I'm standing at the departures board, deciding where and how I should spend my new inheritance money. People walk by me, not realising that my case contains enough money to set up a small country and my mother. Ok, my mother's ashes but still my mother. New York, Boston, Miami, Washington; they all seem appealing and yet I can't decide wither to squander the money shopping for things I don't need or spending week in the most expensive hotel I can find. A brunettes standing next to me, seemingly in the same scenario I'm in, wondering where to go, where to escape to.

'Where would you go to spend a stupid amount of money in a short time?' She pulls the liquorice strand out her mouth and smiles at me.

'Las Vegas. Best place in the world. Never sleeps,' I nodded my head. The idea of withering the unneeded inheritance away sends a buzz through my system.

'Where you headed to?'

'Australia. Someone's waiting for me…at least I hope their waiting for me,' I lift the handle to my case, realising how heavy it is. Money, Clothes, my mother…the weight adds up.

'Thanks for the advice,' I buy a first class ticket and head to duty free. Three bottles of your most expensive perfume cause's the cashiers eyes to fall out her head. Six hundred dollars? Is that all? I hand over the money, hoping that the money will disappear quicker than that.

So, I'm in Vegas, the land that never sleeps, hoping to spend a stupid amount of money in a tiny amount of time. People loose thousands in moments here and I hope to do the same. MGM, the most expensive hotel in Vegas. two thousand a night. Perfect. One week is all I need to get rid of the weight of my mother's money that I have with me, via the room and all the gambling I can handle. I dump her in my room and head down to the bar. I have to at least have one drink on my mother. Ok, maybe all of my drinks will be on my mother.

Three hours later, I'm still stone cold sober. Sober. Meredith Grey is sober. Two drinks and I'm flirting with a short blonde stranger. Not my type, not one bit. Just for a while and then I'm going to leave. He's becoming restless too, realising that he's not going to get me into bed for love or money.

'You looked like you were loosing the will to live,' I look over my shoulder and there is god. Ok, not god but someone who looked like god had made them. His hair was slightly ruffled, dark and curly. His shirt is red, loose around his body and I'm praying that when I remove it later on, it will reveal the perfect male body. I lick my lip instantly, his smile growing as he realises that I'm checking him out.

'Yeah….not my type. Can I get you drink?' He shakes his head.

'Let me get you one,' I put my hand on top of his.

'I have money that I need to spend. Let me, please,' He nods once. I order a bottle of the most expensive champagne I can. He raises his eyebrows.

'Money to spend?'

'My mother died and left me unneeded inheritance. I'm squandering it in her memory,'

'I'm sorry,'

'What for?'

'Your mother dying,'

'I'm not. The names Meredith,' He takes my hand and I can see that he's intrigued by me. He can tell I've already undressed him several times in my head and the next logical step would be…well to strip him myself.

'Business or pleasure?' I shrug my shoulders, not really sure.

'My lawyer would say business, I say pleasure. What about you? You're the tall dark stranger I've been waiting for all night and yet you ask too many questions,'

'I ask questions. Too many?'

'Far too many. I have a very expensive room up the stairs that needs to be filled. Would you, like to join me for the week?' As soon as I've asked, a thousand questions of my own rush through my head. What if he's some rapist? Or a murderer? Or a con on the run? Can you be arrested for sleeping with a con?

'I'd love to. I'm Derek,'

And so my week long vacation took a change of direction with the meeting of Derek. I'm lying now, flat on my back, trying to grasp at the escaping air around me. I've never been so exhausted or sore but euphoric at the same time. His legs are still tangled with mine, my hand underneath his head. His eyes are shut and for a minute I think he's sleeping. His eyes shoot open and I start to panic. Suddenly in my mind he's about to have some sort of a stroke or seizure. He turns his head to face me and I see the smile on his face. Round five.

So, I have the most amazing night of my life and now I'm praying that he's not got to leave. he buttons the shirt up as he stands at the end of the bed looking at me. I'm still curled up, wrapped in the stupidly expensive sheets.

