a/n (p1): mark and addison have never been together, addison and derek were married but aren't anymore, and there will be multiple ships in this but it is primarily mark/addison, some (okay, a lot or even most) of the history is different

a/n (p2): read anything by lynn ( sliceofperfection ) and you won't regret it; my personal fav is sick cycle carousal

Lexie closes her eyes so tight that she begins to see little crystals of light, fighting the urge tell whoever is at her bedroom door to fuck off. She'd silently hoped that when her sister and brother-in-law had Zachary that everyone else's invitation to live there would be revoked. Of course she should get a pass for being family, but Derek had insisted that the frat house would live because in just a few months the dream house would be finished and they'd move. She had smirked at him and asked which room was hers, but he just tapped her on the nose and told her that she was staying because it was bad enough Meredith had deemed one of the rooms Cristina's; when she'd half pouted he'd reminded her that she was a big girl.

She kicks Alex in the calf as she pulls the sheet up to her chin in an attempt to pull it from his grasp and wake him up, send him on his way before Jackson gets home from the night shift. She peels her eyes open and glances at the clock, the lights glowing numbers that indicates a time too early (or too late, her brain isn't quite functioning the way it needs to be yet). She grunts her protest when Alex rolls over, taking the blanket with him. The biggest sigh that she can muster falls out of her mouth and Alex expels an exaggerated breath in response.

"Alex," she hisses.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying in the morning?" He counters.

She huffs, "get up, ass, go to your own bed."

"Nervous that your boyfriend," he's extra annoying and draws the word boyfriend out, "will walk in on us?"

She makes an incredulous face and her nose scrunches up in annoyance, "I hate you."

"That isn't what you said last night," he replies with a smirk.

She grits her teeth together, "now is not the time."

She hears something heavy fall onto the floor in the hallway and her heart stops because she knows this is about to be the end of everything. Jackson's shadow blocks the light from the hallway and tears begin to prick the corner of her eyes. She's slowly beginning to realize why no one will ever love her; she isn't used to being the fuck up.

Pete hears crying errupt through the baby monitor and he tries to lay very still so Violet doesn't get the idea that he's awake. He just stumbled in from pulling a volunteer overnight shift in the ER at Seattle Grace and he wants nothing more than to go to sleep right now. Unfortunately, he's been lying in the warm bed for the last hour thinking if I could just fall asleep right now, or now; his mind won't just shut off and sometimes that's what he hates the most about himself. He peels an eye open and spots Violet's still frame in the bed and he briefly wonders if she's playing the same game he is. Hopefully she'll concede first, just this once.

The crying only intensifies and he forces himself upright with an overdramatic groan - he thinks he sees the glassy orbs of Violet's tired eyes reflect in the darkness but he decides he'll get out of bed anyway. It isn't like she's quick to do much of anything beyond getting the hell out of sight. He doesn't mean to be so bitter but he's almost certain that marriage is not as easy as everyone else makes it out to be. Sometimes he sees himself in the mirror and isn't even sure that it's his reflection looking back. Marriage does things to people, that much he is sure of. He doesn't know the details of Addison and Derek's divorce, but if their marriage was anything like his is then he gets it.

The problem for him is that he doesn't give up - not even when he practically hates the woman he shares a bed with.

He hates the way the sheets are always warm. He hates the way she suggests things to him in a way that indicates she won't take any other answer than her own. And more than anything, he hates the way she says his name. They used to talk, back when they were friends, long before Lucas was born, but if there's anything worth putting up with all of the ridiculous shit for it's Lucas.

He'd do anything for his son.

Her hand slides into his in an attempt to still his bouncing knee. His fingers flex around hers only briefly before the pads of his fingertips press into his leg just above his kneecap. She can hear his breathing like it's the loudest thing in the room, the way his teeth dig into his bottom lip and the beads of sweat beginning to form at his hairline making her realize that he doesn't know the first thing about things like this.

"It's going to be okay," Addison reassures.

"Yeah?" He asks, clearly an unintentional question the way his lips form into an 'o'. He clears his throat and swallows all at the same time. Mark corrects, "yeah, I'm sure it will be fine. What is this appointment for anyway?"

"Just to be sure I can actually get pregnant," she answers.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion; he asks softly, "so, what am I here for?"

"Moral support," she says with an absent shrug. She sees him visibly relax, his knee no longer bouncing, and a breath of relief expelling from his lips. He offers her a half-hearted smile, the unspoken apology immediately understood. "I just thought you needed to be here, just in case they ask questions about things like medical history or if they want to take a sperm sample."

