A/N: Happy Holidays! My holiday gift to you—a Christmas-inspired epilogue! In some ways it feels crazy to be done with this story. I so clearly remember the evening I posted the first chapter—the world had shut down and I was in desperate need of a distraction. So, this story has a special place in my heart. Thank you to everyone who read it and took the time to leave reviews; I really appreciate it.

I hope you have a happy and safe holiday season—in whatever way you're celebrating this year!

He's always loved Christmastime. It was a love that started when he was a child and only intensified when he met the woman who would become his wife (and then ex-wife and then ... well, the titles aren't what's important here).

The point is he loves Christmas, and this year is no different.

He looks around their Hamptons house and can't help smiling. Stockings have been hung, Christmassy candles are lit, and there's a big, impeccably decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. It's warm and cozy and everything he loves about Christmas.

And it's funny, because when they initially bought their house in the Hamptons, they bought it for long summer weekends. But he has to admit, there's something nice about the Hamptons at Christmastime. Not that Manhattan isn't nice. Manhattan comes alive at Christmas.

But it's really not a contest—especially when he has the best of both worlds.

"You okay?"

He blinks in surprise as Addison wraps her arms around his waist.

"Yeah," he smiles, pulling her into his arms.

"Good," she whispers, kissing him tenderly. When they break apart, she wraps her arms around his neck and leans into him "Wanna join me in the kitchen?" she murmurs.

He groans dramatically. "That offer would be a lot more tempting if there weren't a bunch of people in our kitchen right now."

"Derek, they're our guests," Addison chides.

"I know."

"And we're being pretty terrible hosts right now."

Derek can't help laughing at that. "It's Savvy and Weiss and Nancy and John," he reminds Addison before pulling her in for another kiss. "They should be used to this from us by now."

Addison shakes her head in amusement. "Come on," she says, grabbing Derek's arm and playfully dragging him toward the kitchen. "I'll make it up to you tonight. I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Derek smirks as they enter the kitchen together.

"Wow," Weiss quips, glancing down at his watch. "I wasn't expecting to see you two for another couple of hours ... at least."

"Very funny," Derek mutters drily.

"But not wrong," Weiss points out smugly.

"Not entirely wrong," Derek concedes.

"That's all I'm saying," Weiss smirks, folding his arms across his chest in satisfaction. "By the way, your hair looks great, Derek."

"Don't start that again."

"No, seriously," Weiss persists. "It looks thick and full of body and—"

"Weiss."

"And don't get me started on your skin. I think being back in New York really agrees with you."

Derek's not about to argue with his friend on that one. Being back in New York definitely agrees with him.

"Can I get you a drink, Weiss?"

"I already helped myself to your scotch," Weiss grins, raising a tumbler full of amber liquid in Derek's direction.

"And John and I opened your wine," Nancy chimes in.

"Why don't the three of us catch up?" Savvy says, gesturing to herself, Addison, and Derek. "We'll pour some drinks and meet you guys in the living room."

"That works for me," Weiss grins, pecking his wife on the lips. "Keep an eye on those two," he chuckles, motioning toward Addison and Derek. "They're flight risks at these types of events."

"Weiss," Addison laughs. "We haven't done that since—"

"Three months ago," Weiss fills in.

Addison blinks in surprise. "Is that all it was? Was your birthday really only three months ago?"

"You know what they say," Weiss shrugs, "time flies when you're having fun."

The saying may be cliché, but Derek will be the first one to admit that it's absolutely, one-hundred percent true.

The last few months have flown by. And he and Addison have certainly had fun.

xxxxx

"What can I get you to drink, Savvy?" Addison asks her friend. "Red wine? Or I can mix you a martini."

"I'll have whatever you're having," Savvy smiles, gesturing toward Addison's glass. "Which ..." she continues slowly, eying her friend suspiciously, "appears to be water."

"Sav."

"The only time I've ever not seen you drink is if there's a chance you're going to be called in to work or if you have an early morning surgery. And since you're here all week, I know that neither of those things are the case." She looks at her friend expectantly, her eyes shining. "Addie ...?"

Addison exchanges a quick glance with Derek before turning back to her friend. "I'm not pregnant," she tells Savvy. "We've been seeing a fertility specialist."

"Because of what Naomi told you?"

"We wanted a second opinion," Addison explains.

"Of course," Savvy nods. "And ...?"

"The person we're currently seeing is a lot more optimistic about me conceiving than Naomi is," Addison finishes with a smile.

"Plus, she's a lot more creative than Naomi is," Derek chimes in.

"Derek," Addison narrows her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry, Honey, but she is. Naomi's a good doctor. She has excellent training. But she's never been the most imaginative or progressive doctor. That's why she works where she does, and that's why we're seeing a current colleague of ours instead."

"Everything's better in New York," Savvy agrees.

"That goes without saying," Derek smirks.

"So, you're not drinking ..."Savvy continues, turning her attention back to Addison.

Addison nods. "We're doing IVF right after the New Year, so I've been laying off alcohol. What?" she asks when she notices her friend's Cheshire cat grin. "Savvy, what?"

