AN: I can't get over how kind the ADDEK community has been! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review! I guess it was the right decision to share this story with you guys. Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
This chapter here is March. It's one of the chapters I had the most fun writing, and even found myself laughing as I wrote (which makes me sound like a crazy person, I swear I'm not on most days). But I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it as well!
As usual, hope you guys are staying safe through this pandemic!
Soon, Addison had made fast friends with people at the hospital. Aside from Derek and Mark, she was also on great terms with Burke, with whom she had operated with a couple of times, and who insisted on her calling him by his first name (which Addison admitted was nice considering not a lot of people called him Preston). She also had had a couple of drinks with Miranda Bailey and Callie Torres after work when her schedule permitted, which was great considering how much she missed having Savvy a call away for a night cap. The interns apparently also liked her, because she taught and didn't abuse them, which was so much more than she could say about Mark. She'd caught him more than once asking Alex Karev to pick up his laundry.
All in all, Addison's adjustment to life in Seattle had been pretty smooth. She found that while she missed the big city, Seattle had a lot to offer, which was surprising to her mind that was genetically programmed to love New York above all else. She hadn't seen much of this new city yet, but work-wise, she was pretty content.
She thought about Matthew—not often (work kept her busy), which she was grateful for, but enough that she sometimes missed him. But she was genuinely happy for the freedom he had found within himself, breaking away from what his family expected of him and living his life for himself. Living his truth. And she would have been a staunch supporter to help him (and her own self) navigate this whole entire world she knew very little about. She just wished it didn't have to come at the expense of her own direction, because if she was being honest, she felt extremely lost after the divorce. This definitely was not where she thought she would be in her late 30s.
If she was being even more honest, she hadn't felt this lost since she and Derek broke off their engagement. She had found some semblance of direction with Matthew, but divorcing him only served to highlight that while her career was careening upwards at a remarkable pace, her personal life was immensely lacking in forward progression. Work gave her a steady distraction so she didn't have to dwell on the fact, but she knew she would have to table work at some point and focus on other facets of her life outside the hospital.
As she made her way to the maternity floor, she overheard some of the nurses talking.
"Did you hear Dr. Montgomery is McDreamy's ex-fiancee?"
Addison stopped in her tracks at the mention of her name. She knew the gossip mill in Seattle Grace was a beast, and it was only a matter of time before people were talking about her, too.
"Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Montgomery?" another nurse asked.
"Apparently, they were engaged and then they broke it off."
"Why did they break up? They seem like they would have been a nice couple."
"Beats me, I guess we'll find out soon. But Meredith Grey isn't happy."
"I wouldn't be too," the nurse agreed. "I doubt anyone would be happy to work with your boyfriend's ex."
"Not just any ex though," she reminded. "A very accomplished ex."
"I can imagine that's not easy. McDreamy better be reassuring her like crazy."
"I heard from Nurse Debbie he's been doing his best. But if you ask me, I think Shepherd isn't over her."
At that, Addison shook her head and continued walking. She had heard enough. She didn't want to be a homewrecker. She genuinely liked Meredith and wanted Derek to be in a happy and healthy relationship. She didn't know her presence would cause friction, because truth be told, she and Derek were ancient history anyway. She was under the impression exes could be friends, especially exes who have been apart for nearly eight years. She'd have to keep her distance if she wanted SGH's golden couple to exist harmoniously.
Except—she didn't have a lot of friends in Seattle. At least not ones who knew her from the inside out. Mark and Derek knew her fundamentally, and she needed that anchor at this point in her life. Outside, she seemed perfectly fine and unaffected by the divorce. But the truth was she wasn't 100% okay, and she just needed to cling to something, some people, who would keep her grounded. She had taken a beating when Bizzy and the Captain expressed immense disapproval over her divorce, and she couldn't take the look of pity she got from Savvy and everyone else in New York. She needed to break free, just as Matthew did, and she couldn't do that in New York.
She sighed as she reached the maternity floor's nurses' station and pulled out one of her patient's charts. Her eyes scanned the nurse's overnight notes, but her mind couldn't register much. She would admit her transition to life in Seattle could have been a lot more challenging, and she was grateful that some things were just falling into place as they should. But she definitely didn't need to be a part of the rumor mill, especially those that involved Derek. And she definitely didn't want to cause any trouble for him, not after what they had gone through. She was well aware Derek took it harder than most people when they broke up. She took it hard too—you don't just get over your partner of 10 years in a snap of a finger, especially one you were engaged to. But more than anything and through everything, she wished him happiness. If he was happy with Meredith here in Seattle, she wanted him to experience every full bit of it. He deserved it. She didn't want to be a source of disagreement between him and his girlfriend, especially when there was nothing going on.
"Hey, Addison," Mark greeted as he stood next to her at the station.
She turned her head to acknowledge him with a smile. "Hey Mark, good morning."
"Good morning," he replied, returning the smile, slate grey eyes crinkling. "How've you been?"
"I've been good," she answered. "Getting used to all the paperwork."
"The paperwork sucks right? That's what surprised me most about being a department head—so much paperwork."
"Like, 80% of being a doctor is filing paperwork. Documenting things, filling up charts. Making sure you leave nothing to chance. But being a head of something?"
"Suddenly a lot of papers need your signature," he nodded.
"And then there's budgeting and scheduling and just… so much more than I expected," she agreed.
"I can imagine it must doubly hard for you."
Addison shrugged. "I'm not complaining. I think I've found a good balance between patients and papers, but that also means I've neglected a few things."
Mark raised a questioning brow at that. "Addison Montgomery? Neglectful?"
She shook her head. "No, I mean. Some of my boxes are still out of place, and my damn smoke detector is beeping like crazy because it's run out of battery, and I just don't have the time to run to the store to buy batteries. I don't even know what kind to buy, I can't reach the damn thing."
Mark chuckled. "Do you need any help with that? I can come over after work to fix it for you."
Addison cast a grateful, relieved look. "Would you really?"
Mark shrugged. "Anything for you, Red," he said with a wink.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it."
"Should I bring wine?"
Addison chuckled. "You think you're invited to dinner?"
"I'm doing you a favor. The least you could do is offer me dinner," he grinned.
Addison rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll take care of dinner," she smiled.
"Will you be cooking?" he asked after a pause, his tone skeptical.
She swatted him playfully on the arm. "I know how to cook," she answered defensively.
