Aaaand I'm back. Here's the next chapter of my story. I hope you enjoy it!


Derek answered his phone without a glance at the screen. He was used to getting calls left and right. He wasn't expecting the person on the other line though.

"Shepard, it's Jackson. I need your help." He heard the voice say in a desperate tone.

"Avery? What's going on?" He asked worriedly. This was the first time that he had ever gotten a call from the younger doctor. He didn't even know he had his number. Derek knew that Jackson had gone to the hospital after getting a call about April, but no one knew what had happened. "Is April okay?"

"Yes, no, I mean I don't know," Jackson answered fumbling his words.

"Hey, just take a deep breath and tell me what's going on," Shepard instructed him. He could hear Jackson following his instructions.

"April woke up. That's why the doctor called me. They said she was more than likely going to regain consciousness within the night, and she did." Jackson sighed.

"Well, that sounds like great news Jackson!" Derek said happy for his fellow colleague. "I don't get why you would need my help though."

Jackson let out another sigh. "Because while she did wake up, she has no memory of the last 4 years of her life. She doesn't remember me or her daughter. She doesn't remember anything about our life together." Jackson explained trying to detach himself from the situation.

Derek was quiet for a good minute. "What did the neurologist say?" He asked getting right to business.

"They said that there should be no reason for her to have no memory. Her brain scans came up clear the last time they checked. They took her up a few minutes ago to get another scan. I know I didn't want to come to you guys with this, but I could really use your help in figuring out what's wrong with my wife." Jackson pleaded.

"Of course I'll help you. You don't even need to ask. Do you want me to come over to the hospital or are you having her transferred here?" Derek asked.

"I didn't really think too far past this phone call." Jackson chuckled humorlessly.

"That's completely understandable. How about I head over there right now and talk to the doctors than we'll have her transferred to our hospital." Derek knew it was hard going through what Jackson was going through, not to mention worrying about their child. He wanted to make up for everything he and the rest of the doctors at Grey Sloan did, even if that meant he needed to help Jackson do things he normally could do on his own.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Jackson said relieved. "My mind is a freaking mess right now." He admitted

"Alright, I'll be there soon." Derek hung up the phone.


Jackson paced the room as he waited for April to get back. He ran his hands over his head like he usually did when he was stressed out.

He switched back and forth from pacing the small space of the room to sitting back in his chair.

He sat there in the chair with his leg bouncing up and down nervously. It wasn't until nearly an hour later that Derek entered the room.

"Hey Jackson," Derek said as he entered the room.

Jackson raised his head from its downed position at the sound of his name. He got up from his seat and held his hand out. "Thanks for coming."

Derek shook his hand. "You needed my help, it was no problem."

Jackson nodded his head.

"Are they still out taking tests?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, but they better get here soon or I'm heading up there myself to see what's going on," Jackson said frustrated.

"There's no need for that." The Dr. said as she walked into the room, the nurses right behind her with his wife.

"Dr. Freeman. What did the scans say?" Jackson asked the doctor as he watched from a distance as his wife was wheeled into the room. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"The scans came back clean again. It seems whatever is blocking April's memories has nothing to do with her head injury." Dr. Freeman informed the distraught husband.

"We'd like to have April transferred to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. It's closer to where she lives and I happen to be a renowned neurosurgeon. I can continue to treat her there." Derek said.

"Oh my God, you're Derek Shepard!" April exclaimed. This was so surprising. What was he doing here?

Derek chuckled. "Yes, I am Derek Shepard and you're April Kepner."

"Ugh," she groaned. "I'm assuming I'm supposed to know you too? I mean other than what I've read about you. Not that I was reading about you. I mean I did, but not in the way it sounds. And I'm shutting up now" April's face turned bright red.

Jackson chuckled. He knew how much April hated the fact that with her fair complexion she could never hide the fact that she was blushing.

"You could have warned me," April grumbled giving Jackson a small glare.

Jackson threw his hands up in the air. "Hey, I never could stop your tangents."

