III – Part 17
Derek sat impatiently in the waiting room of the attorney's office. The secretary had told him she was just finishing up with a conference call and she wouldn't be long. She had offered him a cup of coffee while he waited. He took in the surroundings. The décor of the office spoke of someone who was a success, with plush carpeting, rich woodwork and fine art hanging on the walls. His inspection was interrupted by the secretary telling him, "Ms. Avery is ready for you now." She motioned him toward a door and he rose from his seat walked across the waiting room to her office door and entered the room.
Charlotte rose from her desk, she couldn't help but notice the raccoon like black eyes he sported. He had mentioned that his ex-wife's husband had punched him. She kept a ice cool demeanor not letting it register that there was anything wrong with the man's appearance. She walked over to Derek and shook his hand. "Good morning Dr. Shepherd, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long," she said with a smile.
Derek returned the smile and said, "Not at all, I'm just glad you were able to fit me in, I'm sure you are a very busy woman." Derek took in the woman's appearance. She took on that same appearance as her office. That of a woman who was a success, with her designer clothes, perfectly coifed raven hair and well manicured hand. She also had a presence that demanded you listen to her.
"Please have a seat Dr. Shepherd," she directed him to one of the chairs in front of her desk. She walked around her desk and took a seat.
Derek took his seat across the woman who exuded power. Charlotte Avery was one the best attorney's in the state. Je knew if he was going to get custody of his son, he was going to need the best. Charlotte leaned back in her chair and looked at Derek. She narrowed her rich brown eyes and said, "Okay let me see if I have the facts straight. Your ex-wife had your child and never let you know about his existence," she pursed her lips. Derek nodded. "How long have you been divorced?"
"Just over five years," he replied.
She nodded looking down at her legal pad taking notes as she went along. "Before this week when was the last time you saw your ex-wife?"
"It's been five years since I've seen her," he replied.
Charlotte looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "You haven't seen her in five years? Was she trying to avoid contact with you, in order to keep you from the boy?"
"She moved to New York right after the divorce," he said with a shrug.
"So she moved to New York and avoided all your attempts to get in contract with her?" she asked with raised eyebrows.
"I never tried to have contact with her when she left," he shrugged again. "I figured she moved back to New York because she didn't want any contact with me."
She slowly nodded, "I see, so about the black eyes and broken nose, you said her husband hit you."
He nodded, "Yes he did in front of a room full of witnesses."
She took some more notes then nodded again, "Okay whose name is listed on the boy's birth certificate as the father?"
Derek's brows knit, "I don't know does it make a difference?"
She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly. "If your ex-wife's current husband's name is listed on the birth certificate as the father, it might make it harder to prove your paternity."
Derek frowned, "But she has admitted I am his biological father."
"But you did not have a paternity test and if his name is on the birth certificate, he is legally the boy's father. You will need one of their signatures to obtain a paternity test," she stated simply.
"They won't agree to that," he said angrily.
"Then we will need to go before a judge and get him to order the test, without the parent's consent," she informed him.
"Will that be hard?" he asked with concern.
"No, it shouldn't be it just makes things more complicated," she leaned back in her chair and tapped her legal pad with her pen. "How much longer will they be staying in Seattle?"
"At least a week, they won't leave until after my son donates his bone marrow."
Charlotte stopped tapping her pen and narrowed her eyes then studied the man before her. "The boy is here to donate bone marrow?" she asked in surprise.
Derek nodded, "My daughter needs a bone marrow transplant. That's the only reason I know my son exists."
Charlotte wasn't sure if she liked where this was going. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," he said with a nod.
"Why do you want custody?"
"He's my son, I deserve to be a part of his life, and he should grow up with his sister, siblings should grow up together."
"Your daughter is your son's only other sibling?" she narrowed her eyes and thought just maybe she was wrong.
Derek shrugged, " Addison grew up an only child. She doesn't understand the sibling thing."
She sat up straight in her chair, oh shit she thought to herself. Good thing this was just a preliminary meeting. She had known nothing about this man when she scheduled the appointment, but how many Addison's can there be out there who's son was about to be a bone marrow donor? "What did you say your wife's married name was?"
