Hey, folks! Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback. I've seen some comparisons to the Owen/Nathan situation, which I fully expected, but when I planned this story that storyline on the show was just about to unfold, and I'd say the only things the plots have in common are some hostility and that punch thrown lol. Anyway, I'm trying my best to give both pairings some attention while also mixing interactions between characters :)

Enjoy!

The first day on the job at a new hospital had gone well for April so far. She was fortunate to be partnered with a resident who treated her like an equal. At the Mayo Clinic, there were residents who had acted territorial and competitive. Although she was guilty of being the same way occasionally, starting fresh in a new environment where the majority of the residents had already established their reputations with the attendings put her at a disadvantage. However, Jo had been kind and helpful with her, which she was grateful for.

Working in the peds ward was almost like a reward April didn't know she wanted. Arizona Robbins was one of the younger attendings at Seattle Grace. She had already been named the Chief of Pediatric Surgery after finishing her fellowship at Johns Hopkins the previous year. Her bright and cheerful personality helped calm April's nerves. She had dreaded a cold, stern attending as some sort of hazing ritual for new residents.

"I told you Robbins was one of the nice attendings," Jo reassured April as they walked down a hallway together. They were given a break, so they spent that time roaming through the hallways in order for the redhead to become more comfortable with the layout of the hospital. "As long as you do what she asks of you and don't give her attitude, you'll remain on her good side."

"Thank you so much for your help. Honestly, I thought I would be given a harder time because I'm new. A teaching hospital like this one has to be full of competitive doctors," April acknowledged. "Mayo was an amazing facility, but this place is ridiculous. All of the state of the art technology here, and I thought Mayo was luxurious."

Jo softly laughed. "Trust me, I think I barely slipped into this program. So many medical school students apply here and they only accept about 20 a year. And that number always decreases with some interns flunking out or residents just can't keep up with the expectations placed on them," she explained. "So, umm, what made you transfer from Mayo? Seems their only flaw is that they're ranked below Seattle Grace."

April hesitated to respond, opening and closing her mouth quickly. That was a story she would wait a little longer to tell. "A change of scenery was necessary. Plus, Seattle Grace was my true number one choice, but I hadn't gotten in the first time I tried. Once I found out there were openings, I applied immediately."

"That's fair. What specialty are you looking into?"

"I'm thinking either neuro-" April slightly furrowed her brow when Jo cleared her throat to interrupt her. "Or maybe trauma." She grew even more curious as her coworker made a face. "What?"

The brunette chuckled. "You want neuro? You'll have to fight Lexie Grey. She's been claiming it since intern year. I mean, she scrubs in on most of Dr. Shepherd's – Derek Shepherd, Amelia's older brother – surgeries. Good luck taking that out of her hands," she amusingly replied. "But trauma, you might have better luck with. O'Malley is very interested in it, but he's not gonna pounce on you the way Lexie would for that specialty."

"What about you?"

"I'm kind of lost at the moment. I haven't decided yet. You're safe around me for now."

April snickered. "Alright, then." She stopped in front of a vending machine, reaching into her lab coat pocket for her coin purse. Her stomach was beginning to growl – she was too nervous earlier that morning to eat breakfast – and lunch seemed too many hours away. She opted for a bag of mini pretzels, punching in the given code with her finger. The bag got stuck midway through and she slapped her palm against the glass. "Oh, c'mon!"

Jo leaned her shoulder against the side of the vending machine as she watched April abuse the front of it with her hand. "Smacking it won't work. You have to tip the machine over and shake it a bit."

"Hmm… I'm not sure I have that kind of strength. Maybe you could help?" she suggested.

The two women grabbed the sides of the vending machine and attempted to shake the bag of pretzels free. Their groans and awful coordination drew stares from people passing by. April was about to give up when help arrived.

"What are you doing?" Jackson inquired, smirking at them.

"My pretzels are stuck," April sighed. "We thought shaking the machine would free the bag."

"Oh, let me," Jackson insisted. He waited for Jo and April to step aside before he gripped the sides of the vending machine and shook it hard once. The force allowed the bag of pretzels to fall from the shelf. He retrieved the bag and handed it to the new girl. "Here you go."

"Thank you." She opened the bag and held it in front of him. "Want one?"

Jackson smiled gleefully as he reached into the bag. "Sure, thanks." He hardly cared that Jo stood behind him giving him the stink eye. The fact that April was kinder to him now than earlier in the locker room was encouraging. "I think you and I got off on the wrong foot this morning. I'm quite a decent guy once you get to know me."

