A/N: Once again, thanks to all of you who keep reading this story and specially to those who are still leaving reviews. Here's the thrid chapter of this story, again it is longer than the previous one, I guess I just keep writing longer chapters as the story moves forward. As promised, there are more of Addison and Derek's interactions, and flashbacks.

Here's the next chapter, I'll try to keep the weekly updates, fun fact, this chapter as just like the previous one has been ready since the day I published the first one. I'm currently working on the next one, which will hopefully be published next week.

EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

"I'm staying longer…. Tell your boyfriend that after he's done blaming me for what went down in the O.R, we can actually work as the grown adults that we are to actually save our patient's life."

Even though Derek revealed this information a couple days ago, those words were still haunting Addison each time they found each other at the hospital, every time that he greeted her with an annoyingly happy smile, was all of this just a joke to him? Or was he doing that to annoy her?

No, not everything is about you, Addison.

He will be back to Seattle before you think, he has a life there, a life that unlike the one you shared, he won't walk away from.

But if that's the case, why did these days feel like an eternity? She had worked in the same place as Derek after their divorce, sure things were awkward at the beginning when she had to stand and make her best effort to keep a straight face whenever she saw him and Meredith fooling around the hospital, but eventually, they learned to work together, all of them. Then why was this time any different?

Sure, they've changed, now Sam was also into the mix, and even though she was still convinced that Sam was a great guy, she was aware that he was also making it complicated for them to have a civilized work relationship with Derek Shepherd around. And of course, she wasn't expecting that her ex-husband would react that bad about her relationship with their old friend, why did he suddenly care? Years ago, she would have given every limb of her body for him to even care about what she was doing.

I want you to care, I sleep with your best friend and you walk away, he comes all the way here and rubs it on your face, and you still get a good-night sleep.

It's not like her relationship with Sam caught him as surprise, Mark had been there before and he knew that there was something going on between her and Sam, Derek was also her friend on each Social Media, unless he had blocked her, he had surely seen that Addisam was a thing.

We're Addison and Sam, we're Addisam – She had said to Violet and Amelia, back when things with Sam seemed perfect, back when he seemed to be the great guy that she had been waiting for so long. Back when even Bizzy approved that relationship. "Go home to Sam, he's a nice guy, stick with him." Those had been one of her mother's last words to her, the same mother that didn't approve anything about her life had given her long-wanted approval about the relationship she was currently in, and then again, why couldn't she just follow her mother's advice? What did Bizzy even know? She had stayed with the Captain for more than forty years, clearly her judgement wasn't the best.

But, back to Derek, why did he care? Was he doing it just to keep punishing her about the affair that ended up their marriage? That was impossible, Derek wasn't the kind of person who would hold a grudge for so long, at least not after so many years.

There wasn't enough coffee in the world for Addison to keep having those thoughts that early in the morning.

"Still thinking about the prodigal son?" Amelia who had apparently just gotten ready to head to the practice, interrupted Addison's thoughts and joined her outside, right in front of the ocean, she was also holding a cup of coffee.

"What? No, no. That's not what I am…" Sure, because denying it should help to get rid of those thoughts. "I didn't hear you come in last night." Trying to change the subject to a different one should be enough to keep her from bringing up her brother to the conversation, right?

"Late night emergency surgery, I even lost the track of time after I left the OR… Come on, Addie, it's me you're talking to. You know that if I have to take sides, I'm choosing yours."

Addison didn't mention it, but she did notice that Amelia's been having a lot of late night emergency surgeries lately.

"There are no sides to take, Amelia. Your brother will be working here for some time, it's not the first time we work together. I've probably worked longer with him than with anyone else in my entire life, I don't see why does everyone keeps thinking that it would be an issue. I have a practice to run and patients to operate on the hospital. He said it himself, we will have to find the way to learn to work together again, and I'm confident that we will."

Now say it like you really mean it, nice work, Addison.

"Fine, let's pretend that I believe you and that you'll be the rockstar professional that you are. How are things with Sam? He hasn't been here lately, and I don't see you going to his place either."

Addison took another sip of her coffee and looked at the younger woman after letting go a heavy sigh. She quickly looked at her left side, giving a glance to Sam's place, where she actually hasn't been in a while, she couldn't even remember if it has been five, six days, or even more than one week since the last time she had spent the night there.

"Things between Sam and I are complicated, and no, before you ask it doesn't have anything to do with Derek being here, I think it is safe to say that things are very much over, or at least they will be once we get to talk, lately he seems more concerned to show Derek that we're together than actually discussing our problems. Which is kind of sad, because even Bizzy approved my relationship with Sam, you know? That was the last conversation that we ever had, she never approved anything in my life, but she approved Sam."

Why was she even thinking about Bizzy? It hasn't been that long, but she shouldn't be basing her life choices on her mother's ghost.

"Well, being fair, Bizzy did also approve Derek."

FLASHBACK, 1993
CONNECTICUT

Derek had heard most of the stories about Addison's family and he had always been curious, because Addison had mentioned a lot… He had seen pictures of her family, they seemed pretty normal, upper-class-WASPy normal, if that's even a normal combination, besides Addison had turned out just fine, even better than fine, they couldn't be as bad as she described them.

