You screw my best friend and all you have to say is 'He was just here'?
It was Friday night, the night Mark used to wait the entire week for. He used to leave the hospital that night and showed up again in two days like it was normal to just disappear in the days the E.R. gets more patients, but it has always been like that for him. Weekends used to be important to him and he'd liked to enjoy it inviting some friends - women - to disappear with him for no destiny in sight.
At least, that was how his life used to be before his best friend become a workaholic who just could think about surgery and had started to dictate how his Fridays night would be joined.
"Derek, what's that message Rabbit told me?"
Rabbit was the nickname he had for an intern he would never know the real name. Why he would? He didn't like to work with interns anyway.
"You don't get to stay the whole night…" Derek explained not taking his eyes off the surgery he was proceeding. "Just… Stay there until Addison gets home."
He knew it was night, and that he should be changing his clothes to meet his 5-year-old daughter in the hospital waiting room. She should be there already, sitting in an armchair with her nanny. But like other days, that day everything went out of his control again and he would have to stay at the hospital to perform that surgery.
"I have plans for tonight that don't include princesses or anything your daughter likes to do at night," Mark said.
"You're her godfather and... You know it's not hard to take care of her. You just get to give her something to eat, then put her to bed," Derek said. "I'm sure Addison will get home before she goes to bed. Don't worry."
"I don't want to! Okay?"
"Why? She did something wrong?"
"No!"
"So…?"
Mark sighed impatiently.
"She didn't anything wrong. I just thought… You have to stay with her. She's your daughter, not mine!"
"She did something," Derek said glancing at his friend. "What has she said?"
"She didn't say anything… It's just… You have to spend more time with your family!"
"Mark… Not now… Will you take care of her or not?"
"Derek… I don't think so… Would you like me to find someone to replace you here? I can…"
"Why don't you wanna stay with my daughter? What's wrong with her?" Derek asked.
"It's not Katie, I've told you…"
"So what?!"
"It's your wife," Mark answered mentally, feeling dirty. Derek was staring at him seeming curious.
He'd never known how to lie to Derek. He was his best friend, so he just looked around avoiding looking at him, and sighed.
"Okay. I'm gonna take her home, but this is the last time I'm gonna do that," Mark said. "You have to spend more time with your family."
"Okay, Mark. I'll follow your advice. Now… Go. She must be already there."
Mark left the OR throwing the mask in the trash next to the door and punching the air for being unable to say no to Derek again. He went to the waiting room after chang his uniform and met Katie there. She was like a perfect match for her mother and father. She had Addison's mouth, nose, eyebrows, but definitely Derek's eyes and hair color. She was with a blond woman who blushed when saw him.
"Uncle Mark!"
She jumped on his arms and hugged him.
"Monkey!"
He had spun the girl in the air making her laugh.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine. I'm waiting for my daddy."
"Uh… Your dad, he is dressed like the super-surgeon in the OR to save someone else's daddy's life."
"He is gonna be late?"
"I'll take you home, monkey," Mark answered.
"Again? But daddy had promised…".
"I know, monkey, but… You know how it works, don't you?" he asked looking into her eyes. "He'll go home soon and your mother too. Come on?"
He noticed she hadn't liked the idea. She said goodbye to her nanny and went with Mark to his car. He tried to make her laugh, which wasn't a hard job for him, but that night she wasn't really in the mood. They didn't take so long to arrive home because the brownstone was near the hospital, so they got in with her keys and Mark turned on the light while Katie sat on the couch leaving her backpack aside. She picked the remote control to turn the TV on.
"So? What's for tonight? Chinese or pizza?" Mark asked sitting next to her.
"We can have it?"
"I don't know… Why we couldn't?"
"Mommy says it's not good to eat pizza before going to sleep. Is she wrong?"
"No, monkey. She's not wrong, buuut... She's not right either."
Katie laughed and shook her head.
"Let's order pizza!" Mark said taking his cell phone. "What's your favorite?"
She didn't answer, just kept looking at her godfather with a look that is probably saying: Ok, you're trying to be cool, but your not my dad, and I want him.
"Come on, monkey! I know you'd prefer your father over me, but you know… I can replace him here, but not in the OR."
"But he had promised…"
"Yes, he had, but he can't predict what is happening to other people and there's someone needing him at the hospital. He hadn't planned that. He really wished he could be here with you. Come on. Let's order our pizza that will be...?"
"CHEEESE!"
"THAT!"
They had a high five and watched tv while was waiting for pizza. Even if he had told Derek he had plans for that night, and he really had, he wasn't mad or thinking about them - even if Loren was texting him wanting to know where he was. He was happy to be with Katie, because, although he was never good with children, he loves her like she was his own daughter, and he knew she would be near to have a child he would experience.
"Uncle Mark, you will work tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is Saturday. Uncle Mark never works on Saturday, monkey."
That was the good thing about being a plastic surgeon. All surgery schedules. No emergency in sight.
"Why?" he asked.
"Can you go with me to Central Park?"
"Me? You wanna go with me?"
"Yeah."
"And why don't you go with your dad or mom?"
