Disclaimer: It seems like Derek is about to propose any minute now on the show. There are no words to describe how happy that makes me. Not as happy as if someone let me own the show...

Sorry this took a bit longer than planned! Mainly, the update ended up being a lot longer than planned because I decided to kind of combine to update ideas into one massive update because it felt like it floweed better so here it it. And the italicized part is a flashback so be prepared for those happening occasionally.

Enjoy!

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Derek breathed as he looked over the chart and the numbers blurred and danced around in front of his face. It was another tumor removal, another simple tumor removal that only made him want to groan and stare out the window instead of studying ahead for the simple surgery that he was going to do the next morning. He hadn't known what to expect when him and Mark had decided in high school to one day open a practice together but it hadn't been the constant need to stare out the window at the city surrounding them. It wasn't like the window even gave him a good view, just more of the same cold buildings that made up his life. He defintiely hadn't been expecting this.

Derek sighed as he flipped the page of the chart, looking at the results of the tests he had performed the week before and tried to remember that this patient had a wife and family and he should care, even if it was a beyond simple procedure, it probably didn't feel simple to the patient.

It was important. Saving lives was important and there was no way he was bored with it.

Derek was pretty sure that he just needed some time off. It had been a while since either Mark or him had been able to take more than a week off and he probably just needed some time to breathe, away from the wedding planning and away from the practice, just a few days to relax away from everything his head back on straight.

Because this was his life.

His gaze fell on the pictures on his desk, of him and Mark the day they had officially opened the practice and of him and Madie the day he had proposed to her at her favourite restaurant and a final one of the family at the last big family gathering. It was a good life, it was a really good life. He was happy. He at least looked like a happy man in those picture, the smile spread across his face, the casual way he looked relaxed, it was pictures of a happy man surrounded by people and things he loved.

He had a happy life and he just needed a breather from it. It had never happened before but he was pretty sure it had to be normal; everyone needed vacations.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he leaned back in the chair, temporarily letting himself forget about the upcoming surgery and his need to escape everything for a few days. He just need to relax and think of something else, some other time when things had felt easier or at least more possible.

She was drenched from head to toe.

It was the first thing he had noticed when he had pulled into his driveway and cut the engine, his glance falling down the street to another driveway where the girl stood. The rain was coming down in sheets, soaking everything in its path, leaving everything more than a little water logged, including the girl. She wasn't facing him, she was looking out the other way, her arms wrapped around her and he couldn't even make out the colour of her hair with the water drenching it. Her clothes were clinging to her body, the red shirt hugging her curves. And she just stood still, not an inch or her body moving despite the cool rain hitting her hard.

He wasn't sure why he was slowly moving toward her, ignoring the rain hitting him and the damage it would later do to his curls.

"Excuse me?" he asked as he approached her. "Do you need some help?"

"Oh!" she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, suddenly swirling around in the rain to face him, and he bit back his own soft gasp as her eyes met his. They danced in the rain, a mix of green and gold fighting to beat the other one out, sparkling in a way that made him want to fall into them or something. "I…no…I'm…I'm good, of course I'm good, you don't…no, help, don't need…good."

"Hmmm…" he breathed, frowning slightly at her. "Do you have hyporthermia?"

"I…I'm pretty sure it's not that cold," she mirrored his frown.

"It's not but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a complete sentence so I was wondering if maybe brain damage or something."

"You just met me and you're accusing me of having brain damage?"

"I didn't actually mean...sorry," he laughed softly.

"It's probably a good thing you look like that," she smirked.

"Like what?"

"I…nevermind," she shook her head quickly, her one hand going to play around her tiny wrist. "I'm just…I'm fine. It's raining and I was…it's okay, just…go inside or do whatever you were doing and…I'm fine. I'm just standing…in the rain. I like the rain so it's good."

"You're standing in the rain because you like the rain?"

"I…I can't find my key," she sighed. "I came home and I thought I had my key but I think I left it at school and my mom…is not home because…I can't find my key."

"Okay," he nodded slowly, looking at her house over her shoulder. "Why aren't you standing on the porch? It looks dry."

"My luggage is on the porch staying dry."

"Okay," he nodded slowly again. "So you'd rather your luggage stay dry than you to stay dry?"

"Yeah," she shrugged.

"But you could dry your clothes if they got wet."

"I could," she giggled, the soft sound filling the air around them. It was melodic and innocent and didn't match the fire that was flashing in her eyes and Derek couldn't help the way his heart tripped. "But it's also books and stuff that can't be dried out so…luggage wins."

"You could catch a cold," he argued.

"Are you a dad or something?"

"What? No."

"That's just…it's a very parenty thing to say."

"No, it's…" he frowned as she bit her bottom lip, the giggle already having disappeared somewhere into the rainy night but her eyes were still sparkling like they were giggling. "I…I'm not a dad. I'm a med student, it was a doctory thing to say, not a parenty thing to say and those aren't even words."

"And yet you used them."

"Because I was making a point."

"A point that you were in med school," she nodded. "Do you use that to pick girls up or something? Because it might work."

"I wasn't…it could work?"

"Not on me," she shook her head quickly, the soft giggle filling the air again, causing Derek's heart to trip again. "You already lost any chance you had on me when you accused me of having brain damage."

"I wasn't…this isn't me trying to pick you up...I'm just saying…you could get sick," he sighed, running his fingers through his now sobbing wet curls and taking a deep breath of the cool early summer air, realizing suddenly that he felt flustered in a way he didn't remember feeling since around the time he graduated high school, put on some muscle and bought his motorcycle. He didn't get flustered around girls anymore, he wasn't that dorky band geek guy who couldn't hold a normal conversation anymore and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"Well, if you're in med school you should know that standing in the rain doesn't cause a cold, a virus does, Dr…"

"Shepherd," he smiled, taking another deep breath as he offered her his hand. "Derek."

