AN: Sorry about the slight delay in posting. Work is exhausting, but what's new? Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and followed! I appreciate it so much. There's still a lot of stuff at play, that's still to be revealed, and that's still developing in Grey's Amendments- I don't want to say too much. Title is from Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in honor of the Halloween bent of this chapter. Lyrics: You came last/Take the past/Shut your eyes/Realize. Anyway, on to the chapter!

The sun shines lightly on the porch, and it's cool enough out that the sun didn't feel stifling as the light bounces off of the red-gold leaves changing color. April smiles and takes a deep breath in. While the first years still had a substantial amount of work to do, especially in this last stretch of weeks before finals, April was determined to enjoy this time of the year as much as she can. Despite her name, April had always loved the fall season. Even though she had never been a cheerleader or anything like her sisters, she still enjoyed attending football games growing up and watching her father coach the high school team. After the games, she and Joe would go home and get cider, and stay up late discussing the game, what had gone wrong, what had gone right. She'd be tired the next morning, as she would still have to get up early for 4-H, but it'd always been worth it. Furthermore, autumn marked the beginning of the holiday season which April always enjoyed. And so, since it's a Sunday afternoon and while April did have a memo she should be writing, she figured a little procrastination never hurt anyone, especially considering she usually finished assignments long before they were due anyway. She and Izzie are hanging fake cobwebs in the doorway of the house, carefully placing fake spiders in the masses of white. Other decorations in a box were waiting to be put up as well.

"It's good Meredith had all of this stuff on hand. Did her mom get it when she was a kid?" April asks.

Izzie hesitates and bites her lip. "No, I don't think Mer's mom wasn't really into that stuff. I bought all of this at a party store."

April takes a step back to get a broader perspective. "Hmm. I think we could use another ghost placard."

Izzie tilts her head and considers the porch as well. "I agree. George, you want to grab that?" George, meanwhile, is idly reading a magazine and watching them work.

"Don't you think this is slightly overkill?" George says, tapping one of the plastic skeletons hanging from the ceiling of the porch.

"The trick or treaters will love it." April smiles.

"George? Ghost me, please," Izzie says and George sighs, before slowly making his way back into the house.

"It's nice to have someone else to decorate with," Izzie grins. "I can usually draft George for the assist, but Meredith, Cristina, and Alex? They have no interest in decorations or holidays. At all."

"Well, if you ever need any help decorating for Christmas, or Valentine's day, or- well, basically, any holiday, I'm your girl!" April says brightly. "I love the holidays. And decorations too, for that matter."

"Sounds like a plan," Izzie says. They continue carefully placing the decorations here and there. "I think George likes you." April pauses, her fingers stilling on the plastic pumpkin lights she was coiling across the porch.

April laughs awkwardly, and a little too loud. "Well, I like him too. He's a nice guy."

"Well, yes, he is that. But I think he like likes you. You know," Izzie lowers her voice and raises her brows dramatically. "Romantically. And I like you, April. You seem sweet, and I think you would be a lot healthier for George than some other people I can think of. But you should know, George O'Malley is my best friend. So just… don't be careless with him. OK? He's my person. I'm always going to be on his side," Izzie finishes. Izzie and George obviously have a very close bond, similar to that of Meredith and Cristina.

April nervously laughs as she attaches the final fake spider. If you looked beyond the baking and the decorating, Izzie Stevens could be a bit scary. So April's not entirely sure how she works up the courage to ask this next question.

"Is everything… alright between you and Alex? I've just- I've noticed there's been some… tension between the two of you," she finally asks delicately.

"We're fine. We are." Izzie says. "My ex was back in town, and Alex is dealing with some stuff- not that he ever talks to me about it," she mumbles.

April nods, and she wants to believe that Alex and Izzie are fine, but Izzie's words made it sound a whole heck of alot like she wasn't just trying to convince April.

