Chapter 7

A/N: This may be the last chapter before Christmas, but I'm not sure yet. Enjoy!

Meredith sat in a booth in the back of Joe's bar, nursing a scotch on the rocks. It wasn't her normal choice of booze, but seeing as she was drinking alone, there was no one to have shots with. Normally, she wouldn't care, whether she was drinking alone or doing shots by herself. But after the day she'd had, she didn't trust herself with tequila shots.

She heard the door to Joe's chime over the music and looked over, half-expecting Cristina or Alex to have caved and joined her. But no. It was only Derek. She slouched in her seat so he wouldn't see her. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him, not after today. Not after his bombardment of pages while she was sleeping at his request. She took another sip of the scotch, feeling it burn on the way down.

She checked her phone, seeing it was just after 8. She finished her drink, not bothering to wait any longer. Her friends had ditched her. Well, okay, so technically, George was finishing his shift in the pit and Izzy was running labs for McSteamy, but Alex was off doing God knows what, and Cristina was her person and she needed her to be here.

She looked up again as the bell chimed and watched as McSteamy, Callie and Addison entered the bar. Oh, great. She sunk even further into her seat, wanting to just disappear. Tonight was not her night.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out. Finally,flashed through her mind before she realized that it wasn't any of her friends. In fact, she didn't even have this number saved.

You're not avoiding me, are you?

She looked around the bar, scanning it quickly. Derek was still playing darts, Mark had pulled Callie onto the dance floor, and no one was even looking her way. Okay, this was weird. Yep, weird, weird. Too weird. She was just going to leave. Yep, definitely.

But as she started to stand, her phone buzzed again.

Pick your poison.

She stared at the message, and then looked around again. And this time, she saw Addison, her blue eyes catching her gaze from across the bar, and she blushed.

She fumbled for her phone, abandoning her plan of leaving, Whatever you're having is fine.

Even from across the bar, she saw Addison's smirk as she glanced down at her phone. Addison turned to Joe and placed her order.


Addison wasn't trying to do anything but have a little fun. Mark and Callie had gone to dance, and she wasn't going to sit there alone. She'd seen Meredith sitting in the back of the bar, looking more awake than earlier but still not herself. At least, not the way she'd seen her a week before. She pulled out her phone, finding Meredith's number. She may have stolen it off Derek's phone while they were still married, but this was the first time she was using it. It was just some harmless texting, and she had to admit, seeing the blonde looking around frantically was almost cute. Still, she was wanting to check in, see if she had slept. So, when Meredith texted back that she'd have the same, she asked Joe for a couple strawberry daiquiris. It wasn't her normal martini, but it was light and fun, and Meredith was looking very dark and twisty. And she was determined to change that.

She made her way to the blonde and couldn't help but admire the spot. It was perfect for people-watching, intimate and cozy. Far from the door, but in perfect sight of the bar. And unless you were really looking, your eyes would slide right over them without a second thought. It felt like she was in her own little world with Meredith, and as she slid the drink over, she smiled.

"You may want to save that number. It's a very important person."

Meredith rolled her eyes, gesturing to her to sit, "How did you even," she began, but then stopped, "You know what, I don't care."

She smirked, sipping at her drink as she surveyed the room. Derek was at the bar now, Mark and Callie were still dancing. No one was even paying them any mind, "Cozy spot you have here, Grey."

"It's my thinking spot."

"Ah," she looked over at her, curiously, "and whatever do you have on your mind?"

"My friends ditched me, and I'm still tired."

"Mm, all your friends?" She asked.

"You don't count," Meredith answered.

"No," she agreed, "I guess I don't."

"I mean, you don't count as a friend who ditched me," Meredith protested, and she smiled, "We're friends, Addison."

"Oh, I know that," she replied. They were friends. But there was something brewing on the surface of that friendship. They both knew it, even if they tried to deny it, "Did you manage to get some sleep?"

