"I know where is she is," Alex said and motioned to Derek in the same time to follow him to his car. He got on the driver seat and drove away together with Derek.

-------------------

"Hey Joe!" Meredith took a seat on bar saluting the bartender.

"Hello there!" Joe greeted her smiling and looking careful at her "Dr. Grey, right?"

Meredith smiled and nodded "Meredith"

"Long time no see, Meredith"

"Life of a doctor Joe!"

Joe noticed the swelling from her cheek and leaned over the counter to give a closer look "Girl fight, I hope!"

"Yeah" Meredith nodded smiling.

"Let me guess... for a man"

Meredith continued to approve him with nods "Something like this, and unfortunately the other girl was my mother"

"Ouch!" Joe stepped back surprised "Tequila?"

"Straight"

"Straight tequila, right away" Joe took a shot glass, filled it with liquor and slammed in front of her.

Meredith took it and from one move she poured it down the throat, slamming it back then.

Joe refilled it for her "Can I dare to ask who won?" he asked her.

Meredith giggled, starting to feel already a little high because of the alcohol. "Well... let me see... I've got to stay with the guy, my cheek is a little disfigured, my place work is going to be a nightmare from now on, I did tell her everything I feel for her... let's call it a equality."

-------------------

Alex parked the car in front of the Emerald Bar.

They went inside and immediately they spotted Meredith standing at bar.

"Meredith" Derek went to her and took her by her waits, taking in the same the glass from her hand.

"DEREK" Meredith shouted exalted under the influence of a few glasses of tequila.

"You were sleeping Meredith, how did you get here?"

"I had a nightmare Derek" Meredith giggled dizzy "I had a dream in which my mom was slapping me"

"Let's go home Mer" Alex came by her side too and grabbed her arm.

"Oh... my hero" Meredith laughed and leaned on him.

Derek smiled at Alex and pulled her back to him "Come Mer!"

"I don't want to go home Derek! I need this!" Meredith recovered her depressed look and grabbed the glass and gulped it so fast that neither Derek nor Alex could stop her in time.

"Meredith, you don't need to drown yourself in alcohol" Derek insisted motioning to Joe not to pour her another.

"I do need it! Right now this is what I need the most!"

"Mer..."

"Leave me alone Alex! You don't have to play this role of big brother to me all the time because you are not my brother." Meredith snapped at him angry when Alex touched her again.

"Meredith, are you choosing a bottle of tequila instead of me?"

Meredith looked at him, this time looking more sober "I need a pause... I need a pause not to feel like this... even if it is just for a night."

Derek ran his hand through her hair brushing it along its length "Feeling is normal Meredith. We need to live all kind of feelings, because this is what makes us stronger. Don't you want to be stronger?"

Meredith rested her head on him and sighed "I do"

"Then let's go home!"

Meredith raised the head and looked at him, then at Alex, then at Joe, who was attending another customer and then back at Derek. She didn't say anything and just stood up taking first Derek's hand and then Alex's, heading together with them outside the bar.

Derek helped her to get into her car and then he got in on the driver seat while Alex drove back in his own car.

During the ride Meredith fell asleep resting the head on window. It was because of the distress, because of the alcohol, so when Derek pulled car in front of her house, there was no way to wake her up. With Alex's help, who kept the door open, Derek took her out from car, carrying her then into the house.

Christina, Izzie and George were all in living room waiting to see what had happened to Meredith. When they heard the car, they all ran out of the house exactly when Derek was pulling Meredith out from car.

"Did she pass out?" Christina came to them worried, same as the others were too.

"No, she has just fallen asleep a few minutes ago" Derek told them and hurried to take her into the room.

Izzie was the one who opened the door for him and lifted the covers, so that he can place her slowly in bed.

"Do you need any help?" She asked him seeing Derek taking Meredith's shoes off.

"No thank you! You can all go, I take care of her." Derek just sent them a glance and returned his attention on Meredith. He took off her pants too and covered her with the blankets.

He undressed himself, took off the shoes and got in bed next to her, turning off the lights and pulling her into his arms.

Feeling his embrace, Meredith rolled over to face him, still sleeping, and snuggled into his arms.

------------------

The next morning Derek woke up very early, and thinking that Meredith would stay home that day, he turned off the alarm and went to take a shower in the bathroom from down the hall, then he went downstairs to grab something to eat.

