Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Can't Fight the Moonlight

Chapter 10: End of the Tunnel

There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out

Previously on Can't Fight the Moonlight…

Kevin nods along, being a supportive brother, but not really understanding all that she is saying. Suddenly, they hear shouting outside of the room.

Addison groans and Derek, Mark, and Alex all rush into the room. Derek speaks calmly. " Addison, don't worry. We will fix this."

Addison peers at him, puzzled.

Elise storms through the room, her face tear-stained. She tries to wipe the mascara from it and sniffles. Soon, she gives up with a growl. Yanking Addison forward by the hand, she yells " ADDISON! You're coming HOME!!"

Addison shoves her away, but Elise keeps a strong clutch on hand. "Don't you want to come back home? You'll be safe. You won't hurt yourself anymore." Addison closes her eyes; she won't look at her mother in this condition.

Alex moves quicker than both Derek and Mark. Wrenching Elise from Addison, he stands between them.

Elise confidently places a hand on her hip and points a finger at Alex. "And YOU! You're just like HIM!" She whips her arm toward Derek. "Every mark, every self-inflicted scratch on her body is because of you." Elise indicates both Derek and Alex. "She NEVER tried any of this with Mark and never when she was younger. Only when someone really hurts her." She glares pointedly at Derek. "I'm taking her home where I can help her."

Elise struggles to get past Alex, but he won't let her by. Pounding on his chest and half-way to tears, Elise yells, "Let me help my daughter! I can fix her!"

Addison throws the covers off of her body and straightens her scrubs as she stands up. "What are you talking about?" She enunciates every word. Her mother has never helped her. Ever.

Frustrated, Elise backs off and crosses her arms. She tosses her hair back and glances commandingly at Mark. "Mark, remind her. Remind her what I did for her in New York."

Mark moves over to Addison. Convinced Elise is just taking the wrong approach to this, he tucks a piece of Addison's hair behind her ear under the protective glances of Derek and Alex. "Addie? Remember when she called? You were better after that. It never happened again."

Addison's mouth drops open. "You thought that she helped me?" She laughs harshly. "She scared the shit out of me."

Mark laugh lightly. "You're kidding, right?" But he knows that she's not.

It makes him angry and he stares icily at Elise. When she refuses to confess, he turns back to Addison. "You were better." He repeats.

Addison grinds her teeth together. "I was not better, Mark. I mean, eventually, it was easier. But those first few days? I walked around in a blurry trance. I knew you would notice if anything like that happened again, so I stopped." I didn't want to have to hear those words again, especially not from her mouth.

Mark's eyes find the floor. He won't let his temper get the best of him and he can't take it out on Addison, especially when it's Elise's fault. "But you should have told me how you felt and it could have been better for you. And us." His eyes meet hers again.

"You would have called my mom." Addison states, predicting his actions perfectly. "I couldn't have that." And yet you called her anyway.

Derek has been silent for a while now. He knows that all of this; it's his fault. If he had just stayed in New York, Elise wouldn't have called, Addison would be better. The guilt begins to overwhelm him, and he can't fight with Elise anymore. They share the blame and whatever argument he uses she just throws back at him. His eyes glaze over and the brilliant blue turns dull and lifeless. Thinking back at the night he found Mark and Addison in bed together, he realizes that he knew next to nothing. If only he could go back...

Kevin nudges Derek and brings him back into the conversation. Looking back to Addison he asks, "Why?"

"What?" Addison snaps back to reality. She, too, has a dazed expression plastered on her face.

"Why couldn't you have that? What could she do to you? What didn't you want again?" You're stronger than this, Addison, stronger than her. You always have been.

Addison clears her throat. "I don't really want to repeat everything she told me on the phone, but..."

Elise sighs, annoyed. "It's not that big of deal, Addison." She rolls her eyes at Derek. "I just told her of some of the precautions that we would take if her...mistake...became a habit."

Addison's eyes fill with tears and she raises her voice for the first time that day. "You threatened to call the police and put me away! I wasn't going to live in a fucking mental hospital! You scared the hell out of me. I was terrified to be out after ten without telling anyone for fear you'd hear of it and commit me. You didn't help me, you didn't make it better, you didn't make anything go away." Alex gives her a calming and comforting look that she misses because she's still glaring at her mother.

Elise yawns. "Whatever, Addison. It worked, didn't it?"

"No! It didn't! You made it worse because I…"

"I guess, until you met HIM." Elise refers to Alex again, her bored voice somehow silencing Addison's screaming anger. "Which brings us back to the fact that I will be removing you from this place and from the man who has been terrorizing your life for the past year. Or I guess, if you count Derek, the men who have been terrorizing past fourteen years." Mark, according to Elise, didn't terrorize Addison at all so removing her from him would be a bit of a loss, but she's willing to accept that. She tries to dart around Alex, but he's had enough of standing on the sidelines.

After watching Derek fight with Elise and back off, he knows that this is the time for confidence. "No," he says sternly.

Elise pokes Alex. "Listen to me, young man..."

"No!" Alex grabs her wrists. "I am not going to listen to you anymore. Throughout the entire day, I've seen you ignore Addison and manipulate whatever she says to what you want to hear. From what I've seen, you've been a terrible mother to her and I see no reason why the hell I should give you any respect at all." He clenches his teeth and drops his voice so only she can hear. "I love your daughter too much to let you do anything else to her."

