Chapter Eight- Scare
Sitting amongst her father and her brother in what was a rare occasion, Addison wasn't quite sure how she should handle this whole affair. So much of her had tried to put this part of her life behind her, but it just seemed like her mother even in the afterlife to just keep popping up to haunt her life. Archer's presence to her hadn't been the same since he last visited, it seemed to have caused her more panic or stress than enjoyment of getting to spend time with her brother because so much of him was like the Captain, who Addison just had to admit that she didn't want a relationship with. The love she wanted from her parents she had yearned for her whole life but with the death of her mother, and the hell she had gone through just to realize that it wasn't her fault and the risks she took with her relationship with Sam, she needed to walk away from that part of her that wanted to feel that unconditional love a parent was suppose to give and just realize that she didn't have those types of parents, she had the Captain and Bizzy. Looking on at his watch like this was true inconvenience for him, which she knew in all reality it was, Archer just wanted the lawyer to come in all ready and be done with whatever business they needed to handle while all Addison could do was look out the window. A sigh of relief came to Archer and the Captain once their family lawyer, Preston Michaels, came in and began to go threw the paperwork to gather the particular ones he needed before looked on at them.
"What is it? We don't have all day" Archer said in his demanding tone
"Arch" The Captain said to Archer which only made Addison laugh to herself to hear him try to be a parent now of all times
"Okay, I just wanted to bring you all in to discuss your mothers and your wife's final wishes" Preston told them
"Final wishes? Her will has all ready been read and the funds have been distributed" Archer said "What more did Bizzy have to say?" he asked
"Well along with Bizzy there was another will that had been found…Susan's" Preston said
"She's not my wife though, neither was Bizzy towards the end" The Captain replied
"Yes, but there was another" Preston replied
"Does this change what happened with the first will? Will it stand?" Archer asked
"Yes, it will stand but there were additional items added that we were unsure of" Preston said
"So what does Susan have to do with this?" Addison asked
"C'mon Addie, whatever Bizzy did, Susan did" Archer smirked
"Bizzy and Susan invested in a home together in Los Angeles, closer to Addison. The final payments on the house have totaled up to eighty thousand but the payments they were making it would have been paid off less than a year" Preston said leaving Addison a bit confused
"Why L.A?" Addison asked
"Her life and her lie was in Connecticut" Archer said
"Arch, please…this day is all ready tough as is, the snaky comments don't help" Addison finally snapped at her brother
"No, she's making final wishes now! You want me to sit here and take seriously what our mother, the lesbian, and her lovers wishes were? I can't do that Addison!" Archer yelled at his sister as the Captain just shrugged in his seat
"Is it really necessary that I be here for this? I mean its clear that if Bizzy and Susan made an investment together they intended it to be for Addison and Archer?" The Captain asked
"With the way things are set up, yes. The house was willed to Addison Montgomery" Preston said as a moment of silence fell upon the room "Bizzy also left behind her collection of diaries that she kept over the years for Addison to have as well" he then said as he looked on at Addison who seemed to go numb at this point
"That's great, Addie has a new house. Can we go now? I have a flight to catch" Archer said getting up from his chair
"The property adjacent to it, that was willed to Archer Montgomery. If both choose to not accept then it will be put into your name Captain" Preston told them all
"So basically, Bizzy and Susan bought a house then some land and they left to the children so we could what? Build another house and just have one big happy family picnic together?" Addison asked a bit confused "And the diaries is just some way for us to publish her life story as a closeted lesbian?" she asked in disbelief
"Now who's got the snark?" Archer asked with a bit a laughter with the sudden change of tune in Addison
"This is ridiculous?" Addison said getting up from her chair but had to quickly grab onto the arm of the chair to catch her balance, luckily Archer nor the Captain saw her gesture because the last thing she wanted from them was concern "What did they want?" she asked
"Look, I don't know what Bizzy and Susan wanted but all I know is this is what she had decided to do" Preston replied "Addie, this is your mother we're talking about. If Bizzy left these diaries behind it wasn't for personal gain" he said
"Ever since I've known Bizzy she kept a diary. She wouldn't even let me see, I didn't expect her to but her diaries were sacred to her" The Captain said as if he were in a trance
"I know what she wanted, she wanted her bills to be paid off. Addie takes the house and pays off what's due then I take the property that probably has tons of rennovation plans locked in all ready" Archer sighed "Bizzy hated to be common, and being less than what she was is not her style" he said
"So now you know who Bizzy was in her final days?" Addison snapped at her brother feeling as if he had no right "Let's not forget who couldn't be bothered to be by Bizzy's side, so please, just please, don't show your concern for me" she said "Preston, do whatever you have to do, but sale on my part" she then said
"Addison, I can't do that. The Captain still has dibs to that land" Preston replied
"Sale the damn house! Keep the damn diaries! I don't want it! I didn't want the necklace and I don't want the house!" Addison yelled "I don't need anything from her" she then said
"Captain, do you want the house?" Preston asked becoming annoyed with the bunch quickly
"No" The Captain replied
"There, all settled" Addison said grabbing her purse slowly so that she didn't over exert herself like before but could feel the tightening in her back as she moved
"Addie" The Captain said
"Go home, the both of you. I don't care where it is, but just go" Addison said before she turned to leave the office. Making her way out of the lobby, Addison did the best she could to hold herself together but it just became too much for her, it just felt like the weight of the world had just been put back on to her shoulders when not too long ago she lifted it off. Putting her shades on as she headed out into the parking lot, she took a moment to catch her breath as she knew the stress of it all was getting to her. Finally able to pull herself together she could see Sam pulling up towards her. Quickly getting into the car all she wanted to do was get out of here and just get back to her life.
