The elevator door dinged, announcing its arrival at the floor before the doors opened to reveal its occupants. Derek snapped his head up from the chart resting on the nurse's station, only to be disappointed yet again. A number of young, nervous doctors stumbled off together, travelling as if in a flock towards the intern locker room. He sighed, turning his attention back to his chart. He had been in for over an hour, and had already rounded on his patients. He was just making notes on his only scheduled surgery for the day.

The elevator dinged again, and again Derek lurched his attention towards it. A very determined Dr. Bailey stepped off, striding across the floor.

"Morning, Dr. Shepherd," she said as she passed him, barely slowing.

"Dr. Bailey," he greeted, although doubted she had heard him. Ever since she had been passed over for Chief Resident, the Nazi had been back in action. Cold, demanding, always on the run. She wasn't going to let anyone or anything get in her way. Derek shook his head, feeling bad or her. She had to be hurt and embarrassed. She had obviously expected the job and, in his mind, she deserved it.

Another ding and another elevator load of people who weren't Meredith filed past him. Her flight home the night before had been delayed. She was supposed to have landed over an hour ago, giving her and Cristina just enough time to go home, drop off their bags and head to the hospital. But they hadn't shown up yet. He checked his cell for missed calls, even though he knew he wouldn't have any. He had been paying extra attention to listen for his ring tone. He hadn't seen her in two weeks, you'd think an extra couple hours wouldn't make that big a difference. But he was dying to see her, to hug her, to kiss her. It had been too long.

He had spent the last week buried in paperwork, catching up on ever last thing he could possibly do. He had barely left the hospital, returning home late every night and leaving early every morning. Alex had gone away for his two weeks off, returning the day before, obviously unhappy. And Izzy...well Derek wasn't sure what was wrong with his girlfriend's roommate. She had been basically alone for two weeks, save for his presence in the house, and had done more baking then he had thought possible. She was obviously depressed and upset, and yet he still couldn't bring himself to ask her what was wrong, to attempt to comfort her. He still didn't know where he stood in her life. So, his solution on trying to help her had been accepting her offers on baked goods. Her many, many offers.

He had had more muffins and cookies and cupcakes in the last week than he had probably ever had in his life. And although he had to admit they were delicious, he had a limit. He felt like he had gained ten pounds. But he couldn't say no. After giving in to her sad face one day when he was feeling vulnerable, he couldn't refuse her. And it seemed to make her happy, having someone to bake for. He needed Meredith back to act as a buffer. He needed her.

He felt a presence beside him and turned to find George staring hesitantly at him.

"Dr. O'Malley, what can I do for you?"

George stumbled slightly before speaking. "Dr. Shepherd, have you seen Dr. Grey?"

Derek raised an eyebrow at the younger doctor's formal tone, but said nothing to mention it. "No, I haven't. She and Dr. Yang should be here any moment. Their flight was delayed." He offered as explanation.

George looked disappointed. "Oh, okay, thank-you. Will you just...tell her I really need to talk to her?"

"Of course," he said, and then inwardly sighed. "Is everything okay?" He asked in a much less formal voice.

The younger man hesitated. "Yeah, everything's fine," he said flatly. "I just...well...Meredith is my resident."

"Your resident?" Derek asked, confused, before realization dawned. He hadn't actually read the list of interns who would be continuing as residents. "Oh." He stated.

George nodded. "Yeah, and I don't think she knows. And I just need her to treat me like..." He trailed off.

"Like an intern." Derek supplied.

"Yeah."

He nodded. "I'll let her know when I see her."

"Thank-you." And George was gone.

Derek shook his head at the mess that had become of Meredith's friends while she had been gone. Alex was brooding, Izzy was depressed, and George was starting over. He sighed, wondering how much of her attention would need to be allotted to her friends, especially adding in the fact that he had no idea how Cristina was faring. He felt horrible for being so selfish in his thoughts, but he just needed to see her. It had been too long. And not thinking about things, and staying as busy as possible were starting to break down. He was failing.

He hadn't even heard her voice in fifteen days. She had sent him three postcards, all of which were pinned up in his office, and a few short e-mails when she managed to find some internet access. He loved her for trying, for staying in touch, but he needed to hear her voice. Her first e-mail had announced that her cell phone did not work in Hawaii, and something about the hygienic deficits associated with the public phones at the resort.

