A/N: A little bit of a longer chapter this time. Heavily borrows from Private Practice 3x19, AKA Amelia's first PP episode.
"Oh my God!" Arizona shielded her eyes and turned away from the door.
She'd just walked into an on-call room to hopefully get some rest after a long surgery. Instead, she found it occupied. And unsurprisingly, it was Mark in bed with someone.
"Robbins! Hey," Mark chuckled awkwardly as he stumbled off the bed and got dressed. The girl under him, however, hid under the blankets.
"Lex, it's fine. It's just Robbins," Mark didn't think Lexie needed to hide.
"Lex? As in Lexie Grey?" Arizona looked back. Lexie held a pillow with one hand to shield her face and wiggled around to get dressed under the blanket.
Meanwhile, Addison and Amelia walked through the halls. Amelia told her more about her fellowship with Dr. Ginsberg and how she'd been since the last time they'd seen each other. Then they talked about their patient, Kayla. They bumped into Sam and Vanessa as they walked, where Sam teasingly reminded Amelia of her nickname, "Hurricane Amelia".
When they turned the corner, they saw Mark sneak out of the call room, with Arizona standing across with her arms crossed. Mark just gave her his signature smile to try to convince her not to say anything. Or to at least go easy on him. Everyone knew Mark's reputation by now. It wouldn't hurt for people to find out that he slept with a resident. Maybe it'd hurt Lexie's reputation, but it was just sex. Before Addison and Amelia could greet him, Lexie came out of the on-call room.
"She looks a little young, even for Mark. Is she even older than his daughter?" Amelia gossiped. Addison glared at first, but couldn't help but break out into a giggle, sending both girls laughing.
"Who is she, anyway?" Amelia asked, as their giggling subsided.
"Dr. Lexie Grey," Addison said disapprovingly.
"So…we hate her?" Amelia asked, sensing Addison's tone.
"No, she's…she's great. I even heard she's got a photographic memory," Addison insisted.
"Well, that must be handy," Amelia commented.
"She's just…Meredith Grey's little sister," Addison said through her teeth.
"Who's Meredith Grey?" Amelia asked. She knew about Derek and the intern, but she never knew her name.
"The intern from Seattle," Addison said, again through her teeth.
"Oh, the slutty intern," Amelia said, amused, as she used the nickname Nancy gave her.
"That's not…well, yes," Addison said awkwardly.
"But that's not very nice," Addison added.
They both watched as Lexie walked in the opposite direction awkwardly as Arizona entered the on-call room alone. Then, Mark turned around and saw the two girls watching him.
"Hi, Amy!" Mark greeted her enthusiastically.
"Mark!" Amelia exclaimed, giving him a big hug.
"You still look hot! Even as a grandpa," Amelia commented jokingly.
"Haha, very funny. And you…uh, look a lot more grown-up than when I last saw you," Mark laughed awkwardly.
"You can say hot, you know. 'Cause I am. I'm hot," Amelia jokes. Addison nudged her from the side.
"No, I can't. Because in my mind, you're still Derek's 12-year-old sister," Mark laughed along. He had already slept with his best friend's wife. He couldn't sleep with his baby sister, too.
"Well, that didn't seem to stop you from sleeping with the resident," Addison commented jokingly.
"But seriously, Amy is and always will be, off-limits," Addison said sternly.
"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson," Mark held his hands up in defense jokingly.
"So, what are you doing here, anyway?" Mark asked as they all went back to walking the halls.
"Amy's here with Dr. Ginsberg on her fancy neuro fellowship," Addison bragged for her. Amelia blushed as she nudged Addison gently with her elbow.
"Amelia," Amelia corrected them.
"Derek's the only one that calls me Amy these days," Amelia added. Mark and Addison nodded.
"Does he even know you're here?" Addison asked.
"What? And ruin the surprise?" Amelia joked.
Then, as they walked, they ran into Callie, who was holding baby Lucas.
