A/N: Happy November! Hope everyone had a nice Halloween and plenty of candy. (Not that anyone's asking, but Twizzlers are my favorite).

I can't say thank you enough to everyone who's still reading and reviewing this story. I really appreciate it. This chapter has some of my favorite Addek story elements. It's also pretty long; but it didn't feel right breaking it up. I hope you like this chapter, and I'd love to hear you thoughts (favorite candies, etc.).

Thanks for reading!


"So, I was thinking January 5th for Mason's surgery," Derek told his ex-wife as they got ready for work.

Addison slipped a diamond stud through her ear. "You don't think that's too long to wait?" she asked.

"I don't," Derek said. "Ideally, I'd operate a little sooner, but I want to give Julie and Matthew the holidays with their son."

Addison nodded in agreement. She was fairly confident that this was why Derek had chosen the date he had for the surgery. And she couldn't say she blamed him. Tests had confirmed that the size and location of Mason's encephalocele made the surgery risker than anticipated.

She and Derek had shared this with Julie and Matthew and asked them what they wanted to do, and both were very adamant about going through with the surgery.

"Hey, who's calling you this early in the morning?" Derek asked when he noticed his ex-wife's cell phone vibrating.

"It's just Naomi," Addison sighed, glancing at her phone. "Ever since I told her you and I were giving things another shot, she's been gloating non-stop about how she predicted this would happen." She shook her head. "Call me a bad friend for ignoring her call, but I'm not really in the mood for gloating. It's too early."

Derek chuckled. "It's not that early," he pointed out. "In fact, if you don't hurry up, we're going to be late for work. He held out her jacket. "You ready?"

Addison nodded and Derek helped her slip on her jacket. She looked down at her black Burberry trench coat and sighed. At five-months pregnant, her days of wearing her favorite jackets were dwindling. She'd already given up wearing her closest-fitting jackets, which no longer buttoned over her belly (hell, those jackets barely buttoned after a large meal); and she knew her trench coat and other favorite jackets weren't far behind.

"Come on," Derek said, interrupting her thoughts. He carefully untucked the strands of red hair that had gotten caught in the collar of her jacket. "We're going to be late."

Fifteen minutes later, they walked into the hospital and immediately exchanged a weary glance. The hospital had what they could only describe as an eerie calm. Everything was still. Everything was quiet. Everything was in order.

"It's too calm in here," Addison muttered as a shiver ran down her spine. "I can't help feeling like things are about to go horribly wrong."

Derek nodded in agreement and met his ex-wife's eyes.

"Mason," they said together, fear lacing their voices.

They quickly made their way to the NICU and breathed sighs of relief when they saw that Mason was there sleeping peacefully, the monitors connected to him beeping in a slow, predictable rhythm.

A slight smile came to Addison's face as she watched the slumbering infant. "Maybe we were wrong," she conceded, meeting Derek's eyes. "Maybe things are just quiet this morning." She shook her head, unable to shake the nagging feeling that was eating at her. "Too quiet."

The words had barely left her mouth when her pager started going off.

"It's Mark," she said, showing Derek her pager.

Derek squinted at the message. "911-ish?" he asked. "How can something be 911-ish? What does that even mean?"

They made their way toward the lobby where Mark had told them to meet him and quickly understood what "911-ish" applied to. Or more accurately, who it applied to.

They heard him before they saw him.

"I thought she was living in LA," the voice persisted. "How long has she been in Seattle?"

"Almost three months," Mark answered.

"When is she going back? Naomi seems to think she's going to move here permanently."

"That's why Naomi was calling this morning," Derek whispered to Addison. "To warn you. Warn us."

"Derek," Addison chided. Though she had to admit, he was probably right.

"And this isn't 911-ish," Derek muttered. "This is a full-fledged emergency."

"Do you think she's going to move out here permanently?" the voice asked again as Addison and Derek approached.

"I don't know," Mark said. "You'll have to ask her." He turned to Addison and Derek and smiled. "Hey, guys."

"Well, look who finally decided to join us … my favorite sister and my ex-brother-in-law."

"Archer," Addison grinned, giving her brother a hug. "What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. I thought you were in LA, so I flew there first."

"Oh," Addison muttered, feeling a little bad about that. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Archer shrugged. "I mean, it was almost a waste of a trip, but then I met this flight attendant on the flight from LA to Seattle. One thing led to another and … let's just say she was a little too busy to serve the other passengers their complimentary beverages and snacks."

