Hey people! This could be a random one shot. It's five years on and Derek is in New York, and not with Addison. Meredith lives in Seattle and is married to Pete. This is based around them but if you do want to know how every one else is doing then fine. Christina and Burke are married. George is with a new intern called Susan (didn't sleep with Meredith) and very much in love. Denny didn't exist (neither did the prom) so Alex and Izzie are going strong. Please read and review. Tell me if you want me to continue. I want to but I'm not sure. Let me know 

Derek lifted the phone from his office and dialled down to the main trauma area in New York General.

'Patterson, you paged me?'

'We've got a domestic abuse case on its way in. thirty year old female. Husband beat the living crap out of her casing a lot of damage. She's apparently running away from him. She's got head traumas. We need the chief on this one,'

'I'll be down shortly,' Derek put the phone down and peeled the white lab coat off, know that he was going to be busy. It had been five years since he had moved to New York, leaving behind him a life that was perfect until Addison had showed up. He had been offered chief of neurosurgery out here and took the job instantly. He hadn't heard from Addison in four years, and hadn't heard anything from Seattle in three. It really bothered him that it had been five years since the move, since he let go of the one person that made him feel complete and happy, but he didn't make her happy, he broke her heart. Meredith had been an angel in his life sent to save him. But she was happy now, married, a good job. Lifting his pager and stethoscope he headed down to trauma. Chris Patterson was the most senior resident that New York General had but he was also the best. He and Derek were best friends and Derek knew it would take a hell of a lot for them to fall out. He had picked Derek up in the darkest of days when he first moved out and his heart was broken from leaving Meredith in Seattle.

'When she due in?'

'That the ambulance there,'

'Ok, lets get this rolling,' Derek watched as the gurney got brought in and stood back, watching as all the nurses fixed the figure lying on the bed up to monitors and saline drips. The woman's head was badly bashed, her face purple with bruises. Her hair was streamed with red, the blood still trickling out the back. Her arms were covered in hand marks and her hands badly shredded.

'Chris, did they get the guy that did this?'

'Apparently he's in Seattle, took a flight out there after he did this. The cops are after him, big time,'

'What are her stats?'

'Her ICP is stable and her BP's slightly raised. Heart beats are at an even rhythm,'

'Ok, let's get her for a CT and a MRI. Make sure she's stable first,'

'Shepherd, can you take a look at her back? There seems to be a lot of bruising,' Derek walked over and round to the woman's head. Looking down he stopped breathing, unable to move.

'Derek, what's wrong?' He didn't answer, just stood, staring at the face he knew so well, but it didn't look like her. Her eyes swollen, cuts on her face coming down her to the base of her neck, chunks of her hair missing at the hairline.

'Derek!'

'It's her?'

'Who?'

'It's her,'

'Derek!'

'Meredith…' Derek's voice wasn't above a whisper but Chris took a sharp breath in.

'This is Meredith,' Derek moved the piece of hair from her face and gently caressed her face.

'Ok, let's get her for a CT and MRI. Get her into a hospital gown before you move her. Do it gently, she's in pain as it is,' as two nurses started undressing her, peeling her trousers off, Derek could feel the nausea washing over him. Her legs looked like they had been covered in blue ink, the bruises beginning to turn purple. Her stomach was badly marked. Derek walked away from the bed, Chris following him. He didn't know how to feel. Anger? Sadness? Fear? He didn't know. He started running, along the busy corridors, passing nurses and doctors, ignoring their looks and whispers. Pushing the door open, the wind was rushing over the roof. Running to the corner, he started throwing up, not caring that Chris had followed him and was shouting his name. Wiping his mouth he finally realised what was happening.

'I left her in Seattle. I should have stayed with her. She'd be fine if I had stayed.' The tears started falling and they wouldn't stop. Meredith, the one person her loved more than life it's self was lying in a hospital bed because he had left her on her own, ran away instead of staying and being with her. Chris walked over and put his arms around Derek.

