A special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You're words made me smile!

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Mark and Izzie walked through the doorway of the kitchen, entering the foyer just as Meredith was walking down the stairs. The three of them immediately stopped in surprise, staring at the vast array of bags covering the hardwood floors around Derek and Nancy's feet. Meredith narrowed her eyes, skimming the logos of various baby boutiques around Seattle. "What's all this?"

Nancy pursed her lips, lifting her gaze to watch Meredith descend the stairs. "I poked around Jack's room last night and I noticed that you were a little…unprepared, so I had Derek take me to a few baby stores," she told her with a smile.

Meredith forced herself not to glare, trying her best to ignore the insult to her mothering capabilities as she reached the bottom of the staircase. Her eyes flew to Derek, who was looking at his sister with annoyance. "Nancy, I already told you we weren't exactly ready for this; we had no idea that Jack was going to come so early," he muttered with annoyance.

Nancy's mouth fell open, and she turned to look at Meredith with mock-surprise. "Oh, so Addison didn't realize there was a risk for preterm birth?"

Meredith huffed, not answering Nancy's question as she turned to look at Mark and Izzie. "Are you guys ready to eat? I'm starving."

Mark slowly nodded. "Yeah, I could eat," he commented awkwardly, raising his eyebrows at his wife before turning to look at Meredith.

Izzie gaped as Meredith pushed past them, already heading into the dining room. "Mer, what about these bags? Do you want me to-"

"Leave them!" she snapped, disappearing through the doorway.

They were soon seated around the table, Nancy sitting at the head while the two couples sat on either side. "This looks delicious," Derek commented with surprise, his eyes roaming the table before coming to rest on his wife. He smiled at her, trying his best to lessen her anger. "I'm impressed."

"It does look very good, Meredith," Nancy admitted, studying her sister-in-law. "It must have taken hours."

Meredith sighed nervously, trying to avoid Mark's amused expression from across the table. "It really wasn't that much trouble."

Nancy narrowed her eyes, a satisfied grin coming to her face as she watched Meredith fidget. "Oh, don't be so modest. You should accept a compliment if you spent your day slaving away in the kitchen."

Izzie's eyes darted between Meredith and Nancy. "Um, well I'm starving," she commented, trying to divert Nancy's attention. "I'm pretty sure that I could eat everything in sight."

Mark turned to look at her, not bothering with subtlety as his eyes ran the length of her upper body. "So could I," he admitted, his voice low as a smirk came to his face.

"God, Mark, why don't you just mount her right here on the table?" Nancy teased, beaming innocently when Mark glared at her. Izzie lowered her gaze to the table, briefly wondering if her face was the same shade as the burgundy colored tablecloth as she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment.

Meredith rolled her eyes at Nancy's comment, but let it pass as she attempted to change the subject. "Does anyone know if Addison's test results are back yet?"

"No," Nancy commented. "I called the hospital just before Derek and I came back to the house, but the lab still hadn't gotten the results. They're supposed to page me when they come in, though."

As Meredith nodded solemnly, Izzie smiled. "I ate in her room during my lunch break today, and I think it's pretty safe to say that there will never be a patient in Seattle Grace as annoying as her. Every time a nurse would come into the room, she'd order them around or question whatever they were doing. I heard that some of the nurses were starting to offer each other bribes just to pass her off to someone else."

Mark laughed heartily, shaking his head as he reached for his glass of scotch sitting adjacent to his plate. "Christ, she can be such a pain in the ass," he muttered, but his voice was full of such fond adoration that everyone couldn't help but grin.

The grin soon faded from Derek's face, replaced with a frown as lines of worry marred his forehead. "If those test results come back…" he paused as his voice grew thick with emotion, clearing his throat. "If we find out that she has cancer-"

"Derek!" Izzie immediately snapped, cutting of his thought. "She doesn't, okay? She's going to be fine."

"I'm just saying that if she does-"

"She doesn't! So just shut up about it!"

They sat silently for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts until Meredith finally spoke up, trying to break the tension. "Um, well I think our dinner's getting cold. Who wants some vegetables?"

Instead of answering her question, Nancy frowned as she looked at the baby slumbering soundly in the infant carrier placed between Derek and Meredith's seats. "You could put him in his crib, you know. I'm sure he'll sleep for awhile."

