Thank you to those of you who have left reviews. I see everyone is curious to find out if Derek and Addison's affair will be revealed. I can say that while there is plenty of drama in store, the current plan is for Ella's paternity to remain under wraps. But who knows. I've had this whole thing planned out forever, but I'm starting to second-guess the direction I thought I was going in based on your reviews and honestly I don't even know if I have the guts to go where I intended to because some of you might end up hating me. I am so torn right now, ugh.
A week later, Addison arrived at the hospital and found herself in the elevator with Meredith, who furrowed her brows and glared at Addison's belly. "You know I hate you, right?" the resident grumbled.
"Well, good morning to you, too…" Addison muttered, trying to sound chill although she felt anything but. Does she know? Did Derek tell her?
"It's not fair! Look at you!" Meredith continued as if Addison hadn't even spoken. "You're ready to pop any day now. I'm only halfway there and I'm a freakin' cow already!" She gestured to Addison's belly, then pointed to her own which was nearly as big. "It's not fair, and I hate you! Also, I'm kind of mean in the morning now that I can't have coffee and...I'm sorry," she grunted with a pout.
Addison let out a relieved laugh. Secret's still safe. "Let me ask you this. How's the morning sickness?"
Meredith thought for a minute. "I threw up twice. Oh, wait, there was that time in surgery, so...three times."
"Three times. In twenty weeks."
"Yup."
Addison snorted. "Okay, well, there are days - like today - when I puke more than that before I even get in the shower so now I'm the one that hates you." The two women shared a laugh as the elevator stopped and they got off. "Look, it sucks gaining weight, it really does, but honestly I would gladly get as big as a house if it meant the puking went away. Enjoy having the excuse to eat whatever you want, and just remember it will all be worth it in the end."
"Yeah, you're right," Meredith admitted. "So, how are you doing? Everything good?"
"As of my last appointment everything looked perfect. Of course I want to get her to forty weeks, but really, she can come whenever she wants. She's ready. You?"
"So far, so good. We have an appointment this afternoon. Hopefully baby A cooperates this time and we can find out if it's two boys, or a boy and a girl."
"Ah, they can be tricky sometimes. Well, I gotta run. I have surgery. Good luck."
"Thanks."
OoOoOoO
When Addison got out of surgery a few hours later, Alex was waiting for her with juice and a muffin. While he'd agreed not to nag her about taking it easy, he checked on her when he could and made sure she ate and rested when necessary. "How are my favorite girls?" he asked as she grabbed the muffin and took a huge bite without so much as a hello.
"Starving," she mumbled before swallowing. "Couldn't keep anything down this morning, but other than that just fine."
He studied her carefully. She looked well-rested, happy and wasn't holding her back the way she did when it hurt, so he took her word for it. "Good. You have a lot of surgeries today?"
"Just this one. Well, Mrs. Peterson is in labor and I think she might end up needing a c section but so far that's it for today."
"Good. Let me know if you want to grab lunch later."
"I will. If not, I'll see you tonight?"
"You got it."
OoOoOoO
Of course things turned out to be busier than expected, with Addison performing an emergency c section plus a bowel resection on a preemie with necrotizing enterocolitis flown in from a small rural hospital. She was finally on her way out for the day when she got paged to OB. She groaned - her back and feet were killing her - but went back upstairs to the room she'd been paged to. She was surprised to find Doctor Adams sitting with Derek and Meredith, who both looked terrified. Meredith appeared to be in shock while Derek, fighting back tears, stood at her side holding her hand. "What's wrong? Are the babies okay?" she asked, her own aches and pains instantly forgotten as she assumed the worst.
"Baby A is fine," Dr. Adams said, looking grim. "but it looks like baby B has a heart defect. I really can't tell what kind of defect, but something isn't right."
Addison moved in as doctor Adams stepped aside. "Okay, let's have a look." She moved the wand around and tried to get a better picture of what they were dealing with, but the ultrasound didn't give her a definitive answer. "I agree, there does appear to be a defect, but I'm going to need to do a fetal echocardiogram to get a better look." She retrieved the machine and got to work. What she found made her heart sink.
"Addison, what is it?" Derek asked. He recognized the look on her face and knew it wasn't good.
She took a deep breath. "Okay, your son appears to have hypoplastic left heart syndrome. It's almost impossible to know for sure until he's born, but I'm pretty sure it's HLHS and even if it isn't, there are definitely some severe defects."
