Hey, folks! It's been a while since I posted anything new, but I'm back :) I actually started working on this story back in November, set it aside for some time and began writing for it again a few months ago. I like to call this a "dirty laundry" fic because many of these characters have secrets that will eventually be revealed as the story progresses. Expect slow burn for some storylines, so please be patient!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or its characters. If I did, they would be treated much better on the show lol

Friday night. The Emerald City Bar was packed with patrons. Many of them had traveled the short distance across the street from Seattle Grace Hospital. The bar was a popular hangout for employees of the teaching hospital, especially the residents. It was the perfect place to unwind after a long, stressful week.

Jackson Avery held a glass of whiskey in one hand while carefully aiming a dart with the other hand. He pinched an eye shut to help himself concentrate, but his alcoholic beverage already had a distracting effect on him. "Damn," he mumbled under his breath after his dart narrowly missed the inner ring he was aiming for. He had hit it three consecutive times and finally missed.

"It's okay, Avery. You're not kicking my ass or anything," George O'Malley sarcastically said, switching spots with his fellow resident for his turn at the dartboard.

"You guys, I'm heavily considering specializing in something else," the dark skinned man announced, setting his glass on a table and leaning against it.

Lexie Grey furrowed her brow in confusion. "But why? You've had cardiothoracic surgery written on your forehead since medical school."

"And you're basically the reason why none of us are bothering with cardio since you staked your claim to it," Jo Wilson added.

The four surgical residents were two months into their third year of residency at Seattle Grace. While declaring a specialty wasn't necessarily required yet, all of them had an idea of what area of surgery they were interested in the most. And attendings anxiously awaited their decisions because they all stood out in their own ways. They were reliable and competent compared to some of the other residents in their class.

Avery was a familiar name that couldn't be ignored. His family's name was cemented everywhere at Massachusetts General Hospital. His grandfather was Harper Avery. An award named after him was given to the top surgeon in the country every year. After graduating from Harvard Medical school, his family expected him to begin his residency in Boston, but he wanted to make a name for himself without having to rely on his last name all of the time. He packed his bags and moved across the country to Seattle, to his grandfather's dismay.

Lexie had also attended Harvard and was Jackson's classmate. They had dated during medical school, but remained good friends after they started their residency at Seattle Grace. Seattle was her hometown and it had been a dream of hers to become a surgeon in the hospital she grew up admiring. Her older sister, Meredith, was in her first year as a general surgeon attending. However, she treated having her younger sister in the same hospital as more of a curse than a blessing to be working together.

Jo mainly grew up on the East Coast, though she kept the exact location a secret from her peers. In fact, even her closest friends didn't know much about her background. While she didn't have a famous last name or any close connections to help her get into any medical school she wanted, she worked hard for everything she earned. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before landing in Seattle.

Unlike his friends, George didn't graduate from the prestigious Ivy League. Born and raised in Seattle, he attended the University of Washington for medical school. A hardnosed worker, he felt fortunate to be a part of Seattle Grace's residency program. His large number of recommendations helped him get into the number two teaching hospital in the country.

The foursome had been a tight-knit group since their intern year. Although their personalities and upbringings differed from each other, they had been the intern group the other doctors in their class envied because they got along so well – and they scrubbed in on the best surgeries.

"Altman keeps putting me on Yang's service. She won't let me touch any of her patients," Jackson complained. Cristina Yang was in her first year as a cardiothoracic fellow after completing her residency at the Mayo Clinic. Although he was a favorite among the more familiar attendings, she wasn't as generous to him. "Did I do something to piss off Altman? You guys would tell me if I did, right?"

"You're paranoid. You're Altman's favorite. You didn't do anything," Lexie assured her friend. "Yang is… already friends with Meredith. Enough said. Besides, she's probably still trying to adjust to teaching residents after she spent five years being one."

Jo scoffed. "I highly doubt Yang's interested in teaching us. This morning, I greeted her in the hallway and she didn't even look at me. All she said was, 'Don't talk to me.' I think she's Satan in disguise."

"Funny, I thought that was Meredith," the other brunette woman quipped. "Mer and I will never work together. I think she's been secretly rigging the system, so I'm never on her service."

"Could you blame her? I mean, you've always been kind of smarter than her," George noted.

