A/N: Thank you so much for all of your feedback on that last chapter! We reached a new record for reviews! I hope you enjoy this one. It sets up a lot for the next chapter.

Chapter Eight

It was jarring the first time Alex saw her in those light blue scrubs and white lab coat. Time seemed to have not passed. It was two years ago and they were married, him forcing her to eat at regular intervals as she fought to get back into the rhythm of her old life. She turned around and smiled shyly as she walked toward him.

"Alex, hi."

"You got the job," Alex noted.

"Yeah, I did. It feels good to be back."

"Does everyone know?"

Izzie nodded. "I saw Meredith and Cristina earlier. The only person I haven't seen, actually, is Bailey."

As if on cue, Miranda Bailey approached from behind, a grin tugging at her mouth as she said, "Isobel Stevens."

Izzie turned, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her lab coat as she greeted Seattle Grace's personal mother hen.

"Bailey, how are you?"

"Come here, Stevens," Bailey said, pulling her into a hug. "Let me look at you."

Izzie laughed, tilting her head to the side.

"Here I am!"

"You continuing with your meds?"

"No need. I'm cancer free."

"Well, look at that. Good for you, Stevens. I heard you're back for an oncology fellowship?"

Izzie nodded. "You heard correctly."

"Well, it's good to have you back."

"I'm gonna go," Alex interjected, jabbing a thumb toward the hospital. "Real nice seeing you, Iz."

Bailey watched him walk away and asked her, "How is that going?"

"It's, uh, going," Izzie said with a humorless laugh. "I don't know how to act around him."

"Give it time. I'm sure this is all a bit uncomfortable for him, too."

Izzie nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, you better get to work. Don't want to make us regret hiring you."

Izzie smirked. "No, I would not. It was great running into you, Bailey."

"You too, Dr. Stevens."

Jackson stepped into the on-call room, hoping to get in a few minutes of sleep before he had to go do his surgery with Sloan. He hadn't slept well after that dinner with April and Dave, and he could feel himself dragging. There was someone in the lower bunk, and he went to find a different room when he recognized the auburn hair pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"April?"

"Just leave me alone," she mumbled, voice thick. He closed the door behind him, walking over to the bed and crouching down to her level.

"April, what's going on?"

"What part of 'just leave me alone' do you not understand?"

"Maybe the part where you think I'll listen?"

She sniffed in response, burrowing her head deeper into the pillow.

"Is it something with a patient?" he tried. "A bad surgery? You know we all have those."

"It's not a surgery," she said. "Or a patient. Dave broke up with me."

"He what?"

Just last night April had been going on about how she needed to two men in her life to get along. What happened after he left?

"He broke up with me," April said, her voice cracking. She hated herself for crying, but she never handled breakups well, particularly when they came completely out the blue. "He said all these things when we were cleaning up and then – poof – gone!"

Her words conjured an image of Dave breaking up with her and then literally disappearing from the kitchen. But he had a feeling that wasn't what she meant.

"What did he say?"

She shook her head. She couldn't tell him what Dave had said, and no amount of coaxing or imploring would change that.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. "I really just want to lay here. And think about my sorry life. And how much it sucks."

Jackson hesitated before saying, "Move over."

"What?" She craned her neck to look at him, eyebrows scrunched.

"I said move over."

She dutifully scooted toward the wall and he laid beside her, tapping his shoulder for her to put her head there. She didn't hesitate before curling up against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Next to him, his arm around her, she thought again about what Dave had said and began to cry. Jackson held her tighter, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"Look, he's an idiot to have broken up with you," Jackson murmured. "Especially after having tasted that food of yours."

She laughed a bit, but the laughter quickly dissolved into sobs again. She couldn't stop herself as she sobbed against his shoulder. It was just too much. This entire week was too much.

"I know it's not easy," he said. "But it will get better."

"My life?" she asked between sobs.

He chuckled. "Yeah, that too."

