"Derek, I beg you. Kick them out of here. Send them back to New York, let them take care of their children, let them do something productive with their lives instead of bothering me."

"Amy, I can't kick them out. They'll leave before New Year's."

"Let them leave sooner! Christmas has passed, it's over. The family event was a disaster. Nobody wants to remember it. Let them return to their respective homes."

Derek sighed and parked his car in the hospital parking lot. They were about to start a new workday.

"Listen, they'll leave tomorrow."

"Is this for real? Did they tell you? Why don't they leave today?" she said, unfastening her seatbelt.

"Because they have something planned for Addison."

"Something for Addison?"

"You'll understand."

~•~

After saying goodbye to Derek and Amelia, Addison stayed awake on the living room couch, watching a Christmas movie. For a few more days, they would be played on all the TV channels, so she would take advantage and watch them.

If she weighed the events that had occurred in the last few days, she could say that the good things outweighed the bad. Yes, there were family arguments –family scandals, to be precise– but that was nothing new. There was always at least one of these fights per Christmas event in the Shepherd household. Statistically, it was predictable that this would happen.

But... it was special. For Addison and Derek, it was special. It was the first Christmas in many years that felt magical, felt like theirs. It was their time. It always had been, even though they had forgotten it many times.

She made herself a hot chocolate with marshmallows and cinnamon on top, put on her warmest pajamas and lay down to watch "The Santa Clause 2," to extend this celebration a little longer.

After a few minutes, her cell phone rang, and she had to make a big effort to reach it. Being on the 37th week had limited her movements a lot.

"Miranda?" she asked confusedly, seeing her name on the screen.

"Addison, hi," Miranda said hurriedly.

"Hi... everything okay? Did something happen?"

"Listen, I know you're on maternity leave, I shouldn't be calling you... I wouldn't if it wasn't strictly necessary, but..."

"What's wrong?" she said with a firmer voice.

"I'm here with Karev and he tells me there's a 33-year-old woman in the emergency room, 29 weeks pregnant, with a monochorionic twin pregnancy. One of the fetuses has stopped developing and is experiencing a progressive loss of blood volume and..."

"Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome?"

"I'm afraid so. The donor twin is very compromised. We don't have fetal surgeons, Richard hasn't found a replacement yet and... we should transfer the patient to Washington DC, if not and..."

"Okay. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Thank you, Addison. Really. I know you shouldn't be working in that condition but..."

"Don't worry, see you in a while."

Addison turned off the TV, took the last sip of her hot chocolate, and walked to her room to change clothes. She knew that when Derek saw her at the hospital he would be furious, but it was a risk she had to take. She knew Miranda wouldn't have called her if it hadn't been a real emergency.

She put on a long dark green wool dress, and heels –because she'd rather die than dress down– applied very light makeup, took the necessary items and put them in her bag, and called a taxi to go to the hospital.

Upon arrival, she went straight to the emergency room, hoping to find Bailey or Alex there, but they weren't. She asked at the front desk if they knew anything about a pregnant patient with twins, but no one had registered under that diagnosis in the past week.

"Maybe she went straight to the operating room," she thought.

She pulled out her cell phone, dialed Bailey's number, and waited for her to answer.

"Miranda, they told me at the front desk that there's no pregnant patient with TS admitted, where are you?"

"Come to the buffet, I'll wait for you there and tell you exactly what happened."

"Okay..."

Addison walked to the elevator, pressed the button, and went up to the first floor. As she approached the buffet, she was surprised to see so many people gathered there. It was only 10 a.m., still hours before lunch. Why was there such a crowd at this time?

As she got closer, she saw a bunch of pink and white balloons decorating the entire room. She didn't understand what was happening. Was it someone's birthday? Which of the doctors was celebrating today? Or was it part of a belated Christmas decoration?

"There she is!" Nancy shouted.

Nancy? What was she doing here? Didn't they fly back to New York yesterday? They said goodbye and everything. Had they missed their flight?

"SURPRISE!" all the doctors in the room turned around and shouted with joy when they saw Addison arrive.

Derek was there, wearing a pink conical hat on his head. Amelia was there too, and Addison couldn't tell if she was happy or not. Kathleen, Nancy, and Carolyn were smiling, also wearing hats on their heads. Callie, Arizona, all her residents, Mark, Teddy, Owen, Richard, Adele, Alex, and Miranda. All smiling at her.

