"Addison, phone!" Derek yelled from the kitchenette, glancing at the buzzing phone, face-down on the table. "Your phone!"

She emerged hurriedly from the shower, hair dripping on her satin blouse, and grabbed her phone just as it stopped buzzing. "It's Savvy. I'll call her back later. We're going to be late, go take a shower fast."

"Do I dare ask if there's any hot water left?" he retorted, passing her a cup of coffee and then heading to the shower.

She smirked at him from over her cup. "No, I think it's best you don't." He scowled lightly, his eyes still smiling, and disappeared behind the glass door.

"When will you be done today?" she asked as they pushed open the doors of the lobby, sighing in relief as they escaped the rain.

"Probably by nine. Late surgery around seven," answered Derek, walking up to the receptionist. He smiled at her politely as she handed him his messages, and moved slightly as Addison stretched her hand out past him to collect her messages.

Addison moved toward the other end of the reception desk, picking up a chart binder. "I'll be done early today."

"Okay, not nine," said Derek as he leafed through his messages. "Nixon wants a late consult-" A short, stocky man bumped against his elbow. "Nixon's case next week-"

"Hey, there," said the man behind him very loudly, cutting across Derek. "I'm looking for Addison Montgomery." Derek lifted his head slowly just as Addison whirled around from the other end, looking elated, while Derek contemplated how to escape.

"Archie!" she exclaimed loudly, rushing past Derek and into her brother's arms. Derek, still considering if he could make a break for it, slowly moved away from the two of them. He looked up and saw a crowd of people watching them from the catwalk. The gossip mill was back, he was sure. Though, he added to himself, the real problem was that his brother-in-law was back.

He turned around to face said man, just as Addison pulled away. "How are you here? Last I heard, you were in Geneva for the book tour."

Archer Montgomery slung his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Came back for you, sis." He lowered his voice and added conspiratorially, "Plus, women in Geneva are big on actually calling back after a night."

Addison hit his arm lightly, her eyes sparkling with a glint that'd been missing since she arrived in Seattle. "Ass."

"Derek Shepherd," said Archer, clapping him on the shoulder. "Still keeping my sister captive here, I see."

"Archer. It's great to see you," he said politely, and Addison frowned at him. Her eyes said, at least make an effort to pretend. "How've you been?" he added.

"Wow, Add, you've got him being nice to me," grinned Archer. "Here I thought you were the one adjusting to his crap, at least according to your drunk voicemails." Addison grimaced. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

"Uh-huh, sure," she said. "Okay, I've got work to do now. Meet for lunch? You staying at the Archfield?"

"Yep. Room service there is great, just like you said." He shot Derek a dirty look, and then turned back to his sister. "I'll wait in your office till lunch, then, it doesn't make sense to go back all the way."

"Right this way." She turned to her husband. "I'll see you at the trailer, then, since you have a late consult?" He nodded, and kissed her cheek dutifully, and watched the Montgomery siblings head to the elevator. Deciding against spending another awkward moment with Archer, Derek hung around in the lobby till they'd gone.

"Family, am I right?" said one of the attendings at the reception desk.

"You've no idea," muttered Derek.

"Good work, Mer-Grey," said Derek as they left the scrub room, exhausted. "Handle my post-ops, and keep an eye on Mrs. Lowell."

She smiled and nodded, turning right. He continued walking ahead to the fire exit stairs, and then sat down limply on one of the steps, the noise echoing slightly in the empty stairwell.

Mrs. Lowell hadn't been easy. She coded thrice, two of which were his fault since he had a feeling that he'd almost nicked the frontal lobe. It didn't appear to be touched in any way when he and Grey inspected it, but his gut said he'd come too close to it. Grey had worked well though, reacting quickly and calmly. Maybe neuro was something she could consider; it'd been a while since he'd seen a student so adept at his specialty.

He leaned back against the wall and massaged his temples. Slowly but surely, he was able to think of Meredith as just Grey. And now her smile didn't make his heart beat faster – not as much as before, anyway. It really would pass.

The stairwell door on the floor above opened, and he heard two voices – slightly distorted because of the echo, but definitely unmistakeable – his wife and her brother. Praying they weren't on some fitness streak and about to walk down the stairs, he sat silently, listening.

"I'm just saying it for you, Add," he heard Archer's distinctive voice, with more affection than he'd ever show in public.

"I know, but…Archer, I can't. I just can't give up like that." Addison sounded exhausted. "I have to trust him, or else there's no point."

"Addison, he hasn't looked at you the same way since much before you screwed his best friend. There's a fine line between fighting for what's right and fighting for the sake of not letting go." Addison said something, which Derek couldn't catch. Archer continued, "I mean, you've told him everything. And he still hasn't given you a concrete answer about choosing you or the intern."

"It's a big decision, of course he's not rushing it."

