A/N -
Hi friends! I'm sorry for not updating lately I had to take an exam for school, anyways here's a long chapter for you guys! I'm also currently working on Meredith-centric one shots, so watch out for that! Enjoy reading don't forget to vote/fave/comment/review! Shots of tequila for everyone!
Disclaimer -
I don't own Grey's Anatomy, I only own some OCs
CHAPTER FOUR
"A-Addison? What are you doing here?"
"Meredith? Wait, what are you doing here?" Addison asked, eyes wide open, still unable to process the news Callie told her through the text message, but also the fact that the same woman that they were talking about is sitting beside her.
Meredith Grey was sitting beside her, inside a plane that's leaving for New York. She continued to stare at the gray-green eyes of the blonde, wondering why the hell she is here.
"I asked you first." Meredith replied with a chuckle, snapping the redhead out from her initial shock. "What are you doing in Seattle? Aren't you supposed to be in L.A. enjoying the sun and all?" Tilting her head to the side, curious as to why the neonatal surgeon was in the rainy city.
Addison cleared her throat and sat properly on her seat, still looking at the younger woman beside her. "Technically I am leaving Seattle, hence me being on a flight to New York." She said with her own chuckle "but since you asked, I was here for a surgery, a patient requested me and since she can't travel because of her condition I came here."
Nodding her head, Meredith straightened her back and was supposed to ask another question when they heard the captain's voice through the speakers. Both women sat quietly and strapped their seatbelts on while listening to the flight details and the instructions given by the flight attendants and after a few minutes the plane took off and they were now up in the air.
Meredith used the time to take a good look at the redhead beside her. Addison was now supporting a tan, a few shades darker than how she looked the last time she saw her. Her hair was darker in color despite living in sunny Los Angeles, but this time it was a little bit longer than before. She noticed how the older woman seems to glow despite the circles under her eyes, probably from work.
She never really knew how the attending manages to look good despite the demanding schedules that comes with being a surgeon.
The young woman was lost in thought, absentmindedly staring at the woman beside her. Sensing that the blonde was looking at her, Addison turned her head to look at Meredith, giving her a small smile before asking "Anyways, now that I answered your question, care to tell me what you are doing here?"
She knew it had something to do with the text Callie sent her, but she needs to hear it from the blonde herself. She can't just jump into conclusions despite what the Latina told her, maybe there is more to the story than the said scrub nurse.
She noticed the sudden drop of the blonde's face after she asked, making her more curious. Meredith on the other hand noticed the way the other woman's eyebrows arched slightly as she waits for her answer but somehow she could sense that the older woman knows something, probably not everything, but something about why she is there beside her.
Meredith sighed and spoke "I guess you might have an small idea as to why I'm here?" To which the redhead replies with a short nod and said "I might, Callie may have told me something, considering your sudden departure has caused a scene back at the hospital."
This caught Meredith's attention. "A scene? I'm not even gone for a day, and I have already caused a scene?" She said with her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes showing confusion but also a bit of amusement. "Yep! Apparently Yang was not happy about it and chose to confront Derek, a scene which was witnessed by Callie and almost everybody on the surgical floor." Addison said shaking her head at the thought of Cristina going all crazy on Derek.
"Oh" mumbled Mer. "What did I expect, gossip does spread faster than diseases at Seattle Grace Mercy West" she mused chuckling a little. This was nothing new, especially when it comes to the life of Meredith Grey, something the hospital gossip mill likes to talk a lot about.
Addison laughed softly at the blonde's statement, she was not wrong, the hospital does have a habit of getting into other people's business. She herself was the topic of the rumor mill once or twice. A comfortable silence enveloped them for a few seconds before Addison spoke again "So why are you here, on a plane to New York? On first class might I add, no offense" she turned to face the blonde while unbuckling her seatbelt as the sign went off.
Meredith smiled a little shaking her head unbuckling herself as well and facing the redhead to continue their chat "None taken." Even though with their shared history, Meredith had always found Addison as someone she could talk to, the older woman just has a very comforting air around her despite many dubbing her as Satan.
"I'm actually accepting a fellowship offer there, and I just need a change of pace since Seattle just became too much for me with the McDreamy drama so I'm heading back home to New York" Meredith said, she might as well tell the Addison since she somehow knows already and she could really use a friend right now. "As for being in first class, Sandra booked it for me, might as well fly with class after the hell I've been through" she chuckled.
Addison was gonna ask who Sandra was when a flight attendant offered them drinks, a glass of champagne. Both surgeons said thanks as they accepted the drinks.
