A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this story. I'm still into it, and hope that other people still are too. This next chapter's a long one, so hopefully that makes up for the wait between updates. I hope you like it and, as always, thanks so much for reading!

Addison released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, as she listened to Derek confidently ramble off basic facts about himself, like his name, date of birth, and anniversary date(s) to Dr. Jenkins, who was assessing Derek's condition.

"Well, Derek," Dr. Jenkins grinned, "it looks like you were very, very lucky. You suffered a severe concussion, but there doesn't seem to be brain damage or any other type of injury. We're going to keep you here a couple of nights for observations, but as far as I can tell, you're going to be perfectly fine." He handed Derek a copy of his brain scan. "I figured you'd want to see this for yourself, just to confirm everything," he assessed knowingly, as Derek eagerly accepted his bran scans. "I realize that you just regained consciousness a couple of hours ago, but you and I both know that you're still there best neurosurgeon there is."

Derek smiled before turning his attention to the scans in his hands. "Everything looks normal to me," he said, after a few minutes of studying the scans carefully. And Addison couldn't resist smiling at her husband's reassurances. Sure, she knew that Dr. Jenkins was good, and she trusted him. But he wasn't Derek. And she knew that she wouldn't feel completely better until Derek assured her that everything was okay.

Dr. Jenkins gave Derek a warm smile. "Why don't I give you and Addison some time alone," he said.

"Thank you," Derek nodded, as he watched Dr. Jenkins leave the room. Derek quickly turned his attention to Addison, his eyes softening, as he looked at his wife adoringly. But as he looked at her closer, he noticed the look of exhaustion in her eyes and the remnants of mascara streaks staining her cheeks; and, suddenly, he felt guilty. "I'm sorry," he choked out, his voice dry and thick with emotion. "I'm so sorry, Addie."

Addison met her husband's eyes, a look of confusion on her face. "Derek, you don't…you didn't-"

"I know," Derek nodded. "I know the accident wasn't my fault. I know there was nothing I could have done. But, still, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through everything you went through. That…had to be tough. I'm sorry, Addison."

"Derek," Addison sniffled, dabbing at her moist eyes with a Kleenex. "You have to stop apologizing. Because what happened wasn't your fault. And you're okay. And I'm so, so unbelievably thankful that you're okay. So you don't get to apologize. Because you're okay…which means I'm okay. And our family is going to be okay."

Derek smiled at her before moving over in his hospital bed, so that she could sit down next to him. When she sat down, he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. "I love you," he whispered against her hair.

This small gesture was all it took for Addison to lose her composure, and Derek suddenly found himself repeating back to her the very words that she had just said to him. "Hey, I'm okay," he said reassuringly, as he wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "You're stuck with me," he teased, doing his best to lighten the mood.

Addison swallowed hard as she met her husband's eyes. "I couldn't imagine doing it without you," she admitted. "Living our life…raising our kids. I just, I couldn't…not without you."

"You could do it without me," Derek said quietly, as he tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear. "If you had to…you could do it without me, Addie. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, so you don't have to do it without me. I won't let you do it without me."

Addison nodded mutely. Sure, there was so much more she wanted to say to her husband, but it could wait. Derek wasn't going anywhere and, right now, she was struggling to get words out. So she did the one thing that couldn't wait. She leaned in and softly molded her lips against Derek's, sighing contently when he responded in kind.

"Hey, Derek," she whispered when they broke apart.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for not quitting on me."

Derek gave her a warm smile before kissing her softly. "We're Addison-and-Derek, remember? We don't quit."

xxxxx

"Are you sure she can handle this?" Derek asked Addison worriedly.

Addison nodded. "Willa can handle this. Besides, if we don't tell her, she's going to wonder where her daddy is when she hasn't seen you for a couple of days…and we don't want her to internalize it and think she had anything to do with you not being around."

"I know you're right," Derek agreed. "I just, I don't want to worry her unnecessarily."

Addison lovingly stroked her husband's cheek. "I'll talk to her first, and assure her that everything's okay. Everything's-"

But she was cut off by the sound of her cell phone vibrating. She quickly read the text message and met her husband's eyes. "Alex and Izzie are here with Willa."

"Okay," Derek nodded, sitting up straighter in his hospital bed.

"I'll be right back," Addison smiled, as she left the room to go get her daughter.

"Mommy!" Willa exclaimed, as she rushed towards her mother, Alex and Izzie following closely behind her.

