To whom it may concern: Don't worry, I have a plan for Alex to enter the story. It's a good plan I think. It involves Izzie, of course. So keep an eye out for him!

Once Derek and Meredith disappeared around the edge of the cabin, Mark turned his attention back to Addison, regarding her with slightly narrowed eyes. "You shouldn't be here," he said, walking towards the steps where she standing.

"I wanted to see you."

"Why? So you could beg for my forgiveness," he shook his head. "You broke my heart and didn't tell me why. Why should I forgive that?"

"You don't know the whole story, Mark," Addison said.

Mark walked to the first step and stood there, looking up at her. "Then tell me. What is the whole story? I'm dying to hear."

His bitterness caught her off guard. She frowned at him, the corners of her mouth falling downward. "Not here...not like this..."

"Well then give me a time and a place and I'll be there," Mark said. He paused and considered her for a second. "I'll be there. I promise." He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. He turned away from her and tilted his head first to the sky and then to the ground. Then, abruptly, he turned back to face her. "Where have you been Addie?" he asked quietly. "Where have you been all this time? Because me, I've been right her. Right here. You had every chance in the world to come find me. Every chance in the world to talk to me, because I've been right here. I wasn't the one running away. That was you. That was your job. I was the one left behind. I was the one whose heart got broken. And now you show up and I..." He fell silent suddenly and shrugged his shoulders. "I've been right here," he whispered, his voice strained.

Addison walked down the steps and stood in front of him. "I can't tell you why I left. Not now at least. I will, but not here, not now. I just...I just miss you, you know? I miss my best friend. And I wanted to see you. You have to understand Mark, when I left...when I left it wasn't because I wanted to hurt you. It wasn't because I wanted to break your heart. I just had to go, okay?" She paused and looked into his imploring face. When she began speaking again, her voice was soft. "I never wanted to hurt you." She paused and then continued with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I love you. Never think that I don't, because of course I do, of course I love you."

Mark swallowed and just looked at her for a moment. He had missed her too. He broke the silence with a sigh and sat down on the bottom step. She sat down next to him. He rested his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead in his hands. He was tired. He was tired of fighting. He was tired of missing her. "What happened, Addie? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" He paused, feeling the tears rising in his throat. His dropped his voice to a whisper. "Please, please just tell me why."

Addison tilted her head towards him and smiled a sad, nostalgic smile. "I had to leave," she told him. She reached out and touched his jaw lightly with her fingertips. He watched her closely as she swallowed and let her hand fall away. She shook her head. "I just...I had to go. I had to deal with...life."

"Addie, please," he said softly.

She sighed and looked away from him. She was quiet for a long time. He watched her, his gaze steady as she bowed her head and looked at the ground. When she lifted her face, a small smile graced her lips. "I'll see you later, Mark." And with that, she was gone.

xxx

Christina watched Meredith very carefully as she ate her bagel. She watched her take a bite and then put it back on her plate. She watched her take a sip of orange juice. Something was different. Something was definitely different, she just couldn't figure out what. "What's wrong with you?" Christina asked bluntly, squinting slightly at Meredith as if trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

Meredith looked up at her. "Nothing."

Christina frowned and leaned back in her chair. She pointed at Meredith accusingly. "You're different."

Meredith sighed at her friend. "No I'm not."

"You so are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you-"

"Oh my God! Shut up!" Izzie suddenly burst out. Meredith and Christina both looked at her. "Maybe the difference you see in Meredith, Christina, is something called happiness. It's an emotion. Have you ever heard of it?"

"No, I've only heard of bitter, cynical, and sarcastic," Christina said dryly, ticking them off on her fingers.

Meredith laughed. "That's what I thought."

Christina scowled at her, but after a beat she looked back up at Meredith, reconsidering. "So, you're happy?"

Meredith smiled. "Maybe."

"We are so not friends anymore."

"Shut up."

xxx

That evening as Izzie, Meredith and Christina walked up to their cabin, Meredith saw a note pinned to their screen door. She walked over and looked at it.

Meet me at the lake. -Derek

Meredith smiled and pulled the pin out of the note, tucking it into her pocket. She pulled the screen door open and all three of them walked inside. Christina flopped down on her bed, Izzie sat cross-legged on the floor, and Meredith slipped out of her sweats and pulled on a pair of jeans. "Where're you going?" Izzie asked.

"Probably off for some moonlight lovin' with McDreamy," Christina said.

"Who's McDreamy? Derek?" Izzie asked, looking over at Meredith who who was scowling at Christina.

"Derek isn't dreamy," she said.

"Mmmhmm," Christina said.

"Shut up," Meredith told her, glancing in the mirror. "Okay, so I'll see you guys later," she said with a smile, before walking outside.

xxx

Meredith saw the glow of the lights before she even reached the lake. As she neared the dock she realized Derek had draped Christmas lights along the edge of a row boat. It was the kind of thing she had come to expect from him. Meredith smiled to herself as she watched the lights winking and twinkling in the distance as the boat bobbed in the water.

