The next day, Addison had a patient emergency that required her at St. Ambrose. It didn't happen too often, but at least she got to see her husband and sister-in-law when she did. However, this particular patient, or patients, rather, proved to be difficult. The mother gave birth to a baby with a large and protruding tumor on her abdomen, and the delivery was hard on the mother as well. They found some bleeders during the c-section, so Charlotte got some of the new surgical interns to assist.
Once the mother was stable, Addison wanted to operate on the baby. But the oncologist didn't think it was the best idea. They argued behind closed doors, thankfully, but it was still up to the parents. The mother's procedure had been hard on her body, so she was getting some rest, leaving the husband and father as the decision maker. He opted for the chemo that Dr. Rodriguez suggested. Addison still didn't think it was the right course of action, but it was the father's decision, not hers.
After the husband decided on chemo, she and Dr. Rodriguez walked out of the room. He went off to prepare the chemo treatments as Addison sat down on a gurney to rest. It'd been a long day, and she'd been on her feet for hours. As she sat there, she saw Lexie and some other interns approaching from the other side of the hallway.
"Dr. Grey," Addison called out before Lexie and the rest disappeared around the corner.
"Dr. Montgomery. Addison Montgomery," Addison introduced herself and held a hand out when she caught up to her. She realized they hadn't officially met. Lexie was among one of the surgical residents that helped out in today's c-section, but still.
"Right, of course. Dr. Montgomery," Lexie shook her hand and nodded. However, she had no idea why Addison, or Dr. Montgomery, called for her attention.
"I'll catch up with you guys later," Lexie added, looking back at her fellow interns. They all nodded and smiled before walking away.
"Thank you for your help today," Addison started.
"Oh, of course. Thank you for letting us assist. It was great watching you operate," Lexie said, in awe of the surgeon.
She, as well as probably every other intern at St. Ambrose, knew of Addison. Not as Dr. Shepherd's wife, but as a world-renowned surgeon. Double-board certified, one of the few surgeons in the world who could separate fetal blood, and an all-around marvel, in Lexie's eyes. And rightfully so.
"So, I heard about you and Mark," Addison said after a minute of silence.
"Oh…," Lexie said awkwardly, her eyes started looking towards the floor.
"I just…I don't mean to make things awkward. Mark's one of my best friends, and you're kind of the first girl in a long time to…," Addison was at a loss for words. If only she thought of what to say before she opened her mouth.
"Look, you don't have to…I don't know, defend his honor or something. It's fine," Lexie said.
"No, it's not…it's not that. He cares about you, he just…needs a little push," Addison said.
"He's also trying to be more responsible. I don't know if you've heard, but he has a teenage daughter. And he hasn't been a father for long, and he's just…trying not to screw up," Addison laughed awkwardly.
"What do you mean he hasn't been a father for long? Didn't you just say she was a teenager?" Lexie asked, confused.
"It's a long story," Addison replied.
"Okay, well, regardless, it doesn't mean he gets to treat me like crap," Lexie adde. So much for trying to look professional in front of the surgeon.
"I'm sorry, that was…that was rude," Lexie added quickly.
"No, it's okay. I get it. And you're right, you don't deserve to be treated like crap," Addison started. Lexie couldn't help but think that she still sounded elegant, even when she said the word "crap".
"Just…don't give up on him yet," Addison added before both of their pagers went off. It was the baby.
They both walked quickly back to the NICU to find Dr. Rodriguez there. The baby was having a hard time breathing. The three of them worked on her as Charlotte stood close by, watching as they got the baby's breathing back to normal. Afterward, Addison pulled Charlotte aside and suggested they push harder to get the father to sign off on the baby's surgery. But Charlotte repeated her earlier sentiment: it was his right to refuse the surgery.
As frustrating as it was, there was nothing more they could do. Tomorrow, they'd start chemo treatments on this newborn baby. Or so they thought. The mother eventually woke up and asked if they'd done the surgery yet. When her husband told her about chemo, she refused. She wanted their baby to get the surgery, and to get that tumor removed as soon as possible. After some more arguing, the father finally agreed, giving Addison and her surgical team the green light.
Later that night, Amelia came home to Nate and the nanny. It'd been a particularly long night at the hospital for Derek and Addison. Derek's patient also needed his full attention, keeping him at St. Ambrose for hours. By the time they got home, it was already almost four AM.
"Well, at least we'll get like two hours tonight," Derek joked, looking down at his watch playfully as they both got out of the car.