He shifts in his seat, "oh, yeah, that."

"I don't normally handle the getting pregnant part. I typically take care of after the mother is pregnant."

"So you're not just a knowledge bank? I was hoping you can iron out all of the details for me and we could high tail it out of this joint," he replies with a smirk. He's attempting to lighten the mood, mostly for himself, but she appreciates his efforts anyway. She mockingly narrows her eyes as he leans his shoulder against hers, lips mere inches from her ear. Barely above a whisper he adds, "we can always just go home and try to do this the old fashioned way."

She laughs, loudly, just before a nurse is calling her name out. They retreat to a room where a doctor is promised to arrive after blood is drawn; they always say doctors are the worst patients, and Mark makes that entirely too clear when he begins to pace as the nurse closes the door. She thinks the irony is that he isn't even really the patient.

"Would you sit down, damn it? You're starting to make me nervous," she says sharply with a swipe of her hand; her hand barely comes into contact with his shoulder.

He stops pacing and turns a sheepish grin in her direction, "sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, just stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out," he insists.

She snorts, "yeah, sure seems like you're not. Mark, just trust me. Everything is fine and everything will be fine. You can hold my hand if it will make you feel better."

"Stop," he replies, deadpanned. He sits into the chair beside the table and he realizes that it's been a long time since he's actually been to the doctor. He leans back and purses his lips as he gazes at her for a few moments. He clucks his tongue; "I'm not being that bad."

She laughs just as the door opens. A dark man with a white lab coat comes in, clipboard in hand, and she wonders how long it's been since the nurse left because she was not expecting the doctor so soon. The doctor offers her a smile and she can see his white teeth, his khaki pants a little flashy compared to Mark's jeans; she reprimands herself for sizing him up just a little.

"Misses Montgomery?"

"Miss," she corrects, "and it's Addison.

She feels Mark's gaze burning a hole in the back of her head and she snaps her attention to him. She sighs as she adds, "and this is Mark."

"Nice to meet you doctor," Mark trails off and she thinks about what might be happening right now but allows it to transpire.

"Reilly, Jake Reilly," he finishes Mark's thought, "but you can call me Jake."

"Doctor is fine," Mark says; oh no,she thinks because she's pretty sure it's going to be a pissing contest from this point on.

"Naomi called me first thing Monday morning and said that I needed to give you my first available appointment. So, how can I help you today?" Jake leans back against the counter.

She feels Mark hover somewhat protectively, his fingertips resting close to her hip as he releases a breath that indicates she should take the lead in explaining things because he doesn't have a clue where to start. Twenty years of knowing someone allows the use of silent cues rather than speaking amongst a group of people; they've had countless conversations without words while surrounded by people. It's a relief in its own way even though Mark can be a bit overbearing at times - better than the days that he didn't really give a shit though.

"Well, um, we want to have a baby," she finally says.

"You've come to the right place for that," Jake remarks playfully.

She can't tell if she likes his teasing, knows that Mark certainly doesn't.

Mark huffs a little, "I don't really know the process and all that but it's feasible, right?"

"Absolutely," Jake replies with a smile, "I'm verygood at what I do, I assure you."

"I bet you are," Mark mutters sarcastically under his breath.

Charlotte tries to deal with the shenanigans of her hospital, no matter how repulsive the surgical staff can behave, but some days she just doesn't want to deal with the staff anymore. She tries to do things by the book, tries not to play favorites, tries to keep her personal life and professional life separate. Seventy-five percent of the time it's beyond difficult because she knows the majority of the staff on a personal level, and often times they unintentionally (and she thinks sometimes intentionally) use that to their advantage. She doesn't blame them, not entirely, because back before she became the boss she would almost do the same thing by pulling rank; that was back when she practiced medicine.

She hardly gets the opportunity anymore. Every now and then she probes her friends a little more than necessary for extra information in an attempt to stay aware through whatever they are doing, but most of the time she longs for the opportunity to practice medicine. Much to her surprise, Mark plays stupid with her the most just so she gets the advantage of educating his interns (the ones he barely even wants to be bothered with, that is); she thanks him with a head nod.

When she was offered the position of Chief of Staff at Seattle Grace Mercy West (she was offered the job when the merge took place - the board said new hospital, new administration), she had debated whether the move was worth it. Mason's mom had just died and she wasn't sure it was worth taking the 8 year old from everything he knew but Cooper had suggested that maybe a new scenary for them all would be a good thing. She went with it because he said there was a great practice that Violet had just started working for where she was sure she could put in a good word for him. Charlotte liked Violet well enough, so why the hell not?

