Title: My Love Will Clothe Your Bones

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Here is the last part! Thanks so much to everyone who has commented - you've been very encouraging as I try on this couple for the first time so I appreciate the feedback. Hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Enjoy, and happy Friday!

"Good work, Dr. Edwards," April responds as she approaches Stephanie after their patient has been discharged. Their relationship has been stilted since the wedding debacle, but Stephanie is an eager student and April has been determined to remain the best teacher she can, vowing to remain professional. "You did a great job making sure the x-rays were done quickly and efficiently. That'll definitely give the patient some peace of mind tonight."

"Thanks, Dr. Kepner." Stephanie nods at the praise as she continues her paperwork, only looking up when she hears her attending release a strangled groan. "Are you okay?" In fact, April has been sluggish today and not her usual bouncy self. "Is it- you know, the baby?" She gestures toward April's obvious baby bump. The woman is nearly eight months along and refusing to rest.

"I... no, no, she's kicking, I just... I think I need to sit down." April looks around frantically, reaching out in fear when she feels the ground spin beneath her when her vision goes blurry. Thankfully, she grabs on to the nurse's desk and Stephanie quickly comes around to her side. "I don't feel good."

"Okay, sit down, and I'll go find Jackson," Stephanie says quickly, urging April to take a seat on an empty hospital bed. All signs of aloofness are gone as she worries over the other woman's health. "Can I get you anything?"

"No." April shakes her head wearily, burrowing into the pillows as she tries to keep her eyes open, taking deep breaths to get past the dizziness. "I just need to sit, I think, that's all. I'll be fine. I just need a minute."

Five minutes later, she opens her eyes at the soft sensation of someone running their fingers through her hair. It's Jackson, of course, and tears fill her eyes immediately when she sees him.

"Hey, hey, babe, it's okay, don't cry. I'm here. Are you okay?" His voice is soft and urgent, like he's trying not to spook her or the child, as if he doesn't want to worry her despite his own worry.

"I just, I didn't feel well for a minute." She wraps her arms around his neck, holding him tight as she hugs him, so thankful to have him close. She catches sight of Stephanie hovering near the curtain in the ER. The other woman startles at being caught, then inches backward towards the hallway.

"I'll leave you guys alone. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Dr. Kepner."

"Thanks, Stephanie," April tells her with a warm smile of gratitude.

"You are running yourself ragged, April," Jackson tells her firmly when she breaks the hug to look at him. "You're eight months along, you're supposed to be taking it easy, not running back and forth in the ER all day."

"I know, I just... I can do it! I told Dr. Hunt that I'd work until the end, and I meant it. Kepners drop babies in fields!" She sighs when she sees Jackson's puzzlement at the expression, and keeps talking before he questions her further about it. "I just... I don't want to stop working, Jackson. I stop working and then I go on my maternity leave, and I might lose what I'm good at. I don't want to be that doctor who used to be good at her job before she had a baby." She can't help but reveal her fear to Jackson now that he's seen how hard she's been pushing herself. It's the reason she's been so anxious to keep moving all throughout her pregnancy, never accepting any allowances at work or moving from the ER.

"April, that's not gonna happen," Jackson reassures her, hands on her face as he looks into her eyes. "You're a great doctor, everyone knows that, Hunt included. You're just... you know, having a baby! You can do skills labs for the last month before your due date. I know you love teaching interns new things and your sessions get some of the best reviews. Last thing you want is to run yourself ragged and be put on complete bed rest, isn't that right?"

She nods because she knows that he's telling the truth. Being at home away from the hospital and the environment in general would be even worse. Giving up the ER for a month and being off her feet in the classroom would give her some rest during the end of her pregnancy while still being involved in a teaching capacity.

"I mean, look at Bailey and Meredith, they came back from having their babies better than ever, and you will too. I know it. Just... don't scare me like that again okay?" Jackson runs his hands over her face and drops a fierce kiss on her lips. "I ran up four flights of stairs when Stephanie called me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, just promise me you'll take care of yourself more. Promise?" He looks into her eyes and waits for her to repeat the word.

"Promise."

"Baby Clara is kicking up a storm," April mumbles as she tosses and turns in bed again.

Jackson's awake too, and shifts onto his side so he's facing her. His hands rub at her stomach, following the path their little girl is kicking along. He can't help but grin at her energy even though it's nearly midnight. Baby girl Clara is going to be a handful, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

"Jackson? Can I talk to you about something?" April looks up at him, the darkness of their bedroom giving her strength to start a conversation she's been wanting to have with him now that her due date is looming closer.

