Thanks for the reviews! It's been a while since I updated this fic. Some other fics took priority, but I haven't given up on this one ;) As always, let me know what you think please!

Enjoy!

Jackson had never been so nervous about having dinner with his mother and his girlfriend at the same time than he was now. Mostly because April already had an idea about how over the top Catherine Avery acted towards his friends and himself. He feared his urologist mother would purposely bring up topics that would make them both uncomfortable – settling down, getting married, giving her more grandchildren. She still wasn't aware of the fact that he and the peds surgeon only started dating recently.

He cared for April more than he ever cared for anybody, but it was too early to tell if she was enough for him to give up his bachelorhood and commit himself to one woman for the rest of his life.

Grayson had returned to Boston, along with a disgruntled Reed, leaving Catherine behind for an entire week to learn more about Jackson and his new significant other. She also took advantage of the facilities at Seattle Grace, scrubbing in with Lexie – and to secretly pry information out of the younger urologist about her best friend. There was one special night reserved for dinner at Jackson's condominium, but Mama Avery always preferred being ahead of the game by doing some research of her own. However, Lexie figured she would be in deep trouble with April if she told Catherine her entire life story, so she only gave out the basics, excluding the details that were too personal for her to share without her friend's permission.

It was a Thursday and Catherine was scheduled to leave in two days, which was a relief for Jackson. He couldn't handle wandering through the hospital knowing his meddling mother was lurking around, making friends with his coworkers who still despised him, despite a slight change in his attitude. And because of his broken hand, he couldn't operate for at least two months. Mark assigned him to boring paperwork, while Arizona forced him to tour medical students daily as his punishment for breaking his hand and damaging hospital property. He was basically an intern all over again.

He hardly had time to be alone with April as well. In addition to dealing with her own surgeries and patients, she continued the process of searching for a place to live and taking care of Madison consumed most of the free time she had, which wasn't much. They hadn't been on a date since their only one the previous week. Also, lack of sex was becoming an issue for him. Only about a month had passed since he last slept with a woman, but for him, it was equivalent to a year.

They hadn't actually talked about it, but Jackson refused to screw up what he had with April by pressuring her to have sex with him. He decided to wait it out and hope for her to make a move. Maybe then sex wouldn't be the huge elephant in the room anymore.

The plastic surgeon sat alone in an on-call room, his back pressed against the wall while he waited for the perky redhead to arrive. He had finished his only tour of the day and sent a text message to April hoping she was free even if it was for five minutes. Their dinner with Catherine was that night, so he wanted to prepare her for any uncomfortable questions that came out of his mother's mouth.

April entered the room, closing the door behind her. She quickly approached Jackson, climbing onto his lap and devouring his mouth before he could formally greet her. Placing her hands on his cheeks, she hungrily kissed him as he smiled against her lips. He certainly wasn't complaining about how turned on he was by her advancement.

"April," he mumbled in between kisses. As much as he enjoyed it, Jackson forced himself to pull away from her. He reminded himself that they were meeting to talk. The making out part – or more – could happen afterwards. "I wasn't expecting that, but… that was so much better than the typical, 'Hello'."

"I thought I'd jump right to the point since you know, we haven't been able to be alone for longer than two minutes lately," she sheepishly replied. "Did you want to talk first?"

He nodded and waited for her to slide off of his lap. "It's about tonight. I'll completely understand if you want to back out because my mom isn't an easy person to please. She seems nice, despite her unfiltered behavior, but she can be picky too. I want her to like you, but she assumes we've been dating for months when that isn't the case."

"But don't you think skipping the dinner would rub her the wrong way? The whole reason for the dinner is so she can get to know me better," she noted. "And as much as she annoys you, she's a world renowned surgeon and I'm interested in her work."

"If she gives you any time to ask her questions about her job," Jackson muttered, smirking at April. "My mom will spend the majority of our time interrogating you about everything. Are you ready to tell her about Maddy or Matthew?"