"Hi, Lucas!" Addison greeted the baby in her baby voice. Mark also waved to him playfully.
"Wait, that's not your kid, is it? 'Cause if it is, he's a little bigger than I thought he'd be," Amelia commented.
"No, this is Pete's son," Mark said.
"Pete used to work with me at Oceanside Wellness before he moved downstairs to work with Naomi," Addison added.
"Wait, is he the one whose baby mama…?" Amelia started. Addison filled her in before about everything that happened with Violet.
"Mm-hmm," Callie answered for her.
"Wow," Amelia commented.
"Callie Torres," Callie introduced herself after realizing she hadn't already.
"Amelia Shepherd," Amelia introduced herself.
"Shepherd? As in…," Callie looked towards Addison.
"Derek's little sister? Yes," Addison confirmed.
Callie knew Derek had four sisters, as Addison told her before. But other than knowing he had four sisters and a mother that didn't like Addison all that much, that was about the extent of what she knew about Derek's family.
"So, if this isn't your kid, where is my nephew, anyway?" Amelia asked Addison.
"Home with the nanny. You can meet him at dinner," Addison smiled.
The whole family got pictures of the three of them about a month after they adopted Nate via postcards and emails. But since every single one of Derek's sisters was a doctor, none of them had the time to fly out to meet him yet. And Carolyn told Derek that Nate would have his own stocking hanging over the fireplace by the time they brought him for Christmas. And yes, she did insist they come back to the east coast for the holidays this year. As for Bizzy and The Captain, they sent a nice but expected bouquet of flowers to their house, with a note saying they expected to see them at the Montgomery estate for New Year's.
"What are you doing with Lucas, anyway?" Addison asked, brushing some of Lucas's hair to the side.
"Pete's taking over for Nai while she's gone, and he came here looking for you, actually," Callie informed her.
Over the last few months, Addison agreed to help babysit Lucas whenever Pete needed her to. Especially while Addison took time off for her maternity leave. Naomi had been dating the billionaire, William White, for a few months now and had just learned he had ALS. So, she jumped on a plane to Switzerland to be with him as he underwent treatment. When Addison was on maternity leave, Addison got to watch both Lucas and Nate, which gave them a good chance to bond. Even if Lucas was a good six months older than Nate.
Plus, Addison liked to think that taking care of Lucas gave her a little more parenting practice, too. And while she and Derek didn't talk about having more than one kid so far, it wasn't out of the question. She loved Nate, but part of her also wanted a daughter, too. Just not yet.
"But you've got that coma case, so I told him I could take him," Callie said.
"Speaking of which, I should get back before Ginsberg rips my head off," Amelia joked before saying goodbye and getting back to work.
"I should probably go too," Mark said before excusing himself too. He was just glad he'd dodged Addison scolding him for sleeping with Lexie.
"Oh, hey, since Amelia's here, I thought we could do dinner. Think you and Arizona can join us?" Addison asked. It'd been a while since they all got together for dinner. Plus, she thought Callie and Arizona would make for good buffers between Derek and Amelia.
"Yeah, I think Arizona's getting some sleep in right now, but we should be free for dinner," Callie thought out loud. She caught Arizona as she came out of the scrub room, exhausted after a long day. And Callie was the one who told her she should find an on-call room to rest in.
"Great! My place around eight?" Addison asked, still amused by Lucas.
"Sounds good," Callie confirmed.
"You sure you've got him?" Addison asked Callie, referring to the baby.
"Yeah, I've got him," Callie bounced Lucas in her arms. Lucas giggled and waved around the small teddy bear in his hand.
"You're gonna be a great mother someday," Addison commented, laughing along.
"You really think so?" Callie asked.
"Absolutely," Addison said.
Meanwhile, Amelia went back to work as Ginsberg's fellow. She ran the tests on Kaya with the rest of the fellows. While she waited at the lab, she heard Derek around the corner. He and Charlotte were talking about a patient, one of his, who had a seizure and caused a car accident. But it turned out he had a giant tumor in his brain.
