Triage has never been one of Maddox's favorite stages in the patient visit process. In fact, it's perhaps the one she hates the most, either because the patients are rude, ill-mannered and constantly complaining, or because the wounds are so rudimentary that, as bad as it sounds, she gets bored tending to them —sometimes she worries about looking like Cristina in the slightest. Well, now that she has some free time to think, she hates the post-ops of operations gone wrong even more: communicating the loss to family members is the hardest thing she's had to do in almost a year on the program.

So when Bailey places her in the ER that morning, the look of disappointment Maddox tries to hide is obvious. Bailey looks her up and down one last time before leaving, but doesn't say anything about it, and Maddox thinks it's because her resident is one of those who still doesn't think she's fully fit to scrub in. Until the time comes, the girl knows she'll have to settle for the most basic tasks without complaint, and then, when she waits patiently, that's when her turn to operate comes up.

There are not many people in the emergency room, basically because the opening of the free clinic has taken up most of the light cases. Taking advantage of the shortage of patients, Maddox sits on one of the gurneys and fiddles with her phone. Addison's name lights up the screen, but she can't bring herself to press the number to call her because they've only been apart for a couple of hours and she doesn't want to appear emotionally dependent. The last message the redhead sends her is that she has arrived and the trip went well, but it is so tempting to send her another message to hear from her...

"Easton!" A loud voice snaps her out of her reverie, and her hands shake so badly that her phone nearly falls to the floor. Bailey walks into the ER with a medical chart in her hand and stamps it against her chest with a slight frown. "Am I boring you? Is the ER not interesting enough for you?"

"Of course it is," Maddox stammers, tucking her hair behind her ears. "The last two people that were in triage left with bandaids, so... It's not packed today," she excuses herself. She doesn't know why, but Bailey still seems too imposing.

"Well, lucky you," Bailey points to the file. "There's a boy coming right up with his mother. Yang said you were the best out of them with kids, so this is yours," Maddox raises her eyebrows slightly, not expecting Cristina's sudden compliment, and Bailey adds, "Yeah, it's not a very good excuse to get rid of minor cases to scrub in, but I happen to agree with Yang this time. Oh, by the way, congratulations on your, you know, thing, with Dr. Montgomery."

"What? How—"

Bailey purses her lips. "I am Dr. Bailey. I know everything," she looks like she's going to smile a little, but then reacts and challenges Maddox with her gaze until Maddox backs away. "Let's get to work now!"

The intern watches her go, moving gracefully between nurses and orderlies, and can't help but smile. Years ago it was her in that position, with her mother lying on one of the gurneys and her resting, anxiously, on the stool next to the gurney. Bailey was just a girl, with glasses and long hair pulled back in braids, looking nervous and somewhat inexperienced, but always conveying reassurance with her diagnosis. Maybe someday she would be able to tell her that it was because of Bailey that she has become what she is today.

When the boy and his mother walk toward her, it's not exactly what Maddox had in mind. She was expecting a little boy whimpering in his mother's arms, not wanting to be separated from her for a moment, but instead a boy of about fifteen appears with an ice pack on his forehead engaged in an argument with his mother. Maddox thinks of Cristina and the bullet she seems to have dodged, using her as a human shield. "Good morning. Jared?" Maddox greets, reading the patient information.

"Yeah."

"Excuse me, where is the doctor? We were told they would be here."

Maddox purses her lips nervously. "I am the doctor, ma'am."

"Oh, but aren't you a little young?"

"God, would you stop, mom?" The boy groans, holding his head. "Let her do her job. The sooner we finish, the better."

"Yeah, sure," the mother smiles by way of apology. "I'm sorry. He's never been hurt this badly and I'm just a little nervous. Of course you know what you're doing."

"Okay. Can you tell me what happened, Jared?"

The boy huffs, but seems pleased that someone is finally taking notice of him and his needs. "I was hanging out with my friends and got a big tackle. I hit my head on the ground and passed out for a while before my mom picked me up and brought me here. I feel fine now, really, it was nothing."

