Chapter 2: I Wanna Know You
Summary: Addison takes the day off to spend with her daughter and learns more about Jake's family while Olivia naps. And Jake has a surprise of his own for Addison as he brings a surprise guest over for dinner.
Just to be clear, we did change a few things in this AU: Angela is biologically Jake's daughter and 15 years old in this story and Derek and Addison's relationship didn't end in the same way it did on the show. In this version of events, there was no affair, but they did move to Seattle a while after Olivia was born.
Chapter title inspired by the song, I Wanna Know You by Hannah Montana and David Archuleta (and yes, we did choose a Hannah Montana song for a chapter title, deal with it).
The next day, Amelia headed to work while Addison stayed home with Olivia, soaking up the time they had left before she started school.
"Okay, Liv. It's just us today. What do you wanna do?" Addison asked once they finished breakfast.
"Can we go to the aquarium, Mommy?" Olivia asks, referring to the aquarium on the Santa Monica pier.
"Why not?" Addison decided after a minute of thinking. They could spend most of the day there and be back for dinner with Jake.
"Yay!" Olivia cheered, rushing to get ready so they could go.
Addison lathered her up in sunscreen before they got out the door, much to Olivia's displeasure. Addison tried to get her to wear a hat but didn't force her. Either way, it was in her bag, just in case.
They spent the better part of the morning on the pier, enjoying the outdoors and the rides that Olivia could go on. Addison took plenty of photos to send to Amelia and Derek. Amelia, despite not loving kids very much, adored Olivia and wanted to know about every second of her life. She took her role as Amelia's aunt very seriously. Even if she wasn't always the best influence, she was a huge help around the house and a great person for Olivia to have in her life.
After riding the rides and walking the pier, Olivia was exhausted and got her mom to carry her, something she didn't ask for as often anymore. At least not from her mom. But she got Derek to do it sometimes simply because she didn't see him as often. And he happily spoiled her that way. By the time they got home, Olivia was sound asleep in the backseat. Addison carried her out and took her to her bed, just grateful she still let her pick her up.
Once Addison settled Olivia in bed for her nap, Addison got started on some paperwork, which never seemed to end. After a while, she got bored with it, so she called Jake to see what he was doing. Maybe he'd have something interesting to share. She wondered if this would come off as desperate. But with nothing else to do and her focus wavering, she decided to go for it, anyway. Jake knew her well enough by now to not get scared off. Right?
She waited for him to answer, internally panicking.
"Jake, hi!" Addison cringed.
"I was calling to check in on your patient. To see how she was," Addison stuttered, suddenly feeling like a teenager talking to her crush that her best friend dared her to call.
Jake chuckled, listening to Addison. She was cute; he thought.
"Lisa's fine. Perfectly healthy fetus at 12 weeks," Jake reported.
"That's great. Congratulations," Addison said, knowing Jake wasn't just seeing his patient through this pregnancy; he helped her get pregnant.
"Addison?" Jake asked.
"Yes?" Addison asked.
"Did you really just call to ask about my patient?" Jake teased. He remembered when his daughter, Angela, was Olivia's age and figured she was playing by herself or resting by now. Jake figured Olivia would be demanding her full attention, so he was surprised she had time to call him.
"Alright, fine, I was bored. Signing off on extra surgical scrubs just got boring after a while," Addison admitted. Jake chuckled. His girlfriend really called because she was bored, and he found it adorable.
"What did I even do before? It's like I never have free time anymore. So much so that I don't even know what to do when I have free time," Addison thought aloud.
"Well, I'd suggest watching the Knicks game, but I doubt you'd be interested," Jake suggested.
"Yeah, no offense, but if I had to pick a sport, it'd probably be baseball. Blame my ex-husband and his best friend for being big Mets fans," Addison replied.
"Fair enough. But I'm more of a Giants fan. My sisters back home would kill me if I wasn't," Jake replied with a smile, even though she couldn't see his face.
"Sisters?" Addison asked, amused.
"Yeah. They all still live back in San Francisco," Jake added.
"What are they like?" Addison asked, leaning over the kitchen counter, listening more intently.
