Thanks so much to you guys for the requests and the push to get the mojo back in gear. As you'll see, most of these are longer than my promised 250 words, so hopefully that's a good sign! All the fics are below in the order the requests were received in.




Title: Breaking in Daddy
For: Kel
Fandom: Y&R (Special request from Kel--and since she betas everything I write, she gets one).
Characters: Michael and Lauren Baldwin
Scenario: "Anything adorable"
Word Count: 254

The phone call had sent her home in a panic, and Lauren could barely work her keys to get inside the door.

"Michael?" she called out softly, not sure if the baby was asleep or not in the now quiet apartment.

It had not been so quiet over her cell 20 minutes earlier when Michael had phoned, 2-month-old Laurel screaming in his arms.

[i]"She hates me! You have to come back. She hates me."

"Honey, she doesn't hate you, I promise. Did you feed her?"

"She won't take the bottle," he barked. "And I changed her diaper and I tried the pacifier and I'm walking and dancing, and she won't stop crying. I'm telling you, Lauren, she hates me."

"Michael, stop saying that. Did you take her temperature?"

"Normal. She's not sick. She just... Lauren, please, just come home, okay? I think it was too soon for this."[/i]

She had been about to argue when Laurel let out a scream that sent every mothering nerve in her body into overdrive. Lauren had bid Phyllis and Lily good-bye, ending girls' day out, and rushed home. But now she was confused. Where were her sobbing baby and freaked out husband?

The answer was found in the master bedroom. Michael lay sound asleep, propped against their numerous pillows with Laurel on his chest, the little girl just as happily in dreamland as her father was.

Smiling, Lauren moved to the bed and eased in beside them.

Apparently, instead of girls' day out, today was Baldwins' day in.

*****

Title: A New Life
For: Beth
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Characters: Addison/Addison's child
Scenario: Fluffy, happy... and shirtless Burke would not hurt.
Word Count: 692

"See, what did mommy tell you? I knew you would look gorgeous in lavender."

Addison laughed as her 4-month-old daughter kicked her legs in appreciation of the fresh diaper and new outfit she'd been dressed in. The little girl had Derek's dark curls and her eyes, and Addison fell in love all over again ever time she looked at her child.

It was okay that the picture wasn't perfect. Derek had tried to convince her to give them yet another chance when they had discovered her pregnancy a few weeks after "prom" night. But Addison had been unwilling to stay in a marriage when she wasn't sure why it was being kept alive, and when Derek couldn't give her a good answer about why he wanted to remain married, she had filed the divorce papers.

He was still determined to be a good father despite the divorce, and he had been present at every doctor's appointment, ultrasound and in the delivery room. But the majority of Addison's pregnancy had spent in the company of her friends--Miranda, Preston, Richard, Adele, Izzie and the latest addition to her growing sphere of friends, Callie Torres. In fact, it was Callie that could be held indirectly responsible for helping bestow the name "Lena" on the happy infant who was reaching up now trying to grab a piece of her mother's hair.

"Just remember, baby girl, if anyone asks, mama only watched all those 'Alias' episodes on DVD because Aunt Callie made me. I can't help it if I fell in love with Lena Olin's name while I was watching them."

Addison scooped her daughter up and cradled her close. Though she had seen it right in front of her face day in and day out for years, there really was no way to understand a mother's love until you were one and you held your child and knew that you would endure anything to keep them safe.

Lena made sleepless nights bearable. She made it okay to throw her hair into a ponytail instead of spending an hour styling it because that was an hour she could spend marveling at her baby's accomplishments. In fact, her daughter made everything in Addison's life seem more okay because what could be so awful when she had this joy to come home to every day?

"All right, we better get back out there," she whispered and Lena cooed and snuggled against Addison's chest. "Very impolite to keep our company waiting."

The duo headed out of the gingham decorated nursery and back toward the kitchen. The French doors to the patio were open, and Addison couldn't help but laugh when she saw world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Preston Burke standing out by the picnic table spreading his hand-washed shirt out to dry. He turned at the sound of her chuckles, a stunning sight sans shirt in just a stylish pair of khakis.

"I really am sorry, Preston."

Burke waved his hand as if to say "no worries" and came back in to rejoin Addison at the well-set brunch table they were sharing.

