The next morning, Meredith woke up feeling blissfully sated from the hours of love-making she and Derek had shared, but also annoyance at the small, buzzing alarm clock next to her. She rolled over in Derek's arms, burying her head in his chest. He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that vibrated against her cheek. She smiled.

"That alarm isn't just there for decoration, Mer," Derek said with a laugh, pressing his lips to the top of her head, breathing in the lavender scent he loved so much. Meredith just made a nonchalant noise and snuggled closer to him.

"Seriously, Mer," He said in a warning voice, but smiling. He tickled her sides lightly, fingers warm against her bare flesh. She squirmed in his grasp, holding back a giggle. As his tickling got more persistent, she finally laughed and pushed him off of her playfully. She smirked, standing up, stretching and walking over to the bathroom. She could feel his eyes following her, burning with desire. Well, she'd show him that Meredith Grey was not a morning person.

As she entered the bathroom and started the shower, she heard him approach, and step to meet him at the door. She kissed him long and hard, pouring passion into every moment. When she pulled away, he looked at her intensely.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked seductively, trailing his hands along her sides. And as much as she wanted to give in, she had a game to play here.

"Seriously, Derek," Was all she said, smirking as his eyes widened when she stepped back, shut the door and locked it behind her.

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At Seattle Grace, Derek and Meredith kissed and parted ways, Meredith headed for the intern locker room and Derek for his office. The day guaranteed to be long, what with the slow start Meredith had gotten to the morning. Today she was flying solo on a surgery, in preparation for her upcoming residency, and she was nervous. It was't a particularly hard procedure, but she was nervous all the same. This time there would be no one to show her how to do it.

Entering the locker room, she found Izzie, Cristina and George already there. "Where's Alex?" Meredith asked with a puzzled expression, opening her locker and pulling out her scrubs.

"That's what we were wondering," Izzie stated, pulling her curly blonde hair up. "I mean, he's usually here before all of us," She said.

Cristina shrugged unenthusiastically. "Who cares where Evil Spawn is?" She said, not noticing Izzie's death glare and Meredith's exasperated look as she said it. "I have my first solo surgery today. And it will be better than Meredith's," She said with a wry grin, tieing her shoes. Meredith glared at her friend.

"Thanks Cristina," She said sarcastically. "That inspires so much confidence in me," She said with a roll of her eyes. Pulling her scrubs on, she tied her shoes quickly, pulled her hair up and meandered to the door. "See ya on the floor!" She called to them, smiling at the nonchalant response she got back.

Once out in the hall, Meredith made for the nurses station to pick up some charts, when she saw a familiar figure stumbling towards her.

"Alex?" She asked incredulously, taking in his disheveled appearance. His eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed, with bags underneath. He looked tired and worn out, and reeked of alcohol.

"'Lo Meredith," He said groggily. "Had a bit to drink last night..." he said, swaying slightly on the spot. Meredith gripped his arm.

"Come on, we're getting you coffee," She said, and took him to the intern locker room. Everyone had left, but she poured him coffee and sat him on a bench. She looked at him worriedly. He was so obviously hungover, and the bad kind of hungover, too. As he sipped the steaming coffee, Meredith paged Bailey.

"Where were you last night, Alex?" She asked him tersely, unable to believe that he had gone out and gotten himself drunk again. This was about the third time this week, but never before had he come into the hospital, and never before had he looked this bad.

Alex shrugged. "Well…somewhere warm," He said, muttering. Meredith sighed. "And it was really bright and shiny and…I don't know," He breathed, taking large gulps of the coffee, and then recoiling when the acidic liquid burned the back of his throat. Meredith stood.

"Look Alex…you're obviously in some trouble…Bailey will be here soon, okay?" She asked, moving toward the door. "I can't deal with you right now, because I have a job to do, but…you me and Izzie will talk later," She said, before opening the door and walking out, feeling very confused and like something was very not right.

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Derek sat in his pristine office, desk devoid of papers, save for a stack of charts next to him. His brow was furrowed as he stared at the computer screen, and he typed every once in awhile, hunching over the keyboard. Stealing a glance at his watch, he saw it was almost time for his lunch break, and for that he was glad. He hadn't seen Meredith since earlier that morning, and he knew she had done her first solo surgery about an hour ago, and was eager to see how she had done.

