Epilogue: Three Years On
7am over Seattle was always beautiful. It didn't matter if there were rain clouds on the horizon, or a strong current of sunlight blinding half-closed eyes. It simply was. It was something April mused as she made her way home after working the night shift in the ER.
Stepping into the warmth of this particular morning, April inwardly smiled as she noted the bedroom light flickering into the window; Jackson was still home. He had to work at some point today but, rather surprisingly, she had been afforded time to leave work early and see him before he had to leave.
Coming home to her husband was something she could never tire of, she thought to herself as she pulled the car into the driveway. Knowing that his strong arms awaited her in a few moments was enough to bring pleasure coursing through her veins. It didn't matter that they had been married two years now, or that they still had so many unresolved issues to work out, he was her husband and she loved him with all she had regardless. Turning off the engine, she grabbed her purse and opened the door to the morning Seattle air.
"Jackson?" She called out as she pushed open the front door of their apartment. Stifling a yawn, she pulled off her jacket and allowed her feet to free themselves from her shoes. It was always a welcoming relief to come home to this, and to him.
"Hi babe." He called back from the bedroom, emerging a second later wrapped in his towel, with a toothbrush jammed between his teeth. Offering her a goofy grin, she laughed and edged toward him across the room.
"I'm glad you're still home." She murmured, pressing herself into his chest and taking a lungful of his freshly washed scent.
Wrapping an arm around her upper torso, the grin he wore softened to a smile as he removed the toothbrush from his mouth. "I don't have surgery until ten. And my resident can take care of rounds for one day."
"Then we can do something?" She asked him hopeful. They had both been working themselves into the ground recently, and she had told herself in the car journey home, she needed some quality time with her husband. It was hard trying to be surgeons whilst also trying to be surgeons.
The sensation of her words into his chest felt wonderful. It almost felt as if she was talking to his heart, lulling it to beat in a slow and steady rythmn. He mused just how natural this felt, holding his beautiful, talented wife in his arms and vowed he would always appreciate the small things they were offered in a marriage that had had its fair share of low points.
Using his free hand, he reached upward and captured her chin with his fingers, pulling it upwards so that his gaze could meet hers. "We have, oh-" He started, taking a moment to look at the clock above April's head on the kitchen wall before returning his gaze to hers. "About thirty minutes of uninterrupted peace."
Now April was smirking, sensing just what her husband was insinuating. It was hard not the note the twinkle in the eyes of her husband. They were not often given this luxury, usually too concerned with the pressures of work and family life. "I won't say no that." She almost whispered, using a sultry edge to her tone as he released the grip he had held around her.
"In the bedroom or…" Jackson trailed off, raising an eyebrow as both of their gazes seem to fall upon the kitchen counter close to them.
Wordlessly, April let her husband come behind as she turned, roughly grasping her waist and pressing her forward into the curve of the kitchen counter top. Pressing his lips to the nape of neck, peppering small kisses in the dip, he groaned as she pushed her hips backwards to connect with his groin. "Jackson." She sighed, her knuckles turning whiter as she held on to the unit for support, unable to judge whether she could remain upright as he worked her body with his hands and his lips; his fingers were toying with the hem of her t-shirt, riding it a little up over her stomach to expose flesh, whilst his lips caressed her jawline.
"You are the sexiest woman alive." He grumbled beside her ear, knowing the sensation of his voice was driving her a little wilder. He could not help but marvel at the exuberant, raunchy nature that she was able to show him with barely any encouragement. The April Kepner he had first come to know, and to love, had not be capable of any such talents in the beginning. It seemed it had taken the love and appreciation of a good man, her now husband, to show her was much sexier than most gave her credit for.
"Jackson." She moaned, feeling his hands now sliding around the front of her jeans, toying with the button that held them close to her. "You drive me crazy."
"I try." He replied with a small laugh.
"Jackson I-"
"Mommy? Daddy?"
The two adults sprung apart at the sound of a small voice from behind them. Straightening her clothes, April quickly applied a large smile to her lips and rushed over to where her daughter stood rubbing her eye with one hand, favourite blanket in the other. "Hi sweet girl." She cooed, dropping to her knees and reaching out to stroke the cheek of the small child.
"Bad dream Charlie-bear?" Jackson asked, also appearing at the side of his daughters and crouching so he was also at her level.
Their daughter nodded, sniffing a little as she clutched the blanket closer to her chest. April offered her husband a knowing glance, rather surprised still from being caught by their daughter in a compromising position before she opened her arms for their daughter to clamber into. "How about we go get in mommy and daddy's bed and watch some TV." She told her daughter with a soft tone, allowing the child to get comfy in her grip, wrapping her legs around April's waist and pressing her cheek into April's shirt-covered chest.
Jackson smiled as he watched the two of the leave the kitchen, noting just how at home April always looked carrying their daughter; Charlotte Alexa Avery was almost two and half now, and already had developed strong currents of April's personality, despite gaining the majority of her flawless features from Jackson. It was hard to miss the stubborn streak their daughter favoured, and her way of having the ability to get her father to attend to her every whim, just like April had managed so many times before. She was sassy too, but with a slight shy side when she did not feel all too comfortable with the situation. Despite the thick, jet black flash of hair that adorned her head, it was clear Charlotte had inherited the classic traits of any true red-head.
