Again thank you for the reviews, they keep me going.
Flashbacks in italics.
Happy Reading !
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GREY'S ANATOMY, STATION 19 OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS.
Jackson is standing on the porch staring at the door, clenching and unclenching his fists. He had no idea what he was going to say or do. He needed answers and he had little to no time to get them. Meredith and Amelia had agreed to hold off on calling the police until he was able to at least try to find out her reasons, not that any reason would be a good reason, and tell Maggie what really happened. This whole thing made no sense to him. At least when they all thought Kate did it he understood her reasoning, twisted as it may have been. Kate. He really needed to apologize to her. It'd have to wait though. Right now his focus was figuring out how and why one of the kindest, albeit most selfish, people he knew would do this to anyone let alone the woman he loved. A woman she was friendly with. It felt like he blinked and the entire world had gone to shit. At this point, he just wanted to lock them up inside and protect Maggie and his daughter from the world.
She's sitting in her empty home polishing off her second bottle of wine. Her home that should be filled with love and laughter, but isn't. She and Matthew have been fighting for months now. About everything and nothing all at once. They went away to try and get some distance from the stress of their everyday lives, but it seemed the trip only made things worse. She couldn't seem to stop comparing him to Jackson and he was sick of her selfish ways. His words, not hers. Despite the work she did helping the less fortunate, somehow Matthew always found a way to insist she was selfish. While she sat there she thought back to a conversation she'd had last week with Harriet. The phone call that told her she had to act fast before she lost Jackson and her daughter to Maggie Pierce for good.
They'd been fighting about Jackson all morning and it just made her miss him that much more. She decides to facetime Jackson on the pretense that she wants to speak to Harriet. She just wants to hear his voice, see his face, just for a minute. Maybe even have a heart to heart the way they used to. It seemed like ever since he had gotten back together with Maggie, he'd put their friendship on the backburner. He rarely spoke to her about anything outside of Harriet these days. Her hopes were crushed when the call was answered and instead of Jackson, she was looking at their beautiful daughter.
"Hi Mama." Harriet smiles into the screen.
"Hi peanut. How are you? Mama misses you."
"I miss you too."
"Where's your dad? You know you shouldn't play with his phone."
"I'm not. He saw it was you so he said it was okay for me to answer. He said to tell you hi from him and Maggie"
"Oh." She says disappointed, "Okay. Well say hi for me too."
"I'm having so much fun with daddy and Maggie."
"Yeah? What have you all been up to?"
"A lot! We went to look at houses."
"Houses?" she says confused.
"Yeah, daddy says we're looking for our forever home. Me and daddy and Maggie. I get to pick my favorite and pick out which room I want."
"Oh wow. Did you guys find one?"
"Yeaa! It has a lot of pools, and even a movie theatre."
"Wow. A movie theatre?" she hoped she said it with the enthusiasm she was trying to fake.
"Yup! And daddy got Maggie a big shiny ring. It was supposed to be a secret but I told her by accident. It's okay though cause she still doesn't know what it looks like. Daddy said I get to be a flower girl if Maggie says yes. I'm not worried. I know she will. Is Ruby having fun?"
"Yes baby girl. Ruby Is having a blast. She misses her big sister."
She hears laughing in the background.
"What's that?" she asks trying to get a glimpse behind Harriet.
Harriet flips the camera so she can see, "Oh nothing. Daddy is sitting on Maggie and she's trying to get up but can't. They're so silly. Mama I gotta go help her. I love you."
And before she can even say she loves her too, Harriet is gone.
A ring. She throws her phone across the room. How could he even consider marrying Maggie? She knew they ended, but he was never supposed to remarry. They were always supposed to be endgame. She had to stop this.
For days after that call all she could think about was the sound of their laughter and the broad smile she'd seen on Jackson's face. He looked like a completely different person and that was when it hit her. Jackson wasn't being his true self with Maggie. He was doing things, and acting in ways she'd never seen him act before. A house with a movie theatre? She could never see her Jackson wanting something like that. Her Jackson was Jackson in his truest form and she knew she had to do something to save him.
