I couldn't resist joining the Addek resolution. I hope you like this story.
Three years ago – somewhere in middle of season 2.
Derek looked up from his Blackberry when a familiar scent of Channel filled the elevator.
"Hey" He straightened himself and greeted his wife.
"Hey you!" Her mouth curved into a smiled on seeing her husband's handsome face after two whole days.
In spite of living under one roof they didn't meet each other because of their busy schedules. Addison rushed to the hospital early in the morning when Derek was fast asleep and because of Derek's late evening surgeries he reached home quite late when Addison was deep in sleep. Even in the hospital their paths hardly crossed.
"There you are!" She said reaching for him. "Will you be home for dinner tonight?" Addison asked fiddling with his lab coat.
"I don't know. I have a surgery scheduled at 6. I may stay here if it gets too late." Derek replied keeping his phone back in the pockets.
"Will you at least inform me about your plans?" She asked hopefully.
"Sure. I will call you after the surgery." Derek replied half-heartedly. "Are you headed to the ER?" He asked realizing they were both going to the same floor.
"No. I got a call from reception. Darby said someone is there to see me."
"Me too! We both have got a visitor! That's strange." Derek thought out loud.
Who would want to see them both? They didn't know many people in Seattle. The mystery was solved as soon as they stepped out of the elevator and saw a young brunet flirting with a tall masculine guy.
"Amelia!" Derek and Addison both shouted simultaneously. Addison's eyes lit up while Derek's brows bumped together in a scowl.
"Amy what are you doing here?" Derek asked suspiciously eyeing the young man standing beside her. The guy sensed the tension between the girl he just met and his boss and silently slipped away.
"I needed a change of scenery so I decided to bless Seattle with my presence." Amelia announced pissing off her brother with her flippant attitude. She wasn't expecting any grand welcome from her brother and thought it was better to be cocky than needy. He was anyway going to look down at her no matter what she did.
"Couldn't you bother calling us before showing up at our place of work?" Derek didn't waste a chance to express his disapproval.
"I didn't want to kill the surprise." Amelia replied with a cheeky smile, not letting Derek kill her mood.
Addison nudged Derek aside and went ahead to hug her favourite sister in law. "I missed you. I am so excited to see you. It's been so long." Addison said pulling her towards the waiting lounge.
"I missed you too. We have so much to talk." Amelia smiled awkwardly relieved that someone was happy to see her.
Derek dragged his feet and followed the girls wondering what to make of his sister's surprise visit. Amy was hurricane. She always brought trouble.
"Does Mom know you are here?" Derek asked interrupting Addison and Amelia's happy chatter.
"Yes she does. Everyone back home knows that I am here. They sent their love." She replied squeezing his hand. Before he could interrogate her further she added "I had few days off so I thought I will come here to meet you guys. Can't you try to hide your irritation and pretend to be happy to see your little sister after so long?" Amelia asked throwing herself down in a plastic chair.
"We are happy to see you Amy." Addison answered on Derek's behalf. "It's just that if you had told us in advance we would have cleared our schedules to spend time with you."
"That's okay. I don't want to disturb your work. You carry on. I will meet you at home in the evening."
"Fine. Where are you staying?" Derek asked softening a bit.
"What do you mean? I am staying at your place." Amelia stood up shoving her hands in her pockets.
"Amy we live in a trailer. There is barely any space for us. We can't host any guest in there. You will have to stay in a hotel." Addison told her apologetically.
"Oh my God! I can't stay in a hotel. I can't afford it. I am broke." Amelia admitted preparing herself for a grand lecture.
"Could you be anymore reckless? How could you jump in a plane for vacation when you don't have any money? And why don't you have any money in the first place? You are a doctor. You get pretty decent stipend." Derek started bombarding her.
"I have a student loan. And I spent rest of my money for buying birthday present for mom." Amelia mumbled ducking her head. "I thought you guys will let me stay with you. I knew about the trailer but I thought it was like a weekend home. How can Addie stay in such place? If I knew you guys really stayed in a trailer I would have arranged something else."
"Hey I have Archfield's membership and lots of credit points which are about to expire. You could use them." Addison offered to save the situation. At that moment Derek's pager beeped and he dashed off without even a goodbye.
