A/N: Thank you so much for all of your kind feedback on my Christmas story, A Long December! I really appreciate it! A couple of reviewers asked for a New Year's sequel, so I decided to try to write something. This is probably the quickest I've ever written a story before (I wanted to post before New Year's Eve), so hopefully it's okay. It pretty much picks up where the first story left off. You don't have to have read the first story to understand this one; though it'll probably help a little. I hope you like this New Year's Eve sequel, and as always, thanks for reading! Happy New Year!
Auld Lang Syne
Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happen to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?
Sally: Well, maybe it just means we should remember that we forgot them, or something. Anyway, it's about old friends.
—When Harry Met Sally
"Okay, what's your secret?" Lizzie asked, gesturing to the nine-month-old baby in Addison's arms. "I have never in my life seen such a well-behaved baby. And seeing as I'm part of this family, I've seen a lot of babies. So, come on," she smirked. "What's your secret? Did you drug her? Some baby Tylenol, or something?"
"No," Addison laughed, shaking her head. "Thea's just a really calm, easy baby." She pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple. "Derek and I are really lucky."
"You have no idea," Lizzie agreed. "Remember Zach's first Christmas, five years ago? He cried the entire time."
"Oh, I remember," Addison chuckled.
"He was so bad that Tom, the kids, and I were almost uninvited to New Year's Eve that year."
"Really?" Addison asked in surprise.
"I mean, nothing ever came of it," Lizzie chuckled. "But my siblings tried to take back our New Year's Eve invite."
Addison shook her head in amusement.
"Don't worry, though," Lizzie reassured her sister-in-law. "Something like that would never happen to you. Thea's a really good baby. But even if she wasn't, you still wouldn't be excluded from a holiday. Derek's mom's favorite…her golden boy…and there's no way she'd let something like that happen to him."
Addison gave a concessionary nod. There was no denying that Derek was Carolyn's favorite. And even though Addison could tell that Carolyn's feelings about her were only lukewarm, it was very clear that Carolyn adored Thea. And this made Addison's less than ideal relationship with her mother-in-law a little more bearable.
"Hey, Thea," Lizzie cooed, tickling her niece under her chin, and ripping Addison from her thoughts. "How about next time you come to New York, you come to my house? How does that sound? Your mommy knows how much I love babies. Especially sweet, well-behaved babies like you." She turned to Addison and smiled. "She really is a good baby."
"Thank you," Addison said sincerely.
Lizzie wasn't wrong. Thea really was a wonderful baby. The past week had been a testament to that. Thea had watched with wide-eyed fascination, on Christmas morning, as her cousin's tore open their Christmas presents. And she didn't fuss or cry when she was passed around between overeager aunts and cousins. When Mark dressed up as Santa Claus, on Christmas Eve, Thea was perfectly happy falling asleep in his arms. She had even managed to win over the Montgomery family when Addison and Derek took her on a four day trip to Connecticut, the day after Christmas, to spend some time with Bizzy, the Captain, and Archer.
Which brought them to tonight: New Year's Eve.
"Addison," Nancy called out, ripping Addison from her thoughts. "Would you like a glass of champagne?"
"Thanks," Addison smiled. "But I think I'll have some later. I've got my hands full with Thea right now."
"Oh," Nancy nodded, sipping at her champagne. "I can hold…actually, wait, no. No, I'm good."
Addison chuckled, as she watched her normally prim-and-proper sister-in-law drain her flute of champagne.
"She's child-free for the evening," Amelia explained, gesturing towards Nancy, who was refilling her champagne glass. "Her kids are all at sleepovers...so, tonight she has no plans of being the responsible mother and doctor we all know and love."
"Somewhat love," Derek quipped, joining his wife and sisters, and wrapping an arm around Addison's waist.
"Very funny, Derek," Nancy retorted, rolling her eyes at her brother. "You all realize I can hear you, right?"
