so i was just inspired by this thursday's grey's episode, that i had to fix what i saw. it will probably go nowhere approaching near this, but don't we all wish it would?
i wanted to get this up before thursday, so i only wrote the parts that i care about. you can pretend all the other stuff they say is gonna happen happens, if you want, i guess.
disclaimer: if grey's was mine, then i really doubt i'd be putting up the next episode on the internet in the form of a fanfic.
Addison steps foot on the premise of Seattle Grace for the first time in months, already wishing she wasn't back and contemplating escape. But if she's anything, it's a woman of her word, so she keeps walking. She walks the still familiar path to the elevator, and groans when she sees who's there. Honestly? Those two just have to be the first people she sees, don't they? But she's the one who left without a word, so she's got to look like it was smart idea. She plasters a smile onto her face and quickens her step. "Hey!" she exclaims to their backs. "Surprise!"
Alex stares at her in shock as she hugs Meredith. "Uh, hi," Meredith replies awkwardly, without returning the hug.
"Dr. Karev," she smiles, going for the formal name. What do you call someone you hardly know, but have slept with?
"I- uh- Dr. Montgomery."
"You're, um, you're back," Meredith stutters. "I thought you were… gone."
"Oh. Yeah, I am. Or was. And will be. Later, that is. Richard wanted me to come up for a surgery," she explains. "Anyways," she continues as the doors to the elevator slide open, "how are you two?"
"I'm fine," Meredith replies.
"And you?" she asks Alex.
He doesn't seem to hear her for a second. "Huh? Oh. I'm good. I'm all good."
"That's good," Addison nods. The doors open and she breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess I'll see you later. It was nice talking to you."
"Nice talking to you too," Meredith calls after her. "What's up with her?" she asks Alex. "She was all… perky."
"I guess wherever she went is good for her," he shrugs and walks off after the suddenly non-elusive Dr. Montgomery.
He catches up to her as she walks over the bridge to the Chief's office. She smiles at him. "Hi," she says, surprised. "What's up?"
He gives her a look that says he can't believe that she just said what's up. "Nothing, I just-" he starts, but Addison holds up a hand to cut him off.
"Hold on, let me guess. You just wanted to apologize for everything and you hope that there are no hard feelings, and blah, blah, blah, right?"
"I- uh- yeah."
"Okay."
"I just… it's complicated."
"It always is," Addison sighs. "Oh well. Anyways, I have to go see Richard, so I guess that I'll see you around?"
"You're not mad?"
She rolls her eyes. "No. I should be, but I'm not," she says and turns to walk away.
"It's good to see you," he calls after her. He can't see it, but a huge grin spreads across her face.
0ooo0
Alex hunts her down a second time that day to offer a second apology and to ask to get in on her surgery. Although she suspects that he was more driven by the second reason than the first, she can't help feeling glad. The only problem is the small twinge in her stomach, the one that makes her bite her lip and twirl her hair and daydream. But fantasies are just fantasies, and it's not like she's around long enough to truly fall for him again. Because she would have to fall again, since she's completely over him in the first place. This thought process consumes her, but not enough that she can't spot a familiar head of shiny, black hair.
"Callie Torres!" Addison calls down the busy hallway.
"Addison Forbes Montgomery!" Callie calls back as she laughs. She hurries away from the blond woman that she was talking to in order to hug her friend.
"How are you?" Addison asks.
"Getting divorced and living on Cristina Yang's couch," she replies. "But that's not important. How are you? How's L.A.? And who's this Pete guy? Do I have to kick his ass?"
Addison chuckles at the deluge of questions. Same old Callie. "I'm good. It's fine. He's just a guy I know. You don't have to kick his ass," she answers each question individually, even though they probably could be combined into a longer, smarter sounding sentence. "Oh, by the way, your friend's looking like she wants to be introduced. I've got to admit that I'm feeling the same way."
"Oh." Callie waves the woman over. "This is Erica Hahn. She's the replacement Burke I told you about. Erica, this is Addison. She used to work here until she got lured away by actual sunshine."
"Mm… sunshine. I've forgotten what that looks like," Erica comments.
"I was blind for the first week," Addison confides. "It was too bright."
"Anyways," Callie says before it gets awkward. "We should get coffee," she suggest to Addison. "Catch up."
"I'd like that."
"Do you have time now?" Addison looks at her watch and says yes.
"Okay, well, I'll leave you two to your reuniting," Erica announces.
"Do you want something?" Callie offers.
"I can buy my own coffee, Callie," Erica retorts and sends her a look. Callie shoots the look straight back, until finally she buckles and turns to walk away with Addison.
"I like her," Addison says, "She doesn't take any of your crap."
0ooo0
"Wait, what?" Callie laughs embarrassedly. "You want to know if Erica and I are… a couple?"
Addison raises an eyebrow. "Well, are you?"
"No! Erica's just a friend. God, Addison, weird and awkward much? LA's ruined your conversational skills."
