Happy New Year everybody!

This chapter is where things really get rolling, so get ready for that. As always, thank you for sticking with me as I work my way up to our start in the prologue. Also as always, please leave a review, I appreciate your views on the story!

May 2005

He stepped into the den of the brownstone, wincing as he heard the door fall into its lock with more noise than strictly necessary. He was dead on his feet – a six-hour surgery with its fair share of complications would do that to anybody – but even more than physically he felt mentally drained. Derek sighed and took off his shoes before he slowly walked up the stairs. His wife was sleeping peacefully, a gentle smile gracing her features and her long red hair covering the white pillow beneath her head.

He felt a slight twinge as he watched her for a few seconds. Things had been rocky lately – maybe even longer than just 'lately' – but seeing Addison like this – calm and serene instead of on his case as had become the norm – he suddenly thought they would pull themselves together soon. They were trying for a baby after all, and if he'd learned one thing in that big chaotic family of his, then that kids brought their parents together.

Having changed into a pair of simple boxers and a t-shirt, Derek crawled into bed, debating waking up Addison to work some more on the baby business before his own exhaustion convinced him to just pull her into him instead.

"Mm," Addison moaned tiredly as he put an arm around her waist. "Mark, stop."

He pulled his arm back as if he'd gotten burned, suddenly wide awake again. He looked at his wife, wondering if she'd just said what he thought he'd heard. He shook his head. No, surely not, right, it must be his sleep-deprived brain tricking him into imagining things?

"Mark," Addison said again, her eyes firmly closed. Her tone was playfully disapproving now, a wider smile playing on her lips. "Annie," she scolded in the same voice, "stop that."

The redhead turned in her sleep as Derek waited with bated breath what she would say next but she stayed silent, only occasionally murmuring something unintelligible. The rational part of him knew that he couldn't hold her accountable for her dreams, he didn't even know what she was dreaming about except for the fact that it apparently involved his best friend and his daughter.

"F*ck you, Mark," he mumbled darkly as he stared into the black nothingness in front of him, the night suddenly gloomier than before. No matter how he rationalized it, right then right there, a little part of him hated Mark for being in Addison's dreams, and a little part of him hated Addison for that, too.

**\\*/ *** \\*/**

"Daddy," it was the insistent shaking more than the urgent tone of his daughter's voice that finally managed to rouse him.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice laden with sleep.

"Daddy, I don't feel good," Annie whined pitifully, her voice shaking a little as big tears formed in her eyes.

In an instant he was awake, quickly giving her a once over for any urgent injuries before he went from father mode into doctor mode. Her skin was pale and as he put his wrist to her forehead, he could feel the hotness as well as a slight clamminess there.

"You've got a fever, baby," Mark mumbled soothingly as he got out of bed, picking her up carefully to avoid jostling her aching limbs too much. "Let's see if we've got some Tylenol for you."

Annie pulled a face at the syrupy-sweet taste of the medicine, burrowing her head in his chest as her little hands fisted into his sleep shirt.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" Mark asked softly as he transferred them back to his bedroom. His daughter nodded tiredly, not moving much when he gently put her down on his bed before he crawled under the covers himself. In a matter of moments, she had fallen back into an exhausted sleep whereas blank oblivion all of a sudden seemed unattainable for him. He rolled back and forth a little until he forced himself to lie still, lest he wake the toddler up again.

Professionally he knew that Annie would be fine – there was no reason to assume she wouldn't, and he certainly was a good enough doctor to spot any worsening of her condition – but as a father, especially a father who hadn't experienced more than a mild cold yet when it came to his child, he found it hard to breath whenever a cough would shake her little body. He felt the irrational urge to call Addison to confirm he'd done all the right things only to talk himself out of the notion – he was going to weather this storm, and Addie didn't need even more ammunition when she gently mocked his parental indecisiveness. He went over everything time and again until he finally fell asleep once more just before dawn set in.

