Nine Months, Part 2

After telling Mark about the baby, Addison had not quite been expecting his reaction. He had made her stay up for a while and talk about plans, but all Addison could answer with was "I don't know" or "we'll see." Finally, with a smile, the plastic surgeon laid back down, and she was thankful. She was tired, it had been a long day, and she wanted to sleep. The light was turned off and Addison was soon asleep, but Mark was still up contemplating for much of the night about this whole baby situation. That thought made Addison physically ill.

When the redhead awoke the next morning, Mark was nowhere to be found. She sat up slowly in bed, looking around the bedroom with a confused expression. She didn't know him to be a morning type, but maybe the fact that she was pregnant had finally sunk in. Maybe it scared him and he'd left. The more Addison thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed after his reaction the night before. She wasn't that lucky, anyway. Mark had been excited -- more excited than she'd ever seen him, but where would he go so early in the morning?

She decided that it didn't matter and resolved to stop thinking about it, at least for the time being. She would probably see him at some point that day, and she was almost dreading it. His happiness regarding the baby was almost sickening for her. Pulling her legs over the side of the bed, her hand involuntarily found itself on her stomach and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This all felt way too surreal for her taste. It was like living in some weird alternate reality for her. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to stand and headed toward the bathroom for an unusually long shower.

Addison, against her better judgement, skipped breakfast altogether after getting dressed and went in to blow-dry her hair. Mark still hadn't shown up. So far so good, she thought to herself. Leaving her hair down for the time being, Addison slowly began brushing her teeth, and that was when she heard the front door downstairs, and the sound of footsteps coming closer to the bathroom. She groaned inwardly when the smiling Mark Sloan stood in the doorway and leaned against it.

"You'll never guess what I found," he said to her, happier than usual, with one hand behind his back. His signature smile was genuine, and it was probably the first time that Addison had ever seen him completely happy. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black jacket. His square jaw was, for the most part, cleanly shaven except for the little bit of stubble he usually left on his face. That smile, though, Addison was sure could like up the darkest of rooms. That's what made her final decision all that heartbreaking.

"Rat poison?" Addison asked hopefully, but it was hard to hear with the toothbrush in her mouth.

Mark looked puzzled, and hadn't heard what she'd said. "What?"

Addison spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth and her toothbrush. "Nothing. Just never mind," she said to him and took a deep breath, setting the purple toothbrush into the holder, next to his red one. It was strange how he'd moved in his things as though it had been no big deal. Like Derek had never really been there all those years before him. She missed Derek, but wasn't willing to admit it just yet. The redhead looked at Mark with a blank expression and said, "All right. I'll humor you. What did you find?"

In a swift movement, the plastic surgeon pulled his hand out from behind his back. He had been holding a back from some high-end store, but Addison didn't care about the name. "What's this?" she asked quizzically, reluctantly taking the bag from him. She was afraid to see what was inside, but he had such a pleased look on his face, how could she not look? So she stood there momentarily in the bathroom, looking rather dumbfounded.

"Look inside," Mark urged her, motioning to the bag. Grinning, he folded his arms across his muscular chest and leaned against the frame of the doorway. Addison looked at him like he had finally lost his sanity, then took a deep breath.

Slowly, she opened up the bag and looked inside. There were a few moments during which it was completely silent. Placing her hand inside the bag momentarily, she brought it up and out to reveal what had been inside the little plastic bag. It was a one-piece baby outfit, appropriately supporting the New York Yankees, of course. Addison didn't know what to say. She didn't look pleased, nor did she look unhappy, but she now began to realize just how much this baby seemed to mean to him.

"Well? You're awfully quiet."

Addison heard Mark, but he seemed so distant. She looked up at him with her bright baby blues and forced a small smile. "It's cute," she said, rather unethusiastically. "Thank you." There was a tone in her voice that gave the indication, however, that not everything was sound. That was when Mark began to look worried and furrowed his eyebrows as he stood up straight.

"Addison?" Mark began. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and inhaled deeply. "Nothing," she said, lying through her teeth. "I have to go to work." Avoiding his question, Addison pushed past him and back into the bedroom, where she laid the outfit, neatly folded, on the dresser. She stared at it for a moment, as though she might never see it again, and turned around to see Mark standing in the middle of the bedroom with a slightly irritated look on his face. He knew everything wasn't right with her, and she would normally share. The fact that she was keeping something from him right now made him slightly uneasy.

"Addie?"

"I have to go," Addison told him seriously, walking around him and toward the door. Mark opened his mouth to say something and she raised her hand, which was a signal for him to shut up. "We can talk later," she assured him. "I have to go now, or I'm going to be late." He followed her into the hallway and down the stairs, bugging her as to what was wrong. She honestly didn't hear his words and had been tuning him out the whole time. She grabbed her jacket and kissed him quickly on the lips, saying, "I'll see you later."