"Archer," Addison scolded.

"What?" Archer sniffed. "They got their got their snacks … eventually."

Addison shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"Thanks," Archer beamed.

"I'm not complimenting you."

"Please," Archer scoffed. "And you can get off your high horse," he added, glancing at her midsection. "It doesn't look like you've been abstaining from sex lately."

"Archer, this is my place of work," Addison reprimanded. "Keep your voice down."

"And the two situations are nothing alike," Derek added.

Archer smirked, but his face quickly darkened as realization dawned on him. "Addison …" he trailed off, his voice laced with condescension. "Tell me Derek isn't the father of my niece or nephew."

"Of course he is."

"Why?" Archer groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Why do you do this to me? And yourself?"

"Excuse me?" Addison asked her brother in confusion.

Archer shook his head disapprovingly. "Always one step forward, two steps back with you two. He moves to Seattle, you follow him out here and try to make your marriage work. You two get a divorce, you two wind up pregnant. You see; one step forward, two steps back."

"Archer," Addison scolded.

"What? Is that not what happened?"

Technically it was exactly what had happened. "I wouldn't say that's taking one step forward, two steps back," Addison said, evading her brother's question. "What are you doing here anyway, Archer?"

"I came to see you," Archer answered. "Thanksgiving is only a couple days away and I wanted to spend it with family. So what are you cooking for Thanksgiving dinner?"

"I wasn't planning on cooking anything," Addison told her brother. "I hate hosting Thanksgiving."

"But you're going to be a mother," Archer argued. "Mothers cook."

"Archer, how many times have you seen Bizzy cook?" Addison asked her brother.

"Well, never," Archer admitted. "But you have company. You have to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Or, at least, cater it. Even Bizzy did that."

"Archer, I'd hardly say that you inviting yourself to my house for Thanksgiving counts as company. So I don't think—"

"Actually," Derek cut in. "While we're on the topic of company, my mother called the other night. She and my sisters and their families were planning a secret Thanksgiving ambush. I managed to ward them off until Christmas. But if we're already hosting…"

"Unbelievable," Addison muttered, shaking her head.

"We don't have to host them," Derek reminded her quickly.

"No," Addison sighed. "Let's just invite them. We're entertaining anyway," she added gesturing toward Archer, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Ideally, she'd prefer it if Derek's family (and their opinions) didn't visit. But she was much more okay with his family ruining Thanksgiving than she was with them ruining Christmas. Christmas was her and Derek's season, and she had every intention of enjoying Christmas with him … and only him.

She turned back to her brother. "Bizzy and the Captain aren't planning on gracing us with their presence for Thanksgiving, are they?"

Archer shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. They'll be celebrating with friends from their country club."

"I guess that's two fewer opinions we'll have to deal with," Addison sighed.

"So, they don't know about you two?" Archer smirked, gesturing toward Archer and Derek. "Or that you're making them grandparents?"

Addison shook her head. "No. And you're not going to be the one to tell them," she warned. She turned to Derek. "Invite your family. Let's just rip the Band-Aid off."

"Speaking of your family," Archer said, turning towards Derek. "Is Kathleen still divorced?"

Derek looked at his ex-brother-in-law suspiciously. "Why?"

Archer grinned mischievously. "Just looking to have a little Thanksgiving fun."

"No," Derek warned. "Not with my sister."

"Don't be such a prude," Archer defended. "It wouldn't be the first time that—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Addison cut in. She turned to Mark. "Please say you'll spend Thanksgiving with us."

Mark laughed. "I'll bring the scotch."

xxxxx

"Everything's delicious," Mark complimented, reaching for a second helping of turkey. "You really outdid yourself with this, Mom. But then again, you always do."

"Thank you," Carolyn beamed.

Addison and Derek exchanged a glace. Derek's family had flown out to Seattle for Thanksgiving. But when Derek had told his mother that he and Addison had planned to cater Thanksgiving dinner, Carolyn had acted as though they had personally insulted her and insisted upon cooking dinner herself.

"There are some things that aren't negotiable," Carolyn said, giving Mark a warm smile. "And a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner is one of them."

