A/N: Without the encouraging reviews, I probably would have abandonned fanfiction by now. Thank you so much!

I Don't Hate You

Chapter 25: Stork Delivery

It took another 7 hours until she was good to go.

"We're ready," the midwife said. It rang as the shot of a gun in a running competition in Addison's head.

She nodded with purpose and knocked the door open to tell the guys.

"She's ready!" she exclaimed with excitement, but frowned when she noticed Mark was absent.

"Where's Mark?"

"Can I come in?" Derek asked, ignoring her question. He was already standing, ready to catch the babies like he was playing baseball.

"Where's Mark?"

"Can I come in?"

"No, you know what we've said," she said in one breath. "Where is Mark?"

Derek sat down again. "He had to go to the hospital."

"We're at the hospital."

"You know what I mean," he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I don't think he could take anymore. He was looking pretty pale at the end. A pale minty color, like green mint tea with milk."

"I get the picture."

"ADDISON!" Meredith suddenly roared through the wall.

"You should probably call Mark," Addison stopped to tell Derek, she was already rushing back to the room before the third syllable.

"Addie," Meredith growled through clenched teeth when she reappeared by the doorway.

"I'm sorry baby," she said and went to hold Meredith's hand by the side of her bed.

"Are you ready to push?" the midwife asked.

"No!" Meredith yelled. "No I'm not ready, and I won't ever be! This is crazy! Why do women do this voluntarily?"

"I don't think anyone does it voluntarily."

Meredith started screaming along with another contraction.

"This is it, Meredith! Push!" the midwife said.

"You can do it, Mer! I'm right here with you."

And she pushed and she screamed and pressed her fingernails through the skin of Addison's hand.

Eventually a dark haired, squished up little bundle got to meet the day.

"It's a boy! Ten fingers, ten toes!" the midwife announced. "Would you like to cut the cord?" she asked Addison.

"Oh, yes please," she said and cut the cord with the pair of scissors the midwife handed her. It was one of many cords she had cut in her career, but it felt like she had never done it before.

Meredith collapsed on the pillows just as the midwife gave Addison the baby to hold.

"Great," she gasped. "I don't think I have it in me to push out another," she said weakly.

Addison showed her the baby boy.

"What if the other one suffocates in there? Shouldn't we already be getting it out?" Meredith wondered.

"We'll do it in your own time," Addison said. "Everything will be fine."

"No we should get going now. I can feel it," Meredith said. "Something is wrong with the baby," she said and began immediately hyperventilating.

Addison exchanged a quick glance with the midwife before giving Meredith an ultrasound herself.

"You hear that, Mer? That's a strong heartbeat."

"I just want to get on with it! Before I change my mind. Honestly Addie, my vagina is already too..."

She began screaming like a nut case.

The midwife was ready between Meredith's legs and told Addison that it was time to get going again. Addison handed the newborn to a nurse and got ready to hold her love's hand again.

"You can do it Mer, push!"

She didn't need any persuasion.

~GA~

Addie lay on her side beside Meredith, her arm under her head. The babies were cleaned up and half-sleeping on Meredith's chest. One had eaten, one hadn't.

"Should we wake him? Like poke on him to make him eat?" Meredith wispered.

"No, he'll eat in his own time."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Stop saying that."

Meredith stroked one of the babies soft hair with a finger.

"Their hair is so dark," she mumbled. "Do you think that means...?"

Addison shook her head. "It doesn't mean anything. It can start turning blond by tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Meredith sighed.

Addison smiled.

"We have two boys."

"Yes, we do," Meredith said, like she didn't really believe it was true.

"Two beautiful, perfect boys," Addison mumbled, not letting them out of her sight.

"I love you," Meredith said, surprising Addison by not looking at the babies.

"I love you too."

"What are we going to name them? We didn't really get anywhere when we spoke about it before."

"It has to work with our last-names at least," Addison said and bit her lip.

"Montgomery Grey or Grey Montgomery? With or without the hyphen?"

"I thought we decided on Montgomery-Grey, with the hyphen?"

"Yeah. I was just making sure. So... You decide one, and I decide one."

"But we have to agree," Addison pointed out.

"Of course. So.. Who goes first?"

"I can. This guy," Addison said and put her hand on the firstborn's back, "told me that his name is Timothy."

"Timothy? Seriously. Wow, that kid is going to be bullied. Why didn't you put it on our name list?" Meredith pouted.

"It's a name that has many potentials, and I didn't think of it before. When I look at him, I see that it fits him. He can be called Tim or Timmy and Timothy sounds really fab so my family is going to be pleased. It won't come of silly at the side of Montgomery."

