A/N: In celebration of this fic hittign 10k I've decided to pick it up again. It might not be as regular as before and the topics might get a little darker, but it is definitely headng somewhere. Let me know your thoughts on what you think is going to happen / what you want to see happen / who you want to see get involved / etc. etc. - but most importantly: Enjoy :)!

On Wednesdays some people wear pink to pay tribute to a movie from a time before Lindsay Lohan went through the roof (not in the famous, but more in the baked sense). Some other people prefer to wear black paying tribute to a movie from a time before Cristina Ricci grew up (but not in size). Jackson couldn't care less about which color the shirt he was wearing this Wednesday was. He cared more about the color of the sign attached to his son's school's entrance. Actually, he didn't care so much about the color of the sign, neither. He cared about what it said.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Corresponding with the e-mail we sent out yesterday, we can now confirm there is an outbreak of chickenpox at our school. This has been confirmed by the Public Health Inspector of Seattle.

We have been advised to close the school from today Wednesday 25th August 2015 until further notice.

We apologize for any subsequent inconvenience.

Jackson couldn't believe it.

"Can you believe this?" a mother standing next to him with a baby on her hip and one child at her hand asked him.

He shook his head.

"If they'd sent that e-mail yesterday, I surely would have read it," she went on. "Not that I get a lot of time between these two to check frequently... but who am I talking to? You probably know the drill."

He didn't. Checking his e-mails was something he liked to do at work and found very tiring to do at home. If the e-mails he was getting weren't work related they were either spam or reminders for public events his family wanted him to attend (which, technically, was work). His friends, not that he had many, mostly communicated via messenger; facebook, whatsapp and the like (Just because you're not born a digital native doesn't mean you cannot aspire to be one. Jackson even had telegram, the one with the moving animation thingies.). Checking his e-mails definitely wasn't a thing he knew the drill of.

"It's strange," he wondered out loud either way, "April should have told me about this."

"April?" The mother, he was pretty sure by now that he was supposed to know her but he couldn't put his finger on where from, raised an eyebrow.

"Our sons are in the same class," Jackson explained. Maybe this woman's son was also in their class. A shadow of recognition seemed to pass her face. However, she remained skeptical (and her eyebrows raised).

"So she should have told you about this because...?"

Oh. Yeah. Looking at it from the outside in it didn't necessarily make sense. Except if April was the head parent, informing everybody about everything, that was. But she wasn't. They didn't even have a head parent.

"She's my girlfriend," he added.

Against his intention this didn't seem to soothe this woman, whom by now he was pretty sure was the mother of a son who shared a class with his son. "Are you talking about April from 2A?"

"Uhm... yeah?" Jackson shifted a little on his feet to adjust Casper's weight. At four he wasn't too heavy yet, but getting heavy. Soon being carried into class when passed out after the ride to school wouldn't be an option anymore. They probably didn't allow that in K1 anyway, so this was probably just your average circle of life.

Mother of the year, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any trouble holding her baby and her child's hand simultaneously. They looked pretty perfect, actually. Wait, was the boy scratching his neck...
"You're telling me you're dating a married woman?"

Jackson's gaze immediately shifted from the itch-worrying boy to his mother. "Sorry what?"

"April Taylor. You're talking about her, aren't you? She's married."

He gulped. It surprised him how much this woman he didn't know knew. April had admitted that she hadn't kept it a secret around the hospital staff – but the mothers of their kindergarten class, the grown up Serena Van der Woodsens apparently working towards a job at US weekly? Telling them didn't seem wise, and therefore, not like something April would do at all.

"Who told you that?" Jackson asked in timid hopes of his voice not giving away how nervous he was about this, when in fact he could feel the sweat forming, ready to run down his forehead and give him away. Despite the season it wasn't especially hot.

"Oh, no one, in particular" she immediately refuted. "It's more like common knowledge. The basics. You want to know to whose houses your children go to, you know?"

