Meredith sensed that Grace didn't want to discuss the Derek situation anymore. She was her mother's child, extremely stubborn and when she made her mind up about something or someone, that was it. They were lying on the bed on top of the covers in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Meredith wanted nothing more than to go to bed but she needed to stay awake to make sure Grace was okay.

"Are you hungry?" Meredith asked after several minutes breaking the silence.

"Not really" was the reply she received as Grace turned her back from her and lye on her side facing away from her mother.

"I'm going to bed, I've have a long day" Meredith informed her daughter

Grace immediately felt guilty, her mom had worked what she was sure was close to a 34 hour shift and then had to drive hours upon hours all because Grace deceived her.

Grace crawled over and laid her head on Meredith's chest like she did when she was a little girl "I'm really sorry that I lied to you" Grace confessed looking at her mom with her bright blue eyes, the eyes that were all Derek.

Meredith wanted to be mad at her but she couldn't, not when she could see how sad Grace was. Meredith sighed and stroked Grace's hair "Just don't do it again"

"I won't, I promise" Grace immediately replied, thankful that her mom didn't seem to be mad anymore.

"I really am going to bed though, I can barely keep my eyes open"

Meredith got up and searched through the last minute bag she packed, underwear, a hairbrush and her makeup bag were the only three things that occupied the duffel bag. In her panic, she forgot the essentials, like pajamas. Grace laughed at how little her mom packed

"I brought one of Uncle Marks big T-shirts to sleep in, you can wear it" Grace informed handing Meredith Mark's New York Giants T-shirt.

"You know he's been looking for this for over a year" Meredith told her daughter with a smirk and an evil glint in her eyes.

"I know, but feel how soft it is, his loss is our gain" Grace giggled

Meredith laughed and went to the bathroom to change. While Meredith was in the bathroom changing, Grace put on her pajamas as well, one of Mark's other T-shirts and a pair of cotton pajama shorts with cherries on them. Five minutes after Meredith slipped in bed, she was out. Grace tried to do the same but she couldn't stop thinking about her father and Peyton and Addison and even Levi.

She heard her mom talking to Derek on the phone earlier and that alone made her decision for her. Her mom was trying so hard to sound so strong but she could hear the pain etched in her voice. She knew that to her mom losing Derek was the hardest thing she had ever done and proceeding with a relationship with Derek would be like a slap to her mom and Uncle Mark's faces. She wanted to meet her father and she did, shouldn't she be satisfied enough with that. Grace didn't want to hurt Peyton either, she didn't want to break up his family or make him resent her for stealing his dad away from him. She really liked Peyton and under different circumstances she could see them being friends. Too many people would be hurt as a result of her getting to know her dad better, it would be best for them just to pretend it never happened.

Peyton convinced Levi to come to the hotel with him, he knew that whatever his dad wanted to talk to him about had to be bad and he needed the support of his best friend. Twenty minutes later they arrived at the hotel that was just inside the city. Derek was a little surprised when he saw Levi with his son and asked Levi if he wouldn't mind giving them some time to talk. Levi agreed and made his way through the hotel trying to find a game room or something to do.

"What's going on" Levi asked

"We need to talk"

Grace could not stand being still in bed any longer and decided to get a snack out of the hotel vending machine. She quickly scribbled a note to her mom in case she woke up and Grace wasn't back yet. She searched all over the seventh floor for a vending machine but couldn't find one so she took the elevator down to the first floor. She quickly found her treasure and bought a package of Reese's cups, her favorite. She stepped back onto the elevator and was startled when she saw Levi standing inside with his own package of Reese's cups.

"You have good taste" Levi remarked holding up his own candy

"What are you doing here?" Graced asked as she hit the button for the 7th floor.

"I came with Peyton" Levi shrugged

"Peyton's here too?"

"Yeah and Derek, Derek is apparently talking to Peyton about something important"

"No" Grace said aggravated and sighed

"I'm taking it you know something about what's going on?" Levi smirked

"I've made such a mess"

"You can talk to me, I know you don't know me that well, but I'm good at giving advice"

"I haven't laughed in a week, like really, really laughed. I don't want to talk about Derek, and I don't want to be sad or confused anymore"

"Okay" Levi nodded

Grace turned her attention back to the elevator doors and got off when it hit the seventh floor. Levi followed behind her

"You're following me?" she asked with a smile

"I know you don't want to talk about Derek, but he's kind of the reason I'm stuck here and the hotel staff are about one more floor away from kicking me out on my ass"

Grace laughed "My mom is sleeping, probably not the best idea for you to come in"

"Parents love me, you know?" Levi grinned

"Oh I'm sure they do, but you haven't met my mom, she doesn't like anyone who wakes her up, no matter how charming they may be" Grace smirked

"You think I'm charming?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow

"You wish" Grace smirked and went to open her hotel door before Levi pushed it closed

"You've had a shitty time in D.C?" Levi asked

"Clearly"

"How about you have one good memory of this trip?" Levi asked her, his greenish-grey eyes full of hope

Grace looked torn, if she was being honest with herself she liked Levi, he was attractive, he was tall like her brother and had big muscles which were always a plus in her book. He had light brown hair and kind eyes but she didn't need to complicate this anymore. Levi knew she was about to turn him down and quickly stepped in

"Consider it an early Christmas Present" he bargained

"Okay" Grace said with a smile. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the hotel running.

