Was it you who spoke the words that things would happen but not to me?
Oh, things are gonna happen naturally

April walked into Harriet's room with a smile on her face, but it quickly disappeared when she noticed her daughter's frown. Concerned that she was still feeling under the weather, April asked, "What's wrong, Bug? Are you okay?" and placed her hand across her forehead to check for a fever.

While saying, "I'm fine," Harried pulled away. "Where's Daddy?"

A smirk reappeared on April's face. No matter what else was happening around them, even when April couldn't see eye-to-eye with Jackson, Harriet's love for her dad was something that April admired. To love and be loved by Jackson Avery was something that April knew well and it's not something that could be taken for granted.

"He had to go to work, but you'll see him soon," she reassured while brushing Harriet's hair away from her face. Looking into Harriet's eyes, the same eyes she shares with her father, April waited to see if her words would soothe her. A moment passed before Harriet nodded with a smile and April gladly leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

Harriet is everything to April. The hugs, kisses, and snuggles shared with her serve as a reminder to be thankful. Even with the lowest points in her life, times she wasn't sure she could ever be happy, April has accepted because those twists and turns brought her to Harriet. The pain of losing the love of her life, their child, and even briefly losing touch with her faith still sit in the pit of her stomach and sometimes heavily on her heart. But an "I love you, Mama" or the look of pure childish joy on Harriet's face eases that ache.

April doesn't know what to expect from last night's twist and this morning's turn. Moving to Boston is going to be a big change, it's undeniable. It's exciting and terrifying at the same time. In this moment, so much is still unknown that April can't pinpoint how she feels. Even with her lips pressed firmly on her daughter's head, her thoughts are still racing. The kiss on the forehead just wasn't enough for April, not as her mind started to wander over Boston. She gave Harriet quick pecks on each cheek and a big hug before standing up straight.

April's eyes met the window as she stood and she found Jackson staring at her from his car. Their eyes locked and April could feel Jackson's nerves. Even from 50 feet away, she knew that his palms were sweating against the steering wheel as he prepared himself to go back to Grey-Sloan. She also knew that in this moment, he needed her to push him.

For most of her life, April Kepner felt like she wasn't good enough. Because of that nagging feeling, she always tested the limits and pushed herself to be better. She wasn't the smartest person in school, so she stressed studying and practicing skills. She wasn't the prettiest girl, so she taught herself beauty tricks that her sisters never had to learn. She didn't make friends easily, so she was constantly holding back her true self to avoid embarrassment or rejection. But even after putting in so much hard work and dedication towards her goals, she knew there was one thing she couldn't change. She could put her blood, sweat, and tears into achieving almost anything, but she couldn't make people like her—the true her.

Moving to Seattle for her residency helped April in so many ways. She vowed to let go of the girl she used to be, a person she wasn't entirely fond of. No one in Seattle was going to know the timid, awkward version of who she was, and that was enough to give her a reason to feel more confident. Her new peers might not like her, but she was prepared for it. They could tease her and pass judgements on her, but things were different now. Anyone that wanted to belittle her in Seattle was going to fail to do so because none of them knew how truly insignificant she felt in Moline.

Surprisingly, April bonded with people at Mercy West. They weren't openly accepting of her quirks and she wouldn't say they were the kindest people either, but they understood her in a way that she had never experienced. They all have unique backgrounds and different reasons for wanting to become surgeons, but their mindsets were so similar. They all knew what it was like to fight for what they wanted.

For the first three months of knowing these people, April was sure they hated her. The girl she expected to torture her, Reed Adamson, ended up becoming her best friend. Reed inadvertently introduced her to Charles Percy, and then Charles introduced her to Jackson Avery. They were constantly bickering and mocking each other, often at her expense. She felt like every conversation ended with the other three laughing at her, but she brushed it off each time. It wasn't until the first day their words stung more than she could hide that she realized they were friends.