'She's got you now, and you won't ever let her go again, you understand? You have to be there for her, wither she wants you there or not you'll be there,' Derek held onto the back of Chris's scrubs and broke down into his shoulder.

'Come on, she needs you,' Derek followed him down to Meredith's room. The blinds had been shut over and nobody could see in. There was a single nurse in with Meredith, checking her meds.

'Where are the CT scans?' Derek wiped his face and held them up to the light box.

'No internal head trauma,'

'Stay with her. I'll distribute your easier surgeries amongst the other residents. I'll reschedule or cancel all the other ones. Stay with her,' Derek sat on the blue seat next to her and took her right hand in his.

'Mere, it's me. I'm not leaving you ever. I promise, I'll be right by your side and I won't let anybody hurt you again. I was a jackass when I left Seattle. I shouldn't have left you, I'm sorry,' Derek bowed his head and let the tears fall silently onto their hands.

'Derek?' Meredith's voice was less than a whisper. His head shot up, the deep intense eyes that she loved, had lost their sparkle and were red and bloodshot.

'Mere,'

'I heard what you said,' Derek shook his head and looked to the door.

'You really promise?' Derek turned and smiled at her.

'I promise,' Meredith lifted her hand to her face and kissed the back of his.

'I came here looking for you, but I never made it,' Derek gently wiped the tears falling from her eyes.

'He's gone back to Seattle. The cops are looking for him. How long has this been happening?'

'Three months,' Derek closed his eyes and bit the inside of his lip. He knew he shouldn't say anything but he couldn't hold back.

'Why did you put up with it?'

'He said he loved me and that it wouldn't happen again. I believed him every time,'

'What else did he do to you?'

'Just what you see,' Derek nodded his head and smiled.

'He won't hurt you anymore, I promise,' Meredith closed her eyes and felt the pain she was feeling disappear as she felt Derek rubbing the back of her hand. As she began to fall asleep, she listened as Derek whispered in her ear about times they had In Seattle. The night they met in Joes. The next day. The time bailey caught them. His voice was warm and comforting, easing her gently into sleep. As soon As Derek realised she was sleeping he slipped out the room, knowing he had to phone Seattle.

'Richard, Derek Shepherd here,'

'Derek? What are you calling for?'

'It's Meredith,'

'What's wrong? Is she with you?'

'Yes she's with me. I thought you should know what's happening. She's been badly beaten,'

'Who by?'

'The bastard she was married to'

'Pete?'

'I don't know his name. She's in one hell of a mess. I thought you should know.'

'Is she…I mean she's not going to…?'

'No she's not leaving. She's sleeping but she's still in a mess. Are Christina, George and Izzie working?'

'No, their all off. Meredith ran off and they were worried about her. They all signed off sick at the same time,'

'Ok, I'll phone the house. I'm moving back to Seattle. You still looking for a Chief of Neuro or have you found one?'

'Derek, I only called you two weeks ago and offered you the job. Of course it's still open. You want it?'

'I'm having Meredith transferred down to Seattle. I'm coming with her,'

'It's waiting for you Derek,'

'I'll see you later Chief,' Derek hung up but re lifted the phone again, dialling a number he had done may times before but always hanging up before it started ringing.

'Hello?'

'Izzie?'

'Who's' this?'

'It's Derek shepherd,'

'Oh, Meredith's not here,'

'I know, she's with me,'

'SHE'S WITH YOU?'

'Yeah, Who's' there?'

'Me, George, Christina,'

'Is Pete there?'

'No,'

'Ok, put me on speaker phone,' Izzie put the phone down and pressed for the large speaker to come on.

'Meredith's in New York General. Pete beat the living crap out of her. She's in one hell of a mess but she's ok. I'm having her transferred up,' Derek could hear izzie crying in the back ground, when George started talking.

'How bad is she?'

'There's no internal bleeding, no internal head trauma but her body looks like she's been attacked with a baseball bat,'

'Ok, when is she being brought down?'

