Disclaimer: I do not own the amazingness that is Grey's Anatomy, but if I did, the premiere wouldn't be on september 23rd. It would have already passed. And I'd make better promo's for my fans.

Meredith noticed her person leaving the building in a sprint, and by the look on Derek's face, he had too.

"I'm going to go…" she started.

"Go, go!" Derek said as Meredith left. She met Jackson at the doorway.

"What happened?" she asked him as they headed outside.

"I don't know!" Jackson exclaimed, a little freaked out. "I was about to tell her about the doctor interested in the cardio position and I didn't even get to say who it was and she was out the door. Maybe she saw something, or thought of something, or … I don't even know."

Meredith walked back to the doorway and looked at the spot where Jackson and Cristina had been dancing. She looked straight ahead and noticed the person who was definitely the cause of this.

"Oh my gosh! You said new cardio surgeon, right?"

Jackson nodded. "It's – "

Meredith cut him off. "Preston Burke, right?"

Jackson nodded, not understanding the look on Meredith's face. It was a mix of panic and pain. Jackson tried thinking about all the information he had been given in his last few months as a resident at Seattle Grace, trying to figure out this mystery on his own.

Preston Burke said he had been there since the beginning of Derek and Meredith's relationship. Cristina had said the same. Which meant that they knew each other. Cristina had been an intern with Meredith and Burke, an attending with Derek.

He then remembered the day Cristina had told him about how her fiancé had walked out on her. An attending. One that hadn't come back after the fact.

"Oh crap!" Jackson exclaimed, finally understanding the mistake he had made. "Preston Burke isn't just another amazing doctor to Cristina, is he?" he asked Meredith.

Meredith shook her head. "How'd he know about the wedding?"

"This is all my fault. I didn't know. I shouldn't have told him. He said he was an old friend of Derek's, so I didn't see the problem with inviting him to the dance, and now I could have ruined my relationship with Cristina for good because when she finds out, she's going to blame it all on me and she'll never forgive me –"

"Stop!" Meredith commanded. "Let's go find her."

They looked around the area that the wedding had been held in but she was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, they heard someone come out of the Inn.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Izzie asked. "Because you'll never guess who's here."

"If you're about to say Burke, we've already accomplished discovering that," Meredith said. Izzie noticed something was off and she looked back and forth between Meredith and Jackson and realized what was missing.

"Oh my gosh, Cristina! Where is she? Is she okay?"

"We don't know," Jackson said. "Izzie, you go back inside, keep the party going. We'll find her."

Izzie nodded and Meredith and Jackson decided to head down towards the beach. When they reached the sand, they noticed the foot prints in the sand that led towards the dunes. They glanced towards each other, then headed up the wall of sand.

"Cristina!" Meredith exclaimed as she saw her person sitting in the sand, staring blankly.

"Mer," she turned to her and the expression on her face looked like someone just ran over her dog. "Burke, he's…he's…" she couldn't phrase what she was trying to say.

"I know, and it's going to be okay."

Jackson sat down on the other side of Cristina and wrapped his arm around her waist. "We're here for you. Sure, it came as a surprise to you, and I'm sorry that I have any part in that."

Cristina looked into Jackson's eyes, and then collapsed in his arms.

"I'm going to head back," Meredith said as Jackson comforted his girlfriend. "If either of you need me…"

"We know where to find you," Jackson said as he ran his hands through Cristina's hair as she cuddled herself in his arms.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

After Meredith ran off, Derek looked around to see if anyone else had seen what had just happened. It seemed like Izzie and Alex were the only other ones who had noticed. As he ran his eyes around the room, he noticed someone standing in the doorway.

"No, it can't be," he whispered to himself. He started to walk over towards where the lone figure was standing, and he realized that his assumption of who it had been had been real.

"Preston Burke?" he half asked as he saw his face.

"Derek, I'm sorry I ever came. I shouldn't have. I didn't want to disturb your night. And it looks like I've chased off the bride."

"Stop," Derek ordered. "It's okay, and it's good to see you, even if these aren't the best circumstances."

