Hello Everyone! This is my first fan fic for Grey's Anatomy. I am definitely a huge Japril Fan and i hope it shows in this Fic. As of now it stands as just a one shot taking place after April's engagement unless you all can convince me other wise. I'd really like to add more chapters but if it stands to get the response i'd like then i'll let it go. I truly hope that you all enjoy this fic as much as i did writing it. Let me know what you think or if you want to hear more of Jackson's and April's Story. More than likely this will be AU because i really do not want to have to follow whatever is happening currently on the show. I'd like to even skip ahead in their lives and explore a more mature Japril. Happy Readings and Thanks again.
Chapter 1
"Yes, Yes I will marry you," April Kepner agreed while fighting back tears of joy. She couldn't believe Matthew had done all of this for her and the best part of it all was he had managed to do it with the support of all of her friends at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he gracefully swept her off her feet and took her mouth in his. He spun her around to face her coworkers, which she knew she could very well call her friends. She could see them all smiling back at her. Callie and Arizona, Meredith and Derrick, Chief Hunt and Christina, even Alex seemed to be happy for her shooting her a wink as she blinked back more tears. As happy as she was, she knew there was only one person she'd want to share this life changing moment with. Jackson.
She finally spotted him leaning against the doors of the pit- his blue greenish eyes boring into hers as they made eye contact. She smiled at him needing him to be happy for her. He looked at her- his mouth almost wanting to form a slight grin. He just couldn't fix himself to give her what he knew she wanted, so he did the only thing he could do at that instant. He walked away.
April caught her breath in her chest incredibly hurt by the cold shoulder Jackson had given her. After everything they had been through together, she had thought he could get over their unresolved feelings for each other and be her best friend for once. After losing Charles and Reed, the two most valuable people in their lives, Jackson had become the only person that she could truly be herself with. As Christina and Meredith would say, Jackson Avery was her person and the fact that things had turned sour between them killed her.
"April you've made me the happiest man on earth." Matthew admired how beautiful his newly fiancée looked in her blue scrubs and white attending's coat. She had chosen to wear her hair down today and he just couldn't resist the urge to tuck just a small lock of her fiery hair behind her ear. "I love you."
"I love you too." April stretched her small frame upwards so that she could plant another kiss on the man that she was going to marry. He accepted her lips as he cradled her head and dipped her backwards deepening the kiss until April felt her head getting a little dizzy. She could hear the voices of her friends oohing and awing as they witnessed their display of affection.
"Ok, Ok the shows over,"Chief Hunt spoke up from the crowd shooing the other attending's back to work. After all there was still a hospital to run and as happy as he was for April and Matt, their moment was over and it was time to focus on what they were all dedicated to do. Save Lives. "And that goes for you too Kepner."
"Coming Chief" April squealed at her mentor in that annoying voice she always had whenever she was having a good day. She kissed Matt once more enjoying the salty taste of his lips and the freshness of his breath. "I have to go, I'll see you tonight."
"Tonight," he said with a smile as he watched his future wife walk along side Chief Hunt until they both disappeared inside of the hospital.
Jackson entered the on call room hoping to find a naked Stephanie waiting for him inside. He had paged her immediately after witnessing April's proposal and he needed desperately to get her off his mind. He had not been able to rid the image of her fragile body pressed against Matt's Torso as they kissed deeply as if no one else mattered but the two of them. It disgusted him. He knew it was selfish of him to feel this way but he was pissed and he couldn't find it in his heart to be happy for her.
"Jackson, there you are." Stephanie was lying completely unclothed with only a sheet to cover what she considered her most private areas. Jackson smiled at the sight of her impressed with how obedient she had been with his request.
He closed the door behind him locking it so that there would be no interruptions. He had about an hour of free time on his hands. A perk that being on the board of the hospital had given to him. He was finding that his new role within the hospital was well worth the headache. He was sort of grateful to his mom for appointing him to represent the Harper Avery Foundation's seat on the board, although at first he had felt that her expectations of him had been too great.
"Wow, you're irresistibly sexy." Jackson appreciated just how beautiful of a woman Stephanie actually was and he found it hard to keep his hands off of her. He leisurely ran his fingers down the small of her back, aroused by the soft purr of her voice as her lips parted. He couldn't stop there, ensuring that their lips met in an intense kiss as he lifted her up and placed her rightfully on his lap.
