A/N: The Friday update! Have a good weekend :)
Disclaimer: Same as usual.
Chapter 7 – Talk To Me
Jackson walked into the kitchen the next morning to find April awake and full of energy. He had a minor headache but he was in a considerably better mood than he had been in last night and seeing April certainly made him smile.
"What are you doing?" He asked drowsily. "You don't have to go in until noon. You practically just got home! You should be in bed."
"I felt like getting up and making breakfast," she said cheerfully.
Jackson yawned as he looked her over. She had clearly been up long enough to get in the shower because her hair was wet. She was wearing a t-shirt that they had been given as Mercy West interns and a pair of shorts. He didn't even know that she owned shorts that tiny. He had only ever seen her in gym shorts and the baggy ones that she slept in. He wasn't complaining though, her butt looked fantastic. As he stepped closer to where she was standing by the stove, he smelled the wonderful aroma of home cooked food.
"Mmm eggs and bacon." He rested his head on her shoulder and watched her cook. She was the best cook and baker that he knew and it was very attractive. "You may be the perfect woman."
She laughed, "I know, I cook, I clean—"
He cut her off, "You're smart and sexy." He pressed his body against hers and caressed the front of her thighs. "You should come back to bed with me," he whispered huskily.
She giggled as he tried to coax her into something physical. "Jackson," she chastised, "I'm cooking." Despite her better judgement, she tilted her head to the side to give his lips better access to her neck. "Go get in the shower." He ignored her and she couldn't contain a moan when one of his hands moved up her waist to knead her breast. She shuddered as he began to whisper very dirty things in her ear. If he didn't stop soon then they were going to have sex in the kitchen. She squirmed out of his arms and put a couple of feet between them. She pointed her spatula at him and he laughed. "Stop it! Go get in the shower right now, before Alex gets up, or I'm not giving you any breakfast!"
He chuckled at her seriousness. "Okay, okay, I'm going." She visibly relaxed, lowering her spatula, and he took the opportunity to quickly advance on her. He kissed her eagerly and gave her backside a firm squeeze. "Stop sneaking out of my bed in the morning."
"Okay," she replied in a daze. He left her speechless. The boy could kiss.
He grinned smugly at her before doing as he was told and leaving the kitchen for the bathroom.
When Jackson returned to the kitchen after showering and getting dressed, Alex was at the table shovelling his breakfast into his mouth.
"Kepner, this is why I live with you," he said around a mouthful of food.
April smiled to herself as she prepared a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast for Jackson. She placed it in front of him when he took a seat at the table. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked softly.
"Yes, please," he answered as he tried not to stare at her for too long.
She grabbed two cups of coffee, milk and two sugars for her and just milk for Jackson, and settled at the table to eat her own breakfast.
"So," Jackson began with a devious smile. "I just saw a leggy blonde slip out the front door."
April sighed and turned to Alex. "What did I tell you about unsavoury women in our apartment?"
Alex rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his toast. "Relax. She didn't use any of your stuff. Besides, you should be telling him off!" He angrily pointed at the man sitting across the table from him.
"What did I do?" Jackson asked defensively.
"I've barely been getting any sleep lately because of whoever you've been bringing home. You just get them out at the crack of dawn so that April doesn't read you the riot act!" Jackson smirked as he sipped his coffee so Alex turned to the red-head. "His women haven't been keeping you up?" He asked incredulously.
"Um no," she answered awkwardly. She took a sip of her own coffee and used her messy, red curls to hide her face from his view. She assumed that she was bright red right about now.
"Woman," Jackson chimed in.
"What?" Alex asked.
"Not women," he grinned. "Woman."
"The same one from the night you kicked me and April out?" Jackson nodded. "I already told you to tell her to keep it down."
"Hey! The number of women that you've had over who—"
April cleared her throat and Jackson abruptly stopped talking. "I'm going to go watch the news and let you two have this conversation in private," she murmured. She picked up her plate and mug and headed to the living room.
Jackson laughed until he caught his roommate's eyes on April's ass as she left. "Dude!" He stated in disbelief.
"What?" Alex shrugged. "You were looking too!" Jackson was glaring but it didn't bother him. "She knows that I check her out, she doesn't care, and she knows it doesn't mean anything. We're cool, neither one of us is about to make that mistake again."
"I doubt she doesn't care," was all that Jackson managed to say.
"She tells me off every now and then. I've gotten smacked on the head a few times," he admitted. "Watch this. Hey April!"
"Yeah?" She called out from the living room.
"You know that I just checked out your ass, right?"
"Yeah, you're a pig!"
Jackson chuckled a little and Alex looked at him somewhat triumphantly. "See? No big deal. She knows what she got into when she decided to rent an apartment with two guys." He finished his breakfast and brought his empty dishes to the sink. "Thanks for breakfast Kepner."