"Because I don't know if they'll want to... I mean, I don't know if my dad will want to. If he doesn't go to the hospital, maybe he'll stay home because he'll be tired and..."
"Ok. Let's do this. You insist a lot on your father. If there's no way, I'll come to pick you. Okay?!"
The girl nodded, smiling, and surprised Mark with a hug.
"I love you, Uncle Mark."
"I love you too, monkey."
The bell rang and Mark ran to get the pizza. They ate having fun, laughing about the histories Mark was telling her about the time he, Derek, and her aunts were children. Most of them were created by him, but ways more fun than the original version. He took some photos of her grimacing on his cell phone and didn't take long for Katie to feel tired. Mark helped her with her PJs and put her in the bed after kissing her forehead.
"You don't want to sleep?" he asked sat next to her.
"Uncle Mark, if you wanna come home after I sleep, you can. Mommy will get home soon."
Mark smiled and stroked his goddaughter's black hair.
"Sleep, monkey. I would never leave you alone at home."
He stood there until she sleeps, then he went downstairs to clean up the mess they had done in the living room. He was putting the napkins inside the pizza box when heard keys stirring from outside. He waited to see Addison and Derek coming home, but it was only Addison who walked to the living room and seemed surprised to find Mark standing there, where Derek was supposed to be.
"Mark?!"
"Hi, Addie."
"Is Derek upstairs with Katie?" she asked.
"No... He hasn't arrived yet."
Addison was silent. "Why had I asked?"
"But he said he will go home with her tonight..." she explained.
"He had a surgery, so I brought her home. She's sleeping."
She nodded, was clearly disappointed, like her daughter, for her husband's absence. Mark noticed and internally felt sorry for her. He hated to be in that position. Derek was his best friend, but he had no way to defend him from being absent.
He and Addison had never been close friends. For her, he has always been her husband's best friend who, liking it or not, will be in her living room every weekend, like he hadn't a TV in his apartment.
It used to be like that since med school. She used to think he was a womanizer, irresponsible, insensitive, and she didn't know how he got his license to practice medicine, surgery, as she had never seen him study once.
He used to be an expert on this too: surprising people. And it was what he has done last months: surprising her with another side of him. A side that - most out of context it could sound - she wanted Derek to have.
The proximation between them has become more and more embarrassing for both of them because they couldn't hide the desire they have for each other anymore.
He has comforted her when Derek hasn't; he cared about Katie when Derek couldn't care; he held her hand when Derek couldn't hold anything but a scalpel.
They kissed once, but they have promised they would never talk about it. Since then they were staring at each other like that, guilty, wherever they meet. And it has been hard to pretend there's nothing happening, especially when they were alone. Like they weren't there.
"I... I'm cleaning up the mess we made," Mark said. "I'm gonna home when I'm done."
"Okay... I'm gonna take a shower..."
She blushed when she realized she shouldn't say it.
"I mean... I'm gonna... Up. Uh. Close the door when you leave."
He nodded and she picked her shoes on the floor to go upstairs.
When she got into her bedroom, she leaned against the door, closing her eyes. She couldn't believe Derek had broken another promise. She walked to the bathroom and took off her clothes to take a shower. She had to feel her body relaxing while hot water was running down. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply sometimes trying to forget all her problems. She didn't want to think about Mark in her living room when Derek was supposed to be there, but when she closed her eyes again, the first thing she thought was about their kiss.
.
She had no reaction when Mark got closer to face her. She didn't even know if she was approaching him or he was approaching her. She couldn't feel her body or muscles moving, but she knew any of them was moving, getting closing.
Now that they were that closer, she could see some details of him she had never paid attention to. His blue eyes have some brown points near the iris, and she was so concentrated on them that caught the exact moment when they closed when his lips touched her and suck it softly. She couldn't resist and closed her eyes too.
They kissed for a few seconds, but she felt like an eternity. She lost her mind when felt his tongue touching hers efficiently and his hand in her neck with the warmth and sensibility she hadn't felt from Derek in a long time.
"This should never happen," she said pushing his chest.
"S-Sorry, Addie..."
"N-No... It was me... I'm sorry."
"It wasn't you. It was me. I'm so sorry."
She shook her head, still confused. It was him? It was her? She didn't know because it was them.
"I don't know what's going on... I just... I'm upset about Derek," she said. "He should be here! Katie is upset with him again... I'm sorry, Mark."
"Let's just forget it happened, okay?!" he said holding her hands, trying to calm her down.
Addison sighed, trying to calm down, but she couldn't be calm with him touching her.
"Go home, Mark… Please. I need to be alone."
He nodded, stroked her shoulder, and left. Addison felt like she could finally breathe. The door closed, he threw her body against the couch to relax, stared at the ceiling asking herself what was happening, then someone sat next to her on the couch and she quickly turned to check who it was. She thought it was Katie, and that she had seen what happened between Mark and her, but it was Amelia.
"Addie, it's okay," Amelia said. "I won't tell anybody."
Addison shivered and cried because she was feeling dirty. She approached her sister-in-law to hug her and Amelia hugged her back. Of all her husband's sisters, Amelia would be the only one to comfort her after what she had done.
"What have I done?"