"I believe you, but fainting is something we have to take into account. We're going to run some tests to make sure everything is okay and then you can go. By the way, why the tackle?" asks Maddox as she lights up the teenager's pupils. Bailey always says that empathizing with them and taking an interest in their life can be good for trust and further diagnosis, so Maddox complies.

Jared snorts a little. "I'm on my high school football team. I have to practice strategies if I want a starting spot on the team."

"At only fifteen years old? That's impressive," Maddox whistles a little, knocking the ice off his head. There's a huge red bump on his head and a small trail of blood from the open wound. Maddox thinks she has to keep making him talk to see the effects. "This doesn't look too nasty. Let me guess: wide receiver?"

Jared narrows his eyes. "How do you know?"

"I know my way around football. Besides, it wasn't too hard. You're still young and fast, and everyone's favorite position lately is wide receiver. I guess Rice really paved the way."

The kid smiles, dumbfounded. "You know Rice?"

"Of course I know him. I'm a Seahawks fan. My dad tried to get my brother on the high school team, but he never made it, so he had to settle for the daughter who liked softball. I would have been crushed," Maddox laughs. "I'll take you for a CT scan to check for any head injuries, in the meantime your mom can wait for us in the waiting room, okay? Don't worry about this, it's a common test. It doesn't mean you have anything serious," Maddox smiles.

"Easton," Bailey's voice surprises her back again, and she wonders what she's done wrong this time. "Your shift is over. I've paged Dr. Robbins for you. Dr. Arizona Robbins, from peds; Dr. Maddox Easton, intern."

Maddox's first thought is that Arizona Robbins is gorgeous. She smiles at her and has funny dimples that make her look very young, her cheerful blue eyes go slanted and Maddox smiles to keep from saying anything silly —when she's nervous it's not unusual for her to change the order of the words she's trying to say, so she falls silent.

"Pleasure," Maddox nods, somewhat confused, "I thought I was supposed to cover the pit today, Dr. Bailey."

"Yang requires your, Stevens, Grey and Torres' services this afternoon, and I thought we could spare one or four doctors today. However, be sure to answer your pagers in case anything happens. Don't make me regret my decision, Easton."

"Oh, don't be so hard on her, Bailey," Arizona laughs. "I'm sure she's done a great job here today."

"She knows why I'm hard on her," her resident looks at her, and Maddox almost smiles, as if at her friend.

"Dude, she rocks," Jared whistles, smiling.

"Does she?" Arizona turns to look at her.

"Yeah. It's the first time an adult knows what she's talking about when it comes to football, and she told me I might be out soon, so I could make it in time for the Seahawks game tonight," the boy speaks, happy, and his mom strokes his hair beside him.

The peds doctor seems impressed with the young intern's attitude, but simply gives her a small smile and nods. "I'll be sure to look for you on NFL lists in a few years," Maddox smiles. "Take care, okay?"

The brunette excuses herself, leaving Dr. Robbins with her patient and his mother, and joins the other four girls at the hospital entrance, but not before stopping by the locker room to change into more comfortable clothes and leave her neatly folded uniform in her locker.

"You sure took your time" Cristina complains loudly when she sees her arrive, and it doesn't take her five seconds to drag them all out to the parking lot to get into the car. "My mom and Burke's mom are here to plan the wedding, so now that you're all my bridesmaids..."

"You didn't even ask me," Maddox interrupts, frowning.

"Bridesmaid?"

"Yeah!" smiles Maddox.

"Okay, now that we have that settled, I need you to come with me to try on dresses for the wedding. My mother will take your measurements and have something ready for you. I apologize in advance for anything they might do to you."

"Oh, God," Callie snorts, rolling her eyes.

"I hate this place," Callie mutters next to her, sipping lightly from a glass of champagne.

"Why, don't you like weddings?" Maddox replies without turning to look at her, but instead looking in the mirror at how her dress looks on her. It's been a bit rushed, because Mrs. Yang hasn't gotten her measurements yet, so they've had to grab one from the store. "It's not my favorite color, but it doesn't suck."

"With that body you could rock a bag of chips," Callie smacks her arm. "It's the best color ever. Baby blue suits you. And sure I like weddings, but I don't like being a bridesmaid, least of all for someone I don't know much about. I'd rather fix the bones, thank you very much."

