A/N: Without the cat staring daggers at me, I have difficulty writing. I feel as if I am incredibly out of my element at this moment in time. I've had Word open for pretty much the past three days and I've had an insane amount of trouble writing this. I also have been distracted by the Impossible Quiz...so, there you go. I do hope you enjoy it, though.

Addison had watched Preston pack up his bag. She had watched him carefully fold his shirts and pants, without creases. She fully expected this kind of deliberateness from a world-class surgeon but it had been mesmerizing nonetheless. She had watched him put his bag in the backseat of his car and she had bitten her lip to keep the tears from forming behind her eyes. She thought the air in Los Angeles made her more emotional. He had come out of his car with a square something and handed it to her. She had looked down at it and read, "The Best of Eugene Foote."

"It's so the next time I mention him, you won't require an explanation," he had said. Addison knew that he probably owned every album ever put out by the violinist but she was still touched by the gesture.

"What are you going to listen to on the way home, then?" she asked. He had shrugged it off and she was moved even more. "You can pick one of my CDs." She led him back into her house, only partly to put off the moment when he would drive away. Mostly she wanted to return the favor. She had a meager CD collection, but placed Eugene Foote alphabetically between The Beatles and the Les Miserables recording. Preston ran his finger down the row of CDs and paused at Steve Goodman's Affordable Art. "I'd like this one," he said as he pulled it out.

"Going to spend the ride learning to talk backwards?" Addison laughed, remembering that she had tried, in vain, to speak backwards for an entire day. She had barely lasted five minutes.

"Uoy evol I," he had responded and Addison had stopped laughing immediately. He lifted her chin gently with his finger and she bravely met his gaze. She felt a bubbling over of emotion that she wasn't entirely sure how to categorize. "I do," he had whispered, drawing her face closer to hers.

She hadn't responded and he had pulled away, looking hurt and slightly offended. "Preston…," she had said, but he was already to the door. She hurried to catch up to him and grabbed his arm as he walked out. "It's not that I don't care for you."

"You're just not ready," he finished for her and she nodded mutely. He leaned down suddenly, capturing her mouth in an angry passionate kiss, then walked away from her and got into his car without looking back. She had stood numbly on her front steps and watched him until he was no longer visible. She stayed for a good many more minutes, hugging herself as though she might break if she didn't hold on. When she did go back inside, she put in Eugene Foote and sat on her couch without moving until the recording ended.

---

Preston was nursing his injured pride as he inserted Affordable Art into his CD player. He didn't like saying 'I love you' unless he was absolutely sure that it was reciprocated. And with Addison, he had been sure. He was still sure, but thought that she had just been caught off guard. That was his hope, anyway. Steve Goodman's voice filled his car and he contemplated the red-haired woman.

It had been, all things considered, an excellent week. He couldn't imagine a better one, unless it could have involved some rare surgery. He felt more sure about Addison in this one week than he had felt about Cristina in their year together. Addison was his equal. She had achieved the same things he had and he was even willing to defer to her in some matters. She might be completely inept in the kitchen but more than made up for it with certain other talents. He wasn't happy with his behavior on her front stoop, but there was nothing to be done. If she didn't love him, then she didn't. And if she did, then she needed some time. So that's all there was to it. He wasn't going to guilt her or try to force her into anything. She knew what was what, so the ball was in her court.

After driving for several hours, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and smiled when he saw it was Addison.

"I know I don't approve of driving and cell phone talking, but this is important," she said before he even had time to say hello. "You made this past week the best week I've ever had. I didn't know I could enjoy chicken salad sandwiches as much as all that, and, to be quite candid, you are phenomenal at sex. And I am beyond flattered by what you said. Don't think for a moment that I don't appreciate it. I've been sitting on my couch for the past three hours thinking of nothing but you and wishing that you weren't driving back to Seattle. I know I spent a good part of last night and this morning trying to convince you to stay, and I know that every hospital in Los Angeles would love to have you, but if Seattle is where you want to be, then I want you to be there. Just…promise me that you'll come back soon. Or that you'll let me come visit. Because I really, really like you." She took paused for air, took a deep breath and said, "Maybe even love like you."

