So I have finals…and it's impossible not to procrastinate…so I've got this for you…. I still don't own them.

Rumors.

XXXX

Mark Sloan was not in a happy mood.

He woke up alone that morning. Mark Sloan does not like to wake up alone.

Especially not after he planned on not waking up alone the night before. Not after he paid a five hundred dollars a night suite at the hotel where the banquet was held. Not after he and a sexy socialite had been in a frisky make out session in the elevator on the way to said suite. Not after clothes had been discarded on the way to the bed, which was already strewn in what was an obvious sign of a previous romp. Not after he managed to convince the girl that the unmade bed was due to him and him only sleeping there that afternoon, only to have the girl found a pair of expensive earrings on the nighstand. A pair Mark was very familiar with.

"Quite a night you had, Addison," Mark said coldly.

She looked up and studied him, "Let me guess, the girl you brought last night wasn't good?"

"Funny you should ask." He inched closer, invading her personal space, "Because I had a feeling she'd be very good, but I didn't get a chance to find out…thanks to you."

She stepped back, gaining back her space, "I'm not following…what…?"

"Don't play stupid. I know what you did."

"I don't."

Mark crossed his arms, "Let's recall this, shall we? You stole the key to my room, you went up to my room, you had a crazy sex in my room—which I can gather from the sight of the disarrayed bed, and you put the key back in my pocket."

"I…."

"Nuh uh uh, I'm not finished. Then I went up to my room, I planned on having a crazy sex in my room, but did I? No. Why? Because the girl thought I have already had a crazy sex with someone else in there."

Addison was struggling between trying not to laugh and trying to put a guiltless face, "It could be a break in…."

"Huh, I tried that, but that didn't work. Why? Because then she found these."

Mark reached something from his pocket and slammed the items on the counter, turning heads from a few staff near the nurse's station. And for the first time, he broke out a sweet smile at Addison and made sure the few people nearby heard what he said next.

"You left your earrings in my room last night."

XXXXXX

As if the hospital wasn't already bubbling in anticipation of the next development between McDreamy and Grey, the staff rejoiced in the prospect of juicier gossip now that it was revealed that Addison and Mark were still getting hot and heavy with each other.

Addison pulled out her phone soon after Nurse Carson exited the NICU and furiously typed a reply to Derek.

You heard it already?! It's only been half an hour! Mark, that jackass! So…who's gonna break up first, you and Meredith or Mark and I?

She sat in front of an incubator as she waited for a reply and the alert infant turned to her when she reached to touch his tiny hand.

"Hey, little guy," she cooed. "You probably have heard all the gossip, too, haven't you? What do you think, should I kick Mark's a…um, butt all the way back to New York?"

Her phone beeped and a smile formed as she read the message. "Hmm, maybe that won't be necessary. I'll see you later, little guy."

XXXXX

"Dr. Montgomery," Derek formally addressed the redhead by the surgical board.

"Dr. Shepherd," she returned the formality, a twinkle in her eyes betrayed the straight face she put on.

Derek looked around the surgical wing. Two interns were sitting on the stairs behind them, a resident was writing on the board in front of them, an attending was discussing a plan of action with an intern nearby, and three nurses were getting supply from the nearby shelves in the hall. He deemed the surrounding perfect. "So, I heard. You and Mark?"

"Yes," she replied, a little louder to make sure she could be heard. "You and Meredith?"

He shrugged, "She was my date last night, yes. I didn't know that you and Mark still…."

"Oh, well…. It's unfortunate that this got out now..."

"How so?" Derek once again scanned the hall, no one has moved from their original spots, if anything they were closer to him and Addison and the resident was writing awfully slowly on the board.

She leaned into Derek as if she needed privacy, but her volume remained the same, if not louder, "I'm planning to end it."

He acted surprised, "Really? I'm sorry, not that it's my business anymore, but…."

"Oh, don't worry about it. He just…lately, um…how do I say this…."

"You can tell me anything," he said sweetly and smiled, "We're friends."

"That we are, aren't we? Well…Mark has been uh….having a problem…." She pretended to cough, "In the bedroom."

Addison and Derek swore one of the three nurses must had giggled.

Derek looked amused, "Wow…who would've thought…."

Addison nodded, "I know, right? He's been uh….having, um…. You tell this to anyone and he's going to kill me, Derek," she warned.

"I won't tell, I promise," he assured.

"He's…uh…." She stepped closer to him, "Premature…."

The resident writing on the board dropped her marker.

The attending and his intern snapped their heads up and gaped.