Phase one was completely unplanned, but completely necessary. She hadn't known Maggie was pregnant before following her, but she knew that it'd be much more difficult to get Jackson away from Maggie if there was a child involved. Besides, she's the only one who should ever have his children. However, as necessary as this had been she knew it would cause problems if anyone ever found out it was her. Good thing no one saw her and everyone seemed sure it was that Kate woman. She just had to be careful how she proceeded. She was trying to think up her next step when she heard a knock on her door. Who could that be? As far as everyone, besides her husband, was concerned she was still in Iowa with Matthew's family. When she swung the door open she was shocked but please to see Jackson standing there.
"Jackson"
"April." He said coldly as he pushed his way inside.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that. I thought you were in Iowa. When'd you get back?"
"Oh, I just got back this morning. I was going to call you tomorrow."
"Hmm, where's Mathew?"
She smile brightly, "Oh, he stay—"
He threw a vase across the room and it shattered by the fireplace. Her smile was pissing him off, "Enough of the small talk. Did you think I wouldn't find out April?"
She looked at him with tear filled eyes, "What are you talking about Jackson? You're scaring me."
"I know you pushed Maggie" she starts to protest but he cuts her off, "We have the security footage April, so skip the lies."
She looks at him with panic in her eyes, "Jackson please, you can't tell anyone. It was an accident I swear it."
"An accident? So why not call for help? Why the hiding? YOU KILLED MY BABY APRIL. You better thank GOD that you're Harriet's mother. I could kill you right now."
She's crying hysterically "I'm sorry Jackson. So sorry."
"You're sorry you got caught April. I just need to know why. Why'd you do it? What did Maggie ever do to you besides be kind to you and our daughter. SHE SAVED YOUR LIFE! She saved your life when everyone including me, had given up. You would be DEAD if she had listened to anyone in that room. WHY APRIL?"
"SHE DOESN'T DESERVE YOU!"
He stumbles back, "how is that your call to make? Aren't you married? What does it matter who does or doesn't deserve me?"
"Jackson, I love you and I know you love me."
He narrows his eyes, "My goodness, you're crazy. Whatever we had is over April. It's been over for years. All we have between us is a daughter and I thought, we had a really good friendship. But friends don't attack the love of their friend's lives."
"Maggie Pierce is not the love of your life. She never will be." She says in disgust.
The way she said Maggie's name sent a chill down his spine. The look in her eyes. He could see something he never saw before and suddenly he remembered what Amelia said.
"Did you know?" he whispered.
"Know what?"
"DID YOU KNOW MAGGIE WAS PREGNANT?"
"Jackson, you don't understand-"
"Did you know, yes or no?"
"Yes." She responded crying.
Jackson was exhausted. He wasn't going to stand here all night arguing with April when he didn't deem her worth it. He'd gotten what he came for and now he had to get the hell out of here before he strangled Harriet's mother.
He sighed, "I'm sure I don't have to say this but you will NEVER get near my daughter again."
"SHE'S MY BABY JACKSON! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER FROM ME! I WONT LET YOU" she shouts while pushing Jackson repeatedly.
Jackson raises his phone so that she can see he's been recording everything, "I'd like to see you try and stop me."
She grabs for the phone but Jackson holds it out of reach, "Jackson, please. Please don't do this."
"You murdered my child. The love of my life is lying in a hospital bed injured, and hurting in a way that she'll never fully recover from. You know that April, you've been there, which is why I just don't get it. You did all this, caused all this pain, and for what? For a man that hasn't wanted you in years? Where's your new husband? Does he know you're a psychopath?"
He shakes his head and walks towards the door while she's on the floor sobbing, begging him not to do this. He looks back at her briefly, "I always knew you were selfish, but I never pegged you for evil."
It was late. That was the first thing Maggie noticed when her eyes fluttered open that night. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 3am. She didn't actually need to check the clock though. It was the same every night since she got here. She'd fall asleep around 11pm, wake up around 3am, and back to sleep by 5am. Next she looked up and through the windows towards the hall to see if Jackson was there like he'd been every night since she got here. She'd never let him know she was awake. She'd simply close her eyes and silently cry herself back to sleep. She knew he knew she was awake though. He was a doctor, he'd noticed any change on the monitors no matter how slight. And with the crying, she was sure her heart rate increased and so did her blood pressure. He never bothered her though, so she never complained about his lurking. Besides, she'd never admit it but him being so close is what soothed her back to sleep.
