Chapter 10: Rescue

"I will send out an army to find you / In the middle of the darkest night /

It's true, I will rescue you / I will never stop marching to reach you / In the middle of the hardest fight / It's true, I will rescue you."

"Rescue" Lauren Daigle

A/N: Sometimes writing is hard. Enjoy the chapter!

Meredith looked out onto the horizon, frowning softly. Her mind was going a mile a minute as she watched the waves. If she were honest with herself, she almost couldn't believe that she was here, in LA. It felt surreal to be here without Addison; the house felt strange without her, empty. On their FaceTime calls, the kitchen was always lit, some kind of music playing in the background. Now, it stood dark and quiet behind her as she stood on the deck.

The drive down took less than the near 18 hours that it should've, though due to the travel restrictions, she supposed that was a good thing. The normal 18-hour drive took just over 14, with rest stops and gas station food as a necessity. Honestly, if she didn't see another hot dog for a while, she'd be glad.

Mark and Winston had taken turns driving. The entire thing felt surreal. The radio playing songs that she hardly paid attention to, her focus on where Addison could've gone. She already knew the why, well, she was speculating why. If their connection on the beach was to go by, Addison was too worried about her dying and had fled to find solace. She didn't tell anything to Mark or Winston, choosing to keep her thoughts to herself. When they'd met up with Jake and Charlotte at the rest stop, she'd been relieved that they didn't ask her too many questions. She'd hugged her brothers-in-law and told them to please call when they made it home safe. She knew that they'd probably spend the night at a hotel, and, for a moment, felt ashamed that she'd roped them into driving her down. They'd reassured her that they'd get home safe, even if that meant driving through the night.

She'd gotten to the beach house right around 9pm, and after a light snack, the adults had decided they'd start the search in the morning. She supposed that a night's rest was what they all needed. Truly, she wasn't sure where to start. At first, she'd thought to go to the police, but, according to Jake and Charlotte, the LAPD weren't taking their claims seriously. It had been nearly two weeks since Addison had disappeared, and the police chose to see her disappearance as something coming up, as Addison had said in her note.

And maybe something had come up, like she'd read in the note. She'd slipped backwards, had to be placed on a vent. But did she think – truly – that she was the cause of Addison choosing to abandon her friends and family in LA? If that was true, then why hadn't Addison come to see her? She could remember her dreams while unconscious like they were memories.

"You and I, we're messy. But I would choose you, if I could."

Addison had said that. It was clear as day in her mind. If given the chance, Addison would choose her. So then why choose to run to only God knew where just to run away from her? She wished she understood just what was going through Addison's mind.

She wished she'd been able to fall asleep. The night had gone decently well, all things considered. Sam had gone over to relieve Violet of babysitting; Cooper, not wanting to leave his girls for the night, decided to stay with Sam. Charlotte and Violet had made her feel welcome, preparing a light meal while they chatted with her. Archer had talked to her about his and Addison's childhood over the meal, asking about her kids, the rest of the family. Afterwards, Jake had shown her to Addison's bedroom, explaining that she could sleep there; she'd tried protesting, but he explained that most nights, he'd fallen asleep on the couch and that Addison wouldn't mind. That had made her feel strangely warm inside. She hadn't been able to sleep, however, not even after calling the kids to wish them good night, after tucking Henry into bed. Which led to now, standing on the deck, at 3 am.

"Why are you here?"

Turning, she saw that it was Naomi who'd spoken. The woman was still dressed for the day, unlike her, who'd found a pair of Addison's sweatpants and her Harvard T-shirt to sleep in. Out of everybody that she'd met tonight, Naomi was the only one who barely said a word to her. And now that everyone else had gone to sleep, she decided to come over and ask her a stupid question like that?

"Because I told Henry that I would find his mom." It was a lot more complicated than that. It was 15 years of something that slowly built between them, despite marriages and deaths and kids and traumas. There was something real there, something that she'd been terrified to say out loud. It felt odd to have accepted her feelings while in a dream, but it had felt so real.

"I'd choose you. If I had the chance, I'd choose you."

She'd meant that. She'd been awake over a week, and she knew that she'd meant that. And when she found Addison, she'd tell her so.

"You shouldn't be here!" Naomi spoke, pulling her from her thoughts, "Why would you promise Henry something like that? Addison could be dead for all you know!"

"She's not," She knew that with one-hundred percent certainty.

"Why are you really here? Why do you think you're so special? You'll never be anything more than the woman who stole her husband," Naomi hissed.

