Chapter 35. A Snowfall Kind of Love

"This is exactly how you pictured our wedding night, yes? Just sitting in silence, fully-clothed?" Addison murmurs, a strained grin tugging at her lips.

"Not exactly. But I'm feeling the same way you are," Mark replies honestly as they wait and wait and wait. They're pressed together on the loveseat in the Honeymoon Suite, her head on Mark's shoulder, his fingers drawing light designs on her forearm through the lace of her sleeve, but they can't really get in the mood for anything more physical and intimate until they receive an update from Savvy, their gracious tribute for the night.

Kate cried when they deposited her in her godmother's arms in the hotel lobby after their dinner-reception concluded. Hard. Not the fake cry for attention, not the low-pitched, lip-smacking hunger cry, not the nasally cry when there's just a bit too much stimulation for her liking. This reaction from their daughter made Mark's stomach briefly seize up; her sweet little face collapsing into distress about Mommy and Daddy backing away from her reminded him so much of what Addison looks like when she's upset.

"God, cell phones are seriously the new 'watched pot never boils.' And it's incredible – our kid is you-know-what blocking us and she's not even here," Addison sighs. "Let's talk about something else to pass the time. So…this surprise place you're taking us to. What's the timeline like?"

"We'll be at the beach house until Thursday, and then at the other place until Monday. We'll be home the afternoon of the twenty-first."

"I'm not sure if I packed enough clothes…"

"Savvy packed some more for you last night while you and Kate were at the hotel. I could have probably handled that, but -"

"I'll need more than just lingerie, Mark. Somehow I don't imagine you would think to look any further than the top drawer."

"Well, partially that, but I knew Sav would be better about matching clothes. And she did the same with extra outfits for Kate."

Addison smiles weakly. "Our disruptive little hellion. Never mind that she cried so hard when we left her that I almost cried too."

"We're gonna give her such a hard time about her antics today when she's older. Hey…there it is," Mark says when their phones vibrate on the coffee table. Addison's phone is closer, so Mark reads over her shoulder.

Hey, newlyweds! Kate is asleep. There was lots of sad crying on the ride back, but she settled down a few minutes ago. She even gave me a big smile before she fell asleep, so she's definitely feeling better. Have a fun night! I don't want to hear anything about it. ;)

They breathe out relieved sighs when a picture comes through of Kate, tear-free and slumbering, limbs splayed out like a starfish. She's out of her dress and is now wearing a long-sleeved shirt with curly purple lettering – Mommy and Daddy Got Married! – a gift from Naomi and Sam. And then another word bubble from Savvy starts up before they can respond with their thanks:

Btw that last sentence was directed at Mark. Connecticut Addison would NEVER.

Addison laughs, and can't resist typing back a cheeky reply. I'm not from CT tonight, Sav…I'll share the highlights with you later.

Ugh shut up. I'll text you updates when your kiddo is awake again. Good night! Today was so much fun and I'm so happy for you both. Love you guys (even you, Mark!).

Mark shifts a little, waiting for Addison to set her phone down so they can move on to the next part of the evening, but she hesitates, taking one more look at the picture of Kate.

"How did we create something – someone – so absolutely extraordinary?" She whispers fondly. "And I don't just mean beautiful. It's just more like…her essence. Her spirit. I know I'm horribly biased since I'm her mom, but…"

"She gets it from her mom."

"Aww, now you're just turning on the charm to get me out of my dress."

Mark smirks, even though he feels it's actually the truth. "Is it working?"

"It is, but remember you owe me a dance first. And not a horizontally-positioned one."

"I know. That'll be the second one. Not that we don't embrace plenty of vertical positions, too," he points out. "I have some theories about sex and math basically being the same thing, you know."

Of-freaking-course you do, Addison thinks. She takes his hand once he grabs his phone, and follows him to the other side of the room near the window, bracing herself for whatever weird comment is about to hit her.

"Geometry and angle-related, mostly," he continues. "Intersecting lines. Reflex angles. Right angles – that's ninety degrees, so basically when your legs are up in the air…acute angles…obtuse angles."

"You're obtuse," Addison rolls her eyes and shakes off her heels, decidedly done with them for the day. Her toes will thank her later. "Stop making me relive fifth grade math or I'm going to un-marry you."

"Too late, honey. Okay, I'm turning on the romantic charm now…one sec…" Mark quiets for a moment, thumb scrolling through Spotify until he finds the song he picked out a few days ago. It was an easy one to choose. He presses the play button and sets the phone down on the nearest available surface. "Come here," he says, holding his arms out to Addison when the opening notes thread through the air.

