Chapter Eight: Abstinence.

Sam read the same sentence for what seemed like the hundredth time, he had been looking forward to having the time to catch up on his reading; too much of his reading these days was patient notes and medical journals that his love of literature really had gone by the wayside. Yet here he was a three hour flight with nothing more to do than dive into a good book and he couldn't concentrate long enough to understand a single sentence, all he could think about was the stunning redhead sat three seats infront of him. They had decided that they weren't going to tell anyone else about their relationship until they had told Naomi and so to all intents and purposes 'they' didn't exist this weekend. Sam knew it wasn't the right time to tell people, he didn't want to tell them, he didn't want to share her; when it came to Addison he was unashamedly selfish. He could see her denim clad leg stretched out across the expensive leather seats of the Montgomery family plane. She had been dozing for the last half an hour, he wished he could doze off as easily. Her hair looked radiant against the light coloured seats and he imagined running his fingers through it like he had a few hours before as they lay in bed savouring their last few hours together before joining their friends and disguising their relationship.

As they touched down in Salt Lake City their faces, tired from the flight, could not disguise the lack of enthusiasm felt by the group. Violet, however, was anxious to make this trip beneficial and attempted to buoy everyone's spirits.

"Come on guys, when was the last time we had the chance to do something together, this is a good opportunity to get away from the Practice and..." Violet gestured wildly looking for the right words to inspire her audience.

"Violet's right," Addison intervened wanting to support Violet "we spend all our time looking after other people's families, now it is time to look after ours.."

Although her speech didn't immediately inspire confidence in the trip no one felt they could be negative towards Addison because she was right, they were a family and they needed each other.


Cooper threw his suitcase in the corner of the room and flopped down onto the bed. Charlotte placed her case on the floor and stood at the foot of the bed.

" Stop being such a whiner Cooper, ok so it's not the way any of us planned to spend the weekend but we've seen enough now to know that things don't always go to plan so you need to stop being a girl, grow up and act like a man. We're here for the weekend and there's nothing we can do about it so we're all going to have to get on with it, including you."

Cooper considered himself told, Charlotte never hesitated to tell him when he was acting like a spoilt child.

Cooper hauled himself up and joined Charlotte at the end of the bed. He moved closer to her and embraced her.

"Thank you" he said simply.

"I said act like a man Coop, not a girl" Charlotte said in what was only a half teasing voice.

"A man huh?" Cooper smiled as his hands wandered down the sides of Charlotte's body.

Charlotte reached out to grab his hands but not before allowing herself to give into the way Cooper's touch made her feel, enjoying the anticipation of ecstasy for a second.

"I need a lot more man than that" she teased "you can convince me later" she said as she pushed Cooper away and headed towards the bathroom shutting the door behind her.

Cooper reeled from her absence and sat down on the chair positioned beside the bed, how did she always manage to do it to him; tease him, he fell for it everytime. If he was honest though he liked it, he liked that she made him feel good but then denied him, that she created a constant air of expectation. However, he knew that she always followed through, that her teasing was only ever that, that later on he would indeed show her how much of a man he was and she would live up to the expectation that surrounded her.


"..and you've taken the blue rabbit, the one he..." Violet's long line of questions was her way of seeking reassurance, a part of her felt guilty for leaving Lucas, for abandoning him again, but like Pete said, it was just for the weekend, for a weekend that she needed. "Ok, I know Pete, I'm sorry I just don't want him to think I have gone again, that I would leave him twice." Violet said, she was getting better at opening up to Pete again, at making her feelings clear she knew she had to if she wanted to keep her family. "Ok, I will, Ok, love to Lucas...yes and you. Bye." Violet ended the call and removed the phone from her ear, she looked down at the phone in her hand, her means of communication with the family she cherished. Pete was right, she had to get used to going away now and again and resting safe in the knowledge that he was looking after Lucas, that he was caring for their son, that in her absence, he was looking after their family – like he had done the last time she was absent.

