redamancy

Charlie takes her to the airport, they say goodbye and Addison cries. She promises to call her when she gets there. Charlie holds her hand and doesn't want to let go, the tears are starting to form in her eyes, she only lets go when Addison's flight gets called, and they part.  

The taxi pulls up outside the building. Oceanside, health and wellness are plastered on the side. She hands the driver some cash and gets out of the taxi. 

The boy behind the reception desk is young and looks like he came straight out of a surfing film, his blonde shaggy hair and pukka shell necklace just scream 'California'. 

"Hi, I am...I think I'm in the right place. I'm looking for..." Addison begins to say, but her eyes catch on someone heading towards the elevators. "Maya? Is that you?" She questions the young girl.

"Addison!" The girl calls out, rushing to hug her.

"Oh my god. You got so big. What are you like 45 now?" She laughs, taking the girl by the shoulders.

"Maya, you're going to be late for school." Addison looks up and Naomi is standing in the doorway smiling softly. "Addison."

"Hi. Surprise. I flew in this morning so...hi." Addison grins at her old friend.

"Maya, go get your backpack." She says to her daughter, she nods and walks off. "What are you really doing here Addison?"

"I missed you. And I know I haven't been in contact but I've been having some rough times lately. Ok? I got divorced and then- "

"So did I."

"Oh my god. You and Sam?" Addison stares at her friend in disbelief. Sam and Maya walk over to where Naomi and Addison are standing together.

"Addison." He smiles tightly and nods his head.

"Bye, daddy," Maya says, hugging her dad tight.

"Bye baby." He says, leaning down to kiss her head.

"Hey," Addison says to her friend; they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"Hey." He replies with a nod of his head.

"Sam, I'd say good to see you but..." Addison gestures to the walls in the room, pictures of him

"Yeah." He chuckles and digs his hands in his pockets.

"Your face is everywhere. Body language..." She admires one picture in particular, by the elevators, his arms are crossed his smile is big and fake.

"Yeah, I had a few thoughts so I wrote them down and..."

"And now you're the common man's medical guru." She raises her eyebrows.

The elevator dings and a woman rushes out, sunglasses on her face and car keys in her hand The woman huffs and makes her to the young surfer boy behind the desk.

"Hi, Dell. Can you push my appointments back an hour? I had to rescue Cooper." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"This is Addison." Sam introduces her. "Addison, this is our shrink."

"Violet, hi. Bye." She waves and starts to walks off to, what only Addison can assume is her office.

"What did Cooper do this time?" He says catching her before she disappears.

"What does Cooper always do." She stops and stares at him with a pointed look 

"A woman." Naomi and Sam say in a monotone at the same time.

"I can't believe this. I'm his colleague, not his chauffeur." She rolls her eyes and walks into her office.

"So, this is co-op medicine."

"Yeah, doctors working together. It's me, Naomi, we have a paediatrician, a shrink, an alternative medicine practitioner..." He says gesturing around the office. Suddenly Naomi cuts in and places an arm on Addison's bicep.

"Could you excuse us for just a minute?" She smiles at Sam and he shrugs. They walk off to Naomi's office. 

"Hey, Sam, who is that redhead with your ex-wife? She's hot, very hot." Pete says, leaning back on the reception desk and staring into Naomi's office.

"Don't even think about it." He says to Pete, shoving a finger on his face.

Addison laughs as Naomi, sits her down in a chair, in front of her desk. "You work with your ex-husband in a shrine for your ex-husband." She laughs.

"It's actually a good book. And we're friends. We stayed friends even after we got divorced. It's very healthy. We're healthy." 

"What happened between you and Sam?" Addison pushes her friend for an answer.

"Addison, you and I were close in med school. It was a long time ago. 

"Oh, Naomi, come on. You can't stay mad at me forever. I know you." Addison leans forward in the chair. 

"You got fat." 

"I did not." Addison laughs it off

 "Your hair looks hideous. 

"It does not." She knows she's just angry at her.

"And you're getting really, really ugly. 

"Aww. I've missed you too." She says to her in a fake tone.

"So...why are you really here?" 

"You're a fertility specialist, one of the best. 

"You wanna have a baby? 

"I wanna have a baby." Addison smiles at Naomi. She sits on the corner of her desk and raises an eyebrow. Addison thinks about what to say, instead, she just holds up her hand. Naomi's eyes widen and her jaw drops. 

"I thought you and Derek- " She says, reaching out to see the ring

"It's not Derek.

"Mark?"

"No. Her name is Charlotte." Naomi smiles as Addison gushes all about her fiancée. "She doesn't know I'm here, I thought I would come and see you then surprise her." 

"Of course, we'll do some tests. We'll check FSH and your estradiol levels. We should also probably do an intro-follicle count." Naomi smiles and settles behind her desk. Addison takes a breath and smiles at her. "So how long are you here for?"

"Three days, my flight is in the evening."

"Well then, let's get these tests done," Naomi says getting up from her seat.

Addison stays at the centre, she stays and watches how they do things and how it works. It nice, calmer than Seattle Grace, and it was nice to be around her old friends again. At one point Naomi even offers her a job. She turns it down. Not yet, she has too much she wants to do in Seattle first. She decides to at least start to get some sun while she's here, god knows when she'll next see it in Seattle. But before she can disappear to the beach, Naomi calls her into her office.

"Your test results came back in." She says to her friend. "Your F.S.H. Level is high. Well, they're high this month. We can do, uh, ovarian stimulation but your antral follicle count is only two.

"Well, that could be due to stress. Hell knows I've gone through a lot of it in the last couple of months." Addison laughs it off.

"Addison, I'm sorry." Naomi's face is full of sadness and concern. "I did all the tests. There's...there's no fertility potential here." Addison lets out a shaky breath and closes her eyes. She takes a moment, its quiet between the two of them

"Addie."

"Okay. Uh... this is good. This is, um... oh, this is just... perfect." Addison laughs.

"Addison..." She says in a concerned tone.

"No, it's just...I have the great guy. I don't have a baby because I'm focusing on my career. And then I have the other guy. I don't have his baby because he's not the great guy. And now I'm happy and I have the perfect girl and I'm finally ready to have a baby, and I can't. That is so... exactly what my life is. Exactly what my life is." Addison laughs and slouches in the chair

"I'm so sorry. I know how much you wanted this."  She reaches over the desk offering her hand, Addison stands up and paces.

"It's okay. I just, um... I just didn't realise I was out of time, that's all." 

"Addie, please stay so we can..." Naomi tries to convince her to stay.

"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Thank you... for telling me. Thank you. I'm gonna head out. I've gotta call, Charlie." She smiles and leaves the office.

She gets a taxi back to her hotel. It isn't until she gets to her door, does she realise what really just happened. She can't have kids. She sighs and shuts the hotel room and leans her head against it. The tears begin to fall and she lets herself break down.