Derek chuckled. April may not have known it, but her reaction was still the same. She interacted with Jackson just like she did before she lost her memories.

"We should probably get moving," Derek added.

Dr. Freeman informed Jackson that there would be some forms he'd need to fill out for April's transfer and the two headed out the door. It was so hard for Jackson not to interact with April romantically. He would have loved to have kissed her or touched her really, but he knew that she wasn't ready for that.

April was left in the room with Derek and although she made a big fool of herself a minute ago, she was ready to take full advantage of this opportunity.

"So, what can you tell me about Jackson?" April asked him.

Derek looked like she'd taken him by surprise. If there was a picture of what a deer caught in headlights looked like, that was definitely it.

"What?" Derek asked more surprised than confused.

"I want to know about Jackson. I mean he's my husband and I know absolutely nothing about him other than the fact that he might be a doctor and his last name is Avery." April admitted.

"I don't actually know much. We're not that close." He said ashamed. Mark would be disappointed in him. He knew how much Sloan cared about Jackson, they had really gotten close once Jackson discovered his talents in Plastics. The two often going by the term the Plastics Posse. Mark would hate how they'd all been treating him.

"Oh, that sucks," April said dejectedly. "You guys seem close. I mean you didn't come all the way over here to help someone you don't know."

"I didn't say I didn't know him, I just don't know anything personal about him or you for that matter," Derek told her.

"Okay, what do you know about him? How long have you known each other?"

"3 almost 4 years now. You both came to Seattle Grace as surgical residents, but you were both formerly from Mercy West Medical Center. Your hospital merged with Seattle Grace Hospital and you've been there ever since." Derek told her.

She sighed "Not ringing any bells." April told him. She had hoped that hearing a little about her life would jog at least a little of her memories. "Tell me more," she urged him.

"I think you would be better off hearing this from your husband. There are things, personal things that I'm sure Jackson would rather be the one to tell you." He didn't want to be the one to tell her about her failing the boards, or that she no longer worked at the hospital, or the fact that she had a one-month-old daughter with a husband she no longer remembered.

April wanted to argue with the doctor but Jackson chose that very moment to enter the room. "Okay, you're all set," Jackson told her keeping his distance. She could see how much he longed to be next to her, but she appreciated him giving her some space.

"What about her other injuries? Is she okay to move?" Jackson asked with worry.

Dr. Freeman nodded her head "It's been a month since the accident. Her wrist has mostly healed as well as her leg. She'll probably feel a bit sore but other than that she's good to go."

"Thank you," Jackson said. He turned to April. "How do you want to play this?" He asked her.

"I don't need to go by ambulance do I?" April looked towards the doctor.

"No, you don't." Doctor Freeman answered. "But you do need the wheelchair, you've been comatose for a month and your body is going to need some time before it can go back to how it was before. Walking for long periods is going to take some time."

"Alright then," She said to the doctor as they slowly helped her into her wheelchair. "I think this could give us some time to talk," April said as she turned to face Jackson. She assumed she'd be riding with him.

Jackson didn't even try to hide his happiness. The fact that April was so eager to fix their relationship made her memory loss something he thought that he could handle. Although he wasn't sure what he was going to do about the fact that he was keeping one major secret from her.

He happily agreed with April and they got to work on getting her to his car.


"So, what do you want to ask me?" Jackson asked as he drove, following behind Derek.

"Let's see, am I a neurosurgeon?" She asked happily. She'd always seen herself as a neurosurgeon, dreamed of it in fact.

Jackson glanced at her hearing the excitement in her voice. "No, actually you decided on trauma."

"I did?" She asked confused. "Are you sure?"

Jackson laughed. "I've known you for over four years. I think I know what career you chose."

April thought that thought over. She wanted to argue that he may have known her for four years but she knew what she wanted and she never pictured herself as a trauma surgeon. But then she thought back to the fact that she couldn't remember the last few years of her life. A lot of time had passed, maybe she changed. Jackson seemed so confident in his answer that she knew he was right.