"No, you don't," he pointed knowingly. "I know you were married and played house with your husband, but you're a Forbes Montgomery. I've seen you attempt to cook, and it has always ended in disaster. Remember that one time you tried to make roast chicken and it was so burnt we had to throw the pan out?"
"Okay, first of all, it's ex-husband," she corrected with a laugh. "And second of all… I've learned a thing or two. I had to survive somehow. How do you think I've been eating all these weeks alone in Seattle?"
"Either you haven't been eating much, or you've acquired an impressive array of take out menus in your brand new apartment."
Addison sighed. "You know me too well," she lamented.
"We're cut from the same cloth," he reminded before he nudged her playfully. "And you've lost a lot of weight since you got here. You really okay?"
She shrugged. "Between work and not knowing how to cook? Yeah, I might have lost a bit of weight."
"And that emotional wringer you're going through," he said knowingly. He assessed her then. She was bonier than when she first arrived, and although she still looked impeccable, there were tell-tale signs of exhaustion in her eyes. It wasn't apparent to others, but it was apparent to him she hadn't been getting enough sleep.
"I guess," she sighed, running a self-conscious hand through her red locks.
"You know what? I'll take care of dinner," he announced firmly. "And I'll take care of your smoke detector. You really look like you could use a break."
"Mark, you don't have to do that. It's not hard to call for some Chinese take out."
"Yeah but consider it my housewarming present. You've been here two months and you haven't been out of this hospital much. It's the least I could do."
"Thank you," she sighed gratefully and then leaned in for a hug. They used to do that all the time—in medical school, in internship, in residency. It wasn't ever weird. She was rarely affectionate with other people, but with Derek? With Mark? They were the biggest exceptions.
Mark wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her for a second before releasing. "You mind if Derek tags along?"
Addison looked up after she pulled away. "Is he free?"
"I'll go check. But if he is, is that fine?"
Addison nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll text you the address."
"Is around 7:30 good? I get off at 6:30."
She nodded again. "Thanks Mark."
"Don't mention it," he replied, giving her one last grin before pulling a chart out to see his patient.
At 8:00pm, Addison found herself holding up the ladder as Mark descended the steps, finishing up with the smoke detector. Derek was in the kitchen getting the food ready.
Addison's apartment was big for one person, but it was clean and well designed. There were still some boxes piled off to one side, but it was mostly decorated and lived in.
"Thanks, Mark," she said gratefully, flashing him a relieved smile.
"Like I said, don't mention it," he replied as he folded up the ladder and stored it in the closet. "Ready for dinner?"
She nodded. "What did you get?" she asked as they walked into the dining room.
Derek had 3 chopsticks in one hand and a take out box in the other. When they entered the room, he smiled. "You guys done?"
Mark nodded in response. "Addison is asking what you got for dinner," he said as he pulled three bottles of beer from the fridge.
"Japanese," Derek answered. "You like sushi and tempura, don't you?"
Addison grinned, nodding excitedly as she made her way to the dining table. "This looks great."
"I got beer instead of wine, figured it would pair better," Mark said as he opened the bottles and set them on the table.
Addison took one of the bottles and took a tentative sip. "Asahi. I haven't had one of these in a long time."
Mark chuckled before they all sat down at the table. "We used to have Asahi all the time."
"Friday night football," Derek supplied as he pinched a piece of shrimp tempura with his chopsticks. "With those California rolls from the corner."
"Or Tsingtao and chow mien from the Chinese grocery," Addison replied wistfully. "God, those were definitely the days," she said as she got a piece of salmon sashimi and dipped it in soy sauce.
Mark laughed then. "God, remember when you used to be such a snob and only preferred red wine?"
Addison rolled her eyes. "That was Savvy's influence."
"You learned eventually," Derek grinned. "You had food poisoning once, when you mixed red wine with—"
"Enchilladas, yes, I remember," Addison said flatly. "Although in retrospect I don't think that was necessarily food poisoning. My stomach just didn't agree with that particular combination."
"Addie, no one's stomach would agree with that combination," Derek pointed, laughing.
Addison shook her head as she smiled. "So is Meredith on call tonight?" she asked casually.
Derek nodded. "She's on call," he confirmed as he battled with the wasabi on his salmon.
"Is she okay with you being here?" she asked carefully. "I don't want to cause any trouble." Addison wasn't dense. She knew the blonde wasn't very fond of her presence in Derek's life. While she was perfectly respectful and professional at work, Addison knew that on a more personal level, Meredith wasn't too keen on getting to know her boyfriend's ex. She was almost certain that also meant Meredith didn't like Derek spending too much time with Addison.
Derek shrugged. "It's fine. I told her Mark and I were gonna help you with something at your apartment and she said okay."
"Okay," Addison replied dubiously.
Mark looked between Addison and Derek and then chuckled. "Isn't it cute that he's asking permission from his girlfriend to go out and have dinner with friends?"
"Mark," Derek said warningly.
Mark put his hands up in mock defense. "I'm just saying."
"Mark, don't tease," Addison chided. "Derek, I think it's considerate of you to ask her," she said as she turned to Derek.
Derek gave her a meek smile. The truth was Meredith wasn't very pleased, but she had sighed and acquiesced when he said it was Mark's idea and Mark was going to be there. He never thought of Meredith as the jealous type, and it wasn't a facet about her he was particularly enjoying. But he did love her, and he didn't want to provoke her, so he tried his best to placate her while still figuring out a way to have a mature relationship with Addison. Meredith just didn't get it.
They weren't like most exes. They kept in touch for a short bit after their break-up. They called and emailed and genuinely wished the other the best. But it became too hard for him to pine for her while pursuing his career. The move to Boston was his choice, but he had conflicting feelings about work and Addison, and for the most part he was angry at himself for choosing the selfish choice. So one day he just stopped emauling and answering her calls, and she stopped trying all together. If anyone asked, they would both say it was a mutual decision and they remained friends. But it was a very complicated, very messy mutual decision that was borne of many difficult conversations, tears and yelling and professions of love, all ultimately boiling down to loving each other enough to let go. Which sounded immensely stupid now, but at that time, at the point of their lives they were at then, it sounded completely rational. Meredith didn't understand that—the bond they shared, the life they built together, all of the personal and professional milestones they hit side by side.
He could understand her jealousy though. Oh, she tried her best to temper it. She wasn't outright forbidding, and she often skirted around the topic of Addison with a mixture of curiosity and jealousy. But she tried her best to be nice and supportive about it, which he truly appreciated. Maybe one day he would be able to explain to her the complicated relationship he had with Addison, and why it was important to him to have her back in his life. Right now though, he was trying his best to reassure Meredith and show her he appreciated that she was being mature about the situation.
