❝𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃❞ ɢʀᴇʏ·s ᴀɴᴀᴛᴏᴍʏ

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Addison watches the scene curiously, pushing her glasses down the bridge of her nose to get a better look. She has been pretending to be reading the chart in front of her for five minutes now, frowning even for those around her to see that she is concentrating, while she is really keeping an eye on Maddox, who has been talking to one of the nurses on the surgical floor for quite some time. The flirtatious gestures of the young nurse are evident, but so is Maddox's innocence in not realizing it.

Since the last real conversation she had with Maddox days ago, Addison can't help but feel that something has changed in her. Maybe it's that she sees the young surgeon as someone inexperienced, someone innocent, someone to protect from harm. Or maybe it's that she has grown unexpectedly fond of her after such a short time of knowing her and feels the need to look out for her best interests. Maddox is attentive, she's sweet, and she sees people. Addison is convinced that Maddox deserves the best, and although she is sure that nurse is not, she is curious about the conversation.

"What are you doing?" Derek asks next to her with a small smile. Addison likes it when Derek is in a good mood, because it seems to be the only way he realizes Addison is still there. "Stalking your next prey?"

"Excuse me?" Addison frowns, misreading the message. Derek silently chews his gum and nods to Maddox. "I'm not stalking anybody, and she's not my prey. I told you, I want her on neonatal, so I'm going to do this right."

"I've never seen you so keen on someone. She's that good?"

"Babies love her, mothers even more," Addison nods, checking the chart. "She's that good. And to answer your question, we have a transfer from Mercy West. I was just studying her case."

Derek's pager goes off. "I gotta go. Don't demonize her, okay? Everybody likes her. Hell, even Bailey likes her, so you better watch out," Derek smiles. "I'll see you later."

"I'm not demonizing anybody!" Addison shouts after Derek, who turns around and smiles broadly.

"Who are we demonizing today?" Maddox says behind her, hands in her pockets, a goofy smile on her lips and her hair pulled back in a braid. Seeing that Addison doesn't answer, but just looks at her, she shows her the pager. "You paged."

"Follow me and read this," Addison hands her the chart. "A Mercy West transfer. Looking for the best, so that's what we'll give them. Had fun with your friend?"

"What?" Maddox lifts her head from the case and wrinkles her nose. "Oh, you mean Kate. Yeah, she's an old friend. Well, barely friend, but acquaintance. We went together to some courses in uni. She became a nurse and she's older than me, so I lost touch with her years ago."

"She was flirting with you."

"No, she wasn't," Maddox denies, laughing, and Addison arches an eyebrow. "She was? I don't think she was. She was just being friendly."

When the elevator doors close, Addison approaches her at a much closer distance than she should, so Maddox stammers a little. "You know, standing this close to you, touching your arm and laughing every time you open your mouth is not being just friendly," Maddox has to move closer and closer to the elevator wall to keep Addison from hearing her heart beating nervously.

The brunette presses the clinical board against her chest tightly and tries to control her nerves. "Okay, I get it. I guess I'm not used to being flirted with. I'm not interested anyway, I told you. No people from the hospital. Keep syphilis far from me, thank you."

Addison laughs, but she can't help but feel a little disappointed. She knows she shouldn't feel that way, that Maddox is just a friend, if she can call her that, and that she should put that behavior aside. Maddox is just a child in comparison, and she's still married, so if she really wants her marriage to work she needs to stop letting herself get carried away with the desire someone triggers as soon as they give her some attention. Addison feels strange because she should be seeking approval from her husband, not an intern.