"We know," Derek chuckled. "Just remember, Nance, you're not as young as you used to be." He turned to his daughter and smiled. "Thea," he cooed, "Aunt Nancy's going to show us that not everybody can drink like Bizzy, the Captain, and Uncle Archer and be hangover-free the next morning."
"Derek," Addison chuckled.
"Speaking of which," Amelia smirked, "where are Snap, Crackle, and Pop tonight? I thought they were supposed to be here."
Addison shook her head. "No. They're at a charity ball at their country club."
"Oh," Amelia nodded, doing her best to conceal a chuckle. "That sounds like them."
Addison nodded in agreement. It had been a surprise to no one when Bizzy, the Captain, and Archer turned down New Year's Eve at the Shepherds in favor of some snooty party. And to some extent, Addison got it. Her family's lives revolved around social events, like these; and that's why she was glad that Derek's family was different from her family in that sense. Derek's family loved the holidays and family time; and that was something that she and Derek were hoping to instill in Thea.
"Okay, it's my turn to hold my niece," Amelia announced, ripping Addison from her thoughts. Addison gently passed Thea to Amelia, and Amelia gave her niece a loving smile. "Thea," she cooed. "As your favorite aunt, I can't just stand by and subject your innocent eyes to your Aunt Nancy's antics." She turned her body slightly so that Thea could no longer see Nancy, who was downing another glass of champagne. "There," Amelia smirked, "that's a lot better."
Addison turned to Amelia. "How are you holding up tonight?" she asked the younger woman discretely, as she cocked her head in Nancy's direction. Even though Amelia had worked through a drug addiction years ago, Addison still worried about her as though she were her own younger sister. And a lot of heavy drinking was happening tonight.
"I'm fine," Amelia reassured her sister-in-law. "Trust me, watching Nancy get drunk off her ass doesn't make me want make me drink. It pretty much has the opposite effect."
"Fair enough," Addison conceded, as she watched Nancy fumble to answer her cell phone.
"Wait, what do you mean she's in labor?" Nancy voice cut in loudly. "But she's not due for another four weeks."
"A friend of ours," Nancy's husband, Craig, explained, when he noticed the rest of the family staring at Nancy questioningly. "Nancy agreed to deliver their baby."
"She's already six centimeters dilated?" Nancy exclaimed drunkenly. "Okay, okay, I'm on my way."
She hung up the phone to find her family looking at her expectantly. "What?"
"Nancy, you're in no condition to deliver a baby tonight," Kathleen said bluntly.
"I know," Nancy conceded. "But I just told them that I'm on my way. And they're going to notice if I don't show up." She sighed heavily. "Maybe I can sober up on the cab ride over to the hospital. I didn't have that much to drink."
"Nancy, you were struggling to answer your phone," Amelia pointed out. "There's no way you should be in between anyone's legs or near anyone's lady-parts tonight."
"She's right," Addison agreed. "But the fact of the matter is your friend is still having a baby. And someone needs to be there to deliver the baby. And it can't be you."
Nancy opened her mouth as if to object, but quickly thought better of it.
"It can't be you," Addison repeated gently.
Nancy sighed heavily. "It can't be me," she conceded reluctantly. She looked at Addison questioningly. "You haven't had anything to drink tonight…" she trailed off.
"I…if you want, I guess I could do it," Addison offered. She regretted her words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Sure, she wanted to help Nancy. But helping Nancy would most likely mean missing ringing in the New Year with Derek. Missing Thea's first New Year's Eve.
"Really?" Nancy asked brightly. "You'll deliver my friend's baby?"
Addison shrugged. She couldn't exactly rescind her offer now. "Sure."
"Will they give you surgical privileges?" Kathleen asked rationally. "You haven't worked at Mt. Sinai for years."
"They'll give me surgical privileges," Addison said assuredly. "I played a big part in building up their neonatal department." She turned to Nancy. "What are your friends' names?"
Nancy stared at her sister-in-law blankly, and Addison shook her head in amusement. "Craig…?" she asked Nancy's husband.
"Oh, uh, Emily and Jonathan Paulson," Craig offered.
"Okay," Addison nodded.
