Okay, so my beloved friend Kel just had a birthday, and she currently loves two redheads in her TV fandoms -- Addison from "Grey's Anatomy" and Phyllis from "The Young and the Restless." So one day we were talking about how awesome it would be if these two kick-ass redheads knew each other... and so here is a little something for her to mark her special day.

I think you'll be able to enjoy this if you only watch one show... at least I hope so. :)




It was not an accident that few people in their adult lives knew about the other woman's existence. Long ago, the whispers and gossip had driven them to feel fiercely protective of their relationship, so only their nearest and dearest got access to what Derek had dubbed "the secret life of redheads."

That they had been able to become close at all let alone retain that bond through the insanity they both called their lives was amazing, because honestly, it seemed everyone and everything had tried to get in the way.

First there had been Addison's grandparents. Addison had been just a few weeks old when her father Forbes Montgomery had been killed in a car accident. Patrick and Abigail Montgomery had never liked Forbes' wife Lydia, considering the schoolteacher "beneath them," and wielding their considerable influence, they had managed to snatch custody of their only grandchild away from the poor, young widow in the blink of an eye.

Lydia had been devastated, and when her best friend George Summers had become her one source of comfort, it had seemed natural for her to end up married to him. A year later, her second baby girl had been born. Another redhead named Phyllis.

It had been wild, impulsive, untamable Phyllis, who never seemed to listen or do what she was told, ever, who had brought Addison back into Lydia's life. They had gone to wait outside the elite private preschool where Lydia knew the Montgomerys had enrolled her daughter. When Addison had come out after school, she'd had to wait on the stairs for the chauffer to get some paperwork from her teacher. And that's when Phyllis, perhaps drawn by seeing red hair on another little girl, had wandered off from her mesmerized mother, and before Lydia knew it, both her daughters were standing face to face, smiling at one another.

"I'm Phyl," the smaller girl said, still unable to pronounce her full name correctly.

"I'm Addie," the older girl had replied.

Then they shook hands and exchanged another smile.

A week later, Phyllis had been waiting at the bottom of the steps. When Addison had seen her, she had raced over.

"My grandma is taking me to the park today," Addison had reported. "Do you think your mommy would take you, too?"

Lydia, of course, had agreed. She had lurked back near the trees, hoping to avoid any Montgomery eyes, and watched her redheaded angels play together. They fell in love, those little girls, under their mother's watchful eye, without anyone else knowing who they were to each other.

By the time the Montgomerys spotted their former daughter-in-law in the park or figured out that their granddaughter's new "best friend" was in fact her half-sister, Addison was simply too attached to Phyllis for the Montgomerys to win the fight. When they had tried to threaten her away from her friend, she had defiantly broken every rule they had set. Then bribery had failed. So finally, they had struck a deal with Lydia--the girls could know each other as friends, but Addison was never to find out who Phyllis or Lydia were to her. To ensure her girls' happiness, Lydia had agreed.

It was only once both girls were safely away at college that they decided to reveal to all parties that they had been listening outside the door the day that agreement had been reached, and had known ever since that they were far more than friends--they were sisters.

Half-sisters, and wildly different--but there had never been two siblings who loved each other more. But grown-up life had become complicated for them both. And while Addison had been a rising star in the Manhattan medical community, Phyllis' wild streak had gotten her into a mess of trouble in a Wisconsin town called Genoa City. Addison vividly remembered warning her sister that her infatuation with pseudo rock star Danny Romalotti was going to bring her nothing but trouble. But Phyllis loved trouble... and lord, had she found it.

Abigail Montgomery never missed a chance to phone Addison with a news headline detailing Phyllis' dramas -- everything from her faking DNA tests to make Danny look like the father of her son Daniel to the painful custody battle that had ended up with Daniel wrenched out of her sister's arms. Addison still felt guilty that her internship had kept her away from Phyllis during those horrible years. But even on her days off when Addison had offered to come, Phyllis had said no. She didn't want her sister dragged into her mess, she'd said. She wanted one thing to stay clean, free of the taint of her mistakes.

[i]"You need to stay at the hospital and get even more brilliant and be the amazing surgeon I know you'll be. I'll be fine. You'll see."[/i]

Years later, Addison would feel the same way as she implored her sister to stay in Genoa City and work things out with Daniel, who had returned to her a confused, bitter teenager. She didn't want Phyllis to get caught up in her flailing marriage, not when her child needed her.

[i]"You have waited a lifetime to be with your son, Phyl. I'll be fine. Derek and I... we'll get through this. You'll see."[/i]

And then last year, they had both had to cry uncle, unable to go to each other's sides even as Phyllis fought to save her son from what had turned out to be an unwarranted drunk driving charge or as Addison had stumbled into an affair with Mark and watched her husband walk out of her life for what seemed, at the time, forever.

Derek... he was never far behind Addison's judgmental grandparents with a dig at her sister, which had remained a constant source of irritation through their courtship and into their marriage. Derek was famous for saying he couldn't believe that "redheaded psycho" was really his sister-in-law. That usually got him a pillow to the head, a locked bedroom door or a night alone in bed while Addison headed for the hospital on call room. Phyllis didn't like Derek much either. She had always said Derek was "as shallow as he was pretty," and spending an evening with the two of them together was sheer torture for Addison.