An October rain pelted down across the Seattle Grace University campus, the sun of the previous weekend nowhere to be found. Undergrads and professors alike were darting between buildings, carefully maneuvering wide umbrellas. April had finally made it to the dining hall after narrowly avoiding what felt like a dozen puddles. She was trying to prepare herself for the expected heavier precipitation in November and December, but it wasn't working out so well. She didn't know if she'd ever be entirely used to the Seattle climate, as it was so different from the Midwestern weather she had grown up with, but the Pacific Northwest has really grown on her over the years. While she loved growing up on the farm, April appreciated both sides of Seattle weather, from the sun shining over the Sound to the lush greenery and rain, she truly did. She had also just learned to truly appreciate her umbrella and rainboots.

After their Torts class, she had joined the group, minus Jackson, as they ate lunch at one of the big tables in the dining hall. April sips her tea, wondering how it's going for Jackson, as Harper was apparently set to arrive this morning, and Jackson planned to meet his grandfather for lunch. She knows his family is a sensitive subject for him and so she let her mind wander from the others conversation. Jackson just had a habit of being so hard on himself, expecting perfection, expecting the best. They all did to a certain extent; after all, they were law students at one of the most competitive law schools in the country, but she worried about him. Jackson was-

"Kepner. Earth to Kepner."

"Huh? What?" April jerks back to attention at the sound of her name to see Cristina staring at her.

"I asked you where's Avery?" Cristina narrows her eyes. "You two sometimes seem like you're literally joined at the hip. Did he decide that law school was just a bit too much for him and fly home?"

Alex sniggers while April shakes her head. "His grandfather is in town, and he's meeting him for lunch."

"He's from Boston, right?" Izzie asks, head tilted in consideration as she unscrews the cap from her water bottle.

"Yeah, he is…" April trails off, and she's hoping to redirect the conversation away from the Averys. Their friends would connect the dots soon enough, they weren't idiots after all. However, April knew Jackson would want her to keep his tenuous cover as long as possible, so she's grateful at the interruption as a woman strides over smoothly to their table. The beautiful red-haired woman paused, standing over them as she looked impeccably, improbably untouched by the rain.

"Uh, can we help you?" George asks.

"Yes, you can help me. Well, not you specifically, but…" The woman's eyes scan over their group before landing on Meredith. "But you can. I'm Addison Montgomery, and you must be the student who's been sleeping with my husband," she smiles at Meredith.

April chokes on her tea, and the heat of it launches her into a coughing fit. Meredith's face pales as she seems to slump in her seat. From the corner of her watering eye, April can see Derek standing in the doorway of the dining hall, peering around until he spots them. Derek rushes forward to Addison's side, a stern look on his face. "Well, I guess it's soon to be ex-husband, isn't that right, dear?" she says sarcastically to Derek.

She's obviously wealthy; April is not a woman up to date on high-end fashion brands but even she can identify the subtle Chanel and Dior logos that mark Addison's clothes. Addison is outrageously beautiful, and she wears her wealth the same way. It wasn't gaudy and it wasn't ostentatious; this was old money. She was classy. And April could tell by the look on Meredith's face that she was aware of this as well. Addison appeared to be beautiful, smart, and wealthy, and April can imagine how annoying that must be for her friend.

"I thought we were going to meet in my office," Derek murmurs, tension obvious in his shoulders and jaw.

"Well, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet the infamous Meredith Grey, now, could I?" Addison smiles brightly.

"Would you excuse us, please?" Derek grabs Addison lightly by the arm and ushers her away.

The group's table is silent for a moment in the wake of the Shepherd-Montgomery drama. "Well, that was interesting. And she's hot." Alex eats a bite of his cheeseburger and Izzie slaps him lightly on his arm.

"No, she's not. She's… she's hideous." Izzie says in an attempt at female solidarity.

Meredith narrows her eyes before she turns to Cristina. "Is it too early to go to Joe's?"

"I think you should wait until you're actually a corporate attorney before becoming an alcoholic, so yes."

"So, she's pretty," Addison remarks, drumming her fingers along Derek's desk. She and Derek are sitting in his office, going over the final papers from the divorce proceedings.

