In responce to the person who reviewed with the name 'Reader': If you think the story is "lousy" than maybe you should stop reading it. If you think I'm pathetic than why are you wasting time not only reading the story but reviewing it. And how could you possibly know that I complain all the time when you have no idea who the hell I am. I ask for reviews to tell me when the story starts sucking because I can't judge my own work. Maybe you should think before you talk. ;) And if you thought I'd take your bullshit than you were seriously wrong. It's people like you who make me stronger.
Ella flopped down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn of her lap. She picked up a couple and popped them into her mouth. "Anything good happen while I was gone?" she asked as she chewed.
Addison shook her head. "It's 'Friends', Ella. You've seen every episode four trillion times. But if you really want to know, Monica just found out that Rachael pregnant and not Phoebe."
"I love the part where Rachael spits the champagne back into the glass... That's fucking hilarious." she laughed as she continued to watch the episode unfold. Her mouth was full of semi-chewed popcorn as she spoke.
"Didn't your mother teach you to chew with your mouth closed?" Addison asked sarcastically, grabbing the bowl full of popcorn away from her. "And that's your punishment for having no manners."
"Joey, Chandler or Ross?"Ella asked randomly right before the episode came to an end.
Addison glanced her way, eating the last piece of popcorn in the bowl. "What about them?"
"Which one would you take?"
"Where am I taking them?" Addison asked stupidly.
"Oh, my god, woman!" Ella exclaimed. "Joey, Chandler or Ross... Which one would you wanna do? Who's the hottest? I don't know how else to ask you! I mean... 'does it get' any simpler?" she asked, imitated the way Chandler would speak when he was trying to be funny.
"Okay...Just to refresh your memory, I'm your mother. My taste in sexual partners should not be of interest to you." Addison answered.
"Oh, come on... We're obviously not the typical mother/daughter duo. We're...different. We tell each other everything. And I mean everything. It's not like we've never discussed sex...or guys. Combine the two and we have tonight's conversation."
"Do any of your friends discuss guys and sex with their mothers?" Addison retorted
Ella shrugged. "I'll ask." she paused. "Hey, best friend, did you ever talk to you mother about sex and guys?"
Addison smiled. "Aw, that's so...pathetic. Ella's best friend is her Mommy." she mocked, poking her in the side as if they were two five year olds. She stopped as soon as she noticed the frown on her daughter's face. "Okay, see...friends usually make fun of each other without worrying about offending each other."
"Oh... I thought you were seriously making fun of me. Cause's it's kind of mean given that it's like your best friend and your mother making fun of you at once."
Addison apologized, "If it makes you feel better I'm almost thirty five and my best friend is thirteen." She smiled when Ella came to sit beside her and dropped her head onto her shoulder.
"I'm only loser in school who's not going through 'hate your mother' stage. I'm that loser that everyone makes fun of because my best friend is my mother..."
"You're not a loser." Addison answered. "Think of it this way... I bet you're the only one who's got a best friend old enough to get you into a rated R movie, or drive...or stay out after 10 pm..."
"That's true."
"Yup. I wish my mother and I could be as close as you and I are."
"Well no offence but you're mother isn't as cool as mine." Ella answered. "But you're not cool enough to change the subject with hopes that I don't realize. Joey, Chandler or Ross?"
It had been almost three months since Ella had left LA. Addison hadn't heard from her or Derek. She assumed that they had finally decided to move on and she was still stuck in one place. Now she was the one that was dying for attention from them and they were the ones who were distancing themselves. Or so she thought. She pushed the thoughts aside while putting in the final stitch to close a patient following her c-section.
As soon as she walked out of the OR the first thing she did was check her phone to discover one missed calls from none other than Derek. At first she thought that he may accidently have called her but when her Blackberry lit up again with his name written across the screen she knew that it wasn't an accident. She quickly answered the called, hoping that her anxiousness was not apparent in her voice.
"Hey, Derek." she greeted.
"Addison." Derek sighed in relief. "I have been trying to get in touch with you for the longest time."
"I only had one missed call from you. I'd say you're exaggerating a little, wouldn't you?" she said with a light hearted chuckle.
"No." he answered firmly. "The receptionist at your practice has taken down 50 messages asking you to call me. You have like.... 8 voice mails to your office and like a million at home."
"So why this burning desire to talk to me?" Addison wondered with a smile, hoping to hear the words she had been longing to hear.
"I need a favor." Derek answered.
And the hope was gone. He didn't call her because he loved her or because he missed her, but because he needed something from her. "Which is?" she urged him to go on, still hoping that the favor may be for her to go back to Seattle and take him back.
"I uh..." he paused. "I...Addison, she...I can't."
"Derek, you can't expect me to understand that. If you need something from me than you've got to tell me what it is that you need."
"I just can't say." he answered. "I haven't said it yet. And if I say it than it will be real and I don't want it to be real. So I can't say it but I need you to understand me. I need you to help me. I just can't lose her. I can't loser her too, Addison. She's all I have."
