Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy I wish I did so I wouldn't have to wait each week to know what was going to happen.

Chapter 11

"Nancy let's go."

"I'm coming Derek just hold on a minute."

Derek had been up since 5am and he wanted to go to the hospital. He hadn't gotten any pages that night so he figured Meredith was alright but until he saw her again he wouldn't be sure. It was now 8am and Nancy had been up for an hour but yet she was still not ready. It never ceased to amaze him how long it took anyone of his sisters to get ready. He had lived with them for most of his life and they never were ready in under 60 minutes but Meredith, Meredith was different. She could be ready in 15 minutes and still look beautiful. He smiled to himself as Nancy came into the room.

"I'm ready Derek but I want to talk first?"

"We can talk on the way to the hospital, I really want see Meredith."

"I want you to tell me about Meredith."

"You already know about Meredith."

"I know pieces Derek and I want to know everything. You have said yourself you want to marry her so tell me about the women you want to marry and why is she such a mystery to me?"

Derek sighed and took a seat on the couch. Nancy followed him as he started to talk. "You know her already Nancy. Everything I have told you over the years is true. She has been through so much in her life and I want to make her happy. I can't live without her. She tried to push me away when she left for school because she thought I was in love with someone else. It was the hardest time in my life. I haven't pushed her to love me and I won't..."

"What do you mean?"

"Addi helped me understand a little about Mer. Her mother was well nonexistent and when she was around all she did was hurt Mer. Her father left her when she was five. When she was going through school boys just wanted to get in her pants and then her and Luke got together. I don't know the entire story with him, she hasn't told me everything yet but I know he hit her. You know how we met but what I didn't tell you was that she used Alex as her name so her mom wouldn't find out. She took my breath away and from that moment I knew I loved her. Mark and Addi gave me a hard time but I told them it was fate."

"You are so cheesy Derek."

Derek rolled his eyes and continued. "So Mer, Mark, and Addi keep telling me. Anyway Mark, Addi, and I were on call when she was brought in the night she was raped. We all helped take care of her and got her a room. Later that night her mother came in and she blamed what happened on Meredith and was more concerned about what people would think about her than her own daughter. She went home and a few days later she came to our apartment. Addi had given her the address and phone number. Her mom had kicked her out. Mark and I came home and didn't know she was there. I went to go to bed, I tripped over her bag and fell on her. She was terrified. Addi came in and told us that she had told Meredith it was ok for her to stay there and Meredith panicked. She got up and got dressed and was heading to the door when Addi stopped her." Derek paused with a smile. "Addi talked or forced her to stay. When Addi went to say goodnight Mark and I were in the hall. Meredith said she felt safe in my bed. It was funny because Addi had tried to be stern in getting Meredith to stay and Meredith told her it wasn't very convincing. That was when I started sleeping on the couch and I didn't mind one bit. The next day she went to school and found out that she couldn't finish her year and then her mom said she was not to come back. I brought her home and she stayed with us until the day she left for college."

"What about Luke?"

"The trial came. She didn't tell us at first. The assistant DA called to tell her she had to testify and Addi answered. The next day Mark and I snuck into the court room before Mer and Addi got there. She testified, I wanted to kill him for what he did to her but she made it through. Addi took Mer home and Mark and I had to waste some time because she wasn't expecting us home until later. When we came home we met Addi in the parking lot. She had gone to get some groceries and when we got to the apartment Addi told us that Mer had said she was going to take a shower as Addi left and she had been gone for 45 minutes or so. The shower was still running so she went in." Derek paused. "She was laying on the floor of the shower crying. Mark and I got her blankets and towels and Addi covered her. I picked her up and took her into my room. I tried to lay her down but she told me she didn't want me to go so I just held her while she cried. That was the first time she cried in front of me and when she was done she talked a little about her life. She opened up. Then she asked me to go with her the next day to the trial. She asked Mark to go the next morning. It was the day that Luke testified but so did her mother."

"What?"

"Yes she testified for Luke. Meredith was devastated. Anyway we all helped her through it and then she left for college." Derek finished quickly not wanting to give away all details of Meredith's past. "She didn't talk to me again until she came back for Addi and Mark's wedding. Ever since then we have talked almost every day. If we can't talk we email and as you know she has come to visit."

"Wow. I know that for Meredith's sake you haven't told me everything and because of that I know you are still the man mom and dad raised you to be."