It had taken some time for them to adjust to the idea of parenthood, yet all that seemed to have melted away on the day that Charlotte had been born. Even his mother, Catherine, had mustered some sort of animosity with her daughter-in-law when she had been afforded those first few precious moments with her only grandchild. The birth of the daughter had been a day of wonder, and of celebration and had broken his heart, as well as fixed all the cracks that it had endured previous to the beginning of her small life. Charlotte had completed him, completed them. No longer could they think back to a time they had been happier, or when they hadn't felt complete with the presence of such a little person in their lives, and in their home. When thing were tough, or tempers were frayed, they only had to make a slight mention of her and instantly they were reminded of the unbreakable bond they shared together, having made something so small and perfect. There was no denying that their daughter had completed their family perfectly.
"How about some pancakes for my two special ladies?" He asked, appearing in the bedroom doorway, greeted by the sight of them together in their bed, snuggled under the duvet with some cartoon playing quietly in the background.
Charlotte nodded. "Pancakes daddy!" She replied excitedly, clapping her hands together.
"Pancakes coming right up baby." He replied, returning to the kitchen.
April listened to the sounds of her husband clattering about in the kitchen from the bed, and then watched as her daughter lay in the crook of her arm, twisting her fingers absentmindedly as her eyes remained trained on the images on the TV screen. It felt like a wonderful moment, knowing she was privileged to have been blessed with such a perfect family life; her handsome, kind and loving husband and their perfect daughter, so clever and strong for someone so young. Just like Jackson had told her he sometimes thought, it was hard to imagine the time before now that she had been so happy, and so content with all that luck and love she had been provided in those last few years.
And still, she knew that there was something small and new, still waiting to be digested and shared yet that could only further heighten that feeling.
"Hey Charlie," She murmured, shifting her arms around her daughter to gain the small child's attention.
"Mommy?" She asked inquisitively, looking up from the TV for a moment to her mother.
"I have a secret to tell you."
Charlotte remained looking up at her mom with an expectant expression, slightly intrigued it seemed by April's omission. "Can I tell you?" She asked. Charlotte nodded. Spurred on by this, April twisted herself and managed to reach behind the drawers besides the bed, producing a brown paper bag for her daughter to see. "I have a surprise in this bag for daddy… do you want to see?"
Again Charlotte nodded, launching a pudgy hand across and taking the bag from her mother's hand. "Present mommy." She gurgled, ripping at it with excitement.
April smiled, watching her daughter tear away at the material before hurriedly unwrapping the item from within it. "Do you want to give it to daddy?"
"Does she want to give what to daddy?" Jackson asked, reappearing in the doorway of their bedroom, towel slung over his shoulder with flower on his left cheek. April could not help but grin widely at the slight. "What do you have there sweetie?" He asked his daughter, entering the room and sitting down on the end of the mattress.
"Present for you daddy." Charlotte told him proudly, shoving the item out to him as his fingers grasped at with a look of confusion etched in his features.
"Is this something you made for…" He trailed off, his eyes widening at the item his daughter had handed to him, as it resonated completely. "Oh."
"Oh?" April almost laughed, eyeing her husband cautiously. It was not the response she had been expecting.
"Is this… are you… are you pregnant again?" He stuttered, looking up slowly from the picture to April, unable to control the slackness in his jaw. It was proving quite difficult to take the news in, despite it not being the first time they had shared such an occasion as husband and wife.
Unable to control the wide, pressing smile edging into her features any longer, April nodded. "About ten weeks. I wanted to be one hundred percent before I told you, hence the sonogram." She replied, gesturing at the frame in his hands. "I don't go round giving out sonogram pictures of any old baby you know."
Jackson wasn't really listening as April continued, too drawn in by the shades of grey and white on the picture. He had suddenly been transported back to times gone by; the moment they had found out April was pregnant but miscarrying, cooing over so many other of his friend's sonograms, the first time they had been given the sonogram picture of their daughter… They had all brought him to this moment. Whilst their daughter was very much loved and adored, her appearance in their lives as a married couple had not been surrounded by much joy at the early stages and Jackson sometimes hated to think back to that moment. And yet now? Everything was much, much different and they were happy, for the first time in their marriage, without all of the trials and tribulations that they seemed to be dealt. They were them, him and April, their wonderful Daughter Charlotte and now the news of another child to complete their family.
"Jackson?" His wife pressed, having suddenly realised his seemed to have dipped out of the conversation.
"Sorry," He mumbled, dragging his eyes from the picture frame once more. "I just can't quite believe it, that's all."
"Are you mad?" April asked him quickly, an edge of worry to her tone. "I mean, yes we do have a habit of not planning our children but still, we'll make it work. We always make it work, because we're us and I-"
"April." Jackson cut across, aware she was now rambling. "I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"How can man with such a beautiful wife, daughter and the news of a new baby be mad?"
The smile seemed to return to his wife's cheeks in an instant, suddenly unable to control herself as she leapt from her crossed leg position on the bed into his chest, his arms finding her almost instantly. "I love you, Jackson Avery." She mumbled into his shoulder, pressing his lips to the cool feel of his skin the peaked above the neck of his t-shirt. "I love you more than you could ever know."
Jackson's lips burst into a wide grin, enjoying the sensation of her weight against him as she kissed and nipped at his exposed skin. Stealing a quick glance at their daughter, happily perched watching cartoons oblivious to the news she had just assisted to depart, before blinking slowly and reaching a hand down to touch April's still flat stomach. Pressing his lips to her ear, he dispelled a soft smile and replied. "I love you too, April Kepner… you, our daughter and whatever this little one might be."