Five Times Addison Gets Lucky with...


Burke...

When they met, she was married and he was in love with someone else. So sure, because she was human, Addison had noticed how damn handsome Preston Burke was, since that was basically impossible to miss. But he quickly became a friend, someone who she felt comfortable around in halls where her life was gossiped about like a tabloid article, and she appreciate him for that so much more than for that amazing smile of his.

Because she'd never really let herself think of him "that way," when her divorce became final, he was one of the people she leaned on most. Preston loved to make her laugh, and she needed to laugh, and they both loved to eat, so they had toured through Seattle's best restaurants on late dinners after long days or leisurely brunches on Sunday mornings.

She was happy to return the favor of being a sounding board when Yang ended things, and Preston, who was wholly unused to being the one left, had to work his way through the loss of the relationship. Addison listened when he needed to talk and distracted him when he needed to get his mind on another subject. And when she really felt like he needed to smile, she would wink and say, "any woman foolish enough to give you up is legally insane."

Addison is not sure when Stevens dubbed them "the McPretties" or when everyone from Bailey to the chief got it in their heads that she and Preston were an item. But the best neonatal surgeon on the West Coast does know that the first time her world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon friend kissed her, she knew she was in very, very serious trouble.

Because, really, any woman who would be foolish enough to pass up on Preston Burke was just as insane as the one who would give him up. And Addison Shepherd was definitely not insane.

She's soaking in a tub of hot, bubbly, vanilla-scented water as these thoughts run through her head, and Addison can't help but laugh now at how surprised she was by that first kiss. It was thousands of kisses ago, but it still makes her blush a little to remember how lightheaded it made her. She knew she loved him when he told her one night that it had made him dizzy, too.

Her eyes are closed when the bathroom door opens and the scent of Preston's cologne reaches her. Fabric moves and a few soft footsteps come toward her, and then the water ripples as he sinks into the water with her.

"Wow, you must really think I like you... assuming I'll share my bath with you," she teases, her eyes opening slowly to find him smiling as he lifts her right foot up out of the water and places it against his chest before his fingers begin to work out the soreness left by her fabulous new pair of Jimmy Choo's.

"I'm willing to work for the privilege," he replies, "and I don't just stop at foot rubs."

He pulls gently on her ankle, and Addison puts up no protest as her body begins to move across the length of the tub, her legs finding a comfortable resting place wrapped around his waist.

"Far be it from me to deny a man a chance to work for something he really wants," she says as his arms wrap around her. "So if you must... work away."



Mark...

The fight was over before it even began. Because he knew all her weaknesses, and damn it, Addison was human despite her demonic nickname. The man brings her Peet's coffee every day. He likes going shopping with her because he considers it his own personal "Addison" show, complete with flashes of lingerie and lots of her legs in heels... or so he says. Yes, it was common sense that it wasn't smart to get involved with the man who had been her lover pre-divorce. Too much baggage, too much history, not enough distance from the life she was leaving behind. But really... she's supposed to resist a man who brings her caffeine and never bitches when she says "one last store" for the third time?

And then he offered to build shoe racks for the walk-in closet in her new house.

Really, it just wasn't fair. Flesh and blood... that's all she was. And the sexiest man she'd ever known--a plastic surgeon so damn gorgeous, he'd make the "Nip/Tuck" guys feel inadequate--that man had volunteered to build shelves to house her treasured collection of high heels?

It was his own fault she'd attacked him right there in the walk-in.

After, they laid together in a tangle of limbs on the plush carpet in the closet. He teased her about knowing the way to her heart was through her shoes. It bothered Addison a little that he'd been so sure all along she'd give in eventually. But she was also grateful... because it was hard to find a man who loved you, was willing to fight for you indefinitely, could build you shelves and was phenomenal in bed who also understood the power of a killer pair of shoes.

So really, it wasn't her fault that she couldn't resist... and she told him so after she thanked him one more time for the shelves.



Derek...

She knew he'd thought she was joking, but Addison was dead serious when she told Derek she wasn't spending another night in the trailer--not that trailer, not after he'd been there with Meredith again.

They were divorced now, but they were dating again because as Richard had wisely predicted when the Shepherds told him they were filing for divorce, Derek was kidding himself if he thought it was all going to be that easy. Derek had laughed, of course, declaring his love for Meredith right there in front of her. Addison had accidentally/on purpose set her stiletto heel down on his foot.

Nearly two years later, Derek had called her to announce that he'd broken up with Meredith and realized that he couldn't make a relationship work with anyone work, love them or not, if he didn't finally figure out what the hell had gone wrong in their marriage.

