Author's Note: I know people were saying that Addison wasn't acting accordingly with what had happened, but she will in good time. There's some clarifications in this chapter regarding the Addex relatinship, after everything that has happened. I know Addison's not Meredith, and she doesn't just bury everything inside until she has to drown to realize (and please, any Mer fans, don't take that as a bashing. I love Mer, too. I was just making a point to the fact that Adds and Mer are different in some ways)...Anyway, Read and review, please!

Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I owned Grey's right now. But sadly, I'm not the rich woman sitting looking at all the earnings. Shonda Rhimes (aka the McAmazing Head Writer/Producer) and the folks at ABC are, however. So, without further adieu-I don't own...

Returning to the hospital, Addison immediately put herself into surgery mode. She ignored the questions by nurses, ignored the feeling in her gut-the memory of what had happened after the surgery that had ultimately changed her life. Alex was there, but so far the two had scarcely said a word. "And we can close. She has a beautiful baby girl."Addison said, tears tracing her eyelids.

After assuring that the patient was fine, Addison stood in the hallway, not really sure where she was going. She was tired, naucious almost. Somehow, she found her way to the cafeteria. Laughing, it was then that she realized how hungry she was. Taking a deli sandwich, a piece of cake, and a bottled water, she found her way to a table. Eyes looking up, she half expected Alex to be standing in front of her, but instead, found Callie.

"Is it okay if I sit down?"She asked, referencing to her tray.

"Sure. Be my guest."Addison said, unwrapping her sandwich. Studying Callie's face, she could tell that she wanted to talk, but at the moment was afraid of how to approach the subject. "Hospital food, huh?"She said with a nervous laugh. It was meant to lighten the mood, but it clearly didn't help.

"Yeah. Some stuff...it doesn't even seem like food."Callie said, taking a gulp from her drink. "So I heard you had an emergency surgery this morning. How'd that go?"

Addison took a deep breath, nodding. "It was good. But apparently, that baby was more than ready. We had already scheduled it for this afternoon, but it decided to come on its own. Some things happen that way."

Following her gaze, Callie could tell that Addison was stressed. Moving the pasta around on her plate, she shrugged. "So George and I are married now. And his friends...well-"

"Not taking it too well?"Addison asked, thankful that for once she could talk about something other than what was going on with herself.

"Not exactly. I know that it happened suddenly, but you'd think that eventually they would catch on."Callie said, noticing a particular something in Addison's eyes. "Are you okay? Is something going on? I mean, I'm here complaining about my husband's friends...when you probably wanna say something about what happened to you."

Addison shook her head, shrugging. She felt sick, and she knew then that she'd have to speak to the chief eventually. Knowing full well how rumors spread around Seattle Grace, she felt that he had the right to know before he heard from someone else. Still, she had to eat. She could just picture the look on Alex's face if he were to find that she hadn't been eating. But staring down at the wilting lettuce, surrounding the fading offwhite of her turkey sandwich, Addison felt her stomach churning. "I'm...well, I'm working on what happened. Right now, I'm just thankful to be here."

Callie was about to reply, when Addison stood up, looking distaught. Ready to follow her, Callie's pager went off. "Ugh..I gotta go. It's the E.R. ."She said, watching her. "You need anything? Because, really-"

"I'll be fine. Just go. Patients...need you. I'm gonna go find an on-call room."

Rather than searching for an empty on-call room, Addison managed to get to a bathroom, staring at her red-eyed face in the mirror. Slowly breathing in and out, she turned on the faucet, swishing water around to get out the foul taste. Hearing the bathroom door open, she laughed inwardly upon seeing who had enetered. Sometimes, Addison hated karma.

"Addison?"She heard Meredith say. "Are you okay?"

She was quickly growing tired of that question. "Yeah. Just a little too much excitement after surgery."

"Okay."Meredith said, not convinced. She went two sinks over, carefully washing her hands. "But you know that if something was wrong-"

"I could tell you?"Addison said, finding the conversation awkward.

"Well...yeah. I mean, I walked in here, and you're...keeled over a sink. If you're sick..."

"Meredith?"Addison said, hoping her point wouldn't come across wrong. "It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that you care. Because I do. But...what happened yesterday? I'm okay now. It's...It's just stress."She lied.

Meredith drew a breath before nodding. "Alright."With that, she headed out the door, stalking down the hallway. Half-heartedly paying attention, she came upon Alex and Cristina sitting in their spot. "Hey."She said.

"And where were you? You were supposed to be down here minutes ago."Cristina said, flipping through a medical source book. "Burke has a case. A really big case, and he needs interns. But that is not why we are here.We're here because it's apparently the only way we can see each other anymore. During lunch. So-"She said, waving a bag of Doritos at her.

