Meredith looked up when Derek entered the trailer even though he arrived home very late.
He smiled when he saw her. "Have you been having fun with your time off?"
"Eighty hours is still a long workweek, Derek. Longer than yours as an attending, you know."
"Yes."
"And I spent most of the day doing laundry. It turns out that my approach to my time crunch – buying new clothes when I can't do my wash – only means that I have more wash to do."
"You could use a laundry service."
"Derek, interns don't make what surgeons make."
"It's really not that expensive."
"Says the surgeon who makes $2 million a year."
"Okay. So Richard had me look at your mom today."
"Why you?"
"I am a neurosurgeon, you know."
"And Alzheimer's isn't treated by surgery, Derek."
"Well, I did find an experimental trial, and your Mom is eligible."
"That's great, I guess."
"Well, I have the information here on the risks and benefits." But before he could take the information out, the phone rang. He saw an unfamiliar number with a Long Island area code. He figured it might involve have something to do with Lizzie who lived out in Mattituck. "Derek Shepherd, here," he answered.
"Dr. Shepherd?
"Yes, this is Doctor Shepherd. Who is this?"
"Officer Gavin Patel of the Southampton Police Force. I'm calling about your wife."
Derek was shocked to hear the words "your wife." It has been months since he even though of his wife, much less heard anyone mention the words "your wife" to him. He immediately stepped out of the bedroom, "Addison?"
"Yes, Addison Shepherd is your wife?"
"Yes," Derek admitted. He was nervous. A call from a police officer couldn't possibly be good. No matter what she had done to their marriage he had never wanted anything bad to happen to Addison. "Is she okay?"
The officer did not immediately answer the question, which Derek knew was not a good sign. "She was in a car accident earlier tonight. A drunk driver was driving the wrong way on a one way street at a high rate of speed here in East Quogue and slammed into her car. It was a head-on collision."
"Is Addison okay?" Derek asked again.
"She was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital. I touched base with the doctors there, and her condition is serious. They did deliver the baby . . . "
"Baby?" Derek asked. He was startled. He had no idea Addison was pregnant.
"Yes, your baby was born tonight. She was just 3 pounds 4 ounces, but the doctor said she's in good shape for a baby born at 30 weeks."
"My baby?" Derek knew there was no way possible that Addison could have been pregnant with his child, but he decided not to share that information with the officer.
"Yes, your baby. You are her husband?"
"Yes, I am." Derek decided not to fill the officer in on the state of his marriage.
"What do you know about her injuries?"
"She has a spinal injury. They don't know how severe it is yet. There may have been some other injuries. They say her condition is serious. It would be good if you could get here right away."
Derek wanted to know more about the accident. "Was she alone in the car?"
"No, she was a passenger. It was just her and the driver."
"What is his condition?"
"We're still looking to find his next of kin."
"Was it Mark Sloan?"
"Yes."
"He's practically my brother. How is he doing?"
"Dr. Shepherd, I'm sorry to tell you that he died immediately. He was declared dead at the scene."
At this, Derek's tears started flowing. "Mark is dead?"
"Yes. I am sorry for your loss."
"Dead?"
"Yes."
"And Addison had a baby?"
"Yes."
"And she has a spinal injury and is in serious condition?"
"Yes, you have it."
"And you want me to come to New York tomorrow?"
"Yes, as soon as you can get here. There may be medical decisions that need to be made for your wife and daughter. And does Mr. Sloan"
"Dr. Sloan," Derek interrupted.
"Does Dr. Sloan have any family members?"
"I think his parents are still alive, but they're useless when it comes to him. I can get you their contact information tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll leave my contact information with the hospital."
"Okay."
Shell-shocked, tears streaming down his face, Derek ended the call and walked back into the bedroom.
Meredith was stunned at the sight of her boyfriend. In the seven months since they met at Joe's, he had always been calm and collected. Now tears were pouring down his cheeks and he was openly sobbing. "What happened, Derek?"
