Okay, so… we're coming to a close on this story. Which I am kind of sad about, but really, I'm more excited because I am working on a new one already, and I'm already loving it more than this one. It's funnier. At least to me. Which doesn't necessarily mean anything if you're a normal person.

Again, sorry it took so long for me to get this out. Blame school. But I love your reviews and the fact that you actually read this, and I wanted to get it just right. I love the first few sections. The last one I'm not too sure about, but I think it helps kind of set up for the next chapter (or two, depending on how I decide to split it up). But all of your little Addek-loving souls should be pleased after this chapter.

Um, what else? I'm sure there's something of little significance that I could write about… guess not. READ!

Song: "Love's the Only House" by Martina McBride.

Chapter 14
Love's the Only House

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain the world
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

Derek Shepherd hated waiting. And it was even worse when he was waiting for something that had a very strong likelihood of not even happening. He looked at his watch – 7:48 pm. She should be here soon if she was coming. God, he hoped she was coming.

He continued pacing back and forth, repeatedly glancing in the direction he assumed she would be coming from. He shoved his hands in his pockets. It was freezing. What on earth had possessed him to want to meet outside in November? Well, that didn't really matter now. All that really mattered was that Addison showed up.

He stopped pacing for a moment and stood against the railing, looking out at the dark water before him. A million thoughts ran through his mind. Good memories, bad memories, funny ones, sad ones, ones he wished he could undo, ones he wouldn't trade for the world.

He looked down at his watch again – 7:54 pm. He really hoped she was coming.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Addison!"

She spun around at the sound of her intern's voice.

"What's up, Stevens? I'm on my way out."

"Are you going?"

Addison arched an eyebrow.

"I mean… I know it's not really any of my business," Izzie began to ramble. "But I did help him plan this whole thing… and I kind of think I should get to see how it ends. That is, if you want to tell me. You don't have to tell me, but--"

"Izzie," she cut her off. "Stop talking. You did good." Addison smiled at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

- - - - - - - - - -

8:07 pm. She's not coming. Addison was never late.

Derek sighed as he sat down on the same bench he had occupied two days prior. He had really blown it this time. She wasn't coming back.

He stared off aimlessly ahead. The water was calm, perfectly reflecting the full moon hanging in the sky. A young couple walked hand in hand past him, smiling and talking quietly to each other. It made his heart ache.

She's not coming, he thought, sighing dejectedly.

"Hey, mister," a familiar voice behind him called out. "Got room on that bench for one more?"

He quickly turned around to see Addison standing behind him, hugging herself tightly to help protect from the cold. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Sorry I'm late."

He walked around the bench toward her, and without a word, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck.

"I didn't think you would come," he whispered in her ear.

"I almost didn't," she replied honestly.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you did." He pulled back slightly so he could see her face.

She looked back at him.

"Did you mean what you wrote?" she asked.

"Every word," he said sincerely.

"You swear? Because this is it. I can't go through what I've been through in the last couple months anymore. We're either in this together, and I mean all in, or I'm gone."

He leaned in a kissed her softly. "I'm all in. I swear."

She leaned her forehead against his. "Good. Because this is where I want to be."

"Addison, I am so sorry. For everything."

"Me, too."

"I have something for you," he said, taking her hand and leading her over to the bench that he had been occupying. They sat down, and Derek released her hand, reaching down to the briefcase on the ground next to him. "I started planning this a couple weeks ago, and it was supposed to be your Christmas present, but after everything that happened this week, I want you to have it now."

He handed her a plain manila envelope, and she opened it, pulling out a couple sheets of paper with a silver key taped to the first sheet.

She stared at the first piece of paper, which had a rough sketch of a house hastily drawn on it. She flipped through the other pages and asked, "What are these?"

"Blueprints. Well, sort of. I drew them, so they're not nearly as good as they were supposed to be."

"Um, okay…" she said, encouraging him to continue.

"They're for a house that I was planning to build. On the land where the trailer is. You deserve a real house. But if you don't like it or you don't want to live there, we don't have to. We can live wherever you want. I meant it when I said I would do whatever makes you happy."

She smiled. "And the key?"

"Well, it's actually to the trailer," he said sheepishly. "But it was going to be a key to an apartment for us to live in while the house is being built. So you wouldn't have to live in the trailer. Despite what you might say, I know you hate it."

"Derek, I… I don't even know what to say." She hugged him, holding on tightly for a moment before pulling back. "Thank you. I can't believe you did all of this."

"Well, you see… there's this woman. She kind of stole my heart away fifteen years ago, and despite everything we've been through since then, she still has it. And she always will. I can't help it… I love her."

Addison smiled, trying not to cry. "She sounds like a lucky girl."

"Not as lucky as I am."

He brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear, and then leaned in a kissed her. She deepened the kiss, and then buried her face in his neck, holding him close.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear. "So much."

"I love you, too."

- - - - - - - - - -

Hours later, Derek and Addison lay together in the small bed in the trailer. The only light source was the moonlight shining in through the window behind the bed, barely emitting enough light to show their clothes that were strewn around the room. Her head was on his shoulder, and he had an arm wrapped around her, slowly moving his hand up and down her arm.

"That was amazing," she whispered quietly.

He responded by sweetly kissing her on the lips, then pulling her body closer to his.

"So, about us…"

"Yeah?" she asked tentatively.

"I've been thinking, and I've decided that from now on, we need to set aside time to just be together. We can talk, or we can not talk. But I think that we need to work on sorting through what went wrong before so it doesn't happen again. What do you think?"

"I think that sounds great. Are you a brain surgeon or something? You're pretty smart," she teased him.

"Oh, how I've missed your sarcasm."

"But seriously, though, I agree with you. And you are pretty smart. Most of the time."

He kissed her forehead.

"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly.

"Sure."

"If… if the baby had been mine… after the way I treated you… would you have… kept it?"

"Yes," she answered honestly. She couldn't even count the number of times she had wished the baby had been his. Her eyes started welling up with tears; terminating that pregnancy was the hardest thing she'd ever done, and she hated to think about it.

Derek felt her tears falling onto his shoulder and sat up, looking at Addison.

"Addie, don't cry. Please. I just had to know. I won't bring it up again."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Here," he said climbing out of bed and pulling on his boxers. "Let me cheer you up. Uh…" he looked around the room, thinking of something amusing to do. After coming up with nothing, he resorted to an attempt at dancing, which actually resembled something more akin to a seizure rather than a dance.

Addison started laughing, and when he got close enough, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down on the bed next to her.

"Thanks for cheering me up. But you should probably never do that again."

She kissed him and snuggled back into his arms.

"Hey, do you realize it's only a few weeks until Christmas? We need to go talk to Richard tomorrow… ask for our usual week and a half off. Maybe two this year."

"He's not going to like us both leaving for that long," she stated.

"Too bad. I'll tell him I already bought the plane tickets. And they're non-refundable."

"We're going home for Christmas," Addison stated happily.

"Yeah… we are."

He leaned over and kissed her deeply. She ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him back.

"I'm calling in sick today," she stated in between his kisses.

Derek replied happily, "Me, too."

Well, there you go. Happy Addek all around. Yay! I hope you guys liked this chapter because I re-wrote it like… three or four times. And I always question myself when I re-write things.

Like I said before, there will be either one or two more chapters, depending on how I decide to split them up. So… stay tuned a little longer.

You know what to do.