A Dog Bite

A Private Practice fic by Gigi

Summary: Imagine the shock Addison will feel when she sees Alex Karev sitting in the lobby with a dog bite on his leg. And what's going on with Sam and the dog's owner?

Chapter 4: Lounging Around

A/N: I'm having a major Addie-frenzy right now, so I'm updating as many fics as possible before school starts back. Excuse the cheese in this =P

Alex followed Addison out of the elevator as she made her way out of the building to get lunch. When they started walking outside, he matched her stride for stride.

"I have a favor to ask," he admitted, looking down at the concrete in embarrassment.

Addison's eyes focused on her former intern without turning her head. "What is it?"

"I kind of came down here without making any actual arrangements, and I can't afford LA hotels on my salary," he explained, now looking into Addison's crystal blue eyes. "I was wondering if I could crash at your place?" Alex prepared himself for the quick and painful rebuff, but it never came.

Addison's head faced forward once again, almost walking into a few people while she thought. "Fine," she conceded grudgingly. "You can stay at my place for a little while."

Without realizing what he was doing, Alex walked slightly closer to the woman who was once his boss, bumping the back of his hand with the back of hers. "Thanks," he whispered into her ear.

Addison let her hand remain touching his for a second longer before bringing it up to tuck some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, it's no problem," she said softly, glancing over to Alex's face and smiling slightly.

8D

The Banana Lounge was known in LA for its ambiance, its dark lighting, its palm tree-shaped lamps and its banana candles that were everywhere. Sam walked in on Thursday night at 9:15 and saw Kim on stage singing a song she had written. It was a quiet, sentimental song called "So Beautiful," and all Sam could think of was that she really was.

The spotlight glinted off her raven hair, shimmering around Kim's head like a halo. She was wearing a loose purple top and black jeans―he'd heard Addison call them skinny jeans at one point―that clung to her every curve, and when she caught Sam's eye, her emerald eyes lit up and her face broke into a beautiful smile. Sam took a seat on a yellow loveseat and listened to the soft lullaby of her voice.

As she finished the song, Kim asked the stage director to put another microphone on the stage. "Tonight," she announced, looking directly at Sam, "I have a special treat for you. One of my oldest friends has come, and although he will never admit it, he has an amazing voice. I think if you encourage him enough, he might come up here and sing a duet with me."

To the doctor's surprise, everybody in the lounge began clapping, urging him to go on stage.

"Sam, please?" she entreated. Shaking his head, Sam gave in, standing and walking over to the stage. Kim squealed, hugging him once he'd made it on stage. "I've missed singing with you," she admitted into his ear.

"Me, too," he whispered back.

"So, how about 'What If?'" Kim suggested.

Sam nodded. "Seems fitting."

The music started to play, and Sam brought the mic up to his mouth.

"Here I stand alone with this weight upon my heart,
and it will not go away.
In my head I keep on looking back, right back to the start,
wondering what it was that made you change.
Well I tried but I had to draw the line,
and still this question keeps on spinning in my mind.

What if I had never let you go?
Would you be the one I used to know?
If I stayed, if you tried, if we could only turn back time...
but I guess, we'll never know."

Sam sang those words with so much more meaning than he ever had before, turning towards his ex-girlfriend. Her eyes started glittering with unshed tears when he launched into the chorus, understanding he was now singing about them. When he finished the chorus, Kim started to sing her part, and Sam listened in awe as her voice filled the room.

"Many roads to take, some to joy, some to heartache.
Anyone could lose their way.
And if I said that we could turn it back,
would you take the chance, and make the change?"

Sam almost forgot his cue he was so lost in her voice. "Do you think how it would have been sometimes?" Kim joined in for the next line, "Do you pray that I never left your side?

What if I had never let you go?
Would you be the one I used to know?
If I stayed, if you tried, if we could only turn back time..." Sam stared at Kim, "but I guess," he sang, and she sang again with him, "we'll never know."

Kim looked at her former boyfriend with sad eyes, a solitary tear running down her cheek as she crooned, "Oh, we'll never know...I guess we'll never know."

"If only we could turn the hands of time," Sam intoned.

"If I could take it back, would you still be mine?"

"Cause I tried, but I had to draw the line."

"And still this question keeps on spinning in my mind."