"Sanders," he said narrowing his eyes. She pursed her lips and thought damn, she wished she had this information before she started this consult.
Charlotte nodded at the man in front of her. This case was a huge conflict of interest for her. She had to get out of it, she only hoped she would be able to give some warning to her friends about what was happening. "I'm sorry Dr. Shepherd unfortunately I have a full case load right now, and quite honestly you should really talk to a lawyer who specifically practices family law. Your case is much too complicated for me to take it on at this time. What I can do is refer you to another attorney who specializes in family law, he is very good and I'm sure he will have time for you." She reached into the middle draw of her desk and pulled out a business card and handed it to the other man.
She rose from her seat and walked around the desk then held out her hand to shake his hand. He rose from his seat and took the offered hand and shook it. She walked him out the door and once again apologized, "Good luck Dr. Shepherd. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
Derek nodded at the woman, looking at the card, "I'm sorry too, but thank you for the recommendation." He left her office and she sat on the corner of her secretary's desk. "Shit," she said under her breath. Her secretary looked up at her with raised eyebrows. Charlotte looked over at her secretary and asked, "Annie can you please get Beck on the phone for me?" Annie nodded and she rose from the desk and walked back into her office.
She settled back down in her chair waiting for Annie to tell her she had Beck on the line. Beck and she had been best friends practically their entire life. Annie's voice came over the intercom, "I have Mrs. Tucker on line one."
She pushed the intercom and said, "Thank you Annie." She quickly picked up the receiver and said, "Hey Beck I really need to talk to you."
"What's up Charlie, you sound pretty serious," Beck asked with concern.
"It is serious and I really can't tell you anything. I need you to know that Dr. Shepherd was just here for a consult," she knew she couldn't divulge the details of her meeting with Dr. Shepherd, but Beck was a smart woman. She will understand why the doctor came to her for a consult.
"Shit!" Beck snapped, "You didn't accept his case did you?"
"No," she quickly replied. "I told him I wouldn't have time, but Beck I can't tell you what we discussed, it was an official visit," she said seriously.
"I know," she said nodding into the phone. "Don't worry you don't need to say another word." She paused a moment then said, "Charlie, thanks I really appreciate the warning. The last thing Addie and Sully need is to be blindsided by her ex."
Charlie hung up the phone and thought about the turn of events. Addie and Sully were in for trouble if Dr. Shepherd pursued the case. The fact that they kept the boy's existence a secret from the father will definitely be held against them. The attorney she recommended to Dr. Shepherd was a very good attorney, he just happened to be in Bali for the next week. She only hoped now that they had some warning and a little time on their hands to take action, they could work this out. Addison and Sullivan really needed to get this work out outside of the court system.
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The observation gallery was still at full capacity which was surprising since the operation had already been going on for more then three hours. It wasn't really the operation at hand that garnered so much attention, though it was a very interesting case for some, but it was the fact of who the surgeons were doing the operating that had brought the attention to the surgery. The surgical team wasn't having a problem holding the attention of their observers.
The observers were divided into three categories, those who were interested in watching the procedure, mainly consisting of the interns and those who worked in obstetrics, neonatal or pediatrics. Those who were friends of the Sanders, that seemed to consist of The Chief, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Burke, Dr. Tucker and quite a few other staff members who had enjoyed working with Addison. And finally the group of doctors who had been interns while Dr. Sanders had worked at Seattle Grace. The one person noticeably absent was one Dr. Derek Shepherd.
"Don't they usually do this type of operation in utero?" Bill whispered over to the other interns.
They nodded back then Molly said, "She never had an ultrasound done." She shook her head sadly, "Actually I don't think she had any prenatal care."
Lucy shook his head disappointedly, "How can something like that happen?"
"People fall through the cracks, they can't afford healthcare" Molly sighed she knew far too much about that subject. That's one of the reasons she became a doctor. One day she hoped to open a clinic to help people who couldn't afford medical care. She narrowed her eyes and continued to watch the operation being preformed before them.
