Hello readers! Again, I am so sorry for taking ages to update this story. I haven't gotten back into the jist of things yet, and I hope that I can soon so that I can get back to writing at the pace I usually do. I know the cliff hanger had some of you going crazy and some of you even had a suggestion as to what happened to Jackson.
I want to thank all of you who followed and favorited the story and me. I thanks a lot for the reviews, they mean a lot. So, here's chapter eleven and I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Same as always
And uh...one little warning, please don't be mad at me...OK, you can go read now.
"What do you mean he's not here?" April asked
"He hasn't gotten here yet" Alex explained
"Well, where is he?"
"I, I don't know" Alex shrugged
"What do you mean you don't know?" she asked voice now raised
"Alex you're the best man, you're supposed to make sure that the groom gets here" Jo added
"I know"
"When did you last see him?" Catherine asked
"At the house"
"You left him at the house? Alex you're his ride" Jo said, thinking that her husband may have forgotten the future husband at their house
"Look, we were about to leave, but he said he had some errand to run before he came here. I was gonna go with him but he wanted to go alone. He said it wouldn't take long, got in his car and left" Alex explained
"What kind of errand did he have to run?" Catherine asked
"I don't know, he didn't say" Alex answered "And before you ask, yes, I tried calling him, he isn't picking up"
The room grew quiet and all eyes slowly fell on April, awaiting her reaction. She felt the eyes on her, but opted to avoid them, and instead looked at her daughter's confused face, which she believed looked exactly like hers. Along with April's confusion was fear. The first fear was more of a worry. What if he was hurt somewhere? The second was the fear of him leaving her, ditching her, deciding that he no longer wanted to marry her.
The more she thought about it, the more the latter was the prominent one. What if he really didn't want to marry her? What if he just didn't love her anymore? He seemed to love her the day before. And how she supposed to explain it to people? And their daughter, how would she handle it? Lydia seemed more into the wedding than she was sometimes.
She was brought of her thoughts by a ringing cellphone. For that moment the eyes where off her and on Cristina, who quickly ran to her phone and answered it.
"Hello" she answered it, looking at the hopeful eyes on her
There was a series of "mhm"s and "O.k"s accompanied by nods. Once saying goodbye she turned to April.
"We need to get to the hospital, Jackson's in the E.R"
Jackson's eyes slowly opened. He tried to make sense of the blurry figures in front of him.
Where am I?
He was moving, that much he could tell. Was he still in his car? That's the last thing he could remember.
He began to hear voices, very hurried loud voices. He knew that sound anywhere. He was in an ER.
"Jackson can you hear me?"
Hunt! He immediately thought. He wasn't just in some ER, he was in her ER.
"Avery can you hear me? It's Hunt!"
He let out a groan. He wasn't answering, he just started to notice the pain his body was experiencing.
Why am I in pain?
"You were in an accident Avery" Hunt said, as if reading his mind "We're taking you to the O.R, you're gonna fine"
How did I get in an accident?
This time, his memory provided the answer.
FLASHBACK
"I'm on my way" Jackson said before hanging up and looking at the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green
He smiled to himself as he sat waiting. Seven years ago, he wouldn't have thought he would be here. He had let the love of his life go, twice, and he had given up all hope of things ever getting to this point with them. But he was given a third chance, and he would make it work this time and make the right decisions. He wouldn't let her go again. It wasn't just about them anymore, it was about their daughter. For her sake, he had to make it work.
He chuckled as he thought of his daughter. Lydia wasn't something he was prepared for, including her teddy bear and her pet unicorn, but he was glad that she was there. He didn't know how much a child could change his life and how much he actually liked that it did.
He loved his fiancée and his daughter, and today he would be proving it the best way he could.
The light turned green and he patiently waited for his turn to cross the intersection.
This was it, he was getting married. But first, he had to pick up his wife's wedding present.
Then, the unforeseen happened. And it happened all too quickly.
As he approached the intersection, his eyes widened as a pick up truck came towards it at full speed. In a split second the truck T-boned the car in front of him. He stomped his feet on the brakes, and tried to swing away, but he wasn't fast enough, he went front first into back end of the truck.
Maybe he won't be getting married today.
End of FLASHBACK
"You're going to fine OK?" A man said turning to his daughter who held her arms across her aching belly tightly
She looked up at her father slightly and nodded with a frown. He sighed as he looked at her sad face. He hoped that these doctors would hurry up so that they could attend to his daughter.
As she looked away from him, her sad face slowly started fading and her eyes seemed to widen in amazement. He followed her line of vision and saw exactly why his daughter looked so amazed.