"But it's fixable, right?" Derek asked.
"It is. If my diagnosis is correct, he will need a series of three operations. The first one, the Norwood procedure, would happen sometime in the first two weeks. The next one, the Glenn procedure, would take place between four and six months, and the Fontan would be done between eighteen months and three years."
"And you can do those operations, right?" Meredith asked.
"I really think you need to be referred to a cardiologist-"
"But you can do it." It was Derek speaking this time, and he wasn't asking.
"Yes, but I won't. Doctor Adams, can I have a word with you?" Addison waited for the other obstetrician to follow her into the hall. "Leslie, what were you thinking calling me in there? They need a cardiac surgeon on board, and I might not even be here when those babies are born!"
"I know! I'm sorry, Doctor Montgomery, I was going to page Dixon but Doctor Shepherd wouldn't hear of it. He insisted on a second opinion from you."
Addison slumped against the wall and massaged her temples. "Yeah, I know how he can get. It's pretty hard to say no, but I just don't think it's a good idea for me to be involved in this case when I won't even be here to monitor the baby's condition. They need someone that will be here and be prepared to operate no matter when she delivers. So please, give them my apologies and page Dixon."
"Yes, Doctor Montgomery."
Leslie went back into the room and Addison headed for the elevator, only to hear footsteps running down the hall after her. "Addison, wait!"
"Derek, stop it!" she snapped as he grabbed her arm. "You need to get back in there and listen to Doctor Adams."
"Addie, please. You're the best neonatal surgeon on the west coast. We want the best."
"No, Derek-"
"Why? Because of this?" he accused, gesturing wildly at her belly.
Her eyes opened wide in rage. "Derek, it has nothing to do with this, or anything else that has happened between us. You really think I would be that petty, especially with an innocent baby's life at stake? I would love to help you, I really would, but I can't. The timing isn't right. I'm taking twelve weeks for maternity leave, which means if I have this baby right around my due date I'll be back six weeks before Meredith's due date. But babies are unpredictable and I could go up to two weeks past my due date, and with her being pregnant with twins she very well could deliver early, so there's a good chance I won't be back before the twins are born. In order for your son to get the best care possible it really would be best for you to find another doctor so that no matter when they come you have someone who is familiar with your case and is ready to operate."
"But you're the best. We want the best," Derek repeated as if he hadn't heard a word she said.
Addison sighed and rubbed her temples. "I know that, and I really wish I could do this but I can't. I'm going to be out for twelve weeks. That's almost three months that I won't be here to monitor his condition."
Derek wasn't ready to give in. "Okay, but what if everything works out and you're back before they're born? Please, Addison. Say you'll do it. Please?"
Addison bit a thumbnail and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to keep calm. "Okay, fine. If I'm back I will assist with the procedure. But you need to see someone in cardiology, because I will not operate alone, and I suggest you do it soon." She really didn't want to agree to it, but she knew it was the only way to get him off her back so she could go home.
Derek let out a sigh of relief. "We will. Thank you, Addison. Thank you so much." He slapped her on the shoulder and ran back to Meredith's room, leaving his ex-wife to fume silently for a few minutes before attempting to leave for the second time.
Alex was waiting by the door. "I thought you were leaving after the bowel resection." He had scrubbed in on the procedure, and she had told him she would meet him after she spoke to the infant's parents.
"Tried to. Got called back upstairs for a consult," she informed him glumly, clearly still bothered by Derek's attitude.
"Oh yeah? Anything good I'll get to scrub in on?"
She wanted to spill her guts to him, but knew it wasn't her place to divulge anything about Meredith's baby. "I don't know. Maybe. It's a baby with a heart defect, but I might not be here for the delivery so I'm referring the case to cardio."
"Oh. You okay?"
"Yeah, just...tired. I know I was supposed to cook tonight but do you mind picking something up instead? I just want to get my pajamas on and put my feet up," she admitted. A glass - no, a bottle - of wine would be good, too, she added in her mind.
"No problem. I'll see you in a bit."
Okay, so the drama begins. Just the tip of the iceberg, though, so stay tuned.
Also, while I am really enjoying this I'm thinking I'd like to do a series of one-shots or drabbles, quick little pieces I can throw together when I have a few minutes here and there. I've never really done anything like that, though, so if you want to hit me up with promots, challenges, suggestions, whatever that would be cool. I'd like to keep it Addison-centric (or maybe Amelia) but other than that I'm open to pretty much anything.
