So this "10 songs challenge" is going on at Live Journal, and I'm trying to get myself back in the fic groove here, so I decided to give it a whirl:

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a drabblet/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!

4. Do ten of these, then post them.

1. Colors of the Wind -- Vanessa Williams

There's something about the way Derek looks at the land he owns that makes Mark think of Disney movies... that whole idealistic, "everything will be perfect here" notion in his best friend's head.  He sometimes wants to point out that once upon a time, Derek thought everything would be perfect in a brownstone across the country, too.  He thinks about reminding his friend that he used to forgive all of Addison's quirks and shortcomings the same way he does now when Meredith's rear their head.  He thinks a lot about reminding Derek that for all the smack everyone talks about what a good man the neurosurgeon is, he still views the world through faulty, idealistic lenses that always eventually slip and leave the people around him wanting.  But he doesn't.  Because that's just who Derek is, and Mark knows it will never change.

2.  One More Try -- George Michael

He's put himself back together so many times... after his father, after leaving home... after Izzie and Rebecca and Izzie again.  Alex is so damn tired of starting over that he's resigned himself that he's done now.  There's no more hope left in him, and truly, if one more of his friends tries to give him some stupid, optimistic speech about how he'll get through it, he's going to scream bloody goddamn murder while he decks the person closest to him.

The last thing he expects is the warm hand on his shoulder, and he looks up and sees that Addison is having at least the same crappy, horrible time as he is, if not worse.  He knows she's there for her family, that something happened, but he's been so wrapped up in Izzie's drama, he wasn't sure about the details.  He just knows from her face that it's bad.

"Every time I come to this place, something ends," she says, her voice so broken, it makes his chest ache.

"Yeah... this place just... kills things... people.  I don't know why we work so hard to fix things if it just... it always ends like this when it really matters."

She nods and wipes tears off her cheeks before she turns and looks at him intently.

"Richard asked me to take a surgery.  I think he's trying to distract me, but I need it.  Do you want to scrub in?"

And he needs the distraction, too.  So he stands up and walks inside with her, and he guesses this might count as starting over, but he doesn't want to think about it right now.

3.  Beauty from Afar -- Nuttin' But Stringz

Wyatt's an ass, and he knows it.  He never pretends to be anything else.  He has always been that guy who pisses everyone off, and for a while, he tried to fix it, and then he just stopped caring because nothing he did made a difference and what the hell did he care?  His wife could leave... there were other women.  His mentors could hate him... they still had to teach him.  His colleagues could talk about him behind his back all they wanted... he was still better than them when it came to the business of fighting cancer and winning.

He hates that he cares now what she thinks, and it makes him want to be mean to her, and he does a damn good job of it.  Addison has no use for him, and yet he cannot stop trying to make her notice him, make her see him.  And it's the day he realizes that that is the whole problem... he wants her to see him... that she walks into his office and says she doesn't know why she's there, and when he kisses her, Wyatt Lockhart realizes that if he stays near this woman, he's going to start trying again... trying to be a guy someone likes... someone can stand to be around... a guy someone won't leave.

He hates her a little for that.  It's so much easier to not give a damn.

4.  Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) -- De Etta Little and Nelson Pigford

It's ridiculous... utterly ridiculous, and if anyone ever found out it, Dell knows he'd die of absolute embarrassment.  But he still kind of chuckles when he thinks about how amazing he felt as he delivered his first baby.  He was so cornball that day, in fact, if he'd been near a boat he'd have probably thrown his arms out and declared himself "king of the world."  But God... God, it felt good.

5.  Miss Independent -- Kelly Clarkson

Addison has drunk dialed her fair share of people in her time... most hysterically, her sister-in-law Nancy the night Derek proposed and Addison panicked and drank a whole bottle of champagne by herself... most catastrophically (unless you count the sex) Mark the day she found the black panties.

