Sitting in the corner of the room, Addison stared down at one contact on her phone. She hesitated before moving her finger over the touch screen phone to click on it and make the class. With her breath held, Addison waited for the woman to answer her phone. She knew it was late in Connecticut but hoped her mother-in-law would answer the phone regardless.

"Hello?" the woman finally picked up the phone, her voice sounding tired and groggy. "Who is this?"

The question automatically told Addison that she had deleted her number from her cell phone contacts and did not recognize the numbers. "It's Addison." she answered, momentarily considering to add her last name to specifically identify herself for her mother-in-law. "I know it's late there, I'm sorry."

"What do you want, Addison?" Carolyn asked.

"It's about Derek." she murmured quietly.

"I can't tell you where he is, Addison. You should just leave him alone. If you cared even a slightest bit, you would leave him alone. Just let him be happy. Doesn't he deserve that after everything?" Carolyn asked the woman on the other end of the line rhetorically.

"I didn't call to ask you where he is. I know where he is. I'm with him right now."

"What? Why? He didn't mention you being there."

"I was asked to consult on a case and I figured it was a good opportunity to give Derek the divorce papers." Addison answered. "I am leaving him alone, Mrs. Shepherd. Despite what you may believe, I do love him and I do want him to be happy, even if it's not with me. That's why I gave him the papers. But that's not why I called you."

"Then what is the reason you called me?"

"Derek was mugged earlier tonight. Well, we think he was mugged. No one saw what happened so we don't really know. He was found unconscious in the parking lot and his wallet was missing. He hasn't gained consciousness since he was brought in."

"What?" the older want asked in shock. "He knows better than to fight over something like that. He saw what happen to his father. He would have just given them the wallet."

"That's what I thought but..." Addison paused. "I don't know, maybe there was something else he didn't want to give up or maybe the guy was gonna beat him regardless. We don't even know how many there were. Maybe it was a group and their intention was to hurt him and the wallet was a bonus. I don't know what happen. I just know he's hurt and he's unconscious and I thought you had the right to know."

"Do you know what happen to him?" Carolyn asked.

"Richard told me he's got a pretty bad concussion, a minor skull fracture likely caused by a blow to the head, maybe from the fall to the ground, if there was one. We're not sure how any of it happened. He's pretty bruised, scratches and cuts and such but they expect him to make a full recovery." Addison informed her estranged husband's mother. "We're hoping Derek will be able to fill in the blanks when he wakes up."

"Is his girlfriend with him? He shouldn't have to be alone."

"She hasn't been in to see him yet. I'm not sure why. Richard told me that she and a friend were the ones that found him so I'm sure she knows. Maybe she just needs some time to come to terms with it. But he's not alone, Mrs. Shepherd, I'm here with him."

"But that's not your job anymore. You're separated. You shouldn't even be there to begin with."

"Well, until we are legally divorced, I'm his next of kin. I need to be here in case any decisions need to be made. So either way, even if I wasn't already in Seattle, they would have had to call me to come." Addison explained.

"I should call his sisters..." Carolyn trailed off.
"Don't worry about the calls, I'll call everyone. I booked you the first availible flight to Seattle. It's about 2 right now, right? Because it's 11 here and you guys are three hours ahead."

"Yes." Carolyn confirmed.

"The flight is at 5 am, you should be here a little early to check in and get through security. It will land in Seattle 10ish eastern time, 7 local time. I'll arrange a car to be there. Your ticket is at the counter, should you decide to come." Addison told her. "If you can't come out here then I'll be sure to call you if there are any changes and I will have Derek call as soon as he's awake."

Carolyn had never particularly liked Addison. She rarely tried to hide it, however, she hearing the broken, desperate voice on the other end of the line left no doubt in her; she knew she could never question the fact that Addison loved her son.

The next morning, just past 8 am, Derek's mother was escorted through the halls of Seattle Grace toward her son's room. She stopped just outside the door and stared in through the open blinds of the window.

"Is that Addison?" she asked Richard, who had taken the liberty to escort her.

