Hello, everyone! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. After the great response to part 1, I wanted to make sure I gave a good follow up. Then I was hit with a bit of writers block that I think I've worked out. I can't promise faster chapters but I'll definitely try. How about that season premiere? It left me completely gutted! I might have shed a tear or two. Anyway, working on this fic has helped me exercise some of my upset into making Jackson and April more fleshed out and whole characters. I hope you like this next part. :)

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.

Part 2: Avoidance

Just as April had expected, Jackson behaved as if nothing had happened between them, and so, she did as well. They still carpooled to work together, ate lunch together, studied together, and behaved like two best friends who had never almost kissed.

They pretended.

Or at least she pretended, she wasn't sure what Jackson was doing or if any of it mattered to him at all. Maybe he'd gotten caught up in the evening and that's why he leaned in the way he had and his voice had deepened the way it did and he'd looked at her like… like he'd wanted her. Yes, that had to be it because she hadn't seen that look since then and there were times when she would search for it only to be disappointed when it wasn't there.

As days passed, April stopped trying to figure Jackson out and focused on trying to figure herself out. She'd spent countless restless nights attempting to make sense of her feelings for Jackson. She replayed every second they spent together over and over in her head, analyzing and picking every detail apart until she got so worked up she'd jump out of bed, hit her desk lamp and reach for her notebook.

April always resisted the urge to open the journal, but she couldn't stop going back to it again and again - staring at it, remembering how confused about herself she had been at the point in her life when the book had been her lifeline. The notebook represented a time of insecurity that April was happy to forget because she wasn't that girl anymore, at least that's what she often told herself. Lately she wasn't so sure. Every now and then she could feel whisperings of that forgotten girl trying to fight her way back to the surface and it made April question if she had really moved beyond her past insecurities at all? Had she only tucked the old April away in a notebook under her mattress and then in an old shoe box before finally stashing her away in a desk drawer?

A knock at her bedroom door had April dropping the notebook into her drawer and shoving it closed. "Yes?"

It was Jackson. "You busy?" He asked, opening her door and peeking in.

Her room suddenly felt too small. He stayed near the door. "No, just cleaning up a bit."

Jackson's eyes swept her room. "I was going for a walk. Wanna come along?"

"Yeah, sure. Just let me get my shoes."

"Alright," he said and left her room.

And there it was, Jackson being Jackson. He was completely unaffected by what April felt to be this huge thing between them. He asked her to do everyday mundane things and went about business as usual, meanwhile she was completely scrambled up inside over him.

April laced up a pair of sneakers and met Jackson at the front door.

They took their normal route out of their apartment building and followed the sidewalk until they came to a neighborhood park where they veered onto the park trail.

"I'm gonna miss this," Jackson said, more to himself than her. He glanced down at her as if just realizing that he'd spoke aloud. "And by this I mean you... us."

"I know what you mean, who is gonna cook you dinner and keep the coffee stocked? Who are you going to let beat you every time you race them? You'll be lost without me, Jackson Avery." April knew she was turning something serious into something light hearted, but there was no way she was prepared to have a realistic conversation with Jackson about how much she'd miss him. Here she was right beside him and she was already missing his presence in her life.

"I'm serious, you know, but I am capable of making my own dinner and buying my own coffee." April shot Jackson a disbelieving glance and he added, "I just prefer your cooking."

"And I suppose you don't let me win every time we race either, right?"

"Can I plead the fifth?"

April laughed, throwing her hip into his side. "Where do you think you'll be a year from now?" she asked.

He appeared to turn the question over in his head before answering, "New Orleans."

April's heart sank a little. It was getting real. They were spending their last weeks together right now. Soon, they would both head in separate directions. "So, Tulane it is?"

Jackson gave her a lopsided grin. "I think. I don't know though, Emory is offering a pretty sweet deal."

They picked up the pace of their walk to a light jog.

Breathlessly, Jackson asked, "What about you? Where will you be a year from now?"

"Oh, I don't know." Her feet pounded down on the wet leaves and twigs beneath them. She seriously had no idea where she wanted to go. She had offers from some great programs but none of them jumped out at her as the place she wanted to spend her Fellowship, though Case Western Reserve was close to home.