"What do you wanna know?" Jake asked.
"How many do you have?" Addison asked first.
"Three," Jake said. Addison waited to hear their names, knowing Jake would know she wanted him to say them.
"Mariana, Inez, and Gabrielle," Jake added, chuckling. Addison loved hearing how Jake rolled his R's. If anything, it made her swoon for him even more.
"Are they older? Younger?" Addison asked, coaxing him to tell her more.
"Younger. Mari's the oldest, and Gabi's the baby," Jake replied.
"Is that all I get?" Addison asked teasingly. Jake chuckled.
"Mari's a doctor. A cardiothoracic surgeon at UCSF. She went to UCLA here for med school but got placed back home," Jake started.
"Following in her brother's footsteps?" Addison teased.
"Maybe," Jake chuckled.
"Do you get to see her often?" Addison asked.
"Not as often as I'd like," Jake said. Addison smiled. He always seemed like a family guy, but she'd also never heard him talk about his family before.
"What about your other sisters?" Addison asked.
"Well, Inez went into graphic design and works for some tech startup in Silicon Valley. She's always been the more artistic one. She used to draw her own characters, and if she had it her way, she'd be creating animated characters for big movies," Jake said.
"Why doesn't she then?" Addison asked curiously.
"Because she took the safe route. She said she doesn't hate her job, but it's not something she's passionate about, either. It pays well, and it doesn't…suffocate her, as she'd say. I keep trying to get her to come out to L.A. to apply as an animator, but she's never been brave enough to take the leap," Jake explained. Addison nodded, forgetting the two were on the phone, thus meaning he couldn't see her. But it was like he could feel it.
"And…Gabrielle, was it?" Addison asked.
"Gabrielle's a lawyer, a second-year associate," Jake said. Addison could hear the pride in his voice from behind the phone.
"She works at the DA's office back home, so Mari checks in on her every once in a while for me. Of course, she doesn't know that. She just thinks she and Gabi have a standing dinner date once a month," Jake chuckled.
"Your sisters sound great," Addison commented.
"They are," Jake smiled, also forgetting she couldn't see his face.
"I've always wanted sisters. That's probably why I'm so close to Amelia," Addison admitted.
"You have a brother, don't you?" Jake asked.
"I do; Archer," Addison chuckled. She must've sounded like a terrible sister right now, she thought.
"So, what's he like?" Jake asked. Addison chuckled on the other end.
"If I have to talk about my sisters, the least you could do is tell me about your brother," Jake added jokingly. Addison nodded, smiling. He had a point there.
"Archer's…an ass," Addison said, giggling. Jake couldn't help but laugh back.
"He's an arrogant, pompous ass of a neurologist. But he's also my big brother who, despite his flaws, would do anything for his little sister," Addison added.
"Really? Anything?" Jake asked.
"Yeah. When I told Archer about the divorce, he wanted to kill my ex-husband for cheating on me," Addison recounted.
"He cheated on you?" Jake asked, intrigued. He tried not to sound too excitable.
"Not..exactly. It's more like he almost cheated on me. We weren't in the best place, and he almost kissed an intern in an elevator," Addison explained.
"I see," Jake commented.
"And now that intern is his girlfriend," Addison said.
"Anything else you wanna know about my family? Wasp-y parents, secret lesbian mother, anything?" Addison joked.
"Did you just say secret lesbian mother?" Jake asked, chuckling.
"I did," Addison confirmed.
"Did you want to elaborate?" Jake asked.
"My mother had an affair with her assistant for almost 20 years while The Captain slept with any woman that was even remotely attractive," Addison explained quickly.
"I…don't know how I'm supposed to respond to that," Jake said honestly.
"I'll tell you more someday. Just…not yet," Addison said.
"Understood," Jake said.
"What about Amelia?" Jake asked.
"What about Amelia?" Addison asked back.
"How did Amelia end up living with you and Olivia? I mean, you are her ex-sister-in-law," Jake asked.
Addison chuckled, thinking about what Jake said.
