A/N: Thanks so much for your kind comments on the last chapter! I really appreciate it. Here's the latest chapter. I hope you like it. I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly, but I also started working on an Addek Christmas story … because 'tis the season!

Thanks again to everyone who's still reading and reviewing! I love hearing what you think!


She remembered his first solo surgery. Benign brain tumor removal on a young, otherwise healthy man, Kevin Reynolds. Looking back, it was a relativity simple surgery. But back then, it seemed like a big deal. Still, he looked so confident.

She also remembered the first patient he lost. Amelia Peterson … unexpected brain bleed. The name was unfortunate. He took it hard.

She's been there through everything—all of Derek's surgical wins and losses.

Today felt new, though. As much as they've convinced themselves this surgery is the same as any other surgery, they both know it's not.

"So, I'll insert a shunt to drain the fluid in Mason's brain," Derek explained, ripping Addison from her thoughts. "And from there, Dr. Sloan will take over and perform the cranial reconstruction. Does all that make sense?"

Julie and Matthew stared at Derek, shell shocked. This wasn't the first time they'd had Mason's procedure explained to them. Probably closer to the fiftieth. But Mason's surgery was in mere hours and that made things different.

"Dr. Webber, our chief of surgery, is going to sit with you," Derek continued gesturing toward Richard. "And Dr. Karev," he said, motioning toward Alex, "will provide you with periodic updates." He paused and took in Julie and Matthew's fearful expressions. "Do either of you have any questions?"

"Can we … can we have a minute with Mason alone?" Julie asked. "You know, before you put him under."

"Of course," Addison nodded. "Take all the time you need."

Matthew made his way into Mason's hospital room, but Julie lingered outside.

"Dr. Montgomery?" she said, her voice cracking, as she pulled Addison aside. "I was, um, hoping I could talk to you for a minute."

"Sure," Addison said sympathetically. "What can I do for you?"

"I know you always go out of your way not to promise me that Mason's going to be okay. But I need you to. Today, I need you to tell me everything's going to be okay."

"Julie," Addison began gently, "Mason is in the very best hands possible."

"No, that's not enough!" Julie insisted. "You have to promise me he's going to be okay."

Addison shook her head. Doctors don't make these types of promises. Even for the most routine surgeries.

"Mason's a fighter," she told Julie, doing her best to be reassuring, but not dishonest. "And we're going to do everything we can in there today."

"I know. But I need to know he's going to be okay. I need to promise you're not going to let anything happen to him."

Addison swallowed thickly. She couldn't promise Julie that. "I'll monitor him more closely than any patient I've monitored in my career."

That she could promise.

"Really?" Julie asked. "Closer than any patient ever?"

Addison nodded. "We're going to be putting Mason under soon," she told Julie gently. "So, if you want to spend some time with him beforehand …" She motioned toward his hospital room. "Now's the time to do it."

"Yeah … okay."

Addison watched Julie's retreating form for a moment before Derek snuck up behind her.

"Feel like getting a pre-surgery cup of coffee with me?" he asked.

"Yeah. I do."

Technically, she wasn't drinking caffeine right now, but that didn't stop her from walking over to the coffee cart with Derek.

She knew Derek would order an espresso. It was a pre-surgery ritual he'd picked up from her. Espresso has been her go-to pre-surgery drink of choice for as long as she could remember. Mostly because it provided a quick boost of caffeine and was more forgiving on the bladder than a regular cup of coffee (which was crucial for longer surgeries).

They made their way back from the coffee cart to see Matthew standing there waiting for them. His arms were folded across his chest and he was glaring at them icily.

"Where were you?" Matthew demanded. "I came out of Mason's room and you two were nowhere to be seen. Have you two decided to just check out completely? Because if you have, you picked the worst possible to day to—"

"What?" Derek interrupted in confusion, unwilling to let Matthew's little charade go any further. "Matthew, what are you talking about? And where do you get off asking—"

"Matthew, I know you're worried," Addison cut in. "But we're not abandoning you or Mason. I promise you that."

"Dude, it's also probably not the smartest move to threaten the doctor who's about to cut into your son's skull," Alex added, joining the conversation.

Addison shook her head disapprovingly, but Derek rewarded the resident with a grin.

"I'm going to take one final look at Mason's lab results from this morning," Derek said, deciding to be an adult and side step yet another argument with Matthew. "And once we confirm everything's clear, we'll be ready to go. Dr. Montgomery … Dr. Karev," he said, motioning for Addison and Alex to join him.

"That guy is crazy," Alex muttered as they walked away.

