Chap 13
A/N: This story was supposed to be like 2k words and a one-shot, and here we are, chapter 13, over 50k words.
Meredith looked around the restaurant in awe. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Addison sat down across from her, and she smiled softly. The scenery may have been beautiful, but Addison was stunningly gorgeous. They'd had a shorter shift than normal, due to the trial, but still, it had been a long day. But as she gazed at Addison across the table, any tiredness she felt was pushed away. She was here in this beautiful restaurant, with Addison sitting across from her, smiling at her.
She tried to think of the last time she'd been on an actual date. She and Derek hadn't gone to fancy restaurants like this. She pushed Derek from her mind. He didn't deserve a single second of her time. Not anymore.
"You okay?" Addison questioned, her voice dragging her from her thoughts, and when she looked over at her, she saw that a frown had etched itself across her lips.
She smiled at her, "Yeah, got lost in my head there."
"This isn't too much, is it?"
She shook her head, "Not at all. It's perfect. You are perfect, Addison."
Addison smirked, looking much more like herself than she had in the last minute, "You're not too bad yourself, Meredith."
"And she came running out of her home office, screeching at me at the top of her lungs," Meredith explained through an infectious laugh, and she couldn't help but laugh along with her, "All because I'd slept with one of her residents. It got her attention, just not the way I wanted."
They'd discussed their pasts, leaving out the parts that involved Derek, ("I slept with George" and "I aborted Mark's baby." "I had a miscarriage during the shooting" and "I'm barren." "You leaving for L.A. almost killed me" and "You nearly drowning almost killed me." "I stopped swimming" and "My mother killed herself.") and they found that discussing even their darkest secrets wasn't as hard as they'd first believed. It didn't feel like a first date; it felt like they had been going to dinner for years. It felt so natural. And eventually, they'd moved on from their relationships to discussing their family lives.
Ellis Grey may have been a talented surgeon, but her motherly instincts were drowned out by her obsession with perfectionism. Meredith had to be perfect, had to get the best grades; Ellis wouldn't have accepted anything else. Her mother had practically forced her to become a surgeon with her nitpicking. And as for Bizzy Forbes Montgomery…
"My mother hid a sordid lesbian affair with her personal assistant from me for 20 years," Addison said as the laughing came to a stop.
"What?" Meredith's smile froze for a second, before she'd started laughing again, "You're joking!"
"Oh, no," She answered with her own chuckle, "Shocked the hell out of me. I opened the door and there they were, my mother and Susan, kissing in her hotel room."
"My mother's affair with Webber shocked me too," Meredith confessed, "I'm sure that's part of the reason I became a surgeon."
She nodded in sympathy, "I can understand that," She raised her wine glass towards her with a delighted glint in her eye, "To our mothers?"
Meredith smirked at her, raising her own glass to clink against hers, "To our mothers."
"You know," She began after the waiter had brought out their entrees and another bottle of wine, "My mother slapped me when I told her I couldn't do anything to save Susan."
Meredith hummed softly, "My dad slapped me after I told him we'd lost his wife Susan on the operating table."
And it was ironic that they'd both been slapped by a family member over someone named Susan.
"She was my favorite of my mother's assistants," Addison mused, "It took them 20 years, but they finally got married. Bizzy finally divorced the Captain and married Susan. And then Susan died. And then my mother died."
"My Susan wanted me to be part of her family," Meredith replied softly, "But all I saw was someone that my dad had picked over me, and I think that I hated her for it. And then she died." She reached over and placed her hand on top of Meredith's, making the blonde's eyes jump to hers, "Sorry, that was…"
She smiled at her, "Dark and twisty?" Meredith nodded, a faint blush coming onto her cheeks, "It's a good thing I love that about you." She inwardly smirked as her words made Meredith's blush deepen. She used her free hand to stab a piece of her steak, holding it out towards Meredith, "Have a bite?"
And when Meredith carefully pulled the bite off with her teeth and chewed slowly, she couldn't stop her own blush from creeping up her neck to settle on her cheeks.