"You did warn me that she'd just eaten. That's what I get for bouncing her in the air and not listening. Besides..."

Preston reached for the baby and Addison relinquished Lena to him. He skillfully tossed a receiving blanket over his shoulder, partially covering his bare chest, and then he cradled the little girl against him.

"I have been thrown up on by far less beautiful women than Miss Lena here."

Addison smiled and leaned back in her chair watching her friend be thoroughly charmed by her daughter.

"Well, I guess it's true what they say."

"Hmm?" Preston asked, looking up at her.

"A good-looking, shirtless man holding a baby... it's pretty damn hot."

He laughed and lowered his face to Lena's.

"Do you think that means your mother is finally going to let me take her out to dinner as more than 'just friends,' Lena?"

The baby yawned and stretched, closing her eyes.

Addison picked up her iced tea and just before she took a sip she winked at Preston and replied. "I think that was a 'maybe.'"

*****

Title: Standing Outside the Fire
For: Ayshen
Fandom: GH
Characters: Alexis/Sonny
Scenario: Alexis' reaction/thoughts at witnessing Sonny's breakdown.
Word Count: 423

She was in the E.R. acting as the district attorney, arranging police protecting for a victim and potential witness in a failed bank robbery attempt. The poor woman was terrified that the gunman who had gotten away would come after her, but Alexis had promised not to let that happen.

Her attention had shifted, though, when the main emergency room doors opened and a voice she would recognize anywhere screamed out in agony. Alexis turned, her breath momentarily stolen away as Sonny came into view, his wrists pulling at the restraints the paramedics had been forced to use to protect him and themselves. His clothes were covered with blood, but she couldn't tell whose it was.

His hysteria was evident. He cried out in pain then shouted obscenities and then his outburst changed entirely to a soft, barely audible sobbing.

"What happened?" she asked as Sonny's father Mike rushed in behind him.

"He smashed every mirror in the master bedroom. He's got cuts all over. Max wanted to wait for Jason, but... he needs help. More help than Jason can give him."

Alexis nodded and put a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder. She stood there beside him for nearly an hour as the nurses and doctors worked to get Sonny medicated and under control so they could treat his injuries. An overwhelming sadness took root inside her as the long minutes passed, and when Bobbie came to talk to Mike about his son's condition, Alexis slipped away and walked back to her car.

She sat there in the silence for long moments as tears ran down her face. As many times as she had wished Sonny to be locked up in order to protect Kristina from his lifestyle, as often as she had hoped he might just up and disappear and leave her family in peace, never had she wanted to see the man she had loved so much broken so completely. Now that she had, she only wanted to turn back the clock and do what she had failed to do before--save him from himself.

But trying to save Sonny had nearly destroyed her life. And Alexis no longer had the luxury of being alone so she could risk the sacrifice. Her children needed her--their daughter needed her. She could not be the one to dive into the fire and try to drag him to safety.

But she hoped that someone would save him... because once upon a time, Sonny Corinthos had been her heart, and she had not forgotten.

*****

Title: Just Dinner
For: Lily
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Characters: Derek and Addison
Scenario: Sometime after the finale, Derek convinces Addison to go out on a date with him.
Word Count: 1,118

Addison Shepherd walked out of the O.R. and pulled out the barrette that held her hair up. With that tension released, she let the fingers on her right hand squeeze against the muscles in her neck. This morning's procedure had run long, and her body was filing its own form of protest. The prospect of facing the day with a migraine seemed to be looming, and Addison grimaced just thinking about it.

When two hands that were not hers came to rest against her neck, she instinctively relaxed at the touch. A few minutes of expert massage released the strain she'd been feeling and Addison gently moved her head from side to side, sighing with relief.

Then it dawned on her what she'd just done, and she turned and immediately began to fume at the satisfied smirk on her estranged husband's face.

"Oh, shut up, Derek!"

"I didn't say anything," he said, his chuckle only adding to her annoyance. Addison rolled her eyes and walked out of the scrub room, but she could feel him on her heels.

"What do you want?" she snapped, and Derek raced forward, catching up with her. She cursed the fact that his height gave him a stride as long as hers.

"I wanted to wish you a happy anniversary."

