Growing up, my mother always told my sisters and me to always keep an open mind, because people might just surprise you. As I watch Alex Karev go to talk to Sam Kenton's son, those same words echo through my head. Jason collapses on to one of the seats below him and begins to openly sob in to his hands while Alex reaches forward to rest his hand sympathetically on the younger man's shoulder. Through the small window of the door separating us, I can't help but closely observe the way Alex's head hangs low as he soundlessly mutters an apology and explanations for things even we doctors can't always understand.

I swallow thickly, feeling tears start to pool behind my eyes and turn away swiftly on the sole of my shoe, suddenly feeling as though I am intruding on a private moment. Unsure of where to go from here, I head back to my new office. I surreptitiously wipe at my eyes with the sleeve of my long sleeved gown as I walk through the halls of the hospital I had grown to love over the past few years. Loving Seattle Grace Mercy West was another example of life taking you by surprise.

When I reach the door of my office, I let out a quite sigh of relief before shuffling in to the spacious room. I fall into my leather desk chair, deciding to occupy my mind with the surprising stacks of paper work that come along with the job.

I don't notice him at first, but when I hear a muffled groan my head rockets up to find Jackson Avery snuggling deeper into a throw pillow as he naps peacefully on my brand new couch. At the unexpected sight, I let out a high pitched yelp and fall backwards in my chair. I quickly place both hands over my mouth to hold in the scream, not wanting to wake him, but I can already tell it is too late by the way Jackson's eye immediately spring open.

"I'm awake…I'm awake," he claims, quickly sitting up and rubbing both hands over his face to rid himself of any leftover sleepiness. He looks around the room in alarm until his eyes land on me, staring at him with a wide-eyed expression from across the room. His features relax when he realizes that it was just my voice and not the sound of a pager that woke him up.

"What are you doing here?!" I breathe out, dropping my hands from mouth. Jackson stretches out his arms above his head, simply shrugging in reply once they have been lowered.

"I didn't think you'd mind," he argues, rubbing at his eyes. "Besides, I thought you were supposed to be scrubbing in on that knee replacement now, anyway," he observes, glancing up at the clock on the wall behind him.

I let out a little huff and shake my head. "I couldn't find anyone to assist on Karev's bowel resection so I had to do it instead."

Jackson nods, "How'd it go?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in surgery?" I ask quickly, intentionally ignoring his question. I didn't need him gloating about the fact that Karev was, more likely than not, going to have to lead the skills labs for the next month. Not after what I had just witnessed Jason Kenton's break down in the waiting room.

Jackson's jaw muscles tighten as he turns his head away from me and averts his eyes. He coughs and rubs the back of his neck as he admits, "I didn't…uh, I didn't do the surgery."

I tilt forward in my chair again and wrinkle my forehead in confusion. Noticing my look of perplexity, he quickly jumps to his feet and points at me, saying sternly, "This stays between me and you."

I nod mutely and snap my jaw shut, waiting patiently for him to continue speaking as he begins to pace the room. "I was all set to do a straight line repair and then Robbins told me that she preferred a Millard rotation. So I showed her I could do that, too."

"So, what was the problem?" I question slowly.

"She still didn't trust me enough to do it! We were in the OR about to start when Robbins started talking about how much pressure this was and how by doing this I would basically be shaping this kid's entire future," he explains. Bristling, he adds, "Let's just say that didn't give me a whole lot of confidence." Dejectedly, he falls back on to the couch.

Seeing Jackson so defeated throws me for such a loop that before I know what I'm doing, I'm on my feet and crossing the room to join him on the couch. Feeling the couch shift below him, Jackson bows his head and closes his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh before confessing, "I just…got nervous."

Jackson's hands rest comfortably on his knees and I bite my lip before tentatively reaching forward and placing my hand over his, interlocking our fingers. "I think it's…really sweet that you put the patient before yourself."

Jackson's eyes open in surprise at the feel of my hand on his. Swallowing, he replies, "You think?"

"Yeah…I do." I tell him sincerely, squeezing his hand. He lifts a corner of his mouth and nods. He continues to watch me closely for quite some time, clearing his throat and rolling his shoulders back before leaning closer to me.

For a moment, actually, more like a second, I think he might kiss me. But…that would be crazy. Why would Jackson Avery want to kiss me? He has a girlfriend…a pretty serious one, at that. And even if he didn't…it just…it wouldn't make any sense. We're friends. That's all we would ever be.

