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 July 15th, 2022. This is chapter nine, so it is necessary to read the eighth chapter before moving on. This has been edited to include headings and images.
Begin Again: Chapter 9
“So, how do you like living here so far?” Amelia asked, with a toothbrush in her mouth.
“It’s nice,” Angela said honestly as she squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush.
As the girls brushed their teeth, Milo sauntered in, brushing his fur against Amelia’s ankle as he walked around.
“Hey buddy,” Amelia kneeled to pet him.
“Haven’t seen you around for a while,” Amelia added.
“Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget about him,” Angela chuckled.
“Yeah, he’s a bit of an enigma. Aren’t you?” Amelia teased the cat as she held Milo in her free arm.
“He’s not a big people person,” Amelia said, letting Milo back down to wander around.
Eventually, the girls got into bed for the night. After saying their goodnights, a few minutes passed, and neither was asleep.
“Are you sleeping?” Amelia whispered out into the dark.
“No,” Angela couldn’t help but giggle.
“So, what’s it really like living with Jake and Addison? Are they obnoxious yet?” Amelia rolled over to her side to face Angela on the other side of the bed.
“Only a little,” Angela admitted, giggling.
“But it’s sweet. And it’s not too much,” Angela added.
“Yeah, they’re cute together,” Amelia agreed.
Amelia Visits The Practice
The next morning, they all had a nice little family breakfast before going off to work. With Amelia staying in town for a bit, she came with them to the office. She hung around Angela in the morning as she got to know her better, then found herself in the daycare playing with Henry before he went down for his nap.
“Hi Henry,” Amelia started crouching before he got to the little boy in the daycare center.
“Auntie!” Henry exclaimed as he ran towards her, crashing into her thighs when he got to her.
“Whatcha got there?” Amelia asked referring to the plush toy he was holding as she picked him up off the ground.
“Horsey!” Henry shouted as he proudly showed off the toy.
Except it wasn’t a horse. It was a white unicorn plush toy with peachy pink accents on its hooves and horn.
“That’s a unicorn, Henry,” Amelia giggled.
By lunchtime, she met everyone in the kitchen. Well, everyone but Addison, who went out to lunch with Archer and The Captain.
“Wow, it’s like I never left,” Amelia said, smiling as she saw everyone gathered around the kitchen counter.
“You can always come back,” Charlotte said, trying to get her to stay.
“I love you guys, but Seattle’s good for me,” Amelia said, laughing.
“Yeah, you do look happier,” Violet observed as she ate her salad.
Amelia gave her a blushing smile back. She was happier in Seattle. She missed Addie and everyone else here deeply, but working at Grey Sloan was good for her. And things between her and Derek had never been better. As the day went on, Amelia hung around Addison’s office, chatting and catching up on things. Especially since they didn’t get a chance to earlier.
The Practice Surprises Amelia
“James is fine, by the way,” Addison said once their chitchat subsided for a bit.
“I didn’t-,” Amelia started.
“You didn’t have to ask,” Addison said while looking down at her paperwork.
“Good. I’m glad he’s good,” Amelia said, as a way to convince herself more than Charlotte.
Later that day
“Hey, so did you make plans for later?” Addison asks nonchalantly.
“No…I thought maybe we could get dinner or something though,” Amelia said laying out on the couch in Addison’s office.
“Why?” Amelia asked suspicious of what the redhead might have in mind.
“Well, we were thinking of taking you somewhere,” Addison teased.
“Where?” Amelia asked curiously.
“It’s a surprise,” Addison replied ominously.
“Oh, come on, Addie,” Amelia sat up.
“Not even a hint?” Amelia asked when Addison wouldn’t let up.
For the rest of the day, Amelia tagged along with Addison. Today, her patient ended up at St. Ambrose for an emergency c-section so Amelia just watched from the gallery. She may not be operating but watching a surgery was just as interesting. Or at least as interesting as it could be under the circumstances. Amelia met Addison in the scrub room, waited around, and chatted as Addison changed back into her street clothes, and then both girls got back to the practice.
When they got there, Amelia was surprised to see the rest of the Seaside Wellness doctors gathered and waiting around the reception area.
