A/N: I love Archer's character and thought it would be fun to include him in an Addison/Alex story. This story is set towards the end of the most recent seasons of Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice. I hope you enjoy & please review!

The Blind Date

"So, uh, what do you say we get out of here, and take this back to my place," Alex asked the woman sitting beside him.

The woman shot him a flirtatious smile, "I'd like that."

"Great." Alex motioned to the bartender, so he could pay for their drinks. This was shaping up to be a pretty good night. He had just moved to California a week ago, deciding that he finally had enough of Seattle Grace and needed a fresh start. And California seemed like as good a place as any to get it. He had arranged to complete his residency at St. Ambrose Hospital and, so far, he liked it there a lot. Tomorrow would be his first day off since he arrived, and he decided to celebrate by doing what he did best – going out to a bar and picking up women. And by the looks of it, he was doing a good job of it tonight.

"Alright," Alex smiled, as he paid the tab, "are you ready to go?"

The woman was about to respond, but she was cut off by a good-looking man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Honey, I've been looking all over for you," the man gushed, affectionately putting his hand on top of Alex's.

"Dude, what are you doing? And who the hell are you?" Alex asked, quickly removing his from the man's.

"Now, darling," the man smiled, "I know I freaked out on you a little when you were talking about commitment, and I'm sorry, I really am. But that doesn't mean you can just ignore me and pretend not to know me. Now, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Uh, you know what, Alex," the woman began, "I should probably go. It's late."

"It's only seven o'clock," Alex countered, roughly pulling away from the man, who had somehow managed to grab his hand again.

"Yeah, uh, but I just remembered, I have to go home and do something. So, yeah, uh thanks for the drinks, and, uh, good luck with everything," the woman stammered, quickly making her way out of the bar.

"What the hell was that?" Alex asked the man angrily.

"You can thank me later," the man smiled, putting some distance between himself and Alex. "I'm Archer, by the way."

"I can thank you later?" Alex spat. "What are you talking about? I was about to go home with that girl."

"Eh, you could do better," Archer replied nonchalantly. "I've been watching you for about an hour now, and I've decided I like you."

"If you were watching me for an hour," Alex began through gritted teeth, "you would know that I'm clearly interested in women and, since you're not one, you don't have a chance with me."

Archer laughed, "I wasn't talking about you and me. I was thinking you'd be a good match for my sister."

"You have got to be kidding me," Alex exploded. "Please tell me I'm on some type of hidden camera reality show."

Archer shrugged, "Sorry, you're not."

"So you're serious?" Alex asked in disbelief. "You know, you're sick, dude. Seriously. I mean, this situation is not normal."

"Well, my sister and I don't exactly come from a normal family," Archer confessed.

"Who does?" Alex muttered, thinking about his own family.

"Look," Archer continued, "after Bizzy, I mean, after my mother died, I moved out to L.A. That's where my sister lives."

"And this concerns me how?" Alex interrupted, clearly not amused.

"My sister recently got out of a messy relationship. Personally, I think she's better off for it. But, anyway, she and I tend to sleep with inappropriate people. Well, actually, that's a lie. She tends to sleep with inappropriate people. I tend to sleep with anything in a skirt. So we decided to help each other out by setting each other up on blind dates with more appropriate people."

"You just met me," Alex challenged. "What makes you think I'm any more appropriate then the men that your sister has slept with?"

"Well, you are a little young for her," Archer confessed. "But trust me, that's small potatoes compared to some of the men that Addie's dated. To be honest, you probably wouldn't be my first choice for her," Archer continued, "but I have to show up at her house with a date for her in an hour and, since I spent the week screwing everything in a skirt, I haven't had much time to look for a guy for her."

"Touching," Alex muttered dryly.

"Look," Archer began, "I'm not saying that this needs to be a 'til death do us part kind of thing. It won't be. The real reason I'm choosing you is because you're a good looking guy, so if things don't go well tonight, Addie can't get too angry with me because at least you'll be a good screw."