Despite knowing all of this, my breath hitches as he moves closer. Instead, he stops short and squints his eyes, before saying, "You've been crying."

"Wh-what?" I stutter.

"I can see the tear streaks," he observes, running his thumb across my cheek and smiling weakly at me as his hand falls away.

"Um…yeah," I manage, inwardly rolling my eyes at the way my voice shakes as I place my hand over the cheek he had just touched. "I guess I was."

Knowingly, he questions, "What happened in your surgery, April?"

I take a deep breath and release it through my nose, searching his eyes for any indication that he might only be asking for personal gain. It didn't seem like something he would do but, then again, this was a contest to him. And Jackson had always been competitive.

Deciding that Jackson's concern is real, I finally disclose, "The patient went in to septic shock."

Jackson takes in a breath to respond when the sound of my office door opening causes us both to jump. We both turn our heads to find Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang standing in the door frame, watching us.

Meredith keeps her narrowed eyes on Jackson, silently wondering if she had walked in on something worth telling Lexie about it. Cristina, on the other hand, marches in the room without hesitation.

"What is going on here?" she asks, wearing a smile that could only compare to the Cheshire Cat. "I didn't think Virgin Mary was your type, Pretty Boy."

Noticing that our hands are still intertwined, we quickly untangle them and move to opposite ends of the couch. My cheeks flush in embarrassment while Jackson clears his throat once again and snaps back, "Bite me, Yang. I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Oh, I remember," she retorts, "I was just making sure you still knew." He glowers at her as she rounds the coffee table and drops down in the open space between Jackson and me. Jackson rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to respond when Meredith fully steps into the room and cuts him off. "Cristina," she scolds, "Leave them alone."

"Eh, you're right," the cardiothoracic surgeon decides. Laughing, she adds, "Like Kepner and Avery would ever be a thing."

Making sure not to glance at Jackson over her shoulder, I turn to Cristina and seethe, "You know we're still here right?"

"Yeah, I just don't care," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

"Get out of my office!" I screech out, pointing towards the door. She scoffs and rolls her eyes in Meredith's direction, who is trying to hold back a smile herself.

"Relax, Kepner," she instructs, settling further back in the couch and resting both of her hands behind her head. Jackson looks at her pointedly as one of her elbows sticks out and bops him in the face. When she closes her eyes in contentment, Jackson growls before shoving her arm away lightly and standing up from the couch, instead taking up residence in the chair across from where he previously sat.

Knowing that Meredith probably wants to sit by the other Twisted Sister, I, too, push myself off the sofa and leave room for the blonde surgeon. She smiles appreciatively as we cross paths and I make my way back over to my desk.

Suddenly, I remember the celebratory bottle of scotch Dr. Hunt had bought me a few days after it had been announced that I was Chief Resident. I had stored it in the bottom drawer of my desk with a couple of the plastic cups we give out to patients with their meals. I check to make sure their still there and am pleased to find that they had not been moved.

When I return to the circle carrying the unopened bottle of alcohol and plastic cups, Cristina perks up immediately. "Now that's what I'm talking about Kepner!" she exclaims, clapping her hands together once excitedly. "Keeping boozes in your office? Maybe Owen was right to make you Chief Resident after all," she adds thoughtfully.

My heart swells at her words but I remind myself that I have to keep a calm demeanor. I simply nod in return, as though I believe it too, and take my seat on the carpeted floor. She reaches across the coffee table to take a hold of the bottle but I keep it close to my chest and shake my head.

I glance over at Jackson as I work on opening the bottle, only to find him already looking at me with a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "What?" I ask, trying to keep my own smile off my face.

He shakes his head, "I'm just impressed is all."

I am unable to hold back my smile any longer as I begin to pour the scotch into the plastic cup. My mother's words resound once again in my head when I look up to meet Jackson's stare once again. I bring my cup to my lips and, before taking a sip, tell him, "Keep an open mind, Avery. People can surprise."

A/N: I'm so happy that you all are still interested in reading these! Your response was awesome last chapter! I am so incredibly humbled! Oh! And same rules apply as last time, meaning if any of you have a particular idea that you would like to suggest feel free! I'd love to hear them! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this latest installment. Thanks for reading and please review! :)