A/N: This is AU from mid S3, you'll get what I've changed as you read, please leave reviews! And I know I've asked before but can you please review "Together We'll Do Amazing Things" and "With A Little Help From My Friends" cuz they're my only fics without reviews! Thanks! Kelly xxx
"Hello, welcome to Oceanside Wellness, my name is Rachel, how can I help you?" Rachel smiled.
"Hi, um, I'm here to uh, see Addison Montgomery" Alex stuttered as he stood nervously in the reception of Oceanside Wellness.
"Can I take a name?" Rachel asked.
"Erm yeah it's Alex, Alex Karev" Alex nodded.
"Ok, just one second" Rachel said picking up his phone and dialing Addison's office "Dr Montgomery, I've got an Alex Karev out here for you….ok I'll send him down, bye" she said hanging up "If you go straight down the hall you'll see her office"
"Thank you" Alex replied, he made his way slowly down the hall, he knocked on Addison's office door and entered as she called out "Hey" he said with a small smile.
"Alex" Addison said coldly "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to see you" he said quietly.
"Well now you have" she said simply.
"Addison please" he said with a slight whisper.
"Please what? You can't just turn up here Alex!" she exclaimed standing up "You need to leave, you can't be here, this is my place, my life, you made sure you were no longer part of it a long time ago, you've done what you wanted to do now leave, please" she said firmly.
"What's going on?" Naomi said from the doorway, an 18 month old boy asleep against her body.
"Alex was just leaving" Addison said accepting the boy into her arms "Was he ok?"
"Perfect as usual" Naomi said with a small smile "How was the surgery?"
"Yeah it was, ok" Addison sighed "It won't happen again Nae I promise, I've told them countless times to take me off the emergency page list but they just won't listen and…."
"It's ok" Naomi smiled "You know I love looking after this little one"
"I know but it's my job" Addison mumbled against the little boys hair "Thanks Nae"
"Call me if you need anything" Naomi said squeezing her hand a little before leaving.
"Are you still here?" Addison snapped, Alex was watching her intently.
"Addison can you stop pushing me out?" he sighed "I know I screwed up with you, why do you think I'm here? I want to fix this, I really want to fix this, I'll do anything"
"I needed you" Addison said quietly, she lowered the baby into the travel cot in the corner of her office "This is Tyler, Tyler Archer Montgomery" she said softly "He's technically my nephew, my brother, well, he was a bit of a manwhore" she said with a slight laugh "He died a year ago, you probably heard, brain tumor, incurable, I sent Derek the scans but there was nothing even he could do" she said tearfully "And then a month later some girl turned up on my doorstep claiming that Tyler was his son, I had to test his DNA against mine, I just had to be sure y'know? And when it all came back positive, she handed me to him, pretty much forced me into adoption, of course I was going to say yes but, it all happened so fast" she whispered "He calls me Mommy now, he looks so much like Archie did, I needed you Alex" she said with a slight sob "I needed you to hold my hand when I watched my brother be lowered into the ground, I needed you to tell me everything was going to be ok" she said hitting him on the arm.
"You were the one who left without saying goodbye Addison" Alex said shakily "One day you were there and the next, the next you're gone!"
"Because I couldn't take it anymore! I couldn't let my heart me broken anymore than it was! I was in love with you!" she exclaimed "I was in love with you and you broke my heart Alex" she cried "I couldn't stay there anymore, I could barely survive seeing Derek and Mark everyday and then to add you to the list? I couldn't do that! Why are you even here? It's been 2 years!"
"I know" he whispered "I'm not expecting anything from you, I'm not expecting you to still love me, I'm not expecting you to want to be with me, but I just need you to know that, I will always love you Addison, always, I had an offer from LA Children's, they've started a program where they take residents from their 3rd year if they've shown promise in peds and neonatal, Bailey put me up for it, I took the job Addison, I start tomorrow, if you really want me to stay away then I'll stay away, this is my address" he said scribbling down an address on a post it from her desk "Come by anytime, I know you've waited a long time for me to step up, and I know it's probably too late, but, I'll wait for you, for as long as it takes" he said quietly, he moved closer to her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the office, Addison was too stunned to let tears fall.