Lexie was deemed a gem amongst the residents due to her photographic memory. Sometimes she was more reliable than a printed medical journal from the research library. "Who knew skipping the third grade would lead to a grudge almost 20 years later?"

"Avery, my day was worse than yours," he declared. "I was on the service of the new plastic surgeon, Sloan. The guy is a total douche. He confused me for an intern, so I spent the day buying him coffee and picking up his dry cleaning."

Jackson smirked. "O'Malley, you gotta stand up for yourself more. We're third years now. This year we'll be getting solo surgeries… unless, you're on Yang's service," he stated, mumbling the last comment. He sipped his whiskey, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Maybe I'll give neuro a try."

"Umm, excuse me, but neuro is mine," Lexie defensively replied before grinning at him.

"You were much nicer when we were dating," he teased. After finishing his drink, Jackson nodded towards the bar. "I'm gonna get myself a beer. Anybody want a refill or something else? It's on me."

Jo waved her empty beer bottle, signaling for another one. Lexie and George were content with their beverages, so Jackson approached the bar and ordered two new beers. While he waited for their beers, he turned around on impulse when the front door's bell jingled. It meant either guests were arriving or leaving. In this case, they were new arrivals. However, one of the guests immediately drew a scowl on Jackson's face.

A man with brown hair was accompanied by a redheaded woman. They appeared to be new to town as they cautiously observed their surroundings. The man easily recognized Jackson and made direct eye contact with him. Before he could even approach the surgical resident, the latter charged towards him, swinging his right arm and punching his face. The force caused him to stumble and fall back onto the floor. It was enough to draw the attention of nearby bystanders.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jackson growled, hovering over the other man like a 7-foot giant. He clenched his fists tightly, like he was prepared to throw more punches. "If you don't get out of here in the next five seconds-"

"Avery, you're gonna regret it in the morning," George intervened, stepping in front of his coworker. Gently, yet forcefully pushing him away from the man, he waved at Joe the bartender, who was ready to call the police. "I got it, Joe. Don't worry. He's fine."

The redheaded woman helped the man onto his feet, placing a hand on his back. "Maybe… we should just leave," she timidly said.

"Yeah, let's go," he muttered, reaching up to touch his swollen eye.

Jackson angrily furrowed his brow as he watched the pair leave the bar. His friends and coworkers normally saw him as a cool and collected person at the hospital. Hardly anything rattled him, so his furious reaction was a new side they hadn't seen. Lexie had seen him punch someone in the past during medical school. That guy had it coming, though. However, she had never seen the unidentified man before, so she was just as curious as everyone else.

"Who was that guy?" Jo curiously questioned after she and Lexie joined him and George.

"He's…" He slowly opened and closed his fist as the stinging pain in his knuckles finally began to surface. "He's nobody."

April Kepner retrieved a bag of frozen fruit from the freezer and walked into the living room of her apartment. Her friend was seated on the couch, his left eye slightly shut, and she sat down beside him. "This will do for now," she insisted, slapping the bag against his eye.

"Oww! Jesus, April! The hell was that for?"

"Because you did something. You don't just walk into a bar and get punched for it. What did you do? Who was that man?"

"I didn't do anything! And I'm not talking about this with you."

"Alex…"

"Can you let me ice my eye in peace?" Alex Karev retorted, resting the back of his head against the couch. April simply stared at him, like she was attempting to drill a hole through his head, so she could read his thoughts. "No matter what you say, I'm not gonna tell you."

She folded her arms and pursed her lips. "Well, I'm your roommate, so you'll have to tell me sooner or later."

"By default," he chuckled. "When I meet some new people you can find yourself another roommate."

"You're the one who decided to tag along when I chose to transfer out of Mayo," she reminded him. "And I still don't understand why you opted to leave. The attendings didn't hate you. Actually, they sort of did, but you were one of the best residents in our class."

April and Alex were third year surgical residents. The redhead decided to transfer after their second year at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. She had her reasons for leaving, reasons her roommate swore he wouldn't discuss with anybody until she felt comfortable talking about them. He could act like a complete douche bag to her, but he was very good at keeping her secrets to himself. Alex, on the other hand, she was left clueless as to why he wanted to transfer out with her.

Even though they were friends, they had very little in common. Both of them grew up in the Midwest, April in Ohio and Alex in Iowa. They shared an interest in college football. Neither of them attended Ivy League schools, but had met at the University of Michigan for medical school. Those were the few things that they shared in common.

