This fic was written for cstaceyb, who was the winning bidder in my "Private Practice" fic auction for SupportStacie.net.  With her permission, the story is being posted publicly.  She wanted Alex and Addison with no angst, and so here they are.

He knew something was wrong when Izzie... Izzie "never saw a wedding decoration she didn't have an opinion about" Stevens... picked a fight with him on the way to the florist.  She'd badgered him into going to begin with, and then on the way, when he'd made a comment about trying to figure out the seating given how many of their friends had slept with each other, she called him an insensitive jerk and proceeded to tell him all the ways in which he was pissing her off that day.

They didn't make it to the appointment, and Alex hadn't been sure what she'd done about the flowers after that.  He didn't care.  The wedding was for her and he was happy to just throw on a suit or a tux and show up.  But still, even if he didn't care what she put in the centerpieces or her bridal bouquet, he knew something was wrong even if she denied it, even if he couldn't put his finger on what the hell was eating her.

He told himself it was just nerves and exhaustion.  They were pushing through the end of their fifth year, they were getting married, and they were in the process of packing up their entire lives to move to Los Angeles.  There was a lot going on, and he got that, so he didn't make a big deal about the stupid fight or her suddenly short temper and he even let it go when she didn't come watch his surgery even though she'd promised and even though it was the first time he'd be supervising a multiple birth cesarean as the lead surgeon.

Finally, though, when she bit his head off for suggesting they fly down to L.A. to go apartment hunting, Alex's patience ran out.

"Look, you can either tell me what the hell is wrong or you can sit here alone all weekend and I'll go to L.A. by myself and give you a chance to figure it out.  Just stop being such a bitch and tell me."

So she had.  The chief had offered her a job.  More to the point, the chief had offered her two jobs.  He needed a new general surgery attending and he wanted Izzie to fill the void, a job she'd have to wait several years for anywhere else.  There was also some interest from the board in pursuing a grant to provide low-cost surgical procedures on an outpatient basis through the clinic, and since the clinic was Izzie's baby, the chief was ready to let her run with it if she stayed.

She'd known for two months.  She'd accepted the job two months ago.  And she'd kept trying, she told him, to find a way to tell him she wanted to stay in Seattle.  To Izzie, that wasn't a problem.  Even though Alex had another surgical fellowship in front of him, he was the darling of the neonatal unit, and his turn as senior resident had been hugely successful.  The chief wanted him to stay at Seattle Grace.  Izzie knew he'd even gotten the board to up Alex's salary offer to try and keep him.

"So really, it's not such a big deal for us to stay here.  And you wouldn't want me to pass this up, would you?"

And the answer was no, Alex didn't want her to pass it up.  But he was livid that she had made the decision without him, that she'd waited so long to tell him and mostly, that she thought it was okay to ask him to give up the career opportunity waiting for him in California this late in the game.

He'd taken the trip to L.A. that weekend anyway, mostly to try to get some perspective and think about what he really wanted.  So he thought and he looked at apartments and he ran on the beach and on a whim, he dropped by St. Ambrose to check out the NICU that could be his home for the next two years if not indefinitely, even though he wasn't scheduled for a visit.

"Is one of them yours?"

Alex looked toward his right, toward the voice that had been directed his way and shook his head at the blonde nurse standing there.

"No.  I'm going to be working here, actually.  Alex Karev."

"Oh, yeah, we've heard all about you."

She laughed and Alex chuckled nervously.

"Is that good or bad?"

"Very good," she said quickly, laughing again.  "Dr. King is pretty thrilled she was able to get you in here.  Rumor has it she snatched you away from two pretty big hospitals."

"Ah, well, the rumor is true," he confirmed.  "So what do you think of this place?"

"This is the third NICU I've worked in.  It's also the best.  I really think you'll like it here."

They had chatted a few minutes longer, and Sarah, the nurse, told him about a great apartment building that had just been remodeled where a lot of the staff was leasing places.  He'd headed over, taken a tour of one of the studio lofts and left a check for the deposit before dinnertime.

When his plane landed in Seattle, Izzie was there to pick him up.  As they drove back toward their apartment, Alex glanced over at her.

"If I go to Los Angeles, I'm going alone, right?"

