Hello, to anybody still following this! Sorry for taking long to update. I'm still dedicated to this fic, I promise! I hope you'll forgive me by leaving a review lol :)
Enjoy!
"X-rays show your fracture is healing smoothly, Avery. Your hand still has to be in a splint for another three weeks, though," Callie reported as she stared at Jackson's hand x-rays on the wall. It had been three weeks since he broke his pretty hand and it was his first follow up appointment. "On a scale from one to ten, how's the pain level right now?"
Jackson gingerly opened and closed his hand. The ortho surgeon instructed him to begin small motion exercises to ease away the stiffness in his joints after it had been positioned in a splint for the past three weeks. "I'd say about a four, but that's mostly due to the stiffness in my ring and pinky fingers," he answered, slightly wincing at his hand. "So if this continues to heal without any complications, how soon can I operate again?"
Callie sat across from the plastic surgeon at a table and examined his hand. "You're still a month or two away," she answered, listening to her coworker curse under his breath. "Of all things you could've fractured, you chose your hand. For somebody who takes pride in being a perfectionist, it continues to baffle me how stupid you acted when you decided to punch a vending machine."
"I was upset. And yeah, I'll admit I shouldn't have damaged my hand the way I did, but I learned my lesson. You and everyone else can stop pestering me about it," he irritably replied. Jackson glanced down at his lap. He and his companion below had been experiencing withdrawals and until his hand was healed, April wasn't putting out for him. "It's just going to be you and me for a while, bro."
"Are you talking to your penis?" Callie blankly stared at the pretty man, who sheepishly looked back at her. "Oh my God, you're talking to your penis. You two must be awfully close – not that I want to know the details."
He rolled his eyes. "April's been teasing me like I'm a guy without needs," he complained, holding up his injured hand. Staring at it, he shook his head and sighed. "Seriously, man. You gotta heal faster. You're the reason why April refuses to open her legs for me."
"You know, you do have another hand if you're that horny," the Latina woman jokingly reminded him. "And stop talking to your body parts in front of me. It's disturbing and inappropriate. Plus the more you talk about April and sex, the more I want to castrate you in your sleep. Relationships should be based on respect, communication, trust. Sex can wait. A guy like you needs to practice abstinence since you're practically a sexaholic."
"I'm not a sexaholic," Jackson defensively said. "I just have- had a lot of sex with women who wanted to have sex with me, but I'm done with that. I'm not a single man anymore, so I'm going to act that way."
Callie smirked at her coworker. "Who are you and where is the real Jackson Avery?" she skeptically questioned.
The biggest playboy in the hospital remaining faithful to one woman? Shocking.
"I'm right here. Shouldn't you people be thankful I'm trying to change?" he retorted, wincing when she slowly bent his ring finger for him. "I mean, most of you have hated me since I arrived. I realized I have to make changes if I want any respect from you."
"So, what sets April apart from the millions of women you slept with in the past?" she quipped, drawing an eye roll from Jackson. "Okay, on a serious note now. Is it because she was your epic first summer love?"
"She tries to see me as a whole person, not just a hot piece of ass. My mother likes her – both the sober and drunk versions of her," Jackson explained and softly laughed. "If Catherine Avery actually approves of the woman I'm dating, then I'm doing something right. We almost never agree on anything. And yeah, meeting her at summer camp was a factor. I liked her a lot then and I like her a lot now."
The ortho surgeon smiled at him. "Heard you were completely different back then. I would pay money to see what you looked like when you were thirteen," she chuckled. "Got any pictures lying around?"
He pursed his lips, shaking his head. "They're not for your eyes or anyone else's to see."
"Why are you so ashamed of what you used to look like? So you weren't born pretty. Big deal, Avery," Callie scoffed. "April certainly didn't think you were worthless then."
"Throughout my childhood and half of my teenage years, I was beat up on and made fun of. My life sucked more than you can imagine. Mark kicked my ass almost every day at camp for no reason at all," Jackson bitterly replied. "He should consider himself lucky that I haven't punched his face in for all of the crap he put me through."
