Notes: This is a fanfiction based on characters from the TV shows, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice. This is a story that takes place sometime after Private Practice ends while Derek is still alive. In this story, Jake, Addison, and baby Henry visit Amelia and Derek in Seattle after one of Jake’s patients end up at Grey Sloan Memorial. Title inspired from Grey’s Anatomy 5×15 (Private Practice/Grey’s Anatomy crossover). This story was originally posted on Archive of Our Own on December 18th, 2021. This has been edited to include headings and images.
People get divorced, they meet new people, they remarry
“Addie!” Amelia ran up to the redhead when she saw her outside the hospital. It’d been a while since they’d seen each other in person but she was excited nonetheless.
“Ugh, I’ve missed you,” Addison said as she held her a little tighter before letting her go. “L.A’s great, but it’s not the same without you,” she said as she put her hand on her cheek, widening both of their smiles.
“Yeah, I miss you guys too,” Addison said as she looked over to Jake, who was holding a two-year-old Henry.
“Auntie Amelia!” Henry cooed as he reached his arms over in her direction. To which Amelia happily obliged by grabbing the boy out of Jake’s arms.
“It’s good to see you too,” Jake chimed in. Amelia looked happy, and so much more grown-up than the last time he saw her. Plus, she was now head of neurosurgery at Grey Sloan Memorial, so he knew she’d done a lot in their absence. But before they could say much more, both Jake and Addison’s pagers started beeping.
“It’s Lyla,” Jake said, looking at his pager.
“Can you…take Henry to the daycare? We’ve gotta go,” Addison asked.
“Of course,” Amelia said, looking back over at Henry. “You guys go, we’ll catch up later,”
Derek Meets Henry
Then, both Addison and Jake rushed inside and Amelia shortly followed inside. But she wasn’t ready to just drop Henry off just yet. It’d been a while since she’d seen her godson and she saw an opportunity. She had a department to run, but she also knew Derek wouldn’t mind taking over for the day. He had been itching to do more ever since he decided not to take that job in DC. But he was also trying to be professionally respectful because she was, after all, his boss now. Never in a million years did he think that his baby sister would be his boss.
“Hey,” Amelia popped her head in the door. “Do you mind taking my next surgery?” she asked.
“Yeah sure,” Derek said nonchalantly as he looked at a patient’s scans. Then, it registered what his sister was asking.
“Wait, why?” Derek asked, turning around. Then, he saw Amelia making faces at the baby, who started giggling back at her.
“Just because,” Amelia said as she looked up. The baby was cute, but he had no idea why Amelia was holding a baby. Or why she’d hand off a surgery to play with him.
“Who’s this?” Derek asked playfully, walking closer to them.
“This is Henry,” Amelia introduced the two. But she decided she wouldn’t say whose baby this was. At least not yet. It’d be much more fun to surprise him later when he saw Addison and Jake later in the day. Which she knew was inevitable. Henry looked back at Derek, who wore the same white coat as Amelia did. Given the fact that Addison and Jake were rarely ever in white coats anymore, he found it fascinating. So when he reached to touch his coat, Derek was amused.
Derek and Amelia Find a Tumor
“Hi Henry,” Derek said, walking closer to let him touch his coat. When he did, Henry giggled a little. “You like my coat?”
“Amelia coat!” Henry exclaimed.
“Yeah we’re wearing the same coat,” Amelia confirmed. “But mine says Amelia Shepherd, see?” Amelia tried showing him her name but found it difficult considering she was holding him in her arms.
“Mine says Derek,” Derek said after watching Amelia struggle to show Henry the name on her coat. He pointed out his name on the coat and Henry chuckled and looked up at him.
“Derek,” Henry repeated his name. At two years old, he was getting pretty good at learning new words. Thanks to Addison constantly pointing out everything she could to teach him new words.
“That’s right,” Derek said, impressed with the little boy. He leaned down a little closer to him and smiled back at him. When Henry reached for his nose, they all laughed.
“Now I see why you want me to take your surgery,” Derek said. “But you should see these scans first before you decide,” Derek teased his little sister.
“Wait, why?” Amelia asked, curious. She knew he was probably just teasing her.
“Look at the size of this thing,” Derek said excitedly as he gestured towards the scan. There it was: a large meningioma in the front left lobe of a woman’s brain.
Derek Says Goodbye
“Wow,” Amelia marveled at the scan and went to take a closer look. “That is one big meningioma. It’s like the size of a small lemon,”
“Mennoma,” Henry struggled at saying the word, but for a two-year-old, it was pretty damn close.
