Chapter 31. It's Nice to Have a Friend

It has gotten easier to be back at work. It takes time, and there are still lingering feelings of guilt and sometimes the days are longer than she intends for them to be when emergencies and on-call situations arise, but it does get easier, more manageable.

And by the end of August, she is actually enjoying work. Nowhere near as much as she enjoys being with Kate, but there is something to be said for having a thing that just belongs to her. And Addison no longer wakes up with a feeling of dread lodged in her stomach when the alarm clock goes off on a weekday. Lauren also brings Kate by the hospital for lunch usually twice a week, barring any surgical conflicts (the little redhead has quickly become adored by hospital staff), which helps a lot. Sex in her office helps. Finding an early evening Mommy and Me yoga class, comprised pretty much entirely of working mothers, helps too. Mostly though, there is nothing that helps quite as much or compares to getting to see your child smile when you walk through the door at the end of a long day.

And then, just as August gives way to September, Addison receives a text message from Savvy on a Thursday evening: Can you call me when you get a minute? I have something exciting to tell you.

It's good enough timing. It's almost bedtime for Kate, and Mark can handle that. The three of them are on the couch at the moment. Kate is situated in Mark's lap, perfectly content with a set of gel teething keys (no teeth yet, and not teething, but she loves this toy). She continues to unfurl her chubby fist to let go of the toy. Cause and effect is starting to kick in; she knows if she drops her toy, her daddy will pick it up and give it back to her. It is fun to do it over and over (and over) again. Mark, to his credit, is patient with this game.

Addison holds the phone to her ear, wondering if this is about what she thinks it's about (it's not like adults usually have many "exciting" things to share with friends, after all).

"Hey," Addison says when Savvy answers. "You have something exciting to tell me…?"

"I do. And if I don't sound excited, it's just because I'm talking quietly. I'm at home right now, and I'm holding my son. And -"

"Oh my God, Savvy!" Addison lets out a yelp, which startles both Mark and Kate. "I – I am so happy for you. And for Weiss. Just one sec…" she glances over at Mark, offering him the information quickly before tuning back in to her best friend. "Savvy and Weiss just got a baby. A little boy. Sorry, Sav, I'm listening. Tell me everything."

"Well, first you need to let me finish the news. There's more."

"More…?"

"Yes, more. I'm holding our son, and Weiss is sitting next to me…holding our daughter."

"It's twins?" Addison gasps, turning back to Mark again with a disbelieving smile. "A boy and a girl." Kate drops the keys, but the toy remains in the crevice between sofa cushions. She wriggles around and releases a whiny cry, which prompts Mark to give it back. Nice try. They are not done playing yet.

"Yeah," Savvy continues. "It's twins. Unbelievable, right? They're beautiful. And perfect. It's been…it's been insane. But amazing. There's so much to tell you. It all happened yesterday morning and it's been a whirlwind ever since. I'll send you pictures, but I wanted to tell you first. We're still getting settled in and everything, but maybe on Saturday if you guys are around, you can come by to meet them?"

"We would absolutely love to."

-

Addison's phone vibrates during tummy time on Friday afternoon. She reaches into her pocket, suspecting it is either Mark or Savvy. She hopes for the latter, honestly; Savvy has been sending lots of pictures of the twins. It is crazy to look at photos of newborns because she can't believe how big her own baby – who is more than double her birth weight and will be five months old next week – looks in comparison. It's hard to believe Kate was ever once that small.

Instead, Addison's eyebrows lift in surprise when she sees an incoming call from her ex-husband.

"It's Derek. I wonder why he's calling," she tells her daughter, who is pushing at a few sensory toys on her play mat as Addison puts her phone on speaker and answers. "Hey, Derek. Derek?" She can hear him talking softly with someone in the background. She wonders if it was an accidental call. "Derek…?"

"Hey, I'm here. Sorry, Addie. I got distracted and I figured I would just be leaving you a message. Do you have a minute?"

"I do. It's good timing because I just finished, well, cleaning up a blowout."