"He has a tumor. The accident wasn't entirely his fault," Derek said.
"Yeah, well, that doesn't change the fact that he hit a slew of other cars," Charlotte pointed out.
"It's up to the police now to figure out the rest," Charlotte added.
"Hey, bro," Amelia called out.
"Amy?" Derek looked confused.
"Surprise!" Amelia jokingly gestured with her hands, as if she were on stage.
"You two know each other?" Charlotte asked.
"This is my sister, Amy," Derek introduced her.
"Amelia," Amelia corrected him.
"Charlotte King, chief of staff," Charlotte said as she shook her hand.
"What are you doing here?" Derek chuckled.
"Ginsberg. I'm one of her fellows," Amelia informed him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Derek admitted.
"Gee, thanks," Amelia said sarcastically.
"Sorry, baby brain," Derek joked.
"Oh yeah, how is the little guy?" Amelia asked.
"He's good. He'd be better if he slept through the night," Derek joked. Their nanny helped immensely in helping to set up a clear feeding and sleeping schedule. But Nate still wasn't sleeping through the night.
"Results for Dr. Ginsberg?" the lab technician said, holding out some files toward Amelia.
"Oh, thank you," Amelia said.
"I should get back to work, but I'll see you at dinner," Amelia said quickly, as she started walking away.
"Wait, what do you mean dinner?" Derek asked out, confused.
"Ask your wife!" Amelia called out while she read the lab results.
When she got back, Dr. Ginsberg reviewed the files. And she and the rest of the teaching fellows met in Kayla's room to talk to Eddie. Ultimately, Dr. Ginsberg decided she wasn't a viable candidate. But Amelia disagreed that there wasn't anything they could do. And she said as much when Ginsberg came out of the room. And their ensuing argument happened in front of Eddie. Dr. Ginsberg definitely wasn't happy about that. So, she fired her on the spot. And the worst part was Addison also saw her get fired.
Regardless, Amelia still wanted to fight for Kayla. She believed this surgery would work, even though Ginsberg clearly didn't. As Addison pulled Amelia away from Eddie, Amelia argued about all the reasons why this surgery should happen. While Addison knew a little more about neurosurgery than most people, she still didn't know enough to judge whether or not Amelia was right about this surgery. And it wasn't just about trying to wake Kayla up from her coma. There were three fetuses growing in her too. Ones with parents desperate to keep them alive long enough for viability.
Instead of trying to fight back against her sister-in-law, Addison suggested they put it all aside for now. The sun started setting and there wasn't anything left to do with Kayla's case. At least not right now. So, after Addison made sure she didn't have anything else left to do back at the practice, she took Amelia back to her place. Addison sent the nanny home and Amelia finally met her baby nephew.
"Nate, this is Auntie Amelia," Addison introduced the two as she passed the baby over to
"Thanks again, Gina," Addison called out.
"Of course, Dr. Montgomery. I'll see you tomorrow," Gina said politely before leaving.
"Hello, there," Amelia cooed with the baby in her arms. Nate looked back at her in wonder.
"I'm your Auntie Amelia. Just remember, I'm your favorite," Amelia said. Addison laughed as she watched them bond.
Then, Addison called for some takeout. Eventually, Arizona, Derek, and Callie, who still had Lucas, arrived, and everyone had a nice dinner inside. Then, Pete showed up to pick up Lucas, and Addison and Derek put Nate down for bed. As they did, Callie and Amelia got to know each other as Arizona and Amelia caught up with each other. By now, everyone heard about Kayla and Dr. Ginsberg's visit. As well as how and why Amelia got fired.
"I just flushed my career down the toilet, didn't I?" Amelia finally said as they'd already exhausted the other introductory topics.
"You will get another fellowship," Addison said as she and Derek came back out to the patio, with Derek holding the baby monitor in his hands.
