I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Greys Anatomy". After last chapter, how will our couple proceed in their relationship? I hope you continue to enjoy and review.
Chapter 4
Restart
Jackson is up late going over some patient files. He manages to get through the first few files, but soon loses concentration when the baby starts crying from her nursery. Jackson makes his way down the hall to the nursey and quickly steps into the room. He sees Harriet in her crib and picks her up. Jackson bounces her gently up and down trying to quell her cries. "It's okay honey." She stops a few minutes later and he gently places her in her crib. Jackson crosses the hallway to April's room and opens the door. He stands in the doorway seeing April on the floor with an album in front of her and various pictures strewn everywhere. "What are you doing April." She shifts her attention from him and smiles. Jackson steps further into the room and notices a box labeled Memories near the bed. "I thought I'd make a photo album in honor of us getting back together. I guess I lost track of time." He looks into the box and smiles. Resting on the top is their wedding photo. Jackson remembers that day clearly, it had been the happiest day of his life because he was marrying his best friend. The woman who had somehow wormed herself into his heart and became his person. He looks further into the box and spots a small black container that he's certain is holding her wedding ring. He had kept his in his top drawer, not being able to part from it. Even if their marriage had failed, it still had symbolized the love they had for each other. The love they've always had for each other. Jackson relives the last year and ten months in his mind. April hadn't left or disappeared, she'd stayed with him to raise their daughter. She had even agreed to live with him when he'd asked her to. The two of them had wanted to live together despite their divorce. At the time, the thought of living with her had felt completely natural and he hadn't thought it was odd to do so. Maybe he should have done this sooner, but like everything else in their relationship, it's better late than never.
April can barely control her happiness as she puts the last picture in place. She sighs and closes the book. April's ecstatic that their story isn't over and that they still have quite a few chapters to go. She looks at the clock on her nightstand that reads 4:00 A.M. and makes her way to the bathroom. She quickly takes a shower and dresses so she can grab breakfast before work. April makes her way to the kitchen and is surprised to see Jackson cooking breakfast. Usually, on his days off, he tries to sleep in as much as possible and only wakes up when Harriet cries out for him. Yet, here he is this morning proving that he wants them to start over just as much as she wants them to. She smiles and makes her way towards him. April wraps her arms around his waist. Jackson leans into her as she nuzzles into his neck. "What are you making this morning?" He stops and points to her already full plate on the counter. "Bacon, eggs, and toast. I even put that strawberry jelly you like so much on there." April smiles and turns him around to give him a proper kiss. Ever since Montana, she's been dreaming of kissing him like this again. Passionate, yet sweet. He puts his hands in her hair and places her on the counter. They've been in this position many times before, their magnetism drawing them together with them unable to resist it. As April pulls at the bottom of his shirt, a cry can be heard through the house. She hesitantly pulls back and releases him. "I guess duty calls." Jackson nods and she can see the burgeoning desire within his eyes. It makes her heart skip a beat as she makes her way into the nursery. April picks up Harriet and calms her down by taking a walk around the house. When she stops back in the kitchen, she realizes the time and fastens Harriet into her high-chair at the table. April quickly walks over to her plate and takes a few bits of her breakfast. She feels guilty for not eating all of it after Jackson took the time to make it, but she'll be late if she doesn't leave now. "I've got back-to-back surgeries today, I have to go, but thank you for breakfast." April gives Jackson a quick kiss and waves goodbye to Harriet before making her way out the door.
Jackson orders and picks-up Chinese food for dinner. He makes sure to ask for extra fortune cookies. He remembers when they had that big fight and she had thrown the cookies at him. At the time, he had been angry at her for throwing them at him, but now he can't help but laugh at her wasting those cookies that she loves so much. She almost loves fortune cookies as much as those damn throw pillows. He makes his way over to the refrigerator and grabs two beers out for dinner. Jackson sits across from her empty chair as the front door opens. April walks into the kitchen and sees the Chinese food containers scattered on the counter. "Extra fortune cookies?" Jackson grabs the bag off the table and hands it to April. Her eyes light up when she looks inside and he's glad that he's able to make her happy again, even in a small way like this. Jackson knows he's got a lot to make-up for and she deserves him to try. April kisses Harriet on top of her head and takes a seat across from him. He passes her a container and they begin to eat. "How was your day today?" asks April with a smile. Jackson looks over at Harriet and then back at her. "We spent the day at the park." April looks at their daughter. "Did you have fun with daddy?" Harriet spits up a little and Jackson smiles. "I guess that's your answer." He watches April laugh and clean Harriet's chin as he eats. Jackson's always known that April would be a good mother. Even when they had been strictly best friends, he had watched her take care of others and she'd even taken care of him a few times. Jackson had chronic bad dreams for months after the deaths of Reed and Charles. He would wake-up screaming and she would soothe him back to sleep by telling him a funny story about their lost friends, so the images of their dead bodies would be erased from his dreams at least for the night. April had been there for him back then, but no one had ever known. She would often stop his screaming before it got loud enough to wake everyone else in the house. April finishes cleaning Harriet's chin and looks up at him. They lock eyes and his pulse races at a rate only she can induce in him. "What?" Jackson smirks at her as she stares at him with confusion. "Nothing…I'm just thinking about us starting over and the best way to do that." April takes a bite of her noodles and then sips her beer. "We should probably lay some ground rules so we don't mess this up again." Jackson nods, knowing that their entering dangerous territory here. Just this morning they had almost had sex on the kitchen counter. As much as he'd like to do that, he also wants to do this right and not rush into anything too fast.
April watches as he takes a swig of his beer. "Rule 1: We take things slow and I take you out on a date, since we've never been on one." April nods and takes another bite of her food. "That's easy enough. Alright, Rule: 2, we can sleep in the same bed, but that's it. We always reconcile by having sex, let's try to communicate first." Jackson nods and she tries to think about what else they need to work on. She knows that their relationship will take a long time to mend, but she's ready and has been since Montana. If she's being really honest, she's been waiting since she came back from Jordan before the divorce. April shakes those thoughts from her head and tries to live in the moment. "Rule 3: We talk about things that are bothering us. We let things become bigger than us before April and I don't want that to happen again." April nods and finishes the last bit of noodles in her box. Her eyes lock with his and she remembers it's her turn. "Rule 4: We keep our relationship out of the hospital this time. I don't think it's a good idea for us to tell everyone until we get a handle on us." Jackson nods as she finishes her beer. Rule 5: We start spending more time with each other like we used to. Maybe rebuild our friendship again." April nods, having missed spending time with him since Montana. He's always been her best friend and she agrees that it's time for them to rekindle that part of their relationship because it's just as important as the romantic side of it. "Let's hope we can follow these rules." Jackson gives her a smirk and finishes his own beer. "I know I can, but I'm not sure about you." April feels her heart do a somersault within her chest as he leans over and teases her with an Earth shattering kiss.