A/N: Again, your feedback blew me away. Thank you so much! I didn't realize that the boards results came so quickly. Therefore, I know that they are WAY later than they should be in this story. Just pretend that it's normal to wait a few weeks!. This chapter is chock full of action. It is gigantic. Epic. And opens the door for LOTS of new stuff in the upcoming chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Six

When the topic of April's lost virginity blew over, it made way for a topic that the Seattle Grace residents found even more entertaining, and that was guessing who it was that cashed in on her V card.

"My bet is on the boyfriend," Meredith said, seated with Cristina and Alex in the observation deck of an OR. Below in the operating room, Derek was removing a small tumor from a patient's brain. It wasn't a particularly exciting procedure and the three residents were the only people in the observation deck.

"I don't know," Cristina said. "You think she'd just admit it. I think it's someone else."

Cristina glanced over at Alex, whose attention was on Sheperd and the patient. She pulled her heel up onto the seat and rested her arms casually on her knee.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know," Alex said gruffly.

"Upset you didn't get it yourself?" Cristina threw back. Karev didn't answer her and she went, "You didn't do it, did you?"

"He didn't do it," Meredith said. She glanced at Alex and threw in, "You didn't, right?"

"Virgins aren't my thing," he drawled. "Besides, been there done that."

"Almost done that," Cristina corrected, snorting. "Didn't you throw her out or something?"

Alex shrugged. "I was having a bad day."

"I still say it's the boyfriend," Meredith said. "It would make the most sense."

The back door opened and the woman of the hour walked down the steps, settling in the seat beside Cristina. She looked at the three of them with a congenial smile and chirped, "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're trying to figure out who got the maiden voyage," Cristina said, peering at the redhead. "Are you in a sharing mood?"

April's cheeks flushed. Would they ever stop talking about this? From their stories, it sounded like Meredith and Cristina jumped in bed with anything that had a pulse before getting married and no one batted a lash. Karev wasn't any better; she knew that from experience.

"Some things should remain private," April said carefully. "This is one of those things."

"Was it the boyfriend?"

April didn't answer, but she made a slight expression and Cristina grinned wide, leaning forward.

"I knew it!" Cristina said triumphantly, turning toward the others. "It's totally not the boyfriend. Who was it then? Come on, Kepner!"

"It was before Dave," April said evasively. "And that is all I'm telling you."

"So, it was a one-night stand," Meredith said, smiling slightly. "Pretty ballsy for your first time."

"Yes, it was a one-night stand," April said reluctantly, avoiding their curious gazes. "Now, can we please just focus on the surgery? Dr. Sheperd is down there saving a life and-"

"Yeah yeah, he does that all the time," Meredith said with a wave of her hand. "We are all terribly impressed. Now, we want details."

April sighed, sinking in her chair. She would never live this down.

"So, when do you find out if you passed the boards?" Sloan asked, him and Jackson side by side as they scrubbed into a surgery.

"The decisions should be posted tonight," Jackson said. "7:00."

"You nervous?"

Jackson shrugged, scrubbing his hands under the running water. With the boards, it wasn't possible not to be nervous. One's entire career depended on them, not to mention his added bonus of the Avery legacy. If he failed, he would never hear the end of it.

"I'm not vomiting," Jackson said. "So, that's a start."

Sloan chuckled, drying his hands. "I was so nervous that I went on a total bender. Half a bottle of Jack Daniels. I was so pissed when the results came in that I could barely read them."

Jackson snorted. "Well, that's one way to deal with stress."

"I'm sure you did fine. You're a smart kid. Plus, with me as your mentor there's no way you're not passing that test.

"Well, if I don't, I'll be going on my own bender."

Sloan smirked. "I'll provide the Jack."

Meredith walked with Cristina toward the cafeteria, her stomach twisting and untwisting uncomfortably.

"Grilling April didn't take my mind of tonight's results like I thought it would," Meredith said.