"It's very good," Meredith held out her fork, speared with a piece of grilled chicken, "Your turn."
They took turns feeding each other occasionally off their plates, and the somber mood slowly dissipated until they were laughing and cracking jokes again.
Addison pulled out her card to pay, letting the waiter know to add a twenty percent tip, all without even looking at the bill. Meredith had to stop herself from gawking at her. She had a sizable trust fund too, not billions worth, but still.
"Are you always this carefree with money?" She asked carefully after the waiter went to run Addison's card. She wasn't trying to be rude, she was just naturally curious.
Addison smiled at her gently, and she knew she hadn't offended her by asking, "The owner is an old friend. But to answer your question, no, I'm not. If I want to buy something, I'll debate with myself. I may have been born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I know not to waste money." She glanced at the bill then but showed no outward signs of distress; though with her trust fund, Meredith doubted much could.
"How much was it?" She asked, even more curious. Addison raised her eyebrow at her, but she was no longer an intern and it wasn't that scary anymore, "Addie, let me be curious."
"I thought that was what tonight was for?" Addison answered, and she nearly swallowed her tongue.
Still, Addison smiled at her and slid over the bill. Her eyes went wide.
"Plus a twenty percent tip," she looked up at the redhead, wide-eyed.
"Hey, always tip your servers," Addison fixed her with a loving smile, one that made her heart skip a beat and her palms start to get sweaty, "And besides you, Meredith Grey, are worth every penny. You, you're everything. If I went broke tomorrow, I wouldn't care, as long as I have you."
She felt tears start to well up in her eyes, but luckily she was saved from a response by their waiter returning.
"Katarina sends her love, Ms. Montgomery," the waiter said as he handed back her card and she signed the restaurant's receipt.
Addison smiled at him, "Thank you for a lovely evening, Marco. We had an amazing time."
Meredith snapped out of her thoughts, blinking back her tears, "Yeah, thank you."
He smiled at them both, "Have a great rest of your evening, ladies."
As he walked away, she glanced at Meredith, "Ready to go?"
Meredith smiled and nodded. They made their way to the exit, and Meredith helped her with her coat, before she returned the favor. Sometime during the last hour and a half, the sky had turned a stormy grey, and as they made their way to the car, the clouds opened up, soaking Seattle with an evening thunderstorm.
The quick dash from the car to the porch had them both soaked within seconds, but Meredith found that she didn't care. The anxiety she got over storms wasn't as bad as it normally was. And that had everything to do with the woman beside her. Addison made her feel completely safe, completely protected.
"I may be slightly afraid of storms," She said over the roar of thunder.
"We'd better get inside then," Addison acknowledged with a soft smile.
"I'm not afraid right now," She replied.
"No?" Addison asked.
"No," She answered, and then she stepped forward and kissed her.
She kissed the redhead with everything she had, every emotion, every feeling. She poured her soul into the kiss, pressing the redhead against the door hungrily. Addison let out a low moan that was swallowed up by the storm, before she was being kissed back just as fiercely.
She hissed as Addison bit her lower lip, but the sting was quickly forgotten. Addison grabbed the lapels of her jacket, holding on tightly as she continued to devour her mouth. They pulled back from one another when the need for air became too much, breathing hard. Addison's eyes were dark with desire, her pupils blown wide; she knew hers were exactly the same. She was feeling uncomfortably wet and not just from the storm.
God, she needed more. She'd once remarked that surgery was a high, that she didn't know why anyone did drugs when you had that rush, but kissing Addison Montgomery had become an addiction, a high that overtook surgery. And she needed more.
"More." She wasn't even aware she'd said the word out loud until Addison had flipped their positions, and she was leaning back against the door, staring into Addison's eyes.
There was nothing stopping them tonight. There were no emergencies at the hospital, no pages they had to respond to. They had the house to themselves. There were no distractions. They were just Addison and Meredith. And it was enough.
Addison kissed her again.
