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"Mom!" Addison exclaimed and then gulped when all she gets is a death stare. "Uh, I mean, Carolyn" she says in a small voice. She had always felt like her mother-in-law had just tolerated her, but now there was no hiding the all out hatred. In Carolyn's eyes, Addison was the one who threw away a perfectly good marriage. Addison was the one who forced Derek to move across the country with no contact with anyone for 6 weeks. And by proxy, it was Addison's fault Derek was injured.

Carolyn walks right past her into Derek's room. "Nana!" Ellie and Khaliel shout, which in turn wakes up Derek. Addison walked past her children over to Derek's bedside. He looked at her questioningly as he realized both his mom and youngest sister were now in his room.

"Mom?" Derek said, groggily. Carolyn walked over to his bedside after hugging her grandchildren and looked down at him sadly.

"I got here as soon as I could." she said, grabbing Derek's hand. Derek looked back and forth between his wife and mother. He could tell the tension between them was even worse.

"You didn't have to come." Derek finally said.

"Nonsense." Carolyn replied, waving her hand. "Who else is going to watch these children as their father can't walk and their mother clearly can't stop herself from working." She continued, noting that Addison had on scrubs and the telltale signs of a scrub cap in her hair.

That's when Derek remembered that Addison had been rushed out to surgery on Christina. He quickly glanced over at Addison.

"Is she ok?" he asked her, ignoring his mother for the moment.

"She had an ectopic pregnancy that burst. I wasn't able to save her ovary, but at least she is alive." Addison answered him. Derek squeezed her hand, causing her to smile.

"Mom, Addison was operating on an intern here at the hospital." he said, defending his wife.

"Actually, Nana, Jamie is going to watch us the rest of the summer." Ellie piped in trying to be helpful. Carolyn looked at her confused.

"Who is Jamie?" she asked pointedly.

"Dr. Webber's niece. He is the Chief of Surgery here." Derek answered. Carolyn pursed her lips but didn't say anything else. An awkward silence fell over the room until Khaliel's belly growled very loudly.

"Uh, yes. I need to take the kids to get food and back to Adele's house for some sleep." she said, not looking at her mother-in-law. "I will be here before you go into surgery in the morning." she continued, looking down at Derek. He very lightly pulled at her, until she was leaning over him. He reached up and pulled her down for a quick kiss.

"Ok, Addie. Try and get some sleep." he said. Addison wasn't sure who was shocked more..her or Carolyn.

The kids all said good-bye to their relatives and followed Addison out of the room.

Carolyn took the chair Addison had just vacated and just looked at Derek.

"What?" he asked, feeling like he was a teenager again and his mother was trying to get something out of him. She always had an extraordinary ability to just stare her children down until they would cave and confess.

"You tell me." she replied with a raised eyebrow. He looks away and doesn't say anything. He doesn't know what his mom knows and doesn't feel like discussing his love life with her.

"You kissed Addison." Carolyn finally relents. It is not an acquisition, but more of a statement.

"Yes, I kissed my wife." he says, turning back to look at her. She has an expression on her face he can't quite figure out. He is actually not sure what to think. He had initiated a kiss with Addison on impulse. Something deep inside him wanted to protect and defend her. It had been a long time since he felt that way.

"So tell me what your injuries are." Carolyn finally says, deciding to change the subject. Derek knows that the topic of Addison is not done, but is glad she let it go for now. He proceeds to tell her about his ankle surgery in the morning and how long they expect it to be before his back, coccyx, and tibia are healed. His mother was a scrub nurse for 45 years, so she is well acquainted with the medical jargon Derek used.

"Dear God, Derek. You are so lucky to be alive." his mother says when he is done, wiping a tear away from her eyes. "I am thankful the good Lord didn't take you at almost the same age as your father died." she whispers. Derek is struck by what she said. He is 37, almost 38. His father was 41 when he was shot.

"What were you doing on an intern's roof?" Carolyn asks out of curiosity. Derek looks at her in surprise.

"I was helping Meredith change some shingles. The house is fairly old, and they had come loose in a storm." Derek answers. His mother resumes her stare at him and he finds himself looking away.

"And this Meredith. She is a friend of yours?" his mother continues, sitting back in the chair and crossing her arms.

Before he can say anything, nurse Olivia comes in, again unaware of the tension.

"Pardon me, Dr. Shepherd." she says sweetly. "But it is time for your meds."

After Olivia left, Derek began to get very sleepy from the medication. His mother noticed this and took her leave.

