When Your Eyes Speak - Jackson Avery

twenty-four

after season six

Jackson never left her side, not once. He refused to leave her alone when they were approached by police officers and detectives wanting a statement, held her hand as she was assessed by a doctor and cleaned up. Jackson couldn't find it in him to leave her alone. He felt lost when she begged him with her eyes to stay with Christina and help Derek. He hated that he let her go, wandering the hospital with the shooter still loose. Jackson's heart pounded in his chest as the shooter walked into the OR, holding his gun to Christina. He was worried about his friend but he couldn't help but wonder if Adeline was out there hurt or got help somehow. He thought quickly on his feet to give the illusion to the shooter that Derek had died on the table but all he thought about was Adeline.

Had he not taken off the wires he was sure that the shooter would turn around and shoot both himself and Christina after he gunned down Owen. It was an incredibly smart decision that saved their lives but he was selfish, thinking of the one person that wasn't in the room. He comforted April once they had saved Derek and after they patched up Owen, his friend was absolutely distraught with the events that happened that day.

Jackson hadn't endured what Adeline had and he had no way of truly understanding her grief and the pain of what she had experienced but he vowed to never once leave her side unless that was what she wanted. He held her for what felt like hours, laying on the hospital bed in silence with Adeline squeezing his bicep every so often when her emotions got the best of her. Derek had his own room in the hospital with Meredith by his side. Certified crime scene cleaners were already wiping away the carnage and the blood, following detectives as they worked fast to take images and get a record of what happened.

There were a total of eighteen people that had been shot by Gary Clarke with eleven dying as a result of their injuries. Adeline had listened as they were informed that Charles didn't make it, Jackson whispering to himself with a couple of stray tears as he processed it. Charles, Reed and Zeppelin. Three people that Adeline worked with had died in the shooting. Alex was shot but had survived and was recovering at Seattle Pres with Lexie by his side.

It was Adeline's turn to hold Jackson as he grieved his best friend, the two sobbing with one another. They didn't know how long they sat in the room until they were given the all clear to head home. Doctors and nurses were slowly beginning to head back to their stations, getting started with the massive clean up the hospital had to endure. Adeline hadn't seen anyone else from the OR, not even seeing April as they left to get checked over.

"I can't go home." Jackson mumbled as they collected their things from their lockers. Adeline couldn't bring herself to look at Reed or Charles' lockers as they packed up their belongings. It was safe to say they would take some time off and focus on getting better, seeing a therapist before they were cleared for surgery. "It's not a home." Jackson continued, grabbing his keys from his drawer. It wouldn't be home in that apartment with Charles gone. It wouldn't be a place Jackson wanted to stay if Charles wasn't there stealing his snacks, walking around in odd socks or playing zombie games.

"Stay with me." Adeline didn't think she would be able to be alone with April, she would just be too emotional. "Please, stay with me." Adeline pleaded though she didn't have to. Jackson would be by her side, always. Jackson simply grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers with each other.

Jackson shielded Adeline from reporters and cameras as they made their way out of the hospital. There was a hoard of people wanting to find someone and ask what happened there. He couldn't blame them; people were naturally curious. Had the merger not happened and this shooting still took place at another hospital, he'd be flickering through his TV trying to get the best coverage of the event possible. But it didn't. It happened to him and his friends.