"What are we doing?" Grace asked out of breath as they ran through the stairwells of the hotel, Levi seemed to know exactly where he was going

"Making a memory" Levi stated and stopped running, they were both out of breath and he was now holding her and staring into her eyes. If this was a movie he would have kissed her right here in this perfect moment, but this wasn't a movie. A glimmer in his eyes told her that he was up to no good, as he pulled her hand and they made their way into the hotels kitchen

"I just need to grab a few things" he told her

Peyton had taken the news exceptionally well, he remained calm throughout Derek's entire admission about Grace being his daughter and about the fact that Peyton wasn't his biological son. Peyton almost acted as though he expected it. Derek told him that he could stay at the hotel tonight but Peyton wanted to see his mother and be with her. Even though she had clearly made some awful mistakes, she was still his mom and he knew she was probably hurting. Peyton called Levi telling his friend that he was ready to leave but Levi informed Peyton that he was staying at the hotel to hang out with Grace. Peyton was fine with it and ventured home.

Ever since Derek realized Meredith was in D.C he had to fight the urge to see her. He wanted to see her so desperately, it was more of a need than a want. H e looked at the time and noticed it was only a little after eleven and decided that Meredith would most likely still be up. He also wanted to see Grace too, and apologize to her for missing sixteen years of her life. Something he knew he would always hate himself for no matter who was to blame. He quickly made his way onto her floor and stood outside the room number he memorized Grace going into earlier.

To be honest he memorized everything he could about Grace from the second he realized she was his. Her giggle which was just like Meredith's, the way she ate the crust of her pizza first, how she wouldn't make eye contact when she was upset, the way her eyes would light up just like his own used to, and how perceptive she was to everything around her.

He took a long deep breath outside of the hotel door, he was about to see Meredith for the first time in almost two decades and his stomach was in knots. He tried to rehearse what he was going to say to her but he knew the second he saw her he would forget everything he planned. With a final breath, he knocked on her door.

Meredith's eyes quickly opened at the disturbing noise and panicked when she didn't see Grace in the bed. The lamp was on in the D.C hotel room and she saw the fast note Grace left on the coffee table Went to get a snack, She relaxed realizing that Grace was safe and that she probably just forgot her room key and couldn't get back in the room. She flung open the door expecting to see her daughter but was caught off guard when there before her stood Derek Shepherd.

He let out a small but noticeable gasp when he saw Meredith standing there in only a large t-shirt. Her long legs were bare and her blonde waves were surrounding her face, she had the imprint of the pillow on her face and he could tell he woke her up. She was just as beautiful as he remembered if not more, and every word that he could think of to say to her quickly left his brain. Not a word was spoken between the two.

Meredith slammed the door shut and went in search for something to put on. She found a pair of Grace's black leggings and threw her sweater from earlier on, atop Mark's t-shirt. She tried to smooth her hair a bit but it was no use, quickly she pulled it back in a pony tail. This is not how she wanted Derek to see her after so long but then she began to wonder why she even cared. It's not like she was single and still attracted to Derek, plus he was married, still. If she was being honest with herself though, she found him just as attractive now as she did when she was his intern.

Derek was waiting for her to open the door again and when she did she quickly explained that she thought he was Grace.

Derek couldn't speak for a moment, the woman he spent almost two decades pining for was standing before him and all he could concentrate on was how much he wanted to hold her and apologize to her. He would spend the rest of his life apologizing to her if he thought it would make any difference.

"Can I come in?" Derek asked

Meredith stood back and widened the door allowing him to enter. He found a seat near a round table, this was a very large hotel room, much larger than anyone he had stayed at. Meredith looked at him expectantly making it clear she wasn't going to be the one to start conversation.

"I don't know what to say"

"Well, neither do I" Meredith confessed crossing her arms over her chest.

"We could start now with the basics, how are you?" Derek asked

"I'm fine"

Derek nodded at her, she was always fine.