And on the other hand, there was Archer. Please don't let them be like Archer, he wanted to make a good impression on her parents, but if they were anything like Addison's brother, then he was screwed.

"When you said that you grew up in a place very different than our current apartment, I should have believed you." That was Derek's first comment once they were parking inside the huge entrance of the Montgomery residence, he knew that Addison's family was wealthy but this place was beyond his imagination.

"We can still turn back and go home, you don't have to deal with them, you know? Not while we can avoid them" Addison got nervous but Derek on the other hand seemed relaxed, too relaxed for his girlfriend's sake.

"Addie, we're already here. Besides it is just one weekend, what can possibly go wrong? We will be back home before you think about it… And, if things do get weird, then we will just say that we have to study for a test and we will have to go back earlier than expected. Is that okay?" He was doing his best to try to calm her down but his attempts were helpless.

"You say that now. Just wait until you meet them." Addison took her boyfriend's hand holding it tight. He had never seen her so nervous before. "We should have met them over a restaurant, at least that way we would have only spent a couple of hours with them instead of a whole weekend."

He kept her close to him, being supportive but at the same time curious to finally meet the Montgomerys after almost three years of being dating Addison. He found the courage to ring the bell, even though he wondered why she couldn't just get in, it was her house after all.

A black-haired woman opened the door, she seemed excited to see them and looked friendly, was that Addison's mother? She didn't look like the pictures he had seen; she didn't also fit on the description that Addison had said about Bizzy. A cold WASP-y woman whose biggest flaw was having two children, which is why she had never allowed us to call her mother. Those were the exact words that she had used, but this woman seemed friendly.

"Addison! It's so good to see you. And you must be Derek, am I right? I'm glad to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you."

Before Derek could say anything, Addison also smiled and embraced the woman in front of them.

"Susan! At least it is nice to see you first… Uh, honey, this is Susan, she works for the family… Somehow she's still sane even though she's dealing with both of my parents. Susan, this is my boyfriend, Derek… So, what can we expect?"

Susan greeted Derek with a handshake, and smiled softly. "We've heard so much about you, Derek. Please, come in, they're in the garden waiting, the martinis are ready, feel free to take your own before saying anything."

Addison kept holding her boyfriend's hand while she walked behind Susan who guided them to where Bizzy and The Captain were laughing together, talking about her charities and Bizzy's next event for her garden club. Obviously, that wasn't what they were referring, Addison could read into those conversations, maybe they were just trying to rip Derek apart.

"We were expecting you, dear. Even though you're ten minutes late, which is a bit inconsiderate from your part, don't you think? Did it occur to you that your father and I might have other plans?" Of course those were Bizzy's first words to her only daughter after months without seeing her. "I'm glad you're keeping your hair long; you know it makes you look more virtuous." Bizzy took a sip of her martini and finally turned back to see Addison's company. "And who is this young gentleman by your side?" Her look was intimidating, but Derek kept his serenity, or at least made a good impression.

"Derek Shepherd. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Montgomery, I've been looking forward to this day."

"Oh, please, dear. You can call me Bizzy." She added politely, so far she didn't seem as bad as Addison described her, it didn't take long enough for Addison's father to join the conversation.

"Shepherd. Nice to meet you, I'm the Captain." Derek nodded and shook the older men's hand, the funny thing is that Addison never mentioned her father's name as well, she would always refer to him as "The Captain", and now, he could understand why, he doesn't even introduce himself with his own name.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Montgomery."

The afternoon went by painfully slow, including events like in which Bizzy tried to guess if Derek was from some another upper-class family, however he had handled each situation outstandingly.

"So, Derek… Are you a relative of the Shepherds from New Hampshire? I believe some of them are part of one of my charities."

"No, I don't think so. We're all from New York, my mom is an army nurse and my sisters, they are all studying medicine as well, except for the youngest one, who is still in High School."

"How lovely, dear. Coming from a big family must have been a challenge, we could barely handle the house with two children around."

"Well, Bizzy, I believe the nannies did a good job with me and Archer, considering that the both of us turned out sane enough to be accepted into Yale and Columbia." Addison took a sip of her martini while tighten the hold of Derek's hand.

"Addison, your manners, please. Derek and I are in the middle of a conversation." Bizzy went back to Derek while Addison rolled her eyes.

And that's exactly how the whole day went by, once that the dinner was over and the day was coming to an end, of course that Bizzy made them sleep in different rooms. She had asked Derek to stay at Archer's room, which he didn't protest unlike Addison. However, as usual, she didn't refuse it.

Later that night, Addison was alone in her old bedroom, since being in a relationship with Derek, sleeping alone at nights wasn't something that she was used to. She missed him and she didn't care what Bizzy said, she was going to find her boyfriend and will sneak him into her room. However, while walking through the endless halls that lead to Archer's room, she found her mother right in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing, Addison?"

