Summary: Audrey settles into living in Los Angeles with Jake, Addison, and Henry before meeting their friends and colleagues at the practice, learning more about her mother's past from none other than Dr. Pete Wilder.

A/N: If it wasn't already obvious, I decided Pete is alive in this story, even though almost everything else in this story follows canon. Anyway, enjoy!

"So, you're welcome to stay up and play with your new phone or whatever else you want to do for a while. There's some books on the shelf and there's also a TV downstairs if you want to watch something. Just don't stay up too late. Until we figure something else out and you start school, you're gonna come to work with us tomorrow, and…we can go from there. Sound like a plan?" Addison asked.

"Yeah," Audrey smiled, walking into her new room and fingering the books on the bookshelf.

Addison felt Jake slide a hand behind her back as she watched from the doorway for a minute as she just barely leaned into his embrace. Something about Audrey reminded her so much of her when she was a teenager. Her inclination towards nature, in things like fishing, hiking, and camping, all came from her father, but, by the looks of it, she got her athleticism and her affinity towards literature from Addison. It'd only be a matter of time before Audrey realized that, too.

After watching Audrey pick up a book on the shelf and immediately start to read it, Addison and Jake walked away and got ready for bed. Audrey kept her nose in the book for 20 minutes before changing into some pajamas and getting ready for bed before opening the book again and reading it in her bed until she fell asleep.

In the morning, she awoke to the sound of small footsteps, knowing it must've been Henry. It was still dark outside, so she knew it had to be early. She kept her eyes closed, feeling completely relaxed snuggling in her bed, before hearing the click of the door opening. When she opened her eyes, she saw Henry coming into her room and smiling back at her when he reached her bed.

"Henry," Jake whispered sternly. Henry looked back at his dad before turning back to Audrey, smiling.

"Hey, buddy," Audrey whispered, still half-asleep.

"Henry, come on. Let your sister sleep," Jake whispered, motioning for him to come back.

Instead, Henry walked up closer to her bed, reaching his arms up slightly.

"Henry," Jake repeated himself, ready to walk into the room to get him.

"It's fine," Audrey brushed it off before reaching down to let him snuggle with her.

Jake sighed and looked over to where Addison was at their bedroom door, confused. He motioned to Audrey's room as Addison walked over. By the time she came over, the two had their eyes closed and snuggled in bed together. Addison smiled and grabbed hold of Jake's hand before they went back to bed.

A few hours later, Audrey woke up again. This time, Henry was rubbing his eyes, waking up slowly. She sleepily fluttered her eyes open, holding her little brother close as he did the same. Eventually, he opened his eyes fully and smiled while looking up at her.

"Hey, Henry," Audrey said before yawning, which made Henry giggle.

"Hi, Audi," Henry blushed.

"You two sleep okay?" Addison asked from the door. She was still in her pajama set and all Audrey could think was she wished she looked as good as her mother did first thing in the morning.

"Yeah," Audrey said, sitting up as Henry climbed down from her bed and walked over to Addison, who picked him up when he got to her.

"Take your time getting ready. Jake's downstairs making breakfast, and we'll head out after that. Sound good?" Addison asked, bouncing a distracted Henry in her arms.

"Yup," Audrey smiled before yawning again.

"Okay. Let's get you dressed," Addison said, turning her attention back to her son, who smiled back.

Audrey laid back down in bed for another few minutes, closing her eyes before opening them again to stare at the ceiling. She turned to see the digital clock on the nightstand and saw it was eight in the morning. It wasn't bad, considering she usually woke up earlier than that when she lived with her dad and Meredith, mostly because of William's feeding schedule, but she liked getting a few minutes to herself in bed before getting up. When she was finally ready, she stood up and headed over to the bathroom to clean herself up. After she got dressed, she came downstairs to find Jake in the kitchen, spooning something out of a pot.

"Morning," Jake said, turning to see Audrey leaning over the counter to see what he was doing.

