Anyway, I decided to continue this story, because I had na idea that came out of nowhere. I confess it's a little cliché, but I plan surprises.

--

Derek wakes up alone the next morning, he is not surprised, it was not uncommon for one of them to be called in the middle of the night. Alone in the trailer, he goes about his morning routine avoiding thinking about his problems with Addison. He knows he hurt her and her actions make that clear, but he doesn't feel guilty, there's no guilt in being honest.

Finally Derek leaves the trailer and heads to the hospital, excited about a very complex surgery he has for the day.

--

Derek is happy when he leaves the hospital at night, the surgery was a complete success, the patient will make a full recovery and the publicity will come very well. Also, he had a good day as a professor, with Izzie Stevens really interested in neurosurgery. He almost regrets having to come home and face Addison's passive aggressive mood, but he really needs some rest and refuses to let her take care of the trailer.

When Derek arrives at the lot, his wife's car is still not there and he is surprised, especially since he hasn't heard from her all day. Derek shrugs and gets out of the car, she is just avoiding him and will be late and mumbling to annoy him.

He opens the door and enters the trailer, but then something crosses his mind causing him to step outside again, there's nothing left on the porch. Not a box, not a rack with bagged clothes, nothing. He enters again and realizes that there is nothing of Addison in there either. The shoe boxes are gone, the bathroom products and decor items she'd added to the place are all gone. Opening the bedroom closets, Derek notices that his things have returned to where they came from, where hers had been since moving. But what impresses him the most is the smell, Addison has cleaned every corner of the trailer with some lavender-scented product and also changed the bed sheets, leaving nothing behind, not even her perfume.

Derek sits heavily on the bed and runs his hands through his hair, he didn't expect this, he didn't expect his wife to leave without warning, without them being able to discuss things. On the other hand he understands her, there is nothing left to save and she is smart enough to know that and brave enough to face it. He flops back onto the mattress in complete resignation, planning to at least salvage the cordiality between them at the hospital the next day.

Arriving at the hospital Derek goes directly to the NICU and the first person he meets is O'Malley. The intern gives him a strange look, but Derek doesn't care, the guy has always been in love with Meredith and clearly doesn't like him. After a few seconds of silence, Derek asks:

"Can you tell me where Dr. Shepherd is?"

A look of strangeness crosses the young man's face and Derek frowns, asking already a little annoyed:

"Is there a problem, Dr. O'Malley?"

"No sir... It's just that Dr Shepherd is gone."

"Out where?"

"Dr. Webber has informed the department that she has left and that a Seattle Presbyterian replacement is on the way."

Derek's stomach sinks as disbelief hits him, Addison wouldn't do that. Without another word he practically runs out of the department and takes the elevator straight to the boss's office. Derek opens the office door and asks abruptly:

"Addison's gone?!"

"Good morning to you too Derek."

Derek sighs deeply and approaches, muttering:

"I'm not in the mood today, Richard."

"Me neither, Derek."

Richard affirms, but his tone is calm and he motions for Derek to take a seat. Derek obeys and then asks:

"you let her go without telling me?"

"I didn't say when she came either."

"Richard..."

"look derek...all i know is that after days of looking unhappy, addie came up to me telling me she needed to go out, asked me to keep it a secret and i did."

"So you accepted her breaking a million-dollar contract and leaving overnight."

"I accepted, because even though I don't want to lose my star, I worry about her. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but the addie was falling apart."

Derek lets out a deep breath, he drops his eyes and then confesses:

"On Christmas Eve I told her I was in love with Meredith."

Richard lets out a small huff before stating:

"I don't have any morals to judge how a man treats his wife, but I advise you to accept Addison's decision. Taking her back caused more pain than signing a divorce the first time would have done."

Derek just nods in complete resignation and then stands up, hurriedly leaving the boss's office. As soon as he gets to his office he takes his cell phone out of his pocket and calls Addison, unsurprisingly goes straight to voicemail and then he records a message:

"Addie, it's me. I didn't expect you to leave like this, without saying goodbye, or explaining. I'm sorry for hurting you and for not being able to give us a real chance, but I'm worried and I just need to know that you're okay. "

He ends the message and takes a deep breath, putting his cell phone back in his pocket. After a few minutes of pondering, Derek begins his morning rounds, gulping down the stares and whispers that begin every time he passes by.

The reply to Derek's message comes only with a text that says "I'm fine". A week later, however, na email arrives containing the divorce papers. Derek ponders for a few hours and then signs, sending them back, thus wiping out a third of his life.

The next night he gets drunk alone on the trailer's porch, the next night he manages to drink a little less, and the third he calls Meredith to dinner.

For the next two years, Derek wouldn't hear from Addison.

Comments are always welcome.