A/N: Thank you for all your support everyone! I am overwhelmed!

This is quite the story for sure! To the Guest who commented about Mcslexie- I do have that end game in mind... it just might take awhile.

To Patsy, I know it is sad to read about Dead Derek. My inspiration seems to come from tragedy, and I just couldn't get this out of my head. But thank you so much for being one of my biggest fans! I sure do appreciate it :) :)

We are still on the same day- we will be for awhile, as I intend on keeping the chapters shortish so I can update more frequently.

Anyway...

Enjoy!

Jackson tore his yellow trauma gown off along with his gloves. It had been a a busy morning with the house fire and all, and he had to deal with a woman who had severe burns to more than fifty percent of her body. He honestly wasn't sure if she would make it. Wilson was with her now, cleaning and debriding the wounds. Now that the patient was stable, he thought it best to pick up his four-year old son Noah from daycare for lunch before he would be spending the day growing skin for his new patient.

"What should we have to eat?" He took Noah's hand as they headed to the cafeteria.

"No cawotts," Noah replied seriously.

"No carrots? But carrots are good for you."

"No cawotts." Noah repeated.

Jackson knew to pick his battles, so he didn't argue. He picked different foods from the cafeteria's selection, paid for it, and sat down at the table. "Alright, lets see here..." Jackson murmured. He picked up a ham and cheese sandwhich, set it on a plate and cut it into quarters. "How about ham and cheese?"

"Ham and cheese!" Noah repeated excitedly, reaching for a piece of the sandwhich. Jackson also had a bite of the sandwich.

"Where's mommy?" Noah asked.

"Mommy's working," Jackson said. April had been held up by another trauma, and while he worried for his pregnant wife, he wasn't going to hover... she hated that. He trusted she knew her body and what she could handle.

Noah readily accepted that answer, used to it by now and he sat up on his knees in the chair and reached for some grapes, his large light eyes watching the goings on of events in the cafeteria.

Noah had been... unexpected. To Jackson, Noah was a reminder that life was short. People died, babies were born, and love could be made from the smallest strands of friendship.

Five years ago:

"Umm, you can stay in Izzie's old room, second upstairs on the right," Meredith said, as she stepped aside for Jackson to come in. "April's room is beside yours."

"Kay, thanks for this," Jackson replied. The move had been sudden, since Percy and Reed passed away, it was hard to be in their old place without them.

Meredith nodded. "Just keep it down, Alex just got back and he's still recovering."

"Sure," He looked at Meredith and swallowed. She just looked devasted. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I- " She looked down at her hands, "Can I get you anything? A drink or something?"

He acknowledged her attempt at avoidance. Of course she didn't want to talk. Talking led to feeling and feeling led to breakdown. Instead he hefted his bags and looked up the stairs. "I'm okay, I'll just go get settled." He carried his bags upstairs and plopped them on the empty bed. Jackson sighed. The funerals for Percy and Reed were tomorrow. He'd have to find his black suit.

A strange sound echoed down the hall. Was someone crying? Another noise. A sob. At first he wondered if it was Meredith, but it was too high pitched, he thought. He stepped into the hallway. "April?"

April's room was only two strides away and the door was open. He stopped in the doorway. His friend's small form sat in the middle of the unmade bed, knees drawn to her chest, her head down as her body shook with sobs.

"Hey," Jackson greeted softly.

April looked up with big tear-stained eyes. When she saw him, she sniffed loudly and wiped her tears with her forearm. There was so much feeling in that expression, Jackson could hardly bear it.

Screw it, he thought. He stepped across the threshold of the door frame. The image of Gary Clark turning his gun from Meredith to Derek and firing the second shot that would kill him flashed through his mind. People got shot. People died. April was... all he had right now.

In another two steps he was beside her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her. He whispered comforting noises in her ear as she sobbed into his neck. "There was s-so much blood," She whimpered. "How could this happen?"

"I don't know..." It just did. He didn't have any particular explanation. Things happened.

"It was a stupid crush!"

Her sudden exclamation threw him off. "What?" he pulled away for a second to look into her deep green eyes.

"Shepherd. I had a stupid crush on him. But Meredith- she really loved him didn't she?" April asked.

