Accepting that she had fallen in love with Sam was one of the greatest challenges Addison had faced.
Not only because it involved recognizing a feeling she had struggled to repress for months, but also because doing so brought with it a flood of moral conflicts she couldn't ignore. For weeks, even months, she had forbidden herself from having those kinds of feelings towards him. It felt wrong in several ways. It was wrong.
Sam was not just any man. He was Naomi's ex-husband, her best friend since med school, and Addison had been a witness—and partly an accomplice—to their whole story together. She knew every corner of that relationship, from its beginnings to the intimate moments and inevitable cracks.
Like her and Derek, Sam and Naomi had met in medical school, thanks to the lab group. But perhaps their spark hadn't been mutual at first, as Sam had shown interest in Addison during the first days of the semester.
A week before Derek admitted that he liked her—after that stolen kiss in the morgue's scrub room—Sam had asked Addison out on a date. It had been after a Gross Anatomy class, while they walked toward the library to return some materials they had used during class.
She had stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she heard those words come out of his mouth. Not because she was surprised by his attitude, but because she knew that Naomi, her new friend and roommate, was in love with him.
Literally in love. She had a crush on him. Naomi talked about him everywhere, all the time, every day. But of course, she hadn't dared to tell him anything because he didn't seem interested in her. At least not in the same way he was interested in Addison.
So she had done what she thought was right: she had turned down Sam and encouraged her friend to confess her feelings to him. And luckily, it had turned out better than she expected. After that moment of bravery for Naomi, Sam had asked her out. And everything seemed to go perfectly between them. They discovered they had many more things in common than they had imagined, which excited them. Both had been born and raised in California, and they had even gone to the same church when they were kids, so they had some shared memories.
Just a year after meeting, they had married. Addison had been Naomi's maid of honor and the one who had helped her with all the preparations and details of the wedding. She had even spent several days helping her plan the perfect honeymoon trip, because she had wanted that moment to be the most special for her friends.
Later, in their first year of residency, Addison had been the first person to learn they were going to be parents, and although the news had scared her at first, she quickly became very happy for them. How could she not? Her best friends were having a baby girl, and she had the honor of being her godmother. She had been the first to see their faces light up with joy when she placed that little newborn Maya in their arms.
They were more than friends; they were family. That's why last year, when Sam had asked her what would have happened if she had said yes when he invited her out in med school, Addison felt the ground shaking beneath her feet.
Why had he opened that door now? She didn't want to think about it. She wasn't supposed to think about what could have happened between them because they had never been meant to be together. That invitation from Sam had been a stupid anecdote from the beginning of their friendship, and she didn't even know why he still remembered it after all those years with Naomi.
But despite forcing herself not to think about it, doubt had slipped into her mind. What would have happened if she had said yes to Sam? Maybe her entire history with Derek would have never existed. Maybe she would have married Sam, maybe they would have had kids, maybe they would have built a life in Los Angeles…
Maybe they would still be together... Would they have worked out together? No. It was better not to think about that. It wasn't fair to Naomi.
Addison had decided to do the right thing, again. Or at least what she considered the right thing at that moment, and had rejected any possibility with Sam. For the love for her friend and out of respect for the history they had shared.
She had distanced herself and tried to disguise her feelings with a relationship in which both parties were in love with someone else and were trying to convince themselves otherwise. And while her life with Pete and Lucas might have worked—especially because she loved spending time with the little one—her heart was capricious and hard to deceive. She always knew what she truly wanted, and what she wanted was Sam.
Everything changed after Maya and Dell's car accident. In one night, life had shown her how fragile everything could be. Addison had seen how a colleague lost his life, and how Maya, the little girl she had held in her arms at birth, had almost become paralyzed, or even died on her operating table.
That accident had been a brutal blow that forced her to remember how short and unpredictable life was, and how absurd it was to waste it depriving herself of what she wanted. Depriving herself of being with the person she loved. That night, while the hospital remained silent and the weight of the tragedy was felt in every corner, Addison made a decision. She went home to find him, fully aware that she was about to risk everything for him. It wasn't an impulsive or easy decision. She had thought, calculated, and rethought all possible consequences. Because it not only jeopardized her friendship with Naomi but with her entire circle.