"You're not so bad yourself." Stephanie wrapped her legs securely around his waist and began tugging on his earlobe with her teeth. Jackson shuddered biting his lip as she lifted his shirt up over his head exposing his creamy chiseled torso. He was amazed at just how well she knew how to please him, finding every mind blowing spot on his body with the tip of her tongue.
He found it hard to think about anything other than the sex he was about to have with his vivacious young girlfriend. Their relationship was simple. There were no real feelings involved; they hardly ever carried on a conversation unless it involved work. They were just having fun and fun was exactly what Jackson needed. With April everything had gotten so complex; what started out as just sex with no commitments quickly turned into something more. At least for Jackson it had.
"Is something wrong?" Stephanie sat up straight and entwined her arms in one another. She stared into Jackson's eyes; although beautiful they just seemed so sad.
"I'm fine Steph." Jackson kissed her shoulder blade gently and then her neck hoping to put her back in the mood.
She shivered; a response that wasn't all that surprising to Jackson. He never had a problem when it came to satisfying women. He didn't want to seem arrogant but he knew exactly what he was doing in the bedroom.
"You seem a little distracted."
"I'm fine. Really," he insisted leaning over to graze her lips. She reluctantly pulled away- a little disappointed that he could not be honest with her. This was about Kepner. Their whole relationship was about Kepner. He needed to get over her and the only way he knew how was to get under someone else. She didn't mind at first. He was Jackson Avery. She could only dream of being with a man of his stature, but now he had gotten under her skin. She had real feelings for him. Although he had told her from the start that they were only having fun, she couldn't stop herself from falling in love with him.
"I may just be a lowly intern, but Jackson I'm no fool." She relaxed her legs and swung them over the side of the bed with her back facing Jackson's. She reached for her scrub pants standing up to put them on.
"Stephanie what are you doing?" Jackson grabbed her arm but let go when he saw the look of hurt drawn on her face. What was going on? Everything had been going great between them.
"I'm going back to the pit. I'm working with Dr. Kepner today and she's not a fan of her interns fooling around." She pulled her scrub top down over her head and grabbed her glasses from the bedside dresser.
Jackson nodded unable to respond after hearing April's name and placed his head in his hands. He had really made a mess of things with Stephanie and he didn't know how to make things right between them. He listened for the sound of the door to close ashamed to even watch her leave. He heard a loud stud and then a small creak as the door reopened.
"Kepner's engaged, but I'm sure you already knew that."
"Stephanie," he said finally but she had already gone.
"Has anyone seen Dr. Avery?" April asked her colleagues who were all eating lunch in the cafeteria. Each of them exchanged looks before Alex finally spoke.
"What's it to you Kepner?" He took a huge chunk out of his cold cut sandwich not embarrassed that he had left behind a small bit of mayonnaise in the corner of his mouth. Christina slapped Meredith on the back and pointed towards Alex's mouth.
"Alex you might want to wipe your mouth, there's some kind of substance in the corners," Meredith offered politely handing him a napkin. Christina on the other hand let out a boisterous laugh.
"Yeah Alex, you might want to tell who ever you're sleeping with these days to go light on the Sperm."
"Whatever Yang, I was thinking I should tell Owen the same thing," he retorted reaching over the table to give Ross the intern a high five.
"Ok, Ok, can someone please tell me where Jackson is?" April shrieked annoyed by her friends' shenanigans.
"I haven't seen him since we were all outside for your proposal," Meredith explained. April looked to Christina hoping she might be helpful in locating Jackson. Christina continued to eat her salad avoiding eye contact with Dr. Kepner until she felt a sharp nudge from Meredith.
"What," she said looking up at April. "I'm not his personal assistant. You should ask his play thing where he is, isn't she on your service today?"
"Yes she is but I haven't seen her in about, Oh" April said her cheeks turning a bright red. She hadn't been able to find Jackson because he was locked in an on call room with her intern doing God knows what to her.
"Don't worry Kepner, I'm sure Avery's taking great care of your intern for you," Alex chuckled pleased that his friends had joined him in his laughter.
"You guys' this isn't funny, Jackson's affairs are his own business. It's not right for us to poke fun at his relationship with Stephanie."
"Who said we were laughing at Avery," Christina suggested starting up another round of laughter at April's expense.
April took that as a sign to walk away especially since her friends were being so immature. Her perfect day was beginning to become not so perfect in her eyes. She had to find Jackson; she needed to see him. She could hear Meredith calling out to her but she ignored her attempt to be the voice of reason. She had more pressing matters to attend to.