"I highly doubt you have the balls to punch your boss, let alone your girlfriend's brother," she nonchalantly countered, smirking at him. "You and Mark are just gonna have to find a way to get along for April. Yeah, he can be a total ass like you, but he's a family man. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him if you ever decide to start one of your own."
Jackson smiled to himself. "I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea. Maddy's not a brat. I wouldn't mind taking care of her." He looked up to see Callie raising her eyebrow at him as a grin formed on her face. His eyes widened as he realized he blurted out information he wasn't ready to share yet. "You didn't hear anything!"
"You're in love with her! You've got daddy feelings for Maddy because you're falling in love with Kepner," she excitedly stated.
"Shut up, shut up! Just give me a new splint, so I can get back to work," he responded agitatedly, scowling at Callie as she giggled with glee. The plastic surgeon hadn't been entirely sure how he felt about April. His mother tried to figure him out, but he refused to budge. "If you tell Mark or anyone else-"
"Calm your balls, Avery. I'm not that obsessed with your love life," she chuckled. "I think it's cute. She's clearly into you and couldn't care less about your douchey side."
"But she's probably still in love with her husband," Jackson dejectedly replied.
"I think she always will, but that doesn't mean she can't be in love with someone else," Callie assured him. "Don't feel discouraged. You're one of the most confident people here, sometimes too confident. However, this is one of those moments when you want to be."
After being fitted into a new splint for his hand, the two surgeons parted ways and Jackson decided to search for April. He found her in the daycare center with Madison. In the past, he never thought twice about walking inside. He casually entered the room and approached the two redheads.
"How's the little princess today?" he greeted them, sitting down beside April on the floor.
Madison bashfully smiled back at him. "Hi, Doc Jacks'n." She gave Jackson a high five when he raised his left hand in front of her and laughed when he acted like it hurt.
April kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "Your arrival is perfect timing because I need a favor. As you know, I'm moving into my new apartment this weekend, so what do you think about babysitting Maddy for the day?" she inquired. Jackson simply stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, I know you wanted to help me move, but you've only got one good hand."
"So? I can carry boxes with my other arm alone," he insisted. "And what about Mark or your parents?"
"My parents are in Portland for the weekend. Also, Kylie has been sick with some bug since yesterday and I don't want Maddy to catch it, while Lexie watches her at home. And I already have help from Mark, George and Alex-"
"Karev?" Jackson was surprised April had asked Alex to help her move, maybe even more surprised that his wingman actually agreed. He never spent his days off doing favors for women unless he was receiving sex in return. "What did you promise him?"
"Promise him?" She softly laughed. "I didn't promise him anything. I asked Mark to force him to help me because I needed more muscle for the heavier stuff. And no offense to George, but he's not the strongest guy out there."
He guffawed. She chose wimpy George over him? "Well, no offense either, but I'm positive I can carry heavier loads with one arm than he can with two. Why can't he babysit instead?"
April smiled at Madison. "Hey, Maddy. Would you like to spend Saturday with Doctor Jackson?" she cheerfully asked her daughter. The 3-year old nodded eagerly. "Good because he wants to spend the day with you too."
"The Maddy card is unfair," Jackson stated through gritted teeth while he grinned at Madison.
"But you're such a sweet and caring boyfriend that I know you don't mind at all," she teasingly responded. April leaned close to Jackson's ear and whispered, "Do this for me and perhaps you'll get something really, really good out of it. I hope you're a fan of lacy panties."
Freaking tease. The plastic surgeon used all of his will power not to think about his girlfriend in skimpy, lacy underwear. Plus, getting aroused in the daycare center would be very bad for a variety of reasons. Now he hated his broken hand even more.
"Fine, but you better be serious about what you just told me," he agreed, smirking at her. "And no more teasers from you too. I have feelings and you cut them pretty deep sometimes with your teasing."
"Oh, suck it up and be a big boy," she quipped.
"Yeah! Suck it up and be big boy!" Madison partially mimicked April, drawing laughs from the two surgeons.
April playfully shook her finger at Jackson. "You heard the princess. I'll drop her off at your place by ten, okay? And I'll be sure to bring along some toys to keep her occupied." She linked elbows with him, resting her head against his shoulder. "Thank you for doing this."
