Long minutes pass as Derek and Addison continue to embrace. The scent of each other is familiar and comforting, making them feel at home for the first time in a long time. Suddenly Addison lifts her head, her eyes meet Derek's and they smile at each other, it's a memory of their first exchange, over that dead body. Derek caresses her cheek, he tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and then states:
"I love you, Addison."
"I love you too."
Her words startle him and are the boost he needed, without a second thought, Derek grabs her, he turns their bodies and presses her against the mattress. Derek looks into her eyes and waits for a refusal, when she just nods intently into his eyes, Derek smiles and captures her lips in a long kiss.
When the kiss ends, they gasp for air, even though Derek is quick to take off every piece of clothing she was wearing. With each new layer of exposed skin he gives a soft, loving kiss.
When she is fully naked, Addison tries to do the same to him, but he shakes his head and smiles at her. He moves, placing kisses along her thigh. She throws her head back, Derek's hot breath on her skin working like magic, making her delirious. He gets to her core, moving his mouth over her most sensitive parts. Addison tries to control the first moans that come out of her throat, knowing she needs to be silent, but her whole body screams, yearns for Derek. After so many years of not feeling his touch, not feeling all the love and reverence he can give her, she needs this, needs to feel it all at once. She tightens a hand around his curls and tugs, gently scratches at his scalp making him shiver.
His tongue explores her, as his hands squeeze her thighs, he wants to feel everything too. Her taste, her skin, her touch, he wants to lose himself, to get drunk on all the sensations of having Addison again. He reaches the right place, increasing the intensity even more, Addison alternates contained, desperate moans and bites on the lower lip, he had overpowered her. When she finally feels it coming, she just whispers her name, he increases his intensity even more and soon she falls apart and at that moment he lets his head rest on her belly, she only has the strength to caress her hair.
As soon as he recovers, Addison pushes him up, she begins to take his clothes off, as calmly as he had done. When there's nothing but his boxers, she smirks at him, places her hands on the waistband and helps him out of the garment, her nails raking his thighs as his hands grip her waist. In one swift movement, Derek throws her back onto the mattress, he caresses and kisses again every part of her exposed body, grateful to be there again. Suddenly he stops, looks into her eyes bleary with excitement for a few moments and then whispers in her ear:
"I'm going to make you mine again."
"I never stopped being."
It's the whispered, guttural answer she gives him that sends a shiver down her spine and without another word he's inside her. Derek hugs her body as she wraps her legs around his shoulders, wanting to have him fully inside her and with their bodies as close as one. Each thrust of Derek makes her moan, they are intense but loving as only Derek could be, as only he made her feel. And he continues, continues until she feels ready again, then he rises, holding her tighter against him. Her eyes meet, her smile, the one saved just for her, appears and he lets go, pouring all of himself into her, which frees herself for the second time.
Derek collapses on top of her, trying not to put his weight on the redhead's delicate body, but unable to move for a few moments. So they just stand there, sweaty and tangled breathing together in sync. When he finally manages to roll onto his side, she sits on the bed, caresses his cheek and prepares to speak, but the words won't come. Only tears cloud her eyes and Derek smiles pulling her against him.
Overwhelmed by emotions, Addison lets herself fall onto Derek's chest, who just holds her tight, also trying to deal with the overwhelming feelings. Both are silent for several minutes until Addison breaks it into a whisper:
"I don't want you to leave."
"I will not."
"But I also don't know how to accept that you stay."
"Today you just need to rest, the rest will come later."
Addison nods silently, she kisses Derek's chest and pulls the covers over their bodies, already feeling her eyelids droop. Derek stays awake, he hears the familiar sound of Addison's breathing, he relives memories of her best times in that room. A room where they slept together for eleven years, a room that housed his warmest moments, his confessions and silly conversations, the moments of comfort when something bad happened and some fights he doesn't even remember the reason for. But he remembers the last, the last sad and terrible fight these walls saw, the one that made him walk away and decide to forget all about his wife and marriage.
Catching up with Addison and Mark was the third worst thing he's ever experienced, it's a memory almost as sad and traumatic as Amelia's overdose, or even her father's murder. Addison and Mark were the two people he trusted the most, his closest family, and he decidedly didn't expect to be betrayed by them. It left a deep scar, so deep that at the time it was impossible to forget and forgive.
Derek takes a deep breath, he knows that in order to resume his history with Addison, he needs to let go of the past. A past that after all they've lived through, he's already forgiven. It is with this resolution that he finally manages to sleep, after all he knows that the next day will not be so easy.
AAAAAA
Addison starts to wake up, she snuggles even closer with the body pressed to hers and lets out a comfortable sigh. Only a few seconds later however she opens her eyes and sits up abruptly as she realizes what has happened. Her gaze immediately hits Derek's face, who has a smug smile, as she raises her hand to play with one of his red locks and then says:
"Good morning, Addie!"
The excited and playful tone of voice doesn't convince her, on the contrary, it irritates her. Addison runs her hands over her face before asking in a dejected tone:
"Derek, what did we do?"