After a long day of silently watching procedures, almost like they were ghosts in the room, Charles and April were back in front of their lockers. Even though neither of them had lifted a finger or spoke all day, they were exhausted. Bitterly, Charles said, "Today was pure crap."

April rubbed her forehead, somewhat relieved that he felt the same way. She was overly aware that she could get caught up in her own feelings, so she didn't want to admit that she had felt ignored. She tried to shake the feeling from her mind, but blurted out, "What's wrong with him? Like does Peterson not realize Mercy West is a teaching hospital? How are we supposed to learn anything if he hides us from patients by pushing us off into the corner."

Just then, Reed and Jackson walked into the room and heard the last few words of April's rant. Without skipping a beat, Jackson enthusiastically chimed in, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

While Jackson laughed at his own joke, Reed rolled her eyes and April glared at him. Charles though, he looked confused. "What?" he asked.

Jackson raised an eyebrow toward his friend. "Really? You've never seen 'Dirty Dancing'?"

Still not caring much for this conversation, but always a little intrigued by what Charles is thinking, Reed added dryly, "Patrick Swayze in tight pants. It's a classic."

At this point, everyone is staring at Charles. He still looked confused, which only added to everyone's amazement that he had no idea what they were referring to.

Each second of silence and glances traded between the four of them triggered a million thoughts in April's head. All of a sudden, the words started spilling from her mouth at hyper speed. "Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey were mind-blowing. That movie was definitely before its time and totally changed the game for romantic movies. I think I watched 'Dirty Dancing' on repeat for a solid month, even if it was just playing in the background as I did my homework. Definitely AP Chem because I literally memorized ionic compounds to the melody of 'I've Had the Time of My Life' and it really helped. Well, until I accidentally started humming during a midterm."

April looked around and realized that everyone was staring at her, even some interns she had never spoken to. She suddenly felt like she was back to being that girl in Moline that nobody wanted to partner with in class. She wasn't sure when her commentary turned into an over-share, so she tried to stay unbothered by their judging expressions. Instead, she felt the need to further explain herself in true April Kepner fashion. She rambled on, "Well, I wasn't really allowed to watch 'Dirty Dancing' until I was 18. My parents have always taken parental guidance ratings very seriously. Like seriously enough to add another five years on top of the actual rating just to be safe. I wasn't even allowed to watch 'The Goonies' until I was 16-"

"That explains a lot," Jackson joked, cutting her off.

April was stunned. She knew he didn't mean any harm from his smirk, but it wasn't as much about what he said as it was that she didn't know what to do to move forward from this conversation. Her other friends had started laughing as well, like April only existed to be a punchline. All she could do was stand there with her mouth slightly open, like she froze mid-sentence.

Jackson knew he rattled her and instantly felt bad. He actually enjoyed the few times he's witnessed her thinking out loud. Even when she said things that were completely out of pocket and it was nothing that he could relate to, he was happy to listen. He had spent the majority of his existence in Seattle with these three people, but honestly knew next to nothing about April. She's brought him coffee exactly how he would make it for himself, but he didn't even know if she drank coffee. The little glimpses into her world were interesting to him.

Looking at the others, Jackson realized he needed to revive the conversation himself. "Did you know we're not that far from where 'The Goonies' was filmed?" Jackson asked, breaking the silence. "Astoria is only like a 3-hour drive from here. The four of us should check it out if we ever get a real break from this place."

April unfroze, closed her mouth, and shook off everything that had been said before Jackson changed the subject. He effortlessly relieved the tension, but she couldn't reply to him. She turned her back to him as she sat on the bench nearby to take off her shoes. For multiple reasons, she felt so defeated as this day was coming to an end. It wasn't Jackson's fault, but she didn't have it in her to play along with him. Visiting "The Goonies" house was actually near the top of her Pacific Northwest sight-seeing list. She just didn't want to chance losing control of her words again. For all she knew, they would make fun of her for making sight-seeing lists by region. Or a sight-seeing list in general. She just sat in silence as she pointed her bare feet and rolled her ankles around to stretch out her stiffness.

