Two years later-

August 3rd-

"What kind of man agrees to meet at a park?" Meredith said as she paced back and forth, her head shaking as she looked to her friend sitting at the counter, watching her walk back and forth. "Seriously, Cristina… seriously…"

"Seriously, Mer?" Cristina asked.

"Seriously." Meredith said as she stopped, stared at her friend as she watched her sit at the counter, her head leaning in her hands as she shook her head.

"You are so neurotic." Cristina sighed.

"Yeah, well… you're not helpful." She said as she started to pace again.

"Meredith…" Cristina sighed as she shook her head. "How long has it been since Rick died?" She asked as Meredith turned her head and looked at her friend as she tilted her head.

"Two and a half years…" She said as she waited for Cristina to continue.

"And how many dates have you been on, since then?" She asked as she sighed.

"Um… two and a half…" Meredith cringed as she shrugged.

"Two and a half! See that! What are you doing to yourself, Meredith? You need to get laid…"

"Cristina! Emma is in the next room!" Meredith exclaimed as she glanced to the door.

"So what… she's six… she's going to have to learn about it eventually." Cristina shrugged as she stared her friend in the eyes. "My point is… you need some lovin… and if Mister... pedophile park goer guy is the one for you, then you won't know if until you meet him." She shrugged as she slid from the chair. "Besides… where did you even find this guy?"

"He's the son of one of the doctors my mother works with. He's bringing along a friend's kid who is about Emma's age... He figured it would be less awkward, I guess." Meredith replied as she followed her friend toward the front hallway of the apartment. She passed Emma, and waved to the little girl as she sat on the floor playing with her dolls.

"There is your problem." Cristina sighed as she shook her head and opened the front door. "You're letting your mother set you up on a date. Meredith, this is New York… there are thousands of men out there… you should quit swimming in the medical gene pool and go out to a bar or something." She said as she shrugged. "Maybe you can find yourself a quick lay… get yourself back on the horse…ride that sucker into the sunset... or at least until you forget your name." Cristina shrugged.

"Thank you for the colorful metaphor, Cristina…" Meredith said as she shook her head at her friend. "I have to get ready for my date…" She said with a sigh as she glanced back at Emma.

"Well… have fun… bring mace… give Emma a cell phone just in case the guy kidnaps you and you need her to call for help." Cristina said in a bored voice, her eyes rolling as she backed out of the room.

"Goodbye, Cristina…" Meredith rolled her eyes as she closed the door on her friend. She turned her back on the door, leaning against it for a moment as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Are you alright, Mommy?" Emma asked as she looked up at her mother's frustrated appearance.

Meredith looked up and gave her daughter a gentle smile. "Mommy's alright… Just a little tired… why don't we pick up your toys… and we'll go to the park."

"Okay." She said with a smile as she stood up, watching as Meredith sighed and made her way toward her bedroom with a yawn. "Mama?" She asked as she watched Meredith turn around and raise her eyebrows in question. "Can we see the horses in park?"

"Huh?" Meredith said, caught offguard by Emma's question as she watched her daughter's eyes sparkle. "Oh! Oh, in Central Park... the horses... yeah... yeah... we'll do that..." Meredith said with a nod and a smile as she turned toward her room. She shook her head and laughed to herself as she walked into the bedroom to get ready.

"Let me put this as nicely as possible, Mark. If you were the last adult on the face of the planet… and my son needed a babysitter… I would come back from beyond the grave and watch him myself before I let you take him on a date with you." Derek said as he shook his head.

"That doesn't even make sense." Mark huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You said I was the last adult on earth. How would I have a date?"

"I rest my case." Derek said as he raised his eyebrows and turned around and put a chart on the desk as he flipped open the top and began to write notes.

"Hey! Is that a crack at my choice of women? Because I'll have you know, Cindy… she was at least ten years older than I was."

"Which one was Cindy?" Derek said as he continued to write.

"The blonde."

"The one with the three grandchildren?" Derek asked as he looked up at his friend and tilted his head and turned to walk down the hallway.

"Hey! They were triplets!" Mark said as he followed Derek down the hallway. He jogged up beside his friend and looked over at him. "And she had her daughter when she was really young…"

"Why don't you ask her to borrow one of her grandkids?" Derek said as he stopped in front of the surgery board for a moment and glanced to his friend.

"Derek! Come on! Adam is a good kid… he's well behaved… not easily manipulated."

"That's right, Mark… that's how you should label children… whether or not they can beat you in a game of keep away…" Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm busy here… stop trying to purchase my child, and be a big boy… and go on the date alone. What are you afraid of, anyway?"

"I wanted to show her that I'm good with kids." Mark shrugged as he watched Derek give him a humored glare.

"You wanted to show that you're good with kids, by bringing someone else's child on a date with you? Where are you meeting, anyway?"

"At the park." Mark shrugged. "Playground."

"You do know that 'playground' means 'playground' and not 'strip club', right?" Derek laughed as Mark reached out and punched his friend's arm playfully.

"You are such an ass!" Mark said as Derek laughed and shook his head. "So can I take Adam or not? Her kid is going to be there…" He shrugged.

"No Mark. I will not allow you to take my son on a date with a single mother who has nothing better to do with her time and effort than date someone that his mother set her up with. I mean, seriously… can't she find her own date? Whose idea was it to bring her kid along, anyway?" Derek scoffed "She's better off getting a sitter and going to a bar… frankly, it's irresponsible." He shrugged.

"Well… I'll be sure to tell her that when I meet her." Mark said as he sighed. "Well, whatever…" He shook his head as he sighed. "I'm off now… I need to get showered and changed… Meet up with my MI…"

Derek turned sharply and punched Mark in the arm, giving him a glare. "And yet another reason that you're not allowed to take my son out in public." Derek said sharply as Mark laughed.

"What? I was going to say 'Middle aged mommy'…" He shrugged as he laughed. Derek rolled his eyes and walked down the hall, leaving him standing for a moment as he turned sharply and made his way to the locker room.

Derek walked into a patient's room and began to talk to them about the procedure that he would be performing later in the afternoon. The patient seemed nervous, but Derek remained calm and polite, and by the time Derek was done explaining the procedure, the patient seemed very much at ease. Derek paused as he asked him if he had any more questions, when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He turned it to see the number on the phone and sighed when he looked up at the patient. "Can you excuse me for just a minute? It's my son…" He said as the patient nodded and watched Derek turn and walk out of the room, he lifted the phone to his ear and leaned against the wall.

"Adam?" He said as he heard his son's voice huff over the line. "Daddy is at work, buddy…"

"I know." Adam said as he huffed again.

"What's going on?" Derek asked.

"Daddy… I want to go to the park with M-dawg." He said with a sigh as he listened to Derek's low growl under his breath as he paused. "Please, Daddy?"

"First of all…" Derek said as he sighed. "How did you know that Mark was going to the park today? And secondly, I have told you a million times… his name is Mark… not 'M-dawg', not 'Big-M' not 'M-daddy'… it's Mark… will you call him by his real name, please?"

"If I call him by his real name, can I go to the park with him?" Adam asked as he grinned over the phone, giggling a little as he listened to the frustration in his father's voice.

"Adam… no…"

"Please, daddy, please? Please?" Adam asked as Derek rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling as he listened to his son's hopeful voice on the other side of the line.

"Where is your Aunt Beth?" Derek asked as he sighed.

"She's in her office." He said quickly. "We were playing outside, and Mark came over and…" Suddenly, Adam was cut off for a moment and the phone was being fumbled around as Derek clenched his jaw. "We were playing outside… and um…" Adam said as Derek listened, hearing a voice whispering behind his son, he shook his head disapprovingly. "Daddy, can I please go with Mark? I'm his wing man! He calls me his wing man, I gotta go! I gotta go! Please? Please, Daddy?"

"Let me talk with Mark, please…" Derek said as he listened to his son pause and whisper something to Mark. He then heard the phone exchange hands.

"Oh… Hey, Derek…" Mark said as he pretended that he was surprised to hear his friend's voice.

"Kidnapping is a crime, Mark." Derek said with an irritated sigh.

"I'm not kidnapping… I was in the neighborhood… so I decided to stop in and visit your sister…" He said as he shrugged.

"And have my son call me and guilt me into letting him to the park with you so that you can use him to distract her kid so that you and she can do the nasty nasty on the park bench?" Derek whispered, looking around to make sure that no one was listening.

"They don't let you do the nasty nasty on park benches, Derek… that's where the bums sleep." He joked as Derek sighed. "Come on, Derek… let the kid get out for a bit… he's been stuck at your sister's house every day this summer… school is going to start soon, let him have a little fun."

"He has plenty of fun at Beth's house…" Derek said with a sigh.

"Not park fun… come on… he can make a new friend…"

"Have you even talked to this woman on the phone, Mark?" Derek asked as he sighed at the silence on the line. "Mark…? Do you even know her name?"

"Mary… or something, her name is Mary…"

"Or something." Derek sighed.

"My mom says she's cute… and she's really nice…" Mark sighed.

"She's probably fat with bad teeth and a bald spot." Derek sighed. He listened on the line for Mark as he swallowed hard. He looked to the clock and then looked at the floor. "Listen." Derek said. "You can take him with you… but on the condition that you keep a very, very close eye on him, Mark…"

"I won't take my eyes off him." Mark replied.

"You will have him at my house by five o'clock… No excuses, no snacks, bathroom breaks or coffee stops…"

"Yeah, you know how Adam needs his caffeine fix." Mark mumbled.

"Do you want me to change my mind?" Derek asked.

"I'll keep him safe, don't worry. He's my wingman… It's not like this is the first time he's been on a date with me, anyway." Mark shrugged.

"What?" Derek asked as his face began to turn red.

"See you at five!" Mark said as he put the phone back on the hook and looked to Adam, who was grinning brightly at Mark.

"Are we going, M-dawg?" He asked as he held his hand up for a high five.

"Hell yeah we are, Wing man!" Mark exclaimed as he gave the little boy a high five.

"Hell YEAH!" Adam exclaimed.

"Yeah… we probably shouldn't say that…" Mark mumbled as he lifted the little boy from the floor.

"Yeah, probably not…" Adam giggled as Mark brought him into the house in search of his Aunt to tell her where they were going.

Meredith walked down the path with Emma's hand planted firmly within her own. She watched as her daughter skipped slightly as they neared the playground, her smile was bright and happy as she chattered on about this and that. She looked around the playground and there were several children playing on the swings, the slides, the various play equipment, as Emma looked up into her mother's eyes and smiled.

"Can I go play now, Mama?" She asked as Meredith shrugged slightly.

"Go ahead…" She said as she nodded toward the playground, her daughter's hand slipping from her grasp eagerly as she ran as quickly as she could toward the large playground. Meredith sighed as she looked around, seeing several parents sitting on benches, talking to children, reading, some were sharing a sandwich with their child. Her eyes scanned the different benches as they settled on a man sitting by himself, his eyes scanning the playground as he watched the children play happily. She allowed herself a moment to scrutinize his appearance, wondering if perhaps this was the man she was meeting with, Mark Sloan.

He was about her age, perhaps a bit older, handsome and professional looking, without being an all out metro sexual. He seemed a bit anxious, wringing his hands in an anxiety ridden way, she felt like a voyeur, watching his nervous ticks from afar. She thought for a moment that perhaps this was a bad idea, meeting a man at the park. She didn't know if he was watching the playground because he knew someone there, or maybe Cristina was right, maybe he's just a pervert. She pushed her fears aside, deciding that if she didn't take a chance, she would never be able to move on.

She took a slow deep breath and walked toward him, hoping upon hope that someone didn't sit beside him first, or that it was this man she was meeting, not the strange old man sitting down several benches who was staring at the tree in front of him while he licked his lips. "I need to get out of the city…" Meredith mumbled as she neared the man, his attention was on the playground, until she came into his line of sight, and suddenly his eyes were on her. He had a hopeful glint in his eyes, and she took it as a compliment, only expecting that he was probably relieved that she wasn't some old hag that his mother had set him up with… or perhaps he likes old hags… Meredith nearly kicked herself as she smiled shyly and approached him.

"Mark?" She said, her voice was soft and timid, her hands were trembling slightly. Mark looked up into her eyes, and smiled a soft, tender smile as he held his hand out, grasping her hand in his, she smiled when she felt his warm hand against hers. His face was friendlier closer up than it was from afar, and he seemed genuinely happy to meet her. "I'm Meredith." She said as he nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you…" He said with a smile as he shook her hand. "Sit down… sit down…" He said as he moved slightly on the bench, making more room for her as she turned and sat down beside him, watching as his eyes never left her. It wasn't a leering stare, but more of a respected admiration as her eyes met his once again.

"I'm sorry I was running behind a little… " She said as she sighed. "I don't live far from here… so we decided to walk."

"It's no problem… we haven't been waiting long." Mark replied as he nodded his head. He seemed genuinely nervous as he glanced to the playground, and back to Meredith. "How did you… um know… that it was me?" He asked curiously, trying to make conversation as he watched her smile slightly as her eyes passed to the playground and back to him.

"Well… honestly… when parents bring their kids to the playground, they don't usually watch them too closely. I noticed that your eyes were on the playground very intently… so I figured that um… since you were bringing your friend's child, you were making sure to keep an eye on him." She said as she nodded. "Either that, or you were a sexual predator…" She said as she covered her mouth in surprise of her slip of the tongue, her eyes widening as Mark laughed. "Oh my god, I can't believe I said that… I am sorry…" She said as her cheeks turned bright red as Mark continued to laugh. "I am really not good with first impressions… I am sorry…" She said as she shook her head. "I tend to be sarcastic when I'm nervous…"

"No…" Mark chuckled as he shook his head. "That's okay…" He laughed.

"Seriously, that was really not very nice…" Meredith said as she shook her head. "I'm sorry…" She said as she took a slow, deep breath.

"Hey… who am I to judge… you're a risk taker." He shrugged. "You were going to either end up talking with a guy who takes joy in being creepy, and making people feel good… or you were going to end up with a sexual predator…" Mark laughed. "Either way, you were on the right track." He said as he watched her laugh at his joke, her cheeks returning to a light pink color as she giggled beside him.

"You have a sense of humor…" She said with a slight giggle. "I should get my list of pros and cons out…" She replied as she watched him chuckle as his eyes went to the playground again.

"You do that too, huh?" He asked as she laughed.

"Well… I have to cross bald and toothless off the list…" Meredith nodded with a hint of a smirk.

"Me too." He said as he listened to her melodic giggle as he shook his head and laughed. "Seriously though… You're honestly not as bad as you think with first impressions." Mark said as he watched her eyes smile at him as they sparkled slightly.

"Yeah? Well… I met my husband at a car wash." She said with a giggle. "The window was open a crack when I drove through the automatic washer, and I got soap in my eye." She said as she giggled. "He was working there to make some money while he was in school, and he was one of the attendants there… and when I walked into the office, I was soaking wet, my eye was red and bloodshot, and I was crying like a baby…" She laughed.

"Well, he must have liked that, if you ended up getting married…" Mark shrugged with a laugh as he nodded. "Um… my mother told me what happened…" He said as he watched her become quiet, her eyes moving toward the playground as she swallowed hard. He could tell that she was beginning to feel self conscious, her foot began to tap slightly. "I um… I'm sorry for your loss…" He said softly as she suddenly looked up at him and gave him a slight smile.

"I'm moving past that now." She said quickly as she fidgeted with her fingers. "I'm um… moving past that now… but thank you." She said as she looked at her watch, not thinking, she closed her eyes as she shook her head, knowing that it didn't look good for her to do that. She looked up at Mark and saw a sympathetic look in his eyes as he gave her a hopeful smile.

"So… what do you do… I mean… my mother mentioned that you just graduated medical school, and you're…"

"I'm starting my internship… two days, and then I start my internship." She nodded. "University hospital." She said as she moved her thumb to indicate down the road. "Surgical intern…" She said as she watched a smirk begin to appear on his face. "What?"

"It sounds like we're going to be seeing a lot more of one another…" He said as she gave him a curious smile, tilting her head as he laughed. "I'm an attending there… plastics…"

"Seriously?" She asked as she laughed out loud, her eyes brightening back up as she smiled.

"Yep… so you're in the new class, huh?"

"Yes… yes I am…" She said with a smile. "Em is having her first day of daycare, and I'm having my first day of work… a day of firsts." She said as she glanced to the playground again, and saw Emma on the slide, laughing as she slid down happily.

"Sounds like you're doing quite well for yourselves." Mark said as he nodded his head and smiled. He was about to turn and ask her a question, when suddenly, his pager went off. He looked at the number on the pager and sighed. "Oh crap… I have to take this…" He said as he looked to Meredith. "I am really, really, really sorry…" He said apologetically as he shook his head. "Seriously… I was having a really good time." He said as he stood up and glanced to the playground.

"I'll give you a call… maybe we can go out for a drink or something… how does that sound?" He asked as he watched her start to say something and stop herself as she watched his panicked eyes as he clipped his pager back on his belt. "I'll call you later…" He said as he turned sharply and walked over to the playground.

"Wing man!" He called as he entered the small fence that surrounded the playground, he called again, and Meredith watched from afar as a dark haired little boy hopped from one of the swings and ran toward Mark. He crouched down and Meredith watched the little boy stomp his feet a little as Mark nodded toward the road. He grabbed the little boy's hand, and the two of them rushed off together.

Meredith sat on the bench, staring at Mark, and the little boy as they disappeared down the street. She sighed as she felt a lump in her throat, and a sudden wave of loneliness wash over her. "Yeah…" She sighed as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "You don't even have my phone number, you dolt… I called you." She mumbled as she sighed. She lifted her cell phone and dialed Cristina's number, waiting patiently for someone to answer. "Hey."

"Do you need someone to pick Emma up… you gonna go get some?"

"The only 'some' that I'm going to be having tonight, will be 'some' tequila." She whispered into the line. "Please come down to the park and pick us up." She whispered. "I really don't feel like walking…" She whispered.

"Mer, are you alright?"

"I don't feel like walking." She mumbled as she closed her phone and sighed, staring off at the playground, as she swallowed her sadness.

Derek walked out of a patient's room just as Mark passed by. Mark didn't notice him as he sped down the hallway and Derek reached his hand out to grab hold of his jacket.

"Hey, watch…it." Mark mumbled as he noticed that Derek had been the one pulling on him.

"Where are you going?"

"I was paged 911 to Mr. Thompson's room… I need to…" Mark said as he watched Derek shake his head.

"Mr. Thompson has been taken care of, Mark. I told them not to page you. Where is my son?"

"I dropped him off at the daycare downstairs." Mark said as he lifted his hand to his forehead. "You're serious… they don't freaking need me?" He asked as he huffed a sigh.

"That's what the telephone is for, Mark." Derek shrugged as he looked up at his friend to see that he was genuinely upset. "You had to leave your date?"

"Yes." He said as he turned and leaned his back against the wall. "I was having a good time too… she was really hot." Mark said as he turned his head. "And funny…cute…"

"You were there ten minutes, how did you know she was funny?" Derek asked as he watched Mark shake his head. "She probably thinks you bailed on her." He shrugged as he watched Mark scroll through his phone.

"Crap!" Mark exclaimed as he swung his arm down and looked to the ceiling. "I don't have her phone number… it's not in here anymore." He said as he sighed.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be." Derek shrugged as he turned and started to walk down the hallway.

"Like hell it wasn't…" he said as he stood up straight. "I'm running over there to see if she's still there… Adam is in daycare… I'll stop over later." Mark said as he sighed.

"Good luck…" Derek said as he turned his head, only to find that Mark was already jogging down the hallway in the other direction. He smirked slightly as he shook his head, making his way toward the OR.