"How long have we been married?" She asked softly.

Jackson took a second to answer. "Almost a year"

"Wow" What else could she say. She couldn't even imagine what he must be going through. She was in a coma for a month and he had to wait for her to wake up only to find out that she didn't even remember their life together. He was practically a stranger to her while she seemed to be the love of his life.

"Yeah," Jackson said with a strained smile. It hurt talking about their life when she couldn't remember it.

April looked at him sadly. She was once again hurting him. How many people would she end up hurting with her memory loss? A thought suddenly hit her.

"My family! I should call and tell them that I'm going to another hospital." April searched around for her phone.

"April," Jackson wanted to explain to get why that wasn't such a good idea.

"No, they'll probably be worried sick if they see me missing. Where the heck is my phone?" She said as she searched her bag. She wasn't even sure what phone she was looking for, she couldn't possibly have the same phone from four years ago.

"April!" Jacksons shout stopped her from talking.

"What!" She screamed back at him in frustration. Why wasn't he helping her?

Jackson shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." April apologized. "What's the problem now?"

Jackson took a deep breath. What he was going to tell her was going to hurt her. "Your parents," He paused.

"What about my parents?" She asked confused.

"Your parents, your family they..." He glanced at her. "They don't know about your accident."

"Wait a minute. You didn't tell my family about me being in a coma?" April looked at him incredulously. He had no right to keep her family away from her.

"I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't accept my calls," Jackson explained.

"Why wouldn't they want to talk to you?" April asked confused. She couldn't understand why her parents wouldn't accept a call from her husband, their son-in-law. He was a doctor and seemed to be a decent guy. She may not remember him, but she didn't see a reason for them to not like him.

"I'm sorry April. I left messages but they never called back. You guys weren't on good terms before your accident." He admitted.

"Not on good terms? What could have happened that would put me at odds with my entire family?" April stared at him in confusion.

"There's a lot that you don't remember about us," Jackson told her.

"Well, it would be great if you could tell me," April said exasperatedly.

"I know, I know, it's just a lot for you to take in right now. I think if I tell you everything now it'll just overwhelm you." Jackson tried to explain to her.

"Well isn't that a decision I should make. This involves me." April argued. She didn't appreciate people making decisions for her on her behalf, husband or not.

"It's actually a decision that involves the both of us." He gritted out. This was hard for him and he was trying to be calm about everything that was happening but he could only take so much. "Were married April, and I know you don't remember that, or me, but I do. I remember everything and I'm trying my best here not to put too much on you and to keep my distance but it's hard. It's really really hard."

"I understand that. I do, but I can't have you lying to me about my life. I don't want you to keep things from me for my own benefit. I can handle whatever comes my way." April didn't want or need to be coddled.

Jackson took a deep breath. "How about I tell you the reason for your family's distance when we get to the hospital. That way if anything I say triggers you at least we'll be in an environment that can help you." Jackson reasoned.

April thought it over. She wanted to know the reason for her family's lack of relationship with her and Jackson, but she could wait for the details to that for a little while longer. If it really was as bad as he was making it seem, then she'd appreciate being able to have some space to herself. It would suck to be stuck in a car with no way out.

"Okay, we'll do this your way. I'll wait till we get to the hospital. But I don't want any more secrets after that, I want to know everything." April told him.

Jackson let out a small breath. If this was all he was going to get then he was going to take it. Jackson nodded his head letting her know he understood. Although he wasn't sure how she was going to take the fact that she had a child that she didn't remember.


Jackson walked into the hospital right behind Derek. He looked over at April who was standing beside him nervously. She declined the offer of a wheelchair.

"I won't be up on my feet for long anyhow," she told him.

Jackson didn't understand what she was so nervous about though.

"You okay?" Jackson asked April.

She seemed to shake herself from her daze. "Yeah, it's just I don't remember any of this. It's all new to me." She said.

