Hey, folks! Well, this is going to be a little different from what I've been writing since it's AK2, but I've always had a soft side for this pairing (I shipped these two first) and I like their dysfunctional friendship. Anyway, I did take some ideas from my Japril stories, but I'm not calling this a sequel. If you didn't read those here are some things to keep in mind:

Mark & Lexie didn't die. Kevin Banks (the douche April punched) works at SGMW and is friends with the gang. April briefly suffered post-traumatic amnesia after a car accident and she returned to Seattle pregnant (from her potty romp at the boards). She and Jackson had a kid named Jordan and they eventually got married. April's youngest sister moved to Seattle for medical school. Catherine Avery works at SGWM as well. Those are pretty much the key things, so hopefully it'll be less confusing for newbies.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or its characters. If I did, I would've given AK2 a chance :P

May 17th, 2018. It was a date April Avery would never forget. Not because of an anniversary or a birthday. That was the day Jackson Avery left her. Left her and everyone he cared about for good. It wasn't his choice to leave. Nobody asked him to leave. A higher power up in the sky decided it was his time. How could a late night diaper run lead to this?

It hadn't rained that day, despite the nonstop downpour that occurred for two straight weeks. Their 10-month old son was almost out of diapers. April wasn't sure how she didn't notice the diaper shortage, but Jackson insisted on stepping out to buy more instead of waiting for the following morning. All three of their boys were already asleep in their bedrooms, so she relaxed in the living room and watched TV.

Then her cell phone rang. Jackson had been gone for almost two hours. It shouldn't have taken that long to buy a pack of diapers for their kid. Something didn't feel right. She could sense it immediately when she saw the number of Seattle Grace Mercy West on the caller ID. Owen Hunt was on the other line, his voice sounding gloomy and disturbed. Her husband was at the hospital. Car accident. A broadside collision with a drunk driver ten minutes away from their house. There wasn't time to call a babysitter, so she scooped up the children one by one and brought them to her car. Each of them woke up either cranky or crying, but her mind was on driving to the hospital safely and in one piece.

The doctors worked furiously to keep Jackson alive. She waited for an hour, which turned into two and eventually into three. Catherine Avery kept April company, helping her watch the kids while she hoped and prayed her own baby boy would make it out of the operating room alive. Richard Webber, now retired from surgery, added a source of comfort. Alice Kepner, who was a surgical intern at the hospital, joined her sister in the lobby. She was banned from the OR because she was family. The updates came sporadically. When there was news to share it was always the same or barely different.

The presence of Owen caught their attention, but April feared the worst. He appeared exhausted and distraught. She knew what it meant, yet she refused to hear it.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say before she dropped to her knees and broke down. He knelt down beside her, hugging her tightly and whispering as many comforting words he could process in his head.

Brain hemorrhage. Derek Shepherd did everything he could to stop the excessive bleeding, but the damage was too overwhelming.

Two of the Avery boys were sound asleep on the cushioned chairs when the news of their father's death was announced. How was she going to explain to them that Daddy was gone? They were all too young. They wouldn't understand.

Catherine buried her face into her hands and sobbed, while Richard held her close. Alice carried the youngest Avery against her chest as the tears flowed down her cheeks. And from afar, Alex Karev watched the scene unfold with tears in his eyes. He had been a part of the surgery to try to save Jackson's life. They started off as enemies and they became best friends. His best friend was dead. So was April's. What had the plastic surgeon done to deserve this fate? The world was full of bullshit in his mind.

The funeral took place three days later. The Avery's and April agreed to have Jackson be buried beside Charles Percy and Reed Adamson, their Mercy West friends who unfortunately passed away during a mass shooting at the hospital eight years ago. It was fitting. One day, the trauma surgeon would be joining them and resting in peace right next to her husband.

She had cried for three straight days that she could no longer shed tears at the funeral. Her eyes were bloodshot from the nights when she couldn't sleep and sobbed into her pillow instead. Staring at Jackson's coffin, she felt like somebody was playing a nasty joke on her and her husband would pop out any second to tell her, "Gotcha!"

