April Kepner

"I'm not going to let them turn me into someone they can hate."

- April Kepner

April Kepner is an extremely capable doctor, but a quite self-conscious young woman. In her personal diary, she writes notes to herself to help cope with her insecurities. She writes to herself saying that nobody can tell she has had plastic surgery on her nose, and that she could one day be the future of medicine. When Lexie Grey and April first meet, Lexie becomes jealous of April and steals her diary. As she's reading the journal, she notices tear drops on the pages, indicating that April was crying while the notes were being written. Although April can sometimes seem fragile, the shooting at the hospital proves that she is an extremely strong and brave young woman.

Personal Life
Much of April's personal life was revealed while she was being held at gunpoint by Gary Clark. She was forced to tell him personal details about her life in an attempt to prevent him from murdering her. She reveals that she is currently twenty-eight years old and that she was born on April 23rd in Columbus, Ohio. She was raised on  a corn farm along with three sisters, a pet pony, and a pet duck. Her mother is a teacher, while her father stays home and tends to the farm.

When April told her parents she wanted to become a doctor, they were "over the moon" about it. April has always been very focused on her studies, so other than medical school and various church related events, she hasn't done much.

Before the shooting at Seattle Grace Mercy West, April and Reed Adamson were best friends and roommates, as well. When Reed was tragically murdered during the shooting, April was the first to find her. Finding her best friend shot to death at the hands of Gary Clark sent April into shock, but she quickly recovered and reported what she found to Derek Shepherd. April often still mentions Reed, indicating that they were very close friends.



April has always been very close with God, and she says she remained a virgin so long due to her religion. However, she lost her virginity to her best friend, Jackson Avery the night before her medical boards. Although April feels badly about what happened, she remains close to God and hopes to find forgiveness.

When April returned to Seattle Grace Mercy West, she informed Jackson she was "re-virginizing". He didn't support this action because he felt she was trying to pretend they never happened, but he promised to help her in any way that he could. However, in the end, no matter how hard they tried to stay away. they couldn't resist each other.

As of now, Jackson and April's relationship remains a mystery. Both Jackson and April love each other



dearly, but it's possible they love each other in completely different ways. Both April and Jackson wish to continue being friends, but both need some time to sort out their feelings.

In the meantime, Jackson has been seeing Stephanie, one of the new interns at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. He confessed to April they had been sleeping together and although April was hurt, she thanked Jackson for telling her the truth. She also has no negative feelings towards Stephanie, as they are seen working together and even bonding on a later date in the ER.

A new paramedic at the hospital, Matthew has reccently caught the attention of April, as he awkwardly asked her on a date after confessing to watching her for some time. The flattered look on her face after he asked indicates that she accepted.

They are later seen bonding in an ambulance, when Matthew recieves a call about a nearby trauma. April rides along with him and they come across a hit and run accident involving a nine year old boy. April saves his life by assembling her fellow doctors to operate although Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital is no longer a trauma center. When the doctors were eventually caught operating on the boy, Meredith Grey protects April by claiming him as her patient and "accidentally" deleting incriminating evidence from the new system. Alex Karev and Jackson Avery also defend April during a meeting with Owen Hunt about the situation.

When all is said and done and the young boy is stable, April runs into Matthew on her way home from the hospital. He tells her she is the bravest, strongest, and most beautiful woman he has ever met. He tells her whenever he's around her, he loses all thoughts. April, flattered and somewhat shocked, kisses Matthew - much to the dismay of a jealous Jackson as he passes by with Stephanie.

When April turns to Jackson for advice before a date with Matthew, Jackson reveals to April that his relationship with Stephanie is purely sexual and they're not romantically involved with each other. April then confesses to Jackson that she is unsure how to explain to Matthew that she is no longer a virgin, but still wishes to wait until marraige before having sex again. Jackson jokingly responds by saying he's going to think she's mentally ill, but April takes him seriously and her feelings are hurt. He later apologizes, however, and tells April to be honest with Matthew, stating that once he gets to know her, he will want to follow her anywhere.

Career
April was always top of her class in medical school, and has received numerous heart felt recommendations from her professors. During a meeting with Richard Webber, he stated he has no doubt she is an excellent surgeon because she has the recommendations to prove it.

April spent most of her residency at Mercy West Medical Center, but later moved to Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital during the merger. When April arrived at Seattle Grace, Derek took a shine to her because she was full of intelligent and creative ideas. When Richard Webber was forced to let her go for making a mistake in the ER, Derek later rehired her because he felt she was unfairly fired and deserved a second chance.

After being rehired, April decided to stick to more administrative work because she believed she wasn't a good surgeon anymore. She felt constantly guilty for losing her patient and couldn't handle any more losses. With a little encouragement from Derek, however, she finally began doing surgeries again and is well on her way to becoming an excellent surgeon.



April Kepner was later hired as chief resident of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital when she impressed Owen Hunt with her patient checklist. She had a rough start, but later got a handle on things and became an excellent chief resident.

However, nervousness got the best of her during her medical board exams causing her to fail. Although April is not a board certified surgeon like her fellow doctors, she still remains at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital as an attending surgeon. She plans to retake her medical boards next year, and is confident she will pass the second time.

It has been noted that although the new interns refer to her as "the dud", she is one of their favorite surgeons and is the most willing of all her fellow attendings to teach them. Also, unlike the other doctors in the hospital, April doesn't hold grudges against the interns for making mistakes.

When the trauma center at the hospital closed, April worked night and day with Derek Shepherd to hatch a plan to keep it open. They succeeded in receiving donations from the other departments, but were devistated to find out all of their hard work was wasted. They found out the trauma center wasn't closing due to budget issues, but instead because trauma centers aren't a good selling point.

As of now, April is very unsure where her career is headed. She's not sure how she is going to train to become a great trauma surgeon without a trauma center at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. However, for now she is going with Matthew and the other paramedics on ride alongs to help them as much as possible.