“What’s goin’ on?” Amelia asked, suspicious of what her old friends were up to.
“Nothing, we were just waiting for you guys to get back,” Naomi said, trying her best to keep their shared secret concealed.
“You guys aren’t trying to do another intervention, are you?” Amelia joked. She knew something was up, she just didn’t know what yet.
The Doctors Reveal Their Surprise
“Wait, are you? Because I swear, I’m fine,” Amelia insisted after everyone stayed quiet.
“No, we’re not,” Addison insisted.
“We just…,” Addison struggled to find the words.
“Okay, you guys are starting to scare me now. What the hell’s going on?” Amelia asked.
“We got you a grave,” Cooper blurted out.
Everyone glared at him. He wasn’t wrong, but without context, it sounded bad.
“Coop!” Violet nudged him in the elbow.
“What? We did,” Cooper whined.
“You got me…a grave?” Amelia asked rather sarcastically.
“Guys, I’m fine. Why do I need a grave?” Amelia asked, confused.
“It’s not for you,” Sam added.
“Then who’s it for?” Amelia was still confused.
“It’s for your baby,” Charlotte blurted out.
“Charlotte!” Addison scolded. Again, she, like Cooper, wasn’t wrong. But they could’ve been a little more delicate.
“What? I’m bein’ honest with her,” Charlotte defended herself.
If everyone was just gonna stand around awkwardly, she’d be the “bad guy”. Though, this wasn’t really a bad thing. After Amelia gave birth to and lost her unicorn baby, the practice wanted to do something. Anything to commemorate his life and the lives he saved. But they couldn’t quite pin down what they wanted to do. Discussions were had over different suggestions that came up over the months afterward. By the time they all decided and agreed to set up a grave site for him, Amelia left to go “visit” her big brother in Seattle. They, James included at the time, figured they’d show her when she got back.
Amelia’s Stay in Seattle
But then, she didn’t come back. She opted to stay in Seattle instead. And Addison could tell by her voice on the phone that it was the right place for her. Derek and Amelia were doing better than they ever had by the sound of it and she sounded excited about medicine again. Seaside Wellness gave her friends and a family that would always welcome her and surround her with love whenever she needed it. But Seattle was where Amelia could thrive professionally. And it’s where she wanted to be.
James obviously wasn’t happy considering the fact that they broke up over her being in Seattle. And the doctors at the practice missed her. But they also knew that Seattle was where Amelia would grow up in a way she couldn’t here. It didn’t change the fact that they wanted her to stay. But they found it comforting knowing that Amelia would be okay in Seattle. And they hoped she knew she always had a home here in LA with all of them.
“You got my dead baby a grave?” Amelia asked bluntly. It wasn’t an angry tone. But it wasn’t a sad one either. It was direct without any semblance of a filter as per usual. Though, they didn’t really know what to expect.
“Yes,” Naomi confirmed.
“We thought it’d be a nice way to honor his memory,” Violet added.
“You weren’t even here when it happened,” Amelia pointed out, as she referred to Naomi.
Jake Chimes In
It was true. By then, Naomi was on the other side of the world with Fife, Maya, Olivia, Betsey, and Dink. She was doing work she loved for William White’s foundation and watching her daughter and granddaughter grow up before her eyes. Sam never mentioned it at the time, but he really missed his family, which only made him happier about the fact that Naomi was back and their family was growing.
“No, but I…I heard about it,” Naomi tried to defend herself. The rest of the group didn’t share much with her but she gathered it was a tragic and traumatic experience overall.
They all grew quiet. All the doctors just stood there in the lobby. The only noise around them was Lucas and Henry playing around the doctors’ feet with some toy cars. Lucas made the “vroom” noise with his mouth as Henry tried but failed to make the same sound and instead opted to laugh along. Meanwhile, the triplets were all asleep in separate car seats, with Cooper holding two while Charlotte held one.
“Look, Amelia,” Jake broke their silence.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Jake said softly.
Addison took her eyes off their son running around them and smiled. Jake always knew what to say. Amelia gave very little indication of how she was feeling at the moment. But one thing was clear: she was processing. She didn’t quite know how to feel about it just yet.
“But for what it’s worth, it’s a nice headstone,” Jake added.
