Another month passed by as Callie continued arguing with her parents on the phone about her and Arizona's wedding. Finally, she convinced her father, Carlos, to come out. Even if it was just to meet his granddaughter. When he got there, he laid his eyes on little Sofia, who was almost one now, and melted upon seeing her. Carlos may not have agreed with his daughter's life choices, but he couldn't stay away from Sofia. And it was enough to convince him to walk Callie down the aisle.
When the day finally arrived, everyone cheered when the Justice of the Peace (Callie and Arizona agreed it'd be best to keep a religious tone out of their wedding with it being such an issue with Callie's side of the family) announced them as wife and wife. The kids were just happy to be there, clapping when everyone else clapped as they watched the ceremony.
"Look, Sofia, Mama, and Mommy are married now," Mark said, holding their little girl in his arms. She looked back in wonder.
"Well, she'll understand someday," Lexie giggled, making silly faces at the baby, which made her smile back at her.
While waiting for the brides to come back out after the ceremony, everyone conversed casually, drinking from the open bar and munching on hors d'oeuvres. Derek, unsurprisingly, showed up late but stood in the back to watch the very end of the ceremony. Afterward, he found Amelia first.
"Have you seen Addie?" Derek asked her.
"You lost her already?" Amelia joked.
"What? I haven't seen her yet," Derek said, still looking around the sea of people for a certain redhead.
"Dude, you're gonna be in so much trouble," Amelia joked in a sing-song voice. Derek glared back at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Erica and Mason talking and walking in their general direction.
"Hey, you cleaned up nicely," Amelia commented. Derek turned around to see who she was talking to.
"Thanks. You too," Mason smiled.
"Yeah, I love your dress," Erica added.
"Thank you," Amelia said, appreciatively. Derek stood beside her awkwardly as they conversed; he hadn't even met them yet.
"Oh, by the way, this is my brother, Derek. He's been hiding in the lab, otherwise, you guys would've met him already," Amelia said, introducing him. Derek smiled awkwardly and offered a hand to Erica.
"Erica. And my son, Mason," Erica said, accepting the handshake.
"Also Cooper's kid," Amelia pointed out.
"So I've heard," Derek said, directing his comment more toward Erica and Mason as a server walked up to them with a tray.
"Champagne?" the server asked.
"Don't mind if I do," Erica said as she went for a glass, with Derek following suit.
Derek politely put up a hand when the server eyed Amelia and she smiled awkwardly. But afterward, she caught Erica flexing her hand before picking up the glass. She took a sip as Derek started talking to Mason about how he heard about his love of Pokemon while Amelia watched. She saw Erica's hand continue to shake until she lost her grip and the glass fell.
"Oops, sorry about that. I'm such a klutz," Erica apologized.
"Don't worry about it," the server said, calling over some other people to come to clean up.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Mason asked, seeing the blood on her hands.
"Well, it looks like she will keep her finger, but you should let me at least wrap this up," Amelia answered playfully. Erica nodded, accepting graciously before Amelia guided her away to find a first aid kit while putting pressure on her hand.
After asking a server, they found a first aid kit and Amelia began adding antibacterial cream and wrapping her hand with some gauze. Erica rambled throughout; a nervous tick, she said. But Amelia was more concerned about her neural functions as opposed to her skittish habit. After some small talk, Erica could tell where Amelia was going with her line of questioning.
"I'd be happy to check you out," Amelia finally offered.
Erica gave her excuses; she was a single mother with a full-time job. She didn't have time to get a full workup at St. Ambrose. But Amelia wasn't giving up that easily.
"You just never know with these things," Amelia said softly, sensing Erica's subtle hostility.
"I'm fine, Amelia. I just don't like being poked and prodded," Erica insisted.
"I didn't mean it like that," Amelia said.
"It's cool. Just…leave it alone," Erica said nonchalantly, pretending as if none of it mattered.
"Erica, I don't mean to push…," Amelia started.
"Then don't," Erica interrupted her.
"But you are exhibiting serious neurological symptoms. It could be a lacunar infarct, early onset of MS…," Amelia started.
"Just stop," Erica raised her voice, interrupting her again before walking away.
"This isn't something you should just leave alone," Amelia said, following her now.
"I don't care," Erica said, brushing it off again.
"You should," Amelia insisted, gently grabbing her shoulder. Erica turned around to face her and looked around to make sure no one else was around to overhear them.
"It's a tumor, okay?" Erica whispered.
"A gliosarcoma," Erica said quickly, brushing it off. Amelia nodded, giving it a minute to set in.