She let out a long, slow breath and then nodded.

"Okay, then.  I'll call my part of the guest list and you can call yours and tell them the wedding is off.  Because I'm going."

Two months later, Alex felt like he was starting to settle into his new life.  The attendings at St. Ambrose were pretty no-nonsense, and they were all pleased at how advanced his skills were, so Alex found himself picking up several solo ob-gyn surgeries, which kept his O.R. hours up, which was just fine with him.  The neonatal fellowship was demanding and filled up most of the rest of his time, which meant he'd only just finished unpacking and tossing out the boxes he'd shipped down from Seattle.  Still, he felt like he'd really started a good life even if the sun and the hundred-degree-plus days were taking some getting used to.  Being at the beach helped... both the scenery and the cooling breezes that came in off the water... but after six years of rain, the weather was a huge change.

The hospital was also pretty different.  Though there was certainly gossip and a fair amount of doctor/doctor and doctor/nurse hookups going on, it didn't feel quite as suffocating as Seattle had, and Alex was fine with keeping his own name out of the mill.  His last two weeks up north had been excruciating as everyone and their brother tried to dissect the end of his relationship with Izzie, and he was glad to be free from it.

Actually, he was glad to be free of more than that.  Though he'd been angry and hurt about Izzie's withholding and her choice to stay in Seattle, Alex felt a little relieved.  He'd loved her, really, but the whole getting married thing had been more about what they were supposed to do than what he'd really been feeling.  Next time he asked someone to marry him, Alex promised himself he'd be doing it because it was the only outcome he could imagine, not because it seemed like the next logical step or because his friends were pushing the idea.

Alex was in the 20th hour of a 24-hour shift when he decided to pop into the doctor's lounge to grab some coffee.  He had assumed at first that he was all alone in the room, and he jumped when a voice rang out behind him.

"Hi!"

While he swiped at the hot liquid that had spilled on his hand, Alex glanced over toward the sofa and eyed the dark-haired little girl who had startled him.

"Hi.  Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for my mom.  What are you doing here?"

Alex chuckled, threw the soiled napkins away and made a second successful attempt to pour himself some coffee.

"I work here.  I'm Dr. Karev.  Does your mom work here?"

"No, she works at her office.  But sometimes her patients have to come here."

He smiled at the confident child and crossed over, sitting in the chair opposite her.  She had long, dark curls and blue eyes and even if he didn't know the proper terms to describe the details of what she was wearing, he could tell the sundress and shoes were top quality items.  Whoever her mom was, she was good at what she did and had the income to prove it.

"What kind are you?"

Alex looked at her a bit confused until he realized what she probably meant.

"I deliver babies and I take care of them if their sick."

"Hey, that's the kind my mom is, too!"

The door opened, drawing both their attention away from their conversation.  Alex stared as the long legs he noticed first turned into a very familiar form.  He was stunned.  Not that he hadn't expected to see her eventually... all the neonatal residents could talk about was working with Dr. Montgomery when she finally got back from leave and had a patient that needed to be admitted.  Still, he'd expected to see her at morning rounds or maybe just campaign his way onto one of her surgeries and meet up with her in the O.R.

But even more surprising than running into her unexpectedly was hearing his new friend call out excitedly to the redheaded surgeon.

"Mommy, Dr. Kreva's the same kind of doctor you are."

Addison's mouth dropped open as her eyes fixed on him, and then she laughed.

"Dr. Karev, sweetheart, and I know.  I used to work with Dr. Karev.  And where did Dell go?"

"He's across the hall talking to some girl, but he made me promise not to leave the couch, so I didn't.  But now you're here."

Addison opened her arms as the little girl bounced off the couch and raced over to her.  Once she had her daughter balanced on her hip, she shook her head.

"What in the world are you doing here?"

"I took the neonatal fellowship here.  I started two months ago.  Dr. King told me she'd kept it on the Q.T., so I figured I'd surprise you.  But then you were out of town."

"We were in New York," the little girl answered, and Addison nodded.

"I had some family business to deal with, so I took a short leave.  We just got back two days ago, and I think I was barely up this morning when Charlotte was calling me asking for a favor.  Which, as it turns out, is going to net you a surgery if you don't mind helping out.  It'll give me a chance to see what you've picked up on your own."

