Disclaimer: I own nothing. Shonda owns it all.
A/N: This is a oneshot for a challenge. The prompt was "swimming". Please read and review, it helps me improve :)
1. Someday
Addison smiles broadly as she watches the little dark-haired girl walk towards the swimming pool. She looks happy and excited, just like Addison when she was about to start her first competition. Ella, who turned six a few days before, waves at her as she gets ready to dive in, and Addison returns the gesture with a beaming smile on her face. She's always loved swimming, and seeing the little girl enjoy the water as much as she does always makes her smile. As far as she can remember, most of the good memories she has are related to swimming in some way, and she hopes Ella will think back on her life years from now and have only good memories from the time she spent in the water.
Addison's first good memory isn't actually a real memory. She can't remember it, but her mother taped it and she watches the video every time she goes back to Connecticut for a visit. She doesn't remember being a tiny redheaded girl who bounced excitedly as her father removed the floaties from her arms. She also doesn't remember jumping into the warm water of the indoor swimming pool and frowning in determination as she slowly but surely reached the opposite wall of the pool. But she has the help of the home movie to refresh those little details. What she does remember, although vaguely, is her father picking her up and making a big deal out of her swimming without floaties for the first time, and proudly announcing she was ready to go sailing with him next summer, like a true Montgomery.
Ella takes a last look at Addison before jumping into the water, and Addison, proud of the little girl, stands up and cheers her on, making her husband look at her with a half-amused, half-embarrassed look on his face. Addison is too focused on Ella to notice some heads turned to look at her, who isn't the kind of woman you'd expect to make such a big deal of a little swimmers competition, what with the perfect hair, expensive clothes and high heels. Derek, however, isn't as oblivious as his wife to the people around them, and he decides to give the video camera on his hands his undivided attention and pretend he doesn't know his wife.
As she cheers for the little girl, Addison thinks back to one of her favorite memories. Naomi, her best friend and roommate, was spending the summer at Addison's beach house, and they were both excited out of their minds about starting med school in the fall. On their second week at the beach house, Addison had dragged Naomi to the beach after telling her she wasn't going to let her stay in bed and whine about missing her boyfriend. Sam was spending the summer in France on an exchange, and Naomi had to be physically removed from the phone or she'd talk to him all the time.
If there was something Addison hated, it was being hit on by random guys who thought she was going to beg for them to take her out on a date. If there was something Addison hated even more, it was being hit on by random guys who were so incredibly attractive she almost wanted to beg. And Mark Sloan, who had just introduced himself, was certainly attractive enough to make her want to beg. But she didn't have time for that. She had to go to med school, become a doctor, then a surgeon, then the best surgeon, and then, maybe, she'd think about giving men a second thought. And so, she coldly excused herself and walked into the water, happy to have freed herself from Mark.
She had only been swimming for five minutes when something hit her head with considerable force. She turned around to look for whatever it was that had hit her, but she couldn't even begin to search the water when a dark-haired young man came running towards her, with a look of horror and embarrassment on his face. He was cute, she thought, but not really sexy. She assumed he was probably the eternal best friend, the one who has a bunch of girl friends but never a girlfriend. She smiled warmly at him, because he didn't look like a threat for her plans, and assured him she was fine and he didn't have to worry about having hit her with his football.
And now, years later, Addison gives her husband's hand a soft squeeze as she thinks about that time when she thought he wasn't good enough to make her consider changing her plans. She only looks away from him when she notices the race is about to end, and she goes back to cheering for Ella, who finishes second, making Addison jump up and down and squeal with joy, making sure the little girl can hear her above all the other cheering parents and family members.
When the kids are in the dressing rooms getting ready to go home, Derek takes Addison's hand and leads her outside to wait for Ella, smiling at the sight of his wife beaming with pride. When Addison's eyes meet his, she smiles warmly and closes her eyes as he places a soft quick kiss on her lips, reminding her of another incredibly happy memory.
She was floating on the pool in the deck of a cruise ship after an early morning swim. Her eyes were closed and she was completely relaxed, letting the water rock her slightly while she felt calmer than she'd been in months. Planning a wedding was incredibly stressful, and she was grateful for it all being finally over. Derek's voice brought her back to reality, and she smiled at the sound of her married name, which he'd been using since their wedding the week before. He handed her a cup of coffee when she reached the edge of the pool, and she smiled gratefully at him, letting him comb her hair with his fingers as she nursed the warm drink.
They were the perfect image of a happy couple as he joined her in the water after she finished her coffee. She jumped on his back and he threw her back into the water, earning himself an evil glare which he quickly erased from her face with a sweet kiss, and then reminded her how much he loved her and how he'd always be with her. She smiled happily, as she'd been doing since their wedding, and lead him out of the pool and towards their suite, her playful smile promising him a reward for being nice enough to bring her breakfast to the pool.
Derek's voice makes her come back from the past, and she notices the kids are coming out of the dressing rooms. She kneels down as soon as she sees Ella, and the little girl runs into her open arms, giggling when she scoops her up and places a loud kiss on her cheek. "Did you see me? Did you see me?" Derek smiles at the sight in front of him. "Of course we did! You did great, I'm so proud of you!" Ella grins and looks at Derek, who wraps his arm around Addison's shoulders to lead her towards their car. "Did you tape it, Uncle Derek?" He smiles and tickles her, making her burst into a fit of giggles. "Yes I did, Miss Ella. And I taped Aunty Addison making a scene, too."
As she looks at Derek laughing with Ella, Addison can't help but feel completely happy. They'd agreed to drive Ella to the competition after Nancy told them her and her husband were taking their younger son to a baseball game, and spending time with their little niece never fails to make Addison feel happier than before. Derek takes Ella from her, and she thinks about their conversation from the night before. After being married for five years, they are ready for a baby, and they're going to start trying soon. As soon as Derek's schedule calms down a bit. He's ready to start his fellowship, and the offers keep coming, so he's not home that much. But he's told her it'll get better. And she knows they'll have their baby, someday.
-Fin-