"All these years. I thought things would have changed. But you and Meredith. And I see everyone is still here." He looked around the room and saw his past coworkers. He noticed Alex and Izzie were looking at him in bewilderment. He then noticed Izzie leave the same way Cristina, Meredith and the other doctor had.

"How did you know we'd all be here?" Derek asked

"Well I ran into Dr Avery this morning and when I asked for you he, told me that you were out. I told him we had been friends and he told me about the wedding, giving me the address and time. I never thought about the consequences of me coming."

"Did you say Dr Avery?"

"Yes."

"Which means Cristina never told him everything," Derek whispered to himself, but Preston caught on.

"I take it they're together," Preston said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"She's happier than I have ever seen her. And I know it may hurt you, but I think he's the one for her."

Preston nodded just as someone else approached them.

"Burke?" the female asked.

"Addison? What are you doing here?" Preston asked, trying to figure out why Derek's ex-wife would come to his wedding.

"I'm here for the wedding?" she stated, as if it had been obvious, which it had been.

"But…"

"Derek and Meredith have become two of my very good friends," Addie said, "and I wasn't missing out on the event of the year at Seattle Grace."

More and more people had noticed the new comer and there were people coming to greet him. Richard, Miranda and Callie, along with Mark who dragged Lexie with him while explaining the situation, all came to see why their long lost co-worker had shown up.

"This day just keeps on getting more interesting," Mark said as he kissed Lexie and the head.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When Meredith re-entered the Inn, she couldn't help but notice the crowd that had formed around their newly arrived guest.

She approached and after saying a quick hi to her old attending, she pulled Derek out of the circle.

"How's Cristina holding up?" Derek asked.

"Not so well," Meredith admitted. "Jackson's trying to comfort her, but he's probably just as shook up about this as she is. He didn't know that Cristina's ex-fiancé had been Burke."

"I kind of already guessed that. Let's go see if they need us."

But before they had the chance to leave, Carolyn stopped them.

"What's going on?" she asked, wanting to know what all the commotion was about.

"Preston Burke, one of our old co-workers showed up, and he didn't realize that Cristina, who happens to be his ex-fiancé would be here."

"So Miranda wasn't kidding when she told us that Seattle Grace was the most dramatic hospital in the country."

"She wasn't far."

Carolyn looked at Derek then to Meredith. "Go make sure your person is okay."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Is he coming back to Seattle Grace?" Cristina asked after several minutes of silence. She hadn't said anything since Meredith had left, but she felt bad for what Jackson was probably feeling. He didn't know, and that had been her fault. She should have told him everything, including who it had been.

"I don't know," he said as he rubbed her back. "I don't know."

"What happens if he does?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"You'll make it through this. We'll make it through this. I'll be there for you no matter what. I'm not going anywhere."

Cristina wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. "I know that. I trust you."

Jackson knew that that alone was big, due to the things she had been through. If she could trust him, it meant that she really did care about him, that they were real, and that this incident wouldn't change anything between them.

"Cristina, Jackson!" Meredith walked up to them, followed by Derek. "Cristina, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she nodded. "I'm sorry I ruined your day."

"You'll never ruin anything. You're my person and I'll be there for you no matter what. I'll even come to your rescue if I were in the middle of labour."

Cristina laughed slightly. "Thanks."

Jackson helped her to her feet. "Do you want to head up to the room?" he asked.

Cristina shook her head. "The party isn't done yet!"

The three others exchanged looks as Cristina looked at all of them. "I'm going to have to face him eventually. I can do it." She took a deep breath and they walked back up to the Inn.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Things had gone back to normal. Mark had noticed that Meredith and Derek, along with Jackson and surprisingly Cristina were all back. He was sitting at a table, tired from all the dancing, with Lexie, Richard, Owen, Adele and Preston.

"Burke, meet Lexie Grey and Owen Hunt."

Preston looked at Lexie. "Grey?"

Lexie nodded. "I'm Meredith's half sister. I'm a resident at Seattle Grace. I started at the same time as you left."