"Nothing," Savvy beams. "I'm just really excited for both of you. I always said you two would make the best parents."

"There's nothing to be excited about yet," Addison points out.

"Stop with the negativity," Savvy shakes her head. "I have a good feeling about this."

"Me too," Derek grins.

At this, Addison can't help smiling. She, herself, has never been a glass half-full person, per se. She's more of a realist. But when the people closest to her are quintessential glass half-full people, it's hard not to get swept up in their excitement.

"So, I take it you won't be drinking water with me, Savvy," Addison smirks.

"No," Savvy laughs. "I won't be joining you there."

"Fair enough. What can I get you?"

"Do you have champagne?"

Addison looks at her friend quizzically. "Of course, we have champagne."

"Good," Savvy smiles. "I'll have a glass of champagne then. Because we're celebrating."

xxxxx

She loves Christmastime. She didn't always. As a child, Christmas was the day that her family made a big fuss about going to church—even though they never went to church—and pretended to be a picture-perfect family. It didn't matter that the Captain had screwed an intern or the nanny or an assistant just hours earlier. On Christmas, they portrayed the image of a happy, well-functioning family.

So, naturally, Addison grew to see Christmas as being more about façades and appearances, and less about anything real.

But then she grew up and started ascribing her own meaning to Christmas. It was a time a time of year when things slowed down a bit ... when people were a little kinder to each other.

And then she met Derek, and Christmas took on a whole new meaning.

Christmas with his family was messy and chaotic and the furthest thing from the stiff and formal family Christmases she was used to. And she loved that.

And Christmas with just Derek was even better. It was wandering through the streets of Manhattan—frozen, but happy—admiring Christmas lights. It was decorating their brownstone and playfully arguing whether to use white Christmas lights (her vote) or multi-color Christmas lights (his vote). (Over time, they started alternating years).

Christmas with Derek was drinking hot buttered rum in their favorite Manhattan bars, while she poured over catalogs, trying to find the perfect gift for their various family members. And it was cold winter nights, snuggled up together on the couch in their brownstone, watching their favorite Christmas classics.

Christmas with Derek was magical and so very real.

And it still is.

She looks around the living room of their Hamptons house and can't help smiling. Just a few short months ago, spending the Holiday season this way was nothing but a pipedream. At the start of Weiss' birthday weekend, she never would have imagined spending Christmas (and the rest of her life) with Derek.

And as she continues to look around the living room, taking everything in, her eyes land on the large Christmas tree that she and Derek decorated just days earlier. It ended up taking them a lot longer to decorate the tree than either of them anticipated—mainly because they kept stopping to talk about the various ornaments they were hanging and reminisce about special times or achievements connected to them.

As much as she enjoyed reminiscing about the past, right now, she finds herself thinking about the future—the future ornaments that they'll associate with new important moments and new successes.

"It's a nice Christmas tree," Weiss approves, sidling up beside Addison and ripping her from her thoughts. "You and Derek outdid yourselves this year."

"You think so?" Addison asks in surprise.

The tree definitely looks nice. But she's not sure it looks very different from Christmas trees they've decorated in the past.

"I think so," Weiss nods. "Although ..." he trails off with a grin, "something's missing. Derek!" he motions for his friend to join him and Addison. "You're not going to want to miss this."

xxxxx

"I got you something," Weiss beams, handing Derek a wrapped giftbox.

"Weiss," Derek shakes his head. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"I know that," Weiss agrees. "Especially this year."

Derek can't exactly argue with Weiss there.

"Fine, Weiss ... Consider it my birthday gift to you." That's what he said at the beginning of Weiss' birthday weekend when Weiss asked him to try to go back to the way things were ... for the weekend, at least.

He thought he was doing Weiss a favor. But apparently Weiss knew better.

"That's okay." That's what Weiss said back to him with a causal shrug. "But just so you know, I'm considering it my early Christmas gift to you."

"Are you going to open your gift?" Weiss demands, cutting into Derek's thoughts. "Or are you just going to admire the wrapping paper?"

"I'm going to open it," Derek insists, as he carefully unwraps the present. "Oh, um, this is ... different," he stammers as he holds up the gift so everyone else can see and appreciate what Weiss has given him: a rectangular Christmas ornament, featuring a picture of Weiss. Underneath the picture, in cursive font, are the words: 'Weiss' (40th) Birthday Weekend!'

"Is this the picture from your business card?" Derek laughs, gesturing to the photo on the ornament.

"So what if it is?" Weiss defends. "It's a professional headshot. It's a good picture of me."

"It's a formal picture of you," Derek quips. "It's also a few years old at this point. You weren't 40 in this picture."

"Hey," Weiss defends, "Let's stop nitpicking the gift. I just wanted you to have a little reminder of the weekend that you and Addison got back together. And, of course, the man responsible for it all."

Derek can't help chuckling at that. He's not sure he'd agree that Weiss was responsible for him and Addison getting back together. Though he certainly played a part. Actually, all of the people in the room played a role in helping him and Addison get back together.