"She showed up here about a year ago. She decided to stay with me and Olivia when a job didn't work out. We love having her here and she makes things interesting," Addison smiled at the thought of her crazy sister-in-law.
"Amelia was about 12 when I met her. There's a noticeable age gap between her and the other siblings. They don't really get along, so I came into the picture and Amelia kind of just clung onto me," Addison explained.
"She was…a handful, and her mom didn't really know what to do with her, so Derek and I helped out a lot. We just tried to keep her busy and make sure she'd be okay in the end," Addison explained, hoping she wasn't giving away too much. It was Amelia's story, so it didn't feel right to tell Jake everything. Even though part of her wanted to.
"Sounds like she's lucky to have you, then," Jake added. Addison could feel her cheeks blush.
Addison looked over when she heard a noise. She figured Olivia was awake, and she was right.
Olivia yawned, walking toward her mom and holding the teddy bear her Uncle Archer bought for her when she was born.
"Mommy? Who are you talking to? You're loud," Olivia complained, leaning against the chair while looking up at her mom with wide eyes. She looked a lot like a younger Amelia in that moment.
"Um…Jake. You remember him, right?" Addison asked. She nodded back.
"You kissed him when I was at Daddy's," Olivia said simply. Addison chuckled. This girl was too smart for her own good sometimes.
"Hey, Jake? Liv's awake now," Addison said, looking down at her curious daughter. Jake chuckled, amused.
"Are we still on for dinner?" Addison asked, helping Olivia up to sit on her lap. She leaned on her shoulder as she was content to just listen to the phone call.
"Yeah, of course," Jake replied.
"Just remember, I come in a set of three," Addison joked, referring to Olivia and Amelia.
"I'm well aware of that, yes. How's Chinese food?" Jake asked.
He was planning on telling Addison about Angela tonight, and what better way to do that than by bringing her along? At least with the kids around, she couldn't get too mad at him for not telling her beforehand. Plus, she did spring Olivia on him as well, so he was just hoping she'd understand why he hadn't told her about Angela just yet.
"That sounds great," Addison blushed.
"It's a date. I'll be there around six?" Jake asked.
"Six would be great," Addison said, only realizing afterward that she could've used a different word than great. She was a smart, capable doctor and her vocabulary was failing her now.
"I'll see you then," Jake said before hanging up the phone.
Once Addison put the phone on the counter, she looked over at Olivia, who looked up at her mom when she turned to look at her.
"Does this mean we can play now?" Olivia asked.
"Yes. How do you feel about having Chinese food tonight?" Addison asked. Olivia nodded back enthusiastically.
"Good. Jake's coming by for dinner, is that alright?" Addison asked.
"I guess so," Olivia said, pretty unbothered by the fact that her mom's boyfriend was going to join them for dinner.
"So, what do you wanna do until then?" Addison asked, lightly brushing some hair out of her face.
"Mommy!" Olivia whined, stretching out her voice as she called her while pushing her hands away. She didn't care that her hair was messy.
"Alright, alright," Addison chuckled, letting go of her hair as Olivia climbed off her lap.
"How about we go play on the beach for a bit? I bet the beaches in Seattle aren't the same," Addison said. Not that she thought Derek took her to beaches.
"The beaches there are icky. The sand didn't even go through my toes! It was too wet," Olivia whined.
Addison could only imagine how that went for Derek. After a few years of living in Los Angeles, Olivia loved going to the beach. Her ex-husband was always more of a flannel-wearing, wood-chopping fisherman who preferred the woods and the mountain more than the beach, even before they moved to Seattle.
"Well, now that you're home, you can let the sand go through your toes all you want," Addison giggled.
"Why don't you change out of your PJs and we'll head outside?" Addison suggested, holding a hand out for Olivia to grab as she led the little girl up the stairs to her room.
After Olivia changed into a t-shirt and shorts, they went outside to play. Addison watched for a bit while her daughter ran around in the sand, letting it seep in between her toes. They had a box full of beach toys for her to play with, but she was content with just running around for a while. After a few minutes, she came back and pulled some buckets and shovels before dragging her mom to help her build sandcastles close to the patio.
