Sorry for the delay, folks! Been busy entertaining relatives from out of town for the last couple of weeks, so I didn't have time for writing. Anyway, thanks for being patient :)

Enjoy!

Even after a full week had passed, Jackson struggled to wrap his head around the news he had learned about April's family. Mark Sloan already despised him because of his arrogant attitude and his infatuation with his stepsister only added more fuel to the fire. He suspected it would be damn near impossible to go out on a casual date with April without her older brother intervening in some way.

The tension between them at the hospital was unbearable. Everywhere Jackson went, he felt his boss' eyes following him. Trying to visit the Pediatrics department was like attempting to cross the border into foreign territory. Mark practically banned him from every peds case that required a plastics consult, so he didn't have an excuse to take a peek at April. And he also kept the younger plastic surgeon busy by throwing case after case at him. While he had experienced a few protective older brothers during his high school years, none of them were as intimidating as the Head of Plastics. His job and his precious genitals were on the line.

It was Friday, which was supposed to be the day of his date with the perky redhead, but there was one problem – he didn't have a date planned. He blamed Mark for constantly distracting him with loads of paperwork and patients. Plus, he hadn't been able to speak to April since the party at the Sloan residence. She seemed to be avoiding him in the locker room and in the cafeteria because she was nowhere to be found whenever he was in those areas of the hospital. He also failed to get her cell phone number and nobody wanted to give it to him. He suspected Mark had something to do with that as well.

He was suddenly public enemy number one at Seattle Grace Hospital. The only person who bothered to give him any attention was Alex, but his jackass of a friend wasn't the best source for moral support.

Sitting behind a computer at the nurses' station, Jackson was almost finished updating a patient's file when he heard the voice of the one person he personally didn't want to listen to.

"Avery!" Mark called out as he approached the nurses' station. He stopped behind the counter, resting his forearms on top as he leaned forward towards his plastics attending. "Still taking April out tonight?"

"Well, of course. I mean, I don't have anything planned-"

"You will escort her out of this hospital by 7 PM," he interrupted, sternly staring at Jackson. "You will bring her to a nice, moderately priced restaurant where there are hundreds of witnesses to notice if you try to lay a hand on her. One with bright lights, none of those dark joints where you can barely see the person beside you."

"Sloan-"

"The Kingfish Café. You're taking her there," Mark continued, ignoring the scowl on his coworker's face. He sounded more like an overprotective father than a colleague handing out unsolicited dating advice. Stroking his goatee, the older plastic surgeon smiled. "Bring her home by ten. And no detours to your condo either. In fact, no touching whatsoever."

Jackson sighed in annoyance and folded his arms. "April's a grown woman. I highly doubt she would appreciate you setting a curfew for her like she's a high school girl," he retorted. Pushing himself up from his desk chair, he stood face to face with Mark. "I'm not going to do anything to her, alright? Trust me just this once, please."

"No way. I can't trust a man who is the person I used to be," he scoffed, shaking his head. "I know all of the tricks, Avery. Sometimes I truly believe I invented them. So, no. I can't trust you because I could barely trust you before April moved back from Ohio. And she just became a widow a little over a month ago. She was with her husband for over ten years, so don't expect anything sexual to come out of this date. April has never been and never will be that type of person, the kind who puts out for anybody like you do."

"I promise I won't-"

"And if you truly are Mr. Perfectionist, you'll do as I say. Seven o'clock. I will tell her to wait for you in the locker room," Mark reminded him, cutting off his sentence one more time. He moved away from the nurses' station and strolled down the hallway with his hands inside of his lab coat pockets. "Bring her home by ten, Avery! I mean it."

Jackson softly groaned, rolling his eyes as he slowly slumped back down on his chair. His date was now set, though he hadn't planned any of it. He hoped Mark wouldn't surprise him by following him to the restaurant to watch him like a hawk. If the older surgeon wasn't his boss, he wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch at the guy. Nobody had controlled him as much as he had except for Mama Avery. There was only so much crap he could take from a person before he finally put his foot down.