"You need to relax. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Yeah, but the entire future of our careers is on the line. If we don't pass-"

"Then we just wait another year," Cristina said levelly. "Do some research or work with a clinical trial. Hospitals eat that stuff up."

"I don't want to do research, though," Meredith replied, frowning. "I want to be a surgeon. That's why we put ourselves through hell these past seven years. Not to mention college and med school. We did this to be surgeons. To save lives."

"I don't even know why you're worrying," Cristina said. "There's no way you didn't pass."

"I vomited in my last session, Cristina. Four times."

"Yeah, but you stuck it out. Shows endurance. Plus, you're a Grey."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You were born for this. You practically played with scalpels instead of crayons when you were a kid, Mer. There is no way you're not passing."

"What about you? Are you nervous?"

"I prefer to keep a cool nonchalance," Cristina said. "But if I don't, there will be a lot of tequila involved. Like, an entire bottle."

"Same here," Meredith said. They turned the corner, and both became similarly startled when they spotted someone familiar stepping into the elevator.

"Hey, is that…"

The woman turned around, face turned down as she scrolled through her phone, but Meredith and Cristina had no trouble recognizing her.

Izzie Stevens.

The news of Izzie's return spread quickly. From bits of information from both reliable and unreliable sources, it was discerned that she was at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital to interview for a fellowship with the oncology department. With that settled, there was only one question that remained.

"Does Karev know?"

Arizona stood with Callie and Teddy in the pit, the three of them musing on the former resident's return.

"I don't know," Callie said. "But either way, that's a hell of a lot of awkward baggage there."

"Why is she even coming back here?" Teddy asked. "We don't even have that good of an oncology program."

Callie and Arizona smirked and exchanged a look. Teddy caught their exchange and said, "Oh, like you two weren't thinking it."

"I wonder what'll happen when they run into each other," Arizona mused. "Because you know they have to run into each other. The separated couple always runs into each other."

"This isn't a romantic comedy, Arizona," Callie said with a smirk.

"I know that," Arizona said lightly. "But, seriously, what do you think will happen?"

"He'll run the other way?" Callie proposed.

Teddy snorted and said, "Wuss."

"I don't think he'll run away," Arizona challenged. "He was there for her when she was battling cancer."

"Yeah, and then she ran away," Callie pointed out. "Five dollars that Karev turns right around and heads in the opposite direction."

"We are not betting on this," Arizona said reprovingly, reaching around Callie and grabbing a chart. "Now, I have some tiny humans to attend to."

She walked away, and Teddy turned toward Callie and casually said, "Ten dollars that they have a brief conversation and then he runs away."

There was no reason for anyone to tell Alex Karev about his former wife's return, because he saw her himself first. He was glancing through a chart on his way to a patient's room when a blonde head down the hallway caught his attention. She was walking toward the pit, dressed smartly in a business suit and heels. Her hair was grown out again, dipping just below her shoulder blades. She didn't notice him, and for that he was grateful. His lungs were so pressed for air, that he doubted he'd have been able to utter a single word.

Hundreds of reasons for her return filled his head, each one as convincing as the one before. She was visiting a patient. She was the patient. He knew he'd find out why she was there soon enough. Someone would talk to her. Sheperd. Bailey. Yang. One of them would talk to her, and the story would trickle down the hospital until even the hospital orderlies knew. He just had to wait.

And so he continued to the patient's room, welcoming the distraction.

Having only known Izzie Stevens for a few months, neither Jackson nor April were that interested in her return. Sure, they remembered her. She was nice and baked a lot. But that was about it.

"So, has anyone mentioned anything else?" Jackson asked as they grabbed lunch. "You know, about San Francisco?"

April grabbed a turkey sandwich and put in on her tray.

"Besides Meredith, Cristina and Alex giving me the third degree about who it was again, no," she told him. "Izzie's return could not have been more perfectly timed. No one cares about me and my virginity in the least!"

Jackson snorted. "Well, that's good to hear."

"I'm sure it will come back eventually," she said. "But for now, I am going to enjoy the quiet. It doesn't come often here."

