A/N: So, I'm back with a new Addex 3-parter in my quest to finish all my unfinished multi chapters. AU after they sleep together in 3x21 but does incorporate some cannon elements. This is more mature and angsty than any of my previous stories, I'm trying a new style. Each of the parts are super long (like 8k+ words) but I didn't really want to split them up anymore, they seemed to sort of fall naturally this way. Anyway, please read and review, I appreciate all the feedback, good and bad! Next part should be up before the end of the week. x
Alex sat in the lobby, his textbooks littered around the surrounding seats, as he half heartedly flicked through them in an attempt to study. His mind, however, kept flicking back to his conversation with Ava earlier that day. The guy who barbecues and plays catch. Could he be that? Was he really good enough?
He wanted to be enough. Addison had been through so much and the last thing he wanted was to mess her around. Yet he couldn't take his mind off her and this afternoon in the supply closet. He couldn't get over how she had managed to worm her way inside his head: his boss that he was sure was trying to make his life Hell to start with, finding new ways every day to piss him off.
A shadow fell over him and he looked up to saw the woman in mind standing over him nervously wringing her hands. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and bit down on her lip and he knew instantly why she had won him over. She was beautiful.
"Hey." She greeted him as she perched on the edge of one of the seats.
"Hey." He echoed, shutting the book on his lap as a smile played at the corner of his mouth.
"I was gonna go get a, um, drink." Her eyes flicked away from his nervously. "You wanna head over to Joe's?"
'Barbecues and catch.' Ava's words rang through his head once again and he automatically opened his mouth to blow her off but even he was shocked at what came out of his mouth. "Actually, how about dinner?"
"Dinner?" She mulled the word over, before her face broke out into a smile. "That sounds good."
He mirrored her expression, trying to damp down his internal panic as he collected his books and followed her out the building, resting his hand on the small of her back. She paused when they reached the edge of the parking lot and looked questioningly at him.
"I'll drive if you want?" He said with a shrug. "I know a place… it's, er, nothing fancy or anything, it's actually a bit of a dump… Food's good though, and I'm not really dressed nice enough for much else."
She cut him off with a gentle squeeze to his arm. "It sounds great to me. Do they have burgers? I could kill for a bacon cheeseburger."
He chuckled at that, leading her towards his car and opening the door for her to get in. "They have the best burgers in Seattle."
"You better be right, Karev." She teased.
"You weren't lying about this place being a dump." Addison commented as Alex parked in front of a run down looking diner.
He shrugged. "I did warn you."
He opened the door for her before guiding her towards a booth in the corner. She picked up the menu, pulling out her reading glasses and studying it intently.
"Are you really going to have a bacon cheeseburger?" He questioned, breaking the easy silence between them.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that problem?"
He held up his hands in defence. "No. Not at all." He answered quickly. "Just surprising. You surprise me a lot though."
"Oh yeah?" She questioned, smirking as he turned red. "How do I surprise you?"
"I dunno." He went to shrug again, before stopping himself as he was beginning to feel like that was all he was doing around her. "I used to think you were just some stuck up, rich, snooty woman from New York."
"Charming." She deadpanned. "Do these lines usually work on the girls?"
She managed to draw a chuckle out of him at that. "I usually flatter them with endless compliments. Don't worry, I would never use anything so conventional on you."
Addison let out a surprised laugh, her eyes sparkling. "Oh yes, I hate being flattered. I much prefer being called a stuck up bitch."
"Well then I'm your guy." He winked at her, feeling his nerves finally slip away. "And I never actually called you a bitch."
"You saying you've never thought it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him over the top of her glasses.
"No comment." He countered as a young blonde waitress walked over.
"Hey Alex." She greeted with a wide smile, placing a hand on his shoulder as she leant against the booth. "You having your usual?"
"Thanks Melissa." His return smile faltered slightly as he saw Addison roll her eyes at him. "And a double cheeseburger for the lady." He winked at Addison. "What do you want to drink?"
"I'll have an iced tea please, Melissa." She said pointedly, and Alex couldn't contain his laughter as Melissa walked away.
"Someone's jealous." He teased, bumping his knee against hers under the table.
She just shrugged in response as she squinted after her. "She looks a bit like Stevens. Do you have a type?"
"I haven't slept with her!" He protested. "And clearly not as I'm on a date with you and you look nothing like her."
"Yeah, I'm old for one." She muttered under her breath.
"I think what you mean is incredibly hot."
Addison blushed at that, the colour almost matching her hair. "Thought you weren't going to flatter me?" He winked at her, and her cheeks darkened further.
They were quiet for a moment as their drinks were bought over and she sipped her iced tea, twirling the glass absentmindedly. "You look like you're thinking hard?"
She bit her lip as she briefly looked up and met his eye. "You called this a date…"
He felt his nerves from earlier return in full force. "Is it not?" He asked hesitantly.
