FIC: Love Wins Every Time 6/?
Hi again :) Thank you SO much to everyone for the feedback! I am so gladpeople are enjoying the fic and I hope it continues to please. It will get a little bit of plot in the next few chapters, and I'll start dealing with the wedding soon. But first, Derek plays Big Brother, and Burke gives Addison a little assignment...
Previous Parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
And now, on with the story :)
He closes up his bypass. His touch is light and quick and smooth, and he sees that the nurses are making admiring noises as they follow his stitches. He is not so superstitious as to believe that the 'juju' Addison gave him has made him in any way a better surgeon today. But it certainly put him in a wonderful mood.
He supposes he ought to have lunch with Cristina, and he surprises himself with his relief when he learns she is otherwise occupied. He is scanning the cafeteria, looking for a seat, when Shepherd approaches him.
"Preston. Will you join me?"
He knows what this is about, and he feels his hackles go up. "Where is Meredith?"
"Same place Cristina is, helping Sloan with a skin graft. Come, sit."
He puts his tray down and sits.
"So, I hear you and Addison had a thing last night," Derek says.
"We had dinner," he admits.
"Just dinner?"
"Just dinner."
Derek has the same look Cristina had on before, but he is smart enough to consider it for a moment and change his mind. "Well, okay. That's good. She could use a friend."
"Yeah. Is this going to be awkward, Shepherd? I mean, Addison, you and me?"
"You know, I thought it was. When I came over and asked you to sit with me, I thought I was doing this whole big brother thing, warning you off. But you know what? She should have a friend. She should have a life. I'm not going to stop her."
"How gracious."
"Look, she and I, it's complicated. We've both done…done regrettable things. And it doesn’t make us good or bad or right or wrong or even. And it doesn't make us over, either. She's part of my life, Preston. She'll always be part of my life."
"She's hurting. Some of that is you."
"Yeah. But some of it is her, too. She brings it on herself, you know. A part of her just keeps bringing it on, and that was one of our…you know, I used to see her doing it? I would know it was coming, and I just couldn't stand to watch. So I would pull away, and it would only make her push harder…"
"You're part of it," he says again.
"You know it's not that simple."
He sighs. "No. No, it isn't simple."
"I'm sorry it's been so hard for her," Derek says. "And if I thought there was anything I could do to make it stop being so hard, I’d do it. But that? That's the whole reason, right there, why it didn't work for us. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could ever do to make it stop being so hard."
It was funny, in a way. He understood what Derek was saying, and it made sense to him, and he found himself nodding. But…he hadn’t found Addison all that hard. A little sad, maybe. A little sensitive, but with a layer of grit underneath it, and a refreshing sense of humour when she wasn't hurting. Cristina, she was hard. She was damn near impossible sometimes. But Addison? He could handle her just fine.
--
She comes up behind him when he's finishing charts in the post-op lounge. She's still glowing.
"Hey."
He looks up, returns her smile. "Hey."
"So," she says. "Are you getting it too?"
"Getting what?"
"Oh, you know what. The stares. The snickers. I thought Cristina was finally starting to warm up to me when I saw Nurse Olivia giving her the scoop. Since that? She hasn't stopped glaring."
He senses an opening here, a chance to set her on a different track. "And does that bother you?" he asks her.
"Well, yeah," she says, sounding surprised by the question. "Doesn't it bother you?"
"No. People always talk."
"I know. I just wish they would stop talking about me for awhile."
"Why?"
"Honestly? Because when they do, it's like…like I'm still That Woman, you know? I just wonder sometimes, how long I'm going to keep being punished for my sins."
"But that's exactly it, Addison. You'll keep being punished as long as you keep believing that you have sins you still need to pay for."
She looks stung. "But…"
"I'm not judging," he hastily assures her. "And you know what? They're not really judging either."
She lets her head fall into her hands. "I'm just so…tired…of drama…"
"Make it stop then, Addison. Make it stop, and start with Cristina. I want you two to be friends."
"Friends would be nice," she admits.
"Just remember that it goes both ways. You can talk smack to Nurse Olivia too…"
Her eyes light up again. "You evil genius."
"Make me proud," he says. "When the story gets back to me? I'm expecting tears, and I'm expecting them not to have come from you."
