Nadine Montgomery stood scowling at her youngest child, her arms folded across her chest. She was pushing sixty, but she had aged well (mostly thanks to plastic surgery). Her hair was in a blunt cut; dyed to match Addison and Cadence's red locks, since her own had long been streaked with grey. Her husband looked tired, older than Addison remembered, but looked happier to see Cadence than Nadine did. He had gifted Addison with her height, and had good looks that could only be described as debonair. Addison looked nervously between her parents and her sister.

"I'm sorry, Cadence…" Addison said softly. "But… I was required by law to tell them tha—"

"It's okay, Ad." Cadence interrupted. "I know you were. I had to face them sometime."

"Are you all right, Cadence?" Nadine asked, slowly approaching her daughter.

Cadence laughed bitterly. "Like you care?"

"Cady…" Edmund warned.

"Oh, I'm fine." Cadence gave her parents a very large, very fake grin. "I was basically gutted yesterday… And my daughter, Andrea? She's little and she's very sick."

Nadine bit her lip and approached the incubator. She stared down at Andrea, then looked back to Addison. "Addie… She's so tiny… Is she going to be all right?"

Addison crossed her arms, still angry with her mother for the hell she'd put Cadence through. "You know I'm doing everything I can."

"She is." Cadence agreed. "In fact, she and Mark have decided to adopt Andrea."

"So you're bailing her out." Nadine shook her head at Addison.

"Bailing her out. That's what you think I'm doing." Addison kept her voice low for the babies' sakes. "I'm making it so that my niece, your only granddaughter, doesn't have to leave our family."

"But do you actually want this baby, Addison?" Edmund asked in a calm, gentle voice. He always more openly loved his children than Nadine, though he worked long hours. "Do you want her, or are you doing this out of some sort of obligation to Cadence?"

"I wouldn't adopt a baby from anyone if I didn't want her." Addison said firmly.

"Okay…" Edmund nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"You're still covering for her." Nadine said coldly. "You're still trying to fix her mistakes… And she doesn't deserve that kind of help."

"You're unbelievable! If you're going to hold Cady to some ridiculous standard, it had better be allowed the same imperfections and screw ups that Brad and I have made, and believe me, we've made plenty." Addison said with a bitter laugh.

"You and Bradford have not made any mistakes of this caliber, Addison." Nadine argued.

"Oh really?" Addison snorted. "Where should I start? With my affair? No, let's start with something you don't know about… How about five years ago, when I had to drive 4 hours to Cambridge to bail Brad out of jail? Or, would you rather know something deep and shameful about me?"

Addison crossed her arms. She had a flash of regret for revealing her brother's secret, but he felt about their parents the same way that Addison did. She hoped he would understand if it ever came back on him.

"Addison…" Cadence had been quiet through most of the encounter, but suddenly interrupted when she realized what Addison was about to say. "You don't have to…"

"Yeah, I do, Cady." Addison turned to her parents and looked them straight in the eye. "Guess what mom and dad? I had an abortion. I got pregnant while I was screwing my husband's best friend, and I had an abortion because I was selfish and scared. Great irony, huh? Country's foremost neonatal surgeon aborts her own baby? I should be a character on a TV drama!"

Nadine's jaw dropped in shock. "Addison, you…"

"So maybe there's a part of me that thinks that this whole thing was meant to be, that this baby was meant to be a second chance for me and Mark to have a family." Addison confessed. She didn't know when or why tears had started forming in her eyes. "We've made mistakes. We all have. The difference is that Cadence still cares what you think of her, and I certainly don't."

Edmund took a careful step toward his eldest child, as though he was approaching a wild animal. "Addison…"

"I'm not done yet!" Addison raised her voice slightly, and held up her hand to halt her father. "I know you think that Cadence getting pregnant was a mistake, but I, for one, cannot look at that sweet baby and call her a mistake!"

Edmund waited until she had finished her tirade, then slowly drew her into his arms. "Oh, Addie… She's not a mistake. She's beautiful."

Addison allowed her father to hold her for a moment and calmed slightly, then wriggled out of his grasp, remembering that while he was more affectionate, he wasn't innocent in the matter.

"Haven't you made enough money yet? Is it so important that you don't know your own daughter? Do you know anything about Cadence?" Addison didn't wait for a response. "She's a wonderful artist. She hates mushrooms. Did you know that she has horrible taste in music? It all sounds like screaming and banging on pots and pans to me. She watches Nickelodeon when she thinks no one's watching… Any of this ringing a bell?"

Edmund gave Addison a slightly guilty look. Nadine, her expression stoic, stared straight ahead.

"I guarantee that you know more about Fable's Creation and Rebel Without a Cause than you do about Cadence!" Addison said, naming the two racehorses that her parents owned. "When I was born, you were young. You weren't successful yet. You spent time with me. When Brad was born, you spent a little less time with him. By the time Cadence was born, you just hired a nanny and forgot about her."

"You work plenty yourself, Addison." Nadine pointed out.

