Just like ships, we float through each other's lives (chapter 3/? - When you love someone but...)
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Character: Addison & Derek
Rating: T
Status: In progress
Disclaimer : Characters and show belongs to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter is a line from Fix You, Coldplay. All the pictures belong to their owners.
Author's Note: "You do look like you could use a friend right now"
Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.
- Chapter 3 -
[ When you love someone but it goes to waste could it be worse? ]
“So” Derek started talking “Meredith’s gonna bring Melanie to Radiology because I need a brain x-ray before starting the surgery.”
“Sure” Addison nodded, holding Melanie’s hand a little tighter.
“Then we’ll operate her in three hours” Derek added “The sooner we do this, the better it will be for the child.”
“Melanie, let’s bring you upstairs okay?” Melanie suggested, smiling at the little girl.
Melanie nodded and Addison knelt to the ground to be as tall as her niece.
“Do you remember what I told you before coming here?” Addison asked, gently.
“I do. Everything’s gonna be alright” Melanie confirmed.
“That’s it, darling” Addison hugged the tiny human “Now go with Dr. Grey. I’m sure she’ll take good care of you.”
The little girl hugged and kissed Addison, then she let go of her and went with Meredith in order to have that brain x-ray taken.
Addison watched Meredith and Melody walking away. She was scared but she had to trust Derek, she needed to believe that everything would have turned out good.
“We should go too” Derek announced, without looking at his wife “I’m gonna introduce you the doctors who are going to work with me.”
“Good” she replied.
They started walking and got into the first elevator they could see. It was just the two of them in it and the tension was really high. They both felt uncomfortable and even if Addison couldn’t wait to get out of it, she pushed the stop button.
“Are you going to be like this all the time, Derek?” she simply asked, her arms crossed on her lap.
“Like what, Addison?”
“Like this!” she said, louder this time “You’re not even looking at me!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he growled “Now, why don’t you just push the stop button again? That way…”
“No, Derek!” she yelled, interrupting him “I’m here, okay? Don’t act like I wasn’t!”
“It’s like you weren’t here, Addison!” he shouted back at her “I don’t want you here! I… After Melanie’s hospitalization I don’t want to see you ever again!”
“You’re unbelievable, Derek! You don’t even want to talk!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he yelled out “You mean nothing to me! You screwed my best friend almost four years ago and now you come here pretending that nothing ever happened?”
“I’m not, Derek, I’m not!” she screamed. Her eyes were full of tears but she was trying her best not to cry in front of Derek “I thought that we… we could have been friends! But apparently I was wrong!”
“Yes, you were!” he agreed, pushing her away in order to push the stop button again.
They walked to the room, where the other doctors were waiting for them without, talking. Addison was few steps behind Derek and she wiped away her tears while walking quickly.
Derek opened the door and four doctors immediately stood up from their comfortable chairs.
“Shepherd” a short black woman greeted Derek.
“Good morning everybody” Derek smiled, like the fight he just had with Addison never happened “Today we’re gonna make a miracle or, at least, we’re gonna try” he chuckled “Before getting ready for surgery, I just want to introduce you Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd. She’s Melanie’s aunt and…”
“… and his adulterous wife” Addison finished his sentence.
Derek gave her an angry look and mentally cursed her in every possible way.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Montgomery Shepherd. I’m Dr. Bailey” Miranda shook Addison’s hand “I’m an Attending of General Surgery and I’ve operated on children like a bazillion times during my career. Don’t worry, your little girl is in good hands.
“I’m honored, Dr. Bailey” Addison gave her a big smile.
“I’m Arizona Robbins, Chief of Peds” a blonde doctor introduced herself “Even if your… Dr. Shepherd will do the real surgery, I’ll be there to give him all the support he needs. I’m the best when it comes to the tiny humans.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Robbins” Addison shook her hand “Thank you… for everything.”
Arizona nodded and smiled, then Derek started talking again.
