A/N - Anyone else like to see more Japril action this season? This is taking things in a different direction to Shonda. Most other things stay the same, except Jackson is with Jo - for now :-), (Because I don't really like him with that other intern!)
Any feedback appreciated.
"April, April, you okay?" Jackson said as April looked up to see his gentle blue eyes full of concern, fixed on her face.
"Yeah, yeah..sorry," April replied forcing a small smile back at him from where she was sat at their kitchen table staring dreamily in to space.
"Well, you were miles away," he chuckled, "I was just asking if you wanted a ride in to work, but I need to leave now," he said moving a little closer to her causing her to flinch a little as she inhaled his manly aftershave.
"Oh, no, thanks, I'm going to go in a bit later," she said making her excuses, quickly looking away to avoid catching his eye as she bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. Trying not to let on the explicit sexual fantasy she was unable to stop from running through her mind every time she was near him.
"Okay, if you're sure, maybe catch you later then." He replied a little awkwardly as he turned to walk out of the room and without even thinking about what she was doing April let out a small sigh causing him to stop and turn back to her as he said, "Listen, April, I know you're worried about the situation at work, we all are. But honestly I think we're going to be fine." Flashing her a friendly, reassuring smile as he left the room.
Easy for you to say, April thought as she watched him leave and her heat skipped a beat a little. She wished it was just that simple. That all she was worried about was work and her job. But that somehow seemed to be the last thing on her mind these days, now she was back in Seattle and living with Jackson again.
Hearing the front door slam as Jackson left their apartment April winced, wishing she had just gone with him. She hated that she had to act so weird around him all the time now. That things couldn't just go back to the way that they were before. But in her eyes, she had messed up their friendship and in her heart April knew that things could never be the same again, they'd crossed the line and although it may not have been such a big deal for him, it certainly was for her. Her whole world had been turned upside down over night.
Moving back to Seattle, they had agreed after one highly awkward conversation, that they would put what happened between them in San Francisco behind them and move back in to their old apartment together as friends. Alex had moved out and gone to Hopkins which had left it just the two of them. They were planning on advertising for a third roommate but neither of them had got round to it yet. They didn't actually see that much of each other, both being so busy at work. On the rare occasions they did spend together alone in their apartment, April had found herself wishing, despite how much he had wound her up, that Alex was still around. Back when it had been the three of them living together, things had been fun and carefree. Now with her and Jackson things seemed to be nothing but forced and polite.
Jackson had tried to broach the subject of San Francisco with her again a couple of times in the beginning, but April had always frozen and clammed up. She knew that hurt his feelings a little and it almost come across as though she regretted what happened between them. But the truth was she was out of her depth. At first after that magical night between them she had been nothing but dazed and high. Then slowly reality had crept in and she quickly became paranoid, confused and a tad embarrassed about what had happened. But not once had she ever felt anything even remotely bordering on regret, and she just wished she could find it in her somehow to tell Jackson that.
But it was too late now. Jackson had already moved on. He was dating one of the new interns, Jo. April would be lying if she said it didn't hurt how quickly he had found someone else. She didn't know much about Jo, just that she was prettier, funnier and all round more confident than April had ever been. She was perfect for Jackson and April just had to accept that.
Trying to muster up the energy to get up and leave the apartment for work, April took a sip of her coffee, as suddenly she was hit with a sharp sensation of nausea. She frowned to herself thinking maybe it was down to her barely having eaten the past couple of days, or maybe she had caught the stomach flu that had been going around the hospital, or maybe it was just the fact that she had been kept awake all night by the sounds of Jackson and Jo having sex noisily in the next room. She pushed the coffee away from her and rubbed her forehead, she really needed to pull herself together. She hadn't felt right for days. Jackson had moved on and she needed to too.
...
Arriving in the hospital, April headed straight for the coffee cart, instantly being hit with another wave of nausea as the aroma of freshly ground coffee hit her. She slowed down and took a deep breath as she stopped, spotting her co-workers Meredith and Cristina stood directly in front of her deep in conversation. They quickly stopped what they were saying as they spotted April.
"Oh, I'm sorry," April said looking away, thinking she must have clearly interrupted a private discussion.
"No, it's okay. You're going to find out soon enough anyway, but I'm pregnant." Meredith suddenly announced.
"Oh, wow. Congratulations," April said in shock, she had always thought that Meredith couldn't have children the natural way.
"Thanks, I've just found out," Meredith replied beaming.
"Yeah, after eight weeks, she just thinks to do a pregnancy test now. I mean what kind of doctor, doesn't realise they are pregnant for eight weeks?" Cristina said rolling her eyes.