Several thousands of dollars worth of therapy later, they were dating again because Derek realized that he'd never really stopped loving her, he'd just stopped knowing her, and Addison realized she hadn't tried nearly as hard as she'd thought in New York to make him see their problems before she'd lost her mind and slept with Mark and, really, she'd never stopped loving him, even when she'd dreamed about beating him over the head with one of his stupid trout.

So when Derek offered to cook her dinner, she'd agreed, but she'd told him then and there that if he thought they were going to end up making love at his trailer after he'd lived there with Meredith Grey, he was insane. He'd promised he understood. But then he'd tried to seduce her anyway. Which was how she'd ended up in the backseat of her Mercedes alone while rain poured down and Derek stood in the doorway of the trailer, begging her to come back inside. She'd have left already if she'd been calm enough to grab her keys when she'd stormed outside, but she'd expected him to see reason and agree to come home with her. Then the rain had started, and she was outside and he was still inside.

She was willing to sleep in the damn car if she had to, but Addison was determined she was not going back in that trailer. In fact, she had fallen asleep when she startled awake at the sound of the door opening. She looked up to find Derek climbing in beside her, a large blanket in his arms.

"You're going to get sick sitting out here," he said. He carefully unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around her.

"I warned you," she reminded him. "We made a promise we'd tell each other the truth, and you know I wouldn't joke about anything that has to do with her."

Derek nodded and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. 'Cause the truth is, if we hadn't sold the brownstone and we ever went back to New York, I was gonna burn that bed."

Addison shook her head. "But you thought I was kidding?"

"I said I was sorry. We'll stick with staying at your place unless..."

"Unless what?" she asked.

"Unless you want to look for a place together. No 'mine', no 'yours'... a new 'ours'."

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

He smiled and reached out his arm to draw her to him, and Addison decided she was done being mad and let him.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She kissed him then, and he kissed her back, and then sometime before she got his shirt all the way off, Derek managed to take a breath and stop.

"Addie, here?"

"It's dry and in here or outside in the rain," she said as she got the shirt over his head. "Because you know nothing makes me want you like you admitting you were wrong about something."

She gasped when he pushed her off of him, but then he opened the door and climbed out before reaching back to offer her his hand.

"Oh, come on... you, me, in the rain by the lake? That's got hot written all over it."

Addison couldn't help but smile as she took his hand and followed him outside.



Alex...

Everyone wakes up once in their lives next to someone they can't believe they slept with. Addison was sure everyone thought that for her, that man was Mark Sloan. She supposed technically that was still true. She hadn't woken up next to Alex Karev because they'd never fallen asleep... never even made it to a bed. But that didn't mean she was any less stunned to realize after it was over that she'd really done it. Which didn't mean she regretted it... she just really couldn't believe it had happened.

It was just one of those nights at Joe's when everyone was there, drinking, watching the Seahawks/Bears game, playing darts. And really, Addison had been just about ready to call it a night when she heard Karev say that Brian Urlacher was overrated.

[i]"The same Urlacher who's sacked Hasselbeck two times tonight," she asked, "that's the guy you're saying is overrated?"

The glare the intern shot her was pointed, but Addison didn't flinch.

"Right, like you know anything about football."

Laughter reached them from the bar, and Addison turned to see Derek watching the exchange.

"I'd change the subject if I were you, Karev. Addison took the Giants season tickets in our divorce settlement."

She smiled at the look that put on Alex's face.

"Defensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and you think he's overrated?"

Addison dropped her purse on the table where Karev was sitting and sank down into an empty chair. The arrogant ass had been on her last nerve for months now, even after she'd finally let him off her service. He was always lurking around her with a snide remark on his tongue, and even though she routinely put him in his place, he kept finding new ways to challenge her.

"Awards don't mean anything." He turned to fully face her, his elbows on the table. "Just because a bunch of writers hand him an award, that doesn't mean he's that good."

"Did you ever see Lawrence Taylor sack a man live and in person?" she asked. Karev shook his head. "I have. I know linebackers. Urlacher is all that because he can completely take over a game, turn the whole thing around. Maybe five linebackers ever have had that kind of impact, and he's one of them. And I don't even like the Bears, but facts are facts."

The look on his face amused the hell out of her.

"You like football?" he asked, incredulous.

"No, I love football."

He eyed her a moment, and Addison knew when he'd decided that he had to challenge her again.

"Who holds the record for most sacks?"

Addison scoffed. "Strahan. Please don't insult me."

"Career touchdowns?" he asked, his voice a bit desperate.

"Karev, really, try harder. Jerry Rice. 208 to be exact."

He considered his next move. Addison decided to cut him off at the pass.

"Quarterback who led the league in passing the most times?"

Alex smiled. "Steve Young, six times."

"Half right," Addison said, and his smile dropped. "Sammy Baugh and Steve Young are tied."

Having proven her superiority, Addison had left then, picking up her purse and heading back to the parking lot at SGH where her car was still parked. She was just opening her door when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned to see Karev standing in the empty space next to her.

