Jackson Avery
"Good morning." Payton whispered as she rolled over to face me.
"Mm, morning." I grunted, still half asleep. "You want breakfast?" She asked, rolling out of bed and pulling on one of my t-shirts.
"What I want is you to get back in bed with me." I said grabbing at her waist.
"Pancakes it is." Payton laughed and went downstairs. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and joined Payton in the kitchen downstairs.
"Are you still itching?" I asked Payton, who was standing in the middle of the kitchen scratching her arm ferociously.
"Yeah, but its nothing. Promise." She smiled at me when I gave her a skeptical look. "Will you grab me a towel from the laundry room, please?"
I exited the kitchen, going to grab Payton a towel. I was searching through the laundry when I heard a huge crash come from the kitchen.
"Payton?" I questioned
"Hey, are you- Payton!" I ran over as I saw Payton sprawled unconscious on the kitchen floor surrounded by shards of a shattered bowl. I grabbed my phone and called 911, cradling Payton's head in my lap.
--
"What the hell happened?" Grey asked as an unconscious Payton was wheeled into the ER on a gurney.
"I don't know, one minute she was walking and talking and then the next she passed out. I turned my back for a minute, I-"
"Stop," Meredith cut me off. "This is not your fault, you can't blame yourself. Besides, Payton is going to be fine, whatever this is we'll figure this out. She'll be okay." Meredith put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I nodded gratefully and Meredith turned back to Payton's gurney. "Alright, let's get her up to CT, I want a full work up stat! Jackson, wait here and I'll update you as soon as we know something."
--
"Hey, any news?" I asked, standing up when I saw Meredith and Bailey walking down the hall towards me.
"We did a full work up and-" bailey hesitated.
"And what?" I urged.
"The cancer has metastasized. It's basically eating at her insides, and fast." Bailey said reluctantly. I hung my head, running my hands over my face roughly.
"Let me guess, she's still refusing treatment?" Meredith nodded her head regretfully and Bailey gave me a sympathetic look. "Is she awake, can I see her?"
"She's awake, but weak. Room 236."
--
I stood in the doorway of Payton's room and just looked at her. The sight was familiar, which might have been one of the worst parts of this whole endeavor.
"Mm, hey." Payton said trying to sit herself up.
"Hey, hey don't try and sit up." I said, leaving the doorway and making my way over to her bed. I sat down in the chair next to her and pushed the hair away from her face.
"Jackson, I know what you're gonna say-"
Payton started but I cut her off.
"Payton, I'm not going to try and force you to get treatment." I sighed. She looked at me skeptically, waiting for the but.
"I know if I try and force you, it'll just deter you more. But Payton, I love you. I love you with everything I have and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have kids with you and get married to you and grow old with you. But without this treatment, that will never happen." I held on tightly to Payton's hand and took a deep breath, trying to gather myself. "Payton, I know that you've been through so much and every time, you've come out on top. Phrases like "recovery time" and "medical leave" are urban legends to you, you're a damn medical anomaly. But not this time. This time there will be no miraculous recovery, not without treatment. Your cancer is metastasizing, and fast. I want more than just months with you, I want decades. All I'm asking is that you think about what it would be like if roles were reversed. If I were back laying in that bed and you were the one sitting here, watching me die, what would you say? And not what would you want to believe you'd say, but what you know deep in your heart that you would tell me." I choked back my tears and I couldn't meet Payton's eyes.
"Get some rest, I'll be back soon." I said after a few moments of deafening silence. I pressed a kiss into her hair and left as fast as I could. Truthfully, I was broken and I didn't want Payton to see that.
--
Payton Arizona
"Ugghh." I groaned quietly as I continued to weave in and out of consciousness.
"Finally, you're awake." I heard a woman's voice say as I blinked my eyes opened. I turned my head to see Catherine Avery looking over patient charts in the chair next to my bed.
"Took you long enough." She remarked.
"Catherine, what are you-" I asked raspily.
"I'm here to talk some damn sense into you, Payton." Catherine raised her voice at me. "Listen, I may not like you very much, or at all for that matter, but my son does. God knows why. Either way, he cares a lot about you and you refusing treatment is hurting him."
"Mrs Avery, I love your son but regardless of that I will not subject myself to pointlessly irradiating my body." I protested.
"It's not pointless! You're a doctor, and as much as it pains me to say this, you're a damn good one. I don't know if it's because of the cancer in your brain or if you are just plain stupid, but you need to knock of whatever this is. Just-think about what you're doing." Catherine let out a long sigh and shook her head at me before turning briskly and leaving.
I hung my head into my hands and sighed.
"Jo,wait!" I yelled out at the spur of the moment. Wilson popped her head into my room curiously.
"Can you do me favor?"
"Sure, anything." She offered.
"I need you to order me a port and schedule me for a round of high dose b12 injection and chemo as soon as it comes in. Oh, and get Jackson for me."
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Paging Payton(A Grey Anatomy/Jackson Avery Fanfic)
FanfictionAt seventeen years old, she was graduating med school, and on her way to a Harper Avery award. Payton Arizona Johnson is what most people would consider a genius. She was top of her class in med school and had a bright future ahead of her. Will al...
