A/N: I'm glad people are liking this idea! Here's the next ficlet/vignette thing, which I thought up during my Global Relations class today, while my teacher was going over the syllabus for the 10th time I'd heard it that day and talking about Irish folk music. Then, I talked with my health teacher about the benefits of crayons. It's been a long day. Oh, and if you watched Gilmore Girls tonight, Chris is toast. HAHAHAHA. Anyway, on with it.

Derek stood in the aisle at the Hallmark card store, his eyes scanning the colorful cards for every occasion imaginable. The Valentine's Day cards were displayed in red and pink on one end, with the birthday cards on the other. He picked up a card and stared at its cover, glittered and covered in pink painted roses. This is the perfect card, he thought. The lettering was scripted in beautiful cursive, and as he ran his fingers over the raised words, gentle hands took him by the shoulder.

He turned to see Adele Webber, who had taken the card slowly from his grasp, led him a few steps over, and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. He looked puzzled, and she pointed to the rack of cards in front of him. Birthdays-for her, it read, and then she smiled sympathetically at him as he looked to where he had been standing before: Valentine's Day-wife.

XOXOXOXOXO

Addison had never been so relieved to reach her office. All day, the nurses and interns had been whispering to each other about "Why does she have so many gifts?" and "How many people is she dating?"

It wasn't easy sharing a birthday with the world's most romantic- and cheesy- holiday of the year.

She used to love Valentine's Day. She and Derek usually took the next day off and constantly sought each other out during the day itself, and eventually Richard learned that they were never going to focus on Valentine's Day.

She slumped down in her chair, and when she did she noticed a box sitting on her desk, along with a number of envelopes. She reached for the cards first, opening the flaps.

Addie-

Hope you're having a great birthday. Remember I'm here if you ever need to talk.

-Richard

Ads!

38, huh? Time flies. It seems like yesterday we were throwing that huge 30th birthday party for you at the brownstone. Come visit us soon, we miss you!

-Savvy and Weiss

Doctor Montgomery,

You've taught us a lot this past year, even if we didn't seem very grateful for it. We're really glad that we get to work with you. Have a great birthday.

-Izzie, George and Alex

Addison,

No one in this hospital tells me anything. I found out this morning that it was your birthday from your McAsshat ex-husband, and I had to write you a card on hospital stationary. Nurse Debbie gave me the envelope, so this is all I can do at the moment. I'll look for you later and give you a real card…

-Miranda

Addison smiled at the cards in front of her and then moved on to the last thing. The box with a card on top. She opened the card first, reading it's Hallmark words and then the message underneath it, written in familiar script.

Addie-

Eleven birthdays. Eleven. Eleven years together. You don't forget that. I didn't know what to get you this year, because what do you get for your ex-wife, anyway? I actually lost sleep over what I was going to write on this card. This is sad. Anyway, happy birthday. 38 years and you still look as beautiful as the day I met you.

Love,

Derek

Addison simply stared at it, slightly smirking at the rambling sentences he'd written out. She could picture him writing it, running a hand through his Russell-Crowe hair and clicking his pen against the desk, like he always did when he was nervous. She reached for the wrapped box, and as she opened it it revealed a picture frame. Inside it was a photo of Addison and Derek, laughing as Derek tackled her on the couch in his mother's living room. There was a note attached, that said:

Addie-

When Derek asked us for this picture, we weren't sure what he wanted it for. But then we figured out that he must want it for your birthday gift, and it was perfect. After all this time, you're still our sister, you know that, right?

-Nancy, Erin, Kathleen and Amy

Addison felt tears start coming to her eyes, but forced them back when she saw another envelope, forgotten under the box. She opened it and pulled it out- a card and a note. She read the note first.

Addie-

This is the card he wanted to buy. He didn't even realize he was looking in the wife section. If that doesn't tell you something, nothing will. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

-Adele

She looked at the card next, pink with sparkling glitter and roses, and engraved red lettering.

To my wife-

She opened the card.

We've been through so much,

Sadness, anger and even betrayal

But sometimes,

Love is enough, no matter what people say

Love will be enough for us,

And remember that

Even if we hit an obstacle on the way,

We will make it, because together,

We can conquer anything

I love you, and

Happy Valentine's Day

Addison started to cry now as she read the poetic lines, so perfectly written they seemed like they'd come from her heart.

"Damnit!" She said as the tears fell, "Hallmark is supposed to be happy, not depressing. God!"

She looked at the card one more time, then to Derek's card and then to Adele's note, and suddenly jumped from her chair and ran down the hallway.

She spotted him sitting on an abandoned gurney in the hallway, and he caught her eye.

"Addie, hey." She walked closer and sat next to him. "Happy birthday."

Out of habit, he kissed her cheek, and she flushed and looked down at her hands. Slowly, she lifted the card.

"Derek, what is this?"

"Where-where did you get that?"

"Adele sent it."

He sighed. "I-I'm sorry. I just…habit, you know?" He tried to manage an awkward laugh.

"Did Meredith know you were out buying me a card? Or about the picture?"

He looked down. "No…" He looked back at her. "She wouldn't understand."

"Derek, why did you get me a card and a present and everything?"

"Because…it's your birthday, and it's Valentine's Day, and…" He trailed off. "And it's our day. This is our day, damnit! This wasn't how this was supposed to be. And I'm so Goddamned confused, because when Meredith woke me up this morning, I brushed her off and I didn't even wish her a happy Valentine's Day. All I cared about was getting you the perfect birthday card. I had to wrap the frame in secret. I'm keeping secrets from her already, and we've only been back together for a month. Less than a month! God! What the hell is wrong with me?"

She sat there, silent, staring at him.

"I don't know, Derek."

They sat there a minute and just stared at each other, trying to guess what the other was thinking.

"I don't love her, you know." He said, breaking the silence and their eye contact. "I thought I did, but I was just trying to run away again."

"I get that." Addison said, thinking of Mark.

Simultaneously, they flopped back on the gurney, lying in opposite directions. He reached out for her hand, and against her better judgment, she let him take it.

"We are too fucked up for other people, you know that?"

"We deserve to be single and alone with fifty cats."

"Or we could be single and lonely together with a hundred cats."

"That's a lot of cat food."

They both started cracking up, and Addison almost fell off the side of the gurney as she laughed, struggling to pull herself back up. Suddenly, their laughs turned silent when they made eye contact, inches apart. Before Addison knew what was happening, she was being kissed and she was falling off the gurney and…

Bam!

The two of them fell to the floor with a crash, Addison pulling Derek down with her as he tried to catch her. That just started a new fit of laughing, and when they heard footsteps halt directly behind them, they became very aware of their position.

"Oh, seriously?" One voice echoed behind them, a whisper.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know! I need to give her this chart!"

"Fine. Cristina, will you ask her?"

"No!"

"Izzie?"

Cristina, Alex and George all turned to her, and the blonde sighed.

"Fine."

She stepped forward a few steps and cleared her throat.

"Um…Doctor Montgomery? I…I kind of need to give you this chart, so if Doctor Shepherd could…um…dismount, that would be great…"

Izzie was red, blushing as Derek crawled off of Addison sheepishly and took the chart from Izzie, handing it to Addison, who was still lying there, whispering, "This is not happening."

She took the chart.

"Thanks, Stevens. I'll…uh, meet you up in NICU in five minutes."

The intern nodded and ran off, bursting into laughter as she ran off with the rest of the group.

"Oh, I am so telling Meredith."