Thank you for the reviews! I've really enjoyed reading your different opinions on the same situations :)

Enjoy!

A young girl entered the emergency room wearing a school uniform and her backpack hung over one shoulder. She scanned the area before approaching the first person she assumed was a doctor, which happened to be George. He was seated behind the nurses' station as he typed information into a computer. "Excuse me," she politely said. "I'm looking for a Dr. Alex."

George's eyes remained glued to the computer screen and softly laughed. "Which one? There are more than one doctor whose first name is Alex."

"Umm, it starts with a K, I think?"

"Karev?"

"Yep! That's his name. Where can I find him?"

"You actually have to get this information from the main lobby. If you want, I can take you there when I'm finished…" George finally glanced up at the girl standing across from him. He rapidly blinked his eyes multiple times because he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girl was the spitting image of Jo. "…here. Whoa."

Cat slightly tilted her head, scrunching her face. "What?"

He quickly snapped out of it, shaking his head. "Nothing. It's- it's nothing," the third year resident stammered. "You just look very familiar, that's all."

"I've heard that before. Anyway, can you tell me where Dr. Karev is? I need to talk to him."

"Well, I can't exactly let you wander off to find him. It's possible he's busy with patients or in the OR, which you are not allowed to go near unless you're the one being operated on," George informed her. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "How about I send him a text, and we can wait and see if he's available?"

He fully expected an answer from the 12-year old, but received nothing. When he looked up from his phone she was gone. George shot up from his seat, carefully scanning the area for her. She was nowhere to be found.

George checked his watch as he sat down again. It was late in the afternoon and he had been awake since five o'clock in the morning. Perhaps he was hallucinating, he thought. He placed his arms on the countertop and rested his forehead on top of them.

"You okay, George?" April questioned after she arrived at the nurses' station. Her friend raised his head and she giggled at the imprint of his watch on his forehead. "Tired?"

He rubbed his eyes as he sat upright. "Something bizarre just happened. This girl came in searching for Karev, but get this – she looked almost exactly like Jo. She was Jo in a school uniform!"

April forced herself to smile, but deep inside she was already panicking. "What kind of dreams have you had lately? Jo in a school uniform? That's such a cliché high school wet dream," she teased.

"It wasn't a dream! I swear, I saw a girl who looked like Jo and she talked to me," George insisted. "Or I need to have my eyes checked."

"I think it's the latter," she assured him, patting his shoulder. "The pit is looking slow right now, so I'm gonna get something at the vending machine. You want anything?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine." George looked around the room and sighed. "That girl, though. It's like nobody else saw her walk in and suddenly, she's just gone. I don't sound crazy, right?"

April shook her head. "Not at all. I'll be right back." She casually left the ER and her face changed into a panicked expression once she was a good distance away. "Oh, crap."

Alex received a page asking him to go to one of the conference rooms on the second floor. He wasn't sure what it was about. He was positive he hadn't done anything to upset any of the attendings, but in the back of his mind, he wondered if he had unintentionally pissed someone off. When he found the conference room number paged to him he immediately went inside, closing the door behind him.

"You wanted to see me-" He didn't even know who he was speaking to, but it was more of a natural reaction that a superior was waiting for him. Instead, he found Cat sitting at the opposite end of the table with a notebook in front of her. "What are you doing here? Does your mom know you're here?"

"No, and I'm here to talk to you, Alex," the young girl calmly replied.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, furrowing his brow at her. "It's Dr. Karev when I'm working. Why are you here?"

Cat folded her hands on top of the table. "Because you're trying to date my mom and I have to make sure you're good enough for her," she firmly stated. "She's been raving about you to Nana, but that doesn't mean I'm giving you an easy pass. My mom deserves someone nice and respectful. And I have a bunch of questions for you to answer. It won't take long. I only have fifty questions."

"You made a list? Look, I don't have time for this shi… stuff," Alex impatiently responded. "I have more important things to do than be interrogated by a freaking 12-year old."

"Oh, so my mom isn't that important to you?" she insinuated, smirking back at him.

"That's- that's not what I meant," he timidly replied. "Dude, you're not supposed to be here. When she finds out-"

"She won't because you're not gonna tell her," she interrupted.