She forced herself not to rise to the bait. Naomi seemed to have a problem with her from the moment she'd stepped into the house, but she hadn't expected this level of hostility. The woman didn't know her, didn't know them, their history. She and Addison had more in common than she was sure Naomi realized. She was going to find her.

"I think we both know that's not true." She spoke softly. Frowning at the woman, she made her way past her, opening the sliding door, "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

Without waiting for a reply, she shut the door and locked it behind her. It was going to be a long day, and she needed to rest.

Addison's desk was immaculate, but there was a part of her that knew it would be. Even in Seattle, the redhead had kept her office neat and pristine. On the surface, there was nothing that looked out of the ordinary. As she sat in the chair, she caught sight of the picture frames adorning the desk. It wasn't the old picture of Derek and Addison that caught her attention, taken from med school. It wasn't even the one with Amelia and Addison, taken in this office, probably from when Amelia was in LA. She'd overlooked Mark and Lexie's wedding photo. No, the one that caught her attention was the one with her and the kids in it.

It was a couple of years old, taken at Ellis' 3rd birthday party. Her youngest had wanted a fairytale wedding, and she'd happily played along. Zola and Bailey had eagerly dressed up as a jester and knight, and while Ellis had played the role of princess, all of the kids insisted she be queen. It had been a fun day. She hadn't realized that Amelia, the designated photographer for the party, had snapped this photo though; she also didn't realize that Amelia had sent this photo to Addison.

The next photograph was of Henry in his school photo from last year. For some reason, the sight of the two pictures next to each other made her smile. The position of the pictures meant that they were the first two that Addison would see when she sat at her desk, and she didn't know why that made her feel so happy.

Looking out into the office space, she let her mind wander. She could hear the chatter of the kids as they worked on their school work, the chatter of their parents as they took patient calls. She let out a soft sigh as she sat back in the chair. She knew that this wouldn't be easy, but she was going off of nothing. There was nothing to go on. Addison didn't want to be found. Hell, even her note didn't provide any clues.

Jake,

I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark. Something's come up. I'll be back soon. Give Henry my love.

Addison

"Where are you, Addison?" She asked out loud. She knew there wouldn't be an answer. Frowning in contemplation, she picked up the picture frame with her and the kids. Why had Addison chosen this picture? Was there even a reason? There was a part of her that wished when she slept, she could be back on the beach. At least then she'd be able to ask the woman what the hell she'd been thinking; she'd be able to ask her where she was, would be able to beg her to come to LA. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe all she was doing was fucking things up…

No, she couldn't think like that. She would find Addison. She promised Henry she would. And she refused to go back on that promise. Setting her own doubts aside, she turned on Addison's computer. There had to be something they were missing.

The lock screen came up, asking for a password. Damn it. She entered Henry's birthday first.

Incorrect Password

She tried Addison's next.

Incorrect Password

Biting her lip, she tried her birthday.

Incorrect Password

Damn it. That one she actually thought would work. She frowned, trying to wrack her brain for clues. Could it not be a date at all? Possibly. But for some reason, her mind kept going back to it being a date. But what date would be significant? Naomi's words came back to her.

You'll never be anything more than the woman who stole her husband!

The night they'd met. That had to be pretty significant, right? Holding her breath, she typed it in.

052205

Welcome!

She released her breath. She almost couldn't believe that had worked. She navigated to Addison's email, her heart pounding. She scrolled down past the emails from friends. Those weren't hers to look through, and in fact, she barely saw them. Scrolling further down, she saw the email she needed and clicked on it. And then, she felt a smile slip onto her face.

Addison wanted to ignore the knocking. She had a hangover from Hell, and all she wanted was to eat her room service in peace. The last week had been rough. She never dreamed of the beach, never dreamed of Meredith, and woke up feeling even worse than when she'd gone to sleep. She supposed that it had been her fault. Too much wine always gave her a hangover. But honestly, whoever the hell was knocking was gonna get a piece of her mind. It was insistent and annoying and she just wanted it to stop.

Throwing off the blankets, she made her way to the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," She grumbled. After securing her mask, she opened the door, "What is – " The words died on her tongue, her anger evaporating as she stared wide-eyed at the last person she expected to see… "Meredith?"

Even with her mask on, she could tell Meredith was smiling behind it, her voice relieved as she replied, "Addison."

A/N: Oh look, it's a cliffhanger. But look guys! Mer found Addie! I'm hoping to get back to regular updates. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!