After Addison talked to the rest of the practice, Amelia became the newest doctor at Oceanside Wellness. Derek called their mother to fill her in on their new living arrangements. But he only did it after Amelia begged him to call for her. In exchange for a favor, to cash in sometime in the future, of course.

About two months later, Amelia started to settle nicely at the Montgomery-Shepherd house. Nate still wasn't sleeping through the night, but he was getting close. At almost six months old, he'd get to about four hours before inevitably waking up, crying for attention. And unfortunately, everyone else started getting used to it. It didn't mean they didn't want to get more sleep. Nate just didn't seem interested in maintaining a strict sleep schedule. Despite their efforts.

As for Mark, he and Lexie maintained a casual relationship of sorts. It wasn't anything more than sleeping together on a regular basis. They didn't label it as anything; they didn't feel the need to. Mark didn't want it to be anything more than what it was at the moment. He had a teenage daughter; and a baby grandson. Technically. Even if he was more like Nate's uncle at this point, because he was also their best friend's son.

In other words, it was complicated. He didn't need a real relationship with some girl in her 20s. In fact, he didn't need a real relationship right now. After seeing Lexie slip out of an on-call room with Mark, exiting shortly afterward for the third time that week, Addison finally had to confront him.

"Ahem," Addison cleared her throat somewhat dramatically as she followed Mark around the corner.

"Hey, Red," Mark said nonchalantly.

"Did you…need something?" Mark chuckled awkwardly when Addison kept following him without saying anything.

"What's going on with you and the Grey girl?" Addison asked.

"What? You jealous already?" Mark joked as he got his patient notes from the nurse's station. Addison glared back, but he could see the corner of her lips curl upward. Even if it was only a little.

"I'm serious, Mark!" Addison insisted.

"I don't know. What does it matter?" Mark brushed her off.

Truth be told, he was starting to like Lexie. And they'd gotten into the routine of having sex pretty regularly throughout the week. The last thing he wanted was for that to end.

"Because I think that's the…20th time I've caught you and Lexie coming out of an on-call room?" Addison exaggerated.

Mark rolled his eyes, knowing she hadn't really caught them that many times. Even if her number wasn't that far off from the truth.

"What does it even matter?" Mark asked, just trying to get Addison off his back at this point.

"I don't know," Addison shrugged. Why did she care so much?

"So, you are jealous," Mark teased.

"No, I am not jealous," Addison insisted. She wasn't. Everything between her and Mark had gotten back to normal. He went back to being her husband's best friend and one of her closest friends.

"So, you're saying Derek's been crabby because you guys have been going at it?" Mark joked.

Over the past week or so, Derek had been in a crabby mood. It wasn't work-related, so it had to be personal. When Mark joked the other day about him being sexually frustrated, Derek didn't insist he was wrong. Actually, he didn't say anything. He just walked away. So, he knew his suspicions about his best friend's sex life weren't completely wrong.

"Okay, I admit, we haven't been…connecting lately," Addison started.

Mark chuckled at her choice of wording. Nate's lack of sleeping anything more than four hours, on average, made it hard for either of his parents to get any sleep. Let alone have a sex life.

"But that's beside the point," Addison quickly added.

"Then what is the point?" Mark asked. He didn't see the problem in sleeping with Lexie Grey.

"The point is…there seems to be something between you and Grey. More than just your normal one-night stand. And I just…want you to be happy," Addison tried to explain. Mark raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, look. After everything with us and…," Addison gestured with her hands, knowing she didn't have to go into detail.

"I just…I want you to be happy, too. Derek and I are great, other than our lack of connecting recently," Addison said this last part quieter. The last thing she needed was for the nurses to spread this gossip to the rest of the hospital.

"But I want you to be happy, too. I know that it wasn't all your fault. And Derek knows it, too. I just…I want you to find someone, too. And be as happy as we are," Addison explained further.

It sounded and felt cheesy, but it didn't make it any less true. She knew things could've gone drastically differently. Derek could've chosen the intern, or he could've blamed the entire affair on Mark. They could've never reconciled. The three of them.

But Derek chose her. Again. And Derek did forgive not only her, but Mark, too. And now, they were the Three Musketeers, all over again. With the addition of Nate. She and Derek were deliriously happy, albeit exhausted, and perhaps a little sexually deprived. But happy. All she wanted was for Mark to find that, too.

If that meant having meaningless sex with an intern that was way too young for him, fine. But she wanted to make sure that keeping that relationship where it was would truly make him happy. If there was a chance that a meaningful relationship with this girl would make him happier than he already was, Addison wanted Mark to take that chance.

"I'm fine, Addie. But thank you," Mark finally said.

"I'm just saying, think about it," Addison added before leaving to get back to work.

