Hi guys! I know...it's been ages, I'm sorry. I hope you are still with me and that this story is still somehow interesting to you. I'll try to end it before season 12 starts...finger crossed :D

The morning after, Jackson woke up to the intrusive sound of his telephone. Opening his eyes, he realized that he was still in his living room, half naked, the empty bottle of whiskey forgotten on the small table in front of the sofa next to his laptop. His head hurt like crazy as soon as he tried to get up from the armchair, immediately pointing out that this was going to be one of the worst hangover of his life. He run to the kitchen to reach his phone, hoping with all his heart to read April's name on the screen. He couldn't really tell when they stopped talking and how he ended up falling asleep on the armchair but he vividly remembered what happened before sleeping and, while he didn't regret anything, he feared that April would feel ashamed, embarrassed, probably guilty. He wanted nothing more than hearing her voice and reassuring her that everything was fine.

When he saw that it was Mark Sloan calling him Jackson couldn't help but feel disappointed. He answered quickly and unwillingly accepted to meet him for breakfast. He had apparently read the drafts Jackson had sent him two weeks before and he was impatient to talk to him about his work-in-progress novel. He needed to hurry up and thought that a shower could help his headache. He would have tried to call April on his way to the meeting. The stream of the warm water running down his face and shoulders was actually helpful for the pain but it did nothing to distract him. He couldn't stop thinking about last night, he still didn't know why it happened, he sure didn't want to tell April about his feelings for her with a hot – very hot – skype sex session or whatever that was but things happened so naturally it just seemed right and easy and he couldn't regret it. Watching April close her eyes, bite her lips and moan for him was probably the hottest thing he had ever seen. The fact that he couldn't see much more than her face and he had to imagine what she was doing drove him wild. He kept thinking at the way she looked at him through the screen, sweet, innocent and yet mischievous, at her voice, usually perky and squealing, that was low and sexy instead and then the things she said, the fact that she had been having a lot of fantasies about him the whole time, the way she trusted him, exposing herself without fear. Everything felt somehow wrong and perfect at the same time. The mere thought was turning him on again, he sighed in frustration and quickly turned the shower to cold.

Three hours later he was still waiting for Mark Sloan, he'd been trapped In some kind of meeting and told Jackson to wait for him in his office. Jackson tried to write and work a little bit but he kept starring at his phone. He had tried to call April all morning but she didn't answer. He was starting to worry now and he almost jumped on the chair when he saw her picture on the screen, she was calling him back finally.

"Hey Jackman!" she said, her voice was lively and perky, definitely not the hangover-what-the-hell-did-we-do-last-night voice he was expecting to hear.

"Oh, hey…finally…I tried to call you a lot of times this morning".

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry, I had an early appointment at work…do you need anything?"

Jackson was taken aback, he was expecting some kind of freak out, not this calm and quiet April.

"No, I…I just wanted to talk about last night…see how you were doing this morning…"

"Ugh, my head still hurts but I drank like four coffees since breakfast and that helped" she laughed quietly "I just hope I hadn't embarrassed myself yesterday Jackson, I remember giving you a skype tour of my new apartment and then everything is black basically" she laughed again then while Jackson felt weird, reviled and yet sad at the same time. The night before was a long shot and if he was afraid their relationship could become awkward or change in some ways, he also secretly hoped it could change for the best.

"Oh, uhm…you don't remember anything? Really?"

"Nope… and it is scaring to be honest, it's the first time I drank so much…and now you are kinda worrying me even more Jackman. Did I say something bad?"

"No…ehm..no, no, nothing bad" he hurried to say. Very dirty, yes, but definitely not bad, he thought, flashes of the previous night running through his mind once again.

"Ok, thanks God! So…do you need to talk about anything in particular? Because, ehm… I don't have a lot of time now, actually. I'm leaving…going to visit my grandma, I haven't seen her in months so…I'll spend the night there and be back tomorrow evening…Can I call you when I get back? You know there's no coverage for phones in the middle of nothing there" she laughed and Jackson had the distinct feeling that something was off, despite her efforts to appear all happy and relaxed.

"I…yeah…I just…you seem a bit.."

"Avery, my man! Sorry for taking so long" Mark interrupted him, entering the office with the usual bright smile.

"Ugh…gotta go April, I have a meeting with my editor right now…talk to you tomorrow, I guess?" he said, sighing, not really wanting to let her go so easily.

"Yes, sure! Good luck for your meeting! And have a great day Jackman!"

"Thanks, you too. Bye"

Mark Sloan was watching him, amused.

"Ha, the beauty of the young love! You two are so cute" he said, smirking.

"Good morning Mark… glad to see you four hours after our appointment" Jackson said, annoyed, trying to change the topic as soon as he could.