"Did you need something, Doctor?"[/i]

He hadn't answered, but his eyes stayed locked with hers, and Addison realized why he was there. And though she'd have never thought so before that moment, she liked that he was there and that he wanted her because even if he was the most colossal jerk she'd ever met, he was damn sexy. She liked especially that all his bravado had disappeared as he stood there wanting and not sure how to get.

Addison had picked up her purse, locked her door and headed back into the hospital. Alex had followed behind. She went into an on call room and left the door open. A few minutes later, Karev had come in and locked the door behind him.

It seemed a waste now that they'd had a room with a bed in it and never made it there, but once it had started, it was just... Addison wasn't sure how she'd describe it to someone if she were ever going to admit that it had happened, which she wasn't going to, ever, to anyone. It had been so very college and so very clothes flying everywhere and hot and trying to stay quiet and don't stop and more, and then it was over.

Karev had wisely not mentioned it since, and Addison didn't notice any difference in the way he treated her now than he had before... except for those days, every now and then, when she'd be in the scrub room or at the front desk with a chart, and he'd walk up behind her and say, "So you watching the game tonight?"

Addison would smile then, knowing if she ever wanted to find out what it [i]was[/i] like to wake up next to her arrogant intern, the invitation most definitely remained open.




Someone new...

She still goes to Joe's when it's everyone after work and they all just need to unwind, but when Addison goes out on her own in an effort to start life post-Derek, she goes to the little jazz club downtown where the bartender makes amazing Stoli martinis.

The first time she went, it was to hear Wynton Marsalis play, and Addison and the club just clicked. It reminded her of New York, but it didn't make her sad because Derek had always hated jazz, so her outings to catch her favorites in Manhattan had always been with Savvy and Weiss and, before everything got so messed up, Mark.

Having something that seemed familiar in the midst of a life full of change made it easier to get through the nights where being almost divorced started to get to her. So when she starts to feel uncomfortable in her own skin just sitting around the hotel room, Addison gets dressed in something fabulous and heads out. Tonight, she takes advantage of the dry night to walk instead of calling a cab or driving.

The club has a jazz trio booked and the music has a sad edge to it... mournful, almost even though the beats are mid-tempo. It matches her mood, though, so Addison settles in at the bar and orders a Stoli martini and listens to the music. She's just about to order a second drink when he sits down on the empty stool beside her and orders a Stoli martini for himself.

She glances over because she's so used to men who drink scotch and it surprises her a bit to hear a guy order her drink. Addison hopes he doesn't notice her do a double take, because the handsome man to her left could be a dead ringer for Tim Daly, who is her new TV boyfriend, thanks to "The Nine," the show she's become addicted to now that she gets quality reception at the hotel as opposed to the spotty signal out in Derek's trailer. But this guy has shorter hair and a small scar on his cheek... so clearly she hasn't stumbled upon her TV crush in a bar in Seattle. But the man is damn handsome, and so at least she has good eye candy to brighten her night.

"Cheers," he says, raising his martini toward her, and Addison realizes she's probably been staring at the poor guy while her mind wandered. Hoping to make the best of it, she raises her glass and smiles.

"Cheers," she replies and finishes what's left of her drink. She motions to the bartender for her second and looks back to her left to find her new friend looking at her.

"You're not gonna ask me if I come here often, are you?"

He laughs, and Addison can't help but wonder how many women crumble when this guy smiles at them.

"Actually, I was trying to think up a charming way to ask your name. Somehow calling you 'the gorgeous redhead to my right' seemed a little... lame."

And she laughs because it is lame and yet utterly charming. "Addison."

"Addison... I'm Sam."

"Hi, Sam," she says. The bartender returns with her fresh martini, and she takes a sip before having her attention drawn back to her left.

"Addison... "

He says her name again thoughtfully, like he's contemplating something.

"You know... you wouldn't happen to be Addison Shepherd, would you?"

She imagines her good mood and the fun, flirty game she's just undertaken is all about to go to hell. But then Sam rolls his eyes.

"So that was smooth... make you think I'm some crazy stalker guy. I'm Sam Collier from Johns Hopkins, and it's just... Addison's not a name you hear everyday..."

Addison sighs, relieved and intrigued. Because she knows exactly who Sam Collier is, and ironically, it's her fault he's in town. Mercy West had asked Richard if they could borrow her for their seminar on neonatal and pediatric surgery, but with all the drama in her life, Addison had begged off. It seemed their plan b had been to lure Hopkins' star west.

"Well, Sam, I do happen to be Addison Shepherd, and it's nice to meet you," she says, smiling again. "I'm a big fan."

