Thank you for the wonderful comments. I really do appreciate each and every one of them.

"Something smells delicious," said Derek, inhaling deeply as he walked into the kitchen.

He felt good after having showered and changed into a pair of khaki pants and an indigo buttoned down shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his forearms. Meredith had her back to him and was busy spooning soup into two bowls.

"It's just chicken noodle soup. Nothing special," she said modestly as she carefully reached down to pick up both bowls.

"Here, let me."

Meredith jerked, almost dropping the bowls when she felt Derek's warm breath fan her cheek before his hands reached around her to take the bowls from her suddenly nerveless fingers. "Um…okay."

"Thank you for making this," he said, turning back to give her an appreciative smile.

Meredith's knees buckled. They actually buckled at the sight of him standing before her, looking so handsome that her breath caught in her throat. When he smiled that way, she was reminded of the good times they spent together back in New York.

The color of his shirt brought out the depth and intensity of his eyes as they bored into her. She was having a difficult time concentrating; her eyes kept straying to his broad chest and the way the shirt clung to his lean body.

She grasped onto the corner of the kitchen island for support as she tried to regain some semblance of control over her nerves. The smile that had graced his handsome face was quickly replaced with a frown when he saw the discomfort that was etched across her furrowed brows.

"Are you okay?" he asked, carefully placing the bowls onto the table before moving back to where she stood. His strong hands reached out to cup her shoulders while he looked down at her, his eyes full of concern. "Is your leg bothering you?"

"What?" she asked, slightly bemused by his question. The contact of his body on hers was making it very difficult to concentrate on what he was saying. All her thoughts were focused on the contact of his warm hands on her heated skin. She looked up and immediately regretted doing so, for her legs finally gave out.

Had Derek not been standing there, she would've collapsed onto the floor. Instead, he bent down and picked her up, taking her completely off guard.

"Derek, I'm fine!" she began to protest as he held her close. "Where are you taking me? Please put me down."

In order to still her movements, he pressed her closer to his warm body and walked out of the kitchen into the family room. "Why is it that every time I try to carry you, you put up a fight?"

"I do not," she denied, all the while trying to squirm out of his hold. "I'm fine…really, I am."

"Why aren't you using your crutches? Where are they?" he asked looking around the room.

"In the closet."

"Why are they in the closet?"

"I didn't need them so I put them away."

"You almost collapsed earlier. What would you have done if I hadn't been there to catch you?"

"I would've picked myself up and went about my day."

"I'm serious, Mer!" he said, his voice raising. "You could've really hurt yourself."

"But I didn't – thanks to you, so let's drop it and eat before your food gets cold," she tried to pull herself up, but his hand on her shoulder kept her from moving.

"Stay right there," he demanded.

She turned to see him head back in the direction of the kitchen, only to return a few minutes later carrying a tray with the soup, silverware, and two bottles of mineral water.

Meredith was sitting on the couch with her back leaning against the armrest and her legs outstretched in front of her. Derek placed the tray onto the coffee table and pulled out a dinner napkin and carefully placed it across her lap. He uncapped the mineral water and left it on the table within her arm's reach.

"I should be the one taking care of you after the day you've had," she said, feeling uneasy by the attention he was giving her. "Mark told me about all the cases that came in because of the storm."

"I like taking care of you," he said as he handed her the bowl of soup. Their eyes connected and held, neither one wanting to look away. Derek felt something inside him stir at being so close to her and quickly cleared his throat. "You, um…you talked to Mark?"

"I called to see how…," she paused, not wanting to tell him that she called because she was worried about him. "…to see how he was."

"Oh," he replied, quickly looking away to mask his disappointment.

A part of him had hoped that she was worried about him and might be calling to see how he was. But if she had been worried about him, she would've called his office. She had his number. He made sure of that.

"How are you doing?" she asked, looking up at him.

He took a deep breath, followed by a long deep sigh as he emptied his lungs of the air that had occupied it only seconds ago.

"Today was a very difficult day for me," he answered honestly, remembering all the events from earlier. The surgeries. The endless meetings and consults with distraught family members. His breakup with Kendall. Him finally coming to terms with the fact that he still loves Meredith.

Meredith watched him carefully. He looked tense. His muscles looked tense as it strained against his shirt. She could see the obvious discomfort in his eyes as he closed them momentarily and laid his head back against the armrest.