It was all so surreal. They were happily married for four years, having just celebrated their 4-year anniversary two months ago. And her fairy tale ending had turned into a nightmare. Her Prince Charming had vanished. He left behind three beautiful boys for her to take care of alone. She almost hated him for leaving her the way he did. Why couldn't he have just waited until morning to buy more diapers?

Because he cared about his family and always put them ahead of himself. If their youngest son needed diapers, he was going to go out and buy them regardless of what time it was. He was unselfish and the best father anybody could ask for. Now, their children were going to grow up having barely known Jackson Avery, plastic surgeon and world's greatest dad.

Alex sat across from April with Jackson's coffin resting in between them. He quietly observed the people on her side. Her mother, Karen Kepner, was seated beside her and Alice on her other side. Libby and Kimmie Kepner were next to Alice and their husbands and children filled the rest of the chairs. Big Joe Kepner would have been sitting with them if he hadn't died unexpectedly of a heart attack in December of 2012. The peds surgeon figured he would take good care of his son-in-law.

Mark and Lexie Sloan sat directly behind April, each with a 4-year old twin sitting on their laps. Maxwell on his father's and Andrew on his mother's. Lexie was also six months pregnant with a little girl. Beside them were Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins. They too had their children on their laps. Sofia, now 6 years old, appeared cozy in Callie's arms, while 1-year old Timothy slept peacefully against Arizona's shoulder.

But Alex's eyes always returned to the three bluish-green eyed boys in the front row. Those kids lost their father and they had no idea. Well, maybe one of them did.

Jordan Charles Avery was distracted by the sounds of an airplane flying in the sky as he sat on Alice's lap. The 5-year old carried his stuffed tiger, Benny, in one arm as his head tilted up to watch the aircraft zoom by. That tiger was almost falling apart, if it wasn't already. He had a button for a right eye and his orange and black stripes were faded and worn out. Alex was closest to the oldest Avery boy. He took care of him from the minute he was born, keeping a close eye on him when he stayed in the NICU. And he was his godfather after all.

He was an energetic and talkative little boy with a vivid imagination. The stories that came out of his tiny mouth could make anybody laugh for hours. And he took after Jackson in the athletic department. He loved basketball, football and soccer. April wanted their children to be active at a young age. His first year of soccer would happen in the fall. For now, he was enjoying t-ball. He also loved his brothers, helping them get around by assisting in pushing their strollers or giving them a kiss goodnight before bed.

Sitting on Karen's lap was Cameron Joseph Avery. He was a completely different story. Unlike his older brother, the 3-year old was quiet and bashful. He mostly spoke to family members, but when it came to unfamiliar faces he would hide behind one of his parents' legs as if he were invisible. Cameron arrived into the world two weeks late. That's how freaking shy he was.

He sported a pair of small black glasses. Prior to his second birthday, he was diagnosed with nearsightedness. April suspected one of her kids would be required to wear glasses since she had worn them from childhood until she had laser eye surgery when she was 21 years old. They just didn't expect it to happen so early in life. The glasses suited him because he was the curious one of the bunch. He observed his surroundings like he was trying to analyze them. He wanted to know why things worked the way they did. For an hour, he once played with the remote control and pushed the buttons to see what would happen.

"My little scientist," Alex heard April tell people countless times. In a way, it was true. If he could easily predict which Avery kid would certainly become a doctor, it was Cam.

Lastly, nestled against April's chest was Logan Brighton Avery. Only 10 months old, he felt sorry for the little dude. Jordan and Cameron had the opportunities to have conversations with Jackson. Logan hadn't even said his first real word yet. He wondered if he would be taught to pronounce Daddy anyway. Who the hell was he going to call Daddy?

The youngest Avery was attached to both of his parents, but Jackson especially. While Jordan was a mama's boy, Logan was the opposite. He spent a lot of naps on top of his father's chest. His smile was the brightest whenever Jackson greeted him in the morning and retrieved him from his crib. One day, he will ask why his daddy hasn't been around. Yeah, that conversation was going to be uncomfortable as hell.

Three young boys and… April. He hated himself for thinking about it, but he wasn't sure she could handle them by herself. She would probably turn them all into wimpy pretty boys. Those kids needed a father figure in their lives. Why not their cool Uncle Alex? They had fun hanging out with him, which surprised most of their peers. Despite working in Pediatrics, the parenting gig wasn't exactly his thing. He didn't have a woman to procreate with anyway. There was one missed opportunity after another. Commitment scared him ever since Izzie Stevens left him. He had a chance with Jo Wilson, but she came and went… into the arms of his former roommate, Kevin Banks. Now, they were freaking engaged and Jackson was supposed to be his best man.

