Once again, big thanks to Kendel, Dais, and Kim! Also to all of you for reading and reviewing. So how about some reviews for christmas? ;0)
…3...
Addison watched the nurse change the diaper of the unnamed baby. She could not take her eyes away from him. He opened his eyes and blinked at her. His eyes are what haunted her the most. They were identical to Derek's.
"Dr. Shepherd… Dr. Montgomery- Shepherd.. Addison!" Brianna Carmine shouted at the entranced surgeon.
" Yes, Nurse Carmine?" Addison managed to sputter out.
"You can hold the little guy if you'd like. Ms. Daniels appears to be suffering from post-partum depression."
Addison looked hesitant. Nurse Carmine observed the mental battle taking place. The collective doctor looked almost petrifiedat the idea of holding a child.
"Take a seat, dear," Brianna told Addison, nodding towards the white rocking chair in the corner of the nursery. Addison took the baby into her arms.
He looked up at her intently. His little hand reached up to pull on a loose strand of her hair.
"Oh, no, no, sweetheart. No hair pulling," she cooed naturally. The baby wrapped his little hand around her index finger instead.
Brianna was taken aback by the tender scene in front of her. She had never seen the Mrs. Dr. Shepherd lookas right at Seattle Graceas she did at that moment.
"You are such a handsome little boy. Yes, you are," Addison whispered.
Derek had been on duty for fifteen minutes when he received a page to check out the newborn nursery. His heart stopped upon arriving at the door. For a moment, it was as if he was frozen in a dream he had had a long time ago. An intense pain crept into Derek's chest as he watched Addison cuddle an auburn-haired baby.
"Addi, what are you doing?" he asked in a tone that could be described as either harsh or anguished.
Addison's head shot up. Her eyes were wide with an indescribable emotion. He stepped further into the nursery. Addison wasn't quite sure what to do. She simply held the infant closer. From the next room, Nurse Carmine looked on with concern. Why did Dr. Gorgeous look in pain and Mrs. Dr. Gorgeous look horrified?
"Brianna suggested that I rock him. His mother, my 911, is suffering from postpartum. I--." Derek hushed his wife by removing the baby from her arms and returning the now sleeping child to his incubator.
"You're doing it again, Addison. You're getting attached. Come on, I have some time before my first consultation. We'll get some coffee--"
"Stop it, Derek! I don't need you to treat me like I am some case. I was holding a baby. It was simple as that," Addison snapped. She signaled to Brianna that she was leaving and hurried from the room.
Derek stood in place and looked down at the little boy. He'd have to make sure Addison stayed out of the nursery for the sake of her sanity.
"Can I, Cristina? Please. Can I go and check in on Samantha Moncrief? I have the biggest crush on Gavin Weslin!" Izzie gushed as she bounced down the hall by Cristina's side.
Cristina groaned and handed over the chart. " She needs another dose of something for the pain. Everything is in that chart. Take it!"
"Thank you!" Izzie squealed and danced off excitedly.
"I need coffee!" Cristina moaned and slugged off in another direction.
Izzie hummed to herself as she neared the private room. She could hear several male voices from behind the door. Gavin Weslin and Xander Lewis of Chemical Abrasion were sitting on the loveseat under the window. Mitchell West was sitting on the bed. Infinite Abyss's Spencer Ross, Jake Hudson, Tyler Reynolds, and Brent Chang were scattered on the floor and chairs around the bed.
"Hello," Gavin greeted with a soft smile.
"Hi! I'm Dr. Stevens," Izzie responded almost too perkily. She reminded herself not to stare at Gavin or Spencer or any man in the room. She stepped over an exhausted Brent to the IV. Samantha was still sleeping.
"What is that?" Mitch asked, looking up. He gazed intently at the syringe of liquid Izzie was injecting into the IV.
"It's something to help her rest better and for the pain she'll experience once she wakes up. I'm sure Dr. Yang told you how long it will take for her pelvis to heal," Izzie explained. It was at that moment that Izzie realized that the alert members of Infinite Abyss were glaring daggers at Mitch. Gavin and Xander didn't look too pleased either.
"Anywhere from 6 months to a year," Spencer answered, quietly. He sighed and stood up. "We need to get back to the hotel. Our manager has some business to discuss with us."
"Will any of you be staying?" she asked.
"I am" Jake and Mitch answered simultaneously.
"There is no fucking way I am allowing you to stay with her. You are the last person she'll want to see," Jake sneered.
"She's my fiancée!" Mitch argued.
"Funny way of showing it! You have some nerve even looking at her after what you did! You cheating son of a bitch!"
The word cheating set Izzie. "Okay, you know what? Neither of you will be staying. Her bodyguard and any blood relative may stay, but you two are out!"
The six men were surprised by the finality in the beautiful doctor's voice.
"Jake is her cousin. He'll stay," Spencer declared. Izzie nodded and pointed to the door.
"I want everybody but Jake out. Visiting hours were overlong ago. Samantha doesn't need people arguing around her. She will already be in enough pain. "
The men slowly made their way out of the room. Mitch didn't budge.
"Mr. West, you have to leave."
"She's my fiancée."
Jake looked ready to pounce again.
"I'm sorry, Mr. West. You either leave now or I will have you escorted out."
"Come on, man. We have to get tour cancellations taken care of. We'll be back first thing in the morning," Gavin comforted. Mitch hung his head low and walked out. Izzie could hear a heated exchange begin as soon as the door slammed shut.
"Isthere any way to have Mitchell West banned from seeing her?" Jake inquired.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want him banner?" Izzie replied, sitting down in the chair closest to the bed.
"The rat bastard proposed to her while cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend."
The scorned woman in Izzie reared her hateful head. Images of Alex with Olivia flashed through her mind. "I'll see what can be done."
Cristina laid down on the vacated gurney. She was beat. By now she should be used to the minimum amount of sleep she got. A cup of coffee was placed in front of her face.
"I love you," she mumbled into the mattress. Preston chuckled and sat down on the gurney.
"You're avoiding me."
"I've never been one to meet the parents. I've never met anyone's parents."
"You survived dinner at the Webbers'."
"Adele Webber is not your mother."
Preston sniggered and pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Burke invited Yang to meet his mother," Miranda said casually, refilling her cup with orange juice. Addison spun away from her coffee-making.
"Burke asked Cristina to go to Alabama?" she repeated.
"Uh-huh," Miranda nodded.
"Well, she won Adele over."
"Adele is nothing compared to Lydia Burke. Burke's mother came out last year. She harped on everything. From the way he dressed to the way he stood. And then she ranted and raved at the Christmas party about why he wasn't involved with anyone. If Yang survives Christmas with her, I will let her into any surgery she wants."
"Izzie kicked rock stars out of the hospital," George told Alex. Alex looked up from his study guide in surprise.
"According to one of the nurses, she went off on the guys of Chemical Abrasion and Infinite Abyss," he continued.
"So attempting to talk to her would be a bad idea?"
"Oh yeah."