"So how'd it go?" Sam asked as he took off and drove them back to the practice
"I don't want to talk about it" Addison replied
"Addison" Sam said as Addison just sat quietly in her seat looking out the window. For a moment, Sam was willing to accept her answer but he knew it was never good for Addison to bottle it all in because it only made things worse, so pulling the car over to the side of the road surely got a reaction out of Addison who turned to look at him angrily
"Are you being serious right now?" Addison asked angrily
"Yes, I am. How'd it go?" Sam asked
"It went peachy. Captain, Archer, and I all held each other and exchanged promises to visit for Christmases. Then what was really special was that my father gave me that good old fatherly advice, in which I said, I'm sure glad your there to protect me daddy" Addison said sarcastically
"You've got a good imagination. Now can you tell me what happened that's gotten you so stressed out? Was it Bizzy?" Sam asked
"It's always Bizzy" Addison griped
"Okay, well what did she do?" Sam asked hoping that this would make progress
"I'm not…you know what, I don't need this" Addison said unbuckling her seat belt to get out of the car before Sam turned off the engine and quickly hopped out of the car to get in front of her
"What are you doing? Don't do this" Sam told her
"Get out of my way!" Addison yelled at him
"No" Sam replied
"Get out of my way Sam!" Addison yelled once again
"Tell me what happened?" Sam asked once again
"Get out of my way!" Addison screamed at him and like before she got no effort on his part to move and then just following her instinct she began to hit him as if she were just trying to hit at the world. For the most part, Sam let her hit him because he was strong enough to take the blows literally and figuratively but the more she hit the more she weakened until she finally broke down into tears. Holding her close her just soothed her knowing that even though she hadn't revealed a word that this was still very much what she needed
"It's okay. I'm right here. I'm right here" Sam whispered to her as he just held her close to him
Finishing up with her final patient for the day, all Amelia could think about was going out tonight and grabbing some beers to just ease herself into the next day. She knew it wasn't exactly the most responsible thing but every part of her felt tense and just needed to relax. Since hanging out, Amelia and Marcus had frequented doing lunch together and occasionally happening to meet up for a quick dinner when they were working late, in her own way she liked that he wasn't so pressed to title things and just wanted to enjoy things and each other. Things were just very, very casual between them and that's how she liked it. One by one she handed over her charts to the nurse at the station as she finished, counting down in her head the seconds until she got to leave. Before she could fully enjoy the thrill of being done for the evening or at least for a few hours, Marcus and Charlotte followed behind what appeared to be the board of the hospital. By the looks on their faces from both Marcus and the board, Amelia quickly followed behind as they headed into Charlottes office.
