Author's Notes: Hi. Thank you, for stopping by. I hope you get to have as much fun as I currently am with this prompt and I will just tell you before you read that there's nothing more rewarding than having people give a chance to what floats around in our heads.

Before landing in San Antonio, a quick reminder that all rights and existing main characters belong, of course, to their creators in Shondaland and we play with the given pieces in this safe place.

And now: opening curtain call.

Thursday

Samantha's taking too long.

They told her they were better off getting there themselves, she insisted enough until Addison accepted the gesture. Except she's not here yet, patience isn't her biggest talent, and she should have put her hair up, or at least carry-

"Mom, here." Addison's eyes widen at her daughter's offer, it's the hairband she was wearing on her wrist. Softened, she takes it, grabs Harper by the shoulder to place her in front of her and starts pulling the 6-year-old's hair back instead of her own. Is she taller than last week?

"I was giving it to you" she whines and starts to move, which makes Addison pull her closer as she fixes her wavier than usual hair.

"I know, baby. And you're the most thoughtful for that, but you're not meeting new people like this."

She feels her husband staring at her, "What?," she says to Jake while turning Harper around to gently push back any loosen strand, "Our hair's not used to this much heat, this weather." she disclaims in case he's judging her for exaggerating.

He's fighting a smile and she swats his shoulder, laughs for the both of them.

"Whatever, but it is hotter here." she pushes her hair up from the back with a hand and stays like that for a second or two.

"She's taking forever, the sun is setting down already." Addison scans the pick up area and their carefully piled up luggage, wondering if she should have allowed Harper to bring as many bathing suits as she wanted since they have a full day tomorrow before rehearsal dinner and Sammy said- "Where is she anyway?" she thinks out loud.

"We just got here."

"We're gonna take a golf cart to ride anywhere!" Henry's promise to his little sister distracts Addison from contradicting her husband.

"Henry," she eyes her son in annoyance, he seems to catch it and after minding her, shrugs her off. God forbid her children would ever be loud and jumpy enough to embarrass her.

"They're acting like we don't take them out at all." she side glances her husband but he ignores her purposefully. It works. "You can be excited," she smiles at Henry aligning his polo's collar, he's turning eight this year and she hates how time has gone by too fast, "It's okay. I'm just…" it's not their fault this weekend hasn't started and it already has her uncomfortable.

"Mom is cranky." Harper looks up and chuckles, her brother and father follow.

Before any protest, Jake closes his arm around her waist and kisses her cheek, "Is this funny to you?" she pulls back, "Am I too old to understand their inside jokes?, Are we old?" she fixes her hair behind her ears for the hundredth time. "What if something happened to her?"

"We've been her for five minutes." Jake tries to reason.

"No, no, she said-." Addison searches for her phone to call her daughter.

"There they are." Jake points out while Samantha's grinning face greets them from the co-pilot's window as they park.

Amidst everyone hugging and loading their bags, Addison tries her best to push back one or two tears. After less than a year she still doesn't get used to the idea of living apart from her eldest daughter and seeing her only confirms how she can't picture a life without her most loyal companion, to which Henry and Harper seem to identify with. If that weren't enough, she's deeply proud of her choice of partner, Fernando's gentle charm is everything she'd wished for her first baby. This weekend is about them and not her feelings.

"Fernando, this is nice." she says in a pitch higher than intended. She hasn't seen or heard much of San Antonio, her only visit to Texas was to a conference in Dallas a little over two decades ago and Derek was presenting. It was a day and a half stay so she could say it doesn't count, it wasn't a thrill for them to be away from home if Sammy wasn't coming along so they didn't stay longer than needed.

"Mom, it's just the airport." Samantha calls out as they get into her fiance's SUV.

"Well, we were here long enough." Addison scoffs.

"Five. Minutes." Jake laughs while closing the door for her.

It's quiet in the back for the short ride to Stone Oak, the children are playing on their iPads and Addison and Jake are sharing their so far uneventful travel details until they approach the entryway of a large spanish property with pronounced white arcs, double pane windows and cantera columns, indirect lighting guiding toward the ceiling high wooden door.

"Welcome to Sonterra." Fernando eyes them from the rear view mirror.

"Where heaven is on earth." Samantha smirks looking back at them from the front seat.

They agreed to hold the wedding at the Villarreal's estate in honor of Fernando's late father, the original Fernando Villarreal. Everyone respected their desire to have a small reception with their parents only, it didn't seem like a big deal. Except, Sammy has two parents, two stepparents and six step-siblings. Five this time, Angela, Jake's step daughter from his first marriage couldn't make it. Whereas Fernando, is an only child with a widowed mother.

Past Birdsong Street, a path surrounded by bright green hills and far away entrances to other people's villas, they finally park on Whisper Road 2048 - since those are actual street names and no one is counting, or judging, or dying to make a comment on the pink poster about the Incarnate Word Women Committee next to The Club's entrance they passed-.

