So this chapter took more thought than the rest, probably because happy Addek flowed so well and angst needed more time to develop! Nonetheless, I have completed it and now that softball is over, I have even more time to work on this which makes me happy. Until the summer that is! Okay on with the story…

Two Weeks Later

10:00 p.m.

"Did you like the movie?" Addison said, taking Derek's hand as they left the movie theatre on the strip in downtown Seattle.

"I guess. I would have enjoyed it more if you didn't keep moving away from me every time I tried to kiss you." Derek said, stepping in front of her.

"I'm sorry but I really wanted to actually watch the movie. You know how much I enjoyed the book."

"Yeah well I'm still allowed to pout. One of the few nights off where we are both conscious long enough to go out and we go to the movies and actually watch the movie? You understand my disappointment." Addison was leaning up against the wall outside the theatre. It was a warm night, and droves of people kept coming and going. Her eyes kept drifting towards them, but quickly returned to her unhappy boyfriend.

"Since you were so good, why don't we skip dinner someplace down here and get take out instead? That way we can be in the privacy of my apartment and do whatever it is you were so hell bent on doing during my movie." Addison tugged at the sides of Derek's jacket, a seductive smile on her face. When their eyes finally made contact again, she could see how happy she had made him.

"I don't tell you enough how brilliant you are." Derek leaned into Addison, his lips meeting hers only briefly before sliding down to her neck.

"I try." As his lips lingered, Addison got more and more drawn in. She brought her hands to his hair, running her fingers sensually through. "You do realize we are in public right?" All Addison could muster was a weak generalization of their situation, as Derek was bringing his mouth to all the right places to make her knees go weak.

After a few more seconds, Addison's rationality kicked in and she forced herself to stop him. "Derek! Derek! I'm serious; we are practically in the middle of the street! The faster we walk the faster we get back to my place."

Derek didn't stop, but instead brought his lips to right below her jaw line, her absolute weakness. "Oh god, Derek I'm seriously going to kill you for this later, just so we are clear."

"Whatever you say." He muttered into her hair, still very engulfed in what he was doing. As he got her as close as possible to the breaking point without going over the edge completely, he stopped and pulled his head back. "Alright, let's go."

"Excuse me. You do not get to just do that and think you make the rules. That's not how it works." Addison was firm in her testament, but extremely weak in other regions. Derek was a very talented man. Her resolve quickly broke when Derek smiled at her. She couldn't resist his smile and the sparkle it put in to his eyes. She took his extended hand and pulled him towards her for a hug.

"You're too charming for your own good."

"I know." As Derek held her in his arms, taking in the full scent of her hair and the feel of her body fitting perfectly against his, he couldn't help but be elated.

Seattle Grace

12:00 p.m.

Both Addison and Derek had both been asked to stop by the Chief's office during the day. Addison was in back to back surgeries and told Derek to go without her.

"Hello Patricia."

"Derek, it's good to see you."

"Same here. How have you been?"

"Good. And yourself? Hospital gossip says good things."

"That would be an understatement. Things are fabulous."

"I'm glad. Richard's free so you can head on in."

"Thank you." Derek walked towards Richard's door, knocking lightly before stepping in.

"Shepherd! Good you are here. Where's the better half?"

"You're a funny guy Richard." Derek said mockingly. "She's in surgery. Told me to come alone and that she'd find you later. What's going on?"

"Have a seat. I need to run something by you."

"Okay." Derek cautiously sat down, unable to read Richard's expression.

"So after the fire downtown the other day, the hospital has been flooded with patients. A lot of severe body burns, trauma, etc." Derek nodded, still unsure of where Richard was headed. "Well, its seeing as how those who have survived are entering a more stable stage, I have decided to bring out a plastics specialist to coordinate recovery surgeries. The administration and I have laid out a plan that, if it goes accordingly, will be great exposure for the hospital and help people away from a life of permanent disfigurement."

"Sounds good to me. But where does this involve Addison and me? We have our patients from the fire that we are caring for, but we aren't plastics specialists."

"I'm bringing in Mark Sloan." The smile on Derek's face quickly escaped him, as did most of the color. Derek looked at Richard in shock.