What would happen if her coworkers, who were also part of that extended family, chose Naomi's side? And what if they started looking at her with suspicion, with disapproval? The idea of becoming some sort of pariah among the people with whom she spent most of her days was terrifying. She knew how others' opinions could slowly erode the trust and balance of any workplace.
Or worse... if things went wrong with Sam, how would she deal with seeing her ex every day at practice, working in neighboring offices? Living in neighboring houses?
She had lived through it before, and it hadn't gone well. When she divorced Derek, seeing his face in the hospital corridors had been daily torture, a constant reminder of her marriage failure. It was unbearably painful. So much so that she had to leave Seattle altogether, seeking a new beginning far from everything that tormented her. The idea of repeating that experience was overwhelming. Could she do it again? Would she have to run away again, start over in a new city, with new faces and new stories?
There was so much to lose. Everything, actually. But despite the risks, that night, Addison decided to bet on Sam. Because the love she felt for him was not something fleeting or superficial. It was genuine. And for the first time in a long time, she felt it was worth fighting for something. The fear of failure couldn't be greater than the desire to be happy with him.
However, what she never imagined was that, once together, Sam would not choose her in the same way.
At first, it seemed like he was the one who wanted the relationship the most, the one who insisted on pursuing her and breaking down the barriers she had built to protect herself. But, ironically, once they were together, he was the one who resisted committing completely.
Lately, their relationship felt like a teenage romance, something comfortable but superficial, where sex was the only focus. And although Addison couldn't complain about that part—because she really enjoyed being with him, and in those moments everything seemed perfect—there was always a void left. A persistent feeling that it wasn't enough.
She wanted more. She wanted to build a life together, share a home, plan a future where both could grow as a couple. But every time she tried to talk about it, he quickly dodged the subject. He didn't want to move in together, much less get married. He didn't want anything that involved a real commitment.
He didn't want to start a family with her. And now, amid the uncomfortable silence on the way back after that little accident at the wedding, she couldn't stop thinking about that.
It hadn't been in her plans to tell him she was pregnant at that moment, but the situation—and the pressure she felt from Naomi—had forced her to do it in that hasty manner, and, as expected, Sam showed no excitement, not even surprise. There was no joy. No smiles, no hugs. Just an emptiness, a silence that said it all. And that was without even having told him that the baby she was expecting was from another man.
Sam didn't want any more babies... and he couldn't even pretend otherwise. He didn't want babies, and since she told him she was pregnant, he couldn't even look her in the eye.
"The gastroenteritis you had the other day... umm... did you already know at that moment?" he broke the silence once he parked the vehicle in front of Addison's house, but neither of them got out.
She felt her entire body tense. She swallowed hard, looking at her trembling hands.
"Yes..." she murmured, unable to meet his gaze. She felt embarrassed, guilty for having lied all this time.
Sam leaned back in his seat and sighed deeply, rubbing his face as if trying to clear his thoughts.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, his tone neither angry nor calm.
She closed her eyes, trying to find the words. But instead of responding, she blurted out a question that had been on her mind for days.
"Sam, do you love me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I wanna know if you love me enough," her voice trembled, and the knot in her throat seemed to grow bigger. "I wanna know if you still choose me no matter what happens. No matter what I've done..."
Sam looked at her for the first time, bewildered.
"Addison, I don't understand."
"Would you stay with me even though I made a mistake? Something I didn't plan, and that might go against your wishes, and..."
"You're scaring me."
"Please, just answer that. Before we keep talking, I need you to answer that" she insisted, looking at him with tear-filled eyes.
Sam sighed, feeling more lost in the conversation.
"I don't know. I can't answer that question if I don't know what you're talking about. Just say it."
Addison bit her lower lip in frustration. She wished it were that easy to just say it without fear of the consequences.
"The baby is Derek's."
Sam froze. For a moment, it seemed like he hadn't heard her correctly, or perhaps he was waiting for her to take it back. But seeing that she didn't, he laughed. It was a short, nervous laugh, completely out of place, which only made her feel more anxious.
