Falling, Falling. Fell.
Both Addison and Meredith moved away from Seattle, albeit temporarily, looking for a change. However, they were each surprised as they discovered they were actually neighbors down in sunny LA. A Meddison fic. (Some mentions from Private Practice 1x1 and Grey's Anatomy 2x2)
Chapter 1: Hello, neighbor
Change is necessary to grow. Nothing will change, if nothing changes. Which was why she was here now or at least until she figured out who she was and could be. Down in sunny LA. In a gorgeous beach house away from the rain and gloom of Seattle. It was a beautiful house and her backyard was the ocean. It reminded her of her house back in the Hamptons but this one was better. Here there were no reminders, no memories of what her life had been. Here, everything was a fresh start. She was making a change and she was hoping with everything that it was a change for the better.
Addison got out of the shower wrapping a towel around herself. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. This was it. A new beginning. She was happy and excited. A new life about to begin, away from Derek, and Mark, and Alex, and Meredith Grey's sweet baby blue eyes.
Feeling a sudden rush she began to dance to some old tune playing on her head. She moved every which way. Making her way from the bathroom to her room dancing about. She smiled and laughed as she moved and in a spur of the moment she undid her towel. 'Maybe I'll dance naked.' she had told Richard before leaving. She started slinging the towel around above her head as she spun her way about in front of her open window.
As she looked out she was met by those very familiar baby blue eyes. Meredith Grey, stood in front of her own window, one house over staring at her up and down, mouth open wide in shock. Addison looked at her confused before remembering she was completely naked, she wore nothing but her own skin, fully exposed for the blonde to behold. Immediately, she dropped down to the ground much like Meredith had done on the opposite side.
"Meredith Grey." Addison whispered to herself as if anyone could hear her. "No way." She shook her head as she crouched on the floor.
She decided to make sure, the idea of Meredith Grey being next door just seemed completely absurd. Slowly she peeked her head again at the same time Meredith did the same, poking her blonde head out of the window, frowning in equal confusion. Both of them seemed to forget Addison was naked as they stood up once more. Meredith flushed and turned quickly as Addison stared after her for a while until the gentle breeze from the fan reminded her of her current state.
Quickly, she grabbed her towel, wrapping it around herself. She looked out the window again to an overly amused Meredith Grey, who quickly hid her grin as Addison faced her. Addison sighed heavily and motioned Meredith to the balcony. Meredith nodded, making her way outside.
"Tell me you'll forget that." Addison shouted over the sound of the ocean waves.
"Sure." Meredith shouted back.
"Talk better out there." Addison shouted again, pointing to the deck and Meredith nodded once more.
They both headed inside of their respective rooms and this time Addison had the awareness to close her blinds, throwing Meredith a grin, which the blonde returned. She was about to walk out of the room when she looked down and stopped.
"Addison, you need to wear something other than a towel." She said to herself looking for underwear and a robe.
Meredith leaned against the divider between their houses waiting for her. Addison cleared her throat announcing her arrival and Meredith turned quickly to face her. She looked at her a while until she could tell Meredith was beginning to shift nervously under her gaze. She liked that she still had that kind of effect on the blonde and smiled a bit.
"So, enjoy the show?" Addison asked her with a raised brow.
"I thought we were forgetting that." Meredith shifted a bit.
"Right. Well, hello, Meredith." Addison smiled.
"Hello, Addison." Meredith threw her a small seemingly relieved smile, which made her chuckle.
"How come you're in LA?" Addison asked.
"I needed to get away and luckily for me this happened." Meredith said as if that would really explain anything.
Addison knew she was beginning her residency now. She'd heard from Bailey that even though Meredith had had issues taking the exam the first try she had passed with flying colors after Richard made her sit to do it again. So if that was the case shouldn't she be back in Seattle? Why was she here?
"Shouldn't you be starting your residency back in Seattle Grace?" Addison tilted her head in question.
"I guess there is this new program where hospitals exchange residents for six months. They needed a volunteer and I stepped in. I'm supposed to start in St. Ambrose in two weeks. I needed a change, at least for a while. I needed to get away from him." Meredith explained.