"Derek wasn't here... Mark was," Amelia explained. "He was here... That's it. He was just here."
.
She opened her eyes.
Although she had asked Mark and Amelia to forget what happened that day, she couldn't do it. She never forgave herself for that, especially because every time she thought about it, she remembered Captain and how she spent her whole life judging him for being a cheater.
It was hard to sleep next to Derek after that. Even if he slept with his back to her and just gets home exhausted.
She stood under the shower for a few more minutes, then left the bathroom and went to Katie's room to check on her. She was walking in the narrow hall when collided something. A strong hand gripped both her arms and prevented her to fell. For a moment she wished it was Derek getting home, but it was Mark, and his face was that closer to hers again.
"I'm sorry..."
She couldn't say anything.
"I was gonna tell you I'm leaving," Mark continued staring into her eyes.
He wished he wasn't looking at her with desire, but it was impossible. She glance at his lips, and it was a start for Mark, who obviously caught the look.
"I was gonna see Katie..."
It was strongest than him. He pulled her closer and kissed her wanting to feel what he has felt the first - and only - time they kissed.
She had tried to resist, push him away, but his strong arms were fastened tightly around her waist, and she relaxed letting his tongue guides hers. His hands ran over her shoulder pulling her robe down. He didn't know if he would have another chance to touch her like that, so he had to do it.
"It's wrong, Mark... It's wrong," his mind was almost screaming. But even if he knew she was his best friend's wife, the woman Derek had most loved in his life, the only woman in the world he should never look at, he couldn't control when his yes caught her body and touched her boobs.
"Don't do this..." she whispered very low with her eyes closed. "To... Please..."
She opened her eyes and for a moment her fantasy came true. Derek was in front of her, touching her, getting closer for a kiss, a passionate kiss. It had been so long since they had really good sex, so she could feel him through Mark's hands. It was simple, she just needs to close her eyes and let her mind make the job. She pulled Mark's shirt, his hands roamed her naked back as she pulled him into her bedroom opening the button of his jeans, letting it slide down his legs. Mark hurried to take off his pants, then took off her robe seeing for the first time her body completely naked.
It was almost 1:00 a.m. when Derek got home.
The first thing that let him surprised was the fact that the front door wasn't locked. It was 1:00 a.m., he knew Addison was home because her car was parked, so why the door wasn't locked?
He was worried something had happened to his wife and daughter, but when he was walking to his bedroom, he saw a shirt on the floor, and he knew it wasn't his. He stepped to his bedroom and found a pair of jeans. When he finally faced the door he was afraid of what he might find there. He didn't want to open it, but he had to, so he did it and what he saw looked like a nightmare. Mark over his wife. Addison with her legs wrapped on his waist, moaning with her eyes closed while he was kissing her neck.
He didn't know what to do. He felt like his limbs were anesthetized. He wanted to say something, but his mouth didn't move; he wanted to run away, but his legs didn't obey his command. He actually thought the best thing that could happen at that moment was that floor opening under his feet and sucking him. He turned his back to leave and was about to do it quietly, but bumped into something catching their attention.
"Derek…"
Mark got up in a jump. For the first time Derek saw him with no confidence, not knowing what to do. That was such a startling situation. Mark Sloan always knew what to do in any situation, he could reverse all situations in his favor, it was like that in med school, internship, residency, but that day he didn't know what to do.
Derek looked at him with a look he'd never seen before. It was a disappointment, angry, he-didn't-know-what look. The only thing he knew was that whatever Derek was thinking, he was right; and if he wanted to punch his face, he was right too and he wouldn't retaliate.
There were no words Mark would say to explain what his best friend had just seen, but anyway he walked over to him, maybe waiting for him to punch his face. He would feel better if he did it, but all Derek did was throw the jeans on his chest.
"Derek... Calm down," Mark said.
"Get out of my house!" he shouted pointing to the door.
"Derek, I..."
"OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!"
Addison grabbed a shirt Derek had used the day before and tossed it into the chair beside the bed to dress.
"Go, Mark! Get out of here."
"But Addie..." Mark said covering his cock with the pant.
"Go!"
"I won't let you handle it alone, I..."
"Get out of my house!" Derek said, pulling his friend by the arm.
He threw Mark out of the room, then slammed the door and turned to his wife, who was sitting on the bed.
That was so humiliating and Addison couldn't think about anything to say. Her body was sweaty, she was wearing a dark shirt of his, he was really mad at her and she was afraid because she had never seen that angry in his eyes before. Not even when Amelia stoled his prescriptions to get high. Until that moment he had come home exhausted, ready to take a warm shower and throw into bed, maybe have sex with her. Yeah, he was thinking about sex, but now the tiredness had completely disappeared. He waited for her to say something, at least to tell him it was a nightmare, but no word came out of her mouth. She just stared at him, letting the tears run on her face, still not knowing what she had done.
Addison never cries. Forbes Montgomerys never cries. That was a sign of weakness to them, and Derek, more than anyone, knew that. So, a tear coming from her was the sign that all of that was true, not a nightmare. He kept glancing at her. He was really giving her a chance to explain it, to say it was a nightmare. He was so upset and wishing so hard to not live that reality that he could even believe it if she said. But she didn't, and he instinctively walked to their closet.
