“Then Santa says…….” Lydia began as she tried to explain the play to her mother and Jo.

After Alex and Jo found out about Jackson and April relationship, Jo invited them over, along with Lydia, so they could have a “family” dinner.

As the ladies sat on the couch watching Lydia, with five month old Paige on Jo’s lap, who was smiling at Lydia’s antics, Jackson and Alex stood in the entrance of the living room, watching them.

“Do I have to deal with this crap when Paige gets older?” Alex asked with a frown

“Yea” Jackson smiled

“Great!” Alex sarcastically said “Can’t wait”

“Come on man, it’s not that bad” Jackson encouraged “You’ll start to like it eventually”

“I doubt that” Alex denied “Are you liking it”

“Yea, I am”

Lydia had been talking non-stop about her role in her kindergarten class Christmas play. And although he didn’t think he would be, Jackson was pretty excited to see his daughter on stage. He had it all planned out. He would go to Boston, and attend the Harper Avery Foundation meeting, and he would be back the next day, with some hours to spear, to do a quick procedure and get ready for Lydia’s play.

“Dr. Alex?” Lydia called, running up to the two

“Yes Lydia?” he answered

“Are you coming to my Christmas play?” she asked

“Uh……I don’t know”

“But daddy’s coming” she said pointing to her dad

“I know, but I don’t know if I’ll have to work that day” he explained to the little girl

“Soooo, if you don’t have to work, will you come?”

“Uh, sure, why not” Alex said, not wanting to disappoint her

“Yay!” Lydia cheered running back to her mother and Jo “Dr. Alex said he’ll come!”

“What did I get myself into” Alex groaned, causing Jackson to chuckle

“You better be there, or she’ll have your ass” Jackson teased

“Are you even sure you’re gonna be there?” Alex asked “Don’t you have to be in Boston?”

“The foundation’s meeting is the day before, I’ll be back in time for the show” Jackson answered

There was a few seconds of silence before Alex decided to end it.

“I forgot to ask you about this, did things with April’s family turn out?” he asked, remembering the Kepners’ visit about two weeks ago

“Well they’re all ok with me, except her mom, she still hates me” Jackson answered

“And what about Lydia? She’s still pissed at her grandmother?”

“We talked to her, she seems good now. She even went to the airport to say goodbye”

“Did you tell her about the affair?”

‘No. That’s gonna happen when she’s much, much older” Jackson said, remembering he conversation he and April had with Lydia

FLASHBACK

“Isn’t it too early for going to school?” Lydia asked checking the clock on the wall

She would usually leave for school when the long hand was on six and the short hand was on seven. But now, both hands were on six.

“Yes it is” April answered “We have to pick up your Grandma and Grandpa at the apartment and drop them off at the airport”

“Oh” Lydia said with a frown “Can daddy take me to school?”

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to them?” April asked

“No” the little girl answered

“But your aunties and cousins will be there too, don’t you want to say goodbye to them?” April asked, trying to convince her

Lydia shrugged her shoulders.

Jackson walked into his living room from the kitchen. He had heard the conversation. He and April looked at each other, it was time for the talk.

“Come here” he said sitting on the couch, patting his lap

Lydia climbed up, sitting on his lap, after dropping her bag back on the couch next to them.

“Look, I know that you’re mad that your grandma doesn’t like me, but that doesn’t mean you have to avoid her”

“But daddy, she said mean things about you, she said you were a bad daddy” she reasoned

“I know, but it’s ok, I’m not mad at her”

“But you’re a good daddy” Lydia whined “You take me to school, you tuck me in, you buy me stuff, you give me cookies when mummy says not to….”

“That’s not really a good thing” Jackson mumbled getting a glare from April, who was standing there watching them, but Lydia continued anyway

“………you play princess tea party with me, and you make me Mac n’ Cheese and French toast……..even though it doesn’t taste so good” she said, saying the last part cautiously, looking away

Jackson frowned at his daughter’s dislike in his French toast, while April giggled.

“Yeah, not really good at that am I?” he asked

“Nope” Lydia answered shaking her head

“But….my waffles taste awesome right?”

