Wow... I'm impressed. I didn't think you guys would like this that much. Haha. Well, here is chapter 2, as promised. Chapter 3 is in the works but won't be up until Sunday at the earliest. I am taking off tomorrow for my cousin's wedding... nothing spells fun like a six-plus hour car ride with your parents and brother. I hope I survive.

Oh, and for McAddex and anyone else who was wondering, the song from the first chapter was by Mat Kearney, as is this one. I will try to be better about posting that.

Disclaimer: Same as before. And I obviously don't own any of the songs/lyrics I use, either.

Chapter 2
All I Need

Here it comes; it's all blowing in tonight
I woke up this morning to a blood-red sky
They're burning on the bridge, turning off the lights
We're on the run; I can see it in your eyes
If nothing is safe, then I don't understand
You call me a boy, but I'm trying to be the man
One more day, and it's all slipping with the sand
You touch my lips and grab the back of my hand
The back of my hand

Addison collected her luggage from the baggage claim, picked up the keys to her rental car, and was soon on her way to her hotel. She dropped her things off, fixed her hair and make-up, and grabbed her purse as she headed off to Seattle Grace Hospital. She wasn't sure if she would see Derek tonight, and quite frankly, she wasn't sure if she was ready just yet. She had no idea what she would say or do or how she would feel if and when she actually saw him. But she had to go and have a chat with Richard before seeing her patient tomorrow. He had insisted that she come as soon as she arrived, no matter the hour. He had just had brain surgery and would be in the hospital for a couple more days. In her opinion, their chat could have waited until morning, but Richard sounded desperate for company, so she agreed to go.

Oh, Lord, I hope this doesn't turn out to be a huge mistake. I'm not sure I can take anymore of those right now. After last week... She saw where her thoughts were headed, and she cut them off right then and there. Now was not the time to focus on that. She had other things to worry about. Like what she would say to Derek if she did happen to bump into him tonight. And what if he was with his intern? What would she do then?

She was about to find out as she strode through the doors of the hospital. There he was in the lobby, helping her with her coat. She froze in her tracks as she watched her husband with another woman. If she had been in her normal state of mind, she would have marched right over there, shook that woman's hand, and introduced herself as Addison Shepherd while casually throwing in a smart-ass comment such as, "You must be the woman who's been screwing my husband." But as it was, she was not herself right now. So instead of boldly confronting the couple, she slinked off past the front desk to the elevators to Richard's room, hoping that Derek didn't see her. It was obvious that she wasn't ready to talk to him just yet.

- - - - - - - - - -

Derek could have sworn that he had just seen a flash of familiar red hair walk through the lobby toward the elevators. But no, it couldn't be her. She was in New York, probably basking in the glow of her new life with his ex-best friend. She wouldn't be here in Seattle. But still… he would have recognized that hair and that walk anywhere…

"What is it?" Meredith asked him, noticing a change in his demeanor.

"Nothing. I just thought I saw someone…"

"Oh… well, are you ready to go?"

"Uh, can we do a rain check? I forgot that there's something I need to do before I can go." He headed in the direction of the elevator.

"Yeah, sure… call me later?" Meredith asked as Derek pushed the up button.

"Uh, yeah," he said hurriedly, not really hearing what she said.

The elevator came, and he stepped inside, still not fully believing what he saw. There was no way she would be here. She didn't even know he was here. Unless Richard told her. But he had sworn not to. A million thoughts and feelings were rolling around in Derek's head as the elevator continued its ascent. And the scariest one of them all was that he was almost hoping that it was Addison he thought he saw in the hospital. And that he might be disappointed if he found out that it wasn't.

Guess we both know we're in over our heads
We got no where to go and no home that's left
The water is rising on a river turning red
It all might be okay, or we might be dead

- - - - - - - - - -

If everything we've got is slipping away
I meant what I said when I said 'til my dying day
I'm holding on to you holding on to me
Maybe it's all gone black, but you're all I see
You're all I see

Addison found her way to Richard's room, where she was greeted warmly by her former mentor. She reciprocated the welcome. It had been years since they had seen each other, and Addison hadn't realized how much she had missed him.

"So, Addie… how are you doing? I mean really doing? And I don't want to hear any of this 'I'm fine' garbage."

She hesitated briefly and then sighed. "I'm a mess, Richard. I'm barely holding it together. I just saw them together in the lobby before I came up here… I didn't think I could hurt any more than I already was…" she trailed off.

"Addie… I honestly don't know what's going on between you and Derek, and I know there's really nothing I can say to make you feel better right now. But I know you, and I know Derek. I've known you both for a long time, and I know how stubborn and pig-headed you both can be. But I also know how much love there was between you, and a love that strong just doesn't disappear, no matter how much you've hurt each other. It's still there, Addie. I can see it. And I know Derek can, too, if he would just open his eyes and see what's in front of him."

He reached for her hand as tears threatened to fall down her face.

"Thank you, Richard," she whispered and gave him a small, grateful smile.

He gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Okay, now, get out of here and get some sleep. I can't have you tired and lethargic on your first day."

"Yes, sir," she said, giving him a mock salute. "Do you mind if I use your restroom before I take off?"

