A/N: Thanks for the support! Un-betaed and rated M for a reason! Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Same as usual.

Chapter 2 – The Results Are In

Alex Karev was so happy that he practically pranced into his apartment. He had passed the Boards! He was in absolute shock. He had passed the Boards and so had Meredith and Cristina.

He found Jackson in the kitchen in shorts and a t-shirt drinking a cup of coffee. "Dude, it's almost midnight, what are you doing drinking coffee?"

Jackson chuckled, "April and I went a little overboard on whiskey earlier."

"Where is she?" He asked quickly.

"In the shower. Why?"

Alex beamed with excitement. "The Boards results are in early. I passed!"

"Holy shit!" Jackson laid his mug on the counter and then raced to his bedroom. He grabbed his cell phone off of his bed and promptly checked his email. He breathed a sigh of relief before he exploded with joy. "I passed!"

Alex came down the hallway laughing as he heard Jackson repeating that he passed. The two men high-fived before they converged to bang on the bathroom door, they needed their roommate to check her result.

"April, get out here!" Jackson yelled.

"I'm in the shower!" She bellowed back.

"The Boards results are in!" Alex added.

They both heard the water shut off and then waited a minute or two before the bathroom door opened and April stood before them, soaking wet, with a towel wrapped around her body.

"You guys passed?" She smiled.

They nodded and Jackson handed her his phone. "Here! Check!"

She accepted his phone and blankly stared down at it. "Um," she started nervously. "I just need a minute."

This was the culmination of everything that she had worked for since she was fifteen. Four years of torment disguised as high school. Four years of undergrad at Butler. Four years of med school at the University of Chicago. Countless exams. Five years of residency. Everything came down to this and she wasn't ready for the possible disappointment and failure. She had never failed at anything academically in her life. When she had gotten fired from Seattle Grace Mercy West it had devastated her. She couldn't fail this test; she wouldn't know what to do.

"Come on Kepner," Alex encouraged, "it's like a Band-Aid."

"You're a soldier," Jackson grinned.

Alex turned to him in confusion. "What?"

"Long story," he replied.

April cracked a small smile before her fingers began to slowly move over the keypad. She was a solider. The webpage loaded and she exhaled the breath that she had been holding. "Thank God," she chuckled.

"You passed?" Jackson asked excitedly.

She smiled and nodded. "I passed!"

"We passed!" Jackson exclaimed with his arms in the air.

April was quickly enveloped in a hug from her two male roommates as they celebrated becoming Board certified surgeons. They were going to be attendings. They would be upgrading to different colour scrubs and bossing residents around. It was exciting.

Alex let go first and laughed. "Well, I'm going to grab a drink at Joe's. You guys coming?"

Jackson shook his head. "I've already had too much to drink today."

April grimaced, "Yeah, me too."

"I'll catch you two later then! Don't wait up!" He bounded out of the apartment with a smile still plastered on his face.

April and Jackson stood in the hallway and listened to the front door slam shut. She looked up at him and whispered happily, "We passed."

"We passed," he repeated. He would say that phrase as often as necessary until it finally sunk in.

They were both aware that this was a moment that needed to be shared between just the two of them. They were the two survivors from their Mercy West intern group. They had been through hell together and now they were embarking on a new chapter.

"I can't drink anymore," she laughed. "So I guess that form of celebrating is out."

He chuckled along with her. "Yeah me either, I just had a cup of coffee."

April shifted her feet awkwardly. "I should…um…finish my shower." As she spoke her eyes strayed to Jackson's chest and studied the way his t-shirt stretched across his broad, muscled frame. When she met his gaze she saw the hungry look in his blue-green eyes that she was growing accustomed to. "Do you maybe…want to join me?"

"Yeah," he groaned. "I do." He had wanted an invitation when she had first gotten in the shower.

Earlier, they had decided that they were going to take some time to figure out what they were doing, how they could be defined, and during that time they were just going to do what came naturally. They were also going to keep it private, they didn't want hospital gossip swirling around them. He had been willing to take the newfound physical aspect out of their relationship, as difficult as it would be, but she had argued that it would just confuse her thoughts and feelings even more to suddenly stop.

She took his hand and led him into the bathroom.

