FIC: Love Wins Every Time 1/?
Hi again :)
As promised, part 1 of my Burke/Addison epic-to-be :) I am starting this at the tail-end of the episode 'Desire' and assuming Burke catches her outside just after the debacle with Alex, and re-routes the course of history from that point onward. I hope you like it! I am going to wait a bit to post it on fanfiction.net so if you have any comments or suggestions, I would welcome them :) Standard disclaimers apply. Shonda Rhimes/ABC own Grey's Anatomy, and I am just playing. Anyway, on with the fic...
Love Wins Every Time
Sun is gonna rise, so don't worry about tomorrow
Everybody hurts sometimes
If you let love in your heart, then the world will surely follow
Baby, love wins every time
---McMaster and James
He comes out of the hospital, and she's sitting there, hugging a dark, long coat around herself, shivering a little. This morning's gentle rain-soaked breeze has thickened to a dry, sharp wind that whips her long, red hair around her eyes. She ignores it and sits there, frigid, small, eyes staring straight ahead of her. He joins her on the bench. He says nothing, but watches her for a moment.
She fidgets over a tiny bit in acknowledgement if his presence. He is worried, the way anyone would be, he supposes, were they to find in such obviously dire straits a person who, if not a friend per se, is at minimum a colleague and a someone for whom he harbours genial affection. But he is a patient man, and he senses he shouldn't push her.
"Hey, Preston," she says after a moment.
"Hey, Addison," he answers. He keeps his voice neutral. Friendly. He keeps his body relaxed, but he scoots a tiny bit closer to her.
"So," he says.
He stares back at him with guileless eyes, but he senses the beginnings of tears.
"Is there any particular reason you’re sitting out here right now?"
She shrugs, hugging the coat a little tighter. "Because if I leave right now, I think I would be leaving to do something I'll be sorry for later?"
He nods. "And what might that be?"
She doesn't hold back the bitter chuckle. "Self-medication with sex. Self-medication with alcohol. Maybe both. Take your pick."
He takes this in with impassive neutrality. "Fair enough. I concede that there might be better options."
She laughs again. "And if that doesn’t win the prize for understatement of the century…well?"
"Well what?"
"You have any better ideas?"
He regards her seriously, giving the question some thought. "Go home, Addison. Sleep it off."
She looks gloomy again. "But that's the problem, Preston. I haven’t got a home."
"No?"
She shrugs, going quiet on him. He still isn't completely sure what's wrong. But obviously, he can't just leave her here.
"Well, come back with me, then," he says. "I'll make you dinner."
"But…"
He opens his briefcase, pulls out a bottle of wine. A nice bottle. A very nice one.
"I picked this up in my travels," he says. "You don't really want me drinking it alone?"
"But…"
"But Cristina?" He anticipates her objection, waves it off with a casual flit of his hand. "Just scrubbed in on Bailey's bowel resection. She'll be hours yet."
"And the…you just happen to…"
"What? This?" He holds aloft the bottle. "It's Thursday. I play chess with the chief every Thursday during my lunch hour. Or, should I say, I win at chess with the chief every Thursday."
"You play chess with the chief for wine?"
"Well, what else would I play for? This is a cabernet. Dry, sweet. It ages well, you know."
"Right. Of course it does."
Finally, he turns on a little sparkle. He pushes. "Well?"
She shrugs. "It beats tequila shots at Joe's."
She lets him give her a hand up. and he tries to ignore the sudden flash of heat in his bones. He has always found chivalry unbelievably arousing.
--
To be continued...
As promised, part 1 of my Burke/Addison epic-to-be :) I am starting this at the tail-end of the episode 'Desire' and assuming Burke catches her outside just after the debacle with Alex, and re-routes the course of history from that point onward. I hope you like it! I am going to wait a bit to post it on fanfiction.net so if you have any comments or suggestions, I would welcome them :) Standard disclaimers apply. Shonda Rhimes/ABC own Grey's Anatomy, and I am just playing. Anyway, on with the fic...
Love Wins Every Time
Sun is gonna rise, so don't worry about tomorrow
Everybody hurts sometimes
If you let love in your heart, then the world will surely follow
Baby, love wins every time
---McMaster and James
He comes out of the hospital, and she's sitting there, hugging a dark, long coat around herself, shivering a little. This morning's gentle rain-soaked breeze has thickened to a dry, sharp wind that whips her long, red hair around her eyes. She ignores it and sits there, frigid, small, eyes staring straight ahead of her. He joins her on the bench. He says nothing, but watches her for a moment.
She fidgets over a tiny bit in acknowledgement if his presence. He is worried, the way anyone would be, he supposes, were they to find in such obviously dire straits a person who, if not a friend per se, is at minimum a colleague and a someone for whom he harbours genial affection. But he is a patient man, and he senses he shouldn't push her.
"Hey, Preston," she says after a moment.
"Hey, Addison," he answers. He keeps his voice neutral. Friendly. He keeps his body relaxed, but he scoots a tiny bit closer to her.
"So," he says.
He stares back at him with guileless eyes, but he senses the beginnings of tears.
"Is there any particular reason you’re sitting out here right now?"
She shrugs, hugging the coat a little tighter. "Because if I leave right now, I think I would be leaving to do something I'll be sorry for later?"
He nods. "And what might that be?"
She doesn't hold back the bitter chuckle. "Self-medication with sex. Self-medication with alcohol. Maybe both. Take your pick."
He takes this in with impassive neutrality. "Fair enough. I concede that there might be better options."
She laughs again. "And if that doesn’t win the prize for understatement of the century…well?"
"Well what?"
"You have any better ideas?"
He regards her seriously, giving the question some thought. "Go home, Addison. Sleep it off."
She looks gloomy again. "But that's the problem, Preston. I haven’t got a home."
"No?"
She shrugs, going quiet on him. He still isn't completely sure what's wrong. But obviously, he can't just leave her here.
"Well, come back with me, then," he says. "I'll make you dinner."
"But…"
He opens his briefcase, pulls out a bottle of wine. A nice bottle. A very nice one.
"I picked this up in my travels," he says. "You don't really want me drinking it alone?"
"But…"
"But Cristina?" He anticipates her objection, waves it off with a casual flit of his hand. "Just scrubbed in on Bailey's bowel resection. She'll be hours yet."
"And the…you just happen to…"
"What? This?" He holds aloft the bottle. "It's Thursday. I play chess with the chief every Thursday during my lunch hour. Or, should I say, I win at chess with the chief every Thursday."
"You play chess with the chief for wine?"
"Well, what else would I play for? This is a cabernet. Dry, sweet. It ages well, you know."
"Right. Of course it does."
Finally, he turns on a little sparkle. He pushes. "Well?"
She shrugs. "It beats tequila shots at Joe's."
She lets him give her a hand up. and he tries to ignore the sudden flash of heat in his bones. He has always found chivalry unbelievably arousing.
--
To be continued...