Hi all! Thanks so much for the reviews on the story! Changing a couple of things up, Shane is the one to find Webber but he doesn't die. And Chief's recovery is going to be a lot smoother!
Chapter 3
One week had passed since April had confessed her love for Jackson. One week and here she stood watching him with Stephanie as they celebrated Shane's recovery. He was being moved from the ICU to a regular room after getting electrocuted finding Chief Webber. Miraculously he hadn't suffered any major injuries and was well on his way to recovery. April hadn't had a moment's rest going between the Chief and Shane.
Jackson had been sent home for a couple of days for rest but when he came back he was catching up on his surgeries, post ops, and spending time with Stephanie. She hadn't spoken to him since the night of the storm.
She had known that there was a possibility that he would reject her, but after he had responded to her kisses she had been filled with hope. And that hope was slowly but surely dying every time he saw Stephanie in his arms.
She looked up one last time and was shocked to meet his gaze across the room. She couldn't read his expression but knew that she couldn't see another woman in his arms anymore so she broke the contact and got back to work.
She went to do her rounds and then to go check on Chief Webber, his operation had been touch and go and they had almost lost him, but he came through in the end. He was in a medically induced coma to help him recuperate properly.
She jumped when she heard a familiar voice ask; "How's he doing?" She turned to find Catherine Avery in the doorway, her eyes on the man lying in the bed.
"His vitals are doing excellent, and Dr. Shepard is going to be examining him to see when we will be able to wake him up." April responded.
"That's wonderful!" Catherine walked to stand beside the bed, and then turned to her. "I want to thank you so much for taking such good care of Richard. Knowing that you were handling his care has been such a comfort for me."
April was touched to receive praise like that from such a highly respected surgeon especially after the fiasco with her boards. "It was my complete pleasure; he's family to all of us here."
"Speaking of family, have you seen Jackson today? I was looking for him earlier."
April's thoughts turned bitter, she had managed to forget the pain of the situation with Jackson for a few hours and now it came rushing back. "I saw him earlier in the ICU with Dr. Edwards. They were moving Dr. Ross out of ICU." She couldn't completely mask the bitterness and jealousy in her voice as she turned back to the Chief's bed.
Catherine immediately picked up on the tone and her eyebrows rose. She had always wondered if there were any feelings between April and her baby boy. She was the longest female friendship that her son had ever had and she had secretly hoped that he would take their relationship further.
April had feelings for her son. She was thrilled and hoped that Jackson wasn't stupid enough to let a woman like her go.
At that moment the man that occupied both women's thoughts walked into the room.
He went still as he realized who else was in the room with his mother. April kept her back to him as his mother went to greet him.
"Baby! I was just asking April if she had seen you today! I was looking for you." Catherine greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. She didn't fail to notice that his attention was definitely not on her.
"Well here I am." As he said this his gaze didn't waver from the back of April's head. He was almost mentally willing her to turn around and look at him.
"I'm going to get these charts to Dr. Shepard and see how soon he can begin his examination." April said quickly as she turned around. Keeping her head down as she moved past both Averys and dashed out the door.
"April!" Jackson tried to stop her but she was too quick. He knew that she didn't have to give Derek anything as the charts would be uploaded automatically with the new system.
He turned to find his mother's knowing eyes fixed on him. Before he could open his mouth to cut off whatever she was going to say. She held her hand up and just said; "Go!"
He hesitated for just a second before he bent to give her a kiss on the cheek and ran out the door.
Catherine shook her head and smiled before she went to sit by Richard's bedside. She grabbed his hand and whispered to him; "I'm going to have beautiful grandbabies!"
April had dashed into the closest empty office she could find, not realizing that it was the same office that Jackson and she had been in when they kissed on her first day back. The memories of that day combined with everything that had happened that week were enough to have her holding back tears.
She was cursing herself internally. She was a doctor, a professional, and she had to get her act together so that she could get out there and work. She would have to put it to the side until she could go home. Then she could wallow and gorge on ice cream and cookies.
She shook herself and steeled her spine before turning back to the door. She was reaching for the handle when the door opened forcing her to take a step back.
Jackson stepped into the room quickly, locking the door quietly behind him, all the while staring at the woman in front of him. Their gazes had locked and he saw her open and close her mouth a couple of times attempting to say something. A small smile appeared on his lips at her cuteness.
That smile snapped her out of her daze immediately. He was laughing at her! She was heart-broken and he was laughing at her. She broke their gaze and angrily said; "What do you want Jackson? I get it, you chose her!" She couldn't keep the hurt or the jealousy out of her voice. "I've seen you guys practically all over each other since you've been back. So you don't need to give me the speech, or let me down "easy" I get it."
The small smile had instantly vanished hearing her words. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak with her all week. He had been dying to see her and talk to her, settle things between them. But Stephanie had been very clingy and needy this week with what had happened to Shane. He would have felt like a complete douche leaving her to deal with it alone. They hadn't really labeled their relationship but he knew that she thought it was more serious than it was and it hadn't been the best time to break it to her.
