CHAPTER 4

Alex woke the next morning & reached out to Addison's side of the bed only to find it empty. He opened his eyes to see her walking back into the bedroom fully dressed from the ensuit.

"Good Morning Sleepy head' she said smiling

"Morning, where are you off to?" he asked

"I have an appointment" she said non- committed

"mmm why don't you cancel & just come back to bed"

"I can't its very important, I'll be back around 12.00, and then we can go out for lunch"

"You're being very vague"

"I'll tell you about it later, I'm late" Addison lent over to kiss him before she left. When he tried to deepen the kiss & pull her back into bed she stopped him. "If we keep this up I will miss my appointment"

"That's the idea" he said pulling her back in.

"Gotta go" she said as she got up & left.

Alex got up and showered after she left & went down to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He walked out to the balcony & looked out over the ocean. He thought back over the last 24 hours and couldn't believe how things had turned out. Finally everything was falling into place for him. There was nothing that he would ever let come between them again.

Addison arrived home & they went to Alex's Hotel to pick up his things & check him out, before they went to a cafe close by. They both ordered food & drinks.

"So are you going to tell me about this mystery appointment?"

"When I first moved here I was a mess. With the divorce, and what happened between us, let's just say I needed some help, I felt like I had all this stuff blocked"

"So you go to counselling?"

"No I um I ah well I have acupuncture"

Alex nearly spat his coffee out."Acupuncture, Addie you a woman of science not alternative rubbish"

"I know that's what I thought too, but it is really good I feel so much better. Alternative medicine shouldn't be laughed at. It has worked for centuries for the Chinese. Besides it has relieved all the stress in my life"

"I can think of another way to release the stress in your life" He smirked

"Alex I'm serious it has helped me focus, and I feel calm & centred now, besides Pete says..."

"Wait, Pete is the one you see for this?"

"Yes, don't look at me like that, He has studied alternative therapy for years and he has the results to back it up"

"I'm sure he does, but maybe it's because he just wants to be with you"

"We are just friends, he knows that, I told him again this morning"

"Ok I trust you just be careful, because he may not want to give up that easily."

"You have nothing to worry about, the acupuncture just helps"

"Yeah so what's this calm & centred shit? And what have you done with The Dr Montgomery I used to know" He said smirking

"I have changed and realize that not everything can be explained with Medical science, besides if you want to move to LA you had better get used to alternative medicine & alternative living because it is everywhere, and to be honest I wouldn't want to live any other way".

Addison & Alex returned to the apartment and spent the afternoon making love, which turned into Saturday night and most of Sunday. On Sunday night Addison handed Alex her letter of recommendation to help him start looking for a job in LA. After he read it he was most impressed.

"Do you really believe this stuff or do you just want to make sure I get the first job I apply for, so I can move in quicker to satisfy you"

"Alex my professional reputation means everything to me. If I didn't think you were a good surgeon I wouldn't have risked my reputation, just to get your cute ass in my bed permanently"

The next day Addison left for work & Alex went to 5 large city hospitals to see if they had a second year resident OB/GYN position available. He gave copies of his resume to the HR department hoping to here from one of them.

He needn't have worried he had phone calls from 3 of the 5 that same afternoon. All were impressed by his resume and wanted a meeting with him. He had set 2 up for Tuesday and the 3rd for Wednesday.

He was really nervous Tuesday morning before his first interview but he knew he was capable of the job.

"Dr Karev, please take a seat" The Head of OB/GYN Dr Fletcher said

"Please call me Alex"

"Ok Alex, I've looked over your resume & it is impressive, your marks are great and this letter from Dr Montgomery is outstanding."

"Thank you"

"Yes this letter carries a lot of weight, she is one if not the best in the country, I have had the good fortune to assist her myself back in New York when she still was Dr Shepherd"

"Yes she certainly is an excellent teacher, I learnt a lot from her"

"You were indeed very lucky to study under her"

For the next hour Dr Fletcher seemed more interested in Addison then he did in interviewing Alex. By the time he left he felt a little flat. He shrugged it off and began to prepare himself for his next interview in another hour's time.

Unfortunately the next interview was almost word for word the same. It seemed to Alex that the Attendings of these hospitals were only interested in hearing Alex tell surgical tales of how brilliant Addison was and not what a good asset he would be to their hospital.

By the time Wednesday rolled around and he had his third interview he was feeling quite insecure about his own surgical abilities.

"So Dr Karev, I see you worked with Addison Montgomery in Seattle"

Here we go again

"Yes I did"

"Well you must have learnt a great deal from her, you exam results are good I can't see why we can't a position for you here somewhere"

"Really that would be fantastic" Alex said

"Yes do you think Dr Montgomery would be interested in a job here as well? Seems you two make a great team"

"Um I don't think so I believe she is working somewhere here in LA in Private Practice"

"Mmm that's too bad, anyway we can keep your resume on file, if something comes up we can let you know"

And that was that. Everyone wanted Addison and not him. That night when Addison quizzed him on how he thought the interviews went, he was vague & unresponsive he really didn't want to talk about it. Alex knew it wasn't Addison's fault but he felt annoyed with her anyway.

After a few hours of his sulking Addison finally snapped at him

"Alex what's wrong why you aren't talking"

"Nothing's wrong I just want to get a job on my own merits"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It seems every interview I've had is because of you"

"That's not true, you have great exam results"

"Yes I do, but that pales into insignificance compared to the fact I have studied under the great Dr Montgomery" He said harshly

"I'm sure that's not true"

"You weren't there all they asked about was you. All 3 interviews were about YOU'

"Alex please..."

"No you have no idea what it's like to be in your shadow, I just want to be able to earn a job on my own merits"

That night was the first night since they had been together that they did not make love. Alex lay in bed with his back to Addison feeling inadequate. Addison lay with her back to Alex wondering what she did wrong.

A/N: Please review & let me know where you would like to see this story go? I have some ideas but feedback is most welcome.