AN: The last few months have been a lot for me. But I'm back to writing now. The title of this chapter comes from Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac. A great song.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please review. :) LT.


part nine

tell me sweet little lies

..

Derek felt dirty.

He'd let Addison distract him with a blowjob and sex and he knew he shouldn't feel dirty about it but he did. Because it had been different and unlike Addison. Not that she never used her mouth or they never had sex but the fact she'd used it to distract him and he'd let her. That had been different and Derek didn't like it.

It had been a few days but Addison was acting a little more like herself now and that at least had him feeling better. But he still felt odd about the whole thing and though he'd usually go to Mark about such concerns, his best friend hadn't been around much lately. He figured the plastic surgeon was busy but it did occur to him that he might know if something had happened at the Captain's and Bizzy's anniversary party.

He'd talk to him but after he figured out the sex thing and why he felt so odd about it. The distraction sex was not something he wanted to discuss with his best friend; for Addison's privacy but also for the simple fact that he didn't think Mark could help him in that department. The man was a serial bachelor, he wasn't with women long enough to have them distract him with sex; sex was usually all that happened with Mark's women. If he wanted marital advice, he'd have to go to someone that was married; his sisters were out of the question for the obvious reasons, as was his mother and the only other person he could conceivably think of was Weiss. He knew it had been a while since he'd seen the other man and figured he owed him a drink, which would serve as the perfect way to probe him for information, without the invasive or judgemental questions he'd get from everyone else.

With that settled in his mind, he shot a text off to his friend to organise a time for them to grab a drink sometime later that week. Now, with that done, Derek figured he could put all his attention back into his work, where it was supposed to be.

..

It had been seventeen days since the party and the kiss and Addison was doing her best to put it out of her mind. It helped obviously that she'd been able to avoid Mark for the most part; their specialties didn't often crossover and with her tendency to stay on the OB floor for the last week, she hadn't seen Mark in five days. A personal feat, considering she'd been seeing him almost every day for the last few months.

In fact, thinking about it made Addison realise just how involved her life was with Mark's now. Things hadn't always been like that, obviously. But he truly had become one of the most important people in her life and one of the most prominent and she wasn't quite sure what to think of that. It was such a slow change, she realised, to go from being so close to her husband, to finding such a similar closeness with Mark. And she missed him, more than she'd expected to.

Missing him and doing anything about it were two very different things though.

She still felt so guilty about what happened and she knew seeing Mark would not make it any better.

Addison pushed open the on call room door with a sigh, careful to be quiet in case another doctor happened to be in there. The room was dark and she could see a figure in the bottom bunk of one of the beds. She couldn't make out who it was but it didn't really matter, she just hoped she didn't wake them up. She toed off her shoes and left them neatly by the end of her bed before sinking into the thin mattress, shifting her pager to the other side of her scrub pants so she wasn't lying on it.

Just as she'd comfortably started to settle in and fall asleep, her eyes adjusted to the dark and she couldn't help glancing at the doctor across from her. She didn't know whether to laugh or sigh when she recognised the figure. Mark was on his back, an arm curled above his head and looking more peaceful then she could ever remember seeing him. A part of her wanted to reach out and touch him, to cuddle into him but she fought the urge, knowing it wasn't appropriate. Especially considering what had happened the last time they'd been so close.

Still though, seeing him felt good.

She was just drifting off when she heard the creak of bed springs and she opened her eyes just in time to see Mark stretching slightly before rolling over on the bed. He was clearly still half asleep but she watched as he blinked a few moments before focusing on her. She registered the surprise on his face with a quiet chuckle, forgetting for a moment that she'd spent a week trying to avoid him.

"Red?" he grumbled, frowning lightly, unsure if he was really seeing the redhead or not.

"Morning sleepyhead," she whispered teasingly, smiling softly at the man. Mark smiled back, hesitant to make any kind of move, he didn't want to spook her, not when it had been almost a week since they'd seen each other. He hated to admit it but he missed her.

"Morning?" he echoed back then, frowning as her words registered.

Addison chuckled. "Not really. It's just...you were sleeping when I came in," Addison told him gently, lifting one shoulder in a slight shrug.

"Yeah," Mark nodded, using a hand to cover up a yawn as he spoke. "I'm on call for the burn unit," he continued, voice thick with it's recent disuse.