Meredith was pretty sure she'd reached enlightenment. She was flying high, higher and higher, her fingers grasping at the bed sheets and twisting, holding on tightly. She looked down and found Addison watching her intently, two fingers pumping inside her slowly while her tongue ran tight circles on her clit. It was slow and torturous and she wanted to come, damn it.
"Please," She managed, the pleasure making her half-delirious.
Something flashed in Addison's eyes, and she lowered her head back down, pulling her fingers out to start licking at her pussy again. She arched into her, but Addison had to have anticipated that she would because she shifted slightly, to keep herself in the same spot. She shifted her hand up to start rubbing two fingers on her clit, and she was right there, on the edge.
And then Addison brought her other hand up, positioned three fingers back at her entrance, and she moaned in relief as Addison pushed them inside slowly. But there was nothing slow about the way Addison adjusted her position and started fucking her hard, keeping steady pressure on her clit. It was perfect.
"Oh, fuck! Addison!" Her eyes rolled back as she came hard. Seconds (minutes? hours?) later, Addison looked at her with a satisfied smirk, pulling her fingers out slowly, making her shudder, "Oh, wow."
"Good?" Addison questioned as she moved up her body, pressing open-mouth kisses along her throat.
"Mmm," she hummed with a smile, pulling Addison up more so she could kiss her lips, moaning as she tasted herself, "Amazing."
"Amazing, huh?" Addison laughed softly.
"So amazing," she repeated before she was switching their positions, staring down at the redhead, "Let me return the favor."
"Please," Addison's voice was low, her desire bleeding into her voice.
She made her way down her body slowly, pressing kisses everywhere, listening to every sound Addison made. Addison's fingers tangled in her hair, moaning as she nipped at her hip in response.
"You are so," Addison started, and then lost her train of thought as she shifted her attention to her pussy, taking a slow lick. Her fingers tightened in her hair, and she smirked as she took another slow pass through her pussy, moaning softly. She couldn't believe how wet she was, and she couldn't get enough of her sweetness.
She glanced up at Addison and was intoxicated by the lust in her eyes, "I'm so?" But she didn't let Addison answer, lowering her head back down.
As the storm raged outside, she focused on Addison; every sound Addison made, every moan, every gasp. And when she gently pulled her head back to focus on her clit, she was sure Addison actually whimpered. She inwardly grinned, moving her free hand up to push two fingers inside the redhead's pussy, and then mimicked Addison's earlier ministrations by focusing on her clit with her tongue. When Addison came, she pulled on her hair, bucking into her mouth as she cried out her name.
Forget kissing Addison. Seeing her come was the biggest high of her life.
Addison let out a whimper as Meredith pulled her fingers out, and she gently untangled hers from her hair. She snagged Meredith's as the blonde made her way up her body again, drawing the nimble digits into her mouth to taste herself. Meredith moaned at the action, and she locked eyes with her as she slowly removed the fingers from her mouth one by one. Meredith settled over her again, and she pulled her down to kiss her.
"Are you sure this is your first time?" she joked.
Meredith laughed, "I'm sure."
"Mmm," she hummed softly, "I don't know if I believe that." She grinned at Meredith's confused look and kissed her again. Meredith settled on her lap, and she grasped her hips gently as she sat propped up against the pillows, "You are too good at it for it to be your first time."
"Well, I had to make a good first impression."
"You made an excellent first impression, Dr. Grey," she husked as she leaned forward, dragging her teeth against the blonde's neck before slowly sucking on her pulse point, "It was very enlightening."
"Oh," Meredith breathed out as she leaned into her, "I'm glad, Dr. Montgomery."
"You're not too tired yet, are you?"
Meredith shook her head, and the smell of lavender overtook her senses, "Not at all. You?"
She took delight in the way Meredith moaned as she skillfully slipped two fingers inside her again, "Oh, don't you worry about me," She began, taking in the hazy swirl of arousal in her lover's eyes. So delicious, "I'll tell you when I've had enough. This is about you right now." Meredith moaned softly, and she focused on the way Meredith arched into her touch, her eyes nearly black with desire. Oh fuck yes.
