a/n: so here's another chapter... don't be surprised if the next chapter takes longer for me to get up, i have finals next week and all i'm going to be doing for the next couple of days is study my ass off.

disclaimer: i don't steal, i borrow.

It was around two in the morning and Holli was lying in her bed, trying to get some sleep when something occurred to her. She tried to sleep but it made it impossible so she got up and ran to the next room, not bothering to knock. As she opened the door she realized this and steeled herself for the worst. Fortunately the pair had apparently been exhausted, because although they were both clearly naked under the sheets which were covering anything indecent, making it quite obvious what they had been doing earlier, (a fact that did not go unnoticed by Holli, and which she promptly thanked God for) they were also both asleep. This, in Holli's mind, would simply not do. "Addi! Wake up!" she whispered as she repeatedly poked the lump that was Addison.

"Huh? What? What time is it?" a very groggy Addison sat up and asked, her eyes opened about the minimal they could possibly be.

"Around two, I think. Not really sure. Don't really care," Holli shrugged.

"What do you want?" Addison whined.

"I just realized something."

"Well, isn't that tremendous for you? Congratulations, you deserve a medal or something. Let me get right on that!" Addison snapped sarcastically.

"You get mean when you're tired," Holli stated.

"Wow! Is that what you realized? Gee, I think the president needs to know about you! Just let me get my cell and I'll call him!"

"Shut up. Do you want to know or not?"

"Not really," Addison sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she was going to hear what Holli had to say, whether or not she wanted to.

"Once again, shut up. You have to tell everyone!"

"Yes. We've established that."

"Well, I didn't think about it! I can't wait to see Bailey's face when you tell her!"

"Oh God," Addison hid her head underneath her pillow, thinking about the yelling that was sure to ensue when they told Miranda.

"Well, have a good night!" Holli said cheerfully before bounding out the door.

Addison groaned and gave up the idea of getting any more sleep that night.

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It always took Alex a few minutes in the morning to wake up and remember just what the hell was going on in his life. Always, the first thing he remembered was Addison. The next thing was the body lying next to him. Because of his previous manwhore tendencies, this step always freaked him out. He was always afraid that the night before he had made some drunken mistake that would take Addison away from him. The third thing he noticed was the red hair that was always splayed across the pillow, assuring him that he hadn't done anything. The sight of that hair was always welcome. He loved that it was the first thing he saw in the morning.

The second thing he saw was her face. He was used to being the second one up, he liked to sleep, but something about her made him want to be up first. Maybe because it was the only time he ever saw her face really, truly peaceful. Or it could be because he loved seeing the almost confused look on her face when she woke up, it was the only moment when she allowed herself to look like she wasn't in control. But most likely it was because he loved waking her up.

He started kissing her bare shoulders, making her pull the sheets up to shield herself. So he started kissing her neck, causing her to moan, half in pleasure, half because he was disturbing her, and pull the sheets up even further. "Your entire head's going to be under the sheets if you keep that up," he teased, kissing her on the nose. This fully woke her up, and there was the confused look that he loved so much. And then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

"If that's what it takes to get you to leave me alone," she mumbled.

"Won't stop me. Sorry," he shrugged apologetically.

"Go away."

"No."

"Why not?" she groaned.

"Because if I do then you're going to fall back asleep and be late for work. And if you're late for work then you'll piss the Nazi off and that's not the mood you want her in when you tell her that we're engaged."

Addison's eyes shot open and widened in shock, "I'm telling her? I thought that you're telling her!"

"Nope."

"And why not?"

"Because she's my boss and she can kick my ass off your service, and we don't want that do we? Not to mention she scares me."

"And you think she doesn't scare me?"

"You're friends with her," he pointed out, "And besides that, you're her boss, she can't do anything to you. But she can make my existence a complete hell and make me want to commit suicide. And you don't want me dead do you?"

"Honestly, at this exact moment, I wouldn't mind seeing you strangled."

"But then you couldn't marry me."

"I suppose that's true," she sighed, "Alright, I'll tell her. But you owe me."

"I can think of a couple ways to get out of debt," he smirked and kissed her, gently biting her lower lip.

"I need to shower," she stated as she pulled back.

"Alright, I'll join you."

"Nope. I'm going to shower. All by myself. Just little ole me all alone, wet and naked in the shower," she teased him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Addison," he groaned.

"Think of cold showers. Oh wait, no don't, that'll just remind you… hmm, think of… Miranda instead of me."

