This is How We Do It
A/N: I know, I know 2 updates in the past two weeks… I will say don't get use to it. I'm trying to pay off some debt this summer, so I'm about to be working 7 days a week until my next vacation trip. Joys of adulthood. Thank you for all the encouraging reviews. I know I have become the author I swore I never would be…which would be not updating like I should. But as you all know life gets in the way. But anyways, I do not own Shonda's wonderful characters. I do however own the kiddos. :)
The day has finally arrived. Derek is heading home for the first time in weeks. Meredith helped him plan a surprise trip, a Disney cruise for the family, this time including Addison and her new family as well as a thank you for going nuts helping out. As they pull up to the house the kids are outside in the yard holding signs and waving balloons, saying "Welcome home, Dad!"
Getting out of the car, Derek only has a cane to use for support and reassurance now. As he walks up the driveway slowly, Kinsley, Kennedy, Kollin, and Karson run towards their dad - well, Kinsley walked with her walker. "I've missed you, daddy!" Kennedy gently hugs her dad's torso.
"I've missed you more," Derek says, holding back tears of joy. "Listen, we need to go inside. I've got something for everyone.
"A few minutes later, Meredith corrals the kids in the living room. Addison stands behind the couch looking in on her ex-husband's happy family. "What is it, dad?" Kinsley bounces with anticipation. Even at sixteen, she gets excited for surprises.
"Well, when the accident happened, we were heading to Disneyland, right?" Derek grins at the kids.
"Yes. That was scary." Kollin shrugs his shoulders at his dad.
"Well, your mom and I wanted to make it up to all of you, even you Addison, for this summer not going as planned. So we are going to fly to San Diego for a Disney cruise to Vancouver the week before school starts. By then Kinsley will be walking on her own again and we can have a blast. What do you think?"
Karson screams, "Mickey!"
Giggling, Meredith walks over, scoops up the 3 year old and says, "Yes, you will get to see Mickey."
A few weeks later…
A few weeks has passed. Kinsley has been walking on her own for about a week now. Derek is back at work. The family is getting back to normal. Addison feels like she is no longer needed. She has decided to head back to Los Angeles.
"Do you really have to go, mom? It seems like you just got here," Kinsley whines to her mother. "I haven't gotten to spend much time with Henry. Please stay for another week. Please?"
"Sweetheart, you know I've got to get back to work. I will see you in a few weeks on our trip. I've got patients that I need to go help. Henry also needs to get back on a schedule. And I miss Jake. He's been too busy with work and keeping the clinic going to come up and see us here." Addison hugs her daughter. "You know if I could stay I would."
"I know. I just wish you could stay. But I understand." Kinsley thinks back to the past. She misses the days that she had in preschool, living in sunny Los Angeles. She still struggles with why her mom brought her to dull, rainy Seattle and left her at her dad's eleven years prior. "Mom, why did you leave me here all those years ago? Did you not want me?"
"You know I wanted you. I had a lot going on. I had things I needed to handle before I could sufficiently take care of you. So I decided that your dad would be better for you than me. I did it because I love you." Addison has tears forming in her eyes. She knew this day would come, but she didn't expect it to be this soon.
Kinsley lowers her head into her hands. Crying, she looks back up at her mom. "I don't know what to say to that. I get that you love me and you did it because of that, but why did I not know dad until then either."
At a loss of words, Addison looks at her daughter. "I don't have an answer to that question. I knew he had a lot going on and I had just moved to Los Angeles when I found out I was pregnant with you. He was having trouble with Meredith and I knew that would probably cause them to never get back together. I know it's not an excuse, but I did things because at the time I thought it was the only way. I'm so sorry, Kinsley."
Kinsley gets up and walks upstairs to her room. She doesn't know what to say to her mom. She is in disbelief at her reasons.
Meanwhile in the kitchen…
"Why did you even say that, Addison? What were you thinking?" Derek is furious with his ex wife.
"She asked, Derek. What did you want me to do? Lie?" Addison shot back.
"I don't know. Now looking back, why didn't you tell me about Kinsley from the beginning?" Derek glares at Addison.
"I….I don't know. I had just moved to Los Angeles. You and Meredith were on the rocks. I didn't know what to do. I thought about abortion, but then I thought back to when I did that with Mark and the abortion then, and I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew that if I brought it up then, you and Meredith wouldn't have survived." Addison looks at her ex husband, her first love, with concern.
"That makes sense I guess, but you still shouldn't have kept it from me. It isn't fair to me, but it definitely isn't fair to Kinsley. I missed her first word, her first tooth, when she crawled, her first steps. There are so many firsts that I missed." Derek looks down at the kitchen counter.
"I missed a lot of firsts as well. I missed her first day of school. I missed her first dance. I missed her learning to drive. I know that is my fault. I should have stayed involved, but I didn't want to confuse her." Addison grabs her bag and starts out of the kitchen to go get Henry so they could leave. "I'm really sorry, Derek. I am. If you don't want me to go to on the cruise with you all now, I understand. Just let me know. I've got a flight to catch." Addison walks out the door.
A/N: I didn't want to go this route this early in the story…but I was running out of plot ideas. So any other ideas anyone may have, leave them in the reviews. Thank you for being loyal fans of this trilogy. :) I love getting reviews!