Turns out some of the surgeons who worked below her owned and operated the practice, and they made a fairly decent revenue. Over the past two years in Seattle, she's become great friends with the majority of her staff, but she tries not to play favorites. She just hopes she will never have to enforce a downsizing because if she does, she doesn't know what she'd do.

There's a heavy knock on her office door and it prompts her to lift her eyes from the paper work on her desk. She paints a smile on her face and does her damnedest to be as friendly as ever. She isn't sure this is the day for that, but she might as well try.

"Doctor Webber, what can I do for you?"

She's running a little late after the appointment because once Mark actually stopped to listen, he had a few questions. Unlike Mark, she had appointments to get to and could barely pencil in the appointment in the first place, but she knew that if she really wanted it then she shouldn't wait. She appreciates his enthusiasm but she was thoroughly pushing her fingertips into his shoulders in an attempt to usher him out of the doctor's office; not that he paid any attention to it anyway.

It just meant that her hands were on him the whole time as he said things like "just one more question, babe" or "honey, just a second"; she'd just roll her eyes, saying, "sweetheart, I have a patient in about fifteen minutes".

She's pretty sure that the nurses perceived them as a couple, if not a married one, but they get that a lot and she's used to it by now. Sometimes she'll go along with the assumption and others she'll correct them. If she's honest, part of her wants to believe that if they are going to have a baby together then he is hers and not out there knocking up some other woman. Not that she has any right.

But he guided her out of that office by touching the small of her back and holding the door open for her; she wonders if what makes it adorable is that there isn't any reason for it to be adorable at all. Most of the time she thinks that he's just Mark. Just Mark, that's all.

She swallows as she pulls on her lab coat, trying to move quickly yet efficiently so as not to concern her coworkers about her late arrival. She doesn't really need people to ask questions, not yet anyway. She knows that she will have to talk soon enough, but she isn't ready to listen to all of the comments and opinions, wants it to just be a her and Mark thing. There's been thousands of things just between them over the years, but this is the biggest they've ever shared; she only hope Mark bites his tongue, doesn't say too much.

Arizona is checking on their patient when she arrives, just in time to go over the surgery and the results with the parents. She's still on the case because the baby is so young, but Arizona will take the lead during surgery. She's there just in case; having worked with Arizona quite a few times by now, she knows what she's capable of and how good of a surgeon she is.

Some days she thinks about how lucky she is to scrub in on some of the surgeries she has, watching Arizona work.

"Good morning, Doctor Montgomery," Arizona greets.

"Doctor Robbins," she replies with a slight tilt of her head, "how are you this morning?"

"Tired," she admits, now that they are out of earshot of the patient and her parents - mostly her parents. She sees the bright smile on her friend's face falter for a brief moment as she drops her chart off at the door. "I was up half of the night, correction, most of the night repeating a conversation that me and Callie have had countless times."

"Oh?" Addison asks; she tries not to pry, just leaves the air open for options. She doesn't know entirely the details about Arizona's relationship with her friend, just enough to know that Callie is happy seventy-five percent of the time. However, she is fairly certain she knows the conversation - it's the conversation everyone seems to be having since Zachary was born. "I can only guess."

"I just don't want kids," Arizona says with a small shrug, "it's possible. Not everyone wants kids."

"Not everyone needs kids," Addison agrees, "but what happens when you decide you dowant kids? Women go through this phase that their biological clock literally feels like it's ticking and their ovaries explode at the sight of children. I just don't know what I'm going to do."

"I guess I'll find out when I get there," she replies, "have you thought about having a baby?"

"Yes," Addison answers simply, "I can't imagine not being a mother. The newborn smell, watching their first steps, their first day of school. I need to be a mother. What if I never am?"

"Awe, honey, I'm sure you will be," Arizona reassures, "just give it time."

Mark and Addison, the singles of the group, seem to usually get paired off when because their friends sit with their significant others. With Lexie offering to watch Zachary so Derek and Meredith could get their first official night out as parents, a dinner was in order. Of course, with Meredith being there meant Cristina and Owen were there and Derek inviting Mark (and Addison because they are somehow always a package deal without explanation); the invitation was extended to Callie and Arizona who had both conveyed that they needed the attention to be taken off of each other for just one night on more than one occasion. So, it's a given that Teddy and Henry should be there. They figured, why not let it be a big thing and have Cooper and Charlotte, Pete and Violet, and Miranda and Ben join as well.

