"Hey" Jackson said softly as he reentered the room.
"Hey" April responded barely above a whisper.
"How are you doing?" he asked unsure of what she was able to remember what happened to her.
"I'm a little sore" she answered. "Can I ask you something?" she added as she shifted uncomfortably.
"Of course" he answered as he sat next to her.
"What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"No, I have no idea what's going on. What hospital is this? This isn't Seattle…"
"This is Tacoma General Hospital."
"Tacoma?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing here?"
"I've been picking up a few extra shifts here, I was the one who identified you. They weren't sure who you were at first."
"Was I in an accident?"
"It's not really important right now, all that matters is that you're going to be okay" he said reassuringly.
"Jackson-"
"The surgeon says he expects you to make a full recovery."
"Jackson! Please just tell me what's going on. I deserve to know what happened to me!"
"April-"
"Please!"
"Okay, okay" he said after a long pause. "You were…attacked" he explained softly.
"What?" she asked shocked.
"I'm sorry…"
"But.. how?" she whispered. "Oh my God! Oh my God" she gasped.
"What? What is it? What's wrong?"
"I remember it now….. Oh my God"
"Hey, hey it's okay, you're okay now. I'm right here" he said as he gently rubbed her arm.
"I have to go-" she said urgently, her eyes wide with terror, as she sat up and started pulling at the IV's connected to her arms.
"April, hey no- you're going to hurt yourself. Stay where you are-"
"I, um , I have to get out of here-" she said in a scattered voice.
"April, April, it's okay. You're safe here. You're safe here. I'm right here."
"But, I can't stay here. I have to get out of here…"
"April, you just had major surgery. You can't leave. Sit still, you're going to open your stiches…"
"Major surgery? For what?" she asked.
"Oh God" April gasped as she started to cry. "I didn't get away. They…. Jackson what did they do to me?"
"What do you remember?" he asked softly as he took her hand.
"I was visiting my friend, Melanie. Remember her from Mercy? She left right before we merged with Seattle?
"That nurse you were friends with?"
"Yeah- she moved here, to Tacoma, and I went to visit her, and when I left her apartment… Oh my God."
"What?"
"These two guys they came out of nowhere. I tried to get away. I tried so hard. I fought Jackson, I swear…"
"Of course you did, April- this wasn't your fault. Okay, not at all- you need to believe that" Jackson said adamantly.
"I was so scared" she cried.
"I'm so sorry" he said, his eyes filling with tears, as he pulled her into a hug.
"I must have passed out. I don't know if they… Jackson were they able to? Was I…raped?" she asked horrified.
"No" Jackson said, shocked by himself as the word flew out of his mouth. April had a right to know what happened to her, what happened to her own body, and he knew the truth. He just couldn't tell her. He just couldn't stomach to look in the eyes of the woman he loved and tell her the nightmare of the truth.
"Thank God" April gasped. "But, why not? Did someone stop them- the person who found me? Did they stop them?"
"Yeah" Jackson answered. "You're going to be fine Kepner" he added. "Everything's going to be fine…"
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