Before Derek fell asleep, he couldn't stop thinking about the kiss with Addison. It had been very brief, but it had felt like electricity had been sent through his body. It had never felt like that with Meredith. With this thought, he fell asleep and dreamed of a red headed beauty.

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After running through Sonic, the Shepherd family made their way to the Webber home. It made Addison cringe to think how much fast food her family had eaten that week. The children were sent upstairs to get showers and get ready for bed while Addison sat in the kitchen and talked with Adele.

"How is Derek doing?" Adele asked casually as she poured hot tea for both Addison and herself.

"He is doing ok. He will have ankle surgery in the morning." Addison informed her. She took the tea Adele handed her and took a sip. "Derek's mom showed up unexpectedly today." she continued, taking another sip of the tea.

Adele didn't say anything for a few minutes but just looked off into space.

"I know what it is like to be married to a man who has an affair with a Grey woman." Addison finally said. Addison nearly choked on her tea. She wasn't sure what shocked her more...the fact that Adele just told her Richard had an affair or that she knew about Derek and Meredith.

"Richard and Meredith's mother, Ellis, had an affair a little over 20 years ago." Adele continued quietly. "And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Derek and Meredith were having an affair since he was on the roof of her house." she continued, answering Addison's unasked questions.

Addison took a few more sips of her tea before responding. "Yes, but did you sleep with your husband's best friend before he had an affair?" she whispered, unable to look at Adele. The older woman was not expecting this and was thankful Addison wasn't looking at her to see her shocked response.

"No." Adele said when she recovered from her shock. "But I do know that you wouldn't have slept with Mark unless something was already seriously wrong with your marriage." she said soothingly.

"That is not how Derek sees it, or most of his family for that matter." Addison responds.

"But, you are here. And I am assuming Derek told you to stay since you are renting an apartment and looking at schools." Adele pointed out. Addison ponders this.

"He also kissed me goodbye." she says in wonder.

"Addison, if Richard and I can survive his affair that lasted almost 2 years, Derek and you can survive this." Adele replied, giving the younger woman's hand a squeeze. "I am always here to talk if you need me."

"Thank you," Addison choked out, starting to tear up. She then heard the calls from her children saying they were ready for bed. "I better go say good night to them."

Addison headed upstairs and went into the room her children were all sleeping in. She sat down on the floor next to Ellie's cot and smiled down at her daughter.

"What was your favorite part of today, sweetie?" Addison asked Ellie. It was the question she always asked her children before they went to sleep. Ellie cuddled up to her small Cabbage Patch doll that she had had since birth. It was her comfort item and she slept with it every night.

"My favorite part was talking with Daddy." she said quietly. "He told me he needed time to think and that was why he went away. Just like you tell us to do when we go to our rooms." Addison was surprised to learn that Derek had talked to the children.

"Yes, he did." was all Addison could think to say. She gave her daughter a hug and a kiss and then went and sat on the bed next to Khaliel.

"What was your favorite part of today?" she asked him as he cuddled up to her. She couldn't help but notice how big he was getting! In a little under a month, he would be turning 9. It made her heart ache a little at how fast her children were growing up!

"I really liked getting candy in Daddy's office. He never had candy back home in his office." Khaliel responded looking at his mother with eyes so similar to her own.

"I bet you did like that!" Addison laughed as she tickled him. She gave him a tight hug and kissed the top of his dark curls.

She noticed that Ellie was already asleep as she made her way over to Apollos' bed.

"Hey bud, what was your favorite part of today?" Addison asked as she kneeled down next to his bed.

"I dunno. I guess swimming." Apollos said looking up at his mother. "Mom, can I go with you all day tomorrow instead of staying with Jamie?" he asked.

"I don't know, Apollos. As you know, your dad is getting his ankle surgery very early in the morning. I have to leave here at 5. Most of the time, I will just be sitting around waiting. Are you sure you would rather do that instead of going swimming again?" Addison asked him.

"I really want to go with you." he said admittedly.

"Ok, but that means no complaining when I wake you up early." she said. He agreed and gave her a quick hug.

Addison made her way to her room and collapsed on the bed. She barely had the energy to get ready for bed. It had been a long, emotionally taxing day. It helped that she now had someone to confide in. Someone who didn't seem to be judging her. And what did the kiss from Derek mean? She knew it would be awhile before he would be able to fully talk, and it wasn't easy to wait. But she really didn't have a choice in the matter. Not being in control was probably one of the hardest things of all.

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Derek woke up around 2 in the morning during a vitals check and had a hard time going back to sleep. SInce it hurt to move in pretty much any position, he lay awake staring at the ceiling for a while. He couldn't get the feeling of kissing his wife out of his head. One minute, it would feel like old times when they couldn't keep their hands off each other. And then the next minute, he would picture Addison and Mark kissing and he would be seized by a deep anger.