"No!" He tensed up at that. "I mean yes. Yes it is. At least I want it to be."
"Then why did you think it wasn't?" He reached across the table, hesitating before resting his hand on top of hers.
"It's just… Callie told me that you weren't good at this stuff. That you have a bit of a reputation so to speak." She tucked her hair behind her ear and offered him an apologetic smile.
"She's right." He admitted, squeezing her hand briefly. "But I'm trying. You're… different."
Her face lit up with a smile so bright that he couldn't help but return it as their food came. They tucked in and she paused after a while. "After this, I'll buy us a drink at Joe's, if you want?"
"Yeah. That sounds perfect." He waved at her unfinished meal. "Hurry up then, I've got a beer calling my name."
Alex opened the door for Addison as they reached Joe's, following her in as he rested a hand on her back. They headed towards the bar and he caught sight of Meredith, Cristina and Izzie sat on the corner.
He should have known they would be in here; drinking away the day as per usual. Still, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as he followed Addison weaving her way through the crowd. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know that he was dating her; he wasn't ashamed of being with her at all. He was just worried that the easy atmosphere of the evening was going to disappear very rapidly: he knew how judgemental his friends could be.
"You okay?" Addison had paused and was now looking at him, seemingly having noticed his hesitance.
He shot her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Looking forward to this beer you promised me."
She shot him a skeptical look but played along regardless. "You know traditionally, on a date, the man would buy the drinks."
He chuckled at that, winking at her. "I know how much you earn. You can afford it."
"Are you taking advantage of me, Alex Karev?" She raised her eyebrow at him as she reached the bar and caught Joe's attention.
He stepped up behind her, placing a hand on her waist and dipping his head to whisper in ear. "Only if you want me to."
A blush spread across her cheeks and he dropped a kiss on it, feeling brave from their proximity. He pulled back with a wince as he heard Cristina call his name. "Evil Spawn!"
"Crack Whore." He countered back, both him and Addison heading over to greet them, her albeit more reluctantly.
"Where's O'Malley tonight?" He asked to break the awkwardness, as they glanced curiously at him and Addison.
"Probably with Callie." Izzie spat as she angrily downed her drink.
He held the hand up that wasn't on Addison's back and looked at Meredith questioningly. "Dude, sorry. Forget I asked."
"So are you two like…" Meredith trailed off and waved her hand between them.
Joe handed them their drinks as Addison piped up helpfully. "On a date?" Meredith nodded. "Yes we are."
"You took Dr Montgomery on a date to Joe's?" Izzie frowned. "You can do better than that Alex." Addison glared at her, sipping her drink. "I meant the location!"
"I took her to dinner first." He protested.
Cristina eyed him up and down. "Dressed like that?"
"It wasn't exactly planned." He muttered, feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second.
Addison seemed to take pity on him and rested her free hand on his chest. "It was a good date. We went to that diner…"
"God, Alex, tell me you didn't take her to the diner with the chesty blonde who fawns over you." Meredith groaned.
"Melissa." Addison drew the name out, before laughing as Alex turned red.
"Right as much as I've enjoyed you all making fun of me, we're going to go sit down now." He waved at the empty booth in the corner as the others said goodbye. He slid into the seat opposite Addison and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was…nice?" She commented, stirring her drink.
He snorted at that. "If by nice you mean they were drunk and vaguely insulting towards me then sure." She laughed at that. "You have a nice laugh." He blurted before he could stop himself and he took a long sip of his drink as he looked at the table in embarrassment.
She reached out and took his hand, linking her fingers through his. "Flattering me with compliments again?" He shrugged and she smiled. "A girl could get used to this."
"You saying you want to go out with me again?"
She pretended to think, twirling her hair around her finger. "It depends."
"What on?" He asked, unable to stop the smile forming on his face.
"On whether you come back to my hotel room with me." She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
He placed a hand over his heart and faked an incredulous look. "Addison Montgomery! After just one date?"
She rolled her eyes as she stood up and moved to the end of the booth, leaning over him slightly. "I think we went past that this afternoon, don't you?" He swallowed visibly and nodded. "So, are you going to kiss me?"
He reached his hand up to cup her face, leaning forward to capture her lips softly, reaching with his other hand to encircle her waist and pull her to him. She let out a breathy moan and pulled back, looking at him with hooded eyes which reminded of him of their kiss all those weeks ago. "You're right." He said. "We should definitely go back to your hotel room."
She grabbed her bag and took his offered hand. "Why don't you ever admit that I'm right that easily at work?"
"You never kiss me like that at work." He muttered under his breath, ignoring her eye roll. They started to head towards his car. "And I admitted you were a good surgeon today, you might not remember as you jumped me midway through saying it."
She blushed at that. "Not my finest moment, I admit."
"Hey." He chuckled as he opened the car door for her. "You'll find no complaints here. In fact, I'm eagerly waiting on a repeat performance."
