Sorry the following paragraph is a bit out of sync with the story timeline. It made better sense to put it here.
When Derek arrived home Addison was asleep. He tried to get ready for bed quietly so as not to wake her. He watched her intently as he got dressed and brushed his teeth, considering the decision he had to make.
If he hadn't been so focused on his wife's sleeping figure, he may have noticed the divorce papers she had laid out on top of the dresser.
Izzie read the contents of the letter out loud, her voice a little shaky and devoid of any emotion besides shock. "Esteemed Dr. Isobel Stevens, we send our condolences on the recent death of Mr. Denny Duquette. We at Smith, Smith, and Davis Law were particularly fond of Mr. Duquette and were very close to his personal matters. That is why we sent this urgent letter to inform you that you alone are the sole person mentioned in Mr. Duquette's recently updated will. Just two nights ago we received the new draft awarding you his entire estate, including the rights to his bank account which holds-" here she stopped to take a deep breath. "-approximately $700,000." The rest of the letter she read quickly aloud without really paying attention to any of it. "Please contact us on the acceptance of Mr. Duquette's estate as soon as possible."
"Wow," Alex and Meredith said together, the coffee and newspaper forgotten.
Izzie dropped the letter, looking around the kitchen as if searching for words. "You'll never have to work again!" Alex said cheerfully, but his smile fell. Izzie was not celebrating.
"He wrote me in his will," she said darkly.
"That's good, Izzie," said Meredith hopefully, smiling and leaning in a little to see her face, which was currently pointed at the table.
"He kept it on his nightstand," she said, swallowing hard to keep the tears away. "He told me. In case…in case he…"
Izzie stopped talking but did not cry. Alex leaned over and reached out for her hand, but he only made it halfway there before Meredith stood up, oblivious to Alex's outreached arm. She took Izzie by the shoulders and led her back upstairs. "Come on," she said comfortingly. "We'll get you dressed."
Alex pulled his arm back, and a scowl fell upon his face. He picked up his mug and his newspaper. He was not going to leave this house.
Christina awoke to the bustle of nurses around Burke. He smiled at her when she looked up at him. She noticed their intertwined fingers and her hand twitched to escape, but he would not let go. He simply smiled and laid his head back on his pillow, laughing silently at her panicked hand.
"What time is it?" she asked impatiently to a nurse, subtly pulling her arm back to try and release herself from Burke's grip. He only held on to her tighter.
"About 10 o'clock Dr. Yang." She pulled harder, her face expressing her exertion. He pulled back. She tried to express to him through her face that she did not want to hold hands anymore, but he did not look at her. He just smiled at the ceiling.
"Umm, mind letting go?" He pretended not to hear her.
"I have to get to Meredith's house. Izzie? Remember? I have to go and be a friend or something." Her voice showed a hint of annoyance. The mention of Izzie made Preston let go.
"Tell her I'm really sorry," Burke said very honestly. She nodded.
"I'll be back later tonight," she said, leaning down as if it were an obligation and offering her cheek for a kiss, which he gave her happily.
She left the hospital nervous about what she would find at the house.
After Meredith helped Izzie shower and get dressed there was little else she could do. From the moment Meredith led her upstairs, Izzie began talking about a cake her mother used to make. Mere could hardly keep her still long enough, she so wanted to bake that cake. Izzie hurried down the stairs, talking earnestly about the amount of powdered sugar she would need. Alex had long since finished his coffee and was now sprawled on the couch watched sports on TV. He stood up quickly and turned off the TV when he heard Izzie's voice float downstairs.
"And I'll need a couple of extra hands to do all the mixing," she finished, turning to enter the kitchen. Alex ran up behind her.
"I can help," he said. Meredith grabbed him before he could go into the kitchen.
"No. You are going to go home," she said, steering him towards the door.
"What? Why?" he asked, refusing to walk.
"Because George and I can handle this – we can handle her."
"Why can't I be a supportive friend?" he asked, as if there was no possible answer.
"Because it's weird," George said, coming downstairs. "You don't live here, you've never liked any of us, you broke up with Izzie like forever ago."
"Look, I have my reasons for being here," he said, attempting to duck under Meredith's arms to get into the kitchen. He succeeded, and went over to Izzie, who absently handed him a whisk and a bowl, which he began to stir slowly. She placed her hands over his to demonstrate a quick whisking motion, which he did.
Meredith and George stood on the stairs, very confused. Someone knocked on the door, and Meredith and George looked through the window to see Christina peeking out at them. Mere opened the door.
"Hey, thanks for coming."
"No problem," Christina said, walking inside and looking into the kitchen. "It's not like my boyfriend is going through a crisis or anything. What are they doing?"
"Baking," George and Meredith said together.
"Why?"
"She wanted to," Meredith said simply.
"'Kay…" Christina said slowly.
"She just inherited $700,000 from Denny's will," George said.
"Holy shit!" Christina said loudly. Alex turned around, noticed Christina had arrived, and went back to whisking.
"$700,000?" she asked, quieter. They nodded.
"She hasn't accepted it yet," Meredith said cautiously. "I don't know if she will. She got his house and everything. That's going to be hard to deal with."
"Screw dealing, that's a lot of money for your troubles!" Christina said.
