Chapter 2 – I Will Be
Jackson rubbed the narrow space between his brows as he stepped into the empty elevator, trying in vain to banish the stress-induced thrumming that had started up as soon as he'd answered the phone. He'd been determined to have a good day, and Jackson could bend most things to his will; even being knocked down outside the hospital – by a disarmingly nervous and rambling intern – had turned in his favour. A beautiful anesthesiologist had seen the collision and rushed to his aid almost as quickly as his endearing assailant had ran away. He was sure she was about to invite him for drinks at the end of his shift when his phone had rang. The anesthesiologist – Laurie – had paused.
"You should get that. You're a doctor now, better practice answering any and all calls," she'd flirted.
Jackson grinned, clicking 'answer' without looking at the caller ID. A mistake he would never make again.
"Baby!" Jackson grimaced. The voice was loud enough that Laurie heard her term of endearment.
"Baby?" she mouthed, her eyebrows raised. Jackson opened his mouth to quell the assumption in her expression then paused, quickly debating which would be more favourable; that he had a significant other, or that he was a nearly-26-year-old man with a mother that still referred to him as 'baby'. Jackson closed his mouth and shrugged instead. Laurie's mouth shrunk into a disgusted pout and she sneered at him before storming away.
Scowling in earnest now, Jackson tuned back in to his mother's voice. "Baby, you've made your point, you can get into surgical programs without the Avery name and all it entails, but at what point are you going to stop with this tantrum? We can only hold your spot for so long,' she cajoled.
"Mum, for the last time, this is not a tantrum, I am not trying to prove a point, I just don't want to go to Mass Gen." Jackson's eyes followed Laurie as she moved further and further away from him, taking with her all hopes of having a good first shift.
"Nonsense, baby, everyone wants Mass Gen, you'd have to be crazy not to!"
"Well, I guess I'm crazy. It must be hereditary," Jackson grouched.
"There is no need for that, Jackson Avery," his mother admonished, "I am your mother!"
"I am all too aware of that; are you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" She sounded indignant. Unbelievable.
"It means that it is my first day, mum! Most mothers would be calling their children to wish them luck not to equate their career choices to a childish outburst!"
"You are not 'most children', Jackson, you are an Avery—"
"Yeah, I really don't need that speech right now, mum. I'll talk to you later." Jackson hung up.
Now, as he made his way to the intern's lounge, he knew he would regret his hasty action. His mother would make him pay for his rudeness. Such behaviour, she'd say, it's very unbecoming for an Avery. Jackson's scowl deepened. Just once, he'd like to do something, be something, without considering what the repercussions were on the Avery name. I will be great, and it will have nothing to do with my family name. His life would have been so much easier if he'd just decided not to become a surgeon, but there was nothing else he'd ever wanted to do. He'd been dreaming of it since he was a child. His first word had been "scalpel" – well, "sca-pa", but everyone had known what he meant.
There was only one person in the intern's lounge when he entered; the jittery intern who'd bowled him over this morning. She was hunched over a notebook, furiously scribbling, and failed to notice his entrance. Jackson grinned; the opportunity was too sweet to pass up. He moved towards her silently, speaking when he was directly behind her.
"Hello, again."
She jumped so violently; her notebook flew out of her hands, spinning towards the ceiling. With the practiced ease of an athlete, Jackson plucked it out of the air, his eyes on her flushed face. She looked with quiet horror from his eyes to the notebook in his hands.
"H-hi," she said breathlessly. "Can I have my notebook back?"
"Why," he teased, "got some cool surgery cheats in here?" He mimed opening the small book and she dived towards him. Surprised, he was slow to react, and she managed to wrench it out of his grip. He stared at her. Unbelievably, her face grew even redder. "I was kidding," he said, slowly. "Well, kind of. I mean, we are the early birds. I figure, like me, you want to have every edge you can get, right?"
She regarded him warily.
Jackson persevered. "Plus, I mean, you kind of steamrollered me rushing in here, so I figure you're pretty eager."
This, at last, produced a reaction. "I am so, so sorry about that. I was—"
Jackson waved her off before she could launch into another long-winded apology. "It's fine, seriously. But you kind of high-tailed it away from me before I could get your name?"
She smiled embarrassedly. "I'm April. April Kepner. And I was right!" She grinned at his confused expression. "You don't remember me." She looked far too pleased to have been forgotten.
He smiled knowingly. "I was right, too." She cocked her head, nonplussed, as he deposited his bag in the locker next to hers. "You do like to have every edge you can get."
She grinned in concession.
The door burst open, and April started.
Jackson turned as his name was called. Charles Percy walked towards him, extending his curled hand in Jackson's direction; Jackson obligingly bumped the proffered fist with his own.
"First freaking day," Charles gushed. "Can you believe this?" He shoved his jacket into the locker on the other side of Jackson's.
Jackson grinned indulgently.
Charles looked around Jackson, catching sight of April's red hair. "Hey, I know you!" April started, looking around as if to confirm he was talking to her.