After a little bit, he heard someone enter the room. He looked over and was surprised to see Meredith.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" he asked. She walked over and sat down in the chair.

"I am working tonight. There isn't much going on, so I thought I would come see how you were doing." she answered, smiling at him wistfully.

"I am ok. I guess you heard my mother and sister are here." he said, groaning internally.

"I heard something about that, but I wasn't sure if it was true." she said shyly. Meredith glanced down at Derek's hand and tentatively reached out and held it. "I've missed you." she said quietly.

Derek looked down and their intertwined hands and thought how different it was to hold Meredith's hand than Addison's. Meredith's hands were so tiny. Addison's fingers were very long. Plus, for the last almost 14 years, Addison's wedding rings had been on her hand. He remembered playing with her rings while they would lie in bed with their fingers intertwined. He suddenly felt very guilty for holding Meredith's hand.

"I'm sorry, Meredith. But I can't." he said quietly, withdrawing his hand. "I am going to try and work things out with Addison. As you said before, I owe it to the kids….and I owe it to her."

Meredith sat back in the chair and nodded. She was quiet for a minute before she said, "Why do you think she cheated on you?"

Derek stiffened at the question he had been asking himself for 6 weeks. "I don't know." he said flatly.

"Maybe you should just ask her." Meredith said thoughtfully. Derek didn't say anything in response. Her response made him think of the first time someone told him to "just ask her".

August 2004

Derek could not believe he was getting ready for his first Gross Anatomy lab. He was dressed in an old t-shirt and shorts, and could tell by the look of his best friend, that Mark didn't approve.

"Dude. I know they said to wear old clothes, but those clothes are from high school!" Mark exclaimed with a look of disgust.

"So, why do you care?" Mark asked, looking Mark up and down. Mark was dressed in what looked to be a brand new T-shirt and shorts.

"Do you really think you can pick up girls in that?" Mark laughed.

"We are going to be cutting open a dead body. Do you REALLY think we will be thinking about picking up girls during that?" Derek asked, rolling eyes. Mark just laughed and shrugged.

As they two made their way into the lab, Derek noticed Mark did change his attitude when they saw a bunch of cadavers. The pair walked over to a table and sat down.

Derek put on a mask and gloves per instructions from the teacher and turned around to meet his fellow lab partners. He glanced up and saw a tall redhead with beautiful green eyes.

"Hi. I am Addison Montgomery." she said, putting her hand out to Derek. He could barely get his name out as he shook her hand. The rest of the class, Derek stumbled over his words and made a complete fool of himself several times.

After class, Mark and Derek headed back to the dorm to wash the smell of formaldehyde off of them.

"Dude, you got it bad!" Mark laughed, giving Derek a shove.

"Hey!" Derek exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"You totally like that Addison chick, don't you?" Mark teased. Derek just shrugged his shoulders.

"So you won't mind if I ask her out then?" Mark asked, turning to look at his friend.

"No way! You just want to bang her. Leave her alone." Derek said tersly.

"As I said. You like her. A lot." Mark laughed.

Over the next few weeks, Derek continued to find excuses to be around Addison. They had several classes together. Finally, Mark had enough.

"Just ask her out already!" He told Derek. "It is obvious to everyone but the two of you that you both like each other."

In the end, Derek had listened. He had asked Addison out and she had said yes. Over the years, Derek had followed the same advice. Many times when he entered the Forbes Montgomery world, he would have no clue what was going on. So, he would just ask Addison. When he noticed she was upset or happy, he would ask her why. Derek also realized, at some point, he stopped asking.

"That simple, huh. Just ask her?" Derek asked, more to himself than to Meredith. "What about you, Meredith? Are you ok?" he said as he took her hand again. Despite knowing he shouldn't, he is very drawn to this tiny intern.

"Derek, I am going to be honest with you. I thought I was done dating once I met you. I thought I had found the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. And then I find out you not only have a wife, who is really hard to hate by the way, but you also have 3 children. At first, I was beyond angry. But…." she said as she looked down to their hands. "I could never hate. I fell in love with you." she whispers.

Derek doesn't know what to say to this. They both remain silent for a few minutes before Meredith's pager goes off. She leans over and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.

Derek lies awake for a little longer running over in his head what just happened. He kissed his wife just hours before Meredith confessed her love to him and kissed him. The last thought that goes through his head before he drifts off to sleep is that the first time Addison said she loved him, he felt like he could fly. This time with Meredith, he felt anxious and scared.

