Thanks for the reviews, folks! I'm currently writing three fics (and a fourth that's coming soon) at the same time, but I will try to update as frequently as possible :)

Enjoy!

Jackson's head sprung up at the sound of his doorbell ringing furiously in his condominium. It was Saturday morning and his day off. All he wanted to do was sleep in for once, but whoever was at his door ruined that plan.

And a broken hand turned sleeping into a daunting task, despite the fact that his forearm, hand and his ring and pinky fingers were covered with an ulnar gutter splint. The verdict was a boxer's fracture after x-rays showed a clean break at the neck of his fourth metacarpal. It didn't require surgery, but his hand would be immobilized for at least four weeks. However, barely three days had passed since he broke his hand and it was already a pain in the ass.

His date with April would have been more pleasant if he could use both of his hands to eat dinner. He was too embarrassed to ask her to cut his steak for him, especially when it was their first true date. And he refused to treat her like she was his mother. She drove him home because he couldn't control the gear shift of his Porsche. Not the most romantic of dates, but he enjoyed spending time with her without Mark or any other person who loathed him intruding.

The only person he would be okay with waking him up via doorbell was April, but he knew it couldn't be her. She was working that day, which was disappointing because he would have loved to spend an entire day with the peds surgeon. He slowly climbed out of his bed, stretching his arms over his head as he yawned. Walking out of his bedroom in his gray boxer briefs, he groaned as the ringing continued.

"I'm coming, damn," he muttered under his breath.

Opening the door with his left hand, Jackson stumbled back when another man pounced on him. "Little brother!"

"Grayson?" the plastic surgeon said in surprise.

The man at the door was his oldest brother, Grayson Avery. Five years older than Jackson, he was a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mass Gen. Their middle brother, Harrison, practiced the same specialty at the same hospital as well. Unlike the youngest Avery boy, both of his brothers developed much faster during their adolescent years. They teased Jackson when he was a lanky nerd and ridiculed him even more when he chose plastic surgery for his specialty. Even when he grew out of his awkward years they didn't hesitate to give him a hard time because he was the youngest of the bunch.

Grayson put Jackson in a headlock and gave him a noogie, to the latter's dismay. "Seriously, Jack-O. You need to grow some hair. It makes the noogie actually worth it," he quipped before he released him from his grip.

"What are you doing here?" he irritably asked, rubbing the top of his head. "A phone call would've been a nice warning, bro."

"You wouldn't have answered because you know, you're this hot shot plastic surgeon who hardly bothers to contact his family," the elder Avery scoffed. He pointed at Jackson's injured hand. "Man, Mom is going to be all over your ass when she sees what you've done."

"Mom's here?" Jackson gasped. A surprise visit from his brother wasn't that bad, but his mother?

"Yeah, why are you shocked? Did you think punching a wall wouldn't be a big deal? Your boss called her on Thursday, but we couldn't fly out until yesterday night."

The plastic surgeon rolled his eyes. He wanted to kill Mark Sloan for calling Catherine Avery. "I punched a vending machine not a wall. I'm not that stupid," he retorted. "And who's we? Did the entire clan hop on a plane to pester me for breaking my hand?"

Grayson chuckled. "Relax, Jack-O. It's just Mom and I, but Grandfather sends his regards."

"I highly doubt that," Jackson skeptically replied. If anybody completely resented him for choosing Plastics, it was Harper Avery. "Anyway, where's Mom? Is she waiting downstairs?"

"Nope. At Seattle Grace, so hurry up and put some clothes on. She's waiting for us there," he ordered, clapping his hands. "I'm here to come get you. Somebody has to drive for ya since you can't drive stick at the moment. I'm looking forward to test driving that fancy Porsche of yours too."

Jackson quickly waved his arms. "No way! You are not driving my Porsche. Nobody touches that baby except for me and Frank, the valet guy."

"Okay, I can always have Mom come over here instead and have her nitpick everything about your condo," Grayson insinuated as he began dialing a number on his cell phone.

His younger brother snatched the cell phone away and cancelled the call. "Give me fifteen minutes," he sternly replied, slapping the phone against his chest before he retreated to his bedroom.

"Oh, yeah. She has a present for you too," Grayson called out. "And by present, just keep in mind I'm going by her definition of presents."

Jackson returned to his bedroom dreading what his mother had in store for him. When he lived in Boston she constantly surprised him with gifts he never asked for and rarely received presents that he did want. And as a teenager, Catherine hadn't paid much attention to him, making him feel parentless. There were times when he thought she was just a doctor who decided to procreate, so her surgical legacy wouldn't die after she did.