"I'm not going to talk about Meredith with you." Derek says firmly. "And you're not going to talk about her either."

"Alright, fine. So we just need to sign and then discuss how we divvy up the clients. I'm joining Naomi and Sam at their practice in LA," Addison says. "We've agreed to divvy up the clients 50/50. Half will join me in LA and half will stay with you here in Seattle. I know we worked together to bring a lot of them in, but this is the only way it's going to work."

Derek quickly skims the list of divided clients. He makes a few faces here and there, rolls his eyes a couple of times, but the only time he voices an objection is for one of their biggest clients. "Ledford Banking?" Derek asks incredulously. They had worked with the international bank for the past five years, and while Derek provided his expertise in international law, Addison's specialty was business law. Together, they had created one of the foremost international finance law firms in the country. "Addison, do you know how much time I spent on the golf course with these guys? I wined them, I dined them, I-"

Addison interrupts as her eyes narrow behind her glasses. "So did I, Derek. I worked just as hard as you to get all these clients, that's my point. The actual accounts are pretty evenly split. I'll get Ledford, yes, but the other accounts you're getting together add up to Ledford. Plus, you're getting Morrison," Addison continues, referencing their second biggest client. "And the only reason I wasn't on the golf course as well is-"

"Yes Addison, I'm well-aware of the sexist undertones of recruiting clients at male-dominated areas like country clubs and golf courses that primarily cater to men."

Addison stops at the beginning of her rant and she smiles ruefully. "You've heard this before?"

Derek grins back. They've discussed the intricacies of gender politics in law at the dinner table. They had discussed everything it seems. "Maybe just once or twice."

They both laugh and the atmosphere in the room grows considerably lighter. Addison sighs. It's easy to forget at moments like these exactly how she and Derek had gotten to this point- signing divorce papers and deciding how to divide up the firm they had built together. It could've been worse though; Addison knew of other married lawyers who had drawn out the divorce proceedings, arguing over every last piece of china. Considering the circumstances, their divorce could've been a lot more contentious. At this point, it seems they were both eager to move on to the next chapter in their lives.

"Do you believe in fate, Derek?" Addison asks softly. This is the side of Addison she tries to let as few people as possible see. You had to be tough to be a lawyer, and vulnerability had never been easy for Addison Montgomery.

Derek thinks for a moment, and that's something she can appreciate even now, after all these years and everything they've been through. He doesn't outright dismiss ideas, or give a flip answer, if you were seriously asking something. He considers things. "Maybe. There's some things you can't control- you can't control if you live or die, you can't control nature- but even if you can't control everything, even if fate does play a huge role in our lives, I know I believe in choices. Why?"

Addison pauses for a moment as she considers her choice of words. She'd always been articulate, and while this was very helpful in her career, right now she can't seem to find the exact right words for what was bothering her. "Was there ever a chance for us? Or were we always going to end up here. You being so wrapped up in work-"

"And you cheating on me with my best friend?" Derek says caustically. "That fact is very important to remember."

Addison sighs. "Yes. And me cheating on you with Mark, and you meeting Meredith, but beyond them, beyond that… was there ever a chance for us?"

"I did love you, Addison. But…" Derek hesitates, and Addison can see in his eyes that right now, even after everything, he doesn't want to hurt her. For some odd reason that is what makes her want to cry, because- because maybe he didn't care enough anymore to even want to hurt her. "With Meredith, I know it's sudden, I know it's soon… but it's not just that I want her… I need her."

Addison nods quickly, wanting to keep her pride. She truly does want Derek to be happy, but it's not easy hearing Derek talk about how much he wants and needs another woman.

Derek sighs and signs the agreement with his usual sprawling signature, the D and S particularly large.

"So, this is it, I guess. I guess I'll see you around, but probably not." Addison says

"Go, Addison. Give Sam and Naomi my best, and be happy in LA. Be amazing in LA," Derek says, kissing her softly on the cheek, and in that kiss there's a thousand goodbyes. Goodbye to their traditions on holidays, goodbye to always having somebody to attend work functions with.

