This chapter took a while, as I was out of time and uninspired.
I confess it's not my best work, but that's what I managed to get the story going.
Aaaa
It's not yet 8 am when Derek slams the door to the Bronwstone, Addison opens the door still in her bathrobe and asks in surprise:
"Did you fall out of bed, Derek?"
"Good morning to you too, Addie. I came to take you and our son out for breakfast somewhere nice."
"Fine. Let me change and wake Chris up."
Addison talks walking away and giving Derek room to walk through the door, he freezes as soon as he sees Pete sitting on the couch drinking coffee and watching something on TV. Pete nods with a slight smile and Derek embarrasses himself:
"Hi Pete. I didn't know you were here, sorry."
"Fine. I'm on my way out, I can't be late for work."
Derek nods and stands uncomfortable for a few minutes in the living room, until Addison's boyfriend says his goodbyes and leaves.
It doesn't take long for Addison to reappear in the room again, fully dressed she explains:
"I'm just going to change Chris and we can go."
"Let me help you with it."
Derek speaks excitedly and the two climb the stairs to their son's bedroom, who sleeps peacefully.
Addison smiles, reaching out and picking up the boy, Chris wakes up mumbling a little, but smiles at his mother when she puts him on the changing table and starts tickling his tummy. At that moment Addison says smiling:
"Chris, look who's here!"
Then Derek approaches and smiles at his son, the little boy's eyes widen and he smiles, flapping his arms as he says:
"Deek! Deek!"
"It's me, Chris the Daddy."
Derek talks excitedly hoping his son will finally call him dad, but the boy just smiles even more. Addison then starts taking off his son's clothes and then Derek is handing him everything he needs to get the baby ready, when they're done, Derek is proud to have his son ready for the first time.
When they finally get into the car, with Chris already positioned in the car seat, Derek speaks;
"After breakfast, we can go down to the registry office and put my name on his papers."
Addison turns to Derek with a smirk and states:
"I knew this invitation had na ulterior motive!"
"You know we need to do this, Addie."
"I know, but not in this duress, we have time."
"We don't have, tomorrow nothing else opens and on the 2nd I go back to Seattle."
"Are you coming back soon?"
Addison asks sounding more disappointed than she intended and Derek explains:
"I came with the tickets purchased for the 2nd, in addition to that, it was agreed with Richard."
"I understand, I just think it's a shame because of Chris, you guys are so close."
"In two weeks I'll be back, but it's good to know you'll miss me."
Derek states with a sarcastic smile and Addison just rolls her eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Derek asks:
"But we're going to the registry office, aren't we?"
"After the delicious breakfast you will pay for, we will, Doctor Shepherd."
Addison talks making Derek laugh and the two continue teasing each other to the coffee shop.
AAAA
They enter their old favorite coffee shop, Addison settles Chris in a high chair and then the two sit opposite each other in silence.
Soon the waitress comes to take the orders and they order what they always ordered there when they managed to get coffee.
When the woman walks away, silence falls again, until Derek confesses:
"I already missed it here."
"From the coffee shop?"
"From New York."
Derek confesses in little more than a whisper and Addison raises her eyebrows primly asking:
"Mcdreamy misses New York, don't let the Seattle fishing community know about it!"
"Addie..."
Derek warns fighting a laugh, but it continues:
"And all that love for the woods and the trailer in the middle of nowhere and that rainy town?"
"Hey, at no point did I say I didn't like Seattle anymore, I just... New York was my home for sixteen years, it's okay to miss it."
He speaks looking into her eyes and Addison gives her a shy smile before turning to fix Chris' belt. She takes advantage of the lack of eye contact to keep talking:
"At some point I thought I meant nothing to you..."
"Addison, I…you know I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I shouldn't have brought it up."
She still talks without making eye contact and as Derek prepares to respond, Chris starts reaching for something on the table, Derek then approaches the boy to entertain him deciding it's not the best time to have this conversation.
When the orders arrive, Derek starts to feed Chris while he eats, it is at this moment that Addison speaks again asking:
"What do you miss?"
Derek smiles, her Montgomery manners intact. He turns towards her and begins to explain:
"This neighborhood, the cafes, the park, the Bronwstone. We were happy here."
Derek speaks with a soft smile that makes Addison smile, she nods and confesses:
"I thought about selling the Brownstone."
"Serious?"
"When the divorce papers came out, I went to look for a realtor, but then I found out I was pregnant and gave up. We planned to raise our kids in that house and that's what I decided to do."
"That house is great and I'm sure Chris will be very happy here. Isn't that Chris?"
Derek turns to his son, willing to lighten the mood and his delicious laugh echoes, causing them to once again get lost in games together. Addison watches them silently with a smile on her face.
AAAA
Less than na hour later, they get in the car and Derek asks a little unsurely:
"Can we go to the registry office now?"
"We can. It's about time our son was named after him."
Derek smiles relieved and grateful and then Addison starts driving.
AAAA
Derek beams with the document in hand, Christopher Ainsley Montgomery Shepherd, that's his son's name now.
There is his name on the boy's papers and his paternity is finally complete.
He looks at Addison with eyes glistening with tears and shakes her hand before taking Chris from her arms and stating:
"Chris, now I'm officially your daddy. Daddy, daddy."