~x~
2 weeks later.
"Ad…Addison, hey" Alex stuttered as he opened his front door to Addison, who stood with Tyler in his stroller "Come in" he said leading her through to the living room "Do you want a drink or…."
"No, I'm good, thanks" Addison said quietly, she took Tyler from the stroller and sat on the sofa with him on her lap, Alex sat down next to her "I, I didn't know if you'd be at work or, something and I uh, should've called"
"It's my day off" Alex said with a small smile "Hi little man" he smiled, tickling Tyler a little "Y'know, you can tell you're related, the eyes, they're just like yours"
"Yeah" Addison said softly "The minute I saw him I saw Archie, he's the best thing that's ever happened to me" she said with a small smile.
"I can see why" Alex smiled.
"Look, Alex" Addison breathed "My life is different now, I'm not a high flying neonatal surgeon, I'm a Mom, I go to work at 9am and I'm home by 4, my biggest problem isn't the surgical schedule it's putting Tyler's juice in the right sippy cup because if it isn't the blue one with the airplane on it he'll scream and throw it across the room, the guys I work with, they're my family, we have barbecues on the beach every Sunday, work stays at work, even if we've fought all day over a patient when we leave that building we're family, I wouldn't have been able to get through any of this without them, Violet hadn't even met Archer but she insisted on coming to the funeral with me, Nae and Sam, she sat between me and Naomi and held our hands the entire time, Cooper, he's our pediatrician, he's the only person who can get Tyler to laugh by pulling stupid faces, anyone else does it and he doesn't even blink, he'll only laugh if you tickle him right here" she said tickling under Tyler's chin, he let out a loud giggle and reached up to do the same to Addison, who kissed his hand a little "You hurt me, so much, and I don't think I've ever gotten past it, but I'm willing to try, so we're going to be friends, that's all I can handle right now, come to my place on Sunday, meet my family, we'll go from there, ok?"
"Ok" Alex said with a small smile.
"Ok well, I should get this one home, bath and bed" she said kissing the top of Tyler's head.
"Ok" Alex nodded, Addison stood and put Tyler into his stroller, Alex walked her to the door.
"So I'll, I'll text you my address" Addison said quietly "You don't need to bring anything, we take it in turns to get everything and it's Sam's so…."
"I'll see you there then, friend" he said with a small smile.
"See you there friend" Addison breathed.
~x~
"Hey" Addison said with a small smile as she opened her door to Alex that Sunday.
"Hi" he smiled back.
"Come on in" she said leading him through her house "Sorry about the mess" she said gesturing to the toys as she stepped over them.
"You've seen my house Addison" Alex said with a laugh "There's still boxes everywhere"
"Right" Addison said with a small smile "Guys this is Alex Karev" she called out as they stepped out onto the deck.
"Hey" everyone seemed to nod.
"This is Sam Bennett, Cooper Freedman, Pete Wilder, Dell Parker, Violet Turner, Charlotte King, Naomi Bennett, Maya, Betsey, Lucas and of course you know Tyler" she said pointing out each person.
"Hi" Alex said nervously.
"Want a beer man?" Cooper asked.
"Uh yeah, thanks" Alex said with a small smile.
"So, how do you two know each other?" Pete asked.
"We worked together in Seattle" Addison said quietly "He was my intern"
"Your intern?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow.
"One of many but yeah, I was pretty much hers, she tortured me into staying on her service, I was a bit of a…."
"Smart ass" Addison said with a slight grimace.
"Not the word I was going for but yeah" Alex smirked "I was all set on being the next big thing, Mark Sloan 2.0, plastic surgeon extraordinaire" he said with a slight mock "But then this one sucked me into the land of pink and squishy and I never looked back"
"LA Children's right?" asked Charlotte "I've got a couple of old colleagues over there, you really are the next big thing apparently, only a 3rd year resident and already outsmarting some of the attendings, I'm impressed, and I don't say that often"
"She really doesn't" Violet smirked.