Jackson couldn't really relate to what she was feeling. So he just nodded his head.

"I'm gonna go find an empty room for you, get you admitted," Derek told Jackson and April.

"I don't think I need one. At least not for long." April looked at Derek and Jackson. They should really leave the rooms to people who were actually in need of them. "You only need to take a few more tests right?"

"Yeah, but you know it'll take some time, and you did just wake up from your coma. You should at least stay hospitalized for a few days. Also, it's better that you have somewhere to lay low in. You probably don't want to be bombarded with a bunch of people you don't remember." Derek explained.

Jackson agreed one hundred percent, but he didn't want to be the one to point it out. It was weird, but he felt like he was overstepping. Technically he was her husband and he had every right to question things and arrange things on her behalf, but April wouldn't think that.

She probably felt as though he was handling her and she didn't even know him. He felt it'd be better if he let her make her own decisions. Well, at least the majority of her decisions.

"You're right, plus it'll give us time to talk." April stared at Jackson pointedly.

"Yeah, okay." Jackson agreed hesitantly, while April smiled.

Derek walked away to make the arrangements leaving April and Jackson to themselves.

April watched as Jackson looked around nervously as if he were searching for something or someone.

"Are you okay?" April asked him.

"Yeah, it's just..." He didn't want her to take what he was going to say the wrong way. "I don't want anyone to see you yet."

"What? Why?" April looked at him incredulously. 'Who did he think he was? Other than the obvious of course.'

"I'm sorry" Jackson sighed. "I only mean that no one knows that you're awake or that you don't have your memories. I've been trying to keep my distance because I know you're not that comfortable around me yet."

April winced at that statement watching as the hurt flashed in his eyes because it was the truth. He was still a stranger to her.

"But, at the same time, I can't stand back and let you face things that you might not be ready for yet. We said we would take this one step at a time and that's all I'm trying to do." Jackson said with so much emotion in his voice. He wanted her to understand that he cared for her and he loved her and he didn't want to see her in pain.

April gazed at him as if she were searching for something, and she must have found whatever she was looking for because she held her hand out for him to take. "Okay" She simply said. "Where do you want me to go?"

Jackson looked at her in surprise, caught off guard by her quick acceptance. He took her hand and pulled her towards the boardroom sending a message to Derek where they'll be when he got the room ready.

They both took a seat at the table. April was secretly happy that she could sit down. was right she couldn't yet stand for long periods of time.

"So what else would you like to know?" Jackson asked her. He figured as long as he didn't bring up Aryn then there would be no need to broach that topic just yet. April sure wouldn't be bringing it up. Her month-long stay in the hospital in a coma made it look as though she hadn't even been pregnant. So he could see how she wouldn't immediately come to that conclusion.

"You work at this hospital right?" April asked. "That's what Dr. Shepard said at least. That we've been here since the merge from Mercy West." She finished.

"Yes, I do." He said carefully avoiding the fact that he said he worked here and not her too although he could see where this was going. "Is there another question in there?"

April laughed. "Yeah, there is, sorry. What's my job exactly?" April wondered. If she had in fact been going for trauma now than that only meant she worked in the trauma department, but she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

Jackson scratched his head giving April a nervous look. "Listen, April, you don't exactly work here."

April's eyes widened. She hadn't even considered the fact that she probably worked at a different hospital. She just assumed that when Shepard said they'd both been working at this hospital since residency that they were both still there. "Okay, so what hospital do I work at?"

"You don't work at any hospital," Jackson explained without actually saying what he meant. He hated the crushed look on her face before and it'd taken a lot to get her to realize that she could take the boards again and that she would pass this time. He didn't want her to go through that again.

"I don't understand." April looked at him in confusion. How could she not work at any hospital? What did that even mean?

"You don't work at any hospital because you didn't pass your boards," Jackson said softly.

"I didn't... What?" She looked at him lost. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know, we all studied together and you knew everything. In fact, if anyone was going to fail their boards I honestly thought it would be me." Jackson admitted.

