"This fucking sucks," Alex mutters to himself, looking at the desolate emergency room.

"Language, Dr. Karev."

"What about it?" He counters, turning to face his companion in misery for the evening. Unlike him, though, she's not miserable because the ER is dead on Christmas. No, they couldn't commiserate together. That may make his call halfway tolerable.

No, she was miserable because it was Christmas and she couldn't be out doing all that Christmas crap. The crap that killed the ER.

Addison sighs and runs her hand through her hair, "Listen, neither one of us want to be here-"

"No, I want to be here. Nobody else wants to be here," he corrects her, "and whatever. I'll watch my language." Alex can't help but glance at her legs when she drops unceremoniously into one of the rolling chairs behind the nurses' station. Her heels are red. His eyes move upward slowly and he makes note of the red blouse to match, the button over her chest puckering just slightly over her breast as she heaves a great sigh.

There are worse ways to spend Christmas.

When Addison catches him looking, he doesn't even attempt to cover up his actions and his face doesn't turn red with embarrassment.

Hers does.

"So," she says, her voice high pitched, "what is it about Christmas that you hate so much?"

Alex glances at her doubtfully, "Do you see the ER? This place is worse than the morgue. At least there are bodies there."

"People are home, Dr. Karev, with their families. They're enjoying the yuletide spirit. Making merry," she chides, "don't wish them ill because you're a grinch."

"I'm not a grinch and I guarantee you it's not as rosy as you think it is. There are kids out there that are cold and hungry that don't have a place to stay. There are kids getting socks for Christmas while other kids get cars and sh-," he pauses for a minute, "stuff. Christmas is a joke."

Addison studies him with intense blue eyes, the color of the icicles that would be hanging from the ledges of his house if he were back in Iowa, but he's not. He's in Seattle and that life isn't his anymore and he knows he needs to let that go but it doesn't mean he has to like Christmas.

It doesn't mean he can't be pissed off about an empty ER.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," she finally says quietly, her gaze still intent upon him.

"Don't be."

"What about your friends?" She continues, knowing better, "They're family. Certainly they're all doing stuff together. Stevens, Grey?" The name Grey is bitter on her tongue because she knows the woman is with her ex-husband, enjoying her Christmas traditions and kissing under mistletoe. Her expression turns bitter as the thought echoes over and over in the back of her mind.

"Dunno," Alex answers, finally sitting down. There's no point in waiting to spring to action because nothing is going to happen.

"Preston asked me to trade shifts with him, so I assume he and Yang had plans," Addison reveals.

"Not her idea," he adds, "Yang was practically begging me for my shift."

"If you knew it was going to be so miserable why didn't you take it?" Addison asks, "You could have been somewhere else."

"If you love Christmas so much why did you trade with Dr. Burke?" Alex retorts, "You could have been somewhere else."

Neither one of them acknowledge the fact that they didn't have anywhere else to be out loud and they certainly don't address the fact that there's nobody for them to spend the holiday with.

What's the point.

"I didn't want it to jack up my schedule," Alex finally adds weakly.

She can see right through him and her glance tells him that, "I see." Addison straightens out a little bit, taps her fingernails idly against the formica counter top and then finally speaks again, "You know, Christmas can suck if you've got money too. And a family."

"I didn't say that-"

"You referred to being cold and hungry, getting socks for Christmas," she reminds him and then continues, "I had money and a family. I got everything I ever wanted for Christmas and more-"

"Is this supposed to make me like Christmas?" Alex snorts, interrupting her,"It's not working."

"No, I was going to say that I hated Christmas."

Alex raises his head at this and looks at her, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she echoes, "it's not about the things. It's about the people that you love. It's about family and my family wasn't-" her voice trails off then. Addison isn't sure of how to phrase it or if she even wants to say it out loud. She starts to speak again, starts to say that it all changed when she met Derek and she could truly celebrate Christmas the way she wanted to but even that was gone now. Her shoulders sag slightly and she sighs, "Nevermind."

"No, I get it," he says, sensing her frustration, "it's about the people."

