All the Difference, Part 3 and Coda
Title: All the Difference, Part 3 and Coda
Pairing: Alex/Addison
Disclaimer: They belong to Shonda and friends, not me.
Summary: After her trip to LA, Addison needs to find out something.

We've come to the end, all. Many thanks to my betas for being an awesome cheering section. Don't worry, though...you'll be seeing more in this universe. If you have anything you might like to see happen, let me know and I'll see what I can do! Please let me know what you think, because I'm really, really fond of this fic. Feedback will make my last day of undergraduate classes even more awesome. ;0P

Oh yeah, the title doesn't really have anything to do with the plot...I just love the line of poetry, and I think it captures the feeling of it, anyway.

He sleeps for the next two days. She reads her journal articles and wakes him up periodically so he can take his meds and eat. They watch more Gilligan's Island ("I always did have kind of a thing for Ginger," he says, raising an eyebrow), and she rubs his back when he coughs.

Friday afternoon she calls Bailey, because she knows he's not ready for work yet and doesn't want him to get in any trouble. She takes a deep breath before she calls and tries to prepare herself to nonchalantly withstand Bailey's certain interrogation, but in the end it makes no difference.

"Miranda Bailey."

"Miranda? Hi, it's Addison. Addison Montgomery."

"Addison. Good to hear from you. How's your trip been?"

"It was good. Great. I'm back in Seattle now, though."

"You decided not to stay?"

"No, I think I'm going to try and make a go of it here."

"Well, that's good news. Now, what can I do for you?"

Addison smiles, because Bailey is just as blunt as ever. She thinks that something would be terribly wrong with the world if she weren't. "Actually, it's about Alex Karev."

"Uh-huh."

Shit. "I heard he had some time off, so I dropped in on him yesterday, and…well, I don't think he'll be ready to come back to work until Monday, maybe later. He seems…seemed… pretty exhausted."

"I'm not surprised. That man has been working day and night for the past three weeks. Ever since you left for LA, in fact. You have any idea why that might be?"

"Uh, no. I, ah, have no idea. Absolutely none."

"I had to make him go home, more than once, and I have enough to do without babysitting that fool. Tell him to call me Sunday night, we'll see how he's doing. Until then, he's going to rest. It gonna be a problem for you to let him know?"

Even though she can't see Bailey, Addison still has an incredible urge to squirm. "No, no problem at all, Miranda."

"I didn't think so."

Addison feels as though she wants to crawl into a hole and stay there for a good, long while. Still, she tries to end the phone call with some dignity. "Right. I'll do that, then. It was good to speak with you, Miranda."

"Addison."

"Yes?"

"If this ends with you getting drunk at Joe's again, please don't do it while I'm there."

"Sure. No problem."

"Thank you."

Well, thinks Addison as she hangs up the phone, bringing a hand up to a flaming cheek, at least it wasn't any more mortifying than she expected.

Sunday morning Alex wakes up with a clear head and an energy he hasn't felt in days. The sun filtering in through the curtains fills him with the need to get up and do, so he rolls over to observe the bed's other occupant.

She's fast asleep, her face half turned into the pillow. Her hair is mussed and her cheeks are flushed, and her t-shirt has slipped to bare one shoulder. There are freckles dotting the creamy skin there, too, and Alex wants to reach out and ghost his fingers over them, then carefully suck and nibble each one. But he's still not sure exactly what they're doing, and besides, there's no way he's going to disturb a woman who's spent the last three days taking care of him. So instead he simply toys with a lock of red-gold hair and waits for her to wake.

Eventually, she begins to stir. Still half-asleep she stretches, arching her back like a cat. Alex has to bite his lip, hard, because she's so damn sexy and he doesn't know yet whether she's the kind of woman who likes to be ravished before she's awake enough to even mumble a hello. But then her eyes open, and she blinks at him and smiles drowsily. "Hey."

Her voice is warm and husky, and he reaches out to rub her shoulder. "Hey."

"How're you feeling?"

He smiles. "Better, thanks. How 'bout you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm good," she says, and yawns, not covering her mouth until the last second. "Still sleepy, obviously," she admits with a laugh, running a hand through her hair.

"Well, it's no wonder, taking care of me the past few days."

"Alex, you were asleep most of the time. I hardly did anything."

"So? You stayed here, the whole time. The only other people who've ever done anything like that for me are my mom and my sister. It wasn't nothing," he insists, stroking his thumb over the curve of her cheek.

She shifts under his touch and lowers her eyes. "I wanted to," she says softly.

"Yeah. I know. Thanks. Just let me return the favor sometime, okay?"

The smile she gives him is almost wondering. "I think I can manage that."

Addison can't quite believe that they've both been awake for a whole half an hour and they haven't even kissed yet. But he'd just rolled out of bed, saying, "Hey, I'm pretty rank. You mind if I grab a shower?" She'd simply nodded at him. She'd nearly made a comment about the merits of conserving water, but something had held her back. After all, she had been the one to drag him from his sickbed over here, so if anyone is going to make the first move it should be him.

He emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed in a t-shirt and cargo shorts, and Addison is suddenly reminded of just how young he is, and how attractive. "Hey," he says, rubbing his head with a towel.

"Hey," she replies. "I, ah, I ordered some breakfast. It should be here in a few minutes."

"Oh, cool. Thanks."

"Well, I guess I'll just get a shower now, then."

"Go for it." He smiles at her. Thanks to the rubbing, his hair is disheveled and sticking up in spikes, and she has the sudden impulse to go and smooth them down. Remembering her earlier vow, however, she contents herself with simply brushing against him on her way into the bathroom and catching the spicy scent of his skin.

Man, he seriously cannot believe that he hasn't even made a move on her yet. He just…he doesn't want to screw this up, make her think it's all about sex. He does want to have sex, lots of it, but it's more than that. He thinks he might just want her. Of course, he totally sucks at this sort of thing, so he has no idea of what he's technically supposed to do next, or whether sex is even allowed at this point. Besides, this is her hotel room and everything, so he doesn't really feel right doing anything…at least until she gives him some sort of go-ahead, anyway.

He's digging into the newly-arrived breakfast when she emerges from the bathroom. Her hair is dark and wet, slicked back from her face, emphasizing the blue of her eyes. His pulse picks up when he realizes that she's wearing nothing but a fluffy, white robe, and he's suddenly grateful that he has his breakfast with which to occupy himself.

As she pours herself a cup of coffee, Addison is very conscious of the fact that she's sitting at the breakfast table in her robe. She's fairly sure she saw something flare in his eyes when she came out, but other than that he seems perfectly content to apply himself to his omelet and hashbrowns. When he finally says something, it's nothing like what she expects.

"So, I was thinking. You wanna go to the park or something?"

"The park?" she repeats dumbly.

"Yeah. I've been inside for days; I've gotta get out or I'll go crazy. Besides, it's sunny out. I know you probably got more than enough sun in California and all, but…"

What the hell. "Hey, you can never have enough sunshine. That sounds good. Let's do it." Actually, strolling around in a park with him has a surprising amount of appeal.

"Yeah?" He gives her a small, pleased smile. "Cool."

Satisfied, and somehow excited, Addison bites into her melon.

"Oh," he says suddenly, "we should probably stop by the house on the way. I should get some stuff."

Always a catch, she thinks.

Addison stares up at the house, her stomach filled with the same sort of butterflies that visited her three days ago. This time they're there for a different reason, though. By going into that house with him, she's announcing for the first time that they're involved, and she has to do it in front of her ex-husband and who knows how many of the other interns. Extremely conscious of this, she'd stood in front of her closet for a long time, trying to decide what could possibly be appropriate for a situation like this. He had snickered when he found her, saying, "Dude, we're going to the park, not an Oscar party." As a result, she's wearing capris and sandals and a sleeveless green shirt, about as casual as she'll get in public, which is definitely not helping to calm her nerves.

Alex is already nearing the porch before he turns and sees her. "You coming?" he asks.

"Yeah," she replies gamely, but she can see he knows something is up, and he heads back towards her.

"Look. It'll be five minutes tops, I swear. In and out. Besides, you know they're just going to stare at you through the windows if you don't come in, right?"

That decides it. "Let's go," she declares robustly, and he grins.

As soon as he steps through the doorway, Alex is accosted by an aproned, flour-bedaubed Izzie, who reminds Addison of nothing so much as a very eager, very hyperactive puppy. "Alex! Hey! God, we haven't seen you for days! Where've you been? Are you feeling better? I tried to call you, but…" She trails off when she notices Addison. "Oh, wow, Dr. Montgomery, hi."

"Hello, Stevens."

"You're back!"

"That I am."

"Back from LA. Huh. Well, do you guys want some breakfast? I made blueberry pancakes. Although I guess technically it's brunch now rather than breakfast, it's getting kinda late, but…"

"No thanks Iz, we already ate," Alex interjects. "I just came back to grab some stuff, so…" he glances at her quickly and then heads up the stairs.

Though Addison would like nothing better than to follow him, she's left standing in the foyer with a slightly confused-looking Izzie Stevens. Not knowing what else to do, she clears her throat. This seems to wake up Izzie, who offers, "Um, do you want to come into the kitchen or something?"

Addison nods and follows Izzie into the homey room, only to be confronted with the image of her ex-husband and his girlfriend cozied up over the crossword and matching bowls of granola. "Derek."

Turning from Meredith, the surprise registers on his face. "Addison. You're back. And…here. On a Sunday. How odd."

"It's a small world."

"Mmmm. Apparently so."

"Was that Alex I saw come in?" This from Meredith, who glances from the doorway to Addison and back again, a little grin appearing on her face.

Derek catches on, breaking into a shit-eating grin of his own. "So. Addison. When did you say you got back into town, again?"

"I didn't," she replies flatly.

"Ah. So your appearing at the door with Karev is just coincidence, then."

"Just coincidence."

"Mmmm."

Addison is saved from trying to think up a response by Alex coming up behind her. "Hey. Got everything. You ready to go? Oh, hey guys," he says, nodding at Meredith and Derek.

"I'm ready," she says.