"Er, you do?"
"Yeah, from the Intern's Dinner." He nodded as he began pulling off his shoes. "You came up to us with that really hyper dude." He directed his eyes towards the ceiling. "June, no. January… no. April! You're April."
Jackson felt slightly ashamed that he hadn't remembered her, as April flushed in surprised pleasure. "Um, yeah. And you're Charles, right?" He nodded goofily. The lounge was slowly filling with more interns. Jackson felt he was slowly losing control of the situation. He interjected quickly.
"So how does this work? How do we find out what resident we have, where do we get our scrubs?" He looked between Charles and April. They stared back blankly.
In answer the door swung open once more, and five people in orange scrubs walked in. The residents.
One of them, a tall blonde woman with a severe expression, stepped forward. "Welcome to Mercy West, and the beginning of what will be a demanding and gruelling residency. I'm Dr. Nielsen, your Chief Resident. This is one of the top surgical programs in the country. Interns here benefit under the tutelage of several world-class surgeons, and our Chief of Surgery, Dr. Augustus London—" here she paused to acknowledge the excited gasps of recognition, "has been nominated for the Harper Avery award three times. I don't need to tell you that he's won it. Twice." Jackson forced himself not to react. "I tell you this so you know that the next five years will be the hardest of your life. They will also be the most rewarding. The majority of you will not have what it takes. Most likely, only two of you will survive residency. Every second, every decision you make from here on will determine who those people are." She turned to the resident at her side, a non-descript, gangly man, who hurried to hand her a pile of silver scrubs.
She dropped them on the bench in front of her. "Interns wear silver. It's so we can know who exactly is at the bottom of the surgical food chain without having to know who you are. Nobody cares who you are." Her eyes lingered on Jackson for a fraction of a second. He stared back stoically.
She stepped back. "I'll call your names and tell you which resident you're assigned to. Change into your scrubs and meet them outside. Residents, if you'll indicate who you are when I call your group of interns."
They nodded their understanding.
"Carnelley! Mctough! Harp! Ross! Svenson! You're with Dr. Whiskard." A handsome man with a decidedly British air raised his hand. Two of the girls to whom he'd been assigned exchanged pleased glances.
"Adamson! Avery! Kepner! Percy! Stone! You're with Dr. Timothy." The tall, gangly resident who'd handed Nielsen the scrubs raised his hand.
"Oh, great," said a voice from just behind Jackson. "We've got the dud."
Jackson smiled in recognition as he drowned out Nielsen's voice. "Reed, hey!"
She nodded at him and Charles, who asked, "How'd you know he's the dud?"
She scoffed. "Because he was acting like her lackey? I mean, honestly. It's a wonder he's standing, what with the absence of a spine." She rolled her eyes.
"Maybe he's just nice?" Jackson looked towards April's voice. She blushed as Reed shot her a disdainful look.
"Nice? Like I said, the dud. Nice doesn't cut it in this program."
"So who's Stone?" Charles tried valiantly to glaze over the tense atmosphere. "The last of our cozy little troop?"
"Here." An Asian American with his face buried in a medical book raised his hand, his first finger held up to halt any further conversation. He finished his sentence before looking up. "Marshall Stone. Nice to meet you." Jackson looked at him, unimpressed, as Charles said,
"Nice to meet you, too, man. I'm Charles, and this is Jackson, Reed and April. We've all got Timothy." He grinned at each of them in turn.
"Whatever," Reed said, turning to grab a set of scrubs. They each followed suit, changing before going out to meet Timothy.
Day one had officially begun. Greatness beckoned.
Author's note:
The chapter title refers to "I Will Be" by Avril Lavigne/Leona Lewis.
Dr. Timothy's interns do not belong to me, nor does Mama Avery. Every other person mentioned does.
The interns are wearing silver scrubs because in S06E02, Hank Mckee, an intern working with Callie, is wearing silver scrubs. I thought this would be a nice way to tie it in.
Yes, April has red hair. I am not rewriting the way it was shown, but in my story, April is a natural redhead (as her sisters and dad on the show seem to confirm). I have an authentic and plausible way of explaining the hair disparity. Bear with me.
The structure of the story will be roughly 10 chapters per residency year. So, as the merger happens at the beginning of their third year, they won't be at Seattle Grace until chapter 25. But don't worry, I have plenty planned out between here and there.
Grey's' timeline is the worst thing about it, but I spent hours sorting through it, and have found a way to match it up, all the way to April's wedding. You get confused at any point, just PM me and I'll send you my timeline! (Their first day happens on June 1st 2007, a month before MAGIC's first day at SG)
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, including "guest"! It means so much!
riian: je vais essayer! Merci beaucoup ma cherie! bisous
Next chapter:
April is trooping through her first shift, we meet the Mercy Wester's Dr. Bailey – Dr. Ezra Timothy – who is no-Nazi, and the competition – and tensions – heat up within PAAKS.