Turning back to the blonde Addison asked "Who's Sandra?" She was curious as to who the woman was, since she never heard of her before and why somebody else booked a flight for her.
Realizing her slip up, Meredith sipped on her glass of champagne before answering "She's uh, she's my friend…" Noticing how Addison looked at her, with an eyebrow raised as if telling her she doesn't believe her. "Fine, she's my Personal Assistant" she cant believe she's telling someone about the life she chose to hide to the people in Seattle, and that someone was her ex-partner's ex-wife. Well she and Addison were actually somewhat friends.
"Personal Assistant?" The older woman asked, shocked. She knew Meredith had money being Elis Grey's daughter and all, but having personal assistant was something else. Not that she doesn't have one as well, but it was shocking since Meredith lived a somewhat simple life at Seattle, as simple as being Meredith Grey could be. The point is the younger woman was not one for the lavish life, or that's what Addison knows of.
"Yeah, she takes care of the things I left behind at New York and Boston" the blonde shrugged "With me being busy with residency, I needed someone to look after some properties and all." Meredith was trying to simplify everything.
Addison nodded her head, although she still feels that the younger woman was leaving some things unsaid. Remembering how she referred to New York as home she had to ask "I thought you were from Boston? I never knew you were from New York"
"Um, I stayed at Boston for sometime for university and med school but I also stayed at New York" Meredith replied "New York felt more like home than Boston ever was, Ellis never really cared if I stayed there anyways" she smiled a little as she thought back to the time she and Jackson would stay at the Avery Mansion at the Hamptons during summer, and the bars they would go to after escaping from their family dinners every Saturday night.
"Well I know how that feels, New York really felt more like home than Connecticut ever was… well before the whole Derek and Mark ordeal anyways, now I really don't know where home is, sure LA is great but there's just something missing you know" Addison said, her eyes glazed a little. It seems like LA was not really sunny and zen as Meredith thought.
Noticing Addison's small frown, Meredith reached out and held Addison's hand "I guess it's not always sunny in Los Angeles huh?" The redhead smiled a little and grasped the younger woman's hand tighter and chuckled "Yeah, not really, boy problems and all."
Meredith smiled in return and said "Well we have six hours ahead of us, if you want to talk about it? I have some boy problems too so you tell me yours I tell you mine."
Addison smiled brighter and nodding her head "I'd like that Meredith."
"So um I guess I'll start since you asked me earlier, and I guess everyone knows by now anyways." Meredith mused, somehow comfortable enough to talk to Addison about her problems, it's a little weird since she doesn't really open up to people with her trust issues, the only other person she could talk to like this is Cristina, her person.
"Um… I broke up with Derek" the blonde started "We were doing well even after my miscarriage during the shooting, and we tried to get pregnant but I had fertility problems, the doctor called my uterus hostile! Can you believe it, hostile!" She said smiling a little despite the heavy topic. This made Addison snort, the term was a little funny "I'm sorry it sounded funny, who calls a uterus hostile". Making Meredith laugh with her.
Suddenly Meredith's smile dropped, clearing her throat she continued "Well after sometime we gave up, because the fertility shots were affecting my vision. We then had a power struggle after people from the medical community knew that the Shepherd method was actually my idea and they actually credited me for it."
"Well it was wrong of him to not give you credit anyways! You deserved to be credited just as much as him or even more than him!" Addison said, remembering how pissed she was when she read the article that Derek published. There was no mention of Meredith's name at all, and she knew how Meredith worked hard for it, so that's why every time somebody brought the method up she would always correct them and mentioned Meredith's name and contribution.
"Thanks" Meredith blushed "Well he had a problem since I was slowly making a name in neurosurgery, and I was planning on doing a new trial for Alzheimers so when I told him he got mad, maybe I crushed his ego again so now I'm looking for someone else to partner up with." She stopped talking as another flight attendant came and asked if they want dinner and gave them the menu, to which they both chose pasta and another round of drinks, red wine this time. They were quiet for a little bit and ate a little bit before continuing their talk.
"Yeah Derek actually has a problem when it comes to his ego, after thinking about it after the divorce, I believe that's one of the reasons we didn't work out as well, my career was soaring in New York and he couldn't handle it." Addison said as she took a bite of her pasta.
Meredith hummed as she too took a bite of her own dish "We started falling out from there, it became worst when I passed my boards and got fellowship offers all over the country." She took a deep breath before she continued, tears were starting to form on her eyes "I never really thought about it since every couple fights, but then I noticed he became distant, he works more, never comes home, he never shows up when we had dinner plans… I thought it was all because he was busy, despite all the rumors I've been hearing." She stopped talking to drink her wine, losing her appetite. "But one night he cancelled on me again, telling me about an emergency surgery he had to do, so I went to the hospital wondering if I could scrub in with him instead, at least I could spend time with him."
