Chapter 7:

A/N glad to see everyone is enjoying it so far. I appreciate the reviews. You also know how much I love messing with your heads, so I think you'll all enjoy this chapter very much.

…

Jackson awoke violently with a terrified scream. Shaking slightly, he sat up in the bed and let out a few heavy breaths in an attempt to calm himself and his thumping heart down.

Was it all in his head? The stabber? The hostage taking? April? He didn't understand what was real and fake anymore. Those lines were blurring severely.

"Doctor Avery!", Stephanie Edwards stood in the doorway of the on call room looking worried. "Are you ok?", she asked.

"I think I had a bad dream", he said quietly, glancing at the floor. "What's happening?".

"They've caught the guy", she spoke triumphantly. "The SWAT guys arrested him about 30 minutes ago".

"So it was all real", the plastic surgeon sighed, running a still shaky hand over his head.

"Doctor Kepner is fine", Edwards informed him matter of factly. "Doctor Hunt came down about 10 minutes ago to tell you, but you were asleep so he decided to leave you be".

"What!", Jackson frowned angrily, standing from the bed and storming angrily towards the door. "He should have woke me! I wanted to be kept informed! Son of a bitch! He knew that!" he fumed.

"She's fine!", the intern interrupted him meekly. "There were no complications. They gave her some more blood and took out the knife. Apparently a few more centimetres and it would have got her liver. It only just nicked an artery, so the blood loss wasn't as bad as it could have been. She's up in ICU at the moment…she hasn't woken yet".

"I need to be up there", Jackson said blankly, making to push past Edwards.

"We can't leave here until they clear us", she told him regretfully. "They need statements and do a head count in case another victim is still missing".

Jackson inhaled sharply, rolling his eyes and nodding. "Alright", he sat down in a nearby chair. "What else do you know?", he asked her imploringly.

"Another victim was found….a family member. His mother was in for a hernia repair and instead he got stabbed. Should pull through though".

Jackson nodded again, taking in the new information. "And Doctor Kepner? Anything else?", he questioned, attempting to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"Touch and go. She was in that elevator a long time apparently, Doctor Hunt said to expect some PTSD. The blood loss was significant…..its a miracle she's still alive really!".

"Thanks Stephanie", he gave the intern and his one-time lover a small polite smile. "I appreciate you looking out for me".

"No problem", she returned the smile.

"Are we….ok?", he asked uncomfortably, referring to their one night stand.

Edwards paused awkwardly because nodding. "Sure. It's all good. I knew it was stupid to go after an attending. The "surgical food chain" just doesn't work that way", she grinned.

Jackson smiled her thanks and watched as Edwards walked away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex Karev enter the waiting room. Jackson stood quickly and jogged over to his roommate.

"How's April?", he demanded. "What's happened up there?".

"I was just up with her in ICU", Karev explained solemnly. "She's still out of it dude, probably will be for another few hours. They want to get her stabilised before they reverse the induced coma".

Jackson nodded sadly. "You found her didn't you?", he questioned. "You saved her life Karev".

Alex nodded, glancing down at the ground as he recalled the event. "I tell you man, I've never seen that much blood. I honestly don't know how she's still alive. I know they gave her transfusions and that….but it wasn't just a puddle…it was a lake".

Jackson grimaced as his brain conjured up a mental image. "What happened?".

"I was in the storage closest looking for some more dressings because the Peds closet was empty. I knew nobody would be up there so I could take them without worry. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some red. I thought I was imagining it, then I turned the corner and there she was, lying her stomach in that lake of blood. Then I saw it, the knife. It was a big thing. It was unbelievable, the handle just sticking out. Seriously dude!", Alex exclaimed disbelievingly. I don't understand how she's still alive".

"She's strong", Jackson answered simply.

"Yeah", Alex agreed with a wry chuckle. "She might be annoying and weird, but I gotta hand it to her. That chick is brave. She's officially a Seattle Grace Mercy Death-er. Survives a shooting and a stabbing!".

