Thunder boomed and rain poured out of the black sky as Addison tried to cover herself with the small umbrella that matched her luggage. How could I have forgotten how much it rains in Seattle? I guess this is what it means to be spoiled on LA weather. Cursing the rain and the miniscule umbrella, Addison ran out to her rental car, luggage in tow. She tossed the luggage into the trunk, and jumped into the driver's seat. It was almost midnight by the time she arrived at Seattle Grace, but she'd told Mark that she would call. She decided to risk waking him.
"Sloan," he sounded tired, but he was not asleep.
"Mark? It's Addison. I'm in Seattle. My plane just landed. It was delayed due to the storm."
"Welcome back to Seattle," he laughed nervously.
"Uh...Thanks. So, I'm outside of the hospital."
"I'm still here with the police."
A part of him didn't want to go with her when she went to see her sister, but he didn't want her to be alone (or with anyone else.) He showed the officers, who were finally finished gathering evidence and information, out of his office and went to meet Addison. She was standing at the information desk when he came around the corner. For a moment, before she noticed him, he let everything about her sink in. She'd become even more beautiful, if that was possible, he thought, since she'd been gone. Her amazing red hair was now curly. He always loved the way her hair looked in a curly mess on top of her head. Though it was after midnight, and she'd no doubt had a long day, she still looked impeccable. Not a single hair was out of place; her make-up was perfect. There wasn't a single wrinkle, that he could see, in her white pants and lacy purple shirt. He couldn't take his eyes off her curves. Turning on the spot, Addison spotted him staring at her and walked over. He couldn't help but stare at the way her body moved. I was an idiot. 100 percent jackass. I wish I could sweep her off her feet and kiss her without getting slapped.
"Hello, Mark," she spoke with a calm, cool tone, one that he did not expect given her baby sister was in the ICU in a coma.
"Hey, Addie. You... look great. How are you? Was your flight okay?"
"Fine, thanks. A lot of turbulence from the storm. Where is Nikki?"
"She's in the ICU. I'll show you to her room," he reached out to take her hand, but she pulled back. He took her by the elbow instead, and she reluctantly allowed it.
As they approached the ICU, Addison and Mark both sensed the commotion surrounding room 224. Nurses were entering and leaving at a fast pace, and there were several different beeping sounds. Addison, realizing room 224 to be Nikki's room, froze in step. She looked from the room to Mark, trying to confirm her suspicions. In response, Mark nodded gravely. Just as Addison was preparing to turn and run the other way, Derek emerged from the room. He immediately noticed Addison and headed their way.
"Hi, Addie," he greeted her, taking both her hands in his and kissing her cheek. "How are you?"
"I'm holding up. How's Nikki. Tell me the truth," her voice shook as she choked back tears.
"She's not doing so well right now, I'm afraid. She had a seizure just now and coded on us, but she's stable again. We gave her a dose of phenolbarbitol. The good news is, her surgery was very successful. When," Or, if, "She wakes up, she should make a full recovery. As you know, I can't say for sure that there isn't any brain damage, but we're very hopeful."
"Thanks, Derek. Can I see her?"
"Of course," he led her into the room, and Addison immediately began to sob at the sight of her sister on the gurney.
She looks so much like Daddy did, laying there. She's so pale and seems so small. Oh! Her throat. Her hair. Her beautiful face. Oh, Nikster, you have to pull through this. What was left of Nikki's hair was matted with blood. The vast majority of her trademark red locks had been shaved by Derek's team. Addison had to force herself to look away from Nikki's throat. No one had told her that her throat had been slit. The bandages on her shoulder begged more questions. She turned to Mark.
"What, exactly, happened to her?"
"She was attacked and somehow showed up in the ER. We can only assume that someone dropped her off," noticing the look Addison was giving Nikki's shoulder, he decided to address that first, "GSW. I removed the bullet. It didn't hit anything vital. She shouldn't have much of a scar," he gave Addison a small smile, confident in his abilities as a plastic surgeon.
"With you doing the sutures, I wouldn't expect any less," she paused, gazing at her sister's broken body, "And her throat?"
"Laceration wasn't very deep. Best we can figure, she got away before...She shouldn't have much of a scar there either. Our main concern right now is her head injury. The bastard gave her a good blow to the head. She was barely conscious when she arrived."
Addison collapsed into a hard plastic chair next to Nikki's bed, took her pale hand, and sobbed into the sheet. Unsure of how to respond without upsetting Addison more, Mark stood rooted in place next to the door, Nikki's chart in one hand. His other hand burned to touch Addison's hair, to hold her hand in his. He stepped a little closer, and put the chart in the rack on the wall. When Addison didn't look up, he moved a chair next to her and sat down. It was then that she seemed to remember he was in the room.
"Mark?" she whimpered.
"Yeah?" his reply was barely above a whisper. He wanted to hold her so badly.