Meredith blinked awake just as the sunlight was starting to spill into the room. It was definitely too early to be up, and she let out a low sigh as she relaxed further back into Addison, who had one arm wrapped around her, the other tucked underneath the pillow she slept on. The neonatal surgeon was pressed up against her, holding her close, and it made her heart swell with love.
God, how could one person be so undeniably perfect? She had felt so unloved so many times growing up, by so many people, but with just a look, Addison made her forget all of that. Addison made her feel so loved and cherished, and she couldn't help but love her back. She'd thought that Derek was the great love of her life, but she'd been wrong. It was Addison. It had always been Addison. It just took her forever to see it.
She relaxed against Addison, deciding that she should try to get more sleep. After all, they had to get Zola sometime this morning.
When she woke up again, it was to Addison running her fingers through her hair. She turned in her arms and was instantly captivated by the contentment and love that shone in the redhead's eyes. She wasn't sure anyone had ever looked at her like that, not even…
"What's got you in your head this morning?" Addison questioned, drawing her from her thoughts.
Despite herself, she blushed, "Nothing, just thinking."
"All good thoughts I hope."
"The best," She confirmed, leaning into her to kiss her gently, "Last night was amazing, Addison."
The redhead grinned into the kiss, "So you said. A lot."
"Well it was," She replied with a quiet laugh.
"It was," Addison agreed as she gently ran her hand across her cheek before she leaned down to kiss her again, "And you were amazing too."
"Well, I had a very good teacher," She replied.
Addison's eyes darkened with lust, "Did you now?"
"Mhmm," The desire in Addison's eyes was so hot, and she couldn't help but be turned on by it, "How about I show you what I learned?"
Addison settled back against the bed, drawing her back on top of her, "By all means, let me see."
"Did you hear that Dr. Herman is covering for Addison today?" Amelia asked Callie as she passed her and Arizona in the hallway.
Callie looked at the clock, "It's like 9 am, they could still show up before noon."
"Hey," Cristina called as she and Teddy made their way towards them, "do you know why Webber is taking Mere's cases today?"
"I doubt that," Amelia muttered to the ortho goddess.
Dr. Nicole Herman watched the Attendings talk in quiet clumps and couldn't help but be intrigued. She found Miranda Bailey at the surgical board and walked up to her.
"What's got their panties all in a twist?"
Bailey smirked, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I doubt that."
"They made a few bets last night about Drs. Meredith Grey and Montgomery, and they're waiting to see who wins the money."
"A bet, seriously?" She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Finding the one she wanted, she hit talk and held the phone to her ear. She couldn't help but notice the Attendings looking over at her curiously.
Bailey glanced at her, "Are you seriously…"
"Addison, hi, it's Nicole. I'm good. Tell me, are you planning on coming to work today, or are you going to stay in bed all day with your lesbian lover?" She listened for a few minutes and then, "I understand completely. Yes, mhmm, you too." And then she disconnected.
"Well?" Bailey asked.
"They're not going to be in today. Addison was trying to explain but I'm sure Dr. Grey was…"
"That's enough," Bailey cut her off, holding up her hand, "I do not now, nor do I ever, want to hear about the shenanigans that Meredith Grey and Addison Montgomery get up to in their own home."
"Did they make it past dessert?" Dr. Yang spoke up, and she turned to her and Drs. Shepherd and Torres.
"I'm sure they're enjoying their dessert right…"
"You know what," Callie interrupted, fishing out a $50, "I really don't want to know. Here," She handed the $50 to Bailey.
"I second that," Cristina added and did the same.
Amelia seemed conflicted for half a second, "Fine. I'll grill them later," She pulled out her own $50 and gave it to Bailey.
The shorter woman looked between the three of them, "I said $100 they wouldn't come in."
She watched, amused, as the three women each handed Bailey another $50 and then walked away, looking dejected.
Bailey handed her $100, "For your troubles, Dr. Herman."
