Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad everyone liked the opening chapter. The others will be longer, I just wanted to post the first chapter last night and liked ending with Addie's arrival.
Same deal as always: read, review, and be merry.
Seattle Airport
5:45 P.M.
"Hello boys." Addison spoke smoothly, removing her sunglasses to look at the men in front of her. They both smiled goofily at her. "What? You haven't seen me in fifteen years and I don't even get a hug? Come here!" Mark and Derek took turns giving Addie a welcoming hug.
"Much better. God I can't believe how long it's been. You two suck at keeping in touch." Addie said motioning at the two of them as she headed towards baggage claim. The men exchanged a look before following.
"Us?" Derek exclaimed as they rushed to keep up. "What about you?"
"I was the one that moved away. All alone. You two had each other. A phone call would have been nice once and awhile that's all I'm saying." Derek and Mark exchanged looks again, this time with sadness in their faces.
"Sorry." The both spoke weakly. Addison stopped when she reached her baggage claim belt and turned to face them.
"Okay, that was a pathetic apology… which I fully accept." Both men relaxed a bit at that. "It's in the past. We have a lot of catching up to do in the present. The last time I saw you two you were studying for the SAT's! Now look at you. All grown-up. And with long hair." Addison reached up and ran her hand through Derek's wavy locks.
"Hey, it's not that long!"
"No, it's not. I like it. Very Russell Crowe."
"Really? You hear that? I look like Russell Crowe." Derek directed his remark towards Mark, a showing-off tone in his voice. Mark turned his attention towards Addison, blowing off Derek's remark.
"So, you work in New York?" Mark abruptly changed the topic.
"Yeah." Addison said laughing at Mark's ignorance of Derek's comment. "It's great."
"It's great? That's all we get. Nice try, spill." Derek said.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Fifteen years ago you left me alone with him and moved to California. That's a lot of time. College, med school, let's go!" Derek exclaimed.
"Well, I went to Stanford undergraduate, Columbia med school. Interned for Richard in Manhattan. Fell in love with Neonatal work, went through my residency, became an attending, started my own practice. And here we are." Addison finished up, smiling at the men in front of her.
"Here we are." Derek repeated, unable to keep a smile off his face. Addison met his gaze and smiled back.
"And those are my bags." Derek and Mark turned towards the belt and saw the matching Louis Vuitton suitcases moving towards them.
"I got them." Both men spoke in sync, reaching for the bags. Knocking into each other, they missed the bags coming by. Addison just laughed.
"I've got them." Mark spoke sternly.
"Fine." Derek conceded, stepping back.
"Some things never change." Addison spoke as Mark and Derek glared at each other.
Joe's Bar
6:30 P.M.
"Guys, what is this place?" Addison asked as Derek and Mark escorted her into Joe's.
"This is the Emerald City Bar, although everyone calls it Joe's. It's the local haunt for the hospital staff. It's fun. The owner is great. Very relaxed."
"Relaxed, huh? If you say so."
"Oh, Addie, have a little faith will you?" Mark said, motioning for Joe's attention as they went to the bar to order. "Hey Joe!"
"Dr. Sloan. Had a feeling I'd see your ugly mug in here tonight. Where's the newest conquest?" Addison looked at Derek, confused. He mouthed 'I'll explain later', to which she nodded.
"Not tonight Joe. But there is someone I'd like you to meet. Joe, this is Addison Montgomery."
"It's nice to meet you, Joe." Addison smiled, shaking his hand.
"Same here. Can I get you anything?"
"Martini would be great, thank you." Derek led Addison to a table, while Mark stayed at the bar. Derek put his coat down and came back to help him carry the drinks.
"Sure thing. The usual for you two?" Joe asked, already reaching for two scotch glasses.
"Joe, you know us too well." Derek responded, grabbing some nuts from the bar.
"So, who is your friend?"
"Addie? We all grew up together. She moved away during high school, has a practice in New York now. Richard called her in to fill in for one of our attendings who are on leave."
"She is friends with you two?" Derek and Mark both looked up at Joe.
"And is why is that so hard to believe?" Derek said defensively.
"Seriously?" Joe asked.
"What?" Mark asked.
"Look at her. She's gorgeous. And you two are…" Joe tapered off, figuring they got the message.
"What are we?" Mark asked this time.
"Nothing. Bring her the drink before some other guy offers to." Joe laughed to himself as he moved down the bar. Mark and Derek shrugged it off and went to join Addison.
"Thank you. So Joe seems nice."
"He is. I think he likes you though." Derek said, sitting down.
"Doubtful, considering he's gay." Mark and Derek nearly spit out their scotch.
"And how do you know that?"
"Women always know." Derek and Mark glared, not accepting that as an answer. Addison rolled her eyes. "I know because when he shook my hand, he actually made eye contact." Addison sipped her martini, winking at Joe. He winked back.
Joe's
9:00 P.M.
"Another round guys?" Joe asked, coming by their table and breaking up their laughter. Reminiscing of high school druggies did have its own special brand of comedic appeal.
