A/N; Chapter 7 is here. I am not too sure about this chapter but it builds up for the next one so I guess it's kind of a filler. I hope you like it anyway though.

7. Close embrace

"A secret?" Alex frowned. "Can't you tell me? I thought I was your friend."

"Mommy said no…" Lily answered, tears still falling down her face. "But she's not here and…"

"And you can't talk about it with your daddy?" Alex asked, receiving a hard shake on the head as an answer. The look Lily gave him next sent a small spark of electricity down his spine, he knew that look. "Lily" he said her name and she focused her eyes on his. "What did your daddy do?"

Lily jumped slightly by his words but the look in his eyes made her relax, he made her feel like she could talk to him. He made him feel something she didn't even know what it was called, a feeling she only knew of – safety. "He hurt her."

Alex heart sunk rapidly by those three tiny words. His own voice felt raspy and strange as he spoke. "Often?" again a nod. "Did he hurt you?" a shake and he couldn't help but smile slightly. "That's good" he reached out and pulled the girl up in his lap.

Lily nestled closer to him and laced her tiny arms around his neck. "Will you save mommy?"

Alex closed his eyes as he heard her speak. He didn't know what to say, he didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep but he didn't want to let her down either. Hadn't he once promised himself to never let any man hit a woman he cared about ever again?

"Yes…" he paused and wrapped his arms around her to hold her closer. "…I will save you both…"

--

When Addison came back out from OR 4 she was exhausted. Every muscle in her body was aching from the long surgery and as she spun her neck from side to side she head it crack a bit. She needed a coffee and a warm bed – heck any bed would do it. But she soon realized something was off. Maybe it was the fact that everyone she passed when she pulled off her gloves and everything else was looking at her a bit oddly. Maybe it was simply that feeling in her stomach that gave it away…but the last hint was the crowd that hit her once she reached the corridor.

"What's wrong?" she looked from Christina to Izzie and over to Meredith, all who kept their eyes on the floor, avoiding the redhead's looks. "Stevens" she focused on Izzie knowing she could break her. "Where is Lily?"

"Well…" Izzie started but to her relief she was cut off by a loud call from the end of the corridor.

"Mommy!" Lily came running as fast as she could and Addison just had time to bend down in time to catch her as the girl lounged herself into her.

"Hey kiddo" Addison pulled Lily up with her and placed her on her hip. "What fun have you been up to?" she asked and tried to keep the tiredness out of her tone but as Lily let her head fall onto her shoulder without a sound she realized something was up. "What's wrong…?" she looked up to realized everyone had left apart from Alex who was now leaning against the wall beside her.

"They ran" he said.

"Did I scare them?" Addison asked. "Because I am usually not scary this time of day, I mean I didn't even bring my Satan shoes" she tried to joke but he didn't move a muscle. "Okay you're scaring me know. What is up?"

"We need to talk" Alex moved away from the wall. "About Ben and…"

"No" Addison shook her head. "I need to leave" she moved past him, still with Lily in a fast grip.

"Addison" he hurried after and walked backwards in front of her. "We need to have this talk no matter if you want to or not…you know that."

"I don't have to do anything" Addison shot back. "And no matter what you think you know…you know nothing" she added and hurried by him and headed for the stairs.

"Ads come on" Alex ran after her down the many steps taking them two at a time and catching up with her only a few meters after the last step. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.

"Alex let go of me" her voice was strong and there was no doubt in his mind she would beat him down if she got the chance.

"We need to talk" he said and pulled her with him towards the door behind him. The door that led to one of the many on call rooms.

"You can not just act like this" Addison shot at him but when she saw that he was blocking the door she sighed and let Lily down on the floor. "Fine so talk to I can get out of here" she sunk down onto the one bed and looked up at him.

"Ben came by earlier" Alex started. "Not only did he literary drag Lily out of the cafeteria but he came back a few minutes later and accused me of kidnapping her."

"Kidnapping her?" Addison looked from Alex to Lily who was hunched on the floor with her eyes at her shoes.

