Addison was in the bathroom of her office, looking at herself in the mirror. Although her little belly was not yet very noticeable, she felt uncomfortable and wanted to hide it. She put on her lab coat and turned side to side, inspecting her figure. Even though she knew that most people wouldn't notice her pregnancy at first glance, she felt like everyone could discover her secret at any moment, and she wasn't ready for that.

She was currently nearing fourteen weeks. She and Derek had agreed to announce it this week or the next. But she knew when that happened, all eyes would be on her. While she was never known for going unnoticed in that hospital, now it terrified her. It wasn't just herself people would talk about, but her baby too. And she wasn't ready yet to expose it to criticism.

She sighed as she pulled up her black skirt even higher. Luckily, the zipper was still closing. She had adopted that color the last weeks, it was the one that helped her conceal her new curves more.

"Wouldn't it be easier to get a girdle?" Mark said, appearing from behind. She gave a small jump when she saw him.

"Mark, you scared me," she breathed heavily.

"What are you doing? Why are you hiding like that?"

"I'm not ready for the world to find out that I'm pregnant."

"Well, sooner or later they're going to know, and you won't be able to hide it anymore."

"I know, but as long as I can keep it a secret, I will."

"You know that some of the interns know about it, don't you?"

"The interns know? Did Karev say something?"

"I think I heard Cristina and Meredith talking about it this morning."

"Wait, Meredith knows?"

"It seems so..."

~•~

"Cristina doesn't want children," Burke said as he cast his fishing line into the lake.

"Addison's pregnant."

"I know, Cristina told me. I didn't want to say anything until you mentioned it, but... well, congratulations, Shepherd," he gave him a firm handshake and patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Burke."

"And how are you both handling it?"

"Addison doesn't want to know the baby's gender," he said, casting his fishing rod again.

"No? Why not?"

"I lie and say it's because of gender ideology or feminism but I actually lean more towards psychological torture towards me for sleeping with Meredith."

"Oh, is she still mad at you?"

"No, I mean... I don't know. I don't think so. But she won't forget it easily."

"And what have you been doing to make it up to her?"

"I don't know, I guess being patient with her sudden mood swings –which are quite frequent–, bringing her sweet treats, accompanying her to the hotel door every day, and trying not to make her nervous. I respect her decision to keep the pregnancy a secret even though I'd love to tell my family, especially my mother because she'd be ecstatic just thinking about it, but... I don't know. I'm respecting what she wants."

"And is that enough?"

"What do you think is enough?"

"I don't know. From what you're telling me, it sounds more like the relationship between two best friends rather than a married couple."

"Addison was my best friend, we've always been like that..."

"And do you intend for her to continue being your best friend or your wife?"

"I don't know. I suppose both."

~•~

"You told Meredith that I'm pregnant," she said, entering his office without even knocking on the door.

"Excuse me?" he raised his gaze to look at her.

"Meredith knows! Was it you, right?"

"Let me explain..."

"Oh, you're unbelievable, Derek. The first person you tell about our baby is your lover. Are you still talking to her? What else does she know about me that I'm not aware of?"

"Addison, it's not what you think."

"Did you tell her or not?"

"I did, but it was because..."

"I can't believe it," she turned around and stormed out of the room. Derek followed her down the hallway.

"Hey, wait, Addison! Don't walk so fast in those heels," he shouted.

"Since when do you care about how I walk? Only since I'm pregnant? Of course, now that you've told others, they can judge you if you don't pay attention to how I walk."

"Calm down," he said, grabbing her arm. She quickly pulled away.

"Leave me alone, you're not capable of respecting a single thing I ask of you."

"You told Mark!"

"I didn't tell him, he found out!"

"Well, in that case, she found out too... I needed to tell her."

"And you couldn't ask me first?"

"Addison..."

"She told Cristina! She probably told someone else too, and the whole hospital probably knows by now."

"Well, then let's make sure they don't find out through gossip and say it ourselves. I already told you I'm willing to announce it if you don't want to."

"And I told you I'm not ready yet," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Addie, come, let's talk."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Come..."

"She told you she didn't want to, Derek," Mark approached. He had been watching them from the hallway.

"Can you stop interfering in my wife's life? Get out of here."