Derek chuckles. "Sure hope that's with your kid and not a patient, because otherwise they aren't paying you enough."

"It's with my kid," she says. "I have the day off." Every other week, she takes a day off, and Mark does the same on weeks alternating hers. It's an 'okay for now' plan that she suspects will be addressed when contract negotiations come up (given that she and Mark are at the top of their respective fields, she imagines they have a decent leg to stand on, at least). Having the occasional four-day week to look forward to though really does help to ease her apprehension about being away from Kate.

"Oh, nice. Wish I could say the same, minus the diaper part. So I'm calling for, well, two reasons, or – actually – three because I'm guessing you saw the photos of the twins by now?"

"I did! They're so cute. We're going over to meet them tomorrow."

"Good. Say hi to Sav and Weiss for me. They kind of look like Weiss, actually, with the dark hair. Man – twins. Anyway, so the first thing, or second, now, is that I need you to tell Meredith something."

"Is she okay?"

"I'm fine," Addison hears a voice call out in the background. A little shuffling ensues, and then Meredith's voice comes through louder, now on speaker phone. "Just licking my wounds, Dr. Montgomery."

"Addison is fine."

"There, uh, was an incident with the paddles today while Meredith was trying to intubate," Derek explains while Addison hears Meredith mumble a sheepish okay to calling her by her first name. "She wasn't quite finished when…well. And I told her that it's not just her. Can you tell her about the time you got shocked? She thinks I'm lying just to make her feel better."

"Oh," Addison sighs. "Yeah, he's telling the truth, Meredith. First year of residency, I scrubbed in on an abdominal hysterectomy, and I was standing down by the patient's knee, so I had to lean in to get a better look. Midway through, her heart stopped. I remember the attending grabbing the paddles, calling 'clear.' I lifted my hands up, but my entire stomach was still touching her legs. It did not…feel great. Derek, you remembered that? That feels like centuries ago. We were babies, practically."

"Yeah, of course I remember. All the interns were freaked out when word got around because we all had instances where we were leaning too close or didn't do something fast enough. And then Richard and Vivian Carlsmith and all the higher-ups at New York Hospital were acting weird because this happened to 'the one to be' rather than a universally less-liked intern, such as, well…" he trails off, waiting to see if Addison will finish the thought.

"Ha. It's interesting that you're bringing up Mark, given that I distinctly remember you both laughing at me after Shock Gate."

"Laughing after you assured us you were okay," Derek counters. "Come on, you were laughing too once your pride – and stomach – hurt less."

"True," she replies, reaching out to tickle Kate's cheek. "Well, chin up, Grey. It happens to the best of us. You're in good company with me. Have you been checked out though? Feeling spacey? Tingly? Did you notice any –"

"Yeah, I've been poked at and everything," Meredith answers. "I'm good. It's the pride thing. And the fact that someone handed me the wrong sized tube, but I was surrounded by men so of course everyone just thinks I wasn't moving fast enough. That's what I'm pissed about." There is a slight throat-clearing sound, and Meredith modifies her statement with a resigned sigh. "Fine. Other than Derek. He believes me, for whatever that's worth."

"For whatever that's worth," Derek repeats wryly. "And of course she's been checked out, Addie. She's sitting next to a doctor. A really good one."

Addison smiles. "Oh, like brain surgery is so impressive."

"It is, actually."

"Well, I'm pretty used to my specialty being mocked – present male company included on occasion, I'll have you know – and everyone immediately assuming that Meredith was the complicating factor rather than the endotracheal tube is just typical, so I have to get my jabs in where I can. Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who were condescending and sexist," she says, and then breaks into a grin when Meredith catches the lyrical reference and laughs. Kate hears the laughter through the phone and joins in with a copying giggle of her own. Derek just groans.

"Just so you know, I'm hanging up if this turns into a Taylor Swift conversation."

"Shake it off, Derek. Shake it off."

"Again. I will hang up this phone."

"Do what you want," Addison replies. "You're the one who called me."