"I shouldn't. I'm exhausted." Addison glanced at her watch.
"Come on, Add its only 9:00. The night is young." Mark said.
"Yes, but its 12:00 in New York. And I need to be bright and chipper for Richard tomorrow. I promised."
"So did we. Just the check, thanks Joe." Derek said.
"No, no you guys stay. It is early. Stay, have a good time. I remember where the hotel is, I'll make it back by myself."
"Addie…" Derek stood, Mark following his lead to protest her leaving alone. "It's your first night in the city. Let us take you home."
"Derek I live in Manhattan. I think I can manage the dangerous streets of Seattle for three blocks." Derek helped Addison get into her coat and turned to face him. Kissing him on the cheek, she hugged him close. She turned to Mark and did the same. "It is great to see you both again. I've missed my boys." Both men smiled.
"We missed you too." Derek spoke up, making definitive eye contact with her.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks Joe." Addison waved to the bartender and headed towards the door. Mark and Derek both sat down again, sipping at their scotch.
"So…" Mark spoke.
"Yeah…" Derek responded. An awkward silence filled the air.
"How hot did she get?" Mark finally said. Derek looked up at him, surprised he said that allowed.
"Oh like you weren't thinking the same thing from the minute she walked off that plane." Derek just nodded. Mark was very right. She was stunning: fifteen years had transformed her from a slightly awkward high school junior with braces to a beautiful woman with amazing red hair and legs for days. Sipping his scotch slowly, Derek inadvertently blocked out Mark's story about his newest conquest. All he could think about was Addison.
Seattle Grace
8:45 A.M.
"Hey man." Mark said to Derek as he entered the attending locker room.
"Morning. And how was the end of your night?" Derek asked with an accusing tone.
"Fine. How was yours?"
"Good. I especially loved the part where my best friend ditched me for a hot girl in a bar. That was really fun."
"When you went to the bathroom, she sent me a drink. I was only being polite." Mark replied.
"Oh, I'm sure you were a real gentleman." Derek said, patting Mark on the back as he went by balancing three coffees in a holder. Mark followed him out to the nurses' station where he put down the tray.
"Who's the third for?" Mark asked, taking one for himself.
"Addie. Thought it might help calm her first day jitters." Derek looked up from his chart to a grinning Mark. "What?"
"See this is why we are friends: you're the sensitive gentleman and I'm the insensitive ass. We are a perfect team." Mark sipped his coffee as Derek laughed and continued writing on his chart.
"Speak of the devil…" Mark motioned to where Addison and Richard emerged from Richard's office. Derek looked up slightly, trying to focus on finishing this before the meeting. His slight glance turned into gawking as he saw only legs. She was wearing a fantastic skirt that afforded him a great view. Looking back down, he stopped reading and scribbled his name on the line. He suddenly couldn't even try to focus anymore. Before he knew it, Richard and Addison were in front of him.
"Derek, Mark."
"Good morning Chief, Addison." Mark said, unusually chipper.
"What's with you today?" Richard asked.
"Nothing. Just a really good night, sir. I have to check on a patient before the meeting if you'll excuse me." Mark sauntered away.
"What's wrong with him?" Richard immediately questioned Derek.
"I'm the wrong one to ask. He ditched me last night if that indicates anything." Derek said, sipping his coffee. Things finally clicked for Richard, and his face made a noticeable change. Addison tried to stifle her laugh, but couldn't. Derek smiled: she had a very cute laugh.
"Great. Just great. Thanks Shepherd. I'm going to go be…somewhere else. I'll see you both in ten minutes." Richard headed back towards his office and shut the door. Addison and Derek watched him go, laughing the entire time. With Richard out of sight, they turned towards each other.
"So, you nervous?"
"To meet the entire senior surgical staff at Seattle Grace in ten minutes? No not at all." She laughed nervously.
"You're going to do great. But just in case, I did bring you something to calm your nerves." Addison tilted her head curiously as Derek reached behind the desk to grab the coffee he had bought her.
"Derek, thank you." Leaning in, she kissed him quickly on the cheek. "You didn't have to do this."
"It's no big deal. But don't thank me just yet. I had no idea how you take it. Last time I saw you coffee appalled you, so I went with milk and sugar to be safe."
"That's perfect." Addison sipped at the coffee. "So what happened last night? Mark ditched you?"
"Yeah, after you left, I went to the bathroom and came back to see some blond in my seat. Apparently she bought him a drink and he was being a gentleman and talking to her. I took that as my cue to leave."
"Oh, Derek, I'm so sorry I left you alone."
"It's fine. It was nice actually. Went home, relaxed. It was nice." Derek did his best to pretend he was okay.
"You were bored out of your mind weren't you?" Addison asked.
"Yes, I really was." Derek said honestly. "I was going to call you, make sure you got in okay, but I figured you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you."
"I wish you had. I had the hardest time sleeping last night. I think it was the mattress. My back is killing me."