"Morning," Audrey smiled, straightening up her posture.

"I hope you like waffles," Jake chuckled.

"Yeah. Who doesn't like waffles?" Audrey joked.

"Wait, but what's in the pot, then?" Audrey asked.

"Blackberry compote. And a little whipped lemon ricotta over here," Jake said, showing her the other bowl beside him on the counter as she walked closer into the kitchen.

"Wow. You didn't have to go all out," Audrey replied jokingly.

"Oh, he's not," Addison said as he came down the stairs with Henry holding her hand.

"This is just how he is. I thought he was just showing off the first week he moved in here, but this is how he is all the time. Even when we're running late, he still manages to get avocado toast ready before we're out the door," Addison added, chuckling.

"That's just how I roll," Jake joked, flipping the spatula in his hand impressively.

The girls laughed as Addison put Henry in his high chair and Jake finished setting everything up for breakfast. After giving Henry his smaller plate with the waffles cut up, Jake served the girls a plate of waffles each. It practically looked like they were getting served breakfast at a fancy restaurant. The distinct smell of maple syrup, fruit, and the freshness of the lemon zest perfumed the kitchen as they all dug into breakfast. The conversation turned to Jake and Addison's patients that day and various things about scheduling before Audrey helped Jake load the dishwasher while Addison cleaned the sticky blackberry and whipped ricotta off of Henry's face.

They all shuffled around, getting their things ready before leaving for the office. Jake helped Henry gather some toys that he wanted to play with at daycare today while Audrey packed some books in the bag Addison gave her. Including the one she fell asleep reading the night before. After a 20-minute ride in the car, they arrived at the office and got out of the car before entering the building straight into an elevator.

"Hold the elevator!" Violet yelled right after Henry pushed the button. Jake held the door as they all watched Violet dart in with Lucas in her arms. He was getting a little big to be picked up, but she was clearly in a rush.

"Lucas!" Henry exclaimed excitedly as Violet let her son down.

"Henry!" Lucas smiled widely before the two boys hugged.

"Everything okay?" Addison asked, smirking.

"Yeah. Other than the fact that Lucas wanted brownies for breakfast because Jack's mom gave him brownies at school yesterday, so, you know…," Violet started, her voice trailing off as she stood in front of them.

"So, Lucas had…what for breakfast?" Addison asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Brownies," Violet sighed, making Jake and Addison laugh and Audrey smile.

"I know, it's terrible, but it's just…Pete wants to make up for lost time or whatever, which is fine, but I…I can't stop him from wanting to give Lucas everything he couldn't while he was locked up," Violet added, lowering her voice at the end. Lucas was a little too young to really understand the intricacies of why Pete wasn't home and why he was arrested, much less, the California penal system, so they had told him that Daddy couldn't come home because he was working. One day they'd tell him the truth, they'd told each other.

"Where is he, anyway?" Jake asked.

"He's at a meeting with his probation officer," Violet brushed off.

"It'll get easier," Addison tried to reassure her friend.

"Yeah. Hopefully sooner than later," Violet said as the elevator doors opened again once they reached their floor. She turned around to face the couple and saw Audrey standing beside Addison.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just dump all my stuff on you," Violet apologized, chuckling awkwardly before getting a good look at the girl.

"It's okay," Audrey smiled back awkwardly as reality set in for Violet.

"You're her, aren't you? Audrey, right?" Violet asked, smiling warmly.

"Yeah," Audrey replied.

"That's my sister, Audi," Henry said proudly to Lucas, pronouncing his TH sounds like D's and his R's like W's.

"Audrey," Jake said, correcting his pronunciation.

"Hi," Lucas smiled, waving gently.

"This is Lucas," Henry said, again pronouncing his TH sound like D's.

"Henry's my best friend," Lucas declared proudly. With him being a little older, his speech was a little clearer compared to Henry's, but his R's still sounded like W's. They were both still young, and their motor control was still developing, so Addison and Violet, as physicians and knowing that they would likely grow out of it by the time they were five, weren't worried about it.