Meredith held Emma's hand tightly as they walked toward Cristina's car as it waited on the road. "Mama, I wasn't done playing…" Emma mumbled softly as Meredith tugged her arm slightly, and turned and tilted her head. Emma saw the look on her mother's face and she recognized the sadness within her eyes. "It's okay…" She mumbled as Meredith reached the car, opening the door for her daughter, she watched as she climbed into the back seat and buckled up. Meredith climbed into the passenger seat and pulled her seatbelt around her.

She glanced to Cristina and gave her a look that was filled with warning. "Don't say a word." She mumbled as Cristina nodded and started to drive.

"Do you want to…"

"I said not to say a word." Meredith replied. She glanced back at Emma, who was watching her mother carefully, keeping her thoughts to herself as she noticed Cristina glance to Meredith again as she continue to drive. There was a soft, calm silence that filled the car, it was friendly but awkward. Emma watched her mother's head turn to her friend, and back toward the windshield again, then back to her friend. "You have three questions you can ask me." She said softly.

"Three?" Cristina asked.

"Three." Meredith nodded.

"Did he show up?" Cristina asked as she turned her eyes to her friend for a moment as she drove.

"Yes." Meredith replied, nodding softly.

"Was he hot?" She asked as she nudged her friend, getting a slight glare in her direction, she sighed.

"Yes." Meredith mumbled. "Yes, he was hot." She sighed. "Last question."

"What the hell happened?" Cristina asked as she nudged Meredith again, receiving a pitiful look from her friend, as she sighed, and turned her head.

-------------

Derek walked downstairs to the daycare, he walked around the corner and opened the door, and before he could even talk to the nurse behind the counter, Adam was by his side. "Daddy!" He exclaimed as he latched onto his father's leg.

"Hey… what's with the tackle?" Derek asked with a half laugh as he lifted his little boy into his arms and listened to him giggle.

"M-dawg brought me to the park, and then he just brought me here after! We were there for like two seconds!" Adam exclaimed.

"You were?" Derek asked with a sigh as he kissed his son's cheek.

"Yeah… It was fun though…"

"Good, I'm glad you guys had some fun…" Derek said as he signed his son out of the daycare and put him onto the floor, feeling him latch onto his hand as he smiled at his little boy. "Let's get you home… we'll have some dinner, and maybe we'll play a little catch or something… ride that new bike of yours."

"Hell Yeah!" Adam exclaimed as he grinned, pulling his father's arm as Derek's eyes widened in surprise and Adam's hand slapped over his mouth as Derek stopped.

"I think I am going to have a long talk with 'M-dawg'." Derek said in a stern voice, as he watched his son giggle behind his hand. "Oh, you think that's funny?" Derek asked with a smirk. "You think that's funny?" He asked again as Adam laughed and nodded, so with a laugh, he lifted his son over his shoulder, gave him a light pat on his bottom and laughed as he carted him off to the elevator.

Meredith set the bowl of spaghetti on the table, the glass bowl hitting the wooden table with a dull clunk as she glanced to Cristina. Her friend's eyebrows were raised slightly as Meredith shook her head. "Don't look at me like that." She said as she grabbed the spoon and scooped a spoonful of spaghetti and put it on a plate and placed it in front of Emma.

"Don't look at you like what?" Cristina asked.

"Like I'm going to break apart at any minute." She said as she sighed. "I'm not fragile, Cristina… I can do this. It's a simple rejection." She shrugged as she scooped spaghetti on a second plate and handed it to Cristina, who took it gratefully as she scooped herself a plate.

"It's a simple rejection for me… for any normal person."

"You're not normal." Meredith pointed out as she spun her fork in her hand and sat down.

"Right… I would have grabbed him by the…" She glanced to Emma and back to Meredith. "Tie… right then and there and pulled on it until he screamed for mercy."

"And you are lecturing me on how I don't take rejection well." Meredith said as she smiled a little. "But really… I am fine… it was stupid to do at this time anyway. I will be starting my internship… I'm not going to have enough time for a relationship, a job, and Emma, so it's better that I just don't do the relationship thing." She said as she sighed, giving Emma a soft smile as the little girl smiled back at her mother, listening to the conversation carefully. "Besides… he was a surgeon… why bother even trying to have a relationship with a surgeon who is so involved in his job, that he just runs off whenever his pager goes off."

"Maybe someone was dying…"

"He's a plastics surgeon, Cris."

"People get burned, Meredith, skin grafts, crap like that… Don't be so short sighted. Do you think he ran off to perform an emergency boob job or something?" Cristina laughed as she watched Meredith glare at her.

"No… I don't think he ran off to perform an emergency boob job." She grumbled at her friend. "I think there wasn't a page… I think he just thought I was bad news… so he had a friend to page him so that he could have an out… and he said he'd decide whether or not to answer the page based on whether he wanted to continue the date."

"You're way too cynical." Cristina said as she continued to eat, watching Meredith eat and glare at her occasionally as she glanced to Emma.

Emma sat in her chair staring at her spaghetti, she hadn't eaten much, and her fork was in her hand as she watched the two adults. "Mommy, I'm not hungry, can I go now?"

"Sweetheart… why don't you try to eat just a little more…"

"I'm not hungry." She shrugged as she swung her legs to the side. "Thank you for dinner." She said as she hopped from the chair and leaned over to kiss her mother's cheek.

Meredith reached out and grabbed for her daughter's hand, tugging it lightly as she felt her daughter spring back and look into her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, giving her daughter a half smirk as the little girl smiled back gently and nodded her head.

"I promise." She said with a nod as she smirked at her mother. "Nighty, mama…"

"Nighty, baby…" Meredith said as she watched her daughter turn and walk out of the dining room, a slight skip in her step as she disappeared out of the room.

Meredith pushed her dinner away from in front of her, her stomach gone sour for some reason, her heart aching for her little girl. "I'm not hungry anymore…" She sighed as she stared at her plate full of spaghetti and rested her head in her hands as she stared at the table.

"Good…" Cristina said as she shoved a mouthful of spaghetti into her mouth. "Empty stomach will be much better for the tequila… you'll get drunker quicker, and you'll puke less." She said as she smirked, as Meredith looked up and gave her a shake of the head.

-----------

Derek set the plate with the cheeseburger and French fries on the table in front of his son, watching as Adam lifted it to his mouth and smiled up at him with bright blue eyes, a smile in his eyes as he munched happily on his cheeseburger. Derek put his own cheeseburger on his plate and sat across from him, smiling at his son as he began to eat.

"Can't we watch tv and eat at the same time?" Adam asked with a full mouth, a bit of the hamburger bun falling from his mouth as he looked up at Derek.

"First of all… please don't talk with your mouth full…" Derek said when he finished his bite. "And second of all… we cannot watch tv and eat… this is dinner time, family time… you have to sit in here with me."

"But I want to watch television…" Adam whined as he looked toward the television in the living room and gave his father a tilt of his head. "Pleaaase?" He asked as he batted his eyelashes and stuck his lower lip out at his father.

"See… that doesn't work on me…" Derek replied as he shook his head. "Eat your cheeseburger and then I'll think about letting you watch television." He said with his eyebrows raised. Adam pouted a little and sighed. "Oh, don't give me that pitiful look… you know the rules…" Derek said. "Did you have fun at the playground?"

Adam nodded his head as he took a bite from his cheeseburger, he chewed it up and his face became serious as he sighed. "I saw Emma there…" He said as he munched on a French fry from his plate.

"Yeah? Is that one of the little girls from your daycare at the hospital?" Derek asked, his mind a little scattered as he looked tilted his head and watched Adam shake his head.

"No…" He shook his head. "No, Daddy… Emma… I saw Emma… you know Emma…" He said as he let his palm hit the table, his head shaking as he stared his father in the eyes.

"Emma?" Derek asked as he recognized the name, but couldn't quite fit the face, until he spoke the next three words.

"Emma and Meredith?" Adam said, as Derek's eyes locked with his son's, jarred suddenly by the door of the house slamming shut, and Mark walking through the house.

"Honey, I'm home!" Mark said as he stepped into the dining room, seeing Derek turn his head and raise his eyebrows.

"M-Dawg!" Adam said with a excited smile, his grin was bright and happy.

"Cut that out… you don't live here… why do you come into the house like you live here?" Derek said, his voice was irritated, he wanted to get back to the conversation with Adam when Mark leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm sorry?" Mark said as he smiled. "Whatcha eating?" He asked as he walked over to the stove, grabbing a hamburger bun, he put Derek's second cheeseburger on it and took a big bite before Derek could say anything.

"M-dawg! Can we eat and watch tv at the same time?" Adam asked excitedly as he avoided eye contact with Derek.

"Sure!" Mark exclaimed.

"YEAH!" Adam exclaimed as he grabbed his plate and took off running for the living room.

"Adam!" Derek exclaimed as the little boy ran past him.

"Mark said I could!" He exclaimed as he disappeared out the door.

Mark walked over to the table and took another big bite from his hamburger as Derek just glared at him across the table. "What?" Mark asked with a full mouth, a bit of hamburger roll falling from his lips as he gave Derek a smarmy smirk around his full mouth.

I don't think this is freaking fair, you know… I'm a nice girl… right? I'm a nice woman… I'm a hot woman! A hot, hot… woman… feel my hand!" Meredith exclaimed as she lay sprawled on the couch, her hand swinging out to smack her friend in the face as she turned sharply toward Meredith.

"You're hot!" Cristina exclaimed, giggling as her speech slurred, her voice giggling slightly as Meredith sighed. "We should call his ass up and tell him what a fareaking douchebag he is!"

"Yeah... we should... no...no, we shouldn't call him up... that... that's not nice..." Meredith mumbled as she whimpered softly, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

"Stop crying! For crap's sake, stop crying... stop feeling sorry for yourself! Stick up for yourself! Stick up for yourself! You're a hot freaking woman! You don't deserved to be treated like dirt!" Cristina exclaimed. "You're hot..." She mumbled as she took the shot glass in front of her and swallowed the tequila in it, tasting the tickling liquid on her tongue.

"I thinks so… I thinks I am…" She nodded as she grabbed the bottle of tequila from the table and put it to her lips. "Mark don't think so… and you know… I'm gonna have to see that asshole at work! He works at the hospital!" She exclaimed as she took a swig of tequila and swallowed it, squinting as the hot liquid passed her lips and moved down into her stomach, the warmth not stopping there as she felt it permeating her blood vessels, numbing the pain in her mind.

"You said that… you said he works in plastics… stupid plastics guy… I bet he only works there so he can touch boobs!"

"Stupid BOOB TOUCHER!" Meredith exclaimed as Cristina's hand clamped over her friend's mouth and they both started giggling.

"You're going to wake up Emma… then you're going to be in biiiiig torb… torub…Touruble…" Cristina was finally able to get out as she started to laugh hysterically, her stomach twisting as she sighed. "Gimme more…" Cristina mumbled as she sighed, taking the bottle from Meredith as she watched her lip stick out. "Don't pout… you look like a fish when you do that." She said as Meredith sighed, and tipped forward, smacking her head lightly on the table top as she kept her forehead resting upon it. "Mer?"

"I'm fine." She mumbled against the wood with a sigh.

--------------------
Derek and Mark sat on opposite ends of the couch. The television was on, and Mark was watching it, but Derek was watching the coffee table. His thoughts were lost somewhere between work and his son's words, and he sat there wondering if he was truthful. Adam and Mark had horsed around a bit after dinner, both wearing one another out as Mark chased his son around the house, wrestling and being loud, though Derek had hardly noticed, his mind and heart on other things as he sighed and continued staring.

"So don't you want to know what happened?" Mark asked as he watched Derek pause for a moment before his staring contest with the wooden table ceased.

"Huh?" Derek said as he looked up at his friend.

"With the girl at the park… You're out of it today, Derek… what's going on with you?"

"Nothing." Derek shook his head. "I'm just tired… long day." He sighed.

Mark nodded at his friend's reply. He understood a long day, he knew that it was tough on Derek from day to day to both work and care for his son. He just couldn't understand why Derek was so distracted. "So did you want to know?" Mark asked.

"About the girl?" Derek said, his eyes moving to his friend's as he felt his throat close up a bit.

"Yeah… She wasn't there when I got there." Mark replied with a sigh. "She probably thinks I'm the biggest jerk on the face of the earth…" Mark said as he tipped his head back.

"Why should that bother you now, Mark? It never bothered you before…" Derek said as he tried to remain calm and distant from the conversation, his eyes not meeting his friend's as he took a slow, deep breath, and continued to only think of what Adam had said.

"Well… she was nice." He shrugged. "She was really nice… I think I'd like to see her again… I didn't even catch her last name." He said as he sighed. "I guess I'll talk to her at work."

"At work?" Derek asked as he looked to Mark, his eyes clashing as he gave him a confused glance.

"Yeah… She's an intern… part of the new class coming in on Monday… Derek, are you sure you're alright?" Mark asked as he watched his friend's face. It was pale and emotionless, he looked downright sick.

"I'm… just really tired." He said softly as he swallowed hard, averting his eyes again as he paused.

"Well…" Mark said as he stretched a little, standing slowly as he watched Derek stare off at the coffee table. "If you're alright… I'm going to take off… You could use some sleep…" Mark said as Derek looked up at him.

"Yeah…" Derek nodded as he stood up.

Mark walked toward the door, opening it slowly, he watched as Derek bit his lip slightly, standing awkwardly as he waited for his friend to leave. He stood staring at the door, his mind reeling as he suddenly did what he knew that he had to do, or else he would never get to sleep that night. "Hey Mark…?" Derek asked as he stepped forward, grabbing the door as Mark released the doorknob and glanced back at his friend. "What was the girl's name?" Derek asked. "The girl at the park… what was her name?" He asked.

"Um… Meredith." Mark nodded, watching his friend's eyes. "Why?"

"No reason." Derek said softly. "Goodnight." He said, as he closed the door and locked it, turning around, he put his back to the door and released the breath that he had been holding. It was only then that he realized that his eyes were tearing up.

Meredith sipped a little more from the bottle, her mind was in several different places and her heart was feeling lower than ever. She wanted to cry, but couldn't find the tears. She wanted to move, but Cristina was passed out on her legs. She sipped the tequila again, glancing to her friend, she ran her fingers through her hair for a moment and leaned her head to the side, feeling the alcohol rushing through her body, as she leaned on her hand on the edge of the couch.

"I need a life…" She grunted as she climbed from her spot, pulling her foot from beneath Cristina, planting it firmly on the floor as she tried to keep her balance, and not knock her friend completely off the couch. She turned and leaned on the arm of the couch, finding herself teetering slightly as she rested her head on it, closing her eyes tightly as she tried to catch her bearings. She could feel the hard pit of nausea in the bottom of her stomach, like a bowling ball rolling around in her gut, the tequila sloshing in her stomach as it waited its turn to enter her bloodstream. She stood up straight, looking down at her feet as she found her legs twisted, a product of drunkenness, sleepiness and laziness as she steadied herself on the couch and moved her legs appropriately as she grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch.

She haphazardly tossed it on top of her friend, using one hand to keep herself from falling over as she leaned over her friend for a moment, tucking the blanket around her. Strangely, she found herself checking to make sure her friend was still breathing, a habit that she had always had when she was drinking, for the fear of aspiration was on her mind when she drank, and the last thing she needed was someone to die because of her own depression. She listened to Cristina's snorting breathing as she slept peacefully against the comfortable couch cushion, and she stood up and shuffled toward her bedroom.

She stepped into her bedroom, her feet never leaving the floor as she shuffled along, mostly so that she wouldn't trip over anything. She fell forward onto her bed, feeling her body bounce against the mattress, the warm down comforter taking her body in willfully as her face pushed against the material. She breathed in deeply, smelling the soft sweet scent of fabric softener and soap, a welcomed change from the smell of tequila that was now permeating her skin. She lifted her head and looked up at the bedside table, the light was on and it was hurting her eyes. She reached forward to grab the lamp in order to switch it off, her hand knocking over one or two things as she rested it on the table, finding that she was farther from the lamp than she had figured in her drunken state. She slid her hand back, feeling it hit the bed with a flop. She sighed as she reached up again, her hand reaching out, it rested on her cell phone, and as she pulled her hand back, she found herself staring at the time on her phone.

"You're such a loser, Meredith…" She whispered to herself as she reached to put the phone back on the table, feeling it slide into her palm instead. She rolled onto her back and lifted the phone above her as she flipped it open and squinted to see the time. "One thirty?" She grunted as she rolled her eyes back and coughed, sending the phone slipping from her fingers, she was unable to catch it before it slammed into her face. "Stupid… stupid idiot…" She mumbled in a slurred, irritated voice as she grabbed her face with her hand and rubbed her nose. "Ow… motherfudge…" She whined as she held her face and gripped the phone in her hand as she rolled on the bed, dropping it beside her.

Derek sat on the couch, book in hand. It was nearly one thirty in the morning and he couldn't sleep. He couldn't read either, but he held the book up, and stared at the words for a very long time. He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. "Damn it, Derek…" He muttered to himself. "You knew her for forty eight hours… she didn't call you… she obviously doesn't give a crap… stop letting this eat you up inside…" He grumbled as he sighed, moving his head back down to look at the page, he sighed.

He couldn't stop thinking of her, their conversation, the way they had left things. He thought about her fears, her sadness, and her pain. He thought of the way he held her in the plane, the way he held her in the hospital bed, the way he let her head rest on his shoulder, and how she smiled when he had dragged that Christmas tree across the terminal and put her shoe on top of it. He could hear her laugh in his head, smell the soft, delicate flowery smell of her hair, he could feel her soft hand in his. He had known her for forty eight hours, yet he couldn't get her out of his mind.

He closed the book and stared at the ceiling, and suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the obnoxious sound of a phone ringing. "What the…?" He mumbled as he looked around. He saw his phone sitting across the room on a table, and listened carefully to the ring tone. It was a familiar tone, obnoxious to the extreme, and definitely Mark's. "Jesus, Mark…" He mumbled as he rolled his eyes and stood up. He looked around and realized that it was coming from the couch cushions. He leaned down and pushed his hand between the cushions, lifting the phone from the fluffy confines of the couch. "Who the hell calls someone at one thirty in the morning?" He mumbled as he lifted the phone to his ear. "Mark's phone…" He mumbled into the line. "Hello?" He said into the line, listening to the fumbling sound of someone on the other side of the line. "Hello? Who is there? Are you alright? Hello?" Derek said again as he listened to the inaudible ranting of the person on the other line.

-------------

"Stupid… moronic… dumbstupid…" Meredith mumbled as she held her face with her hand and lay on her side, her attention suddenly brought to the phone, as she heard someone talking on the line. She gasped slightly as she grabbed the phone, slamming it against her ear, she mumbled inaudibly.

"Hello?" The person on the other side of the line said softly. "Are you alright?"

"Um…" Meredith muttered drunkenly as she took a deep breath, not recognizing the voice on the other end of the line. "Whoziz?" She mumbled as she listened to the person on the other line. "Hello?"

"Who do you think you're calling?" Derek asked, unsure if it was a wrong number, or truly someone looking for Mark. One could never tell.

Meredith pulled the phone from her ear and stared at the phone number. She recognized it, and she could feel the heat rising up in her face as she swallowed hard. "Crap…" She muttered as she stared at the phone.

"Are you still there?" Derek said as he waited for her to say something more.

"Mark?" She said into the phone, her voice was soft and full of worry. "I'm sorry… I'm… I'm…" She felt her stomach clenching at that moment, and paused for a moment.

"Meredith?" Derek whispered, his stomach knotted tightly as he listened to her voice. She was obviously drunk, from the slur in her voice to the way she seemed to be fumbling with the phone. There was a tender pause, and then something unexpected happened.