"Grey," she nodded seriously, her eyes still twinkling. "Meredith."

"At least come over to my place to dry off and warm up," he sighed, not moving his hand away from hers, because somehow despite the fact they were now drenched and he figured she had to be colder than he was, there was a warmth where their hands connected that he couldn't begin to understand. "Grab your stuff and you can wait there. My mom probably even has cookies or something."

"I don't…I'm good here," she shrugged.

"Mer, it's pouring rain and freezing."

"I'm good," she nodded. "I don't…I said I like the rain and I do. So you can…you go dry off and warm up and I'll just…stay here."

"I'm not leaving you out here alone to freeze to death."

"I'm not going to freeze to death," she giggled. "And if you're so worried about me, you can stay out here with me."

"I could," he nodded slowly.

"Stay out here and stand in the rain with me, Derek."

"Okay," he breathed, his hand tightening around hers, soaking in the heat that the slight contact offered. "Okay."

"Good," she giggled, suddenly throwing her head back to look up into the clouds, almost as if she had forgotten that it was pouring rain as she spun around in a fast circle, giggling as the rain hit her face and dancing slightly to music that Derek almost could believe was playing. And suddenly he found himself fighting the urge to pull the waterlogged girl he had just met into his arms and dancing along with her, pretending that music was surrounding them instead of the rain and forgetting all about school and everything but holding her close and listening to her giggle. But he couldn't, she was a stranger and he couldn't hold her. So instead he watched as she danced between the rain drops.

"Are you crazy or something?" he chuckled.

"Maybe," she giggled, suddenly catching her pink bottom lip with her teeth, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Why? Need some crazy in your life?"

"Maybe."

"Derek?" Madeline's soft voice came from outside his door, suddenly breaking him out of his thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh…" he breathed, snapping his head up to look at his fiancé leaning against the door frame, her straight blonde hair falling around her face as she frowned at him. "Sorry, thinking about a surgery," he explained in a rush.

"Should have known," she rolled her eyes, pulling herself off the door to move into his office, dropping down on the couch. "I am going to have some of your attention over dinner, right? You're not just going to sit and stare and dream about cutting?"

"Of course not," he frowned.

"It's all you've been doing recently, Derek," she sighed.

"Sorry," he murmured, looking down at his desk, at the picture of them that always sat there. He loved her, he had no idea if he was as happy as he was supposed to be or if that happiness even really existed, but he did love her and somehow he had never managed lying while looking her in the eyes. He didn't want to lie and he wasn't about to lie, but he also wasn't about to tell her about the thoughts of a long ago ...friend that were filling his head and taking up the place that probably should have been spent thinking about surgeries.

"It's okay," she shrugged. "I was thinking after the venue search we could go home, have some wine and...enjoy our evening."

"That sounds good, Mads," he nodded, getting up to shove the rest of his paperwork into his briefcase.

"It's been a while."

"I know it has," he sighed. "I am sorry. My head's just all full with work and the wedding and everything. Tonight will be good to relax and we need it."

"I think I'll find a way or two to empty it out tonight," she breathed.

"Oh," he breathed, looking up from his bag to stare at her finace, her straight pure blonde hair a world away from the dark golden waves that had been plaguing his mind minutes before. He attempted an encouraging smile, something to make her think that the idea of emptying out his brain with her sounded appealing, because it should, he knew it should. He looked into her bright blue eyes, and really tried to get excited for the busy night they had ahead. It was going to be good, he wanted it to be good. "We can do that."

"Good," she breathed, standing up to come and wrap her arms around him and his arms wrapped around her tiny waist as she kissed him gently.

"I..." he sighed, pulling away quickly to hit the button on his answering machine to check it one last time, breathing as the automated voice filled the room announcing that he had one last message on his machine. "How about you head to the car and I'll meet you there as soon as I check this message? It's just boring doctor stuff."

"Isn't it always?" she rolled her eyes, kissing him quickly again, her fingers working through his perfect styled curls. "I'll see you in the car."

"I'll be right out," he nodded.

"Good," she smiled, turning to walk away and Derek's eyes followed her quickly. Madeline was perfect. He realized this, the way her blonde hair fell down along her back, ending just as her waist went in, the tiny waist he knew she got from spending hours at the gym. She was perfect. She was funny and sexy and caring and everything anyone would ever want. He knew he was lucky, he was lucky to have her and he was lucky that he was going to marry her. Derek realized as she smiled at him over her shoulder right before she stepped out of his office that he had no reason to be anything short of perfectly happy with the woman he had managed to find.

He sighed to himself as he picked up his phone and sunk into his office chair, the expensive leather one she had bought him as an engagement gift a few months before. She had paid a lot of money for it and it was supposed to be comfortable, it was supposed to be the kind of chair he could spend hours sitting in and not feeling the need to move.

Except recently all he wanted to do was move around, to get of the chair and do something, to do something different.

He closed his eyes as he listened to the message, a smile spreading across his face at the sudden memory of the way Meredith fingers had felt working their way through his completely destroyed curles the night they had met.

I was ready to settle for
Less than love and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
Oh, but that was on the day before you

And that is how the story of Meredith and Derek began...at least that part of the story because that's not the whole story but that was there first meeting, that was how Derek had met his neighbour that he though was kind of crazy and yet...he stood outside in the rain with her because he's Derek and she's Meredith. And I'm not revealing where things went from there, not yet...I'm just saying, that's how they met and how they were, compare to Derek and Madeline and I shall stop with the rambling now.

I will probably update this tomorrow...if not, probably Sunday.

Read. Love. Review.