...
"Is she gone?" Derek asked wishfully when he saw his wife in doctor's lounge after few hours.
"I had to check few patients so she took my car and went ahead to the hotel. I booked her a room in Four Seasons. Archfield was full." Addison updated him.
Derek just shook his head and went to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"What?" Addison questioned noticing his grim expression.
"Addison, you need to stop enabling her. She is not going to change if you all keep supporting her reckless behaviour." Derek lectured her, sipping his coffee. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she flew across the country without even having money to pay for her accommodation. How crazy is that?" Derek continued taking a sit beside Addison.
"Derek she didn't expect that she would have to arrange her own accommodation. She was coming to visit us. We are Shepherds. We don't make our family stay at hotel. We fit 30 people in a 3 bedroom house and snuggle under one blanket. We don't make our family stay at hotel."
"You speak as if you were born Shepherd." Derek said lightly nudging her.
"I am a better Shepherd than you are." Addison knew all her sisters in law will agree with her.
"If she was running on such a tight rope she shouldn't have opted for a vacation at this time. She needs to learn to manage her finances. This is typical Amelia. She never thinks about consequences because she knows no matter what her sisters are going to bail her out."
"Derek, give her a break. Everyone with a student loan runs on a tight rope. And I don't think she is here for a vacation. Let's be honest. If she wanted a vacation, you will be the last person she will come to. I think there is some reason why she is here." Addison voiced her suspicion.
"May be." Derek agreed. "But she is Amy. She won't spill the bins so easily."
"Do you really expect her to open up to you when you are constantly gruelling her?" Addison asked raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know how to deal with Amy. If I go soft on her she will run all over me and if I am strict she runs away from me." He confessed burying his face in his palms.
...
Next morning Derek sprint to the attending lounge when he got the page which he was waiting for. He had requested the receptionist to inform him as soon as Addison arrives at the hospital.
"You didn't come home last night." He stared at her stating the obvious.
"I stayed with Amelia." She replied tilting her head up to put refreshing drops in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" He asked placing a hand on her lower back.
"Headache, hangover. I and Amelia stayed up till 2 last night and drank little more than we should have." She admitted banging her throbbing head on a locker.
Derek was supposed to join the girls for dinner but he couldn't. Something came up at the hospital. Amelia was relived and even Addison didn't mind having some girl's time with her favorite sister in law. As Derek wasn't there to spoil their party they spent the night drinking and dancing. They definitely had the time of their life but now Addison was regretting it.
"Amy also drank with you?" He asked, squinting his eyes.
"She doesn't have a drinking problem Derek." Addison reminded him thinking he was worried about her addiction.
But that's not what he was thinking. "If Amy was drinking, that rules out her pregnancy." Derek thought out loud.
"What?"
"I have been wondering why she is here. Her pregnancy was on top of my list. But her drinking rules that out." Derek explained. "By the way what's going on in her life? Does she have a boyfriend?"
"If you are so curious why don't you ask her yourself?" Addison patted his back and left, refusing to divulge anything so that he would have to talk to her directly.
...
After sleeping till noon Amelia came to the hospital to have lunch with Addison. Addison dragged Derek along with them to the nearest pizzeria. She was hoping for a casual family lunch but Amelia and Derek managed to turn any trivial topic in spiteful argument which ended in Amelia walking out on them.
"Really Derek? You meet your sister after a year and this is how you behave?" Addison demanded folding her arms.
"Don't tell me how to behave. You are not my mother." Derek said waving the waitress to bring their check.
"You never hesitate to tell Amelia how to behave. You need to stop treating her like an idiot."
"Oh please don't start that decade old speech. Mine and Amy's relationship will always be like this. Just accept that and mind your own business." Derek said slamming his credit card on the table.
"This is my business. This is my family. Don't you dare imply otherwise." Addison challenged him.
Derek sighed. He didn't mean anything like that. He just wanted Addie to back down. "I knew Amy's visit was going to create havoc for us. Addie we have enough issues of our own. Do we have to fight over Amy as well?" He asked scratching his stubble.