Addison froze in her tracks. Derek had kept walking, but only a few steps, and he turned and came back so he was facing her.

"Sweetheart," she said, "in case you missed the memo, we're separated. Ergo, this isn't much of an anniversary. Oh, and how's your girlfriend?"

The last question came with a ridiculously sweet smile on her face, and Addison felt a little victorious when she saw Derek flinch. They had been legally separated now for four months, ever since they'd come home from the prom and he had confessed his infidelity with Meredith. Addison had not moved out because she couldn't forgive him, she had left because she just couldn't stand to be second choice anymore.

But a funny thing happened during their separation. Derek had decided that his first choice was his wife, or so he claimed. And since that time, he'd been in Addison's space daily offering invitations, bringing flowers, reminiscing with stories he knew would get to her. She had told him repeatedly that just because he didn't need any more time didn't mean she didn't, but her resistance only seemed to make Derek try harder to prove his change of heart.

"I do not have a girlfriend." Derek leaned against the wall and gave her his most devastating, dreamy look. She hated that it made her feel the way it did. "There is a woman I was once involved with who works here, yes. But she is not my girlfriend because, in case you missed the memo, sweetheart, I love my wife."

She wanted to hit him and kiss him and then scream at him to leave her alone, but instead, Addison bit her lower lip and set her hands on her hips.

"Is there something you want that I can deal with now so you'll go away?"

"Yes, let me take you to dinner tonight so we can celebrate our anniversary."

"Derek..."

He shrugged as he cut her off. "You asked. You want me to go away now, you agree to let me buy you dinner."

She sighed. It really did seem like he was trying, but she just didn't have it in her to hope again, to try again. She loved him too much, and Addie knew if she let him back in, even a tiny bit, even for one dinner, her resolve would crumble and she'd forgive and forget before they'd fixed anything.

"We can't celebrate something that isn't real, Derek. It's a date on the calendar now. Nothing else."

Addison made her escape before he could say anything more. She headed for the first empty on call room she could find and sank onto a bunk. Damn him for still making her want him when all she wanted to do was forget.

She managed to avoid Derek the rest of the day, but Addison kept a wary eye out, expecting him to pop up anytime. But by 6:00, as she packed up to leave with no further sign of him, she realized she was a little disappointed that he'd given up so easily.

"Addison, oh, thank God!"

Turning, she saw Richard's anxious face heading her way. Addison immediately grew concerned and walked forward to meet him.

"Richard, what's wrong?"

"Adele, she... we had a fight, and she's furious with me."

"It's hardly the first time that's happened," she said, though her voice was very sympathetic.

The chief nodded. "I know, but this is bad. Can you... I hate to ask, but do you mind going over to the house to talk to her? I'm not even sure she's going to let me in the door when I get home tonight."

They had been friends so long and Richard seemed so truly worried that Addison couldn't refuse him. Instead of going home, she drove over to the Webbers' house. Ella Fitzgerald's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" filtered out from the backyard, and so Addie headed to the gate that led to the patio.

She had expected to find Adele sitting in her favorite chaise lounge sipping a glass of wine while she tried to cool down. Instead, Addison found a table set for two and her husband lighting candles and wearing a pair of jeans and a lightweight blue sweater designed to do nothing but make her swoon at the sight of him.

It worked.

"What... what are you doing, Derek?"

He looked up from his task and smiled. It was the smile she remembered from so long ago that said 'I'm happy to see you,' and Addison couldn't name the last time she'd seen it and believed he meant it, but tonight, she did.

Derek set aside the lighter he'd been using and he walked toward her. Instead of saying anything, he took her purse from her hands and sat it down on the redwood bench next to them. Then he took her hands and guided her a few steps deeper onto the patio, where he drew her close and began to sway with her to the strains of the classic Ella tune.

"Derek..."

"Shh. You didn't cave, okay? You didn't go out to dinner with me. So this way, we both win. Now please, just dance."

Rational thought told her to push away, pick up her things and leave. Love told her to lean into him, to put her head on his shoulder and to dance with her husband.

Love won.