Alex scoffed. "And what? I become a liar? I thought you were trying to see if I'm good enough to date your mom. I'm not gonna lie to her just so you can make some BS excuse that I'm bad for her." He turned around and headed towards the door. "She should know you're here."

Cat jumped up onto her feet. "If you tell her I'm here, then I'm gonna tell her that you touched me inappropriately!" she warned him. "And if you open that door, I'll start screaming."

"We're close enough to the psych ward. They won't know the difference," Alex insisted. Truthfully, they were nowhere near the area, but he hoped a scare tactic might rattle Cat a bit. However, she appeared unconvinced and the icy stare she gave him actually started to make him uncomfortable. "Fine. Twenty minutes and then I'm calling Jo."

"She's not supposed to know I'm here! I'll get in trouble!" she whined.

Alex pulled out a chair from his end of the table and sat down. "Tough luck. Either you ask me the questions and I tell your mom you're here, or you don't ask me anything at all and I still tell her that you're here. Which way do you want to go?"

Most 12-year old girls would probably be scared of him, but not Cat. She was a tough cookie just like her mother. But he knew allowing a preteen to call the shots would lead to something humiliating later, so he had to ensure that he was in charge. Also, bonding with Jo's daughter was necessary. If he managed to end up on her good side, especially since their first meeting likely left a bad impression on her, then she wouldn't be a giant hurdle in his relationship with Jo.

"Okay, what do you got for me?" he asked.

Cat glanced down at her open notebook, then she mischievously grinned at Alex. "Question number one: Do you plan on doing it with my mom?"

"Christ," Alex mumbled to himself. He knew there would be a catch. She was going to make him feel highly uncomfortable as a test to see if he can tolerate her. "You're digging into every detail, aren't you?"

"These are just basic questions. We're all adults here."

"You're not an adult. You're 12," he chided. "What do you even know about sex?"

"I know a lot more than you think. We've already done sex ed in school. You think I'm stupid, don't you? And my mom isn't the type to tell me that babies come from the stork, so don't even try to sugarcoat anything with me," Cat cheekily replied.

Alex scrunched his face in discontent. "Are you seriously 12 years old? Because you talk more like a snotty 16-year old. And trust me, I know how they talk. My kid sister was that age at one time." He decided to return to the original question and added, "By the way, certain things shouldn't be any of your business, so let's move on to the next question."

Cat wrote a note beside her question and said out loud, "Has no balls." Alex simply rolled his eyes in response. "Next question: How many women have you dated before my mom?"

That was a question Alex definitely refused to answer. It would probably be the end of his relationship with Jo, and her daughter would think he was a disgusting person. When he thought about it now, he preferred a rectal exam over an interrogation with his new girlfriend's daughter.

April found herself in quite the dilemma. Because only a few people in the hospital were aware of Jo's daughter, she couldn't go around asking if anybody saw a 12-year old girl who looked like her friend. She was unable to get in contact with Jo. The brunette was assisting Amelia Shepherd in one of the ORs. She hoped Alex would answer his phone, but she received nothing on the other end. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that Cat was still somewhere in the hospital, but it felt like a wild goose chase searching for her.

In order to avoid suspicious stares from the other people working in the hospital, April casually checked each door that led to an on-call room, a supply closet or a conference room. She would increase the pace of her steps when the hallways were empty and slow down when she wasn't alone. The first floor was clear, so she made her way to the second floor. She wasn't receiving any pages from the emergency room, so she figured nothing was happening downstairs.

Like on the first floor, the redhead began opening and closing doors without any luck. She stood in front of an on-call room where voices could be heard inside. April took a deep breath before opening the door and taking a step inside. However, she immediately gasped and covered her eyes with her hand when she found Mark in bed with a woman whose face was obscured by the blanket.

"Oh, gosh! I-I'm sorry!" she panicked.

"Will you shut the damn door?" the plastic surgeon furiously shouted.

April nodded quickly, blindly stepping back into the hallway. "Again, I'm really sorry." She moved her hand away from her face, then she noticed Lexie peeking out from behind the blanket. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at her coworker. "Lexie?"

