AN: Thank you for the reviews! It means a lot! : ) This chapter is in Addison's POV, so those of you who missed our redhead's thoughts, she's back now! ; ) Haha. Also, my friend told me to do this because I plan on having something happen...the FC's for the couple Addison delivered the baby for...Tessa looks like Charisma Carpenter and Bridget looks like Sarah Michelle Gellar. Yes, I love Buffy. ;) Anyway though, just keep that in mind as you're reading and otherwise, enjoy! : )
Chapter 14
Addison's POV:
5:00 AM:
As I get up that next day, I feel really good! Although it was five in the morning and I hated getting up at that time, I didn't mind today! I had a mission to complete. I needed to talk to Charlotte. I needed for everything to be okay between us.
Talking with Amelia the night before really helped me. It's not like I went to Amelia for advice too much in my life, but everything that she told me last night was so touching and heart warming. Just knowing how much I really meant to Charlotte and hearing it from Amelia made me want to fix this even more now.
Sure, hearing something like this from Violet would've helped me too, but since Charlotte never really talks to her, I don't think Violet would even be able to say half of the things Amelia did. It meant a lot coming from Amelia, since I knew her for half of my life.I get up out of bed with a happy smile upon my face and I prepare to get ready for the day. It takes me about two hours to get showered and dressed, and once I'm done with all of that, I drive off to the Practice. I tap the steering wheel rhythmically as I drive. I was nervous. I didn't quite know what to say to Charlotte yet.
"What should I say?" I whisper to myself. "Sorry for being a bitch and not letting you explain anything to me?" I say that and let out a groan. "She probably won't even forgive me...I was a monster to her..."
There was no way that Charlotte would never want to talk to me again, right? I mean, if I mean to her how Amelia explained I did, she wouldn't let me slip away...right? My thoughts go out of control and I shake my head. "Gah! Addie...calm yourself...now..." I see the Practice in the distance and I hope that Charlotte is already there. I pull into the parking lot and park. Unfortunately, she wasn't there. I sigh. She could've gotten a ride from Amelia or something.
I get out of the car in my above knee length cherry colored dress and heels that match it. I couldn't help but fear the worst when I would talk to Charlotte...whenever that may be...but that's natural.
7:30 AM:
I walk into the Practice in an almost graceful manner and take the elevator up to the fifth floor. Once the doors open, I get out and immediately look around for Charlotte. Come on. Where are you? I'm not really looking where I'm going so I turn and end up slamming right into our curly haired therapist. "Oof...oh, Violet, I'm sorry..."
Violet shakes her head. "No, it's fine...I've been bumped into harder than that..." She laughs softly and notices my anxious expression. "Is everything okay, Addison? You seem a little tense."
Should I tell her about Charlotte and I? "Yes...I'm fine..." She gives me a look that tells me that she knows I'm lying. "No...I'm not fine...it's about Charlotte."
"I know." Violet replies matter of factly. How did she already know? Did Amelia tell her?
"How do you know? I didn't tell you about it...and I don't think Amelia would either..." I'm trying to think of any other ways Violet could find this out and I forget about the only remaining way.
"Charlotte told me. She came over to my house last night." My eyes widen. "What? We didn't do anything but talk."
"No, of course you didn't do anything except for talking, but that's not what this expression is for." I wave a hand in front of my face that had a "WTF" look all over it. "I want to know why Charlotte wanted to talk to you...no offense, I mean...we know how Charlotte gets...when it comes to you..."
Violet sighs lightly. "Come to my office, and I'll tell you what she said."
I follow her as she heads to her cozy office and she closes the door behind her. We both take a seat on her big and soft blue sofa and I look at her. "What did she say?" Violet grins slightly at me. "...What?"
"You want to get right to the point, don't you?" I nod and she smiles. "You need to have a little patience."
"I am patient...look at me..." I bat my eyes at her like a dork and snort softly.
Violet rolls her eyes slightly and smiles. "Sure..." She leans back against the sofa and looks at me. "Charlotte came to my place around 9 o'clock and she had been crying a lot..." I look down guiltily. "She told me that you and her broke up and it was because Cooper kissed her." I bite my bottom lip nervously. "Do you want to know what really happened in Charlotte's office?"
I look up slowly and nod. I barely let Charlotte explain it to me so I had to let Violet tell me. "Please."