"Tell me about it," Derek agreed.

"He's worried," Addison defended. "It's understandable."

"I think he's nuts," Alex disagreed as Derek scanned Mason's labs.

Addison shook her head at her resident. "Has your bedside manner seriously deteriorated that badly in the time I stopped working here?"

Alex shrugged. "It's possible. No one else here is overly concerned with teaching, right Dr. Shepherd?"

"Karev, I'm not in the mood," Derek warned. "One more comment like that and I'll have you reassigned. And you can help Richard watch Matthew and Julie."

"No thanks," Alex muttered under his breath.

"That's what I thought," Derek smirked.

Addison shook her head in amusement. "How do Mason's labs look?" she asked, peering over Derek's shoulder to look at them herself.

"Perfect," Derek smiled. "We should be able to start shortly."

xxxxx

Addison looked around the OR. Everything was set. Mark was standing off to the side, looking as confident as ever, ready to step in for the cranial reconstruction. Though, they had a long way to go before that happened.

Alex was standing next to her, his eyes fixed resolutely on the machines monitoring Mason's stats.

And Derek was standing on the other side of the operating table. His eyes were focused on Mason, who was lying on the table, sedated. And when Derek glanced up, and they locked eyes, she couldn't help smiling.

It happened relatively frequently—their eyes meeting over an operating table—but it made her chest flutter every time it happened. Because it reminded her of the first time they locked eyes … that summer, over the cadaver.

And she liked that memory.

Admittedly, it was slightly different each time their eyes met after that. They were more established, less naïve, more jaded, less insecure.

She liked that too.

They'd grown into the surgeons they were today together. And each time their eyes met over an operating table, she was reminded of that.

"Karev, are you ready?" Derek asked, cutting into Addison's thoughts.

"Ready," Alex nodded.

Derek looked slightly behind him. "Mark?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Mark," Derek scolded.

"I'm ready."

"Good," Derek approved. He turned to his ex-wife. "Addie?"

"Ready."

"Okay, good." He inhaled deeply. "Okay, everybody; it's a beautiful day to save lives. Let's have some fun."

Addison's eyes flicked back and forth between Derek, Mason, and all the machines the infant was attached to. She'd run through the procedure so many times with Derek, she knew it by heart. In fact, an arrogant part of her suspected that, if she had to, she could perform the surgery herself. Of course, she also knew better than to voice those thoughts out loud.

"Der, BP's dropping," she warned, her eyes darting to the beeping machines.

"So is pulse ox," Alex added, his eyes widening.

"Just … give me a minute," Derek muttered as the beeping grew louder. "I just need a minute to—"

Addison shook her head. "I don't think you have a minute, Derek."

"I just need to … damn it!"

"Derek?" Addison asked, doing her best to keep her composure. She quickly assessed the situation; as far as she could see, he hadn't nicked a nerve or blood vessel.

"BP's still dropping," Alex warned. "Dr. Shepherd, he's gonna go into shock if—"

"Just give me … there," Derek breathed, a small smile coming to his face as the beeping sound normalized.

"Stats are rising," Alex said, not taking his eyes off the monitors; the relief in his voice obvious.

"Nice job," Addison smiled, meeting Derek's eyes.

"We're not done yet," he admitted.

"I know," Addison agreed. "Still … nice job."

From there, the surgery was textbook. Or as textbook as a completely non-textbook surgery could be.

"Looks good," Derek complimented, as he watched Mark complete his final stitch.

"Of course it does," Mark bragged. "My sutures are perfect."

"They are," Addison agreed, nodding in approval. "It's annoying," she muttered.

"Done," Mark beamed.

Derek smiled. "Nice job," he said sincerely. "Okay, let's move Mason into post-op."

"Wait," Addison said, stopping the post-op team that was getting ready to move Mason. "I'm going with him."

"Addie," Derek reasoned. "You don't have to."

"I know," Addison said. "I just … I promised Julie."

Derek shook his head disapprovingly.

"I know," Addison conceded. "But she'll feel better if I'm in there with him. And I will too."

Derek sighed. "I don't get it," he admitted.

"I know, but—"

"But I'll go with you anyway," Derek said, giving his ex-wife a small smile.

A small smile spread across Addison's face. "Really?"

"Really," Derek nodded. "Come on, let's scrub out."

Mark and Alex were already scrubbing out when they reached the scrub room

"That was seriously cool," Alex marveled. "I mean, I know I pretty much spent the entire surgery looking at a machine, but still … it was really cool."