Across the room Izzie, Cristina and Meredith sat watching with interest, they had all preformed surgeries with their significant other. It could be a doubled edged sword, depending on the relationship. If you had a strong healthy relationship, you operated on a different level you were able to communicate with one and other with almost unspoken words. If your relationship was strained or unhappy it was almost detrimental in some cases. As they watched the procedure they could see that the Sanders had that communication going on in spades they worked as one.
"Do you think stress of the outside world affects them in there?" Izzie asked.
"Well if they are stressed out about Derek it sure doesn't show," Cristina said.
"Derek's asshat behavior doesn't affect them," Meredith said without a doubt. The only thing Derek could do to stress them out would to tell Richie that he was his father, but she knew that still wouldn't affect them as a couple.
Derek entered the gallery and worked his way over to Meredith. She glared at him. He still hadn't apologized for his behavior the day before. "Wow I can't believe the room is so full, hasn't this been going on for three hours now?"
Meredith nodded and said carefully, "it's an interesting operation."
Derek peered down into the operating room and he frowned as he studied his ex-wife and her husband. He watched with intense interest how they worked together. He and Addison use to be amazing together in the operating room. Even when they were in trouble in their marriage, it hadn't affected them in there. Their connection always transcended the troubles when they were in the operating room. Now he could see that same connection but now it was with another man.
The instruments started going crazy with bleeping noises telling everyone around the patient was in trouble. If you looked closely you could see the panic in Dr. Stiles' eyes. The other two surgeons remained calm and quickly worked in tandem on the small patient in front of them in a matter of seconds they effortlessly managed to stabilize the young patient. The machines went back to steady sounds telling everyone they were back in control and she was now out of danger.
You could hear a collective sigh of relief from the crowd in the gallery now that the crisis was over. Richard leaned over toward Miranda and Preston and said, "That is exactly why I want those two on our team." They both nodded in agreement.
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Madeline and Archer entered the cafeteria. Addie and Sully had asked them to bring the kids to the hospital so they could have lunch together. They looked around the room and spotted a table in the corner. They crossed the cafeteria and sat down. The table closest to theirs was occupied by Meredith, Izzie and Cristina. Meredith looked over at the group settling in next to them and recognized Richie. She said in a quiet voice, "There he is."
"Who?" Cristina asked.
"Derek's son," she replied.
Izzie and Cristina looked curiously in the direction that held Meredith's attention. "One of the boys is Richie?" Izzie asked.
Meredith nodded, "The one closest to us."
The three studied the group and Cristina asked, "Who do you think the rest are?"
"I don't know but I'm going to find out," she excused herself from Izzie and Cristina then walked over to Richie's table.
"Hi Richie it's good to see you again," she said with a smile. She looked over the group wondering who they all were.
"Hi Dr. Meredith," he said with a smile. He looked around the cafeteria and asked, "Is Ellie here?"
She was about to respond when his attention was distracted by something over her shoulder. Both Richie and the other boy at the table jumped from their seats and ran past her. She turned to watch as they ran into Addison and Sullivan's open arms.
It hadn't dawned on Meredith that Addison had more then one child. Both boys were eagerly leading the adults to the table talking the entire way. You could hear the laughter as they moved closer.
As they approached the table Addie noticed Meredith who seemed to be watching her intently. She stopped short of her. Meredith was the first to speak up. "Hi," she said tentatively she smiled down at the boys. She asked, "And who do we have here? I've met Richie already but not your other son." She smiled at the boys. Of course she could just be amusing things, but she highly doubted it. The boys looked too much a like not to be brothers.
Addie smiled down at A.J. and ruffled his hair. "This is my son A.J." He became a little shy at having the adults' attention drawn to him and scooted closer to his mother. Addie looked down at him and smiled. "This is one of the doctors I use to work with when I lived in Seattle, Dr. Shepherd."
Madeline and Archer had risen from the table and walked over to the group. Madeline handed her granddaughter over to her daughter, then Addie introduced them as well. "This is my Mother Madeline Montgomery and my father-in-law Archer Sanders and," she her smile grew at she presented her daughter. "This is my daughter Maddie." She paused a moment then said, "Mom, Dad this is Dr. Meredith Shepherd."