April internally wanted to punch herself for nearly melting at the sight of Jackson's perfect smile. And his eyes. Those eyes should be illegal, she thought. "You're Jackson, right?" He simply nodded and she extended her hand to him with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

He shook her hand and noticed how soft her skin was. Already, he wanted to thank whatever moisturizer she used. "Has anybody ever told you how cute your dimple is?" It wasn't until she smiled at him that he saw the lone dimple on the left side of her face.

"Oh, brother," Jo muttered to herself, palming her face while slowly shaking her head. She knew exactly what her friend was doing and he was very talented in the flirting department. "Avery, why are you even here? Plastics isn't anywhere near Peds."

"I have to get some lab results for Sloan," Jackson answered, which wasn't a lie. As he expected, Sloan was treating him like an intern and dumping scutwork on him. "I'm taking a shortcut."

"Right. A shortcut," she mockingly repeated, rolling her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, you're on the opposite side of the surgical wing, which means you're actually a lot farther away from the lab."

Jackson pursed his lips as April raised her eyebrow at him. Only Jo would purposely sabotage his plan in front of the woman he was trying to impress. She had done it in the past because she found it entertaining. "I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere," he mumbled, walking past the redheaded woman. "Maybe I'll see you around later."

Jo smugly grinned to herself before she and April began walking the opposite direction. "Don't mind Avery. He's a huge flirt," she bluntly stated. "He once flirted with Teddy Altman for surgeries until she caught on and almost got him fired."

"Avery. Is he related to…"

"Yep. He's Harper Avery's grandson," she nonchalantly answered. "And he hates talking about his family's legacy at Mass Gen, so avoid that topic when you're around him. He moved out here to avoid it, but despite that, he's still heavily interested in cardio. That's another specialty you shouldn't bother with."

"Are you two friends? You seem to be annoyed by him."

"Only when he turns into a cheesy flirt," Jo chuckled. "But we're friends. He, Lexie, O'Malley and I are pretty tight. You and that Karev guy are the same, huh? What's the deal between him and Jackson anyway?"

April shrugged. "I'm in the same boat as you. I had no idea they knew each other and I still don't know how they do."

Jackson carried his lunch downstairs to the basement floor where his friends were already gathered in the tunnel, which was their secluded hideout when they weren't busy. The other three residents were in the middle of a discussion about a trauma that had arrived earlier in the morning. His lunch break had started a little later than he expected after Sloan had asked him to run errands that required him to travel all over the hospital, none of them actually relating to surgery. He hated Plastics with a passion and he didn't need experience in the OR to feel that way.

"Sloan is a jackass," he grumbled, sitting beside Lexie on the abandoned gurney the group claimed. "Not one thing I've done so far today involved treating a patient. Plastics sucks."

"Maybe he noticed your hand," Lexie suggested. She picked up Jackson's right hand and carefully examined it. "The bruising is still fairly noticeable. Yeah, he's treating you like an intern on purpose."

"It doesn't even hurt that much," he stubbornly replied. "I can stitch a patient easily. And you know what? He hasn't been sending Karev on intern type tasks. We have a mandibular reconstruction and odds are I'll be sitting in the gallery, while he scrubs in. It's his first day and somehow, he's being treated like a fourth year."

George chewed his food as he slightly leaned forward to look at his roommate. "Sloan is probably intimidated by you. You might be too pretty for him," he quipped.

Their female friends snickered as Jackson rolled his eyes. "I bet he's cutting him some slack because he's new. Sloan just wants to look good by acting like a real teacher for a day. He'll treat Karev just like any other third year during his next Plastics rotation."

"Speaking of Karev, what's the deal with you two? Ever gonna tell us?" Lexie probed. The mystery behind Jackson's connection to Alex had been bothering her since their encounter at the bar. She tried to force the information out of George by interrogating him incessantly until he cracked, but it turned out to be pointless since he didn't know anything either. It wasn't surprising that her ex-boyfriend was tightlipped about it. He had the tendency to keep his secrets bottled up, and he would only reveal them if it was absolutely necessary. "Or perhaps I can ask him instead."

The pretty boy shook his head, instantly regretting talking about Alex. Just the thought of him was revolting, so he decided to change the subject. "Jo, you didn't invite April to eat lunch with us?"

Jo softly groaned. "She wanted to eat with Karev. Besides, if she was here, you'd never shut up about her," she irritably answered, then she glanced back at her coworkers. "Avery is like a 16-year old boy with raging hormones around her, like he just discovered women. He was stalking her in the peds ward this morning."