'So, dinner, tonight,' I look up with excitement.

'Why wait?'

'Because I have to work. I'll be done in a few hours,'

'What do you work as?' He leans down, silencing me with an attack of his lips on my neck.

'Too many questions,'

I've never felt like this. Like some love sick teenager on a date. But I am. I am on a date, well waiting for him to arrive. Skin tight, black, strapless, backless, knee length dress. Black stiletto heels. Brand knew matching black underwear, the lacy kind. All in all, seven thousand. My mother's helping me get laid. Not that I would need to try with Derek. He's early, expecting to catch me in my underwear no doubt. Dinner is, uneventful. Every question we ask gets answered with a question. We like anonymity that we have with each other. Things aren't complicated. We make each other. We fit together after it. We can talk about ourselves without telling our life stories. He doesn't know that I'm a world renown cardiothoracic surgeon or that my fathers Jeffry Geiger. He doesn't need to know my mother used to leave me in the house alone when I was twelve. To you that may seem ok but when the house was unlocked and I was in bed at night, it wasn't so good. I don't know anything about him and I don't think I need to know anything. I've been with enough men to know when one is planning on killing me, and he isn't.

'So, what are you plans after Vegas?' I haven't even considered that I have a life outside of the hotel room. For the past six days there has only been us. Us and room service. No one has seen us, called us or even thought to check that we were ok.

'Back home I suppose,'

'Where's home?' I turn and sit on top of him, kissing him hard

'Too Many questions,' He's shaking his head and I now know that he wants more. More than he's already got from me, which means I have to trust him.

'Seattle. Seattle is home. Where is yours?'

'I still have to decide. Walked out on my life and ended up here with you,'

'Why did you walk out?'

'My marriage fell apart about a year ago after she cheated on me and I was sick of living somewhere that trapped me,' I wasn't expecting that. I was expecting him to say that he was here on vacation, or business but not that he had left his life.

'So what do you work as?' As he sits up, I fall backwards onto the bed, Derek catching me and holding me upright.

'Neuro surgeon,'

'YOUR WHAT?' He's petrified. Like a deer in headlights. I'm freaking out and he's freaking out.

'A neurosurgeon,' I climb out the bed, grabbing the sheet around me.

'You can't be,'

'Why is this such a problem?' Such a problem? Nothing can happen now. Outside of Vegas nothing can happen. My dad's going to kill him. He already knows my dad, my negligent mother. He already knows them. I'm screwed.

'Meredith,'

'My second name is Geiger,' the realisation dawns on him who I am.

'Your Meredith Geiger,'

'Or Grey, whatever makes you freak out less,'

'As in Ellis Grey…Ellis Grey is dead,' I point to the vase sitting on the dresser.

'Meet my mom,' He raises his eyebrow at me, like I'm nuts. Maybe I am nuts. A bitch for a mother and psychopath for a father.

'Your royally inbred,'

'Don't say that. My parents are…well you know,' He's staring at me, his smile growing. I'm watching him suspiciously, like he's turning into some serial killer that about to steal my organs.

'I'm Derek Shepherd,' Shepherd…fuck me he's the neuro god. I slept with the neuro god.

'I've been looking for Derek Shepherd for years. He's always said he would never leave New York,'

'Why do you want him?'

'He's thirty four and already fired out three clinical trials, all of them successful. I could use someone like him on my staff,'

'He's sounds like he wants fame,'

'He's saving lives, what's wrong with that?'

'He's using people as guinea pigs,'

'How do you think your mothers been alive for as long as she has. He's been using a drug on her, that's what's kept her alive,'

'You never mentioned he used corpses,'

'She's your mother,'

'She's a corpse,'

'My father wants you to work at Seattle Grace,'

'Your head of cardio there?' I nod my head, Derek shrugging his shoulders as he falls back onto the bed.