By morning, Annie's fever had lessened but her skin still felt clammy and she'd developed a sore throat from her cough, sniffling pitifully as she watched him with sleepy eyes.

"Go back to sleep, princess," Mark mumbled exhausted, caressing her hair lightly.

"No daycare?" the toddler asked, her voice sounding raspy.

"Not today, no. I'm going to call them and tell them that you cannot come in to play today, and then I'll call Chief Espinoza and tell him I cannot come to work this morning. Sounds good?" he replied, watching as she nodded and her face relaxed.

They spent a lazy couple of hours drowsing on until his phone started ringing mid-morning when Annie was watching TV from his bed, giving Mark the opportunity to get at least some paperwork done. He gave a cursory glance at the number before he picked up, lowering his voice to almost a whisper.

"Hey Addie. What's up?" he asked.

"I noticed you weren't in today and your surgeries have been canceled so the Chief told me you're out for the day because Annie is sick. How's she doing?" the redhead explained in one breath, sounding hurried.

Mark sighed theatrically. "Should've known you wouldn't call about me, Red." He laughed a little. "She's better, I guess. She's got a slight fever, some coughing and sneezing, and a sore throat, classic summer flu symptoms."

"Let's hope it doesn't get worse from there," Addison said. "Do you guys need anything?"

"Not directly, but we always appreciate your company, you know that," he answered.

She laughed. "Well, I'll see what I can do. I don't have anything scheduled for the afternoon yet, so bar any emergencies, I can come by around lunch time and just stay with you guys for a bit."

"That sounds perfect, Red. We'll see you then."

"See you," she said softly, lingering for a second on the last word before the line went dead.

"Daddy," Annie piped up, having wandered into the living area whilst he was on the phone. "I'm hungry."

"I bet you are, kiddo. Being sick is exhausting, right?" The three-year-old nodded her head earnestly as he carefully picked her up from the floor, carrying her towards the kitchen. "Let's see what we have," he announced cheerfully as he opened the fridge, faltering a little at its meager contents. "You know what, why don't we make French toast," he said as his gaze first came across milk and eggs and then a couple of slices of toast. "We can let them soak really well, then they don't hurt your throat."

He prepared their breakfast – admittedly more brunch at this point – under his daughter's watchful gaze until he finally deposited a plate in front of her. Annie only took two bites before her face scrunched up and her eyes filled with tears.

"Daddy, it hurts," she cried lowly, her voice hoarse as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh, come here," Mark said, pulling the toddler onto his lap and rubbing her back soothingly.

"Make it better, daddy, please," she wailed, looking at him miserably.

He shook his head. "I wish I could, baby, I wish I could." He calmed her down as good as he could, waiting until her little body had sagged completely into his embrace and she was fast asleep again. He looked at his formerly appetizing breakfast balefully, feeling no desire to eat it anymore. Who would have thought that it was a little girl's tears that would finally break the tough exterior of the infamous Mark Sloan?

He shook his head, grinning a little self-ironically as he shifted Annie a bit so that she was more securely in his arms and walked back to his room. Maybe it was time for another nap.

**\\*/ *** \\*/**

"Hey, you," she greeted with a small smile as Mark opened the door to his apartment, his hair disheveled and his clothes wrinkled. He quirked an eyebrow at her as his gaze traveled up and down her figure, making her shrug a little self-consciously.

"Are you sick, too?" he asked with a grin. "I don't think I've ever seen you in sweats."

"One of my mothers-to-be threw up all over me this morning, and the only thing I had left in in my locker was my gym outfit." She interrupted him as soon as she saw him formulating a reply, his slightly patronizing grin still in place. "I also brought chicken noodle soup for Annie and burger and fries for us to share, but I might just take the latter home with me again," she threatened as the smirk wouldn't leave his face.

Mark shook his head with a fond smile, ushering her into his apartment and giving her a brief hug.

"Don't go," he said. "I love how dressed down you get for us – seriously."

