You guys are amazing! The reviews made me feel great. I'm so glad to know that there are people still reading this story. Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Derek banged his head against the wall.

"Ooo, abusing yourself, can I get in on this?" came a voice from behind him. "Actually, scratch that I don't want to have anything to do with you and self-abuse," Amelia amended with a shudder.

Derek turned around to glare at his sister, "What are you, twelve?"

"No, that would be your wife." She deadpanned.

"You've been hanging around Addie too much."

"Not possible. And besides, you left yourself wide open for that one." She flopped down on the couch. "So, I'm definitely not the touchy feely type and I know that we hate each other most of the time, but you kind of seem like you need to talk." Her statement was met with silence. She leaned back and folded her arms, "Or you can continue knocking your head into the wall until you cause some damage. Jason says they just got a new saw over at Mt. Sinai that I would love to try out."

"Like I would let you anywhere near my brain," but he still walked away to sit in the armchair.

"Well, you wouldn't exactly be in a position to argue," she smirked.

They sat in silence for five minutes. Derek shifted under her unwavering gaze. "Would you please stop staring?"

She didn't.

"I'm not going to tell you anything."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, I'm not."

Amelia smirked.

"Stop smirking."

She smiled.

"Stop it!"

She grinned.

"I messed things up with Addison, okay?!" he yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"No need to yell big brother," she smirked. "And everyone knows that so why are you…" she trailed off and then burst into laughter. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Derek squirmed uncomfortably.

"You must seriously be delusional if you think she is willing to do anything with you."

"Why would I have to be delusional?"

"Are you freakin' kidding me? After the way you treated her? You acted like she was a burden or an irritation to you. Someone for you to come home and screw when you needed a release, look nice on your arm at dinner parties and not expected to complain. Hell, I lost count of the number of times I heard you say, 'Not now, Addison', I can't imagine how she felt."

"Has anyone ever told you that you really need to filter?"

"Plenty of times, but freak that. You need to leave Addison alone."

"I can't do that," Derek stood up and began pacing.

"Sure you can. Just pretend like you're married again. She could have shown up wearing a Day-Glo suit with flashing musical lights and her hair on fire and you wouldn't have noticed. Just go back to that."

"I can't," he repeated quietly.

Amelia watched him pace for a while. "Are you the reason she high-tailed it out of here yesterday?" When he failed to respond she took that as a yes. "She left so fast I'm surprised there weren't skid marks in the street," she murmured to herself. She looked at him again, "So, what did you do?"

"What makes you think I-"

"Cut the crap. I'm assuming this isn't just about the pissing contest you had with Kevin, so spit it out."

Derek sighed and then flopped back into the armchair and looked down at his hands. "I may or may not have insinuated that Kevin wasn't good enough for her, and that I was leaving Meredith, and that I was open to…whatever if she was interested."

Derek looked up to see Amelia staring at him, open-mouthed. "I would have slapped you so hard your head would still be spinning. What possessed you to do that?"

"I just, I miss her. I still care for her."

Amelia shook her head and stood up, "Derek that ship has sailed, burned to the water line, sunk, and been buried under a million tons of silt, never to be resurrected. She may have committed the first sin, but you lit the match." With that she turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway to look back at him. He sat dejectedly in the chair, his head in his hands. "Derek," she started softly, he looked up at her, "Derek, she's happy, I mean really happy. It's been a long time since I've seen her like this. You're drowning and you're reaching out for a life raft, but if you really care for her as you say you do you won't drag her down with you. Let her go." With that she left.

Derek sat and looked out the window. There was only one other person who could really understand what he was trying to do. Only one person who knew what it was they truly had. He had been told multiple times in his life that he couldn't do something, and each time he proved them wrong. This wasn't about sex, they were meant to be together. They were DerekandAddison and they don't quit.

He was brought out of his musing by the ringing of his cell phone, "Shepherd." He was wrapping up the call when Meredith walked in, "Okay, I'll see you around seven. Bye."

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Oh, Steve Kim, he's just been named chief of staff and he invited me out to dinner."

"Another thinly veiled job offer?"

"Probably, but Steve and I were once good friends so it'll be nice to see him anyway."

