I have had an extended absence, lol. I know. This has become a common occurrence in my new found busy life. I apologize. Thank you soooooo much for all the wonderful reviews! They definitely make my day and keep me writing. I'm sorry about the nothing to separate the scene thing. I know, it seems jumpy and there's nothing I put in between scenes, but when I do put something to separate, it messes up the whole file. So, I'm terribly sorry, but there's nothing I can do. Now, the good thing about long absences (or it may be a bad thing?) is that when I finally do post, there is a LOT to read! I hope you enjoy this, if you love it, review, if you hate it, review. On with it!

Day 14...

Meredith pulled the covers up carefully, trying to slip out of bed as discreetly as possible. Derek was asleep next to her, and she didn't want to wake him. He even looks McDreamy when he sleeps, she thought.

"Don't go," Derek mumbled, tugging her gently back into him.

"I have to go," Meredith said with a smile, turning in his arms and facing him. "I have to work."

"No you don't," Derek said, his eyes remaining closed. "I'm your boss. I'm not making you go to work today."

"Technically, Dr. Webber is my boss. Because he's your boss, and therefore, he decides rather I come or not," Meredith pointed out.

"Very small technicality," Derek said, opening his eyes and smiling at her. Meredith rolled her eyes slightly, trying to not let his smile and eyes effect her. Something about the look that he was giving her at that moment made her want to give in and just lie in bed with him all day long, especially considering the fact that it offered a wonderful opportunity to hide from her mother all day. She changed her gaze, focusing on the clock behind him rather than his eyes, smile, and overall facial expression.

"We're late," she said with a sigh.

"See! We're already late, no point in getting up now," Derek said with a smirk.

Finally, after a lot of debating, kissing, and trying to coax, Meredith convinced Derek that they had to go in to the hospital. Only under the agreement, though, that Derek was allowed to drive her in, and kiss, touch, or throw flirty glances at her wherever and whenever in the hospital he wanted to. Meredith regretfully agreed and they finally settled on a compromise.

"This opportunity won't rise very often, so don't count on this ever happening again," Meredith warned.

"I know, which is why I plan to take full advantage of it," Derek said with a smirk as he pulled her in and kissed her quickly.

"And try not to do it too often...and don't make it too obvious. Try to do it when no one will see," Meredith said.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?" Derek asked with a smirk.

"Maybe," Meredith said with a shrug. "You tell me." Meredith grinned at him as she stepped out of the elevator and went into the direction of her locker room. Derek smiled back at her, shaking his head as he started in the opposite direction.

Ellis Grey woke up that morning and searched for her daughter. All through the house, though, Meredith was no where. She went downstairs to see the Asian girl from the night before, who's name she felt no need to remember, sitting at the kitchen counter and drinking a cup of coffee.

"Do you know where Meredith is?" Ellis asked quickly, getting straight to the point.

"Probably at a strange man's house," Cristina mumbled. Ellis rolled her eyes.

"Dammit, Meredith. I suppose I'll just have to go to the damn hospital again today," Ellis said, turning and leaving the kitchen.

"Wait! Dr. Grey, could I have my keys back?" Cristina jumped from her chair and ran after Ellis. Ellis heaved another sigh, rolling her eyes again. She pulled the keys out of her pocket, sliding off the house key, and gave the ring back to Cristina.

"There," she said, turning again and finishing her way out. She had waited at the hospital for what seemed like an eternity, waiting, waiting, waiting. She sat behind the nurses station, reading over some cases and waiting impatiently. She heard the annoying elevator ding for about the thousandth time, and even though she thought Meredith wouldn't be there anyway, she lifted her eyes. And this time, her lack of hope gifted her with the presence of her daughter. She saw her kiss the man who was supposedly her 'boss' Dr. Shepherd. They exchanged a few words, then both exited the elevator smiling. Ellis glared at the sight slightly before hopping out of her chair and running after Dr. Shepherd.

"Dr. Shepherd," she called as she neared him. He turned around and looked at her for a brief moment.

"Ellis Grey? Dr. Grey?" he asked, slightly shocked.

"Yes, you're my daughter's boss, I believe," Ellis said with raised eyebrows, stopping in front of him and crossing her arms.

"Yes," Derek confirmed with a nod.

"And I understand you're also romantic with her," Ellis concluded quickly.

"I..." Derek started.

"Dr. Shepherd, are you aware that my daughter is engaged?" Ellis interrupted.

"Hey, you left early this morning," Cristina said, rushing into the locker room to get ready.

"Actually, I left late last night. But, okay," Meredith shrugged.

"Late last night?" Cristina asked, confused, temporarily stopping her rush to get out of the locker room and find surgeries.

"Uh...yeah," Meredith said, silently cursing herself herself. She hadn't planned on telling Cristina anything at all until, and if, her relationship with Derek got serious. "I uh, slept here. The mattress in the extra room was lumpy and hard."

"So you came to sleep in a hospital's on-call bed? Don't you find that to be an oxy moron of sorts?" Cristina looked unconvinced.

"Um...W...What's with the third degree?" Meredith asked quickly.

"No third degree, just asking innocent questions. Why are you getting so defensive?" Cristina closed her locker and pulled on her lab coat quickly, crossing her arms as she finished getting dressed.

"I'm not defensive...just innocently denying any future accusations," Meredith said with a quick nod.

"Alright then," Cristina said, starting out of the locker room.

"Alright," Meredith agreed, following quickly behind.

"Engaged?" Derek repeated inquiringly.

"Yes, you heard correctly," Ellis assured with a tight nod of her head.

"I find that a little hard to believe..." Derek started.

"And I find it hard to believe that any daughter of mine would sleep with her boss, but it's true. Hard to grasp, yes, hard to believe, no. I can assure you, Dr. Shepherd, that my daughter is very much promised Chadley Sullivan. Maybe if it's so hard to believe, you should confront her about it. I'm only warning you to not get in over your head here. And I urge you to take my advice," Ellis looked up at him for a brief moment longer, her lips pursed together tightly. "It was nice meeting you." And with that, she turned and stormed away, still in a very composed, and confident way. Derek watched as she walked away, pondering her words. This couldn't be true, right? Meredith wouldn't be in any kind of relationship with him if this were true, right? Right?

He seemed slightly hostile toward her. He wasn't himself the whole day through. He was cold toward her, he was tense, he didn't care to stick to his part of the 'agreement', he seemed unfocused in surgery. Everything. He didn't seem like Derek. He didn't seem like the man she had known for the past two weeks.

"Are you okay?" she asked as they scrubbed out of Mr. Johnson's surgery.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" he asked, drying his hands and refusing to make eye contact with her.

"You just...don't seem okay. You're not yourself," Meredith said with a shrug. "You know? You just don't seem okay." Derek looked up at her and flashed a small smile.

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" he said. He felt slightly nauseated. It bothered him a lot, the though of her being engaged, with another man. It's not like they're relationship was too serious or anything, and he still hadn't decided how much he wanted to believe what her mother had told him, how much he really thought there was a possibility that she was committed to another man, but it still bothered him. He wasn't going to confront her about it until he made a decision, though, especially not in the hospital.

"Okay," Meredith agreed, smiling back at him.

"Okay. I'll meet you downstairs," Derek said as he passed her to leave the scrub room. Meredith turned and followed suite.

"What's wrong, dude?" Mark asked, breaking the silence in the elevator. Derek looked up at Mark, as if noticing him for the first time.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," Derek said. "Trying to make a decision."

"It's Meredith isn't it?" Mark asked knowingly.

"It regards Meredith," Derek said with a nod.

"I'm telling you, I have a fourth sense about these things! I'm a genius. So, what is it? Is she married or something like that?" he asked with a grin spread ear to ear.

"Something like that," Derek answered with a chuckle. The elevator dinged and the doors spread open, Derek feeling slightly better than a few seconds before. Mark never failed at making his day a little shiner. He removed his leaning frame from the back wall and stepped out of the elevator. "And by the way, you have seven senses, Mark."

She drove home, hoping that her mother wouldn't be there. Derek said the reservations were for eight, giving her about an hour to shower and get ready. She didn't have time to deal with the wicked witch of the west. Hey, alliteration, she thought, laughing slightly. She pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, walking up to the apparently empty house. No lights were on, no cars in the driveway. She heaved a giant dildo and then he had a sigh of relief and slid out of the car, walking quickly up to the house as the subtle darkness sent an eerie chill through her. Not that it was pitch black, but with no one around, it felt creepy. She slid her key into the doorknob and turned it quickly, stepping into the house and closing the door behind her. She secured the lock again and placed her keys on the table, quickly starting up the stairs and to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and blew her hair dry and curled it loosely, pulling it halfway back. She applied some light make-up and excitedly walked back to her bedroom to get her dress. She had bought it years ago, and had only worn it once to a very fancy restaurant in New York with Cristina. She pulled it out of her closet carefully and looked at it with a smile. She remember the day that her grandma had told her to always have a little black dress for sudden events. She, however, had defied the laws of nature and bought a little white dress. She like white. It was pure, clean. Crisp, classic, whatever. She slipped the dress on and put on her high heels, which she hated, because they were too high. But they were her favorite with the dress, so she wore them. She stood up, admiring herself slightly in the mirror, but at the same time, criticizing herself for how she could look better. When it hit her. She had no idea why she was so giddy, why she was worried about her appearance. It was a new thing to her. If she'd gone on a date before, her date would have been lucky if she was wearing a clean shirt and her hair wasn't tied back in a tangled, messy bun.

"God, what is it about him?" she wondered out loud, looking at her reflection inquiringly.

The sound of the doorbell rang an echo through the empty house. Meredith sighed, slightly nervously as she started toward the door quickly, grabbing her purse. What the hell? What is wrong with me? She challenged her mind with the question. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, smiling at Derek instantly.

"Hey," she said.

Derek rang the doorbell and showed his hands back into the pocket of his pants, exhaling a gust of air. He had made his decision to bring up the 'fiance'. Not that he fully believed Ellis's mentioning of it, but he wanted to get it out of the way, make sure the coast was clear or whatever. But as the door opened, and he saw her standing there, any fragment of any doubt that he had in any advancing of their relationship shot out the window. She looked better than beautiful. And his biased opinion on the truth came into play.

"Hey," he replied with a smile. "You look...really stunning." He said, staring her up and down intensely. He stepped forward, pulling her tiny frame into his body and wrapping his arms around her waist as he leaned down and kissed her; softly, tenderly, and passion-filled. It was the perfect kiss, in anyone's eyes. Cristina even probably would have melted over it.

"Um...thanks," Meredith said breathlessly as the pair came up for air.

"It was my pleasure," Derek returned with a small grin. He held his hand out to her, and she graciously accepted it, pulling the door closed as they walked out to his car.

They stepped into the restaurant and immediately it was unambiguous how expensive it was. Linen table clothes, waiters wearing thousand-dollar tuxedos, you could peg that the cheapest meal on their menu was probably two-hundred dollars down to the tee. Meredith looked up at Derek with one raised eyebrow, receiving a grin and a sheepish shrug in return.

"May I help you?" a kind looking girl asked with a smile. She was wearing a very tight black dress and sparkly high-really, really-high heels to match, her hair pulled in a tight bun to show off the strappy back of the dress.

"We have reservations," Derek told her, stepping forward and placing his hand on the small of Meredith's back to guide her with him.

"Under what name?" she asked.

"Shepherd/Grey," Derek answered as the waitress quickly skimmed down the list with her finger, pulling out a highlighter and crossing their name off.

"Right this way," she said, her false smile returning as she grabbed two menus and led them through the restaurant. "Your server will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you," Derek nodded to the hostess as she walked away. Meredith picked up her menu and quickly skimmed over the prices.

"Derek. This is really expensive," she concluded with raised eyebrows.

"You said to make reservations for some place nice," Derek said with a shrug.

"Nice does not equal expensive," Meredith protested.

"Well, if you want I can take you to the nearest McDonald's," Derek said with a smirk.

"McDonald's isn't nice," Meredith argued.

"It's also not expensive," Derek pointed out. "I rest my case."