"Why is this so difficult?" she said, sniffling a bit as the sobs quieted. "I hate this."

"Can't say I like it much more," he said. "I don't like seeing you like this. You don't deserve it."

She turned her face up to look at him, and her breath caught at the intensity of his eyes. She never noticed how blue they were before. She didn't know how it happened but her face was suddenly closer to his. His was closer to hers. They were heading toward something all too familiar to both of them when the door opened suddenly and the moment was mercifully broken.

"Well, look at this!" Mark said happily. "Looks like Phase 2 isn't needed, after all!"

"Huh?" Jackson said.

"Carry on!"

He looked at them for one last moment with a wide grin before he pulled the door closed. April pulled back from Jackson, her eyes wide.

"Oh no," she breathed out. "This is not good. This is so not good!"

"April, calm down."

"I will not calm down! Did you hear him? Carry on? Jackson, he thinks we're sleeping together!"

"Well, technically…"

"So not the time for technicalities," she threw back. "You need to go and tell him that you were only comforting me!"

"I'll tell him," Jackson said. "Don't worry."

"Oh God, how many people are going to hear about this before then? And everyone thinks I'm still with Dave! This is a complete disaster."

"Alright, I'll go catch up with him," Jackson said, sitting up. "I'll clear things up."

"You will never believe what I just found in an on-call room," Mark baited Callie happily.

"Do I want to know?" Callie asked.

"Yes, you definitely do."

"Alright, my curiosity is piqued. What'd you find?"

"Jackson and Kepner."

"No," Callie breathed out, eyes wide. "Really?"

"Uh huh. They were all horizontal in the bottom bunk. Looks like our plan wasn't needed."

"What a turn of events," she said, shaking her head. "I'm happy for them, though. It's a weird match but it works."

"Dr. Sloan," Jackson said, joining them. He gave Callie a quick greeting and then asked Sloan if they could talk by themselves for a moment. Sloan exchanged a quick smirk with Callie and then nodded.

"Need some lady advice, Avery?" Sloan asked with a slow grin. "In my experience, the thing that makes them go completely wild is-"

"No, not asking for advice," Jackson said quickly. "What you saw earlier. It wasn't what you think."

"I think what it was is pretty obvious," Sloan said.

"Nothing happened," Jackson clarified. "April and her boyfriend just broke up. I was just comforting her. That's it."

"Right," Sloan said with a wink. "Comforting."

"No, really," Jackson said. "Comforting. Nothing more."

It took Mark a moment but then his face went blank and he said, "Really?"

"Yeah."

Disappointment registered clearly on the older man's face. "So, you two aren't going at it like rabbits?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Marginally sure I would remember that."

Mark frowned. "Alright."

Him and Jackson talked for a bit more before the latter went off down the hallway. With a soft groan, Mark turned around and went back to Callie. She looked at him expectantly and he said, "Alright, plan is back on."

"What?"

"Turns out I misinterpreted what I saw. Although, in my defense, it looked pretty damn clear. On the bright side, the boyfriend is history."

Callie's eyes brightened. "Oh, well that's good, at least. Alright, so plan back on."

Sloan nodded. "Plan back on."

Teddy rounded the corner, rushing to slip into the elevator to make it up to an afternoon consult. She smiled brightly when she found Cristina in the corner.

"Cristina, how are you?"

"Good, Teddy, how are you?"

"Happy that I caught the elevator," Teddy said, breathing heavily. "I'm running late today."

Cristina nodded politely.

"So, Owen told me about you passing the boards. Congratulations."

The mention of Owen rattled her. "Thank you."

"Have you made any progress with choosing your fellowship?"

"No, well-"

"Owen said you're leaning toward John Hopkins," Teddy said. "While he seemed completely on-board, I can't stress enough how good…"

"He was on-board?" Cristina said, although Teddy continued to go on about the hospital's draw.