"You're welcome!"
It was time for Alex to take his morning shower so Jackson decided to join April in the living room as he finished his coffee. He sat down next to her on the couch and she placed her feet in his lap. He watched her while her attention was focused on the television and she nibbled on a piece of bacon. He really just wanted to make out with her on this couch, right now…long enough for Karev to find them.
He wasn't bothered by the fact that Karev regularly checked her out because his roommate had been telling the truth, it didn't mean anything; it was just Karev being Karev. But he didn't want every guy that they encountered to think that it was okay to look. Actually, the more that he thought about…he didn't want Karev looking either.
"I want to tell him," he stated as he ran a hand up her calf. "I want to tell Karev that we're dating."
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "After what he just said about…keeping it down…that was mortifying."
"Its just Karev," he said dismissively. "That's how he is, but we should tell him."
She chewed on her bottom lip. "He was exaggerating though, right?" Jackson offered no response. "Right?" She repeated loudly. She looked at him impatiently. "Jackson?"
"Um…well…" He looked down at her legs before she grabbed his face and forced him to look her in the eye. She had laid her breakfast on the coffee table and now her face was inches away from his. He laid aside his own mug of coffee and grabbed her waist to pull her even closer. "You're vocal, I find it very sexy." He placed a quick kiss on her lips before smiling smugly. "Of course, I can take some of the blame."
She fought a smile. "Your ego is huge."
He grabbed her legs and wrapped them around his waist. "Among other things," he spoke against her lips.
She laughed and kissed him. She couldn't exactly argue with him, he was anatomically blessed.
He peppered kisses along her jaw and palmed her waist. He was fully aware that the prospect of sex, or even some heavy petting, was distracting him from a serious conversation that he wanted to have but she was so warm and she tasted so good.
"Jackson," she panted, "we're in the living room and you have to be at the hospital soon."
"I can be really quick," he laughed and then quickly added, "in the good way."
She laughed and kissed him sweetly before pulling away from him and placing her hands on his chest. "Is it really important to you?" She asked caringly.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "Having sex right now?"
"No!" She laughed. "Is it really important to you to tell people that we're dating?"
He covered her hands with his and answered honestly, "Yeah, it is."
"Okay then," she smiled. If making their relationship public was important to him then it was important to her too. Since they had started seeing each other, he hadn't pressured her about anything. He had been nothing but patient, kind, and loving, so she was willing to do this for him. No matter how nervous she was about it spreading throughout the hospital. People would know that Jackson had taken her "maiden voyage" and she was expecting some teasing. "We can tell people that we're dating."
He smiled happily, "Thank you. I'll tell Karev on our way to work."
Jackson could barely contain himself and therefore he began spilling his guts as soon as he pulled his car out of the driveway. "So, the woman that I've been seeing," he began.
"Yeah?" Karev asked attentively.
"It's April."
Karev laughed boisterously from the passenger seat. "Very funny Avery." Silence filled the car and he stared at his companion in disbelief. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"I am," Jackson answered simply as he kept his eyes on the road.
"For how long?"
"Since San Francisco."
"Are you serious? You guys hooked up at the Boards?" He asked in shock. Jackson nodded. "Interesting," he commented.
"She also punched a guy in the face at the Boards," Jackson laughed.
Karev laughed along with him and then said proudly, "Way to go Kepner." He mulled over this new information for a moment. Kepner and Avery were a good fit. They complimented each other well and handled each other better than anyone else could. "That's cool. Thanks for telling me."
"No problem," Jackson replied with a smile.
"Just keep it down," he requested with a grimace. "Now that I know its Kepner, I'll be thinking about—"
Jackson cut him off quickly, "Don't think about anything! And try to keep the looking to a minimum too."
Karev shrugged and muttered his trademark. "Whatever."
The two men fell silent again until Karev cackled.
"What is it?" Jackson asked curiously.
"You cashed Kepner's v-card."
"Grow up Karev!"
Despite the comment, Jackson smiled to himself. His conversation with Karev had actually gone better than he had anticipated.
"Good morning Jackson," Harper Avery chimed as he sidled up to his grandson who was chartering at the third floor nurses' station.
Jackson turned to his grandfather with a fake smile plastered on his face. "You're still here." It was a statement not a question since it was hard to miss that he was dressed in the navy blue scrubs of an attending.
"I am. Dr. Hunt has kindly offered to let me scrub in on a surgery this afternoon. Dr. Kepner is assisting; I would like to see her work."
He strutted off before Jackson had a chance to respond and that made him even angrier. "Well that's just great," he said to himself through gritted teeth. He closed his chart with more force than necessary and started to walk away from the nurses' station. His phone began to ring in the pocket of his lab coat and he pulled it out to read the caller ID. He sighed as he saw that it was his mother, he had been expecting this phone call.
