Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, but this chapter did not want to be written. I had parts of it in my head, but stringing it together was infuriating. There was many rewrites and I just.. It was difficult. But thanks for reading!

Jackson had been following his mother around all day doing damage control. He had agreed to move to Boston. He hadn't realized that it would happen so quickly, but within a matter of days, he was to start. He was doing his best to keep it under wraps, but with his mother, this proved to be a difficult task.

She had already gone to his apartment and drug out all his suitcases. She had told him what he had to take and needed to leave, completely ignoring his protests. Jackson was a grown man. He knew how to pack.

His mother had told Webber, Meredith, and Yang. Somehow Jackson had managed to keep them quiet. But it seemed all that effort was in vain because the person he didn't want to find out was standing in front of his mother.

April was looking attentively at his mother, hanging on to her every word, as Jackson approached.

"Mom..." He tried to stop her from saying anything else.

"Jackson, hush now. I'm trying to talk to my dear, Kepner." April's eyes flashed to Jackson's, only to revert quickly back to the woman standing beside him. It had been that way since that night in the apartment. She steals glances at him, always looking like she wants to say more. He hadn't seen too much of the paramedic, but had heard from Meredith that they were still going strong.

"April, honey, you are going to have to find yourself a new best friend. It seems my beautiful baby has decided to join me in Boston." April's face didn't change for several seconds. Jackson watched as the comprehension took hold. Shock spread across her face, followed quickly by hurt. Her eyes were now locked with Jackson's, her mouth slightly open.

"I was going to tell you." He tried explaining. "I just haven't found a good time…" he trailed off when she began to speak.

"When.. when are you leaving?" Jackson shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He looked around the hospital for an escape route. He didn't want to look at her face; her voice was enough to break him.

"Oh, baby, there is Richard. I'll just let you two talk while I catch up with him." She scurried off towards Webber while Jackson stood there awkwardly. He had kept his distance like she wanted. This was the first conversation he was having with her since she told him to leave her alone. He knew moving away from her was going to likely kill him, but the decision to leave had been obvious. With everything that was going on at the hospital and the idea of watching as April began her life with Matt, there really wasn't an alternative.

"Jackson?" He forced himself to look at her again.

"I leave in 2 days." She just kept staring at him; it was if she didn't believe him. "April, I'm sorry. This all came about so fast," he offered.

"I... I'm sorry, I have to go check on my patient." She turned away from him and practically ran. Jackson watched her go. It was for the best; now wasn't the time to get into this. He would rather not get into it at all, but he would like to at least get a good bye.

Jackson walked down the hall to his apartment. He pulled out his key only to find the door was already unlocked. He slowly turned the knob, peeking in cautiously. He pushed the door further open and saw her sitting at the kitchen table.

"April… What are you doing here?" He noticed she was just staring at whatever she was holding in her hands, not acknowledging him. He slowly walked through the living room and stood against the counter. "April," he tried again. She finally looked up at him. There were tears streaming down her face. His heart clenched painfully at the sight.

"I thought I should give you your shirt back," she smiled wistfully. "You left it at my apartment a while back, and I kept it. It made for a very good night gown." She reluctantly laid the shirt on the table and looked back at him. "I wanted to see you, alone, before you left." Jackson swallowed at her words. He wasn't sure where this was going, but he was pretty sure it was going to hurt.

She looked at him timidly. "Are you leaving because of me?" He wasn't sure what to say to that. He decided to go with the truth.

"Partly." She didn't seem surprised at his answer. "The hospital being taken over by sharks and they offered me a great deal to move..."

She smiled sadly at him from her seat at the table. "Jackson," she mused, "have you ever heard the French proverb, 'Love is friendship set on fire?'" He had no idea what she was talking about so he simply shook his head no in reply.

"I heard it a long time ago, but recent events have brought it back, and I keep playing that through my head." She dropped her eyes from his and started playing with her fingers. "You gave me the space I asked for, and I appreciate that, I really do. It gave me the chance to sort through this mess I've created." He noted her putting all the blame on herself, a gracious but false act. "Living without you has been the absolute worst. We made so many mistakes, but I think we were just too terrified of making the wrong move with each other because we didn't want to lose our friendship, and in the end, we screwed everything up, and I threw in the towel because I thought trying to fix this would hurt too much." She seemed to be looking at him, but avoiding his eyes. He listened intently, his eyes fixed on her, hoping for a sign so he could read her better. She took a deep breath but looked down at her lap again. "What I didn't realize was that you are a part of me, and it's not because you took my virginity, or because you were the first guy who could actually stand being around me. We have been through so much together and we only grew closer… and closer." She smiled and blushed slightly, "and then really close, until it got to the point that I am not me without you. It's like I don't function right when I'm not with you." Jackson nodded his head in understanding, because he did feel the same way. She finally looked him in the eye confidently. "So what I am saying is… stay." She took a deep breath. "Stay with me, because if you leave, it would be taking away my oxygen and smothering me because you set me on fire a long time ago and I am so in love with you. I cannot pinpoint the moment it happened, because it just snuck up on me. But there it is, I love you. Stay here and be with me."

Jackson's mind was reeling. Was she really saying this to him? His heart was hammering in his chest as he fought his urge to scream to the high heavens in happiness. She had never looked so beautiful. "April," he cooed. He walked up to her and grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. "I love you too. I do. So much." He leaned in the kiss her but she pulled back from him and intertwined their fingers.

"I need you to think about this first." She was smiling triumphantly at his admission. "I am going to leave and let you think this through because I cannot promise you to not ever freak out again over religion or sex. I cannot promise a happy future, because let's face it, we do work at 'Seattle Grace-Mercy Death,' and I still want to wait to have sex, at least until we figure out if we can make this work for good. It's a lot to think about, and I want you to be sure." She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down towards her mouth. When he felt her lips on his again, he swore he felt the earth move. He quickly threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her in closer. She groaned into his mouth and pulled away slightly. "Really think about this Jackson," she said breathlessly. She rested her forehead against his before completely pulling away from him. She started walking towards the door, only looking back once she had the door open. "I really hope you stay." She smiled optimistically at him before closing the door.

Jackson stood in the kitchen for a good ten minutes trying to process what had just happened. They said 'I love you" to each other. He had never said that to a girl before. She asked him to stay and be with her. He had a million questions to ask her but right now, he couldn't stop the ear-to-ear grin that had taken over his face. He began walking around his apartment putting things back where they go. He unpacked his clothes and movies; all the while, his mind was pondering the ways he could survive being with her without being "with her."

The wonderful paramedic will be addressed in the next chapter. I am so ready for Thursday. They only gave us a little tease last week, but I loved how Jackson would do anything for April, and April knows she can always depend on Jackson. They are so good. My thoughts on Shonda Rhimes is she never gives you what you want, until she does, and she blows your everloving mind. So I'm looking forward to that moment.

Please Review, I need to know what you guys think!