"Yes! Yes it's Meredith!" She exclaimed into the phone. She rolled onto her back and sat up slowly. "Damn straight it's Meredith, you goddamned pig! You stupid, stupid… stupid pig… How dare you… leave me stranded at the park like that? Huh? Who do you think you are? I am a beautiful woman… I am… I am… I am just a… I took a risk! A risk… meeting someone new! You just left me sitting there on that bench like a goddamned chump! Oh…. Oh, you had a page… a page… for what, huh? Did you have to go reconstruct someone's nose? Did you have to go fondle someone's boobs or something? You could have…um fondled my boobs! Do you have any idea how long it has been since someone has touched my boobs? I mean… for God's sake! I just want to be treated like I deserve to be treated! You are a poor, pathetic piece of crap with bad excuses and a stupid, stupid looking face… and I bet your… um… hair is not…" Meredith stopped screaming, expecting that the person on the other side of the line had hung up on her. She listened carefully and after a moment, she realized they were still on the line.

"Are you done?" Derek asked, his voice was sprinkled with humor as he listened to her try to catch her breath.

"Um… usually… guys hang up after um… the part where I call them a pig." She mumbled, a deep sigh coming from her side of the line as she felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"So this isn't the first time you've drunk dialed someone?" He asked, a bit of a chuckle in his voice.

"Um… no." She mumbled. "I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I'm sorry…" She said as she felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over her, the lump in her throat was lodged deeply in her soul, and she found herself sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she rolled onto her side with the phone to her ear, tears rolling down her face as they hit the mattress. "I'm so sorry… I probably woke you up… and I didn't mean to call you… my phone fell on my face, and I didn't know I pressed the button… and…"

"Wait…" Derek chuckled. "You dialed me with your face?" He asked as he listened to her whimper on the other line. "That's pretty talented." He said as he heard her sniffle.

"Thank you." She whimpered, her crying slowed as she listened to his voice. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay…" He said softly. "You didn't wake me up. Are you alright?" He whispered tenderly.

"Yes." She whimpered. "No." She replied.

"Which is it?" He asked, feeling himself relax a little, he leaned back on the couch. "Are you alright?"

"I…may have had something to drink tonight?" She mumbled as she closed her eyes, her ears and cheeks still burning as she felt her stomach starting to relax.

"Well… at least you're not crazy, right?" He said softly. "You're just drunk…" he shrugged.

"And mortified." She whispered.

"Aww… don't worry about it…" He said tenderly as he listened to the tiny whimper that she emitted.

"I don't usually drink." She said, her words jumbling together as she sighed. "It's just that… when you left me at the park… I felt so… rejected and alone… and I don't know… I was convinced that you left because you didn't like me and I don't…I'm rambling again." She mumbled.

"It's okay." He replied softly. "You have a beautiful voice."

"You sound different." She mumbled, her eyes starting to close as she sniffled.

"Different?" Derek asked, listening to her breathing for a moment.

"Yeah…your voice is different… softer…I woke you up, didn't I?" She asked, her voice sounding smaller and smaller.

"No… no, you didn't wake me up… You just must be sleepy…" He said softly.

"Yeah…" She mumbled. "I am sleepy…"

"I'm sorry that I left you at the park, Meredith." Derek said as he played along. "I would have called you if I had your phone number…" He said, knowing that Mark probably would have called her back, if he had her number, he listened to her breathing slow. "Are you alright, Meredith?" He whispered as he listened for a moment.

"Mmmhmm…" She mumbled to herself as she listened to his voice, feeling herself starting to drift off.

"I'm going to hang up now, okay? Let you get some sleep?" He whispered.

"No…" She mumbled. "Stay with me until I fall asleep." She whispered into the phone. She lay relaxed, ever so gently falling to sleep with the phone to her ear, as she swore as her eyelids closed for good, that on the other side of the line, she heard him humming a gentle lullaby into her ear.

When he was sure that she had drifted off, Derek swallowed hard as he listened, not wanting to hang up. He paused for just a moment as he sighed. "Sweet Dreams, Meredith." He whispered as he took a slow, deep breath and closed the cell phone, he tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling as he prepared himself for a sleepless night on the couch.

The morning sun was shining through the window, blindingly bright as it entered unannounced and unwanted. Meredith could feel the beads of perspiration on her skin, the sun's light was too much to bear as she lay wrapped in her down comforter, the sickeningly bitter taste of tequila on her tongue as she stuck it out of her mouth and tried to wish the pain in her head, and crick in her neck away.

"Oh… Crap…" She muttered as she lolled her head and rolled into a section of the bed that had less sunlight shining on it. She rolled over onto something hard, her backbone digging into it as she groaned in pain. "Oh crap…" She whispered as she rolled again, pulling the cell phone from beneath her, she lifted the phone out of her bed and tried to figure out how it had gotten into her bed. She reached to deposit it on the table next to the bed, when the conversation that she had participated in the night before, her face was sore from the phone landing on it, her tirade about breasts, and an eventual crying jag that ended with him humming her gently to sleep. "OH CRAP!" Meredith screamed as she leapt from her bed and ran as quickly as she could out of her room.

Derek lay on the couch, his book on his chest, his head tipped back against the arm of the couch as he snored violently into the air. He was suddenly startled by someone tickling him in his side, his head snapped up and he let out a loud snort as he came face to face with a pair of eyes matching his own. He heard the tender giggle from the little boy and reached his arm out to grab him into his arms. Adam let out an uproarious laugh as he half struggled against Derek and giggled.

"Daddy! Stop tickling! Daddy!" Adam exclaimed as he squealed and laughed in his father's arms. "Daddy!" He said as Derek stopped tickling him and let him lay in his arms. Adam looked up at Derek and smiled, seeing a lonely look in his eyes, he cuddled with his father, burying his head in his chest as he hugged him closely. "I love you, daddy." He said softly as he listened to his father's heartbeat.

"I love you, buddy…" He said as he rubbed his son's back a little, leaning down to kiss his head. "Guess who has the day off today?" He said with a smile as Adam looked up into his eyes.

"Me?" He asked with a giggle and a grin.

"Yes… yes, you do too…" Derek rolled his eyes as Adam laughed. "But so do I." He said with a smile as Adam giggled. "Let's do something fun?" He asked , watching Adam nod happily. "Yeah!" Adam exclaimed as he wiggled from his father's lap and hopped onto the floor. "But first, it's breakfast time!" He said as he took off running into the kitchen, as Derek stood up to follow. He was about to enter the kitchen, when the phone in his hand began to ring. He didn't give himself time to be anxious as he quickly said hello into the line.

"Derek?" Mark said as he listened to his friend's voice in the line.

"Yeah… you left your phone here again." Derek sighed as he rolled his eyes, his hand on the door.

"Sorry… I'll pick it up in a few… I was just wondering where it was."

"Yeah, in the couch…" Derek sighed.

"Thanks, Man… I'll be there in a few."

"Yeah… oh… Mark?"

"Hm…?"

"Meredith called last night." He said, swallowing hard as he bit his lower lip.

"She did? Was she pissed that I didn't call her back?"

"She was upset… don't worry… it's smoothed over." He said softly as he smiled sadly into the line.

"Great." Mark said with a laugh. "I'll give her a call later today." He said. "I'll see you later, buddy."

"Yeah…" Derek said hearing the phone click. "Later, buddy." He sighed as he flipped the phone closed, took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

Meredith ran into the living room, her hand gripping her phone tightly as she looked around frantically. She heard the clanging of dishes in the kitchen and ran toward it, looking for something, she wasn't exactly sure what. She entered the kitchen to find Emma standing on the counter, her hands buried deep in the cupboard, her bare feet against the counter as she gripped with her toes, standing precariously.

Meredith ran behind her, and without warning, grabbed her around the waist. With a screech, she kicked suddenly, and realized that it was just her mother as she felt herself slide out of her mother's grip to the floor. She turned around and hopped backwards as her cheeks turned bright red.

"What on earth were you doing on that counter?" Meredith asked, forgetting for a moment the reason she was so worked up, she watched Emma look up at her mother and shake her head.

"I was looking for my favorite bowl…" She said stubbornly as she huffed.

"Your favorite bowl? I was unaware that you had a favorite bowl…"

"Well, I do." She said as she pointed in the cupboard. "It's up there…" She exclaimed.

"Next time, ask please." Meredith said as she reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a blue bowl with pink hearts on it. "Is this the one?"

"Yes." Emma nodded as she held her hands out. "What was I supposed to do? You were sleeping, and I was hungry." She said as she took the bowl from her mother and walked toward the counter. "Sleeping is the most important time of the day…" She said as she set the bowl on the counter and looked toward her mother.

"Who told you that?" Meredith asked with a laugh as she turned toward another cupboard and pulled out a bowl of cereal, and pulled the drawer with the spoons.

"Cristina." Emma shrugged.

"Well, if we all listened to Cristina, then we'd be overworked, unders…leepy… and drunk all the time." She said with a nod as Emma giggled.

Meredith poured cereal into her daughter's bowl and flipped the spoon in her hand, handing it off to her daughter who waited patiently for Meredith to pour the milk in her bowl. "Mommy, why do you do that with the spoon?" Emma asked as Meredith turned from the refrigerator and carried the milk over to her.

"The little flip?" Meredith asked as Emma nodded. "That's a little trick your daddy taught me." She said as she winked and poured the milk into the little girl's bowl.

"You look tired." Emma said, watching her mother cringe a bit as she closed the milk container and walked toward the refrigerator.

"You look tired." Meredith replied as she stuck her tongue out at her daughter as the little girl smiled.

"Were you crying, mommy?" Emma asked as she took a big bite out of her cereal. "Don't fib." She said as a bit of cereal popped out of her mouth and landed on her shirt. She picked it up and put it back in her bowl, looking back at her mother as she munched away.

"First of all… don't talk with your mouth full." Meredith said as she put her own bowl on the counter and gave her daughter a scrutinizing look. "And second of all… no… I wasn't crying, I will have you know." She said with a nod.

"Yes you were, fibber." Emma said as she took another mouthful of cereal into her mouth.

"I am not a fibber!" Meredith said as she poured her cereal into her bowl, she realized that she had put the milk away.

"Uh huh… I heard you crying." Emma nodded. "I looked at the time, and it was three in the morning. Why were you awake at three in the morning?" She asked.

"I wasn't…" Meredith pointed her spoon at her daughter. "I was sleeping… and remind me to take the clock out of your room." She said as she popped cereal into her mouth and ate it dry, watching Emma as she shook her head and ate her cereal. "It must have been a bad dream."

"Musta been." Emma shrugged.

"Where were you? You used to come into my room and give me a hug when I would have a bad dream… you just listened to me crying?" Meredith asked.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "You were crying a lot." Emma sighed. "I… didn't know what to do." She said as she stuck her lip out at her mother and sighed. "Mommy…?" She said as she swallowed hard.

"Hmm…?" Meredith asked as she watched Emma closely as the little girl moved her spoon around in her cereal bowl, capturing the rogue cereal pieces that floated in the milk.

"Do you remember Adam?" Emma asked as Meredith's eyebrows raised at her daughter's question.

"Adam?" Meredith asked as she swallowed hard. "Derek, Adam?"

"Uh huh…" Emma nodded.

"I remember them…him… I remember Adam… He was a very sweet little boy. Why, sweetheart?" Meredith asked as she tilted her head.

"I was just wondering." Emma shrugged as she started to stand up. She grabbed her bowl in her hands and glanced to Meredith. "Did you like Derek?" She asked as she turned her head, watching her mother stare off in front of her for a second as Meredith turned her eyes to face her daughter.

"He was a very thoughtful man." Meredith replied. "He was a very good friend."

"But you're not friends no more…" Emma stated as she put her bowl in the sink and turned toward her mother.

"Honey, I haven't talked to Derek in a long time." She said softly. "Why are you asking me all of these questions?" She asked as Meredith tilted her head.

"Cuz Adam says he doesn't like you." Emma said with a sigh as she looked her mother in the eyes. "I was just wondering if you still liked him." She shrugged as she turned and walked out of the room, leaving her mother in a state of confusion, as she walked off into the living room to watch television.

Derek walked into the kitchen to find Adam on the floor, half of his body buried in a cupboard as he moved several things aside, making quite the ruckus. "What are you doing?" Derek asked as Adam jumped at the sound of his father's voice.

"Daddy, don't sneak up on me like that…" Adam said as he looked up, his father watching him for a second as he crawled back into the cupboard. "I'm looking for my bowl."

"Your bowl?" Derek asked as he leaned against the cupboard across from his son as he watched the little boy continue to dig through the dishes. "You're making a mess."

"I know." Adam said as he crawled a little farther into the cupboard.

"Do you remember when you used to hide in the cupboards when you were playing hide and seek?" Derek asked as Adam looked up and raised his eyebrow at his father. "You know, when you were a kid…" Derek rolled his eyes.

"I don't fit in there." Adam said as he laughed and rolled his eyes, exactly like his father.

"You used to… you don't remember?"

"Nope." Adam said as he tossed a bowl out of the cupboard. "Oops…"

"Watch it…" Derek said as he walked over and picked up the bowl. "Adam, what bowl are you looking for?"

"The spaceship one, Daddy…" Adam sighed, looking up at Derek with a sad expression.

"You mean this one?" Derek asked as he reached up to a cupboard and pulled a bowl shaped like a spaceship from within it, the little boy's eyes lighting up as he grinned.

"Yes! You were hiding it from me!" Adam exclaimed with a laugh as he jumped up and grabbed the bowl from his father, running toward the counter, he climbed onto the barstool and slammed his bowl down. "Cereal, please!" He exclaimed as Derek smiled at his son's enthusiasm. He walked to the cupboard and pulled the little boy's favorite cereal out, and proceeded to pour it into his bowl. He walked over with the milk, poured it over the cereal, and flipped the spoon in the air, landing it in his hand as Adam smiled. He handed Adam the spoon and sat across from him as the little boy ate.

------------

Meredith followed her daughter out of the room and through the living room. She glanced to the couch where Cristina was still passed out, her head smushed into a pillow, her arm hanging off the edge of the couch as she snored.

"Emma?" Meredith said as the little girl continued to walk away. "Emma?"

"I'm going to miss my cartoons." She said as she started to climb the stairs.

"Emma… please come here?" Meredith asked as she followed the little girl up the steps and down the hallway toward her bedroom. She watched her walk into her bedroom, and climb into her bed as she looked to the bedside table.

"Mommy, where's the controller?" Emma asked as she looked up at Meredith as she stood in the doorway.

"No… no, television, you're ignoring me." Meredith said as she shook her head and stood in front of the television.

"I'm not ignoring you… I said I couldn't come there because my cartoons are on… I want to watch my cartoons…" She said as she moved to the edge of the bed and noticed that the controller was on the floor. "There it is…"

"No, no, no…" Meredith said as she moved around the bed quickly and reached for the controller at the same time as Emma, grabbing it from her reach before she could get it.

"Mommy!" Emma screeched. "No!" She screamed as Meredith turned and put the controller on top of the television out of Emma's reach. "Cartoons!" She screamed as she crawled off the bed and started to jump, trying to reach the controller. Meredith lifted her up and put her on the bed, watching as he rolled around and shouted, throwing a fit for several minutes as Meredith stood above her and crossed her arms. When Emma's screaming fit had finally stopped, and the little girl lay breathless and red faced on the bed, Meredith looked down at her and sighed.

"Are you done with your little fit?" Meredith asked as he little girl pouted.

"No." Emma said as she grumpily glared at her mother. "What do you want?" She asked with a huff as Meredith watched the anger in her eyes. She wanted to ask her about Adam, she wanted to ask her about whether she had seen Derek, she wanted to know what her daughter was talking about, but with the way she was acting, and the pounding in her own head, she didn't have the patience to deal with it. She didn't have the patience, or the heart to deal with the screaming and the yelling, and she had bigger things to deal with, embarrassing herself with Mark. It was bad enough she had to work at the same hospital, but to make a colossal ass out of herself was not typical, and she hadn't even begun to freak out about that yet. With a slow intake of breath she watched her daughter's scowl as she pulled the covers up onto herself, Meredith turned and reached for the controller. She tossed it onto the blankets and turned, walking out of the room to the sound of the television turning on, and just before that, nothing but silence.

---------

Derek sat at the counter with Adam as the little boy ate, his spoon moving quickly to his mouth as he munched on the cereal. "Hey, can we talk?" Derek asked as Adam's eyes met his and the little boy nodded. "You said you saw Emma yesterday?"

"Uh huh." Adam shrugged.

"At the playground?"

"Uh huh…" Adam nodded as he ate.

"Did you talk to her?" Derek asked as he watched Adam's eyes move to the bowl and not meet up with his.

"Yes." Adam replied.

"Was Meredith there?" Derek whispered. "Was she at the park with her mommy?" Derek asked.

"I don't care." Adam said with a shrug. He looked up at Derek and watched his father's eyes. He had remembered that Christmas. He had remembered the disappointment that he had felt when Derek walked away with him. He knew that Meredith didn't come after them, and he figured that she wanted nothing to do with him. He was a very conscientious boy, and he understood that Meredith just didn't want to be his mommy. She didn't love him, and as Derek told him afterwards, she hardly even knew him. He was hurt, and he knew that Derek was hurt that she never called him, so for that, he resented her. "I told Emma that I didn't care, that I didn't like her mommy, and she pushed me." Adam said as he swallowed his last bite of his cereal. "I fell on the ground, and I told her I hated her and I didn't ever want to see her again." He replied. "Then Mark said it was time to go." He said as he held his eyes steady with Derek's.

"You know that wasn't a very nice thing to say… don't you?" Derek whispered.

"I know." Adam said as he put his head down, staring into his bowl of milk. "If I had more time, I would have pushed her down, and told Emma that I never wanted to see her again either." He said with a sigh, as he slid from his barstool, grabbed his rocket ship bowl and walked toward the sink. He tossed it into the sink, turned sharply and left the kitchen, leaving Derek alone and silent.

Meredith walked down the stairs quickly, preparing to find herself a glass of water and some Tylenol for her splitting headache. She reached the bottom of the stairs and walked across the living room quickly. She glanced to the couch and Cristina was looking at her from her spot on the couch. "Could you two be louder?" Cristina mumbled at her friend as she smacked her lips and looked at Meredith sleepily.

"We were having a discussion." Meredith sighed.

"It sounded like you were trying to murder her." Cristina yawned as she moved her hand to her head, groaning. "You weren't trying to murder her, were you?" She muttered.

"No…" Meredith sighed as she sat on the end of the couch, resting her head in her hands.

"You do realize I wasn't serious, don't you?" Cristina nudged her friend with her foot as she noted Meredith wasn't moving. "Hey…" Cristina said as she sighed. "Hey… what's wrong? I thought the tequila was supposed to make you forget…" she said to her friend as Meredith turned her head and sighed. "What was the screaming fit about?"

"I wanted to talk to her." Meredith sighed. "She didn't want to talk to me… and she wouldn't listen to me."

"What did she want to do?" Cristina asked.

"Watch cartoons." Meredith said, letting her head rest in her hands again, staring at the floor.

"And what is she doing now?" Cristina asked.

"She's watching cartoons." Meredith said as she shook her head.

"So you just let her do what she wanted?" Cristina asked.

"Cristina… would you have rather had her screaming on top of her lungs all day?" Meredith asked as she shook her head. "I think letting her get away with this one thing is a miniscule thing that will have no bearing on her threshold of being spoiled."

"I think that she's passed that threshold." Cristina replied.

"Exactly…" Meredith replied. "My bigger issue would be my little… um… accident last night." Meredith whispered.

"Accident? Did you wet the bed?"

"Worse." She whispered.

"Worse than wetting the bed?"

"Worse than that… yes." Meredith whispered. "I called Mark." She swallowed.

