A/N: I hope everyone's year is off to a good start! I was really tempted to split this chapter into two smaller chapters, but I feel like this story has already had a lot of cliffhangers, and it's been a while since I updated, so I decided on a longer chapter. I hope you like it and, as always, thanks so much for reading! :)

"So, I made a reservation for Friday night," Derek smiled, as he walked into Addison's office.

Addison looked up from her paperwork and met her husband's eyes; and Derek immediately noticed that Addison's eyes looked red and puffy.

"Addie," he asked in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Addison lied.

"Addie."

"I'm fine, Derek. Seriously."

Derek looked at his wife closely. She didn't look fine. "Addison, if there's something wrong…we don't…we don't have to go out to dinner."

"No, dinner on Friday sounds perfect," Addison went on with forced cheerfulness. "I mean, I'll officially be out of the first trimester, and we should celebrate."

"But you don't seem happy," Derek noted. He was so happy he could burst. But Addison looked sad, and he couldn't figure out why.

"I'm happy," Addison insisted. "I just, I'll be happier once we make it to Friday."

"Addison if something-"

"I'm fine," Addison interrupted. She wasn't fine. But she didn't want her husband to know that she wasn't fine.

"Are you sure?" Derek asked. "Because you can tell me."

"I'm sure," Addison insisted, getting out of her seat, walking over to her husband, and kissing him deeply. "There's nothing to worry about."

xxxxx

"So you're sure you're okay with having Willa stay over, this Friday?" Derek asked Izzie as they scrubbed in together.

"Are you kidding me?" Izzie grinned. "Alex and I love Willa. We can't wait to have her spend the night. I've already got the whole evening planned. We're gonna bake cookies, do a craft I found on-line. I'll rent a DVD. We'll order pizza and ice cream. Maybe at-home manicures and pedicures."

"You realize she's only spending one night, right?" Derek chuckled. "And she's three. She goes to bed early. You'll never get all of that done…not even half of it."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that Willa's entertained," Izzie defended. "So," she went on with a smile, "you and Addison must be excited about having the night to yourselves on Friday."

Derek sighed heavily. "I'm excited," he nodded. "But Addison…" he trailed off. "Has she…has she said anything to you?"

"What do you mean?" Izzie asked in confusion.

"Something's wrong," Derek explained. "I'm sure that something's wrong…I've spent over a third of my life with her…I know when something's wrong. But she's shutting me out, and I don't know why. So I was wondering if maybe she said something to you."

Izzie shook her head apologetically. "She hasn't said anything to me. Maybe she's just having a stressful day or something."

"Maybe," Derek shrugged. "But something tells me that's not it."

xxxxx

"Uncle Mark," Willa smiled, as she toddled over to her uncle, and wrapped her tiny arms around Mark's legs.

"Hey, Little Buddy," Mark grinned, picking his niece up and cuddling her close. "Did you have a good day at school?"

Willa nodded. "Mommy and Daddy?" she asked, looking around her nursery school classroom.

"Mommy and Daddy are both in surgery, right now," Mark explained pressing a kiss to his niece's forehead. "So, I'm here to pick you up from nursery school today."

"Oh," Willa nodded. "Beautiful day to save lives."

"Did Daddy teach you that?" Mark chuckled.

Willa nodded.

Mark shook his head in amusement. "Man, your siblings are going to have to be pretty cute to keep up with you," he chuckled to himself. He turned to his niece. "Should we get your things from your cubby and go back to the hospital?"

"Yeah," Willa nodded.

"Okay," Mark smiled, putting Willa down. "You lead the way."

Mark was in the middle of helping Willa put on her tiny Burberry jacket when Willa's teacher approached them.

"It's so nice of you to take such an interest in your niece like that," she complimented Mark. "It's good for children to have several positive adult role models during their formative years."

"Oh, uh," Mark stuttered, unsure how to respond to the compliment he had just received. He wasn't exactly an expert on child raising or childhood development, and the last thing he wanted to do, right now, was get into a conversation about something he knew almost nothing about.

"And you can definitely tell that Willa's benefiting from it," the teacher continued. "She's such a happy, well-adjusted child."

"She's pretty much the best kid ever," Mark grinned.

"She's lucky to have an uncle like you. It's Mark, right?" the teacher asked.

