Explaining myself a little: I'm sure you guys are all a little skeptical, because when reading the info you see that Addison has a younger sister... Blah blah blah... A lot of people are a bit apprehensive when new characters are introduced to a beloved show. I know I am. The reason I decided to create a character was because I needed an element of unknowing, but also someone who was connected to Addison and Derek (because this is a story about Addison and Derek's life before Meredith/Seattle Grace/Addison sleeping with Mark, but also after through the eyes of someone who is conflicted... Because her best friends are Addison and Derek) So this new character knows only what Addison has told her, some of what Derek has written her, and she's about to become a newbie in the hospital (so we'll see how the other interns and Bailey treat her)... Also I wanted this story to be Addison-Centric, but I didn't want to write from Addison's P.O.V just yet, because I thought it would be hard to keep her character.

Note: This story also will later explain what essentially caused the distance of Addison and Derek's marriage (leading up to Mark) and why Addison and Derek never had children... (that always confused me... because they seem a lot like kid people)

deep breath so without further ado...

"We're preparing for landing in Seattle, Washington. Please fasten your seatbelts as we begin to descend." The captain's robotic voice wakes me from my not-so-deep sleep. I look at the old man who's sitting next to me, he's been sleeping the entire six-hour trip, and I'm beginning to wonder if he's dead. It's really a good thing I'm a surgeon, or at least going to be one. I try to ever so artfully poke him, but he doesn't move. I'm seriously beginning to get a little worried. I poke him again. No response. Finally a shove does the trick, and he stirs in his sleep.

I look out the tiny window at Seattle. The clouds are beginning to dissipate, and all I can see for miles is the tops of green trees. It's going to be hard to adjust to the lack of fall colors in Seattle. I sigh a little louder than I had anticipated, earning me a worried stare from what seems like a very paranoid man. "You okay?" He whispers loudly over the sleeping old guy.

"Fine." I say, putting on my fakest smile. As if it's any of his business.

"So what are you up to in Seattle?" He asks again, attempting to run a hand through his non-existent hair.

I give him an odd look, hoping he'll get a clue. "I actually have a job lined up there."

"Really?" He obviously isn't aware that I've given him a cue to shut the hell up. "Where?"

"Seattle Grace Hospital."

He smiles, as if he knows all about it. "As a nurse?"

This really pisses me off. A nurse? Baldy is lucky I'm a nice girl; otherwise I would seriously shut him up. Plus he's a little bit creepy. "As a surgeon."

I am filled with pride as his eyebrows rise in surprise. "Really? You look so young."

"I'm actually a surgical intern." I say, and turn towards the window.

"Impressive."

I take a deep breath and do not turn around. "Hey, you should be a little quieter, this man next to me is trying to sleep."

Of course the faux-dead guy chooses this moment to wake up. "No, darling it's not bothering me." Dead guy says in a creaky voice. I try not to listen to bald guy or dead guy as they befriend eachother in a span of two minutes. Serves them.

I try to think about seeing Addison. It's been such a long time, and I've really missed her. I don't want to think about what a hard time she's been having with the divorce. Nor do I want to think about how Derek is. My sister and her husband, my two best friends, divorced. It really blows. I look out the window as the landing strip gets closer and closer. My heart beats faster the closer we get.

I wonder what it will be like working under Addie and Derek. I wonder what everything will be like. I hate the feeling. It's like a huge question mark is all I can see in the future, like a timeline that just comes to an abrupt stop. It's scary. And not that Addison isn't supportive, because she is. God knows I couldn't have survived through my teen years without her, sometimes literally. It's just, Addie can be so precise, so perfect, and I can be so… All over the place.

The plane lands with a bump, and I squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them, the passengers are all filing out of the plane. I give Baldy and Dead an awkward smile, before getting off myself.

I take a deep breath before stepping into the tunnel that connects the plane to the airport. Seattle. I'm in Seattle. Far cry from what I know and love, New York, Boston, and Bolivia. I was never a West-loving chick.

The airport is large, the neon lights glaring everywhere. I could definitely do without the neon lights. My legs wobble a little, and it takes fifteen minutes to find the luggage station, and practically an hour to successfully get my luggage.

I look at the guest waiting area, trying to spot that familiar head of crimson hair. My heart starts beating yet again, when I don't see her. If I don't stop soon, I'm going to give myself a coronary.

"Rachelle!" I turn around, and of course bump into Addie. Addie gives me her trademark smile, and pulls me into a giant hug. Her 5'10 towers over my 5'7. "I was getting worried. You could've called." She says, but she smiles into the top of my head.

I feel the involuntary eye roll on my part. "Hello, Addison. I've missed you too." She looks at me and pulls me into another hug. "You look great." She says, code for 'you've lost so much weight!'