But he couldn't do that with Mark for a variety of reasons. Impressing April meant impressing her older brother too.

April was working in the OR with Callie Torres, the Head of Orthopedic Surgery. She had known the Latina woman for over ten years as she and Mark were in the same residency class at Seattle Grace. They initially met at medical school in Columbia where they dated off and on. Mostly off, but they were more friends with benefits than anything else. Despite their dysfunctional relationship, they remained close friends. Callie was responsible for knocking some sense into her friend after Lexie returned from Yale to start her residency at the hospital. She acted as his conscience because he was a terrible decision maker at the time.

Callie was in the running for Chief of Surgery, but she lost out to Arizona three years ago. They started off as enemies, both of them trying to outdo the other with their presentations for Richard Webber, the former Chief of Surgery who was now retired. The orthopedic surgeon's fear of public speaking was her downfall and the blonde doctor's bright smiles and perkiness prevailed. She thought it was unfair because Arizona had only been working in Seattle for a year after spending most of her career at Johns Hopkins, while she had been around since her residency. And she thought Webber had discriminated against her because her department was much smaller than the others. Nobody gave Orthopedics the respect she thought it deserved.

However, she and Arizona bonded over the fact that they were former student-athletes in high school and college. Then, they soon realized how much in common they had, like they were practically twins separated at birth. They quickly became best friends and it didn't hurt that her colleague provided her a lab solely for ortho research. That sealed the deal.

April and Callie had a fairly close friendship, though for the first two years they had known each other she was always referred to as Mark's youngest stepsister or simply Kepner. But they bonded over Mark's former stupidity when April returned home from college and spent her summers in her hometown. She was a bridesmaid in both siblings' weddings. In a way, she was like their adopted sister.

"How have you adjusted to being home again?" Callie questioned while she focused on the hip replacement patient on the operating table. April had paged her for a consult after a 16-year old arrived in the ER following a freak skateboarding accident the day before. "Everything doing alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. Living with Mark and Lexie has been comforting and Maddy always has company with Kylie, so she's not lonely," the redhead answered. "Eventually, I'd like to find my own place. Once I feel completely settled in, I'll start looking for an apartment."

"Good. That's good. Remember, if you ever need anything, you can come to me," she advised and chuckled. "Especially when your brother's being an idiot."

On cue, the plastic surgeon entered the OR holding a surgical mask in front of his face. Both women gazed up at him as he stood a few feet away from them. "Dr. Kepner, you have a date with Dr. Avery starting at 7 PM. He'll pick you up in the locker room. He's taking you to The Kingfish Café and if he doesn't bring you home by ten o'clock, I'm kicking his ass. Got it?"

There was an awkward silence in the room with the exception of machines occasionally beeping in the background. Mark placed his free hand on his hip, while April stared at him with a raised eyebrow. His sudden protective side was more annoying than flattering.

"Did he set this up or did you?" she finally asked. "Because I know we're supposed to be having dinner tonight, but we never actually had anything set up."

"I planned it and he agreed – not that he had a choice. Either he takes you out on my terms or he doesn't at all."

"So you dictate my nightly outings now?"

"Only when it comes to Jackson Avery," Mark stated. He approached April, leaning close to her ear and he whispered, "You can cancel if you want. I'd be glad pass the message on to him, so he'll stop wasting his time on you."

"No! Don't cancel," the peds surgeon irritably replied. "Anyway, thank you for telling me. Is that all?"

He nodded as he backed away from his sister. "Yes. Don't drop your panties for him, alright?"

"Mark!" she yelped, shaking her head in embarrassment after he left the OR. If it wasn't for her surgical mask covering half of her face, the nurses, residents and Callie would have clearly seen her rosy cheeks. He had always lacked a filter, careless about who overheard his comments whether they were appropriate or not. She learned to brush them off, but he knew how to embarrass her easily. "He hasn't changed since we were kids."