The adults smiled, admiring the boys' friendship.

"Nice to meet you," Audrey giggled.

"Audrey, this is my friend and co-worker, Violet. She's our psychiatrist," Addison added.

"It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Violet said.

"You have?" Audrey asked as Jake walked the boys over to the daycare that was now Pete's old office.

Pete wasn't happy about the idea of his office turning into a daycare center, but they owned the entire fourth floor now and Pete had an office there, waiting for him to come back in six months when his medical license suspension ended. For now, he did what he could around the office as the practice's receptionist, scheduling appointments, calling for ambulances in emergencies, and other non-medical tasks. He hated it at first, but he'd recently got into making the office more sustainable by talking to vendors and whatnot. It wasn't practicing medicine, but it was something to keep Pete busy.

"Yeah. I'm…not proud of how I found out, but your mom talked about you a lot when she was still trying to get pregnant," Violet said.

"You were trying to get pregnant?" Audrey asked.

Violet felt mortified, like she'd just revealed a secret she shouldn't have. It took her back to a time she wished she had forgotten; when everyone else at the practice had found out about Addison's past.

~ Pete and Violet's custody case ~

"You were married, right?" Miss Gibson, Violet's lawyer, asked.

"Yes, I was. I'm…I'm divorced now," Addison replied on the stand.

"Why did your marriage dissolve?" Miss Gibson asked.

"Objection. Why is Dr. Montgomery's marriage relevant?" Miss Broome, Pete's lawyer, interjected.

"Well?" Judge Longmuir asked, directing his question toward Gibson.

"It goes to her credibility, Your Honor," Miss Gibson replied. Judge Longmuir nodded.

"Answer, Dr. Montgomery," Judge Longmuir directed. Addison looked over at the judge hesitantly before answering.

"I, uh…my ex-husband and I had a daughter. She went missing before she turned two," Addison replied, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady.

The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop. No one knew Addison ever had children, let alone a daughter that went missing. She'd always been so honest about everything, but everyone who knew her in the room realized she must've kept this secret buried deep inside her. Not even Pete, her boyfriend, knew, but the more they thought about it, the more it made sense. Addison was always so good with Lucas, and Pete had always been in awe of how easy it was for her to care for his son. He'd always chalked it up to her being a baby doctor; after all, that's what she always said.

This was a different side to her that even he hadn't seen before. He supposed the only people who knew about her daughter before this were Sam and Naomi, and they had kept this part of her life a secret for her. And it'd been that way until Violet and her lawyer dug up the past and put it on display for everyone to see. Pete could practically feel his blood boil as he sat behind the desk, watching his girlfriend have to relive this. This was her secret to tell, not Violet's. Addison didn't deserve this; she deserved better than this. Better than him, he thought.

"I'm sorry. Did you and your husband ever try to have another baby?" Miss Gibson asked.

"No," Addison answered.

"Why not?" Miss Gibson asked.

"I…I couldn't. I wasn't ready," Addison answered.

"Have you, just you, ever tried to have children of your own, Dr. Montgomery?" Miss Gibson asked.

"Again, relevance," Miss Broome interjected. Judge Longmuir put up a hand, settling her down.

"Speed it up, Miss Gibson," Judge Longmuir warned. She nodded back understandingly.

"Dr. Montgomery?" Miss Gibson asked.

"Yes," Addison answered honestly.

"Did you ever want to have another child?" Miss Gibson asked. Addison swallowed hard.

"Yes, I tried, but I was not able to," Addison said, taking all the strength she had not to break down on the stand or yell at this woman who had no idea what she'd been through.

"So, would you lie on the stand to keep Lucas? To protect your one last chance at motherhood?" Miss Gibson asked.

"Objection," Miss Broome said, standing up.

"No, I want to answer," Addison insisted.