"Charlotte thought he was going to talk to her for professional reasons...and he really went in there to talk about you and Charlotte...because he overheard Amelia and I talking. She denied it all at first...but she finally told him that it was true." Violet folds her hands in her lap and continues to look at me. "He started to tell her that he was sorry for everything and that he regretted everything that he did...and told her that he still loves her." I look away now. I should've known he still loved her. I close my eyes. Please don't let Charlotte choose him... I repeat over and over in my mind and wait for Violet to continue. "He kissed her after that...and she told me that she didn't kiss him back, because she thought of everything he put her through...and then, she thought of you..." I open my eyes and look over at the therapist. "She was about to pull back when you walked in but by then, it was too late."
"What else did she say?" I ask curiously.
"Don't freak out when I say this but..." Oh, great. I think to myself. "...she said that she started to have conflicting feelings between you and Cooper."
"...She picked him, didn't she? She picked Cooper?" I question my best friend. "I can understand why she would, you know. She loved Cooper for years. We dated for 6 months...that's nothing compared to everything that they've been through..." I lean back and sigh. "I should've known I never stood a chance against him..."
Violet stares at me calmly and waits. "Are you done now, Addison?" I nod slowly. "Good..." She pushes a curl behind her ear. "Charlotte loved Cooper a lot in the past...there's no doubt about that. She still may even love him...but, don't we always love a part of someone that we once shared a relationship with...even after time has gone by...?" She asks me and I shrug. "I told her that a part of her may always love him, because he meant a lot to her at one point, but...she loves you." I look into her eyes. "Charlotte really loves you, Addison. I know I'm a therapist and I may not be a matchmaker, but seeing the way that Charlotte acts around you and just how she is in general since you've came into her life is pretty remarkable. I can see the way you look at her too, and I know that you love her more than anything. ...You've changed Charlotte, Addison...for the better. I don't know if you can see that or if even she can, but I can definitely see it." Violet smiles warmly. "I told her that she'll know who's the right choice...because she'll know in her heart who's the right one...the one who was always there...the one who always made her feel better...and so on..." She leans over to take my hand in hers. "I may be Cooper's best friend, and I love him dearly...but he made some mistakes...we all do! You're my best friend as well, Addison. If you're so worried about Charlotte, you need to talk to her. Not talking to her would be a mistake. Just take advantage of every little moment, and get her back...okay?" She squeezes my hand encouragingly. I nod softly and smile now. "Good..." Violet pats my leg and smiles. "I may not be a psychic either...but she's going to choose you, Addison. I know it."
I grin slightly. "How could you possibly know that, Vi?"
"What can I say? I'm wise like an owl." She winks playfully and I shake my head.
"You're so weird." I tell her truthfully.
"Maybe so...but yet, you still come to me for help...so I can't be that peculiar." Violet grins. "Anyway...Charlotte should be here soon...she was still at my house getting ready when Pete and I left."
"Oh..." I don't quite hear her right at first so when I catch it, I tilt my head to the side. "Wait...say what? What's she doing at your house?"
"She had a glass of wine and I told her that she should stay because I didn't want her driving when she had alcohol...so, she stayed!" Violet explains.
I can't help but laugh. "That sounds exactly like the night Charlotte and I kissed...except for the fact that she barged out before I could get her to stay." I tell her and think about that night. It changed everything...in a good way, though. "You didn't kiss her too, did you?"
"Yes, I did." Violet answers with a straight face and my jaw drops. She snorts lightly. "I'm kidding, Addison."
I let out a dramatic sigh and shove her. "Oh, you...I should hurt you for that..."
"Did you really believe me?" Violet inquires and I nod. "Wow...I didn't think I was too convincing about it."
"Oh, you really were...there was about to be a big fight in here." I tell her while smirking.
Violet laughs. "...Do you want to know something?"
"Well, yes...of course!" I tell her excitedly.
"If I was a lesbian or attracted to women...which, I'm not...Charlotte would be the last one on my list...no offense to you or Charlotte herself...she's just not my type." Violet explains easily and I grin widely. "...What? Is that funny?"
I nod in agreement. "Yes...because I told myself the same thing in the beginning...and look where it got me..." I lean forward and shrug. "Still...I'm glad you said that, because if I had to deal with you going after Charlotte too, I wouldn't be too happy."
Violet shakes her back and forth. "It's fine...because I'm not attracted to Charlotte in any way. I never have been and never will be...because I love Pete too much and she loves you too much, so she would never be able to do something with me." I smile happily at this. "Besides...if Charlotte and I are anything...we're at least friends now."
I raise an eyebrow. "Friends...? Really? ...How much wine did she have? Or maybe the better question would be, how much did you have, Vi?" I grin evilly. I tended to make jokes or say funny things when I was nervous, because I still was freaking out, even if I did seem calm.
"I only had a sip and she only had a glass!" Violet replies back with a grin. "I'm being honest. I remember what you told me months ago...that if I got to know Charlotte...that if I stopped teasing her and calling her names...I would end up liking her. You were right, Addison! Charlotte's not half bad!"