"Come on! Don't be a party pooper. You had your own ceremony, let the others have theirs. You have a kind husband, a job you love and now you get to watch other people celebrate their love, isn't that great?"

"I was hoping for a little support here," the resident snorts. "Being with Addison has softened you up. Where is she, by the way?"

"She's gone to Los Angeles to visit a friend, she'll be back in a few days," Maddox smiles. "Isn't this just surreal? That Cristina is the first of us to have a wedding. I've always rooted for Mer and Derek to get married first. And I really didn't see George's move," laughs Maddox. "I like weddings."

"How many weddings have you been to?"

"Oh, none," Callie gives her a withering look, but it's impossible to dampen Maddox's mood. She's happy, she still doesn't quite understand why, but the day seems fine —something that seemed difficult with Addison being so far away.

"How about this one?" A female voice catches their attention from the main room, where the mothers of the bride and groom are admiring Cristina, who is standing on the pedestal as she looks at herself in the mirror with obvious distaste.

"You look so pretty!" Izzie cooes.

Maddox and Meredith exchange a knowing glance, because they know better than anyone that this style is very different from what Cristina really wants. "It's a beautiful dress, but I think Cristina might want to try on something a little more... Modest?" Maddox intercedes at her friend's pleading look. "It's going to be a beautiful day for her, so she'd better feel good about what she's wearing, right?"

"You're right, honey," Burke's mother agrees, sending her a soft smile. Maddox directs a nod to Cristina, who is silently grateful that Maddox is the only one who is able to control her words around outsiders.

"Your phone is ringing, Mads," Meredith alerts her from the inner room.

Addison's name lights up the screen and Maddox's heart skips a beat in her chest, so she excuses herself to talk somewhere more private. "Hey, you! What's up?"

"Hey. Is it a bad time?"

"No, of course not," Maddox shakes her head, even though Addison can't see her. "I'm not at work, Bailey's let me out a bit early. It's Cristina's wedding soon and we, as bridesmaids, have to accompany her to go dress-shopping. It's going a lot better than I thought for Cristina, though," the brunette lets out a little laugh.

"Any chance I get to see your dress?"

"It's not even my real dress, it's something they had in the store. Cristina's mother is taking our sizes to order dresses for all of us. All I can say is that I'll wear blue."

"Oh, is that a hint so I get something matching?"

"Maybe," Maddox laughs. "Hey, not that I don't like it, but did you call for a reason?"

There's a slight silence on the other end of the line, and Maddox tries not to worry. In her head, Addison is on the beach in Los Angeles with her friends, laughing, maybe drinking some margaritas, happy. "I just needed to hear your voice. I miss it."

"Cheeky. But really, everything okay? It's awfully quiet in there. I was hoping at least seagulls," again there is silence, but this time the young woman can hear a sigh, a sigh of someone trying to keep calm. "Addie?"

"Actually," Addison's voice is low, and it doesn't take too long to hear the tears in her voice, "no, everything's not fine. But really, the sound of your voice is enough."

"Addison, talk to me. What happened?"

"I'll tell you when we see each other, okay? I'm sorry," she adds after another brief pause. "I shouldn't have told you anything, now you must be worried. I'm fine, I'm staying with Naomi and we're just fine. Nothing happened. It's just— I'll be back tomorrow, okay? I—" silence, as if she caught herself saying something she shouldn't."I miss you."

Addison doesn't give her time to say anything else, but unexpectedly hangs up the call, and Maddox can only hear the annoying beeps that indicate there's no one on the other end anymore. She holds the phone to her ear for a few seconds, waiting for Addison to call back to explain what has happened, but it doesn't happen, so she looks at the screen with concern.

She gathers up the skirts of her dress so she doesn't fall down as she runs as best she can to the inner room to change clothes. "I gotta go."

"Addison, you need to rest," Naomi sighs, wearily. Since the fateful news, her friend hasn't moved from the couch, her eyes wet and her gaze lost somewhere in the kitchen, waiting for God knows what.

