Notes: This is a fanfiction based on characters from the TV show, Private Practice. This fanfiction looks at Jake and Addison’s story (as well as the other doctors at Seaside Wellness Group) after Private Practice ends. They’re married and take care of baby Henry together. This story and chapter were originally posted on Archive of Our Own on December 11th, 2021. This is chapter five so it is necessary to read the fourth chapter before moving on. This has been edited to include headings and images.
Begin Again: Chapter 5
Two weeks before Jake and Addison’s wedding
“Hey, honey?” Addison called out from the guest room.
“Yeah,” Jake responded as he was getting dressed in their bedroom.
“What color does Angela like?” She asked.
“What?” Jake walked into the guest room to find Addison standing there, holding a catalog in one hand and Henry in the other.
“What color does Angela like?” She repeated herself, quieter this time as she heard him walk in.
“Uhhh…I don’t know. Pink?” Jake guessed. Addison looked up at him and gave him a look.
“What?” Jake asked innocently.
“You do realize Angela’s not ten years old anymore, right?”
“Well, she’ll always be ten to me, wearing her mom’s shoes and holding her Cinderella doll,” Jake reminisced.
“Look, I know things are still iffy with you and Angela,” Addison sighed and placed both Henry and her catalog on the bed, where Henry immediately grabbed the catalog to play with.
“But things will get better,” Addison promised, wrapping her arms around her fiancé. At this point, Angela and Jake still weren’t talking after he’d met her boyfriend and much older professor, Eli. Or more specifically, after Jake threatened Eli in an attempt to protect Angela. Plus, it didn’t help that Mildred, Henry’s social worker, showed up after Angela confronted him.
Jake and Angela’s Relationship Now
But that was behind them now. Since then, Angela showed up as Jake’s best man at his and Addison’s wedding, Henry’s adoption went through, and Angela went off to Europe to be with Eli for a semester off from school. Even though Jake was very much not okay with it, Addison convinced him to make up with her anyway and at least try to accept Eli. Angela wasn’t a little kid he could control anymore and if Angela wanted to be with Eli, that’s exactly what she’d do. But at least this way, Jake and Addison would be there for her no matter what happens next. Whether it means she’d marry him someday (which neither Jake nor Addison thought would happen, but they couldn’t say it was impossible) or if it would just blow up in her face someday.
Since then, Jake would call and they’d make small talk and then Angela would make up some excuse that she had to go for whatever reason. But she was trying. They both were. She was trying to be okay with the fact that Jake outwardly hated the fact that she was dating Eli, and Jake was trying to be okay with her dating Eli.
After that day of Addison looking around the guest room to figure out what to change to turn it into Angela’s room, she dropped the subject. She still wanted to personalize the room for her but with Angela gone and Jake being unhelpful with color and design questions, it didn’t look like it was going to happen. At least not anytime soon, and definitely not without Angela’s input. But now, it’s been two months since the wedding, and Angela found her way to Seaside Wellness and knocked on Addison’s office.
Angela Shows Up
“Come in,” Addison said, still looking through her previous patient’s charts.
“Hi Addison,” Angela said hesitantly as she came into her office.
“Angela,” Addison said, surprised. “Your dad’s still at St. Ambrose” She got up from her seat, taking her glasses off her face.
“Yeah, I don’t want to see him right now,” Angela added quickly, fidgeting with her fingers. A minute went by as she stood awkwardly near the doorway.
“Is everything okay?” Addison asked, concerned. Did Jake know she was coming home?
“Eli and I broke up,” Angela said softly. Addison sighed. She knew this day might come. They both did. Jake would be thrilled but Addison knew that seeing her dad jump for joy right now would be the last thing she’d want to see.
“And I didn’t know where else to go,” Angela’s voice started to break as she tried not to cry.
“Oh, honey,” Addison walked over to give the girl a hug. Once she got there, she wrapped one arm around her and stroked her hair with the other. Bizzy was never that kind of mom, the kind that comforted her when she was sad. But she did have some pretty great nannies when she was a teenager.
“I thought he loved me,” Angela croaked as she cried into her arms. After a couple of minutes of stroking her hair and letting her cry, the receptionist peeked into Addison’s office.
“Dr. Montgomery, your 2 o’clock is here,’ she informed her and promptly walked out afterward.
“Sorry, I should go. You have a patient,” Angela let go of the redhead and wiped away her tears, trying to be brave.
Angela Sticks Around
“Why don’t you help me with my patient?” Addison asked as she let go of her. “You are still pre-med, right?” she joked.
“Yeah, I’m still pre-med,” Angela chuckled a little and sniffed.
“Well then, maybe this’ll be some good practice,” Addison grabbed her patient’s paperwork off her desk and wrapped an arm around Angela, and smiled back at her. Once they reached the exam room, they found her patient standing waiting.
“Why don’t you hop up and I’ll take a look at your baby, Lana,” Addison motioned to the chair and grabbed the glove box, pulling two pairs out. One for her and one for Angela, which she gracefully accepted.
“I didn’t realize I was getting the VIP treatment,” Lana motioned over to Angela as she slowly propped herself onto the chair.