"Tell them I broke my arm," Nancy instructed Addison. "Tell them that's why I couldn't be there tonight. Because I broke my arm."
Addison did her best to fight back a laugh at that. "Um, I'm pretty sure your friends will know that's a lie when you see them tomorrow, and both of your arms are fine."
"Oh," Nancy nodded. "Good point. Don't tell them I broke my arm. Tell them—"
"Don't worry," Addison cut in before her sister-in-law could come up with another outrageous lie. "I promise to come up with a good cover story for you. A respectable one."
Nancy smiled at her sister-in-law appreciatively. "I always liked you."
Addison looked over and met Derek's eyes, and immediately noticed the look of irritation on her husband's face.
"Thea, why don't we help Mommy get her jacket," Derek suggested, taking his daughter from Amelia, and leading Addison towards the coat closet.
"You're mad," Addison assessed, once she and Derek were alone together.
"I'm not happy," Derek admitted flatly.
"Derek, I'm sorry. I know we agreed family comes first. But Nancy is family, and—"
"And if roles were reversed, you would be angry with me," Derek filled in curtly.
Addison sighed heavily. Derek was probably right. But then again, Derek had a history of choosing work over family; she never did.
"Look, you're probably right," Addison admitted tentatively. "I would be angry. But I…" she trailed off, swallowing thickly. "Do you really think I want to miss my daughter's first New Year's? Do you think I'd rather ring in the New Year with someone else's family instead of my own?"
"No," Derek said quietly.
Addison shook her head sadly; and as Derek took in the hurt and guilt in his wife's eyes, he knew the fight they were having was a stupid one.
"Look, Addie," he began softly, "I…I don't know why I said those things. It was wrong and selfish…and…I just don't want to ring in the New Year without you."
Addison swallowed hard at the sincerity of her husband's words. "I love you, Derek."
"I love you too."
Addison took Thea from Derek, and pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple. "I'm sorry, Thea," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
"Addie," Derek said softly, registering the vulnerability in his wife's voice. "She's not going to hold it against you. She's not even going to be awake at midnight. And in the off chance that she is, she's too young to understand what's going on."
Addison nodded mutely. She knew Derek was right, but she still felt terrible.
"Hey, come here," Derek whispered, pulling Addison in and kissing her deeply.
"What was that for?" Addison asked in surprise.
Derek shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured it would hold you 'til next year."
Addison chuckled. "I really am sorry, Derek," she said growing serious, and handing Thea back to her husband.
"Don't be," Derek insisted. "It's okay. We're okay."
Addison nodded. She wanted to believe Derek, but she couldn't quite quiet the guilt that she was feeling.
"And who knows," Derek continued with a smile. "You might deliver the first baby of the New Year. That would be something to check off the bucket list."
"Yeah," Addison nodded, as she continued to struggle with her guilt. "Maybe."
xxxxx
In the end, she didn't deliver the first baby of the New Year. Not even close. But at 1:16am, she did deliver an adorable, perfectly healthy seven-pound baby boy, Aidan Sean Paulson.
She had come through for Nancy, and for Nancy's friends; but she couldn't help feeling like she'd let her family down. She didn't have to volunteer to deliver Aidan; another doctor could have easily done it. She had done to Derek what he had done to her, several years earlier. Except this time it was worse. Because she hadn't just done it to Derek—she had done it to Derek and Thea. And even though her intentions had been good—and she wanted to help out her sister-in-law—she took on an unnecessary delivery at the expense of her family. And she felt terrible.
By the time she'd made it back to the hotel that she and Derek were staying at, it was almost 2:45am. The near impossibility of getting a cab on New Year's Eve, combined with the horrible New Year's Eve traffic, had made an already long night even longer.
She tiredly walked into the lobby of her hotel, and gasped in surprise at the sight in front of her. Derek was sitting on the hotel lobby couch with Thea, clad in her little 'I Love NY' pajamas, on his lap.
"Derek," Addison breathed. "Wh-what's going on?"