They sat at their usual table, both of them spreading out more since it was only the two of them. April turned to the side, leaning back in her chair as she propped her feet up on the chair beside her. She unwrapped her sandwich, and happily took a bite. Across from her, Jackson smirked.

"You really are enjoying the quiet," he noted.

"Well, I don't know when the rug will be pulled out from under me and I have Bailey grilling me on whether or not I found my Ben to go ahead and deflower me."

Jackson looked at her strangely.

"Excuse me?"

April laughed, putting down her sandwich. She tended to forget that the conversation Bailey and her had remained between the two of them. It was so rare in that hospital for something private to remain, well, private.

"Bailey found out I was a virgin last year," she explained. "I don't even want to know how that came up in conversation, but it is what it is. She told me that I was smart to wait, and that if I waited long enough I would find my own Ben. A nice guy. Someone who cared about me."

Jackson smiled slightly, glancing down at his tray.

"I wonder if Ben knows he's become a gold standard for all other men," Jackson mused.

April laughed. "I believe he is unaware. Bailey wasn't exactly in her right mind for all of this."

Jackson spotted Karev walk into the cafeteria. He grabbed a quick sandwich and then got in line to pay.

"Today has to suck for Karev," Jackson said as April followed his gaze. "The boards results and a surprise visit by your ex-wife? That's rough."

"Maybe she told him."

"I doubt it," Jackson said. "He looks pretty pissed."

"Jackson, I'm pretty sure that's just his face."

He snorted. "Well, either way, it still has to suck." He turned back to her and lightly added, "See, this is why I'm glad I don't have any ex-wives. Life is so much simpler."

April smirked. "Yes. You planned that remarkably well."

Alex walked out of the cafeteria, sandwich in hand, and made his way toward the x-ray department. One of his patients had an ultrasound of her abdomen scheduled earlier in the day, and the results should have been ready. He turned the corner, and bit back a swear as he nearly collided with none other than his former wife. Even after everything they had been through, she still made his palms itch.

His hello was pure instinct, and the sound of his voice surprised him. She smiled softly – nervously, almost – and returned the greeting.

"How have you been?" she asked.

"Good. How about you?" He didn't ask the obvious question, but it was there clearly in the subtext.

"Cancer free," she answered lightly, giving him a bright smile that made his head hurt. "I love saying that."

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, it's a pretty great thing to say."

"I heard that you've chosen pedes for your specialty," Izzie said conversationally.

"Yeah. It's something I have a real passion for. You see those kids, and how can you not want to help them, you know?"

"I talked to Dr. Robbins. She said you have a real talent for it."

"Probably just talking me up to get me to stay," he said. "She doesn't want me to leave Seattle Grace."

"It's not a bad place to be," she said. "I actually just interviewed with the oncology department for their fellowship."

"Yeah, I heard," Alex said. She nodded silently, the awkwardness making its way back into the exchange. Of course he knew. He probably knew everything about her visit the moment she was spotted.

"Did it go well?" he asked.

She nodded. "It seemed to. All kind of depends on if I pass the boards, though."

"Right. Results tonight."

"7:00," she added with a brittle laugh. "Big day."

"You can say that again. Well, um, I have a…"

"Of course," she quickly said. "You have work to do."

"Yeah. But it was nice seeing you."

She smiled softly and nodded. "It was nice to see you too, Alex. Take care."

He moved past her toward the x-ray department and fought the urge to look back. He allowed himself a quick glance when he turned the corner, and he immediately wished that he hadn't. She hadn't moved from where they stood, her eyes following him as he walked away.

6:58

April sat in her living room, the webpage fully loaded and arrow on the results button as she waited for those last two minutes to pass. Her stomach was full of knots and her head was woozy. If she was standing, she was pretty sure she would have fainted from nerves, but seated she had some control. She stared at the clock, willing the numbers to change.

Jackson had offered to get his results with her, and she regretted turning him down. It would have been nice to have someone beside her who was equally obsessing over the clock turning from 6:58 to 6:59. But she had a date with Dave at 7:30, something she had planned to be either a congratulatory dinner or something to aid her crushed spirits.