“This is Angela, my assistant for the day,” Addison explained quickly as she got the transducer and gel.
“So this might be a little cold,” Addison squeezed the gel on Lana’s now bare stomach. But then she hesitated before placing the transducer on it.
“Why don’t you try it?” Addison handed Angela the transducer.
“Me? I’m still pre-med,” Angela laughed a little and tried to hand it back over to the redhead. But she just pushed it back towards her.
“So…your new assistant isn’t even in med school?” Lana asked, accusatorily.
“Don’t worry, Lana. You’re in very capable hands,” Addison motioned to Angela to start the ultrasound. After a couple of seconds of moving the transducer around, the image still wasn’t showing up.
“Am I doing this right?” Angela started panicking.
“Relax,” Addison assured her. “Just give it a minute,” Not long after that, an image came up on the ultrasound.
“That’s my baby?” Lana asked excitedly as she looked at the image.
Angela Helps Addison
“There’s your baby,” Addison confirmed as she analyzed the picture.
“Is it okay?” Lana avoided using a gendered pronoun because she didn’t know the gender yet.
“Yes, everything looks great so far,” Addison said, smiling. “Would you like to know the gender?”
“Yes, I’m already having this baby alone, I have to know everything,” Lana blushed a little.
“Congratulations, you’re having a boy,” Addison smiled as she took a closer look at the ultrasound. “Do you want to hear the heartbeat?” When Lana nodded back happily, Addison turned the sound up and soon after, they all heard a heartbeat. Then, Addison started printing sonograms to give her.
“Here you go,” Addison handed Lana the pictures and she looked at them in awe. As she did, Addison handed Angela a small towel to wipe away the gel from Lana’s stomach and the transducer. After she did, she put the wand away and wheeled the ultrasound out of the way.
“So, Anna up front will help you schedule your next appointment,” Addison said as she helped Lana up from the chair. “And I’ll see you in a few weeks for your next appointment. But feel free to call if you have any questions or concerns,” Addison explained as she pulled off her gloves. After seeing her do this, Angela did the same.
“So this is really happening,” Lana said excitedly as she clutched the sonograms closer to her.
“This is really happening,” Addison confirmed and started walking her out the door as Angela watched.
“Thank you, Dr. Montgomery,” Lana placed a hand on her arm as she walked out the door. To which Addison smiled and nodded. Once Lana reached the front desk, Addison turned to Angela.
Addison Tells Angela About Her Room
“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Addison teased.
“No, I guess not,” Angela admitted. “How did you know it was a boy?” Angela asked, curiously.
Excited, Addison started explaining the details of the sonogram as they started walking back to Addison’s office.
“You know, I’m actually glad you’re here,” Addison said after finishing her description of the sonogram.
“Why? Because you knew it wasn’t gonna work out with Eli?” Angela scoffed. Things were going so well up to this point, so she was disappointed to hear that Addison had so little faith in her relationship working.
“No,” Addison insisted. “I’m glad you’re here because it means you can actually shop for stuff for your room,” she said, coyly.
“What are you talking about?” Angela asked, confused.
“Before we got married, I wanted to turn the guest room into your room,” Addison explained. “And well, you and your dad weren’t exactly in a great place at the time and he knows nothing about interior design,” she added.
“You wanted to give me a room?” Angela was surprised. She liked Addison and liked that she made her dad happy. But she didn’t realize she’d made much of an effect on Addison.
“Of course,” Addison said. “I know you’re grown and there’s really not much of a reason for you to stay over. But I just wanted our home to also be your home,” Angela smiled and was genuinely touched by the redhead.
How Angela Feels About Addison
Jake had dated women before after her mother died, but none worthy enough where she actually met them. At least not intentionally. She remembers one instance of coming home to visit and catching a woman on her way out. But other than that, Jake had just casually dated women before. Addison was the first one she’d ever met as well as the only one that actually had an effect on Jake. She made him happy, and for that, Angela was grateful. She loved her mother and she knew Jake loved Lily too. But she always worried that Jake would never move on from her. So when she learned about Addison, she was ecstatic. And then when they got engaged, she was even happier.
But she’d always thought of Addison as someone that made Jake happy. Someone that helped him get over Lily and allowed him to be happy and in love again. And she was already grown as Addison said. So the whole notion of a stepmother didn’t really occur to Angela if she was being honest. But now that she knew that Addison was truly trying to be a good stepmother made Angela genuinely happy.
“I would like that,” Angela finally said, smiling. “And Jake’s never been much of a decorator. That was really more of my mom’s thing,” she added, laughing.
“I thought as much,” Addison admitted. “So, I’m guessing that means your favorite color isn’t still pink and that you’re not still into Cinderella?” she joked, thinking back on their conversation.
Addison Asks Angela to Stay
“My favorite color’s blue,” Angela laughed. “And Cinderella’s great, but that idea of having to change the way you look for a guy is pretty outdated,”
“Very true,” Addison laughed back as she put away her patient files. Then, there was a bit of a lull in the conversation.
“So, I should probably go now,” Angela finally said. “I mean, you’re clearly a busy doctor,” Angela said a bit awkwardly.
