a/n: look i'm actually updating when i said i would! i'm so proud of myself.
Just a warning: Be prepared to have your heart broken. this is THE saddest thing i've ever written. i almost cried writing it. i wish that i could say that this just happened, but i've had this chapter planned forever and based all the chapters before it off of it, sooo... i'm just going to make my apologies known before you start chasing me down the streets with pitchforks and torches.
Addison held the three sheets of paper that held the results of the paternity test. Several times she tried to look down and answer the question that had been burning in her mind for six years. But she couldn't.
"Hey, Addison," Izzie greeted her as she walked up. "Are those the results?"
Addison thrust the papers at her. "I can't do it, you look. You tell me."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Now just tell me and get it over with."
Izzie looked down and scanned them. "Good news or bad first?"
Addison sighed. "Good."
"Well, the good news is that you weren't the pregnant Dirty Mistress." Derek: negative, thank God. "The bad news is that I don't think you're going to like who the father is."
She handed Addison the papers. Addison read them and muttered "Damn it," when she read the words Mark Sloan: paternity: positive. (Yeah, I know, I hate me too.)
GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA
I should give him a chance, Addison thought. He is Aiden's dad. She deserves two parents. But how am I going to tell him? And what about Alex? Alex. I have to tell Alex. And that's what she went and did as opposed to going and telling the father.
She found him sitting in the cafeteria alone. Wordlessly she showed him the papers. She watched as his face darkened. "Shit. I thought maybe…"
"I know. I kind of thought so too. I hoped so." He looked up sharply at that. And then she realized that her statement kind of betrayed all the feelings that had been resurfacing for the past few weeks. So she tried to correct it, because she was determined to stay friends with him, no matter what the cost. "Because, I mean, if it was Derek that would seriously suck," Somewhere along the road, she had picked up some of his Alex-isms. "And Mark is Mark." Then she noticed that now it sounded like he was the default choice and she hastened to correct that too. "And you would have been a great dad. You're going to make some lucky chick really happy when she has your kid, Alex. You're going to be an amazing dad to some really lucky little kid."
And he was sure this was true. But he could only think of one lucky chick he wanted to have his kid and one really lucky little girl who he wanted to be an amazing dad to. And they apparently belonged to someone else now. "Are you going to give him a chance or whatever?"
"I have to. I mean, he's Aiden's dad. She deserves a dad."
"Sure."
"Okay, see, that whole non-enthusiastic 'sure' thing, not helping."
"Am I supposed to be?"
"Yes, because you are my friend and that's what friends do! They help! They tell me that I'm not about to make the biggest mistake of my life!"
"You're not making the biggest mistake of your life," he echoed. But it sounded hollow, even to him. Because he thought she was making the biggest mistake of her life. But he said it because he was her friend and that's apparently what friends do, even when they think their friend is wrong.
"Thank you."
"You should go find Sloan. He should know."
"Yeah. Wait, how do you know I haven't told him yet?"
"Two ways. One, if you had told him, you wouldn't be standing here procrastinating. And two, knowing Sloan, if you had told him already, you'd probably be in an on-call room about now."
Addison blushed at the truth in that statement. "I should, um, I should go."
"Yeah, you should." And with that, she walked away.
GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA
Mark reacted just like she knew he would, shocked at first and then elated. He hugged her and would have kissed her if she hadn't turned her head at the last second. "I'm giving you a chance," she said. "If you want, we can try dating." She closed her eyes as she said the last word, almost as if it hurt her to say it.
"Addi, I lo-"
"Shut up, Mark. I said we can try dating. Don't start up with that again."
"But it's true, I've loved you from the moment I saw you."
"If that was true, you wouldn't have cheated on me in the first place," Addison pointed out. "Now shut up. We're going to have rules. Rule number one, you will not tell me you love me, not until you prove to me that you mean it. Rule number two, and I don't know if this would apply to you, but whatever, you will not ask me to marry you. I'm not marrying you just because we have a kid. Rule number three, if I so much as catch you flirting with another woman, I have the right to break up with you then and there. Now come on, I haven't told Aiden yet. I want you to be there when I do."
She allowed Mark to slip an arm around her waist and pull her close. They walked down the daycare where Aiden was playing House with Amaryl. "Aiden, honey, there's someone I want you to meet."
Aiden looked up. "That's Mark. I already know him."
"Aiden, he's your daddy."
Aiden stopped cold. "No he's not."
"Honey, yes he is."
"No he's not!" Tears filled the little girl's eyes. "He's not! I hate him! I want Alex!" she screamed.
"Aidie," Addison quickly dropped to her knees and hugged her daughter. "Sweetie, I know it's hard."
"I-I w-want A-Alex! I want Alex!" She started slamming her tiny ineffectual fists into her mother's shoulder, sobbing, and repeating herself. She refused to be consoled and finally Addison just did what Aiden wanted and sent Alex a page. Aiden. Daycare. Come please?
Two minutes later, he came running into the daycare. "What? What's wrong with Aiden?"
"I'm sorry. It's just that she wants you and she won't stop crying and I've tried everything," Addison sighed.
"It's okay," he said and picked up the sobbing little girl. She snuggled into his hold and stuck her finger in her mouth, something she only did when she was tired or upset. "What's wrong?" he asked her.
"Mommy says that Mawk's my daddy but ee's nawt," she explained, keeping her finger placed securely in her mouth.
"Your mommy's telling the truth, Aidie."
"No she's not! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" she screamed and began sobbing again.
"Aidie, look at me. Look at me." She obeyed. "First of all, I completely agree with you, I hate him too," he whispered. "But if he's going to make your mommy happy, isn't he a good thing?" Aiden nodded, but he didn't notice because he was looking at Addison. "And we want your mommy happy, right?" Aiden nodded again. "So how about we support whatever decision she makes, okay? How about we don't care, as long as she's happy?" His eyes never broke contact with Addison's, which were looking almost guilty. Mark, who had been standing awkwardly in the background, looked on jealously.
"Okay, Alex. But I still like you better."
"Thanks Aidie."
"And I'm not calling him Daddy," she declared stubbornly.
"You don't have to call him Daddy," Addison intervened.
"Good, cuz I won't."
"Stubborn kid," Alex commented.
"She is my kid," Addison replied. "Thanks, Alex. Really. You didn't have to do that. Especially not now."
"It's okay," Alex answered. "I wanted to. She's a great kid, Addison; you did a good job with her. Good luck with her and Mark." Then he turned and walked out of the daycare, leaving the new family behind.
did you like it?
-Lauren