"Okay, that's not funny, Addison."
"It's not supposed to be funny... it's the truth. I'm pregnant with Derek's baby."
"That doesn't make sense. How? I mean... are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Impossible. We... Addison, that was at the beginning of the year, we... did you do the calculations right? No... it doesn't make sense..."
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her agitation, but her voice was a mess of stifled sobs.
"I'm eleven weeks."
"But our reconciliation... that week and the following one... and then..."
"I was already pregnant by then..."
"It doesn't make sense," he repeated, shaking his head as if he wanted to dismiss that information.
"Sam..." she tried, placing a trembling hand on his arm, but he pulled away.
"It doesn't make sense, I'm telling you. Why are you so sure it's his? It can't be. Addison, you're wrong."
Addison exhaled impatiently. She understood it was a difficult piece of news to swallow, but it annoyed her that Sam questioned her judgment.
"The two weeks leading up to Bizzy's death, I spent half the nights at the hospital with Susan, or researching her surgery with Dr. Rodríguez, or dealing with Bizzy and her endless demands. Then, once I successfully performed an extremely complicated and experimental surgery, I had to take care of wedding preparations. Then they died!" she said, laughing sarcastically, tears blurring her vision. "I couldn't even lie down to rest, and they died, one after the other. It was two weeks where I was exhausted. I know we didn't have sex during those two weeks because we didn't even spend time together. Then you didn't go to Connecticut, and the only person I was with there was Derek. Then you were with Naomi. You confessed that to me. We were distant for a while. When we reconciled... I was already at least one or two months pregnant and didn't even know it."
Sam wasn't looking at her, and that made her heart ache more and more.
"I found out two weeks ago and... God, I wish this weren't the case, Sam. I really checked it over and over to make sure it wasn't a calculation error, but the ultrasounds don't lie. My gestational age doesn't lie. This baby was conceived in mid-February and... this baby is Derek's."
Sam got out of the car as if something was burning him inside, slamming the door shut with a thud that echoed down the street. Addison sat there for a few more seconds, struggling to calm her breathing. But, despite a part of her telling her to leave him alone to process the news, she eventually followed him.
When she got to the door, she found it open. Sam was already in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, arms crossed and his face hardened.
"Sam..." her voice shook, breaking at the end. "Sam, please say something. I... Sam, forgive me."
Addison brought her hands to her face, trying to hold back her tears, but it was futile. The tears fell uncontrollably now, dragging down the makeup she had applied that morning, leaving black, messy lines on her pale skin.
Sam finally looked up, his dark eyes locked onto her with an intensity that made her shiver. He didn't move, but his tense arms and the twitch in his jaw said more than his words could express.
He looked Addison up and down, stopping his gaze at the middle of her body. Unconsciously, she had rested one of her hands below her abdomen, causing the fabric of her dress to tighten and reveal the small curve of her belly. The one he could swear he had never noticed before, confirming her pregnancy even more.
Then he raised his gaze to her face. Her eyes were swollen from crying, the shadows beneath them more evident than ever. Her hair, hastily pulled back, let stray strands fall across her face, sticky from her ruined makeup. She looked—and felt—completely broken.
"It's okay," he finally said, keeping his tone distant.
Addison blinked, confused, her sobs temporarily ceased.
"What?" she asked in disbelief, as if she hadn't understood correctly.
"It's okay. We're okay," he repeated, but his voice lacked any warmth.
Addison took a step back, her eyebrows raising in genuine surprise. Did he really say that? Were they okay? Those words didn't match his expression.
"So... you're not mad at me?" her voice sounded smaller as if she feared the answer.
Sam let out a bitter laugh, with no humor in it, as he turned his gaze to the patio windows.
"Of course, I'm mad, Addison. You hid this from me for weeks, you dodged me, you lied to me, you ruined my favorite shoes, but..." his voice hardened. "When is the appointment?"
She furrowed her brow, confused.
"What appointment?"
Sam looked at her again, releasing a sigh of impatience as if the answer were obvious.
"The appointment for the abortion. Have you already scheduled it?"
"What?" she stammered, stunned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, come on. You're not really thinking of keeping it, Addison. Are you out of your mind?"