A tear formed in her eye as she thought of what she had put Lucas through, what she had put Pete through, what she had put them all through. She didn't consider that to be her anymore, she wasn't the same person she was when she had left after what Susan had done to her she had lost who she was and what was important. She heard Pete's voice in her head echoing the numerous late night chats they'd had over the past few months, the chats in which Pete reassured her, told her she was a good mother and that he loved her and little by little she was starting to believe it, she wanted to believe it, for herself, for Lucas and for Pete; for her family.

She threw her phone down onto the bed and put her psychologist hat on 'come on Violet, you are strong, the past is the past and the future is good, you can make it good.' She dusted herself off and headed down to the bar where they had agreed to meet once they had unpacked.


Charlotte saw Addison's form leaning against the bar as she entered the lounge area of the hotel. She hadn't always seen eye to eye with the surgeon but their relationship had grown since she'd started working at the Practice, she would never fully understand Addison, she would never understand the way she seemed to attract drama and constantly seemed to go looking for complications. She was aware of the fact that people saw her as cold-hearted and callous; the Ice Queen, but it was her way of getting through her life. Despite their differences Charlotte knew they'd both been burnt in similar ways, by men, by love, by life.

"There had better be a good supply of liquor on this trip Montgomery. If I'm going to be forced to listen to you lot whinge about your sad lives and all the drama that comes with them I am going to need plenty of liquor" Charlotte announced as she marched over to join Addison at the bar.

Addison smiled at Charlotte's directness, at first meeting Charlotte could seem harsh, distant and unfriendly and although she was never going to be a shoulder to cry on she did mellow as you got to know her and, in her own way, let you in. Her ability to take a step back and offer the voice of reason when the rest of them were too emotionally involved proved her to an invaluable member of the team.

Before Addison could respond to Charlotte's question Violet appeared behind them.

"Alcohol, exactly what I thinking after that flight." she smiled as she joined Addison and Charlotte at the bar. Despite missing Lucas she was determined that this trip was going to provide an opportunity for her to make things comfortable between her and Addison, a lot had happened to both of them and although at first she was angry at Addison for starting a relationship with Pete she had now, after talking to Pete, realised that she had no right to be angry, that neither Addison or Pete knew where she was and if she was coming back. Their lives, she now realised, did not have to stop just because hers did.

Addison smiled at Violet and made space for her at the bar.


After what turned out to be an enjoyable first evening Addison looked round the table and felt happy as she saw her friends and colleagues sharing jokes and stories, this was going to be a good weekend, if nothing else just being away from LA would be beneficial.

Just after 11pm Addison excused herself from the fun and headed up to her room. She couldn't remember the last time she had taken a holiday, a proper holiday, work always seemed to get in the way. That's not true – the old Addison avoided holidays as they only served as an opportunity to remind her of her loneliness and encourage her to think – neither of which she wanted to do. However, the new Addison would very much like a holiday, somewhere secluded, somewhere where she wasn't a world class surgeon, somewhere with Sam. She made a mental note to plan a holiday for them both sometime this year. Just as she was removing her shoes and preparing to settle down to some mindless TV she heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Addison" came a whispered voice that unmistakably belonged to Sam.

She smiled to herself as she walked towards the door and unlocked it, before it was fully open Sam hurried through like he was some kind of international spy and shut the door behind him. He wasted no time in thrusting her against the wall and hurriedly kissing her lips. Addison, although taken aback by the quickness of his kiss, wasn't surprised to see Sam at her door, she too had found it unbearably hard to abstain from kissing him all day.

She began to breath heavily as he kisses became more passionate and his lips paid close attention to the skin on her neck. After reaching her collar bone he took a step back and tried to catch his breath, Addison, also short of breath, used the wall to keep herself from crumpling to the floor.

"Sorry I didn't mean to..." a flush of red coloured Sam's cheeks "not being able to touch you, it's..."

He didn't need to continue, Addison knew exactly how he felt and showed him her understanding by abandoning the support of the wall and moving closer to him, she slipped her arms around his waist and drew him closer to her.

"This is going to be a very long weekend" she smiled.

Sam smiled in agreement, wishing he could stay longer "I have to go," he informed her "I said I'd join Cooper for a night cap before bed."

They shared one last kiss before Sam disappeared, leaving Addison feeling content; for once in her life she had a man that she could trust whole wholeheartedly, a man that she knew trusted her.