"So now you're not going to call me an insane person for falling in love with Cruella?" I question her and laugh.
Violet shakes her head. "No! My days of calling Charlotte "Cruella" and "The Wicked Witch" are over...well, unless she ticks me off but we'll see about that." She grins softly. "You love who you love, Addison, and I'm never going to judge you for that...ever. Charlotte may seem like the spawn of Satan sometimes, but she has a heart...I can tell."
"I'm Satan..." I inform her with a serious face as she says that.
"Excuse me?" Violet narrows her eyes slightly.
"I am Satan..." I repeat it proudly once again and just look at Violet giving me one of her own "WTF" looks. "It's just a nickname I gave myself a long time back, because I was evil...I still am, by the way...but saying Charlotte is the spawn of Satan is saying that she's my daughter and yeah...no...I don't like the sound of that." I laugh hard.
"Oh...well...I apologize about that...I was unaware." Violet joins me and begins to laugh as well. "Okay...we'll stick to Cruella, then...it will be our little secret." She winks softly.
"Okay...the secret's safe with me." I return a wink and sigh. "God...I need to talk to her now..."
"Just be patient, Addison. If you need to go somewhere and if you have to see a patient, then, go ahead. I'll let Charlotte know you're looking for her." Violet suggests.
I look at her and think of what I have to do for the day before nodding. "Yeah, you're right...I should probably get working. All of those babies and their mothers need me." I stand up from the couch as Violet does the same.
"Just like my patients need me!" Violet repeats happily and I head toward the door.
That's when I see Cooper walking down the hallway. I never thought about confronting him about what happened, but just seeing him right now made me want to do just that. I tense up a bit and stare. "I think work might have to wait a little bit longer..."
"Why is that?" Violet asks before following my gaze. "No, Addison...let it go...there's no need to talk to Cooper."
"I need to, Violet...I have to." I head to the door before turning and looking back at her. "If you hear him screaming bloody murder, go about your business...don't mind me!" She's gives me a look that tells me to stop and let it go, but I can't. I wasn't going to hurt him anyway, but that didn't mean that I would let him get away without telling him how I really felt about all of this.
I look at my best friend one last time before leaving the office and heading into the hall. Cooper already passed by Violet's office and was heading in the other direction. I wasn't sure whether he saw us gawking at him or not, but I didn't really care. "Cooper!" I call out. He turns quickly and sees me. The pediatrician gives me a look and I'm not sure if it's more fear or anxiousness that's covering his face.
Cooper stops in his tracks. "Yeah, Addison...?" I could tell he wasn't himself. Cooper was almost always bubbly in his own way and today, he was definitely different.
"Can I talk to you...please?" My tone tells him that I'm very serious...because I was. I wasn't going to mess around.
"I was about to come looking for you anyway..." He tells me and opens up his office. I can feel Violet's eyes on my back from her own office. I knew she would be watching this whole thing...or listening, anyway. I walk into Cooper's office a few inches before turning around to face him. He closes the door and looks at me.
I stare at him and my bottom lip begins to quiver. I wasn't going to cry...and I wasn't nervous...I was angry. I was furious. Don't slap him, Addison...don't...slap...him! My thoughts scream out but it doesn't do anything to put out the wildfire that was quickly building up inside of me. With no warning, I pull my hand back and let it slap against his left cheek...hard.
"Ow! Addison, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Cooper yells out and immediately feels his cheek.
"What the hell is wrong with me?! Are you serious? Did you seriously just ask me that?!" I ask him through clenched teeth. I couldn't just let this go like Violet suggested. There was no way I could possibly do that.
"Yeah! Because you just slapped me in the face for no apparent reason!" Cooper snaps back at me and with that, I give him a slap on his right cheek to match the left one. "OW!"
"You freaking deserve it, you son of a bitch!" Furious wasn't even a word to accurately describe how angry I was at that moment. If I could, I would probably throw Cooper halfway across the Practice. I obviously couldn't...one, because I physically couldn't, and two, because I didn't think Charlotte would like it too much.
"Addison...please...let me explain..." Cooper puts his hands out defensively, afraid that I'll slap him silly again.
I contemplate being difficult about the whole situation but decide not to be. "Fine...I'm listening..."
Cooper puts his hands down slowly. "I want to apologize for yesterday...it wasn't what you thought it was..."
"So...you weren't kissing Charlotte...and she didn't choose you?" I ask him rudely with my arms crossed roughly over my chest.
