Note to readers: Some readers seem anxious to take for this story to focus on the final romantic pairing. This story is going very slowly and will take a while to focus on romance; right now it is just days after the initial auto accident that caused Addison's injury, and the focus is on Ella and on Addison's medical treatment. Please be patient!
Derek was apprehensive as he stopped the car in the driveway of the Hampton house. He hadn't wanted to return, but Addison had pleaded with him to go and get some of her things before she was transferred to Mount Sinai. She seemed quite desperate to get just a few things from Her Hamptons home. He felt compassion for her, so he could not turn her request down. And he didn't feel he could delegate this task to his sister Liz or anyone else. He didn't want to send someone who was a stranger to the home to go rooting around her things. He knew the house well enough to find the things on Addison's list quickly. He didn't think it would take him more than half an hour, maybe less, to retrieve the items. Yet, he was nervous about his own reaction to entering his onetime home now that it was the home Addison had shared with Mark, and Mark was sadly gone. He was afraid he might once again feel the rage he felt when he first saw Mark and Addison having sex in the bed he shared with Addison or that he might be devastated thinking about Mark's death.
He went in the front door. The entry way was exactly the same as he remembered. Addison was usually fastidious, and the entry way was perfect, with a beautiful umbrella stand and an antique table and several Miro lithographs lining the hall. For a moment, Derek wondered whether it would be perfect in a year or so if Ella were running around. From his experience with his nieces and nephews, he thought that small children tended to make things untidy. No matter how neat and tidy his sisters were, there were always stray toys around when their children were young.
When he entered the living room, he immediately spotted some changes. The furniture was the same, but all the wedding photos were gone. Addison and her parents had hired a very distinguished photographer for the wedding, and Addison had selected a dozen photos to enlarge and line the living room walls with elegant frames and another dozen small photos to decorate the bookcases and mantel. They were all gone. In fact, all the photos that featured Derek had vanished as well as all the other photos featuring any Shepherd. Addie had previously displayed at least a dozen photos of herself with their nieces and nephews, but they were all gone. He did see some photos of Addison and Archer as well as two of Addison and Mark. The first one he had taken; Addison and Mark were wearing their scrubs on the first day of residency. He had been thrilled that his best friend and his fiancée at that point were such good friends. The second was recent; Addison looked to be about five months pregnant, and they were in their swimsuits at a beach. Derek figured they must have gone for a babymoon in the tropics. He was pleased that seeing the photo didn't bother him; he thought instead of the fun that he had been having with Meredith at that time. He was really happy in Seattle, so it made no sense for him to be bitter about Mark and Addison. Not that feelings were always sensible.
He climbed the stairs. He thought to himself that it might be some time before Addie could climb the stairs herself, and maybe she would never be able to walk up the stairs. For the first time, he realized that both of Addie's homes, the Hamptons House and the Manhattan brownstone, would be completely inaccessible to Addie, at least without significant renovations, unless she soon recovered her ability to walk. But at least Addie had the resources to make her homes accessible, even adding elevators was necessary.
When he entered the bedroom, he immediately saw that Addison hadn't changed much, apart from removing all the photos of him and his family. The bed still wore the paisley sheets that he had loved and the matching duvet. And the photo Addie wanted was right where she said it would be, on the nightstand on her side of the bed. He picked up the photo, and tears came to his eyes as he saw Mark holding up a Yankees onesie. Mark had a broad grin; he was obviously delighted with the pregnancy. It was so sad that Mark had died before he could meet Ella, and that Ella would grow up without ever meeting her father. Memories of playing with his nieces and nephews flooded his thoughts, and he knew Mark would have been a loving dad. He vowed to himself that he would always let Ella know that her dad loved her and that he would have been an amazing father if only he had lived.
He then went to the dressers and packed some underwear for Addie. He also picked out some comfortable clothes for her, and a bathrobe and slippers. He then found her day bag, an old LL bean canvas bag that he knew well, and carefully placed the items in the bag, with the photo on top. It had felt strange going through her things, especially since so many were familiar to him. It was odd to think that Addison was so much the same as before, when they were married, when he had changed so much. Instead of frequently wearing designer suits, he spent most of his time off in jeans and flannel shirts. And he lived in a trailer, not a deluxe house in the Hamptons or a Manhattan brownstone. Although he did spend a fair amount of time in Meredith's Queen Anne house, and that house had a lot in common with Addie's Manhattan brownstone, being an elegant single family home in a desirable neighborhood. Yet another way in which Addie and Meredith were similar.
He also realized that it might be some time before Addison returned to the house. So he went to the kitchen and went through the refrigerator, putting food either in the freezer or the garbage, depending on whether it would freeze well. He then went through the house and emptied all the trash cans and put the garbage outside. He turned down the heat. He put checking with Addison about her housekeepers and possible house-sitters on his mental to-do list. He then brought the items on Addie's list to his car, and he then went back to lock the house.
Derek made a stop before he went to the hospital, finding something special for Addison. He walked into her hospital room, and he immediately announced, "I brought you lunch."
"So breakfast was my last hospital meal here?"
"Unless you want lunch here. I'm sure I can give away a lobster roll if you don't want it."
"A lobster roll?"
"Yes, from Silver's Restaurant in Southampton."
Addie's eyes lit up. "My favorite?"