Addison returned the smile with a subtle one of her own and then proceeded to take a bite of sushi.
"So, you guys gonna tell me how you ended up in Seattle?" she asked, trying to keep things light.
Mark shrugged. "I followed Derek out here."
Mark stayed in New York, albeit at a different hospital, for his fellowship and kept in touch with Addison a few times. But they both got busy with work and they just fell out of touch naturally. While the three of them became immensely close through medical school and residency, it was almost a given that after the break up, Derek would get custody of Mark. After all, they were best friends first. But truth be told, after the break up, Addison found it hard to hang out with Mark, especially after Derek stopped returning her messages. It was a big fat reminder of what used to be, and Addison just didn't have the emotional energy to dwell on things that reminded her of regret. Both she and Derek agreed there would be no regrets after the break up—that they were doing the right thing for each other. But it was a half-hearted agreement on her part.
"I got a call from Richard after fellowship and I went straight out here," Derek explained simply.
"You didn't look for positions in New York?" she questioned, hoping she was hiding the more meaningful parts of her curiosity by keeping her tone light.
Derek shrugged at that. He wanted to. But by then New York had lost its charm. He had heard from Nancy that Addison was engaged, and he didn't want to live in a city that constantly reminded him of a love lost. "Richard called even before I finished, so it was more or less a done deal."
"I always thought you'd stay out in the east," she said thoughtfully, proud of herself for successfully concealing the twinge of hurt that bubbled unexpectedly at the thought of Derek not moving back to New York after fellowship. It's not like they had discussed it. Letting go meant letting go. But there was a part of her that hoped, even if it was moot because she was engaged to someone else by the time he finished.
"Yeah, me too," he replied, eyes sad as he looked at Addie.
Addison caught his look and offered him a half-smile. "I think you've done pretty well for yourself out here in Seattle," she said sincerely.
But it wasn't where he thought he'd end up in, Derek thought. "Thank you," he answered instead. "Mark has too," he said as he gestured to Mark, trying to keep the conversation easy.
Addison shifted her eyes to Mark, raising a brow in question.
Mark shrugged. "I think I'd do better in a bigger city, like LA or New York," he said honestly. "But Seattle isn't too bad. Plus, I trained in New York so I brought a skillset they hadn't seen in this city yet." He paused, and then, "Much like you, come to think of it," he said thoughtfully as he looked at Addison.
"Except, only 8 other people in the whole world have Addison's skillset, so whether it's some backwater hospital in Iowa or the biggest hospital in New York, Addison brings something unique to the table," Derek replied, a hint of pride in his tone. Pride and regret if he was being particularly truthful, but that was something he was willing to ignore at the moment.
Addison looked at Derek then, mildly touched. "That's sweet of you to say," she commented. "But I don't really think of myself like that."
Mark rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Addison Montgomery? Humble? Those two don't go in the same sentence."
Addison swatted him playfully on the arm. "I know humility isn't one of my best features," thinking back to how competitive the three of them were throughout their training, "but I think at this point in my life, my track record can speak for itself. I don't need to announce what I can and cannot do."
"She has a point," Derek conceded as he took a sip of his Asahi.
"How many fellowships did you even take for only eight other people to know what you know?" Mark asked. He knew Addison was talented and driven, and that she had a lot of prestigious training under her belt—not just because she was rich and could afford it, or that her father was a doctor at the best hospitals in New York, or that Bizzy was a generous benefactor to the bigger hospitals in the city. Addison was intelligent, talented, and highly ambitious. That combination alone meant she would succeed at anything.
Addison shrugged with a frown. Was the topic of fellowship off-limits? She wasn't sure.
"You got into the maternal-fetal medicine fellowship in Weill Cornell," Derek answered for her, seemingly unperturbed but also knowing it was the one she had applied for when they broke up.
She nodded. "And then I did a medical genetics fellowship after that," she added. "I was part of a cystic fibrosis trial at Columbia while I was at it—good stuff," she said casually, taking another bite of sushi.
"See, I always wondered how you could be a neonatal surgeon even if you trained under OB," Mark replied after swallowing a swig of beer.
"It's the MFM," Addison explained with a shrug.
"And your incomparable ambition," Mark said with a smirk.
"Don't talk to me about ambition Mark," she warned lightly, meaning it as a joke but somehow there was more implied. "This here is more ambitious than the two of us combined," she said as she gestured to Derek. There was a slight twinge of bitterness in her tone as she said that, unable to completely ignore that it was ambition that tore the two of them apart.
Derek looked affronted. "Don't make it sound like it's a bad thing," he answered.
"It's not when it doesn't come at the expense of more important things in life," she pointed, looking at him straight in the eyes.
Derek was immediately defensive. "Like what?"
Addison gave a half shrug and took a sip of beer. She didn't want a confrontation, she just meant what she learned recently—that some things in life are more important than your career.
Derek sighed sadly. "Addison."
She put her hands up in the air as if surrender. "I don't want to get into it," she answered. "I'm sorry I even brought it up."
Mark looked between Addison and Derek, a mixture of concern and amusement on his features. His two best friends obviously still had something going on between them, even if they weren't aware of it yet. He cleared his throat then. "All right guys, I don't think now is the time and place."
Addison gave them both an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, there's just so much going on in my head right now, I'm mixing everything up. We're okay, Derek."
Derek gave her a skeptical look, but softened as he noted how she was slightly flustered and looked genuinely contrite. "You sure you're okay?" he asked with concern, eyes slightly narrowed. "You're barely out of the hospital, you have very few friends here, and you're in the middle of a very stressful personal life."
"I have friends," she said defensively, but her tone lacked the fervor it should have. "But between work and the divorce, I haven't really had a lot of time for myself," she admitted after a pause. Although, she should have pointed out, Derek wasn't faring much better. She doubted Derek had a lot of friends in Seattle, or that his dedication had changed enough for him to lessen his hours at the hospital.
"You need to ask Richard to give you a day off," Mark commented, waving a hand that was poised with chopsticks. "You're tired."
"Oh, Richard has been telling me to take a break. But I can't right now. I've got so many patients lined up, even my secretary is tired."
"You'll burn out at the rate you're going," Mark warned with a shake of his head.
Addison cast him an amused smile. "When did you get so wise, Mark Sloan?"