"I don't know," Derek disagreed. "When Addison and I were in med. school and residency, we used to eat cold Chinese food on Thanksgiving, and we never minded it."

"That's okay when you're younger," Carolyn shrugged. "But you're an adult now, Derek. Thanksgiving dinners shouldn't be cold Chinese food or something you cater in," she said, shooting Addison a pointed look. "It should be a home-cooked meal."

"So," Amelia began, purposefully changing the subject and fixing her attention on Addison and Derek. "Are you two ever going to tell us how you two got back together? I feel like we've all been very patient and polite, but I can't hold out much longer."

"Amelia," Nancy scolded. "You can't ask them that."

"Why not?" Amelia shrugged. "You were the one who kept saying on the flight out here how much you were dying to know how they got back together."

"That's true," Nancy admitted. She turned to her brother and ex-sister-in-law. "So … how'd it happen?"

"I'm not sure this is appropriate dinnertime conversation," Carolyn cut in.

"Yeah," Archer agreed, smirking at his sister and former brother-in-law. "Seeing the two of you together these last few days has been nauseating enough. The story of how you two got together … and conceived your child might just push me over the edge."

"Come on," Amelia encouraged, rolling her eyes at Archer. "We all want to hear the story."

"We really do," Lizzie agreed. "Tell us, Derek."

Derek chuckled, but quickly grew serious. "Addison and I chose the same weekend to go to the Hamptons. I didn't know she was going to be there. She didn't know I was going to be there. She actually thought I was a burglar and tried to ward me off by throwing her glass of wine at me. Ruined my shirt. Anyway," he continued. "There was a storm, and we lost power. We got to talking … and it turned out things weren't over between us." He smiled. "Far from it, actually."

"Wait, you lost power in the Hamptons?" Nancy asked. And Addison swore she could hear the gears in her ex-sister-in-law's head turning. "So, you were there during the big blackout in the Hamptons?"

Addison nodded.

"And the baby?" Nancy asked, trying but failing to hide her excitement. "Is that a blackout baby?"

Addison chuckled. "We haven't been using that term, but, I guess, technically, yes."

Nancy grinned widely. "Birth trends are so fascinating."

"Nancy, try to control yourself," Kathleen reprimanded, rolling her eyes at her sister's OB geek-out. She turned her attention to Addison and Derek. "You two seem happy," she observed.

"We are," Derek smiled.

"And I'm not going to lie," Lizzie cut in. "I think I speak for everyone when I say we were all secretly hoping something like this would happen. Well, maybe not everyone," she amended, glancing at her mother, who was making no attempt to conceal her displeasure.

"I'm not unhappy about this," Carolyn commented, trying, but not quite succeeding in keeping her voice neutral.

"You should say you're still getting used to everything," Archer advised. "It's more believable."

Addison shot her brother a condescending look.

"Just trying to help," Archer shrugged innocently.

"It's just very surprising," Carolyn admitted.

"I'm not that surprised," Kathleen admitted.

"Me either," Amelia corroborated. "I would have bet money on something like this happening."

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Carolyn suggested.

Addison breathed a sigh of relief at the suggestion, but Derek wasn't about to give up as easily.

"You're acting like this is a bad thing, Mom," he accused.

"Derek, let's not talk about this here," Carolyn said tersely.

"Well, then maybe you'd like to come into the kitchen with me to check on the pies," Derek suggested through gritted teeth. "Maybe you and I can talk about it in there."

"You don't have to talk in private on our account," Archer insisted. "We're all family here."

Carolyn sighed and motioned for Derek to join her in the kitchen.

"Or go," Archer shrugged as Derek and Carolyn stood up. "That's cool too."

They watched Derek and Carolyn's retreating forms and sat at the dining room table in uncomfortable silence.

"Can I get anyone more to eat?" Addison asked after a moment, trying to make things less awkward.

"Shh," Archer scolded. "We're trying to listen."

It turned out this was easier than they thought. Derek and his mother were loud and the kitchen had excellent acoustics.

"I don't understand why you're acting like this is a bad thing," they heard Derek accuse. "Everyone's healthy. Everyone's happy. This is a good thing, Mom."

"Not from where I'm standing," they heard Carolyn retort. "To me it sounds like one giant accident that you're trying to salvage."

"Accident?"

