N/A: Here's the end of this story. I could come up with a new fic, sequel to this one, but as you could see, I am not very active lately. I have a little troubled focusing on the writing. I hope you're going to like the ending and thank you for giving it a try in the first place.

His visit in Seattle was supposed to be relaxing when his former Med School teacher invited him to observe a few surgeries, but starting to gain recognition as doctor, Derek spent a lot of time performing surgeries, also.

It was evening and he was late. He was in a bar with his good old friend Mark, trying to relax in their last evening spent there.

"I am so grateful for leaving tomorrow," Mark grumbled, sitting beside Derek at the bar. "They don't even need showers in their homes, in this town."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yes, but Dr. Kasey invited you here," he pointed it out as a big thing. And it was indeed a big thing for Dr. Kasey's former student.

Mark grinned. "Did I tell you that his daughter asked me to do a breast implant on her?"

"Mark!" Derek's head jerked up as he heard that. Mark liked to sleep with random girls, but their former teacher's daughter?

"I didn't even touch her," he replied. "She'll come to New York for a consult, though," he added, smiling smugly.

Derek laughed, shaking his head with disapproval.

"Meredith!"

Derek started as he heard someone calling that name. He turned around and tried to spot who was calling and to who. It was a young woman waving at someone, a blonde girl from the bar.

"Calm down," Mark stopped him when Derek wanted to stand up and go take a better look at that woman. "Do you have any idea how many people have this name? You need to relax with this Meredith crisis. It's been 4 years since your sister's wedding. Get over her."

"Do you want to stop?" Derek retorted.

"When was your last relationship that lasted longer than a month?"

"When was your last relationship that lasted longer than one night?" Derek asked back.

Mark rolled his eye. "I was just pointing that your crush/obsession, however you want to call it, it's not good for you. You need to move on."

"Shut up, Mark," Derek retorted, visibly annoyed.

The silence fell between them. Mark was trying to ignore Derek now, by looking after a brunette, while Derek was sipping from his drink. Derek was pissed with Mark, in that moment, although he knew he was right.

"You should have asked her for a phone number," Mark said, matter-of-factly this time.

Derek sighed. "It's not an obsession that I miss her sometime."

"How can you miss her when you barely spent 24 hours together?"

Derek shrugged his shoulders and sipped from his drink. "You wouldn't understand even if I try to explain it to you."

Mark chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Kasey didn't give me much credit either and yet he called me here for a visit," he pointed out."

"Fair," Derek admitted.

"Everything changed about you since you met Meredith; young Meredith. You used to settle to one girl for years."

"It was just one girl," Derek replied.

"My point is, this is not you. What if you meet her again and after you find out more about her, you discover she's really not worth it?"

"I think she is worth it," Derek stated confidently.

"But what if?"

"Mark, have you ever experienced love at first sight?"

"No," he answered, what he considered Derek should have known already.

"Then you don't know what you're talking about and therefore, what advices to give. But I appreciate your concern."

Mark just nodded.

"The thing is… there's something about her," Derek started to say. "It's hard to define. It is frustrating, you know. And for the record, I am not thinking about her all the time. I am just curious…" he stopped as he turned to Mark and saw him smiling at that brunette. "You can go," Derek told him.

Mark smiled and patted his shoulder. "Take care." He stood up from the bar and moved over to the brunette, leaving Derek alone.

Derek let another sigh out and then finished his drink. He paid for it and it was time for him to go back to the hotel.

The evening was chill and the light was fading over the city. It was a long distance from the bar where Mark had taken him, to the hotel they had checked in, but Derek was ready for a long walk.

That must have been his most relaxing walk ever, because he didn't even notice when the dark had fallen. He stopped for a moment to look around and make sure that he was on the right road back. Cars were driving by; people were hurrying to their homes. Across the street someone's car was refusing to start.

Derek stopped briefly to watch the scene. He saw a woman coming out of the car, murmuring something, probably cursing her car. His first thought as he saw and heard her was crazy. He was tired, the street was loud and he needed to get his mind off Meredith. He was rarely thinking about her; he was still stirring each time he heard this name, but today, something was going on with him. He closed his eyes and shook his head, successfully clearing his thoughts.

