A/N: Thank you to anyone who reviewed! I love you very much:). This is the last proper chapter, then there's an epilogue, and then we're done!

Disclaimer: Even after all this time I haven't managed to own anything. I'm own-less. :P

Reviews are love!

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Mark Sloan wasn't having a good day. He'd had a patient who needed an amazing surgery but was too nervous to go ahead with it, which left Mark with nothing but files to sort. On top of that, Bailey had yelled at him for messing Addison up and causing her not to concentrate properly. Like it was his fault, all he wanted was her back where she belonged with him in New York. There was the added bonus that she and Derek were now divorcing, so it seemed he had a good chance of getting her back, and that Derek was now speaking to him. But, as with every plan, there was a down side. And that down side was standing right in front of him in the form of an intern.

The three of them stood in silence, each desperately thinking of something to say. The doors began to close and both Addison and Alex hoped Mark would let them close fully, but they weren't in luck. His foot shot out to allow him room to get in, smiling sarcastically at Addison but completely ignoring Alex, who quickly walked out of the elevator. Addison began following him but Mark grabbed her hand to stop her. Sighing, she nodded to Alex telling him it was okay to go, before resuming her place next to Mark.

The doors closed and they stood staring at the lights without saying a word. Mark knew this could be him only chance to say what he felt so he slammed the emergency stop button and stood between it and Addison.

"What's going on, Addison?"

She shrugged, "it's nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing to me."

Addison shook her head, "no."

Mark sighed, knowing he couldn't yell at her. He'd come to Seattle to get her back. He'd waited long enough and there was nothing or nobody he'd let stand in his way. "Seriously, Addison. What's going on with you and Karev?"

She looked up and made eye contact with him. She could see the hurt look in his eyes showing he thought he'd lost his chance now. "I really don't know," she whispered.

He took a deep breath, breaking eye contact and studying the floor carefully. "Are we really done? Because I need to know, if there's even the smallest of chances that this could work I need you to tell me. I love you, Addison, you know that and you know that I'd never hurt you. Not again. And I don't want you to hurt me either so don't tell me we're not over if you don't mean it. Don't try to make me feel better," he looked back up at her. Part of him hoped she'd tell him they weren't over but something inside of him knew that wasn't true.

She listened carefully to him, wishing she didn't have to make up her mind now and possibly lose one of her oldest and best friends. This was Mark. He'd been there for her through all the pain that Derek had caused, never letting her feel alone. He'd been her friends for years, hell they'd even dated for two months and lived together, and she knew she couldn't lose him. However, she knew he could never be the guy she needed. Never offer her the support that, at the start of their marriage, Derek had. Right now, her head was a mess and all she wanted to do was sleep. She knew the confusion wouldn't go away overnight but it would at least be a break.

"Mark, I really can't do this now. I need to sleep. I need to sort my head out," she bit her lip.

Mark nodded, hit the button and the elevator jerked back into life. He turned away from her, not wanting to see her so lost and upset. When the doors opened he stepped out, getting away as quickly as he could. He didn't stop until he got to Joe's, taking a seat at the bar and ordering a beer. He understood why Addison was so confused, he just needed an answer. He needed to know where he stood. He didn't want to believe she was rejecting him for an intern, but that certainly seemed like the case. He nodded to Joe as he picked up his beer, swallowing hard. He looked across the bar to see Izzie Stevens sitting alone. 'Fine,' he thought to himself, standing up and walking around to her. 'If Addison can have an intern, so can I.'

Back at the hospital, Addison had found an empty bench just outside the front door and sat with her head in her hands. Why couldn't she just make a decision? This time yesterday she was happy. Well at least happier than she was now. Sure, Derek hadn't been speaking to her, hardly even acknowledging her presence. But at least she knew how to live her life. Today had been a today mess. Taking a deep breath she heaved herself up and began the short walk from the hospital to her hotel. She rushed to the elevator, then on to her room, slamming the door behind her and collapsing on the bed. Finally she could relax away from the madness.

