Here's the latest… hope you all enjoy! My apologies for taking so long…real life majorly got in the way. How rude of it!
Three Days Later
Seattle Grace
Three days had passed since the accident. Addison was recovering nicely, enjoying the time to relax and catch up on paperwork. Thankfully, the last six months at the hospital had been a vast improvement on her first twelve: she was much more in-tune with the hospital's staff, which provided her lots of visitors to keep her apprised of patients and gossip. Of course, one visitor stood out from all the rest; and he brought presents.
"Hey, beautiful." Addison peered up from her magazine to see Derek walking towards her, coffee and a rose in his hands. She blushed slightly at his hello, something he noticed right away. "Aw, did I make you blush?"
"Oh shut up, McDreamy!" Derek blushed at his own nickname, to which Addison couldn't help but smile at. Pulling up his usual stool, he handed Addison her rose and set the coffee on the table. Addison quickly scooped it up. "Thank you! I've been dying without coffee."
"I live to please. So, how are you feeling today?" Derek reached for her chart, but Addison quickly grabbed hit lab coat and pulled him back.
"Don't even think about it. You're not my doctor. You get to ask how I'm doing, be supportive, and that's all. Besides, if Miranda catches you snooping she'll cut your eyes out." Derek sheepishly looked down.
"I'm sorry. I just…can't help myself. I want to make sure that you're taken care of." Addison brought her hands to Derek's face, massaging his cheek with her palm.
"I know. That's why I love you." Addison smiled and Derek reciprocated. "And don't worry: they're taking very good care of me. The standard of care Richard always brags about truly has some backing."
"Good to hear." Derek said laughing.
"Oh, before I forget, there's something I want to show you…." Addison reached with her left arm to grab a magazine on the table adjacent to her bed. At full extension, she winced severely and retracted her arm immediately. Derek was instantly worried.
"Hey, you alright?"
"I'm fine." Reaching again slower, Addison was able to reach it.
"Shoulder still bothering you?" Derek met Addison's wandering gaze. She wanted to lie and ease his conscious by saying it was fine, but she knew he'd instantly know. All that 'eyes being the window to the soul' crap was true: he read her like a book.
"Yes." Worse than making Derek upset, Addison hated admitting failure and weakness. It just wasn't her style. "Whenever I try to reach for things too quickly, the pain is almost unbearable."
"Does Callie know?"
"She says that it's just going to take time. But you know me, I'm impatient. I want to be better and back to working now." Addison was getting tense just thinking about it, and Derek knew that.
"Okay, I think someone needs to relax."
"Thanks obvious! Any suggestions?"
"Yes, actually I do have one. Derek kicked off his sneakers and stood up. "Can you move forward?"
"Sure." Addison gave him a puzzled look, but he just nodded, asking her to trust him. As soon as she was forward enough, Derek hoisted himself on to the bed and slipped in behind her. His legs laid on either side of her.
"Derek, what are you…" Before Addison could finish, she melted into the feel of Derek's hands on her back. Softly, yet sensually, he was rubbing out all the knots of stress and aggravation that had accumulated. He was careful to be softer near her injuries, but could instantly feel his efforts taking affect as Addison leaned into him more.
"How's that?" Derek whispered softly into her ear.
"Fabulous." Addison responded sensually. It took all of Derek's strength not to ravish here in the middle of the I.C.U. when her hands found there way up and down his legs. Derek began to move his hands to cover more of her body. They made their way to the ticklish part of her stomach, causing Addison to jerk suddenly and open her eyes.
"Hey! Watch those hands!"
"What?" Derek played innocent, but held a rather devilish smile on his face. Addison gently elbowed him in the ribs before turning back around. "Easy there!"
"You weren't just in a car accident. You can take it." Addison laughed, turning to face forward again. As she did, none other than the Chief was walking by, deep in conversation with Izzie Stevens. "You better get up now!"
"Why?" Derek looked around, unsure of what the big deal was. The nurses all loved Addison so they didn't mind, and Bailey was in surgery.
"That's why!" Addison emphatically pointed to the window where the Chief stood, his back facing them.
"Oh crap!" Derek carefully tried to hoist himself out of the bed without injuring himself, or worse, hurting Addison. Getting out rather successfully, Derek grabbed his shoes, kissed Addison on the cheek, and hurried out the back door. Luckily, Izzie provided enough of a distraction for Derek to escape safely.