"I've been working all my life for this." April looked away from Jackson tears gathering in her eyes.

Jackson's heart broke at that. He carefully grabbed her hands. "April look at me." He waited for her to turn her attention to him.

"You were stressed, l... we all were." Jackson smiled sadly thinking about all the problems they all faced. Him finding out that his mother was having sex with Webber, Karev and his deteriorating patient, Meredith and her cold, Cristina and her overconfidence, and finally April and her nervousness. The fact that April was the one that failed was a shock to everyone.

"I know this is a big disappointment. You can't remember it right now, but we had this talk before and I will tell you exactly what I told you before. You are smart and talented. So you'll take the test again and this time you'll pass it with flying colors. You're going to have hospitals calling from all over begging to have you. I promise you, you're gonna make one hell of a Trauma Doctor, just wait and see." Jackson told her.

"I see why I fell for you" April smiled a watery smile, giving his hands a soft squeeze.

Jackson laughed. He didn't let her hands go though and she hadn't pulled away yet.

"SoI have no job and you're just off your residency, how are we paying the bills. We do live together right?" April asked worriedly. She didn't like that he was not only in a demanding career, but he had to now take care of both of them.

"Were good, we have enough saved for now," Jackson said easily, which wasn't a complete lie. They did have money saved, but most of it was from his trust.

"Okay." She accepted just as easily. "I want to know what happened between me and my family," April said. She figured she let enough time pass.

Jackson could hear the firmness in her voice, but also the fear.

"The night of our boards, we kind of got carried away and did some things that went against your religion," Jackson said without actually saying much, but the answer was in there.

April looked confused for a second until realization hit her.

"Oh. Oh!" She looked at him in shock and disbelief.

Her eyes widened twice their size in shock. She, April Kepner had intercourse before marriage? No wonder she failed her boards. God was punishing her.

"And before you say it, God was not punishing you. We did something that felt right at the time and I don't want to believe that there is a God somewhere out there that would punish someone for being happy." Jackson interrupted her thoughts.

She wanted to question the fact that it sounded as if Jackson didn't even believe in God, but that was a whole other topic that she didn't feel like broaching. She just nodded her head.

"I can see how this could be a problem for my parents, but this is definitely not something I would tell my sisters let alone my parents, so unless there was a need to, like if I was suddenly expecting a baby or something I don't see how this would cause a rift between..." April trailed off at the look on Jackson's face.

"You're kidding," she said flatly. When he made no comment she stood up. "You have to be joking!" April began pacing the room, nervous energy bubbling up within her and filling the room.

"April-" Jackson was cut off before he could finish saying her name.

"I have a baby, how could I not know I have a baby!" She looked distressed. "There's no way. I would know! A woman knows!" She was practically screaming.

"They gave you an emergency c- section, you should still have the scar if you want to confirm it," Jackson said standing up slowly. He didn't want to tell her, hell he didn't, in fact, tell her. She found out all on her own, he was just confirming it.

Jackson watched as April suddenly stopped her pacing and stood stock still. She slowly lifted up her scrub top and pulled the bottom lower revealing the long scar.

Everything was quiet until a choked sob replaced the silence. Jackson looked on with sadness in his eyes. Another sob escaped April's lips and then another until she was full on sobbing. Her shaking hands traced over the scar left over from the surgery.

Jackson made his way over to his wife and carefully wrapped his arms around her. She continued to cry as she leaned into him letting him hold her. Console her.

It wasn't until minutes later that April was able to pull herself together enough to ask him about the baby.

"Is the baby okay? I mean did it make it through the accident?" She felt weird calling the baby an it, but she didn't exactly know the sex.

"Yeah, she's great." He smiled.

April pulled away from him with a watery smile. "A girl?" She asked happily.

"Yeah. Aryanna Jordan Avery, Aryn for short. She was born two months early, a premi. She's healthy though, she's a ball of energy. She'll be so excited to see you, whenever you're ready." Jackson didn't want to put any added pressure on her. She would see her daughter when she felt up to it.