"Neither would I if I had a million choices." Jackson added the last playfully.

"Stop it," April shoved him lightly and they came to a stop in the middle of a clearing, catching their breath.

"What? You're great. You deserve it. All of it." He smiled down at her.

There was that look again. That smoky intensity that made her heart flutter and her cheeks flush. April looked away, tucking an errant lock of hair behind her ear. She wondered if he knew what his smile did to her?

A light drizzle started to fall.

"We should get back before it starts coming down," Jackson said, squinting up at the leaden sky.

She was really going to miss this too. Miss him and miss them. "Race you?" she propositioned, knowing he could never resist the opportunity to let her beat him home.

"Go!" He shouted, and they both took off at a sprint.

Jackson slowed just as they got within sight-distance of their apartment. April ran past him, throwing him a knowing grin.

He let her beat him every time they raced. Not because she'd care if she lost, but because it made him feel good to see her win. She'd leap up and throw a fist into the air while whopping. Her face would flush into a soft pink color that he found adorable and he would tease her about letting her win. The best part about it was that it gave him an opportunity to see April completely free and not all bottled up and tightly coiled in the way she normally was.

"Feel like getting some study time in?" Jackson asked. He was pretty confident that they were both going to ace their boards. At this point he used studying as an excuse to have more alone time with April.

"Yeah, sure," April answered breathlessly, still winded from their run.

They were greeted with the chiming of April's phone when they got inside. She grabbed it from the table, scrunching her nose up at what he figured was an unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

Jackson pulled his damp hoodie off and started for his room.

"Dr. Avery?" April's voice was a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

Jackson stopped. What was that about?

"What? Really? I'm… I'm honored!" April's looked to him with large excited eyes.

Jackson hooked his hoodie around the back of his neck, curious.

She was nodding and smiling. "I will definitely consider the offer."

Jackson suddenly felt the room close in around them.

"Thank you, thank you." She paused. Nodded. Smiled. "Of course. Will do. Bye."

They stood there for what seemed like forever. April staring at her phone in disbelief and Jackson staring at her. After a while, April finally looked up. "That was your grandfather. He offered me a position at Mass Gen."

Jackson knew it already (even though he'd only heard one side of their conversation) but having April tell him outright what his grandfather had done still hit him like a ton of bricks. The man was duplicitous.

Jackson didn't know what to say but April was standing there expecting him to say something so he hazarded, "You're not seriously considering it, are you?" Okay, not what he should have said.

Her expectant smile waned and she stared at him a little harder. "I'm going to consider it like every other offer I have."

"Come on, April," Jackson reasoned. "Isn't it a little late for offers?"

Her eyes narrowed into a glare. "What is it exactly that you're trying to say?"

"Nothing," Jackson said quickly. He should stop now, not say another word. Anything else would just be digging his own grave. Problem was, he couldn't stop - that would be letting his grandpa win and he couldn't have that. "But… none of this seems strange to you? He didn't put his hat in the ring until just now when other hospitals have been after you for months? Think about it, April."

April's expression soured. "He said that he enjoyed me, he likes my energy, he looked into my background after that dinner and he thinks I'll be a great addition to Mass Gen. What's there to think about? Besides the offer, I mean." She cast her eyes down and shoved a damp hank of hair behind her ear.

Jackson began to pace. April didn't understand the dynamics at play here. She had no clue what his grandfather was up to and he hated that the man had put his best friend right in the middle of their life long tug-of-war. It was unfair to her and now Jackson was stuck in a position where if he told her the truth, he would hurt her and if he didn't, she'd probably end up hurt eventually anyway. He stopped pacing and looked at her; rain dampened and confused by his behavior. He owed it to April to be honest about his grandfather's intentions.

"April, that night at dinner my Grandpa implied that he wanted me at Mass Gen. Maybe he feels a good way to get me there would be through you."

April sighed, deflating like a punctured balloon. "You said implied. Did he ask you or not?"

"No. I mean, he didn't come out and say it but I know him, he's-"

"So he never said it?" she further clarified.

"No."

April turned away from him, starting in the direction of her room before abruptly stopping and turning back. "Why would he think that getting me to Mass Gen would get you there?" she asked, her eyes wide and curious.