No one said anything for a while. They watched Izzie patiently stirring a pot, and Alex whisking more of his mixture on to the counter then inside the bowl.
"She really could have picked a better baking buddy," Christina remarked. (AN: haha! get it? alliteration!)
Addison woke up before Derek did. She opened her eyes without moving, listening intently for his breath. She heard it. Her heart fell. So. He had come back. He had seen the papers. He'd probably already signed them.
But why was he still here?
She sat up quietly, trying to see the top of the dresser with the divorce papers. She strained her neck and lifted herself up with her arms, but she still couldn't make out any signatures on the paper. She got up carefully, trying not to disturb him. She went over to the dresser and picked up the papers. She wanted to jump, to shout, to do something to celebrate. He hadn't signed them. And he had come back. Derek had chosen her.
Callie Torres sat in bed, phone in hand. George was number four on her speed dial. After her mother but before her best friend. That was significant to her. She'd changed the order of her whole speed dial just for him.
She thought back to the prom. Where he almost told her he loved her. How he wants it to mean something when he does. Her finger hovered over the four. She changed her mind and put the phone down. She would wait for him to call her. She would see him later tonight anyway when he was on duty. They could talk more then. Perhaps she would mention Derek and Meredith. Perhaps she wouldn't. That depended on a lot of things.
Two and a half hours of bakinglater, George, Mere, and Christina sat in the living room watching TV. They could hear Izzie patiently helping Alex with his task. She was on her third cake and was also completing her second pie on the side.
"This is ridiculous. Someone should go in there and stop them. They've got about 12,000 calories worth of baked goods in there," Christina said, leaning to peer into the kitchen for the umpteenth time.
"I went an hour ago. It's your turn," Meredith said, flipping the channels idly.
"George? You go," Christina said, kicking him.
"No way, I went already. Christina, you go," George said, physically kicking her off the couch.
"Fine," she said. She got up and very confidently walked to the kitchen. She stopped a few feet away from them.
"Izzie," she said very evenly as if speaking to an unruly kindergartener. Izzie continued to stir. "You have to come out of the kitchen."
"Nope!" she said happily. Christina frowned. She was acting like a crazed lunatic. Christina gave Alex a look, who shrugged.
"She wants to bake," he said simply. "Why stop her?"
Addison made coffee while humming, tapping her foot and dancing around the trailer. Eventually Derek woke up. He had made his decision. He had a terrible feeling in his stomach about what he was about to do, what he had to do to make things right.
Addison noticed him standing up. "Come out here, I've made coffee," she sang out.
Derek put his hand on the dresser, which was now bare, for support as he walked off his sleepiness. Addison had shredded the papers and thrown them away earlier that morning.
Derek walked out of the bedroom and his face fell. She was so happy. Probably because he had come home.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she said.
Derek was about to speak when Addison cut him off. "Look, before you say anything about how we're going to have to try really hard to make this work or something…I know. I know we have to try. We are going to have to try really, really hard. But…" She smiled, stood up, and took his hand. He looked very confused, but she brushed it off as sleepiness. "I know we can do this. We are going to make this marriage work."
"Addison…" he said, pained. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"What?"
"I…I chose Meredith."
Addison let go of him and stepped back. "But…the divorce papers…you didn't sign them…"
"What divorce papers?" He tried to walk towards her but she backed up further.
"And…and you came back…you came back, here…" She began to cry. "No. You chose me, I know you did, last night…"
He had finally backed her up against a wall, and he took his moment to pull her into a hug. She let him, collapsing on his chest.
"Addison…I am so, so sorry. But try to understand. We can't keep going on like this. We can't be married when all I can think about is her."
She hated every word he said but she could not bring herself to pull away. She had to stay close to him, to feel him close to her one last time…She tried to form words to make him stay but she couldn't, she was too devastated and the sobs were too loud.
He let go of her to lift her face up to his. He hated seeing her like this, so upset because of him. Today would be the last time.
She stifled her crying and tried to mentally will him to stay with her. "I can't hurt you anymore. I can't do it. You have to understand. I hate hurting you," he said, so simply that it was hard for her to speak. She could sense the sadness in his voice, which gave her some comfort.
"Then why are you doing it now?"
They stayed there for a moment, neither one moving. His hands still cradled her face and she still had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing.
"Derek, I love you," she said very forcefully.
He leaned in and kissed her very gently. Addison did not pull away. It was hard for him to so, but eventually he did.
She looked at him, unsure of what to do. He let go of her and walked back into the bedroom. She stayed against the wall, wiping her nose and her eyes as he silently packed everything he owned in a large suitcase he had set out the night before. She couldn't believe that she was just standing there as he physically left her. Her heart wanted her to run over, to grab him, to stand in front of the dresser to keep him from packing and leaving. But her brain had listened to what he said. And he made too much sense for her to stop him.
AN: Wow. Pretty much emo.
And about the letter…yeah, there's no possible way the lawyers would have: number one found out about Denny's death and number two sent the letter so soon. But just let me have this. Pretend that Smith, Smith and Davis are omnipotent, all-knowing beings who are very in tune with our favorite transplant candidate. And they also know a guy who knows a guy who works at the underground black market post office that sends really fast letters.