One of the interns behind them choked on his drink.

He widened his eyes, "Ooohhhhhh…."

Addison bit her lips, oh how she wanted to laugh. "Mmm hmm…."

XXXXXXXX

At lunchtime, Derek and Addison managed to secure a moment alone in the locker room, sitting on the bench and clutching their stomach in laughter.

"I can't believe you came up with that…."

Addison couldn't utter a reply, instead, she wiped a tear that fell from laughing too hard.

Suddenly, Derek went into a series of unpleasant coughs.

"Honey, you're okay?"

"Yeah," he choked out. "Too much laughing, I guess…."

"You said your throat felt a little…weird this morning." She put the back of her hand against his neck, "You're warm."

"It's nothing, Add." He took her hand off his neck and kissed it, "Probably fatigue catching up, I'm fine."

"Derek…"

"I just need a nap and a good night sleep, that's all. I'll be fine." He smirked, "If someone hadn't kept me up last night…."

She pursed her lips, "You weren't complaining. If I remember right, you en…."

The two of them jumped apart from each other and pretended to look through their lockers when the door was heard opened. They both sighed in relief when Mark appeared, albeit with a sour face.

"What's the problem, Mark?" she asked.

"Oh wait, I heard about the problem," Derek teased.

Addison giggled.

"What did you say? What rumor did you spread?"

She deadpanned, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Addison Forbes Montgomery, you tell me right now why every female intern, every female resident, every female attending scurries away everytime I strike a conversation and why every male intern, male resident, and male attending throws me pity looks everytime I pass by!!"

Derek and Addison threw each other a look.

"I uh…I might have let out that you were um…the original thirty second man…." she confessed.

"You what?!!!"

"You left your earrings in my room," she imitated his ton earlier. "You get yourself into this!"

"It's your fault that everyone thinks you're dating my Addie," Derek added.

"Everybody thinks you're dating Meredith, do you spread rumor about her sexual shortcoming, too??!!"

Addison covered her mouth with a hand, stifling her laugh. Derek just looked down to the floor to hide his amusement.

"You clear this up right now!" Mark demanded.

She sighed, "After lunch."

"No. Right. Now."

Derek and Addison chuckled, "Fine."

XXXXX

Not two hours after lunch, Derek Shepherd can barely walk straight that he bumped into Richard in the hallway.

"Jesus, Derek," Richard scolded.

"Sorry, Chief," he apologized.

"What's wrong with you?" the Chief asked, noticing the attending's disheveled appearance.

"I'm fine," Derek brushed off the question.

"You don't look fine."

"I'm just tired. I'm going to catch a nap if you'll excuse me," Derek said as he touched Richard's arm to move past the older man.

Richard stopped him from walking, "You're sick."

"I just need to lie down, I'll be fine," Derek insisted.

"You're going home," Richard ordered, taking the younger man towards the nurse's station. The Chief sat his two million dollar a year star surgeon on a chair and launched into a lecture before Derek could protest. "You look pathetic. You're not going anywhere near a single patient. You are definitely not going inside any OR until at least tomorrow. I don't want my surgeon walking around spreading illness. I'm calling you a cab."

"Richard, you sound like my mother," Derek groaned.

"What's going on?" Addison asked with concern as she approached the station. As soon as Derek came into view—a miserable view, she rushed behind the desk and knelt in front of his chair. "My God," she said as she put a hand on his forehead.

"It's no big deal, Add…."

"No big deal? Your throat's been hurting since morning, you were warm earlier and now you're burning up. You're sick…very sick."

Richard was taken aback at the display in front of him, the formers Drs. Shepherds, whom he thought were no more than colleagues after their divorce, were being awfully close to each other. Addison had one hand on Derek's knee, the other still pressed against his skin, feeling his temperature on his forehead, his cheek, his neck. Derek didn't seem to be bothered as he had one hand on top of Addison's on his lap—not that Richard thought Derek had the energy to say otherwise because he was miserable at the moment, and they seemed to be oblivious that several staff had gathered to see the commotion.

"I'm calling a cab to take him home," he informed Addison.

"No, I'll take him home," she replied instantly.

"Baby, I'll be fine on my own," Derek gently turned down the offer.

She ignored him and looked up to the Chief, "Richard, I need to take him home."

Richard sighed, "But I want you back within a couple of hours. I'll let Brown know to cancel his surgeries and transfer his cases."

"Thank you."

Richard patted her shoulder before leaving the station, "You make sure he's absolutely ready before he goes back to work."

