Sorry for the late update, I had my brother's incredibly long and tiresome novel to read (not that it's not brilliant...), and a few last minute things to sort out before school, and since I'm starting again tomorrow, I really needed to get this up before anything else got in the way. But, better late then never, right? So... Enjoy!
"Doctor Shepherd!" He calls his attending out later in the day, catching up with the older man at the nurse's station.
Derek Shepherd raises his eyebrows but doesn't glance up at the young intern, "What can I help you with, Doctor Avery?"
Jackson taps his hand down on the desk a few times, "It's about the patient."
He nods while writing something out, "Libby Smith?"
"Yeah." He breathes out, "See, uh- I don't think-"
Shepherd closes his chart and eyes the younger doctor, "I have other patients to see, so if you can't say anything within the next ten seconds, I'm walking away."
He thinks that maybe Shepherd's in an edgy mood because he ended things with his wife. Or rather, she ended things. She ended things because the panties were Meredith's, and Shepherd had somehow returned them back to his trailer. The trailer that he shared with his wife.
He makes a note to himself to never make that same mistake.
Jackson blinks a couple of times and scratches the back of his neck anxiously, "Does the patient have any family members?"
"She's divorced, Avery and she came here by herself. She hasn't made a phone call, and she hasn't asked to."
"I think she might have a sister."
Derek frowns, "Did she tell you that?"
"No, she didn't have to."
"Great, so you have a sixth sense, congratulations. I'll be sure to let my psychic know." He goes to grab his chart and walk away until Jackson groans and speaks.
"She's an intern here." He continues when Shepherd looks at him confusedly with anticipation to finish, "Her last name, well, her maiden name, is Kepner. There's uh- There's an intern here, a friend of mine actually, uh- April Kepner. I know she has a few sisters, and one of them is called Libby."
Derek nods a short instant before stepping closer and holding up a finger with a serious expression. "She doesn't know about this?" Jackson shakes his head so he goes on, "Good, and it's going to stay that way until my patient, our patient, decides whether she wants to let her sister know or not. If she is, in fact, her sister."
"She's my friend! I'm just supposed to not tell her about this?"
"That's right."
Jackson frowns, "She could die. In surgery, she could die. And if April finds out that I knew about this-"
"She's not going to find out because you're not going to tell her anything. If she wanted her to know, she would have called her to tell her, but she hasn't. And, unless she changes her mind and does, then you don't mention anything to Doctor Kepner. Are we understood?"
What the hell?
Granted, he doesn't know April that well, and he knows very, very little about her family, but he's still her friend before anything else, and he's not sure he can lie to her about this.
He thinks of what it'd be like if it were him. What if he had a brother that was dying and waiting for surgery, somewhere in the hospital and April knew about it? And she never mentioned it? And she never told him? And he never knew?
He's not sure if he could forgive her.
And he doesn't want her to never forgive him for this.
But when it comes down to it, when he forgets that he's her friend, or whatever else he potentially is, he remembers that he's a doctor. A doctor with an oath. An oath to save his patients and keep their information confidential.
"Okay." He has to bite his lip from saying anything more, to stop himself from starting an argument with his attending right in the middle of the hallway.
Thankfully, he doesn't see her much throughout the rest of the day.
He skips lunch to avoid confronting her. He's not sure if it's because of her sister's secret, or their talk the day before.
If she can't be near him or, at the very last, stand by his side as a friend, then how in the hell is he supposed to tell her anything, he thinks, how is he supposed to stand by her side when she's going to need him?
But the he reminds himself that he can't tell her anything, so there won't be any standing and comforting going on.
"Hey!"
He closes his eyes for a brief second, muttering an "Oh, crap," under his breath as he turns around to face the brunette.
Cristina raises an eyebrow at his ticked off expression, "What's up with you? Did Crazy Kepner dump you?"
"No, she- Crazy Kepner?" It's his turn to look at her confused.
She shrugs, "Whatever, I'm looking for Shepherd. You're on his service, right?" She asks and he simply nods, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyes her mischievously.
"Oh, no." He shakes his head when a hint of a smirk appears of her face, "No, no. This is my surgery." He tells her proudly.
She rolls her eyes, "Oh, come on, you're not even gonna get to touch the patient!"
He weighs his options for a second, thinking that it might actually be a better and simpler solution for Yang to take the case from him. Maybe if he wasn't on her sister's case, then he wouldn't feel so nervous about talking to April.
He's only jittery and anxious for a certain reason; it being that if she says even the slightest thing, he'll blab his mouth and read every little detail off of her sister's chart.
Jackson sighs, making up his mind as he licks his lips, "You're not having this one, Yang." He nods once, sure of his word, before turning on his heel to leave, and stopping dead in his tracks as she calls out behind him.
"What if I tell your little girlfriend about your stupid bet with Evil Spawn, huh?"
Shit.
He's somehow managed to forget about that whole thing, about the length and terms of the wager.
Who had to fall in love with you, again?
How much was it worth?
Or better yet, how the hell did Yang know about it?
He glances back at her, noticing the arrogant grin on her lips, "What are you talking about?"
Cristina laughs, "What's the deal, again?" She frowns and taps a finger on her chin, "Don't you have to be her friend and, like, not screw her? Which is quite funny, because I seem to recall you two in-"
He cuts her off quickly, placing his hand over her mouth and ignoring her faint chuckle.
"You are evil." He informs her and she squints her eyes as she presses a finger against his chest.
"No more than you are for playing some twisted game on that innocent, do-eyed, crazy little virgin."
"Don't you have someone else to harass?" Jackson groans and rubs the back of his neck, trying to get her to leave him alone with his thoughts.
She shakes her head, "Oh, no, this is so much more fun!" She laughs, "I want the surgery."
"You like cardio!"
"So? I'm weighing my options." Cristina shrugs, folding her arms across her chest. "I want the surgery."
Jackson raises a brow, "You just wanna get close to Shepherd so you can get info for Meredith." He tries and she grimaces.
"What Mer chooses to do with McDreamy is her choice, I couldn't give a crap. As long as I don't have to wear a freaking bridesmaids dress and babysit their kids, then I'm fine. I want the surgery." She repeats, holding her own.
"Well," He starts, thinking of another possible argument to dissuade her, "It's Neuro and, well, I like-"
"Oh, please. You're gonna go into Plastics or Gyno or something crap like that. I want the surgery."
He finally caves in to himself, "You can't have it!"
"What, you got a crush on the dying girl?" She smirks.
"No, it's April's sister." He speaks suddenly, wincing as she gasps for a second before grabbing his shoulder.
She falters for a second, glancing over his back, "She, uh-"
"What about my sister?"
Jackson's eyes flick open, and he finds himself turning behind himself to face her.
"April."
Shit.