Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at writing fanfictions and, most of all, English is definetely not my first language. So please, keep that in mind while reading this story. This is probably going to be a 5-7 chapters fic. Something light and easy to help us endure the drama going on in the show.

I hope you'll like it. Please let me know with reviews and messages.

Last but not least: thank you Hilly and Carina for your support and your help with English. You're precious.

It was Friday night and it was so damn cold. Winter was definitely April's least favorite season, especially since she came back to Ohio after her graduation in California. She used to like the snow when she was a little girl, she loved building funny snowmen with her sisters and having snowball fights with her friends. She remembered that night, when her grandpa taught her how to make an angel in the snow. She remembered how happy she was, lying there on the ground, looking at the sky, trying to recognize the constellations and listening to all the funny stories he had to tell. Now the snow was way less romantic. It was cold and dirty at the sides of the streets, the ice was everywhere and that particular day she had slipped three times already. As if that was not enough, work has been crazy. She'd opened her own little office the year before and she was very proud of it. She was the only veterinarian in Moline and helping animals was probably her favorite thing in the world. That day, though, she had to help four cows deliver their calves and spent the last two hours performing a gastric lavender on a little dog and reassuring its old owner that her dog would be just fine, if only she would stop giving him chocolate to eat. For these reasons, she was in a very bad mood when she entered the farm, slamming the door of the living room and running upstairs to her room as fast as she could.

"Is this any way to close the door, lil miss? Do they all slam them in Califorina?" April's mother asked, appearing on the doorframe, without even knocking. Karen Kepner was a sweet, perky lady. Very much like April, much more than her daughter liked to admit. She'd always been a stay-at-home mother. Her whole life has been about her daughters and her husband. She felt so empty when the three of them left for college that she almost jumped from joy when April, her youngest girl, the only one who wasn't married yet, asked her parents to host her for a little while, allowing her to open her office and earn enough money to live on her own. That's why she couldn't help but being disappointed when April announced, a week ago, that she had finally found the perfect apartment and that she was going to move before Christmas.

"Mom, please, leave me alone! I need to get ready, Matthew will be here in 5 minutes and I still have to change my clothes"

"Are you going out with him again?" a male voice asked.

"Here we go again! Daddy, please, I'm 27 and you've known Matt since forever!"

"She's right Joe" her mom intervened, looking at her husband who was approaching them with some letters in his hands "Matthew is a nice, cute boy! He was in love with April in high school but your daughter had to study, and study…she's always been busy, busy, busy…" she said with the voice she usually used for kids "let him have his chance now! God knows…maybe I'll be finally able to organize her wedding in a few months…" she said, smiling and daydreaming already about her little girl in a white dress.

"Mom! Now don't go too far please! I've been dating him for two months, I like him and I'd appreciate it if you, dad, could be nice to him! But marriage is not in the picture" April started pushing her parents out of her room "So, now, guys, please, I really need to get ready. See you tomorrow, don't wait up for me"

"Wait, honey bunny, I found this in the mailbox for you" said Joe, handing her one of the letters he was holding "and, hey, be careful with the guy and remember: if he does anything you don't want to, you call me and I…"

"Dad! I know… don't worry" April smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, taking the letter and finally closing the door. She'd always been a daddy's girl. She loved him so much, she loved that he was so protective of her. But now she really needed to move out of her family house and living her life like a grown up woman. She threw the letter on her desk, hurrying to finally put on something nicer than her street clothes when something caught her attention. The farm's address on the envelope was written in a very childish calligraphy, a calligraphy she still remembered very well. She sat on the bed, and looking closer at the envelope she noticed that the date on the stamp was 15th December 1998. She couldn't believe it. She immediately opened it and she had her final confirmation. It was a letter from Jackson. The letter she waited and waited for and never received when she was ten years old. And years later, there it was! She found herself thinking about her childhood's best friend again, after so much time. Doctor Catherine Avery has been their neighbor for ten years. She worked at the nearest hospital and she was so busy at work that Jackson, her only child, used to spend a lot of time on the farm. Karen adored him and he immediately became April's best friend. He was just 2 years older than her and they had a lot in common. They loved dogs, and running in the fields, and ice skating in the winter. They used to spend hours reading adventure books, dreaming of becoming pirates, princesses, warriors or explorers. When Catherine had to leave for Boston, for a better job, April and Jackson spent two days trying to organize the perfect escape. They wanted to leave for the Caribbean and live on the beach like Robinson Crusoe. Above all, they wanted to stay together. April cried for days when reality took over and he had to leave for good. They kept in touch for a few months, writing letters every week, until he didn't answer back anymore. She was sad and mad at him. It has been her first real friendship letdown. The first of a long series.

A huge smile appeared on her face when she started reading the letter:

"Dear April,

Please send me pics of the puppies; I can only imagine how beautiful they are! I'm happy Sophie is fine, she's a dog-mommy now!Wow!

