This Christmas -- Addison/Pete

There were a lot of things Addison realized she hadn't known about Pete Wilder back when she'd first moved to California and been all caught up in how sexy and dangerous he was because he was "the can't commit" guy and she was looking for true love, and there's nothing sexier or more dangerous than the can't commit guy when you're looking for happily ever after.

But it felt like ages had gone by since then, and now she and Pete weren't the crazy coworkers making out on the counter in the exam room anymore.  They had gone through the near-miss of being lovers and then there had been hard feelings and then quite unexpectedly they had settled into being friends.  Neither of them was sure when that had happened, but more and more, when Addison had needed a nonjudgmental ear to bend, Pete was her go-to guy, and when Pete needed someone to just let him hurt or be angry or just be, Addison's couch was where he landed.

Then there was Violet and Katie and the nightmare that had come from one woman's instability.  Good had come out of it... Lucas had come out of it.  But none of them had ever really gone back to being who they were before that day.  Addison still felt the enormous pressure of caring for all of her partners... even her former partners... and more often than she'd like, that task required her being the bad guy, often leaving her not only bruised and bleeding, at least emotionally, but also feeling more alone than she'd ever been anywhere except perhaps Seattle.

And Pete... it had taken him months to come to terms with the reality that Violet had forever stopped being the Violet he had loved.  She eventually began to take baby steps back toward Lucas, finally showing interest in her son and in being his mother, but Pete had confessed one day as he and Addison stared at the ocean from their bench that he knew he'd lost Violet forever.

Lucas' first round of teething had kept Pete awake for 50 straight hours, and when Addison had seen how ready he was to drop, she'd told him to come over and bring Lucas and a bag for the weekend.  Pete had barely been in the door before she'd sent him upstairs to the guest room to sleep while she and Lucas headed out to the beach with Addison's secret weapon for teething... frozen orange wedges.  When Pete had woken up nearly six hours later, it was to find his son sprawled over Addison's chest on one of the deck chairs, the two of them napping contentedly.

Even though he felt like a new person after some uninterrupted sleep, Pete had accepted Addison's invitation to stay the rest of the weekend so she could help out while Lucas got over his rough patch of sore gums.  And in what had seemed a startling slice of normalcy, they had done things like go to the farmer's market to buy groceries, and Pete made dinner while Addison spooned baby food into Lucas between smiles and giggles.  Then they watched a movie and fell asleep on the couch together.  And in the morning, he made pancakes while Addison took Lucas for a run with her, the little one showing off his first tooth nub from inside his stroller.

In that same way that neither the goddess of neonatal medicine or the master of alternative treatments could tell you when they'd transitioned from hurt, jealous almost-lovers to good friends, neither one of them could identify the moment when Pete and Addison started to become Pete-and-Addison.  The relaxed, fun feeling of that first weekend had led to more shared time with each other and with Lucas.  Then when Violet had Lucas for his first full weekend visit, Addison had gone over to his place to keep Pete from climbing the walls with worry, which led to their first night alone without a baby to keep them from thinking about how her smile made his stomach tingle or how the way his hand held hers felt just about perfect.

There were dinners and made-up excuses to get one over to the other's house without making it obvious that the real motive was to get a few more hours together.  There were days spent walking the beach talking about all the ways they'd messed up in the past and how they wanted the next time to be better because they'd learned from their mistakes.  And there were long, lingering kisses that each turned and ran from on alternate occasions as the fear of ruining what they had built overtook their hope it was something more.

Except Pete was sure it was something more.  And so was Addison.  But neither of them was sure how to say it out loud without scaring the other one away.

The idea of inviting himself and his son over to her house for Christmas had occurred to Pete more than once, but it seemed like a way to put instant pressure on them both to come up big somehow... all that holiday magic crap just looming in the air.  Thankfully for Pete, his son was good with the ladies.

"Adzi!"

His version of her name had been Lucas' second word, "cat" being the first, and when the elevator doors opened and Addison stepped into the car, Lucas reached for her instantly, calling out her name with a wide grin on his face.

"Hey there.  How's my favorite little man?"

Lucas babbled on, clearly telling Addison just how he was as her eyes fell on Pete, who was smiling at them.

"I think you're his first crush."

"Well, I can't help it if your son has excellent taste."

Pete leaned in and whispered his next words, his breath teasing her skin and setting butterflies loose in her stomach.

"He gets it from his dad."

Their lips came together with Lucas pinned between them, and the baby's giggles drew them apart and sent them into a fit of laughter just before the elevator bell sounded.

"I, uh, have some stuff for Lucas... and for you... for Christmas.  I wasn't sure what your plans were, but..."

"No plans," Pete stated quickly as the doors opened.  He reached out to hold them apart with his leg, buying them a few more seconds.  "And we have a few things for you, too.  So whenever you're free..."