To make matters worse, Izzie moved back to Seattle with her husband a year ago. She was Izzie Daniels now. His name was Brian or… Bart. He never bothered trying to learn the guy's first name. They had a child of their own, a 2-year old daughter named Shelly and a spitting image of his ex-wife. She was an attending surgeon in the Oncology department. Every once in a while, they collaborated to treat a tiny human battling leukemia. He loathed it. She kept everything professional, but she also felt the awkwardness whenever they were in the same room.

Izzie sat beside Lexie with her family. She only knew Jackson and April for barely a year and she was crying more than the trauma surgeon, whose eyes remained dry. Why was she crying so much?

But she had formed some lame super mom trio with April and Lexie. The threesome grew into a close-knit group, getting together on Sunday's to talk about how amazing it was to be a mother… or something like that. Whatever. Men weren't allowed to join them, so he was clueless about what they actually discussed.

Like Alex, April had been scanning the various people attending the funeral. It somewhat kept her mind from drifting to the coffin that contained her husband. Just looking at it was dreadful.

The Avery's were seated on the other side. His oldest sister, Samantha Avery, bawled loudly. She had never seen her sister-in-law unleash so much emotion. Sometimes she thought she was a robot because she hid her emotions well. Comforting her was his other sister, Joslyn Avery. She quietly cried as she gently rubbed her older sister's back. April confirmed in her head that these two were indeed human.

Harper Avery Jr. and Harper Avery Sr. were next to each other. After years of not hearing from each other, they still weren't on good terms, but they agreed to be civil towards one another in respect for Jackson. Catherine Avery covered her eyes with a handkerchief as she cried incessantly. She had to be sedated at the hospital after she learned of her son's death. She was hysterical and angry at the doctors who failed to save his life.

Seated behind Alex were Meredith Grey and Derek. She could see the guilt on the neurosurgeon's face. He had been able to save her life after her own traumatic car accident, but he couldn't do the same for Jackson. Of course he would feel guilty. He kissed the top of 6-year old Zola's head as a source of comfort. To his right, Meredith held their 3-year old son, Nathan George, on her lap. He was their miracle baby. Despite having a hostile uterus, she was able to carry him to full term and he was born healthy.

Her silent observation was quickly interrupted by the high-pitched voice sitting beside her.

"Daddy's up there, right?" Jordan asked curiously as he pointed up in the sky. "He's up there with Grampa Joe. Right, Mommy?"

All of the attention was on her son, unsure if she should be embarrassed or proud that he understood what happened to Jackson. Perhaps his question was a blessing in disguise because many of the grieving guests managed to smile at him. It had been days since anybody showed any sign of happiness.

April didn't understand how Jordan could be so upbeat at a funeral. He cried like any other kid would after she explained to him why his daddy wasn't going to be around anymore. Just the other night, he couldn't sleep because he wanted Jackson to tuck him in. But being energetic and happy was a part of his personality. He was a brave kid. She was glad he could stay strong through all of this, though maybe he was a bit too happy for her taste.

"Y-yes, baby. Daddy's up there with God," she softly answered, her voice slightly hoarse from the endless crying she had done for three straight days. "He- he's watching us from one of those clouds."

"Which one?" Jordan scanned the various fluffy clouds above them. He immediately pointed at the largest cloud he could find. "I think it's that one! Daddy's a big guy. He needs a big cloud."

Alice cleared her throat after she was choked up with tears. "Very good, Jordan," she whispered. "You found him. Pay attention to the service now, okay? We'll be going home soon."

Home. Without Jackson. April caught everybody off-guard when she swiftly handed Logan to her mother and ran. She wasn't sure where exactly she was running off to nor did she care that her heels made it extremely uncomfortable to run, but she desperately needed to get away. Hiding behind a tree, she vomited. Everything was sinking in now and she felt sick and numb. A widow. She was a freaking widow. She thought that wouldn't happen until she was old and gray. While she always believed she could toughen up when it was necessary, she felt incredibly vulnerable. She didn't want her boys to see her this way. Hell, anybody. She wanted to close her eyes and simply disappear from everyone's sight.