Addison was silently listening, but she grabbed the younger woman's hand and held it tight just to let the blonde know that she was there. "I got to the board and saw that there was no surgery scheduled for him, so I asked one of the nurses if they knew where he was and they said he was with a scrub nurse, and I shrugged it off since we're surgeons its normal to be with a scrub nurse to talk about the surgery" tears were now streaming down the blonde's face, she wiped it off using her free hand.
"So I went around looking for him, I got tired so I thought I'll just page him to an on-call room, imagine my shock when I walked into an on-call room to see my husband with a scrub nurse, in the throws, naked as the day they were born" Meredith chuckled humorlessly.
Meredith is walking down the empty hallway, considering it was late at night, she was so tired, she's been looking around for Derek for about an hour now. He bailed on her again for an emergency surgery but his name was not written on the board at all. "Maybe it was moved because of problem" she thought.
She decided to page her husband to an on-call room, they really need to talk because she cant handle their power struggle anymore. They need to talk about it if they want their marriage to work, and if they are planning to adopt a baby soon.
Stretching her shoulders she opened the door to an on-call room and turned on the lights.
Guess she doesn't need to page her husband after all, since he was already there, with a dark haired woman, on one of the beds, naked.
The two people stopped whatever they were doing as the lights turned on. Shocked because of the sudden interruption. Meredith stood there frozen, as she looks at her husband and the woman who she recognizes as a scrub nurse, Derek's scrub nurse… and ex-girlfriend… nurse Rose.
"Meredith! It's not what it looks like!" Derek said, sitting up abruptly after realizing that his wife just walked in on him fucking a woman who wasn't his wife.
Meredith felt tears flowing down her cheeks. "Oh really? Then what is this Derek? A crash course on human anatomy?" The blonde woman said chuckling dryly, she then turned around and ran to look for Cristina.
"He told me it was just once, and stupidly I believed him, I accepted his apology despite all the pain and embarrassment I was feeling" Meredith sighed and then continued "Then earlier this day I came home a day early from a meeting for a fellowship offer at Boston, I was going to surprise him to tell him that we'll get married for real this time and look for a baby to adopt."
Addison was still holding the woman's hand tightly, completely forgetting about the food in front of them. She lost her appetite the moment Meredith mentioned how distant Derek was being, she felt for the blonde since that was what happened to her. She still cannot comprehend how Meredith and Derek broke up, she thought they were it, the couple that stays together forever.
"I went to the hospital directly, knowing that he was there, but as I walked down the hallway I felt dread, like something bad was going to happen and the way some of the nurses were looking at me wasn't helping at all." Meredith was now staring at her plate like she was reliving the events that happened just a few hours earlier.
"And surprise! I walked in on them again but this time they weren't naked, they were in an exam room doing an ultrasound" she let out a humorless laugh "She was two months pregnant, I found out that their affair was going on for months, which explains his absence and the mysterious midnight phone calls."
Meredith just arrived from Boston, she was planning to surprise Derek. She was still hurt from his infidelity but she could look past it because she loves him so much. It will hurt her more if she loses him.
She's willing to forget it, the cheating and the fights. They could move to another city together to start over, to start on the family they both wanted.
So that's why she's here, at the hospital, a day early to drag the neurosurgeon's ass to city hall to get married.
But the universe had other plans, because as she walked down the hall with some nurses staring at her with pity in their eyes, it was like how it was two weeks ago. She saw Derek go into an empty exam room, looking nervous but a little bit excited.
Her eyebrows furrowed, she called his name but he didn't hear her. She walked faster, she felt that something was wrong, her heart was beating faster as if she ran a marathon.
As she was closer to the room she slowed down, the blinds were down,making her more nervous. She shrugged it off since some patients prefer it down for privacy but dread still fills her veins.
She listened through the door and heard Derek talk "You're around 2 months, but we should see an OB to be sure" she heard slow thumping sound, a heart beat. Meredith stood there frozen, she can't believe what she's hearing.
"Derek, what are we gonna do?" Said a woman, Rose.
Meredith cannot take it anymore, she felt angry, betrayed, heartbroken, and embarrassed. She opened the door and barged into the room. She saw the shock faces of the pair. This time Meredith didn't cry she looked at them void of emotion.
