A/N: Slowly chipping away at this! Thanks my wonderful fans for your support!

Enjoy! Warning: Depictions of Violence.

Two Years Ago:

"Derek?" Meredith wandered the quiet halls of the NIH. "Hello?"

Why was she doing this? This was crazy. She felt awful, searching for the man she loved at his workplace, to confront him... to yell, scold, cry... beg for him to tell her the truth. Who was that woman on the phone? Why didn't she say anything? Why wouldn't he return her calls? She only called him like, seventeen times...

"Helloo..." she hollered, her voice echoing the hallways. It was pretty dark, most of the offices were closed by now. But there was a room open up ahead... actually it was one of the labs Derek's research team used. Meredith sighed a breath of relief. This was it, he was probably in there. Muffled voices from said room indicated she was not alone. Quickening her step, she summoned all her courage. There was so much she needed to tell him. So much on the line.

"Derek," she breathed as she caught the doorframe, peering in.

Sudden movement behind the microscopes caught her attention, "It's me-" she said, trying not to startle him.

"Who?" a voice asked. Not Derek's voice.

Meredith stepped closer inside to see who was speaking, but there was nothing but muffled noises coming from the back. "Oh- uh- is Derek Shepherd here? Dr. Shepherd- I'm his-"

"-You must be the wife." The man said quickly. "He's not here... he left..."

Meredith rolled her eyes. Then where the hell was he? She moved around a couple of tables to get closer. "Well do you know where he went? I've been looking everywh-" the words were cut off as her gaze registered two seemingly unrelated things.

One. Derek's phone and keys on the black-topped lab table beside a microscope. And Two. Sticky bright red blood on the very edge of her sneakers. "Wha-"

Unconsciously, her gaze followed the bloody trail along the floor, to two sets of feet, one set firmly planted on the ground, in black leather workboots. Her gaze traveled up the black trousers, black sweater and black gloves holding a very sharp military like knife inside the chest of a woman, who was the owner of the second set of feet, encased by simple two-inch black pumps. Her ensemble contained a black skirt, burgundy blouse, and a white labcoat, stained with blood-red splotches like tye-dye.

"Well, see... this I did not factor into my equation," the man said as he hefted the woman in his arms. She gurgled in response to his movements, and her eyes fluttered open long enough to register Meredith's presence. Her mouth moved and her hands scrabbled to the knife in her chest, but he batted them away. "Uh-uh."

God, she was still alive? "What- what're you-?" Her mind was still reeling, in shock. If this man hurt this woman... Did he do something to Derek?

And then she thought she heard something, and the man jerked, dropping the woman and clutching his shoulder. Another noise, but the man ducked, and then steamrolled past her, knocking her over.

There was a scuffle, voices, one harsh and demanding, female. The others... more compliant...

Meredith ignored them, crawling to the woman on the floor. She was reaching for the knife again.

"No," she said, her hands now clawing at the woman's side as she pulled herself up to examine the wound. "Don't touch it, don't move the knife." Meredith's hands hovered over the woman as her mind raced... Crap crap crap. What to do... what to do? The woman stared... her eyes haunted and sad. She knew this was the end. "You're going to be fine..." Meredith said. "I'm a doctor," she swallowed, noticing the woman's name badge, "And you're going to be fine, Renee."

The woman shook her head, staring at Meredith with surprising clarity. One of her bloody hands clutched Meredith's in mid-air, her palm slick and warm from the blood. "M'srry," she grunted, closing her eyes.

"No, no," Meredith pressed down to try and stop the bleeding,"No!" It was pointless, but she began compressions anyway, feeling the sponginess of the chest wall as blood spread internally under the skin.

And then she was being pulled off. Off and away from the still warm body. "Derek..." she called, hoping it was him but knowing it wasn't. Derek wouldn't be so rough with her.

The rest was a blur. People were talking, and she was being taken somewhere. Was it the police? She didn't know... she couldn't tell. Nausea clenched her gut, and suddenly she was in an elevator, going down...

She puked. Hurled cheap airplane food and practically a litre of liquid on the smooth gray floor. No one said or did anything about it. "What's happening?" she cried out. "What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

The door opened. A hallway. They went left. Then right. Left again. Into a small room with a table and chairs. The door closed and she was left alone.

