Sorry for the long wait, folks! :)
April wasn't sure why they were coming to visit and they hadn't given her a warning until the day before. Two of her sisters had decided to fly into Seattle without giving her a specific reason. All she received was a simple text message from her older sister Libby after arriving home from her shift.
Kimmie and I will be in town tomorrow. Make sure to set aside time for us!
She nearly had a nervous breakdown because she wasn't prepared to see her family. Too exhausted to clean her apartment – not that it needed much cleaning, the trauma surgeon also worried that she would be an awful host if she forced Libby and Kimmie to sleep on the couches in the living room. However, her worries slightly vanished after she called the oldest Kepner daughter and learned they were staying in a hotel instead.
But one thing continued to bother her. Why were they randomly visiting her in the first place?
A few theories popped into her head. One, she had told all three of her sisters about Ryan and the nosiest ones were curious to see him again. Two, perhaps Libby wanted to give Jackson a piece of her mind. She seemed to be holding a grudge against the plastic surgeon after she learned about their complicated relationship. Or three, they simply wanted to spend time with her.
Despite being a surgeon, April found the third theory hard to believe because she was the least interesting sister of the foursome, at least she thought so. Libby was two years older and always exuded confidence, way more than the redhead ever did. She was a dance teacher in Columbus with a husband and three children. Kimmie, who was three years younger, had been acting in plays since she was six years old. Now she was performing on stage daily in Chicago. And Alice, six years younger, recently finished grad school and opted to use her free time traveling with her friends before finding a job.
Personality wise, they were all much easier to like than herself.
Neither sister gave her a specific time of when they would be arriving at the hospital. April personally hated being surprised like this, especially when she had no idea why they were coming in the first place. And a major trauma could storm into the ER at any minute. At the moment, she was busy watching Leah perform stitches on a patient's cheek and making sure it wasn't sloppy.
"Nice work, Murphy. You've got the angles right, so there will hardly be a scar when all is healed," she complimented the young resident.
"Wow, this emergency room is like a page out of a movie set," a familiar voice stated behind April. She turned around to see Libby and Kimmie scanning the pit in awe. The younger Kepner sister grinned at her. "So, where's George Clooney?"
April folded her arms. "I thought I texted you two to wait for me in the lobby when you arrived," she irritably greeted them. "I told you to have a nurse page me."
"Yeah, but that's not fun. We wanted to see you in action since we've never actually seen you being a doctor," Libby insisted and embraced her with a hug. "Your hair's getting longer. Almost as long as Kimmie's. Are you growing it out?"
"Not really. I've just been too busy to even get a haircut," she muttered, pulling away from her sister. April softly smiled at the both of them. "Now can you tell me why you decided to come to Seattle? I have a feeling you're doing more than just visiting, so what's going on?"
"Well…" the oldest sister grabbed her own breasts causing the trauma surgeon to raise both of her eyebrows. "…I want a boob job and I heard your hospital has a decent plastic surgeon."
She gasped and waved her finger at Libby. "Oh, no, no, no. I know what you're up to. You're not fooling me one bit. You are not going to harass Jackson and besides, you don't need a freaking boob job!"
Libby glanced down at her chest. "Are you sure? Because I do think one boob is bigger than the other," she implied. "All of those leotards I wear to my dance classes might have distorted one of them. What do you think, Kimmie?"
"I definitely think she needs a consult," Kimmie agreed. "How does it work? Can you page Jackson yourself?"
April escorted her sisters towards the nurses' station for a little more privacy. "Listen, I appreciate your efforts to support me, but Jackson and I are friends again. We're on good terms and I don't want anything ruining that," she explained. "Anyway, there are other plastic surgeons in this hospital. Jackson isn't even the most experienced one."
"You just don't want him seeing my boobs because he's seen your boobs," Libby accusingly said, sharing a laugh with Kimmie. "We're all professional here. No need to get jealous, April."
"I'm not jealous," she retorted. "Like I said, you don't need a boob job. And if you sincerely want one, I will page another doctor, but not Jackson. His schedule is full, board meetings and stuff today."
Truthfully, he wasn't that busy. She felt she needed to come up with any excuse to keep her sisters away from Jackson for a variety of reasons. April feared Libby wouldn't hold back on what she wanted to tell the pretty boy, potentially creating another rift between the two Mercy Westers. And she also refused to let him see another set of Kepner boobs. All her life, relatives and friends compared her physical appearance to Libby's and loathed it every time. She didn't need to hear about whose rack was more attractive too.