"We warned you." Sammy brings Addison out of thought.

"I haven't said a word." she says to either Jake or Sammy who are both disapproving of the thoughts they assume she has, as if theirs were any different.

"But you have to. You can. Wait 'till you see the rest of it." Fernando adds as they slow down in the garage.

As soon as the door from the side entrance opens, a massive kitchen is revealed and across the marble island there's what looks like a party.

"Zola, Bailey!" both Henry and Harper jump at the sight of their step-siblings.

As the children run off at the mention of a playroom, Addison could consider they should have them see each other a lot more often than only on Samantha's birthday - that was not long ago, this year had been the Shepherd's turn to come to LA, Derek couldn't come but the rest of them did, she believes that could have been a good time to discuss each other's schedule for this weekend, or maybe today before she texted her daughter that they were about to take off, or perhaps in the car ride that was almost half an hour and they talked about everything but missed mentioning that Derek, Meredith and their three kids were already here and that's probably what caused Sam and Fer to be late to being with, even if Jake would argue that it was five minutes but she'd never admit it - that's for another time.

"I didn't know you were arriving tonight too." is her first approach.

Derek, who rushed to help Fernando and Jake with the bags stops to make a face at her.

"Addison, hi. How are you? Yes, my children are beautiful and taller than last year, just like yours. But mind that I'm interested, unlike you."

"Derek." Meredith shakes her head at him. They finished settling in no more than two hours ago, the same amount of time it took her to distract Ellis from a late nap until she gave up and allowed the 3-year-old to slumber before they all go out to dinner.

"I wasn't trying to be rude but we just saw each other." Addison tries not to be defensive, this is not about his children or hers, but ever since their last bitter encounter during her brother's surgery, they have avoided each other as much as possible. Other than the thank you note she sent for the flowers she received on her mother's funeral, every interaction she has with her ex-husband is through either their unproblematic daughter or his very kind wife and she'd love for them to explain how they manage to stay as blinded by him as they are.

"Yes. Two months ago. He's just tired, it's fine." Meredith complies and Addison is grateful someone is on her side.

Before their banter is over, Jake comes in from the garage with the remaining bags and Derek takes one to excuse himself out of the picture.

"I'm sorry. Everyone is beautiful, it's not about them, plus they are taller. I was thinking today how Harper looks different than last week." she takes out the bar stool next to Meredith and joins her on the kitchen island.

They exchange a few updates on their kids and whether or not the weather does feel hotter in here than in California until she feels Jake's hands on the back of her neck and lets her head fall back to see him.

"You okay?" he asks.

She nods and he leans in to place a kiss on her forehead.

They hear Fernando coming back along a non-familiar voice.

"The young ones seem to be enjoying our game room. Oh, the other parents!"

"Mamá." Fernando laughs, never let it be said his mother isn't loud enough, he takes her extended hand to draw her closer to the Reilly's. "This is Addison, Sammy's mom. And Jake, her stepdad."

She grabs them both in a tight hug. "It's great to finally meet you." Addison tell her, the air catches the lighter mood and she's grateful for it, given the obvious circumstances.

"Maria Eugenia, viuda de Villarreal." she introduces herself. "But you can call me Maru and you can omit that I am my Nando's widow too." she does a fast sign of the cross against her lips and reaches for the margaritator in the counter. "Who wants a drink?" she offers.

Who doesn't.

/

Derek stands next to Addison after Maru gave them a tour of the villa and they reach the final spot, a patio that connects through a low wooden fence to the hills of the golf court.

"Hole 12 is close to here, but no one asks for the balls back if they fly them off into the pool. It happens, they're disposable though. Not disposable but we don't ask for them back, that's not a thing." And so they learnt Maru is fluent on replying to her own statements.

"Sammy's getting married." he breaks the silence.

"Sammy's twenty three." she's observing everyone else cooling off and ponders she might be the only one who isn't enjoying the evening.

"Sammy's 23 and she's getting married." Derek's remark makes her heart skip a beat.

"And she's going to be an architect." she adds in case they were close to suggesting 23 and getting married is all their daughter is.

"At least she'll have a life." he takes a deep breath, his hands burrowed in his pant's front pockets.

"They." Addison corrects him swings her margarita glass around wishing some hispanic villa magic could refill it, or dear-sweet-talented Maru, and maybe those things are the same anyway.

"At least they'll have a life."

"Are you okay with this?" she takes her chances and expects a genuine answer.

"Why wouldn't I be? He's good to her, they love each other, they've been together since-"

"Their first year, like us." his eyes soften and she reads how the parallel hadn't crossed his mind, she chooses to justify it by believing it's his eternal positive view on things, he doesn't consider failure as an option. Even though they technically were.