They initially got on each other's nerves for different reasons. Alex was an obnoxious smart ass who constantly teased April for being a goody two shoes with the professors. His sloppiness and occasional forgetfulness to take a shower easily turned her off. She thought she would never have to see him again following medical school, but he had chosen Mayo for his residency as well, to her dismay.

Their common practice of bickering and teasing each other eventually evolved into a friendship. When Alex failed his medical boards exam, April was the first person to volunteer to help him study for his retake. They also teamed up to study for their intern exam. As much as she annoyed him with her perkiness, he hated seeing other people treating her like crap. He always knew his teasing was meant to be harmless, but when others tried to do the same to her he grew a protective side. Nobody really dared to mess with Kepner if Karev was nearby.

"Mayo wasn't that great," Alex nonchalantly replied.

"Yes, because being the number three teaching hospital behind Hopkins and Seattle Grace makes them unworthy," April sarcastically answered, rolling her eyes. "You didn't have to come here, Alex. I can take care of myself."

"Dude, it's not just about you, alright?"

"Okay, so it's about that other man, huh?" April could barely suppress a smile as she asked, "Was he your…"

"No! God, no," he quickly denied. "I'm not gay. He's not important."

She sighed as she pushed herself up onto her feet. "Right. I totally believe you. Well, I'm gonna unpack the rest of my boxes in my room and then call it a night. Don't stay up too late."

Alex softly groaned. "My eye will look like crap on Monday."

"Don't be a baby and whine about it!" she playfully scolded him. "Just be glad we won't be running into that guy at work. Goodnight, Alex."

Alex laughed to himself after April disappeared into her bedroom. If only she knew the whole truth, he thought.

George set an ice pack on the island counter where Jackson was seated behind it on a stool. The latter graciously took it and placed it on his bruised knuckles. "Thanks, O'Malley," he said, wincing as he pressed the cold ice against his hand.

The trip home from the Emerald City Bar had been quiet. Fortunately, it had been a short walk across the street. Their apartment was located directly across from Seattle Grace Hospital, making multiple drinks easier to enjoy following their shifts. However, their Friday night was cut short following the unexpected arrival of the mysterious man Jackson refused to talk about.

"You think you'll be allowed to operate on Monday?" George inquisitively asked. He eyed Jackson's knuckles, which were already a faint purple color.

Jackson shrugged, then he half-smiled. "Maybe I'll be on Yang's service again. That would be a blessing in disguise."

"So umm, you and this other guy. Did you two… experiment in college?" George sheepishly questioned. His roommate shot a glare at his direction and he quickly raised his hands in front of his chest, forcing a laugh. "I'm just trying to figure out why you punched him in the first place. Does it have to do with that woman he showed up with?"

"No, I've never seen her before. It's very complicated, alright? I'm not in the mood to talk about it tonight."

George quietly nodded, lightly tapping his fingers against the counter. He broke the awkward silence a minute later by asking, "Do you think that woman was his girlfriend?" Jackson raised his eyebrow and smirked. "I mean, she was cute. Too cute for that guy, I think."

Jackson chuckled. "I didn't get a very good look at her, to be honest. Man, I do feel sorry for her if she is his girlfriend."

"Why? He stole a woman from you, didn't he?" His roommate didn't answer. Instead, Jackson stood up and walked to his bedroom while he iced his hand. George trailed behind closely. "I'm right, aren't I? C'mon, you're practically eye candy at our hospital. Those green eyes, that smile. Well, your face in general. You can have any woman you want. I bet the woman he stole wasn't that special."

Stopping in the doorway of his bedroom, Jackson spun around on his heel and smiled. "George, you're a great friend and all, so please don't take offense to what I'm going to say. Shut up, man," he lightheartedly replied before entering his room and closing the door.

Jackson lay down on his bed and let out a loud sigh. He removed the ice pack from his hand to examine the damage. He could barely open and close his hand without grimacing. Whosever's service he would be on for his next shift was going to be annoyed with him if he can't operate. But his hand wasn't his worst problem.

The man he never thought he would see again suddenly reappeared and he couldn't be more upset about it. He was not only pissed but also confused about why Alex Karev was in Seattle in the first place. Whatever his reason was, Jackson hoped it was a coincidental encounter. He didn't want to know nor did he actually care why Alex was in town. If he had a magic wand, he would immediately wave it at the other man to make him disappear.

