Thank you for the reviews! For those who asked, Jo and Alex haven't had sex yet. That will be covered in this story once drama dies down a bit. Don't worry, guys. I'm not glossing over that part of their relationship and they will get more focus again soon :)
It almost felt as if April had been sucked down a black hole, and she was never getting out. She sat on her bed, blankly staring at the wall. Her body felt numb. She didn't have the strength to lift a finger because she felt so weak. It didn't matter to her that Alex had been pounding on her locked door for the last fifteen minutes. He had threatened to break open the door multiple times, but she knew it was an empty threat. She was in her own world, so everything he had been saying outside of her bedroom was going into one ear and out the other.
Nobody could help her at that moment, or at least she believed so. Not even her roommate, who knew why she had to leave Mayo and the state of Minnesota, could help her.
She wanted to be left alone.
9 hours earlier…
April's alarm clock woke her up at exactly 6 AM. She reached for her clock on the end table, eyes remaining shut, and turned it off with one quick slap. Slowly climbing out of her bed, she smiled when a larger hand gently grasped her waist to keep her from leaving.
"Jackson, it's time to get up," she softly laughed, turning her head to look back at her boyfriend. His eyes were still closed as he buried his face into the pillow. "Okay, you can stay in bed if you want, but I'm going to take a shower."
Finally, his eyes fluttered open, just in time to catch April's naked backside before she covered her body with her bathrobe. He smiled contently before saying, "You know we don't have to be at the hospital until 8 o'clock, right?" He slowly sat up and stretched his arms over his head. "Why so early?"
"Well, I made a schedule in my head last night before we fell asleep," she explained, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Two hours gives me plenty of time to shower, prepare breakfast for you and Alex, get ready for work and drive to the hospital."
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure you can do all of that in less than two hours," Jackson insisted, crawling towards April. He sat behind her and placed a soft kiss against the side of her neck. "You're quick and efficient when it comes to schedules. You always finish early with time to spare."
April playfully slapped Jackson's hand away when he reached for the tie of her bathrobe. "Actually, I was hoping you would join me… in the shower," she seductively replied. "That's partially why I set up the alarm earlier, so we can claim it before Alex wakes up. We haven't tried it yet, so…"
"Taking a shower together, or sex in the shower?" he teased.
"Both." She stood up and rushed towards the door before he could grab her. "While you contemplate your next move, I will be in the bathroom and disrobing. I'll leave the door unlocked."
Jackson smiled as April giggled on her way out of the bedroom. He lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His brain was telling him to catch a few more minutes of sleep. On the other hand, his friend below the waist was telling him what an idiot he would be if he passed up morning sex in the shower with his girlfriend. The answer was a no-brainer.
He practically leaped out of bed, picking up his boxers. As he was about to slip them on, he stopped himself. What would be the point, really? He was going to remove them anyway and he would be leaving the bathroom in a towel. April had purposely set up her alarm earlier than she needed to, so Alex would still be asleep. He dropped his boxers and left the bedroom fully nude.
The bathroom was only about ten feet away, but just as he was going to open the door, Alex stepped out of his bedroom. "Dude!" he shouted, shielding his eyes with his forearm. He wished he hadn't seen Jackson in all of his glory, but the image remained cemented in his head. It also hadn't helped that the pretty boy was partially aroused. "Put that thing away!"
Jackson covered himself with both hands and grimaced. "Why are you even up? Don't you sleep in later than April does?" he retorted. "She set her alarm earlier than she had to!"
"I planned on going into work a little early today, but I may need an ambulance to take me to the ER after seeing your freaking dick first thing in the morning!" Alex complained. "I think I've gone blind. Ever hear of clothes?"
"I was on my way to the bathroom to join April in the shower," he said through gritted teeth. His answer only made Alex groan in disgust.
Alex waved his free arm as he turned his back towards Jackson. "Well, hurry up and get in there. I've already seen more of you than I ever wanted. And keep it clean in there! I have to shower too, you know!" he sneered, walking back into his bedroom.