"I could tell, but I prefer to show."
He speaks in a sly way before trying to pull her to him again, but she pushes him away. Derek gives Addison a stunned look, who starts talking as she stands up:
"I know very well what we did, I just... It couldn't have happened."
Derek watches her walk nervously to a nightgown. He shakes his head and asks:
"Really, Addie? Are you going to continue with the story that we can't be together?"
"Derek stop!"
"Addison, please..."
"I cheated on Pete!"
Addison states frustrated and sits back on the bed. Derek lets out a deep breath and approaches her, he caresses her cheek and softens his tone:
"Addie..."
Her eyes fill with tears as Derek continues to stroke her cheek. After a few seconds of silence, Addison says:
"It's like you said, it must be my Montgomery genes."
"Addison, you know I didn't mean it."
"But it's the truth."
She says in a choked voice and starts to get up. Derek immediately grabs her by the arm, he gets even closer to her and starts talking:
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Addie. But what happened between us wasn't a mistake."
"Derek..."
"You know you didn't. You know that despite all our mistakes and everything that happened, I'm the love of your life. Even if you make a mistake, try to make it work with another guy, I'll still be the man you love, so stop fighting it."
Derek's tone of voice brings new tears to Addison's eyes. She lets his words sink in for a few moments before replying:
"Do you think it's not what I wanted? To be able to assume this, to be able to resume our story? But what about when you get tired? When you realize that you haven't forgiven me or that our story is not worth it? It's not just the two of us in this anymore. , Derek."
"It's ironic you think I haven't forgiven you, when you're the only one who can't forgive me. You can't get over the past, when I'm here, when I changed my whole life to take a chance with you, when I'm in this room with you, going over everything that happened the last time I was here."
Addison swallows hard, she hadn't thought about it until that moment, they had had sex in that room after all. A small smile forms on her face. Derek frowns and asks confused:
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because Derek from Seattle would never be here."
"That Derek from Seattle is gone, maybe never was."
It's Derek's turn to smile, before pulling her into a tight hug. Addison returns the hug, she hides her face in the crook of Derek's neck and lets out a deep breath.
As they start to walk away, Derek holds her face in his hands, he looks into her eyes and speaks softly:
"This is my last try, Addie. If I walk out of this room with your refusal, I'll still be Chris' father, I'll still be his friend, but I won't insist on the two of us anymore."
Addison stares at him silently and lowers her eyes. Derek nods understanding her gesture and gets up, he gathers the clothes around the room and starts to walk away. As soon as Derek arrives at the door, he feels his arm being pulled, he turns and faces Addison's bright eyes, she takes his hand and speaks in a vulnerable tone:
"I don't want you to give up on me, Derek."
With that she pulls him into a deep kiss that conveys everything she's feeling. As they walk away, Derek asks a little apprehensively:
"This means that?"
"It means we are AddisonandDerek and we deserve one more chance."
Addison states with a sweet smile and Derek pulls her in for another kiss, but soon a small voice calling for her mother makes them part. Addison walks away from Derek still smiling, she caresses his chest and explains:
"I'm going to see him."
"I'm going to prepare our breakfast."
Derek has the same smile on his face as he watches Addison walk away.
AAAAA
Derek never imagined he would be thrilled to make breakfast, but the prospect of cooking for Addison and Chris and being able to do it every day as a family was surreal. He could hardly believe that Addie had agreed to give him another chance. Of course they had a long way to go and a lot to decide, but he had faith they could make it work.
Soon Derek hears Addison's footsteps and Chris' excited voice, he turns around smiling and Chris shouts excitedly:
"Daddy!"
The little boy soon extends his arms, but Derek just kisses his forehead explaining:
"Dad is making breakfast, champ."
"What?"
"Waffles!"
Derek talks smiling and Chris' smile widens. At that moment Fop appears wagging his tail, he climbs on Derek's waist who smiles, he throws a bun to the labrador who goes away to eat. At this point Derek glances at Addison before suggesting:
"We can take the morning off, take Chris and Fop for a walk in Central Park."
"I need to go to the hospital, Derek."
"But you're so late."
"But I have surgery and I need to check on Elaine."
Addison speaks in a despondent tone and Derek doesn't need to ask to know it's the mother who lost her newborn. He gives the redhead a sympathetic look who nods before speaking:
"Let's wait for Claire to arrive to stay with Chris and let's finish our conversation in the park."
Derek's face lights up at her words before he starts pouring coffee.
Chris happily sits on his dad's lap to eat, they play while they eat, and Addison tries to maintain a steady posture while she has fun with them both.
AAAA
Claire arrives at the end of breakfast so Derek and Addison get ready, they say goodbye to their son and leave together.
The path to one of the park benches is totally silent with both of them deep in thought. When they finally sit down, Derek breaks the silence:
"I hope the drive here hasn't changed your mind."
His tone is light and it makes Addison smile. She intertwines her fingers with his and speaks softly:
"I need you to be patient with me, Derek."
"I will have."