Derek started to walk again and stopped when he got to the Elliot Bay. He leaned over the railing and watched the lights of a ferryboat as it floated away to its destination. He liked Seattle, with its rainy days, the bay and its ferryboat. It was a nice city to live in.

"I am not coming because my car died and now I have to walk."

Derek's attention was distracted from the sight when he heard that woman's voice. He glanced over his shoulder and recognized the petite stature of the woman whose car wasn't starting. As she walked past him, a floral scent filled the air around him, which Derek recognized immediately. That was Meredith's favorite scent; the lavender. Her voice, her hair, her stature, now Derek was either hallucinating or something unbelievable was about to happen.

He followed her, keeping a safe distance between them so she wouldn't get suspicious. Scaring a woman was the last thing he wanted to do. He could have stopped her and asked her name, but he didn't want to embarrass himself; he had done it enough in front of his friend. They had to reach in a place with more light and there he would see her face and see if it was Meredith indeed or his imagination was running wild today.

She turned on a secondary street and Derek stopped briefly, not sure if he should keep following her or not. Being a less populated street, the woman could easily sense his presence. He decided to go on, anyway. He was determined to stop her and see who she was.

As they walked on the quiet street, his palm became sweaty and his breathing raised.

At some point, she slowed down and looked over her shoulder. The next second she picked up the pace, faster than before. Then, Derek knew he had to do something. She was getting scared. The more she hurried, harder Derek tried to find the courage to call her.

She turned right on a street and disappeared from his sight.

Derek stopped then, confused. He inhaled and exhaled deeply. He was definitely going crazy and probably, he would spend the night in jail.

He decided not to follow her anymore. He was going to go to that corner and see if she was on that street and then he would turn back and go to the hotel.

The moment he turned right at the corner, something sharp hit his face, making him cover his face as response to the attack. Next, other hits followed, not having mercy of his head and arms. He was sure that at some point, a knee kicked him, too.

"Please… stop…" he managed to find his words.

"You perv!" she hit him again, harder this time and Derek felt it as an umbrella. "You thought you were going to get me."

"No…no…" he stepped back, trying to escape the hitting. "I was looking for someone." He said quickly.

"Right," and then her umbrella hit again, but Derek reacted faster and protected his face with his arms.

"Are you Meredith?" he asked.

Her hitting stopped then.

"By any coincidence?" he asked.

Looking up, he saw her staring at him. She walked under a street light and waited for him there. Then, Derek recognized her. It was Meredith, indeed.

He got closer and by the look on her face, she was recognizing him, too.

"Derek?"

Derek sighed with relief and then burst into laugh. "Thank God. If you were someone else, I would have spent the night in jail."

"Oh My God!" she exclaimed and took his hand while looking at his face. "I hurt you."

"It's fine," he didn't feel any pain anymore.

"Why didn't you just call my name? You had to stalk me?"

Derek smiled apologetically. "I am having a hard day."

"What are you doing here in Seattle?"

"With work. You?"

"I live here. Come with me. My car stop working, but we can walk."

"I know," Derek chuckled.

She stopped and turned to him. "What do you know?"

"About your car. I was there when it didn't want to start. Then I thought I saw you the first time."

She smiled and shook her head. "And you didn't stop to help a woman in trouble? Instead you're stalking one?"

"I uh… Yeah," Derek admitted, embarrassed. "I told you, I usually don't do such thing, but today…"

"It was fate," she concluded.

Derek looked at her and nodded. "Let's go back to your car and see if I can take a look at it."

"Ok," she smiled and they turned together on the street.

They walked side by side, now and then glancing at each other, but without saying anything. The silence felt comfortable, though. Derek was enjoying her company and she seemed to be excited with the accidental meeting, even with the scare he gave her.

"You have no idea what you're looking at? Don't you?" Meredith laughed while Derek tried to figure what the problem was.

