Disclaimer: Sigh, I wish…

***

The following morning Meredith dragged herself out of bed. She went through the motions of walking to the kitchen, making coffee and heating up some cold pizza. As she sat down in the small booth in her kitchen she took out her cell phone. After flipping it around in her hand for a while, she dialed in the number she wanted and held the small phone to her head.

"Hey Derek? It's Meredith… Grey."

Derek's face lit up. "Hi."

"I was just um… wondering if you'd want to get some coffee. Maybe help me on a few things?" Meredith bit her lower lip nervously, waiting for his response.

"Sure lets say, twelve o'clock?" Derek answered quickly.

Meredith smiled. "Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"How about pizza? There's a great pizza place I know, Sal and Carmine's on 102nd street. Want to meet there?"

"I love that place. See you at twelve. Bye Derek."

"Bye Meredith."

Meredith hung up and smiled. She looked down at her watch. Ten o'clock. Two hours until their lunch date. Then she remembered. It wasn't a date. Derek had a girl friend. Their meet was just going to be a friendly lunch. Her smile faded a little but still stayed on. She got out of the small booth in the corner of her kitchen and walked through the dining room and the small hallway to her room. Across the hall was Cristina's door. There was no sound coming from it so Meredith assumed she was still sleeping. Meredith entered her room and quietly closed the door. She picked out a pair of Jeans, a v-neck and a light, lavender sweater. Before putting them on she walked through the short hall quietly to the bathroom and got in the shower. Once she was ready it was ten minutes to eleven. She sat in front of the television in the living room and turned it on. She began to watch a medical drama that Cristina must have recorded. She wasn't really paying attention to it. Her mind was on her "date" with Derek.

***

"Bye Meredith." Derek hung up the phone and smiled. He got up from the place he was sitting on the couch. While walking towards his room he passed Addison walking out of Mark's room in his t-shirt and boxers. She smiled at him. Derek smiled back and entered his room. He flopped on his bed and thought about the day ahead of him. It excited him. Then he remembered Rose, his girl friend. He had no clue why he was even dating her. He didn't love her, his family didn't like her and she was a little crazy. Derek knew he couldn't break up her over what could be just a friendly lunch date. He sighed, got up and readied himself for the day ahead of him.

***

At twelve o'clock Meredith stood out side of the small restaurant watching for Derek. She saw him walking down the street waving. She smiled and waved back. He approached her. She noticed he was wearing a much less formal out fit than the previous day. Derek wore a pair of faded jeans and a polo. She still thought he looked extremely hot. "Hey." He said.

"Hi." She giggled. Why am I giggling? She thought. I don't giggle.

"Ready to go in?"

"Sure." They walked into the restaurant, ordered their pizzas and sat at a table in the back.

"Okay. Before we start any medical stuff I want to know a little about you so I'm not talking to a complete stranger." Derek said. He just wanted to know more about her.

"Okay. But, you go first." Meredith smiled.

"Okay. My mother's maiden name, Malone. I have four sisters. Six nieces, three nephews. I like coffee ice cream." He paused to look at her momentarily. She was looking at him as if studying what he was saying. Like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Rose never did that. "Single malt scotch, occasionally a good cigar. I like to fly fish and I cheat when I do the crossword puzzles on Sunday. I never dance in public. Favorite novel, The Sun Also Rises. Favorite band, The Clash. Favorite color is blue. I don't like light blue, indigo. I live with my best friend Mark Sloan, a plastic surgeon and a notorious man whore. And I drive a motorcycle sometimes."

Meredith smiled again. "Wow. My turn. Okay, I don't have any siblings. My mom is Ellis Grey we don't get a long. My dad left when I was little. I love tequila. My favorite color is lavender. My favorite band is Duran Duran and I live with my best friend Christina Yang."

Derek nodded. "Good. Now we're not strangers. We're totally friends now."