"You called him!?" Cristina asked with an emphatic laugh. "I was kidding!"

"And I did it on accident!" Meredith replied. "I didn't mean to… I was looking at the time… and I dropped the phone… his number must have been the last one I dialed." She whispered.

"So you just called him and apologized and hung up, right?"

"Um…" She swallowed. "I… um… I kind of told him off." Meredith whispered.

"You told him off?" Cristina exclaimed with a laugh. "Meredith! No more tequila for you! I am so proud of you!" She exclaimed with a laugh.

"Except that I accused him of touching boobies… and he had a real page, Cristina. He didn't stand me up… he was being truthful." Meredith said with a sigh as she leaned back on the couch, tipping her head back, she brought her hand to her face as she shook her head.

"Come on… he wasn't mad, was he?" Cris asked as she patted her friend's arm.

"I am such a loser." Meredith whispered as suddenly a very loud crashing sound came from upstairs. It was a gruesome sound that shook the house, crashing loudly into the floor in the room directly above them.

"What the hell was…"

"Emma!" Meredith exclaimed as she leapt from the couch and ran up the stairs, stumbling on the steps, she slammed her knee into one of the steps, yelping in pain as she turned the corner to her bedroom.

Cristina leapt from the couch and ran to the bottom of the stairs, as she suddenly heard the blood curdling scream of her best friend screaming for her to call for an ambulance.

Derek sat on the couch waiting for Adam to get dressed so they could go to the park. He heard the front door open and turned his head to see Mark walking in. "Hey." Mark said as he passed though the threshold of the doorway.

"Phone." Derek said as he tossed the phone over his shoulder.

"Derek!" Mark exclaimed as the phone went flying through the air. Mark missed it, and it fell to the hardwood floor, smashing into several pieces. "Shit! Derek, you broke it!"

"Oh crap, man…" Derek said as he turned his head and looked at the pieces on the floor. "I'll clean that up…"

"Clean it up? I was a little more concerned at the fact that you smashed my cell phone!" Mark said as he picked up the back of the phone and battery from the floor.

"I'll get you a new one… I'm really sorry about that, man…" Derek said as he shook his head and stood up, walking around the couch, he picked up the phone chip and pocketed it while he picked up another piece of the phone. "Here…" Derek said as he handed him the pieces.

"Yeah…" Mark sighed as he shook his head.

Their attention was suddenly pulled to the stairs as Adam bounded down. "M-dawg! Hey! Do you want to go to the park with us?" He asked as he smiled, watching Mark glance to Derek, who shrugged.

"I don't know, man… maybe not today." Mark said as he shrugged.

"It's okay." Adam shrugged. "Daddy and I are going to…" His explanation was interrupted by the shrill sound of Derek's pager. "Uh oh…" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, uh oh…" Derek said as he glanced to the pager and sighed. He made a slight grunting noise as he grabbed the phone and called the hospital.

Mark and Adam watched Derek as he called the hospital, listening carefully as Derek's face went pale as he listened. He asked a couple of questions and hung up the phone. He looked to Mark and Adam and swallowed. "I have to go in." he said as he shook his head, Mark could see he was affected by the phone call. "I…"

"I'll watch Adam." Mark said quickly. "I don't have anything today, I'll watch him… what is it?"

"Six year old girl… broken ribs, collapsed lung… head trauma…" Derek swallowed. "Apparently a television stand fell on her… She was… I… I have to go." Derek said with a trembling voice.

"Go, go…" Mark said.

"Bye, Daddy…" Adam said as he grabbed Derek's hand.

"Bye, buddy…" Derek said as he ran his hand over his son's head. "I owe you a trip to the park…" he said as Adam nodded. "See you later… be good…"

"I will." Adam said as he waved to Derek, as Derek grabbed his keys and his ID from the table next to the door, and ran as quickly as he could toward his car.

Derek's car swung into the hospital parking lot swiftly, slamming it into park in the trauma parking section, he leapt from his seat and ran in through the back door. As per usual, the trauma portion of the hospital was chaotic, and Derek ran toward the counter quickly, a nurse grabbed a lab coat for him and handed it over to him. "Stacy…" He said quickly as he headed around the counter for the sink, washing his hands quickly as the trauma nurse began to brief him.

"She was brought in three minutes ago… she's been intubated and is still not responding…" The nurse said as Derek grabbed the chart. "She's in room…she's over there…" She said as she pointed down the hallway as Derek rushed down toward the room, the chart beneath his arm as he tossed it to the nurse, entering the room. The feeling in the room was tense, the sounds and scents familiar and comforting to Derek as he walked quickly to the bed to help the other doctors that were trying to get her respond in any way. The little girl looked like a doll lying on the large gurney, her tiny hand hanging off the bed slightly, Derek stepped forward and touched her hand, lifting it onto the bed, he could feel his blood run cold as soon as he saw the face of the little girl on the gurney. "Jesus…" He whispered as a wave of panic rushed from the tips of his toes, shoving its way into his stomach as he felt it twist grotesquely within him.

"Where is her mother?" Derek said as he started to work on her, looking at the extent of her injuries as they removed her neck brace. "Where is her mother!?" Derek screamed as he started barking orders to everyone else, checking her over as he looked at the injuries on her head. "She has a skull fracture, we need to take her in for a CT immediately. I need an MRI and I need it done now! Where is her mother!?" Derek exclaimed as he turned around, his eyes intense and frustrated as the nurse shook her head.

"Her mother was escorted out… she was hysterical… she was hurt and…"

"She was hurt? Get me her status now! NOW!" Derek screamed as the nurse turned and ran from the room as he turned and helped them lift Emma to the transport gurney to take her to the MRI. "I want her monitored extremely closely. "Doctor Sampson, I need Doctor Grey from Mass Gen. on the phone!"

"Doctor Grey?"

"Yes, Doctor Grey! Mass General! What are you looking at me like that for?" He asked as he took off out the door and followed the gurney down the hallway. Derek rushed along the side of the gurney, and looked down at the little girl. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving at all. He called her name as they rushed, his voice was wavering as he touched her hair. "It's going to be okay… it's going to be okay, baby… Emma bear… don't worry… we're going to take good care of you…" As they were approaching the elevator, Derek suddenly heard a loud, horrifying scream from one of the exam rooms. "You will call me if there are any changes." He said to the doctor that was with them, he turned quickly and ran toward the exam room. He could hear a woman screaming loudly, breathless and frustrated.

"I NEED TO BE WITH MY BABY! I NEED MY BABY! LET ME UP! LET ME UP!" The screaming was loud and desperate, it broke him. "Oh God! Oh God, Please! Please let me go to my baby!" She sobbed angrily.

Derek turned the corner. He knew it was Meredith, he could tell, even with the raw desperation in her voice, he knew it was her. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain aside as he stepped into the room, having no idea what to expect.

Meredith was lying on a gurney trying to sit up, her pant leg had been cut away, her knee was swollen and purple as her head snapped in his direction. "Meredith." He whispered, watching her jaw drop at the sight of him, her screaming stopping as she opened her mouth to shout again, her breath catching in her throat.

"Emma." She squeaked, out of breath and out of struggle, it was all she could say, all she could utter, all that her body would allow. Her arms gave out on her and she flopped back on the bed, it was if the sight of him had kicked any and all resolve from her body.

"I'll be with her." Derek said swiftly, watching as Meredith's screaming fit turned to sobbing. "I'll be with her, and I will send someone for you as soon as I can." Derek said as Meredith sobbed and nodded her head. "Take goddamned good care of her, or you'll be the next one in trauma." Derek growled to the doctor who was trying to examine her as he turned toward the door.

"Derek!" Meredith shouted as he stopped himself from pulling the curtain, he watched her eyes as she shook her head from the gurney. "Tell her that I love her! Tell Emma mommy loves her!" Meredith said as Derek nodded.

"I'll tell her." Derek said as he turned and ran out the door and rushed to Emma's side.

Derek rushed up the stairs swiftly, taking two steps at a time. He slammed open the door to the floor he wanted to be on and ran as quickly as he could down the hallway. He grabbed hold of the door jamb of the examination room and swung inside. "Is she in there yet?" he asked as the technician looked up.

"They're putting her in right now." The technician said as Derek tried to catch his breath. "She still hasn't woken up."

"She had a pretty bad fall." Derek whispered.

"Pretty bad fall? A television stand fell on the kid." The technician said with a shake of his head. "Stupid incompetent parents…"

"Hey!" Derek exclaimed as he slammed his hand down on the table. "That's enough… that kid is dying in there, don't you dare blame this on her mother." He said angrily as the technician jumped back.

"Um… um, I'm sorry, Doctor Shepherd, I just…"

"Just be quiet and run the scan… What is taking them so long?" He asked as the doctor inside the MRI room looked up at the window, Derek hit the communication button.

"Sir, she's waking up…"

"Shit…" Derek said as he turned and ran from the room, slamming into the room, he watched as Emma's eyes opened wide. "Take the tube out! Take the tube out!" Derek exclaimed as he indicated the tube in her throat. The doctor carefully removed the tube from the little girl's throat, as Derek stood above her. She started to cough. "Whoa there…" Derek said as he put his hand on her head delicately, pushing the hair from her forehead as she looked around with here eyes, Derek stood looking into her eyes as she coughed. He looked up at the other doctor. "She has broken ribs… we need to keep her calm." Just as he said that, she began to cry.

"Mama…" She sobbed. "Mama! Mama!" She gasped, her voice dry and full of terror.

"Hey… hey, princess…" Derek said in a tender voice. "Hey… hey, no crying… no crying, baby…. It's okay… it's okay, baby… shh… shhh… oh… please don't cry…" He whispered.

"Where's my mama? Mama!" She wheezed as she looked back and forth at the doctors with her eyes, in her surprise and shock from waking up in this strange room with these strange doctors, she had panicked a bit, and hadn't even recognized Derek in her panic. "Mama! Mama…" She sobbed.

"Emma bear…" Derek said, watching her eyes focus on him for a moment, her sobbing slowed as she recognized his crystal blue eyes. "That's right… look at me… you see me, baby? He whispered. "Can you see me?"

"Uh huh…" She sniffled.

"You got yourself some pretty bad booboos… don't you, baby?"

"Where's mama?" She whimpered.

"Mama is coming…She'll be here soon…She told me that she loves you very much. She loves you very, very much." Derek said softly. "Do you remember me, Emma bear?" He whispered.

"Derek." She whispered.

"That's right…Derek…you remember me… right?" He whispered.

"Uh huh…" She swallowed. "I want mama, Derek." She said, her voice trembling.

"I know… and we're going to get her for you, okay? But you have to help us first… okay?"

"It hurts…" She mumbled as she tried to move.

"No… no, baby… stay still…" Derek whispered. "You have to stay still…" he said softly. "You were in a pretty big accident… and you have some pretty big boo boos… and um… this here… this machine is a magic machine…" he said softly as he watched her eyes, filled with tears as she tried to remain calm. "And it's going to take your picture, okay? It's going to take your picture so that we can see if you have any booboos that we can't see."

"I'm scared…" She whimpered.

Derek looked to the nurse and doctor that were standing beside him and he reached into his pocket. He pulled his cell phone out and Mark's SIM card from within it. "I need you to do something for me." He said as he turned toward the nurse. "I need you to run… don't walk, don't jog, don't stop for a cup of coffee or a scone… I want you to run… without stopping to this little girl's mother. She's in trauma with Doctor Rabin." He said as he gave the nurse a very serious look. "Tell her to turn on her cell phone, and tell her to answer it. Do you hear me? If she argues… tell her that Derek needs her." He said as the nurse nodded. "Go!" He exclaimed as the nurse started to run down the hallway. "You." He said quickly to the doctor, he handed him the cell phone and the chip from Mark's phone. "Put this in my phone… please." He said, his voice calming as the doctor took the phone from him and Derek looked down at the little girl. "Hey… no crying, sweetheart… no crying for you… you're a tough cookie…" Derek said with a smile as the little girl sniffled and looked up at him with a frightened look.

"Mama…" She whimpered.

Derek looked to his side and the doctor handed back his phone. "Thank you." He said as he turned it on, watched it for a second for a signal. After a moment, it booted up the history of Mark's phone, Meredith's phone number being the first one on the list, he pushed the button. He listened to it ring for a second. "Come on, Meredith…" He mumbled as he heard the click of the phone. "Meredith." Derek said quickly.

"Oh My God… Derek… Derek…" She said with a panicked tone. Derek pushed the speaker phone button and put the phone on the bed beside Emma. "Where is she?" She said, her voice evident that she was in intense pain.

"Mommy!" Emma squeaked.

"Oh my god! Derek! Is that her!"

"That's her…" Derek said softly.

"Mommy!" She exclaimed again.

"She's awake!" Meredith said as she began to cry. "Oh! Baby! Baby, I love you so much! I love you so much!" She sobbed into the phone.

"Mommy, I'm scared!" She exclaimed.

"I know! I know you're scared, baby… Derek is there… Derek will take care of you, princess… he will take care of you until mommy gets there!"

"We're at the MRI." Derek said softly. "We're going to the MRI … CT…"

"How does she look? Is she okay? Oh, God, Derek…" She said, her voice was so full of tension and fear. "I need to call my mother… I need… I need to know what's going on." Meredith said, swallowing hard, she continued to cry.

"I put a call in to your mother." Derek said, as he continued to prepare the machine, looking to the phone as he paused. "I am going to send her the scans… Meredith…" He whispered. "I think… there's a skull fracture… her ribs…at least three of them are broken… We're going to check for internal bleeding and anything else… What happened to you?"

"I fell on the stairs…they think I broke my kneecap…" Meredith sobbed. "Please take care of her… please, Derek… she's all I have!" Meredith exclaimed.

"We're going to do all that we can to have her as good as new." Derek said as he tried to remain calm. Derek watched as Emma's eyes began to droop, her response was lessening. "Meredith, we have to go… I have to get this scan done…"

"Derek… take care of her…" Meredith sobbed. "Please… I love you, Emma… I love you, baby…"

"Love… love you, mama…" Emma mumbled as she began to breathe a little heavier.

"Thank you, Derek… thank you for letting me talk to her…" She said as she continued to cry.

"I'll give you updates…" Derek said as he lifted the phone. He turned it off of speaker and put it to his ear. "Meredith…" He said softly.

"Derek." She mumbled his name as his eyes dropped to the little girl as she began to fade.

"Keep your phone on." He said quickly. "Tell Doctor Rabin to hurry up… I need you." He said as he swallowed hard, slamming the phone closed, he sprang into action in the race to save the precious little girl.

Meredith was in a state of complete and utter panic. Her daughter was hurt, broken, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had been lying on a gurney sobbing her heart out, wrestling with the doctor to let her go, screaming so that she could see her daughter, hear her voice just one more time, touch her, hold her, kiss her, say she was sorry. From the moment the ambulance arrived at the house, she was no longer in control. The EMTs took the tiny girl from her mother's arms and secured her to a gurney, whisking her away to the ambulance.

Meredith had tried to follow after them, her knee obviously broken, her heart following closely behind as she tried desperately to crawl from the room. She remembered Cristina shouting out instructions, she was a doctor, she would be able to help, because Meredith knew that she, herself was useless, tasting sounds and blood on her lips as the white hot pain shot up her body from her leg, exhausting her as she screamed her daughter's name. Before she could say another word, she was lifted to a gurney, grasping, screaming, trying in vain to kick herself free to find her little girl.

Cristina again, standing over her, trying desperately to get her to stop moving, to stop struggling, to stop screaming for Emma. She said there was head trauma, that her lung had collapsed, and over and over again Meredith saw that stand lying on top of her daughter, the television burst in a million pieces, her tiny lifeless body had been slammed angrily against the floor, the object of her climb clung tightly in her fist.

It was that moment that Meredith looked down at her hand, the object her daughter had sought was now clasped in her own hand, stained with blood, stained with her daughter's innocence, and stained with the knowledge that she knew nothing. She held the object tightly in her hand, squeezing it as she screamed at the doctor to let her go to her daughter, let her go to her baby, when the curtain was pushed to the side frantically, and she had come face to face with a set of eyes that haunted her dreams for as long as she had known those eyes.

He spoke her name and it was if time had stopped and at that moment, his presence sucked every morsel of human strength that she could conjure. She fell backwards on the bed, her screaming ceased, and as if that screaming were the only thing keeping her from breaking completely, she broke.

She clutched the metal spring toy in her hands so tightly, that she could feel it cutting her skin as she was able to utter only one more thing as his crystal blue eyes tore into her soul. "Emma." She had said her name, and his eyes spoke to her that he already knew. They had called him, the hospital had called him. They called him to save her, to protect her, to be with her, and he spoke, not just her name, but the words that she longed to hear. He had made the statement that he would be there for her baby. He spoke those words and she knew deeper than her heart could understand that he wasn't just talking about Emma when he said that he would be there for. He was talking about her. He would be there, and though there was no contact for nearly two years, as soon as their eyes met, she knew that her daughter was in good hands.

He had disappeared out of the room nearly as quickly has he had appeared, the deep blue color of his eyes was gone from her sight, but the image of his panic stricken face was forever etched in her mind as he rushed from that room. She looked down at the object in her hands, the metal toy of which her daughter had been reaching, and looked to the door once again as she realized the connections being made, and the price that she would be paying to have seen them.

The doctor had given her an injection to numb the pain, her leg moving as she threw her head back in agony, clenching her teeth as she tried to tell the difference between the real pain, and the pain in her heart. She quickly realized that there was no difference as the doctor prepared her to be brought for an MRI.

The doctor had called down to radiology, learning that the MRI was being used by a trauma case, Emma. Her little girl. Her poor sweet, innocent little girl was clinging to her life by a thread, and all Meredith could do was lie in the bed, her face wet from the tears and sweat of her breakdown, longing to hear the sweet voice of her baby in her ears, the door opening swiftly, she looked up hoping to see him again, with news that her baby was alright, finding that the nurse walking through was frantic and breathless.

"Phone… phone, Ms. Grey… where is your cell phone?"

"My cell phone?" Meredith panted. "My cell…"

"Doctor Shepherd… he…"

"My pocket… my pocket… here!" She exclaimed as she fumbled with her jeans, pulling the phone from her pocket, she watched the nurse flip it open and push the on button. She waited only a second before the phone began to ring. She grabbed the phone from the nurse and slammed it to her face.

"Meredith." Derek said quickly, his voice was filled with concern, but welcomed in her ear.

"Oh My God… Derek… Derek…" She said with a panicked tone. She listened to the sound of him moving the phone, a clicking sound echoed through the line, and she suddenly began to panic, the pain of her leg was so intense, but the pain in her heart was so much worse.

Then she heard it… the soft, scratchy squeaking voice, it leapt through the phone at an alarming pace, tickling Meredith's eardrum as the weight of everything came crashing down. She wasn't there. She wasn't with her little girl, and Derek's voice sounded so concerned, so scared for her, so scared for both of them, all of them, and there was nothing she could do. She was lying on the gurney of the hospital room talking to her baby, listening to Derek's voice as she clenched her fist tighter around the metal toy in her hand. She told him to take care of her, trusting him with her most valuable possession, the sweet cherubic child that meant the world, and so much more to her, in pain, scared, though certainly not alone.

Her exclamation of love to her echoed in Meredith's ears, her voice was scratchy and so tiny, so lonely, so sad, so frightened, and as Derek had hung up the phone, as he prepared to do his best to keep his promise to her, he whispered three simple words that touched her heart, her soul, and from deep inside of her, she could feel a warmth consuming her body. She lay her head back, closing her eyes as she tried to fend off the pain, she tried to shake the image of her daughter's pain and suffering from her mind, she tried to think of something else, something hopeful, something right, and all that kept presenting itself were his three simple words.