"Okay, I wasn't stalking. I made a wrong turn on my way to the lab and we just happened to run into each other," he retorted.

"But the lab isn't near Peds," George said with a puzzled expression on his face. He noticed the scowl on Jackson's face and shifted in his seat. "This hospital is still easy to get lost in, though. So… you talked to her?"

"Oh, they did more than talk. They shared pretzels," Jo sarcastically stated, playfully batting her eyelashes.

Lexie laughed as Jackson continued to pout while he ate his lunch. "Wow. Sharing food already? The first time you and I had a conversation you broke my pencil," she amusingly replied. "Well, who am I to judge? I haven't officially met April yet. What's she like, Jo?"

"She's sweet and soft spoken. Might be into neuro-"

"I hate her already," she interrupted.

"What was that about judging?" Jackson asked with a smirk. "Our conversation was short, but I think we should let her in. You'd like her, Lex."

"Not if she's trying to get into neuro here," his ex-girlfriend chuckled. "April might be an overall friendly person, but I need all the advantages I can get with Shepherd. Dividing his teaching time between two residents means twice the number of surgeries I'll miss out on if she's better than me. Shepherd only chooses one resident to assist him in the OR and I would like to keep that advantage."

To say Lexie was competitive would be an understatement. She was number one in practically everything. Valedictorian of her high school class, even obtaining a perfect score on her SAT. She was at the top of her class at Harvard – both for undergraduate and medical school studies – as well as in their intern class. She was naturally gifted intellectually. Some of her peers were rather intimidated by her photographic memory. So when she had her eyes on something she was very determined to have it for herself.

Lexie Grey did not like to share.

"One missed surgery won't derail you," Jackson firmly stated. "Just give her a chance before you decide to hate her."

"Says the guy who's completely infatuated with her," Lexie sneered, smiling back at him. "And how much do you know about Kepner? For all we know, she could be psychotic and deranged. Don't you find it a little weird that she and Karev decided to transfer out of Mayo midway through residency? Mayo is a great hospital. Oh! I bet they were kicked out."

George looked at Lexie skeptically. "If that was the case, Seattle Grace wouldn't have accepted their transfer requests. Bailey's really careful about who this hospital takes in," he countered.

"Why don't you ask April, George?"

"Me?" he timidly responded. George could barely keep his composure staring at the new female resident, let alone talk to her. "Why me?"

"You're friendly and trustworthy. April will warm up to you easily," Lexie insisted.

"Or you could just leave her alone," Jackson bitterly murmured.

Lexie rolled her eyes at her ex-boyfriend. "You only don't want anybody talking to her because you want her all to yourself."

"That's not it. She just started working here. We shouldn't overwhelm her with a bunch of personal questions that she might not even be comfortable answering. We can't come off too strong, you know? We want her to feel welcome and not unwanted." Jackson chewed his food, while his three friends stared at him intently. He slowly glanced back at them and mumbled with a mouthful of food, "What?"

"You're such a lovesick puppy," Jo bluntly answered.

Jackson pursed his lips as the threesome laughed together at him. It wasn't that Jo was wrong. In fact, she was very, very right, though he would openly deny it every time. There hadn't been a woman who made an immediate impact on him since meeting Lexie in medical school. He flirted occasionally with women he met at Joe's or even some of the nurses, but they never gave him any feelings to want to date them. April had definitely given him that feeling again.

He quickly finished his lunch and slid off of the gurney. The faster he got out of there, the less teasing he would have to endure. "I'm out. See ya later, losers."

"Remember, Plastics and Peds are nowhere near each other!" Jo teasingly called out, and he offered a middle finger in response as he left causing her to laugh again.

Jackson tossed his trash into the nearest garbage can on his way back to the surgical wing of the hospital. He returned to his patient's room where Sloan and Alex were discussing pre-op plans. He checked his watch knowing that there was enough time to spare before they were supposed to begin prepping their patient. "Prepping him already?"

"Ah, Avery. Glad you could finally join us," Mark casually replied, staring down at the patient's chart. "Now that you're back, you can start prepping Mr. Robertson for surgery. Karev and I are gonna head over to the OR. Gonna give him a quick tour before he scrubs in with me."

"Wait. What?" he irritably asked. "Sir, I know a lot more about this mandibular reconstruction than he does. Why does he get to scrub in? I'm not even late. You didn't even give me a fair chance."

"Sure I did. Karev got here before you did, so he's scrubbing in." Mark patted Alex's shoulder and ushered him out of their patient's room. "I want our guy in the OR on time, Avery. You can watch in the gallery with the interns."