"Ah," she hummed, "I was wondering what you were still doing here. I didn't realise you-"

"Yeah. Since Offerman's been out, I've been helping in the burn center. Chief Jenkins asked. Very persuasive man," Mark told her with a chuckle. "Anyway, what're you still doing here? Thought you hated on-call rooms?" He asked, choosing to ignore what might be any lingering awkwardness between them.

She huffed at his words, lips pressed together in a slight smile. She had, in the past, complained about on call rooms but she figured if they're good enough for her absent husband… She doesn't finish that thought. She doesn't want to think about Derek, despite the fact that she knows he's somewhere in the hospital, she doubts she'll see him until tomorrow night. At least.

"That was back when I was a resident and barely got to use them," she teased lightly, doing her best to ignore the resentment that bubbled in her whenever she thought of her husband these days. "Now they're necessary when I've been here almost 24 hours," she mused, settling more comfortably on the pillow.

Mark makes a noise of agreement and then the room goes quiet. It's not awkward though, Mark is thankful for that much. If anything, it's rather comforting and Mark is surprised by how relaxed he is in Addison's presence. Still, he can't quite fall back to sleep though.

"Are you still awake Red?" Mark asked quietly, after several long moments. He looked across at her then and watched as her eyes fluttered open tiredly, immediately feeling bad for interrupting her sleep. But she smiled over at him, her eyes finding his in the dark.

"Well I am now," she murmured playfully, as she slipped an arm beneath her pillow and head.

"Sorry. I always have trouble sleeping in on call rooms," Mark mused, eyes flitting around the room for a moment before they settled back on Addison's face.

"You do?" she asked softly, brows furrowing together at the unexpected words.

"Yeah," he murmured, head bobbing a little in a nod. Silence reigned over them then as he weighed up his words before he spoke again. "When I was a kid, my parents left me alone a lot at night. And I wasn't scared per se but I was kid, so I used to turn all the lights on and have the TV playing. To feel like I wasn't alone or whatever. I sleep easier with background noise and lights and stuff on," he admitted with a somewhat embarrassed chuckle. He could sleep in the dark but he just found it harder to fall asleep like that.

"Oh, Mark," Addison said softly, brows creased as she looked at him sadly. She fought the urge to climb into bed with him at the words, wanting to offer comfort of some form.

Mark sighed. "It's fine Addison. Really," he insisted, catching her expression now that his eyes had adjusted in the dark.

"I know," she ceded, "but it still sucks for kid you," she continued softly. There's silence again but again it's not awkward in the least.

And though Addison knows they need to keep a firm, solid line between them now, ever since their kiss, she can't help but miss being close to him. She'd settled on the bed but shifted to sit up anyway, crossing the small space between the bunk beds to stand in front of him. "Move over," she said quietly, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear as she looked down at Mark.

"Addison," Mark intoned deeply, looking up at her with furrowed brows even as he started to shift over in the single bed a little. This wasn't a good idea, not in the slightest and Mark knew that but it had been over two weeks and he missed her. It had been hard for him; fighting the guilt and want that surged through him whenever he thought of her and frankly, he was too tired to fight it at the moment.

"Please Mark?" Addison whispered back as she climbed into the bottom bunk with him anyway, shifting down onto her side so that they were facing each other. Her mind was screaming at her that this was a bad idea but the guilt she'd been feeling previously had quickly melted away the moment she and Mark had started talking. It felt like they were the only two people in the world when they were together.

"Fine," Mark murmured, as they both settled onto the single bed together. There wasn't a lot of space between them but Mark was determined to keep his hands to himself, even though his fingers itched to fix the stray wave of hair that fell over her cheek. She was smiling softly at him though and she looked so pretty in the muted darkness of the on call room. "This is just friendly Addison. Okay?" Mark whispered as he lifted a hand to tuck the strand back behind her ear, his thumb lightly grazing her cheek as he pulled his hand away. He watched with fascination as her eyes fluttered with the touch.

He pulled his hand back quickly then, settling it firmly on the mattress between them.

Mark knew he should close his eyes and try to get some more sleep, instead he watched as Addison shifted a little, a fingertip finding its way between her teeth as she looked at him. It took him by surprise then when she inched closer, letting her free hand settle lightly on his scrub clad chest.

