A/N: So this has been sitting in my Doc manager for a long time, because I didn't quite know what to do with it... I finally now think I have enough inspiration to pull this thing together into a compelling story. This isn't your typical Greys fanfic. Suspense. Mystery. Conspiracy. A battle for life and love amid dark secrets. You'll just have to read to find out!
Derek drove the Cayanne through the winding road to his home on the island. He sighed with tiredness, thankful that Amelia had taken Zola and Bailey for a sleepover at her place. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with their sullen behavior of late. He yelled at Bailey this morning, after he spilled cereal all over the floor. Bailey claimed it was an accident, but Derek wondered if he'd done it on purpose. And Zola was... distant. He knew he kept disappointing her with promises he couldn't keep. Because he was a doctor. A brain surgeon.
But he failed with that today too. A patient of his with a rather malignant tumour died on the table today. Another patient with a brain injury suffered a stroke, further exacerbating her deficits.
Now he was alone. Finally. But he hated it. He could hardly stand being in that house alone. He missed Meredith, and he had no idea where in the world she was. It was a wonder he even got up in the morning... It had taken him a year after the accident to even feel the tiniest bit of himself again. If it wasn't for his kids... he sighed again.
As Derek turned down the dirt road that led to his house, a pair of headlights greeted him, and a taxi rumbled past. Odd, he thought. There was no other house but his up this road. Who had been to his house?
A strange feeling struck him, like he knew what he was going to see next... but- could it? Could it really be her?
Bam-bam, bam-bam, his heart hammered in his chest, and he sucked in a breath. It was just paranoia, this wouldn't be the first time. As his home grew bigger in view, however, he thought he saw something move.
Something? Or Someone? Derek stopped the car about 100 feet from the front door and parked. He stared at the porch. Something had moved, hadn't it?
Shaky hands clutched the doorhandle of the car and pulled. The gravel crunched under his loafers, and he felt the tiniest pricks of rain on his face in the slight breeze. Derek blinked and shook his head...
It was her.
His heart leapt into his throat as he stumbled forward. Two years... two years she'd been gone and now she was back. How? What? Why?
She walked a few hesitant steps toward him too, her arms wrapped tightly around her familiar small frame.
"Meredith?" he asked hoarsely.
They were still a fair distance apart, but he could see her tear-stained cheeks and familiar locks. Although her hair was much darker. He took two more steps toward her and stopped. Was this a dream? Was it really her? Where had she been? What happened to her?
There was still a six-foot gap between them.
"It's been two years..." he breathed. There was so much weight in those words. So many questions... He'd been in an accident, and he'd woken up and she wasn't there. An endless stream of who-what-where-why-how questions were rattling through his mind. An endless stream of hurt swept through his heart with each beat.
"I- I know..." she said, in a soft broken voice, as if she didn't quite believe it herself. "I'm sorry," her expression broke as she beared the weight of that all through his gaze. She crumpled to her knees in tears. "Oh, Derek!"
Derek didn't understand as he looked down at Meredith, but he threw his confusion aside and came closer, bending down to embrace her. As he did, she clutched him painfully, her long fingers clamped around his biceps as if she was convincing herself he was indeed alive. "Meredith..."
"Derek... I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry."
He was speechless. He wanted nothing more than to surround her, hold her and kiss her passionately, but there was so much he needed to know first. Meredith was kissing his neck, slowly traveling up to his jawline, desperate pleading pants between each one. He fought the urge to plunge into her and pulled away instead. What happened that she left him?
"Meredith," he said. The hard part of pulling away was he now had to look into her eyes. If he was pained, she seemed more so...
"I wanted to- I tried-" she shook her head and avoided his gaze, intstead just looking him up and down and running her hands down his arms in disbelief. "You're still here..."
"I've been right here, this whole time..." He said softly. It was starting to hit him too... that she was here. Alive, in front of him. She'd been been missing for two years. The police looked everywhere... but there'd been no trace. She'd just vanished.
He took her hand, kissed it deeply. "Let's go inside..."
Because he had to know... what happened.
xxx
As he ushered her in, she scooped up a knapsack that he hadn't noticed was there. He let her go in first. Meredith took two steps in and stopped. "Oh God, the kids..." she said, dropping the bag at her feet.
"They're at Amelia's," he said, not sure what to say or think now... should he call to have them brought over? He should call. She was back. Meredith was back! But something nagged at him... she seemed so restless, so fearful. What happened?
"Oh..." Meredith whispered, like a piece of her heart was torn out. "Amelia's?"
"She got married to Hunt."
"Oh," she said again with a slight nod. She swayed, "I need to sit down..."
Derek guided her to the couch and sat down beside her. He suddenly noticed how exhausted she looked. "Are you okay? Let me get you some water," Derek said, standing up suddenly. He returned a moment later to the couch with a tall glass of tap water which Meredith guzzled down in a matter of seconds.
"Thanks," she set the empty glass on the coffee table.
"Meredith..." He couldn't wait any longer, he had to know. "What happened? Where did you go? You were just... gone! I was in an accident, and..." He swallowed the sob in his throat, "I woke up and..." His hands found hers and clutched them possesively. She'd practically vanished. All he knew was that she'd gone to DC to see him, after he kissed Renee. But he had already realized what a horrible mistake he'd made and was flying into Seattle to fix it... except on the drive home, he got into a terrible accident.
When he woke up, she wasn't there. He thought she was just mad at him at first, but when weeks went by without any contact whatsoever, and the realization that she'd apparently never left DC... police went looking. But only a few grainy images of her on a security camera at the lab could be found. The case went cold.
Now she was here, in one piece, right in front of him. "Meredith?" he asked again. Did she leave intentionally? How could she be gone so long and not contact him? "Meredith?"
"Kiss me,"
"I..." He hesitated, because he so desperately wanted answers, but when he saw the weariness lined in her features, and the desperation in her eyes... and the fear-
"Please, Derek," Like his kiss was a lifeline for her.
Even as he stared at her lips, he wondered what it would mean to kiss her now. Would it absolve her of the hurt he felt? Would it reveal betrayal, would it answer the unanswerable? He licked his lips and leaned forward, tilting his head slightly as he approached. Her breath hit his cheeks softly, and he blushed in anticipation. Their lips touched, hers trembling and hesitant as he touched them with his own- she was scared. He offered reassurance through his own caress, pulling on her upper lip as she pressed on his lower. It took a moment before they reached their own old rythmn, and suddenly she pushed past his own barrier and their tongues met in a familiar dance.
When finally they parted, he knew she hadn't betrayed him. He saw her... She didn't choose to leave.
So what happened then?
