Around 3:00 in the morning, Derek woke up in the worst pain he had ever experienced. All pain meds had worn off, and just as he had asked, no one had disturbed the Shepherds. Addison was still molded to his body fast asleep.

"Addie." Derek said quietly, trying to wake her up. She barely moved. "Addison." He said louder. She slowly woke up and looked up at him, a little disoriented as to where she was. Addison saw the pained expression on his face and the look in his eyes and was immediately wide awake.

"Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" she cried out, getting up off the bed quickly.

"No. You didn't do anything." Derek grimaced. "The pain meds have just worn off. Can you get a nurse to give me more of the good stuff?" Addison nodded and went straight to the nurses station. She knew it was bad if Derek was actually asking for medication.

As soon as the meds started to kick in, Addison was relieved to see Derek visibly relax. She knew it wouldn't be long till he was asleep again, but she was now wide awake. She started to sit down in the chair and look at her phone when Derek gave her a quizzical look.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Why aren't you laying back down with me?" he asked. He realized he genuinely missed the feel of her body next to his. Addison looked at him for a minute before slowly crawling into the bed next to him.

"Are you feeling better?" Addison asked, her voice slightly muffled because her head was on his chest. Derek ran his hand through Addison's hair, and thought about her question. He was feeling better, but the pain medicine had little to do with it. The feeling of her next to him had awakened feelings deep down that he had forgotten about.

"I really am, Ads." he whispered. He felt her smile against his chest. Derek continued to play with her hair and massage her scalp until he heard her breathing even out. Soon he joined her in sleep.

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At 8:00, Carolyn slowly made her way into the hospital with all 3 Shepherd children. None of them had slept much the night before, but they had all had a really fun time eating ice cream, pop corn, pizza, and watching movies.

Ellie opened the door to her father's room and immediately shut it, causing her brother's to run into her.

"What are you doing?" Apollos snapped at her. She turned to him and put her hands on her hips.

"Mommy and Daddy are sleeping. We can't go in there." she said matter-of-factly. Apollos rolled his eyes and proceeded to open the door anyway. He was surprised to find his parents in the same bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

Carolyn walked in behind him. She too was surprised at the scene in front of her.

The 3 Shepherd children went straight over to the Xbox, where despite their best efforts to be quiet, soon turned into them arguing over what to play.

Their parents began to stir from the noise. "Hey guys." Derek said groggily as Addison slowly peeled herself away from him.

"I told the boys not to come in here and wake you up." Ellie said, crossing her arms.

"It's ok, sweetie." Addison said, giving her children a hug. "I have to go do a consult soon anyway."

"Why don't you go get cleaned up in the Attendings' lounge." Derek told her. "The kids can hang out here with Mom and me until Jamie comes to get them."

"I need to go get the rest of the stuff from Adele's and get everything moved into our new apartment after the consult. I will be gone for several hours." Addison replied, looking at him worriedly.

"I can stay with him." Carolyn piped in. "I will make sure he doesn't over do it and stays properly medicated." she said, raising her eyebrow at Derek. He looked between his wife and his mother and sank farther back into the bed. Being ganged up on by the women in his life was not something he had missed.

"Ok. I will back as soon as I can." Addison said, giving Derek a kiss goodbye. She walked over to the children, who were deep in the world of Minecraft and barely heard her leave.

Carolyn sat down next to Derek and just looked at him.

"What did I do this time?" Derek asked defensively. Jamie walked in before Carolyn answered.

"Are you guys ready to go to the Space Needle?" she asked the children. All 3 were very excited.

"I want you 3 to stay very close to Jamie and listen to everything she says." Derek admonished them. They agreed, said goodbye to their grandmother and father, and then left the room.

As the room got quiet, Derek noticed his mother was staring at him again.

"Seriously Mom, what?" Derek asked in frustration. The pain was starting to return, and he was in no mood to deal with anyone.

Carolyn looked at him a little while longer and finally relented. "I heard two people talking at the coffee cart. I know you had an affair and told no one about your family."

