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Jackson stirred in his sleep with a soft smile forming on his face. The previous night had been one of the most eventful nights in months. He had finally confessed his deep feelings for April, though he was initially hesitant at first to tell her using a handwritten letter. Instead of appearing at his door eager to see him, he had fully expected her to confront him about why he couldn't simply tell her everything to her face. But he was very relieved that his long overdue letter to his girlfriend worked in his favor.

They had made love twice and he would have gladly continued all night, but she surprisingly exhausted him, despite the fact that she had done most of the work. When the peds surgeon teased him about how good she was in bed she wasn't messing around. Not that he ever doubted her, but to actually experience it was an entirely different story.

He rubbed his eyes, his left arm reaching across his bed for April. His hand landed on open space and he immediately opened his eyes as he slowly sat up on the mattress. She wasn't asleep beside him, which slightly concerned him. Did she pull a bang and bail on him?

Bang and bail was what he called dine and dash for sex. Sometimes he pulled a fast one on his past hook ups, especially if they were terrible, but he never expected the perky redhead to be that type of person. Then again, she did have a daughter to care for, so it was possible she didn't want to disturb him while she snuck out. It would have been refreshing to wake up beside a woman he never wanted to leave, though.

However, that hadn't been the case. Jackson climbed out of bed and found April's clothes on the floor, letting out a sigh of relief. He made a brief trip to the bathroom and slipped on a pair of basketball shorts before leaving his bedroom. His girlfriend was in the kitchen wearing nothing but his favorite Boston Celtics t-shirt, which covered her down to her mid-thighs. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and he couldn't help but quietly stare at her for a minute. Even in a t-shirt that was too big for her, she looked beautiful to him. The green set a nice contrast with her auburn hair.

She noticed him standing a few feet away and used the spatula in her hand to wave at him. "Oh, good! Breakfast is almost ready. I cooked some turkey bacon, chopped up some fruit and the eggs are almost ready. Are you okay with scrambled?"

"Scrambled is perfect," he answered as he approached her, standing next to her in front of the stove. Jackson gently tilted April's chin up to give her a good morning kiss. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "I thought you left. I mean, well… for Maddy, which would've been understandable."

"She spent the night at my parents' house. I told them I had to stay at the hospital overnight, which I feel bad about because I lied, but I agreed to have lunch with them later when I pick up Maddy," she explained. "Why don't you come with me, so you can finally meet them?"

Jackson shifted uncomfortably. The last time he met a woman's parents was in college and it wasn't an impressive encounter. His arrogance had been a complete turn off. "Uhh… I don't know," he timidly replied. "Look at my face. It's more purple than yesterday."

April glanced up at her boyfriend's battered face. A dark blue and purple bruise surrounded his left eye and his lower lip was swollen. She partially blamed herself for the latter. "It's not that bad," she insisted, lightly touching Jackson's bruise. "Besides, when I met your mother I got drunk and embarrassed myself. Meeting my parents can't be worse than that."

He slowly nodded in agreement. "True, but I'm not in the best shape right now. I don't want your parents to assume I'm trouble because my face looks like I took part in a boxing match."

"Trust me, Jackson. You'll be fine," she assured him. "My dad is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and my stepmom is wonderful. Plus, I've kind of been telling them about you, so they want to meet you anyway."

"Do they know I work with Mark? He hasn't been telling them about my old self, has he?" he worriedly asked.

"Neither of our parents has said anything to me, so you're likely safe." April ran her hand across Jackson's bare chest and playfully bit her lower lip. "Come with me, please? Maddy will be thrilled to see you too."

The plastic surgeon smirked at her. "There you go again with the Maddy card," he murmured, then he leaned forward and kissed her lips. "Alright, I'll go with you. I can't hide from your parents forever. I'm sure they won't ask me embarrassing questions like my mother did with you."

"Great! Thank you," she chirped. April suddenly tugged on the t-shirt she borrowed. "You don't mind me wearing this, do you? I just took whatever shirt was on top in one of your drawers."

"No, not at all," he happily responded, burying his face against her neck. "In fact, you are incredibly sexy in Celtics green."

