I do not own any characters, plots, or anything else pertaining to "Grey's Anatomy". Wow, I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying this story so far. I promise that the following chapter will be just as emotional as the last. As always, thanks for following/favoriting and commenting.
Chapter 11
Home
April feels the happy tears falling from her eyes, as she finally holds her little nugget in her arms again. She can feel Harriet squeezing her tightly, not wanting to let her go. In return, April holds her just as tightly. "Mommy is it really you?" She grins as she smooths the back of her daughter's hair once again. "Yes, baby, I'm really here." April feels Harriet bury herself deeper into her chest and her heart breaks for her daughter. She's been without her for so long in her life, she wonders if she'll ever be able to make it up to her, if she'll ever forgive her.
As she continues holding her little nugget within her arms, her eyes meet Jackson's again. He's staring at her like he's seeing a ghost, like she's not really here. The pain she sees etched in his features makes her heart ache. April can't imagine what he's been through, how hard her coma has been on him. She knows that if she had been in the same position, she would have felt broken without him. Like a piece of her was missing. April tries to push down the overwhelming emotion that is threatening to consume her by giving him a tearful smile. He gives her that smirk she loves so much in return and she feels her heart skip a beat. "I missed you so much, mommy." April tears her eyes away from Jackson and gives Harriet a little squeeze. "I missed you so much too, I love you." She feels her daughter pull out of her arms and lock eyes with her.
Harriet takes a few moments to observe her, like she's trying to take in every detail of her. "I love you too, mommy. I always knew you'd come back, it's been my very special birthday wish." April gives her daughter a smile. "Your very special birthday wish, huh?" She gives her the brightest smile she's ever seen, as she climbs into her lap. April can't help but wrap her arms around her. "Yeah, daddy says that I can have one very special wish on my birthday, and it's always for you to wake up." Her heart warms at her daughter's touching words.
April can feel the happy tears begin to fill her eyes once more, as she holds onto Harriet tightly. "Mommy…I…can't…breathe." She can't help but laugh at her daughter. "Well, you better get used to this, nugget. I'm never letting you go again." Harriet starts to giggle and its music to April's ears. Her daughter turns in her arms to face her. "Why did you call me nugget?" April smiles at her. "I used to call you nugget when you were a baby." Harriet goes into another fit of giggles. "That's a silly name, mommy." She can't help but laugh along with her daughter, happy that they are together again.
Their laughter is interrupted by a voice that she hasn't heard in years, a voice that has always made her heart skip a beat. "Harriet let's let your mom get some rest." She turns to her daughter who shakes her head. "Mommy only just came back. Can I pretty please stay?" April can't help but smile as her daughter gives him her best puppy dog face. She turns back to Jackson and knows he's a goner. "You can stay for another half-hour, but after that, we need to let your mom rest." Harriet gives him a reluctant nod and April's eyes meet Jackson's once more. She tells him thank you with her eyes and he gives her one of his sexy smirks in return. April knows he understands what she's trying to tell him, even without words. She gives him a smile back, as he settles into a chair across the room.
For the next half-hour, April smooths her daughter's hair, and holds her close. The moment she hears her daughter's soft snores, she can't help the grin that spreads across her face. "That snore reminds me of you." Her breath catches at his words, as she hesitantly locks eyes with him. As she stares into his blue-green eyes after all these years, she realizes how much she's missed him. How her love for him hasn't changed, despite what's happened between them. April gives him a smile. "I don't snore." Jackson gives her a smile. "You do snore and it sounds a lot like that." She wishes she could slap him in the arm, but she has their beautiful daughter in her arms right now. "Does she talk about me?" He gives her a nod. "All the time. Most days, I can't get her to stop talking." April smiles at that as she turns her attention back to her little nugget. She gives her a soft kiss on her forehead, content that she's finally able to hold her baby like this again.
April can feel his eyes burning into her and she relishes in it. She can feel her heartbeat pick up speed in response. "She really missed you…we missed you." Her breath catches again, something only he can cause her to do. Jackson has never been the type of person to express his feelings easily, except for when he had stood up in that church, and declared that he had loved everything about her. April smiles at the memory, as her eyes lock with his. The way he's looking at her right now, like she's the only woman in his world, makes her heart skip a beat. "I missed you both, too." Jackson gives her a smirk and the two sit in silence for a few moments watching their daughter. April still can't believe that she's no longer a baby, but a little girl. She's missed so much time in her daughter's life and she wishes that she could have been with her during all her firsts. Her heart clenches as she realizes that she missed both her children's first years. "I saw Samuel." It slips out of her mouth, as she reluctantly locks eyes with Jackson again.
The mix of grief and surprise cloud his handsome features. Her heart aches for him. She watches as he makes his way over to the hospital bed and sits at the edge. "April are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" She shakes her head, more certain than she has ever been about anything. April tentatively reaches out to hold his hand in hers. "It wasn't a dream, Jackson. I saw Samuel and he told me to tell you that he was okay. That you didn't have to worry about where he had gone anymore." Jackson's eyes open wide in surprise and April squeezes his hand in response. She hadn't meant to tell him about seeing their son on the same day she had woken up, but it's out now.
April watches as tears glisten within his eyes and her heart clenches in response. "I know this is hard for you to believe, but you have to have faith, that what I'm telling you is true. I saw our son and he's happy. Samuel has always been with us and he was the one that helped me get back to you." Jackson squeezes her hand in his this time and his eyes remain locked with hers. She prays that he believes what she is saying, just once. Especially, since Samuel had wanted Jackson to know that he was okay.
April feels the tears fall down her cheeks and land on top of their daughter's hair. For the next few minutes, she waits for Jackson to say something, anything about what he's thinking right now. "I want to believe you." She gives him a sad smile. "Then believe me when I tell you that our son is safe and as much apart of us as we are of him." His red rimmed eyes glisten from the florescent hospital lights overhead. A few more minutes pass, before Jackson finally gives her a nod. "Tell me what he's like?" April gives him a grin. "He appeared to me as a teenager and he reminded me so much of you…" As the two begin to talk about the son that they love so much, but never got to raise, they start to reconnect in both heart and mind.