When he returned to Meredith, he was surprised to see her awake and just getting out from shower.

"Morning" he came to her and kissed her softly.

"Morning" Meredith kissed him back smiling. In that morning the smile was the one that Derek knew very well; the one belonging to a cheerful Meredith.

"Why are you awake? You should have slept longer!"

"And to be late for rounds so that Bailey can wipe the floor with me?" Meredith closed the door that Derek had let it open and unwrapped the towel from around her.

"Are you coming to work today?" Derek took a seat on the bed's edge watching her.

"Of course I am! I am an intern and I cannot afford to lose hours of practice just because of my mother's."

Derek was very surprised to see this radical change at her, considering in what state she was last night.

"So I was right" he leaned on back in bed, resting himself on arms and looked up at her smiling.

"Right?! About what?" Meredith glanced him curious while she was searching through closet for some clothes.

"To feel and not to get drunk"

Meredith threw on bed the clothes she had picked and leaned over to Derek "What can I say..." she kissed his lips and pulled back a little "You really are my McDreamy"

Derek laughed and pulled her back, this time bringing her down in his arms. "I guess I am, ain't I?"

Meredith giggled and let him kiss her properly.

He rolled on top of her to have her under him, his lips kissing in all this time hers keeping her head between his hands. She responded to his new embrace with the wrapped arms around his neck, holding him this way into her.

Derek straggled his lips from her, but kept his face over hers; he brushed away a strand from her hair to clear the forehead and then rubbed gently her cheek. The swelling from her mother's slap was now gone, the only marks remained from it were a very small bruise and the pain from her soul.

"Meredith, you have to promise me that you will stop running away from me. Especially choosing the tequila instead of me; I would rather see you running to Alex than to alcohol."

"You are not jealous on Alex, but you are jealous on tequila?" Meredith smiled and didn't seem to take in serious Derek's words.

Derek smiled at her too and softly kissed her forehead "I am not jealous on Alex because I know that nothing inappropriate will happen between you two, but I don't trust in tequila, which might take you for sure in someone else's bed" he was joking at that point, but he was serious too "Now seriously Meredith, I want you to come to me for anything, no matter how silly that thing is or how bad. I want you to share everything with me."

"Are you a masochist, who finds pleasure in pain?"

"Yes, I am" he pressed a strong kiss to her lips "But only when it comes to your pain." he let his hands to caress her head and looked into her eyes "I love you Meredith!" he kept his eyes into hers from a few more moments contemplating them and waiting to see in them an answer from her.

Meredith didn't broke the gaze either and let her hands to travel through his hair.

Derek lowered his face to her and started to take each of her lips into a slight grip between his teeth; then he let the lips to massage hers gently and in a final he let the tongue to slip into her mouth, tasting the still a little remained taste from tequila.

Meredith greeted it properly and joined it, starting in this way a long and passionate kiss.

"We have ... to go ... Derek" Meredith managed to mumble between his lips.

"5... more ... minutes"

After about 5 minutes, Meredith pushed his head away from her a little "Let's do something else" she breathed hardly.

"Really?" Derek smirked dirty at her.

"Let's breathe Derek! Let's breathe!" she laughed and slapped playful his back.

"Okay... we can breathe" Derek leaned down on her again and gave her a quick kiss "30 seconds"

Meredith chuckled and lifted herself a little to repeat his quick kiss. She let the head back down on pillow, still keeping the hands through his hair and staring into his eyes.

"I love you too Derek" her voice echoed as a whisper, but filled with emotions.

"I knew it" Derek smiled wide hearing these words from her for the first time "You can only love a McDreamy"

"That's true" Meredith giggled and half-opened the mouth to suggest him to go back to it.

"31 seconds" he smiled "We are late" he said and closed her mouth with his, letting this time the entire weight of his body over hers allowing this way the hands to go down along her curves.

Meredith also let her hands to slide under his shirt caressing the skin from his back.

"We should stop" Meredith moaned while Derek was kissing her neck.

"We should" but he continued to kiss her and none of them seemed to have the intension to end it.

After a very short knock on it, the door opened immediately and a man cleared his throat.

Derek and Meredith stopped right away and looked into the door's direction. They pulled apart in the next second.

"Good morning, Meredith! Shepherd" Richard made his way into her room a little hesitant and closed the door behind him.