A/N: Hey there :-) How are you all? I hope, you're still enjoying our story, because we do still enjoy writing it, even though we're very far ahead already… I will try to post more often from now on, but I don't know if I'll really find the time!
Anyways: We unfortunately can't promise NO drama between Alex and Lewis, but we hope, you'll still enjoy… this chapter contains the arrival of some people and I'm sure some of you have anticipated that already, so…
Enjoy Chapter 45! =)
Jackson Avery POV:
"So, tell me what happened between you and Meredith?" Owen asked as he sat behind his desk and gave Jackson a concentrated look.
"It was just a misunderstanding" Jackson said "we all had a very tense surgery and I think the pressure just got to her." Jackson hated being brought up in front of Hunt...again, especially for something that wasn't even his fault.
"Dr. Grey mentioned that she was distracted by you and Dr. Holt" Owen wrote something down in a notepad "it seems she believed you two to be...flirting during the procedure"
Jackson stuttered out something that even he couldn't name "That's ridiculous" he said angrily "I did my job and if there was any flirting I can assure you that I wasn't part of it"
"So nothing happened between you and Dr. Holt?" Owen asked.
Jackson was about to speak, but anything that he said would be a lie and the last thing Jackson wanted was to be caught up in another one of those.
With a sigh Owen sat down his pen "Avery, I understand what being around the same people day in and day out can do" Owen started "relationships happen, but you have to understand that when it starts to effect the hospital I have to step in"
"There is no relationship" Jackson said "it was a stupid mistake, that's all"
"What happened with you and Sloan?" Owen asked "I thought you two were..."
"We're not" Jackson told him.
The same look of pity that made Jackson's skin crawl came over Owen's face "I get that being in charge of the plastics department is quite a burden and if you need to talk to someone-"
"I'm fine" Jackson interjected.
"Okay" Owen placated "but I am going to have to write you up"
"Why?" Jackson asked angrily "Meredith was the one to hit me"
"And I've talked to her, but this is your second public physical altercation in a six-month time-span and I can't just ignore it" Owen had pushed a yellow piece of paper towards him that would go into Jackson's file and for the rest of his career, no matter where he went, it would follow him and tell future employers that he was the one to cause trouble.
"That's not fair, I-" Jackson cut himself off. He didn't feel like arguing and he knew in the end it would be pointless anyway. The outcome would still end up the same so walking over and bending down Jackson grabbed the pen off of Owen's desk and quickly signed before straightening up
"Is that all, Chief Hunt?"
"Avery I...yes that's all" Owen said and the resignation in his voice told Jackson that this meeting did not go the way he wanted it to.
Jackson had a cheek laceration scheduled for later in the afternoon and he wanted to start going over the patient's files. It would be something he could use to distract him from the ever-growing feeling that Jackson no longer belonged at that hospital.
Still, once Mark returned and the two were able to work together again Jackson knew things would get better. He just had to wait these last few weeks and everything would go back to how they used to.
As he made his way towards his office he could feel his head start to swim. It felt as if he was becoming dizzy and leaning against the wall he stopped and took a deep breath. The morning had been long and he knew if he didn't calm himself he wouldn't be able to make it the rest of the day.
With his eyes closed Jackson tried to center himself. It wasn't until he felt something pulling at his pant leg that he snapped his eyes open and saw the big brown eyes of Sofia looking up at him.
"Hey Sofia" Jackson said as he looked around for Callie, Mark, or Arizona only to see none. Bending down Jackson picked up the girl and the wide smile she gave him made him feel better than he had in a long time.
"Jack" she said as she put her arms around his neck "found Jack."
Something in Jackson's chest suddenly grew tighter at the girl's words "Where's daddy?" he asked and no sooner had he finished did Mark come running around the corner and once he saw Jackson holding Sofia he stopped and took a long breath of relief.
"Thank God" he said as he walked towards the two "I told you about wandering off, Sofia" he scolded the little girl "giving daddy a heart attack is not very nice".
Reaching out he got Sofia from Jackson's arms "Thank you" he said to Jackson.
"No problem" Jackson responded as he looked down.
"H-how are you doing?" Mark asked and he sounded just as uncomfortable as Jackson felt.
"Good" Jackson lied "I have a laceration repair a little later"
Jackson wasn't used to this kind of relationship. After a break-up with someone it usually ended with either the person hating him or being out of his life completely.
The fact that he and Mark had ended on pretty good terms somehow only seemed to make things worse for Jackson. He would take a stern cursing out over this horrible awkwardness any day.
"How about you?" Jackson asked "today is one of your therapy days, right?"
"Yeah" Mark smiled "Lewis says I'm getting better every day" and the happiness in his voice made Jackson smile.
"I'm really glad to hear that" Jackson told him "I know how hard you've been working to get better and now it's so close. I'm so happy for you"
He could see something twinkle in Mark's eyes "Thanks, Jackson" he said "look, after my session how would you feel about me, you, and Sofia going to grab a bite to eat?"
