Hey, folks! You guys wanted a sequel, so here it is! So this fic will loosely follow S6 with some alterations (including the shooting, just warning you now). Instead of them being third year residents, they're fourth years in this story. While some dialogue will eventually be used from certain episodes for plot purposes, I'm going to try to avoid rewriting things we saw on the show as this is supposed to be from the Mercy West POV. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this as much as the first one :)

Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or its characters


Two years ago…

Everything was set. Jackson Avery had prepared his proposal down to every single detail. In between the top and the bottom of the fifth inning of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game, the giant scoreboard's video screen would be focused on him and his girlfriend. Their seats were located on the Green Monster, the tall green wall on the left side of Fenway Park. Sitting there was a good decision on his part because they wouldn't be surrounded by too many fans and he had enough room to drop down on one knee.

Of course, April Kepner was the bashful type when it came to grand gestures like the one he was about to pull off. Jackson sensed she would feel embarrassed by his public proposal, but he couldn't help it. He wanted his hometown to know how lucky he was to be with a woman like her. While she considered herself to be filled with many flaws, he thought she was perfect. Caring, selfless, trustworthy, beautiful. Why it took him so long to notice her romantically, the pretty boy didn't quite know, but he loved her. He had never felt this way about anyone else before.

Despite only dating for a little under six months, he felt right about proposing to her. Big Joe Kepner had already granted Jackson permission to do so. He just hoped she wouldn't make him feel like he made a mistake.

He tried not to dwell over it much, but rejection was still a possibility. He had spilled the beans to his family, while April was taking a shower. Catherine Avery adored the redhead and forced herself to keep mum over the idea. However, not everybody was on board. His grandfather, Harper Avery, was indifferent to April because he didn't know her very well, so he told him it was too soon. Both of his older sisters struggled to understand what their baby brother saw in her. They hardly had anything in common, so their relationship puzzled them enough.

While it hurt not to have his family completely on board with proposing, Jackson ignored the naysayers and went forth with his plan. He was confident. Nervous as hell, but confident.

It was the top of the fifth inning. Two outs and Derek Jeter was up at bat. Two balls, one strike. Sipping his beer, Jackson's eyes remained on the scoreboard more than the baseball game itself. His left leg jittered underneath the small table in front of him and his palms were slightly sweating. He occasionally lifted his backwards cap to brush his hand against his perspiring shaved head. Thankfully, April hadn't noticed his fidgety behavior. Her eyes gazed down at the baseball diamond while she stuffed her mouth with popcorn. She looked so cute wearing the Red Sox jacket he surprised her with. The navy blue complemented her red hair. He loved seeing her in Boston colors.

The small black box sat inside the pocket of his jeans. His plan was fairly simple – wait for the announcer to start speaking and for them to appear on the jumbo screen. By the time April figured everything out, he hoped to be down on one knee with the open ring box in his hand. All she needed to do was accept his proposal and the rest would be history.

Three balls, two strikes. Why was this top half of the inning going by so slowly?

"C'mon, already," Jackson groaned, leaning forward before he yelled, "Strike the bastard out already!"

April giggled at his frustration. She knew her boyfriend was intense when it came to sports, but his hatred towards the Yankees really set him off. "No need to be hostile, babe," she teased.

"I'm sorry. This top half of the inning feels like it's been going on for hours already," he bitterly replied, then he pointed towards home plate. "And I really hate Jeter. I don't care that he's a great athlete. He's a Yankee, so it's mandatory to loathe him."

"I wish I knew more about this rivalry stuff," she sheepishly said.

Jackson kissed her cheek and smiled. "You will eventually. I'll teach you everything you need to know about my teams and their rivals," he assured her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. A few seconds later, he raised both of his arms in triumph after the top half of the inning ended via strikeout.

This was it. The moment of truth. He acted as casually as possible while he sat up in his chair. It could be one of the best days of his life – or one of the worst.

The teams below were busy preparing for the bottom half of the inning when the PA announcer's voice blared through the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to the video board where one Red Sox fan is about to make his girlfriend the happiest woman on Earth!"

"Oh! These proposals are so fun to watch," April enthusiastically said, smiling brightly as she glanced at the screen.

While she was distracted by the jumbo screen, Jackson carefully got down on one knee as he pulled the black box out of his pocket. He waited for her to react to their faces on the screen, but there wasn't a gasp or a shriek out of her. What was taking so long?

The crowd erupted in cheers at the sight of the couple on the video screen except April simply smiled. Not exactly the reaction he wanted from her. For somebody who obsessed over chick flicks and fluffy romantic endings, her response was underwhelming. She also hadn't looked at him once. Glancing up at the screen, Jackson finally realized what the problem was.

