A.N. – I do not own anything in relation to Grey's Anatomy, although I wish I did.

- This takes place before the return of the show. Just my spin on things during the break.

Chapter One.

Merideth Grey was at the Emerald City Bar with her friends. She noticed him on the other side of the bar. He was Derek Shepherd and he was alone. 'Why isn't his stupid nurse with him?' she had asked herself. She turned away, just as he noticed her looking over at him. Next thing she knew Joe was bringing her a drink.

"Complements of a gentleman," was all that Joe said.

"Who? Where?" she asked back.

"Take a wild guess Mer," he said as he turned and walked back to his position behind the bar.

'Time to stir up some trouble,' she thought as she slid off the bar stool. Christina was sitting beside her and gave her a look of caution when she realized who had sent the drink over and that was exactly who Merideth was going over to see.

"Play nice," Christina warned, returning to her beer and the remainder of the group.

Merideth walked somewhat awkwardly over to the booth where Derek was seated, and attempted to nonchalantly lean up against the back of the bench directly in his line of vision.

"Is this supposed to mean that you are trying to get back in my good graces here? Tequila. At least you know my poison." Merideth was staring at him now, waiting impatiently for his answer, which in her drunken state seemed like forever.

"For one, no. I am not trying to ease my way back into your good graces. I'm hoping that you will start talking to me outside of work once and a while. And secondly, there is no way I could forget your poison."Derek had a tiny grin on his face, and was looking at her with his formerly kind blue eyes.

"Don't get all McDreamy on me. It's not going to work. Okay, maybe it would. But you still have no right to McDreamy me. You're the one who moved on almost instantly with the scrub nurse," Merideth said bitterly. "By the way, where is said scrub nurse? Does she know you're buying me drinks at a bar trying to suck up?"

"No, she doesn't. She doesn't even know I'm here. I was actually meeting Mark, but he's been delayed. He should be arriving any minute."

"Well it's nice to know that you still have at least one friend. Especially since most of the hospital hates you, talks about you behind you're back and thinks you're a jerk. There's a bet. Did you know that? A bet on how long it's going to take you to realize that the scrub nurse is just a fix, a rebound. Not that I want to let you in on all the details, but I do have a lot of money riding on that bet."

"Oh really," he replied, offended. "So you're betting on whether or not the Rose thing is going to hold up. Hmmm… who had Tuesday on the bet?"

"What do you mean who had Tuesday? What is that supposed to mean?"

"That, Merideth, means that I ended things with Rose on Tuesday. Care to tell me who won so I could congratulate them on their winnings?"

"Izzie. Go congratulate Izzie," Merideth said, pointing behind her with her thumb, looking stunned and sitting down at the table.

"I'll do it later. You look shocked."

"A little…," Merideth was interrupted by the door opening and Mark yelling at Derek.

"Hey man, sorry I'm late. I had to pick up someone on the way here." Mark looked excited. It was unusual for Mark, considering he was always looking more serious and woman hungry. The bell above the door chimed again and a tall sleek figure that Merideth recognized, even with her current double vision, walked towards the table.

"Addison?" Derek asked.

"What? You're surprised to see me. You didn't think that Mark wasn't about to call in the brute squad for this one did you. If you did your funny. We couldn't let you fuck up again, Derek. I came up to knock some sense into you. But it looks like it was accomplished before I got here. Thank God." Addison hadn't changed. She had definitely gotten more sun, her complexion was darker. It suited her well. She looked wonderful with the ivory skin tone she had while in Seattle, but her new L.A. bronze made her glow.

Derek sunk into the booth and pushed over to allow Mark to sit down beside him. Merideth did the same for Addison. Merideth gazed out of the window and quickly became lost in the raindrops on the window. She was oblivious to the others at the table for a moment. Lost in her thoughts.

"… Mark called me about what was going on. I could let you leave the woman that you ended our marriage for Derek. I'm not bitter; I would actually like us to be friends. It's healthy. I just couldn't stand aside and let you do this." Addison's words jolted Merideth out of her daydreams.

She glanced around the table, noticing Mark staring at her. Derek and Addison also turned to look at her. "Mer, you look … well, you look drunk," Addison said as she pushed some of Merideth's hair behind her ears.

All of a sudden she felt a wave of nausea come over her. She needed some air. She needed to get out of the bar. Without saying a word, she pushed Addison out of the booth, and ran to where Cristina was seated at the bar.

"What's wrong? You look pale," Cristina asked as Merideth grabbed her bags.

"Air, that's all," she said as she fanned herself with her hand.

Quickly she turned and continued out of Joe's. The light rain that was now falling felt wonderful on her warm skin. The cool air was soothing to her lungs, which felt heavy inside. She hated how Derek could make her feel the way he did. Just looking at him made her melt. He made her heart race with a sense of anticipation; even if she knew that nothing would become of it. Her thoughts always lingered to his naked body against hers. The way it used to be. Before sex and mockery, and before Addison showed up. When they were content simply lying in each others arms and spending their days off together. Not eating or sleeping, merely enjoying the dirty pleasures they shared together. She was just beginning to feel at peace when she heard the door to the bar open. She quickly turned her head to see who had decided to leave, and averted her gaze just as quickly when she saw Derek walking towards her.

"Merideth?" he asked as he approached her. "Merideth are you okay?"

"Do I look okay? Seriously!"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You left in quite a hurry. It would make me feel much better if I drove you home. You need to get some rest by the looks of it." Derek advanced closer to her, attempting to place his arm behind her back to direct her to his car. The walk began quickly enough only to have Merideth suddenly stop moving. He looked at her, concerned considering her current state.

"I think…" was all Merideth could say before she turned towards a patch of grass along the sidewalk and began vomiting. Derek stood behind her, holding her hair and rubbing her back like a gentleman. He could feel her heaving underneath his hand, which didn't help him try to ignore the sounds of the vomiting and coughing.

"Come on Mer. It's time to take you home." There was no protest to his plan. Once they reached the car, he gently guided her into the vehicle. He thought about placing a bag in her lap, just incase she had to throw up again, but figured he would be safe with the window down.

The drive to the house only took ten minutes. Once there Derek helped Merideth out of the car and walked her to her door. He tried the door and realized that it was locked. 'Everyone must be out,' he thought. He searched through Merideth's bag, found her keys and unlocked the door. He tried once more to guide Merideth safely, but was unsuccessful when he noticed she had fallen asleep. He took her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. He placed her on the bed and covered her up with her blankets. He wanted desperately to lie beside her, but knew she would surely have a fit.

Derek walked towards the door and stopped. He turned and looked at her sleeping form once more. He decided that he was going to stay on the couch, and then she wouldn't be left alone. He sighed as he was about to turn away and walk downstairs.

"Derek," Merideth said groggily from her sleep.

"Yes…" he answered. Not sure exactly what she wanted.

"Come lay down with me."

Derek walked back towards the bed and knelt down beside her, "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. Just lay down."

He obeyed her drunken wishes and climbed into bed beside her after he got undressed so he was left in his boxers. Once he had lain down, she rolled over and laid her head against his chest. He was happy that she had allowed him to stay with her. Within minutes, she was asleep, and shortly after that he too was asleep.

Continue… Yes/No. Let me know what you think , or give any suggestions. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows. Hope you enjoyed it!