That had all changed when Shane was moved out of ICU. He had pulled her aside and as gently as he could, broke things off. She hadn't taken it well and had argued and pleaded with him, even after he had reminded her that they had agreed that they weren't going to be serious. The whole thing had left him drained and guilty especially when tears had run down her face before she stormed off, but he knew that he couldn't keep the farce going especially now that April had confessed to him.
That thought brought him back to now as April was trying to push past him to get out of the office.
"Now if you will please move out of the way I have work to do." April was determined not to let him see her cry again.
What she didn't expect was the quiet but firm "No." Her eyes automatically flew to his face as he suddenly started walking towards her crowding her against the desk behind her. Their bodies were as close as they could get without physically touching.
"What? What are you doing?" April asked bewildered. She had not been prepared for this; he was so close to her and it was making it extremely difficult to breathe let alone think clearly. She lowered her gaze to his neck trying to calm herself down. If she looked into his eyes she knew what little defenses she had would come crashing down.
"We need to talk." Was all that Jackson said.
"I already told you I get it! We don't have to talk abo.." She broke off when she felt Jackson's hand lift her chin and his lips come crashing down on hers.
They fell headlong into the kiss. His hand slid from her chin to her neck before burying itself in her hair. His other arm wrapped smoothly around her waist eliminating the miniscule space between them. Her arms had been limp at her sides in shock but they slowly rose to slide up his chest, one going around his neck while the other went around his back.
At first their lips were just pressing against each other but then Jackson pulled her bottom lip between his teeth before he slipped his tongue in her mouth to explore. It felt indescribable to both of them to be together like this again. They were both running their hands up and down each other's backs sensually.
Jackson finally attempted to pull back but took one look at her swollen lips and dove right into another kiss. This one immediately turned passionate, tongues tangling and bodies pressed as close as they could get to the other.
He broke off the kiss again and placed his hands on the desk behind her. It would be a lot easier to focus and actually talk if he didn't have his hands on her. Panting, he breathed to her; "Like I said; we need to talk."
When he had stopped kissing her April could barely think straight. She moved her hands behind her to the desk to support herself since her legs were slowing turning to jelly. "Yes, I guess we do." Was what she managed to say in response.
"God I've wanted to kiss you like that since last week. I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to talk since that night. Between your surgeries, my surgeries, my leave and Stephanie I couldn't get to you." As soon as Stephanie's name passed through his lips April couldn't help but feel jealous and self-conscious. Her head lowered again. She murmured; "It didn't look like you minded being with her."
Jackson lifted her chin forcing her to meet his intense gaze as he spoke lowly and hypnotically. "The only reason I didn't leave her that night was because of what had happened to Shane. She was hurting for her friend and I didn't want to be the asshole that left her when she could have potentially been grieving. As soon as Shane was cleared to leave the ICU today and I knew he would be okay I broke things off with her. I was looking for you afterwards so we could talk."
"Really?" She asked searching his gaze. "You're really choosing me over her?" A small part of her didn't know if she could believe this was actually happening, but she pushed that thought away.
"There was never a decision to make between the two of you April. Not when you were an option, I would never be able to choose anyone over being with you."
Tears slipped down her face as she heard his words. She breathed his name softly.
"But if we are going to do this, we are going to do it right. I want you to be my girlfriend, no sneaking around. We have to communicate; I don't want any more misunderstandings between us. I was scared before of what I felt for you, and it seemed like I was the only one that felt that way so I pushed you away."
Jackson paused and took a deep breath before he continued. "I love you April and I'll do whatever it takes for this to work out this time. And if you need me to I can wait for you, I don't want you to ever feel guilty about being with me."
Her hands flew to his face as she replied earnestly; "I love you too! And I need you to know that I never once regretting being with you. That was why I felt so guilty because I knew that even though I had broken my promise I didn't want to take it back, that even if I could have I wouldn't have changed that night for anything. I was falling harder for you every time we were together and I felt guilty because I never thought that my feelings would be returned. When you told me you had feelings for me, my insecurities flared up and I thought you were only saying it because you felt guilty and then the pregnancy scare happened. I want this too, whatever it takes so that I can be with you."
April's gaze turned even more passionate when she added; "And I don't want to wait, I came to terms with my broken promise a long time ago. I want to be with you in every sense of the word. The night of the storm when I almost lost you, I realized that God hadn't put you in my life to tempt me, you were put in my life so that I could experience love, real love in all its forms."
She pulled his face to hers to seal their declarations with a kiss. It was gentle, loving, and freeing. They had both finally been honest with their feelings, with no guilt or insecurities and it felt amazing.
When they couldn't hold the kiss any longer without breathing he started kissing along her jaw to her ear which he nibbled on slightly before pressing a long kiss to the skin just beneath it. His actions caused a low moan to spill from her lips. Her nails ran down the back of his head before her hands moved to take his shirt off.
"Are you sure April?" Jackson stopped to look in her eyes. April smiled softly and without a waver in her gaze or tone said; "I've never been more sure of anything in my life, make love to me Jackson."