"I will always fight for Amy. I think of her as my own little sister." Derek already knew that. When Addison came into Derek's family she felt little unfit among all the perfect Shepherds especially around his mother. That time Amy was also struggling with her own issues. So they we quickly bonded over their insecurities. And now they could empathize even better since they both knew how it felt like to be treated like crap by the most important person in their lives.
They found Amelia attempting to cool herself off in the parking lot. They all walked back to the hospital in complete silence. Derek fled to his work immediately while Amelia decided to hang out with Addison for rest of the day.
...
In the evening Addison found Derek in a scrub room where he was meticulously cleansing his hands.
"Starting or finishing?" She asked from the doorway.
"Finished one and will be starting another in few minutes." He replied rinsing his hands.
"I am done for the day." Addison informed him even though he hadn't asked. He rarely did. He just nodded peeking in the OR ensuring his resident was closing the patient properly.
"I and Amelia are planning to go for shopping and may be some sightseeing." Addison added following him out of scrub room.
"Does she have money to shop?" Derek asked giving her a pointed look.
"It's not for her. I am shopping. She is just giving me company." Addison answered avoiding his stare.
Derek shook his head knowing the plot. They will go for shopping. Addison will buy things she doesn't need. Then Amy would borrow it never to return it back. Addison and rest of his sisters pampered Amy with expensive gifts which she didn't deserve. Because of them Amy was living a rich life which she hadn't yet earned. Derek and his mother didn't approve any of this but no one cared about their opinion.
Derek stopped at the nurses' station to check if his next patient was ready and then headed towards waiting lounge to update his patient's family about the surgery.
"Amelia doesn't want to stay alone at the hotel" Addison continued the conversation matching his pace. "So I am staying with her. Do you mind?" Addison asked already knowing the answer.
"Do I mind a peaceful night in my trailer, without any nagging, slamming or screaming? I think I don't." Derek smirked approaching the patient's family and leaving his wife behind.
...
"Did she tell you why she is here?" Derek came straight to the point when he spotted his wife in the ER next day.
"Good morning to you too honey." Addison replied with a fake smile.
"Why is she here Addison?" He pulled her in the corner and asked again.
"I don't know." She said without looking up from the chart which she was studying.
"I don't believe you." Derek took away her chart forcing her to look at him.
"I don't know and I have a patient to attend." Addison snatched back the chart and walked away.
He signed and turned away when Addison disappeared behind the curtains. Amelia had been in Seattle for two days and still he didn't know what was going on. His curiosity mixed with concern was killing him. But Addison wasn't divulging anything and he didn't want to bend first and talk to Amelia.
Addison and Derek didn't cross paths for better part of the day. He once saw her sprinting towards the cafeteria which was unusual considering she mostly had lunch alone in the doctor's lounge or at the rooftop. He assumed his baby sister was the reason behind Addison's changed routine.
Later in the afternoon Derek entered OR 3's observation gallery wondering who had paged him to watch Chief's surgery. From the entrance he could see that team was still preparing for the surgery. He glanced through the gallery and found his red head sitting in the first row. Some interns and residents were sitting at the last row keeping safe distance from the She Shepherd.
"Why are we watching Chief's colostomy?" Derek asked sitting down beside his wife. He looked at the patient but the face didn't ring any bell. He scanned the case details displayed on the monitor. There was nothing unusual worth his attention.
"Addison?" He asked again when he didn't get any response to his first question. She motioned him to look in the OR. That's when he noticed chief entering the OR followed by his little sister clad in pale blue scrubs and his wife's lucky scrub cap.
Derek remembered gifting the cap to Addison years back for her first solo surgery. Now a days Addison wore that cap only for special surgeries. She had once admitted that for her the cap symbolizes Derek's support so she used it whenever she needed boost of confidence. But it wasn't the time to reminisce about the cap. He focused back on the person wearing the cap.
"What the hell is going on? What is she doing in there?" He turned towards Addison demanding an exclamation.
"She is performing a colostomy under Chief's watch." Addison replied calmly.
"Who gave her the privileges?" He frowned.
"Chief did upon my request." Addison replied without looking at him.
"Are you out of your mind?" He asked forcing her to look at him. She met his stare with an equal force. "You used your hard earned position in this hospital to give privileges to your reckless sister. If she screws up your reputation will be at risk."