"…of a program Seattle Grace has for cardiothoracic therapy and we would be more than happy to have you here…"

"Teddy."

"…we would be thrilled actually-"

"Teddy, what did Owen tell you?" Cristina interrupted, finally breaking through the attending's pitch. Teddy paused and then said, "He simply said that you were considering them. I asked if he would be okay with the move, and he said that he would side with you on any decision. Then he said some corny thing about only wanting the best for you. Well, you know how your husband is."

"Yeah," Cristina said softly. The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Well, don't forget what I said," Teddy said quickly. "You know, everything about how our program is awesome and superior in many, many ways. And congratulations again, Cristina."

"Thank you, Teddy." The surgeon slipped out of the elevator, and the doors closed. Cristina rode up in silence, but her mind refused to pipe down. She kept hearing what Teddy had said about Owen only wanting what was best for Cristina.

Well, you know how your husband is.

Yes, she did. And it was killing her.

"Kepner," Callie said, falling in step beside the resident on her way to the pit. "I…" she trailed off when she saw the puffiness of the resident's eyes. "What the hell happened to you?"

April looked up at her with a trembling lower lip and then blurted out, "Dave broke up with me!"

She dissolved into tears, and Callie pulled her over into a docking area for hospital beds, awkwardly patting her back.

"Here here," she stuttered. "Feeling better?"

"No," April said. "I was dumped. And for a stupid reason."

"That stupid reason being?"

April looked at her with a pinched expression and said, "Dave thought there was something between Jackson and I. How crazy is that?"

"The craziest," Callie answered carefully. "Say, what are you doing next weekend?"

"Next weekend," Sloan said to Jackson during a surgery, glancing at Jackson. "Free food. Free booze. Women liberally partaking in the latter. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a trainwreck."

"Yes, it does. And one that you want to be on. I have an extra ticket at my table. You in?"

Jackson shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Cristina went to the one place where she could think clearly. Even with the potential negative association it held, the air vent was a place of solace for her. In the maelstrom of her life and the hospital, the vent was a constant. The gust of air would come. No matter what was happening, she could count on that.

She stood over the vent, eyes drifting closed as she waited. Her quiet was interrupted by someone else walking into the room. She opened her eyes just in time to see a flash of red hair.

"Owen!" she called out. It took a moment but he returned, looking chagrined.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you were here."

"It's okay," she said.

"Is, uh, everything okay?" he asked. He knew that she only came down there when she had a reason. She knew the same was true for him.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm fine," he said. "Everything is fine."

"Good," she said. "You told Teddy about the boards."

"Yeah, she wanted me to keep her up to date. I hope that's okay with you."

"Of course," she said. "Of course it's okay with me."

"Good."

Her heart was racing, and the vent had yet to blow any air. She stepped toward him, feeling a sort of clarity that had been absent for weeks.

"Cristina?" he said carefully.

"I forgive you," she said. "I hate what you did. I hate that you hurt me – hurt us. But I forgive you."

"Cristina-"

"This doesn't mean that things are back to how they were," she added hastily. Her eyes darkened. "I don't know if they ever can be."

"I know. But it's a start," Owen said.

"Yes. It's a start."

"How'd you do on your end?" Callie asked, Mark. "You secure Jackson for the ALA benefit?"

"What am I, if not a man of my word?"

Callie snorted. "You don't want me to answer that."

"Yes, Torres, I secured Jackson. You get Kepner?"

Callie nodded. "She's ready to go."

"Fantastic." They exchanged a smile, and he said, "By the way, this rendezvous we just had? Very secret agent."

"I was just thinking that!" Callie said with a wide grin. "Maybe we missed our true calling. Secret agents."

"You caved and told me Kepner's big secret in, what, three days? You'd never be a secret agent."

"Pft, I only told you to help the mission. I would make a bitchin' secret agent."

Mark smirked. "Whatever you say, Torres."

A/N: Let me know what you thought! I love hearing all of your thoughts :D