Tonight when she looked to the spot he was always in, there was no Jackson. She felt surprisingly disappointed, and dare she say abandoned. Maybe he decided to skip tonight since she said he could come during the day. What if he just decided it wasn't worth it, she wasn't worth it? She took too long to come around and he was tired of it. She was on the verge on a panic attack when she looked up again and saw him walk pass her room, and back again. He was pacing. That was new. He usually sat stoically in a chair across from her room giving him a full view into her room. She made a split second decision and grabbed her phone off her bedside table. She sent him a text and watched as he stopped pacing to check his phone, and then he looked up at her. For the first time in days, that felt like forever, blue met brown.
Stop pacing. You're making my anxiety flare up. Maggie, 3:11am
He read the text and looked up to see Maggie staring at him with a raised brow and tired eyes. He mouths sorry to her and turns to leave, or at least move out of her sight until she falls back asleep. He's walking away when his phone dings again.
You can come in. Maggie, 3:13am
For a second he contemplates whether or not to go in. If she'd said this last night there would've been no hesitation, but tonight? If he went in there he would have to tell her about April. There was no way around it. She wouldn't appreciate him withholding it until he saw her later today. In the end, he turns back. He's missed her in a way he never thought possible the last few days. And even if this blew up in his face, he wants to spend any time near her that she would allow.
He walks in the room tentatively, "Hey. Sorry about that."
She gives him a weak smile and gestures towards the recliner in her room, "It's okay. You can sit if you want."
He sits and for a while they just stare at one another. Not in an awkward way, they were just taking each other in. Maggie finally breaks the silence.
"So what's got you so stressed?" when Jackson tilts his head in question she continues, "The pacing. You okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Worried about stuff, you, Harriet, us."
"Harriet? Is she okay?"
"Yeah. She misses you though."
Maggie nods, "I miss her too. Maybe she can come by tomorrow. I think I look less like a zombie now." She chuckles.
"You're beautiful." He whispers.
She blushes and pushes her hair back, "So uhh, what's going on out there? Any interesting cases?"
"Yeah, criminal cases." He mumbles inaudibly.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Umm, no. No new cases. I'm not working right now. I took a leave."
Maggie panics slightly, "Where are you going?"
He gets up and sits at the edge of the bed, "Nowhere. I'm not going anywhere. I just, I can't focus for more than a few minutes at a time right now. And you're gonna be out of commission for a while. I just…" he shrugs.
She takes a deep breath and nods, "Okay."
He gently takes her hand, "I promised you I wouldn't disappear on you again. I meant it."
"I know. I just-" she sighs, "About all that stuff I said—"
He cuts her off, unable to allow her to apologize without knowing the truth, "It wasn't Kate," she tilts her head and looks at him confused, "the person who pushed you. It wasn't Kate."
"What?"
"Maybe I should start at the beginning."
"That might help."
"So I called Meredith and suggested we go to the security room and pull up the footage from that day. The plan was to discredit her claim that she'd been in the waiting room the whole time, and then place her in the halls by the stairwell. I knew it wouldn't show her actually pushing you but I figure if we got that, we could back her into a corner, get her to confess, and then get her arrested."
She nods slightly, "Okay."
"So Amelia, Meredith, and I watched the footage and saw that Kate wasn't lying. She hadn't moved from the waiting area for over 2 hours."
Maggie squints, "So what was she doing here?"
"My guess is what she said. She was looking for Amelia. So anyway,-"
"You guys have to apologize to her."
"I will, I promise. Now can I finish?" he smirks.
"Yeah, sorry."
"Long story short, we watched to see who followed you and… God I'm so sorry Maggie."
"Who was it Jackson?"
"April."
Maggie felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She sat there with her jaw on the floor no doubt, trying to process. No. There was no way.
She shakes here head, "Jackson, no. I don't—"
"She admitted it. I confronted her and she admitted it."
"But- but, why? I don't- I don't understand. Jackson?"
"I recorded our entire encounter if you ever wanna hear it but in a nutshell, she's crazy. Insists that she and I belong together and you were in the way."
"Jackson…"
He holds his hand up, "there's more."
"What else could there be Jackson?"