"Point well taken," Meredith said with a grin, shaking her head as she turned her attention back to the menu.

"Hi, I'm Mindy. I'll be your server this evening. Would you two like to start with one of our delicious apƩritifs or a bottle of one of our wines? We have a fine selection," a woman who looked exactly like the first one said with the same overly-large grin.

"Um, no, no wine for me," Meredith said quickly with a smile. "I'll just have a Coke."

"And for you, sir?" the waitress jotted in her pad and turned to Derek, the smile never leaving her fake-tanned face.

"I'll have the same," Derek said, slightly confused.

"Great. I'll be back in a moment with your beverages," the waitress walked off.

"No wine?" Derek asked, looking back at his menu.

"No wine. Because when I have wine, or tequila, or any type of alcohol for that matter, I end up drinking enough to get at least slightly buzzed. And when I'm even slightly buzzed things start to get a little hot and everything starts to look a little porny, and then I end up naked in somebody's bed," Meredith said in one big breath.

"And that would be a bad thing?" Derek asked after a small moment's silence.

"Yes, it would be a bad thing. A very bad thing. We are not having sex. So a bad thing? Yes, it would be a bad thing," Meredith assured them both with a nod.

"Okay, no wine," Derek said with a shrug.

He fumbled with his keys, finding it difficult to get the metal shape into it's slot while kissing Meredith. One hand was wrapped firmly around her waist, holding her to him, the other occupied with the keys. His lips, however, were on hers, as well as his tongue. They were fully enthralled in the heated kiss when he finally pushed the door open and they fell inside. As the door unexpectedly flew open and they fell to the floor, Meredith let out a slight scream before busting out into a laughing fit along with Derek.

"And we didn't even have any wine," Derek said, rolling over onto his back and taking a deep breath.

"See, you have ways to ploy me without alcohol," Meredith said with a smile, starting to get up.

"Hey," Derek said, pulling her back down and grinning at her. "The floors are very sturdy and hardwood. No rug burn."

"Well, that's a very interesting way of pitching the idea," Meredith said with her own grin. "If we hadn't fallen, you probably would have had me in your bedroom right now. It's a good thing the door opened."

"Good thing how?" Derek asked, looking at her confused.

"No sex, remember?" Meredith said, patting his knee as she stood up.

"Believe me, I remember. All of me remembers," Derek said with a sarcastic smile as he stood up as well.

"Aw," Meredith said, kissing him again and quickly pulling back, patting his face. "Well, suck it up. It won't be too much longer."

Day 15...

"Meredith, I want to talk to you," Mark said, motioning for the stool next to him.

"Okay," Meredith said, slightly confused as she finished pouring her cup of coffee and sat at the stool.

"Now, I want you to know that I'm Derek's best friend. It is in my best interest to look out for his best interest which affects and is affected by your best interest," Mark said, looking lost by his own words. Meredith squinted at him a little.

"Confuse yourself, Mark?" she asked.

"Only a little," Mark said, still trying to figure out what he had said. Meredith smiled and let a small laugh escaped her lips.

"You were saying?" she urged him to go on.

"Right...um...Derek. Listen, I don't want to be blunt here, but he's my best friend. I'm required to give the best friend speech thing to any potential serious relationships. Normally, mine would consist of: Show me your boobs. If they're nice, you pass, if they're not, sorry. But today I have something more important to discuss with you," Mark said slowly and seriously, choosing his words carefully.

"And that is?" Meredith asked, sipping her coffee.

"My friend needs sex, Meredith," Mark said, leaning back in the stool. Meredith practically spit out her coffee. She set her cup down quickly and swallowed her mouthful.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me. I'm trying to help here. Fact of the matter is, Derek needs sex. You have to give it to him. That's all there is to it," Mark concluded, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay, we are not doing the best friend talk, or any kind of talk, regarding my sex life with your buddy, okay? Prepare another speech, we'll talk then," Meredith said, shaking her head and smiling. Mark heaved a sigh and leaned on the counter.

"Alright. Then, I guess you'll have to show me your boobs," he said with a shrug.

"Not happening," Meredith said, walking out of the room.

"Dammit," Mark mumbled. "Where are you going?"

"To take a shower," Meredith called, climbing the stairs.

"Need some company?" Mark asked, leaning his stool back and grinning at her. Meredith looked over the stairway banister.

"Also not happening," she said with her own grin.

Derek woke up hearing the shower running. He buried his head into his pillow with a content smile taking over his features. He loved it when Meredith stayed. He loved to wake up with her there. And this time, she was in his shower. In his shower, naked. Naked, in his shower, lathering her self with soap. He sat up quickly and sighed, trying to get images of Meredith, naked, in his shower, lathering herself with soap, out of his head before he needed a shower of his own.

"Dead puppies...fungus...athletes foot...come on," he tried to think, closing his eyes tightly and imagining. "Mark naked!" He opened his eyes and a smile took over his lips. "There is it." He got out of bed and walked downstairs, pouring a cup of coffee and grabbing the paper out of Mark's hands.

"I was reading that," Mark called after him.

"No you weren't. You were just pretending to so you could look smart. Find a Penthouse," Derek said with a grin as he started back up the stairs. Mark shrugged and chuckled slightly.

"You know me all too well," he said with a sigh as he opened the cupboard door and pulled out one of his magazines from the large stack. Derek walked up and went into his bedroom, finding Meredith pulling on her last article of clothing. Her hair was dripping wet, and clinging to her features, leaving droplets of water on her shirt. She turned and smiled at Derek.

"Good morning," she said. Derek smiled softly back at her.

"Morning," he said. He studied her for a few more seconds before his smile dropped slowly, realizing that he still had that thing to bring up. He still had to confront her about her so-called fiance.

"Are you okay?" Meredith asked, her smile fading slightly as she looked at him, concerned.

"I need to talk to you about something," Derek said with a sigh, not wanting to do this. He knew it wasn't true, of course, it couldn't be. But he had to get it cleared up. He was just worried about how she'd react.

"Okay, I'm listening," Meredith said, waiting for him to talk.

"Chadley Sullivan," Derek said softly.

"Chad?" Meredith repeated in the same low tone, everything on her face dropping and changing to apparent regret and worry. "I'm...Derek, listen, he's not...we're not...it's not like." She started to quickly fumble over her words, not knowing what exactly to say. Derek straightened up in the doorway quickly.

"So you do know him? He is your fiance?" he asked, feeling a mixture of emotions sweep over him. "Were you going to tell me?"

"Derek, I was...I mean, we..." Meredith stumbled again.

"Okay," Derek sighed, shaking his head as he turned to leave the room.

"Derek," Meredith started after him.

"You know..." Derek ran a hand through his hair quickly and shrugged, "Don't." And he turned and left the room.

"Hey, what's going on? Derek just stormed out of here," Mark said, sitting at his permanent place at the counter.

"I need a ride home," Meredith said quickly. "Will you take me?"

"Yeah I'll take you for a ride," Mark said with a smirk, standing up. Meredith laughed a tiny bit before sighing.

"Today isn't the day, Dr. Sloane," she said, starting out the door. Mark shrugged, looking confused as he followed her, grabbing his keys on his way out.

"Meredith didn't sleep at home again last night, do you know anything about that?" Ellis interrogated quickly as she walked into the kitchen and crossed her arms, her ever stern look on her face.

"Actually, I don't," Cristina assured with a nod as she started out of the room. If she'd learned anything over the last few days, it was why Meredith hated her mom so much. Ellis took a step to the side, blocking Cristina's way.

"Only, I think you do," she said, glaring at Cristina.

"But I don't. I have been extremely patient with you here the last few days, and I refuse to put up with your condescending crap anymore. Step aside, you old sea hag," Cristina said, venom in her calm voice. Ellis looked a little shocked before finally stepping aside and letting Cristina walk through.

"Your mommy is looking for you," Cristina said in a mock baby voice as she walked past the front door that had just opened to reveal Meredith. Meredith rolled her eyes and slammed the door, quickly walking to the kitchen.

"How dare you?!" she exclaimed, glaring at Ellis.

"Oh good, you're home," Ellis said, pouring a cup of coffee and taking a sip.

"Why did you do it?" Meredith asked quickly.

"Meredith, he is your boss, you barely know him, and he had to know the truth. He seemed like a good enough guy. And even though it is obvious he has no morals, I thought he'd like to know that he was sleeping with an engaged woman," Ellis answered with a shrug.

"Only I'm not engaged. You haven't talked to me in months you have no idea what has happened in my life, and you had no right..." Meredith started.

"Don't take that tone with me, I'm your mother," Ellis said simply.

"See, there's where you're wrong. Mothers are supposed to be loyal to their daughters. They're not supposed to say hurtful things. And they're definitely not supposed to wreck the first happiness they've truly had in a very long time. I don't have one of those," Meredith said, looking at Ellis angrily.

"Meredith! I cannot believe you just said that to me! I have been the best damn mother to you, and you are the one who is out of line! You have no right to say these things to me!" Ellis exclaimed, placing her hand on her chest.

"You know what, fuck you. You're right, you're my mother, I shouldn't say it, but fuck you. Get out of my house, and go to hell," Meredith said, turning and storming out of the kitchen. She was actually surprised at herself. She had never spoken to her mother like that, and she swore to herself, no matter how bad it was, she would never swear at her mom, or say those things to her. But there she was, saying them, as if she couldn't control her own tongue. She grabbed her keys and went out to her car, planning on going to one person she thought she never would. The one person she thought she'd never turn to.

Thatcher Grey rambled when he was nervous. He figured it was something inherited. Though, of course, he knew behavioral characteristics were learned, he seemed to follow in the footsteps of his mother. Who followed in the footsteps of her mother. Who followed in the footsteps of her father. And so on and so fourth. So, to one who hadn't studied biology, it would seem, that the nervous stutter was inherited. Of course, he didn't know if his daughter had gotten it. He hadn't seen her for over twenty-five years. Ever since the day Ellis took her away. A few years after she had left, he went on to marry a woman that he was madly in love with. She was nice, beautiful, intelligent. But she was unable to have children. So, the only thing Thatcher had to hope on was his long-lost-distant-daughter. But, he had given up hope on that a long time ago. So, maybe he didn't have anything to hope on after all. She was not in his thoughts that morning, when he was reading the paper and sipping his coffee. She was not in his thoughts that morning, when the sound of the doorbell echoed through the warm house. And she was not in his thoughts that morning when he set down his forkful of eggs and stood up to answer the door.

"I'll get it," He smiled at Susan, his wife, as he made his way out of the kitchen. He walked through the bright, peach colored living room and pulled open the heavy wooden door. And his smile dropped. Because right there, in front of him, stood the hope that he'd given up hope on.

"So...Meredith...um...well, it's been a while...I guess. I mean, twenty years is a while...but...um, so. I'm just a little..." Thatched mumbled, stuttering his words as he sat next to his daughter on the couch. "...Um...can I get you anything? To drink? Or maybe your hungry? Um...bathroom is down the hall and to the left. So, if you need to..." Meredith looked across at her dad...Thatcher...looked across at Thatcher, biting her lips as she tried to decide exactly what she wanted to say. Making the decision to confide in him was rash, quick. But, she was there, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"No, I'm fine. I don't need to use the bathroom, or anything," she said, shaking her head. "Listen, I didn't really come here to talk about our past or anything, okay? I just...I need someone to help me fix this...mess...I'm in. And, normally, I'd talk to Cristina, because she's harsh and bitter and what-not, but I can't go to Cristina, because Cristina doesn't even know that I'm with...or, was with Derek...and you don't know either, of course, but, um...I don't want Cristina to know, so, you're just the logical choice." Meredith took a small breath, looking at Thatcher to say something.