"You wanted to get away from Derek?" Addison was beyond confused. She had left Seattle because they were there. But Meredith wanted to be away from him. "Why?" She asked before she could contain herself.
"Not just him. I also wanted to get away from my sister." Meredith admitted.
"Molly?" Addison was really confused now. Last she had heard Molly had moved with her husband out of the country to a military base, or so Molly had said in the letter she sent with the Christmas picture of Laura.
"No, the other one. Lexie." Meredith said bitterly.
"So, you have two sisters now? Why are you trying to get away from her too? Did she match with Seattle Grace. I remember them saying she was in Harvard Med." Addison recalled.
"Yes, she matched and she ambushed me. She also became the girl in the bar." Meredith shrugged.
"Pardon?" Addison felt she was missing something so she waited for Meredith to explain.
"Derek and I umm, well we uh met…" Meredith began. Addison could see the pinkish hue beginning to form on her cheeks and chuckled again.
"Meredith, I'd like to think I'm over Derek. Go ahead." Addison chuckled some more.
"Fine. Well, Derek and I met at a bar the night before I started my internship. He told me he was just a guy in a bar and I told him I was just a girl in a bar. That's how we began." Meredith said clearly not wanting to say more.
"So that's how, the one-night stand to girlfriend, story goes." Addison nodded.
"You knew?" Meredith looked at her as if she had grown a second head sending her into a fit of laughter.
"You should know. Derek told me pretty much everything but that. He told me about how you refused him at the beginning. Seemed pretty proud of himself for managing to drag you in at the end, though." Addison smiled looking at her until Meredith averted her eyes. "Oh, Meredith, it's ok. The only person that knows I know, aside from Derek, is you, now. It's not my story to tell and I have no reason to tell it."
"That doesn't make it better, Addison." Meredith mumbled.
"What? You don't trust me? I really won't tell." Addison looked at her suddenly feeling the urge to reach out to her but resisting it.
"It's definitely not that. I trust you." Meredith said with a seriousness that made Addison's breath catch. "I know when he told you, it hurt you. Didn't it?" The blonde asked as Addison just watched her completely taken aback.
"Yeah, well, that's in the past." Addison smiled.
Meredith clearly still felt guilty about everything but Addison did not like that one bit. Especially when she knew Meredith was completely unaware of her existence. Then there was prom, which, yeah, was her fault too. But it takes two to tango and Derek had felt guilty all but one day, not even that.
"Anyway, Lexie is now the girl in a bar." Meredith went back to her sister.
"So her and Derek…" Addison trailed off, hoping her idiot ex had not done what she expressly told him not to do.
"He came to me to tell me he flirted with a woman all nonchalant about it and then Lexie came up to me and they recognized each other." Meredith shrugged. "Then he called her girl in a bar."
"That moron. I told him. The idiot." Addison fumed. "I'm sorry he hurt you."
"It's ok." Meredith simply relied.
"So you're here to run away from your feelings? You're trying to be strong and you came here so you wouldn't simply run back to him?" Addison asked.
"No. I guess I'm here because I'm pretty sure I am over him but he won't let me be. Also because I really don't want to deal with a half-sister, whose mother I let die and father hates me. I just needed out and away from their puppy eyes because they are tiresome." Meredith explained and now it was Addison's turn to look at her as if she had grown a second head.
"You are over, Derek?" Addison asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. I figured it out when he came to tell me about flirting with Lexie and the fact that he would've taken her to bed. I should've felt devastated, angry, sad. But I didn't. I felt relieved. Weird thing for someone who loves you to feel." Meredith chuckled.
"Huh. So you are over Derek. Well, good for you I guess." Addison smiled back after the shock wore off. "Anyway, I should probably go get better dressed." She gestured to her clothes. Meredith followed her hands up and down but then her eyes lingered on Addison's exposed thigh. Addison smirked as she noticed where Meredith's eyes were.