'I need you.'

She had heard it in her mind, again and again as suddenly, she realized it wasn't just her mind anymore. She turned her head, and there he stood, his eyes were filled with tears, his lower lip trembled as he lifted his hand to his head. He scratched just above his ear with his fingertips, watching her turn her head to look at him.

"Meredith." He whimpered.

"Derek." She whispered back, her head shaking slightly as she watched the sorrow in his eyes. "Emma."

"She needs you."

In Naucratis lived a wealthy Greek merchant called Charaxos. He came from a far off land, but had spent most of his life trading with Egypt and in his old age had settled at Naucratis.

One day when he was walking in the marketplace he saw a large and boisterous crowd gathered round the place where the slaves were sold. Out of curiosity he pushed his way to the front and found that everyone was looking at a beautiful girl for sale. Charaxos was bowled over by the sight of this girl. He had never seen anyone so lovely. When the bidding began, Charaxos, being one of the wealthiest merchants in Naucratis, bought the girl without much difficulty.

Derek watched Meredith as she stared into his eyes. He could feel her heart breaking as he stood there, and wanted to say more, he needed to say more. But the longer that he looked at her, the more words fell from his mind.

He stepped forward toward the bed, glancing to the doctor who was sitting beside her, he shook his head. "Doctor Rabin, I need to take her with me." Derek said. The strength in his voice was faltering with each word, though he remained stoic in his stance. He stood beside the bed, and reached across to Meredith, looking for her hand, he found that one was free, the other was grasping hold of something tightly. "I need her to come with me… to her daughter." He said as he stared at her hand for a moment, contemplating taking it into his own.

He turned as the door opened, and one of the nurses stepped in with a wheelchair. Derek turned around, he walked toward the nurse and took the wheelchair, thanking her for bringing it to him, he wheeled it toward the bed.

"Derek…" Meredith whispered.

"We'll talk about it on our way there… she's sleeping." He whispered as she looked up at him. He and the doctor were able to lift her to the wheelchair, her leg was propped up, the nurse handed him an ice pack as he placed it delicately on her knee, speaking no words, only providing her with silent comfort. She tried to look into his eyes, finding that he was hiding them from hers, moving constantly as he tried to make her comfortable in the chair. He walked behind the wheelchair, making his avoidance of her eyes easier as he began to push the wheelchair toward the door.

The nurse opened the door, ushering them into the hallway, as Derek nodded. Derek wheeled her down toward the elevator, his tender steps were like a march to the electric chair, the lonely sadness hanging in the air like a cobweb, distressed and stretched out of shape, out of place, forgotten and sorrowful. He took a slow deep breath. "We did an MRI… CT." He said as he stopped in front of the elevator. He stepped forward and pushed the button. "No organ injury… no internal bleeding… her lungs look alright, though she does have three broken ribs." Derek said softly as he turned slowly. His eyes met hers as he swallowed. "She has a depressed skull fracture in the back of her head." He whispered.

"Oh…God…" Meredith whimpered.

"It's not horribly deep, but it's going to require surgery." He said as the elevator door opened.

"Derek…" She whimpered.

"We need to remove the fragments and repair the skull…"

"What about…?"

"Brain damage? There's no saying at this point if there has been any damage… she was communicating with us before the MRI… and she has since fallen asleep, her vitals are normal under the circumstances, but we know she's in incredible pain." Derek said as he tried to remain strong in his explanation. He walked around to the back of the wheelchair and took hold of the handles. He pulled the wheelchair into the elevator.

"Derek…" She whispered.

"Our primary goal is to remove the skull fragments, replace the damaged portion. We want to ensure there is no bleeding in her brain… monitor the extent of the injury, make sure that there hasn't been any soft tissue damage." He said softly. "She's going to be alright." He said softly. "We're taking very good care of her." He said softly as they rode the elevator, Derek's eyes staring at the numbers on the side of the elevator as they rode it quietly. He wanted to tell her more, but he stopped himself. He wasn't even positive that he hadn't said too much already, so he remained quiet.

She watched him closely, the way that he stood to the side of her, his eyes plastered to the tiny box above the doors to the elevator, the way he clenched his fist at his side, the way he chewed his lower lip just slightly, pushing it out again with his tongue as if he were reminding himself time and time again that he had to remain strong. She moved her head slightly, her eyes moving to the object in her hand, she felt her hand clench it tightly.

The door to the elevator opened, and Derek moved to push the wheelchair out. He was silent as he pulled her down the hallway, Meredith could feel the tension following them as it clenched her stomach angrily. "Wait." Meredith said as they arrived at the room, Derek was prepared to bring her through the door, when she reached back and grabbed his hand on the handle. "Wait a second… just… just… hang on…" She said as she paused.

"Meredith…" Derek said softly, almost impatiently as he paused, his back against the door as he peered in through the window of the ICU room.

"You're not going to perform the surgery." She shook her head.

"Meredith, I'm the top neurosurgeon here… of course I'm going to be the one to…"

"No…" Meredith shook her head. "No, you… you can't do it, Derek… you're too attached to it." She said as she shook her head. "You can't do this… Derek."

"I'm fine, Meredith. I'm a professional." Derek said as he took a slow, deep breath. "I'm a professional, and I can take care of this. I'm going to save your daughter… and then you can get on with your life." He said as he pushed backwards on the door, pulling Meredith in with him as he turned her around to face the bed.

The moment her eyes grazed the bed, Meredith felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of the room. Her tiny daughter lie motionless, covered with a white, sterile hospital blanket, her head was bandaged, her lips dry and chapped, her eyes closed tightly as she lie peacefully. She could feel herself taking short intakes of breath, very quickly, and her eyes never left the tiny form on the bed. She stared, the color draining from her face, her hands trembling as she sensed someone was touching her hand. She turned her head and found Derek crouched beside her, talking to her, but she couldn't hear him, all she could feel was the breaths coming from her chest, the sound of the blood rushing in her ears. "No." She gasped.

"Meredith… you have to breathe."

"No… no…. No, you are… you can't… no." She said as she breathed. "Oh God… Oh God… Oh, God…"

"Meredith, you have to slow down… stop breathing like that, you're going to hyperventilate… Meredith…" Derek said as he lifted his hand, and very tenderly touched her cheek. "Meredith." He whispered. "Meredith." He said softly.

"Is she stable?" Meredith whispered.

"Yes."

"Can I have a moment alone with her?" She swallowed.

"You…"

"I need to be alone with her, Derek." She whispered. "Thank… you… for helping her." She said, watching his eyes as they moved toward the little girl. "I just… need to be alone with her right now."

"We should get her to surgery as soon as we can, Meredith." He whispered.

"I know." She whispered.

Derek watched her eyes for a moment, the cold steely stare that she was giving him was reminiscent of another Grey woman that he knew, and frankly despised. He wanted to say something to her, ask her if she ever thought of him during those months, but he could see by the look her eyes that she had not. He could feel in her icy stare that she hadn't needed him then, and she didn't need him now. He nodded, turned sharply and walked out of the room without another word.

Her name was Rodophis. She'd been kidnapped by pirates as a child from her home in northern Greece. She'd been sold to a rich man who employed many slaves on the island of Samos and had spent most of her childhood there. But when she grew up her master wished to make some money out of so beautiful a girl and sent her to Naucratis to be sold.

Charaxos was so moved by her story he gave her a house of her own to live in with a garden and slave girls to attend on her. Indeed he became quite besotted with her. He gave her presents of jewels and beautiful clothes and spoiled her as if she had been his own daughter.

Derek stepped out into the hallway and walked quickly toward the elevator. He slammed his hand into the button several times as he tried to hold his composure for just another moment. As the elevator doors opened slowly, he reached his hand in and pushed the doors open forcefully as he walked in and slammed his hand down on the 'door close' button. He pressed it again and again as he took slow, deep breaths trying desperately not to break down. He sucked in another sharp breath and after just another moment, the doors closed fully. He then slammed his fist down on the emergency stop button, hearing the bell of the elevator ringing relentlessly. He released the breath he had been holding as the elevator doors opened, and he sucked in another breath as he clenched his fists, closed his eyes tightly and fell to his knees. He found that he had completely lost control of his emotions, his body shaking and trembling violently as he began to sob in heartbreaking waves as the shrill note of the elevator alarm screeched uncaringly into his ears.

One day, in her secret garden, a strange thing happened; Rodophis was bathing in the pool and the slave-girls were holding her clothes, her jeweled girdle and her rose-red slippers of which she was particularly fond. Suddenly an eagle came swooping down out of the clear blue sky as if to attack the little group. The slave-girls dropped everything and fled shrieking to hide among the trees and flowers of the garden. Rodophis stood startled, unable to move.

But the eagle paid no attention to any of them. Instead, it picked up one of her rose-red slippers in its talons and soared high into the air carrying the slipper.

Derek stepped from the elevator on the floor he had boarded it, several doctors and nurses that passed noticed the tremble in the doctor's stance, the slightly out of the normal glint in his eye as he stepped into the hallway and stood for a moment staring down toward the room where Meredith and Emma were. He had screamed his heart out in that elevator and cried every tear that he could conjure. He was emotionally drained and he had tried to convince himself that he was going to be just fine.

He thought of Meredith sitting in that room, telling him that he was too connected to the case, too close to Emma, too attached. How could he be attached? He hardly knew the child, he hardly knew her mother. All he knew was her name, her favorite color was pink, and that she knew the story 'A visit from Saint Nicholas.' No, he didn't know her. There was no attachment. She was a tiny, innocent girl that had gotten in over her head. She got into an accident, and there was absolutely no connection between him and her mother, there was no connection between he and that little girl.

Except that there was.

He had felt his heart drop like a boulder when he had seen that little girl's face. He had panicked like a parent, not like a doctor. He had defended her, her mother. He had shouted at the doctors and nurses like he had never done before. He was being vigilant in saving her, and he was blind to anything other than that. He stood in the hallway, staring at the room, feeling his body trembling as he tried desperately to control the fear in his body, the anxiety, the pain. He couldn't walk into that room a simpering mess. He had to walk into that room strong and confident. He had to walk into that room with a purpose, with a reason, with… love?

His eyes dropped to the floor.

He turned his head toward the nurse's desk and he took a slow deep breath. He took a step, and before he could think twice, his feet were moving quickly toward the counter. "I need consent forms for Emma McKennon's mother to sign." Derek said as he watched the nurse nod. "Insurance forms, admission forms… and consent to surgery, and anesthesia. I need a full surgical work up on her, please don't miss anything…" He said politely, trying very hard to remain calm. "I um… her grandmother will be here soon… Ellis Grey. When she gets here, please direct her to Emma's room." He said as the nurse nodded. She took a step toward the hallway with the papers and Derek held his hand out. "I'll… give her the forms... I'll do that for you." Derek said with a slight nod as the nurse tilted her head. "It's fine." He said. "I'll just give them to her… and she'll bring them back out when she's through filling them out." He said as the nurse handed him the clipboard. He thanked her and turned for the room.

Just before he entered the room, he peered into the window, watching as Meredith tenderly touched her daughter's hand, her lips were pursed, her eyes were filled with an intense worry that only a mother could express and feel, and when he walked through the room, that look of worry was on him.

"Meredith, these are the consent forms… insurance forms, and some brochures on the procedure. You're going to want to fill out the…"

"Derek." Meredith said, her voice was slightly stronger as she watched his eyes widen slightly as he listened. "I don't want you to perform the surgery." She said as she shook her head. She watched him pause. "I want another surgeon."

"Meredith, stop being stubborn about this." He said as she tilted her head.

"Is that how you talk to patient's, Doctor Shepherd?" Meredith asked as Derek's mouth opened slightly. "Is that how you talk to a grieving mother? You tell them not to be stubborn about this? You're too close to this case, Derek. You're too close… she's a little girl… I know you have a little boy at home. How do I know that you're not reacting as if this were Adam? You know Emma, Derek… you know her, and you're too emotionally attached to her to deal with this properly! I don't want you in there! I don't even want you touching her! I want you to leave, and I don't want you to come back into this room!"

"Mrs. McKennon!" Derek exclaimed as he got her attention. She stopped as she stared at him, her mouth opened and closed as he stared at her. "I've tried to be polite to you about this, and I've tried to be professional… and if anyone is letting their personal attachment cause any road blocks in the treatment of your daughter, it's you!" He exclaimed. "You are denying your child the care that she needs to get better because of some personal emotional issues that you have with me! I get that you hate me, Meredith… I get it, okay? But I think it's time that you stop acting like a selfish fool and let me do my goddamned job!"

"I'm selfish? I'm selfish? You're the selfish one! You're the one trying to get your way in this situation! I thought you were different! I thought you'd understand! You're just a typical surgeon with a God complex! I wish I had never met you, Derek Shepherd! I wish that I had never seen your stupid face! If I hadn't met you, then we wouldn't be in this situation! We wouldn't be having this argument! You… you… This is your fault!" She screeched, her voice was loud and shrill and tears were rolling down her face as she watched him stare at her in astonishment.

"My fault? This is my fault?" He asked as she nodded her head. She held her hand up, the silver slinky toy was gripped tightly in her fingers as Derek's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Do you see this, Derek? Do you see this? This was something that YOU gave me! This was something that YOU had touched with YOUR hands and you gave ME! IT was in MY house! It was on top of the television stand, Derek! Do you understand what I'm saying?" She huffed angrily "IT WAS IN MY DAUGHTER'S HAND WHEN SHE FELL, DEREK!" Meredith screamed. "It's covered with HER blood! YOU did this to her! She was reaching for this, and she fell and cracked her head open, Derek! You are the reason my daughter is in this room, and YOU'RE the reason she needs this surgery! SO DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT YOU'RE NOT CONNECTED TO THIS CASE! I WANT ANOTHER SURGEON!" She screamed as her face turned bright red, her eyes filled with tears as Derek stood and stared at the anger and hatred in her eyes. He held the clipboard in his hands tightly, his knuckles were turning white as he gripped the clipboard in his fingers. He really wanted to yell back, he really needed to fight back, but he had nothing.

Nothing.

He turned the clipboard in his hands and looked Meredith directly in the eyes as he refused to react. "Sign the forms." He said in a monotone voice. "Sign the forms and give them to the nurse. Emma's surgery is in three hours… whether I'm there or not." He whispered as he dropped the clipboard into her lap. He pulled a pen from his pocket and dropped it on top of it as he turned and walked out of the room.

Meredith watched as he left the room silently, the stone look on his face gave her chills. She was now alone in the large hospital room, her daughter's hand still in hers as she slowly picked up the pen when she felt her daughter's hand move in hers. She turned her head to see those two beautiful gray-green eyes staring up at her. "Mama." She whispered.

"Baby…" Meredith whispered as she felt the tears in her eyes start to fall down her cheeks.

"I want my candy necklace…" She mumbled sleepily, her eyes fluttering closed as she smacked her lips slightly.

"Your candy necklace?" She whispered as she gripped Emma's hand tightly and moved herself as close as she could, cringing at the pain in her leg as the medication seemed to be wearing thin. "What candy necklace, baby?"

"I want my candy necklace… mama…" She whispered. "On the tv… can you get it for me?" She whispered as she turned her head slightly, drifting back to sleep. Meredith sat for a moment as she tried to figure out what she was talking about. She chewed her lower lip for a moment as she suddenly remembered. Three days earlier, Emma had a candy necklace. She had gotten it from a friend, at a party. It was close to dinner, and Meredith didn't want her to be eating candy, so she had taken it from Emma's neck and promised to give it back later. She had placed it in the packaging, and put it on the television stand.

The television stand.

Candy necklace.

Meredith could picture it in her mind, her little girl climbing from the bed, remembering her candy prize that she had placed on top of the wooden stand. Mostly the top of the television stand had been for objects to keep from Emma's reach. A statuette from her grandmother, a baby shoe, a small snow globe that she had gotten while visiting the zoo, a picture of Emma… the gift from Derek.

Derek.

She had placed that candy necklace right next to the slinky… she could see in her mind's eye, the teetering television stand, the little girl gripping it for all she could, her scream as it fell, her hand grasping for something, anything, landing on that metal toy, she held onto it with all of her strength as the stand and television came crashing down on her.

As the world came crashing down on her mother.

Rodophis wept at the loss of her rose-red slipper, feeling sure that she would never see it again. She regretted losing anything the kindly Charaxos had given her.

However, the eagle had been sent by the god Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, whose sacred bird it was. The bird flew straight up the Nile to Memphis to the palace of Pharaoh Amasis while he sat in the great courtyard giving justice to his people and hearing any complaints they wished to bring.

The Eagle flew into the great courtyard and dropped the rose-red slipper of Rodophis right into Pharaoh's lap.

Derek walked down the hallway toward an on call room. He turned the corner and opened the door, stepping inside, he slammed the door and released the breath he had been holding. Meredith's words slammed into his soul sharply, stinging him everywhere as he gritted his teeth and grunted. He would have cried if he had any tears left. Instead, she had left him angry and frustrated, hurt and nearly broken as he vowed to himself that there was no way that she would get away with hurting him this way.

He needed to be in that room with Emma. He had promised her. He had promised her mother.

Derek pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his home phone number. He waited for a moment as he listened it to it ring. He heard someone pick up and, after a second, his son's happy voice squeaked over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Adam." Derek said softly, his voice was nearly trembling as he spoke. "Can you please give the phone to Mark?"

"Did you save the little girl?" Adam asked.

"Adam… not now, buddy… I'm still working on it." He said as he tried to keep his breathing normal, his mind on task. "Can I talk to Mark please?"

"Sure." Adam said as he smiled into the line. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, Adam." Derek replied softly as he waited for Mark to come to the phone. After a moment, he heard Mark's greeting over the line, and he sighed.

"Hey."

"Mark… It's going to be a long day… and it's probably going to be a long night." Derek sighed. "Can you please take Adam to Beth's house? I'll call her and let her know he's coming… but this case is a lot more complicated that I thought it would be." He said softly, his voice turning into a whisper.

"Hey, Man… are you alright?" Mark asked.

"I'm fine." Derek replied.

"It's a kid… you're probably just freaking out about that."

"I'm not freaking out, Mark. I'm fine… She has a skull fracture. I'm going to have to perform the surgery in a couple of hours… She's going to be fine." He whispered.

"She is going to be fine." Mark said softly. "You're the best there is." He said with a supportive smile.

"Thanks, Mark…"

"Hey, everyone needs a cheerleader… If you want, I'll…"

"Mark." Derek said bluntly as Mark stopped his joke. "Not now."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." Derek said softly. "I'll call Beth. Thanks for keeping an eye on Adam."

"It's no problem." Mark said softly. "I'll … see you around."

"See you around." Derek said with a nod as he flipped the phone closed. He took a slow, painful deep breath as he shoved the phone in his pocket and stood in the room for several minutes. He tried to regulate his breathing, tried to calm down, tried to get her voice out of his head. He could just picture the little girl climbing onto the television stand, trying to get to that toy. He could picture the teetering stand as she realized that it wouldn't hold her weight, the crash that ensued. He could hear her scream. He could hear Meredith's scream.

Meredith's voice.

Derek paused as he swallowed, he checked his watch and noted that it had been plenty of time for her to complete the paperwork. He wasn't about to go into that room again. He wasn't ready to be screamed at again, blamed. He took a slow, deep breath and walked out into the hallway. He walked down toward the nurse's desk and stopped as he reached it. The nurse looked up at Derek and reached out her hand for him to sign a paper.

"Doctor Shepherd… Emma McKennon's paperwork is being put through… she should be ready to be prepped for surgery shortly."

"Her mother got you the papers?" Derek asked.

"Doctor Grey faxed Emma's records from Boston… and Mrs. McKennon filled out the consent form and admission paperwork."

