Hi everyone, so I am also pitching out this story as an idea. It came from a fight between me and my brother as we were re-watching old episodes of Grey's. I, of course, was yammering about how Jackson put all the blame on April and my brother was taking Jackson's side (classic male… pshh).

Anyway, he said "How would April have felt if the roles were reversed?"…which led me to this story idea. I will be sticking to the general storyline, but changing things up somewhat so that Jackson and April's roles are somewhat reversed to see how different it is.

So let me know what you all think. I am anxious to hear your thoughts. FYI, if I don't get a lot of interest in this, I probably won't continue it because I already have so many stories out there right now that could use more of my attention.

I hope you enjoy!

We Dodged a Bullet

Chapter 1

April

April's eyes scanned over the results, quickly finding the result in the levels of her blood sample...not pregnant.

"Not pregnant," April whispered, a lump forming in her throat.

On the one hand she was relieved. She really didn't feel ready to have a baby, especially at this particular time. She wanted someone to marry her, and not because a condom broke.

But another part of her...a small, quiet part inside of her felt disappointment. Her mind flashed to the darkened room Jackson had dragged her into earlier that day. She remembered how happy...how excited they both were, assuming that she might be pregnant.

Jackson exhaled deeply, bending over and resting his elbows on his knees and letting his head drop down.

"Thank God," he murmured, rubbing his head, "I mean, we just dodged a bullet."

April flinched at his words and thought…Dodged a bullet? As if getting married and having a baby with her was worse than getting shot at?

Jackson looked up at her as if he expected her to feel the same relief and joy at the news. April quickly tried to school her features, but Jackson always was so good at reading her.

"April," he said, his eyes widening in guilt, "No. I just meant-"

"No, I...I get it," April said, folding the paper in her hands quickly, "I am relieved too," as she brushed her hair back and tried to compose herself.

"I just meant that...well, that we can keep dating and-" Jackson said, "And you can go on the pill and everything can be the same, just not with a child."

April shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat and said, "I think...Maybe this is a sign. That we should stop." Are you really saying this? April asked herself.

"April," Jackson pleaded, trying to reach for her. April shifted away from his reach and he pursed his lips.

"Honestly I think it's for the best," April said as she stood. Especially because you equate being with me to getting shot at, she thought to herself.

"If that's really what you-" Jackson said, looking up at her with a strange look on his face.

"It is," April said cutting him off, nodding and looking down at the wet pavement. She heard a distant Ambulance siren and knew she would eventually be needed back inside.

"That's my signal," April said, her voice wobbly, pointing to the trauma doors. Jackson nodded and April muttered, "See you later," before turning and walked away, trying not to cry as she walked through the doors. Ross was there, holding a yellow gown out for her and she slipped her arms through it and gave herself a pep talk as he tied her into it.

"Has Hunt been paged?" Kepner asked, swallowing as she tried to forget the last fifteen minutes.

"New trauma attending actually," Shane responded. April sighed, Can't I get a break?

She really didn't want to hold someone's hand tonight and walk them through the trauma intake process. Especially someone who had her actual position and her actual salary.

"Who?" April asked, prepping the boards before snapping on gloves.

"Kevin Banks," Shane said. Kevin Banks...that name sounded familiar.

"Yeah, transferred from Case Western," Shane added, rushing out to meet the ambulance. April's heart dropped as she recalled that night. That was a big night for April. Punching that guy in the face wasn't even the most memorable.

"Dr. Kepner?"

April spun and saw him just as he looked up from his pager. He looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

April scowled at him and sighed in frustration...apparently God was really pissed at her. She stalked out to the bay with Kevin still looking after her in surprise.

Jackson

Jackson rubbed his forehead, trying to avoid the building headache he had. He had totally fucked that conversation up. Usually it was April who was sticking her foot in her mouth, but this time it was him. He made a fist and hit the back of the metal bench where April had just been sitting ten minutes ago.

How could he fix this? He hated that he had hurt her. And he knew he did, because before she had smoothed out her features into one of calm and kind understanding, Jackson has seen how much his relief and his words had hurt her.

Jackson was trying to come up with a way to spin this, but his pager went off. Callie. He sighed and shoved his pager in his pocket and walked towards the doors of the trauma unit.

As Jackson walked through the unit to get to Callie and Derek, he couldn't help glancing around for April. He spotted her through one of the trauma rooms, working furiously on a patient.

She really was beautiful. Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth in concentration and her movement, though quick, was confident and precise.

Jackson looked down, not able to look at her anymore knowing that earlier he had hurt her.

April

April swore under breath as the guy they were operating on flat lined again, "Goddammit!"

Dr. Douchebag across from her swore too and threw stitches inside the body cavity as if his life was on the line as April looked for other bleeders. The shrieking machine suddenly calmed and April sighed as the patient began to stabilize once more.

She glanced up, surprised to see that Kevin Banks' eyes were trained on her and sparkling with excitement. The same excitement she was sure shone in her eyes. Trauma...well, it wasn't for everybody, but for April and apparently for Kevin, it was like a drug. The best drug out there.