For 11 years, Addison had been part of a "we" in her work, in her personal life, and now she needed to learn how to be a "me". And while there's sadness in that, Addison realizes with a start and an unexpected smile, there's also something incredibly freeing about that. Addison is about to push the building door open when she hears Derek call out her name. Turning around, she sees that Derek is jogging after her.

He pauses and runs a hand through his hair. Addison hadn't seen Derek this agitated in a while.

"I know I shouldn't ask. I may not have the right to ask, but I- I have to know. Is Mark going with you?" Derek asks stiffly. He's ready to move on, but the betrayal from them both stings and he's still undeniably furious with Mark Sloan. They had been more than best friends, they had been brothers. From elementary school to law school, they'd been together. And then Mark had slept with his wife and ruined everything.

"Oh, Derek." He's not sure, but there's the faintest trace of pity in Addison's voice. "Haven't you heard? Mark's moving to Seattle." And since Addison never considered herself to be a saint, she can admit that Derek's furious, shocked face is the best thing she's seen in months.

Jackson opens his umbrella, prepared to brave the torrential downpour but he bumps into someone.

"Oh, excuse me-" Jackson begins, but he stops speaking when he sees who he just ran into. Harper Avery was a few inches shorter than Jackson, but his demeanor and his sharp blue eyes made him feel larger than life. His was a presence that could fill an entire courtroom.

"Grandpa! What are you doing here?" Jackson laughs nervously, trying to usher the older man away, back towards the door. "I told you I would meet you at the restaurant."

"I changed our reservation to dinner time. I wanted to meet you here." Jackson bites his tongue. Harper Avery is the type of man who does as he pleases; everyone else usually just shuts up and gets with the program.

"You thought I would come out all this way and not take a look at your school?" Harper raises his eyebrows.

"Well, you didn't come out here just to visit me, right? Don't you have a consulting job?" The Averys were above all practical. If they could combine business with family, they would; it just made sense. Harper continues strolling across the law building's courtyard, not letting Jackson deter him.

"Yes, I do, but I didn't think you would be ashamed to introduce your own grandfather to your friends or bring him to your law school."

Harper casts a disparaging look around the building. Jackson patiently awaits his grandfather's inspection. In about 10 seconds, Harper would find something wrong with it, because Jackson's pretty sure the older man could find something wrong with anything, even the Mona Lisa. Jackson begins the silent countdown in his head, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-

"It's not very grand isn't? How are you supposed to fully immerse yourself in the law in such dismal conditions? You know, Harvard has a wonderful law building and library. Plus, your Aunt Helene teaches there. If you do well enough in your first year, you could probably look at transferring."

Jackson sighs. He shouldn't be surprised, and he should not have expected anything different, but he can't deny the disappointment spreading through him. "Seattle Grace is a good law school, Grandpa. And see, I'm actually kind of trying to avoid the whole nepotism thing."

"Who said anything about nepotism? Nepotism is for the weak."

Jackson groans, rubbing his face with his hands. "You sound like my mother."

"Or does your mother sound like me?" Harper laughs and slaps Jackson on the back. "Now, where are some of your friends at?"

"Hey guys," Jackson strolls forward. "What's up?" April's eyes widen, and she looks behind Jackson. As far as she knew, he was meeting his grandfather for lunch, so where was the famed Harper Avery?

"Nothing's up. Everything's amazing." Meredith mumbles, and Jackson turns to April confused.
"You don't want to know." She mouths, her eyes wide.

Izzie's checking her phone as she pours her salad dressing, but her small shriek draws eyes from all the tables around them.

"You guys, you will not believe this, but according to Twitter Harper Avery is here. I mean, the Harper Avery. Is here. At Seattle Grace."

Cristina starts laughing, but she stops at the look on Izzie's face. "You're joking. He's here? Harper Avery is-" She pauses, before slowly turning to stare at Jackson. There's a moment of silence, before everyone else follows suit.