"Since I became department head and I was doing more than just cutting."
"And screwing," Derek supplied with a smirk.
Mark grinned at him. "42 nurses."
"You're disgusting, Mark," Addison said with a shake of her head, but she was grinning at him. "How about you find yourself a nice girl and settle down?"
"No offense, but between Derek's semi-mature relationship with an intern, and your divorce, I think I'm good where I'm at."
Addison stuck her tongue out playfully before she took a got another piece of shrimp tempura from the center.
"But seriously, Addie," Mark continued. "You'll burn out if you keep it up. And that's not something you want to add to the things that are already burdening you emotionally."
"You sound like Savvy," she remarked dryly. "But I've been out a few times. I've had drinks with Miranda and Callie."
"Once."
Addison sighed. "Yeah, once. But they're residents. It's not like they're swimming in time too."
"Then you need more friends," he replied like it was an obvious thing, and then sipping his beer.
"I guess that's where the two of you come in handy," she said sweetly. And then she had a serious expression on her face. "Honestly though, I'm glad you're both here. I mean, I don't want to burden you with my problems, and I'll try my best not to, but it's just comforting to know I have some old friends out here I can turn to if the need arises."
"Case in point, your smoke detector," Mark replied with an eye roll.
"You know I mean more than just that," Addison said pointedly. Mark and Derek were important safety blankets at this point in her life. While she hadn't utilized that, per se, just the knowledge that there would be someone to turn to was enough. Even though they hadn't spoken in a long time, she knew them to be true friends. Mark was attentive and generous underneath the manwhoring and the innuendos. And Derek? Derek was her rock through most of her adult life. Not even Matthew came close. It was awkward to rely on your ex and his best friend, sure. But she liked to believe they were all still friends despite that.
"Well, I'm happy to help with anything," Mark answered sincerely.
"Me too," Derek supplied, casting Addison an earnest expression. "And I mean more than just with handyman things."
"I'm all here for trash talking Matthew Bradford, wine, ice cream, rom com, and driving your drunken ass out of the bar," Mark said.
"Exactly what I need," Addison said with a roll of her eyes. "But thank you. Really. This has been nice—dinner with you guys."
Derek nodded. "Feels like I'm 24 again."
"You've been feeling 24 ever since you started dating Meredith," Mark retorted.
Derek shot Mark a glare but didn't dignify it with a response. Instead he pointedly took a bite of sushi and ignored his comment.
Addison chuckled as she looked between the two men. "You guys are exactly the same."
"Some things just never change," Mark said with a shrug. "Still Mark Sloan. Still Derek Shepherd."
Addison sighed. "And still Addison Montgomery," she replied ruefully. Although that wasn't necessarily true. There were a lot of things that had changed about her.
"Did you ever take his last name?" Derek questioned curiously. "I mean, were you ever Addison Bradford?"
"I think Addison is more of a hyphenating kind of girl," Mark replied as he studied Addison. "Montgomery-Bradford?"
"That's a mouthful," Derek answered.
"A mouthful of rich sounding last names," Mark laughed.
Addison rolled her eyes. "I didn't change my last name. And I didn't hyphenate," she clarified with fake exasperation. "And thank god for that or else I'd have published with his name, been professionally known by his name, and the divorce would have been a lot harder than it already is."
Derek smiled at her sympathetically. "Addison Bradford doesn't have quite a ring to it anyway," he said in an attempt to comfort her. But Addison Shepherd? Definitely rolls off the tongue smoothly.
Addison shrugged. "Can you imagine having to correct everyone who called me Dr. Montgomery-Bradford? Or having to file paperwork for credit cards and IDs just to get me back to just Montgomery? Sounds like such a huge hassle. Not taking his last name was definitely one of my smarter decisions."
"Was he okay with that though?" Mark asked. He knew Matthew Bradford. Well, knew of him. They were in the same social circles—Mark, Addison, Matthew, and their families. Typical WASP childhoods. From what he knew of him, he was soft and traditional, and it looked like taking his last name was something he would have insisted upon. Or something his family would have insisted upon.
"We had a lengthy discussion about it," Addison replied. "I told him it was incestuous enough as it was to marry a distant relative. Adding in his last name when Bizzy herself was also a Bradford just sounded too snobbish and traditional and mind-blowingly-"
"Rich," Derek finished for her, casting her an innocent expression when she glared at him.
"It just didn't sound right," she replied quickly and defensively. "He wasn't happy about it at first, but I'm sure he now thinks it was a smart decision, too."
"Very smart," Mark agreed with a nod. "I guess that's a lesson learned then. Never take your husband's last name if you don't want a headache when it all goes up in flames."
"That's assuming things will go up in flames," Addison pointed. "I don't think anyone gets into a marriage thinking things will end. People get married and they're hopeful."
"But you didn't change your last name," he pointed. "Which means you must have had some inkling it wasn't gonna end so well."
Addison pursed her lips in thought. Was she not fully committed when she married Matthew? At that time, she thought she was. But in retrospect she supposed there was a small part of her that had some form of doubt. It was a seed of doubt she dared not water or entertain, and she threw it out and ignored it and hoped to God she was doing the right thing anyway.
Derek stared at Addison, his heart thumping just slightly with hope. Hope for what, he wasn't entirely sure. But there would be triumph on his part if he found out Addison wasn't head over heels in love with Matthew. It would ease the ache he's always had in chest ever since he found out about their engagement.
Addison sighed then. "Yeah, I guess there were some red flags that I purposely ignored," she admitted. "Guess I won't be ignoring red flags in the future," she continued dryly.
"It's okay, Red," Mark answered, tone uncharacteristically tender. "You got out of it, cut your losses. In no time, you'll be okay and you'll find the right one."
She just smiled at him gratefully.
Derek let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and exchanged a quick glance with Mark. Mark had a knowing look on his face which Derek had to ignore at this point because now just wasn't the time to get into all of that. Instead, he took a huge bite of tempura, chewed and swallowed and made light conversation until it was time to go home and the conversation could be tabled for another time.
"I can't believe you invited Addison Montgomery to my house," Meredith said for the nth time as she tossed a salad Izzie had shoved into her hands. Izzie was throwing a small dinner for her birthday, and she took the liberty of inviting Addison, with whom she had worked closely with this month. Addison was an excellent mentor, and Izzie found herself enjoying the specialty. Addison was fierce and formidable, didn't take any bullshit from anyone, but was also incredibly kind and compassionate to her patients. It was a mix Izzie loved—Addison kept her on her toes, pushed her to learn more, but was also a willing listening ear whenever Izzie had concerns.
