A/N: Thank you so much for all of your nice feedback on this story and your encouragement to keep going – it worked! Initially, I wasn't sure whether to continue, but I really do think that there's a lot more story to tell (Plus, Addison and Derek are awesome!). I hope you like this chapter, and thank you so much for reading!
"Okay, so I realize that I say this practically every day," Izzie began. "But, come on, how adorable is Willa?"
Alex, Mark, and Lexie looked over at Willa and smiled. Izzie was right – Willa was undeniably adorable. But, today, was Willa's first day of nursery school, and they had to admit, she looked extra adorable today.
"I love her little Burberry dress," Lexie complimented, as she watched Addison and Derek help Willa set up her nursery school cubby.
"And she's wearing matching little shoes too," Izzie added with a smile. "Oh, and Addison took her for a manicure yesterday, so she'd have pretty nails for the first day of school."
"She looks nervous," Mark noted, watching closely, as his niece gripped her mother's hand tightly.
"She does," Alex agreed. "But she's a tough kid. She's gonna do great."
"I'm gonna miss having her around the hospital," Mark admitted. "I always found myself going in to see her, in daycare, after a bad surgery or a tough case. Somehow, spending a couple of minutes with her just made things better."
"She's still going to be in the hospital daycare," Izzie pointed out. "Nursery school's only half a day."
Mark nodded. "Hey, it looks like Willa's nursery school teacher is still shooting us some pretty serious glares," he chuckled.
Lexie laughed as she followed Mark's gaze. "I think we caught her a little off guard. Most of the kids just had one or two people bring them to school today. Willa had all six of us."
"Well, we couldn't not be here," Mark insisted. "Willa's our family."
It was the exact argument that they had used with Richard Webber, when all six of them went to him, a day earlier, and told him that they were all going to be late for work, the following day, because they were dropping Willa off at her first day of nursery school. Richard wasn't quite convinced that this was a six person job, but the six of them were unyielding. So Richard finally agreed to let them all come into work late, telling them that they might as well get this out of their systems now while they still could, because there was no way in hell that this type of thing would fly when Willa got older. The six of them laughed good naturedly, but they all knew that this type of thing would absolutely fly when Willa got older – that, come hell or high water, when the time came, all six of them would be there dropping Willa off at college, helping her unpack her things.
"Uncle Mark," Willa smiled, toddling over to her uncle, and wrapping her tiny arms around his legs, Addison and Derek following closely behind her.
"Hey, Little Buddy," Mark grinned, as he bent down and picked Willa up, before cuddling her close. "I'm going to miss this," he admitted turning his attention to Addison and Derek.
"You're not the only one," Addison laughed. "Willa already asked us if Uncle Mark was going to nursery school with her."
"Excuse me," Willa's nursery school teacher cut in as politely as possible. "But it's starting to get late, and we're starting to ask parents…and whoever the rest of you are," she added, gesturing to Mark, Lexie, Izzie, and Alex, "to leave. So say your goodbyes."
"And I thought nursery school teachers were supposed to be nice," Mark quipped.
"What he really means to say," Lexie cut in, sensing the teacher's discomfort, "is that we're all really happy that we were able to drop Willa off today. So, thank you…so much. And, of course, we don't want to hold things up, so we'll just…we'll say our goodbyes, and be on our way."
Willa's teacher let out a dramatic sigh. "Just start saying your goodbyes," she said as patiently as she could.
Addison nodded politely, as Mark put Willa down so that she could give everyone else a hug goodbye. And as she watched her daughter hug Lexie, Alex, and Izzie, Addison bit her lip to keep the tears that were stinging her eyes at bay. She knew she'd see Willa in a couple of hours, but this was her daughter's first day of nursery school – Willa was growing up, and it just seemed too fast. She remembered the day that Willa was born like it was yesterday. She still so clearly remembered the day that she and Derek brought Willa home from the hospital; the day that Willa had taken her first wobbly steps; and, of course, Willa's first Christmas. And, now, suddenly, Willa was three and starting nursery school.
Derek could tell that his wife was struggling to keep her composure, and quickly wrapped an arm around her waist reassuringly.
"Bye, Mommy. Bye, Daddy," Willa said quietly, reaching her tiny arms up for a hug.
"Bye, Willa," Derek smiled, reaching down and picking his daughter up, hugging her tightly. "Have fun at school, okay?"
"Okay," Willa nodded, as Derek handed her over to Addison.
And as Derek watched his wife and his daughter, he felt his heart melt. Looks-wise, Willa was a perfect combination of him and Addison, but her mannerisms were so completely Addison. He watched as Addison gave Willa a hug and kiss goodbye, noting that Addison and Willa had identical expressions on their faces – both were biting their lower lips, trying impossibly hard not to cry. And Derek couldn't resist wrapping his arms around them, knowing that he'd do anything to make his two favorite girls feel better.
xxxxx
"So, that was a lot harder than I expected," Addison admitted, as she and Derek walked out of Willa's nursery school towards their car.
"I know," Derek agreed, opening the door to the car and sliding into the driver's seat. "I can't even imagine how hard it's going to be to say goodbye to her when she heads off to college."
"Let's not even think about that," Addison warned.
"Okay," Derek chuckled, sticking his car key into the ignition.
"Hey, uh, Derek," Addison said, gently reaching out, and stilling his hand before he could start the car.