Addison laughed, bumping her sweater-clad hip into his jeans-clad one. "So, where's the little miss?" she wanted to know.

"Annie's watching TV in my room – no Barbie stuff this time – but I think she might be interested in some lunch if I tell her you brought it over," he told her, shuddering a little when he thought about the absolute horror that had been their breakfast in his quest to get her to eat at least a little bit.

Addison smiled at him, brushing some red curls out of her eyes. "Can I go look for her?'

Mark laughed. "Of course, I trust you know where my bedroom is."

"I bet all women in a five-mile radius know where your bedroom is," Addie joked as she walked down the hallway.

"Only the very special ones," Mark called after her. She shook her head, the smile still playing on her lips as she stepped into his room.

"Hey baby," she whispered softly as she caressed Annie's hair, trying to wake up the three-year-old as gently as possible. The little girl turned on her back, stretching out her arms and legs as she yawned. "Did you have a good nap?"

The toddler nodded, smiling sleepily at the redhead before her nose scrunched up and she sneezed loudly. "Hi Aunt Addie," she mumbled when Addison reached for a fresh Kleenex to help her blow her nose. She picked up the little girl, letting her rest her head on her shoulder as she went back to the kitchen.

"I brought you some soup to help you feel all better again soon," Addison told her lowly as Mark slid a bowl with the reheated liquid over to her. She smiled gratefully at him as she sat down at the breakfast bar with Annie, filling a spoon full of soup and blowing softly on it. Annie mimicked her actions before she opened her mouth, letting the redhead feed her until she tiredly burrowed her head in Addison's shoulder again.

"That's not too bad," Mark commented as he looked at the half-empty bowl. "I'm going to put the rest in the fridge, maybe she wants it later."

Addison nodded as she watched Mark first clear up his daughter's meal before he brought over two plates with their respective burgers, putting the fries in-between them.

"Annie, do you want to go back to bed?" he asked, caressing his daughter's hair briefly as she looked up at him with tired eyes. Annie shook her head, pressing closer to her honorary aunt.

"It's alright, Mark, I can eat like this," Addison said, smiling easily at him as she reached for a fry. They talked and joked around a little, always keeping an eye on Annie as they were having lunch. When they were finished eating Addie laid the toddler down on the couch, watching for a couple of seconds as her lids got heavier until her eyes remained closed and she drifted off to sleep.

"So," Mark said, grinning at her.

"So what?" she asked back.

"So, tell me about that woman that barfed on you," he replied, laughing lowly.

Addison shook her head, her expression half amused. "You are disgusting, Mark Sloan."

"Yeah?" he asked, quickly walking over to her before he put his hands around her waist, pulling her to him.

"Yes," she confirmed, nodding her head as to emphasize her words before she looked up into his eyes. Suddenly there seemed to be nothing but the two of them in the room anymore and she was drowning in the icy blue of his irises. She could feel her hands running up his chest almost of their own volition as Mark pulled her even closer to him. It was like the ghost of their little almost-encounter in her bedroom back in January had descended over them and just as she thought this time she would finally kiss him, the shrill ringing of his phone crashed their moment.

He pulled back much more slowly this time around, almost as if he was reluctant to let her go until he finally turned around and picked up the phone at the last ring, his gaze resting on her even as he talked to whoever was calling him.

Addison let out a slow breath as she took a couple of steps backwards, turning to the couch and taking a seat next to Annie's head, absentmindedly caressing the toddler's hair.

"No, I can't come in," she heard Mark say in the background. "I know that I'm the best, and I know that I'm theoretically still on call, but damn it, my child is sick, I cannot just pack up and leave." There was a pause. "No, she doesn't have a regular nanny I can just call." Another pause. "I don't like this, Chief. I'll see what I can do but I don't want to leave my daughter when she's sick." He ended the call, his voice annoyed.

"The nerve of that man," he grumbled angrily, balling his hands into fists as he tried to refrain from slamming the phone down on the counter. "I called him this morning to tell him I couldn't come in and now there's some emergency that only I can handle? What about those five residents on my service that follow me around like lost puppies on a daily basis?"