"Yeah, true. And while I did call so that you could assure Meredith she isn't the only person whose had this happen, I also have another agenda – or I do by way of Richard, at least. We were both hoping Mark might be willing to come out here for a few days. Our head Plastics guy is out at the moment. We have a six month old with coronal synostosis. I'd like to operate next week. It's too severe to address it endoscopically, so we need to move forward with open cranial vault remodeling. Her forehead is going to need to be reshaped, and there are a few other complicating factors that she's presenting with, so since this is an area Mark's been published in before, I was hoping he might assist."

"Oh…" Addison says softly. She is grateful that her child – not much younger than this patient of Derek's – is too focused on the toys in front of her to notice when her expression becomes forlorn. "Wow, poor baby."

"Yeah. It's a really nice family. First kid."

"So…" she scrambles for a witty reply to keep her emotions at bay. "Are you going to tell Mark this, or am I his secretary now?"

Derek laughs. "I sent him a text earlier and told him to give me a call when he's available. I had to call you anyway though because of Shock Gate, and I'm also just telling you about my request to borrow Mark because I assume that for whatever he does or doesn't do, he needs your permission."

"You've got that right."

-

"So," Mark calls out to Addison that evening, twirling spaghetti around his fork. Kate glances over at him from her high chair, temporarily distracted from a spinning, interactive musical toy that keeps her occupied during dinner (and the suction cup ensures the toy stays where it is). Or, Mark decides, she is just glancing at his food with some relative interest, not him; they plan to start introducing solids soon. When Mark clears his throat, she tries to copy the noise, but has zero success.

"So," Addison copies when she returns to the table with a refilled glass of wine. She smiles at the "mmm" sound her daughter just made, and then focuses her attention on Mark.

"I talked with Derek a little while ago. Sounds like you did as well. Shock Gate Round Two?"

"Yeah, poor thing," Addison sighs in sympathy. "She's fine though. It's the pride thing. And the 'men are just the absolute worst thing.' Anyway. He told you about his patient that he wants you to assist with?"

"He did. He's going to email me the scans tonight. Uh…what are you thinking about me potentially going there?"

Addison presses her lips together and lowers her eyes. "I'm trying to do the Vermont thing. I…I don't really want you to go. I know Kate isn't a newborn and we're not dealing with colic or up with her every two hours anymore, but I would be kind of nervous about being a solo parent for a couple days."

"Then I won't go."

"I want you to go though."

He narrows his eyes. "Where exactly in Vermont are you right now, Addison? Because this feels like you're en route back to Connecticut. You're making this confusing."

"It's a need and want thing," she sighs. "I don't want you to go for selfish reasons, but I want you to go because this little girl needs you. So while I might not want you to go, I do need you to go."

"Their main Plastics guy may be out, but they've got other ones in Seattle. I'm sure another surgeon could take this on," Mark shrugs mildly. "From what Derek told me, I wouldn't say it's a run-of-the-mill vault remodeling, but it's not something where it's me or no one."

"But what if…what if it were Kate?"

"Addison, it's not." Mark's voice rises a little because even considering the idea of that is utterly terrifying. He looks over at Kate. "Five Little Ducks" is piping softly out of her toy, which does wonders to disrupt the seriousness of this moment. "Nothing's wrong with -"

"I know. I know. But what if something were?" She persists. "I know it's a positively awful thing to contemplate, but if it was something neuro-related, wouldn't you want Derek to be her doctor?"

"Well, yeah," he admits. "But that -"

"Because he's the best at what he does and you're the best at what you do. This patient needs you."

"Okay. Well, what if you guys came with me? You could take time off."

"I thought about that, but it's just…do you really want to fly across the country with an infant? That is going to be a very, very long six hours."

"No. But I also don't want to be apart from my infant. You, I could take it or leave it," he smirks when Addison gives him a fake pout. "So the flight part will potentially…be a bummer. Do you have any other reservations about coming with me and bringing Kate?"