"Hey, Willa," Addison smiled, as she bent down to hug her daughter. "Did you have fun with Aunt Izzie and Uncle Alex?"

"Yeah," Willa nodded, as she clung to Addison tightly. "Made chocolate chip cookies."

"That sounds fun," Addison smiled. She turned her attention to Alex and Izzie. "Thank you so much for everything," she said earnestly.

"You don't need to thank us," Izzie insisted, lacing her fingers through her husband's. "You guys are our family. We'd do anything for you."

"Thank you," Addison nodded, as she continued to hold her daughter close.

"How's he doing?" Alex asked discretely.

Addison smiled. "He's good. Everything looks perfectly normal. You two should go see him. He'd like that."

"Oh, uh, we can wait," Alex stammered. "You know, until Willa sees him."

"I thought I'd talk to her first and try to explain things to her," Addison said. "Just so she doesn't get scared."

"Oh," Izzie nodded. "Then, yeah, we'll go in, and when you're done out here, we'll leave."

Addison smiled warmly at Alex and Izzie before turning her attention to her daughter. "Hey, Willa, what do you say to Uncle Alex and Aunt Izzie for taking such good care of you last night?"

Willa looked up at her aunt and uncle and smiled. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Aw, you're welcome, Willa," Izzie grinned, bending down and pressing a kiss to her niece's forehead, before she and Alex made their way to Derek's hospital room, leaving Willa and Addison alone together.

"Hey, Willa," Addison said gently, once Izzie and Alex had left.

Willa sensed the seriousness in her mother's voice, and looked up at her quickly, her eyes wide with concern.

Addison swallowed hard, and silently commanded herself to keep her compose. "Do you remember the time when you had to stay overnight at the hospital?" she asked her daughter calmly.

Willa nodded, still unsure where her mother was going with this.

"Well, like you, Daddy has to spend a couple of days in the hospital," Addison continued, stroking her daughter's arm reassuringly, when she felt Willa tense up worriedly. "Daddy's okay," Addison promised her daughter. "He has a few boo-boos on his head. But he's okay. And the doctors are going to take good care of him, okay?"

"Okay," Willa said quietly.

"Hey, Willa, is there anything you want to say?" Addison asked her daughter gently, while Willa continued to process the information she had just received. "Do you have any questions you want to ask?"

Willa remained quiet for a moment before meeting her mother's eyes. "Get Daddy a get well soon present?" she asked timidly.

Addison smiled at her daughter. "I think that's a good idea. How about we buy him some juju? I think he'll like that."

"Okay," Willa nodded, as she walked with her mother to the coffee cart to buy Derek some hot chocolate. "I pay."

"Okay," Addison chuckled, reaching into her purse, and handing her daughter a couple of dollars. "Juju's on you."

A few minutes later, juju in hand, Addison led Willa into Derek's hospital room.

"Hey, Willa," Derek smiled brightly, when he saw his daughter enter his room timidly with Addison.

"See, Sweetie," Addison reassured her daughter. "Daddy's okay."

Willa nodded, as she and Addison made their way towards Derek's hospital bed. "Got you juju," Willa told her father, as Addison handed Derek the cup of hot chocolate in her hands. "Get well soon present," Willa explained, as Addison and Derek helped her onto Derek's hospital bed.

"Thank you, Willa," Derek smiled, pulling his daughter into a hug.

"Welcome," Willa said, as she clutched her father tightly. "I paid," she went on proudly.

"She did," Addison confirmed with a chuckle.

"Thanks, Willa," Derek laughed, pressing a gentle kiss to his daughter's temple.

Willa looked up and met her father's eyes, and Derek watched as his daughter's eyes traveled to the gash on his forehead.

"Boo-boo hurt?" Willa asked her father, lightly running her fingers over the cut on Derek's head.

"No," Derek answered with a reassuring smile. "It looks worse than it is."

Willa nodded and wrapped her little arms around her father before echoing what he had said to her when she was worried about her appendix scar. "Boo-boo's not ugly, Daddy," she assured her father, as she cuddled up against him. "You're very brave."