"Not if Ginsberg has anything to do with it," Amelia said.
"The worst part is that I'm right," Amelia commented.
"Amy," Derek sighed as he and Addison sat down at the table.
"Look, I get it. I'm just the little sister that screwed up again. But I'm right," Amelia said, knowing that that was exactly what Derek was thinking.
"That's…not how he sees you, Ames," Addison said. But not very convincingly.
"Really Addie? You are gonna lie to me now?" Amelia asked. Addison retreated and sighed in response. And Derek didn't say anything to contest this.
"The patient's lying there like a vegetable and we have the chance to save her," Amelia argued.
"A slim chance," Arizona added.
"A chance is a chance!" Amelia insisted.
"Did you even look at the scans?" Amelia directed her question at Derek.
"Honestly? No," Derek admitted truthfully.
"Then your argument might as well be moot," Amelia argued.
"I didn't even say anything!" Derek defended himself.
"But if Ginsberg said no, there had to have been a reason," Derek added. Amelia rolled her eyes.
"This is just new! This is a cutting-edge surgical procedure," Amelia started before going off about a study from the University of Wisconsin. Even if he didn't say it out loud, she impressed Derek.
"I've seen it. I mean, I can do it," Amelia added. Derek looked back at her with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm just saying. I trained for it," Amelia said in response to Derek's judging looks.
"Yeah, but this woman also has three babies growing inside of her," Callie pointed out.
"And Kayla has a husband and two children," Amelia said in response. Everyone stayed silent for a minute. She had a point.
"Any chance you have the studies on you?" Derek finally asked. Addison smiled. It didn't mean he'd agree with Amelia, but he was at least giving her a chance.
"Uh…I have a copy in my bag. I'll go grab them," Amelia said, suspicious of her brother, before going inside to grab the files.
"I knew you'd come around eventually," Addison said. Derek grabbed her hand and brought it up closer to his mouth before kissing it sweetly.
"Here," Amelia handed him the studies.
"And what kind of surgery are you proposing, exactly?" Derek asked as he read through the pages of results.
"Well, see, the C.S.F. studies don't show a complete obstruction. Just a slowing of flow," Amelia started.
"Mm-hmm," Derek nodded.
"So, we could try passing a stent in the aqueduct to drain the fluid buildup. And then the brain stem activity should return as the pressure drops," Amelia explained. She watched her brother closely, but couldn't tell if he agreed with her. Addison, Callie, and Arizona watched him closely as well, waiting for his response.
"You might be right," Derek admitted, putting the papers down.
"Wait, what?" Amelia didn't expect to hear her brother agree with her. In fact, she thought it'd be just another excuse to call her crazy.
"It's risky. And the procedure's experimental, but I agree with you," Derek added.
"Wait, hold up. There are three babies in this woman," Arizona said.
"But they're viable, aren't they?" Callie asked.
"Barely," Addison added. She felt for Eddie, but she knew this was risky. Too risky, in her opinion.
"Those babies aren't ready to come out," Arizona said.
"Maybe they won't have to come out," Callie suggested.
"With Kayla's past of throwing clots, they might not survive the procedure otherwise," Addison added.
"Well, then she'll have the best neonatal and peds surgeons three babies could ask for," Derek pointed out. It was true. Addison and Arizona were among the best in their fields. Amelia smiled at her brother coming to her defense.
"Thank you, but it's still posing an unnecessary risk to those babies," Arizona pointed out.
"Unnecessary? This surgery could wake Kayla up. Her husband and her kids could get her back," Amelia argued.
"But if we wait a few more weeks, those babies will be in much better shape," Addison said.
"Thank you," Amelia thanked her brother for siding with her.
"Callie? What do you think?" Addison asked. Callie was the only one in all of this that wasn't directly involved.
"I think…those babies should stay in as long as they can," Callie said. Addison and Arizona nodded, smiling.
"But I don't think Eddie's gonna want to wait a few more weeks. I mean, he already unplugged her from the machine before," Callie added.