To lead a better life, I need my love to be here…

"Hey, you picked a Beatles one for me," Addison beams in surprise as they start to move back and forth. She peers up at him. When she's in heels, they're nearly even, but when she's barefoot, Mark has a few inches on her, and maybe it's illogical, but there's just something staggeringly romantic to her about getting to look up into his eyes. They've turned enough that Mark's back is now to the window. Past him, Addison can see the snow falling outside, sugary droplets kissing the window. "I love this one."

Changing my life with a wave of her hand…

"I know. You sing this one to Kate sometimes. And I'm about to hit you with some real cheese, too: the lyric that you said makes you think of her…" Mark touches his lips to her temple, "it makes me think of you."

But to love her is to need her everywhere…

"Oh, Mark," she sighs happily, pushing closer to him. "Today was so, so perfect."

"Yeah. It really was," he chuckles quietly when Addison – because of course she would lead – starts to spin them around a bit more, her movements graceful. "You know, you're a much, much better dancer than I am."

She giggles, coming to a halt. "When I was a kid…three years, Mrs. Sobel's Dance Academy. I do a mean shuffle."

"I'd like to see that sometime. Along with…other dance styles."

I will be there. And everywhere. Here, there and everywhere…

"Mm-hmm. I'm sure I know exactly what kind you're talking about," Addison arches an eyebrow when the song ends, prompting an immediate shift in the ambiance that they both feel. "Mark, the zipper is on the side of my dress this time, just FYI."

-

"Are you ever going to stop touching me?" Addison murmurs with a smile. She knows this is a ridiculous question, because unless or until she tells him otherwise, the answer is definitely no. And stopping is not her preference, anyway. Mark's hand is rubbing over her shoulder, her arm, the sharp cut of her hip, her stomach, her thigh, and it feels good. It's also keeping her warm as they cuddle in bed together. She threw on a silky, lace-trimmed chemise (bought with tonight in mind) after they dried off from the shower, but it just barely covers her ass, and the material is about as thick as an eyelash.

She considers that she used to hold so much longing and just…desperation in the past few years to have something like this. To be touched this intimately. To be cared for. Worshipped, even. From college and onward, when she first began her foray into adult relationships (whether it be casual, dating, long-term, marriage), an internal restlessness brewed in her from time to time. She needed something more, even though she could never really figure out what "more" was supposed to look and feel like. And Addison knows it's in the past, but she thinks now that in those final two or three years of her first marriage, what she classified as situational unhappiness was probably hovering a little closer to the line of depression than she was capable of self-assessing at the time. This though. With Mark. With the daughter they share. This is pure, unfiltered happiness. This is belonging. This is certainty. This is what it means when someone is the center of your world, and you're the center of theirs.

Mark's breath is hot against the slope of her neck and shoulder as his fingers scale up her ribs. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," she laughs. "Not at all. It was just an observation phrased more as a question. This feels great. Just as long as you know I still need some recovery time. After that last time, whatever it was you were doing with your tongue…and kept doing until I thought I was going to pass the hell out…I need a solid half-hour. At least."

Mark joins her in laughing. "This isn't really a get your engine revving again thing. I just still…I can't believe you're mine." He doesn't mean it possessively; they're still individuals, and he knows Addison knows that. It's just that now they belong to one another, officially. She's here. She's real.

Addison rolls over to face him. Her fingers are soft as they push at the ashy-colored hair above his ear. "I can't believe I get to be yours." He notes the sweetness of this response, words and cadence and expression reflecting such genuine bliss. It continues to be stirring in a way that Mark can't quite put into a language that makes sense. He just thinks of the compassion, the drive, the grace, the intelligence, the beauty that envelops Addison – and she wants him. To deserve her, to deserve moments like this…it's still unbelievable at times. (And on a shallow note, the new lingerie she stripped down to earlier when Act Two of their evening began – an ivory, thong-backed teddy that plunged generously in the front – is also a nice perk of getting to be with her.)

"You wrote me a love letter," Addison continues, voice soft and touched. "It was beautiful, Mark. I made Naomi run back to the bridal suite after the wedding to get it, because I wanted to make sure it didn't get misplaced. And, oh no, now that I think about it – I put it in the front pouch of Kate's diaper bag for safekeeping…and the bag is with Sav and Weiss. Poor Sav. If she goes looking for something in there and happens to find the letter, she's going to throw up everywhere."