April squirmed away from him when he started kissing her neck and laughed. "Can't you wait until after we're finished eating?" she teasingly scolded him. "Down, boy."

"First, you're controlling in the bedroom and now in the kitchen," Jackson quipped. He helped her prepare their plates, then he led her to the couch. Normally, he refused to let anybody eat on his leather couch, including himself, but cuddling with April as they ate breakfast was an enticing idea. He stretched out his legs on top of his coffee table, while she rested hers across his lap and sat next to him. "I can get used to this."

"Cuddling or eating breakfast with another person?"

"Actually, both. I've never done… this before, being lazy with my girlfriend. I'm always on my feet, even on my days off." He quickly shrugged his shoulders as he chewed his food. "Karev would give me a ton of crap for turning all sentimental, but I'm happy. I thought I was satisfied with my life before, but I guess now I know how it really feels to be happy."

April smiled as she reached for her mug on the coffee table. "Well, I'm happy that you're happy and that I make you happy," she said before sipping her coffee. "Do I really need to mention that you make me happy? Or have we overused the word happy and I should go for another word similar to it?"

Jackson winked and flashed his charming smile at her. "I got the memo, babe." He not only admired her abilities in bed but she was an excellent cook as well. Although he could prepare the same breakfast they were currently eating, she seemed to make bacon and eggs taste better than average. "Your eggs taste so much better than mine. Do you have a secret? They're so… uhh, fluffy."

"Secret?" she amusingly replied and chuckled. "There's no secret. I just try not to overcook them, that's all. Oh, in case you were wondering, I used a knife to cut up the fruit."

"And I thought I was the biggest smart ass in Seattle," he sarcastically said, sharing a laugh with his girlfriend. "Even that part of you is lovable. You could have the worst smelling fart and I'd love that too."

The redhead nearly choked on her food, covering her mouth with her hand. She stared at Jackson with wide eyes, swallowing before she burst into laughter. "Gross! I'm eating, you jerk," she exclaimed and shook her head in embarrassment. "I can't believe you went there."

He mischievously grinned at his plate. "Okay, fine. That was pretty bad, but if we can talk about farts, then we can talk about anything."

"Point taken," she agreed. "Your letter was a lovely surprise. Thank you for writing back to me."

"I'm glad you didn't think it was stupid or something," he sheepishly replied. "But never writing back to you was a douche move on my part and after we met again, the guilt wouldn't leave me alone. It wasn't cowardly of me to tell you I love you through a letter?"

"I thought it was romantic," April gushed and kissed Jackson's cheek. "You're a sweetheart."

After the couple finished eating, he took both of their empty plates and set them on the coffee table. The perfectionist in him would have gone to the kitchen and washed all of the dirty dishes right away, but he had broken his obsessive compulsive behavior since he started dating April. The dishes could wait, he thought.

Jackson lifted her up from the couch, carrying her with his left arm. Fortunately, she got the hint and wrapped her arms and legs around him, so she wouldn't experience a humiliating fall on the way to his bathroom. "You must be feeling very badass with this whole one arm carry technique," she teased.

"Like a boss," he playfully answered, grinning to himself after she rolled her eyes.

He was getting used to showing his cheesy, dorky side again.

Summer 1993 – Day 41

The weekend was already a disaster after the one-sided fight with George ended badly, despite winning it unintentionally. Jackson was fortunate that nobody turned him into Camp Director Mike for what happened, but it didn't necessarily mean he could relax just yet.

Two things bothered him – April wasn't speaking to him and it was Parents Day at Wazi. Campers' parents were allowed to visit with them during that weekend and specific events were organized throughout the day. He knew Catherine wouldn't be making an appearance, so seeing other teenagers spending quality time with their parents made him bitter. He opted to hide in his cabin, while everyone else was out with their mothers or fathers or both.

So he laid sprawled out on his bed reading a stack of comic books one of his bunk mates let him borrow. The peace and quiet was relaxing, but depressing at the same time. He tried to keep his mind off of his lack of parental company by pretending he was Spiderman in the issue he was reading. It was fitting that Mary Jane was also in it because her red hair reminded him of April. Now he was hoping some mutated spider would crawl onto his bed and bite him, so he could become the superhero and kick his bullies' asses for treating him horribly since he arrived.