Everyone nodded. This surgery was probably going to happen, even though Arizona and Addison were against it. And Addison knew that Vanessa wouldn't like it either. Now, it was just up to Charlotte. And with Derek's support, she'd probably agree to it. That night, Amelia stayed with Derek and Addison in their guest room. But she, much like Derek and Addison, woke up early around four AM when Nate didn't sleep through the night. Again.
"Sorry, Ames," Addison rocked a squirmy and still-crying Nate in her arms.
"Go back to bed," Derek said sleepily before heading downstairs to warm up a bottle.
"I'm never having children," Amelia commented before yawning and going back to the guest room.
When Amelia talked to Charlotte, Addison, Vanessa, Derek, and Arizona joined her. They all made it clear they were against it. But they were up against Amelia and Derek. And Amelia even got Dr. Singh's support, as she needed a cardiovascular surgeon to monitor Kayla during the surgery.
"Eddie Lindy made a decision to save his wife. He asked me to do it, and I can do it," Amelia argued.
"And you're on board with this?" Charlotte looked at Derek.
"Yes," Derek confirmed.
"Now, will you give me privileges here?" Amelia asked Charlotte.
"Yes. I'll get you an OR for tomorrow," Charlotte responded.
Later, Vanessa brought in the adoptive parents as Amelia prepped Kayla for surgery. They pleaded with her not to go through with this surgery, but Amelia wouldn't change her mind. She truly believed she was doing what was best for Kayla. And as for the triplets, she knew they'd be well taken care of with Addison and Arizona. When it came time for the surgery, she heard the door open and found Addison, Vanessa, Dr. Singh, Arizona, Sam, and Derek come in to scrub in.
"What are you doing here?" Amelia directed her question at Derek.
"Why wouldn't I be here?" Derek asked confused.
"This is my surgery," Amelia insisted.
"It still is," Derek said nonchalantly.
"Did Charlotte put you up to this? I can do this. Without you," Amelia argued.
"I'm not your screwed-up little sister anymore," Amelia grumbled.
"I never said -," Derek started.
"Okay, that's enough," Addison scolded them both. The other doctors awkwardly kept to themselves and continued scrubbing their hands.
"Ames, Derek's just here to support you," Addison started.
"And Derek, you're just here to assist," Addison added. Neither said a thing as they dried off their hands.
"Understand?" Addison asked.
"Yes," Derek and Amelia resigned in unison. Something about Addison scolding them always put Derek and Amelia in their place.
During the surgery, Amelia didn't get far before Kayla threw another clot. Dr. Singh, with Sam's assistance, worked to remove the clot together. But Addison and Vanessa knew the babies wouldn't survive the procedure. They worked together to take the babies out. Eventually, they brought all three, with help from some assisting residents, to the NICU, where Arizona was on standby. But not until after a scare from one of the triplets not breathing for the first few minutes of her life.
After they left, Dr. Singh and Sam cleared the clots. But watching all the drama of Addison and Vanessa resuscitating one of the babies freaked her out. Her prior confidence waned as she finally felt the pressure to wake this woman up from her coma. While the logic of draining the fluid made sense, she knew just as much as any other neurosurgeon that the brain and how it was supposed to work didn't always make sense. It's what made the specialty interesting and exciting. But now was not the time for Amelia to freak out.
"You're up, Dr. Shepherd," Dr. Singh said as he saw Kayla's vitals stabilizing.
"I almost killed her," Amelia said, softly. Derek could tell how freaked she was now.
"And those babies…," Amelia started.
"They've got Addison, Hoyt, and Robbins now," Derek interrupted her. He knew those three were more than capable for the job. And he knew Amelia knew this too.
"What am I doing?" Amelia whispered, looking to Derek for advice.
"You're operating," Derek said, simply. He wanted to make sure Amelia felt calm. And the only way to do that was making sure she felt comfortable. Yelling at her right now wouldn't help. Especially if it were coming from him. It'd just add to the pressure she already felt.