Later that night, Arizona got to Callie's place after work. It'd been a long day and her ten-year-old patient asked her insistently about what it was like being with a girl. Apparently, he saw her and Callie kiss outside, near the nurse's station. And his parents were somewhat religious, and Arizona wasn't. So, to say that staying calm and informative throughout the entire day with him was an understatement. All she wanted was a quiet night with her girlfriend.

Unfortunately, she opened the door and immediately heard what she recognized as Teletubbies playing on the TV. She knew it meant there was a baby around; she just didn't know if it was Lucas, Nate, or both. After putting her purse down, Arizona went over to the kitchen, where she found Callie heating up a bottle for Lucas, who was in the living room on a playmat with some toys.

"Hey! I didn't hear you come in!" Callie said upon seeing her. She went over and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Yeah. So, how long's Lucas gonna be here?" Arizona tried to keep her tone chipper. But honestly, she was a little annoyed. This was probably the fifth time she came over to find Lucas here.

"Uh…Pete said he should be here closer to seven," Callie said. The microwave beeped, and Callie moved over to grab Lucas's bottle.

"Great," Arizona couldn't hide her annoyance well.

"Is that…okay?" Callie asked cautiously. She didn't know what the problem was. Or what it could be.

"Yeah. I just…wanted it to be us tonight," Arizona sighed.

"Well, it will be after Pete gets here," Callie explained.

"What's with all the extra babysitting, anyway?" Arizona asked.

"What do you mean? I thought you loved kids," Callie asked, confused.

"I do! But it doesn't mean I wanna be around them all the time," Arizona replied.

"You're a pediatrician. Does this mean you don't want kids?" Callie asked.

"No, of course not," Arizona said as if it were obvious.

The conversation ended as Lucas threw a rattle toward the TV, and both adults heard the noise. Callie went over to scold him, his bottle in hand as Arizona sighed. Just one more hour and Pete would be here, she thought. Supposedly. As Lucas wailed, probably just wanting his dad, Callie was relieved her conversation with Arizona was stalled for now.

"Hey, Mark?" Lexie asked as they got dressed in the on-call room.

"Yeah?" Mark glanced back briefly as he slid his scrub top back on. They'd had their fun, but he had a surgery to prep for.

"What are we doing?" Lexie asked.

"Getting dressed?" Mark asked, confused. Did she want him to say something else?

"No, I don't mean right now. I just meant, in general. What are we, Mark? I mean, it doesn't seem like you want anyone else to know, which is fine. But I…I don't know. Are we…anything? Or just…sleeping together for the fun of it?" Lexie stumbled over her words.

She asked the question, but quite frankly, she found it hard to figure out how to word what she really wanted to know from the plastic surgeon. It'd be two months of suggestive looks across the hallway when they both had time to kill. For Mark, it was the time between surgeries as his interns took care of all the pre and post-op tasks. Lexie, however, found the time while waiting for lab results, when she knew she should've been studying instead.

"I don't know. The second one. Yeah, definitely the second one," Mark replied.

"So, I'm just a sex toy to you. Great!" Lexie said sarcastically.

"What do you want from me, Grey?" Mark asked.

"I don't know. To be acknowledged or appreciated for more than my…sexual skills," Lexie whispered the last part.

"What? You want to be rewarded with surgery? Because I don't work like that, Grey," Mark said almost angrily.

"No! I just…I need to know this is going somewhere. I want more than…whatever this is," Lexie gestured to the bed sitting between them.

"I have a kid, Lexie. And a grandchild, technically," Mark started.

"How do you technically have a grandchild? You either have one or you don't," Lexie interrupted him.

"It's a long story," Mark said dismissively. Lexie sighed and looked away briefly.

"I'm sorry, Lex. I'm having fun with you, I am. And maybe if I wasn't a father and trying to be an adult, I might actually take you up on your offer and be more than…this," Mark drew circles with his hand in the air, mirroring Lexie's previous gesture.

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" Lexie asked.

"No. I just…I can't give you anything more than this right now," Mark insisted.

She was a nice girl, and part of him felt bad for potentially stringing her along. He didn't mean to do it, she just didn't seem to mind the casual nature of their quote-unquote relationship they had going so far.

"Then I don't think I can do this anymore," Lexie said before going out the door.

Mark sighed and took a deep breath before following suit. When he came out, Derek was outside just passing by. He looked down the hallway where Lexie had just turned the corner and chuckled.

"Again?" Derek asked jokingly.

"Not you too," Mark said, thinking back on his conversation with Addison earlier. Derek looked back at him, confused.

"Your wife already scolded me, so don't bother," Mark joked.

They walked the halls together in the same direction Lexie went earlier. However, she went towards the lab to pick up her patient's test results while the guys went toward the ER.