This was something she felt strong enough to answer. She loved Lucas like he was her own, even though she knew he wasn't. All she wanted was for him to be happy and feel the love he deserved. He didn't deserve the trauma his birth had put on his parents. It wasn't his fault. He was an innocent. Much like her Audrey. There wasn't anything other than her own intuition to signal that her little girl was still alive, but she didn't think she could go on if she started to believe she was dead the way that her ex-husband had. She just couldn't.

"You're right. I had a baby, and she got taken from me, and then when I finally was ready to move on and decided I wanted to have another baby, I couldn't. So, good times. Yes, I do want a baby, and yes, maybe Lucas fulfills some kind of desire in me that I used to lock deep down inside of me," Addison admitted.

"If Lucas were here and could speak up for himself, he'd just be so confused about what's going on right now, why these grown-ups who supposedly love and care about him and have all the answers are fighting over him. Because that's what we are, right? Grown-ups? So, let's act like them. Yes, I'm a mess and Violet's a mess; we all are. Lucas didn't deserve what happened to him, just like my daughter never deserved what happened to her. But I am here for Lucas, and I just want him to be happy. So, if that means you tearing me apart and making me look like the most horrible person on earth, then, please, do it, because Lucas is worth it…to me, so…, next question, Miss Gibson?" Addison added.

~ present day ~

It wasn't her finest moment, but Violet and Addison had done a lot of work to get past it. How she'd forgiven her for the worst thing she felt she'd ever done in her entire life was beyond Violet, but Addison knew it was a rough time for her, too. When Naomi left, Violet was the one who'd been there for her, as resistant as Addison had been at the time. Building their friendship took a long time, but they'd gotten there, eventually.

"I adopted Henry after I realized I probably couldn't get pregnant again," Addison replied, not insulted that Violet mentioned her fertility journey.

"Anyway, over there is the daycare we started. It used to be Pete's office, Violet's husband, but his office is downstairs now. Or at least it will be when his license isn't suspended anymore," Addison explained as she walked her through the office, showing her around.

"Why is his license suspended?" Audrey asked. Addison hesitated, which gave room for Violet to jump in.

"He unplugged a patient," Violet chimed in bluntly.

"A patient whose partner wanted it, and who had proof that he wanted it, too," Addison added.

"Still doesn't make it legal," Violet quipped.

"Anyway…you can come back to my office with me to drop off some things and meet everyone in the kitchen when they get here," Addison said, leading the way.

Audrey followed her mom, glancing at Henry and Lucas getting settled in the daycare before walking down the hallway to get to Addison's office. She'd been in Derek's office before, not just when Mark dragged her there and changed everything she ever thought she knew about herself, but she also hung around there whenever Derek ran late for their lunch plans. It was exactly what she'd expected for a doctor's office. However, the practice looked nothing like the hospital.

The colorful accent walls, and wooden floors and beams were drastically different from the drab white hospital. When they got to Addison's office, Audrey looked around curiously as her mother put away some paperwork and settled behind her desk. Not long afterward, Audrey sat down in the chair across from her, still looking around.

"Different from your dad's office, huh?" Addison asked, chuckling.

"Yeah," Audrey chuckled back.

"What made you want to work here instead of in a hospital? Dad said you guys have always worked in hospitals until you moved here," Audrey asked, curious. She didn't realize it until after finishing her sentence that she'd called Derek, Dad. Addison took notice, too, and they both smiled at each other.

"I just felt so…alone in Seattle. I mean, the people were nice, and I did make a couple of friends, but without much to go off of other than thinking I cheated on him, it made it easy for people to take sides, specifically his side, when we got divorced," Addison replied.

"But…you didn't cheat on him. Right?" Audrey asked.

"Right. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something there between me and Mark before, but nothing really happened until after your dad and I officially got divorced," Addison replied.

"So, you just…let people think you cheated on him?" Audrey asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure what the history was there or why everyone seemingly made her mother out to be some villain in her parent's divorce.