Meredith nodded, looking relieved by the change of subject, "A few hours. Until Derek decided to page me half a million times to tell me I needed to run more labs."

"Derek," she replied as she softly, making the blonde look over at her, "is an idiot." Meredith nodded, and she continued, "Finish your drink so I can take you home."

Meredith, to her credit, didn't spill her drink, instead gaping at her like a fish, "So you can w-what now?!"

"You need to sleep, Grey. You're a walking zombie," She couldn't help the playful smile that slipped onto her lips, "What? You didn't think…"

Meredith blushed deep red, "I didn't say anything!"

"You implied it," she replied.

"Well you wouldn't be the first to…" Meredith began.

She couldn't deny that she enjoyed getting into people's comfort zones. She enjoyed getting under their skin. And she enjoyed the way Meredith stopped talking and blushed harder as she leaned forward and looked into her eyes, "When I kiss you, Meredith Grey, you are going to be completely sober, got it?" Wide-eyed, Meredith nodded. She smiled and sipped at her daiquiri, "Good. Now, drink up. I paid good money for these drinks."


Mark watched as Addison led Meredith out of the bar with a knowing look in his eyes; Addison had her arm around the intern's waist, and the blonde was leaning into her. No wonder she was so adamant about not having a threesome. She was going to have her own little party, just her and Meredith. It kinda sucked that she used her friendship with him and Callie as an excuse, but she'd make it up to them, he was sure.

He'd been trying to figure out what had changed between the two after their bonding trip the Chief had sent them on, and Addison had refused to say anything. But he wasn't blind. No matter where it was, Addison sought out Meredith with her eyes, like how Meredith followed Addison with hers. They were drawn to each other. He could almost feel the sexual tension.

He hated to admit that he was jealous. Not of Meredith, but of Addison. The intern was, as far as the hospital rumor mill was concerned, an insanely hot lay. And despite him propositioning her early on, she'd remained impervious to his charms. And to think Addison was going to take her home? Oh yeah, he was jealous.


Meredith watched from inside the doorway as Addison pulled the sheets down on the bed and then went to the cabinet drawers to pull out some clean clothes.

"Shower is open. You can get cleaned up and changed. I'll order us some food."

When Addison had said she was going to take her home, she hadn't thought that the redhead meant her hotel room. She was fully expecting to be dropped off at her house, so when Addison drove them to the Archfield instead, she was a little confused.

"Are you sure?" She questioned, and it felt like a repeat of the hiking experience.

"Yes, Meredith, I'm sure." Addison answered patiently, all of her teasing pushed aside as she faced her, "We both have tomorrow off. You need to sleep without being disturbed, and you have two very loud roommates. So yes, I am very sure."

"Okay," she replied softly.

Addison smiled, handing her the clothes, "Okay."


Four different text messages were waiting for her when she got out of the shower. She glanced at each of them without bothering to reply. She could do that tomorrow. Sure, they were her friends, but she was mad at them; not to mention, too tired to even think of how to reply. Right now, all she wanted to do was eat and then sleep.

She pulled on the T-shirt and sweats, feeling just a tad self-conscious. But this wasn't much different than sleeping in the cabin. This time there was food; and she even had an escape plan. She'd accept Addison's hospitality for the night, but she planned on being out before Addison woke up. She debated turning on her alarm but decided against it. Just a few hours and she'd be back up, anyway, right? No need for an alarm when her body was its own.

She brushed her hair and then dried it partially with a towel before letting it air dry. And then she was stepping back into the main room.

Addison was lounging on the bed reading over a file while something was playing on the TV, though it didn't look like Addison was paying much attention to it. Addison's blue eyes connected with her over the frame of her glasses, and she froze, blushing at the intensity in her gaze. And then Addison smiled at her. Someone needs to help me.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah," she replied honestly.

"Good. Dinner got here a few minutes ago. I wasn't sure what you wanted but I figured pizza was a good bet."

"Your hotel has pizza?" She stepped forward to where the boxes rested on the table.

