up. She was always up at the crack of dawn. Today was different though, he hollered "April!" one more time and continued beating on the door. He heard shuffling across the floor and when she opened the door she learned against it in frustration.

"Jackson…" She mumbled and waited for him to speak. Waking up from a dead sleep had somehow left her unable to process anything. He didn't seem to be doing any better she noticed. He was pacing in the hall and his fists were clenched.

"Does this have to do with Stephanie? Listen Jackson, I'm glad we're friends still but I don't think I can help you with your girl problems anymore." She muttered, getting annoyed at his bizarre behavior.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "Who? What? No… This has to do with my mother. Like it always does. What else could I possibly have to deal with other than her insanely outrageous and wanton meddling?" He was ranting. There had only been two times she had seen his ranting in all of their years of friendship. When he found out Dr. Webber was sleeping with his mom and when he found out his mom was going to be evaluating at his boards in San Francisco. Both times it hadn't ended well so she let him in.

When he saw her hold the door open he walked in and opened her refrigerator. He poured a glass of orange juice, took a gulp and set it on the counter. He walked around the island in her kitchen before walking back to the orange juice, picking it up and setting it back down but not actually taking another drink. This happened two more times before April decided to wait out the storm and took a seat at the island he was wearing a hole around.

She didn't say anything, she just watched. And watched. And watched. At this point she knew whatever was going would be good.

"My mom bought me the hospital." He blurted out as he stopped at the counter facing her, leaned his weight onto the counter and stared at her. He tried to gage her reaction and it went from confused to amused and back to confused again.

"Jackson, your mom can't buy you a hospital. I don't care if she is an Avery. Normal people don't just buy hospitals." April said nonchalantly.

"My mother isn't normal." He responded angrily and slammed his fist through the wall directly next to her front door. Her jaw dropped and he pulled his fist out and held it straight out in front of him while he exhaled as slow as he could.

As if she'd seen him do it before she got up and grabbed a bag of peas from her freezer and wrapped it around his hand. She guided him to her couch and sat on the coffee table facing him.

"Tell me everything." She said, casually placing her hands on his knees, comforting him the best she knew how in their awkward situation. She rubbed soothing circles up and down this thighs.

"Shepherd, Grey, Yang, Robbins, Torres… they quit because they wanted to buy the hospital. Because it was their fault that all of this was happening. Their law suit brought Pegasus in as a buyer and they wanted to fix it…" He began but she knew that part.

"Jackson, I know that already." She told him, anxious to hear where he was going.

"They didn't have enough money. They needed another investor… that's where the Harper Avery Foundation comes in. More money in that foundation than what they know what to do with. My mom…Dr. Webber got my mom involved. I can't say that I'm surprised. Because then April, then she offered to invest April." He stared at her like he was done talking. She took a minute to take in the information and how all of that could mean Jackson owned the hospital. He had never taken an active involvement in the Harper Avery Foundation, what said he had to start now?

"Okay…" She started to question him and he interrupted her. "On the condition that I'm on the board representing the foundation."

April stared at him incredibly. Eyes bulging out of their socket, jaw on the floor, not able to make a sound incredibly. It took a lot to leave Kepner speechless, but this did it.

"With as much money as they're donating I'm sure I have at least 51% of the control. It's got to be more than that but clearly I didn't stick around for the specifics." He rambled and adjusted the bag on his hand.

"What did the others think about this?" April finally asked him. She had about a million questions but that one seemed to come out first. She waited for him to recall their reactions and everything that had just happened.

"They didn't look happy but can you blame them?" He groaned. If he were in their position he would feel the same way. "What do I do? How do I even begin to get out of this one April?" He put his head in his hands.

Eventually she spoke. "You know what Jackson, you just have to deal with it. I was talking to Shane last night and I realized something. I guess I have to believe that everything happens for a reason. It's all part of some plan; you're supposed to learn something right?. You lose a patient because you forget to check their airway, you don't make that mistake again. You fail your boards 'cause you're too busy sleeping with your best friend, maybe you stop doing that. The hospital you call home almost shuts down just when you're starting to feel like you've got your life together….or maybe, just maybe you…inherit a hospital. So you do everything in your power to make the hospital as successful as possible until God has other plans for it, or for you." She recalled mostly from her ramblings the night before.