"How long?" Amelia finally asked. Gliosarcomas were rare, something neurosurgeons could go their entire career without, but she knew that wasn't important to Erica. All she cared about was how much time she had left with her son, and Amelia knew it.
"Six to nine months," Erica said, again in hushed tones.
"Look, I know you're trying to help, but I don't need it. It's inoperable, I know that, and I know you do, too. So, please, just leave it alone," Erica pleaded.
"Are you gonna tell Cooper? Or Charlotte? What about Mason? Do they know?" Amelia asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
"No, and I don't plan to," Erica hissed. She could tell by the look on Amelia's face that she wanted to say more.
"I don't have control over what this thing is doing to my brain, but I have control over when I tell Mason and destroy his childhood," Erica said angrily before walking away.
Amelia sighed. She knew what this meant. Erica's type of brain tumor was terminal. And there wasn't any kind of cure. The only thing they could really do now was chemotherapy to help slow the tumor growth. But she didn't seem like the type to go through the hell that was chemo just to get a little extra time. Especially since it would mean getting less time to spend with Mason and more time for Mason to see his mother getting sick in a hospital.
When Amelia came back to the party, she found Derek now holding Nate. But Addison wasn't by his side. She looked around and found Addison with a drink in her hand, talking to Dell and a good-looking man she didn't recognize. She could just tell Derek was in the doghouse. At least he made it to the wedding this time. Even if he did miss the ceremony.
She decided to talk to Derek first. After all, he was the one holding her favorite nephew. Nate held out his arms when he saw her, and Derek let Amelia take him off her hands. After a quick kiss and cuddle, she let him down and made sure to follow him as he walked around, looking around at everyone. Out of the corner of her eye, Amelia saw Addison blush while talking to whoever this other guy was. It was hard not to judge considering Derek and Addison's past, but she also knew Derek wasn't exactly a saint.
"Hello everyone," Mark said through the mic while Sofia tried to grab it, directing everyone's attention toward him. Amelia picked up Nate so she could focus on the announcement and not worry about Nate wandering off into the crowd.
"Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Callie Torres and Mrs. Arizona Robbins!" Mark said excitedly as Callie and Arizona walked out. Everyone cheered and clapped as they did.
After getting Nate a bite to eat and walking around to say hello to some other people, Amelia returned Nate back to Derek and Addison. They were now sitting beside each other at a dinner table. Amelia found her nametag next to Nate.
"So, who was that guy you were talking to?" Amelia asked, looking over at Addison.
"You mean Dell?" Addison asked, fixing some of Nate's hair.
"Right, yeah, 'cause I forgot who Dell was just because he went off to med school. No, the guy next to Dell," Amelia said mockingly.
"Oh, Eric; Dr. Rodriguez. We've been working on a case together, that's all," Addison said nonchalantly.
"I haven't seen him around. He's hot," Amelia commented. Derek's eyebrow furrowed as he looked at Addison. She looked unbothered.
"Well, you are single now," Addison joked.
"I was already single, thank you very much," Amelia pointed. She and Alex were never a couple, and they made it clear early on that they weren't exclusive.
"Well, yes. But now you're…unattached," Addison said, rewording her earlier comment.
"This is true," Amelia agreed.
"What about Kai?" Derek asked.
"What about Kai?" Amelia asked.
"Don't you like them?" Derek asked.
He'd seen the way they stole glances and how her face lit up when they talked. Granted, they were talking about gene mutations, which was one of the dorkiest flirtatious conversations he'd ever seen. But if he were honest, it was probably what he and Addison looked like when they were in med school.
"Well, it's not like they're asking me out anytime soon," Amelia muttered.
"But Eric looks like the kind of guy that would just…go for it," Amelia commented. He looked pretty forward to her from the little she saw of him and Addison talking earlier.
"Isn't he a little old for you?" Derek asked. He didn't know the man, but he, like Amelia, noticed his wife talking to the man.
"He's not that old. Right? Addie?" Amelia asked hesitantly. He at least didn't look very old.
"No, he's not that old," Addison confirmed, chuckling. Derek sighed.
"So, what case were you working on, anyway?" Derek asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Lillie Jordan, stage four ovarian cancer. She was refusing treatment until she knew her cat would be taken care of," Addison explained.
"You're kidding," Derek commented.
"Nope. Not kidding," Addison insisted.
"So, what happened with the cat?" Derek asked.
"We took him in. Milo's been at the house since Thursday," Addison shrugged.
"Kitty!" Nate exclaimed upon hearing Milo's name. He had become quite taken with the cat and the feeling was mutual. Addison and Amelia chuckled at his excitement.
"Wait, so, we have a cat in the house?" Derek asked, suddenly angry. Addison nodded.