Derek was so engrossed in his thoughts, and pretending to read his chart, that he didn't even notice the familiar presence standing beside him until it bumped his hip.

000

Meredith ran up the stairs on Cristina's heels, arriving at the floor with barely minutes to spare. They're plane had been so late leaving, stranding them in the airport for most of the night. Then, they had been unable to get a cab right away, forced to stand in line and wait, making Meredith regret turning down Derek's offer to pick them up. Once home, they had spent as little time as possible getting changed and ready to go. She had been amused to notice that Derek had done the laundry she had left strewn across her bedroom, and it was obvious he had resided in her room while she had been gone. She had changed into an extra pair of scrubs she had come home in once and had never taken back, grabbed her pager and name card from their position on her dresser, Derek again, and had met Cristina at the door. Cristina had driven, and Meredith was pretty sure they had broken every speeding law on the way to the hospital. She didn't know for sure however, because her eyes had been closed for most of the drive.

As they ran through the front doors of Seattle Grace, a mass of people were already waiting to board the elevators, so when Cristina had made a beeline for the stairs, Meredith hadn't hesitated. They reached their floor and pushed through the door. Meredith was exhausted. Spending most of the evening in the airport hadn't been restful, and she hated sleeping on planes. And after the stress of getting to the hospital on time began to fade, she suddenly realized the hard part was barley over. She had four new interns to her responsibility, and a thirty-six hour shift to work. Although she had been upset at the news that the first intern shift this cohort was only thirty-six hours, she was now grateful. She couldn't handle forty-eight right now.

Cristina ran ahead to their new locker room, but Meredith slowed, recognizing a familiar figure leaning over the nurse's station. She would recognize that hair anywhere. She smiled, her fatigue instantly fading as she stepped up beside him, gently nudging him with her hip when he failed to notice her presence.

He turned towards her immediately, a light smile playing across his face.

"Hey," she said brightly, her smile matching her tone.

"Welcome home." And he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight.

She returned the gesture, not caring about the fact that they were in the middle of a crowded hospital floor, where she was about to meet her interns. "I missed you," she whispered into the hug, and it wasn't a lie. His arms tightened around her and she smiled as a kiss landed on her shoulder. He turned his head slightly in her grip, breathing deep and she knew he was smelling her hair, taking in the lavender scent of her conditioner. There was a pause and then he let her go.

"I didn't think you were going to get here on time."

She smiled. "Me either. The plane was so late, and then we couldn't get a cab..."

He laughed, his head tilting just so as he fixed his attention so completely on her that it nearly took her breath away. Hints of the McDreamy smile played on his lips.

"What?" She asked, suddenly self-conscious.

He shook his head. "Nothing, I'm just glad to see you."

She smiled back at him, fully taking in his expression, recognizing a look in his eyes as the one that had been plaguing him before she had left. She reached and took his hand in hers, squeezing it tight. She had hoped he had been okay while she was gone, hoped things weren't as bad as she had feared. But he still looked pained. She stopped herself from questioning it, knowing that topic would have to wait for another time. She settled for staring into his deep, crystal blue eyes for several moments, losing herself as the surrounding hospital commotion faded into the background. All she could see was him, and suddenly her throat was dry and her heart rate was increasing. She had forgotten the intensity of the effect this man held over her. "I love you," she whispered with the sudden urgent need to say it. Funny how two weeks without saying it had become far too long in such a short period of time.

His modified McDreamy look immediately became full-fledged. "I love you, too."

"Ahh, only back a few minutes and already making goo goo eyes at her McDreamy," a familiar sarcastic tone tore through their moment together as Cristina appeared beside them, shoving a white bundle into Meredith's arms.

Meredith sighed, taking her lab coat from Cristina. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Okay, I'm off to meet my slaves," Cristina stated as she turned on her heels and headed down the hall towards the locker room.

Meredith shook her head.

"She seems to be doing okay?" Derek said, with a hint of a question.

She nodded. "Yeah, I think so. She was really distant for a few days, you know, refusing to talk, refusing to admit anything was wrong."

Derek smirked. "I know someone just like that..." He said, pretending to think.