It was a lot to take in but he was trying. There used to be a time when he took everything she said to heart and he wanted to get back to that place. "I'm just….scared. What if I mess this up? What if everyone starts to hate me?" Jackson questioned. April took in the vulnerability written all over his face before she went on.

"You can do anything Jackson. You and I… we're soldiers remember? We've already gone through one hospital, lost our two best friends, survived a shooting…so what if they don't like you anymore? They'll get over it. Jackson, do you have any idea how many lives you'll be saving? You have the opportunity to keep a world class hospital open, and a teaching hospital at that. You have a clean slate where you can make it everything you've ever wanted it to be…." Her face erupted into a smile and she could tell he was processing it all, taking it all in.

"This is a gift Jackson. This is your mother admitting that you are successful and that she thinks you're so successful she's willing to put the Avery name on the line for you so that you can show the world what you can do. This is her acknowledging that you'll never go back to Boston and become another stereotype Avery at Mass Gen."

She stopped again, this time she found his hands. Though freezing cold from the peas, they still felt warm to her. They probably always would. Not to mention that his hands pretty much engulfed hers. She forgot how large they were because she hadn't held them in months. It stole her attention until he broke his silence.

"You really think I can do it?" He opened his eyes and looked directly at the red head. She starred right back at him. Her teeth found her bottom lip and her face broke out into another smile.

"I know you can." She promised him and suddenly his heart swelled up again…just like it usually did for her.

He chose his next words carefully. "You know… it's crazy Ape. I don't even know when you became so important to me. I think about it, and it's just like watching a snowstorm. You see the snowflakes falling, but you don't realize how they're adding up. Until suddenly the whole lawn is covered in a sheet of white and you realize you're in the middle of the best and most exciting snowstorm of your life." He uttered to her, his heart was speaking words he didn't even know he had.

When he finally looked at her to gage her reaction he saw the trademark April blush cover her face and her eyes well up with tears. She started blinking profusely to hold them back but a strong one escaped from the corner. He used his healthy hand to wipe the tear away from her cheek and she stopped him.

"Jackson. What about Stephanie? We can't do this to her." She groaned honestly. It was just like April to put others before herself. How did he find a woman so caring and compassionate?

"Stephanie was just one of the ways I tried to get over you. Obviously there was nothing there, and there never will be. There isn't going to be another second that will go by where I'll be able to forget about how much I love you. I tried to forget you; I tried to forget that we ever happened April because I thought that was what you wanted. But then someone says your name or something smells like you or someone has your smile and I lose all the progress I made. I'm just stuck in this…labyrinth…of you that I can't escape." By this time her tears were falling faster than the Seattle rain.

"Why do you even like me? I'm a mess. I'm high maintenance, I'm bossy. I don't know where I'm going in life or what exactly I believe in anymore. I'm not overly pretty Jackson, or even overly smart. I'm average. That's it. I push people away and that's my thing. Because really, when I really think about it, who would ever want me?" She bared her soul to him, sharing every fear and secret she had ever kept about herself.

He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. He face fell into the side of her neck and he inhaled her scent as much as he could. She calmed took a deep breath and nearly almost composed herself, waiting for him to speak.

"You're so much more than that April and if you'll let me I'll spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to you. I just need you. All of your flaws, mistakes, smiles, giggles, jokes, laughs, even your sarcasm. I just need you". He whispered in her ear, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Her head rose up and she took in his expression, gaging his sincerity and for the first time and it clicked. He was her person and the reason she could finally catch a breath of air.

"April, let me love you." He pleaded. Jackson leaned in closer to her and rested his forehead against hers.

She nodded in agreement before wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest. Suddenly in another but more intense onset of emotion she had no control over she lost it all. Every trace of sadness and worry she had had over the past few months without him went away, all at once. She cried in relief until she sobbed right there on his chest. She gasped, trying to catch any bit of air she possibly could and then she cried some more. Each ounce of hurt and pain she had ever held in was free.