There were a few beats of silence in which Sam and Kim stopped looking at each other, instead finding their shoes or the microphones more interesting. But after the silence came the swell of music, and both voices melded into one.

"What if I had never let you go?"

"Would you be the one I used to know?" Kim asked.

"What if I had never walked away?" they sang together. "Cause I still love you, more than I should say." Shock flashed through both singers' eyes when they heard the truth in their statements. "If I stayed, if you tried, if we could only turn back time!" Kim's voice soared over the music and Sam's voice in a beautiful, climactic note.

"But I guess, we'll never know..." Sam brought his mic down to his side as Kim repeated his last three words.

Silence greeted the duo when the music finally stopped playing, the audience struck by the incredibly intimate moment the two doctors were sharing on stage. After what seemed like ages, an old man stood up and clapped slowly, gradually bringing Sam and Kim out of their reverie as others started to join in on the applause.

The two took a bow and walked off stage, passing by another singer who was refusing to go on.

"How the hell am I supposed to follow that?" she demanded.

Sam and Kim took a seat at one of the tables and ordered some drinks.

"I never really realized how much of that song applied to us until just now," he said, fiddling with his straw.

Kim laughed half-heartedly. "It's like it was written for us," she agreed. She looked up from her drink and reached over to stop Sam's hand. "I really have missed you."

The internist smiled sadly. "I'm sorry I ever hurt you," he apologized. "You have no idea how much."

"I'm a big girl, Benny," Kim declared, going back to using his nickname. "But thank you, it was nice to hear."

8D

Addison had just started preparing the sofa-bed for Alex when he came out of the bathroom in boxers and a tight black wife-beater, which made laying the blankets in the right direction all the more difficult. Addison found herself sneaking peeks at him as she was straightening out the bed, blushing slightly that she was acting like a college student again.

Alex, however, was enjoying himself watching Addison bend over repeatedly. In her oversized man's button-down polo and tiny shorts, Addison would give Alex a very pleasant view every time she laid another blanket down. When he saw that she was about to finish, he moved close behind her, so that when she turned around, she bumped into him.

Straightening, Addison turned to face Alex only to find she was staring directly at his chest. Looking up at him through her eyelashes, the redhead's breath started to quicken, and her face flushed ever so slightly.

Addison coughed and looked back down toward her feet. She noticed she was wearing shorts that almost disappeared under her huge shirt and that he was only wearing that tank top and boxers.

"I've seen it already," she whispered to herself, trying to discourage her mind from going to darker, dirtier places. She seemed to forget that Alex was virtually pressed up against her.

"So have I," he said just as softly, "but that doesn't mean I don't want to see it again." Addison's eyes flashed to glare into his face.

"That is highly inappropriate," she declared. Stepping to the side, she finally weaseled her way out of her very compromising position. "I used to be your boss, and --"

"But you're not, anymore," Alex cut in, eyes pleading. "I miss having you as a boss," he admitted.

Addison whipped around to him in surprise. "You do?" she asked skeptically.

"I kind of hate to admit it, but you got me interested in neo-nate, and the new Attending is okay," Alex said, "but she's nothing compared to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I got spoiled. I got to learn from the best in the world, and this person is mediocre. She makes me hate the gyne squad again because she is that boring, and I really enjoyed it working with you. You made everything so much more interesting," he confessed, sitting down on the sofa bed.

"Is that why you came down here?" Suddenly, things began clicking in Addison's brain.

Alex nodded. "I want to learn from you again. I was wondering if you would let me."

"I'm not going back to Seattle," Addison stated straight away.

"I was thinking more along the lines of me doing my residency here." Alex watched as his former teacher's eyes widened. "I looked at St. Ambrose, and their OB/GYN wing has gone way up in the rankings thanks to you. I've already talked to the Chief of Staff and she said I could transfer and even do some part-time stuff here shadowing you, if you'll let me."

At first, Addison didn't even know what to say. Her ex...person-type thing just asked her if he could move down to LA to be with her...Okay, not be with her, but to work with her again, but it was still a big deal! Finally, she said, "This better not be because we slept together."

A/N: So what do you think? Yes, I did make Kim's outfit the same one Idina wore in her concert on July 18, 2008 (Happy Idina Menzel Day!...a few minutes late haha) at the Delta Chastain Theater in Atlanta. Best day of my life!

Oh yeah. REVIEW!