I am SOOO incredibly sorry how long this took. I wrote the chapter, and then sent it to my soundboards (love you Alexx && Jillian) and they confirmed my suspicions of it being WAY too boring. So I rewrote it, and hopefully it's better than before.

Oh, and I realized I forgot my disclaimer on the last two chapters, so here it is.

I don't own anything. I wish I did… but unfortunately I don't.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all your reviews! Sorry about the continuity thing… the explanation will be coming up the next chapter or the one after it. Not sure yet. Oh yes, and sorry this chapter is so short, but I've got a history study guide due tomorrow. I promise I'll try and make them longer after this though!

"Sir, do you have any metal objects on you?" the security guard asked boredly.

Derek tossed his keys at him before going through the detector again. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he passed through without the incessantly annoying beep of death following him. He ran down the terminal to the gate and arrived breathless.

"This is the last boarding call for flight 102 from New York City, New York to Seattle Washington."

He handed his boarding pass to the attendant and rushed through the jet bridge. He squeezed down the aisle and finally sat down in his seat. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and shut his eyes. He drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Derek woke up with a start when the plan bumped as it touched down on the asphalt. He glanced out the window and noticed that day was just breaking.

'Please don't have woken up. Please, please, PLEASE let me make it there before she wakes up.'

As the plane rolled to a stop, Derek jumped up and grabbed his bag. He exited the plane and ran through the airport.

'Cab. I need a cab. Where the fuck are all the cabs?'

A blue cab pulled up and Derek practically threw himself at it, jumping into the backseat.

"Seattle Grace Hospital. As fast as you can please."

'This isn't New York. Cabs are not yellow here, and they're not everywhere. I am not in New York anymore…'

His head narrowly missing whacking against the plastic divider as the cabbie braked suddenly.

'But they should God damn still be able to drive properly!'

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the hospital. Derek threw a twenty at the driver and went inside. He ran to the elevator and jabbed at the button. The doors dinged closed behind him as he entered and pushed the button for the 5th floor.

'1… 2… 3… 4… 5. Thank God!'

He approached the unfamiliar looking nurse at the desk.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. Actually you can. I'm looking for Natasha Woods. She called me about an unidentified patient."

"Oh, you must be Mr. Shepherd. She just got off duty, so she's already gone for the day, but I can help you. You're here to identify the body? The patient is in room 101." She stood up and started walking towards the room. Derek stopped her.

"I need to go in there alone. She's…I… Well I haven't seen her in a long time. It's going to be a shock."

The nurse sat down and motioned for him to go ahead. He went into her room and shut the door behind him.

"Oh God."

What he saw was even more of a shock than he expected. Her face was covered in nasty red and pink marks, and freshly done stitches. Her cheek was fleshy and open. Her features had swollen severely. Derek could see why no one could recognize her. White gauze swathed her head, and her hair fell across her shoulders. It was tinged red from her blood, and stuck together in clumps. Her right arm was wrapped in a cast, and her left arm was covered in swelling dark red burns. He winced as he saw that they extended up her arm and covered most of her neck as well.

'Why did this happen to her? She doesn't deserve this.'

He dropped his bag and moved closer to her. Sitting down in the chair next to her was his next move, but before he could even pull the chair out, the door opened. Derek blinked away the tears that had been clouding his vision since he saw her.

"Do you know who she is?" the nurse asked tentatively.

'Do I know who she is? Do I know who she is?'

The hot prickle behind his eyes came back, and he turned back to look at the beautiful face that had been marred by some drunk driver.

'No,' he stopped himself, 'I don't know what happened. Maybe it was her fault.'

"Who did this?" he said suddenly, ignoring her question.

'What am I thinking? It wasn't her fault… It couldn't have been her fault.'

"Drunk driver. Came flying at her car at almost ninety miles an hour. Crashed straight into the front of her."

"What happened to him?" he asked gravely.

"He needed some stitches and he broke his leg. He's already been discharged."

'She has to go through this hell and he just walks out perfectly fine!'

He took her right hand and rubbed the back of her hand.

'It's not fair.'

"Mr. Shepherd—"

"Please… call me Derek. No one here has called me Mr. Shepherd since even before I worked here."

"You worked here?"

"Yeah… so does she. Well I thought she did. I don't know if she still does. Surgical floor. That's where I met her. Well… I actually met her at the bar across the street. But I never would have seen her again if we both hadn't of worked here on the same floor." He remembered the day when he had pulled her into the stairwell after she realized her boss was the one night stand she had ditched that morning.

'Dr. Shepherd!'

'Dr. Shepherd? This morning it was Derek. Now it's Dr. Shepherd?'

He had teased her. If only he would have known he was going to fall in love with her. He should have told her…

'Oh God. What if she wakes up and she's still mad?'

"Well Derek. Does the mysterious woman have a name?"

'Look, I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower, okay, and when I get back down here, you won't be here, so, um, goodbye…um…'

'Derek.'

'Derek. Right—'

"Meredith. Meredith Grey."