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Addison hurried to her department as soon as she heard her brother's name. She couldn't risk letting her brother wander in the hospital without any supervision. Derek offered to postpone his surgery to come with her but Addison preferred facing Archer alone.
"What are you doing here Archer?" Addison asked in not so happy tone.
"It's great to see you too sweetheart." Archer replied sarcastically giving her a tight hug.
"Why are you here Archer? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere in Europe?" Addison asked again.
"Do you want me to answer that here in front of everyone?" He asked back smugly pointing towards the curious staff around them.
"No not here. Come with me'" Addison dragged him in the nearest on call room and locked the door behind them.
"You won't believe what I just saw." Meredith whined crashing on the gurney in the basement where Alex and Cristina were studying.
"Not interested." Alex brushed her off without giving her a glance.
"McDreamy and Addison were doing something in an observation room." Meredith continued ignoring Alex.
"I am interested now." Alex looked up closing his books.
"What did you see?" Cristina asked curiously.
"I couldn't see properly. But they were standing very close and his hands were under her lab coat. I think he was feeling her back or something. Do you think they are having an affair behind my back?" Meredith started panicking.
"Aren't you the one who was having an affair with Addison's husband behind her back?" Alex pointed out.
"He is not her husband anymore. They are divorced. They should not rub each other's back." Meredith complained somewhat desperately.
"He was rubbing her back? Even Torres was doing something to her back in the morning. She is having a bad back ache today. She even gave two of her surgeries to Wilson." Alex casually shared whatever he knew.
"Why? What is wrong with her back?" Being a doctor Cristina instinctively asked about Addison's medical condition.
"How would I know that? I am not her personal physician." Alex shrugged.
"But you work with her. You must have observed something." Cristina.
"I just know that she often looks tired these days. But I have observed that whenever the she-Shepherd is down, the other Shepherd pops up from nowhere with a cup of coffee or food."
"May be she is really sick or something."
"Hallo! Focus people her health condition is not the point here. Our concern is that she is stealing my McDreamy again." Meredith shouted claiming their attention back.
"He isn't your McDreamy. He doesn't even notice you these days." Alex bluntly stated the truth.
"May be she is dying and he is doing the humane thing by being nice to his dying ex-wife." Cristina tried to console her friend.
"Who is dying?" George asked joining the gang.
"No one is dying. Meredith is in distress because Shepherd and his ex-wife are friends." Alex replied nonchalantly.
"That is old news. They have been acting like BFFs since they split up." George didn't understand why Meredith was back on that topic. They had spent quite a few months listening to her rant about Shepherds' friendship. He didn't want to go through that again.
"No, they were friends but then Addison created a scene in the OR when he stood her up on their divorce day. After that spectacular fight they hardly speak with each other. They are not friends anymore." Meredith declared confidently.
"But they looked pretty comfortable with each other on that poker night." Cristina said hesitantly.
"That poker night was fun. She-shepherd is so different outside hospital." Alex commented remembering that evening.
"Yeah watching you lose all your money was definitely fun. We should ask them to plan one more poker night." Cristina agreed with Alex.
"Guys you are again diverting from the topic." Meredith groaned.
"You won't believe what I just saw." Izzie ran towards the gang to share latest piece of gossip with them.
"You won't believe what I saw" Meredith mimicked her.
"I saw Addison with a very handsome guy. Right now she is in a locked on call room with him."
"She has a new guy in her life! Who is he?" Meredith demanded.
"I don't know. I went to talk to my patient's family in the waiting lounge and there they were. He gave her a tight hug and then she dragged him in the on call room. I bet she is riding him right now."
"Wow. This is turning more and more interesting. Bambi, you must be knowing something. After all she is your wife's friend." Cristina asked George.
"No. Callie doesn't tell me anything about her. She uses some code language while talking on phone if I am around. But I think there is a guy in Addison's life."
"That is so great. Addison has a new guy in her life! Now everything makes sense. Addison has a new guy. Derek is just her friend. She looks tired because that new guy is wearing her out. She tried something weird with him last night which hurt her back. Being a good guy, Derek is rubbing his friend's back to help her. I have nothing to worry about." Meredith concluded.
"But why are you still thinking so much about him? You are with Finn now." Izzie reminded her.
"Finn is temporary. I and McDreamy are the real deal. We are meant to be together." Meredith claimed aggressively.
"Get real dumbo. When was the last time you spoke to him anything besides work?" Alex asked with annoyance.