"I want all the logs on staff from janitorial to nurses, even to doctors" One of the board members said
"That's crazy" Charlotte fired back finding it ridiculous
"Really? You have a doctor on payroll that is being held in jail for soliciting pills to minors, who had help from the inside, what part was crazy to you?" The head of the board asked
"You know what I meant. I have taken necessary action and surveillance videos will be on my desk tonight" Charlotte replied
"The nurses have gone over numerous logs to see who had frequent access to the medicine hall" Marcus said
"I don't care! My main concern is making sure that the staff we stand by is respectable" The head of the board replied
"And I have done that" Charlotte replied
"Well we do it my way then. I want background checks, I want prescription records, I want logs…I want everything" The head of the board replied
"Shouldn't we be presenting a unified front as opposed to tearing down house? I mean we're all ready being scrutinized as is and if we show cracks then the media will pick up on this" Marcus replied
"Well then maybe its something they need to see because I do not like being linked to scandal" The head of the board said "So anyone with a shady pass will be brought to light because they will be suspect number one" he said before he headed out of Charlotte's office
"Looks like we have to divy up, I'll expect you two will give full cooperation?" Charlotte turned to ask
"I have nothing to hide" Marcus replied as both he and Charlotte turned to look at Amelia, who seemed to be shaken to the core. Walking up towards her, Charlotte grabbed hold to her hands and just caressed them, making sure to give her a look as if things were going to be fine
"Just tell the truth, you'll be fine" Charlotte whispered to her as Amelia just nodded in agreement before Charlotte walked out of the office leaving Marcus and Amelia behind
"What was that about?" Marcus asked seriously
"The board just is over reacting" Amelia shrugged trying to play it off as nothing but Marcus was nowhere near buying it
"Amelia, what did Charlotte just tell you?" Marcus asked
"She just told me to cooperate, you know me, rebel and all" Amelia replied
"Your lying" Marcus quickly replied nearly interrupting her as he looked on intensely at Amelia as if he were trying to read her like a book. Realizing that he wasn't buying it she finally realized that she couldn't hold it back anymore
"I'm…I have a past, a shady past" Amelia said nervously
"Everyone does, but it can't be that bad" Marcus told her as he moved in closer towards her
"I was an addict. I was addicted to pain pills" Amelia said as a moment of silence came between them
"Okay, well the key word was was" Marcus said "Your clean now and you're a great doctor, who is annoying at times, but your not a shady person or a suspect" he said as she quickly pulled away from him unable to hold her emotions in
"Back in college, I went through a phase, I was dealing with everything that was going on with my dad and I had pushed away from my family….I just needed to make it through. I hung out with the wrong crowd, I was close with a couple of people who had access to the pills I needed so I got mine for no charge but in exchange for soliciting" Amelia told him as the tears just seemed to fall down her face knowing that Marcus wouldn't take this well
"So…you sold" Marcus said trying to process what she was saying
"I was arrested and charged for it, at the time my brother was married to Addison…" Amelia said before Marcus began to piece it together
"So you pulled a couple of strings and had the charges dropped due to the Montgomery name" Marcus sighed
"I was only put on probation but its still on my record that I was charged for solicitation. So now you see why, I can't…I might lose my job" Amelia said
"I guess this was the past that you didn't want me to know about" Marcus said as he turned towards the door before Amelia grabbed a hold of his arm
"No, don't do that. Will you just talk to me?" Amelia asked him hoping that his vision of her hadn't changed with her revelation
"Maybe its better that I didn't know" Marcus replied before he pulled away from her embrace to leave
Feeling the sun shine in through the shades, Addison began to stir awake from her sleep to realize that she had been asleep on Sam's sofa in his office. Slowly sitting up to take in the events of the day, Addison began to feel sharp pains in her back before she eagerly went about trying to massage her back as much as she could. Reaching forward, she grabbed the glass of water and began to drink just as Sam entered the office to see that she was awake. Throwing his files on to his desk he then walked over to join her on the sofa, making sure to give her a kiss before he sat down. Pulling her towards him so that her back was leaning up against his sculpted chest, she grimaced a little by the sudden movement but was able to hide it well from him. For a moment they looked on at their intertwined hands just enjoying the feel of each others hands linked together.
