A/N: I am blown away by the feedback for that last chapter! So glad you are all reading this :D Hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter Four

"So, I was at the driving range with one of the VPs, and we were in this enclosed area – the place had it so you could play even if it was raining – and I swing my club. I have no idea what I'm doing, and the ball flies to the side and ricochets off this pole. Nearly hits the VP in the head. He had to duck. Moral of the story, I don't play golf anymore."

April laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. Dave started then too, her laughter infectious.

"That is ridiculous," she managed, breathing heavily. "You really almost hit him?"

"I swear on something holy," Dave said, laying a hand on his heart. "Although, I did remember to yell fore."

She snorted. "Well, at least you excelled in that."

"Yeah, I'm a champ at yelling out fore. Nice and loud. Good use of my diaphragm."

She laughed more, reaching forward and grabbing her wine. "That is the most ridiculous story that I have heard."

"Well, I just so happen to have a ridiculous life."

She grinned wide. "Makes for good stories, at least."

"Yes, that it does."

She finished her wine, tipping her head back a bit as she grabbed the last drop. When she set it on the table he asked if she wanted another.

"No, I'm good."

"You really are a one drink girl," he noted.

"Yeah. Bad things tend to happen if I drink too much."

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like, tripping and falling bad things or dancing on tables bad things? Because if it is the latter, please let me get you that second glass."

She laughed. "A bit of both, I guess. I also get the hangovers from hell."

"Ah, I see. Well, you want a second dessert instead, then?"

"I believe I am satiated in all dining ways," she told him with a grin. "But thanks for offering."

"The check, then?"

She nodded. He flagged down the waiter, and she watched him idly. His face was turned, showing off his profile. He had a nice nose, straight and well proportioned to the rest of his face. He turned back to her, and her gaze fell on his lips.

"April?"

Her eyes darted back up to his and she asked, "Would you like to come back to my place?"

They got up to apartment more from instinct than anything. With his mouth on hers, and her mind all muddled, she barely knew where they were walking. Her key fit in the door, though, which she took for a good sign. She opened the door and they stumbled inside, her loudly slamming the door closed with the heel of her hand as he wound his arms tighter around her waist. She moved her mouth to his neck, and she felt him stiffen.

"Uh, April, I think we have company," he said, pushing her off him slightly. She turned around, her eyes widening to cartoon proportions when she saw Jackson sitting on her couch.

"Jackson!" she nearly shrieked. "How-what are you doing in my apartment?"

He looked similarly stricken, eyes darting between her and Dave.

"Alex and his intern have been keeping me up. I have a facial reconstruction with Sloan in the morning and needed to get some actual sleep. I texted you but you didn't answer."

"How did you even get in here?"

"Your spare key. Remember, you told me where it was in case you were ever being held against your will and needed someone to help?"

She swallowed hard. She had forgotten about that.

"I can leave," he said. "I can see you're, uh, busy."

"No," she said immediately. Dave cleared his throat beside her, and she looked up at him. This was seriously one of the most awkward moments of her life. Ever.

"Do you mind waiting for me in my room?" she told Dave, pointing to the doorway. "I'll be right there."

"Yeah, that's fine."

Dave walked into her bedroom, and she went to take care of the Jackson situation. He was looking at her with this unreadable look, and she hissed, "What now?"

"You're moving a little fast, don't you think?"

"I am not talking about this with you," she told him. "Now, do you need a pillow?"

She used her resolve voice, and he knew better than to push her further.

"I'm fine. Do you mind getting me a blanket, though?"

She walked over to the front closet and pulled out a blanket, throwing it at him in her irritation. He caught it easily, putting it beside him.

"Thanks," he said dryly.

"Yeah. I'll see you in the morning."

"Right, the morning," he said with a stiff nod. When she turned he tacked on, "Have fun in there."

"Not talking about it, remember?" she told him. "And thank you. I will. Goodnight, Jackson."

She left him in the living room, walking into her bedroom and quietly shutting the door. Dave sat on the edge of her bed, looking just about as awkward as she felt.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "I had no idea he would be here."

"Does he do this often?"

"No. It's the first time, I swear."

"Probably for the best," Dave said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. "We were moving a bit fast."

She frowned, wondering if he heard what Jackson said. She sat next to him and he turned his head toward her.

"I really like you," he said. "It's making me want to take this at a sprint. But I think we should slow down."

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess you make me want to sprint, too."

He chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into press a kiss to her temple.

"So, back to a slow jog now?"

"A spirited power walk," she returned with a soft grin. "Slow jog sounds so boring."

"Alright, a spirited power walk it is." He went to stand, but she grabbed his arm.

"You should stay." He gave her a look and she said, "I want you to stay. Please. "

"Okay."

Dave left early in the morning, kissing her quickly before heading back to his apartment to get ready for work. She pulled on a robe, yawning as she padded into the kitchen. Jackson was at the counter making coffee, his back to her.

"Morning," she said, sitting at the table. "Did you sleep well?

"Yeah. Thanks."

"All rested up for your big surgery with Sloan?"

"Yep." He poured himself a cup of coffee and hesitated before pouring her one, too, and bringing it to the table. She caught his strange behavior, and asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing."

"This isn't about the Dave thing, is it?" she asked.

His silence spoke volumes.

"Jackson," she sighed. "Look, I appreciate you looking out for my virtue and everything, but this really is none of your business."

