A/N: This story honestly surprises me at every turn. Thanks so much everyone for reading!

Enjoy!

2005 Middleton:

"Here," Cassie handed her husband the umbrella.

"But it's sunny out. Eighty degrees all day." Jake argued, throwing on his jacket.

Cassie only shrugged. It was going to rain today, she knew. She pushed the umbrella to his chest, as if in challenge.

"You know, maybe you should be the weather woman," he murmured, kissing her.

"Maybe," Cassie batted her eyelashes.

He gripped the umbrella, surrendering. "Love you. See you tonight."

"Love you too."

Leaning against the doorframe, Cassie watched him get into his car and drive away. She loved him so much. She padded into the kitchen and washed out her tea mug. There was a lot to do today. She had to get Grace ready for school, open the store... And prepare for a guest.

xxx

Cassie finished the final touches of the room, fluffing the pillows and refreshing the toiletry supply. He would be here soon, her guest. Lightly stepping down the stairs, she closed her eyes. He was here.

"Hello," she greeted, opening the door.

"Wha-oh!" the man stepped back into the rain, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Do come in," she said.

"Uh," he stammered, looking around as if she was expecting someone else and not him.

"Please," she said. "You're quite wet."

"Thanks," he said, finally stepping inside. Taking off his gloves, he ran a hand through his sopping hair.

"You've been outside for awhile," she observed.

"Next door-" he said. "There used to be a house-"

"It was torn down," Cassie remarked sadly. "I've heard they'll be building a new one."

"Oh."

"Someone you know?"

"My... um, my grandmother, used to..." he jerked a thumb back in the direction whence he came. "She passed away."

"I'm sorry," Cassie said softly.

"It's alright. Just... memories you know?" The corners around his eyes were tight and tense, and puffy bags made him look weary. He rubbed his forehead, and she caught the glint of his ring with the glint of rain on his skin.

"I do. So," she picked up her guestbook. "One night or two?"

xxx

The next morning she woke up very early, before even her husband was awake, and padded downstairs. Her guest would be up soon, if he wasn't already. She prepared coffee, toast and fruit. A light but nutritious breakfast. A thought occured to her and she rummaged around for the unopened box of granola she'd bought a week ago.

Seconds after the toast popped, he arrived, dressed in rumpled jeans and a Columbia University sweater. "Oh," he said. "I didn't realize-"

"This is a bed and breakfast," Cassie emphasised.

"It's six am."

"I cater to morning people often," She smiled. "Museli?"

"Yeah..." he brightened as she passed him the box to took the milk from the fridge. After a couple bites, he looked up. "Thanks for this," he gestured to the spread around him. "Yesterday was a strange day."

"Oh. How so?"

"I was flying from New York to Seattle... but there was a mechanical issue with the plane, and I ended up in Denver. I couldn't wait for another flight, so I just started driving. I didn't even think about this place, I was just trying to get to Seattle. I ran out of gas a block away from here. From my grandmother's place. Strange, isn't it?"

"It happens sometimes," Cassie said. "Middleton has a way of sucking in strays..."

"Hmm," he smiled lightly. "Say, are there any trails around here? I just need..."

"Quiet?"

His eyes twinkled, sparking with light she hadn't seen before. "Yeah. To think."

"There's a trail around back. Leads to a bridge... a little stream. Great for fly fishing actually. You know, I think I can dig up a rod for you in the garage."

"Really?"

"Not a problem," she said.

xxx

Later, at Bell Book and Candle, Cassie excused herself from one of Martha's dilemmas and looked up just before the door to the store opened. There he was again. But instead of his usual depressed demeanor, he seemed a little more relaxed this time.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Ah," he replied, walking up to her.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked. She noticed his ring was gone.

"I... um, I did, I think."

"Good," Cassie replied.

"Thank you for yesterday. I... wasn't myself."

"You haven't been for a long time," Cassie said.

"No, I don't think I have."

"Hm," she nodded.

"I brought you something," he reached into his pocket and pulled a small ceramic object.

"Oh?"

He set it on the counter, a small figurine. "It's a Shepherd. Something of my Grandmother's. Just... ah something sentimental. Since the house is gone, I wanted to leave something here."

"Oh, thank you. You didn't have to."

"If you could just hang on to it? I think I might like to come back here again."

"Really?"

He shrugged.

"So, what did you find out there in the woods?" Cassie asked.

He smiled ever so slightly. "Hope?"

Eventually, he did come back. Not once, but three more times. Each time he came, he stayed one night, went fishing in the stream, and departed the next morning.

But the last time he arrived... Something was different.

xxx

Derek raised his fist to knock on the door, but it opened before it landed, as he expected. Cassie Nightengale was a mystery he'd resigned himself to leave be.

Cassie stood in the doorway, smiling. "The usual?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "The usual."

"Mm-hmm," she led him to the table and handed him a pen to sign in. "I didn't expect you here so soon," she said.

"I'm uh, just passing through. Had a fight with my wife... just need to cool off."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"It's... no big deal, just a difference of opinion." Derek said flatly, not wanting to make it into a big deal. "It's just going to take some time... for us to work things out."

"Well, I'm sure you will, once you both find out what it is that you want."

He returned an empty smile. What he wanted? To save lives. Change the face of medicine. Apparently Meredith didn't want that. "It's late... I'm going to turn in."

Cassie nodded and gave him the key to his room. He took his shoes off and sat on the bed. Cassie didn't quite believe him, he knew. She didn't know that he'd had a massive fight with Meredith before she practically threw him onto the plane. He just... didn't understand it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that would never come up again. His contributions to the brain-mapping project would affect countless lives and possibly lead to a cure to some of the most devastating trauma and diseases. Like parkinsons, autism and Alzheimer's.