No, he didn't know. Well, he knew, but he'd usually just organize for the first play date to also be a parent's date so he could judge for himself.

"So." She gave him an anticipatory look. "Is she?"

Again, Jackson didn't know what to say. April hadn't prepared him for this kind of an ambush. De facto, they hadn't spoken a lot about the whole issue since she first came clear about it. Now he could only regret this circumstance caused by his selfish fear of knowing things he didn't want to know. "I... uhm..."

Much like he didn't believe in wearing clothes according to movies, Jackson didn't believe in the concept of Deus ex machina in the arts. He believed it to be dull, boring, much too dated (After all, Aristoteles was as dead as his language). Whether he believed in it or not, the ringing of his phone saved him a lot like a God usually did in the old Greeks' plays.

"Sorry, I've gotta take this," he excused himself, "Duty calls."
After giving one more apologetic shrug he took the call as he started walking back towards the safety of his car. Away from curious mothers and their potentially highly contagious children.

"Hello."

"Good morning, Jackson."

Back when he took the call he'd already seen her name on the display, obviously. However, hearing her voice was so much better.

"Good morning to you too," he replied, a smile on his face. Hopefully it wasn't so big that it would give him away to the mother who was still watching him. For whatever reason her two children didn't seem to keep her as busy as previously claimed. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mh-mh," she confirmed. He could picture the nod accompanying her... words? Sounds? Whatever. He had to keep his facial expressions in check. "Missed you."

"Aw, I missed you too, babe."

For the last two months or so they'd spent almost every night together. The other day April had had her parents-in-law over for dinner, which broke their spell. She wasn't ready to tell them yet, and he really couldn't blame her. I'm sorry your son's still missing, but hey I guess I'm moving on, you don't mind, do you? really didn't seem like the easiest thing to tell your in-laws. Not that he, never having experienced anything like in-laws, would know.

"You can come over today if you like," Jackson offered. The phone was now between his ear and shoulder as he used his free hand to open the backdoor. He continued to hold it there as he buckled Casper in. Amazingly enough the four-year-old remained asleep during the whole ordeal. It was kinda sad really that Jackson had no witness for his moments of being super dad.

"Ugh, I don't know."

His heart sunk.

"It's just I've got a lot to do and with the chickenpox thing I just don't know whether it's wise to keep them together before we know..." she trailed off.

"Casper's already had them," Jackson put in.

"Oh?" There was a pause in which he managed to close the back door, open the front door, and slip into the driver's seat. Super dad. Sadly, his rear view mirror confirmed his suspicions: still no witness (at least no witness conscious enough to give account).

"Well, we haven't," April stated.

"Do you think he's got it?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. But I think we should wait it out. You don't want me to come over to your place with a kid running a fever and puking out his guts in your toilet. I know your cleaning guy won't be coming in till Saturday. You'd totally have to clean up yourself."

Jackson frowned.
a) Of course he wanted her to come over. He always wanted her to come over. Even with her kid. Even with her sick kid. Even with her sick kid heaving heavily in the water closet.
b) Especially with her sick kid barfing and bawling in the bathroom. He wanted her to depend on him, to trust him.
But he didn't tell her all, or any, of this. He told her: "I can clean up the bathroom if I want to."

April giggled. "I know. I'm just teasing you."

He released a sigh, chuckled. "So, you're coming over?"

"Probably not. I just don't think it's the best idea at the moment..."

"Okay." So he'd spend the day off work with his son. That wasn't too bad. Actually, a year ago that would have been perfect. So why did it feel this incomplete right now? "I'll head back home now."

"You went to the school? Didn't you get the e-mail?"

"I don't read e-mails," he confided. Hadn't he already told her that?

"Oh yeah. I think you mentioned that once... sorry about not texting you," she replied.

"No biggie."

"Alright then, drive safely."

"Watch your toilet."

"You're an idiot."

"But your favorite idiot."

