A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys! Uni started this week, and I had assignments and things due that I needed to finish off. As for Derek's lies, I agree. I don't like it either, I hate that he is lying to her, but he has his reasons, as do I. This update jumps through time a little bit, skipping out a portion of Meredith and Derek's visit with the person they were meeting, simply because it could have gone on for another chapter with nothing happening that was important to move this story along. So you will read part of their visit before they go back to their hotel. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and thanks as always for reading. :-)

They both froze as the voice reached them. Well, it was confirmed. They were definitely in the right place. Meredith instantly recognized the voice, and she couldn't have been any more mortified if she'd tried. She turned her head slowly and pulled away from Derek, turning to follow the voice, a flush already staining her cheeks.

Alex stood with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face as he watched them. "I see you found the place."

"Yeah, Ida gave us directions." Derek replied, squeezing Meredith's hand reassuringly as she gave a small groan of embarrassment.

"Get over it, Grey. It's nothing Iz and I haven't done." Alex said casually, taking far too much pleasure in the slightly uncomfortable situation she found herself in.

Derek didn't seem to care. He was grinning from ear to ear, his dark blue eyes twinkling as he watched her blush darken. There really wasn't anyone she could think of that would be a worse person to have caught them than Alex. Except maybe Derek's mother. Or Mark. Mark would laugh his ass off and tease her mercilessly. Or actually, Cristina's reaction would have been interesting. Meredith gave an inward sigh as she realized those were three people they would have to talk to, to explain things to, to point out that things had changed. Then again, his mother already knew apparently, which was going to lead to the dreaded family dinner. Oh, that was going to be fun. She would rather chew off her own arm than go to that dinner. Not that Derek's family were horrible. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But she had seen the way they protected him, especially from any women he had taken home to meet the family. Not that there had been many, but his sisters reserved judgement, watching closely for the tiniest signs that the girl wasn't good enough for their only brother, and then they pounced.

"Thanks for that, Alex." Meredith winced, realizing he had spoken and pulling herself out of her rambling thoughts. "That makes me feel so much better."

Alex grinned, stepping aside and indicating the open front door. "You can come in, you know. I know I look good standing here and all, but I am more than a decoration."

"Oh, we were just going to give you the keys and call a taxi." Meredith said quickly. "We don't want to bother you. We can come back another time, or just...we can...I don't know...we have..cell phone, so..."

"Dude, just come in." Alex interrupted, looking a little astonished as he motioned towards the door once more.

"And that was only a mini ramble." Derek murmured as he passed Alex, chuckling.

"Hell." Alex muttered before following them in.

Meredith stepped into the house, a sweet, pleasant scent filling the air around them.

"Something smells good." She commented as Alex closed the door behind them, holding out his arm for their coats.

"Izzie was stressed." He said simply, taking their coats and walking into the lounge, tossing them over the back of an armchair.

"Oh." Meredith replied, glancing at Derek who shrugged helplessly. "Right."

"Sit down" He instructed. "I'll tell Iz you're here."

"Oh crap!" A voice screeched from the other end of the house, the words laden with frustration and annoyance.

Alex frowned and immediately headed towards the sound, short, sharp curses filling the air every few seconds.

"Izzie?" He called, padding his way down the hall, while Meredith and Derek followed him into the hall. "Iz!"

"Alex!" Izzie called out. "Don't come in here!"

"Why not?" Alex replied, halting as he waited for her answer. "What happened?"

"Nothing! I just...dropped a tray." Izzie answered quickly. "Just...stay out there!"

"Iz, Meredith and Derek are here." He reminded her, beginning to head towards the kitchen once more. "Are you alright? I'll come give you a hand."

"No!" Izzie shouted in panic. "I'll...I'll make drinks. You entertain. Maybe...maybe Meredith could come help me!"

"Sure." Meredith offered immediately, giving Alex a smile as she passed him and continued walking swiftly towards the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Derek asked as Meredith disappeared into the kitchen. The two men saw a whirl of pink before the door slammed shut behind her.

"Beats me." Alex shrugged. "Women."

Derek raised his eyebrows, glancing back towards the closed door.

"Come on." Alex grunted. "Might as well relax."

"Oh my..." Meredith began before Izzie materialized next to her, pushing the door shut.

"Ssshhhh!" She hissed. "They'll hear you!"

"What the hell...?!" Meredith asked, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping open. "What happened?!"

"I had a small problem." Izzie admitted, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing around the kitchen.

The first thing Meredith noticed were the muffins. The muffins that took up every available inch of space, basket dotted around the room at random, even the table laden with the sweet treats. But the muffins weren't the only thing that drew her attention. There was water everywhere. It covered part of the kitchen counter, mixing with an open box of floor that had tipped over the counter, forming a type of paste. Water dripped down the front of the cupboards. It weaved its way across the tiled floor in little rivers, slowly seeping further and further across the room. There were no words to describe the state of the kitchen except complete and utter chaos.

