So a couple people mentioned this. Alex. Alex isn't far. He just isn't needed right now. He'll be needed later. If I had to guess… in about 7 … no 5 chapters from now, Addison is going to be needin' some help, and Alex is the only one that can do it for her. But first other stuff has to happen so that she has a reason to need him.

So there you go.

Read.

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Addison stretched comfortably, then sighed contentedly when an arm tightened around her waist.

"Where are you going?" he demanded sleepily.

"Nowhere," she smiled.

He smiled and brushed some hair out of her face, "That's exactly where I want you."

She grinned, rolling over and lazily pressing her lips against his, "That makes two of us."

He smiled against her lips and pulled away, sliding out of bed, "Do you want pancakes?"

Addison raised herself up onto an elbow and drummed her fingers suggestively against the spot that he had just vacated, "Not right now…"

Geoffrey grinned, "I like the way your mind works," he bent over the bed and kissed her cheek, "But it's after 8, and my girls wake up hungry."

XXXXX

"Morning," Meredith set a mug of coffee on the table and wrapped her now free arm around Derek's shoulders.

"Morning," he greeted her; leaning back he let her settle herself on his lap. He kissed her temple, "Sorry I left so early."

"S'okay," Meredith picked up one of his papers, "Everything coming together?"

"Not really," Derek chuckled, "I'm just waiting for Addison to show up and tell me that none of this will work."

"So why don't you let her handle it, and we can do something else until Bailey realizes that I am not working."

Derek smirked but didn't look up from his papers, "I don't think that there is anyway that Addison is going to let me give this patient the anesthetic that she needs."

Meredith nestled her face against his, "Since when is she a Neuro-surgeon or an Anesthesiologist?"

Derek laughed and squeezed his arm tightly around her waist, "Good point."

"I have to go," Meredith sighed.

"Two minutes," Derek tightened his arms around her.

"You're doing this just to be difficult aren't you?"

Derek didn't reply, just kissed her.

XXXXX

Addison leaned against the kitchen counter. It was 8:45 and she still wasn't dressed. Her goal was to make it to the hospital before 11. Or noon. She was flexible.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned towards the door. Daisy paused; confused as to why Addison was there so early in the morning and hesitant to let her bare feet touch the cold ceramic tile in the kitchen.

"We need to get you some slippers," Geoffrey greeted his youngest daughter, scooping her up and setting her on the counter near Addison. He smiled at Addison and nodded to Daisy, "She's talkative in the morning," he teased as Daisy pouted and rubbed at her eyes. He poured more pancake batter on the grill and crossed the room to door, "Allison! Breakfast is in three minutes!" He handed Daisy a plate, "2 pancakes?"

She nodded and watched carefully as her father placed two perfectly round pancakes on her plate. She held the plate tightly in one hand and reached out the other arm towards Addison.

Addison gulped her coffee in surprise, but moved closer and let Daisy wrap her arm around her neck and her legs around her waist. Addison carried her over to the table and stood her on a chair.

"Allison Louise!" Geoffrey called again, "We are sitting at the table."

He handed Addison a plate of pancakes and sat down across from her.

Daisy pushed her plate towards Addison and rested her chin on her palm, not once taking her eyes off Addison.

Addison glanced quickly at Geoff before beginning to cut the pancakes in to pieces that were manageable for a 5 year-old. She pushed the plate back and made a face at Daisy, earning her a grin in return.

The rest of the meal was spent in comfortable conversation, Addison glancing uneasily at the vacant seat to her right.

Geoffrey smiled at her and stood from the table. Moments later he returned, his oldest daughter reluctantly following in his wake.

She collapsed into her chair and did not acknowledge Addison or the plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Good Morning Ali," Addison greeted her softly.

"Don't call me Ali," she snapped.

Addison bit down on her lower lip and slowly brought her coffee too her lips. She rarely heard anyone call the girl anything other then Ali. She wasn't sure where that left her.

"Ali," her father warned her.

"What?" Ali turned her attention to her father, "You said I didn't have to like her," she said rudely.

"I said," his voice took on a warning tone, "That you didn't have to like her, but you had to be nice and you had to show her some respect."

Addison discreetly looked at her watch. If she rushed, she could be at the hospital by 10.

XXXXX

"Do."

"Dump."

"Seriously?" Cristina rolled her eyes, "He's hot and you've said 'dump' to the last… you have said 'dump' for all of them."

"You've said 'do' for all of them," Izzie shot back.

"Well," Cristina paused, "I'm kinda slutty."

Izzie laughed as Meredith sat down next to them.

"What are we doing?"

"Playing 'Do, Dump or Date'," Cristina pointed down the hall, "There you go. McSteamy. You have to 'Do' McSteamy."

Izzie wrinkled her nose.