Jackson wanted to say yes, but being around the two felt like being a million miles away.
"I'd love to, but I really have to prepare for this surgery" Jackson knew Mark could tell he was lying, but things were still too fresh and Jackson wasn't sure if he could survive being around Mark that closely and not wanting to fall back into who they used to be.
"Okay" Mark said "well, take care of yourself...promise me"
"I will" Jackson told him and when Callie walked towards them with a smile Mark turned to greet her and that's when Jackson disappeared down the stairs.
It was for the best. Jackson had to believe that.
The Rooftop was pretty busy for a Wednesday night.
Mostly filled with the 30-something crowd who were trying to forget their troubles until the sun came up again. Jackson and Gary sat in the back room, the table filled with the liquor bottles and white powder that normally made up most of their nights.
"Have I told you who I heard from?" Gary asked as he bent down with the rolled up twenty dollar bill and took a long drag from the line of coke that was placed in front of him.
Shaking his head no Jackson watched as the man wiped the white powder from his nose "Caffrey" he said "he asked about you and was wondering when you were going to take him up on that offer of visiting him in New York"
Jackson laughed "I'm pretty sure that was just drunk talk"
"Are you kidding?" Gary asked "it took me 6 months to even find out what city he lived in, believe me if he invited you he wants you there"
"Even so" Jackson said "the hospital has me tied up for quite some time, so even if I wanted to-"
"Didn't you say that boss of yours is coming back in a few weeks?" Gary asked "Look, I'm not going for another four weeks and that hospital owes you some long overdue vacation"
Jackson shrugged his shoulders; he couldn't deny that Gary had a point "After Mark gets settled in then I don't see the harm in taking a sabbatical"
"That's what I like to hear" Gary smiled "New York won't even see us coming"
Jackson took Gary's bill and bending down he dragged his own line and closed his eyes as the drug coursed through his system, sending every nerve on fire and it felt so fucking fantastic.
An escape was something Jackson needed and New York was a good a place as any to find one.
Tyler Browning POV:
Tyler Browning hadn't slept in over 48 hours. From the moment he had gotten the call from Lewis about Jackson he had been running 100 miles an hour.
He knew he should have went to Seattle the second Jackson had called him and Tyler could hear how hard Lewis' arrival had been on him.
If something had happened to Jackson Tyler would never forgive himself.
When his plane had landed he had been so focused on getting his bags and finding a cab that he didn't take notice of the woman that had appeared in front of him.
That was until he had collided into her and sent the two flying towards the ground.
Bodies and bags scattered and Tyler started to apologize profusely.
"It's okay" the woman laughed as she stood and brushed herself off.
Leaning down Tyler helped pick up the woman's luggage and that was when he took notice of the stroller that sat just off to the side.
"His name is Henry" she said "and I go by the name Addison Montgomery" she offered her hand in greeting and Tyler shook it lightly.
"Tyler Browning"
"Well, Tyler Browning it's nice to meet you"
Once the two had their bearings they both headed towards to the outside cab stand.
"So what brings you to Seattle?" she asked.
"Here to help a friend who got into a bit of trouble" Tyler said "that's where I'm headed at right after I drop my stuff off at the hotel"
Addison gave a light chuckle "I'm in the same boat" she told him "the things we do for friends, right?"
"Right" Tyler smiled "I leave a medical conference in London to fly to a hospital in Seattle"
"Oh, which hospital?" Addison asked politely.
"Seattle Mercy Grace...or something like that" and when Addison stopped in her tracks Tyler almost ran into her all over again.
"Woah" he said as he managed to catch himself "something wrong?" he asked as he saw the curious look on her face.
"You don't mean Seattle Grace Mercy West, do you?"
"Yeah, that's it. You know it?"
"How about we share a cab?" Addison asked "I think we have more in common than we thought"
Mark Sloan POV:
Mark had went for a walk with Sofia after his therapy and after he took her back from the day-care and now the two of them were in Mark's apartment and Mark was getting lunch ready for her.
It still took a lot of him to see Jackson ever so often and not being able to kiss him and hold him. He was still so in love with him and he was pretty sure that wasn't going to change anytime soon. Only his faith that it was something he was doing for him and Jackson to get better on their own was keeping him uptight, but the nights were the worst.
The nights in which he just lay in bed awake and thought about calling Jackson and making him come over, just to have him close. He didn't think it was possible to get so used to someone laying next to him so quickly, but with Jackson it was just like that.
Several times he had already had his fingers on the keyboard of his phone, about to call Jackson, but several times he had thought better in the end and left Jackson alone, but today he couldn't just walk by and ignore him. Especially with him having found Sofia. It was obvious that his little daughter missed Jackson just as much as he did.
