A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! Hopefully this chapter will explain everything. Btw-- since people keep asking me this, this really isn't going to be a shippy sort of story. Just friendships all around. I might write another romance after this, but this isn't going to have any sort of "ship" in it. Anyways, keep the reviews coming! They make me write faster!
"Hey," Meredith said as she plopped into a chair next to Cristina in the hospital's cafeteria.
George, Izzie, and Alex nodded at her in greeting. Cristina took a huge bite of her sandwich and turned toward her. "Did I tell you? Burke's got a coronary artery bypass graft. He said he'd even let me do most of the work this time."
"Seriously?" Meredith replied, opening her own sandwich.
"Yeah. Sleeping with an attending has gotta have its perks," Alex snickered. "Right, Mer?"
Meredith shrugged. "I got a nineteen-year-old needing a CT scan on his brain."
George's eyes widened. "Yeah? What's the big deal about that?"
"He's got some kind of relationship with Addison."
"What kind of relationship?" Cristina asked, her interest piqued.
Meredith shrugged again. "He wouldn't say. Derek wouldn't say either."
"Shepherd knows him?" Izzie said, leaning forward. "Must be some sort of big deal. Addison wouldn't say a word during that hysterectomy we scrubbed in on." She motioned over to the other side of the cafeteria. "Look at her now."
They all turned around to see Addison sitting off by herself. The red-headed attending pushed her food around on her plate as she stared into the distance, lost in thought.
"Damn," Alex whispered. "I don't think I've ever seen McHot look so…"
"Upset," George finished.
"Look, we've gotta do something," Meredith said, scraping her chair back.
"We? What we?" Cristina protested.
"I'm not gonna leave her like that."
"Since when do you care about Addison Forbes Montgomery?" Alex argued.
Meredith shook her head. "Since I saw the way she looked at that boy. I'll catch up to you guys later." She pushed her chair in and wound her way to where Addison sat dejectedly.
Addison didn't look up as she approached.
"Addison?" Meredith said quietly. Addison still didn't look up, so Meredith said her name louder.
Addison jumped, startled. "Oh, Dr. Grey. Sorry, I was…"
"Yeah." Meredith looked around uncomfortably. "Look, uh, can I sit down?"
The elder surgeon's eyebrows went up for a split second. "Sure."
Meredith pulled out a chair across from Addison and quickly sat down, avoiding eye contact with her colleagues. After a tense silence, she spoke up. "Look, I don't know what your whatever is with Chris Hatcher, but…" she took a deep breath. "If you wanna talk, I'm here."
Addison watched the intern shift uncomfortably in her seat, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth. Meredith had never made this kind of gesture before, and Addison was slightly suspicious. "Derek didn't tell you?"
"He said I should talk to you."
Addison's surprise was evident in the way those eyebrows shot up again. "Well, in that case…"
Meredith leaned forward slightly in anticipation.
"Chris is my best friend's son," Addison said suddenly.
"What?"
"He's the son of my roommate from college." Addison chuckled mirthlessly. "He's also the reason I decided to go neonatal."
"I don't get it."
Addison's face darkened with the memory. "I don't either."
"Push, Liz!" twenty-year-old Addison winced as Liz gripped her hands even tighter.
"This really isn't as easy as it looks on TV," Liz panted.
"It's crowning," the doctor said. "Keep pushing."
Liz gritted her teeth and screamed as she tried to push the baby out. "I can't! I can't!"
Addison combed her fingers through her friend's sweaty blonde hair. "Yes, you can," she said gently. "You can do it."
"Come on, Mrs. Hatcher, just a little more," the doctor added, hands ready to catch the newborn.
Liz nodded and pushed again.
The doctor pulled out a mass that resembled a baby. The room was soon filled with its crying. "Congratulations, you have a baby boy!" the doctor exclaimed, handing it off to a nurse to get it cleaned off.
"You hear that? A boy!" Addison whispered.
"Addie," Liz whispered, her face sweaty and pale. "I don't feel so good." Her eyes rolled back into her head. Suddenly, blood began gushing out of her body.
"Liz!" Addison yelled.
The doctor turned around and swore under his breath. "Her uterus ruptured. Get her to an OR!" he shouted. "And get her out of here!" he motioned to Addison.
"Liz!" Addison screamed again as one of the nurses began to push her out of the room.
"We'll take care of her, don't be worried," the nurse said, trying to calm her down. "Just go to the waiting room and we'll let you know."
The door shut in Addison's face as she tried to catch a last glimpse of her friend. The heart monitor was going crazy, and the doctor was frantically trying to stop the intense hemorrhaging.
Addison waited with Rob for what seemed like days. She gripped his hand as he stared worriedly at the tile floor.
"Mr. Hatcher?"
They looked up to see a young nurse standing in front of them, looking tired and pale. "Mr. Hatcher, your son is doing just fine. He's in the Neonatal unit if you want to see him."
"My wife," he whispered, standing up. Addison stood with him, her hand still in his. "How's my wife?"
The nurse's face grew sober. "We tried everything we could," she said quietly.
Rob's lip trembled as he struggled to hold back his emotions.
"Apparently, her uterus and fallopian tubes were unable to take the strain of naturally delivering a baby."
"No!" he yelled, tears running from his eyes. He looked Addison in the face, his face red. He put his hands to his head and promptly ran out the door.
Addison sat down, tears streaming down her own face.
"Would you like to see the baby?" the nurse asked gently.
Addison looked up at her and nodded. The nurse put an arm around her shoulder and led her to the neonatal unit. She pointed out Liz's son.
Wiping tears from her eyes, Addison pressed her face to the glass window separating her from the baby. "Hey there, fella," she whispered. "Don't you worry." Her voice cracked with emotion, and she struggled to continue. "I'm gonna take good care of you. I'm gonna take…" Addison's emotions took over and she sank to the floor. "Oh, Liz," she sobbed as the nurse held her tightly.
Addison looked up to see Meredith's eyes rimmed with tears. "I'm so sorry, Addison," the young surgeon whispered.
Addison shook her head. "It was a long time ago. But I kept my word. Chris's father was never the same after Liz died. Even as a little kid, Chris spent many nights at my apartment. And I made sure that, if I had anything to say about it, nothing like that would ever happen to another woman under my care."
Meredith hesitatingly put her hand on Addison's. "I promise. I'll take really good care of him."
She smiled at her sincerely. "I know you will, Meredith."
"You wanna get in on the CT scan? I'm about to take him there."
Addison wiped a tear from her eyes. "Yeah, I'll, uh, be there in a minute." Meredith smiled at her reassuringly and left.
Addison sighed and held her head in her hands. "I'm gonna take good care of him, Liz," she whispered. "Don't worry. Don't worry."
Twice as much ain't twice as good
And can't sustain like one half could