"You know what you're doing, Amy," Derek came up closer to stand beside her.
"Do I?" Amelia asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.
"Yes, you do. Now finish this surgery," Derek instructed her calmly.
"What if she doesn't wake up? What if this was all for nothing?" Amelia sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"Then at least you'll know you tried. And so will Eddie," Derek said. He knew Amelia wasn't doing this surgery to try to show off. She was doing it her patient, for her family.
Amelia nodded before getting back to work. After the surgery, Amelia, Derek, and Sam watched as Kayla lay in her hospital, with Eddie hovering over her. She was still unconscious.
"It didn't work," Amelia said.
"You don't know that," Sam insisted. It hadn't been long enough yet to know if it worked.
"The other patients were at least marginally responsive by now," Amelia added.
"Maybe Addie was right. Maybe I took too long," Amelia thought out loud.
"Just wait," Derek interrupted her as he saw Eddie walk toward them.
"She's in pain. Is that good or bad?" Eddie asked.
Amelia and Derek did a quick neuro check. Kayla was waking up. And when Amelia realized this, there were tears in her eyes. And she let them fall down her face when Eddie came closer to comfort his now-awake wife.
"Addie!" Amelia called out hen she saw her walking through the halls.
"How are the babies?" Amelia asked. Seeing Addison out here felt like a good sign. When Amelia saw her, it didn't seem like she was sulking.
"They're stable. For now," Addison said, curtly.
"It worked! I was right," Amelia said.
"No. No, you were not right," Addison argued.
"You forced me to take out those babies way too early," Addison added.
"But they survived," Amelia said. She knew it was a risky surgery, that Kayla wasn't the only patient in the operating room. But so far, things were looking good.
"They survived. But don't kid yourself. You got lucky in there," Addison said sternly.
"You could be a great surgeon. But right now, you're not half as good as you think you are. And I say that as a doctor with far more experience than you," Addison added.
Amelia bit her inner lip. Maybe she did just get lucky in there. But as a silence hung in the air for a minute, Addison saw Derek standing at the other end of the hallway. He knew Addison wasn't happy about the surgery. The babies were viable, but barely. And judging on what he saw in the OR, at least one of the baby's lungs hadn't fully developed.
But for now, everything was good. And Addison knew that, too. More importantly, she knew Amelia hadn't done this on a whim to try to impress her brother or anyone else for that matter. Amelia did this for all four of her patients. Taking the babies out early wasn't ideal, but Amelia knew Addison would take good care of them. So would Vanessa and Arizona.
"But as…your sister-in-law, look at that," Addison looked into Kayla's room.
"She's up, she's awake. That's a family, and you did that. Those kids have a mother, he's got the woman he loves. So, celebrate that. 'Cause it's a miracle," Addison added before walking back to check on the babies.
"You did good, Amy," Derek said, as Amelia turned around to see him.
"Thanks," Amelia said, as Derek put an arm around her as they walked away to get back to work.
Later that night, Derek, Addison, and Amelia had dinner before Derek and Addison went through their nighttime routine with Nate. While Nate loved hearing Derek play the guitar, he didn't seem to want to go to sleep yet. After he finished his bottle, Addison rocked him to try to encourage him to fall asleep. But for the time being, it was useless. And Derek kept playing softly on his guitar, but again, it didn't seem to help. After a couple more minutes, Amelia came up to check on them.
"I still can't believe you guys have a baby," Amelia commented, standing against the door frame.
"Yeah, we can't either sometimes," Derek chuckled. Nate babbled as Addison readjusted him in her arms.
"Come on, baby. Why aren't you going to sleep?" Addison looked down at the baby, who just gave her a small smile back.
"I'd be mad at you if you weren't so cute," Addison cooed before kissing the top of Nate's head.
"Maybe he just wants his favorite auntie," Amelia joked, walking over to get a closer look at him.