"Did you forget that we were supposed to meet up with my friends tonight?"

"That's tonight?"

"Um, yea," she sat on the arm of his chair.

"Well, we could do lunch tomorrow before we leave," Derek suggested.

"Actually, we can't, they're leaving in the morning for Jamaica. Remember? The trip we didn't have time to take?" she added under her breath.

"Well, Steve's catching the redeye tonight. So, why don't we do this, you go meet up with your friends and I'll have dinner with Steve."

"So, it's our last night in New York and we're going to spend it apart?" she asked with a sigh.

"Tell you what, I'll try to meet up with you after my dinner, okay?" he finished with his trademark smile.

"Yeah, I guess."

He stood up, "I promised Ben I'd take him fishing." Meredith nodded and turned her lips toward his and he kissed her cheek, "I'll see you later."

Addison barely heard the phone ring, but she definitely noticed when Kevin rolled out of bed. She groaned and reached out for him, "Come back."

"What the hell happened?" Kevin shouted into the phone, beginning to throw on pieces of clothing. Addison became fully awake quickly as she sat up in bed and pulled the sheet around herself. "What's his status?" He slammed his fist into the wall and Addison jumped, "Fuck! He wasn't supposed to be there, he's supposed to be on vacation!" He walked out of the bedroom and into the living area of the suite; Addison quickly slipped out of bed and grabbed a robe from the door. She found him with his head buried in his hands seated in the armchair by the window. "Yeah, I understand. How's Haley doing?" A pause, "Of course, I'll be on the first thing smoking heading that way. Yea, see you soon." He ended the call and let his phone drop to the floor.

Addison made her way over to the chair and rubbed her hands across his shoulders, "What's going on?"

"Brian's been shot."

"Your partner, Brian? What happened?"

"Sting operation. The bastards got the jump on him and shot him in the back. He's in surgery now." He reached for his phone, "Haley's a mess and you know she just started her second trimester, he'd kill me if anything happened, I gotta book at flight back."

"Or you could just use the jet."

Kevin turned to look at her, "What jet?"

"It belongs to my parents but this is a difficult situation so I'm sure they'll make an exception. I'll call and make the arrangements while you get packed, then I'll get my things together."

He stopped and turned, "No, Addison, you have your conference. It's important."

She placed her fingers on his lips, "You are more important."

He grasped her hand and then pulled her in for a soft kiss, "I love you for that, but I'm not going to let you ditch the conference. I'm just going to support Haley and my brother-"

"And I'm going to support you," she interrupted.

"You are supporting me, and if you insist on skipping the conference you will make me feel incredibly guilty, and do you really want to send me to my friend's bedside with a guilty conscience?" She pouted at him and he brushed her hair from her face, "Besides it's only for one day, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, fine, let me make some calls."

Several hours later, Derek arrived at the Four Seasons for his dinner. The maître d showed him to his table where Steve was already waiting. As soon as he saw him, Steve stood and offered his hand, "Shepherd, long time no see."

"How are you doing, Steve."

"I'm good, please sit down." Both men sat and placed their drink orders.

"I must admit I was surprised to hear that you had moved to Seattle."

"Well, you know it was time for a change." Derek shifted slightly, "I needed to get out of New York."

"Yea, I heard about you and Addie, too." He chuckled mirthlessly as he took a sip of his scotch, "Took a long time for me to believe that one. I mean you and Addie, you guys were like what we all aspired to be. I remember when you guys were newlyweds and we were all scared to walk into an on-call room unannounced, for fear of what we might find. You were the perfect couple." He sighed, "But as you said things change. And I hear you're remarried now."

Derek sipped his drink, "Yea, I am. You and Sheila still together?"

Steve leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Yes, we are. Going on fifteen years now." Derek couldn't help but notice how Steve's eyes sparkled when he talked about his wife. He remembered when that used to be him.

"…and so, now she's going crazy getting the nursery together. I keep telling her that we've got time, we're only at fifteen weeks, but I might as well be talking to the wind. She's nervous because we've waited so long to start. Makes me wish Addie was still on this coast."

Derek took another drink, "You should call her; her cell number hasn't changed. I'm sure she'd be happy to help."