"But I'm sure he'll make an exception since you're my sister," Libby persisted, refusing to take "No" for an answer. She wanted to know what the fuss was all about with Jackson. Pictures of him weren't enough. They needed to talk face to face. "If you're not going to page him, then I'll have somebody else do it."
Ryan walked by staring at the x-ray scans in his hands. He briefly glimpsed at the Kepner sisters before taking a step back with a puzzled expression. "Whoa, is there a family reunion I don't know about?" he amusingly said and chuckled. "Elizabeth and Kimberly. Long time, no see."
Libby smugly grinned at the orthopedic surgeon. "I was hoping we'd run into you too. I mean, you were the only boy who hadn't befriended April because she was smart," she replied, to her sister's dismay. Slowly examining his tall physique, she nodded in approval. "You certainly grew up, huh?"
"Puberty was good to me, I suppose," he sheepishly answered before looking at Kimmie. "Are you still doing the acting thing?"
"Yup, the acting thing is still very much me," the brunette casually responded. "I thought you liked Cleveland."
"I did, but a change of scenery isn't too bad." Ryan wrapped his arm around April's waist and smiled. "She's here, so I have no regrets about leaving Cleveland behind."
April looked up at her boyfriend. "Wait, when did you and Kimmie see each other?"
"Oh, it was a while back. A few years ago, I think," he recalled. "We bumped into each other at a Browns game and that's pretty much it. I don't remember much of that night."
"That night?" she asked inquisitively.
"It was a football game. I had a bunch of beers, so I was wasted," he clarified, awkwardly smiling at her. April didn't appear convinced by his story, furrowing her eyebrows at him. "Kimmie and I just talked. Nothing happened."
Facing her younger sister, April stared intensely at her. "Is that the truth?" She snapped her fingers when Kimmie avoided eye contact with her. "Hey, I've learned how to get nasty too, so you either tell me the truth or I'll force it out of you."
"It didn't mean anything, I swear!" Kimmie panicked, covering her mouth afterwards. "He- he was trying to get over his divorce-"
"Oh my God!" she yelped, drawing attention from nurses and other doctors. April adjusted her lab coat and took a deep breath to calm herself. "So, let me get this straight. You two had a drunken one night stand a few years ago?"
Ryan gestured his hand towards Kimmie. "Like she said, it meant nothing. My divorce had just become final, so I was a lonely guy-"
"You slept with my sister! That is not okay!" she angrily replied. Shaking her head, she walked away from the group. After learning of the past connection between Ryan and Kimmie, she saw them in an entirely different light. It didn't matter to her that it happened long before they reunited. It was still a line she believed they had crossed.
"Dude, can you recommend a restaurant for me to bring Jo to?" Alex asked Jackson, who was sitting on the couch in the attendings lounge. The pediatric surgeon was seated at the dining table with a bowl of cereal. "She's been nagging me to take her out because we finally have time for a real date and she wants to do that fancy crap."
Flipping open a newspaper, his colleague sighed as he skimmed an article. "Any place that doesn't require you to tuck your napkin into your shirt," he casually replied.
"Well, that cancels out almost everything," he sarcastically answered.
The door swung open, followed by a long, shrill groan as April entered the room. Both men immediately glanced up at her curiously, then she stood in front of Jackson. "My sisters are here," she announced in frustration. "They are here because they want to talk to you."
The plastic surgeon tilted his newspaper downward to look at April. "What about?" She quietly motioned her arms back and forth between each other and he quickly got the hint. "Oh… why?"
"It doesn't matter. I refuse to let them talk to you," she stubbornly responded, folding her arms. "Oh! And another thing. I also found out that Ryan and Kimmie had a one night stand a few years ago. He slept with my sister!"
"Huh, that's… awkward," Jackson slowly said, raising his newspaper to cover the smirk on his face. He wanted nothing more than to laugh hysterically at the matter. Not because April was upset but to him, it meant Ryan was never going to have sex with her now. She was visibly disgusted and hurt, so he felt slightly guilty for finding it amusing.
"I never thought he would be the type of person who would go ahead and do that. That's something Karev would do," she scoffed.
"It depends. Are your sisters hot?" Alex teasingly questioned, drawing a glare from April. He snickered while he finished his cereal. "Abbott's not perfect. Whatever. Like he knew he would run into your perky self in the near future. If you're sleeping with him, then I can see how that would disturb you since it's the closest to having sex with your sister. Are you having sex with him?"
The trauma surgeon pursed her lips, furrowing her eyebrows at Karev. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. We are not having sex," she sternly replied. Facing Jackson again, she sighed. "This ruins everything, you know? What if I were to marry him and on our honeymoon, all I can think about is the fact that he slept with Kimmie first? I'm like the Kepner sloppy seconds!"