6:59

She really should have taken Jackson up on that offer. Her heart was slamming against her chest, and the room actually felt as if it were shifting. This wasn't normal. Maybe she was having a panic attack. Or a heart attack. Or a stroke. Maybe the three combined?

God, how could one minute stretch so insufferably long? She had sat through movies that went by quicker than this one stupid minute. She reloaded the page to pass the time, clicking reload over and over until she glanced at the clock and-

7:00

She clicked the results button, and held her breath as her future loaded. The page loaded, taking longer than she particularly liked, and then there it was. The results. Her results. The culmination of seven years of internships and residencies. Four years of college. Four years of medical school.

And she didn't pass.

It took a moment for her mind to fully register what she was reading. It didn't make sense. How could she not have passed? She was calm and collected in those rounds. She answered the questions and jumped through all of their hoops. She did everything right and yet-

Her phone beeped and she reached forward and picked it up from the table. A message from Jackson flashed on the screen. She knew what it would be. It would be asking her how she did. Asking for the good news to undoubtedly match his own. She turned her phone off and closed her laptop.

7:01

Dave was punctual as always, showing up at 7:30 on the dot. He walked in, immediately noticing the smile absent from her lips.

"What's wrong?"

"I got my boards results today," April said in a monotone voice. "I didn't pass."

He pulled her into a hug immediately, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, allowing the tears that she had been holding to finally come. She didn't know how long she cried. It could have been five minutes. Five hours. Somewhere in there he led her to the couch and sat her down. She propped her elbows on her knees, her head resting heavily in her hands.

"How could this have happened?" she sobbed. "I did everything right. I studied. I worked hard. I went in there and gave it my everything, and I still failed."

"Sometimes that happens," Dave said, rubbing her back. "It doesn't make you any less of a person or any less of a doctor."

"Yeah, it sort of does," she replied miserably. "I can't be a practicing doctor without passing the boards. I can't do anything."

"I'm sure you're not the only person who didn't pass," he said reasonably. "This has to happen, April. It's okay."

She sat up and said, "No, it's not. It's not okay, because this is my life that is now derailed because of some stupid test!"

"Can't you take it again?"

"Not until next year. An entire year wasted-"

"It's not a waste. Look April, I understand-"

"No, you don't!" she threw back. "You don't understand! This is my career – my life! This is my everything, and now it's gone! Do you have any idea how that feels? Do you have any idea what it's like to work your ass off for all this time, and then literally be told you're not good enough?"

"April, this isn't the end of the world," he said placatingly.

She shook her head irritably, pulling away from his touch.

"You just don't get it," she said, her voice gravelly as she struggled to speak around the large lump building in the back of her throat. She was about two minutes from full-out crying, but fought it the best she could. "This isn't just some test, Dave. This is my future. My future, which is now completely changed."

"April-"

"I think you should go," April interrupted in a low voice, wiping at her nose.

"April, come on. Don't do this."

"I want to be alone. I just…I shouldn't be around people right now. I'll only say something I'll regret."

"We don't have to go out," he said softly. "We can order take-out. Watch a movie."

She shook her head, lower lip trembling. He was so unbelievably nice, but she didn't want him there. His lack of understanding – something that he couldn't help – made her want to yell and rail, and she knew that given enough time and enough unintentionally insensitive remarks she would.

"Dave, please. Just go. I'll call you in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Believe me, you do not want to be around me for the next few hours."

He reluctantly stood, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"If you need anything…"

"I'll call you," she promised.

She watched him leave, knowing that she hurt him, but too consumed by pain herself to truly care. She felt another sob coming on, and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to hold it together. It didn't work. Feeling her brittle hold on sanity disintegrating further, she reached forward and grabbed her phone, turning it on. Her fingers punched out a familiar number, and she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

She swallowed hard. "Can you come over?"

A/N: Sorry to have a cliff-hanger, but this was getting way too long. How did you guys like the developments?