100 Days of One Shots, Day 9: Prompt, "Jackson and April telling the story of how the fell in love to their son or daughter"

AN: This felt like it deserved a home of its own, separate from the other one shots! Please R&R :)

"Dad! Just leave me alone!" sixteen-year-old Kenzie Avery screamed, storming through the front door of her home, charging into the foyer and upstairs to her room. April, who had been knitting on the couch in the den watching "Jeopardy," rushed in to see what all the noise was about.

"Jackson, what happened?" she asked her husband, eyes wide.

"Mom, it was crazy!" Justin, six, made a circular motion with his finger next to his head as he looked up at his mother. "Me and dad were just…"

"Dad and I…" April corrected, softly, putting her hand on her son's shoulder.

"Yeah! Me and dad were just coming home from soccer and Kenzie and Ethan were in the street, fighting. Kenzie threw soda on him and then she slapped him, mom! Really hard, I heard it with the door closed."

Jackson nodded his head, confirming his son's story to his wife without a word. "He did. She's got some arm, too. Like her mama."

"Oh my! That doesn't sound good."

Justin shook his head. "It sounded like it hurt. And then daddy forced Kenzie in the car, he had to drag her, and she called Ethan bad words. I heard those, too." Justin looked down, ashamed.

"That's OK, bud. We hear them; we just don't use them, right? Why don't you wash up and get your PJs on? It's late. I'll make you a plate of dinner and then if your homework's done, I made cupcakes. Vanilla, just for you and dad!"

"Yes!" Justin gestured excitedly with his hands. "I did my homework. And I didn't say the bad words, I swear, right dad?"

"You didn't, but don't swear little man. Listen to your mom and go wash up so you can eat."

Justin nodded and ran upstairs to his room.

"Jackson, what…" April started, heading toward the kitchen to heat up food for her son.

"Exactly what little man said. We were around the corner, right on Cherry Drive, and she was screaming, threw soda on him, slapped him. Reminded me of you in San Francisco. I had to pull her back and everything. Weird déjà vu."

April's nose wrinkled like it always did when she was trying to figure something out. "I bet! You want a plate?"

"Yes please," Jackson said, wrapping his arms around her as she reached for a plate and put chicken, mac and cheese, and brussel sprouts on it. "Ugh really? Brussel sprouts?"

"You will eat them and you will like them. You know your son watches everything you do."

"Yes, maim." Jackson kissed her jaw. She turned to look at him. "Hi."

Despite the worry lines in his forehead she still saw the face she married 16 years, 2 kids and 1 miscarriage ago, handsome as ever. He made her feel 32 every day. "Hi," she said, framing his face with her hands and kissing him deeply. It was the first time they had a moment alone all day.

"Eww gross," Justin said, walking in on his parents mid-kiss.

"Oh hush, you!" said April pulling away from Jackson. "Hey, what is the rule about bare feet in my kitchen?" Her son groaned and went to find socks.

April pulled his plate out of the microwave when it finished. "So, what do you think happened?"

"No idea, April. I told her to tell me or stop cursing and she was silent all the way home." April was concerned. Makenzie was definitely a little bit rebellious, but not to an extreme. If she resorted to slapping her boyfriend, cursing in front of her brother, and not speaking, something was very wrong.

"T-Rex, nice choice buddy," said Jackson, noticing Justin's dinosaur themed pajamas.

"Thanks. I told Kensie to come for dinner and she told me to shut-up. I think she threw something at the door," Justin laughed. His sister was so confusing sometimes.

"Yeah well, she's upset right now, good thing you didn't open it, bud!" Jackson said, as April put plates in front of them. "Hey, don't you pick up that fork before you say a prayer, mister!"

Justin grumbled and rolled his eyes. "You and Kenzie don't say a prayer at dinner. I'm hungry."

"And you're wasting time. When you're as old as Kenz you can make the same choice she did, but until then, sit up straight and fold your hands!" April kissed her husband's cheek. It'd been hard for him to agree to raise his kids Christian until they were old enough to define religion for themselves. But once he did, he committed.

They raised their kids stricter than April was used to; Jackson had just a tiny bit of Harper's edge in his parenting style. But he wasn't cold or unloving. Their styles balanced each other well and they were raising great kids. April was proud.

"I'm gonna go see if I can get Kenzie to come eat. You two eat those brussel sprouts." April squeezed her boys' shoulders, and ran up the stairs.

"Kenz," April whispered, knocking on her daughter's door softly. "Come eat, there's mac and cheese," April tried, weakly.

"Not hungry mom, I feel sick," Kenzie answered. She was obviously still crying. April tried to open the door, it was locked.

"Well, you're gonna have to come out sometime, you know how your dad gets when you don't wash the dishes."

"I really don't give right now, mom."

"Come on, let me in, what happened, sweetheart?"

