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Chapter 7 – The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn

George caught up with Meredith after Bailey had distributed assignments. She looked at him and braced herself for the unknown that was to come.

"Mer, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have presumed something had happened. It was cruel and you didn't deserve it. What you did to help the Sheppards was amazing. It takes a special person to do something like that. I know you're mad at me, and with good reason, but, I'm sorry."

He panted. He didn't realize how fast he'd spoken. He was relieved however that she'd let him. She smiled back him.

"Thank you George," she replied sincerely, "I get where you were coming from. How it must've looked considering my history, with him, or any other guy. I should've known that being 'friends' with McDreamy would've raised some eyebrows. I appreciate what you did to help last night. Izzie looked pretty grateful too."

Her last statement dripped with insinuations. He blushed a little and looked down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, chuckling.

"George. Do you like Izzie?"

His face turned beet red and he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she answered her own question. And walked away.

"Mer wait," he started, panicked, "don't tell her."

"I won't have too," she said smugly, "you will."

She walked away, leaving George standing in the middle of the hallway, mouth gaping.

- - - - -

Izzie and Cristina were sitting by the coffee stand. Izzie couldn't stop yawning and Cristina kept laughing at her.

"This is what happens when you're a nice person," she remarked.

"Yeah well, I'm glad I could help. The sleep deprivation was worth it."

"What did you say to She-Sheppard anyway," Cristina asked, quizzically.

"I was mostly just there for her. I asked her what had happened and she just opened up. I mean, who does she have in Seattle? She needed someone to talk to. Most of the time, I didn't even know what to say. I just treated her like I would any of my friends. Actually, I repeated something George had said to me. It helped. A lot."

"George, our George," Cristina was shocked, "well, I guess it was good he was there."

"It was nice," Izzie mused, "knowing that he was just outside if anything bad happened. He was my backup."

"That explains one thing," Cristina got smug.

"What?" Izzie was confused.

"Why you two have been looking at each other funny all morning," Cristina smirked.

"We have not!"

"Fine, you haven't been," Cristina went all nonchalant.

"Cristina! Seriously!"

"Seriously Izzie, you like George."

"I do not," she emphasized, "besides, George likes Meredith."

"Sure," Cristina allowed, "but he was looking at you all morning."

Cristina walked away, leaving Izzie to ponder the events and how they could have possibly led her to thinking about George this way.

- - - -

"So," Alex began, sneaking up behind Meredith, "is it all working like you thought it would."

Meredith looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," he began deviously, "you may be the sole reason for the Sheppards not divorcing."

"Things weren't that bad. He was devastated. He wasn't leaving her. He was just hurt and angry."

"I'm not talking about him," he retorted, "Montgomery-Sheppard was the one who walked in sans wedding rings."

"What!" Meredith was shocked. She hadn't noticed.

"Oh yeah. And the funny thing was, in surgery this morning, he was wearing his."

Meredith stood there, stunned. She didn't pay any attention. It had never crossed her mind.

"Wow," was all she could muster.

"Yup, you saved the Sheppards' marriage," he laughed at her.

"Good," she smiled to herself, "I want him to be happy. I really do. I think I may be over it."

"Really," he said in disbelief, "you, over it?"

"Yeah," she said, believing her own words for the first time, "I really am."

"Well then," he said approvingly, "that begs the question..."

"What," she shot back.

"Who's the next guy to get caught in your tangled web?"

She laughed at his faux-serious expression.

"I'm done. For now. But next time, I'm putting out applications. Detailed. There's gonna be hoops."

"Well then," he smiled at her, "put me on the wait list."

He winked at her and walked away.

She stood, staring after him, mouth gaping.

- - - -

George was walking through the atrium café when he saw Izzie sitting alone, eating her lunch. When she saw him she sat up and looked at him nervously. He cracked a small smile and walked over to sit next to her.

"Hey," she greeted oddly.

"Hey," he nodded back with the same expression.

"Um, I never," she started anxiously, "I mean, you were great last night. I don't know what I would've done. If you hadn't been there."

"Izzie," he replied confused, "I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did," she assured, "you made me feel better while we were calling. And you drove me to the motel. And you stayed. You were my backup."

