Hey everyone!! I got this idea awhile ago while daydreaming inbetween studying for my finals last week (which are thankfully over lol). Now that it's the summer, I'm so happy that I can finally sit down, and write down this story that's been in my head all this time!

I hope you all enjoy this first chapter, and hopefully the rest of the story. Oh, and please review =)

Chapter 1

As the violent rain poured down on her, she ran. Ran away from Seattle Grace. Ran away from her grueling schedule as a first-year intern. Ran away from her intimidating yet compassionate resident, Dr. Bailey. Ran away from Richard Webber, the man who ruined her family. Ran away from her cold, condescending mother, who didn't even recognize her anymore due to Alzheimer's. Ran away from the powerful, beautiful and red-headed Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, who made her feel small and pathetic. Finally, she ran away from Derek Shepherd, the love of her life, who was married.

As she ran, she passed the towering skyscrapers of Seattle, Washington .Their grey, unfeeling exteriors seemed like a blur. After running for what seemed like days, she finally began to tire. So, she pushed the nearest door amindst her hazy surroundings, and went inside. Almost immediately after entering, she collapsed on the floor, and sobbed.

"Why is my life such a disaster?" she cried to herself, as she hugged her knees to her chest.

She was shocked from what she had just witnessed. Derek Shepherd, the ridiculously good-looking man she met at Emerald City on the night before her first day at work, her first one-night stand in Seattle, the brilliant neurosurgeon who let her scrub in on the most exhilarating brain surgeries, the persistent yet adorable suitor who begged her to go out on a date with him, the man who she thought she would spend the rest of her life with, was taken, even worse married to another woman. All of her great times with him were nothing but a lie. She was nothing but a temporary rebound girl for him to simply discard whenever he pleased. This was the truth, and the truth broke her heart into a million different pieces.

The whole situation exhausted her. This discovery threw her over the edge. Just when her stupid life seemed to be getting a little brighter, something like this happened.

She sat up for a second and thought of what Christina would think of her right now. She could just imagine what she would be saying to her right now if she saw her.

"Don't sit there and cry over McDreamy. He's a cheating McLoser anyway, and I'll kick his ass once I see him."

Her probable words made her laugh a little. The rest of the scene played in her head. Right after, Christina, her sarcastic, funny best friend would probably tell her that she looked like hell and that she needed a drink. So, they would leave Seattle Grace together, go to Emerald City, get drunk, go home, turn up the radio to maximum volume, and dance until they both collapsed from exhaustion. And then, the next morning she would back to Seattle Grace and kick McDreamy's ass.

Despite this, tears still fell down her cheeks. She had never been one that experienced a lot of love. Her father left her and her mother when she was only a young child. Her mother was cold, distant, critical and constantly working. Never once as a child did she have fun times baking cookies, or playing dolls with her mother. Throughout high school, college and med school, surely she had been in many relationships, but none of them were serious. And despite her many, many one night stands, she still felt alone, and unloved.

She never forgot the first time she met Derek Shepherd. Feeling depressed, as usual, she went to Emerald City to drink her sorrows away before her first day as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. One by one, she gulped down shots of tequila. All was ordinary until a handsome man in a silky red shirt came up to her.

At first, she thought he was just a typical jerk hoping to get laid at a bar. So, she tried to ignore him, as he talked to her. However, he grabbed her attention after a certain line.

"I'm someone you need to get to know to love."

Ha. Love. Sure...

Amused, she answered "Really? So if I know you, I'll love you?"

"Oh yes!"

She laughed. This guy was something else.

"You really like yourself, huh?"

Quickly, the guy's cheeks turned red.

"Just hiding my pain."

With that, she chuckled, and ended her night by bringing him home with her.

Little did she know that one of her infamous one night stands would turn into the most intense relationship of her whole life, filled with cheesy pursuits, elevator kisses, chunks of carbs in big baskets, racy glances across the ER and getting caught together in a car by her boss.

These were the memories that made her feel alive. For the first time in her life, she actually felt truly loved. They were memories that she had kept adding one to each day as she spent more and more time with "the guy" who she eventually learned was named Derek. But, after tonight, she knew that all of her times with him were over, and her memories with him were part of nothing but her past.

Finally, after an hour of crying all of the tears her small frame could produce, she became lethargic. With a sigh, she lifted her head and brushed her long, honey-blonde hair away from her face. As she tiredly looked around, she realized she was in what seemed to be a big church.

The whole occasion was quite ironic. Meredith had never been the religious type, but found a certain peace of mind sitting in the quiet pew. For a few moments, while surrounded by tall stained-glass windows, she stopped and listened to the soft pounding of raindrops hitting the rooftop above her.

As she continued to look around, her eyes landed upon a mysterious man sitting on the bench of an organ, staring right in her direction. In moments, the man got up from the bench and walked towards her.

Her eyes felt heavier and heavier. Between the hospital, Richard Webber, her mother, Addison, Derek… she was just so tired.

"Are you okay, madamoiselle? " the man asked her, with the slightest French accent and extended to her a smooth, gloved hand.

Something about this man's voice was warm and soothing. Even though he was a complete stranger, she felt as if she could trust him with anything. Something, a certain something she just couldn't point out specifically, made her feel a little better after meeting this man. And she couldn't help but smile a little at this.

"I'm just exhausted" she told him, as she took his hand in her own.

And with that, she fell asleep, the last image in head being of an intriguing, comforting face, partially covered by a white mask.

Or, would this be the last she'd see of him?