"She is so stubborn Nancy, she won't let me love her but I do. I know by looking in her eyes that she loves me too but I…"

Nancy cut him off. "You're right."

"What?"

"She loves you. I could see it every time she talked about Mcdreamy and I could see it yesterday in that hospital room. But Derek, she has been hurt so bad maybe she's someone that should only be a friend and not a girlfriend or wife."

"How could you say that? You said she is your friend. I love you Nancy but I am going to marry her so you better accept it."

"Why do you love her Derek, what is it about her that you love?"

Derek stood and started pacing in front of her as he started talking. He told her all about Meredith, his Meredith. The Meredith who he spent those months with after the trial and the Meredith he came to know throughout the years by phone calls, emails, and visits. He also told her about how her and Addi gang up on him and Mark and how she jokes around with them. Once he was done telling her about Meredith he started with what he loves about Meredith. "I love how stubborn she is. I love her giggle and her laugh. And I love her eyes, they sparkle when she smiles and they become this deep gray when she is upset. I love how she pretends to be so strong to everyone even when she is falling apart inside. Don't get me wrong she is strong, the strongest woman I know for all she's been through but I can see the hurt when I look deep in her eyes. I can see everything through her eyes. I love her tiny ineffectual fists and her rambling." Derek pauses and lets out a chuckle. "She is so cute when she rambles. She doesn't talk about her feelings much in fact she avoids most of the time. But I love that when she decides to open up she makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world because she trusted me enough to listen. I love how funny she is. I love that she can put Mark in his place and I love how she got Addi to think of her like a sister and you know how hard Addi can be about other woman. And I love how she doesn't boost my ego, in fact she reminds me almost daily how my ego is too big."

Nancy chuckled at that. "She's right about that."

Derek gave her a glare before continuing. "I love how smart and loyal she is. I love that she has the biggest heart but she will deny it. I love how she fidgets with her watch when she is nervous. I love how she makes me feel when she looks at me. I feel like I can't breathe and I can feel my heart rate pick up. I love how the sound of her voice calms me. And I love how according to Mark and Addi, when I think about her I get a big smile on my face. She makes me want to be a better man for her. I just, I just love everything about her Nancy." Derek finished and looked at Nancy who was staring back at him with a smile. "What?"

Nancy watched as Derek paced in front of her and rambled on and on about Meredith with a smile on his face. A smile came to her lips as she saw how much he really cared about her. The Meredith he was describing was the Meredith she had glimpses of. She was worried that Derek was just wanting to save Meredith and she knew that wouldn't be good for either of them. The more he rambled the more she realized that Meredith was the perfect women for him. "You're rambling."

"I guess it rubbed off on me."

"You and me both." They both shared a laugh. "Ok, let's go."

"Wait I just poured my heart out here and you want to leave now?"

"I just wanted to make sure you loved her and now I know so let's go."

"Oh no you don't, what is that suppose to mean?"

"Derek you have always been the guy that wants to save everyone. You like being the knight in shining armor and well Meredith is dark and twisty as she puts it so I thought you were just wanting to show her the light or something. I really care about both of you and I didn't want either of you to get hurt."

"That is what I said."

"What?"

Derek laughed. "I told Mark one night that I wanted to show her the light."

Nancy laughed at him. "Cheesy."

"You just said it too so I guess cheesy runs in the family. There is so much more to her then dark and twisty and if you give her the time to learn to trust you..she is worth it. I knew that as soon as I met her and I knew that I would get to see the real Mer and there is nothing that I would change about her."

"That's all I needed." Nancy said as she stood and started for the door with Derek following.

"You do realize that you are my sister and therefore you should be grilling her and not me right?"

"I don't have to grill her Derek. She has told me everything about Mcdreamy and now that I know you are him, well I know how she feels about you."

"You do?"

"Yes and Derek if you hurt her…"

Derek cut her off. "I won't and when is everyone going to stop saying that to me?"

"She's a good woman and she deserves to be happy and you are a good man, not a great brother but…"

"Hey what is that suppose to mean?"

"You never came to visit me, not once. Now can I finish?" Nancy paused as Derek nodded. "Good now what I was going to say was you are a good man and you deserve to be happy also. I know now that Meredith is the one that makes you happy and to tell you the truth you two deserve each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"You are both too stubborn for your own good." Nancy smiled as she finished.

"You Nancy are lucky I love you and I wouldn't say that to Mer. She is tiny but she can hold her own."