Jackson couldn't turn back now. He'd already started the ball rolling. It was time to put everything on the table. He saw how I looked at you, he thought. Somehow he knows how I feel about you, he added. But what he ended up saying was, "He'd try anything." Weak, feeble, cowardly: All great words to describe him right now.

April let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "You're full of it," she bit out. "I'm a damn good doctor and if you think that anyone would want me based on some ill perceived notion that it would bring you along for the ride, you're crazy!"

He'd done it. He'd hurt her and he was the biggest jerk for doing it. "You don't know my grandfather," he tried to reason.

April stared at him in disbelief. "I'm starting to wonder if I even know you."

That was a slap in the face if Jackson ever knew one. He was speechless as April turned on her heel and walked away. A few seconds later April's door slammed closed, marking the period to their conversation. Jackson slunk to his room and collapsed on the bed. Minutes ticked by and then hours. Before he knew it, the sun was setting and he hadn't even showered. More time passed before he decided to stop feeling sorry for himself long enough to get the dried up sweat off of him. The shower he took was hot and steamy, just what he needed to refocus. He'd put his foot in his mouth with April. Repeatedly. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, he'd only wanted her to understand.

And how do you expect her to understand if you can't man up and tell her just why your grandfather would use her to get to you?

Jackson ended his shower and toweled off. He dressed in a pair of jeans and a t shirt and made the short walk across the living room to April's room. She had the largest room on the other side of the apartment from him and Karev. He knocked on her door and waited. No answer. He knocked again, this time calling her name. Still no answer. He contemplated opening the door but then thought better of it. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I wanted to talk," he said to her door. He waited, listened, heard nothing, so he headed back to his room just as the lock turned in the front door. Jackson fully expected to see April walk through it with an annoyed expression on her face but it was Karev.

"Hey," the other doctor said. "I'm heading to Joe's in a few. Coming?"

"Nah," Jackson declined. "I should study." He'd been spending less and less time at Joe's lately and more time with April.

"Suit yourself," Karev grumped. "Hey, April!" he called. "I'm going to Joe's, you should come."

"I don't think she's-"

"No thanks!" April's voice chirped from behind her door. "Studying."

So she was ignoring him. Great. That decided things for Jackson. "On second thought, I will come."

April's mood was in direct correlation with the weather: Misty and dreary.

She hadn't stopped her little spurts of tears since she'd slammed the door in Jackson's face earlier. The nerve of him to say that she wasn't good enough for Harper Avery. She only knew Harper through Jackson's eyes and words and though he had such adjectives for his grandfather like overbearing and determined, he'd never once made it seem like the elder Avery would sink so low to get his way. Besides, someone as smart as Harper couldn't possibly think that hiring her would entice Jackson to give up great prospects like Tulane and Emory. But Jackson… he was so convinced, so agitated, so unlike himself. Had it been any other hospital, he would have celebrated with her but his issues with his grandfather clouded everything that had to do with Harper Avery in Jackson's mind.

It wasn't like she was going to Mass Gen, anyway. She would give it careful consideration like every other hospital that wanted her, but she had no intention of moving to Boston. None at all. If Jackson could only see that. If he didn't have to make her being wanted by a great surgeon like Harper Avery all about him, his family, his issues.

It always came back to that with Jackson. From the very first time she'd heard his last name and saw the way he shrank from it when the questions came. Any other doctor would have puffed and preened at the attention the Avery name gave them, held their head a little higher at the prestige, but not Jackson. No, Jackson looked pained when the Avery name was mentioned, his smile was always tight like it hurt him to fake it. "Yep, that Avery," was all the response he'd given to anyone who'd asked - before easily changing the subject like he'd done it a thousand times before. Probably had.

When his grandfather had visited Mercy West their intern year, Jackson made sure to be everywhere his grandfather wasn't. While interns, residents, and attending's alike all vied for the revered doctor's time, his grandson had been noticeably absent - to April, at least. She'd found him in the library, seemingly hiding behind a stack of medical journals. They hadn't been best friends back then, Reed was her best friend, but Jackson was a friend and he looked like he needed one.

"Hiding?" April asked.

Jackson looked up from the journal he wasn't reading. "I like to call it avoiding."

"Can I avoid with you?"

"Be my guest," he said, motioning to an empty chair across from him.