"You better hurry up and get in the damn car then."
He rolled his eyes at her. "Always so bossy."
They stumbled through the door of her hotel room and Alex wasted no time in pushing Addison against the now closed door. He threaded his fingers through her hair, tugging on it slightly to tip her head back enough to allow him to place open mouth kisses to her neck. He bit down and she let out a low moan, grinding slightly on his leg which had found its way between hers.
She shoved him back off her, breathing heavily. "Bed. We're not doing it against the door."
"Why not?" He teased, pulling her flush to him and biting down slightly on her ear lobe, smiling at the breathy moan he drew out of her. "We did it against the wall this afternoon."
She placed her hands on his chest, walking him backwards until he hit the bed, sitting heavily down on it. She moved to straddle him, her hands on his face, her lips just a fraction away from his. "It would be nice to do it on the bed at least once today. I'm not as young as I used to be."
He closed the distance between them, kissing her as her hands clutched at his face. He trailed his hands up from her waist, palming her breasts through the purple silk shirt, causing her teeth to find his bottom lip in response. He pulled back as he popped the top button open revealing the edges of her lacy bra. He moved to kiss the expanse of skin he exposed, nipping and kissing his way down her body as he slowly undid her buttons.
He reached a particularly sensitive spot on her stomach and she let out a hiss of air, reaching out to tug hard on his hair. Smirking, he sucked hard on the spot, causing her to buck against him, an involuntary groan pulled from his throat. "Fuck, Alex, I swear to God…"
"What?" He teased as he stood up, picking her up with him, before turning to lay her down on the bed. He removed his shirt, before reaching to unzip her skirt, throwing both that and her shirt on the floor along with his.
"Hurry up and fuck me already." She attempted to demand, her words coming out as more of a beg.
"I want to take my time." He countered, quickly stripping himself of his jeans and climbing on top of her. He looked down at her laying beneath him, pale skin and black lacy underwear. "God, Addie. You're gorgeous."
She blushed and bit down on her lip, scraping her nails down his back. "Yeah?"
Alex dipped his head to capture her lips in response, soothing the lip she kept biting with his tongue. He rubbed his thumb over her hardened nipple through her bra, causing her to arch into him. He reached a hand under her to snap open her bra, pulling the fabric off and moving to swirl his tongue over her nipple.
Addison tugged impatiently at his boxers, pulling them off with his help. She grasped him in her hand, smiling to herself as he bucked against her. "I'm bored of taking it slow. We can take our time another time."
He moaned as she stroked her hand up him, rubbing her thumb over the tip, and he grasped her wrist tightly. "Trust me, you keep doing that, it'll be over in no time."
She giggled and he kissed her firmly, reaching for the condom he had got out his wallet earlier. She took it from, ripping it open with her teeth, before slowly rolling it onto him. He grasped her hip as he stroked his thumb on the waistband of her panties, propping himself up on his other arm. He hooked his thumb underneath it, slowly pulling them down her legs and she kicked them off.
Alex rubbed his hand slowly back up her leg, and Addison moaned in anticipation. "Alex, please just fuck me already."
"I was just making sure you were ready." He murmured. He reached his intended goal and slipped his finger inside her, her hips jerking as she sharply inhaled at the contact. He pulled his finger out and brought it up to his mouth, sucking the juices off it. "Giving how wet you are, I don't see that being a problem."
"Oh shut up." She moaned as she grasped him in her hand, lining him up as he pushed slowly inside her.
"Shit." He choked out as he slipped inside her an inch at a time, feeling her walls contract around him. He could barely think as she moved her legs to wrap around his waist, encouraging him in further with a breathy moan and her body arched against him. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he resisted the urge to slam into her, instead slowly moving forward until his hips met hers and she lay panting beneath him.
He stayed as still as possible to give her a moment to adjust before he kissed her softly on the lips. "You okay?"
She nodded slightly, pulling his head down to hers and kissing him roughly; all biting lips and clashing teeth. He eased almost all the way out of her, before pushing back in hard, eliciting a loud cry from her. He continued his slow rhythm the best he could: his breathing harsh as she responded underneath him, digging her nails into his shoulder almost painfully.
He upped his pace and she threw her head back, biting down hard on her lip. "Fuck." She moaned. "Alex, I'm going to… Fuck."
He snaked his free hand down her body to rub small circles against her clit, her moans becoming louder and more incoherent. He pressed his lips to hers, swallowing some of her cries as his thrusts became more erratic as both of them approached the finish line.
He stilled his thumb, pressing down firmly on her clit and he slammed his hips harder against hers. She stilled underneath him, her walls fluttering around him as she let out a choked cry. His own release followed a few thrusts later and he rolled off her, panting heavily.
He reached down and removed his condom, disposing of it quickly before pulling her to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Well, fuck."
She giggled at that. "That's one way to put it."