"Not at all," Richard replied, and Addison disappeared into the bathroom attached to his hospital room.

- - - - - - - - - -

The walls are shaking; I hear them sound the alarm
Glass is breaking, so don't let go of my arm
Grab your bags and a picture of where we met
All that we'll leave behind and all that's left

Not long after Addison had gone into the restroom, Derek appeared at Richard's door.

"Shepherd, what are you still doing here?"

"I, uh… I just thought I would check on you one more time before I left for the evening."

"Bullshit. What do you want, Shep?"

"I don't want anything. It's just… I could have sworn I saw…"

At that moment, the door to the restroom opened, and Addison stepped back out into Richard's room. Derek's eyes immediately darted to her, and she looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Addison," Derek said, realizing that his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him earlier. "What are you doing here?"

Richard spoke up before Addison had a chance to answer. "I asked her to come, Derek. We have a very complicated case of TTTS coming in tomorrow, and she's the best. We needed her here."

"And you couldn't have bothered to mention this to me?" Derek asked the chief, clearly pissed off.

"I tried calling you, Derek," Addison interjected quietly. "I called for two days. You never picked up your phone."

"Oh, and you wonder why?!"

"You just packed up and left everything, Derek! Nobody knew where you were going or where you ended up or if you were even alright! And then two months after the fact, I find out you're in Seattle. And I just thought that you would like a heads up that I was coming out here!"

"And that 'heads up' should have come from the person who invited you out here in the first place!" Derek angrily directed at Richard.

"Enough, Derek," Richard said calmly. He then turned to Addison. "Addison, you should get some sleep. It's been a long day. I'll see you at 8:00 tomorrow morning."

Addison nodded at Richard and gave Derek one last quick glance before leaving the room. Richard turned his attention back to Derek.

"My inviting her out here had nothing to do with you, Shepherd," Richard said calmly. "She agreed to come as a favor to me. And yes, I did happen to tell her that you were here, too, but if you will recall, you never actually gave me a reason not to tell her."

"I didn't think I needed to! I thought, as my friend, you would have respected my wishes."

"And as your friend, I did. But as the Chief of Surgery at this hospital, I had to do what was best for my patients. And that meant bringing Addison out. Your personal life cannot interfere with the running of this hospital. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Derek answered coldly.

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow."

- - - - - - - - - -

If everything we've got is blowing away
We've got a rock and a rock 'til our dying day
Holding on to you holding on to me
Maybe it's all we've got, but it's all I need
You're all I need

Back at her hotel, Addison decided that a long, hot bath would be the best way to unwind from her emotionally stressful day and prepare for the next. She undressed, climbed in, and closed her eyes, thinking about having seen her husband for the first time in over two months. That was not how she wanted their first meeting to go. She was furious about the fact that Richard hadn't told Derek she was coming. She could understand it, if she really wanted to, but that didn't stop her from being upset about the way the events of the evening had transpired. But mostly she was just angry with herself.

She let out a sigh as she climbed out of the tub. She toweled off and then wrapped herself up in the hotel robe. After combing out her hair and brushing her teeth, she threw on Derek's old CBGB shirt, set her alarm clock for 6:00 a.m., and climbed into bed. Just as she was about to turn off the lamp, her cell phone rang. She picked it up to look at the caller ID. When she saw who it was, she flipped it open, hit Ignore, and then turned the phone on Silent mode. Of all the people in the world, he was the one person she didn't want to talk to the most. She flipped off the light and turned over on her side. I am SO not ready for tomorrow. She was exhausted, but her mind was racing. She eventually drifted off to sleep, still thinking and worrying about what might come the next day.

And if all we've got is what no one can break
I know I love you
If that's all we can take
The tears are coming down; they're mixing with the rain
I know I love you
If that's all we can take

- - - - - - - - - -

Derek didn't go home after leaving Richard's room. Instead, he walked the few blocks from the hospital down to the water. It felt more open there, and his thoughts were free to run wild. Why did Addison come? Why didn't Richard tell him? What made Addison do what she did? Was he a bad husband? Or was it partly both of their faults?

He had no real answers to any of these questions. Just speculations. And those speculations wouldn't become more than that until he actually made the time and the effort to talk to Addison. But he didn't want to talk to Addison. At least not yet. She had hurt him more than anyone else had or ever could. But she was his wife. It was there in the vows. He was to love and cherish her, for better or for worse. And this was definitely the latter. But wasn't there something in the vows about forsaking all others? Well, to be honest, neither of them really lived up to that end of the bargain. He had had his work and his patients, and she ran to Mark. Mark. He didn't even want to think about Mark.

Derek paced back and forth on the pier until he had given himself a headache thinking about everything. There was no point in trying to figure these things out tonight. He clearly wasn't getting anywhere. And he had to be back at the hospital early the next morning. Oh, the hospital. He left Meredith standing in the hospital earlier. She had no idea about Addison. What on earth was he going to tell her? Well, he guessed that would have to wait until tomorrow as well. Because if thought about any more of this tonight, his head may explode.

A pool is running for miles on the concrete ground
Eight feet deep, and the rain's still coming down
The TV's playing it all out of town
We're grabbing at the fray for something that won't drown