You know. This might be the longest I have ever gone between updates.

That's pretty impressive.

Well not impressive from your perspetive.

Impressive from mine.

This chapter took me an unnatuarally amount of time to write.

Just saying.

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Addison tapped her pen on the counter and stared off into space. She and Geoffrey were planning a barbacue, with the girls and Adrienne, and she was in charge of potatoe salad. She had no clue how to make potatoe salad.

She watched Meredith collapse in a nearby chair and gave her a friendly smile which was pointedly ignored. Addison stopped herself just short of rolling her eyes and continued to ponder her potatoe salad delimna.

Grabbing the yellow pages she flipped to the deli sections and looked for an advirtisment that looked like it might have what would pass as homemade salads. She didn't even glance up when Derek appeared and took a seat next to Meredith to fill out some paper work.

"Derek," the annoyance in Meredith's voice caused Addison to look up, "Stop it."

Derek frowned, "What?"

"Your foot," Meredith spat not even trying to keep her voice down.

Everyone in the vicinity immediately glanced at Derek's feet, his right foot innocently tapping away.

"Derek!" she exclaimed.

He continued to tap his foot.

Addison frowned. She could see him trying to still his foot, but it continued to tap persistantly.

"I cannot believe you," Meredith exclaimed, pushing her chair back so fast it hit a filing cabnet a few feet away.

Addison stared wide-eyed as Meredith stormed away down the hall, then returned her gaze to Derek.

Derek remained in his chair staring at his foot. The tapping increased in speed for a moment, then quickly disappeared. He stared at his open palms for a moment then looked over to Addison.

Her brow furrowed anxiously.

Derek stared at her a moment longer then stood, "It's nothing," he said more to himself then her. He glanced at the few staff menbers that were nearby and obviously staring, "She's tired," he explained, "She's not sleeping. None of us are sleeping."

Addison stared down at the phone book.

But she was no longer thinking about potatoe salad.

XXXXX

"Do we have an innappropriate relationship?" Mark asked leaning forward on the bench.

"What?" Callie couldn't hear over the water running in her shower.

"Our relationship. Is it innappropriate?"

"Probably," Callie turned off the water, "Throw me my towel."

Mark threw her towel over the top of the glassed-in shower, "Shouldn't you care?"

"Probably," Callie stepped out of the shower, sucuring her towel around her, "But George started sleeping downstairs to be closer to Meredith and I haven't really missed him. At all."

They simply stood and watched each other for a long moment.

"Should I hug you?" Mark asked. Having female friends was not familiar territory for him.

Callie laughed shakily and turned away rubbing her hands over her faee. She sighed as she felt Mark's arms snake around her from behind and pulled her against his chest. She leaned back amd relaxed.

"I'm sorry."

Callie smiled weakly, "Ya know, I really liked that apartment."

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Meredith pushed the jar as hard as she could against the counter. Using all the body weight she could muster she tried to use it to ancor ithe jar enough to twist the lid off.

The plastic just slid across the slick surface.

She tried hooking it in the crook of her elbow. But her soft sweater provided no resistance.

Derek entered the kitchen and paused. A small smile spread across his face as he watched her try to open the peanut butter. Her forehead was wrinkled in frustraition and her jaw set with determination.

She looked pretty damn cute just then.

She put the jar back on the counter and tried again. It wouldn't budge.

She let out a yelp of frustraition and slammed the jar repeatedly against the counter until the plastic cracked and the jar broke.

Derek burst out laughing.

Meredith stared at him.

The her full mug of tea hit him before he knew what was happening.

XXXXX

"Great sex. Unbearable company."

Callie sighed, "I like Cristina. I wanted you to marry her."

"You would like her. She's like you but angry and hates me."

"I hate you."

"Sure. But mostly you love me."

"Who's next then?"

"Alphabetically? Izzie."

"Alphabetically? Seriously?"

"Addison. Callie. Cristina…"

"You skipped Bailey."

"Miranda," Mark shot back with a grin, "'M'. Right after Meredith."

"You are such a …"

Her sentence was cut off by the sound of glass breaking followed by shouting.

Within seconds they were at the door to the break room. Derek was trying ineffectively to ward off the blows that Meredith was throwing at his chest as she screamed at him.

"MEREDITH!" Derek tried to grab her wrist but she immediately wriggled from his grasped and hit him on the shoulder.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She yelled, hitting his chest with both fists.

"Meredith!" He tried to grab her in his arms but this just set her off and she started hurling insults at him.

"Holy…" Callie darted at Meredith grabbing her from behind and pinning her arms to her sides, "Call Adrienne," she ordered, dragging a struggling, and now crying, Meredith to the ground.

"Is that necessary?" Mark asked with a groan.

"Mark!"

Mark flipped open his phone and turned to look at Derek who was standing there blankly.

"I love afternoon booty calls," Adrienne answered, "Your place or mine?"

"We have a situation," Mark replied, "With Meredith."

"She snapped? I've been waiting for that."

"She freaked out at Derek, Callie is psychically restraining her."

"Sexy. Bet you are loving that."

"Addison got all the tact didn't she?"