He sighs. "Of course I kissed her...and I'm sorry about that. I bugged her and bugged her until she finally fessed up that you and her were together...and even then, I kissed her. It was a jerk move...and I'm sorry." Cooper looks into my eyes and I can tell he's sincerely sorry. "I still love her, Addison...and I always will...but...I should've respected what you guys have and I didn't...and I may have even ruined your relationship now and just the idea of that makes me feel even worse...so...I hope you can forgive me." He taps the patient file in his fingers nervously and stares at me. "I don't expect you to forgive me this second...and you can hate me...but I'm truly sorry...and I'll understand if we can't be friends anymore..."
Cooper gives me this whole speech about how sorry he is and I sigh. As much as I wanted to forgive him, I couldn't just yet. I needed to make sure Charlotte and I were okay first...then, I would think about it. "I don't know, Cooper...I have to see if Charlotte can even forgive me...and if she does, then, I'll work on forgiving you..."
Cooper nods slowly. "Okay...I have to go talk to Charlotte myself..."
"You better...I can only imagine how much this hurt her..." I say sadly. I knew that Charlotte wouldn't be okay until she had an apology from Cooper...that was obvious.
He just stares at me with a guilty expression and sighs. "Well...now that I said what I needed to...I'm done...unless you have something else to say."
I shake my head. "Nope...I'm okay! I don't have anything else to say..." I tell him truthfully before heading to the door.
I am about to leave when he stops me. "Addison?"
I turn around to look at him. "Hmm...?"
"She didn't choose me, Addison. She chose you...it's always been you, Addison...for months now. She's barely even passed a glance at me..." Cooper tells me quietly.
I look at him and think about that for a moment before heading out of his office.
As I look to my left, I see Violet still standing there in her doorway, looking at me with a shocked expression. I give her a thumbs up, letting her know it was okay...since she probably heard the thunderclap that was my hand snacking Cooper's face and probably started to worry.
I head on my way to the front desk to get my patient file. A young woman had an ultrasound and soon after that, I had to go to St. Ambrose to check on a patient...and it was something I really wasn't looking forward to.
9:05 AM:
As I head into St. Ambrose, I'm trying to keep a level head. It wasn't all the time where cases actually made me nervous, but this one did. It was about the two women I helped deliver a baby for yesterday. Only the delivery didn't go as well as we planned.
As I was moving the baby out of Bridget's stomach, I found out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around their daughter's neck several times. This wasn't uncommon in a pregnancy or a delivery...but the fact that I wasn't able to find this out before the delivery frightened me. The baby's stats were perfect before we went into the OR so I suspected nothing. It's just strange that the umbilical cord could've gotten wrapped around the neck that quickly.
In result of the umbilical cord being so tight on the baby girl's neck, she wasn't able to get oxygen properly. We had to unwrap the cord and administer CPR to help her...and for whatever reason, it didn't work. So, we no choice but to put her on a machine to help her breathe. How could a baby like Tessa and Bridget's be so healthy for its whole nine months in the womb and then have something like that happen and ultimately end up on a machine? I honestly didn't know...but I felt guilty...so guilty that it made me sick to my stomach. Sure, there was a chance we could take their baby off of the life support and she would survive...but how often does that happen?
Before seeing Bridget and Tessa, I head off to the NICU. As I'm walking, I keep wondering if Charlotte is here or not, because I needed to talk to her. I guess it wouldn't kill me or her if I waited a little while to talk to her. Besides, this whole baby situation was pretty important and I needed to make sure everything was okay. I walk into the room slowly and go over to their baby. They decided to name her Joanna. I smile softly because it was a beautiful name. I look at her monitors to see how she's doing...and it seems like she's doing very well. I move my hand inside of the container and I rub Joanna's hand. "You're going to be okay, little one...I promise..." I tell her softly and sigh. I look up at the ceiling and send out a little prayer to God that this little girl would make it through this. I look back down after a while and decide that I should go talk to the parents.
I head to Bridget's room and knock softly. When I hear one of them say, "Come in", I walk into the room slowly.
Bridget and Tessa are sitting on the bed together, holding hands and they look up at me instantly.
"Dr. Montgomery...is everything alright?" Bridget asks immediately while pushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "How's our daughter?"
Tessa nods in agreement. "Yes...how is she?" Her dark haired girlfriend also asks me.
I was a bit confused. I knew that I was Bridget's doctor...but I'm surprised they didn't know how she was doing. "The nurses haven't let you see her?" They both shake their head at the same time. "She's doing better...her heart rate has improved dramatically and I really believe she's breathing better than before!" I explain to them truthfully with a smile.
They both let out a sigh of relief.
"Good...does that mean we can take her off of those machines...?" Bridget asks.
I shake my head. "Not right away. She's doing well now and we need to wait a little while before we do anything else."