"You're my friend. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Why do you think he's going to hurt me? Jackson, I finally have someone who cares about me. Someone who likes me for me."

"I just don't think you should rush things. You've only been dating for, what, two weeks?"

"Seriously, Jackson, you've slept with people for a lot less," she shot back.

"But you're different from me," he said, trying to make her understand. "You were a mess after we slept together, April. You regretted it."

"That is completely different," she returned heatedly. "We slept together after being hepped up from some ridiculous bar fight. With David and I – it means something. He means something."

Jackson's eyes darkened. "Oh, right."

She realized a moment too late what she had said. Jackson was already out of the kitchen, grabbing his bag and coat. She followed him into the living room, but he refused to look at her.

"Jackson, I didn't mean-"

"I'll see you at the hospital."

"Jackson, come on. You know I didn't-"

The door slammed shut and she pressed her lips into a tight frown, wondering when she would learn to just stop opening her mouth.

"Your face," Sloan said immediately upon seeing Jackson. "What happened?"

"What?"

"You're frowning and your left eye is twitching. Avery, what is this?"

Jackson exhaled sharply, moving past Sloan to scrub in for the surgery. He turned on the faucet and drove the heel of his hand against the soap dispenser.

"Nothing happened," Jackson said, scrubbing his hands. "I just…"

"Let it out," Sloan said.

Oddly enough, he wanted to. He thought Sloan would probably have some pretty good advice on this one, but he couldn't really tell Sloan what happened without letting him in on what happened in San Francisco. Doing so would be betraying April's trust in him, though. And even with her words this morning, he wouldn't do that.

"Alex is shacking up with that intern," Jackson said. "Kept me up half the night."

Sloan snorted. "Way to go, Karev."

"Yeah, way to go me being sexiled every night."

"You know the best revenge? Get yourself your own intern. A screamer, if possible."

Jackson smirked, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll get right on that."

"You okay to go in there?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I'm fine."

April walked into the pit, searching for the one and only Callie Torres. She found her quickly by nephrology, chatting with Arizona. April took a deep breath before approaching, and offering a chipper hello.

"Hey April, how are you?"

"Good. Could I borrow you for a second, Dr. Torres?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." April pulled Callie into one of the unused conference rooms where she did much of her scheduling, and closed the door. Callie looked at her oddly and asked, "You need help with scheduling or something?"

"No, this is a personal matter."

Callie's eyes widened for a moment. "A-a personal matter? Wow, okay, let's hear it."

"Mark Sloan is your best friend, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you guys, um, slept together, right?"

Callie nodded. "Yeah, I have that kid named Sophia, remember?"

She quickly nodded. "Yes. But you slept with him before, right? Before Arizona and the whole you becoming a lesbian?"

Callie smirked. "Yeah. I did."

"Okay. Well, was he ever jealous of other guys you were with?"

"Hold on. Now I really need to know why we are having this conversation," Callie said. "Spill, Kepner."

She swallowed hard, willing herself to go forward. She had a strong inkling that Callie would sniff out the line of questioning. And she was prepared for it. Sort of.

"You have to promise to tell no one," April said. "Not even Arizona. I don't want everyone knowing about this."

"Well, then not telling Arizona is a good start. Actually, not telling me would probably be even better. If you don't want anyone knowing, then why are you telling me?"

April slumped into a chair.

"Because I really need advice. I have no other choice."

Callie could see the girl was pretty bothered by whatever happened, and she decided that she would help in any way that she could. She sat beside her and told her, "Alright, I won't tell anyone. Not even Arizona."

April took a deep breath before she spoke.

In.

Out.

"Jackson and I slept together in San Francisco."

Callie blinked rapidly as she tried not to blurt out the first thing on her mind, which involved April being a virgin. Apparently that wasn't true anymore.

"Okay. You guys slept together."

"Yeah, and we talked about it and moved on. But then I started dating this guy-"

"Dave?" Callie asked with a wide grin. From what she had heard of this Dave guy, she was a fan.

"Yeah, Dave. Last night we came back to my apartment after dinner, and we were in an intimate position. And Jackson was there-"

"Why was Jackson at your apartment?"

"Long story," April said. "But, anyway, he was there and he got all weird. Told me that Dave and I were going too fast."

"Oh please, that boy jumps into bed with a girl faster than Mark," Callie said. "And that's saying something."

April wrinkled her nose.

"So, he's being all weird about you and this Dave guy?" Callie said, nodding her head slowly as she thought through the situation. The answer was fairly obvious, but she didn't know if Kepner was ready to hear it.

"I don't understand why. He wanted me to get someone. To have some fun."

"Boys," Callie said, shaking her head. "This is exactly why I switched teams."

"Well, what sort of advice would you give to someone who wants to stay on the boys team?"

"Just give him some time," Callie suggested. "Guys are territorial, even when it's just as friends. He probably is adjusting to you having another guy in your life. He'll come around."

"Alright," April sighed, wondering how long that would take.

"And if all else fails, tell him to mind his own damn business."

Callie fell into step beside Sloan as she walked to an OR. He grinned down at her, knocking his elbow against hers.

"Torres, what's new?"

"We officially have a new project," she said.

"Oh, is that so?"

She nodded and said, "We are getting Kepner and Avery together."

A/N: Thoughts?