Check it out, an update in just under 3 weeks since the last one - a minor miracle! Thank you all so much for sticking with me and continuing to read/review/favorite - it really does mean a lot. Hope you enjoy this one - please let me know! :)
With a sigh, April shook her head and leaned back in her chair. It was fairly late in the evening and she was the only one in the attendings' lounge and the plan had been to take advantage of the quiet and get her 'to do' lists organized, but it was almost too quiet and her thoughts kept wandering. She found herself thinking of the baby, her husband, that pesky intern with the crush on her husband, the rest of the interns – some of whom were really growing on her, everything except the things she needed to accomplish before they left for Boston.
She wasn't really sure why she kept dwelling on the intern crush, unless it was because of the fact that she really was surprised at herself for not being more bothered by it. But she'd meant it when she'd told Jackson that she wasn't upset about it. It was a simple fact that her husband was a phenomenally attractive man and, so far, it appeared to be a harmless crush. She might change her tune should Edwards ever make a blatant play for Jackson at all, but for now, she was choosing to ignore it, subtle reminders of Jackson's marital status aside. She certainly didn't want to shortchange any of the interns in terms of their educations.
It had been another surprise this fall, to realize how much she enjoyed teaching – and that she was good at it. Maybe that had also been a factor in her rise in self-confidence this year – despite her failure at the boards, she'd been able to find something that she did well and that made her feel good. Despite the chaotic way things had come about, she had this sense that her life had fallen into place.
April shook her head again, firmly. "You don't have time for this," she muttered to herself, sitting up and picking up her pen again.
"Don't have time for what?" Meredith asked as she entered the lounge and poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting down across the table from April.
"For, uh – for daydreaming, I guess," April shrugged, setting her pen back down. "We leave for Boston in three days and I have so much to get done, I can't even figure out where to start. Things to wrap up here, things to do at home to get ready to leave…" her voice trailed off into a sigh. "And don't even get me started on the things to do before the baby. I really can't think that far yet."
"I wouldn't worry too much," Meredith said lightly. "You're about to spend Christmas with both new grandmothers – I'm sure you'll be coming home with plenty of stuff."
April smiled. "You're probably right. That's probably the least of my worries. There's bigger stuff to worry about, like flying at seven months." She frowned. "Or flying at all, to be honest. I haven't, since before –"
Meredith nodded before she could finish the sentence. "Yeah, me neither."
They were both quiet a minute before Meredith broke the silence. "Your doctor said it's okay though, right?"
April nodded. "Yeah. She's not thrilled about it, but since we're both doctors, flying to where there's gonna be more doctors, it makes her feel a little better. And apparently Jackson's uncle is an OB/GYN – or well, was, he's retired now, but still."
Meredith frowned, thinking. "Is there an Avery in OB? I don't remember…"
"Oh, no," April hastened to explain. "His mother's sister's husband."
"Oh, okay then." She laughed. "So what's the sister's specialty?"
April grinned. "Law, actually. Just a coincidence of sorts that she married a doctor also." She shook her head. "It is so freakin' weird that you have like, a roster or something of my in-laws in your head."
Meredith giggled. "Not really. More just that plain old OB seems far too pedestrian a specialty for an Avery. They prefer fancier, more precise stuff."
"I know," April said with a sigh. "Jackson's already dreading the crap he might get from his grandfather over the plastics thing. And then he married a trauma surgeon who couldn't pass her boards…" her voice trailed off as she grinned ruefully. "Okay, now I'm seriously depressing myself."
"It'll be fine," Meredith replied. "I remember talking to Jackson about the whole family legacy pressure thing back in third year, just after the merger. Sometimes you know right away and sometimes you have to grow into the right specialty. I thought I wanted neuro, remember?"
"Yeah, I thought I wanted neuro too," April replied.
"Or just thought you wanted my husband," Meredith teased and April turned bright red.
"Meredith! I didn't – you know –" she sputtered and Meredith laughed.
"Relax, it's just a joke." She grinned and couldn't resist adding, "You know I was never really worried."
April shook her head. "I know. And, you know, it really wasn't a crush so much as it was hero worship of a sort. I was so damn grateful to Derek. He gave me a second chance by giving me back my job – but he was the first person at Seattle Grace to give me a chance at all."
"He's a good man," Meredith agreed, smiling. "His surgery got me out of having to go to New York and deal with his family, so there's that, I guess. Don't think I'll be able to avoid it next year though."
April laughed. "See, I could handle his family. A bunch of sisters is right in my wheelhouse. You should be married to Jackson; you'd know exactly how to deal with a bunch of surgical gods."
Meredith shook her head. "Nah, the balance is a good thing. I think it's better the way things are."
April nodded, shifting in her seat and grimacing a bit, placing her hand on her stomach as the baby shifted position.
"Running out of room in there, huh?" Meredith commented and April nodded.
"Yeah…" She always felt a little uncomfortable discussing pregnancy-related things with Meredith. She'd never, ever forget being there with Meredith the day she lost her own baby in the aftermath of the shooting and it made her feel a little bit guilty. The lateness of the hour and the girlfriend-ish nature of their conversation made her bold and before she realized what she was doing, she heard herself asking, "Is it hard for you? Being around pregnant women?"
Meredith looked startled by the question and April hastened to add, "You know, after - I'm sorry, I shouldn't have –"
"No, no, it's okay." Meredith paused, as if collecting her thoughts and then said, "It was. Especially when Callie got pregnant with Sofia. That really, really stung – Derek and I were trying so hard and she just…poof! But then they had the car accident and then we got Zola and so you know, you just never know what's in store. And you know, Zola's right about the age that the baby I lost would have been, give or take a month or two, so it's just – she was the baby I was meant to have."
April was quiet, nodding as she absorbed Meredith's words.
Meredith smiled, a smile that, had April been paying more attention, would have appeared a little mysterious. "Isn't it funny though, how easy it is to get pregnant when people aren't trying?"
April nodded, laughing. "For real."
"Decided on any names yet?"
"We've settled on middle names," April replied. "Um, Reed, for a girl and uh, Mark for a boy." She looked suddenly panicked. "That's okay, right? Derek wouldn't be upset? Or offended?"
Meredith shook her head. "I don't think so. He said himself that Mark had never had any interest in teaching anyone, ever, before Jackson, so I think he'd actually like it."
April's expression changed to relieved. "Oh, good. I wouldn't want to, you know, like, steal it - or whatever – from you guys. If you ever have any more kids."
"That don't come pre-named?" Meredith said lightly. "No, it's fine. You said middle name, right? So we could still use it, no big deal. No first names yet, though?"
April shook her head. "Nothing we can settle on. I'm still not even sure on the middle names – it feels so morbid in a way."
Meredith shrugged. "Not necessarily. It's paying tribute. Like I said, I could see Derek wanting to honor Mark that way." She frowned. "I don't know that I'd want to use the name Lexie, but maybe Caroline, her middle name."
"Oh, that's pretty. I'd forgotten that was her middle name," April said quietly.
Meredith nodded, looking downcast, before breaking the somber-ish mood by cracking, "Besides, even if I had a daughter I could name Alexandra – I'm sure Alex would be convinced she was named for him!"
April burst out laughing at that comment. "That is so totally true," she agreed between giggles before shaking her head. "I just don't know. Maybe Catherine can give me some ideas from the Fox and Avery family trees."
"Maybe so," Meredith agreed, standing up and putting her coffee mug in the sink. "I'll let you get back to your list. Good luck!"
"Thanks," April said, picking up her pen and forcing herself to concentrate. She was definitely going to need it!