Addison sat at the table quietly looking down at a catalog after work. She looked up when she saw someone walk into the bar and smiled when she realized it was Derek. He ordered his drink and came to sit at the table across from her.

"How did that surgery go?" she asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"It went really well." he answered. "How is your catalog browsing coming along?"

"I should have done this sooner, I had no time to even remember Christmas shopping this year with everything going on." she replied. "It's Christmas, Derek. We're not suppose to be be shopping for gifts, we're suppose to be watching our nieces and nephews opening them."

"How come you only mention my family during holidays?" Derek asked her curiously, the question catching Addison off guard. "You don't ever buy anything for your own parents, you don't mention missing them or wanting to see them over the holidays."

"Why are you bringing that up, Derek?" she wondered.

"Your mom called me today. She said she called you three time but you didn't pick up so she decided to try me." he answered. "She said they were planning on going to going to Paris this morning but something wasn't right with the jet so they had to cancel. Instead they arranged a last minute dinner at the estate and she was inviting us over."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that we were in Seattle and that we would need more notice if she wanted us there. Then she asked me why we're in Seattle and I realized she doesn't know about anything that happened over the last year." Derek said, assuring her that he didn't agree to her mother's request. "I didn't tell her, I just said we got better offers from a great hospital here so we moved. She told me to tell you she's missed you and that she'd like to talk to you when you've got the chance."

"I haven't spoken to my mother in three, almost four, years. I spoke to my dad once last year but he started lecturing me and I hung up on him." she informed her husband, although she though he already knew that she was pretty much estranged with her parents. "The only family I have that I keep in touch with is Archer and he hasn't been around lately so none of them know about Seattle or how we ended up here."

"Why do you hate your parents so much, Addie? You've got more respect for my mother than you do for your own. I know you guys have your differences but is there a reason?"

"I don't want to talk about it." she responded in a mumble and took a long sip from her wine glass.

"Addie, you're my wife. I'm supposed to know everything there is to know about you. I know that I know you better than anyone else but I know nothing about your childhood. You're never willing to talk about it." he continued in a very calm and patient tone so she would know that he was not trying to piss her off.

"I don't want to talk about my miserable excuse for a childhood, especially not on Christmas."

"Okay." he nodded in understanding and looked into her eyes before drinking the remaining scotch in his glass. "Do you want to order something to eat? I know you wanted to get French food but I doubt we'll find anywhere open at ten pm on Christmas. We could get a burger or something from here and tomorrow I'll take you out to dinner at some fancy French restaraunt."

"I'll have a side of fries and a small Caesar salad." she told him, without having to look at the very limited menu which the Emerald City Bar offered.

"Got it. I'm getting a cheeseburger and I know you're gonna want a bite because your sorry excuse of a meal will not satisfy hunger. And I also know you hate mayo and mustard so I'll tell him to put nothing but ketchup on there."

Addison smiled widely before thanking him and getting up with him to place a soft kiss on his lips. Derek smiled at her before walking away and for once she felt like their marriage wasn't falling apart. He returned with his refilled glass of scotch and sat back down.

"You can't have a second glass of that because someone needs to drive home." he told her apologetically. She nodded her understanding as she took a another small sip from her glass.

"Derek, do you still want to have children with me?" she randomly asked, causing the scotch to go down the wrong pipe when he swallowed to answer her. He started coughing to clear his throat then stared at her. "I will take that as a 'no'."

"No, Addison, it's not a 'no.' You just caught me off guard, I wasn't expecting that at all." he replied quickly to come to his own defense. "We were talking about our families and then out of no where you bring this up."

"I just need to know." she answered in explanation. "I'm 36, Der. I'm not getting younger. You know that pregnancy is a higher risk for women over 35. The chance of Down's Syndrome sky rockets."

"Honey, most baby's with Down's Syndrome are born to mother over 40. I know that the chances increase of 35 but it's usually only cause for concern after 40." Derek reminded her what he was sure she already knew. "You've seen hundreds of pregnant women in their late thirties and many of them had a simple pregnancy with no complications. What I'm trying to say is that you are not too old to have children, Addison."

"I know I wasn't ready when we talked about this last, and I had my reasons. Now I'm asking you, after everything that happened between us, do you still think I'm the right person to mother your children? Consider all my flaws and the risks."

"You're my wife, Addison. I wouldn't still be married to you if I didn't think you were the one I should have children with." he assured. "I think you'd be an amazing mother, and I wish had had children back then because it may have kept me from becoming indifferent and that would mean you wouldn't feel the need to cheat."

"I know you wanted kids with me back when I was your young faithful wife." she stated. "I'm asking if you still want them with me now, considering that I'm old and adulterous?"

"Of course, I do. If you feel like you're ready now then we can start trying or..whatever it is that people do when they want kids." he paused for a short second before looking back into her eyes and adding, "And you're not old or adulterous."

