Happy (early your time) birthday dear themoonorchid! Thank you for your constant support and positive insight on my work. I love our discussions, they help me strengthen my writing all of the time. I'm so lucky to be able to call you a friend! Thanks for always reading (literally everything….my fic, my rants…) and for always (most of the time) keeping the Japril faith. Hope you have a wonderful day full of love!3

I think I might have changed this a little from what you asked for, but maybe not much, I don't know. I was going for "fluffy in the midst of a tough situation," and this ended up going more fluffy than angsty…Hope you like it ;)

100 Encore, Day 88: "Oreos For Breakfast"

"You needed a babysitter?" Jackson rolled his eyes, jingling his keys in his pocket.

"Come on, Jackson, it's entertainment! Christine will get you some popcorn…"

"I will," she nodded from behind the bar. "And the non-alcoholic beverage of your choice. You are going to have to break that up soon, literally. She has no idea. And that isn't the first one, either. If you guys ever break-up, they'll be a long line of women waiting to console her and tell her just how evil men actually are."

He blinked as he watched a woman laugh and lean in closer to his wife, who was sucking down some pink concoction resembling a daiquiri. "You've just been…letting this happen…"

Arizona shrugged, sucking her drink through a straw. "Well, yeah. They're just talking. Eventually she'll figure it out. Maybe before she's in Shelley's living room," she giggled.

"Maybe before…great. Really good friend," he smirked.

"I'm kidding. Shelley moves quick. She'll stop it on her own before they get to the living room. Maybe she'll call me from the porch. Unless she wants it to happen, thaaat's a whole different story. Technically you guys are separated so…"

"Get up…" He carefully guided a tipsy Arizona off of the stool next to April's so he could hear the conversation better. She'd been oblivious to anything going on around her since he walked in and he had to know why.

"…So I'm thinking about going for a fetal surgery certification, we'll see…"

"That's just so amazing! Surgery in the womb? You've gotta be pretty badass to do that." Shelley finally made a move, grabbing April's hand. Arizona and Christine shared a quick glance before looking away from each other to keep from bursting out laughing.

"Well, I was a soldier so…" April blushed and took a sip of her drink.

She knew where she was, in theory. But she'd never been the greatest flirt. She'd missed Matthew's signals the first day they met, and she'd met her only other boyfriend, Clay, at a Bible study group in college. His skills were about on par with hers.

Jackson? After three years of marriage she could definitely flirt with Jackson. But it wasn't like their relationship before that had ever involved courting…at all. So her flirt knowledge? Specialized, to say the least. She was oblivious to what was actually going on.

Plus she was heading past tipsy quickly. Shelley was just being nice. They were just talking. People always reacted some kind of way when you said "fetal surgery." She knew because she watched them every time her best friend said what she did for a living. The hand squeeze? No big deal.

April hadn't told anyone about her plan, except Arizona tonight at dinner. That's why they were there, to celebrate. She'd just assumed she'd tell Jackson next…whenever they met to do…whatever they were doing right now.

She took a long sip of her drink. It was so confusing. April had been living at Meredith's with Arizona and…everyone since she'd gotten back from Jordan six moths earlier.

She'd expected to come home to an angry husband. But he'd said he was hurt and asked for a separation, not a divorce. Neither of them dated anyone else, and they only had sex with each other. But never in Jackson's home…their home. April was painfully aware of that. And on the rare occasion Jackson was hanging out at Meredith's, he never slept over. April couldn't remember the last time she'd really slept with her husband, felt him holding her. Or maybe she'd just blocked out the pain.

They also weren't talking about much. She was getting tired of that. It almost felt like before the pregnancy scare, except worse. Because the tension between them now wasn't "we have feelings but can't admit it," It was, "we have a marriage to fix, and it's going to be hard." They both wanted to fix it, but were afraid of each other's answers.

April didn't mean to tell Shelley her plans. The rum made her do it. But she had nothing to hide; she was excited for the future, which she hoped included her husband.

But Jackson was fuming. Just how much did this Shelley person know? His friends, family, and co-workers knew about Samuel, there was no avoiding that. But he'd never tell someone he just met, and he'd assumed April felt the same way. "What does she know?" He spit at Arizona.

"I just called you because it's funny. Plus, she might need a ride home. Since you're here I'm gonna go dance. Relax. Maybe stop it if it really bothers you. You know you can." She squeezed his shoulder and finally headed toward the brunette that'd been eyeing her all night. This night had started out as a celebration for April, but once Shelley swooped in the most effective way to stop her was a Y chromosome, so Arizona had called Jackson. Now that she'd covered April, who hadn't been paying much attention to her anyway, what with being oblivious to pretty obvious flirting, she may as well have some fun herself.