Derek smiled embarrassed. "Everything looks fine here," he stated.

"Then why is it not working?"

Derek shrugged his shoulders and sighed as he looked down at the wires. He had no idea what could be wrong with her car.

"Try again," he suggested.

"I tried several times," she pointed.

"Try again," he suggested, having no other solution but sending the car to service.

Meredith decided to give it another try and after 2 roars, the engine came back to life.

They looked at each other, surprised.

"What did you do?" she asked him, coming out of the car.

Derek had no idea. He hadn't touched anything. "Maybe you had dirt somewhere," he pointed to the engine. "Or maybe it was just fate," he smiled at her. He shut the hood and turned to Meredith. He still could not believe he had before his eyes again. "I can believe you're right here in front of me."

Meredith laughed. "I know. This is a weird evening," she admitted. "Actually the whole day has been weird.

They stared at each other, in silence, for a moment, until Meredith shook her head. "Come. Do you need to get somewhere?"

"No," he answered convincingly.

"Ok," she smiled and invited him for a ride.

"You actually live here," Derek mused as they stood on the porch of a house, while Meredith was looking into her bag for the keys.

"Um… yes," she answered.

"How did you end up in Seattle? You lived in New York and then in Boston…"

Meredith smiled and next she opened the door. "It seems that I had lived here before New York, when my parents got married. They moved in New York because of my mom's job."

"Then you moved with your mom in Boston because of her job. Now you're here for her job, again?" he asked, slightly frustrated. It seemed that Ellis Grey hadn't changed at all. Since the night he saw her carrying a sleeping Meredith out of the house, Derek deeply disliked Ellis.

"You're feeling sorry for me. Again," Meredith noticed the wrinkles on his forehead. She smiled and took his hand, leading him in living room. "I don't have food, but I have bottled water and some beer," she didn't let him explain.

Derek smiled. "Water is fine. It fills the stomach."

Meredith giggled. "I haven't had much time to learn how to cook," she admitted.

"It doesn't require much time to learn how to make one meal. Do you live with your mom?" he asked, changing the subject.

"No," she answered.

Derek looked around him. "How can you afford…"

"I have roommates," she answered. "You've always been nosy," she added, laughing. "Sit," she pointed to the couch and left the room.

Derek sat down and relaxed. He looked around him; the living room looked clean; not neat, but he liked it anyway. On the coffee table were lying a set of video tapes and at its corner a vase with flowers horribly arranged. Derek chuckled to himself; but they smelled nice. He looked around, trying to spot any family photo and wasn't surprised to find none.

"I found a muffin," she stated as she walked back in. She had undressed her jacket and she was now carrying a first-aid kit and a plate with a muffin on it.

Derek started to laugh. "Thanks, but… no thanks."

"Oh," she looked at him, confused at first. "Is it because I said I found it?" she laughed. "It's safe. I have a roommate that cooks and bakes a lot so it cannot be that old," she said. "I think," she muttered, smelling it.

Derek nodded knowingly.

"Here," she ripped a piece and ate it. "It tastes good. You're missing a really great muffin."

Derek laughed and took the treat. "Are you going to play doctor with me? Because you've grown, from Anatomy Jane to real first-aid kit," he joked.

Meredith giggled and turned the lamp beside the couch on. In more light, she could see the damage her umbrella did to his face. "You look pretty messed up," she smiled apologetically.

His upper lip was scratched in a corner, as well as his right brow and his cheekbone was swollen, too.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him.

"It's nothing serious," he reassured her.

"Don't look in the mirror then," she advised him, joking. She put aside the kit and looked into her bag, from where she took a mirror out. "Sorry," she apologized.

Derek narrowed his eyes, amused, as he took the mirror. "Ouch!" he whimpered when he noticed the bruises on his face. "You've grown strong."

Meredith laughed. "I have to take care of myself," she admitted.

Derek put the mirror down and pulled away a little to look at Meredith. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

She looked up at him, smiled and then opened the kit. "I am married, actually. I have two kids, too."