"Uh, yeah," Mark nodded. "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to remember your name, Ms…"

"Ms. Harris," the teacher filled in. "But, please, call me Maureen."

"Maureen," Mark smiled. "Well, thank you for the compliment."

"So, uh, I never do this," Maureen began hesitantly. "But you seem like a really great guy, and I, I, uh, I was kind of wondering if you were free Friday night."

"Oh, hey, wow, that's…that's really flattering," Mark began. "But I'm engaged...happily engaged."

"To Aunt Lexie," Willa filled in with a smile.

"Yes, thank you Willa," chuckled in embarrassment.

"Welcome," Willa smiled.

"Oh, uh, wow, this is incredibly embarrassing," Maureen stuttered, turning bright red. "I, uh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I, uh-"

"It's fine," Mark insisted. "Really."

"Yeah, okay, but, still, I'm sorry. That was inappropriate, and incredibly unprofessional."

"Really, it's fine," Mark insisted. "But, look, you have to promise me that you're not going to treat Willa any differently because of this…because then this won't be fine."

"I wouldn't dream of treating her differently because of this," Maureen breathed. "I just, I'm sorry. Really."

"Hey, I'm used to it," Mark chuckled cockily, doing his best to lighten the mood. "What do you say we just forget it ever happened?"

"I'd like that," Maureen said.

"Good," Mark nodded. He turned to Willa and smiled. "Ready to go, Little Buddy?"

"Yeah," Willa nodded.

"Say goodbye to Maur…Ms. Harris."

"Bye," Willa waved, as Mark took the little girl's other hand, and led her to the car.

"So, how much of that conversation did you understand?" Mark asked his niece, as he put her in her car seat.

Willa shrugged. "Like it when you come to school."

"I like coming to your school too," Mark laughed, as he slid into the driver's seat. "Although Uncle Mark could definitely use a drink right about now," he muttered.

"Juice box?" Willa offered, gesturing towards her bag.

"Got anything stronger in there?" Mark chuckled.

"I'll tell you what," Mark laughed, when Willa met his question with confused silence. "When we get back to the hospital daycare, how about you and I sit down together, and have a couple of juice boxes? Does that sound like a deal, Little Buddy?"

"Deal," Willa agreed happily.

"Good," Mark smiled. "I hope you have apple juice."

xxxxx

"Hey," Mark said, lightly knocking on Derek's office door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Derek nodded, gesturing to the seat across from him. "Hey, have you spoken to Addison recently?" he asked as Mark sat down.

"Not today," Mark said. "But, Derek, there's something I need to tell you…well, you and Addison, actually. But I thought I should come to you first."

"You're not calling off your engagement, are you?"

"What? No," Mark exclaimed. "No. It's just, uh, have I mentioned how much I like your cologne? What scent are you wearing these days?"

"Mark," Derek scolded.

"Fine," Mark sighed. "I, uh, it's just…Willa's teacher was hitting on me today. I told her I was engaged and she immediately stopped. I just thought you should know…you know, just in case-"

"Oh, this is bad," Derek breathed. "This is really bad."

"I thought I handled it well," Mark disagreed. "And I've really grown. Had this happened a couple of years ago, I would have nailed her, no questions asked. But now-"

"This is one of the best nursery schools in the country," Derek groaned. "And now we're going to have to find somewhere else. This is not-"

"It just goes to show how much Lexie means to me," Mark cut in. "I really feel like I-"

"And Addison is going to flip out," Derek interrupted. "She's going to say that this was just like the time that The Captain screwed her nanny, and they had to get rid of her because it was just too awkward for everyone."

"But I didn't screw Willa's nursery school teacher," Mark pointed out.

"But it's going to be awkward," Derek disagreed.

"I don't think so," Mark insisted. "Sure, it was a little uncomfortable, but we handled it like adults. I told her that as long as she doesn't treat Willa any differently, we could forget that the whole thing even happened. I really do think everything's going to be okay."

"So, you didn't sleep with her?" Derek asked hesitantly.

"Derek."

"Just checking," Derek chuckled. "And you have no plans to sleep with her?" he asked, growing serious.

Mark shook his head. "No. Derek, I love Lexie. I'm committed to Lexie."

"And you honestly don't think that this teacher is going to treat Willa any differently?" Derek asked earnestly.

"I honestly don't," Mark promised.