Derek was speechless. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Carolyn nodded her head slightly. She was hoping that what she heard wasn't true, but Derek's silence informed her it was.

"Derek, I know Addison hurt you beyond understanding in New York when she slept with Mark." Carolyn said. Derek stiffened. "But I also know, I raised you better than to run from your problems. As least, I thought I did."

Neither said anything for a long time.

"Why?" Carolyn simply said. Derek looked at her and for the first time, he thought his mother looked much older than she was. She looked tired and defeated.

"Mom, none of this is your fault." he said quietly, evading the question.

"Derek, it doesn't matter how old you get, you will always be my son. That means that it is my job to guide you and look out for you."

"Mom…" Derek interrupted. Carolyn held out her hand to silence him.

"I know you are an adult, and that you have to make your own way in the world, but that doesn't change the fact that I feel responsible to some degree. So, I ask again. Why?"

Derek stared at the ceiling for a long time. "I don't know. ." he finally replied.

Carolyn took his hand, causing him to turn and look at her. "When your father died, I felt like running too. It was so hard to be around you children because you reminded me so much of your father. Each in your own way. If my parents hadn't lived down the street from us, and helped out so much, I am not sure how I would have survived."

Derek looked at her in a new light. She had never talked with him like this before about his father's death. He always thought she was one of the strongest people he ever knew.

"Grandma and Grandpa always watched us while you were working. At least until Grandpa got cancer." Derek recalled. He hadn't thought about those days in a long time.

"Yes they did. For 5 years, they were my lifeline." Carolyn said. "That is why when Addie and you had Apollos, I did everything I could to help you. I knew that having a baby and both of you being interns was going to be really hard."

"We have told you many times how much we appreciated that." Derek said quickly.

"I know, Derek. I am not looking for you to thank me now." Carolyn clipped back. She took a deep breath and continued. "When you had Khaliel and then Ellie, you guys were still working long hours, but you weren't working as many nights. You were able to put them in the hospital daycare. That seemed like a better option because then you could go and see them throughout the day. So, I went back to being a scrub nurse full time. I knew something was off between Addison and you this last year, but I didn't realize how bad it was. You were working more and missed a lot of family events, but Addison always seemed ok with it. The next thing I knew, she was sleeping with Mark and you disappeared. Now I find out you were across the country dating an intern and pretending your family didn't exist." Carolyn finished.

"I thought everything was fine between us too." Derek said with a far off look in his face. He thought about what she had said about him missing so many family events. If others had noticed, why didn't they say anything? He had no doubt that what his mother took as Addison looking ok was actually her relying on her horrid upbringing. He hated when she resorted to her fake Montgomery smile.

"I have since learned how much I missed and how much it hurt her and the kids." he trailed off ashamed. "Look, Mom. I have no explanation or reason for why I moved out here and didn't talk to anyone. I just had to get away. Sometimes you just want the pain to stop. So you cut it off. The problem and the pain."

"It's ok, Derek." Carolyn said in a softer tone. "If your father and I can survive his drug addiction, then Addison and you can survive this." she said quietly.

Once again, Derek was shocked speechless.

"Drug addiction?" he choked out. He had never heard that before.

"Yes, dear. It was right after I got pregnant with Nancy. Liz was still in diapers. As you know, your father was in a car accident and broke both arms. He also had internal bleeding that required surgery."

Derek nodded. He had heard about the car accident many times.

"Well, your father became addicted to the pain pills the doctors prescribed." Carolyn said.

"Just like Amy." Derek whispered, His mother nodded. "Does she know?" he asked.

"No. None of you children do." Carolyn answered, fidgeting with her purse strap. "He struggled for almost a year in a half. We lost a lot of money. He could barely work. We almost lost the house. I finally left him and went to live with my parents. It woke him up enough to go to rehab. Once he got out, I waited 6 months to move back in with him. I had to be sure." Carolyn finished, letting the story sink in. "Oh, and about 9 months after I moved back in with him, you were born." she laughed.