"So what was that?" Izzie questioned, adjusting the pillows behind Addison so she could lie down again.
"Thank you so much! The Chief would not be too pleased to find Derek and I sharing a bed. It's happened before."
"Seriously?"
"Oh you have no idea the yelling that went on. And with me being in the hospital, Richard's on this protection war path. He won't let me be released for an extra two post-up days. Finding Derek with me in the ICU was not going to make his day."
"Got it. Whatever I can do to help."
"Thanks Izzie."
"No problem. So how are you feeling?"
"After that, much better." Both women broke out in laughter, as Addison settled back into bed, much more relaxed than before.
Four Days Later
Seattle Grace
A week had passed since the accident. Aside from some bruising on her face, and a sore shoulder, Addison had recovered impressively. As much as she enjoyed her break, Addison was eager to get back to work, or at least back home. While it is often joked that doctors live in the hospitals in which they work, to actually physically stay there for a week was taking its toll on her. Burke, Bailey, Callie, and the Chief were all coming by on rounds today to evaluate her, and she planned on passing.
"If it isn't my doctor dream team here to make my day." Addison spoke, seeing them all enter her room. After enough complaining she had been moved out of ICU a few days back for a little more privacy.
"Well I see your sarcasm has recovered; lets check out the rest of you shall we. Burke, you start." The chief shot back, smiling down at her.
"Her surgery went very well. There was only minor bleeding to start, which we took care of. Since then, all her ultra sounds look good and her stitches have closed quite nicely if I do say so myself. She's got my approval."
"They did heal very nicely Preston. Scars aren't really my thing." Addison said truthfully.
"I do what I can." Burke replied with his usual air of charm, winking at her when the chief looked away. She mouthed back a thank you in return.
"Thank you Preston. Dr. Torres, your up."
"Yes sir. As a result of the crash, Dr. Montgomery suffered from bone bruising and swelling on most of her left side. Her hip has since recovered well, but her shoulder is still a point of concern. X-rays have come up negative for breaks, so as long as she takes it easy at home, there is no orthopedic reason she can't be discharged."
"Good. Now Dr. Bailey, you've been the primary on this case. Overall assessment please." Richard asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.
"As of this morning, all labs and blood work look great. We gave Addison a CT scan this morning to check on her head because of minor dizziness after the concussion. That too came up clear. She's cleared in my book."
"Thank you Miranda."
"Oh, don't thank me. I'm afraid to keep you here anymore. Between you and Derek bitching at me, I'm going to start causing some pain if you don't get to go home." Bailey replied.
"It's not my fault. You try being here for a week bored out of…"
"Ladies, if you don't mind. We all have patients." Miranda shot Addison one last look when the Chief turned around to face his colleagues. Addison did her best to stifle her laughter. "Thank you all for the updates. You may go." All three nodded and filed out of the room. Richard pulled up the chair next to the bed so that he could speak more intimately with Addison.
"So how are you really doing?" Richard couldn't help but sound fatherly; he had been close with Addison too long to not be.
"Richard, I'm fine. Everything they said was true. My shoulder is still sore but I can take care of that from home. My leg and my head feel better, and besides the scars, I'm good as new."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer and let your arm heal a little more. You know what can happen when you rush recovery."
"I am a doctor Richard. And I wouldn't be rushing it by leaving today. My mobility is fine, and besides, Derek will be there the whole time."
"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse. At least at the hospital you can't participate in any extracurricular physical activities." Richard grimaced from the memories.
"Richard! What a dirty mind you have!"
"Oh, please! I've known you two long enough…"
"You can stop there." Addison put up a hand and smiled, not needing to hear anymore from her mentor. "It will be fine. It's Derek, he's like an over protective mother. Trust me; he probably won't even let me get my won drink of water for at least a week."
"As long as you promise me you will take it easy, I'm going to discharge you. In two weeks I want you back here to check on that shoulder and talk about when you can come back to work. Agreed?"
"Yes. Thank you Richard."
"You're welcome. I don't want you home alone yet though so I'll let Derek go early to stay with you. Is four o'clock okay?" Richard paused at the door to get a response.
"Perfect. But I am moving around the hospital before that. And before you try to argue, I will kill a nurse if I don't get out of this cell of a hospital room."
"Fine. Just be careful."
"I always am." Addison stated very matter-of-factly.