'Ok, I'll go to Seattle Grace,'

'Just like that? You'll move to Seattle?'

'Everything I own that I wanted when I left New York is either in my hotel room or my jeep. One or the other. I can get to Seattle,' I smile, realising that he may just be about to become a permanent feature in my life.

'I'll call my dad,'

So, I've brought a boy back from Vegas. My dad looks like he's about to kill him. He knows I didn't just meet him by chance. He knows Derek's' spent the last week in bed with me, doing things that my dad shouldn't know about.

'So you want to come to Seattle,'

'With the right offer, yes. I would and am planning on moving to Seattle,' He's going to move to Seattle and want a relationship and then he'll know that I'm really just a screwed up person with no people skills. He'll figure out that the week in Vegas is the first week I've had off in years and that I live to work.

'Well welcome to Seattle Grace. I hope you enjoy working here,'

'I'm sure I will,' We're looking at each other, I'm giving him bedroom eyes and he's looking at me like he's seen me naked. My dad is going to kill me, never mind him.

So, we've had sex in two exam rooms and he's been here twenty four hours. I'm never going to get any work done at this rate. I've got a triple bypass surgery in the next hour and I could sleep for days.

'I'm going house hunting,'

'Why are you going house hunting. Stay with me,' Meredith grey, you idiot. You've just invited a boy you met two weeks ago to move in with you. You fucking idiot.

'I think I'll find my own place before you freak out. I'll stay over, as much as you want me too,'

'I need to think before I open my mouth sometimes,'

'Yeah,' He's kissing my neck again and everything in the room goes fuzzy, like the whole rooms all soft and fluff and there's not sharp implements that could kill us in the drawers. He's the good guy. He's understanding. I know nothing about him. I know every little thing about him. But I still know nothing.

So I asked a boy I don't know to move in with me. I'm loosing it. True, since he arrived here he's stayed in the hotel room three nights, all of them with me and the rest in my house. He's practically living with me. My dad seems to think I'm grieving over my mother by sleeping with him. He's warned me that things could get messy and that if they did he would send Derek packing, there wouldn't be a second chance. So, now I have to hide Derek in my house when he comes over and when he phones looking for him, I have to pretend that I'm not sitting on him.

'Penny for your thoughts?'

'Tight ass. You could at least pay twenty,' Derek leans up against me as I search through my locker, his face buried into my hair.

'Ok, twenty for your thoughts,'

'I was thinking we could do dinner, in bed,' the room door opens and we practically jump apart. I'm fumbling about, claiming to be looking for a spare set of scrubs. He's doing the same. I look up briefly and he looks like someone's just punched him. I glance to the door, trying to look like I'm not sleeping with him and that I'm not worried about him.

'Nice to see you,'

'I would say the same but I'd be lying,' Derek's being mean. I don't think I've ever seen him mean. The red heads smirking, the tall blonde guy standing protectively behind her.

'So, you're the woman screwing him?' I look up, Derek glancing at me. I smirk. She's his ex. He's his ex best friend. I stand up in the bench, Derek turning to face me. Now or never. I do this and it's official, we're together. I pull his head and connect our lips. He's hesitating and I'm freaking. Now, he's lifting me up and wrapping his arms around me. I pull away, Derek instantly wanting me. I can feel it. I'm looking over my shoulder and her face is flaming red like her hair.

'Yeah, I'm the woman screwing him. I'm with him. Now if your wouldn't mind, this rooms for attending's only,'

'I hate to tell you princess, but we work here,' I turn to face Derek, his eyes glazing over. I kiss him again, Derek seeming to relax every time I tighten my grip around him. She's chortling behind me, my reaction to look at her.

'And I hate to tell you frigid bitch, that I have the power to have your privileges revoked. don't piss me off,'

'What? You screwing Jeffry too?' Ew. Me and my dad. That's just plain wrong.