After they placed their dinner orders, Derek excused himself to go to the restroom. While walking past the door to the restaurant, he noticed a sign advertising an obstetric conference highlighting speaker Addison Montgomery. He turned to walk into the conference room, but stopped himself. So far his heavy handed attempts had done nothing but back-fire in his face. Maybe it was best to give her a little time. He'd wait for some sign to move forward. Derek turned to make his way to the bathroom and ran right into someone. He reached out to steady the person and found himself looking into blue-green eyes.

"Addison?"

"Derek?" They stared at each other in surprise for a few moments, before Addison shook his hands off of her. "What are you following me now?'

"What? No, no, I didn't even know that you were here." He looked her up and down, "You look beautiful."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Come to proposition me again?"

"No," he sighed, "Actually, I want to apologize for that. I was completely out of line, and you didn't deserve that." He ran his hand through his hair, "I've made my bed; I should lie in it."

"You're right, now if you'll excuse me," she tried to brush by him, but he reached out and took hold of her hand. She firmly refused to acknowledge the tingle that went through her before she extracted her hand, and glared at him.

"I'm sorry," he held his hands up. "I'll keep them to myself. I just want to be friends. We used to be best friends, remember? Even before we became lovers."

"Yea, I remember. I also recall how devastated I was when I lost them both," she replied quietly.

He shifted slightly closer, "How would you like to have him back?" Her eyes shot to his, "Your best friend, I mean."

"I would love that." His face broke into a grin. "But I don't think that's a good idea."

"Addison-"

"There's too much between us to go back. No matter how much we may want to. I'll see you around Derek." With that she walked back into the conference room.

Derek returned to his table in a semi-daze. He was his normal charming self, and anyone who didn't really know him wouldn't have noticed a difference, but he was barely paying attention. He smoothly turned down the expected job offer (which was much more lucrative than even he was anticipating), wished Steve a safe trip, and promised to keep in touch. As he walked to the valet stand he checked his watch and noted that he had plenty of time to meet up with his wife. While searching his pockets for his ticket he was distracted by music coming from the ballroom. Next to the door was the sign for the end of conference mixer. And he smirked to himself.

The party was in full swing and Addison was in the mood to take advantage. Her run in with Derek earlier had put a damper on her mood and she was determined to enjoy herself.

"May I buy you a drink?" Addison turned to see a guy that she had made eye contact with earlier; blonde hair, green eyes, deep baritone voice, and a muscular body that looked very nice in Hugo Boss. Now, she was committed to Kevin so she wasn't looking for a hookup, but there was nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting, right? Addison smiled, but before she could answer she was interrupted by another voice.

"No, actually, I'll be purchasing her drinks," Derek said smoothly, sidling up next to her at the bar.

"And who are you?" the gentleman asked, eyeing Derek warily.

"I'm her husband," he replied with an easy smile.

"Oh, sorry, man," the guy said instantly backing up.

"No problem." Derek watched the guy walk off, before turning back to look at a seething Addison. "What?"

"What? What the hell was that?"

"Oh, come on, that guy was only looking for one thing. I was just saving you the trouble." He grinned, "As the song says, that's what friends are for."

"Did you not hear me earlier? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Derek Shepherd. I don't need a knight in shining armor and I certainly don't need you hovering near me every time I turn around." She paused to take a breath and a sip of her drink. "Tell me did it ever occur to you that I may be looking for the same thing? A little…healthy release?"

"If that's what you're looking for I would be happy to oblige you. After all, we both know I'm very talented when it comes to such things," he retorted smoothly, gently grazing her thigh.

"Well, Dr. Shepherd when you can provide a consent form signed by your wife I would be happy to schedule an appointment. Until then, I do believe I'll keep looking. Excuse me." With that she picked up her drink and sashayed away, being careful to add a bit more sway to her hips as she knew he was watching.

While she knew she had no intention of cheating on Kevin, it was awfully fun getting Derek all riled up. Addison smirked to herself as she quashed the nagging feelings that thought produced, and continued to enjoy the party.

