a/n: it's a short chapter, but it's cute, in my opinion. i'll try to get you the next chapter soon!
disclaimer: it's STILL not mine!
"Hi Mommy!" Aiden exclaimed as Izzie walked her through the open door.
"Hey sweetie," Addison replied as she bent down and hugged her daughter.
"You look tired," Izzie remarked.
"Yeah," Addison yawned. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Mark?" Izzie asked knowingly.
"Sort of… Mark's… Mark. And I'll only have to deal with him at work from now on."
"What?"
"Let's just say it definitely wasn't Derek Mark was with last night."
"Oh. You must feel horrible! You must have stayed up all night tossing and turning."
Addison blushed. She had definitely stayed up all night, just not because of anything Mark did. Alex, though, Alex was a different story. "Not exactly," she said sheepishly.
"Then why are you so-" Izzie's question was answered as Alex chose that moment to walk out of Addison's bedroom and into the kitchen, greeting Izzie, Addison, Amaryl, and Aiden on the way. "Oh. Well. That makes sense."
"It makes sense?" Addison asked, confused.
"Yeah. You two were destined, you just couldn't see it."
"Mommy? Why is Alex here?" Aiden asked innocently. "Did he spend the night?"
"Um…" Addison struggled to answer the questions that were so innocent, but had such a wrong meaning behind them, while Izzie started cracking up. "Yeah. He did."
"What about Mark?" Aiden asked. For a six year old, she was incredibly perceptive.
"He's not going to be here anymore."
"Is he not my daddy anymore?" Aiden inquired.
"Um… well… he's still your daddy, but he and I… we're not…"
Izzie, who decided that her friend had suffered enough at the hands of her oblivious child, jumped in, simplifying the whole situation. "Alex is your new daddy Aiden."
"Well that's one way of putting it," Addison stated, stunned at the frankness of the statement.
Aiden's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Um… yeah," Addison.
"Really, really?" Aiden asked.
Addison smiled at her little girl's enthusiasm. "Really, really," she affirmed.
A grin graced the little girl's face. "Can I call him Daddy?"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. But you'll have to ask him for yourself."
"Ask me what?" Alex said from the doorway.
Aiden ran up to him and tugged on his hand. "Can I call you Daddy?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"Okay Daddy!" Alex looked incredibly flattered and Aiden looked thrilled.
"We're just going to go…" Izzie said, feeling a little out of place in what was clearly a family moment, and pulled her daughter out of the house.
"Daddy?"
It took Alex a second to respond, since he was still not used to the title, but eventually he looked down and asked, "What?"
"Do you love Mommy?"
Alex looked straight at Addison. "Yeah. I do. A lot."
"Does Mommy love you?"
Alex tore his eyes away from the love of his life and looked down at Aiden. "Um… I don't… I don't know."
Aiden turned to her mother, who had been watching the scene unfold, smiling. "Well, do you, Mommy?"
Addison looked a little shocked. She was quiet for a moment, obviously mulling things over. If she said no, for one, she wouldn't really be telling the whole truth, and also, how awful would that be to say? But if she said yes, Alex might she was being forced to say it and might not believe her. And then she thinks to herself, how about listening to her heart? That might tell her what she was thinking. So she does. She listens. "Yeah," she said before she lost her courage or over thought it. "I do." She looked over at Alex and found him grinning. "I do," she repeated.
"And I love you guys!" Aiden exclaimed. Addison bent down and picked her up.
"Perfect," Alex said, wrapping an arm around Addison's waist.
"Perfect," Addison repeated and found it was the truth.
Syllogism
a) reviews make me happy b) i write more when i'm happy. therefore c) reviews make me write more.
;-)
-Lauren
