Author's Note: I'm really enjoying writing this story, so thank you so much for the reviews to tell me that you're enjoying reading it. It's always nice to hear from you, and the more the better. Incidentally, the bartender was intended to be a one-off guest star but I did rather take to him, so you never know, he may make the odd cameo later on if it seems plausible. There's nothing like a conversation with an insightful stranger to move a story forward. Oh, and as a treat, this is a bit of a longer chapter for you. Generally, my stories have long chapters and slow updates, so perhaps this one will be both.
Disclaimer: As before.
And so here he was, Mr Karev, Consultant of Neo-Natal Surgery at Great Ormond Street, just as his business card said. The first few weeks had been an utter whirlwind of new faces, getting endlessly lost on the relatively simple route from his office to his ward to his OR, no, theatre, and ploughing through the vast chasm between the English and American languages.
Now though, he felt as if he was beginning to get a grip on it all again. Only that morning, he found his way from his office to the ward for rounds, to the men's room, then back to his office again without ending up in any of the random places that he had done previously (including, but not limited to, the cafeteria, the Oncology floor, three different offices that were not his own and the service elevator.) It was clearly a victory for him, and he had been intending to celebrate it somehow, but of course, he was working late, again.
It was challenging here in a way Seattle Grace had ceased to be. In the strictest sense, many of his day to day cases were not wholly dissimilar to what he had been dealing with previously, but as this was a specialised paediatric hospital, it seemed… more somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was really driving him to raise his standards. The closest he could come to describing it to Izzie, who was constantly on the phone bugging him for news, was that here he was working in a hospital with an international reputation and he felt the need to live up to that.
As if on cue, the phone rang. Because of the time difference, she always rang at the same time of day, and usually tried his office first. He hadn't given it to her, but it had taken her less than a week to get his direct line number.
'Karev.' He answered formally, just in case.
'You always say that, and it's always me,' Izzie retorted.
'I'll have you know that I have a great number of extremely important phone calls that come through on this number every day. Far more important than you.'
'I miss you too Alex.' Her tone was sarcastic, but Alex knew she meant it, and he missed her too. In all honesty, he hadn't been sure that he would, but he did get the occasional pang for Seattle, mainly when he was talking to Izzie. He did miss her, and Meredith, and their crazy brand of friendship.
'All right, you got me, I miss you Iz. When I have time to anyway. What's your news?'
'Ooh, I have gossip.' Her voice had that overly excited, bright-and-shiny tone to it that irritated him, but usually made him smile at the same time.
He sat back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk, furtively checking that the blinds on his office were closed. That polished wood looked far too expensive to have his shoes on it. 'Go on then, I can hear that juicy snippet just waiting to burst out.'
There was some squealing down the telephone line that could have been words but it was too high pitched to be able to distinguish them.
'You know I'm not a bat don't you?' he asked.
'Huh?'
'I can't hear sounds at that high a frequency. No human being can. Speak slower, lower, or you'll give me a headache.'
He could hear her take a deep breath and make a conscious effort to restrain herself. 'All right. Human range of hearing. Meredith and Derek are going to have a baby.'
'Wow, really?' Meredith and Derek had been married for a while now, getting on for four years and he had a feeling that they had been trying for children for a little while now. 'Tell them I'm over the moon for them. In fact, tell Meredith I'll give her a call later, that's such amazing news.'
'Yeah, it is, isn't it? They say they don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl, and they're going to paint the nursery lemon or mint green or something that could go either way, but I really think they should find out…'
As Izzie's words got faster again, he tuned out. It took a lot of energy to keep up with her when she was like this and it had been a long, long day. Instead, he reflected on the news with a soft smile on his face. He wasn't as close to Meredith as he was Izzie these days, but he had a connection with her all the same. He remembered the time she had nearly drowned during the ferry incident, so many years ago now, and as she was being worked on, he remembered thinking that she had to pull through, that she had to live and breathe and find her happy ending, because if Meredith could do it, then just maybe he stood a chance.
He wasn't sure if he was emotionally capable of pulling off a happy ending in all honesty, but it was of enormous significance to him that Meredith was going to manage it, that she had managed to conquer the "dark and twisty" thing. Plus she and Derek would make fantastic parents.
'Alex, are you even listening to me?'
'Iz, you know that if you have to ask that question, I'm not listening. You went all squeaky again so I was thinking about Meredith and Derek instead of talking about them. Anything else happening over there?'
'Not really, Bailey's running interviews for the new Neo-Natal Chief.'