"That's not true. At least I never slept with any of your sisters," Jackson proudly stated. She grabbed his newspaper in response and tossed it aside. "Hey, I was reading that."
"I need advice, Jackson. Put yourself in my shoes. If you found out your boyfriend slept with your sister in the past, what would you do? Would it be a big deal to you?" April inquired. She began pacing back and forth in front of him. "I have to break up with him. I should break up with him, right?"
He was at a loss for words, wondering what she was trying to imply. Was she asking him to tell her to dump Ryan or was she attempting to guilt him into telling her to give him another chance like a good friend would? Of course his personal preference would be to get rid of the orthopedic surgeon, but what if that wasn't what she wanted to hear?
"Umm… do you want to break up with him?" he asked inquisitively. "I don't know a whole lot about your relationship with Abbott, so it's not my place to tell you what to do. Just do what you think is best for yourself."
April's pager beeped, eliciting another groan from her. "Can we talk about this later? I have to report downstairs for incoming trauma. This conversation isn't over yet," she insisted and headed for the exit. She stopped in the doorway, looking at Jackson one last time. "Also, Libby claims she wants a boob job. Trust me, she doesn't need one. It's best if you avoid her altogether. If you decide to meet with her for whatever reason, do not under any circumstances, let her show you her boobs. And for your information, she's married with three kids."
Alex shook his head after the redhead left the lounge. "I swear, she is so freaking weir-"
"I told you not to call her that anymore," Jackson retorted.
"Fine. You're weird," he sneered. Standing up from his seat, Alex walked towards the sink and dropped off his bowl. He leaned against the counter, smirking at his coworker. "You are letting Kepner slip away more and more each day. I'm beginning to think you were born without balls all along."
He rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Dude, she practically opened her vagina to you a minute ago! I'm no freaking expert with relationships, but the fact that she was considering dumping Abbott means she's still hung up on you," Karev insinuated and chuckled. "Telling you not to peek at her sister's boobs? Screams jealousy to me. If you had a brother, would you be ticked off if he saw Kepner's boobs? Assuming he doesn't go blind afterwards…"
Jackson scowled at Alex. "There is nothing wrong with her boobs. They're quite amazing boobs, actually," he murmured, staring down at his shoes. "Ones that I'm sure Abbott will never get to see, thank God."
"This whole friend zone crap you've got going on is pathetic. Stop waiting for the right moment and man up now. You're wasting time, Avery," he advised, walking towards the exit. "Otherwise, I'm calling you Mr. No Balls until whoever between the two of us dies first."
Sitting alone in the lounge, Jackson sighed in frustration. What was he still waiting for? Alex, Cristina, Callie and even his own mother had been giving him the same advice, yet he remained in square one – single and bitter. The opportunity was there. He just needed to finally act on it.
"More suction, Murphy," April ordered while she operated on a car accident victim's injured liver.
Her resident followed instructions, eying the two attendings occupying the OR with her. Ryan was busy treating a fractured right tibia, while his girlfriend stood beside him and worked on the abdominal injuries. However, Leah sensed there was growing tension between them because they barely spoke a word to each other since being forced to work together downstairs in the pit. She had heard her mentor's outburst earlier that morning and knew she was upset over something, but she didn't know the details.
"Dr. Murphy, rather than standing around holding the suction tool for the entire duration of our time in here, would you like to assist me in securing the rod to the tibia?" Ryan enthusiastically asked. "I'm sure one of the interns can take over for you."
Leah smiled behind her surgical mask. "Yes, of course. Thank-"
"First my sister, now my resident," April intervened, her eyes remaining focused on their patient.
"Let's not do this in here, Dr. Kepner," Ryan sighed, glancing up at her. "This isn't the time nor the place to-"
"Dr. Murphy, do you have any sisters?" she continued and ignored the man beside her.
Leah nodded her head. "Umm, yes. I have one. She's four years younger than me," she politely answered. The tension was now borderline unbearable for her after she somehow got caught in the middle of the couple's quarrel. "Why do you ask?"
"How would you feel if the man you were dating slept with your sister beforehand?" April calmly questioned. "And what if you only found out after you started dating him?"
"Umm, well…"
Ryan cleared his throat. "To be fair, this guy you're dating was your childhood best friend who moved away and never thought you'd see again. Plus, the one night stand happened after both of us had a bunch of beers and weren't our true selves," he added, drawing a scowl from April. He shrugged, looking back at Leah. "I figured you needed to know all of the details."