Addison nods, locks of crimson hair hiding her expression. What does it matter if there's no people to share it with?

He looks out at the empty ER again and then back to Addison. Guilt starts to eat at him when he sees her slouched posture because he knows that he's totally ruined what little bit of Christmas whatever she had left. "I gotta go. Check on some patients," he says casually, "I'm sure you'll page me if the fat man falls through the front door with third degree burns because some jackass forgot to put his fire out."

It doesn't even get a laugh, just another solemn nod.

Alex walks away from her then, muttering to himself, "Way to make yourself look like the grinch."

-x-x-x-

The hallways are dark and the lobby is empty.

Christmas lights from the pretentious hospital decorations illuminate his pathway and Alex pauses at the coffee cart abandoned for the night. He doesn't know how to work half the shit behind the counter but he's got a medical degree.

He can figure it out.

-x-x-x-

Christmas music echoes through the empty lobby rivaled by the clicking of her heels. Her brow furrows when she realizes that the Christmas music shouldn't even be on. Richard was adamant about the music going off at nine each night and something about wasting the hospital's money. Her steps slow and she finally stops to look around.

The decorations seem more clustered than before.

Addison blinks a couple times and wonders if it's simply that she's tired and having hallucinations. Maybe it was some ridiculous version of A Christmas Carol.

With Alex Karev as the ghost of Christmas present.

"What are you doing?" She asks, watching as he shuffles towards her with a Christmas tree.

"I'm moving a Christmas tree," he answers through gritted teeth, "what the hell does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well, yes, I can see that you're moving a Christmas tree but why are you moving the Christmas tree?" Addison presses.

Alex practically drops the tree a few feet away from her and plugs it in, illuminating the corner of their little corner of the lobby. He looks around, pleased with his work and gives a short nod. "Hang on. Just stay right there."

Before Addison can even answer, he's gone. She spins slowly, looking at all of the different trees encroaching on the tiny corner of the lobby. She can't hide a faint smile at the warm glow of the clear lights, the glittering ribbons streaming down the branches of the artificial trees, some of them mangled from where Alex was carrying them.

A few minutes later, Alex returns with a tray full of stolen Christmas cookies and pastries from the coffee cart and two full cups. He puts them down on two square end tables pushed together, the magazines that had been inhabiting the space there carelessly cast into a chair nearby.

Addison looks at him, her eyebrows high on her head.

"It's Christmas," Alex explains plainly.

"You don't like Christmas," she points out quietly.

"Yeah, well, it's not about the things. It's about the people," he says before ungracefully shoving half of a muffin in his mouth, "and the food," he adds with a full mouth.

She laughs before joining him in his feast, plucking up an iced sugar cookie for herself, "Definitely about the food."

Alex watches with hidden pride as she nibbles at her cookie like a typical girl, her eyes continuously tracing around the Christmas crap.

He couldn't let her think he was the grinch.

-x-x-x-

"He electrocuted himself where with Christmas lights?" Addison asked incredulously.

"He was being sexy, wrapping his junk with Christmas lights for his girlfriend. We all told him he was a moron but he wouldn't listen. That shit is for chicks for a reason."

"Why do you say it's for us?"

"Because that's what you do. Thongs with furry crap on it and red heels and all that," he shrugs, "don't get me wrong, it's hot. But it's not hot for dudes."

Addison smiles, "It's 'hot'."

"Don't act like you don't know it isn't," he answers with a smug grin.

"Well, I am pretty hot," she answers, extending her leg and letting the red heel slip away from her foot, dangling only by the toes. "And you're right. Men shouldn't dress up to make themselves sexy for their significant others. They do things like this instead."

Alex's eyes meet hers and he licks his lips slightly. Her lips are slightly parted and there's that suggestive shimmer in her eyes and even though he wasn't really counting on getting laid from doing this, he's not an idiot. "I don't do mistletoe," he says in a low growl before leaning over to kiss her.

Addison's eyes slip closed and she kisses him back. Her heel slips from her toe and hits the ground with a quiet thud, followed by his jacket.

After all, what was Christmas without unwrapping something?