"Well, she should know I have a daughter, who by the way, thinks you're the coolest doctor ever because you apparently taught her some neat Oreo game in which she always wins and is princess for the day. For her, it's every day now," she answered with a chuckle. "And she told me that I did a good job taking care of the ouchie on your hand even though I didn't fix it."

The pretty man grinned as he stared at their intertwined fingers. "I just thought she'd warm up to me faster if I said you fixed my hand. At least she'd know we were friends or whatever. And Maddy's a sweet kid. She takes after her mother."

April bashfully smiled at him. "You don't have to suck up to me anymore," she teasingly said.

"It's not sucking up if it's true," he insisted, gently kissing her temple. "Alright, how about we do a test run of what my mother could possibly ask you? Try not to feel too offended if I ask you incredibly personal questions. I'm only attempting to be her, which is kind of sickening."

"I promise I won't take you too seriously. Go ahead."

"Where are you originally from?"

"Born and raised in Seattle," she calmly answered.

"How many sexual partners have you had?" he asked, slightly grimacing at her as her eyes grew wide. "She's asked this question before. I'm simply warning you, remember?"

April nervously bit her lower lip. She had only been with one person her entire life, which she supposed wasn't terrible considering Jackson seemed to have a new woman to sleep with every night before she arrived. "Y-you know that answer, right?"

"Listen, my mother probably prefers a woman who doesn't sleep around. Don't be embarrassed – albeit it is an embarrassing question to be asked during dinner," he assured her and pointed at himself. "She completely hates that I bounce from woman to woman- I mean, I used to. I haven't been doing that for a while now."

She slowly nodded, staring down at her lap. "So, would you be okay with holding off on sex?"

He raised his eyebrow at her. "For how long exactly?"

"Until marriage," she answered, laughing shortly afterwards at Jackson's stunned reaction. "That was a joke! Get a grip, Jackson. I didn't even wait before I married Matthew."

"Don't scare me like that," he playfully scolded her, letting out a sigh of relief. "But seriously, how long do you want to wait?"

April lightly tapped the splint on his right hand. "Until that baby is off and your bone isn't too fragile for hot and steamy sex," she seductively said, a mischievous grin forming on her face. "And I don't want to sound too cocky, but… I'm very good in bed, at least I think so."

Jackson glanced down at his broken hand, mentally cursing at himself. "Why do you have to torture me like that?" he softly groaned. "But it's just my hand and I only really need one to… do certain things that you'll enjoy very much. And you can be on top all the time. I don't mind at all."

"Your priority is your hand, not sex. You can wait. Besides, aren't you supposed to be prepping me for your mother's questions?"

"You brought up sex first," he argued.

"What? I did not. You did with the sex partners question," she countered, nudging him with her elbow. April rested her head against Jackson's shoulder. "Maybe we should just sit back and see what happens instead of predicting what she'll ask me. I know a thing or two about over the top relatives. Mark can be that way sometimes. Thank goodness he won't be having dinner with us tonight. What a disaster that would be."

Jackson shuddered in response. "If your brother was there, we wouldn't even need my mother to ruin the night for us," he quipped. "Don't be surprised if she brags about my life accomplishments. She wasn't even there for most of them, so it's just a ton of bull coming out of her mouth."

"Tell me about your relationship with her," she inquired, wrapping her arm over his abdomen and cozying up against his side. "I don't have to be anywhere, so talk to me all you want. You two have never been close from what I can tell."

"No," he murmured, shaking his head. "Grayson's her favorite because he's the first born. Harrison received a lot of her attention as well. Me? Shipping me to camp that one summer showed how much she cared. It was always her boyfriends first, then Grayson and Harrison. I got the leftovers, if that makes any sense."

"But you could put it this way – if your mother hadn't sent you to Wazi, we wouldn't have met. Some good came out of that summer, don't you think?" she responded and smiled. "Without that summer connecting us, it probably would've taken me much longer to warm up to… well, your definition of charm."

