The hospital did not get a break today. One trauma after another. Derek was lucky to get his ten minutes of lunch. The protein from the chicken salad fueled him for the latter half of the day. And he was grateful to have been able to perform surgery with Amelia. His baby sister has proven to be a phenomenal neurosurgeon.

The drive home is always his favorite part of a long day at work. Seeing his wife and kids is always the highlight of his day. There was chatter in the house tonight. Not unusual with Meredith and the three kids but this seems like an adult conversation. The door swings open. Derek sighs through the relief of finally being home. Instinctively, he placed his keys in the bowl on the counter, and his eyes directed toward the two women in the kitchen. Meredith. And Addison.

"Hey Mer," he smiles at his wife. He greets the guest. "And hi... Addison."

Addison puts down her emptied wine glass. "Hello, Derek. It's good to see you. I was in town and bumped into Meredith at the grocery store. She invited me to coffee to catch up."

Derek darted his eyes between the two women. "And then you took the ferry and came here?"

"Yes exactly," Addison responded bluntly.

"Okay." Derek gave a confused smile. It's not a big deal. Unusual to have your ex-wife and your wife in the same setting, but he gets it. They have a history together and they're great friends. He makes his way to the kitchen and gives Meredith a kiss.

"Well, Meredith, thank you for having me. It was wonderful catching up. I actually have a flight to catch tomorrow so I better get my stuff ready soon."

Addison and Meredith hug. The brief interaction was interrupted when Ellis started crying.

"I got it, Derek" Meredith rushes over to the living room where she and Derek's three kids were playing before Derek could even react.

"So how have you been Addison?" Derek asked his ex-wife.

Addison's perks up. "Fabulous. The practice is going great. Jake and I just celebrated 3 years. Little Henry is starting school soon. California is treating me well."

"That's great to hear. I'm happy for you," he smiles back.

"As am I for you Derek. But don't ruin it please," her brows furrow.

"What?"

"Derek. You can be McDreamy or whatever they call you but your ego makes you an asshole sometimes. I mean it: don't ruin it."

Addison studied his face. A face she's seen countless times in their 11 years of marriage: oblivion in a man. "You have a beautiful wife. And three amazing kids. In a gorgeous house you and Mer designed and built. Don't tell me you almost threw that away for a damn job!"

She tried to keep her voice at a loud whisper, "Yes he's the president but she is your world. 10 years ago when she almost died I saw a side of you I had never seen in the entirety of our marriage. You're Meredith and Derek for god sakes! And then when you tried so hard to fix our marriage but in actuality, you were in love with her. Don't forget the feeling, Derek. Don't forget the feeling when you love someone you couldn't be with. Because you seem to have forgotten what that's like. And it's going to kill you one day if you lose her." Addison picks up her bag and grabs her jacket. "Look. All I'm saying is, in the twenty-minute conversation I had with Meredith, your ego has done more harm than good for you and Meredith. She's too deeply in love with you to even..." she searches for a word "care or whatever. Well, she cares but I'm saying she's willing to fight for you guys. Don't let what happened between us happen to you and her. You guys have so much more than what you and I ever had but you've hurt her Derek. And that's not what you do to people you love."

Derek felt like he was hit by a truck. Addison is right. He needs to be a better guy. His throat felt dry. "Thank you, Addie" was all he could and needed to say.

"I have to go now. Bye, Derek."