"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Addison stared at Derek, confused. "What?"

"What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?" Derek repeated, practically spitting the words out.

Anger rapidly overtook confusion. Addison got to her feet and closed the space between her husband and herself, until they stood toe-to-toe.

"What I'm doing, is sitting here crying because the man I was married to for eleven years has apparently decided that his new hobby is treating me like garbage."

Derek looked at the floor for a second, and Addison thought he was ashamed. But when he looked up at her again, she still saw rage in his eyes.

"You're sleeping with Dr. Karev."

Addison was momentarily stunned.

"Don't even bother trying to deny it either. He told me."

At that point Addison didn't know which of the two men she was more angry with. Derek for his self-righteousness, or Alex for telling him about their recent rendezvous. "What exactly that did he tell you."

"He told me what you taste like. Just a minute a go. I was with Meredith and he came by and whispered in my ear, 'Your wife tastes like cinnamon.' So tell me, how the hell does Alex Karev know what my wife tastes like?"

Addison decided that, at this exact point in time, she was definitely angrier with Derek than she was with Alex.

"Your wife, huh? That's interesting. Because every time that anyone questions your relationship with Meredith, you're pretty damn quick to point out that I'm your soon-to-be ex-wife."

Derek flinched a little, but Addison had fought with him enough times in the course of their relationship that she knew he wasn't ready to back down yet.

"Does Mark know that you're cheating on him? Not that he should be surprised that you are. It is your MO after all."

Addison's face turned red with anger. Derek may be good at hurting her, but she was just as good at hurting him. "I'm not cheating on Mark, you bastard. I'm not with Mark. And get off your high horse, because I'm not the only one in our marriage who cheated. You told me, you promised me, that you were going to work on fixing our marriage.

You invited me to prom. You invited me to prom, Derek. And I was so happy. And I found the perfect dress and I did my hair and make-up, and I felt like I was the high school girl who was going to the prom with the boy of her dreams. I was happy, and I thought that things just might actually work out between us. And then you left me on the dance floor and you went upstairs and fucked Meredith Grey.

You invited me to prom; you fucked another women, and then you left her panties in the pocket of the tux jacket that you put around my shoulders at the end of the night.

So guess what, Derek? You don't get to play the victim any more. You don't get to play the heroic guy with the wife who wronged him! I slept with Mark when I thought our marriage was slipping away. You slept with Meredith when I thought we were putting it back together."

Addison could feel tears once again running down her face, but this time she ignored them.

Derek closed his eyes, and sighed deeply. When he opened his eyes again, Addison could see tears glistening in them.

"Addy," Derek began softly, reaching a hand up to Addison's face.

Addison jerked away from him. "No," she shook her head. "Whatever you're going to say, I don't want to hear it. Not now." She brushed past him to the doorway.

Opening the door, she stepped through. She paused for a moment, then turned back to Derek, who still had his back to her.

"You chose Meredith, Derek. You've said that you love her. You've made it abundantly clear that she's the one you want to be with. So why do you care so much that I'm sleeping with Alex Karev? Why would you care at all?"

Without waiting for a response, she turned once more and left the room, closing the door behind her.

She immediately went to the nearest restroom. She knew she must look horrible, and she wanted to splash some water on her face. Actually, what she really wanted was to go and curl up in bed with a mug of hot cocoa, or maybe a stiff drink. But she still had several hours of work ahead of her. At the very least she could face the rest of her day without a tear-stained face.

Addison stood in front of the sink and sighed. Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her. A splash of water on the face hadn't quite been enough. Her eyes were red, her skin was splotchy, and her hair was a mess.

She was running her fingers through her hair, trying to give it some semblance of neatness, when the restroom door swung open. She turned to see a familiar face. One that shared Addison's puffy eyes and sad expression.

"Doctor Stevens."

"Doctor Shepherd." Izzie look startled. She obviously had been hoping to find the room empty, just as Addison had. She also obviously noticed Addison's current state. "I'm sorry. I can go if..."

Addison waved her off. "No, no. It's fine. I guess I'm not the only one having a bad day."

Izzie nodded absently as she stepped to a mirror and began fiddling with her hair. "It's my first day back."

"How are you doing?" Addison was concerned about the blonde intern. She knew she wasn't Izzie's favorite person, not after the incident with the quints. But she saw some of herself in the young woman.

"It's hard. Being back. I was doing alright, but then I had to check on a patient. And he was in Denny's room. I just...I couldn't..." Izzie trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Addison said softly. There wasn't really anything else she could say. "But for what it's worth, I'm glad you're back. You're a good doctor."

Addison watched as Izzie took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself a little. She studied her reflection in the mirror.

"I look like crap, don't I?"

Addison couldn't help but chuckle. "Trust me, you look better than I do right now."

"Are you alright, Dr. Shepherd?"

Addison was touched that Izzie seemed to be genuinely concerned. "Just one more in long line of fights with the man I thought was the love of my life. And please, I'm Dr. Montgomery now."

Izzie nodded and looked thoughtful. Addison didn't really expect her to say anything. After all, Meredith was Izzie's friend. She couldn't expect the Izzie to declare Meredith and Derek to be horrible people who wronged her terribly.

"I'm sorry," Izzie said, and then began digging through her purse. She pulled out a small comb and handed it to Addison.

"Thank you," Addison replied as she took the comb. It may have been a small gesture, but it was a kind one.

"Doctor Stevens, I've have a surgery tomorrow. It's a fairly complicated procedure, and a rare one. I'm one of a handful of surgeons in this country that performs it. Would you like to assist?"

Izzie hesitated, then nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Good. I'll arrange it with Bailey." Addison finished fixing her hair and handed Izzie back her comb. She didn't look perfect, but she was presentable. "I'll see you tomorrow then," Addison said as she headed for the door.

"Doctor Montgomery?" Izzie called after her.

"Yes?" Addison paused.

"Thank you. And for what it's worth, Meredith's my friend. And I wouldn't say anything bad about her. But your husband? He's kind of a jerk."

Addison smiled as she stepped into the hallway. It was a small gesture. But often it was the small gestures that made all the difference.

A/N: As you can see, I'm starting to bring some other characters into this story. Addison and Alex will still be the main focus, but we'll start to see more of the interns and the other doctors as well. I'm also considering moving toward a Mark/Izzie pairing. Obviously it'd move pretty slowly, as Izzie isn't ready for a relationship now. But I was wondering what people thought of the idea. And thank you to all who have reviewed so far. I've had a very warm welcome to this fandom and it encourages me to keep writing.