Alex kissed the top of her head, stroking his hand up and down her arm softly. "Just when I thought it couldn't be better than this afternoon." He chuckled.
They lay in silence for a while, getting their breath back. He was surprised at how calm he felt; laying naked on the bed with Addison in his arms. Usually after sex he was biding his time, looking for the first opportunity to make a hasty escape and yet the last thing he wanted to do right now was leave.
"Can I stay?" He murmured against her hair.
She stretched out before turning so she lay on top of him, resting her chin on his chest, looking him in the eye. "I thought that was the idea."
"I just wanted to make sure." Alex twirled part of her red hair around his finger absently. "I've not really done this before."
She raised eyebrow at him, drawing circles on his bare chest. "You've not had sex before?" She teased.
He pinched her lightly. "I've never wanted it to be more. Not really."
She gave him a soft smile. "Oh?"
He hummed in agreement. "You're different." He echoed his words from earlier.
"We'll go slow." She paused. "If you wanted to keep doing this, I mean."
"Have you not been listening to what I've been saying?" He chuckled.
"I just want to double check that you aren't going to yell at me in a supply closet next week."
He winced involuntarily, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Yeah, that, uh, wasn't my finest moment."
"Understatement." She snorted. "Can I ask why you did it?"
He remembered the moment like it was yesterday: the kiss in the bar and the week that followed it. The whole thing had been a surprise and unplanned; he'd been acting on impulse and, as he has learnt previously, that never ended well for him. There was two things that made him blow her off and, although he regretted ever having caused that look on her face, he couldn't honestly say he was sorry for it. He wasn't ready then for the possibility of something more like he was now, all he would have been able to offer her was some casual sex and she was worth so much more than that.
Alex took a deep breath, tracing circles on her lower back to calm him down, smiling to himself when an involuntary shiver made its way through her. "I guess the smaller part of it was because I thought you regretted it. You'd been avoiding me all week, refusing to work with me and barely able to look me in the eye. I thought I'd say it was a mistake before you did."
"I didn't think it was a mistake." She murmured against his chest. "I was just scared. I'm not the sort of woman who usually throws herself at younger men. And it was a bit of a crappy week for me."
"Oh?"
"I'll tell you about it one day." She paused and he kissed her hair. "You said the smaller part of it. What was the main part of it?"
"I was scared too." He admitted. "Like I said, I've never done this before. When you kissed me…I wanted more than to just sleep with you. And it scared the crap out of me. So I tried to convince myself that I didn't want you."
She lifted her head enough to softly kiss his lips, nudging at him to move so they could slip beneath the sheets. She curled back around him, tucking her head under his chin. "What changed?"
"You jumped me again." He let out a chuckle as she hit his chest. "Working with you over the last couple of months… I dunno. I got to know you better, like you even more. When you asked me out tonight I was so ready to blow you off, but I couldn't. You are worth the effort."
She tipped her head back so he could see her face, and the smile which had found its way onto it. "You still scared?"
"Fucking terrified." He returned her smile, reaching a hand up to cup her face. He rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. "I don't want to hurt you."
"So don't." She replied simply and he wondered whether it could really be that easy. "We're really going to do this."
"Yeah, I guess we are."
She bit her lip and he knew she was worried about what she was going to say. "We have to tell Richard. And Miranda."
"I know." He gave her what he hoped was a vaguely reassuring smile.
"Tomorrow. It all has to be above board."
He nodded in agreement, his face falling slightly as he thought of something. "They're going to kill me."
"Only if you hurt me." She teased, poking him in the ribs.
"Sloan and Shepherd will kill me anyway."
"They wouldn't." He gave her a skeptical look. "They might punch you." She conceded.
"Great." He muttered as she laughed at him.
"We'll be okay." She kissed his jaw gently.
He looked down at her, naked and curled against him. Her red hair was splayed over his chest and she was looking up at him with her clear, blue eyes. He felt unbelievably lucky to have her wanting to be with him. "Yeah, I really think we will be."
Alex headed up to the Chief's office the next morning when he arrived at work, having run back home back to change his clothes. Despite knowing it was the right thing to do, agreeing completely with Addison on that front, he was nervous.
Informing the Chief about their relationship was a big step; it showed they were committed to giving them a real shot. And, although he was wanting to actually start something real with her, his deeply ingrained fear of commitment was having trouble keeping up.
He crossed the glass walkway and spotted Addison outside the Chief's office, nervously wringing her hands. He felt his nerves start to ebb away as he took her hands in his, stilling their movement. "Stop stressing."
She glared at him, kissing his cheek, before knocking on the door and pushing it open. She walked in and Alex followed behind her, trying to suppress his amusement at the strained smile on her face. "Hey Richard, you got a minute?"
"Always for you, Addie." He said, looking up from his paperwork and over at them, raising his eyebrows when he saw Alex there as well. "Actually, if you're about to tell me what you think you are, I take the previous comment back."