"She didn't say anything about a choice of surgeon?"

"Yes sir, she did." The nurse said as she looked up into his eyes. "You, of course." She said with a smile, giving him a look that made him feel almost silly for asking, as he took a slow, deep breath.

"Um… I'm going to be looking over her scans again… in about twenty minutes, I need Doctor Redson here to prep her for surgery, I need her put on the board."

"Yes, sir." The nurse nodded as Derek turned to walk down the hallway. He paused for only a split second outside Emma's door, as he looked in to see Meredith sitting beside her daughter's bed with their hands clasped together, before he turned and made his way back down the hallway toward the elevators.

The people cried out in surprise when they saw this, and Amasis, startled by this unusual incident, picked up the little rose-red slipper and admired the delicate workmanship and the tiny size of it. After examining the slipper he thought the girl for whose foot it was made must certainly be one of the loveliest in the world.

Indeed Amasis believed this to be an omen and a message from the gods so he issued a decree 'Let my messengers go forth through all the cities of Egypt and to the very borders of my kingdom. Let them take with them this rose-red slipper which the divine bird of Horus has brought to me, and let them declare that the girl from whose foot this slipper came, shall be the bride of Pharaoh!'

So they set forth from Memphis and went by way of Heliopolis and Tanis and Canopus until eventually they came to Naucratis. Here they heard of the rich merchant Charaxos and of how he had bought the beautiful Greek girl in the slave market, and how he was lavishing all his wealth upon her as if she had been a princess put in his care by the gods.

It was nearly three hours later and Derek found himself standing in the scrub room for the operating room. He hadn't see or talked to anyone since he had stepped away from the counter with Emma's chart. He was trying his hardest to become focused on the task at hand, on saving the life of the tiny girl who was in that operating room.

He scrubbed his hands thoroughly, his thoughts and eyes shifting to the movement in the operating room. The bed was huge compared to the occupant who lay within it. Her beautiful hair had been clipped away, her eyes were closed. She was sleeping so quietly, so peacefully against the itchy hospital bed, her tiny gown covering her little shoulders, covered in pink and yellow rabbits. He watched her lie there as they prepared, the procedure moving through his mind as if it were a routine procedure that he performed nearly every day. And though it was a procedure that he did perform nearly every day, it was still completely different.

This was someone he loved.

When he was in the lab earlier, he did some thinking about what Meredith was trying to say to him, and he did admit to her that she was right on one thing. He was incredibly close to the case. This little girl that was now before him, lying sleeping on that gurney was one that he had held, one that he had laughed with, talked with. This was someone that he did care about very deeply, someone that he had cried for and prayed for, someone that he loved.

Loves.

Derek looked down at his hands as he continued to wash them, scrubbing them thoroughly as he noticed there was another person in the room. He felt the person's presence, and when the person stepped up to the scrub sink, he still hadn't looked over, just continued to stare out at the tiny little girl.

"I think you've scrubbed away a good portion of your skin there, Doctor Shepherd." The person beside him spoke, and he immediately recognized it. He turned his head to the side and lifted his foot from the sink's pedal, holding his hands up.

"Doctor Grey." Derek said as he nodded toward her, walking toward the towels as he nodded at his scrub nurse to enter the room.

Ellis held her hand up for a moment, the scrub nurse pausing as Derek nodded to let her know that it would be another minute. "Thank you for calling me." She said softly.

"I thought that you would want to be informed." Derek nodded.

"I appreciate it." She said softly. "My relationship with my daughter has not always been ideal, though I feel as if I had connected with her over the past year and a half. It does feel good to have a family." She said softly. Derek remained quiet as he looked at her, and glanced back into the operating room.

"I need to get in there."

"Wait." Ellis said as she sighed. "Dr. Shepherd… Meredith has missed you."

"Doctor Grey. Meredith isn't on my table… this isn't about Meredith, this is about Emma." He said as he tried to pass her. She stood in his way and shook her head.

"Doctor Shepherd, please listen to me." Ellis said as he paused for a moment.

"I don't have time for this, Doctor Grey. I have to save Emma… Meredith doesn't need me. She has never needed me. I met her that day on accident… and our friendship is an accident… it's not even a friendship, she's an acquaintance. Emma… Emma is my friend… because friends don't judge… Friends don't say awful things… and friends don't break your heart." He said angrily. "Friends trust you." He said as he looked into Ellis' eyes. "Emma trusts me… and I am not about to let her down." He said as he pushed backwards on the door with his back.

"Doctor Shepherd… if she didn't trust you, she would be in here right now telling you not to do this!" Ellis said as Derek listened to her through the door as the scrub nurse put on his gloves. "If she didn't trust you, she wouldn't be sitting in her daughter's room waiting for you to bring her to her! If she didn't trust you, you wouldn't be in that room, Doctor Shepherd! Don't let her push you away again, Derek!" Ellis exclaimed as Derek seemingly ignored the older woman as she watched him step up to Emma and talk to the nurses.

What Ellis didn't know, was that all of her words had seeped into his mind, all of her words were echoing in his head, all of her words touched him, and as he started this surgery, with a call for luck and a soft, silent prayer, the surgery began.

So they went to the great house beside the Nile and found Rodophis in the secret garden beside the pool.

When they showed her the rose-red slipper she cried out in surprise that it was hers. She held out her foot so that they could see how well it fitted her; and she bade one of the slave girls fetch the other slipper.

Then the messengers knew this was the girl whom Pharaoh had sent them to find, and they knelt before her and said, "Pharaoh Amasis - life, health, strength be to him - bids you come with all speed to his palace at Memphis. There you shall be treated with all honors and given a high place in his Royal House of Women."

Such a command could not be disobeyed so Rodophis bade farewell to Charaxos, who was torn between joy at her good fortune and sorrow at his loss, and set out for Memphis.

As the first cut was made, and all thoughts were on the little girl before him, Derek began to speak softly, tenderly as he began to recite a story. It was a story that his wife had once told their unborn child, a story of love and loss, and finding love again. It was an Egyptian tale that was rooted in the traditional style of any fairy tale, and it rolled from his lips as his wife spoke the words in his mind. The surgery moved along nicely, the little girl's injuries were repaired as quickly and as perfectly as they could be done as Derek made each movement with such care and such circumstance, that there was no doubt that she would be alright.

His voice was soft and gentle beneath his mask as he told each section of the story, a smile on his lips as he spoke, a warmth in his heart as he thought of the little girl's smile. He completed the fix to her skull, closing up and beginning to bandage her head, he paused.

"And when Amasis saw her beauty… he was sure that the gods had sent her to him." Derek paused. "And, instead of merely taking her to his Royal House of Women; he made her his queen, and the Royal Lady of Egypt." He said tenderly as he completed the bandage wrapping, looking down on the sleeping child's face.

"They lived happily ever after, Emma…" He whispered. "For the rest of their lives." He said as he paused, looking up at the nurses and doctors that surrounded him. "I think we're finished here…" He said softly as he looked down at the sleeping little girl. "We did well, Emma bear…" Derek said softly. "Let's get you back to mommy…" He said, as he took a step backwards, put his head down, and headed quietly toward the scrub room.

Derek stood in an empty exam room, his eyes were grazing over the chart as he tried desperately to concentrate. It was nearly seven o'clock in the evening, the surgery had been completed nearly two hours earlier, and he still hadn't worked up the nerve to walk into that room. He had advised the nurses to tell Meredith and Doctor Grey that he would be in to explain how the procedure went, and promptly made his way to a quiet room where he could sit and pore over his notes, ensuring that every 'I' was dotted, and every 't' was crossed. He glanced up as the door opened, and a nurse popped her head into the room.

"Doctor Shepherd, Mrs. McKennon is asking for the status report." She said softly as Derek nodded.

"I'll be right in, Stacy… thank you." Derek nodded as he flipped the chart closed and sighed deeply as he slid himself from the exam table where he had been lying. He walked across to the door and opened it slowly, glancing down the hall to make sure it was clear. He began to walk toward the room. He stepped closer to the room and as he approached it, he could feel his heart beating faster, he could feel his throat closing up, his pulse racing. He started to turn back around, when the door opened and he heard someone calling to him. The sound of the blood in his ears was deafening as he turned around and saw Ellis standing just outside the door. She allowed it to close behind her as she took a step toward him.

"Doctor Shepherd?" She inquired as she watched him stand on his heels as if he were trying to find a good moment to turn and run screaming down the hallway.

"Doctor Grey…" Derek said softly as he flipped the chart in his hands closed.

"Were you on your way in?" She asked, glancing back to the room. "She's still sleeping… and her vitals appear normal. Meredith was hoping that you'd be in to explain how the surgery went." She said softly.

"I was just on my way in." Derek nodded.

"It looked to me like you were about to walk away." She said as she watched Derek's eyes drop. "Doctor Shepherd… I understand that this was hard on you as well, Meredith will listen. She trusts you." Ellis said as she reached for the door handle.

"Appearances can be deceiving, Doctor Grey." Derek whispered. "I never walk away." he said as he nodded, watching Ellis nod her head and turn, walking back into the room. Derek stood as he stared at the room, his pulse slowly beginning to regulate as he looked back down at the chart, staring at Emma's name. "Stop being such a baby, Shepherd." He whispered to himself as he very quickly walked toward the room. He lifted his head and stepped inside.

As soon as he walked into the room, he visually interpreted the number of people in the room without actually looking at anyone's face. Meredith was still sitting in a wheelchair, it appeared in the same one that he had tenderly placed her in, hours before. There was a new person in the room, Derek supposed it was a friend, she was quiet, though her stare was attempting to be intimidating, and there was Doctor Ellis Grey, whose stare was intimidating, and who never remained quiet.

"First, I'd like to apologize for taking so long for getting in here…" Derek said as he shrugged a little. "I had another page after Emma's surgery, that I had to take care of." He lied, but he didn't think that it would hurt the situation. He figured that it was better than telling them that he had been wallowing in self pity on an exam room table for the past two hours while they sat and waited for a status report. "I'd like to start the report by saying…" He said as he lifted his eyes slowly from the chart as he suddenly realized that everyone in the room was silent. He began to feel nervous, knowing that he was the only one on the 'stage' in front of these people, this one person, he didn't want to disappoint.

His eyes passed from Ellis, who stared expectantly, to the guest, who stared angrily, and he nearly avoided Meredith's, as his crystal blue eyes swept over her broken, sad appearance. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her lip was trembling in sadness as their eyes locked. He had known that she meant no malice with her words, though he knew they had broken him inside. She needed him to see, she needed him to know his connection with her, because she really thought that he truly didn't understand.

He watched as she slowly lifted her hand to him, beckoning him to come closer, because she obviously couldn't move from the wheelchair. "Derek…" She whimpered as she watched him playing it in his mind, the hateful things that she said to him, the blame and guilt that she had put on his shoulders. He made the decision to reach for her hand, to support her, and as he reached his hand to touch hers, the door burst open.

"Daddy!" Adam exclaimed in happiness as Derek turned sharply to come face to face with his son. "I saw you come into this room, and…" He stopped.

Derek's eyes were wide, and he couldn't say a word.

"Oh my God." Adam whispered as his eyes scanned the room. The familiar, broken face of Meredith sitting in a wheelchair, a tiny girl sleeping on the bed, bandaged and sleeping, could only be Emma, and his father holding a clipboard.

Mark caught up to Adam and swung into the room quickly. "Derek, man… I'm sorry… he saw you when you went into the…" Mark's eyes passed to Meredith, the bed, the situation. "Meredith?"

Suddenly, without a moment's passing, Derek scooped his son under his arm and handed the chart to Ellis. "Doctor Grey…" He said as Ellis nodded. "Excuse me." He said as he turned toward Meredith. Adam was shouting question after question, but Derek couldn't understand a word he was saying. His eyes were caught by Meredith's as the sight of Adam sent a barrage of tears down her cheeks, and she began to cry. So quickly, without thinking of company or consequences, Derek leaned down tenderly, his son struggling in his arms and he placed his other hand on Meredith's cheek. He leaned in as her eyes continued to lock with his, until he watched them close just as his lips touched hers. It was a tender kiss, a soft kiss, an apologizing kiss, a kiss that told her that he wasn't going to walk away, he just needed to take care of something, and that he'd be back to finish what he started when he returned. "Meredith…" he whispered as he pulled from her lips, he watched her nod slightly as her eyes locked with his again, and he turned with his writhing, upset son in his arms as he walked out of the room, pulling a shocked and confused Mark along with him.

-----------------

As the door closed behind him, Meredith watched as the two men and the little boy disappeared from sight. A slight smile rose on her lips as she reached her fingertips to touch them.

"What the hell was that?" Cristina asked as she glanced from the door to her friend, and back to the door.

"That…" Meredith said with a slight shake of her head. "That was Derek Shepherd." She whispered as she continued to touch her lips with the tips of her fingertips.

Derek walked swiftly down the hallway, his son tucked neatly under his arm as the little boy struggled and continued to ask questions as Mark followed them down the hallway and around the corner into the same quiet, dark exam room that Derek had been resting in just minutes earlier. Derek switched on the light and carefully set his son to the floor, Adam turned swiftly and reached for the handle as Derek shoved his foot into the bottom of it to keep it from opening as Adam pulled on the door, gritting his teeth.

"Daddy, I have to go! I have to go! I have to go!" He exclaimed as he pulled on the door handle.

"You don't have to go anywhere." Derek said as he watched Mark start to pace back and forth.

"What the hell was that?" Mark asked as Derek looked up at his friend and tilted his head.

"Mark." Derek said, nodding toward Adam as the little boy continued to pull on the door handle.

"He's not even listening…" Mark mumbled. "But seriously, Derek… what the hell is going on here?"

"What do you mean what is going on here? I was trying to give a status report to a family, and you and Adam came running in there like a couple of gang busters… what is going on with you? I thought you were bringing him to Beth's…" Derek said as he swung his son up into his arms and felt the little boy tapping him repetitively in the shoulder as he continued to mutter 'daddy' at Derek. "Hang on a second."

"I was going to bring him to Beth's." Mark said. "And I did… but someone forgot to call her and tell her that I was doing that, otherwise, I would have gotten a head's up that Beth and everyone were going out tonight to celebrate your nephew's birthday, and they didn't have room for one more… so I have had Adam all day long."

"You've had him all day? Why didn't you call me, or page me, or anything?"

"You seemed upset about the case you were paged in for, so I just figured I'd keep him with me…and I tried to call your cell phone… it didn't work…"

"Oh, crap, yeah…" Derek said as he pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Mark. "Your SIM card is in my phone… you can have it back now."

"You stole my SIM card?" He asked as he grabbed the phone and started to pull out the battery to access it. "Why would you…?" He said as he looked up at Derek and gave him a confused glance. "Meredith?"

"I had my reasons, Mark." He said as he lifted Adam to the floor again as the little boy seemed to have calmed down.

"You know her?"

"I knew her… I… yes." Derek nodded.

"Daddy!" Adam exclaimed suddenly as both men's attention moved to the little boy. "Why is Emma hurt!?" He exclaimed as he stomped his feet and shook his head.

"Adam…" Derek said as he tried to ignore the glare from Mark as he crouched down to his son's level, he looked him in the eyes. "Remember when daddy got that call this morning… from the hospital?"

"On your whistle?"

"Yep…" Derek nodded. "That was about Emma… she fell and got hurt, and Daddy had to be her doctor."

"You had to cut open her brains?" Adam asked.

"Not her brains…" Derek said trying to remain serious, but explain as well as he could without just confusing him further. "But she had a bump on her head… and she had to go to surgery to have it taken care of so her brains wouldn't get hurt…"

"I…" Adam said as he swallowed hard. "I… is… is she going to be okay?"

"We're all hoping she will be…" Derek nodded.

"I don't want her to be hurt, Daddy… I don't want her to be hurt… I want to go see Meredith, Daddy… I said mean things about her and I want to say I'm sorry…"

"Wait… he knows Meredith too?" Mark asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Adam continued to stare into Derek's eyes for several seconds as Derek looked up at Mark. Adam's eyes lifted to Mark's as well as he gave him a sad little smile. "Meredith is Daddy's soulmate…" He said as his eyes fell back to his father's, finding that Derek's eyes began to tear up. "Daddy…" he whispered.

"It's alright…" Derek said as he held his arms out for the little boy and let him wrap his arms around Derek's neck, as Derek stood up and looked Mark in the eyes, Adam rested his head onto his shoulders. "Meredith and I are old friends." He said softly.

"So you stole the chip out of my phone because you didn't want me to call her back?" He asked as he continued to glare angrily at Derek.

"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?"

"And then… then you kiss her in front of me… I mean… she's your goddamned patient's mother… that's totally unethical. If you have feelings for her, you shouldn't have operated on her kid, Derek."

"Well, I wasn't about to let anyone else operate on her." Derek argued. "Don't act like you had staked a claim, Mark. You had a half of a date with her, and you left her high and dry…"

"And when she called last night, I'm sure you set her straight, right? You probably just made her think I was a major asshole, and you were…"

"Don't swear!" Adam exclaimed as he turned his head and Derek touched his head to lay him back down on his shoulder.

"I didn't tell her who she was talking to last night, Mark. She thought she was talking to you… and she's probably embarrassed out of her mind. If you want to pursue a relationship with her…" Derek said as he shook his head. "By all means, do… I mean, she can make choices for herself…"

"That doesn't particularly work when her kid's neurosurgeon has his tongue down her throat." Mark growled.

"Mark, stop acting like I just stole your bicycle, and relax." Derek said with a frustrated sigh. "She's a grown woman, and she can make her own decisions… but I'm not backing down… because I am taking the same advice I'm giving you. I'm going for it… because I… I really care about her. I care about her, and I love her little girl…so stop acting like a spoiled baby, and be my friend… be her friend… her daughter was in an accident, we shouldn't even be having this conversation."

"I have to go." Mark said as he stomped around Derek toward the door. "And I'm not your goddamned babysitter!" He exclaimed as he walked out of the exam room and slammed the door behind him.

Adam lifted his head from Derek's shoulder and looked into Derek's eyes for a moment. He could see the hurt that Mark had caused, it was small and an almost insignificant change, but Adam could see it. "Daddy?" He whispered as he watched Derek tilt his head slightly.

"Hmm?" Derek asked as he watched Adam smile slightly.

"You kissed Meredith…" he said, as suddenly his smile brightened, and he let out the tiniest of giggles.

He watched as Derek's face turned quite serious, and his eyebrows raised as his bottom lip slipped into his mouth. "I did, didn't I…?" he said as he Derek made a slightly embarrassed face, though his eyes sparkled with humor.

"On the lips!" Adam exclaimed as Derek's cheeks officially began to turn red.

"Hush…" Derek said as he shook his head and shifted Adam, a smirk moving to his lips as he sighed. "You're going to have to be my assistant for the rest of the night… are you up for it?"

"Yes, Sir… Doctor Shepherd…" Adam said as he saluted his father.

"That's enough formalities… at ease…" he said as he tickled his son, and listened to his wild giggle as he turned and walked out of the exam room with him, as his head rested against his shoulders, adding to the weight that was already there.

Derek carried Adam down the hallway quickly toward Meredith's room. He made no time for anxiety, no time for second thoughts, and he swung his son to the floor as he crouched down beside him. "Listen…" He said as he tilted his head, his eyes meeting his son's as the slight smirk rose on the little boy's face. "You're going to have to be pretty quiet in there, okay?"

"Assistants aren't supposed to be quiet, they're helpers… they're supposed to help…" Adam replied as he sighed.

"Can you just do this one thing for me? No arguing? This is daddy's job… and you're not even supposed to be here, short stuff…" Derek said as he tilted his head and watched Adam sigh with a slight pout.

"Can I tell Meredith that I'm sorry?"