April entered the cabin, slightly dressed up for Parents Day. She approached Jackson's bed and softly cleared her throat to get his attention. "Hi," she shyly greeted him and played with one of her pigtails. "What are you up to?"

"Avoiding Parents Day," he glumly replied. The nerd set the comic book against his chest and sighed. "I thought you were mad at me. What are you doing here?"

"I umm… I felt bad about last night. I didn't mean to get super mad at you. It's just… George has been picked on since we were little and I hate seeing people doing anything harsh to him," she explained. "I know you didn't want to hurt him, so I made sure he wouldn't tell Mike about this. You're safe."

"Well, thanks."

"Isn't your birthday this week?" April cheerfully asked. He simply nodded and she smiled at him. "Are you gonna do anything? Like, umm… is Mike gonna take you out of camp for lunch?"

"I told him not to. My birthday's nothing special," Jackson muttered. "I'd rather pretend it never happened."

She frowned as she hoped they could do something fun together for his 14th birthday. "Do you want to meet my parents?"

"Wouldn't that be awkward?" he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't know. Parents and I aren't really a good mix. Even my own parents suck, so that's why I'm hiding during this stupid Parents Day stuff. It only reminds me that I probably would've been better off as an orphan."

"Okay, well… if you change your mind, I'll be at the lake with my parents and my brother until lunch time," she said, sadly smiling at him. "I hope you do change your mind."

Jackson sighed after April left his cabin. Maybe if they were older and in a serious relationship, he would want to meet the parents she always bragged about. But tagging along with another family made him feel ridiculous. He would have been one goofy loner.

"Oh, Mark. I was really hoping you'd get a new haircut while you were away," Patricia Sloan-Kepner nagged her son. She absolutely loathed his Vanilla Ice hairstyle since the day he came home looking like the rapper. "It's just so… tacky."

Mark dodged his mother's hand when she reached up to touch it. "Whoa! Nobody touches my hair except for me, Mom. It takes hard work for the top portion of my hair to look this good," he gloated, drawing an eye roll from April. He flicked one of her pigtails and laughed as she scowled at him. "When are you gonna grow out of that pigtail phase? You look like you're about to enter Kindergarten again."

"No, I don't!" she retorted, folding her arms. "Lexie still puts her hair in pigtails too."

He pursed his lips when she smirked at him. "Uhh, at least she doesn't look like Pippi Longstocking like you do."

"Dad!"

"Leave your sister's hair alone. It looks just fine," Joe Kepner scolded Mark and gently patted April's shoulder. He spotted Thatcher Grey with Lexie and a very unenthused Meredith from afar. "Huh, I guess this means Ellis had another big surgery she couldn't miss in Seattle."

"When isn't a surgery big?" his stepson scoffed. "Dr. Grey is hardly ever around for anything that has to do with Mer and Lex."

Patricia nudged Mark with the back of her hand. "She's a very busy woman. And she removed your appendix two years ago, so be nice," she advised.

He guffawed, stuffing his hands inside of his pockets. "She only did it because her intern screwed up and I almost died."

"And for that, you should be grateful." She turned her attention to April. "Honey, where's that friend you told us about over the phone? Will we be meeting him later?"

"You mean, her imaginary boyfriend?" Mark teasingly asked.

"Shut up, Mark! He's a real person," April defensively replied.

"Oh, yeah? Then, how come I haven't seen you with this so-called real person? You've talked about this boy a bunch of times, yet I never actually see you hanging out with him," he skeptically answered. "By the way, does he treat you good or do I have to beat him up?"

Joe chuckled. "Alright, nobody's beating up anybody. So, are we meeting him or what?"

Fidgeting with one of her pigtails again, April slightly grimaced at her family. "He's… he's not feeling well today, so I don't think you can meet him. And umm… he's really, really shy too."

"Told ya. He's fake," Mark insisted.

"Jackson's not fake!" she yelled in frustration.

"Then, prove it. Who's this Jackson punk smooching on my sister?" he taunted, annoyingly grinning at her. His face dropped when April remained quiet and appeared to be on the verge of tears. "Oh, crap. Just so you know, I can't be grounded for this."

