CHAPTER II Pourquoi?

As Addison walked a last time throught the hospital's hallways she felt like a stranger, doctors were occupied with patients, nurses where gossiping, visitors waiting. As she entered the lobby she heard Mark being called at the speakerphone, it made her heart pounding stronger. She remembered the kiss they just shared, it had felt amazing, like a new beginning. Strangely she hadn't felt like she was cheating on Derek, it felt right. Had she feelings for Mark? She couldn't love this man, he wasn't a marrying kind of man, he was more the manwhore type, the center of nurse's conversations, who in this hospital hadn't slept with him? Even Derek's sisters!

She was now in her car ready to go to the airport and catch the first plane for Seattle.

Meanwhile.

Mark who had just been called on the speakerphone was appraoching the nurse's station where he found Derek absorbed in the reading of a patient file. The neurosurgeon look up from his reading to see Mark looking intently at him.

"What is it Mark? You look like you've seen a ghost, did a nurse refuse to have sex with you again?"

"It's about Addison, I have to tell you something..." Derek cut off his bestfriend, he was mad his wife was again using Mark as a messenger to make him come home!

"What? What is it, I had a surgery that's why I didn't came home, I don't see why she's mad at me all the time, I'm just doing my job!"

"You don't see why she's mad? Are you joking Derek? Listen you haven't talked to her in weeks, you forgot her birthday I had to take her to dinner with me so she could enjoy her night! I have been playing the husband for you while you booked surgeries after surgeries! And now she's gone! Yeah you heard me she's gone" Mark was yelling now, he was more than mad, Derek was a jerk! "She's gone and it's your fault!" and with that he walked away from Derek.

The neurosurgeon couldn't believe what he just heard, he had to be sure, to see by himself. Was his wife really gone?

As he drove towards his house he couldn't help but wonder, was he really that absent? He did forgot her birthday but was it really important? She couldn't go like that without warning, without telling him or could she? maybe he had lost the right to call himself her husband. Arriving home he thought about what Mark said, that he had played the husband for him, was there more than a friendship between his wife and his bestfriend? He couldn't believe that, Mark wasn't the kind of man who falls in love.

The house was quiet, there was no signs of addie, he climbed the stairs and discovered the bedroom's wradrobe open, half of the clothing was missing, so the shoes. Derek went in every room finding each time that something was missing; some books, pictures, her numerous things... When he reached the kitchen he saw what he was looking for; a piece of paper resting on the counter with addison handwriting on it, saying;

Derek,

I'm gone, I'm walking away from our marriage like you did a year ago, I'm tired of waiting for you, I don't have time for this anymore, you don't look at me anymore, you don't even speak to me. Maybe you met someone else, if you have I'm not mad, I think I don't care anymore just know that you will receive the divorce papers in one week or two.

Best

Your Addie

PS: I'm not the only one you left behind, Mark misses you too.

That was it, nothing else, Derek felt bad, he was already missing her presence, everything in the house was smelling like her, the pictures of their past happiness were looking at him with hate. As he was reading for the third time the note, the snow start to fall, Derek hadn't realised that december had come, time was passing so fast, One week before christmas it was suppose to be their favorite season and she wasn't there to share it with him, she was gone. He didn't even know where she was.

At the airport Addison was waiting for her flight to be boarded when her phone rang, it was Derek, she couldn't answer, she hadn't the strenght to do so yet. In the plane she thought about everything she was leaving but also everything she was about to experience. She was heading to Seattle where her mentor, Richard Weber was running Seattle Grace Hospital, he was the chief of surgery there and he wanted her to run the OB-GY departement. She was looking foward to see him, he was like a father for her when she was still an intern.

The morning afer she arrived Addison walked trought the door of Seattle Grace Hospital, Richard was waiting for her at the nurse station, he greeted her with a hug;

"Addie, it's been so long!

Yeah it makes me feel so old! How is Adele doing?

Adele is fine, she wants you to have dinner with us one of those days!

I'll be more than pleased! I've missed her!