"I was," he replied, surprised, "well, I'm glad I could help you. You should take some credit. You're the one who helped Addison."

"Oh I do," she joked, vainly, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me."

She smiled softly at him. He could feel himself relax completely, like he always did with her.

"Anything I could do to help," he assured sincerely.

They smiled at each other and ate their lunch in silence. Shooting smug grins back and forth.

- - - - -

When Derek woke up, he was surprised to find the world cloaked in darkness. He couldn't remember falling asleep. He just remembered watching her. They hadn't spoken on their way home. It wasn't a bad silence. Just overwhelming. They had so much they needed to say. She'd curled up in bed. Same clothes on as before. She'd fallen asleep immediately. He had laid there for what felt like hours before sleep must've claimed him too. Doc had been so worried; he had laid on the floor next to her side of the bed all day. He peeked over her shoulder, at her peaceful face. She hadn't moved. He couldn't believe how she'd slept so long, so still. He knew she couldn't, shouldn't, stay too long.

He quietly crept out of bed into the kitchen. He glanced at the papers she'd left him. They were still spread out on the table. He hadn't signed them. He had no intention of doing so. Unless she asked him. He pulled open the fridge and scavenged for enough to make a couple of sandwiches. He set one on a plate and poured her something to drink. He knew she'd need sustenance. He crept back into their room, setting the drink on her bedside table and sat himself on the side of the bed, trying to avoid their sleeping dog. He gently rubbed her shoulder.

"Addie, honey," he whispered gently, "wake up Addison."

She slowly stirred and blinked her eyes open, looking confused, again, at her surroundings. 'How many places can she wake up in this week,' he thought. He smiled at her and held up the plate like a peace offering. Her tired face showed little, but her eyes were filled with gratitude.

"Thank you," she whispered, taking the plate from him.

"I'm gonna take a shower," he decided aloud, "I left a drink on your table."

She nodded with a small smile. He wanted so desperately to talk to her. He recognized that she needed time. This would give her a little bit. He also thought the shower would be therapeutic for him.

When he reemerged she was no longer in their bed. She was sitting at the table, eating the other sandwich that he'd made. She was starring at the papers. She was so lost in thought she hadn't noticed him standing there.

"That was supposed to be mine," he playful accused.

"Then you should've eaten it," she mimicked his tone.

He moved across the room to sit across from her. He briefly glanced at the papers before looking back into her eyes. This was it. There was no more stalling or delaying. It all had to be laid out. He internally grimaced at the expression.

"I didn't sign them," he started, announcing the obvious.

"I noticed," she remarked, "why?"

He paused before answering. He was studying her face. He didn't want to fight. He wanted to talk. He had to be sure what he said reinforced that.

"I picked you," he started simply, "you are my wife."

"Does that still matter," she responded honestly.

"Yes," he nodded slowly, "it never stopped mattering. When I found you with Mark, I was so devastated, I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't react. I left because I needed time to process. I needed to sort out what had happened."

"And then you met Meredith," she supplied, sardonically.

"Yes, I did," he admitted, "I never planned on Meredith. I wasn't looking for her. I went into Joe's that night just to not be alone. Richard and Adele were the only people I knew in Seattle. I'd changed my cell phone number so no one could call me. I'd shut myself off and I felt alone. I realized I'd been feeling alone for awhile. I didn't want to feel alone. I needed to be around people. So I went to Joe's, and met Meredith."

He paused, taking a deep breath. He didn't know how much to say, how much to share. For the sake of full disclosure, he continued.

"It may have started as a one night stand, but when I realized she worked in the hospital, I tried to be close to her. We bantered the way you and I did so long ago. Her youth reminded me of you and how we used to be. I was addicted to it. I needed to feel that. She reminds me of you. She's not as emotional as a surgeon though. I found myself missing that. I found myself missing having someone who knew me so completely. It was wrong of me not to tell her about you. Not that it changes anything but had you shown up 5 minutes later that first night I would've been the one to tell her. I doubt she would've reacted much different."

He paused again, taking in her reactions. She was unreadable, utterly expressionless. That worried him. He thought she'd be more hurt. Maybe he wasn't surprising her. Maybe she did know him that completely.

