A/N - I'm so sorry! -hangs head- There really is no excuse for the long wait. It's actually due more to laziness than anything. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it. ;)

Oh, and I don't own "The Way You Look Tonight".

Chapter 10

My heart, my heart is yours
(Please don't go now, Please don't fade away)
My heart, my heart is yours
(Please don't go now, Please don't fade away)

The next day, I went in to see her after her infusion. I watched her lay in her bed, sleeping peacefully with a hint of a content smile in the corners of her lips. Her cheeks, though, were still pale and hollow, the ghost of a once healthy, happy human being. Well, maybe not so happy, but definitely healthy.

"Hey, Mer," I said softly. I knew it was pointless to be saying this to her when she wasn't even awake, but I needed to say it. I needed to get it out into the open, otherwise it would continue to fester in my soul. "So, um…I heard that the infusion went well. I-I just wanted to let you know that I donated the bone marrow. And I, uh…well I asked Dr. Hahn to keep it a secret from you. I guess I just wanted you to think that the marrow was from someone you trusted instead of a jerk that walks away." At this point, I took Meredith's cold hand in my gloved ones and looked at her sleeping face intently, as if she were awake. I could almost picture those piercing blue-green irises staring back at me. "I know that I keep a lot of secrets from you. I know that I should have told you and given you so much more than I have. But I want you to know right now that I love you. I loved you when you told me you loved me. I loved you when I showed you my trailer, I loved you when I saw you on my first day of work…heck, I loved you when I first saw you at that bar. And I'm an idiot for not telling you sooner. I'm an idiot for not telling you this when you're awake," I murmured as a side note to myself. "But you have to live through this. You have to. Because if you don't, then I won't. I love you. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. So please, please get well. Please, Meredith. I'm begging you."

At that moment, Meredith's eyelids fluttered open slowly. When she registered my face, she smiled softly, still a little groggy from her sleep and the medication she was on. "Hi," she murmured.

"Hi," I said back with a soft smile.

"So," she said with a sleepy smile, "how are you?"

"I've been better."

"Still sore from the harvest?" she asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I--wait, how did you know?" I asked bewilderedly.

She smiled wider. "Derek, even if Karev hadn't told me, even if I hadn't seen you in a wheelchair, I would have known that it was you. The moment the infusion started, it just felt…I don't know, it just felt like home. Like I had found a home in you."

To my shame and absolute horror, tears began to well in my eyes. "Meredith…"

"Derek, I'm going to live because of you. Because of what you gave me." It made me feel a little better that she was starting to cry as well. "I'm going to survive this, because I love you. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I don't know what came over me in that instant. It must have been a combination of happiness, relief, excitement and love or maybe I was just insane. All I know was that when I looked into her eyes, I knew that she was the one. She was the girl that could give me so much more than Addison ever could. She was the girl that I wanted to give my heart to. She was the one, the only one I wanted to spend the rest of my days with. And so with such confidence and surety that I had never before felt, I said, "Mer, will you marry me?"

I stared at Derek for a little while, sufficiently shocked speechless. When I finally managed to find my voice, I said very slowly, "I'm not sure I heard you correctly. I think I heard you asking me to marry you, but that can't possibly be right because--"

"Mer," he cut across me very smoothly and very gently, a beautiful smile shining in his watery blue eyes, "You don't have to answer me right now. Take all the time you need because I don't want you to think this is a mistake. But do know that I love you. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You're it for me."

I couldn't help but frown a little. I mean, he just got out of a divorce with Addison and I was still battling leukemia. This wasn't exactly the best time to get married.

"I have an idea," I told him playfully. "How about we get to know each other first before we promise ourselves to each other for all eternity. You know, without the ex-wife and the cancer."

The corners of his blue eyes crinkled in that beautiful McDreamy smile that I knew was meant just for me. Just for me. "I like the sound of that."

I smiled back, feeling relieved, loved, and truly, truly blessed. "I do too."

Four Years Later

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Meredith said in a breathless rush as she hurried to sit down in her chair. "There was a last minute tracheotomy and Dr. Wallace was on-call last night, so I had to do it."

"Meredith," I interrupted while giving her the most reassuring smile that I could, "It's okay. I understand, I promise."

She smiled back. "Okay, good." At that moment, the waiter came by and gave her a menu.

Four years did her a lot of good. Instead of that pale, stick-thin figure she had once been, she had meat on her bones, color in her cheeks and hair on her head. And wherever she went, she had a smile on her face. It wasn't a fake smile, or a half smile. It was a full blown smile, one that announced to the world that she was happy, healthy and in love. And the greatest part about that smile was it said that she was in love with me.

"So," I after I gave her a few moments to look over the menu, "you look lovely tonight."

