If Meredith loved Derek she surely had a funny way of showing it—and every second that ticked by made him angrier and angrier that she would contemplate a move to another city with a man that she had known for barely an adequate amount of time. She was his—body and soul—and he seriously doubted that anyone would ever know her the way that he did. It was enraging and primal, the feelings of possessiveness that he felt for her----but it was in his blood, and it was a part of him as much as breathing. The tightness in his stomach hadn't gone away; the feeling of utter dread when he had to admit to himself that maybe this time she was over him. It scared him—the way that he became almost an animal with the need he felt for her; He needed her, he wanted her. She was his and no one else was supposed to touch her. Over and over and over, his mind reeled with the possibility that she wouldn't come back to him.

It was over with Addison and as far as he knew Meredith didn't even know that the papers had been signed. The divorce had been for the best, either way. He and Addy had grown apart years ago, and the truth was that he hadn't been in love with her. He thought he knew what love was, could pinpoint it, could live with it----until he met the woman who had jump-started his heart and now there was no going back.

He could not let her go again.

He did his rounds, checked his patients and managed not to run into her—he'd successfully avoided any potential confrontation with her but he was still miserable. Then he'd seen her from a distance as she walked down the hall with Dr. Stevens and Dr. Karev. She didn't see him, as he stood there watching her. She'd taken the sling off of her arm but it was clear that it was still tender. She and Stevens were having an animated conversation while it seemed the Karev was brooding over something—probably Denny Duquette. He stood there until the three had turned a corner and disappeared from sight and unconsciously, he sighed.

"Dr. Shepherd."

He blinked.

Dr. Shepherd!" A little louder.

Nothing.

"Get it together." Miranda Bailey snapped, irritated. She followed his line of vision and sighed. "You still mooning over my intern?"

"Huh?" He turned, his blue eyes settling on hers. "I'm sorry Miranda. What did you want?"

She rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. "I want you to stop obsessing over my intern—that's what. It's not enough that you had to go and embarrass yourself and your reputation by philandering in the on-call room but now everyone in this hospital is talking about it."

"I do know how to put on a good show." He said dryly.

Her eyes widened. "A good show? Humph!" She put her hands on her hips. "The only thing you know how to do is get yourself in trouble, boy! Get it together and finish this thing with her because I've seen enough moping to bring me into eternity."

He absently, rubbed a hand over his stubble, considering her words. She was about the only one he'd listen to. She'd been a good friend over the years and he knew she was right. "You're right."

"That's it?"

"What more to you want? My firstborn child?" He muttered.

She smacked him on the arm. Hard. "No, what I want is for you two to get it together so that she can get back to normal. She's been going around her for the better part of a year with a broken heart and I swear to the Good Lord above that if you do this to her again I will personally take it upon myself—" She leaned in closer and locked her eyes on his—her 'I mean business' eyes. "to hurt you in places where only your momma and a few others have seen. You got me?"

He grinned, amused. Miranda always managed to lift his spirits. "I got you, Miranda. But to tell you the truth, she doesn't want to talk to me. She's pretty much ignoring me."

"Of course she is! Are you dumber than you look, Shepherd?" She sighed—why did men always need the simplest of things explained?

He put his hand over his heart and feigned hurt. "What was that for?"

"You were a married man—she feels terrible about it—" She lifted her chin. "Like any self-respecting woman should. Now she doesn't know how to act around you."

"I don't get it."

She grinded her teeth. "It's not brain surgery, Shepherd." She almost smiled. "Figure it out."

"Ha, ha."

"You just remember what I told you." She pointed at him as she turned away. "Hear me?"

"Loud and clear." He gave her a mock salute.

"I'll give you loud and clear." She mumbled to herself as she walked away. "Loud and clear where the sun don't shine. Keep on messin around with my interns there's gonna be hell to pay..."

Meredith, balancing a cup of very hot tea, sat down beside George tentatively. She'd known that he would be sitting on the forth floor landing, on the hard concrete. He always came there when he wanted to think about stuff. The pregnancy with Callie had terrified him and now when he wanted to avoid her he came to the landing and just sat.

"Hey." She said softly, offering the cup to him. "I brought you some tea."

He shook his head. "No thanks."

"Are you alright?" She crossed her legs, Indian fashion. "I'm here if you want to talk, George. I care about you."

Hurt briefly flashed across his features, but faded as quickly as it had come. "I know that." He replied. He rested his arms on his knees and let his head fall. "I don't know what to do about this." He confessed. "I don't know what to tell her."

"How do you feel?"

"Scared, shocked, terrified." He mumbled. "Take your pick."

"George, do you love Callie?"

"No—yes—I don't know. Don't ask me that. It's making my blood pressure rise."

"What does she think?"

"You don't want to know what she thinks." He raised his head and looked over at her. "She wants to get married—can you imagine that? I'm not ready to be a father and I'm not ready to have a baby and I can't tell her that I don't want it—it would be too hurtful and cruel—but Mer, I'm not sure that I can do this." He confessed.

"Me either. Love is hard—it's not what you think it is. When you think you fall in love sometimes it's just an illusion. You're up in the air, and your floating and it's wonderful because you can see everything from up high. It's better than being on the ground. But when that bubble bursts you land hard and you're stunned. Stunned because you never expected to fall."

"Like you and Derek?"

She nodded. "Like me and Derek."

Switching topics, George reached over and squeezed her hand affectionately. "What are you going to do? Do you still love him as much as you did before?"

She felt her heart beat quicken and her stomach flip. "Yes. I do. I'll always love him, I'm afraid."

"Then get him, Mer. You know what you want."

"I know. But I'm scared."

"What other choice do you have?" He probed. "You love him and now we know that he loves you. So, there isn't any choice."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "I mean that you belong to each other----really belong. The way I see it is that there's really only one great love in our lives and sometimes we get lucky enough have it, to hold it." He squeezed her hand, the pain in his eyes evident, for some would say that she was his one great love and they both knew it. " There's nothing more painful than being in love with someone who doesn't love you back and you both love each other. If you have someone who loves you back then you should go for it. Life's too short to waste it on someone you don't love completely."

"George—" She began.

He shook his head. "No, it's okay, Meredith. I know that things never would have worked out between us. I've accepted that. If I'm your friend for the rest of my life it will be enough. You're my family and I don't ever want to lose that."

He had put tears in her eyes. It was too bad that she couldn't love him the way he needed her to, but it simply wasn't to be. "I love you too, George. I really do."

He released his hold on her hand and ran his hand through his hair. "So, what are we going to do?"

She grinned. "I don't know. But if Cristina can have a lasting, yet dysfunctional, relationship with Dr. Burke, I'm sure there's hope for us. What about you?"

"Ask me when I'm forty."

"George—"

"I don't know, Mer. I'm scared."

"Me too."

"George?"

"What?"

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

They both sat in silence, but Meredith moved over until she and George were completely next to each other and laid her head on his shoulder. He tipped his head until it rested against hers.

And for now, that was enough.