She shot him an apologetic look, before giving Alex an apprehensive look as they took the seats in front of his desk.
"So…" She started.
"You're dating." The Chief said simply as Addison winced and nodded. "Is it serious?"
Her panic was evident on her face so Alex rested his hand on her thigh, squeezing gently, before replying himself. "We've only been on one date." He replied honestly. "But we're both serious about making a go of this and so thought it best that you knew."
Richard nodded as Addison gave him a relieved smile, moving her hand to his and linking their fingers together. "I can't say I'm overjoyed by this but this is hardly the first relationship of this type." Alex attempted to hold back his snicker at that. "Just keep it out of the hospital and keep it professional. Oh, and make sure you tell Bailey."
They nodded at him, thanking him and moving to leave. Addison walked out the door after a quick hug from Richard and Alex made to follow before being stopped by a hand on his arm. "Karev, you hurt her and you'll be lucky to have a career. She's been through enough. Am I clear?"
Alex swallowed nervously and nodded hastily. "Yes sir."
He left the room and saw Addison leaning against the railing waiting for him. "Thought you'd gone."
"I was waiting for you." She replied with a shrug and he crossed to her, resting his hand on her waist and kissing her softly.
"That went surprisingly okay."
She shook her head as though in disbelief and kissed him again. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something after your shift? I have the day off tomorrow."
He took her hand as they started to head towards the locker rooms. "I have tomorrow off too. I could, um, I could make dinner if you want." He thought about what was in the fridge and made a mental note to stop by the store on the way home. "Then we could have a day out tomorrow." He paused as they reached the door to the intern locker room and looked at her suggestively. "Or a day in."
She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Dinner and a day out sounds lovely." She commented, kissing his cheek. 'And you said you weren't good at this."
He chuckled and squeezed her hand as he opened the door. "I'll see you later, Addie."
He walked to his lockers to find the rest of his friends already there changing. They looked up as he approached them, their conversations ceasing immediately. Izzie frowned at him and he already dreaded what was about to come. "How was your date?" Izzie asked.
"Alex had a date?" George had been standing to the side of the others but joined them now, his interest piqued.
"You haven't heard the best part of it yet, Bambi." Cristina snorted and George didn't even protest at the nickname as he looked between the girls curiously.
Meredith sighed. "His date was with Addison."
"McHot?" George spluttered, spinning to stare at Alex in shock."You went on a date with Shepherd's ex-wife?"
Alex shrugged, feeling uncomfortable at all the eyes on him. "Yeah, I went on a date with Addison. I like her. She's coming over tonight. I'm making dinner."
They looked at him incredulously. "You're cooking for her?" Izzie asked in disbelief. "You never cook for us! Can you even cook?"
"I'm a good cook." He protested slightly, starting to change into his scrubs as he noticed the time. "And you always cook so I don't bother."
Izzie turned away in frustration at that and Meredith tipped her head to the side, surveying him curiously. "You like her." She repeated and he nodded. "You're not just messing her around? She's had a tough year, she doesn't need anymore trouble."
"I'm not. I, um, I really want this to work. She's different. We told the Chief we were dating this morning." He shifted uncomfortably at the seriousness of the moment and the emotion that he had just admitted.
Meredith nodded, giving him a smile. "Then I'm happy for you. I hope you don't screw it up."
He returned her smile, grabbing his stethoscope and slinging it round his neck. "Yeah, me too."
"Oh please." Cristina scoffed. "Like Evil Spawn will ever manage to not screw it up. He fucks up with every girl he's with."
"Hey! What, so you and Mer can make a relationship work and I can't? I'm not good enough! Is that what you're saying?" He snapped before he could help himself, already regretting rising to the bait.
"Well when we dated you couldn't even keep it in your pants around other women for a week." Izzie stated.
"And you gave me syphilis." George added.
He felt his faint attempt at not reacting slip away. "Will you all just shut up? You all fuck up just as much as me and I don't go round telling you-"
"What is going on here?" Bailed yelled. Meredith opened her mouth to explain and Bailey held her finger up to stop her. "You hush! No one is interested in your lives. We're only interested in why it's 7:03am and none of you are at rounds!"
They muttered their apologies and headed out and Alex rubbed the back of his neck nervously, before deciding to bite the bullet. "Dr Bailey, can I talk to you?"
She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Why don't I think I'm going to like this, Karev?"
"Because you're probably not." He smiled sheepishly as she sighed.
"Come on, spit it out."
"Addison and I told Chief Webber this morning that we were dating. I thought that you should you know." He shrugged in what he hoped was a casual way.
Bailey groaned. "What is it with all my suck-ups having to sleep with their bosses? Don't let it affect your work and don't screw it up. We clear?"
"Crystal." They headed out of the locker room to catch up with all the others.
"I can't believe I'm getting sucked into your petty fights but is that what all the yelling was for?"
