I always thought Addie should be Chief.I don't own Grey's, or she would be.
Enjoy.
RICHARD'S POV
He sends his new Chief home , telling her she'd need her sleep for tomorrow - what with the budgets coming up, Hunt and Altman possibly leaving, and her jealous husband to deal with, she was going to have a rough few weeks.
They're like kids to him and Adele, not just because they didn't have their own, but because out of all the residents and interns he'd mentored, these two were his stars, his dream team, his biggest accomplishment and the legacy he would leave to medicine and this hospital.
Along with Bailey, of course , not that he'd ever say it to her face.
He's seen them as gawky interns with no experience but bursting with potential they didn't know they had, he'd been the one to tap them out of their shells and teach them and watch them grow until they surpassed his own skills.
He saw them get engaged, then married, for eleven years he'd endured the lateness in the mornings because of what usually turned out to be two lame excuses covering an inability to keep their hands off each other, the bickering and the demands for shared time off, watched them overcome impossible odds and make medical history.
He's watched them make mistakes and stumble, and grow apart and tear each other down.
In Seattle, he watched them grow together again, and he sincerely hopes it stays that way, because the last thing he needs is another Montgomery - Shepherd vs Shepherd standoff.
He still hasn't forgotten the last time it happened.
" Addison! "
" Oh hey, husband. I haven't seen you in two days, nice to know you still work here. "
" Why'd you bump my surgery? "
" I had a placental abruption come in and it was an emergency, so I -"
" My patient left. He left and went to another hospital because you bumped his aneurysm repair for the third time in two days! "
" It's busy, Derek. I'm chief resident, I'm in charge of all the other residents so I have the enviable task of shuffling all our surgeries when some emergency comes in, and thanks to whiny surgery deprived people like you ,it's even harder ."
" Bump someone else. I have ten minutes before he leaves and makes me look like an idiot who can't hold on to his patients. "
" So don't be one, then. "
" Excuse me ?"
" Talk to him, Derek. You know, make meaningful noises with your face. You do know you can do that with patients right, not just slice them up ?"
" I. ...Bump Mark ! He's doing a rhinoplasty, that can wait ."
" I can't throw out one elective for another."
" Can't or won't? "
" Both !"
" Seriously, Addie? "
" Don't Addie me at work. It's not getting you an OR. "
" I can get an OR without you. I can do surgery without your approval - you know what ? I probably get more OR time than you anyway. "
" Don't even go there. "
" You're backing down? "
" Never, sweet husband. "
" All right, dear wife. Game on. "
And what followed was two weeks of passive aggressive magnificence as the two proceeded to perform exactly 56 surgeries apiece in 14 days , all the while stealing each others ORs and scrub nurses and techs ,then collapsed into his office on the fifteenth day to ask who'd won.
When he told then they'd tied, they peeled themselves wordlessly off his couch and headed to do a tiebreaker before he sent them home forcibly.
The next morning they were very very late.
He wonders when they went from that made for the movies couple to this bitter jealous shell of themselves .
Derek is shuffling dejectedly past his office door as he packs the last of his stuff, caresses the nameplate that has sat there for thirty years before he puts it in his bag.
" Shep. "
" Yeah Chief . Oh. Sorry. Uh, Richard, what is it ?"
" Come in here a minute. "
" Why? "
" Because I said so !"
He comes in, sits down in the chair opposite his desk and looks up at his mentor and father figure petulantly.
" What ?"
" What was that out there ?"
" That ? I think it was my wife stabbing me in the back with the knife you gave her. Or maybe a pointy shoe, she'd like that."
" Why did you think the job was yours ? "
"She almost got sued for malpractice, Richard, barely a month ago."
" You know what happened with the Brandon baby was not her fault, you should be ashamed, sinking so low just to drag her down. This isn't the man you used to be , Derek."
" She isnt the same either.
And Richard let's not beat around the bush here, okay. I'm a board certified neurosurgeon who does surgeries other surgeons don't dream of, and I save patients that no one else would or could touch without getting hit with a malpractice suit, I have good leadership skills - and you promised me ."
" Addie is a double board certified OB GYN, neonatal and maternal fetal surgeon with a fellowship in medical genetics, she runs circles around other surgeons with her scalpel, and for your information she's not the one interns and nurses hate working with because she's a, and I quote , a whiny arrogant bore. "
" Who said that ? "
" That doesn't matter, fool. What matters is that she deserves this as much as you do, but she's going to be better at it , so I chose her. "
" How do you know she'll be better ? "
" She's not the one who checks out when things get tough, she's the one who stays and fights for it. That's what this hospital needs. You - you'd just gripe and moan. She will find a way through the problem, probably through sheer force of will and stubbornness, but she will. That's why. "
" Low blow, Richard, but true. "
" Go home, idiot, and tell her that. She should have you throwing her a party and here you are, crying because she got what you wanted."
