Smiles appeared on parents faces as they saw their children coming down the halls with police officers escorting them. April peered over heads and shoulders, while Jackson tried to see around the people standing infront of him. All they wanted to see was their daughter.

The group of children dispersed as they ran to their parents.

"Oh Sophia" Callie said scooping her daughter up off the floor

After a tight hug, the little girl was quickly inspected by her mothers.

Zola was also being held tightly by her mother, while her brother was crying his eyes out in Derek's arms.

"You're safe now, I got you" Derek said soothingly to him

A crying Paige was handed to Jo, and she went to straight to calming her down

"It's ok, mommy's here" she said rocking back and forth while Alex stood over them, relieved that his daughter was in his sight.

April looked around at the reunited parents and children, and she still couldn't find her daughter in the crowd.

"Lydia?!" she called out "Lydia?!" she said more frantically when she wasn't getting a reply

Jackson was just as panicked, he just wasn't saying anything. He just kept his eyes peeled for a bundle of brown curls that should be coming his way.

Bailey was still crying his eyes out in his father's arms, and Derek wasn't sure what else to do to calm him down.

"What's wrong Zola?" Derek turned when he heard Meredith ask the question

Zola had all of a sudden begun crying and Meredith had stooped down in front of her, trying to find out what was wrong.

"Sophia?"

Derek had turned again to the sound of Callie's voice. Sophia had now joined the crying fest while her head was buried in Arizona's neck.

Derek looked at the other children, then at Bailey, Zola and Sophia. The other kids seemed relievedand happy to finally be with their parents. Their kids on the other had didn't seem the least bit relieved. Something was wrong.

"Are you Lydia Avery's mother?" and officer asked approaching April

"Yes" she quickly answered with a nod "Where is she?"

"Ma'am, I need you to come with me"

"Come with you?" April asked confused "Why? Is something wrong? Did something happen to her?" she continued, her panicked state increasing

"Ma'am please..."

"What's going on? Is my daughter O.K?" Jackson asked after overhearing the conversation

"I'll need you both to come with me" the officer replied

"No" Jackson said angered "Tell us now, what's going on?"

The officer sighed before calling his chief over. He had been dealing with worried parents all day and he knew there was no calming them down, especially in a situation like this. He didn't want to be the one to give the news this time.

"This is Lydia Avery's parents" he said pointing to Jackson and April once his Chief arrived

The chief gave him a nod in understanding and he walked away

"Where's our daughter?" Jackson asked

Chief Andrews looked sympathetically at them before answering "She's still in the daycare"

___________________________

Lydia stared teary eyed at the woman who decided she would be the one who stayed. Why did she have to pick her? Did she do something wrong?

Just a few minutes ago she was happy, and relieved, thinking that she would soon be in the arms of her mother and father. But once they were all lined up and ready to go, Jenna's mother plucked her out of the line and said she would be the one to stay. She, along with her friends, had begun crying. Bailey had took it a step further and thrown a fit. There was no way he was going to walk out and leave his friend behind. Lydia stood there watching as the police carried Bailey out, while Zola and Sophia followed slowly behind them.

She was now sitting in the corner, staring at a pacing Rachel, trying her best to hold her sobs back. She had to be strong and brave until she finally got to see her parents again.

But she was scared. Her mother had told her that good people kept their promises and, to her, Ms Rachel didn't seem like a good person at all.

_____________________________

"What?" April asked in disbelief

"What the hell do you mean that our daughter is still in there?" Jackson asked infuriated

"Mrs. Jeffrey was willing to let the kids go if we gave her her daughter..." The police Chief began "...but she wanted to keep one child until her daughter came, just in case we changed our minds"

"And you agreed?" April asked

"Why did my daughter have to be that one?" Jackson asked "Is her life less important?"

"No, your daughter's life is just as important" the Chief answered

"Then why is she still In there?" April asked eyes now glistening with tears

"I'm sorry" he tried to sooth "This was a really hard decision to make, but we wanted to help as much kids as possible. It was either your daughter stayed or risk the high chance of the children getting hurt"

The couple understood where he was coming from, but that didn't change the fact that they were worried about their daughter. They couldn't help but wonder why it had to be her.