"Derek..." she finally said something, getting out the bed to check what he would do.
She took her panties on the floor and pulled them off as fast as she could. He took her clothes from the closet.
"Derek, what are you doing?"
He threw her designer dresses on the bed.
"Derek, talk to me!"
He couldn't say anything. He just picked up the dresses and sheets that covered the bed to leave the room.
"Derek, what are you doing?!" she asked following him. "We have to talk about this! You have to give me a chance to explain... What are you doing? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY CLOTHES? Derek?!"
She followed him down the hall.
"It was one time! I know that's what people say. I know what always gets said, but it's…" they went downstairs. "I don't even know how it happened. I don't know what I was thinking! He was just… He was just here… He was just here…"
"He was just here?" he whispered. "You screw my best friend and all you can say is he was just here?"
He opened the door and threw her clothes outside.
"Derek!"
"Get out!"
"NO!"
"GET OUT!" he ordered pointing to the open door.
"No. I'm not going. We're gonna just talk about this," Addison said, sitting on one of the stairs.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!"
"No! We're gonna discuss this. No, no! I'm holding my ground… WE DON'T QUIT! We have to work…"
"Get out…"
He pulled her by the arm.
"NO! What are you doing?"
"Get out!"
"What...? Derek!"
He threw her outside and slammed the door.
"No!" Addison cried pressing her hands against the blurred door.
It was raining outside, and he could listen to her mingled with the sound of raindrops on the ground.
"No... Derek, please..."
He could see her silhouette standing, trembling a little.
"Please..." she cried again.
He turned his back and looked around as he was lost in his own house.
"Please..." she cried again knocking on the door. "Please, Derek..."
"What's going on?" he asked himself before sighing.
It wasn't his life. It couldn't be his life.
"Please..."
He couldn't let her freeze outside.
"Derek..."
It wasn't him.
"Sorry..." she said when he opened the door. "I'm sorry... You have to give me a chance," she approached him. "You have to give me a chance to show how sorry I am..."
He let her hug him because he didn't know what to do, but he couldn't hug her back, he pushed her away when she tried to kiss him and closed the door.
"I'm gonna go and you stay... I'll get my clothes in the morning," he said.
"No..." she groaned. "We can survive. We can survive this," she argued trying to make him understand. "We're AddisonAndDerek... We can survive this."
"I can't look at you… I just… I look at you and I feel nauseous..."
Derek tried, more than once, to put out the words that were stuck in his throat, but it hurt to say that, even think about that.
"We... We... We're not AddisonAndDerek anymore."
Addison shivered and felt the tears run on her face.
"If you go now, we are not gonna get through this. If you go now… We don't have a chance. We don't have a chance?"
He didn't answer.
"If you go now…"
He left and for a moment she hadn't believed it.
She couldn't believe a moment of weakness had put her whole life in collapse. She bent down on the floor crying, wishing she could come back in time but there's no way to do it. "What did I do?"
Derek wouldn't come back. He would never come back because he was hating her. His eyes, where she used to see love, now were full of hate, for her. She couldn't imagine how things would be from now. How she would live without him, how she'll explain to Katie he won't come back, but in a few minutes the door opened again and she was surprised to see Derek getting in with her clothes. He threw everything next to the door and went upstairs.
"Der..." she followed him hopefully.
Maybe he had decided to think better, maybe he had decided to talk to her the next day. But all he did was get into their daughter's bedroom to take her from her bed.
"Derek... What do you think you're doing?!" she asked as he picked their daughter's backpack on her study table.
Katie shifted in her father's arms and opened her eyes trying to understand what was happening. She just saw a blurred image of her mother crying behind her father.
"Derek... You won't take her, are you listening?" Addison asked following him now by the stairs. "Derek!"
"Mommy..." the girl groaned sleepily.
"Give me her, Derek," Addison asked holding her daughter's hand. "You're not gonna take my daughter!"
Katie woke up and look above her father's shoulders.
"Shhh... Go back to sleep, sweetheart," Derek said pressing his daughter's face into his shoulder.
"No, Derek…" Addison said following him outside.
He put his daughter in the backseat of his car and slammed the door. The girl had woken up now but was confused. Addison grabbed him by the sleeve of his coat and tried to stop him from leaving with Katie.
"You'll not take her... Please, Derek. Leave her with me," she pleaded to cry.
"Mommy!" Katie said banging on the glass.
"She doesn't wanna go, Derek! Please!"
He jerked a last tug on his arm making Addison leave his overcoat, then he got into the car and turned it on.
"Daddy, what's going on?" the scary girl asked.
She could see a tear trickling down her father's face as her mother beat in despair at the window.
"No! NO! Katie! KATIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Addison ran behind the car.
But it was faster and then turned the corner to disappear from her sight.
"KATIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He didn't know where to drive. If he went to his mother's house, he would have to explain what was going on. If he went to a hotel, he would probably be located by Addison. He was really mad at her, thinking about ways to disappear, so he couldn't hear Katie questioning him about what was happening.