"Please tell me I heard you wrong."

"That's why I called you both in here. I wanted to give you a heads up."

"A heads up? Richard- Addison and I are finally back together. We are doing so well. If Mark comes, he will do his best to ruin us. He still loves her. She's not someone you let go of easy."

"Derek, I can't put the social lives of my surgeons ahead of the well being of the patients."

"Patients? Please! You just want the hospital to look good!" Derek spat out, getting angrier by the second. With Derek's harsh words, Richard's fatherly tone faded.

"I'm going to brush that comment off as anger about what I just told you. Derek, I love you like a son, but watch your mouth. I only gave you guys the courtesy of a warning because I care about you both. My decision has been made."

"Richard, please." Derek's voice was weak, similar to when Richard agreed to let Mark perform the lionitis surgery a few months back.

"You and Addison can survive Mark being here. I see you two together around here and it takes me back to when you were my residents. Whatever you lost, you've gotten back. I can see it in how she looks at you. Sloan's a jackass, but he is premier in the plastics field and we need him. Now do you want to tell Addison or should I?"

"I will." Derek said quietly, clearly disturbed at the idea of Mark being in Seattle.

"Okay."

"Can I go?"

"Yes." Derek stood up and walked to the door, shutting it behind him. Richard leaned back in his chair, praying that Sloan wouldn't screw up the love those two shared once again. Derek, on the other hand, made a beeline for his office. Slamming the door, he fell into his chair hard. His own reaction shocked him. Why was he so worried? He had no reason to be. Addison was his, and would be for the rest of their lives. There was no way he could lose her to Mark again.

His eyes drifted across his office, landing on a picture of him and Addison on his desk. They had gone to this street fair and someone took it for them next to the water. Her hair, and his, was all over the place. She was leaning back into him, his arms around her waist. They looked happy. It had taken time, but in his mind, they were finally back to that place and Derek wanted to stay there forever with her.

Worrying about it now wouldn't help. He knew he needed to find Addison and talk to her. Mark coming back would open up old wounds undoubtedly, but as long as she felt the way he did, it wouldn't be an issue.

Addison's Apartment

8:00 p.m.

Derek's day came to a close early. After observing one of Addison's surgeries for a little, he left her a note that he was at her place starting dinner so she come home as soon as possible. He was making her favorite: penne a la vodka with chicken. Waiting for the water to finish boiling, Derek could hear the door opening from across the apartment.

"Hello?" Addison shouted from the entryway.

"Hey. I'm in the kitchen." Addison made her way through to him, shuffling the mail and taking off her shoes simultaneously. "You multi-task like no one else you know that?" Derek said, filled with admiration and happiness.

"It's a woman thing." Satisfied, she threw the mail across the counter and moved closer to Derek. "It smells amazing in here. What's on the menu?"

"Your favorite: penne a la vodka a la me."

"Oh I love you!" Addison through her arms around Derek's neck and kissed him. Taking a sip of his beer, she moved towards the fridge to take out the wine. Pouring herself a glass, she set it down next to Derek's drink and snaked her arms around his waist. Her touch sent chills up his spine. He could feel her hands drawing lines on his abdomen, and hurried to pour the pasta, lower the stove setting, and turn to face her. "I realized on my drive home that I barely saw you at all today."

"Really?" Derek feigned surprise and looked down at her. The color top she was wearing made her eyes pop their best green color.

"Yes. I was very lonely."

"Well then I think we should fix that immediately." In one swift motion, Derek dropped his arms to Addison's legs and lifted her on to the island in the middle of her kitchen. Situating himself between her legs, Derek stared her down, waiting to see what she would do. Without warning, she claimed his mouth with her own, delicately biting down on his bottom lip.

"Ouch babe." He winced slightly, pulling back.

"Did that hurt?" She asked naively.

"I don't know. Do it again." Addison repeated the motion, and got the same response.

"Yep." Addison smiled, and Derek took the opportunity to seize her lips. Kissing her, his hands on her waist, all of his worrying from the rest of the day melted away. As they kissed more passionately, Derek could hear Richard's pronouncement that Mark would be coming to Seattle, and knew he had to tell Addison before someone else did, or that would be a whole fight by itself. As much as it pained him, he slowly pulled back from her grasp, kissing her delicately on the forehead.