"Okay. Friendly," Addison said quietly before she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips lightly to his.

They both still for a moment, shocked and yet not, that this happened again. But then Mark kisses her back, just as softly and it's not the passionate kiss of a few weeks ago. It's sweeter somehow, in a way Mark can't describe. He never wanted to stop kissing her though and as he pulled away, he realises just how much trouble he's in.

Addison sighed as they pulled away. She shouldn't have done that. But he'd touched her and her stomach had all but melted.

"We can't keep doing that," Mark murmured quietly, turning so that he was once again on his back, looking up at the springs of the bunk bed above him. He couldn't look at her - he knew he'd do something they'd both regret if he did.

"I know. I'm sorry, Mark," Addison told him quietly. "It's just...we're friends and I missed you. I don't want to lose you. We can still spend time together. We just...we have to re-establish boundaries or something. That's all."

"Re-establishing boundaries?" he echoed, keeping his gaze firmly above him. "Like what?" he asked. He'd let her take the lead on this, after all she was the one that had more to lose out of all of this.

"No more kisses, obviously. But...no touching, either. I kind of...can't function when you touch me," she admitted with a dry laugh.

Mark was glad it was still mostly dark as a cocky grin spread across his lips for a moment. He wanted to tease her about it but he knew he probably shouldn't. He nodded then. "No kissing and no touching. Good rules," he said, turning his head a little to look at her and the amount of space that wasn't between them at the moment. "And maybe, no more sharing an on-call room bed?" he suggested, lifting a hand to flick between their bodies.

"Oh. Yeah, that's...probably a good one too," Addison agreed, unable to help the disappointment that had settled on her face at the words. She shifted then and moved to get up from the bed, only Mark's hand on her wrist stopped her. For a moment they just looked at each other before she settled back in her spot beside him. "After. After tonight though, we put the boundaries back up," she whispered, tense at her own words.

"Yeah, yeah. After tonight," Mark muttered in agreement. He nods as he leans into her, pressing their lips together once again. This was it, he thought, after tonight they weren't going to do this again.

Addison melted into the kiss, body pressed closer to Mark's as they kissed slowly and languidly. She wanted to make the most of it while she could because she knew this couldn't happen again. After tonight, that was it.

..

Mark sighed as he stood in line for coffee, regretting not just going home instead of using an on-call room. Not only because of what had happened with Addison but because he'd barely slept at all. There was a reason he didn't like to stay at the hospital. He covered a yawn, eyes half closed when he heard a familiar voice directed towards him.

"Hey man," Derek greeted with a wide smile, coming to a stop beside him in the line. "What're you doing here this early?" Derek asked curiously.

Mark shrugged, shoving his hands in the pockets of his white coat as he grinned easily at his best friend. "Was covering for Offerman in the burn center. Had a night shift," Mark told him plainly as they took a few steps forward in the line.

"Ah," Derek hummed, nodding. "I heard she was gone for the month," Derek said casually, crossing his arms as they continued to wait. "You seen Addie this morning, Sloan? I went home to change before I came back and she wasn't there. Thought she might've gotten called in early," he mused, a quizzical look on his face for a moment.

Mark froze then slowly relaxed, letting out a breath as he shook his head. "Uh, nah. Not this morning. Sorry, Shep," Mark told him easily and it was the truth. He hadn't seen her since the on-call room several hours ago. He focused forward though, hands clenching into fists as Derek continued talking, guilt washing over him in a way it never did when he was actually with Addison.

Finally they got to the front of the line and ordered their coffee. They started away from the cart, coffees in hand when Derek spoke again. "Want to get a drink Friday?" Derek asked, not elaborating the fact he felt like he hadn't seen his friend around that much lately. "It's been a while," he said with a chuckle, taking a sip of his coffee.

Mark chuckled at his words but nodded. "I lead a busy life Shep," Mark teased, grinning over at his friend. "But sure. Friday. The usual place?" he asked and Derek nodded. His pager vibrated then and he turned towards the elevator banks. "See ya then," he called, walking away from his best friend and hoping the guilt over kissing his best friends wife would abate by then.

He didn't think it would though and Mark felt dirty at the thought.