This fic takes its title from the Little Birdy song 'Please don't lay me down'
Chapter title – "Fall Behind Me" .. from The Donnas - google them, awesome band!
I don't own any of these characters; I just borrowed them, played with them for a while and put them back neatly in their packages. I swear.
A/N: Yes, thank you, I am a Drama Queen. Deal with it. Or Not. I've been living with this for a while now and I just had to get it outa my head and into yours. I'm not going to lie to you folks, many liberties have been taken and for this I do apologise.
Couplings : Addison / Alex : Addison / Mark : MerDer : and others as is my want.
Thanks for all the kind reviews, constructive criticism is great! Don't be shy about it either. I've been sitting on this fic for a while because its hard to know if your getting the characters right. Anyway, sit back relax, put your feet up, because this is only the begining of a longish fic, its all in my head, just got to get it down. Sposed to be writing essay atm. But am procrastinating. Good times!
PLEASE DON'T LAY ME DOWN by VonKrum
Chapter Two : Fall Behind Me
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"What are you doing?"
Callie's tray hit the plastic table hard, making Addison jump and her coffee spill a little on her lap, "Hey." She cried.
"What are you doing?" Callie looked pointedly at her.
Addison busied herself working the small stain from her skirt, self consciously she tugged at the edges of the large split running up her thigh desperately trying to cover her exposed leg. "Coffee Callie, that's what I'm doing." She held her cup up under Callies nose. "Trying to, before you came barging over making me wear it" she added under her breath.
"Crap. I see you Addison." Callie glared at her. "I see what you're doing."
"And just what is that?" Addison enquired unable to look Callie in the eye.
"All this," Callie waved her hand at Addison, "and that." She waved her hand in another direction. "All your flirting."
Addison choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken.
"You are sashaying around the place in those short skirts with those long legs. Every man in this place is drooling after you. You're playing it! My god, I even caught George looking at you!" She declared. "You are slutting about."
"I am not." Addison shook her head
Callie glared at her.
"Ok," Addison conceded, "I am."
"That's all I'm saying." She nodded.
Addison absently took another sip of coffee.
Callie took the lid off her paper cup added sugar, stirred, replaced the lid then took a tentative sip. "So?"
Addison gazed across the courtyard, purposefully ignoring Callie's question.
Callie waited her out.
"I'm a failure and a chicken. I couldn't do it, I couldn't even see him in the hallway without … keeping my mind off …" she searched for something to explain it.
"His pickle." Callie supplied.
"Oh god!" she moaned," I'm going to be Mrs Mark Sloan in no time." Addison looked imploringly at her.
"Oh the tangled web .." Callie grinned.
"It is not funny."
"So you made a stupid bet with the manwhore." Callie stated matter of factly, "And you're attempting to sabotage that bet, by teasing him enough for him to break that bet with someone other than you, thereby making him the bad guy and letting yourself off."
Addison sighed. "Yeah . . . except I can't even do the flirting thing without .. you know .. I'm hopeless!" she cried throwing her hands in the air. "One look and I was a hairs breath from..." she choked out the next word, "banging him right there and then. No matter how much I care about him, sleeping with Mark is always going to be.. "
"A hailstorm of self loathing and misery?" Callie finished for her.
"Yes." Addison laughed, and leaned her head back against the chair closing her eyes.
"You need to focus on something else." Callie offered. Her gaze wandered across the courtyard to where a group of interns sat.
Addison sat up straight taking a deep breath as she followed Callie's gaze with her own.
"Huh, would you look at that." Callie smirked.
"yeah." Addison sighed as her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip.
"You're a lusty lusty woman Montgomery."
They sat for a while, neither saying anything.
"So?" Callie took a bite of her sandwich.
"So?" Addison looked at her friend. "Not sleeping with the help Callie."
Callie took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. "You could just be honest with him." She paused to let it reach her, "You know that concept whereby you tell the manwhore what your thinking … just .. you know, as a start. ..Maybe."