Another couple was spotlighted instead.

"No!" he shouted, shoving the box back into his pocket as he stood up. Jackson threw his arms over his head as he watched a random couple become engaged in front of the 36,000 plus crowd in the stadium. He had specifically requested for his proposal to happen in the middle of the fifth inning. The marketing folks assured him it would be his moment. "Are you kidding me?!"

April stared at her boyfriend dumbfounded. "Jackson, what's the matter?" she questioned worriedly. He was furious and he appeared ready to hop over the edge of the Green Monster to rage even more. "Calm down! What's wrong?!"

He ignored her questions and started dialing a number on his cell phone. Plugging his ear to block out the crowd noise, Jackson impatiently waited for the other line to answer. "Uhh, yeah. Hello? I called in two freaking weeks ago about proposing to my girlfriend, but you imbeciles focused on a different couple!" he angrily complained, unaware of the fact that April could hear his rants. "You completely ruined what was supposed to be the perfect proposal!"

Her mouth dropped open upon hearing the word proposal. She hadn't seen it coming at all. In a way, she was relieved the proposal had gone awry because it saved herself from turning beet red out of embarrassment. But at the same time, she found it sweet that he wanted to ask for her hand in marriage in front of a large crowd. It showed he wasn't ashamed to be with her.

Except the romantic aspect of the proposal was ruined and the profane words coming out of Jackson's mouth weren't endearing. April attempted to catch his attention by tugging on the hem of his shirt, but he was too busy harassing the person on the other line of his call.

She rolled her eyes, facing forward again as the baseball game continued. Boston's first batter was up, but her boyfriend continued to rant and complain on his cell phone. He ignored the fans around them who were yelling at him to shut up and sit down. The pretty boy dismissively waved his hand as he persisted on badgering whoever he was speaking to.

The cracking sound of a bat alerted April as she watched the baseball fly high up in the air. Red Sox fans started cheering at what appeared to be a homerun – with the baseball heading towards the Green Monster. Her eyes widened when the physics nerd in her quickly projected where it could possibly land.

"Jackson," she called out, yanking on his shirt again. "Jackson!"

By the time she finally caught his attention, the baseball beamed the side of Jackson's head and knocked him over.


As if the day couldn't get any worse, Jackson was rushed to the emergency room at Mass Gen after the baseball knocked him unconscious. Fortunately, he awoke not too long after the ambulance arrived, but April continued to panic. She feared he may have sustained a subdural hematoma, so she wasn't going to relax until the CT scans came out clean.

"It was a sign that his proposal was too soon," Harper Avery sneered as he peeked inside of Jackson's hospital room. He watched April stroke the top of his grandson's head from the hallway. "We should have talked him out of it before he decided to go through with his plan."

"Nonsense," Catherine disagreed. "April is a lovely woman. My baby boy chose wisely. Once you get to know her better, you'll understand why Jackson's completely head over heels for her."

Meanwhile inside of the room, Jackson pretended not to notice his family members spying on him from outside. He kept his eyes on April to distract himself. "God, can they just go away?" he mumbled irritably. Their presence only made his throbbing head hurt even more.

"They're concerned, that's all. You're lucky you only have a concussion. You could've been bleeding in your brain and slowly dying on me," April noted and softly smiled at him. "If that was the case, it would be the worst proposal ever."

He slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to know I was proposing until it happened, but those morons at the stadium-"

"I think right now would be perfect," she suggested. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and she chuckled. "I mean it. The first time we met was in a hospital. It's much more fitting than at a noisy baseball game, Jackson."

"You really want it this way?"

April pressed her forehead against Jackson's. "You can't possibly assume I'll turn you down," she playfully murmured. "Where'd you hide the ring?"

"Left pocket of my jeans," he answered with a half-smile. Nothing about proposing in a hospital bed was romantic to him. While she temporarily left his side to retrieve the black box from his jeans, he mentally scolded himself for not going with the cliché restaurant proposal instead. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Mhmm," she cheerfully hummed and returned to his bedside, handing the box to her boyfriend.

Jackson carefully pushed himself up. He refused to propose to her lying flat on his back. Taking her left hand into his, he used his right hand to open the box. "I know this isn't the most romantic setting and things didn't go according to plan, but you made a good point. We did first meet in a hospital and I knew from the start that you wouldn't be like the other doctors. You saw me for me and not by my family name. You always get me and that's just one of the many things I love about you."