The confused resident raised her eyebrow at them. "Are we still talking about myself or should I shut up and let you two carry on with your fight?"
"The point is I can't even look at you without thinking about the fact that you saw Kimmie naked," April angrily said, shaking her head in disgust. "We all grew up together until you moved away, but you were my best friend. I don't care if we hadn't seen each other in years. Knowing you slept with another Kepner doesn't sit well with me. Hey, Alice is single. How about you sleep with her too?"
"You're acting really immature right now," the orthopedic surgeon muttered.
"Well, you're a terrible friend," she countered. "Can somebody page Dr. Torres and check her availability, please?"
Ryan furrowed his eyebrows at her. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Because I'm in charge of this case, I'm kicking you out. I'll have Torres take over for you," April chirped, avoiding eye contact with him. "If I'm going to save this man's liver, I need you as far away as possible. You're distracting me."
"Does this mean I don't get to help place the rod anymore?" Leah sheepishly asked. Her superiors stared back at her unamused and she dropped her head in response. "Need more suction, Dr. Kepner?"
"Not at the moment," she answered.
The operating room became uncomfortably quiet for everybody inside. April was positive she would stab Ryan in the eye with her scalpel if he spoke or she even noticed him looking at her. She didn't want to deal with him or Kimmie at all.
Jackson decided to set up an appointment with Libby after a nurse had paged him. He wasn't interested in checking out her breasts, but he wanted to meet the sister April used to complain about. Whether or not they would have a nasty encounter, he hoped he could leave a lasting impression on her older sister, maybe even prove to her that he loved the perky redhead.
Upon entering an examination room, he found Libby waiting in a hospital gown. Kimmie was also in the room, which he hadn't expected, but he figured he may as well kill two birds with one stone. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Kepner-Michaelson. That's a long name," he mumbled the last comment to himself. He approached the two siblings, extending out his hand. "I'm Dr. Avery-"
"We know who you are. You can call me Libby," the eldest Kepner sister greeted him with a half-smile. After shaking his hand, she nodded her head towards Kimmie. "This is Kimmie. And maybe April already mentioned to you that a couple of her sisters are in town."
"Ah, yes. She did," Jackson confirmed, reaching for a stool and sitting down on it. "Honestly, she didn't seem too thrilled either, but I'll let you guys deal with that on your own. So, you're interested in breast implants?"
"Actually, no. I love the way my breasts are, but if you want to take a look anyway…"
He raised his hand as Libby reached for the strings on the back of her gown. "No, no! It's fine," he quickly answered, slightly grimacing. In this case, no boobs is good news. If he ever got his act together, the woman in front of him could eventually become his sister-in-law. "Leave the gown on, please."
Kimmie softly laughed. "Wow, even in a professional environment you can't look at her boobs?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I know I'm a doctor, but I know you aren't here for a boob job, so let me have it," he insisted, waving his hand at himself. "Grill me. Do whatever you want. I deserve it. I had many opportunities to be with April and I choked."
"Hmm… what do you think of Ryan Abbott?" the younger Kepner asked.
"He's a tool," he responded without hesitation. Jackson forced himself to laugh as April's sisters blankly stared at him. "Well, not just because he apparently slept with Kimmie. He's uhh… he's done some douchey crap since he arrived. Nothing to do with him dating April."
Libby scoffed. "Please, it has everything to do with him dating April. You're jealous," she accusingly said. "But I suppose I can't blame you. You've seen what you're up against. Ryan's a farmer's son with a nice body. And you're what? A city kid?"
"Yeah, so what?" the plastic surgeon nonchalantly answered.
"We know you come from a rich family, while in Moline we were all blue-collar workers. We had to work ten times harder to achieve our goals," Kimmie added.
"So did I. My family didn't take me seriously because I'm the so-called pretty one," Jackson argued. "Besides, April never saw me for my family's money. Our friendship was real and we trusted each other. It's just things are sort of different now."
"I see what drew her in." She playfully pointed at the gorgeous Avery eyes. "Are you wearing contacts?"
He shook his head and smiled. "They're 100% authentic, but April's not a shallow person. She tries to get to know a person before making a final judgment on them. A lot of people I've come into contact with don't do that. That's why she's special."
"Are you trying to charm us?" Kimmie skeptically questioned. "Because we were raised on a farm where we learned to toughen up and if we find out you're faking it, I won't hesitate to give you an ass whoopin'. This is our sister we're trying to protect. I can do it, you know."