"Okay," Derek breathed. "I guess there's not much more we can do. Thanks for letting me know."

"So…we're good?" Mark asked.

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "We're good."

"Good," Mark grinned. "Now that we've gotten past that, can we please discuss how much I've grown?"

Derek shook his head in amusement before growing serious. "Lexie's a lucky woman."

xxxxx

"So, um, is everything okay with you?" Alex asked, as he and Addison scrubbed out together.

"Oh, uh," Addison stuttered in surprise. "Yeah, yeah, everything's good. I'm all good."

"Okay, that's not even remotely convincing," Alex retorted.

Addison rolled her eyes at Alex and silently cursed his perceptiveness. "I'm okay," she said as convincingly as she could. I just…I've got to go," she said, turning off her faucet, and quickly drying her hands.

"Hey, Addison," Alex called out, just as she was about to leave the scrub room.

"Yeah," Addison said, turning to face Alex.

"If you need to talk…"

"I know," Addison nodded. "Thank you."

Alex sighed heavily as he watched Addison's retreating form, and when he exited the scrub room, a few minutes later, he nearly collided with Derek, who was making his way down the hospital hallway.

"Hey, Karev," Derek said, as Alex did his best to move out of Derek's way. "Have you seen Addison lately?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "We just scrubbed out together. Is she okay?"

Derek ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I know something's wrong, but she won't tell me what. Did she mention anything to you?"

Alex shook his head. "No. But, you're right, something's definitely wrong."

"Do you…do you know where she went?" Derek asked.

"If I had to guess," Alex began hesitantly, "I'd say she's probably in the bathroom. I don't know how to say this without sounding creepy, but she's spent a fair bit of time in there today."

"Morning sickness?" Derek wondered aloud.

"Could be," Alex shrugged.

"I should go find her," Derek said. "Thanks, Karev."

xxxxx

Addison raced into the women's bathroom for what felt like the thousandth time that day, and immediately rushed into an unoccupied stall. She quickly pulled down her scrub pants and her panties, her heart pounding, as she looked down at the panty-liner that had put in her panties earlier that morning, when she first noticed she was bleeding.

"Shit," she breathed, noting that there was more blood on her panty-liner than there had been the last time she'd checked. "Damn it."

"Addison," she heard her husband's voice call out. "Addie."

Addison choked back a sob, not wanting to worry Derek. The situation was out of their hands, and there wasn't much that either of them could do about it, so it didn't seem fair to worry him.

"Addie, I know you're in there," Derek called out. "I see your navy blue crocs."

Addison pulled up her scrub pants, before slowly opening the door to her bathroom stall.

"Addie," Derek said gently, rushing toward her.

"I'm fine," Addison insisted, as she felt her husband's arms wrap around her.

"Addie, please," Derek begged. "Whatever it is…"

Addison took a step back, so she could meet her husband's eyes. And as she took in the look of worry and fear in them, she immediately felt guilty. There was trying to protect Derek, and there was scaring the shit out of him – and she had crossed that line.

"Everything's okay," she said softly, rubbing her husband's arm reassuringly. "I just, I woke up this morning, and noticed I was bleeding and-"

"Addison," Derek choked out, feeling his throat go dry.

"It's not the same type of bleeding as the last time," Addison explained gently. "I called Jane, this morning, and I have an appointment with her in an hour."

"I'll go with you," Derek insisted, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Derek, you have a consult."

"I'll push it back," Derek said. "Addison, this isn't up for debate."

"Okay," Addison nodded; a slight smile graced her features, as she thought about how far she and Derek had come since their unhappy days in New York.

"So, uh, you don't think you're miscarrying?" Derek asked hesitantly.

Addison shook her head. "Honestly, I don't. Like I said, it's not the same type of bleeding as last time. If I were my doctor, I would guess that the bleeding is probably being caused by cervical changes…sometimes that causes bleeding in the late first or early second trimester. But there's a reason that doctors aren't their own doctors," Addison sighed. "And any type of bleeding is still scary."

"Addison, I wish you would have told me," Derek said softly, pulling his wife back into his arms.

Addison nodded. "I, uh, I didn't want you to worry. After everything that happened last time, I didn't want to scare you unnecessarily. I just, I didn't want to worry you…especially if there wasn't anything you could really do about it."