"Ehy, I was working for you! I just finished the meeting with the bosses… they loved your new idea, they love the plot and the way you are writing it! You're doing great man!"

"Oh, thank you! I'm glad! I…uhm…it's still a work in progress but I'm happy they're liking it so far…"

"Yeah, they want the next chapter for next week…"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Next week… They're loving it Avery, they want the book out for June. They think it has all the potential to be the summer best seller and they're ready to invest a lot of money in advertising. You're finally going to be famous and rich because you're Jackson Avery the writer, not the scion of a doctors monsters family…it's all you ever wanted, man! I'm proud of you!"

"Yeah but…I haven't written a single word, I don't even know where the story is going…I need time…"

"Well, you don't have it. They already gave you plenty of time Avery. You wrote nothing for three years. This is your chance, you can't lose it!"

Jackson sighed, knowing Mark was right.

"Plus," he added "You have your little, lovely muse now! Don't think I haven't noticed your disappointment when I interrupted your sweet lovely talking". Mark smirked again, finding even more satisfaction in Jackson's annoyed reaction.

"We are not together, April is my best friend and.."

"Yes, that best friend you found again after years and now you are falling for… The book you are writing is totally autobiographic, it's crystal clear. I mean…yeah, the whole time travelling plot Is invented probably – or are you really a time traveler? No, because that would be cool man! - but the rest…come on, it's clear you are Jason and April is Alice…you didn't even bother to change the initials" Mark laughed while Jackson sighed exasperated.

"Well…you read it's complicated then…Jason is developing feelings but Alice is…"

"Alice is in denial. Classic. But they'll end up together, it's obvious."

"Then I'm not doing a good job..the end of the story shouldn't be so obvious, don't you think?"

"Nope…It's not necessarily the ending which make a story good, I actually think it's all about the journey. And Jason and Alice's journey is great so far! Very interesting, romantic, not cheesy…it's beautiful love story and the happy ending will only be the icing on the cake".

"Yeah…well, I think I'll give them the happy ending, on paper they will be happy at least"

"They could be happy in real life too… Jason just needs to man up and tell her he loves her" Mark smirked.

"Have I told you I love her? And, most of all, did I give you the impression I want to talk about my love life with you?"

"First question: no, but I can read it on your face. Second question: yes. You totally need my wise advices because you look like a wreck today and I know it has to do with the girl. What did you do? Are you two arguing? Did you do something wrong? Or…" Mark looked in Jackson's eyes and suddenly knew the answer "Ohhhh… you had sex for the first time!"

Jackson looked surprised for a moment and it was all it took for Mark to grin widely "Ha! Yes, totally! You actually looked like someone who's been up all night, you look like a wreck, but a very satisfied one". He smirked. "I didn't know you went to Oho…isn't April from Ohio?"

"You didn't know because I didn't in facts"

"So is she here?…ohhh" he laughed, reading Jackson's mind once again "phone sex, huh?! Well…not as hot as the real thing but it can be satisfying too! But wait, you had phone sex before having sex for real?!"

Mark laughed seeing Jackson's frustration.

"You are an open book to me, man. I'm guessing everything!" he smiled and added in a more serious tone "I'd say it's not the best situation, I can understand the embarrassment of the morning after…but…ehy, now it's all downhill".

"Not if she was so drunk she doesn't even remember it…or, even worse, if she's pretending not to remember it and avoiding me. I just screwed everything up, Mark. Let's face the truth. Everything was fine, she was my best friend again, that was enough. That had to be enough. Now I'm a mess and I can't stand the fact that maybe she's a mess too and she doesn't even want to talk about it with me."

"Just force her to listen to you, then."

"How? And…would it be right?! She has her problems already, who am I to cause her moretroubles? I should be her friend, I should help her, not complicate things even more!"

Sloan's secretary suddenly entered the room "Excuse me, Mr Sloan, Mr Wickman is waiting for you upstairs… "

"Yes, I'm coming" Mark said, approaching the door.

"Next chapter in a week Avery" he said, in a serious tone, waiting for the secretary to leave the room. He turned to Jackson again, then, smiling, feeling real affection for the young man who had become more than a simple friend to him.

"And…by the way…listen to me, son. If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you're scared that it's not the right thing. Even if you're scared that it will cause problems. Even if you are scared that it will burn your life to the ground. You say it. You say it out loud."

Jackson couldn't help but smile, feeling the sincerity in Mark's words.

"And then?" he asked.

Mark shrugged, smiling "And then you go from there" he said, closing the door behind him.

Jackson looked at his phone once again, thinking about Mark's words. Maybe he was right, maybe he needed to man up and just talk to her, whatever her answer would be. Yes, it's time for a trip to Ohio, Jackson he thought, leaving Sloan's office, finally firm and determinate to face reality and his feelings.