Derek couldn't help smiling at his daughter's words; and as he continued to hold Willa close, he motioned for Addison to come join them on the bed, wrapping an arm around her when she sat down next to him. And with one arm around his wife, and the other around his daughter, Derek knew that he was lucky. He had come out of what could have been a deadly crash virtually unscathed – and he was undeniably lucky. And on top of that, he had Addison and Willa – his two girls, who he loved more than anything. He met Addison's eyes and smiled, as his hand moved to rest on the swell of her stomach, over Monty and Shep – their twins, who he was certain would only make their already amazing family even better.

xxxxx

"Thanks for offering to come shopping with me today," Lexie smiled, as Izzie slid into the passenger's seat of her car, a week later. "I haven't really done much wedding planning yet, so I thought that shopping for wedding night lingerie might get me in the mood."

Izzie chuckled. "Lingerie was the last thing that Addison and I went shopping for when it was my wedding that we were planning. So this feels completely backwards for me."

Lexie nodded. "I get that most women tend to buy a dress and a cake and flowers before they even start thinking about lingerie shopping. But most women aren't marrying Mark Sloan, and this…well, this just feels right. It feels very us."

"Hey, I'm all for it," Izzie insisted, putting her hands up in surrender.

"And I appreciate you coming with me," Lexie smiled. "I mean, I was going to ask Meredith, but this isn't exactly her type of thing. And Addison's a good choice, but she's slept with Mark, and I'm sure he's seen her in her fair share of lingerie, so I was worried it might be awkward."

"It wouldn't have been," Izzie insisted. "But I get where you're coming from."

"I mean, it's not like I was really worried," Lexie continued. "What happened between Addison and Mark was a long time ago. And Addison, Derek, and Mark have clearly moved past it."

Izzie nodded in agreement. "And Addison and Derek's marriage is really strong and stable. And you and Mark are amazing together. I mean, I honestly don't think I've ever seen Mark so happy…or so committed."

Lexie chuckled at Izzie's description of her fiancé. "So, you and Alex seem like you're in a good place," she said with a smile.

A wide smile graced Izzie's features, as she thought about her husband. "We are in a good place," she agreed. "He just…you should have seen how amazing he was with Willa when Derek was in the accident. He was so good with her."

"So you and Alex are thinking about kids?" Lexie assessed knowingly.

Izzie bit her lip in thought. "We want kids," she began. "But we agreed to wait until our residency is over before we start trying."

"But…" Lexie trailed off knowingly.

"But then I see how amazing he is with Willa and it…it makes me not want to wait."

"Well, you are in your final year of residency," Lexie pointed out.

"I guess," Izzie sighed. "It's just..." she trailed off, looking down guiltily.

"Maybe you should talk to Alex," Lexie suggested. "I mean, you guys may have agreed to hold off on having kids until you're done with your residency, but maybe he's feeling the same way you are."

Izzie nodded, as she let Lexie's words sink in. "You may be right," she said after a moment.

"I am right," Lexie insisted. "So, go talk to your husband. Oh, but do me a favor."

"Yeah?"

"Make sure Mark doesn't get word of this. I want kids…just not right now. And the last thing I need is for him to start catching baby fever too."

xxxxx

"Hey," Izzie grinned, as she entered her and Alex's house, a few hours later.

"Hey," Alex smiled, as Izzie walked into the living room, where he was lounging on the couch. "How was shopping with Lexie?"

"It was good," Izzie nodded. "It was really good. Hey, uh, Alex," she began hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked worriedly, sensing his wife's serious tone.

"Nothing's wrong," Izzie assured her husband quickly. "Everything's fine. There's just…there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh," Alex nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "That's good….because, uh, there's actually something that I want to talk to you about too."

"Really?" Izzie asked in surprise.

Alex nodded. "I just, I know we've talked about our plans for the future, but I…I don't know…I just…sometimes things change, you know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean," Izzie smiled. It was a huge relief to know that she and her husband were on the same page.

"That's good," Alex nodded. "Because, um, I got a job offer at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, and I think it could be a great opportunity for us."

"You what?" Izzie asked, her eyes widening in surprise, as she tried, but failed, to control the anger in her voice. "Seriously, Alex?"

"Wait," Alex said in confusion. "Was this not what you were expecting?"

Izzie glared at her husband. "No!" she exclaimed. "This was the last thing I was expecting. Are you serious right now?"

"Of course I am. Izzie, can you believe it? A job at Mt. Sinai. New York, Iz."

"So?" Izzie sputtered. "We both have job offers here at Seattle Grace."

"I know that," Alex nodded. "But this is New York we're talking about. And it's not too late for you to apply for a job there too. And, uh, I kind of thought you'd take the news differently."