"Oh, shit." Jackson exhales, pulling out a chair and stretching his legs out. He could really use a beer right about now.

"Wait. Your grandfather is Harper Avery? The Harper Avery? The Harper Avery who helped found the Avery & Associates law firm, former Attorney General of the United States, former Head of the Justice Department Harper Avery?" Cristina says rapidly in one breath, her eyes narrowed.

"Are you reading off his Wikipedia page now?" Jackson asks sarcastically. "Or do you have a photographic memory?"

Cristina smirks. "I don't need a photographic memory. I'm just that good."

"And you never happened to mention that that you were an "Avery" Avery?" Alex scoffs. "You've been holding out on us, dude."

"Is he… is he in the building?" George asks, looking around excitedly.

Jackson looks him straight in the eye. "No."

"He's lying." Alex eyes him shrewdly. "Harper Avery is in the building."

Jackson rolls his eyes. "Fine, if you guys want to chase him down like stalkers, be my guest. He's visiting the law library."

His words hang in the air for a moment before Cristina quickly stands and rushes out of the dining hall.

"She'll never wait for the rest of us, right?" George asks as he, Izzie, and Alex quickly walk after her.

"I'll stay," April says, biting her lip, and Jackson can see she's dying to go as well.

"It's fine, you can go," he says gruffly.

April stands but still hesitates, lingering by the table.

Jackson sighs. He shouldn't ruin this for her. "Really, April," his tone much gentler. "Go."

April smiles brightly. "OK. I'll be right back!" And with a swish of vivid red hair, she's gone too. Jackson takes a seat at the table, the other's lunches still taking up the majority of the space. Meredith is the only one who's still here.

"You're not interested in meeting the 'great' Harper Avery?" Jackson's sarcasm rings clear.

"No. Well, yeah, I am. But I figure I'll probably meet him eventually, and plus I've got my own stuff right now."

He nods his head. "I get that. It's just… you don't look surprised. Most people are surprised when the find out who my grandfather is, who my family is."

"That's because I knew." Jackson quickly turns his head around to face Meredith.

"Wait, you knew?" Meredith nods before she realizes Jackson is still staring at her.

"Oh, come on, it's not like your family history is in a vault. It's just- I get it, too. It's not easy being related to a legend. It's not my business if you didn't want to bring it up."

"Well, thanks, I guess," Jackson sighs. He leans his head back against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. It's nice to just get a minute and breathe. They sit for a few moments in companionable silence before Meredith speaks again.

"I know I just said it's not my business, but are you avoiding your grandfather right now?"

"Yes, yes I am, as a matter of fact." Jackson opens one eye to peer at Meredith. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Meredith smiles and tilts her head. "No, I don't. I just know that if I had the opportunity to learn from and talk with some of my family, I would. You should- you should spend as much time with him as you can, while he's still around."

"That's kinda morbid, just saying."

Meredith shrugs, as if she's entirely used to being accused of being morbid. "Anyway, I'm not one to talk about avoidance. I just met my boyfriend's wife- well, I guess ex-wife now? I don't know. And she's insanely beautiful and wealthy and probably has her shit together, unlike me, so I'm just going to sit here and avoid everything. You're welcome to avoid stuff with me, if you'd like."

Jackson chuckles before stealing someone's leftover chips, eating one. Shaking his head, Jackson defends himself. "I do love him, and I appreciate all he's done, but sometimes… I just feel suffocated. Sometimes, with him, my mom, my entire family? I feel like I can't breathe." He turns to Meredith once more. "You know what I mean?"

Meredith chuckles. "Oh yeah. But that's family for you. You have your actual family that's occasionally insane and awful and you can't breathe around, and then you find your people, your family, and they're insane too, but they help you breathe again."

Jackson gives a small smile before he stands. Even though his family drove him crazy, Meredith was right. He's got people that help him breathe again, he thinks as his eyes land on the Earl Grey tea bag. "OK, you want to come along, meet my grandfather? I figure I should do some actual introductions for them. You can still avoid whoever or whatever you want to avoid."