“And these are two of our interns, Cristina Yang and Jackson Avery. Dr. Yang will be by my side, helping me with the surgery while Dr. Avery, along with Dr. Grey, will be monitoring the whole thing and will be ready to help us if anything goes wrong.”
Addison smiled at the two young interns, who smiled back at her.
“I want to see the surgery from the gallery” Addison announced.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea” Derek replied, coldly.
“Why not?” she asked “Seriously, Derek. I know how a brain surgery works, I just want to be by Melanie’s side every step of the way.”
“Look, Addison…” he exhaled “If something goes wrong, you’ll freak out. You’ll fall apart. Seriously, you don’t want to see it. I know you.”
“Please, Derek…” she begged him.
In the meanwhile the four doctors left the room, thinking that the Shepherds could have used some privacy.
“I don’t know…”
“I understand you don’t want to talk to me but please, let me see the surgery and I promise you that… that after all this mess I’ll never come back here.”
“You don’t…” he hesitated “If this is what you want, Addison…”
“It’s exactly what I want, Derek.”
“Fine, then” he finally gave her his consent “I have to go now. Meredith’s waiting for me with Melanie’s brain x-ray.”
“Okay… I’ll see you later then” she said.
“Yeah…” he replied and left the room.
Addison sat on one of those comfy chairs and looked at the blue clock on the wall: Melanie’s surgery would have started in two hours. She was feeling tired, broken. When she came to Seattle, she didn’t imagine that Derek would treat her like that. He moved one, she just didn’t mean anything to him anymore. Addison felt like the only person she had ever loved, hated her.
Tears started streaming down her face and she didn’t do anything to stop them. Addison stood up and ran to the first bathroom she could find; she got in and locked the door of her toilet. She sat on the floor and now that she was alone and safe, she let all the pain go. The redhead cried, her head hidden in her hands, thinking that coming to Seattle was another of her mistakes.
“Ma’am?” a female voice asked.
Addison stopped sobbing and started cleaning her eyes with a tissue.
“I’m… I’m just fine” she replied, her voice trembling.
“It doesn’t look like you are” the other girl stated “I’m a Doctor. Just open the door and I’ll help you.”
“Oh, no thanks. I appreciate but I don’t need help, okay? Get out of here and I’ll leave as well.”
“I’m not going anywhere” the other doctor was getting serious “I’m Callie Torres, by the way.”
Realizing that Dr. Torres wasn’t going to leave the room, Addison, still sat on the floor, stretched out her right arm and opened the door.
“You happy now?” Addison asked, sarcastically.
Callie held out her right hand to Addison, in order to help her to stand up. Addison grabbed it and stood up.
“I’m… I’m Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd.”
“Oh… You’re here for Melanie Montgomery, aren’t you?”
“I am…” Addison raised an eyebrow “Wait… Do you all know about this?”
“Well… People talk, you know” Callie shrugged “And… And you’re Derek’s wife so…”
“I see” Addison simply said “Thank you… Please, don’t tell anyone what just happened, okay?”
“I’ll be as mute as a dead body” Callie joked.
Addison couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“That was a good one” she admitted “Well… Thanks for the help but I really have to go now. Melanie’s surgery will start in less than two hours and…”
“Actually, I was planning to watch it from the gallery. I don’t have any surgery scheduled for the next six hours. May I watch it with you? You do look like you could use a friend right now.”
“It sounds like a plan” Addison nodded “Thank you, Dr. Torres.”
“Callie, please” Dr. Torres told Addison, while giving her a pat on the shoulder “Let’s go then.”
The two women left the room and went to the gallery. When they arrived, there were already ten doctors in there who were all excited to watch Derek’s new miracle. Addison snorted as she sat with Callie in the first row of chairs.
Melanie was already lying on the operating table and the Anesthetist was about to anesthetize her. Looking at that scene made Addison freeze and she trembled a little. Callie, who was sitting right next to Addison, hold her hand tight and wiped away the shiny little tear that was rolling on Addison’s cheek.