Hospital Hijinks: A mildly AU Grey's Anatomy RP

Addison sat cross-legged on the floor of her office, leaning back against the cool leather of the couch as she flipped through a glossy catalog. She was biting on a plastic spoon absently, only removing it to ask Mark his opinion about something, or to scoop out a spoonful of pudding. They had agreed to meet in her office for lunch, and Addison thought it would be the perfect time to get his opinion on some furniture and linens she had been eying for their new home.

All week long, she had looked through various catalogs while she was on break, during lunch, before bed, and any other time she could. She couldn't wait to be able to decorate their new apartment (or condo, or whatever they chose) -- she loved decorating the brownstone, picking everything out and making a space for each item. In every catalog, she had marked the pages that contained items she liked, and had spent the last 10 minutes holding the pages up for Mark to look at, so that he could agree or disagree with it.

So far, she had gotten one 'yes', two 'no's, four 'I don't care's, and six 'sure, Addie's. She was beginning to get frustrated.

Flipping to the next marked page, she held it up so that he could see the wrought-iron lamp with a cream lampshade, something that reminded her of the gates and lamps in Central Park. "What do you think of this?"

Sometimes it rains for so many days on end that people start to forget it’s unusual anywhere else. Umbrellas get tossed, hair stays permanently wet and boots stay constantly near the front door. It’s one of those days that Izzie finds herself away from the hospital, driving aimlessly, nearing the shore.

She puts on her breaks as a car in front of her eases out of its space along First. She ends up sliding into it before turning the ignition off and digging into her pockets for loose change. After surveying the floor of the car Izzie finally manages enough for a few hours, tossing the coins into the meter before pulling on her heavy coat. It’s only drizzling now and everything smells wet and cold, but oddly warm and comforting all at the same time.

She walks towards Pike Place Market, pulling her hair out of it’s elastic to warm her neck before shoving her bare hands into her pockets. The whole street is slowly coming back to life as the rain practically stops, tiny twinkle lights turning on inside store windows, the smell of hot cocoa coming from almost every other vendor, a guitarist strums his instrument before returning to his familiar tune.

Izzie sighs, her breath marking the air as she stops to finger some bracelets before handing the women behind them a few bills. It’s simple, a string of bright blue beads and she starts to walk down the street attempting to fasten it to her wrist. The clasp is tiny and as she drops the strand, it bounces once before sprinkling beads everywhere.

“Dammit.” She bends down, trying to pick them up before deciding the cause is definitely not worth it, straightening up, pushing back her bangs to find herself face to face with a familiar one.

Addison moved around the room, picking up clothes and throwing them into piles. Their hotel room was very messy, but she hadn't had the time to clean it up, what with Christmas coming and all.

She was half-dressed with dark-colored jeans gracing her lower body, perfectly hugging her curves, and a green-and-red lacy bra on top. She was rummaging through a pile of clothes thrown on the chair, determined to find the green cashmere sweater she knew was there somewhere.

She let out a groan of frustration. "I hate this!" She kicked the chair, sending the pile of clothing toppling over and causing Mark to poke his head out of the bathroom. She continued on, without regard to him, "This is terrible. It's raining, and I can't find my sweater." She paused to take a deep breath and kept going, her arms gesturing wildly about. "It can't be raining on Christmas, it's supposed to snow! Christmas isn't Christmas without snow, and Central Park, and hot chocolate..." She trailed off and plopped on the bed, her hair bouncing as she did so.

She sat hunched over, her bottom lip sticking out. "I used to love Christmas."

Mark grinned to himself as he watched Addison sign charts.  It had been an event trying to ditch his intern before lunch, and he was sure Karev would find him sooner than he'd liked.  But for now he had managed to get a little peace away from the surgical wing, and he knew exactly who he wanted to find.

Sauntering over to the counter where she was hunched over charts he whispered into her ear "OR 3's empty for the next half hour.  When do I get my tour?"

After Alex left her to follow Sloan out the door she managed to pull herself the rest of the way together before clipping her hair half back and slipping her white coat on. She headed towards the elevators forcing herself to breathe normally with each step. The elevators. The same ones she’d last stood in when she’d been in her gown, fingering the hem of her dress as she forced herself not to cry out at the top of her lungs that she, Isobel Stevens, was happy.

The doors opened and it shocked her how unfamiliar such a familiar place could become so quickly.

She found Addison leaning over the nurse’s station writing on somebody’s chart. It was just Addison. Addison wasn’t Bailey; Addison at least seemed more- human.

“Doctor Shepherd, I. Should I report in to Dr. Bailey first or is this where I’m supposed to be?”

Alex found his way to Sloan's new office later, toting an armful of dry cleaning, a few notes from the car rental place and Mark's hotel. He'd effectively finished all of the stupid little chores Mark had tossed his way within about an hour, not stopping to moan and complain to anyone for very long (Well, besides Meredith - she'd stopped to chat for a few minutes, but still.)