Meredith laughs. "Fine, let's go."

"Your grandfather's brilliant. He's amazing. He makes you want to be amazing." April sighs and shakes her head. She and Jackson are walking home as it has finally stopped raining. The cool breeze blows a lock of red hair in front of her eyes, and she impatiently moves it aside. "He reminds me of your mom." Harper had held court for a while, entertaining his friends with stories from his years spent as a litigator for Avery & Associates and the wide variety of characters he had met as Attorney General. Harper had an undeniable dynamic energy, even at his age. He was

"Yeah, that sounds like them." Jackson's not frowning, and there's even still a small smile on his face, but something just feels… off.

"You ok?" she asks softly.

Jackson's about to shrug, give a flip answer and cast that Avery smile, but he's surprised to find that his shoulders actually do feel lighter, and so his next words aren't actually a lie. "I'm good." Maybe he and April should go on more walks together.

April smiles and continues. "Actually, he reminds me of you too, you know."
Jackson laughs. "How so? We could not be more different. I'm constantly reminded of that fact."

"Well, yeah, you're funny and you're- you know…" April gestures vaguely to Jackson's face and body as he starts smirking and raises an eyebrow. "You look like that and it's sorta ridiculous. But you're like him in a lot of ways. You make people want to be amazing too, you know. You make people want to be awesome." April's sincerity rings through. "Really."

He smiles at her again, but this time there's no smirking to be found; instead, it's an affectionate smile. "Seriously? I make you want to be awesome? Can I get that in writing?"

April sighs and quickly walks past Jackson. "OK, I'm done having this conversation."

"Where are you going? I thought I made you want to be awesome?" Jackson jogs after her. "Feel free to soak in the amazing."

"Shut up!" She shoves him. "I'm never paying you a compliment again."

"Alright, I'll stop, I'll stop," he laughs. "Hey, do you want to go over our Torts outlines tomorrow?" Jackson asks, looking over at her.

April starts nodding, but she soon stops. "Oh, wait, actually, I've made plans to study with George. But you could probably come, if you'd like?"

Jackson's about to agree, but he suddenly realizes that George may have other plans besides studying with April. And he's happy for his friend. Really.

"I mean, Bailey's intimidating, but she's kind of awesome." April and George had been joking around for the last half hour, and they hadn't gotten a lot of work done. "But Nelson? And his hair?" George playfully widens his eyes. April giggles again before clearing her throat. "OK, OK, we really should get back to studying. I don't know why, but Torts of all our classes is giving me the most trouble."

"Me too."

They continue reading over their books but April can still feel his eyes on her. "What's wrong?"

George smiles, "Nothing's wrong." But his stare gradually becomes more determined.

"What?" April laughs, brushing her cheek. "Do I have something on my face?" George shakes his head, "No, you don't," he says softly, and then he leans forward and kisses her, and his lips are warm and soft, and it's not… bad, necessarily. It's just not good. They kiss for a moment more before they pull away from one another and look into the other's eyes. The silence stretches between them for a moment before they simultaneously burst out into laughter.

"You're not a bad kisser, I'm sorry, I-" but April can't stop laughing. "It's just- there was nothing there. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't-"

"It wasn't what a really good kiss should be. There were no fireworks," George finishes. "There's no blame here, but there's no chemistry."

April catches her breath and hesitates. She doesn't want to lose George's friendship just because there wasn't really any romantic chemistry between them. There's a good amount of friendship chemistry though. She has genuinely enjoyed getting to know him, and she enjoys his company. Furthermore, he doesn't seem to get as easily annoyed with her as other people do.

"Are we OK though? I- I do like you George, as a friend and-" George puts his hand on hers, and again, it's nice, but there's no butterflies building, no heat in her stomach, and she's not blushing at all.

"We're fine, April. Honestly. I like you and you're great, and I don't want us to lose our friendship either." April smiles and nods her head, feeling remarkably more assured. She's pretty sure that'd be the worst thing, to lose a good friendship because of some romantic entanglements.

