A/N: You guys are going to love this chapter. That is all I'm saying.

Chapter Thirteen

Jackson walked over to the board to see what surgeries he was scheduled to scrub into. He frowned as he scanned the board, not finding his name anywhere. April stepped beside him and he said, "What's up with the board? I'm not on it anywhere."

"No one gave me your name," she said. "Who's service are you on?"

"Mine," Bailey said from behind them. "Both of you are, actually."

Jackson and April turned around and looked at the diminutive Miranda Bailey. Even with her small stature, she made both of them straighten up.

"I'm usually with Dr. Altman," Jackson said.

"Well, today you are with me. You got a problem with that?"

"No," Jackson said immediately, shaking his head. "What can we help with?"

"Cupcakes," Bailey said.

April pursed her lips in confusion and said, "Excuse me?"

"You, Dr. Avery, are going to go to Hankelman's down on 85th and get two dozen black forest cupcakes."

"I don't understand," Jackson said.

"I said cupcakes. What is there not to understand?"

April and Jackson exchanged a look, neither of them wanting to challenge Bailey.

"Okay. I'll pick up the cupcakes," Jackson said.

"And you, Dr. Kepner, will go to Party City and pick up decorations. Get streamers. Balloons. Center pieces."

"Uh, Dr. Bailey, I don't mean to question you, but what is this all for?"

"Dr. Altman is leaving Seattle Grace to be the Chief of Surgery for Medcom," Miranda said.

"She is?" Jackson said. He had been on her service all of yesterday and hadn't heard anything. Bailey planted her hands on her hips and said, "Do you think I'd lie to you?"

"No, of course not," Jackson stammered. "I was just surprised."

Bailey pressed her lips into one of her trademark frowns and continued with, "Dr. Hunt wants to throw her a surprise party, so he told me to clear my surgeries for today and plan a party. Last time I checked, I'm not a party planner-"

"With all due respect, Dr. Bailey," April began. "Neither are-"

"I wasn't finished," Bailey said tartly. "Last time I checked, I'm not a party planner, nor do I plan parties when I have surgeries to do. This is a hospital, not a damn convention center. So, since there are more than enough residents to go around, you two are going to take care of this surprise party." She gave each of them a look that dared refutation. Neither dared. "Any questions?"

"No," they both said in unison, shaking their head.

"Good. Dr. Hunt wants the party to be at one o'clock sharp. You know how military people are, so I recommend not being late."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," they both said. She gave one curt nod and then turned, making her way back toward the pit. Jackson shook his head and remarked, "How can someone so tiny be so intimidating?"

"Years of practice?" April suggested. "Anyway, we better get going. It's already eleven."

"Yeah, you're right."

" Pick me up a vanilla cupcake?" she asked.

He glanced toward her and said, "Bring back party poppers?"

"Deal."

April extended her hand and they shook on it.

Lexie saw Mark walking ahead of her in the hallway and she hastened her gait, catching up with him as he rounded the corner toward the cafeteria. She glanced up at him and offered a breathy, "Hey."

He grinned, dipping his head in greeting. "Little Grey."

"So, uh, how are you?"

He smirked. "Good. And you?"

"Have you talked to her yet?" she blurted out.

"Lexie-"

"I know it's not really my business. Or maybe it is. But, just, have you? Talked to her?"

"Yes, I talked to her," Mark said.

"And?"

Mark looked down at her and asked, "Why do you sound like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're afraid of what I'm going to say?"

"I'm not," she argued. "Not that much, at least."

"What do you think I told her?"

"How about you just tell me."

He stopped walking, grabbing onto her shoulders and tugging her toward him, covering his mouth with hers.

"Mark," she said sheepishly, ducking her head to her chest as she glanced around the busy hallway.

"I told her that I loved you," Mark said. "I told her that I was sorry about what happened, but that I loved you."

"You really told her all that?" Lexie said softly, eyes wide. He draped an arm over her shoulders, tucking her to his side as they continued walking toward the cafeteria.

"I meant what I said before, Lex."

"Was she mad?"

He nodded. "And surprisingly sarcastic. I didn't know she had it in her. I guess she has every right to be mad and sarcastic, though. I was sort of an ass."

Lexie smirked. "Yes, you were. But you're my ass."

He grinned, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Yeah. I am."

Cristina heard the news from Meredith. She strode over to the pit, easily finding Teddy at the side of a desk chatting amicably with Callie and Arizona. As she approached she heard Callie say, "This is a ridiculously great opportunity. Congratulations, Teddy."

"Thanks," Teddy said. "I can hardly believe it myself. When they called I actually had to pinch myself."

"Dr. Altman," Cristina said crisply, noticing the slight downward pull at her mentor's mouth as she turned toward her. "Can I speak to you, please?"

"Sure Cristina." Teddy said a quick farewell to Arizona and Callie before following Cristina down into the hallway. Cristina turned around, agitatedly bringing a hand to her forehead as she said, "How could you keep this from me?"

"Cristina-"

"You spent weeks pitching this program to me. Weeks. And then you neglect to tell me that you're leaving?"