"Of course. Anything." He drops a soft kiss on her lips, continuing to rub at her stomach until he feels the baby settle down.

She pauses before speaking because this is the most difficult conversation she's ever had, and she knows exactly how Jackson will react - not well. But she takes a deep breath and forges on.

"If anything happens to me, I want you to-"

"Happens to you where?" he interrupts sharply, peering at her in the dark. Not able to see her face, he reaches to turn on the lamp, flooding the room with a low light so he can better see her expression. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean..." She takes a deep breath and continues. "I mean, with the baby. In labor. If anything happens to me-"

"No. No." Jackson is out of bed before she can reach for him, angrily shoving aside the covers as he puts distance between them as if to physically get away from the conversation she's initiated. "We are not talking about this, April."

She flinches at his raised voice because it's a tone he never takes with her; it only reveals how upset he is about the topic she's trying to bring up. But she tries once more.

"Jackson, I know it's hard, but we work at a hospital. We see death every day." Her voice begins to tremble even as she tries to remain firm. She sits up with difficulty, using the pillow to brace her back against the headboard and holding the covers close to her chest as she watches him. It's a sign of how angry he is that he doesn't help her sit up like he has been during this last month of her pregnancy. Right now, he refuses to offer a helping hand. "I don't know what God has planned for me. Anything can go wrong."

"We see life every day too, April!" he yells. "I am not having some depressing deathbed conversation with you when you're a perfectly healthy woman giving birth to a healthy child. People have babies all the time!"

"Jackson-"

"I said no, April!" He turns his back on her and heads into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him despite it being so late at night.

April can hear him pacing on the other side of the door, can hear him moving things around on the counter, most likely resisting the urge to throw the items or punch the wall. But she had to say the words. With her faith in God, and her faith in medicine too, she knows that life is so very precious, and it can all be taken away in an instant. Yes, women go to the hospital and have healthy babies and leave perfectly fine, but people also go to the hospital and only leave through the morgue. She had to say the words out loud, she wanted Jackson to know the things that are most important - that she wants him to be happy, that she doesn't want him to blame himself, that she loves him so much.

But he's locked in the bathroom and there's nothing she can do but turn off the light and slide back into bed, missing the warm space where her husband sleeps next to her.

She's just beginning to drift off when she feels the bed shift and Jackson climb back in. He wraps his arms around her, holding her so tight that she can barely breathe for a second, but she doesn't complain and only holds him close too. He drops a kiss in her hair, breathing her in deeply.

"I love you, April. Everything is going to be just fine. You'll see."

She smiles in her sleep, thinking maybe he knows the most important thing of all she wanted to tell him. He knows she loves him and that's all that matters.

"I love you too."

"Please tell me you're not eating the same spaghetti you had last week." Meredith grimaces as she looks at April's lunch.

"No," April laughs. "Jackson's gotten better about eating leftovers."

"Because you sex him into following your orders?" Alex teases from next to her.

"No!" Even when she looks like she's about to pop in her pregnancy, April still blushes at someone talking about her sex life. Karev and Meredith take the opportunity to laugh at her when she begins to flush and stammer. "I don't sex him into it- we just eat it the next night - just never mind. Let me eat, my stomach has been hurting all day. How'd your surgery go, Mer?"

Ten minutes later, she gasps when she feels a wetness down her pants, squeaking in discomfort as Meredith and Alex turn to look at her. She turns red in embarrassment, stumbling over her words to apologize.

"April? Did your water just break?" Meredith asks slowly, moving from her seat on the couch in the attending's lounge to April's side.

"What? No! I don't- I mean, I don't think-" She whimpers in pain, reaching out to grab the first hand near her - Alex's. "Maybe?"

"Kepner, have you been having contractions?" Karev asks furiously, all traces of his earlier humor gone.

"I-I-I don't think so? I mean, I don't know! I don't exactly know what they feel like, I've never been pregnant before!" she yells when they stare at her in disbelief. "I thought my stomach was just hurting. Oh god, I'm having the baby now?"

"Okay, it's okay, everything's fine," Meredith begins in a calm voice.

"I can't have the baby yet! She's a week early, I'm not ready!" The hysteria is clear in April's voice as she turns to Alex in fear that something's wrong. "What if something's wrong?"

"Hey, nothing's wrong," Alex tells her soothingly. Jackson had mentioned to him a few times how morbid April had become about childbirth, so he imagines those fears are coming out now, especially since the baby is early. "A week is nothing in pregnancy time, you know that. I'm sure everything is fine. She probably just got tired of the food in there."

