A/N: This is my new story.:) It's set after 3x18 and the promo for 3x19 kind of inspired me. It's AU from then on. The italics are flashbacks.

Summary: When Violet comes back, Addison thinks she's doing the right thing by leaving Pete so they can be together, but what if that's not what Pete was planning, at all?

I hope you enjoy and please review!

~Addison's POV~

She had done the right thing, she was sure of that. She had had good reasons at the moment, very logical reasons… She was the mother of his child, the woman he loved… They belonged together, and now they finally could. They deserved to be together, especially after all that they'd both been through. Who was she to stand in the way? She was just a stand-in, someone who could give Lucas the love his mother couldn't at the time. But Violet had showed up at Pete's door, totally unexpected, and that had been a sign that she was ready to have her family back. A sign for her to leave.

Yes, it would hurt to see them with another woman, to know she would not be able to be around them anymore, to not kiss Pete when she wanted and hug Lucas whenever she liked. They had been a little family for the past couple of weeks, but she had known this would come eventually, and so she had known the little family thing was only temporary, it wasn't real. She was only a replacement, a second choice, she had been since the beginning and nothing had been able to change that.

She had known, she had been trying to prepare herself for the heartbreak she had known was going to come, but it hadn't been enough, it never was. She was sad, oh so sad. It was worse than she had imagined, worse than she had expected. She had once again gotten in too deep, not thinking enough about the consequences, or maybe not caring. Her life had been quite a mess for the last couple of months… with her parents showing up, and Sam wanting to be with her and hurt Naomi in the progress… Pete had made her forget about those things, he had made her smile a genuine smile, not a forced or non-happy one. And that, she realized, had been something very special and rare, not only for the past couple of months, but for the last couple of years…

It was hard to take care of herself, no matter what she did, she always failed at it. She was too fucked up to succeed at that, it was much easier to take care of others, to make others happy, because then, she wouldn't have to worry about herself. She could worry about others and solve their problems, so that was what she did, that was what she always did, and that was what she had done this time…

She was lying in Pete's arms with Lucas in her lap when the doorbell rang. Pete groaned and stood up after softly pushing his lips against her forehead for a moment. When she heard him open the door but not say anything she stood up and walked towards to door to see who it was.

"Violet..." Pete said, just as she appeared behind him. She could hear he was taken aback and didn't know what to do. That was the moment she knew her little family was over, it was gone.

Violet looked from Pete to Addison, and from Addison back to Pete. She looked into his eyes before looking back at Addison and taking in her comfortable clothing and the little boy in her arms.

She blinked a couple of times before looking back at Pete."I should go…" She said, before quickly turning around and walking away, leaving them to stare after her as she disappeared into the dark night.

Pete closed the door and turned around, guilt visible in his eyes. He was about to say something when she spoke, rocking Lucas in her arms. "Pete, you should go after her."

He frowned. "What?"

"Just tell her I was here because you thought Lucas might be sick, that I was just here to help. Just go…" She said.

He raised his eyebrows. "What? No, I…"

"She was here, at your door, just a few minutes ago, planning on talking things out, you should go after her and do that. She's the mother of your child…" She interrupted him, looking at him as she spoke, feeling Lucas wrap his small arms around her neck and lean against her chest. "She's the woman you love."

He shook his head. "I don't have to talk anything out with her, things are okay as they are."

"No, they're not. You should give her a chance." She said, and looked down at the little boy in her arms that had fallen asleep. "And I should go."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

She sighed. "Come on, Pete. We both knew this couldn't go on forever. She's back now and she wants another chance, you love her and you know it." She said, handing Lucas to a dumbfounded Pete and grabbing her purse and coat.

"So what? We're just over? You're just gonna leave?" Pete asked as she walked towards the door, his voice rising.

"I'm sorry, Pete." She said as she opened the door. "But I have to, it's the best thing to do." And with that she walked away, leaving Pete to stare after her.

She unlocked her car and opened the door, looking back one more time. He was standing in the doorway, looking at her as she slid into the driver's seat and started her car. She didn't want to leave, she didn't want to be away from him, but she had to. For Violet, for Lucas, for him… He would be thankful later, it would just take a while. She drove away, the tears burning behind her eyes, not allowing them to fall. She wasn't going to cry over him, she wasn't going to miss him, because they hadn't been in love, they hadn't been a real couple and they hadn't had a future together, she didn't have a right to cry, because he wasn't hers.

So there she was, in her car, not knowing what to do. She didn't want to go home, it would feel empty, wrong. There were toys and clothes that weren't hers, she didn't want to go home, because going home meant seeing those things, it meant crying over him, and she couldn't do that.

