Chapter 11: If You Believe

I close my eyes,
And even when I'm sleeping
I'm alright,
'Cause You were, in my life.

"This is my favorite restaurant in all of Seattle," Derek announced proudly as he parked his BMW in front of a small restaurant in a deserted shopping center.

Meredith didn't move. She just looked around outside before finally turning her face to Derek, "Okay, seriously, this seems like something out of a really bad date rape movie. You know, if they made those."

He smiled at her, "Oh, so now you're calling this a date? I don't remember asking you out on a date," he joked.

She averted her eyes from him, looking back at the small restaurant, "What kind of place is open at this time of night anyways?"

"One that I happen to know the owner of," he said as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Meredith hesitated, but finally sighed and followed. She still was trying to figure out what exactly she'd gotten herself into.

She followed Derek inside the restaurant, surprised by how small it was. Derek led her to one of the eight rectangular tables and pulled out her chair. She looked up at him in surprise, but he didn't give her any response. Once she was seated, he said he'd be right back and then disappeared.

She sat back in the chair and looked around. The restaurant was obviously Asian, but Meredith guessed Chinese. It was very simplistic, but it seemed nice. She still didn't completely understand why the place was still open so late or why Derek knew the people so well, but she left it alone. She figured she should just be thankful that she wasn't sleeping in an on-call room right now.

Soon Derek came back and took the seat across from her, placing a glass of wine in front of her. "You do like wine, right?" he asked in response to her facial expression.

"Yeah, I just usually go to restaurants where waitresses bring my drinks," she said as she picked up the cup and took a sip, "And where my wine is in a wineglass."

"This is a Chinese restaurant. We're not in Italy," he said as he took a sip of what she figured was soda.

"Well then, in Chinese restaurants do we get menus?" she questioned.

He placed his cup down before speaking, "When we come before normal closing, yes, but right now? No." He saw the confused look on Meredith's face so he just smiled at her, "Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant?"

"I hate Chinese," she said bluntly.

"Good," he answered, "I do too."

"What?"

He smiled at her again as a slender woman walked in from the back and placed a small plate between them. Derek smiled at her and thanked her before she headed back to the back. He looked at Meredith, "It's shrimp."

"Why are we here if you don't like Chinese?"

He took one of the six large fried shrimps and ate it before responding, "I don't like Chinese. I don't see this food as Chinese. Maybe us Americans just stole it so I'm used to it." She just watched him, not displaying much emotion, "Come on, its shrimp. Eat your three or I'll eat them for you!"

Meredith hesitated, but she did what he said. After all, it was just shrimp and she had to admit that it was the biggest and best tasting shrimp she'd ever had. Soon the woman brought them two tiny bowls and took the now empty shrimp plate. Once again, Derek thanked her before she left.

Meredith looked down at the bowl in front of her and then back up at Derek, "What is this?"

"It's soup," he said simply, "You don't get out much, do you?"

She ignored his comment and questioned him again, "What kind of soup is this?"

"I have no idea," he answered before he began to eat it, "It is mainly chicken broth. It has some type of onions on the bottom and those on the top? Those are mushrooms."

"I know what a mushroom is," she answered before hesitantly placing her spoon in the soup.

Derek watched her amused. "You know, most New Yorkers are used to stuff like this. Didn't you ever go to China town?"

"When I was in high school and college," she answered before tasting the soup, "This is actually decent."

"It's more than decent," Derek insisted, "It's the best food in Seattle."

Meredith and Derek ate the rest of their soup in relative silence until the waitress came out again and took their empty bowls. They were told that their main course would be coming soon before she left. "So," Derek started, ending the slump in their conversation, "What makes a hot shot doctor leave the big apple for Seattle?"

"I'm not a hot shot Doctor," Meredith answered before taking a sip of her wine.

"Okay, fine," Derek said giving in, "What makes a successful doctor leave the big apple for Seattle?"

Meredith placed her glass down and looked at Derek, "Why are you so hell bent on finding out about my past? It's not like you're offering up information."

"You're not asking," Derek pointed out before moving back to her, "You didn't answer my question."

"I know," she answered as the woman came back out with their main courses.


"Steak, Shrimp, and fried rice?" Meredith asked looking at her plate.

"Told you it was the best Chinese Restaurant," Derek smiled as he took a bite of his already cut up steak.

Meredith was surprised by the food, but happy as well. She dug in and was completely satisfied with the amazing taste. Derek could tell she was enjoying it and smiled at her, "You should be more trusting."

"What?" Meredith asked as she looked up at him.

"You thought I was going to rape you or something and now you're enjoying your meal in a Chinese Restaurant. You should be more trusting," Derek insisted.

Meredith took another bite to allow her think before she spoke, "Sometimes when you trust people, it comes back to bite you in the ass."

"You shouldn't base future relationships on past failures," Derek countered.

Meredith didn't answer that solely because of the myriad of things he could be meaning when he said relationship. "So, what made you leave the big apple for Seattle?"

"Needed a change," Derek answered simply. "I've told you something, now you have to tell me something."

"I never agreed to that," Meredith answered as she continued eating.

"You do enjoy being difficult, don't you?" Derek asked with a small chuckle in his voice.

"I suppose I do," Meredith responded, the slightest hint of smile crossing her face.


They finished their dinner, but Meredith had refused to give in to any of Derek's many attempts at finding out about her history. He had tried a number of ways, but Meredith had learned over the past year to not be impulsive when answering questions and to choose her words wisely. Lucky enough for her, she never slipped.

Meredith hadn't noticed how long they'd been driving in silence until she heard gravel crunching under the tires. She looked over at Derek, but for the first time this evening, he was silent. He didn't offer any explanation why they were on a deserted gravel road. He just kept driving.

When the car finally stopped, Meredith stared ahead of her as Derek looked at her. She knew he was waiting for her reaction, but frankly, she didn't know what to say. There really was only one response that she could come up with: "You live in a trailer."

Derek knew it was a statement. She wasn't asking him a question or looking for a response. She was stating the facts, but still he answered, "Yes, I live in a trailer."

When she was silent, he almost expected her to turn around and decide to stay in the on-call room after all, but she didn't. She turned around and smiled at him in a way that he had never seen her smile before. It looked natural on her, as if the only reason the expression had been created was for it to be displayed by her features. "You live in a trailer," she said again, slight amusement in her voice.

Derek nodded again before she started walking towards the silver trailer. He was surprised to say the least, but he soon caught up with her. He led her inside and realized that there was much more to Meredith Grey than a dark past that she was hiding. There was a lively, happy person inside that had been dormant for longer than he could imagine.