⇢ CHAPTER 52

the Nurse's station in front of the O.R. board, not paying attention to April and Mark's conversation until April scoffed, "Dr. Sloan--"

"Everybody wins." Mark noted as April stuttered.

"Th-This is sexual harassment, you know that, right?" April reminded, making Holly begin to walk over.

"I think of it as sexual encouragement." Mark corrected, making April walk away in disgust, "Think about it, Kepner." Holly frowned her eyebrows as she saw Mark give April a thumbs ups, "Take one for the team."

"What are you doing?" Holly questioned, squinting her eyes at Mark. 

"I'm encouraging your sister to sleep with Jackson." Mark answered truthfully, making Holly smack him in the chest, "It was a suggestion!"

"You're disgusting." Holly shook her head.

"...Unless you want to--" Mark suggested, making Holly smack him again.

"In case you forgot, I have a boyfriend!" Holly scoffed, making Mark raise his hands in surrender.

"I wasn't you to!" 

Holly rolled her eyes, "Stop pimping for Jackson and go... save lives, or something."

✧✧✧

"Okay," Jackson paced around the room as Mark studied the cells in the microscope, "let's go over the game plan again. If we see my mother..."

"We're buried with work today." Mark answered in a monotone voice, not paying much attention to Jackson.

"And..." Jackson waited for him to finish, but at hearing no response continued, "you're sorry but Jackson has no time to spend with her, okay?"

"Jackson," Holly spoke breathlessly, closing the door behind her, "I think your mother hates me."

"What?" Jackson frowned his eyebrows and walked over as Mark momentarily looked away from the cells, wanting to see where the conversation panned out.

"I, uh," Holly spent a second to catch her breath, "your mom came in the hospital and asked if I was single, and I said no so she got excited and then I showed her a picture of Logan and I and she literally just walked away." Holly shrugged, "With no reason as to why and when I went to go ask her why, she said she was going to find you and call someone named Mara Keaton."

Jackson frowned his eyebrows more, "Mara--?"

"Oh, my God." Holly sank down the wall, "Does your mother hate me?" She nodded her head, "Mothers hate me, it's a thing... I guess?"

"His mom doesn't hate you, Holly." Mark rolled his eyes, going back to the cells as Jackson gave him a look.

"Oh," Jackson noted, "now you're paying attention."

Mark squinted at him before looking at Holly, who was a mess on the floor, "Need anything?"

"For mothers to love me." Holly answered with a sigh.

"My mother doesn't hate you, Holl." Jackson assured, bringing her up to her feet, "...But just to stay sure and safe," He suggested, not wanting his mother to drown her in inevitable questions, "avoid her."

"Avoid her?" Holly's eyes widened, "Oh, my God, she does hate me."

"She does not." The two men chorused before Jackson continued.

"I'm just saying that because she'll probably track you down to find me."

"Oh," Holly nodded, believing his words, "all right, I guess."

✧

Jackson leaned against a wall of the hospital as he watched Lexie and Holly from a distance, he saw the redhead hand her friend a jell-o cup upon hearing the news of Lexie's patient-- she had perfectly resected the tumor but the patient awoke with complications.

Hearing the familiar sounds of his mother's heels against the floor, Jackson quickly turned his head before standing in front of her, "."

"Oh," Catherine sighed, "I was just going--"

"To the gala." Jackson reminded with an intense glare, "Right?"

Catherine sighed again, changing the conversation, "I thought you and Mara would hit it off."

"," Jackson groaned, "I just got out of a relationship--"

"And that girl you have eyes on got into one." Catherine noted, "I'm just saying, there's no foul play in having a little fun."

"God," Jackson exhaled, "you sound just like Mark."

"Because we're both right," Catherine nodded, "so...?"

"'So'?" Jackson scoffed, "I'm not having 'fun' with some one night stand, Mom." His eyes briefly gazed up at Holly, "I'm... waiting."

"Waiting?" Catherine chuckled, "I've got grandkids and grand-babies I want to see, Jackson-- how long are you planning to 'wait'?"

"As long as I have to." Jackson answered truthfully, standing straight, "I could've had her and I messed up because I wanted to have 'fun,' I'm not ruining my chances again."

"Aw," Catherine hummed, patting his cheek lightly, "My baby's all grown."

"."

✧

"...And I don't know what to do." Lexie finished, having caught Holly up with her feelings for Mark.

Holly exhaled, eyebrows slightly raised as she thought over how Mark had liked her when she was in a relationship and now that she was out of it, Lexie liked Mark but was in a relationship.

"Well," Holly shrugged, "I--"

"Hey, Holl." April smiled, looping her arms with Holly and Lexie as she walked in the middle of the two, "How about I interest the two of you with a simple, nice task?"

✧

"You said simple." Holly quoted, looking at the massive amounts of files in front of them as Lexie, Alex, and April stood in the library.

"You want us to memorize these?" Lexie asked, gesturing to the two large piles of files.

April smiled, "Yeah."