They spent the rest of their afternoon out there until Amelia came home. When she saw Amelia come out to the backyard, Addison knew it meant it was time to go inside. Olivia, of course, was reluctant, but Addison wanted to make sure her daughter would be clean for dinner before their guests arrived.
Once it got close to six o'clock, Jake loaded his teenage daughter, Angela, into the car, and picked up the Chinese food he ordered. By now, he had Addison's address memorized after all the times he came over this past summer.
"So, this Addison. You like her?" Angela asked in the car while Jake drove.
"Yes," Jake chuckled.
"Anything I need to know?" Angela asked.
"Other than what I already told you? No," Jake replied.
"You said she has a daughter? Aren't you scared her ex will come back?" Angela asked, with a hint of nervousness.
"No, he lives in Seattle. It's fine, Ange." Jake reassured her. She nodded back, not entirely convinced.
"But what if….?" Angela started asking again, only to be shushed by Jake as they pulled into the driveway.
"Just give her a chance, okay? She's going to love you and you'll love her. I know it," Jake said.
"Love? Haven't you guys only been together for a few weeks? I mean, I know you met her a while ago, but still," Angela pointed out.
"Honestly? I don't know yet. But I know she's the first woman I've liked this much since your mom," Jake said honestly.
"Just…promise you'll at least try. Okay, Mija?" Jake asked.
"Alright," Angela agreed, sighing.
With bags of food in his hands, Jake knocked on the door as he waited for someone to answer.
On the other side of the door, they heard giggling and what sounded like running. Jake smiled to himself, thinking Olivia was racing to the door to answer it.
"Olivia Adrianne Montgomery-Shepherd! Do not open that door!" Amelia yelled as the girl opened it with a wide smile.
"Olivia!" Amelia scolded again, scooping her up into her arms, and walking off to deal with her so Addison could greet their guests.
"Jake," Addison said, winded as she, too, was chasing Olivia around.
"And…?" Addison started, noticing the teenager standing beside him.
"Addison, this is Angela. My daughter," Jake motioned over. Angela gave a polite smile back.
"Oh, hi, Angela. It's nice to meet you. Come on in and make yourself at home," Addison said as Jake guided Angela through the house, following Addison.
He noticed Amelia talking to Olivia in a low voice as she sat on the stairs, pouting.
"Five minutes, Liv. You know the rules," Addison called out to support her sister-in-law as she moved to grab some plates and utensils for dinner.
Amelia moved away from the girl, setting a timer and showing Olivia, who was demonstrating some great restraint. She was bursting to talk.
"Mommy!" Olivia exclaimed, bursting only two minutes later. Addison and Amelia shared a smile, knowing it wasn't going to last.
"I need to tell you something very, very, very important!" Olivia exclaimed.
"It can't wait?" Addison asked, amused.
"No, it cannot! What if I forget again?" Olivia asked with a sense of urgency.
"Alright. What is it?" Addison asked, giving in. Her daughter wasn't someone who could stay quiet for long.
"Uncle Alex told me Dr. Callie used to be married to Dr. George, but I don't know who he is. Do you know, Mommy? But now Dr. Callie's married to Dr. Arizona! She's gives me medicine when I'm sick at Daddy's house. Why is medicine so yucky, Mommy?" Olivia asked.
Addison stood there, unable to form a reply to her daughter. Amelia and Angela were trying their best not to laugh at the little girl.
"Liv, how about we talk about it later? Let's go wash our hands so we can sit down for dinner," Amelia quickly regained herself, taking the child's hand so they could wash up.
"So Liv, I heard your aunt call you by your middle name earlier: Adrianne. That's a pretty name. Where'd you get it from?" Jake asked once everyone sat while eating around the table.
"That's my mommy's middle name. Daddy really wanted to use it because he said it was pretty and he really loved Mommy, so he wanted it to be my name, too," Olivia informed everyone happily.
"Mommy said she wanted to name me Amelia like Auntie Amelia, but Daddy said then we'd have the same name! Unless Auntie gets married and changes her name. But you'd never do that, right?" Olivia peered up at her aunt, shoving a bite of food in her mouth.
