One Year Later.

"Switzerland?"

"Yeah."

"That's in Europe."

"Yeah."

"What's the capital of it?"

"Uh…I'm not sure."

Sadie put her hot dog back into its paper cradle, which was perilously balanced on her lap, and began leafing through her class notebook. As he finished his own mustard-drenched lunch, Derek laughed at the concentration in her furrowed brow as she ran her finger down the page, collecting a small smudge of graphite dust on her fingertip.

"Berne!" she pronounced proudly. "Is that where you're going?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

"Just a few days."

"And Angela is going to be at the house before and after school and stuff?"

"Yes. And Mark will probably come over some."

"And when you get back, we'll go to Frank's and pick up that puppy?" Sadie asked, batting her eyelashes at Derek.

"I said we'll talk about it when I get back."

"Why have that weighing on your mind, though? Don't you have more important stuff to think about while you're over there? Why not just settle it now?" she reasoned sweetly.

Derek regarded her with a smile.

"Nicely argued."

Sadie waited silently.

"Fine." He said after a sigh. "When I get back, we'll pick up the puppy."

"Yes!" Sadie squealed, jumping on Derek. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, baby." Squinting against the afternoon sun as it reflected brightly off of the snow that protectively blanketed Central Park a few days prior, Derek looked down at his watch.

"Hey, it's almost one. We need to get home." He informed Sadie as he stood. In a swift gulp, Sadie finished off the hot dog and chucked the wrapper in the garbage can. She bounded after Derek, and came to a halt beside him so quickly her hat slipped from her head a bit.

As she readjusted the hat and tried to do as little damage as possible to her hair, Sadie looked up at her father.

"Are you okay, Dad?" she asked gently. The wind had picked up, and he flipped the collar of his jacket up, so she couldn't see anything but his nose and eyes when he looked down at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He paused a moment, and then slung an arm around her shoulders. "I just don't want to go to Switzerland. It's far away."

Sadie nuzzled under his arm. "It's okay. I'm going to be fine. Plus, you're helping Meredith's mom get better. That's important."

Derek nodded silently.

Sadie hated when he got quiet like this. In an effort to get a rise out of him, she said,

"Besides, last time you went away and Mark came over to hang out, he cut me off after two beers."

This at least earned her a chuckle and a small nudge in the head, but for the most part, the chilly walk back to the brownstone was wordless.

When they returned, Sadie hurried up to her bedroom, and soon enough, Derek heard the resonance of one of her favorite, soulful bands as she turned on her computer and undoubtedly began tinkering around on the Internet. With a shake of his head, Derek shrugged off his coat and made his way into his office.

Addison had hated this room. She said it was too rustic, when he first decorated it. He had to admit, that had been his goal. He and Mark had slaved for weeks to put dark oak paneling on the walls and build the various cabinets, he had spent exorbitant amounts of money to buy the huge antique desk and leather furniture, and the paintings and photographs on the wall depicting various aspects of outdoor life were a result of a careful search on his part.

He hadn't understood, at first. It wasn't like he dragged her out into the woods to live in a trailer and eat trout for every meal. It was just a room. But she regarded it with disdain, and it wasn't for a long time until he realized it was mostly an act.

Despite her objections and her assertions otherwise, Addison had some damn cute domestic inclinations, which included cleaning and straightening her husband's "Davy Crockett" office.

After taking a moment to reminisce, Derek plopped down in his leather chair, picked up the phone, and began punching the familiar keys that would digitally connect him to his answering service.

As he was jotting down notes and numbers to call back, the office door squeaked open and Sadie's head popped in.

He motioned for her to wait a minute, and so while he finished the call, she came in and sat on the huge leather chair that was placed across from his desk.

When he finished and hung up, she excitedly asked,

"Can I go to Dana's until dinner? Yes, I did all my homework, and of course, I'll be back before six."

"Sure. What do you want in the way of dinner, anyway?"
"You can pick, it's your last night."

"All right, sounds like a fair trade. Are you walking to Dana's?"

"She was going to meet me on the corner of 84th."

"Okay. Call me when you get there." He instructed her, and she nodded.

"Sure, Dad." Sadie agreed, and then got up to leave.

"Hey!" Derek stopped her when she got to the door. She turned and watched him expectantly.

"I love you." He said simply. She smiled.

"Love you, too, Dad." She pulled the door open, stepped out, and added, "I'll call you when I get to Dana's."

And she was gone.

Derek watched her go, and sat back thoughtfully.

He had always thought he won the "Who Does the Baby Look more Like" contest when it came to Sadie. As a baby and a little girl, she had his coloring, his eyes, and his smile. But now, as she grew up, not a day went by that she didn't remind him of Addison. Her voice had the same pitch, her mannerisms were identical, and so many other things that sometimes he was almost stopped by it.

As he stood from his desk and made his way out of the office and began ascending the stairs, he figured it was probably for the best. Addison always claimed to be the awkward, gawky teenager, but if that were to befall Sadie, at least she would have something to look forward to.

When he rounded the corner and came to the door of his bedroom, he put a hand on the cool, white wood, and paused.

In that moment, he felt…old. His daughter was a teenager in a few months. He was forty.

Not that he considered the age of 40 to be old, but in that moment, he had become acutely aware of his age, and what exactly that meant.

But as he opened the door, he contemplated those four decades.