Bridget frowns. "What if we...what if when we finally take her off of the machines, she ends up dying?"
Tessa frowns as well. "Baby, don't think that-"
"It's true! Don't lie to me and say that you're not thinking it, Tessie..." Bridget replies back to her.
"We can't afford to think like that right now, alright?" The brunette squeezes the blonde's hand and leans in to kiss her softly.
"I know...I'm sorry, darling..." They press their foreheads against each other. I stand there silently, letting them share this tender moment. Bridget finally looks over at me. "Can we go see her?"
I nod while smiling. "Certainly."
I call a nurse in to help get Bridget in a wheelchair because she shouldn't be walking just yet and I escort them to the NICU. I show them where their daughter is and watch them looking at her.
"God...she's so beautiful, baby..." Bridget says and starts to cry silently.
"I know..." Tessa kisses her forehead and smiles. "She's gorgeous."
I stand off to the side in case they have questions and after a few minutes has passed and nothing was asked, I hear my pager going off to see that another one of my patients went into labor. I speak softly. "You two are allowed to stay for as long as you need but I have another case to deal with..."
They both nod and Bridget smiles. "Go ahead, Dr. Montgomery...we're fine with Joanna."
I smile before stepping out. I let the nurse nearby know that if there were any emergencies that I should be paged. With that, I head off to my patient's hospital room to delivery her baby.
10:20 AM:
I never know what to expect with each delivery that I have. There are only so many complications that can be shown on a monitor. Some of them you just have to deal with when the baby arrives.
I felt a little guilty because of Tessa and Bridget's baby, but these things happened all of the time and it wasn't necessarily my fault it happened. Umbilical cords get tangled around the neck and body of a baby quite often. It's just a little more rare that it can cause something serious like what happened with Joanna.
This time, both myself and my patient are lucky. Her baby girl is delivered without any complications. I am handing a woman that's only five years younger than me a perfectly healthy baby. The older a woman is, the more risks they would have if they tried to have a child, but Marie, my patient, is one of the lucky baby was already cleaned off, weighed and measured so now the mother could hold her and even breast feed for the first time if she wanted to. I watch Marie interact with her daughter with a few family members around her before I feel weird...like I'm being watched. I turn around slowly and end up seeing a few nurses...but no one is really staring at me. I even walk out into the hall to investigate further...still nothing.
Although the feeling was weird and sudden, I decide to ignore it. I had no other surgeries for the day, not counting if another patient went into labor, so I could relax. I grab a bottle of water out of a vending machine and head over toward Bridget and Tessa's room again. When I see Bridget all alone and see Tessa nowhere in sight, I am confused. "Bridget...? Are you alright...?" I walk into the room as I ask her this.
It looked like she was crying. "Oh, Dr. Montgomery...yeah! I'm fine...Tessa left me..." My jaw drops. "No, no...not like that...she just left abruptly about twenty seconds ago...I don't know where she is..."
"Oh...why wouldn't she tell you?" I ask her with a confused expression.
Bridget shakes her head. "I don't know...she said that there was something that she has to do soon...and it's going to make everything right...I have no idea what she meant..."
I shrug, not really knowing why either. "She may just need some time alone, because of what happened..."
"Please don't blame yourself, Dr. Montgomery...it's not your fault this happened to our daughter...God's weird like that, isn't he?" She questions me and I nod softly. "He knows how much we wanted this baby...and he'll make sure she's okay." I couldn't really agree too much because I wasn't really religious but I understood what Bridget was saying. I smile warmly. "How are you and your girlfriend doing?"
I am shocked for a moment because I didn't remember telling her, but then I remember that I told her and Tessa a few months back. "Oh...we're...we're fine..." I lie. She tilts her head to the side because she doesn't believe me. "Okay...we had a fight. It was stupid...but I'm sure we'll be fine...why do you ask?"
Bridget shrugs. "I was just wondering...Tessa mentioned you two earlier...that you and Dr. King look adorable together or something like that."
I smile happily. "Thank you...I've been meaning to talk to her all day and I haven't ran into her yet..."
"Oh! Well, I don't want you to miss out on your chance to talk to her. I'll be fine here and I'm sure Tessa will be back soon!" Bridget reassures me.
"You're sure?" The blonde nods. "Okay! I'll come by again later." We smile at each other before I leave the room. I look down to see that it's only 10:25 so I knew Charlotte would be in her office. I take my time getting there and once I'm there, I wait outside her door nervously before knocking a few times.
Don't be afraid...everything will be fine...she'll forgive you... I think to myself as I wait for her to open the door. I hope.
After a minute has passed and there's still not an answer, I knock again.
"Are you looking for Charlie?" I hear a voice behind me that I know right away to be Amelia's.