“Mhm” she nodded

“See” he grinned at April, giving her the “I told you so” look, before Lydia continued with her list

“And you give me hugs, and kisses and tell  me you love me, just like good daddies do” she finished

“Yes I do all those things, but she’s still you grandma, and you should treat her that way. She loves you just as much as your mom and I do, and I know that you love her too” he told her “Can you please go say goodbye to her? It’ll make her very happy”

Lydia thought for a minute before answering “Fine, I’ll go say goodbye”

“Good girl” Jackson smiled

End of FLASHBACK

“hmm, you’re getting pretty good at this daddy stuff aren’t you?” Alex asked

Jackson looked at Lydia, as she continued to act out her part in the play.

“Yes, yes I am” he answered

___________

“Do you have to go?” Lydia asked in the crook of Jackson’s neck

“Yeah, I have to” he answered as he held her in his arms, walking towards the hospital exit “But I’ll be back in time for your play ok?”

"Ok" she answered, lifting her head from his shoulder

It was the morning before Lydia's Christmas play and Jackson's meeting with the Foundation, later that day, in Boston. Jackson had gone to the hospital to do a final check on his patients before leaving and Lydia had to be there to see her father off before her practice at school, also to remind him to give her homemade Christmas card to her grandmother.

"Remember to give Grandma Cat the Christmas card I made" she reminded

"I will" he answered once they were outside the hospital, where the cab was waiting

"Alright, time to get off" April, who was following closely behind them, informed her daughter

"Aww" Lydia whined with a frown, resting her head back on her father's shoulder

"He'll be back tomorrow Lydia" April said, rubbing her back

"And I'll call you tonight before you go to bed ok?" Jackson said, slightly prying her head off of him

She nodded before going into her mother's arms.

"Bye Munchkin" he said, doing his usual kiss on her head and ruffling of her curls

"Bye daddy"

He then turned to April and pecked her lips "Bye"

"Bye" she said back with a smile

Lydia immediately giggled.

"You kissed mommy on the mouth" she grinned before covering her face

Jackson shook his head and chuckled.

"Yes I did" he said, tickling her stomach, sending her into a fit of giggles

They had finally told Lydia about the relationship a few days ago, and she found it cute that her parents were "boyfriend and girlfriend”, as she put it. But she also found it weird, weren't mommies and daddies supposed to be married?

After saying a second round of goodbyes, he finally got into the cab and headed to the airport.

_______________________

Jackson stepped into the HAF building, looking  around. It had been a while since he’d been there, so a lot of what he saw seemed different. But, the one thing that was the same was the location of his grandfather’s plaque and picture on the lobby, and his office. After taking the elevator up two floors, he greeted his grandfather’s secretary, before knocking and entering the office.

“Jackie” Harper smiled after hearing the door open and looking up

“Hey grandpa, hey mom” he said back, after noticing his mom was also there

“Hey baby” she said getting up from her seat in front of Harper’s desk. She walked towards him, grabbed his face and kissed his cheek “How was you flight?” she asked

“It was good” Jackson answered

Catherine did her usual ‘inspection’ of her son, touching his cheeks and squeezing his arms.

“You don’t look skinny this time” she commented “April must be…….feeding you well” she added with a smirk

Jackson caught her double meaning and rolled his eyes. Lydia had let it slip, the day after she was told, that her parents were now ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’, and his mother hadn’t stopped teasing him about it since.

“How is my future daughter in law?” she asked

“She’s fine” Jackson answered

“And how’s my grandbaby? Have any new pictures of her?” she eagerly asked

“She’s awesome, and yeah, I have some” he answered, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to show his mother the pictures on it.

Catherine gushed at the pictures as she swiped through them, bragging about how adorable she looked in the dresses she bought her.

“Oh, before I forget….” Jackson said shoving his hands in his bag, pulling out Lydia’s card “…..she told me to give this to you”

“What is t?” she asked taking it from him

“It’s a Christmas card she made for you, you won’t be around for her to give it to you personally, so I had to bring it” he answered

“Aw” Catherine gushed, looking down at the folded paper, with crayon scribbles and drawings all over

She hadn’t seen her granddaughter since a few months ago, when she went to Seattle. Then, she didn’t even know Lydia was her granddaughter, she just had a feeling. Even though she didn’t spend much time with her then, she must admit that she missed her, and talking on the phone was starting to not be enough.

She handed the card back to Jackson.

“What are you doing?” he asked

“Giving it back” she answered

“Why? She’s gonna think that I forgot to give you”

“Tell her she’ll give it to me herself when we visit for Christmas” Catherine said with a smile

“Visit?” Jackson asked

“We?” Harper added

Jackson loved his mother, but that didn’t stop the fact that she was a meddler. Him finally being in a relationship didn’t stop the meddling, it may have actually made it worse.