Jackson pressed his forehead against April's, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He admired how she always managed to say something to make him feel better about himself. She was the reason why he hadn't gone into a deep depression while he was at summer camp with zero friends to hang out with. Her presence felt like camp all over again because his peers despised him, but for different reasons, which he could only blame himself for.

She seemed to be the only person who ever tried to see the good in him and understand his insecurities.

Summer 1993 – Day 32

Aiming his bow and arrow at the target thirty yards away from him, Jackson pinched one eye shut as he focused on the yellow bullseye in front of him. Since expanding his interests amongst the various activities to do at camp, he quickly fell in love with archery. It brought out the perfectionist in him. Most of the campers' lone goal was to hit any part of the target, but he always wanted to nail the bullseye. Not only could he hit the bullseye but he did it consistently. His secret?

He imagined the bullseye was The Hawk's face. Worked every time. So much that the instructor on hand was forced to move back his target. Fifteen and twenty yards were too easy for him. Plus, archery was an individual sport. No worrying about being left out like in basketball and flag football. And in archery, he could soak in all of the glory without sharing it with anyone else.

Pulling the bowstring back, Jackson's tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he held his bow as steady as possible. Just as he was ready to fire his arrow, a voice on the PA system disrupted his concentration and he sent the arrow high up into the sky, probably high enough to shoot a bird flying too low.

"Jackson Avery, please report to the director's office immediately."

Crap. It was the first time his real last name was broadcasted to the entire camp. April and other campers knew him as Jackson Fox. If somebody like April were to spot him heading to the camp director's office, she would likely wonder why he changed his last name. Although, that wasn't his biggest worry. Why was he being called into the director's office to begin with?

Did someone rat him out for something he didn't do? Was The Hawk being an asshole by reporting him for their small quarrel in which he punched him in the nuts? Did that weasel George try to get him kicked out of camp because he was dating April?

He was a nervous wreck. His mother would be livid if an Avery was booted from camp. Getting expelled from anything was unbecoming of an Avery – not that he had done much that lived up to the expectations of his family name. Grayson and Harrison were popular in high school as members of various sports teams and academic societies. His oldest brother was on his way to Harvard. The Ivy League university was always at the top of every Avery's list because their grandfather had created a legacy at the medical school. There was no doubt in his mind that Harrison would follow Grayson's footsteps and he too hoped to join them at the prestigious college.

Anything outside of Harvard and one was considered a failure.

Walking into the director's office, he was greeted by Mike, the head of Waziyatah. "You wanted to see me, sir?" the anxious nerd asked.

"Yes. Don't worry. You're not in trouble, Jackson," he assured him. "Your mother's on the phone."

"My mom?" Jackson replied in disbelief. He was certain Catherine would be too busy touring Europe to even send him a postcard. Maybe she wasn't so neglectful after all. "Did something bad happen?"

"No, no. She's just checking up on you," Mike insisted and pointed to the phone on his desk. "Go ahead. I'll give you some privacy, son."

Taking a seat behind Mike's desk, Jackson picked up the receiver and held it against his ear. "Hello? Mom?" He listened to his mother ramble about how beautiful Barcelona was without giving him a chance to speak. As he expected, Mama Avery made it about herself more than asking him how he was doing at camp.

By the time she changed the subject to him, five minutes of his mother bragging about her trip had passed. "Camp is great. Umm… yeah, made a lot of friends. I'm fitting in well," he half-heartedly answered. "I uhh, I even have a girlfriend. Her name's A- oh, you have to go now? Okay. Yeah, love you too. Bye, Mom."

He hung up the phone with a frown on his face. His conversations with Catherine on the phone didn't differ much from his talks with her in person. He considered himself lucky if she listened to him for more than two minutes. Sometimes he pondered running away from home. Being born and raised in a wealthy family had its perks, but none of that made Jackson happy. He just wanted to feel loved by his mother for once.