"So. Torts." George wiggles his eyebrows. "Exciting."

April laughs and wakes her laptop up again. "Yes. Torts."

"Is this enough candy?" Jackson asks sarcastically, eyeing the three different plastic bags of candy that April's opening.

April rolls her eyes, opening the last bag particularly aggressively. "Trust me, we don't want to be the house that runs out of candy."

Jackson's preparing the bowl of candy for the trick or treaters with April, and while he had had plans to go out with Charles for Halloween, he was so exhausted from his grandfather's visit that he just really wanted to relax at home and watch a scary movie. April had said she'd allow it, but only if he made sure to pause the movie when the kids came. He didn't do a whole lot of trick or treating himself growing up, he had only gone a couple of times, so Jackson wasn't as familiar with the process. He's pretty sure however that the kids wouldn't be traumatized if there was a horror movie playing in the other room, but he conceded the point. She's the boss.

"The most popular houses when I was growing up would hand out King-size bars," April explains, "But even if you don't do that, Kit-Kats are a good choice. Reese's as well, Snickers, I could go on. Almost everybody likes those."

"OK. So we've got a variety of Kit-Kats, Reese's, and Snickers. I'm pretty sure we're all set. Now can I start the movie?" They settle on the couch with popcorn and April quickly grabs a blanket.

"I guess so. Do we have to watch a scary movie?"

Jackson groans. "It's Halloween, April. We're not watching a chick flick."

"It wouldn't have to be a chick flick…" April scowls slightly and furrows her brow. "We could just watch a comedy or something," she mumbles.

"Next time, alright?"

The doorbell rings and April sits up excitedly. "Aww, they're here! Pause the movie, Jackson," she says as she rushes to the door.

"Trick or treat!" The kids' excited exclamations fill the entryway, and Jackson leans forward off the couch to see a pirate, a fairy, and Batman standing with their bags outstretched.

April gets down on one knee to be at the kids' eye level as she distributes the candy. "Oh wow, look at you guys! That's the most impressive eyepatch I've ever seen, matey!" She says in a horrible pirate voice, but the kids laugh along with Jackson. He'd never had a chance to see April with kids before, and he's impressed. She's really good with them, comfortable in a way that he's sure he could never be. He's still smiling at her as she distributes the candy and waves goodbye exuberantly. She walks back into the living room but pauses when she sees Jackson's face.

"What?" she asks, but Jackson just shakes his head. "Nothing."

Shaking her head, April settles back onto the couch, curled up with the blanket. "You can press play now," she says, and he's about to, but there's still a lingering question in his head.

"So, you and O'Malley aren't a thing then?" he asks casually. While the two still hung out together, George wasn't looking at April moonily anymore, and he had overheard Alex saying he could maybe set the other man up with a masters student named Olivia. While he felt bad if April was disappointed, or hurt, he can't deny that the more selfish side of him is pleased. Jackson had never really seen April with a serious boyfriend before, and it's nice that his study buddy and friend won't be so busy with someone else that she'd no longer have any time to hang out with him, especially as finals get closer.

"No, we are not. There were zero sparks." April sighs. "And a spark is important." While April can accept that there were no romantic sparks with George, she's still disappointed. Sometimes she feels like she'll never have sparks with anybody. She's dated before, but she's never felt that can't keep your hands off the other person feeling. She's never really connected with someone on an emotional and physical level, and while she's not losing her virginity before marriage, she'd like to have someone.

Jackson nods. "A spark is very important. It's too bad though. I had a whole 'don't mess with my friend, or I'll mess with your face' speech prepared." At first, he doesn't look up from the bowl of popcorn as he says this, but Jackson can feel April's eyes on him and he grins before looking up.

April is staring at him incredulously. "You did not."

"I did. I do. I'll make sure to save it for the next guy though," Jackson smiles even wider and April starts laughing. "I think you'd like it. It has bullet points and everything."

April gasps and lightly shoves him. "I love bullet points!"

"I know you do."

"What about annotations?"

"No annotations, but I can work them in if you'd like."