Author's Note:Sorry I haven't updated and such. Anyway I don't know when this will be complete. But for those DM lovers… it will be DM. So yeah. Enjoy the story. This chapter brings Derek and Meredith together. Oh and Meredith's mother had the surgery and was discharged. Wow… I need to work on my closure.

Meredith looked at Derek sitting on the bench outside the hospital. He stared off into the distance as she took the seat next to him.

"Hey."

He glanced at her with his heart-melting smile, "Hey yourself."

"So how are you? I haven't talk to you in a while so…"

"I'm alright. What about you?"

Meredith paused for a moment. It was now or never.

"Derek… I love you. Not in the platonic way but in the I'll-hold-a-stereo-outside-your-window-in-the-middle-of-the-night way. I love you so much that I want to grow old with you so we can be… old, wrinkly, and maybe even crusty together."

He laughed. Meredith looked at him.

"What?"

"Wrinkly and crusty."

He continued to laugh. She loved his laugh. It was so... she couldn't even describe it.

"What?"

"I see you're not drunk anymore."

"About that… you know tequila makes you do crazy things…like the night we met."

"That was a good night."

"You know Derek… there's something I don't get."

"What is it Mer?"

"Why this happened. I mean it's more than coincidence that we ended up working at the same hospital and you being my boss."

"I don't know."

Meredith stared at his eyes. She could never really tell what color they were or what they said but what was important to her was that she saw everything in his eyes. His personality and humor.

"How did you put upwith me all this time?"

"You're pretty flexible."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are…"

He looked at her from her head to her knees.

"…physically and mentally."

Meredith shook her head. Is this really what love was like? Playful banter and wonder? It is was… something she couldn't really describe.

"Derek… do you want to… give this another try?"

"I would like that."

Meredith stared down at the concrete. She thought long and hard. What am I going to do next? Meredith reached into her pocket and felt the spare key.

"Derek, when are you off?"

As if on cue his pager rang.

"ER consult. Maybe an hour… or two. Longer if the patient needs surgery."

"Drop by my place."

"But Mer… it's 10. You'll be asleep."

He started to walked off.

"Derek!"
He turned and looked at her.

"Let yourself in with this."

Meredith tossed him the spare key.

Derek caught it. He glanced at the key and back at Meredith.

"Where you in baseball or something? You got pretty good skills."

"Thanks Mer."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Later..."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They looked into each other's eyes. After what seemed as forever, Derek spoke,

"I should go to the consult."

"You should."

They both walked off. When Meredith reached her car, she leaned against it. Hopefully this was real.

Yeah… it's pretty short. Oh well… there's the MeredithDerek reunion. Next chapter will be up when I get a chance.

--leaning against the mother tree