"I do." Addison agreed. "But that changes once Andrea leaves the hospital. I'm going to put everything into being her mother. I would never lie to Andrea and give up on her the way that you did to Cadence when you forced her to come out here."

"Hold it." Edmund put his hand up and glared at his wife. "You lied to her?"

"She lied to both of us." Cadence informed him. "She told me that Addison wanted me to come out here, and she told Addison that I was coming out for a couple of weeks to learn about medicine. Addie didn't know I was pregnant until I got here."

"Nadine…" Edmund ran a hand through his thinning hair. "How could you do this?"

"Ed…" Nadine began. "I was just trying to—"

Edmund shook his head slowly at her in disgust. "I can't look at you right now."

Still shaking his head, Edmund stepped out of the doors of the NICU. Nadine, realizing the kind of trouble she was in with her husband, quickly followed after him.

"Ed, wait…" Nadine called, taking brisk steps to follow him.

"Daddy didn't know…" Cadence said softly once they were alone. "I thought he was in on it."

"So did I…" Addison agreed.

"He's a better parent than she is." Cadence commented. "He works a lot… But at least he cares."

"You don't have to go home with them, Cady." Addison said. "You could stay here with us."

"They're not much sometimes… But they're the only parents we have, Addie." Cadence smiled sadly. "When I'm okay to leave, I'm going back to Connecticut. I miss my friends. I want to spend my senior year of high school with my friends. School doesn't start until after Labor Day. I can still have the chance to do all the normal teenager stuff."

"Okay then." Addison nodded, thinking back to her own senior year and understanding Cadence's wish.

"Thank you for everything." Cadence stood up from her wheelchair with a pained wince and wrapped her arms around Addison. "I couldn't have had Andrea without you."

"Well, since I was your surgeon…" Addison teased.

"You know what I mean…" Cadence said. "I don't know how to thank you for what you're doing for me… For Andrea."

"No…" Addison shook her head. "Thank you, for entrusting us with her. I love you, Cady… And I love Andrea, too."

Cadence smiled a little. "I love you too… And I know you do."

The drama from the day didn't subside – Edmund refused to speak to his wife, and he and Nadine got separate hotel rooms.

But that night, one couple was happy. Mark and Addison lay happily entwined in their bed, Addison's head resting comfortably on Mark's chest with his arms wrapped snuggly around her.

"Most people have sex, and then become parents. We became parents and then had sex. Is there something wrong with that?" Mark asked, nuzzling her neck.

Addison giggled. "We never were conventional."

"Can I ask you something?" Mark asked.

"Hmmm?" Addison mumbled into his chest.

"Do you ever miss New York?"

Addison considered the question. New York was where her life as she had known it had fallen apart, but she also considered it her home. She loved the bustle and style of the city. "Yes. Sometimes."

"What do you miss?"

"Hmmm…" Addison thought about how to summarize such an amazing city in so few words. "Broadway shows… Central Park… Wandering around The Met on my rare days off… Standing in the middle of Times Square and watching the world go by… Shopping on Fifth Avenue."

Mark rolled his eyes and laughed. "I'm sure that Fifth Avenue misses your American Express card. The retailers probably don't know what to do with the surplus of shoes."

Addison gave him a light shove and Mark gave her a wink, then his face grew serious. "What would you think of moving back there when Andrea is strong enough?"

Addison was silent for a moment, shocked by the question. Not that she had never considered it. She missed New York, and she knew he didn't care much for Seattle. But, they had never really discussed it. "Seriously?"

"We'd be near Cady, so she could get to know Andrea…" Mark said. "We could buy out F.A.O. Schwarz and give Andrea every toy that was ever made… We could teach her to ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza…"

"But you sold your practice." Addison pointed out.

Mark gave her a lopsided grin. "You think some hospital wouldn't want to snatch me up?"

"What about me?" Addison mocked offense.

"You too, I suppose." Mark tickled her lightly, just to hear her laugh.

"I don't know…" Addison sighed. "I'm not sure that I want to work such long hours in a hospital once we have Andrea at home…"

Mark raised a brow. "What would you do then?"

"Well… I've always enjoyed the teaching component of my job." Addison admitted.

"You mean the part you tell me I suck at?" Mark winked.

"You do… Sorry, babe." Addison smiled sweetly.

"So if you love teaching… Are you saying that you're thinking of becoming a professor?" Mark asked.

Addison shrugged. "Maybe. I could spend more time with Andrea that way."

"Professor Addison Forbes Montgomery-Sloan." Mark tried the name out. "That's pretty hot… But I have to tell you, honey, your name sounds like a law firm."

"Thanks a lot." Addison rolled her eyes. "I think we should think about moving back to New York… Maybe it would be good for us."

"And we could role play while we're there…" Mark climbed back on top of her, placing kisses along her collarbone. "I could be the student… You could be the teacher and discipline me…"

Addison laughed, and ran her hands over his body, preparing for round two. "Discipline you? Even I'm not that good of a teacher!"

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Coming up… Will Addison and Mark decide to move back to New York? What will happen to Addison's family?