"Right" Alex said with a laugh "Thanks" he said accepting a beer from Cooper "Still haven't had a teacher as good as Addison though" he said with a soft smile "The NICU wasn't the same without her"
Everyone watched intently as Addison and Alex's eyes connected, everyone noticing the tension between them.
"Anyway" Naomi said snapping them all out of their trance "You gonna get this barbecue started Dell or are we all being left to starve?"
"I'm on it" Dell said standing up.
"And you guys are gonna help him right" Violet said with a slight glare.
"But…." Cooper started, groaning when Charlotte kicked him in the leg "Yeah, lets go help Dell" he said ushering all the men away.
"Spill it" Violet said as herself and Charlotte moved closer to Addison.
"There's nothing to spill" Addison sighed.
"Naomi" Charlotte glared.
"I uh, why are you looking at me?" she said with a nervous laugh.
"Because Addison tells you everything" Violet smirked "Come on, you can't just invite some guy here and expect us not to ask questions"
"Fine" Addison sighed "He's the reason I left Seattle" she said quietly "We had a, thing, for about 6 months we were, we slept together, a lot, but it was more than that, at least I thought it was, I was, in love with him, but then he started to freak out because I wanted it to be more than sex and he blew me off and broke my heart and the next day I was here, I just, couldn't take it anymore, after Derek and Mark and, everything, I couldn't take it, so I moved, he was, the last straw"
"So why is he here?" Charlotte asked bluntly "Why would you want him here?"
"She's not over him" Violet said after an uncomfortable silence "Oh my god you're not over him"
"I don't know what I am ok!" Addison said frustratedly "He turned up at my office telling me he was sorry and he loved me and, now my head is, everywhere, I don't know what I'm feeling, I just, I can't ignore him now he's here, so we're being friends, I can handle being friends, that's just, how it has to be for now, please don't try and psychoanalyze him, or me for that matter, ok?"
"Ok, fine" Charlotte said rolling her eyes a little "I have to say though Montgomery, I really am impressed" she said with a small smirk.
"He is very, young" Violet said glancing over to where Alex stood with the guys "He's got that whole, rough man's man thing going on, but he's definitely got a soft centre, he works with kids, he has to have a soft centre right"
"He's more of a, tell them how it is kind of doctor" Addison sighed "The amount of times I had to yell at him for being rude to patients, countless, but, I think he's changed, I can just, tell" she said softly.
"I give you a week" Charlotte said dryly.
"Give her a little credit Char, it'll be at least a week and a half" Violet said with a slight laugh.
"Shut up" Addison said hitting her.
~x~
"Here" Addison said with a laugh, handing Alex a wet cloth as they stood in her bathroom, Alex brought it to his face and started to wipe the mass of make-up of his face "They had you wrapped around their little fingers huh?"
"They're great kids" Alex said with a small smile "This half is courtesy of Betsey" he said gesturing to the neater side of his face "And this is the work of Lucas and Tyler" he said gesturing to the mess on the other side "But I blame Maya for the whole thing since she was the one who agreed to let them use her old make-up" he smirked.
"I was the one who had to have her make-up done by a 4 year old Maya who thought blue eye shadow was the perfect blusher" she laughed.
"I'm sure you still looked beautiful" he said softly "I look like a hooker" he said dryly.
"Come here" Addison laughed taking the cloth from him and wiping his face a little firmer.
"Thank you for inviting me" Alex said quietly "I had a good time, they're really cool, your family, they're all so, different, I like that, that you're not just all the same person, you compliment each other well, I can just imagine you and Naomi in med school" he said with a slight laugh.
"What do you mean?" she smirked.