"I was an ass," Derek admitted. "You already felt guilty, and I made you feel worse."
"No," Addison insisted. "I should have found someone else to deliver the baby. I don't even work at Mt. Sinai. I had no business—"
"You were trying to help my sister," Derek cut in.
"I know," Addison nodded. "But still, I'm sorry. I missed New Year's."
"You didn't miss New Year's," Derek insisted.
"Um, I'm pretty sure I did, Honey," Addison said, glancing at her watch.
"No," Derek grinned. "Thea and I are still on LA time. So that means we've still got another fifteen minutes until New Year's."
Addison smiled at her husband lovingly, as tears of happiness formed in the corners of her eyes.
"I've been telling Thea stories of New Years' past," Derek continued with a smile. "I was just telling her about that one New Year's Eve when we went to that Mexican restaurant with Savvy and Weiss…and you and Savvy didn't even make it to midnight because you drank too many margaritas."
"Derek," Addison reprimanded with a laugh. She turned her daughter, and gently stroked Thea's red hair. "Sadly, that story's true," Addison admitted. "But Mommy was very responsible tonight, Thea. Actually…" Addison trailed off thoughtfully, "this is two years in a row that I haven't had anything to drink on New Year's Eve."
Last New Year's Eve, she was pregnant with Thea, so drinking was obviously off the table. And Derek, in an act of solidarity, had decided that he wouldn't drink either.
Derek gave his wife a mischievous smile. "I remember last New Year's Eve you were still dead set on naming our daughter Virginia." He pressed a kiss to Thea's temple. "You're welcome for helping you dodge that bullet," he cooed to his daughter.
Addison chuckled. "I still like the name Virginia," she defended. "It's not right for her," she admitted, gesturing towards their daughter.
"Completely wrong for her," Derek agreed. "Thea fits her."
"It does," Addison smiled, taking in how adorable her California girl looked in her 'I Love NY' pajamas.
"Hey, Addie," Derek smiled. "It's almost midnight."
Addison leaned in to get a closer look at Derek's wristwatch, and saw that there was a minute left until 'midnight.' (Although Derek had never adjusted his watch to account for the time difference, so according to his watch, it really was almost midnight.)
The secondhand on Derek's watch signaled 30 seconds until midnight; and Derek pulled Addison closer, as they watched the seconds tick away together.
"10," Derek whispered. "9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1. Happy New Year, Honey," he smiled, pulling his wife in and kissing her deeply.
"Happy New Year, Derek," Addison smiled, when they broke apart. "Happy First New Year, Thea," Addison cooed, pressing a kiss to her daughter's little cheek.
"Yeah, Happy New Year, Thea," Derek grinned, cuddling his daughter close, before placing her in Addison's waiting arms.
And as Derek watched his wife and their daughter together, he couldn't help thinking about New Year's. It was the one time a year when the world stood with baited breath, waiting for a fresh start…a clean slate…that collective breath of fresh air. But maybe it was all overrated. Because as time goes by, the fresh start becomes a routine; the clean slate becomes tattered; and that breath of fresh air suddenly seems stale.
But Addison and Thea were his constants; the people he wanted by his side year after year. And that seemed a lot more appealing than a fresh start, a clean slate, or a breath of fresh air.
And as the quintessential New Year's song played softly over the hotel's lobby's sound system, Derek couldn't help smiling.
Should old acquaintance be forgot;
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot;
And auld lang syne?
"What does this song mean?" Derek asked his wife with a chuckle. "I've gone my whole life not knowing what this song is actually about."
Addison laughed. "Are you making a movie reference, or do you actually want to know?"
"I really want to know," Derek insisted.
Addison chuckled, as she rubbed soft circles on Thea's tiny back. "It's about remembering old friends. Kind of a weird song choice for a holiday about new beginnings, don't you think?"
Derek shook his head, as he smiled lovingly at his wife and their now-sleeping daughter. "No," he whispered, kissing Addison softly. "I think it's pretty perfect."
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
xxxxx
Happy New Year! :)