Night has already fallen in Los Angeles, but the weather is still warm for the time of year it is. They've been out of the clinic for a couple of hours now, Naomi hoping that the hard blow to Addison would pass with time, or that she really doesn't care as much as she's made her think at first. However, the passage of time has been worse.

"Addison—" Naomi tries again, but is interrupted by the front doorbell ringing. She gets up from the couch with a sigh but a slight frown, because it's about eight in the evening and she's not expecting anyone at that hour. She decides to open the door, because what she sees through the peephole doesn't seem threatening. Nothing could be further from the truth; in front of her is a young girl, with a worried look and breathing slightly agitated, as if she were in a hurry. She is a brunette, with cleavage-length hair, and striking green eyes. "May I help you?"

"Hi, yeah. I'm looking for Addison Montgomery? I think I've got the right address," the girl looks at the doorway number and then at something written on a piece of paper. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Maddox Easton."

Naomi's eyes widen. "You're Maddox? Of course, come on in. But what exactly are you doing in Los Angeles? I thought you lived in Seattle."

"Thanks," Maddox smiles a little friendly smile. "I do live in Seattle, but Addison called and I got worried. I booked the first flight to LA I could. Is she okay?"

Addison's friend sees Maddox's worried look, and instead of commenting on how young she looks, she places a hand on her back and invites her inside the house. "I think she'd better tell you. Your company will do her good. After all, you were the only person she called," Naomi replies, trying to ease the tension in Maddox's face. "Addie, someone is here for you."

Addison turns at the same instant Maddox follows Naomi into the kitchen, and when their gazes meet, the redhead can't believe it. Maddox sets the small backpack she's brought on the counter and approaches her, kneeling down so that she's eye level with her face. "Hey. I've missed you too. I know I may have overreacted by coming here, but you looked like you weren't having a good time, so I wanted to be with you."

"What are you doing here?" Addison manages to croak out. "Did you take a flight?"

"Yes, I did. I told you I wanted to be with you, you left me a little worried. How are you feeling?"

"You're crazy. Weren't you trying on dresses, and on call? And you took a flight?"

"Well, not anymore," Maddox smiles nervously. "You want to tell me what happened?"

Maddox's tone of voice is so conciliatory and innocent that even Naomi looks at her tenderly. Addison looks for her with her eyes, trying to get her to tell her what to do, and Naomi just nods. "I didn't... I didn't tell you the whole truth. I came to visit an old friend, but... not just to pay a visit. I thought, maybe... I don't know, I was being stupid. I thought maybe it was time to get tested to see if I could have children someday. Turns out I'm not. I can't have babies," Addison mumbles the last part, her eyes wet again.

"Oh, Addie. I'm sorry," Maddox takes her hand and strokes the back of it gently. "I didn't know you wanted children so badly. At least not under these circumstances," Maddox finds it hard not to blush, but manages it.

"It's over," Addison sighs. "I'm not having kids and the sooner I get it, the better."

"It'll be fine," Maddox whispers against her hair, leaving her a short kiss. "There are other ways to have kids, you know that. Or maybe it was just a bad day to get tested, maybe you can get tested again in Seattle another day."

"Naomi is one of the best there is. I'm not going to be a mother, ever."

"It's going to be okay, I promise," Maddox swears, wrapping her arms around her. She knows it won't be the greatest comfort of all, because she doesn't know how Addison really feels, but she tries to make the warmth emanating from her body enough to make her feel a little better. "Have you had any dinner? We can go out for a while and grab something."

"Can we stay here?" Addison's voice is thin as a thread, and Maddox nods quickly against her head, willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy her. She exchanges a glance with Naomi, who purses her lips sadly. "I'm not hungry. I'm tired," the redhead comments, then tilts her head to look at Maddox. "Aren't you tired? You've spent like three hours on a plane."

"I'm fine."

"You can stay in the guest room: second floor, down the hall. Make yourself at home, Maddox, and thanks for coming. I like you already," Naomi winks at her in an attempt to take some of the tension out of the mood, and Maddox smiles a little, not taking her eyes off Addison. "Good night, girls."

Addison nods, recognizing the voice, and rests her head on Maddox's chest again. "I can't believe you're here. How did you manage to get out of the hospital?"