"So, what's the plan to get my kid out of there?" Jackson asked

Chief Andrews went on to explain in simple terms what they would do once Mrs. Jeffery's husband arrived with their daughter. He ensured Jackson and April that their daughter would be safe when the "exchange" happened. After giving them a reassuring nod, he went back to his men. April made her way back to her seat, while Jackson wheeled himself next to her. They kept their hands glued to each other's and their heads low, not wanting to see the happy relieved faces around them.

Their friends stood not too far from them staring. They now knew why their children were a crying mess when they came out, they may be safe, but their friend wasn't.

"Lydia's going to be fine" Derek said, trying to sooth a still crying Bailey "She'll be fine"

_____________________

Restlessness grew and patience thinned as the minutes went by. Not only was it happening in the lobby, but it was felt in the daycare as well.

In the lobby, things were quieter. While some parents left with their children, others decided to stay to support Jackson and April. But eventually their children became tired, and they had to leave as well. Jo, Alex, Callie and Meredith took their kids for check-ups, while Derek and Arizona stayed for support. Soon Catherine joined them, leaving five people, along with random officers, occupying the lobby. There was one officer, who they suspected was the rookie, that would occasionally give them updates on Lydia. He would simply say "She's O.K" and that would be enough for Jackson and April. But as an hour passed, "She's O.K" wasn't cutting it anymore, and they wanted her out right away. But that would be hard, since Dr. Jeffery was stuck in traffic.

In the daycare, Lydia had managed to stay calm and quiet siting in the corner, as far away from Rachel she could get. After thirty minutes however, the lack of her friends for company, and her parents for comfort, was causing the calmness to wear out. The silent tears running down her face soon turned into quiet sobs, which eventually turned into full out crying. Lydia was tired of being in there, she wanted her parents.

Rachel had spent most of the hour sitting quietly, gun in hand, waiting for the police to bring her daughter to her. Her restlessness and impatience grew as the wait got longer. What was taking them so long? To add to the frustration, Lydia had began crying, which was becoming more and more annoying. She liked it better when the little girl just sat in the corner silently. She tried to hold back her frustration and annoyance, hoping Lydia would soon get tired of crying and stop, but that wasn't the case.

"Can you stop crying?" Rachel asked lowly, thinking talking calmly would cause Lydia to quiet down

Lydia continued crying, unable to hear Rachel's voice through her loud sobbing.

"Stop crying" Rachel said louder through gritted teeth

Lydia heard this time, and tried her best to silence herself. Although she was a bit quieter, the sobs kept coming. But that wasn't enough for Rachel.

"Shut up!" she shouted, gun now pointed at Lydia

________________

The panicking young officer running towards the police chief caught their attention. He stood hunched in front of his chief, eyes widened, breathing heavy, sweating and talking fast.

He looked scared.

April quickly got up from her seat and headed towards them, with Jackson and Catherine following behind her.

"What's going on?" she quickly asked

The officers looked at each other and then a scared April. The rookie straightened himself, trying his best to look calm, but it wasn't working. They knew now that something was definitely wrong. The Chief dismissed his officer, and then turned to the family who was waiting for his answer.

"Rachel is just getting a bit...frustrated" he began

"She's not the only one" Catherine commented

The Chief ignored the woman's comment "But we're working on calming her down"

April observed him, there was more the situation than he was letting on.

"What are you not telling us?" she asked

"Nothing Ma'am"

"You're lying!" she shot back

Chief Andrews took a deep breath. Disclosing this kind of information to parents would be hard on them, which is why he elected to leave it out. But these people needed answers; being left in the dark wasn't going tomake them feel any better.

"She has the gun pointed at Lydia" he finally said taking in the horrid looks on April, Jackson and Catherine's faces "Lydia's crying is frustrating her, and she's willing to do anything at the moment, to make her stop"

Tears rolled down April face as Jackson took her hand in his.

"We're trying to calm Rachel down. And we're trying to get Lydia to stop crying"

"She won't listen to you" April said

"Excuse me?"