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Addison woke up at 4:30 after a fitful night's sleep. She kept dreaming of the first time Derek had kissed her, the first time they made love, and the night she slept with Mark. Finally, she got out of bed and got ready to go to the hospital.

Before leaving, she walked into the room the kids were sleeping and just looked at them. They looked so innocent and sweet. Just like when they were babies. It was hard to believe how fast they were growing!

Quietly, Addison shook Apollos. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at her slightly confused. Then he remembered that he had asked to go to the hospital with her.

"Hey, Mom." He said with a tired smile. "Give me 5 minutes and I will be downstairs."

"Ok, bud. Just don't wake up your brother and sister." Addison whispers, giving her son a smile.

True to his word, Apollos was downstairs ready to go in 5 minutes. He even beat Addison. The pair quietly went outside and got in the Jeep.

"Dad's Jeep smells funny." Apollos noted while they were driving. Addison knew exactly why the Jeep smelled different, but didn't mention the real reason to her son.

"Well, he has had it in Seattle awhile, so that is why." Addison responded. Neither said anything for the rest of the short drive.

As they were walking into the hospital, Addison was very thankful to see the coffee cart was already open. She walked over and got herself a coffee and Apollos a hot chocolate.

"Juju." he smiled. Addison was so glad to see her son smiling. It had been a rare occurrence lately.

As they made their way to the elevator, Addison was not surprised to find her mother-in-law also making her way through the lobby.

"Hi, Nana." Apollos said as he took a drink. Carolyn was surprised to see him. She raised an eyebrow at Addison.

"Good morning, sweetie." Carolyn said, smiling down at him. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to come see my dad." he said as if it was obvious. Carolyn looked over his head at Addison and pursed her lips. The trio made the rest of the way to Derek's room in silence.

Addison was not surprised to see that Derek was already being prepped for surgery. He looked surprised to see his mother, wife, and son walk in together, but didn't say anything. Apollos walked over to the chair next to Derek's bed and sat down.

"Look, Dad. Mom got me Juju." he said, holding up his cup.

"That will give me extra luck in surgery today." Derek said, beaming up at his son. He looked up questioningly at Addison. She shrugged her shoulders and mouthed "he wanted to come". Derek gave her the slightest nod. The two were well versed in speaking overtly over their children's heads. This was not missed by Carolyn.

"Good morning." Addison said out loud walking around the chair and placing a hand on Derek's shoulder. Before he knew what he was doing, he had taken Addison's hand in his and kissed it. He had done this countless times over the years, but the action surprised both of them.

"Morning." he said, smiling shyly at her. He turned to look at his mother, who had been unusually quiet during the family's exchange. "Good morning, Mom."

"What time are they taking you down to surgery?" Carolyn asked her son from the foot of the bed.

"In 45 minutes." Callie answered as she came into the room. "Dr. Shepherd" Callie began but back tracked when both Derek and Addison looked at her. "Uh, Derek," She really wasn't used to there being two Dr. Shepherds! "We will take you down the OR at 7. The surgery shouldn't take more than an hour. Do you, any of you, have any questions?" Callie finished looking around at all the Shepherds.

"What is your rate of success with this surgery?" Apollos asked, looking at her with concern.

"Excuse me?" Callie asked, a little taken aback.

"How many times have you done this surgery? How many people have died on your OR table from this surgery? What is your rate of success?" Apollos said a little slower as if she didn't understand the question.

"Apollos!" Addison and Derek said in unison, a little embarrassed.

"What?" he asked, looking up at them. "People are always asking you guys those questions. Don't you WANT to know the success rate before some doctor we barely know cuts into Dad's leg?"

Addison and Derek looked at each other and then back to Callie.

"He is definitely the son of two doctors." Callie laughed. "I have done this surgery probably 1000 times and have never had anyone die from it. This is a very simple procedure in the long scheme of things." She said, looking directly at Apollos.

"Also, Apollos, I have worked on multiple surgeries with Dr. Torres. She is really good." Derek said to his son. Apollos gave them both a nod.

Soon it was time for Derek to go down to surgery. "Apollos, go with Nana down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I want to talk to your mother alone for a few minutes." Derek said. Apollos nodded and left the room with his grandmother.

Addison looked down at Derek questioningly when they were alone. He was quiet for a few minutes before he said, "You and I both know that even simple procedures can go terribly wrong sometimes."

"Derek…" Addison interrupted, knowing where he was going with this.

"Let me finish." he interjected. She stopped talking but took his hand.

"If something does happen to me, I want you to know that I am sorry for not talking to anyone for six weeks and for not telling people here about you or the kids." he finishes quietly.

