Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.

A/N: My two favorite TV shows are House and Grey's Anatomy, and I've had this idea for a fic for some time now. I'm not just now going to say which pairings I'm going to use, because honestly I'm not actually sure, but I do know that it will be eventually be Addek. Please, please, please review! It would make me so ridiculously happy…

Rejection Isn't Easy

Addison stood outside the door of her brownstone. She had been standing there for more than an hour, holding her keys, and yet she couldn't bring herself to open the door. She hadn't wanted to come in the first place, and when she had gotten the call from the chief at the hospital where she used to work at, who wanted her advice on a case involving premature quintuplets, she had refused outright. The chief had talked to her for a little bit, and she ended up agreeing to come to New York for a week; honestly it hadn't taken her much convincing to come. She had wanted to visit her friends in New York, and she wanted closure from her life with Derek; yet she still couldn't bring herself to enter the brownstone.

With a sigh, Addison walked to the door, put the key in, and turned. The door swung open, and she walked into the brownstone. It looked the exact same as before, but to Addison it felt different, and when she walked into the bedroom a few minutes later, she almost burst into tears; the room was the exact same as the night that Derek caught her sleeping with Mark. After that night, even when she was living in New York, even when she lived in her brownstone, she was unable to sleep again in the master bedroom, instead preferring to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms on the floor above.

Blinking back tears, Addison sat down heavily on her bed, and slowly lay down in her bed, the tears now coming fast. She didn't try to stop, instead just letting herself get carried away in her grief for the first time since her divorce. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, when suddenly she heard the phone ring. "Who calls for me here, anyhow?" she exclaimed angrily, and picked up the phone without bothering to look at the caller ID. "Hello?" she questioned in a tearful voice.

"Addison?" the voice on the other end questioned, her voice eager. "I haven't seen you in forever, and I heard you were in New York, so I decided to call here…and, as evident by the fact that you picked up, I guess I heard correctly."

"Nancy…" Addison responded with poorly faked enthusiasm, wiping the tears off her face with the back of her hand. "Look, I'm sorry, but this really isn't the best time…it's just that I just arrived, and I just need a little time…"

"I understand. You've only been in New York for a few hours, and it's the first time you've come since you left for Seattle," Nancy said. "But I figure you probably need a distraction. Dinner tonight at seven thirty?"

I could definitely do with a distraction," Addison said dryly. "Seven thirty?"

"Seven thirty at my place—I wasn't honestly sure you'd pick up the phone if you bothered to look at the caller ID, so I didn't make any reservations. We'll order something in. Anyway, I'll see you then, I guess."

"Yeah," Addison said, and they both exchanged their goodbyes.

Addison surveyed herself in the mirror, grabbed her bag and coat, and walked out the door. She was nervous—she hadn't really seen Nancy since before she had slept with Mark, since she had strategically avoided her until she left for Seattle, and had only seen her in passing in the halls of the hospital when Nancy had come to visit Derek. Of Derek's family, Nancy was the easiest to face, since she had been closest to Nancy. The thought of seeing Derek's other sisters, or Derek's parents, made Addison want to run, and Addison dreaded the day when she would once again meet them. But for now it was just Nancy. "I can do this," she told herself over and over again. "It's only Nancy. I can do this."

Though once she might have been tempted to take a taxi, Addison walked to Nancy's apartment. She had found that walking helped her think, which would explain her sudden passion for long walks alone. Finally she arrived at Nancy's apartment, and knocked on the door. "Coming," she heard in the distance, and a moment later Nancy opened the door.

"Addison!" the woman exclaimed, and hugged Addison. Addison entered the apartment, and was surprised to realize that the apartment was completely different than the last time she had seen it. Addison couldn't help but think that everybody moves on…everybody except her is able to move on.

The two decided on Chinese food, and talked of trivial matters for a period of time, before Addison became fed up. She couldn't stand the suspense of not knowing any longer, and decided to just get this over with. "Nancy, I know I shouldn't be asking this, but I need to know. Where…where do I stand? Why are you even talking to me now?"

Nancy pushed her hair behind ear, but did not hesitate in responding. "Addie, you made a mistake…we all make mistakes. You were my friend for eleven years, and I'm not about to forget it just because you messed up. I watched it happen. I watched Derek ignore you in favor of his job, I watched you make excuses for him at your anniversary dinner, at family occasions. I watched you try to make the relationship work, and then I watched you lose hope. He may be my brother, but he is not without fault."

Addison bit her lip, and tried to keep from crying. "So, we're okay?" she questioned.

"We're good."

"And the rest of the family?" When Nancy didn't respond immediately, Addison pressed her. "I have to know, Nancy, I have to."

"They're trying to sort it all out, but they know you're not completely at fault. We all want you to be part of our family."

"Thank you," Addison whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Nancy hugged her, and couldn't help but notice how fragile and emotional Addison seemed.

The doorbell rang, and Nancy got up to get it, assuming it was the delivery man with the Chinese food. Nancy opened the door, and gasped when she saw who was standing there. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You can't be here, not now. What are you even doing in New York? You didn't show up for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, so clearly you don't feel the need to see family or friends. What the hell are you doing here?" Nancy's voice escalated, causing Addison to walk to the door.

"Is everything all right?" Addison questioned when she was several feet away, and gasped when she saw who was at the door with Nancy. She quickly stepped behind the door before Derek could see her, and listened to the conversation they were having. She didn't like to eavesdrop, but she had to know why Nancy had invited Derek to visit when she had also invited Addison to visit.