Didn't Meredith see that? There was lots of time for her to make her own mark in medicine. There might even be a chance for them to work together on something. Maybe to even cure her mother's disease. But she was being downright stubborn and refusing to listen. It bothered him. And what was that about him holding her back? He wasn't. He hadn't. If anything, she held him back. Choosing her meant he couldn't be chief. And then there was the Alzheimer's trail and that whole fiasco. The plane crash... He had a chance at Harvard, but they chose to stay home.

Now this.

And for what? Seattle?

Seattle. Granted, he did love Seattle. Strangely, it suited him. He'd grown accustomed to the rain and the laid back atmosphere. He liked his colleagues, his hospital. But it was time to move on. Do something great. Make a true name for himself in the world of Medicine. And once he did that, he could help Meredith too. Imagine the connections he would have, the funding availiable...

It didn't seem like something he could pass up.

But he couldn't help but shake the feeling that he'd failed her once again. Derek sighed. He changed into his sweats and pulled the covers over. Maybe fishing tomorrow would give him some clarity.

xxx

Cassie, his effervescent host, had made him coffee and left out Museli for him when he got up, but strangely, she wasn't there. A note in her fine handwriting said that she was taking her daughter to early morning basketball practice, and she hoped to see him later.

Enjoy the quiet, she said. Hope it feels like home.

Home. He stuffed the note in his pocket and headed out. Cassie had been kind enough to leave fishing supplies by the back door which he took with him. He hiked through the back trail, trying to remember which direction to take again. It had been a little while since he'd been here. After a moment he got his bearings and found the trail to the bridge. Once there, he sat down, dangled his legs over the edge of the bridge and prepared his rod.

After a few hours of listening to the birds, the babbling water and the soft zip-zip-zip of the line as he cast, Derek finally reeled it in for the last time.

It wasn't working. The quiet. He missed teaching. He missed overeager interns tripping over themselves to present him with the next impossible tumor. He missed his wife snoring beside him after a long day of surgery. And Zola climbing into bed with them after a nightmare. He missed Bailey's squeal of greeting when he came home from work.

Derek swallowed thickly. Did choosing his career mean losing everything?

Yet part of him resisted. It wasn't his fault that Meredith didn't want to go with him. He'd found her a job after all. It even paid better than Grey-Sloan and it wouldn't be hard to find the resources she needed.

Why? Why did this have to be so hard? She made it so hard... She always did. Not like Addison. Addison was-

"Ow!" The lure poked his thumb and he quickly stuck it into his mouth. Hissing he pulled it out to take a look. The hook had definitely broken the skin. A drop of blood oozed out. Derek flipped the tacklebox open, and found a band-aid.

Finished, he carefully untied the lure, and put it in the box. No fish today. Maybe if he had a better lure, there might be a chance, but...

Then he remembered something.

He stared down the trail. The old tackle treasure chest. His Dad's lure was in there. Maybe he could try that. If he caught a fish, maybe it would feel like home again.

xxx

It didn't take long to find the old fishing tacklebox. He rummaged through the old keepsakes, sighing. Damn. He missed Meredith. He missed home.

Carefully he plucked the lure out. The old feather worn fly was beautiful in his eyes. He wished he'd taken more time to learn how to make these things...

But underneath it all, something else got his attention. What was this? Derek scooped it up.

A keychain. A very familiar keychain. How had Meredith's keychain gotten here? He didn't remember putting it there. The last thing he put in here was Bailey's ID bracelet from the hospital more than a year ago. And as he last recalled... Meredith's should be in seattle.

Did she know he was here? But how would she know about his tacklebox? No one knew about it. Not even his mother as far as he knew.

What was going on? He didn't know what to do. What should he do? Had she been here? How?

He didn't know. He should call her. But he couldn't. He left his phone at the Grey House.

Derek paced, unsure, until finally an idea occured to him. He pulled out the scrap of paper Cassie had written her note on and flipped it over.

On the back, he began to write a letter.

Later, he drove into town. Somehow he was drawn to Cassie's shop. He stopped and walked inside. He stopped and stared at the trinkets, the candles.

"Hi," Cassie said. "What's wrong?"

He sighed "I don't... I don't know what I want," he said.

She gazed at him softly, as if she saw into his soul. "Sometimes we don't know what we want until we've lost it." She reached over, behind him and pulled something off the shelf. Taking his hand, she placed an object inside.

Derek held it up, staring at it. A Shepherd. His grandmother's Shepherd. "Hmm," he said. Gently, he put it down.

He looked for Cassie, a question on his lips but she was gone.

And then his phone rang. The NIH. It was time to go.

xxx

Now:

They were all crammed in the cave. Cassie smiled, watching Carolyn's tears as she clutched the old sentimental objects.

"Well," Carolyn clutched the long "This is..." She shook her head, "Truly remarkable."

"I love you Care, I always will."

"I know."

"I found something else," Cassie said. "But it's stuck. Can I borrow your flashlight?"

"What is it?" Carolyn followed her deeper in the cave.

Cassie shone the light to show a large crevice in the ground. Something glinted. She leaned over to get a better look. There, jammed on it's side, was worn metal box with a handle.

"My tacklebox," Chris said. "How did it get here?"

"Help me," Cassie tugged.

It took several minutes and nearly the three of them to pull it out. Finally, it popped out of the crack. Gingerly Cassie opened it... Just like the last box, it was full of odd bits and pieces of a full life.

"Oh dear Lord!" Carolyn exclaimed, slamming the box shut. "It's Dereks!" But even as she said that... A sudden glow erupted from the crevice.

Cassie sighed as a familiar feeling caused her belly to tingle. It was time.

Time to go home.

A/N: I know how to end this story... Whew! Love you all! Please Review! And check out Out of Body next!