"He's really going out of his way to ensure you have a miserable time with Avery," Callie noted, smiling behind her surgical mask. "I don't blame him. Jackson's a shadow of his former self, albeit more arrogant and obnoxious. Mark and everyone else in this hospital is aware of his reputation. Why did you agree to go out with him anyway?"

April sighed. "Because I knew Jackson from a long time ago. When we were thirteen we met at this summer camp I attended every year until I graduated high school," she explained and softly chuckled. "He was the opposite of what he looks like now. A sheepish nerd with gigantic glasses, but he was sweet and kind. We were uhh… he was my first boyfriend, if you can call it that. Summer camp flings probably don't have a significant meaning to most people."

"The fact that you're ignoring his undeniably douchey and manwhore behavior and you're willing to have dinner with him implies that summer camp flings do have a significant meaning to some people," she replied, her eyes glancing up at April. "Sounds like you two had a special thing going on. Does Mark know about your history with Jackson?"

"I don't think so. Well, I never told him about Jackson at the time because I knew the overprotective side of him would've threatened to beat him up. He was already dealing with bullies at camp, so why give him Mark too?" She quickly shrugged. "Besides, he spent most of his time secretly pining for Lexie. In retrospect, that's actually disgusting because we were thirteen and he was eighteen. Pretty creepy too."

"Why am I not surprised?" Callie said, slowly shaking her head. "They were basically the epic love story everybody saw coming, but it took years and years for it to finally evolve. I find it romantic… in a quirky way."

"Quirky… that's what Matthew used to be," April glumly replied. Her late husband was the ideal match for her because their personalities were similar – dorky and awkward. She wasn't afraid to be herself around him and vice versa. "Thirteen years. Thirteen really is an unlucky number."

Callie slightly frowned at the peds attending. Everybody in Mark and April's family adored Matthew Taylor, even their close family friends loved him. A nice guy on the inside and outside. The orthopedic surgeon couldn't understand why fate would tear apart a perfectly happy family. Crap like that turned her off from marriage and children.

"I'm not sure what I can say to make you feel better, but… things happen for a reason. Always remember that."

Things happen for a reason, alright, April thought to herself. So her husband was meant to die young? What a load of crap.

Summer 1993 – Day 16

"April, tell your stupid brother to stop flicking my ear every time he walks by me," Lexie demanded and pointed at her right ear. Her ear lobe was a faded shade of red. "See what he did? The last flick hurt because of the insect bite just above my earring! Why is he such a jerk?"

The redhead simply shrugged while she fixed her hair into pigtails. She, Lexie and George were seated underneath a tree beside the lake, killing time before lunch. April knew the truth to Mark's antics. Before leaving home for Wazi, she found a photograph of her best friend inside of his pillow case when she volunteered to do the laundry. He threatened to smother her with his jock strap if she spilled the beans about his secret crush, so she forced herself to remain tightlipped.

"Anybody seen Jackson?" she asked. Since the humiliating scene at the dance, Jackson had been M.I.A. He was avoiding her and she hadn't seen him in the mess hall for their daily meals either.

"Who cares?" George mumbled to himself, keeping his eyes down at his newest novel. To him, the less of the nerd from Boston, the better. He certainly didn't miss his presence.

April barely heard his comment and pushed herself up from the grass. "I'm gonna go look for him. I'll see you guys at lunch."

She wasn't quite sure where to start searching, but she decided to check his cabin first. If Jackson had chosen to hide from the other campers, that was the first place to find him. She walked to The Grove, where the boys ages 12-15 resided. He stayed in cabin number two, but when she walked inside nobody was there. Just as she was ready to leave, she heard a sneeze coming from underneath one of the beds.

"Uhh, Jackson? Are you in here?"

Sliding out from under the bed, Jackson slowly stood up and brushed the dust from his t-shirt. "Hi," he murmured, pushing up his glasses with his thumb. "I-I was reading."