He had been having such a good day until he learned that his grandfather was still hanging around Seattle and now his mother was calling to reprimand him.
He slipped into an empty supply closet and answered his phone. "Can you make Grandpa go home now, please?"
"Jackson Avery, stop acting like a child. I raised you better than that."
"Good morning, Mom. How are you?"
"Worried about you," she answered frankly.
"No need to be worried about me. I'm fine."
"That's not what I hear."
Jackson sighed as he began to pace. "Grandpa and I argued. He knows how to push my buttons; it was nothing out of the ordinary. He won't leave me alone about plastics."
"He doesn't understand why you don't have your heart set on a fellowship program."
"I have four great offers! I'm keeping my options open! I want to make sure that I really think about this decision," he defended passionately.
"Well that's smart, baby," she approved.
"Thank you," he grumbled petulantly.
"But you're also upset because he offered April an amazing opportunity. Honestly honey, it's none of your business."
"I know that a fellowship at Mass Gen will do her more harm than good."
"You don't know that and anyway, April is a grown woman. She's capable of making the decision that's best for her."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed in annoyance. "He only wants to hire her to mess with me!"
"Sweetie, this has nothing to do with you, I do know that. An old friend of your grandfather's from the University of Chicago gave him April's name when he heard that Mass Gen was having a hard time finding trauma fellows. He wasn't looking for just anyone from Seattle Grace." She paused before asking, "What's really bothering you?"
He sunk down into a sitting position on the floor and ran a hand over his closely cut hair. His silence was a dead giveaway and before he could form words, he heard his mother's voice again.
"I would say that the idea of your best friend moving to Boston must be hard but its more than that, isn't it?"
"Mom…" He wasn't sure if he was ready to have this conversation with his mother. He hadn't even had this conversation with April.
"Jackson, what's going on between you and April?"
"Mom, I'm getting paged, I gotta go," he lied. He hung up the phone and took a minute to collect himself before he left the safety of the supply closet.
April was scrubbing out after surgery and she was doing so next to Harper Avery. The whole situation seemed unreal.
"Nice work Dr. Kepner," he complimented.
"Thank you, sir."
She had been quite nervous when Chief Hunt had told her that Harper Avery would be scrubbing in on their surgery. However, she had been calm and collected in the OR. She had surprised herself. Maybe sex was making her a better, more relaxed surgeon. It was an interesting hypothesis.
She had been having a wonderful day overall. She had called her parents this morning and told them all about her various fellowship offers. Her Mom was favouring Case Western Reserve but April knew that her family would support her no matter which hospital she chose. She told them about the time that she had off between the end of her residency and the beginning of her fellowship and they expected her to come home for at least a few days. Alice was even willing to fly home from Chicago to see her.
Thoughts of home had added an extra spring to her step, so far she hadn't been teased about her loss of virginity once, and she had just completed a successful surgery with Harper Avery.
He turned to her as she dried her hands. "I want to take you out to dinner tonight. Tell you a little more about our program."
"Okay, sounds great," she smiled.
"Bring Jackson along; he's been sour with me all day."
"Um…okay." April said to herself since Harper Avery had already left the scrub room. "He's definitely a brisk man," she muttered.
Jackson sat in his seat and sipped his drink just like he had the night before. He was unhappy to be at another expensive Seattle restaurant. He knew that he would have happily turned down the dinner invitation from his grandfather, that's probably why the old man had April ask him. He wouldn't be here for anybody except April. She looked gorgeous tonight in a grey business suit and a crimson blouse. She was smiling happily and hanging on his grandfather's every word. The older Avery was being perfectly pleasant and charming as he told April every positive thing about Mass Gen and the city of Boston. Jackson added to the conversation infrequently. He didn't want to be impolite by saying the things that were really on his mind.
"You loved growing up in Boston, didn't you Jackson?" His grandfather asked pointedly.
He simply nodded. He did love growing up in Boston. He still loved the city. He loved the history. He loved the sights. He loved the restaurants. He had loved studying at Harvard. He loved the Celtics and the Red Soxs. The only downside to Boston was that his family lived there.
"I think that April would like New York better," he stated. "Or LA." He was referring to her offers from Mount Sinai and the University of California campus in Irvine and everyone at the table knew it.
"Well, I've never been to Boston." April spoke with a smile but her voice had lost some of its perkiness.
"And Cleveland is closer to her family," he added before taking another mouthful of his drink.
April looked at him out of the corner of her eye and whispered his name in a plea.
He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He laid his drink down on the table and ran a hand over his face. It was time to be honest and get things off of his chest. He couldn't sit through this dinner any longer without looking like a complete asshole in front of the most important person in his life.