She let out a low humorless chuckle and spoke "I guess congratulations are in order?" Derek was shocked, he wasn't expecting Meredith to be home. He snapped out of his thoughts and tried to approach the blonde. "Mere—"
"Save it. I want your clothes out of my house and I want you out of my life. Goodbye Dr. Shepherd it was nice knowing you I wish you and your future family well" her voice broke but still her face was cold. She turned around and left the pair inside the exam room.
She can't deal with this, she's hurt and angry. She went inside the elevator when she heard Derek calling for her from the end of the hall, but before he could reach her the elevator doors closed. It was only then did she allow her tears to fall, for her to fall apart.
Derek wanted to follow her but his pager beeped and was pulled in to an emergency surgery. He'll talk to her later when he gets home, but what he didn't know was there was no longer a wife he'll go home to.
She walked out the door, leaving the hospital, and leaving Seattle behind. She walked away not once looking back at the hospital and life that she once adored.
Addison let out a gasp, she couldn't believe that Derek would do that to Meredith. He kept saying that Meredith was the love of his life, but he treated her like shit. The older woman wrapped her arms around the crying woman, trying to comfort her the best she can.
She now understands why Meredith left, if she was on her shoes, she would do the same thing. Well thinking about it she was in her shoes a few years ago, the only difference was she left to look for the happiness she saw both Derek and Meredith had, while Meredith left because of the pain caused by Derek and his unborn child.
Meredith deserved better, she deserves more than the pain Derek had caused. She was lost in thought when the blonde pulled away from the hug and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry, I ruined your blouse" she said with a small smile. "Don't worry about it" Addison replied with a small smile.
Meredith expected to see pity in the eyes of the older woman, but what she saw shocked her, she saw understanding. "Can I ask who the scrub nurse was?" The redhead asked tilting her head to the side.
If Meredith wasn't still teary eyed she would have found that adorable.
"Oh, um it's nurse Rose" she mumbled staring at the redhead's blue eyes. "Wait, Rose? The same nurse Rose? McRebound?" Addie said, her eyes wide. Meredith let out a laugh and shaking her head, Addison's expression was too cute. "Yeah her, I can't believe you still remember her, and she's not McRebound she's… uh… McMomma now, with future blue-eyed, dark haired McBabies"
"Pfft, more like McMistress and you're prettier than her, her genes have no match to yours" the older woman scoffed rolling her eyes. Laughing at Addison's comment Meredith replied "Oh no, if she's McMistress she'll become a member of the Dirty Mistress Club and having Mark as a fellow member is enough" shaking her head as she remembers her fellow dirty mistress turned future brother-in-law. "And my gene's are crappy it has Alzheimers" she laughed louder and Addison laughed along earning a few stares from the other passengers, making the pair blush.
"Well she is one! Don't sell yourself short Mer, you're very beautiful and smart" Addison said holding the woman's hand. Meredith's cheek turned pink at the older woman's compliment and how the woman called her using her nickname. "Thanks Addie" she said smiling at the redhead. It was Addison's turn to blush as she heard Meredith use her nickname as well.
"Anyways that was why I left Seattle, but enough about me, what about you? Why is LA not so zen and sunny?" The blonde said, as she remembers her wine and took a sip needing it after reliving her heartbreak.
It was Addison's turn to smile sadly. "Um… I was dating a guy, Jake. He was good, great even! I thought I found the man for me, he was a fertility specialist but karma really is a bitch, or I guess who ever is up there likes to make a joke about my love life." She said sipping on her wine.
"Well, what happened? If he's so perfect why are you still sad?" Meredith asked, frowning as she see's the sadness in the older woman's eyes. She too knows the feeling of being played by fate, and it doesn't feel good at all.
"Well you could say what goes around comes around, turns out he had a wife" the redhead said smiling at the irony. It was only a few years ago when she was the wife confronting the woman screwing her husband, oh how the tables have turned.
This shocked Meredith since it really was like someone up there was playing a sick joke on the older woman, "Well did she introduce herself the way you introduced yourself to me?" She said trying to lighten up the mood. This caused Addison to laugh remembering that fateful rainy Seattle night.
"No, it was actually quite anticlimactic, she just invited me for coffee through email then she told me she was his wife" she said frowning a little bit as if disappointed about it, this caused Meredith to chuckle. "Well I guess the best 'unheard wife's entrance' still belongs to you huh?"
Years ago if you told Addison and Meredith that they'd be laughing about that night, they might have admitted you to psych. They'd be thinking that it was absurd that they would get along.