Jackson snickered as he listened to the gagging noises and curse words coming from Alex's bedroom. He entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "Sorry," he muttered, climbing into the shower.
"What are you sorry for?" April curiously asked, pulling him towards the running water.
"For the lecture you might receive from Karev later," he sheepishly answered. "I may have scarred him for life."
"Look, all I'm saying is, if your boyfriend is gonna keep spending the night at our apartment, he can't be walking around naked like he owns the place," Alex irritably told April during the drive to work. He had been moody since his unexpected run-in with Jackson and his penis. While the other two mainly found the incident amusing, he felt the opposite. "You made me follow your rules, so that's my rule. No free flying willies when I'm home."
April covered her face with her hand and sighed. "I already said that I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she responded, attempting to hide the smile on her face.
Alex shook his head. "He's turned you into some sex crazed monster or whatever."
"Whatever! You and your booty calls from medical school and Mayo were doing it all over the place," she accusingly answered, then she pointed at herself. "Jackson and I have only been intimate one time at the hospital, and that was the day Amber came to visit. Every other time has been in my bedroom or his."
"And now the shower," he mumbled. "I was afraid to touch the walls after knowing what you two freaks were doing in there."
April blushed as she playfully smacked Alex's shoulder. "Can we not? W-we are not dirty porn stars who soil the apartment with sweat and… other stuff," she stammered, glancing out the window. "Besides, whenever you and Jo start having sex, you'll be the same way."
"If we ever have sex…" he corrected her.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know. It's different with her. We're dating and stuff. She's not a random booty call like in the past," Alex awkwardly explained. "We're still taking it slow. I'm trying to be more comfortable around Cat. Sex isn't the priority yet."
April softly chuckled and she gently pinched Alex's cheek. "Aww, look at you, becoming a total sap now," she teased, drawing a scowl from her roommate. "Oh, relax. I think it's sweet that you're taking your time. You were never really one to wait."
"Sometime in the middle of a random night, we switched personalities," he speculated. "Maybe it's Avery, or you're just more comfortable with showing off that rack of yours-"
"Alex!" she scolded him. "You said you stopped looking."
Alex mischievously grinned. "No, I said I stopped picturing you naked. Doesn't mean I don't occasionally stare at your boobs." He ignored the scowl on her face and laughed. "What? I look at everyone's boobs. You've known that since med school."
"Yeah, but I have a boyfriend and Jackson would kick your ass if he caught you looking," April reminded him. "Maybe Jo would too. I think she's capable."
"I'm more worried about what Cat would do," he quipped.
"How's that going? You've had dinner at Jo's apartment a few times now," she inquired.
Dinner with Jo's family had been pleasant so far. Her grandmother loved asking him questions about Iowa, while Cat always wanted to know about the different surgeries he had scrubbed in to. Jo, on the other hand, would cut off Alex whenever he started to because the last topic she was interested in was work following a long shift. Alex and Cat battled each other with the Xbox after every dinner. Sometimes he forced himself to lose just to stay on the young girl's good side.
The first time he joined them for dinner, he had been apprehensive. Aside from his own family, bonding with other people hardly came easy for him. The easiest group of people he had connected with instantly were his wresting teammates in college, though the testosterone overload in the locker room occasionally brought out the worst in him.
He wasn't quite sure if he could do it, dating a woman and kind of the rest of her small family. But Cat hadn't turned out to be the devil child he envisioned prior to dinner, and Jeanette was one of the sweetest grandmothers he had ever met. Now that they had done dinner multiple times, he was becoming more comfortable around them. The lack of drama in his personal life felt rewarding.
"It's cool," Alex casually replied. "We're having dinner outside of the apartment for a change. It's just pizza, but whatever. Jo is trying to break out of hiding and go out with her family more than before. I don't know what time I'll be home, but if Avery is spending the night again…"
"He won't walk around naked. I promise," she chuckled. "I don't think he'll be spending the night anyway. We've only been dating for a few months, so there are still some boundaries. Plus, I feel bad that he leaves George all alone at his apartment."