"You get the rambling from me," he said with a shrug, cocking his head to the side a little. Meredith smiled slightly and nodded. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"Boy problems. It's a long story...um...it's my boss, well my boyfriend, but really my boss...and my boyfriend...he's...both, and I hated him because he was an ass, but then we had drunken meaningless sex, and then he convinced me to go out with him, and we've been kind of like together for the past week, and then he was told that I was engaged...which is totally untrue, and then he twisted what I almost said into what he actually thought and he jumped to conclusions, so now I'm pretty sure he hates me and he thinks I'm engaged to Chadley Sullivan. And I normally wouldn't really care if one of my relationships were over, because it doesn't really matter. You know? It's not like we were actually together for that long, but..." Meredith trailed off, ending her choppy babble and sighing, shrugging her shoulder, "But he makes me feel different. He is the only person who can make me go from angry to sad with just a smile. And I get nervous when I know I'm about to see him even though I'm with him everyday. And, when he looks at me I melt. And I get goosebumps when he touches me or kisses me, and he's the only person I can have and not have self control at the same time around He just makes me feel different. And I'm not used to that. I'm not used to these feelings...but I like them. And I don't want to loose them."

"Wow. Sounds like your in love," Thatcher said with raised eyebrows and a slight chuckle. Meredith smiled at him and shook her head.

"I'm not in love. I barely know him," she said.

"It doesn't matter. Love slips right between the cracks...it doesn't take long to affect you, and you don't even know when it does. But trust me, Meredith, what you just described is love," Thatcher said with a smile. "Take it from someone with experience." Meredith sighed, passing off what he was saying as impossible.

"What do I do?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Talk to him. Get it worked out. You were both wrong, Mer. You need to talk to him just as much as it's his duty to talk to you," Thatcher answered simply. Meredith knew it wasn't that simple. She couldn't just 'talk' yo him and make up after that. He didn't trust her, that was obvious. How could you be with someone you don't trust?

"Okay," Meredith said quietly, having gotten no where as she stood and started toward the door.

"Hey, Meredith," Thatcher said, turning to face her. Meredith stopped and turned around, asking him what he wanted without words. "Why don't you visit more often? You know, maybe come over for dinner sometime this week?"

"Maybe," Meredith said with a nod, smiling again at him as she turned and left.

"Maybe," thatcher repeated softly.

Day 16...

Meredith ran through the halls quickly, trying to get through the obstacles of people, equipment, gurneys, and wheelchairs. She finally made it to Trauma 2, where she was paged to, and opened the door quickly, stepping inside.

"Car crash, massive head injuries, and continuous seizure activity. Presenting with low pulse and vital signs. Broken bones, cracked skull, the whole shebang," the nurse said immediately, handing Meredith the chart. Meredith quickly skimmed over it and set the chart down, walking over to the patient. She looked over at Derek who was examining the patient.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. Derek stuck the flashlight he was using back into his pocket and motioned for the chart. He started scribbling things down as soon as he got it.

"I need you to take him to MRI, find out how extensive the damage is," he said, closing the chart and handing it over to Meredith.

"MRI is down," Meredith said quickly.

"Get him a CT then," Derek said, staring out of the room.

"It's backed up, it might take a few hours," Meredith stated.

"I don't care, just get it done," he turned, snapping at her before quickly leaving again. Meredith flinched slightly as she watched him leave the room and bang the door closed.

"Wow, what'd you do to piss him off?" the nurse asked with a slight laugh. Meredith sighed and shook her head.

"Could you find out how long it's going to be before CT opens up please?" she asked as she walked out of the room.

"Sure," the nurse said, starting off in the opposite direction.

"Derek!" Meredith exclaimed, trying to catch up with Derek. "Dr. Shepherd!" She called out. He stopped and turned, sighing as he looked at her.

"Yes, Dr. Grey?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Can I talk to you?" Meredith asked, motioning toward the empty exam room. Derek looked around to see a few doctors looking at the two of them suspiciously and knew he couldn't just blow her off. He was her boss. It would look bad if he said no and walked away.

"Make it quick, doctor," he said, pulling her into the room that was much more quiet, void of chatting voices and ringing phones. Meredith closed the door quickly behind herself, leaning on it to enforce that he'd stay.

"I was wrong, okay? I get it, I was wrong..." Meredith started.

"Meredith..." Derek started with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"No, dammit, listen!" Meredith snapped. "Sorry. Just...listen. I was wrong. Because I should've told you about Chad or whatever, not that you haven't told me about all your old girlfriends, but if I'd known that it was that important, I would have said something..."

"Fiances are generally a pretty important piece of information," Derek said.

"He's not my fiance. We were engaged, but I broke it off. We're not engaged anymore, as in I gave him the ring back, I walked out. We are not engaged. But I was wrong, okay. You were wrong too. You shouldn't have put words into my mouth, you shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. You should have listened to me instead of my mother. Might I remind you that you pursued me, Derek. You convinced me to give you a chance, and now I have, and you walked away very easily. You walked away. You pursued me, and you do not get to walk away before you've heard my side of the story," Meredith said it all in one big blur of a yell, pointing accusing fingers at him as she carried on. She finished yelling and took a deep breath, realizing that someone in the hall may have heard her. But she didn't care. She had to be forceful to get him to listen. And if he didn't hear her, she'd just-

Her thoughts were interrupted as Derek stepped forward quickly, pursing their lips together in a forceful, passionate kiss. Her body lunged backwards and hit the door, making a large slamming sound before she even realized what was happening. Meredith pushed him away slightly and quickly, bringing her hand up and slapping him.

"I'm mad at you right now! Do you honestly think you're getting sex in an exam room?" she whisper/yelled to make sure no one would hear her. "I mean, seriou..." And then his lips were covering hers again. And this time, she didn't care. She surrendered, bring her arms up and wrapping them around his neck. He brought his hands to the back of her thighs, forcefully boosting her up, allowing himself to get closer to her. He parted her lips, plunging his tongue inside, stopping for a split second only to yank her shirt over her head quickly.

"Derek..." Meredith gasped into their kiss, tugging at his hair slightly as his hands roamed underneath her bra and started to caress her breasts tempestuously. She arched her back, pushing herself further into him...and his erection...as his kisses trailed down her cheek and reached her neck, the chances of a mark being left in their place were high, before they finally came to their destination at her hard nipple. The next thing that tore through the silence was not a gasp, moan, or groan though. It was Meredith's pager.

"Dammit," she said, quickly pulling it out of its holder and looking. "Derek...Derek, I have to go."

"Ignore it," Derek took his skillful tongue and lips away long enough to reply. Meredith closed her eyes as his teeth softly nipped at her nipple.

"I can't," she said breathlessly, wishing they were at his house instead, and that her pager wasn't going off.

"Damn pager," Derek groaned, frustrated as he regretfully obeyed her orders and stopped. He kissed her lips one last quick time before stepping back and letting her pull her scrub top on. She smiled up at him sweetly and innocently as she backed toward the door again.

"I'm still mad at you," she said with a giggle. Derek smiled back at her, shaking his head as she pulled the door open and stepped out.

"You paged," Meredith said, half questioningly, as she was up to the nurses station.

"Yeah. I managed to work your CT in for four o'clock. I just thought you'd want to know...and there's a new patient. Here's the chart," the nurse smiled evilly as she pushed the chart over to her. Meredith glared slightly, pulling the chart out of her hands and flipping it open quickly. She looked up at the nurse, glaring again after what she'd seen.

"This isn't neuro," she said, raised eyebrows as she closed the chart and held it back out toward the nurse. The nurse held her hand out to dismiss the chart, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Dr. Grey. I only take orders from Nurse Debbie...by the way, she told me to remind you that the hospital is not sound proof," the nurse said, her evil grin returning. "Have a wonderful day, doctor." Meredith sighed, rolling her eyes as the nurse walked away.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath, turning and starting down the hall, throwing a quick, almost pleading, glance at Derek as he stepped out of the exam room.

After a long day of taking care of meaningless cases for the nurses, Meredith remembered what it had been like her first week working for Derek. Hell on Earth. While it might have been a bit different in the sense that Meredith doubted any of the nurses would be apologizing to her in a bar and then having sex with her, it was still similar. Cleaning up vomit, changing bedpans. Damn Derek. If he hadn't been such an ass, she wouldn't have had o yell at him, then practically have sex with him in the exam room. And then the nurses wouldn't have heard it. And then she wouldn't have done custodial jobs all day.

"I signed on as a surgeon, not a janitor," she mumbled to herself as she sat at the nurses station, filling of charts. She sighed as she finished one of the cases of massive abdominal pain, looking down at the large stack of the other cases she'd finished. The severe cold symptoms case was next. She closed the chart and wheeled the chair back, over to the file shelf, sliding it in between two other cases that she'd finished. She looked up, seeing Derek standing across the hall in a conversation with two other doctors. He, however, was obviously not paying attention to anything the other doctors said. Instead, he was looking at her, giving her the McDreamy look from afar. The emotion that filled his eyes was obviously longing and desire- as were hers- to finish what they'd started in the exam room. Meredith smiled slightly as their gaze locked and their small game began. And it was only seconds later that Cristina interrupted their virtual contact.

"Hey, are you..." she started, causing Meredith to jump slightly as she turned over to face her. Cristina looked quickly to where Meredith's gaze had been. She raised her eyebrows as she saw Derek leaning against the wall and chatting with some other surgeons. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt eye sex."

"It wasn't...it's not..." Meredith started.

"Really, Meredith. Don't bother. You were picturing him naked, it's okay. Sometimes I do it," Cristina said, holding out her hand.

"You picture Dr. Shepherd naked?" Meredith asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Sure," Cristina said with a shrug. "Him, Burke, Alex, Tyler the nurse, everyone except for Bambi. No harm in pretending. You were having eye sex." She said it dismissively, smirking slightly.

"I was having eye sex," Meredith repeated the admission with a nod.

"Mhm," Cristina said, shaking her head and smiling as she stood and started off. "I'll uh, let you finish."

"Wait, you wanted to talk to me?" Meredith called after her, spinning around in her chair.

Meredith had been under the impression that fate sucked. Fate always kicked her in the ass. Always. All the time, it never failed, whenever something good was going for her, fat made sure an end was put to it. That's why she was shocked when she got the one thing she'd been hoping for all day. A minute alone with Derek. The elevator doors peeled open as he leaned on the wall, waiting for the elevator. And there he stood...her knight in shining whatever. So maybe fate wasn't all bad. She smiled slightly as she stepped in and pressed the button for ground floor. She wasn't exactly model pretty at the moment. He hair was still up in a messy bun, her clothes from earlier slightly wrinkly from having been in her locker, and after her long day, her head was telling her that what she wanted was to go home, to her bed, and sleep. The first night in her house without her mother there, back in her own bed. But, as she felt his gaze on her, burning into her shoulder blades like laser beams, every other part of her anatomy was telling her she wanted something else. She looked at him through the reflection in the elevator doors, watching as he moved his leaning from from the back wall of the elevator and stepped next to her. She smirked a little, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You know..." Derek started, looking over at her with his charming signature smirk.

"We're not finishing what we started earlier, just so you're aware. I'm still mad at you, remember?" Meredith asked, smiling over at him ad she cut him off.

"That's very heartless," Derek said, making his McDreamy face into one of extreme seriousness.

"Well, life sucks," Meredith said with a shrug.

"You know what else can suck..." Derek started.

"That's not even a funny dirty joke. Seriously, don't finish it," Meredith said, pointing a finger at him.

"Dirty? No dirty. I was going to say a vacuum. But obviously, your mind is in the gutter. Maybe you need something to relieve it," Derek suggested with a shrug, the smirk returning to his face. Meredith shook her head, smiling at him as she let a slight laugh escape her lips.

"Do you beg all of your girlfriends this much for sex?" she asked.

"Nope. They all give it to me willingly, it's just you I have to work on," Derek responded with a grin. Meredith rolled her eyes, looking forward again as the elevator doors opened.

"Maybe you should work a little harder," she said with a laugh as she stepped out of the elevator, turning back to face him again. He stepped out behind her, smiling down at her.

"We have a date tomorrow," he informed her.

"Oh we do?" Meredith asked with a smile. He nodded, looking down at her.