"Not exactly. I mean, I told anyone that asked me about it that it wasn't true, but even after the truth went around, Derek and Meredith were already…whatever they were; they had been for a while, and…I don't know. People take sides in a divorce. Derek was around for longer and Meredith's intern group obviously sided with her and your dad and…that's just how it worked out," Addison replied.

"But L.A. has been pretty good to me so far. It hasn't always been easy, but it's definitely where I belong now," Addison added. Audrey smiled as Addison heard people talking outside; the other doctors had arrived.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone. Don't worry, they don't bite," Addison joked as she got up and led Audrey out of her office.

After entering the kitchen, they found Cooper, Charlotte, Jake, and Violet, who recapped her morning struggles with Lucas. Addison grabbed two mugs and grabbed a packet of hot cocoa, silently asking Audrey if she wanted some. She smiled back, so Addison took it as a green light as she turned on the electric kettle to heat some water before pouring herself some coffee. Meanwhile, the other doctors eventually took notice of the teenage girl with Addison and the fact that she looked so alike made it clear that she was Addison's daughter.

"You gonna introduce us?" Cooper asked, a little excited. They'd all heard about her in bits and pieces whenever Addison got back from her weekend trips to Seattle, and they knew she was coming to live in L.A. with her mother, so they knew this teenage girl must be her long-lost daughter.

"Everyone, this is Audrey," Addison said, smiling.

"Cooper Freedman," Cooper smiled at Audrey, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Or Uncle Cooper if you…if you want," Cooper added somewhat awkwardly. Addison and Audrey chuckled, smiling, and everyone could see she had her mother's smile.

"Charlotte King. Just Charlotte is fine," Charlotte said politely, laughing off Cooper's comment.

"They're married," Addison commented, adding context to the conversation. Audrey nodded and smiled.

"Nai not in yet?" Addison asked. Everyone in the room shrugged before hearing the familiar elevator ding from the lobby. They all chuckled before moving toward the kitchen door to see Sam and Naomi dropping off baby Michael, who was almost one, at the daycare.

"Hey," Addison smiled when Sam and Naomi turned to find everyone staring back while poking their heads out of the kitchen door.

"What…you guys having a secret meeting or something?" Sam asked.

"No. Well, not that kind of meeting," Cooper replied awkwardly. Sam and Naomi looked confused while Charlotte, Violet, Jake, Addison, and Audrey looked at Cooper curiously.

"I just mean, it's not a work meeting," Cooper clarified.

"Is there something wrong?" Naomi asked as she and Sam were taken back to when the practice had their fair share of problems, mostly financial problems, and everyone else met up in private to try to sort things out.

"No, no problem," Addison replied as they all straightened up their posture as Sam and Naomi walked closer.

"Oh, my God," Naomi finally said, seeing the teenage girl standing beside Addison.

"Audrey!" Naomi exclaimed, pulling the girl in for a hug. Audrey stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

"Sorry, I just…you're here. You're really here," Naomi said, pulling away. She couldn't help but get a little emotional seeing her again, but she swiftly wiped away a tear as she tried to keep it together.

"We were at the hospital when you were born," Sam said, smiling politely as Naomi went back to Sam's side.

"I would've been your O.B. if we hadn't already moved here," Naomi added.

"Really?" Audrey asked.

"Really," Addison confirmed.

They all went back to the kitchen and started their morning as Audrey observed them. A few minutes later, Amelia showed up and joined in the conversation. She discovered Cooper and Charlotte weren't just married; they had kids. Four of them. An older boy named Mason and three girls. Triplets even.

It didn't take long before everyone had to get to work, so Audrey went back to Addison'soffice, where she hung out while her mother went to work, and they made plans to go out for lunch with Amelia. While Addison worked with a patient, Audrey left her office and finally met Pete, Violet's husband, who was working behind the desk.

"You're Audrey, aren't you?" Pete asked as more of a statement than a comment.

"Yeah. I guess I should get used to that," Audrey replied.

