Guess what. Essay. Not written.
XXXXXXXXXX
Well I work all day and fight all night
With my girl who I treat right
Maybe just one day she'll go on and marry me
Well the meals' ain't made and the dishes ain't done
Just a whole lot of hurtin' for everyone
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
XXXX
"Okay, this is the chart," Addison set her files on the table in front of Derek, "I'm going to check on her in about 20 minutes if you want to come."
"Of course," Derek smiled up at where she was standing beside him.
She smiled back at him.
"Okay," Derek attempted to focus on the case, but unconsciously swiveled his chair a bit towards her, "So what do you need me for?"
Addison raised her eyebrow and her mouth twitched, "There are some abnormalities with the baby's spine. Nothing to complicated, just delicate, so I need you in delivery with me."
"And you needed the best," he teased, his hand resting on the back of her knee as they continued to go over the case.
"Of course," she smiled, "But he wasn't available so I settled for you."
Derek laughed, "I'm vaguely insulted," he said, his hand now lightly rubbing the back of her knee, which she didn't seem to notice.
"Your suppose to be."
Derek just smiled at her, "You look very pretty today."
Addison blushed. People often told her she looked gorgeous or beautiful or hot, but sometimes you just want to be simply pretty, "Your just trying to stay on my good side."
Derek stood, running his hand casually up her leg to her hip as he did so, "Staying on your good side has been a full time job today," he whispered in her ear before quickly kissing her cheek and lightly smacking her behind as he walked away.
"15 minutes Derek," she called after him.
"I'll see you in 10."
XXXX
"How about that lunch?"
Derek glanced up from the vending machines, "Meredith," Derek sighed and turned towards her, "I'm sorry that I keep getting pulled away."
Meredith just smiled, "Your a hot shot doctor. I knew what I was getting myself into."
Derek looked pained.
"I wanted to apologize about the way that we left things Derek." Meredith stated, "Before you went to San Francisco. I was purposely avoiding you when we really needed to talk about it." She paused, then rushed on, "It's partly my fault. I'm not saying that it didn't hurt to find out that you and Addison were... but I was so caught up in myself and my own drama that I wasn't paying any attention to you and our relationship. Before it was so easy, we never really had to try. I guess I just assumed that it would be that easy again. So I'm sorry. And I'm sorry that I didn't..." she blushed slightly, "When we dated before, we fell into this pattern of just sex, and I guess in our efforts to build a relationship on more then sex, well, we forget to actually have sex. So really, it's mostly my fault that you turned to her." She paused again, then cut Derek off when he opened his mouth to speak, "So, Derek, I guess what I am saying is that we should start over. We both made mistakes, but it's nothing that we can't fix together."
Derek stared at her dumbfounded. He was not expecting that.
"Dr. Shepherd!" Cristina exclaimed from down the hall, "Mr. Winterson is coding."
Meredith sighed as Derek ran off without a second look.
For the second time that day, really for the second time in the last 3 hours, Meredith Grey turned to see Addison Shepherd standing behind her with her arms crossed.
Meredith groaned, "Are you going after him too?"
Addison discretely, hidden in the crook of her elbow, turned Derek's ring on her finger so only the band was visible, "No."
Meredith nodded as Addison moved past her.
Addison slid some money into the vending machine and selected two sandwiches, coincidentally the same two Derek had been about to buy for them.
Meredith stared, "Is one of those for Derek."
"Mmm hmm."
"I thought you weren't going after him."
"I'm not," Addison balanced two bottled water on her chart along with the sandwiches, "I told you, I don't want to be with someone that doesn't want to be with me."
"He's with me," Meredith spat defensively.
Addison smiled, admittedly a bit smugly, "I'm just buying sandwiches Meredith."
XXXX
"Can I talk to you?" Izzie questioned in a low voice.
"Of course."
"Mark wants me to move to New York."
Addison smiled, "I know."
"You do?"
"I got a call."
"What did you say?"
Addison turned fully to face Izzie, "Nothing yet," she studied her face, "What do you want me to say?"
