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April entered a hospital room and greeted her patient, who was awake and alert. "Good morning, Mr. Evans. Have a nice sleep last night?" she politely said. She stood at the foot of Jimmy's bed and smiled. Two days had passed since he arrived in the ER, which somewhat turned into a blessing in disguise for the older man. His heart stopped multiple times and Altman later discovered he needed a tricuspid valve replacement. "You seem to be in better shape now than yesterday."
She purposely kept an upbeat attitude because Jimmy truly wasn't in the greatest condition. He was a heroin addict and while the majority of his medical history was unknown, the lack of good veins on his arms and legs made it obvious. If he hadn't gotten into a car accident, his heart would practically be a ticking time bomb according to the cardiothoracic surgeon. And Teddy had ordered ECG tests later in the week to check if his heart was functioning properly before he could be discharged.
"You're an optimistic kid, aren't ya?" he chuckled, followed by a soft groan. "Whatever you guys are giving me for the pain, it's not exactly working."
"We switched you to methadone. It should be kicking in any time now," the redhead informed him. "Also, that will help prevent your withdrawal symptoms, so hopefully this is the first day of many days towards recovery."
Jimmy narrowed his eyes at April. "So you doctors are trying to send me to rehab after this?"
"Well, we can't force you to go, but if you're willing to give it a shot, I can make some phone calls later. It's best that you clean yourself up now because the replacement valve Dr. Altman gave you should last for at least ten years. You don't want that to go to waste, do you?" April glanced down at the chart in her hands. "Also, would like you me to call you James or Jimmy? It took a while for us to track down your identification, but I remembered that you performed at the Emerald City Bar a couple weeks ago, so I asked Joe for your information."
"My, you're a dedicated young lady," he amusingly noted. "You can call me Jimmy."
"I am Chief Resident at this hospital, so it's important I lead by example – and also because we couldn't keep calling you John Doe. There are six other John Doe's at the moment," she cheerfully replied. "That would become a bit too confusing, don't you think?"
He folded his hands on top of his lap and smiled. "Alright, how much longer am I gonna be in here? I've got other gigs coming up and I sure as hell can't miss them."
"You're only two days post-op and your treatment plan requires at least one week. You just had major heart surgery."
"Well, damn. Here's the thing, though. I need the money. I'm not a promising, young doctor like you are- what's your name again, darlin'?"
"Dr. Kepner."
"Dr. Kepner, I'm not even earning 5% of what you probably make. I can't continue living on the streets."
April sighed. She had treated other drug addicts in the past and they always found a way to make her feel guilty. However, she wasn't going to let Jimmy do that to her too. "Which is why a rehab facility is perfect for you. You'll be living in a home with a comfortable bed and at the same time, you can receive treatment for your addiction. For now, you need to rest and take it easy. Do you have any family I can call?"
Jimmy shook his head. "Nope. No family."
"None at all?" she asked with a frown. "There has to be somebody."
"There are, but I haven't spoken to any of them in years. And I know for a fact that they wouldn't want to see me anyway," he dejectedly replied. "I'm a complicated guy. I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of and as far as I can see, it's too late to redeem myself. So these blues gigs I have set up are all I got and I really need the money. Is there any way you can get me out of here sooner?"
She slightly grimaced, setting his chart down on the small table in front of her. "You'll have to talk to Dr. Altman about this because I'm a surgical resident and she's in charge of your case."
"But if it was your decision, what would you do?"
"Keep you here until you're clear to be discharged," April answered without hesitation. "Follow the rules and you save lives. As a healer, I swore an oath and I intend on keeping my promise to ensure that every patient I treat is taken care of thoroughly no matter what."
"You're sweet, but you're a tough cookie," Jimmy complimented, winking at her and making her shyly smile. "Got a boyfriend?"
She laughed out loud, covering her mouth afterwards. Occasionally, her drugged up patients would hit on her without realizing what they were saying, but he knew what he was saying. A part of her was amused that a man in his mid-50's was hitting on her. She knew Alex would find it hilarious considering the number of times he teased her about Stark. "Actually, I do and I'm picking him up from the airport in a couple of hours."