When I see Amelia, I grin slightly before nodding. "Yes...I am!"
"Well, you're out of luck, because she just left!" Amelia tells me. "She probably went to the Practice or something to try and find you."
"Charlotte's looking for me?" I ask my former sister and she nods. "Why didn't she come see me earlier?"
"Because...she was being a workaholic as usual and was working on stacks of paperwork...and she also thought you were busy, so...yeah..." Amelia grins. "Oh, and I said that I could call you for her but she said that she wanted you to come see her willingly...that she didn't want you to feel like you were forced to talk to her or anything."
"Oh..." I reply back softly.
Amelia squeezes my arm. "Don't worry...she's going to come back soon. Charlotte always does...the hospital is her second home!"
I nod. "I know..." Amelia smiles before walking off down the hallway.
Amelia was right. Sooner or later, Charlotte would come back to the hospital. She always did. But when would that be?
12:20 PM:
The next two hours drag on rather slowly. I ended up thinking I would actually be able to get off of work early but I was proved wrong almost two minutes after I went to talk to Charlotte earlier, because Jake wanted my opinion on a case of his...and it took up all of that time.
I am lazily getting out of my scrubs and slipping back on my cherry red dress and heels when I think of an idea.
I am going to apologize to Charlotte no matter what...but maybe I can make it a memorable apology...if apologies are memorable, that is!
I grab my purse out of my locker before leaving the locker room.
I had the perfect idea!
12:30 PM:
I depart from the hospital and drive a few miles down the street to a small shop that sells all kinds of flowers. If there was any flower you could think of, they would have it. I've learned that Charlotte isn't really the romantic type and that she won't get gushy over receiving flowers, but it was the thought that counts.
I walk straight into the shop and look at all of the flowers around me. A normal person would get lost in here trying to decide what flowers to get for a woman...or more so, a woman like Charlotte, but I already knew which kind to get.
It's as I'm heading to the section I was looking for when I end up getting lost in a memory from the past.
It was like any normal Saturday for me and like a crazy person, I was planning a romantic night for Charlotte. We already had our first date out at a restaurant by this point and although that night didn't really go as well as I had hoped, it was still a great night. Tonight was different though. It was just going to be me and Charlotte...with no interruptions from anyone...with no way anything could go wrong.
I heard on the news that there was going to be a full moon above Los Angeles this exact night, so I thought...what's more romantic than spending a night on the beach under a full moon? I couldn't think of anything better than that!
I go to a small flower shop to pick out flowers for my woman. One thing I knew I didn't want to do was be tacky and get plain red roses...I wanted to be different. The shop had so many flowers so I almost died in there...but after a few minutes, I find the perfect flower. I pick out a dozen hybrid perpetual roses, purchase them and head off on my way. Before this day, I never heard of such a rose, but they were gorgeous; they were the most beautiful color of purple and pink that I have ever seen. I just hoped Charlotte would enjoy them.
After this, I head to a chocolate shop a few blocks down the street. If there was anything that could almost live up to my love of wine, it would be my love for chocolate...and it was good that Charlotte was the same way! I buy Charlotte a box of white chocolate peanut butter cups; her favorite kind of chocolate.
When this is done, I head home to my house to get it all ready. I text Charlotte to tell her to get home earlier than she usually does, because we all know how late Charlotte can work.
It's around 8 o'clock when the sun was finally down and I set up a huge blanket out in the sand. I light a few candles and put them at the corners to hold the blanket down. Vanilla scented candles were also Charlotte's favorite type of candle. I even bring out my iPhone dock so I could play some calming music...and I couldn't forget some romantic music. I start the music and set the box of chocolates there as well but decide to leave the flowers inside, so they wouldn't get ruined. To make everything perfect, I made sure there was a bottle of red wine and two glasses waiting for us...nothing is complete without a glass of wine!
It's about the time Charlotte said she would arrive home so I wait on the couch anxiously. I was so ready for her to see what I had planned.
When I hear her opening the door, I get up quickly and shuffle over to the door. Charlotte notices me right away and raises her eyebrows all amused. "Well, well, well...what have you been plannin', Dr. Montgomery?"
"How do you know I planned something, Dr. King?" I don't answer her question but ask one of my own.
"'Cause...you're all dressed up and you were watchin' the door to see when I came home. You're choosin' the wrong one to lie to, darlin'." Charlotte winks.
"I just want to spend some time with you is all...there's nothing planned..." I lie partially and walk over to her. I press myself against her and wrap my arms around her tightly. "I just missed you...a lot..." I tell her truthfully.