But she didn't care about all her sister's crazy stunts or her misguided attempts to find or steal true love. Phyllis was a good person deep down where it counted. She had always been the one to reassure Addison, on those nights when she started to believe her grandparents stories of Lydia abandoning her, that their mother would never have given her up if she could have helped it. Phyllis was the one who never stopped trying to help her mother and sister reconnect despite the uncertainty both women felt with each other.

Phyllis loved Addison unconditionally, and so Addison loved her back the same way. That was just what sisters did.

That was why today, the day after Addison's nightmarish senior prom had been eclipsed in horror by the Seattle Grace Prom from Hell, all Addison wanted to do was talk to Phyllis.

"What the hell did Derek do now?"

"Good morning to you, too, Phyl. And what makes you think that's why I'm calling?"

"It's Sunday morning... 8:00 your time on a Sunday morning. If you're not at the hospital, which my caller I.D. says you're not, then you can't sleep because my brother-in-law is an idiot."

Addison laughed, but quickly the sound changed as she felt her throat tighten and tears collected at her eyes.

"I think he slept with her, Phyl. Last night at the prom thing."

There was a silence on the other end of the phone, and then Phyllis's voice returned, serious and full of concern.

"Why do you think that, Addie? What happened?"

"He just... he was... different. We were dancing and he said he had to check on a patient, and everything was fine, but when he came back... he was different. And then he couldn't look at her, and..."

Her sister sighed on the other end of the line. "Sweetheart... I'm so sorry."

Nodding to herself, Addison wiped at the tears on her cheeks. She knew she was right. She knew they had slept together, and she was glad Phyllis wasn't pretending she was wrong just to make her feel better.

"Why don't you just leave him, Addie? Just... pack up, check into a hotel and start building a life for yourself without him? Because you can do better, you know that, right? Derek Shepherd has never deserved you, and he sure as hell doesn't now."

Addison closed her eyes and remembered the lab report she had read no more than 48 hours earlier.

"I want to leave. I'm ready to leave. But... Phyl... I'm pregnant."

"You're what?!"

"I know, I know," Addison said, her hand pressing against her forehead. "All those years, I can't get pregnant to save my life. Then one time in six months we lose our minds in the shower, not a condom in sight, and I'm pregnant."

"But... we're happy about that, right? Because, Addison, if you let that creep make you unhappy about this baby, I'm going to finally post all those embarrassing pictures from New Year's 1997 on a website and send the link to everyone who knows him."

Despite her heavy heart, Addison burst out laughing. Phyllis was a webmaster extraordinaire, as her sizable paychecks attested. If she wanted to in fact create a site aimed solely at humiliating Derek, she could probably do it in a matter of hours.

"I am happy about the baby, Phyl. And I promise to try not to let anything change that, even if... even if it turns out I'm right."

"You still love the bastard, don't you?"

"You don't know how much I wish I didn't," came Addison's reply.

"Did he come home with you last night?"

"Yeah, but he left at the crack of dawn to go check on our friend who's in the hospital. At least, that's what he said."

"So what do you want to do, Addie?"

Addison drew in a long breath and released it slowly. "Other than beat him senseless? I don't know. I mean, I told you I called him on his ish, and he still wouldn't admit anything. And then yesterday, right before he asked me to go to the prom with him, I thought he was going to tell me it was over... and I swear to God, Phyllis, my heart almost stopped beating. So I guess the answer is, I just don't know. Because... we made this baby... and I still love him. But he slept with her. And... GOD, I HATE HIM!"

Phyllis laughed at her over the phone and Addison picked up Derek's pillow and hurled it across the room.

"So you haven't mentioned him in a while," Addison said, as she stretched out across the whole bed, desperately needing to change the subject. "So... how are things with Nick Newman?"

The phone line crackled with a slight bit of static and silence.

"Phyl?"

"I'm not sure we should talk about that. I mean... I'm Meredith Grey in my situation, you know? I... it doesn't seem fair for me to unload all that on you."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Addison asked, her brow furrowed. "This is me. Me, the girl who slept with her husband's best friend, remember? And you know I understand. You and Nick have been through hell together. You two are hardly my husband and his girlfriend. Besides, I love you."

"I love you, too, Addie. It's just... I mean, don't you think I've made Sharon feel the same way you do now?"

"Probably. Though from what you've told me, Nick has felt exactly the way I do right now, too, courtesy of Sharon. So let's just agree that you, me, Nick, Sharon, Derek and Meredith are all nasty cheaters and move on to the part where you tell me what's going on with you? Because now that I think about it, you've been all hedgy about Nick for a few weeks. So what gives?"

"I was, uh... I was going to tell you sooner, but... you've been so stressed out about Derek, I didn't want you worried about me, too. And don't even bother telling me you're not going to worry because you are going to worry--as my sister and probably as a doctor, too?"