"The board of the hospital is investigating all of staff, including doctors" Sam told her
"Because of Wyatt?" Addison asked
"Because of Wyatt" Sam nodded "So be prepared to be interrogated" he warned her
"Like today?" Addison asked
"Yeah, but the person interrogating won't be so nice" Sam teased
"And you are" Addison replied adding to the joke "I'm sorry about this morning. I was horrible to you and I hate that I acted that way" she said leaning her head back onto his shoulder
"You forget I'm use to you Montgomery, I'm so use to you that I could write a book about you" Sam smiled as they continued on with their play of hands
"Bizzy left me a house. Susan and her invested in a house along with property that his adjacent was given to Archer" Addison told him "And she also left me her diaries" she then sighed
"Bizzy kept a diary, she never striked me as a woman that kept a diary" Sam said surprised by the fact
"Yeah, well, she didn't strike me as a lesbian but that shocker was revealed. I told Preston that I didn't want any of the so called gifts she left behind, I don't know what Archer is going to do but I want nothing to do with it" Addison said
"Why?" Sam asked her
"Why would I take it. I mean she had this delusion that she could just move here with her wife and we could just play family all of sudden…after everything that she's done" Addison said "And those diaries are just another way of her to be so cold and distant from me but I words" she said
"Maybe that was her gift to you, maybe she wanted to try to work on your relationship towards the end. Maybe those diaries are her way of letting you in" Sam suggested
"Bizzy doesn't do relationships, I mean she made it abuduntantly clear who she loved most in this world and it wasn't her own children nor her husband she made vows to" Addison replied
"Look, I'm not going to justify Bizzy's actions because I know that the love you needed from her, she never gave, but my main concern is your healing process and how this will effect you in the future" Sam said
"What do you mean?" Addison turned to look at him
"I think deep down inside of you there is this fear that you think you weren't good enough or weren't special enough, and I think your afraid that you'll be like her with our child" Sam said
"No, I would kill myself before I put my child through what I had to endure from Bizzy" Addison replied
"But I'm here to tell you that your nothing like her. Addison, you're an amazing woman with an extraordinary gift and heart. I'm proud of the woman you are and the woman your trying to be, above all else I love you not for me but because of what you bring to life in general as a human being" Sam told her as he caressed the top of her head as Addison did all she could to hold back the tears
"Why are you telling me this?" Addison asked
"Because I think you need to hear it, I think you've needed to hear that from her from a long time. Your worth isn't judged by her, its by those who know you best and I happen to think I know you. Your worth to me is as valuable as the air I breath" Sam told her as he placed a kiss on the top of her head that seem to make his strength go into her "So here's what I think your going to do. I think your going to protest as much as you can about not wanting anything that your mother left you because your not ready to forgive her just yet, but in the end you'll do what is best" he told her
"And what is best?" Addison asked
"I don't know, only you know the answer to that" Sam replied as the once again just looked on at their hands that were linked together as she just rested in his embrace on the sofa of his office "Might I add, you have one hell of a punch" he teased as she couldn't help but laugh a little
"If you ever give up being a world class surgeon, you could be a boxer" Sam laughed "My girl can knock someone out. I'll think twice about arguing with you for now on" he smiled
"Surgeon to boxer, that sounds intriguing" Addison smiled for the first time in her day
Coming into the darkened house, Amelia quickly tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter and immediately made her way over to the fridge to grab a beer. Wasting no time in knocking it back, she popped the top and just began to drink as if drinking were the only thing at that moment to take her mind off the fact that everything was crazy in her life right now. A part of her wanted to stop by and talk to Addison but she knew that she was probably reeling from everything with the lawyer and her family in general since she hadn't ran into Addison yesterday at the office. If she lost her liscense…Derek would probably never let her hear the end of it, was all Amelia kept saying to herself as she just couldn't stop herself from wondering. Deep down she knew that she couldn't just walk away from her past so easily, but she at least thought that since things were okay with Derek now and she herself was good with herself, that she was she was making progress towards something. Earlier that day she had submitted all her information that was requested of her, and even admitted to the charges that were brought against her, now all she could do was go back and forth nervously before she heard her door bell ring. For a moment she thought to ignore whoever it was but her conscience got the best of her as she walked over to open the door surprised to see Marcus standing there.
