A/N: I have a very, very busy week, and have had a very, very busy day. BUT. I went online and read all your reviews, so tada! I crammed a chapter in for you tonight! I hope you like it. Comments are such motivation to keep me going. And you guys just reading the story means so much. Really. So, thanks! Enjoy!

For the first time in a while, Derek Shepherd was scared.

- - - Meredith - - -

"He's hiding something." Meredith said frustrated, as she paced outside the exam room. Her friends sat beside her.

Izzie piped up, attempting to make her voice borderline positive, "Oh, he wouldn't be~"

"He SO is." Cristina cut her off shortly, tapping her chin. Meredith felt a shiver dart down her spine. Cristina was backing her up, and so was Alex. The positive ones, George and Izzie, were the only ones denying her. So odds were, she was right.

Another shiver.

"But what could it be? He told me what happened in the forest."

"What did he tell you?" George inquired calmly.

"He told me that he had stood up for Mark, they got into a fight, and now they're here." She said, flustered. "But what is he leaving out?"

Izzie let out a sigh and went back to reading her magazine intently, and Alex sat beside her, holding her small hand. George was filling out some paperwork, and Cristina sat by Meredith. It was imminent she was trying to figure something out. "I don't know, Mer,"

"Well I'm going to find out," Meredith grumbled fiercely, then marched into Derek's room before any of her friends could make an objection. After entering, she closed the door with a click, her palm grasping the cool handle. Derek lifted his eyes up to hers and greeted her with a small, barely visible smile. Meredith didn't return the favor.

"What?" He furrowed his brows in confusion at her cold response.

"What is going on with you, Derek?"

"What are you talking about?" He replied coolly, easing back into the bed. He shut his eyes and pursed his lips.

"Oh, don't give me what, Derek! I can tell you're not telling me something."

"I explained what happened in the woods~"

"But what aren't you telling me?" Meredith fumed angrily at him, staring at him through his closed eyelids. She made her way to his side of the bed, not bothering to sit in the ugly pastel colored chair. She wrapped her fingers around its handles as she stood angrily, on edge. "Please, just tell me. I can't function if I feel like something's wrong with you…" She brought her voice lower, dipping it so that it had a swift note of comfort. "I really just want to know. And please, Derek, don't deny it. I can tell something's wrong. I can't sleep… I can't sleep when I think that you have something on your mind. We tell each other everything. Derek, I'm begging you. This is me begging. Please?"

Derek lay icily on the bed, trying not to react to what she was saying…

Derek watched with wide eyes as Mark threw the punch at Johnson, the wind whipping around them and swallowing the loud crack of the blow. Johnson stumbled back, shocked, and brought his hand up to his lip, which was now bleeding. Derek felt the grip of the two guards on his shoulders loosen slightly, and they were both not expecting what was going on. Derek gulped as Johnson straightened himself up and glared at Mark through the rain. Without the slightest warning, Johnson muttered through the rain: "Why you…" and punched Mark back, hard, causing Mark's head to whip back with the sudden movement.

What happened next was a blur. As Mark and Johnson fought brutally, neither of them sparing nor showing any mercy whatsoever, the guards were infatuated. Derek waited and waited as the rain whistled around him until the guards distracted grips had become loose, and he burst away from his position against the tree. The guards stumbled back, and with a thud, fell to the cold damp ground. Their attention was obviously sublimal, compared to Derek.

Derek ran up beside Mark and shouted, "What are you doing?" as the roar of thunder rippled across the dark sky. Johnson and some guards who had joined in all rushed at the two men. They both punched, kicked, slapped, and did whatever needed to fend them off.

"It's all wrong…" Mark replied distantly, sending an uppercut into a large guard. A lightning bolt streaked across the sky.

So Derek and Mark stood together, fighting off the array of guards and Johnson who stood before them. They punched and hit until their arms ached from the jerking of the movement and the contracting of their muscles. Thunder sent angry rolls across the sky and the rain wasn't letting up, the storm only intensifying.

As Derek turned around to fight off two guards who wouldn't leave him alone, he heard a sharp, coarse cry from Mark: "Derek!"

He spun on his heels, the ground crunching beneath him, and he felt blood drain from his face. Johnson had a HyperLaser in his hand, his finger pressing on the trigger slightly. He stood a few feet away from Mark, pointing it directly at his chest. Mark was frozen, knowing that whatever he did now, he couldn't compete. His clothes and hair were completely soaked, drenched, rain trickling down his hard face.

