Title: Fireworks

Authors: Sara And Lizzie

Rating: T for language, mild sex

Disclaimer: It would be nice to own grey's anatomy, sadly all we own are a lot of high priced shoes and handbags, and both seasons on dvd.

Summary: This starts early in season two, episode 8, when Meredith and Derek are in the elevator and she says 'I miss you'. Instead of saying that he cant do anything, Derek asks her to meet him and an affair ensues. Angsty, but we loooove it.

Author's Note: we suck. we know. we're trying. we love you all.

REVIEW.

There's a lot that I don't know,
there's a lot that I'm still learning.

Kathryn Shepherd prided herself on being polite and tactful, but with her son in this situation, she didn't waste any time. "Derek Michael, when on earth did you get divorced?" she asked.

Meredith froze. Any minute now, he would denounce her, brush her off and mumble things about Addison.

"Hello to you too, Mom." Derek said, disentangling himself from Meredith and embracing her. "And yes, I'm divorced." Meredith closed her eyes, waiting for the final and fatal blow.

"Imagine my shock at hearing this from Addison." Kathryn said. Her eyes flickered over Meredith. "Perhaps we shouldn't be discussing this in front of your… friend."

"Mom, this is Meredith Grey," Derek said, grabbing her hand. "She's not my friend, she's… everything." The stylish woman in front of Meredith looked at her for a long time before fixing Derek with her pointed gaze. Finally, she nodded.

"I see." She said, carefully, her tone even. She extended a gloved hand. "Kathryn Shepherd." She said. Meredith took her hand and smiled weakly.

"Meredith Grey." She whispered. Kathryn clasped her hand for a minute, and then stepped back, observing them carefully as if it were perfectly normal.

"You seem happy." She said to Derek after a few minutes. He grinned at her.

"I really am." He said, his eyes sliding toward Meredith. His mother reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

"Than so am I," she said, "But don't think we won't be having a long conversation about this over dinner tonight." Before they could respond, Mark came out of the St. Regis.

"And I was starting to think you two stood me…" he trailed off catching sight of Kathryn. "Mom." He said quietly, looking down. He met her eyes. "Mrs. Shepherd." Meredith realized she had just stepped into what was possibly an even bigger moment than the one they had just had. She squeezed Derek's hand.

"Mark Oliver Sloan." Kathryn said icily. "You are quite possibly one of the most elusive individuals I have ever met. You've managed to avoid me and the girls all this time."

"Almost all the girls." Mark said without thinking.

Kathryn's eyes narrowed at him and she turned her eyes to Derek. "Eliza." They said together. "Typical." Kathryn muttered. "So not only have you betrayed my son, you've manipulated my youngest daughter."

"I forgave him." Derek blurted out suddenly. Kathryn's eyebrows shot up her forehead. Derek shook his head and sighed. "He plays a big part of all this."

"Dinner. Eight o'clock. Pastis." Kathryn said. "Don't be late, Mark. Lovely to meet you, Meredith."


"Are you sure you and Mark shouldn't do this alone?" Meredith pleaded. Derek put his hands on her cheeks. "I know how hard this is. And I know you don't want to hear this, but I want to marry you one day and for that to happen…." He trailed off, worried he had pushed too far, but to his surprise, she nodded.

"We need to own up to what we did. Come clean. To everyone." Derek stepped back, regarding her with surprise and a hint of pride.

"You're right." He said.

"I know I'm right. But your mother?"

"Mer, please. Put on your dress. I'll be there. And Mark will bear the full force of any anger." Begrudgingly, Meredith trudged to her room.

"I must really like you Derek Shepherd." She said.

"Hey Mer?" he called after her. "I love you." She stopped before continuing into her room and said it so softly he could hardly hear her.

"I love you too."

"So, Meredith," Kathryn asked as they waited for Mark, "What do you do?"

"I'm a surgeon." She said quietly.

"Not a relation of Ellis Grey?"

Meredith tensed and smiled tightly. "She's my mother."

"My husband was very impressed with her work." Kathryn said, smiling, obviously trying to be nice. Derek's glance slid to Meredith, and the expression on her face. He was about to change the subject when Mark strode up to their table.

"Sorry I'm late." He said sheepishly.

"Sit." Kathryn commanded. Mark dropped into the empty chair so fast Meredith would have missed it if she had blinked. "Now someone tell me what is going on. Addison called and tells me that you're divorced, and the last thing I heard from you, Derek, was that everything was just fine." She paused. "Well, apparently not."

Meredith squirmed, wishing she could run away from this. She gripped the seat of her chair, paralyze with fear of the way Derek would describe her, and the choices the made.

"I met Meredith when I moved to Seattle." Derek said. "I fell in love with her. She was so different, because I'm different. Who I really am is not who I was in New York. I was playing along, Mom."

"Oh Derek…" Kathryn said. He shook his head.

"Let me get this out. I started dating Mer, and for the first time in such a long time, I was happy. And then Addison came back, and I had to chose, and I made the wrong choice. And then I made another wrong choice, because I had an affair with Meredith, and she deserved so much better." He took a deep breath.

"When it got to be too much, she came out here, and I was… I couldn't breathe without her. I divorced Addison. And then Mark ran into her, and called and…" he trailed off, looking expectantly at his mother.

"You never loved Addie like this." Kathryn said softly.

"Someone does." Meredith piped up for the first time. "Mark loves Addison. I thought…" she looked up from her lap and steeled herself. "My mother cheated on my father. And I always thought that I could never do something like that, but when you really love someone, you'll do anything to keep them in your life. That's how Derek forgave Mark. I think we all started to… understand." She said.

The table was silent for a moment and Meredith spoke again. "Mark loves Derek more. He called Derek when he found me. And, Mrs. Shepherd, I love Derek too, and I'm sorry for what we did, but I…I love Derek." She paused. "I'm sorry. I ramble when I get nervous." She whispered.

A hush fell over them as everything that had and hadn't been said seemed to fall between the four of them. Kathryn broke the silence. "So what's next for you two?" she asked Meredith and Derek. Derek smiled down at Meredith and kissed her on the head.

"We're going back to Seattle." He said. Mark smiled sadly, feeling like he had grasped back at the one thing he wanted most, and then lost it again.

"And Mark is coming with us." Meredith blurted out.