First thing I'd like to say is: Thank you very much Esmeralda Bracho and Ilaria Marilli.

Near or far.

THE TINY BOX

By Marcela Costa

Chapter One – It's a beautiful day

Seattle International Airport

Addison felt her arteries strengthening by the second. Her blood ran through so fast that she could almost feel her skin being lifted by the muscular walls of her vessels at every heartbeat. Her wheeled suitcase loudly rolled against the floors and her heels exerted a sharp pain on her feet. Her sadness was subtle on the outside, but she was crying frantically on the inside. It was over.

Flashback.

September of 1993.

Her right hand felt heavy, but nice. His soft fingertips touched her naked back slowly and she couldn't help a smile.

"Derek." That was all she could say. "I love you so much." He held his hand with hers and kissed it firmly. Her felt her ring finger's diamond pressing against his skin. "I love you more, Addison. And in two weeks, it'll be official." Addison turned around and kissed Derek's lips, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him closer. She whispered in his ear: "Can't wait."

End of flashback

She ran to the check-in lobby and found her airlines quickly enough. Trying to look as normal as possible, she walked to the business class counter.

"Can I have your name, ma'am?" A girl appearing to be in her early twenties stared Addison down.

"It's Addison Shepherd." She said, indifferently, taking a deep breath.

"And where are you headed today, Mrs. Shepherd?" For a moment, Addison felt a tiny bit more comforted just to hear someone calling her "Mrs. Shepherd".

"I'm headed to Los Angeles, California."

"Okay," the girl typed rapidly. "And how many bags are you checking in today, Mrs. Shepherd?"

"None. I left it all behind."

"Okay," a shiny card came out of the printer slowly. "Here's your boarding pass. Gates open in fifteen minutes. Take a seat."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Addison walked to the benches in the airport hall and sat down at the only empty chair. Taking a deep breath, she realized that maybe this wasn't so hard. It was an airplane, a seven hour flight like many others she'd taken before. She was moving away, but it's not like she left anything vital behind. Less than ten minutes later, her phone rang loudly. She opened her Prada leather maxi-bag, took out her phone and, without looking, answered it.

"Dr. Montgomery speaking."

"Addison?"

That voice. That voice who brought tears to her eyes every time she heard it, the voice that would never let her let go, the voice she would never get over, but, yet, the voice for which she would give her life and she had no doubt she would never stop loving. "I'm sorry, Addison, I didn't mean to call you! Wrong number!"

"Derek?" Like always, when Addison was speechless, "Derek" was the only word that made its way out of her lips.

"Yeah, it's me. How are you holding up?" There were so many things she wanted to say to that, but, there was only one thing she could say.

"I'm just fine, Derek. I'm holding up just fine." Every word sounded like a bullet to her heart. She was so obviously not fine.

"Must be hard to leave Seattle after two years, huh?" Addison felt like laughing ironically. "And you think it's easy to leave you after eleven years." She thought, silently.

"Pretty much. But, I'll live very well in L.A. You know what, Derek? My flight just started boarding! I gotta go. Talk to you later." She didn't really want to hang up, and her flight wasn't actually boarding, but, talking to him was a pain she wasn't just yet in shape to bear. She put her phone away and inhaled deeply, throwing her hair behind her ears. She pressed her fists against her knees strongly, as if trying to get rid of the emotional pain by inflicting physical pain. Dr. Montgomery was right. She had a sudden release of endorphins that were just enough for her to stand up and walk to the boarding gate as her flight number was called out in the air.

Seattle Grace Hospital

"Shepherd! There's a patient for you!" Richard Webber screamed across the hall, but, Derek, even though leaning against the counter in the main hall five feet away, didn't seem to have his mind in place. "Shepherd!" He raised his voice even louder, this time, running towards him. "Dr. Derek Shepherd, is it daydream time, or do I still have my chief of neurosurgery?"

"Sorry, sir." Derek woke up in a gentle spasm.

"Mrs. Dickinson? Does that ring a bell?"

"Oh, yeah, the, umm… blond woman who has… a brain tumor, is it?" Derek scratched his forehead, as if trying to get a memory buried deeply into his frontal lobe.

"Mrs. Dickinson has neurocisticercosis. What am I doing? I should expect a certain level of distraction from you today, Derek. Giving the current…" Richard searched for a word to say "departures." He completed, awkwardly.

"I can still operate, sir. I'm still a surgeon."

"I know, and a very competent one. Which is why I'm here as your chief to tell you to man up and get yourself together. This woman needs you."

Derek looked up, taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat of his face with the back of his hands. "But, Derek," Derek looked at the chief "I'm here as your friend to say something else. She loved you. She loved you very much."

Derek pretended he didn't know exactly who the chief was talking about. "Who loved me?"

"Addison." The chief said soberly. Derek just wanted to hear her name, but was too afraid to say it himself.

"I know."

"You can count on her whenever you want. Addison is the kind of person who doesn't give up on eleven years."

"I know, chief. Thank you."

"This is why you don't have to worry about anything but this surgery. Remember what you always say, it's a beautiful day to save lives!" Derek, for the first time in his life, felt intrigued by his own motto. "Remember it." The chief walked away in slow steps, turning around to check on Derek every five seconds.

Derek leaned against the counter again, this time, holding his head with his right hand, and leaving his left sitting on the counter, in front of him. A nurse approached and tapped him on the back.

"Is everything okay, Dr. Shepherd?"

Derek raised his eyes. "Yes, everything is fine."

"For a moment there it seemed like you were-" The nurse hesitated to speak again "crying."

"I'm fine." He stared at his wedding ring, still wrapping his finger closely. "It's a beautiful day."