'No, I'm his daughter. But I'm sure he'll be glad that you think he would screw someone my age. Be warned, I'm a bitch when I want to be. And a bastard when I need to be,'

So, we're together. A couple. A guy I've known for a month is my…boyfriend? I hate that word. Partner? Too clinical…person? I like it. He's my person. And I'm his person. I defended him. He's overly protective of me, like I'm going to run away, leave him like she did. I couldn't leave him. I wouldn't leave him. I think I may like him…or the bigger thing after liking someone. I wouldn't tell him yet, that would make things…solid.

'I love you,' I'm tucked in beside Derek in bed, his arms around my waist. I hear his breathing hitch ever so slightly. Why isn't he talking? Why hasn't he said something? I'm freaking now and I'm wondering if I should maybe hide in the bathroom for a while. He's kissing my shoulders, my hands snaking round and grabbing onto his sides. He's still not said anything and right now I don't care.

'I don't care what the hell they said. You need to understand that they work here now,'

'I'm not here as your chief of cardio. I'm here as your daughter and I'm asking you, please don't ask them to work here. You don't know what this will do to him, do to me,'

'Meredith, please don't make this personal. What do I tell them? That my daughter doesn't want you to work here? Put the hospital at risk for unfair dismissal?'

'You've not hired them, it will never be unfair dismissal. Do you even know why they separated?'

'He was cheating on her,' She's made him out to be the bad guy. that's why he doesn't like the fact I'm with him.

'And you believed her?'

'Yes,'

'She cheated on him. And Mark, the guy she's now with, yeah, he was Derek's best friend and best man at their wedding. He caught them in bed with each other and he walked out. It wasn't him,'

'How do you know it's not Derek that's lying?'

'Because he told me in Vegas before we came back here. that's how I know he's telling me the truth,' I'm now praying to a god I don't really believe in that he doesn't extend their contracts.

'They've already signed six month contracts. I can't break them,' My hearts just went into my feet. I sit down slowly on the leather chair, My dad sitting down next to me.

'Meredith, they're the best in their fields, both world renowned. Do you know what they can do for this hospital?'

'Do you know what they did to him?' His eyes soften. Shit, he knows I'm in…

'You love him,' I nod once.

'I'll make sure they know that if anything starts, they'll be the ones that will have to leave,'

He took the news that they were staying well. I expected him to say he was leaving.

'I love you,' I've been in the bath twenty minutes, Derek facing me. The waters burning me and it feels like heaven. He's just told me that he loves me. I open my eyes slowly, wondering if I dreamt it. But he's there, looking at me with the smile he knows gets him laid.

'You love me?' he nods, sitting up and pulling me upright. Three months ago, I didn't know he existed. Now I love him and he loves me. Yeah, his ex wife is in town and she's giving him hell. But he loves me.

There's a smile that I've never had before. It's plastered on my face and my dad seems happy that I'm happy. He likes Derek's now. He understands why I like him. Why I love him. But even with everything that's gone right in my life, there's still a part of me that knows in the blink of an eye it could all fall apart. Addison and Mark are trying to make life a misery for him. They choose the on call rooms on the Neuro and cardio wards as their meeting place for sex, knowing full well that Derek could walk in with or without me.

'I don't give a damn if you ran this hospital, there is no way in hell you are operating on her,' Addison slammed the chart down and I wonder if there's now an audience.

'Dr Montgomery,'

'I don't give a damn. I've been her doctor for years. She's just had an ovarian transplant,'

'It won't matter what the hell she's just had, her heart will not withstand a pregnancy or the activity needed to get her pregnant. Now I am telling you, if I don't operate, she'll be dead in months. And your ovarian transplant will have been for nothing. So, You have a choice. You either let me operate, or you can go and tell her that everything she's been through has been a waste of time,' This time, I'm the one that's walking away. I can hear her pulling her hair out. There's a sense of achievement. I managed to get one over on her. Yeah, it's professional, but it's still one over on her.

'I heard there was a problem with Addison today,' I look up from the pot full of pasta and smile at Derek.