"I'm Pete. Your mom's friend," Pete said, introducing himself.

"You're…Violet's husband, right?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah. Your mom actually told me a lot about you. Years ago," Pete said.

"She did?" Audrey asked, curious.

~ After Pete and Violet's custody case ~

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pete asked while Addison fed Lucas his macaroni and cheese dinner he heated up.

"Tell you what?" Addison asked, focused on trying to get the spoon of food in Lucas's mouth instead of his hand, which he was trying to do.

"Your daughter," Pete replied gently as he leaned against her kitchen counter.

"I, uh…, I don't really talk about her anymore," Addison said softly, giving up and letting Lucas eat himself with the spoon before turning around to face her boyfriend.

"Do you want to?" Pete asked hesitantly.

The last few days had been tense, and it left everyone emotionally exhausted. Especially the two of them. Pete couldn't help but think that it would've been better if Violet had never come back, but he also knew that wasn't fair to Lucas. He deserved to feel loved, and he deserved to get it from his mother, but Violet coming back and showing up the way she did wasn't fair to Addison, either. He never expected to fall for Addison, not at this point in his life at least, and he knew Addison felt the same way about him. Addison had been so good for him and so good for Lucas; she deserved better than this. All of it.

"I…it's just been hard. Not just this…week, but just…not knowing where she is all these years. Or if she's even alive. Her…her name was Audrey. She was so little and…innocent. Someone took her from daycare - just plucked her out of her crib and walked out like she belonged to him," Addison recounted.

"She kicked and screamed, but people just thought he was dealing with a cranky baby. I was supposed to protect her, and I couldn't…I couldn't protect her," Addison finally said, feeling herself get emotional.

She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crossing that line of completely breaking down in front of her boyfriend, a guy who didn't deserve to hear about her past like that in open court, but her voice broke and she could feel the tears coming, despite her protests. Pete pushed himself off the counter and pulled Addison in for an embrace, lightly stroking her hair as she let him comfort her.

"It's not your fault, Addison. She wasn't his to take. There's just some things we can't protect our kids from," Pete said assuredly, still holding onto his girlfriend tight as they stood in her kitchen, the only noise being Lucas babbling to himself as he ate his dinner.

"So, they didn't find the guy?" Pete finally asked after a few minutes, and Addison pulled away to clean Lucas up after he finished eating.

"No. The police think he went out of state. They didn't find much of anything in New York, and after a while, Derek and I…we couldn't stay there," Addison replied.

"That house must've felt…haunted," Pete commented.

"Yeah. I couldn't change anything, though; I couldn't sell it, either. Savvy, my friend in Manhattan, still drops by every few months to make sure the building's still intact," Addison said, half-joking. Pete gave her a small smile before getting Lucas out of her arms so she could better wipe his face after running some water over a clean dish towel.

"What was she like?" Pete asked after letting Lucas down and watching him go to the living room to play with his toys. He remembered her saying she wasn't even two yet, but he could still describe Lucas, even at less than one year old.

"Happy. Smart. She learned how to walk before she was one. I just had so many…dreams for her, you know? Like…remember how Lucas learned how to stack those blocks so fast and you said he could be an architect?" Addison asked, chuckling through sniffles as Pete chuckled and nodded back before they walked over to the couch.

"Things like that. She stood up for the first time while holding the coffee table and it was like…a week later, she was already trying to walk. And then it was barely a month later when she took her first official steps, as Derek called it, 'cause she'd been stumbling and trying ever since she figured out how to stand. But it's…it was things like that that made me think she'd be an athlete or something, you know?" Addison asked. Pete rubbed her hand back comfortingly and smiled. He did know what she meant.

"And then when she went missing…I just…kept wondering. I don't think I've ever really let myself think she was dead, even though Derek did, but I think I've always thought she was still out there, that…whoever took her didn't…kill her. Maybe it's just…I don't know, me being in denial, but…I just…until I'm proven otherwise, I can't think that she's really gone forever because even if she is…," Addison trailed off.