" But we were going to - "
" Have a baby? So were Adele and I. Look at us now, she left her job, I married mine, and no kids.
She couldn't get back in the saddle after she'd left. She regrets it now, I think, because she loved her job and. ... I asked her to leave it so we could have a family, but we never did.
Addison was born to be a surgeon. You make her sit at home, she'll go stir crazy in three minutes.
And who the hell are you to take her away from what she loves, and to take her away from people who need her ? You know most of her patients are the people who have been passed over by every other surgeon. She's their last hope. "
" What about my dream, Richard? "
" Marriage is all about compromise, Derek. And if it makes you feel better, you weren't my second choice either. If Addison turned me down, I was going to stay. You wouldn't have been Chief either way; you have it in you, but you're not ready yet. You have some growing up to do."
" Oh. "
" Yeah. "
" What do you think I should do now? " he looks like a lost little boy , and suddenly Richard remembers the last time Derek asked him what he should do with Addison.
" Uh, Dr. Webber ? "
" Shepherd did you finish with the enema in 310 ? And the drain removal in 325,the paracentesis in 1321 and that abcess in 1432 ?"
" No, but -"
" Get moving. "
" No."
" Did I hear you say no? "
" No, sir...I mean yes I said no, but I didn't say it no to y . ... oh whatever, can I please ask you a question? It's just that it's really important and it can't wait, I have to know this by tomorrow. "
" Did you and your girlfriend steal a good case you're not telling me about? "
"No sir, not this time."
" Well, hurry up then ."
" I. ...was planning on asking Addison to marry me, and I wanted to ask you for ...help . I mean, you married Adele, you did the whole asking thing, so could you give me some pointers? "
He softens a little then, because he knows Derek has no one else to ask.
" Come on, Shepherd, this isn't a surgery. I can't give you pointers, you just have to. ...speak from the heart. Tell her how much she means to you, and that you love her and respect her and you want to be with her no matter what.
You know you want to marry her ; I presume you know why. "
" Could you say that again, please, a little slower ? " he asks, whipping out a little notepad.
" Shepherd. Write your own speech. "
" Thanks anyway. "
He's almost gone when Richard calls after him.
" For what it's worth Derek, I think she'll say yes. "
He looks at him now, a lot older but not much wiser.
" Go home, and grovel .For your life, because after today I won't testify against her in court if she does actually kill you."
MARK'S POV
He's just sat down on his couch with a glass of scotch - double malt, can't shake the habit - and is waiting for Addison's inevitable phone call, staring at his cell, when the doorbell clinks.
Seriously, it clinks, like it's some old spinsters' doorbell, a spinster who has ten cats and and pink ruffle things in the living room. Its ruining the effect of his bachelor pad; he should change it.
Turn it off entirely, maybe, so he won't actually have to see people except the ones he brings home.
Preferably slightly drunk , giggly and pretty.
Maybe red haired , because those exact eyes are hard to find elsewhere.
When he opens the door, he's convinced he should have killed the bell a long time ago, because then this person, the last person on earth he needs to see right now but the only one he can talk to, wouldn't be on his doorstep, begging to be punched in his dreamy face.
" Go away. " he says, even as he steps back to let him in.
" This place is freezing ." Derek mutters as he shrugs off his jacket, thinks better of it and puts it back on. " Can't you afford heating?"
" I was working out. " he informs the disheveled man cheerily.
He's allergic to happy, maybe if he acts all happy he'll leave quicker.
" Of course you were. " Derek pours himself a glass from the bottle still open on the bar.
" This place get you laid often? " he gestures around at the room, all cold grey and black with lots of glass .
" All the time. "
They sit in silence, drinking their scotch and waiting for the other to speak up.
" You know why I'm here. " Derek says.
Dutch courage, always helps.
"You should have been here a long time ago."
" I know, but I didn't come, so I'm here now. And you have to listen to me. "
" All right. I'll stay away from Addison. "
Say it so he'll leave.
" That's not it. You can't just leave her. You're her friend , if you stop talking to her she'll flip out and interrogate you until you tell her why. "
" True."
" What I want ... is for you to promise to at least try to stop being in love with my wife, and I'm not saying this to hurt you, but she doesn't love you back. Not the way you want her to. You get that , right, that she never has or never will love you? "
" I'm smarter than you, Derek. I've known that since we met in med school. You're all she sees, I could set myself on fire and she wouldn't notice. "
" That's not true. She cares about you. "
" Like you said; not the way I want her to."
" Look, Mark, I've known you since we were six and you had no front teeth, so let's be straight - do not sleep with my wife. Do not stop talking to my wife .
And please, don't stop talking to me, because I need your miserable face in my life."
" Deal. "
I won't do the one thing I've been trying not to for fifteen years. Big deal.
" Is it slightly weird that we're discussing that my wife isn't in love with you ,but you love her, and so do I , while she's not here and is probably mad at both of us ?"
" It is. "
They drink to that.