He talks trying a repeat of the boy, who just smiles and tries to pick up the document asking the cutest "tha it?" Derek has ever heard.
When they leave the registry office, Derek still has the biggest smile with his son in his arms, he approaches Addison and kisses her forehead as he says:
"Thanks for doing this, Addie."
She just nods without having much to say and Derek then walks away to put Chris in the car seat. As the two settle into the front seats, Derek asks uncertainly again:
"Can we go for a walk in the park? Then I promise I'll leave."
"Derek, it's cold"
"Please, just one."
He asks like a child and she can't resist his bright blue eyes so she nods her head no and drives to the park.
AAAA
They walk for a few minutes, while Derek shows things to Chris who is wide-eyed with excitement and several times tries to get out of his father's lap to get something.
Soon they sit on a bench and Derek asks:
"So, what are the plans for New Year's Eve?"
"We're going to a little party at a friend's house from the hospital. Dr. Monica Mayfield."
"She was a resident when I left here."
"And now she's completing her fellowship in Neonatology with me."
"A disciple?"
"A friend."
Addison smiles proudly of the relationship she manages to build with the students and suddenly asks, surprising Derek:
"How is Stevens?"
"Stevens, like Izzie Stevens?"
Derek asks frowning, thinking of the loud and overenthusiastic young woman who lives with his girlfriend. Addison nods and Derek starts talking:
"Shortly after you left, she fell in love with a patient of Burke's. She stole a heart for him, they got engaged and then he died the night of a dance at the hospital."
Addison stares at him with her lips slightly parted and her brows furrowed. Derek smiles nodding to confirm that everything he said is true and continues:
"She dropped out of the show, Richard hushed it up, she came back. She had na extramarital affair with O'Malley, who she married and separated within months. Now she remains a promising resident, is in na awkward relationship with Alex Karev and still lives with to Meredith."
Addison nods a little confused and Derek laughs asking rhetorically:
"Our residence wasn't so hectic was it?"
"Definitely not."
Addison says laughing and Derek decides to take the opportunity:
"Want to spend New Year's with me?"
"What?"
"Spending New Year's at my mom's, you and Chris."
"You are crazy?"
"Why? It's going to be my penultimate day in town and I want to spend it with our son."
"And what am I going to do with Pete?"
"I have great ideas of what you can do with Pete."
Derek states raising his eyebrows and Addison narrows her eyes. Derek smirks and raises his arms in surrender before speaking again:
"Fine, no violence. But Addie…it's the first New Year I'll be able to spend with Chris and it might be our only opportunity to spend this time as a family."
"We're not a family, Derek. We're a divorced couple who have a child together."
Addison speaks in a dark tone and Derek lowers his eyes, he takes a deep breath and speaks again:
"I know that. What I mean is, it might be our only chance to spend this date together with our son. Next year you might be married to Peter and I might bring Mer with me, or I might not. We never know how things are going to turn out and I think it's important for Chris to have those moments."
"Derek, that's a low blow."
"It's not. I just want to have a good time with you and our son, I want to build those memories for him."
Derek speaks with conviction and with teary eyes, Addison takes a deep breath and nods trying to push back the tears and surrendering:
"Fine. I do this for Chris."
Derek smiles brightly and kisses her cheek before lifting his son into his arms and starting to play with him.
AAAA
Addison puts Chris already asleep in his crib, she strokes his curls and thinks about the day they had.
After the walk in Central Park, Derek had lunch at Bronwstone and she could watch him play with his son. It came as no surprise to her that Derek would make na amazing father, but she's still amazed at how easily the father-son relationship is solidifying. Chris is completely at ease with Derek, who acts with him as if he's known him all his life, she couldn't dream of their meeting being more special.
Addison is pulled out of her thoughts by feeling a kiss on her neck, she jumps a little startled, but smiles to see Pete smirking at her. She pats him lightly on the shoulder as she states:
"You scared me!"
"You who were distracted."
"Watching my baby sleep."
She talks smiling towards her son's crib. Pete also smiles and says:
"I'm officially on vacation."
"Excellent."
Addison says with a shy smile and tries to walk away, Pete holds her by the waist and asks:
"What there was?"
"Anything..."
"Addison!"
Pete demands and she drops her eyes as she says:
"Chris and I are going to New Year's in Connecticut."
"What? With your parents? What about Monica's party?"
"At Carolyn's house."
Addison speaks in a low tone and Pete frowns as he asks clearly annoyed:
"Are you going to spend the holiday with your ex-husband?"
"I'm going to spend the holiday with my son, his father and about 20 other people."
Addison says and Pete shakes his head no:
"Addison, I'm understanding, very understanding. I know how important Derek is in Chris' life and I would never want to interfere with that, but spending the holiday with him?"
"It's for Chris, it will be good for him."
"And I do what?"
"Go to Monica's party. I know this is weird, but it's just one night and it's for my son. On the 2nd Derek returns to Seattle and things get back to normal."
Pete lets out a deep breath and nods, he pulls Addison into his arms and kisses the top of her head stating:
"Fine. I understand, it's not the easiest thing in the world, but I understand."
Addison snuggles into her boyfriend's embrace, nodding and trying to relax.
AAAA
Thank you for reading.
The next one shouldn't take long to come out and will be very promising.