"Bizzy, I was just – Uh… I… I was looking for Derek; I honestly don't know why do you insist on making us sleep apart. We've been together for three years now, we even share an apartment, if you're trying to protect my virtue, I'm sorry to tell you that…"

"There's no need to be indecent, dear. It's not my concern how do you decide to live your life outside of this roof, but while you're staying here, you won't be staying in the same room as your partner, not while you're not married."

"Do you realize how old-fashioned that sounds?"

"I don't care, I won't allow you to disrespect me and your father like that, besides surely that young gentleman is already sleeping, unlike you he did seem to have a lovely evening."

Sure because The Captain doesn't disrespect you on each opportunity that he has. Of course, Addison would never say that out loud, not to Bizzy at least.

However, what Addison didn't know at the time, was that when she left the dining room to change for her night clothes, Derek had stayed talking to with Bizzy and The Captain, he wanted to make things right, which is why he took that opportunity to tell them about his willingness to ask Addison to marry him, he even showed them the engagement ring he had gotten for Addison few weeks ago and was expecting the moment to break the news to Addison's parents, he had promised them that he would take care of her, he had also mentioned his intentions to become a great neurosurgeon, and even though he didn't come from a family like the Montgomerys, he had promised to work hard to give Addison everything she deserved.

It didn't take much convincing from his side for both Bizzy and The Captain to accept, of course he had to promise his future mother-in-law that she will be in charge of the wedding planning, she had a lot of ideas that he feared that his wedding would turned out to be a circus, or even something as big as the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, of course, he needed to propose first to get into that conversation.

Addison wasn't in the mood to argue with her mother, which is why she didn't say a word and simply made her way back to her room, she will wait a little bit longer for Bizzy to fall asleep to try to go back to Derek's room.

"Addison?" Hearing her mother's voice made her turn back immediately.

"Derek is a nice young gentleman, and even though I'm sure that you already know more about his virtues, I can say that he will be a great addition to the family. I hope you do keep him around, dear."

The younger woman smiled, sure, her mother wasn't exactly the most open person and hearing that coming from her meant not only that Derek indeed had made a good impression, but that he had earned her approval.

"We're still going strong, Bizzy; he's not going anywhere."

"Good to know that."

END OF THE FLASHBACK

"…It's actually funny because Bizzy once said that he was like the son she never had." Addison added reminiscing those days, back when things were easier and her biggest concern was knowing if her parents would like her boyfriend, way before every part of the life she knew went downhill, definitely those were easier times. "And yes, she said that right in from of my brother. She had her moments."

At that moment, that memory filled her mind, and for a moment, she forgot about the current situation between her and Sam, after all, those were better memories than the last conversation she had with her mother.

"I would have paid to see Archer's reaction after hearing that."

XX

Slowly, Derek was getting to adjust himself to the way of working in Los Angeles, or at least the hospital, he arrived early to check on Luke Holloway's progress and after that, he'll meet will Dr. Charlotte King at her office to discuss how they will manage the Neurosurgery department while he's there. Sure, it was a good opportunity for the hospital to have a name like Derek Shepherd's guiding the other surgeons, but for him, it was also a good distraction to keep his mind off Seattle.

Things on Seattle were complicated, Los Angeles seemed refreshing, stereotypical but still refreshing.

Is that why Addison moved to a place like this? Surely it wasn't because of Sam, right?

No, he shouldn't be thinking about that, not anymore. Not while he's trying to make the best out of his days in Los Angeles.

That morning, he had agreed to meet Charlotte at the practice instead of the hospital, and even though he would have preferred not to go to that place to avoid another awkward encounter, then again, he had agreed to be professional about it, after all, Naomi was right, he had managed to work together with Mark, Addison and Meredith… How was this any different?

While waiting for his meeting with Dr. King at her office on the Practice, Derek found his way to the kitchen, that was probably the only place in that practice-spa that he actually liked, maybe he should even bring that idea back to Seattle and have a kitchen filled with any of their favorite drinks or food, but then again, the residents or even the interns would tear it apart.

That only works in a Private Practice located in Los Angeles. It wouldn't work in a hospital in Seattle.

"Good morning, doctors." Derek greeted Pete and Cooper who were already there having, what it seemed like breakfast. "I don't think we've introduced properly, I'm Dr. Derek Shepherd."

"Yes, we've heard, you're Amelia's brother. Nice to have you here, man. I'm Dr. Pete Wilder, Alternative Medicine."

"You're also known as Addison's ex-husband, nice to finally meet you, I'm Cooper, Pediatrician."

Of course they had to point that out, however Derek smiled politely.

"Yeah, that's me. But you guys can call me Derek, I'll be around for few weeks checking some Neuro cases from the hospital, I guess it's better if we get to know each other as probably we will be spending some time together here at the practice."

"Are all of you Shepherds neuro geniuses? I mean, both you and Amelia have the same specialty, it's not that common to have two hot-shot neurosurgeons in one family." Cooper tried to keep it cool, after all, Derek seemed to be a nice guy to have around the practice.

"Oh, no. We have other sisters too, also doctors, but not neurosurgeons." Derek added with a laugh while he served himself a cup of coffee.

