A/N: This story is set after the latest Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice finales. It's how I would like to see the whole Addison-baby storyline go down. It's probably wishful thinking, but I hope you like it anyway! :P Here's chapter one of a multi-part story. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!


Sweet Child of Mine

Chapter 1: If You Asked Me To

Alex frowned as an unknown number flashed on his cell phone. "Alex Karev," he answered.

"Alex, I mean Karev, no Alex," a female voice stammered on the other end of the line.

Alex could recognize that voice anywhere. The question was why was she calling him? "Dr. Montgomery, is everything okay?" Alex asked with concern.

"Oh, yeah, I'm, I'm fine," Addison assured him. "I was just, uh, I have a question to ask you and I think it would be better if I asked you face to face instead of over the phone."

"You live in LA," Alex reminded her. "That makes face to face conversations a little difficult."

"Well, uh, I'm actually in Seattle right now," Addison admitted.

"Really," Alex asked in surprise. "Are you here for a case? The chief never mentioned anything about you being in town."

"I'm not here for a case," Addison informed him. "The chief doesn't know I'm here. Nobody knows I'm here, and I'd appreciate it if you kept it that way, okay?"

"Okay," Alex said hesitantly. "Dr. Montgomery, are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. So, um, I'm staying in the Archfield, in room 2214. Can you meet me there?"

"My shift's over in an hour," Alex began. "I can be there in an hour and a half. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Addison said.

"Okay, then. See you soon."

"Okay. Bye Alex."

That was weird, Alex thought to himself as he hung up the phone. Why would Addison come to Seattle and not tell anyone she was there? Why did she only want to see him? It wasn't like they were close friends or anything. Sure, they worked together whenever Addison returned to Seattle, but it didn't sound like this visit was work-related. The more he thought about Addison's reasons for wanting to see him, the more worried he became. What if she was sick? What if she had some fatal disease and couldn't bear to tell the people she loved most that she was dying? Did she want him to break the bad news for her? What made her think he could do that, he wondered as he swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. Going through cancer with Izzie was one of the worst experiences of his life. He couldn't stand to think of Addison in a similar position.

"Karev, are you okay?" Bailey asked, ripping Alex out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah," Alex choked out.

Bailey raised an eyebrow, "You don't look so good. When does your shift end?"

Alex looked at his watch, "Fifty minutes."

"Go home, Karev. Get some sleep," Bailey instructed.

"You sure?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Bailey assured him. "I'll just ask another resident to complete the final rounds on your patients."

"Thanks, Bailey. I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow," Alex said as he made his way to the locker room to change out of his scrubs.

Thirty minutes later, Alex was standing outside of Addison's hotel room, prepared for the worst. He pictured Addison looking pale and weak and felt a lump begin to form in his throat again. You have to keep it together, he reminded himself. If Addison is sick, you need to be strong for her. Sighing heavily, Alex knocked on the door.

Addison greeted him with a smile. And to Alex's relief she didn't look pale or weak or sick. She looked…beautiful. Without even realizing what he was doing, Alex pulled her in for a hug.

"We're hugging," Addison said in surprise.

"Shut up," Alex smirked. "Isn't that what you do now?"

"So what's up?" Alex asked when they broke apart.

"Uh, you might want to sit down," Addison warned.

"Whatever it is, you can just tell me," Alex said. "I can handle it."

"Trust me, you're gonna want to sit down," Addison insisted. "Can I get you a drink or something?"

"No, I'm good," Alex answered, sitting down on the hotel bed. "But seriously, Addison, what's up. I mean, you're not sick or anything, right?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that," Addison reassured him.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. What is it then?"

Addison sighed, "Alex, I want to have a baby."

Alex's mind went numb. Why was she confessing this to him? "Uh, that's nice Dr. Montgomery, but you realize I'm not a fertility specialist, right?"

"You should probably call me Addison," Addison advised.

"Okay, Addison," Alex began, "why are you telling me this?"

"You sure I can't get you a drink?" Addison asked.

"No. Stop changing the subject," Alex pressed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"When I first went out to LA a couple years ago, I went there with the intention of having a baby. My friend Naomi Bennett was a fertility specialist out there, so I was going to use a sperm donor and raise a child on my own. But I found out that it's pretty much impossible for me to have kids."

"Oh, Addison, I'm really sorry," Alex cut in. "That sucks. You know there are other options though."

"Yeah, I know," Addison nodded. "The thing is I really would like to try to have a child on my own, but my boyfriend Sam doesn't want any more kids. He already has a daughter and a granddaughter."