Patricia pulled April against her chest and hugged her. "It's okay, dear. We believe you," she soothingly said as she comforted her tearful stepdaughter. "I'm sure this Jackson boy is a gentleman even if he's too shy to meet us. Maybe some other time then."

Jackson unbuttoned the first three buttons of his favorite white dress shirt as he followed April to the front door of her parents' home. "Should I undo one more button or will it look like I'm trying to seduce your stepmother?" he nervously asked.

April spun around, smirking at her boyfriend. "You look fine. Don't be nervous." She thought it was adorable that he chose to wear all of his favorite articles of clothing from top to bottom – shirt, jeans, basketball shoes. "C'mon, they're waiting for us."

"Hold on a minute." He turned away from her, quickly adjusting his rolled up sleeves and smoothing out the small wrinkles of his jeans. Taking one deep breath, he faced her again as he ran his hand across his shaved head. "How does my hair look?"

She playfully rolled her eyes at him before she used her spare key to open the front door. Interlocking their fingers together, the peds surgeon led him into the house "Mom, Dad. We're here!"

The sound of tiny footsteps stomping against the hardwood floor grew louder and louder. Madison emerged from the kitchen and ran towards April, grinning brightly at her. "Mama!"

"Hi, baby!" April excitedly greeted her daughter, picking her up and kissing her cheek. "Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa yesterday?"

"Yeah!" Madison immediately took notice of Jackson and the bruises on his face. She pointed at him, scrunching her nose. "What happen to Doc Jacks'n? He gots ouchies!"

He awkwardly smiled at the 3-year old. "Oh, it's okay. They don't hurt at all."

"Mama fix dose too?"

"Oh, yeah. She fixed a lot of my ouchies in more ways than one-" Jackson softly grunted when April smacked his abdomen with the back of her hand. He sheepishly grinned, then he cleared his throat as Joe and Patricia approached the couple. Their puzzled expressions were likely from seeing his messed up face. "Umm, hello."

"You obviously must be Jackson," Joe politely greeted the plastic surgeon. He was taller than Jackson, sporting the salt and pepper colored hair and a beard. Holding out his hand, he raised his eyebrow curiously. "What happened to your face, son?"

He shook the older man's hand and forced himself to smile. "Disgruntled coworker," he answered. As if he was going to admit George beat him up. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Patricia greeted him with a hug. "You look like you were in a bar fight, honey. Don't you work under Mark? He's told us some great things about you. In fact, maybe you two can share stories of cases you worked on together while we eat lunch. He's out back on the patio with Lexie and Kylie."

"You didn't tell me Mark was coming," April noted. Having her stepbrother around could lead to a very unsuccessful meeting after what happened with Catherine Avery. "I thought it was just us."

"Meeting your boyfriend should be a family affair, so it was only right to invite your brother for this."

"But they see each other every day. He already knows Jackson… sort of."

Patricia dismissively waved her hand. "Oh, stop fussing over it. Lunch is almost ready, so let's make ourselves comfortable. Now, tell us everything, Jackson. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Boston," he replied, following his girlfriend's family through the house.

"Bost'n is in Mazzachoozetts!" Madison blurted out, to the delight of the adults around her. "Doc Jacks'n told me dat."

April chuckled. "And you remembered! Good job, sweetie!"

They stepped outside onto the patio where Lexie was having a pretend tea party with Kylie, while Mark stood in front of the grill and took care of the barbeque duties. He looked over his shoulder at Jackson and grinned. "Nice face, Avery."

The pretty man slightly smiled at his boss. "Good to see you too, Sloan."

The adults sat together at a large table, while the two little girls had their own table beside them. Joe and Patricia dissected Jackson's brain wanting to know everything about him, probably to decide whether or not he could match up to Matthew. Mark actually behaved and let him talk, though he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to throw at least one snarky comment into the conversation.

Lexie sensed Jackson was growing tired of talking about himself, which never used to be the case in the past. She decided to bring up a more fun topic. "Did April tell you that we went to camp with Jackson once?" she intervened. "They were actually kind of boyfriend-girlfriend too."

