A/N Okay I have no excuses. Except my muses went on vacation.
Life Is Not Easy
It had been much too long since Archer Montgomery had seen his sister and he figured now was as good a time as any to surprise her. Plus Bizzy had told him that he needed to check on her. Archer had let it slip to Bizzy that Addison had left LA and was back in Seattle for a case. Of course Archer knew that Addison was perfectly capable of handling things on her own, but truthfully he had missed his baby sister. He had not told Addison that he was coming to Seattle, deciding instead to surprise her.
He walked up to the nurses station fully intending to charm the nurses into telling him where Addison was right now. Instead he saw Mark heading towards the nurses station. Archer had no idea that Mark was turning into a family oriented man so Archer figured that Mark would be flirting with the nurses as he handed over a chart. Mark turned around when he heard footsteps approaching and he was shocked to see Archer Montgomery coming towards him. He had not seen Archer in awhile. They never really got along despite them being very much alike, but Mark put up with him for Addison's sake because she adored her big brother.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Mark demanded. He knew that Addison had not said anything about Archer coming to Seattle so Mark was understandably confused.
"I came to see my sister." Archer explained. He had thought it was pretty obvious why he was here so he couldn't believe Mark had asked such a stupid question.
"Did Bizzy send you?" Mark asked as he scratched his signature on a patient's chart before he handed it back to the nurse. He knew how rocky Addison's relationship was with her mother. He also knew that Bizzy often sent Archer to check on Addison. Mark found that ridiculous. After all, Addison was a grown woman and she really did not need to be checked up on.
"The short answer is yes." Archer replied. He was starting to remember why he didn't like the slightly younger plastic surgeon. They were much too alike.
"She's in the NICU checking on premature twins that were born last night." Mark told him. Archer noticed that Mark hadn't stopped to flirt with the nurses like he would have done in the past. Archer wondered what had changed. Archer pointed his finger at Mark and remarked,
"You've changed."
"I have." Mark confirmed. He had a feeling he knew what Archer meant. Mark didn't feel like elaborating at this point.
Just then Callie walked up to the nurses station with a smile on her face. She wrapped her arm around Mark's waist and smiled up at him. Archer was standing beside Mark with an expression of surprise on his face. Callie's pregnant stomach was not lost on him either. So Mark really had changed. Archer had definitely not expected this.
"Babe, this is Archer, Addie's brother." Mark told Callie before he kissed the top of her head.
"Good looks do run in the family." Callie commented as she looked at Addison's older brother. Archer was attractive much like his sister was. Callie had no plans to cheat on Mark. Even so Mark glared at her, hoping she wasn't getting any ideas in her head. Mark did not want to lose Callie to Archer Montgomery.
"Better not repeat that or Mark's going to murder me." Archer pointed out. Callie laughed knowing he was right. She brushed her lips across Mark's, mostly to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about.
"I'll go track down my sister." Archer told both Mark and Callie before he walked down the hallway in search of the elevator. Once he was gone, Callie laughed. She really could not believe that Mark had been so concerned about losing her to Archer.
"Mark, I choose you. I love you and I want only you." Callie assured him. Mark wrapped his arms around her and held her as close as her seven months pregnant stomach would allow him to. He was glad to hear that she did not want Archer. He had hoped that she did not want Archer in that way so to hear it be confirmed felt good. Mark knew that women seemed to flock to Archer because of both his good looks AND his trust fund. Mark wasn't poor by any stretch of the imagination, but he was certainly no Forbes Montgomery.
Archer found his way up to the NICU and once he was there, he stood by the window watching his sister with the babies. She seemed to be paying special attention to two isolettes and Archer guessed that those isolettes contained the premature babies that Mark had mentioned a short time ago. Addison looked up and her deep blue eyes widened in shock. She had not expected him to be there watching her take care of the babies. She had not expected him to be there at all. She headed towards the door and then took off the protective gear and headed to her brother. When she reached him, she hugged her brother, feeling glad he was here. She had missed him more than she realized.
"Archie, what are you doing here?" Addison demanded as soon as she pulled away from the hug.
"Bizzy asked me to check on you." Archer explained. Addison's expression changed. She had been hoping that he had come because he missed her and he wanted to see her again. She didn't want Bizzy to be the reason that Archer was there.