Then she stared at her, not shifting her gaze as she took another bite and chewed.
"Uhhgghhh." Addison grimaced, before turning her attention somewhere across the courtyard.
"Either way its gonna hurt. Just rip the band aid real fast." Callie put her sandwich down. "And will you stop having hot eye sex with the intern while I'm trying to eat!"
Addison groaned.
"Adjust your bra, if your wearing one," Callie looked at Addison's chest, " oh good, you are wearing one, adjust your bra, man up and be honest with him."
"Argh." She groaned again and hung her head.
She was finding it difficult to remove the glum look from her face, even as she saw him enter the elevator. He smiled at her, his eyes lighting up the small space, she refused to look at him and play his elevator games, so she kept her eyes glued to the closing doors behind him.
She tossed her hair and felt him inhale as he moved behind her.
"hey."
"hey."
They stood in silence for a moment.
'Whats up?"
She mumbled something then said louder "shampoo."
He leaned closer and sniffed her hair.
"shampoo?"
"yeah."
"So whats up?"
"I'm out"
"oh."
She felt his smile behind her.
"So whats up?" he asked again, and leaned over her shoulder.
She gave a small shake of her head and brought the chart she was holding up to her chest clutching it tightly, she looked down as something fell out and they both reached to pick it up.
"Oh." Derek said as his fingers brushed hers.
"oh."
"Ahh." He said as he straightened and claimed the magazine in his hands. He glanced at the cover briefly then flicked through the pages until he came to the article in question.
She stood patiently while he scanned the pages. The small smile she had managed remained frozen on her face.
He said nothing, just closed the magazine and handed it back to her.
She waited for him to say something, anything, but he just watched the doors. She got increasingly more frustrated at his lack of words.
His mouth turned up in the corners as he tried to contain his laughter, his eyes twinkling in that way.
"What?" she thumped him with the magazine.
"Ow." He feigned.
"So?"
"So what ?"
"Haven't you got anything to say?"
He shook his head smirking.
"Why not?"
"Why?"
"Look at her!" she cried thrusting the magazine under his nose.
"I've seen it."
"I need new shampoo." She mumbled.
He stood in front of her and pulled the emergency stop button and the elevator responded immediately.
"Oh no." she took a step towards the panel but he blocked her access.
"What?"
She said nothing, just looked at him.
"What? You're upset because Addison is on the cover of Seattle Magazine?"
She hugged the chart closer.
"That's what you're upset about?" he laughed.
She pouted a little.
"Why?"
"Coz she looks freakin amazing." She cried. " And .. and … I need new shampoo!"
He laughed and reached out to touch her hair.
"No you don't get to laugh at me." She leaned away from him.
"Meredith." He laughed again.
"No. no." she took a step back.
"You are every bit as beautiful, if not more."
She let him step towards her and touch her.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously." He kissed her softly.
"It's just a promotional piece for the hospital. It could just have easily been anyone of the other doctors here. It just happens that she delivered the guys baby and he's a friend of Richards. Its no big deal. I don't understand why you would be … thingy about it." He said as he put some distance between them.
"I'm not being thingy."
"Yes, yes you are."
"I'm not. I'm just …"
"Being thingy."
"No, it's just every time I look around there she is, all red and hot and gorgeous and leggy and smart and," she sighed, "sometimes I just need … new …. shampoo."
"Meredith, Addison was a huge part of my life, but that part is over. I love you now. That's what's important."
She waited for him to say more.
"and yes she is … " he acknowledged struggling for an appropriate word.
"Red hot, gorgeous, leggy?" Meredith supplied.
"that." He said and put his hands on his hips, "but that doesn't mean … anything."
She looked sideways at him.
He leaned back on the doors and hit the emergency stop button and looked at her.
"Seriously" She said as the doors opened and she shouldered past him.
"I like the lavender" he called after her.