Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Character: Addison & Derek
Rating: T
Status: In progress
Disclaimer : Characters and show belongs to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to The Fray. These are two of my favorite songs.
Author's Note: This fiction has been in my mind since forever so I hope you'll like it. Actually, I don't really know what will happen exactly so here you are a list of things you should know before starting to read it.

- It's been three years and a half since Derek and Addison saw each other for the last time. After finding his wife in bed with his best friend, Derek left New York and never came back.

- Derek and Addison are not divorced, just separated.

- Meredith knows about Addison. This because I don't want to write about her reactions when Addison will fly to Seattle. Honestly, I hate Meredith and Derek as a couple and I could never ever write about Derek fighting for Meredith or something like that. I'm sorry but that's a line I will never cross. Hopefully you guys won't mind.

- Derek and Meredith are strong and in love but they are not married, not even with a post-it.

- The idea of this fiction sounds awesome in my mind but I don't really know how it will be once written on a blank page. That being said, I have no idea how long this fiction will last nor what will happen exactly.

- You can set this story in every timeline you'd like to see it because I'm not making any distinction about current and former characters on the show. It's SGMWH, btw. The only important thing you need to keep in mind is that this is the first time Addison and Derek meet again.

- Enough said, enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.

- Chapter 1 –

How to save a life.

The yellow cab stopped right in front of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Addison paid the taxi driver and jumped off the car, holding a tiny human in her arms.

It was raining in Seattle, it always rained there. It was a chilly November evening and it was so cold that Addison had shivers. She was nervous because she was about to meet her husband after more than three years spent apart. He didn't know she was coming to town and Addison would have never flown to Seattle if she hadn't had a very good reason to do so.

The hospital's door opened and Addison entered. She bite her lower lip and hold the child even tighter.

The room was full of doctors and nurses, she didn't know any of them. Her Louboutin shoes moved quickly on the cold floor, her eyes looking for Derek. She couldn't see him, she needed to find him as soon as possible.

Addison was about to have Derek paged by a blonde nurse when she heard a familiar voice. She immediately turned left and saw him. He hadn't changed a lot: his hair was a little bit longer, his eyes were still beautiful and his voice was just the same it was more than three years ago.

Derek was talking to an intern, who looked quiet young compared to his age. Addison turned and her eyes caught his; when their eyes met, it was like that skinny intern and the other people were gone. It was just the two of them. Addison and Derek. Derek and Addison. He immediately shook his head, wondering if the redhead, who was standing there holding a child, was who he thought she was.

Addison smiled nervous and walked to Derek. He wanted to run, he didn't want to talk to his adulterous wife but he didn't have a choice. She was just few meters away and he couldn't pretend he didn't see her.

"Hey" the redhead started.

"What are you doing here, Addison?" Derek asked her, angry.

"Straight to the point, huh?"

"Oh and that must be Mark's little girl" he growled.

"You don't get to talk to me like that, Derek!" she hissed "And… you are?" she continued, looking at the intern who was standing by Derek's side.

"I'm… I'm Meredith Grey" the skinny intern whispered, embarrassed.

Derek and Meredith shared an intense glance and, looking at them, Addison understood that Meredith wasn't just some random intern working with Dr. Shepherd. She could read that in their eyes.

"So, you have a girlfriend here…" Addison supposed, raising her right eyebrow.

"I do but it's none of your business, Addison. Why are you here, anyway?" he replied "Oh and your daughter has your hair. Light red… but I'm sure they'll turn darker when she grows up. She must have Mark's eyes or nose…" Derek stated, pointed at the asleep child in Addison's arms.

"She's not Mark's daughter, Derek! She's Archer's daughter, for God's Sake!" Addison shouted.

"I'm impressed" Derek told her "Archer a father? This is really funny, seriously" he started to laugh.

"You don't get to judge him, Derek! Not after giving up on me! On us!" she yelled, angry.

"I won't have this conversation with you, Addison!" he yelled back at her "You're the cheater, not me!"

Addison knew that Derek wouldn't have been too happy to see her in Seattle but she didn't expect such a bad treatment. It seemed like he suddenly forgot all the years they had been together.

"Fine, Derek" she said, lowering her voice.

Addison and Derek looked at each other while all Meredith could do was staring at her pair of Converse.

"So…" Addison started talking, without breaking the eye contact with Derek "I need your help, Derek."

Derek looked at her, skeptical. He didn't want to have to deal with her, he didn't want to hear her words.

"Melanie needs your help" she said, caressing Archer's daughter's hair "She… she has Medulloblastoma…"

Addison's eyes were full of tears but she was trying her best not to cry in front of Derek and his intern.

"That's just so rare, Addison…" Derek admitted "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Archer has already have her cured in New York. She has improved a little but the mass is still pretty big and she needs surgery…" she wiped away her own tears with her free hand.

"And you want me to do it, don't you?"

"Please, Derek. You're the best in your field, you can make a miracle here"

"Why did Archer send you instead of coming here himself?"

"He's… he's depressed, Derek. His wife died giving birth to Melanie and this little girl is all he has. Archer can't deal with Mel's disease, the pain is just too real. He can't lose her too…" she sniffed a little "You have all the reasons to hate me but Melanie has nothing to do with you and me… so please Derek, save her life."

Derek was touched. Addison looked really broken and devastated, he had never seen her down like that in eleven years of marriage. She had always been the strong one between the two of them but now she was really falling apart, begging for his help.

"I'll do it. You're right, Melanie has nothing to do with you and me so… It's not something I'm doing for you, I'm doing it for her. Okay?"

"Thank you so much, Derek"

"Don't thank me, Addison" he mumbled "Go home now, take her here tomorrow morning. Meredith will take care of all the paperwork and the hospitalization. Then I'll visit Melanie and we'll get started."

Addison nodded, one single shiny tear rolled down her right cheek. She felt the urge to hug and kiss her husband but she knew that she just couldn't do that. Mostly because of his new girlfriend.

Three years. Three years had been enough for Derek to forget her, to start fresh with a much younger girl.

"See you tomorrow, then" she said, trying to smile.

Derek didn't even reply, he just took Meredith by the hand and walked away.