"What'd you do?" Sam asked, joining them in their walk.

"What are you doin' here?" Derek asked. All men chuckled as they each took their turn half-hugging Sam.

"Poison," Sam said bluntly.

"What? Like food poisoning or something?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, that LA restaurant scene fail you already?" Mark joked. Sam had been trying out different restaurants around the city. With Vanessa, who was schooling him in LA food history. As interesting as it all was for Sam, his stomach didn't always agree with his tastebuds, unfortunately.

"No, I mean poison poison. I think my patient's mother's poisoning him," Sam explained, chuckling at their remarks.

"With real poison?" Mark asked. He and Derek were intrigued now.

"Yeah. There's some kind of plant that, when mixed with alcohol, turns into poison. My patient's an alcoholic. And apparently, so is his son," Sam started.

"So, Grandma's poisoning them?" Derek asked. He couldn't fathom someone doing that to people they loved. Sam chuckled, nodding to confirm.

"Good luck," Derek added.

"So, why's Mark in trouble with Addie?" Sam changed the subject. Mark groaned. He had hoped he'd forgotten about that by now.

"Lexie," Derek replied. He didn't need to explain further. By now, even Sam knew about Mark and Lexie.

"Well, if it makes you all feel better, she broke it off so," Mark informed them.

"Sorry bro," Sam patted his shoulder.

"They're not even officially together," Derek pointed out.

"Really? I thought you guys were together," Sam said, surprised.

"They were. Just not officially," Derek added. Sam looked back and forth between the two men.

"Oh…I see," Sam said as he finally caught on.

"I still can't believe you got into another serious relationship instead of sleeping around. I could've been your wingman!" Mark said.

"You don't want him as your wingman," Derek commented, only half-joking.

"Hey!" Mark exclaimed.

"So, am I still sorry? Or…?" Sam joked, directing his question to Mark and his semi-breakup. Derek snickered along. Mark gave them a sarcastic smile back, but it didn't take long before he went back to looking somber.

"You really like this girl, don't you?" Sam said after seeing his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mark pretended not to care.

"Wow, who knew someone could actually steal Mark Sloan's heart?" Callie commented as she walked up to them. She'd heard the second half of their conversation as she walked behind them.

"Is this about Grey?" Callie added, chasing him as he started walking away.

"Yup," Derek confirmed. Mark glared back at him.

"Then get her back!" Callie exclaimed. Mark gave her a look.

"What? If you love her, go get her!" Callie doubled down on her remark.

"Who said I loved her? She's just a good bang," Mark said. As the words came out of his mouth, it disgusted him. He, as well as everyone around them, knew that there was more between them.

"You're disgusting. But you know I'm right," Callie added.

"I'm a father now. I can't just date anyone," Mark said.

"So? You're still human," Callie pointed out.

"Now, hang on. I get that. Vanessa's great, but I wouldn't be with her if I thought Maya wouldn't like her," Sam cut in.

"You don't think Sloan would like Lexie?" Callie asked. Mark looked at Derek.

"I can see why she'd be…apprehensive," Derek answered for him.

Sloan was Mark's priority now. He was a father now; he didn't have time to date. Even if he did, he hadn't been a father for long yet, but he knew a girlfriend would just pile on more change. Moving across the country, having a baby, giving up said baby, and moving in with a father she'd never met before was more than enough change. And they didn't even get into the fact that Lexie was young. Too young. Lexie and Sloan were closer in age when compared to her and Mark. And that was bound to make things awkward.

"So, you just…never went back to the conversation?" Addison asked after Callie told her what happened. She refilled her glass of wine as Addison, Callie, and Naomi sat on the couch.

"No! I couldn't! I mean, Lucas was being fussy, he didn't have his nap earlier and I think he was just missing Pete and…but that's beside the point," Callie got distracted as her mind drifted to talking about Lucas.

"You have to tell her!" Addison exclaimed.

"I don't wanna ruin it right now. I mean, things are great between us. Plus, she quit her job and moved here with me. I could…change my mind about kids," Callie tried to rationalize.

"No, you can't," Naomi pointed out, refilling her own glass.

"I hate to break it to you, babe, but you spend all of your free time with three people: me, Arizona, and Lucas," Addison added.

After that, they heard something plastic hit the ground. Nate sat in his high chair closer to the kitchen counter as Derek prepped dinner. He'd been playing with a toy when he dropped it on the ground.

"I got it!" Derek called out.

"And Nate and Derek," Addison pointed out. They both broke out into giggles.

"Ugh, maybe you're right," Callie groaned dramatically.

"I am! And for the record, I'm always right," Addison joked before taking a sip of her wine.

"She is," Derek commented. Addison blushed.