"Why would I even go along with this?" Alex asked in disgust. "This is so messed up."

"Because you'll get a free dinner out of me," Archer said breezily. "And I don't know how to say this without sounding creepy, but my sister is hot."

"Right," Alex scoffed, "because a woman who needs her brother to set her up on a date screams hot to me."

"Well, she blows the chick you were just talking to out of the water – no contest. Forbes Montgomery's may not be a lot of things, but we are hot," Archer said cockily.

"Wait," Alex breathed, "what did you say your name was?"

"Archer."

"Your last name," Alex said impatiently.

"Montgomery."

"So your sister is Addison?" Alex asked, paling a little.

"Yes. How'd you know?" Archer asked. "You must be a doctor."

"I am a doctor," Alex answered, "but that's-"

"Oh, this is even more perfect," Archer exclaimed, cutting Alex off. "Now you two have something to talk about over dinner. And to think, I actually spent time last week setting her up with that lawyer last week."

"Archer, I really don't think this is a good idea," Alex protested.

"It'll be fine," Archer assured him. "Look at it this way, you wanted sex tonight; you're getting sex tonight."

I wouldn't count on it, Alex thought to himself.

"Besides," Archer continued, "we need to be at Addie's house soon, and it's too late for me to find someone else."

"Trust me, Archer, you don't-"

"Alex," Archer interrupted, "you're coming. End of story. Now I need you to listen to me so we can match up our stories. We'll say that I met you here two nights ago, and we struck up a conversation about medicine. I'm a doctor too," he added. "Yeah, that'll work. Addison would kill me if she knew that I picked you up thirty minutes ago."

"Dude, I'm pretty sure that will be the least of your concerns," Alex cut in.

Archer ignored him. "So, Addison lives about fifteen minutes away. Follow my car."

Archer began to make his way out of the bar, but Alex didn't move. "Come on, Alex," Archer called out, turning slightly. "We don't want to be late. Remember, first impressions are everything."

Twenty minutes later, Alex was standing with Archer at the front door of Addison's beach house. Several times on his drive over, Alex had been tempted to just drive home in order to spare himself from the mess that would be sure to unfold, but he didn't want to stand Addison up either. Sure, Addison would be angry when she found out that he was her blind date, but being stood up sucked. And he would much rather have Addison be angry with him than hurt her by standing her up. Besides, Alex thought to himself, this whole thing is Archer's fault. Alex had tried to get out of the date several times, and had tried to tell Archer that he and Addison already knew each other, but Archer had barely let him get a word in. Now it was too late.

"Okay, here we go," Archer grinned as he rang the doorbell.

Addison smiled as she opened the door, but her smile was promptly replaced by a look of shock.

"Addison," Archer began, grinning broadly, "I'd like you to meet your date. This is Alex, uh, Alex…Alex…I'm sorry, Alex," Archer apologized, "but I can't seem to remember your last name."

"It's Karev," Addison muttered dryly.

xxxxx

"How could you do this to me, Archer?" Addison shrieked when they were alone in the kitchen.

"I didn't know you knew him," Archer confessed. "And keep your voice down. He's gonna hear you."

"I don't really care," Addison shot back angrily. "You know, Archer, this is so like you. I mean, I go through all this trouble trying to find you an appropriate date for tonight, and how do you repay me – by setting me up with one of the men who drove me away from Seattle. Seriously, Archer, Derek would have been a better blind date choice."

"I think you're being a little dramatic, Addie. Alex seems okay. He's a doctor-"

"Trust me, I know everything there is to know about Alex Karev," Addison interrupted. "We worked together in Seattle, we had a brief fling, and then he told me that I wasn't his girlfriend."

"What does that even mean?" Archer asked.

"I'll tell you what it doesn't mean," Addison began angrily. "It doesn't mean, 'hey, let's go on a blind date together in a couple years.' It was a rejection, Archer," Addison sighed.