Addison selects her dress with specific highlights in mind and is pleased but not surprised when she and Mark end up sitting beside each other. Well into appetizers, with minimal arguments breaking out between Cristina and Owen - not to mention straight faces painted onto Callie and Arizona's faces, Addison decides that now would be the time to tell their friends. Fleetingly, she thinks that at least Teddy and Henry are blissfully happy. She isn't just blindsiding them though, she is also taking her partner in this decision by surprise as well.

"Mark and I," she starts. She doesn't even have her thought completely finished before Miranda lightly begins shaking her head, Cooper lets the smallest of laughs escape his lips, Derek's mouth hangs agape, Teddy's mouth forms a circle, Meredith's eyes widen, Owen's jaw tenses, Arizona's eyebrows furrow, Violet tilts her head, Henry's smile slowly fades (he and Mark have become somewhat close, considering), Pete snorts, Callie's fingers flex, Charlotte crosses her arms over her chest, and Cristina smirks - at least she knows Cristina won't be completely against whatever comes out of her mouth. Not that Cristina will be particularly supportive either. She clears her throat, "we've decided to have a baby - together."

"Oh my god," Arizona says first.

Not the best tension breaker but it's better than you're stupid.

"Seriously?" Meredith comments absently.

"A baby?" Teddy repeats; Addison can detect the question in the air, unspoken amongst all of them.

She looks at Mark pointedly, begging him to help her do damage control with the desperation in her eyes only left with the hope that now is one of the times that they can communicate without words. His mouth opens slightly as his eyebrows furrow and she can feel herself grasping for him to interject, to explain something like everyone finds him more logical or something. She doesn't even know what she's expecting, just that she isn't alone in this.

Finally, he smirks and leans forward in his seat, elbows touching the surface of the table, "we want a baby and we figured if we do it together then we won't have to parent alone."

"Yeah, and we won't lose that romance in our relationship because we don't even have a relationship," she adds; she thinks she hears Cristina mutter rightunder her breath but decides to ignore it, "besides, we're friends and we already live together."

"But, honey, what are you going to do once the baby arrives?" Callie asks.

"We'll live happily ever after," Addison replies with a smile, her shoulder touching her chin as she shrugs. Mark can't help but reach out and slide his hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She concedes a little, "look, I know it isn't ideal but we both want to be parents so why can't we do it together?"

"Wait a second," Derek says suddenly, "does this mean you two are having sex?"

Mark laughs, just laughs. Addison quirks an eyebrow at her ex-husband in a warning not push it because he knows better than that. She shakes her head.

"No, it's in v-," Mark stutters, looking at Addison for help.

"In vitro fertilization," she supplies.

"That doesn't even sound like a good idea," Violet says; Addison appreciates Charlotte's silence now more than ever.

Mark grumbles for a moment, toying with biting his bottom lip before swallowing to speak, "thank you all for your support, but we're doing it anyway."

The words barely leave his lips before he's on his feet and charging away from the table. Her eyes follow him as he exits the front door and she doesn't know if she should follow him or if she should just let him be. For a few moments, everyone just sits in shock before Derek extends a hand in her direction.

"I'll go talk to him," Derek offers.

"No," she insists, "I should be the one to do it."

"It's okay," Derek says as he pushes himself to his feet. He follows Mark's trail to the front door and pushes it open, only seeing Mark leaning against the wall of the alley by the embers of his cigarette, and he takes in a deep breath before approaching him. He smirks a little, leaning against the wall beside him, "I thought you quit."

"I did, we did," Mark says, a trail of smoke disappearing into the air. He throws the cigarette perched between his fingers against the ground, immediately followed by his heel slamming into the concrete and smashing it. He shrugs, "someone offered it to me and I thought I was just mad enough that it could distract me."

"Why are you mad - because of what everyone said?" Derek asks; Mark rolls his eyes in response and that's when Derek pushes his balance back to his toes and stands upright, "don't worry about what everyone else said. They are all going through issues having to do with kids and are just trying to keep it together. It isn't that they don't support you, they just see how sometimes things get ripped apart and are jealous of how simple your relationship is."

"I don't think of it as complicating things," he admits, "I just see it as having a baby with one of my best friends, co-parenting."

"Hey, just like you wanted, Buddy," Derek says.

Mark laughs and follows Derek's lead back inside; at least Derek hasn't called them stupid, yet.

