The following week Addison had an early morning appointment with her OB/GYN across town. She left with the confirmation that she was indeed about eight weeks pregnant. She went to work after, rounded on her patients, got through her first surgery of the day, and was in the cafeteria attempting to eat a salad when Callie found her. "So, your appointment was this morning, right? How did that go?" she asked as she set her tray down.
Addison looked up at Callie and pushed the salad away. "Eight weeks along and everything looks good."
"And have you decided yet?"
"I'm keeping it. This is a chance I never thought I'd have, and I'm taking it. Hopefully it doesn't kill me." She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before sipping her ginger ale.
"Morning sickness isn't any better?" Addison shook her head. "Aww. It'll go away soon. Hang in there," Callie said sympathetically. "So, have you told anyone yet?"
"No. Given my age it's kind of high-risk so I think I want to wait until I'm out of the first trimester, just in case. So keep your mouth shut."
"My lips are sealed." Callie reached over and hugged Addison. "Ugh, I'm just so excited for you!"
Addison grinned. "Yeah, so am I."
The next few weeks flew by, and before she knew it Addison was two days away from her twelve week appointment. She was on her way to the ER for a consult when she started feeling dizzy and next thing she knew she was waking up on a gurney, with an intern starting an IV in her left arm while another drew blood from the right. "What happened?" she inquired as she tried to sit up, only to collapse back on the pillow as her head started to spin again.
"You passed out in the hallway," Miranda Bailey explained from the doorway before shooing the interns away. "You're severely dehydrated. You been sick lately?"
Addison knew she had to come clean and motioned for Bailey to come closer. "I'm pregnant," she admitted once she was sure no one else was in the room. "The morning sickness has been awful."
"Well, congratulations!" Miranda said as she hugged Addison. "How far along?"
"I have my twelve week checkup on Thursday. I didn't want to tell anyone until after that."
"Well, how about we check on that little bean now, just to be on the safe side?" Addison nodded in agreement. "I'll call for an OB consult. Hang tight."
Fifteen minutes later Addison was puking in a basin as Bailey returned with one of the OB attendings in tow. "Doctor Montgomery, I hear congratulations are in order," Leslie Adams said with a grin, once Addison was done throwing up, as she got the ultrasound machine ready. "Okay, let's see how we're doing. This will be a little cold," she warned out of habit before squirting the gel on Addison's belly.
Tears filled Addison's eyes as she saw a flicker on the screen and her baby's heartbeat filled the room. "There she is," she squealed with a dopey grin. "I mean, I know it's too early to tell, but I feel like it's a girl."
"Well, whatever it is, it's spot on for twelve weeks and everything looks good." Doctor Adams printed a few pictures and handed them to Addison. "Now, about the morning sickness. How bad is it?"
"It's bad. Some days I barely make it an hour without throwing up. I was hoping it would get better by now, but the last couple days have been the worst yet."
"And have you lost any weight?"
"About ten pounds. Maybe a little more. I actually called my OB the other day and asked her to give me a prescription for Zofran, but she said the morning sickness is normal at this stage and she thinks it's unnecessary to prescribe anything this early."
"Well, as I'm sure you suspect, I think we're looking at hyperemesis gravidarum. You could have asked me and I would have written the prescription."
"You know how people talk around here. I just wanted to keep it under wraps until I hit the second trimester," Addison explained.
"Totally understandable. But since we're here I'll go ahead and write the prescription. As you know, it may not be one hundred percent effective, but hopefully it'll be enough to keep this from happening again. But if not, don't wait,so long to get fluids, okay?" Addison nodded. "Good. Now, I want you to get another liter of saline after this, and then, as long as your vitals are good, you're free to resume normal activity."
"Okay. Thank you so much." With the obstetrician gone and over an hour to kill Addison thought she'd get some sleep but first one of the interns appeared with her first dose of Zofran and then Callie popped into the room.
"Hey, I heard you were here. Everything okay?"
"It's all good. Just a little dehydrated. Doctor Adams did an ultrasound and the baby looks great."
"Awesome. Can't stay, but I'm glad you're okay. Let me know if you need anything."
Soon Addison was back to work, feeling much better after the fluids and Zofran. Later that afternoon she spotted Derek coming down the hall. She took a deep breath as he approached. "Hey, Derek, you got a minute?" she asked, nodding towards an empty room.
"Not much more than that. What's up?" he asked nervously as he followed her into the room.
Addison bit her lip. "Okay, well, there was a little...incident this morning. You know how rumors spread around here, so I thought I should tell you before you hear it from someone else. I...I'm pregnant."
"O-kaaaaay, well, congratulations, I guess?"
"Derek, I'm twelve weeks along." She could see the wheels turning in his head. "It's yours."
Derek's face instantly hardened. "Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent."
"I assume you'll be...taking care of this one, too?"
Addison crossed her arms and glared at him. "No, actually, I'm keeping it."
"Addison, you can't do this! Meredith and I are married, we're happy. We're ready to start a family."
"Look, I'm not asking for your permission to have this baby, and I'm certainly not asking for your help. I'm more than capable of raising this child on my own. I just...thought you deserved to know. If you want to be involved in her life, this is your chance, otherwise my lips are sealed. No one will ever know you're the father."
"I want nothing to do with this. I gotta go." Derek stormed off, leaving Addison fighting back tears. She had figured Derek wouldn't want to be involved, but she hadn't expected him to be this angry. She brushed the tears away and headed to the neonatal unit, where she immediately ran into Alex.
"Hey, everything okay?" he asked when he noticed she'd been crying. They'd gotten over the awkwardness from their little fling a few years ago and were now friends - at work, anyways, they didn't hang out together outside of work but they got along well - and Alex was working with her in neonatal.
"Yeah, great," she said, forcing a smile. "Just a little hormonal. Might as well let you in on the secret now that the cat's out of the bag. I, um, I'm pregnant."
"Oh, well, congratulations. Who's the lucky father?"
Addison cringed. Of course Alex would ask that. "Sperm donor. Just the two of us," she lied as she rubbed her practically nonexistent bump.
Alex shrugged. "Hey, whatever works for you. Now, as long as you're here, I have some concerns about the Greene baby," he said as he steered her towards the nursery.