"Do you? Amelia doesn't talk much about her sisters." Pete took another bite of his breakfast.

"Well, they don't really get along that well, they are all what you expect when you hear that growing up with four sisters is not easy."

"Four sisters? I can't even imagine. I am an only child. Though, I guess the company wasn't that bad while growing up." Cooper filled his cup of coffee while continuing their conversation, in the meantime, Derek sat in front of both of them.

"Yeah, well… I'm just saying, having a brother around would have made things easier." Mark was his brother though, at this point, he still is, even though things were complicated for a time, they've finally reached that place again.

"Surely. So, you went to Med School with Sam and Naomi too, right? You had quite a group back there, we also met this other guy from Seattle, the plastics surgeon, what was his name?" Pete added, remembering that time when that other friend of Addison visited them briefly.

"Right, you've met Mark Sloan." For a brief second he had forgotten that Mark had been in L.A about a year ago. He remembered how he rubbed on his face the fact that he had slept with Addison.

…Is that why you went back to sleeping with my ex-wife? – Yeah, that had been Derek's reaction once Mark was talking about his quick trip to Los Angeles.

And of course, he also remembered Mark's response, or better said, Mark's excuse.

You're re-married, why do you care?

He didn't, of course he didn't care.

"That's the one. I was here thinking that all of Addison's friends from Seattle, were like him, or even like her brother." Pete also remembered that they've mentioned that Archer was also close to all of them during their Med School years, however, Archer's mention made Cooper roll his yes, which didn't go unnoticed by Derek, even he had that same reaction when thinking about his brother-in-law.

Former. Former brother-in-law.

"So, I guess you also had the pleasure to meet Archer Montgomery." Derek added sarcastically. "But no, I am nothing like him, thanks God, and neither like Mark, we're all very different."

Maybe Mark and Archer are more similar, they do screw anything with a pulse.

"Oh, yeah. I've noticed that, as soon as Sloan knew that I was into Alternative Medicine, he called me witch-doctor and guy with needles, which you haven't and I appreciate it."

"That's totally something Mark would do." Maybe that place wasn't that bad after all, at least when neither Sam or even Addison weren't around, the other doctors seemed to be welcoming, then again, maybe L.A and even the Practice/Spa wasn't that bad after all.

"How do you like California so far? I assume it is completely different than Seattle."

In every single way, Cooper. You have no idea.

"I guess that having a warm weather and no rain all day does have its perks. But then again, I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"You should give it a chance, before you think, you will find yourself missing the ocean view once you're back home." Pete had another sip of his coffee, right after, he exchanged a look with Cooper and both nodded.

"You know, we – The guys, we get together each Thursday night to play poker and get some beers. If you will be joining us at the Practice for some time, I don't see why you can't join us also on our nights out." Cooper suggested.

"Technically, I won't be joining the practice; I am just reviewing some cases at the hospital." Derek corrected him.

"Whatever, you're still here getting free breakfast. That makes you a part of the practice."

"I really do hope that's not how you hire people to join to this place." These guys didn't seem so bad, they didn't seem bad at all, he could see himself being friends with them and even being part of those poker sessions.

"We won't confirm or deny anything. Anyway, join us on Thursday, we will meet at Sam's place."

That's when Derek's expression changed completely.

"I don't know if he will be okay with me showing up, you know what, guys? Maybe next time." Yes, that would be better, why would he want to go to Sam's place. What could he expect there? All the proof of Sam's relationship with his ex-wife? No, he'll pass.

"Come on, man. Aren't you and Sam two old friends? I'm sure that whatever that's going on at the moment, you can leave it behind." Pete insisted.

"Of course he wouldn't mind, believe me. That's our space, free from girl drama. Here, they're anywhere, but there, it's just us. No need to talk about feelings and all that stuff that these girls want to talk about all the time." Cooper added.

Girl-drama? What is this? High school? They do have a point, though and for what he gets on that conversation, they are also in relationships with the other women from the Practice. Of course, it doesn't surprise him.

"Fine, count me in. A night without girl drama is exactly what we all need."

XX

Once she arrived to the practice that morning, Addison was hoping for a quiet morning, one where she could only focus on her patients instead of her complicated life, it was on days like this where she missed the most working full-time at the hospital, because when she had one of those days, all she had to do was rushing into the E.R and there she would always find a good distraction to forget about anything about her life. But the life at the Practice was more quiet, she still had patients to see and she really liked that way of work, but lately, she would prefer to be inside an O.R dealing with different problems, those that she was able to control and fix.

However, her expectations of a quiet day were quickly destroyed as soon as the elevator doors opened and she saw no other than Derek Shepherd at her practice not only speaking, but laughing along with Pete and Cooper, with her colleagues, with her friends.

So much for having a quiet day.

"… So, you're married to Violet, the psychiatrist and you're engaged to Charlotte King, well, I won't say that I'm surprised that all of you had found someone on your workplace, where I come from, it is exactly the same." Addison overheard the guy's conversation, this time it was Derek leading it, followed by Pete.