"You can talk to Meredith after I'm done with the doctor stuff, okay? What I need you to do is go into the room with me and sit quietly on the chair near the wall, alright? I'll let you know when it's okay to talk… but you have to remember… this is a quiet place… no shouting… no yelling. Inside voices…"

"Because Emma is sleeping…"

"Because Emma is sleeping…"

"Because you put stuff in her brain." Adam nodded.

"I didn't put stuff in her… cut that out." Derek said as Adam giggled.

"Are you going to kiss Meredith again?" Adam asked with a whisper.

"I think maybe we should take this one step at a time…" Derek said as he stood up and watched Adam look up at him.

"Sure… first step, you pucker your lips…" Adam said as he made a fish face as he sucked in his cheeks and moved his lips.

"Second step is you send your son to daycare for the rest of the day." Derek said as Adam stopped his puckering face and grinned at Derek.

"Inside voice." Adam said as he nodded toward the room as Derek shook his head and reached for the handle.

"You and your segues…" Derek said as he pushed the door open and walked inside, his Adam's hand in his as he became the center of attention once again. Meredith's eyes met his with a bit of a sparkle as Adam glanced to Derek first and ran toward her. "Adam." Derek said as he watched Adam stop in front of Meredith.

"Hi." He said as he lifted his hand and waved.

"Hi." Meredith said, her eyebrow raised as she glanced to Derek.

"I have to sit down now." He said as he waved toward Ellis. "Hi." And he turned to wave to Cristina. "Hi." He said again.

"Adam…" Derek said as he rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him.

"Bye." Adam said as he moved behind everyone and climbed into the chair that was empty as he swung his feet and waited for Derek's cue.

"Thank you." Derek said as he shook his head. He glanced to Ellis and watched as she smirked slightly as she glanced to Adam and back to Derek as she reached her hand out with the clipboard. "I'm sorry about that…" He said as he took a slow, deep breath and took the clipboard from Ellis' hand. "Just a little bit of a babysitting issue to…"

"I'm not a…" Adam started to interrupt as he closed his mouth and sat back in the chair, pouting as he stopped moving his legs.

"Alright…" Derek said as he stepped close to the bed and looked down at Emma. He watched her sleeping so peacefully, his eyes beginning to mist up just at the sight of her. "Alright…" Derek said again, clearing his throat. "Emma… Her surgery went very well…" Derek nodded. "There were no bleeds, and we were able to remove the fragments with no obvious damage… of course, as you know we won't know anything fully until she wakes up… and she's been given sedatives to help her sleep, so it may not be this evening…" He said as he realized that her tiny hand was in his. Somewhere along his explanation, he had grasped it, and with that tender gesture, he found that everyone was watching even more closely than before. He gently ran his warm hand over her skin as he smiled at the sleeping little girl. "So… right now is kind of a waiting game…" He said softly, his voice was so tender that it was almost a whisper. "But I think she'll be alright…" He whispered.

"Um…" Meredith whispered, clearing her throat slightly as his eyes lifted to meet hers. "There… were no complications?" She asked as Derek shook his head, his eyes directly on hers as he smiled slightly.

"No complications." Derek replied. Derek's eyes moved to Meredith's knee, having been covered with a blanket, he could see that she hadn't had an x-ray yet. "Have you had your knee looked at yet?" He asked as she shook her head and didn't reply, her eyes trained on his as Cristina finally spoke up.

"She hasn't... because she's an idiot." Cristina replied.

"Shut up, Cris… I was worried…Dr. Shepherd, this is my friend Cristina." Meredith replied as she glared at Cristina.

"Worried is an understatement. You didn't want pain killers, you wouldn't get an x-ray done… I think she needs a psych evaluation." Cristina said with a straight face as she looked at Derek. Derek chuckled slightly, his eyes passing to Meredith as she watched the humored expression on his face.

"What do you think about that, Doctor Shepherd?" Meredith asked Derek as he shook his head and smirked.

"I think you need your knee looked at." Derek nodded. "Doctor Grey, are you going to be here for a little while?"

"I can stay here with Emma…" Ellis nodded.

"Good." Derek said as he stood up straight and glanced to Adam. "We're going to take you down to x-ray, Mrs. McKennon, and…"

"Grey." Meredith interrupted as Derek gave her a curious glance. "Miss… Grey, Dr. Shepherd. I'm no longer married." She whispered.

"Miss Grey…" Derek nodded.

"You can call me Meredith…" She said with a slight giggle to her voice.

"And you…" Derek said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Can keep calling me Doctor Shepherd…" he said as he tried to remain serious. "I like the power…" He said with a laugh as Meredith let out a laugh that sent a smile to his face. "Let's get you downstairs…" He said as he watched Adam tilt his head to gauge what his father was going to do. "I will have my assistant here help me… Adam… come here…" Derek said as he ushered the little boy over.

He hopped from his chair and ran toward Derek, where he stopped on the side of Meredith's chair as he looked up at Derek. "Take the handles behind the wheelchair, and kick the brakes up." He said as he nodded toward the back of the chair as Adam ran around and kicked at both of the brakes that had been placed on the wheels. "Alright…" Derek said as he walked around the back of the wheelchair. "We'll be back in a few minutes…" Derek nodded as he let Adam hold the handles as he began to push the chair.

Adam ran around and opened the door for them, as Derek pushed the chair from the room. Meredith took a glance back at Emma as they exited the room, and Derek leaned down and kissed the top of her head lightly. "She'll be alright…" He whispered, as she reached her hand back and grasped his, as Adam ran around in front of Derek, and helped him push the wheelchair toward the elevator.

------------------

Derek and Adam pushed Meredith's wheelchair down the hallway in virtual silence, the evening was finally settling in, and the hospital was appearing less busy. Derek wanted to speak, but he wasn't sure exactly where to begin, and he knew Meredith's thoughts were most likely everywhere else but focused on him. Adam kept looking up at Derek as they walked and he shook his head as the little boy opened his mouth to say something.

"Not yet." Derek whispered to the little boy as he sighed.

"Why not yet? Why not yet?" he asked as Derek shook his head.

"Shh… not yet…"

"Daddy… then when?"

"Later…" Derek replied in a whisper.

"What are you two boys whispering about back there?" Meredith asked as she tried to turn her head. "You know it's not polite to whisper."

"I was just saying that…"

"Adam." Derek said as Adam looked up at him and sighed.

"Ughhh…" He said, letting out an agitated sigh. "Dad-dee!" Adam exclaimed.

"Add-Dummm" Derek said as he gave his son a smirk as Adam glared at him as they stopped for the elevator. Derek released the handles and Adam took a step back.

"Alright…" Meredith said as she reached her hand around and grabbed the wheel, she turned herself around in the wheelchair, watching the boys as their jaws dropped slightly. "I'm not an invalid…" She said as Adam chewed on his lower lip, and Derek stood right beside him, with the exact same look on his face. His lower lip in his mouth, his right hand was rubbing the back of his neck. "What's the big secret?" She asked.

"Secret?" Adam asked as he looked up at Derek with a confused expression.

"Secret?" Derek mumbled. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said as he started to walk around the chair. Meredith pulled the wheel and turned herself around, nearly hitting him with her leg. "Hey… be careful there, you're going to get hurt…" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Tell me what you two are whispering about…" Meredith said as she refused to put her back to them, rolling the chair in circles.

"Meredith, you're going to get dizzy…" Derek said as he laughed, continuing to walk around her as she continued to pull the wheel.

"Watch out, Meredith, you're going to puke!" Adam exclaimed as he giggled and stood in one spot as Derek continued to try to get behind her.

"Tell me what you're whispering about…" Meredith said with a laugh. "Or I'll puke all over your shoes…" She said as Derek stopped, laughing as she continued around in a full circle, he was able to grab the handle as the elevator door opened.

"Nope." Derek laughed as he nodded toward the elevator and chuckled as Adam ran into the elevator first, waiting for the two of them to follow.

They arrived at the radiology area and Derek looked to see if anyone was using the machines. He glanced to Meredith and gave her a soft smile as Adam peeked out from behind the wheelchair. "It looks like we're good to go…" Derek said as he gave her a smile. "Looks like you're getting the full tour a day before your internship starts, huh?" Derek said as he walked around behind the wheelchair.

"Wait…" Meredith said as she turned her head. Derek stopped the wheelchair and listened. "How did you know that I…"

"Mark." Derek replied as he began to push the wheelchair.

"Right…" Meredith said softly. "Mark… He talked about me?" Meredith asked, her thoughts were running through her head at top speed, her exhaustion was starting to get to her, and she was still very embarrassed about the phone call the previous night.

"He did…" Derek nodded as he nodded toward Adam, who ran over to the chair on the side of the room and sat down, giving a yawn as he smiled sleepily.

"What did he say?" Meredith asked as Derek started to look around in one of the shelves in the room.

"Oh… this and that…" Derek shrugged as he glanced to Meredith to see the exhausted look on her face. "He said he felt bad for leaving you at the park." Derek nodded. "He went back, you know…"

"He went back?" Meredith asked, her eyebrows raised as she smiled slightly.

"He was pretty disappointed that you weren't there." Derek said as he pulled a hospital gown from the shelf, he turned around and smiled.

"What is that?"

"Hospital gown." Derek said as he held it in his hand.

"I am not changing into a hospital gown." Meredith shook her head.

"You have to… hospital policy…" Derek shrugged.

"Derek…" Meredith muttered as she huffed.

"Daddy?" Adam said from his spot in the chair. Derek turned his head, raising his eyebrows. "Maybe she doesn't want to wear it because it's blue… do you have a pink one?"

"I think we might have a pink one…" Derek said as he turned around and started to shuffle through the shelf.

"Derek, I won't wear a pink one either…" Meredith mumbled as she shook her head.

Derek turned around and tossed a pink hospital gown on her lap. "The restroom is over there…" He said as he started to walk around the wheel chair, she glared at him and sighed.

"I've got it." She said as she pulled the wheelchair out of his grip and rolled toward the bathroom. Derek stood in the same spot as he watched her struggle with the wheelchair. She pulled it and tried to push it through the door, unlatching it and hitting it with her arms as she tried to pull herself inside. She glanced at Derek. "Thank you." She mumbled as she rolled backwards into the bathroom, as the door closed behind her.

Derek glanced to Adam as the little boy yawned again. "You're sleepy…" Derek said as the little boy nodded. Derek walked over to him and sat down beside him, letting the little boy rest his head on his arm as Derek put his arm around his son and kissed his head. "I'm pretty tired myself…" Derek said softly as he kissed his head again.

"Daddy?" Adam whispered as he looked up at his father's watchful gaze, his eyes meeting his with a sad, sorrowful glance.

"Hmm…?" Derek said as he watched Adam sigh.

"Is Emma really going to be okay, or are you just giving me a load?" He asked as Derek's eyes widened as he sat up.

"Giving you a load?" Derek asked with a smirk. "A load of what?"

"Dirty laundry…" Adam shrugged.

"Am I giving you a load of dirty laundry?" Derek asked as he shook his head and tried not to laugh at his son's sincere question. He tried to hide his smirk. "Am I giving you a load of dirty laundry…?" Derek asked as he moved his eyes to meet up with his son's sincere, curious gaze.

"Yeah… like… are you lying?"

"I'm not lying." Derek replied. "As far as we all know… she's going to be just fine." Derek said as he watched Adam sigh. "Are you worried?"

"Yeah…" He shrugged. "She's a pretty nice girl…"

"She's not high on the cootie chart?"

"No… she's on the chart…" Adam nodded with a giggle. "But I don't want her to be hurt." He shrugged as he yawned a big yawn and leaned his head on Derek's arm again. "Daddy?" He asked as he sighed again.

"Hmm?" He asked softly.

"Where's Meredith?" Adam asked as Derek looked down at his son's confused expression.

"She has been a while, hasn't she?" Derek asked as he watched Adam nod his head. "Stay here, okay?"

"Okay." Adam nodded as he watched Derek walk over to the bathroom.

Derek leaned his ear against the door for a moment, and hearing no movement, he knocked lightly. "Meredith?" He called softly as his eyes met with Adam's. He gave him a confused look and Adam shrugged. "Meredith, are you alright in there?" He asked again, knocking on the door lightly, he still heard nothing. He waited a few more seconds before he tried the handle, his hand pushing it down slightly as he opened the door a little farther. "Meredith?" He said as he waited to hear an answer. It wasn't a large bathroom, a handicapped access room that was used for changing and for the quick bathroom break, and when he saw the empty wheelchair, he became slightly more nervous, with his anxiety hitting the roof when he noticed her legs on the ground, her pants were around her ankles and she was lying on the floor in her panties, the hospital gown in her hands. "Oh no…" He muttered as he glanced out at Adam. "Stay there." He said sternly as Adam nodded his head as his brow furrowed. Derek stepped back into the bathroom quickly and knelt at Meredith's side. "Meredith… Meredith!" Derek said as he touched her shoulder gently. "Meredith, answer me." He said sternly as he suddenly realized.

Meredith hadn't fallen onto the floor. She had eased herself onto the floor… and she wasn't unconscious.

She was sleeping.

When Derek realized what he was only looking at an exhausted, broken, half naked woman sprawled across the floor, he almost laughed. He would have laughed if he didn't know that her daughter wasn't lying unconscious in a hospital room in the floor above them. He would have laughed if he hadn't lost her for the past year and a half to her own journey. He would have laughed if he knew that the moment she woke up she would be mortified and probably never speak to him again. He would have laughed, but he didn't. He knelt beside her and watched her sleep for a moment, her closed eyes so peaceful, her breathing so regular, her body so relaxed. "I've spent almost 78 hours with you, Meredith Grey…" He whispered. "Do you realize that you've spent the majority of that time sleeping?" He said with a light chuckle as he let his eyes roam over her body. Her body was leaning on her good knee, her other knee was swollen and purple in color. It looked so painful, it looked so angry, and yet she lay on that cold tile floor as peacefully as if she were cuddled in a warm blanket.

Derek contemplated what to do, knowing that if he moved her too much, she'd wake, but at the same time, he knew that he had to wake her. He dreaded doing it, for he knew her reaction, but he smirked at the thought that at least she couldn't run away from him. He stretched his legs and lay himself down against her, and smiled as she pushed her body back against his. She mumbled in her sleep and pushed her head back, tendrils of hair falling onto his face as he shook his head lightly and touched her cheek. "Meredith." He whispered as he tried to lift her quietly from her slumber. "Meredith?" He whispered.

Meredith mumbled softly and moved her face, breathing a tender sigh as she whimpered. "Meredith…?" He said softly.

"Ricky…" Meredith mumbled, and as soon as the words slipped from her lips, Derek began to sit up in alarm. He didn't want her to wake up with him beside her like that, not when she was whispering the name of her husband. He moved her slightly as he sat up, his voice slightly jarring her eyes open.

"Meredith." He said, his voice was nearly stern, but held so much love and tenderness. She stared at the wall in front of her, and Derek watched the color move up her cheeks as she realized where she was. "It's okay…" he whispered. "You just fell asleep in the bathroom." Derek said as she refused to look at him. "Are you alright?" He whispered. He watched her nod her head as she mumbled 'uh huh'. "Do you need help?" He whispered as she shook her head and swallowed hard. "I'll be right outside, okay? Call me if you need me…" He whispered.

"Okay." She said softly as she felt him move his warm body away from hers, standing up slowly. She could feel his eyes burning into her face as her cheeks continued to burn with embarrassment. She waited until she heard his feet on the floor, and the door opening slowly. She listened to the clack of the latch on the door, as she finally allowed the tears of embarrassment flow down her cheeks.

When Meredith was through in the bathroom, she was able to pull herself into the wheelchair, and she opened the door to the bathroom, pushing it behind her as she pulled the wheel on the wheelchair. Her clothes were in her lap, and she kept her eyes looking down at them as she pulled herself from the room. She could see Derek stand up out of the corner of her eye, and her face was pouty and sad as she stopped the wheelchair. He approached her and she lifted her eyes to his. He could tell she had been crying, and he wanted to comfort her, but as soon as her eyes hit his, they were deflected away from him, the embarrassment too much for her to deal with at the moment.

"Meredith?" Derek said as he started to walk toward her, he watched as she held her hand out to him.

"No." She said as she looked up into his eyes. "Just… just, no… Derek, No."

"No what?" He asked as he ignored her hand and knelt before her. "What are you saying 'no' to now?"

"No to… this." She said as she waved her hand between the two of them. "No… just…"

"This?" He said as he tilted his head. "What is 'this'?" He asked as he watched her eyes continue to be trained on his as he waved his hand between the two of them.

"Communication… and… comfortableness… and… You're my daughter's doctor." She said as she tilted her head.

"So? I'm many children's doctor." Derek shrugged.

"But not… there can't be any of… of this…" She said as she continued to wave her hand between them. "You're my daughter's doctor… and when I work here, you'll be my… my boss… oh God… I'm hurt… how am I going to be able to start my internship… oh God…" She groaned as she rested her forehead in her hand and began to cry a little.

"Meredith, you really need to get some sleep." Derek whispered as he reached for her hand, watching her slap his hand as he moved it out of the way swiftly.

"Hey… what was that for?"

"You're trying to do that thing… that thing where you're sweet and kind and wonderful… and I can't do that, Derek… because I'm not that way. I'm not sweet, I'm not kind… I'm selfish, and I'm exhausted… and I'm embarrassed… and… and… and Mark… he came back… and I didn't even get a chance to thank him yet, and I needed to apologize to him… for something. Where did he go? Did he leave because… because you…"

"Kissed you?" Derek whispered.

"Yes." She said as she gave him a confused look. "Because you did that… you… did that… why?"

"Because I like you." He said softly. "I like you, and I wanted you to know that. Do you like me?" He asked as he tilted his head.

"Derek, stop acting like we're six years old!" She squeaked as he reached for her hand again, only to be slapped harder. "Derek, stop it!" She shouted.

"Daddy!" Adam exclaimed as both of their attention went to the little boy as he stood on the floor by the chair. "She said no." He said as he stomped his foot. Derek stood up and glanced to his son.

"You're right…" He said as he sighed. "She did say no…" He said as he turned toward Meredith and took a slow, deep breath. "Meredith." He said as he released the breath slowly. "I'm sorry." He said as he turned and started to walk away. She watched as he walked past Adam and out into the hallway.

"Uh oh…" Adam mumbled as he glanced to Meredith.

"What? What, uh oh?"

"He's taking a time out, breather…" Adam said as he watched Derek standing just outside the door.

"A time out, breather?" Meredith asked.

"Uh huh…" Adam nodded. "When daddy gets mad and doesn't want to yell… he takes a time out, breather… He must be mad cuz I shouted at him."

Meredith watched the little boy's thumb lift to his mouth, his tiny fingernail finding its way between his teeth as he nibbled at it. Derek then turned around and walked back into the room. Without a word he walked across toward Meredith, he pointed at the chair next to Adam, and Adam silently jumped into it as Derek began to silently prepare the x-ray machine for Meredith without a second glance.

The exam was quiet and clinical, and from the look on Derek's face, Meredith could see that it was how he'd prefer that it go. He was tender and kind to her, but his features were now determined and less friendly, more doctor like than she had ever seen before. He instructed her for the x-ray and when it was time for the MRI, he escorted her to the machine, with Adam by his side, quiet and polite as he continually watched his father's eyes, even when he sat in a nearby chair and watched everything quietly.

When the tests were completed, and they waited for the results, Derek watched Adam yawn once again. He glanced to his watch and could see that it was well past 9 o'clock, Adam's bed time, and the little boy was slowing down considerably. Derek walked to the chair where Adam had been drifting off, and he crouched beside it as Meredith sat across the room watching them.

"Hey…" Derek said softly as he gently placed his hand on his son's cheek.