“No, stay,” Addison insisted. “I don’t have any patients too pressing today so I can just move them all for tomorrow,” she added.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Angela said. “I don’t want to be a burden,” she added, softly.
“You’re not a bother,” Addison walked back over to the girl. “Plus, it’ll give us a chance to go on a shopping spree. That is if you’re into that kind of stuff,”
“I haven’t been on a shopping spree in forever,” Angela admitted, chuckling. “But I’d love to go on one with you,”
After that, Addison walked with Angela out of her office and told the receptionist to cancel the rest of her appointments for the day. Then, they left and went shopping for the rest of the day. But Addison did call Jake to let him know to watch Henry for the rest of the day. She would’ve told him about Angela, but she begged her not to. And in an attempt to be a good stepmother and who she needed right now, she agreed.
After they’d bought some things like a comforter, some pillows, and some other things, their feet were starting to get a little tired so they sat down on a bench for a break.
Addison Tries a Pretzel
“Do you wanna grab a pretzel?” Angela asked after a minute.
“Uhh….sure,” Addison said.
“You know, you don’t have to say yes just because you married my dad,” Angela joked after sensing Addison’s hesitation.
“No, it’s not that. I uhh….,” Addison started. “I’ve never had a soft pretzel before,” Addison admitted, quietly.
“You’ve never had a pretzel before?!” Angela laughed, and Addison quickly laughed along with her.
“Look, I…,” Addison kept laughing along with Angela. “Bizzy would’ve killed me if she knew I ate a soft pretzel,”
“Bizzy?”
“My mother,” Addison explained.
“Why did you call her Bizzy?” Angela asked.
“Honestly,” Addison looked over at the girl. “I don’t really know,” Addison laughed, and Angela laughed along.
“She never let us call her mom. Not really, anyway,” Addison said softly. “My mother was a complicated person,” she finally said. She never really knew how to explain Bizzy to people. Not without making her sound like a horrible person. Now that she understood her a little more and now that she was dead, it felt weird to talk about her the way she always used to.
By then, they walked over to buy two soft pretzels and Angela offered to pay. Addison tried to contest, but Angela insisted. Besides, Addison already paid for everything else. Plus, she was getting a whole new room to go with it. And Angela reminded her of this, so Addison backed off and let her pay for their pretzels.
“What?” Addison said, covering her mouth after taking her first bite.
Addison Talks About Her Family
“So…how is it?” Angela asked, excitedly.
“It’s fine,” Addison swallowed. She didn’t like it all that much if she was being completely honest.
“You hate it,” Angela said, laughing.
“I don’t..” Addison stopped to giggle a little. “Okay, maybe I hate it but I will admit that I probably would’ve liked it as a teenager. If Bizzy ever let me try it,”
“What was she like?” Angela asked, cautiously. She could tell it might be a sensitive subject, but she couldn’t help but ask. She knew Addison was a beautiful, brilliant doctor, but she didn’t know all that much about her other than that.
“You know, other than being complicated,” she joked as she tried to lighten the mood.
“I don’t know. She…planned birthday parties, charity balls, ordered our housekeepers and nannies around…” As she rambled, she realized how ridiculous she sounded and started laughing.
“I grew up thinking my father was a cheating bastard and my mother was a poor, doting wife,” Addison finally said. “And when I found out the truth, it kind of wrecked me,”
“And what truth was that?”
“That my mother’s a lesbian,” Addison said plainly. Angela looked back at her, shocked.
“And she had an affair with her assistant for 20 years. And The Captain knew about it, the whole time. So he screwed every woman he could and I covered for him because I thought I had to,” Addison started to ramble again.
“The Captain?” Angela was now confused.
“My father,” Addison explained. “He likes to be called the Captain. By everyone. Including his children,”
“So…what you’re saying is that you have a complicated family,” Angela joked and both women started laughing.
“Yeah,” Addison laughed.
“So I guess we have that in common,” Angela joked.
The Girls Get Home
When they got home, they had shopping bags in hand and Addison motioned to Angela to wait until after preparing Jake.
“Hey honey,” Jake turned around with Henry in one arm as they watched the Lakers’ game.
“Hi,” Addison said hesitantly as she put her bags down.
“Did you…take the day off to go shopping?” Jake asked as he noticed the shopping bags.
“Yeah…,” Addison started walking towards him and got Henry out of his arms and cooed at him.
“Is everything okay?” Jake sensed the concern in her voice. Then, Angela walked in, more bags in her hands.
“Hi Dad,” Angela said, dropping the bags on the ground.
“Ange, you’re back,” Jake hesitated to say more.
“Yeah,” Angela swallowed hard. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right, but she also felt like she was on the verge of crying. And by the look on her face, he could tell she was hurting. And even though he knew he was right, he wasn’t going to gloat right now. Instead, he walked right up to her and gave her a hug. And Addison watched them in awe with the TV on in the background and Henry in her arms.
Additional Notes
This chapter doesn’t really have a whole lot of plot but I wanted to see more of Addison and Angela’s relationship develop because they didn’t really get that chance in the show. Plus, I had part of the mall scene stuck in my head so I just had to write it out. Anyway, I’ll add more plot in the next chapter.