"Daddy… What's going on?" the girl asked. "Where are we going? I want my mom."
He couldn't believe what was happening. His foot pressed the accelerator when the image of Mark on top of his wife appeared on his mind.
"DADDY!"
A car was arising in front of him, frightening him, making him turn the steering wheel trying to sidestep it, and immediately step on the brake. The car stopped violently on the roadblock, while the other cars followed their way honking as rebuking him for the lack of attention driving. Derek's breath, which had been stopped until then, was released. His heart was beating so hard and fast he could feel like hearing it loud and clear. The silence took hold for a few seconds until the sound of a child crying behind his back caught his attention. "What am I doing?" he thought.
"Calm down…"
He turned to look at the girl who had a frightened face.
"It was nothing. It's all right."
"Let's go home..." Katie asked crying and wiping her tears with the sleeve of her pajamas.
"Sweetheart, calm down. Come here with daddy…" he said pulling her hand.
The girl was shaking and was scared because she was in a dark and silent street with her father and it looks like and horror movie. She passed between the front seats and sat on her father's lap, hugging him tightly.
"I'm sorry…" Derek said against her hair. "Daddy didn't wanna risk your life, I…"
She was still crying.
"Shhhhh… It's ok. Daddy's here with you…"
"I wanna go home, daddy…"
"Close your eyes, princess."
"Are we gonna home?"
"Just close your eyes."
Katie kept crying feeling her father's fingers stroking her hair until she fall asleep again. The silence gave Derek time to think about what was happening. He still couldn't believe he had found Addison and Mark in his bed. Not even in his worst nightmares, he could imagine something like that. Of course his heart was hurt, but even though he didn't want to, he just couldn't help but think about how Addison was at that very moment. "Had she called the police?" he wondered.
He picked his cell phone in his pocket and searched for Richard Webber's number. He was one of his mentors during his residency and he had become the chief of surgery in a hospital in Seattle. He had called him in the morning offering him the head of neurosurgery position in the hospital again, and now he can see it as a good opportunity.
"Richard Webber…" he heard the voice across the line.
"Webber? This is Derek Shepherd."
"Shepherd! How are you?"
"I'm sorry for calling you this hour…"
"What hour?" Richard asked. "It must be dawn in New York, but here in Seattle... Three hours less, you know?"
"Sure."
"But, tell me, why you're calling me?"
"That job you had for me... Do you, uh, still have?"
He heard the noise of movement like Richard was surprised by his question.
"Yes! Of course!" Richard answered. "Whenever you want to."
"What's the position then?"
"Head of the neurosurgery department. It sounds small for you?"
"No. Far above the job I have."
"Right. You just get to visit Seattle, know the hospital, bring your salary proposal and..."
"I'm going to Seattle right now."
"Are you coming to Seattle now?" Richard asked seeming surprised. "Now now?"
"Yes, I just get to buy a ticket and book a hotel..."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah…"
"Why didn't you guys call me earlier?"
"I didn't want to bother you."
"Did something happen in New York?"
"No… Everything is okay."
"Right. So, I'll wait for you guys in Seattle."
Richard imagined that Addison would be with him.
"I'll contact you as soon as I arrive there."
"I can't wait for this."
Derek threw the phone on the seat next to his, kissed his daughter's forehead, and got out of the car to sit her in the back seat. She stirred.
"Shhhhh... Keep sleeping, sweetheart."
She yawned and found a good position to sleep setting.
"That…"
He kissed her forehead again and went back to the front seat to drive to the airport. The place was practically empty at that hour, but he felt like the people were looking at him noticing he was carrying a girl in her pajamas like running away from something. He walked to the counter without standing in a line and opened his wallet with difficulty.
"I wanna two first-class tickets to Seattle," he asked handing his ID and credit card to the desk clerk.
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised because it was suspected that a man appeared there in the middle of the night with an unconscious girl in his lap, in her pajamas, asking for tickets to the other side of the country.
"I need some document from the child, sir."
"She's my daughter."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I do need a document proving this or an authorization signed by the child's parents."
Derek sighed and rolled his eyes.
"She's my daughter! What…? A man can't travel with his own kid in the middle of the night?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir... I really can't sell you a ticket if you don't prove what you're saying."
He opened his daughter's backpack on the counter, realizing there was a dress, a toothbrush, liquid soap, shampoo, a small notebook, and a crayons box there. Just what she needed to stay at daycare, but nothing to prove she was really his daughter. He found Katie's emergency, school, and vaccination card and handed it to the clerk, who checked against his document.
"Mr. Shepherd, what is the child's name?" she asked.
"Do you do this to any parents?" he countered.
"Try to understand, sir. This is a protocol."
"Am I going through a kidnapping protocol?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
"Very well... Her name is Katherine. Katherine Beatrice Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd. She is 5-years-old and was born on October 16th in a c-section. Her blood type is O+, people often say she has my eyes, but she's sleeping, so..."
"Ok, sir..."
"She prefers mashed carrot instead of mashed potato. Her favorite milkshake is the strawberry one. Sometimes she talks to Dora, the explorer, but she's ashamed of it, so I pretend I don't notice it. She wears 7-year-old clothes because she's a little bigger, but..."