"Are you sore?" He asked in concern as he closed the door behind him. The thought hadn't struck him until now but it was something that he should have considered before.

"A little," she nodded. She stepped into the shower and tossed the towel behind her. She pulled the shower curtain over before she started the water.

He felt the guilt creep back in as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and pushed down his shorts. She had been a virgin, she should be sore, and he hadn't exactly been gentle with her in that men's restroom. He followed her into the shower and immediately wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For this morning," he explained. "I was rough."

"Don't apologize. I kinda like it," she admitted with a nervous giggle.

"Duly noted," he grinned. He could just imagine the blush that was spreading across her face and down her neck so he spun her around to face him. He pushed her wet hair out of her face and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "This new thing between us isn't just because we had sex," he told her sincerely. He had been feeling their relationship change since his breakup with Lexie; he just hadn't realized where exactly it was going until she had kissed him.

"I know," she answered.

"Which is why I'm just going to kiss you and wash your hair." He leaned down to kiss her and it was long and slow, completely languid and unhurried. It was different from the other kisses they had shared and it had the desired effect on the woman in his arms. She moaned and pulled him down for another.

As they continued to kiss, Jackson pushed her forward so that they were both standing under the stream of hot water. He held her face in one hand and ran the other slowly up her back until it was tangled in her hair. It was harder to stop kissing than they had both anticipated. They were like a couple of teenagers, but it made perfect sense. He was a guy with a very healthy sex drive and she was having the first sexual experiences of her life. Also, they were insanely attracted to each other.

He pulled away from her mouth to place a tender kiss on her temple. "Pass me your shampoo."

April lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She missed Jackson even though he was sleeping in the room next door. She missed him and was hoping that he would knock on her door before the night was over. She had only ever shared a bed with her sisters and Reed, so maybe it was just the curiosity of what sleeping next to a man would feel like. However, when she was honest with herself she admitted that she had wanted to ask Jackson to stay last night but she had been feeling emotional and on the verge of a small breakdown and she hadn't wanted him there for that. She had just been so confused about God and him…and the incredible sex.

She was a naturally insecure person and sadly, she always had been. She was insecure about her looks, her personality, and her skills as a doctor. And she was deathly insecure about the fact that no one had loved her yet. She pushed people away without even knowing it; she hadn't allowed anyone to love her yet. Most of the time she managed to put on a brave face but she was insecure at heart and losing her virginity to Jackson had brought a lot of those insecurities to the surface. He was kind, brilliant, and talented. He was gorgeous from head to toe and had women throwing themselves at him wherever he went. It was hard not to feel vulnerable and insecure around him, despite the fact that he was her best friend and had already seen her at her worst.

But she had firmly decided in San Francisco that she was done hiding. She was done trying to be someone that she wasn't, and she was finished with feeling guilty for giving her virginity to Jackson. Being with him had felt good. It had felt right. It wasn't like she had gone and had sex with some random.

She finally gave in and got out of her bed. She crept next door and slowly opened the door.

Jackson heard his bedroom door open and close and he sleepily rolled over. He reached for his bedside lamp and flicked on the light. April stood in his room in a baggy Butler t-shirt and shorts, with her back pressed against the door.

"April, what's wrong?" He asked groggily.

"Last night I wanted you to stay, I just couldn't…" she confessed.

He sat up and smiled. "That's okay."

"Can I stay with you tonight?" She asked as she nervously bit down on her bottom lip.

"Of course." He moved over in his bed and pulled back the covers in invitation. "Is anything else bothering you?"

She shook her head as she turned off the lamp before sliding into bed beside him. They lay on their sides so that they faced each together and she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she spoke. "I just realized how scared I am."

He gulped. "What do you mean?"

"I missed you," she explained with a slight hint of panic in her voice. "You were sleeping in the room next to mine and I missed you. We've been apart for less than two hours and I missed you."

He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. "Relax," he whispered. "I missed you too." He grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers.

He sounded so sincere and his eyes were so soft. She knew that it was time to reveal some of her insecurities. "As long as we're sleeping together, I don't want you seeing other women."

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "I wasn't planning on seeing other women. I don't want to see other women."

"Are you sure?" She asked shakily.