"I still never turn down a surgery.  Just tell me when and where and what it is."

"TTTS case.  Tomorrow afternoon probably, but we'll see once the test results come back in.  Patient is Julia Redmond if you want to take a look at the chart."

"Mama, did you get to call Uncle Sam?"

Addison chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"You can see how riveted she is by all our fancy medical talk.  And yes, I did talk to your uncle, and he said to tell you that Maya is coming to the barbecue, and she's ready and willing to build sand castles with you."

Alex couldn't help but laugh as the little girl raised her arms up and said "Yes!" as if she'd just won the best prize in a contest.

"You know, I still didn't catch your name there, Miss Montgomery."

He assumed the child shared Addison's last name, though why he was so certain of that, he didn't know.  There was no ring on her finger, but that didn't mean someone hadn't gotten her down another aisle.  But the little girl seemed... older than Alex would've expected a child of Addison's to be.  It had been years since he'd seen her, but there was no way this girl was less than four, which she'd have to be even if his former mentor had been pregnant on that trip to Seattle.  His curiosity was further piqued, but he stifled a laugh as the little girl blushed.

"I'm not supposed to tell my name to strangers."

"Well, Alex isn't a stranger anymore," Addison told her.  "He's mommy's friend, so you can introduce yourself."

"Hi, I'm Abigail Forbes Montgomery."

The laugh he'd tamped down earlier erupted as he took in the contrast between the excited expression on Abigail's face and the formality of her introduction.  When she extended her hand to him, Alex shook it gently.

"It's very nice to meet you, Abigail."

Addison set her daughter down onto the ground and told her to pack up her things, and then the redhead returned her attention to him.

"You should come by tonight if you're off in time.  It's nothing fancy... Sam lives next door, so between our patios and the beach, we have a ton of room."

"I'm finishing up a 24-hour shift."

She grimaced, knowing full well how tiring that was.

"Well, I'll tell you what, I'll leave you the address, and if you feel like it, great, and if not, I'll talk to you tomorrow about the surgery."

She moved to the countertop by the refrigerator and pulled a notebook and paper out of her purse.  After jotting down some information, Addison tore off the slip and handed it to him.

"It's just me and my partners and the varied collection of significant others and kids.  So really, very casual.  Just drop by if you feel awake enough."

"Okay, great.  Thanks for that, and thanks for the surgery.  I'll go over the chart and stop by and check in on Mrs. Redmond before I leave."

"Sounds good to me.  And we'll hope to see you later.  Abby, you ready?"

Alex turned to see Abigail pick up a little bedazzled backpack that had her name on it, and she smiled wide when she noticed him looking at her.

"I'm ready.  Bye-bye, Dr. Alex."

She waved, and he returned the gesture.

"It was nice to meet you, Abigail."

"You should come to the party.  My uncle Cooper makes the best hamburgers ever!"

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

He followed them out of the room and watched as a man younger than him turned and picked up Abby as she raced over to him.  Alex guessed this was Dell, and while the little girl seemed to regard him with great affection, the newly transplanted surgeon couldn't deny that he was relieved to see no hint that Addison thought of the blond as more than a friend.

When that realization hit him, Alex felt his brow wrinkle.  He hadn't seen Addison in forever and surely hadn't thought about her like... that... in all that time.  Why would he care if she had herself a boy toy if the guy made her happy?  But still, the relief was there whether he understood it or not.

Putting his mind back on his work, Alex went to check on his post-op patient and the two babies he was caring for in the NICU.  Then, following through on his promise, Alex found Julia Redmond's chart and read it over.  The last thing he did was go by and introduce himself to the clearly worried mother and her husband, reassuring them that they couldn't have a better surgeon taking care of them than Dr. Montgomery.

He was dead on his feet when he finally went to the locker room to shower and change, and Alex knew what he should do was go home and crawl into bed so he could get up early and do a review of the TTTS procedure even though he could recite it in his sleep.  But he was more than a little curious about the hows and whos involved in Addison having a kid, and so once he was dressed, Alex pulled the slip of paper with her address out of his scrub pocket and headed out to his car.

