A/N- This story takes place after Yesterday. I really hope you guys like it, because this idea's been in my head for some time now. Enjoy and review!
I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you
I'll stay with you
-Stay With You by the Goo Goo Dolls
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Derek remembers the phone call.
It had been a Friday, and he had just finished a long shift at the hospital. He had planned on going home, where he could cook a quick dinner and relax. The week had been hectic and tiring, as always. What with his mixed emotions over Addison and Meredith, and Mark coming back into their lives, Derek was just glad it was all over. As he took his car keys out of his jacket pocket, he heard his cell phone ring. He didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
"Derek, thank God. I've been calling you for the past hour."
Something terrible had happened. He could feel it.
"Mom, I just got out of surgery. What's going on?"
"It's your father. He.. he died last night. Heart attack. We need you to come home, Derek. Please."
And there it was. The worst ending to probably the worst week Derek had ever experienced.
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He forgets how he got home that night. After promising his mother he would be in New York by the next morning, he had just stood there. His father had died. Died. He was dead. He wasn't a smoker, or an alcoholic, nothing like that. He was only in his sixties. How could this have happened?
As he drove home, he couldn't help but wonder if Addison would come to New York with him. Sure, they weren't exactly on the best terms right now, but he needed someone. And not just anyone. He needed Addison. She would know what to do. She always did.
It started to rain as he walked into the trailer. Addison was reading a book, with Doc's head in her lap. When she looked up, Derek was sitting on the bed, watching her. There was a pained expression on his face, and she immediately put her book down and moved closer to him.
"What happened?"
"My dad died. Last night. My mom just called and told me. I have to fly out to New York tomorrow, but I was wondering if you could come with me. Because, because.."
He was cut off by his wife's arms wrapping around his neck. The tears he had been trying to blink back were now streaming down his cheeks. He gripped her tighter as he choked back sobs. Addison rubbed his back in small circles, all the while telling him that everything would be okay, that they would call Richard and let him know they needed the week off.
When they finally pulled apart, Derek thanked her. She gave him a weak smile and began to pack her bags.
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He had always hated flying. He hated airplanes, the people who flew in them, and just the overall feeling of being stuck in one for several hours. As they began to take off, Derek gripped Addison's hand. She squeezed it tightly. She hated flying almost as much as he did.
The next few days were a blur. The wake was unbearable, what with everyone offering Derek condolences. What made it so bad was the fact that Derek didn't know anybody there. He hated how these people looked at him. They knew he was miserable and broken, and all they offered were flowers and cards. They couldn't do anything except feel sorry for him.
Addison never left his side though. He wouldn't let her. And even if he had, she still wouldn't have left him. He needed to hold her hand, to look into her eyes, because he didn't want to lose her again. When he went to bed that night, he knew he had made the right choice by bringing Addison with him. Derek knew that Meredith would never do this for him. She would never hold Derek the way Addison did, or console him the way Addison did. She wouldn't do anything, except feel sorry for him, just like the strangers at the wake had.
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"You alright, babe?"
Derek looked up at his wife and smiled. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
The funeral had ended hours ago, but Derek had insisted on staying. Addison didn't protest. When he had told her to go home, she had just snorted and replied, "If you think I'm going to leave you now, then you're sadly mistaken."
Derek turned from his father's grave to look at Addison. She was sitting in a chair, her red hair blowing in the wind. She didn't even look the least bit bothered to be sitting in 30 degree weather.
"The last time I talked to him was after I left you. I had just arrived in Seattle, and he had called me. He said that I was making the biggest mistake of my life, leaving you. And you know what?"
"What?" Addison asked, reluctant.
"He was right. That was the stupidest thing I had ever done. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry I didn't fight for you. I'm sorry I was absent. I'm sorry that I was never there for you. And I'm sorry that you've had to put up with me for this long."
Addison just watched him as he walked over to her. He kneeled next to her chair. "I'm going to start trying, Addie. I really am. I am not going to lose you again."
"Okay." The tears started to fall, but Derek quickly brushed them away. He had always hated to see her cry.
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It was their last night in New York, and Derek didn't want to leave. Throughout the week, they had done just about everything together. They had visited their old hospital. They had taken walks through Central Park. They had went to all of Addison's favorite stores on Fifth Avenue. The more time he spent with her, the more he fell in love with her. And that scared Derek. This newfound love he had for Addison was familiar, scary, and exciting all at once.
It was almost 3 in the morning, and he couldn't sleep. "Addie, are you awake?"
"Yeah, I am." She leaned over to turn on the light. "What is it, Derek?"
"I love you." There was so much more he wanted to say, but the look in Addison's eyes and the smile on her face left him at a loss for words. She was beautiful.
"I-I love you, too. I love you so much, Derek."
He kissed her then, really kissed her. And this time, he wasn't thinking about Meredith. He wasn't thinking about Seattle, or any of their problems there. All he could taste was Addison, all he could breathe was Addison, and all he could love was Addison.
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Derek remembers the phone call. He remembers the news and devastation it brought. He remembers the flight, the wake, the numbness of it all. But he also remembers the walks through Central Park, the smiling face of his wife, and the contentedness he had felt. Most important of all, he remembers how that particular phone call had reestablished the love he had for Addison, and how it made him realize, that despite the mistakes they had made, that they were meant to be together.