The post-funeral service took place at the Avery residence. It was located not too far from Alex's home, which he bought from Meredith several years before, about three blocks away.

The mood was morose, though the various children playing in the living room slightly cancelled out the sadness. Everybody who had a chance to speak with April offered their condolences, some with casseroles she probably would throw away a few days later. What was she going to do with so many casseroles? Now, she understood what Teddy Altman went through after her husband, Henry Burton, passed away. Pity food is what they all were.

She hid in the kitchen, staring at the numerous untouched dishes of casserole on her island counter. From an appearance standpoint, some of them weren't worth a sniff. She could always give some away rather than dump it in the garbage. Alex never passed up free food. He hardly cooked to begin with, so he would be taken care of for at least a week.

Lexie and Izzie entered the kitchen to check on their friend for what seemed like the fifth time in an hour. They expected her to be a sobbing mess for at least a month, but so far, April hadn't cried all day. It was impressive, especially for someone who wore her heart on her sleeve.

"How are you holding up?" Izzie asked as she gently squeezed April's shoulder. "Do you need anything?"

"You guys, I'm fine. You don't have to ask me the same questions every 15 minutes," April insisted. She gestured her hand towards the casseroles. "I really don't want to waste any of this. Can you take some home? Lexie, you're pregnant. The baby might appreciate homemade casserole."

Lexie scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Unfortunately, the smell of casserole makes me gag," she politely declined. She picked up a piece of celery from a plate and dipped it in ranch. "So, umm… how much time off is Owen giving you?"

"He told me to return to work when I'm ready," she glumly answered and sighed. "But I have kids to feed. I can't be away from the hospital too long. Besides, my mom will live with us for as long as she wants. She'll watch the boys after I start working again. And Hunt's going to choose his Head of Trauma soon. I have to be around for that."

"Yeah, but if Hunt's not giving you a specific date to return, then you should take advantage of that time. You know, be with your kids. Logan won't be an infant for long," Izzie advised. She softly smiled. "I know you love catching his milestones."

"Jackson and I normally caught them together," April mumbled with a frown on her face. She blinked away the tears that quickly formed in her eyes. She refused to cry in front of her friends. "Like I said many times now, I'll be fine. I've got my mom and Alice to help me out. And you guys, of course. Thank you for being so supportive."

Both Izzie and Lexie hugged the redhead at the same time. She loved having two close girlfriends who were always there for her.

When Izzie first arrived they hit it off fairly quickly. They shared stories of incidents involving Alex and bonded through that. The oncologist opened up to her about their failed marriage. April assured her he was a different person than he was during their residency. A bit more mature, though his insecurities often showed whenever he interacted with his ex-wife. Izzie suspected he hated her for returning to Seattle and rubbing her new life in his face. They never had full closure and still didn't.

Alex sauntered into the kitchen, interrupting the touching girl moment between the threesome. He uncomfortably stared at them as their attention turned to him. "I just want another beer," he muttered as he walked to the refrigerator.

April waited for him to fetch a new bottle before she pointed at the casseroles. "Alex, do you want to take some of these home? I, uhh… I thought you'd want to avoid Chinese takeout for once."

"Sure, whatever," he replied, then he briefly made eye contact with her. "I'm sorry about Avery."

She didn't respond because he left the kitchen before giving her the chance to. They hadn't really spoken to each other since Jackson died. It wasn't that they weren't close friends. They eventually formed a solid friendship, which didn't consist of daily banters between them. Alex was always at their house, watching some sporting event with Jackson in their living room or coming over to eat one of April's dinners. But he hadn't visited them once since the plastic surgeon passed away.

He had become angry, lashing out at others when they asked him harmless questions. He watched his best friend die. April dodged a bullet by not having seen his monitor flatline in the OR. She was a wreck, but he was messed up too. The whole situation disgusted him. He hated the world for doing this to Jackson and his family.

Sipping his newly opened beer, Alex felt a light tug on his black dress coat. He looked down to see Jordan standing in front of him with a smile on his face. How could this kid be so freaking happy on such a crappy day?