Meredith scowled at her sister-in-law, silently wondering why she couldn't leave well-enough alone. "I like him ­right here­, actually." She picked up a serving dish, taking a spoonful of sautéed vegetables and slamming them onto her plate before shoving the dish in Derek's direction.

Nancy's eyebrows rose at Meredith's tone. "I'm sorry; I hope I didn't offend you, but I know it's a little daunting being a first-time parent. I'm just trying to help."

She looked up sharply. "That's what I have Izzie for," she snapped, picking up a basket of croissants.

Nancy's eyes narrowed as she observed Meredith's jerky movements. "Well, then you're in great hands," she commented smoothly, nodding her head as she turned to look at Izzie and Mark. "By the way, I haven't gotten the chance to tell you two how sorry I was to hear about Ben. I can't even imagine…"

Izzie stiffened, still feeling raw from her conversation with Mark in the kitchen. She quietly sniffed, clearing her throat as she felt Mark's hand grip hers underneath the table. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice sounding a bit too shaky for her own liking. "We got your flowers after the funeral. They were beautiful; that was very thoughtful of you."

Nancy smiled sympathetically as she placed a croissant on her plate, passing the basket to Mark. "Well it was the least I could do. When Derek told me about the accident, I…god, I was just horrified for you," she remarked quietly, her eyes flickering to Meredith's face.

Mark noticed the exchange, growing irritated at Derek's sister as he watched her continue to bait Meredith. "Well I think that's enough of that. I'm pretty sure that there're happier things we can talk about."

Izzie nodded, ignoring the ache in her chest as she forced a smile to her face. "Yes, there definitely are. Like, um, we actually found out a few weeks ago that we're pregnant," she proclaimed with a smile, urging Nancy onto another topic of conversation.

Nancy's eyes widened, a grin coming to her face. "Oh, that's great, you guys; congratulations! You know, ever since seeing the two of you at your wedding, I couldn't help but picture you with a houseful of children, especially after watching Mark dance with Kathleen's daughter standing on his feet on the dance floor. How adorable was that?"

Meredith rolled her eyes as Nancy continued gush. "Unbelievable," she muttered beneath her breath.

Nancy paused, shifting her eyes to Meredith. "Excuse me?"

Meredith took in a deep breath to lessen her irritation, but her anger was quickly flying to the surface at an uncontrollable rate, every confrontation she'd ever had with Nancy spewing forth as she glared at her sister-in-law. "I just can't believe you!" she said with a shake of her head. "Why is it that you can be that excited over their pregnancy news, but when Derek told you that we were expecting, you barely had two words to say? My god, Nancy, he's your brother! You should've been happy for him…for us!"

"I know he's my brother, Meredith," Nancy said icily, no longer bothering with a false smile as she stared at her defiantly. "And of course I'm happy for him; I know he loves Jack, as do I. But pardon me for being concerned for Derek when I first heard about the pregnancy. It's hard for a sister to imagine her brother getting trapped in a relationship by a baby!"

Derek's face sharpened, turning to stare at her with astonishment as the words left her mouth. "Nancy!"

Meredith shot up, standing on shaky legs as she glared at her sister-in-law. "Trapped? You think I trapped him? We've been married for over three years!"

Nancy laughed sardonically, shaking her head lightly as Jack stirred awake at the sound of all the yelling, beginning to fuss in his seat on the floor. "You think that I care how long you've been married? Marriage doesn't seem all that important to you, Meredith. For god's sake, Derek was married to Addison for eleven years when you managed to break them up!"

Meredith's mouth fell open, a tear escaping her eye as she leaned forward, picking up her now crying baby from his carrier.

Derek glared at Nancy angrily. "I can't believe you," he murmured, turning to his wife as she pushed her seat away from the table. "Mer-"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, stalking quickly out of the dining room toward the staircase.

Derek rose from his seat, shaking his head irritably at his sister. "You better get it together, or you're going to have to find another place to stay while you're in Seattle," he warned, his voice low and threatening as he followed in Meredith's trail.

When they were out of sight, Izzie and Mark stared awkwardly at the table, trying not to listen as Meredith's yelling voice echoed down the stairs. Izzie finally glanced up, offering Nancy a forced smile. "So, uh, how long are you going to be in the city?"

