Hi so welcome to Season 7! We have a lot of angst and heartbreak and father son bonding moments ahead of us so stay tuned.

Again I am writing to Season 10. Which is good because Japril Season 12 is killing me. I can see where April is coming from and I can see her reactions. She's pregnant and she's terrified for her baby's health and Catherine was as much help as a bullet to the back of the head. While I love Japril right now I am Team April.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Flashbacks are in italics. There should be a flashback for the next four of five chapters. I think...

Little Lion Man

Chapter 21-7x01-With You I'm Born Again

As Hugo and Jackson attempt to regroup after the shooting, they move into Meredith's house attempt to deal with the death of a loved one and Hugo attempts to deal with the fact that his father is going back into the OR. This chapter contains flashbacks.

The first day back was always hard. Walking through the hallways that people had died in was even more sombre than usual. Jackson and April had gone back at the same time and she'd clutched his arm the whole time. Jackson couldn't help but blame her. Cristina still wasn't coming back, Meredith and Alex still on sick leave, Lexie Grey walked in with them and she flinched everytime there was a noise. Hugo for the most part had been terrified when Jackson had announced he had to go in to see a councillor. He had tried to hide it but Jackson knew his son well and he knew when he was trying to hide something and boy was he trying to hide his fear.

"I promise you, I'll be ok" he said from where Hugo was watching him getting dressed from the bed of the new room in Meredith's house. Hugo was still in his pyjamas. He shook his head "Don't make any promises you can't keep" he said finally. "Just let me know if you have to stay late" and then he buried his head in his knees effectively ending the conversation.

The stone silence from Hugo had been that way since the shooting. If Jackson had been worried about his school he hadn't needed to be, the school had been more than happy to allow Hugo to take the rest of the month of before the summer kicked in. That was good because Jackson wasn't sure in that month that Hugo could leave either the hotel room they'd been staying in or the house. Even now two months later and Hugo was always up when he came home no matter what time it was.

Sloan, Torres, Altman and Robbins were all back and cleared as was Webber who had smiled at each them warmly as they'd come in on the first day back. He had assured them that the one on ones were mandatory. Hunt, Bailey and Shepherd were the only attending's waiting to be cleared and all the residents were strictly banned from the ORs.

At least until they got cleared individually.

Jackson had dragged Hugo to the nearest empty corridor at Seattle Press and forced him into a chair bending down to look at the mess that was his face. Hugo was still shivering. April bent down muttering something about finding a blanket. "It's just shock but I'll try and find an attending from our hospital and see if they'll check him out" she whispered in his ear and Jackson nodded his thanks. "I need to stich up his face, can you find what I need?" he asked and April nodded her expression too understanding.

Jackson gave up checking Hugo's face and instead slid onto the seat next to him wrapping both arms around his son and pulling him close. "You don't ever do that again" he whispered into the dark hair. "Please never put yourself in danger like that again"

Hugo shook his head. "He had a gun at you" he whispered his words coming out mismatched due to the shock. He sat up suddenly looking around like he half expected the shooting to start again.

"What's wrong?" Jackson asked trying to keep Hugo in his seat, he didn't need to be a doctor to know that Hugo's nerves were already shot to shit.

"I was in an elevator with him" Hugo said looking horrified and confirming what Jackson had already known. "I told him that you were a surgeon, if he'd have shot you it would have been my fault" and he burst into loud tears as finally everything he had been though in the last hour finally caught up with him.

Jackson stared for a split second before he wrapped his arms back around his son and shook his head. "Nothing" he said using the last bit of strength he had left to make his voice strong, "That has happened today is your fault"he said gripping Hugo's face in his hands. "How the hell you are still alive I don't know" he said his voice shaking, "But you are so I'm not complaining. You kept calm in one of the worst situations that you could ever be in and I am so proud of you"

Hugo sniffed loudly tears still falling down his face before the door next to them opened. Jackson flinched but Hugo was wiping off the evidence of his tears. It was April who looked if possible even whiter than before with Mark Sloan who was in blood covered scrubs and an expression that looked like it had been carved out of stone.

"Hey Avery" he clapped Jackson on the shoulder "It's good to see you, and you to Baby Avery" he said turning to Hugo and smiling sadly "I ran into Kepner who explained about your face" he turned to Jackson before bending down to peer at Hugo's face. "Yeah that should be easily cleared up" he said grinning looking slightly back to normal.

Jackson paused "I was gonna do it" he said trying to make it clear to Sloan how important it was for him to stich up his son. Sloan caught his expression before it softened again ever so slightly.

"Avery" he said gently "Your shaking" Jackson looked down at his hands and indeed he was. So fixated on Hugo he had been that he hadn't realised that his hands were shaking. He looked up to find Sloan watching him cautiously.

"Avery" he said still in that gentle tone, "You cannot stich up his face and you know that" he shook his head. "Chances are you'd ruin his face and God knows the amount of teenage angst that you'd be in for" he shook his head but his tone brooked no argument. He was stitching Hugo's face up period.

