I just want everyone to know that I really appreciate your reading and your reviews, and your putting up with all the typos I just corrected. I was almost an English major for gosh sakes! I guess I was just so excited when I would finish writing a section that I didn't think to proofread. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and if you've been waiting for updates, go back to chapter 3 and read what I added to it beforeyou read chapter 4. Oh, and all that legal stuff about how I don't own Grey's Anatomy, although I wish I did!

And on with chapter 4:

"God, I hope not." Mark sighed. He was really hoping he was wrong about this one, but he also knew that despite the fact that Addison was Derek's ex-wife, she was also probably the only person who could convince Meredith to let her examine her. And, the only person Derek would trust.

"You think she was...?" Addison's voice trembled and trailed off. She was halfway out the door, preparing to go and comfort Derek, but she stopped.

"Yeah…maybe. I hope not, but maybe."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Addison quickly hung up the phone and ran back into her bedroom to grab her white coat and badge from the arm of the wing-back chair in the corner of the room.

Mark was surprised at how abruptly Addison had cut him off, but it was the least of his concerns at the moment. He could hear Derek's deep voice murmuring on the other side of the door he sat beside. Dr. Bailey and Richard had taken George and Alex downstairs to talk to the police, and Callie stood silently by the nurse's station desk waiting for her turn to examine Meredith, nervously biting her fingernails.

Inside her room, after examining her chart as professionally as he could, Derek sat down beside her bed and gently lifted her left hand up to his lips and kissed it lightly. He'd been hoping to place a ring on that hand one day. Of course, he'd never tell her that, not for a long while, anyway. He stroked her hair with his other hand, being careful to avoid the stitches in the back of her head. He could tell that Mark had placed them there. There probably wouldn't even be a scar. "What happened to you, Meredith?" he whispered. "How did this happen? What were you doing out by yourself?" He was almost scolding her. She groaned and shifted around in her bed, and he quickly dropped her hand out of his. However, she simply yawned and continued to sleep. At this point, he'd done all he could, so he stood up, then bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you Meredith. I'm going to take care of you," he whispered.

He walked out of the room and nearly tripped over Mark, who was sitting in the floor staring at his cell phone. "You hangin' in there?" He looked up at his friend with concerned eyes.

Derek let out a deep breath and sat down beside him. He pulled his knees up and rested his forearms on them. "I guess so. I just don't understand what happened…" Mark nodded and reached over to grab his upper arm and gave his a reassuring squeeze.

"So, the next time we have one of these 'friend moments,' it's gonna be over a couple of beers at Joes. Deal?"

Derek let out a short, quiet chuckle. "Deal."

Callie carefully stepped over them and quietly entered the room. "So what happened to you Meredith? What happened to cause a dislocated shoulder, two broken ribs, and a broken ankle, huh?" She gently lifted the sheet off of the lower left side of her body and picked up her foot. It was bruised and swollen, but she could tell that yesterday it had been perfectly pedicured. "I can tell you wanted yesterday to be perfect," she whispered. She began to carefully wrap her ankle in an ace bandage to keep the swelling down. When she was done, she finished with placing a splint and propping her foot up with a couple of pillows. She placed the sheet back over her legs and moved up to her ribs. She lifted up Meredith's gown and drew in a deep breath when she saw her badly bruised midsection. After she finished wrapping a bandage just above her tiny waist, she looked down and couldn't help but stifle a quick giggle. "I never imagined you to have a belly button ring, Grey," she said, just as if she were talking to her best friend. Now for the hard part. She flipped the switch to raise the head of the bed until Meredith was in a sitting position. She walked over to the right side of the bed and held Meredith's elbow, using her other hand to brace her shoulder. She gave a quick jerk, and as her shoulder popped back into place, Meredith let out a loud yelp.

Outside, Derek began to jump to his feet as he heard Meredith scream, but Mark quickly placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down to the floor. "Callie O'Malley's setting bones. I really don't think you want to go in there right now."

"Ouch! What are you trying to do to me?!" Meredith's eyes flashed with pain and anger as she glared at Callie.

"I'm putting your shoulder back into place," Callie said matter-of-factly. "You'll thank me later. Now, I need you to relax so I can put this sling on your arm." Meredith gave in and leaned back onto the pillow behind her. As she cautiously placed the sling under her arm and pulled the strap around her neck, Callie looked Meredith right in the eyes and asked, "What happened to you?"

As he, Bailey, and George talked to the police just inside the ER entrance, Alex looked up to see Addison rushing towards the doors. She was probably the most disheveled he's ever seen her, to include right after they'd had sex in the on-call room. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she wore cropped gray sweatpants with a long-sleeved, faded pink t-shirt and a pair of running shoes, and there was no makeup. She pushed through the doors and came up to them. He noticed her bloodshot eyes. Had she been crying? One of the police officers interrupted his thoughts. "Well, I guess this is all the information we can get until the young lady wakes up. You have my card. Call me when she does."

Addison, now standing beside them, stopped him . "I'm Dr. Addison Montgomery, OB-GYN. I'll be sure to let you know the results of my exam as well." Bailey, George, and Alex all snapped their heads in Addison's direction.

The tall man in uniform looked down at Dr. Bailey. "You didn't tell me she may have been raped." His words stung all of their ears. George buried his face in his hands and Alex looked down at his feet.

Addison leaned in and whispered in Miranda's ear. "Mark called and said he thought I should take a look at her with the rape kit. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you didn't know…" she trailed off.

Dr. Bailey shook her head. "No, no. I think it's a good idea just to be sure." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "We'll call you." She shook the police officer's hand and he walked away. "She's in the fourth floor holding room while all the emergent things are being taken care of. When you're finished, we'll move her to somewhere more permanent." The four of them walked slowly to the elevator and rode up to the fourth floor in silence. As they stepped out, Addison paused and stared at the scene in front of her. There they were: Two of the most important men in her life, sitting on the floor outside Meredith's room. They looked just like they had three months ago…when they almost lost her. "Let's go, Addison." Miranda nudged her in the side, then whispered, "I'll go get you a rape kit." She gently pushed her in the direction of the two men by the door.

Derek looked up at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

"Mark called me."

"Oh."

"Here you go, Dr. Montgomery," Derek looked up at Miranda Bailey, who was handing Addison a purple plastic case. He knew that case. Back in New York, Addison had spent a few years volunteering for the NYPD special victim's unit as a medical examiner in rape cases. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob. Addison quickly handed the case to Bailey and stooped down to the level of Derek's face. She grabbed his wrists and pulled them away from his face. Tears rolled down his unshaven cheeks as he looked up at her.

"Derek, listen to me," she placed her hands on either side of his face to direct his gaze into her eyes. "You do not get to fall apart. That woman in there….that broken woman in there…whether she admits it or not, she needs you. So, you are going to put your game face on. You're going to let us take care of her. You are Not. Going. To fall. Apart. You've been in love before. Remember? And you and I both know that only one of you can be broken at a time. This time, it's her, and there is only one person in this world who can put her back together. That person, Derek, is you."