"I don't know if I'm ready." she admitted sadly. "I mean, I've always wanted to have a child with you. That would be the ultimate way of showing you how much I love you, right? Our child would be the best of both of us. But I would be the worst mother and I can't put our perfect child through that."

"What makes you think you'd be so horrible?" Derek asked her curiously. He moved his chair closer to Addison then smiled at Joe as he set their plates down in front of them.

"Anything else?"

"Nope, thanks Joe." Derek answered quickly.

"Kay, you know where I'll be if you want something." he replied before walking away to give the couple their privacy.

Derek turned his attention back to his wife. "Addie." he said softly. "Why do you think you'd be a bad mother?" he asked again.

"I don't want to hurt my kids." she whispered.

"Why would you even worry about that?" he wondered. "You've never been violent. You would never intentionally hurt someone, not physically, not emotionally. You always want the best for the people you love...you want the best for people you don't even know."

"My mother..." she started, her voice breaking before she could even complete her though. She couldn't hold back her tears but she held back the sobs and continued. "I just don't want to be like that"

"Addison, were you abused as a child?" Derek asked her gently. "Is that why you never talk about it, why you hate your mom?"

She nodded her head and sniffled, stuffing a French fry in her mouth so she could stop talking.

"You should have told me that, honey. For one thing, I wouldn't ever be nice to your mother. Second, I would have assured you that I'd never hurt you because I know being hurt as a child brings up trust issues. And third, I'd never let you doubt your maternal ability."

"Can we stop talking about it?" she begged.

"No, Addison, we can't because if we stop, this will never come up again. I just need you to think about this: You specialized in Pediatrics, Addison. That means you want the best for children, right? That means you care about them and want to help them."

"I specialized in neonatology." Addison corrected.

"Right, which is a sub-specialty of pediatrics. You were trained in peds before focusing more on neonatal, right?"

She nodded her head with another sniffle and stabbed her fork into he salad.

"And you ended up choosing neonatal because you said that babies don't understand what's happening to them. They can't look at you like you're a savior and you can't let them down when there is nothing you can do to help. That's what you said, remember? You said that you loved being able to help a newborn and knowing they'll live a healthy happy life, that's why you choose it." he reminded her, recalling their intern year. "You hated the peds training because you hated seeing the toddlers struggling, begging for a miracle. You couldn't look them in the eye and tell them what was wrong with them because you felt like you were taking away their future. With neonatal, you would be giving a future."

"Okay, that is just over analyzing it."

"No, it's not because that's what you think, that's how you feel. You based your career on that, you dedicated your life to your career, you wanted to be the best so your patients would get the best, so they could have a future." he told her as he softly ran his hand up and down her back to show affection and comfort. "You are not your mother. You would never hurt a child, especially your own."

"How do you know that?" Addison asked, turning her head to him to look into his eyes.

"Because I know you." he shrugged. "And I know you'll be an amazing mother. I just know it. You're amazing with kids, it's only natural that you'd be a million times more amazing with your own."

"Thank you, Derek." she said with a small smiled. "Thanks for not pitying me, for not making fun of my past ...thanks for comforting me."

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Just being honest. I'm glad I could help though." he replied and took the first bite of his burger. "Can we start trying when we get home?" he asked with a full mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Addison scolded, slightly disgusted from the semi-chewed wad of food she caught a glimpse of as he spoke.

Derek swallowed before replying, "See! You're not even a mother yet and you already sound like one."

"I just sound like a woman who is married to a man who has got no dining etiquette." she paused. "Although, I don't think I have a right to complain because Savvy says that Weiss burps at the table if he has beer...and if he has two he starts scratching himself."

"You never answered my question." Derek reminded her. "Don't think you can change the subject so easily."

"We can try for a baby under one condition..." she stopped and then corrected herself, "Two conditions."

"And what would those two conditions be?" he asked curiously while biting off another large piece, but this time he kept his mouth shut while he chewed.

"We get rid of the trailer and move into something that actually has walls separating rooms. I am not raising a baby in a 70 square foot aluminum can. We can choose a place together; I'm willing to take your opinion in consideration on this matter. The next one is not negotiable."

Derek nodded, swallowing that next bite so he could laugh without spraying bits of burger everywhere. Then he said, "Consider it done. What's the second condition?"

"My mother never ever goes anywhere near our child."

You guys may have noticed that I deleted the last story I posted. I decided it wasn't good enough to post. I hope this one is a lot better than that one. I really want to write a multi-chapter story but I don't have a single idea for one! It's driving me insane. It's like I've already used all my ideas. This one was kinda based on that part of the new PP promo where Bizzy slaps Addison.

For all Maddison fans, I'm writing a one-shot similar to the story I deleted but I'm hoping that it turns out better. I'll post it when I'm done and let you guys judge.

Review! Oh and message me if you think you can help me come up with a storyline for a new multi-chapter story. Thanks!