I'm not dead! I promise. First I was busy, then I had computer issues, then I was busy again. Add some writer's block, and things have pretty much sucked. But I'm better now. And to make up for the amount of time between updates, this one is pretty massive. Enjoy!!

Part 3

Alex knocked on the door of the exam room. "You paged me?" he asked, sticking his head in the door.

"Come on in, Alex," Addison said. She had just changed back into her clothes after Erin's exam and they were making small talk while they waited for Alex to show up. Addison couldn't quite explain why she needed Alex by her side, but she knew he would be there if she asked. "We were just about to…talk about my options. I wanted…I needed…."

Putting his finger over her lips, Alex stopped Addison mid-ramble. "I'm right here, Addie," he said quietly. "You can lean on me."

Erin smiled as she watched him take a seat next to the red head. She had always had a soft spot for Addison. It made her feel better to know she wouldn't be going through this ordeal alone. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself to be the bearer of bad news. "Addison, you need surgery immediately."

"I know. How bad do you think it is?"

"Given the size of the tumor and the rapid growth of it, probably Stage 3. I'll probably have to remove several lymph nodes and part of your chest wall, just to be on the safe side."

"What about treatment?"

"We'll have to wait and see what the pathology report on the tumor is. I'm going to try for some fairly large margins so I can make sure I get it all the first time. Once the path results are back, we can figure out where to go. You'll definitely need a few rounds of chemo, probably some radiation." Erin paused, unsure how to continue. "Addison, your family history includes estrogen-receptor positive cancer, doesn't it?"

Feeling her heart sink, Addison replied, "Yes. In at least two of the cases. You want to put me on Tamoxifen, don't you?"

"If it comes to that, I think it's best. Less risk of recurrence."

"Doesn't Tamoxifen cause premature onset menopause?" Alex asked, tightening his grip on Addison's hand.

"Unfortunately, yes. Addison, we can postpone the surgery a few days. You can have some eggs harvested."

"Erin, you know as well as I do that it would probably be a lost cause. I'm 39. The cell walls of my eggs are starting to deteriorate anyhow. They probably won't survive being frozen, much less the IVF."

"You can always adopt, Addie," Alex interjected. She looked curiously at him. "You were born to be a mom," he continued. "Somewhere in Seattle, there's a kid who needs someone like you to love it. Any kid would be lucky to have you as a mother."

With tears in her eyes, Addison rested her forehead against his. "Thank you," she whispered.

Erin cleared her throat. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, guys. All of this treatment stuff is contingent on the pathology. Right now, we need to concentrate on the surgery and assembling the best team for it."

Addison looked at Alex. "Could you have the Chief, Miranda, Preston, Mark, and Derek paged, Alex?"

"Sure thing," he answered. Kissing her forehead, he said, "I'll be right back."

Once he was gone, Erin looked at her friend with a wry grin. "You know, if you two weren't so cute, it would be kind of sickening."

"Shut up."

"I'm glad you have him, Ads. He'll take good care of you."

"Yeah," she sighed. "He will."

The door to the exam room opened and Alex was back with Richard Webber and Miranda Bailey in tow. He stood awkwardly next to Addison, unsure whether he should sit next to her with the chief in the room.

"Oh, for God's sake, Karev," Bailey exclaimed. "Have a seat before you strain something."

Erin laughed as Alex sheepishly sat next to Addison on the gurney in the room. "You must be Bailey. I've heard a lot about you. My brother likes you a lot," she said, extending her hand to the resident. "I'm Erin Shepherd, Derek's sister."

Shaking the proffered hand, Bailey replied, "Miranda Bailey, 5th year resident."

"Hi, Richard," Erin said, looking up at her brother's mentor.

"Erin," he answered with a warm grin. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why exactly are you here?"

"Why don't we wait for everyone else?" she suggested. "No need to do this more times than is necessary."

There was a knock on the door before Preston Burke, Derek, and Mark Sloan entered the room "So this is where the party is," Sloan joked. "Curly!"

"Back away, Mark," Erin said. "I don't have time today to wash myself in bleach and get all of your cooties off of me."

"You know you love me," he said. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

She and Addison shared a glance, knowing that this was a conversation that couldn't be put off any longer. Addison cleared her throat. "If, um, if everyone could shut up, I'll explain everything." All eyes turned to her, and she gripped Alex's hand, a move that went unnoticed by no one. "Preston, I think you're the only one who hasn't been introduced to her yet. This is Erin Shepherd, Derek's sister. She's one of the best oncologists in the country. Erin, Preston Burke, one of the preeminent cardio-thoracic surgeons on the west coast." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Yesterday, a needle biopsy indicated that I have…that I have breast cancer. Because of how aggressive this cancer seems, Erin has decided that surgery needs to come sooner rather than later." Addison stopped, trying to compose herself.

Placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, Erin took over. "I'd like to schedule her mastectomy for the day after tomorrow."

"I'll go check the board," Bailey said, squeezing through the crowd and out the door.

"Dr. Burke, I could use your help with this," Erin continued. "I think I'll need to cut into the chest wall."