"Why are you hiding, though?" April approached him when he remained silent. "Is it because of what happened at the dance? Really embarrassing things happen to all of us. It's not just you."

"Yeah, but they happen to me more often than others," he bitterly replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. "So, umm… how come you're in here? Wait. Girls aren't supposed to be in the boys' cabins."

She grabbed his hand and led him out of the cabin. "I guess we should talk outside then."

He expected her to stop just outside of his cabin, but she continued walking and dragging him along behind her. "Where are we going?" April didn't respond. Instead, she tightly clutched his hand. He hoped she wouldn't be grossed out by the sudden sweat forming on his palm. A girl holding his hand was making him extremely nervous. "Umm, April?"

They ended up in the dining hall. It was empty with an hour to spare before lunch would be served. Jackson continued to feel clueless about what April was doing, especially when they entered the kitchen. Only campers helping clean up after lunch were allowed in there, so they were technically breaking the rules, something the cheerful redhead rarely did.

April opened the large freezer and pulled out two Fudgesicles. She led him outside through a back door before sitting down on a nearby bench. "Sit, Jackson. We're on a date," she ordered.

"We are?" his voice squeaked. Jackson sat down beside his girlfriend. "I'm still your boyfriend even after I ditched you at the dance? I was supposed to walk you back to your cabin."

"People were totally rude to you, so I don't blame you for running out." She smiled as she held out one of the Fudgesicles in front of his face. "And yes, you're still my boyfriend. Take it or you'll ruin our date."

Of course he wasn't going to turn down free ice cream. He took the dessert from her and unwrapped it. It was a hotter day than usual, so ice cream was necessary. "Thanks. You won't get in trouble for this?"

"As long as you don't rat me out," she answered with a smirk. "But you won't do that, right?"

He shyly shook his head while he ate his Fudgesicle. "I would never do that to you." Feeling it was time to be bold again, he scooted closer to April until their knees knocked together. "D-do you want to sit next to each other during the campfire tonight? That could be our next date or… or is it too soon to be on another date because we're on one right now?"

She giggled. "I don't think it matters, so it's a date."

"Cool," he said, though he grimaced after his voice partially changed pitches. "So… what's it like in Seattle? I've never been there."

"Cloudy. The Sonics are pretty good. I don't really know much about them, though. I'm not the biggest sports fanatic. I'm sure you know that stuff. Grunge music is big there. Do you listen to Nirvana? My older brother's obsessed with them." She watched him shake his head, then she pointed at herself. "It's okay. I prefer the likes of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Oh! And New Kids on the Block. I do like a little bit of everything, though."

"What TV shows do you like? My personal favorites are The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Saved By the Bell."

"Oh, me too! Me too!" April chirped, grinning widely at Jackson. "Can you do the Carlton Dance?"

He nervously laughed. "Not in public."

"C'mon, please? Nobody else is around right now," she pleaded and playfully yanked his arm. "Please, Jackson?"

"No way," the nerdy boy declined. The only time he ever performed the infamous Carlton Dance was when he was alone in his house and in his locked bedroom. "Sorry, April. There are some things I will never share with you."

"Ugh, alright," she softly groaned.

April rested her head against Jackson's shoulder. He appeared to be caught off-guard initially, tensing up beside her. Silently taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and shakily raised his free arm, resting it around her shoulder. She smiled while eating her Fudgesicle. It was about time Jackson made some sort of move on her.

Their first slow dance was a fail, but their first "date" was a success.

Sitting across from Jackson at The Kingfish Café, April stared at him in amusement as he switched back and forth between eating his New York steak and checking his watch. They hadn't done much talking since he picked her up from the attendings locker room at the hospital. He seemed more occupied with finishing their dinner date and bringing her home to Mark and Lexie's on time.