Walking out of the cabin, Jackson removed his glasses to quickly wipe away the tears forming in his eyes. His mother's phone call ruined what he considered to be a good day for him. No run-ins with The Hawk or annoying encounters with George. The only thing missing from his day was April, whose days became busier after being casted in Wazi's musical production of Grease.

He decided to wait for her outside of the gymnasium where her rehearsals took place. Lying flat on his back on one of the benches, Jackson quietly watched the clouds above him pass by. He began to doze off until a familiar perky voice woke him up.

"Were you waiting for me?" April chirped, grinning down at her boyfriend.

"Yeah. Is that okay or do you have to be someplace else?" he murmured.

"No, I'm glad you showed up," she happily responded, sitting on the bench and pulling his head onto her lap. "This just means you're a really sweet boyfriend. What were you doing before you showed up?"

"Umm… some archery, then my mom surprisingly called. I wish she hadn't," he glumly replied. "All she did was tell me about her stupid trip and practically wanted to hang up when I tried to talk about how camp was. She doesn't deserve being called Mom when she hardly acts like one."

April ran her fingers through the short, dark curls that had grown on the top of Jackson's head. "Aww, don't be so harsh. It's much later in Europe, right? Maybe she had a long day and she's tired."

He shook his head. "My mother is a night owl. I doubt she was tired. I'm starting to think I was an accident, like I wasn't supposed to be born or whatever," he dejectedly added.

"C'mon, that's probably not true. She's just taking you for granted, that's all. I umm… I kind of know how that feels. I'm much closer to my dad."

"At least you have one. Want to adopt me?" he sheepishly asked.

The redhead giggled in response. "Wouldn't that be weird, though? You can't be my boyfriend and my sort of brother at the same time. How about you have Lexie's family adopt you, so we can stay boyfriend-girlfriend?" she suggested. "She did bring up the idea before and her dad is cool too."

Jackson sadly smiled at April. "Are you gonna be bummed when camp is over?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I mean, I'm always bummed when camp is over because I have too much fun here, but I'll miss you. If you say you won't miss me too, I'm gonna have my older brother beat you up."

"I get beat up enough by The Hawk," he scoffed, sharing a laugh with her. "Anyway, I will miss you. You're pretty much my best friend here and I'm not afraid to admit my best friend's a girl."

"We won't forget about each other, right?"

"Never," he confidently said.

"Avery!" Mark called out to his attending when he spotted him in the hallway. The plastic surgeon appeared eager to see his injured coworker as he approached him with a smile on his face. "I've got a question for you. What type of wine does your mother drink? Red? White? Anything?"

"Uhh, she drinks about anything, I guess. Sometimes I think she may have a drinking problem," Jackson quipped, smiling to himself. His boss simply stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'd like to bring a little something over for dinner and-"

The pretty man raised his hand in front of his chest. "Hold on a minute. You're coming over for dinner too?" he asked irritably. Dealing with Catherine alone was already worrisome, but now Mark freaking Sloan was joining them to make the event even more dreadful. "Since when? And does April know this?"

Mark placed his hands on his hips, proudly grinning at Jackson. "Your mother invited me after we had a lovely conversation about you over lunch. She insisted I join you after she learned that your dear girlfriend is also my sister. Oh, and I'm your boss," he boasted. "I haven't seen her yet, but she'll know eventually. I'll be driving her to your place after all."

"Sloan, I am literally begging you right now – please, don't fuck me over because you can't stand me. Think about April first. She doesn't deserve this, alright? She really wants to be on my mother's good side and I care about her more than you assume," he pleaded. "Oh, and just because I know you were The Hawk now it doesn't mean I'm letting that slide, so if you screw this dinner up, I'll be coming for you."

"You don't intimidate me, especially with that messed up hand of yours. And let me remind you how stupid you are for breaking it in the first place. You've already missed out on some damn good surgeries because you can't operate," the older surgeon rebuked. He lightly patted Jackson's cheek before he walked past him. "See you at dinner, Dweebles."

