A/N: Remember this story? Because it's been over two months since the last update so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't lol.

"I don't understand," the little boy repeated for the third time.

"Honey," Addison sighed, trying to be patient. "What part don't you understand?"

"I don't understand why he has to go back," Christopher replied firmly, looking his mother right in the eyes.

"And I explained that he has to go back because he lives in Seattle."

"So? We used to live in Seattle and now we live here."

"Yes, honey, but Daddy doesn't want to move here."

"Why not?!" he exclaimed in frustration. "It's not fair! We went to Seattle for him! Why can't he come here for us?"

"That's not quite how it works. This is all very grown up, you won't understand."

"You always say that!" he raised his voice in frustation.

"Christopher Shepherd, don't you dare raise your voice!" Addison replied firmly, glaring at her son in the exact way her mother had with her. She froze for a second, almost like it was an out of body experience. She wasn't one to play bad cop too often, she hated reprimanding her son. Was she becoming her mother?

He quickly looked away and looked down at the ground. "Dad's Day is coming up."

"Father's Day is in June and you can spend that with your dad. We've still got time to plan that."

"Not Father's Day! Dad's Day. When Dad's come to school with us and we spend all day doing stuff with them."

"Oh," Addison frowned, suddenly regretting yelling at her son.

"I need Daddy here to come with me. I don't want to be the only kid without my dad."

"I'm sure you won't be the only kid without a dad. Lots of people don't have their dads around all the time. Hey, I can take the day off work and come with you."

"You're not a dad!" her son gave her a glare that made her feel like she was looking right at her mother's signature glare.

"No, but I'm still your parent and when your dad isn't around I have to do both."

"You're not my dad when Dad's not here!" Christopher exclaimed, getting angrier. "I hate this!" he grumbled before running up the stairs to his room.

Well, this went well, she thought to herself.

An hour later Derek arrived at the house, leaving his suitcase by the door. "Hey," he greeted his ex-common-law-wife who was sitting on her couch with a glass of wine filled to the brim.

"Hi," she mumbled. "Christopher is up in his room sulking. He doesn't want you to go."

"And you're drinking at 11 am because of that?"

"I'm sorry, I thought not being married to you meant you have no right to pass judgement or have input on my choices. What does it matter to you when I choose to drink?"

"Addison," Derek sighed, sitting on the couch adjacent to her. "Why are you going out of your way to make this harder?"

"What?"

"Why are you trying so hard to push me away?" he asked seriously.

"Because you're not my husband!"

"I know that! But I was your husband for 12 years."

"Actually, you weren't," Addison pointed out before taking a long sip of her wine.

"Fine, then I was your significant other for over 15 years."

"But you're not anymore."

"That doesn't mean I stopped caring, Addison."

"Actually, the whole problem start because you stopped caring," she retorted naturally. She believed it to be completely true. If he hadn't started picking work over their family, maybe everything wouldn't have spiraled out of control. Maybe they'd still be in New York, raising their son together and blissfully unaware of the fradulant marriage license.

"I didn't stop caring," he disputed.

"It sure felt that way."

"Maybe if you weren't so eager to spread your legs for the first man that came by…"

"I didn't spread my legs for the first man that came by," she said with a glare. "I don't know if you've ever paid attention, Derek, but I've a very attractive woman. I've got long legs, and a toned body, I've got a symmetrical face, blue-green eyes, and long, thick hair. I walk around in perfectly tailored outfits to flaunt every asset. I can't go outside without being noticed. So if you think Mark was the first man to try in the 15 years we were together, you're wrong."

Derek rolled his eyes, "You forgot to mention how humble you are," he mumbled.

"I don't need to be humble. I spend 15 years being humble and my assumptive husband forgot my existence. I'm a catch, Derek. And I know. And I know you know it. So we'd both be lying to ourselves if I let you assume Mark was the first man that tried. He wasn't. But by the time Mark came around, I was lonely enough to stop thinking and just... let someone make me feel my worth again."

"Addison," Derek sighed, "I didn't stop caring," he repeated.

"Whatever, Derek, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"I do," He insisted.

"That didn't mean anything the first time you said it," Addison pointed out, thinking back to their failed attempt to elope in the shack-like chapel in Las Vegas.

"Addison," he started again. "I didn't stop caring. I won't stop caring just because we're not really married. You're still the mother of my child. You were my best friend for most of my adult life. Almost all of my adult life. That doesn't go away because of the divorce."

"There was no divorce. We were never legally married," she reminded him again.