"Not really. She's pretty easygoing as far as babies go. Her sleep schedule might get a bit messed up with the time change, but only one of us will be working, so it's not like I can't just sleep with her during the day if she gets all out of whack. And it is a nice city, chronic rain aside. It might be fun to take her to a few places, do some shopping, visit Adele – that's Richard Webber's wife. And we could always stop by the hospital to see you and Derek. Maybe Derek – and Meredith – would want to have dinner with us, even."

"Sounds like we're all going to Seattle then. And you," he taps Kate on the nose, and she giggles. "You be good on the flight to SeaTac or you're getting left at baggage claim."

"Mark."

"I'm kidding."

-

"So, what are the names of our godchildren?" Addison finally inquires. She and Mark were asked a few minutes ago to be the godparents of these adorable babies, which nearly made her cry, but now that her emotions are back in check and she's sufficiently cooed enough at both dark-haired, dark-eyed little bundles of joy (now asleep in their matching bassinets), it occurs to her that she doesn't know their names.

"We've finally locked them down," Savvy says, gently bouncing Kate on her knee. She might be exhausted from adjusting to life with two babies, but she is still determined to get her Kate Sloan fix in. "It took a minute, because naming one baby is hard enough. We didn't think we'd have to name two. Okay, so big brother is Andrew Grayson."

"Your maiden name. I love that. And I love Andrew, too."

"Thank you. Andrew for Weiss's dad and older brother. We'll probably call this little fella Drew though for the most part. And as for baby girl, this is Emily. Emily for my mom – that was her middle name. And for Emily's middle name, we wanted to do something to honor you both, so we combined your names."

"Markisson?"

Savvy immediately looks over at Addison after Mark makes this inquiry. She feigns exasperation. "Am I allowed to kick him out of my house?"

"Always."

"I'll keep that in mind. It's not too late for us to change our minds though. We could always just honor Addie, you know," Savvy winks at Mark. "Anyway. It's Madison. Emily Madison."

Addison beams widely. "I love it. Andrew Grayson Becker and Emily Madison Becker. Those are both beautiful names, and I'm so grateful to get to be part of their lives. And to be their godmother."

"I'm grateful, too," Mark adds. "And if you want me to go be grateful outside, I can do that."

"I'll let you stay for now."

Addison looks at Kate. "And how grateful are you, little one? You get a best friend and a boyfriend out of this."

Mark shakes his head quickly. "Addison."

"Oh, come on. The boyfriend part is mostly a joke."

"Yeah, and it's the 'mostly' part that scares me. I can see those scheming eyes of yours."

-

"Hey. I could have picked you guys up, you know," Derek says to Mark on Wednesday afternoon. He received a page a few minutes ago notifying him that Mark Sloan just received operating privileges at Seattle Grace, and is waiting near Chief Webber's office for him. They are planning to meet with the patient's parents this afternoon and walk them through tomorrow morning's procedure.

"We got a rental. Addison had concerns," Mark replies. He shakes Derek's hand. It's a little comfortable, a little uncomfortable. "Her concerns involve you driving some sort of beat-up jeep that she believes is packed with fishing equipment."

"The jeep is in perfect condition. There's fishing equipment in it when I'm going fishing, but today I'm hospital-ing. So, uh, where are…?"

"They're at The Archfield. I dropped them off and came here," Mark answers the question that Derek did not quite finish. "Addison wanted to come and say hi, but with the time difference…well, we try not to fuck with our kid's sleep schedule if we can help it."

Derek grins weakly. "You're such a dad. It's weird."

"Yeah, it kind of is, actually. So…I know we kinda texted about it, but we'd still really like to get dinner with you or something. Not tonight because of the non-fucked-sleep-schedule thing, but maybe tomorrow, or Friday? And Addison would love for Meredith to come, if she wants. If you want."

"If Meredith comes, you won't attempt to sleep with her, will you?" Derek says, mostly joking. Mostly.

"I promise I won't."

-

Surgery went well. Everything okay?