"Lydia, she won't listen to you. She'll keep crying until she's with us"

Chief Andrews studied her, he knew where this conversation was going.

"I'm not letting you near the daycare Dr. Kepner" he said

"She needs her parents. She needs me!" April said letting go of Jackson's hand

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go anywhere near there ok? We can handle this"

April didn't respond and he left to check on the situation. Jackson watched as she turned onher heel, with worry and frustration written on her face, and made her way towards the hospital entrance. He didn't stop her; he knew she needed the fresh air and a little space.

His mother wheeled him back to his previous spot and took a seat next to him. He kept his head turned toward April, watching as she paced behind the tall glass. He wanted nothing more than to make the pain she was feeling go away.

"Catherine!"

Every head turned towards Richard Webber as he made his way to them, with Alex Karev following behind him.

"Oh Richard" Catherine said getting up from her seat, engulfing him in a hug once he was in front of her

Alex took the opportunity to sit next to Jackson.

"How's Paige?" Jackson asked

"She's O.k. They just finished checking her out, so we're taking her home now"

"Good"

"Did you hear anything?" the Peds surgeon asked hesitantly

Jackson was taking long time to answer, and Alex thought that maybe he shouldn't have asked.

"That woman has a gun pointed at my daughter" he finally answered

Alex sighed, the situation had certainly escalated since he left. He looked at Jackson and knew all to well what he was feeling.

"I know that all you want to do is protect her..." he began "...but as hard as it is, you have to let the police do their job"

"I know" Jackson sighed

Jo had entered the lobby and approached them.

"Ready to go?" she asked Alex

"Yeah" he answered before turning to Jackson "Hang in there man" he said squeezing his shoulder before getting up and joining his wife

"Where's April?" Jo asked looking around them not seeing her

"She's out side, she needed some air" Jackson answered pointing to the door

Jo nodded and sent him a needed encouraging smile before she and Alex left.

Jackson settled back into his thoughts of his daughter. It was hard not being able to protect her the way he knew he was supposed to. Nothing hurt more than not being able to help your child in a way you wanted to.

He was momentarily pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Alex's voice coming towards them.

"April's not outside, she's gone!" he said

Jackson's chest instantly tightened, he knew exactly where she was.

_________________

Being a Trauma surgeon meant that you had to be able to get to your injured patient as fast as you could. That meant you had to know the hospital like the back of your hands. You had to know where the rarely used stair cases, the deserted hallways and the "secret passages" of the hospital were.

It was April's knowledge of these things that got her to where she was now. Standing not too far from the daycare, begging the officers to let her go in and get her daughter.

"I need to see her" April said trying to get past the officer that stood in her way

"Sorry ma'am. I can't let you do that"

"Why not?!"

"It could put you AND your daughter in harm's way, and we don't want that"

"My daughter is already in harm's way! That woman has a gun to her head!" April shot back

"What's going on here?" Chief Andrews said walking towards them. He sighed when he saw April "Dr. Kepner, didn't I say you couldn't be here?"

"I need to see my daughter. I need to get her out of there."

"You know I can't let you do that"

"But she needs me" April pleaded

"I'm sorry, but no"

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just sit here while that psycho has a gun on my baby?"

April and the Chief was torn from their conversation by the cry of a little girl.

"Lydia!" April said head turning to the sound

The Chief and his officers quickly made their way towards the daycare, with April following swiftly behind.

"What's going on?" The Chief asked his men that were stationed outside the daycare

"The little girl won't stop crying" one of them answered "And Mrs. Jeffery is getting more annoyed by the minute"

Chief Andrews sighed "We need to get her to stop crying, because Dr. Jeffery isn't going to be here before she snaps"

"I can get her to stop crying" April quickly answered

"Dr. Kepner..."

"I am her mother! If anyone can get her to stop crying, it's me"

There was silence around them as every officer pondered the idea.

"She has a point sir" the rookie answered

The Chief looked around at the other officers; they seemed to be agreeing with the rookie for once.

"I don't know..." he said

"Please?" April begged "She needs her mother"

There was some more silence until the Chief agreed.