“Yes” Catherine said to both men “Harper, Richard and I will come to Seattle for Christmas and we’ll have a lovely little Christmas dinner at your apartment”

“Um, I don’t think my kitchen table is big enough for this dinner” Jackson said, trying to get out of it

“Then get a bigger one” she simply answered

“How did I get into this?” Harper asked

“Because you’re family. And don’t you want to meet your adorable great granddaughter?”  Catherine said walking back over to his desk “You’ll love her! Let me tell you, that girl is a little firecracker! She’s smart, outgoing, has a big mouth on her too…”

“Sounds a lot like you” Harper teased, causing Jackson to chuckle and nod in agreement “You know, that’s exactly how your father described her to me before I met her” he said to his grandson pointing at Catherine

“Oh hush” Catherine said, waving him off

The phone on Harper’s desk rang. He excused himself and answered it, having a quick conversation with whoever was on the other end.

“They’re ready for us downstairs” he informed them , after hanging up

After getting what he needed or the meeting, Harper eased his way off his chair and left the office, with Jackson and Catherine following close behind.

“I’m getting to old for this” he mumbled, walking down the hall with a cane in his hand

__________________

“Mummy, can I ask you something?” Lydia asked as she cuddled with her mother in her bed

April had just finished reading her a bedtime story, and now they were patiently waiting on Jackson’s call.

“Sure sweetie” April answered

“Are you and daddy getting married?” she asked

April froze in her spot, being caught off guard by her daughter’s question.

“Um….” April began but Lydia cut her off

“Cause my friend Nicholas said that mommies and daddies are supposed to be married” she explained “Dr. Alex and Jo are married, Zola’s mommy and daddy are married and Sophia’s mommies are married, but you and daddy aren’t”

April paused for a minute, trying to come up with the best way to answer the question. She knew that this question was going to come one day, she just wasn’t as prepared as she thought to answer it.

“Um……well some mommies and daddies aren’t always married” April began

“But aren’t they supposed to be?” Lydia asked

“Well, God likes it when they are married. But sometimes, mommies and daddies can’t be married, and God understands that”

“Why can’t they be married sometimes?”

“Some of them are in certain………situations, that cause them to not be married”

“Is that what happened with you and daddy?” Lydia asked,  remembering the years Jackson wasn’t around

“Yes” she truthfully answered

"Soooooo, are you in the same situation now?" the little girl asked

"No"

"So you guys can get married!" Lydia grinned

April smiled at her excitement

“Yes we can, but there's some things your dad and I have to discuss first before that can happen" April explained

"Well mommy, I need a time frame" her daughter said, imitating the female detective she saw on TV.

She had heard the detective use the word "timeframe" one day, when watching a show with her babysitter Lindsey. and asked her what it meant. Now she finally had the chance to use her new word.

April giggled at her.

"I'll get back to you on that" she smiled

April's cell phone then rang. Hearing the ringtone, she knew it was Jackson. Lydia grabbed the phone before she could and saw her father's picture on the screen.

"It's daddy" she cheered before sliding the green answer button "Hi daddy!"

"Hey" Jackson said on the other end

He was standing outside of the conference room where the meeting was being held. The meeting was going on longer than he planned, so he slipped out to call them before it was too late.

"How's Boston? Are you having fun at your meeting?" Lydia asked

Jackson smiled "Boston is fine. And no, I'm not having fun"

"Why not?" Lydia frowned, she found it pretty sad that her dad wasn't having any fun

"Well it's pretty boring and long" he explained "Actually it still going on. I had to leave so I could call to tell you goodnight"

"Did you ask your grandpa for permission to leave? Cause in Kindergarten, if we leave without permission, we get in trouble" Lydia said

Jackson shook his head in amusement "Yes Lydia, I asked for permission"

"Good" she grinned

April looked at her daughter, tapping her wrist, indicating that it was getting late and it was time for bed.

"I have to go to bed now daddy" she frowned

"Alright then. Goodnight Munchkin" he lowly said over the phone

"Goodnight daddy" she replied "Love you"

"Love you too" he said "Give the phone to your mom"

 Lydia handed the phone to her mother before kissing her cheek, saying goodnight, and running off to her room.