"Just one of the benefits of working with an attending who actually values teaching," Addison winked. She dried her hands on a scrub room towel. "Anyway," she continued, addressing Alex and Mark. "Derek and I are going to sit with Mason for a while. And then we'll page you when we're ready to talk to Julie and Matthew, and the four of us can update them on Mason together. Sound good?"

"Wait," Mark said.

Addison looked at her friend in confusion. "Does something not make sense?"

"No, it's just … before you and Derek go … Karev," he said, turning to Alex and handing him his phone. "Can you take a picture of the three of us?"

"Now?" Addison asked in confusion. "Mark, we've been in surgery for hours."

"I know," Mark conceded. "It's just … this was a big surgery for the three of us. A history-making surgery. And I think my niece will appreciate this one of these days."

Addison's eyes softened; she gave Mark an appreciative smile.

"I don't even recognize you anymore," Derek muttered to his friend, as Alex snapped a picture. "When did you turn into an adult who thinks about other people?"

"First of all, that was harsh," Mark said, pretending to be offended. "And I don't know," he shrugged, nudging Derek good-naturedly. "You're not the only one who can grow up; you realize that, right?"

"I never said—"

"Just say, 'Great idea, Mark. You're going to be the best uncle ever,' and move on," Mark teased. "I swear; it's not that hard."

Derek chuckled. "Both of those things are true," he admitted. "Thanks, Mark," he said sincerely. He turned to Addison. "You ready?"

"I am."

"Good," Derek smiled. "Let's go."

And with that, she and Derek joined the post-op team, who were wheeling Mason away.

xxxxx

"He looks good," Derek observed.

Addison smiled. "He does," she agreed.

She and Derek had been sitting by Mason's bedside for twenty minutes, and he was holding steady.

"He's a fighter," Addison marveled.

Derek nodded. "He'd have to be. With parents like his, he doesn't have much of a choice."

"Derek," Addison scolded, nudging her ex-husband playfully.

"What?" Derek shrugged. "I'm joking … kind of." He captured his ex-wife's hand in his. "Admit it; that was pretty funny."

Addison chuckled and met her ex-husband's eyes. "Can I tell you something?" she asked growing serious.

"Yeah," Derek nodded, pressing a kiss just above her knuckle.

"You were really great in there today, Derek. You slew dragons, you walked on water, you…" she trailed off, brushing her lips against his. "You were a god."

"Thanks," he smiled. "I have to admit, this one felt good."

Addison looked at her ex-husband lovingly. "We should celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

"Yeah." Addison looked thoughtful. "A few weeks ago, you mentioned that you and I haven't slept together in the hospital yet." She raised an eyebrow. "Seems like a good way to celebrate to me."

A wide smile spread across Derek's face. "Are you serious?"

Addison raised an eyebrow coquettishly.

"Yeah?" Derek asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Addison smiled, meeting his eyes. "But, um, maybe we can stay with Mason a little longer," she said. "Just until the anesthesia wears off."

"Yeah," he agreed softly, moving his chair even closer to hers. "I think that sounds good."

xxxxx

January turned into February. And before they knew it, it was Valentine's Day.

Addison had to work. So, Derek went shopping ... and convinced Mark to go with him.

"What do you think of that one?" Derek asked, peering into the jewelry case in front of them.

"I … it's really nice," Mark said. "But it's a necklace."

"I know." He turned to his friend. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Mark shrugged. "It's just … when you asked me to go shopping with you, I thought it was weird. But then you told me we were going to a jewelry store … and it seemed less weird. Because I was with you the first time you bought Addison a ring, so it kind of made sense. And now … you're getting her a necklace. I just … I thought you were proposing."

"I …" Derek trailed off.

He'd be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind.

But he and Addison had been married before. And it had ended badly. And if they did it again, he wanted to make sure they did it right. The stakes were higher this time.

"I think just the necklace today," Derek said evasively. "Besides, I know Addison; and she'd think a Valentine's Day proposal is tacky and cliché. And I do too."

"Oh. Okay. But, um … you two are okay, right?" Mark asked in concern. "There's not trouble in paradise or anything?"

Derek shook his head. "Mark, look at the price tag on the necklace I'm about to buy. Do you really think I'd spend that type of money if things between me and Addison were going badly?"

Mark shrugged. "I guess not."

"I, um … I'll tell you what," Derek said after a moment. "When I do go ring shopping, you'll be the first to know."

"I should hope so. I was the first one to know the last time. I don't see why this time should be any different."

Because this time will be different, Derek thought to himself.

This time it'll last.

This time it really would be every day until eternity.