He already desperately wanted the guy out of his life again.

Monday morning arrived and the residents were in their locker room before 6 AM for morning rounds. It was a normal routine for them, though sometimes much earlier check-ins for the interns. But Monday's were always a drag because it signaled the beginning of yet another long week.

Lexie approached Jackson after she changed into her baby blue scrubs. Her friend was in the middle of swapping his red t-shirt for his own baby blue scrub top when she leaned against his cubby and folded her arms. "How's the hand?"

"Better. I'll be able to operate if I'm needed," he determinedly answered. Jackson had spent his weekend icing and reducing the swelling in his hand. Minimal bruising remained, but the pain was less severe. "Whose service are you on today?"

"Freaking Yang," the brunette replied in disgust. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Obviously you're not. Who are you with?"

"Not really much of an upgrade from Yang. I got Sloan," he muttered. Plastics was the last place Jackson wanted to work in, especially because of his hand. He knew Mark Sloan was a perfectionist with a reputation of barely allowing residents below fourth year to touch his patients. If he noticed the discoloration on the third year's hand, he would likely be doing coffee runs for him. "I'd rather have Yang. Want to swap?"

Lexie laughed, shaking her head. "Nice try, but I would rather do suction with Yang than be Sloan's personal slave."

While the residents continued to prepare for their shift, Amelia Shepherd, a fifth year and chief resident at Seattle Grace, entered the locker room with two new members following her from behind. She whistled to get the doctors' attention. "Good morning, residents. It's nice to see everybody here on time. We have two transfers from the Mayo Clinic who will begin their third year with us today."

Jackson turned away from his cubby to look at his new coworkers. His face immediately fell when he spotted Alex standing behind Amelia. "You've gotta be kidding me," he mumbled loud enough for Lexie to overhear.

"He's a doctor too?" she whispered. "Huh, now this is becoming intriguing."

"This is Dr. Alex Karev and Dr. April Kepner," Amelia introduced the pair. "Please help them feel welcome. They're not entirely familiar with our facilities yet, so I've partnered a couple of you up with them. The attendings are aware of their arrival, so don't hesitate to introduce these two if you happen to encounter them in the hallways. Now, Wilson. Where are you?"

Jo waved her arm from her cubby. "Over here."

"Kepner, you will be with Wilson. You're on Arizona Robbins' service today. She's the Chief of Pediatric Surgery." Amelia found Jackson standing by his cubby and grinned at him. "And Avery, you will be with Karev. Plastics, right?"

"Unfortunately," Jackson murmured.

She didn't ignore the scowl on her coworker's face. "Problem, Avery?"

He slowly shook his head, facing his cubby again. "No, ma'am."

"Ma'am is what you call the Chief. I'm not that much older than you," Amelia scoffed. "That's a reminder for all of you. Do not call me ma'am." She turned around and smiled at Alex and April. "There are empty cubbies available. Pick one and it's yours for the rest of the year. If any of these guys give you trouble, let me know. Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah. Can I be with someone else?" Alex requested, scratching the back of his neck.

Amelia slightly furrowed her brow. "I'm afraid I can't place you anywhere outside of Plastics. That eye of yours would scare the children in Peds, you can't look like a trauma victim in the ER and with that black eye you simply don't look professional enough to be with Neuro," she explained. "Nobody will care in Plastics. Well, if you don't impress Sloan on your first day, you can kiss holding a scalpel goodbye."

Alex rolled his eyes. His left eye had a small amount of swelling and it was surrounded by a mixture of purple and blue. Since stepping a foot inside of the hospital, he easily received numerous stares because of his eye. The Chief of Surgery, Miranda Bailey, had been caught off-guard by his newly minted shiner. He used a feisty game of pickup basketball over the weekend as an excuse.

"Fine, whatever."

After Amelia left, both Alex and April began searching for an empty cubby. There was one beside Jackson's and Alex attempted to claim it. Before he could place his bag inside, Jackson stepped in front of the cubby. "This one's taken."

Alex scowled back at him. "There's nothing in there."

"Find another cubby, Karev," Jackson sternly replied, returning the scowl. "I'm serious."

