Alright, I wrote this chapter in a about twenty minutes, so forgive me if it's horribley short and undescriptive. But I had to get Addison out of Finn's ... Apperantly you guys don't want her with anyone else ... :P hehe So anyways, hope you like it.

------------------------------

Chapter Twelve

At ten o'clock, Alex had ended his search and went over to a familiar place, Joe's Bar. Which is exactly where he sat, clutching his eighth shot, thinking whether or not he should take the plunge and let the liquid run its course down his throat. Finally, after saying screw it, he downed the shot, slamming the glass against the table as soon as he was finished.

"You didn't find her?" Meredith asked from beside him, and Alex couldn't help but think that it was becoming somewhat of a ritual for her to find him in the opportune moments in which he was feeling like shit.

"Nope." He said bitterly as he waved over to Joe. "Another one of these please."

Joe gave Meredith a disapproving look before saying, "Don't you think you've had enough man?"

"Nah, not yet." He replied as he lifted one of his shot glasses and looked through it. By this, Meredith could tell that Alex was definitely a little, if not entirely, drunk.

"Alright, but she's driving you home tonight." Joe said sadly as he poured Alex another shot and then went about helping the other customers in the bar.

"Alex." Meredith called out sadly.

"What?" He replied, a small hint of anger in his voice.

"Why are you here? I mean, why aren't you … did you try calling her?" She asked, and although she knew it was a stupid question, she wanted Alex to be anywhere but there trying to drown his sorrows. In truth, she was actually rooting for the two of them to be together. Addison deserved someone decent, and to her, and probably only her, Alex was a decent person.

Alex chuckled, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I only called about six times. She won't pick up her cell, she's not at her hotel … and well she's definitely not at work. I practically tore that place apart looking for her." He said in a low voice.

"Maybe she didn't want you to find her, you ever think of that?" A voice asked, a voice which sent Alex over the edge.

--

Addison's throat suddenly became increasingly dry, she didn't know if the wine was to blame, or the fact that Finn was merely inches away from her, staring directly into her eyes. "I …" She started, but her voice wouldn't allow her to continue.

Finn nodded, fully understanding her sudden discomfort. "You know, if I was that guy, this would have been the perfect opportunity to kiss you. But that's not what you would have wanted? … Isn't it?"

Her eyes traveled in front of her and she seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "No … I'm sorry."

Finn held up his hands in defense. "Hey, don't be. It's perfectly understandable. You don't seem like that type of woman anyways."

Addison gave a soft laugh in disagreement. "Yeah…" Clearly Finn wasn't aware of her history with men, something she was a little grateful for. After clearing her throat, she said, "I think … I think I should go."

"What?"

She gently touched his arm and said, "You're a great guy … but I can't help get the feeling that I shouldn't be here, like I'm somehow cheating."

He gave a low chuckle and said, "I don't think Derek will mind."

"No." She said with a shake of her head, "There's someone else, someone I've been avoiding, and I think I should be with him right now. I'm sorry."

She gave him one last smile before turning around and walking over to the front door. "Just so you know," He said, which caused her to stop for a moment, "The offer is always on the table for you to try my omelets."

She smiled. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

--

Meredith stood up, and kept herself cleverly placed between Alex and Mark. "Mark, don't." She warned.

"Don't what? We're just talking." Mark replied and flashed her one of his charming smiles.

Alex downed his last shot before he himself stood up, pushing against Meredith so that she could step back. "Actually, you were just leaving."

"Whoa, easy there tiger. Wouldn't want to get kicked out of the program would you?" He asked, and Meredith could have sworn that he was egging him on.

"Alex, don't, it's not worth it." She said as she tried to push him back into his seat.

Alex glared at him before agreeing. "You're right, he's not worth it." Meredith sighed and then stepped back, thinking the worst was over. "Apparently Addison thought so too." Alex finished as he gave him a victorious grin.

Mark's face fell at the comment and suddenly Meredith saw his fist flying at Alex's face.

--

Addison was thankful that she drove her own car to Finn's place, it made for an easier escape. Once she was in her car, she checked her cell phone and saw that she had a new message. She called her voicemail and was pleased to hear Alex's voice ring through the other end. "Addison, it's me. Look, I don't know what happened back there. I'm guessing that things didn't go as planned in the Chief's office, so I'm willing to look past you yelling at me and ask you to come over to Joe's with me tonight. I'll be waiting, so if you want to talk, or yell again, whatever, I'll be there." She smiled as she closed her cell phone and started her car, after making a gentle U-turn, she put the car in drive and headed for Joe's.

--

"You son of a-" Mark yelled before taking another swing at Alex. Alex though, was ready for the second blow so he found it a little easier to dodge than the first, his being drunk however, swayed his motions and Mark's fist collided with the side of his face.

Alex tasted blood. He gently licked his lip and realized that the first hit he took cut his lip open. He quickly wiped it off and waited for the third attack.

"Hey! Break it up you two." Joe yelled as his attention was drawn from the others in the bar to the fight that was taking place. Meredith merely stood by, unable to think of what to do to put an end to the fight.

Alex ignored Joe's request and drew up the courage to push Mark away from him, but what he didn't know was that Addison was standing just behind Mark.