"Cool. See you later, guys." He makes for the door. She nods at Meredith, who's still aiming that funny little smile at her; makes a face at Derek, who's smirking insufferably; and smiles at Izzie, who merely looks confused.

"Have a nice day, Addison," Derek singsongs as she exits.

"I'm planning on it," Addison thinks, as she shuts the door with a bit more force than necessary.

They end up at Elliott Bay Park, munching on gyro sandwiches as they wander and take in the view. Alex insists on buying her a strawberry ice cream cone when she can't stop staring at the booth, and though she feels about twelve, Addison enjoys every last bit.

When they decide to stop, Alex produces a ratty old throw blanket from his bag and spreads it on the ground. Raising an eyebrow at him, she stretches out, leaning on her elbows and tipping her face back to catch the sun. She can feel his eyes on her but says nothing, enjoying the perfect peace of the moment.

A few minutes later she feels a tap on her arm, and looks over to see him offering a bottle of spray-on sunscreen. "You probably have some expensive stuff you normally use, but sunburns suck, you know?"

She takes it, touched; even though her moisturizer already has sunscreen in it, she figures more can't hurt. She applies it to her arms and legs first, moving up to her shoulders. "You, uh, you need any help, or you got it?" he asks.

Addison considers. "Would you mind getting my back?"

His hands knead the cool spray into her shoulders, smoothing down her back, and Addison sighs with pleasure. She basks in the feeling, and she thinks that she would die a happy woman if he'd just keep doing this forever.

Suddenly, however, he stops. "Oh, hey, I forgot," he says, grabbing his bag. He rummages around for a moment and then produces a bright green Frisbee.

Addison is confused. "A Frisbee?"

"Yup."

"What did you bring a Frisbee for?"

"To play with."

"You want me to play Frisbee?"

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"What, you'd rather I show you wrestling moves?"

She just can't let that one go by. "Why Dr. Karev," she purrs, "are you propositioning me?"

He grins, half cocky, half abashed, but doesn't respond. Instead, he waits a moment, and then offers: "I get it, you know, if you're worried about breaking a nail or something."

She narrows her eyes, takes in his smirk, and decides. Screw her insanely expensive manicure. "Okay, Dr. Karev. You're on."

Frisbee, she decides later, is not her sport. He has to show her how to throw it, repeatedly, but she doesn't really mind, as it's an excuse to get him close. Eventually she gets it, but only after making a complete fool of herself. Worn out, she collapses onto the blanket, and in a moment he joins her, grabbing a bottle of water. He takes a drink, then offers it. "You want some?"

Limply, eyes still closed, she extends an arm, expecting him to place it in her hand. Instead, she feels a sudden stream of water hit her face. She shrieks, and opens her eyes to see him aiming the nozzle of the bottle at her. Lunging at him, she tries to snatch the bottle away, but he's too quick. Almost before she knows it, he's got her pinned to the blanket, an arm on either side. His face is suspended inches above hers, and she can see his pulse throbbing at his temple. His eyes rake over her face, as if he's trying to memorize every detail.

"Alex?" she whispers.

Suddenly his lips crash down over hers, his tongue thrusting its way into her mouth. Their bodies are pressed close and her nostrils fill with his scent, a heady mixture of spice and sweat. He kisses her, kisses her until she forgets where they are, until she forgets her own name, until she even forgets to breathe.

Air is something of a necessity though, even for him, so finally he releases her. Stunned, she simply lies there, panting. "Alex, wh-what?"

He leans close, his lips brushing her ear. "I always save the wrestling moves for last," he murmurs.

Coda:

Neither of them is bright and shiny. They both have terrible tempers, and they argue loudly and often. She yells. He gives her that scornful stare and makes cutting remarks. After their first big fight, he storms out without a word and ends up spending the night at Meredith's. When he returns to her place the next morning, he finds her curled up in an armchair wearing nothing but one of his old t-shirts, her face blotchy and streaked with mascara.

He tries to storm out for only a few hours at a time after that.

She never asks about the two-oddly shaped scars on his shoulder, but she always kisses them when they make love. One night, his face pressed half into the pillow, he tells her himself.

At work he unfailingly calls her Dr. Montgomery. She has to remind herself to address him as Dr. Karev. They generally avoid making out on hospital property, but he always knows exactly how to best rub her shoulders after a bad day.

She stops worrying about peeing on a stick after she meets his niece and nephew. Seeing Nate's dark eyes sparkle up at her from underneath a mop of sunstreaked brown hair, watching tiny, timid Jenna make a beeline for her "Lex," she reflects that it wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

He hates feeling boxed in, so she learns not to push too much. He's skittish, but if she leaves him be for awhile he usually comes around on his own.

She never actually asks him to move in, but one day he looks around and realizes that most of his stuff is in her new house and he can't remember the last time he stayed at Meredith's. Even more surprisingly, he realizes that he doesn't mind.

He's not Derek, who she somehow always felt lesser than, and he's not Mark, who she was always expecting to screw up. He's Alex. They're both equally flawed in their own ways, and they accept that about one another.

It's not perfect; in fact it's far from it. But it's theirs.