After All

Disclaimer: See chapter 1. I still don't own anything besides this laptop, some worthless Beanie Babies, and a lot of books. Let me know if you want to give me anything.

Chapter 2 – Believe Me Baby (I Lied)

Addison sighed in relief, collecting her purse and briefcase before heading for the parking lot. She'd made it through the day without running into Alex. Perfect, she thought, all I need is a few glasses of wine and a chick flick, and I can forget I even saw him.

"Hey." A deep voice interrupted her thoughts and shot her plans to hell.

"Oh, hey Karev. How, uh, how are you enjoying the conference?"

"Eh, it's OK. Except this one presentation I caught. Oh man, the speaker was this totally hot redhead…"

"Oh, so you did make it? I didn't see you." Addison cut him off, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. God! Does he have no shame? A few months ago he wanted nothing to do with me, and now he's flirting? Bastard.

"Yeah, I just caught your last session. I was in the back row. Not bad." Alex tried not to laugh as Addison blushed furiously. He took a deep breath and gathered all the courage he could muster. "So…I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner or something. Do you have any plans for this evening?

"No." Addison blurted out. "I mean, no, I wouldn't like to go out to dinner or something." Gee, wonder what that 'something' could be. "Because I…I have plans."

"Oh? What kind of plans?" Alex raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Addison rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air. "Plans that do not involve you! God, Karev, what on earth makes you think you can just waltz in here and…and…and ruin my plans?!?! I have things to do, and I can't...do things…when you're standing here looking at me like that! Stop it!" With that, she turned on her heel and hurried towards her car only to be stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"Addison, wait!"

"No, Karev, you wait. I fell for you once. I fell for you and all your perfect words, and you used me. I was a good time for you, a quick lay, and that was it. You got what you wanted and left the rest. I'm not going there again, so good day. And by the way, that's 'Dr. Montgomery' to you." She tried to leave again, but Alex stepped in front of her.

"Please, Addis…Dr. Montgomery. It wasn't like that!" He looked down avoiding the glare she sent his way." Please. Just let me explain. I didn't use you. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. I…I was trying not to hurt you."

"Well that worked out well." She studied his face and was surprised by the sincerity in his eyes. With a sigh she relented. "OK, fine. Dinner. But that's it. No more 'not hurting me.' Got it?"

Alex broke into a grin. "Got it."

"Good." Addison couldn't stop a smile, albeit a slightly nervous one, from forming on her lips. "I know a nice little Italian place a few blocks from here."

Addison gave Alex directions to the restaurant. They went to their cars and met in front of the eatery a few minutes later. They made nervous small talk throughout their meal, but Addison grew serious as they exited the restaurant.

"OK Karev, I gotta know…the whole 'not hurting me' thing? How exactly was it supposed to not hurt? Because it did. It really, really did."

"I see that now, and I'm sorry." Alex's heart sank when he saw the pain in her eyes. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I really liked you. I do like you. I thought maybe we could go out but then Ava…er, Rebecca… said you were looking for a guy to barbeque and teach kids to play catch. That's not me. I can't barbeque. Hell, I don't even own a grill. And playing catch? Forget it. I'm not father material. Believe me, I'm not. You're looking for a family man, and I can't be that. Maybe some day I can be, but not now. I just…I just thought it would be better to end things than to have you get your hopes up." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Of course, now I see I probably could have come up with a better way to do that."

"Yeah, you could have." Addison sighed. "Of course, now it looks like there won't be any kids to play catch with anyways…"

"What do you mean? There has to be at least one man in L.A. that wants to have kids with you. I mean seriously. Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Alex gave a sly grin and winked suggestively.

"The mirror isn't the problem. I…after you said I wasn't your girlfriend I came out here to visit a friend of mine from med school. She's a fertility specialist. I was going to find a sperm donor and have a baby myself, but it turns out I'm infertile."

"Oh." Alex mentally kicked himself for being so callous. "Sorry to hear that."

Addison shrugged. "Yeah, so am I. But there's nothing I can do about that, so I guess it's on to Plan B."

Once again Alex smirked. "Well, if Plan B involves interstate booty calls with someone who never calls, forgets holidays and anniversaries, and leaves his dirty socks on the floor, I'm your guy."

"Awwww, Karev, when did you become such a romantic?" Addison found it impossible not to laugh at Alex and his dirty mind. "Well, this was…nice, but I really do need to get home. Where are you staying tonight?"

Alex laughed. "Actually, I have no idea. When I got to the hotel I was supposed to stay at, they were overbooked and didn't have a room for me. I didn't have time to find another place before the conference."

"Oh dear." Addison paused for a moment before proceeding. "Well, I do have a spare room, if you'd like to crash at my place for the night."

"Really? Yeah, that would be great."

"OK then. Follow me."

And…that's it. Not the greatest, but at least it's longer than the last chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. I'd say reviews will get you a timely update, but I'd be lying. Comments and suggestions are welcome though.