Suddenly the shrill ringing of his phone made Derek jump, and he grabbed it on the second ring. "Hello?" He spoke into the receiver, wondering who could be calling. He didn't normally get many calls to his office, he was usually just paged.

"Dr. Derek Shepherd?" A deep, male voice said on the other end, and Derek frowned. It didn't sound like anyone he knew.

"This is he. May I ask who's calling?" He asked politely, leaning back in his chair, cradling the phone between his shoulder and head.

"Dr. Shepherd, this is Dr. Harvey Wilmot, from the Manhattan Medical Center," He said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "I'm calling to see if you would accept the job of Chief of Surgery here at MMC," He said. Derek's jaw dropped.

Chief of Surgery at MMC? Derek had interned there with Mark and Addison when he had been fresh out of medical school, and he had loved working there. Chief of Surgery was something he had always wanted, but he had been hoping to get it here in Seattle. With Richard's words to him, though, he had begun to believe he'd never get it here. So why shouldn't he take the job at MMC?

But Meredith…

"Some of my colleagues have spoken great words about your internship here, Dr. Shepherd," Dr. Wilmot continued. "The position is open, and no one here has really been clamoring for the job. Many doctors recommended you, and I was calling just to see if you're interested…" He said, his voice sounding uncertain at Derek's silence.

Emotions clamored through Derek. He wanted badly to be Chief, and MMC was a great teaching hospital. He did miss New York, even if some of the memories there weren't pleasant. But Seattle was his life right now. He had friends here, a wonderful job, and most importantly, Meredith. The love of his life. How could he leave everything?

"Dr. Wilmot…" He started, pausing. "I was just wondering…my girlfriend, Dr. Meredith Grey, she's an intern here at SGH and…she's very talented…I…the only way I could take this job is if she went with me," Derek said in a near-whisper, hoping the man understood just how much Meredith meant to him. He heard him sigh.

"Luck may have it, Dr. Shepherd, an intern position was just opened this morning," He said through the phone. "I don't really approve of this…but…we would like you here as Chief," He said. "We guarantee Dr. Grey a spot," He assured him. "Will you take the job?" He asked. Derek paused.

"I…yes," he conceded, running a hand through his hair. "I'll take the job," He said.

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Meredith practically skipped into the cafeteria, a wide smile on her face, almost glowing. She was on an amazing surgical high. Her first solo surgery had gone perfectly, and the doctors supervising her had praised her for many minutes afterward. Meredith felt like she could fly.

Getting herself a salad and a Diet Coke, she sat down next to a moody looking Cristina and a very calm George. She looked back and forth between them for a moment.

"Where's Izzie?" She asked, looking at them both. Cristina rested her head in one hand while she picked at her lunch with the other. George chewed his burger quietly, looking thoughtful. Cristina finally looked up.

"We found out what happened to Alex," She said. "Izzie's off someplace. Crying, I expect," She said. "And my solo didn't go very well," She said, looking depressed.

"What happened to Alex?" Meredith asked, frowning. She knew Izzie and Alex had been dating for a few weeks, so she knew for Izzie to be off crying and not comforting her boyfriend, well, something was really wrong.

"He got drunk last night," George stated. Meredith rolled her eyes at the obviousness. "No, wait for it," He said, noticing her look. "He got drunk, because he found out last night that he got some random girl pregnant two weeks ago," He said. Meredith's eyes widened.

"Seriously?" She asked incredulously. "Poor Izzie," She said sadly. Looking between her two friends, she saw no emotion flicker past them. She stood up.

"You guys are depressing me," She sighed. "And I'm happy right now, so don't do that," She said, and she was just looking around for a place to sit when she spotted Derek. Grinning, she rushed to sit across from him.

"Hey," She said, smile still on her face as she bumped her foot with his. Derek gave a small smile.

"Hey Mer," He said, sounding relieved to see her and unhappy to see her all at once. She frowned.

"Don't tell me you're being all dark and twisty today, too," She said exasperatedly. "I just had to escape it," She told him, gesturing to Cristina and George, who still sat glumly at the table.

Derek let out a breath. "Mer, it's just…there's something I sort of have to tell you," He said in a very insecure, un-Derek like voice. Meredith looked at him worriedly, but said nothing. He paused for a moment, then looked at her, blue eyes locking with green.

"I took a Chief job in New York, Mer," He said. "And you're coming with me."