Patricia softly gasped and smiled. "Is that true? Are you the same Jackson we never had the chance to meet?"

April nodded her head. "Yes, he is," she answered for him, then she slowly looked at Mark with a smirk on her face. "And he wasn't imaginary, despite what he kept telling you guys."

Her brother scoffed. "It's not my fault I never actually saw you two together. Besides, it would've been awkward considering I used to beat the crap out of Dweebles- I mean, Jackson," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Like I knew they were the same person."

Joe's eyes switched back and forth between Jackson and Mark. "Did you do that to his face, Mark?"

"Of course not. It was O'Malley."

"George? Your best friend, George?" Joe questioned skeptically. He chuckled, then cleared his throat when April glared back at him. "Excuse me, I'm sorry. Umm, just how did he beat you up, Jackson?"

April groaned. "Oh my God, Dad. Why does everybody underestimate George?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Mark quipped and a muffled laugh came out of Joe's mouth.

Jackson appeared ready to stab his eye with a fork. Apparently, getting beat up by the trauma surgeon was worse than breaking his hand from punching a vending machine. But when he thought about it, he wasn't sure who he should feel more sorry for – him or George. Maybe the latter since even April's father couldn't believe he beat someone up.

"I took the hits for her," he murmured, taking April's hand into his. "Sounds stupid, but I'm in love with your daughter."

Lexie spit out her water, covering her mouth as everyone stared at her. She dabbed her lips with a napkin and forced herself to laugh. "Wow, I mean… Jackson loves April. I uhh, I definitely didn't see that one coming… or maybe I did. It's cute, you know? First, George loves her and now there's Jackson…"

"You think I'm lying or something?"

"No, no. It just makes more sense why you stopped sleeping around and changed your attitude at the hospital," the urologist casually answered.

"You… slept around?" Patricia inquisitively asked Jackson. "How many women were there?"

Lexie grimaced, slouching in her seat. "Yeesh, I shouldn't have mentioned that part about you, huh?" she guiltily replied.

Mark tapped his fingers against the table. "I used to be like Jackson. I slept around, thought I didn't need to settle down with anybody, but then there was Lexie. She changed me into a better man. April's doing the same thing with Avery," he insisted. "Trust me. They're good for each other."

"Are you drunk?" April bluntly asked. Since when did Mark start supporting their relationship? He was either kissing her ass or surprisingly being sincere.

"I mean it, Apes. The Jackman here has proven his worth," he stated, giving Jackson's shoulder a hard pat. "And he's my guy. Best plastic surgeon at Seattle Grace – after yours truly, of course."

Jackson waved his hand as he stood up. "Look, you don't have to pretend to like me, Sloan. You've made it pretty clear several times what you think of me, so I'd prefer if you just didn't say anything at all," he implied before looking at Patricia. "Excuse me, for a minute. Where's your bathroom?"

"After you walk through the kitchen, make a right and you'll find it," Patricia answered.

April watched her boyfriend disappear into the house, then she scowled at Mark. "He's seriously trying to get you all to like him. Patronizing him isn't helping," she angrily responded. "And I love him too, so if he breaks up with me, it'll be your fault."

Mark pointed at himself. "I wasn't patronizing him. I was being honest." He pushed himself up from his seat. "I'll take care of this. I have some things to clarify with Avery anyway, so give me a few minutes alone with him."

Just as the plastics attending walked into the house, Jackson was leaving the bathroom. He had been irritated enough when he blabbed about George. A part of him desperately wanted to give his boss two black eyes. "I'm done with your crap, alright? You can heckle me all you want, but I'm not gonna to stop seeing April. That's just not gonna happen," he proclaimed. "I lost her once and I'm not losing her again."

"Are you done bitching?" he nonchalantly asked.

"To be honest, no. I could spend an entire hour telling you everything that's on my mind. However, I won't do that because you're not only April's stepbrother but you're my boss. I love my job at Seattle Grace, so I'd rather not get fired over personal beef with you."

Mark laughed to himself, placing his hands on his hips. "Relax, Avery. The world isn't against you. I came here to apologize and to let you know that what I said out there about you wasn't bullshit. You've actually turned into a pretty decent guy and if April can see that, then I know you're not just trying to get into her pants."

