A/N: I am going to turn What We Could Be into a multi-chapter fic but I want to start posting this as well. This fic is set at the end of Season 8 but the plane crash never happened so I guess it's pretty AU.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's.

In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away

- The One That Got Away by Katy Perry

April 2016

Jackson Avery shifted his backpack from one shoulder to the other as he fished the keys to his house out of his jacket pocket. He finally managed to open his front door and he was immediately greeted by his large golden retriever, Brody. He smiled as he reached down to affectionately scratch the dog's head. He laid his backpack down on the floor before quickly running back outside to grab his mail. He walked back inside his house and closed the door behind him with his foot as he shuffled through his monthly bills.

He absolutely loved his life in New Orleans. He loved the city. He loved his job at Tulane. He loved his dog, and he loved his house. He had great friends and great coworkers. Most days he absolutely loved his life in New Orleans and wouldn't trade it for anything. Most days that is, but then there were other days, and on those other days, he would give up his life in New Orleans in a heartbeat.

Today was one of those days.

He sighed as he turned over a special piece of mail in his hands. He had been dreading its arrival for months. For every day that it had not appeared in his mailbox was one more day that he didn't have to accept that this was actually happening. After a moment, he finally worked up the courage to pull the invitation out of the envelope.

He slowly walked into his living room and lowered himself down onto his couch as he stared at the words in front of him.

You are cordially invited to celebrate the wedding of

April Kepner

and

Peter Wakely

Friday, the seventeenth of June, two thousand sixteen

at two o'clock in the afternoon

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

New York, New York

He had been in denial about this marriage for months, since he had first heard that they were engaged. This was it. She was getting married. His April was getting married. Well, he supposed that she was Peter's April now, and had been for a while.

He really needed a drink. He headed to his liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch. He poured himself a glass before returning to the couch.

He heard his front door open and a happy voice chimed, "Honey! I'm home!" There was a string of laughter before she added, "So, I brought beer and picked up Thai food."

Lauren Reid stepped into the living room and took in the scene before her. Jackson was slumped on his couch with a glass of scotch in his hand and there was a piece of paper and an opened envelope lying on his coffee table. "Oh shit," she said quietly. He only drank scotch when he was upset about a certain woman. "Oh shit," she repeated louder as she joined him on the couch. "It finally came, didn't it?" He merely nodded and she leaned toward the coffee table to see for herself. There it was: the wedding invitation. "Oh shit," she repeated yet again.

"Yup," Jackson solemnly agreed.

Lauren was a bright, witty, gorgeous blonde, and a talented orthopedic surgeon. She was fun and a pleasure to work with. She was also very very gay. The irony was not lost on him; she was the Callie Torres to his Mark Sloan, except that Lauren would not even think about sleeping with him in a million years.

They had been friends for four years, ever since he had moved to New Orleans to begin his fellowship. She had been starting her fellowship as well, and after moving from Los Angeles, she had been feeling a little out of place in her new environment, much like him, so they had quickly become close friends. They had even shared an apartment for their first year in New Orleans. She was his best friend these days and she knew every detail of his long, complicated relationship with April.

She frowned as she said, "I think that my choice for our annual Friday night movie just became a little inappropriate."

"What did you get?" He asked curiously.

"My Best Friend's Wedding," she mumbled.

Jackson scoffed, "How fitting."

After a long silence, Lauren asked, "So what are you going to do? Are you gonna go?"

Jackson thought about it for a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip. He wanted to see her again but he didn't want to watch her get married. That would be way too hard. "I dunno," he replied. "My mother says it's supposed to be the east coast wedding of the season."

"Well, I think you should go because she obviously doesn't love him as much as Dermot Mulroney loves Cameron Diaz."

He turned to her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"My Best Friend's Wedding!" She exclaimed. "Let's just watch the movie!"

Jackson smiled a little as he finished his drink. Lauren always had the ability to cheer him up and he didn't have to worry about ruining things with sex. They had the perfect friendship.

About halfway through the movie, Jackson spoke through a mouthful of Thai food. "So," he began as he gestured towards the television. "Are you trying to say that I should go to New York and steal the bride?"

"Well, yeah, kinda," she admitted. "I mean, you at least need to tell her how you feel. She deserves to know."

"She knows," he stated.

"Does she?" Lauren challenged. "How long has it been since you two last spoke?"

Jackson hung his head and fiddled with the label on his beer bottle. "Way too long," he confessed.

"Exactly! She thinks that you're down here living the life. She doesn't know that you barely date and that you spend almost all your free time with a lesbian." She wanted to add that he also picked up the phone to call her every day but didn't know what to say.

"I date," he argued. Lauren arched her eyebrow and he sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, I don't date." His last date had been months ago. "But it's because I have a big case load."

She knew that he loved his job and that he wanted to be the head of the plastics department one day, but he didn't date because of his career. "I'll come to New York with you, if you want," she offered supportively. "You do get to bring a guest."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. You'd be able to keep me from doing anything stupid."

Lauren chuckled and propped her feet up on his coffee table. "Please, I wouldn't be like George, I'd be encouraging you to do something stupid."

Jackson laughed a little before he sighed. "I can't believe she's getting married," he murmured. "I guess I knew that it would happen eventually, she wants to have a family, but still," he trailed off.

His thoughts wandered as he fiddled with the chain he wore beneath his shirt. On the chain was a purity ring, a symbol of a promise to remain abstinent until marriage. April had given it to him in an envelope the day that he had left Seattle for New Orleans; along with a little note that explained that it was fitting for him to have it since she had given him her virginity. He was the first guy that she had ever loved so he deserved to have that part of her. Despite their conflicting views on some very important issues, he had believed that he would have every part of her…forever.

"You still thought it'd be you…in the end?" She questioned quietly.