"No, no, no!" they heard a deep voice mutter from the hallway.

Everyone turned their attention to the door and found Dr. Peterson approaching in a panic. He leaned into the doorway and yelled, "Percy! Kepner! Let's go!"

Without hesitation, Charles headed towards the door. Realizing April hadn't darted in front of him yet, Charles turned towards her. He continued to make his way towards the door, but walking backwards so he could see why his friend wasn't racing him yet. "April! Come on!" Charles pressured.

Dr. Peterson had already started to leave, but snapped back when he heard Charles' voice. He immediately saw that April had one shoe halfway on and was frantically trying to shove her foot into the other. He huffed and angrily said, "Forget it." He quickly turned his attention to Reed and demanded, "Other girl, let's go."

Watching Reed and Charles hurry off with Dr. Peterson, just as her shoe popped back on made April's stomach turn. She had spent two days with Dr. Peterson and was on his service for the rest of the week. This was the first time he acknowledged her, and in under a minute, he also dismissed her. "Damn it!" she shouted out of frustration.

The only other person in the room was Jackson. He watched her as she hunched over and threw her head into her hands. He couldn't see her face, so he wasn't sure if she was going to cry or hit him if he tried to console her. He wasn't even sure he should try to console her since his comments always seemed to rub her the wrong way.

He turned towards his locker to let her sulk, but he couldn't take it. One thing that has always been true for Jackson Avery is that he wants to make things better for other people. And even when he fails to better things, he takes some comfort in knowing that he tried. With his face in his locker, Jackson cautiously offered, "Peterson's an ass. Everyone knows it."

April sighed and let go of her head. She straightened up and peeked over her shoulder towards Jackson. He looked back at her too and she tried to thank him with a smile, but her cheeks barely moved. Instead, she broke their gaze and faced forward again. She explained, "I wish him being universally ass-y makes today okay, but it doesn't…."

Jackson nodded to himself, taking in April's perspective. He walked over and sat down on the bench across from her. She wasn't looking at him, but he was watching her. He was trying to read anything on her face or in her body language that would help him figure out what to say next. And then he remembered that he knew nothing about this girl. All he could do was make an effort. "I get that," he said reassuringly.

April finally looked up at Jackson. She raised an eyebrow at him, finding it funny that a guy like him could relate to her. Genuinely curious, April asked, "When is the last time you had a really bad day? Like what all would have to happen for you to consider the day to truly suck?"

"Really? Will that make you feel better?" he threw back. Jackson was surprised that April would ask him something like this and that she almost seemed excited. He half expected her to ignore him completely. He chuckled and jabbed, "I didn't take you for the kind of person that enjoys someone else's pain."

"I totally didn't mean it that way," April interjected. She let out a nervous giggle and replayed what she said in her head. She was mortified by what she said yet again, but at least this time she knew where she went wrong. Her hands returned to her face as she tried to cover her embarrassment.

Jackson reached out and gently pulled her hands down from her face and dropped them in her lap. She was so hard to read already, not being able to see her face wouldn't make it any easier. "April, I'm kidding. Seriously. I was just kidding." Seeing April's relief, Jackson continued, "Not exactly the last time I had a bad day, but one of the last times I felt like absolute garbage was when I joked that this girl's movie viewing privileges had something to do with the person she is today."

Jackson looked intently into April's wide, shocked eyes. Firmly, he added, "She's a freakin' surgeon!" He paused for a moment and gave her a smile. For whatever reason, he wanted to reach out for her hand. He didn't know her, but he had this gut feeling that a little squeeze was where she would find the most comfort. But as soon as he started to extend his hand, he also stopped himself with a reminder that it's been three months and she hasn't opened up to him at all.