"Sir, it's all right," the woman said embarrassed.
"She's my daughter! She's my child!"
The woman nodded and handed the documents to him.
"Sorry for the embarrassment, sir, but…"
"It's all right. You're doing your job."
"The next flight leaves in 40 minutes. Do you confirm the purchase?"
"Yes."
"Okay. So, I'm gonna print your tickets and..." she took out the printed papers. "Have a nice trip."
He greeted and walked away.
Savvy thought she heard someone yelling outside before lay down next to her husband. For a moment she thought it was just an impression to believe that it was Addison's voice, but something told her she should get out of bed to look out the window to check and that's what she did.
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked in a sleepy voice.
"I don't know... I've heard a yell, Addison's voice..."
She opened the white curtain and was surprised to see Addison standing in the middle of the street.
"Weiss, come here!"
"Huh..." he groaned.
"Come here!"
He got up, still sleepy, and walked to his wife.
"Is not Addison right there?" she asked.
Weiss wiped his eyes to be sure, then he was startled by what he saw. That woman crying in the empty street in the rain was really Addison. They both left as fast they could to meet her there.
"Addison! What is going on?!" Savvy asked.
"He took her..." Addison said crying.
Her lips were trembling, her teeth were bitting.
"Addie, you're gonna freeze... Come on," Savvy said pulling her by the shoulder.
"No! I want her back..."
"Who? Addie, let's go to your house and you will explain to me what's going on."
Addison ran a hand over her forehead to wipe the water, then went home with her friends. Weiss was holding a large umbrella over their heads, but it seemed useful for her. When they got into her Brownstone, Savvy and Weiss looked around and were surprised to see some wet clothes next to the door. They looked at Addison waiting for her to tell what had happened, but all she did was cry.
"What's going on, Addie?" Weiss asked. "Do you want us to call Derek?"
Addison ran upstairs. Savvy and Weiss, who couldn't understand anything, followed her. She looked for her cell phone in her purse and dialed Derek's number.
"Addie..." Savvy said approaching.
"He doesn't wanna answer me…" she said trying to call again. "Derek... He doesn't wanna answer my call!"
Savvy looked around. There's no sheet on the bed.
"Addie, what happened here? Was it a robbery?"
Addison shook her head.
"I lost my head completely," Addison said trying to make another call.
"What are you talking about, Addie?" Savvy asked.
"Mark and I... I didn't resist... I didn't want to, but... He was just here!" Addison said crying. "He's always just here! Derek is never and..."
Weiss raised his eyebrows getting what was happening. Savvy has known about the tension between Mark and Addison, but she couldn't but be surprised by what she was telling her.
"Weiss... Make some tea, coffee, hot chocolate, I don't know, anything hot or she'll freeze."
He left the room, still open-mouthed. When she saw he wasn't around, Savvy took a warm towel from Addison's closet and helped her to dry e dress warm pajamas.
"What had he did, Addie?" Savvy asked.
Nobody had to be a genius to notice Derek had caught Mark and her in bed. Weiss returned to the room with a hot chocolate mug, sat on the bed next to his wife, and held it to Addison.
"No," Addison said insisting on the call.
"Here, Addie. You'll feel better," Weiss said.
"There's no way for me to feel better while my daughter is away," Addison said.
"What?!" Savvy asked. "Did Derek take Katie with him?"
"He did… And I got a bad feeling," the redhead said crying again. "I want my daughter, Savvy!"
Savvy held her friend's hand and took the mug from Weiss.
"Addie, drink it... I'm sure he'll be back in the morning with her, you know. You're AddisonAndDerek!" Weiss commented.
Addison cried again, lying on the bed and shrugging her legs.
"What did I do?" she wondered aloud. "What the hell did I do?"
Savvy didn't know what to do. She picked a sheet in the closet and covered her friend before looking at her husband.
"You gotta go the hospital in the morning, I'll have an audience only late afternoon," she said. "Get some rest."
"And leave you here alone?" he asked.
"It's better this way. Go, Weiss. I'm gonna talk to her... Come home."
He had no choice. He knew there's things they didn't want him to know, so he left, leaving them alone. After locking the front door when her husband went home, Savvy took the clothes on the floor and took them to the laundry room near the kitchen. Addison was in the same position when she came back. She was trying to call Derek.
"Addie... It's okay," Savvy said gently picking up the phone from her hand. "Look, he's upset, but he'll think about it and... Everything will lighten in his head and he'll return home."
"He'll never forgive me."
"Of course he will. You're AddisonAndDerek!"
"I guess… We aren't AddisonAndDerek anymore."
"Don't say that! Of course you're AddisonAndDerek."
Savvy watched for a second and pursed her lips.
"Come here..."
Addison hugged her tightly, crying again.
"I'm having a bad feeling," Addison said. "I'm feeling... I'm afraid Savvy. Derek was furious, running with the car. If anything happens to him... If anything happens to Katie... I'll never forgive myself."
"Calm down," Savvy said. "Nothing is gonna happen to them, okay? Try to rest."