"Lose who?" Addison asked. "Is this about Ella? Is something wrong with her?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure it's not just her period?" she joked, recalling the night their daughter had woken up screaming in fear.
"It's not her period." Derek answered. "She's been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Addison." he mumbled in a solemn tone.
There was no response. No words to explain what she had been feeling. There was too much going through her mind to focus of finding the right words to express herself. The only way Derek knew that she was still on the line was because he could hear her breathing becoming more labored.
"Are you okay, Addie?" he asked.
"She can't have cancer, Derek." she replied, as if it was up to her and she was forbidding her child from it. "She just can't, it's not... there is no way she can have cancer. Are you sure?"
"She hasn't spoken to me about it. But she went to Izzie and Meredith and they took her to their gynecologist and then they came and told me that she'd been diagnosed. But you're the only one I trust...they could be wrong, right?"
"I don't know, Derek. Why would they lie to you about something like this? If she's seen a gynecologist and she's been diagnosed than I really don't think we have any room for doubt." she answered realistically. "But then again, she's 16. And you don't want her to suffer with cancer. Maybe you should take her to a different doctor yourself. Get a second opinion."
"That's why I called you."
"You want me to recommend someone?" Addison asked. "If you give me a few minutes I can find a list of names online and narrow it down to the top five."
"I don't want the top five in Seattle." he answered. He already knew who he wanted, he didn't need suggestions. "I want the best in the country...the world quite possibly."
"Okay. And who would that be?" Addison asked. "And if they're that good than you're going to need an appointment ASAP because the better a doctor is the harder it is to get them."
"Well, I was hoping this doctor would pull some strings and get me in. Considering as...we did go to medical school together and we are married...separated but technically still married. So I was hoping she'd see Ella without an appointment."
"Derek..." Addison sighed. "I can't give you a second opinion. I can look at her test results and give you my thoughts. We can talk about a course of treatment. But I'd do that as a parent, as her mother. But I can't examine her as her mother. I'd do that as her doctor and I can't be her doctor and her mother. I'm sorry."
Derek sighed, he never expected that she would turn him down but her reason was logical. There was a reason that doctors couldn't treat their own family. There is too much emotional involvement, things would only become harder and more complicated. They didn't need to make things worse. "You're right. I should have thought of that, I'm sorry." he answered, just about to hang up the phone when she called his name.
"That doesn't mean that I don't care, Derek." she said, making that fact clear. "I do care, she's my daughter. She's sick, she needs me..she needs us. We're her parents and we need to be there for her no matter how horrible things between us may be."
"You? You want to come back here? To Seattle... You'd do that for Ella?" he questioned skeptically, finding her words hard to believe.
"I'd do anything for Ella." Addison answered instinctively. "But no, that's not what I had in mind. I was hoping you guys would come to LA. I know an amazing oncologist. He's an arrogant asshole but he's good. I can pull some strings and get her appointment."
"Men don't pull strings for you unless you're sleeping with them." Derek announced bitterly. "And I'm not sure I can pretend to be comfortable around a man who sleeps with my wife and looks at my daughter's vagina."
"I'm not sleeping with him, Derek. He's not my type." she assured. "He's never seen my vagina...and he never will no matter how much he tries. And it shouldn't bother you that he's going to see Ella's. It's not like he's a pedofile rapist trying to violate our daughter."
"How do you know?" Derek asked spitefully.
"Do you honestly think that I would let someone like that go anywhere near Ella?" Addison replied defensively. "Derek, it's an offer. If you want you can come than I can talk to him. If you don't want to come, if you don't want me to be involved than just tell me straight out, Derek."
"You're her mother, you've got to be involved. She needs you to be involved." Derek answered. "We'll be there tomorrow morning."
"'Kay." she sighed, glad that he agreed to try out her plan. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"And Addison..." he paused, finding the need to take a breath before he could bring himself to tell her what he wanted to tell her. "I knew I should talk to you about this. I knew you'd be calm and rational. That you'd be able to make it easier on me without even noticing it. I really appreciate what you're doing for me..."
"I have to go, Derek. I have a patient waiting for me." she interrupted regretfully. She hoped that he would ramble on and on until he could bring himself to tell her that he still loves her but she didn't have time for that. She hung up the phone and sighed a sigh of both emotional pain and agony and that of relief.
"...I love you." Derek whispered. When he heard no response he realized that she had hung up and never heard the words he'd been waiting months to be able to say.
So there was Plan A and Plan B. If I went with plan A the next chapter would be the last...and I didn't want that so I choose Plan B and threw this twist in there. I know some people will wanna kill me for it but I couldn't help myself.
Just as you thought things were finally going to start working out we come across another bump in the road. Not sure how realistic it is so let me know your thoughts.
Oh and don't forget to mention: Joey, Ross or Chandler?