"She knew. When she pushed you, she knew you were pregnant. She saw you coming out of Carina's office and she said she could tell by the look on your face. Maggie, I'm so sorry." Maggie goes pale and Jackson quickly hands her a plastic basin and rubs her back as she pukes. She hands him the basin and he sits it aside and brings her some mouthwash and a cup. When she's done rinsing her mouth she sits and stares for a while.
Jackson fiddles with his phone before looking at her, "I'm sure you don't wanna hear it now but I emailed you the recording of the conversation April and I had." He shrugs.
"So where's April now?" she asks.
"Home, I imagine."
Her eyes are cold and her tone icy, "Why's that?"
The question confuses Jackson "I'm not sure I understand what you mean baby."
"Why is she at home? Wasn't the point of your security search to throw the woman who did this to me in jail?"
"Mag-"
"So again I ask, why is she home? You were ready to throw Kate in a cell immediately. Why doesn't April get the same treatment?"
He's shocked. Not so much by the questions but by the tone in which she asked them. He's also confused.
"I- Maggie, she's Harriet's mother." He whispers.
She turns to look at him for the first time since hearing him say April's name and what he sees, or rather doesn't see, scares him slightly. Her eyes, always so full of life, looked dead.
"Why should I care about her baby when she murdered mine?"
He flinches, "she's not just April's Maggie. She's mine too. I'm just trying to figure out what's best for her."
"And what? Fuck me? Just forget my baby cause it's dead anyway? Who by the way, was yours too." She says mockingly.
He's horrified, "What? Maggie no. I-"
"Jackson, I'm not arguing about this. You made your choice and it's fine. Leave please."
"Maggie. I love you. If there's ever a choice, it'll always be you. I swear it."
"Yeah. Unless April and her wellbeing is the other option right?"
"Mag-"
"Jackson, I never even got to hear a heartbeat, get an ultrasound picture taken. I wanted to wait. I wanted us to do all those things together. And because of that choice I have nothing. Do you get that? I have nothing. NOTHING left of my baby. All because I chose the wrong father for it."
He has tears rolling down his face, "Maggie, I'm sorry. I love you, I can't lose you. Please don't do this."
"Leave Jackson, and don't come back. I don't wanna see you lurking around here at night either or I'll call security and have them drag you out."
He nods and backs away, "I'll have mom or Richard bring Harriet by to see you tomo-"
"Don't bother."
He's shocked, "Maggie, she's just a little girl. She misses you."
"I'm aware. Look, I'm not mad at her. Obviously I don't blame her, but I can't see her so just… don't bother."
He nods, "Okay. I love you Maggie. Harriet and I both do."
When she's sure he's gone she turns on her side, and curls up into a ball as she cries herself back to sleep. She was crying for everything she'd lost. Not just her baby, but now the family she'd created with Jackson and Harriet too. Before, when they thought it was Kate who pushed her, she'd always known she would forgive Jackson. She just needed time to process. But this? How could she forgive him for this? Sure he didn't make April do what she did, but he also wasn't going to make sure she was punished for it. He was protecting her and using Harriet as an excuse to do so. That was unforgivable.
It had been 2 days since Jackson came and dropped the April bomb on her and she was still shocked by all of it. Not just April, but Jackson. After telling her sisters about it, they hadn't really spoken about it too much. They had all listened to the recording Jackson sent her together and then that was it. They tabled the discussion after that day.
She'd heard the rumblings around the hospital though. It seemed everyone knew, and everyone hated psycho Kepner, as she'd been affectionately named. Amelia's doing no doubt. As if she conjured them up, her door swung open and her sisters and Alex all walked in with what she guessed were their lunches.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Having lunch. Alex picked it up from that Chinese place you love so much." Amelia says
"Thank you but don't you all have patients?"
"We've gotta eat. Might as well do it here. With you." Meredith says
"Technically I am with my patient." Amelia smirks.
"Alex, tell them to leave me alone." Maggie whines.
"Leave her alone" he says with his mouth full.
"So I found out why Kate's here. Brain tumor." Amelia says.
"Wait, what?" Meredith asks.
"Wow. So she came to see her baby sister who's one of the best in the country. Checks out." Maggie says, "So have you done any scans yet?"