"No, I am telling you," Cristina persisted, "You have to do McSteamy. Otherwise you will shrivel up and die."

"I will not…"

"You will shrivel up and die," Cristina insisted.

Izzie turned to Meredith, "McSteamy. Do, Dump or Date?"

Meredith was silent, "I'm choosing not to answer that."

Cristina and Izzie grinned, "Do."

"Girls," Derek greeted as he walked by, not pausing to talk.

Izzie and Cristina smirked, "Dump."

"Hey!"

Cristina bit the inside of her cheek, "McDreamy is high maintenance."

"I hate you."

Izzie and Cristina just laughed.

XXXXX

"So?"

"So?" Addison smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You spent the night?" Callie took over the chair beside Addison and crossed her arms.

Addison didn't reply.

"I introduced you to him. I'm entitled to details. It's in the rules somewhere."

Addison blushed, "So, I spent the night. Who told you?"

"He did. How was it?"

Addison paused, "It was fine."

"Liar."

"It was." Addison insisted, "Completely uneventful."

Callie tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," Addison admitted, a twinkle in her eye, "Not completely uneventful. But as far as the girls go, everything was fine."

"Ali giving you a hard time?" Callie asked jumping to what she knew was bound to be an issue.

"I'm not allowed to call her Ali," Addison shook her head, "And she hates me for no reason."

Callie nodded.

"And you knew that she would. So I appreciate that you warned me."

"Sorry," Callie apologized, not feeling sorry in the least, "But, Ali hates whoever her father dates, and since you are sticking around she is bound to feel a bit threatened. Plus she's 13, she hates everyone."

"At least Daisy likes me," Addison pouted slightly.

"Well," Callie laughed, "Daisy likes everyone. And," she shrugged, "Daisy doesn't remember her mom being around. Ali was 10 when Leanne left. She took it hard and she misses her. So, now you've shown up, and you're spending the night, and she thinks you're trying to take her mom's place. Plus she is a teenager now. So she's at that awkward place where she needs a mother and hates her mother. On top of that, she feels abandoned by her real mother, and threatened by her pseudo-mother, which is you by the way. And she probably feels betrayed by her father for falling in love with you," Callie held up her hands defensively, "Not that you are in love or anything, I'm just saying. She's probably even jealous of Daisy for being able to bond with you so easily."

Addison stared at her evenly, "Since when are you a psychologist?"

"It was my minor in college," Callie shrugged, "Do you think if I offer him pizza and beer, Mark would paint my new bathroom?"

XXXXX

"She had another stroke."

Addison looked up in surprise.

"That's two in twelve hours," Derek explained, "We can't wait any longer."

"We're not ready for this. It's already almost 8, " Addison sighed, "I'm not getting home am I?"

Derek shook his head.

Addison wrinkled her nose in displeasure and fished out her phone, "I'm going to go check on her, run some more labs, make a few phone calls and I'll meet you in the conference room in thirty minutes."

Derek nodded, reaching for the hospital phone to begin paging interns and finding scrub nurses.

Twenty-seven minutes later Addison walked into the conference room and smiled at Derek and Meredith already hard at work, "I thought that Alex was your intern. Or was it Mark's turn?"

Derek looked up at her in surprise.

"You thought I wouldn't notice that I haven't been allowed in the same room with Alex Karev since you two found out I was sleeping with him," she smirked, "Between the two of you and Bailey I have been working exclusively with George and Izzie," she flipped through the chart, "I'm actually excited to work with Meredith."

Meredith rolled her eyes, but didn't look up.

Midnight came and went with limited progress and several heated disagreements.

"1:47," Derek sighed with relief.

"Two steps ahead of you," Addison smiled pressing her phone to her ear.

"Chinese," he requested, squinting at an MRI print out.

"Like I said, 2 steps," she smirked before turning her attention to the person on the other end, and ordering everything on the menu that sounded even remotely tasty, "and extra sweet and sour sauce," Addison requested, "I don't mean one or two extra; I mean seriously obscene amounts. Yup, Visa." She stared at the ceiling and rhymed off the number from memory.

Derek looked at her, stern look on his face, "I hope you are planning on sharing that."

She hung up the phone and smiled sweetly at him, "I got the meal for 8, so as long as you don't get to greedy we should be able to split it three ways."

"Greedy? Me. Greedy?"

"Do you want me to share?" she demanded cheekily.

"Do you want me to share?" he shot back.

"New labs," Meredith re-entered the room and tossed some papers on the table, "What are you fighting about now?" she asked, referring to the constant bickering that had been going on all night.

Derek smiled at her and smoothed the hair off her forehead before turning his attention back to his work, "Nothing. Addison just ordered food on my credit card. The vows she forgets, but the Visa, the Visa she memorized."

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Every reviewer gets a dronkey. Maybe two if I'm in a good mood.