"Derek, I don't care what you say, you're not coming in. I have a friend from out of town visiting, and you are not going to disturb our visit." Addison sighed in relief that Nancy had not actually invited Derek to visit. Not that she couldn't coexist with Derek—she had for months now—it was just that she didn't want Derek to see her on her first visit to New York, not when she was so vulnerable.

"Nancy, you can't kick me out. I'm your brother…you're always telling me how you want to see more of me, and when I show up you try to kick me out because you have a guest over?" Derek exclaimed angrily.

"Derek, you're not staying."

"I don't have any other place to stay!"

"Rent a hotel room."

"When you came to visit, without even a call of warning, I let you stay in the trailer with me."

"And what an enjoyable experience that was," Nancy said sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Derek, but you just can't stay—" Nancy exclaimed, but was cut off by Addison, who had stepped out from behind the door.

"Hello Derek," Addison said, in as pleasant a tone of voice as she could muster. "Nancy, he can stay. I really don't mind."

"Thank you, Addison," Derek said, glaring at his sister. "You didn't tell me it was Addison who was visiting you," he whispered, as Addison turned and left the room abruptly. Nancy just looked at Derek, shrugged, and left Derek to get his suitcases into the house on his own, as she went to make sure Addison was okay. She found Addison sitting on the couch in her living room, an ironic smile on her face.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" she questioned. "It's the first time that I return to New York since…well, yeah…and then Derek shows up. I'm fine though, really I am," Addison assured Nancy, who was looking at her with a worried expression, even though she wasn't actually sure that this was true.

The Chinese food eventually came, and Addison, Nancy, and Derek sat down to dinner. They conversed about common friends, until finally the question that Nancy and Addison most wanted to know came up. "So, Derek," Nancy aside, "What exactly are you doing in New York?"

"Work?" Addison asked, raising her eyebrows slightly. She was careful not mentioning that closure was the real reason she was here. To have to work with Derek in New York would be very trying, and she was immensely relieved to learn that work was not the reason Derek came to visit.

"Kathleen's baby shower," Derek said finally, and quickly looked down at his plate of food.

"Kathleen is having a baby?" Addison questioned, and Derek and Nancy exchanged looks. Addison was hurt that Kathleen did not trust her enough anymore to invite her to her baby shower even though she was the aunt of Kathleen's other two children. Damn it, she had babysat them when Kathleen went away, she had taken them to movies, gone shopping with them, done everything a good aunt was supposed to do, and more. It hurt her to think that, despite all that, one mistake and she was no longer part of Kathleen's family. "Congratulate her for me, will you?" Addison said after a moment of silence.

"I will," Derek assured her.

"And…tell Jon and Katie I say hello." Addison bit her lip hard, trying hard not to cry. She had known it wouldn't be easy, that not all of Derek's family would forgive her, but Nancy had given her such hope that perhaps it would all work out. After all, if Nancy, who was the closest to Derek of all of his many sisters, could forgive her, why couldn't the rest at least give her a chance? Addison knew that things would never be the same; she just hoped that she wouldn't be barred from their life entirely. "Excuse me," Addison said, struggling to remain composed, and left the table.

The room was absolutely silent for a moment, as Derek and Nancy glared at each other. After a moment, Nancy got up from the table too. "I'll make sure she's okay," Nancy said with a sigh. "I wouldn't have invited her to visit if I'd have known that it would only make everything worse. I owe her an apology."

"I'll go," Derek replied softly, and left the room. He found Addison in one of Nancy's guest bedrooms, sitting on the bed, tears flowing silently down her face. He sat down on the bed next to her, and she moved farther away from him on the bed.

"What are you doing here, Derek? Can't you just leave me alone for one moment?" Addison whispered angrily.

"Addie…" he began.

"Don't, Derek. Just don't," she cut him off.

"It's not easy, is it?" he said softly, sadly. She shook her head, and he impulsively took her hand and held it. To his astonishment, she didn't pull away, and for some reason he was glad that she didn't. He was dating Meredith now…he loved Meredith, he reminded himself…but it hurt him to see Addison like this. Addison never used to be the kind of woman who cried, and lately he had been aware of her doing a lot of that. Though she might think that nobody noticed when she excused herself and went into the supply office, Derek had known her long enough to realize what was going on, and noticed her slightly puffy eyes and sad appearance, despite the fact that she never mentioned it, or acted as anything other than professional.

Within a few minutes she had stopped crying, and as she wiped the tears off her face with a wet washcloth, she glanced at Derek. "I'm sorry. I don't normally do this…things like this don't normally affect me so much…" she tried to explain, but he just nodded and looked sadly away. She hated to admit it, but she always felt somehow protected around Derek, even now, even after all that had happened between them. When they found that Nancy was still sitting at the table, acting as if nothing was wrong, Addison was grateful—she really didn't want to discuss what had happened.

They finished their dinner in relative silence, and when it came time for Addison to leave, she hugged Nancy and smiled at Derek. "Remember to tell Jon and Katie I say hello," she made them promise before she left. Though it was dark, cold, and beginning to rain, Addison walked home. If she thought she had needed to think before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. On one hand, she was relieved that Nancy still accepted her; on the other hand, she was upset about Kathleen. And, though she'd never admit it to anybody, she longed for Derek—but with the longing came the hurt that she felt whenever she thought of what Derek had done to her, both recently and during their marriage, and she knew that it was over for good.

When she got home, she got ready for bed. She looked for something to wear to bed, and eventually found an old shirt of Derek's that she used to wear to bed when he was away. Impulsively she put it on, and then lay down in the master bed. It was not long before she drifted off to sleep, both physically and mentally exhausted from the previous day.