"Maybe this is too soon to some people, but when I feel right about something I go for it. This is one of those times… although, I would prefer not being concussed while I propose to you," he continued, pausing to share a laugh with April. "Before we met, I wasn't the kind of guy who opened up to others about my feelings, but you changed me. And I also think I changed you. We changed each other for the better. April Kepner, will you make me the happiest patient in this hospital and be my wife for the rest of our lives?"

The tearful redhead quickly nodded her head, placing her hands on Jackson's cheeks and kissing him. "Yes," she mumbled against his lips. "Of course, yes!"

They briefly parted, so he could slip the diamond ring onto her finger. He kissed her again, wrapping his arms tightly around her lower back. Catherine's celebratory screeches could be heard from the hallway, which made them both laugh again.

"You're going to be one gorgeous bride," he happily whispered, stroking his now fiancée's cheeks with his thumbs. "And our wedding will be perfect."


The alarm clock buzzed, waking up both Jackson and April. It was 6 AM, but neither of them were ready to climb out of bed just yet. She blindly reached for the clock on the bedside table and slapped her palm against it. Lying on her side, she felt her fiancé's arm drape over her waist as he snuggled against her back.

"Fifteen more minutes," he mumbled. Pushing aside her tangled auburn locks, Jackson placed gentle kisses against her neck while he caressed her stomach with his hand. "Fifteen minutes, then we can jump in the shower."

The couple was engaged for two years now and their relationship remained strong. Following their engagement, they found an apartment ten minutes away from the Mercy West Medical Center and had been living there ever since. Their friends joked that they didn't have to get married anymore because they already acted like husband and wife. No children, but if their apartment complex allowed pets, they would have bought a dog and referred to it as their baby.

Mama Avery constantly nagged them for postponing the wedding. They were practically baby surgeons when they first got engaged. Neither of them were quite ready to take that special trip down the aisle. After a year, April wanted to start planning, but Jackson wasn't so eager to. They were doing just fine, so he didn't feel they had to jump into wedding talks just yet. Another year passed and Catherine offered to plan all of the arrangements. However, Jackson politely declined because he already knew she would go for an extreme and overpriced wedding. He knew April wanted simple, yet beautiful. A church wedding for sure.

April's parents suggested an outdoor wedding at the family farm during the summer. Jackson wasn't particularly thrilled over the idea. He had visited her tiny town of Moline twice since he first met Karen and Joe and he quickly learned he and farm life didn't mix. Of course, his side of the family wanted him to get married in Boston. Nobody could reach an agreement over where to have the wedding, so the planning was put on the backburner once more.

But they were happy. At times, April continued to wonder how she ended up with a man like Jackson. He was an unbelievably gorgeous man, while she considered herself to be average. Complete opposites. In the end, the man had been in love with her for almost three years and counting, so she was doing something right in their relationship.

"Fifteen more minutes to do what?" she playfully asked. They were naked underneath the covers and she knew what he wanted to do based on the way he kissed her neck and his hand roamed up and down her body. "Maybe I should get a head start with breakfast instead."

"Nope. You're not going anywhere," he huskily said, rolling his fiancée onto her back and kissing her lips. "We don't have to be at the hospital until 7:15 and we only live ten minutes away. Why do you always set up the alarm so early?"

"You may not need much time to get ready, but I do," she murmured in between kisses.

April's mind worked on a tight schedule. Never wanted to be late for anything, but Jackson managed to find ways to sidetrack her a lot. She blamed his bluish-green eyes, his lips and smile, his perfectly crafted body.

And the sex continued to be off the charts.

Her cell phone vibrated on the bedside table. She reached for it, while he continued to kiss his way down to her neck and shoulders. There was a new text message waiting for her and she read it out loud. "Reed says to check our e-mail. The Chief sent something out to everybody."

She climbed out of bed, taking the blanket with her. Sitting at the desk in their bedroom, April flipped open her laptop and signed in to her e-mail. "There's an important meeting at eight o'clock in the auditorium. Doesn't say what it's for, but he wants all interns, residents and attendings there."

"Probably some new protocol again. You know he changes them every six months," Jackson nonchalantly replied. He rolled out of bed and playfully tugged on the blanket. "I'm cold. Quit hogging the blanket."

"Or you can put some clothes on," she teased, sticking her tongue out. "Or better yet. Go take a shower. If you go now, I will be there in two minutes. I promise."

April laughed at how fast Jackson ran into their bathroom and turned on the shower. Plus, she had a nice view of his ass. That was a view she never grew tired seeing. After skimming the rest of her e-mails, she decided to stop torturing her fiancé and join him in the shower.