Addison felt a heat rise in her chest, a mix of indignation and pain that urged her to straighten up. She brought her hands to her face, clumsily wiping her tears before pushing aside the strands of hair that covered her eyes. She looked at him with renewed firmness, although her lips still trembled.
"Of course, I'm keeping it!" she shouted, her voice laden with rage. "What makes you think I'm gonna have an abortion?!"
She instinctively placed a protective hand on her belly, as if to reaffirm her decision. But Sam remained cold, almost indifferent, as he dealt his next blow.
"Well, it's your habit to get pregnant by your lover and then abort..."
Addison's expression changed instantly, her eyes filling with deep fury as she stepped toward him.
"You really think it was like that? That I just went and had an abortion as if it was nothing?"
"I don't know, was it? Wasn't it just an easy way to erase the mistakes from your affair with Mark Sloan?"
"What the hell are you saying?!"
"Don't act like you didn't have an abortion and then the next day you were on a plane returning to your ex-husband as if nothing had happened."
Addison closed her eyes and took a breath, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to return.
"I can't believe you're mentioning that story so lightly. You have no idea what happened. Do you think it was easy for me? Do you know how many sleepless nights I spent thinking about it? How many times I have suffered for what I did?"
"Is that why you're keeping this one? Out of guilt? Regret?"
"No. I don't regret doing it. It was the best decision I could make at that time. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt me, and it doesn't mean I'd do it again!"
Sam shook his head, frustrated, his voice rising.
"Addison, can you think for a second about what you're saying? Why would you want to have a baby with your ex-husband?"
"Because I wanna be a mother! Why do I have to explain myself to you?"
"Because I'm your partner. Because you can't make this decision without consulting me."
"Why should I consult you about what I'm gonna do with my own body?"
"Because it involves me, Addison. Because it's not just what you decide to do with your body. You're forcing me to raise a child that isn't even mine!"
"Of course not! I never asked you to be the father."
"No, you're asking me to live with a baby in the middle that I never asked to come. A baby that will cry day and night demanding your attention, your time, and your body, and that will obviously interfere in our relationship. It will be a physical and psychological torture. But nothing will compare to the shame I'll feel when everyone who sees me on the street knows that it's not mine."
Sam pressed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, tired of the argument.
"I'm sorry, Addison. I can't be with you if you have another man's baby. I can't do it."
Addison's eyes were still glassy, but she was holding back her tears forcefully. She didn't want to cry. Not over this.
"Isn't it unfair for you to say this to me when I accepted your daughter? And your granddaughter?"
"It's not the same. Because when you started dating me, you already knew Maya and Olivia existed."
"Yes, and that's why I worked hard to be the best stepmother I could be for her. Because I loved your daughter before she was born, and I enjoy being with her. And with her baby. I care about both of them a lot. And it's not to hold it against you, but during Maya's pregnancy, I was the one who spent the most time with her. And at no point did I think I was raising another woman's child or that people would think she's not mine. I just did it. Because she needed me. Because we're a blended family."
"Okay, Addison, don't start with that speech. A blended family is not synonymous with a pregnancy resulting from infidelity! You're downplaying the fact that you got pregnant by your ex-husband while in a relationship with me!"
"I already told you I didn't intend to get pregnant! It was an accident that would never have happened if you had been in Connecticut!"
"Are you blaming me for not going to Connecticut after you explicitly told me not to go? Remember that? You told me not to go!"
"You should've gone!" She finally broke into tears. "You should've been there with me!"
"I can't understand you, Addison."
"I needed you there, Sam. Bizzy died! Do you understand what that means? My mother died and my boyfriend wasn't there to comfort me!"
"Sure, so you sought comfort with the first person you came across. It's my fault for pushing you to sleep with Derek."
"Why didn't you go?" Addison insisted.
"I already told you why!"
"Was it because of Naomi?"
Sam shut his eyes tightly, as if the mere mention of his ex-wife's name physically pained him.
"Can we stop talking about this?"
"No! Because the silence pact was crap. Because not talking about what happened was crap. Because pretending it was okay for both of us to be unfaithful wasn't a solution! What the hell happened, Sam? Why did you do it?"