"Well, now I hope she finds it just for that. And yeah, I wrote you a love letter," Mark says with a swift, embarrassed shake of his head. "Remember when I used to be a manly-man? And when we weren't living in, like, Sap Land?"

"You're still a manly-man. Just a little sappy with the redheads in your life. Your daughter and your…wife. That's so weird to say."

He chuckles. "Good weird though, right?"

"Yep. Just like you – a good weird."

-

"I can't stop thinking about all those times we were here before she was born," Addison acknowledges, standing near the sun-soaked window while she holds Kate in her arms. Outside, the white foam from breaking waves ripples close enough to the snow that it's getting harder to discern where the shoreline begins and ends. "When we would lie on the porch bed and talk about her, what it would be like when she joined our family…and now we're all here together. It's surreal. Plus, it's snowing; you know how winter makes me sentimental," she concludes as Mark places a hand on her shoulder.

"I do. You know, I don't know if I've ever been near the ocean during the winter before. It's so weird, seeing snow on the beach. Or 'da-da-da' on the beach, according to Kate. And I know it's just babbling, that 'da-da' isn't something she's assigning to me, but…" Mark shrugs, mouth slashing into a smile.

"That first word is coming though. Not yet, but soon. I'm pretty sure 'da-da' will be her first word, actually."

"I don't know. She makes 'm' sounds more than 'd' sounds. Plus, look at her right now," he reaches out to stroke Kate's hair. Her lips twitch when she looks at Mark, but she doesn't quite make it past a half-smile; she's about to fall asleep. "Not that she's ambivalent towards her old man, but she's hardly let you put her down the past two days."

"I know," Addison smiles ruefully. "This stage will pass, and while I should feel bad in the meantime that our normally easygoing, sunshiny little girl is having a tough time with separation anxiety…" she pauses, touching her lips to Kate's velvety cheek. "I'm just loving these extra snuggles. But as soon as she's completely down, you and I will be having some adult snuggles."

"I like the sound of that."

-

"You're really not going to tell me?"

"Nope," Mark responds, loosely knuckling the steering wheel as they make their way north. He is able to feel Addison's dramatic pout before he turns briefly to see it. "You'll figure it out eventually. Also, Kate might have my smile, but if you keep making that face, she'll inherit your pout."

"Nice try, but she's asleep back there. Well, I'm going to assume you're not planning on getting off I-95 and heading east towards Boston…I don't think your plan is for our honeymoon to involve spending time with your parents."

"God no."

"So then…" Addison pictures an ambiguous, but colorful map of the fifty states in her head, and considers the direction they're headed in. "Wait…" she gasps, looking over at him. "Mark, are we going to Vermont?"

"Ding-ding-ding."

Addison starts to laugh. "Oh my God. That is funny, actually."

"See? Sometimes I'm funny. And sometimes I have good ideas."

"Yeah. Savvy says you're like a broken clock."

"That's generous of her. I'm usually only right once a day, not twice," Mark says truthfully. "We're going to stay in Grafton for a few days. I rented a really cool house. It looks cabin-ish, but I swear it's not too rustic and it has everything we need. You can check it out if you want – go to the bookmarks on my phone. Plenty of shopping places and restaurants close by, too. And I also booked – God, you're gonna think this is so cheesy…"

Addison giggles with anticipation. "Hit me with it. I love the cheese. And the limit to cheesiness doesn't exist on a honeymoon."

"Okay. I booked a sleigh ride for the three of us Saturday afternoon. Since, you know, it's almost Christmas. And I thought Kate would like it. I mean, what kid wouldn't want to go for a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh? I know she's just a baby, so she's not going to remember it, but…"

"I'll remember it though," Addison says, eyes sparkling. "That's so sweet, Mark. And ridiculously cheesy, but I absolutely love it. Thank you for doing this for us."

"You're welcome. And since I'm not allowed to get Kate a pony, this is probably the closest I can get."

"True."

-

The Vermont night sky – because they are actually in Vermont now, rather than it continuing to be a metaphorical representation between them with no expiration date – is hauntingly dark outside the windows of the farmhouse style home they are staying in. And it's quiet. Dark and quiet in a way they have never experienced as New Yorkers. Even the house in Cape Cod, though quieter, is in a residential neighborhood, so light and noises constantly filter through. This is different though. The nearest house is five minutes away. There is virtually no outdoor lighting in sight. No noises beyond the crackling fire in the master bedroom's brick fireplace, and the occasional sounds of their sleeping daughter piping through the baby monitor. It would be a little creepy at this secluded mountain property, Addison feels, if she were here by herself at this hour. She's not though. And at any rate, they find ways to keep themselves very, very occupied at night.