Sofia adored Jackson and over the past few days she had asked for him a couple of times and every time Mark had to explain to her that Jackson wouldn't come over for a while, even though she most likely didn't understand anyways. She looked as if she did sometimes, though, but that didn't change a thing about the facts.
"Jack...son... Jack... son..." Sofia's voice pulled Mark out of his thoughts, but at the same time reminded him painfully of the person he couldn't have at the moment.
Mark turned around to the blanket on which she was sitting, playing with her toys, and picked her up, looking into her big, brown eyes.
"I miss him, too, honey... I miss him too!" he whispered into her ear, kissing her cheek. "But it's only temporary. I promise, I'll bring him back and then we'll be a family... you're gonna have two mommies and two daddies..."
Sofia smiled at her father and this little gesture totally warmed Mark's heart.
"Okay, then... why don't we go get you some lunch now?" he asked, sitting Sofia down in her highchair and placing the noodles he cooked her in front of her.
"Those are your favourites, so don't disappoint me..." Mark grinned, starting to feed her when a knock at the door disturbed them.
"I'll be right there!" he shouted to the door while he placed the little spoon in Sofia's hands. She wasn't really big enough to totally eat alone yet, but she was learning and she was a fast learner, just like Mark, and even though her meals were a mess every time she tried to get the food in her mouth by herself, it was definitely getting better.
"Daddy will be right back, okay? Why don't you try and eat some noodles while I take a look at who's at the door?"
Sofia grinned. "Jack...son... Jack..." she murmured and Mark let out a heavy sigh.
"I don't think so, honey... but who knows?" He kissed her head before turning to the door and opening it, staring at the person in front of him in surprise.
"Addison? You here?"
"Wow... charming as ever..." Addison smiled, looking at Mark. "What a nice way to welcome someone in your city."
"What are you doing here?" Mark asked, still not able to wipe the surprise off his face. Only a second later he saw the stroller standing next to Addison, and looking at it he noticed the little boy sitting inside of it sleeping. "And that must be Henry then, huh?"
"Yeah..." Addison replied, leaning down and touching Henry's head. "Can I come in or do I have to talk to you in your hallway?"
"Of course you can come in..." Mark replied and immediately took a step aside. "I'm really sorry, I'm just... really surprised to see you. Why haven't you called? I could have picked you up from the airport. Does Derek know you're here?"
"Wow... hey... slow down, Mark..." Addison grinned, stepping in and pushing the stroller into Mark's living room, before closing the door and turning towards him. "Don't I even get a hug?"
"Of course, come here!" Mark immediately said and pulling Addison into a tight embrace, he let out a sigh.
"So nice to see you."
"Good, because for a moment there I thought I'm interrupting something." Addison gave back.
Mark shrugged slightly, pointing towards Sofia with his head. "Only lunch with my daughter. I've just served her her favourite meal." Looking at her, he had to fight back a laugh, because of course Sofia's face was covered with the tomato sauce he had made with the noodles.
"That's Sofia?" Addison asked, seeming slightly surprised herself now.
"As far as I know I've only one daughter at the age of almost two, so yes, that's Sofia." Mark replied, grinning at her.
"She's gotten so big... wow..." Addison moved towards her, smiling down at her with a soft look in her eyes. Motherhood had definitely done her some good. "May I...?" She pointed to the plate and the spoon Sofia was holding in her little hand.
"Sure... feel free to." Mark said, sitting down on one side of Sofia while Addison took the spot on the other.
"Hey, Sofia. I'm Addison... We've met once, but that's long ago... you probably don't remember... I'm a friend of your daddy..."
Curiously, Sofia looked at her. "A... Addi..." she tried to repeat, even though she didn't get out the whole name.
"Yeah, that's right. Good girl," Addison cheered, and Sofia smiled at her.
Love at the first sight, Mark thought, and he could totally understand his daughter, because Addison was not only still pretty as hell, but also nice and charming and sweet and if it wasn't for her, Sofia wouldn't even be sitting here at this table right now.
He watched Addison take the spoon off Sofia's hand and wiping her face clean before she started feeding her, and Sofia willingly opened her mouth every time Addison reached for the noodles.
For a moment Mark couldn't help but ask himself how his life would have been different now if he and Addison had ever worked out. If they had found a way to be together and even what would have happened if she had never aborted his baby, but he shook the thoughts away. He was mostly happy with his life and there wouldn't be a Sofia if they had worked out at all, and he wouldn't want to miss that for the world.
He waited patiently until Sofia had finished her meal, before he took her out of her highchair and put her down on her blanket again. He knew it wouldn't take her long to get really tired and then fall asleep eventually, like she always did after lunch, and he was right. He had barely sat her down on the ground when she was starting to rub her eyes, so he brought her to her bed, together with Addison and then sat down with the woman on his couch.
