Falling Apart, Barely Breathing

Chapter 54: Surprises

"Ask away," offers Derek.

"Well, I've been having these headaches lately..." Archer confesses, and Derek nods understandingly.

The exchange lasts for a few minutes, and Meredith stands there entranced as the pair of them seem to catch up for a while.

"So, what have you been up to with Addie since you've both moved to Seattle?" Archer finally asks Derek.

"Oh, well, she and I... Addison and I got a divorce," Derek says simply.

"You and Addison!" Archer exclaims.

"Yeah..." Derek shrugs. "Things just weren't working out, and she's really happy now," Derek says.

"Whoa, what a big change," says Archer.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a big change for me because-" Derek starts to go on, but he's interrupted by another voice exclaiming;

"Archer Montgomery, there's my man!" Calls out Mark Sloan from the hallway.

"Mark, good to see you," says Archer, smiling at seeing his friend again after a long while.

"How've you been holding up?" Mark asks him, punching Archer teasingly in the shoulder.

"Not too bad, and you?" Archer asks Mark.

"Well, I'm adjusting to the rain, and a staggering few women turning me down to be in lesbian relationships with each other, but other than that it's been a scintillating start to my Seattle plastics career," Mark smirks in his telltale guffaw.

"Women turning you down huh, who would have thought?" Archer teases.

"And to think, none of them have ever let me join them," Mark smiles.

"So do tell, who are these mysterious lesbians that you speak of?" Archer asks him.

"Well-" Mark begins to answer, before he's also interrupted.

"Hello Archer, it's been a while," offers Richard Webber as he approaches the group of them.

"Hello Dr. Webber, it has been ages," Archer smiles, recognizing Richard from when he was Derek and Addison's graduate studies mentor.

"Here to visit your sister are you? Well, that's certainly nice of you. She's in surgery for the moment, but I'm sure Meredith could help you find her after that if you wanted. Say, would you like to get a coffee to catch up later on?" Richard offers.

"That sounds great," Archer says. "Hey, how are things going with yourself and Adele these days?" Archer asks forwardly.

"Not bad, same old," Richard shrugs.

"Well, say hi for me," says Archer, and Richard says that he will.

"Now, who is Meredith that you're all speaking of?" Archer asks Mark and Derek once Richard has left again.

"Oh, hi, my name is Meredith Grey," Meredith finally wills herself to offer a handshake to Addison's brother.

"Good to meet you, Archer Montgomery. I'm Addison's sister, and I'm a neurologist," offers Archer.

"Neat," says Meredith, as she asks him about neurology because she's a bit shy to blurt out that she's dating his sister just yet.

Meredith doesn't have to think about it very long though, because the next thing she knows in bursts her girlfriend.

"Oh there you are, Meredith, I've been looking all over for you," Addison says happily, without taking mind of her surroundings.

Addison stalks right on over to Meredith, and sweeps the blonde right off of her feet in a quick kiss before she deposits her back on the floor again, and Meredith giggles as she holds onto her girlfriend.