"Plus I wanted to see you." Archer added quickly. He knew that she hated feeling like she was being checked up on.
Addison smiled once he spoke again. She too had missed her big brother. He always had her back even if he hated some of the decisions she had made. She had a feeling that he would hate her decision to give things another try with Derek. She knew that they would have to clue Archer in on it soon.
"How's the East Coast?" Addison inquired. Of course she was talking about their parents. She really didn't care how the East Coast was. She never felt the need to speak WASP to her brother, but their parents were a touchy subject.
"Dad's cheating on Mom and Mom's drowning in her gin pretending she doesn't know that he's cheating." Archer answered. He knew his mother's secret, but he had been sworn to secrecy years ago when he had caught Bizzy and Susan together. He was not allowed to tell Addison that their mother was not who Addison thought she was. Both Bizzy and the Captain had said that they would tell Addison when the time was right. Addison wished her mother wasn't so blind. Couldn't she see that the Captain wasn't faithful to her and probably had not been faithful to her for a long time
"And you?" Addison asked as she studied her brother. Addison wished that her brother would settle down with a nice normal, age appropriate girl and start a family, but she doubted that was going to happen anytime soon. Archer was a bigger manwhore than Mark and Archer was 4 year older than Mark.
"Nothing's changed. Treating brain injuries and having mindblowing sex." Archer replied. Addison bit her lip to keep from rolling her eyes. Really she was not sure her brother would ever grow up.
"Knock anyone up recently?" Addison asked teasingly. She was only half kidding, but she was also praying Archer had not knocked anyone up. Archer looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Had someone said something to her? Archer had to hope not. He was in no way ready for that.
"Not that I know of." Archer replied. Addison exhaled as soon as he spoke. She was glad to hear that.
"Why, did someone tell you I knocked them up?" Archer demanded.
"No Archie." Addison reassured him. This time they both exhaled.
Just then, Addison's pager went off. She glanced down and realized that it was her patient in Room woman had been in labor for over 36 hours. Addison was sure that she was being summoned to do a C-Section on the woman.
"Got to go Archie. Go look around." Addison called to her brother as she ran down the hallway in the direction of her patient's room.
A short time later, Archer stepped into the observatory of OR 2 after being told that his sister was going to be doing surgery in there. Derek was already in there, sitting in the front row, his eyes locked on whatever was going on below.
"There's my ass of an ex brother in law." Archer commented from the doorway. He recognized Derek immediately by the head of dark brown, nearly black curly hair. Derek recognized that voice instantly and he gritted his teeth. Archer clearly did not know yet that he and Addison were on the road to complete reconciliation. Derek turned around and pasted a fake smile on his face. He and Archer had never gotten along for as long as Derek and Addison had been together. Archer had insisted that by marrying Derek, Addison was settling. Archer had taken sides in the marriage as well as in the divorce.
"Archer." Derek said by way of a greeting.
"Shouldn't you be having mindblowing sex with your girlfriend, what's her name again…? Oh right Meredith." Archer questioned. He had no idea why Derek was watching Addison's surgery. Derek had certainly not cared to watch it when he was married to Addison, so why now?
Derek couldn't believe that Archer was already being nosy about his personal life. Actually yes he could, it was Archer's thing to be nosy. Derek suspected that he had gotten that from Bizzy. When Bizzy actually took notice of someone else's life she was intrusive.
"I'm watching Addison's surgery." Derek explained simply. He did not owe this guy any sort of explanation even if he was Addison's brother.
"Why?" Archer demanded. To him it was a legitimate question.
"Because I have the time." Derek told him, silently gritting his teeth. He wanted to deck Archer for being such an asshole. He knew that wouldn't put him in favor with Addison so he stopped himself.
"You are screwing my sister again, aren't you?" Archer accused. Crap now Derek had to say something. He knew that Addison would want to wait until she could be around so they could tell Archer together, but she was currently elbow deep in a woman's uterus. Instead of lashing out at Archer, Derek bit the inside of his cheek and stayed silent. Archer knew that he had gotten it right. Derek's silence told him all he needed to know about Derek's current position in Addison's life.
"How long?" Archer asked.