Izzie shrugged at Meredith's comment as she pulled out cupcakes from the oven. "Dr. Montgomery has been a good teacher to me. It's only right that I invite her."
"To my house," Meredith pointed out.
"You said it was okay," Izzie argued, taking off her kitchen mittens after setting the cupcake tray down on the counter.
Meredith sighed. She did say it was okay. She wanted to show people she was fine with Addison's presence. But it was only just sinking in now that Addison was going to be in her house, and she was feeling slightly panicked.
"Besides," Izzie continued, "she's new in town and she doesn't have a lot of friends. She spends most of her time at the hospital—and I know that for a fact since I've been on her service for most of the month. She could use a day out."
"It's not our fault she doesn't have friends in town," Meredith said, taking the peppermill and peppering the greens.
"I consider her my friend," Izzie said thoughtfully. "Honestly, she's great Mer. Once you've figured out how important it is to hate her, you'll realize she actually pretty cool."
"She's an excellent doctor, I'll give her that," she conceded.
"But she's your boyfriend's ex," Izzie replied knowingly, arranging the roast chicken on the platter. "Mer, I get that it's a big deal to you. But you don't have to be jealous."
"I'm not jealous," Meredith answered petulantly.
"You are so jealous," Izzie said with an eyeroll. "But like I said, there's no need to be. I've spent a lot of time with her. She next to never talks to Dr. Shepherd unless it's for a consult. She's a workaholic, I don't know how I'm keeping up."
"Does she talk about Derek?" Meredith asked curiously, setting aside the salad bowl and then moving on to plating the baked potatoes.
"Not really," Izzie admitted. "She's very private about her personal life. She's only ever mentioned her ex-husband once, when we were discussing a neonate and said he'd have advised against surgery if he knew what the peds fellow was suggesting."
"What was the case?"
"An inguinal hernia," Izzie replied. "But that's not the point. The point is—I think you'd like her. Her hands are off your man, and she's a kickass surgeon to boot," she said, pulling out a grazing board from the fridge.
Meredith sighed. "She's just… really big, you know? And I feel… really small," she admitted.
Izzie shook her head in disapproval. "Don't let your insecurity eat you up," she advised, giving Meredith a meaningful look before she gestured for them to bring the food out to the table.
They set the table in silence. Cristina and Burke arrived, and then George and Alex came home from their shift. Callie was stuck in the OR. Derek arrived soon after with Mark, all of them getting a bottle of beer while they waited for the last person to come. There was friendly chatter as Meredith sidled up next to Derek, unconsciously marking what was hers as she waited for Addison to get in.
The doorbell rang, and Izzie excitedly opened the door to reveal Addison, dressed in a khaki dress and a light coat, holding a bottle of wine. She looked impeccable even if she'd come straight from the hospital.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she said as Izzie ushered her in, giving her a side hug. "I was caught up with a patient," she explained.
"It's no problem Dr. Montgomery," Izzie said, taking the bottle of wine Addison handed gratefully. "Come on in, we're just about to start dinner."
Addison smiled appreciatively, shrugging off her coat and walking towards the dining room. Everyone was already seated. Cristina next to Burke. Meredith next to Derek. The only two empty spots were one beside Mark and one in between Alex and George. Addison immediately moved to sit next to Mark, smiling at him in greeting.
"Hey, Red," Mark greeted, giving her a light kiss on the cheek as she settled. "So glad to see you out of the hospital."
"Glad to be out of it, actually," she answered. Across the table, Preston offered her a quiet, welcoming smile, which she returned generously. Addison and Preston had shared a few coffees at the attendings' lounge, and she genuinely enjoyed his company.
Derek, who was sitting next to Burke, offered Addison a smile of his own. "Were you okay with directions?" he asked, having given Addison the directions to Meredith's house and hoping she wouldn't get lost.
She nodded. "It was fairly easy to find. But my driving will need a bit more practice," she responded self-deprecatingly.
"You didn't drive much in New York?" Preston asked as Izzie scooped some baked potatoes on his plate, serving everyone.
"It's city driving. The freeway is a whole other beast."
"Addison is a notoriously bad driver," Mark commented, earning him a defensive glare from Addison.
"I am not," she insisted as she helped herself to some salad. "I'm not the best, I'll admit, but I'm not bad."
Mark shook his head. "She could separate fetal blood vessels, but she's terrible at parallel parking."
Preston raised a curious brow. "I thought parallel parking was bread and butter in Manhattan," he commented kindly, his voice that addicting, calm baritone it usually was.
"It is, but Addison has always struggled," Mark answered, flashing Addison a smile and a wink.
Addison groaned and then rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Mark," she said sarcastically.
Mark shrugged. "They have to know you're bad at something," he said. "The interns already think you're perfect."
Addison was about to respond to that, but before she could say anything, somebody else spoke up.
"I guess it's better to be a bad driver than to be bad at sex."
There was a shocked pause as everyone turned to George, who had uttered the words and who was now flushing red upon realizing what he had just said. Meredith glared at him and Izzie had a flabbergasted expression on her face. Cristina looked nonplussed as she took a bite of her chicken. And Addison just stared in shock, momentarily speechless. Even Derek's eyes widened at the comment.
Mark recovered first as he cleared his throat and chuckled. "Only one person will be able to confirm that," he said, turning the spotlight to Derek who was now scowling at Mark. Mark always had a kick embarrassing Derek, not realizing it was at Addison's expense too.
Addison flushed then, not exactly sure how the conversation had gone from street directions to her abilities in bed. "Alright, there's no need to answer that Derek, thank you," she declared, kicking Mark in the shin under the table.
Alex shrugged from where he sat. "I'd like to know," he commented in a way that reminded Addison so much of a younger Mark Sloan. She wanted to smack him in the head for his insolence.
Meredith kicked Derek hard in the shin under the table, but Derek didn't flinch. Instead he turned to Alex. He was about to answer when Cristina cut him off.
"Must not be very good if her husband magically appears one day and decides he's gay," she said flatly while chewing a piece of potato.
Preston shot her a warning look, and then she had the decency to look moderately apologetic. Izzie's mouth fell agape at Cristina's insensitive statement.
Addison was speechless yet again, not realizing this dinner was going to go the way it currently was.