Suddenly, Derek felt something in his throat. He chocked and started coughing. "Are you?" he barely made the sounds.

"No!" she started to laugh. "Who would marry me?" she joked. "Which reminds me… Should we go to the city hall now?" She asked, remembering the suggestion she had come up with, the last time they met.

Derek was staring at her. Her little joke was a little too much for him and he needed to recover from the shock. "I uh… I would marry you." He cleared his throat, regaining his voice. "And I don't think the city hall is still open at his hour, but… we can go tomorrow."

Meredith just smiled at him. "You don't have to."

"What if I want to?" he asked and offered her a piece from the muffin.

Meredith stopped and put the kit aside. "Did I scare you? Because I beat the crap out of you?" she asked, amused. She took the whole muffin and went to sit in a chair, across from Derek. She leaned back and crossed her legs as she nipped on the muffin.

They stood there in silence, Meredith finishing her muffin and Derek watching her.

"Come back with me in New York," he suggested.

Meredith looked up at him and smiled. "I can't; to give you a straight answer. Otherwise, you're a bit selfish, aren't you?"

Derek looked, confused.

"Stay here in Seattle, with me," she suggested back.

"But what I have in New York…"

"My mom is here and as worst as she was to me as mother, she's still my mother."

"What happened?" he asked sympathetically, because it was obvious that something serious was keeping her there.

"She has Alzheimer; late stage," she stated. She kept her calm smile on her face, but her eyes were reflecting the sadness she was carrying.

Derek sighed. "I am sorry."

"Now would you be the one moving here?" she asked, smiling teasingly.

Derek chuckled and patted the seat beside him. She moved from the chair, on the couch, beside him.

"How's everything going?" he asked her.

"Can you imagine?" she asked him back.

Derek allowed himself a brief moment and then nodded.

"There, you have the answer," she smiled. "Now please brag, because I know you're looking for it. I read about you."

As she tucked her feet beneath her, making herself comfortable on the couch, Meredith and Derek started talking about work; about Derek's surgeries, about her first year as surgical intern, about parents and siblings. Neither of them was paying close attention to what the other was saying; they were drinking water and they were having a blast in each other's company.

The sun shone upon her face, calling her to wake up. Her body ached as she stretched. She opened her eyes and noticed she was lying on the sofa, covered with a blanket. She rubbed her nose and tried to recall the last moments before she fell asleep.

Something fell on the kitchen floor and Meredith remembered Derek. She pushed the blanket aside and stretched her body as she trailed to the kitchen.

She stopped in the doorway and giggled. Derek was wearing an apron, making pancakes. The breakfast, along with the coffee, smelled delicious and her stomach felt it immediately.

Derek glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. "Morning."

"Hi," she answered, still smiling. "You're cooking."

"I am."

"And you're wearing an apron."

"I am," he chuckled.

"And you are not naked under your apron."

Derek turned around to look at her. "I am not. Should I have been?"

Meredith just laughed and waved her hand aimlessly.

"I should have been naked," Derek concluded.

"Never mind now," she laughed. She was amazed of how much she was smiling and laughing since last night when she ran into Derek on the streets of Seattle. She could control the laugher, but the smiling was impossible. Her cheeks were hurting and she could do nothing about it.

"Coffee?" he handed her a mug with steamy coffee.

She smiled and took the mug. "So, you're cooking breakfast for me. And we didn't even have sex."

Derek chuckled. "Actually I am cooking for both, because as delicious and plenty as the water was, it filled the bladder very fast."

"Do you have to leave today?" she asked him.

"Yes," he sighed. "Work is waiting for me in New York."

She sighed, too, and sat down at the table. She was hungry, but the thought of Derek leaving, again, was keeping her stomach empty. "Who is going to cook me breakfast from now on?" she asked, joking.

Derek brought the plate with pancakes at the table, where everything had been settled for breakfast, and sat down across from her. "I could send you pictures," he joked.

Meredith leaned to the counter and pulled a drawer open. She fumbled for a pen, with which she scrambled on a napkin.

