Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy, or Shakepeare for that matter.
A/N: SERIES!! Meredith/Derek fans, do not be alarmed. Although this first chapter is Addison-centric, it still has it's Mer/Der, and Addek moments alike.
Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identity and White Lies
Chapter 1: Save Me
Captain: It is perchance that you yourself were saved.
Addison Montgomery-Shepherd rested her fingertips on the hood of her car, unconsciously tapping out an inconsistent rhythm. It was somewhat late, around seven or eight o'clock, she guessed. The rain was falling heavily, and the drops hit between her fingers on the car, making splatters on the dark surface.
Everything was black today. She was in mourning. The large, almost obnoxious, windows into the hospital revealed her worst nightmare. Even through the blur of the rain, it was crystal-clear that the love of her life was having an affair.
She lifted her hand up from car, and brought it up to her umbrella. Both of her hands gripped the skinny handle tightly. Her fingers overlapped, the tips pressing harshly against her knuckles. She decided that she would only withstand a few more seconds of this hell, before she had to find a bit of courage to walk into the hospital and confront him.
She took a few more moments to reel in the full agony of her punishment. It was essential that she stepped into Derek's shoes, the night of her own affair. This was the only way that forgiveness would be conceivable.
She whimpered. Ever since she stepped out of the car, since she saw Derek through that window, she felt that a rock had taken up residence in her throat and it wouldn't pass no matter how hard she swallowed. As if that was enough, the smiley blonde's appearance had caused the pressure on her chest to become inherently noticeable.
Addison supposed that it wasn't the umbrella's fault, but it seemed that a tight grip was the only solution to the tension coiling in her stomach.
Only a few more moments of torture, she decided. Watching her husband laughing, and kissing another woman. Were they in love?
Her stomach clenched and twisted a few times, and Addison leaned over, with an open mouth, prepared to rid her body of whatever came up. But nothing happened, she just choked, and flattened her hand against the wet car to regain her balance.
She straightened up. There was nothing else that she could do. She tried so hard to make herself feel enough pain, but it was impossible. The skinny blonde could press herself up against Derek as much as she wanted, and Derek could even take her right there in the lobby. It didn't matter. Regardless of what happened, Addison was always going to love Derek.
The couple seemed so cheerful, Derek, especially. His eyes shone with a brightness she hadn't seen for years. Addison only wished it could be her to make him that happy. She really did love him. Gazing at her best friend, she decided at that moment that she was going to do what was best for her husband. With this momentum, she pushed her body off the car.
Her black heels clicked against the dar pavement. She took long, sharp stps, giving off an air of confidence. The automatic doors opened and a rush of warmth surrounded her, pulling her into unfamiliar territory. She closed her umbrella without a struggle, and resumed her egotistical act.
Derek spotted her when there was about five feet between her and the blond. His glare shot icicles into her before he stepped away and uttered in disgust, "Addison. What are you doing here?"
Addison was taken aback for a second. She hadn't expected this level of contempt from him. "I came to see you," she replied, innocently. They watched each other for a few moments. She hadn't seen him since he walked out of the door that night. But after eleven years of marriage, they could still communicate without speaking a word.
Addison caught his eyes for a good two minutes, but she broke eye contact when she noticed the blonde's fingers wrap around Derek's arm possesively. Confusion, and then, jealously threaded through her eyes.
Addison realized for the first time that the blonde had no idea who she was. Derek had lied. He completely cut Addison out of his life; this was so much more than how he used to ignore her in New York.
Feeling the blonde's confused stare on her, she twitched in fear. Not because she physically feared her, but because Addison needed this woman to like her.
So, in the spirit of friendship, Addison offered her hand to Derek's mistress. "Hi, I'm Addison Montgomery. I'm Derek's friend from New York."
Derek swallowed nervously. Addison could tell that he was surprised by her move. His wife, the stone cold adulturess bitch was sparing him? She almost laughed as she watched him squirm unconmfortably.
Addison smiled at the blonde. "And you must be..."
"Meredith." Meredith eagerly shook her hand. "That's a relief. I thought you might have been an ex-girlfriend or something."
Derek's nervous laughter rumbled in his throat. He was going to play Addison's game as long as she would let him.
Derek's reaction left Addison with a mixed expression on her face. She had almost expected him to stand up for her. Her eyes widened at his blunt denial of their marriage. She was stunned. Luckily enough, her mouth had managed to disconnect itself from her brain, and started to speak on it's own.
She laughed along with Derek, smiling and joking. "Please. We're just friends. I'm married." She held up her ring, and glanced down at Derek's left hand. Of course, he wasn't wearing his.