Since Derek and Addison had to stay at the hospital longer that night, Addison gave Amelia her car keys so she could go home first. By now, Amelia got the hang of how things worked here. She and Addison's schedules were normally more routine compared to Derek's. But he still called home before Nate's bedtime so the baby could at least hear his voice before he went down for the night.
Since both Derek and Addison were stuck at the hospital that night, they both called together right after dinner. By then, Amelia had let Gina go home for the night. So she put Derek and Addison on speakerphone as Nate babbled back. He still didn't say his first words, but at least he was trying. As doctors, they knew Nate was just learning how to make sounds with his mouth, trying to imitate the people around him. He just didn't know what any of it meant yet.
"I love him so much. But right now, I'd love him that much more if he slept through the night," Addison giggled as she and Derek walked up to the front door with their arms linked together.
"He's just…on his own timeline," Derek smiled as he stopped Addison as they reached their front door.
Before Addison could reach for her keys, Derek pulled her in for a sweet, romantic kiss. With Nate's finicky sleep schedule and Amelia living with them, it didn't leave much time for romance between the married couple. So, they knew it'd be a while before they had another moment alone. And God, did they both miss each other. About two hours later, Nate woke up, his cries blaring through the baby monitor.
"Right on schedule too," Addison joked sleepily while pointing out the time on the clock.
The time read 5:52 AM. Derek smiled, but his eyes were still closed. He didn't need to check the time to know what the time was. Nate couldn't sleep through the night, but at least his sleep schedule was at least consistent. Addison slipped out of bed, with her husband's hand sliding across her torso as she did. When she got to Nate's room, she found Amelia rocking Nate back and forth in her arms. And she noticed how comfortable he looked, resting his head on her chest.
"Hey," Addison leaned against the door frame.
"Hey. Look who it is, Nate. It's Mama," Amelia said, looking down at Nate. He looked over at his mom, but snuggled closer in Amelia's arms. Addison playfully waved back at him.
"You're pretty good with him, you know?" Addison asked, admiring how close her sister-in-law and son had gotten over the past few weeks.
"Thanks," Amelia's smile beamed.
The rest of her family just saw her as the fun Aunt Amelia when it came to her other nieces and nephews. So, it was nice that she'd been doing pretty well taking care of her baby nephew on her own and that someone saw how hard she was trying. And she wasn't surprised that it was Addison who pointed this out, being that she always saw her as someone that was more of a sister than her biological sisters.
"You've done enough tonight, Amelia. Why don't you go back to bed?" Addison asked, yawning after she spoke.
"No, no, no, I got it," Amelia insisted.
It may be early, but she crashed pretty early last night. About two hours after putting Nate down for the night. And she knew Derek and Addison got in pretty late. Plus, she had to admit she liked getting some alone time with Nate. Other than his lack of sleeping anything more than four hours at a time, he was a pretty easy baby so far.
"Are you sure?" Addison asked.
"Yeah! Actually, I think it'd be nice to watch the sun come up," Amelia looked out the window.
It was still dark outside, but she knew the sun would be up in another 30 minutes or so. And with the view they had of the beach outside, she knew it'd be a great sight to see. For her and for the baby. Not everyone could say they could watch the sunrise over the water from their backyard. So, Amelia figured she might as well take advantage of that fact.
"Are you sure?" Addison asked again, just to be sure.
"Yes! Go! Go back to bed. I've got him," Amelia insisted. Addison smiled, loving the fact that Amelia wanted to spend more time with Nate.
"Mama's gonna go back to bed now. But I'll see you later, baby," Addison said sweetly before giving Nate a few quick kisses on his forehead. Nate babbled senselessly in response, causing both women to giggle.
"Get some sleep," Amelia said.
"Oh, just bring a bottle and a toy for him to play with while you're out there," Addison added.
While watching the sun rise sounded like a good idea, she knew Nate could get fussy after a while. And she just wanted to make sure Amelia would have everything she needed before going out there on her own with the baby.
"I got it. Now go! Get outta here," Amelia insisted, shooing her sister-in-law out of the room.
Addison gave Nate one last little wave before leaving the room, sliding back into bed next to her sleeping husband. Amelia swayed Nate in her arms for a little longer before grabbing a rattle for Nate to play with. Then she made her way downstairs, grabbing a bottle out of the fridge to heat up. Nate, as someone who took a little longer before perking up, stayed close to his favorite aunt, and just snuggled in Amelia's arms.