"Alright, alright," Izzie announced finally. "That's enough. Let's leave Dr. Montgomery alone, shall we? I made chicken. And I made cupcakes. And I made cake. And everyone is going to shut up and eat what I made because it's my birthday and I say so," she declared, embarrassed as Addison remained unmoving in her seat.
There was tense silence as Izzie fumed mildly. And then,
"I still want to know the answer," Alex said casually. Izzie groaned, and Mark stifled a laugh as Addison glared at him. Alex turned to Derek, "Dude you gotta answer or else I'm not getting a good night's sleep."
"Alex!" Izzie exclaimed. Meredith shot Alex a warning look and then subtly elbowed Derek in the ribs, a wordless reminder not to engage the question.
Addison blinked and then shrugged. "If you must know," she said, past her embarrassment and appalment over the interns' remarkable audacity, "I am great in bed," she continued flippantly, waving her hand for emphasis.
Mark laughed at that and clapped Addison in the back. "Told you the words Addison and Humility don't go in the same sentence," he said into her ear. She only shook her head, recovering from the momentary fluster and helping herself to some potatoes.
A pause, where everyone thought the conversation was mercifully over, and then,
"Yeah, but Dr. Shepherd has to confirm it," George announced nervously, also not entirely sure why he had to say such a thing. If Callie found out, she would have his balls.
"How about we stop talking about this," Meredith suggested, trying to sound authoritative.
"How about Dr. Shepherd just answer the question?" Alex countered, looking at Derek squarely.
Addison looked at Derek, who met her eyes. She just shrugged and took a forkful of potatoes, hoping her eyes conveyed to Derek that there was no need to answer. She should have known dinner with interns would be a mix of asinine and downright inappropriate. She just didn't think it would come at her expense. People respected her at the hospital, and she supposed it was such a novelty to see her outside of it that they were curious. All in all, she couldn't blame them. Except for that comment Cristina made about Matthew—that one stung quite a bit. And if the gods that be weren't merciful enough as it was, the comment just had to be repeated.
"She's probably terrible if her husband suddenly realizes she has the wrong appendage," Cristina said, trying to rally behind Meredith in the way a best friend was expected to. Somewhere in the book of friendships, that was in the fine print.
Derek, who was torn between defending Addison and placating Meredith, shot Cristina an exasperated and disapproving look. Addison didn't need comments like that, not when the divorce was fresh and she was still trying to pick up the pieces. It was insensitive—to Addison and to Matthew, even though he didn't even know the guy personally. He hated that Addison was put in such a spotlight in her first attempt to socialize (after much prodding from him and Mark), and he felt the need to defend her.
"Cristina," Preston said warningly.
"We are gonna drop this conversation," Meredith declared with an edge in her voice. "Everybody just stuff your mouths with chicken and –"
"Addison is great in bed," Derek finally announced, voice louder than he had intended, earning him a very angry look from Meredith, and a very stunned (if not a little grateful) one from Addison. At the shocked silence, Derek shrugged. "Addison is great in bed," he repeated with a calmer tone. "She does that thing with her—"
"Okay!" Addison interrupted suddenly, all eyes immediately on her. "Thank you, Derek, for the validation. Truly, I'm grateful. I hope that settles the inquiry on my skills in bed, not that it was any of your business in the first place," she said, casting Alex and George a pointed look. "Now let's enjoy Izzie's homecooked meal and move on. I'm sure Dr. O'Malley and Dr. Karev would like to share with us how they plan on going about the 30 fecal disimpactions they're going to do once Dr. Bailey assigns them to my service tomorrow."
George looked embarrassed and Alex just rolled his eyes. Mercifully, Izzie geared the conversation somewhere else and steered the direction away from Addison.
Mark leaned in to whisper into Addison's ear. "How about you show me that thing you can do with—"
"Mark," she said warningly, not in the mood for his teasing.
Mark chuckled, planting a quick kiss on her cheek and then saying, "You're still a class act, you know. Give them hell with those disimpactions."
"If you were an intern, you'd be assigned the same," she said. Mark had pushed the conversation into that topic too, and she wasn't very pleased. But she was a Montgomery after all, and she was known for being able to hold her own in stressful, inappropriate situations.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, squeezing her arm and offering an apologetic look before turning his attention back to his food.
From his seat, Derek moved the potatoes around on his plate, having lost his appetite ignoring Meredith sulking next to him. He was going to get an earful for sure after dinner was over. But he couldn't regret defending Addison, even if it was terribly inappropriate. The gossip mill would be churning about this like mad soon. But he had no regrets. He had done that the first time he brought her home to meet his mom and sisters. They were relentless, and he found he had to intervene for them to lighten up. But they loved her instantly after that night. Today, at the risk of Meredith's ire, he knew he needed to step in for her. The interns were unyielding and brash and uncouth, and he couldn't let them feast on her. Not that he thought she couldn't handle it, because she already was. But she definitely needed back up and he was willing to give it.
He looked up and caught her eye then. Under the yellow light of the dining room, she looked beautiful. He knew she was tired and sad and ate very little, but she was still so stunning regardless. She offered a grateful look and an almost rueful smile. He smiled back. Meredith might have his head tonight, but that grateful smile from Addison was so worth it.
After that disastrous dinner, Alex and George did get their fecal disimpactions, which Miranda was only too happy to give after she found out what they had done. Izzie had apologized profusely, but Addison brushed her off and said she enjoyed the night anyway. Callie assured her George would get an earful, and Izzie promised there wouldn't be a repeat of such an inappropriate conversation over dinner. Addison only smiled. Between the divorce, the gossip, Meredith's subtle looks and the work she was doing, she was tired. She supposed that was a good thing—tired meant she was productive, moving forward, not stuck. But tired also meant her time was consumed almost entirely by things that at the end of the day didn't matter as much as coming home to someone who loved her.
Those were her thoughts as she entered the attendings' lounge, hoping to grab a cup of coffee before her next surgery. On entry, she saw Preston was already there, nursing his own cup.
"Hey Preston," she greeted warmly.
"Addison," he greeted back politely. "Are you in between surgeries?"
She nodded as she poured herself a cup. "You?"
"Same as well. I'm glad to run into you here actually," he said. "I wanted your thoughts on a patient I have."
Addison nodded, taking a seat across Preston on one of the plush chairs, sinking in comfortably. "What have you got?"
"Patient with heart failure, wants to get pregnant."
"How's her ejection fraction?" she asked.