"So return the favor," Archer suggested.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sleep with him and then reject him," Archer explained.

"I'm not sleeping with him again," Addison insisted. "Besides, I thought the purpose of this whole blind date thing is to find appropriate people to date. We've already established that we're both very good at sleeping with inappropriate people."

"Fine, don't sleep with him," Archer shrugged. "I mean, the revenge there is almost as sweet."

"What?"

"When I met Alex tonight, he was about to go home with another woman, but I stepped in because he seemed like a good match for you. Anyway, sex was pretty much a guarantee for him tonight. Now, not so much," Archer smirked.

"What do you mean, when you met Alex tonight? You just met him tonight?" Addison asked angrily.

"We really should get back to Alex," Archer said quickly. "We're being rude."

"You know, Archer, you suck. To me, you suck."

"Oh, quiet Addie. I don't suck. You love me. Now come on. We really do need to get back to Alex."

xxxxx

"So Archer, I'd like you to meet your blind date, Olivia Westin," Addison said after their waiter had shown them to their table.

"Nice to meet you, Archer," Olivia smiled, as Archer, Addison, and Alex sat down.

"Olivia is a friend of Violet's," Addison explained. "She's a psychiatrist too."

"Wow," Archer smiled, "it looks like we have a table full of doctors. Addison, Alex, and I are all doctors too."

Olivia smiled warmly. "So, Addison," she began, "how long have you and Alex been dating?"

"Oh, Alex and I are not together," Addison said quickly. "We used to work together when I lived in Seattle. But I'm definitely not his girlfriend," Addison said shooting Alex a cold glare.

Alex gave Addison an apologetic look, but she didn't meet his eyes. She was too busy instructing the waiter to make sure that she always had a glass of wine in front of her throughout the evening.

"Oh, so that's it," Olivia nodded, "because I was sensing a closeness between you two."

"So Olivia," Archer cut in quickly, desperately trying to redirect the conversation, "what type of psychiatry do you specialize in?"

"A closeness," Addison scoffed, "Did you know that Alex over here once got me a lawsuit?"

"Oh, here we go," Archer muttered to himself.

"It's true," Alex admitted, "and it was probably one of the best career moves I ever made."

"Oh dear lord," Archer cringed, draining his scotch. "Waiter, another," he called.

"Really," Olivia asked with interest.

"Yeah," Alex laughed. "Addison stuck me on her service." Then, turning to face Addison, Alex smirked, "I believe your exact words were, 'Your ass is mine until I say otherwise.'"

"Nice save, Alex," Archer said under his breath. "So you liked working with my sister?" Archer asked, pleased with the new direction the conversation had taken.

"At first, I hated it," Alex confessed. "I was convinced that she was doing everything in her power to make my life miserable, so I did everything I could to piss her off."

"But he came around eventually. He finally realized that specializing in neonatology was a lot more rewarding than going into plastics," Addison laughed. "Then I couldn't get rid of him."

"Yeah, until you moved away," Alex said quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Addison shot back.

"You ran away, Addison," Alex said bluntly. "You left your whole Seattle life behind without even a second thought."

"I thought I told you that I walked away," Addison replied coldly.

"Semantics," Alex shrugged. "Things got tough, and you ran."

"And what are you doing in LA?" Addison asked. "Did you run too?"

"Just following in the footsteps of my mentor," Alex retorted sarcastically.

"You know, I've had to defend myself and my decisions to enough people, this year," Addison snapped. "I don't need to defend myself to you." And with that, she got up from the table and began to leave the restaurant.

"Yeah, okay, go ahead and leave, Addison," Alex yelled to her retreating figure. He sighed, "It's what you do best."

"I'll go after her," Archer said.

"No, I should go," Alex responded. "My blind date was over before it started. Maybe you guys can still salvage yours."

xxxxx

"Hey," Alex said, as he sat down next to Addison on a bench outside the restaurant.