Alex snickered. "Maybe O'Malley's relieved. It means he doesn't have to listen to you two," he jokingly said. "Besides, isn't he still dating that nurse or something? He gets his place to himself, while I have to suffer every other night."
"You're being dramatic," April playfully argued.
"I'm being honest," he insisted. "It's different when you're the one making all the noise."
April waved her hands. "Alright, let's stop talking about my sex life. Jackson is my first serious boyfriend in a while, and I'm taking advantage of the honeymoon phase for as long as it lasts."
"Well, when you're practically dating a sex god it'll last for an eternity," her roommate sarcastically stated.
"Would that be so bad?" she timidly asked.
"What?" Alex looked back at April when they reached a red light. She was nervously chewing on her bottom lip, and he raised his eyebrow at her. "Are you in love with Avery or whatever?"
"No! I mean, maybe. I don't know." April scrunched her nose, then she sheepishly smiled at Alex. "But I could… fall in love with him. I think it's possible that Jackson could be it. The one. I don't say that lightly. Love hasn't exactly been the kindest to me since high school."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I get it. There's nothing wrong with protecting yourself a bit, but if you do feel that way about him, maybe you should tell him," he advised. "From a third person's point of view, the guy is completely whipped. Maybe you should take a chance. You already did it once when you kissed him first."
"But what if… what if he doesn't actually feel the same way?" she worriedly questioned.
"Then I'm kicking his ass," he bluntly answered. She scoffed in response. "I'm serious. We made a deal. He hurts you, I get to kick his ass. And with the whole family connection, I'm kind of allowed."
April laughed. "Kind of allowed? That won't stop him from pressing charges if you were to go through with it."
"Oh, c'mon. I'm just messing around. I doubt it would even come to that," Alex assured her. "Despite our differences and stuff, he doesn't seem like that type of guy. He buys you flowers and crap for no major reason. He's a good guy."
April and Jo stood side by side as they scrubbed their hands at the sink in OR 2. Both of them were working in the pit when a trauma arrived at the hospital an hour after their shift began. A freak accident at a construction site resulted in a worker being impaled through the chest by a steel pipe. Hunt had asked them to scrub in with him and Altman for the delicate, yet complicated surgery.
"I know I'll sound like an awful person for saying this, but I'm excited for this surgery," Jo lightheartedly said. "How does this man get impaled through the chest and not die? Of course, miracles happen all the time, but this pipe barely missed his heart!"
"And you know who's going to be so jealous of us? Our boyfriends," April chuckled. "Alex is in Peds and Jackson got stuck in Plastics with Sloan, so neither of them are going to be happy about this."
"I'm not sure who I should feel more bad for – Jackson, for being on Sloan's service, or Alex, for having to see Jackson's penis this morning," the brunette replied in amusement. "Maybe we can consider them even. Alex doesn't seem to despise working in Peds as much as he pretends to. I think Robbins knocked some sense into him."
"Cat might have something to do with it too," April suggested. "They get along, so maybe Alex is willing to be more open about pediatric surgery. Nice kids soften people, even the coldest ones."
Jo smiled to herself. She really did appreciate the fact that her daughter and boyfriend were bonding. "She told me before she left for school that she's looking forward to tonight. I don't recall a time that she was this excited for pizza."
"Hey, if you ever want to be alone with Alex at our place, just let me know. I'm sure Jackson and I can find something to do other than hang out at the apartment," she offered.
"Thanks. Honestly, it's weird to think about having sex. It stopped being such a priority after I had Cat," she admitted. "And between you and me, I don't think I've had sex since my undergrad years. I'm seriously afraid that I've forgotten how to have sex!"