*****

Title: Out of the Frying Pan...
For: Terry
Fandom: GH
Characters: Alexis
Scenario: Alexis finally moves on from Port Charles to a better life
Word Count: 856

Alexis Davis strode into the Genoa City Athletic Club and smiled at the charming couple who waved her toward their table. Though she had only been in town a week, the small city already felt like home, and the change of... everything--atmosphere, location, faces--from Port Charles was a welcome and exciting one.

She'd decided on the move within 48 hours of finding her husband--now ex-husband-- and her long-lost daughter in bed together. She had taken her two younger daughters and gone to Wyndemere where she and Nikolas discussed her future. It was clear to Alexis in just a few hours that for her to have any peace and any chance at happiness, she had to leave Port Charles and all of her ghosts behind there.

It was really just blind luck that she'd happened upon an article about her old Harvard classmate Michael Baldwin and his wife Lauren Fenmore Baldwin attending a fund-raiser in Manhattan. Alexis had impulsively flown into the city to see him, and Michael ended up making the offer he'd made at least a hundred times before.

"So, Davis, when are you gonna move to Genoa City and make it 'Baldwin, Blair & Davis'? Seriously, two brilliant Harvard minds together... think of the havoc we could wreak!"

This time, Alexis said yes. And now she, Kristina and Molly were happily settled in a beautiful new home and Alexis was getting ready to dive into a new law practice.

She strolled over to Michael and Lauren and the threesome exchanged a warm greeting. Lauren then excused herself to go to a meeting at her boutique, and that left the two legal eagles alone to talk shop.

"So you're sure your partner's on board with this?"

"Christine?" Michael said. "Absolutely. She's been traveling so much, she'll rest better knowing I have the help. Now I just have to make sure I can afford you."

"Oh, don't worry, Baldwin. I'll offer you a reasonable buy-in so long as you make the perks worth my while."

Their shared laughter was interrupted by a gruff voice coming from behind her.

"Now what's a lovely lady like you doing with a skin-shedding snake like Michael Baldwin?"

Alexis turned her head to the side and glared at the man who had walked up and stopped there. Then she caught the disgusted look on Michael's face.

"Jack, how lovely to see you. Alexis Davis, this is Jack Abbott, my stepbrother and an all-around grade-A jackass. Shocking, really, that his parents named him so appropriately."

She giggled at Michael's barb and then noticed that it had deepened the scowl on Jack Abbott's face.

"Let me offer you some advice, Ms. Davis--"

"No, please don't," Alexis said, interrupting. "I've had enough of men trying to tell me who I should talk to, who I should be friends with and what I should be doing with my life. So why don't you just butt out?"

He smiled at her, but it was one of those maddening "I'm about to get your goat" smiles she hated, and Alexis pushed her chair back and stood, ready to do battle. But just then, a busboy rushed by and knocked the chair back into her, and Alexis in turn, fell into Jack, who grabbed her in his arms and spun around with her so that instead of hitting the floor on her stomach, she ended up in a dip position a ballroom dancer would envy.

The moment was only milliseconds long, but something in it registered, and Alexis knew that the twinkle in Jack's eye meant he'd felt it, too.

"If you wanted to get closer to me, Ms. Davis, all you had to do was ask."

Before she could respond, Jack whirled her around and back to standing. Then he was gone, strolling away before she or Michael could say a word. Alexis righted her clothes, accepted an apology from the busboy, and then sat back down in her chair.

"What an arrogant, insufferable, egomaniacal... Neanderthal."

Michael chuckled, but then the sound died in his throat and Alexis looked at him to find he was staring at her hard, examining her face.

"What?"

"Oh, God!" he exclaimed. "You like him!"

"I do not!" she yelled, denying the claim. "I could never like someone so condescending and presumptuous."

"Oh, God!" he said again. "You really like him. You've already found six different adjectives to describe him, and I bet if I'd let you ramble on, you'd have found a half a dozen more."

"I..." The rebuttal died on her lips as Alexis realized that her old friend still knew her far too well. "I'm not talking about this anymore."

"Uh-huh," Michael said, reaching for his glass of water. "Okay, I'll drop it for now. But don't get any ideas about double dates. Jack Abbott is someone I have to take in very, very, very, very tiny, miniscule doses."

Alexis rolled her eyes and tried to get her mind back on getting her new law partnership established. But if she got distracted, just for a moment, Jack Abbott's arrogant grin popped back into her mind.

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