She smiled as she pocketed the money. Today was going to be a good day.
Addison placed her phone back on the bedside table, annoyed that she'd even picked up at all.
"Who was on the phone?" Meredith asked as she entered the bathroom to find the blonde adjusting the temperature for the shower.
"It was Nicole Herman. She agreed to cover for me today. But when I answered, she hung up."
Meredith looked back at her, "That's odd, isn't it?"
"Very," But she pushed the weird call and anything to do with work out of her mind. If it was really important, Owen would call, or Nicole would call again. She sighed as Meredith kissed her softly, opening the shower door, "I suddenly don't care anymore."
Meredith laughed softly.
It had been a long shift, and he was glad it was over. Mark smiled as he saw Lexie making her ways towards him, Zola in her arms.
"You have a munchkin," he said, as he kissed her softly.
"Meredith asked if we'd drop her off and I said we would. I hope that's okay."
"Of course it is," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to Zola's cheek, "How you doing, Munchkin? Ready to go find your mommies?"
Zola smiled at him sleepily, "Ma, Ma." He and Lexie chuckled.
As they made their way to the exit, he spoke, "We're going to have the best lives, Lexie. I'm going to marry you someday."
She blushed, "Are you now?"
"Definitely," he confirmed, "I love you, Lexie Grey. We were supposed to end up together. It's you and me. We're meant to be."
She smiled at him, kissing him softly, "Meant to be."
Jackson and April watched from the nurse's station as Mark and Lexie walked out for the night, Zola falling asleep on Lexie's shoulder.
"Jackson?"
"Hm?"
"I want to have a family with you," She looked over at him and smiled, "Not right away, but when we're both ready. I want to have a family with you."
"I want that too, April."
"Really?"
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, "Yeah, really. I love you."
She grinned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him, "I love you too."
Bailey sat in one of the many conference rooms, going over her charts. She didn't mind doing it, especially with the screw up the one resident had done. It was something that she looked forward to, taking her mind off the grueling days.
"There you are," She looked up at Ben's voice, allowing a smile to grace her lips.
"Benjamin Warren, I thought you'd forgotten about me."
He eased into the chair beside her, "Never. I was thinking we could take-out, stay in and rent a movie."
She glanced over at him before focusing back on the charts, "I'll be done in about 20 minutes."
He smirked at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "I don't mind waiting. I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you."
"I wasn't the one that wanted to go off to med school again."
"Miranda," he sighed, but then he saw her smile.
"20 minutes, Ben Warren, and then we can get out of here for the night."
"Okay," he answered.
Meredith placed Zola gently in her crib, covering her with her blanket and making sure she had her favorite toy elephant. She heard Addison downstairs, laughing at something Mark was saying, and she felt her heart swell with love. To think she may never have had this chance. Maybe the plane crash, as traumatic as it had been, was a blessing in disguise. No, that was stupid to even think that. It wasn't a blessing disguise. It was just a wake up call that she had desperately needed.
"Did you ever think we'd be this happy?" Lexie questioned as she stepped into the room, "That we'd get to have this chance to be happy?"
"No, I didn't," she answered honestly, "I didn't expect a lot of things. Everything with Derek spiraled so far out of control. It was like one moment I was happy and the next," She looked down at Zola sleeping peacefully, "I never thought that Addison, that she would be the one, you know? I thought my one was Derek, that he was who I wanted. But Addison; she doesn't expect me to change, she accepts me for being all dark and twisty. She talks to me like a person, not as a stepping stone for her career. She just…"
"Sets your soul on fire," Lexie finished for her, and she nodded, "I get that. Mark does the same thing to me."
"Yeah," She said softly, but wasn't sure what she was agreeing to.
She turned to face Lexie, and couldn't stop herself from thinking back to the nightmares of seeing her die, over and over, for weeks. She pulled her into a hug, resting her head on her shoulder, "Meredith?"
"Just let me hug you, okay?"
