Addison stood behind Derek on the porch outside his trailers. She watched him unlock the door and walk in ahead of her but she remained standing outside, shivering slighly at cool November air. Her gaze was fixed away from, him until she heard him clear his throat from inside. She looked up to see he was holding the door open for her.

Addison took a deep breath and stepped inside the trailer for the first time. She looked around from her spot at the door and swallowed uncomfortably.

"Make yourself at home," he mumbled as he tossed his jacket and briefcase on the kitchen table.

Make yourself at home, his words repeat again in her mind as she took a step further into the small confines of the trailer he called home. Her eyes scanned every surface until they met his again.

"Well?" He prompted

"Well what?"

"I'm waiting for your complains. Its too small, too dark, not enough room for your stuff, too cold..."

"I wasn't going to say anything like that," she answered. "I think its homey. Different, definitely different but still homey."

Derek nodded in satisfaction of her evaluation. "I moved my fishing stuff outside to make room in the closet," he said as he pulled the door open to reveal a small, half empty storage space.

Addison glanced into the closet then back at Derek. She'd barely be able to fit half of the contents in one suit case. What was she supposed to do with the small sample of shoes from her massive collection? Where were was she supposed to fit two more suitcases worth of clothes?

"Do you need help unpacking?"

"No, I'll do it on my day off," Addison answered.

"Okay..." Derek trailed off awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make this awkward. Its just been a really long day at work and I don't want to unpack right now. I just want to get some rest so I will have the energy to go through it all again tomorrow."

"Okay, how about this, you take a hot shower and I'll boil water for tea. You like tea before bed on crazy days, don't you?"

Addison nodded.

"The bedroom is right over there, the door slides into the wall to open. The shower is right there," he gestured behind her. "Pretty sure there is no point for a tour. Everything is right there."

Addison lifted one overweight suitcase on the bed and unzipped it enough to stick her hand in and grab a pair of barely-there panties. She paused awkwardly and looked up at him, "I thought my pajamas are in this suitcase but they're not. They must be in one of the other three suitcases in the car."

"I'll go get them while you are in the shower."

"Can I just borrow a t-shirt?"

Derek tried to mask his discomfort at the idea. Sharing a bed with Addison was a big step. Sharing a bed while her lower half was bare was a much bigger step, "What about that region?" He asked, gesturing to her legs.

Addison let out a breath and stared at him blankly, "I'll have panties on, Derek. Its not like we've never slept in the same bed wearing less."

"That was then," Derek reminded her.

Addison nodded as the weight of his words sank into her mind, "It was," she agreed. "Derek, if you're uncomfortable with me being here, if this is too fast, all you have to do is say so."

"Its fine," Derek insisted. "Im just not ready to be in bed with you while you're half naked. That's gonna time a little more time. You can borrow a pair of sweats too. Besides, there is no heater in here and I don't have extra blankets. It gets cold at night."

Addison nodded her head in agreement and sighed heavily.

"I'll step outside so you can get undressed and get in the shower. Once you're in I'll get a clean towel out and put the water to boil," he offered as he reached for his coat. He needed a few minutes to get some fresh air and clear his mind. He needed to remind himself that he was doing the right thing by choosing to move forward with his marriage.

Addison watched him walk out the door before turning back to the small bedroom. She slowly stripped out of her work clothes and stepped into the shower. As the steaming water hit her skin, she looked at the one bottle and the bar of soap. Pert Plus two in one shampoo and conditioner and Irish Springs soap. Her brows came together, she had assumed Pert Plus had gone out of the business in the late 90s and she'd never even heard of Irish Springs. The Derek she knew used shampoo and conditioner that cost more than her own brand of choice, not a two in one alternative that went for under 3 dollars at every drug store.

What caught her completely off guard was the fact that he had soap and not shower gel. It was a well known fact that she hated soap because it left a residue in the shower that she could never really clean. They never had soap in their shower at any point in their marriage and there he was, choosing soap over shower gel. It was such a small difference but it made her realize how much things had changed. It made her realize that the trailer was really meant to be anti-Addison housing for his Addison-free life.