"I'm sorry, but you offered to get her coffee and you seem close," Addison shrugs.
"We are close, just not like that. Besides, I think she might be sleeping with Sloan. Maybe."
"Okay, didn't want to know that. Anyways, I was just curious."
"Backing away from the subject now. Who's this Pete guy really?"
"He's just… for lack of a better word, a fling, I guess. I mean, it's going nowhere, if that's what you mean. Look, can we just not talk about guys or girls or whatever. Can't we just talk?"
"I guess… it's boring, but I guess we can."
"Thank you."
0ooo0
Addison's in a good mood after talking with Callie. She smiles as she goes to turn a corner, but two voices she recognizes stop her before she turns and wipe the smile off of her face. She hates that she stops to eavesdrop, she's behaving no better than a nurse, but she does. "What, Rebecca?" she hears Alex ask.
"I… have to tell you something."
"What?"
"I'm pregnant." Addison feels like someone just punched her in the stomach then ran her over with a bulldozer. Completely flattened. She sneaks away before either of the parents-to-be realize that someone overheard them.
0ooo0
"Hey, are you okay?" Alex asks her later the next day.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?" he repeats and looks concerned.
"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. How's Rebecca?" She can't keep the question in her mouth, just like she can't keep a little bit of spite from slipping into the other woman's name.
He looks taken aback. "What?"
"Rebecca. How is she?" It's her turn to repeat. May as well continue the conversation. "You're with her, aren't you?"
"Noo…"
This piece of information actually hits her harder than the revelation that Rebecca is pregnant. She thought he was a better man than that. "Oh. That's great. Really. You know, I thought you were bigger than that." Obviously evil mini-people have taken over her brain. That's the only explanation for why she keeps saying these things.
"What?"
"I… never mind."
"No, Addison," he's angry enough to use her first name, "you're not getting away this time. What the hell are you talking about?"
"I- there may be a small chance that I overheard something." Can her foot fit any further into her mouth?
"What?"
May as well find out. "I heard her tell you that she's pregnant." Well, there's her answer. Obviously, it can.
"You were eavesdropping?"
"No, I was coming around a corner, and I heard you, and… yeah, I was eavesdropping."
"And you didn't even stay until the end of the conversation? Wow, you suck at that."
"At what?"
"Eavesdropping."
"What?"
"If you had listened to the rest of the conversation you would know two more things."
Addison stays quiet, but she's fairly certain that he can hear her heart pounding. In fact, she's fairly certain that her friends in New York can hear her heart pounding.
"I broke up with her. Actually I didn't break up with her, since I wasn't dating her, but I told her to leave me alone. And not because of the baby either. When I have kids, they'll know their dad, but I don't have any so that's not an issue yet." The rate her heart's beatingcan notbe healthy. "She thinks the baby's her husband's. But I was going to break it off anyways."
"What? Since when?" Addison manages to ask.
"Since yesterday."
"Why?"
"I had a surprise that knocked some sense into me."
"What surprise?"
"You."
She refuses to believe what she's hearing. Obviously the mini-people have figured out some diabolical way to hear and see something completely opposite than what's being said. "What?"
"Look," he says, "I don't usually do big speeches and stuff. I don't do the whole talking about feelings thing very well. But you wanting me… it scared the crap out of me, and I ran. Running's what I do. It's what I'm good at. But I'm tired of running." She stands perfectly still, barely breathing, not blinking, and probably looking like a complete idiot. "I just want to stop running. And I will, if you want me to."
She's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's over him, she's not going to let him in again, he doesn't deserve it. "Okay." Stupid mini-people. Except as he smiles at her and kisses her, for all she's worth, by the way, she can't help thinking that maybe the mini-people know what's best for her after all.
"I'm going to have to go back, you know that, right?" she asks, after she's regained her breath. He nods. "Okay," she says, a little disappointed that he seems to be so calm about it, and resigning herself to yet another fling.
"I just gotta ask one thing," he says.
"What?"
"How do you feel about long distance relationships?"
"What?"
"I'm not letting you go again, Addison, it's just not happening. But I'm not going to ask you to stay either. That's not fair to you. So I'm asking, how are you at long distance?"
She takes a moment to answer. It's not a proposal, but it's serious. This means no more Pete, no more dates, no more trying to find love. "As long as Mark Sloan stays far, far away from LA," she jokes, "I'm golden." When she sees his face, she quickly reassures him, "I was joking. Not even Mark Sloan will ever tempt me to cheat again." And just as a small ego boost, she adds, "Especially not on you."
He smiles and kisses her again. "Then, I'd say we're good."
She bites her lip and smiles back. "I'd say we're good too."
i may or may not write another chapter. we'll see if grey's "inspires" me (aka crushes all my hopes and dreams of addex and forces me to write myself out of depression and back into denial). for now it's complete, but ya never know... grey's could (and probably will be) totally depressing.
in the meantime, i know you want to review. ;)
-Juli-