She was silent, then suddenly the door opened. As soon as Makenzie saw her mother, she grabbed her tightly, shutting the door quickly, a new wave of sobs overtaking her.

"What…"

"He cheated on me, mom! He had sex with Presley Lowell."

"Oh honey…." April kissed the top of her daughter's head as she cried. Kenzie was beautiful. She had dark brown curls and April's hazel eyes. She was a varsity cheerleader, in AP classes, more like her dad than her mom at that age. She was the vice president of her junior class at St. Thomas' Academy.

April refused to send her kids away, but she agreed to send the most rigorous private school Jackson could find. Education was important to him. April wished he was a little less strict about it, but Kenzie was thriving.

She was popular, could get any boy she wanted. And she chose Ethan Jacobs, the most notorious bad boy at St. Thomas. He was nice enough though, and Kenzie could handle him. They made a good couple. But she refused to have sex.

"I almost did it mom, I almost had sex with him. He didn't know I was going to, but then…then he cheated. He just told me today, because she might be pregnant." Kenzie flopped down on her bed. April sat next to her, watching her daughter play with her diamond purity ring.

"Oh my God, honey, he deserved that slap and the soda."

"Yup, dad stopped me before I could kick his balls in."

"Kenz," April chastised, but laughed.

Kenzie Avery was not religious in the conventional way. She believed in God, but Jackson and April had supported the choice she made a year ago not to make communion. She went to church because her whole family did, but she didn't listen to the sermon. She read parts of the Bible, only prayed at night. And it was important to her to remain a virgin until marriage.

As far as she knew, her mom had made the same promise, and her parents had a strong marriage. She watched all of her friends' parents get divorced, waited with them as they took pregnancy tests at thirteen. Kenzie was smart, too focused to deal with any of that drama. She was going to be a doctor, like her parents, her grandmother Catherine. She was going to take over the Harper Avery Foundation from her dad one day.

So, she'd asked Jackson for a purity ring for her last birthday. It was easier to explain to guys when you had proof of the promise on your finger, she told him. He was more than happy to oblige. In true Avery fashion, he made sure the diamonds on that ring were big enough to blind the jerk who tried to get too close to his daughter.

Kenzie looked down at the heart shaped diamond ring with the lock in the middle. It meant a lot to her. It kept her focused. And she'd almost thrown that all away for a piece of trash. "I almost…Oh God."

"Shhh," April said, holding her daughter close. She'd been thinking carefully for the past few minutes, and decided to tell her Kenzie the truth. She hadn't exactly lied to her; there just had been no reason to tell the truth. She was proud of her daughter's choice. Kenzie had made it alone, and April hadn't wanted to say anything to confuse her. But she was being too hard on herself right now. "You know Kenz, later in life…much later…after college…maybe after med school…"

Kenzie sniffled. "Mom, spit it out." She almost laughed. Almost.

"Well, it'd be OK, later in life. When you're sure you are in love…if you, if you broke your promise…in your twenties…Please don't take this the wrong way. You'd have to be ready but, your dad would understand. He'd have to."

"What?"

"Kenz, I wasn't a virgin when I married your dad."

"What…who?" Kenzie asked, surprised. Her mom was such a devoted Christian. Yes, she had nontraditional views on it sometimes, but sex before marriage wasn't something she thought her mom would consider.

"Well…your dad. Waaay before we were married. Waaay before. That doesn't make it OK, but if you do decide…well…I beat myself up over my choice and it almost caused me to lose the love of my life…I wouldn't want that to happen to you."

"Mom, what the heck are you talking about?"

April took a deep breath and started to tell her daughter the story of how she fell in love. "Well…it started in San Francisco, the night before the Boards…I punched a guy too, and…" Makenzie's eyes widened and she actually started to pay attention to what her mom was saying.

"This is so nice of you, buddy," Jackson kissed his son on the cheek and passed him a dish to dry. "You're a very good brother."

Justin shrugged. "Dad, she slapped him right in the face," he said, for the tenth time that night, amazement not leaving his voice.

Jackson laughed. "I saw, bud!"

"She must be really sad, and she didn't even eat. And she didn't tell you about the time…" he caught himself. "Oh, never mind! I just don't want you to yell at her tonight."

"I'm not gonna yell at her. And I'm not even gonna ask her what she hasn't told me about you, because you're being so nice, offering to do her job."

"She must be really, really sad, dad, she usually never shuts up."

"I know!" Jackson said. He didn't even bother to reprimand his son. The truth was the truth.

"Daddy, do you think Ethan will play video games with me again?"

"Errr…it's not likely bud."

"He did something bad to Kenzie?"

"I don't really know, looked like it."

"Dad, she only hangs out with Ethan, and now she's never gonna see him again?"

Jackson sighed. Sometimes his son was too curious. "Probably not, little man."