"Nice to meet you," Preston nodded then shifted his attention to Owen. "Nice to meet you too."

Owen nodded, a little nervous. He knew about Preston Burke. And he hadn't heard it through Cristina. But him and this fellow attending seemed to have a lot in common, both having broken Cristina.

"You too."

There was a small silence before Mark decided he'd speak up. "We never thought we'd see you around again."

Burke nodded. "Well, Seattle was calling my name. And when I saw the opening, I took it as a sign."

"So does that mean you're here for good?" Richard asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I didn't expect to cause such a big ordeal by showing up in Seattle and maybe it was a mistake coming back."

"You know, Cristina may never see you the same as she had before, but she needs you back as her teacher. Since you've left, she's had one good teacher that she's looked up to, and she's leaving tomorrow." Mark glanced at Owen as he said that. He knew that neither one of them wanted to leave, but they had no choice. "You could really do some good to her. She's got what it takes to be an amazing surgeon."

"I know," Preston said with a smile.

"She just needs someone who can show her through it."

"I'll think about it," he said.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Meredith!" Sienna exclaimed as she came back down from putting her son to bed after Hailey, Jayden and Carlie had suggested babysitting for all the parents who wanted to stay up and party. They had put all of the kids to bed in the kid's suites, and the three teenage girls had settled in with them, assuring the parents they would do a good job. And if the Shepherd sister's trusted their children in the hands of these sweet girls, she, Molly, Catherine and Miranda took full advantage.

"Sienna!" Meredith turned around from her seat on the couch in the lobby.

"Shouldn't you be out there partying?" she asked as she sat down beside her cousin.

"I think I've done enough partying for tonight. Besides, I'm getting really tired."

"Definitely not a usual Grey feature. What's wrong with you?"

Meredith laughed. "Are all Grey's full of energy?"

"It sure seems like it. I've spent a little over twenty four hours with Lexie and Molly and I don't think I've seen them yawn or even look remotely tired. And Molly, with a daughter on top of that. I've lost a lot of that since Cody. But I've never been as tired as you look right now."

"It's been a long day," Meredith admitted. "Definitely a good one, but it took a good toll on me."

Sienna nodded. "I was warned by Alex that tonight might be full of drunken people, but I don't think I've seen one person stumble over yet."

Meredith raised her shoulders. "I can't help you there. I guess because there are a lot of younger people here than usual. The usual drinkers probably just felt the need to control it in presence of the little ones."

Sienna laughed. "I was told you were the biggest drinker of them all, yet I haven't seen you with a single drop of liquor. And I saw Mark with the bottle of grape juice, so I know that your wine wasn't actually wine. And like I said you seem much too tired for a Grey..."

Meredith sighed. "Wow, you're good."

Sienna laughed. "Hey, I could be way off. You haven't told me the cause of all this weirdness yet." She winked.

"Well, if your guess was that I'm pregnant, you've guessed right."

Sienna smiled. "In that case, I am good. But I do have to give my OBG knowledge a little credit."

"I wish we could have spent the last twenty years together. I really miss those days when we were kids." Meredith slouched into the couch.

"Yeah, but who says we can't catch up now?"

"You're only here for a few days! There's no way we'll have a chance to catch up on twenty years."

Sienna smiled. "My husband just got a transfer to Vancouver, which is only a few hours' drive from here. We're moving at the end of May. We could do girl weekends halfway in between."

Meredith smiled. "Sounds like a deal."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Lexie still couldn't help but stare at the ring on her finger. She was engaged. She couldn't believe it. It felt so unreal. Mark kept smiling at her and she couldn't believe the luck she had. Sure, he had started out as the man whore, but she was the first one to discover that there was more to him than most people saw. He was a sweet and kind guy who was looking to start a family. A real family.

"I noticed you've been playing a lot with your ring," Preston said which caught Lexie off guard. Derek and Mark had gone dancing with the sisters and Lexie decided she'd stay back and relax a little. She was sitting alone with Burke and they had both stayed fairly quiet.

"Yeah, just got engaged."