Several hours and many drinks later, Addison made her way on surprisingly steady legs to the elevators. As she glanced around the posh hotel, she noticed a very familiar figure slumped over his drink at the bar. She hesitated for a moment before decisively striding forward and slipping onto the barstool next to him. She glanced at him briefly then turned her attention to the mirror behind the bar. "You know if you're trying to drown yourself, I'm afraid you'll need a slightly larger glass. I'll be happy to find one for you," she added as she stole his drink for a sip.

"I just I can't help thinking what if we hadn't given up so easily. What if we had tried harder to save our marriage?"

"Hey, we did try. Or at least I did. We gave it our best shot, but I've moved on. We've both moved on."

"Have we really though? I can't stop thinking about you. I know I fucked up." He chuckled mirthlessly, "I fucked up a lot. But I'm trying to make it right." He grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "Please give me a chance to make it right. Let me fix us, Addie. You said earlier that we couldn't go back no matter how much we wanted to. How much we wanted to. You want this just as much as I do."

Addison shook off his hand and glared at him. "I've said it before and I'm saying it again: Go home to your wife, Derek. There is no us to fix, you made sure of that." With that she stood and stalked from the bar, leaving him fumbling behind her. She stabbed the button for the elevator angrily, willing the machine to move faster.

"Addison. Addison, wait!" he called, but she ignored him, quickly sliding into the metal box with the plush interior. She rapidly selected her floor and leaned on the button for the doors to close, but he slipped easily into the elevator.

"Don't come in here! Get out, GET OUT!" she cried, pushing against him, however all she managed to do was push him against the cold steel doors that firmly cut them off from the outside world.

"Addison, please just listen to me," he pleaded.

"No, Derek, no! I don't want to hear anymore. No more lies, no more games, no more calling my house, just stop with the McDreamy bullshit!"

"Fine!" he stated, now raising his voice. "Let's get down to the hard, cold facts. Truth is this isn't a game to me and I'm not lying. I made a mistake and I'm trying to correct my life. I can't get you out of my head, Addison." She scoffed and began to turn away from him when he grabbed her by the arms. "I miss you," he quietly uttered, before dipping his head for a forceful kiss.

She pushed him away from her. "Fuck you."

He backed her up a few feet and gathered her to him once again, staring into her blazing blue eyes. "I need you," he whispered before once again stealing another kiss, this one lasting a tad longer as she felt herself melt a little into the embrace.

She soon gathered her strength and pushed him away with more force than before, "Fuck you!"

Both were breathing heavily as their gaze locked once again. He stalked forward like a hungry lion closing in on his prey and she steadily retreated until her back slammed into the wall of the elevator. He advanced until there was less than an inch of space between them and he yanked her to his body. He could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears and the war that was taking place behind her sapphire depths, before he opened his mouth to deliver the killing stroke, "I love you."

As his mouth descended to hers he felt her sag in his arms, and he knew he had won the battle even before she started responding to his feverish kisses. Her hands dove into his dark curls as he began to kiss his way down her jaw and elegant neck, even as his hands pushed up at the skirt of her dress, drawing patterns along her inner thighs. The elevator gradually slowed to a stop and dinged, indicating their arrival on the 35th floor. He pulled away from her and took a few steps back before gallantly extending his hand and leading her down the hall to her room not resuming their activities until the door clicked softly shut behind them.

When it was over, no words were spoken. The room was completely quiet aside from the hum of the air conditioner and their heavy breathing. Both lay on their backs staring at the ceiling as they felt the last of the tremors leave their bodies. Derek turned his head on the pillow to watch her profile. He smirked as he reached over and turned her face to his. She stared at him for a few moments, before shifting onto her right side to face him fully, pillowing her hands beneath her cheek and studying his face. He returned her gaze and then slid his left hand under her, wrapping it around her waist to rest on her hip pulling her closer to him. She rested her left hand on his chest, and he breathed a content sigh, drifting off to slumber as his hand gently caressed her hip.

Addison lay awake, unable to sleep with the cold metal of his wedding ring burning into her skin.

The last portion of this was the second scene I wrote for this story. It feels great to finally post it. Hope you guys like it. And hey I mostly kept to my schedule. Review please.