Derek climbs into bed beside his wife, satisfied with how seemingly asleep Zachary is. Lately, the baby has been sleeping better at night now that he's almost 4 months old, but that doesn't mean he's becoming any easier to predict. If anything, Derek's dark headed son has become more of a handful since Meredith is no longer on maternity leave. He glances at her once he sees her small smirk in his periphrial vision.

"What?" He asks with a stifled laugh.

"Mark and Addison having a baby together doesn't bother you?" She asks, eyebrows teasingly rising on her forehead.

"Why? Because she's my ex-wife?" He asks. Her eyes portray everything she isn't saying and he just bursts into laughter. He lightly shakes his head, sliding further down between the sheets. "It doesn't bother me, they're both my friends. But them having a baby together is a horrible idea."

"Oh, it's the worst idea I've ever heard," Meredith says in agreement.

He shrugs as she reaches over and drags a hand through his tad bit too long hair, "but it's their life. Besides, I think they secretly like each other."

"That's how the fairytales start. Have a baby together then fall in love," she comments.

He laughs and rolls over to face her, "that's how it works for some people, but not them. I think they already love each other."

"You just think you know everything."

He leans into her and presses his lips against her jaw, "but when I'm right, I get to say I told you so."

She giggles, "deal."

The ding of the ball against the bat prompts Mark's eyes to shift with the little kid who hit the ball as he runs from home plate to first base. He's been to a countless number of Mason's baseball games, usually with Derek and sometimes with Addison and even occasionally Violet (and her tag-along, Lucas, who was the first baby Mark ever really held); however, this is one of the few times that it's just him at Mason's game with Cooper and Charlotte. He doesn't mind, really, because Mason's a smart kid and sometimes entertaining, despite his recent loss.

It's the first game of the season. More than that, the first game that Mason's mom hasn't been to and Mark expects him to ask where Derek or even Addison is. He isn't really looking forward to the many questions that a kid could ask especially since he's recently at a loss for words, doesn't know what to say at all anymore other than he knows what he wants.

More and more every day he begins to imagine what their kid will look like - red hair, blue eyes, and of course the Sloan nose. The Sloan nose is a given. He has it, his father had it, and his grandfather had it; he thinks if he has a kid who doesn't have the Sloan nose he'd feel like he's failed the family name. He's given into the optimism, the high hopes that what they're doing will bring him a kid that he can call his own, one who shares half of his DNA and half of Addison's.

"So," Cooper starts, chewing a handful of popcorn with an open mouth, "were you guys for real the other night?"

"About?" Mark asks, deciding that playing stupid is always safe.

"The baby thing, I mean, I think it's great. I love kids and I can be its pediatrician, but do you really want kids? I don't know, I just haven't seen you around kids very much," Cooper says with a shrug.

"What? I love kids," he replies. Well, loveis pushing it, but he likes kids well enough. He goes to Mason's baseball games, plays peek-a-boo with Lucas, and feels like he's the most special person on earth when he holds Zachary. He expels a breath of air as he shifts his gaze from the baseball field on the other side of the fence and in Cooper's direction. "I mean, I like them if they aren't too loud and stuff, I think anyway. I don't know, if it's my kid, won't it be different?"

"I guess," Cooper absently agrees with a shrug, "I just think you either like kids or you don't."

"I don't think that's fair. Charlotte didn't want kids, didn't really like them either. Now look at her. She's a proud mom," Mark points out. He takes a sip of his drink (Mountain Dew despite the hot air and the knowledge that water would probably be better) and sees Charlotte out of the corner of his eye, sitting on the bottom row and shouting louder than anyone else. He laughs in the back of his throat once he swallows, amused at how someone so against motherhood is a mom now. "I could do it. I can be a dad. I want to be a dad. I don't think I'll be terrible at it."

"No one used the word terrible, just unexpected."

"Coop, leave that man alone," Charlotte cuts in from a few rows down, "he and Montgomery want to be parents, let them be."

Cooper smirks, "yes, ma'am."

"Wow," Mark remarks with a grin, "she's got you on a tight chain."

"You can shut up, too," she interposes.

Mark's smirk only turns into a laugh even though she's glaring and he can't tell if she's serious if she's kidding, but she doesn't really intimidate him – not the way she intimidates others. The baseball game ends with Mason scoring the last run, resulting in a slight win (Mason's run). After the game, the boy is so excited that he talks all three adults into ice cream.

"Mark, when are you and Addison getting married?" Mason asks over a bite.

Cooper chokes on his bite of ice cream while Mark just laughs, "uh, she isn't my girlfriend or anything, pal, she's just my friend."

"But you live with her," Mason reasons, "my dad and momma lives together because they're married."

