A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! :)

For this chapter, if you can't remember who Liam Brooks is then I suggest that you consult Comes and Goes for a refresher!

Disclaimer: Same as always.


I Don't Want To Talk About My Day

April was lying on her and Jackson's bed, just about to fall asleep, when the doorbell rang. She groaned in frustration and angrily punched her pillow. It was her day off and she had just gotten Lily and Emma down for their nap so now all that she wanted to do was take a nap as well. The twins weren't newborns anymore, they were almost seven months old now, but they were still exhausting, and it was just her. She was alone in the house with them because Parker had wanted to go to work with Jackson.

She figured that if she ignored it, the person responsible would go away, but the doorbell rang once again and April finally forced herself off of the bed. She walked to the front door and was surprised by the identity of her visitor. Liam Brooks was standing on the other side of the screen door, wearing his navy blue scrubs and looking absolutely shell shocked. He was staring at her but she had a feeling that he didn't even see her; it was like he was looking straight through her.

She and Jackson's childhood friend had developed a fairly solid friendship over the years; she was really the only person who called him by his first name. They worked together frequently and he was Lily's godfather, but they still didn't spend a lot of time alone. It was rarely ever just the two of them. Liam looked very shocked and upset about something, and when he felt like that, he usually turned to Jackson, which made her even more curious as to why he was standing on her doorstep when he knew that Jackson was at the hospital.

She opened the door and addressed him softly. "Liam? What's wrong?"

He finally made eye contact with her and he winced in regret as he observed the bags under her eyes. "You look exhausted. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. I just…uh…cleared my schedule for the rest of the day and I wasn't sure where to go, and I'm sorry."

He turned to leave but April quickly grabbed his hand so that she could pull him back. She had never seen him so out of sorts. "Liam, come in," she said firmly.

She led him into the house and pushed him down onto the sofa. He went minutes without saying a word and it made her increasingly more worried. Numerous scenarios were running through her mind. Did he just lose a patient that he was really invested in? Did he just receive bad news about a family member? Did he just receive bad news about himself?

"Melanie dumped me," he finally revealed. "I was going to propose, I had a ring and everything, and she dumped me." He reached into the pocket of his scrub pants and pulled out a black ring box.

April's mouth dropped open in shock as she stared at the small box that he had just placed on the coffee table. She should have realized that this would be about Melanie. He always came to her about his relationship problems. She wasn't sure what to say in this situation so she ran into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of scotch and two glasses.

He grabbed a glass once she had finished pouring the alcohol and downed its entirety in one gulp. "Thanks," he croaked as the alcohol burned his throat. "I needed that."

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked tentatively. She felt so awful for him. They had been together for five and a half years, he had been dating Melanie Mead for longer than she and Jackson had been married, and their breakup seemed so sudden. And she couldn't help but feel guilty. She had introduced them! She had essentially handpicked her friend for him.

"She came to the hospital for lunch today," he began. "And it was just so normal, ya know?" April nodded in understanding so he continued in a sad, tired voice. "And we were just talking and eating, and then she turned to me and said that she couldn't do this anymore."

The red-head's breath hitched. It was clearly written all over his face how hurt he was and she could only imagine how broken his heart was right now. He had really loved Melanie, and he had treated her well, and he had imagined spending the rest of his life with her. Now he wasn't sure what his future looked like and she couldn't even try to gauge how terrified he must be feeling as well.

She couldn't even think about a life without Jackson.

He spoke again after a moment's pause. "Do you know what she said?"

"What?" April asked in a whisper.

He swallowed harshly as he heard his girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend, saying those terrible words in his head. "She said that she loves me, but she doesn't think that I'm the one."

"Oh my gosh," she exhaled. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she struggled to find the right words to comfort him. She had nothing. So she reached for the bottle of scotch and poured him another glass.

He was going to need it.


Jackson sat on a mat in the corner of the daycare with his long legs stretched out in front of him as he watched his son build a tower out of large Lego blocks. Being a father, he now understood why Sloan and Shepherd used every spare minute that they had to run to the daycare, watching his little people change every day was fascinating. It seemed as if Parker learned something new and came out of his shell a little more every day. He was beginning to ask lots of questions and challenge the world around him, and Jackson was captivated by everything that he did. And he couldn't believe that his son would be four in the fall. It felt like he should still be a baby. His son was so advanced for his age, emotionally and intellectually, it made him both proud and slightly terrified.

Jackson placed a red block in front of his son but Parker quickly turned to him with an adorable scowl. It appeared as if he had been spending too much time with his Uncle Alex. "I don't need any help Daddy."

"Okay," Jackson chuckled. "I'll let you do it on your own."