"I can just imagine, you helping her have a little more fun, and her raining you in before you got out of control" he smiled "I bet you kept the guys on their toes"
"We tried" Addison laughed "There" she breathed "All done"
"Thanks" Alex said quietly, they were stood close together, Alex leaning against the sink, Addison stood close in front of him, she knew it was coming, she knew she should've stopped it, but then their lips were together and her arms were around his neck, her hands holding onto his head as his wrapped around her waist.
"No" Addison said pulling away suddenly "No we, we can't" she said shakily "I'm sorry I just, I can't, not yet"
"I know" Alex said sadly, they stood in silence, Addison turned away from him, her hands coming to her face as she let out a breath "I should go" Alex said quietly "I have work in the morning, say goodbye to everyone for me" he said reaching for the door.
"You're, you're not going to, say goodbye?" Addison stuttered, turning to face him.
"I just, can't see anyone right now" he said with a slight whisper "Just, tell them I got paged or something, I, I thought this was a good idea, coming here, but I just, I know it's my fault, I know that, but I can't see you and stay away from you, I can't stand in front of you without wanting to kiss you and love you and, I can't do that, so until I can, I think maybe we should, not see each other for a while" he opened the door to the bathroom and ran down the stairs, grabbing his jacket from the sofa and turning to leave.
"So after all that you're, you're just going to walk out!" Addison exclaimed as she stood in front of him "You're just going to leave because you can't get what you want!"
"It's not like that Addison" he said shakily "I'm in love with you!" he shouted "I'm in love with you and I can't be 'just friends' with the woman I love ok! Not yet, so please, let me get over you, let me try and do what I've been trying to do for the last 2 years, please let me do that ok!"
"Well what about me?" Addison said with a slight sob "Don't you think I've been trying to get over you too! Don't you think I've been trying to forget about you!" she screeched "Don't you think that maybe I've never stopped loving you! You can't just come in here and act like some love sick puppy and expect me to…." Addison was cut off by Alex's lips crashing against hers, his hands on her face, her hands gripping onto his arms.
"I hate you" she almost growled as they pulled away breathlessly.
"No, you don't" Alex said firmly before kissing her again, her back pressed up against the stair railings, they froze when they heard someone sneeze and several voices curse Cooper, Alex slowly took a step back, Addison closed her eyes tightly, her breathing still heavy.
"Please say the kids didn't see that" she said after a few seconds.
"When we uh, heard you shouting we made Maya take them next door" Sam stuttered.
"I'm, I'm gonna go" Alex said quietly "Come and find me when you know what you want Addison, I might love you but I won't wait forever" he pressed a firm kiss on her forehead and left without looking back, Addison's eyes hadn't opened once, her hands were gripped onto the railings.
"Nae" she said shakily "Can you, bring Tyler inside when he gets tired, I, I need to lie down" she said with a slight whisper.
"Of course" Naomi said softly.
"Thanks" Addison whispered, she moved away from the railings and moved slowly up the stairs, she kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed facing away from the door, her eyes closing through her tears.
~x~
"Addie sweetie" Violet said softly from the doorway of her bedroom that evening, Tyler falling asleep against her shoulder "I got him into his pajamas but Tyler won't go down, he keeps asking for you"
Addison rolled over so she lay on her other side, Violet slowly lay Tyler down on the bed, he snuggled into Addison's body, Violet kicked off her shoes and lay down next to them.
"Mommy loves you sweetie" Addison whispered against Tyler's hair, stroking her hand against his back.
"Addie, if you love him why don't you just give it a try" Violet said brushing a tear from Addison's cheek.
"Because it's not just about me anymore, I have Tyler now, I don't want him to get attached to Alex for it to go wrong, he's had too much hurt in his life already, his Mom abandoned him and he never even got to meet his Dad, I can't let him get attached to Alex, it's not fair on him"
"It's not fair on you if you don't try, if you love the guy then let him love you back, it's not like you're going to move in together and play happy families right away, date him, go out for dinner, let him into your life gradually, I don't know what he was like before but, he seems like a decent guy, all of the men loved him, hell Addison before you and Charlotte we didn't let anyone new into our lives, I'm surprised they still know how to make conversation, but they did, and they liked him, Charlotte says he's great at his job, get to know him again, ask him to meet you for dinner Friday night, I'll look after Tyler, ok?"