"Yes, Derek. There's no two ways about it; this was an accident. You and Addison didn't plan to end up in the Hamptons together. You didn't know there was going to be a blackout. And you certainly didn't plan to come home a father. Although I could see Addison manipulating the situation and conveniently getting pregnant to rope you into a situation where—"

"Stop," Derek cut in. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about, so just stop."

"I don't see why you're so bothered by this," Carolyn told her son. "I'm just being honest about the way the situation looks from my perspective."

Addison held her breath, waiting for Derek to respond … waiting for him to share her fertility issues with Carolyn (who'd likely call bullshit) and everyone else at Thanksgiving dinner.

"So what if our baby was unplanned?" Derek shot back.

And Addison smiled slightly at the shift in the argument and Derek's choice of wording. Unplanned sounded so much nicer than an accident.

"And you can get off your high horse," Derek continued. "Everyone knows Amelia was unplanned."

Addison glanced at her former sister-in-law, mortified at her expense.

"It's true," Amelia shrugged good-naturedly. "I was an accident."

"It's not the same," they heard Carolyn tell Derek. "Your father and I were very much in love when we conceived Amelia."

"Gross," Archer shuddered.

"But you and Addison," Carolyn continued. "You two may have conceived your baby during a blackout, but I'm also willing to bet the two of you were also blackout drunk at the time. That's the only way something like this would have happened. You made a mistake, and now you're ruining your life trying to fix it. And whether you want to admit it or not, you're going to ruin your child's life as well. That's what's going to happen if you and Addison continue to carry on with this sham."

Addison felt every eye in the dining room on her.

"Tom, take the kids upstairs," Lizzie instructed her husband in a voice that left no room for debate.

"Jeff, go with them," Nancy told her husband, using the same tone.

Kathleen looked at Addison sympathetically. "Mom gets like this sometimes," she rationalized, using her best shrink voice.

"Nobody else feels that way," Nancy added, trying a different approach. "I don't even think Mom does."

"I'll go in there right now and kick her ass," Archer insisted. "I don't care that she's old. I don't even care that I'm not a big fan of your relationship with Derek. Just say the words and I—"

"That's not necessary, Archer," Addison told her brother, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"It may not be necessary," Amelia muttered. "But it wouldn't be undeserved. I mean, talk about a slap to the face."

That saying was inaccurate. Addison knew this with certainty. She'd only been slapped once in her life—as a teenager, by Bizzy, for threatening to skip out on an important charity event. And while it had hurt, this hurt worse.

She knew one thing for sure. She needed to get out of there.

"You know what," she said, doing her best to tune out Derek and Carolyn, who were still arguing loudly. "I have some patients at the hospital, who I'm guessing are probably eating turkey sandwiches from the hospital cafeteria for dinner tonight." She gathered some of the leftovers. "I bet it would make their night to have an actual Thanksgiving dinner."

Sure, leaving her own Thanksgiving dinner wasn't exactly polite. But then again, nothing about what had just taken place at her house was polite.

She arrived at the hospital and headed straight for the NICU. It was worse than she'd imagined. Julie and Matthew were sharing a large bag of Lays potato chips and calling it Thanksgiving dinner.

She cleared her throat to announce herself, and Julie and Matthew looked up in surprise.

"Dr. Montgomery, what are you doing here?" Julie asked.

"I had a feeling you two would be here," Addison began, staying as far away from the truth as humanly possible. "And the hospital cafeteria isn't exactly renowned for its food. And it's Thanksgiving. So, I brought you dinner."

"You cook too?" Julie asked, raising an eyebrow at the gourmet dinner Addison was spreading out in front of her and Matthew.

"No," Addison said with a laugh. "I mean, I cook. But not well. And certainly not this well. My ex-mother-in-law made this." She looked over at Mason, who was sleeping peacefully. 'He looks good," Addison smiled, keeping her eyes fixed on the slumbering baby. "He looks like he has more color since this morning."

"I thought so too," Julie agreed with a smile. She speared a green bean onto her fork. "This is really good," she approved before turning her attention the mashed potatoes on her plate. "Like really, really good."

"Carolyn Shepherd is nothing if not a good cook," Addison muttered to herself before turning to Julie and offering her a smile. "I wish I could take credit for it," she said, mustering a halfhearted laugh.

"Doesn't matter." Julie insisted through a mouthful of turkey, "I don't care who cooked this. It's delicious."