"I asked Alex to cover for me tonight. I'll owe him a lot after this, but it's worth it. And before you ask me, yes, this has been my latest whim: my urges leave me without money," Addison smiles a little, and Maddox can sense her mood improving by the minute. "Don't worry about it. I don't want you to think about it. I'm here now, and I can't take it back. Do you want to talk about this? Why didn't you tell me you wanted a baby so badly?"

"I didn't want to sound desperate. It was just the other day when we talked about it, and maybe it was putting too much pressure, but I always wanted kids, and Derek never did. But you... I saw you talking about kids and something inside me said 'this is it.' I just wanted to see the possibilities, and it turns out I don't have any."

Something inside Maddox stirs, and she doesn't know if it's tenderness or fear. "You wanted to have children now?"

"Not exactly now, but... Maddox, I'm thirty-seven. It's clear that my time of having babies is over. I thought maybe you'd be open to the idea, somehow, someday," Addison snorts, brushing her hair out of her face. "Just forget it, okay? I'm being stupid. You're too young and you're still an intern and you still have a lot to live yet. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done this."

"You're not stupid, Addison. I understand what you mean. I should have been more clear. When I talked about children I didn't mean now. Maybe in a few years, but not now. I like kids, but I don't think I'm capable of doing this now. Just promise me that next time we'll talk things out instead of running away from the state, okay?"

The redhead lets out a faint laugh through the tears flooding her cheeks, and Maddox presses a kiss to her temple. "It's okay. I promise. And I'm sorry I made you escape too. You'll probably be stuck in the ER for a few days if Bailey finds out."

"It'll be fine," Maddox assures her. "Now, come on. Let's get some sleep. I have to be there tomorrow for the night shift if I don't want Alex to rat me out."

Maddox lifts Addison off the couch, slings the small backpack over her shoulder and gives the redhead her hand to lead her through Naomi's house. She sees pictures of a little girl who looks like her scattered everywhere they pass, so she assumes it will be her daughter. She doesn't bring up the subject of children again to Addison because it seems too soon, and honestly, Maddox worries that she doesn't have enough words to comfort her sadness.

The pajamas Maddox has brought consist of old clothes, a Harvard football team jersey and pants that Addison has already seen her wear on occasion. Addison's heart flips in her chest as Maddox pulls out of the backpack the pajamas she always wears in her hotel room, and she finds it charming how Maddox has remembered so many things in a matter of hours.

Addison doesn't have to say anything for the other girl to slip her arm over her waist to hug her silently. There is a soft silence that Maddox takes the opportunity to close her eyes, but Addison interrupts it. "You're... amazing. Everything you do for me is incredible. I know it's nothing like this, but when Derek found out I'd been with Mark, he kicked me out of the house. It was raining. I was kicking at the door, begging him to let me in to fix things. I was crying, I was a mess. He opened the door after five minutes, and I thought he finally came to his senses. Turns out he'd been picking up my clothes and had thrown them down the street," Addison mutters, cringing. "I know I fucked up. I can't really blame him for his behavior. But I can't stop thinking about how he kicked a woman out of her house at night and you've taken a flight for me without even knowing what was wrong with me. No one has ever been so kind to me. And you are. Constantly. Anyone would be so lucky to have you in their life, Maddox."

"Well, I'm lucky to be here. You're not a bad person. I don't think you are, at least. And I think you need to stop beating yourself up about it. Let things go," Maddox whispers close to her ear reassuringly. She leaves a resounding kiss on her cheek, which makes Addison shrink from the tickles. "I've had a few words on the tip of my tongue for a while now, and I feel like my heart bursts every time I see you and don't say them to you, so now I will. I love you, and it's probably not the best time right now, but I still love you."

Addison doesn't react at first, or doesn't seem to, in Maddox's eyes, but she quickly turns around for an instant, and even in the dark of night Maddox is able to perceive her piercing gaze. Her hands instinctively seek and find the cheeks of the brunette, who closes her eyes as Addison's lips crash against hers, first intensely, then more gently. For a few moments, all that can be heard in the room is the sound of their quickened breaths and their lips coming together again and again.

"Actually, now might be the perfect time," Addison kisses her again.