Against All Odds

11. Standing Up to the Devil

"How could she think that, huh? Tell me, what makes the woman I would die for think I would cheat on her with the Devil?"

Joe looked sympathetically at his drunk customer. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Drunk Derek in two years. Oh, he and Meredith came in here often but only had a few drinks and maybe slipped into the bathroom to defile it, but nothing like he was tonight.

No, this was the Derek Shepherd that he had met years ago, when he had first moved here. The Derek who didn't want anyone near him, never laughed and always frowned. Joe didn't like that Derek. He liked Meredith's Derek. That girl had changed him for the better. He laughed, he smiled, he joked, he danced...badly, he sung Karaoke...also badly, he gazed adoringly at his lovely fiance.

"The Devil?" Joe asked, knowing exactly who he was referring to. He was Joe, he knew everything. Besides Bailey had told him.

"My ex wife." He growled.

"And exactly happened to where you are not allowed to go home with Meredith and Michael?"

"She attacked me." He said.

"Meredith?" Joe asked.

"No, Addison. She threw herself at me and Meredith walked in and instantly thought the worst and wouldn't let me explain and told me she needed a break. A break!" He exclaimed.

"Well did you ever look at it from her point of view?" Joe asked.

Derek looked at him blearily.

"Her point of view? The only point of view she should have is that I love her, I want to marry her, I want to have more children with her. Nothing else should matter. I was married to Addison, not her."

"Exactly. You were married to Addison. For a while, I presume."

"But I am not married to her anymore." Derek said.

"I know that. But tell me something, if she hadn't of slept with Mark, got pregnant and tried to pass the baby off as yours, would you still be with her?"

"I...I don't know." Derek said.

"And there in lies the problem. You don't know. You loved this woman at one point, probably as much as you loved Meredith."

"I have never loved anyone as much as I love Meredith." He growled.

"That is neither here nor there. If you had stayed with Addison, you never would've met Meredith." Joe reasoned.

Derek sucked in a breath.

"I...I can't even comprehend that." He said, pain evident on his face.

"Let me get to my point. Meredith knows this and she feels expendable. She is afraid that all the feelings, all the things that you loved about Addison will suddenly appear again and leave her without you. She doesn't mean to accuse you of cheating, she is just terrified that she is going to lose you. You have to remember that Meredith didn't have the best childhood." Joe reminded him.

Derek looked at Joe, his brain slightly less hazy now.

"You are very wise. You definitely missed your calling." Derek said with a smile.

"Nope found it here. The wise thing is hereditary." Joe teased. "Seriously, get Addison out of your life for good, get closure, and go get Meredith back."

Derek nodded and got up, throwing some cash on the bar.

"Do you need a cab?" Joe asked.

"No, I am just going down the block. The air will sober me up."