Daddy's Little Girl - Chapter 5

Hi! Okay, finally an update!

I re read my old version and decided that things were kind of moving too fast… As much as I love Addek, they shouldn't rush this and I need to focus on the whole past thing some more, so I'm sorry about that...


Just Talking

"So, what's going on between you and Dr. Montgomery?" Preston Burke leaned against the nurses' station and raised his eyebrows at his friend and colleague.

"What do you mean? We're friends," Derek said, trying to shrug this whole thing off as nonchalantly as he possibly could considering what had actually happened between him and Addison.

"Oh, just friends, huh?" Preston sounded rather amused and saw Derek nod in reply. "So why do you never kiss me in an on-call room? I'm not saying that I mind, but if that's what friends do…"

"What?!" Derek slammed the chart he had pretended to read shut and looked up at his friend, an annoyed look on his face. "How do you know that?!" He whispered so no one would over hear what they were talking about even though he was sure that someone had already gossiped it around.

"Uhm, yeah, there's this concept you might not be entirely familiar with, so let me enlighten you," Preston took a deep breath, not making Derek any happier, "It's called: Interns talk if they see their attendings screwing around in on-call rooms."

"Nothing happened!"

"So you didn't kiss the woman who has been working here for what? Three weeks?" There was no such thing as just kissing, especially not for Derek who was so incredibly picky about who he would even date because he needed a connection, a sign from above that she really was the one for him. Which probably was why he had never gotten married.

"Well, yeah, that happened, but it's really no big deal," Derek sighed and rubbed his temples. Could this day be any worse?

"So, how much do you like her?" Preston no longer sounded amused but rather sympathetic because he knew that his best friend was really starting to fall for this woman.

"A lot," Derek said with a sigh. He really liked Addison, more than he had liked anyone in a very long time but it was just so unbelievably complicated. "But I really don't know how to do this."

"Kissing her? From what I've heard you certainly know how to do that," Preston laughed but one quick look at his friend's face told him that this joke really wasn't appreciated. "Sorry, man."

"Her husband just died, she has a little daughter… I mean, this is doomed."

"The important question here is: How does she feel about you?"

"I really don't know… Gracie says she likes me," Derek said with a smile. "I mean, she did kiss me back. At least until Karev walked in."

"Why don't you ask her out? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Preston hoped that his friend wasn't making a mistake chasing a woman, who maybe wasn't even interested, but it would be much worse if he never tried.

"Uhm, she could hear me?!"

"Be a man and ask her out." Preston padded Derek on his back and turned around to walk down the hall.

Derek sighed and ran his fingers through his deep brown hair. How could he have ever gotten himself into a situation like this? Normally he never had troubles getting a date but that normally was with women he didn't care for as much after years as he cared about Addison after only a few weeks.

"Dr. Shepherd?" A voice startled him and caused him to turn around. Meredith Grey, a young intern was standing behind him in a lab coat that seemed to be about ten sizes too big.

"Dr. Grey." He gave her a brief nod.

"Your surgery was incredible." She smiled and twisted her fingers around the material of her lab coat.

"Thank you."

"I was just wondering if you would you like to have coffee with me some time?"

There. This was how a normal person asked someone out. Why couldn't he just ask Addison and convey that he wanted to be more than just her friend? Or had he already done that by kissing her repeatedly? He saw that Meredith Grey was still standing in front of him and realized that he hadn't even answered her. "Oh, uhm, I'm sure you're very nice but no, I'm sorry."

"Oh… Okay…" The young intern looked like a deer caught in the headlines and made Derek quite uncomfortable so he quickly excused himself and walked off.

xxx

"Derek said that he would take me to the zoo this weekend!" Gracie exclaimed excitedly at the dinner table that night.

"Oh, is he now?" Adele smiled at the little girl and her enthusiasm, glad that she had adjusted to Seattle and their new living arrangements and everything.

"Yes! And he is sooo cool!" She grinned before continuing, "right, mommy?" She looked at her mother who was more than just a little uncomfortable with the subject of Derek, especially at the dinner table with Adele and Richard.

"Yes, honey, he is very nice," Addison said quickly and resumed to eat her food, hoping that this would be with this topic.

"Mommy really likes him! And he likes her too!" And there it was. Of course all eyes were now on Addison, who was shifting in her chair uncomfortably. She wasn't even so sure about her feelings for Derek, so how could her six years old daughter possibly have figured this out already?!

"Like I said, he is very nice."

"But you like him!"

"Grace Elisabeth Montgomery, that is enough," Addison scolded her daughter rather calmly but gave her a look that let the little girl know that it was better not to say anything so she nodded her head and sat back on her chair.

