(Not So) Push Presents
It had taken Jackson a while to move through the hallways, it turns out that new born babies born to a board member that is fawned by a majority of the female staff are bound to attract a lot of attention. So, by the time he reached April's room she was settled back in, with Addison running over some post-procedure notes while Arizona and Edwards gather information on how to attempt the surgery in the future. Jackson quietly parked Mae's cot at the end of the bed and slipped into the empty space beside Aprils bed, flashing her a quick smile.
Addison ran a hand through her hair, recently released from her scrub cap, "So that went wonderfully April. I'm confident that the procedure was and will continue to be a success. As you know, the local anaesthetic will wear off gradually over the next few hours and then your catheter can be removed. I know that you're still in a lot of pain from the previous surgeries but gentle activity and small amounts of movement will help you recover faster. I see no reason for the doctors here not to discharge you both in a few days once Mae's weight has not dropped below the levels we discussed yesterday and once you're vitals have remained steady, no signs of infection have been spotted and your pain level has dropped slightly."
Stephanie, who was busy scribbling notes looked up and directed a question at the senior physician, "When you say that the treatment was a success, you mean that there should be no further trouble in becoming pregnant and maintaining a pregnancy?" She was so immersed in educating herself that she failed to realise the repercussions of the questions. April shot Arizona a panicked look as Jackson began sending Stephanie his intense 'What The Hell?' facial expression.
"Exactly, Dr Edwards," Addison replied happily, seemingly not noticing any tension whatsoever. She turned to face April and Jackson again as she continued to talk. "I am going to caution against getting pregnant for at least a year to eighteen months though, preferably a little longer. You have had two stressful, high risk and traumatic pregnancies reasonably close together so I think it would be best to wait to reduce the risk of uterine rupture or placental abruption."
"Actually!" Arizona tried to interject with a slightly crazed, polite smile on her face.
Addison, however, was on a roll. "Also, I think it would be best to disregard the usual six week sexual activity guidelines and stretch them out until ten or twelve weeks. It is always better safe than sorry when it comes to post-operative abdominal surgery care after all!" She let out a light laugh, confident that the room full of fellow surgeons would understand. What Dr Forbes missed however, is April turning the colour of a wild poppy and opening her mouth mutely as Jackson cleared his throat and shuffled his feet.
Apparently Stephanie could bear the awkward tension no longer and abruptly shouted out, "They're divorced!" before clapping a hand over her mouth.
Desperately trying to do some damage control, Arizona used her calm voice to direct Stephanie, "Edwards, will you please go and bring Mason Deveraux in room 404 down to x-ray?"
"Of course!" The other woman all but scurried out of the room as Addison began to comprehend the level of awkwardness she had caused.
"I am, emmm, I am so sorry. I just presumed. Which I shouldn't have, at all. But oh my god, I do apologise. Really!" Addison verbally stumbled around, desperately trying to mend her faux pas.
"It's fine really," Jackson tried to reassure her as he rocked back onto his heels. "We were married, but now we're not. And really, we can't expect you to keep up with all the Seattle gossip, it does come a mile a minute." His feeble joke successfully dissipating some of the awkwardness that had mounted in the room.
"Yet again, I am so sorry for my misstep. But that actually leads me to another…. Issue, if we can call it that." She turned to April and gave her a measured smile. "Who's going to be staying with you or who are you going to stay with April? You can't be released to go home by yourself, you just wouldn't be able for it. There's no driving or lifting heavy objects for six weeks after a C-section and it would be a concern that dizzy spells and fainting can happen after the amount of blood loss and surgery your body has been through. Also, general post-surgical care, let alone infant care really requires at least another person."
"I hadn't actually thought of it," The younger woman's eyes began to fill with tears involuntarily as she began to realise the gravity of her situation.
"Is your mom not coming out to stay for a few weeks? Or one of your delightful sisters?" Arizona grimaced at the memory of the trio of Kepner's that had descended unto Seattle and caused chaos a few years earlier.
April jumped to answer extremely quickly, babbling despite her fatigue. "No, no, nope. None of them can come. It's so busy on the farm, such an important time of the year, you know. Way, way too busy to come out here. So many things to be doing in Ohio. My mom will be so busy…..farming?"
Everyone stared at her, waiting a beat before they replied. Arizona was the first to offer an alternative suggestion, "You know that you can always stay with me and Sofia, honey. Or Meredith, I'm sure she wouldn't mind as she has the space and the woman power to help you."
It was at that point that Jackson stepped forward, placing his hand on his ex-wife's shoulder and looking at her only as he spoke. "I think you're all overlooking the obvious here, I will come and stay with April. If that's okay with her of course. I don't think either of us are willing to be away from Mae for any length of the time at the moment, so it's a good solution."
