I'm thrilled and grateful for the reviews you've given me so far...it's so encouraging!
This chapter gives you a little flashback to a happier moment for MerDer, as well as a little more information to hunt down the killer...enjoy...
Chapter Four
Meredith moved quickly through the squadroom, ignoring the curious looks thrown her way from the other detectives. She guessed it didn't take a whole lot of sleuthing for them to figure out what just happened. Nothing was really private in this group, but she avoided eye contact until she made it back to her desk. There, she sank into her chair, her body shaking, and her thoughts in a chaotic tangle. The kiss shouldn't have surprised her, they always had that kind of intense erotic heat between them – it never took much for it to flare into life. Her response had been immediate, but she was crazy to let herself get involved again. Talking about the engagement ring brought up more memories, and for a moment she closed her eyes, thinking of the night Derek had proposed to her...of how for once he had managed to surprise her...
It was late at night after a lazy Sunday. They had spent their day off taking a long walk, checking out some of the little boutiques and wine bars along the waterfront. Now, up in Derek's loft apartment overlooking Elliot Bay, the lights of Seattle twinkled out in every direction. She'd slipped out of bed, holding his discarded shirt around her to ward off the chill. For a moment, she rested her forehead against the glass, appreciating the view.
"Mer, you okay?" Derek's voice made her turn, seeing him propped up on one elbow as he studied her in the darkness.
"Just restless," she admitted, with a little shrug. "Go back to sleep."
He held his hand out to her. "Only if you come back here." His smile was warm, sensual, as he beckoned her, and she crossed the cool hardwood floor to the bed. "I love you," he said softly as she crawled under the down duvet, losing his shirt in the process.
"Love you back," she sighed, as their bodies melded together. They hadn't been together long, but there was something about being with him that made her happy. His mouth nuzzled her throat, as he held her close.
"So, marry me... we can be together like this every night..." he whispered.
"Seriously?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Meredith searched his face, noting the serious expression there. "Then you're crazy."
"Why?"
"We hardly know each other."
"Six months."
"Not very long..."
"When it's right, you know," Derek said softly. "It feels right, Mer." He held her gaze and she bit her lip, uncertainty flickering in her. The idea of committing terrified her, but the thought of losing him terrified her more. "What about it? Does it feel right to you?"
She shut her eyes. It did feel right, yet...
Derek sat up, letting the covers fall away, revealing the toned muscles of his chest.
"I bought a ring."
"You did not!"
His mouth curved into that tempting little grin she loved. "I did, but you don't get to see it until you say yes."
Oh, she wanted to, but she was a cop – this didn't always work out for cops – reckless wasn't in her nature. But when she opened her mouth, "Yes" came out instead. "Yes!" she giggled. "I accept!"
Derek blinked at her, almost as if he was expecting the opposite response, before sitting up in the bed. She met him halfway – he caught her arms, laughing and kissing in a slow, sweet moment that made her breath catch.
"Want that ring now? Make it official?" he asked, his lips at her ear then, the tip of his tongue tickling her lobe.
"Damn right, or I'm still available," she teased him.
"Brat." He kissed her again, before climbing out of bed. Moments later, he was back with a small velvet box. "I hope you like it. When I saw it I thought of you, but we can get something else.."
Meredith smiled, opening it with trembling fingers. A simple emerald-cut solitaire winked at her from the velvet, and she could only nod. He slipped it on her finger where it fit perfectly. Tears flooded her eyes. "I love it..."
"Grey!"
The voice intruded on her thoughts, and she flinched and looked around in confusion. "What? Oh, sorry, Captain..." she muttered, flustered at being caught daydreaming.
"We got the computer from the first victim's house – you and Shepherd go take a look at what the techs are pulling up. We need some leads, fast, before that damn Montgomery woman makes us look like fools," Captain Webber told her, his voice irritated. His voice was always irritated, but today it was a notch more than usual, she realized.
"Yes sir, right away. We also got a name of a former boyfriend, we can check him out too." She glanced at Derek's desk, but his chair was empty. "Um...where is Derek anyway?"
"Hell if I know. Do I look like a babysitter? He's your partner. Find him."
Meredith nodded, and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. She looked around the room, but didn't see him anywhere. "Hey, you guys see where Derek went?" she called out as she headed for the door. Headshakes and shrugs were the only answers she got. "Thanks a bunch..." Men, they always stuck together, she thought to herself as she moved quickly down the hallways to the computer lab. She would have to try his cell phone – maybe he was outside trying to hit on Addison again.
But she rounded the corner and pushed through the doors, and found him already seated beside the tech, looking intently at the laptop on the desk. "Oh...you're here," she said, meeting his cool blue gaze.
"Yes, Callie caught me in the hallway," he explained, as she stood behind them. Callie Torres looked up from the laptop, giving Meredith a smile.
"Hey, nice to see you again, Meredith," she greeted her. "This girl had a busy social life, that's for sure. Way busier than mine, that's for sure."
Meredith gave the other woman a smile back. She had only met Callie a time or two before she left Seattle, but she had been impressed with Callie's computer skills, and her direct approach to life. She didn't pull any punches, or try to sugarcoat her words. "You got her Facebook account open?"
Callie nodded, brushing her dark hair behind her ears. "It's right here...her last status was 'Ready to party...'"