"Yes." Richard confirmed. "She refused to leave last night. I offered to have someone set up a cot for her but she insisted that that chair will be enough." he looked into the room to see Addison's legs pulled up to her chest, she was curled up on the armchair fast asleep. "She fell asleep three or four hours ago. She just sat there staring at him before that."

Carolyn felt a pang of guilt as she continued staring into the room.

"I don't even know how she can sleep like that. It looks uncomfortable." Richard continued. "But anyway, that's not our biggest concern right now." he added, opening the door carefully so it would make minimal sound.

Carolyn quietly stepped into the room and walked toward her son's bed. She felt tears building in her eyes as she took in the bruises, the swelling and bandaged cuts. She had images in her mind but the reality was worse than she could have imagined.

"I'll leave you guys alone." Richard whispered.

"Can you have someone get Addie a blanket? It's cold in here and I can see her goosebumps from here."

Richard nodded, "I will have bring one in right away." he promised before going down the hall to the linen closet for a blanket. He stopped back the room and turned it over to Carolyn with a promise he'd be by later to check on Derek.

Carolyn unfolded the blanket and draped the blanket on her curled up daugher-in-law but as soon as she blanket came into contact with her, Addison was awake. For a second she hoped that she'd had a terrible dream but she knew that wasn't true when she registered herself to be in a hospital room with her estranged husband and his mother.

"Mrs. Shepherd." she said groggily as she sat up and stretched. "Sorry." she muttered when he back cracked from hours of uncomfortable confinement.

"I didn't mean to wake you. I thought you might be cold..."

Addison shook her head dismissively. "It's fine. I'm glad you could make it. I'm sure Derek will be glad to have you here."

Carolyn nodded. "Thank you for arranging the flight and pick-up."

"No problem." Addison replied with a smile. "I should go, give you guys some privacy."

"Can I ask you something, Addison?" Carolyn asked before Addison had a chance got leave the room.

"Sure."

"Why are you doing this for him? Richard told me you refuse to leave him alone, you stayed up most of the night talking to me and his sister, you arranged for me to fly out here. I've never met anyone who would do so much for a man who left her."

Addison shrugged, a lack of words preventing her from saying anything. She thought about the question for a minute and then looked over at her mother-in-law. "I love him." she answered simply. "I hurt him but I love him. He's the love of my life. I would do anything for him, I want him to be happy even if it's not with me. Right now, I'm still his wife. I vowed to be by his side through sickness and health and I'm keeping that promise. He doesn't deserve any of this and he certainly would not deserve waking up to see he's alone. He should know that there is someone who cares about him and loves him."

Carolyn couldn't help but smile at Addison.

"Besides, this whole thing is kinda my fault. This is the least I could do."

"How is it your fault?" Derek's mother asked with a quirked brow.

"He moved to Seattle because I cheated on him. If I controlled myself we could have still be together in New York. Nothing would be different and this would not have happened."

For the first time in her life, Carolyn found herself actually pitying her daughter-in-law. She'd never seen Addison in such a position that left her hurt and powerless. "It's not your fault." was the best she could do. "You can't blame yourself. It only makes this whole thing harder. Trust me, I know. When Derek's father was killed over that damn watch I could not stop blaming myself. I'm the one that bought that watch. That guilt plagued me for years. Don't do the same thing. It's not your fault."

Addison sniffled just slightly and nodded her head.

"I'm just glad this did not end the same way. It's just so strikingly similar. Right? What are the chances of this happening to the same family?"

"You think this was over the watch I bought Derek?" Addison questioned.

Carolyn shrugged her shoulders without an answer. "I don't know." she murmured. "It's possible. Derek always wore that watch. He loved it."

"Before." Addison emphasized. There were a few moments of silence before she went on. "I don't think he would have refused to give up his watch to end up like that. He's seen what that can do first hand. Besides, Derek didn't even try to hide the fact that he hates me now. I doubt he was wearing the watch. I don't even think he has it anymore. He probably got rid of it. And even if he does have it and he was wearing it, why would he fight over it? It doesn't mean anything anymore. I just, I don't think that was it."

Just as Carolyn opened her mouth to respond they heard a low, muffle groan from Derek. Both women turned their attention to him and watched with wide eyes and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at both of them in utter confusion.