Derek and Nancy both laughed as they made their way into the hospital and entered the elevator. It was now after 10 by the time they got to Meredith's floor. As they got off the elevator Derek remembered something he forgot to tell Nancy. He stopped her in the hall. "Nancy?"

"Yes."

"Don't tell Mer about Mark and Addi's baby ok?"

"Why not?"

"Just…it's their news to tell so don't say anything ok, promise me you won't say anything?"

Nancy was a little concerned by the look on her brothers face but she agreed and they continued down the hall. They entered her room and found Mark sitting with her. Nancy gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Good morning Mark."

"Morning Nancy, Derek." Mark looked at his watch. "What took you so long? I expected you to be here first thing this morning."

Derek looked at Nancy and then back to Mark as he walked over to Meredith's bed and grabbed her chart. "We would have been except someone had to have a talk. How can she not be awake yet?"

"It was important. So Mark where is Addison?"

"Surgery."

"What is this?" Derek asked with a raised voice.

"What is it Derek?"

"Mark did you see this?"

Mark nodded. "I checked her chart when I came in and saw it. I was going to ask Burke when he comes in to check on her."

"Why didn't you ask a nurse?"

"Because I wanted to know the truth and not gossip and why are you yelling at me?" Mark asked while he stood from his chair.

"What is it Derek?" Nancy questioned again now with worry in her voice.

Derek was about to respond when the door opened and Dr. Burke came in with Dr. Bailey. "Burke what the hell happened?"

Both Burke and Bailey made their way into the room and Burke grabbed the chart away from Derek. "Give me that chart Sheppard, you are not her doctor."

"Fine just tell me what happened."

"First off, lower your voice this is a hospital remember?"

"I'm sorry Miranda, I just want to know what happened."

"It's Dr. Bailey to you and since I was on call last night I will tell you after you sit." She stopped as both Mark and Derek took seats. "That's better. Now, this morning about 5am I got a page. When I got here she was screaming and thrashing around in the bed. Myself and two nurses tried to calm her but it was no use. I ordered her to be sedated. Once she calmed back down I saw that she had popped her stitches so we cleaned her up and I stitched her back up. I am guessing the sedation should wear off in a couple hours."

"Why wasn't I paged? I told the nurses to page me if anything happened to her."

"It wasn't an emergency and I handled it."

"She didn't need to be sedated."

"Dr. Sheppard it was the only way to calm her down and she is fine now."

"Dr. Bailey is right Sheppard, she is doing just fine. I'll be back to check on her later, if anything happens page me." Dr. Burke said as he made some notes in her chart and put it back at the end of her bed. "Now I am headed to surgery so if you all with excuse us."

Everyone said their goodbyes as Dr. Burke and Dr. Bailey left the room. And then Derek spoke. "I should have been here."

"Derek you can't be with her all the time."

"I know that Nancy but I just should have been here."

The room fell into silence until Nancy started up conversation with Mark. Addison came in for a little while until one of her patients went into labor and Mark got paged for a consult. Nancy then decided to go down to the cafeteria for something to eat and she told Derek she would bring something back.

Soon after she left Meredith started to stir. She opened her eyes and saw Derek sitting beside her. "Hey."

Derek saw her open her eyes and smiled. "Hey."

"What time is it?"

"It's after noon. How do you feel?"

"Fine I guess. How long have you been here?"

"Since a little after 10. I have surgery at 2 so I was hoping you would wake up before then. I'm glad you did."

"When can I go home?"

"You've only been here for a day and you do remember you had surgery right?"

"I remember Derek but I feel fine now so when can I leave?"

Derek chuckled because he knew she would want to leave as soon as possible. "I'll tell you what, I'll ask Burke when you can leave if you keep concentrating on getting better."

"Deal."

"Mer, what happened when we left last night?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, just tell me."

Meredith sighed. She didn't want to talk about it but she saw the look in Derek's eyes and she knew he wasn't going to drop this. "Two officers came for my statement, I gave it to them and they left that's it."

Derek saw the look in her eyes and then it hit him and he realized what happened. "You had a nightmare didn't you?" She didn't say anything so he tried again. "You popped your stitches Mer and they sedated you, it was a nightmare wasn't it?"

She nodded.

Derek saw the tears that were threatening to fall and as he was holding her hand in one of his he reached the other up and was stroking her hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

Meredith moved her head from side to side before looking him back in the eyes. "No Derek you don't need to say you're sorry. You can't be here all the time and I need to learn how to deal with this on my own."