Addison's lacy robe tumbles off her shoulders. She looks up at Mark through heavily-lidded eyes, pupils dilating with lust. Her chest rises and falls delicately, a flush climbing up her skin as Mark inclines his head towards her, then stops, breathing over her lips. She smiles, but they're suspended in the moment for longer than she would prefer. He has an arm kinked around the small of her back, and the other strokes her hair, fingers rumpling through her loose curls. She makes a disgruntled noise to announce her impatience, and a smirk tugs at Mark's mouth, because the effect he is having on her is obvious.

"So slow tonight. You're teasing me," she says huskily, limbs humming with anticipation. Mark relents and kisses her long and deep in response, eliciting a lazy groan from her.

"I'm not," Mark says when he pulls back, even though he is, just a little bit. "I'm just looking at you…" he slides both hands to her hips, and takes his time letting his gaze rove up and down, drinking everything about her in: her hair hanging long down her back; the blue eyes with flashes of green and yellow near the pupils that reminds him of sunshine spreading over the ocean; the pronounced angles of her jawline; the seductive mouth currently hiding her smile; the graceful curve of her neck with its matching sensitive spots behind her ears that he discovered the second time they were intimate together; the soft skin of her breasts spilling out temptingly from the low-set cups of her balconette bra; her lean stomach; the lacy blush waistband of her thong hugging her hips; and long, toned legs that seem to go on forever.

"You're looking at me," she repeats, though she's not convinced Mark is hearing her. "You could do more than just look, you know."

"You're so fucking beautiful, Addison."

She squirms a little, happy but still impatient, wet and warm with need, and his words definitely do not help with any of this. Something about the contradiction of sweetness and vulgarity. And that irresistible smile of Mark's. And the way he's been studying her is definitely making her breathe heavier.

"You just like looking at what I'm wearing right now." Addison brushes pointedly against him, teasing back. She drags her fingernails over his bare chest, causing an involuntary tremor. She assumes Mark is probably fascinated by the amount of new lingerie she's been showing off (some courtesy of Savvy in lieu of a bachelorette party Addison did not want, but obviously Savvy doesn't want to know anything about said lingerie), even though it all ends up on the floor at the end of the day. Her body is flush against Mark's now, and when she laughs, they both feel the vibrations at the center of their bodies, where everything is already throbbing. He kisses her again, this time more desperately.

"I do," Mark confirms when she leans away to catch her breath. He tugs on her lower lip with his teeth, and negotiates several fingers under the slippery silk of her thong. "But I also like what's underneath what you're currently wearing."

"Go ahead then," she smiles wickedly, angling herself a bit differently so that his fingers wind up where she desperately wants them. They both moan at the new contact. "Prove it."

-

"She's absolutely loving this," Addison says, beaming over at Kate, who is settled in Mark's lap, grunting and spit-bubbling happily as their carriage pulls them along. Christmas bells jingle lightly against the spruce garland-covered sides of their ride as two horses and a guide with a Santa-like beard escort them through the snowy, pristine countryside.

Mark nods in agreement. "She might like checking out the scenery even more than she liked getting to touch the horses earlier…" he trails off to tuck the blanket the three of them are sharing a little tighter around Kate, even though she seems plenty warm already in her quilted snowsuit and a festive green and white beanie knotted under her chin.

"And she about lost her damn mind with excitement over that," Addison happily completes his thought. "I'm loving this too. It was such a nice idea, Mark. Kate is giving me serious little brother in A Christmas Story vibes right now…you know, that scene where he was so bundled up that he couldn't put his arms down."

"I can totally see that."

"Da-da-da-da," Kate chatters, wiggling her heavily-padded limbs and inadvertently proving Addison's point.

"Dada is here, little elf," Mark flashes Addison a smile. "I feel like I'm beating a dead…oh God, that wasn't even intentional. I can't finish it. Even I have my limits with puns, apparently. Anyway, I know I say it a lot, but it's so cool when Kate says that word. The horses, the couch, her wooden spoon, and those ornaments we saw in that antique store yesterday might elicit 'da-da' at the moment, but I'm also 'dada' and it's…" his cheeks flush. "It's just the best."

"You're right. It is the best. And those productive language words are coming, don't worry. You just need to, you know…" Addison shakes her head, unable to stop herself. "Hold your horses."

Mark chuckles. "Wow. Addison Montgomery-Sloan…I'm rubbing off on you."

"Yeah, I know. And I hated myself as soon as I said it. Savvy would have slapped me across the face for that one."