"I wasn't sure if I was," Teddy said calmly. "They called me and I needed time to think it through. I only decided yesterday."

"Well, you should have told me you were considering leaving," Cristina said. "You being here was part of the program. Learning from you, working with you, that was part of the program."

"They will find someone just as good, Cristina," Teddy said. "Someone better, even."

"This isn't fair."

"Cristina, you don't need me."

The younger surgeon turned away irritably, her jaw tense. Teddy reached forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, forcing Cristina's gaze back to her. "You don't need me and that is precisely why I took this job."

"What?"

"I've taught you everything I can. Just as it's time for me to move on, it's time for you, too."

"I thought you wanted me to stay."

"I do. Our program is exceptional, and my not being here won't change that. Someone new here will be good - a different perspective. It's things like that that challenge us as surgeons. It makes us better."

Teddy could tell by the chagrined look in her protégé's eyes that her little speech had worked. Cristina shifted a bit in front of her and then asked, "When do you leave?"

"The end of the week."

"They work fast."

"They've been waiting on my decision for a while," Teddy said. Her beeper went off and she glanced down. "It's a consult from Webber."

"You should go then."

Teddy looked up and said, "And you're coming with me. I'm not gone yet, Yang. I intend on putting you to work until I am."

Despite her general misgivings about Teddy's leaving, Cristina managed a sliver of a smile.

"This is ridiculous," Jackson said, putting up streamers in the doctor's lounge while April sat at a table eating her vanilla cupcake. "We're surgeons. We should be cutting into people, not putting together a party."

"We're a jack of all trades," April answered lightly, picking up a bit of frosting with the tip of her tongue. "Think of it that way."

"Well, this party is already knocked down to a B plus due to the lack of party poppers," he said, looking at her pointedly.

"Hey, that's not my fault," she argued. "They didn't have them. I got those noise-makers, though. They're almost the same thing."

"They are nowhere near the same thing," he said.

"I can't believe Dr. Altman is leaving," April said. "And if Meredith and Dr. Sheperd go to Boston? This place is going to be different."

"You'll still have Cristina," Jackson said with a grin, knowing just how much April was looking forward to further memories with that one. April snorted.

"Yes. I'm sure we'll get some good bonding done in the next year."

"And, well, there's me."

April stared at him, fork frozen in the air with a bit of cupcake pushed on the edge. Jackson chuckled and walked over, gently prying the fork from her fingers and placing it back on the plate.

"Don't want you to lose your bite there," he said.

"You're staying?"

"I haven't told Sloan yet, but yeah, I'm staying."

In a second she had launched herself from her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I can't believe it," she murmured against his neck. "You're staying. I can't believe you're staying." She pulled away suddenly and said, "You thought it through right? You didn't make a hasty decision?"

"April-"

"Because you need to be sure," she said, pulling away from him. "This is one of those decisions where the wrong one could be really, really bad. And I don't want you to have made the wrong decision because you didn't think it through enough."

"I thought it through," he told her firmly. "I did everything I should, and in the end Seattle Grace was the right choice."

"Is their program that much better?"

"No," he said simply. "You're here."

Her eyes widened and she said, "Me? You made this decision because of me? Jackson, I-"

"No, not because of you," he remedied, knowing the idea would bother her, and rightfully so. He wouldn't want her to make such an important decision because of him, either. "I could have chosen any of the programs and it would have been a great experience. They were all strong; all equal. The only difference was that not all of them had you. Seattle Grace has you. The decision was pretty simple once I realized that."

"I can't believe it," she murmured. "You're staying."

He smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah, I'm staying."

April hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and placing her hands on his waist.

"I'm ready," she said.

"What?"

"After seeing Dave last night, and what you just told me, I have no more doubts. No more reservations. I'm ready, Jackson. I'm ready for us."

"This doesn't have to rush things," he told her, although his arms seemed to make their way around her waist of their own accord. "Just because I'm staying-"

"I'm not rushing anything," she told him. "I want this."

He grinned slightly and said, "I want it, too. I want you."

He dropped his mouth to hers, capturing her mouth for a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, so different from the first time, and reveled in what could very well be construed as the first kiss of their relationship. Both of them heard the door open and reluctantly pulled away.

"Well, look what we have here!" Mark happily boomed. "Now, don't even try to tell me this is just comforting."

"Uh, no," Jackson said, rubbing his jaw. "Not comforting."

"Definitely not comforting," April echoed.

"Well, I'm happy for you!"

"Who are you happy for?" Derek asked, peeking his head in the room. "Is there where Altman's surprise party is? Looks sort of thin on decorations."

"April and Jackson are together," Mark said with a wide grin.

"Together?" Mark made a lewd gesture with his hands and said, "Ah, I see; that sort of together. Well, good for you guys."

"Thank you," April said, cheeks burning. "And the decorations aren't all up, by the way."

"Good. Well, I have a surgery to get to. Don't you guys, too?"

"I have a break," Mark answered. Jackson followed with, "Bailey put us on party duty."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you all here later."

Mark grinned at the two residents and said, "Pardon the interruption. Carry on."