Jackson fought his hardest not to throw punches at both Sloan and Alex. The latter smirked back at him on his way out, which only infuriated him even more. He hoped he wasn't planning on specializing in cardiothoracic surgery. Otherwise, he would probably have to physically wrestle him for surgeries.

For Alex and April, their first day as residents at Seattle Grace had exceeded their expectations. Neither of them had anticipated scrubbing in as the newbies of the third year resident class. Their peers were already many steps ahead of them, yet that hadn't stopped them from gaining some ground with a couple of attendings. Perhaps tomorrow would be a completely different experience, but for now, they were going to celebrate a successful first day.

"It was amazing, Alex. Robbins actually let me place the liver inside of our patient and she trusted me enough to close," April excitedly said as she and her roommate exited the elevator together. Their shift was over and they were on their way to the locker room to change out of their dirty scrubs. "I thought I'd just be shadowing Wilson around today, but I felt like a surgeon. It's like I already belong."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Sloan's not as kind. I mean, all I did was pick up the reconstruction plates and hand them to him," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Well, I suppose that's more than what Avery did. He was watching from the gallery. At least I scrubbed in."

April stopped Alex in front of the locker room entrance. The unknown connection between him and Jackson had been bugging her since the previous night. As much as she tried to push that thought aside, being questioned about them hadn't helped. She was just as curious as the rest of the residents. "Are you ever going to tell me what's up with you two?"

"Nope," he nonchalantly replied, walking past her and into the locker room.

She didn't hesitate to follow him to his cubby. "We all work together, Alex. The truth is bound to come out sooner or later. Besides, Jackson doesn't seem like a bad guy. He's actually pretty sweet."

"I never said he was. Dude has a problem with me like I'm the bad guy," Alex retorted. He removed his scrub top and tossed it into his cubby. "And I'm not."

"I know you're not, but why does he think you are?" April sighed impatiently when Alex remained silent. She threw her arms up in frustration as she padded across the room towards her own cubby. "Fine, fine. I'll just nag you about this when we're having drinks at that bar across the street. Maybe I can get you drunk enough for you to blurt it out."

As the two residents began changing into their street clothes, Jackson entered the locker room after his shift ended. His day had been less than stellar, which in his mind was an understatement. No surgeries, only scutwork. And to add to insult, he was required to watch the mandibular reconstruction in the gallery with interns, while Alex assisted Sloan during the procedure. Even Cristina Yang allowed him to do real work under her service. He hated himself for thinking about it, but he almost missed the cardiothoracic fellow.

His mood had gotten worse as the hours passed, but there was one person who could brighten it just a little bit. He was more than delighted to see his new cubby buddy inside of the locker room. They hadn't spoken since that morning, but he hoped to change that before the night was over.

He simultaneously removed his lab coat as he approached his cubby. "Hey."

April adjusted the hem of her green top before turning to face Jackson. "Getting off work too?" she politely asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," he enthusiastically replied. Jackson pulled his scrub top over his head and smiled at April, who was attempting to divert her eyes anywhere but on his muscular physique. He knew women fawned over his toned body. He didn't openly brag about it, but he was well aware that women stared. The new girl was no different, but she was trying her hardest to pretend she didn't care. "Do you want to head over to Joe's, grab a drink?"

"Well, I already made plans with my roommate for drinks, but you can join us," she offered. "We're all going to the same place, right?"

"Your roommate isn't Karev, is it?"

And almost as if on cue, Alex approached them after he finished dressing into his street clothes. "Ready to go?" he asked April, exchanging a brief glance with Jackson, who turned away and faced his cubby.

"No, thanks. I'd rather drink poison," the pretty boy scoffed.

April shook her head disappointedly and grabbed her purse. "I don't even know why I bothered."

The guilt immediately sank in as Jackson watched the pair leave the locker room. He didn't mean to respond coldly to April. If anything, the response was for Alex, which clearly didn't translate well with the redhead. She had nothing to do with their issues, and he sensed she didn't know anything about it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have invited him to join them for drinks. Now she probably assumed his kindness was an act, he thought. He would have to wait until the next day to earn back the points he just lost.

Upon entering the Emerald City Bar, Alex casually approached an open bar stool knowing he wouldn't be greeted with a punch this time around. He was relieved that Jackson hadn't accepted April's invitation. When she initially offered it he already made an excuse in his head to go home instead. She was the friendly type, the kind of person who thought about others before herself. Sometimes he wished she could be a little more selfish. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about unwanted tension with Avery for the rest of the night.