He sighed, his anger at his friends coming back. "They told me I was going to screw it up."
He could see the group of interns rounding on the first patient when Bailey stopped him just outside the room. "You really want this to work?" He nodded. "Then don't let anyone, friend or not, tell you it can't. If you don't want to screw it up then you won't."
He frowned as he looked down at her. "Er, thanks Dr Bailey?"
"Yeah yeah, don't mention it again." She gave him one of her infamous stares. "And I mean never ever again. Now, rounds."
Alex sat with Addison at the bar in Joe's, her laughing at him as she sipped on her vodka martini, reaching down to grasp the hand he had resting on her leg. He couldn't quite believe that it had been a week since they had agreed to start seeing each other and he hadn't messed it up at all, and had no intention of doing so anytime soon.
In spite of their decision to take things slow, they had spent nearly all the time not in the hospital with each other. From that first night with him cooking for her, to the next day spent (despite her initial protests) mostly in bed, to all the time after spent lounging in her hotel room with room service. He was comfortable around her and often found himself sharing things about himself that he would never tell Meredith, or even Izzie.
Now though, they had a rare 48 hours without being on call and so had decided to make the most of it by spending the evening at the bar. With Shepherd planning to perform Ava's surgery when they got back and the intern test not long after, it was bound to be full on for a while. They needed the break.
"Alex are you even listening to me?" She sighed slightly as he gave her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry." He gave a shrug, indicating to Joe for more drinks as he looked over at them. "I was thinking."
"You'll hurt yourself." She teased and he rolled his eyes at her. "What you thinking about? Anything good?"
"I was thinking about you." He smirked at her. "So not too bad I guess."
She sat forward in her seat to hit him and he grabbed her waist before she could shift back. He cupped her face, kissing her softly, enjoying the way she instinctively leant into him. "I'm joking, Addie. I'd say that's pretty damn good."
She settled back on her stool, leaning against the arm he had left round her lower back. "Back at the flattering again."
He winked at her. "You love it." He internally winced at his choice of words and Addison tensed sightly before raising an eyebrow at him.
"Well, it makes a change to you being an ass." He faked a wounded expression as she laughed at him. "Should I be worried that you were thinking about me?"
He gave her a genuine smile. "Nope, I was just thinking that I like spending time with you."
Her face softened as he looked away embarrassed. He wasn't used to sharing his feelings with someone else but he was trying to make an effort for her.
"Are your friends at work?" He was grateful that she changed the subject and shrugged.
"Think Mer, Yang and Iz are out bridesmaid dress shopping with Torres. O'Malley's working but he's been weird lately. He says he's going to transfer to Mercy West." He shrugged.
Addison frowned at that. "Why? Mercy West's programme doesn't even compare to ours." She twirled her hair around her finger as she thought. "Callie thinks somethings going on between him and Stevens. She asked me about it."
"You think she's right?" She shrugged indecisively. "She could be. They've been weird around each other."
He contemplated it for awhile as he finished the rest of his beer. "Where's your friends?"
She shot him a look. "What friends?" He chuckled, squeezing her hip. "Well Callie is dress shopping with your friends, Miranda is working and Mark, if you call him a friend and not an ill advised life choice, just walked in."
His laughter at her comment quickly stopped as he looked over his shoulder, panicked. "Shit." He muttered as she kissed his cheek reassuringly.
For the last week, they had somehow managed to avoid a confrontation with Sloan and Shepherd. That was achievement in itself without the fact that Alex had actually spent two shifts working with Mark. The Seattle Grace rumour mill had clearly failed as he made no indication that he actually knew of his relationship with Addison. He briefly wondered what happened with the sex bet and whether Sloan still thought it was ongoing, making a note to ask Addison about it later. There was no way now that Mark would not realise they were a couple; not with his arm on her waist and hand on his thigh.
Sloan frowned as he spotted them, moving across to stand in front of them. "Karev." He greeted before turning his back on him. "Addison."
She gave him a tight smile and pulled away from Alex slightly as she tensed up. "Mark, what are you doing here?"
"Having a drink." Mark glanced over his shoulder at Alex, who was fiddling with his bottle of beer uncomfortably. "I think the better question is what are you doing?"
"Having a drink." She echoed stubbornly, causing a smile to lift at the corner of Alex's mouth.
"With Karev? I thought he was just a quick fuck in the on-call room."
Alex's smile disappeared rapidly at this, while Addison's mouth dropped open in shock. "How did you know about that?"
"I saw you two coming out of the room. It was obvious. Didn't think it would lead to this though." Mark waved a hand between them.
She frowned and Alex couldn't help but reach for hand, squeezing her fingers lightly. "That's why you called off the bet. You didn't actually sleep with someone else, did you?" He shook his head. "You really think I'm the type of person that would sleep with someone for no reason. A quick one night stand and that's it?"