Through the E.R waiting area came a red head in wedding dress. Behind her were others also in dresses and suits, all in an array of different colors. The group ran past them and straight to the desk.
"After the doctor makes my tummy ache go away, can we go watch the wedding daddy?" his daughter asked looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
She was distracted by the pretty dresses and didn't see the worried looks on their faces.
"I don't think they're here for a wedding sweetie" he answered her
"Where's Jackson? What happened to him?" April asked the nurse at the desk as soon as she approached it
"Dr. Kepner!" they heard someone say before the young nurse could answer them
April turned and she realized it was one of her residents. She walked towards him as quickly as her dress and heels would allow, as the resident aproached her. Everyone followed right behind her.
"Where is he? What happened?" she asked again in the same worried tone
The ride to the hospital was uneasy and it seemed to take forever for them to get there. When Cristina told her what Owen said, the worry about him leaving her was gone and all she could think about was how hurt he was. It made it worse was that Owen didn't say what happened, he didn't want her to worry too much, but not knowing didn't help a bit.
"He was in a car accident"
She let out a shaky breath as she covered her mouth. Maybe Owen had a point in waiting to tell her.
"An accident?" a shocked Catherine asked as a scared Lydia held on tightly onto her hand
"A drunk driver ran a red light" The resident answered "The police said that the driver hit the car in front of Jackson, and then Jackson hit the driver"
"How is he?" April managed to ask
"He had internal bleeding, a leg fracture and a concussion. Dr. Hunt is dealing with the bleeding in the O.R right now" he answered
Her heart dropped as she heard his injuries. There had to be a way she could help.
"I need to scrub in..." she said pulling up her dress, readying her self to walk off
"No!" her resident stopped her getting a disapproving look from her "Dr. Hunt told me to stop you if you tried anything" he explained
April stared at him, wanting to run off anyway. But what could she do to help him in the state she was in now? She dropped her dress with a sigh, maybe staying away was the best she could do.
"I'll go scrub in" Meredith said approaching her
"And I'll see how I can deal with that fracture" Callie added following Meredith
April nodded her head in consent and the resident proceeded to give them the information they needed. Once the two left, April and the others went to the waiting from, hoping to get some good news soon.
The people in the waiting room stared as April, still in her wedding dress, paced the space in front of Catherine, Natalie, her father and her sisters. An hour had passed and she still hadn't heard about Jackson. Cristina had left ten minutes before to find out what she could, she hadn't returned yet. The rest of her co-workers had to leave to check on their kids.
Lydia was sitting on her Natalie's lap, where she had been sitting since she got to the hospital. She hadn't spoken since back at the barn, but she was well aware of what was going on. Her daddy was in a car accident, and Bailey's mummy was helping Dr. Owen to fix him. Her grandpa Joe and aunties looked sad and calm, but her grandma Cat looked like she was wanted to cry. And her mommy? She's been standing and walking for a long time.
She snuggled close to her Auntie Natalie as her eyes began to droop. She was tired and ready to curl up in a ball and sleep, but she didn't want to sleep, she wanted to be awake when her daddy came out of surgery.
"It's OK, go to sleep. Daddy will be here when you wake up" she heard Natalie whisper
"K" she answered finally allowing her eyelids to fall
As her daughter began to sleep, April continued her pacing. Her feet were tired, but sitting didn't seem like it would help ease her worry.
Among her worry were some inquiries. Where was he going? What was this so called "errand"? And was it so important that he had to make a detour? The fear of him not wanting to marry her crept up again. Maybe there was never an "errand", and he just wanted to run away and used that as an excuse. She knew she shouldn't be thinking that way, but it's hard when the idea won't go away.
As she paced, she was brought out of her thoughts by a voice she didn't expect to hear.
"Mom?" she said looking in the direction it came from
Her sisters and father looked up at her exclamation.
At the desk stood her mother, talking to one of the nurses. The nurse pointed towards them, and after a quick "thank you", Karen walked towards them. The shock and excitement quickly took over April and she met her half way, engulfing her in a hug.
Her mother was the last person she expected to see, but she was so delighted that she was there. There was this feeling of relief, knowing that her mother was there for her.
"He's going to be fine" Karen comforted her, rubbing her back
She smiled hearing her mother say that, but the feeling of happiness and relief was soon over powered by that of confusion. How did she know about Jackson? Her dad may have told her, but they just found out over an hour ago. How could she find out and get there so quickly?