Summer 1993 – Day 30

Surviving one week of camp was challenging, but a whole month felt like climbing Mount Everest for Jackson. He was thankful to last an entire month at Wazi without breaking any bones after his many encounters with The Hawk. Only bumps, cuts and bruises. At least he was able to pay his bully back once and in the one area no male ever wanted to be hit.

And April had forgiven him for "losing" her Walkman. He wished he could make it up to her somehow, but nothing created in any of the art classes would match the price of her cassette player. Jackson considered himself lucky to still have a girlfriend when it was all said and done.

Because it was the end of the first session of camp, it also marked the first time the campers would receive mail from their parents. Some were fortunate enough to get presents, which was normally in the form of snacks, while others simply got letters with updates from home. Not every camper was lucky, though. There were kids and teenagers with parents who were less enthused about writing to their children.

It wasn't a surprise to Jackson when he was the only boy in his cabin to not receive anything. Catherine was too busy traveling around Europe to even bother sending him a postcard. He would even accept a postcard without anything written on it. That would show his mother cared a little bit about him, but he reminded himself that he came from a family where the children were at the bottom of the priority chain. His older brothers took care of themselves just fine. They were strong and independent. The same couldn't be said for the 13-year old.

For one day, he just wanted to feel loved by his mother instead of being treated like he was an obligation.

April spotted her boyfriend sitting at their newly anointed "special" place behind the bushes next to the dining hall. It was where they shared their first kiss and it became the ideal hiding spot for their nerdy makeout sessions. She and Lexie were walking down a trail with their elbows linked together and indulging in the bag of Oreos her father sent from Seattle. Of course, she wanted to share the wealth with Jackson. She just needed to find him first and she was glad when she did.

"Jackson, there you are," the redhead cheerfully said.

He looked up at them with a half-smile. "Oh, hey. Hi, Lexie."

The two best friends sat down in between Jackson. April kissed his cheek, which made Lexie giggle because they were always shy about PDA in front of anybody at camp. All she ever got to witness were their hugs and innocent hand holding.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are like the cutest couple. If there was an award at camp for best couple, I would totally vote for you," Lexie gushed, grinning widely and showing off her Oreo covered braces. "I'm so jealous of you, April. I wish I had a boyfriend."

"Well, there's George," Jackson sheepishly replied.

"Eww! I hope you were joking," she playfully retorted and nudged him with her elbow. "And I wouldn't want to kiss George anytime soon. He's in the first aid cabin because he mistakenly ate a candy bar with peanuts in it and his lips blew up."

He pursed his lips, trying not to smile too much about what happened to George. Bad karma for embarrassing him at the dance. "Uhh… that sucks," he murmured.

"Have some Oreos, Jackson," April offered and placed the bag on his lap. "My dad mailed them to me. We gotta finish these before dinner or else we have to dump the rest that are leftover."

"Thanks." Jackson picked up an Oreo and sighed. "I got nothing. No big deal. I wasn't expecting my mother to send me anything anyway."

Lexie patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright. My mom didn't even bother to sign the letter my dad mailed. She's a surgeon who doesn't have time for anything except cutting people," she noted and rolled her eyes. "My sister Meredith went through this rebellious phase to get her attention, but all our mom did was ask her if she'll get over it by the time she starts med school. She really didn't care."

"Your mom's a surgeon too? Maybe mine and yours should be best friends," he scoffed. "They sound exactly the same to me. What about your dad? What does he do?"

"He's a teacher at one of the local high schools. At least he goes out of his way to spend time with Mer and I," she answered. "What about you?"

"I… I don't have one," Jackson responded with a frown. "I'm kind of an orphan."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lexie apologetically said. "Is he dead?"

"Lexie!" April furrowed her eyebrows at her best friend, then she slipped her hand into Jackson's. "You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's fine. He could very well be dead for all I know." Jackson shrugged as he took a bite out of his Oreo. He truly had no idea where his father went after his parents divorced. He and his brothers never received birthday cards from him, so they speculated their father erased them from his life or he was dead. "I doubt he would've been a good parent if he's been gone for most of my life without any form of contact."

"You should move into my house," Lexie suggested and laughed. "I've always wanted a brother, especially when my sister's mean to me. Plus, I need a new sibling at home since she's leaving for college."

He smiled at her. "That wouldn't be such a bad idea. It would be nice to know what it's like to have at least one parent. I probably won't experience that until I get married to somebody with cool parents. I can't wait for that day."