"Well your fiancé is one lucky man. Although if I were him, I'd watch out for Mark. He seems to have his eye on you."

Lexie laughed. "Good sign."

Preston gave her a confused look.

"Mark's my fiancé," she said with a laugh.

Preston's eyes widened. "Mark? As in Mark Sloan?"

Lexie giggled. "That's the one."

"I'm so sorry. I just... it's just..."

"He's Mark?" Lexie tried finishing for him. "I know. But he's not the same Mark he was when I started at Seattle Grace, which would be the Mark you know. He's a great guy."

"Well then, congratulations."

Lexie turned back around towards where everyone was dancing just as Amy came and sat beside her. "Looks like we've gained two sister's this trip," she said with a laugh. "Derek and Mark with sister's. Who would have thought?"

Lexie smiled as they continued talking about pretty much anything that came to mind. Burke decided he'd escape for a little while and get some fresh air.

Rather than heading out the door that led directly outside from the hall, he thought it would be a better idea to go out the main door so no one would see him sneak out.

He walked out the entrance he had come in and paused when he saw the person he had scared off earlier sitting there alone, staring into the sky. He didn't know what to do or say.

"It's very rare that you see the stars in Seattle," she whispered. "With the clouds and all. And I've known you to be the one to shoot for the stars. Why did you come back?"

Burke didn't know how she knew it was him. He stood there, not able to say anything, and when he didn't answer she turned around. Her eyes were tired and it looked like she had cried. But the Cristina he knew rarely cried.

"Something told me I needed to come back. And when I saw the opening, I took it as a sign."

She nodded and invited him to sit down. They sat in silence, looking at the stars for several minutes before Cristina decided she'd asked the question that had been bothering her since the day he had disappeared. "Why did you leave in the first place?"

Preston shook his head slowly. "I don't know," was all he could come up with.

Cristina accepted this response and they went back to silence. Just then, they heard the door open behind them and they turned around to see who it was.

"I was just... just coming to see if... if you were alright," Jackson stuttered as he saw Cristina sitting with Preston. He had really believed that Preston showing up wouldn't change his relationship with Cristina, but had he been wrong?

Cristina smiled at him, something that Preston instantly noticed. "I'm actually headed back in." She turned around towards Burke. "Are you coming in too?"

He shook his head and just watched as Cristina grabbed Jackson's hand and headed back into the Inn. Derek had been right. Cristina had never been this happy in all the months they had been together, which made him realize that his leaving was for the better. But this time, he promised himself that there would be nothing other than a teacher student relationship and maybe a possible friendship. He didn't want to take her away from the person who seemed to make her so happy.

Dr Avery is one lucky guy, he thought.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Things were starting to quiet down and most of the Seattle crew had either gone to their room or had headed home. Everyone with small kids had also retreated from the dance floor and had gone their way. And the Shepherd's who had just arrived that evening had left to go to their rooms, having had a long travelling day. The only people left were Meredith, Derek, Mark, Lexie, Carolyn, Kathleen, Nancy, Richard, Adele, Addison and Jackson. They all sat around a table, since the DJ had left and they clearly weren't enough for a dance anyway.

"How's Cristina holding up?" Derek asked Jackson when he had joined them.

"I think she'll be okay. She talked to Preston."

"She did?" Meredith asked a little surprised.

Jackson nodded and that concluded the updates on their friend.

"On a lighter note, it looks like we'll be back in a few months," Nancy exclaimed as she looked towards Mark and Lexie.

"We've decided we'd take a small break from wedding organizing and wait a little while so we can recover from this one," Mark said with a laugh. "But if we want to have it in Seattle, this time of year is the best time of year to have it. It only rains one out of three days rather than almost every day."

The Seattle crew laughed at the reality of that statement. There was a short silence before Derek spoke up. "I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all of this. And I know Meredith is thinking the same way. This has been an incredible day and I can't imagine how to make it any better."

Kathleen looked at Meredith and when Meredith noticed her looking straight at her, she discreetly motioned to Nancy and Carolyn, then to Derek and finally finish off by pointing at her stomach. When Meredith smiled showing Kathleen she understood, she winked in response.