Derek was quiet for a long time. His father had struggled with a prescription drug addiction. Would Amelia have struggled as much if she had known? Why did his mother never say anything all these years?

"Why have you never told us about this?" Derek asked, trying to process all this information.

"I didn't think you needed to know." Carolyn said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You didn't think we needed to know?" Derek said, starting to get angry. "It might have helped Amy to know she wasn't alone. You should have told us, Mom."

"Perhaps you are right." Carolyn conceded. "I will tell her, if you think I should. But my point in all of this, is that I believe Addison and you can make it; however, you need to be sure you are ready to fully commit to her. Take the time to do the work. Don't just stay together for the kids."

Derek just looked at her. How had she known that was the main reason he was trying?

"Derek, I know you better than you think I do." she laughed as she saw his emotions playing across his face. "I know you are overwhelmed by all of your injuries. I know you regret leaving your children. I know you regret putting work before your family. I don't want you to look back 5 years from now and regret staying with Addison. It will be worse for all of you, especially the children."

Derek took in all she was saying. He couldn't wrap his head around all she had told him.

"Now, I think you need to rest." Carolyn said in her no nonsense tone. "Your body needs to heal and to do that, you need rest."

Carolyn stood up, gave Derek a kiss on the cheek and left the room. If she was being honest, she was the one who needed rest. After a night of little sleep to the taxing conversation she had just had with her son, she was bone weary tired. Carolyn went back to her hotel room to take a nap.

Derek stared at the ceiling for a long time. He was livid with his mother but at the same time grateful for her insight. As Derek continued to mull over everything his mother had said, he fell asleep.

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Addison left Derek's room and made her way up the Chief's office.

"Addie, thank you for taking on this case." Richard said as he handed Addison a lab coat.

"Richard. I agreed on a consult. I didn't say I was taking on the case." Addison said, a little confused why she was getting her own Seattle Grace lab coat that already had her name on it.

"Of course." Richard said vaguely. "Follow me, and I will show you the way to the maternity ward."

Addison put on the lab coat and followed him. She was well aware of the stares she was getting as they made their way through the hallways.

"Dr. Fields. This is Dr. Shepherd. She is going to consult on the TTTS case we discussed last night." Richard informed a young, blonde doctor who was standing near the nurses station.

"Right. Of course. Dr. Shepherd. It is such an honor to meet you." Lucy said, nervously shaking Addison's hand. "I have followed your work in NY and read many of your articles. I am so thankful you are in town to help with this case."

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Dr. Fields. However, I am only in town because my husband had a terrible accident." she said in her Forbes-Montgomery voice.

"Uh, right. How is he doing?" Lucy said sheepishly.

"As well as can be expected." Addison said, using Derek's word. "Now, can I review the chart before we go see the patient?"

"Alright, well, I will just leave you two alone. Page me if you need anything." Richard informed Addison as he walked away.

As Addison reviewed the case, she was sickened by what she saw.

"Dr. Fields. This woman is 25 weeks pregnant, and the TTTS is at Stage IV. Why was it not addressed sooner?" Addison asked aghast.

"The woman didn't receive any prenatal care until earlier this week. As soon as it was identified, she was immediately sent to the hospital for monitoring." Dr. Fields explained.

"Now I see why Richard said I would be taking on the case." Addison muttered under her breath. "Ok. Let's go see the patient." she said to Lucy.

"Oh. Dr. Stevens is the intern on the case as well." Lucy told Addison as Izzie bounced up.

"Dr. Shepherd. I can't believe I get to work with you!" Izzie said excitedly.

"It is nice to see you again, Dr. Stevens." Addison smiled at the younger woman, remembering her from earlier. "You wanted to ask me questions about neonatal medicine, correct?"

"Yes!" Izzie exclaimed.

"Well, as it appears I will be working on this case for several months, there will be plenty of time. Now, show me the way to " Addison paused to consult the chart for the patient's name. " to Katie's room."

