Against All Odds

9. Mark, Derek and Addison

"Hey." Meredith breathlessly greeted Derek as she set her lunch tray down next to his and had a seat.

"Hey!" He grinned at her.

"Sorry I am late, I stopped to check on Michael. He was sleeping." She told him.

He nodded and leaned back in his seat with a wide, knowing grin.

Meredith rolled her eyes.

"What?" She asked pointedly as she chewed on a French fry.

"So we do anal every other Tuesday, huh?" He asked.

Meredith blushed.

"How did you hear about that?" She asked.

"Hear about it? I thought I was the one experiencing it with you. Let me think...hmmm...no. No anal. I would remember that."

Meredith force fed him a French fry. He chewed it with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So do you?" He asked.

"Do I what?'

"Want to...you know..." He nodded towards her ass.

"Um...that would be a no."

"But..." He whined.

"Yes, it a butt, it's my butt and it is used for exit purposes only." She said emphatically.

"Please..." He pleaded jokingly.

"Okay, I will tell you what. I will do anal, but you first." She said.

"What do you mean?"

"You have, oh I don't know, Mark, violate the hole in your ass that is initially the size of a dime with something the size of silver dollar...and I am being kind there as to his size...and then if you are able to walk and don't need too much therapy to get over the experience...then we will talk." She offered.

Derek paled and swallowed hard.

"Never mind." He croaked.

"That is what I thought you would say." Meredith's pager went off and she took on last bite of her sandwich, stood up and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "As stimulating as this was, I have to go work now."

"See ya later. I love you." He said.

"Love you too."

He watched her leave, grinning widely. She was back to old sassy, snark y self again. A movement to his left broke him away from his staring.

"Is this seat taken?"

He looked up with a glare.

"Yes." He said tersely.

"Hmmm...too bad." She said, as she sat down, her left breast brushing his arm on purpose. He pushed away.

"Go away Addison." He demanded.

"Derek, come on. I don't know anyone else here, but Mark and I haven't seen him yet." She said.

"You don't want to. He hates you more than I do, if that is possible."

"Tell me something Derek. How can you forgive him so easily, but not me?" She asked.

"It wasn't easy. If it wasn't for Meredith, I wouldn't have. She taught me a good lesson on forgiveness when I had to beg for hers for being so rude and fucked up because of you." He spat.

"Well, if Saint Meredith taught you, then why can't you forgive me?" She persisted.

"Because with you, I have no obligation to try. I don't owe you anything. Mark is my brother."

"Yeah, you know the saying, 'Bros before Hos'?"

Addison took a deep breath and looked up at Mark.

"H...hi." She stuttered.

"What the hell are you doing here Addison?" He asked, his voice harsh.

"I am here for work, of course." She said.

"Isn't this hospital beneath you Addison? Isn't that what you said when you found out that is where Derek went? That he is slumming it here on the West Coast." Mark asked mockingly.

Derek leaned back and let Mark take over. He needed the closure. Derek had his. Meredith was his closure.

"Look Richard asked me to come here and I did. I didn't even think about you two..."

"Oh cut the bullshit Addison! You knew Derek and I were here. And you knew he had forgiven me and you knew he was happy. You can't stand it. You are so unhappy with your life that you can't handle that we are perfectly fine without you." Mark accused.

"We were Derek and Mark and Addison. We were the Three Musketeers!" She exclaimed.

"We are still the Three Musketeers. Only Meredith replaced you. I guess, counting Squirt, we are the Four Musketeers. Wouldn't you say, Derek?"

"Stop calling my son Squirt. His name is Michael. I swear, you and Yang are driving me crazy."

"Yeah, Yang is definitely crazy." Addison joined in, laughing. She stopped abruptly when they both glared at her.

"Cristina is Meredith's best friend." Derek told her.

"I know, we had a little chat earlier." She said dismissively.

"And you are still walking?" Mark asked.

Addison rolled her eyes and Derek fought the urge to smack her.

'I won't hit a woman, I won't hit a woman', he chanted to himself.

Mark leaned close to him and muttered, "You won't, but I will. Just say the word."

Derek looked at Mark, who grinned, and Addison, who looked affronted.

Okay, maybe he wasn't talking to himself...

"Look, I have to get back to work." He stood up and grabbed his tray.

"Hey I have a patient I need a consult on. Know any good Neurosurgeons?" Addison quipped.

"Very funny." He sighed. "Find me later." He said, hesitantly.

Addison smiled widely at him as he left. She felt, rather than saw, Mark's glare.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"Yeah, you can." He stood up, picked up his glass of water and poured it over her head.

She jumped up, shrieking.

"Why the hell did you do that, you fucking moron?"

"To see if you would melt. They make the witches stronger these days, huh? Go back to New York, Addie, no one wants you here."

"I hate hate hate you! And I will go when I am good and ready!" She screamed at him.

She heard his laughter as he walked away. She noticed everyone staring at her.

"What the hell are you all looking at?"

That was it. No more Ms. Nice Girl. It was time to bring out the big guns.