He couldn't feel upset about being stuck with babysitting. If he wanted to stay in a relationship with her, bonding with Madison was a requirement as well. Maybe she wasn't too young to be converted into a Boston Celtics fan, he thought.
The doorbell rang at exactly ten o'clock in the morning. Jackson had been awake since seven, squeezing in a run and hitting the gym prior to his babysitting date with Madison. He was dressed in a crimson Harvard tank top and white basketball shorts as he opened the front door. April held her daughter's hand, while carrying a pink gym bag – likely filled with toys – in her other hand.
"Hi, Doc Jacks'n!" Madison squeaked, excitedly waving at the much taller man standing in front of her.
He laughed at her enthusiasm because his condominium was far from a children's play zone, but thankfully, the bag of toys would be his lifesaver. Picking up the tiny human with his left arm, he greeted April with a kiss afterwards. "Somebody's full of energy today."
"She just had breakfast before we got here, so she's completely awake right now. Maddy usually naps after lunch," the peds surgeon explained as she walked inside. "You're totally fine doing this, right? I'm not sure how long it will take to move everything into my apartment and arrange the furniture."
"Don't worry. I got this. We'll play with her toys, go to the park, watch some Elmo." Jackson slightly furrowed his eyebrows. "What channel is that on?"
"PBS," she chuckled. April handed him the gym bag. "You can decide what you want to do for lunch, but make sure she doesn't consume anything with peanuts in it. She's allergic. There's an EpiPen in that bag just in case. Umm… don't be afraid to say, 'No', to her. As long as you're nice about it, she'll listen. I guess that's all you need to know."
Jackson set Madison on the couch and turned on the TV. He found Sesame Street and her eyes were immediately glued to the talking puppets on the screen. The children's show was enough of a distraction for him to walk April to the front door. "She won't scream and cry for you like the last time I babysat, right?"
She shook her head and smiled. "No, she's comfortable around you. She'll be alright. If Maddy's not searching for me right now, that's a very good sign." Wrapping her arms around Jackson's waist, she hopped up onto her tip toes to kiss him. "I guess I can stay for another minute."
Of course, he didn't object to the idea. Because they were obstructed from Madison's view, Jackson thought a quick makeout session wasn't inappropriate. He picked April up with his left arm, holding her against the wall and deepening their kiss. She tightly gripped his shoulders and her nails dug into his skin, eliciting a soft groan from the plastic surgeon and he forced himself to pull away.
"If Maddy wasn't here, we would be having hot and dirty sex right now, but since that's not the case we have to stop," he regretfully murmured and set her back down on the floor.
"You're cute when you have to restrain yourself," she teased and laughed as he shook his head in disappointment. "Soon. I promise."
Jackson sighed, then he cupped April's cheeks and smiled. "Okay, but on a serious note, waiting is totally worth it when it comes to you." Kissing her one last time, he opened the door for her. "If it's not too late, maybe we could do dinner here? Without any wine, of course."
The redhead sheepishly grinned at him as she stepped outside. "I will probably never live that night down with your mom. But yeah, I don't mind having dinner with you. I'll call you when we're finished moving and call me if you're having problems with Maddy."
"Like I said, we'll be just fine. See you later." He closed the door and walked back into the living room. "So, Maddy. What is Big Bird teaching you to- gahhh."
His leather couch was empty and Madison was no longer in the living room. Jackson checked behind the couch, even opening the cabinet below his TV. She wasn't hiding underneath the dining table nor was she in the kitchen, so his bedroom was the only room left to check. He let out a sigh of relief when he found the 3-year old standing by his window with her hands pressed against it.
"There you are."
Madison turned around and pointed at his window. "What's dat?"
"That's the window," he answered, squatting down beside her.
"No! Dat!" she said, pointing at the tall buildings of downtown Seattle.
"Oh. That's downtown."
"And dat?" she questioned, this time pointing at the Space Needle.
"That is the famous Space Needle."
She then pointed at a white splatter on his window. "What's dat?"
Jackson scrunched his nose. "That is bird poop… which the window washers have yet to clean up," he responded, feeling slightly disgruntled because it had been there since Wednesday. Turning Madison's body towards him, he smiled. "First rule in my home – no wandering off where Doctor Jackson can't see you. Okay?"