Poorly disguising himself in casual clothes, Jackson followed Grayson into Seattle Grace Hospital. He covered his head with the hood of his black zip up jacket and wore aviator shades to hide himself even more. It was pointless, though, because even if Catherine didn't recognize him immediately, his coworkers would.

"Where is she?" the plastic surgeon muttered as he scanned the main lobby. "Don't tell me she's running around flaunting herself to the entire hospital. You know how much she loves attention."

"Chief Robbins allowed her to scrub in on a surgery, so she's either in an operating room or wandering through the hallways. C'mon, let's go find out where she is."

The two brothers rode the elevator to the third floor. Jackson wanted to run away and hide, but he decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to do so. Grayson forced him to walk ahead of him, so he could keep his eye on his younger brother. They received awkward stares from the people they passed by, mainly because of Jackson's appearance.

April stepped out of a supply closet holding a package of wet absorbing sheets. She politely smiled at the Avery men as they walked past her before she turned around and raised her eyebrow curiously. "Jackson? Is that you?"

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Jackson grunted after Grayson bumped into him from behind. He spun around on his heel and removed his sunglasses. "Hey, April. I didn't see you there," he greeted her with a half-smile.

"Probably because you're wearing sunglasses indoors," she teasingly noted. "What are you doing here? I thought you had the day off. I mean, I don't object to seeing you at all or anything."

He heard Grayson clearing his throat, then he rolled his eyes as he introduced him to April. "This is my brother, Grayson. He's a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mass Gen."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you," April excitedly said. She approached them and extended out her hand. "I'm April Kepner. I'm a pediatric surgeon here."

The cardio surgeon shook her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Dr. Kepner. Are you a friend of Jackson's?" he questioned and slapped the back of his hand against his brother's chest. "Jack-O here is quite the bragger, but he never talks much about his social life in Seattle."

"Yeah, Jackson and I are… friends," she reluctantly said, gently biting down on her lower lip.

"Okay. Well, you two can chat while I go find Mom." Grayson pointed his finger at Jackson as he backed away from them. "Don't even think about running away, little brother. You can't hide from her forever."

April waited until the elder Avery was far from earshot before she said, "He seems nice."

"Please," Jackson chuckled. He checked their surroundings before he kissed her lips. "I'm glad we bumped into each other. You have to stay away from my mother."

"Why? Your mom is like this pioneer in surgical urology. Lexie's looking forward to meeting her ever since she heard Catherine Avery was in town last night."

"Because my mother is an overbearing, obnoxious meddler. All she ever does with my life is meddle," he explained. Jackson cupped April's cheek and smiled. "We're just getting started. I don't want her giving you bad impressions of me and scaring you off. Trust me. She is going to ask you personal questions you really don't want to answer. She doesn't have a filter."

"But I want to meet her," she insisted. "She's kind of a goddess."

"You will… just not today. It's too soon to be thrown into her world of crazy," the pretty man jokingly replied. "Enough about my mom. What are you doing after work? I can try to evade my family for an hour or two, so we can hang out or something."

April playfully tugged on the zipper of Jackson's hooded jacket. "I am actually leaving work early to check out some apartments for Maddy and I. Mark's being too controlling. I have to get out of there," she answered. "Maybe a place closer to my parents' house, so I don't have to take her to work every day."

Jackson slipped his hand inside of the redhead's lab coat and rested it against her lower back. "You want any help? I know you hate it when I brag, but I'm very good at negotiating," he offered. "Anything's better than spending so-called quality time with my mom."

She gently patted his chest and sighed. "I hate to say this to you, but suck it up, Jackson. She could be the most annoying person in the world, but she's still your mother. One day won't kill you."

He softly groaned, smirking at her. "You just have to be the sensible one, huh?"

"That's why you can't resist me."

"There are a lot of things about you I can't resist," he huskily said, leaning forward for another kiss. The sound of his mother's voice forced him to step back. He turned April around and began politely pushing her away. "Go, go, go!"

"Wait, I-"

"She'll shred you to pieces if you don't go now," Jackson whispered. He spun around, facing his mother as April listened to him and walked away. Aside from Catherine and Grayson, an unknown woman with a pixie cut accompanied them. Both women were dressed in red scrubs. He forced himself to smile and spread his arms out. "Mom…"

Catherine rushed towards Jackson. "There's my baby boy!" She threw her arms over his shoulders and kissed his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark. The first thing she tended to was his broken hand. Carefully picking it up, she shook her head at the sight of his splinted right hand. "Punching a wall? Have you lost your mind, dear?"