Part of April hoped Jackson would say more, but she sensed that he couldn't find any other kind words. He wasn't even looking at her anymore and that was fine. She appreciated his honesty and the little praise he did give her. "Hey," she started softly. "You don't deserve to feel like garbage. It was just a joke, right?"

Their eyes met again and Jackson replied, "I shouldn't have said it."

April shook her head before standing. "Trust me, Jackson. I've had worse said about me and I get over it. Today was just—"

That was enough to flip something in his brain. Jackson grabbed April's hand and pulled downwards so she would return to sitting on the bench. "No, April." His furrowed brow was a perfect split between angry and concerned. He sighed before he resumed, "It is perfectly okay to have a shit day, but you do not have to just 'get over it.' If someone is being an ass to you for just living your life, tell them to shove it."

"So I should tell Peterson to shove it?" April questioned.

Jackson quickly replied, "No. Probably don't do that," as his face relaxed. There was a brief silence as both of them were unsure of what they were trying to convey. Jackson took a deep breath before demanding, "Tell me to shove it."

April giggled. "What? No!" she squealed. Seeing that he was dead serious, she assured him, "Jackson, I'm not mad at you."

He tried. He didn't know if she felt any better, but strangely, he did. Realizing this, Jackson was a little irritated. This entire conversation started because he wanted to help her feel better, but she switched it around on him. He didn't want to dwell on things, but he knew he couldn't be done yet. He knew he couldn't hold his tongue around her for the rest of their residency, but even worse, he didn't want to think about her feeling bad about herself.

"Look, April," he pleaded gently. "I don't know how you and Reed do things, but Charles and I, we bust each others' balls. We give each other a lot of crap, but that's just what we do." Jackson rubbed his palms on his knees as he tried to think of a way to explain himself. Once he found his words, he learned forward slightly and rested his elbows where his hands had been. "Charles's isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. I can say that, Reed can say that, and I might allow you to say that… But if I heard anyone else say that about him, I'd have to throw down because he's my friend. I consider us to be friends too, April."

"Really?" April let out with a breath of air. She was so genuinely touched by Jackson's words that she nearly teared up.

Jackson threw his head back. He wanted to laugh at the fact that something as simple as friendship with this girl needed to be defined, but he didn't want to lose all the progress he just made with her by doing so. He brought his chin back down dramatically and said, "Yes, April. Of course you're my friend." Hearing his own words, Jackson suddenly second guessed his assumption and squinted at her as he said, "I mean, unless you don't want to be my friend."

April started to reply, but no sound left her mouth. She didn't question whether or not she wanted to be his friend, but she hesitated because she didn't want to show how excited she was. She was already fighting back tears of joy from his kind words, but now she wanted to gleefully scream, "let's be friends!" too.

Jackson took her lack of an answer as a bad sign. He wasn't sure how long the room had been silent, but it felt like forever. This was a first for Jackson. He has always had more friends than he even has time for. He shifted his weight on the bench uncomfortably and asked, "Is that why we don't really talk unless it has to do with a patient?"

"What?!" April squealed yet again. Losing control of her emotions, everything April was trying to hold in started to leave her body as pure laughter. She laughed so hard that she rocked back and forth on the bench. She had to rest for a moment with her head between her knees to stop herself from laughing directly in Jackson's face.

"Cool," Jackson mumbled bitterly. "I don't really find this funny, but cool."

April's arms flung straight out towards Jackson even though her head was still between her legs. Her hands gripped his knees as she tried to regain her composure. She then pushed off of them to help herself sit up a little. Still a little giddy, April blew out two puffs of air to get it all out of her system. "I'm weird, Jackson," April stated in a very matter-of-factly way.

He nodded dramatically and said, "Yup. Definitely."

Letting go of his legs and sitting up completely, April blew away a piece of hair that had stayed on her face after being upside down. She smiled at him and continued, "I would love to think that was you busting my metaphorical balls, but I know I can be a lot. And you…." She stopped herself, trying to find the right way to describe her perception of him. "You were probably prom king by a landslide."