Tears were forming in her eyes and Alex shifted so his arm was around her, stroking her side reassuringly. Mark held his hands up slightly, looking at her panicked."No, Addie. God, no! I guess it's just what I wanted to believe. I don't think that of you." He looked thoughtful at them for a moment. "You happy?"
She looked at Alex's apprehensive face and a small smile found its way onto her face. "Yeah I am."
"Good. That's, um, good." Mark looked uncomfortable and they didn't look much better. "Does Derek know?"
"Judging by the fact he hasn't found me and punched me, I'd say no." Alex spoke up for the first time and Sloan chuckled in spite of himself. "Mer knows though so I don't know how he doesn't."
"Yeah, that is not going to be a fun conversation." He agreed as Addison made a face. "And I heard Grey say that he was going to meet them here after dress shopping so you get to have it tonight."
"Oh just brilliant."
Mark chuckled, before leaving them both with a nod, having spotted a nurse smiling at him from across the bar. Addison rolled her eyes at him, before offering Alex a small smile. "So Derek's coming here."
He leant forward to brush his lips softly against hers, pulling back slightly, a smirk on his face. "So much for our quiet night out."
"Sorry about all this." She gave a vague wave, biting hard on her lip. "My screw ups coming to bother us."
He kissed her again, deepening it as he soothed her lip, anchoring his fingers in her hair. "You don't have to apologise. They won't scare me off." He was surprised to find it was true; he was already in so deep he was doubtful there was much that could. "Now let's get some more drinks and a booth. We could use a few moments of peace before they get here."
Addison moved to the booth in the corner as he ordered them another round from Joe. He moved over to where she was sat, sighing slightly as he heard the bell ring and saw his friends walk in. He slid in next to her, placing their drinks on the table and slinging an arm over her back. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she turned her head to press one to his lips.
"Our moment of peace is over." He nodded his head to where Meredith, Izzie, Cristina and Shepherd were stood. Meredith spotted them in the corner and waved, Addison giving her a tight smile and held her hand up in response.
"Great." She deadpanned, as they saw the others notice them and start to head their way, Derek wearing a confused frown on his face.
"Hey." Meredith greeted, sliding into the booth opposite them. "Can we join you?"
"Well you already have." Addison muttered under her breath and Alex poked her ribs in a warning to be nice.
"She means sure." Alex said, and Izzie sat down next to him, while Derek and Cristina slid next to Meredith, Derek still frowning warily at them.
"So, has Callie gone home?" Addison asked to break the silence.
Cristina shrugged. "She had to go back to work. Plus, Izzie was being a bitch."
Alex chuckled as Izzie protested in an unusually high voice, the others rolling their eyes in disbelief.
"Did you take her on a better date than the other night, Alex?" Meredith asked, smirking at him.
He glared at her. "This is just a drink after work. And the other day was unplanned. I'm good at dates!"
A mischievous smile spread across Addison's face. "He hasn't actually taken me on a proper date though. I'm yet to see the fact he's good at them."
He turned red as the others laughed. "Oh she's good." Cristina snorted. "I like her."
Derek seemed to finally find his voice as Addison kissed Alex by way of apology. "How long has this been going on?" He snapped.
Addison bristled slightly and Alex rubbed the top of her arm soothingly. "Officially, a week." He shrugged. "We've been flirting around it for a few months."
He could see Derek's jaw clench as he glanced round the table, eyes ending on Meredith. "You all knew? And didn't think to tell me?"
Meredith stuck her jaw up stubbornly. "It wasn't really anything to do with you. It's their business."
"Didn't you listen to our conversation about communicating more?" He snapped, as the table fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"Derek, leave the poor girl alone. I should've told you, I know." Addison sighed, leaning into Alex's arm as she wound some of her hair nervously around her finger.
"You think?" He said sarcastically.
Alex glanced at Addison's apprehensive face and felt anger bubbling up inside him. It was hardly fair that after what Shepherd had put her through the last year he had the right to still make her feel like this. "Did you tell her when you started dating Mer?" He snapped. "Oh no, you didn't. Because it was while you were still married."
Meredith winced and Alex shot her an apologetic look. "Alex…" Addison rested her hand on his chest. "Just drop it, it's fine."
He stayed silent, taking her hand and linking his fingers through it, still glaring at Derek. "I'm going to go home." Derek said, standing up after Cristina moved out the way. "I think it's best."
No one protested as he left and they settled into an uneasy silence, sipping at their drinks quietly. "How's Susan, Mer?" Alex asked, breaking the silence.
"Um, okay, I guess." She shrugged. "Bailey did an endoscopic gastroplication and sent her home. Thatcher was half convinced she was faking the hiccups just to get us talking."
He chuckled at that. "I wouldn't put it past her."
Meredith rolled her eyes before looking at Addison warily. "Sorry… about before. With Derek."
