A/N I'm afraid you won't find out Alex's real plan until chapter three; first he's gotta test some things. Oh, and this time I actually mean the AddisonAlex label. Lot's of Addisex fluff in this chapter and the next. Please R&R, it'll make me uber happy! And motivate me to write more sooner, so it's a win/win, right?

XxX

Chapter II: Bending the Lines

The lines were all too straight in the hotel room. Stacks of boxes (not that many) against the wall, straight and orderly, made her head hurt but not spin. Addison kind of wished it would spin. Unfortunately, she had emptied the liquor cabinet of the suite last week, and she hadn't worked up the courage to order more. No matter how brave and strong Addison Forbes Montgomery may appear, she came from a family of rich, stuck-up prisses who would frown upon her bringing such shame to the family name. Old habits die hard. Oh, well.

The neo-natal surgeon reached to the very back of her closet and folded the last of her clothes into the last suitcase before zipping it up. She couldn't say that she would miss the hotel room that had been her home for the past few months, but Addison was not always so adaptable to change. It had been hard enough to move from Manhattan to Seattle, and now look at her; running away once again to the Sunshine State. Vaguely, Addison wondered if she was being shallow. She had run away from one man that wanted her to another that didn't want her, and was now running away from another that didn't want her as well. Was it worse being shallow for one man or three? "I prefer Ruler of All That is Evil." Her voice in the elevator echoed from her first week in Seattle to the present, and she jumped and shoved away the thought. It was natural human instinct to run; Addison Forbes Montgomery was not shallow (or Satan, for that matter).

With a soft, almost inaudible sigh (if anyone had been around to hear it, that is), Addison sat on the corner of her -- the -- bed and reached into the pocket of the coat that was slung over the chair for the next morning. She closed her fingers around the object her hand automatically fished for and withdrew it from the red material, holding it up to the light. Pathetic. Pathetic, that was the word for her. Staring at the picture of a guy she knew she could never have, she knew would never want her. She didn't know what she was expecting, or what she was even hoping for. Her mind was in a jumble of senses, of memories and reveries and why's and what if's. All she knew was that in her inner turmoil, the canon photograph of Alex Karev reduced her inner conflict -- that was threatening to boil over any second -- to a small simmer within her. She still could not remember the patient's name. The word shallow bobbed to the surface of her conscious once more, but she shoved it beneath the tide, same as before.

A soft knock came at her door.

Addison flinched; whoever it was could just leave. She was not in the mood to apologize or say goodbye or cry. A few suspects crossed her mind; perhaps it was Callie. The two had grown close over the past few months, and Addison wouldn't be surprised if she had come to say goodbye. Or maybe Mark, coming to deliver one last speech about why she shouldn't leave before she left. Her heart twisted guiltily at the thought and she silently prayed it was not Mark on the other side of the door.

Another knock, louder, more sharp.

Addison resisted the reflex to call out in answer and chewed down on her lower lip, eliciting a squeak of pain from herself. She tasted the tang of blood on her tongue, metally and salty, but ignored it as she stood and crossed the room, standing before the white door. Another knock, then another. She reached her hand out slowly, grappling with her conscience...

"Addi, open the door or I'll break it down!" came the voice, soft and playful, yet entirely serious. It was Alex Karev; no other voice got to her that way. She fought down the sob that threatened to rise from her stomach and twisted the knob, opening the door only enough to fit her face between the door-frame and the door itself.

"Yeah?" she asked, and cringed as her voice cracked on the simple word. He was posed defensively, and he looked as if he were a tad anxious, the hairs on the back of his neck maybe standing on end. Addison would never know his doubts, though; self-doubt was not something common for Alex Karev.

"You're leaving."

It was more of a statement then a question, but Addison answered anyway.

"Yeah." She realized that the only contribution she had made to this conversation were two utterings of the same word, and though the inflection was different each time, she found the need to add more. "Tomorrow."

He nodded, the movement jerky and unnatural. They stood in compatible silence for a moment, and then Addison swung the door open and gestured him in with her eyes. He shook his head, and again Addison felt the sting of rejection stab through her like a lightning bolt. It was soothed quickly, though, as he reached his hand out and took hers in his own, tugging softly.

"Come on," he ordered softly.

She allowed herself to be led away like a young girl.

XxX

A/N2 Next chapter very and completely fluffy, but I think this one was rather cute as well. It's still not that long, I know, but trust me, the next chapter will be. R&R, folks!