"Hey" April said holding the phone up her ear

He smiled hearing her voice "Hey"

"Heard you aren't having any fun" she teased

"Yea, this stupid meeting is taking forever to end" he groaned "If it continues like this, we'll have to continue tomorrow morning"

"Tomorrow morning? Your flight is tomorrow morning" April said

"I know. I'd have to catch a next flight if that ever happens"

"But would you be back in time for Lydia's play?"

"I hope so"

"You promised" April stated

"I know" he sighed, thinking about how disappointed his daughter would be if he didn't show up

Ok, maybe he's not that good at this daddy stuff.

______________________

"Clear!" Cristina yelled, before the patient in front of her was shocked

“How the hell did this even happen?” Jackson thought to himself

He was standing in front of one of his patients, as Cristina tried to revive them. This day was definitely not turning out the way it was supposed to.

As expected, the meeting in Boston ran on into the next day. It ended a bit earlier that morning than he thought it would, and thought he would get home in time. But luck wasn't on his side, because his flight got delayed for a few hours. When he finally got to Seattle, he had to have a quick meeting with the board members, to inform them about what his meeting in Boston was about. The expected thirty minute meeting went on for almost two hours!

Once the meeting was over, he thought he would be able to go to his apartment and rest for a while before Lydia's play, but the "stupid intern" forgot to reschedule one of his surgeries. And now here he was, in the O.R, with his Breast augmentation patient, who’s heart just stopped.

"Yay me!" Cristina finnaly cheered under her mask when the patient's heart started beating again "I really am awesome aren't I?"

Jackson ignored her and looked up at the clock in the O.R. It was 7:15, Lydia's play would start in fifteen minutes.

"What's wrong Pretty Boy?" Cristina asked, noticing the look on his face "Are you mad that you're not as awesome as me?"

"No!" Jackson said rolling his eyes "I promised Lydia I was coming to her play, which starts in fifteen minutes"

"Aww" Cristina said with a fake pout "Are you sad?"

He rolled his eyes again "I'm just upset I wouldn't be there to see her" he answered

"And this is why being a mother would be so hard for me" Cristina stated as she continued working on the patient. She glanced up at Jackson and saw his eyes on the clock "Look, just explain to her what happened. She may be five, but I think she'll understand"

He sighed and continued to help Cristina. Maybe she was right.

_______________________

Jackson pulled into the school parking lot, surprised he didn't get pulled over on his way here.

His surgery had finished a while ago….well he didn’t really finish; he did what he had to, and left Cristina to do what she had to. He had quickly scrubbed out, changed out of his scrubs and raced over to the school, being occasionally stopped by traffic. He hoped he wasn't too late, and would at least get to see the last part of the play.

After parking, he grabbed his cell phone, which flashed with missed calls from April, and exited his car, locking it as well.

Jackson groaned after turning to walk towards the school.

"Crap!" he cursed under his breath

The parking lot that was empty a few seconds ago, was now being filled with parents and their children, who had just exited the school.

He had missed it, all of it!

He stood there for a minute, wondering if he should still go in or not. Just when he decided that he should do, he spotted April, Jo and Alex walking out of the school, into the parking lot. Jo had Paige in her arms, while Lydia was in Alex's, with her head resting on his shoulder.

April spotted him, and the two walked towards each other.

"Is she mad?" Jackson asked once April got to him

"Yeah" April answered

Jackson nodded as they walked over to Jo and Alex, who were now standing next to April's car. As he approached, he could hear small sniffs coming from his daughter.

"Lydia, your dad is here" April informed her

"I don't want to talk to him" her muffled voice said in between sniffs

April sighed looking at Jackson.

"Lydia, I'm sorry, I...." Jackson began but was cut off by his daughters teary request

"Leave me alone!" she cried as she buried her face in Alex's neck.

Jackson sighed, he didn't realize how much that would hurt. Alex took that as his cue to put Lydia into the car. April unlocked the door, allowing Alex to do so. Jackson watched as Alex placed her in the back seat, buckling her up. He got a glimpse of her wet face and red eyes, before she quickly looked away from him.

"You should come over tomorrow morning, she should be a little ok by then" April told him

Jackson nodded "I'll see you tomorrow then" he told her

After saying goodbye to them, and taking one last look at Lydia, he left and headed back to his car.

On his way home, he couldn't ignore how disappointed at himself he was feeling. He didn't know Lydia being mad at him would make him feel so bad about himself. He felt he had turned into his mother and grandfather, who had always spent more time at the hospital than with him.