"Yes. There's going to be moonlight and candles and romance, so, when we get back from our date tomorrow, there better be some sex," he said with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Yes, sir," Meredith said, saluting him with a grin as she turned and started down the hall. She wanted to check on one of her patient's from earlier. A little girl that she had gotten somewhat attached to. She had been admitted for the night, she just wanted to make sure she was doing okay. She walked down the halls at a leisurely pace, checking the room numbers as she went, but getting cut off just before she got to the right room. She looked up at the person before her, instantly becoming enthralled with the slightest nervousness and fear about what he was stopping her for.

"Chief," Meredith greeting, stepping back a little as she noticed how angry he looked. How he was clenching his jaw and grinding her teeth slightly.

"Meredith, I've been informed that...that there is a relationship going on between Dr. Shepherd and yourself," he said, obviously quite angry about the matter.

"Yeah, um, that's new information to me, too. But believe me, the nurses are not reliable sour..." Meredith started, trying her best to act like she wasn't lying.

"The nurses were not the ones who told me, Meredith," Richard said, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"Then who..." Meredith stared as from behind the chief, she noticed her mother, leaning against the wall with her own arms crossed. She looked spiteful, vengeful. Meredith sighed slightly. It was apparent that Ellis Grey would stop at no end to put an end to what she considered wrong. Maybe she herself was fate.

Day 17...

"My life sucks," Meredith said with a sigh as she slid down the wall, plopping herself onto the floor with a thump. "My mom hates me, I think. She's trying to get me fired and step on my dreams of happiness. And my dad found my number. He's been calling non-stop asking me to have dinner. And I need sex. But it has to be meaningless sex, and I can't have that."

"My mom is an annoying twit. She found my number and she's been calling nonstop, too. We're equal," Cristina said, pulling the door to the shower open as she lay in the bathtub. "No, actually, I win. Because I'm pregnant. And I want a drink. But it has to be vodka, and I can't have that." She looked over at Meredith slightly helplessly. Meredith looked back at her intensely. They were both probably going to be late for work, but it didn't matter. This was much, much more important.

"You're pregnant?" Meredith asked. She wasn't overbearing though. She asked it as if it were any other normal question. 'Are we out of milk? What's your favorite color? You're pregnant?'

"I think so. I haven't taken a test, but I'm late. My back hurts, I'm constipated, I'm throwing up, and excessively drooling, and I'm not sure, but I think my nipples are getting darker," Cristina said, pulling up her shirt to reexamine.

"Is it Burke's?" Meredith asked, leaning forward and tucking her legs underneath herself.

"I don't know. It could be Mary Poppins's," Cristina said sarcastically, shooting a glare at Meredith. "Yes, of course it's Burke's." Meredith sighed, leaning back against the wall again.

"Boys. Boys and their stupid boy penises," she commented, shaking her head.

"My life sucks. I haven't had sex in over a week," Derek complained as he came into the kitchen, opening the fridge and searching for orange juice.

"We're discussing our sex lives now?" Mark asked, squinting slightly as he pointing to the carton on the counter. Derek closed the fridge, walking over to the island and grabbing the orange juice.

"No. Just life in general," he said with a sigh.

"Well, then. Sex aside, I win. Half of the female population in this world hates me and I think I'm working on the other half right now. Plus I just found out the other day that there are three primary colors. So everyone that I've tried to share my artistic intellect with now sees me as the idiot who thinks there's eight," Mark said with a straight, almost agonized expression.

"You win," Derek agreed with a nod.

"Are you going to tell him?" Meredith asked in a whisper as they stepped on the elevator.

"No. I don't even know for sure yet..." Cristina started as she reached out and pressed the button.

"Well, the signs are there," Meredith pointed out. "Plus, when you do find out for sure, don't you think..." Meredith stopped, clearing her throat and moving to the back of the elevator along with Cristina as Derek and Mark both stepped on.

"Dr. Grey," Derek greeted with a nod. "Dr. Yang."

"Dr. Shepherd," Meredith and Cristina greeted simultaneously.

"Ladies," Mark said with a suave smile and wink in Meredith's direction.

"Asshole," Cristina mumbled.

"Well, isn't this a small world," Meredith said softly to Cristina, slightly uncomfortable. The doors were just about closed when Burke slipped through the doors, panting, out of breath.

"Doctors," he smiled at all of them, still trying to catch his breath.

"And getting smaller," Cristina said, her eyes darting to watch the numbers above the elevator doors quickly in hopes that intent stares would make it move very quickly.

"All I'm saying is that we have to be really careful, very discreet. Like, no yelling in exam rooms, no making out in elevators, no intimate embraces in stairwells..." Meredith trailed off.

"Okay, why all the sudden are we talking about this?" Derek asked, looking up from his chart at her, confused.

"I have been saying this all along, I just..." Meredith started.

"Well, last time we kissed in an elevator it was because you jumped on me, you were the one yelling in the exam room, and we have never joined in 'intimate embraces' in the stairwell," Derek cut her off, using air quotes around her term for hugging.

"Actually, the last time we kissed in an elevator was the day we had the deal that you could do anything you wanted to me in the hospital, and I believe you yelled in the exam room too, plus, you pushed me against the wall and initiated the session of sex with clothes on," Meredith pointed out.

"But, you were a willing participant in both activities," Derek countered. "And that deal was never carried out, by the way. Is that still on the table?"

"No. You're the one who blew that deal, don't blame that one on me," Meredith said, glaring at him slightly. Derek cocked his head slightly and grinned.

"You're angry," he said. "You're cute when you're angry."

"I'm not angry. I'm just annoyed," Meredith corrected.

"You're cute when you're annoyed," Derek said with a shrug as he leaned down again and resumed to writing in the chart.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm annoyed?" Meredith asked.

"Why are you annoyed?" Derek asked.

"Because we have the potential to get caught here. And you are treating it like it's nothing," Meredith answered.

"Do you want me to quit my job? I can quit my job," Derek said with a smile as he signed his name and closed the chart, sticking the pen in his pocket and handing the chart back to the nurse.

"See. That is what I'm talking about," Meredith said, pointing an accusatory finger as she walked down the hall by his side.

"I'm a good sneaker you know. I am great at sneaking. And I feel slightly offended, that you would doubt my sneaking abilities," Derek said, placing his hand on his chest and looking at Meredith with a mock hurt expression.

"I don't doubt your sneaking abilities. But I also don't doubt the chief's 'finding out' abilities. He made his point clear last night, and..." Meredith started.

"Meredith, I am very confident that we are going to be fine," Derek said, holding the door to the stairwell open for her. Meredith rolled her eyes at him as she walked through, shaking her head. "So confident," he continued with a smile as he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "that I could kiss you right now and not worry about it."

"You could?" Meredith asked, a small smile playing on her face as well.

"I could," Derek answered softly with a nod as he leaned down, his lips inches from hers.

"Fine doctors I see. You two need to get a room," a familiar voice rang out along with the quick tapping off tennis shoes coming down the stairs. The two quickly pulled apart, looking up to see Dr. Bailey walking toward them. She stopped in front of them, putting her hand on her hip as she glared slightly at Meredith.

"I'm an attending too, you know," she said with raised eyebrows before walking around them and leaving the stairwell.

"So much for not getting caught," Meredith said, looking over at Derek. "Now I have the Nazi hating me."

"Yeah," Derek answered with a nod, looking back at her.

"So, am I gonna need the ear-plugs tonight? When the house starts rockin' don't come knockin'?" Mark asked with a laugh at his comment. Meredith glared at him slightly, looking up from the chart she was filling out as she leaned against the wall. "Be careful," he added, feeling like he was much more than clever, "when the bed starts squeakin' I might be peekin'." He started laughing uncontrollably, slapping his knee, and finding no mercy at his own joke. It was brilliant in his opinion.

"When my hand comes flyin', I'm sure you'll be cryin'," Meredith said, making her own rhyme.

"Huh?" Mark asked, his laughter refusing to stop. Meredith quickly smacked him over the head, his hand immediately coming to cover the area she had just hit and his laughter immediately dying.

"Owe," he whined, rubbing the newly soar spot quickly. Meredith rolled her eyes and shook her head as she picked up her chart again and started writing in it.

"How did you become a doctor, Mark?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"I'm slightly hurt by what you're implying," Mark commented, making a puppy-dog pout.

"Sorry. I'm on a surgery high, not held responsible for anything I say," Meredith said, holding up the chart slightly. "Just got out of a craniotomy with the car crash guy from yesterday. I'm monitoring."

"Interesting," Mark said, holding up a chart of his own. "I just got out of a rhinoplasty with a movie star, but I'm not making mean comments." Meredith giggled slightly at the monotonous tone Mark was using, sounding almost like Ben Stein, and the expressionless look on his face.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Yes. Right here, pestering you," Mark said with a grin as he mocked her position, leaning against the wall right beside her. "You are gonna do it tonight, right?"

"That's none of your business," Meredith pointed out.

"Only it's all of my business. I'll be the one hearing or not hearing it. I should know," Mark confirmed with a decisive nod.

"Well, I promise that if we 'do it' tonight, it will happen at my house. Cristina's out for the night. That way, there will be no pervert ears listening at the door," Meredith said, cocking her head and grinning and little at Mark as she closed her chart.

"Yeah, I know. Cristina can be nosy sometimes," Mark shrugged. "So, about what time should I join you two?"

"You are quite the moron," Meredith stated before peeling herself away from the wall and walking off.

"Hey," Derek said with a smile as Meredith stepped out of the locker room. She smiled back, readjusting her bag on her arm.

"Hey," she echoed her reply.

"Ready?" Derek asked as they started walking down the hall together.

"No fancy restaurants? Or are we just going to McDonald's?" she asked sarcastically with a grin, mocking his words from their last date. "I believe you promised romance, lots of romance. And candle light."

"And sex," Derek added with a grin.

"We'll see," Meredith said, her smile turning to evil smirk.

Meredith stepped out of the car, looking around at the very familiar scenery. She smiled at Derek as he closed her car door and stepped toward her.

"We're at your house," she said.

"Yes," Derek answered with a nod.

"I thought we were going for romantic. Moonlight, candles, and stuff," she said with a laugh. Derek smiled as he placed his hand on her lower back and started to guide her around to the back of the house. They reached the back yard only seconds later, revealing a picnic blanket on the ground below the stars and moon.

"I believe I promise candle light too," Derek said, nodding his head as he stepped over to the blanket and lit two long candles. "Moonlight, candles, wine. Romance." he shrugged and grinned at Meredith. "And there's only one thing missing..."

"This doesn't constitute. The date hasn't even started yet, there's no way to show that this is actually romantic. Plus, you've already taken me on a picnic," Meredith pointed out with a grin.

"So? What's the point?" Derek asked.

"So. The point is, there is more than one thing missing here. And until I get the R word, you're not getting any of the S word," Meredith said with a smirk as she sat down on the blanket, raising the wine bottle. "Would you like some wine?" Derek stood there, just looking at her for a few seconds with raised eyebrows. It was obvious- shown by the look in his eyes- that he was desirous. He finally stepped forward, smiling and refusing to accept defeat.

"Sex first, wine later," he said as he grabbed Meredith's hands and pulled her up swiftly, eliciting a giggle from her. They were quickly stifled, however, as his lips covered hers in a deep, passionate kiss.

Somehow, after the kiss became much more heated and they started back into the bedroom, Meredith had managed to stop Derek. And, she managed to convince him that they had to go to her house. There was no other option. She would not have Mark walking in and joining them in bed first thing in the morning. Derek had quickly made the decision for sex over sleeping in his own bed. And then, in the shortest time humanly possible to get from one place to another, they ended up at Meredith's house, in the same heated kiss they had been before they decided to switch locations. Meredith was hiked up slightly, her legs wrapped around Derek's waist securely and her head cocked back from his soft tug at her hair to grant himself more access to her neck and cleavage. Her shirt was long-since discarded and on the floor, her bare back pressed against the wall as he ravished her with kisses, finding all of her weak and sensitive spots immediately. It was as if he knew her body like the back of his hand. Just his soft touch and tender kisses on her skin made her core tighten. She could already feel herself getting mildly wet.

