During her ten day trip to Seattle for a case, Addison had grown accustomed to being alone. She spent her whole day dealing with people who hated her and when she got home (or rather, to her hotel) Addison was alone with no one to provide any sort of comfort to help get her through the coming day. She got used to sitting in the cafeteria alone, during lunch she'd read a magazine or a medical journal just to take her attention away from that fact. But every now and then she'd look up from an article and see her husband sitting all the way on the other side of the cafeteria with his new girlfriend. She knew she had it coming, she had no right to be hurt or upset and yet she was. There was an unexplainable dull ache in her heart, she knew she lost him and she deserved the way she was being treated.

"Derek." she called out when she saw him in the lobby heading out. She ran a little to catch up with him and when he didn't stop, she reached out to grab his arm. "I just need ten seconds." she pleaded.

"What?" he asked impatiently. "I have plans and I'm running late. I'm meeting someone for dinner."

Addison reached into her briefcase and pulled out a manilla envelope. "Divorce papers." she explained as she held it out to him. "I had my lawyer send it over to your lawyer, they've hashed it out and made all changes they felt were needed. I've already signed them, I honestly don't care about who gets what. If you're okay with everything, just sign them and FedEx them back to me, I'll file. If you wanna change anything, go for it. Like I said, I don't really care."

"FedEx them to you? Why can't I just give them to you in a day or two?" Derek asked.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning." she explained simply. "I have to get back home. I've got a lot of people waiting for me to get back, lots to do."

"Is Mark waiting for you and is that what you have to 'do'?" Derek asked spitefully.

Addison did her best to ignore the comment. "My patients are waiting for me. I have to reschedule all the appointments I missed and I have to put the Brownstone on the market so we can split the money. I have to pack up all your stuff and get it shipped out to you and move out my stuff."

"Don't bother sending me my stuff. I'm not the same person anymore. I don't need any of that stuff."

"Okay." Addison murmured, looking down at her shoes to blink away the tears. She looked up at him again and forced a convincing smile onto her face to hide the pain. "Let me know if you think of anything specific you want. Pictures or textbooks or something."

"Why would I want any of our pictures?" Derek asked, giving her an annoyed look.

"I never said you would want our pictures, Derek." she snapped back defensively, unable to restrain herself after so many hurtful comments. "Pictures of your family, you know, nieces, nephews. The album full of pictures of your childhood..."

"Oh..." Derek murmured, considering his options for a second. "Can you send those to my mom? I don't have space for them in the trailer but once I find something more permanent I'll get them from her."

Addison nodded. "Let me know if you think of anything else in the next couple days." she said.

"I have to go." Derek reminded her and starting moving toward the exit. Right before walking out, he turned back to her and said, "Just in case I don't see you tomorrow, have a safe trip back home."

Over his two months in Seattle, Derek had visited The Emerald City bar many times after work. It was a short walk across the street, and Derek often looked forward to that time to himself to walk there after a long day at work. This particular night was different because as he walked across the parking lot be knew someone was behind him. His heart started beating faster as he turned to confirm his theory and was instantly met with a gun in his face.

"Wallet." the masked man demanded as he reached out to grab the suit case in Derek's hand.

Derek didn't bother fighting for the briefcase. His laptop was in it but that was the least of his worries. He thoughtlessly reached into his back pocket and retrieved a black leather wallet. He held it out to the man without a fight. That's when the man's eye cause an unmistakable shine under Derek's thick, long sleeved coat.

"Gimme the watch."

"What?" Derek's voice croaked at the words, his breath hitching in his throat with memories of his father's death lingering in his mind.

"Gimme the watch!" the statement was clearly repeated.

"Addison." Derek murmured when he unwrapped a small box to reveal an elegant blank box with the word Cartier written across the top in silver. He popped the box open and stared at the solid platinum watch inside.

"You like it?" she asked, the excitement evident in her voice. It was the morning of their medical school graduation and she had been waiting impatiently to present him with his gift. "Every doctor needs a good watch." she explained with the brightest smile he'd ever seen on her face. "We are probably going to be killing a lot of people during our intern year. Wouldn't want to call Time of Death incorrectly, would we?" she asked rhetorically.

"I love it." he answered, reaching into the pocket of his suit to retrieve a smaller box than what she had given him.

She quickly unwrapped the Tiffany Blue wrapping to reveal a signature Tiffany's and Co box which she proceeded to open only to discover a ring box. She looked up at Derek in shock she she popped the box open. "Derek." he voice caught in her throat as she stared down at the ring.

"Every man needs an incredible woman like you by his side forever." he said, twisting around her statement from just a few seconds earlier. "Will you marry me and stay by my side forever?"