He watched his son continue to build with a smile. Maybe they had a little engineer on their hands. He rolled his eyes in amusement as he thought about how impressed the Averys would be with that career choice.

Parker remained quiet and focused until he turned to Jackson with his brow furrowed in thought. "I have a question."

"Sure," Jackson smiled, "go ahead, buddy."

"How come Mommy doesn't look like us?"

"Because Mommy's a girl," he answered promptly.

Parker giggled uncontrollably and raised his hands to cover his face. "I know that silly!"

Jackson laughed softly, "Okay, then what do you mean?"

"Me and you, and Lily and Emma, we look the same, but Mommy doesn't," he replied thoughtfully.

Parker reached forward and placed his hand over Jackson's and things finally came together for the older man. His son was asking about skin colour. Jackson took a deep breath as he organized his thoughts. He had not anticipated having to deal with a dialogue about race when he had walked into the daycare today. Honestly, he hadn't envisioned having this conversation for a few more years.

"Uhh…well…you see," Jackson stammered as he scratched his beard.

Luckily for Jackson, his son saved the moment from getting anymore awkward. "It doesn't matter," the little boy shrugged. "Zola doesn't look like her Mommy and Daddy. What matters is what's on the inside!" He declared firmly.

"That's right," Jackson smiled proudly. "You are absolutely right."

Jackson watched his son for a few more minutes until he glanced at his watch and realized that it was time for him to get back to work. "Well buddy, I gotta go now. I'll pick you up in a little while and then we'll go home."

Parker nodded as his attention remained on his construction. He had gotten used to spending the majority of the day without his parents. "Bye Daddy. Have fun!"

"You too," Jackson smiled as he kissed his son on the forehead.

He left the daycare center and spotted Stephanie Edwards waiting for him. "Do you need me for something, Edwards?"

"I have Mr. Kearn's lab results," she responded with a smile. "You told me to find you as soon as I got them."

"Right," he nodded as he accepted the results from her. He glanced at them and nodded again, this time in approval. "Looks pretty good, let's keep his drug regiment the same for the next twelve hours and go from there."

The intern nodded and they fell into step beside each other as they walked away from the daycare.

"Your son is pretty adorable," Stephanie stated to break the silence.

Jackson turned and offered her a wide grin. "He is, isn't he? He says these things that just blow my mind. I don't know how he comes up with it."

They stopped at the nearest nurses' station and Stephanie gazed at him as he continued to talk about his son. He brought his young twins into the conversation as well and the problems that they had been causing since they had started to crawl. The way that his eyes lit up as he talked about his children was so attractive. They were his entire world. She glanced down at his wedding ring and exhaled a regretful sigh.

The action did not go unnoticed by Jackson. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she answered quietly. "I'm just thinking that what they say is true."

"What's true?" Jackson questioned in confusion.

"That all the good ones are either married or gay," she stated with a shy smile.

Jackson smiled back. "Well I don't think that's true." He looked up and spotted Shane Ross charting on the other side of the nurses' station. "Ross seems like a really nice guy."

"Yes, but he can't do a z-plasty better than anyone else in the country," she flirted.

"Well, you have to cut him a little slack, he's only an intern."

Jackson grinned smugly and it took him a minute to realize what he was doing. He was flirting with a woman for the first time in five years. They were bantering, and he was showing off his smile and batting his eyelashes. It was all very wrong, and it made him feel incredibly ashamed. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the countertop of the nurses' station. He looked at the screen of the IPad in Stephanie's hands and recognized a familiar document. It was the checklist that all doctors used to assess patients when they first entered the ER.

"My wife pioneered that checklist when she was Chief Resident," he declared proudly.

Stephanie's smile fell and she awkwardly looked down at the electronic device in her hands. She was more than aware that he was married, she had even stated it herself, but it still felt like a dose of ice water when he brought up his perfect wife, the beautiful, pleasant trauma surgeon that could do no wrong.

"It's a pretty great tool," she muttered uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Jackson smiled a little too brightly. "Yeah it is."


Liam leaned back on the couch and groaned loudly. "I just don't get it! To go out for five years and have it end like this!" He finished yet another glass of scotch and placed it on the coffee table. It 'clanked' loudly against the glass and the sound reverberated in the silent room.

April sat next to him and laid her head back against the couch as well. They had put a good dent into the bottle of scotch that Jackson had purchased for "special occasions". This definitely wasn't a special occasion, but it was a necessity.

"It really sucks," April whispered sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but maybe you're just not meant to be."

The neurosurgeon turned his head towards her and furrowed his brow in anger. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean that you have to look at the silver lining here," she answered defensively. "This isn't the end. You're a great guy, you'll find someone."