'She was refusing to let me operate on a patient because she'd just done and ovarian transplant,'

'Could you have waited until she was pregnant before operating?' I look at him, slightly in disbelief and curiosity.

'Yeah course I could, yeah all the sex and then strain of a pregnancy and Labour would have been fine on her heart that's damaged. No, I couldn't have waited. And it's not like I'm telling her she can't have children. Give it six months, maybe even less after the surgery and she can get pregnant,'

'What's wrong?' I sigh heavily. I knew this would happen. I knew there would be problems with her working in the hospital. We would need to work together at one point. I knew that there would be problems and he would ask questions. All the fears I have about him leaving me are sitting at the surface and he's asking what's wrong.

'Do you still love her?' He's wondering if I've been taking drugs.

'No, I don't. I would care if something happened to her, but I don't love her,' So he cares. Maybe he cares-

'I…I never loved her like I do you,' His words have formed a kind of bubble around us. He loves me more than he did her. Now a silence has covered us, but it's easy. It's not like we can't talk. We just don't need to.

'I'm pregnant,' My dad's face has just turned a shade of red I didn't think was possible. He reaches out to me and for the first time in years, I feel like a teenager again. I feel like the awkward seventeen year old in university; the youngest, skinniest and weirdest thing you've ever seen. I've been rejected by everyone and he's there to pick me up at the airport after a three am call, telling him that I was coming home for the week. Now I'm not seventeen any more. I've not been rejected. Instead, I'm…in a relationship, with a man I love and I'm pregnant. There's a problem. Derek's never mention if he wants kids and I don't even know if he's got a big family or not. We kept the details of our lives separate. If it doesn't get asked about then it doesn't get talked about. Now, I have to ask and I don't know if I want to know what the answers going to be.

'How big is your family?' I've been asking him all sorts of stupid questions, trying to make it seem like I'm about to drop a bombshell on him.

'Five sisters. Nine nieces, about to be ten. Five nephews, about to be seven. Plus, my mom,' I nod. A big family's a good sign. I reach across the table, eating the pieces of cucumber that he discards to the side.

'You hate cucumber,' I look to my hands, before plastering a smile on my face.

'Never tried it, just thought they sounded horrible,' He's looking at me sceptically.

'Ok,' I'm find that I loose my appetite after he asks about the cucumber, and I can't tell him.

'Meredith,' I drop the two plates into the sink, Derek reaching for me like my dad did. But there's an urgency and a panic. I turn away from him, his arms still going around me.

'What's wrong?'

'I'm pregnant,'

I'm hiding in the toilet. He's sitting outside, trying to get me to open up. I'm sitting against the door so even if he wanted to get in, he can't. A baby, a tiny person is growing inside me. Part of Derek is growing inside me.

'Shepherd or Geiger,' I wonder what he's talking about and then it hits me. He wants this baby.

'Shepherd,' I open the door, still sitting on the floor. He sits down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

'Do you realise how amazing this is?' I shake my head.

'I didn't know what you wanted…I didn't know if you would want the baby,'

'Meredith,' Now I'm sitting on him, my legs around his waist.

'Can we be parents?'

'We can be parents. Might take a while but we can be parents,' I relax at the thought. He has no plans on going anywhere. Then it hits me. Seven months ago I didn't know him. He was just the neuro god. Now he's the guy who I wake up beside every morning, the guy who drewls in his sleep, the guy who after a crap day always manages to put a smile on my face.

'What do we do now?' I shrug my shoulders.

'We have a choice to make,' He looks like he's about to pass out. He looks like I'm about to ask him if I've to have a termination.

'Do you move in here or do we buy a house?' He smiles before kissing me softly. I feel his hand slide round from my back and rest on my stomach. His hands are warm against my skin, the feeling sending a wave of calmness through my body.

'I move in here and in a while, when we get our heads round this, we talk it over a bit more,' It makes perfect sense, he makes perfect sense and for once, my life makes perfect sense.