Dweebles. If his hand wasn't already broken, Jackson wouldn't have hesitated to sucker punch Mark for calling him that name. Maybe he would get suspended or even fired for it, but he felt he owed his former bully a ton of payback for the unnecessary crap he put him through. And he was even more annoyed that Catherine invited him to dinner. At least he knew he wouldn't be the only person upset about the decision.

Standing outside of Jackson's condominium door, April grabbed Mark's hand before he could ring the doorbell. "Let's set some ground rules first," she demanded. "One, no telling them embarrassing stories about me or I swear to God, I will kill you. Two, no smart ass comments about Jackson to his mother or I swear to God, I will kill you. Three, if you say anything that sabotages my relationship with Jackson, I swear to God-"

"You'll kill me," her stepbrother finished the sentence for her, rolling his eyes. "I got it. You honestly think I'm here to make your life miserable?"

"Yes," she sternly replied with her arms folded. After Mark surprised her with the news that he was having dinner with the Avery's as well, April imagined the night ending two ways – semi-disastrous or completely disastrous. "Don't be an asshole, Mark."

He snickered and pointed at himself. "It's not like I snaked my way into this dinner. Catherine politely asked me and I couldn't turn her down. She's freaking Catherine Avery. Seattle Grace is lucky to have her presence in our hospital. If I wanted to push it, Lexie would be here too since she's the urologist in the family."

She sighed, dropping her arms to her sides. "Fine, fine. How do I look?" the peds surgeon asked as she glanced down at her royal blue, sleeveless dress. Her auburn hair was slightly curled and she wore bright red lipstick for Jackson. It wasn't often she was able to dress up for him. "This is okay, right? Not too fancy?"

"Uhh, sure," Mark muttered.

"I'm serious! Just tell me if I look good or not."

"You're my sister. I don't like looking at you in that way."

April groaned in frustration, stepping in front of Mark to ring the doorbell. She adjusted her hair and smiled when Jackson answered the front door. "Hi, we're here," she cheerfully greeted him, briefly skimming her boyfriend's attire. He wore a white dress shirt to go with his black slacks.

His eyes scanned her outfit, stopping at her cleavage. "You look… so beautiful."

"Quit staring at her boobs, Avery," Mark bluntly responded.

Jackson cleared his throat and allowed his guests into his home. "Umm, come in." He avoided eye contact with his boss as he walked past him. After he closed the door, he awkwardly smiled at April. "Sorry. You just look really stunning. I couldn't help myself."

The redhead bounced onto her tip toes and kissed him deeply. She let out a soft moan just to spite Mark, who turned his back towards them. Pulling away from Jackson, she could feel the warmth on her cheeks. "I don't mind," she softly replied.

"With the way you just kissed me, I really wish it was only the two of us tonight," he whispered into her ear, making her giggle. Taking her hand into his, he led the two siblings into his living room. Catherine was in the kitchen preparing dinner. "So, this is my home and that golden statue by the stove is my mother."

April held back her laugh as she noticed Mama Avery's outfit – a long, gold top accompanied by tight, black pants and very high stiletto heels. Both she and Mark exchanged brief glances knowing their mother would never wear anything like that.

"Hello, you two!" Catherine left her spot in the kitchen to greet them. She hugged each of them, then pointed at the dining table using the spatula in her hand. "Make yourselves comfortable because dinner's almost ready. Or my baby boy can give you a tour, but there's not much touring to do in Jackson's condo. He practically lives in an expensive box."

Mark handed Catherine a bottle of wine. "This is for you, Dr. Avery. The best in Seattle, I guarantee you," he assured her. "Need an extra hand in the kitchen?"

"Thank you for the offer, Dr. Sloan. I could use some help bringing the food over to the table," she politely accepted. "At least you had the courtesy to ask if I needed help. Jackson just sat around on the couch watching his Boston Celtics. Can't even assist his mama in the kitchen."