"Okay... now spill it. Why are you here?" Mark asked directly, and he was really, really curious what brought Addison here. Had Derek told her about Meredith and Holt? Had he needed a friend and contacted his ex-wife of all people?
"Why can't I just be here to visit some old friends?" Addison gave back. "I've lived here for a while myself. Maybe I was just nostalgic and wanted to see my old city."
"Come on, Addison," Mark chuckled. "It's me you're talking about... remember? You were never really able to lie to me..." He looked her directly in the eye. "Are you here for a consult? Has the chief called you? Or Derek?"
Addison smiled at him. "Something like that... yes..."
"And where's Sam? Why didn't you bring him with you?" Mark asked curiously, causing the woman in front of him to roll her eyes.
"I'm sure you don't miss him..."
"What makes you say that?" Mark tilted her head.
"Because you never really liked him in the first place." Addison replied immediately.
"I didn't like him with you," Mark commented. "But this is your life. You have to live with him and be happy with him. Not me."
"Well... you will be relieved to hear that things between Sam and me are over..." Addison sighed, blowing a strand of her long red hair out of her face.
"I'm... I'm sorry..." Mark said, and Addison chuckled.
"No, you're not."
"Okay... maybe I'm not sorry that it's over between the two of you, but I'm sorry for you having to go to another heartbreak." Mark replied.
"I'm okay, Mark," Addison answered. "Really... it's not that I didn't see it coming. In fact, it was this exhausting on-off game for quite a while now... and he always knew I wanted a kid, he didn't want any more kids, and even though we tried to work it out, we couldn't... but that's okay, because I'm really happy right now. Henry completes my life and I don't need any man to complicate things again."
"I understand..." Mark replied, placing his hand on Addison's arm, looking at her. "But if you ever need someone to talk, you know where to find me."
Raising an eyebrow, Addison looked at him. "Talk? Your way of talking which means sex?"
"No!" Mark hurriedly replied. "No, seriously. I'm over that kind of stuff..."
"Are you with someone at the moment?" Addison curiously asked, and Mark felt a slight nervousness inside of himself.
"Kind of... we're trying to work things out at the moment... we've broken up, but it's only temporarily." Mark said, trying to avoid Addison's gaze.
"You're sure about that? Because every time I told myself that it was only the beginning of the end," Addison commented.
Mark turned back to her. "It's different with us. I know that we belong together, and that this break up is for both of our best. So we can come back stronger than ever. I believe in us."
"Good..." Addison's look grew into a smile. "When can I meet her?"
Mark felt his cheeks starting to heat up. "I... I don't know yet... soon... but you still haven't told me what you're really doing here," he changed the subject and fortunately, Addison followed his conversation immediately.
"Alex... Alex called me, because of his girlfriend or something like that... I didn't get that from the message, but I got that she is pregnant with his kid and that there are complications in the pregnancy." she explained. "He sounded desperate, and I knew he needs me right now... So I booked the next flight I could get and now I'm here."
"That's awesome. I'm sure Alex will be really relieved to see you." Mark replied, and he had to admit, it felt good to have her back in his life, even though it was only temporarily. He had missed her a lot.
"I just hope, I can really do something for him... or better to say her..." Addison sighed. "But I will do my best to help..."
"I'm sure April and Alex will appreciate that."
Mark looked around, rolling his eyes all of a sudden. "And I'm the worst host ever. I haven't even offered you something to drink."
Addison waved dismissively. "It's not that I'm not used to that..." she joked, but then looked at him. "A coffee would be nice."
"Of course!" Mark replied, getting up from the couch and moving towards the kitchen to the coffee maker.
He was really glad to see Addison, even though she didn't know yet that his "girlfriend" was a "boyfriend" and he had no idea how to tell her this fact. Not yet. Not, because he was ashamed of Jackson or because he was afraid she wouldn't like it, but because she just knew him as the playboy and womanizer he had always been. Imagining him with another guy would definitely be something Addison would have to get used to and Mark wasn't ready to drop the bomb. Not yet.
Tyler Browning POV:
Tyler had chosen a hotel as close to the hospital as he could get. Nothing overtly spectacular, but pretty nice none the less. King sized bed, wide windows and a bathroom that he felt comfortable taking a shower in.
The room service also looked to be pretty decent too.
The cab ride had been quite something. This Addison Montgomery had seemed pretty familiar with Seattle and particularly with Seattle Grace. Tyler had kept Jackson's name to himself for the time being. This Addison had seemed like a nice enough person, but Jackson's protection always came first and nice or not he had just met the woman and trust didn't come that easily.
After checking into the hotel and taking a shower Tyler was able to walk the 3 blocks to Seattle Grace. He was pretty sure finding Jackson there would probably be a long shot. That would be far too easy and to be honest Tyler seeing Jackson without a game plan was probably a really bad idea.
Still, maybe he could at least meet Lewis.