"So… why the sudden change of heart?"

"My sister loves you and I want her to be happy, especially after she lost Matthew. I hardly expected her to fall in love with another man this quickly, but you being that guy is understandable. The whole campy love story set it up for you two." He let out a sigh and rested his hand on Jackson's shoulder. "I'm sorry I made your life Hell back then. Well, also for treating you unfairly at work. I was only trying to protect April from you, but I won't do that anymore. I'll only come after you if you break her heart. I mean it, Avery."

"I won't hurt her, I swear. She means everything to me," Jackson answered and smiled. "And my mother still adores her regardless of her drunken episode during our dinner."

"That's a relief. I was certain her behavior turned your mom off from ever visiting Seattle Grace again," Mark jokingly remarked. "Oh, and good news. You're off med school tour duty. I convinced Robbins to bump you up to teaching intern skills labs."

"Awesome! I can't wait to teach my interns how to tie surgical knots," his coworker sarcastically replied.

"I can easily bring you back down to touring med school students."

Jackson waved his arms and softly laughed. "No way. Skills labs are much more relaxing." He held out his left hand in front of Mark. "Thank you for trusting me, Sloan."

Mark firmly shook Jackson's hand. "I propose we give a name for ourselves. How about the Plastics Posse?" he suggested. "We'll be kicking surgical ass and taking names."

"The Plastics Posse," he repeated, slowly furrowing his eyebrows at him. "Nobody will know about this name, right? Like, you're not going to put this on t-shirts for us to wear or whatever?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea. C'mon, man. We'd stand out from the rest of the attendings. Everybody will know who we are and they'll bow down to us," the Head of Plastics bragged.

Jackson pursed his lips. "Hmm… or maybe they'll just laugh at us."

Mark suddenly pulled Jackson towards him, giving him a bear hug. "We're like brothers now. The Plastics Posse is in full effect and here to stay."

April appeared, stopping a couple of feet away from the hugging men. "Umm… was I supposed to witness this moment or do you two want to be left alone?" she questioned, fighting back her laugh because her boyfriend seemed visibly uncomfortable.

Her brother moved away from Jackson, smugly grinning back at April. "Don't mind us. We were just working past our differences. No need to worry about me sabotaging your relationship anymore," he truthfully said, grabbing the couple's hands and joining them together. "You two are meant to be together."

Suspiciously watching Mark as he left them alone, she slowly shook her head. "Okay, are we sure he's not drunk?"

"Nah, he's finally owning up to his mistakes," Jackson assured her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Your parents don't think I'm a total ass, do they? I thought Mark was trying to screw with my head with his unexpected praises."

"I'm pretty sure they like you. They can see how happy you make me. I just have to kill Lexie later for blurting out the fact that you used to sleep around," she muttered.

"Maybe that's a blessing in disguise. Your parents know that I've changed for you and well, myself. And Mark will likely be bragging to them about our so-called Plastics Posse-"

"You're what?"

Jackson smirked at his girlfriend before he leaned forward and kissed her lips. "Nothing."

April's arms snaked over his shoulders as she mischievously grinned back at him. "So, this Plastics Posse… does it involve hugging each other like you're lovers whenever you see each other in the hallway or work on a procedure together?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes and softly laughed to himself. "God, I hope not. I think Mark bruised a rib."

"Well, if you need me to kiss your ouchies…" She seductively bit down on her lower lip causing him to groan in response. "We could schedule an appointment. Dr. Kepner will make you feel better again."

"Oddly enough, I'm finding Dr. Kepner talking in the third person incredibly hot," he huskily whispered, leaning in for another kiss. April ducked her head and laughed as she walked away from him. "Hey, where are you going?"

The peds surgeon glanced back at him. "We're in my parents' house. Get real, Jackson."

Jackson rubbed his neck, mentally cursing at himself for thinking he would be having sex with April in her childhood home. "You're still a tease, you know that?" he playfully called out to her. "And you better me serious about that appointment because I think I might be experiencing erectile dysfunction after what you just pulled."