"Oh, I do remember that, Addison mentioned once something about the elevators in Seattle being aphrodisiac." Pete added making all of them laugh. "So, I'm guessing you're involved with someone from work too?"

"Well… I…" Derek stopped talking as soon as Addison tried to pass by their side.

Addison took a deep breath and started to check on her empty phone as an effort to avoid the eye contact with her ex-husband, but then again, her attempt to pass unnoticed failed miserably.

"Hey Addison, why were you hiding this guy from us? From all of your friends from Seattle, he seems to be the best so far." Pete announced as soon as she left the elevator.

"Yeah, we like him, can we keep him?" Cooper teased, which made Derek laugh.

"I- Uh, I wasn't hiding him… And I didn't bring him here. You all seem to be getting along, aren't you?" She turned to Derek. "What are you doing here, by the way? I thought your plan was to work at the hospital, not at the practice, because here, I do get a say."

Both Pete and Cooper exchanged a look and then saw Derek again.

"And now, we're leaving… See you on Thursday, Shepherd."

"Alright – See you then, guys. It was good to finally talk to someone nice on this place." Derek added before they went apart, this comment made Addison frown. What the hell was going on?

"What was that about? Why did they say that they will see you on Thursday?" Addison was curious which is why she followed Derek into the kitchen where he was heading to.

"I know that it might come as a surprise to you, Addie, but some people actually find me likeable. Even you used to think that, remember?" Derek didn't stop walking; he didn't even turn back when he replied to Addison's question.

"No, no. You don't get to hang out with my friends, Derek. One thing is being here, in my city and my practice but… There are lines that you shouldn't cross, and now you didn't only cross it, you're so far from the line that you can't even see it. "

Satan speaks.

"It's called having a good relationship with your colleagues. I am going to be spending some time here, so it's better to get along with them, don't you agree? Besides, they seem like nice people, and they even said that they like me better than Mark, who by the way, seemed to make quite of an impression while the time he was here." Was that some sort of jealousy on his tone? No, of course not, he was only trying to make a point, right?

Addison rolled her eyes, why were they even talking about Mark?

"You're enjoying it, aren't you? Damn it, Derek. You can't not just be everywhere, not here."

"You know what, Addison? One of the many perks of us being divorced is that you don't get a say on what I do, or in who I decide to hang-out with. And you know what's the best of it?"

She knew that even if she didn't answer, he would continue anyway.

"The best is that I don't have to even pretend that I want to listen to you. Now, if you excuse me, I have to meet Charlotte at her office, then I'll head back to the hospital and if I finish early, I'll go grab a beer with the guys."

Without saying anything else, Derek Shepherd turned back and walked away. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't enjoying each bit of Addison's reaction.

"The guys? Derek, they're not even your friends." Addison raised her voice, while he pretended that he didn't listen to those last words, which is why he kept walking back to the elevator and find Charlotte's office. "You didn't even pretend you wanted to listen to me when we were married." She added as soon as the elevator doors were closed.

"Unbelievable, you keep saying that I am the one starting schoolyards fights with Derek, but somehow you're the one being loud in the middle of the Practice." Sam peeked out from his office as soon as he heard Addison's voice.

I just wanted a quiet morning, was that so much to ask?

"And somehow, you're the one who keeps showing up every time Derek is around, but still manage to disappear whenever I try to bring up our real problems." Was this how all the days were going to look like from now on? She couldn't deal with that, not from that early on the morning.

"No, you don't get it, Addison. All I'm saying is that I don't want to discuss my future, our future in the practice in front of our friends."

"How considerate of you, if only I had brought the subject while we were at my house, or not… Maybe if you were living closer to me, talking about it should be easier. Oh, right, that still didn't work."

"Well… I would have showed up at your place if your ex-husband wouldn't be keeping me busy all day, showing me all kind of procedures to try with our common patient and…"

Addison in that moment got paged from the hospital. She had never been so grateful to be called to the emergency room.

"It's the hospital… I have to run, if you want to talk, you'll know where to find me."

Saved by the bell, again.

XX

"… Nora Walker, twenty-eight years old, thirty weeks pregnant, we've checked her medical history and…" The doctor on-call for the E.R started to explain the case to Addison, however it didn't take her long to recognize the patient.

"Nora is my patient, her baby has hydrocephalus, I've done periodical ultrasounds to monitor the baby's ventricular size." Addison didn't even have to see the file, of course she remembered the case.

"We've ran some tests as soon as she arrived, and it showed up that a progressive ventriculomegaly is demonstrated." The doctor explained, while Addison nodded and opened the patient's chart to see the results he was talking about.

"It doesn't look good, there is a huge risk of pulmonary immaturity, if we don't act soon, there might be a potential damage of progressive ventriculomegaly and early delivery." Addison took a deep breath, and lifted her sight knowing that she needed to act as soon as possible to save her patient, and after that diagnosis, she needed a neuro consult.

So much for my quiet morning.

"Page Dr. Shepherd, now." She ordered the doctor while she started to check herself the baby's heartbeat and check how did the fetus looked on the ultrasound. It only took some minutes for the neurosurgeon to arrive, and of course, it was none other than Derek Shepherd.