It also bothered him that he was forced to take her out to a restaurant that wasn't the typical fancy, formal dress type that he normally brought dates to. The plastic surgeon had arrived at work in a suit like he always did, while she wore a simple green blouse and blue jeans. When he changed out of his scrubs he ditched the tie and jacket to help him feel slightly casual.

"Slow down. It's not even 8:30 yet," she informed him. Reaching across the table, she grabbed Jackson's hand to stop him from speed eating. "Jackson, stop. Why are you so worried about taking me home by ten? You're acting like Mark's my father when he's not. Don't let him get to you."

"He's my boss. Not to mention, I had no idea he was your stepbrother too," he uncomfortably said before drinking some water. Jackson noticed April was poking at her dinner. "Uhh, is the catfish awful?"

"No, it's not that. You eating like a pig is kind of making me lose my appetite," she sheepishly admitted. "Why don't we do what you wanted to do in the first place? You know, talk?"

Jackson nodded as he set his knife and fork down on his plate. "Okay. You look very pretty today- well, you look pretty every day," he complimented, trying to work his charm with his smile.

"Umm, thank you." She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip while her eyes wandered away from his. That smile of his was difficult to ignore. He was just too damn good looking. "So… how long have you been working at Seattle Grace?"

"About a year. It's a nice hospital. Maybe not better than Mass Gen, but I refuse to work with anybody from my family," he replied and rolled his eyes. "None of them understand my passion for plastics. My grandfather still believes he can sway me away from that and convert to cardio. Not happening."

"Why did you pick plastics, Jackson?" April asked curiously. "What drew you to that specialty?"

Easy. The money. "I uhh… well, it's a lot harder than one might think. Reconstructive surgery requires perfection, in my opinion. I'm sure you wouldn't want a crooked nose job or a scar on your face that leaves you looking like Frankenstein's monster," he explained. She slightly shook her head in response to agree with him. "Isn't that why Sloan got into plastic surgery?"

"Actually, he was in it for the money," she answered, smirking at Jackson after he shifted in his seat. "But that was the old Mark. The present Mark cares a lot about his job. It's not about the money anymore."

"Okay, why did you choose peds?"

"I love kids. In high school, I worked as a part-time babysitter. And I always knew I would become a mom one day," April cheerfully replied, taking her cell phone out of her purse. After opening her photo gallery, she held her cell phone in front of Jackson to show him a picture of Madison. "I already told you about Maddy, but here she is. My parents think she's like an exact clone of myself when I was a child."

Jackson stared at the little girl in the picture. He quickly took note of the bright smile on her face and the matching red hair. He also noticed the alien necklace around her neck. Madison was as cute as a button, but dammit, he didn't want to meet her anytime soon. "She's… adorable," he forced himself to say along with a half-assed smile.

"I don't mean to sound conceited, but she is, huh?" she chuckled, putting her cell phone away. "I was hoping to have more kids. Matthew and I were trying before he received his cancer diagnosis."

"So, umm… how did you two meet?" He wasn't quite sure why he asked. Truthfully, Jackson couldn't care less about her late husband, but if he wanted to win any points from her, he needed to show interest in her personal life.

April was the storytelling type, covering every detail she felt was necessary. She and Matthew met during their freshman year at Duke. They were in the same English class, but she was too shy to talk to him for the first couple of months. He was a member of the golf team, so she considered him a part of the jock group. Athletes rarely noticed her in high school, despite her outgoing demeanor. She finally had to interact with him when they were assigned to peer review each other's papers, but he wasn't like those other jocks. He was friendly and awkward just like her. Unfortunately, he had a girlfriend back home in Iowa, but they became good friends.

A year later, Matthew returned to Duke after having broken up with his ex-girlfriend over the summer and the rest was history. They had been dating since then. He moved up to Rhode Island with her when she chose to attend Brown for medical school. Around that time, he had decided to become a firefighter. A very selfless man, he always put her ahead of himself, so he followed her to Ohio where they resided until his death.