"I think I know how," Meredith said as she took Derek's hand and placed it on her stomach under the table so no one saw her action. Derek looked at her, as if to confirm what she was telling him to do and she nodded.

"Mom, Nancy, Kath, get ready for your own surprise."

Carolyn raised her eyebrows. "What kind of surprise?"

"How about another grandchild?" Derek said with a smile.

"Derek! Meredith! Oh my goodness! Another baby! How far along are you? When did you find out?"

Meredith giggled. "I'm about six weeks along and we've known for about two weeks."

Carolyn gave Derek a stern look. "You've known for two weeks and you waited until now to tell me? What's wrong with you Derek?"

"I wanted to tell you in person," he said in his defence.

"Congratulations," Nancy said with a smile. "You'll have to tell Amy and Natalie tomorrow."

"Um, they sort of already know," Meredith said hesitantly. She looked at Derek. "It slipped, okay? I threw up while we were getting ready and I made a comment that I shouldn't have."

Derek smiled. "That's okay. Who all was there that didn't already know?"

"Just Amy, Natalie and Kathleen." Meredith watched as Nancy looked at her sister, incredulous.

"You've known all day and you were able to keep your mouth shut about it?"

Kathleen smiled. "I was told not to say a word, so I followed through with my promise."

"We're trying to see how long it will be before the entire hospital knows," Derek explained.

"And so far, we're not doing so bad," Meredith added.

"How did you find out?" Carolyn asked.

"Miranda sort of helped me realize it and with the amount of throwing up I was doing, it should have been obvious." Carolyn then looked at Derek.

"I happened to walk in when Addie was checking up on a patient, furious that nobody had told me that she had been coming from LA for a consult. I didn't expect Meredith to be her patient."

"And may I add that he fainted when he found out," Addie said as everyone laughed.

"Very manly Shep," Mark said with a laugh.

"It came as a surprise okay?" Derek said, trying to defend his case, but it didn't seem to work.

Derek looked at his watch, using it as a possible way to escape, but he was surprised to note that it was getting really late.

"It's almost two. I think we should call it a night," he said as he got up and pulled Meredith up with him. He remembered the extra room key he had been given. He threw it at Mark. "Your own special suite," he said as they walked off. "Goodnight," he called behind him.

"I think it's time we all call it a night." Everyone got up and headed off each their own way. Jackson made his way up to the room where Cristina had gone to sleep in alone. Izzie and Alex had decided they'd go back to their house, which gave Jackson the opportunity of having a room alone with Cristina. And he had a feeling that tonight would be a quiet night anyway, but at least it was a quiet night he got to spend alone with the one he loved.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"What a night," Derek said as he pulled a naked Meredith closer to him. It was now four in the morning, and neither one of them had had any sleep yet.

"What a day!" Meredith exclaimed. "This morning, I thought we were going to New York. I think it was probably easier that I met your family on home turf though."

"Our family Mer," Derek whispered. "You're part of the family too."

Meredith thought that it would be the perfect time to bring up the whole last name thing, but the thought of his reaction if he found out at the hospital made her decide against it.

"I really like them," Meredith said. "And it'll be easier now with Lexie being part of the family too."

Derek laughed. "I still can't believe Mark hasn't said one thing about the song I picked."

"He's probably too happy to even think about the fool he made out of himself," Meredith said, just as a yawn escaped her lips.

"I think it's time you go to sleep," Derek said as he kissed her head. "You and the baby have had a long day."

Meredith smiled as she instinctively placed her hands over her stomach. "Goodnight," she whispered.

"That it was."

Okay, so I apologize for the long wait. With back to school and the changes with going into grade 10, it's been a hectic week. But this one's up, finally, and it's the end of the wedding day. The family reunion is to come in the next chapter.

I also wanted to add, since it talked about Sienna in this one, that she is Thatcher's twin brother's daughter. It is sort of an important detail for the future. But I'm going to stop there.

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