"What is this?" Addison asked as Derek gave her an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek.

"Your baby shower!" Nancy said excitedly.

"Baby shower? Derek, did you know about this?"

"I was forced to keep quiet."

"I can't believe it, Miranda...and the patient?"

"It was just an excuse to get you here. I knew you wouldn't refuse," she smiled and hugged her.

"Oh my God...this is so...it's..." her voice started to break as she saw every detail in the room. Everything was perfectly decorated.

"Oh, Addie," Derek brought her in for a hug.

"It's so beautiful, thank you so much," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Here we are, here we are. Sorry for the delay, the flight was delayed!" Naomi said as she entered the room. She was followed by Maya and Sam.

"OH MY GOD, NAI!" Addison shouted surprised and ran to hug her. She hadn't seen her best friend in years.

"Addie, look at you!" Naomi said once they separated. "I never thought I'd see you like this, you're radiant."

"Thanks, Nai. Oh my God, I can't believe you're here, in Seattle," she greeted Sam with a hug.

"Derek called us last minute, we almost couldn't get a flight because of the snowstorm. But here we are, all for the little Shepherd on the way," she greeted Derek, who was standing next to his wife.

"Maya! How you've grown! How old are you now, 45?" she smiled and hugged her goddaughter tightly.

"I'm 13 now, Aunt Addie."

"I remember the day you were born, you were so small," she gestured with her hands, "and now you're so big. How is that possible?"

"Oh, now you'll experience firsthand what the passage of time is like. It seems like yesterday when I was like you."

"Hey, how's the people from Los Angeles?" Mark asked. He was wearing a sash across his chest that said "the godfather."

"The godfather?" Sam laughed and shook his hand.

"Oh, yeah. If they're going to mess with Bella, they have to go through her godfather first."

Derek shook his head and laughed at that.

"And the godmother? Does she have a godmother?" Naomi asked eagerly.

"Yes, you're looking at her right there. Although she doesn't look like it, she's enjoying the party," Derek said, seeing Amelia picking a strawberry off one of the cupcakes in the background.

"Amelia Shepherd?" Sam said.

"Oh, no..." Amelia started to leave as soon as she saw them.

"Are you going to run away again?" Naomi asked.

"It's not that I ran, I was practically fired. And I got a new job here in Seattle," Amelia said as she approached to greet them.

"Addie, it's time to start with the activities and games," Nancy said as she approached.

"Games? What games?"

"You'll see."

~•~

"Are you really getting divorced?" Addison asked while Nancy painted a childlike design on her belly.

"Yeah, you'd know if you ever sent a personalized email instead of just holiday greetings," Naomi responded suggestively.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nai... it's just that with everything going on with the pregnancy, the preparations, the plans... I didn't realize when nine months passed," Addison said.

"It's okay, don't worry. I understand... it's just that one day everything is normal, at home with your daughter and husband, and the next... you're divorced. Living in a new place, having to share custody of your daughter," Naomi said.

"I understand how it feels. I'm so sorry..."

"Addie, don't move so much," Nancy said, concentrating.

"You don't understand, Addison. You're just now entering the world of motherhood. I've been experiencing this for more than a decade. You don't know how sad and distressing it is to have to spend days without seeing your daughter. You know she's okay at her father's house, but... you can't be there for those moments anymore," Naomi said.

"Why did you get divorced?" Addison asked.

"Why did you and Derek almost get divorced?"

Addison fell silent. She didn't feel like saying it in front of all those people, even though everyone already knew.

"Is it final?" she asked quietly.

"I guess so, the papers have been signed. People change. Couples change... It's just how life works," Naomi said.

"Oh, Nai..."

"Don't worry, Addie. We've gotten used to it. I guess you could say we're friends now… friends who traveled to Seattle to be present at their niece's baby shower. That's what matters now. How are you?" Naomi asked.

"Tired, exhausted, too swollen," Addison confessed.

"The last month is hell," Nancy said.

"I want to have her in my arms already and at the same time, I feel like I'm not ready yet. Neither of us are," Addison said.

"No one is ever ready," Nancy laughed, "it's just one day, and then your life changes forever. And from that moment on, everything that was your previous life becomes unimportant. Nothing will compare to the stage that begins now... there, it's done," Nancy said, getting up to admire her artwork.