"Mer I know I can't be here all the time and I wasn't with you for a long time but you are back here now and I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Derek smiled wanting to lighten the mood. "Besides you know you can't get rid of me."

Meredith smiled. "I just want to forget about this."

"I know you do honey but you can't forget. You do have Nancy, Mark, Addi, and myself here now to help you and your other friends are going to be here in a month right?" Derek saw her nod. "We are going to help you through this just remember if you let us I promise it will go faster."

Meredith knew he meant that she had to open up instead of keeping her feelings and thoughts to herself. She looked into his eyes and saw the concern. That's when she decided not to fight this time. "I just…I don't understand why this keeps happening. I thought he was gone why would he come back? And he was going to hurt Nancy Derek. She didn't do anything to him. He blames me for what happened. I can understand that but…I just want…I want a good night's sleep and I want to stop thinking about him and for him to leave me alone." By the time she finished she was crying.

"I can't change what happened and I am happy you saved Nancy but if something more had happened to you I don't know what I would do. Mer you are a strong woman who is going to survive this. You have friends that love you and would do anything for you so whatever you need we are here. Think about everything that you have already been through, everything you have survived. You are going to start your internship soon and you are going to be the best surgeon..." Derek said while wiping her tears.

"Better than you?"

"I didn't say that."

"You said the best so that means better than you Dr. Sheppard." Meredith said with a smile.

"Ok let me change that. You are going to be the second best."

"Oh no there is no rewind button here you cannot take it back. You said best, I'm so going to tell Mark and Addi."

"I'll deny it, who do you think they would believe?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No."

They both shared a laugh and then Meredith stopped after being reminded that she did just have surgery. "Ouch."

Both still had smiles on their faces. "There is your beautiful smile I miss seeing it every day."

"Thank-you."

"For what?"

"For being you."

They both fell into easy conversation getting caught up on what they had missed since it had been a few days since they had talked.

Nancy, Mark, and Addison were standing at the window watching the two interact. Nancy broke the silence. "She cried."

"What?" Mark questioned.

"She cried. That is the first time I have seen her cry besides when she woke up from a nightmare."

"Derek can always get her to open up like that." Addison said standing next to Mark.

"How, why, and what about you two?"

"Calm down what's with all the questions?"

"Mark I just want to know about my friend and my brother."

Addison grabbed Marks hand silently telling him she would answer which she did. "From the first day Derek met her he said he fell in love with her and Meredith has been through a lot. Derek, Mark, and I were there for her through it all and after."

"Derek told me some of the story. I know he didn't tell me everything but he told me enough."

"Well he's always been able to tell or sense things about her. She's had this weird connection with Derek, he calls it fate, Mark calls it weird, and I call it romantic. Those two can have an entire conversation just by looking into each other's eyes and they know what the other is feeling."

"It's creepy."

"Shut up Mark."

"Seriously?"

Addison and Mark both nodded. "Creepy right?" Mark asked.

Nancy shook her head. "I'm going to go with Addison on this one. I think it is romantic."

Mark rolled his eyes. "Of course you would, you're a woman."

Both Nancy and Addison turned and hit Mark on his arms. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"For being a man honey."Addison said.

Once they heard Mark both Meredith and Derek turned their heads to see Nancy, Mark, and Addison standing at the window. They waived them in and the five of them fell into conversation.

That night Derek stayed with Meredith and when she had her nightmare he crawled into bed with her and held her just like he did when she was living with them. She calmed almost immediately and they both fell asleep.

Derek spent each night with Meredith. Derek, Nancy, Mark, and Addison would spend as much time with Meredith as was possible. About two days later Nancy had gone to get everyone lunch away from the hospital while Derek, Mark, and Addison had stayed with Meredith. That morning, Mark had told Derek they wanted to tell Meredith about the baby so they decided this was the day to do it.

Meredith could tell something was going on as soon as Nancy had volunteered to go get lunch and no one went with her. There was a silence in the room right after she left and Meredith didn't like it. "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about Mer?"

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid Mcsteamy. I have known you all too long and I see the looks you are giving each other." Again she was met with silence. She looked to Derek who was avoiding eye contact but he had given her hand a squeeze. Then she looked again at Mark and he also had avoided eye contact so she decided to push Addison knowing she always broke first. "Addison."

"It's nothing bad Meredith we just didn't know how to tell you."

