A/n: Thank you to my reviewers - you guys are the best! And now, it's just a matter of time until the rest of the hospital finds out about Jack, isn't it? (*cue brief ominous music*)

Chapter 12

That night was the first time in weeks he didn't drink himself to sleep. Even better, he slept soundly and didn't experience a single nightmare.

In the morning, he went about his usual routine, looking forward to another day of work. He hoped this day would be better than the previous, what with losing the Preston's son. Though he admitted that the day had ended on a higher note, at the bar with Addison. He quickly checked his list of bookmarked websites for news on Kate and found nothing as usual, before crossing to the kitchen to grab his travel mug of coffee.

Jack glanced out his window and did an immediate double take. Parked across the street was the same navy colored sedan that had been parked there for nearly a week. That wasn't troubling by itself, as there could be any number of reasons behind the car's inactivity. What bothered him was that all the vehicle's windows were tinted and he had just spotted a glimpse of a man with a large camera around his neck climbing into the passenger's side.

Jack swallowed hard, worry and paranoia coiling in his stomach. His immediate fear was that the paparazzi had found him. It wasn't like he'd made it impossible or anything for them to do so, and he'd always known it was just a matter of time before they tracked him down. But he'd always held onto the dim hope that he would finally be uninteresting enough that he could disappear into a normal life.

He shook his head, hurrying out of his apartment. No sense in worrying about it now. Whether it was photographers or not, he was still running late for work.

That day Addison and Jack worked opposing schedules, so she saw very little of him. This, contrary to most days, suited her just fine. She still didn't know how to compose herself around him now that she knew his secret, especially when she wasn't supposed to know it. She had tossed and turned restlessly the night before, cursing her need to know, as she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

She was also bursting to tell someone, especially Callie, but she knew that even if she told Callie in private, somehow it would end up being spread around the hospital. Not that Callie would tell anyone else if Addison asked her not to, it was just that things inevitably had a way of being found out, especially at Seattle Grace. In fact, she thought it was practically a miracle that no one had found out about Jack already. She wasn't about to be the one to spill the beans, however, so if it meant struggling to keep it to herself, than struggle she would.

Thankfully, there were plenty of other things to keep her distracted, including several surgeries, as well as the usual circulating gossip. Later in the afternoon, she made her way to the cafeteria for a late lunch, and it wasn't long before Mark joined her.

"I just spent six hours in surgery with Dr. Hahn," he said as he took a seat beside Addison at the round table. "And I've had an epiphany."

"That there is finally one woman in the universe immune to your charms?" the redhead teased.

"That there is actually one woman who is immune to my charm."

"I saw you flirting with her at the nurses' station. I also saw her shut you down. It was refreshing and entertaining." She smiled.

"So she's a challenge. I like a challenge."

"Please."

"You won't be laughing when I wear her down and get her to go out with me."

Callie hurried over at that moment and plopped down with a heavy sigh on Addison's other side. "Hahn said no, I take it?" She interjected without glancing up from her food tray.

"How did you know already? You've been locked up doing paperwork for days on end."

Callie waved her hand at him and swallowed a bite of her sandwich. "She's never going to go for you. She's not your type. Give up now."

"Never give up, never surrender." Mark grinned.

"Really?" Addison rolled her eyes and proceeded to change the subject to Callie's battle with her position as Chief Resident.

Her friend sighed wearily again. "It is way more work than I thought it would ever be. I feel like all I do is organize and schedule and fill out paperwork, and charts…" She set down her sandwich and rubbed her hands over her tired eyes. "If I had known this was what it was going to be like, I would never have applied. I just want to be back in surgery. I literally haven't held a scalpel in two weeks."

Addison patted her shoulder sympathetically, while Mark was busy gazing across the cafeteria at one Dr. Erica Hahn.

"I mean, she's damn hot, and so am I." He mumbled, only half to himself. "What could possibly be the problem?"

The two women ignored him.

"Have you considered asking Bailey for help?" suggested Addison.

"I don't know… she's still pretty pissed that she didn't get the job. I get the feeling she's eager to see the Chief get fed up with me and demote me so she can tell him I told you so."

"I'm sure Miranda would help you pick up the slack," said Addison reassuringly.

Callie smiled wanly, unconvinced.

"I'm going to go sit with her." Mark said to no one in particular and after scooping up his own tray, went and did just that.

The two women chuckled as Dr. Hahn looked quite unimpressed when Mark joined her.

"I might have to go rescue her in a few minutes." Addison smiled with amusement.

When her friend didn't respond, she glanced at Callie and followed her gaze to the table where Meredith and her friends were sitting. George O'Malley and Izzie Stevens were seated side by side, and though it was hard to tell from where Addison was, it looked like the pair was holding hands under the table.

"How are things?" she asked a moment later.