"Call me. When you have time." She pushed the napkin to Derek.

Derek smiled and took it. "We're progressing."

"It's better to know when our paths will cross."

"Yes. That's a good idea. Who knows what you might do me next time," he laughed.

"Cry baby," she laughed, too. "When do you have to leave?"

Derek checked his watch, "In a few hours. I called Mark and asked him to pack my stuff and he will come to pick me up. As for the sex…" Derek grinned and glanced to his watch. "We still have time for a quick one."

Meredith considered that, but then she laughed and shook her head as no. "Better not. This way I might have a chance to see you again."

Derek looked confused at first, but then laughed. "I'd come back for sex."

"Wouldn't you?"

"I guess I would," he admitted.

"These are good," she moaned as she took a bite from his pancakes. "How can you cook like this?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Derek chuckled.

"How come you're not married yet? A husband that cooks…"

"How come you didn't get married?" he asked back.

Meredith looked up and smiled at him. "I am younger than you, so you answer first."

Derek shrugged his shoulders.

"Exactly," she shrugged hers, too.

"It didn't happen," he stated.

A honk could be heard outside her house and she stood up to go to the window and see who it was. "There's a cab outside. Are you leaving so early?"

"What?" he stood up and walked up to the window. "What is he doing here so early?"

Meredith sighed and watched him going outside. She had no trouble recognizing Mark, when he rolled the window down and greeted Derek. Her heart sunk at the thought of having him gone again, and she couldn't even explain why she was feeling that way.

"I have to go," Derek sighed as he returned into the kitchen. "We need to stop by Mercy West first."

"How about our quick one?" she faked pouted.

Derek chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "I will be back."

She sighed and smiled at him. "I'll be waiting."

She walked him to the door and as she opened it, rain started to pour badly outside.

"Wow!" Derek breathed out.

"I know," she giggled.

They turned and faced each other.

"I hate that I have to leave so sudden," he said sadly.

"Me, too," she sighed. "Do you have to?"

He put an around her waist and pulled her into his arms, softly kissing her. That melt her to the knees and it was getting harder to see him leave.

"Why is it so hard to let you go?" she asked, whispering.

He rested his forehead against hers and whispered back, "I don't know." He wrapped her into his arms then and held her hugged.

In that moment, both of them felt like they were in the right place and so, neither of them wanted to leave.

"Can we go now?" Mark shouted from the cab. "I wouldn't like to experience a floating car!"

"Ignore him," Derek whispered, not loosing his arms from her body. "He'll go away."

"With you," she looked up at him.

They pulled away from each other's arms, smiling at each other.

"Seriously!" Mark shouted from the car.

"Goodbye Derek," she found the courage to be the first one saying it. She did it, because she knew that lingering on her porch wouldn't do any good to any of them.

He brushed his lips against her cheek and stroked her hair. "Goodbye Meredith," he said back, but stayed where he was.

"You're not moving," she said after a while.

"Oh," he stirred. "I thought I was."

Meredith giggled. "You're cheesy. Go away now."

He kissed her once more and this time, she held him back too, looking for his lips.

"Seriously!" Mark shouted, again. "I am going to beat the driver!"

The driver pulled a long, angry honk.

Meredith and Derek started to laugh."He's right. Seriously, go. It's getting too weird for me."

And there he kissed her again and sprinted down the steps, running through the rain, to the cab. He jumped in and watched Meredith until the car was out of her driveway.

Meredith felt depressed that day; like someone dear had packed its bags and left her after many years spent together. She was distracted and so she wouldn't get any close to the O.R. This day sucked.

Her phone beeped in her pocket and her day was about to get better.

'The flight got canceled. I'm comin' back'

Meredith could not believe it. 'And Mark?' she texted back.

After a few seconds, a new message flicked on the screen. 'Already home'

Meredith laughed, shaking her head. 'I'm at Seattle Grace.'

'I'll stop by for a quick one' he texted back. And after a few seconds, a new message. 'for a visit, I mean.'

'right! But ok.'