Here's chapter two. Further author's note at the end.
The usual I-don't-own-them-they're-Shonda's disclaimer.
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Listen when all of this around us will fall over
I tell you what we're gonna do
You will shelter me my love
I will shelter you
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Heavy clouds loomed above their heads as they gathered around the rectangular plot, rain threatened to spill at any moment. The sky was dark and bleak, matching the mood of the mourners at this cemetery.
Addison stared at the ground and let her tears fall, nothing shameful about crying in public for the man who had been a part of her life for more than a decade. He was a great surgeon and a great man, despites the mistakes of an affair and a failed marriage.
A hand touched her right arm, and she wiped her cheeks as she looked up. Callie Torres offered her a tissue and a supporting nod and gently squeezed her arm.
It began to drizzle, and black umbrellas opened to the sky simultaneously, shielding the crowd from the wetness that wasn't their tears. She continued staring at the ground as wet dots formed on her black heels.
The reverend quoted a verse from the Bible, a hymn sung, and down the brown coffin went into the burial plot. Earth filled the empty space, from atop the coffin until where the headstone laid, and she wished that something could fill the empty space in her heart. Flowers were placed by the headstone, and then it was over.
The mourners made their way to their vehicles parked on the street, and colors began to emerge in her line of sight: the green of the wet grass, the fresh brown of the earth, the white of the flowers, and the grey of the headstone.
Richard Johnson Webber
May 3, 1943
August 18, 2009
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August 22, 2009.
The home of Richard's sister was crowded with close family and friends. Derek scanned the living room, filled with people speaking to each other in low solemn voices. He made his way through the back porch for a change of scene. It was quiet there…peaceful.
Leaning on the wooden rails circling the porch, he took out a small silver flask from his pocket, opened the cap, and took a gulp of the content. Once the liquid made it down his throat, he took another gulp. Then he stopped.
His gaze went inside the house and found her, standing in the kitchen with empty plates in hands, catching a sight of him through the window. She turned away when his eyes met hers, and he took another gulp from the silver flask.
The back door swung and the old couch creaked when she sat down. Loosening his tie, he joined her on the couch.
She took the silver flask out of his hand and helped herself, "I can't believe he's gone."
"Neither can I," he replied.
"You drink," she said, staring at the metal container on her lap, in a tone that was more of a statement than a question.
He didn't respond, there was so much left unsaid between them.
She tightened the cap and returned the flask, "Do you smoke too?"
"When my patients can't see me," he answered truthfully, glancing sideways at her profile.
She gave him that disapproval look he once knew so well, "You're a doctor."
Putting the liquor back in his pocket, he sighed, "Doctors have their vices too."
"You're usually not one to carry flask of liquor and cigarettes."
"I'm usually not one to have an ambulance fell on me and almost die."
That silenced her.
"I didn't want to be dependent on those pain killer pills, so I drink…and smoke, sometimes. Not every day and night if that is your concern. I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not a smoker, I'm just…damaged."
She caught his eyes for a second before looking away, "I'm going back tomorrow morning."
"So fast?"
"I don't live here, Derek. I have a job to get back to."
"I haven't seen you since you came to my office," he protested.
"I came for Richard, and since he wanted to be at home, there was no reason for me to come to the hospital."
"Do you hate me, Addie?"
"I don't hate you," she replied.
"Why do you keep doing this? Avoiding me, leaving…."
"I'm not," she snapped. "I just have other responsibilities to attend to."
"Why did you do it, Addison?"
She quickly stood up, but he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back on the couch.
She yanked her arm out of his grasp, "What do you want from me?"
"I want to know why!" he demanded. "You begged me not to die!"
He was now invading her personal space and it unnerved her, but he didn't care. "You begged me and I lived. But you left…without a word, without a goodbye. I need to know why…."
"Funny you should ask…."
He can hear the pain in her voice, see the hurt in her eyes, and he swallowed hard.
"Because I remember vividly you did the same thing to me…first."
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Addison saw the door to an empty bedroom and sneaked inside before anyone—namely Derek—could see her. It was then after closing the door that she heard the noise from the adjoining bathroom.
"Oh Adele…," she whispered as she saw the widow on the bathroom floor, her face pale and her eyes red.
"I'm just…nauseous…,"the older woman said shakily before she heaved into the toilet.
Grabbing a towel and wetting it with warm water, Addison knelt by her friend, rubbing circles on her back. Adele took the towel and buried her face on it, crying softly.
"I just had him back….," she muttered in between sobs, "For decades I had to compete with his career, with…that woman…. Finally it was me and him for the last two years, they weren't enough…."
Addison wrapped her arms around her, and a tear rolled down her face as they both grieved.
Slowly, Adele pulled away as her sobs ceased. "He was worried about you, you know…."
Her brows furrowed, "Worried…?"
"About your having to see Derek again," Adele confessed.
She leaned back on the bathtub and stretched out her legs, "I did just fine."
"You saw him once and deliberately avoided him afterward."
"I'm supposed to be here for you, not the other way around."
Adele drew a long sigh, "I was there the day he found out you had left Seattle. He was so...heartbroken…." She looked at her sadly, "Addie…."
"I'm leaving tomorrow and we'll go back to the lives we live now," she says flatly.
"He lo—"
"No, Adele." She didn't want to hear it. "I didn't spend the last two years putting my life back together only to have it ruined again just because he couldn't let go of what might've been…. It was already too late when he had that epiphany."
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Alright, I know some of yall are probably confused because I'm doing this in the non orderly timeline, so here's a few things:
1. I made a mistake of forgetting to put a date on the first chapter, I went back and fixed it already. The date on the first chapter is May 2007.
2. Yes, this chapter 2 happened 2 years after chapter 1. If you pay attention to the date, it's August 22, 2009. And from this point on, I encourage you to pay attention to the dates. Dates are good, they avoid confusion, give the dates some love.
3. Yes, Addison left Seattle after the accident and Richard died. 'Tis depressing...
4. No, I'm not gonna tell you what happened between then and now all at once, what's the fun in that?! You'll just have to wait as each chapter unfolds, tee heee!
5. Yes, I am evil for making you think Derek died at the start of the chapter and for making you wait, but I know you love me anyway.
6. And because you love me, you will review. Come on, you know you wanna ;)