Alex started to gag. "Did not need the mental image, Adds."

"Well, it helped didn't it? Just think of it as payback for making me tell her."

"Does that mean I'm free?"

"Oh, not even close," she answered with an evil smile. She gave him a chaste peck on the lips and walked into the bathroom, leaving a very scared and amused Alex behind.

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"Hey Miranda. Can I talk to you for a second?" Addison asked as she fell into step with the resident.

"Sure, you have until I get to the elevator, go," Bailey answered, not even looking at the redhead.

Addison figured that the best way was the direct approach, Miranda hated suck-ups and mind games. "I'm engaged."

"Really? Congratulations."

"To someone who works here," Addison continued warily. The statement finally got Bailey to stop and look at her.

"Who?"

Addison laughed nervously, "Um… Alex Karev," she said, suddenly overcome by the urge to shield her face.

Bailey just sighed, "Why is it always my interns?"

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"So, you and Dr. Montgomery, huh?" Izzie asked, coming up behind Alex.

"What? No!"

"Oh cut the crap Alex, it's all over Debbie's blog. Well, actually it just says she's engaged to someone who works here. But it's obviously not McDreamy. Can't be McSteamy, cuz she hates him. Can't be Burke, he's with Christina. And it most definitely can't be George. Therefore, by process of elimination, it's you."

"There are other people in this hospital, you know."

"Oh puh-lease. I've seen the way you two look at each other. I'm not blind. In fact, I think you'd have to be dead to miss those looks. I just have one question."

"And what's that?" Alex asked wearily.

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you been together."

"Eleven and a half months and two days."

"Aw! You know it down to the day? That is so romantic! I didn't know you did romantic!"

"Iz, I don't."

"You apparently do now," she replied, but their conversation was cut short by both their pagers going off.

They both checked their individual pager, looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Bailey," And with that they broke into a run.

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"Call it, Karev," Bailey sighed as she rubbed her temples. She hated losing patients. Especially ones that were young. Like this one. A fifteen year old girl who should have had a chance, but had bled out on the table.

"Time of death 11:37 am."

This was the part of surgery that Alex hated. He hated that he couldn't do anything to stop people from losing their lives. He hated that he wasn't in control. He also hated telling the parents. How could you tell someone that their child, someone they had spent so much time and love on, was dead?

The best way, he figured, was to get it over with. Come out, see the parents' hopeful faces, look sorry and full of remorse, shake head slightly, tell them that you had done everything and let them hate you for being the angel of death. That was his routine every time and it had never failed him. It didn't fail him now either.

"I'm so sorry. We did everything we could," he said. The mother broke into sobs and her husband looked shocked but hugged his wife tightly. For some reason this struck Alex differently than usual. He had seen this scene hundreds of times without it affecting, but this time it made him want to cry. Maybe it was because the girl was Holli's age. Holli who he was starting to think of as almost a daughter, albeit one who called him on his bullshit and wouldn't let anything go and knew exactly how to annoy him so that he would do what she wanted. The girl had been carrying her school id in her wallet, she had gone to the same school as Holli. They were probably in the same class. Or maybe it was because it was so like the scene in the on-call room. But that scene had had a happy ending, unlike this one. Whatever the case was, he made his excuses and dodged into a supply closet.

Holli was walking down the same hallway and saw him go in, so she followed him. "Hey. You okay?"

"I'll be fine," he answered trying to regain his composure and not cry.

"What's wrong?"

"I just lost a patient. It was really a simple surgery but she bled out. She was fifteen. She should have had a life, damn it!" At this point he slammed his fist down on a metal shelf, causing lots of medical supplies to shiver and shake.

"I'm sorry Alex. I really am. But this usually doesn't affect you like this."

"She went to your school. She was in your class," he said without looking at her.

"What was her name?" Holli asked anxiously when she heard that.

"Cassandra Johnson," he answered her. She made a strangled noise and sank to the floor wide-eyed. "Are you okay?"

"I- I knew her. She was in every one of my classes. She was my school person," she said in a strange, monotonous voice.

"Holli," he started to say.

"And now she's gone," she cut him off in the same tone, "She's dead," she continued, dragging out the word dead, as if she was testing it out.

"Holli, are you okay."

"I'll be fine, just fine," she said, in a dreamy voice, like she wasn't really there. And then she got up and walked away in a daze.

reviews can entice me away from my studying and to a computer to write! but the hostage situation still applies.