She skipped the answer and went straight for a high pitched squeal before jumping into his arms from excitement.

"I'm going to take that as a yes." Derek chuckled as he carefully placed her back on her feet. "Or you just get super excited when you break people's hearts." he added teasingly.

"It's ironic, right?" she said later that night as she curled up against him with her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"What's ironic?"

"That I bought you a watch and you bought me a ring."

Derek gave her a confused look. "Why is that ironic?"

"Because, the ring is a symbol of our relationship, a promise for a future together and the watch symbolizes time. It symbolizes days and hours that are to come and an infinite number of possibilities comes that comes with that future."

"That sounds kind of romantic when you put it that way." Derek mumbled, a somewhat goofy grin growing on his face as he let her words sink in . A future together, an infinite number of possibilities for their life together. "Or it could be a coincidence."

She promptly elbowed him in the gut. "It's not a coincidence. It's a sign that this is meant to be, you and me, forever. Until death does us part."

"Since when you believe in signs?"

"Since I gave you a watch and you gave me a ring." she replied with her perfect smile that would always make his heart start beating just a little bit faster.

"Give me the watch!"

The words burned in Derek's mind, he'd heard them far too many times for one lifetime. He brought his right hand to his left wrist to unclasp it but couldn't go through with it. "I can't." he murmured. "It's all I'm going to have left from her."

That's when a fist came flying toward his face, catching him unexpectedly right in the forehead, sending him flying back until he hit the hard cement. The instantaneous pain send him into a welcome state of unconsciousness, allowing his assailant to remove the watch without a fight and get away with no difficulty and no witnesses to worry about.

After leaving the hospital and arriving at her hotel room, Addison made a beeline toward the turned-down bed where she could prompt cry herself to sleep. But it didn't last long. Less than an hour later she received a call that changed everything. All she heard was husband and found unconscious. Everything else was a blur. She quickly pulled on the pair of scrubs she'd carelessly tossed aside earlier and she sped to the hospital, running two red light in the five minute drive over.

By the time she arrived, Derek had been stabilized and transferred to the ICU. An intern escorted her to the room and informed her that a doctor would be in shortly to talk to her. She stared down at Derek and did her best not to cringe. His face was bruised, his arms scraped and his lip was swollen, there was minimal traces of blood still left on his face and it send her heart pounding out of her chest.

"Addison." Richard greeted softly when he walked into the room.

"What the hell happened?" she demanded without giving him a chance to speak.

"We don't know." Richard answered honestly. "Meredith and O'Malley were walking to their car and they saw him lying in the parking lot. His wallet and briefcase are missing, we assume he was mugged."

"He's living in New York long enough to know that if he just gave the mugger what he or she wanted, he would not have been hurt. Why would he fight over her wallet?"

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe the guy just beat him anyway to get the chance to escape."

"What happen?" Addison asked again. "Why is he in the ICU? What's wrong with him?"

"He's got a concussion, a terrible one at that. He's got a minor skull fracture, and a cracked rib. There was no further brain injury, at least none that we can note while he's unconscious. All scans came back clean."

"He hasn't gained consciousness at all since he was brought in?"

"No, he hasn't but he is stable, breathing on his own which is good. It's just a matter of time." Richard explained what Addison should have already known as a doctor. But in that moment, Richard knew she wasn't thinking like Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd. She was the concerned wife that was lost in a situation she knew nothing about. "I know you and Derek are not on good terms right now but you are legally still married. You are responsible for all medical decisions while he's unconscious."

Addison nodded. "I know." she whispered. "Isn't it dangerous for him to be unconscious with a concussion? Doesn't that put him at risk for going into a coma?"

"We are monitoring him very carefully, that is why he is in the ICU." he replied. "Is there anyone you want us to call? Derek's family? You're family?" Richard offered.

Addison shook her head. "I'll call his family." she answered quietly. "Just give me a few minutes to process all of this then I'll get it together and call his family."

Richard reached out to put a hand on Addison's shoulder. "You don't need to have it together right now." he reminded her. "I'll be here to help with anything I can, okay?"

"Thank you." she murmured, collapsing in a chair beside his bed.

She should have know that things between her and Derek could not end with a simple divorce. They were too complicated to end things that easily. The fact that Derek was unconscious in a hospital bed was evidence of that fact. It was up to her to make sure he would be okay and she could never walk away from him when he needed her.

Celebrating the end of my finals for this semester by posting this story. It's a little sad when you think about it haha. Hope you guys like it. Chapter 2 will come soon if you guys overwhelm me with reviews. *insert devilish smirk here*