"I'm sorry. You know later if you want, I can take a look at it. I have been told before that I'm pretty good with my hands." Derek said, jokingly suggestive.
"Well, that's quite an offer. I may have to take you up on that. Will see how stressful my first day goes."
"The offer's good all day." Derek smiled dreamily and Addison couldn't help but blush. No one had made her blush in a very long time.
"Well, Dr. Shepherd. Fifteen years has turned you into quite the charmer. You must have girls falling all over you." Addison flirted back.
"That's really more of Mark's territory but I do what I can." Derek said with a cheeky grin, to which Addison shoved him in the arm as she moved past him towards the conference room. "What? Just being honest." Derek grabbed his coffee and followed behind her.
Conference Room
9:00 A.M.
Addison and Derek entered the room together. As she headed to the front to meet Richard, Derek found Mark talking to Burke in the back and joined them.
"So, is that the famous Addison Montgomery?" Burke asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes it is." Mark responded, joining Burke in watching her conversation with Richard.
"I get the feeling she will be very popular." Burke spoke up. The moment she had entered the room, every man's eyes had drifted and lingered to her direction. Discretion was not a strong suit of many surgeons. Derek scanned the room, checking out what Burke had meant. An odd sense of jealousy came over him.
"Don't short change her. She's an excellent surgeon." Derek said defensively. Both Mark and Burke turned to face him.
"Relax Shepherd. She's not my type. And I know how good a doctor she is. She worked for my former mentor in New York until her practice opened. She's brilliant: actually one of the top five neonatal surgeons in the world. I spoke to him yesterday and he raved about her." Derek and Mark exchanged looks of their own. They hadn't realized how good she was, and she was not at all forth coming about her skill.
"Alright everyone, let's get the meeting going." Richard's voice rang out in the room as everyone ended their side conversations and turned to face front.
"Good morning everybody. We have three things to discuss today. First order of business, now that we have the entire senior surgical staff here, I want to remind everyone again that the new interns start in two weeks so everyone will need to be on their best behavior. We want them to learn how to save patients, not leave them alone long enough to kill them." A round of laughter filled the room.
"Second, like every year, with the new batch of interns comes the intern social the night before their first day. This year's party will be held at the Mercer Hotel. And, like always, I expect all of you to be there." Instead of laughter, a round of groans filled the room.
"Stop your whining everybody. This is a great opportunity for you all to meet your new charges. Some of you have some very intimidating reputations," Richard paused, throwing a sidewards glance at Addison in particular. Addie smiled back subtly. Derek saw the interaction and made quick eye contact with her. "I want the interns to feel as comfortable as possible in interacting with all of you. They need to know that you were all screw-ups like them back in the day."
"Last but not least, I would like to introduce you all to the newest member of the Seattle Grace surgical staff. With our pediatric attending on leave, I have called in a favor and have found a more than capable replacement for the next two months. Coming all the way from New York, she is a prestigious neo-natal surgeon and OB-GYN. Let's give a warm welcome to Addison Montgomery." Clapping filled the room as Addison stood up next to Richard. Before Addison could say anything further, beeping pagers filled the room.
"It's the E.R. sir. Five car accident on the highway." One of the attendings spoke up.
"Alright. Meeting over. Everyone who was paged, down to the E.R. Addie, you can meet everyone later." Addison nodded as the room began to clear out. Derek, Mark, and Preston made their way to the front.
"Nice job, champ." Mark spoke first to Addie. She shot him a look. "Sorry, nice job Dr. Montgomery." Addison nodded in approval.
"Much better. Thanks Mark."
"Your welcome. Lunch later?"
"Sure." Mark excused himself and left the room.
"Addie, I want you to meet Preston Burke. He's the head of Cardiology department."
"Nice to meet you Preston." Addison shook his hand.
"You as well. I've heard a lot about you."
"Only half of them are true, I swear. You're just going to have to figure out which half." Addison said smartly.
"I look forward to figuring out which." Preston too excused himself, leaving Addison with Derek and Bailey. Before Derek could speak up, Bailey beat him to it.
"Dr. Montgomery, I'm Miranda Bailey, senior surgical resident."
"Nice to meet you Dr. Bailey."
"Nice to meet you too. I actually was hoping to get you for a consult. 28 year old mother, 32 weeks pregnant. Came in this morning with pre-term labor contractions. We've give her drugs to stop the contractions and increase lung development, but I'm afraid they're not doing much to help her. Would you mind examining her?" Derek was shocked: he had never heard Miranda Bailey be that nice to anyone before.
"Not at all. Lead the way." Miranda began to leave the room, Addison behind her. Derek now stood alone in the room, slightly disappointed. He had wanted to talk to her, see how she was doing. His disappointment didn't last long, however, when Addison popped her head back in.
"Hey. Lunch later?"
"I'd love to."
"Good, you're buying." Addison winked and went to follow Miranda. Derek laughed, and headed out of the room himself.
So, chapter 2 done! Hope you all liked it. Next chapter will have their first "date" and something to make Kendel VERY happy. Reviews make me write faster so review!