Addison shook her head, trying to hide her laughter.

"What?" he asked, sounding exasperated.

"It's just that any other day of the week, you'd be so flattered that the Chief calls you specifically because you're the best and there are cases only you can handle that you would run straight to Derek to brag about it. You two are like a couple of third-graders fighting for the best reading score when you get like that." She laughed again, relieved as Mark joined in.

"Well, I guess you are right about that, although I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with Annie – I can hardly bring her to the hospital with me when she has the flu."

"I can look after her, I'm here anyways. My service was pretty stable when I left and differently than yours, apparently, my residents can handle minor emergencies when they come in," she offered.

"Thanks, Addie, you're a lifesaver. I feel like I tell you that all the time, but still," he said, kissing her cheek gratefully before he got his jacket and his briefcase. "You know what that means, though, Red?" he asked as he was opening the front door. "The Chief thinks I'm more special than you!"

"In your dreams," she answered, shaking her head at his broad grin when he closed the door behind him.

She sat down next to Annie again, watching the toddler sleep for some time and listening to the TV playing in the background. As she had told Mark, she didn't mind looking after her – she was rather looking for any excuse to spend time with Annie and (or) her father – but she couldn't help thinking that she wouldn't have been so understanding of the situation if this had been Derek getting called away from some dinner again. On the contrary, she would have been furious at least, and probably downright disappointed once she got over her anger.

She sighed; the answer was almost painfully obvious. Derek couldn't wait to find an excuse to get out of the house again whilst Mark told the Chief off for taking him away from his daughter. Mark didn't want to go, and suddenly she realized that made all the difference to her.

Her breath halted for a second as she could practically feel the chasm in her marriage widening. She shook her head, pressing a soft kiss to Annie's hair as she looked at the toddler almost enviously. "Your daddy loves you so much, you know," she whispered.

She didn't know how much time she'd spent staring into space as she noticed the toddler stirring beside her. "Hi, baby," she said lowly.

"Aunt Addie," Annie answered, her voice raspy and labored as suddenly her face scrunched up and lost all color. Addison recognized the signs too late; she could only pick up the three-year-old and run towards the bathroom as Annie started to vomit forcefully. By the time they reached the bathroom, she was only dry heaving, crying miserably in-between.

Addison placed her on the edge of the tub, filling it with warm water as she helped Annie take off her clothes and deposited them in the sink with her gym sweater.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're going to be alright," she said soothingly as she cleaned the child's face, waiting for the water to calm her down a little.

"Mommy," she wailed as big tears formed in her eyes again. She was half coughing, half crying. "Mommy, mommy!"

The redhead froze for a second, thinking back to their outing in the park a couple of months ago when Annie had called her mommy. This time she had no idea if Annie really meant her or if she was just asking for her deceased mother, but there was no way she could just ignore this now.

"Shh," she said soothingly as she lifted Annie out of the tub, wrapping her in one of Mark's fluffy towels. "I'm here, baby," she whispered as she pressed a kiss to her head. The blonde girl nodded, observing her with big eyes as Addie helped her brush her teeth and dressed her in a fresh set of pajamas before she laid her down on the couch again.

"Mommy, stay, please," the toddler asked as Addison turned to go back down the hallway.

"I'll be back in a second, baby, I just need a new sweater," she promised before she dashed back into the bathroom to grab their soiled clothing, tossing it in the washer and starting the machine. She then walked into Mark's bedroom, blindly grabbing the first sweater she could get her hands on before rejoining Annie on the couch.

"See, here I am again," she said lightly, softly caressing Annie's hair as the little girl burrowed into her side. The toddler nodded contently.

"I love you, mommy," she whispered, sending a tired smile in Addie's direction. A feeling of warmth blossomed in her chest as she looked into those earnest brown eyes, a smile spreading over her features.