"The clinic has pamphlets all about it. It's amazing how much information you can find on the Internet too," April teasingly answered. Jo splashed water at her in response. She laughed as she finished rinsing her hands. "You'll be fine. When you're ready – it's like riding a bicycle."
Jo slightly grimaced. "Would you think less of me if I told you that I've never ridden one?" Her friend gave her a wide-eyed stare, then she softly laughed. "My parents never taught me. I took a bus to school growing up, and I preferred walking to class in college. It happens!"
April smirked as they entered the OR. "Maybe that's something you and Alex can add to your list of date ideas."
"Sure, as long as he doesn't give me a bike with training wheels as a joke."
Suddenly, working with Mark Sloan was comparable to working with a ghost. Jackson had been left alone in the burn unit to treat a couple of his patients, while the plastic surgeon was busy with a conference call – or so he claimed. Since his relationship with Lexie came to light, Jackson had been skeptical of Sloan's change in teaching. A few months ago, he wouldn't have left a third year resident alone to tend to a patient's wounds. He wouldn't have been able to touch the patient at all.
For over two hours, Jackson had been by himself without his superior checking in on him once. It felt strange, but also refreshing to not have Sloan breathing down his neck while he worked. When he texted his boss that he was going to the cafeteria for lunch, all he received in return was a thumbs up emoji.
He thought perhaps Lexie had told Mark to go easier on him, which somewhat made him sick to his stomach. But he had also expected the opposite because he was the ex-boyfriend. It would have been a perfect reason for him to abuse his power over a resident. Jackson wasn't going to complain, though. This was the first time an attending had given him a ton of freedom under their service.
Since he had finished what Sloan had asked him to do, Jackson went downstairs to the lobby for a cup of coffee. He also decided to check the OR board for any interesting surgeries he could observe until he was paged. Skimming the OR board, he sipped his coffee as his eyes stopped at the sight of April's name. She had been in surgery for a few hours now, and he hadn't seen her since that morning at her apartment, so it was a no-brainer where he was going.
"Busy day, huh?"
Jackson turned his head to his right where a tall, Caucasian man in street clothes stood beside him. "Yeah, it kind of always is around here," he politely answered. He noticed the man was reading the OR board closely, as if he was studying it. "Do you need help or anything?"
"Actually, yes. I'm looking for someone. Do you know Alex Karev?" the man inquired.
"I wish I could say I don't, but that's not the case," he jokingly replied. "Why are you looking for him?"
"We're old wrestling buddies. Haven't seen him in years, but I was in town. Heard he works here now," the other man said, smiling back at Jackson. "Thought I'd surprise him. Do you know where he could be at the moment?"
"I think he's upstairs in the peds ward," Jackson responded, pulling his cell phone out of his lab coat pocket. "I could send him a text and let him know that you're here… what's your name, by the way?"
The man extended his hand out to Jackson. "Tom."
"Alright, Tom. I'm Dr. Avery," he introduced himself, shaking the man's hand. Jackson pointed towards the waiting area in the lobby. "How about you have a seat over there? I'll go upstairs and see if Karev is available."
"Thank you. I appreciate it," the other man graciously said before they parted ways.
Truthfully, Jackson was going to OR 2's observation gallery instead to watch Hunt and Altman's surgery. He decided to send Alex a text message as a courtesy to inform him that another surprise visitor had arrived. Once he settled into his seat in the observation gallery, he received a reply from his coworker.
Who the hell is Tom?
Jackson furrowed his brow as he quickly replied back to Alex. The latter's next reply increased his curiosity.
I don't know anybody named Tom.
Rather than pester Alex with pointless text messages, Jackson asked him to meet him in the observation gallery. Alex told him that he was busy waiting for test results at the lab and to come find him after the surgery. It took another hour, and by then, his coworker had found him first. At the same time, the surgery was finished as April and Jo left to scrub out.
"Dude, who is this Tom guy and why is he looking for me?" Alex questioned as the two of them left the observation gallery.