Derek turned at the seriousness of Addison's voice. "Yeah?" he asked softly, meeting his wife's eyes.
"I, uh…this is kind of a weird time and place to tell you this, but I…I can't keep it to myself any longer. And I feel like whenever you try to create this perfect moment, it always ends up being tacky…and that's not who we are. Do you know what I mean?"
"Uh, I get the part about us not being tacky people," Derek chuckled. "But I'm a little lost on the rest."
"I took a pregnancy test before we left this morning…" Addison trailed off.
"And…" Derek asked happily. He technically didn't need Addison to say anything else. They had spent over a third of their lives together; he could read her like an open book. But he wanted to hear her say it. He needed to hear her say it.
Addison met Derek's eyes and smiled. "It was positive."
"Oh my God," Derek breathed, overcome with emotion. He leaned in and kissed his wife deeply. "Addison, I'm so happy," he smiled, when they broke apart. "I'm so ridiculously happy."
"It's still early," Addison said cautiously. "So we shouldn't get our hopes up, but-"
But Derek cut her off with a headshake. "This is meant to be, Addie. You and me and Willa and this new baby…we're supposed to be a family. I just…I know it."
Addison smiled at her husband's words.
"So, wait…" Derek began thoughtfully. "We haven't been trying for very long…which means-"
"The night of Izzie and Alex's wedding," Addison filled in with a smirk. "Or some time around then."
Derek was right – they hadn't been trying very long. Addison had told Derek, at Izzie and Alex's wedding, a month ago, that she was ready to start trying for another baby. And after some quick period-math, she had realized that they were actually very well positioned to start trying immediately. Needless to say, Izzie and Alex weren't the only ones who had enjoyed an eventful wedding night.
"So, that means, what, an April due date?" Derek asked.
Addison nodded. "We'll get a more accurate sense once we do an ultrasound."
"How soon can we do that?" Derek asked excitedly.
"I want to use the same OB I used with Willa…and, uh, the last time…" Addison added, swallowing hard, as she thought about her miscarriage. "So, um, probably, a day or two, depending on our OB's schedule."
Derek nodded, as he stroked Addison's hand reassuringly. "Hey," he said softly, meeting Addison's eyes and smiling widely. "Have I mentioned how excited I am? Because I am."
"Yeah," Addison breathed, a slight smile coming to her face. "Me too."
"Good," Derek grinned. "And I, uh, I get that you're nervous. I am too. But, I don't know…I just…I have a really good feeling about this."
xxxxx
"This doesn't make any sense," Derek muttered, as he read over his patient's file. "I thought that we were removing a tumor from the cerebrum. This chart doesn't indicate that this type surgery is necessary at all."
"It's because you're reading the wrong chart," Izzie explained smugly.
Derek looked at Izzie in surprise. "Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," Izzie nodded. "I was kind of wondering how long it was going to take you to figure it out." She looked at her boss in concern. "Is everything okay, Dr. Shepherd?"
"Everything's fine," Derek answered quickly. "I'm just a little…distracted."
It made sense. Two days had passed since he learned about Addison's pregnancy, and they had their first doctor's appointment in a few hours. But as excited as they were, they were still worried. Addison had reminded him several times, over the past couple of days, that she was over forty, and that increased the risk of chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic diseases. Derek had done his best to reassure her that everything was going to be fine, but he knew he wouldn't feel better until he saw their baby with his own eyes, and got confirmation that their child was healthy.
"So, how's Willa liking school?" Izzie asked, ripping Derek from his thoughts.
Derek smiled at the mention of his daughter. "She's liking it a lot," he nodded. "Although, she's making friends-"
"Isn't that the point?" Izzie chuckled.
Derek sighed. "It's just, I ask her who her friends from school are…and she tells me Joshua, Aaron, and Ethan."
"All boys," Izzie smirked. "Oh, this must be killing you."
"I just, I thought I'd at least have a few more years before I had to worry about things like this," Derek admitted. "Aren't boys supposed to be gross at that age?"
"She's three…it's completely harmless," Izzie laughed.
"I know," Derek agreed. "It's just…she's my little girl."
"You're a good dad, Derek," Izzie smiled. "You really are."
"Thanks," Derek breathed. "I don't think you know how much I needed to hear that."
xxxxx
"So, this is going to be a little cold," Addison's OB, Jane Galvin, warned as she squirted some gel onto Addison's exposed abdomen. "Okay, let's see," she began, as she started to scan.
"Would you mind tilting the screen a little so that we can see it?" Addison asked. She knew she was micromanaging. She knew that Jane was very good at her job. But she also knew that she was the best – and after everything that had happened, in the past, she needed to see for herself that her baby was okay.
"Sure," Jane smiled, sensing Addison's nervousness. "How's that?" she asked, tilting the screen slightly, before continuing to scan.
"Oh my goodness," Addison breathed, as she took in the image on the screen. She met Jane's eyes. "Is that…" she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"Yeah," Jane nodded, and Addison's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Addison," Derek said nervously, taking in the look of panic on his wife's face, as his eyes flashed between his wife and the screen. "Addison," he choked out. "What's wrong?"
Addison took a deep breath, noting the fear in Derek's voice, and immediately feeling guilty for worrying him unnecessarily.
"Addison," Derek prodded apprehensively.
"It's fine. Everything's fine," Addison reassured her husband, her eyes connecting with his. "It's just…twins."