April smiles faintly at the joke, nodding and trying to reassure herself. "Jackson! Where's Jackson?"

"I'll get him," Meredith offers since she's closest to the door. "Alex, you get her to the third floor," she orders as she brings a wheelchair from the hall and dashes off, phone in hand, to find Jackson.

"Alex, oh god, it hurts. I don't think I can do this. I need Jackson!" April tries not to cry, tries so very hard to remain calm, but the pain is increasing in waves, and she's pretty sure she's going to start sobbing any second now and embarrass herself even further in front of Karev. Jackson's not here, she needs Jackson. She can't do this alone. She can't do this without him.

"Mer just went to get him. He'll be here." Alex slowly helps her into the wheelchair, being careful not to jostle her. "You just focus on breathing, okay? I'm gonna get you up to your OB, and Jackson will meet us there."

Ten minutes later, she's nearly crushing Alex's hand as she breathes deeply through another contraction. "Sorry, Alex. That just.. this really hurts!"

"Yeah, so I hear," he says sarcastically, stretching his fingers with a wince. But he doesn't leave her side, even as he dials Jackson again on his phone. "It's fine. You're doing great. Avery will be here any minute now."

"Where is he?" she growls as another contraction hits her, and she grabs for Alex's hand again. "Oh, god, I don't think I can do this."

"Sure, you can, Kepner, you kick ass, I mean, even the Virgin Mary had to go through childbirth, right?" Karev tries to joke, but sobers quickly when April glares at him. "Right, sorry. Just a little biblical humor to-"

"April!" Jackson rushes through the doorway, Meredith right behind him. "I'm here. Thanks, Karev."

"Jackson! Where were you?" She lets go of Alex's hand, immediately grabbing Jackson's as he takes a seat in the chair the other man just vacated. "We couldn't find you."

"Sorry. I went down the block to grab another coffee-"

"Your damn fancy lattes! You are never allowed to have coffee again!" She groans in agony through another contraction, squeezing Jackson's hand and waiting for the pain to pass. "No more coffee."

"Yup, got it," he says easily, knowing now is not the time to argue with his wife. He leans down to kiss her quickly, brushing aside her hair and cradling her cheek as he gives her a smile. "I'm here now. Are you ready to do this?"

"Well, I don't have a choice now, do I?" April grumbles. She can hear her tone and sees Jackson bite his lip in amusement at her sarcasm. "Jackson, it's too early. She's a week early. I don't think-"

Sensing the panic in his wife, Jackson shushes her immediately, rubbing her back as he consoles her. "Hey, a week is fine. She's an Avery, she wants to get here soon, that's all." April chuckles at that, reaching out to squeeze his hand again. "You can do this and we'll have Clara."

"I'm gonna page your OB, April. You're doing great." Meredith gives her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up before she disappears down the hall.

Alex lingers in the doorway for a second before he says, "Yeah, it'll go great, Kepner, so don't go all emo on us, okay?" He gives them one of his genuine smiles before he follows Meredith down the hall.

"Can you call my parents, please, Jackson? And text my sisters? To tell them to pray for me." April turns to Jackson, holding his hands tightly as she conveys how important it is to her that her family keeps her in their prayers during this crucial time.

"April," Jackson begins, hesitating at her request because he doesn't want to leave her side. "I'm sure I can call them after-"

"No, please, Jackson, it has to be right now." The nurse comes into the room to monitor April's vitals and she turns to Jackson again, nodding for him to leave the room and make the call. "Please? It'll just take a minute. My mom's flight isn't until Tuesday, they have to know the baby's coming early. I want them to pray for me so I'll be safe."

"I... Okay," he agrees, seeing how this is her wish, and he is all about granting his wife's wishes. "Just... don't have the baby yet, okay?" He hurries out of the room while the nurse looks April over, and is back within a few minutes, telling her that he spoke to her mom and texted all her sisters to give them an update.

"It hurts." April hiccups as the tears slide down her cheeks, thankful that it's just her and Jackson alone again after the nurse leaves. "It really, really hurts."

"I'm sure it does," Jackson says softly, kissing her hand as he urges her to meet his eyes. His nerves are on edge too, but he's doing his best to remain strong since there's nothing he can do but try and keep her calm and let her squeeze his hand as tight as she can. "But you're a soldier. You're my soldier."

April smiles even as she cries, and leans into him, resting her head against his arm which he wraps around her to pull her closer. "Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"For the whole damn thing."

He smiles at her once more, dropping a kiss in her hair just as he sees their OB/GYN enter the room.

"I'm ready, babe."

the end ~