He remembered Meredith standing in front of Clark's gun. 'Shoot me,' She pleaded, 'I'm your eye for an eye.'

"She did." He swallowed.

"How can you do that? Love someone that much that you'd die for them? I mean, Jesus died on the cross for us- which is no comparison- but he did it for the whole world- for a reason. There was a plan." She sniffed, "But to put yourself in front of a – a madman with a gun-"

"Meredith really loved him." Jackson said.

"Will we ever find that kind of love?" April asked, a general inquiry to the world.

Jackson was overwhelmed by the question. He didn't necessarily believe in 'love' per sae. Coming from a broken home, 'love' had limits. 'Love' only went so far. It was... If two people cared about each other and wanted to be together then they should be. So to him, love wasn't something he believed in. It was something you made, or you broke. All he could say to April's question was, "I don't know."

They sat there on the mattress in silence for what seemed like hours. Finally Jackson sighed, he was tired and needed rest. He started to slowly extricate himself from April, but she tugged on his shirt. He looked down at her, his expression asking.

"Kiss me." April said.

"What?" She was his friend, he hadn't thought of her in any other way. But-

"I haven't lived Jackson. I'm twenty-eight years old and I haven't even had sex. I was covered in Reed's blood. I watched Derek Shepherd die in the arms of his wife. I haven't lived. Please... kiss me."

He did. Soft and tender, like her, and she replied passionately.

A day after the funeral they kissed again. A week later April led him to her bedroom and gazed at him for a long time. He sank into the depths of her gaze and returned the same meaningful appraisal.

She unbuttoned his shirt. They kissed again, longer and more intense. And as April ran her hands down his bare chest, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Please..." She whispered.

They kissed. They made love. They made Noah.

"Okay buddy," Jackson picked Noah up after clearing off his tray. "I'll take you back. Mommy will come visit you later okay?"

"Can we watch CARS tonight daddy?"

"Sure, if you're good." He put Noah down so he could run beside him.

"Yah!" Noah said, as he started for the elevators.

They made Noah, they made love. And now another one was on its way.

xxx

Arizona literally bumped into Callie after lunch.

"Hey," Callie greeted her, smiling as usual. "How's it going?"

Arizona smiled back. "It's... it's good." Things had been a little rocky between them these past few weeks as they had been discussing having another baby. And now, a conversation with Dr. Hernan got her thinking about a fetal surgery fellowship.

"So, surrogacy?" Callie asked.

"Do you think we can do this?" Arizona deflected. Just a few days ago, a patient who was a surrogate had been brought in after being in a car accident. They had to deliver the baby early. Thankfully, everything was okay. But the accident brought up hard memories for them. What if something happened to the person that was carrying their child?

"We were so lucky with Sofia," Callie stopped in the hall. "After what happened to Meredith- I mean she got hit out by the Sound- nothing but a crappy understaffed, underequipped medical center in the middle of nowhere. Of course they couldn't handle that kind of trauma. What if it happens to us?"

Arizona saw the panic in her wife's eyes, and she wanted to reassure her. "It's-" Arizona started, "We can't know what's going to happen," She grabbed Callie's hand and squeezed. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, everything is fine."

"I know," Callie agreed. "But we're talking Seattle-Grace-Mercy-Death. Shootings and car accidents and plane crashes and storms."

"Well," Despite her ambitions Arizona still wanted to please Callie. She'd hurt her. She'd had an affair and she wanted Callie to know that she was in this. "Do we have to go the whole inception – conception route? I mean there was this little girl Alex was working on today, she lived in a foster home, and the house burned down. Her foster mom's in serious condition and tomorrow, this little girl is going to be placed in another foster home."

Callie squinted, her hands pulling down on her labcoat. "What are you trying to say?" She asked curiously.

"So many kids need homes Callie. And we have a home, and we have love..."

"Wait," Callie said, and Arizona couldn't read her expression. "You want to adopt?"

Arizona shrugged, "It's just a thought," she said.

"Hmm..." Callie murmured.

xxx

A/N: Hmmm indeed. That Japril scene just came to me, eager to hear from some Japril and Calzona fans. Please Review!