"Your back is tense," she commented.

"Hmm…," he groaned in response, his eyes remained closed. "Four long surgeries can do all sorts of damage."

Meredith studied his features for another minute. It broke her heart to see him so tired. She felt helpless sitting there doing nothing as she watched the man she love in obvious physical pain. She placed her bowl onto the table, moved her good leg off the couch to form a V between her legs and said "Come here."

Derek opened his eyes and his breath nearly caught in his throat at the sight before him. She was facing him on the couch, her legs spread opened slightly and beckoning him to come over. Is this a dream? Did he fall asleep and is now fantasizing about Meredith? Would she still be wearing a cast if this were a dream? The cast is definitely a barrier so why would he…?

"Derek!"

"Wh-what?" he said, snapping out of his thoughts.

"I said come here," she commanded softly.

Derek blinked a couple of times and discreetly pinched himself, hoping to wake from this dream or whatever the heck it was. It didn't work. He wasn't dreaming and Meredith was, in fact, calling out to him.

"You want me to go where?" he asked, perplexed by her request.

"Here," she replied, patting the spot between her legs.

"For…what?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"Just come here already," she demanded, quickly losing patience.

Despite every functioning brain cell that screamed to him not to move from the safe distance he had created earlier, he got up and moved to sit between her legs with his back to her. If standing close to her earlier caused his heart to beat wildly against his chest, then being pressed up intimately next to her will most likely give him a heart attack.

"Are you comfortable?" she asked, shifting her weight around to give him more room on the couch.

"Mm-hmm," he replied, slightly breathless. He was afraid to speak; afraid that doing so would betray his feelings.

The electric current that shot through their bodies when Meredith touched him shocked them both into silence. Meredith had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from gasping while Derek closed his eyes to wipe the images of her from his mind.

Maybe this isn't a good idea, after all … she thought. Her mind was willing her to remove her hand, but she couldn't do it. Something stronger, more magnetic drew her in and kept her hand from moving. The seconds that passed were agonizing as neither one knew what to do or how to react.

You can do this. This is a massage, nothing more. Stay detached, stay unaffected. Masseuses do it all the time … she tried to convince herself.

She took a deep breath and began to move her fingers across the expanse of his broad shoulders. Her fingers were firm and methodical as they worked their way across his shoulders, pinching and kneading his muscles to try to ease the tension as much as she could while trying to stay unaffected.

Hairy back. Beer belly. Small penises. C'mon, dammit! Nothing was working. She kept imagining how his bare skin would feel against her hand; how it would feel against her naked body.

Her lungs ached from the breath she was holding. All her energy and focus were on Derek and the way his body relaxed to her skilled hands. She could do this. She could be his friend and give him the massage she knew he needed and she wanted to give.

They had agreed to be friends. After the talk they had two nights ago, it was all that they could agree on. So many things had changed and so many things were revealed. It had been hard for them to come to terms with the fact that they were robbed of eight years together. Misunderstandings happened, but the repercussions were damaging when it resulted in the loss of true love; the loss of faith in love and all the precious memories it held.

We're friends and nothing more. Just friends…Meredith felt like a complete fool for repeating this mantra over and over again in her head, but it kept her sane and more importantly, it kept her mind from straying any more than it had already.

Thinking about Derek as anything other than a friend while her hands were busy roaming across his lean back and his body pressed up against her was not an option. She needed to remind herself of the fact that he's in a relationship with another woman and is off limits.

Derek found it difficult to think while Meredith had her hands on him. Granted, she was only doing it because of the massage, but the fact that she was touching him was enough to get him fired up. She was only doing this as a friend. That's what they are, after all. They agreed to be friends and nothing more. At the time, he didn't think to ask for more and it seemed that she wasn't looking for more. She had just gotten out of a bad relationship and he was still in one.

He released a soft groan when her knuckles found the spot on his back that had caused him so much discomfort. His head fell back of its own accord and somehow ended up on her shoulder. Meredith was taken aback by the sudden move. Her fingers hesitated, her movements stilled.

"Please don't stop," he pleaded, welcoming the relief on his back. "You just hit the spot."

"You…you want me to continue?" she croaked, her throat dry.