"Sure. Whatever you say." Richard replied sarcastically as he shut her door
Seattle Grace
12:30 p.m.
"Matthew, Dr. O'Malley here is going to take you up for some brain scans so we can determine the best course of action for your treatment. How does that sound?" Derek addressed his newest patient, the nine year old Matthew Davies.
"Will they hurt?" Matthew asked curiously.
"Not at all. They may be a little loud though." Derek replied.
"I can handle loud."
"I'm sure you can. I'll be back when they are done and we will look at the results together." Derek stood up from the bed, patting Matthew on the head before leaving the room.
"Okay." George followed Derek out, closing the door behind them.
"Alright book him for an MRI and a CT scan and page me with the results."
"Yes, Dr. Shepherd." Derek signed the chart and handed it back to O'Malley. Walking down the hallway in front of him was Miranda. Derek sped to catch up.
"Good afternoon Miranda. You're looking ravishing today." Derek threw all the charm he could muster at her.
"Stop sucking up Shepherd she's getting released this afternoon." Miranda barely broke stride while giving Derek the news he hoped for.
"Really? Oh man! If you weren't the Nazi I would hug you right now." Derek couldn't wait to bring Addison home. Sleeping alone for a week had just about killed him.
"Well then it's a good thing I'm the Nazi then isn't it." Miranda looked up from her chart to see Derek's dismay with her retort.
"You know I happen to be a very good…." With all his attention on her, Derek didn't even realize Addison's parents down the hall at the nurses' station until the distinct, angry female Montgomery voice interrupted his sentence.
"I'm not a patient! We are just here to see our daughter. She works here for crying out loud. She was in a car accident a week ago! All we want to know is her room number."
"Abby?" Derek asked, moving closer and abandoning a very confused Miranda.
"Oh Derek, thank god! This woman here won't seem to get the fact that we are here to see Addison."
"It's okay Debbie, I'll take them. These are Dr. Montgomery's parents and brother."
"Thank you!" Abby Montgomery shot a look back at the nurse before embracing Derek. "How are you sweetie?" She asked, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm fine." Derek smiled at Abby before turning his attention to Addison's father. "Jim, how are you?" Derek extended his hand.
"I'm good. It's nice to see you again, son."
"Same here." Derek smiled in response. He had always liked Addison's parents, and they always seemed to like him in return. Her older brother Michael was a different story. He was extremely protective over Addison and had never loved Derek to begin with, much less after everything that happened. Nonetheless, Derek did his best to be cordial.
"Michael, good to see you. It's been awhile. Derek extended his hand, not sure if Michael would respond. Michael reciprocated, but without such kind words.
"Yeah. I haven't seen you since before you broke my little sister's heart." Both men tightened their grip. Derek knew Michael didn't like him, but that was unnecessary. Luckily, before Derek could reply and most likely regret his words, Abby intervened, physically stepping between them.
"That's enough of that. How is she Derek? We took the first flight we could back from France."
"She's doing much better now. Her doctors are letting me take her home today actually. She did suffer from a concussion and had to have surgery to repair some minor bleeding in her abdomen. She has a couple of bruises and stitches, mostly on a left side as a result of the crash." All three looked horrified. "Hey, I know it sounds bad, but Addie's a fighter. Her recovery time is perfectly on track."
"Can we see her?" Jim spoke, extending an arm to embrace his wife.
"Of course. I'll take you to her now. Elevator is straight down the hall. I just need to check with a colleague." Jim and Abby went first, Michael following behind. He shot Derek one last look before getting in line with his parents. Derek tightened his fist and went back to Miranda.
"So that's Addison's family?"
"Yes." Derek quickly signed off on a patient's medicine orders.
"The brother seems real fond of you." Miranda spoke.
"Don't even go there." Derek looked down at Miranda, rolling his eyes. "I'll fill you in later." Derek and Miranda reached the elevator and Derek took it upon himself to introduce her.
"Abby, Jim, Michael; this is Dr. Miranda Bailey. She's a friend of ours and also Addison's primary physician."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Bailey took turns shaking each person's hand. They rode up to Addison's room in a relative silence. The Montgomery's hadn't seen Derek since before Addison and he separated, and Bailey had just met them, so awkwardness filled the air in abundance.
The elevator reached her floor, and all five filed out. Derek went in first, knocking lightly on the door.
"Hey."
"Hi." Derek walked over to the bed, kissing Addison quickly on the lips.
