a/n: This chapter contains the quote from Derek in the story summary, so be on the lookout for that ;)

If you can, I suggest reading this with 'You're somebody Else' by Flora Cash playing.

You're Somebody Else:

I saw the part of you

That only when you're older you will see too

You will see too

I held the better cards

But every stroke of luck has got a bleed through

It's got a bleed through

You held the balance of the time

That only blindly I could read you

But I could read you

It's like you told me

Go forward slowly

It's not a race to the end

Well you look like yourself

But you're somebody else

Only it ain't on the surface

Well you talk like yourself

No, I hear someone else though

Now you're making me nervous

You were the better part

Of every bit of beating heart that I had

Whatever I had

...

She saw Derek head into the on-call room earlier. It had been a few weeks since their last conversation. Derek had given her a lot of space. She thinks a lot but she'll never share her thoughts, but Derek made her want to spill everything to him. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you. and I'll be ready to listen whenever you are. She makes small talk with her coworkers but it was impossible to make small talk with Derek. He's persistent. He cared enough to want to know her. He made her feel like she is… something.

Anyway, she knew he was still in the on-call because his name wasn't on the surgical board until later in the afternoon. Meredith took a deep breath.

The door handle felt colder than usual, probably because her palms were sweaty from her nervousness.

Derek was sitting on the edge of the bed. His gaze directed up by the sound of the door opening and closing. He saw Meredith's frame over the glimmer of light that came from under the door. "Meredith?"

"Were you going to sleep? Am I interrupting?" she squeezes her hand together tightly.

"No, I woke up a while ago."

"Okay good because I want to tell you." Pause.

The silence extended and it was too awkward to not fill the suspense.

"When I met you at the airport... my mother died and I hate that woman. She ruined me. I'm broken, Derek. So broken. Every day, a dark cloud hovers above me, blocking every ray of sunshine. And then you came and gave me your jacket."

He rubbed his eyes. More silence.

"I don't know how much it affected me but that day when you offered me the jacket, it gave me a little bit of hope because of all the people I lost, Derek, I miss myself the most."

He still didn't say anything.

"Meredith I-" He thinks for the right choice of words, "I just woke up. Let me find the right words."

She sees him looking at her, completely mesmerized. That look felt foreign to her. She became flustered. "You know what? I think I forgot to answer a page from earlier," she turns for the door, "I'll just-"

"Wait." With the same look on his face from earlier, he continues: "It's... the way you smile, in the few times you do. Your hair: is so vibrant, it's glowing. That day we met at the airport, I couldn't get over how adorable you were, and I still can't."

He takes a breath. "You're beautiful. One day, you'll see it too, Meredith. You… intrigue me. I've never met anyone like you. I want to know you. I want this."

There was a pause before she spoke up. "I don't- I'm scared."

"It's okay. I'm scared too. But it doesn't mean-" he stands and steps closer to her.

Everyone in her life came and left.

"No Derek. I'm scared because this has never happened to me. No one has wanted me before. if they did, no one had stayed. I don't know where to start or how this is going to end. You've been married and you know how to do this. If you leave, you'll know how to go from there. I won't. I won't because if I let my guard down and let you have what's left of me, there won't be enough pieces of me to pick up what you break."

"Mer…" He felt his heartstrings tug. "I've only known you for a few months. And every day I see you at work, you're a mystery. I see an exceptional surgeon who cares deeply for her patients. I see someone who would give up everything so her patient could see another sunrise. I can't imagine what you had to go through to have this much love to give but so little for yourself. Look, I don't know where this is going to take us. I'm scared because I'm afraid I might do something stupid and fuck things up. But I'm more scared of what I'm going to miss out on if I- if we- don't take this leap of faith. We don't have to be anything right now. I just want to know you. And we can go from there."

"I'm damaged, Derek."

"I'll be gentle."

"I'm dark and twisty," she rebutted

"I'll be your bright and shiny," he reassured.

"What if I'm not that hot girl you hoped for?"

"What if you are?"

"What if…" she stops when he reaches toward her.

He stands up. Both his arms extend and his palms facing the ceiling. His hands invite hers. "We could go on and on about the 'what ifs.' Meredith, I don't want to wonder about the 'what ifs' when I can get to know 'what is.'"

His words are moving. His eyes are passionate. His hands left unattended. He watches her run a million little things in her brain. She's cute when she's thinking hard.

All her life. People came and left. What makes Derek Shepherd any different? He'd only been in Seattle for a couple of months. But he's cared more than any of her coworkers. He's hot; he's dreamy; he's literally perfect. But he wants her, of all people. Derek Shepherd. The stranger who gave his jacket to help someone. The guy that is one of the greatest neurosurgeons around. The man that wants to be a part of her life. What does she have to lose? Absolutely nothing because she doesn't expect anything out of her life. Except that means everything because she couldn't handle losing herself another time. What if versus what is. Leap of faith.

The silence was worth waiting for when the gap separating them filled as her hands joined his. "Okay." She took a deep breath and bit her lip. "You and me, Derek. Leap of faith.

a/n: Up next is the epilogue… I know- but it fits great in tying this story together!