Surgeons filled the auditorium for their meeting with Lance Phillips, the Chief of Surgery at Mercy West. Rumors and speculations had quickly floated around the hospital about what the meeting was for. Some suspected Dr. Phillips was resigning. He was pushing seventy and many doctors had been anticipating his retirement. Others expected a new protocol to be issued, which happened more than once a year. And the rest simply believed it was going to be another boring presentation that allowed many of them to catch extra sleep.

"Where are Charles and Reed?" April scanned the sea of orange and gray scrubs for her friends. She had saved seats for them, but they were running fashionably late. "Do you see them?"

"They're always late. Mostly due to Charles," Jackson answered while he folded his lab coat into a pillow for the back of his seat. He laid his head against it and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when Phillips starts talking."

She rolled her eyes at her fiancé, then she turned towards Trevor Stanley, who sat next to her left side. Of the five former interns, he had changed the most. His short, brown and spiky hair was now grown out and shaggy. He was more open about his homosexuality, even living with his boyfriend, Steven, whom he met during their intern year. Pediatric surgery was his specialty of choice.

"Should we text them?" she asked him.

Trevor shook his head. "They'll be here. Charles probably took a detour to the cafeteria or something. Dude never cared about being on time. If he hasn't changed since our intern year, he won't change now," he scoffed. "It's kind of amazing how much Reed can tolerate his sluggishness."

Five minutes prior to the beginning of their meeting, Reed Adamson shimmied her way through their row with Charles Percy lagging behind, stuffing his mouth with a jelly donut. "Sorry, guys. Thanks for saving us seats. I thought we'd have to sit in the front because of lard ass over there," she irritably greeted her friends and sat down beside Trevor. "Actually, can we switch, Trev? I don't want to sit next to Charlie right now."

"Another fight, I see," Trevor stated, unsurprised by her anger. He switched seats with Reed, then he smirked at Charles when he occupied the other empty seat. "What'd you do now?"

The burly man simply shrugged and quietly finished his donut. Charles and Reed were a complicated couple. Their relationship consisted of breaking up and making up shortly afterwards. They also lived together, so their friends were hardly surprised whenever they had one of their many splits because neither of them ever actually threatened to move out.

April exchanged glances between the silent couple. "So, what happened?"

Reed slouched in her seat and folded her arms. "He took the last jelly donut."

"That's it?" she chuckled.

"Well, I wanted it. He knew I wanted it, so he did the douchey thing and snatched it before I could," her best friend replied agitatedly. "No courtesy for his girlfriend at all. Freaking chauvinistic pig."

Charles leaned forward and smugly grinned at Reed. "Who you love," he reminded her.

"Shut up," she retorted, avoiding eye contact with him. "Keep this up and you're getting the couch tonight."

Various conversations in the auditorium died down as Chief Phillips took the stage. There wasn't a podium, which meant they weren't in for a snooze worthy presentation. "Good morning, everybody. I promise I won't take up too much of your time. I know you all have patients to tend to. If there's an absolute emergency, feel free to leave in a courteous manner," he started, slowly pacing back and forth across the stage as he kept his eyes on his surgeons. "Now, I called this meeting to share important news with all of you. As you know, the economy hasn't been kind to us lately. Budgets are tight and there are more people than jobs available. In the upcoming weeks, Mercy West will begin the transition of merging with Seattle Grace Hospital."

The news drew whispers and murmurs from the shocked doctors in the auditorium. Those who were barely awake were now fully attentive to what the Chief had to say.

"Unfortunately, this means there will be cuts made from both programs. Every department in both hospitals will be making cuts, not just the surgical program. These cuts are going to be incredibly difficult decisions. You are all fine doctors and surgeons, but not everyone here will survive the merger," he continued with a frown. "And once Mercy West completes the necessary steps towards merging with Seattle Grace, I will resign from my position as Chief of Surgery and announce my retirement. You will be working under Chief Richard Webber by then."

"There will be three waves of cuts. I know this is a stressful time, but please be 100% devoted to your patients. You are still doctors here at Mercy West. Also, keep in mind that more cuts will be made after the merger. Work diligently and good luck to you all."

Soon after Chief Phillips finished speaking, almost everybody's hands shot up in the air. Charles shook his head as he turned to face his colleagues. "We're screwed."


"This sucks," Reed whined while she ate her lunch. She and the four other residents were at their typical meeting place on the rooftop of the hospital. The news of the merger made everyone paranoid. "Seattle Grace has a much bigger program than us. Their residents will have priority."

"Nah. Because they're bigger, they'll be the ones making more cuts," Jackson assured her. "I'm not worried. We're all competent residents. The attendings love us and we're fourth years."