"Well," Meredith intertwined her fingers with Derek's, "as you probably know, Derek's a pretty private guy. I'm so glad that I finally get to meet someone from his life in New York."
"Actually," Derek started, unable to look at Addison, "we were just colleagues. We hardly even knew each other."
She had been degraded to colleague. The sting of Derek's words burned straight through Addison's body, and she fidgited.
Meredith glanced back and forth between Addison and Derek, confused, once again. "But she just said that she came to see you."
Derek finally moved his eyes up Addison's body, taking in her outfit, and came to a rest staring straight into her. He saw a flash of heartache, and a plea for mercy. He almost felt sorry for her, but all he had to do was imagine her and Mark in bed together, and he hated her all over again.
When Derek didn't come up with an answer, Addison offered her own, "I'm here for work. Richard called me for a consult." This was a little bit of truth; she figured Meredith deserved that much.
Derek tugged on Meredith's arm. "Let's go. I want to spend the little time that we do have together."
Meredith's eyes lit up. "You should come with us, Addison. I want to get to know Derek's friends better."
"No," Derek grunted. He didn't want Addison anywhere near Meredith. Addison's behavior tonight had been quite shady, and he didn't want her blurting out the truth any time soon. "Let's just go. We're wasting time," he complained.
By this time, Addison had become numb to all of Derek's remarks. She just wanted to get of there- and fast. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea..."
Meredith whipped her head around to look at Derek. "You could stop being so rude. She's nice and-"
"Meredith," he sighed. "will you wait for me outside?" He needed to tell Addison something without Meredith hearing.
Addison observed that he was still Prince Charming in Meredith's eyes, and there would be no compromise with this.
"Why?" Meredith was getting curious. She let go of Derek's hand. "What's going on?"
"I've got to go upstairs and check in with Richard," Addison interrupted. Derek was becoming angry, Meredith was getting upset, and this was much more trouble than she had asked for. All she wanted was a chance to talk to Derek in private and apologize. She wanted forgiveness, and she was, if anything, farther away from her goal than she had been.
Meredith completely ignored Addison for the time being, and shot Derek an annoyed look. "You said we would be honest and open with each other. Sometimes, I feel like I don't know you." She stared up at Derek, her big green eyes almost convincing him to tell the truth.
He rested his hands on her shoulders, and they seemed to envelope her tiny body. "Please. I'll explain everything when we get to the restaurant. I just don't want to miss our reservations because I've been looking forward to being with you this entire day."
Addison wanted to run, but she was frozen awkwardly in her place. She knew Derek was lying again and she didn't want to be around for any more of it.
Meredith smiled sweetly. She wasn't convinced, but distracted. Addison found it her to be somewhat naive when it came to Derek. Then again, Addison really couldn't judge her because once upon a time, she had fallen for the same act.
Derek pressed his keys into Meredith's hand. "Will you go bring the car to the front? I'll be right out, I promise."
Meredith nodded, and kissed him. She turned to Addison. "It was nice meeting you. I hope we'll get a chance to talk later."
"Definitely," Addison replied, rather shakily. She was still reeling from the kiss that they had just shared. It wasn't a hot, passionate lover's kiss, but more of a couple's kiss. One of those where you just know that it's going to last forever, and you just need a little reminder. She and Derek used to share those kisses, and it was just now that she observed the false hope in them.
If she was a good person, she would warn Meredith. Tell her that Derek was a liar, about to break her heart. But she didn't want to make Derek angry or sad either. After Meredith left, Derek turned away to face the window with rain streaming down it. He watched her make her way down to the parking lot as he carefully thought about what he was going to say.
Addison stepped hesitantly beside him. "I'm sor-"
"Don't talk." Derek whispered softly, as she was interrupting his thought. But soon he realized his anger more fully, and he said, a little more fiercely. "Don't say anything."
He turned toward her, and she didn't know whether to back away or to hold him close to her. He made the first move, taking one step towards her, their faces inches apart.
He spoke quietly, but passionately in a low voice. "Stay away from Meredith. Do not talk to her, do not look at her. She will not find out the truth because as soon as you are done here, you will leave. I don't want you to be a part of our lives. Are we clear?"
"Derek?" Addison's eyes filled up with tears. How could he speak to her like this? What kind of marriage is this?
"Addison." His eyes stared sternly into hers. "I want you out of my life."
Addison blinked away the wetness, not letting it fall. "Can't you just let me say one thing?"