"Ok" Addison sniffled "Thank you"
"Ok" Violet said softly, she pressed a kiss to Addison's cheek and then on the back of Tyler's head "Have a good sleep" she said as she moved to the door, Addison smiled a little and nodded, as Violet closed the bedroom door Addison slowly stood, she lay Tyler under the covers and tucked him in.
"Mommy" he whimpered reaching out a little.
"I'm right here sweetie" Addison said softly "Mommy's just getting into her pajamas, I'm right here"
"Kay" Tyler mumbled, his eyes still closed, Addison changed into her pajamas and climbed into the bed, she kissed Tyler's forehead softly and closed her eyes, falling slowly to sleep.
~x~
5 days later.
"Hey" Alex said softly as Addison approached him in the bar she told him to meet her at.
"Hey" Addison said sitting on the stool opposite him, Alex called a waiter over "Martini, please" Addison smiled.
"Another beer" said Alex, the waiter disappeared to get the drinks, Addison and Alex stayed quiet, neither of them looking the other in the eye, they accepted their drinks and both took sips.
"Sorry I'm a little later than I said I would be" Addison said quietly "I wanted to get Tyler asleep, he's staying with Violet and Pete and he's not great at sleeping in other places so…."
"It's ok" Alex said with a small smile "Tyler comes first Addison, no matter what"
"I'm scared" Addison said honestly "I'm scared to let someone in again, I haven't let anyone in since, you, and that didn't go so well, but I know that the past is the past and there's nothing we can do to change that, and I can see that, you've changed, I can't jump straight into a serious relationship with you, no matter what I feel for you, I'm not ready for it, so, I want to date"
"Okay" Alex said slowly "And what would this, dating entail?"
"This" Addison said simply "Going out for drinks, maybe dinner, and, maybe we could do something with Tyler too, take him to the park or something"
"Ok" Alex smiled "And Addison, I'm scared too y'know?" Addison eyed him carefully "I'm scared that this will go wrong, I'm scared that one day you'll wake up and realize I'm not good enough for you, I'm scared that, I'll lose you, and I don't think I can lose you again"
"I don't think I can lose you again either" Addison said softly.
~x~
1 month later.
"He's asleep" Alex said walking down the stairs in Addison's house and moving into the kitchen where she stood cooking their dinner.
"Thanks" Addison smiled "He's getting better at it, sleeping without me, he was always ok with Naomi but anyone else, he just wouldn't go down, he seems to like you though"
"Good" Alex smiled "Cuz I like him, and I'm gonna need him on side if I've get any hope with his Mom" he teased.
"That is true" Addison said with a slight laugh "Here, taste" she said holding out the wooden spoon, Alex leaned forward and tasted the Bolognese sauce.
"Perfect" he smiled.
"Naomi and Sam have taught me well then" she laughed "Before I moved out here I couldn't cook, at all, when I got Tyler they forced me into learning"
"Well, you were obviously a very good student" Alex said kissing her softly.
"Can you set the table? This is almost done"
"Sure" Alex smiled, minutes later they were sat at the table eating their food "I really needed this" Alex said as he finished a mouthful "I've lived on coffee cart muffins for the past 48 hours"
"You're going to make yourself ill" Addison said sipping her wine "And I know you want to be the best Alex but you can't keep working double shifts"
"That isn't why I'm working double shifts" Alex said quietly.
"Then why are you?" Addison frowned.
"Because I want more weekends off, so I can spend more time with you guys" he said softly "And, I know it's 3 months away but, I want to take you away for your birthday, just for a couple of nights, I mean, I'd like it to be just us but I understand if you want to go somewhere where Tyler can come too and…." he was cut off by Addison's hand on his mouth, as he stopped still she removed her hand.