"I could have been there for you," Derek murmured against his wife's hair. "I mean, today couldn't have been easy on you. You shouldn't have had to go through that alone. And I get that you want to protect me, but we're Derek and Addison…we get through things together."

"I know," Addison whispered, wrapping her arms around her husband and kissing him softly. "Thank you," she murmured against his lips.

"For what?" Derek asked, pulling away slightly.

"For being here," Addison said.

Derek leaned in and kissed her temple. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said wrapping his arms around her again; and Addison lingered in her husband's embrace.

"I'm scared, Derek," she whispered, after a moment.

Derek swallowed hard, doing his best to be strong for his wife. "I know," he said softly, gently stroking Addison's hair. "I'm scared too."

xxxxx

"Okay, so let's take a look," Jane said, as she began the ultrasound.

Derek immediately tightened his grip on Addison's hand, swallowing hard when he noticed how limp her hand felt in his – a clear sign of just how worried she was. He stroked her hand reassuringly before placing a few kisses on it, doing his best to calm both of their nerves.

"And we have two strong heartbeats," Jane smiled, as Addison let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "They both look very healthy," Jane went on, tilting the screen so that Addison and Derek could get a better look at their twins.

Derek split his attention between the images on the screen and his wife, who was studying the screen closely. "Addie," he prodded. Sure, he knew that Jane was a good doctor, but Addison was the best. And he knew he wouldn't feel better until Addison assured him that everything was okay.

Addison met her husband's eyes and smiled. "They look good, Der."

"And the bleeding…" Derek trailed off.

"That's most likely being caused by changes in the cervix," Jane explained. "At this stage in pregnancy, there's increased blood flow to the cervix, and this causes bleeding in some women."

"But Addison's okay, right?" Derek asked. "And the babies, they're okay."

Jane nodded. "This type of bleeding is actually fairly common in women expecting multiples, and really isn't cause for concern. But we did run Addison's blood just to be on the safe side."

"Okay," Derek breathed, feeling the knots in his stomach loosen at the good news.

"Why don't I give you two a few minutes alone," Jane smiled, making her way towards the door.

As soon as Jane left the room, Derek immediately wrapped his arms around his wife. "I'm so happy," he whispered. He was about to say more, when he felt hot tears seeping through his scrub top.

"Addie," he said, rubbing his wife's back gently. "Hey, Addie, you heard Jane. Everything's going to be okay."

"I know," Addison nodded, slightly pulling away from her husband, and meeting his eyes. "I just, I'm so, so relieved." She bit her lip, doing her best to keep her emotions at bay. But she couldn't help it – the weight of the day and all the worries and fears that had come along with it were crashing down on her…and crashing down hard.

And as she struggled against her tears, she looked into her husband's eyes, and she knew she didn't have to explain anything to him. He understood her in a way that nobody else ever could. And as Derek wrapped his arms around her reassuringly, Addison breathed a sigh of relief, as she finally allowed herself to begin to relax for the first time that day.

xxxxx

"So, how did you get dinner reservations at a place like this so last minute?" Lexie asked Mark as she took as sip of her wine.

"This is actually Derek and Addison's reservation," Mark explained. "But Derek came to me, this morning, and told me that he and Addison decided that they wanted to do something a little more low-key tonight, so he asked if we wanted their reservation."

"We have really great friends," Lexie smiled.

"The best," Mark agreed.

"So, um, changing the subject a little," Lexie laughed, "how do you feel about a spring wedding?"

"A spring wedding?" Mark asked.

"Do you not like the idea?" Lexie asked worriedly. "Because I'm not married to it. I just thought that with the flowers and the weather, it might be-"

"I love the idea," Mark smiled. "I think a spring wedding sounds perfect."

xxxxx

"Hey, I'm home," Izzie called out, as she walked into her and Alex's house. "And I brought pizza. Alex…Willa," she called out when she didn't get a response. She quickly made her way through the house in search of them, and when she reached the living room, she couldn't help smiling at the scene in front of her. Alex was sitting on the couch with Willa on his lap; and the two of them were watching The Little Mermaid and eating Crispy Puffs cereal directly from the box. Ordinarily she'd be angry at her husband for spoiling Willa's appetite so close to dinner, but Alex and Willa looked so adorable together, she couldn't bring herself to be mad.

"Hey," she smiled. "What are you two watching?"