And, he'd even grabbed Mark a coffee. Cappuchino, extra dry - he thought maybe the coffee would earn him a few extra points.

He reeeeally wanted in on that surgery.

So he knocked on the door, arms full of crap, awaiting Mark's response.

With only a week to their anticipated move-in date, Derek has been spending every free minute outside of the hospital trying to get them ready. He doesn't have much to move really-- he didn't bring much from New York and he's decided to leave the trailer fully furnished whether he decides to sell it or not-- but Meredith has more stuff, and the past several nights he's spent at her house, helping her pack.

Plus, he has the builders assembling the house around the clock and it would be impossible to sleep next to all the noise so staying at Meredith's is just as convenient for him.

He has spent most of his day off on their land, overseeing the plumbers and electricians and running some "last minute" errands like ordering the bed Meredith likes the best to be delivered and a few other things for their house intended to be early Christmas gifts.

Every room may not be furnished by the time they move in, but their bedroom and kitchen should be pretty well-equipped, at least.

By early evening, he has finally finished with everything and picking up some take out, makes his way to Meredith's house to work on some post-op notes he had put off while he waits up for her.

That's his intention anyway.

A fresh shower, a beer, and three rolls of sushi later and the day has finally taken its toll on him. Her house is deathly quiet in that way that only a home filled with several noisy people can be when it's empty for the evening, and he closes his eyes and rests his head on her pillow, thinking he'll only lay there for a minute.

A minute turns into two hours and he hardly even stirs when all three interns return home for the night.

She'd driven herself that morning. She wanted time to mentally prepare herself for walking into that hospital again. Because she knew the first thing she'd have to do was report to Bailey. And she knew that Bailey would most likely be at the second nurse's station on the surgical floor. And she knew that to get there, she'd have to pass Denny's room.

So she was preparing herself.
__

She parks the car, reaching into her glove department to pull out the old parking pass before re-hanging it back on her mirror. She stares ahead of her, letting her eyes close in one last moment of doubt before blinking them open, promising herself that she will take advantage of this fresh start.

That this time she’ll learn to separate Izzie from Dr. Stevens. This time she’ll correct the things that had made her a weaker surgeon.

She steps out of the car, grabbing her tote and heading towards the front doors. She doesn't let herself get loss in looking for people she knows or trying to overhead whatever crisis just rolled into the ER. She keeps her mind on just making it to the locker room and when she does she pulls the door open, stepping inside as she slumps against it. She straightens herself up before turning to the last row of lockers where she sees Alex sitting with his back to her.

He's early. He's never early. But at least now she isn't alone.

"Hey. You’re here.” Her voice is honestly grateful and she doesn’t even try to conceal it.

Addison was thankful that the rest of her day had gone as quickly as it did. It wasn't stressful, but she was eager to leave and make it back to her hotel so she could get ready for her date tonight.

She hadn't seen Mark the rest of the day, only the back of his lab coat as he had gone around corners, almost like he was looking after her. When she went to her office at the end of the day, she had found a single red rose, wrapped in cellophane and adorned with baby's breath. She had smiled, and went about her business, but the neonatal nurse had told her that there was a glow about her now that hadn't been there a few days earlier, and she was sure it was because of him.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror in her hotel, looking over herself to make sure she looked okay. She wasn't sure where they were going for dinner, but she had chosen a knee-length deep turquoise dress - a satin one that hugged her curves in all the right places, tying around her neck and flowing out at the bottom. She had left her hair down and curled it at the ends, and only applied just enough extra make-up so that her eyes stood out more.

She exited the bathroom, checking her clutch to make sure she had everything, and sat delicately on the edge of the bed. It wasn't long before she heard a knock on the door.

Mark leaned out the car's window to take the two steaming lattes from the barista's outstretched hands. He passed them over to Addison before rolling up the window and pulling his car away from the Starbuck's drive-through.

He took a quick sip from his cup before turning onto the road towards the hospital.

"So," he began, "this dating..."

His voice trailed off as he glanced over at Addison. Catching her eye he laughed, thinking about waking up in her room that just hours before.

(Translation: Barista = Starbucks coffee slave employee)

"So, guys," Meredith says, grabbing a slice of pizza out of the box on the coffee table. She settles in her chair, smiling at the figures of her roommates splayed haphazardly across and around the couch.

"What's up tonight?"

Addison hadn't talked to Mark in almost a week. She'd seen him throughout the hospital and caught his shadow moving into on-call rooms, but she hadn't had the chance to speak to him.

Which wasn't really that bad.

She still wasn't sure where she wanted their relationship to go, and what she wanted it to mean. All she knew was that he was Mark. He was the one she chose to sleep with, when hundreds of other guys were willing and able. He was the one she could never fully get out of her head.

She tapped her pen against the chart she was reading over, when she felt a presence behind her. A cup of coffee slipped onto the counter next to her. She knew who it was, who it had to be. She took a deep breath and turned around.

