The Seattle day was warm as Addison sat outside, the remains of her lunch forgotten on the table before her. She remained quiet, her vision blurred despite the glasses that sat resting on her head, and her thoughts completely not on where she was. Seven months ago she had thought she knew was she was doing and had absolutely no regrets. Even now she knew she had made the right decision, despite the ache in her heart and strain on her already delicate friendship with Mark. And somehow that wasn't what mattered the most to her. This secret was eating her up inside and telling him had done nothing to ease that tension. It wasn't really him she wanted to tell, and she knew it.
She was acutely aware of the new presence, even though she didn't acknowledge it outwardly and tried to ignore the new pain that erupted when her friend began to confide in her. The dark haired, passionate woman who had sat down next to her didn't seem to notice Addison's dismal mood, but the red haired woman did notice Callie's. Addison understood and any other day she would empathized with the woman's distress, but not today. Damn it all, today she was going to be selfish.
"Did you just hear a thing I said?" Callie asked, her question rewarded with Addison finally turning her head and meeting her gaze head on.
Had she heard? Addison mused herself internally. Yes, she had heard. Every single word that cut deeply into her heart, she had heard them all. George had kissed Callie – the very thing the attending surgeon from New York had dreaded and known would happen. The intern would realize his mistake at letting Callie slip through his fingers, finally opening his eyes to the amazing, beautiful woman who had been pining after him for months.
Removing her glasses, Addison shook her head, sensing that at this point things couldn't get much worse. So she too confided in the woman next to her, letting out a soft sigh. "I aborted Mark's baby," she confessed quietly, watching Callie's face for a reaction.
"So maybe today everything is all about you," the other doctor remarked, leaning closer to her friend as she prepared to listen intently.
Addison's heart soared and for a moment, she wished she too could just lean in closer and plant her lips over those beautiful full ones. But Callie was in love with George and such a public display could only lead to embarrassment for them both, since Addison doubted the other woman would be receptive. So she settled on the best friend's path, opening her mouth and letting the words tumble out, desperately needing someone to listen.