"Yes I'm sure," he confirmed. "And I don't want you seeing other guys either." She rolled her eyes and he added, "Please don't say something self-deprecating right now." He hated how low her self-esteem appeared sometimes. "Men notice you." He saw men checking her out all the time; she just didn't seem to notice. "Luckily, I'm just the only one who knows how sexy you really are."

"Sexy?" She repeated with a small laugh. That was not a word she was used to hearing in reference to her.

Jackson grinned as he repositioned himself so that he was holding his body above her, his weight braced on his forearms. He wanted to see that confidence again. "The way that you took control last night was very sexy." He saw her lips start to curve into a small smile so he continued. "Your body is sexy." He bent down to kiss her and she ran her hands down the flexing muscles of his back. She wrapped her calves around his and rolled them over so that she was on top of him. His head hit the pillow and he grinned as he watched her straddle his waist and pull her t-shirt swiftly over her head. She leaned forward to kiss him and enthusiastically gripped his face.

There was the confidence he was looking for.

He sat up and placed his hands in the small of her back as he kissed the base of her neck. "And when you're confident like this…really sexy."

She guided his mouth back to hers for a fervent kiss. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she moaned. She shifted her hips against his and felt him large and hard beneath her. "Jackson," she gasped. "Take off your boxers."

He stopped kissing her jaw line and looked up at her in surprise. "Aren't you sore? We don't have to have sex. We can do other stuff."

"Jackson, it's okay," she smiled.

He found her hard to say no to; especially when her voice deepened and she looked at him like that. He kissed her as he gripped her sides and gently pushed her onto her back. She quickly pushed his boxers down and he grinned at her eagerness. He placed kisses from her chin down to her navel as he slowly lowered her shorts and panties.

April groped in the dark for the condoms that Jackson had returned to his room earlier. She finally found the handle of the top drawer of his bedside table and pulled it open. She squealed and dropped the condom that she had managed to get a hold of when Jackson simultaneously tickled the inside of her thigh and playfully nipped the top of her breast.

He laughed gruffly at her reaction and kissed her softly on the lips. He enjoyed teasing her like that; he liked to see her loosen up a bit. April was high-strung, a type A personality, and being the Chief Resident stressed her out. She needed to relax more often and she seemed to do so around him at least.

Jackson continued to tease her with foreplay until she finally pushed the condom into his hand impatiently. He chuckled as he took it from her and slipped it on. She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around his waist as he slowly pushed into her.

She felt incredible, tight and warm, and just perfect. He grazed his nose against hers and stared into her eyes. "You okay?" He whispered.

He sounded so tender that it almost hurt. She hummed in the affirmative and ran a hand down the side of his face. Her fingers played along his masculine, defined features as if she was trying to commit them to memory. "Yeah, I'm great." And this time she meant it.

His eyes never left hers the entire time they were connected. They had a powerful, unspoken conversation.

They were best friends.

They were exclusively sleeping together.

They missed each other when they weren't together.

They were two people who were afraid to express the depth of their feelings out loud.

He made love to her slowly. He took his time and he worshipped her.

When she fell over the edge, she wrapped her legs tightly around him and gripped his biceps. Her actions triggered his own orgasm and he carefully let himself collapse on top of her. She tilted her head back and exposed the full length of her neck to him. Her eyes slipped closed as he placed lazy kisses down her neck and she let out the satisfied, breathless laugh that he was starting to love.

"God Jackson," she panted. "That was…" She paused and laughed again.

He chuckled into the crook of her neck. "Tell me about it."

"I don't think I can feel my feet," she laughed.

He laughed along with her loudly and after a long kiss, he slowly moved off of her to lie on his back. He removed the condom and tossed it into his nearby trashcan. He turned his head to look at her and said, "We're good together." All traces of laughter were gone and he was being completely serious.

"Yeah," she swallowed. "We are." His eyes were dark and intense, and his expression was earnest. This experience differed greatly from last night when they had laid in bed together. Neither of them was leaving and she was not freaking out, in fact she felt perfectly at ease. She rolled into his side and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her side. She sighed in contentment before she drifted off to sleep.

A/N: This story works better in a world that realizes how awesome April is, so she passed. Lol. Leave me your thoughts!