“Not bad, kid,” Amelia looked back at him in awe. “How ‘bout we try an easier one? Can you say tumor?” she asked in a playful voice.
“Tumor!” Henry exclaimed. Amelia and Derek laughed back in response, which only made Henry laugh back and blush slightly.
“Dr. Shepherd?” A resident poked her head in the room as both Derek and Amelia turned around to face her.
“Umm…Shepherdess,” She corrected. “Your patient, Erin, she’s prepped and headed for OR 2,”
“Still want me to take it?” Derek motioned over to the scans. She was conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to spend more time with Henry. But on the other, it was a pretty big tumor. She’d probably get more in the future.
“Nope, you take it,” Amelia said decidedly. He was surprised, but he wasn’t about to complain.
“Say bye-bye, Derek,” Amelia said to Henry, to which he started waving and saying “bye-bye”.
“Bye Henry,” Derek laughed on his way out. He was a cute kid. No wonder Amelia was giving up her surgeries for him.
Henry’s Tour of Grey Sloan
After that, Amelia decided to take Henry around for a tour of the hospital. If she wasn’t going to cut into some brains, the least she could do is give Henry a good time. But after a couple more minutes of being held, Henry started squirming and saying “down”. So, Amelia let him down but made sure to at least hold his hand so she wouldn’t lose him. But Henry’s sweet and slightly wobbly walk only made him cuter. And the nurses they passed definitely noticed as they waved hello and cooed at him.
Amelia showed him a few different rooms but avoided the ER. She wasn’t sure what was there, but she knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to show a toddler an ER. A kid like Henry, who was still so little and innocent, wasn’t ready to see the horrors that came through their ER. Plus, Addison would kill her if she did. So, instead, Amelia went around the hospital to show him everything she could: the break room, the locker rooms, and her office. As well as a few others. She showed him any room she could find that was empty really. And on the way, they bumped into other doctors, all of which were momentarily captivated by the kid. They even stopped for a couple of bathroom breaks, where Henry very proudly showed his Aunt Amelia how he knew how to potty by himself.
Henry’s Nap Time
Henry found Grey Sloan to be amusing. He’d been around St. Ambrose plenty of times, but he usually just hung around Charlotte’s office with Mason, Lucas, and the triplets. Plus, St. Ambrose, as great of a hospital as it was, was much smaller in comparison. Henry had never been in a building so big before (at least not that he can remember) so to say he was impressed was an understatement. Plus, Amelia pointed out medical supplies and taught him as many words as she could. She imagined that if it were Addison, she’d do the same. And Henry was fascinated by it all.
After two hours of walking around the hospital, Henry started yawning. It was his nap time. Or more accurately, getting past his normal nap time. So, Amelia picked him up, took him to the break room, and warmed up his bottle. Not long after that, he was fast asleep in her arms. And she couldn’t help but stare. No wonder Addison spent so long wanting this. Fighting for this.
Amelia Gets a Moment to Herself
After everything that happened in LA with her unicorn baby, it took her a long time to realize she still wanted to be a mother someday. But that dream hadn’t been at the forefront of her mind for a while. She’d been so busy with work, doing what she loved, that she almost forgot about it. Almost. It was moments like this when she remembered. The quiet moments. Staring at Henry sleep peacefully felt like a godsent. It forced her to relax for the first time in what felt like forever.
These days, she was always rushing. She didn’t have time to just be. That was what LA was like. Addie used to say it all the time. She used to sit outside looking out at the beach being. And when she lived with her, she used to do the same. But as much as missed it, she knew Grey Sloan was the right place for her. She was so busy now that it didn’t give her time to think too hard or too long. And she needed that.
It was when she had too much time on her hands when she wanted to get high. When she needed something to numb the pain. The adrenaline rush that came with back-to-back surgeries distracted her. But more than that, it gave her the high she needed without actually getting high. And as much as she missed Addie and everyone back in LA, she knew that they all knew she was better here.
Henry Continues to Nap
The moment lasted for over an hour as Henry slept and Amelia held him as she sat on the couch. All Addison and Jake gave her was a bag full of some snacks (which they both ate while walking around the hospital earlier), some toys (Henry was really into cars, trucks, and trains at the moment so there were plenty of plastic ones for him to play with in there), and some bottles of milk. Which made sense. I mean, they figured Henry would be at the daycare, so they’d have a place for him to sleep when it came to his naptime. But since Amelia took him for the day instead, he just had to settle for sleeping in her arms. But he didn’t seem to mind.
