A/N Hello, welcome to my newest fic – "Under The Night Sky". The first chapter will reveal a lot so I'm not going to bore you with a lengthy introduction. All I want to say is that the story is going to be romantic, hilarious and probably rated M at some point. Oh, and let's not forget about the necessary dose of drama. :)

I'm really excited to share this story with you, I've been working on it for the last few months.

Please enjoy!

Derek couldn't help a litany of curse words falling from his lips. He just got out of his car straight into a puddle of mud, completely ruining his brand new 400-dollar leather shoes. This whole trip was becoming more and more of a nuisance. He had to take time off his job, have a several hours long air journey and then cruise the deserted highway to reach the goddamn town in the middle of nowhere.

He never expected the weather conditions to get so bad. When they were visiting relatives with his father when he was still a child, one of the most memorable things was the overpowering heat. Derek didn't think he had any recollections of it ever raining here. It was an arid region, a desert punctuated with little oases of life.

It felt a bit strange to go back here after all those years. The Shepherds had stopped visiting the town of Rachel after his father's death. None of the family lived here anymore. They either passed away or moved somewhere else looking for better perspectives, just like his dad, Michael Shepherd, did when he was young. He had moved from the state of Nevada to the Big Apple but he never fully transformed into a New Yorker. His children couldn't imagine a life elsewhere though.

There were no more Shepherds in Rachel, which was precisely the reason Derek had to go there. William Shepherd, some distant relative Derek vaguely remembered as Uncle Bill, passed away three months ago making him his only heir. Derek nearly burst out laughing when he heard the news. Not that a death in the family was a hilarious occurrence. The fact was that Derek had four sisters, both older and younger than him, but somehow Uncle Bill didn't leave them so much as a rusty kettle. He could clearly imagine the old hardened man making his will. William Shepherd was a man of tradition, a conservative who probably was of the opinion that girls were frivolous flirty creatures unworthy of attention. Mind you, he had never got married.

But really, the whole inheriting thing was more of a problem than an actual advantage to Derek. He was busy doing his job of the head of neurosurgery at New York Presbyterian, better still, he was one of the most serious candidates for the position of the chief in the next few years. He didn't have time to take care of some lonely southerner's possessions. Besides, the vagina squad just acquired a new doctor, new sexy redheaded doctor with whom he wanted to try his chances . Knowing his luck, Mark Sloan was already working his way into her pants.

All in all, Derek wasn't keen at all at the prospect of revisiting Rachel but his personal presence at the place was supposedly necessary. He had a house with all its equipment to sell and… he had a half of a practice to sell. Was it mentioned already? William Shepherd had been a doctor and co-owner of the only practice in town. That was the main purpose of this trip. Derek was to meet with the other party, someone called M.E. Grey, whom he imagined as a choleric stubborn old guy, someone like his Uncle Bill. Derek's lawyer wasn't able to come to terms with his representative so now he was trudging there personally to have this over with.

Derek's mother was surprisingly encouraging about the trip on the other hand. He partly agreed on coming here just to stop her from ranting that he was overworked and needed vacation. Carolyn Shepherd didn't understand that best surgeons in the country didn't go on vacation.

Let's go back to the actual story. Derek groaned feeling his shoes slowly but steadily soak up and the torrential rain lash on his body and his expensive Versace suit. Soon after the storm broke loose, his GPS system had gone completely haywire leading him God knows where along some dirt road. He pulled up on the side to consult a paper map but the only thing he achieved was getting stuck in the mud. The low Lexus he rented in Vegas was powerless in this regard. On top of that, he was shivering as the temperature on the desert dropped dramatically. Oh, and guess what, the freaking mobile, which presumably assured mobility, had no signal.

He was getting pretty desperate when he noticed the headlights of a vehicle going his way. Seeing it as his last chance he jumped out into the rain and waved his arms frantically. What a relief, the jeep stopped and Derek gratefully yanked open the door to peek inside, hoping he had more luck than to encounter a murderer.

His eyebrows arched in a light surprise when he came face to face with a young woman, a petite blonde with gorgeous emerald eyes, to be precise. She wore a denim dress that hitched way above her knees and high cowboy boots. A flowery scent that wafted to his nostrils seductively teased his senses.

"You need help," she spoke up first at his apparent speechlessness, with a tone that indicated more a statement than a question.