"Fine" he said "But that's if she agrees to it" he added pointing to the daycare

And just like that, negotiations were made between the officers and Rachel, and soon, April was being lead towards the daycare doors, clad in a bullet proof vest over her scrubs. She wasn't fond of the idea of being protected while her daughter wasn't, but she soon convinced herself that it would make body shielding her daughter a bit safer.

"She's coming in" the officer with her yelled when they got to the door

April put her hand on the handle of the double door, took a deep breath and slowly pushed it open.

She was greeted with a gun pointing at her. Rachel had to be sure the police weren't trying anything. The second thing she saw was the pool of blood on the floor from one of the workers that was shot there. The next thing she saw, sitting in the corner in tears, was her daughter, whose eyes went from fearful to hopeful in a split second.

"Mommy!" Lydia said seeing her mother for the first time since that morning

"Hey sweetie" April calmly said "Stay where you are, I'm coming" she added, seeing that Lydia was about to get up and run to her. She didn't want to give Rachel a reason to shoot either of them.

April slowly made her way towards Lydia, who was now on her feet, trying to keep still. But halfway there, the waiting was too much and Lydia ran to her mother. April quickened her steps and lifted Lydia when she threw herself at her.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried wrapping her little arms around her mother's neck and holding on tight

"Shh" April hushed, smoothing her hair "It's ok, mommy's here now, mommy's here"

________________

Jackson sat in his wheelchair, staring off aimlessly. He never thought he would miss walking so much in his life.

The Chief had come by earlier and informed them of what happened. Like he expected, April had found her way to the daycare, and she had convinced the police to let her into the room with their daughter and the shooter.

He was upset. Upset that she had put herself in danger too. Upset that he wasn't able to do what she had done. He was the one that was supposed to try and sneak past the police and save his baby girl.

"They'll be fine" a voice brought him out of his thoughts

He turned to his side and realized it was his mother.

"They'll get out f there, and they'll be fine" said stressed

Jackson sighed and turned his head away. He was starting to lose hope. Two of the most important girls in his life were in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

_________________

Rachel stood in her spot, and watched as Lydia held on tightly to her mother as she soothed her. She was a bit skeptical about letting the mother in, but it worked in keeping Lydia quiet.

She watched the scene as she thought about her own daughter. She remembered doing the same thing when she woke up from a nightmare. Oh how she longed to be doing that again. She was willing to do anything to get that back, and at the moment, this seemed like the most effective way.

April would occasionally glance at Rachel, and see the way she was looking at them. She knew who Rachel was. Her pending divorce with her husband was the talk of the hospital for a few days. She knew of the woman's mistakes, and prayed that she would better herself for the sake of her daughter, but, she didn't seem to be doing so.

April noticed the way she was looking at them, she was probably thinking about her daughter, and thinking about the times they had like this. For a moment, April had an idea. It seemed like a stupid one, but she was desperate to get herself and her daughter out of there safe. Her mother always told her that she had a gift for talking sense in to people and making them feel better at the same time. It was time to test that theory.

"You can get this back you know" April said

"Huh?" Rachel said coming out of her day dream

"Your daughter, you can have this with her again, one day"

"I know" she answered "I'm getting it today"

April stayed quiet and thought for a moment. She could really get herself in some trouble for what she was going to say next.

"So when your daughter gets here, you're going to take her away to stay with you?" April asked

"Yes!" Rachel answered angrily, even though a part of her knew her plan sounded stupid when April said it

"So you think the police and your husband would let you walk out of here with your daughter?"

"Why wouldn't they? We made a deal, I get my little girl and I let yours go!"

"You shot two people and held kids hostage in a daycare. Do you really think they'll let you leave with her?" April knew that she was on thin ice, but she thought that this might be the way to get her and Lydia out, and let Rachel still have a shot of having a future in her child's life.

Rachel thought to herself, the surgeon had a point.

"Well, if they don't give me my daughter then I'll just kill both of you" she said playfully pointing the gun at them, she believed that the police would do anything to get these two back, even give her her daughter

April swallowed hard looking at the gun in her hand. She certainly needed strength from God now.

"And what would that accomplish?" April began "You're already going to be charged with assault and keeping kids hostage, you want to add two murder charges to that?"