"I don't know."
"Just say it!"
"I guess I was upset with you."
"Why? Because my mother died?"
"Because you excluded me from the whole situation, Addison. You always do this. You think you have to solve your problems by yourself, you never ask for help, you never want to show vulnerability. And when Bizzy came... she took over your life, your time, and your willingness for her own advantage. You looked like a ten-year-old girl obeying her mommy. Better yet, trying to please her mom.
"Okay, so it's my fault for trying to save Susan's life."
"You knew there was nothing more to be done, but Bizzy pressed, pressed, and got what she wanted: to manipulate you, to eat away at your mind to find a solution, to blame you for something you couldn't have prevented. And you let her do all of it. Meanwhile, you didn't listen to me. You didn't stop for a second to think if it was right or not… you just went with Rodríguez, spent entire days with him and..."
"Were you jealous that I spent time researching with the oncologist? Is that it?"
"No. But I know you did it as a desperate attempt to follow your mother's orders."
"I didn't do it for her. I did it for Susan. And the surgery was a success. I couldn't foresee at the time that the metastasis was so advanced..."
"But you took the blame. You let Bizzy think the blame was yours."
"Of course not. Bizzy knew Susan had signed a do-not-resuscitate order."
"And she asked you to throw that request to hell. And since you didn't, she got mad at you and blamed you. Addison, I don't need you to tell me the story again. I know exactly what happened and I know what you think of your mother."
"Is that why you didn't want to go to her funeral?"
"Maybe. But I would've gone anyway if you had let me."
"It's not like I denied you that, anyway..."
"No. But did you hear the tone you used every time I called you on the phone? And if you even answered..."
"I'm sorry if I mistreated you," she said sarcastically. "I was dealing with a funeral on the other side of the country. Sorry for treating you poorly, I didn't imagine you would sleep with Naomi because I didn't answer the damn phone."
"I didn't do it for that."
"Then why did you, for God's sake?" she shouted, her voice breaking. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks. "Did she make a move on you? Did you seek her out? Who started it?"
"Addison, enough. You don't need to know this."
"Why the hell did you do it, Sam?!"
"I don't know!"
"Of course, you know! We both know why we did it."
"Then why did you sleep with Derek? And don't tell me it's because he was there when you were alone. Tell me the truth. Why did you do it?"
"Because it's Derek!" her voice broke, sounding much sadder and more vulnerable than she would have liked. "Because it's Derek! Because I was alone, because I was distressed, because I needed a distraction, because I was drunk and..." she paused, pressing her lips together before letting out what hurt the most, "because he was the love of my life."
"With that logic, then Naomi was also the love of my life. It's justified, right?" she shot back with irony.
"Do you regret doing it?"
"What? Sleeping with her?"
"Divorcing her. Do you regret leaving her? Do you wanna get back with her? Are you still in love with her?"
Sam's silence was the cruelest response Addison could have received.
"Addison, enough."
"Did you ever really love me or did you just use me to fulfill a fantasy you had since med school?"
"What?"
"Were you ever with me for love, or was it just for sex? Or did you take advantage of the fact that I was alone and desperate to do it?"
"I can't believe you're saying that. It's stupid."
"Then explain to me why you never wanted to commit seriously to me. Why didn't you want to marry me? Why did you never move in with me or invite me to live with you? Why do you never want to talk about our future?"
"Addison..."
"Why didn't you want to have a baby with me?"
"I told you I needed time to think about it and you just kept pressing. You press. You press. All the time you're pressing, Addison. You don't care what my wishes are."
"Of course, I care about your wishes and that's why I gave you the time you asked for. But now I'm starting to think you used the time thing as an excuse to silence me and stop mentioning the subject."
She lowered her gaze and fell silent for a few seconds, trying to calm her breathing. She felt guilty for having shouted and cried like that, not considering that it might have harmed her health and that of her baby.
"You gave me false hope," she said in a much softer tone.
"That's not how it was."
"Instead of telling me the truth from the beginning, you led me to believe in something that was never going to happen. You didn't want more children, okay, I get it. But now..."