She pulled away from her mother, ready to question her, but stopped when she saw her attire. She hadn't noticed it before, because of her long jacket, but under it, was a peach colored dress that was down to her toes. There was probably a pair of kitten heels hidden under that dress, on her feet. It made sense now why she was there.
"You came" she said, her eyes getting glossy
"I did" Karen smiled
"Did dad change your mind?" she asked, wondering why just a few days before, she had refused to come
"Actually, it wasn't your dad..." she began
FLASHBACK
Karen sat on the couch in their living room, looking at the man who was sitting before her, in the chair opposite to her.
When the door bell rang and she answered it, her daughter's fiance was the last person she expected to see. She spent most of her time in Seattle on their thanksgiving visit avoiding him, and she was sure he did the same for her. But now he was here, in Ohio, saying he had to talk to her.
She knew why he was there and honestly, she didn't want to hear it. The wedding was two days away and her husband and other daughters had left the day before for Seattle, for that very reason.
"I know why you're here" she stated after a few minutes of silence and staring
"So there's no need to beat around the bush" Jackson said back
"You can't change my mind"
"It won't hurt to try"
"I would love to see you try" she said with a slight smug
Jackson wasn't sure what he was going to say. He had a whole speech planned out, but now his mind was blank.
"Look, I know that you don't like me, and you probably never will, or never support this relationship, but April's your daughter, and she really wants you to be there for her" he managed to say
Karen stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking "She shouldn't have sent you here, you're wasting your time" she said, not nearly convinced
"She didn't send me" Jackson quickly corrected "She doesn't even know I'm here. I decided to come here because I couldn't watch her be miserable because her mother wasn't going to be there, when she should be excited about her wedding, and her mints and butterflies"
"In case you forgot, I already went to my daughter's wedding" she said, referring to April and Matthew's wedding
Jackson was about to respond, but kept quiet. Mrs. Kepner looked like she had more to say, and he was going to let her.
"My daughter had a good thing going. She had a wonderful husband and she would of had a wonderful marriage, but you just had to ruin it" she said
"Mrs Kepner..." Jackson began, he accepted responsibility for the part he played in the affair, but he wasn't alone.
Karen wasn't in the mood to hear about that though, and she cut him off.
"What kind of man sleeps with a married woman?" she asked "What kind of man willingly breaks up a marriage?"
Jackson sighed. He wasn't sure there was a right answer to that question. How could he justify sleeping with a married woman?
"There's nothing I can say to make what we did right. We were in love, and finally able to live in our truth, and that was supposed to make everything right, right? But she was married, and she made vows. She broke them, and I allowed it. We knew we were wrong, that's why she tried to work things out with Matthew and moved, and I let her go" he said "I'm sorry for what we did, and how it made you feel."
Karen kept quiet. She was expecting some lame excuse, not for him to admit he was wrong and apologize.
"We did it the wrong way before, now we want to do it the right way"
He was getting to her, he could tell by the way her face softened a bit.
"What makes you think this will work? How do you know you're not going to make any more mistakes? You're two very different people, marriages like that don't always work." she challenged
"There's no guarantee that I won't make anymore mistakes, I'm not perfect. I love your daughter, and I love mine, and after having to deal with my dad leaving my mom and I when I was little, they taught me what being a great, loving, partner and a wonderful father is. I love being that person, and I want to be that person for as long as I can"
There was silence in the room as Jackson watched Karen, who was contemplating all that he had said. He really wanted to change her mind, and hoped that what he said helped. Her not showing up wouldn't stop the wedding from happening, but he knew that it would make it much better for April if she was there.
"You know..." she finally said breaking the silence "For a home wrecker, you're a pretty decent man"
"Uh...thank you" he answered, unsure if it was a compliment or not
"And this doesn't mean I like you or anything..." she continued "but...I think that I can show my face at the wedding" she finished, causing a broad grin to appear on Jackson's face
End of FLASHBACK
"...and here I am" Karen finished her story "He bought me a ticket and got me a hotel room. He was supposed to come pick me up before the wedding to surprise you. But when he didn't show up, I called his cell phone and a police officer answer, and he told me what happened"
It all made sense to April now, the "errand" was her mother. She smiled, thinking about how he had gone all the way to Ohio to connvince her mom to come to the wedding.
"He's a good guy" Karen said taking April's hands in hers "I can see why you love him"
After pulling her mother into another long hug, she released her to go to her father and sisters.
It was a few hours later, the once crowded waiting room filled with her family and friends was now almost empty. It was just her and her mother there now.