"…I bet you looked hot in those army fatigues." Jackson really wished there was alcohol in the Coke Christine gave him.

April's eyes widened. Jackson hoped for a second she was catching on. "Well…it got hot sometimes but I was focused on saving as many lives as I could. That's why I went."

Sometimes she finished that with "Because I couldn't save my son's life…" But she just felt like focusing on the positive tonight. She tilted her head sideways. "Besides, they were usually just bloody and gross."

"Mmm…I bet you looked good out of them, too…"

Jackson had tried so hard since he'd gotten there to just wait for her to notice him, but he'd had enough. Before she could even react he was up tapping her on the shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here…"

Shelley snickered. "Excuse me we're…"

"Babe!" April squealed, jumping up and into his arms right away.

"Hi sweetheart. How are you? You feeling OK?"

"Yeah. Just a little drunk, maybe. This is my friend Shelley…" She blinked when she turned around and saw she was pointing to Shelley's back. She was already laughing with another red head.

"Yeeeeah, she wanted to be more than just your friend, April." He laughed when she flashed him a bewildered pout. "Oh come on, you heard her. Before I jumped in she was picturing you naked."

"Well, she's not allowed."

"She wanted to take you home."

"Jackson…stop!" She grinned and shoved his shoulder lightly.

"And pour you a drink, get you comfortable…."

She raised her eyebrows. "Would this have been a joke to you if she were a guy?"

"Yeah. I saved you in the end didn't I? She was 30 seconds away from a kiss and you had no idea. And apparently that has been going on all night, with different women."

"I only kiss you."

"Maybe, but Shelley wanted you…She had Oreos for breakfast in her eyes."

"Stop!" Oreos for breakfast were important in their marriage. They both ate very healthy, didn't have huge sweet tooths, but some mornings they just didn't want to get out of bed.

The first morning they spent married in their (Jackson's) apartment, the morning after the sex in the car when April wouldn't let him move. Someone would just run to the kitchen, or the box in the corner of the room, grab the Oreos, and climb back into bed.

Sometimes they just cuddled and talked about the future while they ate; sometimes they inhaled a couple and went back to making love. Sometimes the meal marked happy moments; sometimes it marked incredibly sad ones. But it always marked something.

He had gone too far, though he honestly hadn't meant to hurt her. "I only eat Oreos for breakfast with you. I only love you, Jackson Avery." She suddenly seemed sober.

"I know. I'm sorry," he brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and pecked her lips. "I love you, too April."

"So let me come home, please!" She looked up, hopeful. She never begged during any of this. She'd made her choices and was living with the consequences. But she had consistently made it clear as soon as she got home that even if they had to live apart for a while, she intended to start taking steps toward him, not away. He seemed to be doing the same, cautiously. But she couldn't wait forever in this awkward state of avoidance.

"We have a lot to talk about. Let's go get something a little bit more substantial in your stomach?" He knew she'd eaten, he just didn't want the night to end quite yet.

"OK." She looked down at her feet. He didn't say yes.

"But I gotta go to the gas station real quick."

She shrugged. "Whatever you need to do…"

"I'm out of Oreos…" He couldn't change the pronoun just yet. He'd lived alone in their marriage for a very long time now. April had to respect her part in that choice. She had hurt him too.

"Let's get out of here, please."

"You wanna tell Arizona?"

"No, she ditched me. And called you to come here and laugh at me."

"I didn't come to laugh at you. I came to pick up a girl in a bar."

"You don't have the right gender identity to do that here, though. Unless you have something to tell me."

"I have a lot I want to tell you, but my gender identity is secure, thanks. I'm happy with my penis."

"Me too," she leaned up and kissed his jaw.

"I'm glad." Jackson whispered in her ear and smirked. It was a big deal when his wife even subtly referenced his penis.

She smiled as they walked out the door hand-in-hand, trying to decide which t-shirt of her husband's she was going to steal for bed that night.

AN: If you're brave and know the fanfic I stole this title from (literally only stole the title) message me (it's not a grey's fic…) because we probably should've been friends since I was 13. Now I don't read "real people" fanfic bc it creeps me out but that doesn't change the fact that it was a great fic…and entirely too nasty for me to be reading at 13…. But it is some classic BSB fanfic ;) And it went o for yeeeeaaaars….