"See?" Addison joked.

Callie laughed and nodded her head, knowing that her friends were right. She couldn't pretend like she didn't want kids. That she wasn't desperate for a kid. Or kids. Taking care of other people's kids was great, but she wanted one of her own. And she wanted Arizona to be the one that would share that desire and experience with her. She loved her, but she wanted a baby more. It didn't have to happen now or anytime soon, but it'd have to be somewhere down the line. Otherwise, what was the point of staying together if they didn't want the same things?

"What about you?" Callie turned their attention to Naomi.

"Fife's in love with me," Noami stated as she went over to grab the box of chocolates on the coffee table. Callie and Addison looked at each other, shocked.

"Really?" Addison asked.

"Mm-hmm," Naomi nodded, chocolate still in her mouth.

"You're sure?" Addison asked.

"Yeah. Because he told me so. He said I make him a better person," Naomi started.

"Wait, isn't Fife the researcher that works at the practice?" Callie asked.

"Mm-hmm," Addison confirmed, nodding before taking a sip from her glass.

"Damn it," Naomi said, grabbing another piece of chocolate from the box.

"Yeah…Geez, how do you turn down the guy in the wheelchair?" Addison said. Callie couldn't help but giggle.

"What? Oh God, I don't even notice the wheelchair anymore," Naomi brushed it off.

"I mean, but who? Who does he think he is? How does he get off loving me? I mean, he is mean. He is mean and sarcastic, and he's morally adrift. He'd steal my DNA and clone me if he could get away with it. He…he is everything I hate. No, he's not…he's not allowed to love me!" Naomi rambled. Callie and Addison looked at each other.

"Oh," Addison commented, grabbing the chocolate box and offering it to Callie before getting a piece for herself.

"What?" Naomi asked, noticing their suspicious looks.

"You like him," Addison said.

"No, I am dating William," Naomi insisted.

"You like him a lot," Callie added, giggling.

"Oh my God. I like him a lot," Naomi said, realizing they were right.

"Yes," Callie and Addison said simultaneously.

As the girls kept drinking their wine and eating their chocolate, the gossip continued. They talked about Mark and Lexie, which even Naomi knew about. Granted, she only knew because Addison told her, but still. The fact that it went on for over a month meant something.

"You really think Mark is serious about this…Lexie girl?" Naomi asked, looking at Addison when she forgot her name.

"I mean, he looked pretty upset today," Callie commented.

"Then why'd he break it off?" Naomi asked. Mark wasn't someone who usually gave up a good thing.

"Well, according to the nurses, she's actually the one that broke it off. But that's not the point. The point is, he doesn't think Sloan will like her," Callie said. Naomi shrugged and made a face, suggesting she understood why.

"Okay, well, in defense of my son's baby mama," Addison started. Callie and Naomi laughed in response.

"Sloan is a good kid. And she's been through a lot of change lately, but I think she can handle it if Mark talks to her about it," Addison added.

"Yeah, but will he?" Naomi asked. Callie pointed, agreeing with her.

"He will if I talk to him. Or Derek," Addison replied, looking over at her husband. Derek looked up just as he was taking Nate out of his high chair.

"I think that's a job for Mama," Derek said, looking at Nate when he did. Naomi, Callie, and Addison put their glasses down on the farther side of the coffee table as Derek brought Nate to them.

"Hi, baby," Addison cooed as Derek placed Nate in her arms.

After that, they spent the next 20 minutes playing with the baby and encouraging his babbles. The three women continued their conversation, however. And by the end of the night, they all had a plan. Naomi would figure out which guy she liked more (though, Addison and Callie already suspected Fife would beat out William in that argument), Callie would talk to Arizona about how she wanted a baby (not today, but someday), and Addison would get through to Mark.

A/N: Not as much Addek this time, but plenty of stuff for Calzona and Slexie fans. As for references, Sam's patient that he talks about briefly is all the way from season one (1x02, to be specific). Addison's (and Lexie's) patients are the parents and baby from Private Practice episode 4x05, which is also why we get an appearance from Dr. Rodriguez. And there's no flirting this time between him and Addison because she's obviously happy with Derek. And Naomi talking about Fife is from 3x16. There will be more Addek in the next chapter (most of which is already written), so look out for that!

I just wanted this chapter to be more about Mark and Lexie's situation and introducing the whole thing about Arizona not wanting to have kids conflict with Callie. And I haven't given an update on Naomi for a while, so I figured that was also long overdue. And not that anyone asked, but Violet's still not back, so that's why Callie's watching Lucas so much. Eventually, Sam and Vanessa will get more of an update as well, by the way. I just didn't have enough space to add my ideas for that just yet. Thanks for reading and the next chapter update will be coming soon!