Adrienne laughed, "I'll be right over. Think you can get her… Holy mother…" Suddenly she launched into a refrain of expletives the likes of which Mark had never heard, "Bikini wax." She explained panting slightly, "Addison recommended her. Clearly my sister is a masochist! Lord have mercy. Try to get her outside. I'll be there in 10."

True to her word Adrienne pulled up to the hospital side door nine minutes later. Meredith was a sobbing hysterical mess in Callie's arms and Derek was still standing there staring blankly.

Adrienne stepped out of the car and opened the door to the back seat, "Okay. Strap her in."

"What are you doing?" Mark asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to drive her around until she calms down." She watched Callie wrestle Meredith into the car.

"That's your plan?"

"It works on my girls."

"That woman has daughters?" Callie asked straightening up.

"3. One for each husband."

"Not true," Adrienne opened her car door again, "I annulled my marriage to Opal's daddy." She nodded to her former brother-in-law who stood motionless either crying or praying, or both, "You should do something about him."

"Opal?" Callie whispered as Adrienne slammed her door shut.

"Opal, Pearl and Ruby," Mark shook his head, "Addison threaten to sterilize her when she wanted to name one Amethyst."

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Meredith woke up slowly.

Her head was pounding. Her throat was sore. Her eyes burned.

"Hey," Adrienne greeted softly from the front seat, "I got you some ice cream."

Meredith leaned forward and picked up the dish of ice cream from the center consol. It wasn't even melted.

"It's the third one I bought," Adrienne explained, "You slept along time."

Meredith swallowed hard trying to stop the tightening in her chest.

"You can cry more if you need to," Adrienne said gently, "I can keep driving. I've always wanted to see Canada."

Meredith laughed, gulping for air as she did so, "Canada would be good."

XXXXX

"She's not coming home."

Derek buried his head in his hands, "What?" he asked hoarsely.

"She's not coming home. She wants some time away. Alone."

"Where?"

Adrienne hesitated, "It's not rehab," she explained, "It's like a hotel with a 10:1 guest to therapist ratio. If she feels like talking there are people for her to talk to, if not she sleeps in, watches pay-per-view and gets her nails done. Whatever she wants."

"When."

"She checked in about 2 hours ago. I ate lunch with her," Adrienne paused, "She asked to stay a month."

"Why?" he felt numb.

"It's what she feels she needs Derek," she explained gently, "She's had it rough. But she recognizes that she can be self-destructive, she's always known, and she wants to do something about it."

"How?"

"Derek," Adrienne chucked, "Talk about this with her. She wants to call you tomorrow; I said that I'd pass on the message. Suggest going up to visit her for the weekend ok. I think she'd like that."

"Okay," Derek agreed weakly.

Okay," Adrienne laughed, "God. Stop mopping. This is a good thing."

Derek cleared his throat, "Thank you, Adrienne."

"It hurt you to say that didn't it?" she teased, "I've gotta jet. I promised Addy-cakes that I'd go to her suburban barbecue. Can you picture me at that? She asked me to buy a red and white-checkered tablecloth and I'll bet you a million dollars that the stud-muffin will be wearing a 'kiss-the-cook' apron. How revolting. We'll talk tomorrow 'kay Einstein?"

Derek flipped his phone closed and sank down on the closest bench.

"Derek?" Addison whispered softly slipping through the door.

Derek didn't look up.

She sat down next to him on the bench in the locker room but didn't look at him.

"Meredith checked herself into rehab for a month."

Addison shook her head in surprise, "Rehab?"

"Not rehab," Derek corrected, "A hotel with therapists," he stared straight ahead, "I don't know if she's stressed or pressured or… I've tried giving her space I've tried being there for her… I've tried… I've tried…"

"Derek…"

He stared down at his hands, opening and closing his finger, "And if…If I'm…sick. I can't take care of her…" he looked at Addison, his eyes wide with worry, "I don't know what to do Addy."

She watched him manipulate the muscles in his hands "You're fine Derek," Addison said, more strength in her voice then what she felt.

"You don't know that," he shook his head, "My dad…"

"Your dad," Addison repeated, twisting on her seat to face him, "Your Dad got sick Derek. It was different…"

"But in the beginning…"

"Derek. No," she said firmly

"My hands…"

"You're tired."

"My foot…"

"Stress. Derek…" Addison took a deep breath and leaned forward, "I booked the MRI and EKG for tomorrow. If you walk me through it, I can run the tests. But Derek, listen to me, you are fine, I know you are fine."

Derek buried his face in his hands.

Addison reached in the pocket of her labcoat and extracted vials and needles and held them silently in her lap. Derek was motionless for a full five minutes before turning to her and extending his arm for her to take his blood. He watched her eyes not her hands as she worked and he didn't feel a thing.

"There," she said softly as she smoothed a band-aid on to the crook of his arm with her thumbs.

"I miss you."

She didn't move, her hands still gently holding his arm, "It's all going to turn out okay. You and Meredith…"

"No. Not," he paused; "Just…" his words were slow and deliberate, "…sometimes. I miss you."

She inhaled sharply, "I miss you too," she glanced up at him, her own eyes watery, "Sometimes."

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