"If it's that hard to choose, if it's still not clear, then Addie, it's not meant to be. You know that, right?" Archer sounded surprisingly gentle. "Hey. Look at me." Pause. "You're not happy here. He's not happy here. But he was happy here, before – before you arrived. Maybe it's time to let go."

"You're wrong," said Addison, but she sounded slightly unsure. "We've had good moments, too, you know. It's just that I've called you only when things were bad. Stop judging, Archie."

"I'm not judging, but you're being ridiculous!"

"Oh, really?" Derek heard the fire in Addison's voice, and he could picture her eyes blazing with anger. "What do you even know about relationships, you – you manwhore! You jump into bed with anyone with a vagina, you're hardly in a position to dole out advice here!"

"I've seen plenty of dysfunctional relationships, and so have you," he retorted. "Or did you forget about our dear parents?"

"That has no connection, don't-"

"You're deluding yourself if you can't see the connection!"

"Are you saying I'm the Captain, Archer?" Addison's voice was venomous. "Sleeping around, while my husband and Bizzy are the poor victims? Because the difference is that I'm actually sorry for what I did, while the Captain has no qualms about it!"

Archer let out a bark of laughter. "Sis, I'm saying you're like Bizzy."

Silence.

"What?"

"You don't see it? You're turning into Bizzy; running after the husband who's clearly not in love with you, pretending to ignore the cheating – in your case emotional cheating, I suppose – and putting on a show of what a great couple you are. Bizzy has her charity events for appearances, and you have the hospital."

"Archer," warned Addison so softly he almost missed it.

"Next thing you know, you'll be downing a bottle a night, throwing your emotions into it while your husband sleeps on peacefully, dreaming of the intern. Please, Addison, do tell me how that's different from what we grew up with."

Slap.

"Leave. Now." Her voice was filled with unmistakeable hatred, and Derek involuntarily shuddered. "Leave Seattle."

Silence.

"I said, leave!"

"Christ, Addie," said Archer at last, stunned. "That's definitely a Bizzy moment, you get that right?" Derek heard the fire exit door open as Archer continued, "Anyway, I'll be at the Archfield till tomorrow morning, if you change your mind."

"I won't."

Archer paused. "Addison. You may have Shepherd embroidered on that coat, but you're a Montgomery through-and-through. And you can deny it all you want, but I'm the only constant you've got." The door shut with a soft thud.

Derek quietly entered the trailer, stumbling in the dark and cursing softly. He bent down, moving the Louboutin pumps aside with his hand instead of his foot like usual. It wouldn't help to piss off Addison any further tonight.

"Your dinner is in the fridge," said a sharp voice from behind the room partition.

"Okay." He hesitantly switched on the lamp beside the couch, and she groaned from the bed. He quickly pulled out the plate of food from the fridge and began heating it up, willing it to hurry. He could hear Addison tapping her foot against the bed, waiting for him to turn out the lights.

He changed out of his shirt and trousers, while hurriedly shovelling semi-cold food into his mouth. Trying not to gag at Addison's cooking was hard enough when it was warm and fresh. But he knew better than to say anything, especially tonight.

Turning out the lamp at last, he clambered over her to the other side of the bed, his hands briefly brushing her face, registering the dampness on her cheek – not that he was surprised. He hesitated, taking in her pretending-to-sleep form, turned away from him. He laid a cautionary hand on her arm, which she didn't shrug off.

"Night," he said at last, turning to face the wall.

A whole five minutes later, when he was almost asleep, he heard a voice, "Night."

An insistent knocking on the door of the trailer jerked Derek out of the pleasant fishing dream he'd been right in the middle of. He grumbled incoherently. "Addie, door," he mumbled, rolling closer to her. He rolled further – right off the bed.

He sat up, blinking, and looked around. Light was streaming through the window above the bed, illuminating the empty spot where his wife should have been.

The knocking resumed, and he stood up, going over to the door and pulling it open.

"I forgot my keys," said Addison by way of apology, stepping past him into the trailer. "I picked up some groceries," she added, dropping a bag on the kitchenette counter.

Derek rubbed his eyes blearily as he shut the door. "Where were you?"

"I told you, groceries."

"At 6 in the morning?" He asked, watching her bustle around and get the coffee started. "Before having coffee? Really?"

"Well, we need groceries for breakfast, so unless you'd thought to pick up groceries on the way home last night…" She looked at him pointedly.

Derek shrugged, letting it go. It was obvious from her carefully styled hair and painfully high heels that she'd gone to see her brother at the Archfield, but of course she wouldn't tell him that. What she would do instead, was go out of the way to the supermarket, and then find a way to pick on him for it. He'd expected this. He had been privy to enough Montgomery family reunions to know not to pry. It was best to let Addison sulk and stew in silence till she finally exploded, leading to a marital spat that would begin over, say, an unwashed dish and always, always, end in make-up sex.

"Aren't you going to get dressed for work?" she continued, leaning against the counter and raising an eyebrow at him, hand on her hip – that signature Addie pose. He wasn't going to lie; that pose did things for him that – let's face it – nothing else could.