He was sitting on the edge of the dock, his legs swinging in the air over the water. He turned when he heard her footsteps on the wooden planks of the dock. "Hi," he said, standing up as she walked towards him.

"Hi," she said. She glanced at the boat and smiled, shaking her head slightly. "What did you do?"

"I hung Christmas lights on a row boat," he told her.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to."

She nodded her head slightly and looked back at his face. "I don't think taking moonlit boat rides is something that friends do," she told him and she was only half-joking.

"What are you talking about? Friends do this. I know Mark and I do it all the time," he said, nodding seriously.

"You're such a liar," she told him, smiling.

He smiled back and took a step towards her, reaching for her hand. "Just go for a boat ride with me, Mer," he said softly.

She took his hand and he led her over to the edge of the dock where the boat was tied. He hopped on first and then turned back towards her, placing his hands on her hips and lifting her into the boat easily. He set her down in front of him and she placed her hands on his chest to steady herself. She looked up in his face. "Thank you," she told him softly.

He smiled at her. "You're welcome."

xxx

"This is nice," she told him softly.

"It is," he agreed.

They were lying on their backs in the middle of the boat, staring up at the sky, as the boat bobbed gently in the middle of the lake. Derek had brought blankets and pillows to keep them warm. She turned her head towards him and looked at him wonderingly. "No one's ever done something like this for me," she told him suddenly. She hadn't meant to sound so pathetic. "I mean, I've had boyfriends and stuff, but the most romantic gesture they ever made was leaving a Hallmark card in my locker on Valentine's Day."

Derek smiled. "You think this is romantic?"

"Well, yeah," she said. When he didn't respond she paused and pulled away slightly. "You don't?"

"No, I do," he told her.

"Well okay then," she said somewhat defensively. She settled back against her pillow. "Why did you do this?" she asked after a moment.

"Because I wanted to," he told her.

"Derek," she said.

"No, really. I wanted to show you what it could be like," he said.

"What what could be like?"

"A relationship," he told her. "There's more to it than cheesy Hallmark cards on Valentine's Day."

"But, Derek, we're not in a relationship," she said.

"Mmmm," he said softly, considering her for a moment.

"We're not," she said again.

He nodded. "Okay."

She scowled at him and then turned her head towards the sky again. "What would it be like?" she asked after a while.

He looked at her. "What would what be like?"

She tilted her head towards him thoughtfully, folding her hands across her stomach. "What would it be like if we were in a relationship? I mean, we already spend all our time together; we already tell everything to each other." She paused and shrugged. "What would be different?"

He smiled and turned on his side. She mimicked his actions so that they were facing each other. "Well, there would be kissing," he said softly. "Lots and lots of kissing."

She smiled. "We're good at that."

"We are," he agreed. "We would be happy," he added after a moment. "You would be all mine and we would be happy."

"All yours?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "All mine."

Her eyes dipped to his lips as he gazed down at her. "But we're not in a relationship," she murmured softly.

"No, we're not," he said softly. He leaned towards her. She let out a little breath as he moved closer. She could feel the heat radiating off his body. "But we could be."

She nodded absentmindedly and felt her breath grow shallow as he leaned towards her and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. She parted her lips and closed her eyes, feeling the slight wetness of his kisses as he moved his lips across her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer until the length of their bodies was touching. She moaned quietly as their bodies came together and placed her hands against his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingertips.

Then, finally, smiling softly, he kissed her parted lips, brushing against them once and then twice before kissing her firmly. He groaned a very quiet groan as she ran her tongue along his bottom lip and parted his lips willingly. As the kiss deepened he moved his hands across her back, molding her against him by applying gently pressure to her spine.

She felt her desire flare up as his hands roamed her body, as his tongue roamed her mouth. She moved her hips against his almost instinctively and she heard his sharp intake of breath. "Mer..." he whispered.

She paused her movements and pulled away from him slightly. He watched her carefully as she unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and moved her hands inside. He let her explore his chest and shoulders and back, her fingers lightly grazing his skin, before reaching up and catching her hands in his. "We should stop," he said and he leaned forward and kissed her.

"We should," she murmured, her voice a slightly raspy. She pressed her lips to his again. "But I don't want to," she admitted quietly. He smiled warmly at her and lay back against the pillows, gathering her up in his arms. She sighed softly and rested against his chest.

"There are things I want to do with you very badly," he told her quietly. "But we have to go slow. We'll have time for all these things and we'll be happy," he said.

She giggled softly into his shirt. "Very happy," she agreed softly.

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but school is basically kicking my ass. I have random long weekend, though, so I'll try to update again! Review!!