"Let go of me!" Elise tries to struggle free.

He grips onto her hands tighter, but not enough to hurt her. "This is how you handle Addison. Do you like it? Does it make you feel loved? Does it make you want to listen?"

Elise looks more fragile than she has all day. A make-up free face and frazzled hair do not suit her at all. Even with her high heels, she seems small. She simply shakes her head.

"You're scared ." Alex points out as he lets go of her wrists but doesn't step away. "Multiply that by like a hundred and that's how Addison feels." He looks to Addison for confirmation and she gives him a small wave, permission to please continue. "She's terrified of you! You can't help her!"

Elise turns pale, she's suddenly run out of fight. "I've got to go. I should go home." She spins on her quickly and exits the room, leaving Kevin behind.

Kevin shrugs and laughs. Holding out his hand to Alex, he smirks and says, "Nice job, future brother-in-law." Addison eyes him intensely, sending Kevin a telepathetic message that he shouldn't have implied that level of commitment. Alex doesn't seem to mind, so Kevin ignores her. "Now I know who to call when there's trouble at the house."

Alex laughs, letting out a shaky breath. He's used to confrontation from the years of living with his father, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins is a bit overwhelming. "Yeah. Thanks, man."

Kevin hugs Addison tightly and whispers, "Take care of yourself." She only nods, mostly from exhaustion.

He turns back to Alex. "Keep her safe."

Alex smiles and wraps a supporting arm around Addison's back so she can lean into him. "Will do."

Kevin playfully punches Mark and Derek on his way out. "Keep in touch, guys." Mark laughs, but Derek only shifts a little. He's still not really listening to anyone.

Before Kevin can shut the door, Alex yells out to him. "Hey Kevin!"

He turns around, grinning. "What?"

"Tell Elise I hope she finds a fantastic divorce lawyer. She's going to need it."

Kevin only laughs and shakes his head. "It'll never happen. That was just an excuse to get out here without actually 'visiting' for the sake of family. I mean, can you imagine my mom without my dad's money?"

Mark chuckles, but Addison closes her eyes. She can't believe her own stupidity. Of course it would never happen. Mom could never get divorced. She can't afford to lose that lifestyle. Which means I'm stuck with her.

Kevin shrugs. "I think she just wanted to be more like Addison, but what do I know?"

Addison clutches harder onto the material of Alex's shirt. She can't think about that. Mom hates me. She's never been jealous, just disappointed. Right? I mean, who actually wants to be an adulterous bitch?

The men wave good-bye to Kevin and Mark clasps his hands together. "Well, it's been a long day and I think you two deserve some privacy. Wanna grab a bite for dinner, Derek? Has anyone seen Izzie?"

His transition back to normal almost seems surreal, but it isn't unexpected. Derek shakes his head, but leaves anyway, shuffling through the door after giving a quick hug to Addison.

Alex whips out his phone. "I haven't seen her anywhere, but I do have her personal cell phone number, if you want to call her. Why? Is she your intern?"

Mark nods. "Yes. But I'll just go look for her. She usually hangs out in the NICU, so it should be too hard to find her. Don't worry about the phone number." Because I already have it. Mark smiles to himself.

Alex sees right through his excuses, but decides to ignore him, figuring it will be the fastest way to get some alone time with Addison.

Mark laughs to himself. "Thanks anyway, Karev. I just need her for some...professional work. That I need her to do." You dumbass, why couldn't you just say thank you? Way to give it away.

Alex stares at him. Just stop talking.

Mark swallows and turns to Addison. "Are you going to be okay? You know that you're most important."

Addison smiles weakly. "Yeah. Thanks Mark."

Mark shuffles his feet on the tile floor. "I'm really sorry about Elise."

Addison shakes her head. "Don't worry about it, Mark." She's too tired to come up with anything remotely resembling the truth about how she feels about him calling her mother. It'll feel better in the morning.

"Okay." Mark squeezes her hands folded together in front of her. "You know I love you."

Alex raises an eyebrow at him, thinking that was all ancient history.

Mark hurriedly continues. "In a totally platonic, best friend kind of way. But I do. I hate to see you in pain."

Addison nods and manages a smile. "I know, Mark. I really do."

"Then, I'll go. Page me if you need anything. Anything at all." Mark starts to walk towards the door.

"Love you too, Marky." Addison half-whispers.

Alex winces at the pet name and the words, but he's glad he finally has Addison to himself. He pulls her into the bed and covers her with the warm blankets. Guiding her head down onto his chest, he shifts so her legs can fit comfortably between his. He pushes the remote control button to turn off the ceiling lights. Kissing her hair, he gently rubs her back. "Okay?"

"Okay." She repeats, stroking the skin on his chest through his shirt, her eyes fluttering shut.

Within minutes, she falls asleep.

A/N: So?

What do you think? Seriously. In this A/N there will be no flattery or bribing you with clones of the gods.

This is new for me, but I like to try new things.

I just want to hear your opinion, unless your opinion is that you hate me. Don't really wanna hear that.

But, you know, good things are happening. Elise is GONE. Alex is CUTE. I went SHOPPING.

On a side note, when is the new Grey's season coming out on DVD?

Oh, and Sara is the best ever.