"I can't sleep," Addison said laying her head on her friend's thigh. "I won't sleep while my daughter is anywhere else."
"Have you called me, sir?" the stewardess stood in front of Derek's seat.
"Yeah. I want a blanket. The most comfortable you have," he ordered running a hand over his daughter's arm to warm her.
"Uh, you can regulate her seat, so she'll be comfortable..."
"No. It's okay. She's just freezing. I just need a blanket. I'm traveling with no luggage."
"Just a minute, sir."
The woman walk away and Derek kissed Katie's forehead.
"Shhhhh... Keep sleeping."
After a few minutes, the woman returned with a blanket and helped Derek to cover Katie, who was more comfortable resting her face on his father's chest.
"Thank you."
"No problem, sir?"
"How long until we arrived in Seattle?"
"We'll be in Seattle in an hour and a half, sir."
"Thank you."
She walked away again. Derek looked at his daughter's unconscious face and pressed her against him. She brought him peace, made his thoughts empty, and also brought him to reality. "What am I doing?" he wondered. Even if he wanted to forget everything, looking at Katie made him think about the consequences having her could bring him.
"I love you..." he whispered before kissing her forehead again.
He tried to sleep, but he couldn't, he kept his eyes open until hear the commander announcing they're gonna land in Seattle.
He looked at his wristwatch, it was 07:00 in the morning, Katie would wake up at any moment, but when he left the plane with the girl unconscious in his lap he was surprised to realize it was dark in Seattle and was raining a little. "Three hours less in Seattle," he remembered Richard's words.
He thought about calling Richard, but he didn't know his number and had left his cell phone in his car in New York, so he got in a cab and asked the driver to take him to a hotel. The best thing he could do at that moment was to put Katie in a comfortable bed and cover her up with a clean duvet. There's no better feeling than seeing her sleeping comfortably. He didn't feel the time pass until Katie moves to bed waking up. She couldn't remember a lot about last night. She has believed she got a nightmare but now she was in her parent's bedroom, so she just smiled at Derek and rubbed her eyes.
"Morning, daddy."
"Good morning, princess," he said kissing her forehead.
She moved to sit down to look at her mother, that would be in the bathroom, but when she looked around she noticed she wasn't in their bedroom and that probably the day before wouldn't have been a nightmare.
"Where we are?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"In a hotel room."
She looked around curiously until her eyes found the curtains half-hidden. She couldn't remember the last time they were in a hotel. They haven't traveled in a long time.
"It's raining?" she asked.
"Yeah... I read that it rains a lot around here," Derek said.
"Around here?!" she asked confused.
"Princess, look," he touched her face. "We need to..."
"What's going on?"
"Yeah... We'll talk about it now," Derek said stroking her face. "We're not in New York anymore, we're in Seattle."
"Seattle?"
"It's a city on the West Coast. I'm sure you're gonna really like to move here."
"Move?" she asked confused. "Where's mommy?"
"Mom... She... M-Mommy had to stay in New York."
"Why?"
Derek didn't know how to answer that question.
"I wanna go back to New York. I wanna go home, daddy."
"We're gonna stay here for a while, baby... You know, daddy has a job offer here."
"And mommy too?"
"N-No, honey... Your mother will keep work in New York."
Katie tried to figure out what was going on, but she couldn't put any logical thoughts in her mind.
"I'll never see my mother again?"
"Of course you will... Of course you'll see your mother again, but we have to stay here in Seattle for a bit."
"Why haven't you let her come with us? She was crying..."
He felt guilty.
"Princess. Your mother has done something."
"What?"
"It wasn't with you... It was with me."
"What has she done?"
Derek was silent and took a deep breath.
"Nothing to hurt you, okay?" he said. "She would never do anything to hurt you."
"I want her here too..."
"Let's just forget about that for a minute and think about it as a trip of us. What do you think?" Derek asked smiling. "Look, you have a dress there in your backpack. Get dressed that we're gonna go shop and visit some people."
"Who?"
"Daddy's friends."
"May I talk to mommy later?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Okay, then."
They did it. Left the hotel and spent the day knowing Seattle as a tourist. Derek has never gone there, so he hasn't known anything. They took cabs to go to a mall and bought everything they wanted to. Katie had fun because she hadn't had a moment like that with her father in a while. They went back to the hotel just in the night, laughing about the day they had.
"Yes, it was! We got lost five times until we got here!"
Derek laughed.
"It wasn't so much."
"Yes, it was! I counted!"
"What? Were you counting?!" he asked tickling her belly.
Katie laughed struggling in bed. Derek kissed her cheek and went to the bathroom. She kept in bed staring at the ceiling.
It was 10:40 a.m. and Addison was still trying to contact Derek. Savvy was there with her, afraid of letting her alone and also worried about Derek and Katie. She hasn't know what to think about that. Even if she knew what Addison and Mark did was wrong, she did believe in Derek's love for her and would never imagine he could be able to just disappear with Katie.
Addison got up in a jump when the bell rang. She ran downstairs to answer and Savvy went with her wishing it wasn't bad news.
