A/N: So, we all know that Derek can play the guitar, and apparently sing... I thought I would have a little fun with it. ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Grey's Anatomy.

Enjoy!

Derek smiled as he set down his guitar case to the side of the stage, letting the band do their thing before they started their set. He was always here every other Tuesday night, it had sort of become a tradition of his. Tuesday was almost always a training day so in the evening he would come in, play a song with the band, maybe do one himself and spend the rest of the night here at Diamond City Bar. It wasn't the place he usually hung out everyone normally went to Joe's, but out of the two, this was the only place with live music.

The owner was Irish and Derek supposed that his own unique twist had been swirled into the mix at some point and it had stuck, it was only small things that pointed it out but if you knew, you could see it. The second he had walked through the door with a slight squeak, the owner, a forty-something, big bellied, enthusiastic man named Callum had called out his Irish roots immediately. It had taken him off guard at first, but after spending more time here he had got to know Callum a little better and somehow, he found himself getting up on stage and singing songs every so often until it turned into a habit.

Ever since he'd been young, he had loved music, his dad owned a music store and he would play anything and everything he could find in that place. As he grew up, he got less and less time to do stuff like that and eventually guitar was the only thing that stuck. But he loved it. Cricket was his passion of course, but people had hobbies. For some that would involve something like playing in a casual cricket side or Sunday football side for a few laughs. But the sport was his profession so he didn't really think that would work exactly. And drinking at a bar didn't count, so he had picked up a guitar again after years of leaving it in the corner of his bedroom and he fell in love with it all over again, so he was only too happy to do this sort of thing.

Training had been an intense half day so he had had a bit of time to recover beforehand, but this was his time to unwind. It might also get his mind off the fact that a certain blonde hadn't called him. He didn't dare add a 'yet' at the end of that sentence.

"Ready for tonight Derek?" Callum asked, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Definitely," Derek smiled.

"Whatcha going to play for us then?"

"She will be loved. It's a classic; you can't go wrong," he replied.

"Trying to catch the eye of anyone?" Callum asked, eyebrows raised.

"No," Derek chuckled, "just a good piece of music."

"I can't argue with that, my Freya loves that song," the older man agreed.

Derek grinned at him before the band guys called him up.

"I guess that's me."

"Knock 'em dead kid," Callum smiled.

Derek hopped up onto the stage and took the guitar out of his case, tuning it quickly, the way his father had taught him, and turned around to face the rest of the bar. Some were looking on expectantly, some seemed to have slowed their conversations while others continued regardless. He didn't need everyone's attention to do this, he enjoyed it as it was.

xxxxx

After a gruelling shift, Meredith couldn't decide if going out for a meal was the best or worst idea given the fact that she could barely stand up but was also starving. Unfortunately, it was normal to be this tired after a night shift, it wasn't like she could possibly get more than three hours sleep anyway. But regardless, she had showered, dressed up, and made her way to Diamond City Bar a few minutes early to squeeze in a quick drink before Charlie got here.

She opened the door to the bar but the squeak it normally made went unnoticed as she heard a beautiful voice from inside, one that she felt was vaguely familiar but couldn't quite place. She made her way further into the bar and sat down at a barstool that would allow her to face the stage, and when she saw who it was, her eyes bulged. There, right in front of her, was none other than Derek, the man she had effectively blown off by not calling him or making any move to get in contact with him whatsoever. The band behind him was silent while he stood in front of the mic with a guitar strapped over his shoulder and singing in a way that Meredith couldn't even begin to describe.

The acoustic guitar swallowed most of his thin physique and she watched with wonderment as his delicate fingers danced over the frets, the strings vibrating to match his angelic voice. It was… well, it was beautiful. And a musical trait was something she had never thought about attributing to him. But as the lyrics she recognised as She Will Be Loved flowed out of his mouth, she thought that she could easily sit and listen for as long as he would let her.

The soul in his voice was so astounding that the breath was involuntarily knocked out of her and she almost felt her eyes widen as he launched into the chorus that she knew off by heart. Say what you wanted about Meredith Grey, but she had her soft side, she thought to herself. Before she could register anything else about this man's stupidly talented singing, he spotted her and started grinning, maintaining eye contact with her as he continued. She found herself powerless to do anything but watch and wait until he finished, the applause almost drowning out the thank you he spoke into the mic before he put the guitar down and started walking towards her, never breaking eye contact. He slipped onto the stool next to her and slouched into a comfortable position, resting his head on his fist.

"I didn't know you played guitar," she said quietly, a small smile on her face.

"Ah, there's a lot of things you don't know," he smirked.

"Looks that way. But you know, I still think Maroon 5's version is better," she replied.

"Well clearly you don't know good singing when you hear it," he retorted.

"What, so you're a world famous singer now?" she giggled.

"I might be a world famous something and you just don't know it," he smirked, knowing full well that he was a world famous something.

"I doubt that," she smirked back.

"You do? Why?" he asked with a chuckle, intrigued.

"I don't know. You just don't give off that vibe," she gesticulated.

"That vibe?" he laughed.

"Yeah… It's hard to explain," she smiled.

"Well what do you think I do for a living then?" he asked, leaning forwards on the bar top.

She assessed him, as if some distinguishing feature would tell her.

"You're some sort of manager," she concluded.

"That's very vague and not at all accurate," he laughed.