Amelia Goes With Jake and Addison
“What’s on it?” Amelia asked shyly.
She named the baby Christopher. But no one knew that. She didn’t even tell Addison. And she doubted that Addison would tell everyone about her previous unicorn obsession. I mean, she did call him a unicorn baby all day that day but no one knew what it meant. Other than Addison, that is.
“Why don’t you come and find out?” Charlotte asked roping her free arm around her shoulder.
Amelia went into Jake and Addison’s car and thought about asking more questions. But with Henry and Angela sitting beside her, she couldn’t help but feel like she was their child now, too.
“So, does this make me a Montgomery-Reilly now?” Amelia joked as she climbed into the car after Angela.
“I don’t see why not,” Jake joked along as he drove. Addison just smiled back at him and squeezed his hand that sat on the gearshift.
During the car ride, Jake and Addison talked about their medical cases from that day as Amelia and Angela weighed in. Angela was more intrigued by them more than anything else while Amelia found it comforting to focus her attention on something other than her baby’s grave they were heading to.
When there was an inevitable lull in the conversation, Amelia played with Henry’s toy that he shared with her. For a one-year-old, Henry had gotten very good at sharing his toys over the past few months. And his parents obviously couldn’t be prouder of him.
Everyone Arrives at the Gravesite
Before getting to the cemetery, they stopped at a flower shop. Addison gave them a quick “we’ll be right back” before getting out with Jake as he did the same from the driver’s side. Meanwhile, Amelia, Angela, and Henry stayed in the car and Angela started flying around the toy airplane he gave her, which made Henry giggle and attempt to follow along with his toy bus. And yes, while buses didn’t fly, neither Amelia nor Angela had the heart to tell him to stop.
After that, it didn’t take long for them to get to the cemetery. Traffic, for the most part, died down by the time they left the office. They drove right on through to where the headstone was located. And unbeknownst to Amelia, the other doctors also brought flowers.
“Here it is,” Addison said gesturing as they walked up to the gravesite.
Amelia leaned closer to look at the engraving. It read:
“A beautiful boy who saved a lot of other little boys and girls by donating all his organs”
She took a deep breath. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. Amelia bit her lip. She didn’t want to cry, even though she knew her friends wouldn’t mind. But she wanted to be strong because even though she hadn’t been in Seattle for long yet, she felt like she was growing up.
But her plans of keeping it together went to shit when Addison softly placed a hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it with her thumb. Amelia exhaled and let her cries out but she kept her head down. Then, she felt Addison’s hand pull away just for her entire arm to wrap around her shoulder. And she could feel Addison hold her from the side as she kissed the top of her head.
Everyone Comes in for a Group Hug
Eventually, she felt more warm bodies surround her. It was the rest of the doctors, Mason, and Angela huddling around for a large group hug. Even Lucas and Henry snuck their way in near her feet. Plus, Naomi had just crossed the eight-month mark in her pregnancy and the triplets’ car seats stuck out from the huddle, making the word “large”, an understatement.
When they finally pulled away, the intensity of Amelia’s cries subsided. When she saw everyone looking back at her, she saw Addison gracefully wipe a tear from her eye. One finger swiping under her eye is probably the only acceptable way to cry in public according to the Forbes Montgomerys. But Amelia was surprised to see Naomi’s face, wet with tears.
“Oh, Nai,” Addison said sympathetically.
“I know, I’m sorry,” Naomi looked down, trying to hide her face as she sniffled.
“It’s these damn hormones, just…just ignore me,” Naomi said, looking briefly down at her baby bump as she kept sobbing uncontrollably.
“This baby needs to come out already,” Naomi said through her tears.
Sam then pulled her close from the side to let Naomi bury her head in his chest as she cried. Amelia couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of this, which she knew was probably the wrong response. But smiling right now felt a lot better than crying. And the other doctors laughed along with her for a minute, which, in turn, helped Naomi stop crying too.
Amelia Thanks Everyone
“I can’t believe you guys did all this,” Amelia finally said.
“Of course we did,” Charlotte said, going for a hug.
“Thank you. Really. I know I was kinda a bitch about it before, but thank you,” Amelia said, looking around at everyone. This was her family, regardless of the fact that she lived in Seattle now.