"You apologising for him having a go at her or you sleeping together while she was married to him?" Cristina asked dryly, snickering as Meredith hit her arm.
Addison shook her head slightly, a genuine smile on her face. "You don't have to apologise for him." She bit her lip slightly. "And the other thing? Water under the bridge. We've both moved on, right?"
Meredith nodded and the two of them started a conversation with Cristina, Izzie just sat texting on her phone. Alex watched Addison laughing and chatting with his friends: the people she should have every right to hate. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he listened to them talk, amazed at how forgiving she was. If it was him in that situation, he would never talk to any of them again. He thought back to how all of the other interns had forgiven and eventually accepted him after the while ordeal with Izzie and realised that maybe they were better people than he often gave them credit for.
"You don't mind us crashing your night, do you?" Meredith asked suddenly.
"Mer, it's fine. Like I said, this is just a drink after work. Better take her on a 'proper' date tomorrow." He nudged Addison teasingly as she rolled her eyes.
"You should come round next week, Addison. After the intern exam we're having a little get together. It'll be fun, right guys?"
Cristina shrugged indifferently as Izzie didn't even look up from her phone. "There will probably be tequila and takeout and maybe we'll watch Ellis surgeries."
Addison glanced at Alex and he grinned at her. "Up to you."
"That actually sounds nice." She admitted. "Thanks for the offer."
Alex pulled her fully to him as Meredith and Cristina began to talk amongst themselves. He dipped his head to mutter in her ear. "They like you. It's nice that you all get on. I mean, if you're going to stick around. Easier for me."
She traced his jaw with her thumb, turning to face him. "You want me to stick around then?"
"You're not too bad." He teased, kissing her softly. "I definitely don't want you to go anywhere."
Alex lay in bed next to Addison, sighing slightly as he pulled her to him, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder. What was going to be their quiet night in after the test had quickly turned into an impromptu bachelorette party for Cristina.
However, what with Meredith's step-mum dying and her not writing anything on her intern exam, not to mention the weird air between Callie and Izzie and Cristina's general hatred for all things wedding, the night had an awkward atmosphere to it. Still, it meant that the fact he and Addison were joining in wasn't commented upon, or even really noticed at all. There was a small bonus to everyone else having problems after all. Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) their evening was cut short by a page from the hospital. They'd just gotten back and fell into bed at 4am, having to be up again in a few hours time.
"Alex?" Her voice was soft and she brought her hand up and ran her fingers through his short hair. He hummed in acknowledgement. "Are you okay?"
He traced patterns on her lower back absently as he thought about what was bothering him. "Ava remembered everything."
"She did?" Addison propped herself up slightly to look at him. "That's great right?"
He frowned as he sighed slightly. "She remembered everything 3 days ago and didn't tell me. Didn't tell anyone."
"Oh." Addison's frown matched his own. "Why the Hell would she do that? Does she have any idea how many people are looking for her?"
"That's exactly what I said." He grumbled. "But the thing is she does know doesn't she? She knows exactly how many people out there are missing her. She wouldn't even tell me her name at first."
"She told you in the end though." He nodded and she stretched up to kiss him softly, her body fully pressed against his.
"I just…" He breathed out heavily, reaching up a hand to scrub it over his face. "I keep remembering what you yelled at me that day in the corridor. About it becoming another Denny Duquette situation." She tensed on top of him and he hurried to reassure her. "It's not, don't worry, its not like that at all. But you were right in a way…I was too close to her. I thought we were friends and I almost forgot she was a patient."
"You can be friendly with your patients." Addison said, but the sentiment was empty; he knew that she agreed with him.
"You know she was always badgering me about you. It was always 'what's going on with you and Red?' and 'are you going to make a move on Red yet?'." She laughed softly at that. "She was the one who told me about your bet with Sloan." He paused, debating whether to continue. He threw caution to the wind however, the darkness of the early hours making him brave. "She told me about your conversation with Callie as well."
"My conversation with…Oh." He could see her bite her lip in the dim light, which filtered through from the window. "I…It didn't scare you off?"
He chuckled. "Scared me shitless. Didn't think I could be that guy, I spent all day thinking about it. Was about ready to run as far away as possible."
"Why didn't you?" She whispered.
"Because I was thinking about whether I could be that guy. I still don't know the answer, but I realised I wanted to be." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I really wanted to be enough for you."
"I think you're that guy. Or at least you could be." She said after a while, kissing his jaw. "Even if not, it doesn't matter. You're you. And thats enough for me."
He studied her face and saw the earnestness in her expression. He didn't understand why a woman like her, gorgeous, smart and successful, would ever want to be with a screw up like him. Yet, she did. She liked him for him, and she'd seen him at his best and worst, and still stuck around.
He cradled her face, pressing his lips eagerly to hers as she opened her mouth to him, fast and willing. He put into the kiss everything he couldn't say, could barely even think. It had only been 2 weeks but, damn it, he loved her.