After pulling up outside of Derek's moms house, Addison takes a deep breath in and out trying to calm herself down before they go in.
"You ok Addie?" Derek asks looking at her with concern.
"Yeah I'll be fine, it's just different you know?"
"Yeah I know, come on let's just rip off the band aid and get it over with. I'm a bit nervous about seeing everyone too. I mean I haven't been to see them properly in so long and they're probably mad at me."
"They love you Derek, I know they all really missed you when you'd never come and visit them often."
"Yeah well I've got a lot of making up to do now. I bet the kids have all grown so much."
"I've really missed seeing them all. I know we've moved further away from them now but I'm going to definitely make more of an effort to come and visit and if they're allowed then maybe some of the older ones could come and visit us in Seattle sometime."
"Yeah I'm sure some of the older girls would love to come and stay at their Aunt Addie's new house and try on your huge collection of clothes and shoes."
"Well let's just see how today goes and then maybe we could ask them about it another time."
Addison opens the car door and steps out as Derek does the same at the other side. Derek starts to walk up to the house and Addison follows him. As they get to the door it opens and Amelia is there waiting.
"Hey guys. So happy you could come. For a second I thought you might both decide to bottle it. But I'm so glad you didn't."
"Hey Amy. We were both a little nervous cause we haven't seen everyone in a while and now everything is different but it was time to face everyone. Is anyone else here yet?" Derek asks.
"No it's just me and mom for now. She's in the kitchen. So off you go and see her. I'll keep Addie company." Amelia tells him.
"Ok I'll see you both soon." Derek tells them as he heads off to the kitchen to face his mom.
"Hey Amelia. It's so nice to see a friendly face, I'm a little nervous about seeing your mom but I'm excited about seeing everyone else."
"Well they're all dying to see you and try not to worry too much about mom. You know she'll always take Derek's side and in her eyes no one was right for him, but if she tries to provoke you then don't rise to it. Just stay calm and focus on everyone else."
"Great advice, when did you get so wise?"
"Well I go to meetings a lot and it really helps me to stay sober and I've got a lot of great advise over the years and now I'm using it to help others."
"That's fantastic, Amelia. I'm really proud of you."
"Thanks Addie. I wonder how Derek is getting on."
—-/-/—
"Hey Mom!" Derek greets his mother as he walks into the kitchen.
"Oh Derek, you're here!" Carolyn says as she comes over to give her son a hug. "I've really missed you son."
"I've missed you too, mom." Derek tells her as he hugs her back. "Something smells great."
"I'm making one of your favourites."
"Thanks mom, that's great." Derek grins.
"So your sister tells me that you and Addison came back cause you're packing up the brownstone to sell."
"Yeah, it was Addie's idea. She asked me if there was anything I wanted to keep from the brownstone and I agreed to come out here with her so we could sort it out together and it's been really good closure for me mom."
"Oh good, I'm glad you're getting some closure Derek. It couldn't have been easy but I think this divorce is for the best. I know you felt like you had to be the better man and give things a try when she came to Seattle. But how could you ever trust her after what she did, and with Mark of all people. I always thought that she wasn't right for you, Derek and the way she messed up there was no coming back from that."
"Mom, please don't be too hard on Addison. In fact I'd really like it if you could try and make a fresh start with her, maybe you'll never really be good friends or anything. But Addie and I were always hurt by the fact that you made it so obvious that you didn't like her and to see you get on with all of your son-in-laws so well really hurt. I know that what Addison and Mark did was terrible but I cheated on her too mom, I had agreed to take her back and I said I was trying and throughout it all I was getting involved with someone else and I ended up cheating on Addison. So in the end we both cheated and even before the cheating, I wasn't a very good husband. I was barely around and I was so focused on my career that I didn't have time for anything else. So I want to take responsibility for my part in the breakdown of my marriage. So please mom, just try and be civil with Addison. I'm really trying to put everything behind me and me and Addison are getting on better than we have in a really long time."
"Oh Derek, if it really means that much to you I'll try my best to get along better with Addison. Like you said we'll probably never be the best of friends but I'll be civil today and maybe I should try and make a fresh start. Maybe I was looking at everything all wrong for a lot of your marriage that I didn't really give Addison a chance. I was so sure that she was all wrong for you that I didn't really give her any sort of chance at all. I know how much your sisters and the kids and everyone else in this family, they all loved her so maybe I should give her another chance too."
"Thanks mom, that's all I'm asking. It's not like you'll be seeing a lot of each other but if ever you do I'd like you to get along better. I mean we're divorced now, but I've told Addison how much everyone in this family loves her and how much they still want to see her sometimes. I know the kids would still love to see their Aunt Addison from time to time. I've also promised to be here more often for special occasions. For so long I put my work above everything and I just want you to know that I've realised how important family is and it's time for me to make it up to you and everyone else that I let down."
"Thank you Derek, I know that will really mean a lot to everyone. We all missed you for the last few Christmases."
"I'll make sure I'm here for Christmas this year. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Well I'll go and check the oven and then I should come and say hello to Addison."
"Ok mom, I'll go and see what her and Amy are getting up to." Derek tells his mom and then leaves the kitchen to go and find Addison and Amelia.
Derek finds his sister and Addison sitting on one of the sofas catching up on everything that had been going on in each other lives. Amelia catches his eye as he walks over.
"Hey big brother, how did your chat with mom go?"
"It went well, we had a good talk and I told her to be nice to Addison and that I was as much to blame for a lot of the things that went wrong in our marriage. I told her that I was going to make an effort to be there for special occasions and to see my family more often."
"That's good. I also talked to her yesterday and I think we really might have got through to her about giving Addison a real chance."
"Yeah she said something along those lines, that everyone else in the family loved Addison and that she had decided so long ago that she didn't like her, that maybe she had been too blinded by that to actually see what everyone else saw. She said she'd try and start over and she said she'd be out to say hello after she's checked on the food."
"Oh Derek, thank you so much for doing that and you to Amelia. If this happens then it'll be a miracle but if your mom really means it about giving me a real chance then this day will be a whole lot easier for everyone."
Sorry for the cliffhanger but next chapter will have more of the day spent at Derek's moms house. Hope you liked this chapter and please review and let me know what you think.