Chapter 8: Promise Me

Flashback- 1993

It had been a week since Derek told Meredith about his ex. At this point, Cristina and Alex were getting really concerned about Meredith. Since that afternoon, when Meredith came running in the house, she hadn't left her bedroom, she wasn't eating. By the end of the week, they didn't know what else to do, they knew that there was only one person, they could turn too, but it was the one person that had broke her. Alex agreed to go over to the Shepherd's but when he arrived, he was shocked to see the state of Derek. He actually looked worse than Meredith did, Derek was sat looking out over the water, the same place that he sat for hours. Alex came and sat down beside him.

"Derek…" Derek looks over to him. Alex was shocked to see how bad he looked with his red rimmed eyes, his unruly curls, and that he hadn't shaved in a week

"Alex, how is she?" Derek asked, sounding so broken that it almost broke Alex's heart. Alex wanted to call him out for hurting Meredith but sat next to him. He saw that he never had too, Derek was punishing himself.

"Considering that she hasn't left her room for a week, she looks better than you." Derek chuckles lightly.

"I didn't mean to hurt her; I love her Alex!"

"Derek, can I ask what happened?"

"Hasn't Mer told you?"

"Meredith hasn't spoken to any of us in a week, other than to tell us to go away"

"Alex, I am so sorry"

"I can see that Derek, now what happened?"

"You know I went to New York, last weekend," Alex nodded his head, "well, my ex-girlfriend told me she was pregnant"

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Are you getting back...?" Alex wondered, maybe that was why Meredith was so upset, but looking at Derek, he knew that it wasn't that.

"God, no, but I had to tell Mer…" Both Derek and Alex sat there just staring at the water.

"Derek, the reason i came over, was we don't know what to do, maybe you can..."

"She doesn't want to see me" Derek says mournfully, tears prickling at his eyes.

"Derek, she misses you! Look I wasn't going to tell you this, but she keeps having nightmares, nightmares about her father. She hasn't had any of them in over a year, she keeps calling out for you. Cris or I can't help her. Please just try!" Alex pleads with him.

"Okay, but I am not making any promises."

"Just try, Derek that is all we ask!" Derek and Alex, stand up, and Derek walks towards the Grey's place. They walk in through the kitchen door. Alex leaves Derek to walk up the stairs toward Meredith's room. He saw Cristina stood outside Mer's bedroom, pleading with Mer to let her in, when Cris sees Derek stood there, she gives him an evil look.

"You look like crap!" Cris spat at him.

"Thank you Cris."

"I wasn't being nice, I told you not to hurt her Shepherd."

"Cristina, this is between me and Meredith"

"Shepherd, she hasn't left her room in over a week. I have never seen her like this, you ruined her. Now, it's your job to put her back together!" Cristina said, before walking off, leaving Derek standing in front of Meredith's room. Meredith locked herself in. Derek still tried the door, and it was locked, he knocked on the door, but knew that she wouldn't answer.

"Meredith!" he said gently through the door.

"Go away!" he heard her say.

"Meredith, please open the door…"

"Leave me alone!"

"Meredith, I am not going anywhere"

"I don't care!"

"Okay, I will sit out here until you come out…" Derek said, sitting with his back against the door. He sat there in silence for about an hour with his face buried in his hands. He could hear movement in the room and can feel her sitting on the other side of the door, Derek turns slightly so that he can rest his head, and his hand against the door.

"Meredith, I am so sorry" Derek says quietly, he waits for her to say something, but she doesn't. Meredith rests her hand against the door, feeling the heat from Derek's body.

"Mer!" Meredith closes her eyes, remembering how the shortened sound of her name, rolled off his tongue.

"Derek" she whispers so quietly, that Derek only just hears her.

"Meredith don't do this baby, please. Don't hide away. Alex and Cristina are worried about you, so am I."

"How long has it been?"

"How long has what been?"

"Since you told me you loved me…" he can hear her sobbing through the door, all he wants to do is break the door down, gather her in his arms, and take the pain away, but he can't, knowing that he caused it.

"A week."

"I miss you…"

"I miss you too…"

"Derek, I want this pain to go away!"

"I want to take it away Meredith, but I don't know how…"

"Are you going back to her?"

"Oh god, no Mer... I want to be there if the baby is mine, but it is you that I love."

"Summer is almost over" Meredith says so sadly, that it breaks Derek's heart, knowing in those few words, that when summer is over, so will they.

"It doesn't have to be over, not for us, we can find a way!"

"Derek...promise me one thing…"

"Sure...anything!"

"That once the summer is over, that you will never forget me!"

"Meredith, don't..."

"Derek, I know you never meant to hurt me, but you are going to be a father. I can't take that away from you."

"Meredith..."

"I love you, Derek, I do, I love you enough to walk away, but you have to promise me that at summers end you will let me go."

"If that's what you want Meredith"

"It is...you promise?" she asked, Derek sit there quietly, has his world comes crashing down around him. "Derek…" Mer says, sounding so unsure of herself.

"Yeah, I promise." Derek would at that point promise her anything if it would get her to talk to him. He had spent the last week without her, and that had all but killed him. He wasn't willing to let her go. He would try and convince her not to give up on them.

Derek heard the door unlock, and for the first time in a week he set eyes on the woman that he loved more than anything. She was dressed in a pair of his sweats, and her Dartmouth tee, her hair was messy, her eyes red, and puffy from all the tears, but she had never looked so beautiful to him. Derek stepped inside the bedroom, pulled her into his arm, and captured her lips with his. The kiss started off so tender, a kiss that was felt with so much longing, forgiveness, a kiss that was filled with bittersweet memories but filled with love, but one that would last a lifetime.