Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 13

A/N: I've had to make a few edits to previous chapters, I did a re-read and realised I'd gotten a few things wrong that make following chapters possibly confusing. 1- Where Addison had been referred to before she arrived in Chapter 11, the character has changed because I didn't want to use her in that role... which will make sense in a few chapters. 2 - Where in Chapter 12 Addison referred to a 'Brian' that character's name has now changed to Ryan, because I didn't realise I'd already used the name in the first chapter.

Enjoy this update!

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She was almost halfway through the week, Tuesday night. It would finally be over soon, and she could relinquish the responsibility of this damn hospital. Ellis and Richard would be back on Saturday and she had everything set for her to leave on Sunday night. She couldn't wait to be gone again, to go somewhere where nobody knew her. Or rather, they didn't know the real her, or the person she let people see. She wasn't needed anywhere; she didn't need to be anywhere, and her phone would only be available for emergencies. She'd turn it off completely if she could but it's the only way her mother wouldn't pester her.

She was pretty sure she was still tired from the weekend prior. They'd gone to the hotel Saturday night, and ended up staying awake all night just exploring each other's bodies. It had been different in a way. It wasn't a quick hook up in an on-call room, or a tryst in her office or his office. It had felt more than just a one-night stand, she had started to feel something more and that scared her. She had avoided being alone with him ever since because it scared her so much.

She currently sat shut away in her office, working over a case file she'd been sent that morning from New York. Ironically enough, it had come from Derek's old chief at Mount Sinai for her to take a look at. She wasn't sure why it had been sent to her and not him, but she didn't mind too much. It was an extraordinary butterfly glioblastoma in a 12-year-old girl that they wanted her to consult on, see if there was anything she could do to help. She looked over the scans, chewing on her thumbnail as she thought about it.

"You've been avoiding me," she heard his voice suddenly, and she glanced up at the doorway, a knot tying on her stomach.

"I'm busy," she murmured, sighing slightly as she adjusted her position in her seat, pulling one leg up against her chest as she zoomed in on the scan on the tablet in her hand.

"You're always busy," he said.

"I'm a busy person, you know I am," she glanced up at him again before looking over the case notes again, biting her lip.

"Can we talk? Without whatever is on the tablet distracting you," she looked up properly, her eyes following him as he moved to sit in the chair across the desk from her.

"I'm working," she frowned at him slightly.

"It's almost eight in the evening, you should be going home."

"When did you become my boss?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm just saying, it's getting late," he shrugged, "What are you looking at?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she grinned slightly, biting her lip again as she raised her eyebrows at him, "You asked me, at the weekend, you asked why I travel so much, why I don't stay in one place."

"Yeah, you like travelling?"

"And I get cases like this," she grinned, turning the tablet to face him showing him the brain scan.

"You... that's incredible," his eyes widened as he leant forward to look closer at the scan, "You're going to operate on that?"

"I'm definitely going to try," she nodded, turning the tablet around again to look at it again, "Yeah, I can resect the whole thing."