"Yeah. It's not too big. Looks like it's been there for about a year. It could've been longer though. Shouldn't be a problem for Korasik. Obviously I can't do it. Not only is she my sister, I hate her."
"Obviously."
"Do you think it's what made her go all psycho stalker on Jackson?" Alex asks.
"Most likely. But she could also just be crazy. I've always thought so." Amelia smirks.
"Maybe we should give Kepner a MRI too." Meredith deadpans.
"Naa, Kepner's always been crazy. But no one really listens to me." Alex says.
"Well I'm glad Kate's getting help." Maggie says.
"She wants to see you, apologize or whatever. I told her to wait."
Maggie nods, "I know she didn't do it but I'm not really in the mood to be reminded of you know who."
"Who, Avery?" Alex asks, oblivious as usual.
"Yes Alex. Avery, protector of all things evil."
Alex sighs, "You have a copy of her confession. I don't know why you don't just turn her in yourself."
"He has to be the one to do it Alex. He has to make the choice." Maggie says.
Alex rolls his eyes and continues shoveling food in his mouth, "Women."
"The kids have been begging to come back and see you." Meredith says to change the subject.
"Well if my doctor would let me out of here…." She rolls her eyes at Amelia.
"Hey. Don't blame me. Soon though. Maybe 2 more days and you're free to go." She smiles.
"So when are you gonna let Harriet come by?" Alex asks.
"Alex." Amelia says as she pinches him.
"Ow- what?"
"I'm not."
"That's dumb. I understand you not wanting to see Avery but Harriet? You two are crazy about each other." Alex tells her.
She sighs, "Look, Harriet looks like Jackson most of the time but there's other times….. times when she looks just like her mother and I don't think I can handle that. Looking at this little girl that I love and only seeing a woman I hate. I can't do that. Not to myself, and definitely not to Harriet. She deserves better than that. Besides, it's better this way. Easier. Jackson and I are over for good so she needs to get used to me not being around anyway."
No one knew how to respond to that, so they all just sat there and continued eating in comfortable silence until their pagers went off.
Later that night Catherine Fox walked through the halls of Grey-Sloan Memorial on a mission. She had a depressed son, who refused to go back to his own place, camped out in her guest room. And a granddaughter who was sadder than she'd ever seen her because she missed Maggie. Today was it for her though. Harriet had asked her why Maggie didn't like her anymore, and her heart broke into pieces as she tried to come up with acceptable excuses, and explain why that wasn't true. Yeah, Catherine Fox was tired. She peeked through Maggie's door and saw her flicking through channels disinterestedly and walked right in.
"Margaret Pierce!"
Maggie jumped at the surprise intrusion, "Catherine Fox."
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Watching T.V. Waiting for someone to tell me I can get the hell out of here. What is it you want Catherine?"
"I know you're hurting, and I know you're pissed off. But I want you to look around and think about the people you're hurting."
"Me? Whatever your son is feeling is his own fault so I don't care."
"And Harriet, is it her fault too?"
Maggie freezes and looks down in shame for a second, "I never said it was. I would never blame her."
"Maybe not, but you would punish her though."
"What? That's absurd! Why would—"
"Absurd? Do you know what she asked me today Maggie? She asked me why you didn't like her anymore."
Maggie's eyes fill with tears, "What? You told her that's not true right? You told her I love her, right?"
"I tried. Told her what we've been telling her. You're too banged up for kids to visit, but she knew I was lying this time. Apparently she'd spoken to Ellis who told her she'd seen you in the hospital twice already."
Maggie gasps, "I- I didn't know. I didn't mean for her to feel like that."
"I know you didn't. Look whatever happens with you and Jackson, I'll leave that between you two but Harriet doesn't deserve this."
"No, what she doesn't deserve is for me to look at her and only see a woman I hate when I do. That's what she doesn't deserve." Maggie cries.
"Oh Maggie. Is that why you won't see her? Because you think you'll only see her evil mother in her? I can promise you that's not true Maggie. You're not that kind of person for one, and secondly, you love that little girl as if she's your own. That kind of love is pure. There's nothing that can taint it. I can promise you that."
"It's not a chance I'm willing to take. Look, I've made up my mind so if you could please just go. She'll be fine. Her murdering mother is still roaming the streets freely. She's not alone."