She huffed and smacked him lightly on the arm. "Hey! I'm changing, or growing, or whatever." She mock glared at him before breaking into a smile. "Anyway, it took her a couple days to break down, and we talked and then she seemed...better. Not perfect, but pretty good."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"Especially good, cause you're going to have your hands full dealing with some things here," he warned.

Her eyes snapped to his at his words, concern flooding her mind. "What?" She asked. "Why? Is everything okay? Are you okay?" She had thought he would be okay, that he would be able to wait a few weeks. He had convinced her it wasn't that serious, but for him to flat out admit that something was wrong, right in the middle of the hospital, right now...

But he was shaking his head. "Not me, Meredith. Don't worry, I'm okay."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, sorry. I just thought after... well I wasn't sure..."

He smiled, squeezing her hand. "I'm fine, Meredith." He repeated.

"Then what...?"

He sighed. "Something's wrong with Izzy," he started. "She's been baking non-stop since you left. Seriously, I've gained like twenty pounds," he laughed.

She was surprised. "You ate Izzy's baking?"

He nodded. "I couldn't help it. There was no one else there and she looked so sad..."

Meredith laughed at the thought. Derek, the health nut, not being able to say no to her roommate.

"So, anyway, Izzy is depressed, and Alex is brooding over something. He came home yesterday, barely spoke at all. And George..." he looked around, eyes searching for the young surgeon. He knew George wouldn't have time to find her now.

"George failed his exam," he whispered.

"What? No. He said he passed." Meredith exclaimed, unable to believe it. "Oh, my god, what does that mean? Is he even here? Is he coming back?"

"He's repeating his year, and he's your intern."

Meredith felt her lower jaw drop. "What? He can't be my intern. I can't be his...his resident. Who's bright idea was that?"

He smiled at her, shaking his head. "I don't know, and I just heard. George tried to find you before his shift. He wanted to tell you to treat him like any other intern."

Meredith took in his words and nodded. "Yeah, I ...okay."

"Oh, and Bailey is back to being the Nazi. She got passed over for Chief Resident. Did you know that? Webber gave it to Torres."

"Nope, didn't know that either. I swear, you leave for two weeks..."She rolled her eyes. "And let me guess, Webber gave Chief to Mark?" She said sarcastically.

Derek laughed aloud at this. "Actually," he said. "The Chief decided to stay."

"He's staying? After all that, making you guys jump through hoops, he's staying?"

Derek nodded, realizing he still hadn't told her about the Chief thing.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, actually. But it's good news. Well, not good news. I mean it is good news, but saying so makes me sound like an ass so..."

"Derek," Meredith prompted. "You're starting to sound like me."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Addison's gone."

Meredith looked at him in surprise. "Gone?"

He smiled. "She took a job in LA. Left last week. She's gone."

Meredith felt a weight she didn't even know she had been carrying lift off her shoulders at his words. She had nothing against Addison anymore, hell, she actually kind of liked the woman, and she hadn't feared Derek would suddenly change his mind, but the fact that she was gone... The fact that she no longer felt the pressure to live up to the woman's image... Meredith smiled. "Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah," he met her eyes.

"Yeah."

And suddenly he was dropping her hand and backing away. She looked at him confused, but he motioned towards the hallway, and she spotted three unknown interns and George, walking her way. She sighed and quickly donned her lab coat. "Wish me luck," she muttered.

Derek laughed good naturedly. "You'll do fine."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, and Derek? Even if I have to deal with every one of my friends freaking out about something this week, you still come first. And we have a talk to finish."

He regarded her for a second, before nodding. A level of apprehension seemed to dissipate from his eyes. "Okay."

"Okay." Her interns were close. "Thank-you, Dr. Shepherd."

He nodded his head. "Dr. Grey." And he picked up his chart, striding away from the desk.

She regarded the four doctors in front of her, trying not to focus her attention on George's pleading face. She nodded discreetly at him, as if to reassure him that she had spoken with Derek. She took a moment to consider each intern individually before speaking.

"I have five rules, memorize them."

AN: My chapters seem to be getting longer and longer... This is the longest one yet, and the next one, already written btw, is a good 400 words longer. Lol. Apparently I have too much to say. I'm supposed to be focusing on school, and yet keep going on writing binges.