Walking into the main lobby he could see the bustling bodies of workers as they made their way towards whatever destination they were headed.
Walking to the front desk he stood in front of a pretty redhead as she talked to someone about a patient discharge. Once she was finished the woman gave him a friendly smile.
"May I help you?" she asked
"Yes" Tyler smiled back "I'm looking for a Dr. Avery"
"Which one?" she asked "we have quite a few around here"
Right Tyler thought "Lewis Avery"
"Oh, I'm sorry" she said "he's gone home for the night, but if you'd like to leave a message I would be happy to make sure he gets it"
Of course this wouldn't be easy at all.
"It's kind of important" Tyler said giving his best charming smile "I'm an old friend of his and I just flew in, but I have no idea where he's staying at"
The nurse who's name tag read Mills looked to be debating how much faith she should put in Tyler. "I'd try Jackson, but he seems to not be answering his phone" Tyler said and at the mention of his name the girl's decision seemed to have been made.
Taking a post-it she scribbled an address down and quickly passed it to Tyler.
"You didn't get this from me" she said and crossing his fingers across his heart he held up the symbol of a trusted boy scout "Your secret is safe with me" he told her "thank you" and with that he turned and headed back out of the hospital.
Looking at the post-it he memorized the address and figured catching a cab would be the best option. They would have a much better idea of how to get there than Tyler would.
Luckily cabs were like people in Seattle and it only took him a few minutes to flag one down and give the driver the address before the man pulled off and Tyler got to sit back and try to think of what he would say to Lewis.
Their last meeting had ended with a lot of anger and a bloody Jackson. Tyler still held some anger for Lewis over his attack at Jackson, but he couldn't deny the tremendous feeling of loss he had gotten when he told Lewis to never come back to New York again.
They all could have handled the situation better and had they done so maybe none of them would be going through this now.
Once the cab pulled up to the apartment building Tyler paid and stepped out into the brisk Seattle night. Seeing someone open the buzzed door Tyler sprinted and managed to catch the door before it closed.
The note had said that Lewis lived on the 3rd floor, specifically 3E and taking the stairs up Tyler made his way up and once he reached his desired level he walked out into a brightly lit hallway that held a select number of apartments on either side.
Walking down Tyler concentrated on finding the right letter.
3C, 3D, and finally 3E. Tyler took a moment to prepare himself by taking a deep breath; then he gave two quick knocks on the door.
Tyler could hear shuffling on the other side of the door and then suddenly it was swung open and somebody who was definitely not Lewis was standing in front of him.
"May I help you?" the man asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry" Tyler said looking at the door to make sure it was the right number "I was looking for a Lewis Avery"
"Who's asking?"
"The name's Tyler...Tyler Browning" he responded and the man's face lost the defensiveness and took on one of surprise.
"Oh" he said "come in" and stepping aside he offered a path for Tyler to take "we've been expecting you"
We've Tyler thought that was certainly unexpected.
Walking into the apartment Tyler took in the atmosphere. It seemed so...lived in. A coat hanging off the back of the couch, some dirty dishes soaking in the sink, and a pair of sneakers laid in front of the love seat.
"The name is Alex" the man said to Tyler as he held out his hand for greeting "Alex Karev"
"Nice to meet you, Alex"
"Lewis just stepped out to pick up some dinner. He should be back any minute" Alex looked nervous and Tyler was quite sure that he had to know something about he and Lewis' history to react that way.
"No problem" Tyler smiled "nice place" he added as he waved his hand around.
With an awkward shrug of his shoulders Alex gave a short nod "It's really more Lewis' place"
"You two are...together, aren't you?" Tyler asked and he didn't really know why he felt the need to ask that question. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer.
Alex was a nice looking guy, but he seemed to be the complete opposite of Lewis' type, not that Tyler would actually know what Lewis' type would be. The only significant other of Lewis that Tyler knew was himself.
Still, it was surprising.
"I guess...yeah we are" Alex said refusing to look Tyler in the eye "you want a beer or something?"
"A beer sounds good" and watching Alex walk over to the fridge he took a seat at one of the seats that was at the dining room table.
Sitting the popped open beer in front of Tyler Alex gave him a quick salute before downing half of his own bottle.
The dude was definitely nervous.
"So how did you and Lewis meet?" Tyler asked and it seemed with each question the guy only got more and more awkward. This told Tyler that it was definitely a story there and despite everything he really wanted to know.
"We met at a bar one night" Alex said "it kind of snowballed from there"
Tyler tried to act like he didn't know there was more to the story. If Tyler knew anything about Lewis it was that he was never, and would never, be the kind of guy who picked up people at a bar.
"So how long has it been?"
"About 6 months" Alex had taken one last swig of his beer and finding it empty went to the fridge to get another one.
Tyler had taken the first drink of his.
"So, do you know Jackson well?" Tyler asked and seeing Alex's shoulders square he could tell Jackson was a very sensitive subject.