Thirty minutes later, he was at the front door about to ring the bell when he heard laughter coming from the side of the house.  Alex headed that way and saw Naomi Bennett, who he remembered from her time in Seattle during Archer Montgomery's illness, ducking behind the gate with a water gun in her hand.

"Hey, there you are," she whispered, waving him over.  "Addie said you were in town.  Come through this way, but warn them you're not me.  I'm being hunted by small children at the moment."

Alex laughed and put his arms above his head as he headed for the gate.

"It's Dr. Alex, not Dr. Bennett, who is not hiding anywhere over here."

He heard children laugh and the gate opened, and a small boy, a girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve and a teenaged girl raced past him, drenching Naomi with their water pistols.  Abby, though, stopped in front of him.

"Hey, Dr. Alex.  I'm so glad you came.  I gotta go shoot Aunt Naomi, but I'll be back."

She raced on then after her friends, and Alex heard Addison laugh behind him.  He turned to find her at the table setting out some snacks.

"Priorities, you know."

"Hey, I get it," he said, walking toward her.  "Nothing like a good water gun fight to make a barbecue."

"I was furious when Pete bought those things, but they love them.  The little boy is Jake, Pete's son" she pointed toward the deck next door and the tall man drinking a beer as he stood beside a lounge chair with a brunette woman sitting in it.  "And Violet, who's there by him, is the mom.  The other little girl is Dell's daughter Betsey, though she's hardly so little anymore.  And the lovely young woman with the patience of a saint is Naomi and Sam's daughter Maya.  Now that I'm done with that laundry list, can I get you a beer?"

He chuckled and nodded.  "I would love one."

She motioned for him to follow her through the patio door into her home, and when she moved into the kitchen, he stopped and leaned on the countertop that divided it from the living room.

"Mrs. Redmond was nervous, but otherwise she was doing well.  She wasn't having any pain.  I saw you had a note for a spinal block instead of general anesthesia?"

"Yeah," she began as she pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the top off before striding over to hand it to him.  "They used to live in Louisiana, and her old medical records were lost.  But Julia thinks she remembers having a bad reaction to general when she had her appendix out.  Better safe than sorry."

Alex took a drink from the ice-cold beer and nodded.  She quickly poured some white wine for herself and then offered her glass for a toast.

"Welcome to L.A., even if it is a few months late."

"Thanks."

"You want the tour?" she asked, and he nodded, trailing behind as she took him through the beach house.  It was beautiful and clearly filled with expensive things, but it also felt comfortable, and Alex kind of loved that she didn't even seem to notice the toys the kids had dropped here and there, just stepping over them as she took him around.

At the top of the stairs, a photo gallery of pictures of Abigail filled the wall.  She was a cute kid, and most of the black and white shots looked like something a photographer would put up to show how good his work was.

"She has never met a camera she didn't love," Addison said when she realized that he'd stopped to take in the collage of images.  "She's adopted, by the way, in case you were wondering.  Biologically, she's actually my niece.  Archer didn't even bother to tell anyone about her; he was really only a check in the mail as far as Abby was concerned.  Her mom was in an accident and, well... I love Archer, but even he knew he wasn't up for raising a child.  So I adopted her."

"I, uh, I was wondering.  But it's good she had you.  I guess I just... I'm surprised I never heard about it.  Did you keep it a big secret or something?"

She laughed.  "Are you kidding?"  Miranda and Callie would've killed me if they found out I adopted a child and didn't tell them.  No, they knew, Mark, Richard... but other than them, I guess I figured no one in Seattle would really be that interested."

The truth was, she hadn't been back to Seattle since working the case right after her brother's surgery, the one that had sent Shepherd out to the woods after the ex-spouses had a virtual showdown in the O.R.  Not that the chief hadn't tried.  Webber had practically begged her to come in on several cases, but Addison had turned him down every time, and Alex suspected it was because even though he had to realize by now that she'd done the best thing for the patient by fighting him, Derek Shepherd still hadn't managed to call up and make things right between them.

"Was New York about Abby?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No.  I just realized that whatever thoughts I had about going back there someday, they were just that--thoughts.  So I went and sold my houses and dealt with everything that had been stored in them for all this time.  My life is here now."