"But what if I want her," he murmured dejectedly.

April sat up straight and looked at him determinedly. She placed a hand on his chest and charged into a passionate speech. "You're a great guy! You're sweet and smart, and incredibly good-looking and so talented! You are the future of neuro! You are going to find an amazing woman, who deserves you, and you're going to get married and have so many cute babies!" She giggled softly before she continued. "You are going to be fine! She's the one who's going to be regretting her decision."

"You really think so?" He asked insecurely. He put on a pretty good show, but he wasn't half as confident as he appeared.

"I know so!" She declared firmly.

A genuine smile graced his face and it was the first one in hours. He knew that coming to see April had been the right decision. As he had expected, she knew exactly what to say. Jackson was such a lucky guy. She was such an incredible woman; she was gorgeous and brilliant, and so kind. She had great values and she was a great mother, and he could just rant for days about her.

He knew that what he was about to do was wrong. She was a married women, and she wasn't married to just anyone, she was married to his best friend. But he did it anyway. He tangled one hand in her hair and pulled her face closer to his. He kissed her firmly and it was easy to tell that she was incredibly taken by surprise. When he pulled away she stared at him with wide eyes and her mouth was slightly parted.

"Liam," she finally whispered. "You…I-I…"

He had expected a slap across the face so that was a better reaction than what he had imagined. He pressed his lips to hers again as the hand that had been gripping her waist dropped down to cup her behind. He slipped his tongue into her mouth perhaps a little more forcefully than he should have, and she pushed him away by placing two hands on his shoulders. She jumped off of the sofa and covered her mouth with her hand.

She really had no idea how to deal with this situation.

He swallowed harshly before he looked up at her pleadingly. "April, I…"

She shook her head and didn't allow him to finish his sentence. "You should drink a cup of coffee and sober up, and then I think you should leave."

"Okay," he responded quietly.

"And while you do that, I'm not going to be here," she added shakily before she fled the room and rushed to the bathroom.


Jackson walked into his home after a long day and immediately called out to his wife. "Hey April, I'm home! Parker wanted to spend some quality guy time with his godfather so Mark will bring him back soon!" He dropped his bag on the living room floor and carelessly tossed his coat onto the sofa. April still hadn't shown herself so he walked down the hallway and towards their bedroom.

He stopped in the doorway and looked at his wife in concern. She was sitting on their bed staring at the wall. She wasn't reading, she wasn't listening to music, she was just staring. It was a little creepy. "April," he called softly.

Her head whipped towards him and she looked at him with a weak smile. "Oh hey, I didn't know you were home."

"I called out," he told her in confusion.

"Sorry, I guess I've been in my own little world." She giggled awkwardly as she got up off of the bed.

In reality, she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Liam Brooks had kissed her…pounced on her really. The worst part was that she knew that she couldn't tell Jackson about it. It would damage their friendship for no good reason. The kiss didn't mean anything, she hadn't even initiated it. Liam had just gotten his heart broken and he just wanted someone to want him, she could understand that so she couldn't really be mad at him.

It didn't mean anything so there was no reason why she should tell her husband about it.

She approached Jackson and slipped her arms around his waist. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he responded before he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her hungrily. He lifted her off of the ground and into his arms in one smooth motion.

He had spent the day flirting with an intern and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He felt so guilty, so now to make up for it, he needed to make love to his wife. He couldn't tell April about what he had done. It would just upset her and he didn't want to do that. It didn't really mean anything anyway, he hadn't even initiated it.

It didn't mean anything so there was no reason why he should tell his wife about it.

"Are the girls asleep?" He asked suggestively.

She hummed as she clutched the back of his neck with her fingers. "They are. When will Mark be dropping Parker off?"

"Probably not until right before bed time."

She glanced at her watch before she returned to planting kisses along his neck. "That gives us an hour and a half."

"We can do a lot in an hour and a half," he chuckled.

She laughed along with him as he carried her back to the bed. "That we can."

He gently deposited her onto the mattress and they kissed sloppily as her legs locked around his waist. He pulled her tank top over her head and tossed it across the room.

"So how was your day?" He asked in between placing kisses down her stomach.

April wrapped a hand around his belt and roughly yanked him upwards so that she could kiss him on the lips. "I don't want to talk about my day. How was your day?" She deflected.

"I don't wanna talk about my day either," he murmured.

And neither of them spoke again for the next hour and a half.


A/N: I know that for a lot of you this version of Jackson and April is a bit of a happy place but they have a journey to take as well, and these moments are important for the sequel that I'm setting up.

Please leave a review (even if it's an unhappy one)! :)