"Get out!" Mark retorted, scowling at her.

April closed the door and leaned back against the wall. Her eyes remained wide open as she tried to process – mostly attempt to erase – the scene she accidentally walked into. It was understandable that Lexie would try to move on from Jackson, but with Mark Sloan? She wondered how Jackson would feel about it, but she thought it would be wise not to tell him.

Once she regained her composure, she began searching for Cat. As she rounded a corner, she nearly bumped into Jackson. He gently grasped her shoulders before she could run into him.

"Hey, where are you off to?" he greeted his girlfriend with a smile. "Aren't you working downstairs in the pit?"

"I am, but I'm on a break." She bit down on her bottom lip, contemplating whether or not to ask for help in finding Cat. "What are you up to right now?"

Jackson moved his hands down to April's, intertwining his index fingers with hers. "Just finished with Altman's post-ops. I was going to head over to the OR galleries to see if there are any good surgeries to watch. You want to join me?"

"I'd like to, but I probably shouldn't. I'm sort of looking for somebody."

"Who's somebody? It's not a guy, is it?" he playfully asked, moving in closer so their mouths were inches apart.

April softly laughed, shaking her head. "No, not a guy. But if it was, would you be jealous?"

"Depends why you're looking for him," Jackson murmured, leaning in for a quick kiss. He took her hand and led her down the hallway. "You know, forget about the surgeries. I have a better idea."

She scrunched her nose wondering where they were going. Just as he was about to open the door to the same on-call room Mark and Lexie were in, she stepped in front of him and sheepishly grinned. "Not that one. I saw Chief Bailey walk into this one. She might be sleeping."

"Oh. Well, let's find a different room," he nonchalantly answered.

"If I'm thinking about what you're thinking, I'm not so sure that's a great idea," April nervously replied. "I mean, isn't it frowned upon? We're on the job!"

Jackson snickered as they entered another hallway. "Don't worry. It'll be fine." He found an empty on-call room and allowed April to walk inside before he followed. He leaned in to kiss her, but she pressed her hand against his mouth.

"Can we talk about the other night first?" As much as she felt guilty about ruining the mood for him, the topic needed to be addressed no matter how upset he would become over it. "Your sister. You acted like you didn't just find out you have a sister."

He pursed his lips as he leaned against the door. "What am I supposed to do? Celebrate? Be proud of the fact that my father procreated with another woman after he left my mother? My feelings aren't black and white about this. It's complicated."

April brought Jackson to the bed and forced him to sit down with her. "Well, can't you at least talk about your feelings with me? I want to help any way I can, but I can't do anything if you won't tell me what's on your mind."

"I don't know. It's weird. My mother didn't seem to have any interest in giving me siblings, even after my father left. It's like popping out one child was enough of an accomplishment for her." Jackson frowned as he stared down at his shoes. "Why couldn't my dad have just taken me with him?"

"It probably wasn't that simple," she suggested, rubbing her boyfriend's back. "But would you be open to meeting Amber?"

Jackson sighed, then he slowly nodded. "I did think about it after I went home. I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He looked up at April. "But that doesn't mean I hate my father any less. They're two different people and I don't have to cut him slack just because he gave me a sister."

April softly smiled back at him. "That's fine. I'm just happy you're willing to meet her." He leaned in once again to kiss her. For a moment, he was successful as she melted against his lips, but then she quickly returned to reality and pulled away from him. "I'm looking for Cat, Jo's daughter. I think she's somewhere in the hospital."

"What? Why is she here?"

"I don't know. George said she was looking for Alex, but he was also close to freaking out because he couldn't believe what he saw. I had to convince him that he was imagining things, but I'm not sure he completely bought that," she anxiously explained. "I tried calling Alex. He didn't answer. If they're together, I want to find them before the wrong person does and assumes the worst case scenario, like he's some child molester-"

"Calm down. I'll help you find her, okay?" Jackson assured her, gently squeezing her shoulders.

April sighed as she nodded. "I've already checked the first floor. I was in the middle of searching through this floor, but then I walked into-" She paused, almost forgetting she couldn't tell Jackson about Mark and Lexie. "You. And I got a little sidetracked."