"Oh..." Addison said, trying to find words to describe what she saw at that moment.

"It looks like a potato," Amelia said.

"It's a Care Bear!" Nancy said.

"The Care Bear who did drugs..."

"Oh, of course, you would say that. Seriously?"

"I like it... it's... adorable, has a childlike quality, and... I like the color," Addison lied.

"Thank you, Addison. I appreciate your kindness and patience. If you can put up with Amelia, it'll be much easier to have a newborn at home."

~•~

"I don't understand why we have to be here if we're not family, or friends, or anything... we could be cutting people in the operating room," Cristina said while trying a strawberry cupcake.

"Bailey practically forces us... are you going to contradict Bailey? That never ends well," Meredith said resignedly.

"It's ridiculous that we're invited to the baby shower of your ex-lover's kid," Cristina said.

"Stop complaining, it's a nice moment to share with the Shepherds. Do you like the secret ingredient I added to the cupcakes?" Izzie asked.

"Unicorn vomit?" Cristina said.

"No need to be rude, you know. I think I'm going to join in the activity of decorating the onesies. I already know what I could draw on them," she said as she went over to where Nancy and Kathleen were organizing the games.

"I'm not complaining, food, drinks, baby stuff," Alex said with his mouth full.

"You say that because you like Dr. Montgomery Shepherd," George said.

"Of course. Who doesn't? She's McHotty."

"Okay, it's disgusting that you say that about a pregnant woman," Meredith said.

"I'm just speaking the truth."

"Hey, Meredith," Derek said, approaching.

The residents understood that he wanted a private moment with her so they left.

"What do you want? Are you not going to do the diaper-changing game with a toy baby?" Meredith asked.

"I wanted to talk, it's been a long time since I saw you at the hospital."

"Yeah, well. I asked not to be placed in neuro anymore."

"No? You don't like neuro anymore? I thought you were going to continue there."

"It turns out that general surgery is what suits me best. It's dirtier and darker. Like me…" she laughed ironically.

"Did you request that change because you like general surgery or to not spend time with me?"

"You know, you're not the only one in the neurosurgery department. I get along better with Amelia. She's nicer and less arrogant. I could have continued with her if I didn't want to see you anymore."

"Yet here you are... at my daughter's baby shower."

"Yeah, and I don't understand what you want."

"Why did you come?"

"Obligation."

"Obligation to whom? It's not surgery or an exam."

"What do you want, Derek? I don't want to talk to you. Go to your wife, to your family, I don't know."

"I wanted to know how you were, I told you. It's been months since I saw you."

"Do you want to know how I am or how I was? Because those are two very different questions."

"How were you?"

"Honestly, not good. I had to see the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with going with someone else. I had to see Addison's belly grow month by month, reminding me of what I couldn't and will never have. I had to make a lot, really a lot, of effort to get over you. To accept that you would never come back and that the book of our story wouldn't have any more pages. It was over. It wasn't easy or fast, but I did it."

"You did it?"

"Yes. And I met someone who loves me, respects me, and above all, doesn't have a wife," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it Finn?"

"No. It didn't work out with Finn. He left when he realized that I was still in love with you."

"Then who is it?"

"Do you care?"

"No, well, not really. I just wanted to know."

"It's Dr. Hayes, from pediatrics. We're starting a good relationship and I would like you not to ruin it."

"I won't, Mer. I'm really glad you found someone. I wish you the best in your life, your career, and your relationship."

"Really?"

"Yes. I apologize for everything I put you through."

"A little late to ask for forgiveness, don't you think?"

"It was a very confusing time in my life in which I hurt many people for not knowing how to deal with the situation. I tend to escape from problems, to ignore them, to try to camouflage them with something else, and in the end, that doesn't work. It just ends up hurting more people. What I'm trying to say is that... I don't really know if I was ever in love with you. I don't say this to hurt you, but... I think it was so much the hatred and disappointment I had with Addison that pushed me to drag you into my problems. And you didn't do anything, you were something nice that happened to me in life, but..."

"But there was Addison..."

"Addison was always and will always be there. She's the love of my life. And I don't say this just because of the number of years we've been married, it goes beyond that. We can argue, we can fight, we can go through thousands of crises but... at the end of it all, we remain Addison . Something that can't be separated. I hope your relationship with Hayes is as strong, that you feel he's your soulmate, the other half that complements you..."

"I hope so..."