"Derek," she mumbled breathlessly. "We need to take this upstairs." He obeyed her command quickly, skillfully managing to continue kissing her and carry her up the stairs at the same time. Oh, the abilities of a horny, determined man. What seemed like seconds later, her back was flat against the bed, instead of on the wall, and Derek's lips were on her own instead of on her neck. His hands had taken the place of his lips on her bare body as they grazed her soft skin. One finger still tracing just above the waistline of her pants, the other hand slid under her back and unfastened her bra, pulling it off gently, yet hurriedly. Meredith gasped slightly into the kiss, bringing her hands up and running them through his thick hair, tugging at the locks softly as his hands again started to wander, finding their intended target on her chest. His hands caressed softly, his fingers tweaking her nipples occasionally as his tongue danced in her mouth. She let out a slight moan as he moved his mouth from hers, replacing his hands as they traveled down farther and unbuttoned her pants, sliding them down carefully (what a multi tasker). His fingers slowly and softly traced the outline of every hem on her panties, feathering her skin softly, causing shivers and tingles to erupt everywhere throughout her body before his finger slipped through the sides and slid them down her legs, the garment just becoming a variable in the pile of clothing that had gathered. As soon as he'd felt the warmth and wetness that had gathered between her legs, he wasted absolutely no time in slipping his finger inside her, skillfully playing inside her before entering another finger and working through an array of patterns. Meredith bit her lower lips as he worked her body into a frenzy, wondering why the hell she had waited so long to have sex with him again. His fingers worked skillfully and precisely, as if it were a surgery he was performing. She couldn't help but let a few of the moan she was so desperately trying to hold escape as he worked.

"Derek..." she whimpered, arching her back as his fingers hit sensitive spots. But, of course, since fate always worked against them, a cell phone started to ring. It was his. He was almost as happy as she was to ignore the annoying ringing, not paying a care to it. The it subsided. If it was that important, they would leave a message. Unfortunately though, instead of leaving a message, the caller dialed again, bringing about the incessant ringing again. Meredith and Derek both heaved a sigh of frustration and anger at whoever it was as there moment of foreplay ended for Derek to answer his phone.

"Hello," he growled into the phone.

"Derek! Derek," Mark's frantic voice rang out on the other line. "Derek, did you have candles?"

"What?" Derek asked, confused as to why Mark would call.

"Derek did you have candles going in the back yard?" Mark spit out frantically.

"What? Yes, yeah, I had candles. What's going on, why are you...what the hell? Are those sirens?" Derek asked, getting slightly frantic himself.

"Derek, the back porch is on fire," Mark said quickly before hanging up the phone.

"What?! Mark?! Shit!" Derek exclaimed, closing his phone and jumping up quickly.

Day 18...

Meredith lied in her bed, her eyes fixed on the trees blowing rapidly outside. The wind blew violently, slamming against the window in large gusts and causing thumping sounds on the window. Meredith snuggled deeper into the soft bed, pulling her blankets tighter around her body. It wasn't the wind that was keeping her awake. It wasn't the pouring rain. The thunder, or the lightning that occasionally lit the sky up. Actually, she would have normally found those things slightly relaxing. It was the fact that he wasn't there. She had found this happening every time she tried to sleep alone. Taking a nap in the on-call room or lying in her very own bed, she could not sleep without him. It was like he had her strung out. And how the hell did he do it? A week together and already, she couldn't sleep alone. She felt empty without his strong arms wrapped around her body for some reason. The bed felt cold. And she hated it. How the hell did he do it? That questioned seemed to keep floating through her mind. She finally heaved a sigh, pulling the covers back and getting out of bed quickly, slamming her hand a little violently on the banister as she started stumbling down the stairs in a slightly sleep driven haze. It wasn't even light outside, still in the extreme hours of the morning. Probably only slightly past 3:00 am. Turning the corner, she saw the glow from the kitchen. The light was on. She slowed down a little, almost afraid. She was supposed to be in the house alone. Cristina was with Burke. So who exactly was in her kitchen at the crack of dawn? She slowly tip-toed to the door, pushing it open and peeking inside, ready to make a run for it if she saw a guy standing in a mask with a knife, breathing heavily. Something out of a 'Halloween' movie. Or one of Hitchcock's originals. She let out a relaxed breath, though, when she saw Cristina standing there, eating a sandwich.

"What are you doing home?" Meredith asked as she pushed the door the rest of the way open and stumbled in, plopping down on a stool.

"I just performed an amazing surgery. You should have been there, Meredith. I was cutting my steak, imagining it as a really big, severely burnt heart. When all the sudden, someone collapses! He had Murphy's syndrome and ended up needing surgery! Isn't that great?!" Cristina exclaimed.

"Not for him," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.

"Woah. What put you in a bitchy mood? I thought you'd be excited about my fabulous date," Cristina said, putting the bottle of mustard back in the fridge.

"My date left in the middle of sex. His house caught on fire," Meredith said with a shrug. Cristina started laughing, pointing at Meredith and receiving a glare in return.

"Sorry," she said, stopping and clearing her throat. "So, this date? Is he the guy who gave you the love bite?" Cristina smirked before lifting her sandwich composed of a variety of meats and taking a bite, once again pointing, but this time to the hickey at the intersection of Meredith's neck and collar bone. Meredith's eyes widened as her hand came quickly to cover the spot Cristina was pointing to.

"Shit," she said, getting off her stool quickly and starting back toward the stairs. She ran into the bathroom, flicking on the lights quickly and looking at the bruise in the mirror. "Damn him!"

Mark shrugged as he and Derek stood in the kitchen, surveying the damage caused.

"At least you got sex," he said. "It's not that bad. Trust me, Derek, I would choose my penis over our house any day." He looked at Derek with a face of approval. Derek nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better about the money that has to be paid to repair this," he said, motioning to the damage with his head.

"Glad I could help," Mark said, patting Derek on the shoulder. "Alright, well. What are we gonna do? We can't just leave a hole in the back wall of the house. It looks like we'll only need to repair from this cabinet over. The other ones are only mildly scorched..." Mark started motioning to counters and walls with his hands.

"What? We can't only repair half of the counters. We can't have counters that are 'mildly scorched'," Derek said, crinkling his eyebrows.

"Dude. I know what I'm doing. Do you know how many fires I've caused in my day?" Mark asked.

"No, I think..." Derek started.

"Twenty-three and a half. That's how many," Mark said, putting his hand up to silence him. "Let me take care of this."

"A half?" Derek asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Yeah...that time it was half my fault and um...half Misty's husband's so...well, because see, I was the one who lit the candles, but um...he was the one who chased me through the house, so...you know what, I don't want to talk about it," Mark decided with a nod.

"Right," Derek agreed, shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

"It's three in the morning," Mark finally declared, looking at the clock on the stove, that thankfully did not get burned.

"Yes it is," Derek confirmed.

"How's your house?" Meredith asked with a slight smirk, stepping between Derek and Mark in the line at the coffee cart.

"Don't ask," Derek said, rolling his eyes.

"It's actually not that bad...just a couple...ten...thousand dollars of repair work and it'll be back to normal!" he snapped his fingers for emphasis as he gave a proud nod.

"That's great," Meredith said with a grin, "Only ten thousand doallrs."

"Only ten," Mark agreed with a nod.

"You know, I'm not..." Derek started, "I don't need co fee." He nodded as he placed his hand on Meredith's shoulder. "Can I, uh, talk to you?"

"Sure," Meredith nodded, stepping out of line with him. "I need to talk to you anyway." They started out of the cafeteria, quickly making their way into the hall.

"You go first," Derek said. Meredith looked around to make sure the hall was clear before she started talking in a whisper.

"You gave me a hickey! People see me everyday, patient's see me, how can you give me a hickey!" she spoke, not realizing that he wasn't really paying attention. "A hickey, Derek! Cristina pointed it out to me, that's how bad it is. How can you..." Derek looked around quickly, as she had done previously, before grabbing her hand and pulling her into an on-call room.

He locked the door quickly, turning around and stepped toward her, pulling his scrub top off as he pushed her back slightly so her back was against one of the metal poles supporting the bunk beds.

"Is the hickey really that big a deal?" he asked as he raised her own scrub top off. She smiled slightly.

"I guess not," she said, giggling as his hands immediately went to her bare skin, his lips covering her neck. It wasn't long before his fingers were slipped into her scrub pants, tracing, following each other across the seem of her underwear, ready to assume their position from the previous night. Meredith moaned slightly, feeling a sweat begin to break on her skin at just the thought of where the on-call room meeting was going.

"Derek, we shouldn't be doing this in the hospital...we could get caught..." the last coherent thought she would form through the next several minutes slipped out as a moan, a gasp as his fingers found the wet crease between her legs and slipped inside her.

"I'm sure we'll be fine...we can have sex in the hospital," Derek muttered against her neck. "Right?" He let his fingers dance at his request for her approval, making it sure-fire that he'd get his way. He felt her nod urgently. Their bodies were extremely close, her clinging to him, digging her nails into his back as he worked. He lowered her slightly so that their faces were at the same level, as he attacked her lips with his, pursuing her mouth with his tongue as his free hand came up to pull her scrub pants and panties down. He moved his fingers around inside her, holding her up with his free hand as she moaned and gasped when he touched certain places. Soon, they all blended together in a close-to-orgasm scream-like-thing. Derek quickly tore their bodies away from the support beam that was the pole and lied her down on the bed, moving his body down and burying his face between her legs. The pattern of his tongue and fingers became harmonic motion. It was like a melodic rhythm that both he and Meredith were quite enjoying. Meredith grabbed a handful of sheets, holding them tightly in one fist as the other hand came to his locks of hair, tugging gently.

"Derek..." she cried, biting her lip. Taking her throaty moans and whimpers as a cue, Derek repositioned himself, relieving himself of his own pants and underwear quickly, before entering her quickly, relishing in the moment both had been waiting for. He stopped, listening to the sound of both of their heavy pants in the silent stillness, before starting to slowly thrust again, moving inside her. It wasn't long before the moment became heated again with deep kissing and forceful, quick thrusts bringing extreme waves of pleasure to both Meredith and Derek.

Meredith pulled her hair back quickly after having fixed it from the big heap of mattress-mess it was in. She pushed her sleeves up slightly past her elbows and turned to face Derek.

"Thanks...for the sex," she said with a nod.

"No problem," Derek assured with a grin, shaking his head ad he tied his scrub pants securely. Meredith unlocked the door and turned the handle carefully, pulling the door open slightly and peeking out. She slipped out and closed the door behind her, leaving Derek to chuckle at her spy-like antics. Meredith sighed with relief as she walked down the hall. Nobody had caught them. They were safe. She smiled a little as she came around the corner and went to the nurses station, racking her mind for the first patient she had had in mind to see that day.

"Can I have..." she started, thinking about a name to call off.

"Phil Turner...very important. Urgent brain tumor, needs to be taken care of right away or he might croak. You should see him first," Mark said, reading his own chart as he came and stood beside her. "And you have a hickey." Meredith turned and looked at him.

"I know that. Do you not think I know I have a hickey," she scoffed.

"Just saying," Mark said with a shrug.

"Well, don't just say," she glared. "You always have a way to piss me off, you know that."

"Who's chart did you want, doctor?" the nurse asked.

"Phil Turner," Meredith and Mark answered at the same time.

"Thanks, a lot. Now all the nurses are going to be staring at my neck," Meredith informed him.

"Like they wouldn't notice it on their own," Mark said with a grin as he placed the chart neatly in the nurses stack. "You seriously underestimate the great help of this hospital."

"Shut up," Meredith responded with a sigh and slight smile as the nurse handed her her chart.

"Was the sex in the on-call room good?" Mark whispered in her ear as he walked by.

"Barbie called," Cristina said, a scowl on her face.

"What'd she say?" Meredith asked with a grin, looking up from the CT results she had in her hand that she was delivering. She always loved to hear the way Cristina spun Izzie's words to make her sound like the biggest ditz on the planet.