April sat down. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

She nodded. "You know, I get it."

"I said I didn't want to talk about it," Jackson grumbled.

"You have this grandfather who is larger than life," April continued, ignoring him. "He's a God in the medical world. Everyone whose anyone knows him, every doctor worth their salt wants a chance at the award that carries his name. People look at you and think 'wow, that's Harper Avery's grandson. I wonder what he can do?' And you know they think it, you know they compare, you know they watch extra closely. I'd be hiding, too, if I were you."

He looked at her strangely, like he saw through her. "No you wouldn't. You'd be eating it up, April. I know you."

"What?" April feigned shock, because he was right. She loved to be recognized, she lived for it. She spent hours journaling about how amazing she was, about how great she was going to be. If she had the lineage Jackson had, she wouldn't be hiding in the back of a hospital library, that's for sure.

"Don't act like you wouldn't."

"Fine, I won't."

They sat quietly for a while.

"Did you meet him?"

"Not yet. Too much of a crowd."

"Figures."

"I'm sure he would love to see you."

"I just saw him last week. We had dinner."

Another long silence followed where Jackson was unreadable. What did she think she was going to accomplish seeking him out? What did she think she would say that would make him decide to emerge from his self imposed exile and go see his grandfather? She wasn't good at things like this. She wasn't good at people and relationships. She talked too much, rambled, said the wrong things. She-

"Thanks."

April's brows shot up. "Me? For what, I didn't do anything."

He cracked a smile, his blue-green eyes sparkling a little. "You're here when you could be out there hovering around my grandfather like everyone else. You're being a friend... Thank you."

April wanted to understand Jackson and be a friend to him now. She had wanted to tell him to come in when he'd knocked and accept his apology when he offered it from the other side of her door, but she couldn't. He'd really hurt her. He was being very un-Jackson-like and that angered her. Jackson was her calm in the storm, he was the one who reasoned with her when she got too wired, he was the one who picked her up from bars and got her home safely when she drank too much. He laughed at her bad jokes, he ate whatever she cooked (as long as it wasn't too green) he spent time with her. When she had no one else, she had him. He was the last person she would expect to hurt her and somehow he'd hurt her worse than anyone ever had.

Tears sprang to her eyes once again and she furiously wiped them away.

The redhead that sat down next to Jackson at the bar was not April. Her hair was too bright, her perfume too strong, her voice too husky. She was nothing like April, but she was easy on the eyes and she laughed freely and she was uncomplicated. Jackson half listened to what she was saying and tried to focus on anything other than the way the buttons of her shirt pulled taut around her breasts.

It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed female company this way. He'd spent one too many nights tossing and turning in his bed alone. He wasn't used to being a saint or to coming home every night only to study or fall asleep exhausted after a long day at the hospital. On the most basic of levels, he felt he had gone too long without sex and he was tired of denying himself.

And for what?

The answer came easily enough.

April.

The reason why he was denying himself, if he was honest, was because the only woman he wanted to sleep with was a virgin, and his best friend, and yeah, a virgin. Jackson took a shot and forced his thoughts away from April, their argument, and how much of a jerk he'd been to her today. He needed something easy for the night and this woman was giving him all of the signals that she was what he was looking for.

Jackson set his glass on the bar. "Wanna go back to my place?"

She pushed her face close to his and smiled seductively. "I thought you'd never ask."

April was in the kitchen making a some hot chocolate when Alex stumbled into the apartment.

He grinned roguishly when he saw her. "Great night, you should have come."

"I'd rather pass my boards," April replied tightly, noting that he hadn't brought a woman home with him. A first in a long time. "Surprised you're alone tonight."

He grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. "All the cute ones were taken." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice that made April roll her eyes.

She didn't get Karev and his constant need for sex. She'd gone her whole life without it and was just fine, he pouted when he went a day without it. "Where's Jackson?" she inquired nonchalantly, staring down into her mug."

"With some hot redhead."

April's stomach dropped. Suddenly she didn't want the cocoa. She set her mug down on the counter.

"He surprised me. I was starting to wonder if he'd ever get back out there. It was getting kind of lonely, just me…" Alex mused.

April wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Gross." She didn't want to hear about Alex's sex life and she wanted to hear even less about Jackson's.