"Hey, don't blame this on me," he chuckled. "Can you really blame me for being in a better mood when I run into my girlfriend at work?"

The redhead laughed, resting her forehead against Jackson's shoulder. "I promise I'll make it up to you tonight," she insisted. She raised her head and grasped his cheeks. "Come over to my place. I'll cook you dinner, and if you want to spend the night…"

"Well, that's an offer I can't refuse," Jackson playfully answered. "Let's go look for Cat."

"Actually, can we split up? We'll cover more ground that way. Plus, someone has to tell Jo what's happening when she's done in the OR. She needs to know her daughter's here. I'm sure she doesn't want anybody else finding out her secret without her consent."

"Yeah, we can do that," he agreed. The couple left the on-call room before splitting up and walking separate directions.

April returned to her routine of opening doors that led to dead ends. The hospital was quite large and it would probably take hours to search the entire building. By then, Cat would probably be gone and she would have wasted time for nothing. She was becoming desperate enough to shout her name out in the middle of the hallway, but she wasn't going to betray Jo and let her secret be known to everybody.

She entered one of the lobbies and noticed a conference room with all of the blinds closed shut. In this case, she would either find Cat or a very disgruntled group of doctors in the middle of a staff meeting.

When she opened the door she was relieved to find Alex and Cat sitting inside. "Oh, thank God! You're here," she gasped, then she closed the door and promptly scowled at her roommate. "Do you have any idea how many times I've called you? I've been running around the hospital looking for this girl!"

Alex gestured towards the 12-year old. "Will you relax? I was going to tell Jo she's here after this interrogation."

"Interrogation?" April replied in disbelief. "She's a child, Alex! For crying out loud, you have authority over her. Did you seriously let a 12-year old girl control you?"

"Yes, he did," Cat proudly stated, smiling at April. "I remember you from the mall. You're the nicer friend."

"That doesn't mean I won't tell your mother you're here," April said in a singing tone. She waved her arms in front of her chest. "Whatever you're up to, it needs to stop now. Dr. Karev and I are working right now, just like your mother is at the moment. Did you come here all by yourself?"

"I know how to ride the bus," the young girl retorted. "I'm not doing anything wrong. I've never met any of my mom's boyfriends before, and I deserve to find out if he'll be nice to her. She's always looking out for me, so I'm gonna look out for her."

April smiled at her. "Aww, that's really sweet." She retrieved her cell phone from her lab coat and waved it around. "But she also deserves to know where you are at the moment."

Jackson waited outside of the surgical area for Jo to finish operating with Amelia. He had received a text message from April telling him she found Cat and where they were hiding, so he decided to wait for their friend to appear from behind the two doors leading to the operating rooms. It took about another hour before Jo was done. She appeared exhausted, having stood on her feet for five hours, but it was a successful brain tumor removal and that was all that mattered.

The pretty boy was sitting on a bench when he spotted her walking past the double doors. "Wilson," he called out to her as he stood up. She quickly approached him, then he slightly grimaced. "We- well, you have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Jo inquired. She had been with Amelia's patient for most of her shift, so she wasn't quite sure what she had done wrong. "Who did I piss off this time?"

"Nobody," he softly chuckled. "It's just that umm, there's a cat in the hospital."

Jo furrowed her brow at Jackson. "So? I don't like cats, so it's not mine." She watched him stare at her before it finally clicked in her head. Her eyes grew wide as she gasped loudly. "Oh, my God! What is she doing here?"

"Looking for Karev, apparently."

"You're joking, right? She cannot be here where people can see her." Jo opened an application on her cell phone. She groaned when the tracker connected to Cat's phone confirmed that she was in the hospital. "That girl is in a lot of trouble. Where is she?"

"Follow me." Jackson led Jo to the nearest elevator. "You're one of those parents who tracks their kid's phone?"

"She's only 12, and I was reluctant to get her one. We agreed that I would buy her the phone as long as I get to track her whereabouts," she explained. "I have to put my foot down somewhere, you know. And my grandmother was stricter with me when she had to raise me, so she should consider herself lucky that I'm a bit more lenient with the rules."