"I guess that makes two of us," he teased before taking another sip of beer.

"Can I ask... the last I heard you and Stevens were planning a wedding..." Addison paused a moment and he knew by the way she was looking at him what she wanted to know.

"Izzie's life is in Seattle.  Mine isn't.  That's really all there was to it."

She nodded and let any other questions she had slip away, and then she leaned toward him and nudged his shoulder. 

"Hey, you ready for that hamburger?"

They made their way back downstairs and outside, and soon Alex was shaking hands and exchanging names with the other doctors from Addison's practice.  Much to his surprise, Alex found himself feeling incredibly comfortable, so much so that he forgot how tired he was and settled into the relaxed spirit of the evening, completely enjoying himself.

Maybe it was just because he was older now, less worried about trying to prove how awesome he was, or maybe it was being with doctors who were already established, and so lacking that competitive instinct Alex dealt with among the other surgical fellows at St. Ambrose.  He wasn't sure, but for the first time he could remember, including college, med school and his early years at Seattle Grace, Alex felt at ease amongst a new group of people.  Pete, Sam and Cooper were all funny, but in different ways -- Sam serving as the straight man to Cooper's silliness and Pete's dry wit; Violet was a little New Agey, but also a little racy and willing to debate just about anything, and Dell had captured his attention by offering surfing lessons, something Alex had been wanting to do since he'd hit the city.

It was easy for him to see why Naomi and Addison were so close.  They were a lot alike--smart, funny, classy, but at the same time, he sensed that Addison helped Naomi have fun and Naomi helped keep Addison from taking herself too seriously.  It made them a good combination, and he enjoyed it when a story about their college days came up, giving him a glimpse of his mentor before she became a world-renowned surgeon.

The only potentially weird thing about the night, really, was his boss being there, but Charlotte seemed capable of leaving her work face at work.  She and Cooper struck him as that couple who probably argued 95 percent of the time, but they clearly had really deep feelings for each other, and he kind of admired they way they withstood the ribbing of their friends, giving as good as they got and not letting it rattle them.

And Cooper's burgers were damn good, just as Abby had promised.

It was after nine when Alex offered to carry Abigail, who had fallen asleep in his lap a good hour earlier, up to her room, and Addison led him up the stairs and into the bright, spring-colored little girl's room that made it clear his new young friend had a thing for butterflies.  Alex deposited the sleeping child onto the bed after her mother pulled the sheet back, and then he raised a concerned eyebrow.

"Should we try to get that sand off her?" he whispered.

Addison chuckled.  "Not worth trying to get her back to sleep, trust me.  That's what washing machines are for."

He smiled, and after giving her daughter a kiss goodnight, Addison followed him out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I see you still have quite the way with the ladies."

"Excuse me?  I didn't hit on anyone tonight."

She laughed.  "Abby usually doesn't take to strangers like that.  She's always polite, but you got invited to color and she asked you to help build sand castles.  Another female charmed by the Karev smile..."

He was flattered and a little embarrassed, but it was nice to be reminded of the fact that the redhead walking beside him, who he'd still call one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, had once been susceptible to his charms.

"Well, I should probably get going," he said, not wanting to wear out his welcome, but Addison shook her head.

"Why don't you at least let me make you a cup of coffee before you get on the road?  I know you must be ready to drop, and I can't have you getting in an accident on the way home.  We have surgery tomorrow."

He accepted her offer and followed her into the kitchen, and he sat at the counter watching as she made coffee, listening as she filled in a few of the holes in stories he'd heard over the evening.  When she poured the coffee, she asked him how he took it, and after spooning some sugar into his, Addison passed it to him.  Alex took a sip and couldn't help but moan slightly in appreciation.

"This is so much better than hospital coffee."

She laughed.  "Well, if you actually own a coffeemaker, I'll get you some next time I go to the market."

"Well, I'd be an idiot to turn that down."

"So what do you think?  Does L.A. feel like home?"

He took another sip of his coffee as he considered that.

"It does.  I feel... in sync here, if that makes any sense.  Like maybe what I want and what I need are finally all in the same place?"

