A/N: Sorry, it took me so long to update. Had a mild attack of writer's block and life outside fanfiction had been just going crazy lately. Thanks again for my beta reader Kerstin for all the help.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters only Christie.
Addison woke up when she felt the ray of sunlight streaming in from the outside. It had been a long time since she had slept so peacefully, she realized. Just then that the events from the previous night came flooding back in – Derek's visit, the confrontation, her breaking down, and finally Derek's arms enfolding her. She tried to sit up but realized that Derek's arm was still wrapped around her; no wonder she felt so comfortable. She carefully disentangled her body from his, not wanting to wake him up. She sat up very slowly, not making any noise.
"Addie?" Derek spoke huskily in his morning voice.
"Damn it," she cursed softly to herself. "Good morning, ummm…are you staying for breakfast because I'm going to order room service in?" She asked in an unsure tone.
"Yeah, sure." He replied, sitting up rubbing his eyes.
Shit! Why did he have to look so McDreamy?
Addison thought to herself before grabbing the telephone. A little irritated with herself for allowing Derek to have that effect on her. The moment Addison sat down the receiver of the hotel phone, the door to the bedroom opened and Christie walked sleepily towards her, stretching her arms, signaling to be picked up by her mother for a bit of morning snuggle time.
"Mommy…" Christie cried out in a whiny voice.
"Morning, baby." She greeted the little girl and also opening her arms for a warm hug. But Christie's face beamed even more when she saw the figure sitting on the couch.
"Daddy?" She asked in a surprised voice as if she couldn't believe it. She then ran to her father, climbing up the couch and settling on his lap. "You're here" she added before giving Derek a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
Derek chuckled at his little girl's words.
The breakfast was successful, thanks to Christie's hyper energy and non-stop rambling that there were only few moments of quiet.
"So what are your plans for today?" Derek inquired, glancing up at Addison.
"Umm..nothing really. Maybe walk around town." Addison answered.
"That's good then because I'm off today. I can take you around. But I have to go home first to have a change of clothes." Derek declared rather than suggested.
Addison wanted to refuse at first, but the father and daughter needed this. They needed to spend time together and bond to make Christie feel comfortable with her father since she will be leaving her to him in three days time. The way it looked, though, it seemed as if the two were very fond of each other. It appeared as though the last five years of estrangement had never happened.
"I'll get Christie ready then so you two can go." Addison said while cleaning up the table.
"Addie, I meant the three of us." Derek stated, making his plans clearer to her.
"Derek, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean…ummm…Meredith. She would mind." She replied but not looking up.
"There is no Meredith." Derek confessed, plain and simple.
Addison looked up immediately, her eyes revealing the many questions upon hearing this. "What?" She asked trying to check if she heard him right.
Derek gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, we broke up a year after you left" he started "but we're not talking about this today. We're going to enjoy. Right baby?" He said, picking up Christie from her seat.
Christie nodded and said a cheerful "Yes" even if she didn't really understand what her father was talking about.
"But daddy, will go home first to change, then we can go to the Children's Museum or maybe the Space Needle. You want that?" He continued, explaining his plan to the amused little girl.
"Yay!!" Christ cried out, but then she shot him a worried look. "You will be back, right? You'll just change, then you'll be back"
Addison's heart clenched when she heard her daughter's question. She knew that Christie is scared that her daddy would disappear or leave her.
"I will be back. I won't ever leave you." Derek promised.
It was almost five o clock in the afternoon and they had just finished eating their afternoon snack and walking towards the Space Needle after a fun tour at the Children's Museum. Christie enjoyed it there tremendously. She wanted to spend the whole day there but after Derek assured her that they will go to a much nicer place and a promise that he will be taking her back there, Christie agreed to be dragged out of the Museum although she was a little hesitant.
"So, we are going up the Space needle, and then you'll see the whole of Seattle." Derek explained to Christie.
Addison stopped in her tracks and her face paled a little bit with the mention of them going up that high. She was scared of heights and although she and Derek had been up the Eiffel Tower, it had been possible because Derek had been holding her hand and trying to calm her down the whole time.
"I'll just wait down here. I don't think I can go up there. You know I'm scared of heights, Derek." Addison explained.
"You went up with me to the Eiffel Tower." Derek retorted.
"But that was different." She replied.
"It's not as scary as you think. C'mon Addie." He didn't give Addison the chance to explain but just took her hand, entwining it with his.
Addison was surprised with his actions. She looked down at their entwined hands and searched Derek's face, who was smiling widely at her. As much as she wanted to pull her hand away, she could not ignore the fact that it felt good. Their hands fitted perfectly, as if hers was made to meld with his.
The trio rode up the elevator silently, Addison getting more nervous by every passing second. "It will be fine." Derek assured her, sensing her agitation.
As soon as they stepped off the elevator and saw the view in front of them, Christie said a loud "WOW!". Addison however, was speechless, taking in the beautiful sight in front of her.
"Do you like it?" Derek asked.
"It's magnificent, Derek."
They stayed there for over an hour, they could not get enough of the view. Derek's hand never left Addison's the entire time.
By the time, Derek pulled over the parking lot of the hotel, Christie was already asleep. Addison looked over the sleeping girl. "She's exhausted but she had fun. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I had fun too." Derek admitted.
"Do you want to come up? I bet you're hungry. The 'afternoon snack' which included ice cream and cookies didn't really fill me up. We can order in."
Derek smiled shyly at her. This was the first step she had taken towards him. It was the first time that he truly felt her opening up to him. Hope started rising up inside of him. Maybe they could eventually be a family and get through everything together. He nodded lightly before he realized that Addison was still waiting for an answer.
"To be honest, I'm starving."
A/N: I know, this isn't the best way to end the chapter but I wanted to show a little bit of family and bonding time. The idea that my beta reader and I for the next scene, I think, would work better if I put it in another chapter, so that's why I left it this way. I hope you enjoyed this chapter