Making Boston Work
Eventually, Jackson and April come together and they begin making Boston work.
Shortly after April arrived Jackson Zoomed with Jo, welcoming her to her new home and saying goodbye to his old penthouse.
There was a lot to do with the foundation, fortunately, since he was already serving on the board he was most of his staff was already helping with the day-to-day activities.
He took the next day off and he and April went shopping after dropping Harriet off at the daycare.
Even though April had money saved, she had long since abandoned rejecting financial assistance from Jackson especially with making the move to Boston. It was a big step as she left almost everything behind in the move. She agreed to let him help replace her things. They also went car shopping and then she retrieved Harriett from daycare.
The following morning April woke early and waited for the deliveries. Since she is always an overachiever at lists, she started three of them.
Get settled and unpacked
Go online and find some outreach programs in the area and download a map of Boston so she could get around.
She realized the foundation was doing good work and wanted to participate part-time. She remembered how offended and resistant she was when Catherine told her the expectations of being an Avery and what serving on the board meant. She knew as well as Jackson that she could not be involved in decisions that would be against her religious convictions. But she wanted to support Jackson with his choices. Harriet was still too young, but she wanted her to make her own choices when she was older on whether to serve on the Fox Foundation, not because Catherine deemed it was required.
Her furniture arrived and she efficiently made her new place into a home. She went to the store for food and other necessities.
Meanwhile, at the foundation between signing paperwork and attending meetings, Jackson thought back to all those years that brought them to where he is now. He needed a fresh start and there were important things he could do in Boston that he couldn't do in Seattle without jumping through hoops. He thought back to Mercy West, to the merger of SGMW, and finally after terrible losses the buying of the hospital with his mother putting up the lion's share to purchase of the new Grey Sloan Hospital. It was hard-fought and people forcing him to prove he was not his mother.
April was one of the few that was on his side. He remembers despite his family to the most important person other than his daughter, April believed in him. He had regrets and that was his divorce. After April almost died, he went on his spirit quest. He told Maggie he finally understood what was important to April, but it was too late. She was happy and that was all he wanted for her, even if it was not with him. He never wanted to stand in the way of her happiness. He was happy to co-parent Harriet and if Matthew was a good step-father, regardless of his feelings, he never said a bad word about him to Harriet.
When in the past year of 2020 he realized there was more to what he wanted than plastics or ENT specialties & he wanted to make more of a difference and that would be in Boston where he could make real changes serving on the board, but he would not do that without April or Harriet even if that meant Matthew was part of the package.
When he pitched his idea to April, he expected more resistance, but she told him they would make Boston work. His heart skipped a beat when she told him she and Matthew split up. She seemed at peace with the separation because he never wanted to stand in the way of her happiness, but he believed Boston would be a fresh start for both of them.
After collecting his thoughts, he called April and offered to stop by with takeout when he was ready to leave work. She answered and said she was out shopping it had been a long day and not having to cook would be good since the kitchen still wasn't fully stocked. He thought to himself while wanting to take things slower this time, he was optimistic about fresh starts, new city, and state, and to quote April, "New Horizons".
Later that evening Jackson stopped by with food and a playful visit with Harriet. After dinner and helping April with the dishes he commented on how great the place looks, he's been at his place longer and he's not completely unpacked yet. She offered to help but he's temporarily in a suite a few miles away close enough if they need him, but far enough to give April her space. Soon he wanted to find a house, but he didn't tell April that.
Jackson and April knew there were a lot of things to discuss and he said, "you go first".
April proceeded to share her goals considering a few outreach programs helping the homeless and providing healthcare to those who need it. She also said, "you made the decision coming here and I'm sorry dismissing the great things you can do here. I do think you should still keep up with your surgical skills and perform procedures as you did at Grey Sloan and maybe keep in touch back there, I know your mother would love that. She will also come up with many excuses to visit her granddaughter". April added "looking back, Catherine was right. I would like to take an active role in the foundation-that is if it was something you'd want".
Jackson didn't have to say anything as everything she said, made sense and he would like to see her more often.
They were sitting on her new couch drinking beers and Jackson put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder saying, "this is nice. I think for the first time we are on the same page looking for a fresh start and want the same things for each other".
Jackson sighed and brushed a strand of her hair from her face and for the first time since Montana, he felt at peace. He wished he had moved forward with their relationship when they returned, but that would not have brought him to discovering God and Nature when April almost "died". He knew they each had to follow their separate journeys to get to where they are now. But in Boston with April and Harriet, he was happy. He leaned over and kissed her forehead tells her how much it meant to him for her to join him in Boston. She looked up and smiled and he leaned in for a slow, sweet, soulful kiss. She responded, but then pulled away and sighed. "Jackson, you make me very happy and I never want to lose my best friend. I don't want to go too fast, the impulsive things we've done in the past that kept us from moving forward. This is something I want, but for the right reasons. We have Harriet to consider. She's already had so many changes in her life, I don't want her mother and father reunite only to separate because we moved too fast".
There was sadness in his eyes, but he agreed. Finishing his beer he got up from the couch and pulled her up too. She walked him to the door and leaned in for a long and intense kiss.
"Goodnight Jackson", April said smiling.
"Goodnight April" and as he shut the door behind him, he smiled too.