When Addison entered the room, she was shocked how young the patient looked. She opened the chart to double check the patient's age. It said she was 19. The girl barely looked 16. She also saw two adults, whom she assumed were Katie's parents.

"Good morning, Katie. I am Dr. Shepherd." Addison said, addressing the young girl. Katie whispered hi, but refused to look Addison in the eye.

"Good morning, doctor. My name is Kyle Standford. I am Katie's father." the gentleman said, stepping forward to shake Addison's hand. "Katie is a little overwhelmed by all this attention."

"Can you tell me why you haven't received prenatal care until now?" Addison asked, turning towards her patient again. Katie looked at her father to answer.

"We live on a farm in the middle of nowhere east of Seattle." Kyle said vaguely. Addison noticed that the woman, whom she assumed was Katie's mother, never said a word. Both Kyle and Katie seemed nervous as she started asking personal questions. Addison decided to drop the matter for the time being, but something in her gut told her there was more to the story with this family.

As Addison examined the ultrasound, her worst fears were realized. "Katie, I am going to need to operate on your babies right away. If the TTTS is not dealt with soon, Baby B will likely die." Addison said gently. She didn't want to scare the young girl anymore than she already was, but she also wanted to drive home the point of how important the surgery was. "We will schedule surgery first thing Monday morning."

"I want those babies monitored at all times." Addison instructed Lucy and Izzie after they all left the room. 'If Baby B deteriorates any further, page me immediately. I have left my pager number at the nurses' station."

After signing the chart, Addison left the hospital to go to Adele's house.

"Adele, I want to thank you so much for letting us crash here the last few days. You have been a lifesaver!" Addison exclaimed, hugging the older woman.

"Of course, Addie! You are always welcome here! I am glad you found a great apartment to rent while you are here." Adele smiled. Addison had finished packing up their stuff and was preparing to head over to the apartment.

"It isn't the Brownstone, but for what we need right now, it is perfect." Addison said.

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Soon Addison was sitting in their new apartment alone. She was very thankful it came fully furnished. It would make things much easier. While Addison was enjoying the quiet, her phone rang. She was pleased to see it was her best friend Savvy calling.

"Hey, Sav" Addison smiled. "How are you?"

"I should be asking you that, Addie." Savvy asked. Addison proceeded to tell her everything that had happened over the last few days, doing her best not to let tears fall. It felt so good to be talking to her best friend.

"Wow. That is a lot, Addie." Savvy said stunned once Addison finished. "Do I need to send Weiss out to kick Derek's butt?" she joked.

"No, I think having a broken coccyx is enough butt kicking for now." Addison laughed.

"In all seriousness, Addie, Weiss and I would like to come visit over Labor Day." Savvy said.

"That would be great. Derek should be out of the hospital by then, so that would be a good time to come visit." Addison said happily. The idea of her best friend coming in a month was enough to lift her spirits.

"In the meantime, what can we do to help?" Savvy asked.

"It would be very helpful if you could keep an eye on our Brownstone. Maybe check on it once a week? Also, could you send all of us some of our clothes? " Addison replied. She knew she could count on her best friend.

"Of course! I will go over there tomorrow and have everything overnighted on Monday. It should be there on Tuesday." Savvy said, genuinely happy there was something tangible she could do to help.

"Happy Anniversary to me." Addison laughed when she realized Tuesday was their 14th wedding anniversary.

"That's right!" Savvy exclaimed. "At least with Derek confined to a bed, he can't make excuses to miss your anniversary dinner this year." she said, referring to Derek canceling their 13th anniversary dinner due to "a very important surgery".

"Yes, well, 2 weeks ago, I didn't even know if I would hear from him before our anniversary." Addison whispered. Both women were quiet for a minute.

"Addie. You guys are going to survive this. You are AddisonandDerek." Savvy said encouragingly.

"I hope so, Sav." Addison said sadly. "Look, I have to go. Our baby-sitter is bringing the kids back to the hospital soon, and I can't expect Carolyn to watch them for another night. It was so good to talk to you."