"How much notice will you need?" she asked quietly "To organize it all?"
"A month maybe" he replied "I was thinking maybe down in Cabo, a 3 day weekend"
"Ok" Addison said quietly "Well, I'll need to talk to everyone, see if someone can take Tyler for the weekend but, that sounds, perfect" she smiled "Thank you"
"No need to thank me" Alex said kissing her hand, Addison kissed him softly before turning back to her dinner.
~x~
2 months later.
"So Alex has Tyler today huh?" Naomi asked as herself and Addison looked through the railings of a clothes store.
"Yeah" Addison smiled "He's taking him to the park for a couple of hours and then we're meeting up for dinner"
"How are things, going with him?" Naomi asked carefully.
"They're, good" Addison said with a small smile "They feel good, he's great with Tyler and, we can just sit in a room together and not have to worry about talking all the time, we can just sit and relax and watch a movie, it's, good"
"Oh my god" Naomi said with a slight laugh "You haven't slept with him yet have you?"
"I just don't want to rush into it" Addison sighed "Because we did that in Seattle and it didn't go so well, plus, I don't even know what we are yet, we're still dating"
"Dating, was your idea" Naomi smirked.
"I know" Addison mumbled "Everything's just working so well right now, I don't want anything to mess it up"
"You're such an idiot" Naomi said with a slight laugh.
"Thanks" Addison said dryly.
"I think…." Naomi started "We need to do some shopping for this long weekend, a nice bikini, some lingerie" she teased.
"Naomi!" Addison blushed.
"If you've got it flaunt it Addison" Naomi laughed "He won't know what's hit him"
"And people used to say I was the bad influence" Addison smirked "Come on, lets go look at bikini's" she laughed.
~x~
1 month later.
"Ok baby, Mommy will be back soon" Addison said as she held Tyler in her arms "You're going to have lots of fun with Aunty Nae and Maya ok?"
"Kay" Tyler giggled "Lub you" he said kissing her sloppily.
"I love you too sweetie" Addison said softly "Be good ok? Say goodbye to Alex"
"Buh bye Lex" Tyler waved.
"Bye little man" Alex smiled "You be a good boy"
"Go" Naomi said taking Tyler from Addison "You'll miss your flight, he'll be fine Addie, I want a text when you land and then your phone goes off ok?"
"But…." Addison started.
"I have a number for the hotel if I need you" Naomi said softly "Have a good birthday" she said kissing her cheek "Take care of her" she said to Alex.
"Promise" Alex smiled.
"Bye" Addison whispered, she kissed Tyler's forehead and waved a little at him as herself and Alex climbed into his car "I don't mean to freak you out but I'm going to cry now ok?" Addison said quietly.
"Ok" Alex said softly as they pulled away "You know he's going to be fine right?" he said softly.
"I know" Addison sniffled "I've just never left him for this long before"
"I know" Alex said reaching out and squeezing her hand.
"Ok, I'm done" Addison said wiping her cheeks "You think I'm crazy don't you?"
"I think you're a Mom" Alex said with a slight laugh.
~x~
"God" Addison breathed as she sat with Alex on the large balcony of their hotel room, watching the sun set over the sea "It's so beautiful"
"Yeah" Alex said kissing her neck "Is there anything you want to do for your birthday tomorrow?"
"Lie on the beach, drink cocktails, pretty much everything I used to do before I got Tyler" she said with a slight laugh.
"Ok" Alex smiled, he placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head so he could kiss her, Addison deepened the kiss, she slowly moved so she straddled his body on the lounger they were lying on, Alex let out a slight groan as her crotch brushed against his.
"You've been very patient" she whispered against his mouth "And I am so thankful for that, but right now, all I want to do is go into that bedroom, strip down to nothing, and feel you close to me" she said grinding against him a little, Alex pressed their lips back together, he slowly turned, wrapping her legs around his waist, he stood up and carried her into the bedroom, lying her down on the bed and stripping her of her clothes.