She lifted his shirt off once he raised his arms and raised hers when he reciprocated the gesture grabbing both her scrub top and undershirt in his hands. His mouth was back on hers before her arms had dropped back down. She ran her hands up and down his back tracing each dip and curve, marveling in the fact that this gorgeous man was hers.
Jackson's hands had been exploring her back as well and he traced along the edges of her bra before he deftly unhooked it. He slid his fingers up the straps before slowly removing it from her body. Her hands were forced to drop again to remove it completely.
He then slipped his hands under her butt to lift her onto the desk and settled between her legs. Her arms had automatically wrapped around his neck when he lifted her, and he reached up and grabbed them to place them on the desk behind her.
She looked inquisitively up at him flushed and slightly shy. "You are so gorgeous." He breathed as he reached up to cup her breasts. Her head fell back to the wall behind her and her back arched into his caresses. He bent his head to drop kisses on her neck as he kneaded her breasts firmly. He had her gasping and moaning in a matter of moments.
As he continued to knead her breasts he purposely avoided her straining peaks, teasing her by circling her areolas with his thumbs but never brushing against her nipples. His kisses led a path down her throat to the valley between her breasts before he latched onto her right nipple without any warning. At the same time as his tongue came out to tease the nub, her left was squeezed between his fingers.
"God! Jackson!" April moaned out as her hand flew to the back of his head to keep him there. She shouldn't have worried as he wasn't planned on moving. His free hand moved to her back to keep her steady.
He brushed his tongue over and around her nipple before he suckled her. Hearing her excited moans were turning him on like nothing he had ever felt before in his life. He switched breasts while his hand trailed down her stomach to the ties of her pants. Before he could ask again she was lifting her hips into his hand granting him the unneeded permission.
He swiftly untied the pants before he was pushing them down her legs, her lifting her bottom to help him out. He reached down to remove her sneakers before he pushed her scrubs all the way off.
He released her breast with a soft "pop" when she reached for the ties on his own scrubs. He kicked off his sneakers as she pushed his pants off leaving him in only his boxers and her in her panties. He stepped forward again pulled her into a hot open mouthed kiss as he reached between them to stroke her over her panties.
She buckled in his arms and tried to break the kiss but he wouldn't let her keeping a firm hold on her head. She whimpered into his mouth as she ran her nails down his chest. Deciding to fight fire with fire she reached down between them and ran her hands over the bulge in his boxes. He groaned into her mouth and responded by slipping his hand into her panties to touch and caress her skin to skin.
She was already slick to the touch which gave Jackson an insane amount of satisfaction, and he quickly ran his fingers up and down her slit before pressing his thumb to her clit. She was finally able to break their kiss with a small cry as he was too distracted to hold her to it anymore.
She took her hands off of his manhood and reached for his boxers pushing them down as far as she could before gravity took over and they fell down his legs. He stepped out of them at the same time that his finger slipped inside her. Her hands went behind her on the desk again to brace herself. He starting thrusting his finger in and out of her savoring how tight she still was and when he felt she was ready thrust another inside.
Jackson looked down at his hand moving between her thighs and started to plan out how he was going to take her because he knew he wasn't going to last long hearing her moans and groans. He pulled away from her briefly to reach for the chair beside him and pulled it behind him to sit, and then he pulled a condom from his pants and quickly opened it and rolled it over his erection. After he was settled in he reached forward to remove April's panties before he lifted her and positioned her over his legs to be straddling him. She had instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
He locked eyes with her once more and when he saw no trace of hesitation or guilt he placed himself at her entrance. Reaching around to her hips while keeping the intense gaze he pulled her down onto his manhood. They both gasped and let out long low moans as she slid down to the hilt.
"I love you." He whispered "I love you so much."
"I love you too Jackson." She whispered with the same reverence.
He grasped her hips again as he began a slow, steady rhythm as he lifted her and met her thrusts as he pulled her down. Their lips met briefly before her head fell to his shoulder as she braced her feet on the floor to better meet his thrusts. As their rhythm steadily picked up and their breaths grew shorter and more ragged she threw her head back and arched into him. He could feel her getting tighter around him and knew that they were both close to the edge.
He bent forward and latched onto her nipple suckling fiercely as he thrust harder into her, and it was just the push she needed as her mouth opened in a silent scream as she fell hard into her orgasm. Her orgasm triggered his and he kept her hips pressed down against him as he emptied himself inside of her. She slumped against him in the chair as the aftershocks coursed through her body.
When she finally felt like she could move she lifted her head to meet his eyes. They met hers and searched for any regrets or guilt and after not finding a trace of either finally relaxed into the most loving expression she had ever seen.
"That was incredible!" She said with a small breathless laugh.
He let out his own husky chuckle and responded; "Yeah and that was only the beginning. I'm in April, I love you."
"I'm in too Jackson. I love you."
They got up and got dressed before walking hand in hand with open eyes towards a bright new future, together, as it was always meant to be.
Well, that's all folks! I had a lot of fun writing this, been a long time since I felt the creative juices flowing! Thanks again for those who have reviewed it is truly appreciated. Don't know when the next story will be up but I have a couple of ideas that I'm going to be exploring.
Ta Ta for now I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!