"How did you expect me to take this news, Alex?" Izzie demanded. "How do you expect me to react when you tell me that you're planning on packing us up and moving to New York?"

"Oh, I don't know," Alex shot back sarcastically. "I kind of thought that you might be happy for me. This is an incredible opportunity. I thought you of all people would understand that."

"I do understand that, and I am happy for you," Izzie retorted. "Mt. Sinai is a big deal. I get that. It's just…this isn't what I was expecting."

"Well, what were you expecting?" Alex asked in confusion.

Izzie ran a hand though her hair in exasperation. "I was hoping…I was…you know what, it doesn't even matter anymore."

"Iz," Alex said softly, stroking her arm gently. "Talk to me."

"I actually don't feel like talking right now," Izzie admitted. "But, look, I really am happy for you, Alex…and I'm really proud of you." In all honesty, she was. But she liked the life that they'd made for themselves in Seattle. And moving to New York would change everything.

"You know what," Izzie began. "I think I'm going to go grab a drink at Joe's. I need to clear my head."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Alex asked hopefully. "We could celebrate."

Izzie shook her head. She was pretty sure that having Alex come along, and inevitably gush about New York, would defeat the purpose of her going to Joe's in the first place. "No, you stay here," she told her husband. "We'll celebrate when I come home."

"Um, okay," Alex stammered, still trying to figure out what he had said or done to make his wife so upset. "Hey, Iz," he said as Izzie began to put on her coat.

"Yeah?"

"It sounds like you're planning on grabbing more than just a drink tonight. So if you need a ride home, please call me."

Izzie gave her husband a slight smile. Nobody frustrated her quite the way he did; but on the flip side, nobody could melt her heart the way he did either. "Okay," she promised. "I will."

xxxxx

"So," Lexie grinned, looking up from her laptop, where she was browsing for honeymoon deals. "Would you prefer to have a touristy honeymoon somewhere like Paris, or a more relaxed honeymoon somewhere like Hawaii?"

"Are you serious?" Mark asked in disbelief. "That's not even a legitimate question."

"Well, there are pros and cons to each type of honeymoon," Lexie defended.

"Seriously, Lex, what are the pros to spending our honeymoon on a tour bus with a bunch of retirees? What are the pros of spending our days looking at landmarks and architecture when we'd clearly both rather be having sex?"

"We can still have sex at night," Lexie pointed out.

"That's not enough," Mark insisted. "Lexie, this is our honeymoon…and we're not just having sex at night."

"So, you want a more relaxed honeymoon," Lexie assessed. "Like on a tropical island or something?"

"That's more my style," Mark admitted.

"Okay," Lexie nodded. "A tropical honeymoon it is."

"That sound good," Mark approved. "But do you know what I really want?" Mark asked with a smirk.

Lexie shook her head. "What?"

"Noise complaints," Mark answered matter-of-factly. "And lots of them. That's the sign of a good honeymoon."

xxxxx

"New bedtime story?" Willa asked her father excitedly when she saw him pull a book of baby names out of his briefcase and set it down on the coffee table in the living room.

"Not exactly," Derek chuckled, as he and Willa joined Addison on the couch.

He and Addison had found out Monty and Shep's sexes a day ago, and one of the first things they did was pick up a baby name book. It had taken them months to settle on Willa's name; and they realized it would probably be doubly hard to agree on two names that they both liked, so they figured that they might as well start early.

Derek smiled as he watched Addison reach out and grab the book of baby names off the coffee table so that she could show it to Willa, and explain everything to her. And as he watched his wife and daughter, he couldn't help thinking back on his and Addison's doctor's appointment the day before.

"We should see if Jane can tell us Monty and Shep's genders first," Derek commented, as he and Addison sat in the hospital exam room waiting for their O.B. "I mean, you're you, and you'll obviously know their genders immediately, but reading fetal ultrasounds was never one of my strong suits…and even though I've been practicing, I'm still not getting much better."

"You've been practicing reading ultrasounds?" Addison asked her husband, a mixture a confusion and amusement lacing her voice.

Derek nodded. "When I was stuck in my hospital bed, recovering from the accident, I made Karev bring me a bunch of ultrasound pictures so I'd be able to keep up today."

Addison smiled at her husband lovingly. "And…" she trailed off.

"I'm right about half the time," Derek admitted.

