Okay, everyone, here is Chapter 5. I rewrote this chapter at least three times. I wanted to try to balance the angst and happiness, and I think this is the best version of the three. Just know there is a very dark and twisty version of this chapter saved on my computer that I may pull out for a later fanfic. But because of the lack of Japril on our screens, I decided not to go that dark. Thank you all so much for reading, and as always, please let me know what you think!
Chapter 5
The room felt much smaller with Dotson in it, as if it had shrank and there was nowhere for her to move that wouldn't feel too close to him. April wills herself to stand up. "What - What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be here," she focuses on keeping her voice calm and steady. She couldn't let him know she was afraid. He wanted to feel powerful and she wouldn't give that to him.
Dotson chuckles smugly, "Not supposed to be here? I work here. Besides, we never got the chance to finish our meeting. We were just getting to the good stuff."
He doesn't know, April realizes. He has no idea that Jackson and Catherine are ransacking his office right at this moment. If he did, he would be angry. But no, he is just as creepy and arrogant as the day before.
"I have nothing else to say to you." With a deep breath, April heads for the door. Dotson is directly in her path, however, and as she goes to step around him, he grabs her wrist and yanks her back.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" His face is so close to hers and she can feel the anger radiating from it.
"Let go of me." She pushes her fear down, tries to control it. The pain in her wrist is making that difficult, but she refuses to let him win.
His grip on her wrist tightens. She tries to pull free but can't. She starts to feel panic rising in her stomach but the feeling subsides when the door opens and Jackson, Catherine, and their lawyer step inside.
Dotson immediately releases his grasp on April's arm and steps back from her. Dotson turns towards Jackson, holding up his hands as if to calm him, "Listen, Avery, this is not -"
"You son of a bitch..." Jackson has no interest in hearing anything he has to say and quickly crosses the room grabbing Dotson by the collar and slamming him against the wall.
"Dr. Avery, don't!" The Avery's lawyer calls out to Jackson. "If you assault him, that could damage April's case. Do not hit him! Let him go!"
Jackson doesn't loosen his grip on Dotson, and the doctor braces himself for the inevitable pain, but it doesn't come. The room is still for a moment until Jackson speaks, "Call the police. Now. Because the longer I have to see his face, the more likely I am to kill him." Their lawyer pulls out his phone and steps in to the hallway as Jackson continues, his tone softening, "April, are you okay?"
"I am now."
The rest of the afternoon is a blur. April recounts the events of the past two days to the police while Dotson is handcuffed and escorted from the room by police. Catherine is on the phone with board members, giving out orders on how to deal with the fallout. Each of them give their official statements to the police, and finally, they are free to leave. Catherine tells Jackson and April to go ahead without her as she has more phone calls to make and April needs to rest. Jackson begins to offer to stay and help, but one look at April changes his mind. She is upset and exhausted. He reaches out his hand to her, and when she takes it, he pulls her in to his chest and wraps his arms around her. He leans down, pressing his face into her hair.
"Your mom's right. Can we leave?"
"Of course. Let's go."
The car ride back to the hotel is silent, each of them fully feeling the exhaustion of the past two days. Jackson simply holds her hand and that is enough for the moment.
They step off the elevator and on to the floor of April's hotel room. She digs through her purse and finds the key card to her room. Before opening her door, she turns to Jackson.
"Um...do you want to come in? I mean, you don't have to. If you just want to go to your room and get some sleep I totally understand." April isn't sure exactly how to say what she wants. She wants him to stay. He makes her feel safe and warm and like everything is going to be just fine, and she really needs that right now. But she doesn't want to pressure him. He spent the entire day helping her already and maybe he needs a break from that.
"Well, that might be a problem because I don't have a room." Jackson smiles when April looks up at him confused. "When I got here this morning, I just wanted to see you, so I came straight here."
"Oh."
"But I can always go get one. If that would make you more comfortable..." he trails off waiting for her to decide. After Montana, he assumed he and April would be repairing their relationship, but maybe this trip to Chicago had changed that. He couldn't ever fully understand what April has been through, so if she needed space he could give that to her. Reluctantly, but he could.
April paused for only a moment before answering him. "I want you to stay."
Jackson paces the lobby, waiting for the Chinese food he ordered. Why was the driver taking so long? April said she was going to take a shower while he grabbed the food, but he hated to leave her alone for too long. She was strong, but this had shaken her. When they first got to their room he had wanted to talk to her, comfort her, but he wasn't sure where to begin or if she even wanted to talk, so he didn't push. He decided to give her some space and time to herself and since they both love Chinese food, that was the perfect excuse.
The driver finally arrives, apologizing for getting lost, and Jackson heads back to the room. April changed into her pajamas and is curled up under a blanket on the bed, clearly lost in thought. Jackson isn't even sure she was aware he came back in the room.
