I'm Always Running (Into You)

Chapter 3 - Two

A/N: There are some SPOILERS for Private Practice (Season four/five, I believe).

Also, Chapter Titles are now song titles from the Meddison Playlist I made on my spotify (Link is on my twitter) As is the trend with Grey's. And I'm slowly reading through this fic on my podcast (again link is on twitter).

***

Addison pulled into her driveway and parked next to the unfamiliar jeep. She took a deep breath before gathering her things and stepping up to the doorway. Stepping into the foyer, the hallway was dark and quiet. She locked the door behind her as was usual, slipping her keys back into her purse and hanging it and her coat up on the rack. She peered into the hall, looking for signs of life. But the whole house was quiet. She had gotten back later than she intended to. Had Meredith left? No, her car was still in the driveway. Addison shook her head at her worry. Why was she worried, anyway? It's not like Meredith had promised to be there when she got back. She couldn't expect the other woman to wait around for her all day. She decided that instead of looking for the other woman she would simply go upstairs and continue her routine.

She slipped into her sweats and Yale hoodie, glad to finally be out of her heels. She washed up, removing her makeup and moisturising her tired skin before making her way back down stairs. Just as the hallway had been, the rest of the house was quiet. Frowning, she peered through the kitchen around back, smiling when she spotted them.

Meredith was sitting out on the balcony with her two kids, who were playing together. As though she sensed her presence, Meredith looked up and waved a little. Addison smiled, grabbing her blanket from the chair by the door and slipping out into the cool evening air. She sat wordlessly next to Meredith, pulling the blanket over both of their legs.

"The kids are fed, they shouldn't take too long to tire themselves out. I'll get them to bed soon and they'll be out of your hair." Meredith offered.

"Oh, no Grey. I love kids. You can stay here as long as you like. Really. And you aren't being a bother at all. It's actually nice to have people around." Addison smiled.

Meredith didn't respond. She seemed to be contemplating, tapping her fingers together as she stared into the ocean.

She seemed turbulent, outwardly she was calm and stoic, but Addison could tell that behind her stiff manner a torrent of thoughts was whirling around in her brain. But what could she do, with the kids right there? Addison decided to leave it, as Sheldon had advised. Wait for Meredith to talk to her instead of pushing as was her instinct. Instead, she chose to play with the kids. After all, she needed the practice, right?

Bailey managed to open up a little, allowing Addison to play trucks with him – even insisting that she make the noises. But when the redhead tried to engage with Zola, she found that the girl was wary of her. She wouldn't push with the kids, either. They would come around soon.

As the sun came down, the kids got tired easily just as Meredith had predicted, and she scooped up bailey as Meredith led Zola back to what was now their shared room. Addison tucked Bailey under the covers, leaving Meredith to say goodnight to her kids. The simple action of it alone made her miss Lucas, and ache for the future child she was now ready for. But she pushed it aside – she couldn't even begin to think of that when she was still so far away from becoming a mother.

Her rumbling stomach thankfully interrupted that dangerous train of thought, so Addison began searching for her takeout menus. Really, she should be more organised and keep them all in the same place. She began searching under the adoption papers still strewn across the coffee table, before deciding to neatly stack those away on her desk in the office instead. She could fill them out later. She finally found the menus on the sideboard, quickly flicking through and finding her favourites, ordering a decent sized Chinese spread for her and Meredith, if the other woman was hungry. She knew it wouldn't take too long to arrive – the place was only a block away and the kid that ran delivery always came quickly knowing she was a generous tipper.