"Everything changed when you got here, obviously. I couldn't hide from what happened in New York. I had to face the pain, the hurt, and the betrayal. I resented you for Meredith hating me, at first. I know that I only have myself to blame. I wasn't ready for the way I was feeling. It was all associated with you so I wanted you gone, as far away as possible. Then you handed me divorce papers. I sat in a conference room with them for hours. I couldn't do it. I kept thinking about the day I met you, our first date, and proposing, getting married. Our life was flashing before my eyes. I couldn't let us die. I had to save us. So I picked you. My only regret is that I didn't try harder to save us."

"Why didn't you Derek," her voice was desperate for answers and tears shone in her eyes.

"I felt guilty about Meredith. I felt like I had done to her what you had done to me. She was destroyed. I felt like I needed to fix her. I hadn't stopped caring about her though. It was too easy to fall back into the routine that she and I. It was easier than rebuilding our routine. I felt that if I couldn't fix her, I'd never be able to fix myself. Then she almost died. Her mother has Alzheimer's, I spent months lying to her and left her, then she almost dies."

"She's having quite the year," Addison allowed.

"Then Mark showed up. When I saw him, all I could think about was him with you, touching you, making love to you, in our bed. I was enraged. I took it out on his face. I was back in the place I'd been in when I got to Seattle. When I said I hadn't forgiven you, I wasn't lying. I was just admitting a truth I hadn't even admitted to myself. I hadn't forgiven you, and I hadn't tried. When you admitted what had happened after I left, it was the last straw. I wish I could take back how I'd reacted. But if that's what it took for us to honestly say what we feel, I'm glad Mark showed up. He gave you the 'whatever' it took to talk to me that night and now I'm talking to you. I don't know what the next step is Addison, I'll admit that now. But I want to take that step with you. I want to forgive you. I want us to be 'us' again. I love you Addison"

Her tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was softly sobbing.

"You haven't…said that…since I…the first time."

He moved over to her side of the time and wrapped his arms around her. She clutched him and sobbed.

"I should've said is so much sooner Addie," he swore, "I never stopped loving you for a moment. Not even at my maddest."

She tried to compose herself and took a few deep breaths. She looked directly into his eyes and saw the love, the sincerity. She saw Derek again.

"I love you Derek."

He pulled her lips to his in a soft kiss of renewal. They felt the sparks and trembles of a first kiss again.

"Well then," he started, trying to hold back his own tears, "there are three things we need to do."

"What," she asked curiously.

"One, burn these papers. We won't be needing them."

She chuckled and nodded. Derek grabbed the papers with one hand and with his other, Addison's hand. He led her outside, Doc in tow. He threw the papers in the grill and doused them with lighter fluid. He handed Addison the matches. She smiled at him as she struck one and threw it in. He wrapped his arms around her waist as they watched them burn.

"What's two," she asked.

Derek smiled and reached into his pocket as he bent down next to her, on one knee, and pulled out her wedding rings.

"Addison Forbes Montgomery Sheppard, will you stay my wife?"

She took a deep breath as she felt her tears coming back.

"Yes, I do. Or, I will."

They laughed a little as he slipped her rings back on her finger, which was when she noticed it.

"Derek, you're…you're wearing your wedding ring."

His smile was wide as he nodded.

"I put it back on the night I found yours. I thought it was bad luck if neither of us was wearing them."

She laughed as she pulled him up and threw her arms around him. He only pulled back long enough to pull her into a deep, passionate kiss.

"And number three?"

He turned slightly and looked over their surroundings. He turned back to her with his biggest smile yet.

"We, my dear, need to put this land to good use."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped at the realization.

"Seriously Derek?"

"On one condition," he looked very serious.

"Anything," she swore.

"We have to keep the trailer in the backyard."

She laughed harder than she had in a long time.

"If I can move out of it, into a house, with a tub, and rooms, you can put that trailer wherever you'd like."

He smiled and pulled her into his arms as he leaned back into the trailer.

"Now what do we do?"

Hey, you made it!
It's not over yet. I think the next chapter will be squee based (inside joke from please! how else do I know to continue?