"If only I was younger, right?" he jokingly said. "I knew how to smooth talk the ladies back in my glory days. Couldn't get enough of me."
"You sound like my boyfriend," April snickered. "But I set him straight and he only has eyes for me. Anyway, Dr. Altman should be coming in soon to check on you. I will stop by again later tonight to make sure you haven't tried to escape."
Jimmy smirked and pointed at himself. "As much as I want to break out of here, I'm positive I don't have the stamina to pull that off. I don't want to get you into any trouble, Dr. Kepner. I'll stay put," he promised. "You really gonna make those phone calls?"
"I can if you want me to. I personally believe rehab would be great for you, that's all," she insisted. "Think about it. You may not think you have time to pull your life back together, but I do."
"You barely know me, kid."
April stood by the doorway and softly smiled. "That doesn't mean I can't care," she stated before turning around and leaving the room.
Standing outside of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with his carry on luggage by his side, Alex scanned the various cars passing by hoping to spot April's blue Toyota Prius, but so far no luck. His flight arrived five minutes early, but his girlfriend was known to be an hour early. However, it was a work day for her, so it was possible she got pulled into an emergency surgery. The text message he had received before he even turned on his cell phone told him otherwise.
He checked his phone once more for any new messages. No new messages, which meant she was driving. April made a big deal about texting and driving. She was a rule follower of course. On a typical day, he would have grown impatient. Not today. He arrived in Seattle in a good mood following his brief trip in Iowa.
Once Alex got past the awkwardness of being back home, he slowly felt comfortable again. Amber initially acted like he was a complete stranger. Her memories of him were vague. The last time they had a real conversation, she was ten years old. After they both dropped their stubbornness, he asked her the basics – school, social life, their mother.
Helen Karev was on her medication, though occasionally her mind drifted from reality. Amber had devised a list of questions that always brought her back. Because she was taking her medication as scheduled, she and Alex managed to have decent conversations with each other. He updated her on his life in Seattle, talked about April, which drew smiles from her. She had been mostly out of it the last time he came home to commit Aaron.
He refused to bring up the fact that he ran into Jimmy, fearing she might suddenly break down upon hearing his name. And Amber rarely knew their father to begin with. She was barely out of diapers when he left the family.
The two women were visited every other day by a nurse who helped Amber around the house, especially when she was at school. A large portion of the money Alex sent to them every month was used to pay for her service. They seemed to be doing alright. As long as Helen continued to take her medication, he didn't have to worry about them as much as he used to.
On his last day, he visited Aaron at the mental institution. Alex brought Amber, though she wasn't ready to face their brother yet. The large scar around her neck constantly reminded her of the night he nearly killed her. Aaron was surprised to see him, somewhat angry at him for not checking in on him since placing him into his new home. However, he understood why he had to be there. His schizophrenia wasn't as bad as Helen's, making it easier for Alex to talk to him straightforwardly. This time, he was more honest about his current life.
Prior to returning home, he always believed it would have been bad for him. Iowa brought back awful memories of his childhood, but actually being there changed his mind. Bonding with his younger sister and seeing improvement in his mother's health was refreshing. There were still a lot of holes that needed patching up, but listening to April and going home was the first step in reconnecting with his estranged family.
Finally, a honking noise caught Alex's attention and April pulled up along the sidewalk in the pick-up zone. He stored his luggage in the backseat before joining her in the front. "Hey," he happily greeted her, followed a quick peck on the lips. She leaned forward, peering out the window like she was searching for someone. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm looking for my boyfriend. He's usually sporting this grumpy pout on his face and he hardly smiles. Have you seen him?" she quipped. The redhead laughed as her boyfriend rolled his eyes. "Looks like somebody enjoyed their time at home."
"I gotta admit – you were right," Alex confessed, fastening his seatbelt as April started driving. "I thought I'd end up walking into this crazy mess I can't fix in one visit, but it was pretty okay. My mom's doing alright. Amber's applying to some local colleges. She wants to go to Iowa State. I had to talk her out of that crap, told her I'd offer to help pay for some of her tuition if she decided to be a Hawkeye instead. That seemed to work. Oh, and uhh, I kind of invited her to come visit during her spring break. Cool?"