"I'll tell you what, kid," Amelia smirked.
"When you turn 18, I'll pay for you to change your name to Amelia. Then we'll have the same name. Sound good?" Amelia suggested.
"Amelia!" Addison scolded.
"What?" Amelia asked defensively.
"I said when she's 18. Not now. Jeez," Amelia laughed it off.
Addison just rolled her eyes, dropping the conversation. She knew Olivia wouldn't remember any of this in a week, so she knew Amelia meant no harm.
After dinner, which included a lot of getting to know Angela and Olivia, Amelia helped clean up before excusing herself.
"Okay, well, this was fun, but I gotta go. I've got a meeting to get to. Livvy, be good for your mommy, and I'll see you when you wake up." Amelia said, making Olivia grumble before turning towards the stairs.
Amelia chuckled, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek before heading out the door. Jake and Angela waved goodbye and watched Olivia drag herself up the stairs slowly.
"I should probably make sure she actually brushes her teeth. I'll be right back," Addison said as she got up and went upstairs.
Angela looked around the house. Addison's house was gorgeous. Their place was nice, but not this nice.
Soon enough, Olivia came bouncing back down, dressed in her PJs, thrilled to see their guests were still there.
"You're still here!" Olivia cheered, thrilled.
"We couldn't possibly leave without saying goodbye," Jake's laugh matched her enthusiasm.
Olivia cheered; Dr. Jake was her best-est friend ever, she decided. Just after Auntie Amelia, she thought.
"Mommy?" Olivia looked up at Addison curiously.
"Yeah, Liv?" Addison asked.
"Can I play outside? On the deck? Please, Mommy? Pretty please?" Olivia pleaded.
"I don't know, Livvy. It's getting kind of dark…," Addison started hesitantly.
"Why don't I go out with her?" Angela offered.
"It's a little weird you brought us on your date anyway, Dad," Angela muttered as a not-so-subtle dig at her dad. Jake glared at her.
"Are you sure? You just met her," Addison asked Angela.
"Yeah. I babysit all the time. It's not a problem," Angela said. Addison smiled and nodded her head, giving Olivia the signal she needed to run out to the backyard.
"Keep an eye on her, Mija," Jake added before Angela got out the door.
"Yeah, yeah, I got her," Angela said.
Addison sat down across from Jake and laughed, getting him to laugh along. Even though they'd had a few weeks of flirtatious conversations and a date or two alone, having the kids around now made them forget about that. It'd felt like it'd been a long time since they had gotten any alone time when, in reality, it'd only been two days since Olivia got home from Seattle.
"So, uh, you have a daughter?" Addison asked gently, hoping for more information.
"Well, you didn't exactly tell me about yours," Jake joked. Addison hoped she didn't sound like there was any malice in her voice because she truly wasn't upset, just slightly confused. And Jake hoped the same.
"Right," Addison said awkwardly.
"My wife, my late wife, Lily, and I…we had Angela 15 years ago. And I've been the only parent in her life since she passed," Jake said.
"I'm sorry," Addison apologized, not knowing what to say. Apologizing didn't feel right either, but it was all she could think of.
"Thanks," Jake said appreciatively. Bringing up Lily was never easy for him, and he knew it was a guaranteed way to make things awkward. At least temporarily.
The room was silent for a minute. The only sound was Olivia and Angela playing outside on the deck. Thankfully, Olivia hadn't gone far from the door. While her play area was pretty close, sometimes she liked to venture farther closer to the water. It was the Derek part of her, even though he was more into mountains and rivers. Olivia still had an affinity for nature in a way Addison couldn't relate to. She was just glad Olivia liked beaches where she could still sit back and relax instead of hiking and fishing in the mountains like her ex-husband.
"You can ask, you know?" Jake asked gently. Addison looked up, looking back innocently.
"Lily was an addict. But it didn't change how much I loved her. She… was beautiful and a great mother, but I couldn't fix how damaged she was. As much as I wanted to," Jake said sadly. Addison reached across the table and grabbed his hand, stroking it in hers.
