Asystole ✷ Mark Sloan

𝟬𝟲𝟯 addison and derek (reprise)

𝙇𝙓𝙄𝙄𝙄.
ADDISON AND DEREK / 𝘙𝘌𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘚𝘌

──────

IF YOU'D TOLD Addison that she would be staying in Seattle like this, two weeks ago, she would have never believed you.

Her hand was shaking very slightly as she sat straighter in the chair, bracing herself on the arms to steady herself. She clasped her hands tightly, attempting to stop her fingers from trembling-- it was a nervous tic, a movement that was not scared nor happy. 

Ever so often, her foot would wobble, the heel swinging back and forth like the pendulum in a clock. She'd swallow, readjust herself in the seat and return her attention to the folder in front of her.

On the other side of the desk, Derek stared at the same file.

 To the left of the folder sat her surgical contract, freshly signed with the ink still drying. 

Slowly, he leant over and slid it towards him. There was no conversation, just the slight sag of Addison's shoulders as she let out a breath, watching the contract disappear into a draw. She slid a little lower in her chair.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in the Chief of Surgery's office. It was different now. Gone were the things that made the space indicative of Richard Webber (Addison found herself staring at Derek's PhD that was hung on the wall), replaced with things that felt oddly impersonal. 

What she could remember was the hours she'd spent inside this hospital, the times she'd come into this office and laboured over her broken marriage... Addison glanced up at Derek and sighed, cradling her chin in her hand.

"Congratulations on the promotion."

She couldn't decide whether she sounded bitter or not. 

Just a few years ago she'd been sat outside that office fighting for this job. It felt so alien to think about that now, especially with her ex-husband sat opposite her. 

She supposed that, in a weird way, he suited this-- the shirt, the tie, the god complex, it went nicely with his eyes. 

He nodded, rearranging a pen on the tabletop.

Conversation had been poor. Addison didn't really know what to say; what do you say to Derek Shepherd? The last time she'd been here, talking to him like this, Derek had been poking around Archer's skull and she'd begged him so, so desperately to give her the time of day-- 

Dignity? Addison hadn't heard of it. It was a stranger to her, just like everyone else in this city.

Strangers... Strange... Strange Things.... 

Her eyes flickered back to the medical record on the desk and she cleared her throat. Now this was exceptionally strange. Getting a phone call from Derek had been very strange. 

They didn't speak; it was the unwritten rule of a divorce, Addison knew that much from her parents. She hadn't realised that they had a reason to speak, they had no shared assets anymore, no kids, no dogs or cats-- Beth.

Somehow, it was beginning to feel like Beth was their shared child. Derek had always treated her like a little sister, he'd taken to her so much easier than Addison had to any of Derek's sisters. In return, Beth had treated him like a brother too. But now, with their separation, Addison could only ask who exactly had gained custody of the youngest Montgomery sibling.