So many things had happened, it was an overwhelming thought. So he narrowed it down, and realized that even in the past five years, an incredible amount of things had happened. He had been there for some, and missed others.

He tried to close the door quietly, but as soon as the gold latch snapped into place, a small cry bubbled up from the cradle on the far side of the bed.

"Hey, shh! Shh!" he whispered softly to his fussing son as he lifted him from the cradle.

Derek held Dempsey close to his chest, and the infant groggily rubbed his little fists into his eyes.

"Hey, buddy." Derek greeted once the little boy brought his hands down and fixed his bright green eyes on him. With an excited motion of his hands, Dempsey squealed with delight several times, seemingly speaking his baby gibberish. Derek couldn't help but smile at his son, but he still tried to pacify the baby.

"Come on, now! It can't be that exciting." Derek whispered as he lay Dempsey's head on his shoulder and gently touched the wispy, silky six-month-old red hair that covered his tiny head. It had been so long that he had held a baby, he forgot how warm they were and how they always carried that particular comforting, sweet scent, so as he held Dempsey, he closed his eyes and took both of those sensations in.

It was Addison's voice that brought him back to reality.

"Hi, Derek." She said sleepily as she yawned. Derek turned towards the bed, where she had been lying. He knew she had been up all morning with Dempsey, and that she probably hadn't been napping very long.

"I'm sorry, Addie. I woke him up when I came in."

Wider-awake now, Addison shook her head.

"He was probably awake, anyway. I put him down as soon as you and Sadie left." She motioned for him to come over to the bed, so he brought himself and Dempsey over, and laid them both down across from Addison.

Now nestled between the warmth and scents of his parents, Dempsey smiled even wider and began gurgling to Addison. Not quite a master of crawling, the little boy flipped himself from his back as Derek had laid him onto his stomach, and then propped himself up to be nuzzled by his mother.

"You've got a lot to say today, don't you?" Addison asked him, and then looked over the baby's head to Derek, who was propped up on his side.

"How was ice skating?" she asked as Dempsey flopped back onto his side and began tugging lightly on her hair.

"She loves it." Derek commented, watching Addison extract her hair from the baby's grasp and give him her hand to play with instead.

"She does. I think this is going to mean private lessons, soon." Addison again adjusted Dempsey, who had put his mouth on the underside of her chin and made a strange smacking noise, which delighted him so much he decided to do it several times.

"I'm sure she'd love that. It should be part of her Christmas present." Derek decided.

"Sounds good." Addison agreed as she pulled Dempsey on her stomach so he was seated upright. Transfixed with her face, Dempsey leaned forward and began tugging and rubbing the sides of Addison's face.

"He's going to give you wrinkles." Derek observed lovingly.

"Just like Sadie gave you those grays." Addison returned easily, making an amusing face at the baby as Derek frowned and touched his scalp.

"Very funny."

As if on cue, Dempsey exploded with laughter.

"The boy certainly thinks so." Addison told him as she leaned towards Derek so he could take Dempsey, who had become bored of her and outstretched his arms towards his father. Once in his embrace, the little boy was silent, and simply peered up at his father adoringly.

"Yeah, well, he'll learn where his loyalties are once he doesn't depend on you for…food." Derek said with a wink. Addison rolled her eyes and snuggled closer.

"When does your flight leave?"

"Ten, but I should probably be at the airport around eight."

"That's fine. I'll take you on my way to work." She said, resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes. Derek ran a hand down her upturned cheek.

"Are you nervous?"

"About what?"

"Going back."

With that, Addison opened her eyes and shrugged. She appeared noncommital, but Derek knew better.

"I don't know. Not really. It'll take some readjusting. A year is a long time."

He nodded, and peered down at Dempsey, who had fallen back asleep.

"It is. I'm sorry I can't take you out for a celebratory lunch."

"That's okay. I actually have a lunch date with Miranda Bailey."

"Really? That's great. Why is she in from Seattle?"

"The Keller-Butler is next weekend, but she extended it into a semi-vacation for her and her husband and their little boy."

"Nice." Derek slowly slid from the bed and padded over to the crib, where he gently placed the sleeping form of his son.

When he returned to bed, he pulled his wife into a comfortable embrace.

"Are you nervous about having Angela here full time, now?" he asked softly, kissing her forehead.

"No. Sadie loves her, and Dempsey has really bonded with her, so there shouldn't be a problem." Addison responded, again trying to appear at ease.

"So you're fine?"

"Yes, Derek, fine."

"Good." He watched her face change, and added, "You know you will never be replaced for them, right?"

Addison opened her eyes, which had fallen closed again. "Of course." She answered, though her voice was a little uneasy.

"Good. Because it's true." He assured her again, letting his eyes close.

"Really, it was you I was worried about. Angela is a cute little thing."

Derek laughed. "I don't much go for skinny blondes."

"Good. Because I'd hate to have to kill her."

Derek shook his head and nudged her nose with his.

"You don't have to be scared, Addison. Of anything. Not that you'll be a bad mother, or you'll miss out or anything. You don't have to be scared even of being scared." He whispered, almost directly into her mouth.

"Why? Because I have Derek Shepherd to save me?" she replied, teasing. He nodded.

"That, and because he has Addison Shepherd to save him."

…And that's it! Yay for Happy Addek!

I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you so so so so so so much for the support and feedback and all of that.

Credit: Story title and chapter titles derived from the song "Look After You" by The Fray. Much love.

'Til next time

xoxo Bleu