Then Amelia stuck the bottle in Nate's mouth and headed outside to the backyard. She sat on one of the lounge chairs and placed Nate in her lap. It was still dark out, but she left the porch lights on and she could see the water glisten. The waves crashing on the sand were all she could see clearly when looking out into the ocean.
Plus, it was just so peaceful out there. After a couple of minutes, Nate turned around and tried to climb into Amelia's arms while the bottle hung from his mouth. He wanted to be held.
"Alright kid," Amelia said, picking him up so he could go back to snuggle closer to her chest.
They sat there in silence, the only sound around them being the waves crashing against each other. After 20 minutes passed, the sun started to rise. Amelia pointed it out to Nate, who looked on in awe. He'd never seen the sun come up before, and Amelia basked in the beautiful view.
As the sun continued rising, Amelia eventually sat Nate back down, as he seemed to be want to get down. After he did, he went for his rattle, shaking it playfully. With the sun illuminating the sky, the sound of the waves crashing, and a happy little boy sitting with her, Amelia couldn't help but think that things couldn't get better.
After sitting outside for a while longer, Amelia decided it'd be nice to grab a latte at the cafe a few blocks away. And with it being so nice outside, she also decided it'd be nice to walk there. So, she grabbed a diaper bag, a bottle from the fridge, and Nate's stroller from the closet and sent a quick text to Derek, letting her know of their plans. When she got there, there was already a long line. Everyone was already grabbing coffee on their way to work.
"He's so cute!" A woman sitting at a nearby table exclaimed as Amelia stood in line. Nate smiled back, holding onto his rattle while sitting in the stroller.
"You look just like your Mama, don't you?" The woman continued, waving playfully at the baby.
Amelia thought to say something, but decided against it. The woman seemed nice enough, and there wasn't really a need to correct her.
"Thanks," Amelia said, chuckling.
Once she got to the front of the line, Amelia got coffee for both Derek and Addison and even found a squeezable baby food packet for Nate. Thankfully, he didn't seem completely repulsed by the avocado, peach, pineapple, and kale combo she got for him. Leave it to Los Angeles to find a way to fit kale into everything, Amelia thought. Even baby food.
Meanwhile, Derek woke up about five minutes after Amelia left. When he looked at the clock, he realized Amelia had let him and Addison sleep in quite a bit. As he got up, he unplugged his phone, which was sitting on the bedside table. When he did, Derek could feel the bed move as Addison slowly woke up.
"What is it?" Addison asked after hearing Derek chuckle.
"Amy took Nate on a walk to get coffee," Derek smiled as he put his phone back on the table and laid back down beside Addison.
"That's nice," Addison yawned and finally opened her eyes to see Derek smiling back at her.
"What?" Addison asked suspiciously when Derek playfully raised an eyebrow. Derek leaned in and kissed her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Mmm," Addison only murmured back, only deepening the kiss as Derek went to unbutton her pajama top.
"Are we really doing this?" Addison asked after Derek shifted over to get on top of her.
"God, I hope so," Derek chuckled as he started trailing kisses down her collarbone.
About 30 minutes later, Amelia got back and gave Nate a quick diaper change after putting down the coffee. It was already almost eight o'clock, and she thought Derek and Addison would be down by now. But then again, they probably hadn't had a full night of sleep since they brought Nate home from the hospital.
"Hey, guys!" Amelia said cheerfully as she opened their bedroom door. But she immediately closed it when she saw Derek and Addison in bed together.
"Amy!" Derek exclaimed, trying to hide his face behind Addison's.
"I think I'm traumatized for life now," Amelia commented, the baby in her arms, still oblivious to what happened.
"You're the one that came in without knocking!" Derek called out, chuckling. Actually, both Derek and Addison were laughing.
"This isn't funny! I know you're married and everything, but you do realize this was the last thing I ever wanted to see," Amelia commented. She could still hear Derek and Addison trying to muffle their laughter behind the door.
"We're married! Married people have sex. Or at least, happily married people," Addison giggled.
"This is worse than catching you and Mark," Amelia started. Derek's laughter subsided, looking curiously at Addison. She bit her lip, knowing she'd have to give him a full explanation later.
"Just so you know, you should never have to see your Mama and Dada do that," Amelia said to Nate, who was in her arms. Nate looked back curiously.
"Mama?" Nate babbled.
Amelia's mouth gaped open. Both Derek and Addison heard it from inside, too. Derek's eyes widened as he looked back at his wife, who was still under him. And Addison put a hand over her mouth excitedly.
"Was that Nate?" Derek asked, Amelia's previous comment now forgotten.