"You smell like a man," Derek commented as she stepped out of the shower wrapped in a towel, "A middle aged man who buys all his stuff from a grocery store and tries not to spend a penny more than he has to."

"My shower stuff is still in one of the suitcases. I had to use whatever was in the shower."

Derek smirked in amusement, "Yeah, um...I've never had to shop for my own shower supplies. On day one I was gonna shower and realized I don't have anything to shower with and I bought all that from 7/11 before work because that was the closest to me and I needed a shower."

"I just washed my hair with 2 in 1 shampoo from 7/11…"Addison mumbled to herself as she went toward the bedroom.

"It's not too bad! I kinda like it. And it was on sale! A big bottle for 2.87?! How do you say no to that?" Derek called after her.

"Derek, a small latte should not cost more than a month's worth of shampoo," Addison called back as she changed into the clothes he had left for her on the bed. A Seattle Seahawks shirt with a pair of new sweatpants.

"What are the Seahawks?" she asked as she came out of the room with her wet hair left down to dry.

"Seattle's football team."

"Seattle has a football team?"

"Yes," he replied. "See, already better than LA. They don't have their own football team."

"They don't need a football team. They are an actual city and they get sun," Addison replied with a frown, "They can't compare to New York but I'm bais."

"What tea do you want?" Derek asked, choosing to ignore the direction their conversation was headed in.

Addison leaved over the counter to look at the three boxes of tea in his almost empty cabinet. Yet another difference. Back in New York they had a whole shelf of different teas in their pantry because he had a thing for funky, fruity, floral teas. She only drank tea on the rare occasion that she needed to unwind before bed on a stressful work day and she always went for basic teas. He didn't have any basic tea. No lipton, no brandless Early Grey or simple black tea, no green tea. All her had to offer was chamomile jasmine, cherry and apple cinnamon caramel.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna skip the tea and go straight to bed," she decided, as she stepped back from the cabinet.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, doing her best to give him a deceptive smile.

Derek raised his brow and gave her a skeptical look, "Fine like normal people fine, fine like when girls say they're fine but they're not or fine like Addison fine where you say you're fine but you're just trying to keep it inside so no one can see how you really feel?"

"Good night, Derek," she replied, pulling the bedroom door behind her. She needed a few minutes to collect herself before he could see her again.

Derek knew that she was trying to hide her feelings so he gave her the time and space to come to terms with her emotions. An hour after she entered the bedroom he followed. The lights were off and he saw her lying in bed.

She was awake but she was sure that he'd think she was sleeping if she could just keep her breathing steady. For the first few minutes he didn't speak as he prepared for bed. When he got under the covers on his side he moved closer to hover above her, double checking if she was awake. All she had to do was keep her eyes closed and take even breathes, she reminded herself.

She heard him sigh before she felt his lips against her temple. Keep breathing steadily. Don't let him know you're awake, she reminded herself.

"Addison?" he paused for a response but didn't get any, "I love you. I mean, I hate you but I love you. Its hard and confusing but I'm trying, Addie, I am." he whispered. "Anyway, good night. Sweet dreams."

The next morning Addison woke up to an empty bed. She sat up and she could see a plastic bag from Target on the kitchen table. She got up went straight to the bag to find a small box of Lipton tea, shower gel, and extra blankets. She picked up the receipt with a messy note scribbled behind it.

Got up early to go to Target then got called in for work.

No new shampoo because I really like the 2 in 1 stuff but everything else can go back to the way you like it. Welcome home.

Love,
Derek

PS- I know you were awake last night. Your-pretend-to-be-asleep breathing sounds like a smoker having a panic attack and an asthma attack at the same time.

Is it too late to warn you that this was a pretty pointless one-shot? I know I've done another one-shot about Addison's first night in the trailer but I think this version is much more realistic and much less fluffy. Hope you like it :)