"Walk behind me! There are three surgical cases in the emergency room and no time to waste," Bailey said, passing by them. Her interns were following her.

Meredith looked paler than usual, with dark circles under her eyes and slightly disheveled. As if she hadn't slept for several nights. Cristina was pushing her to walk. Addison couldn't help but notice.

"I said move, quickly!" Bailey ordered again.

Meredith turned around, leaned over, and vomited. Both Addison and Derek were surprised by that.

"Damn it, again? Are you pregnant too?" Cristina exclaimed with a disgusted expression.

Everyone else turned and looked at her. Derek was startled to hear those words coming from Cristina's mouth.

"Oh, this is perfect. Two children from one, huh?" Addison whispered to Derek and left even angrier than before. He didn't have time to react, he was shocked.

"Meredith," he said, walking towards her.

"Oh, no. You've done enough," Bailey said, preventing him from getting closer.

~•~

Addison had locked herself in a cleaning supply room to cry. Now the stitches were being closed. Derek had told her that she was pregnant because Meredith was too. And the reason he wouldn't go back to either of them was because...

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bailey said, opening the door.

"Oh... I... " the mascara on her lashes had been ruined by her tears, leaving two black lines along her face.

"Why are you crying?" she sat down next to her, concerned.

"Meredith's pregnant too."

"Where did you get that?"

"I... I know. Derek's face said it all."

"Hey... I don't know if it's true or not she's undergoing tests right now, but you don't have to cry like this. It's not good for you or the baby."

"What does it matter? Derek's gonna have another one, he doesn't need to worry about this one anymore."

"That's not true... if he's going to have another child, it means that your child will have a sibling. A companion to share a lot of life experiences with..."

"I didn't want my baby to have a sibling that's not my child!"

"I know, but... sometimes things just happen. He won't stop loving one because of the other."

"Oh, Miranda. Don't try to console me with any speeches or words of encouragement. It sucks, and you know it. If your husband had a child with another woman right now, you wouldn't be thinking about sibling relationships."

"I know..."

"Then let me cry!" she exclaimed, her voice drowned in tears once again."

~•~

"I... I just wanted to know how you're doing..." Derek said as he entered Meredith's room.

"Oh, another one of the sexy guys I've dated came to see me," she said, her voice still affected by anesthesia.

"Really? How many of us are there?"

"Well... there's you, and Finn and..." she smiled.

"Oh, excuse me, but I don't see any veterinarians here next to you."

"Derek" Finn said from behind, holding a basket of sweets.

"Oh, Finn..."

"Can I say how much being drugged helps right now?" Meredith smiled with satisfaction.

"So... how's life in the animal kingdom?" Derek teased.

"What about you, Derek? Rough day?"

"I... I just wanted to know how she's doing and if..."

"If I was pregnant?" Meredith burst into laughter.

"Mer..."

"It'd be so terrible for you to have two kids with two different women almost at the same time, haha. Don't you know how to use condoms?" she continued laughing.

"Meredith, what are you saying?" Finn started to get scared.

"In high school, they teach you how to use them to prevent pregnancies. Did you skip that class?"

"Meredith, are you pregnant?" Finn asked. He couldn't understand why she was looking at Derek so happily when the last time they were together was... a year ago? Or was Meredith still sleeping with Derek?

"Of course not, it'd be a tragedy for Derek. Isn't that right? Which one of us would you have to leave to assume your responsibility?"

"Okay, let's get ready to go to the O.R... Dr. Shepherd? Dr. Finn?" George said as he entered the room.

"Now all my boys are here," Meredith laughed.

~•~

Addison left her office bathroom after touching up her makeup and hair again. She didn't want anyone to see her in the state she was a few minutes ago.

She was walking down the hall heading towards the buffet, but as she passed Meredith's room, she heard her calling her from inside.

"Addison! Dr. Montgomery Shepherd!"

She thought about ignoring her and walking away, but her persistence made her turn around and go in.

"You called, Dr. Grey?" she said noticeably annoyed.

"Hi...

"Hi..." she said, taking the chart with Meredith's medical history. She had just had an appendectomy "Oh, so you're not pregnant..."

"No..."

"Oh..."

"It would be awful if we were pregnant at the same time, don't you think?"