Yes. We're still close by the hospital. Just picked up some cute Seattle onesies for the twins, Addison replies. While Mark was in the operating room with Derek this morning, she was able to set something up with Adele Webber (they're going to have breakfast at the hotel restaurant tomorrow), and has spent the remainder of her time walking around with Kate, exploring shops and a local playground not too far from Seattle Grace Hospital.

Derek and I are at Joe's Bar. Come meet us.
Sorry. Emerald City Bar. It's across from the hospital.

Aren't you working? And is Kate allowed in a bar?

We're having coffee. And Derek says it's fine. He knows the owner.

I'm texting you both when I get there and one of you needs to interrupt your date and come outside. I'm not walking into a bar by myself with a baby.

-

"Mark's getting you a coffee. If I wanted to pull a prank on you, I feel like I would come up with something a bit more creative than you bringing a not-allowed-baby into a bar," Derek says as he climbs up the steps leading out of Emerald City Bar, where Addison is hovering with Kate on her hip. He hesitates, and then leans in to give her a half-hug. Half hug or full, it is not a one-hundred percent comfortable one for Derek, but he is getting there. Closer, anyway. "Joe said it's fine for you to bring her in, provided you don't ask him to serve her," Derek then shifts his attention to the subject being discussed. "Hello there."

Kate reaches her arms out and offers a smile that is almost conspiratorial. Mark's smile, Derek thinks. He also thinks that the feelings associated with seeing this baby – the product of his ex-wife and his best friend, the product of his now engaged ex-wife and best friend – is not as stomach-churning as he assumed it would be. It doesn't send him down any sort of spiral or induce a blind rage. It's mostly just a cute baby attached to two people he still cares about, regardless of past wrongs. Those wrongs led him to Meredith, after all.

"I know that look," Derek grins.

"She wants you to hold her."

"Addison, I have – we have – nine nieces and five nephews. You've seen this look before, too. A lot. It's the 'I want to pull my uncle's hair look.'" Derek holds his arms out though, briefly looking at Addison. It's more of a question than a demand on his part, but Addison hands over her daughter without a moment's hesitation.

"Hey there, little red. I've heard you're taking my bike one day," Derek says close to Kate's ear when she offers him another smile, and does indeed reach for one of his dark waves. "You're going to take my hair too? It's okay. I think that's fine with me," he adds quietly.

-

"Cheers on a successful surgery for you guys," Addison lifts her mug of coffee while keeping her other hand close to Kate, who is sitting on the table (she feels like she should be judging herself for this decision, but Mark said that Joe wiped the table down for them, and Kate is a lot happier on the table than she would be if she was in someone's lap and not really able to see everything going on around her). "We're officially old. Toasting with coffee."

"Cheers," Derek replies, touching his mug against hers and Mark's from the other side of the booth. He chokes out a small laugh. "And cheers to you guys for, you know…the engagement, the baby. All the stuff that is very, very awkward for me to be aware of. But it's not…it's weird, but I thought it would be weirder. So, cheers to things that are weird but not weirder?"

"To weird but not weirder," Mark repeats. "And to…you and Meredith?"

"God, this is never going to end. You've got the right idea, not knowing any words yet," Derek grins at Kate, who has plucked her pacifier out of her mouth and is holding it out to him. "Oh, is this for me? Thank you." Derek accepts the wet pacifier. And then Kate keeps staring at him, in the funny way that babies often do. Intensely. Expectantly. Derek laughs and looks back at the adults. "Is she waiting to be coffee-toasted as well?"

Mark smirks. "Well, she is half-Sloan. There's a level of self-importance there that we're probably going to need to work on."

"Makes sense. Alright, I won't leave you out, Kate. We should probably include Sav and Weiss's babies too, since they're your future buddies. To the next, uh…generation, I guess?"

"The next trio," Addison offers softly.

"To the next trio," Derek agrees, raising his mug again. "Hey," he brushes his thumb over the dimples on Kate's hand. "When you're all grown up, try to get things right a bit sooner than the senior trio. And if you become a surgeon, stay away from the paddles."

-