"Dude, did you seriously not notice an orange cat walking around the house?" Amelia asked. Even she saw the cat sauntering around the house. Or she found Milo cuddling with Nate.
"Addie, why did you take in a cat without asking me first?" Derek asked.
"I didn't take him in thinking I'd have to keep him. I just wanted to take him temporarily so that Lillie would go into hospice," Addison started.
"But?" Derek asked, knowing there was an inevitable but.
"But I brought Milo in to visit her and she…they were already cleaning her room when I got there," Addison said. The break in her voice said it all. They didn't need to push her to say the words.
"And Dr. Rodriguez?" Amelia asked.
"Her oncologist. We wanted her to continue treatment, but she didn't want that, so we just did the best we could to make sure she was comfortable before…you know," Addison added.
"And the flirting?" Amelia teased. Derek did not look happy.
"There was no flirting," Addison kept her tone light, unbothered by Amelia's teasing and feeling a slight buzz from the champagne.
"That's not what I saw," Amelia muttered before taking a sip of the water already on the table for her.
Addison let her think whatever she wanted; Eric flirted, sure. But she didn't flirt back. She was a married woman, but there was nothing wrong with admitting she liked getting the attention. The fact that they started serving dinner at their table didn't give Derek much of a chance to say anything. He, too, noticed Addison earlier with the attractive Dr. Rodriguez. Not just here at the wedding, but at St. Ambrose, too.
But he also didn't exactly feel like he had much of an upper hand; even he knew he was phoning it in with Addison lately. He came home for dinner and Nate's bedtime routine. But after Nate fell asleep, he went back to the hospital, and he frequented the on-call room at St. Ambrose instead of coming home in the middle of the night.
"I always thought you'd guys be more of a dog family," Mark commented. He was sitting at the same table, it's not like he couldn't hear their conversation. And he wasn't going to pretend he didn't either.
"We had a dog. Kind of," Addison replied.
"Since when?" Mark asked, insulted he didn't hear about this sooner.
"And how do you only kind of have a dog?" Amelia asked, also confused.
"It was Meredith's dog," Derek filled them in. Mark, Amelia, and Lexie made faces of realization.
"Meredith had a dog?" Lexie asked. She never told her about a dog. Then again, they never really got to know each other.
"Yes. His name was Doc. He didn't…make it," Addison said, feeding Nate a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
"Why did you have Meredith's dog?" Amelia asked.
"Her roommates didn't want him," Derek explained. The table was quiet for a minute.
"Who's Meredith?" Sloan finally asked. They all sighed.
"I'm gonna get another drink," Addison announced, getting up from her chair. But before she walked away, she gave Nate a kiss on the head.
"Meredith's the intern he bonked in Seattle," Amelia said nonchalantly. Derek glared back at her, but Sloan couldn't help but giggle. She liked how blunt Amelia could be sometimes.
"Bonk!" Nate exclaimed. Derek buried his head in his hands while Mark, Sloan, Lexie, and Amelia bust out laughing.
For the rest of the night, Derek entertained Nate while Addison took turns dancing with the ladies, as well as some of the men, on the dance floor after finishing dinner. This was her first time out somewhere that wasn't the office or the hospital in weeks. She was just allowing herself to have a little fun. Plus, this gave her a chance to catch up with friends like Dell, who'd been busy in med school, and Sloan, who just started college.
The next few weeks became a back-and-forth between Amelia, Charlotte, Cooper, and Erica. Amelia couldn't sit back and say nothing, so she told Charlotte almost immediately. And she inevitably told Cooper. It took some time, but they convinced Erica to start chemotherapy after she had a seizure while driving Mason to school.
Unfortunately, Mason was confused; no one told him what was going on, but he was smart enough to realize something was wrong. But no matter how much Cooper and Charlotte pleaded, Erica wouldn't budge. She didn't want her son to know she was sick. Not yet anyway.
Then came Nate's second birthday party, and it was just as lavish as his first birthday party. This year, only Carolyn came as the rest of Derek and Amelia's sisters were working. She, again, took over the kitchen even though Addison ordered food. But she also decided it wasn't worth the effort to try to stop her; it was just who Carolyn Shepherd was. And Addison gracefully accepted defeat.
Savvy, Weiss, and their little girl, Lily, flew out for Nate's birthday again, which only made the party better. Weiss went off and played with the kids, letting Addison and Savvy catch up. They'd kept in contact via almost constant emails and phone calls, but seeing each other in person and getting to physically hug each other was obviously better.
"So, Nate's walking this year. That's nice," Savvy commented as she poured a glass of wine for Addison. She already knew Nate could walk, but it was a nice way to get the conversation going before digging deeper into what she really wanted to talk to her friend about.