Catherine nods, "You're not alone either Maggie. Remember that."
When Catherine leaves Maggie cries her eyes out for the pain she knew she was causing Harriet. It sucked, and she was sorry, but she simply couldn't risk it. She wanted to hold onto Harriet the way she was in her memory right now. Happy and smiling and untouched by Maggie's hatred for her mother.
Jackson is sitting in the attendings lounge looking over Maggie's chart on his tablet. She still won't let him near her so this is one of the only ways he's been able to keep abreast of her health. He'd even cornered Carina and Link and made them add extra details in the notes section for him. Her mood, what she ate, if she cried, told a joke, everything. He was reading that she was being released today and wondering what that would entail. He obviously wanted her to go to their home, but he knew it was unlikely considering how much she hated him right now. He sighed and ran his hand down his face, he didn't know how much more of this he could take. He missed her, and he was starting to feel like a weird creepy stalker. The door opened and Meredith stepped into the room. She hadn't spoken to him in days so he didn't even bother acknowledging her.
"Avery, you okay?" she asked as she plopped down next to him on the couch.
He was shocked that she said anything to him, let alone sat next to him. "Would you be if the love of your life lost a baby and wouldn't let you near them because it was your fault?"
"Jackson. She was upset and in shock. You didn't do this."
"Maybe not directly but make no mistake, I did this. You know she's getting released today?"
"Yeah, I saw Amelia earlier. I'm sure she's excited to be getting out of here. Probably confused about the logistics of it all."
Jackson looks over at her confused "What do you mean logistics?"
"You know, where to stay, who's gonna stay with her. That sort of thing."
"Oh."
"Oh? That was the part where you say she's going home with you and you're gonna take time off to take care of her."
"I want nothing more but I don't wanna hurt her anymore Mer. I'm trying to respect her wishes."
"She misses you Jackson. Go to her. You need each other right now. I'm her sister and I can relate, but you're the only one who feels this loss the same way she does. Feel it together." She says as she squeezes his hand.
"She doesn't want me near her Mer. She almost aggravated her broken arm throwing her tray at me the last time I tried to stop by her room. I can't let her hurt herself more, no matter what it's doing to me."
"You mean walking around here like a zombie and a ticking time bomb all in one?"
"Mer… how am I supposed to turn April in after everything we've been through? Harriet needs a mother."
"You're asking the wrong question. How could April do that to you after everything you've been through?"
He sighs, "I know it's the right thing to do but…"
"You've gotta choose Jackson. Whatever choice you make decides your future. And I know you know this but only one choice ends in you and Maggie trying to work it out."
"I know everyone thinks this is about April and our history but it's not. I swear. Maggie is the love of my life, there's no question. There's no world where we both exist that we don't end up together-"
"Except there is. The one where you don't press charges against April." Meredith interrupts.
He sighs, "I can't take Harriet's mother from her. She needs a mom."
Meredith raises a brow, "Well April did that to herself. She made her own choices that day. And furthermore, you don't think that as long as there's breath in Maggie's body, she won't have a mom? Maggie loves her. She'll be there for her."
"Does she? Will she? Because according to her she won't be able to look at her without seeing April."
"The only person who believes that that is true is a grief filled Maggie. We all know that's not the case. Believe it or not, it's the love Maggie has for Harriet that's making her push her away."
"She's a little girl. She needs stability. To know she's always loved no matter what."
"A psycho for a mother is more stable than one who is grieving and can't tell up from down right now? Cause we both know that's all this is."
"I guess." He takes a deep breath and sits there silently for a minute, "I'm gonna do it."
"I know."
"I'm gonna turn April in."
"I know."
"Wh—"
"Jackson, you think we don't all see it and hear it? You're holding everything in. I doubt you're sleeping. There's only one way that corrects itself, and that's if you correct things with Maggie. Just go see her. If it doesn't work out in your favor I'll take time off and stay with her, I promise, but I think you'll be fine. Lead with the turning April in thing though." She chuckles
"Did she say something to you?" Jackson asks eagerly.