"Uncle Alex, can I show you somethin' upstairs?" the little boy eagerly asked.

"Of course, dude," he answered as enthusiastic as possible.

Jordan grasped his hand and led him upstairs. They entered his bedroom, which was decorated with sports posters and decals on the wall. He had a Cincinnati Bengals poster hanging above his racecar bed. He figured out that Benny's name was short for the tiger breed. Plus, there was the Ohio connection with April. At least he picked the better NFL team located in Ohio.

Alex plopped down on the small blue racecar bed and casually sipped his beer. He briefly scanned the bedroom, while Jordan retrieved whatever he wanted to show him. A Harvard football poster hung over his dresser. Jackson's influence. There was an Ohio State Buckeyes poster by his window that he scowled at and a University of Akron men's soccer poster. Both April's influence. A Seattle Sounders scarf hung on a door hanger along with a UCLA Bruins hat. Aunt Alice's influence. He owned tons of University of Washington memorabilia. This kid rooted for a lot of teams thanks to his relatives. He purposely gave his godson an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt for his fifth birthday and April jokingly said she was going to burn it. Jordan wore it maybe once. She probably did burn it.

The cheerful little boy ran out of his closet holding a fishing pole that was about a foot taller than him. It was his favorite color orange, of course. "I gots my own fishing pole!" he excitedly gloated. "I get to use it when we go camping next month, right?"

Ah, shit, the peds surgeon cursed in his head. He completely forgot about the annual camping trip he, Jackson and Kevin organized every year in June for the past three years. The three men would seclude themselves in the woods for three days and relax. Fishing, hiking, drinking until they threw up. This year was supposed to be different because Jordan would be joining them for his first camping trip. Would April even allow him to go now? He had been looking forward to the trip since Jackson told him about it on his birthday as a semi-present.

"You're right," he reluctantly said, loosening his black tie. Everything had suddenly become uncomfortable. Here he was, faking a smile for the kid who just lost his father, while Jordan was genuinely happy about using his new fishing pole next month. "Hey, have a seat next to me, buddy."

Jordan did as he was told and hopped onto his bed. Alex set his beer bottle on the floor before he faced his godson. "You're a good kid. You know, your mom's going to need a lot of help from you as the man of the house. There are going to be days when she's tired or sad or both, so you gotta do your best to cheer her up, alright?"

He nodded his small head. "Mommy cries a lot at night," he noted. "When's she gonna stop being sad?"

"That's a tough question, dude," Alex replied and sighed. "When people… when the people they love go away forever it takes a lot of time to stop being sad. Some people become happy sooner and some take a long time. It's different from person to person."

"I don't like being sad, 'specially in front of Mommy," Jordan admitted, frowning.

"It's okay. I know you want to be a brave boy for her," Alex sadly smiled. "Your dad would be so proud of the way you handle things at your age."

Jordan's lip quivered as he thought about Jackson. "I miss Daddy," he tearfully said before he lowered his head and cried.

"C'mere, kid." Alex swooped up his godson into his arms and hugged him. He soothingly rubbed his back as tears formed in his own eyes. He immediately rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "We all miss him."

Moving on from this was going to be harder than he originally thought.

It was around eight o'clock at night when most of the guests had left the Avery residence. April was physically and emotionally exhausted after putting Logan to bed and reading one of Cameron's favorite books before he fell asleep. Karen offered to tuck Jordan in to give her daughter a break. Alice stuck around to help her sister clean up the house.

Of the few guests remaining, Mark carried a sleeping Max and Andy against his shoulders as he waited for Lexie by the front door. His wife was doing one last check up on April before they left for their own home.

"Remember, just call me if you want some company," Lexie reminded April as they exchanged a hug. "I can stop by tomorrow. I'll bring the boys with me, so they can play with Jordan and Cam."

"Sounds good, Lex." April pulled away from the neurosurgeon, forcing herself to smile. "Goodnight, you guys."

Mark nodded. "Take care," he quietly responded. The Head of Plastics was just as devastated about Jackson's death. He didn't just lose his best student. Jackson was like a younger brother to him. He felt as if he literally lost a blood relative.

