The boards could have gone worse.

Jackson convinced himself of that much, at least. He had thought that he was nervous going into it, but it wasn't until he met up with April there at the hotel bar that he realized his nerves were nothing compared to the impending breakdown that she was having. Two beers were enough to take the edge off for him, keep him just far enough from being nervous, but not enough alcohol in him to be considered intoxicated. April, meanwhile, had downed two glasses of wine without any kind of hesitation and still had the jitters. No amount of shoulder squeezes or back rubs seemed to calm her.

But he can't stay with her, as much as he wanted to. He walked her to her hotel room and pressed a sweet kiss on her lips before leaving her there to process on her own. Hopefully, she'd get some sleep – they both needed it. This was the day that was going to define the rest of their future, and neither of them could mess up.

Making his way back to his own room the floor below, he sighed as he turned on the lights. The other residents in his class were in the rooms next door, but Jackson preferred to spend the remainder of the night on his own. April's presence was the only one who could mollify his own worries, about how he needed this. He loved her. But he wasn't an idiot, and he knew that she didn't adore the other side to him, even if she'd been willing to accept it. Truthfully, he wasn't the biggest fan of it anymore. The more time that he spent with her, the less time that he wanted to spend with those women. Pleasing them had grown less and less important to him, regardless of the paycheck that came at the end.

April's happiness was all he really cared about now. Initially, he'd thought that he needed something for himself to hold onto, but he'd realized that gorgeous smile of hers was more than enough to fix the things in his heart that needed stitches. She made him happier than anything ever had. He needed her.

A quick shower is taken, drying off before moving over to his still packed suitcase to pull on a pair of boxers to sleep in. He and April had made plans to stay in the city for an extra day after their boards were taken, a little opportunity for the two of them to have some time for themselves. A first vacation. But he'd made bigger plans, hinging on both of them passing their boards. Slacks and a button down are unpacked and hung up in the closet of the hotel room.

The small pocket inside of the suitcase is this unzipped, pulling out a black velvet box. Jackson opened it to look at the ring inside, smiling to himself. This was the real reason that he'd gone at it a little longer than usual, something that he hadn't told April. An expensive proposal ring, and the start of a small wedding fund. Their paychecks would inevitably increase as they transitioned from residents to fellows and attending, but this was something more than that.

He thought he did a good job of picking out the ring. A cathedral style, rose gold band. A pretty ornament for her fingers, something to tie over till they were actually married. Slim and feminine, but nothing over the top. He thought that she would love it.

A new flutter of nerves hit him, but this time, it's excitement. Jackson could finally see a real future for himself, something meaningful and happy. He'd never wanted to be the man who had to pick between having a family and having a career, and he wanted both. With the latter being finalized tomorrow, he wanted the aforementioned to come into play as soon as possible afterward. He'd known that he wanted to do this since near the beginning, and nothing was going to change his mind now. They just both had to get through tomorrow.

Sleep doesn't come easily that night, but it does eventually come.

They're both a little messier in the morning than they had been the night before, but it's to be expected. All they can do is smile at each other from across the lobby, suctioned off with their own independent hospitals. April wanted to run over to him and steal one last hug and kiss before going in, but she was nervous enough that any jolt of movement risked throwing up.

Jackson gets through his without any abnormal issues coming up. He's smart, and he'd always been good on the spot, even under the immense pressure. None of his proctors were complete assholes, even if overanalyzing the situation in his head made him hate them just a little. But by the end of the day, he didn't feel terrible about all he had been through. The nerves were still there residually, but they weren't enough to completely destroy all hopes that he had for the future.

April, on the other hand, nearly breaks down in the middle of it. Her intelligence was off the chart and yet she's never been as good with people. Patients? Easy. Her maternal instinct was there, always had been. All she had to do was mom them, and she could get through the patient care aspect of being a surgeon without any faults. Her break is spent reapplying deodorant and patting her forehead with paper towels to try and keep her makeup from looking quite so oily. At the end of it, she throws up. It made her feel at least a little better.

"Hey, angel."

"Hey!"

She barreled herself into his arms immediately, her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Jackson's arm wrapped tightly around her frame, half of an amused smile warming his expression as he gave her a little squeeze. He'd anticipated that she'd be a little more of a mess throughout the entire process.

With the rest of their coworkers returning to Seattle, dinner at Nopalito was on the agenda. Planning to do a lot in such a short amount of time was a little unfeasible, so he'd kept their agenda short. Dinner, margaritas, then an Uber over to Twin Peaks to enjoy the view of the city. Tomorrow would be the big day, after all, once the confirmation came in that they'd both gotten through their boards and were on their way to being amazing surgeons. He knew that she had offers from all over the country, and he had a few lined up for himself as well. Going together had been silently assumed but never discussed, but he'd give a reason for the discussion to come up.

Their date night ran through smoothly. April's nerves disappeared after the second margarita and lightened her up for the remainder of the evening. The hike up to the peak wasn't too bad and she was excited to get such an amazing shot of the city on her phone, always having loved photography. As far as Jackson was concerned? The view was good. But her excitement was better.

Both of them spend the night in her hotel room, much easier for him to come and go than her. Jackson curled up around her tightly for the night, hoping that this would be the last one before the two of them were engaged.