Jackson perhaps knowing that the argument was unwinnable nodded allowing Sloan to take room. "Don't leave him with a scar" he said in the man's ear. "Please I don't want him to remember this everytime he looks in the mirror" Sloan stared at him for a split second before nodding. "Ok" he said gently "Ok I can do that" he said grasping Hugo by the elbow. Hugo started out of his stupor but nodded.

"Were gonna go into the nearest room and I'll stich up his face" he said he said to Jackson. "Coordinate with Kepner and then come join us…" he gave Jackson a look "Avery" he said in his no nonsense tone "Get yourself under some sense of control before you join us"

There was a pause before April gripped his arm preventing him. And Jackson knew she was about to read him the list of casualties.

Still unsure whether or not to let go of Hugo but also knowing that Sloan would refuse to let anything happen Jackson finally allowed Hugo to go. April grasped his sleeve and she paused.

"Tell me" he said staring at her.

April paused for a split second. "Derek is in recovery, Meredith is being checked out, Owen Hunt is fine just some scars, Alex…Alex got shot, but he's going to be alright." Her voice trailed off and Jackson knew in that exact moment who the next person was going to be.

"Charles" she choked out. "Charles is dead"

"So" Andrew Perkins said carefully watching him. "I imagine that it must have been hard for you, you had a son, you had a best friend that was dead…I understand that your mother came to help things out"

Jackson nodded once deciding to focus on his fingers.

He had took Hugo back to a hotel, it was decided after Charles's death that Hugo couldn't set a foot in that apartment and they were still in the clothes they had been wearing that day. His Mom had been hysterical when she'd found out about what had happened even more so when she'd realised Hugo had been there.

"Mom" Jackson said opening the door after checking it twice.

"Baby" his Mom said opening the door fully and sweeping into her embrace. She lifted the bag at her side once they'd pulled apart. "I took care of some clothes, stopped by your apartment, the one that you're selling and picked up some stuff for you and for Hugo."

Hugo peeped his head round the door at that point looking so utterly fragile with his scar fading and the stiches still bright that his Mom seemed to crumple. She crossed the room and wrapped both her arms around her grandson and Jackson shut the door and allowed her to pull him into a hug that seemed to comfort him and torment him all at once.

"Yeah, but Meredith allowed me and April to move into her house so that was good" he said finally. "I took George O'Malley's room, April Kepner took Izzie Steven's room and Hugo took one of the smaller rooms to the side. I can barely fit a desk and a wardrobe in there but he's calmer" the fact that Hugo was calmer when he was away from any place associated with the death of the man he had loved like an Uncle and a friend was given.

Andrew Perkins nodded. "Doctor Avery…" he paused scribbling something down. "How did it make you feel, your son bursting into that room?"

Jackson stared at him, "Terrified" he admitted finally "But I was proud" and that he was "I was so, so proud of him, that he would think even for a second that he could fight rather than flee. It doesn't stop me from waking up in the night terrified that he's going to be shot and it doesn't stop him from sleeping in my bed like he used to do when I was little because whatever nightmares are keeping him up at night he needs me for…but…I dunno" he shrugged again. Whatever went down with Hugo he didn't feel the urge to tell this man who'd known him all of two seconds.

Andrew Perkins regarded him carefully. "Ok" he said finally handing Jackson a piece of paper, "You're cleared for surgery"

Jackson blinked at him. "You are shitting me" he deadpanned.

Andrew Perkins chuckled. "No Doctor Avery I am not shitting you" he said smiling. "I think you can handle whatever is happening on your own" he paused as if thinking and for the first time Jackson realised he was unsure about something.

"Jackson" he said finally. "I don't usually offer this because…well I don't usually see kids in this trauma" he raised a hand at Jackson's indignation "I am not judging you" he said finally. "I want to help you, I'm going to be in town for a while and if you want I can happily sit down with your son and talk though some issues"

The offer honestly floored Jackson and he paused. While a part of him wanted Hugo to receive help the other part of him didn't.

"I'll think about it" he said honestly

Andrew Perkins nodded. "Ok" he said smiling that smile of his "My door is always open. When April is ready send her in for her appointment"

Jackson rose clutching his permission sheet to him before ducking out the door holding it open for April. He thought of Hugo stuck back at home, sleep deprived and terrified and convinced something bad was going to happen.

He checked his watch. Maybe if he got Webber on his good side he'd be allowed to go home early. There was a wedding to plan for in a few days, all of them pretending to be normal for Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang who he suspected would never be normal again.

Whatever happened from this day forwards he would endeavour to keep Hugo safe, both mentally and physically. It was the same vow he'd made the day he'd known he was a father, when he saw the scan, when he saw the baby for the first time, when he'd chosen his career instead of his child. When he'd allowed Bailey to wheel him into surgery, when Hugo had almost been shot…

He would protect his child. Everything else was second place.

Everything.

Next Chapter-7x02-Shock To The System-Jackson is back in the OR and Hugo is back in the hospital terrified of leaving his Dad alone. April tries to keep it all together, Cristina and Meredith both suffer and there is a lightening filled casualty. Meanwhile a flashback to the days after the shooting sees Meredith in a new light, Catherine Avery take control and Jackson dealing with the grief of losing his best friend.