"All leggy and fabulous, right?" Addison smirked and tilted her head. Meredith snapped her eyes back to Addison's white as a sheet.
"He told you that?" Meredith groaned.
"Maybe." Addison chuckled. "Anyway, like I said I should get dressed, I have to get to work." She said and began to turn.
"Addison?" Meredith called so she turned to face her once more. "Since umm we are neighbors and you know… I don't know anyone here. Well, could we uh…" She stammered nervously, which Addison found weirdly cute, not a clue why but she was not thinking about that now.
"You wanna be friends. Is that it?" Addison grinned.
"Something like that? We could exchange numbers or something. I don't know. Forget it." Meredith spoke rather fast and started to walk away.
"Grey." Addison said using that commanding tone everyone seemed to listen to very intently. Meredith quickly turned as if on instinct.
"Phone?" Addison asked, her hand outstretched waiting for Meredith to hand the device over, which she dutifully did. "I'll call mine from yours. I'll save it once I'm back inside." She said and Meredith nodded as a ringing sound came from inside Addison's place. "There. All set."
"Thanks." Meredith said as she took back the phone with a smile.
"Just one thing though. I won't be your Cristina." Addison warned, knowing full well the relationship the two had.
"Good. I won't be your Mark." Meredith replied with a smile.
"Did you have sex with Cristina?" Addison tilted her head in question.
"No." Meredith quickly answered. "But you had sex with Mark." She said as she figured out why Addison had asked.
"Yes…" Addison began. "So you won't be like Mark?" She smirked wildly as she noticed the way Meredith flushed and flustered at the question. She was enjoying this way too much. Teasing and flirting with Meredith was definitely her new pastime.
"I… uh… mhmm." Was all Meredith managed to say.
"Okay. I mean you've already seen me naked so…" Addison kept on smirking, enjoying the bright crimson hue now creeping up Meredith's neck to her cheeks.
"Oh uhh…" The blonde tried until she was interrupted.
"Addison?" Someone said behind her.
"Sam. Hi." Addison turned to see her friend making his way toward her with a confused look.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, walking up to her deck.
"I live here now." Addison pointed to the house.
"You live here? I live next door." He still looked confused as hell.
"Would you look at that. I'm sandwiched between two friends." Addison smiled towards Meredith, who seemed to be recovering. "This is Meredith. Meredith, this is Sam." Meredith nodded in greeting but Sam seemed intent on finding out more.
"How?" Sam asked.
"Oh Nae said your realtor was good." Addison chirped.
"So you live here now? What about Seattle?" Sam questioned.
"What do you mean? Did Nae not tell you?" Addison was confused by his reaction. He should have already known she was coming. She was going to work with him.
"Tell me what?" Sam looked confused and upset.
"She hired me, Sam." Addison replied.
"She what? I need to talk to Naomi." He said before storming off leaving puzzled Addison behind.
Meredith watched her for a while. Addison said nothing, just stared after Sam and turned with a scoff. Meredith tried to hide the chuckle but failed and Addison just pouted at her making her chuckle some more.
"Great." Addison said.
"That should be fun." Meredith chuckled some more.
"Yeah, so much fun." Addison said sarcasm dripping in every word. "Wanna come with?" She perked up.
"What?" Meredith looked at her a bit stunned by the request.
"That way I won't suffer alone. Plus, you have nothing to do but be lazy all day." Addison shrugged.
"I thought you said you wouldn't be my Cristina." Meredith raised a brow and let out a small grin.
"I know. I'll just be your Addison." Addison said nonchalantly. " Give me 20 minutes. Meet you up front." She said and walked back into her house leaving a completely stunned Meredith standing alone.
"My Addison? What the hell?" Meredith said to herself looking towards Addison's house where the red head had just disappeared to.
New multichapter *gasp* I can't believe I'm doing this but I am. I will say this though, this one will not be on a schedule. It'll be as it comes. I have two scheduled ones already and that's a bit hard to keep up with. Anyway, enjoy the new Meddison fic. Let me know what you think so far. Until next time. ;)