During her second year of residency, he proposed to her on Christmas in front of her family when they visited Ohio. They were married the following summer in Seattle. It was like a fairy tale, she described. Found her Prince Charming and got her happily ever after. But in real life, nobody was invincible. Her fairy tale turned into a nightmare, but all she could do now was carry on and be the best mother she could be to their daughter.

Jackson didn't have much of a story to tell – at least a story she would be interested in. He doubted she wanted to hear about all of the women he had slept with and dated. She had already been disgusted with him once, maybe twice, so he kept that part of his life to himself.

He told her the basics. Played college football at Harvard, ranked first in his class in medical school. Afraid of bragging too much about himself, he brought up summer camp instead. They poked fun at themselves and laughed at stories about their summer together. He loved the fact that she was enjoying his company.

After dinner, he drove her home to Mark and Lexie's like he was told to do. He arrived in front of the house early, five minutes before the curfew his boss placed on him. Jackson walked April to the front door knowing she would appreciate the gesture. For a brief moment, they stood face to face without saying a word to each other.

She slipped her hands inside of her coat pockets. "Umm, thank you for dinner, Jackson. It was fun catching up," she politely said, smiling at the pretty man.

"No problem. We should do this again sometime," he suggested, grinning back at her. The plastic surgeon softly chuckled to himself as he thought back to a memory from summer camp. "I uhh… I will probably feel like a real idiot after I do this, but I suppose it's not a big deal anymore."

"Do what?" April burst into laughter as Jackson showed her his imitation of the Carlton Dance. She clenched her stomach after cracking up at his silliness. "I see you're no longer shy about performing that dance in public."

He shrugged, sheepishly stuffing his hands inside of his pockets. "Well, nobody was around and… people change their minds."

"So that nerdy side of you does still exist," she teasingly said. "I find that side of you more enjoyable than that other guy I met in the elevator. Douchey doesn't fit you, Jackson."

Before he could respond, the front door swung open and Mark appeared to interrupt their conversation. "It's 10 PM. Date's over!" he obnoxiously announced, smirking at Jackson as he pulled April into the house. "Night, Avery."

The younger surgeon held up his finger, opening his mouth to speak as his boss closed the door in his face. He shook his head in disgust and walked back to his car. "Scum bag."

"Mark! What is the matter with you?" April retorted, folding her arms as she scowled at her brother. "He was actually being nice to me. Not only were you being rude but you completely embarrassed me in front of Jackson!"

"I'm doing what's best for you and that's protecting you from men like him," Mark insisted. "He's no good for you, April. Guys like him only want sex. His so-called nice act is just his way to get into your pants. Don't put yourself in that position. Trust me because I used to be that guy. I don't want to see anybody taking advantage of you after your freaking husband just died."

"He's not taking advantage of me. We had dinner and talked. Jackson never laid a hand on me, okay? And I'm a grown woman. I'm grateful that you're looking out for me, but I can take care of myself, so quit acting like you're Dad or whatever." April removed her coat and sighed. "Can we argue about this in the morning? I'm tired from work and I just want to go to bed."

"Fine, fine." Mark pulled April in for a hug and firmly patted her lower back. "I'm sorry for overreacting. He's a damn fine surgeon, but I don't like him, alright? I know I'm not the only one. Just promise me you won't put out for him."

"This is a very uncomfortable conversation now, Mark," she mumbled against his chest. Taking a step back, the redhead softly smiled at him. "I'm going to check on Maddy before I hit the hay. Goodnight."

He followed her up the stairs. "You didn't promise me yet."

"Okay, okay. I promise, loser," April groaned, rolling her eyes.

Sleeping with Jackson was out of the question. She wasn't the type of woman who put out easily. Then again, Matthew was her first and only. But she wouldn't mind going out with her one-time summer fling again. She just wasn't going to tell Mark that.

Jackson + Carlton Dance... you know you were trying to visualize it :P Let me know what you think please!