'Tomorrow. I need for her to sleep,'

'I don't mean to be rude…well it might sound rude but…I don't mean it to be rude but,'

'George spit it out?'

'Why is she In New York with you?' Derek looked around to see if any nurses were about.

'She said she was coming to find me,'

'She did what I told her to do,'

'What?' Derek heard the phone being lifted off speaker.

'I told her to stop acting like she was happy and go and get the one person that would make her happy,'

'When did you tell her this?'

'About three months ago. Why?'

'That's when he started on her…she was leaving him, that's why he did this, she was leaving him,'

'Derek, he's at the door,' Derek's heart started pounding against his chest.

'Pretend I'm Joe or something. Don't let him know where she is. Get him in the house and keep him there. Phone the cops once he's in. Don't tell him where she is and make sure you don't let him leave,'

'Thanks Joe, I'll do that,'

'I'm coming back with her tomorrow. If anything happens phone me,'

'I will Joe, thanks,' George clicked the phone off leaving Derek wondering what was happening. Standing in a day dream, he was only brought out of it by Chris's hand on his shoulder.

'You ok?'

'Yeah, thanks for earlier,'

'It was nothing. What are you doing now?'

'I'm going back to Seattle with her,'

'Oh,'

'I have a chance to be with her again and I'm not going to give that up. I let her go once and look what happened? She looks like she's been run over by a bus,'

'Go for it Derek. When are you leaving?'

'She's being transferred tomorrow,'

'Tomorrow? No leaving do? No getting drunk on last time?'

'I'll be back soon after it to tie everything up. I'm not leaving her again, ever. I love her Chris,'

'I know, good luck Derek,'

'Come in and see her, she woke up earlier,' Chris followed Derek in to the room where Meredith was stirring slightly. Opening her eyes her eyes shot open at the fact Derek wasn't beside her.

'I'm right here,' Derek stood at the side of the bed and wiped the hair from her face.

'I thought you had left me again,' Meredith chuckle slightly.

'Not for all the ferryboats in the world would I leave you,' Meredith tried to sit up, but the bruises at the bottom of her back stopped her from sitting up straight.

'You're supposed to be lying on you back,'

'I don't do hospitals. I spend almost everyday in them and tell patients the exact same thing,'

'You're nicer than the way he described you,'

'He described me?'

'Many a time, especially when he had tequila, that was like walking into a minefield when you gave him tequila,'

'You stole my drink?'

'I needed something of you. This is Chris, Picked me up from the floor many a time,'

'That I would have loved to see,' Meredith laughed at the thought of Derek on the floor.

'He thinks he's superman when he's had a drink,'

'Nothings changed then,' Chris smiled at the fact he wasn't the only one who had seen Derek be superman.

'How are you feeling?'

'I really want to go home,'

'You're being transferred to Seattle grace tomorrow. I phoned Richard and the 'Family''

'Have they found him yet?' Derek bit his tongue.

'There looking,' Meredith finally sat up and wasn't in pain. Chris signed her chart and left them alone. Meredith moved her legs and made a space on the bed. Taking Derek's hand she pulled him onto the bed.

'When you left Seattle, I felt so alone. You told me you were leaving then the next day you were gone. I met him in Joes; he said his wife had just left him. It went from there. Six months later he proposed. I said yes, but not because I loved him. It was because he was so different from you. Nothing about him reminded me of you. He was so different. I thought about you almost everyday, the hospital being the worst. We'd been married for two months when it started. The first time I told him I was coming to find you. He went crazy. I never mentioned you again in front of him. He found a ticket for New York in my bag. One way. I was coming and wasn't going back. Again I said I wasn't leaving. It just kept happening. Until yesterday. I booked a flight and kept everything in my locker. He came to pick me up after work. It wasn't in the plan. I ran from him and didn't realise he had got on the same plane as me,' Meredith stopped and took a deep breath in.

'Mere, you don't have to tell me this,'

'I know, but I need to tell you. It was in the airport. I didn't see him behind me. Next thing I know I'm here, you holding my hand and telling me stuff I shouldn't of heard,' Derek smiled.