"Yes, he's running, too," Addison commented, accepting the glass from her friend.
"I'm sure that's fun with the literal beach as your backyard," Savvy said, pointing out the beautiful sunset over the water view they had in front of them.
"You're not wrong about that," Addison chuckled after taking a sip from her glass.
"So, how are things? Really, Addie," Savvy asked.
She knew it was easy to lie over the phone or through emails about how good things were here. But she also caught the undertones of Addison's rambling about her patient disguising something else. And she was right. Addison sighed, knowing her friend could always see right through her.
"Alright, let's have it," Savvy said. She wasn't someone to beat around the bush.
"I think Derek's using this Huntington's project as an excuse not to come home at night," Addison admitted quietly.
"Why wouldn't he wanna come home?" Savvy asked bluntly.
"I don't know…I don't know what I did or what I said," Addison said weakly. It was hard not to take it personally, but it was like it happened overnight. She felt like he was punishing her for something. For what, she wasn't sure.
"Did you talk to him?" Savvy asked.
"Yeah, almost two months ago," Addison replied sadly.
"Maybe bring it up again. I love you Addie, and I love Derek. But marriage isn't always easy. It takes work. Constant work. Weiss and I don't just work magically. We both have to put the work in if we want it to last," Savvy said.
"It always looked so easy for you," Addison commented.
"Yeah, well, you know as well as I do what it's like to put up a front," Savvy added.
After a minute of admiring the view, Callie, Arizona, Lexie, Vanessa, and Naomi joined them outside. The conversation then turned to their kids and work as they all got to know Savvy better and vice versa. Amelia, however, was elsewhere during the party, her mind still thinking of Erica's tumor while she watched Nate play with the other kids, as well as Weiss and Derek.
During the party, Amelia brought her research on gliosarcomas to Charlotte's attention. She knew Erica was already hesitant about chemo, they both knew that. But Amelia found some promising studies from New Zealand. There was no way Erica would agree to fly there for some experimental procedure, but Amelia thought they could do it here at St. Ambrose. With Derek's help. She already asked if he'd be willing to help, and he said yes in a heartbeat.
"I'll ask. But I wouldn't get your hopes up," Charlotte said honestly. Amelia nodded in understanding.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep up with these guys," Weiss commented, sitting back for a minute after chasing the kids around, with Derek joining him.
"You can say that again," Derek chuckled.
"So, how are you? I think the kids can entertain themselves for a while now that we've tired ourselves out," Weiss asked.
"Good. You know, this research I've been doing for Huntington's is close to getting to a clinical trial. If we can just repeat the test results in a more stable way, we're set," Derek explained.
They'd been testing on rat models, but Lexie suggested they switch to pigs. They could more accurately measure the effects of their adenovirus, and they were currently waiting for the hospital's approval. The range of movement from a pig model would be much more apparent and easier to spot as opposed to a rat model, so they all agreed it was a good idea.
And it worked in Lexie's favor later when she asked Derek if he could officially be her mentor. She decided on her specialty: neurosurgery. And she wanted to learn everything she could from him. He couldn't be more thrilled.
"What about Addie?" Weiss asked as they both kept their eyes on their kids playing with some of Nate's car toys.
"What about her?" Derek asked.
"Is there a reason you've been sleeping in the lab?" Weiss asked. Derek turned to him, surprised. How did he know that?"
"Savvy's just worried about you guys, and Addison mentioned something in an email. That's all," Weiss said defensively. He didn't want his friend to go after Addison, either.
"I'm just working," Derek insisted, shrugging as he looked back at the kids. Nate and Lucas were running around in circles while each of them hold a toy plane.
"And is there a reason why you're willing to lose your marriage over it?" Weiss asked. Derek practically snapped his neck from turning so fast.
"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, offended he'd even asked something like that.
"What are you doing, Derek?" Weiss finally asked.
"What do you mean?" Derek asked, confused.
"You love her, don't you?" Weiss asked.
"Of course I do," Derek insisted.
"Yeah? When's the last time you took her out to dinner? Or talked to her about something other than Nate or work?" Weiss asked. Derek thought for a moment. Had things really gotten that bad?
"So, why are you hiding in a lab? You've got Addie and Nate. And you guys might want more kids someday. How are you gonna do that if you won't even talk to her?" Weiss asked.
"We talk," Derek said almost defensively. Weiss gave him a look; they'd keep going in circles until Derek finally answered.
"You didn't see her," Derek said quietly.
"Addison?" Weiss asked, confused.