~x~
"Mmm, morning" Addison mumbled as Alex kissed her awake.
"Morning baby" he said softly "Happy Birthday"
"Thank you" Addison smiled tiredly "Last night was, incredible Alex"
"It really was" Alex said kissing her softly "I've been avoiding saying this for months now, but, I think it's time you heard it again, I love you Addie"
Addison smiled a little at him "I love you too" she said softly, she pressed her body against his and kissed him again "I'm ready for, anything, I'm ready for us, and if you want too, I want you to be Tyler's Dad" she said softly, her finger tracing his jaw "I always want him to know the truth, that Archie was his biological father and he died, that his real Mom was only young and couldn't really cope, but I want him to know that the man who raised him, is the one who matters, I want us to be a family, if you want that"
"Oh god of course I want that" Alex breathed "I want nothing more than that, I love you both so much, I want to spend the rest of my life with you Addie"
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you too" Addison said softly.
~x~
"Alex" Addison said with a slight laugh as Alex guided a blindfolded Addison around with him "Where are we going?"
"You'll see" he smiled, he led her through to their hotel room and out to the doors on the balcony, he took the blindfold off her slowly "Happy birthday Addison" he said softly.
"Alex this is, amazing" she gasped as she took in the balcony which was covered in candles.
"Take a seat" he said pulling one of the chairs out from the table, Addison smiled at him and sat down, he poured her a glass of champagne from the bottle that sat in a bucket of ice, he sat in the seat next to her with his champagne in his hand "Cheers" he said raising his glass a little.
"Cheers" she smiled tapping her glass against his before sipping a little.
"Our dinner should be arriving in 10 minutes" Alex said with a smile "But first, presents"
"Presents" Addison said raising her eyebrow a little "I thought all this was my present"
"This is one of your presents, there's two more" Alex smiled, he reached under the table to the other chair and pulled out a wrapped present, passing it straight to her, Addison slowly opened it.
"Oh my god" Addison said with a slight whisper "Where did you get this?" she asked, taking in the picture of herself and Tyler hand in hand walking towards the sea, the picture was in black and white and taken from a distance.
"I took it a couple of months ago" Alex said softly.
"It's beautiful" she whispered.
"I have a ton more on my laptop that was just my favourite" he smiled.
"Thank you" Addison said kissing him softly.
"Ok, this is the last one" Alex said pulling out a professionally wrapped box, Addison took it from him and carefully opened it, she opened the box and gasped a little at the necklace inside, a heart shaped locket with a line of diamonds that followed the right curve "Alex" she whispered.
"Open it" he smiled, Addison shakily opened the locket, she let out a tearful laugh at the picture inside, Alex and Tyler both grinning stupidly at the camera 'My Family' engraved on the other window.
"Alex, it's perfect" she choked "It's perfect" she whispered kissing him softly "Thank you, I love you"
"I love you too" he whispered against her lips, his arms coming around her, he pulled away and took the locket from the box, fastening it instantly around her neck "Perfect" he smiled.
"This has been, the most perfect birthday I've ever had" Addison said with a tearful laugh "Thank you"
"I just want you to be happy" Alex said softly.
"Well, I'm very happy" Addison smiled "I'm also very hungry"
"Well that should be our food" Alex smiled as he heard a knock at the door, he kissed her softly before moving off the balcony to answer it.
~x~
"Hey" Addison smiled as she opened her front door the morning after she returned from her break with Alex "And how is my beautiful boy?" she said accepting Tyler into her arms "Have you missed me?"
"Yep" Tyler nodded.
"I've missed you too" Addison said kissing his forehead softly "How was he?" she asked Naomi as they moved through to the kitchen.
"He was an angel" Naomi smiled "We had fun didn't we Tyler" she said tickling Tyler a little.
"Yep" Tyler giggled "Mommy fun?"
"I did have fun sweetie" Addison smiled.
"You take him into the living room, I'll make us coffee, I want details" Naomi grinned.