The bar was only about half-full. It was a Monday night after all. April sat down beside him as she scanned their surroundings. There were a lot of neon lights illuminating the bar, as well as Seattle sports teams memorabilia hanging on the walls. It didn't reek of cigarette smoke, which she was grateful for. She could get used to spending Friday nights here.

Joe the bartender approached them from behind the counter. "What can I get you kids?" He slightly furrowed his brow at Alex, then he snickered. "You're the guy Avery punched the other night. I'll tell ya, I've never seen him that pissed off before. He must really hate you."

"Yeah, I heard," Alex muttered. "You got burgers here?"

"Five different kinds. The bacon cheeseburger is a favorite."

"Uh, I'll have that then, and a beer would be nice too. Whatever's the best on tap, man."

"Call me Joe." The bartender insisted before he turned his attention towards April. "And what about you, little lady?"

"Do you have onion rings?" April smiled when he nodded. "Okay, I'll have that and a bottle of Blue Moon, please. Oh, and you can call me April Kepner. Dr. April Kepner, to be exact."

Joe smirked at the redhead. "Polite, adorable and a doctor. I like you already," he complimented. "And what's Grumpy's moniker?"

"The name's Karev, or Alex. Whatever. Just don't call me Grumpy," Alex answered with a pout.

"We're both surgical residents at Seattle Grace. It was our first day today," April added. "Heard this was the place to be after a long shift, so here we are."

"Well, you heard correctly, Kepner," Joe proudly replied. He opened a fresh bottle of Blue Moon and set it in front of April. "I'll ring up your orders and come back with your beer, Karev."

April happily smiled at Alex after the bartender left them alone. "I love Seattle already."

Alex snickered, shaking his head. "Jesus, I don't understand how I've been able to tolerate your perkiness for as long as I have," he jokingly stated, receiving a light punch against his shoulder afterward.

"Being nice to people can get you very far. Keep that in mind," she noted before sliding off of her stool. "I'm going to use the restroom. I'll be right back."

Alex sipped his beer after Joe delivered it to him. He quietly sat in his seat, checking messages on his cell phone and glancing up at the TV on the wall to watch the latest sports highlights on ESPN. A minute later, a familiar brunette woman appeared beside him. Jo stood about a foot away from him and appeared to be waiting for someone. They hadn't officially spoken to each other yet, so he decided to seize the moment – and maybe get her phone number.

He turned his body sideways on the stool and extended his hand. "We haven't formally met yet. Alex Karev."

Jo reluctantly shook his hand and slightly smiled. "Jo Wilson." She released her hand from his grip and casually wiped her palm against the back of her jeans. Alex's hand was notably sweaty, but she wasn't going to flat out tell him that – unless she needed to retaliate. "Heard you scrubbed in with Sloan. That must have been boring."

"It was better than watching from the gallery with dumb interns," he insisted. "What's Jo short for?"

"We don't know each other well enough to reach that level of information."

"Oh, so what boss level do I have to defeat to gain access to that?" he quipped.

Jo slyly grinned at Alex. "Well, you could tell me what the hell is going on between you and Avery. I think that's a fair trade."

"Please, I'm not an idiot. I'll just read your lab coat next time," Alex sneered. "The crap between me and Avery is gonna stay between me and Avery. It's none of your business. But for the record, I'm not the bad guy here. I'm totally innocent."

"Yeah, I believe that," she sarcastically replied.

"How about we stop talking about Avery? Sit down and have a drink with me?" he suggested with a grin on his face.

"I could, but I won't."

"Why not?"

Joe returned with a carry out bag and set it in front of the brunette. "Here you go, Wilson. The usual, just the way you like it."

Jo smirked at Alex as she picked up the large paper bag. "This is why. I'm having my dinner to-go."

"C'mon, you can always just eat it here. I've got my own food too. And uh, Kepner's here. You like her, right?" Alex normally didn't resort to begging to get a woman to stay, but he needed an ally besides April at the hospital. Jo seemed like somebody he could trust since she already became acquaintances with his roommate.

It didn't hurt that she was attractive either.

"Listen, it's nothing against you. Really," she claimed. "But I have to go home and feed the cat."

Alex laughed to himself as Jo headed for the exit. "Cats are independent creatures! It can last another hour or so without food," he called out, though she was already gone by then.

"Tough cookie that one," Joe acknowledged after Alex readjusted his sitting position. "Don't underestimate her."

"Yeah, sure," he amusingly answered. "She doesn't intimidate me."

It'll be a while before you'll know anything juicy about April ;) Let me know what you think please!