"Little Mermaid," Willa answered.

"It's Willa's favorite," Alex explained, meeting his wife's eyes. He stuck his hand into the box of Crispy Puffs, pulled out a handful of cereal, and extended his hand towards Willa.

"Thank you," Willa smiled, as she carefully picked out the marshmallows.

"Wow, Uncle Alex lets you pick out the marshmallows," Izzie smiled. "He must really love you, Willa. He doesn't let just anyone pick out the marshmallows."

Willa smiled and met Izzie's eyes. "They're the best part," she insisted, cuddling up against Alex.

Izzie smiled, as she watched her husband press a gentle kiss to Willa's forehead and cuddle the little girl closer. And even though she knew their pizza was getting cold, she didn't care. She set the pizza down on the coffee table, before sitting down next to Alex and Willa, holding both of them close, as the three of them watched the rest of the movie, and ate Crispy Puffs together. They could always reheat the pizza later.

xxxxx

"So, you're sure you're not upset that we're not going to a fancy restaurant tonight?" Addison asked Derek, as she placed a Chinese takeout carton on their kitchen table.

Derek looked at his wife and smiled. "Are you kidding me? We could be at your parents' place, and I'd still be happy. We got past that scare earlier this week, and we're officially in the second trimester…I could care less where we celebrate."

Addison smiled at her husband's words, as she and Derek sat down together. "So, I was thinking," she began hesitantly. "We should probably start coming up with names for the babies."

Derek looked at his wife in confusion. "But we don't know if they're boys or girls yet, so won't that be a little tough? I mean, I guess we could come up with four names so we're prepared, but-"

"That's not what I meant," Addison explained. "I don't want to call them 'the twins.' It makes it sound like they're one person. And I want them to have their own distinct identities from the very start, so I was thinking we could give them nicknames…you know, like how we called Willa Baby Shep before she was born."

"Oh," Derek nodded. "Yeah, I like that."

"But no tacky twin nicknames," Addison chuckled.

Derek looked at his wife questioningly.

Addison sighed. "You wouldn't believe how many patients I have who call their twins things like Frick and Frack or Mac and Cheese. I don't want that."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "And Twin A and Twin B are out."

"Right," Addison agreed. "But I kind of like the idea of coordinated names," she admitted. "Hey, what do you think about Dolce and Gabbana?"

"As a brand? Or as a nickname for our twins?" Derek asked. "Because if you're asking about the brand, I think I own a couple of their shirts, and they're fine, I guess. But if you're suggesting it as a nickname for the babies, then absolutely not."

"It's kind of cute," Addison defended.

"Addison, I'm not nicknaming my unborn sons Dolce or Gabbana. They'd never forgive me."

"They might be girls," Addison pointed out. "Or a boy and a girl."

"Fine," Derek conceded. "But nobody, girl or boy, should be nicknamed Gabbana."

"Okay, point taken," Addison laughed.

"Hey, how about Monty and Shep?" Derek asked after a moment.

Addison raised an eyebrow. "Monty and Shep?"

"Yeah," Derek grinned. "Monty after your maiden name. And Shep after our-"

"I get the origins of the nicknames," Addison cut in with a chuckle. "But I can't decide if I like them."

"I mean, they're better than Dolce and Gabbana," Derek teased.

"Monty and Shep," Addison repeated, testing out the names. "I think I like it," she admitted.

"They're perfect," Derek agreed. "And I'll even let you choose which name to give to which twin."

"Okay," Addison nodded. "I guess, uh, Baby A can be Monty, and Baby B will be Shep."

"Yeah," Derek nodded, giving Addison a soft smile. "That sounds right."

He promptly pulled Addison onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. And as he held her close, he couldn't help remembering something that O'Malley had said to him a few years earlier.

"You've lived. You've done things. And you've got the hair, and the hot wife, and the beautiful ex-mistress who pines for you…My point is you've lived!"

George had gotten it all wrong. Derek hadn't lived…not really. But this – what he was doing right now – this was living. He still had the hair and the hot wife, who he now loved and appreciated more than anything. He had lost the ex-mistress, and had gained the most precious little girl ever. And now he had twins – Monty and Shep – on the way. He didn't know what he was doing before, but it certainly wasn't living. Because his life right now – the life that he and Addison had made together – that was him living. His life before didn't even come close.