"Mm-hmm," Amelia confirmed, still stunned. Nate, however, looked back at her, oblivious as to why Amelia looked so surprised.
Derek and Addison rushed to grab their clothes, wherever they were. Derek's were scattered near the foot of the bed, while Addison's striped pajama shirt and underwear had fallen to the floor. They opened the door and saw Nate's face light up when he saw them.
"Hi, baby! Did you just say, Mama?" Addison asked as Amelia gave him over to her. Nate continued babbling as he snuggled his head closer to his mom's chest.
"Yes, you did, didn't you?" Derek cooed, chuckling as he gently held one of his small hands with a finger.
Nate wasn't even officially six months yet. Not for another week. But he was already saying his first word. All the babbling he'd done before didn't really count. And even though he did say "Mama", all three doctors knew Nate also had no idea what it meant. He just knew everyone around him was saying it. This was just him repeating what he'd heard.
"Wonder how long it's gonna take for him to say it again," Amelia chuckled.
"Thank you," Addison said sarcastically, giving Amelia a look.
"That's Mama," Derek cooed at Nate, pointing Addison out in hopes of getting Nate to say it again.
"Mama?" Nate said the word again.
"That's right!" Addison exclaimed as they all cheered, excited looks across all their faces.
…
Not too long later, everyone went to work and said goodbye to Nate. He didn't say Mama every time they asked him to, but he complied sometimes. And every time he did, they all got excited. At the office, Addison raved about Nate's big milestone, and Derek did the same at St. Ambrose. Later in the day, Naomi came upstairs to Addison's office, where she was doing some paperwork between patients.
"Hey Nai," Addison said excitedly. She wanted her best friend to know her news about Nate. Naomi plopped down on the couch, sighing.
"I have news, but it looks like you should go first," Addison started, concerned for her friend.
"I kissed Fife," Naomi said.. She was completely oblivious to Addison's excitement.
"What about William?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow. She could wait to tell her news. This was definitely something she needed Naomi to elaborate on before she could have her turn.
"Oh, he's in Munich or something like that," Naomi brushed it off and walked over to her, and went for the drawers behind her desk. Addison couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you doing?" Addison asked, turning around in her chair. Naomi opened a drawer and pulled out a chocolate box.
"How..?" Addison started.
"Are you really that surprised I hid a box of chocolate in here?" Naomi asked.
Addison tilted her head to the side and nodded. She was right; it shouldn't surprise her at this point. As Naomi leaned against the drawers behind her, she stuffed a chocolate candy into her mouth and already went to grab another one.
"You've got a problem," Addison commented, taking the box out of her hands and placing it on her desk.
"Yeah, what's new?" Naomi asked sarcastically. Addison giggled.
"I'm a terrible person," Naomi said, her mouth still full of chocolate. Addison giggled.
"Anyway, what's your news?" Naomi asked, swallowing before grabbing another piece of chocolate out of the box.
"Nate said his first word," Addison said excitedly.
"What?" Naomi asked, her mouth still full of chocolate.
"He said Mama this morning," Addison was practically squealing.
"Oh my God! Addie!" Naomi exclaimed, hugging her friend.
"I can't believe you let me go first," Naomi said jokingly.
"He just said it. I still can't believe it," Addison said happily.
"Yeah, I remember when Maya said her first word," Naomi reminisced.
"She just said it like it was nothing," Naomi added.
"That's what Nate did too!" Addison exclaimed.
As the girls giggled, Charlotte walked past outside and saw the two in Addison's office.
"Hey, I heard you wanted to see me for somethin'?" Charlotte asked, still standing underneath the door frame.
"Uh..no, I don't think so," Addison thought out loud.
"No, not you. You," Charlotte pointed at Naomi. Addison eyed Naomi curiously.
Naomi came up earlier that day to talk to Sheldon. He'd admittedly become a confidant for her, and after her kiss with Fife, she wanted more. But she didn't even know where to begin when it came to sleeping with him. So, Sheldon told her to ask Charlotte. But Naomi wasn't sure. She took Charlotte's job. Why would she help her? But it looks like Sheldon got to her, anyway.
"Right, um, I wanted to ask you for a um…patient consult," Naomi stuttered as she straightened her posture. Addison kept glaring at her, knowing she was lying. She didn't know why or what it was about, but she knew her friend was lying.
"Why don't we take this into our office, then?" Charlotte asked. Naomi nodded and followed Charlotte out to her office and Addison made a mental note to remember to ask her about it later.