Alone, confused and terrified, Meredith became a tight ball in the corner. Time passed. She didn't know how long it was before the door opened. "Derek?" She asked, looking up expectantly. He was here to take her home right? And she'd forgive him for being a brainless brainman and this would all go away, right?

Wrong. It was a brunette in stilhetto's and black leotard, wearing a dark gray skirt and matching blouse. Although she looked young, her forest green eyes were cold and deadly.

"Thirsty?" A bottle of water was proffered.

Meredith shook her head. All she wanted was Derek. "Where's Derek? Where's my husband? Who are y-"

"Shush," the woman interrupted, and somehow that stopped her. She cracked open the bottle of water and crouched to meet her eye to eye, "Water first. Answers later."

Meredith swiped the bottle from her and took two sips. Angrily crunching it, she shoved the blood stained bottle back into the woman's hands. "What. The hell. Is going. On?"

"Sassy are we?" came the reply. Meredith wanted to jump up right then and punch the bitch in the face, but she couldn't will her body to work. "I'm sorry you had to see that..." the woman said. "That was sloppy... and gross," she made a face. She sat down and put the water bottle on the table, holding it with two fingers when she saw the blood stains Meredith left on it.

Her disgust caused Meredith to look at herself. Blood was smeared over her purple blouse, all over her palms, between her fingers... she gagged. You'd think... being a surgeon would have protected her from such a reflex... But this was a murder. Cold blooded outright murder.

"I know, right? Stabbing people..." she shook her head... "So disgusting. I prefer this," she held up a sleek handgun, equipped with a silencer of some sort. With a flourish she pointed it at Meredith, squinted one eye like she was aiming for her head and whispered, 'Bang!' bringing the nozzle back up to blow away pretend smoke. "Right? Through and through. Neat. Clean." She sighed, "But the people I work for... they like to mess around. It's how they get what they want."

"People you work for?" Meredith rasped. What people did this? What was this? The mob? Some secret society?

"Sorry, I should introduce myself," she placed a hand on her chest, "Call me Minnick. I'd shake your hand... but..." She pointed at Meredith's blood-splotched hands and shrugged. "And your name again?"

Now:

"Meredith?" Derek's voice pulled Meredith out of her trance as she stared out at the water. The breeze from the moving Ferryboat cooled her flushed face, and the saltwater tinged her lips. "Hey," he pecked her on the temple. "You okay?"

She smiled, ran a hand down his chest. "Yeah... I'm-I'm good."

Derek's warm hand caressed her cheek. "Oh, Mere-"

"I am," she caught his hand in hers and kissed it, "good."

"Mmm," he rumbled. She knew he didn't believe her, but was making an effort not to show that, and she appreciated it.

They were on the way to Alex's to make the big announcement about her return. She wanted to do it on neutral territory, where she could leave anytime. Derek had grumbled, but when she told him how she missed the Ferryboats, he agreed.

Now here they were.

Bailey's laughter brought her back to the present moment, and her little boy crashed into her leg, giggling as he tried to get away from Zola as she chased him. "No..." he giggled. "No get me..." He bobbed and weaved, ducking now behind Derek as Zola tried to tag him.

A giggle of her own erupted from her lips as she watched her kids dash to and fro...happy, exuberant. "Be careful guys..."

She touched Derek's arm. "I'll be back. Bathroom."

"Okay," he replied.

She tucked her hands into her felt jacket pockets and strolled to the main cabin. Pushing open the woman's restroom door she headed for a stall. When she was done her business she opened the door and walked to the sink, bending to wash her hands.

The water was warm on her cool hands, and after she lathered and rinsed, she looked up, in search of a towel.

"Looking for something?"

Her voice stopped Meredith cold. In the mirror, Minnick's reflection behind her was menacing, even as she offered the paper towel.

"So..." Minnick continued, "What are you going to tell them, huh?"

Meredith's blood ran cold at the sight of the green eyed bitch. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe.

"Oh, and guess what? I got a job...At Grey-Sloan!" Minnick clapped and giggled. "Isn't that great? We'll be co-workers!"

A/N: Well some answers... but more questions! Oh man!