"Well, I can think of better things to do than work," he teased, a little wary yet bold. "And it would involve undressing." He leaned closer to her, breathing in the familiar perfume, playing with a strand of her hair tantalizingly.

She leaned closer involuntarily, eyes darkening with desire. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him, and wondering if the make-up sex was going to be early this time. He could feel the tension in her body against him, the hesitance mixed with lust in her eyes.

Suddenly she pulled back, shrugging his arm off her. "Come on, we'll be late, I have an early surgery." She turned back to face the coffee pot, his hand still lingering near her waist. "Derek, go get dressed."

"Dr. Bailey," he greeted, stepping into the elevator, smiling at her.

"Shepherd," she said, indifferent. "Where's that nice wife of yours?"

"OR 2. Hysterectomy."

"Oh, right, Grey scrubbed in. You've got Yang and Karev today."

"Karev? Isn't he usually on Addison's service?"

Bailey shrugged. "She requested for Grey, that's all I know." She looked up at him. "Did you piss her off? She seemed…off yesterday."

"Oh, that would be Archer's fault," said Derek easily.

"Her brother? The eye-candy strutting around the hospital yesterday?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, but sure." He nodded at her, getting off at his floor.

An hour later, as he finished signing off his charts at the nurses' station, his phone chimed with a message alert. He glanced at it, and then did a double-take. He looked around, scanning the crowd. A glance at the OR board told him what he needed, and he strode off.

He entered the OR 2 scrub room just as Addison and Meredith were scrubbing out, and they looked up as he entered. He stood at the back for a moment, watching them.

"Hey," supplied Meredith awkwardly on looking at the two silent doctors.

He ignored her. "Addison."

She lifted her head slightly in acknowledgement, and he walked up to her as Meredith quickly moved away, no doubt debating whether to stay and finish scrubbing out or leave.

"Addison. Why is there a debit of 200 grand? What exactly did you buy for breakfast this morning…?"

"That's the settlement money for Nancy's malpractice lawsuit," she explained, drying her hands. "I meant to take it out of the trust fund, but this was easier for the moment. I'll transfer it back later."

"Why are you paying her? This is ridiculous, I can't believe she asked you for money. I'm going to speak to her." She saw him begin to scroll through his contacts, and quickly grabbed his phone out of his hand.

"No," she said decisively.

He stared at her incredulously. "Addison, whatever John said to you; that's bull. She messed up, she has malpractice insurance, she can handle it."

"No." She hurried out of the room, his phone still in her hand. Meredith watched the two of them leave. Times like this, she was extremely proud of her mature decision to stop pining over Derek Shepherd.

"Addison!" he called loudly, almost jogging to keep up with her. How she appeared to glide so fast in heels would always be a mystery to him. "Addison, what the hell?"

She whirled around. "I'm telling you; I'll handle it. The money will be back in the account by tomorrow morning latest, I just need to move some of the RDs-"

"That's not the point," he argued. "One, you shouldn't have just done this without even telling me. More importantly though, you shouldn't be paying Nancy! She messed up!"

"No," she said quietly, looking around and seeing the curious glances. "Der-"

"Give me my phone, I'm calling her!" He lunged forward.

"No!" she said loudly, stepping back and holding his phone above her head. "It's my fault Katie Potter died!"

A silence fell over the area, but neither Derek nor Addison seemed to notice. "It was Nancy who did the surgery, Addison, stop being ridiculous!"

"No," she said fiercely. "I took on Katie last year after her fifth miscarriage, I mentioned alternative treatments, I left her in New York, I ran away and let Nancy deal with it. And now she's dead, and it's my fault!" She stumbled slightly as she moved back, breathing heavily.

Derek forced himself to calm down. "You left her in the hands of a competent doctor, Addie. It's okay." She refused to meet his eyes, and he continued. "You mentioned alternative, but you advised a different procedure; a safer procedure. It's not your fault that Nancy went along with the alternate; she should have known it was too risky with the patient history."

"I knew her history, and it was my job to ensure all of that!" she burst out. "I left so many patients back there, so many friends – and I can't fix everything! I can't even fix you and me!" Derek glanced at the people around, who were all steadily looking away.

Addison stepped closer. "But I can try to fix this for Nancy at least. So I don't care what you say; I'm paying the settlement money." She handed him his phone and walked away, ignoring the gaping looks.

He watched her walk away. She'd come back to him later, he knew.

What he didn't know at that time was, she'd come to his office before leaving that evening. She'd close the blinds and lock the door. She'd lean over his desk, hair hanging near him, and whisper in his ear. She'd pull him out of his chair and kiss him fiercely, and then they'd proceed to christen his desk in Seattle.

It took a while to figure out how I wanted this to go ahead. Next up: Addison's side of Archer's visit, and its implications. Derek and Addison are yet to have a talk about the pregnancy and her staying with Mark, and figure out how to move past it all. Please review!