"I'm sorry. It's okay if you're not ready," Addison said softly and awkwardly.
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready," Jake admitted.
"I've dated before, but you're the first person I've ever really tried with since. I've never made it out the door for anyone else," Jake said. Addison smiled, feeling her cheeks flush.
"Well then, I'm flattered," Addison said, her tone balancing between being genuine and joking.
As they continued talking, they took periodic glances outside. They watched the sun inch closer to the horizon while Angela and Olivia played outside. After another half hour, Addison reluctantly looked at the clock.
"Time for bed?" Jake asked, nodding toward the girls out on the deck.
"Yeah. You guys are welcome to stay, though. She's normally pretty easy to get down unless Amelia's doing bedtime. Amelia, well…she isn't a parent," Addison laughed softly, thinking about the number of times she's caught the two still playing or chatting while Olivia was supposed to be in bed.
Jake laughed along, imagining something in his head that was probably wild, but from what he knew about the younger woman, it wouldn't be far off. She threw him an apologetic look before getting up to go get her daughter.
After a quick conversation and a huff from Olivia, she cleaned up and hugged her new friend before going into the house and hugging Jake.
"Goodnight, Dr. Jake. Will you come over again soon? Angie's really fun to play with!" Olivia asked.
"Well, if your mommy says it's okay, I'm sure we can come back sometime soon," Jake smiled. Olivia was a hard kid to say no to.
She looked up at her mom, awaiting confirmation.
"I'm sure we can figure something out, Liv. Now, we've gotta get your butt into bed. You've got school tomorrow!" Addison reminded her. The girl sighed once again, dragging herself upstairs.
Amelia returned about an hour later, only slightly surprised to see Jake and Angela still there. But she could see they were on their way out, so she just let them be on their way. She was exhausted, anyway. And she probably shouldn't have gone to a night meeting with how tired she was tonight.
"Thanks for joining us, Angela. It was very nice to meet you," Addison said after watching the two head out the door.
"It was nice meeting you, too," Angela said.
"I'll see you at the office tomorrow, Addison," Jake said, his smile widening, making Addison blush.
"Goodnight, Jake," Addison said before closing the front door and making her way upstairs to check on her daughter.
Angela made a gagging face behind her dad's back, which Amelia definitely caught, but she wouldn't dare say anything. She waved goodbye as Addison shut the door. Afterward, Amelia waited because she knew her sister-in-law would want to talk.
She sat at the island counter, watching her sister.
"So, how'd it go?" Amelia asked, excitedly waiting for a response.
"It was good," Addison said, trying to brush it off as something casual. But it was hard to hide the smile forming on her face.
"You like him!" Amelia accused playfully.
"I mean, he is my boyfriend now, so it'd be a little weird if I didn't," Addison joked.
"Do you think it's a bad idea?" Addison asked, biting her lip.
"Liv likes him, and his kid seems to like you, so, no, I don't think it's a bad idea," Amelia chuckled, finding it entertaining that Addison was worried. It'd been a while since she'd put herself out there, and it'd been even longer since she saw her former sister-in-law this happy.
Addison thought about asking how her meeting went, but she sensed everything went fine. And if Amelia wanted to talk, they would. After all, they spent quite a few nights in the same bed gossiping. It wasn't unusual after a rough day or bad dream for Amelia to crawl into Addison's bed.
Addison never minded. She loved being the person Amelia came to for comfort. And as a bonus, when Olivia figured out they were having a sleepover, she wanted to join, too. Addison knew better than anyone that biological family members weren't always the best people, and the more time she spent with Amelia, the more complete she felt with her around. She just hoped that would never change.
A/N: It'll be a while before things get dramatic in this story, but for now, we hope you enjoy the Jaddison fluff as much as we do. We have a lot already written for this story but we're in the middle of reorganizing some of the later chapters right now, so hopefully that means we'll be able to post more often until we catch up to where we currently are, writing-wise. Thanks for reading and comments are encouraged. Feel free to also find us on Twitter: mzsnguyenthai and TiniestShepherd.