"Timothy Rider Montgomery-Grey," Meredith concluded.

"Where did Rider come from?" Addison frowned, not particularly fond of that name.

"Well, he told me that was his second name."

"I want to hear you argument for this one."

"Okay uhm...," Meredith hesitated. "This is going to sound slightly ridiculous but... Rider was the nicest golden lab ever to exist on this planet. I had a neighbor that had this dog when I was a kid and I got to-"

"You want to name our child after a dog? Are you kidding me?" Addison said dryly.

"It was a nice, brave dog!"

Addison rolled her eyes. She was going to pick this battle up another time. "Let's move on to number two."

"Chris."

"Chris Montgomery-Grey. It sounds a bit small beside that enormous last-name."

"Christopher?"

"Terrific," Addison smiled. "Christopher Aiden Montgomery-Grey."

"Oh, the guy that sailed the ship... Who was he – your great grandfather right?"

"My grandfather's father. Mother's side."

"I really like that name," Meredith smiled, looking at little Christopher.

"Me too."

Someone knocked on the door and a nurse walked in.

"I'm sorry to bother you but uhm the fathers are here to see the babies," she said, putting a big accentuation on fathers.

"Oh, yeah, let them in," Meredith said.

Mark and Derek walked in, both of them looking quite insecure and out of place.

"I want you to meet Tim and Chris," Meredith said proudly.

They approached them and stand there for a moment, everyone watching the babies.

"They look like me," Derek said, he was looking pale. But Addison knew that if these babies were his, it wasn't going take long until he melted.

"God no! They are like little copies of me," Mark said, letting Chris squeeze his finger. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind being a father. It would make me proud. But it's best that I say it now. I will be cool uncle Mark, I do not change diapers, I do not baby-sit, I do not buy birthday presents."

"Wow, you really are a douche," Derek muttered.

Mark gave him a haughty stare.

"Are you really that much better than me? What are you prepared to do?"

"Can't we just get the paternity test over with?" Derek countered.

~GA~

"Just tell us," Meredith said.

The nurse looked a bit scared. It wasn't strange, judging by the way everyone was staring at her. Derek and Mark were sitting down by the side of the bed, but barely so, they were so tense it looked like they had nails stuck up their asses.

"The father is Mark Sloan. Congratulations?"

She probably didn't mean to make it sound like a question but nobody could call her rude since the shock that filled the room was enough to give someone a heart attack.

Her words lingered in the room like an echo.

Before Addison had time to figure out something to say or do Derek got to his feet and walked toward the door. His back was straight, his eyes set high on his goal. No one tried to stop him. When he had left the room Meredith asked hesitantly:

"Should someone go after him?"

Addison shook her head slowly. "Leave him be."

Mark got to his feet as well, but unlike Derek he didn't go for the door but turned to the nurse.

"Lady, there has to be something wrong here," he said smoothly, trying to talk her into this idea. "I can't be the...," he couldn't make himself pronounce the word father or dad. He struggled on, but didn't manage to sound smooth anymore. "Derek should be the one. He's the better one of us."

"I'm sorry?" The nurse looked terrified by this point. Mark may be handsome and all but he was towering over her as if he thought he could threaten her to change the results.

Addison walked up to him and put a hand against his shoulder.

"Mark," she said softly but with an edge of a warning.

He stared passed her at the nurse.

A wave of emotion caught up with her and she just felt an urge of tenderness toward this man. She didn't fight this urge and wrapped her arms around him in a hug and rested her cheek against his neck.

"You're a good man, Mark. Don't think so little of yourself, 'kay?" she whispered so only he could hear.

She let go of him because his body was still slightly rigid and she wanted to avoid him pushing her away.

"No pressure," she said and smiled in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

Mark sighed.

"Do you wanna hold the babies?"

"Oh no, thanks I'm good," he said, sounding exasperated and sat down on the chair again.

The nurse left them alone and a strange silence appeared between the three of them and the babies. The mood of the room was both relieved and confused.

"Uhm... So... You're signing the paternity form?" Meredith eventually asked.

"Yes... No... Maybe."

"What?" Addison huffed.

Mark bit his lip, thinking hardly. Suddenly he banged his fists against his thighs and jumped up, reaching his arm against the women like in a bad anime.

"Of course! What kind of a man do you think I am? Give me a pen and hand me the damn form!"

Relieved Meredith started laughing and tears glistened in her eyes again. She cried when she saw her boys and now she cried again. Everything seemed to be alright.