A/N: I apologize for the long wait, but I haven't had an Internet connection for the past couple of days... :( But here's the latest chapter I have written, and I hope to have the next one up by this weekend. I kinda had problems with the dialogue on this chapter, and it's definitely not one of my favorites, but I'd love to know what you guys think!

Meredith smiled reassuringly at Chris as she wheeled him down to Radiology. "Don't worry about it. Shepherd's the best."

Chris smiled back. "He always was."

"You know them pretty well, don't you?"

"Ever since I was a baby. I used to spend days with them at a time when I was little."

"Addison told me a little. What happened to your dad?"

Chris frowned slightly, then grinned again. "He still lives in New York. He's a lawyer. Which is good, because it always kept him out of the house and away from me."

"You didn't want him to be there?"

Chris shook his head. "I reminded him too much of my mom."

Meredith smiled. "From what Addison's told me, you look just like her."

"Addie used to say I had all her same mannerisms. Talk too much, play around, never serious."

Meredith smiled again as she turned his bed into the CT room. "Sounds like she was a wonderful person."

Chris smiled wanly. "Yeah. She sure was."

Meredith gently helped him out of the bed and onto the cold plastic bed that would eventually move into the CT scanner. She covered him with a blanket, making sure he was warm enough in the cold room. "Okay, Dr. Shepherd's going to be monitoring the CT scan from the other room." She motioned toward it, and Derek waved. "Stay very still. It won't take too long."

Derek nodded at Meredith, who pushed a button. Chris's still form slid into the humming machine.

"Hey."

Derek turned around to see Addison leaning against the doorframe. Her beautiful face was weary from worry.

"Hey," he whispered. "You're just in time. We just started." He turned back toward the monitor. After an awkward pause, he glanced up at Addison. "I don't suppose you're still bright and shiny?"

Addison slapped him on the side of the head in reply.

"Just asking." Derek grinned, and Addison softly chuckled. Suddenly, something on the monitor grabbed his eye. He hit a couple of keys, and the screen showed three different views of Chris's cranial cavity. "Damn," he whispered.

"What, what is it?" Addison asked, putting her hand on the back of his chair.

Derek frowned and looked up at her. "It's not good."

Addison and Derek slowly opened the door to Chris's room. The young man looked up from his book and immediately saw something was wrong. "What?" he asked worriedly.

Addison moved around to the side of his bed and took his hand in hers. "The results of your CT came back," she said quietly as a single tear slipped out.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked, startled by Addison's display of emotion.

Derek took a deep breath. "You have a tumor pressing on your brain stem."

Chris looked back and forth from Addison to Derek. "You mean, like cancer?" Derek nodded, and Addison gripped Chris's hand tighter. He sank back into his pillow. "You can operate, can't you?"

"It's risky. These tumors are aggressive and in a difficult place to get to." Derek paused, not wanting to continue.

Chris clenched his jaw and pushed himself up in the bed, holding Addison's hand tightly. "Don't sugar-coat it, Derek."

"Okay," Derek nodded, taking another deep breath. "If you survive the surgery, you'll have intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments. There's a six-in-ten chance it'll come back again, more aggressively than the first one."

Chris sat back, stunned. "So I'm gonna die before I'm twenty-five?"

"Not necessarily," Addison interjected, wiping tears from her eyes. "Derek's gonna do all he can. Won't you, Derek?"

Derek hesitated, catching Addison's eyes. They implored him to say something positive, something reassuring. "I promise I'll do everything I can." He smiled at Chris and touched Addison on the shoulder. "I'm going to book the OR for tomorrow morning. Call me later?" Addison nodded. Derek left the room, closing the door softly behind him. He saw Meredith standing at the nurses' station, half-heartedly flipping through a chart. He went over to her, and she touched him on the arm gently.

"How did he take it?"

Derek sighed. "Like a man."

Meredith looked through the window of Chris's room. Addison was holding onto his hand tightly, crying. He was fighting to hold back his emotions. "He seems like a good kid."

Derek leaned against the counter and gazed into Chris's room. "He is. He always was."

"Are you going to be able to save him?"

He shook his head. "It's pretty advanced. I don't know…"

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Addison's taking it hard."

"Yeah," he replied simply.

"You gonna let her scrub in?"

"No way. But she'll be watching from the gallery." Derek turned around and grabbed Meredith's hand. "C'mon. They need privacy, and I need a drink."

Chris lightly put his hand on Addison's head, running his fingers through her red hair. She refused to let go of his other hand as she softly cried into his sheets.

"I never thought," he said, the emotion evident in his voice, "that I would die so soon. There's so much I want to see, to do."

Addison looked up and wiped her eyes. "Don't talk like that. You are not going to die."

"C'mon, Addie. I'm old enough to know. Even if I survive this surgery, there's gonna be more, and it might spread."

"You're not going to die," she repeated, looking him in the eyes. God, he looked so much like Liz. His face looked so calm. "How can you not even care?"

He clenched his jaw and gently lifted Addison's chin. "I'm not scared, Addison."

Addison shook her head in disbelief. "I would be. You're nineteen, Chris. You have a full life ahead of you. How can you not be scared?"

"Don't you think I'm disappointed that I'll never get married, or have kids?" He lightly ran his finger along her jaw line. "But I know where I'm going."

Addison sighed. "How can you be so sure?"

He smiled. "I'm going to see my mom. For the first time in my life, I'm going to meet my mom." Fresh tears ran down his cheeks, and Addison quietly sniffled as tears ran down her own. "That reminds me. I have something to give you before my surgery tomorrow."

Addison cocked an eyebrow, trying to ignore the tears.

"It's in my backpack, over there." He motioned to a black bag on the couch next to the door. "Bring it to me?"

Addison wiped her cheeks and grabbed the bag. She quietly handed to him, and he rummaged through it.

"Ah, here it is." He pulled out a framed picture and handed it to her.

She caught her breath, stunned. It was a picture of her and Liz. Addison was wearing a lavender bridesmaid's dress, and Liz was in a gorgeous wedding dress. They were holding each other tightly, huge smiles gracing both faces.

"I know she would have wanted you to have it."

She shook her head. "I can't take this."

"Sure you can." He smiled. "What do I need it for now?"

Addison chuckled and shook her head. "I promise, Liz," she whispered. "I promise I'll take care of him."

Gravity

Stay the hell away from me