" I'll stay away from Addison - but only if you promise to stay with her. She loves you, she's a stupid little fool for that, but she loves you. And I can't stand seeing you break her again, Derek, she deserves so much more.
So I'll stay away but if you hurt her like this again, if you go back to your intern or whatever, I will end you. " he says, his voice low and rough.
" Believe me, I intend to make it work this time. I was an ass but I'm going to make it right with her. She deserves this. "
" Are. Present tense. After what you pulled tonight in front of everyone I'll be surprised if she's not hiding behind your front door with a knife. Or a shoe. "
" That's exactly the same image I had in my head ." Derek snorts into his glass.
" God. She's our boss now. "
" Jesus. " Derek looks alarmed. "Satan is our boss ."
ADDISON'S POV
Alone.
That's what she is, alone.
She's chief of surgery at the best teaching hospital in the country, for gods sake.
She's a groundbreaking surgeon who saves babies.
She's training the next generation of young doctors for this world.
She's married to a man most women dream of . (Not that they would if they ever met him.)
She's hot. She's wildly attractive. They call her McHottie, for crying out loud.
What she is is McAlone.
All the time.
She's sitting on the living room floor , drowning her sorrows in red wine and twisting her rings around her finger, wallowing deliciously in self - pity when she hears his key in the lock, wonders if it's too late to run and pretend to be asleep.
She can't face his jealousy on top of everything else.
"You are all of those things. " he says.
" What? "
" You are. Amazing and talented, groundbreaking, hot, wildly attractive and married to me by some lapse of judgement on your part. You are all those things, but you're not alone. "
She cringes into her wine ." I was talking out loud ? You can hear me out in the hall ? "
" You're slightly drunk. It makes you loud and rambling. "
" It does. " she swirls her glass between her fingers. " Why are you here? "
" To say sorry. "
She laughs "No, Derek. You say sorry as many times you say I love you and it's starting to feel so empty, I'd rather you didn't say it at all."
" Addie. I was an unforgivable jealous chauvinist ass today. I get that.
But I was shocked, because I had assumed that Chief was always mine.
I counted you out when I should have learned years ago never to do that.
I knew that, I just forgot it.
I know I say this a lot lately but I always mean it, because I live you and I respect you and I want to be with you forever.
So please, give me one last chance. "
Wow. Where did he drop that ego?
" Last .Chance? " she plunks the glass down on the floor. " Jealous chauvinist ass. "
" You're drinking again. "
"I get to drink today. I'm celebrating, even if you're not. "
"Addie why didn't you tell me about the drugs? Why Mark? "
"Because you'd have made me stop. I didn't wanna stop. I wanted a baby . I still want one, but I can't take the drugs anymore .I am going to sit back and wait for a miracle, if it happens I'll be. ...ecstatic, but I can't do this thing where I sit home and poke holes in my ass with needles, not when I could be Chief. "
He slides down onto the floor beside her, steals a sip of wine.
" You're going to be a fantastic Chief. "
She turns around all the way, stares at him." You think so? "
"I know so. You're naturally bossy, it'll be easy for you. "
" I. ...I am not bossy ! "
" I beg to differ. " he slips the stem of the glass from between her fingers as he leans in for a kiss .
He's pulling back, looking at her with pride in his eyes when she grabs him and says " You want to see what bossy is ?"
She leans him down to the floor, enjoying his wide eyed surprised expression, slowly unbuttons his shirt, trailing her fingers down his skin.
"I'd like to see that. " he says, breathless.
She kisses him fiercely, their tongues pushing at each other, when he suddenly grabs her by the waist and pins her to the ground.
"Oh, no, woman. You're going to be the boss of me at work; tonight I get to be the boss. "
She giggles as he stretches her arms above her head, pinning her wrists to the floor with one hand, undoes her dress with a practiced hand and stops when his mouth finds the most sensitive spots on her skin, and has her begging for him within minutes.
"Is it appropriate to sleep with your boss? " he teases, pretends to move away.
" You know you want to. " she pants , rolling her hips against him just in case he needs a reminder, smirks at the look that spreads across his face.
Its not slow and delicate this time; he thrusts into her roughly but in a way that makes her arch her back and moan, wrap her legs around him and pull him deeper.
He can't stop himself either, he sets a pace that's both punishment and paradise, moans her name into her lips as they climax together.
"We keep getting better and better at this ." he gasps as he rolls to lie beside her.
"Mm hmm? "
" Practice, practice. " he says, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her closer so he can kiss her . "We should do this more often. I like sleeping with my boss. "
" Oh we so should. " she says, trying to catch her breath, but she can't because she's laughing too hard as his stubble tickles her stomach .
" That was the best sex we've had in a long time . I should be bossy more often. "
Review please, I'm a greedy little one.
Also this fic is turning out to be quite Addison centric isn't it? I love her.
Speed of updates is proportional to the amount of reviews. Keep em coming.