"You're still just as beautiful as I remember" Derek admitted softly

"Derek" Meredith sighed tucking a piece of hair that had fallen in her eyes under her ear

"I'm sorry, for everything that happened in Seattle, for not telling you I was married, for letting Addison humiliate you when she came back. You left everything behind because of me and I'm sorry. I have been sorry for years and I don't expect your forgiveness and I know it's too late. But I am so sorry"

"I had to leave, I couldn't stay. It would have destroyed me" Meredith responded honestly after a few moments of silence passed

"It destroyed me, I'm not the same person I was when I first moved to Seattle" Derek replied

"I'm not the same person either, Grace changed me for the better, becoming a mother changed me"

"If I could go back and do things differently-"

"You can only move forward" Meredith responded cutting him off

There was silence again.

"I want to be a part of my daughter's life. I feel like we should work out a custody agreement or something, it doesn't have to be right now. I know I woke you up and that you're tired. I just…I had to see you and I have to start getting to know her"

"There isn't going to be a custody agreement" Meredith said tiredly

Dereks face scrunched up in confusion "Isn't this how things like this work? The parents agree on dates and times that each parent gets with the child"

"Things like this don't happen" Meredith scoffed

"Well no, it's abnormal but isn't that what divorced parents do?"

"We aren't divorced, we were never even married"

"Meredith you know what I mean, I can come to New York as much as you want, if that makes it easier. I'll have to figure something out with the White House but it's whatever you and Grace want"

"It's what Grace wants?" Meredith questioned

"Of course, whatever she wants"

"There isn't going to be a custody agreement Derek, Grace doesn't want you involved in her life. She wants things to go back to how they were before"

"Like when I didn't even know she existed, no. I' m her father, she came here to meet me and I want a say in this" Derek replied getting defensive

"It's what she wants, I'm not going to force her to spend time with you" Meredith argued back

"She. Doesn't. Even. Know. You" Meredith continued

"That's not my fault"

"It is your fault"

"Meredith, I explained to you, I never got your letter. Addison kept it from me… I just read it tonight for the first time"

"This isn't just about the letter, this goes back to Seattle. I can't blame you for going back to Addison she was your wife. I understand, but you should have told me from the beginning that you were married"

"Would it have changed things?"

"Of course, this" she said gesturing between the two of them "would have never happened"

Derek was so angry he felt like he could punch a wall, angry at Addison, angry at Meredith, angry at Mark, and in a way even angry at Peyton, but most of all he was angry at himself.

"I want to see my daughter and I want to be a part of her life" he demanded

"No" Meredith replied as if it was the most simple thing in the world

"I'm her father, I have a say in this damnit. You can't just decide that you alone get to make all the rules for this thing"

"Actually I do get to make all the rules, you haven't spent one birthday with her, you don't know her first words, her favorite color, who her best friend is, her likes and dislikes. I know all those things because I've been here, this whole time taking care of my child, while you've been with your wife and son."

Derek felt like he had been slapped in the face, her words stung him but it was the truth. Derek hadn't been there and Meredith had, raising their daughter all alone.

"You're never going to forgive me" Derek stated half bitterly

"This was Grace's decision and I support it" Meredith replied her face as cold as stone

Derek shook his head "I'm divorcing Addison, I'm meeting with a lawyer and I am doing what I should have done 17 years ago, I'll take you to court over this Meredith. I want a relationship with my daughter…I love her"

"If you loved her Derek, you would respect that she doesn't want to know you. It's too late for her. You're going to go to court and maybe get some type of minimal custody, you're going to force her to spend time with you and she doesn't know you, think about how much she's going to resent you. If you want anything to do with her ever, you won't take this to court"

Derek felt the tears brim in his eyes but as quickly as he could blinked them back.

"I can't pretend I never met her, she's mine. She looks like me" Derek whispered the last part sighing

Meredith softened a bit and placed her hand on his shoulder, immediately they both felt the electricity run through them.

Derek's sad eyes met hers and he stared into the green for as long as he could before Meredith broke eye contact.

"I'm sorry Derek "Meredith responded wanting him to get the hint that she was too tired to continue this conversation.

Derek ran his hand through his hair and made his way to the door of the hotel

"Sorry for waking you. Can you just… tell Grace I love her" he stated getting emotional, realizing he wasn't going to get the chance to know the little girl he made with the love of his life.

"I will" Meredith said and offered a small smile

He opened the door to leave and stepped out before turning to look at Meredith one last time, drinking her in

"It was good to see you Meredith" he told her with a sad expression

"It was good to see you Derek"

Thank you to those who left me reviews, I loved reading them. We have much more drama to come, Derek still doesn't know that Mark helped raise his daughter and Mark has yet to be informed that he has a son.

Next chapter Grace and Meredith go back to New York and Derek spends some time thinking about what it is he is going to do about Grace wanting nothing to do with him.