Callie hastily turned her eyes away from George and Izzie, back to her food. "We're signing the papers." She said in a sad, low voice.

"I'm so sorry, Callie."

She looked up at her redheaded friend with shining eyes. "Maybe it's kinda for the best, you know? I mean, we rushed into it, right after his Dad died, and…" She cleared her throat and Addison could tell that while Callie believed what she was saying in some small way, for the most part she was simply saying it to make herself feel better. "I really did love him."

"I know." Addison gave Callie's shoulder a comforting squeeze, wishing there was more she could do or say to help her friend. "You know, I don't have surgery for another two hours. Why don't I come help you make a dent in that paperwork?"

"That would be great, Addison, thank you so much."

When Callie had finished her lunch, the pair headed up to the break room that was doubling as Callie's office. Addison helped her friend with as much scheduling and paperwork as she could before she had to head into surgery. Before she left, she made Callie promise to ask Miranda for help and Callie agreed she would before the end of her shift.

Later that week, Jack found Addison filling out patient charts at one of the nurses' stations on the surgical floor. She was wearing her glasses low on her nose and he couldn't stop the smile that stole over his features at the sight. He approached her before he lost his nerve, the invitation he'd received in the mail that morning was stashed safely in his lab coat pocket.

"You busy this weekend?" he asked when he'd reached her.

Addison looked up. "I'm already taking Mark's shift on Friday so if you need me to take yours too –"

Jack chuckled. "No, it's not about work."

She seemed to perk up instantly and removed her glasses. "Oh, well in that case, no, I'm not doing anything. Yet." She smiled widely.

"Remember I told you about my friend Hurley? Well, his parents are throwing him a surprise birthday party this weekend, down in LA. I was wondering if you'd want to come with me, you know, be my plus one?" He didn't know why he felt nervous awaiting her answer, because he was asking her as a friend, but he did nonetheless.

He had nothing to be nervous about however, as Addison leaned back in her chair and smiled again.

"Sure, why not. What do I need to bring?"

Jack shrugged. "Overnight things. We'll fly out Saturday morning and be back Sunday evening."

"It's a date." Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she sat upright and her smile vanished. "I mean, not a date date, obviously. This is a friends thing for a friend's party, I didn't mean like an actual, romantic – I mean it could be if you wanted, but I wasn't thinking it was, or expecting, I just - "

"It's fine," Jack laughed, holding up his hand to stop her rambling. His pager went off a second after. "I have to go, but I'll see you later."

As it turned out, Addison was paged moments later as well. The patient was a thirty-three year old woman, one Anna Grable, who was 35 weeks pregnant and had been involved in a serious car accident. Both Derek and Mark were occupied in another surgery, so Jack scrubbed in to repair three of the woman's fingers which had been severed, while Addison was there to monitor the baby and deliver it if necessary.

She kept a close eye on the fetal monitor while Jack worked. As he was putting tiny sutures on the last finger, the monitor began beeping noisily.

"Baby's heart-rate is rising." Addison stated.

Jack acknowledged her and concentrated on the sutures. He was nearly finished when George O'Malley piped up,

"Contractions are two minutes apart, and her water just broke."

Addison swivelled around. "Let's get a warmer in here. O'Malley, get Anna in the stirrups. I'm going to press her abdomen."

"She's crowning," said George only a moment later.

"Watch the jostling." Jack warned as Addison and her intern worked to deliver the baby. He completed the last of the sutures just as the baby was delivered and placed in a warmer.

As Addison hastened to take care of the brand new child, Jack couldn't help but watch her. Seeing her eyes crinkle behind her mask, the way she looked when she brought life into the world like that… it was something he didn't think he could ever get tired of seeing. She looked up and caught his eye and he returned her smile under his mask.

A short time later when they had completed the surgery and were washing their hands in the sinks, Addison turned his way and asked,

"So this party. What's the dress code going to be like? Am I going all out formal ball gown, jeans and a t-shirt, or somewhere in between?"

"Oh, definitely the ball gown. It's going to be very black tie. I'll be wearing a suit with tails, white gloves and a top hat."

She realized he was joking then and threw a balled up piece of paper towel at him. "Funny. What will the dress code actually be?"

Jack shrugged. "It's Hurley, so I can't imagine it will be anything fancier than a step up from casual."

"Well, then I know what I'm doing with my day off tomorrow." Addison said. "I'll need to find the perfect new party dress. Maybe not a ball gown…"

"I look forward to seeing it, though I think the ball gown would still be pretty great." Jack chuckled and held the door open for her.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Jack watched her go down the hall to check on patients before heading away himself. He surprised himself with how much he was already looking forward to Hurley's birthday party. As he went on his way to tend to his own patients, he amused himself with the mental image of Addison in a gigantic sparkly dress.

A/n: Thanks for reading! Reviews are like oxygen. ;)