"Okay," Lexie replied, and she sighed softly, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," she replied, and for a few minutes, she held Lexie close, willing the images in her head away: when they finally faded, she found the willpower to speak. "Promise me," She began, "Promise me that if I try to screw this up, that you'll stop me. I don't know how to do this again. I gave so much to Derek. I love her and I'm afraid and I don't want to push her away."
Lexie smiled, "I promise."
All that Addison was expecting on her first day back was to do a couple C-sections. She did have a conversation with Nicole about her odd phone call; the fetal surgeon had let her talk before asking her if she'd had a nice day off, smirking at her like she knew exactly what she and Meredith had been doing.
She'd had lunch with Meredith and Zola in the cafeteria, had gone to another board meeting - this time insisting that Meredith be allowed to sit in - and had just saved the life of a premature baby girl. So, all things considered, she was having a fantastic day.
Her pager beeped as she was scrubbing out of the aforementioned surgery, so she set off to the E.R.
Richard watched as Addison made her way towards himself and the patient, her brows knitted together in confusion. In actuality, he was confused too. Why a pregnant young woman had come all the way from L.A. to see Addison was confusing. She had to be close to 8 months, maybe even into the ninth month. Surely, that wasn't safe, even if she had flown.
"Judi, what are you doing here?" Addison questioned, "Does anyone know where you are? Your mother?"
Judi looked uneasy and glanced at the floor, "No."
"What are you doing here?" She questioned again.
He spoke up, trying to shift the focus back to their patient's issue, "Judi here has been having abdominal pain. Thinks it may be pre-labor symptoms."
In an instant, he watched Addison switch from a concerned friend to a concerned doctor.
"Let's get you checked out, alright?"
The young adult nodded, "Are you going to call my mom?"
"You're 18, so I'm not going to do that."
"What, no inspirational quote about how she's my mom and she should know?"
Addison smiled softly, but he saw the pain in her eyes; he knew how Bizzy had passed, so it was probably still affecting her, "No, nothing like that. The decision is all yours. Why are you even here? I handed your case off to Dr. King."
"I can't take care of him; I don't have a support system. But you do, Dr. Montgomery. I still want you to be my baby's mom."
"Judi," Addison began, and then she paused, "let's start with getting you checked out, alright?"
Addison wasn't panicking. Not at all. She wasn't. Except she was, she was panicking. Because when Judi had first come to her a few months back, when she was still in L.A., she'd wholly considered adopting her baby boy. Judi had already been thinking of adoption, had already suggested the idea, and she had wanted a baby, and this was her chance. But a lot had changed.
When she'd handed the case off to Charlotte, she never expected to see Judi again, let alone have her come all the way to Seattle. And if it were just her, she would adopt the baby in a heartbeat. But it wasn't. She had Meredith to think about too. And Zola. She couldn't just make a life decision like this on her own, not anymore.
She paced the Attendings lounge while the nurses prepped Judi for delivery. She was 35 weeks, but the baby was going to be here today whether she liked it or not.
"Addison?" Meredith's voice snapped her from her thoughts, and she turned to face her, "What's wrong?"
She didn't have much time, she knew that.
"When I was in L.A.," she began, stepping in front of the blonde, "I had this case. 18 year old expecting mother, terrified and on her own. And she wanted to give her baby up for adoption. She was about 6 months when I went down to L.A. and I handed her case off to Charlotte at St. Ambrose," Meredith nodded along as she spoke, "She just showed up in the E.R. Richard paged me. She asked for me. And she's going into labor about a month early."
"I don't see the problem," Meredith said, tilting her head in confusion.
"Right um," God, she was nervous, "in L.A., we'd discussed the possibility of me adopting her baby. And she still wants that. Me to adopt him. That's why she came here."
"Oh," Meredith breathed out softly, and she released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"I wanted a baby. I've always wanted a baby," She explained, "And I thought that adoption was my last chance. But now," She took a breath, "Now, I have you, and I have Zola, and that's enough for me, Meredith. But I," She stopped, unable to voice any more of her rambling thoughts.
"You want another baby," Meredith answered simply.