Madison nodded her head. "D'okay."
"C'mon, let's go finish watching your show, then we can get some lunch." He stood up, holding out his left hand. Her tiny hand was engulfed by his as he led her back into the living room.
Alex grunted as he struggled to carry April's brand new couch up the flight of stairs leading to her apartment. On the opposite end of the couch was George, whose face had turned beet red from exerting all of his energy trying to lift his side. "Dude, O'Malley! Did anybody ever tell you you're supposed to lift with your freaking legs?" he barked. "I feel like I'm trying to carry this couch by myself!"
George pressed his cheek against the couch and grimaced. "I'm trying my best! Back off," he mumbled. When they reached the top both men set the couch down and the trauma surgeon hunched over panting.
His coworker stared at him amused. "Need an oxygen tank, Wheezy?"
Mark stepped out of April's apartment and placed his hands on his hips. "Didn't you two leave to fetch the couch five minutes ago? Weaklings," he taunted. He patted George's shoulder. "You alright, O'Malley? Why don't you go inside and take a break? Karev and I will deal with the rest of the heavy furniture."
Alex dismissively waved his hand. "Yeah, and while you're at it, maybe your balls are in one of April's boxes," he sneered. Mark smacked the back of his head in response and he scowled back at him. "Dude!"
George ignored the obnoxious peds surgeon and entered the apartment. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his t-shirt and retrieved a water bottle from the refrigerator before he met up with April in one of the bedrooms. She was sitting on the floor trying to assemble Madison's bed.
"Need any help?" he offered.
Looking up at her best friend, she smiled. "I can always use help from you, Georgie." He sat down beside her and she couldn't help but laugh at how sweaty he was. "You look like you just took part in a P90X workout."
"I do hit the gym, you know," he retorted. "I'm not as weak as you all assume I am."
"I don't think you're weak. You're super smart and you handle trauma like nobody else can. As cool as a cucumber," April complimented him. "And if Karev's giving you a hard time, just remember he's Karev. He's a creep. A helpful creep, but still a creep."
George sipped his water and set the bottle next to him. April was wearing a white tank top and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He stared at her pale arms and snuck a peek at her cleavage. They were the only people in the room, so he thought it was time to finally tell her how he felt. Being in love with his best friend for so long, it was now or never. It didn't matter to him that she was dating Jackson. They weren't serious anyway, he thought.
Screw Jackson Avery. In his mind, the man didn't deserve her. Despite their summer camp history, George couldn't understand why she would date a guy who treated her best friend like crap. It didn't matter to him if the plastics attending was trying to change. Once an asshole, always an asshole. He stole his woman once and he refused to let it happen again.
"Umm, April? I… I've been meaning to tell you something," he reluctantly stated, fanning himself with his t-shirt as the nerves kicked in. "It's important."
April set her screwdriver down and faced George. "What do you want to tell me?" She yelped when he nearly pounced on her trying to kiss her. Jumping up to her feet, she glared down at him. "George! What the hell are you doing?"
He stood up, clearing his throat as he fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt. "I… I love you. I've been in love with you since middle school, April."
She sadly smiled at him. "Oh, Georgie…"
"Just hear me out first, okay? I know I'm not the tallest or the buffest or the most handsome guy in Seattle, but I'm a good person. I don't talk down to people or disrespect them and humiliate them in front of others. We've always known each other well and I'm pretty sure I know you better than anyone else – except for Lexie. Well, maybe Mark too. And there's Libby…" George slapped his forehead and quit rambling. "I can make you happy, so I think you should give me a chance."
April folded her hands, placing them underneath her chin. "I'm with Jackson," she answered with a frown.
"And I don't care. He doesn't love you like I do. He- he only cares about himself," he argued.
"That's not true. He's currently babysitting Maddy. I doubt that means he only cares about himself," she countered. "Yeah, when I first moved back here he was a tool, but he's different now. Jackson's becoming more selfless every day and I admire him for that."
"But I've always been selfless!" George angrily replied. "He may be your boyfriend, but I'm your best friend. We've been best friends since first grade. That should automatically trump your summer fling with Jackson."