"Sure! I'd love to meet her," she chirped. "What else did you do there?"
"I went to the university and visited my old wrestling coach," he recalled with a grin on his face. "Dude said I'm still one of the best he's coached. I've still got a match record that nobody's broken yet. I pinned a guy in fourteen seconds. No one's beaten that."
April smiled, briefly glancing at Alex. "That's awesome. I'm really glad you had a nice time. Tell me everything in detail later. I bet you're hungry. Want to get some late lunch before I head back to the hospital?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Did I miss anything eventful?"
"Umm… Flash is getting better at potty training," she chuckled. "He likes peeing in Jackson's shoes, though."
Alex snickered. "Sucks to be Avery."
"He crapped in one of yours too," she added with a smirk. "Thankfully, it was an old pair that was falling apart, so I just threw them away."
"Damn Hawkeye," he mumbled, then he shrugged. "Whatever. How about cases? Get any interesting ones that will make me wish I hadn't gone to Iowa?"
April drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as she quietly thought to herself. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Oh! But two days ago, we had a patient come into the ER after he crashed his car into a tree. He turned out to be that musician we ran into when we were walking Flash. You know, the guy who performed at Joe's that one night? His name is Jimmy Evans."
Alex felt his throat dry up instantly. His father was in the hospital? Their hospital? After watching Jimmy perform at Joe's, he had hoped – even prayed when he was alone – to never see him again. Crashing his car? Definitely had drugs in his system.
"Did he die?" he bluntly questioned.
"Not quite. His heart stopped multiple times, but Altman managed to revive him. We discovered he needed a tricuspid valve replacement, so he's two days post-op right now," she explained.
He slightly scrunched his nose, feeling a little bitter that his old man hadn't croaked. "Probably from all the freaking heroin he pumps into his system."
"Are you a psychic? How'd you know it was heroin?" April amusingly asked.
"It's pretty easy to guess. I mean, heroin slows down the heart and this guy sounds like a junkie," Alex nonchalantly responded. "And I've been around junkies. I know how they act."
"Well, I'm trying to offer him a chance to clean himself up. I told him I'd make some calls to local rehab facilities if he was willing to consider turning his life around," she added. "He seems like such a nice man too. Poor guy just needs somebody to convince him that he can still become a better person."
"That's what you think," he mumbled to himself.
She quickly glanced back at him. "What was that?"
Alex threw his arm up in frustration. "You're wasting your time, April. Junkies will always be junkies. They don't care about anybody but themselves no matter how much you try to care. You're better off helping people who actually want the help," he bitterly replied, his infamous scowl forming on his face.
After stopping at a red light, April looked at her boyfriend concerned. "I didn't mean to upset you. If I'm bringing back painful memories about your dad, then we can talk about something else," she suggested, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Let's talk about happy things. I want happy Alex back."
He sighed knowing he was close to blowing up at the wrong person. It wasn't her fault that she had no idea who Jimmy Evans actually was besides the guy who crashed his car. He wanted to tell her the truth, but at the same time, he preferred to keep his mouth shut. If April didn't know the truth, it would be easier for her to lay off of his father. She had pushed him to go home to Iowa, which he was grateful for. Dealing with Jimmy would be an entirely different level.
"I am happy," he insisted, leaning forward and kissing her lips. "And I missed you."
The redhead faced forward when the light turned green. She began driving again with a smile on her face. "I missed you too."
On his first day back at work, Alex purposely avoided knowing anything about Jimmy's status. He didn't know his room number or what his treatment plan was. Fortunately, specializing in pediatric surgery kept him far away from his father's floor. Robbins had been relieved to have him back on her service, keeping him busy all day and distracting him from thinking about Jimmy.
But by the second day, he slowly grew curious. After finding out his father's room information from the nurses' station, he casually hung around outside of Jimmy's room. He pretended to update charts, while occasionally taking quick glimpses of him from where he stood.
He continued the same routine the next day. However, somebody managed to notice his strange behavior.
"Who are you spying on?" Meredith suspiciously asked after she approached Alex. Her friend shifted uncomfortably, turning his back away from the room as he closed a chart. She peeked inside of the room and April was having a conversation with Jimmy. "Watching April?"