"Preserved for now, but she has episodes of afib in RVR and I don't recommend getting pregnant at this point," he answered. "But I'm not an OB. I figured you might have some input."
"Pregnancy can push her straight to decompensation," she said, thinking out loud as she held her coffee cup in between both hands.
"I was thinking the same thing. And childbirth isn't exactly a walk in the park. Carrying to term is one thing, but actual delivery…"
Addison nodded thoughtfully. "We can do a C-section or even forceps delivery if she carries to term. I wouldn't necessarily advise pregnancy if she's open to other options like surrogacy, but if she isn't, I mean, it's not impossible."
"You think so?"
"Regular prenatal care and follow up with a cardiologist should be fine. And at the first sign of fetal distress or decompensation, we can deliver. As long she's aware of all the risks, I don't see why we can't manage."
Preston nodded as he digested Addison's words. "Have you had similar patients before?"
Addison shrugged as she swallowed a sip of coffee. "I've managed gravidocardiac patients plenty of times in the past. With the proper precautions, most are able to carry to term with little complications. But as you know, there's no guarantee."
"Case to case then."
She nodded. "Her latest echo is okay?"
"No changes," was Burke's response. "She's been relatively stable for the past two years, so she's ready to start a family."
Addison smiled ruefully. She loved helping couples become families, loved helping them get pregnant and get the child of their dreams. It was the vocation she chose, one that brought her much fulfillment. Sometimes she thought about herself in that frame too—hoping to start a family, ready to start a family, not realizing the floorboards beneath her would shift dramatically.
"Well, let me know if you want an official consult," she said after a pause. "I'll be glad to help."
"Thank you, Addison," he smiled gratefully.
"I'm always happy to help people have children. OB can be such a happy corner when you're busy handing a mother her healthy and bouncing newborn child."
Preston nodded. "I'm always amazed by obstetricians," he said. "You always have two lives at stake. Double the responsibility. Double the pressure."
"Double the fulfillment too when things go well," she answered. "Which is thankfully more of the rule than the exception. It's double the devastation when it's the opposite."
"I can imagine that," he said. "But with your track record, I am certain you're nearly never devastated." The respect he had for Addison as a physician was immense, and he found he liked her wit and sense of fun.
"You're too kind, Preston," she said, "but the kinds of surgeries I take are usually risky, so it's a mixed bag most of the time."
"I suppose that's what happens when very few people know to do what you do."
"The same is true for you," she pointed. "You're an accomplished TCVS, and there aren't many of you."
"Not quite as rare as you," he said graciously. "I'm surprised Derek let go of such a gem."
Addison raised a perfectly arched brow at that. "I didn't think you paid attention to the gossip mill."
"I'm dating Cristina. Unfortunately, whether I like it or not, I'm pretty updated," he said ruefully. "Besides, Izzie's birthday dinner made your history crystal clear."
Addison grimaced at the memory. She honestly could live without another reminder of that disastrous dinner conversation. "Derek and I… it's complicated."
He shrugged, the corner of his mouth tugging upward in a smile that seemed to Addison just slightly amused. "Still doesn't explain why he let you go."
"I wasn't quite the catch back then," she laughed. "But we've moved forward, and we're just friends now."
"You seem to still care about each other," he observed neutrally.
It was Addison's turn to shrug. "We're friends," she explained simply. "And I mean, we were together for a while. I'll always care about him."
Preston seemed to accept the answer and then nodded. "I think he feels the same way. He cares about you enough to defend your honor in the face of doubt about your skills… outside the OR," he said delicately.
Addison scrunched her nose in distaste. "Yeah, that was nice of him, if completely unnecessary."
Preston chuckled, and Addison shook her head in amusement.
"I like having you around Seattle Grace, Addison. It's an honor to be working with you," he said after a moment.
Addison took it as a compliment and smiled. "Likewise," she answered as she took a sip of her coffee.
There was comfortable silence between them before Preston stood up, deposited his coffee mug in the designated tray, and explained that he had to go prep for surgery.
"It's always a pleasure talking with you, Addison," he told her as he was about to leave, offering her a sincere smile before exiting the attendings lounge.
Addison smiled to herself. Preston was many things. Derek didn't seem too fond of him. Perhaps it was the competition for Richard's position. But Preston was polite, maddeningly respectful, talented, and well-meaning. She enjoyed his company in the few times they found themselves chatting. While it was rather embarrassing for the whole hospital to know hers and Derek's past (and how he valiantly defended her honor by assuring the interns she was great in bed), she was grateful for the people she was meeting and getting along with. She really needed the support system this side of the country.
Addison sat in the gallery, watching a routine appendectomy being performed by Miranda Bailey. No one else was with her—an appendectomy isn't exactly a popular surgery to watch, precisely the reason she chose to sit in that particular gallery. She just needed a few minutes to herself after the day she had. Usually, she would sit in the NICU where it was quiet and peaceful majority of the time. But today, she just needed to get away from mothers and babies.
She watched mindlessly, not really paying attention as Miranda performed the surgery. But the door behind her creaked open, making her turn her head towards the noise.
At the doorway, Derek stood, catching sight of her alone in the gallery.
"You too?" he asked as he closed the door behind him and took a seat next to Addison.
Addison shrugged. "It's been a day."
"Tell me about it. I had two emergency surgeries," he answered. "It's been a day," he echoed.
Addison smiled at him sympathetically before turning her attention back to Miranda.
"You'll never guess who called me this morning," Derek continued after a pause.
Addison looked at him curiously. "Who?"
"Kate called."
"Kate as in Kathleen?" she asked. When Derek nodded, she pursed her lips. "I guess that's why she called me last night."
"She called you too?"
"Well, Nancy called first, like two days ago. And then Kate called last night. She said Nancy told her I moved out of New York. She wanted to know where I was. Honestly, I'm surprised they only found out now."
"Did you not tell Nancy you were moving?"
"I did," she answered. "I mean, we met up a few weeks after the divorce and I mentioned I was thinking of moving out of town. I guess I never updated her until she called."
Derek nodded. "Nancy told me you guys talk often."
"We see each other at conferences," Addison explained.
He shook his head. "Not just you and Nancy. Kate and Liz, too."
Addison shrugged. It was true. After she and Derek broke up, he moved to Boston. And because he moved to Boston, he couldn't be home often enough for family functions. Addison was much closer to Westchester, so they continued to invite her over, where she also sometimes ran into Mark. It was a weird set-up, but Derek's sisters were lovely, and she loved all of them like her own sisters.