"That's not how it works and you know it." April rubbed her temples and dropped her hands by her sides. "George, I love you. I'll always love you, but as a friend. You're like a brother to me-"
He waved his arms in frustration. "No, don't pull the brother card on me. If you're gonna do that, then I'm pulling the Matthew card. If he was still alive, you wouldn't be here and Jackson would've remained a past memory."
She glared at him. "That's not fair!"
"What's not fair is you never giving me a chance at all. Junior high, high school… the list goes on."
"I'm sorry for never reciprocating your feelings. I really am, but it just wasn't meant to be," April guiltily said. Her best friend seemed like he was about to cry and fought his hardest not to break down in front of her. She walked towards him and he took a step back. "Georgie."
"Don't call me, Georgie," he bitterly replied before storming out of the bedroom.
It hadn't been the first time April rejected George's advances, but she never knew his feelings for her were that deep. She had always suspected he crushed on her when they were young, but she thought he had gotten over it as they grew older. His admission reminded her of an awkward moment between them during their summer at Wazi.
Summer 1993 – Day 35
The campers applauded following Waziyatah's summer production of Grease. Those who participated in the musical held hands and bowed as they received a standing ovation for an entertaining evening. April had been given the role of Frenchy due to her red hair, but she was grateful to be one of the Pink Ladies – and she really wanted to keep the jacket made by the costume team. Walking backstage with a skip in her stride, she spotted George waiting for her nearby.
"Y-you were great, April," the nerd nervously praised. Since buying her flowers was out of the question, George made her a necklace during an arts and crafts session earlier that day. Mostly made from plastic colored beads, he handed it to her and smiled. "This is an alternate gift for flowers."
"Aww, thank you, Georgie!" she acknowledged, giving him a hug. "Was I really great? I'm pretty sure I miscounted my steps during the last song. I hope nobody saw it."
He shook his head. "No, you were good. I didn't notice."
She wanted to change out of her costume, but he stood in her way and didn't appear to be moving anytime soon. "Is there something else you wanted to talk about? The shirt I'm wearing is itchy and I want to get out of it before I scratch myself to death," she jokingly said.
George adjusted his glasses and patted his neatly combed hair. "Actually, yes. Umm…" He swayed back and forth with his hands behind his back. "D-do you have a date to the next dance?"
"I do. I'm going with Jackson," April cheerfully answered. "I thought you knew that. He's my boyfriend, so it makes sense for him to be my date."
"Oh," he unhappily replied. "Well, can't you make an exception just this once? No one else will want to go with me and I don't want to be that loser who doesn't have a date. People here already think I'm a freak because all I wanna do is read books."
The redhead grimaced. "I promised Jackson we'd go together like two weeks ago, but… I can save a dance for you, George. Is that okay?"
Her best friend slumped his shoulders and stared at his shoes. "I guess," he muttered. "Whatever."
"George, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Why don't you go with Lexie?"
"I don't wanna go with her. I wanna go with you," he whined.
"And I said I already have a date. I'm really, really sorry," April sympathetically said. "You know me. I don't like breaking promises. Jackson would be bummed if I suddenly dumped him as my date. He might even dump me period."
George turned around and walked away from her. "Have fun at the dance. I'm not going anymore."
"Wait a minute! George!" she called out to him, but he ignored her. April groaned, rolling her eyes as she headed for the girls' restroom to change. She figured he would get over it by tomorrow.
Jackson stirred in his sleep on the couch when the doorbell rang in his condominium. It was a little after 6 PM, but spending most of the day chasing around Madison and playing with her drained his energy. Both of them had fallen asleep on the couch. The little girl beside him was snuggled up against a pillow from his bedroom and sucking her thumb when he woke up.
Slowly pushing himself up from the couch to avoid waking her up, he stretched his arms over his head and yawned as he approached the front door. When he opened it April fought back a laugh as she stared at his face.
"Oh my gosh, what happened to your face? Are you wearing lipstick?" she asked in amusement.
"Huh?" The plastic surgeon used the mirror in the guest bathroom to check his face. He had completely forgotten about the messy red lipstick, the pink blush and the glittery eye shadow he sported. "Shit!"