"She ran away from him" Alex stated.

"Why?" this time her question was directed at her daughter.

Lily just looked up and gave a look. "Because…he yelled…I don't like what he does when he gets mad" she said and Addison closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Come here" she held her hands out and Lily rose from the floor, happily accepting the embrace. "It's okay now" she let her fingers go through Lily's hair to sooth her but her eyes went up to meet Alex's.

"Lily how would you like to go and see Izzie again?" Alex suggested.

"No" Lily moved closer to Addison.

"Maybe just for a little while…" Addison suggested. "So me and Alex here can talk."

Lily looked from Addison to Alex back and forth a few times before she silently nodded. Alex opened the door and got a hold of Izzie who as he had expected was waiting outside along with Meredith and a few nurses, all interested in what was going on.

After a few sentences along the way of 'We just need to talk' and 'I owe you guys' Alex managed to get his two friends to look after Lily and he could get back into the on call room where Addison had not moved at all since he left.

"So now we can talk" he sat down on a chair by the opposite wall, deciding to leave her with the space she had just in case. "I talked to Lily earlier."

"So what do you know?" Addison crossed her legs and leaned back against the wall, clearly not comfortable with the conversation. Her brain was working on over drive, thoughts of explanations were swirling around in her head.

"She said he hurts you" Alex didn't look angry, just sad. "Is that true?"

"Of course he doesn't hurt me" Addison tried to laugh and make it seem real but even to her it sounded hollow and Alex just gave her one of those looks. One of those that every doctor learned early on and used on patients when they had bad news to deliver. It was the look that closed any discussion. "I'm fine Alex" she said.

"Okay" she was surprised that he gave in so soon. But he did get up and sat down next to her on the bed. Without giving her time to react he grabbed her nearest wrist and held it in his, pulling up her sleeve in one motion. His fingertips gently traced the marks that by now had turned a deep purple tone. "So I guess these were you walking into a door?" he looked up at her.

"Look Alex things are not always the way they look" Addison started but Alex just shook his head.

"I know this, okay" he said. "I have seen all the signs I have seen all the marks, the bruises and all the tears…" he looked away briefly but long enough for her to see his eyes go glossy.

"How did you…?" she didn't know what she meant to ask but he understood.

"My dad beat my mum" he said. "It's not something I talk about but just so you know, I do understand. I understand what he does…I even understand your bound to him…so if you want to talk to someone you should let that someone be me" he took her hand in his again. "I do understand."

"Thank you Alex" she gave him a small smile before she moved away from him and rose to her feet. "But I really am fine" she continued out of the room, leaving him alone.

Alex sighed and plunged his fist into the mattress underneath him in a pathetic way to unleash his frustration. She had been right there, she had shown him all the signs and he had opened up. Damn he had told her something only a few people ever knew…and what did she do in response? She left, using the phrase he hated most in life – 'I'm fine'.

He let his body fall back against the bed and placed his hands under his head starring up at the ceiling. He tried to get the rest he had wanted all day but all he got once he closed his eyes were images from his childhood. The screaming and the cries once again echoed in his head. But soon other screams came through and he opened his eyes again.

As fast as he could he got on his feet and hurried out of the door just in time to see Addison and Ben leaving, both talking rather loudly. Lily was grasping her mommy's hand tightly as they got outside. Alex hurried after but stopped by the glass doors, watching them leave.

"Man he was pretty angry" Meredith walked up behind him, she too watching the family of three leave towards their car.

"What did he say?" Alex asked without removing his eyes from the window.

"I don't know, something about children running loose and late surgeries" Meredith shrugged and let them go with her eyes, turning to watch Alex. "What is really going on with you two?"

"Nothing" Alex answered.

"Should I be worried about you ruining her mirage?" Meredith asked.

But Alex didn't answer, he simply turned away, walking towards the locker room, leaving Meredith alone and the questions still hovering above her head not making much sense…

--

Close embrace, but no more. Cold Champagne we forgot to pour