He turned to April and completely ignored the presence of his grandfather. "I'm sorry; I'm acting like an ass. I should go and let you finish you dinner. You're amazing and you deserve to have hospitals fighting over you but I don't think that Mass Gen is the right choice." He placed one hand on the back of her neck and slipped it into her hair. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll see you at home," he murmured.
"Uh…okay…" She was too caught off guard to say anything else.
Jackson tossed his napkin onto the table and stood up. He looked down at his grandfather coldly. The great Harper Avery had to know that he had feelings for April, he was too perceptive not to. Plus, the speed of gossip was one of the most impressive aspects of Seattle Grace Mercy West and they were an official couple as of this morning. But the way that he was chasing after April like some prize showed just how much he cared about his grandson. He always put work first, and that was not a mistake that Jackson would be making in his own life.
"Bye Grandpa."
When April returned from dinner, she bypassed her own bedroom and headed straight to Jackson's. They really needed to talk about what had happened at dinner.
His bedroom light was off but he was lying awake in his bed.
"Hey," he greeted her softly as he sat up in bed and turned on his bedside lamp.
"Hi," she responded as she removed her jacket and tossed it in the chair in the corner of his room. She sat down next to him, atop of the covers, and presented him with the small takeout box. "I brought you back some dessert."
"Thank you."
"Oh crap, I'll go and get you a fork."
She left the room before he had a chance to protest. She returned quickly with a fork from the kitchen and handed it to him. His eyes widened as she slowly started to take off her clothes. She crawled into his bed and lay down next to him. She stole the fork from his hand and began to eat his piece of chocolate fudge brownie cake but he was too busy staring at her body clad only in a black, lace bra and matching panties. He had never seen her wear lace underwear of any kind and he couldn't tear his eyes away. The way that it contrasted against her pale skin made his palms itch.
"I expected you to be mad at me," he confessed. Her being half-naked in his bed with dessert did not spell angry to him.
She shook her head. "No, I'm not mad at you. Your bad mood at dinner wasn't because of me, it was because of him. I'm just sorry that you and your grandfather have such an up and down relationship."
"Awe," he replied in realization as he leaned back against the headboard. "So the dessert and the hot, new underwear are to cheer me up."
"The dessert is. The new underwear was supposed to be celebratory but now seems kind of inappropriate."
He laughed as he took his first bite of the cake. "This is delicious."
"Jackson," she sighed. She shifted closer to him and ran her hand up his chest. "Talk to me," she begged.
"Being an Avery sucks most of the time," he offered.
She looked at him sadly. "He's flying out tomorrow morning, if that's any consolation."
He didn't respond. He looked so dejected; she had never seen him look like that before. He was so confident and sure of himself. But his relationship with his family was complicated and she had seen glimmers of that in the past. She threw her leg over his, cuddled into his side, and placed a kiss on his bare chest.
"Tell me what you're thinking about."
And eventually he did.
He talked to her for hours about his upbringing and being an Avery. He explained his relationship with his grandfather as best as he could. Being a surgeon was a family tradition, it was in his blood, but his grandfather was really the one who had inspired him. He talked about his mother and how she warned him about buckling under the pressure of the family name. He talked about his perfect, older sister, Elizabeth, and how they didn't always get along. Apparently, she was a bit of a snob. She was a cardiothoracic surgeon and, in their family's eyes, she had always been much more focused and disciplined than Jackson. He talked about his father, whom he rarely mentioned. His brilliant father, Carson Avery. Carson Avery had been one of the best neonatal surgeons and genetic specialists in the country before he had "burnt out", the term that his grandfather and mother used. His parents had divorced when he was five and his mother had elected to keep her married name. His father moved to Sweden when he was seven, he had needed an entire ocean to separate him from being an Avery. He had little contact with his father, a card at Christmas and one on his birthday and the scattered phone call. But he hadn't seen him in almost five years.
Sadly, his family wasn't like hers, they hadn't pushed or encouraged him. They hadn't spotted his brilliance early on. He was the pretty one. Her parents gushed over her M.D. and told everyone that they met that their little girl was a doctor. Jackson's family, however, expected greatness. They didn't like that he had turned down a residency at Mass Gen, and they really weren't fond of his speciality in plastics. The area wasn't noble enough, too much easy money.
He also told her all about Mass Gen and why he felt that it wasn't right for her, and he cautioned her against moving all the way to Boston just because Harper Avery was offering her everything she ever dreamed of. Apparently his grandfather was good at making enticing promises to lure you into a trap.
It was the first night since San Francisco that they didn't have sex and it was perfect.
A/N: 1) They're a public couple now, yay! 2) I gave Jackson a little more backstory. Catherine always calls him "baby" or "baby boy" so I figured that an older, female sibling is possible and she did mention to Richard that his father had "burnt out".
If you took the time to read then please leave a review! :)