The Sloan's let themselves out, while April lazily strolled into the kitchen to clean up. She sighed at the sight of the leftover casseroles she failed to give away. Izzie brought home a few and so did Kevin, but there were still too many dishes she didn't want to keep. She gathered the numerous empty beer bottles sitting on the counter by the sink and carried them to the recycling bin outside. After she dumped them into the bin, she looked up at the sky. Somewhere up in the clouds, her husband was watching her and letting her know he still loved her.

"Love you too," she softly said, then she walked back into her house. She found Alex in the kitchen, stacking dishes of casseroles against his arm. "Do you want some help with that?"

"I got it, but thanks," he murmured.

April bit her lower lip, wondering why he acted distant towards her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? Of course not," he retorted. Alex softly groaned when she frowned at him. "Look, I'm not good at this… grieving crap. I don't want to say the wrong thing to you or whatever. Jackson… he was my best friend. He was yours too for fuck's sake. I'm sorry for not being around these past few days to see how you're doing. You're not the only one having a hard time dealing with this. I was in the freakin' OR when he… it sucked."

"I… I understand," she timidly replied. "It's fine, Alex."

He set the casseroles on the island counter, then he approached her. Pulling her in for a hug, he gently rested his chin against the top of her head. "I guess… we can try to get through this together," he suggested. "I know you have Lexie and Izzie for support, but face it. They're going to drive you nuts. I noticed they were pestering you all day."

She managed to chuckle. "I suppose."

"And uhh, Jordan. He's taking it a lot harder than he's showing," he added. "So, I thought maybe… I could take him and Cam out once in a while, do some male bonding or something. Maybe bring them to a Sounders game when I'm free."

"That would be great," she mumbled against his chest, then she pulled away from him and softly smiled. "Thank you. The boys enjoy spending time with you, so that'll help a ton."

Alex picked up the stack of casseroles and walked to the front door with April. "If you need anything, I'm just a couple of minutes away," he offered.

"I know." She opened the door for him and followed him outside to his car. "Sometimes I still think he's coming back, that he hit bad traffic on the way home."

"Oh," he awkwardly replied.

April folded her arms and forced herself to laugh. "It's stupid, huh? I'm just not ready to let him go."

"It's not stupid," the peds surgeon assured her as he opened the passenger door. "It's realistic. Why should you let him go so easily? Jackson was the love of your life. No freakin' way you move on that quickly. Seriously, it's not stupid at all, April."

"Okay," she responded with a nod.

Alex finished carefully stacking his casseroles on the passenger seat, then he walked around his car to the driver's side. "Have a good night. Try to get some sleep," he said before he got into his car.

April quickly waved at him as he drove away. She returned to her house where Alice waited for her by the stairs. "Ready to go?"

"Actually, I thought I could crash on your couch instead," she insisted. Alice gestured her hand towards her older sister. "You should go rest, Apes. You've had a long day. Mom and I will finish cleaning up, okay?"

"Thanks, Alice." She gave her a hug before she slowly marched up the stairs. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Instead of going straight to her bedroom, April decided to check on each of her boys. Logan was first and he slept peacefully in his crib. Cameron snoozed away in his own bed. And finally, she crept into Jordan's bedroom to see how we was doing. Alex's comment about her son made her even more concerned about her first born baby. She understood why he hadn't cried in front of her the whole day. He knew how upset she had been over the last few days. She always believed he was smarter than his age.

After kissing his forehead, the oldest Avery kid stirred in his sleep. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Jordan?" she whispered.

"Can you sleep next to me tonight?" he asked, his little eyes now wide open and focused on her.

April smiled. "Sure." She was too disturbed to sleep in the master bedroom anyway. Too many reminders of Jackson waited for her inside. Gingerly climbing onto the racecar bed, she lay on her side next to her son and held him against her chest. "Goodnight, baby. I love you."

"G'night, Mommy. I love you too." He looked up at the ceiling. "G'night, Daddy."

Hearing him say goodnight to Jackson broke her heart. April closed her eyes tightly to prevent the tears from flowing out. She had gone through the entire day without crying. She didn't want to break that streak.

"Goodnight, Jackson," she softly said. And for the first time in days, she was able to fall asleep.

Please leave a review! I would appreciate your feedback considering this is a different kind of story :)