Izzie looked away.
"Izzie. You have, enormous potential. You have the abilities that will let you do, what ever you want, where ever you are. You have a desire to help people that makes every patient under your care that much more comfortable. That same desire to help people gives you the drive to learn as much as you can to help them. That's what I'll tell them. I will tell them that they would be, completely foolish not to want you, and that I don't want to let you go."
Izzie looked back up.
"The position will be yours Izzie."
Izzie nodded.
"But that doesn't mean that you have to take it."
Izzie bit her lip and smiled, "I think I want it."
Addison smiled too.
"I'm just scared that..."
"That you'll move across the country, leave all your family, your friends, your job, for a man only to have it go to hell."
"Exactly."
"Ya," Addison sighed, "That really sucks."
Izzie laughed, "Are you leaving?"
Addison nodded, "At last. I'm starving."
"I think Derek is to, he's standing at the front door glaring at his watch."
"Ya," Addison said softly, "See you tomorrow."
"Bye."
Izzie watched Addison descend the stairs.
"I really hate her," Meredith murmured, standing beside Izzie.
Izzie just ignored her.
"What were you talking about?" her tone was bitter but hurt, "Boys? You had your heads together like cheerleaders in homeroom. Conspiring to help her steal my boyfriend?"
Izzie silently shook her head, but smiled when she noticed Derek lightly holding Addison's fingers momentarily as they crossed the parking lot.
Meredith noticed too, "So much for her not chasing after him."
"She's not," Izzie exclaimed through clenched teeth.
"I can't believe that you are on her side."
Izzie shook her head, "Can we just have a conversation where you don't complain about Addison."
Meredith was silent, "I can't believe that he is going home with her. We just talked about starting over."
"Are you sure that you just didn't give him a chance to respond," Izzie replied dryly.
Meredith glared, "I bared my soul."
"Mark asked me to move to New York with him."
"I am pretty sure that he didn't hear a word I said."
XXXX
"I am saying that it doesn't matter if we get married again or not."
"How can you say that it doesn't matter?" Derek held the bedroom door open as Addison passed, "If we have a baby it would be nice if we all had the same last name."
Addison rolled her eyes, "I never changed my name."
Derek stared.
"I never changed my name Derek. I'm still Addison Shepherd," She picked up Truman walked over to the door and placed him outside the room, "We would all still have the same last name, we just wouldn't have a marriage certificate," she reconsidered this, "That was valid."
"But I want a marriage certificate," Derek protested as she disappeared into the bathroom, "A valid one."
"Why?" she demanded around a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Why not?" he asked joining her in the bathroom and beginning to brush his own teeth.
"Because it worked out so well last time."
"That was an isolated incident, and I make it a point not to repeat mistakes."
They brushed their teeth in silence.
Finally he turned to her, "Are you worried it might not be mine?"
Addison shook her head, "No Derek, after 13 years I have actually managed to get this fidelity thing down. Which is ironic since I didn't have to be faithful to you, and yet you somehow managed to be the only man I have slept with in over a year. So congratulations if I'm pregnant, it yours."
"Then what's the problem?"
Addison rolled her eyes and left the room.
A moment later Derek followed her, "Why are you so against the idea of getting married again?" He handed her his cell phone and she plugged it in beside hers, "We don't have to have another big wedding," he grinned and disappeared into her closet, "We could go back to Vegas."
Addison picked up a few things from around the room and put them back where they belonged, "It's not the wedding. Derek I'll wear the ring, I just don't want to get married again."
Derek reemerged and tossed her pajama's across the bed to her, "Married at all? Or married to me?"
"Don't take it personally Derek," Addison slipped the sweater over her head and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
"Don't take it personally?" he questioned, kicking his pants to the side on the other side of the bed, "How else am I suppose to take it?"
"It just..." Addison paused, pajama pants in hand, "The last time... it just left a bad taste in my mouth. And I am sorry if that hurts your feelings," she rushed on, "But that is how I feel."