"Yes," he answered, his head still lying on her shoulder. "That knot had been bothering me all day and I couldn't work out the kink. You're just what I needed."

"Um…okay."

She sat upright and began to knead small circles across his lower back, alternating the pressure as she moved. The massage seemed to be working because he looked more relaxed as did the tense muscles.

"You have magic fingers," he spoke, the smile on his lips coming across in his voice, "I love you—"

Meredith's fingers stopped at the same time Derek's head shot up. "Uh…what I meant to say was that I loved…your hands. For working its magic," he covered up quickly.

Instead of alleviating the tension that had built up since his little slip-up, it made it worse.

"I think I'm tired" she blurted out, moving away from him. The fact that she was pressed up between the armrest and his body did not allow her much room other than to squirm uncomfortably.

"Yeah" he said, literally leaping off the couch. "Thanks for the…massage."

The silence that fell upon them at that moment was so thick; a knife could cut through it. Neither one dared to look at the other.

"I'm gonna go to bed," she announced.

"I'll clean up," he volunteered and began to busy himself with the task of gathering everything onto the tray while avoiding eye contact.

"Good night, Derek."

"Good night, Mer."

Meredith was amazed at how quickly she was able to hobble out of the room with the heavy cast in tow. She let out a big sigh when she reached her room and closed the door with a soft click.

Damn! Shit! Fuck!…she thought angrily to herself.

Derek tried to keep his emotions in check as he cleared the dishes. He almost let it slip. The cover up was pathetic, but it was that or let it known how he felt about her. Things were happening too fast. He didn't want to rush it. Not this time. Not with Meredith. She means too much for him to jeopardize what they have without thinking it through.

"Did you talk to Meredith?"

"When?" Derek asked, looking up from the chart he was writing notes into.

"Last night. She called to ask about you, but you were already gone."

"She asked about me?" Derek knew she called Mark. She told him so. What he didn't know was that she had asked about him

"Hm-hmm."

"What did she say?"

"Not much, but I knew she was worried that you weren't home yet."

"Oh…," he said, remembering his visit to see Kendall.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"You have that look."

"What look?"

"The guilty look. What did you do?" Mark asked, giving Derek an accusing glare.

"I didn't do anything. I went to see Kendall."

"You had Meredith at home waiting for you and you went to see Kendall instead?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked incredulously. "Kendall is my--I mean she was my girl—"

"Hold the phone! What do you mean was?"

"KendallandIbrokeuplastnight," he muttered under his breath.

"You broke up?" Mark yelled, his voice echoed through the halls.

"Was it necessary to announce that to everyone?" Derek hissed as a few of the nurses and doctors turned to look at them curiously.

"Yes!" smirked Mark. "Uh, I mean…no."

"Why are you so damn excited?"

"You and Meredith."

"What about us?"

"You guys can, you know, get together and do what people like you normally do."

"People like us? What the hell is that supposed to mean."

"You know. People in love and stuff."

Derek gave Mark a bland stare as the idiocy of his friend's comment sunk in.

"Kendall and I were in lo—"

"No you weren't and don't lie. You lie. Meredith lie. You both need to lie together and—"

"You're disgusting. Why am I friends with you again?" Derek closed the file shut and began to walk away.

"Because I was the one who saved your sorry ass," replied Mark with a smug grin as he fell into step beside him.

"Right."

"Did you tell Meredith?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe? This is what you've been waiting for. She's back in your life. You're single. She's single."

"It's not that easy, Mark. She was engaged and I…just broke if off with Kendall. I can't jump from one bed to another. I'm not you."

"That's true," he smirked. "You're an idiot.

"What?"

"Eight years were wasted, Derek. Eight. Why are you hesitating? Especially now that you know it wasn't her fault."

"Stuff like this takes time. I can't spring that kind of news on her and expect…," he trailed off. "I don't even know if she feels the same way. I want to take it slow. WE need to take it slow."

"Whatever," replied Mark, disappointment etched in the lines around his eyes. "Just remember that you're no spring chicken."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you, my friend, aren't getting any younger. Now Meredith, she's young and hot, but you…you're old. If you sit around for too long, you're going to lose her to some young hotshot."

"She's not going to leave. Is she?"

"I don't know, but do you really want to wait and find out?"