He fumbles in his bag, pulls out a bottle of water, slides it across the table to her. "There you go," he says. "Juju."
--
Previous Parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
And now, on with the story :)
He closes up his bypass. His touch is light and quick and smooth, and he sees that the nurses are making admiring noises as they follow his stitches. He is not so superstitious as to believe that the 'juju' Addison gave him has made him in any way a better surgeon today. But it certainly put him in a wonderful mood.
He supposes he ought to have lunch with Cristina, and he surprises himself with his relief when he learns she is otherwise occupied. He is scanning the cafeteria, looking for a seat, when Shepherd approaches him.
"Preston. Will you join me?"
He knows what this is about, and he feels his hackles go up. "Where is Meredith?"
"Same place Cristina is, helping Sloan with a skin graft. Come, sit."
He puts his tray down and sits.
"So, I hear you and Addison had a thing last night," Derek says.
"We had dinner," he admits.
"Just dinner?"
"Just dinner."
Derek has the same look Cristina had on before, but he is smart enough to consider it for a moment and change his mind. "Well, okay. That's good. She could use a friend."
"Yeah. Is this going to be awkward, Shepherd? I mean, Addison, you and me?"
"You know, I thought it was. When I came over and asked you to sit with me, I thought I was doing this whole big brother thing, warning you off. But you know what? She should have a friend. She should have a life. I'm not going to stop her."
"How gracious."
"Look, she and I, it's complicated. We've both done…done regrettable things. And it doesn’t make us good or bad or right or wrong or even. And it doesn't make us over, either. She's part of my life, Preston. She'll always be part of my life."
"She's hurting. Some of that is you."
"Yeah. But some of it is her, too. She brings it on herself, you know. A part of her just keeps bringing it on, and that was one of our…you know, I used to see her doing it? I would know it was coming, and I just couldn't stand to watch. So I would pull away, and it would only make her push harder…"
"You're part of it," he says again.
"You know it's not that simple."
He sighs. "No. No, it isn't simple."
"I'm sorry it's been so hard for her," Derek says. "And if I thought there was anything I could do to make it stop being so hard, I’d do it. But that? That's the whole reason, right there, why it didn't work for us. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could ever do to make it stop being so hard."
It was funny, in a way. He understood what Derek was saying, and it made sense to him, and he found himself nodding. But…he hadn’t found Addison all that hard. A little sad, maybe. A little sensitive, but with a layer of grit underneath it, and a refreshing sense of humour when she wasn't hurting. Cristina, she was hard. She was damn near impossible sometimes. But Addison? He could handle her just fine.
--
She comes up behind him when he's finishing charts in the post-op lounge. She's still glowing.
"Hey."
He looks up, returns her smile. "Hey."
"So," she says. "Are you getting it too?"
"Getting what?"
"Oh, you know what. The stares. The snickers. I thought Cristina was finally starting to warm up to me when I saw Nurse Olivia giving her the scoop. Since that? She hasn't stopped glaring."
He senses an opening here, a chance to set her on a different track. "And does that bother you?" he asks her.
"Well, yeah," she says, sounding surprised by the question. "Doesn't it bother you?"
"No. People always talk."
"I know. I just wish they would stop talking about me for awhile."
"Why?"
"Honestly? Because when they do, it's like…like I'm still That Woman, you know? I just wonder sometimes, how long I'm going to keep being punished for my sins."
"But that's exactly it, Addison. You'll keep being punished as long as you keep believing that you have sins you still need to pay for."
She looks stung. "But…"
"I'm not judging," he hastily assures her. "And you know what? They're not really judging either."
She lets her head fall into her hands. "I'm just so…tired…of drama…"
"Make it stop then, Addison. Make it stop, and start with Cristina. I want you two to be friends."
"Friends would be nice," she admits.
"Just remember that it goes both ways. You can talk smack to Nurse Olivia too…"
Her eyes light up again. "You evil genius."
"Make me proud," he says. "When the story gets back to me? I'm expecting tears, and I'm expecting them not to have come from you."
He fumbles in his bag, pulls out a bottle of water, slides it across the table to her. "There you go," he says. "Juju."
--