She found herself turning left and before she knew it she was in front of a familiar building. She got out of her car and walked towards the door, quickly opening it and slipping inside, hoping he wasn't on a date or something. She walked up the stairs and walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the apartment where she wanted to be. She knocked on the door and waited, hoping he was home, without a cheap girl from the internet. She heard some stumbling and finally, the door opened, revealing a very sleepy Cooper.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Coop. I'm so glad you're home… I'm sorry it's so late, but Naomi won't talk to me, and I can't… go to Sam… or Violet… and, so, you… Violet… she's…" She rambled, not able to calm herself down.

He nodded. "Back. I know." He said, stepping forward and putting an arm around her, pulling her inside. She had never been more thankful for having him as a friend and suddenly realized that Cooper was being underrated. He was always there, for everyone, and he never complained. He let everybody whine to him about their problems and irritations and he would listen, he would understand.

"She… she came to his house…" She said, sitting down on his couch and letting her head rest in her hands. "She saw me… with Lucas – I was holding him and I couldn't say anything… She just left after that…" She said, her voice desperate.

Cooper sat down next to her and put his hand soothingly on her back. "How did Pete react?" He asked.

Addison looked up at him. "Weird… He didn't do anything… He just looked at her until she walked away and then closed the door again…"

Cooper frowned. "Then what happened that made you come here in the middle of the night?" He asked, curious what had made her so upset.

"I-I told him to go after her… I kinda left him…" She said, pushing a string of red hair out of her face. "And the stupidest thing is that I didn't want to leave him, I didn't want 'us' – whatever it was – to be over…"

He just looked at her, trying to comprehend everything she had just told him. "Then why did you leave?" He asked softly after they had been quiet for a while.

She snorted. "Because it was the right thing to do." She said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "They love each other, Lucas is their child, I can't stand in the way of that…"

He shook his head. "When will you start taking care of yourself instead of worrying about others?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her against him.

She snorted again and leaned against his chest. "I don't know… never? I'm too screwed up to be happy, I don't deserve 'happy' anymore… I cheated on my husband with his best friend, I hurt my own best friend by falling in love with her ex-husband and I slept multiple times with Pete, while he is the father of Violet's child and she loves him… I'm a horrible person, I don't deserve someone to save me." She said with a sad voice, actually believing herself.

"Don't say that." Cooper said, rubbing her arm soothingly. "It's so not true! Of course you deserve 'happy'! Everybody does! You, are the most unselfish person I know!"

She let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, right. How am I not selfish? I cheated on my husband while I know it'll hurt him, I fall in love with my best friend's ex-husband and I hurt Naomi, I start a fake family with Pete and I hurt Violet. I hurt everyone, that's one of the most selfish things a person can possibly do!"

Cooper raised his eyebrows and pulled away so he could look at her. "Listen to me. You are the opposite of selfish. Yes, you cheated on your husband, but it was his own stupid fault, because he didn't pay enough attention to his beautiful and amazing wife. Yes, you fell in love with you best friend's ex-husband, but you kept yourself and him from acting on it because you found your friendship with Naomi and her feelings more important. Yes, you were together with Pete, but he's a free man and last time I checked, Violet didn't want him. You don't hurt people, you try to keep them from hurting, you try to protect them… but when you care about others as much as you do, you forget one very important thing in your life. Yourself. By trying to not hurt others, you hurt yourself even more!"

She sniffled and gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Coop." She said, her eyes watery and her voice trembling.

He smiled at her. "You will be okay, I'm sure of that. You're too strong to not get through this."

She chuckled and nodded. "You're right, I'm a Montgomery," She said, "and a Montgomery doesn't let anything or anyone bring her down. Tomorrow, I will go to work and be strong, I will just make sure I don't walk into Violet, or Pete." She said, determined and strong. "Or Sam or Naomi…" she added, grimacing when she realized how many people that were.

Cooper seemed to notice because he quickly grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You can do it, it's not your fault!"

"It's not?" She said, looking at him with a look of slight panic on her face.

He raised one of his eyebrows at her. "No, it's not. Now, come on, you can stay the night." He said as he got off the couch and pulled her with him, bringing her to his guest room.

As she felt his soothing arm around her, she couldn't help but think it felt different. She was used to Pete's arm wrapped around her, she was used to having Pete take care of her and hear his low soothing voice in her ear, telling her those kind of things… But she knew that wasn't going to happen anymore, and that was enough to let a tear roll down her cheeks, and as she lay down on the bed, she found herself crying over him anyway. They might not have been a couple, but they had sure felt that way.

So, this was the first chapter. Please let me know what your thoughts are!