She nodded.  "I get that.  I felt that way once I stopped expecting being here to solve all my problems.  Which I did, I admit it.  But... once I found a balance between the practice and doing surgeries at the hospital, once I realized what a great group of friends I'd found... it started to feel like where I belonged."

"So you found everything you were looking for?"

"Well, it's still a work in progress," she said, laughing.  "But since Abby came, it's been... it went from a good life to a very good one.  And now I have my all-time favorite resident--excuse me, fellow--to pull into surgeries.  The rest will sort itself out."

*****

He slept solidly for five hours once he made it home, and when Alex woke up the next morning, he raced through his shower and breakfast, anxious to get to the hospital and make sure the prep for the TTTS surgery was being taken care of.  He had just finished updating Mrs. Redmond's chart with the final labs when a gift bag decorated with balloons appeared on the counter in front of him.

"Abby picked out the bag," Addison quickly pointed out.  "You're lucky I talked her out of the unicorn one."

Alex chuckled and peeked into the bag.  It held a pound of what he assumed was the fantastic coffee she had made him the night before, a selection of energy and protein bars and a box of herbal sleep-aid tea.

"Things to keep you awake and running for our surgeries and something to help you sleep when you finally get out of this place.  Oh, and..."

She picked a manila envelope up off the counter and held it out to him.

"That is Abigail's contribution to your 'welcome' gift."

Alex opened the envelope.  It held a crayon-colored picture of the beach party last night.  "To Dr. Alex, Love, Abby" was written across the top.

"What did I tell you?" she said, rolling her eyes.  "Wrapped around your little finger."

He laughed and put the picture back into the envelope for safekeeping.

"Thank you again for last night.  It was great to meet your friends."

"And now they're your friends.  Though you may wish not once they start dragging you out to relive their single days vicariously.  Poor Dell is worn out.  They're gonna love having another victim."

With that amusing and slightly terrifying image in his head, Alex ran his gifts back to his locker and got ready for surgery.  Four hours later, Mrs. Redmond was in recovery, her twins both doing well, and Alex was beaming.  Addison had allowed him to laser one of the vessel connections.  It was an intimidating surgery, one Addison was a rare expert at performing... and she'd trusted him to actually direct the laser.

As he changed to go home later, he eyed his gifts from the Montgomery girls and he pulled Abby's picture free from the manila envelope.  It was adorable, really, her attempts to make everyone easily identifiable so earnest--her mom's read hair, Violet's curls, Cooper's odd-shaped sunglasses.  It was a wonderful reminder of a great night, and he tacked it up on the inside of his locker door before heading home.

It took nearly a month for it to really hit him... a month of hanging out with the Oceanside Wellness crew and dinners on the beach and drinks at their favorite Santa Monica hangout and even a few sessions spent in intense sand castle building as he and Abby tried to out-architect Betsey and Dell before he realized that he understood exactly what Addison had meant that night in her kitchen.  His life had been good already--his job challenging and rewarding, his new apartment feeling like home, the city suiting his tastes.  But then something had come along... and made it better.  And now it was just a matter of the rest sorting itself out.

"So Pete mentioned he and Violet were taking Abby with them to San Diego this weekend."

Alex glanced over at Addison at the scrub sink and saw her laugh.

"Sea World.  She's beside herself with excitement."

"You got any plans?"

He waited as she thought a minute and then shook her head.

"Not really.  Maybe some shopping.  You?"

"I was thinking of heading over to Griffith Park.  I keep hearing how great it is, but I haven't had time yet."

"Oh, there's this terrific restaurant on Hillhurst you should check out.  Their food is amazing."

Alex clicked off the water in his sink with the foot pedal and turned to face her fully.

"Maybe you could show me?  Since, you know, you don't have any other plans."

He hoped that the shy smile she tried to cover up was a good sign... and that the slight blush in her cheeks meant what he hoped it meant.

"Okay, you're on."

Addison headed into the O.R., laughing in that girlie way he heard her laugh when she was gossiping with Naomi and Violet and Charlotte on her deck.  He was taking that as a good sign, too.  And as he moved toward the O.R., Alex decided that life in L.A. had just gone from good to better to totally freakin' great.

He couldn't wait to see what would happen next.