Except for some small talk nothing else was spoken at the dinner table. A little chit chat about some surgeries, the weather and the greatness of the pink cupcakes at the hospital cafeteria. But something told Addison that they all weren't done talking about this whole thing with Derek just yet.

"So… McDreamy?" Adele raised her eyebrows very matter off factly at Addison when they were standing in the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher.

"Adele…" Addison sighed because she really didn't know what to say anymore. She had kissed Derek without even thinking about Christopher and it broke her heart.

"Come on, there really is nothing wrong with feeling this way. It was bound to happen some time and it is only healthy. You're not," She immediately stopped and swallowed the word dead before even saying it because she knew how much it would upset Addison.

Addison flinched because she knew exactly what Adele was about say and it didn't hurt less even though she hadn't finished her sentence. "I know but all of this is just so…" She sighed and closed her eyes for a second. When exactly had her life gotten so unbelievably messed up? "Five years ago I had everything I ever wanted… I mean, I was married to the most perfect man who loved me and we had the most wonderful daughter and good jobs… It was like everything was so perfect. And then it all just fell apart," she whispered and felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. She knew that she was a mess ever since everything had come crumbling down around her and she didn't want to drag anyone else into the shambles that were her personal life. It was horrible enough that Grace had to deal with this.

"Honey," Adele hugged her before continuing softly, "maybe you need to stop living in the past. I know this is a terrible thing to say but Christopher would have wanted you to move on, you know that."

"I didn't think about Christopher," Addison whispered and looked at Adele, who seemed to be rather confused. "When I kissed Derek… I didn't even think of Christopher."

"You kissed?" Liking Derek was one thing but they had kissed?

"Uhm… Yeah…" Addison felt uneasy talking about this especially since it made her like she had betrayed her husband which of course was ridiculous but she felt like the worst person on earth.

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah…" She looked at the ground. She shouldn't like him, or anyone for that matter. It was too soon. Too soon to move on, too soon to not think about her husband and too soon to meet anyone.

"But, Addison, that's good. You have to move on at some point." Adele watched the younger woman look up at her, eyes filled with uncertainty. "Christopher will always be a part of your life and that's good but he wouldn't have wanted you to old and bitter, you know," she teased and tried to get a smile out of Addison.

"Yeah… Thank you, Adele, especially for calling me old and bitter," she chuckled and hugged Adele again.

xxx

Addison leaned against the railing in front of the big panorama window at the hospital. She had had an early surgery and hadn't had any time to see her daughter.

"I'm glad you're having a good time with auntie Adele," Addison smiled when she listened to her daughter on the phone. "I love you too, see you tonight, sweetheart." She hung up the phone and realized Derek was standing next to her, a smile on his face.

"Hi, how was dinner last night?" He looked out of the window at the rain and the storm outside. Seattle weather really wasn't something this city could be proud of.

"It was alright, I guess," She watched him out of the corner of her eye and had to smile when she got that tingly feeling in her stomach again. She really liked him…

"It was alright you guess?" He had to laugh and turned around slightly so that he was now facing her, an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah… It was alright," she had to laugh as well at how stupid and vague she sounded. "So how was your evening?" It was a good idea to change the subject because she really didn't want to discuss the main topic of last night with him.

"Oh, you know, it was alright, I guess." Addison knew that he was teasing her and rolled her eyes because of it. "Not really eventful, surgery, a lot of paperwork and an intern asking me out."

She had been nodding along but suddenly her head shot up. Someone had asked him out? And why was he telling her this? And WHY did it bother her? What had he said? Oh, no, he hadn't said yes, had he?

"I said no," he sounded so very matter off factly and tuned towards the window again. He didn't even know why he told her and what kind of a reaction he expected.

"Why are you telling me this?" Derek could feel her gaze burning into him but didn't turn his head to look at her.

"I thought we were talking." He shrugged his shoulders. Of course this really wasn't why he had told her and they both knew it. He had expected a reaction but even he wasn't entirely sure. Derek didn't want to push her into anything but he really liked this woman and that wasn't something that ever happened to him.

"Right." She nodded her head and was till looking at him, opening her mouth to speak but quickly closing it again without actually saying something.

"Go out with me," Derek stated simply and turned towards her, suddenly invading her personal space.

"I… uhm, whoa, what?" She took a step back, her eyes widened in shock. "I thought we were just talking."

"I like you," he sighed and looked right into her eyes.


Okay, so he told her that he likes her, what do you think, how shall I proceed and is someone even still reading this story?

Reviews are love :-*