A/N: I haven't posted on this sitein a long time, preferring to keep mystories on my livejournal. However, I'm looking into posting a few stories in my new fandoms—Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. I figure this one was a good one to start with.
Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's Anatomy, the cliffhanger would have been much more interesting than it was in this season finale.
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Liquor Lies
in the evening, I've got to roam
can't sleep in the city of neon and chrome…
feels too damn much like home.
Joe's bar is smoky and noisy, and Addison, in a pretty red gown, looks out of place. Her wedding ring sparkles in the dim light as she raises her mudslide to take a long sip. Joe raises an eyebrow at her but says nothing, instead hovering and wiping the counter a few feet away, in case the attending should feel the need, as so many of his customers often do, to spill her guts.
But Addison is quiet as she sits and drinks and wonders if her husband will come home tonight, or if he will have found solace in the arms—and bed—of another woman.
"Addison?" The voice is somewhat familiar and Addison feels a mixture of relief and disappointment that it is not Derek. She pivots her head and the red hair she had so carefully curled and swept up in hopes that maybe Derek would look at her like she was beautiful spills over her shoulders.
"Finn," she offers the vet a weak smile even as she feels her stomach sink. She had seen the way, at the prom, her husband looked at Meredith Grey, and now here is the vet that Meredith is dating, alone, and of course her mind jumps to the worst conclusions.
He gestures to the stool next to her. "This seat taken?"
She nods at the seat. "Go right ahead." She lets a beat pass before she asks the dreaded question that she may not want answered. "Where," she looks down at her glass, "is Meredith?"
He sighs, resting his hands on the counter. "She, uh, went home. To be with Izzie."
Addison nods. Of course Meredith would be with Izzie, on this terrible night. But she wasn't with Finn and Derek wasn't with Addison, and so her fears are not completely quelled. As she raises her glass , she wonders just how much Finn knows. About Meredith. About Derek. About her.
When he gently puts his hand over hers on her glass and says, wryly, "It looks to me like you need something a little stronger than that," she thinks she has her answer.
He orders a round of shots from Joe, and waves his hand at her when she reaches for her purse, pulling some bills out of his pocket. "Let me," he says, putting some money down on the counter.
"Oh," she says, putting her purse back. "Thanks." She wrinkles her nose at him, giving him a genuine smile. Tequila has that effect, she supposes—it makes even the worst situations seem a little brighter. "You better not be trying to pick me up."
Finn laughs. "Sorry, I'm not much into partner swapping."
That put a damper on the mood, and immediately he flushes. "I'm sorry, Addison."
She shakes her head. "Don't be." She tosses her head back and takes the shot, feeling the warm liquid spread through her blood. Healing her, or maybe just numbing her.
"That was insensitive of me."
"It was honest of you," she corrects. "I respect honesty. God knows I haven't been getting it recently. And I needed to hear it." She stares down at her empty shot glass.
"But it's not true," Finn points out. "He's your husband."
Addison laughs quietly under her breath. "She's your girlfriend."
Silence, and then Finn asks, "What is…is there something? Between them?"
Addison contemplates for a split second if she should lie to him. But she is tired of lying and of hearing lies, and so she comes clean. "He was happy with her. They were this like, nauseatingly adorable couple and then I come in, the adulterous bitch, flying in on my broomstick like the Wicked Witch. And I ruin everything because Saint Derek is willing to try. He of the Golden Conscience can't forsake his wedding vows even though I, the dirty skank, had no problem doing so."
Finn lets out a breath. "Wow."
"Yeah."
"I didn't know," he says. "I mean, I saw them…the way they looked at each other, and then she was there and we…but I didn't know." He shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. "I knew she was scary and damaged but I didn't know why."
"I'll understand if you no longer want to share a drink with the woman who broke Meredith Grey."
"You don't believe that," Finn immediately responds. "I don't, either."
"How do you know?" Addison challenges. "Maybe I am a whore. Maybe I have thousands of lovers waiting for me in the wings, and I see them all while Derek's in the hospital saving people's lives."
"Then why would you be drinking alone in a bar in your prom dress?" Finn points out, quite logically. "You're right, I don't know. But I think you made a mistake. I think you're a good person."
Addison laughs again, and the sound is hollow and unnatural. "You're pretty much the only one then. Everyone's waiting for the day where they'll live happily ever after and I'll burst into flames." She needs another drink. "Or implode."
"The Wicked Witch melted," Finn reminds her.
"Ah, but that was the Wicked Witch of the West," Addison points out. "I am the Wicked Witch of New York City. A more evil creature by far." She pauses. "It's just…I love him. Really. And you just…"
"You keep hoping," Finn finishes. "I know." He covers her hand once more in a comforting gesture. "He'll come back to you." She can't deny this or confirm it, so she says nothing, and he seems fine with that.
They sit in silence for a long moment, and then Addison reaches for her purse, pulling out some money. "I've got this round," she tells him, waving Joe over.
When they have their shot glasses refilled, Finn picks his up, turning his body towards Addison. "To…" he pauses, and then laughs, almost surprised. "You know, at this moment in time, I can't think of anything to toast."
Addison raises her glass. "To two fools together," she offers.
Their glasses clink. "Yeah," Finn says. "That sounds about right."
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Lyrics at the beginning are from 'Out Tonight' from Rent.
Reviews are always appreciated!