"Mom." Derek muttered groggily when he recognized his mother. He had no idea why she looked significantly older than he remembered her to be but he didn't bother questioning it. He had no idea where he was or what happen to him and he figured those questions were more important.

Carolyn quickly ran toward her son and tightly embraced him. "Derek Christopher Shepherd, you gave me a heart attack!" she teased as she pulled away from the hug. "How are you feeling?"

Derek shrugged, looking over at the scrub clad woman standing at the foot of his bed. "Are you my doctor? Or um, maybe my nurse? What's wrong with me?"

"What?" Addison asked, caught completely off guard by the question.

"You're standing at the foot of bed wearing scrubs and you've got that very concerned expression on your face. I'm guessing you are my doctor. If not, then maybe a nurse. Either way, you know what happen to me and I want to know."

"You don't know who I am?" Addison found herself asking.

"She's a doctor, Derek, but she'd not your doctor. You don't remember her?" Carolyn asked her son.

Derek simply shook his head.

"What do you remember?" Carolyn asked him. "Can you tell us the last thing you remember?"

"I remember going out for drinks with Mark last night. We got acceptance letters from Columbia so we wanted to go out and celebrate. Did we drink and drive and crash? Is that why we're here?"

"He's got amnesia." Addison whispered in realization. Her husband had amnesia and he had no idea who she was.

"Derek, I'm sure this is scary and difficult to understand but that was 16 years ago." His mother told him softly.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"You were mugged last night while you were leaving work. The attack left you with a severe concussion and a minor skull fracture. But with severe head trauma like that, amnesia sometimes occurs. It's normal. You're expected to make a full recovery so the amnesia should go away with a little time. You will get your memory back." Addison explained.

"See!" Derek turned to his mother. "And you thought she wasn't my doctor."

"She's not, Derek. Addison is your wife. You already went to Columbia for Medical School and you met Addison there. You two got engaged the day of graduation and you got married before starting your internships. You both did your residencies in Mount Sinai in New York. You became a neurosurgeon. You are now the head of the department at Seattle Grace." Carolyn carefully explained to her son to ease his confusion. "Addison is a neonatal surgeon, but after being married to you for almost 12 years, she'd become very familiar with neurology. Hence her ability to explain your condition with such ease." she added with a small reassuring smile.

Derek's eyes got wider as he looked past his mother to the woman at the foot of his bed. "You're my wife?"

"Yes." Addison replied quietly with a small nod.

Derek turned to his mother and whispered, "What did you say her name was?"

"Addison." Carolyn repeated. She chuckled a little, looking from Addison to Derek. "It's funny because you went through phases with her name. When you were dating you only called her Addison, you hated when anyone used a shorter nickname. You said she was a mature, grown women and a nickname was not filling. But after you got engaged and graduated medical school, Addison decided that she would take your our last name so you started calling her Dr. Shepherd. It was kind of funny because people honestly believed that you guys were not on first name basis. It wasn't it until after the wedding that you started calling her Addie or Add."

"You took my last name?" Derek asked, looking to Addison for an answer to see her nodding again. "Women don't change their name unless they really, really love the guy, right? So you must have loved me a lot to change your name for me."

Addison nodded, for the first time since the whole ordeal she found herself smiling. "Yeah, I really, really love you. The kind of love where I don't think or worry about anything when I'm around you because just as long as you're around, I'm happy."

Derek smiled back at her. "Damn, if there was that much love involved, we must have been an awesome couple." Derek joked. "I wish I remembered you. I wish I could remember how I feel about you." he responded honestly.

If you remembered me or how you feel about me then you wouldn't even want me in the same state with you. Addison thought to herself.

A/N: Holy shit, guys! 21 reviews for the first chapter?! Damn. I was expecting like 10 or 11 at most. It shattered by record which was 18 over 2 years for a one-shot. This was 21 in like 4 days! I'm glad so many of your guys liked it. Hope chapter 2 does not disappoint. One question for you guys: Would you want Derek's father's death to play a bigger role in this story? If you do it could A. Through flashbacks B. Through conversation. Let me know your thoughts on that. I have most of the story written but I can edit to include more about his father.

Your mission now, blow me away with reviews. Thanks!