"But now you're pregnant with another man, and yet you're finding a way to make the blame fall on me," he said sarcastically.
"I'm pregnant," she repeated firmly.
"And you're gonna have another man's child."
"Yes."
The word hung in the air. Sam looked at her, waiting for something, anything, but Addison just lowered her head.
"Despite everything he did to you, you still want to have that miserable loser's child. I don't understand you, Addison. I really don't understand you."
"I made a mistake, and I truly wish I hadn't, but... I love this baby. And I don't care who its father is, I love it because it's mine. This baby is my little miracle and maybe the only chance I'll have to be a mother. I waited too long, Sam. I waited over forty years for the perfect moment to become a mother. But perfect doesn't exist. This is the moment I have and..."
"Addison..."
She raised her hand, stopping him.
"I... I'm sorry. I truly am because I love you and wanted our relationship to work. But... but if you make me choose between my baby and you... I..."
"Addison..."
"I'm sorry," she murmured as she turned toward the patio.
"Addison, wait."
"We're done."
And without looking back at him again, Addison walked out the back door.
~•~
A week had passed since Addison and Sam had broken up, and since then, her life had spiraled into a whirlwind of chaos.
But it wasn't just any ordinary chaos, the kind that can be managed with a little time and patience. No, this was absolute, multidimensional chaos that seemed to be attacking her from every possible angle.
A breakup was already painful enough on its own. But a breakup combined with an extremely symptomatic pregnancy; plus running a private practice in uncertainty, waiting for a response from the medical board; plus conflicts with her colleagues due to personal issues; plus the unexpected arrival of Dell's daughter, was even worse.
Betsey had arrived at the emergency room days earlier with a concussion and a fractured collarbone, both caused by beatings from her adoptive brother, Marshall. The image of the little girl, with her pale face and fearful eyes, had profoundly impacted everyone.
Amelia had taken care of the surgery to relieve the pressure on Betsey's brain, but the operation had not been without complications. The girl had started to bleed during the procedure, and although the hemorrhage was controlled in time, she had remained in a coma for several hours.
When she finally woke up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that there was no permanent damage to her brain. However, the situation took an even more heartbreaking turn when her adoptive family decided to abandon her, unable to handle the responsibility of caring for her after what had happened. It was Naomi who stepped forward and made the decision to adopt her.
Oh, Naomi was a whole other issue. She was still furious with Addison over her pregnancy, just like Sam. Neither of them made the slightest effort to hide their annoyance; the tension was obvious in every interaction, or worse, in every silence filled with reproach. Through Violet, Addison learned that Maya had been accepted into Columbia University, and her mother had decided to move to New York with her to help with Olivia. This meant Naomi would soon officially leave the practice.
Meanwhile, Charlotte and Cooper had returned from Las Vegas after a short honeymoon that had lasted only five days. Violet continued to see patients while waiting for the medical board's resolution regarding Katie Kent's case, but uncertainty hung over everyone in the practice.
And Addison, for her part, well... she could barely keep it together. She had reached the twelfth week of pregnancy—the beginning of the second trimester, which promised a noticeable improvement—but the nausea and vomiting showed no signs of going away. On the contrary, it seemed like they had intensified that week just to torture her for the mistakes she had made.
Her daily life was a hell disguised as routine. Caring for her patients had become very complicated. Trying to be gentle, giving medical explanations, or performing procedures while struggling not to fall apart was a constant test of her ability to pretend that everything was fine. She had learned to excuse herself with a forced smile and a "I'll be back in a moment," before hastily leaving and locking herself in the nearest bathroom.
Waking up in the middle of the night to attend a delivery had never been so difficult. Her phone could ring for several minutes and she barely heard it. The exhaustion she felt was indescribable; it was a fatigue she had not experienced even in her toughest years of medical school or during the endless shifts of her residency. She had endured 36-hour workdays in the past, but this fatigue was different, deeper, more relentless.
But definitely, the worst was the OR. Every time she put on her surgical gown and walked into the OR, it felt like preparing for a test of physical and mental endurance. Standing for hours on end, focused on operating on someone else's body, with nausea and exposed to all kinds of smells, should be considered an extreme sport.