Great.

"You know, when I asked for a Dr. Shepherd, I meant, Amelia Shepherd. I should've been more specific." She kept her attention on her patient, Derek in the meantime, took Nora's file and started to see what was happening.

"Amy's not available, I'm all you have right now, besides you know that the patient couldn't be on better hands right now…" Derek kept reading the chart while heading next to Addison to take a look at the monitor, she didn't want to start any other argument with him, which is why she kept working on the ultrasound, to see the baby's condition. "Addison, this is a severe case of spina bifida, the baby is only thirty weeks, do you think that it is the best choice? Shouldn't we wait at least until she's past week 35, I remember back in New York, we performed a similar surgery, you did a C-Section and after that, we operated on the baby."

Addison shook her head and pointed at the baby's image on the monitor. "No, if we wait that long it can cause permanent damage, delivering the baby by now should be our last option, Dr. Shepherd."

Ouch, Dr. Shepherd, that was cold.

Derek heard Addison's explanation carefully and nodded. "In that case, we will have to work with a shunt system, Dr. Montgomery." If she wanted to be strictly professional, then that was a game he could also play, in any case, that wasn't his concern at the moment, it was the patient, their patient.

"Yes, that would be also my suggestion, after the shunt placement, we can monitor the fetal head size, if everything goes well, by week 32 it should grow normally."

"What if it doesn't?" Derek kept checking the scans, then his eyes met Addison's after she turned back from watching the monitor.

"Well, then we will need to start thinking about the post-delivery plan, but right now, we can only hope that we don't come to that."

"I agree; I will book an O.R."

XX

The patient was ready, they had informed Nora's husband about the procedure they're performing and they've promised to do the best they could. Before they were headed to the O.R, Addison stayed filling the pre-ops and updating the patient's chart, while Derek just had returned with two cups on his hands.

"Addie? So, I was thinking… We could use some good juju for this surgery." Derek handed the cup of hot cocoa to Addison. It wasn't a hard procedure, not for Derek, neither for Addison, but it was the first time they were working together in years. Of course, they needed some juju. Especially after how they've been acting around each other since his arrival to California.

"It's Dr. Montgomery for you." She corrected him before taking the cocoa that Derek had handed her. "Juju? You're giving me juju?" Addison was surprised, it was their ritual back in New York, she had even brought it back to Seattle, but since their divorce that was a habit she decided to cut, just as many others, because it was not only hers, it was their ritual. "Do you think we need some good juju for this surgery?"

Derek shrugged and took a sip of his cocoa.

"All I'm saying is that, it's my peace offer. Whatever difference that we have, it can wait, I know we can both keep it professional."

Unlike your boyfriend, I am sure you won't be bringing up details of our personal lives to the O.R. – He wanted to add, but he didn't, not when he was trying to keep everything professional.

"Well, thanks, Dr. Shepherd. I do appreciate the good juju before the surgery, but I was already intending to keep everything as professional as we can… Besides, we've worked together before, I'm very confident that we can manage to handle some hours together in the O.R"

And there it was again, Dr. Shepherd.

"Fine, Dr. Montgomery. I just want Nora and her son to…"

"Spence – That's how she's calling the baby." Addison provided that information, interrupting him.

I always found adorable how she remembers those little details.

What? No, focus, Shepherd.

"… Nora and Spence will need the best of us. There's no need for us to show our hate towards each other while we're…"

"I don't hate you, Derek. It's just been overwhelming having you here, mostly because it was completely unexpected, but I know that you're only doing your job, even if I am giving you a hard time."

He smiled, of course he knew that his arrival wouldn't be easy on her, after all, he did know that Addison hated surprises, she hated the unexpected, he had always criticized the fact that she always read the last page of each book first just to know what to expect, but this time, he knew he had taken her without a warning, which is why he decided to bring up their old little ritual from New York.

"So, now you get to call me Derek? I am not sure I am following your rules." He teased, still with that smile that used to drive Addison crazy, the one that made her fall completely in love with him.

Used to.

"Oh, no. I'm still Dr. Montgomery for you. Look, we're both professional surgeons, we will perform the surgery and we will have the results that we're expecting, I trust that both of us can keep it quiet, at least on the O.R, after we're out of it, I won't promise anything… That said, I still stand firmly when I say that I am sure your patients on Seattle must be missing you and are hoping for a soon return, preferably before you start to hang-out with all of my friends from here."

Both of them laughed.

"You're on your right, Dr. Montgomery. Shall we begin?" Addison nodded while both of them finally stepped to scrub-in together. Once they've made it to the O.R, each of them were on a different side of the patient, before starting to cut, Addison looked at Derek, waiting for him to initiate.

"What?"

"Well, we're not operating until you say it, Dr. Shepherd." She didn't even have to mention anything else.

Of course he just knew what she meant.

"Okay, everybody. It's a beautiful day to save lives. Let's have some fun."