"Well, since I'm an O.B.G.Y.N. and a neonatal surgeon, unless you've gotten knocked up, too, I don't see where my medical worry will come into play."

When Addison was met with silence again, she shot up on the bed.

"Phyl, are you pregnant?"

"Kinda."

"Kinda? Kinda! When the hell did this happen?"

"Well, I'm not... entirely sure," Phyllis said, her voice taking on a hint of shame. "I sort of, um, am not sure if the baby is Nick's or Jack's. And yes, I know, I know--but I thought Nick and I were through and sleeping with Jack was a total mistake and now... yeah, so... now I'm pregnant."

Addison shook her head. "We are a hot damn mess, you know that? Both of us pregnant, both wrapped up in more drama..."

Phyllis chuckled softly on her end of the line. "We are, dude. Seriously. We're our own soap opera."

A smile crept over Addison's face as she listened to her sister's soft laugh. Years earlier, when she'd actually been married to her now ex-husband Jack Abbott, Phyllis had lost a child and been told by her Genoa City doctor she would never be able to have another--or so Phyllis had reported. Addison had studied her sister's records and told her otherwise--while it would be very difficult and potentially risky, Phyllis [i]could[/i] get pregnant again, it was just that the chances she would were incredibly slim. But after so much loss, Phyllis had refused to risk the hurt of hoping that she might someday have another child.

But she was going to get that chance. Phyllis was pregnant. And so was she. The two redheaded sisters were going to have babies at nearly the same time.

"They're gonna get to grow up together," Addison whispered as her present train of thought brought tears to her eyes. "Just like us. Our babies are going to have each other forever to look out for one another."

The next thing Addison heard was her sister sobbing.

"Our babies... we're gonna be moms, Addie."

"We are."

"We are."

It took nearly twenty minutes for the two of them to stop crying as the mix of happiness over their pregnancies and sadness over the men they loved proved a potent trigger for their hormones.

"So... what's going on with Nick?" Phyllis repeated her sister's question as she sniffled. "Nick is trying to work things out with Sharon, and he should be trying to do that. They've been married ten years. And I know that if they hadn't lost their daughter, Nick and I probably never would've happened. But we did... and you're right, Nick and I have been through hell together. He lost his little girl, I nearly lost Daniel again... and somehow it just made us so close. And I don't think I can ever regret what happened, Addie, because I do love him. But we've hurt so many people..."

Addison knew that hurt all too well, from both sides. She wished so much she could hug her sister.

"So what are you going to do about finding out who the baby's father is?"

Phyllis laughed. "I don't have the first damn idea. I just know that I need to try to give Nick a chance to save his marriage. And, if this is his baby, I also need to give him a chance to know her."

"And if it's Jack's?" Addison asked.

"Let's just hope it's not. Not after... he found out the other day, Ad. You were so upset about blowing up at Derek, I didn't tell you -- but Jack found out about me and Nick, and he's just... I think he hates me."

"You were not with Jack, Phyllis. It was one night. You didn't owe him anything."

"I know. I told him that. But..." Phyllis sighed. "I hate that I hurt him. Because I knew he still loved me when I... I was just so lonely after Nick and I tried to end things."

"Only you guys weren't done, because you love Nick. And he loves you." Addison remembered clearly the day her sister had told her about she and Nick finally saying good-bye, and the fear in Phyllis' voice when she had admitted how much the man had come to mean to her.

"Yeah, but... he has to do this. I know he does. And he knows it, too. So that's that."

Neither felt the need to comment on the twisted irony of Phyllis nearly willing her married lover to go back to his wife while Addison hoped against hope that her own husband hadn't just thrown their marriage away.

"We are a mess, Phyl. Seriously."

"Seriously."

Addison looked at the clock. She had no idea when Derek would be back, and honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted to be there when he did come home. She had no idea what to do next or what to say or what she even wanted to happen. And whenever Addison Shepherd was practicing avoidance, she had one surefire method.

"Phyllis, can you get out of G.C. for a few days?"

"Are you kidding? I'd love to get out of here."

"I think I can get Richard to let me go for a few days. You want to meet up in L.A.?"

"Rodeo?" Phyllis asked, her voice suddenly much happier than it had been a moment earlier.

"Shopping, massages--prenatal massages, I guess, for both of us, a five-star hotel. And then we can huddle up with room service and try to figure out what the hell to do about the men in our lives."

"Addison, you are a genius. Seriously. I'll start looking at flights."

Smiling, Addison stood and moved to her closet so she could get dressed and go talk to her chief. "Good, and book us in at the Peninsula. Then we'll scour Beverly Hills for the hottest maternity clothes we can find. If we're gonna be scandalous and pregnant, damn it, we're gonna look awesome."

Phyllis laughed. "That must mean a trip to Stuart Weitzman to buy fabulous shoes to go with all our new hot mama outfits."

"Oh, most definitely," Addison replied.

Though neither woman voiced it, they were both thinking the same thing. A few days together to recharge and refocus was going to do them both a world of good. And after? Whatever they decided to do about their complicated relationships, when Phyllis and Addison got home, Derek and Nick weren't going to know what hit them.

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