"Says, the doctor that doesn't know how to use contraception," Meredith retorted with her hands on her hips as she glared back at her friend.
"That was one slip up, one, and I at least figured it out straight away. I didn't wait two months," Cristina exclaimed pouting back at Meredith.
"Once is all it takes, Cristina. Did you not learn anything at med school?" Meredith said smugly.
"Oh, okay, you do realise that even on your one or two fertile days a month, you still only have a one in four chance of falling pregnant. So, Kepner, you do the Math," Cristina said turning to acknowledge April.
"I, err…" April muttered shifting a little uncomfortably. Cristina intimidated her when she was in one of these moods.
"Well, anyway, you get the point. You'd have to be extremely unlucky to fall pregnant from one slip up," Cristina said turning back to Meredith.
"Or lucky, depends which way you want to look at it" Meredith said her eyes lighting up playfully as Cristina just scowled back at her. April remained deadly silent as she felt her stomach drop and the cup of coffee she was clutching in her hand suddenly fell to the floor dramatically spilling everywhere.
"Are you okay?" Both Meredith and Cristina said at the same time as they turned to look at April in shock. April didn't say anything as she stared down at the floor to where a rapidly growing pool of liquid was expanding at her feet from her split coffee and it hit her. She had sex – once, no twice. She hadn't had her period for over two months, she had barely even given it a second thought given all the turmoil surrounding her job and the situation with Jackson, but now in hit her, she could be pregnant!
…
The more April thought about it the more she tried to dismiss the idea, what would be the chances that she would fall pregnant on her first time? Slim to none. She was just being her usual paranoid, neurotic self and she needed to snap out of it. But as she was hit with another wave of dizziness and nausea she knew she had to at least find out, just to put her mind at rest if nothing else. She had spent the entire morning, looking up conception and the early signs of pregnancy and Cristina was right, the chances of falling pregnant on the couple of fertile days in a woman's cycle were precisely twenty five percent and even then the chances of going on to have a healthy pregnancy were around one in four. But despite the rational side of her brain telling her all of that, April couldn't help but fear for the worst and she had to know the truth. She had calculated exactly how pregnant she could be now and enough time would have passed for the hormones to have kicked in causing sickness and mood swings.
"Dr Kepner, is there anything else you need me to do?," Ross the intern on her service said as he walked up to her. It was unusually quiet in the ER and April had forgotten he was even there, she had been so distracted all day.
"Actually, yes, there is something you can do. Run this urine sample through the labs for me, test for everything and I need the results back today," she said in a low voice as she handed him the bagged up urine sample she had produced moments earlier in the bathroom.
"Uh, sure, but there's no name on it," he said confused as he studied it.
"That's because its confidential, I'm doing a favour for someone, okay. No questions asked. So be discreet," She hissed back at him as she felt her cheeks burn red as her intern eyed her suspiciously and she felt certain he knew it was actually hers.
"Okay, I can be discreet," he replied as he walked off and April dug her nails in to her palm as she exhaled dramatically. She needed to get a grip, she was probably worrying over nothing. Or was she?
….
Later that day April was busy charting when she sensed a familiar male presence next to her. Peering up through her long hair she saw Jackson smiling back at her. She grimaced, he was honestly the last person she wanted to see.
"You got a sec?" He said as his eyes bored in to her intensely.
"Umm..yeah, I guess," she mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact as she felt her cheeks burning annoyingly in his presence.
"It's just its Jo's birthday tomorrow and I wanted to take her somewhere special and I'm a bit out of touch, is there anywhere you could recommend?" He said raising his eyebrows a little as he waited for her response.
April took a deep breath, she couldn't believe how insensitive he was being, asking her of all people that. She suddenly felt her eyes sting with tears and trying to hold them back she swept her hair away from her face as she looked up at him and snapped. "I wouldn't know, don't really get the opportunity to eat out much…..Why don't you ask Yang, she eats out all the time!" Just as Cristina appeared in the distance and the smile on Jackson's face quickly disappeared as he tried to work out just what he had done to make April quite so angry.
"Er.. Dr Kepner, I've got the results back on that patient," Ross suddenly said appearing out of no-where and waving a piece of paper in Aprils face as out of the corner of her eye April saw Jackson turn his back to her to speak to Cristina.
"Not here," she said quickly as she grabbed his arm and pulled him in to the nearest cubicle.
Shooting her a bewildered look, he glanced down at the results sheet as he said, "Well, negative for everything, except there was a high level of the HcG hormone, meaning this girl is….."
April didn't need to hear anymore as his words slowly sank in and she snatched the paper out of his hand as she stared in shock at the results staring her in the face there was no denying it. She was pregnant!