"To what do I owe the surprise? I thought you had a busy day." Addison asked.
"Well I bumped into some people and thought I should escort them around." Derek told her. Addison still looked bewildered, but before he could explain, her parents popped in.
"Oh my god! What are you guys doing here?" Addison's face lit up when her family entered the room. Derek stepped out, letting them catch up.
"We heard about the accident and we took the first flight home. How are you?"
"I'm okay. You didn't need to fly home from Europe. It was only a car accident."
"Oh, please! Just a car accident? You were hurt! How could we not come?"
"I'm glad you two did." Addison smiled warmly as her dad bent down to kiss her forehead.
"It's not just us." On cue, Michael walked through the door.
"Michael!"
"Hey Add." Michael walked to the bed to give her a hug.
"How did you get off from work?"
"It pays to own your company. You get breaks whenever you want."
"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"
"That's part of the reason I came." Michael smiled. "You know you've looked better, sis."
"Oh shut up!"
"No, but really, how are you sweetie?" Abby spoke, shooting Michael her classic motherly snarl. "Derek filled us in but it sounded awful."
"I'm doing much better. I'm getting discharged today and just need to let my shoulder heal before I get to come back to work."
"Isn't it a little soon to be going home? The accident was only a week ago."
"Well Richard said that because Derek is there it's okay."
"Are you sure that's safe? I mean I know he's a doctor but if something serious was to happen…"
"Mom, I promise it's safe. Trust me; Richard wouldn't let me go if it weren't. Besides my shoulder, I'm great."
"We trust you. It's our job to worry." Jim said, running his hand across Addison's forehead."
"I know, Dad."
"Alright, honey we are going to go check in to our hotel, but why don't we all have dinner on Wednesday. It will give you some time to re-orient, and we can sight see a little in the interim. Sound good?" Abby said.
"I'll check with Derek, but that should be perfect. I think he's outside."
"He is." Derek stepped back in, smiling widely. "Dinner sounds great."
"So it's settled. Wednesday, say 8:00?"
"Perfect." Derek smiled charmingly at Abby. Michael stood behind him, unhappy, but silent; he didn't want to upset Addison. Each took turns saying goodbye. Derek waited until they all left before going closer.
"Let me just show your parents out and then I'll be back to see you okay?"
"Thanks sweetie."
"Not a problem." Derek leaned in to kiss her. They embraced quickly before he pulled back to escort them out. He left to meet her family in the hallway.
"Shall we?" Derek led them back towards the elevator, holding it for all of them before stepping in himself. They reached the entrance to the hospital and stopped.
"Thank you Derek." Abby reached out to hug him goodbye.
"Anytime." Derek pulled back and shook Jim's hand. "We'll see you Wednesday." He extended his hand to Michael, who accepted with a plastered smile on his face. Derek's charm may have impressed his parents and Addison, but he didn't like it. And he would make sure Derek knew it this time. He wasn't about to let his little sister get hurt again. Letting go of Derek's hand, Michael led his parents outside. What he needed to say would be between him and Derek only.
Seattle Grace
3:00 p.m.
Michael returned to the hospital after settling into his hotel room with his parents. He made up some bogus excuse about work in order to sneak away. He needed to go back to the hospital and speak with Derek. The words were practically burning his tongue after seeing them kiss before Derek escorted them out. The way she looked at him so admiringly took Michael back to when they first met Derek. You could see in her eyes how in love with him she was.
After their separation, that light in her eyes was out. Michael knew it hurt Addison not to be with him, but as far as he was concerned, she was better off without him. His sister had been so strong before she met Derek. He broke through the strict walls she kept around her heart. She let him love her, and he ended up breaking her completely.
Seeing that glimmer in her eyes return, Michael was not about to let his sister get hurt again. Derek was charming as they came. His parents, despite everything, trusted Addison's words that things were better and that she was in love with him again. If Derek made her happy, who were they to stop her? Michael tried to reason with them, but they insisted it was Addie's choice and that when she was with him, they had never seen her happier. On that alone, they needed to trust her. He, on the other hand, was not to be fooled again.
"Excuse me? Do you know where I might find Derek Shepherd?"
Okay I'm about to pass out so I'm leaving off here. Michael's got some protective, big brother words for Derek and it should be good! I'll update again tomorrow: scouts honor! But review this one and tell me what you think of the Montgomery family's introduction!