Still, he likes to think he and Addison did (and are continuing to do) most of the heavy lifting.

And as for a reminder of the weekend that he and Addison got back together—the ornament's a nice, albeit comical memento, but he doesn't need a reminder. He'll remember that weekend for the rest of his life.

"So where should we hang it?" Weiss asks, gesturing to the ornament in Derek's hand.

"Oh, um, I don't know." He hands the ornament to his friend. "Why don't you do the honors, Weiss?"

"Gladly," Weiss grins, accepting the ornament.

And to no one's surprise, he hangs it right in the center of the tree.

"Perfect," Weiss beams.

Derek can't help chuckling as he and Addison exchange a knowing glance. They'll move the ornament later.

xxxxx

"This is nice," Nancy smiles as she sips her wine. "And exactly what we all need before we go to Mom's next week for Christmas." She shakes her head in amusement. "Christmas with the family is many things, but relaxing isn't one of them."

Normally, Addison would agree with Nancy, and even throw in a quip or two of her own. But not this year.

This year, she'll gladly take the noise and chaos. She'll happily take a Christmas that leaves her more exhausted than rejuvenated. Because it means she's celebrating Christmas with Derek.

She's not celebrating Christmas in LA—alone, in a city that never felt quite right. She's celebrating Christmas in New York—her home. She's celebrating Christmas with the man she loves more than anything in the way they've celebrated for over a decade.

It may be loud, it may be messy, it may be chaotic. But she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"And the kids," Nancy continues with a smile. "They're going to be so happy to see you."

"They just saw me for Thanksgiving," Addison reminds Nancy. "Now that Derek and I are back in New York, they see me all the time."

"Yeah, but Christmas is different," Nancy insists.

And Addison has to admit, Nancy's not wrong.

"It's nice to have you back," Nancy says growing serious. "You and Derek."

"Nance—"

"Thank you," Nancy smiles. "Thank you for bringing my brother back."

"Nancy, I didn't—"

"You did," Nancy insists in her I'm the oldest of five kids, no-nonsense tone that leaves no room for debate. "And we all appreciate it. Quite honestly, he probably appreciates it more than any of us."

"You're talking about me, aren't you?" Derek smirks as he slides onto the couch next to Addison and wraps an arm around her waist.

"Just when I thought it was impossible for your head to be any bigger than it already is," Nancy quips. "Not everything's about you, Derek."

Derek shrugs good-naturedly at his sister. "You don't mind if I steal Addison for a minute, do you?"

"It depends," Nancy chuckles. "Are the two of you planning on coming back?"

"To a party we're hosting? Of course we're coming back," Addison insists.

"I'm just asking," Nancy says innocently. "You two do have a reputation for going MIA at parties."

"Not our own," Addison promises. "We'll be back in a few minutes."

"More like fifteen," Derek amends as he escorts Addison out of the living room.

"Derek where are we going?" Addison asks, when he hands her a jacket and tells her to put it on. "Are we actually leaving our own party?"

"Yes and no," Derek smirks, as he too puts on his coat and leads Addison outside, toward their backyard and pool.

A light snow is falling, and it's wintery in the best way.

"Derek, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Derek shrugs. "I just wanted a moment alone with you, away from everyone else."

Addison can't help smiling at that. It doesn't matter that they're being terrible hosts or fully living up to their reputation for being flight risks at parties. None of that matters right now.

In Seattle, she felt like he didn't see her ... even when it was just the two of them in his tiny trailer. But now, just months later, he's willingly excusing himself from a party (that they're hosting) so he can be with her and only her.

She wraps her arms around him, holding him close, and he envelops her in his arms as the snow continues to fall around them.

Being back in the Hamptons with Derek feels right. Being anywhere with Derek feels right. But it feels especially right to be with him in the Hamptons during Christmas—their season.

"I love you," he whispers, kissing her softly. "And I can't wait for whatever comes next for us."

Addison smiles against his lips. "Me too," she whispers.

She's excited about the future. And she should be.

(Unbeknownst to her, Derek's been hiding a ring in the top drawer of his nightstand, and he's been waiting for just the right time to give it to her. The first time he proposed to her was on the beach in the Hamptons in December, and Derek's always been a fan of symmetry. So, it's not unrealistic to assume they'll be engaged again before the end of the week. It's highly likely they'll go into Christmas as an engaged couple.)

She has a lot to look forward to.

She's looking forward to Christmas, of course. But what she's really looking forward to is next year with Derek, and everything that's in store for them.

And it's funny, because when they came to the Hamptons for Weiss' birthday weekend, she so desperately wanted things to be the way they were.

Everyone did.

But now, she's excited for the future. She's excited for her and Derek to continue their lives together. She's excited for the way they will be.

They have big plans for the upcoming year—plans she knows about (like IVF), and plans she doesn't (like getting remarried). And she can't wait.

The new year is coming, and it's looking bright.

xxx

A/N2: Happy Holidays again! And happy early 2021! I hope this upcoming year is a bright one. Like Addison and Derek, we all deserve it!