"Dr. Sloan, don't tell me you're distracting my residents," Bailey said from behind him.

"Oh, I don't think they needed me to be distracted."

"What? Move over." She walked into the doctor's lounge and frowned. "This better not be all the decorations."

April shook her head. "No. Not all of them."

"Good." She looked between the two of them critically and said, "I'll be back soon to check up."

She walked past Sloan, giving him a look as she passed. Mark glanced at the two residents and suggested, "Maybe you should hang a streamer on the doorknob or something?"

Owen ran into his wife in the hallway and after one look at her face he said, "She told you, didn't she?"

"No, I had to hear from Meredith," she said. "I don't know how she found out."

"News travels fast here," he said.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me. I can't believe you didn't."

"It wasn't my news to tell," he said. "And I'm sure she was going to tell you. She just didn't get around to it."

"Even Torres and Robbins knew before me," she said glumly.

He snorted, knocking his elbow against hers. "I promise if I ever take a Chief position somewhere else you'll be the first to know."

"You better. I'm your wife." He grinned. "Did she even think about what this is going to put you through? You need to find a new attending. I'm telling you, the program will suffer."

"The program will not suffer," he told her. "And I will have no problem finding someone else. You need to let this go, Cristina. She's leaving."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed. To be honest, he didn't like it much himself. "But you do have to be cordial. Otherwise you can't go to the surprise party."

"You can't un-invite me. It's an office party. How has she not found out about it, anyway? I've heard like eight people talk about it today."

Owen frowned. "People need to learn to keep their mouths shut."

"You mean you should learn?"

"You are going to show up, right?"

"You mean the party? I thought I was being threatened with a rescinded invitation."

"I'm serious, Cristina. She'll want you to be there."

Cristina sighed and said, "Yeah, I'll be there."

"And, we're finished!" April said happily, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. "Not too shabby, huh?"

"Anyone would be happy to have their surprise going away party here," Jackson agreed, slipping his arm around her waist. She swatted him away while she said, "My girlish nerves can't handle us getting caught again, Avery."

"A little thrill is a good thing, Kepner," he returned in like.

"I thought we weren't rushing things," she teased.

"I was going to keep it all above the neck," he said. "No rushing over here."

"Later," she promised, slapping the back of her hand against his stomach lightly. "Now, we admire the awesome party we put together. I mean, look at those centerpieces."

"They are a thing of beauty," he told her.

The door opened and Bailey walked in, a few attendings behind her. She looked around and nodded appreciatively.

"Now, this is a good room," Bailey said with a satisfied grin.

"You all did a fine job," Richard said. Behind him, several other attendings and residents funneled in.

"Alright, guys, let's get ready," Owen said, stepping past the group and turning around the face them all. "Teddy's on her way down here."

"People should leave every day," Alex said, biting into a cupcake. "These are freaking good cupcakes."

"You know, people usually wait to eat until the person the party is actually for shows up," Meredith said, smirking.

"Yeah, in civilized societies," Alex shot back. "This is Seattle Grace."

"I love parties like this," Izzie said excitedly. "People coming together. Celebration. Does it get any better than this?"

"Do they have vanilla cupcakes too?" Alex said, glancing back at the table with the food. When he saw they were all chocolate he said, "Yeah, it could get better."

Cristina walked in and joined the group, grabbing a cupcake from the table and taking a large bite.

"See, I was right!" Alex said, gesturing toward her and the cupcake.

"You okay?" Meredith asked Cristina, watching her take another large bite of the cupcake. "Uh, whatever that cupcake did, I'm sure it's really sorry."

"Excuse me for not being all gun-ho about the attending in charge of my program up and leaving," Cristina said. "But, I am supposed to act cordial. So, me not talking and stuffing my face with food is me being cordial."

"I heard about the Medcom thing," Izzie said. "It's a great opportunity."

"Whatever."

The door opened and Teddy walked in, her eyes widening when she saw all her colleagues assembled in the room. They all yelled surprise! at something resembling the same time and Teddy laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You surprised?" Owen asked jovially, pulling her in for a hug.

"I-I can't believe it. Oh, the cupcakes over there! And the decorations! Thank you so much!"

"We hate to lose you," Richard said, always the Chief even without the title. "But we know you're moving on to something extraordinary."

Teddy grinned wide, although it faltered slightly when she looked at Cristina. She forced her gaze away and her smile returned.

"So, it worked," Mark told Callie as they left the party.

"What worked?"

"Our plan?"

She looked at him excitedly and said, "This better not be a mistaken comforting again, Sloan."

"I saw it with my own eyes. There was mouth-to-mouth contact, Torres. It's on."

She laughed happily, holding up her hand for a high five. "It's on!"

A/N: MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS. I'm setting up a posting schedule for the rest of this story. Daily updates are a bit much for me lately, and I'd rather have a set schedule so you guys know when to expect updates. This story will now be updated on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays with the occasional weekend update. This weekend I'm at a wedding so there will definitely not be one until Monday.

Anyhoo, back to the story. What did you all think? Did you like how Jackson and April got together?