I'm really sorry I made everyone wait so long!
I ask you to read the end notes, as I need to explain many things.
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The three weeks following the chaotic day of poisoning at Seattle Grace are calm and uneventful, suspicious by everyone's standards.
Addison wakes up for another day of work and it's a relief to no longer feel morning sickness. Entering the fifteenth week, she has already stopped vomiting and the beginnings of a bulge are already appearing in her once flat abdomen, something that makes her insanely happy. The happiness and excitement increase even more when she thinks that the next day there is a great possibility that they will finally find out if they are expecting a boy or a girl. Things are calm for her with Derek too, they haven't talked much, nothing that isn't related to the baby, but they aren't arguing anymore either. After the calm conversation they had at the clinic on the day of the incident, na unspoken peace agreement was established.
After wasting a few minutes admiring her tiny baby bump in the hotel room mirror, Addison has to convince herself that she needs to go and can't be late. She then puts on a blouse that hides the volume, not being comfortable with everyone watching her baby's growth and finishes getting ready for another day of work.
AAAAA
Derek and Meredith have been fine in recent weeks, he stayed away from Addison even though he wanted to know more about the supposed romance between her and Karev. The point is that he knew he didn't have that right, he knew that demanding something from her after spending half a year chasing Meredith didn't make any sense, so he resigned himself to taking care of her relationship with the young blonde.
He just didn't count on the flood of emotions that a lucid Ellis Gray admitted to Seattle Grace would bring to his girlfriend and how badly she would handle it.
Derek sleepily enters Meredith's bathroom, but stops in the doorway, looking questioningly at the bathtub as he calls her name. After not getting a response, the neurosurgeon approaches scared and puts his hands on the bathtub, pulling her by the shoulders while calling her name in increasing panic.
When the young woman submerges, looking dazed, he leaves her sitting in the bathtub and grabs a towel while asking what happened.
She ignores him, just gets up, accepting the towel he offers her and leaving the bathroom. Derek follows her and questions in alarm.
"Were you trying to drown?"
"No! I was just taking a shower. You're the one who scared me!" She states as she starts looking for clothes to wear.
"You were submerged in the bathtub, Meredith!"
"It was a way to relax." She talks while putting on her pants.
"A suicide attempt now relaxes you?!"
"You should be getting ready for work, Derek. We both should." Meredith speaks in a humorous tone as she waves at the blouse in her hand.
The good humor in her voice irritates him and so he gathers up the clothes that were already on the bed and goes back to the bathroom, huffing and slamming the door behind him. Seeing him finally walk away, Meredith relaxes her shoulders and lets out a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, Derek doesn't stay long and when she's going down the stairs he appears behind her questioning her again.
Annoyed, Meredith states once again.
"I was taking a bath!"
"I know what I saw and I know what a bath is!"
He states at the bottom of the stairs, forcing her to look at him. Exasperated, Meredith demands:
"Forget it!"
"Her mother was lucid, she said things and now she..."
"Everything is back to normal, it's no big deal!" Meredith exclaims, interrupting him, but Derek doesn't give up.
"It's just that today she's going to undergo heart surgery. Do you want to talk to the boss? I know she wants to be in triage today, but he gives you the day off."
Derek's conciliatory tone irritates her even more and she states.
"Hold on, I don't need rescuing."
She turns around, but he follows her, still talking.
"You would have drowned in the bathtub if it weren't for me, right?"
She turns to him again, her tone calm.
"I'm a surgeon, I do the rescues and you're not my knight in shining armor."
"And we're going to fight because I took you out of the bathtub!"
"Let's not fight. You have a house, you're going to sleep there and then you won't have to take me out of the bathtub. You're telling me things all the time."
A slight smile crosses Derek's lips at that moment as he states.
"It's part of Happily Ever After. In Happily Ever After, the man is saying things all the time and the girls love it!"
"Go to work. We'll see you." Meredith says boredly as she puts on her shoes. Derek replies smiling.
"For your government, I am your knight in shining armor." He then gives her a peck and leaves for work.
AAAAA
At the bottom of the elevator, Addison pretends to read the newspaper, while watching her boss over her prescription glasses. It's clear that he dyed his hair and beard and it's also clear that he did it because of his separation with Adele. She sympathizes with him, having already been through this. She considers whether or not to say something, but then the elevator stops and Derek enters. The neurosurgeon greets them, but then stops in front of Richard, a curious expression appears on his face and he states.
"It's different."
"Print." The boss retorts.
Looking away toward the newspaper again, Addison speaks.
"Never mind."