"Do you have a problem with that?" she asked carefully.
"No," he answered swiftly. "I like that you guys still talk."
"It's not weird?"
"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But you were almost really sisters, and you guys did hit it off when you first met, so honestly I'm not surprised."
She nodded. Derek's sisters were dear friends, and she even invited them over to her wedding. They graciously came, much to Derek's chagrin. Nancy didn't mince her words when she told her later on that her wedding was opulent and beautiful, but completely unlike Addison. Bizzy was at the helm of the planning, so Addison wasn't particularly offended. She just laughed it off over afternoon sangrias with the three Shepherd sisters after the wedding.
"So what did Kate want?" Addison asked, her eyes back on the surgery.
Derek shrugged. "Well, she beat around the bush until it was dead, but basically she asked about you being in Seattle and if it was awakening some repressed need for me to rekindle a love lost."
Addison grimaced, and then chuckled. "That sounds like Kate," she remarked with amusement.
"She didn't want to tell me where she got the news, but I guess now I know. You, via Nancy, told her."
"I didn't know they were going to use that information to needle you," Addison replied defensively.
"Kate is cunning."
"No," she disagreed, "Kate is caring. If maybe a bit displaced at this point."
"She wanted to know how I felt that you were here."
Addison paused and then turned her head towards Derek to look at him carefully. "And?"
"I told her I was happy," he said simply, not meeting Addison's gaze.
Addison was taken aback, touched. But then she narrowed her eyes. "There's no way Kathleen Shepherd would have accepted that answer at face value."
Derek sighed. "You're right, she prodded, but honestly there wasn't much to say. I am happy that you're here."
The truth was she prodded and prodded until he finally admitted that he was happy. And then of course, she had to ask about Meredith, for which Derek had no answers. At least not ones that would satisfy Kathleen's compulsive need to psychoanalyze him and others around her.
"Well, if I know any better, you better get your answers straight. Because Nancy will call, and then Liz. Maybe even your mom."
Derek cringed at that. "I'd rather be stuck in a 12-hour surgery than have to deal with all the Shepherd estrogen."
"You'd think that by now it wouldn't be a big deal that we're friends," she said casually, tone light.
Derek nodded, but he knew it was more than them being friends. It was them being in the same city, with Addison unattached, and Derek, well, in a semi-mature relationship as Mark put it. That's what was twisting his sisters' panties, and though he understood their excitement, he had to temper it. Addison was still going through a rough time and a life-changing adjustment, and he was currently unavailable. Besides, who was Addison kidding when she said it wasn't a big deal? Even to Derek, it was a huge deal. They hadn't spoken to each other in the last eight years, and nothing of those eight years would have indicated a rekindling of sorts, not even for friendship. He didn't know what Addison had in her head, but he was downright certain it wasn't a small deal being friends again.
So instead of saying anything, he just smiled at her before turning his attention to the surgery. He escaped to the appendectomy in OR5 because he knew no one would be there, and he needed a quiet space to just be. He should have known Addison could be here too—it was a habit they had developed together, in internship, when work was too much and the hospital was in dire scarcity of quiet corners for lowly interns. Apparently, some things didn't change, and some habits they had built together stayed with them even after they broke up.
"Well, what did Kate tell you when she called you?" Derek asked.
Addison shrugged. "Just that she was happy I was out of a relationship with a man who had recently disinhibited his homosexual tendencies, and that I was free to pursue someone who had a stable enough emotional quotient to keep up with my neurotic need to achieve."
Derek bit back a laugh. "That's Kate for you."
"She's been like that since I met her, so I'm not really surprised. At my wedding she told my great uncle Benjamin that his constant sexual innuendos was a sign of deep-seated sexual repression, probably stemming from a difficult childhood and a mother who wanted a daughter instead of a son." She paused as she smiled at the memory, and then, "God, I love her and all her Freudian training. Your sisters are great. I miss her."
"Some would argue my sisters are pretty dysfunctional," Derek remarked, thinking of Nancy, Kathleen, Lizzie and Amelia in the same room and the chaos that would be.
Addison shrugged. "What family doesn't have some sort of dysfunction? I mean, between The Captain, Bizzy, Archer and I—we probably already win Most Dysfunctional Family in Hartford."
Derek shook his head with a laugh. "Yeah—the Montgomeries are a whole other beast."
"Aren't you glad you dodged that bullet?" she laughed.
Derek laughed, too, but it was half-hearted. He did dodge a bullet with the Montgomeries, but truth be told, he was more than willing to deal with that as long as he had Addison by his side. Besides, he knew how much spending time with her family could displace her and mess with her head. He liked to think he grounded her through the times it was mandatory to be in their presence. He wondered if Matthew grounded her, too.
"I think you dodged a bullet with the Shepherds too," he settled instead.
She shook her head. "I love them. Even if your mom doesn't particularly like me. I'm sure she was glad we broke it off."
"My mom loves you."
"She doesn't," she said with an eyeroll. "She tolerates me. But I'm sure she breathed a big sigh of relief when we broke off our engagement."
"Believe it or not, she was pretty sad about it."
"She was concerned on your behalf," Addison pointed. "For your well-being. I don't think she felt it was a loss to call off the wedding though."
Derek turned to Addison, offering a small, sad smile. "It was a loss to me," he answered sincerely.
Addison's breath hitched the slightest bit at the admission, but she recovered quickly and smiled back. "Me too," she replied. "But we're doing great now, aren't we?"
He paused, considering her words, and then nodded slowly. "I guess we are," he said, not entirely convinced, but not wanting to get into all of it right now.
He turned his attention back to the surgery, mulling over his sisters, their impeccable relationship with Addison, and all the what would have beens if they had made her officially a Shepherd. Meredith hadn't met any of his sisters yet, but he was certain they would be absolutely ruthless. Someday though, they would have to meet. He only hoped they would welcome her as much as they did Addie.
A/N: So here you go. :) The scene where Addison insinuates something about hers and Derek's old relationship was a scene I struggled with. I didn't know if I wanted to include that. But I tried putting myself in her (ridiculously expensive) shoes, and figured there's probably a lot of colluding thoughts in her mind at the moment- between a divorce, moving to a new city, starting a new job, and being in such close proximity to her ex, I figured even the strong-willed Addison Montgomery would have her moments.
Anyway. Hope you guys liked it! Please stay safe! And stay tuned for April! :)