Meredith laughed. "Of course." She played along. Meredith didn't intend on just staying friends with him forever. They talked more about themselves and then to keep the appearance of their meet, they moved in to medical talk.

When they were done, about two hours later, they threw out their plates and put back the trays. They walked out of the restaurant. "You want a ride home?" Derek asked.

"I live four blocks from here."

"Yeah but I have my bike around the corner. Have you ever been on a motorcycle?" Meredith shook her head and smiled. "Oh then come on." Derek took her hand and led her around the corner. He didn't even think about what he was doing when he took her hand but it felt completely natural. She didn't protest. She loved the feeling of his hand around hers. They reached the bike and Derek let go of Meredith's hand and reached under the seat of the bike and pulled out two helmets. He put one on and handed one to Meredith. Derek then sat down on the bike and motioned for Meredith to sit behind him. She giggled and did so. He reached behind him and pulled Meredith's arms around his waist to hold on. They both thought that it felt perfect. Derek attempted to ignore his thoughts, which failed miserably, and started the bike. He laughed as he felt Meredith's arms tighten around him out of fear and anticipation. They rode through the area weaving in and out of traffic. After about a half an hour Derek pulled up to the address Meredith had told him she lived at. 215 West 98th street. He shut the engine off and took his helmet off. Meredith's arms were still around his waist. "Mer, we stopped." He smiled.

"Oh. Sorry. My ears are still buzzing." She let go and they shared a laugh. Meredith hopped off the bike and stood in front of Derek who had swung his legs around to one side of the bike. "I had a really good time today."

Derek smiled. "Me too. We should definitely do it again."

Meredith nodded. "Call me later Derek."

"I will."

Meredith waved and walked through the courtyard into her building. She waved to the doorman and walked up the flight of stairs. She loved that after only one meeting she felt so comfortable with Derek. It was hard to remind herself that he had a girlfriend. When she reached her door she dug for her keys, pulled them out and turned the lock on the door. She walked in the doors of her apartment, dropping her bad by the vestibule. "Cristina?" She called out.

"In here Mer." Cristina called back.

Meredith followed the sound of her voice into the living room. "Hey." She noticed Owen sitting next to her friend. "Hi Owen."

"Hey Mer."

"Where were you all day?" Meredith hesitated to answer. "Owen, go in the kitchen." Cristina commanded. He nodded and left.

Meredith sighed and collapsed on the couch next to Christina. "Out with Derek."

"Dr. Shepherd, Derek?" Meredith nodded. "Why? Doesn't he have a girl friend and he's like old."

"He's twenty eight." She said defensively.

"Whatever Mer. Just, be careful. Heartbreak sucks."

"I know Cristina. Anyways, it was a one time thing." Meredith uncharacteristically leaned over and wrapped her arms around Cristina's shoulders.

"You know this constitutes hugging?" Cristina said making a sour face.

"Shut up. You care about me. That means you get a hug." Cristina frowned and sat still as her friend hugged her.

***

Derek entered his apartment around twenty minutes later. "Hey man." He called to Mark how was sitting on the couch.

"Hey."

Derek sat next to him. "I have a problem." He sighed.

"What's up?" Mark muted the game.

"I think I'm falling for someone."

"And…last time I checked, you liked falling for people."

"I do. But I'm dating Rose."

Mark sighed. "Dump Rose. I don't like her anyways. She's kinda a bitch and I know she hates me."

Derek nodded and sighed. "I only met this other girl yesterday. And she's a sophomore in college."

"Dude! Stallion! Getting in the pants of a sophomore. Sweet." Mark raised his hand for a high-five. Derek didn't respond. Mark put his hand down dejectedly.

"I don't want to get in her pants. I like her. She's smart, funny, beautiful…"

Mark shook his head in disapproval. "You're like in love with her. Love at first sight. How sweet."

"Shut up." Derek playfully punched his friend, not denying what he had said.

***

A/N: Review!