This is something I have been thinking about writing for awhile now. I'm a fan of the Owen/April dynamic, and I thought it would be fun to explore an alternate universe where they were siblings. I've altered their histories pretty dramatically to make this work within the story, and plan to reveal those changes as the story progresses.

To start with, know that Owen is the chief of staff at GSMH and is married to Cristina. This is going to be a JAPRIL-centric fic with plenty of Crowen. Please read and review… I'd love to know what you're thinking on this one .

CHAPTER ONE

April stepped into the lobby and surveyed her surroundings, taking in the hustle and bustle of an American hospital. The chaos was familiar, almost comforting. Most people would have called it hell, but she thrived on the feeling of not knowing what awaited her when she walked into work.

Not that the past seven years had lacked fulfillment. She had been saving lives in a warzone and sharing her medical school education with doctors who were barely afforded the time to perfect their skills before they were needed in the field. It was a different kind of high – one that left her feeling useful and needed. Yet no matter what she did, she knew it would never be home.

She approached the desk at the end of the room hesitantly, noticing the doctors standing behind it were in an intense discussion. It didn't take a body language expert to realize that whatever the subject at hand was, it had little to do with medicine.

"Excuse me," she cleared her throat, "I'm wondering if one of you can help me find Dr. Hunt."

The blonde doctor across from her looked her up and down before answering her question. "I haven't seen him since earlier this morning. Are you looking for a patient of his?"

April shook her head and cleared her throat. Something about the doctors in front of her made her feel intimidated. "No – uh, I'm family, actually."

The two women looked at each other nervously before the other doctor, who had dark, curly hair, spoke up. "Family? As in Owen's family?"

"Yes, I'm his sister. April Hunt," she answered, extending her hand to introduce herself, "Well, technically, it's Dr. April Hunt. I'm a fellow, well, I mean, I will be after I take my boards. Although, if I hadn't have spent the last several years overseas, I would have taken them last year. But the experience I got over there was pretty incredible… and everybody keeps telling me that it should translate pretty well so that I can pass."

The two women she had been blabbering to exchanged that made it clear they did not care about her medical career. They seemed to be stuck on the fact that she was Owen's sister.

"Stay put," the blonde instructed before pulling her colleague aside. April knew that eavesdropping was wrong, but it didn't stop her. She was curious to know what her new colleagues had to say about her presence in the hospital, and her relationship to their boss. It had taken Owen months to convince her to come to Seattle. She did not want to get a job just because she was his sister, but in the end, she understood why he wanted her close by. It was more exhausting to argue with him than it would be to move across the globe and prove herself as a good surgeon to everybody else in that hospital.

"Did you know the mysterious little sister was coming to town?"

"Of course not," the dark-haired doctor answered. "I would have told you if I was preparing to meet my sister-in-law. We would have prepped with lots and lots of tequila."

Sister-in-law… April was not about to pretend she hadn't heard that phrase.

"I'm sorry," she interrupted them, "But I couldn't help but overhear. Did you just say you're Owen's wife?"

"Hunt!" Derek called out as he hustled down the hallway to catch up with the chief of staff. "What's this about a mixer at Joe's tonight? Callie says it's mandatory."

"For the board, yes," Owen answered, staring at his cell phone and willing it to show a new message. He specifically instructed April to call him when she got to Chicago for her layover, which was supposed to happen an hour ago. It took everything he had not to leave her a twenty-first voicemail demanding for her to check in. "The new trauma surgeon is starting this afternoon, and since she missed the new employee orientation by a few months, I think it's best that as many doctors as possible show up tonight and make her feel welcome."

"Do you really think it's fair for the chief of surgery to throw special parties for a new surgeon just because she's in your department?"

"Derek –"

"Look, Owen, I know that you need more help in the pit, and I'm happy that you that you have a new student to teach, but Meredith and I are both on the board, and babysitters are hard to come by, so we're going to need to pass."

"Shepherd, I'd consider it a personal favor to me if you and Meredith would please come to Joe's tonight, ok?"

The neurosurgeon frowned. "Why is this so important to you?"

Owen stopped in his tracks and sighed. "She's not just a new employee, okay? She's my little sister."

"Your sister?"

"Yes, and she's been working for Doctors Without Borders since she graduated from med school. It's going to be a big adjustment for her to come back to the states, and I thought it would be nice for her to make some friends."

"Cristina didn't say anything to Meredith about your sister moving to Seattle," Derek thought aloud.

"Well, I haven't really had a chance to tell Cristina. I'm on my way to tell her now."

Derek chuckled as he continued around the corner. "You are moving your little sister halfway across the world to live in the same city and work at the same hospital, and you are just telling your wife – one of the twisted sisters – today? Hunt, you are a brave man. A stupid man, but brave nevertheless."

Owen followed him and, once again, halted in his path when he spotted his Cristina and Meredith talk to April across the room. Sure, telling Cristina that his sister was moving to Seattle to be Grey Sloan Memorial's newest surgeon hours before April arrived was risky. But not telling his wife before said sister showed up in the hospital? That was suicidal. All he could do was put on a happy face and pray for a miracle.

"What are you doing here so early, Chuck?" he started as he approached his sister and pulled her into a hug. "Your flight wasn't supposed to get in for four more hours."

