Chapter 21

Well, hello again everyone! It's been a while, things have happened, and let me tell y'all: starting a new job is crazy! But I'm finally settled and ready to start writing again. IT'S TGIT TONIGHT! In honor of it I decided to put out this chapter today and I've spent some time getting it together, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Let's go…

7 Months Later…

Jackson was downstairs watching television. They had just finished dinner and it was April's night to put Brooke to bed. Even though he had nearly begged for it before, he couldn't imagine twice the work nowadays. The baby talk had been pushed to the back burner ever since Brooke's first birthday. Even though Jackson was the one who wanted to another child, he never realized how crazy having a full blown toddler would really be. At just 19 months old, Brooke was talking a mile a minute, not always clear but hey he'll take it, she was trying to run everywhere, and her favorite new word was, "No." Sometimes putting her into a car seat was like world war. They were exhausted.

"Hey, babe," April called from the stairs. She actually thought she was pregnant a couple of weeks after Brooke's birthday, however the pregnancy test came out negative and she never noticed any changes to her body. She was even starting to lose weight, which she thought was good and bed. Jackson had no complaints about it though, she was looking damn good these days.

"Is she asleep?" He asked. All April could do was nod her head yes. Bedtime was now the equivalent of the apocalypse. Brooke never wanted to stay in her bed and cried nonstop until she finally closed her eyes.

"What time are we going in tomorrow? Please say it's not early." She sounded so pitiful.

"Not for you. But I do have an early board meeting. I can take Brooke with me if you want."

"I knew there was a reason I let you come home," she laughed.

"Hey! That's not funny." Jackson never could seem to make a joke out of the whole incident last year. They had even gone to couple's counseling just to make things better for them and for their daughter. He finally admitted just how betrayed he felt when he found out April was still taking birth control. His ego got the best of him and he honestly wanted to hurt her. The problem was, he didn't realize just what that would do to his heart, or to hers. April told him that she understood and even apologized herself for lying. She told Jackson that no matter how much she wanted their family to grow, what happened when Brooke was born still gave her nightmares. She even told him about the dream she had while unconscious; seeing Reed and Lexie really scared her. Sitting on that couch, they had the most honest conversation since they'd been married. Which was almost three years ago. April's voice brought him back to the present.

"I'm sorry, babe. You know that I love you. And I'll love you even more if you take Brooke in the morning."

"How much more will you love me?" He asked.

"You'll just have to come upstairs and find out."

The Next Morning

Jackson made it to the daycare in time to drop off Brooke and head to the board room. When he left April was still sleeping, so he made sure her alarm was set so she could get up on time. Brooke did surprisingly well during drop-off this morning, which let him know that he was going to have a good day. It was going so well that he never even looked up before he got onto the elevator.

"Hi, Jackson." He turned to see Angelina standing there. He had been avoiding her like the plague for months. She was in Seattle more than ever now, helping Derek with a new clinical trial for head trauma victims.

"So you're still not speaking to me?" Silence. "Okay, that's understandable. Look Jackson I'm sorry for everything I did to you and April. I understand now that I was wrong and that I was basically humiliating myself."

"You can apologize for the rest of your life. Just do it away from me and my family," he replied as he walked off to the appropriate floor. Did she really think apologizing was going to help the situation? He realized now that maybe Alex had a point about her trying ruining his marriage. As he walked in the room, he saw that they were still waiting for Hunt to arrive.

"Morning, Avery!" Derek spoke. "How did the dreaded drop-off go this morning?" Jackson had talked to him a few weeks ago about the hard time Brooke was having.

"Actually, it went good. She saw the toys and started playing. Didn't even notice I left. April's gonna check on her when she comes in, though."

Derek just nodded, then he said, "Well, she's at the age for throwing tantrums. Zola started around that time, too. And when we had Bailey, it seemed like she got worse. Just be glad you've only got one."

"Oh don't worry," Jackson assured him. "We are definitely taking our time with the next one."

Two Hours Later…

When April arrived at the hospital she did a quick check on Brooke at the daycare; careful that she wouldn't see her peeking through the glass. Sleeping in this morning felt great, amazing in fact. However, she woke up with a small stomach ache. While she was in the car, she realized that the eggs she'd made this morning were sunny side up, and lately it didn't exactly agree with her stomach. But, the pain had stopped by the time she got to work so she didn't think anything else of it. She went about her day as always. The ER was going crazy and wondered if it was the full moon.