"We were 26 when we-" she nods so he doesn't have to say get married, "It didn't make a difference to be a little older."

He tries to push the fear down by changing the subject. "I don't see why it surprised you that we got here today too."

"True, you live further away." is she teasing?

That's absolutely not it.

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't remember they had all been at your place, I was…" he doesn't say nervous because that would require for him to admit it to himself first. He tries to rephrase. "It's actually good to see you, Addie.", she raises an eyebrow in response, he hasn't called her that for longer than she can remember. She's about to try to say something when Sammy's hand on her back makes both her and Derek turn around.

"Mom, Dad, this is Padre Juan."

"Oh, hi.", they shake hands with him, "I didn't know you were with someone." Addison smiles to Maru, who has her arm hooked on the proper man's elbow.

"I thought she wasn't - priests don't marry people." she whispers to Derek but Maru seems to grasp the idea.

"He's our family priest, Padre Juan." she stretches the word padre and priest which for the first time makes sense to them.

"Padre means priest." Maru explains in a slower diction than her now signature fluency.

"I thought it meant father so I-" maybe they should slow down on Maru's margaritas, Derek thinks. "Father is the same as priest. I- We're sorry. Never mind.", he finishes.

"You allowed all these blessing to happen" Padre Juan refers at the view in attempt to ease the tension. "Six children, being surgeons, I mean-"

"No, no, it's not, they're not all ours." Addison gets the full idea first and nudges Derek to back her up.

"Yeah, I can tell you adopted too, which is even-"

"No," she blurts at the same time her ex-husband says "Yes."

After a look from Addison, Derek opens his mouth to clarify but she begins, "They're not- we're not," she gestures with her hand between them both, "Sammy's our only child together." Derek completes.

Padre Juan's eyes open wide, he flushes, "I'm so-" he places a hand to his chest, "You're with other people?"

"Divorced." Addison nods, then smiles at Derek.

"But not ecclesiastical." Priest Juan might have meant that as a question but they don't have time to figure it out.

"Guys, let's go." Samantha calls out and Addison is only thanking symbiosis for the rescue, because according to Padre Juan, God isn't thrilled with them.

"Can I have ice cream for dinner?" Harper pouts to her mother.

"No. But we can share one for dessert, how about that?" her blue eyes brighten, she beams in agreement, which deepens her dimples and reminds Addison that not everything is as bad and awkward as she's perceiving. Henry, for example, is amused that they did ride a golf cart to The Club because Fernando's clearly soft on the kids, he and Samantha took them and gave their car to Jake so he would drive everybody else to dinner.

Addison nods to herself, everybody's getting along. Excluding her brief face off with Derek, Samantha and Fernando warned them that his mother was a very catholic person, but so far she has been warm and welcoming. Unless she's misconceiving.

"So we told Fernando we don't mind that all of her parents live in sin because we don't judge the children of God." Maru is - of course - leading the conversation.

"What is sin?" Ellis asks and cheers to herself with her napkin up. "Sin!"

"Okay. El, it's not-" Meredith turns to Derek for help and he turns to no one in particular.

"We're not religious." he smiles with his lips pressed together hoping that calls it.

"Ay no, mi amor, that's evident."

"Mamá." Fernando pleads.

Maru puts her hands up in total confusion, her shinny bangles slide along both her forearms clacking against each other, "I specifically said we don't mind."

Among their nuance, The Club's restaurant is noisy enough that some of their words are muffled by the pianist's joyous playing and other people's laughter. If they look around, for a moment it could be understandable that people who live in golf court villas are chatty and unbothered and that their main focus is whether their future in laws had an ecclesiastical divorce or not.

"She did say Sammy has a lot of parents."

"Well, they're four."

"Four is a lot of parents." Zola and Henry meant to murmur to each other but the entire table hears and they seem to be choosing if it's best to laugh or cry.

A festive waiter appears just in time, "My name is Jesus and I'm happy to be of your service tonight. Welcome to The Club at Sonterra, where heaven is on earth. Are you ready to live the experience?" he wraps up his introduction with a wide grin.

Unless it meant a fast pass to Sunday - no adult in that table really is.

Author's notes: Hello and thank you to pieces for taking the time to read the first part of the five acts taking place in the Villarreal's wonderful marvelous villa. I appreciate every minute you took to visit and I will appreciate you a thousand times more if you guys review. This story is being written with profound respect to every character, specially the ones we know of and love. I won't spoil anything but I do need to say that whatever happens, everybody ends up happy and okay. No hearts will be permanently broken in this universe and if you have any questions regarding anything about it, feel free to ask! We'll know a bit more of every character in time although we only have a weekend to get to know them. I will stop myself now but I appreciate your reading and I BEG YOU to review.

Thank you!