"Freakin' A," he mumbled to himself and walked across the room towards April, who set her purse inside of her own cubby. "Switch with me."

April glanced over her shoulder at Alex. "What? Why?"

"Just do it, okay?" Alex briefly glimpsed back at Jackson, who had an icy stare while he watched him like a hawk. "That douche bag won't let me have that one, so instead of making a scene over it just switch with me."

They were already slightly running late, but April decided to give in to Alex's demand. She sighed in annoyance as she grabbed her purse. "Fine, but you owe me." She walked past her roommate and across the room to the other cubby. Jackson had moved aside by then and finished changing for work.

He hung his stethoscope around his neck as he eyed the redheaded woman beside him. Her auburn hair partially covered her face, but he had seen it in its entirety when she walked across the room. George wasn't kidding when he said she was cute. While he never wanted to admit it, his roommate's taste in women had always been somewhat questionable. Not this one, though.

And she wasn't just cute. She was quite beautiful.

"Hey, I'm Jackson. Jackson Avery," he introduced himself and extended a hand out to her.

"Mmhmm," she hummed without bothering to look at him.

Jackson softly laughed, tilting his head and hoping April would finally make eye contact with him. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"You already know my name. Dr. Shepherd just said it about two minutes ago," she bluntly replied.

"I know, but I thought we could do the formal introduction, you know?" Jackson didn't receive a response from April and he smirked. "Look, I totally get the cold greeting. It's because I punched your boyfriend Friday night-"

"He's not my boyfriend," April retorted, turning her head to look at him. It wasn't until she got a clear shot of Jackson's face did she almost blush at the sight of him. His green eyes were almost hypnotic and his boyish grin… she could tell he was very experienced with being a charmer. She quickly snapped out of his pretty boy trance and cleared her throat. "But Alex is my friend. A good friend, actually, so I probably shouldn't even be talking to you right now."

He casually leaned against his cubby and continued to smile. "You'll have to talk to me eventually. We work together now. Besides, you don't even know me."

"And you don't know me. Perhaps it's for the best," she insisted, grabbing her scrubs and walking to the private bathroom to change.

Jackson turned his head as his eyes followed April until she closed the bathroom door. He felt a light slap against his chest and Jo stood beside him. "Hitting on the enemy already?" the brunette teased.

"She's not the enemy. Be nice to her, okay?" he advised.

"Geez, Avery. Five minutes of knowing her and you're already drooling," Jo quipped, nudging her coworker with her elbow. He slightly scowled eliciting a chuckle from her. "Fine, fine. Everybody deserves a chance, even the woman who seems to be close to the guy you punched."

"She's not his girlfriend that's for sure," Jackson noted. "And her name is April Kepner."

Jo guffawed before she started walking away from him. "Let the infatuation begin."

Jackson waited outside of the locker room for Alex. As tempting as it was to ditch his new coworker and force him to search for Sloan alone, he reminded himself that he was currently one of the heavily favored residents in his class. He didn't want the attendings thinking of him differently just because of a guy he hated. Checking his watch, he worried they were going to be late. Mark Sloan loathed incompetent residents. He had been on his service only once so far, but he had witnessed an intern receive a stern lecture for being one minute late.

Alex stepped out of the locker room wearing his brand new scrubs and lab coat. His spotted Jackson leaning back against a wall while he texted on his phone. "I'm here. Where's this Sloan dude?"

"I have two rules and you better damn well follow them," he started, avoiding eye contact on the way to the elevator. "One, we only talk for professional reasons. Trying to make small talk with me inside of this hospital is not gonna happen. Two, you stay the hell away from me outside of work. Got it?"

"Look, I'm not gonna let you order me around like I'm some dumb intern."

Both men stepped inside of an empty elevator. Jackson pressed the button to close the doors repeatedly, so they were alone. He pressed his hands against Alex's chest, shoving him against the wall. "Whatever your reason is for being here, I don't care. We already established the last time I saw you that you're nothing to me," he sternly replied. "So now you're trying to be like me? You're not fooling anybody, Karev. Mayo is a top hospital, but Seattle Grace is an entirely new arena. You'll sink and I'll make sure of that."

Jackson left the elevator as soon as the doors opened. Alex rolled his eyes, trailing closely behind. "Freaking drama queen."

It was going to be a long year for the both of them.

Let me know what you think please :)