Title: Broken Bridges

Author: TeamMaddison

Summery:When you've lost everything you have how far are you willing go for a second chance?

Rated: PG-13

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Chapter 1 :

She never thought this was how her life would end up. She always imagined herself happy, sitting on a porch somewhere in a rocking chair with her husband by her side. She always imagined watching her grandchild playing in the front yard. She always imagined gracefully leaving this world when her time came with her friends and her family surrounding her as she slips from this world and enters into the next. She never imagined it would end like this. It COULDN'T end like this. She simply would not allow it.

"Derek if you go now we are not going to get through this..." Addison exclaimed, as tears fell down her cheeks. He couldn't leave. She didn't know if she had the strength to survive this on her own. Derek turned around. The look in his eyes was one that Addison had never seen before. The mixture of sadness in his eyes, and anger in his expression was overwhelming.

"You lied to me." He said. His voice nothing more then a harsh whisper.

"I didn't... I just..." She didn't know what to say. She didn't know a lot of things these days. She didn't know why she didn't tell him that she was dying. She didn't know why she thought that it would be OK try and hide her general paleness with make-up, and her throwing up with tales of food poisoning or the stomach flu. She didn't know why she thought it was OK that the only reason Derek knew she had cancer was because she passed out just after completing an operation and was rushed to the Emergency Room where they then proceed to call her emergency contact. She didn't know how to say what she was thinking , how to say what she was feeling because none of this made any sense to her.

"You just what Addie? You didn't want to burden me? You didn't want to scare our daughter you never see? What's your excuse this time? Were you lonely this time too? " He was shaking as he ran his fingers through his perfect wavy black hair to try and distract himself. Memories starting flooding through his mind, it was like a dam had broken. The first time he had met Addison. Their wedding. The first time they had scrubbed in together during medical school , The birth of their daughter. The happy times. It was funny how this was the only things he remembered. How his brain conveniently forgot that their marriage wasn't a happy one. How just for one moment it forgot that she cheated on him with his best friend, but even before that how their marriage was falling apart around them.

"I didn't want to hold you back Derek. Our marriage isn't great, it isn't even good and it hasn't been for along time now. We have been discussing a trial separation, you were considering leaving me." Addison took a deep breath her voice was shaking as she continued on. " I knew that if you knew what was wrong you would never leave me. You always try and be the 'good guy' you would feel obligated to stay and support me."

There was a quiet moment where neither of them said anything. The only sounds that could be heard was the sounds of the raging thunderstorm outside their brownstone. Normally the weather in New York was nice and to her general liking. Normally it was the 'weather' inside her home that she had to worry about. For a second she almost smiled, thinking it ironic that for once the weather matched both inside and out .

"We took vows Derek. In sickness and in health. Those were the vows we took and I knew that you would never break those vows. You would stay and continue to be miserable because of this compulsive need you have to be a good guy. I just wanted you to be able to walk out that door anytime you wanted and not feel like I needed you to stay." Tears fell from her eyes as she looked up at Derek. His expression was as cold as ice and he opened his mouth and closed it as if he were choosing his words carefully.

"Addison." He looked at her locking eye contact trying to keep his voice calm, but instead only succeeding to make it sound harsher and more uncaring then ever. "Your wrong." She looked up at him, a moment of confusion in her tear filled eyes. "I do know now. And I don't feel any obligation to stay. After all you felt no obligation to tell me you were sleeping with my best friend, and you felt no obligation to tell me that you are sick. In fact you have only helped enforce my decision to leave."

Derek turned and walked out of the door into the rain without another word, slamming the door behind him as Addison sunk down onto the ground and pulled her knees up close to her chest rocking slowly in place unable to stop the tears from flowing not knowing that their seven year old daughter Mackenzie had been awaken by their angry words, and had hidden herself in the doorway, hearing every word.