A/N: So I have better things to do than starting something new but I can't get this couple out of my head (even now in Season 4), so I'm writing it out. I bring this at the behest of someone who has been patiently waiting for something lighter from me. I am aiming for about five chapters here, this merely being a prologue of sorts because it is very short. Let me know what you think!

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I've got a bad taste in me
It's like I've been robbed of something that I once was in my childhood memories
And it's buried in sandboxes backyard where we used to see
That dreams could come true if believed
The sidewalks scream our names
We are so far from home
Far from home
- The Classic Crime, "Far From Home"
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Cooper left about a half an hour ago, taking with him the bottle of wine for good measure, in case he needed liquid courage. After a brief talk about being stood up and turning yourself down he decided to man up and head back over to Violet's and get his dream woman which somehow now leads to Addison pondering whether or not she even believes that still exists.

Ever the eternal cynic, she found a renewed faith in the optimism her ex-husband believed existed. She chalked it up to the fact that you have to remain hopeful when you end up killing as many people as Hitler in surgery (as he did and will continue to do). She reaches for another bottle of wine and stops when her eye catches the key in the windowsill.

She's made better choices in life. Isn't that the way the story always starts? Hastily heading upstairs to change, because part of her brain in engaged enough to realize that waiting for a plane while dressed in lingerie isn't the best idea, she exhales a breath of excitement and of trepidation. Her feet hit the wooden steps slowly at first and by the time she reaches the top, at full speed, her lungs feel like bursting.

A situation where better choices could have been made often leads to heartache, at least in her experience, but she doesn't have a damn thing to lose right now. While still unsure of how of that all leads her to boarding the next flight to Seattle out of LAX she is firm in the decision. If it doesn't work then she was on a weekend visit to see Callie. Back up plan in place she stands, takes a good long look at the lights outside of the terminal window, and grins as the attendant reviews her boarding pass.

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After the (what he now deems stupid and futile) talk with Meredith about what he wants for their future he headed back to the trailer for another lonely night with the chief. Now, days later, he realizes that all the things he was saying he wanted he already had once in life. Derek is the kind of guy that puts stock into something and holds on for dear life, until that person does him wrong, like Addison had. So he really does believe that he could make it work with Meredith, if he gives her enough time. But the thing is he is out of time. He's middle aged and suddenly being forced back into the dating world with his manwhore of sidekick.

The sidekick who proclaims to be able to fake one hell of a heart attack all the while not realizing that Sydney, who just dumped him even though they weren't dating, is a nurse and would probably jump on the situation to save him before Derek could think to react. His wingman isn't the smartest in the bunch and can't see past the hurt he is playing off as not being able to be with the whiny unavailable resident to see that he actually misses his ex-wife. Because they don't talk about Addison; talking about Addison would mess up whatever semblance of a friendship they have managed to sew back together.

The thought of missing her occurred in the elevator after the speech. He thinks of her infrequently, often pushing her name and memories aside to pursue something work related but he can never quite get her far enough out of his mind. So while fleeing things that are crumbling to the ground is completely his MO, he still can't tie that in to the reason behind why he is now mid-air over Oregon and on his way to the beach.

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She arrives to SeaTac and steps off the plane twirling the small silver key in her hand. The key she has been clutching the entire flight. It's late and she knows that there is a very real possibility that he is either with Meredith or still at the hospital but she grabs a cab and delivers the directions that her mind won't let her forget. As they approach the tin can in the woods she sees a light but her heart instantly sinks when she sees that another trailer has been put on Derek's property. His car is gone and the "home" that holds some of the worst days of her life sits darkened in front of her. She digs into her purse, careful not to drop the key, and fishes out money for the driver. He leaves her standing frozen in the cold rain, eyes locked on what could lead to the worst mistake of her life.

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After realizing that Addison had befriended Naomi and Sam far before he came into the picture, Derek acknowledges that she got them in the divorce and it would be inappropriate for him to call at such an hour. He grimaces when he comprehends that he got Mark in the mess and how unfair that whole situation seems. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket he hastily calls the hospital hoping to catch Torres there before she leaves, not that she ever does anymore. He scribbles the address on an lost baggage form and then is throwing himself down in the backseat of a cab as the city lights whirl by.

When they pull onto her street a wide smile spreads across his face as he remembers their old house in the Hamptons. Everything about the area screams relaxation and he hopes to catch her at a good time, not that three am is a good time for anyone, but he knows that she is often awake and reading at this hour. Nothing would give him more pleasure right now than to stumble upon her with a glass of wine and reading glasses perched on her nose as she tries to read her body to sleep.