Derek didn't answer, he just turned away to watch for Meredith.
She whispered enough, conveying all of her pain in the breathiness of her voice. She knew he was listening. "I am so sorry and I miss you more than you can possibly imagine." She closed her eyes. "I still love you."
Her eyes remained closed even when she felt Derek move away. Long after the scent of his cologne vanished from the air. She imagined him wrapping his arms around her and telling her everything was going to be okay.
Opening her eyes, and finding this was not the reality, she quickly headed to the elevator. As it moved up to the administrative floor, she decided that she couldn't really handle Richard's prying questions right now, and got off a floor early. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but she spotted a bathroom around the corner. She disappeared into it, and flew into a stall, sitting down. She peeked under all of the stalls, and no other feet stuck out other than her own. She rested her head on her knees, breathing deeply.
She was incredibly frightened. She knew no one, she was lost, and the one person who she had once trusted more than anyone else in the world had let her down. She supposed she had deserved this. But she wasn't one to throw herself a pity party.
A few more cleansing breaths, and she stood up and left the stall. Her hands shook slightly as she turned the faucet. Water began to stream out, and she splashed a little on her face.
The door to the restroom suddenly flew open with a bang, and a larger woman with curly brown hair stormed in angrily. She ignored Addison, but took the sink next to her. Addison studied her through the mirror, wondering if the universe was punishing her. Everyone seemed overly angry today. The woman looked up and caught her staring. She growled, "What?"
Addison jumped back. She was actually scared of this woman. "Sorry." Seattle must make people grumpy and depressed around her. She reached for a paper towl.
"No, seriously. I don't even know you. Am I giving off some kind of 'freak' vibe? Because people keep staring at me like there's something wrong, and right now, I'm pissed and I want to be treated like a human being!" The woman stood with her hands on her hips, and she looked as if she meant business. Her straightforward speech was almost refreshing, as Addison only had been hearing lies since she first stepping foot in Seattle. But she had not ever experienced and certainly not expected any sort of outburst like this.
Her eyes fell to the floor as she tried to think of something to say or do. Addison cautiously ran her eyes up the woman and observed. The woman was dressed in black too, so they almost paralleled each other. Addison looked up and hesitantly made eye contact. "I like your shoes." The shoes were magenta; they didn't match her outfit at all. But Addison loved them. They made her want to kick off her black stilettos, but she knew she couldn't. Addison hadn't been less than perfectly dressed in over a decade.
The woman seemed to feel the truth in her sentiment and the fire disappeared in her eyes. She relaxed. "Oh." She turned to face the mirror and straightened up a little before turning back towards Addison. She held out her hand. "Callie Torres."
Addison shook her hand. "Addison Montgomery-Shep-" she paused, "Montgomery." Maybe she had just made a friend. "Bad day?"
"That would be an understatement." Callie's hands gripped the counter of the sinks.
"Same here," Addison mirrored her position.
Callie laughed. "And then I come here and yell at you, and you did nothing wrong. I'm incredibly sorry."
"Don't worry, you're the most honest person I've met in Seattle so far." Addison wanted Callie to be her friend. She didn't know anyone here, and it would definitely be nice to have someone to go to here in Seattle.
Callie turned around and leaned against the counter. "You're new?"
"I'm not sure if I'm new, or just visiting yet." Addison wrinkled her nose in confusion. She didn't want to think about that right now, or make any important decision.
"I know a great bar. You wanna go grab a drink or something?" Callie looked at her hopefully.
"Sure." Addison pushed off the counter and followed her out into the corridor.
Seeing Richard would just have to wait until tomorrow.
A/N: Review, please. :) Feel free to skip over this entire A/N. I'm just explaining.
For those who care: This is a series of stories, based on Shakespearean themes in Grey's Anatomy. This first one, from Twelfth Night, if you've ever read it, will be extremely interesting. Also, you certainly don't have to know any Shakespeare to understand the series. I just happen to be a theatre fanatic who enjoys common threads.
Like I said before, this story has Mer/Der and Addek. (I thought I would make it as hard as possible to write a realistic story. :) haha)
Also, this is pretty much an ensemble piece. Everyone is in it. Lots of pairings within the entire series. (If you want a list of specific pairings, message me, or drop a review. Chances are, if you have a favorite pairing, it will appear sometime in this series.) To give you an idea, around eight stories with seven chapters. Mostly, the chapters will be narrated by Addison, Meredith, Derek, Alex, and maybe Mark.
Next chapter is Meredith-narrated, by the way. It's their date. Derek tries to explain.