"No, but I figured you'd like pizza better than room service. But they do have a good breakfast."

"Oh, uh, right," she muttered.

After grabbing a couple of slices, she settled onto the bed beside Addison, who passed her the remote, "You can watch anything you want, as long as it's not some medical drama. Those things are so over the top."

She smiled, "What? You mean working in a hospital isn't all sex and drama?"

Addison laughed, "Can you imagine what they'd call a show about Seattle Grace?"

She settled on an old episode of some obscure tv show, "Probably Seattle's Finest."

"Hospital Drama 2.0," Addison chimed in, glancing over at her.

She met her gaze, "I like that one."

Addison laughed, "Of course you would."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, but Addison only shook her head, a soft smile on her lips.

"Eat your pizza, Meredith," Addison placed the case file on the bedside table and stood, making her way to the closet to get her own set of nightclothes, "I'm going to get a shower. I'll be out in a few."

She waited until she heard the shower running before flipping to one of the romanticized medical dramas. What could she say? She was a sucker for them.


If she was honest with herself, Addison wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to invite Meredith over to her hotel room. She told herself it was to make sure Meredith got some decent sleep, but she could've just paid for a separate hotel room for the other woman. And then she told herself it was because they were friends, but she knew that was a fickle excuse. Just because they were friends didn't justify the need she had to make sure that Meredith was alright.

And she may have also missed the intimacy they shared during their time in the cabin. Sure, it may have been unplanned, but it had her seeing parts of Meredith she hadn't before, parts that Meredith kept hidden away. There was so much to discover about her, beyond being Ellis Grey's legacy, and she wanted to know it all.


Meredith flipped the channel back as soon as the shower stopped, and she watched the old show with feigned interest. Some nights this past week, she would sneak down to the living room and watch her mom's old surgical tapes, sometimes using them as background noise; they would never help her sleep as long as she needed, and she would end up tossing and turning again in her bed. As Addison opened the door of the en suite and stepped out, she found herself openly staring. If there was one thing she'd never imagine seeing Addison in, it was flannel pants and a tank top.

"Did you get enough to eat?" Addison asked.

She nodded, struggling to make her mouth form words, "Yeah, I uh, it was good."

Addison's hair was tied up in a bun, with loose tendrils falling around her ears. She wanted to reach up and tug her hair loose. Yep, I am definitely in trouble.

"You ready to sleep?" Addison asked as she settled under the covers beside her, and she resisted the urge she had to invade the woman's personal space. This was not the cabin. They didn't have to share body heat.

"Yeah," she answered because she had been fighting with sleep for the better part of the week, but today especially. She wasn't even sure what time it was, but it wouldn't matter. Even as tired as she was…

Addison shut off the TV and plunged the room into darkness. If she was honest, when Addison had walked with her to an on-call room, she'd hoped that Addison would offer to nap with her. But that was wishful thinking. She already knew that it wouldn't happen. Even if people didn't talk, word would get around, and that was the last thing they needed was their friendship being mistaken as anything else.

"Meredith?" Addison's voice was quiet.

"Hmm?" She muttered.

"I'm not going to bite. You can come closer," Addison replied.

"Oh, right," She didn't want to get too close because as much as she wanted to be wrapped up in Addison's arms, there was no reason to be.

But as she moved closer, Addison reached out for her. She froze as Addison's fingers brushed against her cheek, failing to stop herself from blushing. Maybe this was a mistake. There was more than friendship between her and Addison, even if she tried to ignore it. And she tried. She tried so hard.

"Want me to…" Addison started.

She nodded, feeling exposed in the darkness, allowing Addison to wrap her arms around her. And as she settled against her, she was struck with the realization that no matter what it was, Addison knew exactly what she needed.

"Thank you," She muttered softly, feeling her eyes get heavy.

And if Addison said anything back, it was lost on her as the call of sleep claimed her.

A/N: This was a super fun chapter to write. I loved writing Mark and his jealousy. We'll see what happens with that next chapter. Please review!