"She won't screw up. She is a brilliant doctor. I am not saying that as her sister but as an experienced surgeon. I have seen her work. Yesterday she assisted me in two of my surgeries. I will never use my position to grant favours to any undeserving person no matter how much I love them." Addison clarified.
Down in the OR Amelia was waiting for the anaesthesiologists to sedate her patients. She stood in the OR taking as little space as possible. Her eyes were fixated at her patient while she was mentally walking through the surgery which she had performed countless times before. This was her chance to prove herself to Derek. She couldn't afford fail. She couldn't be anything less than perfect. Even without looking up she could feel Derek's piercing gaze on her. Before starting she looked up first at Addison who gave her an assuring node. Her eyes shifted to Derek who was sitting at the edge of bench, elbows pressed on his knees and chin propped on his hand. His expression was unreadable. Her eyes shifted back to Addison. The elder women gave her a big smile and thumps up. Amelia took a deep breath, returned a smile to Addison and asked for a scalpel.
She elegantly made her first cut and started navigating through the patient's body with ease. Everything else other than her patient and his body faded away in the background.
"She is good." Derek admitted after Amelia swiftly controlled a bleed.
"Yes she is." Addison nodded stretched her legs. "She has great potential. She needs a good mentor to unleash her talent." She added.
"Addie what's going on?" Derek asked sitting back comfortably.
"She is here for your guidance. She will finish her residency soon and has to decide about her fellowship. She is confused between Neuro and Cardiac. She wants your advice." Actually it took lot of persuasion from Nancy and Katherine to make her reach to Derek. But Derek didn't have to know that.
After Amelia's surgery Addison went back to work but Derek cleared his schedule to talk to his sister. They discussed at length about her career options. Derek acted as her soundboard while she compared Neuro against Cardio. In Neuro she aspired to be Ginsberg's fellow. But getting that fellowship was very difficult. After Ginsberg Derek was the next best option. After seeing her surgical skills Derek was willing to give her chance but they both agreed that she should first try to get in Ginsberg's program. Derek then requested Burke to guide her on cardio and went to look for his wife. He found her in a scrub room.
"Hey." He called smiling.
She tilted her head and smiled back.
"Do you have a few minutes?" He asked leaning against the sink.
Addison peeked through the OR door. Her patient wasn't wheeled in yet. "I have some time." She replied rinsing her hands. Even if the patient was there she would still have spared few moments for Derek.
"I just want to say thank you."
"What for?" Addison asked raising an eyebrow.
"For doing what you did for Amy." Derek replied with a soft smile.
"You don't have to thank me. I love that girl. I will do anything for her."
"I know. Thank you for loving her and fighting for her." Derek stood straight and looked into her eyes. Addison just smiled shifting closer to him.
"By the way it was a good plan." Derek complimented Addison stroking her arm. "It was good that you made me see her surgical skills first before making us talk about her career."
"You still think of her as a reckless kid. But she has come a long way since her troubled teenage years. Derek she has spectacularly turned her life around. She is a promising surgeon with great talent."
"I can see that now. If you had tried to convince me before I wouldn't have budged. I might have just advised her to go for some easier specialty. It's still hard for me to believe that little Amy is a surgeon."
"By the way little Amy doesn't like being called Amy anymore." Addison passed on Amelia message.
"She will always be my little Amy no matter how great surgeon she becomes." Derek dismissed her.
Addison peeked again through the door confirming she still had some more time.
"So what do you think is suitable for her? Cardiac or Neuro?" She asked.
"Off course Neuro. That's her natural calling. I don't even know why she is considering cardiac." Derek declared earning a glared from Addison.
"I am not going to impose anything on her. I will let her figure it out on her own." Derek clarified holding his hands in the air. They heard commotion in the OR and saw the patient being wheeled in.
"So when do you expect to get off?" Derek asked tightening strings of her scrub cap.
"I can't say. I have one more surgery after this." Addison scrunched up her face.
"Will you be home by dinner time? I invited Amy over. I am cooking." He tied the knot of her cap and gave her a pat on shoulder to give her a go ahead.
"Yum. I will try to reach by dinner time but if I don't, save some food for me." Addison said pushing the door with her back.
"I will try but can't promise anything when Amy is there." He shouted through the closing door. "See you at home."