Remember Your Worth | Jackson Avery

forty-two

"You bought her the dog?"

"I bought her the dog." He smiled then looked at Rae playing with the puppy.

"You do realize that your son is a terrorist?"

"He will not terrorize this house." He pointed to the toddler.

I frowned at the letter in the mail from Robert. Since he left that day, we hadn't heard from him but he was still in Seattle.

"Your dad is still here."

"What?" He grabbed the letter, skimming through the words.

"He wants to have dinner... Wants to apologize.. make things right. Oh, he wants to be a father now?"

"JJ, no!" Rae yelled.

We turned our attention to see the little boy grabbing the puppy by the neck, practically choking him. Jackson rushed over, removing his hand and carrying him back over to me.

"I told you, terrorist."

"So, you just wanna destroy everything?" He asked him. JJ giggled.

"We rode past an animal shelter and she just wanted to go in so bad. I said no, simply to avoid this but my mom said yes, and here we are."

"She's not your sister, she's your daughter."

"I know, I know.. When she saw the puppy, she just got so excited. She wouldn't even look at the other dogs. I told her we could get him for her birthday but that resulted in chaos."

"Or, she gave you her puppy eyes and you caved."

"Maybe, I mean, who's really interested in how it happened."

I shook my head, laughing at the Avery. She had him wrapped around her finger like it was nothing.

"You going to mom's party?"

"What party?"

"She's having a celebratory party for Koracick and Shepherd. Mom wants to honor them for such a great job. Tom is happy to be the center of attention but Amelia is a little iffy."

"Figures.. I'm surprised your mom still wanted to have the party. With everything going on between her and Richard.."

"She tells me that they're working through it but Richard won't talk about her. I don't know what she did but it was probably one of her power moves."

I looked at the time, zipping up the backpack. It was time for our shifts which meant we had to leave so we could get there on time.

~

"You see right there? Marcus has a Grade III fracture." Sam said, pointing to the x-ray scan.

"This kid's gonna have a complex recovery."

"Hey, did you know Owen was in the military?" She asked, taking down the scan.

"Yeah. It's not hard to tell."

"I was wondering. He has this leader in him, and gosh, it is so sexy."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing.

"The Ginger isn't that cute."

"Not to you since you've known him for so long, but me... He could take me down any time he wanted."

I looked at my phone for the twelfth time, sighing at another one of Catherine's messages.

Catherine 🙄❤️

Is anyone even listening to me? I don't want this party. I know you've said that you don't have anything to do with it so I know it's all Jackson. Tell him I said no! If that doesn't work, I'll figure something out.

"Is that Jackson's mom?" Sam asked, looking at my phone.

I dropped it in my pocket, ignoring her intruding.

"I've met Ms. Fox, and she is so intimidating."

I'd never looked at Catherine that way. I was always able to handle her, whether it was putting her in her place or just making sure she knew when not to intrude.

"Don't be afraid to bark back."

"But what if she bites?"

"Bite back, then, Lopez."

She nodded, nudging my shoulder with hers then walking out.

I looked at a waddling Raven as she entered, putting up some scans. She examined them, making a face before looking down and shaking her head.

"Everything good?" I asked. She huffed, coming over and sitting down.

"When you first found out you were pregnant with Raegan, how did you feel?"

"I had mixed emotions. Her father was a cheater and I couldn't trust him. What did I look like having a baby by the guy?"

"You do realize that you have two kids by him."

"He's changed. That last time was a real wake up call for him. He got his stuff together, now we're doing amazing." I smiled, thinking about him.

"Okay, but if he didn't cheat..?"

"I would've been happy. I'm creating something with the man that I am in love with.. who wouldn't be? Are you having doubts?"

She looked off, hesitating before shaking her head.

"No.. No, I'm good.. Thanks."

She grabbed the scans, walking out.

Love ❤️😊

On call room? 👀

I laughed at the message before replying.

You got it. 😉