"Derek, that's not exactly impressive," Addison laughed. "Just guessing randomly, you should be right about half the time. And you're a doctor who, at one point in his life, did an O.B. rotation. Not to mention, you're married to me."

"Believe me, Karev told me as much," Derek chuckled. "When he was quizzing me, at one point, he actually recommended that I close my eyes and guess because I couldn't possibly do any worse than I was already doing."

Addison was about to respond when Jane entered the room. "Good afternoon, Addison and Derek," she smiled. "Sorry I'm late."

"Don't worry about it," Addison assured her colleague warmly.

Jane nodded. "So, are you ready to get started?"

Addison and Derek exchanged a smile before turning their attention back to Jane. "We are," Addison nodded, as she leaned back on the exam table, so that Jane could begin. "Hey, Jane, would it be okay if we found out the twins' genders first?" Addison asked.

Jane looked from Addison to Derek and smiled. "We can definitely arrange that," she nodded. "Okay, let's see if they're in a good position right now," she said, as she moved the ultrasound transducer over Addison's abdomen.

It took all of Addison's willpower not to look at the screen, as Jane began scanning; but she wanted to find out Monty and Shep's genders with Derek – not before Derek – so she fought the urge to look.

"Okay," Jane began with a smile. "It looks like Twin A is a little boy."

Addison couldn't help smiling, as she took in the look of sheer delight on her husband's face. Above all else, she and Derek wanted two healthy babies; but she also knew that Derek had spent his entire life surrounded by women, and was really hoping for a son – someone to go fishing with and play catch with and do all the things that he'd never gotten to do with his own father. And Derek was getting his son – Monty was a boy.

"And Twin B..." Jane trailed off, as she repositioned the transducer, trying to get a better angle. "Twin B is a little girl. Congratulations, you two."

"Thank you," Derek grinned, as Addison fought for composure.

Shep was a girl. A sister for Willa. And Addison couldn't help thinking back to that day, shortly after her miscarriage, when she and Willa went to the nail salon together, and had met those two teenage sisters. That day and those sisters had stuck with her – because she so desperately wanted Willa to have what they had. And now this was a possibility for her daughter…for both of her daughters.

And, on top of that, they were having a little boy – a little boy, who Addison hoped would look and act just like his father. A little boy, who Addison hoped would be the same type of brother to his sisters that Archer was to her.

She met her husband's eyes, and felt her heart swell as she took in the look on his face – Derek looked so happy he could burst.

"A boy and a girl, Addie," he mouthed over Jane's head. "A boy and a girl."

"So, boy's names and girl's names?" Willa asked her mother.

"That's right, Sweetie," Addison smiled. "We need to come up with names for your little brother and your little sister, so we need a boy's name and a girl's name."

"Do you have a name that you like, Willa?" Derek asked his daughter, as he rejoined the conversation. "What's your favorite name?"

"Mark," Willa answered automatically.

Derek and Addison shared an amused glance over their daughter's head.

"Mark's a very nice name," Addison began with a laugh. "But it might get confusing because we already have Uncle Mark."

Willa nodded in understanding. "Like the name Charlotte," she offered.

Addison sighed. In all honesty, she did too. But Charlotte had lost out to Willa the first time around, and Addison didn't want her new daughter to get Willa's hand-me-down name. She wanted her new daughter to have her own separate identity. But she didn't know how to phrase that so that her three-year-old would understand it.

"Charlotte's a very pretty name," Addison told her daughter with a smile. "But we know a lot of Charlottes, don't we?"

"Yeah," Willa nodded.

"Let's try to come up with a name for your little brother and sister that not a lot of people have. That way their names will be special, like your name."

"Oh," Willa nodded in understanding. She looked from her mother to her father. "Bedtime?" she asked tiredly.

Derek looked at his watch. "It's actually past your bedtime," he laughed. "Let's go up to your room and pick out a bedtime story. What should we read you tonight?"

"Baby book," Willa smiled.

Addison chuckled in amusement. "Sweetie, we don't have to read the baby name book. We can read you a book that has pictures…and an actual story."

Willa shook her head. "Need to come up with good names," she insisted.

Derek and Addison exchanged a smile. "You know, it's exactly this type of dedication that's going to make her a great doctor one day," Derek grinned, as he picked Willa up and cuddled her close.

"Yeah," Addison agreed, pressing a gentle kiss to her three-year-old's temple. "And great big sister before that."