Addison looked up at Alex, but didn't acknowledge him.

"Look, I know I was completely out of line in there," Alex began. "You shouldn't have to defend your life or your decisions to me or to anyone. It's just…it sucked when you left Seattle."

Addison rolled her eyes.

"It did," Alex insisted. "I missed working with you every day. I missed seeing you every day."

"Alex, you made it perfectly clear how you felt about me."

"I was scared, Addison," Alex confessed. "You wanted the commitment guy, you wanted the family guy, you wanted the 'til death do us part guy. And you deserve that guy. You deserve better than me."

"Alex-"

"Look, I know I could have handled it better back then, and I'm sorry for being such an ass to you, but I really did care about you, Addison. I know it sounds stupid, but I pushed you away because I cared about you. And it scared me."

Addison wanted to press the issue further and find out exactly just how much Alex had cared about her, but she could tell that this confession hadn't been easy for him, so she decided to let him off the hook. "Wow," Addison began with a slight laugh, "it only took us how many years to finally discuss this?"

"I know," Alex admitted. "There were so many times when you came to Seattle that I wanted to sit you down and have this discussion, but I always chickened out."

"Yeah," Addison nodded, "we never really got our closure?"

"But we're okay now?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, we're okay," Addison smiled.

"So, we should probably get back in there," Alex said, motioning towards the restaurant.

"I have a better idea," Addison smirked. "Let's not go back in there, pick up some Chinese take-out, and go back to my place. We have a lot of catching up to do."

xxxxx

"Addison, I'm so sorry about what happened tonight," Archer called out as he let himself into Addison's house. "That was definitely my bad, and I promise, from now on, I'll be more serious about setting you up with appropriate…what's going on?" he interrupted himself, as he walked into the living room to find Alex and Addison sitting on the floor laughing and eating Chinese food together.

"Archer," Addison smiled, "after our little scene in the restaurant, Alex and I decided that we had enough embarrassment for one night so, instead of going back inside, we came back here. Veggie dumpling?" she offered.

"Uh, no, no thanks," Archer said. "So you guys are okay?"

"We decided we can do the friends thing," Alex told him. "I just moved here, so I really don't have any friends, and it turns out that Addison and I actually work at the same hospital, that is when she's not working at her lame private practice."

"Oh, you're gonna regret that smartass comment, Karev," Addison shot back with a laugh.

"Right," Alex smirked, "because nothing says I'm a hardcore surgeon like working at a place called Oceanside Wellness where you wear pink scrubs. Sounds like a freakin' spa."

"Hey," Addison defended, "the scrubs are more magenta than pink. And sometime we wear other colors."

Archer laughed, but stopped abruptly when Addison shot him a dirty look. Quickly changing the subject, he smirked, "Thank you both so much for asking about how my date went. Your concern is touching, really."

Addison rolled her eyes. "How did your date go, Archer?"

"It actually went pretty well," Archer smiled. "I'm seeing Olivia again tomorrow – which reminds me…Addison, I need you out of your house from two until five tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Addison asked.

"Olivia and are spending the afternoon on the beach and, since you have this beautiful beach house, I figure I can take her back here things are going well between us, if you know what I mean," he said raising an eyebrow mischievously.

"I hear you loud and clear, Archer," Addison grimaced.

"So is that a yes?" Archer asked.

Addison shrugged, "I guess it's a yes." Then, turning to Alex she asked, "Want to hang out with me on the beach tomorrow while my brother sexiles me from my own house?"

Alex laughed, "Sounds like fun." Then, looking at his watch, he sighed, "I should probably head home. It's getting late."

"Yeah, I should go too," Archer agreed.

Addison walked Archer and Alex to the door and gave each a hug goodnight. As she hugged Alex, for a little longer than was probably considered appropriate, she couldn't help noticing how right it felt.