Jackson held up both of his hands in front of his chest as she removed her jacket. "Okay, okay. Calm down for a minute," he ordered, nervously laughing. "Nobody has to become violent right now. I'm being sincere. April is important to me."
Libby sighed in frustration and exchanged glances with Kimmie. "Dammit, he's kind of sweet." She looked back at the pretty boy. "I desperately wanted to give you a long lecture about how awesome my sister is and how she deserved better after you broke her heart, but you're making it very difficult to dislike you."
"I think it's the eyes," Kimmie insisted, grinning at Jackson. "They're so hypnotizing."
"Now the million dollar question is, why aren't you and April together?"
He rubbed the back of his neck knowing he didn't have the greatest answer to give. "We uhh… it was messy. She was my best friend. The way I see her now wasn't how I saw her then. Everything became complicated, so I ended things between us. Then, I moved on and she moved on…"
"But the way you talk about her shows you clearly aren't over her," Libby noted. "And you're not doing anything about it. If you're not going to, then you probably don't deserve her. Why should April wait around for somebody who's afraid to speak up?"
"Why is this all on me? She sent me mixed signals too."
"April's the type of person you need to be straightforward with. Otherwise, she misinterprets stuff and second guesses herself," Kimmie explained. "You rejecting her wasn't much help. She's not sure what to think when she's around you."
Jackson nodded his head in agreement. He was fully aware of the fact that April was still naïve sometimes, but he would lose his patience with her whenever she went off on one of her metaphorical rambles. He really just wanted simple and fun, yet he knew he had been running away from his problems rather than facing them. Talking to her sisters was the largest kick in the rear end he needed.
Following the end of her shift, April was moody and tired. She snapped at her residents over the most harmless questions and dodged her sisters until she finished her work. The threesome walked out of the hospital, finally finding room to spend quality time together.
"What about Chinese?" Libby suggested for dinner. "Any good places to order from?"
"Yeah, there are places," the redhead unenthusiastically replied. "You know, you two didn't have to stay at the hospital the entire day. I'm sure you would've enjoyed exploring Seattle instead."
Kimmie dismissively shook her head. "Nope. We had a lovely chat with Jackson, though. He turned out to be a very nice guy. Much hotter in person too," she teasingly said.
April rolled her eyes. "Kimmie, shut up. I don't want to talk or think about Jackson or Ryan or anybody of the opposite sex for that matter," she resentfully stated. "And I'm still mad at you for sleeping with Ryan and never telling me. That would've changed everything."
"Lighten up. He's attractive, but I'm not interested in him," she assured her sister. "Plus, we were so wasted that I'm positive the sex was sloppy and awful."
"I said shut up!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration. Stopping just before reaching the parking lot, the trauma surgeon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day and I just want to pig out on Chinese takeout and regret it in the morning."
She opened her eyes after hearing Ryan's voice from afar. He caught up with them and waited for her to turn around. "Can we please talk? Just for a minute?" he breathlessly asked before peering over the top of April's head at Libby and Kimmie. "Alone?"
"We'll go wait for you by your car – whichever one it is," Libby awkwardly replied, walking away and dragging Kimmie along with her.
April slipped her hands inside of her jacket pockets. "Okay, what?"
Ryan slightly frowned. "So I know I can't take back that night with Kimmie. I would if I could because it was a mistake. I was hurting from my divorce and she was somebody I knew well enough. And seeing her today didn't change how I feel about you because well, I never had feelings for her to begin with," he admitted, though she appeared uninterested in what he had to say. "You're pissed at me and I guess you should be. It was something I never wanted you to find out about, but obviously, I can't undo that and I'm sorry."
"No, you can't," she muttered. "Are you done now?"
"Almost." He softly smiled at her. "Remember when we had that talk at Joe's? You were upset over Jackson rejecting you and I told you guys would be lining up for you? To be honest, I hope they don't because I want you. I don't want to share you with anyone else. Up until today, we've been good. No drama or whatever. Any guy who takes you for granted shouldn't even be a thought in your head. And I'm not one of those guys. I want you, April. Please tell me you still want me too."
April bit down on her lower lip. She had prepared herself to listen to Ryan and walk away as if their conversation never happened, but he managed to loosen her up with his words. While he wasn't completely off the hook, she could tell he meant his apology.
"April," another voice called out. This time the voice belonged to Jackson, who approached the couple and stood beside the blonde man. No more fooling around for him. He couldn't care less about his foe's presence. "I need to talk to you. It's important. I'm not moving until you agree to talk to me."
Glancing back and forth between the two men, she felt conflicted by what to do. She didn't want to hurt either of them. So much for avoiding both men for the rest of the night…