When they opened the door, they were surprised to see Derek's four sisters. They got into the house not asking for permission and looked around like looking for something. They were all shocked to see Addison's state. The only one who wasn't black hair approached and slapped her's face.
"What are you doing?!" Amelia asked pushing her sister.
"Nancy! Why did you do that?!" Kathleen asked standing in front of her sister.
Amelia approached her sister-in-law and touched her shoulder.
"What's going on?" Amelia asked.
"It was my fault..."
"Of course it was your fault!" Nancy shouted.
"He took my daughter. I want my baby back!"
"You should think of it before..."
"Nancy!" Kathleen scolded.
"What?! You're gonna come to her defense now?! Didn't you hear what Weiss said? Derek catch her and Mark in bed!" Nancy said.
Addison glanced at Savvy, who was so embarrassed than her.
"We have to listen to her…" Lizzie said. "That's why we came here for."
"No! We came here to know... What the fuck you were thinking, Addison?" Nancy asked.
"STOP IT!" Amelia shouted pointing at her older sister.
"We came here to talk and..."
They started to talk at the same time and Addison kept silent between them. Her head started to ache and all she could think about was how Katie was at that moment. She just wanted to hear her voice.
"SHUT UP!" Savvy shouted making them stop talking. "If you all came here to talk and try to figure out what's going on, sit down and speak one at a time! But I hope you remember that this is all about Addison and Derek, so she won't talk with you guys about it if she doesn't want to."
The women were silent, looking at Addison, who seemed to be lost, not even listening to what they were saying.
"Addie, do you wanna talk to them?" Savvy asked.
She just nodded. She had no option. They were there. What she was supposed to do? She sat in an armchair and waited while her sisters-in-law settled in.
"How are you feeling?" Kathleen asked being the first to speak.
Her voice was soft and Addison could see she was trying to be a therapist, not the-sister-of-the-guy-who-was-betrayed.
"Come on! You're not here to work!" Nancy complained.
"Shut up! Why are you acting like this?!" Amelia asked her older sister.
"Simply because I woke up this morning with a call from my brother's life insurance, saying I was his emergency contact..."
"Has anything happened to them?" Addison asked like she has woken up.
"No. They wanted me to get his car at the airport."
"Airport?!" Addison asked starting to cry again. "Where did he take my daughter? I want my daughter."
"I have no idea where Derek is," Nancy said.
Addison stood up and paced back and forth.
"What did I do?" she asked herself in a whisper. "What did I… What did I do?"
"Do you need someone to explain to you what have you done?" Nancy asked.
"I want my daughter... I'll never see my daughter again... I want my baby back... I want..."
"Don't you have any idea where he might be?" Nancy asked.
"He took my daughter... I want my daughter back, I..."
"Addison, what the hell did you have in your mind to have sex with Mark Sloan?" Nancy asked.
"I want my daughter."
Apparently, it was all she could say. She couldn't even notice there's anyone else in the living room. In a few minutes, she felt like the air became heavy through her nostrils. She looked around and saw everyone's gaze on her. She saw the distorted images all around her and she could feel the tears streaming down her face. She couldn't control it.
"I want my daughter..." was the only thing she could say.
Then she saw Kathleen standing up and holding her by the shoulder.
"Addison, breathe…" the therapist said.
"I want my daughter... Where has he taken her? I wanna go get my daughter... I can't live without my baby."
"You should think about it before do you did!" Nancy exclaimed.
Addison put her hands to her ear and ran upstairs. They all came after her afraid of what she could do. She came to Katie's bedroom, took her plush owl, and hugged it while she leaned against a wall.
"What is she doing?" Nancy asked.
"SHUT UP!" Kathleen shouted turning to her old sister.
They were surprised. Kathleen has always been the quietest person in the family. No one had ever seen her yelling at anyone. Amelia used to say she was unable to do that, but she couldn't control it anymore.
"She is having a panic attack," she explained. "Shut your mouth up!"
They shivered and looked at Addison, who was crouched on the floor, hugging the plush owl, talking to herself with her eyes closed.
"I want my daughter... I want... I want my daughter... I want my baby."
Kathleen got into the bedroom and bent down in front of her sister-in-law. She tried to touch her red hair, but she pulled away like a fearful animal.
"Calm down, Addie..."
"I want my daughter..."
"Calm down. Breath..."
"He won't let me see my baby anymore."
"This is not true. Derek would never do this. He will come home with Katie, I'm sure. Now calm down and breathe."
She couldn't do it. She didn't know how to breathe. Kathleen approached and hugged her to make her feel comfortable.
"I want my baby."
"You're not alone..."
"I want my daughter."
"I know."
"I didn't want to do this. I'm so sorry."
"We're gonna find out where she is."
.
.
A.N.: I've written this story in Portuguese on Wattpad and people used to ask me to translate it into English. I don't know if my English skill is good enough for that, but I did it anyway, so if there's some word, grammar, or situation that don't fit the American culture is because I'm not a native speaker and would love to learn more about it. This story is set in Grey's episodes, and I want it to be a new version of them as an alternative universe if they had a kid. So, Grey's and Private Practice are created by Shonda Rhimes and don't belong to me, just like some situations and characters.
Thank you for reading it.