April returned to the pit frustrated and a little angry that her friends would rather make fun of her as if she was some type of loser then actually have her back for a change. She knew they cared about her underneath the torture and blatant disrespect but she still didn't like the way they treated her, especially since she was the only attending who did not pass the boards. She never felt good enough for this hospital and now that she wasn't board certified that feeling only intensified. She had to pass them this year or her surgical career as a trauma surgeon would be over. She had other options. She could open up a practice and deal with colds and runny noses but surgery was the only option in her eyes.
She spotted Stephanie leaning over the admittance desk in conversation with that other intern that Christina always called Mousey. She was a weird girl but she reminded April a little of herself when she was interning over at Mercy West. No one liked her at first. Everyone thought she was weird because she was always taking notes in her little green journal and she always knew the answers whenever her resident would call on her. They even had a name for her too, although she couldn't remember what it had been. If it had not been for Jackson, Reed, and Charles she would not have made it through her intern year and would have been forced to transfer to another hospital.
"Where is he now?" Mousey asked looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. She spotted Dr. Kepner heading in their direction and elbowed Stephanie in the side. She would hate for Dr. Kepner to catch the tail end of their conversation.
"Hey what was that for," Stephanie asked furrowing her eyebrow as she rubbed her newly injured side.
"Dr. Edwards may I have a word with you?" April glanced at Mousey noticing the fear in her eyes. "Privately."
"Excuse me Dr. Kepner," Mousey managed to say while exchanging a look of panic with her friend.
"Dr. Brooks." April greeted the intern with a warm smile before intersecting the two.
"Good Luck," Mousey mouthed to Stephanie before leaving the two women alone. Stephanie was going to need every bit of luck there was to get out of the obvious trouble she was in for her recent disappearing act; she just hoped Jackson Avery was worth it.
"Dr. Kepner I can explain."
April put up a hand to stop her from continuing. She had no desire to hear the details of Jackson and Stephanie's allusive sex life. She only wanted to know where he was.
"Dr. Edwards I don't think it's necessary that you give an explanation for obvious reasons." She pointed towards the purple bruise on Stephanie's neck before continuing on. Stephanie shyly put her hand behind her neck a little embarrassed that she hadn't thought to cover that up.
"I just need to find Dr. Avery. I need him for a consult for a burn victim, she lied. Have you seen him around?"
"Um, yea I think he was resting in the on call room over on the second floor," she answered unable to make eye contact with Dr. Kepner. "He seemed a little exhausted earlier today when we spoke."
April knew Stephanie had been lying but what reason did she give her to be truthful with her about her relationship with Jackson. The entire hospital knew everything there was to know about April and Jackson's run on the dark side, from the sex in San Fran to the many rumps in the on call room here at the hospital. They even knew about their many fights about her relationship with Jesus and how she felt she and Jackson had been a mistake, so she didn't blame Stephanie for not being honest with her.
"Thanks," she said while turning to walk away. "I have to go."
"But wait what should I do here," Stephanie called out to her superior praying that she didn't assign her scut for her tardiness.
April was in such a rush to get to Jackson that she didn't even think about her intern. She turned around and handed her a patient file.
"Patient Jane Doe is in exam room 6 and is experiencing an extreme case of nausea, disorientation, and there's also a weird rash on her right arm. I have scheduled blood work to be done and I would like a Cranial CT to be ordered. Page Dr. Sheppard for a consult immediately pending the results of the CT."
"Awesome," Stephanie responded noticing the peculiar look on her mentors face. "I mean I'll get right on it, she said before scurrying down the hall in the direction of exam room 6.
"That went well," said April pleased at how mature she had been- given she had been talking to her BFF's newest girlfriend.
She smiled revealing a single dimple as she thought about how well her day had been. She only hoped that when she found Jackson, they could make amends and repair their friendship.
Jackson stared at his I phone hoping to hear from Stephanie. He had texted her after she left asking for her forgiveness and for her to come back so they could talk. He felt really guilty that he had not been able to get April out of his head the one time when he needed to get over her the most. Stephanie deserved much better than him; he could tell that her feelings for him were changing. He saw that in the way she looked at him- her chocolate eyes escaping into his as if there was no other man for her.
It scared him because that was exactly the way he looked at April whenever he saw her. His feelings had not changed for her one bit and now she was getting married to another man. The thing that hurt him the most was that he had been willing to marry her when he thought he had gotten her pregnant and when they discovered it had only been a scare, he had found that marrying April was something that he still wanted. However, April had not felt the same way about him.