"But..." Rachel angrily began but April cut her off

" Do you think you'll ever get to see your daughter again when you're in jail for God knows how long?"

April watched as her raged filed eyes slowly went soft with realization. What she was doing was finally starting to hit her. The whole goal was to get her daughter back, and now she had made things worse. She lowered her gun and her eyes began to get glossy. She didn't realize how good she had it. All she had to do was get clean and she would have the time with her daughter she wanted. Getting her husband to trust her again was going to be hard, but she could have worked on that. She could have gotten back everything she had, had she just listened to the judge. But that morning, she let her drug induced rage take over her and now she was in a predicament she couldn't reverse.

"Oh my god" Rachel finally aid, sounding more sober than she did a few moments ago "I messed up, I really messed up!"

April felt a bit of relief; she was getting through to her.

Rachel looked at the gun in her hand and then at the blood stained floor "What did I do?" she began to pace the floor "I messed up. I ruined everything. I'll never see my daughter again. I've lost every chance of ever being in my little girl's life again"

April took a breath. This was it, this was her chance to save herself and her daughter and give Rachel some hope and encouraging words.

"Like I said before, you can get this get this back with your daughter" April said looking down at Lydia

"After I did all of this?" Rachel said in disbelief "When they get me out of here, they're going to take me straight to prison. Jonathan won't let me near Jenna, ever! And she'll be too embarrassed of me to come see me"

April looked at her. She knew that there was a good woman in there; she just made some really bad decisions in her life.

"Yes you messed up" April began "But you can try to make things right. Sure, things may not go exactly to the way they were before, but you can have that chance to be in your daughter's life again"

"How?"

"You have to claim responsibility for what you did"

"I have to give myself up" Rachel stated, knowing what April meant

"Yes" April answered "Even though you're gonna end up in prison for what you did, maybe giving up now and co-operating with the police might lessen your time spent in prison. And while you're away, that will give you some time to work on yourself, and get better for you"

"And for Jenna" Rachel added

"No, for you" April corrected "You have to take care of and think of yourself first before you can deal with anyone else. And don't worry about Jenna too much, her dad will take care of her"

April wasn't friends with Dr. Jeffrey, but if it was one thing she knew, it was that this man loved his daughter.

Rachel stood in silence taking in all that had been said to her. The doctor was right, this was her chance to make things right, and doing harm to anyone, including herself, would just make things harder than they already were.

April watched as Rachel slowly made her way towards the double doors, gun held loosely in her hand. She turned to the doctor and her daughter for what would be the last time.

"You're good mother. I wish I was more like you" she said before yelling to the police that she was giving up and coming out.

From there everything seemed to be going at warp speed. As soon as Rachel was cuffed nurses rushed in to check on April and Lydia. Once they were cleared, questions were asked by the police. It was getting hard for April to give her answers when the cries of a little girl could be heard outside the daycare walls. Soon she was escorted out of the room through a different door, and the last thing she heard was "Mommy's gonna get better Jenna! I promise!"

________________

Pacing. That was another thing Jackson never thought he'd miss doing. Right at that moment, that was all he wanted to do. Rolling around in his wheelchair didn't feel the same, and doing so would cause his arms to get tired quickly.

They were waiting for a while now, hoping to get some good news. Dr. Jeffrey had passed by a few minutes ago with his daughter, so his girls should be out by now.

As if his mind was being read, Jackson heard Chief Andrews call his name. He looked up and saw the man coming towards him. He wheeled himself over to meet him half way.

"How's April and Lydia? Are they ok?" He quickly asked once the man was in front of him

"Why don't you ask them yourself"

The Chief stepped aside and Jackson could see April walking down the hall holding Lydia in her arms. The rest of his family and friends gathered behind him and cheers erupted when they saw the pair coming. Lydia lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and turned towards the noise. Her face instantly lit up when she saw Jackson.

"Daddy!" She cried trying to wiggle herself from April's hold

April let her down and the little girl sprinted to her father's lap. Her tiny arms were instantly around his neck, her face buried in his and he couldn't help but to hug back. He rubbed her head gently and savored the moment of finally having his daughter in his arms.