She smiled, "I will."

Derek leaned back in his chair, "You have to clear me? Great…I won't be back until next month…."

"Oh, please…." She kissed the top of his head as she got up, "I'm going to get out things and then we can go."

"Okay," he faintly answered, leaning forward to lay his head on the desk. It dawned on Derek that there were people watching, but his head was spinning out of control he would deal with it later.

"Hey, Addison asked me to get you down to the lobby," Mark walked up to him a minute later.

Derek tried to stand up very slowly, but sank back down to the chair when he saw Meredith standing on the steps by the nurse's station. By the flash of hurt in her eyes, he knew she had figured things out.

Mark crouched down to help him stand up, "Derek…."

"You lied to me!"

The two men looked up to see Meredith marched towards them.

"I didn't lie to you," Derek replied weakly.

"You wanted space. I gave you space. But you've been with her this entire time?! You asked me to the banquet!"

"He didn't ask you to the banquet," Mark spoke up.

Meredith shook her head, "Yes, he did!"

"No, he didn't. You did!"

"Oh God…" Derek put his head back down on the desk. He didn't have it in him to explain to Meredith or to listen to the argument, his head was pounding.

"The rumor, Meredith! Everybody was buzzing whether or not he would take you, isn't that why you asked him in the first place?!"

"He could've said no! Why didn't you say no, Derek?!"

"To satisfy this goddamn gossip hungry hospital!" Mark unintentionally raised his voice. "Because all of you," he spoke as stared down at every staff near the area, "Won't leave him alone if he didn't take you! He and Addison just wanted to keep their relationship between them…"

"You used me," she seethed at Derek, who by now was praying for his death.

"He never meant to," Mark lowered his voice, "I told him to go with you so the rumor would stop…. It's my fault, Meredith….."

"You're on their side," she scorned.

"They're my family!"

"Why, Derek?!"

He slightly lifted his head from the desk.

"I want to know why!"

Derek closed his eyes, "Not now, Meredith, please…."

"You told me you loved me. You chased me. I broke up with Finn for you…."

"I told you last night…."

"I waited for you!!! But you were off fucking that adulterous bitch!"

"Don't you dare call Addison names, Meredith!" Derek rebuked, using every ounce of him to fully sit up.

"And you are a cowardly bastard!"

Mark moved to block her from Derek, "That's enough, Meredith!"

"He went after me! He picked her and he still went after me. He told me he loved me. They're divorced! We're supposed to be together, but once again he had to pick her! What do I have to do for him to pick me?! Sleep with you? Oh wait, that won't work because I'm not Addison Shepherd!!!"

Meredith was struck by her own words and stood still. She swallowed as she cast a glance to her left, meeting the stares of several doctors and nurses who had gathered. She mentally counted to calm her fuming breath and saw Mark giving her a sympathetic look. She saw the chair Derek was sitting on empty, and as she continued to glance around the nurse's station area, she caught Derek by the elevator, Addison by his side, keeping him standing upright. They were both looking at her, visibly taken aback by her meltdown. A ding was heard and the door opened, Addison and Derek quickly broke their gaze from her and stepped in the elevator.

Meredith had never felt so humiliated. The panties on the board was nothing compared to the debacle she just made out of herself. She silently cursed herself as she left the area. A scene from the day before prom came to mind, she remembered that look on Addison's face after her outburst, and now she knew what the other woman felt that day.

XXXXXXXXXX

Addison placed the cool damp cloth on Derek's forehead and ran a hand through his hair. They hadn't talked about what happened, mainly because Derek could only manage a few words out, his throat hurt, his body ached, his fever high, his head pounded. She hated seeing him being sick like this, and she hated even more the fact that she couldn't stay to take care of him.

She cupped the side of his face with a hand and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek. Derek opened his eyes when she pulled apart. Her thumb caressed his face, "I'll try to get out early."

"People know…."

"I guess it's time…."

"You're okay…?"

"It's fine. I didn't expect to keep us under wrap for much longer anyway." She gave his hand a squeeze, "It doesn't matter, we're still us."

He smiled.

She smiled, too, and changed the cloth one last time, "Go back to sleep, baby."

Derek obediently closed his eyes. Addison smoothed the comforter and gave another peck on the tip of his nose as she got up. She picked up his pullover and pants from the floor and threw them on the hamper. With one last look at his sleeping form, she left for the hospital.

XXXXXXX

Addison ignored the looks from the staff as she returned to the scene, to hell with these nosey people. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Miranda Bailey approaching, "You must've heard, yea?"