"Well I could exactly stuff my face in front of the starving orphans in Bolivia, if you know what I mean."

She rolls her eyes, looking somehow natural decked out in Prada, while hoisting my olive green backpack. She smiles and looks at me again. Addie looks older, not ugly older, but a little more sad than she usually does. Then again she usually hides sadness with makeup, not something I approve of. Her hair is straighter, I'd definitely forgotten how tall she is, not to mention how unnaturally beautiful she is. "I missed you." She says, with a little more emotion than I knew she intended.

"Me too. I mean, the phone… It's good, but it's not good enough."

Addison hoists my luggage a little higher on her shoulder, "God, it's been two years." She looks like she wants to hug me again, but sees a bus boy and motions for him to help us with the luggage. He looks more than pleased to oblige, and even more pleased when Addison hands him a wad of money.

She puts her arm around me, and we walk in a slightly clumsy way to Addison's sleek black car, Addison never letting go of my shoulder. The bus boy spends the whole time looking at her. He only stops once to complain about the weight of the bag containing all my art supplies, before shoving it all into the car. Addison gives him her devil smile before sending him off on his merry way. She laughs when he's gone.

We get in the car and she looks at me again. It's really starting to bug me. "Stop looking at me, Addie! You'd think I'd get a break between the awkward plane passengers and you, but no…"

"You just look great." I shrug, and look out the window. "You're lucky it didn't rain." She says, somewhat bitterly. "It always rains in Seattle."

"So I've heard."

We're both tired so we make small talk all the way home. I want to tell her all about Bolivia, even though she knows most of it from the numerous bi-continental phone calls, but I can't bring myself to open my mouth. I want to ask her about Derek and how she's feeling, but she's looking so stony as she stops the car. I look up and see a huge sign for a luxury hotel. "Great Addison! I fly to Seattle and you dump me at a hotel."

She sighs and looks at me. "This is where I've been living."

I instantly feel worry creep into my veins. "No kidding?"

"I'm trying to find us an apartment. It's just, with the divorce…"

There, she said it. Divorce. A normal person wouldn't see the pain written all over Addie's face, but having known her for all my life… I immediately catch it.

"Addison."

"We'll talk about it later." She says slowly.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

We walk up to the room without a word, yet another bellboy trailing behind us. The hallways in the hotel are nice, dimly lit, with rich red carpeting. We stop at a door marked 222, and Addison takes out her card key. With one swipe, the door opens, revealing a pretty beige room with large curtains, bright red lamps, and a spacious bed. "Here you are, Ms. Montgomery." The bellboy comes back from a conjoined room, where he left my luggage. He accepts his tip, and tiptoes out of the room.

"Where's mine?" I ask, eyeing a creamy bedspread.

"Over there." She leads me to the conjoining room, which looks exactly the same, but lacks a television.

"Oh, so you get the TV. I get it."

"Easy. We'll share. You're lucky I cared enough to change rooms, otherwise you and I would be sleeping in the same bed." She sits down on my bed, and pats the area beside her. I flop down, sinking into the silky bedspread. "I missed you." She says, for the thirtieth time today.

"You just needed some company." This time I hug her.

We sit there hugging for what seems like hours, and then Addie gets up. "Big day for you tomorrow. You should get some sleep."

"Yeah. I guess, but we didn't talk."

"We have work tomorrow."

"Exactly, it's my first day, and I don't know what to expect."

"Rach, I told you everything over the phone. I'm just looking out for you. You are jet-lagged." She enters her room, and starts changing into her robe.

I hoist up my suitcase and pull out a pair of pajama pants, and an old 'I love New York' T-shirt. Addison saunters back into my room clad in a black bra and pajama pants. "I remember that shirt." She smiles at the memory. Addison got it for me when we first moved to New York. It was our day; we were free. We could do anything we wanted. The first thing we did was buy matching 'I love New York' T-shirts. After that, some random hobo on the street whistled at Addison. I got shit on by a pigeon. Addison laughed at me. We did so many things that day; that I can't remember all of them, but I do remember it was the day I decided Addison was my best friend. "I can't believe that still fits you. You were what, eleven when you got it?"

"Its one size fits all, thank you very much. Yours should still fit you. You were eighteen. I'm guessing you didn't keep it?"

She shrugs, "It probably got all mixed up with my stuff in the move."

We go back to getting ready for bed. It's odd to be living with Addie again, especially considering that the last time I lived with her, Derek was also there. I really miss Derek. I'm almost nervous seeing him tomorrow. We kept in touch with postcards while I was in Bolivia, but I haven't heard his voice in so long.

I don't close the door that connects our rooms. I fall into bed, pulling the covers up over my head. I can just see Addison's head peaking out over her comforter. She looks at me, and smiles. "Sweet dreams," She says, before removing her reading glasses, and flipping off the light.