Meredith reached out to shake their hands and said with a smile, "it's good to meet you." Meredith smiled at the older pair. She would have sworn the couple was either Addison's parents or Sullivan's parents. It amused her that she had been wrong about them being a married couple. "Are you both visiting Seattle with Addison and Sullivan?"
"Archer lives here and I actually just to move here." Meredith's gaze shot over to Addie who seemed to grimace at this news. Oh she thought to herself there must be an interesting story behind that. She looked back to Archer and Madeline and noticed he had his arm around her waist, a half smile appeared on her face and she thought with a laugh. Addie and Sully's mom and dad were dating. She bet their children were just finding this out.
Meredith started to feel uncomfortable intruding. "Well I should get back to my lunch," she said awkwardly. She quickly retreated to her table.
Addison watched Meredith heading back to her table and noticed for the first time Cristina and Izzie watching her with a great deal of interest. She shook her head she should be use to all the curiosity by now she thought. Her cell phone started to ring, she looked at the number and said, "Its Beck again, seems she's been trying to call for the last couple of hours but she hasn't left any messages." She answered the phone, "hey Beck what's up?"
They watched as the expression on her face changed. She said, "Hold on a minute," then she handed Maddie off to her mother. She looked grim, "I'll be right back." Then she turned and walked off as she continued her conversation with Beck.
Sully watched his retreating wife with a frown then turned to his father and mother-in-law. "Do you know why Beck has been trying to get a hold of Addie?"
They both shook their heads and Archer said, "I have no clue, we picked the kids up early everything seemed fine when we left her house."
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Cristina and Izzie immediately started grilling Meredith for information. "Okay so who are they?" Izzie asked.
Meredith glanced over at Addie then back to her friends. "The kids are hers."
"Really?" Izzie asked her eyes widened in surprise as she looked over at the table next to them and grinned. "They're cute."
Cristina was studied the group next to them as well. "And who are the old ones?"
Meredith shook her head and rolled her eyes as her friend. "The woman is Addison's mom and the man is Sullivan's dad."
"Huh?" Cristina said with surprise. "I would have guessed they were either her parents or his."
Meredith was barely paying attention to her friends anymore as she continued to watch Addison on the phone. Whoever she was talking to was upsetting her. Cristina and Izzie's gaze followed Meredith's they too became curious about who Addison could be talking to that would upset her so much.
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Addie stood on the other side of the cafeteria. "Okay Beck explain to me what the hell is going on?"
Beck paced back and forth as she spoke into her phone, "Charlie Avery gave me a call. Addie, Derek came to her for a consult. She couldn't tell me anymore then that, but there is only one reason he would be going to a see a lawyer and it has nothing to do with my brother punching him in the nose."
Addie placed her hand on her hip and put her head back. Damn it she didn't see this coming. Then she shook her head, god how could she have been so stupid to think Derek would just accept her wishes and leave things alone.
"Addie are you still there?" Beck said with concern.
"Yes," she said trying to keep her voice steady.
"Addie you really need to talk to him and head this off before it starts to escalate. I couldn't talk to Charlie about what was going on because she had the consult with Derek. I called James Dalton and asked him for his opinion of the situation."
"What did he tell you?" she asked trying to keep the fear out of her voice.
"He has grounds and if you don't work things out, there is a very good chance he could win the case."
"Beck thanks for letting me know what's going on, I have to go." She closed the phone and sank into one of the chairs. She buried her face in her hands. God she thought, everything was a huge mess.
Sully was watching his wife from across the room with concern. Whatever Beck was telling her was very upsetting. He shook his head turned to Madeline and his father, "I think it's best if you take the kids back to Beck's."
They looked over at Addie with concern Madeline nodded and said, "Yeah we better go. Give us a call and let us know what is going on." Sully quickly covered the ground to move to Addie's side, while Archer and Madeline gathered up the kids to leave the hospital.