"It was a vending machine," he muttered.

"Doesn't matter what you decided to ruin your hand with. You're lucky your grandfather isn't here. He would whoop your behind the second he saw you standing here." The urologist took a step back and examined his attire, her head slowly nodding up and down. "And why are you dressed like the Unabomber? You also look skinny. Are you eating? Oh, and who was that woman you were ushering away? Is she single?"

Jackson stopped listening after the Unabomber question. He only saw Mama Avery every other year since he graduated from medical school and she acted the same way each time they met. She barraged him with questions she knew he wouldn't answer. And she never hesitated to harass him with questions about his marital status. Of the three Avery brothers, he was the only one who wasn't married with children.

Catherine dismissed the irritated expression on his face and gestured her hand towards the other woman in scrubs. "Baby, this is Reed Adamson. She's a urology fellow at The Brigham and a fantastic surgeon as well. She was Chief Resident at Hopkins," she introduced her. Standing on her tip toes, she moved her head close to Jackson's ear and whispered, "And I think she's ovulating right now."

He shut his eyes, pursing his lips. She brought him a woman as a present. Not the first time she had done it. "Too much, Mom," he whispered back.

"Well, I'm not getting any younger. Grayson and Harrison gave me grandbabies. Now, I'm just waiting on you to do your part." She pinched his cheek knowing how much her son hated that. "And you're not getting any younger either."

"So, you're a plastic surgeon?" Reed intruded. She approached Jackson and extended out her hand. "Your mother's told me practically everything about you. I must say, you're a lot… more impressive in person. And you know what people say about large hands…"

Normally, Jackson wouldn't mind a little bit of flirtation, but he was a taken man. "So, you can tolerate my mother?" he quipped. "I mean, she has a lot to say. Doesn't that get overwhelming?"

"No need to be rude, baby," Catherine scolded him. "Anyway, Dr. Adamson would love it if you gave her a grand tour of the hospital."

"Why? She won't be moving here anytime soon," he retorted. Jackson desperately needed a distraction before Catherine could potentially surprise him even more with an application for a marriage license. All he wanted was April and he shooed her away to save herself from humiliating interrogation. "Besides, I thought you two already got one from Chief Robbins."

"Yes, but we only saw the surgical wing. And you and Reed should get to know each other better," she playfully suggested. "We're only here for one more day, so don't waste any more time."

Jackson was relieved to see Alex strolling down the hallway. The peds surgeon spotted them and walked towards the group with a grin on his face. "Ah, Dr. Avery. You're looking stunning today," he half-heartedly complimented. "Then again, when aren't you stunning?"

The urologist smiled at Alex. "Dr. Karev, lovely to see you again," she greeted him, then she glanced back at Jackson and muttered, "I thought I told you to lose this… friend of yours."

Catherine despised Alex with a passion. He was rude, sloppy and she blamed her son's promiscuity on his best friend. Unbeknownst to her, Jackson had already been sleeping around since his undergraduate years at Harvard. When she visited them at Stanford he accidentally blabbed about the many women they had been with, so she assumed Alex was a terrible influence on her baby boy. He was definitely not up to the standards of being an Avery.

"It's impossible to get rid of me," Alex intervened, smirking at her. He wasn't a fan of Mama Avery either. "Jackson and I are attached at the hip."

"Hmm… not really," Jackson quickly countered, then he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He raised both of his eyebrows and backed away from everybody. "Well, damn. I have to go see Dr. Torres about my hand. I should get moving."

Grayson furrowed his eyebrows. "Right now?"

"Yeah. Weird, right? Somehow she knew I'd be here today," he turned around as he rushed down the hallway. "Karev can give Dr. Adamson a tour, Mom!"

"Jackson, get your baby behind back here! Jackson!" Catherine yelled, placing her hands on her hips and stomping her foot. She shook her head in disappointment before facing Reed. "I'm sorry about that, sweetie. He's just shy because he's not as cleaned up as he typically he is. My boy's a man who loves to be dressed up for the opposite sex."

Reed softly laughed. "Oh, it's fine. Maybe when he's not so embarrassed to be around his mother he'll warm up to me." She noticed Alex checking her out and immediately scowled at him. "Excuse you."

"Dude, what?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You have boobs. I have to look."

She rolled her eyes and looked at Catherine. "How long will we have to wait for Jackson to come back?"