"Is she gonna cry more than the time he forgot her birthday?

"Yes, probably."

"Wow. Do you think she'll want to play soccer with me and Spencer? Spencer's my best friend, I can share."

Jackson laughed. "It's a lot different than if you never saw Spencer again, bud."

"What's it like?" Justin asked, his big green eyes staring up at his father, curious.

"It's kind of like how sad I'd be if I never saw mommy again. Kind of."

Justin was quiet for a minute. "Dad, we should bring Kenzie a cupcake even though she didn't eat dinner, OK? She should be allowed 'cause she's sad."

"OK. That's a good idea. Hey bud, you know she'll be fine right? She was just upset."

"Cupcakes help me feel better when I'm sad."

Jackson put away the last dish and lifted his son up to the counter to pick out cupcakes. "Pick good ones. Jay."

"Kenzie, dad said you can have a cupcake even though you didn't have dinner and I brought you it." Justin said proudly, after Jackson knocked for him.

April opened the door to Kenzie's room and the first thing Jackson noticed was her mischievous smile. Even after 16 years of marriage that smile made him nervous. "Perfect timing boys," she grinned.

"Perfect timing for what exactly?" Jackson asked, cautiously.

"I was just telling Kenz about my wedding," April said, casually.

"Our wedding?" He'd heard her just fine. But he'd never be ready to tell his kids what happened at April's almost wedding.

"My wedding," April answered, knowingly, kissing Jackson as he joined his family on Kenzie's bed.

"The whole truth?" Jackson inquired, raising his eyebrows at his wife.

She nodded. "The whole truth."

"Hey little man, tell Kenzie what else you did for her." Jackson always had been a master at avoiding anything he didn't want to talk about.

"I washed all the dishes," Justin said, sticking his finger in frosting and licking it.

"You did? Thanks Justin."

"Welcome. And you don't even have to make my bed tomorrow or clean up my toys because I did that. And dad said I maybe shouldn't talk about Ethan, so I won't anymore and you can play Wii with me and Spencer tomorrow."

Kenzie laughed. "Thanks, Jay."

"That was very nice of you, bud. All of that. Dad should finish the story about my wedding now," April said. She always caught Jackson avoiding subjects.

"Oh right. Where were you?"

"Oh just walking down the aisle, you take it from there," April let out a small giggle.

"Right. So, the preacher said all this stuff and I realized I couldn't watch your mom marry anyone else, because I wanted her to marry me, one day…So I stood up."

Kenzie's eyes widened "And then…"

"I sat down, I was pretty scared."

"Ha! "April let out a huge laugh.

"What? I was…"

"Just tell the story, Dad. What next?"

"Oh, I stood up again, almost right away."

"Annnnnd?"

"And I told her I loved her." He looked at Justin, who was still busy with his cupcake. "Son, you ever find yourself wanting to run away with a bride already at the alter, you start with 'I love you', you hear me?" Justin looked up and nodded at his dad seriously before continuing to dig a hole through the middle of his cupcake with his finger.

"He won't ever have to do that, he'll say 'I love you' way before her wedding day, right, Just? And he'll sweep up all the crumbs he's getting on Kenzie's bed for her, before he goes to sleep, right?"

"Riiiiight," Justin groaned, he was so tired of cleaning today.

"You guys forget about the crumbs, I'll sweep the crumbs little man, call it even. Finish the story, already!"

"My part's done, I told her I loved her, everything about her, and I wanted her with me. I told her I thought she loved me and asked her if she did."

"Your part is not done." April rolled her eyes.

"What'd you say, mom?"

"Good cupcake, mommy." Justin said, through a mouthful. Jackson threw his head back, laughing.

"I swallowed really hard, looked only at him, said 'Yes' and ran as fast as I could. I didn't even say sorry to Matthew, I just ran. I probably should've said I was sorry, then." She added the last part absent mindedly, as if the thought just occurred to her.

"And then you dated?" Kenzie asked her parents, eagerly.

April bit her lip, shook her head no.

"We drove for a few hours and then your mom got scared. She made me pull over the car and started walking away from me, toward the woods."

That got Justin's attention. "Mom, there are bears there."

"That's exactly what I said, little man, you're so smart."

"Oh my god, can you just tell the story?" Kenzie asked, frustrated.

"I am."

"He is," April agreed. "And then we both kind of panicked because we remembered that other people were hurt because of this…"

"And so, I asked…" April gave Jackson a skeptical eye. "OK fine, I suggested to your mother that we get married. And she said yes, so we got married the next day."

"And then Kenzie was borned." Justin said, matter of factly.

"Not quite, little man, you're about 9 months ahead there," Jackson laughed.

"Ewww…gross, OK, story over," Kenzie insisted, leaving her room to get the dustpan before her parents could say more.