The scent of disinfectant, the latex from gloves, bodily fluids, organs, textures, sounds... everything seemed to conspire to make her dizzy. There were moments when she had to stop, close her eyes for a moment, and breathe deeply to avoid throwing up in front of her entire team. But even those small breaks were dangerous; a second of distraction could mean a mistake, and that was not something a surgeon could afford.
And as if all that weren't enough, the recurring thought embedded in her mind was Derek.
Now that Sam knew—and that probably several nurses in the hospital did too—she had to tell him. He was the father, and he had a right to know. It would probably be the most important news he would receive in his life, and she wanted to travel to Seattle to tell him. But at that moment, her body did not seem very compatible with airplanes. Nor with any type of vehicle that required movement.
She needed to wait until she felt a little better, both physically and mentally, to travel and face yet another new reaction. The most important reaction of all, and the one she was most afraid of.
"God, Addison, any moment now you're gonna spit out an organ," Amelia complained from the bathroom doorway, arms crossed, with a mix of impatience and concern on her face.
Addison, kneeling in front of the toilet as usual, barely lifted her gaze. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, and a sheen of sweat beaded her forehead. With visible effort, she leaned back to sit on the floor, her back against the wall.
"Why the hell aren't you taking your medication?" Amelia insisted, stepping into the bathroom and leaning against the sink. "You can't keep going like this."
"I am taking it, I'm not stupid. But it barely helps. And I have more serious problems right now than some damn nausea," she replied in a hoarse voice, wiping her mouth with a wet towel she had thrown on the floor.
"Well, your health is a serious issue. How many times have you puked today? Can you please calm down?"
Addison let out a bitter laugh, almost without strength, and dropped her head against the wall.
"When do you want me to calm down? Pete just called to tell me that Violet's medical license was suspended. I don't know what will happen to her from now on, or with the practice, or with all of us. I don't know anything, and the people in charge of the practice, my ex-boyfriend and my best friend, or my ex-best friend, to be more precise, hate me. They don't talk to me, ha!" the laugh turned into an almost broken sound. "I don't know what will happen to my job, I don't know what will happen to my patients. God, I'm tired of my patients. I don't wanna see them anymore. There's a full moon tonight, did you know? They all choose to go into labor because of this stupid superstition. I won't sleep tonight because at least one brat will be born this morning and..."
"Dr. Reilly's secretary called a little while ago," Amelia interrupted with a serious expression.
Addison stopped talking abruptly, tensing up. "What? What did she want?" she asked, a knot forming in her throat.
"She said the results of the fetal DNA test are in, and the doctor wants to see you as soon as possible in his office."
"Oh, shit…" she murmured, covering her face with both hands in worry.
"I don't think it's anything serious..." Amelia said, trying not to worry her, but there was a hint of doubt in her voice. She didn't know much about pregnant women, but her sister-in-law's physical state concerned her and didn't seem normal.
Addison lowered her hands from her face, revealing an expression of pure panic. "If he's calling me in, it's because something abnormal showed up in the results. Damn it, there's something wrong with the baby. Fuck!"
"Calm down, Addie. I don't think that's it..."
"I knew it couldn't be fine! I'm forty-three years old, I was practically barren, my eggs were deteriorated, they were shit!"
"Addison, calm down."
"And if nothing was wrong, I caused it myself!" she shouted, tears overflowing from her eyes. "I drank wine for two months straight without knowing I was pregnant! It's obvious that the baby has problems!"
Suddenly, Addison stood up, but the sudden movement caused her to gasp. The room seemed to spin around her; a wave of heat rose from her feet, and her vision blurred.
"Whoa, be careful!" Amelia exclaimed, reacting quickly and grabbing her arm as she saw her sway.
Addison closed her eyes tightly and put a hand on her belly while murmuring something Amelia couldn't decipher. Her face was growing paler and it looked like she was slowly fading.
"Addie, let's go to your bed."
"Hold... baby..."
"What?" Amelia asked, confused and worried at the same time.
"I'm gonna…"
But before she could finish the sentence, Addison collapsed into her sister-in-law's arms, completely losing consciousness.