"You tell me. Is this another long lost relative I don't know about?" Jackson sarcastically replied. "Because this man knew your name, so he obviously knows you to some extent. I don't know if he's still waiting downstairs in the lobby, but if he is, then he definitely knows you."
Alex scrunched his face in confusion. "But I don't freaking know anybody named Tom! I swear, if he's some loser spawn from my real father and he's asking for money, I'm going to kick his ass," he grumbled. "And it's totally possible that he knocked some chick up while he was high."
Jackson smirked. "At least he wouldn't be related to me."
"Whatever. Just take me to this guy," he retorted.
As they strolled through the hallway, they were met by April and Jo, who were exiting the OR area after scrubbing out. "Oh, look who came to congratulate us on a successful surgery," the redhead chirped, removing her scrub cap from her head. "Yes, I saw you watching us, Jackson."
"And it's okay to be jealous of the amazing surgery we were a part of," Jo added, grinning at the two men.
"I didn't even see it," Alex scoffed. "I was upstairs in the peds ward, and Avery texted me about some dude named Tom. Apparently, he's looking for me, but I don't know anybody of that name. We're going downstairs to the lobby to check it out."
"We'll go downstairs with you. April and I were going to buy some coffee. That procedure was draining – but also very worth it," Jo gloated, drawing eye rolls from both men. "Okay, I'm done bragging. Stop pouting, you guys."
They rode the elevator down to the main lobby of the surgical wing. Walking closer towards the waiting area, Jackson stopped a decent distance away to point out the man. "There. That guy says his name is Tom."
Alex found the man Jackson was pointing at and he clenched his fists. "Son of a bitch…" he murmured to himself, but his reaction was within earshot of his peers.
"What? What is it?" April curiously asked.
The other man noticed their presence and slowly pushed himself up to his feet. He offered a half-smile, slipping his hands out of his jacket pockets as he approached them. "April."
Before he could get any closer, Alex charged towards the man and delivered a hard right hook to his jaw, causing him to fall onto the floor. He crouched down, lifting the man up by his shirt. "What the hell are you doing here, Matthew?"
He ignored the question as he tried to make eye contact with April. She began to back away out of fear. "April, wait!"
Jackson grew instantly concerned when April ran away from the scene. Jo rushed towards Alex to stop what appeared to be a very uneven fist fight with the other man.
"Alex, stop!" Jo yelled, grabbing her boyfriend's shoulders. However, he was too strong to restrain. "Stop! You'll kill him!"
Jackson finally intervened just as security arrived. He forcefully pulled Alex away from the wounded man, who remained lying on the floor. "Karev, knock it off! Bailey's gonna have your ass for this," he warned him. He looked down at the other man, who was being assisted by Jo. "Who is he?"
"Get away from him, Wilson! The guy is a pathetic excuse for a human being!" Alex furiously demanded. He barely cared that his right fist had swelled up quickly. His anger towards the surprise visitor overpowered the pain in his hand. "Dude, you're not supposed to be here! She has a restraining order against you!"
"Restraining order?" Jackson reiterated. He stood in between the two men to ensure that Alex wouldn't attack him again. "I'll ask one more time. Who is this guy? Somebody give me an answer right now because I'm losing my damn patience."
"I'd like some answers too," Chief Bailey sternly said after arriving in the lobby. She approached Alex, and despite her shorter stature, it didn't diminish the intimidating expression on her face as she stared him down. "Dr. Karev, my office. Now."
Alex softly groaned. "It was self-defense."
Bailey placed her hands on her hips. "Did I stutter? My office, pronto!" She turned around, pointing at the other man, whose real name appeared to be Matthew. "And somebody take this man to the ER, and clean him up, please."
Jo sighed as she escorted him past Jackson. "I'll take care of it."
As the scene began to die down, Jackson only had one question in his mind – Where did April go?