"I love you, too, Annie," the redhead answered, waiting for her breathing to even out again as Annie drifted off to sleep. Addison followed her soon after, feeling as happy as she hadn't in a long time.

**\\*/ *** \\*/**

"Hello?" he called as he stepped into his apartment, finding everything eerily quiet. Leaving his briefcase by the door he made his way into the living room, smiling when he saw Addie curled up on the couch with his daughter next to her.

"Addie?" Mark called lowly, touching her shoulder to rouse her.

"Hey," she mumbled as she opened her eyes, sending him a sleepy smile. "How did the surgery go?"

He shrugged. "It was pretty gruesome. And to be quite honest, my residents would have so botched this one up, so, you know," he trailed off.

"So, you saved the day," she finished for him.

He shrugged again. "How were things here?" he wanted to know.

Addison looked down at the toddler next to her for a second before she faced him again. "She got sick not too long after you left, so I gave her a bath, brushed her teeth, and laid down with her again. She's been good since, and I think her fever went down a little."

Mark nodded. "That's good, well, not her throwing up, but with the fever."

"Yeah," she confirmed, her voice low. She cleared her throat a little as she got up, trying not to jostle the sleeping child. "There was something else, though, that we should probably talk about," she admitted hesitantly.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice sounding alarmed when he followed her over to the breakfast bar.

"Annie – she – when she got sick and I gave her a bath, she cried for her mom, and I kind of just hugged her, and she's called me mommy after that. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I didn't say anything, and I'd be happy to take on that role in her life, but I don't know where you stand on all of this," she began, stopping only when a broad smile formed on Mark's face. "What?" she asked, her tone slightly aggressive. "I'm trying to talk to you Mark – you have to take this seriously!"

"So what? You thought I'd be angry at you over this? Hell, Addie, you're more her mom than anybody else will probably ever be again. If you want to be her mom, just be her mom." Mark responded.

"Okay," she said, her expression mostly neutral until his words really sank in and a big smile crept over her face. "Thank you, Mark," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him tight. "I really do love her, and I'll try my best to be her mom."

"I've got no doubt, Red," he answered as he hugged her back, burying his face in her hair. "I meant what I said – you take care of her when she's sick, you listen to her, you take her to ballet, you do everything for her a mom would do. Just stay like you are, and you're going to do pretty great."

"And don't become like Bizzy – that should be mentioned somewhere in there," she joked somewhat weakly as she stepped away from him again.

"Well, yeah, but I don't think you would have done that anyways," he replied earnestly. "Or the Captain, for what it is worth."

"Let's hope not," Addison gave back as they somewhat awkwardly stood next to each other. She felt there was so much unsaid between them, and invoking the Captain with all his infidelities didn't help her one bit when she was mentally debating the conundrum she suddenly found herself in when it came to her relationship with her husband – or Mark for that matter.

"Well, I should probably get going," she finally said, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Oh, you don't have to leave on my account," Mark said.

Addison shrugged. "I know, but I really should get home. Derek said he might be back for dinner today, and you know, that just hasn't happened in a couple of days, so –" she trailed off.

"No worries, Addie, I understand," he replied easily, giving her a smile of his own.

She nodded before she went over to Annie, caressing the toddler's hair softly until she sleepily opened her eyes. "Mommy has to go now," she whispered, halting a little over her new moniker. "I'll be back tomorrow, though, to check on you, alright?" She waited for the girl to nod. "Okay. I love you baby," she said as she kissed the crown of her head.

"I love you too, mommy," Annie answered before she burrowed back into one of the throw pillows.

She gave Mark a fleeting kiss to his cheek before she grabbed her bags and left the apartment, the developments of the days both weighing her down and making her feel incredibly light. She had to cynically shake her head when she found herself taking deep breaths in the cab on the way home, trying to calm herself down after the events of the day.

When she got there, she actually did find her husband in the living room, quietly reading a book and smiling up at her when she stepped fully into the house.