"What happened?" Meredith asked again, picking her way carefully through the rivets of water.

"Life hates me. That's what happened, Meredith, life hates me. The one day, the one day I need things to go well and everything falls apart!" Izzie ranted, squeezing some of the water out of the apron she had tied around her waist. "I mean, this is karma, right? I've done something unspeakable in another life and now the universe hates me. It hates me, Meredith, and this is karmic revenge. Karma!"

Meredith let out a giggle, trying to stifle it with her hand as she took in the indignant expression on Izzie's face.

"You think this is funny?" Izzie asked astonished.

"Well..." Meredith began before she was interrupted.

"This is not funny!" Izzie growled. "I have water everywhere, everywhere. Alex is never going to let me hear the end of this."

"Well, what happened?" Meredith asked for the third time, gesturing around her.

"I don't know!" Izzie wailed. "I was running water in the sink, waiting for it to heat up so I could wash the baking dishes. I turned my back for a second, that's all it was, a second! When I looked again, there was water everywhere! I think the sink was blocked or something, I don't know."

"A second?" Meredith repeated doubtfully, raising an eyebrow as she took in the state of the room.

"Okay, so it might have been more than a second." Izzie admitted. "I was putting the chocolate thingies on the muffins. I think I got distracted."

"Maybe we should ask them..." Meredith said, gesturing towards the closed door as Izzie interrupted her once more.

"No!" Izzie insisted, sounding horrified. "We can clean this up. We have to clean this up, because I've already done enough damage today. He can't see this, Alex can't see this! I swear, I'll never live it down."

"What else have you broken?" Meredith asked curiously.

"I...that's really not important." Izzie dodged. "You have to help me. Please."

"Well, sure." Meredith replied with a nod.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Izzie breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'll be back in a moment."

While Izzie quietly opened the kitchen door and disappeared for a few moments, Meredith took the opportunity to survey her surroundings again. She tended to make a mess in her own kitchen whenever she tried to cook. She'd dropped eggs on the floor more times than she could count. But even her kitchen had never looked this bad. Although, to be fair, her pathetic attempts at cooking usually got her kicked out of the kitchen before it had the opportunity to get to this stage. It didn't take long before Izzie was back, a stack of towels in her hands which she dumped on the table, pushing aside a few baskets to make room for them.

"Izzie, is something burning?" Meredith asked cautiously, sniffing the air.

"Burning? No, I...oh crap...the muffins!" Izzie cried out in surprise, spinning around just as her feet slid out from under her, the water beneath her feet playing it's part in bringing her tumbling down on her backside in a flail of arms and legs.

"Ooooph!" She grunted as she hit the floor with a solid thump. "Damn it! That's the second time that's happened! My ass is going to be black and blue, and probably dented!"

"Izzie, are you okay?" Meredith asked in concern, managing to control the laughter dying to come out.

"Yeah." She groaned. "Though my dignity is taking a huge hit today."

Meredith reached out a hand. "Here."

"I think I'm safer down here." Izzie informed her, her legs splayed out awkwardly. She straightened her legs, stretching slightly before she registered what Meredith had said that had made her land on her ass for the second time in one day. "Oh my god! My muffins!"

"I've got them." Meredith assured her, coughing as she pulled the muffin tray out of the oven, her hands covered with the purple oven mitts she had found on the counter. A thin layer of smoke curled its way through the room, the smell causing Meredith to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"How bad are they?" Izzie asked anxiously, trying to peer at them from her spot on the floor.

"I think they are beyond repair." Meredith said as she placed the hot tray on the cake rack Izzie had left out, poking at the top of one blackened muffin with her gloved hand.

"Of course they are. See, I told you. Karma." Izzie nodded with a groan. "This is really not my day. I'd tell you about it, but I'm trying to pretend it never happened."

"So you're living in denial?" Meredith asked with a small laugh.

"Yep. Right now, it's working for me." Izzie nodded.

"Been there, done that." Meredith murmured. "It's not just a river in Egypt and all that. It's a freaking ocean or whatever."

"Unfortunately it doesn't fix my muffins." Izzie sighed.

"It's not like you don't have enough already." Meredith reasoned, pulling off the oven mitts and tossing them onto the dry portion of the kitchen counter. "What's with all the muffins, anyway?"

"When I'm stressed, I bake. Muffins de-stress me." Izzie replied. "I don't usually burn them."

"I do." Meredith giggled, tossing Izzie one of the towels before she began to wipe up the counter top, pushing the excess water into the sink.

"You don't bake?" Izzie asked, getting up onto her knees and drying the front of the cupboards.

