‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Jackson & April Make A Decision
It’s hard to imagine how Jackson and April feel as Dr. Herman tells them their baby is at high risk for low birth weight, underdeveloped lungs, and may not live more than a few days after he’s born.
The biggest blow for April comes when she finds out that her baby is also at risk for his bones to break while he is still inside her womb, which means even she can’t protect him from his own health issues before he’s born. So sad.
Jackson’s mother shows up right after they receive the heartbreaking news, and, for once, she manages to comfort not just Jackson, but April.
It’s Jackson’s mother who presents their best option, telling April to pick a day, get induced, name the baby boy, have him baptized, and hold him in her arms until he dies. It’s awful to listen to, but the truth is it’s their best option, and the best life that little boy will live.
Even though Jackson wanted April to terminate, he tells her he will absolutely stand by her as she does what his mother suggest. He’s incredible, isn’t he?
Unfortunately, even as she’s discussing saying goodbye to her baby, April is still holding out for a miracle. You can tell by the look Jackson and his mother exchange that they both realize April may never recover from losing this child, and they are terrified for what will come after.
Everyone in the hospital is rooting for April and Jackson, so at least they have a massive support system behind them.
April Still Wants A Miracle
Meredith is trying to plan a weekend with Derek, but it doesn’t seem to be going so well. Not only does she have two children to find caretakers for, but she’s also on call — and so far no one wants to switch with her.
Interestingly enough, April and Jackson’s baby drama seems to be affecting Amelia harder than any of their other friends. But, she refuses to talk about it, so it’s just going to eat her up.
There’s also a new intern in the hospital, and she seems a bit confused. This immediately feels like foreshadowing for a disaster, doesn’t it? After all, this is the forever cursed Grey-Sloane Memorial Hospital.
When we return to Jackson and April, it’s time for their baby’s induction. Before the process is started, Dr. Herman has them sit down in a quiet room and sign some paper work. When they get to the consent form, April hesitates, especially after Dr. Herman explains how she’s only at 24 weeks and the hospital could intervene if necessary.
Of course, Jackson signs that form immediately.
When it’s April’s turn to sign she asks Herman for the other forms instead, but it turns out the baby’s death certificate is next. Now, even Jackson is upset, even after Dr. Herman explains how it’s better for them to get this over with before, because they won’t be able to deal with the flurry of paper work after.
As soon as Dr. Herman gives them a moment to digest what they need to do, April forces the papers away from her and refuses to sign any of them.
Soon after we find out that Jackson’s ex, Stephanie, feels guilty for what they are going through. She reveals to Jo that she was constantly wishing bad things on them when she saw them together, and now that this horrible thing has happened to them she feels responsible. Thankfully Jo is there to comfort her and help her realize that’s just not the truth.
Weber & Catherine’s Awkward Run-In
Meredith is still desperately trying to plan her weekend, but no one seems to be in on her plan. She’s telling Alex how to take care of her kids and has clearly assumed he’ll be the one babysitting them, but then he tells her that it’s Jo who offered. It’s no surprise that Meredith is not okay with this, Jo is pretty unpredictable. Actually, Meredith even calls her a “hoodlum.” Which is pretty hilarious in itself.
As her and Alex get into it about Jo, the confused intern is watching them carefully, while Pierce, who has been listening to them bicker the entire time, is insulted that Meredith didn’t ask her to watch the kids. After all, she is their half-aunt.
It’s time for April to prepare to be induced, and she loses it right before she’s supposed to be changing into her hospital gown. Jackson is desperate to console her, but she’s convinced they are making a mistake. She’s convinced they need to wait for a miracle. Jackson is looking at her like she’s crazy, and once she notices that she tells him she’s not going through with it and storms out of the hospital room. This is not good.
Remember when I said the confused intern would get us all in trouble? I was right. The things she was supposed to bring to the lab were left discarded randomly inside the ER, and now the patient they were for is giving birth to a baby she didn’t even know she was carrying. Disaster.
Weber takes on the responsibility of finally getting them to the lab, and on the way up he has an awkward encounter with his ex, Jackson’s mother Catherine. You can tell by the looks on both of their faces how excited and surprised they are to see each other, but fear quickly takes over and Catherine ducks into a room to avoid him.
Weber is next on Meredith’s list to ask for a favor so she can go visit Derek, but he turns down her on-call shift because now that he’s seen Catherine he wants to offer to be there for her while she deals with April and Jackson’s baby tragedy.
Then Weber makes the mistake of asking Meredith why it has to be this weekend, and when she refuses to answer he continues to badger her. “Emergency sex,” Meredith finally tells him, and Weber instantly regrets pushing her for an answer. So funny!
The Intern Isn’t Really An Intern
Jackson chases down April in the hospital and is able to console her and even get her to realize that the miracle she wants to hold out for isn’t coming. Once April gets on Jackson’s level she loses it again, but this time it’s God she’s mad at. It’s God who let her down, who failed her, and she can’t figure out why.
April ditches Jackson to go distract herself with work, and Jackson finds himself in a place he probably never imagined he would be: the chapel. He prays out loud and demands that the God she believes in show up for her because she needs him, and it’s probably one of the best things he’s ever done for her.
It’s in that very same chapel that Weber runs into Catherine again, and this time they can’t avoid each other. It turns out that Catherine is upset with Weber for not calling in the past six months, and she turns him away when he offers to help her.
After Weber is shot down by Catherine, he takes Meredith up on her on-call. She turns him down though because she still doesn’t have anyone to watch the kids, but, finally, Pierce speaks up and says she can take the kids. It turns out she’s a master babysitter, and Meredith takes her up on it. Finally, she will see Derek again!
Of course once Weber commits his weekend to helping Meredith, he runs into Catherine again. She approaches him and asks him to take her home and hold her, because that’s the only way she will be comforted. Hopefully these two are on the path back to a rekindled romance.
It’s a good thing that April went back to work, because she’s the one that realizes the disaster intern doesn’t even work at the hospital. It turns out she’s the fiancee of a man who died in the emergency room last night, and when April takes her into a room to talk to her, she ends up comforting not just the woman, but also herself.
April & Jackson Meet Their Baby — And Say Goodbye
After her encounter with the “intern,” April picks a name for the baby — Samuel Norbert Avery. Then, she and Jackson head back upstairs to do what they were meant to do earlier in the day.
They go through with it, and April delivers her son, Samuel. She holds him as he is baptized, and he even squeezes her finger in the few moments he lives in her arms.
After it’s all said and done, Hunt finds Amelia in the chapel and she finally confesses why she was so upset. “My baby lived for forty-three minutes,” is all she says. Instead of saying anything in return, Hunt reaches for her hand to comfort her.
As all of this is happening, Grey-Sloane does, in fact, see a miracle. The woman who didn’t know she was pregnant finally gets to hold her baby, even after she was convinced she couldn’t even get pregnant. Even after she dies on the operating table and is revived. Now that’s a miracle.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — Do you think April and Jackson did the right thing? Are you happy to hear Meredith is going to see Derek? Comment below with your thoughts!
— Lauren Cox
Follow @Iaurencox