Jackson gave a Alex a small grin. "I think deep down in that twisted, whoring heart, you love April Kepner, don't you".

"Whatever", Alex said nonchalantly, supressing a smile. "She cooks, she cleans, she does our dirty laundry. She survives stabbings. She's got potential", he shrugged.

Jackson allowed himself to laugh gently at Alex's joke, giving his mate a friendly slap on the shoulder. "I really mean it dude", Jackson told him seriously. "Thanks for finding her. You saved her life".

"She would've done the same for me", Alex nodded. "She's friggin April Kepner".

"Did she say anything to you?", Jackson asked with interest.

"Not much", Alex shook his head. "When I was carrying her down to the Pit, she was mumbling a little….nothing coherent. She must have been in a hell of a lot of pain. Hunt told me that the knife was actually moving around inside her".

Jackson winced at the thought of that. It only made him admire his girlfriend even more. She was incredibly brave and strong. He couldn't wait to see her again. To feel her and to kiss her. To tell her he loved her.

"So what's the situation with this?", he indicated around the room with his hand. "Why are you getting to move around?".

"I was cleared already", Alex explained "I thought I'd come down and check on some of the crash accident kids, but I see they've been moved out already".

"I can't believe this happened again", Jackson sighed heavily. "What the fuck is wrong with this place?"'.

"That's the question of the decade!", Alex snorted wryly. "I don't get why the hell I'm still here. I should've shipped out years ago….but something is keeping me here".

"Isn't the old saying something like 'bad times bring people closer together'?", Jackson smirked.

"Whatever…..this shithole has seen too many bad times", Alex quipped, rising from his seat. "I'll see you round man, keep me posted on Kepner".

Jackson nodded and waved a small goodbye to his friend. He couldn't help but reflect on Karev's words. SGMW had seen way too many tragedies befall it, but still the doctors remained. Remained to see another day. Why? Then it hit him. It was the people. Why were residents invited to attending's weddings? Why were attending's so concerned and upset when a resident got hurt. Because they were all a family. Slightly dysfunctional and quite large, but they worked together. They jumped the same hurdles. They saved the same lives- together. Smiling to himself, he settled into the chair to wait until he could go see April.

…..

Jackson ran out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. He slowed down once he'd entered the ICU wing…he knew the nurses there and they weren't too keen on naughty behaviour.

"She's in room 4", his favourite nurse, Linda told him with a small knowing smile as he walked up to the station.

Jackson only flashed her a thankful grin and walked towards the room, his chest fluttering slightly with nervous anticipation. He was half excited and half terrified. As he walked in the room, his heart sank when he saw April. She lay on the bed, her face still as pale as the last time he'd seen her. The ventilator tube coming out of her mouth, connected to the machines that beeped steadily in the corner. Glancing down her body, he noticed the small bump of bandages wrapped around her abdomen, covering the access wound. Her auburn hair was out and spread like a halo over the pillow. She looked so peaceful. Jackson timidly walked up to the bedside and took her hand in his. It was cold. Not dead body cold, but uncomfortable cold, compared to his warmth.

Tracing his finger along her arm, she smiled sadly down at her. "Hey April", he whispered.

As a doctor he knew that the chance she could hear him were close to nothing, but he knew she wouldn't want to be treated like some kind of dying invalid. She was still herself, still there….it just so happened her eyes weren't open. He knew she would want him treating her as if she was awake.

He continued to rub April's hand gently with his fingers when Hunt walked in quietly.

"So what now?", Jackson asked through gritted teeth. He needed someone to take his anger out on.

"We wait", Owen told him regretfully. "She needs to stabilise before we can pull her out from under. Her body is just too volatile at the moment. We bring her out and she might crash."

Jackson nodded, fighting back tears. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, so instead he took a long, deep breath and continue to clutch April's hand.

She had to pull through. She HAD to.

….

Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to update. Please forgive me and remember to review. My next goal is 100 reviews . If I get to it, then I'll update same time tomorrow! C'mon guys! I need that motivation!