I went ice-skating with Brian yesterday…but it's different here. There's an artificial track, our frozen lake is so much better! I miss it and I miss you! No one is like you here…Brian is cool but I don't laugh with him like I used to laugh with you. And also…he doesn't know how to play blind-man's buff, can you believe it? Kids are weird here! I promise, I'm saving all the money grandpa is giving me…as soon as I have enough money to buy the plane ticket, I'm coming back. Do you think your mom will adopt me? And if she adopts me…do you think you could still be my girlfriend? Because I'd like you to…to be my girl, I mean. Grandpa says that when you want to spend all your time with a person, it means you love that person…I want to spend all my time with you, so I think you should be my girlfriend, but only if you want to of course! Do you? Please, make a cross on your favorite answer:

- Yes, I want to be your girlfriend.

- No, I want to be just your best friend.

I won't be disappointed if you don't want to be my girlfriend, ok?

Let me know,

Bye, love

Jackman"

She was still shocked. From the situation and from the fact the she spent months thinking Jackson has changed and forgot about her, while he was still the sweetest little boy in the world.

Her mother's voice, announcing Matthew was there, woke her up from her thoughts. She took her purse and quickly looked herself in the mirror. Her hair was still a mess, and she hadn't had the time to put on any makeup. She was sure that it wasn't important to Matthew. He adored her. She'd known him since they were children; actually, he was friends with Jackson too. He'd always been a kind, sweet boy. Just so different from her. She dreamt about going to college and becoming a doctor. He wanted to become a farmer like his father. He didn't like to read, he didn't like music, he was just very fond of tractors and cars, and not much more. In high school she was the nerdy girl, all science and books. People didn't like her that much. Matthew wasn't the most popular guy but he was well liked. He played football and went to parties. When he invited her to the prom, their last year, she though he was just messing with her. She realized he wasn't kidding at all when she came back from college and Matthew showed that his interest in her was still there. He'd been kind and sweet, helping her to open her office and inviting her out with his friends. She decided to give in to his advances two months ago. Maybe it was time for her to date again after the disaster with Bright. And Matt seemed like the right guy for something easy and uncomplicated. He was patient with her; he had helped her with her new apartment, getting everything ready for her to move in without complaining even once, even though she'd been nervous and neurotic the whole time. He was a gentleman. He knew she had issues and that she wasn't ready for their relationship to become too physical, and still, he reassured her he was willing to wait as long as she needed. And he was definitely handsome. They still were very different though. She loved reading novels, he only read sport news. She loved French movies, he was more of a Transformers guy. They didn't have much in common and sometimes she felt like she couldn't really talk to him. Granted, she was complicated. She used to ramble for hours about the craziest things. He tried his best to understand her but he always ended up speechless, smiling and saying something to change the topic. Maybe he wasn't the man she dreamt about when she was a little girl, but he was much better than Bright, at least.

That night he took her to their favorite restaurant in Moline. She told him about Jackson's letter - unintentionally (or purposely?) omitting the girlfriend part - and he was excited about it.

"Oh really? That's so weird! I remember that guy! He was cool, maybe a little bit too shy, huh?!" He said, eating his steak "but you can't feel guilty! It's not your fault if the post service sucks sometimes! Hey, why don't we look him up on Facebook?! I'm sure he has an account! You're the only one who still refuses to have one, Apes" He took out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and he was already opening Facebook when she stopped him:

"Wait, Matthew, don't. I mean, I, I don't know… He probably hates me now so…"

"What are you even saying? You were just kids! I'm sure he's…"

"Look, fine… I'll think about it, ok? Now please, tell me about your day…you went to the city to the supplier, right?"

She had to admit the idea crossed her mind too. She wanted to apologize to him somehow, and Facebook was probably her only chance to find him nowadays. But what could she even say? He'd probably forgotten about her by now. She wanted to think about it a little more. Alone. She decided to enjoy her night out, finally giving all her attention to her boyfriend and her dinner.

Two hours later Matthew drove her back, he parked the car in the farm's courtyard, and walked her to the door.

"See you tomorrow, then?" he asked, pecking her lips quickly, seeing Joe spying out of the window, as usual.

"Sure. And sorry about him" she said, rolling her eyes at her dad, who immediately disappeared behind the window "one more week and I'll have my own place" she said, smiling.

Matthew smirked "oh yes. I can't wait" he pecked her lips once again and went back to his car.

April entered the house, finding Joe on the couch, pretending to read the newspaper "Dad! I saw you, you know?" she said, while crossing the living room to reach the stairs

"What? I was here, reading the news…"

"Yes, sure! " she smiled "Well, goodnight reader"

He laughed "Good night honey"

She went back to her room, changed into her pajamas and then she sat at the desk. She looked at her laptop and decided that she needed to try. She registered on Facebook, spending half an hour only to search a pic in which she looked kind of pretty. And then she wrote his name in the search field. She was suddenly nervous when she saw that Jackson Avery was apparently a common name. There were a lot of accounts. She scrolled through them when a pair of blue-green eyes caught her attention. There he was. She was sure of it. He always had the prettiest eyes… and that smile! Yes, it was Jackson. She tried to spy on his profile a bit, but it was private. She decided then that she needed to grow a pair. In the end, Matthew was right! They were just kids and so many years had passed! She hoped he would be just happy to hear from her again! So, without thinking too much, she sent him a friend request, adding a short message in which she quickly explained what had happened and then she turned off the computer, feeling almost relieved. She fell asleep smiling.

That night she dreamt about frozen lakes and pirates.