A/N: Again, thank you to everyone who has come back to reading this story or who has found it for the first time! To the two of you who reviewed anonymously to the last chapter, I just want to say thank you as well, since I couldn't reply to your reviews. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter!

Derek smiled to himself as he stepped off the elevator in the Archfield the next morning and headed across the lobby toward the restaurant. The previous night had gone so much better than he could ever have expected and the good feeling he'd had when he left the restaurant hadn't faded almost twelve hours later. He knew he had a long road ahead of him, but for the first time since he'd arrived in Seattle, he felt as though he actually had a chance with both of his daughters, not just with Annie.

"Oh my God," he muttered under his breath when he stepped into the restaurant, his smile fading almost immediately.

"May I seat you, sir?"

Derek nodded as the maitre'd reached for the menus, but he kept his gaze on the table of five women on the other side of the restaurant. "I'm going to need a table for two," he said. "But give me a few minutes first."

"Of course, sir."

Derek felt his jaw clenching as he approached the table. "What the hell is this?"

"Derek!" Megan said in surprise as she looked up at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to New York last night."

"Tonight," Derek said. "I moved my flight. I had something I had to do last night."

"Ah, right. Well…"

Derek shook his head as he glanced around the table at his sisters and ex-wife. "What exactly are you all doing here?"

"We came to help," Nancy said. "You know, with the daughters you couldn't be bothered to tell us about at Christmas."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"Of course you didn't," Kathleen said. "But we're family, we're here to help anyway."

"I don't need your kind of help," Derek said sharply. "I'm doing just fine on my own, but the last thing I need is for you four to be sticking your noses in where they don't belong and messing things up."

"Honestly Derek, do you have that little faith in us?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Derek said bluntly, turning his gaze to his ex-wife. "And what the hell are you doing here?"

Addison shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her chair. "I was having lunch with Kathleen when Megan called, and when I heard what they were planning…well, it's been far too long since I saw a good old-fashioned Shepherd throw-down," she said with a smirk. "I'm here to help you dump the bodies, Derek."

"There won't be any bodies to dump, because my sisters are leaving now," Derek said.

"Like hell we are," Nancy sniped. "I'm not going anywhere until I meet my nieces."

"Not going to happen."

"Is that one of them?" Kathleen asked excitedly, leaning slightly to see around Derek. "Oh my God, Amelia, she looks just like you!"

Derek frowned and turned his head, his heart sinking as he saw Evelyn walk into the restaurant. He had mentioned his breakfast with Annie last night, but when she hadn't been willing to commit to coming, he'd just assumed he wasn't going to see her again before he left. Now, with his sisters in front of him, he almost wished she hadn't come. On her own, Annie might have been open to the Shepherd sisters, but he was certain Evelyn wouldn't be so forgiving of their sudden appearance.

"So," Evelyn said warily as she approached him, eyeing the women at the table with caution and hint of distaste in her gaze. "Breakfast with Annie, huh?"

"I swear, I didn't know they'd be here," Derek said quickly. "They're not even supposed to be in the state, let alone here, and I sure as hell didn't invite them."

Evelyn stared at him skeptically.

"He didn't," Addison piped up from her seat. "They ambushed him."

Evelyn frowned at the redhead in the midst of the four strikingly similar brunette, or formerly brunette, Shepherd women. "She doesn't look like you," Evelyn observed to Derek.

"Oh, I'm just here for the entertainment," Addison said. "I'm the ex-wife."

"Seriously, Derek? Your sisters and your ex-wife?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Derek assured her.

"Would you two just sit down?" Nancy asked. "This will be much easier that way."

"I don't think so," Evelyn said calmly. "Them not being here was part of the deal, Derek."

"We can go someplace else," Derek offered. "Just the three of us."

"Fine. Let's go, then."

"Now wait just a minute!" Amelia interjected. "I cancelled appointments and flew all the way out here from New York, and you won't even introduce yourself?"

"No, I won't," Evelyn said, glaring across the table at her. "You were not invited, so I feel no obligation to pretend to care what you want."

"Ouch," Addison muttered. "Nancy, she's got a little of you in her."

"Shut up, Addie," Nancy snapped. "Really Derek, I get that they've been neglected, but couldn't you at least start teaching some manners?"

Evelyn's jaw dropped slightly at Nancy's comment. "I'm sorry, I've been what?"

"You heard me," Nancy said smugly. "Neglected. Don't worry, dear, it's no reflection on you, but a single mother can hardly give full attention to her career and her children. And given your mother's impressive surgical reputation, and your sister's…well, her lack of success, I suppose would be putting a teenage pregnancy nicely…I think it's clear which of her priorities got the short end of the stick."

"Nancy, I don't think…" Derek began.

"You self-righteous bitch," Evelyn practically spat as she interrupted her father. "You've got a lot of nerve swooping in here on your high horse, thinking you've got any right to judge my mother or my sister."

"Well, I never…" Kathleen muttered at Evelyn's language.

"For the record," Evelyn continued angrily. "My mother is ten times the woman any one of you could ever hope to be. She's worked her ass off for her success, and she deserves every bit of it, but let me make one thing clear - there isn't an ounce of that professional success that came at the expense of her family. Your brother may have been AWOL, but between Mom and our stepfather, Annie and I had two parents who loved us and were there for us whenever we needed them. Heck, we practically had a whole village of aunts and uncles and godparents who did the same for us. We had more love in our lives growing up than the whole lot of you would know what to do with. There was never a recital or a soccer game or a gymnastics meet or any kind of event where we didn't have someone there to support us."

"I'm just…" Nancy started to speak.

"Did I say I was done? Because I'm not even close to done," Evelyn interrupted, holding up a hand to silence her. "As for my sister and her…how did you put it? Her 'lack of success?' I'm sure you never did anything in high school that your mother would have disapproved of, right?" Evelyn paused to shake her head in disgust. "Please. Don't make yourself look stupider by trying to pass Annie's pregnancy off as a sign of neglect from our parents. She was seventeen, the only thing it's a sign of is that she was a teenager who made a stupid mistake and got unlucky when her birth control failed. And yeah, it wasn't ideal and it wasn't what Mom had wanted for her, or what I had wanted for her, or even what she had wanted for herself. But you know what? Other than my mom, Annie's the strongest woman I know, and she's taken that mistake and she's met it head on. And yeah, she's made a lot of other stupid mistakes along the way, but really, who hasn't? She's married to her best friend, and she's worked hard to support her family while her husband went to college, and she's working like crazy to support them all while he goes to med school. I've never heard her ask for a handout or help of any kind from anyone, she just sees what needs doing and she does it. And make no mistake, I am damn proud of her and the life she's built. She's got a husband who loves her as much as she loves him, she's got a great son and a healthy little girl on the way, she's got a job she enjoys…and she's happy, really and truly happy. If that's not your definition of success, then maybe you're the one who could stand to learn a thing or two."

Evelyn took a breath for a moment before shaking her head and turning on her heel. As she hurried out of the restaurant, she hardly even noticed as she rushed past her sister, who was standing a few feet behind her with a shocked look on her face.

"I cannot believe you," Derek snapped at his sisters. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Derek, I only meant…"

"Save it, Nance, I don't want to hear it," Derek interrupted angrily. "I've got to go after her."

Turning to follow Evelyn, he paused when he felt Annie stick out her hand and press it against his shoulder.

"I don't think so," she said quietly, her voice shaking, staring past him at his sisters. "I think you've all done more than enough for today. I've got this."

"Annie…"

Annie shook her head. "I'll call you later," she said to Derek. "Have a safe flight home, Derek."