Dodging his family was more complicated than it seemed. Once Mama Avery realized Jackson had been lying to her, she was going to ask every staff member who knew him – which was about 70% of the hospital – to help search for him. He simply wasn't interested in being matched with a woman he couldn't care less about. There weren't many secure hiding places for him, but there was one area he knew his coworkers wouldn't bother to check.

Jackson removed his hood from his head as he entered the daycare center. He scanned the colorful room for a child he recognized. Otherwise, his plan to hide in there would only make him look like a creepy child molester. There was one redheaded girl who caught his attention. Little Madison was seated at a small table coloring on a sheet of paper. He saw it as a perfect opportunity to try to get to know her better – if she would actually overcome her shyness and talk to him.

He casually approached her, then he knelt down beside the table. "Hey, Maddy. Do you remember me? I'm Jackson, your mom's friend," he greeted her. The 3-year old briefly looked at him before she started scribbling again. Pointing at the tiny, red plastic chair on the opposite side of the table, he smiled at her. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

Madison shyly nodded her head, barely making eye contact with Jackson. After he squeezed himself onto the small chair, she noticed the splint on his hand. "What's dat?" she quietly asked and pointed at the black and white splint.

"Oh, this?" The pretty man pushed up his jacket sleeve and showed her the rest of his splint. "I uhh… I got this really big ouchie and this is helping it feel better."

"Ouchie hurt?"

"Not right now." Jackson tapped his finger against the top of his right hand. "See? Doesn't hurt. Here, you give it a whack. It won't hurt at all."

Madison reached across the table and slapped her hand against Jackson's splint. He kept a straight face, but it actually stung more than he anticipated. She continued to stare at his broken hand. "Mama fix dat?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Your mom fixed my hand." He didn't want to lie to a freaking 3-year old, but one lie couldn't hurt. She appeared to be warming up to him now. There was a snack sized bag of Oreos sitting on the edge of the table. "Are those your cookies?"

She slowly nodded before she pushed the bag towards him. "Open, pease."

Jackson carefully ripped the bag open, then he picked up an Oreo. "Hey, want to help me twist this open? You know, if you get the side with the white icing that means you win. It also means you're princess for the day." He held out the cookie in front of Madison. "Want to see if you're princess for the day?"

The little girl nodded eagerly and grabbed her half of the cookie. After they twisted it apart, she grinned widely when she got the side with the icing. "I pwincess for da day!" she excitedly said.

With some luck, Jackson dug through a nearby toy chest and pulled out a plastic crown. "And you can't be a princess without a crown," he added, gently placing it on Madison's head. She had the cutest dimple on her face when she smiled just like April. It was impossible to dislike the kid. "I wish I had a crown too."

Madison stood up and ran to the toy chest while she ate her Oreo. She pulled out a Viking hat and showed it to Jackson. "You wear dis," she ordered.

He lowered his head and let her place the hat on top. "How does it look?" he asked, striking a pose. She giggled in response as she sat down in her seat again. "Are you laughing at me? Do I look silly to you?"

"You silly!" she teased.

"Oh… my God." Jackson whipped his head towards the voice coming from the entrance of the daycare center where Izzie stood. She leaned against the doorway with her arms folded and a delightful grin on her face. "Jackson Avery playing with a child? Is the apocalypse approaching?"

"She's not just any child," he replied defensively. After he removed the hat from his head, he put it back in the toy chest and lightly patted Madison's head. "I have to go now. Thanks for the Oreo, Maddy. Oh, I mean, Princess Maddy."

"Bye, Doc Jacks'n," the adorable redhead chirped and waved at him.

Izzie softly giggled as Jackson met her in the hallway. "How freaking cute is that little girl? Ugh, I want to pinch her cheeks." She playfully elbowed her friend's side. "Someone's warming up to the idea of kids."

"Kid. Just one kid," he corrected her. "And she's April's. If I'm going to be in a relationship with her, that includes Maddy and what can I say? She's… words you can openly say that I feel stupid saying."

"Cute, adorable, lovable, a bundle of joy?" the OB listed on her fingers as they walked through the hallway. "You really are making an effort to change for April. So if you two hadn't met when you were thirteen, would you be trying this hard to be with her?"

Jackson shrugged. Without their past history, he would have given up on attempting to sleep with her. "Probably not, but since that's not the case I'm willing to make changes for a woman I really like. Now, I just need to get my mother off my back. She's here and she brought a woman for me." He rolled his eyes. "And she had the indecency to mention that this woman may be ovulating."

"Seriously?" Izzie chuckled loudly. "You've told me stories about your mother before, but I think this is by far the most peculiar one. She brought you a woman, so you can knock her up?"