"I'll be there," he said, offering Addison a sympathetic smile.

Kneeling in front of Addison, Mark took the hand that wasn't tightly gripping Alex's. "Have you thought about reconstruction, Addie?"

She sniffled. "I don't think I want it, Mark. I don't want another surgery. Not right now."

"Okay. Will you let me stitch you up at least? Can't have a big, ugly scar marring your beauty, now can we?" At her nod, he smiled. "Good. And in the meantime, I'll see if I can dig up some information on prostheses and mastectomy bras."

"Thanks, Mark."

The door opened and Bailey was back. "We can have OR 1 at 6:00 Thursday morning." Looking at Addison, she said, "We'll lock the gallery. No reason for this to be broadcast to the whole hospital." Looking pointedly between Alex and Derek, she continued, "You two can watch from gallery."

"But—" Alex began.

"No 'buts,' Alex. You don't get anywhere near that operating room." Looking at Addison, she continued, "Do you want me to assign an intern to this case or not?"

"We are a teaching hospital, and Erin's one of the best."

"Alex, pick an intern," Bailey commanded.

"Grey," he replied without hesitation. Bailey, Addison, and Derek all looked at him, surprised by his choice. Focusing on Addison, he said, "She's the only one I trust, Addie. She'll take good care of you, I promise."

"I'll go page her," Mark said, knowing that his input wasn't needed anymore.

The Chief sent a questioning look toward Addison and Alex, trying to figure out exactly what was going on there. Bailey turned to him and said in a low voice, "They haven't crossed any lines the rest of your attendings haven't already plowed through. Besides, he'll take good care of her. Leave it alone."

Not at all phased by being ordered around by his favorite resident, Richard only nodded.

The door opened then, and Meredith Grey entered. "I was paged?" she asked, looking around at the group of doctors assembled in the small exam room.

Shooting a warning glare at his sister, Derek said, "Dr. Erin Shepherd, this is Dr. Meredith Grey, your intern for the duration."

"Don't look at me like that, big brother. I can be nice on occasion."

Ignoring the sibling banter, Meredith turned to Addison. "Dr. Montgomery, I heard. I mean, I guessed. I heard Derek on the phone last night and asked Alex about it this morning. But, I'm confused. Why me?"

"I requested you, Mer," Alex said.

"Oh." Meredith didn't quite know how to respond to that. She was touched that Alex thought so highly of her surgical skills and bedside manner.

"Dr. Grey, I need you to do some pre-op blood work on Addison. Her surgery is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I expect you to be ready."

"Absolutely, Dr. Shepherd."

"Make sure you order a hormone panel too. I want to keep track of her hormone levels."

"Hello," Addison said. "Sitting right here. Damn. Now I guess I know how our patients feel."

Squeezing the red head's shoulder, Erin said, "I'm sorry, Addie."

Clearing her throat, Bailey said, "Grey, you and Karev find me when you've taken that blood to the lab. Your fellow interns need to be informed of what's going on." Looking at Addison, she continued, "That means you need to tell Torres before she hears it from O'Malley."

All three nodded as Bailey started herding doctors out of the exam room so Meredith could do what was asked without the audience. Alex stayed rooted next to Addison on the bed, however. "Alex," she said. "Why don't you go check on the Jackson babies? Dr. Grey and I will be fine."

"You sure?" he asked. At her nod, he leaned in, grazing her temple with a brief kiss before smiling at Meredith on his way to the door.

"You can call me Meredith, you know," she said once Alex was gone.

"What?" Addison asked, surprised by the seeming non sequitur.

"I'm dating your ex-husband and your…whatever is one of my best friends. You can call me Meredith."

"Well then," Addison replied with a wry smile. "It's only fair that since you're dating my ex-husband and my…whatever is one of your best friends and you'll be assisting with a surgery that will require you so see me naked from the waist up, you should call me Addison."

"Deal," the intern said, returning the grin the attending gave her. She went about drawing blood from Addison and made several notations in her chart. "Addison?"

"Yes, Meredith?"

"Those friends who came to visit you and Derek last year?"

"Savvy and Weiss?"

"Yeah. I don't mean to overstep or anything, but maybe you ought to call her. I mean, didn't she go through with a complete hysterectomy and double mastectomy because of her results on a genetic screening for the BRCA mutation?"

"You remember that?"

"Well," Meredith said a bit sheepishly. "She was quite the talk of the hospital, or at least the female interns."

"Yeah. I didn't understand her decision then. Thanks for the suggestion, Meredith. I think I will give Savvy a call tonight."

"Good." Pressing a cotton ball against the crook of Addison's arm where she had just drawn blood, Meredith said, "I'll get this to the lab. Then I guess I better find Dr. Bailey."

"Thank you, Meredith."

The intern walked toward the door, then stopped and turned around. "Addison, if there's anything Derek and I can do, even if it's just getting Alex out of your hair when he's hovering too much, just let us know."

"I will," Addison promised.

OoOoO

Cristina, Izzie, and George approached the nurses' station where Meredith and Alex were talking to Bailey. "You paged us, Dr. Bailey?" Izzie asked.