Charlotte bites her bottom lip when I come up against her. "Mhm...well, I missed you a lot too..." She runs her hands down my back and sets them on my ass. "Maybe we can do somethin' since we miss each other so much..." She leans in slowly like she's going to kiss me and then stops. "If you tell me what you're up to, that is." She smirks.
I sigh. "You're no fun." I tell her as I unwrap my arms and lead her into the living room.
She follows willingly. "You know me...I'm the Wicked Witch. I don't know how to have fun..." She snickers under her breath.
I roll my eyes and walk over to the coffee table where the dozen roses I bought for Charlotte sit in a vase. "I got you something..." I point to the flowers on the table and smile.
Charlotte looks at them and then at me. "Flowers?" She seemed pretty surprised at this gesture. "Well...you really are up to somethin' now!"
"Smell them...you won't be sorry!" I urge her with a smile. These roses smelled so good that you could fall over with one whiff. They weren't overpowering but they were pretty strong.
She bends over to take a whiff of the flowers and her eyes widen with pleasure. "Oh wow...Addison...those are the greatest smellin' flowers ever, I think..." She smiles at me and looks down at them. "I've never seen these around before..."
I nod in agreement. "You wouldn't...they're not normal roses...they're kind of rare..."
"Hmm...fancy!" Charlotte grins before leaning against me. "Thank you...they're great, baby..." She looks into my eyes. "I can thank you in another way right now as well, 'cause sniffin' those got me horny...not that I wasn't earlier..." She grins cheekily and caresses my thigh.
I smile excitedly. "Could you wait a little bit longer?" I ask her and she almost falls over with shock. "I have something else to show you..."
Charlotte gives me a weird look. "I can't promise I'll still be horny by then but...okay..."
I take her hand and lead her outside on the deck. "Take off your shoes..." I tell her as I slip off my own shoes.
Charlotte grins eagerly. "Oh...I see what this is!"
I shake my head. "It's not what you think...I only need your shoes off for now." I wink.
Charlotte purses her lips. "Alright..." I could tell she was confused...but I just hoped her confusion would be replaced with excitement...or joy...or something that was a good reaction!
I wait until she takes off her heels before I lead her off the deck and into the sand. All that's going through my head is that I hope Charlotte will enjoy what I planned for us. We finally get to the blanket on the beach. There was a romantic type of piano balad playing because we both enjoyed that kind of music...and I wanted to set off the mood right. I turn back to Charlotte and look at her.
Although we were essentially in the dark, the moonlight was able to light up the whole beach...and I could see Charlotte's shocked expression clearly...I just wasn't sure if it was a good kind of shock or the bad kind. For all I knew, Charlotte was thinking that I was going to end up proposing to her tonight by just the sight of this set up alone. I obviously wasn't going to...but she didn't know that.
I smile at her amorously. Charlotte makes eye contact with me slowly. Oh no...she hates it... My smile starts to evaporate. "...It's too much, isn't it...?" I ask disappointedly.
With no warning, Charlotte wraps her arms around me and leans up to kiss me passionately. I cup her face before kissing her back with as much and even more passion. I had a feeling this kiss meant that Charlotte liked this whole setting but in case I had any doubt, she answers me a minute later. "It's perfect...I mean it."
I smile blissfully. "I had to plan a perfect night for such a perfect woman..." Charlotte looks down with a slight blush so I tilt her head up towards me. "And I mean it too..."
"Oh stop..." Charlotte giggles like a little girl so I snort. She shoots me a look before smiling. I sit down on the blanket and pull Charlotte onto my lap. She takes in the other things around her. "Chocolate, wine, candles, romantic music and a full moon...you're not tryin' to make my dress fly off, are you? 'Cause I don't think it'll be on for too much longer..."
I chuckle softly. My whole intention of this night wasn't to have sex on the beach...but if it ended up that way, how could I say no? "I'm not doing it on purpose..." I admit innocently. I open the bottle of wine and pour some into our glasses.
"Liar..." Charlotte grins and watches me. I hand her the glass and take my own before we both take a sip of the red liquid. "Yowza...this tastes amazin' too! Where are you gettin' all of this stuff?"
"That's need-to-know." I wink playfully and take a large sip before setting the cup firmly in the sand.
"Oh yeah?" I nod as Charlotte laughs and does the same. I watch her eyeing the box of chocolates.
I open up the lid and pick out a peanut butter cup. "Open up." I hold it by her mouth with a grin.
Charlotte opens up her mouth willingly and I pop the chocolate into her mouth. She chews it slowly and swallows. "Mhm...white chocolate peanut butter..."
"That's right..." I reply back to her before popping one in my mouth.
"You sure do know how to make a woman happy." Charlotte wraps her arms around my neck and smiles.