"Poor girl..." Meredith murmured.
"Here, you wanna take a look yourself? I can see there's a few guys here that look promising." She tapped the screen with her fingertip, indicating a few names. "Here...I'm sure you can search this just as good as I can..."
Callie's cell phone rang then, and she got up, giving her chair to Meredith. "Sorry, gotta grab this..." She walked out into the hallway to take the call.
Meredith slid into the chair, and scanned the open screen, clicking quickly through the pinned messages, the pictures, and the friends list. She pushed her hair behind her ear, concentrating on the dead girl's life still posted for the world to see. Several of her friends had been trying to get a hold of her, there were quite a few messages in her inbox. "See here...there's a message from that Craig kid...sounds like he was still in love with her after all. We need to talk to him," Meredith murmured. "God, look at the private stuff she's telling, it's crazy. Why do they do that?" She spoke quietly, almost as if forgetting Derek was still there with her. He watched her fingers flying over the keys, letting her work, giving her space. The kiss earlier was still reverberating in his system, and he realized how stupid he'd been to give in to the temptation. It only made him want more, and again he had to be patient, and focus on the job.
"Wait! What's this?" she murmured, focusing on a recent post.
"Find something?"
"Maybe..." She scrolled through a few more posts. "There's a lot of messages from some guy named Mike...sounds serious. Oohh...and porny. Naughty girl – you weren't old enough to be talking like that..."
Derek leaned closer, looking at the screen with her. His arm brushed against her, as he pointed to something. "Here…is that a picture of him?" The guy was young, with shaggy blond hair, a small patch of a beard, and green eyes, a smirk on his lips as he mugged for the camera.
"Supposedly," she murmured, her pulse jumping from the contact with him. Her eyes slid sideways, looking at his profile. She could swear he was totally unaware of the intimate space they shared again, the warmth of his body radiating to her. Hell, this day wasn't going good at all, she thought distractedly. "Um…it looks like they were planning to meet at Joe's, the day she was killed. Maybe someone saw them." Her eyes were troubled as she glanced at Derek again.
He nodded, backing away to glance at his watch. "A little early for happy hour, but maybe Joe is there and we can see if he remembers them. Can we print this picture...take it with us?"
"Should be able to..." Meredith clicked through a few more commands, cropping the picture to include just his face, and sent it to the printer. A moment later, the color laser spit out the photo. Meredith jumped up quickly and grabbed it, just as Callie returned.
"Looks like we got her cell phone records..." Callie commented, as Meredith swept past her.
"Keep on it, Callie," Derek called out, moving just as quickly, leaving Callie standing with her hands in her jacket pockets.
"Sure guys...whatever you need! Just don't worry about a thing...!"
The place wasn't actually called Joe's, the official name was Emerald City Bar, but to all the patrons who went there, Joe's was the only name they knew of for it. It was within walking distance of Seattle Grace Hospital, and a favourite of the staff there. Even at this hour, the small bar was crowded, as Derek and Meredith walked in. The sound of laughter and conversation assaulted them, and the interior was cozy and familiar. Meredith had often spent time here with Ellis, after her mother's surgeries, and it was here that she met Derek for the first time. The thought was unspoken between them, and she tried to pull her focus back to the case at hand.
"Well, well, Meredith, I heard a rumor you were back," Joe grinned as they stopped at the bar. "The usual?" He started to reach for the bottle of tequila.
"No, not now, Joe. This is business," she said hastily, holding her badge out.
"Shit, sorry. How can I help?"
Derek pulled out a picture of Shelley, and handed it over. "Have you seen this girl? Within the last few days? Maybe with this guy?" Meredith pushed the other picture over as well.
Joe took the photos in his big hand, squinting at them in the dim light. "Maybe...she looks young."
"She's legal, but just barely," Derek said, leaning against the bar.
"Can't be positive, but maybe..." Joe frowned. "What happened to her?"
"She's dead," Meredith said softly. "Murdered a couple nights ago."
"Aw hell..."
"Yes, anything you can remember would be helpful," Derek added.
Joe squinted at the photos again, trying to remember. "Yeah, maybe...a few days ago there was a couple in here I hadn't seen around before. I do remember that they paid cash, so I don't have any credit card information, I'm afraid. It seemed unusual...most people use plastic these days..."
"Did she seem scared? Nervous at all?" Derek asked, turning to cast a glance around the busy bar, but none of the patrons seemed to match what he was searching for.
"Not that I recall, sorry. I wish I could remember more, but it gets pretty crazy in here sometimes."
"Did they leave together?"
"Jeez, maybe...or he might've left before she did..." Joe closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Damn...you know it all kinda runs together..."
"I know," Meredith assured him. "Just think about it, maybe something will come to you."
"Will do, Meredith," Joe replied. "Sure I can't get you anything?"
"Maybe a coffee...?" She glanced quickly at Derek, and he nodded.
"Sure, we can stay here for awhile, and see if he shows up. Sometimes guys like that are too arrogant; figure no one is going to catch them." They grabbed an empty booth, and sat facing each other, sitting silently for a moment. "So...here we are again, brings back some memories, doesn't it?" Derek couldn't help but bring up the obvious thought that had been hanging between them since they walked in the door.
Meredith played with the coffee cup, stalling for time before she answered him. It definitely stirred up memories, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to go there...