And she did. She had on a pretty black dress with straps that clung to her shoulders and hugged all the curves that I still hadn't memorized. Her honey blonde hair was pinned up haphazardly in an elegant up-do and she had on crazy heels that would have killed any lesser woman.

"Why thank you," she said coyly. "Tonight is a special night."

"Yes it is," I agreed, remembering this night four years ago. When she woke up from her deep sleep, several hours after the bone marrow infusion took place. Luckily for us, her body took to the bone marrow like a fish takes to water and there she sat in front of me, cancer free for three years. Maybe it was her drive to live, to survive from something that tried to rip the life from her body, her will to battle something unwelcome and wholly detested and live for her friends and those who loved her. I don't know what it was, but in the end she was alive. And in all honesty, that's all that mattered.

"So you do remember," I teased, fingering the black velvet box in my pocket a little nervously. It took me forever to decide what I should have done with the ring. Should I be cliché and put it in a glass of champagne? Should I ask the chefs to bake it into the cake? Should I just get down on one knee right after desert and profess my love for her like I do every single night before we go to bed, except with a ring? Even as she sat down, I still didn't know what to do with it. So I decided to play the thing by ear.

After we ordered, we talked lightly about several really weird cases in the hospital. That line of conversation carried us through the appetizers and by the time the main course rolled around, we were talking about Cristina and Burke's upcoming nuptials.

"I just can't believe Burke let her put it off for four years," I said incredulously. "He's not exactly patient."

"I'm just grateful that she finally set a date," Meredith replied. "Now I can just dread one day instead of worrying about all the others."

I frowned. "Do you not like marriage?"

She shook her head. "I like marriage just fine. I'm just scared about Cristina and her wedding ceremony. You know what she's like on a regular basis. Just imagine her in a white dress and a mosquito net over her face."

I shuddered a little. It was a fearsome sight to imagine.

After the main course, we contemplated desert and Meredith declared her desire for something to satisfy her sweet tooth, but her regret of the fact that her stomach was not, in fact, empty enough to hold an entire chocolate cheesecake by herself. So we decided to split it. When it came down to the last forkful, she smiled at me and said, "You can have it."

I grinned when I remembered what it was in reference to, so I knew better than to argue. "Thanks," I said as I scooped it off the plate and into my mouth, making sure to savor the final, creamy bite.

A few moments later, the band on the main floor started playing "The Way You Look Tonight". Without a second's hesitation, I got out of my chair and offered her my hand. "May I have this dance?"

The corners of her lips twitched a little. "I thought you didn't dance."

"Tonight's a special night," I reminded her. Her smile widened as she stood gracefully from her chair and took my hand. I led her onto the dance floor and wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close to me.

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow, just thinking of you…
And the way you look tonight.

She buried her face into my shoulder and breathed a perfect sigh. "Derek, I love you."

My arms tightened around her and I inhaled the lavender of her locks. Even after all these years, the scent still made me weak. "I love you too."

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm,
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

I felt her heart beating against my own chest, and my heart slowed to beat with hers. We swayed softly to the lilting music, letting the rhythm of our hearts speak for us. I wanted to stay like this, with her forever. I wanted to hold her in my arms, listening to a Frank Sinatra impersonator for the rest of my life. I wanted to breathe her scent and feel her silky smooth skin underneath my fingertips. I wanted her eyelashes resting against the crook of my neck for all eternity, never leaving my side.

I wanted Meredith. And I would go to the ends of the earth to have her.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart…
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

That moment was suspended in time. My eyes closed as I struggled to memorize everything about this night: the number of members in the band, the feel of her honey colored locks against my cheeks, the gentle pressure of her arms resting on my shoulders. I knew that I could never stand on my own after this. She held the other half of me, the other half of my identity. Without her, I didn't know who I was. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Lovely…never ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it?
'Cause I love you…just the way you look tonight.

Discreetly, I reached into my pocket and pulled the ring from the box without her noticing. "Meredith?" I whispered as I pulled away.

"Hmm?" she asked as she lifted her head to look at me.

I unwrapped her arms from around my neck and held her hands loosely in mine. With practiced surgical dexterity, I gently slipped the ring on her finger without her noticing. "Will you marry me?"

Watching her face break into a grin was like watching a flower bloom in fast motion. "Yes," she whispered. "I love you, Derek. I love you."

"Good," I said as I took her left hand and touched her knuckles to my lips. Then she noticed the glint of the diamond in the soft restaurant light.

"Oh my God!" she squealed when she saw the ring. "Derek! Oh my God!"

I chuckled. "Happy anniversary."

A/N - Yay! This story is coming to a close. One more chapter to go. Maybe two. It depends on whether or not I can accomplish everything in one chapter.

Reviews (as always) are greatly appreciated!