Part Four

The boy had fallen asleep in Addison's arms, head nestled warmly against her inner arm, hand never letting go of her shirt. All the action had worn him out and he had quickly felt secure enough to give in to sleep. Addison was grateful for his slumber, which meant that he would most likely be oblivious to the tense situation they were in.

Warily keeping an eye on their captors, Addison wondered if everything would indeed be alright. She knew without a doubt that Alex was out front with the police, carrying out the gunman's bidding. She also knew he was frantic and worried sick. Strangely, she could almost feel his fear and if the situation was reversed she would have felt the same way. Hell, if she had gotten that phone call, she would no doubt grab the hostage negotiator by the collar and demand he do something, immediately. Addison knew that the longer hostage takers were made to wait, the likelihood of them hurting someone increased dramatically. On that front, she hoped Alex could work his magic quickly.

Yet some part of her would rather he stay away, far away where the threat of violence was non existent.

It was then, sitting on the floor in a bank with her life in the hands of trigger-happy robbers, that Addison realized how lonely she really was, until Alex came along.

Sure, she had friends in medical school, but they proved to be situational friends. Those friendships had cooled when internships ended and support amongst peers to get through harsh days with long hours was no longer needed.

And she had Derek. From the beginning they had always been Derek and Addison, Addison and Derek. There was never any question about it, never any need for a reason. They had an instant attraction for each other, and since both were equally passionate individuals, the relationship had moved forward at a fast pace so much so that Addison found herself married before her heart could quite catch up. When it did, and when time had extinguished much of the flaming passion which made up almost all of what was Derek and Addison, she realized theirs had been a union based on lust. She had never taken the time to fall deeply, madly in love with Derek. Instead she had held the phrase 'love at first sight' in high esteem. But Derek was still Derek, and having lived with him for awhile, she still cared for him. Yet she was still lonely.

So she had turned to the next closest, next most desirable man in her life, Mark. All Addison wanted was to feel molten hot lava flowing through her veins when she lay with a man in bed, to rekindle some of the fire in her life, ease the numbness brought on by monotony. Who was she kidding? She just didn't want to be lonely anymore. However Mark was a fling that had driven Derek further away making Addison more lonely than before.

Then there was Alex. Brutally honest, painfully sharp, infuriating Alex. He had constantly grated on her nerves with his nail-on-the-head observations which she forced herself to believe were simply not true. Alex had made her angry, mad, incensed; Alex had made her feel something other than nothing. Subconsciously she had reacted by drawing him closer to her. Gradually she realized he was right. Her acceptance enabled her to look past what she thought was him spouting hurtful lies to find the genuine concern behind his words. Whenever Alex was around, Addison didn't feel lonely anymore, Addison felt alive again.

Now she just needed to stay alive.

The child stirred in her arms, crying out softly in his sleep. This attracted the attention of the gunman closest to them. Freddy, Addison recalled with a shudder. Freddy the bank robber shared the same name as her Fred and to Addison, that in itself made her insides curl with disgust. The injustice of it all. Freddy should be dead, not Fred. That steeled her resolve and as the gunman leveled his weapon on them once more, Addison Montgomery met his stare with her own, green eyes flashing with pure, unadulterated hatred.

"I said to shut 'im up!" Freddy snapped.

"He's having a nightmare." Addison said, noting with satisfaction that it was Freddy who adverted his eyes first. 'Round one to me' she thought, her small victory a huge courage booster.

"Wake 'im up!"

"Whatever for?" Addison responded boldly. "All he has to see is your ugly mug."

As the words left her mouth and rang like a death toll in the air, Addison cursed her rashness. She recognized the look on his face, a look which could only spell trouble. Addison had unwittingly put the boy in danger and she felt wretched.

Suddenly, he swung his arm and delivered a slap across her face. Startled, Addison jerked backwards, her movement waking the little boy who began to scream loudly. Addison winced, not from the pain of the blow but from the knowledge that trouble was now spelt in an endless stream of capital letters. The crack of the gun cocking snapped Addison into action and she hurriedly placed a palm over the child's mouth, muffling his sobs. Holding him more tightly against her, Addison hushed him softly, praying Freddy would not make the toddler pay for her remark.

'Round two to him' she awarded the point ruefully.

"If I hear so much as a squeak from either of you, you're both dead meat" the gunman announced, lowering his gun, still cocked.

'Meat's already dead' Addison found herself thinking somewhat inappropriately as the boy struggled against her, no longer confident in the safety of her arms, doubting the capability of his impromptu protector. Addison held firm, leaning forward a little to whisper reassurances into his ear.

Knowing then that the gunmen had no regards for the lives of the people, men, women and children they held at gunpoint, she understood with chilling certainty that if it came down to the wire, they would annihilate every last one of them.

A/N: Thank you dear readers for taking the time to review. I'm touched and motivated by the positive feedback. Makes me want to write all day. Sadly survival demands I keep a job, so the going has been slow. Anyhow, I hope to update at least once a week. Thanks again!