"I am just giving him some space. He needs time to get rid of all his baggage. He was married for a long time, he needs time. Good guys like him don't hop beds like you." Meredith snapped at Alex.
"Yeah good guys like him only hide their marital status from their girlfriend." Alex snapped back. He then collected all his books and went in search of a quiet place to study.
"I am guessing no one knows about your little secrets" Archer smiled slightly looking at Addison's belly.
"No one knows and I would like to keep it that way. So when you sleep with my staff, don't say anything about me or Derek." Addison said dryly.
"Derek" Archer pronounced his name with utmost disgust. "So Derek is back in your life."
"Yes he is. And if you don't have anything encouraging to say, please keep your mouth shut." Addison sat down on the lower bunk.
"I do not have anything encouraging to say but I will not keep my mouth shut. I am your brother. I can't just stand aside when you are ruining your life again. Even if you don't seem to think so, we are a family Addie. We all care for you. Captain and Bizzy are also worried about you." Archer said sitting beside her.
"You talked with Captain and Bizzy?" Addison was surprised. They talked only on special occasions like New Year, birthdays and sometimes to congratulate after special achievements. Casual phone call wasn't their thing.
"They were in Switzerland when they got your email. They immediately flew down to Italy where I was for my book reading event. We had an emergency family meeting there. They are genuinely worried about you Addie. They considered coming down here personally but I thought it would be better if I talk to you first. Addie what are you doing?" Archer asked softly.
"Why are you worried Archie? Everything is perfect in my life. I am going to be a mother. This is what I wanted. Why can't you be happy for me?" Addison asked running a hand through her hair.
"It's great that you are pregnant. I am happy for you. I am happy to become an uncle. They are going to be Montgomery's first known and legitimate heir. But Addie I am concerned because of the way you got pregnant. I think you rushed into motherhood too soon. May be you wanted a baby just to forget the pain of your divorce. On top of everything you decided to have a baby with your ex-husband. And now you are getting back with that ass because of your babies. How fucked up is that?"
"It is not at all like that. I know my timing wasn't right but I didn't have any option. My fertility potential was rapidly declining. If I had waited any longer, I might have missed my chance to be a mother. I looked for sperm donors but no one felt right and then Derek offered to father a baby with me. I knew it wasn't right but I was desperate. I always wanted his baby. I couldn't say no. And I don't regret it."
"It is too late to talk about that now. He is going to be the father of your kids and we can't change that. But Addie you don't have to be with him for the kids. I can understand if you are scared of raising the kids alone. But you are not alone. Your family is with you. Move back to New York or Connecticut. I will be there for you. Please don't let him back in your life. He is going to hurt you again."
"He won't. He has changed. When you meet him even you will notice the difference. He is my old Derek again."
"The old Derek isn't any good Addie. Guys like him are more risky than players like me. Guys like him pretend to be perfect, promise the world, make girls madly fall in love with them, make them weak and then once they are bored they also go and look for a younger breed. All guys are same. We all are jerks. Some of us are honest while others paint a fake picture. Can you guarantee that he won't change again?"
"No I can't. That is the biggest fear I have. I don't know what I will do if he stops loving me again. But I am willing to take the risk. I love him. I don't want to live without him. Why can't you understand that? He is not as bad as you think. Why do you hate him so much?"
"Because he stole my sister from me."
"What?"
"Ever since he came in your life, you completely abandoned me. You abandoned our entire family."
"I never abandoned you."
"You so did. You chose an email to share such big news with your family. I also know that the mail wasn't written by you. I am sure this is not how you shared the news with Shepherds. You always gave more importance to Shepherds than your own family. You always showed off your new family in front of us. Our family is so lovely. I call Derek's mother 'mom'. We celebrate birthdays together. We sing Christmas carols. Before you met them, you used to insist on spending Christmas together with us at Connecticut."
"Yeah I very well remember begging you all to have a dinner together. You always had some excuse not to show up. Captain used to be on some business tour somewhere. Bizzy didn't care much about Christmas. So in the end it used to be just me and my Christmas decorations."
"Okay I admit I preferred hanging out with my friends or girlfriends to be specific than coming home for holidays. But it was a nice feeling to know that someone wanted to spend holidays with me. I knew if I wanted I had a place to go to for Christmas. Now I don't have anywhere to go. I miss my sister."
"Archie, you are always welcome wherever I am. I am just a phone call away."