"Yes, I remembered." Derek smiled. He had thought that seeing the photo of Mark would be very emotional for Addie, and he wanted her to know that, even if they were divorcing, that he cared about her. And Addie and Derek both expressed affection through food.
"Derek, that's so sweet." She then turned to Derek. "They came by with the birth certificate this morning. They wanted me to name the baby before I left the hospital."
"That seems standard."
"It's weird to name her without seeing her. As a doctor, I always get to see the newborns. And she is my newborn."
"You're going to see her very soon."
"I know. Anyway, I've decided on Ella's full name."
Derek met her eyes. He waited for her to continue.
"I know the surgery is supposed to be straightforward, and it's not supposed to be risky. But you and I both know that surgery can go wrong easily and without notice. So I worry about what would happen to Ella if I died."
"Addie, you don't have to worry about death. The chances of dying with this surgery are very remote."
"Remote but not impossible. It was remote that Mark and I would get into a car accident, and he would die. Anyway, my point is that I will feel better if I go into surgery knowing that you are Ella's dad legally. So I named her Ella Sloan Shepherd. And she's going to have two dads, you and Mark. So if I die, I expect you to raise her as your own."
"You're not going to die."
"But if I do, Derek, you'll raise her as your own."
"Yes, assuming that's a question. It sounds more like an order." Derek responded with a smile.
Addie ignored his jab. "But if I live, I'm going to be her primary caregiver once I'm done with rehab, and I want you to agree that I can live with her anywhere I want."
"Not North Korea?"
"Anywhere in the U.S., Derek. And I wouldn't dream of living in North Korea. After all, there's no Bloomie's there. And no Barney's." Addie smiled.
Derek chuckled. He was glad he had gotten Addie to smile. "Just teasing, Addie. I can write your rules down on this post-it." Derek took out a yellow post-it pad and began writing. "Addie is primary caregiver after rehab. Addie decides where Ella lives."
"And you can have some visitation."
"Okay. Derek can have some visitation."
"And you will teach her about Mark and about me."
"And I will teach her about both Mark and you."
"Thanks so much, Derek."
"Thank you, Addie, for trusting me with Ella. She's very precious."
"That's for sure. I can't wait to meet her."
"You'll meet her soon."
"You'll come with us in the helicopter, right?"
"Yes. I'm glad they decided on a helicopter rather than an ambulance. I wouldn't want to be stuck in traffic on the L.I.E. for hours. One thing I don't miss about NY is the traffic. I'm going to return the rental car now, and then I'll get a taxi back here."
"You won't need a car in Manhattan."
"I know. I did live in New York with you for eleven years."
"We had a car most of the time."
"Just for driving to the Hamptons and to visit my mom and sisters. We never used the car in Manhattan."
"Sometimes for shopping."
"That was you. You're the shopping Queen."
"I guess so. And you're not even a shopping Prince, Derek."
"You should see my trailer. I bought a top-of-the-line trailer."
"Derek, it's a trailer."
"Well, that's true. But I love it. It's simple."
"Does your Meredith like the trailer?"
"Yes, she does." Derek remembered that moment when he first showed Meredith his trailer. He had been nervous that she might run in the other direction when she saw that a neurosurgeon was living in a tin box, but instead she grabbed his hand and went toward the trailer with a smile on her face.
"So she's the anti-Addison."
"In some ways. But you actually have a lot in common," Derek acknowledged. "You both love to boss me around."
"You didn't always do what I wanted."
"But you always gave me your opinion as to what I should do."
"You can always benefit from my wisdom," Addie said with a smile.
"So you think. Anyway, I better get going if I'm going to get back in time to go with you in the helicopter. You're supposed to leave at 3 p.m."
"Okay."
Derek kept thinking about he did not miss the traffic in Long Island. The 15 minutes drive from the car rental agency wound up taking more than a half hour. He was glad that he wound up getting back to the hospital at 2:45 p.m., just before Addie and Ella were due to leave. He ran straight to the neonatal unit, and he found that Ella had already been packed up and was ready to go down to the helicopter pad. He went with her up to the helicopter pad. Addie had already been loaded on the helicopter. She smiled when she saw him and the incubator arrive.
After the incubator was loaded on the plane, Derek turned to the pilot and said, "We need to wait a few minutes. Addie needs to meet her daughter." He stood next to the incubator and carefully adjusted all the cords so that he could take her out of the incubator. He placed her on Addie's chest.
"Oh Derek, thank you," Addie said. "She's so beautiful."
Derek noted that the baby was looking directly at her mother. "She knows you."
"You think?"
"Sure. She recognizes your voice. She heard it all the time before she was born."
"Hmm."
"You're the neonatal surgeon. You know that studies show that sound travels to the fetus in the womb."
"Yeah. She's so sweet."
"Yes, she is."
The pilot turned to them. "We've got to get going. The baby needs to go back in the incubator."
Addie brought the baby's head to her lips and kissed her. "Sweetheart, I'll see you again soon. We have to get going. But always remember that Mommy loves you very very much."
Derek picked up the baby, and he gave her a kiss on the top of her head as well. "And I love you, too." And then, in a whisper so low that Addie couldn't hear, he said "And so did your dad Mark Sloan." He didn't want to upset Addie with the mention of Mark's name.
And then the helicopter took off for Mount Sinai and Manhattan.