"Meredith?" Derek gently pushed open her bedroom door and looked inside. When his gaze fell upon a sleeping Meredith, her hand tucked under her cheek, his heart melted. He knew it was a cliche, but cliches are cliches for a reason: they're true. He walked further into the room and came to stand beside her bed. He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder. "Mer?"

Meredith opened one eye and peered up at him. As she saw the look of sympathy mixed with pity mixed with sadness painted on Derek's face, the events of the afternoon all came rushing back. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, God," she muttered.

Derek smiled. "What?"

Meredith dropped her hands to look at him. "I kind of had a melt down didn't I?" she asked, her voice whispery and embarrassed.

Derek half nodded and half shook his head. How could he say yes without making her feel worse? He just wanted her to know it was okay. "Meredith, if your mom is like that everyday, then a melt down is long overdue."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said. Her cheeks were rapidly turning from pink to red. She lifted her hands to cover her face again.

Derek sat down and lifted his hand to one of wrists, gently pulling it away from her face. "It's okay," he said. He smiled at her and tilted his head in the most understanding way. It made a little of the color drain from Meredith's cheeks.

"Okay," she said.

xxx

"Do you need this?" Derek asked.

Meredith rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not you."

Derek shrugged. "You never know."

"I'm not going to need a formal dress. If the queen comes I'll just have to make due with jeans and a t-shirt."

Derek shook his head, but put the dress back in her closet. "You're going to be sorry."

"Or maybe I can borrow one of your sweater vests," Meredith teased.

"Don't be ridiculous," Derek said. "The queen wouldn't stand for a lady wearing such masculine attire."

"You're right," Meredith said, nodding her head. "I mean if you consider sweater vests masculine."

Derek shot a glare, which soon melted into a grin. "For your information, sweater vests are very flattering on me."

"Oh my God you're such a girl," Meredith said.

Derek tried really, really hard to look offended. "I'm not-What are-I just..." Meredith raised her eyebrows as he stumbled along. Derek glanced at the skirt he was holding in his hands in dismay. "Yeah, you're right. I'm a girl."

Meredith smiled and walked over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. He looked towards her. He was trying to look hurt, but she could see the smile in his eyes. "I'm only teasing ya know," Meredith said.

The smile traveled from his eyes into his face. "I know," he said, his eyes not leaving her face.

The moment had come and passed in which Meredith should've removed her hands from his shoulders. But instead of moving away, she moved a little closer. Derek swallowed. His gaze dipped from her eyes to her lips and back again. He knew he should pull away. He knew they shouldn't be doing this. In his head, he listed all the reason why they shouldn't be doing this, and yet, he felt his body lean towards her. Her hand slipped from his shoulder to his chest as the space between them closed.

"Meredith!"

Meredith jumped away from him so abruptly she nearly tripped over the clothes strewn across the room. She looked towards her bedroom door where her mother was standing. "Mom!" she said, a little too loudly. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Ellis looked from Meredith to Derek. Her expression was one of mild curiosity. "My shift was over, so I came home."

Meredith felt jumpy. She felt like she wanted to sit down and run around in circles all at once. She didn't know what to do with her hands. She could feel Derek's gaze on her. "I-I thought that...you were, uh, not coming home until a-after I left."

"Yes, well, things change."

"Oh."

"Derek." Derek looked up. "Why don't you stay for dinner."

It sounded more like a dare than an invitation. He glanced at Meredith. She was silently begging him to decline. "I'd love to," he said. He was glad his voice didn't shake.

"Good," Ellis said. "I'll whip something up." As she turned away and walked back down the hall, Meredith turned to Derek.

"Are you crazy?" she asked as if it were a totally legitimate question.

"What?" Derek said. "It'll be fine."

Meredith stood directly in front of him and studied his face. "Why are you doing this?"

Derek smiled. He lifted his hand and brought it to her face, smoothing out the lines of worry on her forehead. "Because I want to," he said softly.

She frowned at him, but accepted his answer. Before he could think better of it, he leaned towards her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. No matter the placement, he knew he kissed her like more than a friend. She pulled away slightly and looked up at him. She looked curious and slightly confused. "We should keep packing," she said softly.

He nodded. "We should."

xxx

"Would you like some more pasta, Derek?" Ellis asked. Derek nodded even though he really didn't want anymore. Ellis handed him the bowl and he scooped some onto his plate, keeping his eyes cast downwards. He was intimidated and he was bad at hiding it.

Everything about the house was intimidating. It was large and cavernous with lots of dark corners and expensive looking things. Everything was new and shiny, in perfect order. It seemed to Derek that the house was purely for show. It wasn't lived in. Where the rug in his living room was worn and stained if you looked in the right places, the rug in Meredith's living room was in pristine condition, not frayed or beaten. Where the chairs in his dining room were nicked, the chairs in this dining room were glossed and shiny. It made him feel sad in a way he didn't really understand.

"So, you will be in the same class as Meredith next year."

It took Derek a second to realize the question was directed at him. "Um, yes." Derek glanced across the table at Meredith, trying to catch her eye. "I'll keep an eye on her." This made Meredith look up. Was that a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth?

"Oh, so you know about the tequila."

Derek shifted his gaze to Ellis abruptly. Meredith looked back down at her plate. "What?" He was genuinely confused.

"Meredith seems to have taken a liking to it."