"I'm free," she answered, blushing slightly at her speedy response.  "I mean, if you guys want, you can come over Christmas Eve, stay over.  We can do the whole dinner, presents in the morning thing with Lucas.  My tree is pretty fabulous."

Pete remembered given that he was the one who had carried it into the house with a much needed assist from Sam.

"I think we'd love to spend Christmas with you and your fabulous tree."

It was hard to tell whose smile was bigger as the doors began to close and the elevator dinged, but it didn't really matter.  They had both gotten what they wanted.

Addison went traditional with her dinner with a little help from Whole Foods.  She also picked up fresh blueberries in anticipation of Pete's breakfast chef routine, a sinful looking chocolate cake for dessert and on her way home, she stopped for a bottle of her favorite champagne for after Lucas went to bed.

Her guests arrived right on time, and after enjoying their turkey dinner, Pete and Addison settled on the floor in front of the tree to let Lucas open one present before bedtime.  She couldn't help but laugh as the little boy surveyed the rather large pile of gifts before moving in for the kill on a rectangular box decorated with white and red ribbons and snowpeople wrapping paper.

When he saw the oversized dump truck, the baby's eyes lit up, and he pointed to it wildly, shouting "Dada" and "Adzi" as he did.  A few minutes later, Addison dissolved into giggles as Lucas tried to run his father over with said dump truck and Pete did a fantastic impression of road kill to amuse his son.

It was after eight, Lucas sleeping soundly in the second guest room that had become his home away from home, when Addison and Pete settled down on to the couch with plates of chocolate cake and the champagne that Addison savored as she took a sip.

"He loved that truck," Pete offered as he finished a bite of cake.  "You really... you make him very happy, you know that?"

Addison shrugged and leaned back against the pillows.

"He's a baby boy.  Trucks, some soft food and a little tickling... wrapped around my finger."

They both laughed, and then Pete sat his dessert down and turned to face her.

"So, uh, how's that work for big boys?  A little chocolate cake, a little champagne, a little tickling... wrapped around your finger?"

It was crazy forward given how much they had been hedging bets, but after their kiss in the elevator, Pete was feeling... ready.  He was tired of being worried when he knew what he wanted, and he was absolutely certain that was the slightly nervous redhead sitting across from him.

"I, uh... I forgot.  Um, you have a Christmas Eve gift to open, too."

She stood, deflecting for a moment as her breathing started to speed up.  She'd made her choice the minute she'd wrapped the gift.  Now all she had to do was follow-through.

When Pete stood suddenly, they bumped into each other and he grabbed her quickly, steadying her before she toppled over the coffee table.

"Sorry.  I just... I have one of those for you, too."

They exchanged fleeting smiles and moved to the tree, retrieving their packages and returning to the couch.  Addison reached for her glass and downed the rest of her champagne.  She was oddly comforted to see Pete do the same.

"So who goes first?" she asked, and Pete twirled the small package in his hand by the end of the gold ribbon that circled it.

"How about... we go at the same time?"

She nodded and passed him the red, white and silver box.  Her butterflies took another fluttery lap around her stomach as she watched him start to untie the ribbon on his gift.  She took a deep breath and followed suit.  She was just taking off the lid when she heard Pete laugh.  That wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting, and her eyes darted towards him.  Her face must have said it all, because he instantly motioned toward her package.

"Just finish opening yours."

She did, and the moment she saw it, she laughed as well, smiling over at him.

Her box contained a sterling silver frame that held a picture of her, Pete and Lucas at the Wildlife Waystation.  Pete's friend had let Lucas pet one of the baby tigers, and the look of absolute rapture on his face combined with the joy of watching him on theirs had made it her favorite photograph.

It was apparently Pete's favorite, too.

Pete pulled his gift the rest of the way out of its wrapping, revealing a sleek modern black and metallic frame that held the same picture.  When they both started to say "thank you" over each other, they burst out laughing again.

But when Pete leaned over and kissed her, Addison felt her amusement melt away as her thoughts and her emotions swiveled to a very different place.

"This was really all I wanted," he said, his breath tickling her lips.  "I wanted to spend Christmas with you and with Lucas.  I wanted the chance to show you that... here with you is the only place I wanted to be."

She reached out and her hand settled behind his neck as she drew him in for another kiss.

"Then it looks like we both got what we wished for," she whispered, "because I wanted you here more than anything."

There was more kissing and more talking and more cake and champagne, and when Addison stood and took his hand, Pete smiled up at her.

"So... can I not sleep in the guest room tonight?"

She pulled him up and flush against her, and even though the kiss she gave him left little doubt as to her answer, Addison put words to the mood between them anyway.

"No more guest room for you."

Pete chuckled as she started toward the stars, drawing him behind her.

"Oh, this is the best Christmas ever."