The pair entered the elevator and remained quiet due to other passengers inside. When they reached the second floor Jackson brought Jo to the conference room April had texted him. She didn't waste time barging into the room and closing the door before her coworker could enter.

"Caterina Riley Wilson, you are in big trouble!" the brunette angrily stated as she approached her daughter. "What are you doing here? It's only 2:30! School doesn't get out for another half hour!"

Cat huffed as she glanced up at Jo. "Today is the last day before Christmas break. It's a half day. We got out at 12:15."

Jo pinched the bridge of her nose and quietly cursed at herself. "You're right. I completely forgot." She placed one hand on her hip while she wagged her finger at Cat. "But you're supposed to be at the diner with Nana. Does she know you're here?"

"No, but I told her I was gonna hang out at Ashley's house, and that you would pick me up after work."

"Lying to Nana is unacceptable. Where am I supposed to leave you until my shift is over? I'm not sure I can trust you actually going to the diner. Who knows where you'll actually be?"

"You track my phone, so wouldn't you know?" Cat scoffed. "I'm almost a teenager and you're treating me like a little kid on a leash."

Jo scowled at her daughter. "Well, I'm your mother and I decide what's best for you until you're eighteen." She briefly turned around when Jackson entered the conference room. She couldn't care less that her friends were quietly watching her scold her child. In fact, she was even more annoyed that they were forced to be involved. "And you dragged my coworkers into this mess when they're all busy too."

"Give the kid a break. She was just curious, that's all," Alex intervened. "Seriously, though. If you want to avoid something like this happening again, you just gotta tell everybody the truth and stop hiding her from them."

"Sure. I'll just post the announcement on every bulletin board," Jo sarcastically replied.

Alex sighed in annoyance. "I'm serious, Jo. She's your daughter, not some wild animal you keep locked up at home. Maybe not everybody has to know right away, but at least let Grey and O'Malley in before they find out on their own."

"Actually, George saw Cat before she found Alex, so he's already suspicious," April sheepishly added.

"Fine. I promise I will tell them, but right now, I have to get this young lady home. I'll just tell Shepherd I'm not feeling well. Gather your belongings, sweetie," Jo instructed Cat. She picked up her daughter's open notebook and skimmed the numerous questions she had prepared for Alex. "How many STDs have you had? I think it's time to stop watching Degrassi. That show had an episode about gonorrhea, and you shouldn't even need to know what that is yet."

Cat smirked at Jo as she followed her towards the door. "I'm pretty sure you enjoy that show more than I do, Mom. You're the one who got upset when they changed the theme song," she teasingly said.

Jo noticed her friends holding back their laughs, then she forced herself to grin at Cat. "The previous theme was fine. It didn't need a tweaking," she answered through gritted teeth. She stopped beside Jackson and nodded her head towards him. "By the way, this is my other friend, Jackson Avery."

Jackson held out his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Cat."

Cat, like many other females who encountered Jackson for the first time, stared at him in awe as she slowly shook his hand. "Wow," she murmured to herself. "You're a real person?"

"Yeah, let's not," Jo awkwardly said, ushering her daughter out of the conference room. "I'm so sorry about this, you guys."

"Wait!" Cat exclaimed, peeking her head into the room. She brightly grinned at Alex. "Can you come over for dinner tonight, Dr. Karev?"

"Cat!" Jo yelped before looking back at her boyfriend. "You don't have to."

Alex shrugged and casually replied, "Sure, why not?"

Jo was slightly caught off-guard by Alex's response. She had actually doubted that he would agree to have dinner with her family at the last minute. She hadn't even figured out yet what they were having for dinner. "Oh, okay. I will text you my address then. Is 7:30 okay with you?"

"That works."

"Okay. We will see you later," she bashfully said, then she finally left with Cat.

Jackson chuckled once the room fell silent. "So that just happened. That was kind of crazy," he said in amusement. "Having daddy feels yet, Karev?"

"Shut up. No way," Alex guffawed, rolling his eyes. "The kid's a little feisty, but she's cool, I guess. Definitely not like some of the brats I've worked with in the past. Although, she did sort of scare the crap out of me for a second."

