A/N: So I am in denial. And sad. And I wrote this, and I don't know what I think about it. But here it is. I feel like I might rewrite it later, but who knows. Anyway, this is Addison's meeting with the Chief.

Addison tried to remember all the times she had been in this office. Signing her official contract to come here. Asking for a day off to do some drinking. Trying to help Richard with his marriage. Practically begging to be Chief. Those were the big ones. She had been in here many times, always to visit Richard, the way friends sometimes do. This visit, however, felt quite different. She felt very small, sitting in a chair facing Richard's desk. Richard was looking at her, his hands folded on his desk in a very authoritative way. Yes, she felt like a child in a principal's office trying her best to convince him that she didn't start the food fight.

She cleared her throat. "I feel like it's been a while since I've been here. Have you changed something? New curtains? New plants? No?"

"Addison."

"It's got to be something. Something is different."

"The only thing that's different is that yesterday, this was the office of a Chief who had a neonatal specialist on his staff. Now it's the office of a Chief who has an unemployed neonatal specialist as a friend."

Ouch. Addison visibly cringed at that. But it was kind of true. All right, it was completely true. She kneaded her hands a little, needing something to push her to actually ask Richard for her job.

"What…what if…you had a neonatal specialist on the staff again?"

"Do you know somebody?" Richard looked at her directly, and Addison knew that he was going to make her ask outright for her job back.

"Well…me?"

"Tell me why you're coming back, Addison."

This was completely reminiscent of her conversation when she had asked him to leave. She took a breath. She had to just dive in. There was no easy way to get used to the cold water except to completely immerse yourself in it. Rip off the band-aid. Stop thinking about metaphors for the situation.

"I think…well, I think I found a reason to stay."

"And what is that reason?"

"Well…it's…well, it's the babies. The babies are better in Seattle." Did she actually say that? Please, if there was a God, make it so that she did not just say that to the Chief.

"Did you just say that Seattle babies are better than other babies?"

"No…No. Well, all right, I did. But that's really, really not what I wanted to say. I mean, I do love the babies here. The babies here are amazing. And wonderful. And you start to feel a connection to them after a while. And they act as though you are wonderful and deserve to have a job and a life here." She had begun rhapsodizing, and stopped, a little self-consciously.

"I feel like you are speaking in code and that I should replace the word 'babies' with some other word. Perhaps 'interns'. And perhaps one intern in particular. Addison, tell me you are not making a life changing decision based on a man. Again."

"I'm not. Okay, well, I am. But really, it's only partly because of the man. He is amazing and wonderful. But that's not the point. The point is that I've made a name for myself here. People do travel here to get my help on their cases. I do surgeries here that I never thought I'd have the chance to do. I also do mundane surgeries that I could do anywhere, but, somewhere along the line, I realized that I want to do them here. Some things happened last night that changed my view of Seattle. But even after they happened, I still thought about whether or not I should come back. I'm still thinking about it right now, to tell you the absolute truth."

Addison paused at this moment because the Chief tensed slightly. She wished that she was doing a better job of this. Instead, she was mostly babbling. But if that's what it took get her job back, then babble she must. "As it turns out, I do have things here. As shallow as I feel telling you that one of those things is a man, it's true. But he's not the only thing. There are the babies. The babies are worth staying for. The fact that I have some sort of facsimile of a life here is worth staying for. I think that it might be harder to start over somewhere completely new. And all these things that are worth staying for outweigh those sad excuses for leaving that I gave you before."

She looked at the Chief, meeting his eyes.

"What if you broke up with this man that I'm going to pretend I do not know the identity of?"

"I would stay here anyway." Addison wanted some way to make the Chief know that she was serious about staying in Seattle.

"How can I be sure?"

Addison didn't know what to tell him. She was so caught up in the idea that she and Alex would never break up that she didn't think about a what a post-break up world could be like. Which was foolish. She'd slept with him once, and they'd shared one meal together. It's true that they worked well together professionally, but she really had no idea what things would be like in an actual relationship. But she was willing to take that risk.

And it wasn't like she hadn't dealt with break-ups before. Sure, it involved her crying in supply closets, but she got over it. She moved on. Wasn't she friends with Derek? That had to count for something. She could be mature. She wasn't exactly exhibiting that characteristic at this moment in time, but maturity was something she possessed.

She wasn't a flight risk. It's something that she felt instinctively. She would weather any storm that Seattle threw at her. She was going to stay. This was it.

"You just have to be," Addison answered.

I hope that was acceptable and everything you were hoping for in Addison's meeting with the Chief. If not, sorry. I don't know when the next update will come because I have midterms and papers and stress. We'll see. But it's not over yet.