"But it wouldn't be like last time," he stated disappearing into the bathroom again.
"You can't promise that Derek," she sighed, sliding into the soft pajama's, "I just don't want to be left wondering if you are just hanging around because some piece of paper says you have too."
"So you don't want to be legally bound," Derek called from the bathroom, "Because you think I'll be more likely to want to stay?"
"No," Addison called back starting to turn down the bed, "Well, maybe. No. I want to know why you are staying."
Derek emerged holding a glass of water, he stood in front of her, "Now don't take this the wrong way, but conceivably, couldn't I be staying because of the baby."
Addison stared at him, she sighed, "That's why I haven't taken the test yet."
Derek took a sip of water and handed her the glass, she took a drink and walked over to her side of the bed.
"Your worried that I'm only here because you might be having my baby? I'm not," he informed her as she placed the glass on the night stand.
She shrugged and crawled into bed.
"Don't just shrug Addison," he climbed in his side, "What more do I have to do to convince you that I am in this?"
"Nothing," she rearranged her pillow, "I'm convinced."
"Really?"
"Really really."
"Seriously? You promise?"
"Promise.
"Are you just saying that 'cause you want to go to sleep?"
"Partially."
"But you partially convinced?"
Addison smiled softly, "Mostly convinced. I swear."
Derek sighed, "Thank you," he leaned over and kissed her lightly, "Night sweetheart."
"Night."
Addison turned over and cuddled sleepily against her pillow, the day felt like it had lasted a year.
She rolled back over abruptly.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"I'm trying to sleep."
"I realize that. Why are you trying to sleep here?"
"Addison," Derek rolled onto his side to face her, "When is the last time that I didn't sleep here?"
She was silent.
"See, I don't know either," he said quietly, "I do know that when I got back from San Francisco the pipes in the trailer had frozen, I had an unopened carton of milk that was 6 weeks past the expiration date and I realized that all my dry cleaning and clean laundry was over here, along with my toothbrush."
She smiled slightly.
"I think I moved in with you without either of us noticing."
"Yeah," she chuckled.
"But this house is perfect for us Add. I love it here. It's so... you. It's like everywhere I go your there. I kinda like that. Actually I really like that. Except this room. This room is pink and girlie and it's cramping my style."
"Your style?" Addison raised an amused eyebrow, "You don't like my bedroom."
Derek grinned, "Don't get me wrong, I am pretty much ecstatic that you even let me in the bedroom, that makes me just about the luckiest guy in the world, it's just a bit pink."
Addison laughed and leaned forward, she rubbed her nose against his a few times before kissing him, "Good night, lucky boy," she whispered with a smile.
"Night my love."
Addison settled comfortably against her pillow again, "And it's not pink it's a warm beige."
XXXX
Well I work all day and fight all night
With my girl who I treat right
Maybe just one day she'll go on and marry me
Well the meals' ain't made and the dishes ain't done
Just a whole lot of hurtin' for everyone
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
Well hell just ain't the same without you babe
XXXXXXXXXX
So, Addison is kinda-sorta-more-or-less convinced that Derek loves her. I think he could make it to genuine convincement if he actually broke up with Meredith. But she's seen him try to break up with her, so that has gotten him points. I am not completely sure what did it, what started moving her in this direction, but it's conducive to Addek-togetherness, so I don't care. Actually, upon re-reading the last chapter, I think that it was Derek offering to move that did it. Like, if she didn't want to be around/reminded of Meredith, then they would go somewhere where Meredith was not.
OH, and I love that Meredith has waged war on Addison, Addison has basically excepted. But Addison doesn't have to do anything, and she knows it.
I love the last scene, they had, probably the most honest conversation to date while doing the most mundan things. I think thats my favorite scene. C'est tellemente cute-la.
le sigh... a joke... What's the difference between an "OOO" and an "AAA"? ... About 3 inches.
Next Chapter: It rains.
Oh and your puppies are in the mail. I am 75 percent sure that I poked holes in the boxes.
This time... Chipmunks.
Review.