"But she seemed to have warmed up to you pretty fast. That's a plus," April noted, then she smirked at her roommate. "Though if you end up dying from food poisoning tonight, then perhaps it was all an act to get rid of you later."

Following the end of her shift, April dressed out of her clothes and went downstairs to wait for Jackson. He was running a little late after Altman asked him to cover one of her post-ops at the last minute, but he had promised he wouldn't take long and asked her to wait for him in the main lobby. She was on her way to the seating area when a voice called out her name.

April turned to see Lexie sitting behind the nurses' station as the latter waved at her. She cautiously approached her coworker and softly smiled. "Yes, Lexie?"

The brunette stood up, so they were face to face. "I've been meaning to apologize for what I did to you, with your finger and everything. I was jealous and I acted super immature about it, but that doesn't excuse me for how I behaved. You came in here, made a nice impression on the attendings and my friends, and I hated it. But I was an ass to you, and I'm truly sorry for that." She smiled, hoping April would accept her apology. "If you're up for it, can we start over, please?"

"This doesn't have to do with the fact that I caught you and Sloan in bed together, does it?" April inquired. "I mean, I do forgive you, but I have a feeling you don't want anybody knowing about you two."

"Well, that's half of it, but I am genuinely sorry for how I treated you," she sheepishly answered. "And this thing with Sloan has only been going on for a week. However, I know he's not the most likable person in this hospital, so it would make for very intriguing gossip that I'm not ready for."

April slowly nodded. "Understandable. I know a thing or two about unsolicited gossip."

"And you know what? You can have Neuro. I think I might be going into Plastics," Lexie confidently said.

"Plastics? Really?" The redhead scrunched her nose in confusion. "All because of Sloan?"

"Not just that, obviously. He actually opened my eyes to the possibility of Seattle Grace, or some other hospital, having a female plastic surgeon in their staff because there aren't many of those in the country," Lexie admitted. "Just don't get too comfortable with Shepherd. I may reconsider my specialty, but for now, I will take advantage of Sloan's service. I mean, really take advantage. That man is phenomenal in bed."

April forced herself to smile. "Uh, that's great. If he makes you happy, then I suppose there's no problem with that," she awkwardly replied. "And honestly, I've been thinking about trauma surgery a lot more lately, so maybe neither of us will end up becoming neurosurgeons."

"One more thing. I'm having a small pre-Christmas potluck dinner at my house next Friday, and I'm inviting you. It'll just be a small group of us. The usual gang. It's been a tradition for us since intern year, but you and Karev can join us," she offered. "And don't worry, I won't be inviting Sloan. Jackson's still barely speaking to me, so his presence would only piss him off more. I hope you can convince him to come."

"Of course. Thank you," April graciously answered. She spotted Jackson stepping out of an elevator in his street clothes, then she pointed over her shoulder. "Time for me to go. Goodnight, Lexie."

Jackson instantly grew curious as April and Lexie exchanged goodbyes. He shot a look at his girlfriend when she joined him by his side. "What was that about?" he asked, wrapping his arm over her shoulder.

"Nothing horrible. Lexie and I just reached an understanding between each other," she happily replied, hooking her arm around his waist as they walked towards the exit. "She invited me to this annual Christmas dinner thing you guys do at her house."

"Oh, that. Are you going?"

April nodded and smiled. "Of course, I am. Why not? You should go too. I think you've given her the cold shoulder long enough. It's almost Christmas. It's supposed to be a happy time," she insisted. "Lexie and I are good now, so give her another chance."

Jackson was actually relieved that there wasn't any more tension between his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend. He did miss being around Lexie as a friend, so the dinner would be the first step towards reconciling with her. "Well, if you're good, then I'm good." He tenderly kissed the top of April's head. "So, what do you have in mind for dinner? I already have an idea for dessert."

April playfully slapped Jackson's abdomen with her free hand. "If it starts with S and ends with an X…"

"Actually, I was referring to that rocky road parfait you made last week. Get your mind out of the gutter, babe," he teasingly responded, causing her to laugh. "But I wouldn't mind a little S-E-X either."

I hope I redeemed Lexie a bit :) Let me know what you think please!