"Not everybody who lives together are in a relationship," Charlotte chimes in.

"I love Addison, but I'm not in love with her," Mark explains; Mason is reluctant to accept the complex reasoning so simply, but eventually he drops the subject.

Mark wonders when everything became centered on him and his relationship with Addison - or, non-relationship.

Two or three weeks feels like a long time that she's been mulling over the information, but she can't help being jealous that Addison and Mark were going to try to have a baby. She had a heads up, maybe more than anyone else, but she didn't think they'd actually go through with it. She's happy for her best friends, really, she is, but sometimes she just can't help being jealous over her two single friends getting what she wants even though she's more than halfway down the aisle.

She almost doesn't get the reasons why Arizona doesn't want a baby, no matter how many times they go over it. Every answer she gets is practically a non-answer and her brain can't really wrap around that. For her, a part of her dies every day because she's further and further away from her dream. Of course she hadn't imagined that her laugh would be what it is, but she certainly imagined she would havemore.

They both are going to have to make sacrifices if they want to be together, but there's a part of her that just isn't sure this is something she can budge on. She wants to be a mom. She wants Arizona to be a mom with her. She doesn't have the ability to shut that desire off.

Maybe not right now, she isn't looking for the right now agreement. She's just hoping for the possibility of some day. She doesn't think that's too much to ask. She wants the prospect of having everything she's ever wanted. Hell, maybe if she borrows Zachary for an evening Arizona will change her mind, but Arizona is a pediatric surgeon. If anyone can take care of children, out of everyone Callie knows, her answer would be Arizona in a heartbeat.

She swallows and pours a glass of wine because if she can't get what she wants, she might as well drink to that.

He tries to step lightly as he closes the front door with such an ease that if she happens to be asleep he won't wake her up, not to mention how easily he can scare her if he wants to. He practically tiptoes into the living room, the soft glow from the television bouncing off of the walls, and sees her watching an episode of Project Runway that he's never seen before; he absently wonders if it's new before crouching to the ground to creep up on her. He hides behind the back of the couch, breathes in deep before reaching up and touching her hair.

A moment of silence before he jumps to his feet and screams; he laughs when he watches her jump in her seat and scream along with him.

"I got you good, Red," he says with a smirk.

"Ugh," she groans, "shut up."

He laughs again, "what are you up to?"

"I had a nice, long bath," she answers.

"Without me?" He mock teases. She narrows her eyes in response and he lifts his hands in defense as he moves around the couch to sit down beside her. He absently shrugs and leans his shoulder against hers. "I just know you like to talk while in the bath. I thought you would have called me."

"I'm not going to call you while you're in the middle of a date," she replies.

"I would have welcomed the distraction," he counters, "she was smart and she talked a lot. She was giddy, like a school girl. It was creepy. Who would think that with all that she has going for her she would be oddly...dull. I just went out with her as a favor to Derek."

"Maybe they just wanted her out of their house or something," Addison replies with a shrug, "at least for a night anyway. What's wrong with her?"

He sighs and lifts his arm, draping it over the back of the couch. He turns his head in her direction and tucks his bottom lip between his teeth to bite back a smirk. He swallows, "I don't know. She rambles and not in that cute way you do. She talks about literally nothing when she does and her voice sounds all chipper and she has the big eyes because she's so young. She's just a kid."

"Tits too small?" Addison asks.

Mark smirks, "yeah, that too."

"I thought that was the real reason."

"Come on, Addie, you know I'm an ass man," he says with a laugh; one swift movement and he's reaching down to grasp her thigh, "and the legs. I like a good pair of legs."

He squeezes at the spot above her knee where she's ticklish, successfully emitting a giggle out of her like he wants. Her shrieks protest amidst her laughter, but that doesn't stop him; his fingers manage to tease her ribcage. Her open palm collides with his chest as she screams Mark, stop itwhile she continues to laugh and he giggles as she leans her upper body against his in an attempt to power him with her strength.

"Oh, you wanna go?" He asks as he grabs her wrists and lays back, subsequently taking her with him.

She laughs into his neck until his fingers only move against her skin so he can wrap his arms around her. His fingertips press into the small of her back as she tucks her head beneath his chin and he fleetingly wonders why he would even bother dating other women when he has her; the thought is gone as quickly as it comes, her fingers tapping against his chest. His fingers slide between hers out of habit, stilling her movements against his chest.

He swallows, asks, "are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Kind of," she admits. She lifts up a little bit to meet his eyes with her own gaze, their mouths mere inches apart and their breath colliding in the minimal space between them. Her fingers flex against his, "I really want this to work, Mark."