"Are you still mad with me and Meredith?" Adam whimpered as he rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand.

"I was never mad at you, or Meredith." He whispered as he ran his fingers through his son's hair.

"But you… you went out for a time out." Adam mumbled as Derek nodded.

"I know…" He replied. "I just have a lot on my mind." Derek whispered.

"You're worried about Emma too…?" He whispered as he raised his eyebrows at Derek.

"Emma is on my mind… yes…" Derek shook his head. "You're a nosy kid… do you know that?"

"I have to look out for you, Daddy. It's just you and me…" He said as he gave Derek a playful punch in the arm. "We're in it together…"

"We are…" Derek said as he gave his son a nudge on the shoulder as Adam began to yawn again. "We're going to bring Meredith down to Emma's room now." Derek said softly as he watched Adam nod slowly. "Do you need a lift?" he asked as Adam smiled as Derek held his arms out for him. He put his hands up and wrapped them around Derek's neck, as Derek positioned him where he was most comfortable. "That's right…" Derek said as the little boy rested his head on his father's shoulder, pushing his face into his neck softly as Derek groaned slightly as he lifted the little boy up. He turned around just in time to see Meredith avert her eyes and he shifted Adam slightly in his arms, as he walked over toward her and stood behind her. He took a slow, deep breath and sighed. "We're going to take you down to Emma's room… and someone from ortho will bring your knee brace and your test results." He said quietly as he watched Meredith nod, and without another word, he began to push her wheelchair to bring her down toward the elevators. "I'll have a nurse bring you a pair of scrubs to change into, and we'll have an extra bed in the room for you, so that you can stay with Emma." He whispered.

Derek watched her nod, and he pushed the wheelchair to the elevators. She remained silent the entire trip, her head bowed slightly as she continued to think, each and every second that he was behind her. She wanted to speak up, but she had absolutely no idea what to say, or how to continue from where they had left their conversation off. She wanted him to speak, but she knew that he wouldn't. He was respecting her wishes and he was keeping his distance, and the longer he did that, the more alone she felt.

Derek watched her very closely the entire trip, he could nearly feel her emotions snaking away from him, her willpower shrinking, her happiness was gone, her daughter in pain and broken. She was broken too. Not only that, but the job that she had worked so hard to obtain. The schooling that she had fought every step of the way to catch up with was yet again postponed. Her knee may not be broken, it may just be sprained, but it was going to be impossible for her to begin her internship in this condition. They stepped off the elevator, and Derek continued down the hallway toward Emma's room silently.

He wanted to touch her shoulder, he wanted to comfort her. He wanted to hold her, to talk to her, to find out what kept her away from him, and it all boiled down to one thing.

She wasn't his to begin with.

But why did he care? Why did she consume his thoughts? Why did the fact that she never called him, never asked him for help, never looked for him, why did it shake him to the core? She was, after all just one woman, and then it hit him. It hit him harder than that first meeting when her shoe slammed into the back of his skull on that miserable Christmas eve.

He stopped.

"Derek?" Meredith asked as she turned her head to look up at him. He was standing behind her, his eyes staring straight ahead. He had his other arm securely around Adam as he rested, perhaps even sleeping against his father's shoulder. "Derek, are you alright?"

"Why did you keep it, Meredith?" He asked as he looked down, his eyes catching with hers.

"What?" She whispered.

"The slinky… the gift… why did you keep it?" He asked as she bit her lower lip.

"Derek?"

"Meredith…it has been on my mind…. Since you showed it to me… it's been sitting in the back of my mind. I left the hospital with the thought that I may see you again… if you called me, if you needed me… and you never did… but you kept that gift, Meredith… and She…Emma… Emma grabbed it… she wanted it… and…"

"Derek." Meredith said as she shook her head.

"What?" He whispered.

"She wasn't grabbing the slinky." She whispered.

"What?" Derek whispered.

"She was trying to get a candy necklace that I had put on the television stand… that's why she was climbing on it." Meredith said. Her voice wasn't cold or hurtful, only knowing, as she watched the hope drain from Derek's eyes. "I'm sorry that I blamed you." She whispered. "I shouldn't have done that… and I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Oh." He said as he nodded his head, trying to hide the disappointment in his eyes, he gave her a sad smile. "Well… um… well, we're here." He said as he nodded toward the room as they stepped up to it.

"Yeah…" She said as she gave him a hopeful smile as she watched him reach for the door handle as he pushed his back against it. She turned her head back and stared out into the hallway as he backed her into the room again. He turned her around slowly, as if he were trying to ease her back into the reality of the situation, and found her mother sitting quietly at her daughter's bedside, her eyes still closed peacefully, Ellis' hand in hers as she whispered that her mommy had returned, and announcing to Meredith that Cristina had said she'd return in the morning.

Derek took a step back as he let Meredith take control of the wheelchair, moving it close to the bed as he shifted Adam in his arms and took another step back. "I… should get him to bed." He nodded, as Meredith glanced to him as she reached the bed. "I'll be in to check on Emma when I get in, in the morning." He said as he gave her a sad smile as she watched him turn toward the door.

"Derek." Meredith said as he turned his head to face her as she gave him a sad smile. "Thank you." She whispered. "For everything."

"Yeah…" he said as he nodded his head. "She'll be alright…" he whispered.

"Are you?" She asked as Derek's eyebrows raised and he gave her a fake smile and a nod.

"Yeah…" he said as he nodded and gritted his teeth in his smile. "Yeah, I'll be just fine…" He said as he pretended to brush the awkwardness off. "I um… I just got to get home… get him to bed… and maybe deal with a load of dirty laundry…" He said as he swallowed hard and took another step backwards. "Goodnight, Dr. Grey." Derek nodded toward Ellis. "Goodnight, Meredith… sweet dreams, Emma bear." He said as he slowly turned, and walked out of the room.

Ellis sat with her daughter as she sat at Emma's side, her eyes never left the tiny girl as she lie peacefully on the bed. They sat for nearly an hour as they waited for the doctor from Orthopedics to show up. Meredith let her finger roll over her daughter's skin time and again, as her thumb brushed against something that was pressed against her daughter's skin. Meredith turned Emma's hand over, and found attached to the center of her palm, a tiny sticker shaped like a heart. She glanced to Ellis and tilted her head as she swallowed hard.

"I watched him put that there." Ellis whispered.

"What?" Meredith asked as she looked up at her mother's eyes as she shifted in her chair slightly.

"Derek." Ellis whispered. "I watched him put that sticker on her hand." She whispered. "After the surgery. He pulled the sticker from her chart and put it on her hand."

"I don't…"

"It's just in case she wakes up." Ellis whispered as she glanced to her granddaughter. "If she wakes up and no one is around… or you're sleeping when she wakes up… She'll see it when her eyes open… and she'll smile." Ellis whispered. "I used to do that with my young patients… it distracts them from the scariness of the situation." Ellis said as Meredith turned her head and stared at the sticker in her daughter's palm. She ran her finger over it softly as she took a slow, whispering breath.

"I'm tired." She whispered as she glanced to Ellis.

"I know." Ellis replied. "Once you have the brace on… you can get some sleep." She whispered as Meredith nodded.

Meredith continued to stare at the sticker, her finger circling it as her mind raced in so many different places. She sighed and swallowed hard, trying so hard not to look at her mother as she watched Emma sleep. "How am I supposed to sleep when she's lying here… so helpless… so alone?"

"She's not alone." Ellis replied. "And she's certainly not helpless, Meredith. She's a strong little girl… she's so strong."

"I wish I were strong." Meredith whispered.

"Meri…" Ellis whispered as she shook her head. "Stop being so hard on yourself. You can't be there every second of her life…" She said as her head snapped in her mother's direction. "You know what I mean by that." She said as she shook her head. "I made some mistakes, Meredith… and we've talked about it… and I'm sorry. It's the truth though, Meri… you can feed them and give them nourishment… and you can chase them everywhere to make sure they don't touch something too hot, or walk too close to the road… but you have to let them learn and grow for themselves. She made a mistake, and she had an accident… and it's no one's fault."

"I could have lost her today." Meredith whispered. "I could have lost her, Mom… and then where would I be? I would be nothing… I would have nothing… and I would have died on the inside… and…"

"Meredith." Ellis said as she shook her head. "Don't take this the wrong way… please… but stop making yourself miserable. Yes… I wasn't a fantastic mother… we didn't have holidays and birthdays and happy beach moments… but no one says it has to be that way for you. Stop being so close minded… you let people in just so far, and then you hold your hands out with all of your strength to stop them. There is no malice intent, Meredith… there is no…"

"Mom… stop talking about Derek." She said as she put her hand to her head and rubbed her forehead. "Just… stop talking about him…"

"Why do you push him away, Meredith? He's just trying to be your friend."

"Because… Just… because, alright? I don't want to talk about him, I don't want to deal with him! I just want to sleep! I want to go to sleep! He's Emma's doctor… that's all he is…"

"Meredith." Ellis whispered.

"Mom." Meredith said as she glared at her mother as there was a light knock on the door as the ortho doctor stepped in.

"Ms. Grey?" She said with a smile as Meredith nodded as she held out her hand for Meredith. "I'm Dr. Storey." She said politely as she shook Meredith's hand.

Meredith's eyes moved to her mother and Ellis stood up slowly. "I'm going to go secure that bed for you, Meri… and ask about an on call room or something to rest in. Let you have some privacy for your exam…"

"Okay…" Meredith whispered as she watched Ellis walk toward the door. "Mom…" She said as she watched Ellis turn and raise her eyebrows in Meredith's direction. "If he didn't want to leave… he wouldn't have." Meredith whispered.

"I already said what I thought, Meri… if it is you that is having second thoughts about having him leave, it's up to you to deal with it. Stop making your life and your situations harder than they already are… give yourself some happiness, you've earned it." She said softly as she turned and walked from the room.

Ellis walked down the hallway and lifted the phone to her ear. She glanced into a darkened waiting room as she sighed, stepping into the room, she closed the door behind her. The room was dark except for the ambient light of the hallway, and she peeked out into the hallway as she waited for someone to answer. "Yes…" She said into the phone. "Chief Grey…" She said as she listened to the person on the other line. "I need my appointments held… I'm going to be in New York for a few more days… Yes…" She nodded as she sighed. "She's doing alright… holding herself together as best as she can… The surgery went very well… very well… we had the fortunate find of Doctor Shepherd here in New York. He is absolutely amazing… I feel like an idiot for letting him go…" Ellis said with a sigh as she heard a noise in the room. "Hold on a second." She said as she listened closely. She could hear the soft snoring of someone in the room. She put the phone back to her ear and whispered. "I'll call back in a little while." She said softly as she flipped her phone closed and listened to the snoring for a moment as she moved toward the door to find another room.

"I don't feel like an idiot for leaving." Derek's voice made her jump, her hand trembled on the handle as she turned.

"Doctor Shepherd?" She said as she pushed the button for the light, sending the room into a fluorescent glow as she backed up against the door.

"Yep…" Derek said as he squinted in the light, his eyes watching her for a moment as she tried to get used to the light.

"What are you doing sitting in here in the dark?"

"What kind of room is this, Doctor Grey?" Derek asked.

"Waiting room…" She mumbled as she looked back and forth at the empty chairs, her eyes finally resting on the man sitting on the small couch in the room, his son curled up beside him sleeping soundly with his father's jacket resting over him.

"And that is what I'm doing." He whispered.

"What are you waiting for?" Ellis asked as she continued to stand against the door, her head tilting.

"I'm waiting… for… Christmas… I'm waiting for it to rain. I'm waiting for it to snow, waiting… for morning, waiting for sleep to beckon, I'm waiting for my heart to stop breaking, and I'm waiting for Emma to wake up… whichever comes first… I want to make sure I don't miss it." He shrugged.

"I thought you left." Ellis replied.

"I told you… I'm not walking away." He replied. "I can't walk away. I can't walk out of this hospital without telling her how I feel. I can't let her walk out of here without her listening… so I'm sitting here… waiting… waiting for my turn, waiting for her to talk to me… waiting for her to see me… I'm just waiting." He whispered.

"What about Adam… do you think it's fair to him to have to sleep here while you wait?"

"He told me to wait." Derek replied. "Doctor Grey… Have you ever had something that you loved so absolutely dearly… something that just… made your heart flutter when it was near, and made your nightmares seem even more real when it was taken away? Have you ever felt that pain?"

"What do I look like to you, a psychiatrist?" Ellis asked as she stepped into the room and walked toward Derek.

"Unless you sit down next to me and listen to me wallow in self pity… I'm going to tell everyone that you miss me." Derek said as Ellis rolled her eyes, turned and sat down beside him.

"Go on." She said as she gave him a playful smirk. Derek shook his head and tipped it back, resting it against the wall. He sat for a long time saying nothing, as if he were trying very hard to find the exact words. Ellis was never one for patience, so she reached to him and placed her hand on top of his. "Derek." She said as he lifted his head. He looked directly into her eyes, and she could literally feel the pain that he was feeling. "Don't let her do this to you." Ellis whispered.

"Doctor Grey…"

"No." Ellis said as she leaned back and watched his eyes. "You missed your opportunity to wallow in self pity… you paused… no pausing… I'm going to tell you what I want to tell you." She said as she pointed at him and turned her head. "My daughter ran away with that man, Doctor Shepherd. Rick… or whatever his name was… she was head over heels in love with that man, and I couldn't figure out for the life of me why she wanted to waste her life with him. He had no drive, no ambition… but he made her happy…" She said as she turned her head to look into Derek's eyes. "His family was nothing but a walking, talking unemployment check, and my daughter was going to do great things with her life… so I thought…" Ellis said softly as she cleared her throat. "I wasn't the horrible ogre that she makes me sound like I was… I didn't force her out of my home… I didn't disown her…" She said softly. "What I did do… was tell her… that if she didn't get her act together… and finish school… and make something of her life, anything… if she turned into one of those people… that I didn't want to see her… because my daughter is not a pan handler… and my daughter is not a begger. My daughter is a strong, capable young woman with a mind of her own, and she didn't need another person telling her what to do with her life." Ellis said with a sigh.

"I told her that it was her life… and she needed to take it where she wanted it to go." She whispered. "What I didn't see… was that… Rick was not like his parents… he did care for my daughter… he loved her with all of his heart and he worked himself sick trying to provide for them. He had her going to school… he made her get a job… he was helping her, supporting her, loving her… and I didn't get to see that." Ellis said softly. "He took her from me, Derek. That's what I wanted to believe, but when it came down to it… I forced her away… and now… now my daughter is sitting in that room holding her baby's hand… the only link she has with the man that she had professed her soul to… holding her hand and praying… just… so hard that those eyes will open, and she'll look at her… and say 'mommy.'" Ellis whispered. "But do you know what is more painful for her right now, Derek? Do you know the real reason that her heart is broken?"

"Hmm…?" Derek mumbled as he listened intently.

"She is feeling so much guilt… and pain, deep in her heart… because despite the fact that Emma is her link to Rick… and she almost lost her today… she still can't stop thinking about you, that day that you met... and that kiss." She whispered with a smirk. "You really sealed her heart with that kiss, Derek... it was a good move..."

"Doctor Grey…" Derek rolled his eyes and sighed as Ellis grabbed his chin with her hand and turned his head to face him.

"Don't you dare, Doctor Grey me when I'm talking to you…" She said sternly. "If you think that I'm going to let you brush this aside because she thinks she knows what's best for her? If she knew what was best for her, Derek… she wouldn't have thrown your phone number in the trash that day. She needs you, Derek… now more than ever."

"And I'm waiting." Derek whispered.

"No." Ellis replied. "There's been enough waiting… no more waiting… you need to be pro-active… You're on deck, Derek… it's the bottom of the ninth and the bases are loaded with two outs, and the other team is up by two runs… you need to step up to the plate… you need to knock it out of the park, Derek... You need to knock the cover off the ball and you need to slide in head first." She said as she shook her head. "Stop stalling!"

"Did you just use a baseball metaphor on me?" Derek asked as she moved her hand from his chin.

"I did." She nodded. "I thought… you're a guy… that's the way guys think…"

"You don't hang out with many guys, do you?" Derek asked as she shook her head in disbelief. He chuckled a little as he sighed. Derek sat in silence as he let the older doctor's words seep into his mind. He sighed as he glanced to Ellis. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead." She shrugged.

"If you like me so much… or whatever… why would you and Mark's mother set Meredith up with Mark?" He asked as he watched her stare off straight ahead with a slight smirk on her face. He watched as her cheeks turned slightly red, and she didn't say a word, only smirked. "Oh my God!" Derek said with a laugh as he sat up. "Oh my God, you were trying to get Meredith laid!" Derek laughed. "Ha!" Derek exclaimed loudly as Ellis leaned forward and let her head rest in her hands for a moment.

She looked up at him and pointed her finger at him as he laughed. "Don't you dare tell her that!" She exclaimed as Derek continued to laugh. His face was red from laughter as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh man… oh… haha…" Derek said as he tried to catch his breath, he looked down at Adam as he lay cuddled beside him.

"How did the date go, anyway?" Ellis asked as she watched Derek tilt his head and wipe a tear of laughter from his cheek.

"He was there for ten minutes, and was paged…" Derek shrugged. "You could have set her up with me…" He said with a smirk. "Don't tell me you didn't know I was in the city… I know you keep tabs on how things are going… you knew that she was going to be working at my hospital…" Derek shook his head.

"I figured it'd take a natural progression." Ellis nodded. "I didn't think that it would happen under these circumstances." She sighed.

"Who would have thought…" Derek said as he shook his head. "Ellis Grey… world famous surgeon… match maker… and pimp." He laughed as Ellis' face turned bright red as she shook her head and tried not to let him see her laugh, as he continued to laugh with her, as they leaned on one another in comfort.

Meredith sat in the room in her wheelchair, the orthopedic doctor had fitted her with a knee brace, finding that her kneecap wasn't broken, she was just suffering from a torn tendon and a bruised bone. He advised her to ice it properly, and be sure to wear the brace, and recommended that she stay off of it as best as she could for several weeks.

She huffed angrily as she waited for her mother, hoping that she would bring her a change of clothes. The hospital gown was drafty, and all she wanted to do was get a bed into the room so that she could sleep. She could feel her eyes drooping as she yawned and held Emma's hand in hers, leaning down to kiss her tiny fingertips as she whispered to the little girl.

Meredith's attention was then brought to the sound of the door opening. The doctor had pulled the curtain to block the door, so Meredith couldn't see the person entering the room, and she assumed it was her mother. "Mom?" Meredith said as she listened to the person behind the curtain as they stood beside the door, closing it carefully. "Mom, did you get the bed? I just… I just want to go to sleep… no more talking about Emma or Derek… I just want to get some sleep." She said softly as she yawned. She furrowed her brow at the fact that the person behind the curtain had not come out yet and she turned the wheelchair in that direction. "Mom? Are you alright?" She asked as she rolled the wheelchair closer to the curtain. "Mom?" She said as she was only two feet from the curtain, and reached for it, when she watched something slide out from beneath it, sending a slight puff in the curtain as she followed the object with her eyes. It slid to her wheelchair, stopping right beside her, she looked down at it in confusion and then back up at the door.

It was a shoe. A man's shoe.

She knew who it was, it could only be one person, and she hid her smirk as she glanced at the shoe and back up at the curtain.

"Look in the shoe…" She heard a soft whisper from behind the curtain, she couldn't help but let out a giggle. She furrowed her brow and looked down, bending at the waist, she lifted the shoe into her hand. Inside, there was a tiny piece of paper. Very slowly, she opened the paper, her eyes on the curtain as she let her eyes drop to the note.

M,

Please let me in.

D.

P.S. I have another shoe, and I know how to use it.