"Nope. Or cook. It doesn't have good results. Derek's banned me from his kitchen." Meredith laughed as she continued cleaning. "What are you planning to do with all these muffins?"

"Eat them and get hugely, gloriously fat." Izzie mumbled, finishing drying the cupboards and moving on to the floor.

"Seriously?" Meredith asked, squeezing out the water out of her cloth.

"No. Though it's tempting and I could totally do it. I'll take them to a homeless shelter, or to the children's hospital or something." Izzie replied with a smile.

"Oh. That's nice of you." Meredith commented.

"George volunteers there, sometimes." Izzie said casually, mopping up the water on her hands and knees, the liquid soaking through the towels as she wiped the floor, the small lake in the middle of the kitchen slowly but surely disappearing.

Meredith froze, her breath stilling in her throat. "Oh you...you know George?"

"Yeah." Izzie said in surprise. "You didn't know that?"

"Well, I figured you knew him through Alex..." Meredith trailed off.

"No. I know Alex through George." Izzie corrected, balling up the wet towels and tossing them into the corner of the kitchen before she grabbed yet another dry one and continued drying. "George and I volunteered together for a while."

"Oh. So you know him well, then."

"Yes and no." Izzie replied. "I wouldn't say I know him well. I don't know his personal life stuff, but I do know what he's like, as a person. You can tell me to go to hell or mind my own business if you want, and I don't mean to stick my nose in where it's not welcome, but he's worth getting to know, Meredith. He's sweet, he really is."

"So everyone keeps saying." Meredith murmured, picking up the bag of flour and carrying it over to the rubbish.

"You're going to meet him though, right?" Izzie asked carefully, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "He'd want to meet you."

"It's a bit hard when he's visiting his grandparents in San Francisco." Meredith replied. "But yes, I am. I think. I guess."

"Have you seen a picture or something?" Izzie continued, "Because we'll have one here somewhere, I think. You know, if you wanted."

"I've seen some, thanks." Meredith replied with a small smile. "Blue hair and all."

"Yeah, that was really strange." Izzie frowned, adding yet another wet towel to the rapidly growing pile in the corner.

"What do you mean?"

"The hair. Everyone was really shocked when he did that. It's not George. He's not the blue-haired sort. Long and shaggy maybe, but not blue. But he won't tell anyone why he did it. Personally I think he did it to prove a point." Izzie murmured.

"To who?" Meredith asked getting down on her knees to help her.

"Alex. His family. His friends. I don't know. George is predictable, he's low-key, he doesn't dye his hair odd colors. He doesn't take risks. Like I said...it's strange."

"He doesn't get on with Alex?"

"They...tolerate each other. Although I think Alex likes George more than he will admit, and vice versa. Alex is pushing for you guys to meet, anyway. He's sick of the lies."

"There isn't...more, right?" Meredith asked quietly.

"Not that I know of." Izzie said honestly, throwing her a sympathetic smile.

Meredith nodded slowly.

"Drinks!" Izzie burst out suddenly. "I forgot!"

"You get the drinks, I'll keep drying." Meredith suggested, shaking her head as Izzie bounded to her feet.

Meredith bit her lip, nibbling nervously as she wondered what to do next. Did she go to the wedding? Did she turn up to meet George? Did she go to the wedding or not? Right now the questions seemed to hard to figure out. She needed a little bit more time to decide what it was she wanted to do.

"You okay?" Derek asked quietly, glancing at her swiftly. She was lost in thought, her body stiff as she stood beside him in the elevator, watching the numbers change as they were carried up towards their floor. During the taxi ride back to the hotel she had sat in complete silence, not saying a single word as the driver had engaged Derek in meaningless conversation. She had snapped the catch on her watch, clicking it back and forward, the sound the only noise she had made.

Derek couldn't work out if she was happy or sad, her emotions so very hard to read right at this moment. She was frowning, her brows drawn tightly together, only it seemed more of a puzzled expression than an angry one. She didn't seem worried, yet nor did she seem relaxed. In fact, everything about her at this moment was a contradiction.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened revealing their floor. They stepped out and continued on down the hall towards their room, Derek watching Meredith out of the corner of his eye.

She didn't seem to know how she felt, indecision radiating from her as she increased her pace to keep up with his longer stride, her long fingers still working away at the clasp of her watch. His question had rolled right off her, almost as if she hadn't heard it, yet the slight nod of her head suggested that she had.

"Meredith." Derek prompted, reaching one hand over and capturing on of her busy hands in his, squeezing lightly before he released her again.

"I'm fine." She murmured.

"Okay..." Derek replied, his tone disbelieving.

"I am." She insisted, her eyes clashing with his as he turned to look at her. "I'm fine."