Derek didn't answer. He wasn't going to tell Archer that because it really was none of his business. Addison and Derek were adults and they didn't have to share anything with anyone if they didn't want to. Archer was highly annoyed. Why was Derek not telling him what he wanted to know? Archer did not want to see his sister get hurt again. Derek and Mark had both done a number on her and it had been all Archer could do to keep from killing both men. Derek was hoping that Archer would shut up, but he also knew that his former brother in law never shut up when someone wanted him to.
Finally Addison was done with the surgery and she had talked to the husband who had a death grip on two wedding rings, his and his wife's. Addison was able to tell him that his wife and baby daughter were going to be fine. She went up to the observatory after being told that Archer was up there. When she opened the door, she saw Derek and Archer both in the room and both ignoring each other. It was a very uneasy silence.
"Derek I wasn't told you were up here." Addison commented as she tried to figure out if Archer knew what was going on between them.
"I wanted to surprise you." Derek told her.
"But instead he surprised me." Archer put in. Addison shot him a look that plainly told him to shut up.
"We surprised each other." Derek explained. He knew Addison loved her brother dearly and as much as Derek couldn't stand him, he never wanted to put Addison in the position of choosing one over the other because Derek knew that he'd lose.
"When did you two start screwing again?" Archer finally asked. Addison shot Derek a look and Derek shrugged. He'd tell her the whole story later.
"It's not…We're not." Addison stammered nervously. She knew Archer didn't approve and she had always tried to get her big brother's approval on everything.
"It's not just out of carnal desires." Derek finally told Archer. Meaning of course that it was more than just sex. Archer looked puzzled for a minute before he spoke.
"So it's the real thing again?" He asked, watching both of them.
"Yes." Both Addison and Derek insisted in unison. Archer wasn't convinced. They had thought it was the real thing before. What made now all that different?
"What makes it real now?" Archer finally asked.
"It just feels different in a good way Archie. I can't explain it." Addison murmured. Derek slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.
"I was a fool to treat her the way I did before. She deserved so much better." Derek said quietly. Archer resisted the urge to snort after hearing Derek's words. Derek still was not better for Addison. Archer still thought Addison could do much better.
"She still can do better." Archer muttered darkly under his breath. Addison heard him and her face turned to one of hurt. She grabbed Derek's hand and pulled him out of the observatory before she allowed the tears to fall. She had forgotten how cruel Archer could be sometimes. Derek wasn't going to ask what had happened. Addison was too upset already and Derek didn't want to make it worse right now.
"Go get some rest gorgeous." Derek told her. He knew she was exhausted physically and emotionally. He kissed the tip of her nose and her tears turned to giggles. She attempted a smile but it came out crooked before she turned away and headed to the nearest on call room. Archer came out of the room and Derek had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from throttling Archer. He had heard Archer mutter something and he had a feeling that had been what had gotten Addison so upset.
"You upset her Archer so don't bother her anymore." Derek muttered.
"She's my sister." Archer pointed out.
"She's the woman I love." Derek shot back.
"Family trumps love any day." Archer commented.
Derek didn't even want to continue the conversation anymore. He turned away from Archer and started to walk away.
"Don't call her today. I mean it Archer. Just don't." Derek told Archer firmly before he turned the corner and was out of Archer's sight.
In contrast to the stuff that Archer was putting Addison and Derek through, Mark and Callie were having a much easier day. Now that Callie had hit her seventh month, her work hours had been greatly reduced and she was no longer doing extended surgeries because she could not stand for a long time. Mark had scheduled both of their surgeries at the same times so that when Callie was finished, she and Mark could go home together.
Today Callie had no surgeries, only paperwork, but Mark was stuck in surgery doing skin grafts for a six year old burn victim. For Mark it was harder to work on kids now that he knew that he was only a few months away from having his own. He wondered how he would be able to separate work from family when the babies arrived. So he was relieved when he finally finished and sent the child up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before he went to speak to the family.
When he was finished with the family, he headed off to the on call room where Callie liked to work on her paperwork. She told Mark that she was able to concentrate in there, unless someone was using it for decidedly inappropriate purposes. Luckily when Mark stuck his head in the on call room, Callie was the only one in there. And she was not working on paperwork. She was busily pouring over baby name books. She had gotten frustrated because they only seemed to talk baby names at night when Callie was exhausted. Maybe if they did this in the afternoon things would be easier.