"She wants us to all get together for Christmas and spend it 'cherishing the life of baby Jesus in light of friendship'," Cristina said, using air-quotes. Meredith laughed a little.

"Oh wow," she said, shaking her head.

"That's not even that bad. She says that if we don't go to New York, she's going to fly to Seattle because 'whatever it takes, she plans to keep our close knit family happy'," Cristina said rolling her eyes. "We are not close knit! We are not happy!"

"You're not happy," Meredith corrected.

"Neither are you," Cristina said.

"Oh, yes I am. I'm very happy. I'm a happy person. You're the one who hates the world," Meredith pointed out.

"No, Meredith. I hate all the idiots in the world. There is a difference," Cristina stated.

"Well, whatever. You're still not happy," Meredith shrugged.

"Would you be happy if you were raised by my mom?" Cristina asked expectantly. Meredith turned, giving her a look that said it all. "Yeah, okay, I get it. Evil bat woman is worse, but still."

"Fine. If your mom was my mom, I would also hate the world," Meredith obliged.

"Thank you," Cristina said with a satisfied nod in Meredith's direction.

"You're very welcome," Meredith said. She smiled at Cristina as she turned down a side-hall, making her way to Derek's office.

Derek looked up from the MRI results he was looking at as he heard the light knock at his door. The door opened silently and Meredith stepped in, smiling.

"Hey," he said as his own face gained a smile.

"Hi," Meredith said, handing him the CT scans and sitting in a chair across from his desk. Derek pulled the CT scans out of the large envelope labeled with the patient's information and SGH in large print. He held them up to the light, scanning over them quickly, confirming that the patient had a very major concussion but nothing too dangerous. He put them back into the envelope with a sigh, grabbing the chart that was lying on his desk that corresponded to the information on the chart. He looked at Meredith, noticing she looked deep in thought and also a little worried.

"You okay?" he asked, flipping the chart open.

"Oh," Meredith said, slightly startled as she was pulled out of her day-dream. "Um, yeah. I was thinking about having dinner with my dad tonight. I can't decide. My father and I haven't had the...best relationship."

"Big fight?" Derek asked curiously, closing the chart and handing it, along with the CT results, to Meredith.

"Something like that," Meredith shrugged with a small smile, taking the small stack of things and standing.

Derek stood in surgery, the scalpel in his hand, performing emergency surgery on a patient from trauma. Sometimes he had moments, that actually usually came while he was in the OR, where he knew. Not knew anything in particular, just knew. Knew that something was off, knew that something was happening, knew that someone was watching him, things like that. And as he stood, scalpel in hand, completely in control, he knew that someone was, in fact, watching him. It was that tingle he got suddenly in his spine, the feeling where you just know that two eye balls are watching you, beaming into your shoulder blades like laser beams. He turned his head, looking up into the gallery, which he assumed would be empty based on the late time and business outside th OR door. But it wasn't. Instead, Meredith sat, watching him. She smiled down at him as they made eye contact, eliciting him to smile back from behind his mask. He turned again, focusing his attention on the surgery.

"Clamp," he said, holding his hand out to the nurse.

Meredith finished her shift later than usual. There had been a huge car crash, semi-truck overturned, six car pile-up behind it, and she had had to stay and assist. But, after a lot of work, the ER was quiet again. She went to the locker room, changing into street clothes and starting out of the hospital to leave. The surgery board caught her eye, though, as she walked by it. Derek's name was on it for OR 2. She quickly contemplated and decided to drop into the gallery and see him one last quick time before she left. She ended up standing there, watching him a bit longer than expected. After a while, he noticed and turned, their eyes locking in a quick gaze as they exchanged smiles. He quickly diverted his eyes, going back to the difficult surgery at hand. Meredith turned, walking out of the gallery and leaving the hospital.

If you would have told her only a year before that on this night, she would first watch her boyfriend slash boss in the OR, then go to her estranged father's house for dinner with his wife, she would have laughed and told you that you were so off base it wasn't even funny. But, on that night, Meredith went and watched her boss slash boyfriend in the Or, then went to her estranged father's house to have dinner with him and his wife. She stepped on the porch, trying to decide rather or not to knock. She raised her hand several times to do so, but she never really could make her wrist move. She finally sighed, accepting defeat, and turning to walk down the stairs. She stopped, though, as over the dark lawn, light shown in a steady path.

"Meredith?" she heard from the door. She turned quickly, seeing her father standing there behind the door.

"Um...hi," Meredith said with an awkward smile.

"We were, um...eating a late dinner, and Susan thought she saw a prowler, so...what are you doing here, Meredith?" Thatcher asked.

"Oh, I was just...I'm not...am I..." Meredith stumbled, moving her hands in motions as she spoke.

"No. No, you're not intruding. Why don't you join us for dinner? It's freezing out here," Thatcher said. Meredith sighed, not knowing rather or not dinner was a good idea. But, she had originally come for dinner, so, why not? She shrugged, smiling softly again.

"Sure," she said, stepping back onto the porch and in from the cold air and light snow.

Derek's surgery had been very long. Long and difficult. What he really wanted to do was sleep, in his own comfortable bed. But somehow, Mark had talked him into going to Joe's for just one drink after their surgeries. He stepped into the bar behind Mark, hoping to be able to drink quickly and persuade Mark to leave so he could get home. He started toward the bar, stopping and cocking his head slightly as for the first time, he noticed the tiny, fragile looking frame sitting at the bar. He stepped up to her, looking at the line of shot glasses she had produced. He raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked over at her.

"Wow. Are you drunk?" he asked. Meredith looked over at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, slightly confused. She had actually been at the bar for hours, taking the alcohol in stride. She was drunk, but not too drunk to comprehend.

"I just left the hospital. Mark talked me into coming for a drink. So, that begs the question. What are you doing here?" Derek asked, a slight grin on his face.

"I just spent the evening with my father and his wife, who I've never met, which was not the most pleasant experience that I've ever been through. I kinda needed a drink," Meredith said with a sigh. Derek smiled, laughing at her simple statement that had so much more depth than what she was making it out to be. He pulled out his wallet, shaking his head as he placed down the money for her drinks.

"Okay. Well, you've had your drink now. Time to go home," he said, extending his hand toward her. Meredith smiled up at him, for the first time thankful that somebody had stopped her from drinking more. She grabbed his hand and stood, leaving the bar with him.

Day 19...

Meredith woke up, nuzzled into Derek's chest with his arms wrapped around her securely. She smiled as she snuggled even deeper into his warmth, taking in his scent. It didn't really have a name. It wasn't a particular cologne or soap. It was just him. It was a Derek-y-ness-scent. She lay in the same position for a few minutes, listening to his heartbeat and the sound of his lungs bringing in and gushing out air, hearing his sleep-mumble once or twice. She finally slipped out of the warm bed, goosebumps instantly forming over her skin as the air hit her body. She slipped out of the bedroom quietly and into the bathroom, walking over to the shower and turning it on, hoping for the water to warm quickly. The room filled with steam in just a few minutes and she shed her clothes, quickly stepping into the hot water. Instant gratification hit her body as the stream hit her cold skin. She closed her eyes in relief and relaxation as she stepped directly into the water, letting her hair and face get wet as well.

Derek woke up as the sound of the shower running filtered through his sleeping peace. He groaned slightly at first, lifting his head off the pillow and checking the time. Mark was already at work, and the place that had previously been occupied by Meredith's small body was empty, which could only mean one thing. He smiled slightly, no longer feeling tired, as he quickly pulled up the covers and slipped out of bed. He opened the door, immediately feeling heat and steam hit his body. The mirror was fogged over, as was the glass on the shower doors. Closing the door lightly behind himself, he walked over to the shower, shedding clothes on his way. He placed his hand on the handle of the shower door, pulling it open quickly. Meredith turned at the gust of cold air, looking slightly startled at first. She quickly relaxed, however, smiling softly as she saw him.

"Good morning," she said, the water still beating onto her body. Derek smiled back slightly as he stepped in, closing the door behind himself. Meredith giggled, the urgency evident by the look in his eyes, and his bulging erection, of course. He sure didn't think twice. And suddenly, she was easily pulled under as well. His lips were covering hers in a deep kiss, his hands gently releasing the washcloth from her, which she was gripping tightly in her hand without notice. He held it under the warm spray of the shower head before bringing it back to their bodies. He moved his mouth from hers as he followed the intricate circles he was making over her breasts with his tongue, stopping and paying special attention as he got to her hard nipple, running his tongue in soft circle and sucking. He continued to trail the washcloth down her torso lightly, in a teasing manner, as goosebumps reformed on her skin from something other than the cold air. Once again, he followed the pattern of the wash cloth with his tongue down the skin of her stomach, trailing the wash cloth further down between her thighs, his soft stroking making her gasp, sucking in air quickly each time. Finally, he let go of the wash cloth, moving his tongue down her body further, running his tongue across her most sensitive spots in a pattern. Her body vibrated and shook with pleasure as e continued on. She panted heavily as he finally removed his mouth and stood again, cupping her breasts in his hands once more as he pushed her back against the shower wall gently. Her wet body instantly became chilly without the warm spray running over her. He braced his hands on the slippery wall beside her, coming inside her with one push, sending chills of pleasure and anticipation through her body. He thrust slowly at first, quickening his pace as he found the pattern that she seemed to enjoy immensely. Rocking her hips, Meredith met his strokes and rhythm, creating intense pleasure for both of them. Meredith's shrieks of satisfaction, along with Derek's verbal expression as they both came, tore through the air that was silent except for the water still pummeling down on the floor of the shower.

Mark Sloane did not wake up a happy camper that morning. He was supposed to go to work, but he called off. He had had a massive hangover and didn't want some poor, unsuspecting woman to come out lopsided because of his pounding head ache. But, it seemed that staying home was a bad idea, seeing as he heard every noise coming from the not sos silent bathroom down the hall. When he'd told Meredith his friend needed sex, he didn't expect that he'd know every time Derek got it. Mark forcefully pulled the pillow over his head, half trying to drown out the sound, and half trying to end his misery with suffocation. Finally, he heard the shower turn off along with some giggling from Meredith. Rolling his eyes, he rolled over in his comfortable bed, wishing that he would have gotten some sex instead of Derek. But life didn't work that way. Life sucked. Mark realized this. And that is why, on that morning, he was not a happy camper.

"Hey," Cristina said, coming up to Meredith. "Ew. You're glowing. You look happy."

"Is there something wrong with being happy?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"It depends...why are you happy?" Cristin asked curiously.

"Because of great sex," Meredith said.

"Then it's perfectly fine," Cristina shrugged. "Who delivered?"

"Um...just some guy, that I met...at a place," Meredith said quickly.

"Right. So a geeky one night stand friend you made at Joe's," Cristina said with a smirk.

"Exactly," Meredith agreed quickly.

"Dr. Grey," Derek said, coming up behind her to get a chart, and standing a little too close to go unnoticed, Cristina watched as they interacted with eye and body language. She squinted suspiciously, waiting until Derek went away to address it.

"What the hell was that?" she asked.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Burke asked, looking at Cristina with an obviously confused expression. She was standing at the window to the trauma room, watching them as they interacted with each other and the patient.

"Spying," Cristina answered simply.

"Why?" Burke asked, in a very Burke-like-way.

"I think there's something going on between her and Shepherd," Cristina said, leaning closer to the glass. "She won't say it, she denied it, but it's so obvious. I just know it."

"You don't know anything," Burke corrected her. "You can only assume."

"No. There's something going on," Cristina assured him, cocking her head slightly.

"We've ordered an MRI to see how extensive the damage is, but right now it seems you only have a minor concussion," Derek said, writing in the chart as he talked to the patient and her husband. "How did this happen, now?"

"Oh...I um, I slipped. This morning, in the shower," the patient explained quickly. "And hit my head."

"On the faucet," the husband added. "She hit her head on the faucet. See, that's the direction we were facing when..."

"It happened," the wife finished, blushing slightly. Derek looked up, slightly confused and not following their story.

"I guess the lesson to be learned is that shower sex can be dangerous," the husband said through laughter, receiving a smack from his wife.