He looked up when April was standing in front of him. He stretched one of his hands out for her to hold onto, and she did. As upset as he was at her for running in there, all he wanted to do was hug her, but it was hard to do when his daughter was clinging on to him for dear life.

He could finally be relieved, his girls were ok.

________________________

Lydia was curled up asleep in her mother's arms, between April and Jackson, in their bed. After the events of the day, it didn't take her a long time to fall asleep. Normally, she wouldn't be allowed to, but that night was an exception, along with the many nights they believed would come.

The parents looked down at her sleeping form, grateful to have her there with them. Jackson lifted his eyes up off Lydia then to April, looking at the way she stared. The happiness and relief on her face made him feel the same, despite the pain in his leg. He hadn't realized how much their happiness and well being affected his own. He could now really understand what someone meant when they said they couldn't live without someone, cause he now knew the feeling. He just hoped that he and April could get past their argument, after all that had happened that day.

It was hard to believe just 24 hours ago, they had a big fight and he wasn't even sure if they were ever going to get married. For the first time since that morning, he began to think about their fight again. The things she said, the way he felt. It was there, on that bed that he understood in some way where April was coming from.

Jackson steadied himself and sat up on the bed, groaning in pain as he did.

"You ok?" April asked looking up at him

"I'm good" he replied "Can we talk?" he asked before she could place her attention back on their daughter

"Ok" she nervously answered, detaching herself from Lydia

She covered her daughter up and sat up as well, giving Jackson her full attention. She knew what this talk was about.

"About the whole wedding and getting married thing" he began "I've been thinking about what you said and..."

"Jackson..." she said stopping him before he could continue "I'm sorry for acting the way I did, and saying the things I said. I just couldn't push the feelings away about the accident and why it happened. I was wrong" she finished, looking down at her hands

"Actually, you were right" he countered

She was caught off guard by his response. Was he saying that she was right? That the accident was a sign that they shouldn't get married? This was not what she wanted.

"About what exactly?" she decided to asked

"About the accident happening for a reason, and that reason being us not getting married"

"So, you don't think we should get married?" she asked worriedly, hoping that what she thought was happening, wasn't really happening

"I do think we should" he answered

He grows raised, she was bit confused now "What?"

He answered her question with another question "If there was no accident, and we did get married, where would we be right now?"

She thought for a moment, and suddenly, she understood.

"On our honeymoon" she answered "Away from Lydia"

He smiled, realizing that she got where he was coming from.

They had planned a five day trip to France, wanting to spend as much time with each other in peace before they had to deal with the stress of everyday life as a doctor, parent and a newly married couple. April thought about the events of that day and wondered if being gone would have drastically change the way things turned out. Would it have taken them a long time to return to Seattle the instant they heard the news? Would she have been there in time to try to sneak past police and convince Chief Andrews to let into the daycare? The more she thought about, the more she felt that things would have been very different.

"I know I thought that you were being crazy, but...maybe you had a point. If there was no accident, there would have been a wedding and honeymoon hours away from here, hours away from our endangered daughter. Maybe God, the universe, whoever or whatever had to be sure that we would be here for her, that you would be there to save her. An accident seemed like an extreme but..." he said before tuning to look down at his sleeping daughter "...she's worth all of it"

April placed her hand on his, getting his eyes back on her "Yeah, she is"

"Plus, they knew breaking my leg was the only way to stop me from marrying you" he smiled, causing her to grin back at him.

They shared a laugh before looking at their daughter. Who would have thought that the thing that ruined their wedding and almost killed Jackson was thing that ended up saving their daughter's life.

______________________

That's it for chapter 13 y'all. I'm sorry if it seemed rushed, I really wanted to post it today, so I wouldn't leave y'all hanging. Looking forward to reading and responding to your comments. If you like the chapter, make sure to give it a vote. I plan on posting the next chapter on Christmas. You are free to annoy me and ask me when I'm posting; it will make me work harder on trying to finish it. I know the japril fans are going through it this season, so maybe this little happy ending would make you feel better.

Thanks for reading!