"...She's still alive in your memories. And it's easier to move on, hoping she still is," Pete said, finishing her sentence.

"Yeah…Brett - the lead detective on her case - still calls me every year on her birthday and we talk about her. You know, to keep the memory alive. I think that's part of what keeps her alive for me. He tells me the same thing and asks me the same question every year - that he's sorry that he couldn't find her and that he still keeps her in his prayers, and then he asks what hopes I have for her if she is alive out there somewhere. I even started writing down my answers in a diary. It was my therapist's idea, but I…I just write some stuff down every year on her birthday," Addison added.

"What kind of hopes do you have for her?" Pete asked.

"I just hope she's happy and safe…if she is still out there, I hope she doesn't remember getting taken. She was so young, it's possible she's still out there…right?" Addison asked.

"Yeah. I think it is," Pete gave her a small smile. If there was anything he learned about being a parent, it was that a parent's intuition was strong, even if it wasn't always logical. So, if Addison thought the girl was still alive and out there, then he believed her.

"She'd be 11 now, so maybe she's getting into sports or…music. Hopefully, she has a better voice than me if she got into music. I don't know; I just hope for things like that, I guess," Addison joked, making Pete smile.

"Wherever she is, I just hope she's safe. It doesn't make what happened to her right, but…I still hope she grows up feeling loved, and safe, and…happy. I don't care if she's a star athlete or a theatre kid or whatever; I just want her to be okay," Addison added. Pete smiled, holding her close on the couch.

"Pete?" Addison asked after a few minutes of silence. Pete looked over at her.

"Promise me one thing," Addison said.

"Anything," Pete replied.

"Whatever happens with us…promise me I won't lose Lucas. I can't lose another kid again," Addison said. She and Pete knew whatever their relationship was right now wouldn't last, that whatever this was wasn't going to last much longer, but she couldn't go through that kind of heartbreak all over again with Lucas.

"I promise. You will always have a place in Lucas's life," Pete promised before wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her head as they sat on the couch, watching Lucas stack blocks on the playmat on the living room floor.

~ present day ~

"Yeah. She helped me with Lucas a lot when he was a baby. We were together for a while before Violet and I got back together - before Lucas turned one. It wasn't…I mean, we loved each other, but I think we both knew it wasn't going to work out," Pete said.

"You guys dated?" Audrey asked, wide-eyed. It never occurred to her that her mom dated someone else at the office that wasn't Jake.

"Yeah.," Pete confirmed.

"Wow," Audrey commented.

"What'd she tell you about me?" Audrey asked.

"She told me…she was scared of getting attached to Lucas because she didn't want to lose another kid," Pete summarized.

"I just didn't know she dated someone else at the office besides Jake," Audrey commented.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, doctors' social circles aren't exactly big. Especially when you work in a private practice like this. She dated Sam, too," Pete replied. Audrey's eyes widened as Addison walked out into the lobby, sending a patient off.

"You dated Pete and Sam?" Audrey asked after the elevator doors closed with Addison's patient inside it.

A/N: Chapter title is inspired by the song, Hold Me While It's Ending (with Matt Maeson) by Chelsea Cutler, more based on the flashbacks in the chapter. This chapter references and rewrites part of Private Practice 3x21 when everyone goes to court for Pete and Violet's custody case, AKA, an episode I hate rewatching. Violet's lawyer bringing up Audrey is still a sleazy move, but that was definitely a sleazy court hearing, so it made sense to put it there. How Addison forgives her after that is beyond me, but I think all of us Addison fans know she forgives people too easily, so that also fits, in my opinion.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I am still writing this story, but because I'm catching up to where I am in the writing process, my posting frequency is going to slow down a little bit like it did this week, but I am still here and I will still be posting updates on Twitter (more than likely) and comments will definitely motivate me to keep writing, so thank you for commenting and following along so far 3