They sleep in and catch a late brunch at the hotel before coming back up to her room so that she could get dressed. April knew that they were going to the Golden Gate Bridge today, but she didn't know what all was to come with the date. She'd assumed that it was just another sightseeing trip, like the simple one that they had gone on last night. He'd given her a heads up to look nice for a fancy dinner that night, and she'd spent time hunched over the bathroom counter and applying makeup. Just enough time that she nearly forgot about the email they were both waiting on.

"Oh– shoot, it's almost time. Where's my phone?"

Jackson tossed her phone over casually, second glance given to make sure that she'd caught it. All he needed to do was go down to his room and get changed, but instead, he's sitting on the edge of her bed and hunched over his phone, obsessively refreshing his email.

"I haven't gotten mine yet, don't worry." He offered up.

April plopped down onto the bed next to him with half curled hair, opening up her email and refreshing. The only pop up was some stupid promotional email from Pinterest. Not exactly what she was looking for, a sigh passed through her lips. Jackson's arm wrapped around her frame, hand running along her side to provide a little comfort.

The two of them alternate their refreshing, counting to ten each time between to try and keep it from being quite as fanatical. April's is the first to come in, and they both tense when they realize that it's the right email.

"I–I'll wait until you get yours. We can open it together," she offered, glancing up at her boyfriend.

He wanted to insist that she open it, give her this moment. But the longer that he had to wait, the more nervous Jackson became about the issue. "Okay," he agreed with a slight nod of his head, giving another refresh of his email.

Two more long minutes passed between the two of them before his own email finally popped up, and they both released a breath of relief. Finally.

"Okay, on the count of three." Jackson started with a nod of his head.

"One…"

"Two."

"Three!"

Both emails are opened and read through simultaneously until they find the words that they were waiting for at the end of it. They'd passed. The glances over at the other phones are in sync as they make sure that the other has the same good news, before the squeals and dances of excitement start. A hard kiss is shared between the two of them with excitement getting the best of them, neither of them able to stop the joy from spreading across their features.

"Go, finish getting ready," Jackson nudged her with another quick kiss being pressed to her forehead. One goal down, and the other would hopefully be checked off by the end of the day. "I'm going to run down to get changed. Be right back." He promised.

The Uber over to the bridge felt like it was impossibly long, and all of his effort was put in to keep his leg from shaking, hand staying inside his pocket so that the box with her ring didn't fall out. April looked amazing. She always did, but today especially – her hair fell in long curls down the length of her back, and she was wearing an otherwise modest navy dress that she managed to make look sexy. A few glances were given to her hand, already beginning to imagine what the ring would look like resting on her finger.

Hands held together, they make their way down the pedestrian walkway with chatter. April stopped to take pictures and all Jackson could do was stare at her lovingly, only interrupted with laughter when she turned the camera onto him and he brushed it away.

They only make it about a third of a way down when he started talking, knowing that this was the opportunity he needed.

"I knew that you'd like coming here. Did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge is apparently the most photographed bridge in the world? That made me think of you. I mean, I've never seen someone take so many pictures of a city that they actually lived in. But watching you get so excited over just capturing a moment like that... to be honest, it's kind of changed the way I see things. The way I see my own life, my future. It's made me learn to appreciate living in the moment a lot more than I ever have before. And I like that I've changed like that. I like how you've changed me. You've made me a better person, April. And you've made me happier than I've ever been my entire life, even when most of our dates are spent half dead with exhaustion from work and everything else that we've got going on in our lives. But I can't imagine being like this with anyone else. I know that you've never really liked how many women that I've known and been with. The truth is, no matter how many women there are... none of them are ever going to compare to you. What I do on the side has only made me realize how much I love you, and how important you are to me, April. You mean everything to me. Absolutely everything."

There were tears forming in the redhead's eyes, and Jackson had to wonder if she knew exactly where this was going. One hand took hers, the other fishing into the pocket of his pants to pull out the tiny black box. The gasp is more than enough to let him know the answer that was coming, but he doesn't stop. He wanted her to hear absolutely everything that he had to say, because she deserved it.

"I love you, angel. I love the way you laugh and smile, the way that you challenge me. The way that you never give up on things that you're passionate about. And I love that I've become one of those things. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and supporting you, just like you've done for me. I want to be there for your highs and lows. I want to be there for all of it. April Kepner, will you do me the great honor of being my wife?"

"Yes, yes! A hundred times yes."

The ring is slid onto her finger and fits perfectly snug, and as Jackson stood back up, he lifted her up with the kiss that he placed on her lips. Applause broke out around them from the few bystanders that had stopped to watch, photos having been taken of the two of them. Unplanned, but neither of them minds the tiny audience in the slightest. All Jackson wanted to do now was kiss her, but it's a reminder that they're still in public.

Squeals of excitement pass through April's lips when the kiss finally breaks, the smile on her cheeks splitting open her face and nearly aching with just how wide it is. Her fingers gave a little wiggle to look at the gorgeous ring now resting on her fourth finger.

All of this had come out of the blue, not having picked up on any of the hints that Jackson had been dropping over the past few weeks of studying their boards. Yet even with the surprise, she's never been happier. He was the best man by far that she had ever been with, made her heart swell with happiness each time she saw him. And he did support her, in every way. He never picked at her flaws like so many others had. April had thought before that she'd been in love when she was young and naive, but she had never loved another man with the same passion or intensity that she loved Jackson Avery. Now, the rest of the world would get to know, too.

"This is the best day of my life," Jackson murmured as he placed another kiss to April's lips.

"Mine too," she agreed. "I can't wait to be your wife."