Addison nodded in concession. "I wish I would have brought you dessert," she said apologetically as she watched Julie and Matthew devour Carolyn's cooking. She knew that despite the logistical impossibilities it would have entailed (namely, entering the kitchen where Derek and his mother were arguing), bringing Julie and Matthew dessert would have been a nice touch.

"Don't worry about it," Julie reassured, ripping Addison from her thoughts. "This food was amazing. And, um …" she trailed off, suddenly growing very serious. "You already did more than we can ever thank you for."

Addison looked at Julie questioningly.

"Mason," Julie clarified. "We can't thank you enough for him."

Addison swallowed thickly. She and Derek had told Julie and Matthew over and over again that Mason wasn't in the clear yet, but it didn't seem to be getting through. And even though they had scheduled a date for his next surgery, it was a very high-risk surgery, and Addison knew Derek was worried about it. And if she was being honest, she was too.

She gave Julie a small smile. "Still," she shrugged, "I wish Mason could have had some dessert at his Thanksgiving dinner."

"Who says he can't?"

Addison looked up at the unmistakable voice and smiled. Derek was standing in the doorway with an assortment of desserts in his hands.

"You can't have Thanksgiving dinner without dessert," Derek grinned, placing the desserts down in front of Julie and Matthew. He glanced over at Mason. "He's looking really good."

Julie smiled at Derek's compliment. "Thank you."

"So, how are things going here?" Derek asked.

"Good," Julie said with a smile. "Dr. Montgomery just saved us from a tragic Thanksgiving dinner."

Derek chuckled, his eyes crinkling around the corners. He turned to Addison and gave her a smile. "Why don't we give Julie and Matthew some time alone," he suggested.

"You should stay and have dessert with us," Julie offered. "There's way too much for just two people."

Addison shook her head. "You three should enjoy your Thanksgiving as a family. We'll be back to check on Mason before we leave."

With that, she and Derek made their way into the hallway.

"I have pumpkin pie waiting in my office," Derek told his ex-wife with a smile. He knew pumpkin pie was Addison's favorite.

They made it to his office and sat down together on the leather couch in there.

"How did you know I was here?" Addison asked as she and Derek stuck their forks into the large slice of pumpkin pie they were sharing.

"Archer told me," Derek said through a bite of pie. "You should text him and let him know you're okay," he continued, his voice growing serious. "He's worried about you. And, uh, so am I."

"I'm fine, Derek."

"Really?" Derek asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "Are you really fine or are you just saying you're fine? Because I'm not fine. And according to your brother and my sisters, you could hear every insulting word that was said from the dining room table. I don't know how anyone could possibly be fine after that."

Addison shrugged.

"And you chose to spend a portion of your Thanksgiving with Julie and Matthew," Derek continued. "That's not something that someone who's fine does."

"I don't mind Julie and Matthew," Addison admitted, knowing full-well that Derek was still holding a grudge against them. "And someone needed to make sure they were eating more than a bag of potato chips on Thanksgiving."

Derek shook his head. "Addison, about what my mother said," he began, changing the topic. "I want you to know that—"

"It doesn't matter, Derek."

"What? Of course it matters. Addison, the things she said … they were …"

"Awful," Addison filled in. "And cruel. And I wish she didn't feel that way about me or you. And I especially wish she didn't feel that way about our daughter."

"Exactly," Derek nodded. "Look, Addison, I'm so sorry."

"Why? You didn't say those things. You don't feel that way."

"So, wait, you're really not angry about what was said?" Derek asked in confusion.

"I'm angry," Addison admitted. "But, right now, I'm more grateful."

"Grateful?"

"Yeah," Addison nodded. "Julie and Matthew are spending Thanksgiving in the hospital with their very sick son. And even though they're happy their son is alive to spend Thanksgiving with them, you and I both know this could very well be their only Thanksgiving with Mason. For me, that just … it puts things in perspective."

"It still doesn't make what my mother said right," Derek pointed out.

"I know," Addison agreed. "It doesn't. But I don't know," she continued, placing a hand on her stomach, "right now … I'm just grateful our daughter's healthy. That's where my head's at, right now. I'm so grateful she's okay."

A small smile spread across Derek's face. Sure, he was still furious with his mother. And he still had every intention of making sure he told his mother as much. But maybe Addison was right. Maybe Thanksgiving wasn't the time for this.