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"How could she say those things to me?" Meredith screamed disbelievingly, turning the corner of Jack's nursery and flipping on a lamp. "How can she still hate me after all these years? I've never done anything to her!"

Derek followed her into the room, rubbing his eyes wearily as he closed the door behind him. "I know," he quietly responded, his expression apologetic.

"She's hateful, Derek! Hateful!"

"I know, Mer, I'm sorry."

"We're never going to get along," she told him with conviction, bouncing the baby lightly as he continued to fuss in her arms. "She's a terrible person…she's never going to accept me! Why the hell does she like Alex? I mean, he's with Addison, and she's fine with that, but me, her god damn sister-in-law, she can't stand? And Mark! What about him? She loves him like crazy, and he's the one who really screwed up your first marriage."

Derek shrugged, trying to think as his forehead began to pound. "I think that in her mind, it's just easier to blame you because-"

"Because she's hateful!" Meredith snapped.

He sighed, closing his eyes momentarily. "Mer, I really don't think she means it to come across that way. Nancy thinks she doing something honorable; she thinks she's protecting her brother."

She glared at him, wishing she was holding something other than her son so that she could hurl it at his head. "Don't you dare defend her, Derek! I'm your wife. I'm the one you should be defending."

"I know that, Meredith, and I will…I did. But she's my sister. You have to realize that I'm in an awkward position right now. I love both of you, and I don't want to be forced to take sides here," he told her, his voice barley loud enough for her to hear him over Jack's cries. "But if it comes down to that, of course I'm going to be defending you. And it's not because I love you more, or out of some since of duty, it's because you're right. Her behavior is inexcusable, and I'm sorry she said those things. She was completely out of line down there."

Meredith stared at him blankly for several moments, and then her face crumbled, tear after tear spilling down her cheeks. "Well fine, but I'm still mad," she told him weakly, hating herself for sounding so childish.

Derek nodded, smiling slightly as he considered how adorable she looked. Her messy ponytail was unraveling, wavy tresses spilling around her face as she bounced their son gently despite the tears pouring from her eyes. "That's okay; you have a right to be mad," he told her simply.

She quietly huffed, silently cursing him for being so supportive when she was itching for a fight. "I know that I do," she sulked, but the rage had already seeped from her voice.

He smiled, slowly walking toward her and stopping in front of her body as he stared down at her arms. "Look at what you did."

Meredith's eyes followed his gaze, and she couldn't help but smile with relief when she saw Jack's eyes fluttering closed. "I got him to stop crying," she proclaimed, her voice a mixture of disbelief and wonderment.

Derek chuckled, gently easing the baby from her arms and placing him into the crib. When he turned back to her, he pulled her against his chest, breathing in her lavender scented hair as she laid her head against his shoulder. "Do you want to go back downstairs? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Meredith sighed, shaking her head gently. "No, I'll go." She pulled away from him, staring at his face fixedly. "But Derek, you can't just sit there, okay? You're not allowed to just sit there if she starts insulting me. You have to stand up for me."

Derek nodded, leaning forward and capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. "Trust me, Meredith, if she insults you again, I won't be sitting there silently; I'll be kicking her out on her ass, sister be damned."

She grinned at him. "Okay, well then I guess we're on the same page."

Meredith's heart pounded nervously as they walked down the stairs, but she was pleasantly surprised when she turned the corner of the dining room and found only Mark and Izzie sitting at the table, talking quietly as they faced one another.

Meredith smiled, unable to prevent the twinge of satisfaction she felt as she glanced at Nancy's empty seat. "So she left? Is she staying at the Archfield? Because that's what she should have done to begin with. I still can't believe that she thought she could into my house, into my freaking mother's house, and-"

"She was paged, Meredith," Mark interrupted, his grim voice echoing through the room. "She had to go to the hospital because Addison's test results came back."

As Derek's hand came to rest on her shoulder, Meredith inhaled sharply, noticing the lines of worry on Mark and Izzie's faces for the first time since coming down the stairs. "Oh," she whispered.

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Addison stared into the florescent light on the ceiling of her room, her vision becoming blurry as her eyes burned from the strength of the illumination. Beneath the thin hospital blanket, her feet moved from side to side against the cool sheets, noting the roughness of the cotton as it tickled the softness of her well-manicured feet. She couldn't help but wonder how many times the sheets had been washed throughout the years, how many patients had slept in them before she had; how many patients had died in them.