"Don't!" Derek shouted to Johnson, and Johnson gazed over at him as he peeled his hand from the trigger. Derek was surprised from this action.

"I'm not one to condone anything," Johnson said cruely, his voice slicing through the sheets of cold rain. "Agent Sloan here has a price he needs to pay,"

"Don't you dare!"

"It's too late, Derek," Johnson spat, again placing his finger on the trigger and turning his eyes back to Mark. Derek found himself looking down at his leg, which was bleeding from a large gash. The lack of blood was making him feel a little light headed. Johnson obviously now had his priorities set on Mark.

Derek hesitated, then murmured, "How about a trade?"

"A what?" Johnson and Mark both whipped their heads around, gaping wide eyed at Derek.

"A trade. Mark…" Derek gulped. "For me."

Johnson cackled, "You're lying."

"I'm not. As soon as you… let Mark go, I'm yours." Derek kept his voice level, although he felt his strength slowly diminishing.

Johnson seemed to consider the idea for a moment as Mark tried to tell Derek to knock it off, but Johnson curled his lips up into a small grin. "Well… It sounds alright."

Derek froze and felt his lips part, but no words came out. Soon guards were on him from every angle, grasping him tightly. He had no fight left in him. He was weak, battered and bruised, and there was nothing he could do about it. He shut his eyes and weakly leaned against the guards.

"Wait," Johnson's voice snapped through the wind. "Actually…" Derek opened his eyes as Johnson tapped his narrow chin. "I want you when you're able to fight."

"What?" Derek mumbled, not understanding. Mark's face was a mask of utter confusion.

"I want to have a good fight with you. Because I will win. Until then, you're really no fun. Destroying you wouldn't give me half the satisfaction." Derek winced. "So, here's our deal. I will let you both go. For now. In a few days, when you've healed, you will come back. And then you're mine."

"What?" Derek reiterated, his mouth dry. Mark was now on the ground now, gashes across his face and his foot bent oddly. He looked feverish and like he was on the verge of collapsing.

"You heard me." Johnson gritted his teeth. "And if you're not back here, I will bring every guard, every resource, everything…" He paused. "And annihilate the TCA. Oh, and your precious girlfriend."

Derek felt sick. All he wanted to do was collapse into a heap onto the ground and freeze time, and clear his head. But he couldn't. He felt his blood thump with impulsiveness as he promised, "Okay."

"Okay," Johnson nodded. He knew Derek was a man of his words.

With that, the guards dropped Derek and fled, leaving Derek in a mess of a pool of cold rain to ponder what he had just done.

Derek eyes blinked open rapidly. "Derek, answer me, dang it!" Meredith said furiously to him, her foot tapping in a mad rhythm against the tile on the floor.

He craned his neck over to her, studying her face. He felt his whole insides shake. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't. "There's nothing wrong…" He whispered, his voice broken-sounding.

Meredith's fist hit the side of the chair, and an angry thud echoed the room. Derek was startled as he stared at her, her face beginning to show signs of tearing up. "Seriously, Derek? Just tell me! What, do you not trust me? I don't understand what's going on, and I can't unless you tell me! Please, Derek! I am begging you!" She pleaded tearfully, furiously.

He felt something inside him break. "Meredith, I…" His voice was a hoarse whisper, barely audible. Meredith had to strain her ears to hear it.

"Please, Derek," Her voice dropped. "Please. Just tell me."

Derek felt himself begin to tremble, and his head suddenly gained a wicked headache. He looked at her. Her eyes were filled with tears, something that broke his heart, and her delicate little fists were gripping the chair in agony. He couldn't stand it. Seeing that not telling her was causing her pain, he couldn't keep it from her. He felt his scratchy voice whisper, "In the woods…" Meredith let the tension in her face relax and she plopped down in the chair, a silent plea to go on. He gulped largely and continued. "Remember when I told you how Johnson was ready to… how he had Mark?"

"Yes?"

"I…" Derek felt his stomach churn. "I offered something."

"Offered something?" Meredith's expression dropped.

"A trade."

"A trade?" Meredith didn't like where it was going. She placed her sweaty palms on the handles of the chair for support.

"Me… for him," Derek shoved the words and they came tumbling out of his mouth. At first Meredith's expression tensed, but then it relaxed again.

"B-but you guys made it out safe. You guys are okay. It's all okay now. You're good spies." She found herself rambling. She rambled when she was… nervous. Derek gulped for the third time, shifting his weight around in the bed.