Trying not to startle her, he gently says her name, "April?"
He can't tell if she hears him.
"April? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat before the food gets cold?"
He sets the food on the table and walks to the bed sitting down in front of her. She keeps her head down, tracing the stitching on the blanket with her fingers. He strokes her cheek with his hand and lifts her chin until she meets his eyes. "Hey." He whispers.
He sees the tears in her eyes that are waiting to fall. "Hey. He's gone. He's going to prison. Our lawyer will make sure of it." She nods but doesn't respond. "You're safe. You know that right?"
She scoffs and shakes her head. "That's just it, Jackson. I'm not scared or worried. I'm angry."
"You're angry?"
"You know, I was so excited about coming here, touring the Avery Trauma Center, learning from the doctors there…and now? Now the only thing I will remember from this trip is being trapped in that office with him. He ruined this experience for me. He saw something he wanted and had to have it. He wouldn't take no for an answer. And why? Because he needed to feel powerful? Because he's jealous of you? Because he felt threatened by me? God, Jackson, why do some men think they can do things like this? I mean, should I have seen this coming? I keep replaying the whole thing over in my mind thinking, maybe there was a sign, if I just hadn't gone to his office...I had a bad feeling, I should have listened to my gut. But no, I was worried about being rude. Seems pretty stupid now…" The stitching on the blanket has come undone now and she winds the string around her finger while she talks.
"April, this is not your fault. You know that right?" April nods, but he is not sure she actually believes him. "Dotson had a stack of complaints in his personnel file. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. You did nothing wrong."
She stops winding the string to wipe the tears from her face. "Then why do I feel like I did?"
"No, April. No, no, no. Do not, for one second, think that you did something wrong. You stopped him. Because of you, he is sitting in a jail cell right now and he won't be able to hurt anyone else. You did everything right." Jackson moves to sit next to her and pulls her to him. He holds her, rocking her gently back and forth, for as long as she needs.
April sits up suddenly, pushing away from him, "Oh my gosh, the food! Jackson, I'm so sorry! It's probably cold by now."
Jackson shrugs, "Don't be sorry. You know me, I'm not turning away food, even if it is cold."
While they eat, they Facetime Harriet, Ben, and Bailey to check in. Jackson gets an update from Bailey on Diane's clinical trial, and Ben assures April that the residents haven't destroyed her ER.
"I miss her." April says as she clears the remnants of their dinner from the table.
"She misses you, too. I can tell." Jackson calls from the bathroom. He decided to change his clothes and get ready for the night in there so April didn't feel as if he were pressuring her for anything.
April laughs quietly, "What do you mean you can tell? She's a baby. She makes like five noises over and over again."
"She follows you with her eyes when you walk into a room. She was doing the same thing tonight. Even when I feed her in the middle of the night she keeps looking to the door waiting for you to come in. She loves her mom."
"So, what you're saying is, I'm her favorite?" April asks teasingly as Jackson emerges from the bathroom.
"I wouldn't go that far." He says smiling, "She probably just loves to eat. And we both know who she got that from."
They both laugh and make their way to the bed. April hesitates for a moment and then sits down on the side opposite Jackson. Sensing her hesitation, he says, "I can sleep on the couch if you want. I know this is all kind of new again, and then, after what you've been through – I just – you know I'm not expecting anything, right?"
"Please don't sleep on the couch. I want you here, next to me. I trust you more than anyone. And besides, if you sleep on the couch, I would probably just end up coming over there to lie next to you, and that couch is not big enough for the both of us."
Jackson laughs at the thought of them trying to squeeze on to the tiny, hotel couch. He is happy to hear her joking again, to see her smiling again. He reaches up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. "Good. I know we talked on the phone the other night about you moving in to my room at home. I just wasn't sure if you still wanted that. If you need more time or anything, I can give you that. I want to do this right this time."
April looks a bit unsure as she asks, "Do what right, exactly?"
"This. Us. Everything. April, I've been fighting it ever since I signed those papers, but I can't anymore. And I don't want to. I have never stopped loving you and Montana showed me why. I've been awful to you lately - snapping at you, not supporting you at work – all because I was stressing about dealing with my dad. And you stayed by my side the whole time. You knew exactly what I needed even when I didn't. If you weren't there I don't know if I would have even had the courage to confront him. And Caroline – God – I don't even want to think how that would have turned out. You were my rock. And I want to be that for you, too, for this if you need it, for everything. I want us to try again." She gasps at hearing him say those words, and her hazel eyes are wide with shock. He needs to know for sure, though. He needs to hear her answer. So, he takes a deep breath and asks, "Is that what you want, too?"