Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or any of these characters. Also the title comes from Sarah McLachlan's song "World On Fire," so I don't own that either.

Author's Note: Okay I started writing this in early November and now I'm finished! It's 9 chapters in total and I'm not sure how often I should post them, but I won't make you wait very long in between. Thank you to Elphie Fae for beta'ing this entire fanfic! You don't find out exactly what's going on with Addison until one of the last three chapters, but you can narrow it down to a few things. I did research on the symptoms. Also, I should probably warn you ahead of time that this deals with 9/11 incase anyone is extra sensitive about that subject. Parts of it are loosely based on stories I've been told or things I've heard. The whole story takes place in Manhattan in 2001, when Derek, Addison, and Mark worked together. Let me know if you think the chapters are too short. There are two longer ones somewhere in there, but I could always just combine two and make it fewer chapters if you think they should be longer. Aside from that, please read and review! Comments and critiques are always welcome. I hope you enjoy it!

September 2001

Addison Montgomery-Shepherd walked down the hall to the NICU with an air of confidence. She breezed past the nurses' station, grabbing some charts and greeting the nurses. Anyone looking at her would assume she had the perfect life. She had a dreamy neurosurgeon husband, good friends, a brownstone overlooking Central Park, a summer home in The Hamptons, fabulous red hair, a great wardrobe, and shoes most people wished they could afford. To top that off, she was one of the best neonatal surgeons in the country.

Earlier that day she and Derek walked to work together, stopping at Starbucks on the way.

"Aren't the colors beautiful?" Addison asked, looking at the trees with leaves that were once green but were now changing to yellow, orange, red, and brown.

"Yea. Don't you think it's early for the leaves to turn though?"

"I guess so. The weather is gorgeous though, it feels like it's still summer. I wish we had the day off to do something outside!"

They both loved the summer and spending time at the beach. During the winter they enjoyed skiing in the Poconos if they could get time off.

They had nearly reached the hospital when Derek spoke again, "Wow Addie, look how tall they're making that building." He pointed across the street.

Being New Yorkers, they weren't fascinated by the skyscrapers anymore, but neither of them expected such a tall structure to be built right across from the hospital.

"Not as tall as my Twin Towers!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, you and those towers!" he joked, rolling his eyes as they entered the hospital.

During her lunch break Addison flipped open her cell phone and checked her voicemail.

"You have one new message." Beep "Hey Addie, it's Savvy. I'm just calling to see if you wanna get together for breakfast one morning, or lunch if that's better. Give me a call on my cell when you get a chance." Beep "To save message press 1, to erase message press 7, to…" She hit 7 and dialed Savvy's number.

Savannah had been one of her best friends during college and now she and Derek often went out with Savvy and Weiss. Addie and Savvy tried to make time for some girl talk, just as Derek and Weiss would sometimes go to a Mets game (or Yankees, depending upon who bought the tickets!) or to the bar to play pool.

"Hello?"

"Sav? It's Addie."

"Oh, hi! You got my message I guess?"

"Yes. Breakfast sounds great."

"Good. When are you free?"

"Let's see…today's Monday, so it's the…"

"The 10th."

"Right. Okay, I have a late surgery tomorrow, if tomorrow morning works for you."

"Fine with me too. There's this great place about three blocks from my office. Wanna go there?"

"Sure." Her pager went off. "Oh, crap. I've gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

Savvy had recently started a new job at a law firm in the World Trade Center so Addison knew to meet her across the street from there.

The rest of Addison's day at the hospital was relatively quiet and uneventful. She and Derek actually got off at the same time that night so they went out to dinner. Afterwards they rented Sleepless in Seattle (it was Addison's turn to pick the movie!), but they were both so tired that neither of them made it to the end of the movie.

The next morning Addison walked down the steps of the brownstone and noticed that everything seemed quiet and peaceful. The air had a warm breeze, making it feel like Indian Summer. She easily hailed a taxi to take her downtown.

They were supposed to meet at 8:30, but as Addison looked at her watch, she discovered it was already 8:40. A minute later she felt her cell vibrate.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I'm running late, sorry! Wanna start walking to the café and I'll meet you there?"

"Okay, sure."

Savvy gave her the directions and Addison started walking. She had only gotten about two blocks before she heard a loud noise followed by screams. She stopped short and looked behind her. All she could see was smoke and people running away. She turned around to go back and see what was going on, but there were too many people running towards her so she followed the crowd away from the scene, still curious and confused.

By 9:30 the second plane had hit the second tower of the World Trade Center and it was on every news channel.

Derek paced back and forth in a panic. He looked out the hospital window. Cell phones weren't working and he had no other way of finding out if Addison was safe. He tried to convince himself that she should've been at breakfast before anything happened, but it didn't stop him from worrying. He knew that soon they'd have quite a few patients coming from downtown and maybe it'd help keep his mind off of his wife.

Addison couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her favorite buildings in the city were crumbling to the ground. People were jumping out windows, either to save their lives or to end them. She figured that she should get to the hospital; they would need a full staff today. She just couldn't bring herself to move. It was almost as if her feet were cemented to the ground and all she could do was stand there and watch in horror the scene that was unfolding around her. She couldn't reach Derek or Savvy or Mark or anyone; she guessed the cell phones weren't working. She was starting to get worried. She still didn't know exactly what was going on and her first reaction was one of fear; she started creating all kinds of possible situations in her head. There were rumors of a terrorist attack, but she tried to think logically and decided that people were probably overreacting. It was now 9:30 and she figured she should go to the hospital, if she could get there. Of course the subway wasn't running and buses weren't coming downtown. She considered taking a taxi, but she'd probably have to get to midtown before she could find a cab, so she decided her best choice was to walk. So she headed uptown, wiping away a few stray tears.

"Chief, isn't there someone else who can perform this surgery? I'm still waiting to hear from Addison."

"Didn't you say she went out to breakfast with a friend?"

"Yes, but that was before the planes hit. Our friend works in that building. I don't know if they were out by then or how far away they could have gotten and I'm really worried about her."

The Chief sighed. "I understand. I'm sorry Derek, but a lot of surgeons can't get in right now because the subways and buses aren't running. We really need your help right now. I'm worried about Addison too, but I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"Okay, thanks Chief." Derek walked away, looking down at the floor.

Patients from the World Trade Center had already begun to come in by the time Addison finally reached the hospital. She went to the locker room, changed into her scrubs, and then went to find Derek. He was just heading to a surgery.

"Derek!" she called down the hall.

He spun around. "Addison!" He walked over and threw his arms around her. "I was so worried."

"I'm sorry. I tried to call, but I couldn't reach anyone and I couldn't get anywhere and…"

Her breathing was fast. He stroked her hair. "Shh. It's okay. Breathe."

"I-I was so scared Derek. Everything I saw, it just didn't feel real. It was like watching the horrible tragedy scene of a movie."

She didn't often admit to being scared so he knew this must have really gotten to her. He gave her a kiss. "I have to go do a surgery now. You should rest."

"No, I'm okay," she insisted. "I have to get upstairs, they need me."

"Okay," he replied hesitantly. "I'll see you later."

She nodded and they parted ways.