"Dr. Avery, I keep telling you, we can't do this…" The heartbroken expression is pitiful, head turning away so she doesn't have to meet the intense gaze of his blue eyes.

"April." His voice is stern, steady. A solid reminder of their reality: he was the attending, and she was just an intern. A pathetic little intern who everyone in the hospital seemed to despise except for him. It didn't make a lick of sense to her. She was duckie. And he was the most handsome man that she'd ever seen, sculpted like an Adonis, one of the most talented plastic surgeons in the country, if not the world. And he had taken an interest in her. April Kepner. Pale skin and boring eyes, scrubs a little oversized and scribbling away in her red notebook, hardly able to meet eye contact with most people.

It certainly hadn't made her more likable. April tried to be as subtle as she could about it, at first, the groping and making out in supply closets and curling up in on-call rooms. Even if she hadn't gone all the way with him yet, everyone sure seemed to think they had.

There was no doubt that Jackson was to blame for that, too. He wasn't exactly subtle. She by no means considered herself the most talented among her peers, but he always picked her first for observing or scrubbing in, called her out when she knew the answer but refused to raise her voice above the others. It was enough to drive her crazy.

And, well, it drove the other girls crazy. April couldn't count the number of times that they'd ridiculed her, called her a slut for sleeping with an attending, and excluded her from every possible thing they could. She thought she had no one to blame but herself.

Could have blamed him, but wouldn't.

"Jackson, it's not right! I'm an intern. You shouldn't even like me. I mean, God knows that no one else does. I'm– it's cheating. Cheating at my internship. We shouldn't be doing this, and you know that we shouldn't be doing this. Do you know how much trouble we could both get in for this? I could lose my position here. Or they'll kick me out so I can't do my residency here. And you... you could lose your job, Jackson! It's just, none of this makes any–"

"April, stop talking." The fierce command is enough to stun her into shutting up. "Take a deep breath and calm down. Freaking out isn't going to make you feel better."

He's right and she knows it, and it drives her crazy. She doesn't understand how he knows her so well, how he understands her. They were polar opposites. He had the name and the legacy and the talent, and what did she have?

"Jackson, I shouldn't be calm about this. Neither should you!"

The attending steps toward her and April instinctively step back, knowing his wayward charm and how capable he was at distracting her. But she only hits the rack of supplies behind her in the closet, and he has her cornered. He doesn't take advantage of it, though, he's not that guy. His hand comes up and he brushes a strand of hair out of her eyes, tucking it back behind her ear gently.

"But I am calm about this, you know why?" There's a brief pause before April nods for him to continue.

"Because I love you, April Kepner. And I don't give a damn who says it's right or wrong. So what if you're an intern? You won't be one forever. But I'm going to keep loving you, whether you're an intern, resident, fellow, or attending. I don't care about our jobs. I care about you."

It's the first time that either of them has let out the 'L' word, and April's stunned into silence by the confession. Of course, the feeling is reciprocated, but she'd never predicted that he would have felt the same way about her. She couldn't see any of the things that he saw in her. Especially when he could have any girl that he wanted.

Seconds pass between them, the only noise the gentle hum of the air conditioning unit.

Jackson had anticipated any response but silence from her. Considering how full of words she'd been a few moments ago, he would have at least expected some kind of over sharing of her emotions. That was typical of her –– the rambling, the flush of her cheeks when she'd realized how she'd gone off, and the shake of her head and scrunch of her nose whenever she insists that he ignored whatever she'd said.

"You love me?" The three word question is heavy with vulnerability, eyes going wide as she desperately attempts to keep tears from spilling out of the hazel spheres.

There's nearly a chuckle from Jackson's lips, unable to help the smile that cracks his previously serious features.

"Of course I love you."

After what seems like a long moment, a smile finally breaks April's cheeks, splitting them nearly in two with the way that it lights and lifts up her delicate features, bringing a magnificent glow to her feature.

"I love you too, Jackson." The truth spills from her lips, and this time the tears in her eyes feel significantly less vulnerable than they did moments ago. He loved her. Oh, god. He loved her. Her. Her heart's pounding in her chest, exhilarated, and it's nearly enough to make her feel dizzy with the excitement of emotions pummeling through her.

"Then relax, okay?" Jackson leans down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. It's enough to make her stomach flip and knees weak, her hands grabbing his white coat as he breaks the contact. "We'll figure this out. We love each other. We can do this."