"For a while there I thought that you and Jackson had a thing going. Guess I was wrong about that."

April hated that Karev's comment interested her so much. "Me and Jackson? Why would you think that?" She hoped she didn't sound as curious as she felt.

"All that studying together alone at night, dinner with his family, the way he's been looking at you."

The last bit gave April a little vindication. It was a relief to know that it wasn't just her imagination running wild where Jackson was concerned. "He doesn't look at me… in a way."

"You're probably right. I mean, you're a lot different from the girls he's usually with. Don't know what I was thinking."

Now she was offended but oddly interested. "What does that even mean?"

Alex scrunched up his face and took in her appearance. "Don't take this personally, but you're April Kepner."

"Yeah, I won't take that personally at all." she replied sarcastically.

"I just mean that you're sweet and innocent and you wear terricloth robes and cook Susie Homemaker meals."

April knew that Alex hadn't intended to be mean, he was only teasing the way he always did, but she had to turn to the sink to hide the hurt on her face. "Goodnight, Alex," she dismissed him, her voice too high.

"Hey, April, I didn't mean... Look, you're a great girl. You put up with me. Any guy would be lucky to have you." Karev was doing his best to amend his previous statements.

"It's fine, Alex." She knew she wasn't Jackson's type. She'd seen the women he'd dated through the years and none of them were like her.

"Night," Alex grunted before leaving the kitchen.

She waited until she heard his door shut before she heaved a long disappointed sigh and poured her hot chocolate down the drain.

Jackson couldn't do it. It wasn't that he didn't want to, because he really, really wanted to. It was that he couldn't.

On the cab ride back to his place things had gotten pretty hot and heavy with the redhead in the back seat. She was everything he needed at the moment: an experienced woman with no inhibitions or expectations. She didn't know him, he didn't know her, they both knew this was a one night thing.

Perfect.

Except it wasn't.

Somewhere between kissing her and having her hand go up under his shirt to press against his abdomen, he'd whispered or moaned or outright called her April. It was the hair, he told himself even though it wasn't the right shade of red - it had to be the hair.

She pulled back. "It's Cynthia, I told you that at the bar."

"Right, Cynthia. Sorry." He reached for her and she went willingly back into their make out.

Jackson's hand fisted in her hair and it was stiff under his fingers, weighed down in hairspray. He removed his hand to run down her back and then went to kiss her neck but her perfume was strong and cloying. By that point, he realized that he was looking for anything to turn him off.

Jackson stopped. "I can't do this." His breath was hard and heavy. "Sorry. My head isn't in it.

Cynthia pulled away and flopped back against the seat. "Fine." She sounded slightly annoyed. "Can you take me back to the bar?" she asked the driver.

They made a U-turn at the next light.

Jackson let out a long silent breath and focused on the rain that trickled down his window. When they got back to Joe's, Jackson helped her out of the car and back to the entrance. "I'm really sorry about… um… waisting your time."

She waved him off. "No big deal."

Jackson headed back to the cab.

"Whoever April is," she called after him. Jackson's heart thudded hard in his chest at hearing his best friend's name on a stranger's tongue. "One lucky lady."

Jackson didn't respond, just got in and headed for home.

This time, Jackson didn't stop knocking at April's door until she answered it.

She squinted against the hallway light as she tried to focus on him. "Jackson? It's late... or early, I don't-" the last of her sentence was lost in a yawn.

"I know it's late but I need to talk to you." April was wearing a flower print robe that he was sure was covering equally flowery pajamas. Her hair was tousled from sleep and her eyes were a little red, probably from crying - and somehow she still made the hot redhead, that he'd been minutes away from having sex with, pale in comparison.

She relented, opening the door wider for him. "Fine, come in." She kept her arms crossed over her chest defensively. That stung.

Jackson stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I was an ass today and I apologize for it. Instead of being a friend to you, I got caught up in my own mess and projected. You're right, my grandfather wouldn't make an offer for just anyone. He knows you're talented, he knows you're a great doctor and that's why he wants you."

April dropped her arms, shaking her head. "I understand. We're all under pressure right now."

She was forgiving him too easily. He deserved to have her yell at him or something. "I hurt you."

"You did."