Derek sighed, she was making it so difficult for him. He knew she had her walls up, that she was trying to protect herself, but he used to be the person who protected her and now she felt the need to protect herself from him. "That doesn't change what we had, Addison."

"It changes everything, Derek," she replied before getting up from the couch and walking out onto her beach front patio to get away from him.

I almost forgot how impossible you can be. He thought to himself as he watched her walk away.

He waited a few minutes before he went upstairs and found his son sitting on his bed with his ipad in hand. "Hey, kid," he greeted. "Your mom says you're upset."

"I don't want you to go."

"I'll come back," Derek promised. "In a few weeks. I promise. And you'll come visit me too."

"I don't want you to go," Christopher repeated.

"I know. I don't want to go either."

"Then why are you?"

"Because I have work."

"You can have work here. There are hospitals here," he informed his father.

"But I work at a hospital in Seattle"

"You can move, like Mommy did when we came to Seattle and then when we came here."

"I can't do that, Buddy, I've got a contract."

"Mommy had one of those when we moved. She paid to break it or tear it or whatever. She says if you pay enough, there is nothing you can't do."

"She is her mother's daughter," Derek replied quietly.

"You can pay and then you can go to any hospital," Christopher told her. "Then you can stay and come to Dad's Day with me on Thursday."

"I can't pay and break my contract, Christopher. It's complicated but I can't do that," he explained vaguely.

"I don't want to be the only kid without a Dad on Dad's Day. Mom can't come! She's not my dad!"

"No, she's definitely not your dad," Derek chuckled. "When did you say Dad's Day is?"

"Thursday."

"This Thursday?" Derek asked, cringing inwardly. He had a full schedule on Thursday. He had a very important surgery that very morning, a prominent politician in desperate need of a lifesaving tumor resection before the media could get hold of the story. Derek was a natural choice for the job and the procedure was schedule for Thursday Morning.

"This Thursday."

"And what do you do for Dad's Day?"

Christopher shrugged, "Stuff with our dads?" he replied unsurely.

Derek took a deep breath. He didn't want to let his son down and choose work over him. He also knew he could let down a sitting sentator. He took a second to mentally rearrange his schedule. It would be difficult and exhausting, but he could preform the surgery overnight, he could claim that would be the best way to avoid uneeded attention. "Tell you what, buddy, I'll be back on Thursday morning for Dad's Day. I won't miss it. Your dad will be here to go with you."

A tiny smile formed on his son's lips, "Really?"

"Really. We promised you that the distance won't change anything and we meant it. I'll be here." Derek promised. "But you have do something for me too, okay?"

"Like what?"

"You've got a go a little easier on your mom, okay? She's doing her best and sometimes she gets tired and overwhelmed."

"What's overwhelmed?"

"Like when we go to Grandma's house for Christmas morning and all the kids are yelling to open their present first and no one can hear anyone and people unwrap the wrong boxes and get annoyed. You known that frustrating feeling when it's too much going on and you can't stop it? That's being overwhelmed."

"Oh," Christopher mumbled.

"And your mom is overwhelmed and sometimes she doesn't know how to make sense of everything so you gotta take it easy on her."

"I'll try," Christopher mumbled.

"Were you able to talk him down?" Addison asked, still sipping on her glass of wine.

"Yeah, a little. He's got a Dad's day thing at school and he wants me here for it so I promised him I'll be here."

"That's it? That's all it took?"

"Yeah, so I'll be back in a few days, assuming that's okay with you."

Addison sighed. Instead of answering his question, she said, "When I first got here, I told myself I'd get settled in and then I'd find a sperm donor and give IVF a try."

He looked at her quietly.

"Two was always my plan. Preferably a boy and then a girl. And guess I didn't want to let that go just because nothing else in my life went according to plan. But I can't even keep up with one kid, how am I supposed to keep up with two?"

Derek didn't reply. He just quietly stood there staring down.

"I guess some dreams you just have to let go, right?" she asked when he didn't speak.

"No, I think you're a great mom. If I didn't, I wouldn't let you have primary physical custody of my only kid."

Addison sighed, knowing he was just being nice to her. "All it took for you was a talk. I haven't been able to keep up with him since we moved out here."

"I'm serious, Addison, you're a great mom. Whether or not your life turned out how it was supposed to, whether or not you have another child, you're a great mother."

"Thanks, Derek."

He gave her a small smile. "You're welcome. I should get going. I have a flight to catch."

Fingers crossed the next update doesn't take so long. You know what's a great reminder to update a story? Reviews. Lots of them. #fact