"I'd like us to be friends again someday..."

"I'd like that too."

"Will you go back to neuro?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay..."

"Step by step."

"Step by step. That's true," he said, walking away.

"Derek?"

"Yes?"

"Congratulations on the baby. You'll be an amazing father."

He smiled and nodded, then turned and walked to where his wife was.

"Derek, honey," Addison said, forcing a smile, "your mother says that it would be a good idea for her to move in with us. Can you tell her why it would be a good idea?" She gritted her teeth uncomfortably.

"Mom, it's not necessary."

"Addison could go into labor at any moment. I want to stay until the baby is born. I don't want to miss her birth, I've been there for all my grandchildren's births," his mother said.

"Addison can go another month without giving birth, Mom. What would you do here for a whole month?"

"Time passes quickly. One month is nothing."

"In that case... where would you stay? We don't have space."

"I could sleep with Amelia. She has a double bed, doesn't she?" She looked at her daughter.

"No, ma'am. I'm not sharing a bed," Amelia said.

"Amelia Frances Shepherd, is this how you treat the woman who gave you life? When you were a little girl, you loved sleeping with me."

"That was many years ago. Now you have to go back home, please."

"I can't miss the birth of this little one. Maybe it'll be my last granddaughter before you give me one, Amy."

"Oh no. That won't happen. No. I'm sorry. With your fifteen grandchildren, you should be content."

"Relax, Mom. Eventually, she'll get pregnant and won't know who the father is," Nancy said, laughing.

"Is that what happened to you with your five children? I always suspected that Ashley and Louis weren't John's," Amelia said.

"Amelia," Carolyn said.

"Mom, you can't stay. You're not going to torture Addison in the last days of her pregnancy."

"Addison hasn't complained."

"Addison has manners, a thing some people lack..." Kathleen said.

"Screw you. Both of you. Go to hell. And you, Mom, go back to New York. Addison doesn't want to put up with you in her final days of pregnancy. She barely tolerates Derek just because he's her husband."

"Okay, you're making me look like a monster," Addison said, tearfully.

"Oh, Addie... No... The three of you go back to New York and that's it. You'll be notified when the baby is born."

"You could come when the baby is born, Mom. I'll pay for your ticket," Derek said, trying to reach an agreement. He knew Addison would kill him if he let his mother stay with them.

"You see? You'll be back in a month. Now, goodbye. Back to New York City," Amelia said, gently pushing her away.

~•~

"As soon as you have her in your arms, I want you to send me photos and videos, understood?" Naomi said, hugging Addison, the event was over.

"Of course, you'll be the first to know..."

"I found out about your pregnancy at five months, I don't want to receive a photo of the baby crawling as the first image of her."

"I'll send photos as soon as she's born…" Addison laughed.

"You better."

"Thank you for coming, Nai, Sam. It was one of the best surprises I could have for Christmas."

"Next time, you both have to come to Los Angeles. I've told you that I have vacancies for you and Derek at our clinic."

"I'm very busy here, I don't think so at the moment and Der... he wants to be the chief of surgery when Richard retires."

"Richard is retiring?"

"No, well... I don't know. A while ago he said he was going to retire and now it seems that he's not, but Derek and Mark still want the position."

"And you don't?"

"Yes, of course, it's just that... I'll have a baby."

"That doesn't have to be an impediment for you. I did the first years of the residency with Maya being a baby. A child is not an obstacle for anything, Addison. I've told you so many times to stop postponing it because of work."

"Well you know it's not just that, I want to spend time with her. I couldn't have my head in charge of a whole hospital while having a very young baby who depended on me. Besides, it's probably going to be my only daughter and I want to enjoy her. I don't want to miss her first moments because of my work. In the past, I've already proven that work destroys the family, and... if Derek and I can postpone that for later when she's a little more independent, we'll do it that way."

"But Derek doesn't seem like he's going to give up his work for the baby."

"He has already given up on the idea of being in charge until she starts kindergarten... the burden that women have in raising children will never be equal, but... Derek will be a good father. He'll be present. I know he will."

"I hope so... Sam is always there for Maya. Perhaps our relationship didn't work, but still, I gave her the best father I could. I'll always be proud of that."

"Me too, I don't have many certainties in life, but I'm certain that Derek will be an incredible father."

"I believe so. Take care, Addie. Good luck with the birth, let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you for coming."