"Do you have her latest ultrasound picture?" Derek asked, surprised by the emotion lacing his voice.

Addison nodded. "Here," she said, handing him the picture she'd taken out of her purse.

A small smile came to Derek's face as he studied the picture carefully. "She's perfect," he said after a minute.

"She is," Addison agreed.

"It looks like she has your profile," Derek observed.

"Really? You think so?"

"Yeah." Derek laughed. "Look at her little button nose. That's definitely your nose."

Addison chuckled, as she too studied their daughter's profile.

"You were right," Derek said quietly. "This is a better way to spend Thanksgiving."

Addison gave Derek a small smile and began to put the ultrasound picture back in her purse.

"Wait," Derek said, not quite ready to shift conversation topics. "Do you want to name her Rain?"

"Rain?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "She was conceived during a storm. It feels appropriate."

"Rain," Addison repeated, doing her best not to grimace. "That's not going to look good on a lab coat, Derek."

"What?" Derek asked in confusion.

"It's not professional."

"What are you talking about? Names can't inherently be professional or unprofessional."

"Of course they can," Addison disagreed. "Remember last week? You didn't love the idea of someone named Byrd serving you dinner when we went to that hippy-dippy restaurant. And that was just chicken pancetta. How would you feel about letting someone named Rain perform surgery on you?"

"Point taken," Derek conceded, doing his best not to laugh. "Hey, how about Ivy?"

"Ivy?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes softening. "I think it's pretty. And very prestigious. You know, like Ivy League schools?"

"I can't." Addison shook her head. "It makes me think of poison oak."

"Addison!" Derek exclaimed, unsure whether to laugh at her or reprimand her. "That's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous. And why are you so set on giving her a nature-related name?" Addison asked. "Rain? Ivy? Our daughter is half mine … you realize that, right?"

"I realize that," Derek insisted. "I didn't realize that both names I mentioned were nature-related, though."

Addison smiled, but quickly grew serious. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah."

"I appreciate the fact that you stood up to your mother today. I know that's not an easy thing for you to do."

Derek sighed. "It didn't do much good," he said apologetically.

"Maybe not," Addison shrugged. "But I still appreciate it."

She caressed his cheek with her hand and leaned in, softly brushing her lips against his. He smiled against her lips before kissing her tenderly, tangling his fingers in her hair. Her body relaxed as she melted into his embrace and kissed him deeply.

"Derek," she whispered when they finally pulled apart.

"Yeah."

"I just thought you should know, I don't think we're trying to fix a mistake."

Derek met his ex-wife's eyes; a pang of sadness gnawed at his stomach. Despite Addison's earlier insistence that his mother's comments didn't matter, he knew that Addison overanalyzed everything … including his mother's comments.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Ever since I came back from the Hamptons, people have been talking about how much happier I am. Nurses, doctors, interns, even Richard. They think they're being subtle, but they're not. The rumor mill here is anything but subtle."

Addison looked at her ex-husband in confusion.

"They may not be subtle, but they're right," Derek admitted. "I don't think we're trying to fix a mistake either." He kissed her chastely. "Just in case you didn't know."

Addison gave her ex-husband a small smile. "I know." She ran a hand through her hair. "So, um, how big of a mess did we walk out on at home?"

Derek chuckled. "On a scale of one to ten?"

"Yeah."

"Let's see, none of my sisters are talking to my mother. Mark's trying to play peacemaker. And Archer and Kathleen are probably sleeping together as we speak. I'd say, on the mess scale, that's a solid eight."

Addison sighed. "Do we have to go back?"

"Is that a rhetorical question? Or are you being serious?" He shook his head, half amused, half defeated. "I wouldn't blame you if you're asking for real."

"I'm asking rhetorically," Addison mumbled, standing up from the couch and slipping on her jacket. "Alright," she sighed. "Let's just do it. It's not going to get any easier, so let's just do it."

Derek nodded in agreement and they made their way out of his office and into the hospital hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" Derek asked in confusion when he saw that his ex-wife was walking in the opposite direction of the hospital exit.

"The NICU," Addison answered with feigned innocence. She gave Derek a wry smile. "Despite all the fun we have waiting for us at home, we promised to check on Mason before leaving."

"That's right," Derek chuckled, his eyes shining with amusement. "Lead the way, Honey."