"Yes. I have news and I don't want you hearing about it through the gossip mill."

Looking between Meredith and Alex, George asked, "Are you okay? Neither of you is sick?"

"O'Malley, if you'll let me talk," Bailey said in exasperation.

"Yes, ma'am," he said contritely.

"You need to be aware that Dr. Montgomery will be out of commission for awhile."

"Why?" Cristina asked.

"She will be having a mastectomy on Thursday morning. She was diagnosed with breast cancer yesterday."

Shooting a quick glance at Alex, Izzie asked, "Is she going to be okay?"

"That's the hope. Things will be a little hectic around her, so be prepared to pull a little more weight than usual. The gallery will be locked for Dr. Montgomery's surgery. If you want to watch, you'll have to get her permission." With that, Bailey turned and walked away, leaving her interns to discuss the matter by themselves.

"This is why you're stuck on the gynie squad again, isn't it?" Cristina asked Alex.

Alex nodded mutely as George's eyes locked on Meredith. "Where do you fit in to all of this?" he asked.

Knowing she had to be careful so she didn't reveal too much, she said, "Bailey paged me. I'm the intern assigned to Dr. Montgomery's case."

"You?" Izzie asked incredulously.

Meredith shrugged. "You want to argue with Bailey? I just do as I'm told." The other interns snorted their laughter at her statement.

As they began to disperse, Cristina said, "Hey, Evil Spawn."

"Yeah?" Alex said, turning toward her.

"Tell Dr. Montgomery that we'll do whatever to…well, we'll do whatever."

Smiling at her uncharacteristic kindness, Alex replied, "Sure thing, Yang."

Alex turned to leave, but saw Izzie Stevens standing in his path, looking at him expectantly. "You and Dr. Montgomery came in together this morning," she said without preamble.

"And?"

"What's going on between the two of you?"

"What's it matter to you, Iz? You don't get to be jealous. Not after Denny. Not anymore."

Sighing softly, she said, "That's not what I meant, Alex. It's just…I know she's scared, but you must be too. You really care about her, don't you?"

Alex relaxed somewhat. "Yeah," he said softly. "I really do. And I am scared. I…I wish I could take this away from her."

Wrapping her arms around him in a bear hug, Izzie said, "Addison Montgomery is a lucky woman to have you, Alex."

"Thanks, Iz," he replied, blushing slightly.

Letting him go, she said, "I better get back to work, but if you need anything, Alex—just…well, just let me know."

"Actually, Iz, there is something." Once he knew he had her attention, he continued. "I know you don't like her and I know you think she's not good enough for George, but Torres is one of Addison's best friends. And you're one of my best friends. Please just try to get along with Callie…for Addison's sake. And for mine."

"I promise," Izzie responded sincerely before walking away.

OoOoO

While the interns were discussing her medical issues with Miranda Bailey, Addison went in search of Callie Torres, finding her in the cafeteria, munching on an apple. "Afternoon snack?"

Callie looked up at her friend and smiled. "Hey, Addison. I'm glad you're here. I've been dying to ask you about the fact that you and Alex Karev came into work together this morning."

Sitting in the chair across from Callie, Addison allowed herself to smile at the though of Alex. "I wish it was a big juicy story, Cal, but it's really not. I needed a friend last night."

"Everything okay?"

"No." Taking a deep breath, Addison looked up at Callie. "I have breast cancer. I have a mastectomy scheduled for Thursday."

Reaching across the table, Callie took her friend's hand. "Oh, Addie. When did you find out?"

"Last night. Bailey did the biopsy yesterday, and Alex figured out that something was wrong. He was with me when I found out and took me home with him."

"So you and Alex are…what exactly?" Callie asked. Something told her that Addison was a little tired of talking about cancer and surgery.

Addison shrugged. "I don't know. We're friends with the potential of becoming more." She paused. "I kissed him a couple of weeks ago. At Joe's."

Callie's eyebrows shot up. "Really? And how was that?"

For the first time since she awoke to Alex making pancakes in his kitchen as promised that morning, Addison truly smiled. "It was amazing."

"Was there a repeat performance last night?"

Addison blushed. "No. But he held me. All night. I felt…safe. And he made pancakes this morning. It was so sweet."

"Ads, I'm feeling a little nauseous here. This syrupy sweetness? Kind of disgusting."

"Yeah, because you and George aren't sickeningly sweet too."

"Well, we are when Izzie Stevens isn't inserting herself in the middle of our relationship."

"That still going on?"

"Yeah. It's not as bad though. I guess George finally said something to her."

"Good. I'd hate to think that something would get in the way of your syrupy sweet disgustingness."

"Shut up," Callie retorted, throwing a napkin at Addison.

The older doctor ducked as the napkin flew over her head. "Thanks for this, Callie. For the last few minutes, cancer wasn't the first thing on my mind."

Standing up, Callie gave her friend a hug. "Anytime, Addie. If you wanna talk about it, or if you wanna not talk about it, I'm always here."