"Wait, you're seeing someone?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling like he had just been punched in the stomach.

Addison nodded. "Anyway, he doesn't want any more kids, but he understands that having a child is important to me, so he said that he would try to love me and my baby."

This sounds like a healthy relationship, Alex thought to himself bitterly.

"Okay," Alex said slowly, "I still don't understand why you're telling me this."

"Uh, well, I was kind of wondering if you'd be my sperm donor," Addison finished.

"What? Trust me, Addison, you don't want me," Alex said quickly. "I mean, I come from a bad family. My father was abusive, my brother isn't well. Trust me when I tell you that you could pick a better donor. You should go to a sperm bank. I'm sure they have much better options for you there."

"Alex," Addison said, cutting him off, "I'd prefer not to use an anonymous donor. It seems so…impersonal and, I don't know, I just thought that it might be nice to be able to tell my child that I actually know his or her father."

Alex nodded. "But why me?" he asked. "You know a ton of other guys. Why not someone like Sloan?"

Addison laughed, "Please, Mark already has two children…that we know of. He really doesn't need to be fathering kids all over the place and, I don't know, our history isn't really the best for this type of thing. Plus, Mark would want to be involved, and I don't need that."

"Wait, you don't want your child's father to be involved in his or her life?" Alex asked in disbelief.

Addison shook her head. "I'm trying to make my relationship with Sam work. Adding a baby to the equation is going to make things hard enough. I don't want to complicate things more by throwing my child's father into the mix."

"So you're asking because you think I'd be okay with just abandoning my child?" Alex asked with obvious hurt in his voice.

"Alex," Addison began softly, placing her hand on his bicep, "I didn't mean it like that. I-"

"No it's fine," Alex said cutting her off and quickly moving away from her. "I've spent my whole life being told I'm a screw up. This is nothing new."

"Alex, please," Addison begged, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm asking you because I think you're a decent guy. I'm asking you because, when we're not fighting, we actually get along really well. I'm asking you because, on a superficial level, I think we'd have really attractive children."

Alex couldn't help but smile at Addison's last reason for choosing him. She was right – they would definitely have good-looking children.

"Alex," Addison said softly, "I know you're not ready to be a father yet and I just, I just don't want to force that on you."

Alex nodded. "So hypothetically, let's say I went along with this, what would I have to do? We'd just go to a fertility clinic together, right?"

"Uh, actually," Addison began uncomfortably, "I was kind of hoping we could try it naturally. You know, so I could prove that my body isn't all dried up and barren."

"You're saying you want to have sex with me?" Alex clarified.

Addison nodded.

"I'm out," Alex said quickly.

"What do you mean you're out?" Addison asked. "It's not like we haven't had sex before."

"Yeah, but neither of us were in a relationship the last time we had sex," Alex hissed. "I'm not becoming your on the side guy."

"Alex, Sam knows about this," Addison reassured him, "and while he's not completely okay with it, we've established some rules."

"Rules?"

"Well, actually there's really only one rule – the Pretty Woman rule."

"That means nothing to me," Alex responded.

"No kissing on the mouth," Addison explained.

"So you can have sex with me, you just can't kiss me on the mouth?" Alex clarified.

Addison nodded.

"I don't know, Addison," Alex began. "This whole thing seems kind of messed up."

"I know, I know," Addison admitted, "but please, it's my only chance. I mean, it's pretty much just noncommittal sex for you."

"Addison, this little arrangement could end up making me a father. That's the exact opposite of noncommittal sex."

"But you wouldn't have the responsibilities of a father," Addison reminded him.

"Do you really think so little of me?" Alex asked in annoyance.

Addison sighed, "I knew this would be a long shot. I don't blame you for saying no. Uh, I'm sorry I wasted your time. Just please don't tell anyone I was here." Addison moved to open the hotel room door for Alex so that he could leave.

"I'll do it," Alex said quietly from his place on the bed.

"You'll do it?" Addison clarified, making sure that she heard him correctly.

Alex nodded, "Yeah."

"But why?" Addison asked, confused by his sudden change of heart.

Alex sighed, "I can tell you really want this, and you kind of changed my life when you put me on your service back when I was an intern. I guess I kind of owe it to you to change your life too."

Addison smiled, "Thanks Alex."

Alex nodded. "Just know that even though I'm agreeing to help you, I'm not completely cool with this."

Addison laughed, "I don't blame you."