"Oh, I see," Derek said as it came together. He flashed a quick smile at Meredith, getting the same smirk from her in return. "Well, Mrs. Johnson, we should have your MRI back soon."

"Okay," the patient said, nodding her head, her cheeks still a light shade of red.

"Dr. Grey," Derek said, motioning for her to leave with him. Meredith smiled at the patient's quickly following.

They stepped onto the elevator, starting to laugh as the doors closed. It probably wouldn't have been funny had they not had sex in the shower a few hours before.

"We are so never having sex in the shower again," Meredith said through her laughter. "Way too dangerous."

"That's okay, there's always the car and the kitchen table," Derek said with a smirk. Meredith rolled her eyes looking at the numbers as their laughter finally started to die down.

"The table, huh? Are you referring to the one in your burnt down kitchen?" she asked, looking back over at Derek.

"The hole in the wall should provide a breeze," he said with a shrug.

"An easy way to catch pneumonia," Meredith pointed out jokingly.

"We can always test it out tonight," Derek suggested with a grin.

"Sorry, tonight is being spent at home. I'm working to prove Cristina's suspicions wrong...even though they're right," Meredith said with a sigh.

"Well, if you'd prefer we can go out into the parking lot right now and try the other plan," Derek said, smirking down at Meredith.

"Wow, what a gentlemanly way to proposition me," Meredith said, returning his smirk and rolling her eyes.

"Is there a gentlemanly way?" Derek asked with a shrug.

"I suppose not," Meredith said, shaking head. Derek grabbed the hem of her scrub top, pulling her into him and leaning down, kissing her softly. That only lasted for a second, though, as the kiss turned passionate and heated, his tongue urging her lips to open and grant him further access. Bringing her had to his face, she slowly parted her lips, relaxing into his body as they kissed. Had they been in a more private area, the kiss probably would have gone farther. Derek's hand was already slipped slightly underneath the back of her scrub top, his hands resting on the bare skin of her lower back. The dinging that suggested their arrival at their floor was what pulled them apart. Meredith sighed as they pulled apart, just as the doors did.

"I'll see you around," she said with a slight smile, biting her lower lip. Derek nodded in agreement with his own smile as they stepped out of the elevator. Meredith started down the hall, stopping as her pager went off. She stopped and pulled it out of her holder.

"Crap," she mumbled to herself. She didn't think this would actually happen. She figured it was a warning or something. She had denied it. But now, as she looked down at her pager, there was no denying that Miranda Bailey had every intention of carrying through with her promise for reprimand.

She had no right. She had absolutely no right, whatsoever, to make Meredith do dirty work. She wasn't even her attending. Derek was her attending...and he was her boyfriend, which got her into this mess in the first place. And her half a day with Bailey reminded Meredith of her first week with Derek and then some. Bailey was even worse. Meredith was tired, and every muscle in her body ached from some of the chores Bailey had her doing. She sat on the bench in the locker room, her eyes closed as she tried to rejuvenate herself. She wasn't going to complain. She was going to suck it up. She made her bed and it was time to lie in it. She just needed to figure a way out before she had to lie in it for much longer. She stood up again, finally pulling her shirt out of her locker and pulling it on, slamming her locker before turning and starting out of the locker room.

"Hey, where've you been all day?" Cristina asked, coming in as Meredith was leaving.

"Don't ask," Meredith said, sending a slight, unintentional glare at Cristina.

"Okay then," Cristina shrugged, opening her locker. "So, are you gonna be home tonight, or are you staying with McDreamy again?"

"I am not sleeping with my boss. That's you, remember?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ooh, harsh. Only, you are. Don't insult my intelligence, it's so obvious," Cristina said with a sigh.

"I am one-hundred percent, not sleeping with my boss," Meredith lied.

"Can anyone spell 'delusional'?" Cristina asked sarcastically. "If Shepherd has you believing he's not your boss when you do hankey-pankey with him he must be really good at the whole roll playing thing. Do you prefer pizza boy or lion tamer?"

Meredith pulled up to her house and stepped out of her car, locking the door and finding her house key on the ring. Starting up the porch, she looked up, slightly taken back by the sight in front of her.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said, walking up to Ellis and her new accomplice. "Why the hell do you have to keep interfering?"

"Meredith, you're making a mistake," Ellis said firmly, a smug look on her face due to the brilliance of her new plan.

"I am doing no such thing. You don't get to take my happiness away and call it parenting," Meredith said, annoyance apparent in her voice.

"But you're happy because of the wrong reasons, dear," Ellis said with a sigh.

"It's good to see you, Meredith," the voice from beside her mother finally spoke up. Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...nice to see you too, Chad," Meredith said unconvincingly. "Mother, I need to talk to you."

"No Meredith tonight?" Mark asked as Derek walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Nope. No Meredith," Derek answered with a sigh.

"Good, I wouldn't want you keeping our company up," Mark said with a grin.

"Company?" Derek asked. He'd seen an extra car outside but her assumed the neighbors were having a visitor.

"Yep. Guess who decided to drop in?" Mark asked.

"Weiss and Savvy!" a tall blond exclaimed from the doorway.

Day 20...

"Trouble in paradise, I suspect," Cristina said, smirking at Meredith as she walked down to the kitchen.

"What paradise? There is no paradise. My mother and ex-fiance are going to stalk me, all day. I know it. They're going to show up at my work place, come here for dinner, and follow me every where I go in an attempt to ruin my happy, happy life," Meredith said in a slightly elevated tone.

"Aw. Is someone worried about what McDreamy will say when Bam-Bam and Corella come to the hospital?" Cristina asked in mock pity.

"And Dr. Shepherd and I are not together," Meredith said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, Meredith, when are you going to figure out that I know everything? I mean, do you not know that I'm a genius?" Cristina asked expectantly.

"You're full of yourself," Meredith pointed out. "And I'm very bitter about life right now, today is not the day to screw with me."

"But it is the day to be screwed by McDreamy..." Cristina said with a grin.

"Ask me why I hate you," Meredith said with a slight nod.

"You're not allowed to hate me, Meredith. And you're not allowed to be bitter at life. I'm eating honey nut cheerios and you can buy coffee grinds for 59 cents. This is America and life is good. Live it up," Cristina said with a shrug and a smug look. Meredith glared slightly at her.

"Oh...go take a pregnancy test!" she said, walking out of the kitchen.

"I'm highly offended by that! You could have just told me to go to hell where I belong!" Cristina called after her, hearing the bathroom door slam. "Yeah, I'm good. I really am a genius."

"So, Addie and I were thinking..." Savvy started after swallowing a sip of coffee.

"Oh God. Let's not talk about Addison, please. I'm still waking up," Derek groaned.

"But she..." Savvy started.

"Sav, let's just leave it alone. They live across the country from each other, they're not going to get together," Weiss said with a sigh, putting his fork down on his plate.

"But there's always a chance!" Savvy argued.

"Ooh, Derek hasn't told you about his extra curricular activities here in Seattle, has he?" Mark asked with a grin as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mark...I'm going to shove you through the hole in the wall," Derek warned.

"Derek has a fuck buddy," Mark sang out, his face showing challenge.

"What?!" Savvy whipped her head around quickly, looking at Derek angrily.

"Excuse me," Meredith said, getting one of the nurse's attention. "Do you know where Dr. Shepherd is?"

"I don't think he's come in yet," the nurse said, not looking up from the computer screen.

"Thanks," Meredith said with a sigh. Where was he? He was never late. It wasn't like him to be late. Why was he late? She heard the elevator ding and quickly turned around, hoping that it's be him instead of someone like her mother and Chad. And, it was quite likely that it was someone like her mother and Chad. Her mother's full intent to get them back together was very clear. Or, maybe she didn't want to get them back together. Maybe she just wanted to break her and Derek up. Either way, her mother was a determined woman, and Meredith knew she always won. But there was no way Meredith was going to let her win this time. Still, she braced herself to see her mother standing in the elevator, coming to stomp on Meredith's day. She breathed a sigh of relief as she instead saw Derek and Mark, deep in conversation.

"But you shouldn't have said anything!" Derek exclaimed.

"I didn't know Savvy was going to go all cage fighter on you, I'm sorry," Mark reasoned.

"How could you not? Savvy and Addison are best friends," Derek pointed out with a sigh.

"I apologize with all my heart," Mark said, sounding completely insincere. "Maybe next time you should try and not wake me up with noisy sex."

"Spite? This is out of spite? You're vengeful," Derek concluded with a nod.

"Precisely," Mark said, walking in another direction.

"What was that about?" Meredith asked, walking up to Derek.

"Um...some friends of mine...they want to meet you. They want to have dinner tonight with us," Derek said, slightly uneasily. He knew how Savvy was. He knew how she could be, and he was slightly worried. But he did need Meredith to do this, or Savvy wouldn't think twice about killing him. Meredith's eyes widened slightly.

"I...can't," she said, biting her lower lip. Derek looked down at her slightly confused. And she was biting her lower lip. Great. He couldn't force her to go if she was doing that. He loved that, it drove him crazy.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because...I'm...having dinner with my mother and ex-fiance," Meredith shrugged and grinned. "Honestly, don't you think..."

"It's not that big of a deal. I promise, it might be a little rough, but it won't be too bad. Please?" Derek asked, giving her a pleading look mixed with the McDreamy look. He was unstoppable with the McDreamy look.

She had tried. She had really tried very hard to not give into him. To make herself immune to his famous look. It had already been deemed the McDreamy look, and it always made her go weak. She tried, but she just couldn't help it. After his McDreamy look, the pleading apparent in his deep eyes, Meredith had no choice but to give in. She's finally said fine, eliciting one of his famous McDreamy grins to go along with the look. Meredith rolled her eyes turning to walk away.

"Dr. Grey," Dr. Bailey walked up and nodded in her direction as way of greeting, exchanging charts from a nurse.

"Dr. Bailey," Meredith said quickly, biting her lower lip slightly as she turned to walk in the other direction, knowing not to temp anything that may get her into Bailey's wrath again.

"Mer, your mother stopped by the house with..." Cristina was suddenly there behind her, between her and Derek, talking.

"Chad," Meredith said bitterly as he showed up behind Derek with flowers in his hand. The day had started off okay, right? Why was this day going downhill?

"Meredith," Chad let out a slightly relieved sigh and smiled. Derek turned slightly, looking at Chad then back at Meredith with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Dr. Grey, we have patients," he said, plastering on a fake smile to seem professional in front of all the people that now surrounded them.

"Yeah...we do, we have patients...I'll...tell my mother I'll see her later," Meredith said, quickly weaving her way out of the group of people and following Derek.

"So, that's the ex fiance?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes," Meredith answered, slightly uneasily.

"Should I be worried?" Derek asked, quickly glancing back at the dumbfounded looking people as he pressed the button on the elevator.

"No, absolutely not," Meredith answered quickly.

"Good," Derek smiled at her with a nod, trying to keep his face void of jealousy. There was no doubt that he was raging inside with it. Which was strange, because Derek had never considered himself a jealous person. He could only recall one other time in his life when he was jealous, and it was in first grade when Mark got the blue bike and he ended up with the red. He chuckled slightly at the memory as they stepped into the elevator, still fighting to keep his jealousy down. It hadn't been there when he found out that Meredith had been engaged before. But for some reason, it was there now. No, not for some reason, he knew the reason. It was because now that he'd seen him, all he could picture was this guy touching Meredith. Touching her skin with his hands, and it made him sick to his stomach. He could explain why the jealousy and nausea was there, he just couldn't understand the feeling. It was new to him. He had never been in love.

Meredith had just removed a tumor from a patient's spinal cord, of course, with Derek supervising. It was the first thing they'd done, the first patient she'd seen. It was almost, almost too early in the morning to be on a surgery high. But, she was still feeling nervous and frustrated, and it was apparent. Open for everyone to see.

"Post-ops...could you monitor him? And, be in OR 2 at 3:00 for an Arachnoid Granulation," Derek said, exiting the scrub room.