"You don't mind?" She asked, bewildered.
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. It's as much for me as it is for you, trust me," He confirmed gently.
Just as Mae began to squirm and rustle, a sign that she would soon demand a feed Addison took her leave. In the flurry of leaving phone numbers, promising updates and shaking hands she bent down to hug April and whispered conspiratorially, "You don't often get such transparent second chances in life April."
With that she stood up, smoothed her skirt down and announced, "Well I have people to say goodbye to and a flight to catch. Take of yourselves!" She and Arizona left the room in a flurry of clicking heels and rustling notes.
Fortunately Mae prevented any possible residual awkwardness by letting out an almighty squawk. The next five minutes was taken up with getting April propped up, positioning the feeding pillow, undoing robes, getting Mae latched and settling in for what was sure to be a long cluster feeding. Jackson sank into a chair beside the bed and contemplated the fact that it was extremely hard for the situation to be embarrassing when there was so much accidental flashing going on. It seemed as though the (ex) couple had accepted their odd circumstances and were able to move forward, body fluids and exposed chests galore.
"You did good in there Apes," He eventually broke the silence with the thought that had been on his mind for a while.
"Eh, it didn't really require much from me! Thanks though," She let out a small chuckle followed by a tired sigh.
The two lapsed back into a comfortable silence both watching their daughter, that was occasionally broken by a small grunt and wriggle from Mae. Jacksons suddenly umped up, going over to his satchel and rooting around in the front pockets. His hands emerged holding two boxes that were obviously from an upscale jeweller.
"I nearly forgot, but I emm, I got these for you yesterday." He blushed as he proffered them at her.
"Oh, Jackson, you really didn't have buy me anything. Seriously, there's no need." His gesture had flustered her and she didn't know quite what to do with herself.
They were still so in tune with each other that April automatically adjusted her shoulders to the rights as Jackson moved her still numb legs slightly so he could sit on the bed beside her. He held the boxes in his palm, allowing her to open them one handed, as her other arm was being used to support the feeding baby. April jerked the lid open on the smaller box to reveal a silver disk, with an 'M' stamped onto it, an exact match of her Samuel necklace.
She let her hand graze over it, tentatively. "Oh…. It's gorgeous, thank you."
"Now you can have Sammy and Mae with you all the time, like the other moms."
It was this that caused tears to begin trickling out of her eyes and flowing freely down her cheeks. Mae's fluttering, curled hand grazed past her mother's ribcage, bringing April back into the present.
He held out the other box, silently watching her claw at the lid and take in the silver bangle embossed with 'Samuel' in clear, simple script. It was then that sobs came to the surface, guttural and necessary. He knew from experience that all he could do was hand her a tissue and hold her shoulders as he shed some silent tears of his own. After some time they recovered and all that was left from their cry fest was a few residual sighs and shakes from April.
"Thank you, Jackson. Thank you so much, I really mean it," She whispered, looking up at him earnestly.
"Think of them as some not so push presents. It's only fair that Mae gets some space on your necklace, but at the same time Samuel needs something of his own. Plus your get that heat and anxiety rash on your neck sometimes and jewellery exacerbates it. I know that you like having something to touch and fiddle with near your hands too," He tried to shrug the gesture off but she wouldn't let him. April reached over and took his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly for a brief moment.
"I forget that you know pretty much everything about me."
"I think there's a pretty big section of my brain dedicated 'Things I Know About April Kepner'. And I think it goes both ways because you remembered how much I adore cherries and gave me the cobbler off of your tray last night even though the dessert is sometimes the only palatable part of the meal."
"I've spent the last while trying to fight it all, but I can't fight years of friendship and companionship anymore. It's all just innate and natural at this point" April admitted sheepishly.
"So have I, and look where it has gotten us. I think it might just be time to embrace it all. The weirdness of the situation, the fact that neither of us has all the answers or the skills, the fact that we are always going to be bound for life in some way or another. Let's just try and embrace this new normal, see where it takes us."
And that's what they did, cocooned in their room away from the hullabaloo of patients and surgery, April fed their baby and Jackson stroked her tiny foot. Because sometimes embracing a situation is the hardest part of living with it.
A/N: So there's been a little spelling change! I know a May and a Mai in real life, so decided to change the spelling to avoid confusing my overworked brain. When I get a spare 30 minutes I plan on going back to change the previous chapters. As always, thank you so much for reading and I love, love, love all of your reviews. There is nothing I like better than being told what people like, what they want and what characters they want to see, so fire at me! I'm planning on Riggs, lies, crazy Kepners, church and other fun and emotional situations over the next few chapters and cannot wait to get them finished and published.