'Mark… I need you.'

'Addison? Addie? It's me. Open the door!' Mark hammered on Addison's front door. After her phone call, he had immediately rushed over from his house just a few blocks away, alarmed that it sounded as though she'd been crying. Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd did not cry, or if she did she certainly did not cry to other people. Mark couldn't remember her ever even seeming as though she was about to cry, not at funerals or weddings, even her own wedding.

He pushed that thought out of his mind.

Despite his concern for Addison, Mark couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved that she had called him. Derek had left just two weeks ago, but they hadn't spoken since he'd found them in bed together and he had begun to fear that she wanted nothing more to do with him. Not that he could have blamed her: her marriage was ruined and he had an admittedly less-than-perfect reputation when it came to women. But she was different. Addison he loved, would never leave or betray. She was the love of his life. He just needed to find a way of proving it.

Seconds later he heard her running down the stairs and to the front door. She appeared in the doorway, illuminated against the soft glow of the lamp on the table in the hall that cast its light into the dark, snow-filled streets of New York. They couldn't possibly hear each other over the howling of the wind, so she stepped aside so he could enter the brownstone. Uncharacteristically for Addison, the place was a mess. Though she was generally a clean-freak, dirty dishes were stacked by the kitchen sink and clothes and papers littered the living room floor. She led Mark into it nonetheless, clearing a space on the sofa for him to sit on while she sat on the coffee table opposite him.

Though he had taken in her disheveled appearance and knew she wasn't ok, a small smile crept onto his face as he saw her again. It hadn't been long, but he had missed her during their time apart. During their affair, he'd seen her everyday, come home with her most days and stayed a few nights each week. Two weeks was suddenly a long time to be apart from her.

'Addie? What's wrong? Is it Derek? Are you ok? Are you hurt or sick?'

Instinctively, he reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear, gently lifting her chin and forcing her to look at him. Tears welled in her eyes as she did so, further worrying Mark. She looked back down at her hands which she fidgeted with, rubbing her finger where her wedding ring used to sit.

'Um… ok, I need you to promise not to freak out. Because I am. I am freaking out and I don't know what to do because Derek and I used to talk about this all the time but obviously we haven't for ages and he doesn't even know and I don't know myself yet who… which one of you… but anyway please just promise me you won't freak out,' she blurted out in one breath.

Mark chuckled slightly despite her apparent anguish. He knew she'd be ok as long as she had him, which he hoped would be forever.

'What is it, Red?'

He pulled her over to him and wrapped an arm around her protectively. Without hesitation, she leaned into him and tucked her feet up under her, remembering how easily her and Mark worked together.

'I'm pregnant.'

Oh god. She counted the seconds of silence, hardly daring to look at Mark any longer than a quick glance from under her bangs while she clenched her hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

'Oh, wow, Addie. That's… that amazing. I know you've always wanted kids.'

She laughed bitterly. 'Yeah, well, that was when I knew I had someone to do it all with. I'm not sure I can do it on my own.'

Mark frowned. 'You're not on your own. You've got me, you know that. I'm not going anywhere, especially if there's going to be a little Addison running around the place.'

'I can't ask you to do that, Mark. It wouldn't be fair. I don't even know if it's…'

'Hey.' He cut her off. 'I don't care at all. Couldn't care less, in fact. Derek's an ass, Addie, and he left a long time before he moved out. I'm here, though, and I'll be damned if I'd let a hundred men stand between you and me. I love you, Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery, and I will love your baby too, no matter what.'

He shifted so he was facing her, this time more forcefully making her look at him.

'I love you.'

Tears threatened to spill down Addison's cheeks. She'd suspected for a few days that she was pregnant, which was why she had avoided Mark, but the conformation had forced her to deal with it and she realised that he was the one she wanted by her side. Though she had told him he was not obliged to stay, she had secretly wished that he would, wanted to hear those very words come out of his mouth. Mark Sloan would be a wonderful father to her baby, she was sure if it.

'Are you positive? Because I can't do this again, Mark. I can't watch yet another man decide he doesn't want me anymore and turn away from me. If you say you're in it, I need you to mean it.'

Mark's heart sank at that. He knew her relationship with her father and brother was strained, and it should have occurred to him that Derek's leaving would only contribute to her feeling of abandonment. In that moment, he vowed to himself and to a god he did not believe in that he would never leave her alone.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before resting his chin on top of her head.

'I promise, Addie. I'm not leaving you. We're going to have a family: you, me and our baby.'