"You too, Addie. I will call you tomorrow to verify which clothes you want me to send. Love you, Addie." Savvy said, sending love from afar.

"Love you too, Sav." Addison said before hanging up the phone.

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Addison returned to Derek's room around 2:30. She was surprised to see Amy hanging out in his room with their mother nowhere in sight. Derek was asleep and Amy was watching TV.

"Hey." Addison said quietly, sitting down next to her sister-in-law. Amelia didn't say anything. She just stared at the TV. "Amy, what's wrong?" Addison asked. She had known Amelia since she was 15 and could easily tell when the younger woman was upset.

"Did you know my father was a drug addict?" Amy asked pointedly. Addison looked at her in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Addison asked completely confused.

"My father was addicted to pain medication when Liz and Nancy were little. My mother told me the whole story around lunch. She said Derek knew, so I came here to yell at him, but he was asleep." Amelia said angrily.

"Amy, calm down. I am pretty sure if Derek knew your father was a drug addict, he would have told me." Addison pointed out.

"Well, he has some explaining to do." Amy said, raising her voice. With the commotion, Derek started to stir.

"Addison? Amelia?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Derek Christopher Shepherd. How long have you known about Dad being a drug addict?" Amelia said, raising her voice even more, and not caring that her brother had just woken up.

Derek looked at her confused until he was fully awake and remembered the conversation with his mother.

"Mom talked to you?" he asked, still orienting himself.

"Yes. She said you knew, so why didn't you tell me." Amelia asked, still wanting some answers.

"Amy, Mom just told me this morning. I am the one who told her to tell you." Derek said testily. "Would you please calm down?"

Amelia stared at him for a long moment. "So you just found out today?" she said, lowering her voice.

"Yes." Derek responded, rubbing his temples.

"Well, I have no idea what you two are talking about, so would someone care to fill me in?" Addison asked, completely lost.

Both Derek and Amy turned to look at Addison, having temporarily forgotten she was there.

"Amy, would you mind leaving us alone?" Derek said, looking intently at Addison. He knew this conversation was going to get personal and might take awhile.

"Actually, Amy, would you mind meeting Jamie at the new apartment and watching the kids for awhile?" Addison asked, picking up on the fact that she might be awhile.

Amy looked back and forth between the married couple and nodded yes. Addison quickly called Jamie and told her the change of plans. She gave Amelia the apartment keys and then went to sit down by Derek.

"Ok, Derek, no one else is here. The door is locked and shades shut." Addison said, looking at him inquiringly.

"Could you come up on the bed with me?" Derek asked her seriously. Addison nodded slowly. She was not sure about this change in Derek about wanting to be physically touching so much. It reminded her of the man she married. Slowly, they began the process of molding their bodies together. She could feel his heart racing.

Addison leaned up on her elbow so she could look Derek in the face. She reached up to play with his hair to calm him down. Derek was once again blown away at how well she knew him. She knew how to help ground him without him even asking.

"Derek, whatever it is, you know I am not going to think any less of your family or you." Addison said softly.

Derek pulled her back down into a tight hug. He slowly began to tell her the story his mom had told him. Addison was completely shocked.

"No wonder Amelia was so mad." Addison finally said when he was done talking. "Are you ok?" she asked, again moving so she could look Derek in the eyes.

"I am ok with what my mom told me about my dad. Stunned. Shocked. But ok. I am worried about Amelia, though." Derek said quietly.

"I'll talk to her." Addison said, rubbing Derek's arm. Addison and Amelia had always had a special bond. They were closer than any of the other sisters.

"It was what she said after that that I am having a hard time with." he said honestly.

"What is that?" Addison asked, confused.

"She said that if my dad and her could survive drug addiction, then we could survive the affairs. But she also said that we shouldn't stay together just because of the kids." Derek continued.

Addison was quiet for a really long time. She lay on Derek's chest while he played with her hair. Finally, she sat up and looked at him.

"Is that the only reason you don't want to get a divorce? Because of the kids?" she barely got out.