"Knock yourself out," Addison chuckled before handing him over. It'd been a long day, and it already exhausted her enough.
At first, Nate looked back at her curiously. Amelia scrunched her nose and rubbed it against his gently as he lifted his small hand toward her face. Much like Addison had before, Amelia rocked Nate gently. Not long after that, Nate nuzzled his cheek on her shoulder. Derek resumed picking at the guitar as they watched Nate slowly get sleepier.
"Hey, you're pretty good at that," Addison said softly, moving closer to place a hand on Derek's shoulder as they both watched Amelia.
"I knew I was your favorite," Amelia whispered to Nate, whose blinks started lasting longer.
Derek and Addison smiled before leaving the room to give Amelia and Nate some privacy. Not that they needed it. But it felt nice to just be Derek and Addison. Even if it was just for a minute. They stood outside Nate's nursery and Addison leaned into Derek's embrace as he leaned against the wall.
"I missed her," Addison said, looking up at Derek.
"I did too," Derek smiled before giving her what started as a short but sweet kiss. Addison immediately deepened the kiss, and they stood making out like teenagers for a few minutes.
"Ugh, get a room," Amelia joked when she came out of Nate's room.
"This whole house is our room," Derek joked, chuckling.
"I didn't need to know that," Amelia commented. She couldn't help but think that Derek's joke meant they christened every room in this house. Addison rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle as well.
"Is he asleep?" Addison asked, just to be sure.
"Yup. Sleeping like a rock," Amelia said proudly.
"Thank you," Addison gently put a hand on her arm. Amelia smiled back.
"Thank you…for today. I know that wasn't easy for you," Amelia said, thinking back on their day.
"You're family, Amelia. We'd do anything for you," Addison said.
"I just wish I knew what I was gonna do now," Amelia chuckled awkwardly.
"Stay with us," Derek suggested. Addison smiled before leaning into Derek's arms again.
"What?" Amelia asked, stunned her brother of all people would suggest she stay with them for longer than just a quick visit.
"Yeah," Addison echoed his sentiment.
"What would I even do here? Babysit?" Amelia joked.
"Well, you would be a pretty great babysitter. Plus, we wouldn't have to pay for the nanny anymore," Derek joked. Addison playfully swatted his shoulder.
"We have an empty office," Addison teased. Derek didn't see this one coming. He just wanted to keep Amelia around to watch out for her. And he thought she could make a great addition to St. Ambrose. But Addison might need her more at Oceanside Wellness.
"Really?" Amelia asked excitedly.
"I'd have to ask everyone else, but I don't see why not," Addison said.
Amelia ran up to hug Addison like she was a little kid running up to their dad when they came home from work. She was fully aware this was what it must've looked like: her as Derek and Addison's child. But at the moment, Amelia didn't care. And neither did Derek or Addison, for that matter.
Right now, things were looking up. She knew Ginsberg would make it nearly impossible for Amelia to find another fellowship. Working for Addison would be great. She really missed Addison, as well as Derek. And she was sure her mother would be happy that she'd have Derek to look out for her now.
A/N: If it weren't already obvious before, Amelia's here to stay! The whole coma surrogate patient was always interesting to me, so I decided to keep that here. But, of course, I made a few tweaks because we have other characters involved now. And I know I said this in my last chapter notes, but there's really no reason for Addison and Vanessa not to be friends in this fic. I don't know how long Vanessa and Sam are going to be together in this fic, but I do have a general idea of how I want them to break up. But I won't completely write out how that goes, so it'll happen when it happens lol.
As for how this chapter started, I knew I wanted to get Mark and Lexie together in a casual sense, but I didn't know exactly how that would go down. So, I just jumped to where they were already sleeping together. But for all you non-Slexie fans, they won't be the main focus of the story, so hopefully you'll stick around for everything else. Plus, their relationship's going to go a little differently in this story, so maybe you'll like my version. If not, that's cool too lol. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