"Okay, even if that's true, it's time for a new word to describe what you're feeling." He interjected, nodding seriously.

"I feel..." Meredith began with a sigh, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Grumpy." Derek guessed, casting a sideways glance at her.

"No."

"Dopey."

"No!"

"Happy."

"Derek..."

"Sleepy."

"Seriously Derek..."

"Embarrassed."

"Stop naming dwarfs!" Meredith said in exasperation, holding her hands up as they stopped outside their room.

"Embarrassed isn't a name of one of the dwarfs." Derek pointed out with a chuckle, his mouth curling.

"Yes it is." Meredith frowned. "He blushes all the time."

"No, that's Bashful." Derek replied instantly.

"Eh." Meredith groaned. "What's the difference?"

"The difference is that they are different words." Derek grinned.

"Derek..." Meredith moaned, losing all control of the conversation, not that she had ever really been in control in the first place. "It doesn't really matter."

"I'm sure it matters to all the kids whose favorite dwarf was Bashful." Derek argued, his eyes dancing.

"No ones favorite dwarf is Bashful." Meredith stated, shaking her head.

"And just how would you know? You thought Embarrassed was a dwarf." Derek reminded her, inserting their key card into the slot. The red light flicked to green on the second try, the dull click indicating the door was unlocked. Derek pushed it open, motioning for Meredith to move ahead of him, his hand automatically moving to the small of her back, gently pushing her ahead of him as he closed the door behind them.

"I know because Bashful is the one people always forget. Ask them to name them all, I bet they forget Bashful." Meredith responded with a mock glare, shrugging out of her coat and draping it over the back of one of the chairs. "You do realize we are arguing over the seven dwarfs, right?"

"Well, they're important." Derek replied with a wink, slipping the key card back into his trouser pocket.

"Really." Meredith said slowly with a little giggle, flopping down onto the bed.

"Of course. They're in the title, they're important characters!" Derek said firmly. "It's like saying Gulliver wasn't important in Gulliver's Travels, or Harry Potter isn't important in Harry Potter."

Meredith shook her head, her blonde hair falling down around her shoulders as she laughed, the sound lifting not only Derek's spirits, but her own. The banter came easily for them, it always had, and it gave her a sense of familiarity at a time when everything seemed to be changing. Sitting here with him, just the two of them, listening to him tease and pester her into a good mood...that was normal for them. And for Meredith, right at this moment when she had family members popping in and out of her life, when she was back in the city of her childhood, back in the place that had shaped so much of who she was...she needed that feeling of normalcy to stabilize her, to give her the sense that she belonged somewhere, to someone.

Derek watched as she plunged back into silence, though the smile remained on her face, reflecting in her eyes. Their afternoon with Izzie and Alex had been fun, he enjoyed spending time with the couple. They really were an odd pair, Izzie's overwhelming cheerfulness balancing out with Alex's tendency towards sarcasm and a blunt type of honesty. It had helped him to forget about his book, and his current situation, if only for the afternoon. Martin's phone call replayed in his head now, reminding him that he needed answers out of Meredith if he was going to form some sort of pro-active plan. Derek kicked off his shoes and joined her on the bed, leaning his back up against the headboard.

"So...what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" He asked carefully, not wanting to push her.

"I don't know." Meredith replied, lying back on the bed, her legs dangling over the edge.

"Mer, are we going to the wedding?" Derek asked, giving up on the not pushing idea. It didn't seem to be getting him anywhere.

"I don't know." She replied again.

"You need to make a decision." Derek prompted again.

"I know." She murmured, staring up at the ceiling. "Can I decide in the morning? The wedding isn't for a few days."

"Okay." Derek sighed. "In that case, what do you want to do now? We can go out for dinner later, or..."

"Can we...can we stay in tonight? Order room service, watch a movie or something?" Meredith asked, turning on her stomach and scooting up the bed until she lay next to him.

"Sure." Derek agreed easily, smiling tenderly at her. "If that's what you want to do, then okay. We can do that."

"Okay." She returned his smile, her expression changing suddenly, her nose wrinkling as she gave a delicate sneeze, her body jerking ever so slightly. "Okay, so maybe I am one of the dwarfs."

"Sneezy?" Derek laughed. "Nah, his nose was bigger than yours."

Meredith grinned, her eyes watering as yet another sneeze tickled her nose.

"Mer, are you getting sick?" Derek frowned, rubbing his palm over the soft skin of her cheek.

"No." She replied firmly.

"Are you sure?" Derek pressed, tilting his head as he studied her.

"Yes." She said with determination, the look in her eyes softening her response as she lifted her hand to cover his. "So what movie do you want to watch?"

Derek leaned over and picked up the remote from the bedside cabinet on his side, handing it to her as he turned his hand over till their palms met, lacing their fingers together. "I don't care, you pick."