A/N: I know I took my time. Been a little busy and I had most of it written already but I hated it, so I deleted it. I had another idea today and it turned out alright, I think. Rosie Thomas inspired me with her song Pretty Dress. I love Rosie!

Victoria

"I feel so untouched, right now."

Her fingers glided softly over the red, delicate fabric. She let her fingers trace the dress and lost herself in treasured memories; some distant and vague, others raw and painfully explicit.

His hands explored her body with yearning desire; he placed kisses on her soft, pale skin and whispered in her ear in a husky moan that he loved her. Addison closed her eyes and willed herself to stop – to quit exercising every little aspect of their relationship. But she felt that something was different and it unnerved her that she could not quite detect the cause for her apparent apathy – leaving her unsatisfied and restless.

Everything was the same; the touch, the kisses and his thirsty moans for pleasure. And still Addison felt as if she was merely playing a role and it ate away at her faith – in him, in her and them as a couple.

Maybe, Addison admitted to herself, his not wanting to have a baby with her was firing up an internal battle.

She closed her eyes, moaned at the appropriate moments and squeezed him, willing herself to be done – a cold, detached word, she thought cynically, and yet finishing gave her the hope that the next time it would be different; emotional, passionate, loving.

He had once accused her of loving the excitement of cheating and it might have been right if only Addison was not so certain that in this moment she was betraying herself.

Addison brought the glass filled with red wine to her mouth. As she inhaled its distinctive scent she smiled, remembering that her mother had never liked it. Maybe, Addison guessed, that was why she had started drinking in the first place. She had always feared to become her own mother and now, knowing the lies and deception of their past, Addison knew that she was far from being that person, the one she despised and pitied all at the same time. She was done turning a blind eye to anyone, even herself.

Addison got up, walked over to the bed once more and grabbed the red dress. She had been arguing with herself whether or not to wear it to the Christmas party she was having at her house. She had worried that it would be inappropriate to wear the one dress which she had last worn the day her marriage ended.

Addison laughed at the irony and decided it to be more than appropriate to wear this dress; after all tonight was going to be an ending of a different kind – nonetheless painful and final.

"I'm leaving him," Addison whispered, closing her eyes and catching some rays in the afternoon sun.

Amelia did not seem surprised; furthermore she did not seem to react at all. She simply breathed in and out evenly. A few more moments passed and when Amelia turned her head towards Addison, she nodded and said understandingly,

"I know."

"How," Addison asked curiously, arching one of her eyebrows in demand of an answer; after no one had noticed – had cared enough to think something might be wrong; not even Sam.

"Ever since you divorced Derek you have looked for something to fill the void; a baby, a new job, a new man. That's no way to live. I hate to quote Cher but 'there is life after love'. It's not always pretty or something you want, but it has to be something you need. I'm not judging. God, I'd be the last person to judge you but you have a moral compass that's making it hard to succeed in anything. I know you tried with Sam, maybe to proof to yourself that he had always been the love of your life – that you should have started dating him instead of my brother. Who knows? Maybe he was just really good in bed. I know you tried. And you know you tried. And you have been battling this for a while now and you have made up your mind. I think you cannot let your guilt keep you from doing something that's been inevitable for a long time. It wouldn't be fair to either of you." Amelia paused, took Addison's hand and spoke reassuringly, "So I know. I still love you anyway and I'll miss you."

Addison leaned forward and embraced Amelia, pressing her firmly against her own chest and placing one of her hands on the back of Amelia's head. "I'll miss you, too."

Addison kissed Amelia's temple, turned around and headed for her house to get ready for the party.

"Well, thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate Christmas together – especially you, Cooper."

The crowd of doctors laughed at her joke and quieted when Addison demanded attention by pursing her lips.

"We've had a difficult year at practice and I want to thank you all for putting in the effort and the energy to save this practice. We did it – all of us, and I think we have come out of this crisis stronger and braver than before. We protected our values; friendship, trust and honesty. So I'll stand here tonight saying thank you for a great time at Oceanside Wellness. I am saddened to announce that I'll be leaving. I was offered to direct a research on premature progressive heart failure and its genetic disposition in London. I have thought about this for weeks. It's been a hard decision because I care about this practice and all of you very much. But this has always been my dream and it's a once in a lifetime chance so I took it. Don't worry, though, I signed the practice over to both Sam and Charlotte. I'm not claiming back any money. I also interviewed replacements. I made a list of five suitable candidates who will be coming in for another interview next week. Everything should run smoothly. I know it's a lot to digest and you can be mad – so not too much because I've got all of this food that needs to be eaten. Merry Christmas! Let's eat now, I'm starving and my plane leaves at 11."

When Addison sat down, she took a sip from her wine glass and closed her eyes. Sometimes the hardest decisions we have to make are the ones that bring us the greatest relief.

As she breathed in her first scent of London – the smell of fried chips, beer and ginger bread, she smiled and decided that coming here had been a worthy plan.

The end.