Everyone had left, and had tried to get her to come along, to get some rest, but she wasn't comfortable leaving the hospital just yet. She had kissed Lydia goodnight and allowed Catherine to take her to their apartment. Her dress was beginning to weigh her down, so she got her scrubs and sneakers from the attending's lounge.
Meredith had sent word that the surgery was going smoothly, and all she had to do now was hope that it stayed that way.
As she sat waiting, she was deep in thought, her mother could tell by the look on her face.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked
"Huh?" April said being pulled from her thoughts
"You look like you're in a different world. What are you thinking about?"
"Jackson" April said after a sigh "and why something like this would happen"
"Sweetie..." Karen said taking her hand "Jackson will be fine"
"I know that but..." she began then paused "I don't understand why something like this would happen on our wedding day. Is it because we shouldn't get married?"
Karen rubbed her daughter's hand "I don't know why it happened, but I can assure you God has a reason for it. We don't know it now, but maybe we'll figure it out soon. Or maybe...we won't figure it out at all"
April let out a long sigh as she placed her head on her mother's shoulder. She couldn't help but think that maybe it was a sign, a sign that they shouldn't be getting married. She loved him, but maybe it wasn't the best for them.
She tried to push the feeling away, and wait until she got more news on Jackson.
April watched as his eyes slowly opened and began searching the room.
The surgery had been over a while ago and Meredith had came to the waiting room to tell her everything went well. Once given the go-ahead from Owen, she quickly made her way to the ICU to see Jackson.
The cuts and bruise on his face, and the cast on his leg had thrown her off a bit, but soon she was at his side, holding on tightly to his hand, waiting for him to wake up.
And now, he finally had.
Jackson's eyes slowly surveyed the room. He knew where he was and how he got there. He felt a slight squeeze on his right hand and turned his head in the direction. April's bright eyes was looking into his and there was a slight smile on her face.
"Hey" she said
"Hey" he faintly said back
He studied the woman before him. He was seeing her for the first time since they day before. There was no white dress or veil. The fancy ear ring and necklace was still there though. Half of her make up had been cried off and her hair was in a messy up do, which he figured was much neater earlier that day. She looked tired, and her eyes looked a bit puffy. This was not how he expected to see his bride on their wedding day.
April lifted her free hand to his face, and stroked his face, her fingers passing over his clean shaven cheek.
"How are you feeling?" she asked
"Tired" he answered
"Any pain?"
"A little, but I'm fine"
"Good" she smiled
"Where's Lydia?" he asked, looking around the room once again
"She's with your mother, they're on their way here" she said "She wants to make sure Dr. Owen fixed all your ouchies" she added with a grin
Jackson smiled to himself "For Hunt's sake, I hope he did a good job" Jackson said causing April to chuckle "And mom, how is she?"
"She's fine now, knowing that you'll be OK" she answered "Everyone's glad that you'll be OK...including my mom"
"You know about that huh?"
"Mhm" April nodded "She came here when you didn't pick her up. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. I know how much you wanted her here"
"Well, thank you" she smiled
A comfortable silence filled the room as they looked at each other. He looked at the way she studied him. She looked relieved, but worried at the same time. He realized that just like he wasn't expecting to see her in scrubs on their wedding day, just so she wasn't expecting to see him in a hospital gown and cast, with bruises all over him.
He squeezed her hand pulling her away from her thoughts.
"When I get out of here, we're gonna get married OK?" he said lowly, grateful that he had made it out alive so that he could get the chance to marry her "I don't care if I'm in a wheel chair or on crutches. We could go back to the barn, or go to the justice of the peace. We could run off to Lake Tahoe for all I care. But we will get married...I promise you that"
April couldn't help but force a smile back at him. She loved that he was so eager to get married after all that had happened to him that day.
The problem was, she wasn't sure if she was as eager as he was.
Well, there it is!
I know some of you might be mad that I made Jackson be in an accident, especially after what happened with Mc Dreamy. I'm sorry for that and I promise, this accident thing was in my plot plans long before the whole Derek thing happened.
And to those of you who said you thought Jackson was going to get April's mom, thank you for saying that, cause I honestly had no intention of making him do that.
So, please leave a review and tell me what you think! I'm always open to suggestions on what I should do next. Actually, what I'm writing about in the next chapter, was actually a suggestion from a reader. So know that I do take them into consideration.
Until next time!
PS: I might be taking a break from writing Operation Phoenix, until I can figure out exactly what I want to do next. If you have suggestions for that story too, go over to it and leave a review, or leave one here.