"No. But she's my sister, I know her. Go see her. Oh and one more thing, It's okay to break Jackson, I swear she'll catch you. She's here Jackson. She lost a baby and she didn't run away. She's pissed and she's hurt but she's dealing and she's staying. Stop holding everything in."
Jackson stands up "Mer, I appreciate your concern but I'm fine. I'm gonna go see if I can talk to Maggie now. Thanks for the talk though."
He's about to leave when his phone rings and he answers.
"Avery."
"Hi, Dr. Avery? This is Harriet's teacher Mrs. Pratt."
"Oh, hi. Is everything okay?"
"Well, Harriet fell off the swings. We're on our way to your hospital right now. It looks like a broken arm. Other than that she's okay."
"Okay, tell her I'll be here when she gets here."
Meredith looks at him in question.
"Harriet fell off a swing. Her arm is probably broken. I'm gonna go wait for her in the pit."
"I'll come with you."
The next couple of days following Catherine's visit went by painstakingly slow. This was day 9 or something like that, in the hospital and Maggie was completely over it. Besides losing her baby and the brain bleed, she also had a fractured ankle and a broken arm. According to Link she'd be out of work for at least 8 weeks. As if that wasn't annoying enough, she was being released today and she had no idea what to do. She hadn't allowed Jackson back into her room since he told her about April. He hadn't tried to see her since then either, he had seemingly given up. At least it was supposed to seem that way. But she knew Jackson was just sending everyone else to do the things he couldn't. He used her sisters, their friends, interns, and even his mom a couple of times, to bring her food, her favorite books, and even comfortable pajamas so she wouldn't be stuck in the stupid hospital gown. She played along and pretended she didn't know it was all him, but she knew, and they all knew she knew. She was sitting there contemplating her options when Link, Carina, and Schmitt came in.
"Hey Mags! Alright, Shcmitty. Present." Link says.
Maggie rolls her eyes "Don't Schmitt. Just get to the point."
"Okay, you heard woman" Carina starts, "So as you know you had what we call an early term miscarriage. How's the bleeding?"
"Stopped."
"Okay, that's good. Any abdominal pain?"
"No… I mean there's this tightness in my chest. Any ideas on that?" she says sarcastically.
Carina smiles sadly and then chuckles "Well you're the Chief of Cardio, you'd know better than I, but I think they call that a broken heart."
"Hmm. You might be right."
"So everything looks good on my end. There's no sign of residual trauma from the accident so I'm clearing you as long as Dr. Lincoln and Shepherd says you're good to go." Just then Carina's pager goes off, "Okay, I have to go but like I said as long as they say it's okay, you can go home."
When Carina leaves Link silently begins examining Maggie's ankle and arm.
"Okay, so I'm not gonna ask if you're in pain cause I know you are, but on a scale of 1-10, what are we looking at?"
"Hmm, 6?"
"Are you just saying that because you know if you said 8 or higher I'd insist you stay a little longer?"
"What? No. Never" she says as she places a hand on her chest in mock offense.
"MmmHmm. Alright, last question. You're gonna need 24 hour help for at least the next week then after that, you won't need 24 hour help but you'll still need someone at home often to help out. Do you have that in place?"
"Yup." She lies. They both know she's lying but he ignores it because he knows it'll get sorted out.
"Well then Dr. Pierce, you're free to go as soon as all this paperwork gets done."
Maggie claps her hands excitedly, "Finally! Thank Goodness!"
"Aht, aht. Not so fast." Amelia says as she walks in, "I haven't given my okay yet."
Maggie narrows her eyes at her "But you will."
"Wellll…."
"AMELIA"
Amelia laughs, "Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I went over your tests from this morning and you're good."
Link is laughing at their banter when his pager goes off.
"Gotta go. Kid with a broken bone. I'll see you Maggie."
When it's just Amelia and Maggie left in the room Maggie can feel Amelia staring but she ignores it.
"Can you hand me my clothes?"
Amelia hands her the clothes, "So…"
She rolls her eyes "So what Amelia?"
"Just wondering where you're gonna go?"
"I don't know but I'm leaving this hospital."
Amelia is about to respond when she gets a text from Link.
In the pit. Kid with the broken bone is Harriet.
Her jaw drops and she shows the text to Maggie. Maggie immediately hops out of bed and cries out in pain.