After Henry started to wake up, Amelia heard some footsteps approach the break room. Since she’d been there, a few doctors came in to grab a snack or a drink from the fridge, but they’d all been pretty respectful of the fact that Amelia was holding a sleeping baby. Most of the other doctors here had kids of their own by now, so they all knew not to wake him.
Henry Meets More Doctors
“A baby!” Maggie exclaimed excitedly as she immediately got up to get a closer look at the baby.
“What are you doing with a baby?” Meredith asked, confused.
“Aren’t you just a cutie pie?” April got closer to Amelia holding Henry, who smiled back at them all.
“You really are cute,” Arizona noted as she too moved closer to Henry.
“You’re quite the ladies’ man, Henry,” Amelia teased as Henry rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“Is this why you gave Derek all your surgeries today?” Meredith asked, a little concerned for her sister-in-law.
“Yes, yes it is,” Amelia confirmed.
“I mean, he is pretty cute,” Arizona cooed at him.
“You have to at least admit that this is a little crazy,” Meredith looked at Maggie, but she too was distracted by the baby. Then, Callie and Derek (who was now done with his surgery) walked in to find everyone gathered around. But from her point of view, she couldn’t tell why.
“What’s going on here?” Callie asked loudly. The girls turned around and opened up the little circle they’d created, revealing Amelia holding Henry, who was still a little groggy from his nap.
“Henry?” Callie immediately recognized Henry from Addison’s emails. It’d been a long time since they’d seen each other. Since Addison delivered Sofia and saved both of their lives, actually. But they stayed in touch via email and now that they were both mothers, they gave monthly updates on their kids (complete with pictures, of course) and their lives.
Callie Finds Jake and Addison
“You know Henry?” Derek asked as he got closer and stroked his hair gently.
“Yeah,” Callie said. “What is he doing here?”
“I just wanted to show him around the hospital a little,” Amelia said, nonchalantly.
“Yeah, and she apparently canceled her surgeries to take care of some random baby for the day,” Meredith added.
“Random baby?” Callie asked. It was then that she realized that Amelia was the only one (other than her) who knew who Henry really was. That he was Addison’s son. She saw Addison and Jake (who she met for the first time) earlier in the day as they were rushing their patient to surgery. Callie even walked fast alongside them and made dinner plans with them. With Arizona and Sofia, of course, who Addison hadn’t seen since she delivered Sofia. After her realization, Callie laughed a little, and Amelia quickly joined in. And it just confused everyone else in the room.
“What’s so funny?” Arizona asked. By now, Henry started squirming in Amelia’s arms, signaling to her and everyone else that he wanted to be let down. After that, Amelia let him down and he went straight for the bag with his toys.
“Henry,” Callie said sweetly. As Henry pulled a yellow toy truck out of the bag, his head perked up to look at her.
“Do you wanna go see your mommy?” Callie asked, playfully. She had just passed both Addison and Jake as they got out of surgery. So she knew they must be close by.
“Yeah!” Henry exclaimed.
Henry and his Parents Reunite
Not long after that, Callie took his hand and led him out to the hallway as they passed the nurse’s station. Everyone else was confused (other than Amelia) so they just opted to follow the two as they walked out. After some time, Callie and Henry spotted Jake walking out of a patient’s room, where Addison closely followed, as they talked about their patient.
“Daddy!” Henry quickly let go of Callie’s hand and started running to Jake.
“Henry?” Addison was confused. He was supposed to be in daycare, but for some reason here he was, running towards them in the hospital.
“What’s he doing out here?” Jake asked, concerned as he picked up the little boy, who quickly snuggled under his chin.
“Apparently, Amelia wanted to show him around,” Callie explained.
“She was supposed to drop him off at daycare,” Addison said, eyeing Amelia, who was standing in front of the rest of the doctors, who were shocked to see Addison. Well, except Maggie, who was completely confused. After all, she’d never met the surgeon before. She knew of her reputation, of course, but she didn’t know this was the Addison Forbes Montgomery.
“What can I say?” Amelia walked closer to them. “I wanted to spend some more time with my godson. You can’t really fault me for that, can you?” she teased as she walked forward.
“No, I guess not,” Addison admitted as she wrapped an arm around Amelia.
Jake and Addison Meet Everyone
“I didn’t even realize you were back in town,” April said, quietly. She’d met Addison before when she came back to deliver Callie’s baby, but she didn’t really know her. Again, she knew her reputation, and she was impressed by her and thought it might be nice to work alongside her one day, but she didn’t really know her.