"I'm sorry."

"You already said that."

He stepped closer to her. "You should be angry at me."

"I am!" She flailed her arms. "I'm very angry at you. No one has ever made me feel as… as…. as worthless as you did today."

Jackson rocked back with the impact of her words. "That was never my intention. I only wanted to protect you."

"From the big bad Harper Avery, I know." There were tears in her eyes. "He's really not as bad as you make him out to be, Jackson."

He sighed, frustrated. It was complicated. Avery's were complicated. How could he make her understand? Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose in contemplation. A million thoughts came to mind, reasons he could use to get April to see things his way. In the end he went with the truth. "My dad ran. He left my family behind and ran. I wasn't even out of diapers when he left." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush. He surprised himself as much as he did April, who sat down on her bed like the wind had been knocked from her sails.

"I had no idea. I mean, I knew he wasn't around but I never knew why."

Jackson sat down beside her. "Yeah, well, it's not something I talk about." Ever. This was the first time he'd told anyone anything about his dad. Jackson flexed his hands before placing them flat on his knees. "You know, they don't say it but my mom and Grandpa think I'm a lot like my father. I can see it in their eyes sometimes; their fear that I'll cut and run like he did."

April placed her hand over his. It was comforting and his words came more freely.

"That's why my mom accepted me in Plastics so easily. She'd have me anywhere but Plastics but she's afraid that if she pushes the issue, she'll lose me. And Grandpa, he's subtle. He never comes right out and says what he wants from me, instead he'll orchestrate a situation to make it happen. I jumped to the conclusion that he was doing that with you today, and it was unfair to you because you are great, and as far away from worthless as a person can get." He conveyed the depth of his last sentence by gripping the hand that April had placed over his. He held it, his eyes fixed on their entangled fingers. "So, again, I apologize.

April nudged him in the lighthearted way she sometimes did. "I accept." Her mouth turned up into a sleepy, crooked, adorable smile.

Jackson was surprised by how at ease he was talking about his father with April. He didn't even talk about the man with his mom since the one time he tried had ended in tears. It had been during a drive home after one of his little league championship games. After spending the the celebration secretly envious of his friends with their father's, he couldn't take not knowing anymore and asked Catherine why his dad wasn't there like all of the other kids. He still remembered her pulling the car over and crying. No, not crying, sobbing. Even as a little kid, her tears had shook him and he hated his father because he was to blame. From that moment on, he swore he'd never mention the man again. Anyone who caused his mother so much pain wasn't worth remembering, so he'd pushed the his dad from his thoughts all together.

Until now.

With April, things were different. She didn't ask a lot of questions or look at him differently or pity him. She was simply there for him, small but immovable in her support.

They sat together, fingers laced for a while. Then April asked him if he wanted coffee. She suggested decaf because it was late and because she was April and April always knew the right things to do at the right time. They sat down at the table and talked about unimportant, safe topics.

"I expected you to show up here with the hot-redhead Alex told me about," April said, looking up from her coffee.

He could kill Karev. "Yeah, that didn't work out." Jackson cast his eyes away from her and rubbed at his neck. He didn't want to think about why it didn't work out. Not right now, sitting across from the only red-head that was worth his time.

He noticed her mouth settle into a slight frown.

"What's wrong?"

"I-" she started, but then she stopped herself, placing a hand to her mouth as if to keep words from spilling out, "-I should go to bed."

He nodded, too tired to press the issue.

Jackson stepped off his flight from Atlanta to Boston, glad to be back in his hometown for a couple of days. He'd spent the past week either on a plane, sitting in an airport, or in interviews with hospital administrators. He was mentally and physically exhausted - and ready to fall asleep for the next twenty-four hours. He hailed a cab outside of the airport and directed the driver to the address of his childhood home. He would have picked a hotel for his stay but his mom insisted that there was no way that her baby boy could come home and stay in a hotel. She assured him that she would be a work most of his stay, which was code for he wouldn't have to endure her meddling ways, so he relented and agreed.

Jackson looked down at his phone, checking for the third time since he landed for a message from April. Her flight was supposed to have touched down a few hours before his. She was in town to interview with Mass General. True to her word, she was considering his grandpa's stomping ground like she said she would.