"Not any woman...just you, Char..." I correct her and wink. "Really...I'm just glad you like all of this...because I was afraid you wouldn't."
"Don't worry...'cause I love all of it...but I love you more..." Charlotte leans in to press a lingering kiss upon my lips.
I begin to kiss her back when I hear the song change...a song that reminded me of Charlotte and I...and how much she really meant to me; A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. "Mhm...let's dance..."
Her green eyes widen. "What? No...I don't dance..."
"Come on!" I pat her thigh. "It'll be fine!"
"Amelia or Sam will creep on me..." Charlotte acts all paranoid and looks at the neighboring houses so I laugh.
"You know they don't care! Sam surely doesn't and I'm sure Amelia has even dirtier stuff on you than something like catching you dancing with me on the beach." I grin.
"...I see your point..." Charlotte gets up slowly and walks into the sand. "Just this once...and never again..."
"I can deal with that." I smile warmly before going against her and wrapping my arms around her waist. I even knew the lyrics to this song, and although I had really no kind of singing ability, I wanted to sing to Charlotte...and it's not like anyone else would hear me.
"The day we met, frozen, I held my breath. Right from the start, I knew that I found the home for my heart...beats fast, colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone, all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow...one step closer..." Charlotte keeps her arms around me and lays her head on my shoulder as we continue to slow dance under the moonlight. "I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more..." I can feel tears build up as I sing this softly into my girlfriend's ear and although I can't see her eyes, I have a feeling she's about to cry too.
"Time stands still, beauty in all she is. I will be brave. I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this...one step closer..." We continue to dance at the same pace and I still keep her tight against me. I wouldn't let her go if my life depended on it. "I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. All along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more..."
I pull back a bit to look Charlotte in the eyes. As I thought, she is getting emotional as well. I watch a tear slide down her cheek and I wipe it away. I let the two singers finish the end of the song for me and I smile lovingly at Charlotte. I feel a tear cascade down my own cheek and she does the same action. After a minute or so, the song ends and it goes back to another random piano song. Even though we stop dancing after a while, I am still smiling. "I love you, Charlotte...I love you so much."
"I love you too, Addison...I'll love you forever..." Charlotte smiles elatedly.
With this, I guide Charlotte back to the blanket and bring her down on it gently. I lay down on top of her and begin to kiss her passionately.
As anyone could probably predict, we end up making love on that blanket under that full moon, not really have any other care in the world. It was just us that night and that's all we ever needed. If we had each other, we would be alright.
"Ma'am? ...Do you need help?" I am brought out of my reverie when I hear a young man's voice.
I blink my eyes a few times before looking at the worker. I smile and nod. "Yes...I'd like a dozen hybrid perpetual roses, please."
He smiles enthusiastically. "Sure!"
I buy the same roses that I bought Charlotte for our romantic night and head to the same shop to get the same kind of chocolate. It's not like I was trying to recreate the situation or like I was hoping it would make my apology look better, because I wasn't. I just wanted her to know how much I love her and how stupid I was to push her away last night.
1:00 PM:
I end up driving back to the hospital, knowing that Charlotte would most likely be there again...and if she wasn't, I would go searching for her.
I park pretty close to the entrance and I am getting out of my car and I am working my way around the front of my car when I see a familiar form walking down the sidewalk; Charlotte.
She was alone but she didn't seem sad. She actually seemed happy. Is she thinking about me? I ask myself as I watch her intently. I didn't want to call out to her right away. I just wanted to enjoy this moment. I take a deep breath and I am about to yell her name when I see a brunette approach Charlotte from behind. It takes me a minute or so to recognize her but the dark haired woman was actually my patient's girlfriend, Tessa. Why does she need to talk to Charlotte? I ask myself confusedly. I decide to stay where I am and watch this conversation go down, unaware of what was going to happen in a few short minutes.
Little did I know that my simple choice of standing back and watching from afar could end up changing everything.
AN: Okay! That's chapter 14! Once again, I'm sorry it took so long to update. I was uninspired for so long and then I decided to write Chapter 15 at the same time I wrote this one. I hope no one minds that this chapter is a little bit longer but I want everyone to know where Addison is in every part (and you'll get to see the same thing for Charlotte in the next chapter). I also know that the flashback might have made the chapter too long but I felt it was necessary. Also, the song I used in this chapter is A Thousand Years Part 2 and it's a really beautiful song so I would suggest to give it a listen and even listen to it during the chapter because it makes the whole scene a bit better! So please, give me your honest opinions of the chapter and send me a review! Anonymous or not, I love reading them! And just a warning...you guys may kill me for Chapter 16, but like I always say...everything will be fine!