"I will admit that it is a huge part of it." Derek said honestly. "I feel like these last few years we have been free falling. Instead of leaning on each other, we leaned on Mark."

Addison started to tear up. "How do we do that?" she asked. She started to play with the edge of the blanket.

Derek pulled her down for a kiss. "I think we have already started. I also think it is time to tell my mom and sister to go home. Being out here by ourselves, with no close friends or family, will force us to lean on each other."

Addison raised an eyebrow at him. "When did you become so wise?" she teased.

"Being stuck in bed all the time has forced me to do nothing but think." Derek said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We might drive each other crazy with both of us not working and being around each other so much." Addison laughed.

"Well, you know we are going to fight. We are DerekandAddison." Derek teased her.

"AddisonandDerek." she automatically corrected him, smiling.

"And because we are us, we always have amazing make up sex." Derek said coyly.

Addison leaned up and kissed him deeply. "Someday soon, my love." she whispered against his lips. Derek groaned, but kissed her back passionately.

After a few minutes of making out, Derek pulled back and looked at Addison seriously. "You know you don't have to stop working." he said. "I know Richard would be thrilled to offer you a position here."

"I couldn't do that to the kids or you. All of you need me right now. I will work on a few cases, like the TTTS case from this morning. But I mostly want to focus on our family right now. It is only for a couple of months. Besides, we are going to have to decide where to live…." Addison trailed off. It was a topic they hadn't discussed yet.

"Right…" Derek said. They decided nonverbally to address this topic later.

"So how did your case go this morning?" Derek asked, switching topics.

"It was actually really strange." Addison answered. She proceeded to tell Derek about how weird the family had been acting.

"Addie, you need to talk to the Chief." Derek said. He too thought it sounded strange. Addison got up from the bed and started pacing.

"That's the thing though, Derek. I have no proof. Just a gut feeling. I can't go to the Chief on that. What if I am wrong and I drag the family through questioning for no reason?" Addison said, as she continued to pace.

"What are you planning to do?" Derek asked, cautiously. He knew Addison only paced when she was mulling over a plan in her head.

Addison stopped and turned to look at him. She started to talk, stopped, and started pacing again.

"Addison…." Derek said sternly. She stopped and looked at him.

"Well, I need to talk to Savvy...but.." Addison paused and looked away nervously.

"Why do you need to talk to Savvy?" Derek asked slowly, knowing he was not going to like the answer.

"Well...I could run a paternity test and see if Katie is really his daughter…." Addison said, again starting to pace.

"You can't do that without their permission, can you?" Derek asked in surprise.

"I don't know." Addison said, coming back over to the bed. "Like I said. I need to talk to Savvy."

Derek didn't say anything in response. He didn't like the sound of where this was going, but he also knew how stubborn Addison could get and how attached to her patients she could be.

"Please don't do anything illegal." Derek finally said. Addison was quiet for a while, and then decided to change the subject.

"Oh, Savvy and Weiss are going to come visit over Labor Day weekend." Addison said, smiling "They are also going to check on the Brownstone for us and mail us any of our belongings we need."

"Wow" Derek said. He was surprised their friends would go to so much trouble for them. Of course, Addison and Savvy had been like sisters since the first day of college. "It will be nice to see them." Derek continued, although, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about his friends from NY invading his life in Seattle. At least he would most likely be out of the hospital by then.

"Well, I need to go relieve Amy. Who knows what those kids have conned her in allowing them to do." Addison said laughing. "Are you going to be ok by yourself tonight?"

"Yes, Addie, I will." Derek said, smiling at her. "Why don't you plan on spending the morning with the kids and bring everyone by in the afternoon tomorrow. You haven't seen them much this past week, and I will just be laying around, so it would be good for all of you."

"That would be amazing, Derek. But, are you sure?" Addison asked, looking at him with concern.

"Yes, Addie. I am sure." Derek answered, pulling her down for a kiss. "Now, get out of here before my sister corrupts our kids any further." he laughed.

"Ok. See you tomorrow." Addison laughed as she left the room.

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