"Uhh, yeah. Something like that," he muttered.
She furrowed her brow and smirked. "Is there a proposal on the horizon?"
"No way," Alex retorted, then he shook his head. "I mean, I love her and all, but marriage isn't something we've really talked about and that's not what I'm thinking about."
"So… what are you doing out here? Normally, you're in peds with Robbins, but instead you're here… watching April talk to a patient like a jealous boyfriend or something," Meredith noted and laughed. "He's a little too old for her, probably older than Stark."
"Shut up, I'm not jealous," he irritably replied. "Whatever. It's nothing."
Meredith wasn't entirely convinced Alex was telling her the truth as he walked away from her. She chased after him and followed him into a stairwell. "Do you think I just met you yesterday? Ever since you came back from Iowa, you've been acting weird. April's been saying you enjoyed your trip, so what's your deal? Are you lying about your trip or… or are you breaking up with April?"
Alex whipped around midway down the stairs. "It has nothing to do with Iowa or April!" he angrily responded. "It's… it's none of your freaking business, Mer."
"Well, now you're making it my business with your typical 'shut out the world' strategy. You can trust me, Alex. What is the matter?"
He grabbed a hold of the railing, taking a deep breath. This was either going to be a smart decision by getting his frustrations off his chest or a crappy decision if Meredith squealed, but he trusted her enough that she wouldn't say a word if she promised to. "You can't tell anybody, got it?"
"Okay, I won't. I swear – unless you killed somebody, then maybe I might have to," she jokingly said, drawing a scowl from him. "Alright, just say it already."
Alex hesitated to answer, clearing his throat before he spoke again. "You know that guy April's with? He uhh, crashed his car or whatever?"
Meredith slowly nodded. "Yes. I was with April when he came into the ER. Why?"
"That guy, well… he's my dad," he murmured.
"Seriously?" she watched him nod. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. I don't need a blood test to prove it. James Evans – same name, same voice. You don't forget an abusive father's voice. Dude made my life a living hell until I kicked his ass so hard in high school that he left and never came back," Alex glumly replied. "I can recognize my own old man, but the bastard couldn't recognize me at all."
Meredith raised her eyebrow curiously. "You've seen him recently?"
"Yeah, like a few weeks ago. April and I were walking the dog and he ran into us, asked for directions to Joe's," Alex recalled and frowned. "He looked me right in the eye and never made the connection. I recognized him instantly and he just thought I was a complete stranger. I doubt it's Alzheimer's like your mother. All those drugs and crap over the years messed him up so much that he can't remember his own kid."
"Are you ever going to visit him or what?"
"Of course not. I just want him out of here." He pointed at his name stitched onto his lab coat. "I took my mom's last name, so I wouldn't be associated with him. Seeing him after all these years is making me hate him all over again for everything he did to my mom and Aaron. If I go in there, I might beat the crap out of him again."
"What about April? Are you going to tell her?" she inquired.
Alex shook his head. "I can't, Mer. You know she'll push me to talk to him. I'm not ready for that." He gestured his hand towards Meredith. "You didn't exactly make peace with your dad. When his liver was failing because of his alcoholism you didn't get all sappy and forgive him. You gave him a part of your liver for Lexie not him. I don't owe my dad anything."
Meredith nodded in agreement. "Okay, you're right. But my reasons for not rebuilding my relationship with my dad are different from yours. I understand you had a rough childhood, but if there's a small piece of you that wants to talk to Jimmy, then maybe you should. Maybe he deserves to hear what's on your mind. Don't let him off the hook for treating you like crap."
Alex let his friend's words sink in for a minute. Of all the people in their small circle of friends, Meredith was the person who understood him the best. As much as he appreciated April's support through everything, she grew up with a father who loved and cared about her. She was a daddy's girl. Joe was the type of father he wished he could have had. Jimmy's abusive behavior molded him into a tougher person, but not having a solid father figure always made him feel like he missed out on a lot of things that normal fathers and sons did together. If he had told his girlfriend instead of Meredith, he pictured some unnecessary argument with her and he didn't want to fight with her over something that wasn't her fault.