"As am I of yours," he replies. "It's been a regret of mine we've never managed to meet. Seems the universe has decided it was time for us to stop missing each other at conferences and end the mystery right here in this little club in Seattle."

They talk through their drinks, Sam confirming her suspicion that he's in town for the Mercy West workshops, though he's leaving in the morning. He compares the bar to his favorite back in D.C., a place he actually used to play jazz trumpet in when he was a college student years ago. She admits the club has become her new hangout since her marriage broke up, but she only does it when she sees him glance at her hand where tan lines still mark the spot her rings occupied for nearly 12 years. And that's when he tells her about how hard it was to get used to not wearing his when his wife left him three years ago. He assures her it gets easier with time.

"Do they serve food here?" he asks as their glasses run empty. "I just realized I'm starving."

Addison knows the answer, but she doesn't give it. Instead, she decides to give into the little voice in her head saying that even if she didn't go out looking for a man tonight, there's no reason she can't enjoy the one she's found, especially when he's so unbelievably handsome and his smile keeps making her stomach flip.

"We could order room service," she says, "back at my hotel."

There's a beat where she wonders if Dr. Sam Collier dislikes forward women, but then he gives her that smile again, and he reaches for her hand.

"You're the kind of woman who gets a man into trouble, aren't you?"

She laughs in reply. They decide to take a cab back because they're both a little tipsy from the martinis. He takes her hand to help her in, then climbs in after her. The short ride is nearly over when she realizes he's kept hold of her hand the whole way.

When they make it to her room, he kisses her. It's passionate and it makes her head spin, but Sam really is hungry for food, too, and he teases that the kiss was an appetizer.

They order and they eat, and they talk articles one has written that the other has read, and really, it seems impossible to them, as they both say in the conversation, that they've gone this long without running into each other before. Then Addison places a second call to room service and orders a bottle of champagne because now that she's a little more sober, she's realized how long it's been since she's let a man this close to her who wasn't Derek or Mark and it seems terrifying suddenly. Sam isn't pushing, which she finds both irresistible and shocking, and some part of her wants to ask if he felt this way, too, the first time he was with someone new, but she doesn't.

The champagne comes and she drinks half a glass, and then she walks over toward the nightstand, intent on removing the antique necklace she has on. She wonders if Sam can feel her shaking when his hands cover hers and take over, working the clasp.

"You can ask me to go. I'm a big boy. I can take it."

And she thinks about it, because Addison's scared... not of Sam, but of how completely this signals her transition into life as a single woman again. But she also really wants this man, she wants to find out if the hands she's been watching all night will feel the way she's imagined they will against her skin, and she wants the feeling of being desired, and so she turns around and, rather than saying anything, she draws Sam into a kiss.

The sex is amazing. Ridiculously amazing. And Addison is stunned when the second time is even better. When they go around for a third time in the shower in the morning, she really starts to wonder if her neighbors in the hotel are going to complain.

She stays in the bathroom while he slips out to get dressed because Addison knows if they see each other naked again, Sam is going to miss his plane and she will be late for work. When she comes out, her robe is wrapped tightly around her, and Sam is pushing his tie into his jacket pocket.

There's a strong temptation to say she'll look him up if she's ever in D.C., but Addison bites her tongue. They live nearly 3,000 miles apart, and this is life and not a movie. She can tell a similar thought passes through Sam's mind, and he, too, lets it pass.

"Have a safe trip home," she says, almost laughing at how normal that sounds.

He leans in and kisses her, but he keep his hands off of her and she does the same with him, because really, they've shown zero evidence of restraint since their clothes came off last night, and they both have places to be.

"Have a good day at work," he says as he pulls away. And then he leaves.

Addison returns to Seattle Grace, and she has the feeling people are talking behind her back about how damn happy she looks today, wondering what's caused it. She has zero desire to tell anyone, except maybe Miranda, because she knows her friend will be happy she had some fun and not turn it into gossip in the hospital hallways.

It's just after 2:00 when she gets paged to the front desk of the surgical wing. The receptionist, who is on the phone, nods as Addison approaches, and she pushes a gift-wrapped box up onto the counter.

The card is not cryptic in any way, and it makes her smile ridiculously big, but Addison doesn't bother to care how her expression is fueling the tales that will be told behind her back later on.

"It's only 2,400 miles... and there are planes."

She reads it again, then slides the card in the pocket of her lab coat before she lifts the lid off the box. Inside she finds two CDs by the Brazilian trumpeter Sam loves that Addison had never heard of, a bottle of the Veuve Clicquot champagne they'd shared last night and a Washington D.C. travel guide. Inside the travel guide, she discovers a Post-it note beside the entry for Sam's favorite jazz club.

Still grinning from ear to ear, Addison packs her gifts back into the box, and then heads for office to see when, exactly, she can plan a weekend getaway to the East Coast.

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