"Yeah" Alex told him "I know him"
"Wait!" Tyler said as he stood "Alex...Alex from Miami"
Turning around Alex's eyes went wide.
"You came down with Jackson to tour the hospital, right?"
Alex stood silent and just as he was about to speak both men heard keys jiggling in the keyhole a second before the door opened and Lewis walked in carrying two large paper bags filled with what smelled like Chinese food.
"Hey baby, I got that shrimp lo-mein you like so much" Lewis said as he took off his hoodie "it started raining like a bitch" he added before looking up and seeing Tyler standing in the middle of the dining room with a smile.
"Hey Lewis"
Lewis Avery POV:
Lewis had been in a strange mood the whole day, so he had been glad once his day had been over and he was able to leave the hospital together with Alex. He couldn't even name what was wrong with him, he was just really agitated, but being with Alex again had helped him to release some of this stress.
And they hadn't even had sex. Not yet, that was. They had just been together talking about the things they had been doing during the day. Like in a real relationship. Lewis still didn't know if that was what they were for each other. Boyfriends. But it definitely felt that way.
They had enjoyed sitting on the couch together watching TV until the both of them had become really hungry, so Lewis had suggested going out and getting something to eat while Alex would wait for him. Then they would enjoy their dinner and afterwards they would probably spend the rest of the night in bed, having sex. Definitely a thought Lewis really liked.
He was in a really good mood when he made his way back to his apartment with the Chinese food in his hands. It took him a moment to get the key out of his jeans pocket but when he did he immediately unlocked the door and swung it open.
"Hey baby, I got that shrimp lo-mein you like so much", he cheered and put the paper bags down on the little shelf standing in the hallway to get rid of his shoes.
"I started raining like a bitch" he explained when he lifted up the bags again and moved towards the living room, only to see the smiling face of Tyler Browning right in front of him.
"Hey Lewis"
It took a lot of Lewis not to drop the paper bags and he stared at Tyler in shock.
"T-T-Tyler..." he whispered, looking at Alex, who was standing a few feet away, looking really nervous. The whole situation was already pretty awkward, but Lewis knew it would get a lot more awkward soon.
"Great, you remember my name..." Tyler smiled, and Lewis couldn't help the butterflies starting to fly in his stomach the moment their eyes really met.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, even though the question alone was ridiculous by itself. He knew what Tyler did here and he knew why he came.
When Tyler moved towards him, Lewis just stood there stiff and waited for anything to happen, and then Tyler touched his shoulder.
"Relax, Lewis. It's just me..." Lewis nodded, taking a quick glare to his shoulder, when Tyler pulled his hand back. "And besides: you know why I'm here, or haven't you gotten my message?"
"Yeah, right... the message," Lewis repeated, moving past Tyler and placing the food on the table before turning to Alex and grabbing him by the waist, so he could pull him close.
"I guess you've met my boyfriend?"
Demonstratively, he pressed a kiss onto Alex' lips and smiled at him. "I've missed you..."
"Okay, I get it, Lewis..." Tyler commented, putting his hands into his pockets and looking at them.
"But you know that's not the reason why I'm here at all... I don't care about you or your boyfriend. I mean, it's good that you've moved on and that you're happy."
"I am..." Lewis said, stroking Alex' arm and still not letting go of him. He needed to be close to Alex right now, because Tyler being here, in his apartment, drove him up the wall completely. He didn't even know how to react or what to say to him, but he knew that there were some feelings bubbling up already. His heart was beating so fast it hadn't in a while and it took a lot of him not to let Alex or Tyler know how he felt right now.
"Good for you..." Tyler repeated, giving him another smile that literally made Lewis' knees weak.
"Can we talk somewhere? Alone?"
Before Tyler could even repeat anything he heard Alex speak.
"I can leave you two alone, no problem."
Immediately, Lewis grabbed Alex' hand and held it tight.
"I don't think that's necessary." He turned to him for a moment before looking back at Tyler. "Alex knows about everything. In fact, he discovered that Jackson was using again even before me, and he has already tried to keep him from doing it."
"So... Alex... you're Jackson's friend?" Tyler asked, moving towards the kitchen table and pointing to the chair. "Can we sit down?"
"Sure..." Lewis hurriedly replied. "But maybe it's more comfortable if we sit down on the couch?"
"Yeah, maybe..." Tyler replied and waited for Lewis and Alex to go into the living room, before he followed them and sat down opposite them on one of the couches while Lewis and Alex took the other one.
"So... to answer your question... Jackson and I have been friends ever since the merger... I don't know how well informed you are, but there used to be two hospitals close to each other in Seattle... Seattle Grace and Mercy West..." Alex started explaining. "And then a few years back they merged, and so Jackson came to Seattle Grace, together with some others... we had a difficult start, but yes... we really became friends... even were flatmates for a while... but then it all fell apart..." Alex said, looking down with a sad look in his eyes.