"I used to be just a phone call away. I liked being your big brother. You used to call me if anything was bothering you. For the first twenty years of your life, you used to talk to me about everything and then you met Derek. You didn't need me anymore. You had Derek and Mark and Shepherd clan. But you were the only one I had. We weren't just siblings, we were best friends. But then Derek took my place. Derek took you away from me." Archer confessed his feelings vulnerably. Addison was in tears. She had no idea that her brother could be so emotional.
"I had no idea that you were so possessive about me. Why didn't you say anything for all these years?" Addison asked brushing a thumb over his hand.
"I had no idea about my feelings too. A psychologist told me that I am jealous of Derek." Archer admitted sheepishly.
"You went to a psychologist to talk about Derek?"
"Of course not. I met her in Italy. We were having some fun when I received your email. I was visibly upset after that. So she started asking questions and I ended up telling her everything about my life."
"She seems special. Are you two serious?" Addison smiled at the prospect of her brother settling down.
"It was just a onetime thing and a free therapy session in bed. We both went on our separate ways after that."
Addison rolled her eyes. She was starting to think that her brother finally grew up but he proved her wrong.
"Derek hasn't taken your place Archer. No one can take your place in my life. But I am not a little girl anymore. I am almost forty now. I am an independent grown up woman. I don't need you the same way I needed you twenty years back. I had no intentions of hurting you but I just wanted to build my own life away from the Forbes-Montgomery aura. I am really sorry if I alienated you during the process. I still need my brother. You are and will always be an important part of my and the kid's lives."
"And what about Captain and Bizzy? Are they going to have any role in their grandchildren's life?"
"I don't know. They didn't care about their own children why would they care about my children?" Addison shrugged.
"Stop presuming everything Addie. I know they won't even quality for parents of the year award but they aren't that bad. And you can't blame them for everything Addie. You are not the best daughter either. Do you have any idea how much you have hurt Bizzy by bragging about your loving mother in law all the time?" Archer asked aggressively.
"Please. Bizzy is ice queen. She doesn't feel anything." Addison defended her behavior. "And since when are you on Bizzy's side?"
"Just because she doesn't show her feelings that doesn't mean she doesn't feel anything. That way you both are very similar. You should understand her Addie. You have experience what it feels when your husband doesn't love you and lures women half of your age. She stayed in a loveless marriage for us. She sacrificed her life for her children. Both captain and Bizzy did that. And in return we ran away from them at the first chance we got. They are not conventional parents but they did the best they could. They do care about us. I saw that in their eyes when they came to Italy. They looked defeated. And their biggest worry is that their daughter is willingly stepping back into a loveless marriage. They don't want you to go through what they did. Bizzy is even willing to cut down all her social activities to help you raise these kids. Please don't ruin your life with Derek."
"I won't get stuck in a loveless marriage. I am giving him another chance but I haven't called off the divorce yet. I will see how things go and then I will decide. If at any point I realize that Derek isn't into it 100%, I will leave him. I won't accept anything less than what I deserve. I promise."
"Thank you. And no matter what you decide, your family will always be with you." Archer wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
"Thank you for coming here and making me realize my mistake. I should call our parents and apologize for everything." Addison pulled out her phone from her pocket and started dialing Bizzy's number.
"Addie, it's almost 12.30 a.m. in Italy. They must be sleeping." Archer tried to stop her.
"I don't care. I need to speak to them now." Bizzy didn't answer her phone so Addison dialed Captain's number.
"Kitten, is that you?" Captain answered.
"Hallo dad. I know it is very late there but I just wanted to tell you that I love you and I am sorry for being so cold and distant towards you." Addison said with teary eyes.
"What's wrong kitten? Why are you crying? Are you alright? Are the babies alright?" Captain asked with concerned.
"Everything is alright Captain. Your grandchildren are also perfectly fine. I am with Archer right now and I felt like calling you." Addison assured him.
"I am glad you called." Captained said genuinely.
There was a pregnant pause after that. Neither of them knew what to say next.
"I will let you get back to your sleep. I also need to get ready for a surgery. I will call you later. I love you."
"We all love you too sweetheart. Take care."
"Bye. Good night."
Archer, Addison and Derek met for dinner that night. Neither Derek nor Archer was interested in meeting each other but Addison wanted Archer to see the change in Derek for himself. Before dinner she multiple times requested them both separately to behave well. Their evening started reasonably good. Both Archer and Derek avoided talking to each other and fought for Addison's attention.
"I am going to take my nephew to Las Vegas on his eighteenth birthday." Archer declared. "I need at least one nephew Addie. Girls are cute but I don't think I will be able to connect well with them. So when will you know the genders?"