"I want another baby," She ran a hand over her face, "I know it's so sudden, and we haven't talked about more kids." They hadn't talked about a lot of things, honestly. They were still so new, "I don't know what to do. If it was just me, I would say yes in a heartbeat."
Meredith smiled at her then, gently grabbing her arms as she started to pace again, and her jumbled thoughts suddenly stopped. She looked at the blonde, her eyes lit with unease, "I think we're doing everything out of order here, Addie," Meredith began, and she nodded along, "but if this is really what you want, I'm not going to stop you."
Despite the elation that shot through her, she kept her voice even, "I don't want to overstep."
Meredith pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "Addison, you are not overstepping. You uprooted your entire life in L.A. I'm happy that a pregnant patient followed you to Seattle and not some crazy ex."
"Still, we should discuss it." Her pager went off then, and she cursed as she looked at it.
"I think we're out of time," Meredith said with amusement in her eyes.
"I'll page you when it's over."
And when Meredith kissed her, she relaxed, "I'll be right behind you."
"Okay," she replied.
The baby boy's cry was loud and strong. Judi felt tears in her eyes but quickly blinked them away. She watched as a team of nurses took him away to weigh him and get him cleaned off. Dr. Montgomery took care of the afterbirth quickly, and she sighed as she rested back on the bed.
"You did good, Judi," Dr. Montgomery said softly as she removed her gloves and grabbed a clean pair.
"I never want to do that again," she replied with a weak laugh. The pain had been nearly unbearable, and she was tired.
The nurses brought the baby boy back in, swaddled and squirming slightly. She looked at him and felt her tears quickly return.
"Did you want to hold him?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The nurse settled him in her arms, showing her the correct way to hold him.
"He's beautiful," she whispered and forced her voice not to crack with emotion. Her little boy, her little miracle. She looked up to see Dr. Montgomery updating her chart quietly, "Do you want to hold him?"
The redhead looked up, glancing at her from behind her glasses, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," She watched as the redhead set down the chart and carefully took him into her arms, smiling down at him softly. She looked so natural holding him, "I want an open adoption."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, "I need you to take him, Dr. Montgomery. I need you to be his mom."
"Judi."
"I can't give him the life he needs." She couldn't stop the tears from falling now, "I'll sign the adoption papers today. I just, I can't. I can't be his mom."
"Hey, hey, woah," Dr. Montgomery gently placed him in the bassinet before making her way to her, "breathe, Judi. Deep breaths."
"Will you adopt him? Will you adopt Henry?"
"Is that what you want to name him?"
She nodded, "He looks like a Henry, don't you think?"
The redhead nodded her head in agreement, "I think so."
"I think so too." She glanced over at the doorway, to find a blonde woman leaning against the open door, her eyes twinkling with warmth.
The neonatal Attending smiled softly, "Meredith." And just by the way she'd said the blonde's name, she knew there was something between them, "Judi, this is Dr. Grey; she's a General Attending here."
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Meredith stepped from the doorway, "Little Henry, huh?"
She nodded with a soft smile, which quickly morphed into a frown, "Is it okay that I name him?"
"Of course it is," Dr. Montgomery replied, placing a hand on her arm.
"You'll do it then?" She looked from Meredith and then back to the redhead, "You'll take him? You'll love him?"
"Yes," Meredith answered.
"We will," the other woman agreed with a nod.
She smiled at the redhead, "Thank you," She turned to the General Attending, "Did you want to hold him too, Dr. Grey?"
Meredith nodded and walked over to where Dr. Montgomery sat beside her, gently picking Henry up. He started to wail loudly, but Meredith shushed him, gently rocking him.
"You getting hungry, little guy?"
As she slowly fell asleep, she knew she made the right decision. Henry would be safe and loved and cared for. That was all she wanted for him.
A/N: Okay, so the final chapter is next, which is going to be an epilogue. Hopefully, this didn't feel rushed. I tried to keep it from feeling rushed. Thanks for reading this chapter! Please review!