This being a daddy stuff, was more difficult than he thought.

________________

Jackson stood in front of April's apartment door, with a gift bag in his hand, waiting for her to open it.

He didn't sleep much the night before, the whole "bad parent" feeling had kept him up.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and there stood April.

"Hey" she greeted

"Hey" he said back walking in "Where is she?"

"In her bedroom" April said closing the door behind her

"Is she still mad?"

"Not as much as she was last night" she explained “I see you come bearing gifts” she added with a smile

“Just a little something to make the apologizing process a little easier” he smiled back

Jackson took off his coat and headed straight to Lydia's room. After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited. He heard the thump as she jumped off her bed, and the footsteps coming towards the door. A few seconds later the door opened.

Lydia looked up at her father. Normally, she would jump into his arms and yell "daddy!". But she was still mad at him, and he therefore deserved another greeting.

"Can I help you?" she asked keeping a straight face

Jackson was caught of guard by her tone, it screamed Catherine Avery. He didn’t know if he should feel hurt or laugh.

"I came to talk, to apologize for missing your play" he answered "Can I come in?'

"Hmmm" Lydia hummed, letting her state of thinking be known

"I bought you presents....." he said holding up the bag

She looked at him suspiciously, as if he was hiding something from her.

"Fine" she finally said "But you have 5 minutes" she added

She turned around and went back to her bed, Jackson followed in behind her. He was about to take a seat at the edge of her bed, until she pointed him to the small chair that was around her tea party table. He sighed and pulled the chair away from the table, setting it close to her bed. He then took a seat, and got as comfortable as he could. Lydia looked down at the Mr. Avery Bear in her hand.

"Listen..." he began "I'm so sorry for missing your play. A lot of things happened yesterday that I had to deal with. I tired to get to your school before it ended, but there was a lot of traffic, so I missed it" he explained

Lydia looked  up from her bear.

"So you didn't miss it on purpose?" she asked

Jackson frowned at her question.

"No, I didn't munchkin" he said holding his hand out

She crawled to the edge of the bed and sat in front of him.

"I really, really wanted to be there" he emphasized, taking her tiny hand in his "....but some important things came up that got in the way"

"Doctor things?" she asked

"Yes, doctor things" he answered

She looked down again “I’m sorry for being mad” she said

“It’s ok, you don’t have to apologize, and it’s ok that you’re upset I wasn't there, Ok?”

“Ok” she nodded

“Sooo, are we good now?” he asked

“We’re good” she said looking up at him smiling, she could never stay mad at him for too long “Do I get my presents now?”

“Sure” he said picking the bag off the floor, handing it to her

He watched as she squealed in excitement, pulling out her gifts. She especially loved the new dress Catherine bought her. Her smile quickly faded away though, when she pulled out the Christmas hard she had made.

“You forgot?” she whined holding up the paper to him

“No!” he quickly said shaking his head “She told me to bring it back”

‘Why?”

“So you can give it to her when she comes to Seattle for Christmas” he grinned

“Grandma Cat is coming for Christmas?!” she excitedly asked

“Mhm” he nodded “And grandpa and Richard are coming with her”

“Yay” she cheered, bouncing up and down the bed

“What’s all the excitement about?” April asked walking into the bedroom, her tablet in hand

“Grandma Cat is coming for Christmas!” she cheered, continuing her bouncing

“That’s Great” April smiled “And guess what?”

“What?” Lydia asked after stilling herself

“Alex just sent me the video he took from the play” she smiled, holding up the tablet “Wanna show your dad how awesome you did?”

Lydia nodded as April approached the bed and took a seat. She stretched her legs and pressed her back against the head board. Lydia moved from the bottom of the bed and took a seat next to her mother.

“Come sit” she said to Jackson, patting the space on the bed next to her

Jackson got off the tiny chair, quickly took off his sneakers and took a seat next to his daughter, leaving her in the middle. April pulled up the video, set it on Lydia’s lap and pressed play.

The three sat there watching the video with smiles on their faces. Lydia wasn't graduating with honors or curing cancer, she was just acting as the “Eager Elf” in the kindergarten play, and Jackson couldn't be more proud of her. ‘Maybe it’s just a parent thing’ he thought to himself.

Maybe this daddy stuff wasn't so bad after all, he could survive it.

 ____________________

There you have it! Sorry for taking so long to post, had some things to deal with. Make sure to comment and vote! I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can!