She laughed and even through the speaker it lit up the world for him. "Touché. Talk to you later, Jackson."

"Bye, April."

As he turned his car around to head into the car port at his house he spotted another, very familiar car already parked inside. He parked his car on the driveway and exited it quickly to confirm his idea. True to the word, or more like the car in this case, he found his girlfriend and her son sitting on the steps before the entrance to his house reading a book together.

When they heard Jackson approaching both of them raised their eyes from their lecture and then exclaimed: "Surprise!"

They got onto their feet. With a lonely dimple showcasing smile April closed the gap between them and gave her baffled boyfriend a kiss. Then she took a step back, grinning.
"You didn't seriously think I'd waste the opportunity of both of us spontaneously taking a day off with the boys being home? That's like an extra Sunday!"

"Or Saturday, depending on the schedule," Jackson reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Mr. Always Right."

Oh how he wished she'd drop the always.

They stood in comfortable silence, just smiling at each other. Jackson found that he enjoyed this kind of tranquil soundlessness. Only with April did he feel like no words were necessary.

"Where's Casper?" Levi asked, interrupting a Simon and Garfunkel worthy atmosphere.

"He's asleep in the car... I should probably get him," Jackson replied, scratching the back of his head.

April laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

"The boys are asleep," Jackson announced as he trotted back into the kitchen where April was washing up. "So... finish the dishes, then pop a movie in – sounds like a plan?"

He watched as his girlfriend twisted her waist, hands remaining were they were hovering above the sink, and threw him a grin. "Oh, I'll finish the dishes being the good girlfriend I am while you do the hard work of putting a DVD on? Sounds fair."

Rolling his eyes he joined her at the kitchen counters. "We'll finish the dishes and then I'll put on Netflix while you relax on the sofa was what I meant to say. Remember I left all my DVDs at my moms. She's the only person who still uses them nowadays anyway."

"Her and me," April put in as she rubbed grease off the frying pan.

"I stand corrected," Jackson replied. He reached for a towel and started drying the dishes then putting them into their places in the respective cabinets.

"Talking about your mom," April started, "She called me this week."

The plates made a horrible clinking sound that made him flinch. He probably should have put more effort into getting them dry then they wouldn't have been so slippery. "Yeah? What for?"

"Nothing much. She didn't reach you in two weeks. Asked about you, the boys, me... and the Harper Avery's."

Jackson froze in his spot. "She did."

He didn't pose it as a question since he already knew the answer. He would have known the answer even if April hadn't just told him. He knew, because he knew his mother.

Catherine Avery was a woman known for many things. Famous urologist, a big fish in the higher circles of society, doting mother, wife and grandmother – in that order. Something she wasn't famous, but definitely known, for: meddling. As a woman who had no trouble meddling in complete strangers lives it wasn't surprising that her preferred victim was her son. She usually kept it at a level he could tolerate, like bringing potential future wives with her whenever she visited him.

To be fair she stopped that after the whole disaster with Casper's mother. However, she never stopped meddling all together. In the specific case of getting her son to attend the Harper Avery Awards for the first time in five years she had crossed a line, though, at least in his book. Involving his girlfriend.

"She said you're not going," his girlfriend said, probably because he wasn't saying anything himself.

Jackson pulled himself from his freeze and nodded. "That's correct."

Then, he went back to drying the dishes. There weren't much to dry since they weren't a lot of people. Yet the little amount of wet dishes was enough to keep him busy. For now.

"Why aren't you?"

He sighed. It wasn't because he was angry at April. He most certainly wasn't. He knew it wasn't her fault, it was all his mother. She shouldn't have gotten her involved in the first place.

"Look, I don't know what my mother told you about this. Whatever she said it is, it isn't."

April put the pan on the drying rack and shook her head. "She didn't say much. But I know." He raised an eyebrow in question. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in response. "My roommate and I used to watch them in college. We were pretty big nerds. We... it was like the Oscars to us."