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Maybe you would find out if you had called me. Then you would get to know me," he shrugged, leaning back, full of confidence.

"And why do I need to get to know you?" she giggled.

"Because I'm someone you need to get to know to love," he smiled.

"So if I know you I'll love you?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"Oh yes," he grinned.

"Well you do play guitar, that's a point in favour," she giggled.

"Duly noted, I'll just follow you around with it," he said, before he cringed.

"That was creepy."

"Just a bit," she laughed.

"Well I won't follow you. But you should call," he replied, smiling again.

"I can't," she said regretfully, looking down at her glass.

"Why not?"

At that moment, a blond man appeared from behind Derek's line of vision and kissed Meredith on the cheek.

"That's why," he sighed, nodding in understanding to Meredith's somewhat sympathetic gaze.

"What?" the man said, as if only just noticing him.

"Hi, I'm Derek Shepherd, it's nice to meet you," he said politely, sticking out a hand for him to shake.

"Charlie Myers," the man replied, shaking his hand.

Derek inspected him, looking for anything that would show why the girl in front of him would be attracted to him; the man was about equal height to Meredith, his blond hair was trimmed but seemed a little outdated in a way he couldn't describe and was dressed in a suit that looked one size too big. He was really failing to come up with anything. He guessed that was a good thing, all things considered.

"You ready Mer?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," she said as she stood up.

"Derek, maybe I'll see you around?" she asked, a tinge of hope in her voice.

"Every other Tuesday I'll be right here, just for when you come to your senses," he grinned, giving her a subtle wink.

He watched her grin at him and turn away, heading out the door, on another man's arm.

xxxxx

Meredith walked arm in arm to the restaurant Charlie had made reservations at, the sky dark.

"Who was that guy?" Charlie asked.

"Oh," Meredith said, caught off guard, "he's just a friend."

"How do you know him?" he enquired.

"He's a musician. He was singing a song before you came in and he spotted me and came to say hi," Meredith replied.

It was just a little white lie, she still didn't know what Derek did for a living, but it wasn't a complete fib. He was a musician, at least partly, I mean, there was no way he could be that good if that was his first time picking up a guitar.

"That's cool, what did he play?" her boyfriend continued.

Meredith thought he was far too invested on this, like she was being tested or something but she figured she was being paranoid.

"She will be loved," she smiled.

"That Maroon 5 song? It's alright I guess, don't you hate that sort of thing though," Charlie laughed.

"Yeah," Meredith replied, choosing to refrain from telling him that it was in fact one of her favourite songs. Sure, it wasn't the normal thing she would listen to, but she was allowed to like other genres of music. Not many people knew she liked it in all fairness, Cristina and Alex did out of sheer chance. But she also knew that she had told Charlie she loved it a while ago when he had asked, and it was a small detail that she couldn't expect him to remember, but the fact that it didn't even ring a bell for him made her feel…something. She knew she was being irrational; it was a stupid thing to be able to remember anyway. She shrugged it off and realised they had made it to the restaurant.

"I figured given the crazy long shift you wouldn't say no to a steak," he smiled.

"You would be right," she grinned, her faith in him restored as they entered the restaurant.

xxxxx

He groaned when the door finally shut on them and dropped his head into his hands. He was such an idiot. Of course she was taken. Of course she fucking was. He knew her for all of five minutes in total and he was already crazy about her, who wouldn't be? But he guessed that was partly on him, it was downright psychotic to like someone that much after two short encounters, but he couldn't help but want to get to know her. He knew nothing about her apart from the fact that she was a surgeon and had at least two friends, it wasn't a whole lot to go on, he didn't even have a last name. He was just being stupid anyway; he probably wouldn't see her that much, if at all. Even then she was still in a relationship with some guy, maybe they could just be friends. He'd at least like to get to know her a little better, where was the harm in that?

He let out a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face. He needed a drink. He ordered a scotch from Callum and it was placed in front of him in lightning speed.

"Thanks Cal," he said, taking a large sip of the golden liquid.

"You sure you weren't trying to impress someone up there?" he smirked.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked, confusion drawing his eyebrows together.

"That cute blonde you couldn't stop staring at. You know some of the girls only come in here on Tuesdays? I think they're a little upset now," Callum laughed, "some guys too."

"I wasn't staring at her," he denied.

"Come on Shep, the second she sat down she was the only thing you were looking at."

"Well it wasn't intentional. Besides, she's got a boyfriend," he grumbled.

"That's too bad, I think the two of you would be cute together."

"You don't even know her," Derek replied.

"Well no. But have you ever played that game where you match up two strangers?"

"No," Derek replied, his brow knitting further together.

"As a bartender it's pretty easy to do. You can tell when two strangers like each other. They'll look at each other but look away when they think the other one is looking. Sometimes one of them works up the courage to talk to the other, and sometimes they don't."

"Meredith doesn't like me, she can't like me. She has a boyfriend," he reiterated glumly.

"And?"

"Are you suggesting I make her a cheater?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No of course not. I'm just saying, love always finds a way," Callum nodded before he walked away to tend to another customer.

Callum was just like his dad and himself; a hopeless romantic. But that wasn't going to help him. And who said he was going to fall in love with her? That hadn't even crossed his mind, she was just stunning in a way he had never seen before and her eyes did this thing where he was sure they could see into his soul. He groaned again; now he was just even more confused.