"MAGGIE. Jesus, you can't do that." Amelia says rushing to her side
"I need to get down there Amelia."
"Okay. Just let me get a wheelchair. You can't do anything if you're stuck in this bed again."
"Well hurry up or so help me, I'm walking on my own."
Harriet had been brought in 10 minutes ago. She was crying her little heart out and Jackson's heart went out to her. He was grateful however, that it was just a broken arm. She hadn't hit her head or anything, but of course he'd make sure she had every letter test possible. She was in pain but there'd be no lasting effects and she'd be back to herself in about a month. He was sitting on the side of the bed holding her hand while Link went to work casting her arm. Schmitt was setting up supplies when the curtain was pulled, or rather yanked, back.
"What the hell happened?" Maggie asked as she hopped over to the side of the bed he was sitting on and shooed him away. "Hattie are you okay?"
He watched as she went to stroke Harriet's head and she backed away and shouted at her, "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Maggie was stunned and stumbled backwards into his chair, nearly landing in his lap. Unfortunately for him, she caught herself.
She was shocked to say the least. She wasn't even aware that Harriet could shout in anger. She was such a happy go lucky, albeit sassy little girl. She couldn't say she didn't deserve this though. She'd all but abandoned the little girl and cut her out of her life without a word.
"Harriet, calm down. Watch your tone." Jackson said.
"No, Jackson it's fine. I deserve it. I haven't been very nice lately" she looks over at Harriet, "have I?"
"You've been the worst. If you didn't like me anymore you coulda just said that." She says with her arms folded across her chest.
"Of course I like you. I love you Hattie."
"You let everyone come and see you except for me. I just wanted to make sure you was okay." And in a split second Harriet went from mad to the hurt, scared little girl she truly was. "what did I do? Did I do something bad?"
As quickly as Harriet's mood changed, Maggie was up on the bed with her, holding her gently in her arms "No baby. Absolutely not. You're the best human being I know. I was just hurting and I didn't know how to fix it."
She looks up at her with tear-filled eyes, "I coulda helped. Remember when I fixed your phone?"
Maggie laughed, "I do remember. I should've known you could help. I was just being stubborn. You're the absolute best medicine. I'm so sorry princess. Can you ever forgive me?"
"I guess I can forgive you."
"Thank you. I love you so so much. And I need you to know something Harriet. Sometimes grown up things happen and they get in the way and they mess with our heads. Sometimes it makes us act like different people but I need you to remember that no matter what I do, it'll never be because I don't love you. It's always because I do. Okay?"
She nods and smiles "Okay. I love you too Maggie bear."
"Good. Now let's let Link & Schmitt fix that arm." she started to get up but Harriet pulled her back down.
"Can you stay right here? It hurts less with you here." She asks shyly.
"Everything you want" Maggie says as she places a kiss on Harriet's forehead.
"Dr. Link, can I get white instead of purple. That way me and Maggie can match?"
"Sure can!" Link says.
"Orrrr, I can change mine to purple. Purple is much cooler than white." Maggie says. She'd rather walk around with a purple cast than to have Harriet walk around with a boring white one she'd hate.
"You can? She can?" Harriet asks with bright eyes looking between Link and Maggie.
"She sure can!" Link smiles.
"Cool." She smiles.
Link is almost done casting Harriet's arm and it's just she and Jackson left with them. Harriet was talking a mile a minute catching Maggie up on everything she deemed important over the last week and a half while everyone smiled and laughed. Suddenly the curtain is yanked back again.
April was running into the hospital that she used to work at. Her daughter's teacher called her to let her know Harriet was in the emergency room with a broken arm. She was livid that Jackson had been called first and that he hadn't bothered to call her. Harriet was her daughter, and she had every right to know that she was injured. The nurse at the emergency desk told her which bed Harriet was in and she rushed over.
April pulled the curtain back shouting, "Where's my baby?"
A second later she takes in the scene in front of her. She sees Maggie laying with her daughter while Jackson sat at their bedside. Smiles dropped from every face except one.
"Mommy! Hi! When did you come back?" Harriet smiles but she never let's go of her hold on Maggie.
"Get the hell away from my daughter." She says through clenched teeth, "Get away from my family."
Thanks for reading.
Review. Let me know what you think.