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CHAPTER 26

"So you and Sloan?"

Alex looks at Addison curiously and she sighs, washing her hands determinedly.

"It's stupid. It's wrong."

"It's not like you're married."

"I'm not divorced yet, Karev."

"I'm curious as to why that is."

"Excuse me?"

He shrugs, looking at her confidently.

"Well he's dating. You're dating. Why are you still married?"

"There are problems with the divorce papers. They're going to need a few more weeks to sort everything out. Divide the assets, do the custody arrangements."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

She frowns slightly, avoiding his eyes.

"No."

"Didn't sound convincing."
She sighs, finally facing him.

"Even if I did… it's not like he wants me. So the divorce will happen. Not that it's any of your business. It's not anyone's business…"

"I'm sorry, I just… Dr Montgomery-Shepherd… Addison… I saw what it did to your son. The way Shepherd treated you and… don't allow him to do that again. It's always hardest on the kids."

"Karev… I'm sorry about what your father did to you… and… it's horrible and… Derek loves our kids. Even if he doesn't love me anymore… he's a good father."
Alex looks at her with something like sympathy in his eyes… not that she was sure about that. It could be sarcasm.

"Yeah. Just too bad he isn't a good husband."

"Dad!"

Lucas Montgomery turns around when he hears his son's angry voice behind him.

"What?"

"You requested Izzie? Why would you request Izzie?"

"She seems like a good intern to work with. Addison likes her."

"Dad."

"What?"

"DAD!"

"All right, fine. I just wanted to get to know her better."

"That's what last night's dinner was about. I do not need you scaring of my… Izzie."

"Your Izzie, huh?"

Michael sighs, staring at his father for a long time and Lucas smiles.

"You know, you never did that before. You never introduced a girl to me before. Never."

Michael slowly nods, looking at his father.

"I never felt… comfortable enough."

"Why?"

"Because you're Lucas Montgomery! And I'm me. And I didn't want a girl who was more interested in my famous surgeon father than me. And Izzie… she's the first girl to be… different, you know. When I'm with her, I'm Michael. I'm not Lucas Montgomery's son, who happens to be a surgeon. I'm just Michael."

Lucas smiles, resting his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I know how that feels. With your mother… I felt the same. My parents were poor and I was ashamed of that. Not with your mother. She made me feel like I was…"

"Important."

"Yeah. Like you could be yourself around her… and still be good enough?"

Michael nods coyly, looking up at his father.

"Is it love, dad? I'm… I'm thirty-five years old and I don't know what love is."

Lucas smiles, looking at his only son.

"When it turns into love… you'll know."

"I want to be with her, dad. I want to marry her."

"Nothing is stopping you."

Michael smiles, looking at his father curiously.

"So can I have her back as my intern?"

"No. She's srubbing in on my adentotonsillectomy."

"You're doing an adentotonsillectomy?"

"Yeah."

"You have to remove the adenoids as well?"

"Would I do an adentotonsillectomy if I didn't have to remove the adenoids?"

"No."

"So don't ask me stupid questions."

"Can I switch Izzie for Yang?"

"No. I want to get to know my future daughter in law. Go find something to do."

Addison smirks when she feels a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist, leaning back against Mark's chest immediately.

"Hey beautiful."
"Hey…"

"Can you slip away for a few minutes? Just you… and me… and an empty on-call room?"

Addison laughs suddenly, turning around in his arms.

"You are a sex addict, has anyone ever told you that?"

Mark laughs, pulling her even closer to him.

"Only when I'm with you. So what do you say?"

Addison sighs, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"As tempting as that sounds… I can't. I have surgery."

Mark sighs, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Okay… tonight then?"

"Definitely."

"Do we have the kids tonight?"
Addison nods, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his.

"Ya…"

"I've heard about a cute little restaurant… where you get lots of pizza and the kids have a room to play in… we could go… let them play until they're tired… and go back to the hotel…"

Addison laughs, brushing her lips against his.

"I'm staying at my dad's tonight…"

"Are you serious?"

She nods, running her fingers through his short hair.

"But we could be… very… very… quiet…"

"We could do that…"

She kisses him tenderly, pulling back after a few minutes and wiping the lipstick off his mouth with her thumb.

"You need to go now because I… need to work…"

Mark nods, kissing her again.

"Okay… oh, by the way… Karev is your intern today?"

"Yeah…"

"Could we switch? I have Jodi Winters."
Addison shakes her head, lifting a brow.

"No. I'm not switching. Keep your hands off my intern!"

"But…"

She kisses him softly and he pulls away, laughing.

"Okay, okay… you win! I'll keep my hands off your intern."

"Good."

He kisses her again before rushing off and Addison smiles, turning back to the chart in front of her. She blushes when she catches Debbie's eyes on her, looking down again. Debbie smiles, approaching her curiously.

"Are you and Dr Sloan dating?"

"I… well… we're… it's complicated."

"Wow. He's gorgeous."

Addison nods distractedly, still writing on the chart.

"He certainly is. I…"

She breaks off speaking when her cell phone starts ringing, her heart stopping when she sees the number.

"Addison Shepherd speaking… Oh, hey Jane, how are you? Seriously? Can you fax it through to the hospital? You're an angel… Ya, I really need to get this over with. Thanks Jane. Bye."

She rushes off to the fax machine, her heart twitching when she finally holds the divorce papers in her hands.

She thinks for a minute before stuffing them into her handbag, stubborn tears forming in her eyes.

She'd sign them.

Just not now.

"Dr Stevens, come over here."

Lucas Montgomery ushers Izzie closer, his hands working at an extraordinary pace. Izzie stares as he works, a little intimidated by his brilliance.

"Removed the adenoids… and… Stevens, you can do the suturing."
She looks at him, a little shocked and he smiles, stepping back to allow her to work. Izzie takes a deep breath before starting with the suturing, too aware of Lucas' eyes on her. She gazes up to the gallery, immediately calming down when she notices Michael sitting there, looking at her calmly. She finishes, looking up into Lucas' eyes when she steps back. He nods, putting a hand on her shoulder and lowering his voice to a whisper.

"My son is smarter than I gave him credit for. He knows a Montgomery when he sees one."

In the next chapter:

Izzie realises how she really feels about Michael. Meredith and Lucas talk. Derek tells someone how he really feels about the women in his life.