"Meredith, I…" The words themselves made him feel like he was being crushed under the blow of something giant, something unspeakable. "I promised I'd go back."

"Go back?" She gasped, her mouth dropping as she gripped the handle so hard the her knuckles flushed white. "You don't have to do that, Derek!" She felt herself rambling again, trying to keep herself reassured. It wasn't working. "Derek, you have no obligation. You guys are okay now. It's all going to be alright! Derek!"

"I promised I'd go back. I said I would. If I don't, in a few days…" His voice began to become weak and as thin as paper. "… they'll get everything and come and attack here. And attack everyone. Including you. And believe me Meredith when I say, they'd succeed.

Meredith felt dizzy and light headed, "No. Derek, no, you're not going back there. Derek, no!" She felt a flashback being brought on.

"You better have not done anything to him, you cruel, insensitive jerks!" She screamed through the tiny slot in the door of her cell. "YOU BETTER HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING!"

Izzie tried to pry her away from where she was hanging onto the door, her tiny hands gripping tightly around Meredith's waist, "Shh, Mer, let go!"

Meredith felt on the verge of a breakdown. She had stayed strong… she had tried. The last three hours in captivity were torture. She could hear the guards joking conversations outside the cell, deep and pouring into the room. They had just had a debate about what the APP 'would do to Derek.' And Meredith couldn't handle the things they were doing. She pounded her tiny, ineffectual fists against the wall of the cell, her tearful voice full of fury, "HE HAD BETTER BE OKAY!" She felt Izzie's warm hands pull on her, but she gripped the smooth metal of the door like a life vest. Before she knew it, the guards were cackling outside her door, and she frowned, shaking. She ran her hand down the wall and felt herself begin to cry, her chest heaving with dry, broken sobs. She felt numb as Izzie pulled her away, gently easing her onto the bench.

"Shh," She whispered gently, wrapping her hands around her. "He'll be okay." Meredith couldn't respond. Splatters of sadness hit the back of her throat again and again, and numbness seeped around her body, creeping and crawling. "He's Derek Shepherd. He'll be fine,"

"I…" She croaked. "I can't do this without him! I can't just sit around and listen to all the things they plan to do to my husband! I can't listen to them describe the different ways to punch! I can't…" Her chest heaved, writhed with pain. "I can't!"

"I know," Izzie soothed, rubbing her back. "I know."

"Derek, no!" Meredith said again, standing up, with fat tears in her eyes.

"It's the only way I…."

"Please, Derek, don't do it!" Meredith felt the tears roll rapidly down her cheeks, leaving wet trails behind them. "Derek!"

He felt sick, "Come here, Meredith," He felt weak, helpless, alone. He pushed herself over towards him, and he reached up and pulled her tightly into the folds of his warm arms. She collapsed into him, sobbing, tears rolling down his back and hitting the pastel sheets. They crept into a circle of wetness. "It's okay, it's okay."

"It's not okay, Derek! It's not okay!" She cried, clinging tightly to him. "You can't go back there. Derek, please don't go back there!"

Derek's heart felt like someone had pried it in two. He couldn't stand it. Seeing Meredith break down in front of him, on the verge of having a breakdown himself, and Mark still unconscious from lack of blood a few rooms over. He couldn't take it. He felt his pulse get weaker, and his brain was searing with unexplained thoughts and unsolved problems. He held Meredith as she shook violently in his arms. He paused and then whispered, "Okay. Meredith, okay."

They sat there for a while in the cool room, him wrapping his arms around Meredith's trembling form, and he suddenly added, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's okay, it's okay." She didn't answer. "Let me make it up to you. Lets go into the city tomorrow night, just you and me. We can have a date night. A really special one. Please?"

She paused for a second, hesitated, and then whispered, "Yes." Her voice cracked, "I'd love to."

"Good. Now breathe, Mer, breathe," He replied quietly to her, as he rubbed her back. "I'm not going anywhere."

Internally, he was trying to get himself to breathe as well.

Because Derek Shepherd was a good liar.

A/N: So, what did you think? Next chapter will be their night on the town, you know. Try not to be super mad because of what's going on. Derek's lying to Meredith. Uh oh. But things will be resolved. Eventually. Anyways, comments make me super happy, as you all know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope I shed a little insight to the whole Mark issue. Let me know if you want to see a Mark/Derek waking up scene in the next chapter! Thanks for reading, guys! It means a lot!