Ignoring Addison and not giving up, Derek asks.
"What did you do to your hair?"
"Anything!" Richard guarantees, already irritated.
Derek just gives the older man a mischievous look and at that moment the elevator opens again, and then Mark and Burke enter.
Derek moves to Addison's side, giving space to the other two men. He stops next to his ex-wife and suggests.
"Keep looking. Watch."
The men insist on knowing why Richard dyed his hair and when Derek expresses his doubts, Addison finally loses her temper. She hits him with the newspaper and says irritably.
"Derek stop! Enough!"
The men just watch the ex-couple and demand answers from Richard. The boss starts to explain and after seeing the three colleagues present in the elevator embarrass the boss, Addison intervenes. She pulls Burke and Mark to Derek's side and begins speaking in angry whispers to the three of them.
"Damn! He's alone, he's really needy! Do any of you know what that is?"
She turns to Burke, then to Derek and finally to Mark speaking respectively.
"You date Cristina. You date the perfect little girl. And you're a whore."
The last two look at her in outrage, but she continues.
"His wife left him. And after twenty-five years of marriage. So if a man wants to dye his hair for women, let him dye his hair for women!"
Derek looks at her irritated and asks.
"What is the problem?"
"Leave him!"
She states giving him a dirty look before turning her back to the three.
When the elevator finally stops, everyone disperses. Derek then approaches Addison and asks.
"Are you guys okay?"
"We are."
Addison smiles and rubs her belly gently. Derek also smiles and states.
"You should stop hiding it."
"I'm not hiding it. I just don't need everyone talking about it."
"Tomorrow is the appointment. I've already cleared my schedule and I'll pick you up at the hotel."
"You don't have to. I can go alone."
"You know I care."
Addison doesn't argue, just nods with a slight smile and walks away from him, like she always has.
YYYY
With the confusion of the ferry accident and patients about to arrive in droves, Addison helps Richard with organizing the surgical board. They talk about the important issues until Addison nervously states.
"It's so quiet here, right?"
"It is. We are waiting for the first group of injured people."
He then walks away. Addison ponders for a few moments and then states in a slightly louder tone than normal.
"I dyed my hair blonde."
Richard turns to her confused. And she explains.
"The day after Derek moved in. Change is good. Your marriage is over and you're starting over... So am I."
She says looking at her belly with a slight smile. Then he touches his hair, giving the boss a knowing look."
Richard nods a little discouraged and walks away. The same despondent expression crosses Addison's face.
AAAAA
When Karev arrives in the ambulance with the pregnant patient between life and death, Addison feels the adrenaline take over. She finally has real work to do. When the boss dismisses Alex from work, she feels like stopping it, she is proud to see him so involved with a patient.
Some time later and when the woman has already taken the exams, Addison enters the room and catches Alex having a touching conversation with her. The redhead watches him from the door and when he turns around, she hides her emotion by talking about the patient, but doesn't hesitate to praise him.
Their eyes meet as they walk away and then he asks.
"Are you well?"
"I am."
"Don't forget to take care of yourself."
He then winks at her and she can't help but smile. He really cares about her and the baby.
YYYY
The commotion that Addison encounters when she leaves the operating room alerts her to something that is wrong and walking through the hospital hallways, it doesn't take long to find out what. Meredith Gray drowned while rescuing the ferry accident victims and is being revived in one of the rooms.
Before Addison can think, her feet carry her into the living room and the sight in front of her is terrifying. . The young intern has half the surgical team around her, white as a sheet and showing no response. After a minute of hesitation and shock, Addison's medical side takes over, she adjusts her glasses and begins making suggestions to Richard and Miranda.
Addison is still in the room when a door opens and her eyes meet Derek's who is sitting in the hallway, the pain in his gaze almost breaks her. She can only hope that the young girl survives. Derek deserves this, Derek needs this.
It's not long before her pager goes off and she has to go see the unknown patient. She and Miranda know that Derek and the interns are waiting for na answer and are sure that she won't be able to get to her patient without talking.
YYYY
When Addison works up the courage to leave the room, she is immediately stopped by Derek in the hallway. He asks, visibly upset.
"Speak quickly!"
"Temperature still at thirty degrees and no cardiac activity. We hope that after warming her up..."
"I want to go in there! There is a risk of neurological consequences." Derek interrupts her, but is interrupted by her again.
"No! Derek, you can't do anything for Meredith or anyone else. You can't afford it."
Addison speaks as softly as possible and then walks away. As soon as she walks through the first door she is intercepted by Addison's inmate friends and has to answer them too. After that, she goes to see the patient and Alex accompanies her.