As if she read his mind, Addison turned to face him and held out a hand, one that he glady noticed did not bear an engagement or other type of ring. What he didn't know was that she'd taken it off on the plane. She wasn't sure why she did it, but she didn't feel like telling him about Pete, yet. He took her shaking hand in his, and she pulled him closer to her before giving up completely and putting her head onto his shoulder. Breathing in the smell of her hair and perfume, he wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried. Her entire body shook with her sobs, and she began to cough as she struggled for breath. He held her back from himself and wiped her tears with his thumbs.
"Addie, you need to try to breathe."
She nodded, still crying in a hiccup-y sort of way. Before he could think about what he was doing, Mark had pulled her completely into his arms, her legs dangling over the arm of his chair. She sighed into his shoulder, and her breath tickled his neck. It was nearly impossible for him not to shiver. They sat together, Addison still holding onto Nikki's hand, for a long time, before Mark spoke again.
"You need to get some rest."
"But I can't...I don't...What if something happens after I leave her?" Addison was full of worries and concerns.
"Do you have a hotel?"
"No. I didn't think to try and get a reservation."
"I have a sleeper sofa in my office. You could sleep there tonight."
"But..."
"No 'buts'. You can sleep in my office. Come on, and I'll help you get settled in. That's the closest you'll be able to get to Nikki."
"Okay."
As Mark led the way, he tried to figure out how to tell her that he'd been made Chief of Surgery after Derek turned the position down. The sign above my door will probably be pretty obvious. I should tell her myself. They walked down the long, cold office corridor until Mark suddenly stopped short.
"This isn't your office. It says 'Anesthesiology'."
"I know. There's something you should know," he paused to watch her expression change from tired to curious and back to tired again. "After you left for LA, I was made Chief of Surgery."
"You? Chief? I have to say, I'm not surprised."
"You're not?" he figured she would have expected Preston or Derek to be chief.
"No. I always thought it would be you or Preston, but when I heard that he'd relocated to Cleveland Clinic, I thought it was probably you."
"You did?"
"Yeah. I mean, Derek's great and all, but his whole relationship with Meredith thing would have made being chief really hard."
"Richard picked him first, but he didn't want it."
"Yeah, Derek knew he wouldn't do as a good a job as someone else."
"You know what?" he asked, and she shrugged, "Derek was the one to suggest me. We've been trying to work things out between us."
"Good."
They continued along the corridor until Mark stopped at the Office of the Chief of Surgery. He led Addison into the large office and pulled the sofa bed out. Noticing that her luggage was not with her, he handed her a pair of scrubs from his stash. Then, he pulled the blue chenille throw from the back of the sofa and draped it over the bed. From the closet came pillows and sheets, all pale blue with navy pinstripes. When he turned from making the sofa bed, he found Addison standing in a bra and his scrub pants, which hung a little too loosely around her small waist. She's thinner than she used to be, but she still has great curves. His entire face flushed to a shade of scarlet he'd never felt before, and his body burned with desire. I am the world's biggest jackass. Her sister is practically dying, and all I can think of is how to get her naked.
"Sorry," she replied, seeing his embarrassment. "I was trying to get changed before you turned back around."
"No, I'm sorry," he said and immediately turned back around.
"It's okay. I'm dressed now."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Umm...no...well...no."
"Addie? Are you sure?"
"Well, I just...don't want to be alone," for the first time since arriving in Seattle, she was beginning to miss Pete.
"Okay. I can see if Callie is around tonight. Or Miranda."
"Oh. Okay," her disappointment surprised him.
"What?"
"I was sort of hoping, if you don't have somewhere to be, that you would stay with me."
"Yeah. I can stay."
"You don't have someone waiting or anything?"
"Addison, if you're trying to ask me if I'm married, the answer is no. I haven't had a relationship in a while."
"No women for Dr. Mark Sloan?" she teased. "I guess being chief doesn't leave you much time."
"Nope. No women." Not since you.
"Wow. I'm proud of you," she was obviously surprised.
"Thanks a lot, Addison," it was his turn to tease.
She shrugged, giving him one of her classic 'looks', before crawling onto the sofa bed. He sat down next to her after she patted the empty space. At her suggestion, he took off his shoes and tie and stretched out next to her, on top of the sheets and blanket. Each lay lost in thought for a long time, both aware of the mere three inches between them. I think I've missed him. I wonder if he's missed me too... I need to ask him how everyone else is tomorrow. I bet Miranda's son has grown up so much. Mark's changed a lot, that's for sure. I should call Pete and tell him that my plane made it safely. I wish Mark would put his arms around me again. I have missed him. I loved him, but now I love Pete. Don't I? Damn it. She finally drifted off to sleep and was vaguely aware of Mark pulling her into his chest, his rhythmic breathing bringing the same comfort that it had on those lonely nights so long ago.
AN: Thanks for all the great reviews!