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Derek sat down next to Meredith without anyone at the table noticing him. His gaze went from his wife to Cristina to Izzie, and then he looked in the direction they were all staring off. He cocked an eye brow as he found what seemed to garner their attention. "Trouble in paradise?" he said with a harsh laugh.
Meredith glared at him, "Why the hell do you find that amusing?"
"Oh please she comes in here making demands of me and telling me to stay away from my son."
"She didn't tell you to stay away from Richie. As a matter of fact she allowed you to spend the afternoon with him and you seemed pretty grateful about it. What the hell happened to make you resent her all of a sudden?" Meredith demanded.
Derek narrowed his eyes at her and spat out, "She kept my son from me why shouldn't I resent her?"
Meredith narrowed her eyes at her husband and shook her head. "No, you had accepted her reasons for not tell you about Richie. You weren't angry with her until. . ." Her gaze snapped back to Addison and Sullivan that was it he was upset because she was happily married. "That's it you resent that she moved on and found someone else," she snapped at him.
He glared at her. "She has been married for five years," he said in a harsh whisper, not wanting to gain the attention of the surrounding tables.
Meredith widened her eyes in surprise. That meant Addison got married very soon after the divorce was final. "Five years?"
The four of them all stared at Addison and Sullivan again. Derek was already sure how the two had met and married. Meredith and Cristina both were very curious as to how Addison and Sullivan had met, because both were sure that they did not know each other the last time they saw her. Izzie knew exactly how they had met.
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Sully crouched in front of Addie and reached out to stroke her hair. "So what was that all about?" he asked with concern.
She raised her head and looked up into Sully's eyes. He could see the tears starting to form and she managed finally speak, "Derek is going to sue us for custody of Richie."
His eyes widened on this news and he reached out and caressed her cheek. "Beck told you this?"
She nodded and quickly went on, "Charlie called her to let her know Derek came to her for a consult. She couldn't go into any details but there is only one reason he would try to hire Charlie Avery."
He nodded at her, there was no other reason to call Charlie, she was the best. He shook his head, why didn't he think to call her when this mess started out. "Well, we can't use Charlie we need to give James a call and set up an appointment as soon as possible."
She shook her head. The tears were threatening to fall now. "Beck already called him. His advice was to talk to Derek as soon as possible and get this settled."
"Why?" he said with surprise as he took her hands in his.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Because he thinks he has a case and will very likely win custody if we go to court."
He stood up and pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. "We are not going to allow this happen, you understand?" She nodded into his shoulder.
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Yes Izzie knew exactly how they had met. Addison had mentioned him the night she came to visit her. That was part of the reason she was able to have to strength to go and beg Dr. Webber for a second chance. Izzie looked over at Derek and saw the scowl on his face. She shook her head, she bet the reason he was so upset was because he thought Addison was with Sullivan before she filed for divorce. There was no other reason for him to be so upset. She needed to set him straight.
"Derek," she began. All three turned to her, " Addison met Sullivan that night." He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head, like he didn't know what she was talking about. So she continued, "Do you remember after the gunman let her go when she came out of the exam room? The detective said she had to go down to the station?"
The three nodded. Cristina and Meredith were a little confused that Izzie knew about that since she wasn't there.
Izzie grinned at them she knew what they were thinking. " Addison came and visited me the next day, she told me." They nodded in understanding. "So the detective, she didn't take her to the station she took her out to dinner and introduced her to her brother which happened to be Sullivan."
"You expect me to believe that she met Sullivan that night and immediately wanted to marry him?" Derek said with disgust.
Izzie shrugged, "Believe what you want Derek, but she told me you made it possible for her to move on." She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know almost everyone gave you a hard time about your comforting Meredith instead of going to Addison," she slowly nodded at him. "But I never once gave you a hard time about that did I?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, she never once yelled at him. Now that he thought about it, it was very uncharacteristic of her not to bitch at him about it. He looked up to where Addison and Sullivan had been, but they were gone. Was it possible that Izzie was telling him the truth?
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I hope you enjoyed this update, please review and let me know what you think.