Mark walked briskly off the elevator onto the relatively unfamiliar wing of the hospital. He suddenly felt a twing of nervousness wondering how she'd react.

When Mark had accompanied Addison to the hospital, he hadn't counted on doing anything aside from waiting patiently for her to finish checking her patient. He hadn't planned on being pulled when a pair with second and third degree burns covering their bodies were rushed into the hospital. He certainly hadn't planned on staying in Seattle to monitor the patients until they had recovered enough to begin the first round of surgiers and steadily picked up more cases the longer he stayed.

Weeks later, he was given the perfect excuse to stay in Seattle in the form of Richard Webber pulling him into his office that morning. The only real question was how would Addison react, especially seeing as how little they had interacted the more he found himself at the hospital.

It was easy to spot her fiery red hair from down the hall. Setting his jaw in a determined line he walked towards her.

"Webber offered me a job," he said without preamble.

Izzie’s folding laundry. And dusting. And vacuuming. And well everything else in between that and washing dishes. Izzie's a cleaner, well no actually Izzie's a nester, but Meredith isn't a huge fan of the nesting so Izzie’s become a cleaner-that Meredith doesn't seem to mind so much. Cleaning is a lot like surgery. It's sterile, it's organized, it's for the greater good and it makes Izzie feel normal. Normal is good.

Okay fine, millionaires cleaning their own house- not normal, but still it feels good.

Izzie pushes her bangs off her forehead as she folds the last of George's shirts. She stacks them on top of the rest of his pile combining it with her own and heads towards his room. Half-way across the living room the door bell rings. Setting the basket down at the foot of the stairs she heads back towards it, picking up some loose mail off the floor and pulling the door open.

The surgery had been a long shot.

They'd both known it but Derek had made a career out of taking the long shots-- the uncertain surgeries no one else would touch-- it's what made him a world class surgeon. He was willing to try and, more often than not, his success rate was good.

Good enough for him to not think twice about this one. Good enough for him to invite her to scrub in, so he could teach her something no one else would.

It just wasn't good enough for them to actually save the man's life this time.

He always takes it as a personal offense when he loses a patient. But this time she'd been there with him, she'd actually been operating along side him-- not just observing-- and he is more concerned about her than himself.

She takes it personally too, he knows, and it is different, harder, when it isn't just a patient you've spent time with, but one you are actually cutting on when they code. Considering all the stress she's been under lately, with first her accident and then her possible pregnancy, he wants to make sure she is handling it okay.

He pages her to meet him in an empty on-call room, the only place he can think of with some semblance of privacy, and he waits for her with a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of water. It's not quite time for dinner but they never meet up in the on-call rooms, not even for sex, and he doesn't want her thinking that's what he intended this time.

Besides, knowing her, she probably hasn't had much of anything to eat all day.

Derek sits in his office, finger pressing down the 'flash' button as he wonders just why this is so difficult to do. He's more than ready to get this taken care of but making this phone call violates all of his normal ways of dealing with things which mostly involve him ignoring it until it passes.

Still, he doesn't want this to be done strictly between their lawyers. Addison was his wife, the love of his life-- she was Addie-- for over twelve years. He feels like he owes it to her to at least handle this phone call in person.

Sighing, he lifts his finger off the button and dials her office number, holding his breath as the phone rings.

Mark listened for the sound of the car locking behind him as he and Addison made their way to the Seattle Grace entrance. Satisfied that the car was locked he pocketed Addison's set of car keys, glancing down at her to see if she noticed

The entire drive to the hospital, he had wondered what was going through he mind since their conversation had been cut short with her pager. He was genuinely concerned about her staying in Seattle without family or friends, despite the fact that she had lived in the city for months already. Mark tried to convince himself that his worry was based solely on friendly concern and nothing more, he already began piecing together excuses in his mind to stay in the city longer.

Mark trailed after Addison into the lobby, his pace slowing once inside the entrance, unsure of where to go or where he should wait for Addison to finish with her errand to check on her patient.

Just as they were getting situated comfortably on the couch with their coffee and house planning materials, Meredith hops off the couch. “I’ll be right back,” she states with a playful grin, then pads off down the hallway towards the bedroom.

Moments later she returns, the extra blanket from the bed bundled in her arms and the grin still on her face. “We’re cold,” she tells Derek, handing over it to him so she can get herself settled.

Once she does, they spread it out and slide it behind their backs, pulling the edges around the front of them and wrapping themselves in it. She snuggles closer to him, planting a kiss on his neck and then laying her head on his shoulder.

Meredith is a little cold, but really? She just wanted an excuse to cuddle under a blanket with him.

Alex rubbed his eyes, which were bleary from lack of sleep, and stumbled into the on-call room, collapsing into sleep almost instantly. There was a really cool surgery in OR 2 that he wanted to scrub in on, and in order to do so? He was going to have to do some A+ sucking up to the Nazi in a few hours.

But that was not for him, now. Now was sleep time.
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