George entered a supply closet searching for surgical drape sheets. He walked past a few shelves until he reached the last one. His eye caught a familiar face hiding in between the last two metal shelves. She held her knees against her chest and she appeared to be talking to herself. "April?" He moved closer to his friend and knelt down in front of her. "Are you okay?"
"Why is he here? Why is he here?" she whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"Who? Who's here?" George cautiously asked. April ignored his question and continued to break down. He had never seen her behave this way, and it was concerning. She buried her face against her knees and sobbed. "Do you want me to get Karev or Jackson? Or does it have to do with either of them?"
April quietly shook her head, though George was unsure which question she was answering to. He adjusted his position on the floor, sitting down beside her. There wasn't much to do but sit and wait, and hope that she would answer him eventually. Whatever had happened to her, it had visibly shaken her up.
Standing on the catwalk outside of Bailey's office, Jackson watched the conversation between Alex and the Chief, but it hadn't been the in your face scolding he had expected from her. There was some finger pointing, but overall, it appeared calm inside. Even his coworker kept his composure while he iced his right hand. He was met by Jo and Lexie, who arrived together to join the eavesdropping party.
"Jo told me what happened. Is Karev getting fired?" Lexie inquisitively asked.
"It doesn't look like it. He's been in Bailey's office for at least twenty minutes now, and I've seen her blow up on a resident before for lesser offenses. She's been fairly relaxed in there," Jackson replied, his eyes glued to Bailey's office. "Did you get any information on that guy, Jo?"
Jo shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "He never spoke a word when I treated his nose and the cut on his lip. I think Alex broke his nose," she answered. "Then he fled as soon as I finished. He was already out the door before I even started cleaning up the area."
Jackson furrowed his brow. "Neither of you saw April on your way here?"
"No, but Sloan is wondering where you are," Lexie noted.
Jackson retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and found numerous unread text messages from the plastic surgeon. His attention had been so focused on Bailey and Alex that he never noticed the vibrations from his phone alerting him of new messages. "Oh, whatever. He can bitch me out all he wants, but I don't care right now."
The meeting between Alex and Bailey ended when the third year resident stood up to leave the office. "Guys, they're done," Jo announced. The three of them turned their attention towards the end of the catwalk as Alex stepped out of Bailey's office.
Bailey noticed the small audience and pointed towards them. "Hey, this isn't a free show. Back to work!" she sternly ordered before returning to her office.
When Alex reached the middle of the catwalk he knew he would be bombarded with too many questions. He quickly walked past them, but unsurprisingly, his coworkers followed him into a hallway. "If you guys don't stop following me, I swear…"
"Well, what happened to you? Did she fire you?" Jo probed, grabbing a hold of Alex's arm to stop him. "Give us something because we're left in the dark about whatever the hell happened with that man downstairs, and we haven't seen April since."
"I'm not fired, but Bailey suspended me for a week. And she's giving April the rest of the week off, so I have to go get her and take her home," Alex impatiently answered. "O'Malley sent me a text. He found her, and she's not exactly in the greatest emotional state at the moment."
"Just tell us who that man is, Karev," Jackson demanded. "Why did April run away?"
Alex placed his hands on his hips, turning around to face his peers. "Listen, I'm only gonna give you the short version because that's all I have time for," he retorted. "That dickhole is Matthew Taylor. He was in our residency class at Mayo. He was also April's fiancé. He's the reason why she left Mayo and came here. Idiot isn't supposed to be within 300 feet of her or have any contact with her. I don't know what the hell he was thinking."
"You mean, he abused her?" Lexie glumly replied.
"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly, but he wasn't Prince Charming either. Anyway, I have to leave. Avery, just come over after work or something," Alex stated, then he guiltily glanced back at Jo. "I'm sorry, but I have to bail on dinner tonight."
"No, I understand," Jo insisted. "Go home, Alex. Just call me later."