Alex, smirk visible, nudged her arm. "See, I know that look. Yang might not. You were releasing your beast, weren't you?"

"Actually...I was washing my hands."Meredith said, staring particularly at Alex. "I saw Addison...do you know what's going on with her?"

"Something's going on with Addison?"Alex asked, worried.

"Well, she did spend...hours...stuck in the exam room with you and that creep. How do you think she'd react? Where are Izzie and George?"Cristina asked.

"So wait...something was wrong with her? Or were you just able to sense it with your McSenses?"

"So yeah, Burke...so letting me on on the surgery. I mean sure, I won't be able to fly solo or anything. But surgery...specifically cardiothoracic-"

"Has Burke even told you-"

"Meredith?"Alex asked, bringing the attention back to him. "What happened with Addison?"

Staring at him, Meredith almost seemed offended. "...Nothing. I saw her, she looked upset...like she was crying or something. I asked her if she was okay, but she just insisted that it was stress. So I left. Why would you care that much about Addison in the first place?"

Cristina's eyes widened, dropping the highlighter from her hand. "I knew it. I knew it."

"Knew what?"Meredith asked.

"Alex has a thing for McSatan."

"What?"

"I don't have a...thing for Addison."

Not believing him, Cristina sat back, the sound of the crunchy Dorito filling the area. "But you keep calling her Addison."

Meredith turned to Alex, the whole thing suddenly making sense to her. "You have a thing for Addison."

Alex shook his head, fighting back a smile. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he sighed. "Shut up. Stop referring to it as a 'thing'. And you call her Addison, too." Seeing George and Izzie enter the room, he decided it was the best time to try and find her.

Opening the door of the on-call room, he found her crumpled on a bed. "Hey..."He said, putting a protective arm around her waist.

"You're not gonna ask me if I'm okay?"Came Addison's muffled cry.

"'Cause I know it's not what you wanna hear."Alex whispered, breath hot on her neck.

Closing her eyes, Addison rolled over, facing Alex. "How are we supposed to do this? How are we supposed to have a baby in this hospital, amidst all of this...crap? I'm a neonatal surgeon. I save lives of little babies all the time. Except for my own children. That I just didn't...couldn't...do."

"That's not true."Alex said. "Come on. Sit up."He said as he helped her to sit on the edge of the bed beside him. "What-"He stopped, licking his lips. "What happened to those babies...it's different now."

"You don't know that."Addison said, holding on to his hand. "I lost two children. One of which I was actually responsible for. What makes carrying this child any different?"

Shrugging, Alex stared at her. "Well, for one, I'm here. I'm not as hard-shelled as they all say."

"So I've learned."Addison replied with a grin.

"What can I say?"Alex said, dismissing it as nothing.

"Thank you. For being here..for saving me from insanity when we were trapped..."Addison stopped, studying Alex's face. "You've been great. But you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"Addison? Did you not here a word I said this morning? I wanna help you with this baby. Any way I can."Alex said, wishing she would believe him. It wasn't enough that she know believed she would carry this child, he needed to make her believe that he would be there.

"What is it about you?"Addison asked, almost as if she were in a daze.

Frowning, Alex acted like he didn't know what she meant.

"How is it that at some points, you can seem like the meanest person. But when it's just us you're...I don't know..different?"Addison said, staring down at her stomach. "I'm pregnant. And...well, as I'm sure you know, my stomach isn't gonna stay small forever."

"I know."Alex said, standing. "So...you wanna say something?"

Biting her lip, Addison stood to face him. "You said that you...wanted to help me with this baby any way you could. I guess this is one of the ways."

"So you want me to go with you?"Alex asked, everything coming together in his mind.

"I think it would look better. But if-If you don't want to-"

"I'll do it."

"Are you sure? You know Chief. You know how he's bound to react to something like this, Alex."

"I know."He replied, rubbing her cheek with his hand. "But we're together now. He's gotta learn to accept that. If not-"

"Let's...not think about the 'if' right now, okay?"Addison asked.

Alex nodded in approval. "Okay."

"And for what it's worth...I love you, too."Addison said, leaning foward to kiss him. She felt his arms wrap around her, pressing her back firm against the beds. She felt his hands in her hair, finding herself getting lost in his touch. If she didn't stop what they were doing, anyone could walk in. And at that moment, they didn't need it. "I, uh..."

"Right."Alex said, staring at her mouth.

"Pa...Patients."Addison found herself stuttering.

Alex, not knowing what else to do, pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head. They had come to a point where anything could be said, where words meant more than just 'words'. He knew that, he knew Addison knew it. And now, Alex was sure that they were finally on the same page. They'd need to be for what they had to do.