What kind of mother belittled their daughter about drinking alcohol? What kind of mother didn't care that their daughter was drinking? What kind of mother took the opportunity to put their daughter down instead of actually worry? Derek didn't understand. Something in him snapped. He wasn't intimidated anymore. He stood up. Meredith put down her fork and tried to figure out what he was doing.

"Meredith doesn't drink," Derek said.

Ellis looked only mildly amused at Derek. "Perhaps not in front of you..."

"In the month that I have known her, Meredith has not drank," Derek said, her voice steady.

"Hmmm, is this true, Meredith? Have you moved on? To what? Drugs? Heroine?" Ellis' tone was icy, it was cutting. Derek wanted to strangle her.

"Meredith does not do drugs. She does not drink. And if she did, it was probably only because you drove her to."

Silence. Long and painful. Derek could feel the intimidation seep back in. He sat down, but then stood up again. He walked out of the room before anyone could kick him out. He walked out the back door and stood in her backyard. He realized he was still holding his napkin.

"What the hell was that?"

He turned to see Meredith striding towards him. "Meredith. I'm sorry, I don't-"

She waved a hand to cut him off. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"I just got so mad at her...All those things she was saying...You don't deserve that...I-I was just trying to..."

"To what? Protect me? Save me?" Meredith leaned into him. Her expression was hard. "Well I'm not yours to save."

Derek swallowed. He took a step away from her. He didn't know what to say to her. He clutched the napkin in his hands. Meredith wanted to take it back. She wanted to let him save her. She wanted to let him love her in all the ways that really mattered. All at once, she felt her anger melt away. She felt empty without it. She looked at him pleadingly. "I, uh...have to go." She nodded, feeling the tears rise in her throat. "I have to go."

"Meredith-" He reached out his hand towards her, but she was already jogging back towards her house. He jogged a few steps after her. "Meredith, please just let me-"

She spun towards him. "Please, just go away."

He stopped running towards her. He nodded brokenly. "Okay," he whispered to her retreating back.

Meredith threw open the back door and walked back into the dining room. The table was already cleared. Her mother walked in from the kitchen. "I have to get back to the hospital," she said, brushing past Meredith and into the foyer where she grabbed her coat. "I liked him," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "He was cute. The whole defending your honor thing...well, it made for good entertainment."

Meredith nodded mutely and watched as her mother strode out the door, slamming it behind her. Meredith turned and walked into the dining room. She walked over to the liquor cabinet, opened it and pulled the bottle of tequila out. She twisted the cap off and took a swig. She felt it burn its way down her throat. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She raised the bottle to her lips and took another gulp.

She liked tequila. She liked how it made everything blurry. She loved how it could make her forget.

xxx

"Hey, Derek," Nancy called out as Derek walked through the front door. Derek walked into the living room where she was watching TV. Nancy took one look at hi face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Derek shook his head slightly. "Nothing, I just...No, it's nothing."

"Okay," Nancy said warily. "Want to watch Friends with me?"

Derek glanced at the TV, then at Nancy, then back towards the door. "No, I...I have to go."

"Derek, where are you-" But he was already gone. He walked down his driveway and onto the sidewalk. He broke into a run when her house came into view. He leaped up the front steps and knocked on the front door. He heard a crash and angry mumbles before the door opened. Meredith squinted up at him, leaning against the doorframe for support. "Oh, it's you," she said. "I suppose you're here to rescue me again."

Derek reached towards her, but she pulled away so abruptly that she almost fell over. "Meredith, I'm not here to rescue you."

"You aren't?" she asked. Her words were dangerously slurred. "But you're my knight in shining...whatever."

Derek frowned at her. He wished she would let him hold her. "Can I come in?"

Meredith squinted at him, trying to process his words. "Sure," she said finally, before turning and walking back into the house.

Derek followed her, closing the door behind him. She led him into the living room where she plopped back down at the couch. She picked up the tequila bottle and frowned when she discovered it almost empty. She put it back down and sagged against the couch cushions.

Derek walked over and sat down next to her. She looked up at him. "Why'd you come back?"

Derek smiled. "I was worried about you."

She shook her head. "No one ever worries about me."

"I do."

"I don't deserve you."

Derek frowned sadly. "Meredith-"

"Hey, Derek?" she said, her voice soft.

"Yeah?"

"I love you," she told him with a slight nod of her head.

Derek smiled. "I love you, too." He knew she probably wouldn't remember this in the morning. A part of him wanted her too.

"I'm really, really tired," she said.

Derek nodded and stood up. He bent down and picked her up for the second time that day. He didn't mind at all. He'd hold her all day if he could. He walked up the stairs with her head resting against his chest and her arms looped loosely around his neck. He laid her onto the bed just like before. He tucked the covers around her just like before, but this time, before he could make it out the door, her voice stopped.

"Don't go."

He turned around. "What?"

"Don't go. Stay." She looked at him and the expression on her face made his heart break. "I don't want to wake up alone again."

He suspected it was the tequila talking, but nevertheless, he found himself slipping his shoes off and climbing onto the bed beside her. She turned her body towards him and he lifted his arm so that she could settled against him. "Thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

He swallowed and glanced at her, already half asleep, her head resting on his chest. "You're welcome."

Soooooo, what'd ya think? Was Ellis a little over the top? Is anyone that mean? All well. I hope it worked.