She swallowed at the thought as her eyes closed briefly. The room was silent with the exception of the humming air conditioner, which kept the room far too cool for Addison's comfort. For what had to be the millionth time that hour, she shivered, nesting deeper beneath the blanket. She'd never noticed the uncomfortable temperature of the hospital as she'd worked the maternity floor day after day. Perhaps, she thought, it was because her constant movement afforded her body extra warmth. On the other hand, though, she couldn't dismiss the possibility that the terror of her possible death sentence had simply left her feeling cold and empty.

She smiled sardonically at her own thoughts, noting the irony of her negativity. If she had been the doctor rather than the patient, if she had been treating a woman awaiting the results of a potentially life-altering tumor biopsy, Addison knew without a doubt that she would scowl at a patient for such pessimism, for getting wrapped up in thoughts of death before the results had even arrived. She'd learned over the years that it was never a good idea to assume the worst before the worst had earned the right to be assumed.

Her usual rationality, of course, was worthless at this point because she was, in fact, not a renowned neo-natal surgeon, but rather, she was a woman lying in a hospital bed lacking an ovary. She was the patient who felt as though her lungs were being crushed by her own anxiety, the patient who was beginning to feel like she couldn't breathe simply because the labs were running behind schedule, thus leaving her in the dark about her diagnosis for yet another minute too long.

As time ticked by slowly, Addison found herself submerged in the idea of cancer and its consequences. She couldn't help but wonder if she would be walking down the aisle three months from now wearing a wig rather than her own natural hair. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, her mind filling with images of how she would look as a blonde or a brunette, or maybe with long curly locks rather than her normal straightened hairstyle.

She giggled at her own thoughts as she pictured herself wearing a wig of curly blonde ringlets, her laugh sounding shockingly hysterical to her own ears. Beside her bed, Alex looked up from his book, his eyes narrowed with concern as he studied her face. "Are you okay?"

The blissful giggles immediately ceased as Addison came crashing back to reality, once again remembering why she was picturing herself with a head full of Shirley Temple curls. Her mouth clamped shut, her eyes darting the clock of the wall, the clock she knew was used to call the time of death should a doctor forget to wear a watch. She sighed when she saw that only two minutes had passed. Two minutes? She wondered briefly if the clock needed a change of batteries, because surely more than two minutes had passed since she'd last glanced at the timepiece.

"Addie, are you alright?" Alex asked again.

Her head turned back to look at him, her eyes settling on his face. "It's getting late."

His own eyes flickered to the clock, and he sighed wearily before turning back to his fiancé. "I know."

"The test results should have been in by now."

He closed his book, placing it on her bedside table as he scooted his chair closer to the bed. "I know, but the labs are backed up," he told her unnecessarily. He covered her hands with his, frowning as he came into contact with her icy skin. "Are you cold? I can get you another blanket," he offered.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

She wasn't sure why she'd said the words because, of course, she actually wasn't fine; she was terrified, and on top of that, she didn't think she'd ever felt so cold in her life. She had a hunch, though, that the idea of Alex leaving her side, even if it was only for a few minutes for him to hurry to the linen closet, was worse than the idea of her body turning into an icicle as she huddled beneath the thin blanket spread out across the bed.

She sighed, her fingers looping through his as she looked up at the ceiling, her vision becoming hazy as she stared back into the light. "When you proposed to me, I thought that our marriage would be the beginning of a new life for me; like, our wedding day would be beginning of the rest of my life. Now all I can think is today might be the beginning of the end."

Alex looked at her grimly, not used to the pessimistic attitude of the woman lying before him. "Addison, stop it."

She continued to stare at the ceiling, trying to ignore the pain that had slowly been creeping back into her body. She refused to press to button for the morphine drip, unwilling to get her body high on drugs when Nancy could be arriving any minute with her lab results.

She sighed as Alex massaged her hand gently between his. "Did you know that there's only a fifty percent five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer?" she asked quietly, her voice sounding shrill in the otherwise quiet room.

Alex frowned, shaking his head gently. "That's a general statistic; the survival rate is much better when the cancer is caught early."

