Jackson watched as April slowly settled Harriet into bed, a gentle smile forming his face as he heard her whisper soft goodnights to their child. Their child. All these years later, it still felt too good to be true. Harriet was perfect, the best of both of them, and more. She was smart, funny, way smarter than he had been at her age, definitely the cutest kid he'd ever seen-

"Well, she's down for the night," Jackson's thoughts were interrupted as his ex-wife collapsed on the couch next to him, "You know, I'm so glad she loves Boston, but man, I am exhausted from running from one sight to the other! She definitely has your stamina," April let out, with a chuckle.

"From what I remember, your stamina was pretty good too," Jackson mumbled, a smirk forming on his face, watching as her cheeks flushed his favorite rosy pink.

"Very funny," April rolled her eyes, gently slapping Jackson across the chest, although her blush was still very prominent, "I think I'm gonna hop in the shower, unless you wanted to?"

"Nope," Jackson responded, "All yours. I have to make some calls anyway, so I'll keep an eye on the little munchkin while you clean yourself up."

"Okay!" April jumped up brightly, running towards her room, "Ten minutes! I promise!". The words took him back to that night, when he confessed his desire to take over the foundation, to move across the country with their daughter, her, even her husband-

Ex-husband. Matthew was out of the picture. Jackson couldn't help the pride that slowly enveloped his chest at the thought of him being gone from their lives. He was a good enough guy, but he didn't want him with April.

"You don't have the right to think that," Jackson mumbled to himself. April was not his anymore. They had both moved on. They were co-parents, nothing more. Right?

Still, the marriage ending must have been hard on April. She didn't believe in divorce, and he couldn't help but wonder if she fought as hard for Mathew as she had fought for him. He hoped not.

Swallowing, Jackson pulled out his phone, and searched for the number he had been meaning to call.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hey, Arizona? It's Jackson… Avery? From Grey Sloan? Plastic surgeon, was married to April, we have a kid, Harriet, you know her, uh and-" Jackson fumbled as the words awkwardly spewed out of his mouth.

"I know who you are, Jackson," Arizona laughed, "Congratulations! I've heard big things about everything you're doing. We're all so proud of you."

"Uh, thanks, yep, thank you," Jackson stuttered, why was he so nervous about what he was about to say?

"So, to what do I owe this unexpected call," Arizona chuckled, "It's not often that you pick up the phone and want to chat."

"Yeah," Jackson replied, forcing a short laugh, "I wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome," the blonde replied immediately, "Wait, what are you thanking me for?"

Jackson chuckled, she hadn't changed at all.

"April," he said with a sigh, "When her marriage ended, that must've been really hard on her. And I know you would've been there for her. Thank you for taking care of her, because I couldn't".

There was a long pause, and Jackson began to wonder if she had hung up on him.

"Ari-" he started.

"First of all, She's my best friend, Jackson," Arizona replied, "Don't thank me for being there for her. She's been there for me too.".

"Yeah, yes, of course," Jackson's nerves returned, wondering if he had offended the peds surgeon, "I didn't mean-'"

"Second of all," Arizona continued, "I did it for you, too.".

What? What? What was she talking about? She did it for him? That made no sense. What?

"Huh?" Jackson managed to squeeze out. Wow, articulate.

"What, you think you'd have been able to go on your whole 'daddy soul searching'-" Arizona laughed over the phone.

"Ew, 'daddy soul searching'? Never call it that, please, that is gross," Jackson cringed, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth.

Arizona's laughter doubled, before she quieted down. "Whatever," she said, "If you knew that April was hurting, you would have dropped everything."

Jackson was silent. What could he say? Would he have dropped everything to be there for his person? The one who saw through all his bullshit, who actually cared about him, who always stood by him, whose red hair still coloured his dreams, whose laughter he imagined whenever he heard something funny, whose perfect smile he could see echoed on their daughter's face. Yes, he would've.

"And so would she," Arizona continued, speaking softly, "And I guess, she did. She dropped everything to be there for you, to move to Boston so you could chase your dreams."

April walked out of her room, rubbing a towel through her hair. She gave him a soft smile before creeping over to Harriet's crib to check on their little angel.

"Yeah," Jackson whispered, "Yeah, she did."

"I'm glad you're chasing your dreams, Jackson," Arizona smiled, "But don't let this one get away again."

"I - thank you, Arizona," he studied April's face. The twinkle in her eye as she looked down at their masterpiece, the small droplets of water that had settled on her exposed shoulder as her t-shirt gently slipped down, her graceful hands moving to gently touch Harriet's hair. She looked back at him and caught him staring, his favorite blush returning once more,

"Thank you."