Something beautiful

After (3)

Addison's POV:
2010

Dinner with Meredith and Derek was something I expected to be awkward. We were going out to a fancy restaurant, Sam made the reservation and everything. So, I slipped into a tight red dress (completely forgetting that Meredith always told me red was my colour. Or maybe not) and a pair of black heels, then curled my hair delicately before applying some light make up.

"You look amazing" Sam smiled, opening the car door for me. We were meeting Meredith and Derek out there, so I'd gotten ready at the hospital after my shift.

"You clean up pretty good yourself" I smiled through the guilt I'd felt ever since I came back to Seattle; I smiled through all the overwhelming emotions I'd felt towards Meredith since we got to the hospital. I knew, without a doubt in my mind, I knew I'd always be in love with her.

But that didn't mean I couldn't live my life and fall in love with someone else, too.

"The restaurant is supposed to have amazing pasta; I know how much you like Italian" Sam told me, pulling into a parking lot after driving for a solid fifteen minutes. Traffic wasn't bad, so I'd say we made it there in record time.

"Sam! Addie!" Derek greeted us at the door with wide arms and a big smile "it's so good to see you!" Meredith stood beside him, and my breath caught in my throat. I felt like I couldn't breathe; the air around me was becoming thinner and thinner. Her eyes met mine, and I nearly fell straight over.

Then, I saw her eyes traveling from my face to my ass and I knew that she hadn't changed a bit.

Grabbing Sam's arm to steady myself, I smiled politely as Sam kissed my temple lightly.

"Lets go and get some food, we have so much catching up to do!" Sam exclaimed, while Meredith and I stayed silent, still stealing looks at each other as we went inside and made our way to our table.

"So, tell us about life up in California!" Derek smiles, as we order our wine and our food. He seemed genuinely happy, and nice, which wasn't the Derek I was used to.

"It's amazing" I smile "I love the warm weather; you don't realize how depressing all this rain is until you move somewhere where it rains maybe once every month" I laugh. I was trying to make nice, trying to make this anything but awkward, but it was hard.

"We have a practice, and Addie loves it" Sam explains "she always tells me how amazing it is to have semi normal work hours" I nod in agreement with Sam.

"It's so amazing because I spend all day bringing life into the world and I don't have to worry about any risky surgeries. Naomi creates these babies from microscopic eggs and sperms, they're almost nothing they're so tiny, and then nine months later I get to see them breathe for the first time, and you know, be a person! It's unreal!" My work made me excited, it was something I was passionate about.

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the rush of a good surgery.

"Naomi?" Meredith asks, delicately sipping her wine. She hadn't said much to me since we arrived at the restaurant, so I assumed she was just going to avoid talking to me. Apparently not.

"Sam's ex wife" I tell her politely "they got divorced about six months before Derek and I. It's a shame, we all went to med school together and yet we haven't seen each other in so long" I muse.

"Sometimes when I'm feeling nostalgic, I even start to miss Mark. How crazy is that?" Sam and Derek laugh together, while Meredith smiles a tight-lipped smile. Even though Mark and Lexie were still together, so I'd been told, she still didn't seem to be a fan of Mark. She never was, and she absolutely hated that he slept with me.