"Ok" Addison laughed, minutes later Naomi sat down next to Addison on the sofa, Tyler played happily with his toys on the floor.
"Whoa there" Naomi said glancing at Addison's necklace "That's beautiful"
"Yeah" Addison said softly, she put her coffee on the side table out of reach from Tyler and opened the locket "I cried when he gave it to me" she laughed.
"Right" Naomi said with a slight laugh "So, how was it?"
"So perfect" Addison breathed "We spent hours on the beach and just, relaxed, we had this beautiful balcony, it was huge, we lay on the loungers at night at watched the sunset and, on my birthday he had the whole balcony covered with candles and he gave me the necklace and that photo" she said pointing to the frame on the fireplace "We had dinner and talked and, everything was just, amazing"
"And did you finally….y'know" Naomi muttered.
"Oh yeah" Addison said with a laugh "A lot, we made up for a lot of lost time, I feel a little broken we made up so much"
"Wow" Naomi laughed.
"We didn't just, do that though, we talked and, we're going to go for it, we're, being a family, I want him to be Tyler's Dad"
"Well it's about time" Naomi said with a soft smile "He's a good guy Addie, he'll stick around, I know he will"
"Yeah" Addison said softly "Me too" she smiled.
~x~
"Lex!" Tyler said happily as Alex walked into Addison's house that evening.
"Hey champ" Alex smiled, scooping him up in his arms "You should be in bed by now"
"I thought we could put him to bed together tonight" Addison smiled as she reached them, kissing Alex gently "How was work?"
"Good" he smiled "Sorry I had to go straight there after we got back"
"Hey, I get it" Addison shrugged "Let's take him up"
"I no tired" Tyler yawned, snuggling against Alex.
"Oh I think you are" Alex laughed softly, they walked up the stairs and into Tyler's bedroom, he lay him down and tucked him under his covers, both himself and Addison knelt next to the bed.
"Honey, do you think you want to call Alex, Daddy now?" Addison said quietly.
"Lex, Daddy?" Tyler frowned with confusion.
"Yeah buddy, I can be your Daddy" Alex said softly, running his fingers gently through Tyler's short hair "Because I love you and your Mommy so much"
"Lub you too Daddy" Tyler giggled, Alex tickled him and kissed his forehead.
"Sweet dreams little man"
"Night night honey" Addison said softly, she kissed Tyler's hand before they both left him to fall asleep, Alex pulled Addison into her room and kissed her passionately.
"What was that for?" Addison said with a slight laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"For trusting me" he smiled softly "I'll be good for him, for both of you, I swear"
"I know you will" she said softly "Now let's go downstairs and I'll cook us dinner, you must be starving"
"Ok" Alex said with a soft laugh, he kissed her again before they headed down to the kitchen.
~x~
2 years later.
"Hi honey" Addison said softly as Alex led Tyler into the birthing suite at Oceanside "Do you want to come over and meet your baby sister?" Tyler nodded shyly and Alex lifted him up to sit him next to Addison, he instantly snuggled into her as she wrapped and arm around him, baby Ellie lay in her other arm.
"Tyler, this is Ellie" Alex said quietly "Ellie this is your big brother Tyler"
"She's really small" Tyler whispered.
"She is" Addison smiled "But she'll grow up just like you, you've got to take care of her though, ok? That's what big brothers do, they look after their baby sisters"
"I promise Mommy" Tyler smiled "I'll be the best big brother in the world"
"I know you will sweetheart" Addison whispered, tears springing to her eyes, Alex reached out and gently wiped one from her cheek, knowing she was thinking about Archer "Why don't you give your sister a kiss, be really gentle"
Tyler smiled and carefully reached over, pressing a kiss on Ellie's soft cheek "I love you Ellie" he whispered "We have the best Mommy and Daddy in the world"
"Thanks buddy" Alex said with a soft laugh, he took out his camera and held it up to capture his family, the picture of Addison looking down at Ellie lovingly and Tyler beaming at them both would sit on their fireplace for years to come.
The End.