Derek looked at Meredith and realized that this was time for total honesty. "I'm so sorry, Meredith."
"Sorry for what, Derek? You're crying."
"Yeah. I just got some bad news."
Meredith went over and hugged him. "You need to share the bad news with me. I love you. You shouldn't be sorry about sharing bad news. I've shared my own bad news with you."
He looked at her. She had total trust in him now; that is why she had told him about her mother's Alzheimer's, her own bad news. Now he was going to destroy that trust. But he had no choice but to tell the truth. "Yeah, I know. And I love you. But first I have something to tell you. Remember when you asked me to tell about myself and I told you my favorite band was the Clash?"
"Sure do." Meredith smiled as she remembered that moment, right before Derek showed her his trailer. "But what does the Class have to do with the call?"
"Nothing. I just left out a very important fact about me. I'm separated, but I'm married." He watched Meredith's reaction closely. She was obviously shocked.
"Married?"
"Yes, married."
"You're married?"
"Yes, but separated."
"Is that legally separated?"
"No, it's so shocked I found my wife in bed with my best friend that I jumped in my car and drove 3,000 miles to Seattle and haven't seen or spoken to her since – that kind of separated."
"What was the call about and why are you crying?"
"Well, the cop said my wife, Addison that is, was in a bad car accident tonight. She is in serious condition, and, get this, they delivered her daughter today. And Mark died."
"Her daughter?" Meredith focused on the baby in the story.
"Hers and Mark's, not mine. The baby is 3 pounds, a preemie, and I left New York more than seven months ago, and we hadn't had sex for some time before then. So clearly, not mine." Derek said emphatically.
"But you're married, right, so the baby is yours."
"Maybe. I don't know about New York law on this. The police officer seemed to think it was my baby, and he wants me to go to New York tomorrow."
"You should go. You're a dad now. Your daughter needs you."
"Not my daughter, Mark's daughter."
"Mark's not here."
"I know. I'm still so mad at him for sleeping with my wife. And yet, when I learned he was dead, I started crying. We've been friends since kindergarten. He was like a brother to me. I guess I always thought we'd make up some day. He called me a few times, but I never picked up or returned the calls."
"It's understandable that you were mad at him."
"Yeah, but now we'll never have the chance to make up."
"Well, maybe now that he's dead you can stop being angry with him."
"I guess."
"And there's no reason for you to be mad at the baby."
"I know that, but she's not mine."
"But Mark is dead, so you're the only father she has now."
"I guess so."
"I grew up without a dad, and it sucks."
"I know. I lost my dad when I was ten." Derek had never talked about his dad with Meredith.
"Oh, so you know it sucks not to have a dad."
"But that doesn't mean I should be a dad to a baby that's not mine."
"Right now, it looks like she's yours. And how is your wife?"
"Her condition is serious. And no doubt she will be devastated by Mark's death. And she's going to have to deal with a preemie. I know I have to go to New York. I'll book the first flight tomorrow."
"I can go with you," Meredith offered.
"Meredith, aren't you furious with me for not telling you about my wife?"
"Yes, I am, Derek, but right now you have an emergency, and I can help."
"I can't ask you to take time off during your first year as an intern. You need to stay and work. I'll be okay."
"Okay," muttered Meredith.
"Don't worry, Meredith, I love you, not Addie. And anyway, she was with Mark. She loved Mark, I guess."
"But he's dead."
"Yeah, but death doesn't stop love. My mom never dated after my dad died. He's still her one true love. Anyway, Addie broke her wedding vows and had an affair with Mark. I'm not interest in rekindling any romance with her. I just think you shouldn't take the time off."
"And it would be weird to bring your girlfriend to your wife's hospital bed."
Derek laughed. "There is that, but that's not my reason. Don't worry about me. I'll call you constantly."
"Okay. I'll stay in Seattle."
"And I may need your help here. I really don't know what I'm going to do about Addie or her daughter. They said her condition was serious, so I'm hoping she's going to survive. I'll know more after I meet with the doctors."