He turned to her with a sad smile. "Well, I still kinda thought that maybe we'd, ya know, somehow get back together," he murmured timidly.

Lauren frowned and she wasn't sure what to say. He was pining. To say that Jackson still held a torch for April Kepner would be an understatement. They had one of those epic romances that you only saw in the movies. She couldn't help but root for the pair, wedding or no wedding. He still really loved her, and she obviously had no idea or otherwise she would not be marrying another man. Lauren was definitely going to help Jackson get his girl back.

April Kepner dutifully worked on a chart at the nurses' station and smiled when a warm hand rested on the small of her back.

"Good morning Dr. Kepner," a silky male voice greeted.

She looked up from her chart and turned to smile at her future husband. He had had an early surgery on a six-year-old so she had missed him this morning. "Good morning Dr. Wakely, how was your surgery?"

"It went great," Peter answered happily. "What about you? How's the pit this morning?"

"Uneventful," she replied honestly.

He leaned towards her with a grin and lowered his voice. "Wanna go to an on-call room with me?"

April giggled but raised her head when Samantha, the nurse behind the ER desk, called her name. "Dr. Kepner, there's a call for you."

"Incoming trauma?"

Samantha shook her head. "No, it's from Tulane."

April couldn't deny that her heart began to beat a little faster at the possibility of who could be on the other side of that call. She walked around the nurses' station and accepted the telephone receiver. "Hello," she answered.

"Hey."

Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't heard that voice in over a year but it was unmistakable. "Can you hold on a second, please?" She turned back to Samantha and said, "Can you transfer this to my office?" She nodded and April smiled. "Thank you."

She shot Peter a quick smile before she rushed to her office and closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath before she sat on the edge of her desk and picked up the phone. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Jackson answered.

"So, how are you?" She asked awkwardly. He had called her but he seemed reluctant to talk.

"I'm good. How are you? How's being the Head of Trauma at Columbia treating you?"

She hadn't told him that herself so he must have heard it through the medical grapevine, probably from his mother. She still occasionally communicated with Catherine Avery. "It's different. I have a nice office," she chuckled. "But it's a lot of work."

"You'll do great. You were born to organize," he jested.

"Thanks," she laughed. After a long silence, in which she nervously fiddled with the edge of her lab coat, she said, "I'm surprised that you called." It was much easier to be honest when he wasn't standing in front of her with those gorgeous eyes of his.

"I've been trying to get up the nerve to call since the moment I left," he confessed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she whispered. "It was a long time ago."

"Doesn't feel like it was that long ago," he pointed out.

"No, it doesn't," she agreed.

She could still remember that day like it was yesterday. She had cried every night for months, hoping that he would show up at her door, or call, or write. She had hoped that he would give her some indication that he was still as invested in them as she was. But he never did so she had decided to move on with Peter. She had needed to move on. Focusing her energy on loving someone else was the only way that she didn't feel miserable all of the time.

She cleared her throat and asked. "Did you get your invitation?"

"I did. Congratulations."

"Thank you." He sounded sincere but she couldn't be sure. "Are you going to come?" She asked tentatively.

"Do you want me to?" He breathed.

She bit on her bottom lip as she pondered his question. It was going to hurt to see him again but she really missed his friendship. She desperately wanted to see him again. "I do. I really do. I miss you Jackson."

"You do?"

"Of course I do," she sighed. "You're still my best friend."

He teased, "You don't get out much, do you?"

"No, I don't," she laughed. The truth was that she did have a few close friends in New York and they were great people. However, her life felt less complete without Jackson in it.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he finally said.

"Great," she smiled.

"Well, I have to go operate but I'll talk to you later."

"Will you?" She asked a little sceptically.

"April, I'll call you tomorrow, I promise."

She smiled even though she tried not to. It was nice to hear him say her name. "Okay, have a good surgery."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye." She placed the phone back on its cradle and slowly moved off of her desk and lowered herself into her desk chair. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. After all of their time apart, the effect that he had on her hadn't changed a bit. It was very dangerous.

There was a knock on her door and she mindlessly shuffled the papers in front of her as she called, "Come in!" Peter stepped into her office and closed the door again. "Oh, hi," she said softly.

"Finished with your call?" He asked as he sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

She nodded, "Yeah, all done."

"Who was it?" He was trying to sound casual but there was a slight edge to his voice.

"It was Jackson," she told him truthfully. "He just called to tell me that he's coming to the wedding."

"Oh, is he?" Peter questioned in surprise. He didn't think that the guy would actually show his face after how badly he had hurt April. He had a lot of nerve.

She nodded again and smiled. "We're going to be friends again." She noticed Peter's frown so she got out of her chair and walked around her desk. She sat down in his lap and kissed his cheek. She knew that Peter wasn't comfortable around Jackson but despite everything that had happened between them, he was still very important to her and she told her fiancé as much.

"Doesn't change the fact that he's your ex," he grumbled. A part of him still couldn't get past the fact that April had been involved in a physical relationship with that guy.

"It was a long time ago," she whispered. She placed her hands on his face and turned his head so that they were eye to eye. "I've moved on and so has he." She captured his lips and his arms immediately tightened around her waist.

Peter was so sweet and he really loved her. They had known each other since med school and they had been working together since she had finished her residency. He was a skilled and caring pediatric surgeon. He was patient and understanding, and a devote Christian. He made her laugh and they wanted the same things. They had the same foundation of beliefs. He was really good for her and she had always dreamed about marrying a guy exactly like him, which is why she absolutely detested the fact that his kiss didn't produce butterflies like Jackson Avery's voice did.

A/N: Fyi, I imagine Peter Wakely as a nerdier version of Andrew Garfield. Lol.

The next chapter will go back to 2012 and the end of Season 8! Please leave a review! :)