April shook her head. "That doesn't guarantee us anything," she worriedly said. "We're moving into their hospital. We'll be like interns, the bottom of the surgical food chain. Nobody likes being the new kid in school and the ones who already rule it most definitely hate the newbies who come in, sit at their favorite tables in the cafeteria and try to outshine them."

"Kepner, you're the last person to worry," Charles dismissed. "You've been at the top of our class since intern year. Seriously, there's no way you're getting cut from the program."

"Don't jinx it!" she retorted. "Anyway, didn't you hear what Chief Phillips said? Even if we all survive the merger, more cuts will be made. And you know their Chief already has his favorites, so we're the expendable ones since he doesn't know how great any of us are."

"Interns and second years should be worrying the most," Trevor chimed in. "In fact, I heard most of the cuts are going to happen to them because they're less experienced than us. Fifth years are practically safe and so are the fourth years."

"But there's still a chance our class suffers some cuts," the redhead miserably noted. And she thought her and Jackson's wedding would be their biggest problem because nothing was set in stone yet. "How am I supposed to become a neurosurgeon if there's no hospital for me to learn?"

Reed groaned. "April, just stop it. Your paranoia isn't going to make anybody feel better."

Jackson wrapped his arm around April's shoulders and kissed her temple. "Relax, okay? Try not to think about the merger right now," he comforted her, gently rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "We're going to be fine. We're all going to be fine."


The first wave of cuts had everybody looking out for themselves. As expected, over half of the interns were released from the program. A small portion of the second year residents met their unfortunate fates as well.

In the second wave, more second years were cut along with some third years. Many nurses in the surgical wing also lost their jobs.

The last wave was the one the higher classes feared the most because a very small group of them were likely to be next on the chopping block. It had been a stressful month for those who remained employed at Mercy West. Competition for surgeries increased amongst the residents and doctors were more cutthroat than ever. Nobody wanted that dreaded page to Chief Phillips' office because they all knew it meant bad news, especially when it was close to the end of their shifts.

Jackson entered the residents locker room, removing his lab coat as he walked towards his locker. "Looks like I'm safe," he tiredly announced. "Supposedly, anybody who hadn't received a page by 6 PM still has a job. It's half past that, so I think I can stop worrying."

April let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," she softly said as she changed into her street clothes. "I didn't get a page either."

He congratulated her with a kiss. "See? I told you we'd be fine, babe."

Charles waved at his best friend. "Hey, us too!" he excitedly replied, referring to Reed and himself. "We should celebrate at Schmo's. Where's Trev?"

Quietly walking into the locker room, Trevor appeared shell-shocked as his friends looked on concerned. They eagerly waited for him to announce his fate and he slowly shook his head. "I got cut," he mumbled, then he cleared his throat. "I uhh… they cut me."

The foursome stared back at him stunned. All of them were too speechless to respond. Even Charles couldn't think of anything witty to say as Trevor went to his locker. They were considered rock star residents. Attendings loved having them on their service. Their fellow residents fully expected all five to survive the cuts.

April approached Trevor and placed her hand on his shoulder. "What did they say to you?"

"That it's nothing personal. Tough decisions were made blah, blah, blah…" He removed his lab coat and furiously threw it into his locker. "I was the last cut! Can you believe it? They couldn't cut some measly second year or another third year? This fucking blows."

"Uhh, do you want to drink it up at Schmo's?" Charles reluctantly asked.

"No, I don't want to drink it up at Schmo's!" Trevor exclaimed, scowling at his friend. "I just lost my job, you asshole."

Jackson waved his arms. "Let's cool it, guys. Give him some space," he instructed.

The locker room was silent again with the exception of people having their own private conversations and lockers opening and closing. Trevor found the silence unbearable and decided to change out of his scrubs in a private restroom. When he returned his friends were waiting for him, all of them dressed in their street clothes.

"You don't have to wait up for me," he bitterly stated. "I still have to clean out my locker, so go do whatever you guys planned on doing without me. Don't let me ruin your fun because you survived the cuts and I didn't."

"Actually, I want to go home," April dejectedly told Jackson. She slipped her hand into his and led him towards the exit. "I'll call you tomorrow, Trevor."

Charles and Reed were next to leave. "Sorry, man," the dark haired man sympathetically said as they passed by Trevor, who started taking his belongings out of his locker.

Nobody was in the mood to celebrate anymore. Trevor losing his place in the program proved it didn't matter how skilled or popular they were. It was all about numbers and any one of them could go at any moment.


Don't worry, Trevor will still be in this story ;) As always, feedback is much appreciated!