Their conversation was interrupted by Teddy, who climbed up the stairs and stopped beside the two fifth year residents. "Karev, I was wondering if you could give me a hand tomorrow," she started, "Kepner is running the pit, Yang is assisting me on an aortic aneurysm, so I would like you to cover a post-op treatment for one of my patients. I've ordered an ECG stress test for James Evans, my tricuspid valve replacement-"
"No," Alex interrupted. The cardiothoracic surgeon stared back at him appalled. "I mean, I can't. I uhh… I'm teaching skills labs all day tomorrow. I've been blowing them off for weeks, so April shoved them all down my throat this week to make up for it."
Meredith cleared her throat. "I can do it, Dr. Altman," she volunteered. "If it's alright with you."
Teddy slowly nodded. "Okay, then. Grey, come see me tomorrow morning at 9 AM and we'll go from there," she agreed, shooting one last confused look at Alex as she trotted up the stairs.
Alex waited until Teddy left them alone before he let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for that."
"Well, I didn't have much of a choice. Even though you despise your dad, he's still related by blood. You wouldn't be able to be his doctor anyway," Meredith stated, tugging on her friend's lab coat sleeve as she walked past him. "I can't let you kill him either."
"Whatever," he chuckled, following her down the stairs. "Just don't start interrogating him about his life story."
By the end of his shift, Alex was exhausted and ready to go home. But rather than using the easy route out of the hospital, he took a detour back to Jimmy's room. Dressed in his street clothes, he casually walked by his open door and checked to see if he was awake. He clutched the strap of his work bag, quickly turning his head to peek inside. Just as he looked away, he heard his father's voice calling him.
"Hey, kid. Get in here," Jimmy calmly called out.
Alex shut his eyes and grimaced, cursing at himself internally for getting caught. He turned around on his heel and stood in the doorway. "Yeah?"
The older man waved at him to come closer. "C'mon, man. I'm not gonna bite ya," he quipped and softly laughed. Alex approached him and stopped a foot away from the end of his bed. "I've noticed you standing around, staring into my room. Have we met before?"
"Uhh, yeah. Downtown. You asked my girlfriend and I for directions to a bar," he answered, tightening his grip on his bag's strap. Jimmy's lack of memory felt like a giant slap in the face. "And we saw you play on some other night. You didn't see us or anything, but we were there."
"Oh, so you're Dr. Kepner's beau. I think I remember you. You two have a dog, right?"
Alex shook his head and laughed to himself. "That's really all you can remember about me?" he retorted. "I'm not surprised. You hardly gave a damn when you were actually around, so why should I expect you to know who I am now?"
Jimmy carefully sat up on his bed. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The fact that you even have to ask me that says enough," he sneered, scowling at his father. "Maybe if I reintroduce you to my fists, you'll freaking remember your own damn son again!"
Jimmy was clearly taken aback, his mouth opening but words weren't coming out. The infamous Karev scowl was all over Alex's face and everything immediately clicked for him. "Alex?" he murmured in disbelief. "Son-"
"Don't call me that. You were a worthless father, so you don't deserve to call me that!" Alex shouted. His raised voice began to draw attention from nurses and other doctors nearby. "I was never going to say anything. I didn't want you to know that I worked here or know of my existence because you've been dead to me for fifteen years! When you left us in Iowa you should've disappeared off the face of the Earth and never shown your face to anybody. You're nothing to me! You've never cared about anybody but yourself, so screw you. You don't deserve another chance to fix your crap."
"Alex, let me explain some things-"
"There's nothing to explain. Nothing you'll say will make me forget about what you did to Mom, to our family," the fifth year declared and pointed his finger at Jimmy. "And you stay the hell away from my girlfriend. She doesn't need to be dragged into your pathetic excuse of a life."
Alex stormed out of his father's room only to be greeted by dozens of eyes staring at him. It wasn't until his eyes met April's that he realized how much he screwed himself over with his outburst. The redhead stood by the nurses' station frowning at him. This wasn't how he wanted her find out the truth about Jimmy. And he found himself too embarrassed to face anybody, so he used the closest stairwell as his escape route.
It was going to be a very awkward meeting with April at home, he thought.