It didn't take her long to fall asleep, but it didn't take her long to wake up either. Especially when there was a constant loud knocking at her door which wouldn't stop. She sighed and stood up, realizing she slept in her now-screwed up clothes. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 11:30, surely too late for anyone to need her, but the knocking didn't stop. She stumbled to the door, opening it just a little to see who it was. To her surprise (and slight pleasure) she saw Alex, and opened the door further.

"Alex, what's wrong?" she said, tiredness evident in her voice.

"I needed to check you were alright. Can I come in?" he took in her tired eyes and messy clothes, smiling at how normal she looked.

She nodded. "Sure," and moved aside. He kissed her cheek gently before moving past her to take a seat on her couch. She closed the door quickly and took the seat next to him.

"What did Sloan say?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Just asked what was going on with us. I told him that I didn't know, because I really don't. Then he said he needed to know where I was with him, whether we were done or not. But I don't know that either."

Alex put his hand over her's reassuringly, knowing she needed an explanation right now. "I don't want to rush you into anything so soon after your marriage. I know the divorce isn't finalised yet but I want you to know I'm here. I just want to be here when you need me. Maybe you don't trust me, maybe you expect me to go back to being a jerk with you, but I promise you I won't. I'm here now, okay, Addie. I'm in this for the long run," he watched her face, her eyes desperately searching for a sigh he was lying. She was so used to being lied to, used to men telling her they'd be always be around and then hurting her. Why should he be any different? She hated that she couldn't seem to tear herself away from men and live independently for once. He smiled, leaning in to kiss her forehead gently.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He smiled and kissed her forehead again, before sitting up straight. "I'm going home now, I'll see you tomorrow, night Addie," he stood up slowly.

She watched him, shocked slightly, and stood up next to him. She put her hands on either side of his face and shook her head. "Could you stay with me tonight?"

Alex nodded. "Sure," and took one of her hands in his. "I'll crash on the couch okay?"

"Well, could you just.." she hesitated. "Just hold me for tonight? Please?"

He smiled. "Of course."

They walked together to Addison's bedroom and she grabbed an old t-shirt and shorts for herself to sleep in. She bit her lip before turning to Alex. "I think I have one of Derek's old shirts somewhere, if you want to change."

Alex nodded and watched her search for a few minutes before she found what she was looking for. "There," she handed him a shirt which he took. "I'll just go change, see you in a bit," she smiled and walked to the bathroom, catching his eye and grinning before shutting the door.

Alex sighed, pulling his shirt over his head and replacing it with Derek's shirt. He threw his top over a chair and followed it a few seconds later with his pants. He walked to the bed and sat down, watching the bathroom door closely waiting for Addison to join him. For some reason, he felt such a strong connection when he was with her, something he couldn't quite explain. He had an uncontrollable need to make her feel safe and to protect her from Derek and Mark. He knew she been messed up and hurt so many times before and all he wanted was for that never to happen to her again.

He smiled and sat up when the bathroom door opened and Addison walked out. She was wearing an old college t-shirt, that Alex guessed she'd 'borrowed' from Derek back when they were married, and boxer shorts. She smiled back and made her way across the room and crawled into bed next to him. She didn't move too close to him, not sure if he'd be okay with it.

He sighed and moved closer to her, because it didn't look to him that she was going to, and put his arm around her, pulling her into him. She stiffened at first before melting against his touch. His hand rested on her stomach and she linked her fingers through his.

"Thank you for staying," she whispered.

"It's no problem," he replied, kissing her neck gently and squeezing her hand.

She smiled and turned slightly to face him. He put his spare hand on her cheek and pulled her closer to him. She leaned against him and met him lips gently. She smiled against his mouth as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, intertwining it with her's. Their tongues danced around each other for a few moments before she pulled away, gasping for air, but still smiling widely.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly.

"Just felt like kissing you," he smiled. "Hope that's okay."

"No problems here," she shrugged.

Alex laughed. "Night Addie."

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A/N2: Am I making Alex too soppy? Cuz I just seem to write him soppy. Please review :)