"Now that I think about it, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I never want anyone to feel what we both felt" she replied shaking her head. She cleared her throat and continued "Jake wanted to stay with me, but I knew how a wife would feel, so I told him to think about it, about the years he spent with his wife and I knew they still loved each other."
Jake and Addison were sitting on the chairs at Addison's deck. They were silent, breathing in the fresh salty air. Addison knew they had to talk about it, about Lily, his wife.
"Addie, I'm sorry I never told you" the man said, looking at the woman beside him who was looking at the wide ocean before them. "I'll leave her for you, I love you so much please."
The redhead smiled sadly, it was ironic how she was the other woman now. It was like a few years ago all over again, but this time she was playing Meredith's role. Yet again she had to share a man with another woman. When will the universe ever give her someone who's heart only belongs to her?
It was silent for a while, until Addison spoke, still not looking at Jake. "I have once been the wife who tried to get her husband back. I know how much it hurts to see your significant other look at another woman the way you want to be looked at." She turned to look at Jake and smiled even with the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Jake I see how you look at her, how your eyes still hold pain and anger, you don't feel those if you don't love her anymore. You still care about her."
"But I'm picking you Addie, I choose you, I love you!" Jake said reaching out to hold the woman's hand. Addison faced the ocean again, she chuckled at what Jake just said. What a sick joke it was, the man he loves right now actually said the same thing her ex-husband's ex-mistress had once said.
'So pick me, choose me, love me.'
It was amusing how she can't seem to leave her past behind, it keeps biting her in the ass. Specifically Meredith, her presence seems to still haunt her despite leaving the rainy city of Seattle. The only difference between her and Meredith was she wants to be chosen but she knows she shouldn't be, because she knows how it was like to be the wife.
"I know that you love me, and I do love you too but I know you love her as well." She held his hand in hers and faced him "You can't feel the pain and the hurt if you no longer cared, I let Derek go because there was no longer pain in his eyes when he sees me, but there is when he sees Meredith dating other men."
"I'm not Derek! I'm Jake and I love you more and it's enough for me to choose you" the man replied with tears now in his eyes. "Then tell me Jake, look into my eyes that you won't regret letting Lily go without even trying." Addison said as she cupped Jake's face.
"I— I don't—I wont-I…" The man stuttered. It hurt Addison because silently she wished that Jake could do it even though she knows he cant. She smiled softly at the man she learned to love and kissed his forehead. "I know Jake, I know. It's okay, I'll be fine maybe not now but I will be." They hugged each other tightly knowing that it might be their last.
"I will always love you Jake, you made me feel loved again, but I have to let you go and I know you'll thank me for it in the future." She kissed his cheek and stood up, smiling at Jake offering her hand "It was nice knowing you Dr. Reilly" the man stood up smiling as well despite the tears flowing down both of their cheeks and shook the woman's hand "It was nice knowing you Dr. Montgomery, I'll see you around though, don't think just because I'm trying with my wife again that we will stop being friends" the redhead chuckled and nodded her head, if she can't keep him as her lover she'll keep him as her friend.
Wiping away the tears that managed to escape her eyes Addison said "I let him go, we stayed as friends but I knew I couldn't stay there, just like you it became too much, too suffocating." She smiled and looked at the blonde who was silently listening the whole time. "Does this mean you're planning to stay in New York?" Meredith asked, her heart suddenly beating a little faster. The thought of the older woman being in the same city as her made her giddy.
The redhead chuckled at the blonde's sudden excitement "I might, I'm still weighing my options, it's either New York or Seattle, I still don't know." Somehow it warmed her heart that someone wanted her presence. "Well I could use a friend in New York, so I might try to woo you to stay." Meredith said, her eyes sparkling at the thought of the older woman staying for her, not that she'll admit that though.
Addison was at awe seeing the surgeon's green eyes sparkle. 'I'd do anything to make those eyes sparkle' she thought to herself. It seems like the younger woman was already sneaking into the neonatal's surgeons heart without her even knowing.
The pair continued to talk about everything from cases they worked at, their Seattle friends, the LA practice, and anything under the sun. It has been awhile since both women felt this at ease and actually happy. The cabin's light suddenly dimmed as many of the other passengers were sleeping so the pair slowly quieted down and basked at the comfortable silence that enveloped them.
It was Meredith who fell asleep first after yawning a lot, slowly her head fell onto the taller woman's shoulders. Addison froze but then relaxed after smelling the blonde's lavender scent and hearing her soft snores, she soon followed suit falling asleep dreaming of a certain green eyed woman.
What both women failed to realize was that they fell asleep with their hands still clasped tightly together.