Richard was looking at Addie with a curious look, she felt like he was about to question her and she was right;

Addie don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you decide to come work here for a while but why aren't you with Derek? Is there something wrong?

I think Derek and I are over, I left, but you can't call him, I beg you! He doesn't have to know, well it's not like he cares anyway so...Please Richard you have to promess me you won't call him okay?

Okay I won't tell him anything, but you know Adele is gonna ask you for details so you better prepare a good explaination! She chuckled, it was good seeing him, he always knew how to make her feel better! And with that he gave her a visit of the hospital and the details of her first case.

Addison was happy to be in Seattle, far away from Derek, New York and her problems. Of course she'll aklways be a New Yorker but right now she needed to be somewhere with stranger, where she would be considered as a stranger.

After a long day at the hospital Addie came back to rest in her hotelroom, she had a few messages from Derek bot none from Mark, it was suprising. She was hurt, Mark hadn't called, she thought he cared for her, maybe he was regretting their kiss. She had trouble defining the reason why he kissed her, was he in love with her, was it a pity kiss? Remembering their conversation she realised she said him "I love you", She hadn't realised what she was saying at the moment. She hadn't lied, she loved Mark but in what way?

Two days had passed and Derek was still without news from Addie, Mark was angry at him fot letting her leave so he refused to talk to him and the chief didn't know where she was. Derek couldn't wait a month for her to come back, he needed her now, ignoring her was something but living without her was something else, he was starting to realise that he had ruined one of the best things of his life. He had to know where Addison was, like he expected she weren't answering her phone, so he went to see Mark;

He entered the conference room where the plasticsurgeon was eating his lunch;

Hi, Mark, I need to talk to you about Addie, as Derek spoke Mark didn't look at his friend, he was focused on his food. Do you know where is she, she left me a note but there was no indication of where she went, and I'm worried so if you know anything maybe you could help me. Mark reacted at his last words;

So now your worried, I have to admit that it's new! You have no right to be worried, it's too late to be worried! For a moment the two men stayed silent looking at each other with eyes filled with hate and frustration, but Mark broke the silence, he spoke with his heart and his voice exposed his sadness;

"I don't know where she is... If I knew I would be on my way, Derek you are not gonna like what I'm about to say but I have to, I can't stand hiding my feelings anymore...I think I'm in love with Addie, I know she's your wife but since the minute I first saw her in med-school I knew she was the one, but you saw her first and you are my bestfriend so I hide my feelings. But now I can't, it's too painful, those past few months had been hard on me, I couldn't stand seeing her abandoned , so I played the husband and I loved it...And it made me want her even more but I didn't do anything because I'm not her husband, you are and it's killing me. You have her and you don't care, and I care but can't have her...Mark's words died, Derek was silent, he couldn't believe what his bestfriend was admitting. he didn't know what to say, wanted to kill Mark or at least break his neck, he had to do something! So he tried to punch him but Mark was fast and he avoid the hit, whitch cause Derek to fall agaisnt the wall. As he tried to compose himself and fight again, Derek's bipper went off, and he suddenly left the conference room.

Mark was sad, he knew his friend was mad but his first worry was Addison, was she safe, he needed to know how she was. He had called her parents and her brother but they didn't know anything. He had to find her so he went to the nurse's station to get a key of her office, using of his charm and a false pretext he got what he needed.

In her office everything was in place, as usual. The top of her desk was free from papers, so he looked throughs the drawers, he only found pens, files and old pictures. As he reached for the last drawers, something looked familiar, it was a letter from Richard, he received the same a month ago. His ex-chief wanted to hire him, apparently he hadn't been the only one Richard was chasing, Addison too. Mark had to make sure she was there, so he called Seattle Grace Hospital, he asked the receptionist who was their Ob-Gy, satisfied by the woman's answer, Mark called Richard he was going to surprise the woman he loved.

I wanted to thank you for the reviews, it was wonderful reading them, I know you wanted a longer chapter so here it is! I don't know if I'll upload this fast again, because I'm back to university. But I promess that I'll do my best!

Thanks for reading! If you have a request or anything just ask and I'll answer!