They stayed for a little while longer, mostly standing in silence and leaving the flowers at the headstone. Before leaving, they all made plans to get some takeout and meet back at Addison’s as Amelia was going back to Seattle the next morning. They all chatted over dinner and Addison even found a movie to play for the kids. The adults, however, found it entertaining to comment on the movie throughout.
Addison Talks to Amelia Alone
They watched Frozen, which everyone had heard about. And they all knew the song, Let It Go, from all the frequent radio plays. When it finally came time, they all sang along, albeit a little off-key, but it was the perfect way to bid their goodbyes to Amelia. Plus, the smaller kids found it entertaining, watching their parents sing at the top of their lungs.
After everyone else left for the night and Addison put Henry down into his crib, Addison stopped Amelia before she went back to Angela’s room.
“Can we talk?” Addison asked.
“What about?” Amelia asked, turning around.
“I have something for you,” Addison said, leading her to her and Jake’s bedroom. When they walked in, Amelia could hear the shower from the master bathroom running.
“Is this where you suggest we have a threesome? Because it’s been so long for me that I might just say yes,” Amelia joked.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Addison said sarcastically. But she also couldn’t help but laugh along too.
Addison eventually opened her bedside table drawer and pulled out a tan file folder. That could be anything, Amelia thought. But what would be important enough to keep by her bed?
“Here,” Addison handed Amelia the files.
“What is this?” Amelia asked.
“Just open it,” Addison said, waiting to see how she’d react.
Inside, Amelia found all the paperwork that came with her unicorn baby. His birth certificate, his organ donation paperwork, and his death certificate. The only name on them was baby Shepherd. She remembers when she gave Addie the paperwork. When she couldn’t take it home with her.
Flashback to Amelia’s Unicorn Baby
“Addie?” Amelia asks when Addison checks on her one more time at St. Ambrose before heading home. Sheldon went off to get some food before the cafeteria closed for the night.
“Yeah?” Addison asked, gently rubbing her hand back and forth with her thumb.
“What? Is something wrong?” Addison asked with more concern in her voice when Amelia didn’t say anything right away.
“I need you to take these,” Amelia gave Addison the folder that was on the bedside table.
“What are these?” Addison asked. Then she opened the file to see that it was all the paperwork from today.
“Amelia,” Addison started. These were her baby’s papers. She didn’t feel right taking them.
“Please,” Amelia pleaded.
“I can’t. Not…not yet,” Amelia added.
“Just…hold on to them for me?” Amelia asked.
“Of course,” Addison said before closing the file and leaning in to kiss Amelia on her temple.
“I’ll be back to check on you tomorrow,” Addison said before turning around to leave. On her way out, she passed Sheldon just as he was coming back into Amelia’s room.
Amelia Tells Addison the Baby’s Name
“Thank you,” Amelia said after a minute.
“Of course,” Addison said, moving a hair out of Amelia’s face.
Then, Addison and Amelia walked hand-in-hand back toward Angela’s room. But before they reached the door, Amelia stopped.
“You know…I named him,” Amelia said softly. She looked up from where she was staring at the floor.
“You did?” Addison asked.
“Christopher,” Amelia said.
“I haven’t…I didn’t tell anyone,” Amelia added quietly.
“It’s a beautiful name,” Addison said, knowing that she named him after her late father.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet,” Amelia said quietly. She wanted to be brave, to prove that Seattle was changing her for the better. That she wasn’t just some scared little girl anymore.
“You are,” Addison said confidently as she pulled her in for a hug from the side, kissing the top of her head. Then, they said their goodnights as Amelia went into Angela’s room and Addison went back to her and Jake’s bedroom.
Additional Notes
So, this chapter is really more for all my fellow Addimelia stans out there, especially Stephanie, because she came up with the whole idea of the grave as well as the unicorn baby paperwork. Plus, she’s become someone for me to bounce ideas off of, so thank you again. You already know how much I love you! Not sure where this story is going long-term, but I will say that I’ve loved writing this one and there just aren’t enough Jaddison fics out there, so this is my contribution. Thanks to everyone who’s been reading!