"People are talking," the resident answered.

"I bet."

"How's Derek?"

"Miserable."

"I can't believe she made a scene like that." Miranda shook her head, "Interns…."

Addison sighed, "I just hope this is the end of it all. They know and the can move on…."

"You're alright?" Miranda inquired.

"Yeah, they're bound to find out soon or later anyway…."

The sound of pager interrupted their walk. "It's me, transfer from L.A, extremely high risk. Miranda, I really need someone on this, desperate actually. I'll even take you if you're free…."

Miranda chuckled, "I'll find someone to you."

XXXXXXX

Half an hour later, Addison found herself standing beside Meredith Grey waiting for MRI images of Karen Lacey to show. Apparently, all of Miranda interns were in surgeries except for Meredith who had been ordered to do scuts as a punishment for her unprofessional outburst. Ironic for Meredith, the subject of her meltdown was her savior from the ever tedious scuts.

Addison felt the glares Meredith cast in her direction. Addison chose to remain silent, after all what was she supposed to say? Oh, I'm sorry, my ex-husband dated you but picked me, he had sex with you at prom and divorced me to be with you, yet he still picked me in the end? So, awkward silence it was, Addison decided.

"How could you?" the intern hissed, breaking the stillness in the room.

"You're divorced…. He is my boyfriend!"

"We were married. He was my husband."

The red head turned toward the younger woman, "Have you ever thought about that, Dr. Grey, when you were "friends" with him and when you had sex with him at prom?"

Meredith swallowed back the words she had planned to say and let the silence refilled the space between them.

"Take Mrs. Lacey back to her room and go back to your scuts. Tell Bailey I don't want a distracted intern working on my case, "Addison ordered, never once breaking eye contact. "Now you know how it feels, karma's a bitch, Dr. Grey."

XXXXXXX

Addison let out a sigh as she entered Derek's apartment. It had been a long day and she was glad to finally be out of the hospital. Kicking her shoes to the side, she peeked into the bedroom, Derek appeared to be asleep. She went back to the kitchen to fix a quick dinner.

"Addie?" he called as she entered his bedroom with a bowl of chicken soup.

She put the bowl on the nightstand and put a hand on his forehead, "How are you feeling?"

He groaned.

"Your fever's gone down a little." She massaged his temple, "I brought you chicken soup."

"Not hungry…."

"Derek…."

He pouted.

She sighed, "You'll eat it when it's not as hot."

He watched her as she went to the bathroom to wash up and then to his dresser and changed into his shirt and boxer. His clothes were big on her frame, but my God, if he hadn't been on his bed sick as a dog, he'd ravish her right at this moment. How she managed to look that sexy in his shirt and boxer, he had no idea. She took another shirt out of his dresser and helped him changed into the clean shirt, propping the pillows behind him in the process.

He groaned when she lifted the bowl, "Addie…."

"It's Mom's recipe. You love it." She brought a spoon to his mouth, "Open."

He reluctantly did and she lovingly and patiently fed him spoon by spoon of the chicken soup.

"People talked?" he asked. He hated that she had to go back to work alone this afternoon.

She fed him the last spoon, "The expected wondering how long we've been together…since when…."

He took the two pills from her hand and drank the water from the glass she held for him. She put the pillows down and he sank back to his bed.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, squeezing her hands.

She smiled and kissed the top of his head before climbing over him and slipping on the space next to him.

"Did Meredith say anything rude to you?"

She sighed.

He did as well, "I'm sorry."

"You hurt her again…." she said sadly.

"I know…I…"

"Ssshhh…. Don't worry about it. Go to sleep…."

He pulled his blanket up, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered softly.

XXXXXXX

So after a few months of keeping it quiet, people finally found out, now they can kiss all over the damn hospital if they want to and squee in the on-call rooms or something, hee…. Derek got sick and Addison aaww, Addie took care of him…. Meredith, well, poor thing…. I like Mark for standing up for his bestfriends. I have to say the rumor was hilarious….

Anyway, I'm still trying to finish the next chapter, but friends are coming in town for the holidays, so, though I would love to update sometimes during the holidays, I'm not so sure I could, we'll see…. I wish you all a very happy holidays, have fun, be safe, and eat aplenty! Reviews please, they're like little presents I find in my stockings, and they make me get in the mood to finish the next chapter :)

Next chapter: frankly, I don't know what to call the next chapter, heh… Do I have a secret for you? Hmm, I think it's Richard's birthday….