April giggled as she closed the front door. "Care to explain why you look like a contestant from Toddlers & Tiaras?"
He rubbed the back of his head and bashfully smiled. "I let Maddy give me a makeover with her tiny makeup kit. Before you got here, we both fell asleep. I was too lazy to wash it off."
"To be honest, you look fabulous. The silvery eye shadow brings out your eyes," she teasingly said. "Now, if you had a wig on, I think you would make for a very beautiful woman."
Jackson rolled his eyes as he grabbed some toilet paper. "I need to get rid of this before my mother unexpectedly arrives or something." April raised her cell phone in front of him and he panicked. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"I just want a picture. It's too adorable," she squealed, playfully pouting when he covered her camera with his hand. "C'mon, please? I promise I won't show it to anybody. Maddy would want something to always help her remember her first makeover job."
"I see what you're doing. You do know using your daughter as an excuse all the time is not very motherly of you," he accusingly noted and grinned. "The Maddy card won't work this time around."
April sighed. "Okay, I suppose another two months without sex is what you want…"
Jackson pursed his lips as the peds surgeon smirked back at him. In no way did he consider himself a pushover, but every time the word sex came out of April's mouth, he grew weak. He flashed his charming smile at her. "One picture and we never talk about this again."
She snapped a photo of her boyfriend, laughing at the result. "Alright, you can clean your face and I'll check on Maddy."
After removing all of the makeup from his face, he returned to the living room. April was carefully pulling Madison's thumb out of her mouth. It was a habit she desperately wanted her to stop.
"She behaved all day," Jackson informed her. He walked into his kitchen and opened a cupboard. "Is spaghetti good for dinner?"
"Yeah, that's perfectly fine. Want any help?" she questioned, standing up and joining him in the kitchen.
"Sure. I'll start defrosting the meat and you could start boiling the water," he instructed. "How was moving day for you? Stressful?"
"Actually, it went pretty well until things became awkward with George." April continued to feel bad about rejecting George because he had fled her apartment and never returned. He wouldn't answer her phone calls or text messages either. She just wanted to assure herself he wasn't planning on doing something he would later regret. "He told me he loved me, like he really loves me."
Jackson glanced back at his girlfriend curiously. He wasn't surprised about George's feelings, but he felt slightly apprehensive about how she felt about her best friend. "Do you feel the same way?"
She slowly shook her head. "No. I mean, I care about him a lot because we've known each other forever, but I don't feel that way towards him at all. I told him the truth and he became furious. We were about halfway done moving everything out of the truck and he ditched us," she explained. "Poor guy couldn't handle the truth. I haven't heard from him since."
"O'Malley just needs time to mope or whatever. You didn't do anything wrong," he insisted.
"I know, but I still feel awful for him. If he's been single and lonely this whole time because he was waiting for me… I mean, I doubt he would have admitted any of this to me if Matthew was still alive."
Jackson grimaced as he turned his back towards her. He hadn't heard April talk about Matthew in a while, but hearing his name reminded him that she was a married woman not too long ago. "You still love him, huh?" he murmured. "Obviously, you do. You were together since college."
"Well, yes. I'm sure I always will." April finished filling a pot with water and carried it to the stove. "But I don't think people were meant to be with just one person. Some people are with the same person for the rest of their lives, but that's not true for everybody. There's no written rule that you can't love more than one person."
"I know what you mean." He took a deep breath before he faced her again. "This might sound crazy and I hope this doesn't freak you out, but… I-"
"Mama," Madison's soft voice called out. She had woken up from her nap and was delighted to see April in the kitchen.
April crouched down as her daughter ran towards her. She scooped Madison into her arms, kissing her cheek. "Hey, little princess! Doctor Jackson said you were a good girl today," she gleefully greeted her. Hoisting the 3-year old against her hip, she leaned back against the island counter. "We're gonna have some spaghetti for dinner, then we'll go home to our new apartment. Are you excited to see your new bedroom?"
Jackson slightly smiled as he listened to their mother-daughter conversation. Perhaps the interruption was necessary because April had already received one love declaration with a disastrous result. A second might overwhelm her. He decided it was best to save it for another day.