…
"Hey. You have a minute?" Callie caught Arizona as she exited the scrub room.
"Um…yeah, I think I have a minute," Arizona replied. Her bubbly smile made Callie weak in the knees. She didn't know what Arizona would say, but she knew it could make or break their relationship.
"So, the other day, when you said you didn't want kids…did you mean you never wanted kids?" Callie asked shyly.
"Yeah," Arizona nodded simply.
"Like, not even a little bit? Not even one?" Callie asked.
"Nope," Arizona, again, kept her answer short.
"Would you ever consider having one?" Callie asked. Arizona looked at her curiously.
"With me?" Callie asked.
"You want us to have a baby?" Arizona asked. Her expression made it hard for Callie to read her. She was always so bubbly, she couldn't tell if she was scaring her off by mentioning a baby.
"No! Well, yes. Not right now, obviously. But eventually maybe," Callie stammered. She wanted a baby someday, but there was no rush for one yet.
"Oh," Arizona said awkwardly. They stood across from each other as a minute passed.
"Is there anything…you want to say?" Callie asked.
"What do you want me to say, Callie?" Arizona exclaimed, overwhelmed.
"I don't know. Maybe I just wanna hear you say you love me! Or that you at least would consider having babies or a baby because I want one?" Callie asked.
She hated the fact that Arizona didn't say anything, or that she didn't feel the need to say anything. Here she was, pouring her heart out and being honest about how she felt, and Arizona wasn't responding. And it was infuriating. All Callie wanted was for Arizona to consider the thought of having kids together in the future.
"Callie, I love you," Arizona started. Callie scoffed. She was only saying this now because she said something.
"But I don't want kids. Kids are great, but do you know how much responsibility and worry goes into raising a kid? Because I do. I deal with their parents every day and they are crazy," Arizona continued.
"Yes, they're cute. But you know what isn't cute? Poopy diapers, constant crying, less alone time," Arizona started listing out cons after Callie looked at her like she was crazy.
"You really don't want a baby?" Callie asked. Though, based on her tone, it sounded more like a statement. Like she needed confirmation because she still couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Yes," Arizona confirmed.
People rushed through the hospital; an emergency in the ER was apparent. But the two women stood across from each other in the hallway. If it weren't for all the commotion in the hospital, it'd be dead silent. Arizona stared at her shoes and made a mental note to get some new sneakers, as these were starting to get too worn out. Callie took a deep breath before saying what she knew she needed to say.
"I don't think I can do this anymore," Callie finally said.
Arizona nodded, swallowing hard. She still stared at the floor and could feel the tears coming. Callie, however, didn't make as much of an effort to hide her feelings. She wiped a tear and put a hand over her nose and mouth before walking away. It was one thing for Arizona to see her cry; it was another to watch her bawl.
…
"Oh hi," Lexie said awkwardly when Sloan answered Mark's door.
"Hi…," Sloan said slowly.
"I'm Lexie. I work with your dad at St. Ambrose," Lexie explained quickly. The last thing she wanted was to creep her out.
"Yeah, I know. I've seen you around," Sloan said.
"Right…Is your dad here?" Lexie asked.
"Uh…no, he went to get pizza," Sloan explained. Lexie nodded, and the two stood there awkwardly at the front door for another minute.
"Did you…want me to tell him something?" Sloan asked.
"You know what? I think…I think I'll just wait to see him at work tomorrow," Lexie said quickly, before scurrying down the stairs and into her car.
"Weirdo," Sloan commented before closing the door.
When Mark got home, he had a large pepperoni pizza, salad, and some groceries in hand. Sloan grabbed the pizza box as he walked in. As Mark put away the rest of the groceries, Sloan placed the pizza box on the dining table and grabbed some plates and forks.
"So, your friend stopped by," Sloan teased as they finally sat down to eat.
"What friend?" Mark asked, serving Sloan some salad on her plate.
"Um…the one you've been sleeping with?" Sloan snickered. Mark's face looked frozen in place, shocked that Sloan knew anything about his sex life.
"Oh, come on, you can't be that surprised," Sloan laughed as she grabbed a piece of pizza.
"How do you…?" Mark couldn't even fully form a sentence at this point.
"Everyone knows about you and the intern," Sloan brushed it off. Mark glared, knowing there was more to the story.
"Especially the nurses," Sloan added, giggling. Mark nodded and chuckled; the nurses knew everything. Regardless of what hospital he worked at.