"And I need you to wait for me to work things out with Pete."
"Can't we just call him?"
Addison stares at him with raised eyebrows and he laughs, raises his arms in surrender and then says:
"I'll wait for you to sort it all out and then it's just the two of us and Chris forever."
"Forever."
She smiles, eyes glistening with unshed tears and caresses his face. Then Addison walks away and speaks in a serious tone:
"Now I don't want to see you for the next two days."
"What?"
"Pete arrives tonight, I'm probably not going to get to talk to him until tomorrow night and I don't want to fall into bed with you before then."
"But who did once..."
"No, Derek!"
Her tone is even firmer and he nods in surrender once more. Soon Addison looks at her watch and states:
"I need to go to the hospital."
"Want me to take you?"
"No need. Take the opportunity to spend some more time with Chris."
Derek nods. Addison kisses her ex-husband's cheek and then gets up from the seat and heads towards a taxi rank.
AAAAAAA
The next morning, Addison is extremely anxious when she enters the hospital. She'd used the day before to think over and rethink every detail of what she was going to say to Pete, but knew she wasn't ready to face him yet.
It doesn't take long, but for her to see Pete coming towards her, he carries two coffees and gives her a soft kiss on the lips before speaking:
"I missed you."
Addison gives him a shy smile. Pete smiles back and hands her the coffee while she smiles:
"Black and sweet."
Addison holds her coffee, she takes a sip and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before asking:
"Can we talk tonight?"
"Of course. At my place or yours?"
"In your."
She talks a little awkwardly. Pete frowns and asks:
"Uhm. I need to go now. I have to start the rounds."
"Of course. We'll meet here at 7."
Addison nods and walks away. Pete takes a sip of his coffee and watches her walk away.
AAAA
The day passes slowly as Addison tries to focus on work and sublimate her anxiety. She knows that putting na end to her relationship with Pete is going to be difficult, she knows that she will hurt him and she definitely didn't want that, but she also can't fool him anymore. But she knows she can't put it off any longer, she needs to be honest with the man who has done her so much good and who has been her steadfast companion for the last few years, she owes it to him and herself.
With less than two hours left until the end of his shift, Addison is managing some charts in the NICU when Pete walks in looking anxious. Before she can say anything he asks distinctly reticent:
"Are you busy?"
"No. Are you okay?"
"Can you end your shift and come with me? I'll explain on the way."
"Pete..."
"Please Addie, it's important."
Hearing the anxiety in his voice, she nods, calls a resident for some instructions, then heads out to the parking lot with her boyfriend. When they arrive in front of his car, Addison asks in a worried tone:
"Pete, what's going on?"
"Get in the car and I'll explain while I drive."
"I'm not going anywhere without knowing what's going on!"
Addison speaks in a firm tone as she places her hand on her hip. Pete lets out a deep sigh knowing she won't budge and then begins to explain:
"Do you remember Gibby?"
"Your friend from Doctor Without Borders who had dinner with us?"
"That."
"Did something happen to him?"
"More or less..."- Pete hesitates, but knowing that she needs the truth, says it all at once – "He has a clandestine clinic at home, a clinic where he helps people who can't go to hospitals. I've been helping him. When I can... And I know what you're going to say, but the thing is, there's a pregnant girl over there who needs help."
Addison's eyes widen with his every word, disbelief clear on her features. After a minute of assimilation, she asks:
"Are you telling me that you answer in a place without authorization, hide it from me for months and want me to do the same?"
"Addison, I do this for a good cause."
"There are other ways..."
"Not always. I thought that before I went there, but believe me, the clinic is the only salvation for those people. And now there's a girl and a baby who need you, who are just as important as the thousands of lives you save this year. Hospital, but who cannot be here."
His words are harsh and really touch her, she nods without saying anything and gets into the vehicle. Pete lets out a relieved sigh and rushes to the driver's seat.
Addison is still trying to organize his thoughts when Pete's cell phone rings, it's his friend asking for haste, which he answers immediately. The speed at which her boyfriend is driving starts to make her anxious and she asks:
"Can't we go slower?"
"From Gibby's words, no. Don't worry, we're almost there."
He speaks and gives her hand a gentle squeeze, which she just nods. Seconds after that, they are closed off by another vehicle, Pete is driving too fast, he tries to brake sharply but loses control of the car which ends up flipping twice before coming to a stop on a pole.
It takes a few seconds for Addison's vision to adjust and for her to understand what happened. They're upside down, shards of glass everywhere and iron twisted around them, she looks to the side and Pete is unconscious, his forehead bleeding profusely and the sounds of his breathing startle her. She tries to move somehow, but the pain ripping through her back is strong, at the same time dizziness and nausea sets in, so everything is blurry before it goes completely dark. The last things on her mind before she blacked out are Chris and Derek.
AAAAAAA
I apologize for this long delay in updating.
I also apologize for the hot, I'm not good at it and I tried to do my best.
Remembering once again that the characters do not belong to me and that my language is not English.
Comments are appreciated here.