XX

As expected, the surgery went by successfully, both Derek and Addison managed to complete it without any complication, they were good working together and that procedure made both of them remember that, they used to be a good team when they were together. They were DerekAndAddison even at the O.R

They both informed Nora's husband about the results and how Spence's condition should be improving within the next few weeks. Once they were done with it, they went back to the I.C.U to check on their patient's recovery, she was responding just as expected.

"You did a good job, Dr. Shepherd."

"You too, Dr. Montgomery."

She smiled. "Addison. We're not working together now, and hopefully we won't have to do it again while you're still here, which means, you can call me by my name again, even though I would just prefer if you just go back to Seattle and just don't call me by anything."

Technically, they were not working together, as their surgery was done and the patient was reacting as good as they expected, there was no need to keep acting like two colleagues who hardly knew each other, right?

"I always preferred to call you Addie, you know?" Derek added looking down with a soft smile.

"I know that." Addison also smiled, as much as she didn't want to, her eyes were on him.

"Addie?" He asked, he knew if he didn't ask the question he had in mind right now, he will probably lose the chance to ever have a decent conversation with her.

"Yes?" She looked at him being curious for his next words.

"You and Sam… Naomi might have mentioned that you two had something going on since Med School, but… I asked you out since what? Or first semester? We were together ever since... Did you two… Is Naomi right?" This time he was serious, his eyes were showing his concern about it, what if she did confirm that she had something going on with Sam while they were together? No, Derek wasn't ready to hear that.

"Derek…" Addison started, but Derek interrupted her.

"You're right, that was out of place. It's just that…"

Of course, again not the place or the time. But when will it be?

"No, no, Derek. Nothing happened between me and Sam back in Med School. Nothing happened between us until about a year ago, you know that back in Med School I only had eyes for you. It was just not possible for me to accept anyone else into my life, not when you were all I wanted." Her words were truthful, but they were also painful, because those kind of thoughts were the ones locked on the tiny box where she had to hide Derek after their divorce to be able to move on.

"But then… Why did Naomi say that you and…" He wasn't even sure that he wanted to hear the rest of it.

"She doesn't know the full story." Addison looked down, of course that she wasn't going to tell Naomi each detail of her relationship with Sam, and neither she will tell Derek, but that part of the story, she figured that he could know.

FLASHBACK 1990
COLUMBIA MEDICAL SCHOOL

They say that the first semester of Medical School is the most complicated, because it is when you make sure that you really do want to be a doctor and that you made the right choice, but for Addison, she had always known, she had seen her father working since she was a kid and she would even join him to some medical lectures which made her know from a very young age that she wanted to take that path.

Since her semester started, she was even taking extra classes, she liked to push herself to the limit to achieve what she wanted to, which in this case, was becoming the best student and best doctor on her class. That's why when she was paired up with Derek Shepherd on their gross anatomy class, she immediately knew that he would be a good addition for her study group, because out of all of the other guys on her class, he seemed as ambitious as she was, he was also determined to become the best.

Their study meetings became more often, after that, they started out to see each other outside of the university and started to make plans as friends until they became inseparable, which didn't take long for it to become something else, when both of them started to develop feelings towards each other.

Even if they didn't become a couple immediately (It took Derek a couple of months after their first meeting to ask Addison out on a date), most of their friends knew that there was something going on between Addison and Derek, it was so obvious that most of them would just assume that they were a couple, even when they weren't. Well, it was obvious for most of them, except for Sam Bennett.

Sam was what the others would refer to as a "geek", however he was also one of the best students which is why he had made it through Addison and Derek's study group, along with Naomi, Mark and even Archer who sometimes would join them.

"I think that's enough for today, I don't think I can hear anything else related to Epidemiology and Biostatistics today. The exam isn't until three more days, I am sure we can pick up from here tomorrow, don't you guys think?" Derek announced while closing the book they've been reading for hours; they were all studying on Addison's apartment since what it seemed to be all day.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to study anyway, I'm taking Stacy out tonight and I don't want to waste any more time." Mark left his seat and got ready to head off.

"Stacy? That's a new one. Is that the blonde one from nursing school?" Naomi asked laughing. They were all aware of Mark's conquests and they would bring that up to tease him at least a couple times each day.

"No, no. That was Laura, I think this one is the brunette one with green eyes, the one from Orientation Class." Addison added.

"Isn't that Sylvia? The brunette one? Oh, no, wait, Sylvia is the Psychology Professor. It is hard to keep track with you lately, man." Sam also noted, which made all of them laugh.

"You're all so funny, really." Mark added sarcastically. "And you're all wrong, Stacey is from Law School, we met on the bar. Dark hair, blue eyes, she wants me to take her out to dinner and then we'll head back to her place."

"Dark hair and blue eyes? Are you sure you're not just dating Derek?" Sam teased Mark, this made Addison laugh as well, which made Derek roll his eyes, sure, he didn't appreciate those kind of comments in front of the girl he was trying to impress.

"Very funny, all of you." Now it was Derek the one who made that comment. "Well, we better head back home, if Mark doesn't arrive on time to his date, I will never hear the end of it."

"I'm glad that you're aware of it." Mark added.

"Whatever…" Derek said before turning back to Addison with a soft smile. "So… Will I see you tomorrow? After class, I mean." He smiled at her.