"Hey," she greeted, trying not to let her surprise show.

"Hi," Derek said back. "I got us some food from that Italian place you like," he added almost a little sheepishly and she wondered if that was a peace offering for his inexplicably cold behavior towards her this morning. It didn't matter, she decided in the end as she sat down next to him on the couch, bringing their dinner with her.

They spent a calm evening, but Derek could tell that there was something on her mind, and after the words he had heard her mumble in her sleep the night before, he wondered somewhat pettily if it had to do with Mark and Annie. He waited until they were finished eating and he stood in front of the mirror in their ensuite bathroom brushing his teeth whilst Addie was organizing her clothes for the next day.

"Is everything alright with you?" he asked finally.

"Sure," came the distracted reply from the bedroom.

He let the silence hang for a second. "You know that no matter what it is, you can tell me, right?"

Addison sighed, raking her hand through her hair. "Annie called me mom again, and after talking to Mark about it, I – we – decided that I would be her mom."

"Don't you think that is a decision that we should've made together," he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

She bit her lip, looking to the ceiling as she hoped for a way out of this conversation. "Derek, could you look very quickly if there's still an extra bottle of my face cleaner in my cabinet?" She heard his irritated sigh as he didn't say anything but opened the door to the cabinet, then silence after the door slammed shut and his toothbrush hit the sink. "Is any left?"

"Any of what?" Derek asked, his voice dripping with angry sarcasm.

"What?" she asked, trying to make sense of the sudden shift in his mood.

"There are way too few of these little pills left, if that's what you're asking about," he said viciously as he threw her current tray of contraception pills on the bed in front of her.

"Derek, I – I can explain, please!"

He shook his head. "I can't even believe you. How long did you think you could do this, telling me that we're trying for a baby and killing every chance we might have? And you're not even trying to deny it!"

"Derek, I can't have a child yet, I don't even want to have a child yet. I don't believe we're ready for a family, but every time I tried to tell you, you'd just paint pretty pictures of –" Addison started until he cut her off.

"You're building a freaking family, Addison," he yelled, finally losing his last grip on his self-control. "You're being someone's mom, you're finding yourself a little girl to mother, and you're telling me you're not ready for children? At least come up with some better excuse!"

"That is no excuse, Derek, it's the truth! How do you see this working, then?" she screamed back.

"Apparently differently than you because I still thought we were trying to have a child," he remarked bitterly. A shudder went down his spine. "God, I can't even look at you right now. You're so self-centered, and manipulative, and I don't even know what else."

Addison shrank back as if he'd slapped her. "Well, you won't need to look at me much longer," she said after a moment putting on an icy mask as she grabbed her bag and the clothes she'd laid out for the next day. She hastily put on a coat and went out of the room, almost running down the stairs.

"Addison?" she heard Derek call her name behind her, his voice already sounding slightly apologetic. "Addison, where are you going?"

"Away from here," was all she could manage as she ripped open the front door, slamming it in its lock and running down the block to the next intersection to hail a taxi. Her mobile rang in her bag, but she ignored it as she slid into the cab, giving the driver the address.

"Addie," the man said surprised as he opened the door. "What's up?"

"Where's Savvy, Weiss?" she asked dully as she stepped past him into her best friend's apartment.

"I'm here, honey," the blonde answered as she stepped into the den, taking in Addison's disheveled appearance. "What happened?"

"Annie called me mom, and Derek found my pills, so we fought, and he doesn't believe my reasons for not wanting kids, and I just needed to get out of there, but I couldn't go to Mark's because he is the freaking reason, and I didn't know where to go," she answered all in one rush.

"Oh, honey," Savvy murmured as she pulled the redhead into her arms, letting the taller woman rest her head against her shoulder. She had always thought that Addison and Derek would last through eternity but now she was wondering if this was the beginning of the end of NYP's power couple – or if they'd already reached the end of the end.

Next chapter, we'll finally meet the Montgomerys, so stay tuned for that :)