"Alright," Meredith said, following behind. They stopped and gazed at each other quickly, their eyes meeting for a brief second as they smiled at each other before heading off in separate directions. Meredith went to the nurses station and go the patient's chart, making a few quick notes in it before grabbing the few other post-ops and heading toward the rooms to monitor them for the next however many hours. She had to make several notes and run a few labs that the nurses had made note needed to be done, but it wasn't that grueling to be in post-op. It seemed to fly by, which was strange, because post-op never seemed to fly by. It was probably because she didn't want the day to fly by. She was dreading the dinner with Derek's friends. She was Meredith. An avoider. She avoided because she said the wrong things and she was going to say the wrong thing, she knew it. But she couldn't avoid. And so the one day she wanted to go by slowly, went by quickly. And it didn't seem like long before 3:00 came and it was time to go back to the OR. The simple procedure didn't take more than a couple of hours. She stayed with the patient until he woke up and took a few vitals before deciding to spend the rest of her shift in the pit doing sutures and other meaningless things. She did this once in a while just to freshen up skills. Something her old resident had always wanted from the interns. That was one plus to leaving New York, never having to see 'Heal with Love Cindy' again. She was in the middle of suturing some woman's hand after having cut herself while chopping lettuce, when the doors to the pit burst open and a few paramedics rushed in with a bloody man on the gurney. Meredith looked at them as they rushed by, the man's head was literally crushed in, his eyes seemingly out of they sockets. She pulled off her gloves quickly, assuring her patient shew would be right back as she sprang up and tushed to the room he had just been escorted to.

"Page Dr. Shepherd," she ordered as she walked in, hearing the nurse rattle of stats.

"How did this happen?" she asked the paramedic as the nurse continued to read.

"Construction worker, it iced pretty bad last night, he slipped and fell five stories," the paramedic explained. Meredith nodded, looking at the extensive damage. Derek rushed in moments later and they started conversing, deciding to go into emergency surgery.

After having to literally put the brains back inside the patient's head and reconstruct his skull, Meredith and Derek scrubbed out of the very long and difficult surgery. Meredith glanced at the clock in the scrub room. Her shift had been over for two hours, and they were supposed to meet Derek's friends in an hour.

"Should we cancel the dinner plans?" she asked, looking over at him. He looked up at her and smiled, laughing slightly.

"You really want to get out of this, don't you?" he asked. He'd noticed how strange she'd been acting. Her eyes showed obvious worry, he body showed how tense she was. He'd noticed.

"No, it's just, the patient..." Meredith started.

"Meredith, the patient has almost every active neurologist at Seattle Grace monitoring him throughout the night, he'll be fine. The dinner will be fine," Derek assured her, hoping to relax her slightly.

"Derek, I'm...I...never mind," Meredith said, heaving a sigh as she quickly dried her hands and left the scrub room. Derek looked after her curiously, turning off the water and drying his hands as he started out of the tiny room as well. He changed quickly and made his way to the locker room that she changed in, opening the door and leaning on a set of lockers. She was sitting on a bench, scrub pants and a bra on, her hair out of it's pony tail and hanging around her face. She looked deep in thought, gazing at the lockers intensely. He smiled slightly, resisting the sudden urge he had, the sudden desire to rip off the remained of her clothes and have sex with her in the locker room.

"You okay?" he asked. Meredith jumped a little at the sound of a sudden voice, looking at him quickly.

"Yeah...yeah, I;m fine. I'm good," she said quickly, standing and pulling on her top. She untied her scrub pants and let them fall to the ground, grabbing her jeans out of the locker.

"Mer, what's bothering you? Is it the dinner thing, because we don't..." Derek started.

"It's not the dinner thing. It's the mother thing, and the ex-fiance thing, and the new friends thing, so it kind of is the dinner thing, but not really the dinner thing, because it's a combination of things, and it all just builds up into this one big thing that makes me want to blow my brains out because I'm so fed up," Meredith said, taking a deep breath at the end of her rant. A small grin crept it's way onto Derek's face. She was cute when she rambled. He loved her rambling.

"We can cancel, though. Take a little off your load," he suggested with a shrug, cocking his head to the side a little.

"No, no, that's fine," Meredith said, flashing his a quick smile before turning and grabbing her shoes out of her locker, putting her tennis shoes in and slamming it. Surprisingly, she felt a little better. Like before she hadn't been acting like it all really bothered her. Like she'd been acting as if her mother's presence was only slightly annoying when really, it worried the hell out of her. And not to mention Chad's being there. Of course, he was easily ditchable. She'd done it earlier in the day, it wouldn't be hard to do again. He wasn't like her mother, the sticky thing that was unblowawayable. And getting through the dinner would help a lot too. She knew that. So, taking one last deep breath, she decided to get it over with. She walked up to Derek and extended her hand.

"Ready?" she asked. He smiled back, grabbing her hand and escorting her out of the locker room.

Savvy had a plan. It was concocted in her head. There was no way Derek could love this girl. He was in love with Addison. So, before even meeting this new, twenty-something year old that Derek was screwing, she hated her. So, she had a plan that was concocted in her head. She sat, sipping her martini and watching the door intensely, not noticing her husband's attempts at getting her attention. She just had to drive this girl away. And she had a plan. So, in waiting desperately to put the plan into affect, she could care less about Weiss. Finally giving up on getting her attention, Weiss sighed and picked up his scotch, taking a long sip. He knew his wife. He could sense the wheels turning in her head. She had a plan. And it probably wasn't exactly a good one, judged by the look on her face. The door to Joe's bar swung open, granting a ring of the bell above it in order to make the new movement known. He stood as he saw Derek enter, his hand on a beautiful girl's back as he escorted her in. Weiss smiled and waved at Derek as he entered, his wife not giving the same courtesy. Had it been Addison, he knew Savvy would have jumped up, ran over and hugged them both, already making small talk with Addie about how good the new Mary-Kay product she had was. He rolled his eyes slightly at his wife's attitude, noticing the already worried look on the girl's face.

"Shep," he greeted Derek with a smile and hug, sliding out of the booth.

"Hey," Derek grinned back, gesturing toward the girl as soon as their brief hug was finished. "Weiss and Savvy, this is Meredith, and vice versa. Savvy's the pretty one, by the way."

"Are you suggesting I'm not pretty?" Weiss asked with a smile.

"Mark could help you," Derek joked with a shrug.

"You could have some work done yourself," Weiss grinned back, pulling Meredith into a hug. "Nice to meet you, Meredith."

"Yes. Yeah, really great to meet you, Meredith," his wife finally stood, agreeing insincerely with her husband, saying Meredith's name with a hint of venom in her voice.

It didn't take long for Meredith to realize that either Savvy didn't like or, or she was a cold hearted, very stand off-ish bitch. Or maybe a little of both. Either way, between the glares, dirty looks, daggers, scowls, glowers, whatever word you want to use, she was receiving from her all night, Savvy had a problem. She wasn't active in the conversation, and didn't bother to even pick at let alone eat the food in front of her. Instead, she just stared gruffly, finally pushing the basket of carbs away as everyone else finished.

"I have to head to the powder room, Mer- it's okay if I call you that- care to join me? A little girl talk could do us good," she said, her false smile screwed on so tightly it looked vacuum sealed. Meredith looked at her reluctantly.

"Sure," she finally said hesitantly, after studying her for a few brief seconds. She stood and started back toward the ladies room. She had never been one to go to the bathroom in groups. She went into the bathroom to actually go to the bathroom, that's what it was for. She wasn't your typical, stand in front of the mirror and gossip girl. And she figured if anyone wanted to be with her for the for the sole purpose of joining her for the pleasant experience of vomiting alcohol or emptying her bladder, that person was someone who was in need of serious help, and maybe some medication. And she especially never went to the bathroom with someone who called them 'powder rooms'. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her as much as it did when Savvy said it. But for some reason, it seemed to further her 'snooty bitch' appeal.

"So, Mer, how did you meet Derek?" Savvy asked as the door to the bathroom finally closed behind them and she started to empty her purse, full of make up.

"Um...work," Meredith said, eying the contents that had taken residence on the counter and wondering how anyone's face could have so much make up without sagging. Her skin seemed to carry more paint than Home Depot.

"He's your boss, then, right?" Savvy asked, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Kinda," Meredith said, noticing the look on Savvy's face and adding a sense of defensiveness to her voice. "What are you getting at?"

"No need to get upset, Mer. I understand it. You have that whole wide eyes, ooh, he's a neurosurgeon thing going on. You're the gold digging whore type, it's okay..." Savvy shrugged.

"Excuse me?" Meredith looked at her disbelievingly. Was this woman actually saying this kind of thing?

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to insult you..." Savvy started turning to face Meredith.

"Really, because that's what it sounds like," Meredith interrupted.

"I'm just saying, you're not what Derek's looking for. Trust me. I've seen his girlfriends, and I've seen his booty calls. And you're the latter," she shrugged. "I just think maybe you should quit while you're ahead. I think you're setting yourself up for a heart break."

"You think so, huh? You know what I think? I think you're a hypocrite. I think you have no right to pass judgment on me when you barely no me. I think you're no better than me, if anything, you're worse. And I think you have a stick shoved so far up your ass that it couldn't be removed with a scalpel. I also think that you have no right to demean my relationship with Derek. While it may not be that serious, you still don't get to come in and kick mud all over what we have. It's none of your business. So, I think, that you should keep your nose out of it because it's not your life, and you're not God. I make my decisions," Meredith said, stepping slightly closer to Savvy and raising her voice slightly. Normally, she would have handled it in a more mature way, but this woman was too much like her mother for that. She was too much of a bitch. Savvy looked stunned, she had obviously not expected Meredith to stand up for herself. Rolling her eyes, Meredith turned and pulled the door open quickly, walking out of the bathroom.

"I have to go," she said quickly, passing the table and grabbing her coat, storming out of Joe's into the freezing cold and light snowfall.

Was she a booty-call? He seemed to change his mind about her quickly enough. He hated her. She slept with him. He liked her. He thought she was engaged, he hated her. She yelled at him and made out with him in an exam room, he liked her. What was it? It had been on her mind since she had climbed into her car and quickly driven off, making sure to get out fast enough before he could come after her and convince her to go back inside, or decide to leave with her and end up becoming her knight in shining whatever. She hated knight's in shining whatever, she didn't need one. She also hated being used for sex. She doubted their relationship was just that. She was 99 sure it was more than that. But Savvy knew him well. Was she being honest about her feelings toward their relationship, or was she stirring the coals to cause fire? Was she right? Meredith sighed as she pulled into the drive way and turned the car off, the engine's purr coming to a complete stop and the light previously reflected from the headlights gone. She sat in the car until the cold air took over the car that had become warm from the heater. Finally, she opened the door, slipping her keys into her bag and starting up to the front door.

"I waited," she heard from the swing. She looked over quickly, slightly startled. "I waited all day for you. I looked everywhere for you at the hospital. I came here and waited all night for you to come home. And I still never got to give you your flowers." Chad smiled at her as he rose from the porch swing and walked over to her. She looked up into the eyes that had once been familiar to her, not believing she ever could have loved him, not believing she ever could have looked into those eyes and felt anything but disgust.

"That seems a bit stalkerish, don't you think?" she asked.

"Mer, give me a chance. I flew all the way across the country for you..." Chad started.

"You flew all the way across the country because my mother told you to..." Meredith began to interrupt.

"I've changed," Chad argued.

"I find that hard to believe," Meredith challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"I still love you," Chad said softly, walking a step closer and quickly leaning in, planting a soft kiss on her lips and pulling away quickly before giving her time to either give in or slap him. He didn't want to know which reaction it would be. "And I want another chance. So, please, take the flowers." He held the flowers out, receiving absolutely nothing in return from Meredith. She still seemed slightly stunned at his audacity to make such a rash move after everything that had happened. "I'll see you around," he smiled, placing the flowers in one of her hands loosely and walking out to his car, rubbing his leather gloved hands together for warmth through the bitter air. Meredith turned, watching as his car pulled away, her hand holding the flowers limply. What had just happened?