After Alex left, Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling sharply. "Do you know which direction that Matthew guy went?" he angrily asked Jo. Based on what April had told him about Mayo in the past, he had an idea about had truly happened to her. He was fuming. "Because if I run into him-"
"Jackson, I don't want to sound insensitive, but he's not your problem," Lexie argued. "And I doubt April would want you to go after him only to get yourself into serious trouble. In fact, if you involve yourself, you might make the situation worse."
"He did something terrible to my girlfriend! I can't do nothing." Jackson began pacing back and forth in front of Jo and Lexie. "You know, I was a bit suspicious about why she wouldn't tell me everything about herself, but I didn't expect it to be over some guy. She seemed happy for the most part."
"Sometimes when people experience something traumatic, they repress those memories and pretend it never happened," Jo suggested. "And it's not until a trigger causes those memories to resurface, and it forces them to come face to face with it all over again."
Lexie nodded in agreement. "That's true. Perhaps Matthew was her trigger."
"I wish I had never spoken to him," Jackson muttered. "If he hadn't been standing beside me while I skimmed the OR board, maybe he never would've seen April in the first place."
"It's not your fault, though," Jo reminded him. "You didn't know. It was just a bad coincidence."
"Did you see her face when she recognized him? She looked terrified," Jackson recalled, shaking his head. He started to walk away from the two women. "To hell with Sloan, I'm leaving early."
Alex opened the front door when Jackson arrived. They barely greeted each other as the latter entered the apartment, quickly removing his jacket and tossing it onto the couch. "Where is she?"
"Locked herself in her bedroom," Alex dejectedly replied. "I gave up on knocking about ten minutes ago when she told me to leave her alone. I'm giving her some space before I finally boulder my way through that door with my body."
Jackson sat down on the couch, rubbing the back of his head. "Karev, I don't ask for much, but I need to know what happened to her. I don't think she'll want to talk about it, but I know that you know everything. So spill it," he requested.
"Dude, she might kill me if I tell you…"
"Then, I'll take the blame," he offered. "Besides, I kind of owe you for doing what you did. We haven't met eye to eye for the most part, but you and I both care about April, so I'm asking you as… your brother."
It was the first time Jackson referred to them as brothers, which caught Alex slightly off-guard. While there was a hint of desperation in his tone, he knew that Jackson's feelings for April were genuine and he wanted to protect her just as much as he did.
Alex went into the kitchen to get himself a beer. He sensed they were in for a long night. "Like I said earlier, Matthew was in our residency class. Actually, he was the unlucky intern who had to do an appendectomy. He nearly killed the patient. I started to crap on him, others joined in, and he almost had this mental breakdown in front of everybody. Then, April stepped in. She defended him and he was grateful about it. They started dating a while after that. Everything seemed fine," he explained. He sipped his beer and sat down at the dining table. "But I guess Matthew had this temper that people rarely saw. April was the person who kept him calm. Something never felt right to me about that guy. Dude came off appearing too perfect. Like, he was too damn nice for my taste."
"Was he ever physical with April?" Jackson asked.
"Not that I know of. She occasionally ranted to me about how Matthew called her a name or said something shitty to her because he was pissed about something, but he'd apologize afterwards. They were in love or whatever, so she was quick to defend him. Maybe a bit scared of him too. But this is when things became a little more complicated," he continued, slightly frowning. "He knocked her up. So, he proposed to her. Sounds like such a sweetheart, huh?"
Jackson raised an eyebrow at Alex. "She was pregnant? What happened to the baby?"
Alex took another swig from his beer bottle, then he sighed. "She was around seven months when it happened. The wedding planning and residency were stressing Matthew out big time. See, April was the better resident. She was more efficient and well-liked by the attendings. He struggled a bit. I could tell he somewhat resented her for that. I don't know what the argument was about because I wasn't there when it happened, but his temper went overboard and he pushed her down the stairs at the hospital. The ruptured spleen was legit. She just left out some details. If Yang hadn't shown up at the right time, April could be dead right now."
"Yang saved her?" Jackson wrote a memo to himself in his head to never talk crap about Cristina Yang again.