"What happened?" Tyler asked, and Lewis knew it was on him to reply.
"I happened," he blurted out. "And I... I destroyed everything he had... everything good..."
Lewis could tell that it took a lot of Tyler not to attack him right this moment. He was fisting his hands and pressing his lips together to a small line. He had always been good in reading people, especially Tyler, and he knew him well enough to know that this only made things worse between them. But also that Tyler was civil enough to talk to him calmly. He had always been like that. Even back then when he had found him attacking Jackson. He had shouted at him to get out and never come back, but he could have been so much worse, so much angrier than he was.
"What did you do?" Tyler asked quietly, staring directly into Lewis' eyes.
Lewis knew that Tyler wanted to ask so much more. Like if he hadn't done enough damage already. If it hadn't been enough before. But he didn't.
"I... I was so full of hate when I came here... I wanted to take everything away from him, like he took everything away from me five years ago," Lewis started to explain, but was cut off by Tyler immediately.
"If you had just trusted him... trusted me... we wouldn't be in this situation right now, but I don't think it's really necessary to bring that back up again right now. So spill... what did you do...?"
"I came here after finding out that he had a boyfriend and a great job and everything he's ever dreamed of. And I just couldn't stand the thought... I... I actually thought Alex was his boyfriend..." With a quick glance to Alex he turned back to Tyler. "And that's how we met. I wanted to seduce Jackson's boyfriend, but instead I met his best friend... which I found out the same night, but there was no way of me going back from that. And I didn't want to either... I thought I could use that for my advance as well... and well... it worked out... of course it rattled him... He was so angry with me..."
"Understandable, don't you think?" Tyler interjected.
"Of course..." Lewis replied immediately. "But that was just what I wanted... and with Michael's help..."
"Wait..." Tyler interrupted him. "Holt's here, too?"
"He actually was here way before me... and he had already started to get to Jackson... by telling him he knew about everything and by threatening to tell it to Mark and such..." Lewis admitted.
Tyler shook his head, jumping to his feet and starting to move back and forwards. "I can't believe it, Lewis... I really thought you were better than that..."
"I know... I really know... you have no idea how ashamed I am of myself..." Lewis replied, biting his lower lip.
"And that makes everything better how? This is on you, Lewis, and even though I will do everything and anything in my willpower to help him, if I can't and if he dies it's on you!" Tyler said aloud, pointing at Lewis.
"You're right..." Lewis said brokenly and all of a sudden it became too much. Way too much. Like everything in the past couple of days and weeks. "Tyler, please... you have to help him. You have to save my brother, because he won't let me or Alex help him..."
Tears were starting to well in his eyes. "I couldn't live with myself if... if anything happened to him... I never thought it would get this bad..."
"Well... what did you think?" Tyler asked. "I mean... you know he has his past with drugs... You could have avoided it... you could have stopped it, but you didn't..."
"I tried..." Lewis gave back. "I really tried... to make Michael stop doing what he did to Jackson... which played a big part in everything, but it just didn't work. Michael told me he did that all for me and that he wouldn't stop until it's over... I... just had a bad fight with him about that when I called you... Just please... help Jackson..."
He hated it to be this vulnerable - especially in front of Tyler - he had tried so hard to fight back all the emotions, but he couldn't. And now he was sitting in front of him crying, why Alex sat next to him, holding his hand, but obviously not wanting to get in between them. Or maybe he just didn't know what to do and how to handle this whole situation and Lewis couldn't blame him, because he obviously couldn't handle the situation either. He had to fight back the urge to throw himself into Tyler's arms and literally beg him to help Jackson, but he hoped Tyler had gotten the message anyways.
Tyler Browning POV:
Tyler hated this feeling.
Part of him was furious with Lewis. He had tried for years to make Lewis give up this animosity and...Hatred for Jackson. Tyler knew it was only going to lead down a horrible road and now hearing how bad Jackson had fallen Tyler was unfortunately proven right.
Still, the other half of Tyler just wanted to wrap Lewis up in a hug and promise him everything was going to be okay, even if Tyler didn't believe it himself.
"Why couldn't you just let him be happy?" Tyler asked "hasn't the guy paid enough?"
"That's not fair" Alex finally said "it's not like Lewis wanted any of this to happen. To stand here and make him feel bad about himself isn't going to help anyone"
Turning his attention from Lewis to Alex Tyler had to keep his anger in check "No offense there, Alex, but you don't know what the hell you're talking about"
"I think-" Alex tried to say before Tyler cut him off.
"No, you don't think" Tyler said "Lewis may not have meant for this to happen, but don't try to sell me some bullshit that causing Jackson as much pain as possible wasn't his game plan. That's why he came to Seattle, that's why he sought you out, and that's why he let his pit-bull off his leash to attack Jackson"
Looking at Lewis Tyler felt a heavy weight on his heart "You don't get to walk away from this, Lewis" he told him "neither of you do" and the look of shame in both of the men's eyes gave Tyler a little bit of piece that at least they understood the severity of their actions.