Stephanie had not answered any of his texts and he was starting to think he had truly screwed things up with her beyond repair. "Damn it." He threw his phone against the wall not concerned that he would probably need a new phone after its shattered remains plummeted to the floor. He looked towards the door noticing the shadow of two feet standing still underneath its frame. He was hopeful that it was Stephanie on the other side of the door, but was disappointed when he saw April enter the room and close the door behind her.
Upon entering the room April immediately noticed the broken pieces that were left of Jackson's cell phone lying feebly on the floor. She felt the urge to turn around and walk away, but as she looked into his wounded blue eyes she knew walking away was not a possibility.
"Jackson is everything alright in here?" She kept her distance from him optioning to stand by the door instead. She didn't think it wise to get too close to him; he was obviously hurting and by the way he looked at her when she walked in she was the last person he was expecting to see.
"April I'm fine, did you need something?" he asked rudely as he leaned over to pick up the remnants of his phone and then slipped them in his coat pocket.
"Jackson I just wanted to talk."
"Don't you think we've done enough talking? Really, what else is there for us to talk about?" Jackson stood up from the bed and stood in front of her.
"Jackson that's not fair, I'm just trying to be your friend," she admitted reaching for his hand.
He laughed sarcastically releasing her hand to place his hand over her shoulder and onto the wall behind her. He was now standing so close to her that he could anticipate the rhythmic speed of her heartbeat. He stared at her face taking note of her flushed cheeks and her glossy eyes. She was effortlessly beautiful and it was killing him to be this close to her and not be able to touch her.
"April we are not friends. I mean come on, when was the last time we've truly had a decent conversation that did not involve work? When have you called me just to ask me how I was doing or to ask Jackson how are you really handling this new role on the board? I've gone from just being a plastic surgeon to being part owner of a Division 1 hospital in one of the most influential cities in the United States, so April we are not friends."
April bit her bottom lip trying to shield the guilt she felt after hearing how hurt Jackson really was. He was right, how could she even call herself his friend. She had not been there for him in such a long time because being in the same room with him had become difficult for her.
"Jackson I'm sorry I've hurt you, but you are and have always been my best friend. I'm getting married and I can't imagine having a wedding that did not include you in it."
Jackson believed her words, but they weren't what he wanted to hear. She had not been listening to him when he said they were not friends. He could never be friends with her- not when he wanted more. Not when looking at her now- all he wanted to do was kiss her and tell her how much he loved her.
"April you really don't understand that my feelings for you have changed. As much as I wish we could go back to being just friends, I don't want that for us."
April felt the sting of her tears hit her face as she listened to Jackson's words. He was breaking her heart a million times over and she didn't know if it could ever be repaired.
"Damn it Jackson I miss you. Why can't we just go back to the way things used to be before we messed everything up by sleeping together? Why can't we just move on from this? You seem to be happy with Stephanie as I am with Matt. Aren't we mature enough to make this work?"
Jackson took his thumb and gently brushed her tears away unable to stand seeing her in this much pain. "April I miss you too, he admitted, but too much has happened for us to just go back as if nothing has changed."
"Nothing's changed. Not for me," she foolishly said while tucking her bang behind her ear. "You are still my person even if you don't feel the same way about me.
"April you shouldn't be so naïve; everything has changed. Are you really that blind that you don't see how I truthfully feel about you?" He cradled her face with his hands feeling the urge to show her exactly how he felt. He could feel her breath quickening as he moved his face closer to hers. He was just about to kiss her when she stopped him.
"Jackson. Don't," she said shakily aware that he had been just about to kiss her.
"I think I should leave," he said opening the door behind them and walking out into the hall.
"Jackson, Please," She cried out to him as she followed him into the corridor. There weren't very many people in the passageway which made April feel more at ease in case Jackson caused a scene.
He stopped and turned around to face her. "April. ENOUGH!" His voice carried throughout the hallway.
She shivered at the intensity of his voice almost afraid to say anything further, but she couldn't leave things the way they were. "But you're my person," she pleaded putting her emotions on the line.
"Not anymore," he said before walking away from a devastated April.
She wanted to go after him but she lost her nerve after witnessing the finality in his voice. His words were so sharp and full of emotion. He had been sincere and that was a hard pill for April Kepner to swallow. She walked back into the on call room and leaned her body against the wall before sliding down to the floor. It didn't take long before she burst into tears. She realized then she had lost the only person that would ever fully understand her. She had lost her best friend.