"Me too, Addie," he replies as she settles back beneath his chin; he presses his cheek into her forehead, "just think, a month from now, we can be parents."

She snuggles up to him, making an audible sound that suggests approval in the back of her throat. A small smile forms on his mouth. The next time he sneaks a peek at her face, she's asleep.

A lot has happened over the past month, 4 weeks of surprises and stresses, over 28 days of pure disaster. He reflects on it in a way that translates in his attempts to not think about it. In spite of himself and his efforts, he fails greatly in avoiding. Pacing the aisles of the drug store down the street, he tries not to be spotted by anyone he knows because, despite the fact that they are well informed of what is going on, he still doesn't think it's their business just yet.

Lexie Grey has been managing to run into him everywhere since their date and he's hoping that she doesn't happen to be at thisparticular drug store because he really can't handle her rambling right fucking now. He's managed to swallow all of the words he's wanted to say, everything mean and hurtful like how she shows up everywhere and acts like she knows him - telling him things that he'd much rather not know about at all. Not to mention the way she comes across slightly insulting to or about Addison. He doesn't mean to be so protective but he can't help it.

Over the past month, they've handled Callie creeping into their living room and crying on their couch between them because her and Arizona broke up. Since then, Callie has been a wreck, saying she needs her best friends and Addison is less than enthused at the idea of sending her away. She'd say, would you want her to dismiss you when your heart was broken?, and he's just smirk and remind her that he's a guy.

Regardless of their attempt at IVF a month ago, Callie has spent the time ever since repeating that babies complicate things and that they shouldn't do it because what are they going to do when they find the one but that person isn't ready to deal with their odd relationship and the child they share. Mark sighs absently and says that they'll figure it out while Addison smiles and reminds Callie that she wants to be a mom more than she wants a relationship. Callie typically started crying about how she wants kids someday and Arizona doesn't, that's why they broke up. Better you find out now,he'd think.

But now, a month later, he's at the drug store looking for a pregnancy test and isn't sure which one to get. Addison has been bitchy and snapping at him, causing him to raise his hands in defeat and just agreeing with her. He attributes it to that she's been feeling sick, throwing up anyway, and he gets it because he can be difficult when he's sick. But then, it occurred to him that maybe she could be pregnant since it's been going on for awhile.

Maybe he's just getting his hopes up, but Mark can be an optimistic guy.

He pulls out his phone and dials Jake's office, determined to be sure that it's a possibility and that he isn't wasting his time. He swallows, tapping his fingers against his thigh as the phone rings in his ear, impatiently waiting for someone to pick up the phone. Finally, the ringing stops and he automatically clears his throat.

"Seattle Family Practice, this is Dell speaking," comes the voice from the other end of the line.

"Is Jake in?" Mark asks.

"Just a moment."

A few moments pass and then, "this is Doctor Reilly."

"This is Mark. I'm just calling because I wanted to know if it would be too soon to tell if Addison is pregnant or," he trails off, not really sure how to finish his question without divulging a bunch of unnecessary information.

"Those home pregnancy tests aren't always correct," Jake replies.

"But," he starts, furrows his eyebrows as he reaches out for a box and briefly scans it, "the box says ninety-nine percent accurate."

"Yes and so do condoms," Jake counters.

"Okay, so those don't do their job? Their whole point is to do their job," Mark begins to ramble. He stops himself by tucking his bottom lip into his mouth, lightly shaking his head. He doesn't know what he was expecting from his phone call. "But, is it too soon for her to do a pregnancy test?"

"No, not at all, but you have an appointment on Monday just to be sure."

Mark nods even though Jake can't see it and says his thanks, promptly hanging up his phone and stuffing it back into his pocket. He takes the box in his hand to the front of the store, trying to beat Addison home. Fridays are her short days at the hospital because she's started lending a hand at the practice a few months ago. Since then, Jake moved to the practice because they had an opening.

When he and Derek had started their practice in New York, it was just the two of them, but since moving to Seattle they decided to expand. At first, it was just the three of them devoting part of their time to the practice and part of it to the hospital. Over the past four years they've expanded and decided that they could really use specialties that stay in the office full time; so far, it seems to be working out.

He beats her home, barely. No sooner than he sits down on the couch does he hear the front door open and close. He only hopes that's Addison rather than Callie coming in. He loves Callie, but her constant appearance, (even some nights spent on their couch because she's cried herself to sleep), makes it difficult for them to talk about what they're trying to do.