"Can I see her?"April asked tentatively. She was her daughter and she had every right to see her, but she still felt like an outsider, like she needed his permission.

"Of course, you don't need to ask, she's your daughter too." Jackson wanted her to understand that she didn't need his consent. "We made her together."

April watched the heat in Jackson's stare, as he gazed at her. She blushed, heat rising up to her cheeks and down her neck. He was still holding onto her as if he was afraid that if he let her go she wouldn't allow him to come back.

Derek knocked on the door and cracked it open. "Hey, the room's ready."

Jackson and April stepped away from each other.

They looked up at Derek and nodded their heads. They made their way to the room, surprisingly with no one noticing April was there.

"We'll get started on those tests right away. No one is using the room for any tests right now, so this is the perfect time." Derek motioned for April to follow him.

Jackson decided to stay behind again and make a few calls.

He was sure that Ben and Bailey were at the hospital by now which meant so was his daughter. He figured April would really like the surprise visit, not to mention he himself could use a visit from his daughter. He sent a message to Ben, letting him know what was going on.

Jackson's not sure how much time passes before Ben walks into the room with his little girl in his hands.

Jackson's face instantly brightens at the sight of her. He reaches out and takes her from Ben's hands.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner. Bailey's in a surgery right now." Ben informed him.

Jackson nodded his head that was nestled against his baby's body. He pressed a kiss to Aryn's cheek and looked at Ben.

"Thanks for bringing her here." Jackson thanked him.

"It was no problem. So April is awake. Wow man. That's amazing." Ben said with a smile.

"Yeah, I just wish she could remember us." Jackson looked at Ben sadly.

"She'll remember. In the meantime I know she'll be happy to see this beautiful little girl, memory or not." Ben said.

"Yeah." Jackson smiled. Aryn lay nestled in her father's arms comfortably.

"I'll leave you two to have some time alone." Ben placed Aryn's bag on the floor and exited the room.


April came back in thirty minutes later and looked on in shock. She hadn't expected Jackson to bring her today. She'd only asked about her an hour ago.

April walked tentatively into the room, getting up from the wheelchair she was forced to use after her legs nearly gave out on her. She moved quietly as if she were afraid to make any sudden movements. As if she thought her mere presence would scare Aryn. She distantly heard Derek saying he would give them a little time together.

Jackson turned at the sound of her footsteps. His eyes were sparkling with pure joy and it just made him more beautiful. Normally she would think calling a man beautiful was an odd thing, but Jackson truly was beautiful and so was their daughter.

"She's gorgeous." She said with so much emotion in her voice. "I can't believe I missed a whole month worth of things." She said sadly.

"It's still pretty early on, you haven't missed much." Honestly, he understood how she felt. He would be heartbroken if he'd missed out on any of Aryn's firsts. But he wouldn't tell April that.

"I know, but it still feels like a lot." She was now only inches from both Jackson and Aryn. She was a little nervous.

Jackson stood up and lifted Aryn up. He held her out to April waiting for her to take her.

"Are you sure, I don't want to scare her." April looked on nervously. She'd missed out on the bonding time, there was no way Aryn would be comfortable in a stranger's hands. Even if that stranger was he mother.

"I'm sure," Jackson confirmed with no doubt in his voice. It was enough to give April the push she needed. "I brought her to see you almost every day, she knows you."

April held her arms out and Jackson placed Aryn in her arms. She wasn't asleep just yet, her eyes still open enough to see around her. She looked around for a bit, staring at her father for a while longer before setting her eyes on April. Aryn blinked a few times and then smiled. April looked at Jackson with such happiness he couldn't stop the smile on his face if he wanted to, and he didn't want to. His family was finally together.

April smiled up at him and just about melted at the sight. It suddenly didn't matter that she couldn't remember being pregnant, or her life with Jackson. If she never remembered him she would be okay. Because the look on his face as he watched his family finally together was something she would never forget.