Even though April was more than irritated with her brother for neglecting to mention his marriage, she found herself burying her face in his lab coat and taking solace in the feeling of safety that washed over her when he called her by her childhood nickname and wrapped her in his arms. It had been years since she had felt so secure.

"I wanted to get in early to surprise you, so I switched my flight to yesterday and got in late last night."

"Last night?" he asked with a frown. "Why didn't you call? Where did you stay?"

She reluctantly pulled away from him and glanced at Cristina and her friend, who were clearly unhappy about the conversation occurring in front of them. It was evident that Owen had neglected to tell them about her arrival.

"It was really late, and I got a room at a hotel by the airport. And before you say anything, it's a perfectly nice hotel in a good neighborhood, and I'll be staying there until I find my own apartment. So don't even ask me to stay with you, because I won't impose on your or your wife."

Owen looked over at Cristina, who was glaring at him. When his eyes returned to his sister, she was giving him a similar look.

"I find it so funny that we have video chatted weekly for years, and you completely neglected to tell me you got married. Did she even know I existed?" April inquired.

"Of course she did," he started.

"She just didn't know that you were moving to Seattle to work here, at this hospital, where she happens to sit on the board," Meredith added spitefully.

"Dr. Grey, would you mind showing April around and getting her to HR so that she can take an afternoon shift in the pit?" Owen asked, knowing that he needed to smooth things over with Cristina.

"Fine," Meredith groaned, grabbing her tablet and pushing her way past Owen. April shook her head at him before following behind her. Owen took Cristina's hand and led her into a nearby conference room.

"I was really going to tell you about April coming, I swear," he started explaining as soon as they were alone. "It's just, well, I knew you were going to get nervous about finally meeting her, and I wanted to tell you at the right time. But we haven't really had enough time to talk in the last few weeks. And, yes, I should have told her we are married. And… and I screwed up big time."

"You think?" Cristina questioned with a laugh. He expected screaming and anger, not laughter.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"I never noticed your tendency to ramble until I met your sister. Now I realize that it's a family trait," she grinned, patting him on the shoulder as she moved to the door. "I'm going to leave you here to think about all the different ways you can make this up to me while I go check on my clinical trial patients."

(9 p.m., Joe's Bar)

"Where is this new chick, anyway?" Alex complained before taking a swig of his beer and taking a seat on the stool next to Jackson at the bar.

"What do you have to whine about?" Jackson asked. "It's not like you have anywhere to be since Jo's on call, and Hunt's paying for all of the drinks. You have no reason to be in a hurry."

"True," Alex conceded, "But that doesn't mean I want to be at some lame mixer. The only reason I showed up was to check out the new girl. Kevin says she's hot."

"You have a girlfriend," his friend reminded him.

"Doesn't mean I can't check her out," Alex argued. "The way I see it, I'm just giving Banks a second opinion. That is, unless you've decided to take off your chastity belt and want to give him some competition."

Jackson rolled his eyes and sipped on his drink. He had been single for over a year, and while he was happy focusing on his work, it was draining to put up with his friends' constant teasing. Sometimes he thought it would be easier to just pick up a woman every once in a while to keep them quiet.

"What are we competing for?" Cristina asked as she and Meredith joined them. "Because whatever it is, I'll save you some time. I win."

"Good point," Alex laughed, "Yang will probably have a better chance of taking the new trauma surgeon to bed than you."

"Oh, you mean my sister-in-law who just found out I existed?" Cristina groaned, taking her tequila from Meredith's hands.

"Sister-in-law?" Jackson questioned. "As in Hunt's sister?"

"That's the one," Meredith chimed in. "She's the new trauma surgeon. That's why he made such a big deal about this party. Turns out Cristina's married to some super over-protective big brother who's hired his baby sister and moved her across the globe."

"So is she a redhead, too?" Alex inquired. "Is she as hot as Banks says she is?"

"You're a pig, and I'm going to tell Jo," Meredith chastised him, shoving him off of his stool and into Jackson, who dumped half of his drink into his lap. He shoved Alex away from him just as Owen cleared his throat behind them.

"And here are some of our other fellows. Everybody, this is Dr. Hunt, our new trauma surgeon."

The rest of the doctors turned around to greet them while Jackson worked to dry off his pants with a handful of napkins. The way he saw it, having scotch-soaked pants was the icing on the cake after the day he had. He started the morning getting thrown up on, then lost a patient in the afternoon. All he wanted to do was go home and call it a night. Unfortunately for him, being in charge of the hospital meant putting on a happy face and making nice with a new doctor even when he didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"You met Dr. Grey and Cristina earlier," Owen told April. "This is Dr. Alex Karev, our pediatrics fellow. And Dr. Avery here is from plastics. He's also the chair of the board."

Jackson shoved the used napkins across the bar and spun around with an extended hand and fake smile to greet Owen's sister. It wasn't until he heard her breath catch in her throat that he noticed exactly who it was standing in front of him.

"April?"

"Jackson," she exhaled quietly.

"You two know each other?" Owen questioned as he looked between the two of them.

"We… uh…" April stuttered.

"We were engaged," Jackson answered without looking away from April's face.