But she's sure she's never entertained anyone as much as Callie is as the ortho rants on the other end of the line from her apartment in Seattle, a bottle of vodka most likely near empty, on her theory that Kelly Clarkson ruined her life by singing about some stupid girl who decided to take a chance on love.  Because really, she was fine... fine... until she kept hearing that damn song in her head every time George came near her, and now she can't stop taking stupid chances and she might as well just put up a sign that says "want to ruin my life?  Come on over!"

Addison waits until the ranting and laughter turn into tears, and then she tells her friend that it's okay... that everything will be okay.  And because she really needs to believe it, Callie listens.

6.  You're the First, the Last, My Everything -- Barry White

Cooper Freedman knows he's totally screwed.  Because he doesn't just kind of like Charlotte King, destroyer of men, and he doesn't sort of love her... he totally loves her.  He realizes it because he thinks about her anytime his mind gets quiet and because he can't sleep well anymore when she's not with him.  And that would be fine, really, if Charlotte weren't as terrified to be in love as he is.  So, yeah... totally screwed.  But when his 437th attempt to talk himself out of loving her fails, he takes a deep breath, heads for the elevator and goes down to the fourth floor.

7.  Midnight Train to Georgia -- Gladys Knight & the Pips

Moving was never really her thing.  She had moved from Connecticut to Manhattan and had never made any plans to move anywhere else, but life clearly had other ideas.  Addison still wasn't sure she'd ever actually moved to Seattle... she'd never felt at home there once, and other than a few treasured people, she surely did not miss it.  But then she made a choice... she moved to Los Angeles.  And she'd like to think that now that she's here... now that she's fallen in love with her little stretch of beach and watching the sunset in 70-degree weather in December that nothing would make her leave it behind.  But this time, she's not planning to tempt fate by saying she'll never move again.  So she just hopes... and watches the sunset as the California sky turns purple.

8.  Not Falling Apart -- Maroon 5

If you'd asked Pete if he ever expected any woman to make him feel this insane again, he'd have bet you money that it would be Addison Montgomery.  She was all deep feelings and future plans and white picket fences, and he had already been a little nuts at just the thought of getting involved with her.  When it hadn't worked out... when she'd taken up with the cop, he'd told himself he'd dodged a bullet.

Then he walked right into one named Violet.

She was supposed to be his friend... his good friend who he could talk to about anything and who he always felt comfortable around.  And now she was this woman who was so... hot and funny and who made him feel so great, but she wasn't sure she wanted him... and she was seeing another guy... and instead of being the one flaking out and walking away, he was the one who might be getting left behind.

9.  Pocketful of Sunshine -- Natasha Bedingfield

There were things most people would never know about Addison Montgomery, and she had no desire to tell them.  She didn't think they needed to know about Bizzy's "special friends" who had stayed at the house while Addie's father was "away on business" or the custody battle her parents had waged over her and Archer that had basically cost her a father or the days she and her brother had eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner with their maid because after winning her children away from the parent who had actually wanted them, her mother hadn't bothered to actually raise them.

Most people would never know those things.  Derek barely knew them.  Naomi only knows the parts Addison could stand to say out loud.  But she has no doubt that Carolyn Shepherd does know... has always known somehow.  Because even now, after the affair... after the divorce... the older woman still calls "just to see how things are," and seemingly always on the days when what Addison needs most is to have someone care.

10.  Sure Looks Good to Me -- Alicia Keys

There were a lot of things in Seattle she'd miss.  Mostly Mark, who had become such an incredible friend--the last thing she'd have ever guessed she'd think about the infamous Mark Sloan.  But she knows it's time to go.  The last year has been horrible and yet so good for her because she finally knows what she wants.  She wants... a fresh start.  She wants a clean slate.  She wants to go clear-headed into a future she's choosing.

A new job, a new life... and who the hell cares if it was Addison's idea first?   Sure, Cristina and Mark can't stop teasing her about being a copycat, but Callie doesn't care.  Los Angeles is waiting and so is Addison's guestroom.