The sudden sound of Pat Benatar made Addison jump. She reached across her bed to her cell phone on the nightstand. The chorus of "Love is a Battlefield" brought her out of a dream, rather, a nightmare.

"Uhhllo?" her voice was groggy with sleep.

"Addison?" Meredith's voice was frantic with fear, and she was crying. "I…can't…I…can you…"

"Meredith?" she was now fully awake. "Slow down and take a breath. What's wrong?"

"I can't breathe. My…" she choked on a sob.

"Where are you? Where is Derek?"

"The trailer. He got paged."

"Try to relax. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Addison pulled on the pants she had worn to the hospital that day and didn't bother to change out of the t-shirt she had been sleeping in. After pulling on her red Prada heels, the only shoes she could find at 2 am, she sped toward Derek's trailer. When she arrived, Meredith was sitting on the small couch, shaking. She pulled her into her arms for a moment.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Earlier today, Derek wouldn't leave me alone. I begged him to go back to the hospital after he dropped me off here, but he wouldn't." she paused to breathe.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"No. Right after he left, I felt really scared. Every time I close my eyes, I feel like I'm back in the bay."

"It sounds like you might be experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder."

"I don't want to be alone."

"Would you like to come back to my apartment?"

"Umm…yeah…that would be great. Thanks."

Addison glanced around the trailer, looking for extra clothes for Meredith. She quickly threw a few things into a bag and handed Meredith a sweatshirt to wear over her tank top. While she was gathering Meredith's things, Meredith remained on the couch, curled into a ball. As soon as she closed the trailer door to go put the bag into her car, Meredith began to scream. Addison dropped the bag onto the tiny porch and stepped back inside.

"I felt like I was sinking when I closed my eyes!" she cried.

"You're okay though. Let's go back to my place." Addison held out her hand to help Meredith off the couch.

When the two women stepped off of the elevator, Meredith froze in her footsteps. She glanced around the entry hall to Addison's penthouse apartment.

"You said you lived in an apartment. This is a mansion on the top of an apartment building."

"Only the outside is this fancy. I decorated the inside."

They stepped into the penthouse, and Meredith looked around. The apartment was furnished with designer furniture, rugs, curtains, and everything, but it still felt warm and comfortable. She looked through the arch in the foyer toward the kitchen. All the appliances were stainless steel, the floor was marble. In the living room, a huge window was framed by French curtains. The entire room was decorated in a French theme.

"What's with the Henry VIII theme?"

"Well, I spent two years in France as a teenager and loved it. After that, I always decorated one room in my house in a French theme. Derek would never let me do the living room, so this time I went a little crazy."

"I like it."

"Good. Let me show you the guest room."

She put Meredith's things on the bed and continued the tour of the apartment. When they had seen each room, Meredith suddenly grew quiet. She looked around the living room again, her face suddenly pale.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, I have to be at the hospital at eight, and it's already three-thirty, so let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks."

GAGA

Derek called Meredith's cell phone as soon as he had scrubbed out from surgery. When she didn't answer, he tried her pager. After twenty minutes without a return phone call, he began to panic. He changed out of his scrubs and drove home as fast as he dared. Before he stepped out of the car, he knew something was wrong. All the lights were off, and when he left, Meredith had asked him to leave the kitchen light on. He hurried into the empty trailer, calling Meredith's name.

GAGA

"Addison?" Meredith whispered, fighting tears. "Addison!"

"Hmm…" she turned over to find Meredith on her knees next to the bed.

She recognized the look on Meredith's face. It was how her baby sister looked when she woke up after having a nightmare. It was the same look Addison knew she had when she felt depressed, a look of fear and sadness that twists your face into a dark shape. She moved toward the center of the bed and patted the spot she had just vacated.

"Seriously?" Meredith was surprised and also relieved.

"Yes."

Addison pulled the covers over them and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." Meredith whispered. "You're going to be exhausted at work now."

"You're not trouble, and I'm going to call in."

"I'm sorry."

"Hush. Let's sleep until noon. I haven't done that since high school." Addison reached over and turned off her alarm, pager, and cell phone.

"Okay."

Meredith inched closer to Addison, and when she didn't comment, she moved a little closer. Addison smiled in the dark as she moved closer again. She fought back a giggle and put her arm around Meredith's waist and pulled her to her chest. Meredith turned to look at Addison, and she shrugged.

"What? You're scared. I like to cuddle. We're a good team."

AN: Sorry it took me so long to update! After finals I moved to a new house and internet access was limited, so I'm just now uploading. Also, this isn't going to become a MerAddie thing, except in a good friends sort of way.