"No paperwork Cal?" Mark asked with a smile as he sat down beside her.
"The babies are going to be here soon and we have nothing ready for them Mark. Nothing!" Callie practically shrieked. This whole delivery was coming way faster than Callie had expected it to. Mark didn't think it would help to point out that Callie was only seven months pregnant. Barring an emergency, they had at least two months, but probably closer to three months left.
"Callie, babe everything will be fine." Mark reassured her.
"These kids are going to be nameless if we don't settle on names." Callie pointed out.
"Then let's talk about them now." Mark suggested calmly. He needed Callie to relax. Having her this panicked was not good for her blood pressure.
"Okay." Callie agreed. Mark moved closer so he was able to see the book she was holding.
"How about Claire?" Callie asked. Mark shook his head. That sounded like a cheerleader-y name and Mark did not like it.
"Emerson?" Callie offered. Mark wasn't sure if that was a boy's name or a girl's name.
"It's unisex." Callie added after seeing the uncertainty in her boyfriend's face.
"I like it. It's unique without being geeky." Mark pointed out. Callie flashed him a grin, feeling very glad that Mark liked the name,
"Sofia?" Callie offered. Mark nodded. He liked that. Plus he knew that Callie liked it.
"Charles?" Callie offered. Mark shook his head and he tried not to grimmace.
"Sounds like an old pervert." Mark grumbled. Callie laughed, not really thinking about it that way before.
"Sawyer?" Callie offered. Mark knew she loved the show LOST, so he knew where that had come from.
"It's okay. It's not one of my favorites though." Mark told her.
Callie didn't think they were anywhere closer to settling on names, so she threw the book aside and looked at Mark.
"Can we go home? If we are going to be painting tomorrow, I would really like to get some sleep." Callie told him. She hated always being tired. She wondered if it was this bad because she was expecting twins. She missed all the energy she used to have. She was excited for the babies to come, but she was beginning to grow impatient. She wanted to know if they were boys and girls or both boys or both girls. She wanted to know who they looked like. Being twenty eight weeks pregnant was exhausting and all she wanted at this very moment was some ice cream.
"Yes of course." Mark told her. He stood up and offered his hands to her so she could pull herself up. Once she was up, Mark grabbed the baby name book and they left the on call room, with Mark's arm going around Callie's expanded middle.
Once they were home, Callie got into her favorite stretchy pants and a maternity shirt that said I'm Still the Ortho Goddess. Mark had gotten her that when she had had to cut back on her hours at work.
"I really want some Rocky Road ice cream." Callie told him from their bed. She wore a pout on her face. A pout that they both knew that Mark couldn't resist. Mark smiled, though he was tired. He'd go get her the ice cream because she could always win with that pout.
"I'll be back in thirty minutes babe." Mark promised her. He kissed her lips quickly and headed out the door. He doubted many people would be at the store at were still at work.
While Mark was getting her ice cream,Callie found herself also found herself desperately needing to pee. She slowly managed to get up out of bed and waddled very slowly to the master bedroom. The feeling of being lightheaded hit her fast and before she could sit down, she fell down. She had no idea that the sudden feeling of lightheadedness had to do with the fact that she was losing blood and fast. She hadn't even had a chance to feel the blood running down her pants. Both her head and stomach hit the floor with a sickening thump. Callie lay on the bathroom floor surrounded by her own blood.
Mark had no idea what had happened to Callie. He had gotten her the ice cream and now he was unlocking the door. The house was strangely quiet and Mark didn't like what he was feeling. He put the ice cream on the table that held the mail and then he raced upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time. He went straight for the master bedroom. Callie wasn't in bed like she had been when he had left. Then he saw the bathroom. Callie had left the door open and all Mark could see was blood. All the blood drained from his face and he ran to Callie. She was unconscious and she had a nasty bump on her head. Mark couldn't figure out where all the blood was coming from. He knew some of it was from her head injury, but he knew not all of it was from her head. If he had been thinking more clearly he would have noticed the blood had soaked her pants. Mark didn't move her. He knew not to. He called 911 and waited for them to arrive. He didn't pray, but he found himself praying now. He was praying that Callie and the babies were okay. He needed them to be okay. These three humans were his life.