"And I'm not sure how much she told this urologist about me, but she sounded very interested… in my body at least," he bitterly answered. In the past, that type of woman was who he slept with on a daily basis. "I don't want to be that guy anymore."

"Do you want me to kick this woman's ass?" the blonde doctor offered. "Or better yet, just introduce your mom to April. That'll scare off the urologist she brought here."

Jackson shook his head. "I can't do that. Even though April wants to meet my psycho mother, it's too soon. We only started officially dating three days ago."

"Oh, and being set up to impregnate a woman you just met isn't?"

"I highly doubt my mom was serious about that. Well, she could've been half-serious, but she knows better than to assume I would actually knock someone up after the first encounter."

"Who says you haven't?" Izzie humorously said, drawing a scowl from Jackson. "You've slept with a ton of women. It amazes me that not one woman has approached you to break the news that you fathered their baby."

He raised his hand and grimaced. "Please, Iz. Don't even joke about that. I've had a few scares here and there, but fortunately, I'm nobody's baby daddy… I hope." Rounding the corner of the hallway, he spotted Catherine and Reed talking to April. "Crap, what is she doing?"

"Bonding with your mother, apparently," she pointed out. They watched the two urologists laugh and smile at whatever April was talking about. "See? April's fine. She seems to be getting along with her."

"That's how they all start," he muttered, recalling the past girlfriends Mama Avery eventually scared off. Jackson approached the threesome with Izzie trailing behind. He stopped next to April, interrupting their conversation. "So how many of my coworkers have you questioned about me?"

Catherine grasped her son's cheeks and grinned. "There you are, baby. You know Grayson's running around the hospital at the moment searching for you." She pulled away before nodding her head towards Izzie. "And who is this beautiful woman behind you? Is this your girlfriend? I knew you always favored the blonde ones."

Izzie held out her hand. "Isobel Stevens. It's an honor to meet you," she cheerfully introduced herself, shaking the elder Avery's hand. "Oh, and not his girlfriend. Just friends. Purely friends. Actually, I'm like his parole officer. I keep him in check."

"Well, can you help him get rid of his friend, Alex? That man is a menace to society," she complained and shared a laugh with the OB. "Are you single, Dr. Stevens? Because some relationships bloom from friendships and I need me some grandbabies from this boy."

"Ma…" Jackson groaned. "Your meddling has been tiresome since I was eighteen. Give it a rest."

"If you're not going to grow out of your immature lifestyle, somebody has to knock sense into you," Catherine argued. "You are a 33-year old man and you need to start acting like one. You're never going to find your future wife jumping from one woman to another every night."

April nervously laughed as she pointed at a random direction. "I think this is time for me to go check on my patients," she politely excused herself.

"No, wait." Jackson grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He originally didn't plan on introducing April as the woman he was dating, but his mother's nagging sparked a change of heart. "Mom, I haven't been sleeping around because I'm seeing Dr. Kepner- I mean, April. I'm dating April. And if you say anything inappropriate to her, I swear to God-"

"Why didn't you just tell me this earlier?" the urologist calmly asked, smiling at the couple.

"Because you aren't the greatest at making women I date feel comfortable," he bluntly replied. "And April is somebody I don't want you scaring off after five minutes of interaction."

April gazed up at Jackson, impressed by how quickly he defended himself against his mother. She was also surprised he changed his mind about keeping their relationship a secret. And it was an awkward situation with Izzie smiling gleefully and Reed shooting dirty looks at her direction. Someone was jealous of her. That didn't happen often for her, considering she had previously been with one man for over a decade.

She sheepishly grinned at Catherine. "I guess I left out that minor detail about myself when we met."

Mama Avery squealed and placed a kiss on April's forehead, catching her off-guard. "And this just means I will have to extend my stay in Seattle. I think a week is enough time for me to learn more about your girlfriend, dear," she boastfully said. "Plus, living all alone in that condo of yours? You could use some of your mother's cooking. In fact, sometime next week April should come over for dinner. Actually, no arguments from you two. It's a date for the three of us, period."

Jackson forced a smile as he looked back at April. "Uhh, sounds… great?"

The peds surgeon slowly nodded and softly smiled. "Umm… sure," she reluctantly answered.

There were two other details she hadn't mentioned to Catherine – Madison and her late husband. And they weren't even a serious couple. Suddenly, their relationship was moving at a rapid pace. Perhaps Jackson was right all along about staying away from his mother.

Yup, more Mama Avery on the way ;)