"And much worse if it's caught later."

Alex closed his eyes, hating the dejected tone of her voice. "Addison, you can't think about things like that right now. You're going to drive yourself crazy. You just need to wait until Nancy comes in with the test results."

She didn't respond to him, instead shivering again as she slipped her hand from his, pushing it under the covers so that she could bury the whole of her arm beneath the blanket. Alex sighed, nodding his head as he watched her teeth begin to chatter lightly. "That's it; I'm going to go get you another blanket."

She looked away from the light, her eyes meeting his in a flash of panic. "Alex-"

"I'm just going right down the hall, Ad. I'll be gone for two minutes, okay?"

He watched her nod weakly, offering her a reassuring smile as he walked across her room on shaky legs, pushing through the doorway. The second the door closed behind him, he was leaning against the wall, his hand flying to his cover his face as he lost control of his emotions. His face crumbled, a quiet sob escaping his lips as he rushed to cover his mouth with his hand.

He stood there for another minute, oblivious to the curious observers as his hands continued to cover his face. Finally, he took in a deep, jagged breath, his hands dropping to his sides as he wiped his cheeks with the edge of his shirtsleeve.

When Alex opened his eyes, he forced himself to ignore the gawking nurses, who were failing to use subtlety as they watched him from behind the nurses' station. He sighed, turning down the hall in the direction of the linen closet.

He felt guilty for exceeding his promised two minute absence, but his guilt intensified when he pushed through the doorway of Addison's room ten minutes later, his mouth falling open when he found her sitting up, staring intently at Nancy who was perched in front of her on the edge of the bed.

The blankets that Alex was holding fell limply from his hands the moment he saw the tears spilling down Addison's cheeks. His breath hitched in his throat, his own eyes filling with a fresh wave of tears as she looked up at him, her cloudy eyes connecting with his.

Alex ignored the burning panic in the pit of his stomach as he stepped over the abandoned blankets, walking straight to Addison's bed. He sat across from Nancy, ignoring the other woman as he pulled Addison into his arms, his hand flying to the back of her head as he propelled her face gently against his shoulder. "Ad, it's going to be okay. We're going to get through this together, alright? We're going to get through this…"

His whispers of assurance were soon drowned out by the sound of Addison's gentle laughter. He pulled back, looking sympathetically into her face as tear after tear continued to stream from beneath her eyelids. "Addie, please-"

She cut him off, surprising him as she leaned forward, wincing slightly as her body punished her for moving far to quickly for a post-surgical patient. Her lips connected with his, both of them registering the salty taste of her tears as they molded their mouths together in a gentle caress.

The laughter was gone when she pulled away from him, but it had been replaced with the most beautiful smile Alex had ever seen. "It's benign, Alex," she whispered, her voice sounding breathy as her lips stretched into a grin.

He could feel his heart flutter inside of his chest, and he stared at her in astonishment. "Say it again."

Her smile broadened as more relieved laughter escaped her lips. "It's benign," she repeated.

Alex briefly looked away from her, his eyes landing on Nancy as she stood up from the bed. "You're sure?" he asked her, wanting to believe Addison's words, but needing to hear them coming from her doctor.

She smiled, offering him a small nod. "I'm sure," she told them. "The lab concluded that the cells weren't cancerous." Her smile widened as she noted the relieved look on Alex's face, and she couldn't help but feel appreciation for the man who loved her friend so unconditionally. "I'm going to leave you two alone, but I'll be back in the morning, okay?"

They both nodded, not paying attention to her as she quietly exited the room. When she was gone, Alex pulled Addison back to his chest, burying his face into the side of her neck. She laughed again, sounding nearly giddy as the piercing sound of her giggles echoed in her ears.

Much to Alex's surprise, Addison's laughter soon turned into sobs. Her shoulders began to shake, her breathing becoming labored as she choked on her hiccupping cries, her face reddening as emotion welled within her. Alex closed his eyes, letting her weep against his shoulder as his hand flew to her back, rubbing rhythmic circles between her shoulder blades.

"Please don't cry, Ad," he urged, his own voice shaking as he struggled to hold back his own need to cry.

But she ignored him, her shoulders continuing to tremble as she wept against him, her sobs releasing a barrel of emotions as his shirt was saturated with her tears.