"I... I suppose so, maybe..."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, maybe it makes you uncomfortable to talk about your pregnancy with me."

"It's okay. It's not a big deal. I found out that Derek mentioned it to you..."

"Derek really wants that baby..."

"Really?"

"Yes... it's his number one priority. He gave up everything for it. I know you hate me and don't want to hear this from me, but... I guess I'm glad he has this joy in his life even though I got hurt."

"I don't hate you..."

"You don't? I'd hate someone if they had done what I did to you at the prom to me."

"That... that wasn't nice..."

"I know. I wanted to apologize for that."

"It's okay... my stupid husband was the one who should have apologized to me..."

"I'm sorry if I had known you were expecting a baby, I... I'm really sorry."

"Thank you."

~•~

"Hey... I finally found you," said Derek approaching Addison, who was lying on the couch in her office, thinking about the conversation she had with Meredith.

"I'm sorry, I... I thought the worst."

"You did..."

"Tell me the truth... Did you ever think today that Meredith could be pregnant with your child?"

"Addie, that doesn't matter anymore..."

"It matters to me. Answer."

"Well... yes. The dates matched and... I don't know, it could have been."

"And were you disappointed that it wasn't?"

"What? Of course not. I'm going to have a baby."

"But would you prefer that baby to be with her instead of me?"

"Addie, why are you thinking about that?"

"Because I feel like the only reason you're with me is because of the baby. Because it's your number one priority. If it had been Meredith who was pregnant, would you still be with me?"

Derek didn't respond. He couldn't find the words to say it without hurting Addison.

"Alright, I get it now."

"It's hard for me to give an answer to something that doesn't exist or isn't in my mind right now. The truth is, I don't know what I would have done. But that doesn't matter, because it didn't happen. The only child I'm going to have is the one you're carrying. And I don't want to think about anything else but him or her.

"You say this so that I don't feel bad, but I'm not a child. I can read between the lines of what you're trying to say."

"Give me a break, Addison. Please. There's nothing I can say that's right enough for you. If I tell you I choose you, you don't believe me, you say it's because of the baby. If I tell you I choose the baby, you say it's because of responsibility. Why can't you believe that I chose you and our family?"

"Because it doesn't show," she said with teary eyes.

Derek let out a deep sigh as he sat down beside her on the couch. Addison had never been easy, but now she was just impossible. And he knew he had given her enough reasons to be that way.

He stayed by her side, silently stroking her legs, until she could stop crying. He knew she needed to let it out, and he gave her the space to do so.

"I can't control it..." she whispered.

"I know."

"I'm a bundle of walking hormones, anything small can crush me, and... I've never cried so much in my life as in these months," she laughed ironically.

"I know, and I can't even imagine what it must feel like to have a baby inside your body. That's why I respect you, admire you, and am immensely grateful for the effort you're making every day for our child. It's not easy, Addie, I know. But I ask you to trust what I'm saying, I love the baby and I love you. I... I would like you to come back to the trailer."

"Oh no, Derek. We can't live in a trailer anymore, it's not just the two of us, we're going to have a baby in the middle."

"I thought you were in favor of co-sleeping."

"I am, but I still want the baby to have its crib in its own room. Plus, we need to buy a stroller, a changing table, a high chair for when he or she starts eating, furniture for their clothes, and…

"Okay, okay. I understand. We have a lot of things to buy."

"Do you understand that all of that won't fit in the trailer?"

"We don't need to have everything."

"It's my first baby, do you think I'm not going to buy him or her anything?"

"Actually, I'm surprised you haven't started buying things yet."

"Of course I've bought some..."

"Really? What?"

"A onesie... actually, it was a surprise for you. But you have this habit of ruining things," she said, standing up from the couch.

"Why for me?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Would you like to go shopping in the next few days?" he offered with a sideways smile.

"Derek, you can't buy me with food and clothes every time I'm upset about something you did. What do you think I am? Your pet?"

"Oh, Addison. Don't take it the wrong way, I just wanted to invite you to spend time together."

"You want to spend time with me?" she whispered, pouting her lips.

"Yes, I would. If you don't yell at me and accuse me of treating you like a dog, I'd like that."

"Okay... then, when do you want to go?"

"On Saturday?"

"Okay."

"Great, then I'll pick you up on Saturday afternoon."