"I appreciate the love, Mom," the younger Avery sarcastically said.

"I would really love a tour," April chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. "Show me around, Jackson."

Jackson softly chuckled. There wasn't much to show her except for his bedroom, but he figured Mark would kick his ass if he brought her in there alone. Then again, his superior was distracted by Catherine, who dragged him into the kitchen. Without wasting any time, he walked April to his bedroom and turned on the light.

"This is where the magic happens," he jokingly bragged.

April playfully slapped his arm and laughed. "You're a dork." She walked towards his giant window to observe the nightly view of downtown Seattle. "This is pretty. A little scary, but pretty."

Jackson stood beside her. "One of the reasons why I chose to move into this building."

"Do you ever feel lonely living here?"

"When I first moved here I didn't. There was a different woman here every night, so I wasn't technically lonely. And the majority of my days are spent at the hospital, so this place is mainly for sleeping and… sex," he guiltily answered. "But I haven't been-"

"I know. I trust you, Jackson." April turned her head and smiled at him. "Do you want to do something this weekend with Maddy? I think it'd be cool to do something together since she seems to be comfortable around you. Maybe the zoo?"

"I hear the zoo is nice," he said, smirking at her. "I've never been because who goes to the zoo by themselves? I mean, I could've gone with Karev, but that's just weird. Plus, he probably would have tried hitting on any single moms lurking around."

"So, is that a yes?"

Jackson leaned forward, gently kissing April's lips. "Definitely a yes." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. "I hope you won't hold whatever my mom says tonight against me."

"Well, I hope you won't do the same when it comes to Mark."

They heard a light knock on the door where Mark stood in the doorway. He had one hand covering his eyes, fearing he would walk into a scene he preferred not to witness. "Dinner's ready, so stop making out like teenagers and come out now."

April rolled her eyes as her brother returned to the living room. "Here we go," she sighed, leaving the bedroom with Jackson. They took their seats at the dining table and she inhaled the aroma of the food Catherine prepared. "Everything smells so good, Dr. Avery."

"Oh, honey. Call me Catherine," the urologist corrected her. "If you and Jackson are going to give me grandbabies one day, we may as well acknowledge each other on a personal level."

"Grandbabies," she murmured, picking up her wine glass and emptying it immediately. Clearing her throat, she poured herself more wine. "H-how soon are you expecting those to happen?"

"When are you ovulating?" she asked, laughing loudly at April's shocked expression. "Calm down, dear. I'm just messing with you. You've got to marry Jackson first, then the babies can follow. When are you going to pop the question to her, baby?"

Mark chuckled to himself while he served himself some salad. "Good question. You two have been together for how long now? Feels like a year, but I bet it's only really been a week," he implied. "I say take all the time you need, Avery."

Jackson forced himself to grin at Catherine. "Actually, we haven't been dating very long. April just relocated back here from Cleveland in February," he admitted.

"That wasn't too long ago," his mother noted. "So, what made you decide to come home?"

April drank more wine before she responded. "Umm… personal matters. My uhh- I'm a widow," she hesitantly said, taking another sip. "C-cancer. My husband died from pancreatic cancer in January."

Mark stared at his sister worriedly. She poured herself a third glass of wine, then he moved the bottle away from her when she set it down. "It was a difficult situation and with most of her family in Seattle, she needed to be around that," he intervened. "She's had a lot of support since she came home."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Catherine sympathetically replied. "Any children?"

"Yes," April timidly answered. "Madison. She's three and adores Jackson."

"Really?" Mark asked skeptically, turning his attention towards his coworker. "I haven't seen you interact with her and that one night you babysat doesn't count because she wouldn't even look at you."

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows and decided to change the subject. "Hey, Mom. Do you remember that camp you sent me to when I was thirteen? Well, Mark was a counselor there and he kicked my ass on a daily basis," he blurted out.