"Sort of. From what I've heard, she spooked Matthew when she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and he ran off. But I guess, yeah. Yang helped save April. That's why she doesn't treat her like crap over here."
"So why is Matthew walking around like he didn't do anything?"
Alex softly groaned. "He's one lucky son of a bitch. They charged him with manslaughter in the second degree for the unborn kid, and he only received 18 months in prison. His defense attorney did a damn good job convincing everybody that he was a freaking nice guy who had one bad slip. He had a clean record, so it was easy. He only served five months and got out early for good behavior." He shook his head disappointedly before finishing his beer. "When April heard he was getting out early she wanted to leave Minnesota as fast as possible. Plus, she was tired of all of the whispering and the stares behind her back from everyone else. That's how we ended up here. Bailey knows about all of this. She just didn't know Matthew was the guy I was beating the crap out of earlier. Not the first time I've done it."
"Yeah?"
Alex nodded. "Cost me a month of surgery, but it was worth it. Matthew didn't have the balls to press charges. He knew he fucked up, so he just took it. That doesn't mean he's a good person. April got caught up in that love crap because he was the first guy to feel that way about her. She thought he was the one," he added. "She deserved better, though."
Jackson slowly rose to his feet. "Mind if I try talking to her?" Alex simply shook his head before standing up to get himself another beer. "Thanks for telling me, Karev."
After receiving a muffled response from Alex, Jackson walked through the small hallway and stopped in front of April's bedroom. He quietly took a deep breath, hoping she would open the door for him. He lightly knocked on the door. "April? It's Jackson. Can I come in, please?"
There wasn't a response for a full minute, which made him nervous. Just as he thought about asking Alex to help him break down the door, he heard it unlock from inside and the door cracked open. He slowly pushed it open to find April, still dressed in her baby blue scrubs, seated along the edge of her bed. He entered the bedroom, closing the door behind him. As he slowly approached her, he noticed a sonogram picture beside her. It had to be of her deceased child, he thought.
"Is it okay if I sit down with you?" he carefully asked. She barely nodded her head, but she didn't scoot away when he sat down beside her on the bed.
"Alex told you everything, huh?" April murmured, staring down at her sonogram picture. "I was supposed to have a boy. One minute, he's kicking in my belly. Then the next thing, I wake up after surgery and he's gone."
Jackson cleared his throat as he reached for his girlfriend's hand. "I'm sorr-"
"Don't say you're sorry. I don't want you to feel sorry for me just like everybody else did at Mayo," she firmly stated. "I wanted to believe that I was past all of this, that the therapy I was forced to attend and the anti-depressants were behind me. I came to Seattle, so I can start over. And I didn't want to fall for you, Jackson. After Matthew, I wasn't sure if I could trust anybody again. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you, but I hate talking about it. I don't want to relive any of it. And then he showed up at the hospital and I panicked."
"You don't have to apologize. I understand," he assured her. "For the record, I would never hurt you the way he did. I promise you that."
April finally looked back at Jackson. "I don't want you to feel obligated to stay with me because you know my tragic backstory."
Jackson stared at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Why would you think that?" he slowly questioned. "What I know about you now doesn't change anything between us. If you're worried that I'll walk away because the news is too much to handle, don't be. I'm not going anywhere, okay? April, I lo-"
"Please, don't say it," she unhappily replied, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hands. "If you say it now, I'm just going to assume you're saying it to make me feel better. I know you're going to tell me that you're not, but hearing you say it will only make me feel worse, so don't say it."
Jackson frowned as he looked down at his shoes. "Okay," he whispered. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No." April scooted towards the top of her bed and lay on her side. "I'm going to take a nap."
"That's fine. It's been a long day," he sighed, turning around to watch her sleep. After the sudden turn of events that opened the door to April's past, he refused to leave her out of his sight. "I'll be here when you wake up."
Now that you know the dirt, let me know what you think, please! :)