"Derek…" Addison says again with tears in her eyes. "I am so sorry too."

"I know you are, Addie." Derek sighs. "And, I am trying to forgive you." Before Addison can say anything, George pokes his head through the door.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Shepherd, but we really have to take you down to surgery now." George says nervously looking between the couple.

Addison leaned over and gave Derek a long, passionate kiss. When she pulls back, both are a little breathless. "It's a beautiful day to save lives." she smiles at him. Addison backs away from his bed and watches as he is rolled off to surgery.

Addison sat in the empty hospital room for a few minutes in a slight daze. Derek had actually apologized to her. She couldn't remember the last time he had been so sincere with an apology. The two had a lot more to talk about, but maybe, just maybe, they would make it.

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Addison makes her way to the cafeteria where she finds her son and mother-in-law.

"Derek was taken back. Richard told me he would text me when Derek is being taken to recovery and they will allow me to go back there." Addison informed them.

"Can I come back there too?" Apollos asked as he took another bite of pancakes.

"Sorry, bud. Children aren't allowed back there. But Gabe's mom texted me and asked if you wanted to play Rocket League with him today. I asked one of the interns to set up the XBox in your father's room, so…" Addison told her son, who was again smiling.

"I can play Rocket League with Gabe!" he exclaimed, excited about getting to play with his best friend from New York.

"Yes. Sandra told me anytime after 11 their time, so that means anytime after 8 here." Addison said, looking at her watch. "If you're done eating, we can go back up to the room and get everything set up. Carolyn, would you like to join us?" she finished, turning to her mother-in-law.

"Actually, I am going to take a walk outside while the weather is actually nice. I will meet up with you later." Carolyn answers. She gives them a small smile before walking off. Addison isn't quite sure what to make of this, but the older woman has been confusing her for years now, so she just shrugs it off.

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Apollos and Addison enter Derek's room just as Alex comes in with the X-Box.

"I was told to bring this here?" Alex asks Addison skeptically.

"Yes, we would like it set up for our children to play while visiting their father." Addison answers. "And your name is…" she looks at Alex questioningly.

"Dr. Karav." Alex answers looking from Addison to Apollos. "So, do you need me to actually hook it up, or just set the box down?"

"Well, they can't exactly play it in the box now can they." Addison retorts. She looks at him pointedly. She can tell that this is one intern she would get frustrated working with.

Apollos tries not to laugh. He has heard his mother school interns many times before.

"Right." Alex says as he begins to hook the X-Box up.

"Apollos, I am going to check on the patient I operated on yesterday. I want you to stay in your father's room. Call me if you need anything." Addison says.

"So, how did your parents come up with the name Apollos?" Alex asks the boy once Addison leaves the room.

"They like different names. It is Greek and means warrior" Apollos said shrugging his shoulders. He was used to getting asked that question.

"That's cool. My name, Alexander, is also Greek. It means to defend or protect." Alex responded. He felt a little sorry for the young boy as he too knew what it was like to have parents who didn't get along. Although, Alex couldn't help but think how lucky all of the Shepherd kids were that even if their parents didn't get along, at least they loved their kids!

"Cool!" Apollos answered. He was surprised that one of the interns was actually interacting with him. Most of the time, the interns and residents who worked with his parents didn't give him the time of day.

Addison returned to Derek's room 20 minutes later, surprised to find Apollos and Alex in a heated game of Halo. She was about to say something when she received the text that Derek was out of surgery and was being moved to recovery.

"Apollos, Dad is out of surgery. I am heading to the recovery unit. Will you be ok here for a while?" Addison asked. She got a slight nod from her oldest son, who was too engrossed in the game to really care what his mom was saying.

As Addison made her way down the hallway, she sent an update to Carolyn and Amelia. She also sent a message to Jamie, letting her know to bring Khaliel and Elliette by the hospital around 3.

Addison talked briefly with Dr. Torres, who said the surgery was a success, before going over by Derek's bedside. She had to fight back tears when she saw him lying in bed with his ankle propped up in a cast, a new back brace on to help with his broken vertebra, and his head still wrapped in bandages from his first surgery. She leaned over and gave Derek a small hug, letting her head rest on his shoulder. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

A few minutes later, Addison was startled when she felt a hand rubbing her hair. She stood up a little and realized Derek was awake. She didn't say anything but just sat on the edge of his bed and looked at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. Derek reached up and rubbed them away. Addison gave him a small smile. Neither said anything as Derek gently pulled her back down to his shoulder and held her the best he could for a little while longer.

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