Now Meredith was really starting to worry and she squeezed Derek's hand a little tighter. "Please just tell me."

Addison smiled and made her way to the other side of Meredith. Once she was there she grabbed her hand as Mark came next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Mer Mark and I…" Addison trailed off.

"No anesthesia."

"We are going to have a baby Meredith."

Meredith squeezed Derek's hand again but smiled at the news. "That's great news you two. It's about time, how far along are you?"

"I'm two months along. I actually thought I had the flu at first, I should have known sooner."

"Well they do say doctors make the worst patients."

The four continued to talk about the baby and Derek watched Meredith. He could tell she was happy about the baby but he could also see her sadness. Soon Nancy came back with the food and they all ate. After eating Mark was paged for a consult and Derek had to go into surgery. He told Meredith he would be back later and Addison had to leave as well for a consult leaving Nancy and Meredith alone.

"How long are you going to stay in Seattle?"

"Until I know you are ok. Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Meredith smiled. "No I just think that if you left soon you would have more time to spend with your fiancé."

"That may be true but right now making sure you are ok is more important than spending some more time with my fiancé."

"I'll be sure to mention that to him next time I see him." Meredith said with a smile.

"You can't avoid this."

"What are you talking about?"

"The conversation about my brother."

"Again what are you talking about?"

"Meredith what I told you in the car about my brother saying he was going to marry the girl, I know it scared you."

"Don't be ridiculous Nancy. I knew Derek would get married eventually, I just wish he would have told me about her. We have been friends for a long time and I thought we told each other things so I'm just a little hurt he didn't tell me about her."

"Meredith."

"No it's ok Nancy. I'll ask him about her later so…"

Nancy cut her off. "Meredith Grey stop being so damn stubborn. You know it's you. He was or I was talking about you. You are the woman he is going to marry."

Meredith felt her heart beat rise and she started to panic. "No…I can't…no…you're wrong…he can't…I…I can't…"

Nancy heard her heart rate start to pick up and she saw Meredith grasping for air. "Meredith, calm down, breath, please breath." As she spoke her voice raised seeing that Meredith wasn't calming down. She ran out into the hallway to get help. When she got there she ran into Mark and a nurse that had been coming after hearing the monitor going off. "Mark you need to help her she won't calm down."

Mark had been at the nurses' station when he heard the alarm go off and the nurse said what room it was. He immediately took off to the room and caught Nancy as she came out of the room. "Nancy, what happened, what is going on?" Mark questioned as he went to Meredith's side.

"We were talking and she just started to panic. I tried to get her to calm down but it didn't help."

Mark was standing next to Meredith holding her hand trying to get her to calm down but it wasn't working. The nurse had come in and checked the monitor but left again saying she would be back. Mark was getting nervous watching Meredith seeing that she wasn't calming down. The nurse came back in and was going to give her something. "What is that?"

"Dr. Sloan it's a sedative."

"Don't you dare give her that. Page Sheppard."

"Doctor?"

"You heard me page Sheppard now!"

The nurse ran out of the room and paged him. Nancy couldn't watch her friend so she stepped out into the hall. What felt like seconds she turned when she heard someone running down the hall. She saw Derek and ran towards him.

"What happened?"

"We were talking and she started to panic. She won't calm down Derek." Nancy had tears in her eyes.

"It's ok Nancy, she will be ok. Can you please page Addison?"

Nancy nodded as she took out her phone to page her. She watched as Derek went into the room.

Derek ran to Meredith's other said seeing her grasping for air. "Mark get me some oxygen." Derek grabbed Meredith as Mark ran out of the room. "Sshh Mer, it's ok. I'm here. Calm down honey. Just take deep breaths. Please Mer please calm down, just breath." Derek held her and felt her start to calm down but she still wasn't catching her breath. "I need that oxy…"

Mark had just came back in when he heard Derek. "Here Derek." He handed the oxygen mask to him.

Derek took the mask and immediately held it to Meredith's face. "Here you go, just breath Mer, It's going to be ok honey just breath."

Addison came into the room followed by the nurse and Dr. Bailey. "What is going on here?"

"I think she's having a panic attack Dr. Bailey. Her heart rate has increased and Dr. Sloan tried to calm her but it wasn't working. I was going to give her a sedative to calm her after I paged you but Dr. Sloan demanded I page Dr. Sheppard instead."

"Dr. Sloan, this is my patient where do you get off telling the nurses how to treat my patient?"