Jackson cleared his throat. "Four times, actually," he added quietly.

"Four times?!" April repeated at least three times louder than Jackson originally stated.

She lost it again, but this time Jackson had to laugh at her pure shock. The harder she laughed, the more Jackson started laughing. Just when they thought they could control the laughter, they looked at each other and it took over their bodies again. Jackson resorted to swinging his legs over the bench so he could face away from April until they could both calm down.

As she released her last laugh, April stared at the back of Jackson's head. His laughter had died down too. Jackson started to turn back towards April, but she shouted "Wait!" causing him to instantly snap back to looking away from her. April took a deep breath and explained, "This is probably easier to say to the back of your head… The thing is, I know that I'm a good doctor and that I'm going to be a great surgeon. I don't talk about myself because it's easier for me to fall back on what I know I do well."

Lingering on her last words, Jackson asked "Can I turn around now?"

"Yeah," she replied timidly.

Jackson spun around and looked April over. Just a few minutes earlier, she was laughing her head off and looked more like an average person than ever. But in this moment, she looked small to him. She sat with her ankles crossed beneath her and her hands folded together in her lap. Her head was tilted downwards to avoid eye contact, but he could tell she was biting her lip. This giant, somewhat overwhelming, personality was being forced to stay contained, and it didn't sit right with him.

"I like to think that I'm going to be a great surgeon too," Jackson started, "but I could never ever be April Kepner." He could tell that she didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, but he hoped that the more she wondered, the more it would resonate in her. "Do you, April," Jackson resumed. "You're weird as shit. But if I hear that from anyone other than Reed or Charles, they're in for a rude awakening."

The two of them shared a smile and lingered for a moment. April had never felt this comfortable in her own skin before. And at the same time, Jackson took pride in thinking he may have made a difference in his new friend's life.

Coincidentally, Jackson and April stood up and stepped forward at the exact same time, nearly running into each other. Jackson stepped to the left at the same time as April stepped to the right, blocking each other. They both headed in the opposite direction from their last, still ending up in each other's way.

"Left!" April shouted, obviously directing them on how to break free from this dance.

They both took steps their left and were able to break free. Jackson walked over to his locker with a grin on his face because the girl that was embarrassed by her "Dirty Dancing" obsession was not the kind of girl that would tell him what to do. Jackson stated, "Weird AND bossy," just loud enough for April to hear him.

From her locker, April glanced over her shoulder at Jackson and could tell he was grinning, even from the back of his head. She smiled to herself and continued sifting through her locker for her change of clothes. April grabbed at the bottom of her shirt, getting ready to pull it over her head, but a thought stopped her. "Wait, what can I say about you that no one else can?"

"Oh, I'm incredibly likeable. You'll never have defend my honor," Jackson replied as he turned to face her.

Dramatically, April rolled her eyes at him. She stated, "I'm not sure what's more annoying, that you think so highly of yourself or that you're probably right."

Jackson quipped back, "Honestly, you're lucky everyone likes me. I don't think you could hold your own in a fight."

April shrugged with a mischievous grin on her face. She pulled off her scrub top and tossed it into a nearby bin. "I'm pretty scrappy when need be," she fired back before putting on her other shirt. April turned towards Jackson to find him watching her in amazement. She didn't even realize she had his attention while she changed out of her scrubs, something she was still incredibly shy about. His encouragement and the permission to be herself sparked something new in April. "Don't count me out yet," she finished with a smirk.

Something else was different about April in this moment. April was the kind of girl that was always smiling, but in different ways. She had a content smile, a genuinely happy smile, and an awkward smile reserved for times she wanted to scream. All of a sudden a mischievous side was introduced, but this "don't count me out" smile was something else entirely. Her eyes were serious and her smile was so big that Jackson swore he could see all of her teeth.

Pleasantly surprised by her, all Jackson could do was nod in agreement.