“Why are you back in town, anyway?” Arizona asked. She and Addison barely knew each other, but she knew Callie and her were friends. But they were both aware of each other’s stellar reputations. Plus, they both worked with Alex and had a commonality there as well.
“We have a patient here who got in a car accident,” Jake explained.
“Why is your patient here in Seattle?” April chimed in again.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Maggie finally butted in. “I’m definitely missing something here,”
Derek Fills Maggie In
“This is Addison,” Derek finally said, smiling as he stepped forward. “Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery” he clarified. Then, Maggie realized what was going on. At least partly.
“You’re the Addison Montgomery?” Maggie asked in awe. Addison’s reputation was stellar. She was a double board-certified OB/GYN and one of the top neonatal surgeons in the world. Maggie suddenly found herself slightly starstruck.
“Yes,” Addison chuckled slightly. It didn’t happen often, but she was always happy to meet a fan of sorts.
“Also known as my ex-wife,” Derek added, to which both of them smiled at each other fondly.
“Wait, your ex-wife is the Addison Montgomery?!” Maggie asked, shocked.
“Yes, now shut up,” Meredith said under her breath as she tried shushing her.
“As I was saying,” Jake chimed in to change the subject back to where they started. “Our patient’s in Seattle to visit family but she got into a car accident. And since Addison used to work here and Amelia works here, she thought it’d be fun to visit,”
“Wait, you used to work here? And you know Amelia? Well, I guess that makes sense if you’re Derek’s ex-wife” Maggie’s mind was still blown as she rambled on. And she refused to shut up about it, despite Meredith’s not-so-discreet pleas for her to stop.
“Yes, I did,” Addison confirmed.
Everyone Meets Jake
“I’m sorry, who are you?” April asked, hesitantly, referring to Jake. It was obvious that he was Henry’s father and presumably Addison’s husband, but he’d also made it clear that he too was a doctor.
“Dr. Jake Reilly,” Jake held out his hand for a handshake. “Fertility specialist,” he specified.
“Also known as my husband,” Addison added, smiling at him. “And Jake, this is Derek Shepherd,”
“I figured as much,” Jake chuckled as he held a hand for him to shake as well. By then, Henry was playing with his toy truck and was squirming. So Jake let him down to play on the ground. It wasn’t ideal, but he was getting bigger so he thought he might as well let him go.
“Addison Forbes Montgomery. Remarried and a mother,” Derek teased.
“Well if you can do it, I don’t see why I can’t,” Addison said, referring to Meredith and their kids. They kept in touch at times, but it’d been a while since they’d talked in person. Derek knew Addison remarried and adopted a baby, but he didn’t know the details.
Amelia Shows Henry Off
“You have a pretty smart kid there,” Derek added.
“Thank you,” Addison genuinely thanked him.
“Yeah,” Amelia confirmed.
“Hey Henry,” Amelia kneeled down to Henry, who was dragging his truck on the hospital floor.
“Do you remember that word I taught you?” Henry looked back at her and smiled.
“Menuhnuh,” Henry said, proudly. Jake and Addison looked at each other, hoping that the other might know what their son had just said.
“And what exactly is a meningioma?” Amelia asked, emphasizing what the word was supposed to be.
“A brain…” Amelia got him started after seeing Henry give her a confused look back.
“Tumor!” Everyone watched as if a lightbulb went off in his head.
Proud Parents
“That’s right,” Jake said, impressed. Everyone chuckled as Henry’s smile widened.
“You’re just my smart little boy, aren’t you?” Addison asked playfully as she picked him up. Instead of fussing this time, Henry just snuggled closer to his mom.
“At least tell me he ate and slept and you know, went to the bathroom and everything,” Addison directed this to Amelia as she kissed her son’s forehead.
“Yes, he slept, ate some snacks, and showed me how he knew how to potty. You know, I might not have a kid but I do make for a pretty great godmother,” Amelia said.
“And we expected nothing less,” Jake added, smiling.
Additional Notes
I couldn’t get this idea out of my head so I had to just write it out. I know they never address any Private Practice characters over on Grey’s Anatomy (because why would they?) but I like to think that Amelia still keeps in contact with everyone over at Seaside Wellness. And that she FaceTimes Addison all the time and that includes seeing Henry over FaceTime. And I like to think that Callie and Addison keep in contact too through emails about their lives and their kids. So, here’s my little oneshot. Hope you guys enjoy it!