'Hm, anyone interesting?'
'Not really. They seem all right, no-one stands out though. Meredith says Derek says she's going to reopen the search.'
'Well you know, us world class Neo-Natal surgeons are few and far between. I'm a hard act to follow.'
'Yeah, yeah. So, what's going on with you anyway? How's the new start coming along?'
'That's your way of asking me if I've met anyone yet, isn't it?' He loved the banter with Izzie. They could keep the ball bouncing back and forth for ages like this.
'Well, I thought that was the point. You've slept with pretty much every woman at Seattle Grace, you needed some fresh victims.'
'You're getting subtle in your old age.'
'Who are you calling old? Anyway, so have you met someone?'
'I've honestly not had the time. This may be a completely different hospital but it's still essentially the same job. All I've seen of London is the inside of this hospital, my hotel, and a tube train.'
'You're still living in a hotel?'
'I'm kinda used to it.' Just then, he heard the handle of his office door turning and automatically he shot his feet from their position on the desk, taking a few files and an empty coffee cup with them. Michael Newton-Jones was poking his head around the door, the hint of an amused smile twitching at the corner of his lips and the hasty foot movement.
'Iz, I gotta go. Speak to you soon.'
'All right. Don't forget to call Meredith, and go find yourself an apartment. And a girlfriend.'
'Bye Izzie.'
He looked up at Michael and indicated for him to come in and take a seat. 'Sorry about that, friend from Seattle.'
'No problem Alex. It must be hard to keep in touch with such a time difference.'
'Oh, it takes more than being on the opposite side of the world to knock Isobel Stevens off her stride, believe me,' he said emphatically.
Michael looked surprised. 'Oh, I didn't realise you had a girlfriend back in America Alex. I assumed you…'
Alex jumped in quickly to correct him. 'No, Izzie and I are old friends, we were interns together and have worked with each other ever since. She's…' He smiled. 'She's a high maintenance friend sometimes, but she has a heart of gold. She called to tell me one of our friends is having a baby. Anyway Michael, what can I do for you?'
'Well, I wanted to discuss something with you. You've been here six weeks now and the Board is delighted with your work and how well you've settled in. You're a real asset to the team.'
Alex frowned. There was something in the other man's tone that made him feel wary. 'Thank you, but I can feel a "but" on the end of this sentence.'
'Don't panic, your job is utterly safe, but it's just… we've been approached by someone who is keen for a position here at Great Ormond Street. She's a Neo-Natal surgeon of extraordinary expertise and we'd be crazy to turn her down.'
The world tipped a little on its axis and a tiny shiver of electricity ran up his spine as it did so. Of course, it would be the most obscure coincidence in the world (or else a master plan cooked up by Bailey or Izzie and Meredith or most likely all three of them) for it to be her, but the completely unknowing, innocent turn of phrase told him instinctively that it was. You would have to be crazy to turn down Addison Forbes Montgomery.
Michael was still talking. 'Of course, we wouldn't be bringing her in over you head or anything. She would be entering at consultant level alongside you and no doubt you would end up working quite closely together. I trust that you wouldn't have a problem with another senior member of the team?'
'No, no, of course not,' Alex assured him. He wished Michael would just come out with it, this skirting around it was tying his stomach in knots. Although the other man had no idea what he was doing to him.
'In fact, if I remember correctly from your CV, she used to be your attending many moons ago. Do you remember Addison Montgomery?'
Oh, he remembered all right. He remembered the taste of vodka of her lips the night she kissed him in Joes, and the unbelievable vibrant red of her hair, the way she looked at him, as if she wanted to eat him alive, and the way she moaned and gasped in his ear when she came. And the hurt on her beautiful face as he pushed her away. Yes. He remembered Addison Montgomery.
It wasn't until Michael spoke again that he realised he must have gone quiet. 'Alex? Do you remember Doctor Montgomery?'
'Yes,' he said, as confidently as he was able. 'It was Doctor Montgomery who inspired me to specialise in this field.'
'Excellent. I told the Board not to worry about how you would take it. They thought you might be offended, thought you were being undermined or something along those lines.'
'Not at all,' Alex reiterated. Just, did it have to be Addison?
Michael rose from his chair and made his way across the office to the door. 'Oh, and Alex? I know it's your day off tomorrow and that you've been working extremely hard recently, but we're having a reception for Doctor Montgomery tomorrow. Three o'clock in the conference room on the third floor. I'm sure she would be pleased to see a familiar face.'
When he left, Alex spoke out loud. 'Don't you believe it.'