"Hey," she says; he visibly relaxes at the sound of her voice. He turns slightly to glance at her over his shoulder, arm resting on the back of the couch as his fingers tighten on the material. She offers him a weak smile. "I've had a long day. I am so ready to just sit down and relax. Plus, I'm starving."

"Food? I'm always up for food. Did you want me to make something?" He asks. She's reluctant to answer and he thinks she's racking her brain for something that sounds good. He purses his lips, beginning to feel dejected due to his over-excitement. He offers her a weak smile back, "or I can order something. Pizza? Chinese? Thai?"

"Oh," she says, eyes lighting up, "pizza sounds delicious."

"I was hoping you'd say that. What sounds good?"

"Surprise me," she says with the smallest of glints in her eyes.

"I hate it when you say that," he replies. He narrows his eyes in her direction prompting her to laugh. He drops his gaze from hers as she walks down the hallway towards her bedroom, toying with the idea of following her while her heels echo into the living room. Finally, he swallows and takes wide strides to be just a few steps behind her. "So, I was thinking..."

"Yeah?" She prods as she kicks off her heels, losing three inches when she does; she isn't insecure enough to bother refraining from beginning to unbutton her shirt.

He thinks nothing of it anymore. He lifts a hand and scratches at the back of his head, biting his bottom lip. He shoves his other hand into his pocket and leans against the doorframe as she pulls her shirt out of her pencil skirt the rest of the way. He hopes the suggestion doesn't ruin her relatively pleasant mood.

"Maybe you could," he hesitates, shifts his feet beneath him, "take a pregnancy test to ease our minds. I know I've been rather eager. I can't imagine how you feel."

"That's a sweet idea, Mark," she says, her lips tugging upward. She pulls her shirt off and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear to get it out of her eyes. She breaks their gaze to dig through her dresser for a shirt to put on. "I don't know - we have a doctor's appointment on Monday."

"I know, but are you saying that you don't want to know? What if we're getting our hopes up when we could know now? Or what if we have something to be excited for? I'd much rather know now instead of obsess about it all weekend. I don't really have anything to do this weekend except for sit around and think."

"Not me," she replies. He's pretty sure his facial expression indicates confusion at her comment because when she sees his face she laughs. He fuses his lips together, tilting his head to the side as she turns her back to him, unhooks her bra, and pulls an old t-shirt of his only showing minimal skin. "I'm on call this weekend and we both know that babies are impromptu. I'm sure they will distract me."

"So, you think that delivering babies and saving babies' lives will distract you from thinking about the possibility that we might be having a baby?" He repeats, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I never said it was a flawless plan," she counters, turning on her heel to face him. She unzips her skirt and pushes it to the ground, the t-shirt long enough for her to forgo shorts. Finally, she stands up fully and offers him a smile, "I'll do it if you really want me to."

"The things you do for me," he replies with a smirk.

Henry Burton used to be a baseball player. He wasn't what would be classified as an all-time great, but he was good enough to make it to major leagues. That's what he hates most about his disease is that when he was a kid he'd always imagined playing professional baseball, and when he made it he had to quit. Before he met Teddy, he'd joke that maybe he'd join a circus and when asked his skill he'd say that he grows tumors for a living. He wouldn't wish the disease on anyone though because as much as he laughs about it, it really isn't funny.

He must have picked up a lucky penny or something though because somehow he got a hot, successful surgeon to marry him. Although the love part came later, it doesn't make a difference to him because in the end he still turned out to be lucky. He hopes that maybe things are looking up, that his life is about to do a turn around. Not to mention Doctor Webber agreeing to admit him into some trial in an attempt to beat the many other diseases that his disease had caused. It's never ending - the doctors appointments, the hospital visits, the sick days.

And his profession is something to do with something he honestly knows nothing about.

He wishes he could go back to the game, but Mark's a great buddy for that. They go to baseball games and sometimes Henry sneaks them into the dug out as a former Seattle Mariner. His old team mates, and even the new ones, are welcoming even to the stranger who never really played baseball.

He wraps his arms a little tighter around his wife, content with laying in bed a little bit longer on his day off. That's probably his favorite things about the weekends, especially when Teddy doesn't work. Her hand twitches below the sheet and he smirks as he reaches to entwine their fingers. She stifles a yawn and peels her eyes open to see him looking back at her.

"Good morning, wide eyes," she comments.

He laughs and says, "I'm glad you're up. Now you can make me breakfast."

She smirks and rolls into his embrace; he's pretty positive that his life can only get better from here.