"We will know in two to three weeks." Addison grinned.
"Oh that's great. I thought I would have to wait for two or three months to buy presents for my nephews/nieces. I have already decided what to get for them."
"We can find out the gender between sixteenth to twentieth weeks. I expect you to know that Archer. You are a doctor."
"He hardly knows anything about neuro. You can't expect him to know about prenatal." Derek smirked.
"Shepherd I know you are hardly aware of the world outside Seattle. So for your information let me tell you that top hospitals around the world invite me for giving lectures and imparting my knowledge. My schedule for next six months is packed." Archer replied smugly.
"While you roam around the world to advertise your comic book and give autographs to dumb chick, I actually work here and save lives. When was the last time you cured any patient?" Derek retorted.
"I don't owe you any answer. I might not be seeing many patients but -"
While Archer and Derek were busy arguing Addison got up from her chair without bothering to excuse herself.
"Where are you doing Addie?" Derek asked noticing the disappointed look on her face.
"I need a break from both of you. I am going to the restroom. DO NOT follow me."
Derek sighed as he watched her heading towards the restroom. Both the men sat silently for a while. They both were sorry for spoiling Addison's mood but neither of them wanted to admit their mistake in front of their opponent.
"I really love her." Derek was the first one to break the silence.
"I highly doubt that." Archer replied with a glare.
"I don't expect you to believe me. After what I did to her in last couple of years, as her big brother you have every right to hate me. If I was you, I would have been doubtful too. I am not expecting any warm welcome or acceptance from you. I really don't care what you think. But your opinion matters to Addie. Even though we both don't like it, the fact remains that we both are important for her. Unfortunately both of us fail to respect her feelings. We are hurting Addison."
"I don't want to hurt her. But I really don't like you." Archer was honest.
"Believe me the feeling is mutual. But for me Addison is more important than you. So I am willing to keep aside my dislike for you. We don't have to like each other. We just have to pretend to be friendly when she is around. I can do that for her because I love her. Can you?"
"I will do anything for my sister."
"It's a deal then. Whoever breaks the deal first doesn't love her enough." Derek added a childish condition.
"Deal." Archer agreed raising his glass.
Derek noticed Addison from corner of his eye so he started laughing abruptly.
"That was so hilarious man. I don't believe the patient actually said that." Derek said patting Archer's back.
Archer had no idea what he was talking about but he played along. "Yes this is exactly how it happened. That is why I like visiting new places. I have met so many different people and learnt so many new medical practices."
"That is great. I really envy you sometimes. I am sure those places also benefit from your visit. You have worked on so many interesting cases. You have such a great experience to share."
Archer gave him a somewhat modest smile.
Praising Archer was killing Derek but he plastered a fake smile and continued. "No seriously. The cases in your book are so unique. You should write more such books. I would say that every neuro student should use your book as a bible."
Archer kicked Derek under the table and gave him a look saying 'don't overdo'. Even Addison didn't appreciate Archer's writing venture.
"I read your paper in Elsevier Journal last month. Your findings were brilliant. I agree with some of your suggestions. We need to change some of the age old techniques used in neurosurgery. I met a brilliant man in Denmark. He has discovered a new least invasive robotic method of operation. His method has a potential to reduce risk of rupture by half. I think we should use that method in states too. You should meet this guy. I will arrange a conference call with him if you are interested."
"Why don't you send me some reading material about the method first? By the way Archer I would like your opinion on a case of mine. I will email you my patient's reports, and then we can discuss the case." Since Archer was in town Derek thought of consulting him for a case.
"Sure. I am in Seattle for two more days. I can come to the hospital tomorrow." Archer agreed to help.
"Oh! You are here for two more days! That's lovely. Hey do you want to play tennis in the evening? Or we could also play golf." Derek asked smiling like a cheerleader.
"Tennis sounds great. I also want to see your land and the trailer. Addie told me it has an amazing view of a lake." He was least interested in the land or the view. He wanted to see the infamous trailer.
"We could go there tomorrow morning or the day after. Whatever is convenient for you."
Addison quietly watched the two men interact with each other. There was a drastic change in their personas. She was amused by their act. She knew they were faking it but the fact that they were making an effort was more than sufficient for her.
A/N: So people tell me what you think about this chapter. Honestly it was a bit difficult chapter for me to write. It involved lots of characters. I know some of them (may be all) sounded out of character. Please excuse me for that.