"Dweebles- I mean, Jackson was dating my sister. I had a reason to beat him up," the other man argued.

"You didn't even know I was dating April at the time," he retorted.

While the two plastic surgeons bickered back and forth, April quietly sat in her seat drinking more wine. Whenever a situation was uncomfortable for her, she used alcohol to relax herself. Nobody seemed to care that she snatched back the bottle because Catherine was too distracted by Mark and Jackson's banters.

"That is enough! For crying out loud, you're both acting like children," Catherine scolded the two men. She pointed her finger at Jackson. "You have guests in your home, so start showing some respect."

"Me show some respect? Are you kidding me?" Jackson shook his head in disgust. "What about you, Mom? Bringing me a woman to Seattle, so I can knock her up? Because that's what a normal mother does for her son."

"I thought you were single and I figured introducing you to a potential wife was necessary."

"Well, I didn't need your help. I have April, okay?" He gazed over at his girlfriend, who covered her mouth as she giggled. "And… she's drunk."

Mark groaned. "Oh, geez." He reached for her wine glass and took it away from her. "How about we get you some water? I'm sorry, you guys. She doesn't drink a lot and she only ever does when she's nervous."

April dismissively waved her hand. "Pshh! Drunk schmunk. I feel fine," she stated, reaching for Jackson's dress shirt. She sloppily began unbuttoning it while she started singing, "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes…"

"Ah, no. Not right now." Jackson grabbed her hands and moved them away. He looked across the table at Catherine and Mark. "For the record, we are not having sex."

"Thank God," the other plastic surgeon mumbled to himself. Mark jumped up from his seat when his inebriated sister fell out of her chair. He grimaced as Jackson helped her up from the floor. "She'll regret this in the morning."

A couple of hours later, Mark assisted April into his car in the underground parking garage of the building. Jackson and Catherine watched nearby as the peds surgeon blew kisses at their direction. Her boyfriend waved back at her with a forced smile.

"That's a side of her I've never seen before," he said before looking at his mother with a sheepish grin on his face. "So, how do you like her?"

Mama Avery briefly waved Mark goodbye and watched him drive away. "She's… unusually adorable when she's intoxicated," she answered. The rest of their dinner consisted of April giggling at almost every statement while they tried to eat and have a normal conversation. She hoped she could have learned more about the sober April Kepner. "Although, I'm sure her brother nor I were interested in her favorite position in bed."

"Something for me to take note of when I have sex with her?" He laughed when she smacked his shoulder. "But seriously, what do you think? She was really nervous about tonight, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Well, based on my impressions of April when she's sober, she's quite a sweetheart. And she was your first girlfriend?"

Jackson nodded as they walked towards the elevator. "I never thought I'd see her again. It's like we were both given a second chance." He pushed the button and smiled at his mother. "I feel like a better person when I'm around her."

Catherine tapped her fingers against her baby boy's shoulder. "Jackson Avery, are you in love with her?" she asked, widely grinning back at him.

He pursed his lips and fought back a smile. "It's too early for that, Mom. I mean, really early. We've only started officially dating a week ago."

"But it's clear to me that she was always somebody who was important to you, back when you were naïve teenagers," she insinuated. "I think you've been in love with April since the first time you laid your eyes on her. You just didn't know it yet. Who understands love at thirteen?"

"We're not talking about this anymore," he replied, shyly ducking his head as he stepped into the elevator.

Catherine let out a giddy shriek while she followed him inside. She continued to grin, despite Jackson avoiding eye contact with her. "I may not have been the greatest mother to you, baby, but I know when my boy's in love."

"Can we please drop it now?"

"Not until you admit it."

Jackson simply shook his head as he walked out of the elevator when it reached his floor. "You like her, right?" he deflected the subject back to his original question. "You won't surprise me with another woman whenever you unexpectedly visit again?"

"Of course I like her. She makes you happy – and because you love her," she teased, cackling when he groaned as they entered his condominium. "Groan all you want. You can't fool your mama."