'Yeah, and I meant every word,' Meredith sat up; wincing with every move she made, and hugged Derek. Placing his arms gently around her waist, he kissed her face gently.

'You smell really good,'

'Ok, when am I getting out of here?'

'Tomorrow, but you're staying in Seattle grace,'

'Oh, come on. I really want to go home,'

'Mere, look at yourself. You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards and then beaten to a pulp. You're in no fit state to go home,'

'That made me feel so much better,'

'We'll it doesn't matter what you look like to me but I don't want you to be ill so you're staying in the hospital,'

'For how long?'

'A few days,'

'What about…' Meredith's voice trailed off.

'About who?'

'Him,'

'He won't come near you, I promise. And if he even thinks about it, I'll give him a lobotomy,'

'Does the patient not have to be dead for that?' Derek raised his eyebrows and started laughing.

'I promise he won't ever hurt you again. I love you too much to let it happen,'

'But it did happen,'

'I know, and it's killing me inside, but it won't happen again, that I promise,' Meredith leaned in and kissed Derek lightly.

'I love you too,'

'Get some sleep. You need to be ready for tomorrow. A helicopter ride isn't the most pleasant experience you'll ever have,'

'I bet,' Derek eased Meredith down in the bed and tried to run his fingers through her hair, but the blood had made it tuggey.

'If you need me, page me,' leaning down he kissed her head gently. Her eyes were soon closed, her heart rate slowed and her body finally rested. Heading along to the on call room, Derek collapsed on the bed and felt his eyes shutting, but he willed himself awake. Lying, staring at the ceiling, feeling of anger and rage began building up inside of him. He wanted to kill him. Wrap his arms around his neck and kill him. If he ever got his hands on Pete, god help him. That bastard put his hands on her the way nobody should. He had no right and it was breaking Derek up inside.

'You want to kill him?'

'How'd you guess?'

'Derek, I've known you for five years. I know you like I know my shadow. I've never seen you lying with your fists clenched,' Derek looked down and realised that they were clenched. Releasing them he took a deep breath in.

'I hate it. I hate the fact I left her. The fact she married him. The fact he even thought about laying a finger on her never mind actually hurting her. She's different from the last time I saw her. She seems fragile, like doll. When she was in Seattle, she was strong and independent. You'd of laughed at some of the things she said to me. She just…she's not the Meredith I remember, but I still, love her more than anything,'

'Derek, the man she thought loved her beat the living crap out of her on more than on occasion. I think she's allowed to be different. You just need to be there for her. She's going to be fine,'

'Yeah,'

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Derek pushed the wheelchair along the corridor, Meredith sitting with her hands under the thighs. Her hair scraped back into a loose ponytail, the blur tracksuit making her look white and gaunt.

'You ok?'

'Yeah, can't wait to get out of here though,'

'You've only been here three days,'

'I know but, I just feel better for getting out of here,' Derek stopped outside Richard Webbers office and pushed the door open. Meredith put her hands up and stood up, using Derek's arm as a support.

'I'm ok,'

'Tell him everything, not just what you want to,'

'I will,' Derek followed Meredith in and kept a hand round her waist.

'Meredith, how are you doing?'

'I'm fine,' Derek smiled at Meredith.

'Ok, I'm really sore but I'm ok,'

'Well, I'll get straight to the point. I got a phone call from the cops. They have arrested Pete. He is being charged,'

'What with?' Meredith's grip on Derek's hand got tighter.

'Attempted murder and GBH or ABH,'

'Attempted murder?'

'The injuries he gave you could have killed you. He is sick in the head. He should rot in hell for it,'

'Richard, its ok,'

'I agree,'

'You would kill him Derek,'

'Yeah, and?'

'And he'll get what's coming,' Richard Webber smiled.

'Why are you so calm about this?' Meredith looked up. Turning to face Derek, her face lit up.

'Cause I know that no matter what happens, their somebody going to be with me, helping through it, holding my hand,'