"Addison…," was all Preston could manage. He heard a wet-sounding breath on the other end.

"Now focus on the road. It would be horrible if you got into an accident." Addison hung up the phone and Preston thought seriously about turning around and going right back to Addison's house.

---

Addison didn't know what to do with herself. She was feeling incredibly antsy. When dinnertime rolled around, she explored her refrigerator and took out the leftover chicken breast from two nights previous. She sat at her dining room table feeling indescribably lonely. She thought about calling Naomi or Pete, just for company's sake, but realized it wasn't their company she wanted.

She turned Eugene Foote on again and resumed her couch position. This time she found herself humming along at certain points.

---

A day later, Preston arrived in his apartment. It was still not completely the way he wanted it to be; he was still settling in. He unpacked his clothes quickly and went to sleep. He needed as much rest as possible before returning to Seattle Grace and the barrage of questioning that would no doubt follow.

He walked into the hospital and Shepherd caught up with him as the elevator doors opened. "Where were you last week?" he asked as they boarded the elevator.

"On vacation," he answered shortly. How did you tell a co-worker that you had just spent the week sharing his ex-wife's bed? Was there a Hallmark card for that?

"Where?" Shepherd earned himself an exasperated glance from Preston. The last time he had shown this much interest in his life was around the time of his almost-wedding.

"Why is it any of your concern?" Preston couldn't help but think that it was ridiculous just how slowly the elevators moved in this hospital.

"I'm just curious. I might be looking to vacation myself some time soon and so I'm wondering where co-workers are spending their free time." He shot Preston one of his supposed "McDreamy smiles" that thoroughly annoyed the cardiothoracic surgeon.

"I went to the coast, to get some sun. The rain was getting to me." Preston leaned forwards and jammed his floor button a few more times, even though he knew it wasn't actually going to do anything. Perhaps it would give Shepherd a hint.

Sadly it didn't, as he continued his questioning all the way down the hall, making it hard for Preston to continue to be vague and unspecific in his answers. He wondered what Derek's reaction would be if he just told him that he had gone to see Addison. He did, however, manage to lose Derek when he changed into his scrubs.

---

Addison's cell phone rang when she was in the break room and she raced to her office to answer. She practically dropped it as she tried to open it. She did finally manage to say, "Hello?" into the speaker and waited with bated breath until she heard the now familiar, "Addison, hello." She loved how he answered the phone, with the name first, then the salutation.

"How's the hospital?" she asked, knowing he was at work. She was also wondering what kind of interrogation he was going through.

"It's fine. The usual. And your ex-husband greeted me with rapid-fire questioning on my vacation. It was a good welcome-back greeting." She laughed, just imagining Derek at his most incorrigible.

"And what did you tell him?" She was slightly nervous about his answer. It's not that she wanted to keep their relationship a secret. She just wanted it to be a secret kept from Derek. And most of the other hospital employees.

"That I went to the coast for some sun." She should have known that he would be discreet. It was in his personality to be discreet. He was not one for gossip and preferred that his own life be kept out of the rumor mills; this she knew.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Anything big on the schedule for today?"

"No surgeries today. I'm just easing back into things. It's pretty fast paced here, no time for long lunches and gossip, you know." He chuckled and Addison sat back, enjoying the sound.

"I bet you just wish you worked at a private practice. Then you could enjoy those long lunches and gossip."

"You got me. I would like nothing more than to be in Los Angeles right now, sitting in an office eating a relaxing meal with a certain neo-natal surgeon." She sighed, reveling in the picture that he painted. "Which is actually true, no sarcasm intended."

"I miss you," she said plaintively, not masking her emotion at all. "Violet and Naomi miss you, too. And Violet never did get the hair sample." She knew she was making the situation harder for both of them. She cleared her throat. "I've got a patient coming in soon, so I'll have to talk to you later, Preston," she said.

"Good-bye, Addison." She shut her phone and allowed herself a few moments of nostalgic wallowing before pulling herself together to meet with her patient.

A/N: I hope that it was all right, and that if it wasn't, you can move past it and keep reading…we're almost to the finish line. Thanks for sticking with me.