"That better?" He asked with a grin.

"Much." She responded extremely satisfied. Reaching across the stove, she grabbed her wine and sipped it. "So what were you up to all day?"

"Nothing eventful. But I did go to see Richard."

"Right! I completely forgot. What did he say?"

"Asked me first where my 'better half' was." Addison laughed to herself at his joke, to which Derek shot her a look.

"Sorry, continue." Addison said, silencing her laughs.

"Thanks. Anyway, he wanted to talk about the…" Derek paused, still unsure of how to say that Mark was coming without being so bitter or resentful. "Remember the fire downtown the other day?"

"Of course. Three of my patients were in the building at a clinic."

"Yeah. Well he believes enough of them are stable to begin reconstruction of their faces and skin so he's putting together a special team to assess and operate. Good PR for the hospital."

"Same old Richard. Never miss an opportunity to shine."

"That's what I said."

"So what does this team have to do with a neurosurgeon and a neonatal specialist?"

"He's calling in Mark to lead the team." Derek watched her closely, trying to gauge her response.

"Mark Sloan?"

"The one and only." Addison swirled her drink. She hadn't thought about Mark in weeks, let alone did she ever think he'd be coming to Seattle for an extended stay.

"I didn't see that coming." Addison sounded surprised, but not angered, much to Derek's dislike. Why wasn't she madder?

"I know." The idea of even thinking about Mark, much less working with him made Derek want to scream. For guys, it's all about territory. Seattle is Derek's territory. Not Mark's. And Addison was his too. She'd kill him if she ever heard him refer to her as property, but it was the principle he was getting at. He stole her from him once and Derek vowed to not make the same mistake again.

"What do you think?" Addison questioned. Derek was clearly lost in thought about something.

"Why aren't you more upset?" Derek spit out words that his brain hadn't even processed. He wanted to tell her how he felt about it honestly, but he was overcome by her apparent lack of emotion.

"Excuse me?"

"After everything he's put us through and everything he's done, you don't think it's bad for him to show up in our lives right now?"

"I don't think that Mark showing up matters as long as you don't let it matter. Granted he was part of the problem last time, but he wasn't why I cheated on you. He was just the means with which I did, which makes him an ass." Addison's words stung. To hear her admit to cheating, physically saying the words brought back images of Mark and her in bed. Him touching her, kissing her, tasting her…all the things reserved for only him that she gave away. He couldn't tell her that though. His words would only do more damage.

"And you don't consider that to be a bad memory to keep around?" Derek deflected back.

"I didn't say that." Addison hoped off the counter and walked closer to him. Attempting to defend herself, she was quickly interrupted.

"Then what did you say?" Derek quickly jabbed back in, clearly on the edge. Addison recognized this instantly. They hadn't fought since getting back together, but she still knew the signs of when ending was a good idea.

"You know what Derek? I'm not sure what's gotten into you. Maybe it's just anger about Mark, maybe it's something else entirely. I don't know. What I do know is that I refuse to talk to you if you're going to be like this. Get your thoughts together, go for a walk, go hit a punching bag. I don't really care. When you're ready to talk like adults, I'll be here." Addison walked past Derek and into her bedroom, slamming the door.

Derek leaned against the counter, head in his hands. He had no idea why he was being so short-tempered. It wasn't Mark; it was the idea of Mark that set him off. The baggage Mark brought back with him was personal, and hadn't been discussed in weeks. Addie was right: Derek did need a walk. Grabbing his jacket, Derek locked the door and headed downstairs.

Addison heard the door slam and tried her hardest to fight the impending tears. She and Derek had been doing beyond amazing lately, and now Mark once again got in the way. Hell, he wasn't even there and he was causing trouble. Addison changed for bed, let her hair down, and got under her covers. She tried to sleep away her pain, but couldn't. Not without Derek. She needed to resolve things with him. She needed him to come home.

Hope you all enjoyed! Review and tell me if you like where it's going. Working on the next chapter currently, but reviews will make my mind/fingers go double time! Thanks and Happy Friday to all!