"What are you doing here?" Amelia asked as Marcus looked on at the beer in her hand
"Your drinking?" Marcus asked
"Don't start, a girl is entitled to a beer" Amelia replied not wanting to hear his holier than thou attitude before he made his way inside "Uh, I didn't invite you in" she said closing the door
"It's taken care of" Marcus said turning to look at her
"What is taken care of?" Amelia asked
"Your records. I called in a few favors on the board, and made sure that your past wouldn't be brought up against you with the impending investigation" Marcus said as Amelia just laughed in disbelief
"You son of a bitch! Now that makes me even more suspicious if your calling in favors. Why would you do that?" Amelia asked him angrily
"Do you know how that would have looked if they read on your records that you were previously charged for soliciting medical drugs with an ongoing investigation of an insider doing so?" Marcus asked "We both know that it'd be the first of them hearing about since when you apply it only asks if you had a run in with the law in the previous five years" he pointed out
"So yay me! I missed the deadline, but me hiding that fact doesn't exactly prove my innocence" Amelia said
"Its not hidden, its just not being brought up against you" Marcus said
"Okay, your just confusing me here, as usual. I tell you yesterday about my past and you tell me that you wished I wouldn't have, and now…now you're here helping me disclose the very fact that you couldn't even look me in the eye about" Amelia said
"Because" Marcus replied
"Because what?" Amelia asked angrily
"Don't make this about me, this about you" Marcus yelled
"Yes, but we come back to the fact that it was my mistake and you felt the need to hide it" Amelia replied "I never asked you to help me. I confided in you and you just looked at me like I disgusted you, like I was the lowest piece of trash on this earth" she yelled at him "So this may be all about me, but the parts where you come in don't make you look so good like you portray yourself to believe" she said "I mean how stupid was I? how stupid was I to believe that you might actually be a friend to me or someone I could confide in" she went on to say
"You weren't stupid" Marcus replied softly as he began to pace the floor
"Yeah, I was. But its clear what things are between us, you say you want to change your playboy ways and settle down…well that'll never happen because no one will ever live up to your standards, the great Marcus King's standard of the perfect woman" Amelia yelled as Marcus just took it in "I feel for the girl who has to live to those high standards because there is no room for mistakes with you" she bullied him
"You want to know why I reacted the way I did?" Marcus asked her
"I really don't give a damn why you reacted the way you did because its done and over with, as are we or whatever the hell this is" Amelia said
"You scare the hell out of me!" Marcus yelled "Because I have met different ranges of women that just haven't done it for me, but the one person who I can't stand seems to be the person I gravitate to. You scare me because your so screwed up that I fear you're the female version of my brother…and I'm not going through that again, not with you. So if I came across as asshole it was because I was scared" he said before a moment of silence came between them
"Are you done?" Amelia asked
"Yeah, I am" Marcus replied before Amelia walked over towards the door and opened it for him to leave. Shaking his head knowing that he had truly messed up with her, Marcus let out a deep sigh before making his way over towards the door "I'll see you at work" he told her softly
"I don't know, I'm too screwed up to function apparently" Amelia replied a bit pissed at his earlier statement before Marcus just accepted that his presence was only making things worse for her. Making his way out of the house, Marcus looked back to see a look of hurt, pain, anger all rolled up into one before she finally just closed the door on him
She stood for a moment taking in the grand scenery that was once suppose to be a home of starting over, Addison could feel the breeze pass her by as she just stood there. Nothing Bizzy ever did was ordinary, so it was silly for her to think that this house would be so…once a woman of finer things, she'd forever remain. A part of her could see why Bizzy would go for a house like this because there was this feel of family if you dug really deep to see it. Leaning up against the car, it took all Sam to just stand back and watch her struggle with herself as he knew how hard this was for her. Earlier that day she had called Preston to open up the house for her to see, and since he figured she was making this big of a step, he knew that she might want to look at a few of the diaries that Bizzy had left behind. Taking a deep breath, Addison finally entered into the house and began to observe what her mother was anxiously awaiting to call home while Sam seemed to be scared out of his mind as to what effect this would have on her after she was through. Motioning to walk over towards the door of the house, Sam had to stop himself and just found himself pacing the floor before his cell phone began to ring.
"Bennet, you rang and I'm returning the call" Archer said once Sam answered the phone
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about something" Sam said
"Shoot, I have some time before my next meeting" Archer replied
"I want to buy out your father. I know the house was willed to him since Addison first rejected it" Sam told him
"Sam, do you know how much needs to be paid on the house?" Archer asked "And does Addie know about this?" he then asked
"No, not yet, but she needs this" Sam told him
"She needs it? Addison has a house, and I hardly doubt she'd be in a rush to live where our mother intended to have her happily ever after" Archer replied
"A mother and daughter relationship is different from a mother and son" Sam said
"And Addie and I had neither, so why dredge up old memories of lack of worth?" Archer asked him
"Because you didn't see how they were before your mother died, they were making progress…and I just think if Addison is ever going to get past this then she needs to understand Bizzy" Sam said "It's crazy but I just have this feeling….I don't know, maybe it's the part of me that wants to have child with her, in which I feel she needs to close the chapter on this part with Bizzy…" he sighed before Archer cut him off
"So she knows in Bizzy's twisted way, that she did love her" Archer replied completely understanding where Sam was coming from "Your good for my sister, which is rare because Montgomery's are the most difficult to love" he laughed to himself
"Well she makes it easy" Sam replied
"I'll call my father and then talk to Preston, you'll be hearing from me soon" Archer told him as Sam just nodded.