"What uh…what'd she say?" Mark asked, trying to sound casual.
"I don't know, she just asked if you were home and when I told her you weren't, she said she'd see you at work tomorrow," Sloan brushed off the awkward encounter.
"Oh," Mark nodded as he and Sloan continued eating dinner.
"How do you feel? About…all that?" Mark took a sip of water as his throat felt dry.
"I mean, we're Sloans," Sloan started, her voice slightly muffled by the food still inside her mouth. Mark couldn't help but smile at the comment as he handed her a napkin.
"It's not like I expect you to be celibate or something just because you have a kid," Sloan continued.
"What'd you think of her?" Mark asked.
Sloan's laid-back attitude about the whole situation made it easier to ask her. It didn't seem like she cared all that much about the fact that Mark was dating. If you could even call it that. But he didn't want to assume. She was a teenager; she had to have an opinion.
"She's kinda weird," Sloan said honestly. Mark didn't know how the exchange between Sloan and Lexie went. He couldn't even picture it, in all honesty.
"But she seemed nice, I guess," Sloan added.
"So…are you okay with…all of this?" Mark asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. Did you think I wouldn't be?" Sloan asked. She didn't see Mark dating as an issue, as long as she wasn't a monster or anything. And based on the brief conversation, she seemed too innocent to be evil.
"I don't know…," Mark said awkwardly.
"I just don't want you to have to go through any more pain or change, you know?" Mark added.
"Dad, I'm fine! I swear!" Sloan insisted, laughing at the fact that Mark worried about her this much.
A few months ago, she would've never predicted Mark would be such an attentive father, but he was. And it was a great surprise. Sloan looked over at Mark to see the look on his face. At first, he was looking down as he moved around the salad on his plate. But then it hit him. She called him Dad. She'd never done that before. He'd always been Mark or dude.
Mark smiled, without even looking up at Sloan. He noticed, but he didn't want to say it out loud. But from the smile on his face, Sloan could tell that he was more than okay with her calling her Dad from now on. She smiled after watching him and went back to eating her dinner alongside him.
…
The next day, Mark found Lexie getting some results from the lab. After getting a bit of a pep talk from an excited Derek, he took a deep breath before heading toward her. When Lexie didn't notice Mark standing behind her as she read the results, Mark cleared his throat.
"Hi," Mark smirked.
"Oh! Hi. Dr. Sloan," Lexie said, startled. Truthfully, she didn't see or hear him come up from behind her. She was too focused on her work to notice. Today, she was one of Derek's intern and the neuro case they were working on was fascinating.
"So, I heard you met Sloan," Mark commented. Lexie looked back, confused. Initially, he didn't realize she never got Sloan's name.
"My daughter," Mark clarified, clearing his throat.
"Oh. Yes, I…I did. I'm sorry, I came there looking for you," Lexie said quickly.
"No, it's okay. I'm glad you did," Mark smiled at how flustered Lexie seemed.
"You are?" Lexie asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner sometime," Mark added. When talking to Derek earlier, he suggested he start slow with Lexie. Even though they had already seen each other naked. But dating her would be different from just sleeping with her.
"I'd…love to," Lexie laughed nervously.
"Great. I should be done here around eight tonight. Think you can make that?" Mark looked up from his watch to look at her.
"I think so," Lexie said optimistically.
"Great. I'll see you later?" Mark asked, smiling.
"Yes. I'll see you later," Lexie blushed before they both went their separate ways.
Once Mark rounded the corner, he found his best friend waiting for him.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Derek asked, jokingly.
A/N: So, this chapter (unsurprisingly) became a little longer than I intended but you guys usually like it when my chapters are longer anyway lol. And as promised, there was more Addek in this chapter because the last chapter was more about everyone else. But hey, Nate said his first word! And of course, it's Mama. By the way, that scene of Amelia walking in on Derek and Addison in bed together was my friend Stephanie's idea, so thank you again for that! As for Mark and Lexie, their relationship will probably be pretty stable going forward. And Callie and Arizona are no longer together for now, but I don't intend on keeping them that way for too long.
But I will clarify that there won't be a shooting at the hospital in this fic, so I will need to figure out how I'm going to put them back together eventually. The case Addison and Lexie work on is from Private Practice 4x05, hence why Dr. Rodriguez is also there. And the little comment from Charlotte is referring to the talk she and Naomi have in Private Practice 3x18. I still have some ideas to work out in terms of where I want this story to go, but I do have a somewhat specific ending in mind, so at least there's that! Thanks again for reading 3