"Sure, you'll know where to find me." Addison also smiled, most of the people in there, rolled their eyes.

"That's enough, let's go, Shepherd. See you all tomorrow." Mark took Derek by the arm to take him out of there, because otherwise, he could take longer exchanging glances with Addison.

"Yeah, let's go… See you later, guys." Derek said to Sam and Naomi and then turned back to Addison. "Bye, Addie. I'll see you tomorrow." At that time, Derek had everything planned, because on the following day, he was going to ask her out on a date, not on a study group and definitely not as friends.

She smiled softly. "Bye, Derek."

"Wait, guys, I'm going with you. Are you coming too, Sam?" Naomi asked while picking up her books and notebooks.

"No, I'll stay with Addison, she will need help to clean up the mess that you're leaving here." Right after he said that, Mark, Derek and Naomi left Addison's place.

"You know, it isn't that messy, we've had worst days here, I can do it by myself." Addison laughed as soon as all of them left.

"Yeah, I know that, I still wanted to give you a hand and… I also wanted to stay a little longer to talk to you, you know, privately."

Addison was surprised to hear that, of course that Sam was her friend, but they don't use to have many private talks, most of their conversations end up being about Naomi, who was as crazy about Sam as she was about Derek at the time, or of course about anything they were studying about.

"Let me guess, it is about Nai?" She asked with a big smile on her face, of course it made sense that he would ask any tip to Naomi's best friend if he wanted to ask her out, however, she was wrong.

"What? No, no, I – I don't want to talk about Naomi, well… It will depend on your answer."

Well, that did confuse Addison, now she didn't know what he was referring to.

"Okay? What do you want to talk about?" Now more than confused, Addison was intrigued. Sam looked nervous. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? Is there everything okay?"

"Well… I know this might come out of nowhere but… Uh… What I am trying to say is… What I want to say is that… I – I would like to ask you out on a date. Yes, that's it. I want to ask you out Addison."

That was definitely something that she didn't expect to hear, not when she had been waiting to hear that question from Derek, and surely Naomi was also waiting to have that same conversation with Sam.

That was just wrong.

"Sam… I – I feel flattered, really." He was a sweet guy and Addison didn't know how to turn him down and not sounding like a complete idiot.

"Okay… And you feeling flattered means that you will agree? Or should I just leave and pretend I didn't say anything?" Sam insisted.

"Look, you're a great guy and I would be lucky to go out on a date with someone like you but…"

"Oh God, here it comes, don't say anything else. Forget I said anything"

"No, no. Listen to me, I am turning you down, not because there's something wrong with you, on the contrary, you're a great… But Derek and I… There's something going on between us... Well, not yet exactly, but I really want to give it a try. I… I've never been the kind of girl who thinks about a boy all day or the one who fills her notebooks with little hearts with initials intertwined, but with Derek I get that feeling." She admitted honestly, that was something that he had only admitted to Naomi. "You deserve someone who feels that way about you, and I am completely sure that it won't take you longer to find that person."

Sam sighed heavily and nodded. "I appreciate your honesty, Addison. I – I hope that this doesn't affect our friendship."

"We're okay, Sam. I – I'm sorry." She did feel a little bad for turning him down like that, but she was already having feelings for Derek, and Naomi was her best friend and she was crazy about Sam. Having a date with him would have been wrong on every single way.

"Don't even mention it, I – I guess I'll see you tomorrow… And Addison?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sure Derek feels the same way… He's a very lucky guy." This made Addison smile, it was in that moment when Sam realized he never had a chance with her, it was obvious that all Addison could think about was about Derek Shepherd.

END OF THE FLASHBACK

"So, you were writing our initials intertwined with hearts on your notebooks? Is that why you never let me borrow your notes?" Derek teased after hearing Addison's side of the story.

"Seriously? That's the part of the story that caught your attention, Derek?" Addison rolled her eyes. "What I am trying to say is that back in Med School, it was you since the first day. I wouldn't have accepted anyone else."

"Addie?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for telling me that, I - even though things didn't end up very well for us, those years are something that I would never change, and I kept thinking, if you and Sam had something back then…"

"Derek, I was crazy about you, that's all I can say. The start of our relationship was as truthful as you remember, and the fact that I am with Sam now, will never change that."

Both of them smiled, without saying any other word, she walked out. Neither of them had thought about those days in a very long time, but it was until that moment when both of them realized that those were some memories that they would like to keep intact, and no one will be able to change that, because back in Med School was a good time for all of them, it was when they became the persons they were today.

Addison had walked away from Derek, from those memories and wanting to hide the fact that she had tears in her eyes, just by having those old memories floating around her head, feeling like she was running out of breath.

Damn it, Derek. Why do you have to bring back those memories?

Don't you realize that once the tiny box is open it gets harder to close it?

A/N: The tiny box is open, but what does that mean for Addison and Derek? We'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens. Also, I am loving the fact that Derek will get to hang-out with the guys from the Practice. I am really excited to see how their night out will go.

Please, review and tell me what you think.