By the time lunch came around she was starving. Jackson found her sitting with Arizona and Meredith. He stopped at the table, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

"Hi, wife," he smiled.

"Well, hello husband," she laughed back. "What's up?"

"Well I just found out that I'm actually on call tonight, so I'm not sure what time I'll be getting out of here. Are you guys okay to get home?"

"Yes, Jackson we will be fine. You stay here and get your work done, we've got this." He was always so worried for her and Brooke's safety; rightfully so, of course. But as smothering as it could be, April also found it so sweet.

"Oh, hey Jackson," Meredith called to him. "Could you take a look at my pre-op patient in 205 with me? I think I'm gonna need extra hand in the OR tomorrow."

"Sure. How about right now?"

"Perfect," she replied before saying bye to the girls and heading back upstairs.

"Bye, baby," he kissed her again. She just smiled as he walked away. I am one lucky girl.

"So. You guys seem to be doing well these days," Arizona pointed out.

"Yeah we are. Ever since we did the couple's counseling, it's been good. We even decided to table the new baby thing for now. It's just too much with Brooke going through the terrible two's right now. I can't imagine it."

"Yeah…," Arizona replied. Just then both of their pagers went off. Incoming trauma. When they arrived, the women were greeted with a horrible. A two-year-old boy involved in a car accident; his car seat had expired and had done a horrible job keeping the child safe. April honestly couldn't wait to get home now.

That night…

"Okay, baby girl, let's get you ready for bed." April took Brooke from her highchair and headed upstairs. She was just too tired to give her a bath tonight.

Her stomach pain had come back earlier and now she was ready to fall out. Maybe she was hallucinating, but for some reason Brooke as actually cooperating tonight. She let April put her pajamas on and read her a story before falling asleep.

When April finally got to her bedroom, the cramps were getting worse. She tried lying on the bed, but that didn't help at all. In fact, it felt worse. Deciding she'd try something else, she took her phone and the baby monitor with her into the bathroom, hoping a hot bath would help her. When she eased her body into the water, she tried to relax, but it wasn't working. The cramps were getting worse and April was starting to get scared. Plus, she was fighting back the urge to scream, but didn't wake her daughter. Making a quick decision she quickly called her best friend. On the second ring, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Arizona," she barely got out.

"April? What's wrong honey?"

"I'm having really bad cramps and they won't stop, and I'm in the bathtub. Brooke's asleep and I can't leave her but I need to call an ambulance."

"Okay, okay," Arizona was trying to think. "Listen, Callie and I are right around the corner from your house. I'm coming by and taking you to the hospital okay? Can you get out of the tub?"

"No," she cried.

"Okay, sweetie I'm coming okay?"

It felt like mere minutes when Arizona came bursting into the bathroom. She told April that Callie and Sofia were downstairs, they would stay with Brooke. She helped April out of the tub, into some clothes, and down to the car.

"Do you want to me to call, Jackson?"

"No, not yet. It may be nothing. Let's just wait until we get there, please?" Arizona nodded her head and kept driving, she did however call Owen to let him know they were coming; he said he would be waiting at the entrance with wheelchair ready. By the time they got there, the cramps were unbearable and April was in a lot of pain. Tears were cascading down her face and she couldn't even stay still.

"April," Owen tried to soothe her. "Listen you're at the hospital now okay and I'm going to help you." He told a nurse to go grab Jackson out of the surgery he had scrubbed in on. He had ordered an ultrasound machine and Miranda was on her way to look at her.

"Well," Miranda started, "it would look like a case of appendicitis. But she's in more pain than I would like. April could you be pregnant?"

"No!"

"Okay, I'm going to a quick pelvic exam, okay?" When she lifted the gown, Miranda was in pure shock. She whispered to Hunt, "we've got to get her upstairs, now."

April saw the look of fear on their faces and quickly asked, "what's wrong?"

Miranda looked at her before answering. "April, I don't want to scare you okay?"

"But…," April was anxious.

"I can see a baby's head, April. You're in active labor."

"What?"

Yes, I went there. Y'all know I like to keep you guessing. Enjoy the show tonight! Until next time…