It was a step in the right direction.
"What do we do?" Lewis asked Tyler, his eyes watery and voice unstable.
"You two are going to stay away from Jackson" Tyler told him "no surprise visits, no phone calls, and if you see him in the hall you say hello and keep moving"
"No way!" Alex told him "we've been the ones putting in the hard work these past few weeks. We're the ones who have had to deal with his verbal attacks and threats. You expect us to just walk away and hope for the best?"
"That's exactly what you're going to do" Tyler said letting his anger focus on Alex. Tyler didn't like the guy. It wasn't the fact the he was with Lewis, but it was obvious the guy knew little to nothing about loyalty and people like Jackson, people like Lewis, didn't need that in their life.
"You think you've seen Jackson at his worst?" Tyler asked Alex "believe me, this is only the beginning and it doesn't end with him just hurting your feelings"
That had seemed to shut Alex up.
"It's obvious that you two set him off and having you around will only make that worse for him, so yes, I expect you two to finally put him first and do what is best for him, not your egos"
Standing up Lewis approached him, but made it a point to keep a safe distance. Tyler managed to not show how much that hurt.
"We'll do whatever you tell us" Lewis said and held up a hand when Alex started to refute the statement.
"It's the least we owe Jackson" Lewis said to Alex "just...make my little brother better, please"
Tyler could feel the pressure of Lewis' words. He had gone through this once with Jackson, after the man's family turned their backs on him following the cancellation of Tyler and Lewis' wedding Jackson had relapsed and relapsed badly.
He remembered the nights when Jackson had come home bloody and bruised after getting into one of many fights. When Jackson was high he only worked on two factors.
Violence and Sex.
Jackson was one of the nicest and best people Tyler had ever known, but when everything was taken away he became desperate.
It had taken 6 months and some of the worst nights Tyler had ever experienced, but Jackson had come out of it on the other side and for the following year and a half the two had been insanely happy together.
That was until the day Lewis had appeared on their doorstep.
The problem now was that Tyler hadn't seen Jackson since Miami and then the man had been a bit depressed, but drugs were the farthest thing from the his mind.
"Who else knows?" Tyler asked Lewis "besides you two"
Alex and Lewis shared a look "Not many people" Lewis said.
"Dr. Robbins, she's my supervisor" Alex said "and then there's a nurse who goes by the name of Eli, but both are trustworthy and want to help him as badly as we do"
"I bet" Tyler said sarcastically.
"What does that mean?" Alex asked offended and Lewis put a hand on his chest to hold him back.
"It means that as of this moment I don't trust anyone in Jackson's life" Tyler said "good intentions or not you all let him slip through your fingers and I'm not going to let that continue"
"You're fucking unbelievable" Alex spoke aloud as he turned around walked into the dining room "you come in here and start throwing around demands and expect us to just follow along like good little sheep?"
"I'm not the bad guy here" Tyler said "believe me, if I had my way Jackson would be enjoying his life as a board-certified surgeon and building the life that he had worked so hard to create, but instead I've just flown for the past two days from London to try and save a man who by all accounts is falling faster then anybody can stop him. So if you want to be angry at someone, Alex, I suggest you start by looking in the mirror"
"Tyler, stop" Lewis pleaded "we're all stretched to our limits here and it makes us...uneasy"
Tyler had took a deep breath "Look, I'm sorry, Alex" he said "I just need to put Jackson first and I'm rattled"
"I get it" Alex told him "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean-"
"I know" Tyler said with a smile to which Alex returned.
Maybe the guy wasn't that bad.
"So what else can we do?" Lewis asked.
"I can't go to Jackson until I know everything that caused him to turn to drugs" Tyler said "and that means having a conversation with the man who helped push him along"
Lewis looked suddenly nervous "You don't mean-?"
"Yeah" Tyler told him "I need you to give me Holt's address. It's time me and him had a Talk"
"Don't do anything stupid" Lewis said "he was just overzealous"
"The address, Lewis" Tyler said and after a worried moment Lewis went and wrote Michael's address down and handed it to Tyler.
"Are you two working tomorrow?" Tyler asked and both Lewis and Tyler nodded yes.
"Good, I'm going to stop by and if it's possible I would like to have a conversation with Arizona and Eli before I go and see Jackson"
"Okay" Alex told him "we can do that"
Then giving an affirmative nod Tyler made his way to the front door and as he walked out into the hall he turned and looked at Lewis
"Although, I hate the reason I'm glad to see you again".
"M-Me too" Lewis responded before turning his face down.
As he made his way back down to catch a cab he looked at Michael's address and prepared himself to hear how bad it had gotten for Jackson.