"Yeah," he breathed out. "My car's stuck. Could you give me a lift?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Get in."

He quickly ran to retrieve his belongings from the car and having locked it securely, jumped onto the seat of the jeep with relief.

"Thank God," he sighed. "And thank you."

"You're welcome," she acknowledged and pulled off. "Where are you headed?"

"Rachel."

"You're lucky, that's where I'm going."

He expected her to pose more questions but having received the answer about his destination, she kept quiet. One of his eyebrows arched up in challenge. He wasn't used to that sort of reaction from women. He was used to all sorts of reactions but certainly not indifference. And to be frank, the moment when he saw her angelic face, or rather her shapely leg, gave him hope that the trip might turn out better than he initially anticipated. Being closed up in a car with a girl that oozed sex appeal so effortlessly? Not a problem.

"I'm Derek," he introduced himself donning his master charming smile that was so irresistible to the opposite gender.

"Hi, Derek," she answered keeping her eyes steadily on the road and resumed her silence.

Derek's lips curled up in a smile. Feisty, he liked feisty.

"And you are…? Come on, don't tell me you don't talk to strangers?"

He watched with satisfaction when a brief smile lit up her features.

"I'm Meredith," she gave up.

"Meredith," he repeated her name. It was very melodic, he could already imagine whispering it into her neck while she moaned his. "Nice to meet you, Meredith."

She nodded but said no other word.

"I was afraid I had to spend the night in the car," he continued chatting. "I can't remember a crazy weather like that around here."

"Well, we get some pretty bad storms at the beginning of the season," she admitted. "You've just happened to arrive in the middle of one. Obviously not very prepared," she shot him and his clothes an amused look. "It's no Manhattan."

Seriously, where did this guy come from? Wearing expensive suits and driving luxurious cars through the dessert. He was not a tourist, those pursued a different route to the town. He had a way about him though, the self-confident insistence she knew so well. It was the aura of success in the big city. Thank God, it was all in her past now. Rachel was completely different, it was her place.

"You seem local," said Derek unexpectedly, "but… you're not."

She clenched her teeth, becoming wary once again.

"Obviously, you don't have the accent. And you don't have this naiveté-"

"What you're saying, that people here are stupid?"dangerous sparks flashed in her eyes. Rachel was her home, the best she ever had.

"Not stupid, no," he shrugged. "Just… straightforward. You seem intelligent on the other hand. And stunningly beautiful if I might add."

Great, just great. The day really didn't look so bad this morning. She saw patients for a couple of hours as usual, she got a call from Mr. Ramirez that his unborn son was coming to this world earlier than expected, and on the way back she had to meet an idiot who saw it as his obligation to hit on her. Of all the people, she had to be the one to pick up the only cocky bastard in forty-miles' radius from the side of the road. Just her luck.

"I am as local as one can be," she insisted proudly. "What are you doing here? Came to see the aliens?"

"That rumor still circulating?" he laughed wholeheartedly, not realizing that he just committed another grievous mistake. Not that she was convinced that an extraterrestrial with bulbous eyes may pop in to her backyard but it was a part of the town's tradition and she felt personally offended. "No, I'm not here for this crap. I'm here for business… maybe for a bit of pleasure too."

She didn't turn her head but she knew, she felt viscerally that he was checking out her body from head to toe. In her own car! After she had rescued him! What a cocky son of a bitch! She should have left him to coyotes in the desert. Thankfully, there was a gas station nearby; she had a plan.

"Pleasure, you say?" she gave him a sultry look that she knew would signal a big grin light. "You know I'm just pulling over at the gas station. I'll need to fill up," she smiled suggestively, "and you can go inside if you need… anything. I'm a careful kind of girl you know…"

He smirked with satisfaction and she knew she had him when his eyes lazily travelled down her cleavage where a couple of top buttons of her dress were open.

She had to admit she liked the taste of vengeance. It was a long time since she played this kind of games with anyone. Life in Rachel just didn't require deception. She grinned wickedly watching him run into the little store, a jacket over his head to protect him from the rain that was still falling. She could clearly imagine the big shit eating grin on his face when he asked for condoms. She could also clearly imagine his jaw hitting the floor in shock when he saw her gone and his compact suitcase soaking lonely in the driveway.

Who was naïve now?

A/N Love it? Hate it?

Please don't spare me your comments! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Love,

Em