The adrenaline pumped deliciously through her veins as she worked and when she saw patients come back like this...it was the best high for her. April couldn't help smiling at Banks behind her mask in response the buzz they were both feeling and Kevin smiled back at her before they both focused back on their work.

"So," Kevin, said as he worked, "Happy to see me?"

April scoffed, not bothering to answer him. He had accused her of sleeping with someone to get a job. To be honest, she hadn't thought about him since she punched him...so much else had happened that night to erase him from her brain.

"Look," Kevin said, "I am sorry for acting like a jerk at the boards. I was drunk, but that's no excuse."

April continued to work, processing his words slowly in her brain. Who knew what Shane thought as he assisted them?

"I hope you accept my apology, especially if we are going to be working together," Kevin said, tying off another suture.

April sighed and glanced up from her work before responding, "Thank you for your apology. I accept it." She had pissed off God enough lately and she also couldn't afford to shoot down a possible friend since her and Jackson were headed for a big break.

Kevin smiled and April looked back down at their work. Aside from a few needed stitches, this patient was looking good.

"So, do you want to go get a drink after this?" Kevin asked. April looked up at him in disbelief and he chuckled and shook his head and said, "As friends. I bet you know where the drinking hole is for the people around here."

April smiled a small smile and replied, "Sure, I could use a drink." If April ever needed a drink, it was now. After a day like today...it would be good to numb herself up a little.

"Good. Nice mattress stitch," he said, eyeing her work appreciatively.

"Thanks," she whispered, tying off the stitch, "Time to close up."

Kevin nodded and April looked to Shane and asked, "Care to do the honors Ross?"

Ross nodded eagerly and practically pushed her out of the way to complete close up.

Kevin chuckled and followed April into the scrub room.

April stretched out her muscles and smiled as she tore her scrub mask from her face and began scrubbing out.

"Nothing else like it, is there?" Kevin asked, jerking his chin towards the OR they had just come from.

April looked over at him as he scrubbed his hands vigorously and April shook her head as she scrubbed her own hands.

"No, there isn't," she said softly, looking into the OR. How anybody could be interested in anything other than trauma mystified April. It was thrilling and made your heart race.

For once it was nice to have someone get it.

"Come on," April said, pitching the blue towel into the hamper, "I'll take you to Joe's and kick your behind in darts."

Kevin chuckled and followed her out.

Jackson

"You look like crap," Alex said, sitting at the table next to him as Jackson nursed a scotch, his mind running over the day's events.

"Yeah," Jackson said, swirling the brown liquid in his glass, "That's about right."

Alex gestured for a beer and Jackson smiled without humor as he sipped his drink.

"So Kepner is knocked up?" Alex asked nonchalantly. Jackson glared at him, wondering how he knew.

"I mean, she was acting a little weirder than usual, you were taking her blood…" he trailed off as he sipped his beer.

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but no, she is not knocked up," Jackson said.

"That sounds like something to drink to," Alex said. Yeah, that's what he had thought too...but now as he remembered the flash of hurt over April's face...he didn't know anymore.

"Can we get another round?" Alex asked as Jackson finished off his drink.

Jackson studied Alex, remembering that he too had hurt April. Did that mean he was like him? No, he cared about her. Really cared about her.

"No more calling her weird," Jackson said, taking the offered drink.

"Karev made a face and said, "She is," as if he was in denial.

"I know, you're just not allowed to say it," Jackson said, sipping his drink.

Alex shrugged and looked somewhere over his shoulder, and Jackson was going to follow his gaze when the door to Joe's dinged. Jackson glanced up and his heart sped up as he saw April, walking towards the bar. It took a second for him to realize she was talking to someone.

Jackson squinted, trying to figure out why that guy looked so familiar.

"Dude, isn't that the dude who Kepner punched at the boards?" Alex asked, sipping his beer and squinting his own eyes as if they were tricking him. Jackson stared in disbelief as he finally placed the guy.

"Yeah," Jackson said slowly, watching April throw her head back and laugh at something the guy said. She looked beautiful, her red curls bouncing and shining, even in this dingy bar.

"Didn't he get the Cleveland Clinic spot once Kepner bombed the test?" Alex asked, but he seemed to be distracted by something by the dart boards.

"I would imagine so," Jackson said nonchalantly, standing and throwing a couple twenties down on the table and shrugging his jacket on.

"Leaving?" Alex asked, motioning to Jackson's almost full drink.

"I need to crash," Jackson said, taking a long gulp of the scotch, wincing as it burned down his throat.

Alex just watched him with a look of confusion as he left. Jackson allowed himself one more look her way, and when he did he was surprised to see that her eyes were on him. She smiled sadly at him and he inhaled sharply before nodding once to her and leaving the bar.

So, I am anxious about this story. Like I said, I am not sure how long I will keep this up or even if I will keep it up. It really depends on the interest and the response I get from all of you. So, I hope to hear from ya via review or PM. Thanks for reading!