Despite his sour mood a smile formed on Jackson's face. She was just way too adorable.

"All these doctors in all these fancy suits and designer dresses..." She sighed. "The speeches they made and the projects they talked about. It was all just... so amazing." Her eyes lit up as she talked. It was obvious she loved this event. Jackson already felt bad about the fact that he wouldn't take her. "So. I do know. At least to an extent," she finished.

Jackson leaned back against the counter so he could look at her directly. This usually helped when delivering bad news. "Okay. So you do know. But still, I'm not going."

"But why?"

"I just don't want to. There's nothing more to it." There was a lot more to it, he just didn't want to get into it.

April ran the dish brush over the plate in her hand for a few times. It was already perfectly clean, but Jackson didn't want to break her trance. Instead he went back to drying, hoping she'd drop the subject.

Her next outburst took him by surprise.

"Are you not going because of me?"

"What?"

"Are you not going because of me," April repeated staring at him, "Are you not going, because you don't want to take me? Because you don't want people to know you're dat-"

"No, no, no. Babe, that's absolutely not it. What would make you think that?"

She shrugged, tears running from her eyes down her cheeks and her lips quivering. She couldn't even look him into the eyes. She also couldn't open her mouth. She'd break down if she did.

"April... April, no. I'd take you to any event in a heartbeat, people involved or not."

"T-then why aren't you?" The idea of his rejection obviously hurt her. And rightfully so. Since their talk she'd done a lot to make him believe in this relationship. She'd introduced him to her parents, who – lucky him – loved him (probably because of Casper), taken him out to stuff she did with her friends, most of which they – frankly – shared but still, and even allowed a - low - level of PDA anywhere.

He started rubbing circles on her back to calm her down while he thought about what to tell her. It's not me it's you was true, but definitely the wrong thing to say.

"My mom... she's been trying to get me involved with the foundation for ages," he started.

"Yes, she t-told me," April confirmed.

He nodded. "I don't want to, though. It's... they don't exactly represent my values."

"B-but you want medicine to get advanced?"

"Of course I do. I just don't like the way it's handled. For example they only allow a few specifications. There's never been a plastic surgeon awarded."

"Neither has been trauma," April murmured into his chest. He couldn't help but smile. She most certainly knew her stuff.

"Correct. Trauma and plastic surgery are both excluded from the award. Which is one reason why I don't want to support it," Jackson agreed.

April sniffed. "What are the others?"

"Well... one has to do with it... When I chose plastics my grandfather almost kicked me out of the foundation. When, on top of that I had a child out of wedlock with a runaway not-bride he wanted to get his testament changed so I wouldn't ruin the good Avery name."

She gasped. "He would have done that because of Casper? That's... I didn't consider your family to be so conservative."

"Only Harper is," Jackson put in, running his fingers through her hair. He wasn't sure whether it really helped calming her, but – hell – did it help grounding him. "My mom was as thrilled as can be about her grandbaby. She knocked some sense into the old man, made him realize there's no more Averys left. But for me the damage was already done. He's been trying to rekindle whatever relationship we had before the whole thing ever since, but I just... I can't forget that he took a look at my son and basically called him the ruin of everything he'd built. I... I just can't."

"That's... I... Jackson, I had no idea," April muttered.

"You couldn't have, I never told you."

She shook her head. "Yeah, but I pushed you. I believed what your mom told me without ever asking you, that wasn't fair."

"You didn't do anything wrong, babe. It's just what my mom does."

"What?"

"Meddling."

"Oh." April bit her lip, considering. It was one of her more adorable habits. Even when some other habits changed in their manner from adorable to hot as their relationship progressed, this was one of those that would always remain just plain adorable. Once she was done being cute she lifted up her eyes to meet his, a grin forming on her face. "And what do you do?"

He didn't have to think twice about his reply. "Right now, I'd really just like to kiss you."

She smiled. "I think that could be arranged."