Jackson still had his reservations about the whole thing but he was sure that April wouldn't pick Boston over her other choices, so he kept his contrary comments to himself. Which was admittedly hard to do at times. The truth was he still didn't completely trust his grandfather where April was concerned. The man had never given up without a fight and Jackson knew that the elder Avery wasn't above getting his hands dirty to have his way. Jackson intended to give April some pointers in dealing with his grandfather when they met up for dinner later.

The cab pulled up to his gated home twenty minutes later. Jackson keyed in the code and the gates slowly opened, creaking a little like they hadn't been oiled all winter. He wasn't at all surprised to see his mother's car in the driveway. All that talk about her having to work the whole time he'd be in town was just that, talk. She'd probably taken the two days off just to be a burr in his backside.

Jackson paid the cabbie and headed for the front door. He didn't even have to pull his key out before the door swung open and his mother stood before him, smiling from ear to ear. "Baby." She held her arms out.

"Hi, Mom." Jackson bent to give his mother a hug. "I thought you'd be busy with work," he teased.

"I will be, actually." She pulled away. "I had to get someone settled in first."

Jackson set his bag down in the entryway and closed the door behind him. "I think I can manage settling myself in. It's not like I didn't grow up here." And visit every time I'm in town, but he kept that remark to himself.

"Good thing I wasn't speaking of you then." Catherine Avery sashayed away from him down the long hallway that led to the kitchen.

Jackson was left standing there with a confused expression on his face.

He left his bag behind and followed his mom. When he entered the kitchen, he stopped still in his tracks. April Kepner was sitting at his kitchen table.

"Jackson!" April said excitedly when she saw him walk in.

"April?" She looked relaxed and at home sitting with his mom at the table. Something inside of him stirred and he felt that familiar tug at his heart that came so frequently when in April's presence.

Catherine was placing platters of food down on the table. "Baby, April is going to be staying here while she's in town. I couldn't let her come to Boston and not stay with friends. I know you don't mind, you two are roommates, after all."

Jackson had a few choice words for his mom but that could wait until later. April was looking at him expectantly and he didn't want her to mistake his shock for something bad.

"My mom's right. This is the perfect place for you to stay while you're here. Don't know why I didn't think of it."

"Because you're a man," his mom said matter-of-factly, placing a pitcher of lemonade on the wooden table.

Jackson let the comment pass without remark because she was probably right and went to hug April. His best friend felt good in his arms and smelled even better.

As Jackson took a seat at the table it wasn't lost on him that he was dining with the two most important women in his life.

They ate chicken salad on croissants, drank fresh lemonade courtesy of Amelia, Catherine's personal chef, and talked shop. Jackson shared his feelings on Tulane and Emory as he'd narrowed his choices down to those two. He felt like Atlanta would have been a great place for him a few years ago but now New Orleans was the better fit, but he wasn't one hundred percent decided since Emory had thrown in a huge housing allowance to sweeten the deal. April buzzed about her excitement over all of her choices but she was leaning towards Case Western Reserve since it was close to home.

"But you haven't even interviewed with Mass Gen yet," Catherine butt in.

April wiped her mouth with her cloth napkin and replaced it in her lap. "I'm sure I'll love it, but I hadn't even considered Boston as a possibility until two weeks ago." She glanced at Jackson who shot his stare down into his plate.

He absolutely hated the subject of Mass Gen but he did everything he could to keep those feelings to himself and not impose his mistrust of his grandfather onto April.

"What time is your interview tomorrow?" Catherine asked, filling up the sudden uncomfortable silence that fell over the room.

"Two-Thirty tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll take you," Jackson piped up.

Catherine clapped her hands together at her chest, "I think that's a perfect idea."

Jackson gave his mother a knowing look. This was working out just the way his mother had planned it.

"Well, I should get going. I'm working on a exciting case of conjoined twins."

Jackson and April stood and said their goodbye's.

"Thanks again, Dr. Avery," April said.

Catherine waved it off. "No thanks necessary, April. You're practically family." She kissed Jackson's cheek and patted his arm as she left the kitchen. "Have a good night, you two."

Jackson turned back to April. Looked like it was going to be just the two of them for the night. He had to hand it to his mom, she couldn't have set this up any better if she tried.