"Look Dr. Bailey I don't doubt your abilities however this patient did not need a sedative she just needed her friends and we are here."

"You think just because you are the best plastic surgeon in the country…"

Mark cut her off. "Look she's doing better."

Everyone turned their attention to Derek and Meredith. Derek was still sitting on the bed holding Meredith while she had her hand over his holding the oxygen mask. Meredith's heart rate had come down and her breathing was almost back to normal.

Dr. Bailey saw that everything was under control and decided to leave after reluctantly apologizing to Mark.

After a few more minutes Meredith's breathing and heart rate were back to normal. She dropped the oxygen mask and pulled away from Derek. "I'm alright."

"You're alright." Derek smiled a little hurt that she pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry."

Derek looked to Mark and Addison pleading for help. Since she had pulled away he wasn't sure what to say to her. Mark stepped forward. "It's ok Mer, we were just worried about you. Do you need anything?"

Meredith settled back into the bed. "No, I think…I just want to get some rest."

"Ok Mer, I'll be back after my surgery. I'm going to have Nancy come watch ok?" Meredith nodded and Derek bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He watched as she closed her eyes and he left the room motioning for Mark and Addison to follow.

The three stepped out into the hallway where they found Nancy who still had tears in her eyes. Derek gave her a hug. "She's ok. What happened?"

Nancy pulled back and told them about their conversation they had in the car on the way to Seattle and about the conversation that started Meredith's attack. When she was done she looked back to Derek. "I'm sorry Derek."

"Nancy this isn't your fault. She'll be ok." Derek then turned to Mark and Addison. "Mark do you have a surgery?"

"Yeah, I have two surgeries before I'm off tonight. Why?"

"Addi, what about you?"

"I have a c-section and then I am free."

"Good can you come back and sit with her?"

"I can do it Derek."

"Nancy I thought maybe you could use a break from hospital rooms and come watch your brother in action." Derek saw Nancy's face light up as she nodded. He turned back to Addison. "Addi?"

"Of course I'll come back, and Derek, I'll page you if we need you."

The four all went to their destinations. After a couple hours Addison made her way back to Meredith's room. She was still sleeping so Addison sat for about another hour before Meredith started to stir.

Meredith finally opened her eyes and found Addison sitting with her. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

Addison smiled. "You know you can't use that word with me so just tell me the truth."

Meredith sighed and remembered Derek's words from earlier about her letting her friends help her. She decided she'd rather talk about this with Addison than Derek so she told Addison what happened.

Addison listened as Meredith explained what had happened and to Addison's surprise she even told Addison how she felt. When Meredith finished, Addison spoke. "I know what Nancy said scares you but Derek isn't going to hurt you like everyone else has. You deserve to be loved and to be happy. Derek is one of the good ones Meredith and if it wasn't for Mark I would have married him years ago."

Meredith giggled. "Does Mark know this?"

"He usually hears it each time he spends the night on the couch." Addison and Meredith both laughed at this and then they fell into a comfortable silence.

Meredith broke the silence. "Addi, have you ever wanted something so much but were afraid of it at the same time?"

Addison was a little taken back. "You just called me Addi."

"Sorry, Addison."

Addison smiled. "No it's ok it's just that's the first time you've used my nickname I like it." She saw Meredith smile. "Now, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Nothing Addi, I'm still a little tired." Meredith said as she heard Addison's pager go off.

"I have to go. Derek said he would be back after his surgery and if you need anything just page one of us ok." Addison said, when she saw Meredith nod she walked out of the room.

Meredith turned from the door and sighed. "Love, that's what I was talking about."

That night Derek came back to sit with her while Nancy went back to her house. They spent the rest of the week with the same routine. Meredith always had someone with her to keep her occupied. After a week she was discharged. She went back to her house with Nancy. Derek was frustrated that he couldn't be with her but was happy that Nancy was there so she wasn't alone and Mark, Addison, and him visited regularly. Meredith completely healed and after a month Nancy went to New York for her internship. Meredith enjoyed the time alone to relax. Finally the night came for the intern mixer. Meredith met up with Alex, Christina, Izzie, and George. Eventually they went back to her house and spent half the night catching up before her friends left for the night and Meredith tried to get some sleep.

Finally morning came and it was time to start her internship.

Thank-you for all your reviews! I hope you are still enjoying the story. Please review and let me know what you think if you have time. Thank-you again!