"No, Amy," Derek said. Weiss asked for the inevitable explanation.
"She was gonna help her friend kill herself, Weiss. I mean, thank God she didn't. But she would've if we hadn't found out. She didn't drink or get high, but she couldn't have been in the right state of mind when she promised her friend she'd…," Derek couldn't even finish his sentence. All this time in the lab wasn't about Addison, it was about Amy.
"So, you're staying in the lab to what? Watch over her? Is she even there as much as you are?" Weiss asked.
"No, but she's spending more time in the lab, too. I think she has a crush on our neuroscientist, Kai, but she doesn't talk to me about that kind of stuff. Addie might know more about that," Derek commented, getting off track for a minute.
"Her friend, Michelle. She's still in a facility; Amy visits her once a week. I know she's in a better place now; they both are. And I think they know it, too. But I can't help but think about how easy it was for her to agree to end her friend's life. I mean, I can't…I don't think I could," Derek started. Weiss nodded along, listening intently.
"And I don't even blame her. Huntington's is…ugly. It attacks your entire body until you can't fight anymore. And it's not just Michelle. It's rare, but it still affects hundreds of people," Derek added.
"If I could just figure out this adenovirus," Derek said.
"Then what? You could cure this disease that hundreds, maybe even thousands, of other doctors haven't figured out how to cure?" Weiss asked. Derek knew how ridiculous it sounded.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, if I was ever in any kind of dire medical situation, you'd be my first call. If Addie didn't strictly deal with babies and vaginas, she'd be my second call," Weiss joked. Derek chuckled. Weiss always knew how to make light of a situation.
"Look, Derek, you're one of the best doctors I know, but the chances that you're gonna cure some rare disease over the next year or so are small. And I know you're worried about your sister. I mean, you've seen me with my brother. But there comes a point when you've gotta trust she'll grow up and figure it out on her own," Weiss said.
"Maybe you're right," Derek admitted.
"I am right. And I know Amelia's your family, but so are Addie and Nate," Weiss pointed out. Derek nodded in agreement.
"Daddy play!" Nate demanded as he crashed into him. Lily did the same with Weiss.
"Alright," Derek chuckled, standing up and picking Nate up on his way up.
Derek held him high, stretching out his small body as he flew him around the living room, and Weiss soon followed suit with Lily. Cooper looked at Mason like he wanted to join, but Mason quickly shook his head no. He was too big to fly around like an airplane. Charlotte laughed when Cooper looked disappointed afterward. Instead, Pete joined in with Lucas, and everyone watched in awe as the kids laughed.
After the party died down, Derek, Addison, and Amelia said their goodbyes to everyone, including Carolyn, who went back to her hotel for the night with the promise she'd be back in the morning. Amelia gave Nate one more kiss goodnight before retreating to her room for the night.
Derek and Addison took turns reading Nate a bedtime story that night, which Nate loved. He fell asleep after the second story that night, and Derek and Addison quietly left his room so they wouldn't wake him. When they reached his door, they both looked in, watching their little boy sleeping peacefully.
They waited there for another minute, watching him sleep, before Addison walked away back to their bedroom. She didn't know Derek would follow shortly afterward. Actually, she thought he wouldn't. It was their son's second birthday, but she still thought he'd go back to the lab again tonight. But he didn't. He surprised her by heading towards their bedroom as he got ready for bed.
When Addison slipped into bed beside him, she felt Derek's arm slide over her midsection and pull her closer. He buried his head in her hair for a minute, just letting the moment hang. Eventually, he pulled back, leaving his arm hanging over her as he eventually fell asleep. He was a good dad, Addison could admit that. But being a good father and being a good husband were two different things. Derek would have to work harder to prove that he could be both.
A/N: So, Callie and Arizona are now officially married, and Nate's two! I'm sorry I'm moving through time so much in these last few chapters, I just want to get past certain plot points and that takes time. I still can't believe we're almost at 40 chapters for this story, but I could not be happier with how it's turning out. Derek and Addison are currently in a bit of a tough spot but don't worry, I have a plan for them. There are, sadly, only a few more chapters left, but it will also include an epilogue, so look out for that as well. And, who knows, maybe I'll write a spinoff eventually, especially since I love I think it'd be a fun idea.
References from this story include plot points from Private Practice 3x06 when referring to the cancer patient, Lillie, and of course, Milo the cat. I'm also well aware Dr. Rodriguez (from Private Practice season 4) was not Lillie's oncologist, but I just wanted him instead of the other doctor in this chapter. There's also some dialogue and plot points from Private Practice 5x11 for stuff between Amelia and Erica. We'll get more into the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice crossover stuff in the next chapter.