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After treating the pregnant woman and confirming her amnesia, Addison and Alex talk about the procedures. Suddenly she asks touching his arm.
"Karev, how are you? Don't you want to hang out with your friends?"
"No. I'll take care of her."
"He is sure?"
"Yeah. Meredith makes me think confused people have a chance."
Addison nods with a smile that definitely doesn't reach her eyes. Alex then touches her arm and states.
"You should get some rest. It's been a very stressful day."
"I'm fine. If you need anything, call me."
She speaks of assuming her firm stance and watches him walk away."
YYYY
She knows that Alex is right, that she should stop and rest for a while, but she can't. Everything that is happening to Meredith, the worry that the young woman won't survive and what this will do to Derek consumes her. Addison starts looking for him around the hospital and easily finds him in Ellis Grey's room, telling the sick woman all the truth.
Standing in the doorway, Addison calls out to her ex-husband who follows her outside. Addison starts talking as they walk side by side.
"Ellis is a black hole, there's no doubt about that, but she can't do anything, much less help Meredith."
"It's my fault! I knew what was happening and I didn't take her side!"
"You were human."
"She was pulling away from me and I just...
Derek doesn't complete the sentence and just leans back against the wall. Addison frowns and asks almost in a whisper.
"Do you think she fell into the water on purpose?"
"She can swim. She's a good swimmer."
After saying these words he bursts into tears, which makes Addison's chest tighten. She holds his face in her hands and says.
"Derek, you don't know if she... No, you're not going to freak out now or let it get you down. Not now that there's still a chance. Because there's still a chance. Do you understand me?"
"It is fine."
Addison wants to say more, but her pager goes off for the thousandth time that day. She then caresses his face with her teary eyes and walks away.
AAAA
Everything is finally fine. Meredith woke up and miraculously all of her vital signs were stable, as were her neurological capabilities. The unknown patient is stable and the chaos in the emergency room has been controlled. Derek is overjoyed at the recovery of the woman he loves and that's all Addison could want, but she's exhausted. The horrible day of rush, stress and sadness took its toll on her and so when she enters na on-call room, with a mild and uncomfortable cramp, she just wants to collapse onto a bed.
The redhead is surprised when she finds Mark sitting on one of the beds. Even though she doesn't want to deal with him, she goes deeper into the room. Mark looks up at her and asks.
"Is Meredith okay?"
"It is." She says before taking a long sigh and sitting down on the opposite bed.
Mark then looks at her more closely and asks with furrowed eyebrows.
"And are you okay?"
"I am."
Right after saying that she shudders as a wave of cramps hits her a little harder. Mark asks again.
"Are you sure?"
"It's just a cramp. I'm tired."
"Wouldn't it be better if someone checked you out?"
"I'm na obstetrician. I know when something's wrong."
With that she lies down on the bed. Mark remains seated.
Addison tries to relax, but a new wave of pain hits her and she feels something uncomfortable. Immediately, Addison sits up in bed, and Mark asks in alarm.
What it was?"
"I...I think I'm bleeding..."
Addison stumbles over her words and Mark jumps out of bed. He squeezes her shoulder and asks.
"He is sure?"
She doesn't respond, just tries to get up, but the pain immediately hits her again and she holds onto his arm, whimpering.
"Mark!"
"Come on redhead. You need help."
He then pulls her into his arms and lifts her up. It is at this moment that Mark realizes that there is a lot more blood than there should be. Addison clings to him tighter and begs.
"Don't let me lose the baby."
Mark doesn't respond, he just runs her out of the on-call room. When they arrive at the obstetrics department, she has already lost consciousness.
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Mark takes a second to observe Derek and Meredith inside the room. They seem relieved, maybe even happy, and he hates himself for making his friend's world fall apart again, but there's no choice. With quick steps, Mark enters the blonde's room, he stares at Derek firmly as he demands.
"Derek, we need to talk."
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WOW Writing this chapter was crazy, because I had to watch three episodes slowly to do it.
I need to explain now that this whole story came from this episode, from imagining Addison in danger also during the ferry accident episode.
From here I have two paths to follow and I know exactly how to follow both versions, so the choice is yours.
My question is simple and I ask you to answer it in the comments, should Addison lose the baby or not?
I thought of a tragic outcome to the pregnancy because although there are many stories about a lost Addek child, they usually happen before the series begins. I found this different approach interesting, but the decision is yours.
That said, I encourage your comments, remember that my native language is not English and that I do not own Greys.