As always, you all are amazing! Thanks so much!

There was a question about the end of the last chapter. Sorry to be confusing! Mer was reading the last text over. Hope that helps clear up any confusion.

Thanks to Soran for giving me the inspiration for this chapter. Again, thank you all and I think you're gonna like this one…Please let me know!

Chapter 7

The floor was dark and almost empty. She liked it like this. She was able to think or not think at all, depending on her mood. Right now, she sat at the nurse's station, watching Garrett and Natasha's room and let thoughts drift carelessly through her mind. She couldn't stay much longer. Her day was almost done and she needed to get home to her children. But there was a perverse comfort in watching the couple.

Natasha had been in a coma for several days now. Her fiancée never left her side. Her blue wedding dress was still hanging in the closer in her hospital room. It was a heartbreaking situation but it was also kind of beautiful. Their love was real. Garrett's devotion to her was palpable.

It reminded her of what she had. It also reminded her of what she had lost. And it made her wonder if she could ever find it again. For the longest time, she had felt that it would be greedy of her to seek out that kind of love again, that it would be unfaithful to Derek somehow and to his memory. But her daughter was much wiser than her and reminded her that love was something you could never have enough of. CeCe insisted as well.

It was like the universe was telling her it was time. She thought it was funny she remembered her daughter's words. Zola had said it the day of Alex's wedding. The same day DeLuca had kissed her for the first time. So far, for the only time.

They had not been able to get their timing right. Between hospital duties, her kids, and her sisters, she barely had time to bathe, let alone date. It had been a relief, though. The flirting, the chase, the waiting had been a lot of fun. She could enjoy DeLuca's infatuation without the pressure of dating him. He seemed to enjoy it too. She knew that wouldn't last forever, but right now, she was enjoying it.

"A coffee for your thoughts."

She jumped when she heard his voice. The hallway was so quiet that his words had cut through the air. Meredith looked up and her heart wrenched when his eyes locked on hers. She found herself doing that every time she saw him now, especially when he looked at her with that smile in his eyes.

"Thanks but I think you're going to feel shortchanged." She took the cup from his hands and watched him sit down in the chair next to her.

"Try me," he said around a laugh, taking a sip of his own coffee.

Her eyes drifted back to the ICU room. "I was just watching Garrett and Natasha."

His face sobered as he watched Garrett talking to someone on a cell phone. He reported Natasha's condition frequently to family and friends. He looked exhausted. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"How so?" She took a sip of her coffee. Her eyebrows rose. How did he know how she took it? He was paying closer attention than he realized.

He motioned at Garrett. "That's the definition of 'unconditional love'. And 'for better or for worse.' It's what we all hope to find someday."

She eyed him curiously. "You've never been in love like that before?"

His head whipped around to stare at her. He furrowed his brow and looked confused. "Of course not."

"No?" she was surprised at his passionate reaction to her question.

"No," he repeated, shaking his head. "If I had ever loved another woman like that, I wouldn't be here with you right now."

She froze. She wasn't ready to ask what he meant by another woman. Instead, she focused on his other words: right now. Her eyes drifted away from his and she said quietly, "You don't get to choose how long your forever is."

He reached over and put his hand on hers that was resting on the arm of her chair. "I know." His looked at her with sincerity and empathy and she could feel herself boiling over with emotion.

She gave him a sad smile and then said, "What about Sam? You two seemed crazy for each other."

Letting go of her hand, he squinted at her as if he wondered if this was a test or if she might be showing a slight bit of jealousy. She was hoping that he didn't realize it was both. "Crazy is the right word for what Sam and I were to each other. Whenever I'm around her, she takes me back to a time when I was young and needed her. Same for her."

"Andrew, you were ready to marry her seven months ago," she said, playing with the cup in her hand.

He chuckled. "No, I wasn't, Meredith. I was ready to save her any way I could. It was out of passion and compassion, but if I had really loved her," he started and then paused. His eyes looked distant and pained. He shook his head like he was stirring himself from his thoughts and looked at her again. "I would have gone to Switzerland with her."

She gave him a judgey scoff and then sipped more of her coffee. "You were miserable for weeks. I have the wine stains on my couch to prove it."

He rolled his eyes. "I was a mess. And heartbroken. But deep down, I knew it was the right thing to do not to follow her." He looked at Garrett again. "Sam will always be a special person to me, but if I had loved her like Garrett loves Natasha, do you think I'd be here with you?"

She swallowed, wishing she hadn't engaged him in this conversation. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to find a way to steer them in a different direction. "This isn't really any of my business."

He kept looking at the ICU, but he said quietly and firmly, "It is if you want it to be." Then he looked over at her with that look like he was begging her to let him kiss her.

He held her gaze for what felt like an eternity until she blinked and shook her head. "So is your sister still out of the country?"

Her change of subject was so sharp that he actually flinched out of surprise. "Yeah, she's with my Dad in Italy. Why?"

She nodded. "So I'm guessing you plan to fly home for Thanksgiving then."

"No," he said, resting his chin under his fist as he thought. "It's been so long since I've thought about Italy as home."

"So, you're having a Friendsgiving then?" she said with a more playful smile than she actually felt.

He cocked his head and his brow twitched. "Did Dr. Shepherd not tell you she invited me to her and Owen's place for Thanksgiving?"

"No." She knew this was going to sound rude, but now she was panicking a little. "How did you score an invite from Amelia?"

He shrugged, ignoring the slight. "She said that I get an open invitation to all of her major milestones since I helped save her life from the brain tumor."

She laughed. "You can take the tumor out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the dramatics."

He laughed too. "I am grateful to Dr. Shepherd. She gave me an opportunity to really step up last year."

She paused. She knew she was about to ask something stupid, but she couldn't help herself. Trying to sound casual, she asked, "So, are you bringing a date to this dinner?"

He frowned and gave her side eye. "You already know the answer to that." She slowly nodded but inside, she was smiling. He then gave her a cocky smile. "Are you asking me to be your date?"

She gave him a very serious look and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I already have a date."

"Oh," he said, his whole face dropping. For a brief second, she saw his jaw clench in jealousy and she got a small sense of satisfaction and delight from it. "I hope you and Link have a good time."

She giggled. "Sure you do." She waited a couple moments, really letting the awkwardness hang in the air. "But he's not my date either."

Spinning his chair around to look at her, he asked, "Who are you going with?"

Her eyes twinkled as her lips curled into a big smile. "Cristina Yang."

TBC.